Crysis Vs BioShock

These two, Crysis and aBioshock probably the game of the year 2008; which one is the best?

Here thorough some resources have some details to explain which one tops the other.Crysis and BioShock both the games are DirectX 10 compactible.

Crysis

As with Far Cry, Crysis is an open-ended game with many ways to meet objectives. An addition to the previous Far Cry formula is that most weapons may be modified with devices such as suppressors, telescopic sights, and targeting lasers.
The protagonist, nicknamed Nomad, is also capable of selecting various modes in his military prototype "Nano Muscle Suit." The suit is capable of four modes: armor, strength, speed, and cloak. These modes allow him to absorb and heal damage, lift and throw heavy items and enemies, reload and run faster, become invisible and reduce noise output, respectively. Due to the ability of constantly regenerating health, the game is completely devoid of first aid kits. All of these actions, however, use rechargeable energy reserves that power the suit; energy is recharged most quickly while in armor mode.


The suit can be quickly switched between modes using a rapid mouse gesture system, which adds a strong tactical element to combat.
The suit's integral mask has its own HUD, displaying typical data like a tactical map and current energy levels. The view is electronic in nature, shown in-game through things such as a booting readout and visual distortion during abnormal operation. Onboard utilities include a two-way radio, PDA and audio-visual logging capability, with features like image zoom and night vision provided by optional equipment (given by default in single-player).
The artificial intelligence (AI) in Crysis also aims to be realistic and
believable.

Enemy soldiers constantly employ tactical maneuvers, work as squads, hide and
ambush amongst the scenery, and adapt to changing environments and conditions.
AI soldiers will also respond to sound and subtle movements triggered by the
player's movement. While not engaged in combat, the AI soldiers will also
exhibit typical and lifelike behavior, such as smoking, yawning, talking,
urinating, waxing cars, patrolling, saluting superior officers, etc. Sometimes
these actions depend on whether or not the player was detected earlier. If Nomad
has not been sighted in some missions, he can find some enemies sleeping upon
arriving to his destination. In contrast if he has been spotted they will all be
alert.

A review from wikipedia

Crysis was awarded a 98% in the PC Gamer U.S. Holiday 2007 issue, making it one of the highest rated games ever in PC Gamer, tying with Half-Life 2 and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. The UK edition of the magazine awarded the game 92%, describing the game as "A spectacular and beautiful sci-fi epic." Gamespot awarded Crysis a score of 9.5 out of 10, describing it as "easily one of the greatest shooters ever made." GameSpy gave it a 4.5 out of 5 citing that the suit powers are fun but also criticize the multiplayer part of the game for not having a team deathmatch. X-Play gave it a 3 out of 5 on its "Holiday Buyer's Guide" special episode, praising the graphics and physics, but criticized the steep hardware requirements as well as stating that the game is overhyped with average gameplay. Gamepro honored Crysis with a score of 4.75 out of 5, saying it was "a great step forward for PC gaming," but criticized the steep hardware requirements.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crysis

BioShock

The player takes the role of Jack, who aims to fight his way through Rapture, using weapons and plasmids that give him special powers such as telekinesis or the ability to electrocute foes. Security cameras and foes can be evaded by stealth; alternatively, security cameras and turrets can be destroyed using weapons, or hacked to use them to the player's advantage. Hacking, which is based on the Pipe Dream game concept, can also be used on health dispensers and vending machines to gain extra benefits, and on locks and safes to gain access to the secured contents.

The main resources in the game are ADAM, EVE, and money. ADAM is a mutagen, which allows genetic changes. Quantities of ADAM can be used to purchase plasmids, EVE, and other genetic mutations at special "Gatherers Gardens" vending machines throughout the game. ADAM can be obtained in several ways, most prominently the harvesting of "Little Sisters" after defeating their bodyguards, the "Big Daddies," who are large, heavily armored, genetically enhanced humans wearing diving suits.

