Come On Back

Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow is a PSP exclusive video game that is a direct sequel to Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror. It is considered to be in the third person/first person shooter genre. The events of the game transpire after the end of Dark Mirror. In regards to the storyline, the game is about the protagonist named Gabe Logan and his mission to recover an item that could have catastrophic ramifications. Unfortunately, he learns that the item was pilfered. As a result, Robert Cordell (bureaucrat) aborts Gabe's mission due to the alleged defection of Lian Xing. Mr. Logan seems incredulous about Lian's betrayal; consequently, Gabe does his own investigation. The plot is nothing gamers have not seen before, but it did manage to keep me interested. For PSP standards, the graphics are amazing. There is a diverse appearance of weapons and gadgets; furthermore, the adversaries in the game are not bland. The wide array of environments is something that is fairly unique.

Gamers will see ships, skyscrapers, and sidewalks with great detail. It is more than enough to attract attention. Inclement weather is seen through high quality visuals in the game. For instance, smog and water have a realistic look to them. The audio in the game is absolutely brilliant. I heard everything from the sound of suppressed handguns to the sound of loud machine guns perfectly. Even the enemies can be heard bantering with each other as Gabe progresses through the game, and the music worked well with the tone of the game. I was flabbergasted with the voice acting because quality voice acting is arduous to come by in a PSP game.

The only lingering flaw I had with the game was the controls. Occasionally, it was challenging to accurately aim when going into first person mode. However, that is more about the design of the PSP not the game being an issue. Since the PSP does not have dual analog sticks, it can make even the most rudimentary tasks feel laborious.The gameplay in Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow is without a doubt in my mind the selling point in the game. Gamers can approach missions from different perspectives. They can take a clandestine method, or they can complete missions with guns blazing in all directions technique. There are also the occasional dreaded escort missions her and there. Each style is nicely accommodated by the weapons in the game. Weapons such as a knife, silenced guns, and tranquilizers (ala Metal Gear Solid) will appease those stealthy players.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are the run and gun gamers who will admire the other weapons in the game. These include machine guns, assault rifles, submachine guns, handguns, shotguns, and grenades. All of those weapons are incredible in their own right, but my personal favorite had to be the sniper rifle. The reason for that is the versatility the weapon has in the game. You can equip incendiary ammo, gas, and electricity darts. Plus, there is the usual bullets for eliminating opponents from afar. I found that one of the simplest ways of eradicating a guard was to shoot at an explosive barrel or object near him. Another gameplay element that felt like it was ripped straight from Gears of War was utilizing the environments as cover. You can blind fire and peek around corners with ease. Head shots are as deadly as ever and require some skill to master.

In addition, there are some engrossing vision modes that will assist you in finishing a mission. Night vision mode will help you see in the dark, and infrared gives you a better sense of where other foes are located. One completely original aspect of the gameplay in the game was a contact sensitive moments (ala God of War, God of War 2, Heavenly Sword). These parts in the game are used for disarming bombs and unlocking doors. The artificial intelligence in the game is about average. They will attempt to flank you, but most of the guards can be easily defeated. I have not even begun to talk about the multiplayer; nonetheless, you should just know that it is as spectacular as the single player story mode campaign. There is an eight player multiplayer which include deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag, rogue agent, and sabotage. The game itself might feel somewhat succinct due to a ten hour gameplay experience, but it is an action packed adventure from start to end. If anyone enjoyed the Dark Mirror, then they will feel right at home with this game.

final verdict 8.5 out of 10

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Reuters - Those eager to put 2008 behind them will have to hold their good-byes for just a moment this New Year's Eve.

PSP emulator and game are some of the best things you can do with your PSP. The PSP is a great gaming system, and one things that make it so cool is the fact that its pretty easy to download and use emulators and games with it. What could be better than playing Double Dragon and Castlevania on your PSP?

Its not as simple to use PSP emulator and game as you first think. I thought it would be a case of putting the games on the memory stick and launching them, but its not. Before you do anything you will need some kind of emulator software. This will tell your PSP how to behave like another system so you can use the games from the other system. There are thousands and thousands of places to obtain software like this, but sadly many of the websites are a little dubious, and may well give you some kind of virus or give you something that may damage your PSP. There are some reputable places that can be trusted though, and youll find more on them a little further down.

