|
Welcome to
www.impulsegamer.com, your premier Australian & US source for XBox 360,
PS3 (PlayStation 3), PC, XBox, PlayStation 2 (PS2), WII, Hardware, PC
Applications and DVD Reviews. Sit back and relax as we let you know
what's hot and what's not in the electronic world of gaming and movies.
Choose an area of interest and enjoy the site.
stay connected with impulsegamer

Media Partner
WORLD COMPUTER SECURITY DAY
NOVEMBER 30TH 2009

To Celebrate World Computer Security Day, Symantec are
offering our readers the chance to win 1 of 5 copies of Norton Internet Security
2010 to ensure that your PC is protect with the fastest virus, spyware, Internet
protection available!
Key Features
- Antivirus
- Bot Protection
- Norton Safe Web
- Firewall
- NEW!
SONAR™ 2 Behavioral Protection
- NEW!
Norton System Insight
- NEW!
Norton Insight Network
- NEW!
Norton Download Insight
- NEW!
Norton Threat Insight
|
- Antispyware
- Identity Protection
- Norton™ Pulse Updates
- Network Monitoring
- Parental Controls
- Vulnerability Protection
- NEW!
Professional-Strength AntiSpam
- NEW!
Norton File Insight
|
Key Technology
- IMPROVED!
Helps stop online identity theft, viruses, spyware, bots
and more — Guards your PC, online activities, and your
identity against all types of Internet threats.
- IMPROVED!
Helps stop attacks before they get on your PC —
Proactively blocks hackers and prevents dangerous software from
downloading to your computer when you surf the web.
- NEW!
Delivers clear performance and threat explanations
— Gives you greater insight into downloaded applications and
files by telling you where they came from, if they can be
trusted, and how they may impact your PC's resources and
performance.
- NEW!
Identifies unsafe web sites right in your search results
— Warns you of dangerous web sites and suspicious sellers so you
can surf and shop online with confidence.
- Uses intelligence-driven Norton
Insight Network for faster, fewer, shorter scans
— Detects and eliminates dangerous software with the shortest
scan times of any security product.
CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE COMPETITION

During Harry Potter's 6th year
at Hogwarts, Lord Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and
wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer a safe haven. Harry suspects perils
may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him
for the final battle fast approaching. Together they work to find the key to
unlock Voldemort’s defences and, to this end, Dumbledore recruits his old friend
and colleague Professor Horace Slughorn, whom he believes holds crucial
information. Even as the decisive showdown looms, romance blossoms for Harry,
Ron, Hermione and their classmates. Love is in the air, but danger lies ahead
and Hogwarts may never be the same again.
CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE COMPETITION

Break out your lightsabers and prepare to feel the force as Warner Home
Video celebrates the release of Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Complete
Season One on DVD and Blu-ray this 18 November 2009!
Including all 4 volumes of the popular new series in one set, Star Wars: The
Clone Wars follows a young Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master
Yoda and padawan Ahsoka Tano – struggle to maintain order and restore peace.
Uniquely packaged with an exclusive 64 page production journal, the
four-disc set contains all 22 episodes from the groundbreaking first season
– including seven extended Director’s Cuts. And exclusive to the Blu-ray
disc, The Jedi Temple Archives provides in-depth access to an extensive
database of creative materials
DVD is valued at $79.95RRP
Blu-ray is valued at $99.95RRP
As the Clone Wars sweep through
the galaxy, the heroic Jedi Knights - including Anakin Skywalker,
Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master Yoda and padawan Ahsoka Tano - struggle
to maintain order and restore peace. But despite the best efforts of
these brave protectors, more and more planets are falling prey to
the sinister forces of the dark side.
Experience the action and humor of the galaxy far, far away with
these exciting adventures!
Special Features
Spectacular 64 page Production Journal that includes early sketches,
artist notes and concept art from each episode from Season 1
Director's Cut Episodes
Episodic Featurettes
CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE COMPETITION FOR STAR WARS THE CLONES THE COMPLETE
SEASON ONE ON BLU-RAY
Plantronics GameCom 367 Closed-Ear
Gaming Headset

The closed-ear GameCom 367
headset delivers an immersive audio experience with 50mm stereo speakers and
specially designed earpods that redistribute pressure for maximum comfort. When
you’re ready to fire off orders, unveil the hidden, noise-canceling mic boom to
strategize clearly with team members. Responses coming in? Adjust audio levels
using in-line volume and mic-mute controls. When you’re done, rotate and tuck
the mic boom inside the headset—then let your score do the talking. As with any
Plantronics headset, rugged, military-like design and extra-strength cables keep
your hardware hardcore—game after game after game.
CLICK HERE TO WIN
Plantronics GameCom 377 Open-Ear Gaming
Headset

