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Friday, December 24, 2010
Week in gaming: Call of Duty review, Black Ops in 3D, CoD bribes - Ars Technica
It's very possible there is a theme to this week's top stories, and I'm sure you'll be able to crack the code. Call of Duty: Black Ops is a huge release, and with Activision spending thousands of dollars per reviewer to help everyone feel warm about the game (despite the problems the PC version experienced at launch), there was plenty to write about.
We also reviewed the new Goldeneye title on the Wii, and took a look at a very impressive-seeming iPhone game. Come on in, and we promise to go easier on Call of Duty next week... if we can stop playing online.
Call of Duty: Black Ops PC review: CPU bound, broken online play: Call of Duty: Black Ops goes for broke and makes a huge variety of settings and eras a part of the game's story. It's confusing because your character is confused, you see. It's a grand trick, but it doesn't hide the game's crippling technical problems.
A classic, reborn: Ars reviews Goldeneye 007 on the Wii: A classic console experience gets a... sequel? Reboot? Whatever you want to call it, this is a very worthy addition to the Goldeneye name. Remember, Oddjob is cheating.
Call of Duty: Black Ops, on PC, in 3D. Our first few hours: Our impressions of playing the game in 3D: to sum it up, it feels like I'm in a testosterone-soaked isolation chamber.
Call of Duty: Black Ops review event, press gifts detailed: Will companies pay for good reviews? Not directly, but by plying the press with free trips, gifts and stays at luxorious resorts, they can certainly stack the deck in their favor. Here is how Activision wowed the press before they even played Black Ops.
Epic Games shows off best looking iPhone game EVAR: Infinity Blade: Infinity Blade hopes to raise the bar for graphics on iOS devices, and the newest video showing off actual gameplay is convincing. Have a look, and download Epic Citadel if you haven't already.
Building the future: Microsoft's Kinect a marathon, not a sprint: The Kinect has plenty of problems as a gaming platform, but as a piece of Microsoft technology it's nothing but possibility. The investment Microsoft has placed in the new technology points to one thing: this device isn't going to stop at the 360.
100 copies of new Call of Duty stolen in armed heist of GameStop: The theft of video games is common. With games arriving by the case before big launches to stores staffed by a single teenager many hours a day, GameStop locations are an appealing target. One store in Baltimore lost the money in the register, plus 100 copies of the new Call of Duty release.
Nail'd: fast, insane, spectacularly unrealistic, and fun: Nail'd is one of those games that seems designed purely to show you insane things, and then allow you to explore them. It's simple enough for anyone to pick up, but the airborne gameplay should also keep hardcore gamers happy.
Ravaging villages, pilfering gold: Ars reviews Hoard: The PlayStation Network game Hoard manages to combine some of the best elements of arcade shooters with a board game style structure. It also lets you play as a dragon willing to do anything to get its claws on some gold.
The Kinect effect: how Harmonix mastered Dance Central's menus: Harmonix engineer Ryan Challinor discusses the problems with creating a gesture-controlled menu system when your only point of reference is the movie Minority Report.
Pacific Rim looks to open markets to fuel growth - BusinessWeek
By ELAINE KURTENBACH
YOKOHAMA, Japan
Pacific Rim leaders sought Saturday to smooth divisions over currency policies and other issues, shifting their attention to their shared goal of working for freer trade for the sake of future growth.
President Barack Obama and other leaders attending the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum pledged not to backslide into retaliatory trade tactics, a day after discord over such issues marred a summit, held in South Korea, of the Group of 20 major economies.
"We will liberalize our trade," Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan told a business conference on APEC's sidelines. "The United States is looking to expand trade and commerce throughout the Asia-Pacific," Obama said. "The international community should oppose protectionism in all manifestations," said Chinese President Hu Jintao.
The emphasis at APEC, where congeniality usually trumps conflict, is on a common mission of eventually forging a vast regionwide free trade zone that would encompass all 21 member economies, accounting for more than half of all global commerce.
