I was first presented with the updated roster at the character select screen. According to the Capcom’s representative, there will be a gang of eight ‘new’ characters added into the mix from both previous titles and new ones. Despite a controversial decision, the game will now be a standalone installment instead of direct-to-download. There’s plenty of features to justify the decision including the healthy addition of new maps, new ultra combos (now selectable before the start of a match), a tweaked fighting engine, and new online modes. This game clearly would not have been feasible to market as “cheaper” downloadable content.

There’s not much to say about the game play since it was relatively unchanged from the fluidity of the original Street Fighter 4. The new challenges of the fight system might alter the course of the overall gameplay. During my preview experience, I played against one of the newcomers named “Cody,” a jail-bird character clothed entirely in a black and white striped outfit plus a ball and chain. The rep who I played against opted to let me take a few swings at him so that he could fill up his “revenge” meter to demonstrate the ultra combo. The animations were simply brilliant, the sudden rush and satisfaction of unleashing an ultra combo will never grow old. In addition to the new characters, I had a glimpse at one of the new maps titled “Africa”. Although I had previously shrugged it off as minor additions, I thought twice after seeing the details of the level.

Other than that, there’s not much else to say about the ultra combos system. I decided to go with Sagat and selected his new ultra to test out in the arena. Interestingly enough, unlike his earlier ultra that only worked within a very close proximity, his new ultra is very similar to Ryu’s ultra Hadouken move. This new option to swap ultra moves before matches will undoubtedly broaden the range of strategies available to each persons play style. I am eager to fully see where the development team will take the game with these new changes.

Overall, there’s a lot of potential for this title to refresh fans. Ideally I would have loved to take more time to test all the other characters and maps, however our pressing schedule just couldn’t allow it. I will be returning to this game after the title launches this April. I came to terms with being slightly annoyed that this game wouldn’t be a straight-to-download, but rather a full game. There’s plenty of new features offered to justify the price. If you had fun with last years Street Fighter 4, definitely be on the lookout for this one. Super Street Fighter 4 will hit stores for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on April 27th, 2010.

Links: Super Street Fighter IV

The franchise has struggled to catch up with the current consoles which has resulted in clunky, awkward controls for our favorite blue hedgehog. The new Sonic games have tried hard to look great and expand on the classic gameplay, however flashy changes have proven successful. The introduction of new gameplay elements have proven as overkill, changing the franchise altogether. If any ounce of high-speed gameplay is present in the newer games, it’s only there to tease on how great the game series was. Anybody who still owns a Sega Genesis knows how Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles work at their best.

It’s not that big of a surprise that Sonic the Hedgehog is getting a makeover, especially one that continues from the originals. After Mega Man 9 came out, it was obvious that some classic platformers just can’t be changed. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 takes the same look and feel as it’s predecessors and has high hopes of returning the franchise towards a great gaming experience. Keep an eye out for its release in Summer of 2010 on Xbox Live Arcade, WiiWare, and Playstation Network.

Stay tuned as we’ll try to get our copy for a full review later this summer.

Links: Sonic the Hedgehog 4

Who knew raising a powerful dark lord from the dead wouldn’t require me cutting off a hand after all? While not the most powerful and costly wizard on the block (see: Harry Potter), raising Voldemort didn’t require boatloads of money for great performance. All in all, the roughly $1800 spent on this system (including peripherals, shipping, and taxes) was a pretty good deal, especially when you consider that the components had an MSRP total of $2399.45 (not including shipping/taxes). So what makes this dark lord a great bang for the buck? Let’s fly through the details.

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz
The Core i7 line of CPUs is the first line of chips by Intel to have an integrated memory controller. This new memory controller dramatically decreases latency times by connecting the CPU directly with the memory without having to go through a northbridge first. Core i7 also offers triple channel memory capabilities, which increases memory bandwidth over the more common dual channel standard. Four physical cores and four virtual cores, from Hyper-Threading, give the Core i7 immense computing power. Intel currently has two variants of the i7 line of CPUs, one for socket 1156 and the other for the superior socket 1366.  The i7 920 is the lowest rated processor you can get for socket 1366. And why would such a powerful Dark Lord go for the lowest CPU in its class?  Because the i7 920, while the lowest 1366 CPU available, offers incredible value in its common ability to overclock to more expensive i7 speeds. Pair it with a good heatsink and even after the extra cost you’re still paying less than a more expensive model while getting the same, if not better performance.

Heatsink:

• COGAGE TRUE Spirit
• Thermalright 1366 bolt-through kit
• 1850rpm Scythe Gentle Typhoon
• Arctic Silver 5

To ensure that the Dark Lord stayed cool while lingering in the shadows I enlisted the help of the COGAGE TRUE Spirit CPU heatsink. If you’re thinking that the TRUE Spirit looks an awful lot like the Thermalright Ultra Extreme (TRUE), you’ll be comforted to know that the TRUE Spirit is the TRUE’s little brother. Compared to the TRUE, the TRUE Spirit features two less heatpipes (for a total of four), a smaller size, and most importantly, a significantly cheaper price. Performance wise, the TRUE Spirit has just slightly less cooling ability. Included with the TRUE Spirit is a 120mm PWM (pulse width modulated) fan that’s rated to move from 35-66.5CFM of air at 19.6-37.4dBA.

The Thermalright 1366 bolt-through kit offers a more stable and secure mounting solution for Thermalright and COGAGE TRUE based coolers. It helps apply more pressure ensuring better contact and heat conductivity between the CPU and heatsink. As the TRUE Spirit is far from a small cooler, the bolt-through kit offers one a good peace of mind.

The name Gentle Typhoon actually describes Scythe’s latest line of fans quite well. Despite the irony (who’s ever heard of a “gentle” typhoon?), these fans put out a strong amount of airflow at a quiet noise level. Utilizing a dual ball bearing design, the Gentle Typhoon fan series has a long lifespan as well as the ability to be mounted horizontally, which can quickly kill conventional sleeve bearing fans. High pitched fan blades give the Gentle Typhoons good static pressure, which is essential to keep the air flowing through obstructions such as tightly packed heatsink fins or filters. Some innovative features of the Gentle Typhoon fans are the ring of weights around the motor as well as small notches at the base of each propeller. The ring of weights reduces vibration and noise, while the notches create a different sound pitch that’s less noticable and thus less annoying. While these fans aren’t cheap, they live up to their name by moving lots of air at very quiet levels. I’ve chosen the 1850rpm model for my heatsink, which is rated to move 58CFM at only 28dBA.

