There’s a new way to catch up on Pokémon animation anytime, anywhere on the Kindle Fire with The Pokémon Company International’s launch of the official Pokémon TV application for the popular tablet.
The Kindle Fire launch adds another platform for the Pokémon TV app, which has had more than 2.5 million installations since its 2013 launch on iOS devices, including iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and Android devices.
Now featuring more episodes than ever before, the Pokémon TV app helps fans follow many of their favourite episodes from the animated television series. It is updated weekly from a library of more than 700 episodes spanning 16 seasons. Pokémon fans can also use the app to watch special features, trailers, and Pokémon movie events.
Additionally, fans can watch popular Pokémon animated episodes and movies on Netflix and at Pokemon.com, providing more ways to catch up on the exciting adventures of Ash, Pikachu, and their friends.
When streaming episodes via the Pokémon TV app, standard data charges will apply. The Pokémon TV app is available now for download from the Amazon Appstore
NCSOFT and Carbine Studios have a new Warplots DevSpeak. Warplots are massive, strategic, 40v40 battles and accessible to all players once they hit level cap.
This latest DevSpeak educates players on all the intricacies of Warplots and what they will be bringing to the elder game of WildStar.
With the big tech companies like Apple, Samsung, Google and the rest, you now have a new big daddy from a company called OnePlus One, and it packs amazing specs into a package that wouldn’t bank you bank for. Powered by CyanogenMod is the team mostly releases a new version of their mod on their “nightly” channel around a month or so after a new Android release.
The OnePlus One was unveiled in Beijing this morning. The new handset will pack in a Snapdragon 801 processer, 3GB RAM, a 13-megapixel camera, 5.5-inch 1080p screen, 4G and Bluetooth 4.0.
Despite these high-end specs, it’s very affordable. The 16GB version will cost just £229, while the 64GB model will set you back £269.
The device is available in a standard Silk White or Sandstone Black. Sorry, no ‘Champagne’ Gold for you this time. But the back on the device isn’t standard, but is made out of Cashew yes as in the nuts, it is available in four different textures; Bamboo, Wood, Denim, and Kevlar.
Sample picture from the OnePlus One
The OnePlus One can go head to head with the latest flagship phones like the Xperia Z2, Galaxy S5, and the HTC One M8, and in some areas it even beat them. Again, this is all for $300/£229. The device uses the same 2.5 GHz Snapdragon 801 8974AC SoC as the Galaxy S5, the premium built quality and the design of the HTC One M8, and the large 3000+ mAh battery and using the Sony camera of the Z2 (with a bit less MP). Peter Lau, CEO of OnePlus, says that his team paid attention to the “smallest details, taking a holistic approach to product design,” and some of those details can be found inside the One – the PCB boards are “custom cut and engineered” and the battery was specially designed for the One.
The first new tracks have been added to SingOn marking the start of the game’s regular song updates. On a mission to give you the most up-to-date party around, SingOn is the only service to update every week with tracks from the UK Top 20.
Joining an already eclectic catalogue this week are an exciting mix of the latest hits:
Pharrell Williams – Happy
5 Seconds of Summer – She Looks So Perfect
Katy Perry ft Juicy J – Dark Horse
Duke Dumont ft Jax Jones – I Got U
Clean Bandit ft Jess Glynne – Rather Be
And ultimate pop classics:
One Direction – Story Of My Life
Daft Punk – Get Lucky
Miley Cyrus – Wrecking Ball
Justin Bieber – Beauty And A Beat
Taylor Swift – Everything Has Changed
Oasis – Don’t Look Back In Anger
Robbie Williams – Let Me Entertain You
SingOn is free to download from the PlayStation® Store for PlayStation®3. Buy a three or 48-hour Time Pass to access the full library of songs. For serious singing aficionados, there’s a full one-year Time Pass available too. Or, just enjoy the 10 songs that come free with the game including tracks from One Direction, Bruno Mars and Rhianna.
Get Happy with SingOn’s party-friendly voice effects TuneOn andRoboOn, re-tuning your singing or totally synthesising your voice so even the most sheepish singers can join in the party.
Plug in a mic to start singing then use the Queue feature to host a non-stop party. You can add tracks while you sing using the PS3 controller or the SingOn app on your phone or tablet so there’s no need to pause the party while you cue up the next song.
Earlier this year Revell released the Argus remote control helicopter with a built-in camera, and here is our two minute review.
When I was a kid I always wanted a remote control helicopter, ok, if I am honest what I wanted was a remote control AIRWOLF! Fast forward a lot of years and remote control helicopters have come down in price, and now include cameras!
