That’s exactly what Tammabattula has created. The only catch is that the picture needs to come from a 3D camera. “All 3D printers require the item to be made from an intricate and complicated digital wireframe file. Naturally, you need a great deal of technical knowledge in order to produce these. My invention does away with this, instead printing directly from a photograph, by means of a 3D camera,” he said in a press release.

His creation has not yet been deployed in a commercial product, but he is already working on making it accessible to operations within the Indian government. He admits the idea seems crazy, and goes beyond what almost anyone else in this industry has tried to achieve, but he says, “It just goes to show what can be done when you take an existing technology and add a contribution that takes it to the next level.”

A company called Spatial View is hoping you’ll say yes. Its new 3DeeScreen is a lenticular lens filter that snaps onto your laptop’s display via a magnetized mounting frame. It actually manages to create the same kind of effect as glasses-free 3D displays, which use a technology known as autostereoscopic 3D and incorporates walls of tiny mirrors to create the impression of depth. At the moment there is only one available version of the 3DeeScreen and it is designed to fit 15.6-inch laptop displays.

When it comes to 3D and computers, it was decided very early on that users do not want to wear 3D glasses. Period. Toshiba came out with a solution for glasses-free 3D computing, but this one is even more effective and applicable to a much wider range of consumers. “Our goal is to provide a superior 3D viewing experience and enable existing laptops with 3D functionality at a reasonable price,” said Spatial View general manager Ihor Petelycky.

The operation took place in Europe, with a team of medical professionals from Belgium and the Netherlands involved in the groundbreaking procedure. They used a 3D model of her lower mandible and printed it out using titanium. Upon the successful printing process, the “bone” was sprayed with a compound that made it look and feel more like a real part of a human body. While 3D printing has been used in limited capacity in medical procedures before, never had there been an attempt to use the technology to replace an entire jaw.

This is without a doubt one of the most remarkable uses of 3D printing to date. The still-niche industry is poised to bring monumental changes not only to medicine but to production, manufacturing, and personal consumption. It is even possible to print more than half of the components required for a 3D printer, from a 3D printer (it’s the rest of the printer that’s a bit more difficult). As for the 83-year-old patient, she was able to speak and swallow normally just one day after the surgery, and now has a perfectly functioning mouth.

[via Forbes]

The first item available through The Pirate Bay’s 3D printable content section, known as “Physibles,” is the iconic pirate ship that serves as Pirate Bay’s logo. There have already been several downloads of the file, and users have actually uploaded it to 3D printing websites to get their own piece of pirating history. Of course, while the file of the pirate ship is free, users still need to pay for the cost of 3D printing.

For the most part, 3D printers are still not marketed for home use and costs thousands of dollars. Instead, the market is such that users can send a file to a company that offers to turn that digital file into a physical product. These companies generally charge around $100+ for simple requests, most of which is for the cost of the material. So it’s still kind of expensive in the world of piracy, where everything is supposed to be free, but this will change as 3D printing grows and becomes more accessible, and The Pirate Bay will have hit the ground running.

[via TorrentFreak]

Featured: So there are quite a few mixed reactions to Facebook’s new Timeline feature, and if you’re one of those who aren’t particularly pleased with it, you need to check out this PSA: Facebook Timeline absolutely cannot be undone, don’t be fooled. On a lighter note, our Chris Burns examines one of the most exciting technological advancements in his column, 3D printing may explode at rate incomparable to its 2D predecessor.

Gaming: Well that was fast! Steam’s mobile app, which just recently launched in closed beta form, is now open to everyone. And if you’re more interested in console gaming, we have a fresh round of Xbox 720 rumors, this time with a closer look at the speculated dual-SKU strategy we first heard about last week.

Mobile: Attention all Samsung fans – Samsung Galaxy S Note S tipped, GSIII release date dropped. And on the carrier side of things, AT&T’s behind-the-scenes craziness continues. This time the carrier is in the news for a massive executive shake-up. Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, we’ve heard that China Telecom will offer the iPhone 4S next month.

The first 3D printers could be considered rapid prototype machines which started to be widely available in the late 1980s. They started to work on a real level much earlier than that. Take the short time it’s been between the massive computers popping up in the last 100 years, inside our lifetimes, and the ultra tiny world of nanoprocessors today and you can see that we’re developing now at an absolutely explosive, exponential rate.