When it comes to high performance thermal interface materials none has had as long a reputation as Arctic Silver. Now in its 5th iteration, Arctic Silver 5 effectively uses silver atoms in its paste to better transfer heat from the CPU to heatsink. Why do you need this paste between your CPU and heatsink? Unfortunately CPU heat spreaders and heatsink bases aren’t 100% flat or smooth due to machining processes. Thus a thermal paste is needed to fill the microscopic ridges and valleys for better surface contact and heat transfer.

Motherboard: Asus P6T6 WS Revolution
Asus has been a  longtime high quality manufacturer of motherboards and one of the worldls largest computer hardware OEMs. Known for their innovative designs and features, reliability, and performance Asus was very appealing for me. I chose their “WS” workstation grade P6T6 WS Revolution motherboard. While the P6T6 is pegged as a workstation board, it offers incredible enthusiast performance as well. High performance and robust overclocking abilities make for a great combination. The P6T6 utilizes an advanced phase voltage regulation design offering 16 clean and stable power phases for your CPU cores and an additional two phases for the uncore (QPI, memory controller). This is important for high overclocks. Another prominent feature is the six PCI-E 2.0 16x slots, which let you run up to three video cards in full 16x mode. PCI-E 16x slots will also accept PCI-E 8x, 4x, 2x, and 1x cards. One thing the P6T6 does not have is legacy support (no IDE, only one PS/2 slot). Other features include six SATA ports, two Marvell controlled SAS (which will also accept SATA) ports, integrated 8-channel high-definition audio, an external SATA (eSATA), crash free bios, helpful quick diagnosis card,  and a host of other innovative features.

RAM: Corsair XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 CMX6GX3M3A1600C9
Ask any computer enthusiast what a great performing, stable, and reliable brand of RAM is and Corsair is sure to be one of the answers. I picked up a 6GB (3 x 2GB sticks) kit of 1600MHz Corsair XMS3 RAM in order to utilize the i7’s triple channel capability. Corsair’s XMS line has always been a high performance product. With timings at 9-9-9-24, this particular kit wasn’t the absolute fastest, since lower is better, but then again Corsair tends to rate their products conservatively. So why did I get a 1600MHz kit when the i7 920 only runs RAM at 1066MHz? The answer is expandability. When overclocking a CPU you also alter the RAM speeds. Running higher RAM speeds results in higher performance.

Graphics Card: Sapphire Radeon HD5850
ATI left their competitors in the dust when they unleashed the HD5800 series of graphics cards. It’s impressive that the HD5800 cards have lower idle power requirements, and similar load power requirements compared to the previous HD4800 series of graphics cards, which had about half the transistors of the new HD5800s. These new cards are the performance kings being the first DirectX 11 (DX11) capable GPU’s to the market. The only drawback are the cards’ huge sizes as my HD5850 comes in a a whopping 10.5 in. Another smaller drawback is the poor yields, which pushes the prices of these cards at MSRP or higher. Even though Voldemort’s HD5850 is out-wanded by the $379 HD5870 and $599 HD5970, it’s more than powerful enough to run any game at full settings at a 1920×1080 resolution. Spending the additional money for the more powerful graphics cards wouldn’t have given me any tangible benefits. The HD5850 features 1GB of GDDR5 memory on a 256-bit ring bus which can travel in either direction, allowing for full AA and AF effects. Overclocking the HD5850 to HD5870 levels of performance shouldn’t be very difficult as this card is a HD5870 with some stream processors disabled and a slightly lower clock speed.

Hard Drive Disks: Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB
The Dark Lord called upon Western Digital’s Caviar Black line in order to remember all the people to exact revenge on. The Caviar Blacks outperform virtually of their competition with their low access times and high read/write speeds. Bundled with the Caviar Blacks is a comforting five-year warranty. I decided on the  750GB models for a RAID 0 configuration because Newegg.com had an amazing deal at the time of purchase. RAID 0 is when your computer treats both drives as one large drive (750GB x 2 = 1.5TB drive). Half the data is processed from each drive when the computer is in this configuration allowing for almost double read/write speeds. Caviar Blacks should not be used for data redundancy RAID modes such as RAID 1 or RAID 5 as their time-limited, error- recovery (TLER) cannot be adjusted. This results in less stability in those RAID modes compared to enterprise-grade drives.

Power Supply: Corsair HX 850
Like it’s memory, Corsair has made a big name for itself in the power supply arena since its entry in 2006. Over the past year Corsair power suppliess have been getting rave reviews for their price, performance, and ease of use. I purchased the HX850 modular model, which achieves 80-Plus Silver levels of power efficiency. Even though many HX850 units achieve 80-Plus Gold levels, and are rated Gold level by the 80-Plus organization, Corsair decided to be conservative and only advertises 80-Plus Silver. Included with the HX850 is a velvet bag for the unit itself, as well as a plethora of quality modular cables in their own hook and loop storage bag. The modular interface of the HX850 means you can attach just the cables you need, allowing for a cleaning looking interior. Essential wires are hardwired to the unit for maximum performance. Cooling this high-powered unit is a large 140mm fan. Pricewise, the HX850 is a hard product to beat.

Case: Raidmax Smilodon Extreme
Dark and intimidating looking, the Raidmax Smilodon Extreme had all the features the Dark Lord was looking for in a body. The matte black exterior with eerie green LED’s provided just the aesthetic atmosphere I was looking for. The Smilodon Extreme features a full front door that opens to the right. Behind this are four 5.25 inch bays, two 3.5 inch bays and a 120mm fan. For my build I stuck my optical drive in the top 5.25 inch bay and installed a Mountain Mods 120mm fan holder in the remaining three 5.25 inch bays. The center of the door contains a metal mesh running vertically allowing airflow to the fans. The side doors fold out with the pull of a latch near the top of each door. Additionally, the door with the motherboard features a removable motherboard tray. However, users beware: should you install a heatsink too tall to clear your power supply, folding out the motherboard side door will not be an option. All drive bays utilize a tool-less mounting method for quick installation and removal of devices. Additionally the hard drive cage is also removable. I had to make some modifications for my Smilodon Extreme, which will be explained further in the modifications section. I chose not to include the crossbar “dirk tooth” piece because it wouldn’t fit with my hardware, and because it was an obstruction to the case window. Luckily this piece is easily removed.

