I've been using avast! Home Edition for well over a year now on three Windows boxes, and I couldn't be happier. The e-mail scanner is top-notch and integrates automatically with Thunderbird. I'd estimate that avast! has caught nearly 500 virus attachments in the past year alone.
The real-time system scan also performs well, with relatively little memory usage compared to Norton or McAfee. I haven't made much use of the P2P or IM scanners, but if they're up to par with the system and e-mail components, I'd say it's a tough package to beat.
Interesting...I just blogged about seeing these games at my local mall last night. I knew it was only a matter of time before the lawyers came a-knockin' when I saw Donkey Kong, Super Mario, Excitebike, Duck Hunt, and several other Nintendo classics emulated.
But, the units play a beautiful version of Galaga. Who can resist Galaga?;)
From the post: It will be interesting to see how this affects the fight between EQ2 and World of Warcraft, which are rumored to be coming out on the same day.
Because if the multimedia revolution in gaming has taught us anything over the past decade, it's that celebrities + gaming = quality. Oh, and huge profits, too.;)
I submitted the article, and I accept full responsibility for the mistake. It was an editing error, and I e-mailed Slashdot's editors as soon as I noticed it -- about fifteen minutes too late. Fortunately, it's been fixed now. My apologies for the mistake.
Yes, I realize the irony of posting an article about inaccuracy in online reporting complete with its very own inaccuracy is quite rich.
As the submitter, I take full responsibility. Would you believe the error was included on purpose to illustrate the very topic being discussed in the submission itself? No? I didn't think so.
Honestly, I screwed up in the editing process. My bad -- and my apologies. As soon as I realized my error, I e-mailed the editors, and they fixed the problem.
Does anyone remember the now-defunct PC Accelerator magazine from the publishers of PC Gamer? Although the magazine folded back in 2000, but it was essentially marketed as a Maxim for PC gaming set. Along with the standard news coverage and reviews, it also included features like "The Women We Love to Play" and photo shoots featuring women like Eidos' Lara Croft models and Stevie "Killcreek" Case. PCXL did its best to emulate the humor -- and even the design elements -- of men's magazines like Maxim and Stuff, but the girls/games connection just seemed a bit forced at times.
On the other hand, I thought their gaming coverage was quite good. Thus, in summary, I read PC Accelerator for the articles.;)
I guess it's tough to squeeze everything into a top ten list, but it would have been nice to have seen nods to the Thief, System Shock, and No One Lives Forever series.
Sam and Max, Day of the Tentacle, et all were hillarious, they're still funny today. The graphics aren't all that great now, but they don't need to be.
I would argue that the part of the reason Sierra/LucasArts style adventures declined in popularity in the first place was just that logic.
"We don't need fancy graphics! We have stories! And comedy! And clever puzzles!"
Sure, discerning gamers know that there's more to a game than "kewl" graphics, but most gamers aren't all that discerning. While DOOM and Quake rolled out awe-inspiring 3D graphics, Sierra and LucasArts were using technology that looked practically ancient in comparison. Before long, sales began to suffer.
Perhaps if the adventure genre hadn't been so reluctant to evolve and adapt to new technologies, it would have ended up in the marginalized market position it's in today.
Freedom Force is a real-time tactical superhero game with character-building RPG elements worked into the equation. It was released in 2002, well-received by critics, and is now available in bargain bins at most stores for less than $20.
The game takes a very tongue-in-cheek approach to the superhero genre. It's set in the 1960s and exhibits the designers' obvious love of Marvel's Stan Lee/Jack Kirby epics of the 1960s.
Personally, I loved the game. There's a sequel on the way in the near future, too.
If you think it's tough to find older console games in decent shape, just try finding classic PC games more than five or six years old. At best, you might stumble across a beaten up box in the "previously played" section at GameStop or Electronics Boutique, but that's usually only for games that are still on the shelves at Best Buy. If you're talking about anything pre-2000, odds are that it's in a plastic baggy with no documentation -- if they have it at all.
Along similar lines, it's not all that hard to track down a copy of Duck Hunt for the NES at the average gaming store. Just try to find a computer game from that era, though. Or even fifteen years later.
As is the case with so many collectibles these days, I'm afraid that eBay is our only hope.
With regards to fighting games, don't forget that other factor that drives would-be gamers away from the arcades: the Fighting Game Master.
You probably remember him as the guy who seemed to live in the arcade and was always playing the cool new game that you really wanted to try out. Eventually, you'd get up the nerve to challenge him, but he somehow selected a secret character that wasn't available from the main screen, and proceeded to unleash every special attack under the sun to dispose of you in about three seconds. Then, he looked over, sneered, and let forth a sarcastic "good game."
I know the Fighting Game Master personally drove me out of the arcade and to the home consoles.
