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Sunday 26 May 2013
Promoting our Page, Channel and Blog
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Sunday 19 May 2013
Star Trek The Video Game Full Review
Whenever there's a big budget film on the horizon, you can be pretty sure there will be a supporting video game. It makes sense from a marketing perspective, but over the years these games haven't exactly garnered the best of reputations. It seemed as though this might not be the case with the latest Star Trek game. After all, not only does it features full likenesses from the film's cast and a unique story, it also has a competent developer behind it.
Choosing to stay within the same universe, but not mimic the story in Star Trek: Into Darkness, Star Trek: The Video Game sees Kirk, Spock and their crew tackle The Gorn, as they're looking to take advantage of some Vulcan technology.
What started off as a routine distress call from a Vulcan space station quickly turns into something much more severe, as it turns out that the Vulcans have created a piece of technology called the Helios device that can create Rips. If in the wrong hands, it means that ships can effectively appear unannounced from anywhere.
Throughout the story, you'll visit many different locations as Kirk and Spock attempt to thwart the Gorn. If anything, the narrative is the strongest element of the game. It closely follows what you would expect from its big screen counterparts without ever feeling disconnected. Each of the core crew members is faithfully represented and they each have their parts to play. Even the more mundane of objectives feel like they serve a purpose in the greater scheme of things, something which is a rarity.
Almost every other part of the game suffers from a lack of development. To say that the core gameplay functionality is bland would be an understatement. Whether you choose to play as Kirk or Spock, you'll find that the whole experience feels very wooden. The different elements might not look too bad, but when it comes to how everything moulds together, it's just not up to modern-day standards.
Given the fluid experiences we've been treated to in recent years, it's disappointing to play through a game that feels so canned. If you want to do a roll or go into cover, it all feels so staged - nothing feels natural or fluid. And that's not even venturing into other elements such as platforming or the attempted space combat, where the experience hits a new low.
When delving into the actual combat, there also isn't much joy to be had. Enemies exhibit rather poor AI, often seeming rather unaware of their surroundings. The same can also be said for your partner, should you choose not to play with someone you know. In fact, playing with someone else you know might be the only way to perhaps gloss over everything this game does in a sub-par way.
It's a shame there aren't many more positive things to talk about with Star Trek: The Video Game. The developers clearly tried, introducing things like an upgrade system based around performing certain actions. However, even this doesn't seem that necessary and in some cases it's more of a hindrance. It's clear that some of them assumed you'd be playing with a real person, because why would you bother unlocking an ability that overcharges your companions weapons when they struggle to even hit anything? It's just a waste of time, you're better off just shooting them yourself.
Visually, Star Trek: The Video Game is pretty decent. All of the characters do clearly resemble their on-screen counterparts and the inclusion of their voices adds to the authenticity. It also features a pumping score that's befitting of the franchise. However, there isn't much more to praise in this department. Many of the visual effects are poor and the animations just aren't up the standards that we've come to expect.
Choosing to stay within the same universe, but not mimic the story in Star Trek: Into Darkness, Star Trek: The Video Game sees Kirk, Spock and their crew tackle The Gorn, as they're looking to take advantage of some Vulcan technology.
What started off as a routine distress call from a Vulcan space station quickly turns into something much more severe, as it turns out that the Vulcans have created a piece of technology called the Helios device that can create Rips. If in the wrong hands, it means that ships can effectively appear unannounced from anywhere.
Throughout the story, you'll visit many different locations as Kirk and Spock attempt to thwart the Gorn. If anything, the narrative is the strongest element of the game. It closely follows what you would expect from its big screen counterparts without ever feeling disconnected. Each of the core crew members is faithfully represented and they each have their parts to play. Even the more mundane of objectives feel like they serve a purpose in the greater scheme of things, something which is a rarity.
Almost every other part of the game suffers from a lack of development. To say that the core gameplay functionality is bland would be an understatement. Whether you choose to play as Kirk or Spock, you'll find that the whole experience feels very wooden. The different elements might not look too bad, but when it comes to how everything moulds together, it's just not up to modern-day standards.
Given the fluid experiences we've been treated to in recent years, it's disappointing to play through a game that feels so canned. If you want to do a roll or go into cover, it all feels so staged - nothing feels natural or fluid. And that's not even venturing into other elements such as platforming or the attempted space combat, where the experience hits a new low.
When delving into the actual combat, there also isn't much joy to be had. Enemies exhibit rather poor AI, often seeming rather unaware of their surroundings. The same can also be said for your partner, should you choose not to play with someone you know. In fact, playing with someone else you know might be the only way to perhaps gloss over everything this game does in a sub-par way.
