A robot in an armored vehicle may one day be one of the most valuable pieces of equipment in the military, maybe even more valuable than its other robotic counterparts in the service.

The military is already working on a number of robots that will one day serve alongside grunts in the front lines. Soldiers will swear by this "bucket of bolts," probably even salute it as they pass it by. Yet this one doesn't carry any weaponry. This one's literally a lifesaver.

Doctors Blake Hannaford, Jacob Rosen, Mika Sinanan, and Richard Satava, with funding from a Department of Defense medical research program, are working to perfect the technology for robot surgeons to be deployed to the battlefield.  Doctors working from back home can operate them by remote control and communication networks (like via satellites or the Internet) to treat soldiers who would otherwise die without going under the knife - a concept known as telesurgery.

Your 15 minutes of fame is just getting warmed up.

Activision is teaming up with Spike TV and Best Buy to bring to the small screen the "Game Head Call of Duty(R) 3: Challenge"-- think of Survivor but amp it up with video gaming, and there you have it. The boot-camp style competition of survival and gaming  that will telecast as a tv special on Spike TV's "Game Head" on November 10, 2006, timed to the fall release of the Call of Duty 3 (Xbox 360, Wii, and PS3).

Interested? Gamers can apply by making a personal movie of up to five minutes long that explains why they should be chosen. Their pitch should be submitted to the Game Head: Call of Duty 3: Challenge. Activision will select 16 individuals to participate in the challenge. All videos and applications must be received by 11:59 p.m./PDT on September 4, 2006 to be considered.

The chosen contestants will be flown to a top secret military location where they will hit the virtual battlefields in Call of Duty 3 and complete real-life boot camp challenges. The intense competition will be filmed on location from September 20 - 22, 2006 for the television event that will telecast on Spike TV. Additionally, the winner will be awarded a Grand Prize package.

As promised, Mercenaries 2 is veering away from the original game's locale of North Korea. This time, things get more exciting as the storyline revolves around a power-hungry tyrant that messes with Venezuela's oil supply. This then sparks an invasion turning the country into a warzone. Weapons. Explosions. Fun!

The developer, Pandemic Studios, however was quick to point out that there is more to Mercs 2 than setting change. Above everything else, Pandemic is most excited over the element of fire: a living and breathing new feature in the game, something that can be used as a weapon, a barrier, and more. Basically, Pandemic wants us to play with it.

All three mercenaries are back with a friend! Eva, the newest team member, is expected not to disappoint. Aside from cool new weapons and vehicles, Mercs 2 allows fans now to build their own private military company by recruiting other mercenaries that you meet in the game. And just how big this new Mercs 2 game is? Well, let's just say it is larger than all of the maps of the first game combined.

When asked about the possible availability of Mercs 2 in other game consoles, Pandemic answered, "To date, only the PS3 version has been announced. There are a lot of speculation and rumors about porting the title to other consoles from fans but nothing else has been confirmed."

Still, it is safe to say that Mercenaries 2 is getting a lot of anticipation from fans of all consoles alike.

Insomniac Games the developers of Resistance: Fall of Man have released a fact sheet on the PS3 title that is expected to be released around the time of the PS3's launch in November. Although this fact sheet doesn't really reveal anything new about the next-generation first person shooter to hit Sony's console, it does set in stone what we have previously mentioned as this was an official press release from the developer - no more rumours! The game will have a multiplayer feature with the ability to play up to 40 other players online in intense deathmatches amongst other game modes.

Storyline

In Resistance: Fall of Man, the U.S. and Britain band together in a last-ditch effort to save Europe and Asia from a horrific scourge. In mere decades, the Chimera, a species of unknown origin propagating a virus that converts other life forms into more Chimera has overrun Russia and all of Europe. Humanity's hope for survival is slim, and the tide of the battle rests on the shoulders of U.S. Army Ranger, Sgt. Nathan Hale.