One article last week by Christopher Mims on Why 3D Printing Will Go the Way of Virtual Reality you’ll find that his view shows a less optimistic vision for the 3D printing world. While the technology today allows for plastics to be molded to our specifications in little to no time at all, it’s a long push to materials that otherwise need massive heat, time, effort, and other fine features to get the ball rolling. The big mind-over-matter thought comes from Tim Maly then of Quite Babylon who notes the time it’s taken to get from the press to the home press. It all seems reasonable to me.

So what do you think, home citizens? Do you think we’ll be printing up everything from toys to food to our own computers and back again soon? Or is it all in our imagination?

[Image via Wil Wheaton]

Toshiba launched the 3D HDTV in Japan last November, with limited availability, as the 55X3. The screen itself is a 3850 x 2160 panel – that’s Quad Full High Definition – and uses 240-zone intelligent backlighting. Toshiba has implemented a face tracking system for the glasses-free 3D, using a lenticular sheet placed across the panel, and up to nine viewers are supported simultaneously.

2D to 3D conversion is also possible, though only at 1,280 x 720 resolution. If you’re not interested in 3D, then it’s likely to be the 4k2k resolution that’s most interesting: although projectors supporting that sort of detail are reasonably broadly available, 4k2k TVs are less common.

Still unclear is price. In Japan, the 55X3 comes in at roughly $10,000, which means the set is likely to be similarly expensive when it arrives in North America.

After a slow start, the 3DS passed the 4m US sales mark earlier this month, though it required a hefty discount from the original sticker price in order to motivate demand. Nintendo has been stoking the 3DS’ fire in the meantime, too, releasing new 3D game demos for download, and pushing out a firmware update to the console that enables 3D video recording among other features.

However, in the future the wireless services Nintendo offers will increase. The company announced plans last week for the Nintendo Network, a wireless service for the 3DS and the upcoming Wii U that will allow gamers to receive updates, alerts and more directly to their device.

This would make it the first smartphone with the term “3D” at the front of its name. The insider information comes from Israeli website GSM-Israel, which has a solid track record of leaking details that are later proven true. Based on earlier information we’ve seen, the phone will have a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, a 4.3-inch display, and a built-in 3D camera for still shots and video.

Of course, the tough part of selling a 3D phone right now is the lack of content. Sprint put out an aggressive campaign for its Evo 3D device that encouraged users to create their own content with the built-in 3D camera. Third-party app makers have been less enthusiastic, but perhaps at next month’s Mobile World Congress, where the 3D Max is expected to be fully unveiled, we’ll see advancements in this area.

[via Pocket Now]

You also get a 2W stereo speaker setup built in, though we’re guessing most users will want to plug in an external system if they care about audio at all. The 16:9 aspect panel has 250 cd/m2 brightness and a 5ms response time, and AOC is quoting the usual, ridiculous dynamic contrast ratio: in this case, 20,000,000:1.

AOC throws in two pairs of 3D glasses, one traditional set and another that clip onto prescription glasses; you can also use them with other passive 3D displays, like HDTVs. The ACO E2352PHZ is on sale now, priced at $299.

The MT65 Presenter display is Full HD with 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, supports 3D, and offers up to 32 simultaneous touch points. The LED backlit screen is rated for 50,000 hours and is protected by 3mm thick ultra-clear tempered glass.

Inside, the MT65 Presenter packs a quad-core Intel Core i7 2720QM processor with 8GB of RAM, 256GB SATA SSD, and a discrete GeForce GTX 460 GPU. It also has built-in WiFi, Bluetooth, and Ethernet connectivity along with stereo speakers, stereo microphone, an HD webcam with Carl Zeiss optics, and HDMI port.

Although the MT65 Presenter would be awesome to have in your home, at $17,500 it’s obviously priced for commercial use such as in museums or other public spaces. It will be available with either Windows 7 Professional 64-bit or Linux starting in March.

[via GizMag]

There’s also a 17.3-inch Full HD LED-backlit display, and a backlit keyboard for those late-night gaming sessions. Samsung is readying both 2D and 3D models, and there’ll be both AMD and NVIDIA graphics options too.

A 5,900mAh battery probably can’t be expected to last all too long if you’re hammering the Series 7 for gaming purposes, but the onboard optical drive and that expansive display means it’ll probably be a solid multimedia notebook too. Samsung expects it to land at the equivalent of $2,228 for the 2D version and around $200 more for the 3D version in Korea, though US pricing is tipped to be from $1,799.

