Review: TomTom Spark 3 Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch

Andrew Edney

-

Dec 1, 2016

Review: TomTom Spark 3 Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch

Here is our review of the new TomTom Spark 3 Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch.

This is how TomTom describes the new TomTom Spark 3:

“There is a new addition to the fitness range of watches at TomTom Sports. We have listened to what matters most to fitness enthusiasts, and redesigned our Fitness GPS sports watch to create the ultimate fitness companion. Meet the new TomTom Spark 3.

The Spark 3 is targeted towards fitness enthusiasts between the ages of 25-50 who are consciously trying to stay fit, work out sporadically and concerned about how they look. They seek a product that can fulfil their range of activity needs such as integrated music features, GPS tracking, Heart Rate monitor, and Route Exploration. They need a watch that will help them accomplish their fitness goals and track their success. Now you can train smarter with the all-inclusive TomTom Spark 3.”

Features

With 3G Music Storage you can store over 500 songs on the built-in Music Player.
Get fitter with the built-in Heart Rate Monitor. Having the ability to track your heart rate and work out in 5 different zones. Knowing your zone can encourage you to push harder, or to slow down to enter into the fat burning zone. Users will be able to see how much time was spent in the following zones: SPRINT – SPEED – ENDURE – FAT BURN – EASY.
Choose between different Sport Modes such as running, outdoor cycle, indoor cycle, swimming, treadmill, freestyle, gym and stopwatch.
Route Exploration enables you to run with the confidence that the Spark 3 will always get you back home. Fully enjoy your run without the worry of having to follow a route. For those that don’t want to run the same route twice, you can always upload a trail to the watch to follow on your next run. There is never a need to bring your phone along, safely find your way back home with the Route Exploration feature.

What’s in the box?

The box contains the Spark 3, a charging cable and a user guide.

A Closer Look

Final Thoughts

After taking the Spark 3 out of the box and charging it, the first thing you need to do is download either the Android or the iOS TomTom MySports mobile app and connect your device to the Spark 3.

The MySports app is very useful and can automatically upload details of your activity when you have finished it.

The Spark 3 is very comfortable to wear and is adjustable for that perfect fit – its less than 14mm wide and weighs only 50 grams so it doesn’t feel like you are lugging something large around on your wrist.

Route Exploration is an interesting feature of the Spark 3, it basically means you can run a different route each time, but you will always be able to find your way home. There are two different ways to use it, either using a Breadcrumb Trail which is when you want to run a new route but you don’t want to have to memorise your way home, and a Preloaded Trail which means you just follow along a pre-planned route.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v89obMFV_c&index=5&list=PLSoQAVympWk5200hY79LiZt1NEOgSVyRN

Having the ability to upload your own trail to the Spark 3 is really usefully. There are a number of popular websites that publish different routes so all you have to do is pick the trail you want then upload it via the MySports website then sync your Spark 3 – it’s that simple. Selecting a trail on the Spark 3 is also simple – just select it from the list of trails you have store and go!

You can store a large amount of music on the Spark 3 so that you don’t need to carry a separate MP3 player (or your phone) around with you, again meaning one less thing to have to take with you on your run.

If you like a challenge you can set yourself daily or weekly targets – whether thats steps, calories, distance or active time, it’s up to you!

The Spark 3 battery lasts around 11 hours as well, so even if you are out for most of the day you are still able to use it and not worry. If you plan on using music, and the heart rate monitor and the GPS function then you will get around 5 hours, so enough for a good long run!

The TomTom Spark 3 Cardio + Music GPS Fitness Watch is available now for £219.99. There are also other Spark 3’s in the range – the Spark 3 for £119.99, the Spark 3 Music with Bluetooth headphones for £149.99, the Spark 3 Cardio for £169.99 and the Spark 3 Cardio + Music with Bluetooth headphones for £249.99.

Learn more from the TomTom website.

And we will be giving this Spark 3 away in a competition over Christmas!

‘Party Classics’ Expands The ‘NOW That’s What I Call Sing 2’ Track List!

Gaming
News

Chris Hare

-

Dec 1, 2016

0

‘Party Classics’ Expands The ‘NOW That’s What I Call Sing 2’ Track List!

Ravenscourt and Voxler has announced that the first DLC ‘Party Classics’ is now available for purchase on the online store for NOW That’s What I Call Sing 2. Priced at £ 3,99 and downloadable for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

The ‘Party Classis’ DLC offers fans of the NOW That’s What I Call Sing series the following hits: “Upside Down” from Diana Ross, “Our House” by Madness and “(I Can’t Help) Falling In Love With You” performed by UB40. As well as the classic boogie hits one cannot miss out on: The Cranberries with “Zombie” and Queen with “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”.

NOW That’s What I Call Sing 2 players can already choose from 30 international smash hits, in single player mode and multiplayer mode for up to eight players on PS4 and Xbox One. Highly popular hits such as Justin Bieber with “Sorry”, Charlie Puth with “One Call Away”, Coldplay with “Adventure Of A Lifetime” and Jason Derulo with “Want To Want Me” are included in the track list. Also, chart toppers from the likes of Twenty One Pilots with “Stressed Out”, Meghan Trainor with “NO”, WALK THE MOON with “Shut Up And Dance” and more appear on NOW That’s What I Call Sing 2 tracklist.

