Nerd Technology

NEW METAL 2015: KAWASAKI NINJA H2R VS. H2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 03 Jul 2015 00:18:00 +0000

There’s some good news following the full release of specs for the supercharged new Kawasaki Ninjas: The H2R trackbike remains the fire-spitting, glowing hot 300-horse no-holds-barred monster (check out the H2R dyno video), even though its $50,000 price tag means most of us will never throw a leg over one.

But our shoulders slumped a bit when we saw that the H2 streetbike tipped the scales at a claimed 525 pounds wet and that its output had dropped into the “200 hp” range.

Insiders have said the actual output is higher than stated, which is essential for the success of this model. Crushing horsepower and a supercharger really are the H2’s key selling points; other machines have all the electronics (or more), plus you can get a steel trellis frame and a single-sided swingarm elsewhere (cough, Ducati, cough) for less money.

But face it: Building an “extreme” motorcycle for the street forces a manufacturer to make concessions not only to emissions and sound regulations but also potential liability, which doesn’t seem to be the case with cars.

That is, it seems a little discriminatory that in a world where people don’t blink at 250-mph production cars with 1,000 hp, a motorcycle manufacturer feels compelled to limit streetbike top speed to 186 mph and get cagey when claiming more than 200 hp. Let’s set ourselves free!

Sermon over: We’re happy to report that the only changes to the reduced-power H2 engine are camshafts, head gasket, clutch, and a street-legal exhaust. So a little software hacking and an aftermarket silencer ought to pump things up to more astronomical levels. Anybody out there in ECU land able to hit CTRL-C on an H2R box and paste it to the H2’s?

Whether you will or won’t buy an H2 or an H2R is now a moot point because online ordering ended December 19. But we sure enjoyed reading the fine print on the track-only H2R’s purchase page, which included a list of guidelines for potential H2R buyers to acknowledge before they could place deposits.

First and foremost was a firm reminder that the H2R is for closed-course use only. But what if you own an H2 and simply want to buy the parts necessary to convert it to R spec? Denied! You need proof of H2R ownership (“product registration, VIN confirmation, etc.”) to buy spares. Further, “In addition to regular periodic maintenance, service inspections are required every 15 hours of engine operation above 8,000 rpm.” And, finally, there’s no warranty.

Nevertheless, we have seen nearly all the new 2015 models, and the H2/H2R Kawasaki very much remains in a class of one. But we’ve got a free trackday and dragstrip rental for the first owner who presents us with a hacked H2.

We’re serious.

BY THE NUMBERS
Kawasaki Ninja H2/H2R
BASE PRICE $25,000/$50,000
CLAIMED WET WEIGHT 525 lb./476 lb.
WHEELBASE 57.3 in.
CLAIMED HORSEPOWER 200 hp/300 hp
CLAIMED TORQUE N/A
RAKE/TRAIL 24.4º/4.0 in.

2015's Top Ten Tech Cars: BMW i8

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 26 Jun 2015 01:55:00 +0000

Rich in carbon, not in carbon emissions

As a splashy billboard for a plug-in future, the BMW i8 is unmatched. Environmentalists who shake their fists at guzzling Lamborghinis fall in love. Speed freaks who scoffed at electrified sports cars change their tune in 4.4 seconds, the time it takes the i8 to howl to 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour). Design mavens thrill to the BMW’s thermoplastic-clad, wind-cheating teardrop shape.

The i8 isn’t the first carbon-fiber-intensive car. But along with its cousin, the i3, the i8 is the clearest indication yet that the future belongs to cars made from material that’s ultrastrong yet weighs half as much as steel.

Video: Bloomberg Business

Whereas the US $42,300 i3 is a toaster-shaped urban runabout, the i8 is a two-plus-two sports car that can sip fuel, cruise on electricity for short hops, or scorch the asphalt anytime you like. Channeling the spirit of Messrs. Jekyll and Hyde, I took test drives in New York and the Midwest, including thrilling laps at GingerMan Raceway, in western Michigan.

The carbon-fiber passenger cell of an i8, its technical heart, is molded in a patented process that takes minutes rather than the hundreds of hours needed to handcraft the material in recent supercars that cost $1 million. A 7.1-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack nestles below the floor. A 96-kW (129-horsepower) electric motor drives the front wheels through a full automatic two-speed transmission. The rear wheels get their urge from a 1.5-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine borrowed from BMW’s Mini Cooper but turbocharged to 170 kW (228 hp). Drivers manage the combined 266 kW (357 hp) and 569 newton meters (420 foot-pounds) of torque through a superlative six-speed, paddle-shifted automatic transmission.

Price: US $136,650

Power train: 96-kW (129-hp) AC electric motor with 1.5-L 170-kW (228-hp) three-cylinder gasoline engine

Overall fuel economy: 8.4 L/100 km (28 mpg) on gasoline; electric equivalent of 3.1 L/100 km (76 mpge)

Toggle up the console’s eDrive mode and the BMW will cover up to 35 km entirely on front-drive electricity, albeit at a leisurely 9.5-second pace to 100 km/h and a 120 km/h top speed. But cleverly, those 35 km don’t have to tick off sequentially the instant you unplug from a wall charger. The all-wheel-drive Sport mode replenishes the battery on the fly, adding about 1 km of pure electric-vehicle range for every 17 km driven. That feature enables drivers to preserve or add electric miles for urban use. A few cities, notably London, charge hefty entry fees for internal-combustion vehicles—and may eventually ban them outright.

Traveling up New York’s Hudson River, I spent some hours in the BMW’s Comfort mode, which maximizes electric efficiency but will seamlessly blend in gasoline power when you goose the throttle. Here, gentle highway driving produced a knockout 6.2 liters per 100 km (38 miles per gallon), roughly twice the efficiency of a similarly sized luxury GT, the Aston Martin DB9. Credit in part the BMW’s svelte 1,567-kilogram (3,455-pound) curb weight, some 220 fewer kilograms than the aluminum-chassis Aston and 540 fewer than the battery-stuffed Tesla Model S sedan. Overall, the BMW showed me 7.6 L/100 km (31 mpg) over several hard-driving days. That’s 3 mpg better than the car’s U.S. federal estimate and about 50 percent better than that of the latest Corvette Z06 or Porsche 911.

Solid-citizen duties complete, it was time for some fun. Tromp the i8’s throttle and you’re whisked into motion like protons in a collider. The instant signature shove of electric torque helps. The miniature gas engine chimes in with a backup duet voice. It’s canned but uncanny: a synthesized simulation of engine sound piped through door speakers to complement the actual exhaust note. You’d never know that a three-cylinder engine was at work; instead, the BMW’s chesty rumble sounds like a Porsche flat-six mating with a flying saucer.

Admiring that performance is easy, but admiring the electric motor is hard: As with the iPhone, another lowercase techno marvel, the i8’s hood is sealed, as it’s meant to be opened only by certified technicians. Other drawbacks include a toddler-size backseat and stingy storage.

But blasting down the road, bypassing the gas stations, you really won’t care. The i8 might have ended up as another Fisker Karma, a poorly integrated stew of hybrid technology. Instead, the BMW is real, and it’s here. Just in time for the future

LG - 55" Class (54.6" Diag.) - OLED - Curved - 2160p - Smart - 3D - 4K Ultra HD TV - Gray

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 23:46:00 +0000

A few days ago, LG went on record to say that production yields for 4K OLED panels are improving fast. Here is the first evidence. The price on LG’s 55-inch EG9600 that was released a few months ago has been slashed by $1000.

But 4K OLED is still costly

The 55-inch EG9600 was introduced with a list price of $5499. The price cut has reduced the list price to $4500 and several retailers have started selling it for the new lower price. The 65-inch still has an unchanged list price of $9000.

EG9600 is one of LG’s new 2015 4K OLED TVs with webOS and a curved design. The first 4K OLED TV was introduced last year and was even more costly so it appears that LG is still committed to moving aggressively forward with OLED.

The EG9600 is now available for $4500, down from $5500, through Amazon Best Buy, Sears and other retailers. LG will release more 4K OLED TV ranges later this year, and start offering HDR (high dynamic range) on its 4K OLED TVs, too.

Honda RC213V-S Set to Light Up Goodwood Festival of Speed

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 23:11:00 +0000

June 18, 2015 - Fresh from its official unveiling ahead of last weekend’s Catalunya MotoGP race, Honda’s RC213V-S is set for its next public appearance – at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, to be held in the UK at the end of June. The RC213V-S will be ridden up the famous Goodwood hill climb course on all three days of the Festival from June 26 to 28 by Honda racers from across its racing categories – road racing, World Superbike and MotoGP.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed – first held in 1993 – attracts 150,000 fans of classic and modern motor racing vehicles every year. Fans get a unique opportunity for close-up views of hundreds of 2 and 4 wheeled race machines climbing the Goodwood hill, and are able to get even closer to many of the vehicles as they are displayed in the paddocks surrounding the course.

As such, it offers the perfect venue to showcase the new “MotoGP for the road” RC213V-S to thousands of motor sports enthusiasts, and to allow them the closest possible view of this ground-breaking machine. The RC213V-S will be in good company: among other Honda motorcycles to be ridden and displayed at Goodwood will be the 1984 and 1985 NSR500s with which Freddie Spencer won back-to-back World Championships.

Notes:
RC213V-S

The RC213V-S is a road legal machine based on the RC213V with which Honda won back-to-back MotoGP championships in 2013 and 2014.
It represents a wholly new endeavor to make it possible for a machine developed for MotoGP races to run on public roads.
Honda will start accepting orders for the RC213V-S through a dedicated website from July 13, 2015.

Honda motorcycles

Honda has been the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959 and produced over 16 million motorcycles in 2014.
Honda has an unequalled record of success in motorcycle racing, having won 21 Constructors Titles in the premier class (known currently as MotoGP), 63 Constructors Championships and 697 races across all categories in the premier class.
21 year old 2014 MotoGP champion Marc Marquez won a record 13 Grands Prix in the 2014 season.

Goodwood Festival of Speed
First held in 1993, the Festival of Speed is a celebration of classic and modern motor racing held annually in June or July at Goodwood House, West Sussex, UK.
The event is held over 3 days. Hundreds of 2 and 4 wheeled vehicles are ridden up the 1.2 mile (1.8 kilometer) hill climb, with fans able both to view the hill climb up close and to see many of the machines on display around the Goodwood venue.

Destiny

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 01:31:00 +0000

UPDATE: Bungie have revealed a new weapon type is being added to Destiny.

Sidearms were revealed during today's Prison of the Elders livestream and will join the secondary weapons category.

,,,,

They will include a range of different models, all boasting different stat balances.

Most will include a high rate of fire but also could have high stability, or possible reload benefits.

The new Co-op arena activity set in the Prison of Elders took centre stage today, where teams of three players will take on waves of increasingly difficult enemies to earn high-level legendary and exotic rewards.

UPDATE: The Bungie team continue their Destiny Expansion II: House of Wolves reveal tonight with a closer look at the Prison of Elders.

Kicking off at 19:00 BST, Bungie community manager David Dague will host a livestream straight from the studio with Bungie Lead Designer Matt Sammons and community member ProfessorBroman.

The new co-op Arena activity set in the Prison of Elders will take centre stage, where teams of three players can take on waves of increasingly difficult enemies to earn high-level legendary and exotic rewards.

Bungie have already revealed that gamers will be able to match-make with other players anytime, or form their own Fireteam to take on higher difficulty challenges with even greater rewards.

The livestream can be seen here: http://www.twitch.tv/bungie.

ORIGINAL: EA have shared some fresh information on the multiplayer settings for Star Wars Battlefront.

It's been confirmed that Battlefront will launch with 12 maps, with a further two added through the Battle of Jakku DLC.

EA have also revealed that the planet Sullust will join the list of confirmed locations which currently includes Endor, Hoth and Tatooine, while more locations are also set to be included from the game's 'Missions mode'.

An EA blogpost reads: "Of the 12 multiplayer maps in Star Wars Battlefront (there are even more locations when you include the Star Wars Battlefront Missions), some feel immediately familiar — such as the lush forests of Endor or the tundra of Hoth that allow you to re-live your favorite moments from the films.

Different areas of the included planets will play host for these maps, with Sullust proving the trickiest for the DICE team to bring to the big screen.

Having been mentioned in Return of the Jedi but never shown, it meant a field trip to Iceland had to be taken to build the planet's surface from scratch.

