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'Muslim Massacre': A Misunderstanding?

Sat, 13 September 2008
by: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it | source: News.com.au | thanks: People who can't take a joke

Stab or Satire?

You gotta fight for your right to party

Muslim Massacre, a video game by Brisbane-based Sigvatr, has been blasted worldwide for being culturally insensitive.

Muslim Massacre is promoted as taking place after the US "declares war" on the religion of Islam and encourages players to wipe out followers.

The targets appear as bearded men wearing normal clothes or characters in black outfits with facemasks. Later levels include suicide bombers and a "boss" opponent resembling Osama Bin Laden.

Mr Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the UK Muslim youth organisation the Ramadhan Foundation, said the game was unacceptable, tasteless and deeply offensive.

Those who have played Muslim Massacre provided mixed feedback to Mr Vaughn [Sigvatr].

"I think it’s brave, because it’s the kind of satire that many people will misunderstand, especially in America and in Islamic countries," said a comment posted on Mr Vaughn's website.

- news.com.au

The Ramadhan Foundation has asked the British government to conduct an inquiry into the game and is pleading with internet service providers to block access to the game.

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Sims 3: Launch Date Announced

Thurs, 11 September 2008
by: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it | source: News.com.au | thanks: Morty Goth

February 20, 2009 is the day!

"...and then, someone opened the door"

EA has announced that the long-awaited Sims 3 will be launched on February 20, 2009.

In a news conference at Europe's biggest video games fair in Leipzig, EA said the new version of The Sims would allow players greater control over the personality of the characters whose lives they control.

EA is jostling for top spot in the global gaming industry with Activision Blizzard, and has recently started negotiations with Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two after EA failed in a hostile takeover bid.

- news.com.au

Seemless neighbourhood gameplay (hooray for no loading screens!), new career-paths, and increased customisation options are all expected to be features in this latest installment of the Sims series.

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Project Origin gets name change

Tues, 9 September 2008
by: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it | source: Blue's News | thanks: IPs-4-Sale!!

Project Origin becomes F.E.A.R. 2; also gets release date

Ahh! It's the evil ugly girl!! RUN!!

Upcoming horror shooter Project Origin has undergone a name change, taking back the name of its predecessor, F.E.A.R.

Developer Monolith, and its parent company Warner Bros, reacquired the rights to the F.E.A.R. name from the first game's publisher Sierra. The title will now be known as F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.

Vivendi Universal Games, the parent organization of Sierra, merged with Activision [in 2008] to become the largest third-party publisher in the world. VUG's crown jewel, of course, is Blizzard, the studio responsible for World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, and Diablo. Sierra's lineup was examined, and most of its games were recently dropped. Indeed, Sierra's future is in doubt.

Sensing an opportunity, Warner Bros. and Monolith struck, and they are announcing today that they have acquired the F.E.A.R. name, meaning that the creator of F.E.A.R. once again has access to the name.

- IGN

F.E.A.R. 2 has also been given an official release date, and is now headed for a February 10, 2009 launch.

The game will sell for the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and the PC.

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Spore is here!

Sun, 7 September 2008
by: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it | source: SMH | thanks: Forumers reminding me to update!

The wait is over

Hooray!

The eagerly anticipated Spore hits stores in Australia today.

"You are given this God-like power," Wright told AFP in a recent interview in California. "You can create ecosystems, biospheres ... We try to make it real science."

Players start as microscopic life forms competing for survival in primordial ooze and work their way onto land, where they evolve into creatures that build civilisations and rocket into space.

"It is still probably the most interesting question for scientists and five-year-olds: What is life?" Wright said

"We are hoping to build a community as big as that of the Sims," Wright said during a Paris stopover this week ahead of the launch of the game by Electronic Arts

- SMH

So do you love it? Hate it? Going to disappear into your room for a few days or think it's overrated?

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Dead Sea Scrolls Online

Fri, 29 August 2008
by: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it | source: SMH | thanks: Indiana Jones

But you'll have to wait two years to see them

How's your Hebrew?

Israeli scientists are taking digital photos of the 2000-year-old Dead Sea scrolls to put online for the world to see.

Israel Antiquities Authority, the custodian of the scrolls that shed light on the life of Jews and early Christians at the time of Jesus, said on Wednesday it would take more than two years to complete the project.

A team of specialists has taken 4000 pictures of some 9000 fragments that make up the scrolls, which number 900 in total.

- SMH

This is also being done as an act of preservation - scientists are concerned that heat and humidity may be causing deterioration in the scrolls.

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