Brain Hood

Sony sued for U.S. players upset by the news that a hacker had broken the defenses of PlayStation Network and the stolen data could be used for identity theft or fraud.

Several of the cases presented to different district courts in California have accused Sony of negligence and violation of their contracts with users of the PlayStation Network.

Both suits seek damages and class-action status.

Sony did not comment on the lawsuits overnight but said it was working with investigators and would restore services only when it was confident the network was secure.

The PlayStation Network and Qriocity streaming music service were turned off on April 20 following an “external intrusion”, according to Sony spokesman Patrick Seybold.

“We are currently working with law enforcement on this matter as well as a recognised technology security firm to conduct a complete investigation,” Seybold said in a blog posted overnight on the PlayStation website.

“This malicious attack against our system and against our customers is a criminal act and we are proceeding aggressively to find those responsible.”

Launched in November 2006, the PlayStation Network allows PlayStation console users to play games online, challenge others on the internet, stream movies or get other services.

The Japanese electronics giant said it was possible hackers had taken users’ credit-card data.

“While all credit-card information stored in our systems is encrypted and there is no evidence at this time that credit-card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility,” Seybold said, warning that “we are advising you that your credit-card number and expiration date may have been obtained”.

Sony said it had emailed all 77 million PlayStation Network users worldwide to warn them that their data may have been stolen.

The lawsuit filed in southern California on behalf of a Michigan PlayStation Network user contended that the security breach resulted from Sony’s “failure to use reasonable care and maintain appropriate security procedures”.

The lawsuits also faulted Sony for not alerting PlayStation Network users until April 26 about the hacking, which the company reportedly discovered between April 17 and 19.

The stolen information can be found in people’s passwords, dates of birth and other personal data that can be used to hack into online accounts, or to mimic them on the Internet.

Chances are if you have an iPhone, iPhone or iPod Touch, most likely be used for moving video games. If birds or angry Fight Night champion, a mobile game on a platform of IOS is a great success.

Samuel Axon over on Mashable has a list of 10 classic PC games, some of which you may have grown up with, that have found a new life on Apple’s mobile platform. Some of the best include Doom Classic, a recreation of the original Doom and the Oregon Trail, which has been updated with modern day graphics and new mini-games to break up the action.

Beneath a Steel Sky Remastered and The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition are excellent examples of old school PC adventure games which have been updated in order to take advantage of the different control scheme. However, my favourite out of all the showcased applications has to be Plants Vs Zombies.

I first played the game over on the PC, but I have sunk many hours into the iPhone version of the game. Sadly I don’t own an iPad, but I have heard that it is the ultimate way to play Plants Vs Zombies.

See the complete list of more than Mashable and is considered as a treatment for one of those classic games that has found new life in the market for Apple. What game on the iPhone / IPAD is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.

There’s was great six months from Fable 3 launched Xbox 360, but PC gamers are still waiting for the game to launch their platform. It ‘s a good reason, though, as the game developed by John Atkins, told the Rock, Paper, Shotgun after the visit of Lionhead Studios.

“Fable III When we started we decided to make the PC version, and many who want to return to the PC audience,” he said.

“We were getting so many requests for versions on the PC that we felt that there was an opportunity, but also that our fan base was there. That was something that we wanted to honour.”

Atkins told RPS about the level of care the studio had taken on everything from the transfer of controls, to the fishing out of the many bugs present in the game.

“Our hope is that people who pick up on PC think “okay, this plays how I would expect it to play, it doesn’t play like just a half-done port”, which I think is the danger for PC games.”

“Not to knock anyone else, but people tend to just rush games out onto the PC, they do the very quickest port they can and they try to do it as a financial model rather than let’s try to make something that at least plays like it was designed for this platform, and respects what the platform does.”

Lionhead have also implemented a difficulty system into the PC version of Fable 3 – a big first for the series, which is surely in response to the many complaints by the Xbox 360 crowd about how easy and unchallenging the game can be.

“When the difficulty came up we were talking about what PC players would want. What would be important to them? The additional challenge or the choice for additional challenge was something that we thought was important.

Figuring out how to do that in a way that was both efficient and fair was challenging. We didn’t just move sliders around: we actually sat down and looked at the creature types and looked at them as individuals. Rather than just say, “this one now does 10% more damage” we made them a little faster, which gives them the perception of being a little bit smarter.”

Nanosuit Crytek is for the second time in Crysis 2. With a new parameter, fidelity graphics and sophisticated mechanical, definitely impressed Crysis 2 – but is it enough?

Crytek is defined as a studio that pushes the technical limits of the equipment.

With a game engine that brought the high-end PC to its knees, not too many people have had the privilege to experience Crysis the way the studio had originally planned.

So much so that the game has been slandered with the meme “can run Crysis.” To remedy this, Crytek Crysis 2 be available on all major platforms, but not without a few sacrifices.

Crysis 2 abandons the jungles of the South Pacific for the concrete and glass canyons of New York City.

Assuming the role of a US marine named Alcatraz, the player inherits a bioweapon called the nanosuit from the first game’s protagonist.

The nanosuit allows the player three core abilities: strength, armor, and stealth. The unique suit powers are the center mechanic of Crysis 2′s gameplay and level design.  The urban landscape of New York City lends itself well to Crytek’s design philosophies and mechanics. Combat encounters are designed within sandbox-like arenas.

The level design and enemy patrol patterns are wide enough that it allows the player certain tactical options that take advantage of the nanosuit abilities.

An encounter can be carefully planned and scouted with the use of the game’s tactical visor.

When equipped, intel about enemy and ammo locations are highlighted, as well as possible tactical areas of interest.

While the visor recon is a part of the game’s overall lore and fiction, it ultimately made the sandbox combat encounters feel less dynamic and spontaneous – almost as if Crytek were being whispered in the player’s ear, “You can play this part in 3 different ways&”

The nanosuit powers, in practice, work well in encounters. What becomes the main issue in combat, however, is the inconsistent enemy AI.

Since the fiction places the player in-between a corporate army and an alien invading force, Crysis exhibits two distinct kinds of AI patterns – only one of which proved to be of any fun.

The alien counterparts feel predatory in their movement and grouping patterns.

What makes their encounters feel special is that they present the player a sense of parity.

Alien enemies each have nanosuit counter measures that can offset the player’s tactical advantages, making for a more dynamic and interesting encounter.

For instance, I tried to cloak and sneak past a large alien patrol through a wet ditch in an attempt to reach the other side.

Upon hearing the wet pitter-patter of my footsteps, the patrol started to hunt me down and was setting off area-of-effect electric magnetic pulses that, if I were to be hit, would drain the suit’s power automatically.

In comparison, the human AI is stationary in nature and offers no real tactical counter-measures to your core abilities.

What is troubling, however, is that the structure of the narrative alternates between enemy types – creating an awkward experience that is inconsistent in its pace.

The disappointing AI feels like the game’s compromise – as if it had to cut corners in order to render the graphical showcase of Crytek’s game engine.

To that end, Crysis 2 does not disappoint. Quite simply, Crysis 2 is amongst the best looking games to date. What sets Crysis 2 apart from the original, other than evolutionary steps in rendering technologies, is a visual sensibility.

Crytek’s visualization of an infected and war-torn New York City is surprisingly inspired, if not disturbing – especially as it borrows a lot of 9/11 imagery and mise-en-scene.

Crytek swung for the fences with Crysis 2, which offers the most beautiful games current platforms have yet seen. But Crisis 2 is the candidate that beauty contests – even though it is arguably more beautiful than its competitors – or do anything smart things to say when give the microphone.