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS-324 Dual-Layer DVD-RW Drive
The Lite-On iHAS324 is a versatile DVD-RW drive with many capabilities. It can read/write all the latest formats except for Blu-ray. Lite-On has always provided quality drives at a good price giving the buyer great value. The iHAS324 uses SATA connection and power adapters for faster data transfer and less cable clutter.

Keyboard: Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000
Microsoft’s Comfort Curve 2000 keyboard combined all the features I wanted for my keyboard. I desired for an ergonomic design as well as media and functionality keys. The Comfort Curve 2000 places your hands at a more natural angle. I liked the seamlessness of the main keypad as opposed to the break in the MS Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. The Comfort Curve 2000 includes media and web buttons up top as well as an extremely handy calculator button to the right above the keypad. While the key’s aren’t the quietest, they aren’t obnoxiously loud either. This keyboard connects via USB connection.

Mouse: Logitech G5 rev.2
Even though the Logitech G5 has been discontinued and replaced by the G500, it is still an outstanding mouse. With a plethora of buttons such as very handy forward and back buttons, to a side tilt scroll wheel, the G5 offers quick access to many controls. Underneath the G5 is an adjustable weight cartridge allowing users to adjust the feel of the mouse to their liking. The surface is a rubbery matte coating that offers very tactile grip. Three user-adjustable DPI settings are available via the + and – buttons on the mouse for gaming. The USB cable is covered in braided nylon offering great protection.

Monitor: NEC EA231WMi
The NEC EA231WMi is the latest 23 inch monitor coming out of NEC Display Solutions. Featuring a 23 inch LG e-IPS panel, the EA231WMi offers superior color as well as much greater viewing angles than standard TN panel monitors. The convenient stand rotates, adjusts for height, and even has an integrated cable management system for a professional and clean look. Connections include DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort, as well as audio-in for the integrated speakers. On the left side of the screen are two USB ports for extra connectivity. The entire screen will also rotate 90 degrees for a portrait mode picture. Nifty features include a power saving eco-mode as well as a light sensor that auto adjusts the brightness of the screen to match your environment. Controls are easy to use thanks to a small joystick, and the on-screen display menu is very functional and natural to navigate. I noticed no ghosting while playing games and input lag seemed minimal. This monitor runs at a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 so you can experience all your media in full HD. Standard color profiles are easy to select and tests on various publications have shown that the EA231WMi out of the box has a very accurate color in the sRGB mode. At only about $339, this monitor is unrivaled in its features and performance.

Modifications and Tweaks:
While all the components of Project Voldemort were great individually, getting them all to work in conjunction with each other and helping them to meet my quiet and clean-looking requirements did warrant some modifications.

Working with the Case:
The Raidmax Smilodon case was certainly a pleasure to work with. Tool-less drive bays, fold out sides, and a removable hard drive cage all came in very handy. In order to maximize this case’s functionality some mods had to be done. As I couldn’t let Voldemort be “buried” again I had to make sure this case inhaled as little dust as possible. To achieve this, I followed SilverStone’s line of thought in their cases and implemented the use of positive pressure. Positive pressure occurs when your intake fans intake more air than what your exhaust fans exhaust. I had orginally planned on using the Smilodon’s side 80mm fan mounted on the Dirk-Tooth, but I hated how the Dirk-Tooth obstructed most of the interior and graphics card through the window. To remedy this I dremeled out the middle portion of the Dirk-Tooth. After completing this, however, I discovered that my COGAGE TRUE Spirit cooler was too wide, and obstructed the fan mount on the Dirk-Tooth. In the end I just went without the Dirk-Tooth.

The next mod to achieve positive pressure was to seal up the case’s openings. The side 80mm vent over the CPU cooler was sealed using a Mountain Mods 80mm acrylic cover and the lower Dirk-Tooth vents were covered with clear packing tape. On the motherboard side a piece of flat black paper and tape sealed the 80mm fan opening.

In the front of the case I mentioned how I installed an extra 120mm fan in a Mountain Mods triple 5.25 inch mount. Due to the tool-less design of the Smilodon, the unique mounting system wasn’t compatible with the triple 5.25 inch mount’s conventional screw holes. Also, supports for the drives on the chassis protruded into the mount. Once again the handy Dremel came forth and I made new holes and threaded them so I could mount the fan mount to the chassis. I also used the Dremel to remove sections of the mount that interfered with the chassis’ protrusions.

In order to maximize airflow and reduce noise, all unnecessary airflow obstructions had to be removed. The steel grid behind the front fan was dremeled out as well as the rear honeycomb, which was replaced by a much less restrictive 120mm fan grille.

I required dust filters to prevent dust from entering the case and burying the Dark Lord alive. After thinking about how I could mount conventional filters on both intake fans, and not liking the possibilities, a new unconventional method came to mind. Remember that perforated metal grille on the door? I looked on the inside of the door and delightfully found that it was mounted by simple machine screws. I also noticed that my used dryer sheets would work very well as a filter material. Utilizing six screws on the inside of the door I mounted two used dryer sheets to the inside, which would act as my filter material. This process is easy and affordable, since I will have fresh filter material every time I do my laundry.

Hard Drives:
Hard drives rotate at high speeds and thus create noise via vibration. In order to ensure the low noise output of this computer I needed to find a way to dampen the hard drives. The standard mounts that came with the Smilodon didn’t work well in my Western Digital Caviar Black drives and didn’t mount them effectively. The standard way of mounting the drives also caused them to protrude into the case giving it a messy look. To conquer both of these challenges I thought of a couple unconventional ways to mount them. The first way was to mount the drives backwards. By mounting the drives “cords in” no wires would be left sticking out into the case giving a much cleaner look overall. It also allowed me to move the drives into the hard drive cage more giving them a lower profile.