But much of APEC's work occurs in face-to-face encounters outside the summit, held in the port city of Yokohama. Kan took the opportunity to hold his first formal meeting with Hu since a territorial dispute erupted two months ago, badly straining ties between the Asian neighbors.
The two leaders both expressed their positions on the issue, and agreed developing strategic relations between the two countries would benefit not only the two sides but also the region and the world, said Japan's deputy chief Cabinet secretary, Tetsuro Fukuyama.
"The formal bilateral talks mark a major step forward to improving Japan-China relations," said Fukuyama, who did not elaborate on whether the two made any progress toward reconciling their differences.
Kan also met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who recently angered Tokyo by visiting an island off its northern coast that both nations claim. Though both said the talks should help reinforce trust, afterward Fukuyama explained that Kan told Medvedev his visit was "unacceptable" and had insulted the Japanese.
Relations between Tokyo and Beijing have been soured by the collision of a Chinese fishing trawler with two Japanese coast guard vessels near disputed islands east of Taiwan, an incident that has provoked protests on both sides.
Outside the heavily guarded APEC venue thousands of anti-China demonstrators rallied Saturday, waving big Japanese flags and placards with slogans such as "Defend our territory," and "Defeat Chinese imperialism."
"I think China is a threat to Japan," said Sayo Kuroda, a 19-year-old college student whose family joined the protest.
Many in Japan and elsewhere in the region are looking to the U.S. to be a counterweight for China's growing influence and sometimes aggressive stance.
"We have had various problems in our relations with Russia and China, and I thank President Obama for his support," Kan said, noting Tokyo's awareness of the important role played by the U.S. military, which has 50,000 troops in Japan under a 50-year-old security treaty.
After meeting with Obama, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard likewise noted their countries' shared "strategic objectives."
"As China rises, obviously, we want to see China be a force for good in the world," she said.
Obama reaffirmed America's commitment to pursuing closer ties with the region that has helped power the world's recovery from the global financial crisis, in trade as well as in broader areas of defense and diplomacy.
Asia's robust and resilient growth has hinged on trade, and the U.S. is keen to tap into that dynamism, Obama said.
"In this region the United States sees a huge opportunity to increase our exports to some of the fastest growing markets in the world," Obama told the APEC business conference. "For America this is a jobs strategy."
Obama praised Kan for pledging to further open Japan's sluggish economy to trade and investment, despite protests from farmers who fear the loss of subsidies and protective tariffs.
Though about half the leaders from the G-20 meeting traveled on to Yokohama, there was no sign that the ill-will shown in Seoul had carried over to the APEC summit.
Currency issues did, however, appear to get more attention than they usually do at APEC.
The leaders' draft statement notes a need to reduce trade imbalances and government debt to help ensure stable and sustainable economic growth. It also includes a pledge to move toward more "market-determined exchange rate systems."
"I think we could say that we have averted a competitive devaluation and currency wars for now ... But I think it's not something that we have altogether overcome yet," said Indonesia's Trade Minister Mari Pangestu.
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Associated Press writers Jim Gomez, Eric Talmadge, Tomoko A. Hosaka, Malcolm Foster and Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report.
Sunni lawmakers return to Iraq parliament, apologize for walkout - Los Angeles Times
Iraqi lawmakers buried the hatchet Saturday, with public displays of goodwill and apologies over "misunderstandings," as parliament approved a broad agreement that will usher in a new government after a debilitating eight-month deadlock.
Two days after they walked out of a raucous session that showed the deep rifts in the halls of power, members of the Sunni Arab-backed Iraqiya bloc returned to parliament for a final vote on the accord that saw Shiite Prime Minister Nouri Maliki maintain his hold on power.
Iraqiya members apologized for walking out Thursday after the Shiite and Kurdish blocs in the parliament refused to go along with a request for an immediate lifting of a political ban on four Iraqiya members because of their alleged ties to Saddam Hussein's Baath Party.