[via Sammyhub]

Discovered by AppleInsider, the patent application called “Sensor Based Display Environment” describes a 3D display environment in which the orientation data from an iOS device’s onboard gyroscope and compass sensors are used to navigate the system. The environment is motion-controlled because traditional means of navigating the system through touch or stylus is difficult due to the limited screen size.

For instance, users could navigate an iPhone’s 3D interface as if it were looking through an “imaginary camera viewfinder.” By moving the iPhone around you can see into the digital world or 3D interface, similar to an augmented reality experience. This virtual room that user looks at could have different objects, perhaps apps, on the walls, floor, and ceiling that can be selected. These walls or sides can be snapped to by a preset action, such as shaking the phone.

This Apple patent application was first filed back in July of 2010 and is credited to Patrick Piedmonte.

With these glasses you’ll be able to see content including internet with a web browser, movies, TV and video games. What we see here is moving images that can be seen by me with the glasses on and not by anyone else around me as I’m viewing. The actual technology is in the boxes on the outsides of the lenses, one for each temple: OE-32 Optical Engine modules to project 720p resolution in 3D received through HDMI.

What they’re saying here is that what we’re seeing is the equivalent of an 87-inch screen from a distance of 10 feet, essentially no matter what you’re looking at. In reality it’s an image that’s certainly displayed in front of you in a way that’s not headache-inducing, believe it or not. Your demo man here is someone who isn’t a friend of 3D, not in tablets, not on televisions, and certainly not right in the face, but this wasn’t that bad. In fact, it was downright enjoyable to look at, especially since they had corrective lenses in a box to correct for this fellow’s terrible, terrible eyes.

The XVT3D710CM has Vizio’s “TruLED” backlighting, while the rest of the CinemaWide line-up has Razor LED side-lighting. Rather than the Google TV integration that the R-Series gets, the new extra-wide sets will instead use Vizio’s own VIA smart TV system with Yahoo! apps. All have integrated WiFi-n, however, and a Bluetooth QWERTY keyboard for control and navigation.

Like Philips’ Cinema 21:9 sets, however, it’s theater-style entertainment at home that Vizio is particularly pushing. The 21:9 aspect means full-width cinema content can be shown with minimal black bars, though of course it’s not much use for streamed or broadcast content (unless you want the picture to be stretched).

No word on pricing or availability at this stage.

All four sets run at 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution, with 5.5ms response times. The 42-, 47- and 55-inch models have 240Hz refresh rates, while the 65-incher scales that back to 120Hz; each gets edge-lit LED backlighting and Smart Dimming. Ports across the line-up include four HDMI 1.4 inputs, one component/composite, one RF antenna, two USB and a PC input, along with optical and stereo audio outputs. WiFi b/g/n is built in, along with Bluetooth.

The 42- and 47-inch models have twin 10W stereo, while the two larger sets step up to 15W. There’s SRS StudioSound HD support across the range, though you’ll obviously get better results if you hook up a home theater surround sound system.

Vizio’s Theater 3D system uses passive, battery-free glasses, which the company reckons result in a picture up to twice as bright as active-shutter systems. Up to four pairs are included in the box, and further sets are promised to be inexpensive.

Google TV is also found on Vizio’s new 65-inch M3D650SV. No word on pricing for any of the new models at this stage.

The experience of trying out the headset is a trip, to say the least. A basic 3D environment was on display, and moving the perspective around was easy enough when tilting my head. But moving around required a standard PlayStation style-controller. Camera in the holes on the headset help to sense the change in motion from the surrounding environment. It’s all very basic at the moment, probably running on some very low-power hardware running within the unit itself. The 3D was surprisingly good for a demo unit, but the basic game on display didn’t really do it justice.

The hardware itself feels very plasticy, and the one-size-doesn’t-really-fit-anybody means that women or smaller men will have it move around on their head a lot. The combination of motion tracking, head-mounted display and 3D is interesting, but in this particular package, feels like an arcade experience: fun for a while but you wouldn’t want to game with it for hours on end. The Sensics 3D SmartGoggles has no set release date, but they’re trying for sometime in 2012.