It's a shame there aren't many more positive things to talk about with Star Trek: The Video Game. The developers clearly tried, introducing things like an upgrade system based around performing certain actions. However, even this doesn't seem that necessary and in some cases it's more of a hindrance. It's clear that some of them assumed you'd be playing with a real person, because why would you bother unlocking an ability that overcharges your companions weapons when they struggle to even hit anything? It's just a waste of time, you're better off just shooting them yourself.
Visually, Star Trek: The Video Game is pretty decent. All of the characters do clearly resemble their on-screen counterparts and the inclusion of their voices adds to the authenticity. It also features a pumping score that's befitting of the franchise. However, there isn't much more to praise in this department. Many of the visual effects are poor and the animations just aren't up the standards that we've come to expect.
Facebook Home Review
Facebook Home review
When I got my first smartphone in 2010, I checked Facebook obsessively. But over time, the novelty wore off and opening Facebook's app to check photos, links and posts from friends turned into a chore.
In a sense, I'm the ideal target for Facebook's new Home app. Those photos, links and posts I couldn't be bothered to check on the social network's app automatically come to the screen when I turn on the phone. I can see friends' musings scroll by, as photos they've chosen to highlight take up the entire screen in the background. A new one appears every seven seconds.
It's as if Facebook has taken over the phone's prime real estate and pushed Foursquare, email, weather, YouTube and my alarm clock to the slums.
Home is ideal for people whose lives are centered on Facebook. Others might not feel at home.
At first, the free app is available only on certain phones running Google's Android operating system - HTC Corp.'s One, One X and One X Plus and Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note 2. It will work on the Galaxy S 4 when the phone goes on sale in the coming weeks.
If you have a Facebook app already installed on one of those phones, you'll get a prompt when Home is ready to download on Friday. Otherwise, visit the phone's Google Play store to get it. Home comes already installed on the HTC First, which ships Friday and costs $100 in the U.S. with a two-year AT&T Inc. service contract. I had a chance to spend several hours with a First that Facebook Inc. lent me to try out ahead of Home's public debut.
Facebook has no current plans to bring Home to the iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry or Windows devices. That's because Google makes Android available on an open-source basis, free for anyone to modify, so it's easier to make changes.
That last part is key to the Home experience. Normally, Google's apps and services are front and center. Android makes it easy to get on Gmail, navigate with Google Maps and search for things using its Google Now voice assistant - all with a tap or two on the phone. Facebook is taking advantage of its rival's open-source policy to place its apps and services front and center.
Right from the home screen, you see the things your friends are sharing on Facebook. Not interested in what Dave has to say? There's Mary replacing him in seven seconds, and Jennifer replacing her seven seconds later. Mixed in are posts from some of the groups you follow. Facebook says you'll eventually get ads there, too.
Facebook calls this the Cover Feed. I call it Facebook on steroids.
I hardly have time to digest a post before a new one appears, and in many cases I'm seeing only the first several words in a post, hardly enough to convey a thought. The good news is that I can pause the stream and view the full post at any time by tapping the screen. In doing so, I can comment on a post or hit a "like" button. The scrolling stream continues with another tap.
As the text of your friend's post appears, you'll see in the background the person's cover photo, the large image your friend chooses to display at the top of his or her profile page. Because cover photos are horizontal, and the app is designed for vertical use, you're seeing only a snippet at a time. The part that is visible shifts over those seven seconds, as if a camera is slowly moving across, similar to the panning technique used in Ken Burns documentaries.
If the post is of a photo, you'll see that image rather than the cover photo in the background. Again, you're only seeing a snippet - a part of the elephant, but not its whole. To view the full photo, you have to tap and keep your finger on the screen - though that can block part of the image. I prefer the way Facebook's regular app handles photos: More of the image fits on the screen, even if it's smaller.
I had a few Facebook chats going as I was testing Home. The profile photo of the person I'm chatting with appears in a small circle to the side. I simply click on it to open the chat screen, where I could type a reply. Text messages I get appear this way, too. I found the Chat Heads feature fun, as I moved my friend's images to the left, to the right, to the corner - and eventually to the trash.
The fun ended when I tried to use the phone for other things. When I tried to dial a phone number, for instance, the friend's head obstructed the number 3, forcing me to move it before continuing to dial. Chat Heads became intrusive, even off to the side.
To get to those other things, you drag a circle with your profile photo to one of three buttons. One gets you Facebook's messenger app, which lets you chat just like Chat Heads. Another gets you the menu of apps on your phone, including the app for making calls. A third is supposed to take you to the most recently used app, though it's hit or miss whether it's actually the last app I used.