The second unconventional way of mounting the drives was to suspend them in an elastic material to reduce the drives’ vibrations and noise. I recalled the innovative P150 chassis, by Antec, and how it allowed users to mount their hard drives in rubber bands. While I didn’t have any elastic lying around, I did have 100 feet of paracord (also called 550 cord). Paracord is a thin shoelace-like material that can withstand 550 pounds of load. Seeing as how it was thin, way overbuilt, and easy to work with I used it as my ideal material. I devised a criss-cross pattern so that the drives would be secure from shifting into the sides of the hard drive cage. I also blocked off the front and back to prevent the drives from sliding out. When completed the hard drive suspension worked marvelously.

Fans:
Fans all create vibrations and can really make a lot of noise. I used tiny o-rings I had lying around to dampen the vibrations coming from my fans. Sticking these o-rings between the fan and the chassis gave me a medium with which to absorb lots of vibrations and thus reduce sound. I didn’t just stop with case fans however, and ended up using o-rings between my power supply and case as well in order to dampen vibrations there too. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to fit o-rings between my 120mm fan and the Mountain Mods triple 5.25 inch fan mount; I was, however, able to stick o-rings between the fan mount and the chassis, therefore solving that problem. This modification was very convenient since o-rings are plentiful and cheap.

Conclusion:
Building Project: Voldemort had its ups and downs, but overall it was an educational and good experience. The performance coming from this machine is impressive, and has taken everything I’ve thrown at it with ease. Passing multiple days of intensive stress testing proved the components’ durabilities where cheaper options would have failed. If you’re looking for a similar computer, there are other parts options which will perform similarly to the ones I selected. While some of my components may be considered overkill, they add to the overall durability and longevity of the system. Should your budget not be quite as high as Project: Voldemort’s, I highly suggest looking into the Intel P55 chipset (1156 socket) and a Core i5 processor. That will significantly reduce costs. If you’re looking for even greater performance, acquiring a solid state drive (SSD) and moving up to a more powerful video card are a few options.

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition held up well against competing titles like Unreal Tournament III and the original Gears of War. The game shined in its visuals and snow-themed environments along with addicting gameplay. It was an experience all in itself to simply get lost going through these lush backdrops with vibrant colors and aesthetically disturbing enemies. Lost Planet 2 stays true to the jaw-dropping visuals of the first game by including new types of environments to trek through. An unexplained rise of temperature in the plot accomplishes this. This gives way to areas such as jungles, deserts, and other diverse locations previously untouched by the series.

The enemies continue to look grotesque and it becomes a guilty pleasure to see what the next creature will look like in its own demented and beautiful way. The bosses will redefine epic for quite nicely. The most current generation of games coming out has put an emphasis on boss battles growing to immense proportions. Lost Planet 2 is no different. The demo boss alone takes up an enormous amount of space, traversing across the entire stage leading up to his encounter. Capcom assured me that each boss would be similar and continue to grow as you progress through the game and even informed me of one boss fight that you could go inside of to destroy due to its ridiculous size.

Besides the stunning visuals, the gameplay elements and new mechanics will keep you addicted and your controller busy. This time around even more character types are available and can all be customized as your experience progresses through the game. Along with the character adapting and becoming stronger, you also continue to unlock weapons and customize them in a similar fashion. Using a similar point system as its predecessor, Lost Planet 2 allows you to gain thermal energy and battle points as you play. Using these points also makes customizing your character and equipment a breeze. These RPG elements adds a lot more depth to this sequel and brings something for any veteran of any genre.

Outside the story, the multiplayer contains modes such as 4-player campaign, 16-player versus, and others included in the past Lost Planet games. With so many ways to play this game, competitive or otherwise, it’s a guarantee that you’ll be drawn into the world of Lost Planet. With Lost Planet 2 coming out this year, keep an eye on Skatter Tech for more news and a release date along with our review of the game.

Links: Capcom.com | Lost Planet 2 on Wiki

A new agreement between Nintendo and Los Gatos based Netflix will bring streaming movies to your TV through a Wii. The service will be available in the United States this spring at no additional cost. That’s if you are already a Netflix member, own a Wii, and have a high-speed internet connection. Netflix will be quite excited to have this new distribution medium since it’s the best-selling console on the market. Plus, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 already have access to the movie rental service. With the cheapest Netflix membership starting at just $9 per month, the option to both watch streaming movies at anytime and receive DVDs in the mail is a bargain.

To get started, you’ll need to request a free Netflix instant-streaming disc. As with the PlayStation 3, the special Netflix disc needs to be in your Wii to gain access the Netflix service. The Xbox 360 is the only console with built-in dashboard integration. Nintendo claims that the Netflix experience on the Wii should have a native feel. Customers can navigate through the user interface using the Wii’s remote controller to browse through categories, popular genres, new arrivals, or even view their instant queue.

In the battle of next-gen consoles, the Nintendo Wii has its own unique attributes. The console focuses on family gaming entertainment than anything else. With that said, it does have a handful of excellent games that could only spawn forth from Nintendo. Unfortunately it does seem a bit out of its league when put up against Microsoft and Sony. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 have a larger gaming library and can also double as a household’s entertainment device since they can handle high-definition content. The Wii is trying to makeup for lost ground for the time being, but as new upgrades reach the other two consoles, it will likely be left in the dust.

Links: Netflix.com/Wii

The game is visually stunning, definitely one of the best-looking on the console. There is a constant rush of color and animation in each level. Hyper Combos all add to the visual feast the player indulges in each match. The characters’ specials are usually a quick cinematic that enhances the overall “epic” tone while not interrupting the pace. The menus and interface also look and feel fantastic. The online gameplay also has an excellent interface and adding a friend online has never been easier for the Wii. Friend Codes are much shorter and can be added instantly after a quick match online, rather than manually going through the  settings and getting frustrated that you forgot to write it down in the first place.

It will be difficult for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom to challenge Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the most popular and competitive fighting game on the Wii. The visuals along with the fast-paced action assure that this game will get addicting quick and countless hours will be sacrificed. This game couldn’t come out fast enough for a lot of fans. Heres hoping that Capcom can deliver and not break our hearts. Stay tuned with Skatter Tech for our upcoming review for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars!

