With only a couple of weeks until Gamecoms, Square Enix have announced their lineup.
This year’s lineup promises to be one of the strongest showings in the company’s history, with some of the biggest franchises in gaming appearing alongside fresh and innovative titles. gamescom will feature the world first exclusive gameplay presentation of FINAL FANTASY® XIV: A Realm Reborn™ live on stage, with signing sessions from the game’s Producer/Director Naoki Yoshida on the Friday and Saturday, as well as the first-ever European hands-on demos of the highly anticipated HITMAN®: ABSOLUTION™, TOMB RAIDER®, and SLEEPING DOGS™.
Alongside this, Square Enix has an original lineup of digital and mobile titles including the award-winning Quantum Conundrum™, the uniquely creative action adventure of Gameglobe™, the retro stylings of FINAL FANTASY DIMENSIONS™, and the brand new downloadable PC version of FINAL FANTASY VII.
“gamescom is the biggest European games show and it’s great to be there with such a strong and diverse lineup of interactive experiences. This year we have a mix of some of the industry’s most identifiable characters and a host of highly original content – it’s going to be a great show,” said Phil Rogers, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix Europe.
To get a first-hand look at the Square Enix lineup, please visit booth B051 in hall 7 of the Koelnmesse. gamescom attendees will be able to preview and play the following titles:
FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn – Set in the realm of Eorzea, after the devastating attacks from the Garlean Empire, FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn presents an adventure for players around the world to undertake epic quests and battle with familiar FINAL FANTASY monsters as they work together to help forge the fate of Eorzea.
For more information on the FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn stage presentation and signing session timings, please visit the official Square Enix DE Facebook® page: https://www.facebook.com/SquareEnixDE
HITMAN: ABSOLUTION – HITMAN: ABSOLUTION follows The Original Assassin undertaking his most personal contract to date. Betrayed by the Agency and hunted by the police, Agent 47 finds himself pursuing redemption in a corrupt and twisted world.
TOMB RAIDER – Tomb Raider explores the intense and gritty origin story of Lara Croft and her ascent from a frightened young woman to a hardened survivor. Armed only with raw instincts and the ability to push beyond the limits of human endurance, Lara must fight to unravel the dark history of a forgotten island to escape its relentless hold.
Sleeping Dogs –SLEEPING DOGS is a gritty and visceral open world cop drama set in the vibrant city of Hong Kong. Taking the role of undercover cop Wei Shen, players are tasked with taking down one of the city’s most fearsome Triad gangs. Every street corner, market stall, harbour dock or city skyscraper can become an opportunity for intense shoot-outs, adrenaline-fuelled street races and intense, brutal martial arts combat. Players perform bone-crunching kicks and combos, vicious counters and cinematic environmental takedowns, making use of real-world items from circular saws to phone booths, incinerators to refrigerator doors.
Check out our hands-on preview of Sleeping DogsQuantum Conundrum – From the mind of PORTAL™ co-creator Kim Swift, Quantum Conundrum features engaging puzzle gameplay with the introduction of the Inter-Dimensional Shift Device (IDS), an invention that gives players the ability to shift to and from various dimensions, manipulating the world around them in order to solve puzzles of ever-increasing difficulty.
Gameglobe – Gameglobe is a unique browser-based experience that allows players free access to endless game worlds and creative possibilities, all in HD quality. Players can choose to either create their own game or simply play the multitude of levels available at launch.
(Gameglobe will be appearing at gamescom on the Bigpoint booth, C025-B024, in hall 8.)
Final Fantasy VII – Initially released in 1997, FINAL FANTASY VII was critically acclaimed as the title that redefined the standard for role-playing games. This new downloadable version includes a range of new features such as a Character Booster that enables players to fully power up their characters, cloud saves, and in-game achievements to encourage players to explore various facets of the game.
FINAL FANTASY DIMENSIONS – Drawing upon the roots of the series with such features as beautiful 2D pixel art, job-driven character growth, additional scenarios in which to inherit the jobs of your adventuring companions, and a classic story of light, darkness, and crystals, FINAL FANTASY DIMENSIONS delivers the best of FINAL FANTASY, retro and fresh alike, directly to your smartphone.
KooZac™ – KooZac, the award-winning number puzzler is coming to iOS and Android. Previously released online, the game has been played over 15 million times across 135 countries. KooZac offers three ways to play with the overall objective of positioning the falling blocks on top of each other to make a target number.
Motley Blocks™ – Motley Blocks is a fast-paced, 3D puzzle game. Drag your finger across the screen to connect blocks of the same colour as they rotate in a cyclonic pattern. Release your touch to send the blocks to the centre of the cyclone and reveal a fun image. Use power-ups to help complete harder levels. In addition to solving puzzles, make your own in the level creator and share them with friends!