The screen itself is produced from a single pane of glass, with each pixel having its own RGB sub-pixels. It’s apparently over 1,000 times faster than LED sets, but Super OLED actually uses less power than regular LCD sets.

You still get 3D functionality and dual core processor, with Samsung’s 1,400 smart TV apps offering everything from streaming access through Netflix, Hulu and other on-demand services, to weather updates, games, news and more. There’s social networking, too, along with AllShare Play to link – through cloud storage to remote smartphones, tablets, camera, computers and TVs.

Samsung isn’t saying how much the 55-inch OLED TV will cost – we’re guessing you’ll need a very well-padded bank account – but it’ll apparently go on sale later on this year.

An expansion bay on the back of the 2012 TVs can be fitted with an upgrade card, to add new features as Samsung develops them. The company says it will begin offering upgrade kits from 2013.

The integrated camera and microphone means you can turn the TV on or off, activate apps or search in the browser using your voice – with noise cancellation to boost accuracy – with hand-waves used to navigate around the page. A dual-core processor keeps things moving swiftly, and there’s a tabbed web browser, over 1,400 apps to choose from, and AllShare Play to stream content to and from PCs, smartphones and tablets.

The Samsung ES8000 Smart LED TV and ES7500 Smart LED TV series offer both 2D and 3D, with an 0.2 inch ultra-slim bezel on the premium models and a 0.5 inch bezel on the regular line-up. There’s also a slim wall mount option.

As for the E80000 Smart Plasma TV, that has a 1.5-inch profile and Samsung’s Plasma +1 ultra-slim bezel design, as well as a Real Black Pro Panel that’s supposedly 10-percent blacker than previous plasma displays.

No word on pricing at this stage.

As for the twin gamer appeal, that’s LG Dual Play: with two gamers each wearing special glasses, they can see a different full-screen view at the same time, rather than sharing a portion of the screen. It’s something we’ve seen before on Sony’s PlayStation 3D Display, but likely to be considerably bigger on LG’s sets.

3D Sound Zooming is promised, to better position audio within your room based on where, on-screen, it’s meant to be. That’s already been included in LG’s hefty multi-channel surround systems, though we’ll have to wait until next week to see how well it actually works.

Finally, as you’d expect, there’s smart TV integration in the new Cinema Screen sets, though it looks to be LG’s existing implementation rather than Google TV.

The LG Google TV comes with the “Magic Remote Qwerty” and a user interface based on Android Honeycomb. The Magic Remote Qwerty is a combination of its voice-controlled Magic Remote with a QWERTY keyboard. With the LG Google TV users can expect an interface and main screen designed for convenient browsing. Those hoping to do a bit of multi-tasking, don’t fret. The search, social networking and TV functions can be run simultaneously.

LG’s Google TV will come equipped with LG’s own CINEMA 3D technology.The built-in 2D to 3D conversion engine allows any 2D content to be viewable in 3D. CINEMA 3D glasses, which are battery-free and relatively affordable, will be required for viewing 3D content. This TV looks promising, however, one specification that has yet to be released is size. But with CES just around the corner, we won’t have to wait much longer for that information.

[via PR Newswire]

As for LG’s other machines, the LG P535 is a 2.2kg 15.6-incher with a choice of 3D or non-3D 1366 x 768 displays, up to 8GB of RAM, a choice of Core i3/i5/i7 processors and the pick of Intel HD 3000 graphics, NVIDIA GeForce GT 610M 1GB GPU or GeForce GT 630M 2GB GPU. It has up to 1TB of storage, a DVD burner, WiFi b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0.

Finally, the LG V300 plops itself resolutely on your desktop with its 23-inch 1920 x 1080 all-in-one form-factor. Options include a 3D display, multitouch support and an IPS panel with 178-degree viewing angles, along with a choice of Core i3/i5/i7 processors and up to 8GB of DDR3 memory. Storage is up to 750GB and there’s your pick of either a DVD burner or a Blu-ray drive, the latter turning the V300 into a serviceable TV replacement.

Select models get an integrated TV tuner, and there’s two USB 3.0 ports, eSATA, line in, line out, HDMI, audio in/out, gigabit ethernet and a multiformat card reader. WiFi b/g/n and a choice of Bluetooth 2.1 or 3.0 are present, plus a 720p-capable webcam. All three models run Windows 7, and LG is saving pricing details until next week.