If you manage to get a PSP emulator and game in one place, well done-in most cases you will need to get them from separate sites. The game files for an emulator are called a rom, and there are many ROM sites online. The main problem with downloading PSP emulator and game is a legal one-mane old games are still copyrighted, meaning that if you download it without paying you can get in a whole lot of trouble. Some manufacturers though have made it legal for you to download their emulators and games by putting them into the public domain. An excellent loophole with this is that if you already own a legal copy of the game, you are allowed to have backups-so if there is an old SNES game you still own but would like to play on PSP, you could be okay!

As a quick note, when using PSP emulator and game, you will find that some firmwares do not allow you to use emulators. Its possible to downgrade your PSP firmware, and generally speaking you are best off with an earlier one.

As I mentioned earlier, the hardest thing about PSP emulator and game is that finding reliable sources can be a struggle. Generally you can lump the sites into one of 3 groups-

Free Sites-These sites are free for a reason-noone would pay for their services! Expect poor choice of games and emulators, broken software, spyware, slow downloads and downloads that arent what they claimed. Good luck if you go with these guys!

Scam Membership sites-These sites claim to be free but then try and charge you cash for each download. I avoid these because Im not too keen on paying again for a game I had on Genesis in 1992.

Genuine Membership sites- These guys are generally the best place to go for PSP emulator and game. There IS a charge-but its usually pretty small, and not only will it give you access to all the great condition emulator stuff you ever wanted, in most cases you will get to download as many free PSP games as you want also. I go with sites like this for my emulator stuff, and I would recommend them.
The world of PSP emulator and game is not as simple as it first seems, so these pointers should see you through!

Click HERE to find out exactly how to download FREE PSP Games and Movies, including EXACTLY where to download them from!!
Click here to find out how to get the best from your PSP, including access to your FREE MP4 Convertor software, which will let you play all these free movies!!.
Billy Torecki is the webmaster at http://www.psptipsntricks.com

E! Online - Troubled singer and recent topless sunbather Amy Winehouse is obviously not risk averse. Which may explain why she's considering reuniting with jailed hubby Blake Fielder-Civil, according to the U.K.'s Mirror tabloid.

Longing for a fresher look for your desktop computer? You can either invest in personalized encasings for the CPU, purchase a colorful monitor or replace your boring mouse with a customized one, but if you are not willing to go to too much trouble just to look at your PC in a different way, you can change the theme of the elements of the windows and icons on the desktop.

But if you want, you can also try scrapping that standard wallpaper that everyone already has and replace it with something that you would love looking at. Try searching for free desktop wallpapers, or desktop backgrounds through the Internet and discover how many options you have got for decorative and motivational images you can set as background of your pc screen.

Unlike in your computer where most of wallpapers are about nature, you will learn that there are more to desktop backgrounds than just prints and nature. You can find innovative and creative images of your favorite band, your favorite celebrity, your favorite animal, favorite fictional character, favorite scenery, and other things and concepts that can catch your attention.

It may take a while to browse through over millions of free desktop wallpapers, but you will surely pick one that you could not resist setting up as background in your very own PC. Why don't you start searching for desktop wallpapers now and make your PC a little more exciting? Who knows, maybe it can be all you have to do to somehow increase your urge for work today.

Download free desktop wallpapers for your computer from the Author's website. Free Desktop Wallpapers can make your computer a lot better.

AP - The box of crackers Debra Rogoff bought from the grocery store had some crackerjack in it - an envelope stuffed with $10,000.

Futurist and technology guru Dan Burres once observed that to play the average video game such as Halo or Sonic the Hedgehog, a child must learn and master no less than 70 new rules or skills. These 70 skills do not increase the players likelihood of success in the game, rather these 70 skills are the bare minimum to negotiate the first level of the game.

Dan also noted that in this virtual reality or immersion simulation environment, the child is monitoring no fewer than 100 individual incoming streams of data from 360 degrees in all three planes of three-dimensional space (X, Y, and Z axis). In addition, the most recent generations of these game systems provide text, audio, and video conferencing, allowing players to collaborate in real time with individuals not only within their country but across the internet in other countries.

These collaborations are not bounded by language differences. As a result, to work collaboratively within a given group and have that group work collaboratively against other groups, the players must learn a new language either one unique to the game or one utilized in common by all players within their team.

xBox Education:

But what does this have to do with education or business process enhancement?

What would happen if the much ballyhooed No Child Left Behind curriculum handed over to video game programmers and utilized as the rules, processes and systems of a series of role playing adventure video games?

What if the same level of mastery of scholastic skills were required achieve success within the various levels of these games?