Available for the first time in the Let’s Sing franchise, for the PS4 and Xbox One, is the online store. The player can access the store in-game and purchase further song packs. Additionally available is the NOW Sing Game Microphone app for Android (4.0 or later) and iOS (iOS 7 or later) Smartphones. With this app, enthusiastic singers can always be able to easily and quickly jump into the game.

FEATURES RECAP

· Exclusive track list with top artists: 30 international, chart breaking hit tracks exclusively selected for NOW That’s What I Call Sing 2

· More songs in the new online store: Available for the first time – DLC’s from the new in-game online store will add more songs and variety to the track list and will be updated on a regular basis

· All new Smartphone App available as a mic: The quick and easy way to jump into the game with the NOW Sing Game Microphone app for Android (4.0 or later) and iOS (iOS 7 or later) Smartphones

· Sing against the computer: The mode lets the player add up to 3 computer opponents to compete with

· Flashy and modern Current Gen Version: NOW That’s What I Call Sing 2 features HD Videos. An updated 3D Interface adds lots of glamorous animations and special effects

· Sing with your friends: NOW That’s What I Call Sing 2 is a party maker for up to eight players

· Online (PS4 & XB1) Leaderboards: Showing the Top 3 of the player’s friends as well as the Top 3 scores worldwide on PS4 and XB1

Two Minute Review: X-Doria Defense Gear case for iPhone 7

Andrew Edney

-

Dec 1, 2016

0

Two Minute Review: X-Doria Defense Gear case for iPhone 7

Looking for a high-tech iPhone 7 case then check out our two minute review of the Defense Gear case from X-Doria.

With four layers of protection, including a scientifically proven DropShield edge lining that hardens on impact for extra protection, Defense Gear case for iPhone 7 withstands drops from up to 6 feet 6 inches! With the combination of DropShield, hard polycarbonate, TPU and anodized metal, Defense Gear is a stylish metal iPhone 7 Case. Defense Gear is a slim iPhone 7 case, adding less than 0.1 inch in each dimension, you get military grade protection that remains slim and pocketable!

iPhone 7 protective case, scientifically proven DropShield hardens on impact for protection
Enhanced corner protection for drops with dual layer materials
Built to withstand drops from 6 feet 6 inches – Military Grade Protection, MIL-STD-810G
Available in Space Grey, Silver, Gold and Rose Gold.

A Closer Look

Final Thoughts

The case is very lightweight, considering the four layers of protection is offer, so it won’t add too much to the overall weight of the iPhone. Fitting, and removing your iPhone from the case is very simple, and when the iPhone is in the case it feels very secure and protected.

X-Doria say it has been drop tested from 2 meters, which provides military grade protection, but I decided to just take their word for it rather than test it myself. Although I did knock it during the review and the iPhone, and the case, were perfectly fine.

If you are looking for a high-tech looking case for your iPhone that gives you a lot of protection, then look no further than the Defense Gear case.

The Defense Gear iPhone 7 case from X-Doria is available now priced £24.99 from Amazon.

You can find out more from the X-Doria website.

LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar 2016

Family
Toys

Andrew Edney

-

Dec 1, 2016

0

Get the festive period off to a galactic start with the new LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar.

Open each of the 24 doors to reveal a fun Tatooine, Naboo, Hoth, Space or Christmas-themed gift. With minifigures, starships, vehicles and more to discover, as well as a great fold-out playmat, Christmas will arrive faster than you can say “Merry Sithmas!”

Here are some of the surprises that await you.

The LEGO Star Wars advent calendar is the collectible advent gift for all ages and LEGO Star Wars fans from any galaxy and is available now prices £24.99!

It has honestly taken all my willpower not to open all of them already! I can’t wait until the 25th!

Have you got the calendar? If so let us know by leaving a comment below.

Rock Band Rivals rolls out across Europe starting today

Gaming
News

Chris Hare

-

Nov 30, 2016

0

Rock Band Rivals rolls out across Europe starting today

Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. and Performance Designed Products LLC (PDP) has announced that Rock Band Rivals will be available on both Xbox One and PlayStation 4 across EU from today (30th November), fans should check local retailers for specifics. In addition, the Rock Band Rivals Companion App, the first mobile companion app in Rock Band history, is now available on the App Store and Google Play.

“I’m incredibly proud of what the team has accomplished with Rock Band Rivals,” said Daniel Sussman, Rock Band Rivals product manager. “Both Rivals mode and Rockudrama introduce completely new and incredibly fun ways to play Rock Band. I can’t wait for Rock Band fans everywhere to experience their band’s comically tragic story and begin their climb up on the leaderboards.”

Rock Band Rivals introduces two all-new game modes as well as multiple new venues and Rock Shop items to Rock Band. Marking the much-anticipated return of online play to Rock Band, Rivals mode also represents the most dramatic shift to the Rock Band meta game since the franchise’s introduction in 2007. In Rivals Mode, players band together to form crews of up to ten people to take on other crews around the world in a structured and ongoing series of uniquely themed gameplay challenges.

At the beginning of each challenge, crews will be assigned to one of six tiers. When a challenge ends, the best crews will ascend to a new tier, while underperforming crews will face demotion.

As crews get promoted they’ll earn badges and face stiffer competition in their quest to earn their place amongst the elite in the highest tier Bloodstone.
Rockudrama is an all new campaign mode and the world’s first playable music documentary. Featuring a mix of live-action video, in-engine footage and classic Rock Band gameplay, Rockudrama dynamically tells the story of your band’s epic, and often hilarious, rise to fame.