Unlike Samsung’s 7.1-channel home theater system from earlier today, the LG BH9420PW manages 9.1-channels of audio. The traditional 5.1 speakers are paired with a further four Upright 3D Speakers, targeting audio upward, while a reflector system inside the four shunts sound in all directions.

LG reckons that’s enough to create “acoustics as rich as those in a concert hall” but we’d be pleased with just the broadened “sweet spot” that’s apparently another result of the clever DSP. That means more listeners can hear the full 3D surround effect.

Smart TV integration – with streaming widgets, internet updates and more – is provided, including access to 3D content. No word on pricing, but the LG BH9420PW is set to arrive in stores come March 2012. The rest of LG’s new home theater range will be revealed at CES next week.

That – along with OLED’s inherent display advantages – means LG can promise an infinite contrast ratio for the new 55-incher, with pictures LG says are simply impossible with existing LCD and LED panels. It’s faster, too: 1,000x faster, in fact, than LED and LCD, for smear-free movies and sports.

As the new press shots show, all that display technology will be wrapped in a super-slick design, with a 4mm thick bezel. The whole set will weigh a mere 7.5kg, making it ideal for wall-mounting. There’s 3D support, too.

What LG still isn’t confirming is price, and though this new display uses a cheaper production process based on Oxide TFT technology, we’re still expecting it to carry a premium tag. That – along with release dates – will presumably be shared at CES next month; we’ll be there to bask in LG’s glow.

It’s a bit early to call that “largest” title since makers are known to wait to the last minute to roll out devices that will grab attention at CES. This TV is massive with an 84-inch screen. It also uses passive 3D glasses so you don’t have to spend hundreds of extra dollars to outfit a family with glasses. The UD resolution is four times that of normal 1080p HD at 3840 x 2160.

Sure, there is no content for that resolution right now, but you could have multiple 1080p sources on the screen at one time. The set also offers 3D depth control and 3D surround sound. It’s also a smart TV and has access to 1,200 LG smart TV apps and the 3D zone allowing access to 3D movies. The remote for the TV recognizes gestures, pointing, and voice commands.

It still manages to pack in 7W integrated speakers and that all-important IPS display, however, with support for 3D graphics. The DM52 series includes 23- and 27-inch models, with 3D support and both HDMI and USB inputs for showing content from your computer, AV kit or even a thumb-drive.

As for the LG D43, that can actively convert 2D graphics into 3D, without demanding any specific software be running on your computer or AV player. A dedicated 3D button allows for simple tweaking of the depth effect.

LG will be showing off the new range at CES 2012, with a global launch beginning in February. No word on pricing at this stage.

The museum has traditionally offered audio guides to people that visit the museum if needed. The 3DS rollout is part of a plan to step up digital device use at the museum. Nintendo is providing the museum with 5,000 of the consoles as part of a partnership with the museum. Each of the little consoles will be loaded with various itineraries that will cater to specific groups and desires.

There will be a kid’s itinerary and hundreds of different recorded commentaries in seven languages on the art and other works on display at the museum. Nintendo developed the content for the museum with the Louvre in editorial control. I am sure that Nintendo is hoping the deal with the popular and heavily toured museum will raise the notoriety of the 3DS.

[via AFP]

The system would operate “by measuring the path length of an amplitude modulated scanning beam as a function of the phase shift thereof” while simultaneously “visual image user feedback concerning the detected user input is presented” Apple’s document suggests. A more simple implementation might track movement in 3D space around the computer and simply show the results on-screen; however, Apple’s application also suggests that audio feedback could be used, such as a clicking as you rotate a virtual knob, or a 3D display using a complex system of projections and mirrors.

Exactly how practical such a setup might be would depend on the intended portability of the computer itself. While a projection box of some sort makes sense with a desktop rig, it could prove cumbersome when tethered to a MacBook Pro, for instance. In that situation, straightforward on-screen controls navigated via gesture would perhaps make more sense.

Apple also envisages the system potentially being integrated with head-tracking, either using angle of gaze or other motions to trigger functions like scroll and zoom, or implementing a motorized camera to keep the user in-view, along with user-presence detection. The 3D display system could also be slaved to a smaller device, such as an iPhone or iPod, to augment the portable gadget’s own, smaller screen and “thereby considerably enhancing the usability of the device, and substantially enhancing and improving the user experience.”

