Technofranki's blog

My next cellphone will be a N96, and the release is getting closer every day. In the meantime you can check out this interactive demo of Nokia N96. (source: allaboutsymbian.com)

This week, Wednesday June 2nd 2008, you can download Soulcalibur from Xbox Live Arcade for 800 points. This is a Dreamcast classic.

Soulcalibur

Soulcalibur®, the highest-rated console fighting game, has returned to the next generation! Sharpen your blades as you relive old grudges against classic adversaries in new high definition graphics. Prove your mettle against the world with a variety of leaderboards spanning every character and mode, or challenge a friend in local-play Versus mode.

• Nineteen playable characters: All of your favorite fighters are back including Kilik, Ivy, Siegfried, Edge Master, Nightmare, and many more!
• Eight modes of play: Try the different game modes including Story, Versus, and even Museum Mode that allows players to view artwork, character models, and animations.
• Leaderboards galore: Compare stats in sixty leaderboards spanning across each character and mode.
• High definition support: Soulcalibur has been given a whole new coat of beautiful paint to support HD resolutions up to 1080p.

The much talked about firwmare v2.40 for Playstation 3 will be released on June 2, 2008. The biggest news in this update is in-game XMB and trophies, wich is PS3’s equvalent for Gamescore on Xbox 360.

Here are two videos from Playstation.blog showing of the new firmware.

Firmware (v.2.40) Walkthrough Part 1: the XMB

Firmware (v.2.40) Walkthrough Part 2: Trophies

And here is the pressrelease, taken from ThreeSpeech.com:

Get more from online gaming on PLAYSTATION®3 with the free 2.40 firmware enhancement

PS3™ to give online gamers the features they’ve been requesting: XMB™ (XrossMediaBar) access in-game and trophies available in this free, automatic system upgrade

June 30, 2008: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe today announced new online gaming functionality for PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™), which will become available on July 2, 2008 with the 2.40 enhancement, an automatic firmware upgrade that delivers several of the features most requested by gamers. Combined with PLAYSTATION®Network’s unique service of free* online gaming, the enhancement makes PS3 an even more attractive platform of choice for the online gamer.

Firstly, the 2.40 enhancement allows XMB™ (XrossMediaBar) access in-game. This means that you can access the PS3 menu at any time while playing most games, simply by tapping the PlayStation button on your controller. With 2.40, you can check if any of your friends are online (thanks to their own user profile), read and send messages, change some settings for games, all without having to quit the game you are playing. While you can’t pause an online multiplayer game involving other people, you can rejoin play at any time when you’ve finished browsing. Along with these enhanced communications features, the Friends list capacity will double to 100 Friends.

2.40 also delivers trophies to recognise players’ achievements in the online arena. Other competitive activities recognise winners with trophies – so why not gaming on PS3? Many online games will have gold, silver and bronze trophies – with platinum available for those who snag all three – all displayed on the XMB for everyone to see.

Super Stardust™ HD, a PLAYSTATION Network-exclusive released last year, will be the first game to leverage the Trophies system and will offer a variety of trophies**. The following first-party games are also slated to offer Trophy support:

• BUZZ!™ Quiz TV
• LittleBigPlanet™
• MotorStorm™ Pacific Rift
• NBA 09 – PS3
• PAIN**
• PixelJunk™ Eden
• Resistance 2™
• SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation
• Warhawk™**

The 2.40 enhancement is just one more reason to join PSN, the online network for PS3 users that lets you game online for free*. All you need to do to join is connect your PS3 to broadband and register, or go to the connection guide at www.eu.playstation.com to find out more.

Once in, you’ll find online matches and leagues for all of your favourite games – whether that’s MotorStorm™, Resistance™, Warhawk™ or Gran Turismo™5 Prologue – absolutely free (although users are responsible for paying their broadband fees) and at any time of the day or night. You’ll also find PLAYSTATION®Store, where you can download entire games as well as extra levels, content for your existing games plus internet browsing, video chat thanks to PLAYSTATION®Eye and much, much more.

There’s never been a better time to join PSN. Sign up now to make the most of the 2.40 firmware enhancement – see www.(website).com to find out more.

Germany – Spain 0 – 1

Many weeks of great football (or soccer if you want to call it that) is over. Congratulation to Spain!

With the new Sims expansions pack The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff (PC DVD) you can decorate your Sims home like the IKEA catalog. You get 60 new objects to play with.

Give your Sims’ home a makeover with new furniture and décor items based on stylish designs by IKEA! Whether you want to create a trendy, spacious office, a chic living room, or a cozy and inviting bedroom, you can make your Sims’ dream house into something even better-a home. Design your Sims’ rooms to fit their personalities with all-new sofas, beds, tables, TV units, shelving, and more in a variety of colors and patterns for a truly unique look. Add the finishing touches with popular IKEA wall art, mirrors, lighting, and vases. Be your Sims’ personal interior designer with inspiring, contemporary styles from IKEA!

You can get The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.

My phone at the moment is a Nokia N70 bought in January 2006. Almost 2,5 years ago, so it’s time to make a upgrade. So I’m waiting for the N96 wich I think will be great. In the mean time, I – and you – can watch these reviews and previews of the N95 and the upcoming N96 (vidoes found on YouTube).

Review of the N95

Nokia N95 8GB Preview

Nokia N96 Preview

This Friday June 27th 2008, Europe got five new Virtual Console games to download on Nintendo Wii.

Cybernoid
Commodore 64 – 1988 -Commodore Gaming – action – 1 player – 500 points – age 3+

King of the Mosters
NeoGeo – 1991 – D4 Enterprise – fighting – 1-2 players – 900 points – age 7+

Pac-Attack
Super Nintendo – 1993 – Namco Bandai Games – puzzle – 1-2 players – 800 points

Summer Games 2
Commodore 64 – 1985 – Commodore Gaming – sport – 1-8 players – 500 points – age 3+

Super fantasy Zone
Mega Drive – 1992 – Sega – shooter – 1 player – 800 points – age 7+