Features
•On-Board video camera (1.2 Megapixel), located underneath the heli; controlled through on/off switch on the transmitter
•Coaxial rotor system incl. electronic gyro (GSY)
•Stable alloy frame
•Attractive body design with glow in the dark effect
•3-CH 2.4 GHz-transmitter (forwards/backwards; left/right; up/down) with trim control
•Easy battery charging – via USB-connection
•LED lights
•Exclusive REVELL design
Final Thoughts
The first thing you notice when you take it out of the box is the size. Whilst it isn’t the biggest toy I have seen it also isn’t that small, so as it is really designed to be used inside the house I would recommend that you find a room big enough to fly it in as it will take a little bit of practice to keep it both stable and in the air. That said, if you do crash it, and I crashed it a lot, it is pretty rugged and survived to fly again!
The box contains the helicopter, a remote control and everything you need to get going.
So after you open the box, the first thing you do is plug the memory card into the helicopter, and set it all up to charge. Now be patient, it takes around 90 minutes to charge and for that 90 minutes you get around 7 or 8 minutes of flying time.
Flying can take a little getting used to – but once you do its a lot of fun, it’s just a shame that you have to wait 90 minutes between each short flight.
Once you have finished your flight, just remove the memory card, plug it into the USB adaptor and then plug that into your computer to view the images and video. The image quality it pretty good, certainly it showed me crashing a lot, and I do mean a lot, but it’s fun to watch back what you are doing. My recommendation would be to get a bigger SD card as well! You don’t have to use the camera if you don’t want to, it can be controlled using a switch on the remote control.
Overall I had a lot of fun flying, and crashing, the Argus but just make sure you have enough room to use it safely. It’s not Airwolf, but it will do!
Cost wise, the Revell Argus can be found for under £70 and will give you hours and hours of fun, just try not to crash it!
The PacisBack and coming to consoles and handhelds this year for PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures 2 out in the USA on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii U, and Nintendo 3DS in 2014!, still no European date just yet.
Following the colorful characters and world of the PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures animated series, PAC-MAN and the Ghostly Adventures 2 will feature Pac, Spiral and Cylindria in an all-new storyline as they defend PacWorld from the ghoulish army of Lord Betrayus. Players will be able to explore the lands of PacWorld far beyond the bustling streets of Pacopolis and the Netherworld through the depths of the ocean floor and into space.
Thief was released by Square Enix back in February and Titan Books released an amazing Art of Thief book, and we had 2 copies of the book to give away – here are the winners.
THE ART OF THIEF demonstrates the stunning concept and development art from this eagerly awaited game. With the game’s reimagined Victorian period setting, THE ART OF THIEF will also appeal to steampunk and fantasy fans.
The Winners
Sean T
Amy Jo McLellan
Congratulations, your books will be on their way to you shortly.
Today Square Enix has announced that THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY CURTAIN CALL, a rhythm action game combining classic FINAL FANTASY music with RPG elements, will be released later this year, exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS.
THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY CURTAIN CALL is the sequel to THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY, released back on the Nintendo 3DS in 2012, and includes three times as many songs and twice as many playable characters as its predecessor. In addition to the new features mentioned below, the sequel also boasts two new game modes: Quest Medley where you alternate playing FMS (Field Music Sequence) and BMS (Battle Music Sequence) games – and the exciting Versus BMS mode, where players can challenge and compete against friends and other players. The game also includes a number of customisation and progression elements that the FINAL FANTASY series is renowned for.
Featuring more than 200 songs and 60 playable characters from across the entire FINAL FANTASY series – including FINAL FANTASY VII: Advent Children, FINAL FANTASY TACTICS and recently released titles like LIGHTNING RETURNS: FINAL FANTASY XIII and FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn, THEATRHYTHM FINAL FANTASY CURTAIN CALL lets players relive their favourite moments from across the epic series, as they tap their way through key FINAL FANTASY events, environments and battle sequences.
“Music is an integral part of the FINAL FANTASY experience that serves as a complement to the gameplay,” said Ichiro Hazama, producer. “As with the previous title, we envisioned a game where the music takes centre stage and the RPG gameplay enhances that experience. Our fans are definitely in for a treat as they’ll be able to re-experience their favourite songs across the entire FINAL FANTASY catalogue.”
Key features include:
Versus Battle Mode – Players can now compete head-to-head with friends and other users
Quest Medley Mode – Songs from the vast FINAL FANTASY music catalogue are used as backgrounds to unique quests; players can choose their own routes through various short, medium and long adventures. Players can also share these quests with friends.
New Characters – The game features over 60 characters from across the series, including Barret (FINAL FANTASY VII) and Yuna (FINAL FANTASY X-2). Characters from spin-offs like Benjamin (FINAL FANTASY MYSTIC QUEST), Ramza (FINAL FANTASY TACTICS) and Zack (CRISIS CORE -FINAL FANTASY VII-) also make their debut in this game.