An actual 3D display and the associated user-tracking is obviously not expected any time soon by Apple, despite what the company’s engineers appear to be working on now. This latest patent looks to be a modified version of one, also by Apple, granted back in September. At the time, it was speculated that the tech would allow the company to integrate 3D displays and complex gesturing with mobile devices.

[via Unwired-View]

The 15-inch model is 1.11-inches thick and tips the scales at 5.79 pounds, while the 17-incher is 1.28-inches thick and 7.37 pounds. Then there’s the Envy 17 3D, which throws in a full HD Radiance 3D 120Hz display, a pair of active shutter 3D glasses and a Blu-ray HD player.

The ENVY 15 is meant to start at $1,100, but Logicbuy has a coupon for a Core i5 version at $949.99; meanwhile the ENVY 17 is meant to be from $1,250, but the deals site has a coupon for it from $1,099.99. Finally, the ENVY 17 3D has an RRP of $1,599, but Logicbuy has details on how to get it for $1,172.99.

Your money gets you quite a bit of advanced technology, mind. The QFHD – or Quad Full High Definition – display offers more pixels than most people would know what to do with, and there’s 240-zone intelligent backlighting. Face tracking is used for the glasses-free 3D, with a lenticular sheet placed across the panel and up to nine viewers supported simultaneously. It’s possible to convert 2D to 3D, too, though it’s worth noting that in 3D mode you don’t get that 3850 x 2160 resolution.

Toshiba’s REGZA CEVO Duo engine is at the heart of the 55X3, and there’s support for Full HD video recording to a USB-attached hard drive. Three TV tuners are present, for digital terrestrial reception in Japan. No word on availability outside of the country at this stage.

[via AV Watch]

The DX2500 uses parallax barrier technology and can show the 3D effects with no glasses needed. The tech in the display also supports head tracking as well to ensure that the user gets the best quality possible when viewing the monitor. That head tracking tech means that the viewer can venture outside the narrow range of viewing angles that parallax barrier displays normally impose.

The head tracking is done using a camera embedded inside the monitor that can detect changes in the user’s eye and head position in real time. Using that positional data the display is then able to adjust itself for optimal 3D effects. The display is also capable of converting 2D to 3D for movies and games with a click. The DX2500 is available in Korean now and will ship globally in early 2012 at an undisclosed price.

The display measured 27-inches and has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 for full HD 3D content and video gaming. The 3D chip tech will work with any video card as well. The display ships with a single pair of 3D glasses. Connectivity for the display includes HDMI. The other new product is the H9500BD projector that will support 3D tech from NVIDIA.

The projector also converts 2D to 3D automatically and has full 1080p resolution. It can throw an image up to 300-inches diagonally. The projector uses DLP tech and has a 120Hz and 3D software. It has 50000:1 contrast ratio and uses active shutter 3D glasses. It has 2000 ANSI lumens of brightness and supports 16:9 and 4:3. The projector sells for $1,999.99 and the display sells for $599.

As well as the ability to use the 3DS’ twin camera array to record video, rather than just 3D images as is currently possible, the new software will allow 3DS units to communicate between each other and transfer downloaded software and data. There’ll also be new gaming content in StreetPass Mii Plaza, with the addition of Find Mii II among other things.

Announced last month, the new firmware is part of Nintendo’s attempt to motivate sales of the 3DS; so far, that’s something only dramatic price cuts have managed to do. The glasses-free 3D gimmick has not proved the must-have selling point that Nintendo perhaps expected it to be, and the company faces increasingly strong casual gaming competition on iOS and Android devices.

Storyline

The storyline here is one that takes place some months after the prison madness of Batman: Arkham Asylum, the first game in this series. What’s gone on since then is the city government of Gotham City has created a walled-in miniature town in which all the criminals that would otherwise have been sent to the asylum for the criminally insane have been confined – this city is called Arkham City. This and the fact that a set of corrupt police officers under the orders of the fellow who’s been left in charge of the city have tossed Bruce Wayne in the city to fend for himself make this storyline appear rather familiar.

