So Firefox 3 Is Looking Pretty Awesome

And “awesome” is the operative word, as Mike Beltzner explains:

Overview of Firefox 3 (via Reddit)

This presentation, one of many to have appeared online over the past months, showcases Firefox 3’s impressive multi-tasking address bar. Though now it’s so much more than an address bar, hence the “awesome bar” moniker.

I particularly like the one-click add to favourites button and ability to sort through and tag anything you think is worth keeping. I imagine there’ll be a del.icio.us extension soon (if there isn’t already) which will integrate sharing features and allow you to keep all your bookmarks in one place.

Foxmarks currently does something similar, but I would appreciate an add-on which allows you to import your current del.icio.us bookmarks into Firefox (and vice versa).

We won’t have long to wait: the final release is scheduled for mid-June or you could grab release candidate 3 now.

Far Cry 2 Tech Demo

Lots of people have been talking up Far Cry 2, with many previews effectively saying that it defecates over Crysis from a great height. Well, from what I’ve seen so far I’m not so sure if it’s going to be a hands down win, but check out this recently released tech demo…

Wow! Fire propagation looks like heaps of fun, and could potentially be a useful gameplay tactic: don’t want to rush a compound head on? Why not start a fire with your flamethrower and flush ‘em out?!

Fallout 3 Preview At Eurogamer

Well, damn… A lot of water has passed under the bridge since I last talked about the latest in the Fallout series. Apparently it’s nearly ready, and Eurogamer posted Kieron Gillen’s two-page in-depth preview last Friday…

Okay, I’m seriously salivating over this game now! Not only is the retro-futurist, post-apocalyptic, amoral core of the game present and correct, you also get to play as a child version of your future self! Check out this description of the section where you play a new-born infant:

“Any game which starts you between your mother’s legs, looking up at your dad, and being able to bawl by pressing a button deserves a round of applause. It’s at this point you also decide what you’re going to look like as an adult, and then the game – from your choices – generates what your Dad would have looked like.”

Is this a sideways nod to the unexpected genius that was the first Alien chapter in AvP2? The bit where you play as a facehugger, then as a young alien, bursting out of your victim’s chest (recently memorably replayed by Alec Meer on RPS) was nothing short of spectacular.

Fallout 3’s take is necessarily more subtle: you get the chance to play yourself (?!?) at one, ten, sixteen and nineteen. There’s other good stuff, too – just check the preview. The only partially negative note concerns the combat – a fairly major element of gameplay, admittedly, but I have faith in Bethesda!

I haven’t checked yet, but I imagine that this has already prompted hundreds of angry diatribes over at NMA et. al…

But who cares about the fanboys? Bring it on.