Key features

• Epic single player campaign
• Co-operative, split screen multiplayer and highly customizable online gameplay.
• PlayStation 3 superior power enables Resistance: Fall of Man to feature a wide variety of fluidly moving characters that exhibit more sophisticated behaviors and interact with their environments more realistically.
• Greater processing power on PlayStation 3 and Blu-ray technology enables more immersive visual and sound effects in Resistance: Fall of Man, heightening the chaos of large-scale warfare.
• A powerful rendering engine allows Resistance: Fall of Man to feature a greater variety of highly detailed and interactive environments for a console FPS experience, including large battlefields and sprawling military command centers.
• Insomniac Games has combined its passion for creating exotic weapons and vehicles with a proprietary physics system to create a unique human and alien arsenal.

A Japanese civilian communications satellite and a French military communications satellite was put into orbit via an Ariane-5 rocket. The launch happened in French Guiana, at Europe's space base in Kourou, on the northeast coast of South America.

Aboard the blasted rocket was a JCSAT-10 satellite for Japan's JSAT Corporation. Built by Lockheed Martin in the United States, the satellite - released into the orbit twenty-seven minutes after the launch - was designed to broadcast high definition television to the Asia-Pacific region. Explained by JSAT Corporation officials, it would be the "Sky Perfect TV" system that broadcasts 251 television channels.

Five minutes later, Syracuse 3B, a military communications satellite built by a European industrial consortium for France's Defense Ministry, was released as well into space. According to the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA), it was necessary to have a dedicated military communications satellite network as satellites shared with civilian operators risked being immobilized by relatively unsophisticated means.

The Ariane-5 rocket was the third to be launched this year.

We have given you some screenshots of the Guerilla Games-developed venture, Killzone: Liberation, these past days. Now, to make our update of the game complete, we will top it of with a Killzone: Liberation Q&A, participated by the games' developers. The developers gamely answered questions with regards to Liberation, its multiplayer functionality, and the future of the Killzone franchise, among many other things.

The PSP version will make you reprise the role of Jon Templar, only this time, you are not assigned to prevent a global attack by the enemy, but you are tasked to rescue prisoners and hostages behind enemy lines. With all that said, what are we waiting for? Let's jump right to the Q&A.

Q1: What is the background on Killzone: Liberation? How did this game come about?
Killzone: Liberation is the follow up to Killzone for PlayStation2. Like its predecessor, it is an action-packed tactical shooter game that has been developed from the ground-up specifically for PSP system. There are many upgrades and improvements in the latest installment of the franchise, such as enhanced visual style, intricate storyline and new function modes.

Q2: Was Killzone for PlayStation 2 originally planned as the first of an expanding franchise?
With any intellectual property, it is always the developer's goal to create a game and story that can continue to grow and expand. Of course, sequels always depend on the performance of the game, as well as media and consumer response. The original Killzone is now a PlayStation 2 Greatest Hit and has sold two million unites worldwide. It only made sense to continue the story and give the fans more.

Q3: What is the storyline for Killzone: Liberation? Does it pick up where the first one left off?
The game's story continues two months after the end of the original Killzone for PlayStation 2. Set against a postmodern war, the battle against the evil Helghast rages on with most of South er Vekta still under their control. The fleet has arrived but the Helghast troops, led by General Metrac, are still gaining ground in the southern provinces. Returning as the Templar, players are on a mission to save hostages captured by Metrac, while ISA troops continue the fight for liberty.

More questions and answers await after the jump.

Battlefield 2142 is surely on its way to generate an appetite for war among players' gaming palate, as the game is expected to be released between October and November 2006. Set in the icy year of 2142, when the world is thrown in a state of panic, it is an epic battle for survival as players will choose to fight for one of two military superpowers. The game is being developed for the Xbox 360 console.

The game created such a big buzz in February 2006, when an interview with Dan Blackstone (senior producer of the project) said, "We’re about to announce something very big, so stay tuned. One other interviewer asked this and I gave him a hint, so it’s only fair that I do the same for you: 3213/3X2. Or said another way: S.R. 4588164". The statement started a clamour about the launch of Battlefield 2412 game and since then, it spread like a wildfire, as the S.R. (Square Root) of 4588164 is 2142 (3213? equals 2142 as well), creating excitement among players.