As players progress through their band’s memorable and winding road to glory, they will be introduced to a series of new venues and character assets that will be unlocked for play across all of Rock Band 4’s gameplay modes.
With the free Rock Band Rivals Companion App, players will be able to coordinate with their crews no matter where they are. Within the app players can access details about the weekly challenge, manage their crew roster, message other members of their crew and monitor their crew’s progress during weekly challenges.

Rock Band Rivals is available in two separate bundles featuring the new Rock Band Wireless Fender Jaguar Guitar Controller. For players looking for a full band experience, the Rock Band Rivals Band Kit, available for both Xbox One and PlayStation 4, offers an all-in-one Rock Band kit featuring Rock Band Rivals and Rock Band 4 game software, Rock Band Wireless Fender Jaguar Guitar Controller, drum kit, microphone, wooden drum sticks, adjustable guitar strap, and 4xAA alkaline batteries for £199.99/€234.99.

For guitar enthusiasts who want to pick up the new Fender Jaguar Guitar Controller, the Rock Band Rivals Wireless Jaguar Bundle will be available with included Rock Band Rivals and Rock Band 4 software for £99.99/€119.99.
Following the precedent set by Rock Band 4, Rock Band Rivals will continue to be updated following launch, including the release of synchronous online multiplayer in December.

The Man in the High Castle is revealed ….

Chris Hare

-

Nov 30, 2016

0

The Man in the High Castle is revealed ….

Today Amazon Prime Video announced Stephen Root in the title role of the original drama series The Man in the High Castle. Based on Philip K. Dick’s Hugo Award-winning 1962 alternate history novel, and debuting Friday, 16th December, season two of the one-hour drama series continues to explore what would have happened if the Allied Powers had lost World War II. In the new season, Root plays a mysterious figure tied to the Resistance movement who collects the enigmatic films that seem to depict alternate versions of reality.

Stephen Root, one of today’s most prolific character actors, has built a career in creating memorable characters in film, television, theatre and animation. Root’s extensive credits include Selma, Trumbo, Boardwalk Empire, Finding Dory, and the cult classic Office Space, among others. He can soon be seen in Three Christs, directed by Jon Avnet, Infinity Baby, directed by Bob Byington and Melissa McCarthy’s Life of the Party, directed by Ben Falcone.

The Man in the High Castle stars Alexa Davalos, Rupert Evans, Luke Kleintank, DJ Qualls, Joel de la Fuente, Brennan Brown, Bella Heathcote, Callum Keith Rennie, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, and Rufus Sewell, and is executive produced by David Zucker and Isa Dick Hackett. Season two resumes with Juliana Crain (Davalos) facing the consequences of her decision to betray the Resistance and allow Joe Blake (Kleintank), a suspected Nazi agent, to escape the Pacific States with a film originally bound for the Man in the High Castle. Joe himself returns a hero to the Reich and finds himself thrust into the Nazi capital of Berlin, face to face with the father who abandoned him. Meanwhile, Frank Frink (Rupert Evans) becomes increasingly radicalised and drawn further into the resistance after seeing images of his own execution in the mysterious films.

With political tensions mounting between Germany and Japan, Trade Minister Tagomi (Tagawa) begins to regret his success in smuggling nuclear technology from the Reich and seeks solace in the strange new world he discovered at the end of season one. Meanwhile, Obergruppenführer John Smith (Sewell) struggles to reconcile the values of the Reich with the deteriorating health of his son— all while tasked with a mission from the Fuhrer for which failure is not an option. And Chief Inspector Kido (De La Fuente) begins to take greater interest in the Man in the High Castle, the films, and how Juliana Crain is connected to it all.

First time using the Animus in Assassins Creed out 1st January

Chris Hare

-

Nov 30, 2016

0

First time using the Animus in Assassins Creed out 1st January

Watch a clip of the first time using the Animus in Assassin’s Creed coming to cinema on the 1st January 2017, here in the UK. Through a revolutionary technology that unlocks his genetic memories, Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) experiences the adventures of his ancestor, Aguilar, in 15th Century Spain. Callum discovers he is descended from a mysterious secret society, the Assassins, and amasses incredible knowledge and skills to take on the oppressive and powerful Templar organization in the present day.

Virgin Media announces new 4K set top box and more

Chris Hare

-

Nov 30, 2016

0

Virgin Media announces new 4K set top box and more

Today Virgin Media has lifted the cover off of its new connected entertainment line-up (much leaked over the last few months). The combination of smarter, faster products and services with top programmes bringing people closer to the TV they love, wherever it is.

Underpinned by Virgin Media’s ultrafast connectivity, Virgin TV includes the new 4K-ready V6 box, which is powered by TiVo software and built for apps, and a new HD TellyTablet created by Virgin Media and designed specifically as a personal smart TV to watch television in HD quality. Virgin TV also includes a revamped Virgin TV Anywhere app, a new ad-free kids app and the unveiling of Virgin Media Store.

Commenting on the launch of Virgin TV, David Bouchier, Chief Digital Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media, said: “Our new Virgin TV line-up raises the bar in home entertainment, marrying the latest and smartest technology with the very best TV programmes, all underpinned by our ultrafast cable network. This is game-changing TV.”