The EA blogpost added: " It took a while to nail down the specifics but once completed, the team presented the design and direction to Lucasfilm. Working in collaboration with the teams at Lucasfilm, it was decided that this visual design would be a perfect look for the planet Sullust, mentioned but not seen in Return of the Jedi.

Star Wars Battlefront is heading to new locations

Tricks PS2 and PS3 - GTA San Andreas - GTA-Expert

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 01:08:00 +0000

LXGIWYL = First set of weapons
KJKSZPJ = Second set of weapons
UZUMYMW = Third set of weapons
HESOYAM = Life, armor and $ 250,000
OSRBLHH = Increase wanted level of two stars
ASNAEB = Demote sought
AFZLLQLL = Clear

ICIKPYH = Sunny
ALNSFMZO = Cloudy
AUIFRVQS = Rainy
CFVFGMJ = Foggy
YSOHNUL = Fast time
PPGWJHT = Faster Gameplay
Gameplay LIYOAAY = slower
AJLOJYQY = Revolt of pedestrians
BAGOWPG = Have a bounty on your head
FOOOXFT = All are armed
AIWPRTON = Spawn Rhino
CQZIJMB = Spawn Bloodring Banger
JQNTDMH = Spawn Rancher
PDNEJOH = Spawn Racecar
VPJTQWV = Spawn Racecar
AQTBCODX = Spawn Romero
KRIJEBR = Spawn Stretch
UBHYZHQ = Spawn Trashmaster
RZHSUEW = Spawn Caddy
CPKTNWT = Explosion of all cars
XICWMD = invisible machines
PGGOMOY = Perfect handling
SZCMAWO = Suicide
ZEIIVG = All green lights
YLTEICZ = Aggressive Drivers
Traffic rose LLQPFBN =
IOWDLAC = Traffic black
AFSNMSMW = The flying boats
BTCDBCB = Fat
JYSDSOD = Muscles maximum
KVGYZQK = Skinny
ASBHGRB = Elvis is everywhere
BGLUAWML = Pedestrians attack you with the rocket launcher
CIKGCGX = Beach Party
MROEMZH = Gangs everywhere
BIFBUZZ = The gangs control the streets
AFPHULTL = Ninja Theme
BEKKNQV = Slut Magnet
BGKGTJH = Traffic consists of vehicles poor
GUSNHDE = Traffic consists of fast vehicles
RIPAZHA = Flying cars
JHJOECW = Supper Bunny hop
JUMPJET = Spawn Hydra
KGGGDKP = Spawn Vortex Hovercraft
JCNRUAD = Vehicles killer
COXEFGU = All cars have the Nos
BSXSGGC = The cars fly away when shot
XJVSNAJ = Always midnight (00:00)
OFVIAC = Orange sky (21:00)
MGHXYRM = Thunderstorm
CWJXUOC = Sandstorm
LFGMHAL = Mega jump
BAGUVIX = infinite Life
CVWKXAM = Oxygen infinite in apnea
AIYPWZQP = Parachute
YECGAA = Jetpack
AEZAKMI = Never sought
LJSPQK = Six star wanted level
IAVENJQ = Mega fist
AEDUWNV = Never hungry
IOJUFZN mode = "chaos"
PRIEBJ = Funhouse Theme
MUNASEF = Adrenaline Mode
WANRLTW = Infinite ammo, without recharging.
OUIQDMW = Aim with weapons inside the car
THGLOJ = Traffic reduced
FVTMNBZ = traffic consists of vehicles campaign
SJMAHPE = Recruit anyone (9mm)
BMTPWHR = makeup similar to "traffic consists of vehicles campaign"
ZSOXFSQ = Recruit anyone (rocket launchers)
OGXSDAG = Maximum respect
EHIBXQS = Maximum sex appeal
VKYPQCF = Taxis have the Nos, L3 for the Bunny Hop
NCSGDAG = Skill level "Hitman" in all weapons
VQIMAHA = Skills vehicles at most
OHDUDE = Spawn Hunter (helicopter)
AKJJYGLC = Spawn Quad (4 wheels)
AMOMHRER = Spawn Tanker Truck (lorry)
EEGCYXT = Spawn Dozer (bulldozer)
URKQSRK = Spawn Stunt Plane (plane)
AGBDLCID = Spawn Monster (monster gam)

7 Predictions for Nintendo, 3DS, and Wii U at E3 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 00:34:00 +0000

The Electron

ic Entertainment Expo (E3) is the biggest yearly event in the video game industry, bar none. It’s when all the major game makers take the stage to show off the most exciting games in their lineup for the coming months and years. Everyone who’s anyone in the video game industry will be there.

This year’s E3 presentations take place June 14 – 18, during which time we’ll see a torrent of news coming from the likes of Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Bethesda, Square Enix, and more.

But Nintendo is hardly a company to follow in the footsteps of others. Instead of giving a traditional press conference, the company will host its third annual “Nintendo Digital Event” — a pre-recorded presentation fans can watch online.

Nintendo is in a strange spot this year. Wii U sales have been sluggish for years, but Nintendo isn’t ready to set it aside just yet. A slate of great-looking games is heading our way before Nintendo shifts focus to its next console, dubbed NX, about which we’ll hear more next year.

In the meantime, we hope to get a good look at the following upcoming titles during E3.

1. Zelda Wii U

Nintendo has already said this game wasn’t going to come out in 2015, as it had originally planned. That’s not surprising, based on how little of the game we’ve seen so far. Basically all Nintendo has shown has been a few glimpses of the open world (which does look gorgeous).

At E3 this year, we’d love to get a look at some of the game’s dungeons and more of the enemies. Maybe some puzzles and bosses if Nintendo is feeling generous. We’d also like a more specific release window. This could end up being one of the Wii U’s last major titles, so we’ll take all the information we can get.

2. Mario Maker

If you’re a fan of side-scrolling Mario games (and who isn’t?), Mario Maker will be like the gift that keeps on giving. That’s because it will offer an online platform for creating, uploading, downloading, and playing user-made levels.

In fact, that’s the whole premise of the game. It gives you tools to craft whatever kind of levels you can dream up, and lets you upload them so other players can try them out. You can even change the art style on the fly to make it look like four different Mario games: Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros.

Based on how well Nintendo’s 2D Mario games sell, Mario Maker ought to be a big hit when it launches later this year.

3. Yoshi’s Wooly World

The fabric-based art style of this game makes it look like the levels are literally sewn together. That means you can expect to have Yoshi pull zippers to reveal secret areas and unspool coils of yarn to navigate treacherous paths.

The game is being developed by the makers of the similarly stylized Kirby’s Epic Yarn, which is known for its boundless creativity and its very low difficulty level. It’ll be interesting to see if this new game follows the same path. Perhaps Nintendo will give more details at E3.

Source: Gamespot
4. Star Fox for Wii U

A new installment of Star Fox in high-definition is something fans of the series have wanted for years. We don’t know much about this game yet, but as long as it lets you barrel roll through treacherous interstellar environments and shoot down enemy ships with a team of animal pilots, we’re on board. Since Nintendo still says it’s on pace to release this year, you can expect to get a good look at it during E3.

5. Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem

This unlikely crossover is composed of two game franchises that are big in Japan, and have gradually been gaining mindshare in the U.S. over the past few years.

Shin Megami Tensei is a series of role-playing games centered around going out to battle and collect demons — think of it like a mature version of Pokémon. Fire Emblem is a series of turn-based strategy games that pit small armies against each other on grid-based playing fields.

The weird thing is that the trailer above looks nothing like either game. Whatever the game ends up being like, we’re hoping to find out more in June.

6. Xenoblade Chronicles X

The Wii role-playing game Xenoblade Chronicles was one of the best RPGs of the last console generation. This is a spiritual successor to that game that features many of the same elements that made the original such a blast.

The plot kicks off as an alien war in 2054 makes Earth unlivable, the surviving humans strike out among the stars to settle on a planet called Mira. The only problem is that the aliens are hot on their tail. RPG fans will definitely want to keep an eye on this one as Nintendo (hopefully) unveils more information at E3.

Source: Level-5

7. Yo-Kai Watch

As the saying goes, Yo-Kai Watch is big in Japan. Actually, it’s huge. This 3DS game series came on the scene in 2013, but it has already spawned an anime cartoon and countless licensed toys and products that you can find in just about any store in Japan.

Like Pokémon, Yo-Kai Watch puts you in a modern-day setting and has you collect creatures you can summon to fight against other creatures you encounter. Called “yokai,” these collectibles are basically ghosts that you can trap as you play. Will this game sweep the West as it did the East? It just might. And there’s no better event for Nintendo to show more about it than E3.

How Street Fighter's Ryu Works In Smash Bros.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 24 Jun 2015 00:19:00 +0000

How Street

Fighter's Ryu

Works In

Smash Bros.

1

Ryu’s a Smash combatant now, but players familiar with the source material will have a distinct advantage over their Super Smash Bros. foes. Oh, and he’s the only fighter in the series with two Final Smashes. So...he’s new.

For starters, Ryu’s attacks vary based on the legnth of time a button is hit. Tap for a light attack, hold for something heavier. Most of his standard attacks have light, medium and heavy versions, giving the combo-based fighter plenty to work with.

Then there are his signature moves, like the Hadouken fireball. It can be executed with the press of a button, but using the original Street Fighter inputs (quarter-circle up+A) the move will be a bit more powerful. Go half-circle+A and you’ll get a Shakunetsu Hadouken.

Same goes for the Shoryuken. It can be activated with up+b, but use the original input command and, as the video says, there’s a good chance you’ll KO your opponent.

They’ve basically tweaked a whole lot of mechanics to make Ryu work in Smash while feeling familiar to Street Fighter fans. If the eShop ever works again, maybe we’ll get to see how he plays.

This Week's Xbox One and Xbox 360 Deals With Gold Revealed

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 23:39:00 +0000

This Week's Xbox One and Xbox 360 Deals With Gold Revealed

Microsoft has announced the latest round of Xbox One and Xbox 360 games and DLC that Xbox Live Gold members can pick up on the cheap, and it's a list of games headlined by Wolfenstein and Evolve.

On Xbox One, Gold members can get Evolve for $30, a bundle with Wolfenstein: The New Order and The Old Blood for $60, or The Evil Within and its season pass for $44. On Xbox 360, they can get Grand Theft Auto IV for $4, Grand Theft Auto V for $25, or Ghost Recon: Future Soldier for $5.

You can check out the full list of deals, which are available from now through June 29, below.
Xbox One:

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 -- $24
Another World: 20th Anniversary Edition -- $4
Blue Estate -- $6.50
The Crew -- $30
The Crew Gold Edition -- $42.50
The Crew Season Pass -- $12.50
Dead or Alive 5: Last Round - Core Fighters* -- $5
Dead or Alive 5: Last Round Character - Rig* -- free
The Evil Within Digital Bundle* -- $44
Evolve -- $30
Evolve Digital Deluxe -- $40
Wolfenstein Bundle* -- $60
Xbox 360:
The Crew Season Pass -- $12.49
Dishonored* -- $6.79
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim* -- $10.19
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dawnguard* -- $12
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - Dragonborn* -- $12
The Evil Within* -- $20.39
Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta* -- $3
Fallout 3: The Pitt* -- $3
Fallout 3: Point Lookout* -- $3
Fallout: New Vegas* -- $5.09
Fallout: New Vegas - Dead Money* -- $6
Fallout: New Vegas - Honest Hearts* -- $6
Fallout: New Vegas - Lonesome Road* -- $6
Fallout: New Vegas - Old World Blues* -- $6
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier -- $5
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas -- $3.74
Grand Theft Auto IV -- $4
Grand Theft Auto V -- $25
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent -- $5

*denotes a deal is also available for Xbox Live Silver members

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Cannot Get Any More Guns on Last Gen

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 23:07:00 +0000

Call of Duty apparently can only hold so many guns.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare's arsenal cannot get any bigger, at least on last-generation consoles.

In a post on its website, developer Sledgehammer Games explained that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of its game have hit a "hard memory limit," prohibiting the developer from adding new weaponry. The explanation came in response to fans asking for more guns on those platforms.

The studio is planning on making the weapons in question available on Xbox One,PlayStation 4, and PC, so last-gen players were understandably wondering whether they'd get them, as well. But Sledgehammer head Michael Condry wrote that even though the developer has promised platform parity, the last-gen versions simply do not have enough memory available.

