The Week in Review

In this weeks’ edition; the science of cowboys, undead kings getting whacked, rumor control in space, and leaked footage of boobies.

Go Second, You’ll Live Longer.

Scientists believe that they have discovered the secret of winning in cowboy duels. A study conducted at the University of Bristol in the UK, showed that it wasn’t the person who went first who was the fastest, it was actually the second, with participants who reacted to something moving 9% faster on average than those who initiated the movement. Nine percent might not sound a lot, but in actions measured in the fractions of seconds, it apparently can make the difference between life and death (link)

Long Live the… Oh, Never Mind

How long does it take to fell an immortal twice-damned king? Apparently about a day, if you’re talking about Arthas Menethil in World of Warcraft. American Horde guild ‘Blood Legion’ managed to fell the wrathful Lich King only a day after the boss became available, blasting through the content and beating European rivals Ensidia in the process. Sadly, being an undead monster has its perks, and Arthas is expected to make a full recovery, just in time for the next party to fight him. (link)

Mass Effect 2 on PS3?! No

When Polish gaming site Kikoo reported that it had found PS3 specific code in the PC version of Mass Effect 2, it sent a ripple of hope through BioWare’s PS3 owning fans. Could the game be coming to the PlayStation 3? The answer, sadly, is no, and BioWare’s community manager Chris Priestly had this to say about it: “The Unreal Engine is cross platform, hence the PS3 code. This was brought up back in Mass Effect 1 days as well. Mass Effect is for the PC and Xbox 360.” Sorry guys, maybe next time. (link)

Beauty Queen Doesn’t Like Video Games

Miss America may sound like a superhero name, but unless ‘looking ok in a bikini’ is suddenly a superpower, the reality is much less compelling. The current holder of the Miss America title, Caressa Cameron, used her ‘coronation’ as a platform to express her views on how to raise children, which over carry a lot of weight as she has only recently stopped being a child herself. “Take away the TV, take away the video games, set some standards for our children!” she said, adding that kids should be “playing imaginary games with sticks in the street like I did when I was little.” Thanks for that, very insightful. (link)

How Do You Fancy Seeing Some Boobs?

Well, not just boobs, as the leaked footage of Heavy Rain contains more than just a pair of pixilated jubblies. There’s also a pretty intense fight scene, and well, someone peeing. Credit has to go to David Cage and the rest of Quantic Dreams, as action depicted looks pretty cool, as well as adding credence to his comment that the game wasn’t porn. I mean, even if it was, it’s creepy as hell, with uncanny valleys all over the place. Hit the link for the video. (link)