EVE acts as fuel for "active plasmids" in a manner similar to magic points in other games, while money allows the purchase of items and ammunition, as well as paying to override security elements, such as bots or turrets.
It is here that morality is implemented as an aspect of the gameplay; the player can chose to either rescue the Little Sisters, or harvest their ADAM. While both choices have their advantages, this element of conflicting morals has an impact on the storyline, and, among other things, on the difficulty of the game itself.

To adapt and advance the character, the player can purchase plasmids, using ADAM. These are grouped under the Combat, Engineering, Active, and Physical technology trees. The "Active" plasmids are abilities that function as alternate weapons; they are powered by EVE, and require activation by the player. The other classes of plasmids, referred to as "Tonics," are passive abilities that work as long as they are selected as equipment ("equipped").

Plasmids are versatile, and can be used by the player both in concert with each other and with the environment to create numerous effects. For example, "telekinesis" can be used on all loose objects: the player can catch and redirect grenades or rockets, hold large objects to form impromptu shields, or use those same objects as projectiles. Other types of plasmids have different practical uses; for instance, using an "electro-bolt" on a body of water electrifies not only the water, but also any beings and machines within it. An element of choice is present: since not all plasmids can be equipped at once, the player must decide which plasmids to use, and which to place in storage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioShock

You play these games, make sure you meet the requirements.

Minimum Recommended
Official System Requirements for Bioshock
Operating System Pentium 4 2.4 GHz (single core) Intel Core 2 Duo Or AMD Athlon 64 X2
Hard Drive Space 8 GB of free space
Graphics Hardware DirectX 9.0c compliant card with 128 MB RAM (NVIDIA 6600/ATI X1300 or better, excluding ATI X1550), Must support Pixel Shader 3.0 DirectX 9.0c compliant card with 512 MB RAM (NVIDIA 7900GT or better) or DirectX 10 compliant card (NVIDIA 8600 or better)
Network Internet connection required for activation
Sound Hardware 100% DirectX 9.0c compliant card Sound Blaster X-Fi (Optimized for EAX ADVANCED HD 4.0/5.0 compatible cards)



Minimum Recommended
Official System Requirements for Crysis
Operating System Windows XP or Windows Vista
CPU 2.8 GHz or faster for XP, 3.2 GHz or faster for Vista Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.2GHz, or AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+
Memory 1 GB RAM for XP, 1.5 GB RAM for Vista 2 GB RAM
Hard Drive Space 12 GB of free space
Graphics Hardware 256 MB video memory, NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT/ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (Radeon X800 Pro for Vista) or greater NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 640MB, or similar
Sound Hardware DirectX 9.0c compliant card

This page is resourced from wikipedia.

Grand Theft Auto IV "Move up Ladies"

Here we talk about the long awaited game of the year GTA 4, GTA IV, Grand Theft Auto 4 or Grand Auto IV, whatever we might call it. This game by Rockstar North is due to be released on the 29th Aprill 2008 .

Here are the long list of the ingame feature of the GTA 4

* After the initial load sequence, there are no loading occurrences when entering/exiting buildings or crossing islands. The extent of the no-load-time expectation in the game has also been commented on; a Rockstar spokesperson claimed, "you can basically play the game from beginning to end without a single load screen."

* Thanks to the new engine, the graphics have been greatly improved in terms of the characters. There are less straight edges on characters and motions seem much more fluid. Rockstar aficionados noted that the game lacked the character's signature hand design, which many of them described as the "deformed lobster claw". This was welcomed by many game critics, who claimed that the Grand Theft Auto series did not graphically evolve as much as other titles had with each subsequent release.

* Details demonstrated how variations in the terrain cause the way the character walks to change. The way the player moves is controlled by a physics engine instead of pre-written animations, therefore enabling character movements to be more realistic. Rockstar Games announced that Euphoria by NaturalMotion would be used in future Rockstar titles, confirming that Euphoria would indeed be used in the game.

* The faster the player taps "X" (Playstation 3) or "A" (Xbox 360), the faster Niko runs. He does not appear to become exhausted.