"Many of you have asked about [the guns] coming to prior-gen consoles," he said. "Since launch, we've been committed to delivering a seamless experience between the two console generations and PC. We have hit a hard memory limit on last-generation consoles. This memory limit prevents us from adding more weapons to those platforms. We don't like it any more than you, because we care about Advanced Warfare players on all platforms, but it's a limitation that is outside of our control."

In spite of the hardware limitations, Sledgehammer still plans on releasing the next DLC pack for last-gen consoles. Additionally, Treyarch has announced the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 for last-gen as well, indicating that Call of Duty still has life left on the Xbox 360 and PS3

Sony Has A New Feature Coming For The PS4 That Will Bury The Xbox One

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 01:20:00 +0000

Amid all the exciting announcements coming out of last week’s Gamescom trade show in Cologne, Germany, Sony announced a handful of new features coming in its 2.0 firmware for PlayStation 4.

Andrew House, president and group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment.

And while firmware is rarely anything to get excited about, this particular update is different — because it will effectively help Sony put distance between itself and Microsoft’s Xbox One.

Sony’s PlayStation 4 has outsold the console competition for seven straight months now, with PS4 sales roughly double that of Xbox One sales worldwide, according to Metro. But with this new update, the PS4 is about to become a much more powerful and user-friendly gaming platform.

The big reason? “Share Play,” which was promised when Sony announced the PS4 at E3, is a feature that allows you to play with any of your PlayStation Network friends over the internet — even if you don’t own the game. (It's free to register a PSN account.)

This particular feature uses just a single copy of your game that is run locally on one system, and then you or others can invite your friends to play that game with you by streaming it to their consoles. So if you own a racing game that your friends don't have, you can still play your game with them online (think an HBO Go password, but more social).

But there’s more:

“For example, if there is part of a game that you can’t quite finish, you can invite a friend to take over your controls,” Sony says on its blog. “Like handing over the controller to a friend on your couch, your screen will be shared as your friend gets through the part of the game that has been giving you trouble.”

Hello GamesIf the coming game "No Man's Sky" supports this feature, you could jump into your friends'
spaceships or travel along with them across the universe.

Share Play sounds extremely promising as a potential game changer for this generation of consoles. Still, Sony says it will limit "Share Play" sessions to one hour each, and lag may unfortunately affect how enjoyable this user feature is. We’ll have to see how well the functionality works in practice.

Why would Sony allow people to play games without paying for them? It's a way to get people hooked on the system, which should boost hardware and software sales overall.

Other useful additions are inside that 2.0 firmware, including — finally — YouTube support. Before this update, PS4 users could only record and share their gameplay clips to Facebook or an external hard drive. But for all of those gamers looking to make money off their video-gaming achievements or follies, Sony is baking YouTube right into the PS4’s OS to make recording and sharing drop-dead simple.

The Xbox One has one particular advantage over the PlayStation 4, which is its ability to instantly return to where you left off in your game when you wake the console from sleep mode. Sony has actually promised this capability for the PS4, but it is not here yet — still, Sony says it “will have more to announce in the coming months” with regards to this fall’s big 2.0 firmware rollout, so there is still hope for this game suspension feature reaching the PS4.

Though both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have plenty of first- and third-party games coming to their respective systems this fall, this year’s console wars might come down to how well these consoles can play with other platforms and ecosystems. A game-sharing online multiplayer mode and added support for YouTube will certainly help Sony’s next-gen console, which is getting ready to celebrate its one-year anniversary in just a few short months.

Batman: Arkham Knight

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 00:44:00 +0000

Combat

A variety of additions have been made to the general combat system in Arkham Knight.
ENEMY WEAPONS

Video>>>>>>>>>>

You can now wield enemy weapons like baseball bats and batons. Obtainable weapons are highlighted in blue and can be picked up off the ground, or grabbed from an opponent after they've been stunned. These melee weapons deal more damage and ignore enemy defenses, but can only be used for a limited time. Upgrades can increase the amount of time these weapons can be used for.

ENVIRONMENTAL ATTACKS

There are now specific environmental objects that can be interacted with to perform instant takedowns on. These objects are also highlighted in blue, and will highlight a nearby enemy who can be used in the takedown as well. Batman and his allies no longer have a special area of effect stun attack (Bat Swarm, etc)

SUPER CAPE STUN

The Super Cape Stun (Cape Stun x3) can be upgraded to include an attack finisher as the enemy is thrown into the air. This can damage other enemies in the trajectory. The Super Cape Stun can also be upgraded to be used by charging the cape stun button, rather than stunning an enemy 3 times in a row.
BATMOBILE TAKEDOWNS

If the Batmobile is nearby in combat, Batman can perform a batmobile assisted takedown, much like an environmental one. Successful strikes will build up the Batmobile meter, and highlight an enemy in blue on which the takedown can be performed.

CRITICAL BEATDOWNS

If Batman has stunned an enemy, he can pick them up off the ground and perform a beatdown that causes critical damage.
THROWING ENEMIES

Countering an attack while moving toward the enemy can result in a throw that can damage enemies caught in the way. Fallen enemies on the ground can be picked up, where Batman can then perform a critical beatdown on them. Fallen enemies can still be attacked on the ground, without requiring a ground takedown.
STRONGER INFORMANTS

A Riddler Informant may sometimes refuse to talk, and try to fight back. If he is not countered, you will have to KO him with no information gained.
VEHICLE COUTNERS / TAKEDOWNS

When facing an oncoming car, Batman can counter the car if timed correctly, jumping onto the hood and spraying explosive gel, then jumping off to watch the resulting explosion (the occupants will stagger out, stunned but alive!)

ENEMY ATTACKS

Thugs can now grab Batman from behind and hold him in place. You will have to perform a reverse Beatdown or risk being hit by another enemy. Being held does not reset your combo meter

Thugs can now charge at Batman from long distances. This move is not blockable, requiring you to either jump over them, or toss a quickfire batarang to KO them instantly.
New Enemies

In addition to new foes such as the Arkham Knight, the thugs and gangsters of Gotham have several new members among their ranks.

COMBAT MEDICS

Combat Medics are a new type of enemy that will fight alongside militia members. They have a number of techniques, including being able to resuscitate KO’d enemies (though they only have a set amount of charges that they will call out). They will also be able to electrify certain enemies, whose electrical current must be disabled before Batman can attack them.

If an enemy is knocked to the ground and stunned in combat, others may attempt to bring him to his feet.

ELECTRIC ENEMIES

Electrified enemies can be grounded by use of the batclaw to yank them out of their current safely. If an electrified enemy strikes Batman, he will be stunned (similar to the effect of a stun baton in Arkham City).

BRUTES

Brutes have taken the place of armored enemies, and still require beatdowns (or environmental takedowns) to defeat. Some brutes also come equipped with blades or a shield. Brutes can throw their allies at batman in an unblockable attack. The Gunner variants appear in Preadator maps, and cannot be taken down silently.

NINJAS

While not entirely new, these sword-wielding enemies can leap off of walls or other enemies to do a diving attack that can be hard to spot (but can still be countered mid-air)

Traversal

While many of the core mechanics of Batman's movement system remain unchanged, new additions have been made to make getting around Gotham easier.

LEDGE DIVE

When running towards a ledge, you can press the crouch/dive button to immediately jump off the building into a dive.

YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO TURN YOUR HEAD?

During a glide, you can now look above Batman to look along ledges to grapple to.

CHAINED GRAPPLE BOOSTS

When in the middle of a grapple boost, you can target your next grapple to immediately grapple up ledges in tandem.

GRAPPEL BOOST UPGRADES

The distance of grapple boosting can be upgraded, amplifying the distance shot into the air if enough length permits.

IN-FLIGHT UPGRADES

During gliding, you can purchase upgrades to utilize gadgets mid-glide including batarangs, explosive gel, and more.

WALL RUNNING

When gliding into the side of the building, Batman can do a short wall run before leaping off again.

AERIAL CAR TAKEDOWNS

When gliding over a moving car, you can perform a takedown and land on top of the car, tossing the driver out and causing the car to crash.

Predator Encounters

The basics of Batman's stealthy predator abilities are the same, though a few updates have been added to make these encounters more interesting.
ADAPTING ENEMIES

Certain teams of enemies (Militia teams and those ordered by villains) will adapt to how Batman is taking out their friends. Enemies will group up if picked off one by one, throw mines onto vantage points if attacked from the air, and throw thermobaric grenades into grates if attacked from below. They will also stop listening to commands from their superiors if they find out you are using a voice synthesizer

.
FALLEN COMRADES

Enemies will return to the site of a fallen comrade, even after their initial discovery - and sometimes request backup Combat Medics can revive fallen enemies (but only a certain amount) and will call for backup when doing so.

SENTRY GUNS

Enemies can now use and deploy sentry guns that cover wide areas, based on the site of your attacks.

CORNER TAKEDOWNS

Batman now has a longer range for corner takedowns, frequently using the batclaw to silently drag

enemies around a corner.

VERTICAL TAKEDOWNS

Batman can now drop off ledges into a silent takedown, or use the batclaw to grapple down to an enemy below and use a silent takedown.

FEAR TAKEDOWNS

Batman can now use fear multi-takedowns when his Fear meter is charged (gained by performing silent takedowns). Fear multi-takedowns are used when sneaking up on enemies who are unaware and taking them down in rapid succession (2-3 enemies, 4 with upgrades) and breaking their weapons in the process.

AERIAL DRONES

Some enemies will deploy aerial drones to sweep areas that they could normally not reach.

DETECTIVE VISION SCANNERS

Enemies can now be equipped with a Detective Vision scanner, alerting them to your presence if you have Detective Vision on for too long.

OPTIC CAMOUFLAGE

Enemies can now use optical camouflage that does not highlight them in Detective Vision
Gadgets

Batman's arsenal of wonderful toys have been a mainstay of the Arkham franchise, and in Arkham Knight they've been given a few new uses in addition to their old stand-bys.

EXPLOSIVE PROJECTILES

Explosive Gel is now used as a projectile in combat, rather than being sprayed on the ground, and will explode after a few moments to stun an enemy.

UPGRADED EXPLOSIVE GEL

The Explosive Gel can be upgraded to KO an enemy when sprayed on the ground, regardless of whether it is placed on a destructible wall or not.

UPGRADED BATCLAW

The Batclaw can be upgraded to commence a super stun, or super stun plus attack.

REC OVERCHARGE

The REC (Remote Electrical Charge) gun can be used to overcharge stun batons, zapping the wielder and causing him to drop it.

REMOTE HACKING DEVICE

The RHD is an updated version of the Cryptographic Sequencer from the previous Arkham games. The device can be used to turn off turrets, drones, and other sentry devices, making them go blind. It can be used on objects in the environment during predatory encounters from long distances, either distracting or incapacitating enemies.

VOICE SYNTHESIZER

Batman can now hack into the radio signals of his enemies and give false orders in the voice of their commanders. These synthesizers are unlocked during progression through the game's main story, and are used to send enemies to targeted locations.

UPGRADED WEAPONS DISRUPTOR

The Disruptor can be upgraded and used to cause various equipment to malfunction and explode, damaging it’s handlers - including Medic defibrillators, drone operators, Detective Vision scanners, sentry gun dispensers, and more.
Riddler’s Revenge

Mr. E. is at it again, and has prepared some devilishly devious new scenarios with which to defeat the dark knight.

RIOT BOMBS

A new type of Riddler event can be found in Gotham. The Riddler Riot Bomb involves one thug amongst many rioters who has a bomb implanted in his brain. Batman must use the remote-controlled batarang to seek out the thug (without knocking him out), and use an electric shock to disable the bomb safely.

BATMOBILE CHALLENGES

The Batmobile is now a key component of solving many of the Riddler’s puzzles, including following a trail using the Batmobile’s sonar device, pulling devices using the winch, and firing at targets with the Batmobile’s weapons.

Grand Theft Auto Online: 26 tips and tricks for success

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 23:32:00 +0000

Being dropped in a hostile world is scary. And Grand Theft Auto Online – the recently-launched multiplayer part of open-world action game Grand Theft Auto V – can be very hostile at times.

......

It’s dog-eat-dog out there. Everyone’s hustling for a quick buck and death comes easily. The crime-themed open world, which was more than five years in the making, sold more than $1 billion in its first three days, and analysts expect it to sell more than 30 million copies. That means you’re going to have a lot of competition online, and it pays to be prepared.

With that in mind, here are 26 tips and tricks that should make your Grand Theft Auto Online experience a little less hostile and a lot more fun. Heck, you might even save enough money to buy that fancy apartment by Vespucci Beach.