Qwirkle™ – The 2011 Spiel des Jahres winner and the Mensa Best Mind Game of 2007 is coming soon to mobile devices and Facebook. Earn points by building rows and columns of tiles that share a common shape or colour in this matching game that requires tactical manoeuvres and well-planned strategy. Earn achievements and use power-ups to add an additional layer of intricacy to the game. Play with multiple friends asynchronously in classic and arcade modes!
SolaRola™ – Available on iOS and Android, SolaRola stars Wiz and Waz, the game’s blob-like gung-ho duo, tasked with bouncing across a number of challenging planets with the ultimate aim of saving the galaxy. Using whatever comes to hand, the daring pairing must thwart the plans of their nemesis, Ping the Unmerciless, and release the four guardians of SolaRola’s universe. With each planet inhabited by all manner of enemies and hazards, the player must navigate Wiz and Waz across a number of ill-positioned obstacles including rocks, slime, bombs and trampolines.
Mensa Academy – Mensa Academy is a brain training game that will give player’s minds the ultimate cerebral workout. Created in direct collaboration with Mensa, Mensa Academy is packed with 100+ replayable levels of fun and stimulating mini-games and challenges for everyone, plus for those really looking to test their grey matter, there is a rigorous test designed to calculate your Mensa score, directly inspired by questions faced by those attempting to join the renowned global high IQ society.
We will be there so let us know if there is something you want to see by leaving a comment below.
Nuance Communications has unveiled Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12, the fastest, most accurate and easy-to-use version of Dragon yet, with more than 100 new features and enhancements that will let users stop typing and start talking, and get more done in less time than ever before.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking brings voice recognition to the PC and allows individuals to simply talk to create content and control a computer. Dragon’s powerful voice recognition software ignites new levels of productivity and convenience by enabling people to interact with and control their PC, cruise through email, update Facebook in seconds, surf the Web and create reports – just by speaking.
Dragon voice recognition is everywhere – from PCs, to mobile devices, to cars and even living rooms – changing the way that people work, communicate, create and live. Dragon is already used by millions of people worldwide and is the core technology powering an innovative portfolio of voice technologies for consumers and manufacturers, including Dragon Dictation, Dragon Go!, Dragon TV, Dragon Drive! and Dragon ID.
Dragon 12 now boasts a 20 percent improvement to out-of-the-box accuracy, faster performance and new technology that learns your preferences as you use the software. Further, Dragon 12 works better than ever with Gmail and Hotmail, and extends the free Dragon Remote Microphone App experience to Android, turning compatible Android phones into a wireless microphone for Dragon for PC.
Significant New Features Include:
Fast, Accurate and Easy – Nothing Comes between Users and their Words
With significant accuracy improvements – up to 20% out-of-the-box over Version 11- Dragon 12 further personalises and simplifies the PC experience to help them get more done, faster than ever.
A new interactive tutorial is available to walk people through fun exercises that demonstrate best practices for dictating, editing and formatting to get up and running quickly. And, taking advantage of the latest multi-core processors in today’s PCs, Dragon truly works at the speed of sound.
The More You Use Dragon, The More it Gets to Know You
Dragon has long adapted to a person’s preferred style of writing as well as the audio characteristics of their voice including pitch, speaking style, accents and even speech impediments. With Dragon 12, the experience is further personalised with Smart Format Rules, a new technology that adapts to the way the user prefers to format their words. Dragon automatically detects word, phrase and format corrections, including abbreviations, numbers and more, so dictated letters, emails and documents reflect a person’s own writing style every time. Dragon also now offers the ability to correct words and phrases even faster and easier, with more words and more likely alternate word choices in the correction list. Further, Dragon 12 reminds users to adapt their profile’s vocabulary based on any documents or emails of their choosing – so the words and phrases each person uses the most are recognised every time.
Gmail and Hotmail – Dragon’s Got Them Covered
Dragon 12 now works even better with two of the most popular web-based email applications — Gmail and Hotmail — offering Full Text Control and commands for the most frequent actions in Internet Explorer 9, Mozilla Firefox 12 or higher and Google Chrome 16 or higher.
No Wires Necessary – Enhanced Wideband Bluetooth and Dragon Remote Mic App for Android Improve Wireless Options for Dragon
Dragon 12 features support for the Dragon Remote Mic App for iOS and now for Android devices. Users can quickly and easily turn their mobile phone into a microphone for use with Dragon over a WiFi network using the free Dragon Remote Mic app. Dragon 12 also features enhanced support for wideband 16KHZ Bluetooth wireless headset microphones, providing increased accuracy through a higher-quality audio signal. When Dragon detects that a certified microphone is paired with the PC, Dragon 12 offers “Enhanced Bluetooth” as an audio source type. The improved audio quality eliminates the requirement for Bluetooth users to do initial voice training, allowing them to get started faster than ever (Bluetooth and Enhanced Bluetooth support available in Premium edition and higher).
