Tech Olive

Flash Game Friday is a weekly feature that provides gamers with (uh…duh) a free, browser-based flash game. You may have played it before and you may have not, but it’s always worth checking out. We’ll be bringing you the latest, time-wasting, challenging, lose-sleep-into-the-wee-hours type of flash games.

There are tons of way to waste time on the internet. It’s no secret. There are even more ways to fill yourself with blinding rage. Combine that and add an amazing soundtrack with brilliant Gameboy-style retro graphics and what do you have? Tower of Heaven.

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At GamesCom, Ubisoft detailed that Driver: San Francisco’s Q1 2011 PC release will include a special edition that gamers can pre-order. The “Collector’s Pack” will not only come with a real-life model of the game’s infamous yellow Dodge Charger, but it also comes with two exclusive in-game cars, a “Mass Chase” challenge that has yet to be explained, and a physical map of the game’s city. Unfortunately, pricing was not mentioned, but expect a price tag of around $90.

Hit the break to see the Collector’s Pack reveal trailer!

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Treyarch confirmed today via their community forums that gamers would be getting modding tools for Black Ops shortly after the game’s release. Also, the developer console is confirmed. We may not be getting any Collector’s Editions of the game, but this news is far better than any special helmet or R/C car included in the over-priced packaging.

“We plan to open the game up for modding sometime post-launch. We do not know yet to what extent you will be able to mod the game. There are some purely technical issues related to engine and internal tool enhancements that do not easily fit the modtools paradigm. We have looked at it close enough to see that it is non-trivial and we will have to pick it up again post-launch. Right now we are completely focused on finishing the game.

And, dev console: confirmed.”

[Official Forums]

Howdy, readers. After a two-month OliveCast drought, we’ll be finally returning to the microphones this weekend. If you recall, we decided to postpone last month’s OliveCast in favor of spending more time with Hulu Plus. This month’s main OliveCast topic will be about the busiest time of the year for us, game developers, and gamers. That’s right, we’ll be previewing Q4! So, sit tight and look forward to this weekend!

The chip-making giant that we all know and love will be acquiring the antivirus/security company McAfee for a whopping $7.68 billion. This doesn’t mean that McAfee is going kaput. It will simply function as a wholly owned subsidiary.

“We believe this acquisition will result in our ability to deliver a safer, more secure and trusted Internet-enabled device experience.” — Dave DeWalt, president and CEO of McAfee.

I suppose when you’re owned and controlled by Intel, great things can happen.

[Press Release]

While the MX Revolution is still one of the best mice I’ve ever had the pleasure to use, I was ecstatic to review the second generation of this amazing mouse, which is the Performance Mouse MX. Logitech finally sent over a review unit and it’s time to see how this mouse compares to its predecessor.

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The awesome indie devs behind Shank, an upcoming side-scrolling brawler, have announced that the main character’s unlockable outfits will be unveiled one-a-day through their Twitter account.

And, if that’s not enough content to keep you happy, six tracks from the game’s soundtrack have been released to fans for free, with the rest promised to be coming shortly.

via [Dev Blog]

At GameCom today, Razer revealed the newest addition to their keyboard lineup. The BlackWidow is a mechanical gaming keyboard (the very first, according to Razer) that allows for longer life of the keyboard and also faster response times and a more tactile feel to the key presses. And, if you opt for the Ultimate edition, you get backlit keys and extra ports on the keyboard for your mouse and headset.

The BlackWidow comes in two flavors: standard and ultimate, priced at $79.99 and $129.99, respectively. The keyboard is scheduled to ship out on September 21st, so get those pre-orders in!

[Press Release]

Epic Vid of the Week is a weekly series that showcases an awesome video that we or our readers discover. Some you may have seen before and others you may have not. If you’ve discovered any videos that are worthy of an Epic Vid of the Week title, let us know!

Ever seen the “Keyboard Cat” video? Well, here’s Ron Livingston’s version:

Since its reveal at E3 this past June, all there was left to do was simply wait for a Portal 2 release date from Valve, but even that was a game in itself for some reason (we should have known). However, Game Informer, who wrote a 12-page cover story in their April 2010 issue, has reported that Valve told them at Gamescom that Portal 2 will be arriving February 9th, 2011. Valve has also told Game Informer that Wheatley, a British robot character in the game (and who was featured in past trailers), will be voiced by Stephen Merchant, who was a writer and an actor for the British version of The Office, as well as a current writer for the U.S. version.

via [Game Informer]