1. Get to the chopper!

Why travel by road when you can go and grab a helicopter? While the airport is more secure than in the single player game, you can still get in if you go up the stairs to the Flight School and hop over the wall. Unlike in single player, airport security won’t jump on you, and you can take your time strolling to the helipad before heading over the Los Santos skyline.

Other reliable places to grab a chopper include the roof of the Central Los Santos Medical Centre, the helipad near the canals at Vespucci Beach, and Trevor’s airstrip in Grand Senora Desert.

Above: Hop over the wall at the top of the stairs to reach the airport
Image Credit: Rockstar Games

2. Base jumping
When you’re in a helicopter, head straight for the tallest building downtown or the building under construction next to it. Both have a parachute sitting on top of them, just waiting for you to use. Why not drop in on the traffic below?

When you get to Level 10, you’ll also unlock the parachute missions, which offer a great opportunity to feel the wind in your hair and get away from the hustle of the streets.

3. Helicopters not enough?

If you’re finding the helicopters a bit slow, you can always trade up to a military jet.

Fly in to the military base, in the north-west section of the map, and jump into one of the fighter planes stored in the hangers. You have to enter by air, as ground access is closed off (unlike in single player). Be careful, though, as you’re going to get a fairly hostile reception from the forces stationed there.

You may also find a tank or two inside the compound, if that’s what takes your fancy.

4. Fast travel

Need to get across the map in a hurry? No problem.

Select a race on the main map that is near your destination, by hovering your cursor over it and choosing “Launch Job.” Click “Play” on the first menu to get into the lobby screen, then simply quit. You’ll find yourself hovering over the world for a few seconds, before being deposited at the race location, ready for action.

5. Try passive mode
Tired of being shot in the back while you’re taking a selfie? You might want to try passive mode. It stops you getting shot while on foot, but you also can’t shoot other players. Going into passive mode will cost you $100 a time, but it may save you more than that in medical bills.

Your player icon on the radar will change when you enter passive mode, to let others know you can’t be shot. Activate it from the interaction menu (hold “Select” on PS3, or “Back” on Xbox 360).

Passive mode isn’t like taking an invincibility pill, however. You can still be run over, blown up, or shot while you’re in a car or on a bike.

Above: Pick up a parachute from the top of Los Santos’ tallest buildings
Image Credit: Rockstar Games

6. Sell cars to make quick cash
If you need money quickly, you’re best off heading to the nearest Los Santos Customs and selling a stolen car. Grab a decent looking vehicle and set a course for the nearest mod shop (select it from GPS options on the interaction menu). Pull in to the garage and you’ll get the option to sell.

Only cars up to a certain value are saleable. The Lampadati Felon and Gallivanter Baller are two of the higher ticket items and each will net you $9,000. Pull up in anything too fancy, though, and you’ll be turned away.

You can sell one vehicle per in-game day, meaning a potential sale every 45 minutes. Easy money.

7. Insure your ride
Once you get a decent car, you’ll want to insure it. If it gets lost, stolen, or destroyed you can phone the insurance company and request an immediate replacement. The replacement car gets delivered straight to you, and it will continue to have insurance protection. Unfortunately, you’ll need to pay a fee (which is 10 percent of the original insurance premium).

The car you take to LS Customs during the tutorial will get free insurance, so choose wisely.

Only cars fitted with a tracker are insurable. At first you’ll need to pay LS Customs for each tracker, but once you get your own property a tracker gets fitted automatically (at no cost) to any car you park there.

8. Lock your car!
If you don’t want random strangers stealing your wheels, then you’d best set your options up properly. From the interaction menu, you can choose who can open the doors to your vehicles. I wouldn’t recommend selecting “Anyone,” but you’re safe with your friends and crew. Right?

9. Bank your money

If you’re carrying more than $5,000 in cash around Los Santos then you’re asking for trouble. Get mugged and killed carrying less than that and you’re only going to give up $100. More than $5,000 in your pocket and you’ll drop the $100 plus the excess.

Don’t bother with ATMs when depositing your cash; instead use your phone to deposit online via the “Money and Services” internet browser tab. Just be sure to stand somewhere quiet while you go online.

Above: I’m not sure this property is going to be on the market for long
Image Credit: Rockstar Games

10. Buy a garage

Once you’ve saved enough money, you should invest in some property. I bought the cheapest garage I could find, in a really nasty part of town, but it was worth every cent.

Cars will get a free tracker fitted when you first pull in, making them your own. Add some insurance and they’re yours for life.

A garage also gives you some place safe to escape the mayhem of Los Santos, even for a few minutes. No-one can enter unless you let them. You’ll hear people buzzing when they want to come in.

When you have a bit more money to play with, you can work your way up the property ladder. Buying a new property makes you sell your old place; getting some money back in the process.

A free starter garage should be available to Social Club members, according to Rockstar Games, but this did not appear during testing.

11. Claim your free sports car (and shotgun)
Sign up to the Rockstar Social Club and link it to your PlayStation Network or Xbox Live account to get a sweet ride for free.

When you buy your first property, buy the Elegy RH8 from the Legendary Motorstorm website. It comes in a choice of colors and won’t cost you a cent. Better yet, it has a top speed of 196 miles per hour, can go from zero to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds, and has insurance cover.

Signing up to the Social Club will also give you access to a free shotgun, which you can pick up from any Ammunation store.

Above: The Elegy RH8 is available for free if you sign up to the Rockstar Social Club
Image Credit: Rockstar Games

12. Sing in the shower
What better way to wind down after a hard day’s hustling than singing in the shower? If your microphone is on then the game will hear your vocal efforts and reward you with reputation points, or RP (the GTA Online equivalent of experience points). You’ll need an apartment, or access to one, to try this out.

You might want to set your chat options to “No-one” (from the interaction menu) before showering. Or you might not.

13. Play solo to level up safely
Developer Rockstar designed Grand Theft Auto Online for multiple players. That doesn’t mean you can’t play alone.

Start up a “Solo” session from the single player pause menu, under “Options”. You can explore, take on missions, and race with no-one to bother you. The races essentially become time trials when played solo. They won’t earn you any money, but you will earn RP for each one you enter. This is also a great way to practice and build up your driving/flying/riding skills before taking on the world.

Above: Los Santos looks incredible from the sky
Image Credit: Rockstar Games

14. Race to make cash and earn RP
Deathmatches are fun, but they take a long time and use up lots of ammo. Races, however, are a surefire way of making some money and earning RP. Even doing badly in a race nets you some cash, and sitting in a decent lobby exploring the variety of races on offer is a great way to pass the time in GTA Online.

If you don’t want to play in a public lobby, then start a private session with some buddies (from the Online menu) and get racing.

Pro tip: if someone in the lobby is consistently doing well, it’s worth placing a bet on them to win. Do this from the last menu before the race starts.

16. Get a turbo start
If you’re going to be racing, you’ll need to get out of the blocks fast. In true Super Mario Kart style, GTA Online offers a turbo start if you depress the accelerator right at the word “Go!”.

Get 50 turbo starts and you’ll unlock some neat new colors at Los Santos Customs.

17. Find your friends (and enemies) easily
With 16 dots moving around the mini-map, it can sometimes be difficult to see who you’re after. Use the interaction menu to choose “Highlight Player,” then select whose dots you want to flash.

When set to “On,” the flashing dots will appear on the main map and will flash on the edges of the on-screen mini-map, helping guide you quickly and easily to your target.

18. Forgot who shot you? Rockstar didn’t.

Navigate to the “Info” section of the game menu and you’ll get a run-down of your most recent activity. I’ve used this, on more than one occasion, to track down a miscreant and exact revenge.

Helpful if most of the players in your lobby have instantly forgettable user names created from a seemingly random string of letters and numbers.

Interestingly, Rockstar is constantly keeping tabs on who plays nice in GTA Online.Players report being forced to wear dunce caps for 48 hours, due to being bad sports. Conversely, good sports have received in-game payments of $1000 from Rockstar.

Above: Play nice or you wear this dunce cap for 48 hours
Image Credit: Rockstar Games

18. Use your “Action” commands
You can assign an action to your character from the interaction menu. Activate it by clicking both analogue sticks in.

Actions include dancing and flipping the bird which are essentially useless, but fun. If you stock up on energy bars from the convenience stores, however, and set your action to “Eat snack,” then each time you click the sticks you’ll recover some health. Handy to remember when you’re in a firefight.

19. Expand your mini-map
Two “Down” clicks on the D-pad will expand your on-screen mini-map. Perfect for getting a better view of where you’re heading, or of who’s after you. I wish the single player game had this option.

20. Join a crew for extra RP
If you haven’t joined a crew, then you’re missing out on reputation points. Being part of a crew gives you a 10% bonus for every mission. You can search for recommended crews via the start menu if you don’t have any online buddies to hook up with.

Above: You’re going to rank up quicker if you’re part of a crew
Image Credit: Rockstar Games

21. Use the phone to bug your single player friends

While the phone system was in place for Grand Theft Auto IV, GTA Online takes it up a notch. Now you call up your buddies playing the single player story and brag about the fun you’re having online. Just select them from your contacts and choose “Call’.

Doing this for the first time felt very strange, blurring the line between the single and multiplayer experiences and making Los Santos feel very real. It was pretty cool.

22. Wear a mask to hold up convenience stores

Head to Vespucci beach and you can buy some interesting masks from the vendor there. If you wear a mask while holding up a convenience store, the store worker won’t recognize you when you next go back. This essentially allows you to rob the same stores over and over without being recognized.

Try robbing the same store a couple of times as yourself and you’ll find that convenience store workers hold a grudge.

Removing your mask while hiding from the cops should also theoretically cut your wanted level by one star, but this hasn’t actually worked for me in testing.

Above: Get your masks from the vendor on Vespucci Beach
Image Credit: Rockstar Games

23. Helicopter crime sprees

Forget getaway cars; GTA Online is all about getaway choppers. You can rob convenience stores quicker and more easily from the sky, and you’ll get much less trouble from the cops.

As long as you don’t actually shoot the store workers, you shouldn’t ever get more than a two star wanted level, meaning no police air support. So, move quickly to a store, shout a lot, grab the money, and take to the skies. You can easily evade the police cars and move quickly onto the next store.

Just remember not to turn your back on the store workers as some of them carry weapons. And watch out for vigilante citizens.

24. Commit suicide
If you’re stuck in an impossible situation, pinned down by the cops, with a four star wanted level, then taking the easy way out is sometimes the best option.

Medical expenses and bail money can really add up (they scale with the amount of money you have, to a point), so taking a $500 hit for topping yourself will probably save you some cash. Just remember, it’s only a game.

25. Split the bounty money
Rockstar has spiced up GTA Online with a neat bounty hunting system. When you hit level 10 you meet Lester and unlock the ability to place bounties on other players heads. This also allows players to place a bounty on your head.

If you get hit with a sizeable bounty (say, over $5,000), then it’s worth letting an online friend kill you, claim the bounty money, and split it with you. Even after medical expenses, you should turn a profit.

Non-player characters can also place bounties on your head if you cross them. The best way to avoid these bounties is to shoot (or knock out) the NPC concerned. Just don’t let the cops see you.

Above: John Marston is selectable as a father for Social Club members
Image Credit: YouTube/iJustcie
26. John Marston was my father

Red Dead Redemption protagonist John Marston is available as a parent option in character creation for anyone signed up to the Rockstar Social Club. Scroll down to “Dad’s Mother/Dad’s Father”, press “Y” or “Triangle,” and Marston will pop up as your character’s father.

Collector’s Edition owners can also select some old faces from previous Grand Theft Auto as parents. Those lucky few can choose between Nico Bellic (the protagonist from Grand Theft Auto IV), Claude, or Misty (both from GTA III).

Hopefully these tips have been of use for your ongoing life in Los Santos. If you have any of your own that you want to share, feel free to drop them in the comments below.

And be careful out there.

GTA 6 (Grand Theft Auto 6)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 20 Jun 2015 02:59:00 +0000

Rockstar GTA series is one of the most popular series of action-adventure, open world, crime and role playing games. Rockstar North is not just limited to grand theft auto only, but its base is GTA series only. Rockstar has recently launched the 5th Grand Theft Auto version and it leads to a huge success. So now all the die hard fans of GTA series are expecting a new adventure and excitement in GTA 6.