I thought I might have outgrown games in recent years, but it turns out that my tastes had simply changed and I needed to find the right games. For instance, from the age of 10 to around 20, I couldn't get enough of the adventure genre. I played and loved just about anything that Sierra and LucasArts released. Heck, I webmaster a site dedicated to the Space Quest series. Around 1997 or 1998, though, I found that adventure games just couldn't hold my interest anymore. The puzzle-solving dynamic just wasn't particularly interesting to me, and the stories (by and large) seemed less appealing.
After a brief period of time spent with shooters like Quake and Unreal Tournament and real-time strategy games like Warcraft, I more or less resolved myself to the fact that I had outgrown gaming. The genres I had loved just weren't that fun anymore. Then, a few years later, I began to discover two genres that really revitalized my interest -- genres that hadn't really interested me in the past. These were stealth-based first-person sneakers like Thief and No One Lives Forever and good old-fashioned RPGs. Now, while I still don't find myself all that interested in adventure games, I still enjoy gaming in new genres.
If you feel like games just aren't that fun anymore, try something a bit out-of-the-ordinary. You might be pleasantly surprised.
Slashdot Mirror
I have a bad feeling about this. Has this whole metric thing been thoroughly tested?
The real-time system scan also performs well, with relatively little memory usage compared to Norton or McAfee. I haven't made much use of the P2P or IM scanners, but if they're up to par with the system and e-mail components, I'd say it's a tough package to beat.
So, am I the only person left in the world paying over a dollar per song by, you know, actually buying CDs?
I tried to optimize my gnome once with a suit of +2 leather armor and a new red hat, but he still ended up getting slain by a bunch of kobolds.
But, the units play a beautiful version of Galaga. Who can resist Galaga? ;)
How about Mario as the ref in Mike Tyson's Punch-Out? Or is that deuterocanonical? ;)
Shouldn't that be renamed Hormel's Law instead?
Actually, I think that's a typo. It should read "job skillz training."
Yes, I realize the irony of posting an article about inaccuracy in online reporting complete with its very own inaccuracy is quite rich.
Honestly, I screwed up in the editing process. My bad -- and my apologies. As soon as I realized my error, I e-mailed the editors, and they fixed the problem.
Mea culpa.
Almost sounds like a death threat to me... ;)
Just out of curiosity, is this thing going to play games, too? ;)
On the other hand, I thought their gaming coverage was quite good. Thus, in summary, I read PC Accelerator for the articles. ;)
I guess it's tough to squeeze everything into a top ten list, but it would have been nice to have seen nods to the Thief, System Shock, and No One Lives Forever series.
Sony's study also suggests that gamers who play ganes on the PS2 experience nearly 70 percent more "fun-itude" than XBox and Gamecube gamers.
"We don't need fancy graphics! We have stories! And comedy! And clever puzzles!"
Sure, discerning gamers know that there's more to a game than "kewl" graphics, but most gamers aren't all that discerning. While DOOM and Quake rolled out awe-inspiring 3D graphics, Sierra and LucasArts were using technology that looked practically ancient in comparison. Before long, sales began to suffer.
Perhaps if the adventure genre hadn't been so reluctant to evolve and adapt to new technologies, it would have ended up in the marginalized market position it's in today.
You'd better comb your hair. What they're not telling you is that it's a two-way mirror. Philips is watching us, man. ;)
Gee...a game like this will produce just the kind of press that the gaming industry needs post-GTA3.
The game takes a very tongue-in-cheek approach to the superhero genre. It's set in the 1960s and exhibits the designers' obvious love of Marvel's Stan Lee/Jack Kirby epics of the 1960s.
Personally, I loved the game. There's a sequel on the way in the near future, too.
Along similar lines, it's not all that hard to track down a copy of Duck Hunt for the NES at the average gaming store. Just try to find a computer game from that era, though. Or even fifteen years later.
As is the case with so many collectibles these days, I'm afraid that eBay is our only hope.
You probably remember him as the guy who seemed to live in the arcade and was always playing the cool new game that you really wanted to try out. Eventually, you'd get up the nerve to challenge him, but he somehow selected a secret character that wasn't available from the main screen, and proceeded to unleash every special attack under the sun to dispose of you in about three seconds. Then, he looked over, sneered, and let forth a sarcastic "good game."
I know the Fighting Game Master personally drove me out of the arcade and to the home consoles.
After a brief period of time spent with shooters like Quake and Unreal Tournament and real-time strategy games like Warcraft, I more or less resolved myself to the fact that I had outgrown gaming. The genres I had loved just weren't that fun anymore. Then, a few years later, I began to discover two genres that really revitalized my interest -- genres that hadn't really interested me in the past. These were stealth-based first-person sneakers like Thief and No One Lives Forever and good old-fashioned RPGs. Now, while I still don't find myself all that interested in adventure games, I still enjoy gaming in new genres.
If you feel like games just aren't that fun anymore, try something a bit out-of-the-ordinary. You might be pleasantly surprised.
The Ninja Blacksox are going to win the pennant this season. ;)