Virgin TV V6 box, powered by TiVo

The new Virgin TV V6 box is Virgin Media’s smallest, smartest and fastest box yet. It is half the size of the previous TiVo box with 10x the power and packed with a load of extra features.

The Virgin TV V6 box allows people to record six programmes while watching a seventh recording or stream from services such as iPlayer or Netflix. This increases to 12 simultaneous recordings with two Virgin TV V6 boxes.

Watching live TV, on demand programmes or recordings doesn’t stop in the living room. The Virgin TV V6 box is designed so that recordings can be accessed and streamed on other TiVo boxes around the home. The new set-top box is completely compatible with Virgin Media’s original TiVo box meaning that existing Virgin Media customers can keep recordings and transfer settings while updating their home entertainment.

Recordings, on demand programmes and live TV can be watched in one room, paused and continued in another room seamlessly through a Virgin TV V6 or TiVo box. Recordings and live TV can also be continued on a mobile device with Virgin Media’s TV Anywhere app.

Future proof TV: 4K

All Virgin TV V6 boxes, including additional boxes around the home, support 4K Ultra-High Definition (UHD) TV with Netflix and YouTube available in 4K from launch and more programming coming soon. The Virgin TV V6 box is also High Dynamic Range (HDR) compatible so that, as more HDR content becomes available, a software update will be downloaded and Virgin TV customers can enjoy the very best 4K picture quality on compatible HDR TVs.

A smart, quick and slick menu that’s reassuringly familiar

The Virgin TV V6 box menu will be familiar to existing Virgin Media customers. It’s powered by the very latest, intelligent TiVo software and has been built for apps which, in combination with the powerful technology inside the Virgin TV V6 box, mean that its image-based menus are superfast to navigate and apps such as iPlayer, Netflix and Vevo will open with lightning speed. It also includes smart search and SeriesLink+, which pulls TV programmes together into one place, allowing Virgin Media customers to easily access the great range of programmes on Virgin TV wherever they are hiding.

Find my remote

The Virgin TV V6 remote is smaller than the existing remote but will be instantly recognisable to Virgin Media customers so there won’t be any barriers to getting straight to the best TV.

A new search button on the remote instantly fires up the TiVo brain meaning there are fewer clicks to the TV users want.

The RF remote now works even when the new set-top box is tucked away in a cupboard. Plus, if it’s ever lost, there’s a button on new set-top box which will make the remote beep so it can be rescued from the depths of the sofa.

Pricing & Storage

Pricing for the Virgin TV V6 box is simple, transparent and will not incur additional monthly subscription fees.

The new state of the art box will be available to existing customers on a Mix bundle or higher, before the end of the year. Existing customers will not need to change package to benefit.

New customers joining Virgin Media will be able to order the Virgin TV V6 box when choosing their TV bundle from January 2017.

The standard price of the Virgin TV V6 box is a simple £99.95 one-off upfront cost.

New and existing customers with a top-tier Full House or VIP bundle will benefit from a promotional price of £49.95.

The Virgin TV V6 box comes with 1TB of storage allowing 500 hours of SD recordings or 100 hours of HD recordings. Every additional Virgin TV V6 box installed will add another 1TB to the overall storage in the home and the ability to record six more programmes simultaneously.

David Bouchier said: “Our new Virgin TV V6 box is small in size but big on brains giving our customers a simple, smart and speedy way to find the telly they want whether that’s on a channel or on demand.”

The new state of the art box has been developed for use by Liberty Global companies across Europe and in Latin America. The UK is the first market to launch the new box, with plans to launch elsewhere in Europe from next year.

This is the first time a single box will be deployed so widely across Liberty Global’s footprint, bringing market-leading technology and benefits of scale to millions of customers. In total, Liberty Global operates in more than 30 countries around the world, serving more than 29 million customers.

Virgin TV Anywhere app

The Virgin TV Anywhere app works hand in hand with the new Virgin TV V6 box so customers can watch the TV they love across their screens at home and on the go.

Take your TV programmes with you

The award-winning app – available to all Virgin TV customers on iOS and Android – has been revamped to work seamlessly with the new V6 box. Customers can watch live TV, thousands of hours of on demand box sets and selected Virgin TV V6 box recordings anywhere at home over WiFi. A range of box sets, as well as live TV, will also be available out-of-home over a WiFi connection, alongside the unique ability to remotely set, cancel and delete recordings on the Virgin TV V6 box.

With so much choice, a new ‘What to Watch’ tab will help to narrow things down to show the most popular live and on demand programmes at a particular time with customisable tabs to put viewers in control of what they see first.

Virgin TV Anywhere will also include the ability to sync some recordings from the Virgin TV V6 box to watch offline.

Mobile devices are remotes too

To add even more functionality to the Virgin TV V6 box, the Virgin TV Anywhere app can be used as an advanced remote control. Users can change channels and search through the on demand library using a full keyboard and then ‘flick’ programmes to their TV as well as being able to pause, rewind or fast forward programmes using gesture controls on a smartphone or tablet.

David Bouchier said: “The way we are all watching TV is changing. That’s why our Virgin TV Anywhere app binds everything together to give our customers the freedom and flexibility to watch the very best TV and manage recordings wherever they are.”

TellyTablet

Virgin Media has today unveiled its own Virgin TV TellyTablet, a personal smart TV designed and built to watch television in HD quality around the home. It brings customers the flexibility to watch the shows they love with the same up close viewing experience as a 50” television – whether that’s in the kitchen, the bedroom or side-by-side with the big screen in their living room.