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This article will give you all latest updates about GTA 6. Below, you can simply jump to portion, you are looking for.
Basic Details About GTA 6
GTA 6 Release Date
GTA 6 Platform
GTA 6 Features
GTA 6 Location
GTA 6 Characters
GTA 6 Gameplay Trailer (Fan-Made)
GTA 6 Images(Fan-Made)
About GTA 6:

Ever since the Rockstar release GTA 5, GTA lovers has already started questioning about GTA 6. GTA 5 is the most fastest selling video game in the history. The Rockstar earned US$800 million in its first day and US$1 billion in its first three days. The sales history is the proof how much people love GTA game and now have huge expectation from GTA 6 than any other game. Even though it is less than a year when GTA 5 released, but GTA fans has already started asking, “When Is GTA 6 Coming” and even sharing there feature wishlist.

Ever since GTA 5 is launched, GTA 6 is always in news. Rumors about GTA 6 discuss the changes and wishlist GTA fans would love to see in GTA 6. The most wanted wishlist is one beautiful hot woman as the main character in GTA 6 along with other male character.

GTA 6 RELEASE DATE:

The Overwhelming success of GTA V is accumulating the GTA fans to expect the game release for next-generation console with improved graphics and gameplay elements.

Though there is no official announcement of the release date, but Rockstar has given a hint for GTA 6 that “We’ve got about 45 years worth of ideas we want to do,” Leslie Benzies, president of Rockstar North, said in a press conference. A lot of people are predicting the GTA 6 release date by following the previous leads, but the fact is still GTA 6 date is not announced. But considering the Rockstar strategy, it is expected to release sometime around 2018.
TitleRelease Date
Grand Theft Auto 1997
Grand Theft Auto II 1999
Grand Theft Auto III 2001
Grand Theft Auto IV 2008
Grand Theft Auto V 2013
GTA 6 2018?

After analysing the past GTA game we predict the next GTA 6 to release sometime around 2018 – 2020. In between we also expect some other GTA game to come. For example, GTA City Stories which is new title registered by Rockstar. You can know more about GTA 6 release date here.

Update On 16 September 2014:

Currently, all the rumors about GTA 6 release date is June – July 2017 are fake. We have many reasons to prove why is it so. First of all there is no direct official confirmation from Rockstar Games. Secondly, same website is writing about it every month just to remain in Google and getting traffic. If this news is true, they should write it once and done. But they are writing the same article almost every week by little modification. This simply means news is their mind creation for getting some extra readers to the site.
GTA 6 Platform:

GTA 6 is very likely going to release for the newest console PS4 and Xbox One. Considering high PC demand later Rockstar is also expected to launch for PC platform aswell.

PS4:

Play Station 4 is the latest console in the gaming zone. Rockstar has recently launched some updates for GTA 5 for PS4. GTA 6 is mostly expected to release for PS4 as its the only latest console in the market by Sony and also it has a lot of scope to be utilized by Rockstar to improve the game.
Xbox One:

Another latest console by Microsoft which also received the updates for GTA 5. Xbox one also had the resources which is yet to be utilized by Rockstar to improve the performance and game quality.
PS3:

Play Station is the predecessor of PS4 and now seems to have some limitations in technical terms due to which it is unable to support the latest graphic’s games. Considering the fact PS3 will be outdated by 2017 and not even getting support from Sony which ends in 2016. So Rockstar might not launch GTA 6 for PS3.

Xbox 360:

Similar scenario is for Xbox 360 version as it also have technical limitations due to which it doesn’t support the high definition graphics games. For GTA 6, this console also might get obsolete as its successor Xbox One is hitting the market with great enthusiasm.

For more read: Will Rockstar Release GTA 6 For PS3 & Xbox 360?

There is also a probability that till the time Rockstar release GTA 6, there may be some more high tech and upgraded consoles available in the market (i.e. PS5 and Xbox Two) and GTA 6 might also be available for those consoles too.
GTA 6 FEATURES (Rumor And Wishlist):

Here are the most wanted feature of GTA 6 from GTA lovers. The below list will be updated with more feature in future, when we get to know more wishlist from them.

Female Protagonist:

Most people have criticized the women’s role in GTA 5, but as GTA 6 is all about excitement at the highest level, so we would be expecting some female protagonist as the center of the story line. It could be innovative idea as GTA franchise is most popular among the world.

Bring 1970’s Back:

Many fans want GTA 6 to take place in retro look of 1970‘s. First reported by motoringcrunch, soon after it becomes a headline for many other sites to share their personal views on the idea. Even many fans in forums have shared that they really liked the idea of 70’s culture, as it was best suited for mafia’s as it includes all the corrupt government and all business owned by mafia’s.

New City:

Another feature we are expecting in next-generation consoles is that it would provide a great opportunity to break away from the cities they’ve already explored and move to a new city, it would be a great adventure and thrill to explore the new city.

More Adventure:

Another interesting thing is adding new professions, such as president of the united states or some leader of any political party, or the chief of some aliens. GTA fans also want to see some new city and places with extra adventure and thrilling experience.

Customize The Main Character:

GTA fans would love to customize the main character before playing the game. The customization of appearance, looks and cloths will be a great feature.

More Missions:

GTA 6 can be little more explored by providing more Money making Missions as: Like robbing banks mission, having a job like joining the army or the police. Such missions will give a more real feeling in the game. It will boost his temperament to get indulged in the game.

Adding More Realism:

Various features are present which are mostly admired by each and every fan but still there is a lot of scope for fun and adventure, in the the next gen Grand Theft Auto game. GTA 6 game engine can support destructible sceneries and the innovative idea is to think like battlefield where we can crumble some wall down or maybe explode some building with an airplane. And after that, the game memorizes that this building is on the ground and by the time game goes on the building starts to get builded again and we can watch the process by watching the workers working on the construction. This idea seems little bit simple but it will add more realism and adventure to the game.

House Changes:

GTA 5 gives the opportunity to buy a house but instead of being stuck with one house there more houses must be provided and there should be change in online also as ability to buy an actual house instead of apartments, and most importantly there should be a feature to edit the house details also.

More Vehicles:

GTA 5 has various vehicles which is liked by various fans but still it lack the real feeling which came in GTA. So, there should be addition of some monster trucks such as 1967 Shelby GT500, Hot Rods, 1950’s Ford Pickup Truck,1950’s Chevy Pickup Truck or Chevy SS Camaros.

More Stylish Clothes:

GTA 6 must be little different from GTA 5, it will have the ability to buy any clothes for each character (including clothes from multiplayer) should be added, as this feature while more ralism and varity in character as it help in creating more real like feeling during game play.

Modification of Vehicles:

GTA 6 will have more advanced features with respect to vehicles as they should be able to modify the car by themselves such as adding the neon lights and speakers or different body kits and many interesting advancement according to there requirements.

Other Feature:

GTA user would also love to customize some vehicle and guns to the way they want. Many of the fans also want old health system to be back in GTA 6. The health determined by numbers 100 and the player die only when it sank to zero. Here you can find more GTA 6 feature listed.
GTA 6 Location:

GTA 6 rumors are getting viral day by day. Recent one is related whether the GTA 6 will place in Vice City, Houston or Texas. Although gamer are still believing that GTA 6 will be in American city, most probably in Miami or New York City. You can also read best 4 location for GTA 6.
GTA 6 Characters:

Grand Theft Auto 6 Characters are rumored to such an extent that even we sometimes feel that Rockstar might get confused about its main protagonist in the game. GTA 6 latest and most wanted character till now is a female which must act as a main protagonist or can be one of the main lead characters.

Dan Houser head writer for Rockstar Games has told that in a interview, whether he never thought a female character in GTA 5 in respond to this he said “We didn’t really think about it this time, That’s not to say that we couldn’t or we wouldn’t. This character set is just what came to us: it wasn’t, ‘we’ve got X and Y so we need Z,’ we weren’t trying to do it off a checklist – I don’t think that will ever give you something that’s believable or engaging.”

“In the future, could we do a game with a lead female character? Of course. We just haven’t found the right game for it yet, but it’s one of the things that we always think about. It didn’t feel natural for this game but definitely for the right game in the future – with the right themes, it could be fantastic. But for GTA V, this was the organic thing that came up, these were the characters what would display the themes we wanted to think about.”

Various fans have different opinions about the female protagonist. Some are in favor while others oppose it. Female character might be included in the game but seeing it in a lead role will not be a very fruitful for the legacy of Rockstar grand series Grand Theft Auto.

Apart from Female protagonist other hot news is that, Rockstar might put a drastic change in Grand Theft Auto 6 which might lead to a single main character who will lead the story. Though this news is not confirmed by any official sources but its highly rumored among the fans. You can know more about GTA 6 characters here.
GTA 6 Gameplay Trailer Video (Fan-made):

After watching so many fan made GTA 6 gameplay trailer, below is of such trailer. The trailer is 3 minutes in length which focus on female protagonist. Until official comes, enjoy fan-made.

Jaguar wants to monitor its drivers' brainwaves, heart rate, and breathing

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 20 Jun 2015 02:04:00 +0000

A future Jaguar could monitor your brain, detect your health, and predict your actions. It sounds incredibly futuristic, but they're all elements of different projects that Jaguar Land Rover is working on right now in order to make its cars much smarter and safer. It detailed the projects today in a news post, following up last week's announced that it was developing sensors that could monitor for potholes

"We believe some of the technologies currently being used in aerospace and medicine could help improve road safety and enhance the driving experience," says Wolfgang Epple, Jaguar's research and technology director. "These research projects are investigating how we could exploit this for the benefit of our customers and other road users."

BRAIN ACTIVITY, HEART RATE, AND BREATHING MONITORS COULD TELL IF A DRIVER IS ALERT

The brain monitoring tech is easily the most incredible sounding project of the bunch. Jaguar wants its cars to be able to tell if a person is paying attention to the road or off daydreaming, so that it can try to make the driver alert again should they lose focus. It says that's possible by monitoring for brainwaves that indicate a person is tired or distracted. The problem — aside from reliability issues — is that current brainwave monitors typically involve a headset. But Jaguar says that it should be able to monitor for brainwaves through sensors embedded in the steering wheel. It's apparently looking into adapting tech that's already used by NASA to monitor pilots' concentration.

If the tech works, Jaguar says that it may try to get drivers focused again by vibrating the steering wheel or pedals. If that doesn't work, it might move on to warning icons and sounds. The development could certainly be a help today, but Jaguar imagines it being particularly important in the future when it's selling self-driving cars. The car may have to hand off control to a driver at some point, and it's critical to know if the driver is ready.

That concern also stretches into Jaguar's interest in monitoring its drivers' health through their heart rate and breathing. It says that it's testing a "medical-grade sensor" that can be embedded in a seat and monitor heart rate and breathing through vibrations. Jaguar hopes that the sensors will be able to detect "the onset of sudden and serious illness," and give the car enough information to know when a person isn't in the right shape to drive (it wouldn't be a bad idea to autonomously reroute someone to a hospital at that point, too). One additional amazing part about this: Jaguar even imagines that the car could tell if a driver is a little stressed out and then put on some mood lighting or smooth music to help them chill out.

OTHER PROJECTS ARE AIMED AT INCREASING DRIVER AWARENESS IN THE SHORT TERM

While those two research projects are partly focused on making autonomous driving safe, Jaguar is detailing two other projects that are meant more for current vehicles. One is a "haptic accelerator pedal" that could pulse or vibrate in order to alert a driver to whether they were going over the speed limit or were close to hitting another car.

The other project is an infotainment system that could detect what button a driver means to push before they actually touch it. It would apparently use cameras to follow a driver's hand and predict mid-air what they mean to press. It might even use ultrasonic waves to create a tapping or tingling sensation in a person's finger so that they know the system registered their movement. The idea is that this could reduce the time a driver is looking away from the wheel, however briefly (in tests, Jaguar says it's increased button selection speed by 22 percent), but it also sounds like it could be far more frustrating and time consuming if it doesn't work.

It's not clear how far along any of these projects are, and some of them are evidently meant for cars that are likely many years out. Still, the details that Jaguar has been giving on how it's trying to bring advanced tech into the car have been fascinating, and they suggest a much more advanced vehicle than most of us have been imagining driving down the road one day.

New games, hardware and adding value: Which console "won" E3 2015?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 20 Jun 2015 00:20:00 +0000

While there were a lot of great looking games on show, not every console maker had the most successful E3Image Gallery (11 images)

With big press events from Sony, Microsoft and a raft of third party publishers, and with Nintendo's unique Direct broadcast approach, it's all too easy to get lost in the tidal wave of announcements that hit in the first few days of the E3. All three big console makers presented a vision of what consumers can expect from their systems in the coming year, but whose showing was the strongest, and whose left a bitter taste in the mouth? Read on as Gizmag assesses this year's E3 offerings, and provides musings on what the announcements might mean for the current and future landscape of console gaming.

