It’s the drug of choice for many, but just how does alcohol get you drunk, and why do we suffer from the side effects?

There are actually many kinds of alcohol in the chemical world, but the one we drink the most is ethanol. It’s the particular shape of an ethanol molecule that gives a glass of beer or a shot of the hard stuff its specific effects on the human brain. The molecule is very tiny, made up of just two carbon atoms, six hydrogen atoms, and one oxygen atom. Ethanol is water soluble, which means it enters the blood stream readily, there to be carried quickly to all parts of the body (most notably the liver and the brain). It’s also fat soluble; like an all-access pass through various cell membranes and other places that are normally off limits.

A certain portion of the ethanol you drink passes through your stomach to your small intestine, is absorbed into your bloodstream and carried to your brain. That’s what we’re really concerned with. Research has not conclusively determined exactly how ethanol accomplishes all of its various effects in the brain, but there are some well-supported theories. The slow reactions, slurred speech and memory loss of a drunk are probably caused by ethanol attaching to glutamate receptors in your brain’s neural circuitry. These receptors normally receive chemical signals from other parts of the brain, but instead they get an ethanol molecule. This disrupts the flow of signals and generally slows the whole brain down.

Ethanol also binds to GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) receptors, which normally serve to slow down brain activity. Unlike glutamate receptors, ethanol actually makes GABA receptors more receptive, causing the brain to slow down even more. But alcohol isn’t simply a depressant, because it also stimulates the production of dopamine and endorphins, chemicals that produce feelings of pleasure. Research hasn’t yet revealed the exact mechanism involved, but it may be similar to the way ethanol stimulates the GABA receptors.

For more bite-sized and in-depth, science-infused information pick up a copy of How It Works, the latest science and technology magazine from Imagine Publishing. The first issue goes on sale 29 October in UK and end of November in the US. It features such awe-inspiring subjects as; a look inside the Eurofighter Typhoon, the causes of extreme weather like tornados, tsunamis and hurricanes, the Bugatti Veyron, vision and sight, nuclear subs and the Large Hadron Collider. The magazine is complemented by a constantly updated website located at www.howitworksdaily.com.

The magazine that feeds minds is available now!

Ever wondered about the world around us? Do questions like how do sharks hunt, how big is the sun and what’s inside an iPod fascinate you? Then get to the shops and buy a copy of How It Works magazine, a new accessible, entertaining science and technology title that delivers absorbing articles packed with facts and information on sale today across the UK.

How It Works covers the environment, history, science, space, technology and transport, and is packed with facts and information. The first issue boasts over 831 amazing facts and explanations, including how sharks hunt, why we get drunk, how fireworks explode and a look at how the world’s leading jet fighters measure up. Other topics covered in issue one include: bionic eyes, extreme weather, 3D movies, ejector seats, snake bites, iPhone 3GS, thermite, spacesuits, brain freeze, medieval castles and digital cameras. The companion website www.howitworksdaily.com features more fascinating facts and amazing videos.

How It Works goes on sale in the UK today and is available at all good newsagents, supermarkets, Barnes & Noble, Borders and online at www.imagineshop.co.uk. It will be available in US at the end of November.

Drake gets down and dirty.

Naughty Dog’s new game sets impossibly high standards for all other action adventures to match. A bold claim perhaps, but from the minute you start playing and find yourself hanging on for dear life to a train carriage that’s dangerously hanging off a cliff top you know that Uncharted 2 is something special.

The first thing that hits you is the fantastic sense of scale that Naughty Dog has managed to capture. As with the original Uncharted you really do feel that hero Nathan Drake is fighting against both the elements as well as the numerous bad guys that he’s constantly required to mow down.

The second thing that hits you is that no one, absolutely no one is able to craft cut scenes as well as Naughty Dog. Meticulously directed and featuring superb acting from the cast – they record their lines with each other and various props to make them as authentic as possible – they make efforts by all other developers look childish in the extreme.

Uncharted 2's visuals look absolutely glorious.

Tightly scripted and brilliantly paced they draw you into the onscreen action and are so mesmerising that even my non-gaming wife (she lost interest in my occupation after the N64) was transfixed by what was happening onscreen. Yes you can tell that new character Flynn is going to double cross our hero as soon as its gets a chance, but it doesn’t matter. Uncharted 2’s cut scenes, like its actual gameplay, may not feature innovative and startlingly good ideas, but what it is is polished to perfection.

Every dollar spent on Uncharted 2 is up there onscreen for all to see. From the truly glorious visuals, to the stunning cut scenes and dynamic set pieces, this is a game that’s been crafted with skill, an amazing amount of technical expertise and, dare we say it? even love. In fact, the most telling moment in Uncharted 2 is when you finish and immediately bemoan the wait for Uncharted 3, only to realise that you can simply play through Naughty Dog’s game immediately.

The hallmark of any great game is in its standout moments and Uncharted 2 has a plethora of them. While set pieces like the hind helicopter attack and the hotel collapse that you subsequently find yourself in set new standards for videogame action scenes, it’s the quite moments that can be just as impressive. The mind-blowing beauty as you take a rest in Borneo and see the jungle stretching out forever below you, the tranquil stroll through a Tibetan village that has you interacting with both the villagers and their wildlife and the unspoken bond that develops between you and Tensin, the guide that leads you on your quest in one of the later stages of the game.