* Stealing a parked car can no longer be done simply by opening the door and driving off. Now, it involves Niko approaching the car, breaking the glass, and hotwiring it; only then can he use it. The way Niko enters the car would look different each time depending on where and how he is in relation to the car. There will be several animation variations to sneaking up to a car and breaking its window. Because of the Euphoria engine, the way the character will approach the car will be completely random. Players will be able to choose from four different camera views while in a car, including a dashboard view. All cars feature a standard GPS device while more expensive vehicles have voice-navigation GPS. Car damage physics have been greatly improved. When major collisions on motorbikes occur, the player's helmet is likely to fall off. Niko can lose health if he crashes. Vehicles will not explode if they are flipped over.

* Police artificial intelligence and star wanted levels now operate differently. When the police are in search of Niko, the player will now have to avoid a certain radius marked on the map in which the police will be looking for him. The size of this radius will increase with the player's wanted level (the more stars, the bigger the radius) and re-centres itself on Niko's location if he is spotted by the police. Instead of utilizing the "Pay N' Spray" as in previous games, Niko has to realistically disguise himself by clandestinely changing vehicles in empty areas such as parking garages, a feature seen in the video game Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. Additionally, pedestrians can now report crimes such as car-jacking.

* Pedestrians are much more intelligent, realistic, and diverse, using mobile phones, cash machines, eating snacks, drinking soda, reading newspapers, scratching their noses, coughing, smoking, and interacting with each other through laughter and remarks. Homeless people will be seen in alleys rubbing their hands over a flaming barrel, sitting against walls, asking for spare change, and other expected actions. The flow of pedestrians and traffic will be different depending on the time of day.

* The gunfight system has been reworked to feel natural by utilising a cover system similar to that of Gears of War and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, the reason being that the combat system in previous games seemed awkward and cumbersome. The player can slide to cover, blind fire, and free aim. When locked on, the target's health is indicated by eight purple segments on the target circle. Niko's health is represented by a green semi-circle on the left side of the radar, and a right semi-circle represents armour. You can restore health by resting, by using medical kits, and by eating.

* Heavy fire will scar - and permanently destroy - parts of the environment.

* The player will not be able to fly any fixed-wing aircraft, unlike in some previous instalments of the Grand Theft Auto series. However, helicopters will be flyable. Francis International Airport (from Grand Theft Auto III) is confirmed to be in the game. The player will also be able to control boats.

* The player has the option of hailing a cab in order to travel to any address in the city. When riding in the cab, the player has the option of viewing the journey from the inside, or skipping it to arrive at the destination immediately. The player will be able to ask the driver to change the radio station by pressing D-pad left or right.

* Niko will be able to perform a variety of new actions such as climbing telephone poles and fire escapes, pushing people who bump into him, calling women for dates, playing pool, darts, bowling, eating, and drinking. Niko may become intoxicated by which the character stumbles and the blurry camera bounces about.

* It is possible to have multiple active missions, due to the fact that some missions will run over the course of several days and will require the player to wait for further instructions, etc.

* The use of mobile phone has been expanded to perform multiple actions. When selecting the mobile phone, a zoomed-in version of the phone pops up in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen and a list of several commands are made available to the player, such as "meet me here," etc. Retrying a failed mission can be performed by accessing the menu. The phone can be used outside of vehicles to listen to the radio. The player can take photos with the mobile phone and upload them to the police computer. Niko can dial 911 and trick the police to send a dispatch. He can also contact the paramedics and the fire station.

* Niko will make use of the Internet as a means of communication. Although the exact details of the role of the Internet in the game are being kept secret, it has been revealed in a GamesTM Magazine article that Niko can access the internet from various cyber cafes (one of which is called "TW@") in order to upload a resume for prospective employers. According to Dan Houser, there are over 100 accessible, fictitious web-sites within the game.

* Niko's outfit can be changed throughout the game. However, it will not be possible to customise his physique or hairstyle as in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

* It has been revealed that every street in the game will have a name for the reason that some missions will require the player to go to a specific address.

* There is now an autosave that activates after completing a mission.

* A day in Liberty City is forty-eight minutes long, instead of twenty-four as in previous Grand Theft Auto titles (one game hour lasts two minutes in real time).