A rocky year for Nintendo

Let's start off with the bad news – not everyone was a fan of what Nintendo showed during its E3 Direct broadcast. While the announcement broadcasts, which the company makes fairly often throughout the year, are usually well received, fan reaction to the latest outing was far more negative – there's even a petition to stop development of the multiplayer 3DS title Metroid Prime Federation Force. It's currently sitting on more than 16,000 supporters.

The presentation made for a light hearted and enjoyable watch, but was heavy on filler, and while a fair few portable titles were announced, there wasn't much talk of big Wii U games. In fact, we already knew about the biggest console reveal – Star Fox Zero – from an earlier glimpse at the project, and no AAA title was announced to fill the void left by the unnamedLegend of Zelda Wii U entry that recently slipped down to a 2016 release window. But the underwhelming software wasn't the company's biggest issue. No, that came in its failure to discuss the future.

We've known for a few months that Nintendo's next console is in the works. We don't yet know what form the system will take (rumors suggest that it might combine the company's portable and home console offerings into a single piece of hardware), and it's unlikely it will hit shelves before 2017, but we do know it exists, and that's a problem for Nintendo.

Why announce that your next generation games console is on the way, then wait a year to talk about it? That behavior only breeds a lack of confidence in current gen hardware, making consumers reluctant to jump on board with the Wii U, when they know the party won't go on much longer.

In reality, it was always going to be a tough year for Nintendo. The company had to make a strong case for the Wii U – that it still has its best years ahead of it – and it needed two or three AAA reveals to do so. That's something that's difficult to pull off when you're working with very little third party support.

The result? Nintendo essentially sealed the Wii U's fate as a lame duck console (if there were still any room for doubt before E3).

Backwards compatibility + new hardware = a more appealing Xbox One

Microsoft has made some huge blunders this console generation. Things were rocky from the get go, with the system's split focus between gaming and entertainment, always online requirements and strict no-used-games policy receiving a frosty reception from consumers. Those issues were quickly fixed, with a reversal on the always online and used games policies, and a refocus on gaming. The company even started selling the console without the much-derided Kinect sensor, allowing users to purchase a cheaper, more gaming-centric version of the product.

Microsoft performed a balancing act at this year's E3, showcasing its upcoming exclusives (Halo 5 Guardians, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Sea of Thieves, etc.) while announcing new features and hardware that add significant value to the system. On one end of the scale, the announcement of backwards compatibility will make the Xbox One a far more appealing prospect to Xbox 360 owners who are yet to make the leap to the current generation platform. At the other end of the scale, the new Xbox Elite controller will appeal to the platform's more hardcore player base, particularly eSports players using the console.

Redmond had one more trick up its sleeve at E3, demoing how its Hololens augmented reality headset will play a part in gaming, showing off an impressive version of Minecraft that allows users to view an interactive tabletop version of their creations.

Microsoft isn't ready to provide hands-on time with the tech, but it looks very promising and, like the company's other big reveals, could add serious value to the platform. Overall, Microsoft's E3 was the polar opposite of Nintendo's, giving new users a reason to jump in, and existing players good reason to keep faith.

Sony makes good on one promise, skips over another

Sony made the biggest game reveals of any company at this year's show, including new IP Horizon Zero Dawn, the ambitious and creative Dreamsand the much-requested Final Fantasy VII remake – a timed exclusive. Oh, and there's also highly anticipated The Last Guardian, a game originally revealed back in 2007, and one that many people believed would never see the light of day.

For many, a great upcoming games lineup will be enough to keep up interest in the system – it's the strategy that Sony has had from the beginning with the PS4, and one that's kept it ahead of its rivals since launch. But its easy to argue that Microsoft's exclusive game lineup is looking every bit as strong as Sony's, and with the issue of horsepower disparity – one the key post-launch battlegrounds – beginning to fade into the background, could Redmond's new features and hardware be enough to finally put it ahead of the pack? It's certainly possible.

What's interesting here is that Sony does have one big way of adding value to its system – the Project Morpheus virtual reality headset. Surprisingly, Sony didn't take the opportunity to drive home the upcoming hardware at E3, instead providing no significant new details, and generally just skimming over the topic during the press event. Gizmag did get the chance to go hands-on with the headset on the show floor, and was generally impressed with what it offered. Unfortunately, the demo was a little limited, and didn't really show off how the peripheral could impact the system.

So, overall, if you were ranking the performance of the big three at E3 2015, you'd have to put Nintendo in last, behind Sony and finally Microsoft. Of course it's not quite that simple in reality. For many, Sony's big reveals will be enough to claim victory for the PS4, for Star Fox fans could even claim that Nintendo had the most compelling offering.

What's certain is that Microsoft went above and beyond for this year's event, giving existing and prospective users more reasons than ever to consider its current generation system. As the months and years roll on, it might just be enough to help the Xbox One claim that much coveted top spot.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Early 2016 Release Date Revealed at E3 2015

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 23:56:00 +0000

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will be out in "early 2016," Square Enix announced during its E3 press conference today.
The release window was announced following a cinematic trailer that was said to be the debut of in-game footage. The trailer closed out with a release window of only 2016, but this was narrowed down to "early 2016" immediately afterward.

The trailer itself offered further insight into the story of Mankind Divided, which is set in 2029, two years after the events of Human Revolution. We also got to see what appeared to be a new shock weapon that disabled three enemies simultaneously, as well as protagonist Adam Jensen's new shield ability.

For everything else announced at Square Enix's press conference,

Heroes of the Storm Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 23:47:00 +0000

Given the origins of the online battle arena genre, in which StarCraft andWarcraft III modifications played a major role, it was only a matter of time: Blizzard has thrown down its hand in the MOBA market. Heroes of the Storm is yet another example of the quality we expect from the developer: ideas that have been explored elsewhere are given a level of refinement and accessibility that makes the eventual result nigh impossible to dislike. Heroes of the Storm is fantastic, assembling Blizzard's colorful characters into a highly absorbing tactical arena game.

As with games like League of Legends and Dota 2, two teams of five face off with the goal of destroying the opponent's base. Unlike those games, however, the map upon which teams face off is not a near carbon copy of those from other genres. Heroes of the Storm features seven unique maps with various secondary objectives that can assist a team in their siege of the enemy base. Each of these secondary objectives serves to create interesting movement and points of conflict, thus preventing the game from devolving into poke wars or stalemates where teams are too afraid to engage with each other.

B.F.R.

One such map is the Garden of Terror, in which players collect seeds from monsters upon nightfall in order to summon and take control of a garden terror of their own, which has the power to turn foes into zombie plants and plant vines that temporarily disable enemy towers. The garden terror's massive health pool forces the opposing team to take it down before it wreaks havoc upon their bases. Furthermore, controlling the garden terror can lead to an interesting minigame of keep-away in the early stages of the game, as you sprint to drop the vines in every lane you can manage before your empowered state runs out or your terror is killed.

In another map, The Haunted Mines, the secondary objective sends players underground, off the main area of the map to collect skulls that empower their team's massive grave golem. The power of each team's golem depends on the number of the 100 available skulls they are able to acquire. Teams must react and take position according to how well they managed to acquire skulls underground while the mines were open. A stronger enemy golem requires staunch defenses, while golems relatively even in power enable more versatile splits of defenders and attackers. Each team's golem pushes opposite lanes, and upon collection of another 100 skulls, revives wherever it died previously, adding a sense of dread when an enemy's golem dies close to your core. The battles with the grave golem are the main course, certainly, but the skirmishes in the mines and the tight interplay of fending off the enemy team while your team slays the mine's boss is quite the appetizing hors d'oeuvre...ladies...

Blackheart's Bay, the Tomb of the Spider Queen, and Dragon Shire are all battlegrounds supporting intense and exhilarating comebacks. The game's inherent comeback mechanics, such as longer death timers for higher level players, and map-specific secondary objectives, offer the trailing team plenty of opportunities to close the gap. In Dragon Shire, for instance, players may channel the great power of the towering warrior known as the dragon knight, allowing one hero to temporarily transform into the knight. Each successive dragon knight summon is stronger, leading to a progressively thrilling brawl each time the dragon knight is summoned.

One of Heroes of the Storm's primary draws is its cast of characters from Blizzard's various franchises.Warcraft's Uther, Malfurion, Illidan, Jaina, Thrall, and others face off against StarCraft's Raynor, Kerrigan, Tychus, Tassadar, and Zeratul as well as Diablo's Diablo, Azmodan, Tyrael, and a few representatives of theDiablo III playable characters. Despite being essentially recycled pre-existing characters, Heroes of the Storm's character design still greatly impresses. Diablo offers his signature red lightning breath as an area-of-effect team fight ultimate, while Raynor may call in help from the Hyperion Battlecruiser to rain down fire from above. Arthas summons Sindragosa to freeze all in her path. These characters bring their own signature moves from their franchises into the arena with them, while still sliding neatly into the mold of a different genre.

While most characters fit into the standard classes of Warrior (tanks with crowd control), Assassin (sustained damage and nuking mages), and Supports (mostly healers), Heroes of the Storm features a fourth classification: Specialists. Specialists all have mechanics unique to their characters and don't really compare to the other characters in the game. Abathur may attach a symbiote to an allied unit in order to launch his attacks from the safety of his own base. Azmodan empowers nearby minions while summoning a relative army all his own. Murky, the Baby Murloc, may lay an egg anywhere on the map in order to respawn there within a few seconds of death, rather than the long respawn timer to revive in base. The Specialist characters offer an entirely different perspective on Heroes of the Storm's gameplay.

Ideas that have been explored elsewhere are given a level of refinement and accessibility that makes the eventual, golden result nigh impossible to dislike.

Of the many heroes I played, only one made me question its usefulness--and only one other made me feel unstoppable. Overall, excellent hero balancing means that you rarely assume that a game is over before it starts because one team has a hero that yours doesn't--except perhaps when an opposing player has chosen Sylvanas. The slight imbalances that do exist are cleverly blanketed by the team-focused design that encourage grouping and teamwork, as well as by the game's matchmaking, which prioritizes balanced team composition over throwing five assassin players into a team. Occasionally, some combinations of heroes are a perfect storm that causes one particular hero shine--Illidan with a healer and an Abathur on his team is one such instance--which may lead to perceived imbalances. But once you realize Illidan isn't the only one doing work, the illusion is dispelled.

As your character levels up during a match, you choose how to customize your build using various stat-boosting talents that augment your character's skills. Skills improve in damage on their own as you gain levels, but talents may add additional damage or effects to those skills. For example, Stitches must choose between extending the reach of his hook or enabling it to snag a second target; Valla and Falstad may choose between empowering their basic attacks or shifting more damage to their abilities. Each character has a set of unique choices to customize your style either to your own personal preference, or to suit the map. There are no items to buy in Heroes of the Storm: all of your character customization is handled solely by the talent system. One of my frustrations with the game stems from talents, as two or three of the available talents per level are gated behind a hero mastery system that requires you to play several games as the hero before you are allowed to select some of the more advanced masteries. This cripples character potential in Quick Match and encourages players to grind for experience in matches versus the less capable AI in order to level up their hero's mastery.

Heroes of the Storm is a free-to-play game; thus, playable characters are limited to a free week rotation and characters are unlocked through Gold (earned by playing) or real money. With the existence of daily quests such as "Win three games" or "Play two games as a Diablo character," gold comes easily, and it never feels like it will take days of playing to unlock whatever character you're looking for. Bonus gold is also given out at various account level milestones and for reaching mastery level five of a character. Overall, the free-to-play structure doesn't feel greedy or insurmountable, even when you only casually engage. Admittedly, it may take a long time to unlock every character in the game, but unlocking a decent variety of characters should come rather easily. I'm admittedly not the best person to trust with regards to games labeled “free-to-play” though; I've spent over a thousand dollars in League of Legends over the years.Chef Stitches brings the Meat Hooks.

Match length in Heroes of the Storm is short, relative to other games in the genre. Rather than spending an hour or longer hoping for a game to finally come to an end, matches are often decisively ended within 20 minutes. There are outliers that drag on beyond 40, as evenly matched teams may have trouble managing to end the game against one another, but the game's rapidly scaling death timers generally enable one team to end the competition before that point is reached. Usually, games are over quickly enough that you'll convince yourself you always have time for one more game.