Action scenes are brilliant. You'll be constantly surprised by what Naughty Dog throws at you.

In fact, the addition of Tensin is an absolute masterstroke and for this jaded reviewer, one of Uncharted 2’s cleverest moments. The guide doesn’t speak a word of English, and yet the two explorers are able to connect with each other thanks to wild gesticulations and slow, pronounced speech. It works brilliantly and gives you a real sense of achievement as you make your way through the dangerous, yet oh so beautiful caverns.

Balance is also something that Naughty Dog has achieved with amazing assuredness. The original Uncharted felt like a platform game and a shooting game and very rarely worked when the two elements were spliced together, but it’s a totally different story for Uncharted 2. Levels are fantastically designed allowing you to climb and scrabble around the huge open environments in order to seek out both weapons and the best routes for stealth attacks. That’s right we said the S word. Worry not though for while your introduction to the new gameplay mechanic feels rather stunted when you first encounter it, you soon realise that it’s there to simply enhance the exciting fire fights and not hinder you. Mess up an attack or get spotted and you simply move straight into a shoot out, there’s no restart, and if you’re good enough you can make the subsequent face-offs far easier for yourself. Again it’s the seamless way that every gameplay mechanic is integrated with each other that most impresses with Uncharted 2 and as the game continues those moments keep getting better and better and better.

Hopefully Uncharted 2 will go on to amaze punters as much as it has amazed critics and it really deserves to. For me Naughty Dog has not only created the finest action game since Capcom’s Resident Evil, but has also delivered the best game I’ve played all year. I’ll be incredibly surprised if anything else due next year, or even in 2010 comes close to the magnificence of Uncharted 2, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be playing them all to find out.

Uncharted 2 proves money things. It cements Naughty Dog as one of this generation’s finest developers, gives Sony a great chance of success over the Christmas period and proves that both Lara Croft and Indiana Jones have finally had their day. Oh and if you’re wondering why I’ve not mentioned the multiplayer it’s because I’m still too busy enjoying the single player experience.

Finally here’s a video of Uncharted 2′s opening moments

Video of Uncharted 2

Re-imaginings of retro classics are a solid source of revenue for publishers in these turbulent times. New announcements are posted every day but it takes a special kind of game to snag our attention and the 1988 gore-tour Splatterhouse is one such game.

Alongside the recent announcement of Clash Of The Titans, Namco Bandai has now confirmed that a new version of Splatterhouse is set for release on Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2010. Commenting on the announcement, Namco Bandai’s VP of sales and marketing, Hiroaki Ochiai, said: “Today’s console technology is literally decades ahead of what powered Splatterhouse when it made its first indelible bloody mark on gaming, which means we now have gore like never before for all the fans and the new generation of gamers lining up to get to grips with Rick.”

In this new iteration protagonist Rick will stray far beyond the West Mansion in a storyline written by Gordon Rennie, the comic book author behind works such as Judge Dredd, and original artwork for the game comes care of artist and Marvel contributor Dave Wilkins.

New gameplay dynamics will see Rick using torn limbs as weapons and swinging his way through the environments as well as reanimating corpses of the fallen to fight alongside him. The trademark ‘Terror Mask’ makes a comeback and will aid Rick’s regenerative capabilities.

Grab an arm and start swinging from 2010.

Story via NowGamer

One of the most fondly remembered yet neglected platform heroes to emerge from the 16-bit era was Sparkster: an armour wearing, rocket-powered opossum. Well it’s good news for opossum lovers everywhere with Konami’s recent announcement that the neglected critter will be making a return to our screens in a new game released across Xbox Live, PSN and Steam sometime next year.

News about the game is pretty thin on the ground at the moment, but this is what we know so far: the game is being developed by Climax (Silent Hill: Shattered Memories), will be 2.5D, set 15 years after the first game, and take a steampunk meets Crash Bandicoot approach to its visuals.

We’ll keep you posted about more developments about the game as and when we hear anything.

The more we see of this game the more we get excited. After all, Sega are the masters when it comes to exhilarating arcade racing games, and with the talented chaps at Sumo Digital at the helm, we reckon this could be a title to keep a beady eye on this year.

Well Sega - in savvy mode - has revealed a brand new character who will be joining Sonic, Tails, Alex Kidd, Amigo and cohorts on the starting grid, and it’s none other than Ryo from Shenmue! Want to see? Here’s an awesome video courtesy of NowGamer to whet your appetites; Said awesome video courtesy of NowGamer  

This will of course raise the hopes of millions of Shenmue fans out there who are desperate, nay willing, Sega and Yu Suzuki to finally wrap up their epic arcade-RPG.

While this is certainly great news, we hope Sega doesn’t decide to make this an official chapter in the Shenmue saga – like a dream sequence in which Ryo gets to race Sega heroes from past, present and future (remember the game’s set in the Eighties). Similarly, lets hope Sega doesn’t try to shoehorn the remaining chapters into Ryo’s ending to the game. Like he wins the race, wakes up, his adventure was all just a bad dream, and so off he trots to light fireworks with his dad. Instead, let us put our collective minds together and will this to be a warning shot from Sega that Shenmue 3 could finally be heading to our lives, sooner than never.