Links: Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars

This is a personal favorite of mine. Mega Man 9 was such a huge success among fans of the “returning” series and the confirmation of a sequel at CES was truly exciting. Mega Man 10 plans to pick up on that 8-bit glory while changing some of the gameplay elements to further improve the overall experience. Mega Man 9 left newcomers crying across the country due to the excruciating difficulty that the series brings back from its roots in the older titles. To them I say, suck it up and earn the M. Buster. Capcom, however, has taken a more sympathetic approach and is bringing you a brand new Mega Man.

The difficulty levels of Mega Man 10 offers a more varied experience in response to the overwhelming obstacles in its predecessor. Each of the 5 difficulties, ranging from ‘Very Easy’ to ‘Very Difficult,’ change the level entirely. Capcom does this by adding new enemies, fewer platforms, and even alters your opponents’ attacks. This new style assures that everyone can beat the level. More experienced gamers will come back to these levels on more aggressive settings just to see how hard a level can get.

In addition, Mega Man 10 now offers the ability to begin story mode as either Mega Man or the prototype before him, Proto Man. This is great since you previously couldn’t use Proto Man unless you purchased him as downloadable content (DLC) in Mega Man 9. The plot will have more depth since it incorporates both these heroes’ story lines as well. Also, a secret third playable character was mentioned, but hasn’t yet been revealed. I’m crossing my fingers to see Zero in 8-bit, but with that said, it’s much more likely that Bass will be available. He did, after all, make a guest appearance at the end of Mega Man 9.

This time around, Mega Man 10 further adds to its replay value with new modes for players to struggle through. You will definitely be getting your money’s worth with modes like Mega Man Challenges that demand quick responses and even quicker footwork to complete. Also, even more achievements will be available to assure that you will want to come back for more. You are assured there will be much more to look forward to with this game even after you think you’ve mastered it.

This game is definitely one to look out for when it becomes available in March 2010 as a digital download on Wii Ware, Xbox Live, and PlayStation Network. Although unannounced, it is expected that pricing will be around the same as the wide range of DLC. Mega Man 10 is looking like it’s going to deliver quite well on the promised nostalgia and difficulty its unique gameplay provides.

Links: Capcom.com Mega Man 10

Gamers rejoice, the inventor of The Peregrine, Brent Baier, has come from the future to bring you the latest in gaming tech. The Peregrine gaming glove is proof that the once thought Sci-Fi technology is coming closer and closer to reality. This device will immerse the gamer into a completely new gaming experience that has only before been imagined. The Peregrine is a comfortable flexible glove that uses innovative technology to completely replace the keyboard.

The Peregrine will definitely prove useful in PC gaming. Some computer games demand rapid response to hit keys spread across the entire keyboard. This can interrupt your pace. Imagine ordering squads around in your favorite real-time strategy games with simple swift motions of your hand. That’s exactly what the Peregrine gaming glove accomplishes. While it may be a great idea for some games, I could only image the glove being awkward for other genres of games such as first-person shooters. Peregrine hopes to adapt to a variety of gaming styles and possibly offering multiple products to appeal to different types of gamers.

The gloves sports sensors on a metallic strip on your palm, the thumb, and across your fingers. These sensors respond to contact made with your fingers, palm, and thumb with ease. Each touch will trigger a specific command. You can use preset mappings or customize up to 30 commands of your own. Although this can sound intimidating and a bit complicated at first, I assure you that it was actually quite a smooth process after testing it myself. There’s even a quick calibration upon start-up to help familiarize you with the functionality to avoid a frustrating start.

Visually, the glove alone looks pretty damn cool and will make you question where science fiction ends and reality begins. However, the product uses a standard USB port to connect to your computer. The USB cable attaches onto a magnetic break-away pod on the back of the glove rather than connecting directly to the glove. This prevents accidental damage to your computer hardware with sudden movements. After a quick one-time install of the software and walking through the calibration, the key stores any customs sets you create for the glove. Your glove’s custom settings will be with you where ever you go, irrespective of which computer you use.

The Peregrine, besides being a bit genre-restricting, is an extremely innovative device that will surely change the execution of competitive gaming. The technology makes room for plenty of future products that will likely adapt even better for new games. The Peregrine glove will render both the keyboard and mouse, let alone controllers, entirely useless. Although a bit on the expensive side, the gaming glove will enhance a gamer’s experience and change the way we play games. Stay tuned, for our upcoming review of the product as well.

Links: Pre-Order The Peregrine now for $130

< $1000: Dell Studio 15

The Dell Studio 15 is a great pick for an affordable performance laptop. For about $700 this 15 inch notebook with a default configuration features Windows 7 Home Premium, a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6600, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500 MHD, and a 500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive.  You can even customize the appearance of the case. This a great deal for someone looking for an affordable entertainment center.

Link: Dell.com Studio 15 | Buy: Dell Studio 15

$1000: HP dv6t Quad Edition

The HP dv6t quad edition notebook packs quite a bit for a grand. Without paying any more than the base price, the 16-inch multimedia powerhouse kicks off with Windows 7 Home Premium, a top of the line Intel 1.6GHz Quad Core i7-720QM processor, a free upgrade to 4 GB of DDR3 RAM, a 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 230M graphics card, a 250GB 7200 RPM, HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive, and a free upgrade to a Lightscribe Blu-Ray ROM. While there are other laptops in the same class which feature Intel’s new i7 processor for a similar price, they’ll also charge you quite a bit to upgrade to Blu-Ray ROM and a high performance graphic card. This is certainly one of the best bangs for the buck.

Links: HP.com dv6t

< $1500: ASUS N61Vn

Most entertainment laptops are loaded with the fastest processors, lots of memory and excellent graphics performance. What’s not mentioned and often been neglected is high quality audio. That is what separates the ASUS N61Vn from the rest of them. It features ASUS Sonic Master which uses Altec Lansing speaker with 22mm-wide paper foam cones supported by SRS premium sound. Another unique feature is Nvidia CUDA GPU computing which allows for faster transcoding of music, videos, DVD playback, and editing. It’s equipped with Windows 7 Home Premium, a 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000 processor, 4 GB of DDR3 RAM, a 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 240M graphic card and a Blu-Ray drive. No entertainment center is complete without quality audio and that is why the ASUS N61Vn stands out.