We have been telling you guys about Battlefield 2142 and now we are excited to deliver you again a new batch of irresistible screenshots from the PC version of the game (just so you'll see more of what's coming to your MS consoles):

Plato's Republic puts into analogy the human body with his ideal, utopic city-state. The head represents the philosopher-kings, tasked with governance. The chest symbolizes the warriors or the military, specifically for the protection of the Republic. The stomach personifies the merchants who are accountable for the flow of resources into the city.

While there is a blatant display of hierarchy, it does not go to say that one is necessarily more important than the others. For while they may be different in levels, they are the same in their goal, that is to ensure the survival of the Republic. Thus, all component parts, while maintaining their individuality, are expected to work together for that one same goal. Much premium is placed upon this goal to the extent that to attempt to multitask on these roles is to put the goal at high risk of falling into utter chaos. Therefore, it is forbidden.

The underlying principle behind this system is that titles aren't there just for the convenience of identification. Categories are not there merely to be able to sort out things from each other. Titles and categories exist not just to portray some semblance of order, but more importantly, to define roles and responsibilities. Now, this is, more often than not, usually overlooked. But the thing is, names and roles ALWAYS come in a tight package.

Applying that same principle to our everyday existence, we often find it constricting to confine ourselves merely to just one area. Artists need not be just artists, they can be politicians. Professors need not only be able to teach, they can be athletes. Women need not be mere trophies and housewives for their husbands, they may be high-powered corporate executives.

And gaming need not be only frivolous and trivial, they can actually have a higher sense of aesthetic, even pragmatic, value in our existence. That is the battlecry of columnist Ernest Adams, at least insofar as gaming is concerned.

He posits that in the light of the growing clamor for censorship in video games, it brings to mind the fact that although gaming has already niched itself tightly into popular culture, it still remains to struggle for the respect it deserves as an art form. The most apparent excuse would be that video games or gaming has always been stereotyped into the category of entertainment for kids. And kids are almost always never taken seriously. By this mere affiliation, the gaming industry has been deprived by the highbrow end of society  of the proper value it should have.

Don't we just hate stereotypes?

The full article awaits after the jump!

Three years after George Bush invaded Iraq to liberate them from the tyrannic regime of Saddam Hussein, the nation is still beset with problems of security, primarily caused by the continuing clash of the American forces and the local insurgents.

The image of Iraq being portrayed today is that it is practically laying in ruins, and in dire need of reconstruction. A political vacuum seems to pervade their midst, and the population is uncertain as to just how capable their new system of government - democracy - would be. One would not hesitate to think and believe that even after the promised liberation has been delivered, with all the ongoing violence and unrest, the Iraqis would not even have the capability to indulge in the whims of popular culture.

Or do they?


More on Iraq and cell phones after the jump!

There's a reason why you shouldn't steal things, especially from the government. It puts you on the priority list of people to get.

Such was the case of two teenagers who were arrested Saturday after taking a laptop that was more valuable than it looked.

Montgomery County police took Jesus Alex Pineda, 19, and Christian Brian Montano, 19, into custody in relation to the May 3 burglary of a Veterans Affairs employee's home in Maryland.

Besides the obvious spoils, the hard drive contained data pertaining to more than 26 million military personnel, including veterans. This information included names, birth dates, and the social security numbers of veterans discharged from service since 1975. While the laptop and hard drive were turned into the FBI anonymously last June 28, in response to a reward offer, the thieves still had to be found as it was a breach of government data. Fortunately, the FBI has determined the integrity of the files on the hard drive.

Pineda and Montano were both charged with first-degree burglary and theft over $500, with Montano also getting charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary and theft over $500. Authorities have noted that the Veterans Affairs residence was not a specific target, and that the two in custody knew nothing of the information inside the hard drive till the nature of the stolen goods and their contents was made public. 

Charges are also pending against a third suspect who, unlike Pineda and Montano, is a juvenile.

While theft does happen more often than we realize, it's this sort of data theft that puts more than mere property into jeopardy, as the data inside contains a good portion of the lives of many other people. Sometimes, one really has to consider even the seemingly impossible consequences that occur as a result of his actions.