The device, which runs on Android OS (Marshmallow), is designed specifically with telly fans in mind. It has an epic 14” HD screen; four built-in speakers (front and rear); 7-8 hour use time battery life for those box set binges; 32GB of memory that can be upgraded with a Micro SD card; two USB ports; optimised WiFi connectivity for use with routers such as Virgin Media’s Hub 3.0 and an in-built stand for easy use anywhere in the home.

The TellyTablet has been designed for viewing Virgin TV’s range of apps – from the new kids app to the Virgin Media Store app. The Virgin TV Anywhere app is pre-loaded so that customers can easily watch the TV they love wherever it is over WiFi – including selected recordings, on demand shows or live TV. On top of that, users will have full access to the Google Play store so they can enjoy Sky Sports, Sky Cinema, Netflix, and Hayu all in one place with the relevant Virgin Media bundle or individual accounts.

Virgin Media customers can get their hands on the TellyTablet in December by either choosing a great value Freestyle mobile bundle to spread the cost over 24 months or pay £299 upfront.

David Bouchier commented: “For too long viewing TV on wireless devices has been secondary to other uses. With the Virgin TV TellyTablet no matter where you are in the home you can watch your favourite TV wirelessly in the quality it deserves – be that Kingdom in the kitchen or Bake Off in the bedroom.”

The UK’s most comprehensive kids app

The new Virgin TV kids app, launching in February, provides a fun, easy-to-use and safe environment for some of Virgin TV’s youngest users with no ads and no in-app purchases. The app lets kids enjoy the widest range of cartoons and TV shows alongside fun games and picture books all in one place wherever they are. Virgin TV customers on a Fun bundle or above will be able to download the app for free.

Thousands of hours of the best cartoons and TV shows

Designed for pre and early primary school children (3-6 year olds) the mobile app brings together more than 1,500 hours of kids on demand programmes into one place.

This includes shows like SpongeBob SquarePants, Peppa Pig and Paw Patrol from Nickelodeon, Nick Jr, Milkshake and TinyPop and also directly licensed programmes such as Sesame Street and a selection of the best shows from CBeebies.

Kids love to watch the same programmes on repeat so to make this easy the app has a button which, when pressed, will play the same show five times over. Parents: don’t say we haven’t warned you.

Interactive games and picture books

A range of interactive games and award-winning picture books will also be available through the app giving kids a fantastic mix of digital content to play with, learn from and enjoy.

Peace of mind

The app is designed with a child-friendly menu making it very easy to use for both kids and parents. A “safe mode” can be activated where a question needs to be answered to exit the app. This gives parents the peace of mind to let their kids explore and use the app freely without the worry that they might access other apps or content.

To help personalise the experience, kids can create their own profile with an avatar and nickname and also reskin the app in different colours so they can always find the programmes they love the most from the moment they enter the app.

Keeping the kids appy

The Virgin TV kids app allows kids to watch shows over WiFi or on 3G/4G in the UK, and even download shows to watch offline, in the car or on the plane. The application will be available on iOS, Android, Kindle Fire as well as the new Virgin TV TellyTablet.

David Bouchier said: “Virgin TV is not just for adults. Our new kids app is the best bundled app out there. It brings together ad-free TV, games and books all in one place so that kids have a universe of exciting goodies to play with, learn from and be entertained by. It’s a safe digital nanny.”

Top-notch TV

While new exciting hardware and technology is a major part of Virgin TV this has all been designed to bring together the very best TV into one place.

Virgin Media Store To give Virgin TV customers a new way to own the entertainment they love, Virgin Media is launching Virgin Media Store to bring viewers some of the biggest movies first out of cinema before they are available to buy on DVD alongside a huge range of box sets to download.

Through the Virgin TV V6 and TiVo boxes, desktop and a Virgin Media Store app for iOS and Android, viewers can simply browse the store, buy what they want and then watch it straight away on a TV or mobile device such as Virgin Media’s TellyTablet. For films, a DVD copy will be automatically put in the post for keeps. The Virgin Media Store will launch in February and will be available for non-Virgin Media customers on desktop and mobile.

Virgin Media Exclusives – Billy and Billie airs tomorrow

Virgin Media Exclusives give Virgin TV Full House subscribers access to programmes that nobody else can get. The next member of this Exclusives family will be the critically acclaimed TV rom-com, Billy and Billie, which centres around two step-siblings who enter into a romance. Written by Neil LaBute (In The Company Of Men), starring Adam Brody (The O.C.) and produced for DirecTV, series one will appear on Virgin Media Exclusives from tomorrow. This follows a range of successful partnerships to bring comedy horror series, Ash vs Evil Dead, gritty MMA drama, Kingdom, and Starz’s Magic City to Virgin TV.

This comes alongside the integration of Netflix and iPlayer into the Virgin TV platform enabling viewers to watch sensational programmes such as The Crown. Virgin Media is also the only UK TV provider to offer all of the televised Premier League action on Sky Sports and BT Sport in one package.

David Bouchier said: “At the core of Virgin TV is immersive, gripping and entertaining programming. Our Exclusives have quickly become the most watched on demand programmes on Virgin TV proving that partnering with the very best is what our customers love. With Billy and Billie airing tomorrow there’s no slowing down so Virgin TV customers get top-notch telly wherever it is.”