Links: Asus.com N61Vn | Buy: Asus N61Vn

< $2000: Toshiba X505-Q850

The Toshiba X505-Q850 is one of best deals for a high performance gaming machine. While the base price is slightly more than that of the Alienware M17x, it already comes with top line specs straight out of the box so you won’t have to pay extra. Packed in a stylish light up fusion black and metallic red case, this 18.4 incher comes loaded with Windows 7 Home Premium, an Intel 1.6GHz quad core i7-720QM processor, a IGB Nvidia GeForce GTS 250M graphics card, 6 GB of DDR3 1066MHz RAM and a Blu-Ray ROM. The most distinguishing features include an LED lit keyboard for night playing, the ability charge your wireless gadgets like MP3 players and phones while it sleeps. In addition is a dual storage configuration which boasts both a 64 GB solid state drive partnering a 7200 RPM 320GB hard disk drive to give the best of both worlds. Right now this arguably the best deal on the market for a gaming.

Links: Toshiba.com Qosmio X505

No $$$ Limit: Alienware M17x

For those of you who have some serious money to spend, the Alienware M17x is the ultimate gaming monster. Said to be the fastest available gaming laptop out there, the 17 inch powerhouse neatly packs a wide array of ultra souped up features in a sleek anodized aluminum case. If you want to soup it up to the max, it can be customized to have an Intel core 2 extreme processor, dual ATI Radeon graphics cards, 8 GB of RAM and a 256 solid state drive. In addition to the sleek looks is a personalized laser etched nameplate on the bottom. They start with a base price of 1700$, it can go up to the 5000$ range depending on what customizations you choose. This monster is the flagship of them all.

Link: Dell.com Alienware M17x

How should I choose a Laptop?
When you shop for a laptop, be aware what your needs and uses are. The laptops I’ve selected are fairly high-end. Start by choosing one with an operating system suited for your needs. For example, someone who needs to use Windows XP applications for work should choose computer with Windows 7 Professional. That’s because it sports an XP Mode to emulate those old programs. Next, choose one with a sufficient processor. You’ll need a faster processor for gaming and multimedia, as well as if you plan on running many applications at once. I would recommend something with at least 3 GB of RAM. If you plan on watching high def movies or gaming it’s very important to have a high performance graphics card because you don’t want your screen freezing. You should take into account the wireless adapter choices and hard drive space. If you plan on doing lots of downloading, a wireless adapter with faster transfer rates may be desired. There are now two types of hard drives: solid state drive and the traditional hard disk drive. Solid state drives load faster and more reliable because of the lack of spinning parts, but they are more expensive for the amount of storage space you get. For the more common hard disk drive, faster RPMs generally means faster load speeds. Other features important to keep in mind are optical drives and battery life. If you want to watch high def movies, get one with a Blu-Ray drive. One of the other most important things to consider are dimensions. Anything with screen larger than 16 inches is pretty big and can be a hassle carrying around on a regular basis. Last but not least I suggest trying out the computer or a similar model from the manufacturer at a local store before buying it.

Note: This article was edited by Sahas Katta.

This is a part of our ongoing Skatter Tech Holiday Gift Guides.

Best Overall Game: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the sequel to the popular game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. It’s been one of the most talked about games this year. After having already sold over 4.7 million copies on opening day and over 9 million copies in the first 5 days, it’s broken just about all sales records for video games.

Buy: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Second Choice: Left 4 Dead 2

Left 4 Dead 2 is the sequel to the very popular post-apocalyptic multiplayer game, Left 4 Dead. The game follows four individuals in the New Orleans area. They are trying to escape a zombie outbreak. It incorporates many new guns and melee weapons. In addition, it introduces us to several new special infected: Charger, Spitter, and the Jockey.

Buy: Left 4 Dead 2

Third Choice: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman has been gaining popularity since the movie Batman Begins was released in 2005. Batman: Arkham Asylum you continue the story after the movie The Dark Knight. You assume the role of Batman as he brings The Joker to Arkham Asylum. While in Arkham Asylum, the super-villians set a trap for Batman.

Buy: Batman: Arkham Asylum

This Gift Guide is a part of our ongoing Skatter Tech Holiday Gift Guide.

Best Overall: New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Great for any gamer, casual or experienced, the newest addition to the Super Mario Bros. series holds true to its roots with traditional platforming game play.  Following the well thought out New Super Mario Bros. available on the Nintendo DS, the Wii version continues the story while adding new worlds and well thought out fights to the game.  With its hyped multiplayer capability, the game guarantees a nostalgic experience for any age and the ability to play with friends definitely adds worth to an already classic.

Buy: New Super Mario Bros. Wii

Best Platformer: Muramasa: Demon Blade

This artistically rendered game has everything that makes an action-adventure truly great.  When you aren’t sitting there in awe of just how good the levels and characters in the game look, you’ll be spending hours playing through trying to collect and upgrade every weapon you can.  The integration of visuals and game play both add definitely leaves hope for more of its kind.

Buy: Muramasa: Demon Blade

Best Party Game: Rock Band*

See that pretty little asterisk up there?  All that means is that there are several new kinds of Rock Bands available today, where everyone with different musical preferences can likely find one to appreciate and love.  Whether it’s the light-hearted Lego Rock Band, the more classic Beatle’s Rock Band, or just good old Rock Band 2, each offer incredible amounts of replay and is hands down the best party-game with everyone having a good, loud time.

Buy: Lego Rock Band | Rock Band 2 | Beatles Rock Band

Best Racing: Excitebots: Trick Racing

Although there are a few worth-while racing games available on the Wii today, with competitive multiplayer available, Excitebots is one that is strange to say the least… controlling an animal styled robotic vehicles  you race sporadically through several available courses, all of which changing constantly.  Although this game will leave you feeling childish at first, whether it’s because you’re racing a turtle or the fact you throw a pie to slow down that tailgating ladybug, you will definitely leave that first round with an addiction that will haunt you until you get to race again.

Buy: Excitebots: Trick Racing

Best On-Rail Shooter: Dead Space Extraction

Now this is a surprising addition to the list no doubt. With the original Dead Space having such innovative game play as well as stunning visuals, it was unclear if this game would be utterly awesome like its brothers on the PS3 and XBOX 360, or it would just be another port.  Extraction manages to not only expand the story to the series to please fans, but also recreates its innovative game mechanics to compliment those of the Wii.  Falling under the Genre of a Rail-Shooter, its amazing just how much action style elements this game incorporates into its game play. With a well integrated multiplayer and addicting game play, Extraction has definitely proven its worth.