Lawmakers agreed Saturday to start the process of lifting the bans. The 325-member body also voted in favor of the agreement, hammered out last week, that proved to be the breakthrough in ending the stalemate over inconclusive national elections.
The agreement's contours, mapped out in nine documents, include promoting reconciliation, power-sharing; devolving the powers of the prime minister's office, empowering the Cabinet and a timeline for ending the process of purging suspected Baath members from government.
But Saturday's session could be a fleeting "kumbaya" moment. The weeks ahead are sure to be stormy as the sides brawl over the meaning of the often vague language of the agreement.
In fact, even as the sides celebrated the end of the political crisis, the head of Iraqiya, Iyad Allawi, muddied the waters.
Allawi, whose bloc won 91 seats in the March 7 elections, the single largest slate in the parliament, threatened to serve in the opposition and not join the government as the head of a new body, the National Council for Strategic Policies. U.S. officials had pushed the idea as the way for Allawi to have a major political role.
And in an interview with CNN broadcast Friday, Allawi belittled the new unity government. "We think the concept of power-sharing is dead now," the secular Shiite Muslim politician said. "It's finished."
Around Baghdad, Iraqis were relieved that the parliament had overcome its tiff. Some professed optimism.
"I think Maliki will be successful," said Felah Abood Qasim, who cast his ballot for Allawi. "Maliki has a sort of bravery. He can take decisions. He knew how to play it during these eight months. He made all his rivals have less success than him, if not failure!"
Others were disillusioned, lamenting the wasted time of the last year and the return to power of Maliki and President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd.
"Nothing was changed: The president is the same, the prime minister is the same," said Aboud Ahmed, a 41-year-old computer technician in the Shiite holy city of Najaf. "All these faces are the same and we are always the victims."
Salman is a Times staff writer.
Times staff writer Jaber Zeki in Baghdad and special correspondent Saad Fakhrildeen in Najaf contributed to this report.
'Pedophile's Guide' gone from Amazon - msnbc.com
Following mounting public protests, a self-published book advocating adult-child sex is no longer available for sale on Amazon.
The book, "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover's Code of Conduct" by Philip R. Greaves II, includes graphic "first person" descriptions of a child's sexual encounters with an adult, "presented as an adult's recollection of his youthful experience," as well as advice to pedophiles afraid of becoming the center of retaliation. The electronic book, which is not illustrated, was available for $4.79 from Amazon.com's Kindle e-reader.
Amazon had initially defended the sale of the book, issuing a public statement that said, "Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable. Amazon does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts, however, we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions."
It is not clear if the e-book was removed from the Kindle store by Amazon or the self-publisher. The link to the original "Pedophile's Guide" sale page now returns an error message. Amazon did not immediately respond Thursday to msnbc.com's requests for more information. Adding to the mystery is today's discovery "Our Gardens of Flesh: From the Seeds of Lust Springs the Harvest of Love," another sexually-graphic e-book by the same author, also $4.79, briefly available on the site. The link went dead not long after 6 p.m. ET.
Speaking in a "TODAY" show segment about the "Pedophile's Guide" before it was removed from the site, Greaves said protesters "are free to think whatever they want to think about the book."
"Every time you see (pedophiles) on television, they are either murderers, rapists or kidnappers," he said as reason for writing and publishing the book. And you know, that's just not an accurate presentation of that particular sexuality."
Msnbc.com purchased the "Pedophile's Guide" for purpose of review before it was removed from the site. Greaves' self-published work contains six academically titled chapters in which the author attempts to add cultural context and express sympathy's for his intended audience's cultural plight.
Also included in the e-book are tips for "safe sex" with a child, as well as an emphasis on self-gratification using legal material such as teen magazines. To that end, the two sexually graphic stories "presented as an adult's recollection of his youthful experience" could be interpreted as thinly veiled examples of pedophilic-themed erotica.