It is estimated that the entire K through 8 educational curriculum would be learned and mastered within a short two and a half years!

Further, the remaining four years of high school would be completed within 18 months. Given that this sophistication of video games require a certain level reading and fine motor skills, students would not be ready to begin such a program until age seven or eight (third grade). These students would therefore complete high school by the end of seventh grade.

Military and civilian applications of immersion simulation and virtual reality training have found that application and retention of information and skills learned maintain greater than 90% recall and greater than 90% proficiency in real world application. This means that students learning in an immersion simulation / virtual reality environment would not only master their K through 12 education, but would recall it with over 90% accuracy and apply it with over 90% proficiency. This exceeds even the best educational programs anywhere in the world by over a two to one margin.

Given this level of retention and proficiency, these seventh graders would be able to augment their education with the first two years of college (Liberal Arts studies) which they would again complete within a year. A well-rounded education could be further augmented with Music and Literature, which of course would be part of the immersion simulation rather than separate courses, lending little or no additional time to the program.

In such a technology augmented education, by the time an average child graduates from middle school and enter their adolescent years, they would have completed the equivalent of two years of college in a Liberal Arts program, again with a mastery level greater than 90% or in collegiate terms, a Magna Cum Laude level of expertise.

Toaster or Technology:

The problem with the application of such a model within our current educational system is that for a preadolescent or adolescent, the xBox 360, PlayStation 3, or similar device is not technology, rather it is a tool not unlike a toaster. To those of us who provide education, either in the postgraduate or in the secondary school environment however, this self same device still represents significant technology with cutting edge graphics and blazing speed. For those of us raised in the Pong and Atari generation, the xBox 360 and PlayStation 3 were not only unimaginable, but had they existed in our adolescence, they would have cost tens of millions of dollars and been referred to as super computers.

The cultural clash between todays educators and the educational technology represented by the xBox 360 and PlayStation 3 is a chasm almost too wide to forge.

Business Can Lead the Way:
Perhaps the trickle down of effect would be more readily accepted. Instead of revamping the modern classroom into an educational video arcade, what would happen if currently available technologies such as the xBox 360, PlayStation 3 or even Second Life were applied to immersion simulation training of employees?

Role-playing games designed around literary works, movies, or even fantasy could be modified or even built from the ground up to incorporate the new skills and processes needed in the business environment or even a manufactured environment. Fire safety, workplace safety, disaster preparedness, disaster response, or even such mundane activities as packing for trips, preparing for a doctors visit, or maintaining your own health could be incorporated into the mythical world of virtual reality role-playing games.

Modern-day Dungeon Masters could tap into the vast bodies of knowledge and work cooperatively with professional organizations and trainers, academic institutions, and advocacy groups to ensure that evidence-based processes were incorporated into the games allowing the games not only to maintain the laws of physics but the laws of business, Medicine, and even real world legal considerations.

Imagine entering Second Life online and volunteering at a hospital that is responding to an earthquake (or the attack of Godzilla). Nurses, doctors, administrators, laboratory technicians, x-ray technologists, healthcare providers, and professionals of every ilk could practice their cooperation, collaboration, policies, and even procedures in this virtual space until these skills became second nature in Second Life.

When a real event occurred, the self same individuals who trained in the immersion simulation / virtual reality environment would find that they apply these new skills with military precision and virtual reality realism. Life will truly imitate art.

Let the Games Begin:

So what would it take to move theory into practice?

The will to do it!

The technology exists. The programming algorithms exist. The procedures and best practices in each industry that could benefit from immersion simulation / virtual reality training exist. The only thing that is lacking is a simple collaboration between programmers who are masters of this new world and professionals who are masters of both the new and the old knowledge.

Perhaps like in the video game Cameo, these modern-day digital alchemists can come together with the wizards of ancient wisdom and forge a new world for all.

Dr. Maurice A. Ramirez is the founder and president of the consulting firm High Alert, LLC. and is a recognized expert on both Disaster Preparedness and Corporate Leadership. He has served on expert panels with Congressional and Cabinet Members and is Founding Chairperson of the American Board of Disaster Medicine. Dr. Ramirez serves the nation as a Senior Physician-Federal Medical Officer in the National Disaster Medical System. Dr. Ramirez has a new book: You Can Survive Anything, Anywhere, Every Time. His website is http://www.High-Alert.com

AP - Officially, Gov. David Paterson's main focus is the state's fiscal crisis, not the decision about whom to appoint if, as expected, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is confirmed as secretary of state.