Collecta Crystarium – Clearing songs and winning battles allow players to obtain CollectaCards that boost their character stats.
I had a slightly underwhelming experience with my first foray into the new and improved Final Fantasy MMO on the PS3. The hardware could barely cope with it and even when it did everything was pretty substandard. There was an impressive world at work but I felt it was destined for ‘greater’ platforms.
Fortunately Square seem to have got a handle on the connection issues that somehow plagued both the original release of FFXIV and A Realm Reborn. I created my character, selected my class and joined a server in no time. I got one disconnect down the road during a quests but I quickly reconnected and got back into the world.
Having a quick and painless entry into Final Fantasy’s world certainly makes the experience a lot easier on the nerves. By the time I actually got to move my character and have a look around on the PS3 version I was already past breaking point. Entering the world with a fresh prospective I made my way towards the first of many, many quests.
As expected it seems every single quest involves finding an item and then delivering it to the quest giver. Even many hours in I’m still performing meaningless fetch quest after meaningless fetch quest. The game that ensure MMO’s aren’t synonymous with DHL Simulator will be a huge success, but Final Fantasy XIV isn’t that game (I’m looking at you Division). Taking on hordes of challenging enemies or giant animated trees doesn’t seem to matter much when you’re dropping off some plants for some lifeless NPC.
If we’re going to be doing fetch quests it would be nice if the NPC’s have something interesting to say. Hell it’d be nice if they had anything to say. Probably the most impressive thing in The Elder Scrolls Online was the fact that every NPC had recorded speech. Sadly Final Fantasy has got barely any speech for it’s NPCs which can at times make questing a little dry. I’m not apposed to reading but when an NPC has three pages of useless commentary before actually saying anything useful it’s easy to lose interest and glaze over.
So the main appeal has to be from co-op questing. Joining up with even a small crew of random players instantly makes FFXIV more appealing. There is an inherent appeal accomplishing feats and completing quests with friends, be they real or digital only. Even without talking there is a predictable Journey-like communication between players.
In particular during FATEs (Full Active Time Event) where for a limited time players must help each other take out multiple enemies or slay a larger foe for a tasty EXP bonus silent communication is ever-present. On one such an occasion we were tasked with taking down a rather formidable tree. Things were looking very bad. I started attacking and did minimal damage as the giant shuffled towards me. With one hit it became obvious I wouldn’t last more than a minute.
But then a mêlée warrior jumped in and we at least started to damage the monster although it was still clear the fight would end soon. But then a tiny mage scuttled towards us and healed us both like there was no tomorrow. He didn’t get bored, run off and leave us to die. He didn’t get distracted and attack. He did his task without being asked, we all lived and eventually killed our enemy to reap the rewards. It was one of those moments only possible in MMO’s. A spontaneous co-op experience among comrades fighting for a common cause.
The UIs and menus benefit greatly from the PS4’s massive increase in power over the PS3 version. Everything has an increased fidelity but it doesn’t entirely stop the menus from being clunky every now and again. The PS4’s touchpad serves as a mouse to help but it’s still easy to lose your cursor and have to stop and figure out where it is. In large holding L2 and R2 to bring up your character’s abilities is easy and the UI makes it obvious how to perform the desired move. There’s still the sense that the controls aren’t native to consoles but they get the job done.
Combat allows itself to get fairly repetitive even quite early in the game. New moves and equipment try to keep things fresh but ultimately you will engage an enemy, hold a trigger and mash a face button. There’s some strategy later on when more moves are available to you but more likely than not you will find a move that works well in most situations and stick with it. Enemy design is what we’ve come to expect from the Final Fantasy series and is just as good as any single player title, but it’s not enough to maintain your interested past the 5 hour mark.
Were visuals are concerned very little, if anything, is comparable between the PS4 and PS3 versions. Textures are now flaunting their full HD capabilities and everything just looks beautiful. There isn’t a sharp edge in sight. The impressively colourful world of Eorzea lets the PS4 version show itself off with a dazzling array of colours. I don’t think there’s a colour that exists that isn’t used. Plus everything benefits massively from a lovely smooth frame rate thanks to the PS4. If you’ve only seen Final Fantasy XIV on the PS3 you haven’t seen it at all. It’s a completely different experience between platforms and the PS4 version really is the only way to see Eorzea.
Despite all the improvements there are still a few issues that run deep through Final Fantasy XIV’s core. The quests can become boring quickly, and so too can the combat. There is a reasonably comprehensive selection of character abilities but you are reliant on levelling up a required amount to earn both stats and new moves. There’s no choice or real freedom beyond choosing a class when you create a character. And if you don’t quest with friends everything is all the more stale. So much time, sooooo many fetch quests.