Because your hardware should be
as powerful as your gaming skills, the GameCom 377 headset delivers rugged
construction and vigorous sound. A lightweight frame and specially designed
earpods redistribute pressure for maximum comfort, while the open-ear design
lets you catch all the in-game sound effects without losing touch with your
surroundings. When you’re ready to fire off orders, unveil the hidden, noise-canceling
mic boom to strategize clearly with team members. Responses coming in? Adjust
audio levels using in-line volume and mic-mute controls. When you’re done,
rotate and tuck the mic boom inside the headset—then let your score do the
talking.
CLICK HERE TO WIN
Alienware Launch

Sydney Australia, 29th of
October 2009
By Ho Wong
Alienware and gamers have had a love affair of sorts ever since the computer
manufacturer started producing machines with both enough style and enough grunt
to keep even the hardest gamers happy. Gamers were up in arms when Dell took
over, fearing their beloved company will change but for the most part, things
have stayed the same. Alienware's presence in Australia has been reasonably low
profile and niche, but there now is a visible push from Dell in order to target
not only the gamers but catch some of the public who would never have considered
Alienware before. Alienware are releasing five new products - the 15" m15x
laptop, a 17" m17x laptop, the Area 51 desktop, the Area 51 ALX desktop and a
21" monitor. We take a brief first look at the offerings.
All the products exude Alienware style with bold lighting, polished metallic
surfaces and edgy cases. (All except maybe the AU$399 21" monitor, whose
distinguishing feature is not its black rectangular look but its true 1080p). I
won't go too much into the specifications of the new laptops and desktops as
these are available online but each sports impressive specs that allows the
gamer to squeeze some extra frames per seconds.
The new laptops (starting with the m15x from AU$2499) are stylish and are as
much a fashion accessory as a piece of hardware. The metallic sheen of the cases
and the lights (customisable through the control centre) which border the laptop
and light the keyboard would even make Mac owners envious. One warning with the
m17x laptop though: factor in a chiropractor's bill as this is one heavy beast.
The laptops also can optionally switch between discrete GPU and integrated
video, discrete being a must for the portable gamer. The m17x also has SLI GPUs
as an option.

With the new desktops (starting
with the Alienware Area 51 from AU$3699), Alienware has well and truly
incorporated Dell's customisability. The customisation of the desktops include
components above and beyond those normally available to other companies, like
HP, and this sets Alienware apart. The basic models are beefier than
run-of-the-mill desktops. Gamers, though, will have no hesitation upgrading the
hard disk in the basic Area 51 (It includes only 500G for a primary drive). On
the plus side, the option of a solid state is certainly welcome and is
indicative of the type of customisation available. Alienware boast
future-proofing and making these kind of options available go a long way towards
this ambitious claim.
On price points, Alienware are now able to compete with better known offerings
from HP and Sony. Prices used to be only for the extreme gamer, extreme in
monetary terms too but these new products don't have this legacy - the prices of
the models have dropped. A slight disappointment is the reasonably large
discrepancy between the prices for US market and the Australian market which is
difficult to explain away by shipping and the usual spiel about living in
Australia. For example, the Area 51 is priced from USD$1999 while in Australia,
it's priced from $3699. Why do we in Australia put up with paying so much more
for things, even though the Aussie dollar is going so strong?
Alienware have a difficult balance to uphold in order to not alienate their
extreme gamers niche but for now, there's enough to keep the core gamers happy
and introduce Alienware to a new audience.
John Harrison Interview
Symantec Group Product Manager, Endpoint Threat Protection