If you wish to shine individually, you may not enjoy Heroes of the Storm; the game is very team-centric, to the point that even experience is shared across an entire team--all players on the same team are the same level during a match. An individual's power to affect a match is limited. Grouping up is essential to winning matches, and attempting any sort of heroic 1-vs.-5 play will likely be met with death. This serves to reduce the amount of rampant toxicity the genre is rather notorious for bringing; most game and chat experiences feature very few instances of nasty epithets, and with cross-team chat disabled outright, there is no opportunity for insulting opponents.

The environments, animations, and sounds of combat all evoke a mental investment in the action. Animations are simultaneously flashy and elegant, and ability animations feature enough clarity that it's rare to be confused about what killed you. Tassadar's Psionic Storm crackles and flashes for each enemy it hits. As E.T.C. The Rock God leaps into the fray from across the map, a rocking guitar riff signals his landing. The comical trio of Lost Vikings mounts up into its longboat when activating a heroic ability, and the three sing a merry tune as they rain cannon fire down on nearby foes and towers. And the sound of a dead hero (with which you will become very familiar) features a bass "shoomp" to draw just the right amount of satisfaction for each and every kill your team secures.

Heroes of the Storm is a must-play for both MOBA players and Blizzard enthusiasts. It avoids stepping into the exact footprints of the games that paved the way for the genre, and delivers a beautifully graceful, unique experience with familiar characters. And should you not fall into either category, it is still a fantastic casual-competitive game that offers untold hours of enjoyment.

Nokia leads the way for 5G: Technology is 40 TIMES faster than 4G - and it's so powerful your phone can't handle it yet

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 14 Jun 2015 08:26:00 +0000

The Nokia Networks system reaches speeds of up to 10Gbps
Tech helps pave the way for 5G networks - the next level in mobile internet
By comparison, the theoretical maximum for 4G networks is 42Mbps
Such speeds mean full-length HD films could be downloaded in a second

Networks across the globe are still working on the roll out of 4G, but that hasn't stopped them trying to make our mobile internet even faster for the next-generation of devices.

At a summit in Boston, Nokia Networks has demonstrated a system that can deliver speeds of up to 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps).

This is 40 times faster than the current maximum speeds achievable on 4G and means full-length HD films could be downloaded in the blink of an eye.

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Nokia Networks has demonstrated a system that can deliver speeds of up to 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps). This is 40 times faster than the current maximum speeds achievable on 4G and means full-length HD films could be downloaded in the blink of an eye. And video calls could be made without any lag (stock image)

Such speeds could also pave the way for next-generation video and pictures on 8K - twice as clear as 4K and 16 times as clear as HD - as well as reduce the lag on video calls.

Nokia Networks teamed up with National Instruments (NI) to build what it's calling the fastest cellular technology ever tested. It sends data over a frequency of 73,000 MHz, or 73GHz.

Wavelengths in this band can be as small as millimetre, and are also known as millimetre wave or mmW and are currently used by radio astronomy, radars on aircraft and security scanners in airports, for example.

NOKIA'S SUPERFAST NETWORK

Nokia Networks teamed up with National Instruments (NI) to build what it's calling the fastest cellular technology ever tested.

It sends the data over a frequency of 73,000 MHz, also known as 73GHz.

Wavelengths in this band can be as small as millimetre, and it are also known as millimetre wave or mmW.

At a summit in Boston, Nokia Networks demonstrated its system can deliver speeds of up to 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps).

This is 40 times faster than the current maximum speeds achievable on 4G and means full-length HD films could be downloaded in the blink of an eye.

Such speeds could also pave the way for next-generation video and pictures including 8K which is twice as clear as 4K and 16 times as clear as HD.

By comparison, current mobile networks range between 700 MHz and 3,500 MHz, while the maximum theoretical speeds for 4G is 42Mbps.

The Nokia Networks system is 10 times faster than the current fastest fibre internet technology, including Google Fiber in the US.

It is also 25 per cent faster than similar technology demonstrated by Samsung earlier this year, which achieved peak speeds of 7.5Gbps.

While 4G networks speed up standard downloads to about 13 minutes, subscribers of these services would theoretically be able to download massive data files 'practically without limitation', said Samsung at the time.

This would lead to 'almost instantaneous access to games and 3D movies or the ability to stream ultra high-definition programmes in real-time'.

Although peak speeds are the maximum, and people would likely achieve slower speeds than this due to hardware or website restrictions, for instance.

This is a problem current mobile and broadband networks also experience.

Nokia demonstrated the technology at its annual Brooklyn 5G Summit, which this year was focused on using the spectrum above 6GHz.

The use of new spectrum bands is a key feature for future 5G networks because they could offer 'virtually zero' latency, or delay.

Latency on 4G is capable of between 40 and 60 milliseconds, which is low but is not immediate and doesn't provide a real-time response.

World's wireless industry meets to discuss 5G network (related)

Add caption

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Nokia Networks's system sends the data over a frequency of 73GHz. Wavelengths in this band can be as small as millimetre, and it are also known as millimetre wave or mmW. By comparison, current networks (mast pictured) range between 700 MHz to 3,500 MHz, while the maximum theoretical speed for 4G is 42Mbps

Add caption

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The Nokia Networks system is 10 times faster than the current fastest fibre internet technology, including Google Fiber in the US. It is also 25 per cent faster than similar technology demonstrated by Samsung earlier this year, which achieved peak speeds of 7.5Gbps. The Samsung S6 is pictured

Zero latency is key when playing games on a phone, for example, meaning the on-screen character responds immediately after the control is pressed.

WHAT IS 5G AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

5G is the name given to the next generation of mobile networks. It will be the faster successor to the current 4G.

Nokia Networks has demonstrated speeds of up to 10Gbps, while Samsung recently achieved 7.5Gbps during tests.

These breakthroughs are key to the development of a 5G network, and run on high levels of the spectrum.

Wavelengths in this band can be as small as millimetre, and it is also known as millimetre wave or mmW. These can handle fast speeds and offer 'virtually zero latency'.

By comparison, current networks range between 700 MHz to 3,500 MHz, while the maximum theoretical speeds for 4G is 42Mbps and latency is between 40 and 60 milliseconds.

Such high-frequency wavebands have previously deemed unsuitable for mobile networks.

But they have a limited distance, are easily blocked by buildings and walls, and require specific transceivers capable of providing 5G to a wide area, via a phone mast.

Phones can't currently receive signals and wavelengths on such a high frequency, so new technology will need to be added to these devices.

5G networks also rely on a large number of new phone masts being installed for the higher, shorter, signals to travel over long distances.

It's also needed to handle the vast range of connected devices, in addition to mobiles, including cars, smart homes and augmented reality apps.

Such high-frequency wavebands have previously been deemed unsuitable for mobile networks.

They have a limited distance, are easily blocked by buildings and walls, and require specific transceivers capable of providing 5G to a wide area, via a phone mast.

Phones can't currently receive signals and wavelengths on such a high frequency, so new technology will need to be added to these devices.

5G networks also rely on a large number of new phone masts being installed for the higher, shorter, signals to travel over long distances.

And this has led to warnings from analysts that faster downloads could cause larger bills, and raised health fears that new high powered broadcasts will fuel so-called 'electronic smog'.

Lauri Oksanen, vice president of research and technology at Nokia Networks, said: 'At Nokia we strive to expand the human potential of the connected world.

'5G mobile network speeds as high as 10Gbps and with extremely low latency are a driving force for massive mobile broadband and totally new applications in the future.'

But despite the extra costs for infrastructure and technology 5G will add to businesses, it could also benefit the economy.

Denis Keseris, patent attorney at intellectual property firm Withers & Rogers, said: '5G will require some degree of global cooperation in order to design a standard capable of reliable communication.

'This is going to take time, but rather than waiting for the outcome, some innovators are already developing concepts and technology that may find their way into the 5G standard.

Such wavelengths are currently used by radio astronomy (pictured), radars on aircraft and security scanners in airports, for example. But they have previously been deemed unsuitable for mobile networks because they have a limited distance, are easily blocked by buildings, and require specific transceivers

Nokia Networks recently completed its first live testing of High Speed Cell FACH technology. When using apps, phones send and receive small amounts of data, and Nokia's technology is designed to handle these so-called 'data packets' more efficiently. This increases browsing speeds, power savings and response times

'Investing time and energy in speculative innovation is obviously a gamble, but the scale of the 5G opportunity could make it worthwhile.'

Nokia Networks is also leading the way in developing battery saving technology. Last year, it made a significant breakthrough by boosting battery life by up to 49 per cent.

WHAT IS HIGH SPEED CELL FACH?

The software is designed to help operators handle data sent over 3G networks.

When running applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter, as well as browsing the web, sending emails and using services such as FaceTime, phones often send and receive small amounts of data.

These are known as packets, and are typically just a few hundreds of bytes or a few kbytes.

High Speed Cell FACH is designed to handle these small data packets more efficiently than other software.

This makes apps run faster, and also means they use less energy over the course of a day, for example.

The technology also means operators can boost the speed and quality of their services, and support a higher number of phones on their networks.

More technical details can be found on Nokia's originalwhite paper.

The Finnish-based firm saw these results during its first live trial of a software known as High Speed Cell FACH on a 3G network.

When running applications such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter, as well as browsing the web, sending emails and using services such as FaceTime, phones often send and receive small amounts of data, known as packets, of just a few hundreds of bytes or a few kbytes.

High Speed Cell FACH is designed to handle these small data packets more efficiently than other software.

This makes apps run faster, and also means they use less energy over the course of a day.

The technology additionally means operators can boost the speed and quality of their services, and support a higher number of phones on their networks.

According to the recent Nokia tests, the 3G software boosts speeds and network response times by up to 65 per cent, and leads to up to 20 per cent faster browsing.

Users also saw power savings of up to 49 per cent, which meant their battery life lasted almost twice as long - depending on which applications were being used.

The lowest power saving was nine per cent.

The tests were run on the commercial 3G/HSPA network of a major European operator - although Nokia did not reveal which operator it was.

Testers also used devices fitted with Qualcomm Snapdragon processors that already support High Speed Cell FACH.

The tests were run on a commercial 3G/HSPA network using devices fitted with Qualcomm Snapdragon processors. Results revealed 50% power savings, when certain apps were used, 65% faster response times, and 21% faster browsing. Ping relates to networks sending signals to a web-enabled device

High Speed Cell FACH is a capability that Qualcomm Technologies already supports on its latest Snapdragon processors.

These processors are seen in high-end, flagship phones including the Nexus 6, Samsung Galaxy Note Edge and Note 4, and Amazon Fire HDX 8.9 (2014).

Nokia said the live network tests 'produced substantial performance gains that exceeded Qualcomm's expectations', including beating previous laboratory test results.

But it is not known when it will be widely available to networks and customers.

Gameloft To Make Modern Combat 5 Free-To-Play In Next Update

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 01:42:00 +0000

Modern Combat 5's release was hardly unexpected. After all, it's a sequel in one of the most popular franchises on Google Play. Nevertheless, it was a surprise to see the Gameloft title launch without a single in-app purchase in sight. In exchange, the publisher priced it at $7. Reasonable.

Ryan put the game through its paces, and while it wasn't without its caveats, it easily provided enough content to justify the price tag.

Now Gameloft is making the game free-to-play. The update is already available on iOS, and it's slated to hit Android soon.

This update makes Modern Combat 5 available for free to millions of new players, and adds controller support, more weapons, a new class and more. All of our current players are getting Veteran status, with unlimited energy, and some other goodies as a thank you for their support. Ultimately, the switch to free-to-play means the game will have a longer lifetime, so we can invest more in the long-term update plan and in the servers which need to support a significantly larger player base. One thing we’re not messing with is the competitive balance players have come to expect in Modern Combat.

— Valeriu Ispir, Product Manager

This means the publisher is doubling down on in-app purchases. People who have already bought the title will receive veteran status rewarding them with an exclusive kill sign and costume, unlimited energy for life, and 200 credits. Yup,energy and credits. Modern Combat 5 will now feature an energy meter that limits how many missions you can go on. Players can buy unlimited energy for a period of time.

It was fun while it lasted, right?

Gameloft already rolled IAPs into the experience months after Modern Combat 5 originally launched, but these weren't required. They gave you a way to buy content that you could otherwise unlock the old-fashioned way.