* Some meetings in the game will take place high in the buildings of skyscrapers, which will subsequently allow Niko to throw people off the buildings. However, Niko will be unable to access all the buildings in the game.

* There's not just one kind of taxi...there are at least four or five. There are not constantly repeated textures on every building...but rather each part of the buildings from brick-to-brick looks unique. There are not motion capture animations for the entire game...but rather there is a unique engine being utilized to give a new and original experience each time.

With these features lets not forget about its new feature, the Multiplayer gamming. However it is clear that it is not got to be a Massive Multiplayer Online Game. It is aiming for up to 16 players, with a possibility of open-ended gameplay and exploring the whole city.

Here's the trailer of the GTA 4 with excellent sound track, I love it, you will too.

Valentine ideas

Valentine ideas, if they are good and appeal to your beloved can change the equation of your love life for all the time to come. This is because your Valentines Day ideas that get reflected in your Valentine's Day gifts reveal the intensity of your emotion. So, while with the valentine ideas of giving flowers and cards you can play safe, giving expression to some unique Valentine's Day ideas may help in establishing your identity instantly.
Valentine Gift Baskets In your valentine gift basket you have to collect all those things that are favorites of your beloved. Besides you have to include some Valentines Day gift ideas that truly reflect your feelings of love and care. If your valentine ideas are innovative and unique it will impress him or her most.

Valentine's Day Gift Ideas And don't hesitate to take aid of awesome Valentine Day Gift Ideas that are sure to instill good enough confidence in you so as to make you sashay over the ground of your love proposals. No wonder your own promptness to coddle your sweetheart is sure to bring more and more love your way. Sift through the following Valentine ideas in order to make Valentine's Day the luckiest day for you.

Valentine's Day Ideas

Instead of voicing the usual “I Love You” in the same old-fashioned way, try to play with words to see their effect and speak out everything that promises to linger on in the memory forever.

Make sure to spend loads of time together filled with candlelight dinners and clandestine visits to romantic spots.

Fill your surrounding atmosphere with the melody of romantic musical tracks that are free from noisy disturbance and ties the lovers with the music of love.

If your sweetheart finds gadgets and gizmos interesting, gift the most appealing one for him or her.

Gifting a nice cell phone to your beloved would promise to keep both of you on all-time communication mode.

Though chocolates and greeting cards seem to be a bit run-of-the-mill, they can never go out from the Valentine gift-giving tradition and they will be attracting more and more lovers in all times to come.

Moreover, gifting groovy or traditional apparel is always considered to be fashionable because they keep the remembrance of gift and gift giver alive.

Also, scented bouquets of roses, tulips and discrete colorful flowers work wonders in turning the romantic mood on. So, don't forget to present way before you proceed for all your endeavors.

Yahoo rejects Microsoft approach

Yahoo has rejected a takeover bid worth more than $44.6bn from software giant Microsoft, saying it is too low.

Yahoo said the offer "substantially undervalues" the company and is not in shareholders' interests


Microsoft's offer was worth $31 a share, 62% above the level at which Yahoo stocks were trading when the offer was made on 1 February.

A merged Microsoft and Yahoo would be one of the biggest technology firms, and would rival industry leader Google.

Microsoft said that Yahoo's rejection of its initial offer was "unfortunate," but that it still had belief in the merits of its proposal which it felt was "full and fair."

'Haggling'

"This is so important from Microsoft's perspective there's a very good chance there will be more money on the table" -Ian Maude, Enders Analysis

Ian Maude, Enders Analysis

As it rejected the Microsoft offer, Yahoo said that the deal undervalued its brand, audience, investments in advertising platforms and future growth prospects, free cash flow and earnings potential.

The company said that its board of directors was continually evaluating all of its strategic options.

"Right now they are haggling," said technology analyst Rob Enderle.

"Yahoo is not saying no at any price. They are saying the Microsoft offer is not strong enough." he added.

A source quoted by the Wall Street Journal said that Yahoo's board would be unlikely to consider anything below $40 per share.

A $40 a share offer would be a 109% premium to the $19.18 closing price of Yahoo's shares the day before the original offer was announced.

Yahoo's shares have not traded above $40 for two years.

