BlizzCon is set to be one of the biggest events to hit the worlds of Warcraft and Starcraft, with 8,000 attending the last BlizzCon and tickets for this one already sold out. Held for two days on August 3 and 4 at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, the event will be holding contests and tournaments, including a dance, song, and fan art contest.

 

Now if you managed to get your hands an a ticket, remember that that's gonna be a big place and you're gonna want to have time for everything there is to do out there. Here's a couple of helpful tips from Blizzard to help you on your way to getting your way:

• Get your badges early at the pick-up stations on Thursday, the day before the event, between 4pm and 11pm or on Friday starting at 7am
• Prepare a loose schedule that gives you ample time to do everything you want given the limited amount of time you got
• Live events will have buttloads of people attending them: go early or get smushed
• Bring a bag, and bring the essentials (plus they give out goodie bags when you pick up your badge so make room for that)
• Remember there are stuff you can't bring inside BlizzCon, so check with the website first
• Check the size of your bag: you can only bring one that's not bigger than 20 inches x 10 inches
• The BlizzCon store empties out rather quickly so get them while they're hot
• Lines for games will be longest in the afternoons so try to line up for them in the morning so you don't waste your time waiting
• There are special places reserved for in-game friends to see each other on the second level, rooms 202 and 203 so be sure to visit
• Remember that Anaheim Convention Center is right beside Disneyland, you might want to take a visit as well before or after the show, especially if you're from out of town

That's it everyone, have a great time at BlizzCon! Stay tuned for further updates.

As you would expect from a record making movie title (Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest earned $ 135.6 million from its domestic opening weekend), Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End's worldwide premiere in Disneyland got swarmed with fans.

The stars were there, so it's expected that screams for Johnny Depp will dominate the air. Along with co-stars Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, and Keira Knightley, they walked the red carpet that Rush said to be longer than the movie.

Being priced at $ 1,500 couldn't stop the crazed fans, as the tickets sold out in mere 14 days. There were also 200 media booths from all over the world to join the fray, so it was quite populated in Disneyland's Main Street.

So what does this have to do with gamers? Disney answers that with special downloads for the DS game based on the movie. Your treasure hunting skills will be put to the test though: you'll need to find hidden "X-marks-the-spot" icons near "Pirates" related attractions.

The movie will drop the anchor on U.S. shores this Friday, so rally up 'mateys!

There's still no known cure for Alzheimer's disease but a study published this week claims that they are closing in on a treatment that will reverse memory loss with the help of mental simulation and drug treatment.

The said study was conducted by Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology neuroscientist Li-Huei Tsai. Accordingly, the treatment was conducted to mice with a condition like Alzheimer's.

To make things a little easier, the process included placing the mice inside some sort of a miniature Disneyland and using a kind of drug that promotes brain nerve cell development (histone deacetylase or HDAC). According to Tsai, this suggests that lost memories are not actually erased. She explained,

We show, I believe, the first evidence that even if the brain suffered some very severe neurodegeneration and the individual exhibits very severe learning impairment and memory loss, there is still the possibility to improve learning ability and recover to a certain extent lost long-term memories.

Going back to the study's Disneyland, Tsai discussed that it is just actually a regular cage loaded with an assortment of colorful toys, treadmills, and other mice that change every time. Initial results implied that these rodents remember the changes easily as well as learned new tricks after inducing a mild electric shock to their feet to help establish enduring memory.

Lastly, the neuroscientist added that the study is aimed at curing those with Alzheimer's during the disease's later stages and those with severe brain damage.

Theme parks have always been for the kids. The Amora Academy of Sex and Relationships in London, however, is proving that adults can have fun, too. Call the nanny and leave the kids at home 'cause this ain't a day for a ferris wheel and a carousel.

Opening today, the Amora Academy of Sex and Relationships is a theme park devoted to the most cherished social activity we Homo Sapiens have ever known: Sex. This one isn't exactly the Disneyland of dildos, but we reckon it can put the Playboy Mansion to shame with the crazy stuff it's got.

The theme park boasts countless video clips of educational sex videos with people doing the deed voluntarily for the sake of science. Life-sized dolls which teach couples about erogenous spots and the fabled G-spot are available. Vibrators, dildos and sex dolls are also on display. The highlight of the show, however, is the Orgasm Tunnel which you can enter and as you go deeper, sensors play heartbeats getting louder.

By the time you reach the climax zone, a scream resonates and videos displaying facial expressions of people who just hit seventh heaven are played. Statistics regarding faking orgasms are also flashed, along with other useful info. Cutting the ribbon will be celebrated porn star Jenna Jameson, while Ron Jeremy will give the keynote speech.

Okay, so the part about Jameson and Jeremy isn't factual, but we're sure they'd be very proud to hear about this. Too bad, kiddies, the park is strictly for adults only. You'll have to wait a few more years to get in.

Not too long after the changing of the guard and the release of the Grand Theft Auto IV trailer comes another new, yet unsurprising news tidbit for Take-Two Interactive. Its media and political backlash for the trailer of the game which, for all intents and purposes, looks to be a caricature of New York City.

According to Game Politics, there's a rather bleak reception towards the inclusion of a fictional "New York" within the game. Of these though, perhaps the most expressive was the one from the NY Daily News' own declaration, which reads:

The latest version of an ultraviolent video game will unleash its murderous mayhem on the streets of New York. And outraged political leaders say the rampant brutality of the game, Grand Theft Auto IV, has little in common with reality. …(GTA4) is set in a mythical city that bears a striking resemblance to New York… the trailer shows well-known landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Cyclone in Coney Island…

Of the comments from the politicians, however, the analogy by City Councilman Peter Vallone also put the political perspective behind it best: "Setting Grand Theft Auto in the safest big city in America would be like setting Halo in Disneyland."