This is a re-written version of Escape from New York (or Escape from Los Angeles, if you prefer), and Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, is Snake Plissken. Once you’ve been pulled into the city by the sinister Hugo Strange, who is running the city in this storyline, your goal is to continue the investigation you started before you were captured – and with your endless arsenal of gadgets, abilities, and skills in both the combat and detective arenas, you’ll have more than an engaging time doing so. The story does aim at making this a quintessential Batman game as it does appear to try to contain each and every one of the main villains, but of course its unlikely nature is easily trumped by the vastness of the environment and your complete freedom in exploring all of your possibilities.

This is a Batman story, and because it takes on the story started in the first Arkham game and expands upon it by literally turning the asylum into an entire city, it’s great. And not only do you get to move through the main storyline, there are side-stories and tasks you can attain as well. And of course, what good game centered around a city would be complete without Grand Theft Auto free-play, your ability to explore nearly without limit!

Gameplay

When you play this game, you are Batman. You’ll want to put on your movie-quality Batman mask and put on the sharp gloves because you’ll feel like you’re the real deal. You play the part of the real detective Batman, the one with vast sets of maps, decoding tools, and your trusty pal Alfred Pennyworth (aka Bruce Wayne’s butler and Batman’s most valuable helper, for those of you unfamiliar). You also play the part of the fully equipped Batman, complete with every little Bat-tool you’ve ever heard of. Fly to the tops of buildings with your Line Launcher pulling you from the ground all the way up, glide around the town with your cape-cum-Bat-Glider, and traverse the landscape as you discover the ever-changing set of situations in the whole of Arkham City.

You’ve got levels on top of levels of ways to interact with your environment, from punching a bad guy in the face to attaching a line to a horizon scaffold to lower yourself down on top of the enemy head-first. You can attack a villain from above, flipping down to knock him out with your boot. You can make a glide-attack from a half-mile above a group of gangsters directly to a fellow’s face. Toss your Remote Controlled Batarang and make it flip and fly from your hand down the aisle, around the corner, and under a table to hit a notorious fellow in the kneecap. You will know the meaning of a diverse set of views and controls when you work here in the city.

You’ll want to choose your controls wisely. The folks who make the game have some special edition Batarang controllers you can use, but know this: there are many ways. When you see the demonstration video you’ll see your humble narrator using the keyboard on the laptop and a plain ol’ two-button and a scroll wheel mouse. You’ve got many choices, to say the least.

Graphics

Again I must say that this is far and away the most aesthetically voluptuous video game I’ve ever played, and with the setup I’ve got running here there’s no waiting for anything. Flowing cape, purple haze, and masses of bats haunt your vision as you move through a very real (yet virtual, believe it or not) world of Arkham City. You’ll walk across a collapsing set of poles over motel metal, gaze over the masses of buildings complete with weather, and move in and out of cinematics without even a moment’s delay.

When you fight a set of gangsters, you’ll know you’ve beaten them all because whichever ends up being your final punch or kick is swiftly zoomed in on shown in ultra slow-motion. It’s just lovely. Have a peek at the enhancements you’ll be working with should you play this game with the same GPU we’re having a look at here – lots more floaties!

Hands-on with Batman: Arkham City on an Alienware M17xR3

The 3rd Dimension

I played this game in 3D with the NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 wireless 3D glasses you see in the hands-on video. Notice in the video that you’re not seeing in 3D — that’s not because the 3D glasses don’t work, its because the camera can’t translate the effect. What you’re seeing instead is one of two frames that the glasses would otherwise send to your two eyes for the full 3D effect. And that effect is good. Where I’m by no means a fan of the 3D era we’re in right this moment, these glasses fit my face, the lenses cover my eyes adequately, and I don’t get a headache like I did with the ol’ blue and red glasses or these no-glasses 3D effects we’re seeing with some smartphones this past year.

Those are nasty, this is undeniably good.

Wrap-up

This game is the one rig giants will be using as their go-to for “look at how amazing this machine is” for quite some time, without a doubt. The folks at Rocksteady Studios have done a fantastic job of both developing and delivering the game, this including promoting the game with several offers on each different iteration of the game – like Gamestop where you’ll find the reviews sitting at 10 out of 10 almost without end. This game is out now for several platforms including Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, but as this PC version is without a doubt the most aesthetically powerful, this is the one you should get. Suit up now.

And know this – as with all of our reviews here on SlashGear of products like smartphones, tablets, computers of all types, and even the tiniest of remote control vehicles, you’re welcome to continue to ask questions throughout the future that your humble narrator (or whoever did each particular review) will do their best to answer. In other words – what else do you want to know?