Your
career within Symantec has been wide and diverse, what would you say has
been the highlight in your career? The
highlight of my career is at Symantec where in the past year we delivered
security solutions to the tens of millions of users to protect them against
the web based attack. I feel like we are truly helping to protect
enterprise and consumer users and leading the charge in terms of online
protection.
Where do
you see yourself in five years time? I
really enjoy product management and security so I will be at either Symantec
or some similar exciting company. It is scary and exciting to think about
how the threat landscape will have changed by then.
With
threats being discovered all across the globe, what are the logistics of
managing STAR? We have to be effective
with our resources and continue to be proactive and change the game in our
threat protection strategies. If we don’t do this we will be in a purely
reactive mode fighting threat outbreaks across the world.
What
puts Symantec ahead of other companies?
From my perspective it is our Security Technology and Response. Any company
can make a product and call it “security software” or a “security
hardware.” What differentiates us is our approach to providing the core
security technologies, the threat intelligence and the threat content that
protects our consumer and enterprise customers.
For the average computer user, what are you top tips in managing your
security?
1. Keep ALL your software up to date. Including 3rd party multimedia and
reader plug-in.
2. Deploy a comprehensive endpoint security product. Traditional signature
based antivirus is NOT enough. Use and turn on all features.
3. Keep your security product subscription current. At 20,000 signatures a
day, even 1 day can put you at risk.
4. Be cautious and suspicious. Download software updates directly from
vendors websites.
5. Adopt a good password policy. Different and strong passwords.
6. Prevention is the best cure - use proactive technology.
What are
your thoughts on the future of internet security?
Security isn’t going away – with financially motivated cybercriminals, they
will continue to try new things to infect and take advantage of users.
What has
been your most challenging “internet threat”? The
malicious advertisements, or malvertisements, since they are so transient
and may only appear every 1 out of 1000 times on a page. It makes tracking
them difficult.
With the
internet now moving towards portable devices, what do you believe will be
the next challenges for developers of internet security? Helping
to ensure the developers of these new platforms build in security from the
beginning.
What is
the biggest flaw of internet users? Many
users today post too much personal and private information online today
without thinking about the repercussions of 5, 10 or 20 years from now. It
may impact them when they are applying for a job 10 years from now or having
their identity stolen today.
We’ve
seen a variety of dangers in the years from viruses to bots and the like,
what do you think the next threat will be to users?
It is really hard to say since the changes have been occurring so
frequently. With the financial motivation there will be new ways to
separate users from their money.
In your professional opinion, do you think there will be a day when the
operating system will no longer need internet security software?
I would like to think so, but realistically I don’t think it is possible
again tying back to the financial motivation. As we close one hole, the
hackers/cyber criminals look for another.
PC versus Mac versus Linux. Do you believe there is one operating system
that is superior to the other? No,
especially the way that the browser has essentially become the operating
system for today’s web applications.
Your computer at home, PC or Mac and why? I
am a Mac guy primarily for my nature and landscape photography (www.jharrisonphoto.com).
For me, working on macs with my images just works easier. It really is just
a tool to allow me to get creative!
Walking into the realm of science fiction, do you think that a virus or
the like actually be beneficial if you could rework it?
No, the idea of automatically doing something without the users permission
(either for good or bad) isn’t good.
Is there such a thing as the perfect virus?
So far we haven’t seen one and let’s hope it stays that way.
With so
many different digital threats in the world, how can users or governments
catch the perpetrators? I think the primary
goal today is to keep them out, not to catch them since it is so difficult.
It is a big challenge considering the lack of boundaries the internet has
and often the hacker can be so far away from where the actual drive-by
download or server is hosting up misleading applications. It is going to
take some joint cooperation to catch the perpetrators.
Have you ever had a virus or the like on your personal computer?
Only on my test systems in an infection network. I have had a fake
antivirus application pop-up, but since I didn’t install it, I was safe.
Nintendo Summer
Lineup Launch
The theme was Summer and the
host was Nintendo as the game giant allowed people to come in and try five new
games. Peter Rowsthorne and Maude Garrett from Nickelodeon Australia were the
MCs of the night, with Rebecca Gibney as a special guest, but the stars of the
show were the games. Nintendo has always been known to have very strong
first-party development, making it difficult for third-party developers to
compete, but in recent years, they have to in order to participate in the