But still this marks another impressive entry for Final Fantasy XIV’s tarnished history. So great are the differences between the PS4 and PS3 versions that this may as well be another re-release. I certainly consider it so. If you’ve not tried FFXIV on the PS4 you’ve still not tried the ‘proper’ version. Square even allow you to port your PS3 characters across so if you’ve got access to a PS4 I’d strongly recommend giving this version a go – regardless of how much you may have already done on the PS3.
Today Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has released Cold, Cold Heart, the action-packed story add-on for Batman: Arkham Origins.
Set on New Year’s Eve, Cold, Cold Heart sheds light on the tragic origin story of Mr. Freeze and players will discover how he earned his place as one of Gotham City’s greatest villains. Cold, Cold Heart is available today for purchase on the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Games Store and STEAM for £7.99 and also for players who have purchased the Batman: Arkham Origins Season Pass and are connected to the Internet.
The Cold, Cold Heart Story Add-On introduces new locations including Wayne Manor and GothCorp, taking players on an ice-cold journey as Victor Fries encounters Batman for the first time. Players will have access to all new gadgets including Thermocharged Batarangs and Thermal Gloves.
Batman is also equipped with his powerful Extreme Environment (XE) suit to take down Mr. Freeze and his Cryo-thugs in hours of new story content.
The Walking Dead: Season Two, Episode 1 – ‘All That Remains’ and Episode 2 – ‘A House Divided’ are now available for download for PlayStation Vita via the PlayStation Store in North America, with the Europe version coming tomorrow, 23rd April.
Each episode is just US$4.99 or equivalent individually, or players can save 20% by purchasing the Season Pass, which includes access to Episodes 1 through 5 as they become available, including the upcoming Episode 3 – ‘In Harm’s Way.’
Today Codemasters announced that the next racing game in the award-winning GRID series will be GRID Autosport, set to ship on 24th June in the USA and release on 27th June in Europe for the Xbox 360, Windows PC from Steam and for the PlayStation 3.
GRID Autosport will bring alive the experience of becoming a professional racing driver in a new world of contemporary and classic motorsport. Drawing in spirit from classic Codemasters titles such as the TOCA series, developed in conjunction with community feedback and retaining the core GRID focus of ‘being all about the race’, gamers will experience a world of breadth, of depth, of intensity and of course, of the excitement that only racing cars can deliver.
Racing alongside a teammate, players must overcome key rivals and satisfy team sponsors in ferocious races where every pass and position counts. In GRID Autosport’s huge career, gamers will specialise in their favourite racing discipline or conquer them all; players will feel the aggression of the pack in Touring Cars, manage tyre wear and race into the night in Endurance events, race Open-Wheel cars with precision, show car control in Tuner events and react on the fly in Street races.
Each unique category features series dedicated to different classes, including Touring Cars, Hypercars, Endurance GT Cars, Prototypes, Single-Seaters, Super Modified vehicles, Drift cars and many, many more. Bursting with content, GRID Autosport features over 100 routes across 22 incredible locations and the world’s most exciting contemporary and classic high-performance racing cars to collect, tune and upgrade.
GRID Autosport’s features and tone have been shaped through consultation with the GRID community, professional racing drivers and the experts from AUTOSPORT magazine. This includes the return of an in-car view and the most authentic handling in a GRID game yet. Multiplayer racing is extended by RaceNet, Codemasters’ free million member strong online community portal, which will deliver new challenges every week from launch and sees the introduction of all-new RaceNet Racing Clubs for online, clan-style team competition. Party modes, Demolition Derby and competitive split-screen modes all complement the game’s extensive career mode and expansive core online game.
GRID Autosport delivers the most amount of content in the series yet and a truly authentic motorsport feel, but does not lose sight of what makes a GRID game a GRID game – it’s all about the race.
“The design philosophy behind GRID Autosport was to create a really focussed racing game,” said James Nicholls, Chief Games Designer, GRID Autosport. “We’ve jettisoned anything that doesn’t support the on-track competition and we’ve chosen a selection of cars and tracks that will give players a range of different racing experiences. That variety is crucial. There are five very distinct ways to race – this isn’t a game where basically every race is the same and the cars and tracks change. You need to adjust your tactics and learn different techniques to succeed in each racing discipline and each car has its own character too. Our AI will act and react in different ways depending not just on how you race, but the style of racing you are competing in and that’s vital in authentically capturing the feel of say, Touring Cars compared to Open-Wheel Racing.”
GRID Autosport will also be Codemasters most scalable game yet on PC. On high-performance set ups, GRID Autosport offers 4K textures, 4K output support and delivers a 1080P, 60 frames per second racing experience. However, the game has been optimised for performance excellence on the widest range of hardware for the widest range of PC players yet. The Codemasters PC development team has also benefited from a relationship with Intel that has delivered a range of further benefits for players on Intel hardware, including for the first time, tablets.
