BT Calgary Blogs

The iPhone 4 has a pretty amazing built-in camera. But if there was an Achilles heel it would have to be the digital zoom. Like many smartphones on the market it’s hard to get a nice closeup shot of something unless you are standing relatively close. Sure the digital zoom can help you get a closer shot but you certainly sacrifice picture quality as your image can become quite pixelated. So when I saw Photojojo’s Telephoto iPhone lens I was intrigued!

The lens promises to get you up close and personal to your subject “like having a Sigma 500 for your iPhone”. In layman’s terms you can get 8 times the zoom without having to resort to using digital zoom. Sounds impressive, but how well does it actually work?

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It’s been a long time since I played an old-school side scrolling shooter. And while it would be easy to lump Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (ITSP) into this category, gamers will soon find out there is much more to this game than meets the eye.

FuelCell Games has created a game which blends multiple genres. Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet can best be described as the lovechild of Gradius and Metroid. While you’ll have to keep your finger on the trigger at all times you’ll also spend much of the journey searching for hidden passages and power-ups to help you progress through the planet’s maze-like environment.

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Remember seeing all the press about Medieval Moves Deadmund’s Quest during E3 this year? You don’t? Unfortunately it was one of those titles which seemed to fall through the cracks, forgotten amongst the triple A titles such as Uncharted 3 and the next Gears of War. Deadmund’s may not be receiving the same publicity other titles are receiving right now, but that doesn’t mean it should be overlooked.

Deadmund’s is being developed by the same studio which brought us Sports Champions for the Playstation Move. In fact, many of the same play mechanics have been borrowed in this action adventure title.

“If you’ve played Sports Champions before you’re going to be familiar with them.” Bob Staite, Associate Producer of Deadmund’s Quest told me as he walked me through a demo. “We’re using them as building blocks not necessarily as a port. We’ve improved them from Sports Champions.”

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If you’ve never played Ico or Shadow of the Colossus I have one thing to say to you. Shame on you! Although they are nearly a decade old (Ico was released back in 2001 on the PS2) they became cult classics for a reason. Fortunately for you you’ll have the chance to play them again when both get re-released this September on the Playstation 3.

“They were great games back in the day and I think they still are. But the fact is they’re both Playstation 2 games and it’s difficult to find new copies now, even used. It’s very difficult to get a hold of them” said Senior Producer Tsubasa Inaba. “Plus, how many gamers or people still have their PS2’s still active? Maybe they own one but they put it away because their main system is now a PS3 or what ever it may be. We thought why not revisit this.”

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How do you describe a game like Journey? Beautiful certainly comes to mind. So does relaxing and experimental. But if you were to ask Executive Producer Robin Hunicke it would be none of the above. She says it’s easier to tell gamers what Journey isn’t rather than what it is.

“It’s not collaborative, but it isn’t competitive. It’s not co-op but it’s not solo. We often say journey is not a lot of things” Hunicke told me as I sat down to play the game at a recent Sony event in New York.

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“It’s time for tea Alice!” With that classic line the Mad Hatter lifts up a tea cup in one hand pushes it towards the lips of one of his guests. Both the Dormouse and the March Hare lay awkwardly at the Mad hatter’s side, neither one moving a hair as the Mad Hatter insists they drink. The guests remain quiet, after all you can’t speak when you’re dead. Yet the Hatter continues to pour tea down the March Hare’s throat, ignoring the fact that his guests are only corpses, victims of Alice’s rage.

This is the twisted vision of Wonderland American McGee brings to console gamers for the first time in Alice: Madness Returns, the follow-up to the cult classic Alice released for the PC back in 2000. The game sold more than one million copies and became a collector’s item. It’s easy to see why. The dark take on the classic children’s tale showed us a side of Alice Disney would never allow.

McGee’s follow-up is just as dark and demented as the original game, yet it’s not the perfect experience fans of the franchise may be looking for.

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I will be the first to admit it doesn’t look all that appetizing but let me tell you Deep-Fried Kool-Aid is definatly a tasty summer treat!

This deep-fried wonder was invented by the same person who brought us the deep-fried Oreo. It’s essentially kool-aid infused batter which is dropped into a deep fryer.

I was able to track down the recipe online. I tried it and tweaked it slightly. Here’s my version of Deep-Fried Kool-Aid!

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Are you addicted to Facebook? 16.6 million Canadians use the social networking site, many while at work. But not all employers like the idea of having their employees chat with friends while on the job. Well here’s a way to use Facebook at work without getting caught.

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I’m a firm believer in Karma. What comes around goes around. Maybe that’s why I find it so hard to do the devious deeds I’m tempted to do in inFamous 2. I hate street performers, yet I can’t muster up the courage to electrocute one. And I can’t stand by as the Militia escorts civilians in New Marais to their death. I always step in and play the hero. Unfortunately I know this means I’m missing out on half the fun that is to be found inFAMOUS 2.

The story picks up a few months after inFAMOUS with Cole MacGrath nearly dying at the hands of The Beast. Cole doesn’t have the power he needs to destroy the molten-lava giant. To do that he must make the trip to New Marais, which sets the scene for this new adventure.

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Disney continues to milk the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. A fourth movie is about to hit theaters and along with it a brand new video game. But unlike game movie tie-ins this one is based on a tried and true formula.

The LEGO series of video games have been wildly successful. They are light-hearted, fun and filled with incredibly addictive gameplay. But another reason they seem to fly off the shelves is they piggyback on some of the most beloved movie franchises. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter; they all lend themselves to the whimsical stylings of a LEGO game. Pirates of the Caribbean is no different.

Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner, Captain Hector Barbossa and the rest of the cast are hitting your favourite console. Will it follow in the footsteps of other great LEGO games, or is this the first in the franchise history to be forced to walk the plank?

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