Instead, the 3D Display will follow on in 2012, with updates on exactly when that’s expected tipped for early in the new year. It’s possible that Sony has been overwhelmed with sales, demand for the screen outstripping its production capabilities; the company blamed the Thai flooding recently for part of its underwhelming financial results and manufacturing delays.

Priced at £410 in the UK (and $499 in the US), the PlayStation 3D Display measures in at 24-inches and comes bundled with a pair of 3D glasses; although its primary target is gaming, it will also handle 3D movies and other content, such as that played back on a PS3. Sony has also said it is considering larger versions for future launches, though has not committed to availability. Still, with the company’s LCD business looking disappointingly dreary right now, we imagine Sony is keen to take advantage of any interest from the market whatsoever.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

To refresh your memory, the Pioneer BDP-140 Blu-ray Player supports the latest and greatest high-quality formats including Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio for crisp movie viewing, and Super Audio CD (SACD) for music playback. Furthermore, the BDP-140 has the ability to upconvert standard definition sources to 1080p resolution for all the full-HD displays out there. The BDP-140 also offers 3D video output with the most up-to-date HDMI 1.4a spec.

Last but not least, Pioneer’s completely free iControlAV2 App turns various smartphones and tablets into remote controls for the BDP-140. When your Blu-ray player is connected via Ethernet to a wireless router, the app enables users to have basic functions over the player. The iControlAV2 app is available for the iPad, iPhone, iPod touch and for select Android devices. Get your BDP-140 now at Pioneer’s own website.

[via Pioneer]

Of course it’s awesome when technology is standardized, just so long as its the best option for consumers. One example of this going RIGHT, if I do say so myself, is when it was decided that microUSB seemed like the best idea for Smartphones. Another example, this time when things went wrong, is when video cassette was chosen over Betamax, the latter being the CLEAR superior if you ask me. Now what we’ve got here is the pushing of the XPAND 3D format of 3D glasses, one that uses 3D active shutters to attain the effect it needs to bring you 3D. Both Bluetooth enabled radio frequency system 3D active glasses technology and infrared are licensed within the program as well.

This battle has been brewing for many years – have a peek at a 2009 post by Shane McGlaun which addresses this same topic and even goes so far as to have an old pair of XPAND 3D glasses as its main image. Back then it was the battle between XPAND 3D and RealD 3D. Certainly this battle is about to get rather ugly with backers such as the ones in this newest initiative.

This again marks the successful launching of the Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative licensing program, this meaning that anyone who wants to get in on the party with the “Full HD 3D Glasses” branding will need to get their product checked at the official test center. The first test center for this initiative is set to be opened later this month.

The projector supports full 1080p resolution and it uses Film Patterned Retarder display technology. The FPR tech in the projector means that it can be used with normal polarized 3D glasses rather than the more expensive active 3D glasses. That will make fitting the entire family with glasses much cheaper with the CF3DAT.

The projector is bright enough to be used in large living rooms, museums, auditoriums and other venues. The CF3DAT will be offered in Korea and the global version is the CF3DAA and it will venture outside of Korea is in the first half of 2012. The CF3DAA will not come with a TV tuner. Pricing is unknown at this time.

The display on the AIO is a 23-inch unit and it has TriDef 3D game support. The display can swivel for use sitting or standing up to 180-degrees and it reclines at up to 60-degrees. The AIO requires stereoscopic 3D glasses to view the 3D content. The machine also has LinkUp and Beats Audio tech inside along with premium graphics and processor options. The 3D display is called the 2311gt 3D monitor.

This screen is 23-inches wide and uses LED backlighting. It uses Film Patterned Retarder tech known as FPR for a brighter display and flicker free 3D images. The screen comes with two sets of 3D glasses and has some 3D content loaded right out of the box. The 620 3D AIO sells for $1,599 after a $300 instant rebate and will land on November 15. The 3D display sells for $299.99 and will land November 8.

We’ve seen wireless TV transmitters before, of course, but high-resolution and zero wires generally don’t play nicely. HP reckons its system is good enough to handle smooth Full HD, however, and supports not only video content but application mirroring, so that you can squirt your browser over to your TV and surf more comfortably from the couch.

Unfortunately that cord-cutting doesn’t come cheap. The HP Wireless TV Connect will go on sale in mid-December, priced at $179.99.