Buy: Dead Space Extraction

This Gift Guide is a part of our ongoing Skatter Tech Holiday Gift Guide.

Best Overall Game: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the sequel to the popular game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. MW2 is one of the most talked about games of the year. Having sold over 4.7 million copies on opening day and over 9 million copies in the first 5 days, it’s broken all sales records for video games.

Buy: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Second Choice: Assassin’s Creed II

Assassin’s Creed II is the sequel to the popular 2007 game Assassin’s Creed. It picks up merely seconds after the first game ends. You play as an incarnate of an assassin named Ezio who was betrayed by a rival ruling family during the Renaissance era in Italy. It will not disappoint.

Buy: Assassin’s Creed II

Third Choice: Batman: Arkham Asylum

Batman has been gaining popularity since the Batman Begins movie in 2005 followed by The Dark Knight which broke all sorts of records after reaching theaters. In Batman: Arkham Asylum, you continue the story after the movie The Dark Knight. You assume the role of Batman as he brings The Joker to Arkham Asylum. While in Arkham Asylum, the super-villians set a trap for Batman.

Buy: Batman: Arkham Asylum

This Gift Guide is a part of our ongoing Skatter Tech Holiday Gift Guide.

Best Overall Game: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is the sequel to one of the most popular PlayStation 3 games, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Uncharted 2 is a 3rd person shooter following fortune hunter Nathan Drake. Uncharted 2 has top notch graphics and overall a must have game. It’s one of top games on Metacritic.

Buy: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Second Choice: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the sequel to the popular game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. This is one of the most talked about games of the year. Having sold over 4.7 million copies on opening day and over 9 million copies in the first 5 days, it’s broken all sales records for video games.

Buy: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Third Choice: Assassin’s Creed II

Assassin’s Creed II is the sequel to the popular 2007 game Assassin’s Creed. It picks up merely seconds after the first game ends. You play as an incarnate of an assassin named Ezio who was betrayed by a rival ruling family during the Renaissance era in Italy.

Buy: Assassin’s Creed II

This Gift Guide is a part of our ongoing Skatter Tech Holiday Gift Guide.

Since launch, Sony has advertised the PlayStation 3 as a household center for entertainment. In addition to Blu-Ray playback, Sony soon took it a step further with a few software updates giving it access to tons of Movies and TV Shows through the PlayStation Network Store. It even supports DLNA streaming to share music, photos, and videos between computers on your home network. Despite those features, it lacked something that Microsoft was able to put into the Xbox: Netflix Streaming.

Fortunately Sony has caught up with the times and has partnered with Netflix. They plan to offer PS3 owners and Netflix subscribers streaming access to their library as early as next month at no additional cost. This will be a great complement to their snail mail Blu-Ray rental service.  To enable your PS3 for the service, you’ll need to get a special free disc from Netflix that will enable the service. Let’s hope there will be more features such as this one coming down the line. Hulu please?

Links: Netflix.com/PS3

As many of you have already heard there was a torrent of game announcements that came out of E3 that just gets our hearts pumping. So, without any further adieu here are the games that I personally am most excited for on each the following consoles.

PlayStation 3:

• God of War III – Sony CEA
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – SCEA
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Activision
• Heavy Rain – Sony Computer Entertainment
• Bioshock 2 – 2K Games
• MAG – Sony Computer Entertainment
• Assassin’s Creed II – Ubisoft

Xbox 360:

• Assassin’s Creed II – Ubisoft
• Halo 3: ODST – Microsoft
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Activision
• Alan Wake – Microsoft
• Splinter Cell: Conviction – Ubisoft
• Mass Effect 2 – Electronic Arts
• Bioshock 2 – 2K Games
• Left 4 Dead 2 – Valve Software

Wii:

• New Super Mario Brothers – Nintendo
• Metroid: The Other M – Nintendo

DS: Scribblenauts – Nintendo

PC:

• Left 4 Dead 2 – Valve Software
• Star Wars: The Old Republic – Lucas Arts and Bioware
• Splinter Cell: Conviction – Ubisoft
• Alan Wake – Microsoft
• Bioshock 2 – 2K Games
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Activision
• Mass Effect 2 – Electronic Arts
• Assassin’s Creed II – Ubisoft

With the sleuth of new games this month, it appears as though the holiday season is upon us and game publishers are starting to let loose all of the major titles. With the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 with major titles coming out: Resistance 2 and Gears of War 2, respectively, it looks like this is going to be another exciting holiday season for gamers.

Nintendo Wii:

• Shaun White SnowBoarding – Ubisoft
• Cooking Mama: World Kitchen – Majesco
• Need for Speed: Undercover – Electronic Arts
• Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party – Ubisoft
• WordJong Party – Destineer
• Animal Crossing: City Folk – Nintendo
• Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars – Gamecock Media Group
• Star Wars The Clone Wars: Lightsaber Duels – LucasArts
• Imagine Party Babyz – Ubisoft
• Candace Kane’s Candy Factory – Destineer
• Rock Revolution – Konami
• Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World – Namco Bandai
• Pet Pals: Animal Doctor – Legacy Interactive
• Mortimer Beckett and the Secrets of Spooky Manor – RealNetworks
• PopStar Guitar – XS Games
• WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2009 – THQ
• Madagascar Escape 2 Africa – Activision
• James Bond 007: Quantum of Solace – Activision
• Kung Fu Panda: Legendary Warriors – Activision
• Monster Lab – Eidos Interactive
• Alien Crush Returns – Hudson Entertainment
• Home Sweet Home – Big Blue Bubble

Play Station 3:

• Resistance 2 – SCEA
• Tom Clancy’s EndWar – Ubisoft
• Valkyra Chronicles – Sega
• Quantum of Solace: The Game – Activision
• Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm – Namco Bandai
• WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2009 – THQ
• Mirror’s Edge – EA
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 – Konami
• Call of Duty: World at War – Activision
• Shaun White Snowboarding – Ubisoft
• Mortal Kombat Vs DC Universe – Midway
• NCAA Basketball 09 – Electronic Arts