I wish I could add other buttons for frequently used apps, such as Foursquare and Instagram. Although I hardly use the phone to make calls, a quick button would help, particularly for emergency calls. To get to Android's traditional home screen on the HTC First, I had to drag my profile photo to the App Launcher, swipe the screen to the right and click "More..." A button to get you straight there would have been nice, too.
Facebook has promised to update Home with new features and bug fixes at least once a month. So it's possible my gripes will be addressed over time. In fact, Facebook is limiting Home to a small number of devices so it can make sure it's done right. I look forward to seeing where Facebook goes with it.
The one feature I like from the start is Notifications. With Android, alerts such as new messages and missed calls typically appear as tiny icons at the top of the screen. You have to drag down the top to get details. With Home, those details pop up in the middle of the screen and demand your attention. It's similar to how the iPhone and the iPad handle alerts.
Facebook was late in setting me up with a phone and app to try it out, so I didn't have as much time as I would have liked with Home. It's quite possible I'll warm up to Home after spending more time with it.
I might not get that chance, though. I'm fearful of what it'll do to all the non-Facebook apps I now use and enjoy, so I'm not sure I'll be rushing out to download Home on my personal Android phone on Friday. As much as I like not having to do a lot of work to use Facebook, all that ease makes doing other things on the phone a chore.
Google Glass
Google Glass (styled as "Google GLΛSS") is a wearable computer with a head-mounted display (HMD) that is being developed by Google in the Project Glass research and development project, with the mission of producing a mass-market ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information in a smartphone-like hands-free format, that can interact with the Internet via natural language voice commands. While the frames do not currently have lenses fitted to them, Google is considering partnering with sunglass retailers such as Ray-Ban or Warby Parker, and may also open retail stores to allow customers to try on the device. The Explorer Edition cannot be used by people who wear prescription glasses, but Google has confirmed that Glass will eventually work with frames and lenses that match the wearer's prescription; the glasses will be modular and therefore possibly attachable to normal prescription glasses.
Glass is being developed by Google X Lab, which has worked on other futuristic technologies such as driverless cars. The project was announced on Google+ by Project Glass lead Babak Parviz, an electrical engineer who has also worked on putting displays into contact lenses; Steve Lee, a product manager and "geolocation specialist"; and Sebastian Thrun, who developed Udacity as well as worked on the self-driving car project. Google has patented the design of Project Glass. Thad Starner, an augmented reality expert, is a technical lead/manager on the project.
Camera
Google Glass has the ability to take photos and record 720p HD video. While video is recording, a recording light is displayed above the eye, which is unnoticeable to the wearer
Touchpad
The side of Google Glass is a touchpad, allowing users to control the device by swiping through a timeline-like interface displayed on the screen.
Technical specifications
Android 4.0.4 and higher
No official information about display resolution, 640×360 suggested, as it is recommended for app developers
5-megapixel camera, capable of 720p video recording
Wi-Fi 802.11b/g
Bluetooth
16GB storage (12 GB available)
Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 S
oC 1.2Ghz Dual(ARMv7)
682MB RAM "proc".
3 axis gyroscope
3 axis accelerometer
3 axis Magnetometer (compass)
Ambient Light sensing and Proximity sensor
Path Of Exile
Path of Exile is an online Action RPG set in a dark fantasy world. It is developed by New Zealand based independent developer Grinding Gear Games and is a downloadable free-to-play game supported by "ethical microtransactions". On January 23, 2013, the Open Beta was released. By March 2013 the subscriber base has reached 2 million players, and during GDC 2013 Chris Wilson from Grinding Gear announced they are looking at a final release of version 1.0 within about six months (late 2013), yearly expansions are further planned for the following 5 to 10 years.
Gameplay
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The player controls a single character from an overhead perspective and explores large outdoor areas and underground caves or dungeons, battling monsters and fulfilling quests from NPCs to gain experience points and equipment. All areas aside from the central encampments are randomly generated for increased re-playability. While all players play on (currently) one server world the game play outside of encampments is highly instanced providing every player or party with an isolated map to freely explore.
As is customary with this type of game, the items are also randomly generated from a wide variety of basic types and endowed with special properties and gem sockets. They come in different rarities with increasingly more and/or more powerful properties. Thus a large part of game play is dedicated to finding well balanced and synergetic equipment.
Plot
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The game is set in a dark fantasy world. The player starts the game waking up on the shores of Wraeclast, a remote continent that serves as a colony for criminals and other unwanted individuals. Regardless of the reasons for his/her exile the player must now face the unforgiving wilderness with its dangerous inhabitants, and the ruins of a cursed ancient empire, and band together with other outcasts to survive.
Path Of Exile Official Website
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http://www.pathofexile.com/
Saturday 18 May 2013
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