success of all-conquering Wii and DS. From what we saw that night, Nintendo are
back to their strengths as can be seen by the games shown and the fun had by all
on the night.
New Super Mario Bros Wii
The star of the show no doubt was New Super Mario Bros Wii. Shown on four
massive LCDs, this is a game everyone was looking forward to. The game is
based on the original Super Mario Bros, employing familiar levels, characters
and powerups but with 4 players simultaneously playing. I was quite sceptical
about how the four players would work but Nintendo have dissolved those doubts.
The players can play competitively or cooperatively and Nintendo have put in a
lot of thought to include features that allow for both styles. The game is
controlled by the Wii remote and even uses the accelerometer in some cases. An
intelligent zooming camera system, similar to Smash Bros allows the 4 players to
constantly be on screen. The gameplay and control is simple enough for people to
just jump in and play and the difficulty level seems just right, not being too
difficult but difficult enough that you need to be alert. Couple this with the
four players (and the chaos that ensues), this is going to be one winner. I can
envisage Wiis flying off the shelves when this game releases.
Wii Fit Plus
The original Wii-fit has come and is still doing well, but Wii Fit Plus has just
been released. Wii Fit Plus comes with even more yoga, strength and balance
exercises as with the original but Nintendo seems to have really taken a step
back and had a good hard look at the different minigames. They really gone up a
notch in terms of quality, variety and fun. For example, Golf swings was
something I would not have thought about, but it is included in Wii Fit Plus.
Flying as a bird through an obstacle course is another inclusion. Some
favourites like the Hula-hoop make a welcome return though. Also, you are now
able to create your own program of exercises AND yes, you can weigh your
favourite canine. Wii Fit has spent a lot of time at the top of the Australian
charts and fortunately for Nintendo, it certainly seems that there's still loads
of life left in this franchise.
Professor Layton and Pandora's Box
The original Professor
Layton was a bit of a sleeper-hit with not many people taking this DS
puzzler too seriously. The game has proved everyone wrong and Level-5 are
preparing to make a Professor Layton trilogy. Professor Layton and Pandora's
box is the second Layton game and takes Layton onto a train as he
investigates a mysterious box that spells death for anyone opening it. The
puzzles are similar to the predecessor's and this will happily frustrate and
entertain fans of the previous game. The game still has its stylised
cartoonish look with cool voice overs (Although Luke's voice seems to have
changed substantially). Loads of new puzzles with an intriguing, slightly
darker story coupled with oodles of puzzles, the familiar intuitive stylus
interface means that fans of previous game and puzzle gamers have no reason
to miss this one
Zelda Spirit Tracks
Zelda Phantom Hourglass is
still one of the must-have games for DS owners and Spirit Tracks is the
sequel. From what I can see, it will be another Zelda to look out for. We
tried two levels. The first followed Zelda through a dungeon known to
previous Link to the Past and handheld Zelda gamers as he led a golem-like
phantom with familiar, intuitive gestures. You use the phantom to overpower
enemies, to trigger pressure pads and to use as a platform to get over to
the other side of a lava filled room - the normal zelda puzzle solving. The
second was an on-rails adventure as you controlled a train as with you
controlling the speed, a whistle, a cannon and platform switches. I've
never been a fan of on-rail games but short spurts of this may help in the
variety and break up the flow. This game, the way it's going, will go the
way of Phantom Hourglass - I'm starting to sound like a broken record -
another winner.
Style Boutique
Ok, something for the fairer
sex. Imagine buying different fashion items and cosmetics and doing fashion
shows and magazine covers. That is the basis for Style Boutique. The game
has a very Japanese twang with the graphics and the interface. Working out
what pants and stillettos to buy has never been my cup of tea, but one
pleasant surprise was the fashion shop simulation in this game, where you
have to buy stock and alter different factors in order to be successful.
Couple this depth with the aforementioned lightness of fashion shows and
magazine covers and you have a game that, at initial glance has an
unfamiliar balance to western audiences. Younger female readers obviously
may be more forgiving.
11/20 DEVIANTART CHALLENGES ARTISTS WITH 11/20 BioShock 2 Box Shot Revealed 11/20 OPERATION FLASHPOINT®: DRAGON RISING MULTIPLAYER PC DEMO OUT NOW! 11/20 BioShock 2 Special Edition 11/20 From Sand to Silicon – The Making of a Chip: The Video 11/20 CHAMPIONS ONLINE NEMESIS CONFRONTATION BEGINS 11.24.09 11/20 Try Torchlight for Free at Perfect World Entertainment 11/20 The LEGO Rock Band TV commercial (featuring the LEGOfied Queen) is now online ah.. 11/20 IMAGE METRICS ATTENDING GAME CONNECT: ASIA PACIFIC CONFERENCE, EXPANDING PRESENC.. 11/19 The TV phenomenon of 2009 comes to DVD!
Click here to read our archived news articles
JOIN OUR FORUMS TO DISCUSS THIS
ARTICLE & MORE
Competitions, Games, Movies & More
All content is TM and (c) copyright www.impulsegamer.com and may not be reproduced without permission. All other imagery, text etc is the property of its respective owner and is used with permission.
|