Excerpts from "Our Gardens of Flesh" posted on Gawkerreveal text equally graphic and disturbing as that of "Pedophile's Guide."
"Besides an extended defense of pedophilia, (the author) includes a long account of one adolescent boy's sexual encounter with an adult ice-cream man," writes Gawker's Max Read. "The whole book functions as a kind of manifesto, a theory of sexuality and a creepy declaration of principles."
Similarly-themed written erotica, whether couched as fantasy or "an adult's recollection," is readily available on the Internet. When such content does not include imagery, it walks a thin, complicated line in the United States. Federal law defines child pornography as a visual depiction of minor engaging in obscene behavior. Unlike countries such as Canada and Australia, the U.S. does not specifically ban written child pornography.
"You've got issues with respect to fantasy and imagination, and those are core First Amendment issues," pointed out Frederick S. Lane, attorney and author of several books, including " American Privacy: The 400-Year History of Our Most Contested Right."
"On the other hand, child pornography is a real harm to real children," Lane said in a telephone interview. "It's such a thin line to protect kids and prevent harm to them without trampling the First Amendment."
In 2002, Amazon.com cited the First Amendment as justification for offering another book that advocates adult-child sex, "Understanding Loved Boys and Boylovers," by David L. Riegel. (The paperback book is still available on the site.)
At that time, Amazon stated, "Our goal is to support freedom of expression and to provide customers with the broadest selection possible so they can find, discover, and buy any title they might be seeking."
On the slim-to-none chance such content was deemed "obscene" by a jury of 12 individuals, Amazon would be held accountable. That the e-commerce site now allows self-publishing, that opened the doors for "Pedophile's Guide," increases the risk — but not by much. Given the prevalence of such content on the Internet, combined with historical precedent, prosecuters rarely bring obscenity charges to trial, Lane said.
As it stands, Amazon is a private company and has the right to sell whatever it wants as long as it's legal, and as such, offers books that cater to Holocaust deniers and hate groups, as well as graphic dogfighting and cockfighting videos.
Adult (legal) pornography, while available in book and magazine form, is not permitted in the Kindle e-reader store. This is possibly because of its iTunes partnership with the notoriously porn-free Apple which removed both "Ulysses" and the "Kama Sutra" from its own book store. The Kindle connection may be a reason the "Pedophile's Guide" disappeared from the site, though neither Apple or Amazon have commented.
For whatever reason "Pedophile's Guide" was removed, Amazon's stand to offer the "broadest selection possible" may falter as did the protested policies of two other e-commerce giants, eBay and Craigslist.
In 2001, eBay caved to public ire and changed its policy to disallow the sale of Nazi memorabilia through its site worldwide. Previously, the ban only applied for eBay users in Germany, where the sale of Nazi-related items is against the law.
Earlier this year, Craigslist made several unpopular attempts at compromise before it bent to the will of vocal customers, human rights activists and politicians and completely eliminated the site's Adult Services section.
As with those two entities, the potential for damage isn't so much in a court of law as it is "the courtroom of the commons," Lane said. "It's a public judgement of what the public thinks about what Amazon should or should not sell. And Amazon does care about the next million people who join the 'Boycott Amazon' page on Facebook."
Indeed, there are nearly 12,000 members currently on the most popular "Boycott Amazon," though there are more than 20 new groups on Facebook with the same idea. True, wall posts in the most active group reveal a strong troll element attempting to agitate protesters. But among those jokesters using the Internet character meme " Pedobear" as avatars, there is also a growing contingent who may do damage to the online marketplace behemoth right before the holidays.
"I normally do my Christmas shopping on Amazon," writes one poster. "That will not be happening this year and I am not using my Amazon credit card either. I just activated an other charge card to do my holiday shopping with :) I will not deal with Amazon until they remove ALL their disgusting books condoning pedophilia."
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