Review: Darksiders Warmastered Edition

Sean McCarthy

-

Nov 29, 2016

0

I can still remember vividly playing this on its original release back in 2010. I was blown away by the amazing visuals, cracking combat and Zelda like puzzle solving exploration. It was surprising that it was the sequel that was first given the remastered treatment but I held out hope that this original would also be brought back for a new generation to enjoy. That hope paid off, and it was with a big smile on my face that Darksiders ‘Warmastered Edition’ finally brought the legendary member of the famous Four Horseman to Xbox One and Playstation 4. It was time to go to War!

Darksiders still has one of the best opening cut scenes to any video game and it beautifully sets the scene of the battle between the forces of Heaven and Hell and how the all powerful Charred Council forged a balance between the two sides. The Council created the Four Horseman to police the balance and enforce their rules and laws. During this time, a third side emerged and the Kingdom of Man became the reason for a true between all sides. The condition relied on seven seals, that would only be broken when Man was ready to join in the Endwar. All sounds pretty awesome already huh?

The action picks up the Endwar seemingly beginning on what appears to be modern day earth, demons appear from dark portals and the Hellguard of Heaven being their attack on them. The Horseman War, believing that the Horseman have been summoned to join this Endwar, begins to fight with all his fury and power. But something is very wrong and soon War finds himself before the Charred Council, accused of starting the End War without permission and threatening the balance without the seven seals every being broken. Stripped of his true power by the council and bound to a demon Watcher to keep him in check, War demands to be sent back to Earth to find out what happened and who the real traitors are.

The Warmastered Edition brings the game up to date with 60FPS combat and 1080p resolution. Now I always question when cell shaded visuals are given a remastered status, but the truth is that the visuals are sharper with more polished textures making them even more striking in character design and environments than on its original release. Combined with a soundtrack and music that matches every location, cut scene to create a truly fantastical world to run around and explore. Finally Darksiders has an amazing all star voice cast with Liam O’Brien, Fred Tatascoire and Troy Baker. Biggest surprise is that Mark Hamill voices The Watcher, who sounds eerily like The Joker making a great bit of fun to trigger his dialogue by summoning the demon every now and then.

Gameplay mixes combat inspired by hack n slash titles such as Devil May Cry with exploration and puzzle sections which has a distinct Zelda like feel to them. Returning to Earth, a hundred years where the demon won the end battle with The Destroyer having wiped out humanity and defeated the army of Heaven. War finds he must reluctantly work with the demon Samael, and bring him the hearts of the four Tower Guardians that protect The Destroyer so War can enter the tower to confront him. This leads to four distinct locations to travel to and each offers different puzzles to solve and enemies to fight.

I love that War progressively regains some of his former power by collecting new abilities that help him along the way such as new traversal skills, some very much inspired by well known adventuring games but it all works so well you will forgive it so easily. The four guardians offer very different boss battle encounters but all feel like a really epic fight which encourages the player to use different techniques to defeat them by upgraded War’s combat skills, moves and weapons along the journey.

Darksiders Warmastered Edition is a superb reminder of just how much staggering potential this series had before the untimely folding of its then publisher, THQ. It was the game that launched one of the promising adventure series for non Nintendo consoles especially the Xbox 360 at time of launch as the console lacked a game like it and ironically, now in 2016 with the Xbox One, it still lacks a quality third person adventure series like Darksiders. It has so much gameplay and replay value that alone it would be worthy of a place in your collection right now but the fact that it was released on both consoles for a bewildering budget price really makes it a no brainer. It has even been enhanced for 4K playing on PS4 Pro at no additional cost.

Playing on Xbox One I did find that it suffered some input lag especially when trying to navigate tricky jumping sections leading to some very frustrating cheap deaths. Also some audio cues failed to trigger leaving some action sequences feeling a little flat. But overall this is a superb must have game to have which stands out among all the heavy AAA game releases right now and deserves your attention. I only hope that should this release show the newly formed THQ Nordic developer that there is real hunger from fans to see a third and trilogy closing game where all the Horsemen get a chance to shine.

But with a budget price point and gameplay just as fun as it was six years ago, Darksiders Warmastered Edition is certainly worth going to War once again with.

Io-Interactive adding “Offline Profile” to Hitman

Gaming
News

Chris Hare

-

Nov 28, 2016

0

Today Io-Interactive is adding a new ‘Offline Profile’ to HITMAN. This will mean that all unlockable items that are earned when connected to the game’s servers, are now saved to an ‘offline profile’, and can then be used when in Offline Mode.

Full details are in the November Update release notes below

General Improvements

Offline Profile
All unlockable items that are earned when connected to the game’s servers, are now also saved to an ‘offline profile’, meaning that they can be used when in Offline Mode.
Items include all mastery items; including weapons, gear, starting/pickup locations as well as Elusive Target suit rewards and Challenge Pack unlocks.
Note: You must be connected to the game servers in order to acquire new unlocks.

Stability Sweep
Fixed different issues across all locations that previously resulted in the game crashing or becoming unstable.

Opportunity Completion Checkmark

We’ve added functionality to mark an opportunity with a checkmark when it has been successfully completed, similar to how we show that a challenge has been completed.
This will show you the completed opportunities at-a-glance and make it easier to track completion when trying to achieve the achievements/trophies linked to opportunities.

Silent Assassin Rating Display
The scoring screen now displays “Silent Assassin” when a player completes a mission with that rating.