But hey, it's not all doom and gloom. The company is packing some new stuff into the update. There will be a new support soldier class that can heal and aid allies. There's also an additional weapon class (the light machine gun) and a 6th weapon tier. These are joined by a new multiplayer mode centered on capturing zones placed in certain areas of each map.

Right now the game is priced at $3.99, but you can look for that upfront cost to disappear once the update arrives. Hop on it now if you want to become a veteran before then.

Modern Combat 5: Blackout

418,532 ratings

Offers in-app purchases

by Gameloft
5,000,000 - 10,000,000 downloads

Appears in a list of Games for Gamers (HD)

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Patch 6.2 Apexis Crystals - Baleful Gear

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 01:23:00 +0000

We take a quick look at the uses for your Apexis Crystals in Patch 6.2 in this guide to acquiring Baleful gear. In 6.2, Apexis Crystals can be traded in for gear that is slightly above the item level of standard dungeon drops, and further upgraded to just beyond the item level of a Normal Hellfire Citadel raid drop.

Baleful Apexis items can be purchased from Ravenspeaker Thelnaas (who you can find in Vol'mar or Lion's Watch, depending on your faction) in Patch 6.2 for 5,000 Apexis Crystals.

Baleful items also drop frequently in Tanaan.

These item level 650 items are available for every slot (on use, they convert to the appropriate armor type):

Baleful Bracers

Baleful Treads

Baleful Gauntlets

Baleful Hood

Baleful Leggings

Baleful Spaulders

Baleful Tunic

Baleful Ring

Baleful Choker

Baleful Cloak

Baleful Trinket

Baleful Armament

Baleful Girdle

These items can in turn be upgraded to item level 695 using Empowered Apexis Fragment, which cost 20,000 Apexis Crystals apiece. You will also get one Empowered Apexis Fragment as part of completing the Garrison Campaign content in Tanaan Jungle in Patch 6.2!

Note: There is no cap to the number of Apexis Crystals you can have at a given time in Patch 6.2!

This will be a quick and easy way for characters to gear up efficiently after the patch hits, and worthwhile for any character that isn't already wearing Mythic Blackrock Foundry gear (within reason - set bonuses, etc. are a factor!). Upgraded Apexis gear will only be replaced by Heroic Hellfire Citadel (or better) gear.

Will you be farming Apexis Crystals in Patch 6.2 for gear? Quests, dailies, and bonus objectives in Tanaan Jungle will award Apexis Crystals. Several buffs and bonus events can also improve your rate of crystal acquisition!

Gameloft brings 10 games to Nexus Player for launch day

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 00:37:00 +0000

Gameloft announced today that it has worked closely with Google to bring ten of its games to the Nexus player, successfully shoring up the device's launch day gaming catalog. If you are lucky enough to snatch up one of the streaming devices, you should be able to peruse the publisher's offerings from your couch starting right away.

Gameloft seems thoroughly committed to bringing their titles to multiple platforms. Speaking their launch day offerings, Gameloft VP of Publishing Baudouin Corman said:

We're committed to delivering amazing game experiences to our millions of players on promising new platforms. "With cross platform gameplay for several Gameloft titles, players will be able to enjoy their favorite games on the big screen, phone, and tablet.

The list of games you'll have access to on the big screen includes the following:
Despicable Me: Minion Rush
Asphalt 8: Airborn
Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour
Modern Combat 5: Blackout
GT Racing 2: The Real Car Experience
Dungeon Hunter 4
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Wonder Zoo
Ice Age Village
World at Arms

We'll have our review of the streaming box up soon. In the meantime, check out all of our coverage on the Nexus Player, as well our video walkthrough of the device below:

Ice Age Avalanche promises puzzle game fun on Android

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 00:20:00 +0000

Fans of puzzle games like Candy Crush Saga might find something new to play with Gameloft's just-launched Ice Ag e Avalanche for Android.

Gameloft's newest Android game is Ice Age Avalanche. It's a free-to-play "match 3" puzzle game that's based on the popular animated movie series.

The game features the movie's main characters like Sid, the constantly talking sloth, Manny, the "ordinary guy" mammoth, Diego, the wise-cracking sabretooth tiger, and Scrat, the squirrel who just love to collect nuts. Here's what players can expect:

2015’s most critical information technology trends

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 00:49:00 +0000

The Internet of Things, big data, cloud and cyber security will continue to dominate the IT landscape in 2015 – but what effect will they have? -

'The IT industry is growing at an exponential rate, with demand, investment and technological capability the three pillars of support driving the sustainability in growth'

Technology was dominated by several prevalent trends in 2014 – from the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data to the cloud and cyber security, it seems like there was barely a day without one of these trends creeping up in the news.

Now we have entered 2015, these trends are still at the forefront of discussion, with many exciting opportunities, innovations and iterations being predicted for this year.
1. Internet of Things investment will continue to increase

In 2014 there was a rapid increase in IoT solutions being deployed to advance business intelligence. ABI Research reported a 20% increase in IoT connected devices in 2014 from 2013. This year, Cisco predicts there will be 25 billion connected devices, which will double to 50 billion by 2020. Information Age suggests IoT will revolutionise business by allowing companies to improve value propositions, engage with customers on levels previously unavailable and build entirely new revenue streams.

>See also: 2015 technology trends – what are the security implications?

So far, investment in IoT has mainly come from the IT and telecoms industry, which will naturally benefit from the increase in data generated and application capabilities for mobile devices. In 2015, spectators predict investment in IoT will increase outside this industry. The retail industry is one sector in particular that is looking to tap into sensor data generated via wearable technology to provide highly targeted products and services to their customers.

As businesses look to IoT technologies to provide more insight, there is an ever-increasing demand for analysts capable of transforming IoT data into actionable business intelligence. There is a shortage in data scientists, for example, with positions increasing in the UK by a staggering 1005% over the last two years. This makes data science one of the fastest growing and in-demand professions in the UK to date, and is predicted to increase further going forward into 2015.
2. Big data requires big investment in infrastructure and skills

Big data as a concept is ever evolving as the capacity to mine structured, semi structured and unstructured data increases. In 2014, organisations were making more informed business decisions and becoming more intelligent as they interact with their customers. For example, more sophisticated ‘recommendation engines’ anticipating users’ interests more accurately for services such as Netflix, Amazon and Google. Further, credit reference agencies have been using big data to inform on lending decisions by developing the algorithms used to generate credit ratings. Retail, logistics and budget planning have all seen significant advancement last year due to greater business intelligence.

In 2015, spending on big data related software is expected to increase to around £80 billion globally as reported by the IDC. IoT will become the next critical focus for data and analytics services with IDC predicting 30% CAGR over the next five years. The increasing influx of data available to organisations will require the infrastructure being used to house, process, analyse and visualise intelligence to expand. The IDC predicts that rich media analytics will be the driver behind many big data projects, expecting this area to at least triple in size.

The increased demand for greater sophistication in analysis and data consumption will require organisations to refine talent acquisition strategies to compete in the skills gap. A recent survey of 300 UK businesses, conducted by SAP, showed that while 92% of organisations have seen their data grow over the last 12 months, most were experiencing barriers when trying to use the information. Further, 42% of organisations saw lack of time and resource as the biggest challenge and 75% believed new data science skills are needed within their organisation.
3. More business operations will gravitate to the cloud

2014 was another big year for cloud computing. The IDG Enterprise Cloud Computing Study found that 69% of firms participating had at least something in the cloud, up 8% from 2013. The reason behind the movement to cloud-based operations are numerous, from IT agility to IT innovation and employee collaboration, cloud computing is becoming the hub for operational infrastructure. Big data, generated through IoT, is an important driver for organisations to move to the cloud.

This year, there will be greater adoption of cloud and in-house/cloud hybrid hosted operations among businesses. The IDG study also found that 61% of organisations will invest in emerging technologies to improve their existing cloud solutions. Technologies such as software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualisation (NFV) are being looked into to give greater agility to cloud investments.
4. Cyber security industry must invest in skilled talent

2014 is now being dubbed ‘the year of the breach’ and it is not difficult to see why. Last year sensitive data was being leaked at Google, Apple and most recently at Sony, to name but a few leading tech giants. Security weaknesses have been marked down to a number of key areas such as misconfiguration issues, third party providers, lack of network diversity and most worrying of all, lack of qualified security talent.

The cyber security skills gap is perhaps the underlying issues behind the ‘the year of the breach’ having a knock-on effect on industry and the economy. Cyber security skills are a global priority but, with a lack of consistency in accepted career definitions, organisations are experiencing difficulties in attracting new talent and progressing existing professionals. To offset the skills deficit, talent from the ‘gaming’ industry are being brought into the security sphere and their skills adapted for this arena.

Now in 2015, the information security industry has an opportunity to re-define itself and build on the negative global coverage it observed last year to attract new talent. Investment, employment branding and clearly defined career paths are essential if organisations are to reduce the deficit in the skills gap and avoid seeing their own brand in the papers due to the latest leak.

The Internet Systems Security Association (ISSA) identified the need for an internationally accepted framework that would define the cyber security career for individuals in the profession. To attract new entrants and so that pros can advance in their career, ISSA have developed the Cybersecurity Career Lifecycle (CSCL). This pro-active approach to industry development could go a long way to help fill the estimated 300,000 to 1,000,000, and rising, currently vacant global cyber security positions.

>See also: The 2015 cyber security roadmap

As we look forward to the year ahead there are many fantastic opportunities in IT to look forward to – from the existing trends of 2014 to the emerging technologies yet to be discussed. The IT industry is growing at an exponential rate, with demand, investment and technological capability the three pillars of support driving the sustainability in growth.

However, the barriers to the industry are clear and present dangers. The shortage in skills and talent capable or realising the expectations for these pressing technologies must be addressed on an educational, cultural and organisational level.

Nurturing computing skills must be as core to the UK syllabus as English, Math and Science to provide the next generation with the tools that they will need in their future careers, no matter the profession.

Culturally, there appears to be a strong requirement to make a career in IT more attractive to young women. A study by the Joint Council for Qualifications found less than 8% of last year’s ‘A' Level computing students were female and declining still. From a total of 4,171 students studying Computing, only 314 were female. That's a 75% decrease over the last 10 years. These figures are concerning to say the least with the skills gap in this sector increasing.

Dragon Age 2 – the year late review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 12 Jun 2015 00:37:00 +0000

Let me start by saying I realize that this game came out in March of this year and it’s now the end of December and I’m barely getting around to reviewing it but, I live in San Diego where I get to play a lot of golf, so playing this had to wait. Frankly, I could play golf now but the deal with the wife is golf, fantasy football and games, only 2 out of 3 at a time.

Now that I’ve lost my fantasy season I’ve picked up the controller again and am re-discovering how much I love video games. I also am rediscovering fantasy worlds and DA2 is definitely helping there. So let’s get some details on the books yeah?

Dragon Age 2 is a story following a magician named Hawke over about a decade of time. He gets embroiled in various plots surrounding a place called Kirkwall after leaving his native home to escape an evil blight. Think Game of Thrones meets Magician Master.

Overall look: What an impressively designed game. You can tell BioWare put a lot of thought into the art. Though I will say that at this point the maps are starting to get a bit repetitive. It seems to me like they opted for less maps with a higher level of design than the other way around. I’m o.k. with it, but to be fair it’s something that sticks out a bit.

Story: I keep asking myself how they could possibly have thought up, and created cut scenes, for all this dialog. The story works sort of like a choose your own adventure book where depending on what you say and choose different things happen. You get this feeling that you’d get tired of reading it different ways before they ran out of custom story. It’s a great tale without glaring plot holes. Though, there is this strange sexual sub-theme that pops up a lot that I’m not quite understanding. You can sometimes select to flirt with different characters and it does range into the bi-curious world. The game is rated MA so it’s not like they’re trying to get sneaky but it does feel weird at times.

Gameplay: The fighting setup and execution is superb. You really get a great balance between hacking and slashing and strategy. I’ve fought battles over and over trying to figure out what the best method of attack is. I’ve found in some it’s taking the right terrain, in others it’s the right magic and a lot more still it’s going in there and slashing everything to bits. Excellent execution here.

Overall Pros: Great story. Above average character development. Killer gameplay.

Overall Cons: A lot of walking around and reading can distract from the story at times. Weird flirty sexy out of place thing going on. Same 15 or so maps over and over.

My take: I’m playing it over everything else I’ve got right now. This game is worth buying. 7/10.