By the close of Monday's trading in New York, Microsoft slipped slightly while Yahoo rose 2.3% to $29.87.

Online advertising

Analysts say Microsoft is likely to come up with an improved offer.

"This is so important from Microsoft's perspective there's a very good chance there will be more money on the table," said Ian Maude, from Enders Analysis.

"The strategic logic is in the online ads market. It would make them a must stop destination for any company when considering its advertising plans."

A separate report suggests that Yahoo may approach Time Warner's online division AOL in the hope of drumming up an alternative tie-up.

Although Yahoo's shares have fallen sharply in past months, its websites remain among the world's most popular.

Microsoft's original offer was worth as much as $44.6bn, but since the deal was announced Microsoft shares have fallen.

As half of Microsoft's offer is in cash and half in stock, that has reduced the value of the bid to about $41.8bn.

Adopted from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7239220.stm

Microsoft offers to buy Yahoo for $44.6 billion

NEW YORK, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp has made an unsolicited offer to buy Yahoo Inc for $44.6 billion in cash and stock, seeking to join forces against Google Inc in what would be the biggest Internet deal since the Time Warner-AOL merger.
In its boldest-ever acquisition move, Microsoft said on Friday it offered $31 per share for Yahoo, or a 62 percent premium over the Internet media company's closing stock price on Nasdaq Thursday.
Yahoo, whose shares jumped to $30.75 in premarket trading, said it would evaluate the bid.
Microsoft shares, which have a market capitalization of about $300 billion, fell 6 percent to $30.78.
Speculation over a Microsoft move on Yahoo has swirled for at least a year, as investors wondered whether the two would seek a joint stand against an ever more powerful Google.
Internet audience researcher comScore estimates Google's share of the worldwide Web search market has reached 77 percent, while Yahoo is second with 16 percent and Microsoft was a distant third with 3.7 percent.
"Microsoft's wanted to do things that could build up its online business dramatically," said Brendan Barnicle, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities. "This is going to be a big bet for them. But I also think it's where they see the market going, so they really needed to get there.
"This is more than a shot across the bow at Google, because you put these two guys together who are basically two and three in search and makes them far more relevant," he added.
Critics of a tie-up, however, have pointed out that Microsoft and Yahoo have very different corporate cultures and many overlapping businesses, from instant messaging to email and advertising, as well as news, travel and finance sites.
"To me, the premium seems exorbitant, for what is a dwindling business. I personally don't see how the synergies of Microsoft-Yahoo is going to take on Google," said Tim Smalls, head of U.S. stock trading at brokerage firm Execution LLC.
Yahoo attracts more than 500 million people monthly to a range of media sites including Yahoo Mail, the world's biggest e-mail service for consumers.
It has been losing market share to Google in the increasingly strategic Web search market, and warned earlier this week that Yahoo faced "headwinds" in 2008, forecasting revenue below Wall Street estimates.
Microsoft said the online advertising market is growing rapidly and expected to reach nearly $80 billion by 2010 from over $40 billion in 2007. It added it is "increasingly dominated by one player," referring to Google.
"We have great respect for Yahoo, and together we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market," Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said in a statement.
Microsoft, the world's largest software company, said it had identified four areas that would generate at least $1 billion in annual synergies for the combined entity.
Under the proposal, Yahoo shareholders can choose to get $31 cash, or 0.9509 of a share of Microsoft common stock. The deal in aggregate must consist of one-half cash and one-half Microsoft common stock, it said.
Mark May, analyst at Needham & Co, said that while the price is a premium to Yahoo's recent trading price, it was in line with its average trading value over the last 2 years.
"I would not be surprised to see this bid have to be raised over time," he said. "I think there are companies out there like Comcast (Corp) and Viacom (Inc) and others that still need to address the emergence of online media and haven't. So there are clearly other strategic companies out there."
The Microsoft-Yahoo deal would be the largest in the Internet market since the $182 billion purchase of Time Warner Inc by AOL in 2001, which was seen as the worst merger in recent corporate history, with clashing corporate cultures and many of the promised synergies never materializing.