Major Update to Statistics Page
The ‘Statistics’ page has been overhauled with a new visual design that displays the challenge completion, mastery level completion and overall location completion.

Pause Menu
We’ve changed the background of the pause menu to be the current in-game moment, rather than the world map.

Mission Accomplished Screen Update
When successfully completing a mission, the mission accomplished screen will now show the last frame of the exit sequence, rather than fading to black.

Contracts Mode ‘Success State’
After playing a Contract, the menu will now show either a checkmark (complete) or a cross (fail) to show your status for the Contract.

Improved consistency for Elusive Targets Challenge Images
The Elusive Targets Challenges now have a more consistent style.

New IOI logo
We have a new studio logo, and now that’s in the game.

Challenge Completed SFX
We added a subtle sound effect that plays when unlocking a challenge.

Sarajevo Six Briefings [PS4 Only]
Briefings videos for The Mercenary and The Controller have been added to the game.

Pull an Enemy
In this update, we’ve added the ability for 47 to pull people over balconies or out of windows, when he is hanging on a ledge or below the balcony/window.
Unfortunately, there is a known issue for this move: NPC’s that see this move will not blame 47, even if they are looking directly at the NPC or at 47.
For that reason, we will remove this ability with our December Update and fix this. It will then be re-introduced with a game update in January, around the same time as the disc release.

Fixed Issues

Paris

Fixed an issue with trespassing whilst dressed as a Chef in Paris
Fixed issues that could cause multiple opportunities in Paris to fail, depending on 47’s actions
Fixed an issue where water splashes could be heard in certain areas of the attic in Paris
Fixed an issue where 47 could vault into an inaccessible location in Paris. The vault prompt has been removed
Fixed an issue that could cause the light rig in Paris to also cause damage in the basement

Sapienza

Fixed inconsistent trespassing boundaries in Sapienza
Fixed an issue where the ‘Mission Accomplished’ music could be heard during the cinematic following The World of Tomorrow.

Marrakesh

Fixed an issue that would cause the ‘Open Sesame’ opportunity in Marrakesh to fail, instead of being completed
Fixed inconsistent trespassing boundaries in Marrakesh
Fixed an issue that would cause the documents to be lost when using the ‘push’ prompt on Matthieu Mendola in ‘A House Built on Sand’.
Fixed an issue where the crowd and helicopter sounds could be heard in some parts of the tunnel in Marrakesh
Fixed an issue where starting combat in the school will alert all guards on the map in Marrakesh

Bangkok

Fixed an issue where Agent 47 could ‘blend-in’ without the correct disguise in Bangkok
Fixed an issue with the physics of a guitar stand in Bangkok.
Fixed an issue with clipping when wearing the Exterminator disguise in Bangkok.
Fixed an issue with an invisible wall in the atrium in Bangkok.
Fixed an issue where Jackie Carrington’s routine could get stuck in Bangkok.
Fixed an issue where guards that have spotted 47 trespassing in one disguise, would immediately attempt to arrest him when finding him in a non-trespassing area in a different disguise.

Colorado

Fixed an issue where the hay bale in Colorado would not drop when shot in certain places
Fixed an issue where a door in Sean Rose’s room could not be opened by Rose’s Room Key
Fixed an issue that could cause the Target Lockdown alert to trigger in Colorado without player action
Fixed an issue that could make it impossible to complete the Freedom Fighters mission in Colorado

Hokkaido

Fixed an issue where a kill involving the hot springs in Hokkaido would be classed as ‘Accident Fall’, it is now classified as a drowning kill

General

Fixed an issue where a gun rattling sound could be heard when crouching after dropping a weapon
Fixed an issue where a challenge notification would be displayed after the first kill in a mission
Fixed an issue where the weapon HUD would sometimes display incorrectly when using ‘minimal’ HUD settings
Fixed an issue where subtitles could still be seen in the Pause Menu
Fixed an issue with Cyrillic characters not rendering properly on the Contracts Briefing tile

PC-Specific Issues

Fixed an issue where the cinematics between missions could drop to as low as 19 fps
Fixed an issue where the selected GPU in the Game Launcher is not the one used by the game
Fixed an issue where some tabs in the ‘Replanning’ screen could not be selected with a mouse
Fixed an issue with unequipping an item during the ‘Planning’ phase
Fixed an issue in Marrakesh where heavy flickering in areas with artificial lighting would occur on specifics setups
Fixed an issue where the framerate could stutter during combat, primarily on DX12 setups

Jason Bourne Motorbike Chase Behind the Scenes

Andrew Edney

-

Nov 28, 2016

0

Jason Bourne Motorbike Chase Behind the Scenes

With Jason Bourne now available on Blu-ray and DVD, we have an exclusive behind the scenes clip of the motorbike chase with commentary from Matt Damon.

Matt Damon (Bourne Franchise, The Martian) is back and this time it’s personal in JASON BOURNE, the action-packed fifth installment of the blockbuster franchise, coming to Digital on November 21, Blu-ray^™, DVD, 4K Ultra HD and On Demand on November 28, 2016 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Nearly a decade since fans last saw the former operative; the explosive return brings Jason Bourne into a whole new era, revealing key secrets about Bourne’s origins to a new generation. The 4K Ultra HD^™, Blu-ray^™ and DVD include behind-the-scenes features that take viewers inside the making of the film’s intense stunt choreography and one of the wildest car chases in Bourne history.