As the protagonist says in the trailer, "Life is complicated; I killed people, smuggled people, sold people. Perhaps here, things will be different." Perhaps, dear reader, there's hope that GTA IV won't be as one-sided as people make it out to be. We definitely hope so.

They're alive! Or at least their animatronic counterparts anyway. How would you like an appropriately sized Kermit the Frog to entertain you at a theme park?

Worry not. Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his trusty assistant Beaker are now roaming Disneyland as a part of the Muppet Mobile Laboratory. They are on a loony looking rocket ship on two wheels. It even looks that Beaker's pedaling the machine. Anyway, here's a video from YouTube by JLOateslll of the duo.

The duo provided some entertainment with a few jokes. The technology looks like it's still in the testing phase. In the middle of a speech, Dr. Bunsen takes a long pause as Beaker pedals back and forth for a while and both suddenly bursts into the Hi-Ho song. After the song, the good doctor says goodbye saying that they are having technical problems with his lunch.

Once they get the bugs out of this technology, it might become the staple "interactive" entertainment in theme parks. Mascots, beware. The Muppets' robot army is taking over the wor- err... theme parks.

Ozura Mobile recently launched Cicak-Man Mobile Game and tournament. Cicak-Man, based on Malaysia’s very first Action Hero Movie, is the story of two best friends. One of them, Hairi, accidentally gains superpowers and becomes Cicak-Man. Now he must cope with the transition from everyday mortal life to superhero stardom.

Characters from the movie are featured in the gameplay with their own distinctive form of defense and attacking skills. Danny, a lab technician has a unique attacking skill called the Giant Syringe Poke where he attacks his opponents by tossing test tubes. Another character, Professor Klon, attacks his enemies by using the Multiple Illegal VCD Throws.

Meanwhile, the Cicak-Man competitive game is steadily building up participants. The Grand Prize Winner will win a trip for two to Disneyland, Hong Kong.

Okay, pop quiz: You've just finished Oblivion, jacked up your stats to godly levels, and you've either made everybody like you to a disposition factor of 99, or killed those who dared frown upon you.

What do you do now, he who has mastered this latest installment of the Elder Scrolls? Barring the cheesy "I'm going to Disneyland!" line deserving of a smiting, we thought this'd be the next step: Get the expansion pack.

Knights of the Nine, the much awaited expansion pack to Bethesda's Oblivion game for the PC has just been released, and is now available for download. The download will sell for roughly US$ 10.00, and for those asking, this is for the PC version of the game - nothing yet on the Xbox 360 previously mentioned.

And to give you an idea of what awaits on your DL, here's a little tidbit we picked up from the site:

The Gods have forsaken Tamriel.

A fallen King has been unchained from the darkness of Oblivion to seek vengeance upon the Gods who banished him. Only a champion pure of heart can vanquish the evil that has been released upon the land. You must heed the call, reclaim the lost relics of the Divine Crusader, and return the Nine to glory. New dungeons, characters, quests, and mysteries await.

Features:

• Begin a New Faction - The Knights of the Nine have long been disbanded. Reclaim their former glory as you traverse the far reaches of Cyrodill across an epic quest line.
  
• Battle New Foes - Encounter Umaril, the ancient Ayleid Sorcerer-King, and his minions, the fearsome Aurorans.
  
• Discover Unique Items - An entirely new armor set and weapons, each with unique powers, are within your grasp…if you are worthy.

Some of the most sage bits of wisdom can be found from teachers. Sure, they may not be Power Rangers or actual wizards, but in a world where magic only happens in Disneyland, we take what we can get.

One of those bits of wisdom we've picked up over the years is the essence of growing up: chances, choices and changes. Each time a chance opens up to you, or action (or inaction) leads to a change, both in the world around you and in yourself as a person.

This is also one of the basic tenets of a good role-playing game. The best ones, even when you know you're being shepherded to particular ends, gives you that feeling of accomplishment, of changing your world as a result of your feats. This is what the latest video for Neverwinter Nights 2 wants to impress upon the reader.

While we haven't reached the end of the main campaign ourselves, we're definitely loving the time we spend walking the hallowed halls and conversing with the NWN 2 toolset users who want to make their own games. It's not the prettiest game out now, but Obsidian Entertainment and Atari certainly know how to bring alive that feeling of growing with your character. Enjoy the video.

Lucas Arts and Frontier Development have worked hard on making a fun, casual experience. You have to applaud them for that, and for the cuteness that is Thrillville.

While it's more like a fun set of minigames placed inside a theme park environment, you can't deny that making your own little slice of Walt Disney is something many kids would dream of doing. It's even more true with those who've just entered Disneyland for the first time.

Of course, there's no need for us to tell you that you can basically do everything in this game from shooting things in first person to racing cars, especially since the game just came out.

What we can offer gamers is one last hurrah in celebration of the game's release. This is Frontier's final trailer right before the release, and it shows you the many things the game offers. While it's satisfying enough as single-player game, finding some way to share the Thrillville experience, even on your PSP can make this game feel more like a party. Enjoy!

Download: [Thrillville: Party Games Trailer]