Xbox 360:

• Gears of War 2 – Microsoft
• Call of Duty: World at War – Activision
• Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 – Electronic Arts
• Mirror’s Edge – Electronic Arts
• Mortal Kombat Vs DC – Midway
• Shaun White Snowboarding – Ubisoft
• Naruto: The Broken Bond – Ubisoft
• Need for Speed Undercover – Electronic Arts
• Left 4 Dead – Electronic Arts
• The Last Remnant – Square Enix
• Quantum of Solace – Activision
• Tom Clancy’s Endwar – Ubisoft

Games List: Nintendo Wii | Sony PS3 | Microsoft Xbox 360
Purchase Games: Amazon’s Selection (ships free + no tax)

The latest wave of gaming consoles to hit our local retail shelves are Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. While these two push the limits of graphic capability for a console, the lovable Nintendo Wii that has pushed on human interactivity in gaming. Gaming technologies continue to have the potential to keep advancing and impressing us. But what is in store for the PC will once again dominate all gaming consoles. Three Dimensional PC gaming has been introduced, once again, as the next advancement for this generation’s gamers to take bliss in.

Although 3D gaming has been mentioned over and over, this might truly be the year where it becomes widespread. At Nvision 08 I was able to sit down and enjoy a few upcoming PC games. Out of the five game demos available at Nvision, I was able to test out a few: Grid, Spore, and Unreal Tournament 3.  I can safely say that playing a shooter in 3D was an experience I will not forget. A whole new rush comes over a gamer when he or she jumps into an online shooter match in 3 Dimensions. It is quite exciting to experience and see the depth of bullets now literally flying by or the narrowness of halls closing in. Having a chance to play these games in 3D offers a fresh new experience and allows gamers to feel that they are a part of the game more than ever before.

Over 350 titles, which are already on the market, will become available in 3D as the new Nvidia cards begin to roll out. There won’t be any need to wait for updates or patches from developers since the new video card drivers, themselves, will support rendering those games in 3D. According to Nvidia even GeForce 8 GPUs, which are already widespread, will be able to run those games in 3D. We soon can begin to brag about owning computers capable of rendering games in 3 Dimensions; however I still have to figure out how to explain having to wear those 3D glasses.

The NVIDIA GeForce Stereoscopic 3D technology not only opens a 3 Dimensional gaming world that you can dive into, but a sharp and artistic world as well. After all, for all those Unreal Tournament players out there, imagine getting excited about having the Rocket Launcher all over again. The graphics allow for a sharp view of every shot you take, with endless weapons with different capabilities, to be clearly seen in a 3 Dimensional depth now. You can watch the bullet tear through the air and hit the wall that now appears “way out there” and still visually see everything. 3D Gaming has clearly added all new meaning to “diving into an online match” for computer games, but what about other genres of computer games, say one on the other side of the spectrum in this case, say a game that has redefined “a long time coming” gamers, and call it Spore. Playing Spore in 3D, let alone finally, was an amazing and outstanding visual experience above everything else. It truly was able to give you the feeling that you were holding a clay model of your creation, and you could tweak, move, expand, and add to it in any dimensions you wished. Playing this game in 3D, a game that requires a lot of graphical creating that is, gives the illusion that the mouse is able to move in an X-Y-Z plane rather than a boring old 2D plane that reality bounds. Playing Spore also allowed me to understand why it has been taking so very long for this game to arrive. This game, for those who are familiar with Sims, breaks the habit of just being a simulator genre game, and allows you to fully and compulsively create each creature, land, vehicles, weapons, and anything else to your personal artistic desire. I can safely say this game challenges an idea of “infinite gameplay” since you will never be done experimenting.

With all this potential for 3D gaming to expand on what we already love and only bring us closer as a part of the whole experience, aside from 350 titles already announced 3D capable, this is generation of videogames on the horizon of great things.  Soon we will be able to sit comfortably in our homes, play against friends across the world in a 3 Dimensional experience, and bring ourselves closer and closer to the new wave of entertainment known popularly as Video Games.

During the Games Convention in Leipzig, Sony announced a new accessory for the PlayStation 3. This little keyboard snaps onto any SIXAXIS or DUALSHOCK 3 controller to make inputting text easier. The Wireless Keypad accessory is quite similar to what Microsoft rolled out for their Xbox 360 controller over a year ago, however it’s got a few extra features. In addition to making it easier to chat with others and use the browser, it also features a few shortcuts and a special touchpad mode. The shortcuts allow quickly accessing the friends list and message box through the XMB while in games. And the touchapad mode turns the entire face of the keypad into a touchpad to control the pointer when using the browser.

The Wireless Keypad doesn’t seem to communicate with the controller at all, but rather just clips onto it. It has to be paired directly with the PS3 using a USB cable the same way a controller is. And it’s just using the standard Bluetooth 2.0 technology that’s built into the PS3, so no additional equipment is necessary. One bummer might be that this QWERTY keyboard doesn’t seem to be backlit, which the Xbox accessory does. According to the press release the keyboard will become available in North America in November, however pricing hasn’t yet been mentioned.

Links: PlayStation 3 Wireless Keypad

While retaining the same slim size, it now has a new LCD display with a better contrast ratio and can produce more vibrant colors. One major problem with the previous PSPs was reflectiveness of the glossy screen. Seeing anything out doors was almost impossible. The PSP-3000 now has “anti-reflection” technology to make it easier to view under direct sunlight. The other hardware feature that’s been added is the built-in microphone. Previously you had to purchase an accessory to be able to speak to others when using Skype or in a game. With this upgrade, you’ll have a fully functioning VoIP device at all times without any extra cables or headsets. (Just waiting on the webcam at this point!)

It is also expected that Sony will be rolling out some new firmware upgrades with new features in the near future. Unfortunately some new features will probably not be entirely backwards compatible. Sony has officially stated that the the price of the new version will be kept the same, $169 (MSRP). Some new PSP Entertainment Packs with a movie, a game, and a 1GB Memory Stick will become available later this year. This isn’t really that great of an upgrade, but it’s worth mentioning since it’s retaining the same price!

Links: US PlayStation Portable
Related: PSP-2000 Info