STEINS;GATE 0 out today in Europe and North America next Tuesday

Gaming
News

Chris Hare

-

Nov 25, 2016

0

STEINS;GATE 0 out today in Europe and North America next Tuesday

PQube has today announced that STEINS;GATE 0, the long awaited sequel to MAGES and Science Adventure Team’s visual novel masterpiece, STEINS;GATE, is OUT NOW in Europe with a North American release following on Tuesday the 29th of November.

Available for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita – STEINS;GATE 0 is the most hotly anticipated Visual Novel release of 2016.

Charting a darker worldline from the original, STEINS;GATE 0 focuses on a reality where genius scientist Okabe Rintaro is unable to save the one he loves, kick-starting a parallel universe where World War III and humanity’s destruction are very real dangers.
Depressed, with no time for his old friends, and having completely abandoned his time travel research, Okabe’s life is once again thrown into chaos when faced once again with his old love Makise Kurisu – but not as he knows her.

The girl he once loved is returned to him via an old piece of her research – the artificial intelligence system known as ‘Amadeus’ with no memory of him or their past relationship.

Now, with the dark forces of the beta worldline Okabe Rintaro must try to keep Amadeus Kurisu safe – but if he couldn’t even save the one he loved, how can he possibly save humanity?

Meet “the Dwarves” coming to PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox One next week

Gaming
News

Chris Hare

-

Nov 24, 2016

0

Meet “the Dwarves” coming to PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox One next week

One week until the release of The Dwarves, THQ Nordic introduces a new hero in its “Meet the Dwarves” video series.

Narmora, the swift and agile assassin specializes in sneaking up on single enemies and striking them down before they even see her. She can appear anywhere on the battlefield in a blink of an eye using “Shadow Step” or teleport back and forth to quickly assassinate 1 to 10 targets with her skills “Assassination” and “Shadow Death”.

Next week, the series will continue with Djerun.

Furthermore, KING Art has made a special video for all of The Dwarves’ backers on Kickstarter and fans from all over the world who helped make the game worthy of the coolest fantasy race.

The Dwarves will be available for PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 1st December

Review: Vodafone Smart Platinum 7

Chris Hare

-

Nov 24, 2016

0

The Smart Platinum 7 has Gorilla Glass 2.5D, with sleek chamfered edges, wrapped around the outside of the handset. With a deep black colour looks absolutely stunning, but it’s an absolute fingerprint magnet.

The black colour doesn’t do well to hide that fact. But apart from that, the Vodafone Smart Platinum 7 looks stunning from the start.

cof — main 16mp camera and finger printer sensor

There is a finger print sensor on the back of the device just under the camera, this is great for fast unlocking.

cof — the Smart Platinum 7 comes with quick charger, micro USB lead and a headset missing from the review unit

There are no protruding buttons on the front of the phone. The only buttons that stick out is the power/lock and volume up and down switch on the side of the phone.

cof — power/lock and Volume up/down switch

These side buttons are covered in a mesh-like pattern so your finger doesn’t slide when trying to press them.

On the top left side you will find a button used as a shutter button for your camera. Double press the button on any app or screen and it will automatically open the camera app.

On the left you will also find a port for your microsim and microSD card for expandable memory, which is a negative found in most handsets on the market at the moment.

It’s nice to see that Vodafone has listened to complaints from the past and included this feature in their phone.

Key Features

5.5-inch (1440p), QHD AMOLED screen
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
32 Gb rom
Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 652
3GB RAM
16MP rear and 8MP front camera setup
Non-removable Li-ion 3,000mAh battery

The display boats a resolution of 2560×1440 with a 534 PPI density. They’re using a QuadHD technology which means colours pop and text is super sharp to read. If you’re a video buff then this is definitely one of the best handsets at this price point on the market. Even HD video through YouTube looked surprisingly sharp, even after the compression that YouTube puts on top of their uploads. Inside is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 652 running with eight cores at 1.8 GHz. Graphics processing is put on the shoulders of an Adreno 510 chip.

Camera

If you are thinking of lowlight photography its not the best at, this is probably due to the slower shutter speed the Vodafone Smart Platinum 7 decides to use combined with the higher ISO levels.

cof — Close up on my Gingerbread Latter by the way it was lovely

The font-facing 8 megapixel on the Smart Platinum 7 will work well enough for a sharp Instagram selfie.

A nice feature is the 4K video ability. Colours pop and are balanced really well and quality is generally there most of the time. Videos look smooth and the built-in image stabilisation worked well enough for someone who wants to pull out their phone and start shooting. Timelapse and slow-motion settings are also fun to play around with, especially at higher resolutions.

Sound

The sound on the Platinum 7 is very good with two front facing speakers, yes two front facing ones.

Conclusion

The Vodafone Smart Platinum 7 can easily last a day of moderate use with a little juice left for the morning. Having the Qualcomm processor means the Smart Platinum 7 can take advantage of a quick-charge technology (Quick Charge 3.0). The phone managed to get from 0-50% within 30 minutes and to full charge it took around an hour and a half.

Vodafone has done a pretty good job on this smartphone, just the low light camera lets it down a little. With the phone retailing at around £295, or £24 on a Vodafone contract, people who don’t want to spend the earth on a new mobile this is a handset I would look into. It handled all the apps we threw at it very well, It’s fast enough for the most common needs out of a mobile phone. it also have a few Vodafone apps installed on the phone.