Dragon Reads Back with Natural Text-to-Speech
Dragon 12’s natural-sounding Text-to-Speech reads editable text—with fast-forward, rewind, speed and volume control—for easy proofing and multi-tasking.
Additional features include:
· Enriched Performance Assistant
· Richer Help Menu
· Full Text Control with Dictation Box
· More Ways to Customise Options
· New Voice Commands
For a full list of all the new features and capabilities in Dragon 12, visit http://www.nuance.co.uk/dragon/whats-new-version-12/index.htm
We should have a copy for review soon, so watch this space.
Have you used Dragon? If so, tell us what you think of it by leaving a comment below.
Check out our review of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10
Apple have today announced that it has sold over three million copies of OS X Mountain Lion in just four days making it the most successful OS X release in it’s history.
“Just a year after the incredibly successful introduction of Lion, customers have downloaded Mountain Lion over three million times in just four days, making it our most successful release ever,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.
The cost of the upgrade is $19.99 or £13.99 in the UK, which is $10 cheaper than Lion was. All new Mac’s come with Mountain Lion, but you will not be able to buy Mountain Lion at the Apple Store or on a USB stick, only via the Mac App Store.
With more than 200 innovative new features, Mountain Lion includes:
So are you going to update? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
And yes, I will be updating my Mac Lion book!
In a new blog post, Microsoft are showing off their new Windows 8-ready mice and keyboards.
There is a new wedge keyboard designed specifically to work with tablets.
The new keyboards sport the all new Windows 8 logo:
There is also a wedge touch mouse:
There is no USB transceiver with this mouse – like the Wedge Touch Keyboard, it seamlessly connected to my tablet via Bluetooth. But this mouse isn’t just great with tablets – it can be used with any PC or device and works especially well in limited working spaces. And it features BlueTrack Technology so it works great on virtually any surface. The Wedge Touch Mouse also has four-way touch scrolling. Oh, and to save battery life – it will power down and go into sleep along with the PC or device it’s paired to. How cool is that?
The Wedge Touch Mouse will be available soon for $69.95 (U.S.).
The Sculpt Mobile Keyboard looks really cool as well!
To see all the new hardware, click here.
Samsung Mobile UK has today announced the Galaxy Beam will be available in the UK from today. Joining Samsung’s Android-powered Galaxy portfolio, the Galaxy Beam is a projector smartphone that lets people display and share multimedia content wherever they are.
People can use the Galaxy Beam to transform any room into a mini home-theatre by projecting full screen video clips, maps, business information and games onto the wall or ceiling – all in high-definition and up to 50’’ wide. Holiday snaps can be captured and shared instantly using the Galaxy Beam which also boasts a 5MP camera. It’s also a great device for both students who can collectively share videos or work in any room or student lounge, and gamers who can download their own or choose from over 1,000 games available via Game Hub, Samsung’s dedicated virtual gaming store, then project games to turn gaming into a shared experience.
As well as its full built-in projector, the Galaxy Beam is still stylist and portable. Measuring just 12.5mm thick and featuring a sleek design, the device runs on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and is powered by a 1.0GHz dual-core processor, so its quick and responsive. 8GB internal memory means there’s tonnes of space to store multimedia content, whilst its 2000 mAh battery means people don’t have to worry about Galaxy Beam running out midway through sharing their content.
Samsung Galaxy Beam Product Specifications:
| Network | HSPA 14.4/5.76 Mbps 850/900/1900/2100EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900 |
| OS | Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) |
| Display | 4.0” 480×800 (WVGA) TFT |
| Processor | 1.0GHz Dual-Core Processor |
| Camera | 5MP AF + 1.3MP / Flash |
| Video | MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV, DivXRecording/Playback: 720p@30fps |
| Audio | MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA |
| Connectivity | BT 3.0+HS WiFi, 802.11 b/g/n, MicroUSB, USB 2.0, 3.5mm Ear Jack |
| PC Applications | Samsung Kies 2.0 |
| Memory | 6GB RAM + 8GB Internal Memory, MicroSD slot (up to 32GB) |
| Dimension | 64.2 x 124 x 12.5mm, 145.3 g |
| Battery | 2000 mAh |
Last Thursday on the eve of the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony, Acer invited CDW to the opening of their Interactive Pavilion in the Olympic Park.
To get in we needed an Olympic Park ticket.
![CDW at the 2012 London Olympic Park - 2_thumb[1]](https://i0.wp.com/moviesgamesandtech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/CDW-at-the-2012-London-Olympic-Park-2_thumb1.jpg?ssl=1 "CDW at the 2012 London Olympic Park - 2_thumb[1]")
Located within the Olympic Park, the Pavilion is a 1200 sq meter building with two floors dedicated to visitors, offering interactive areas and displaying Acer’s latest technology and products. The third floor, dedicated to Acer’s guests, offers a panoramic view of the park.
This was the view from the third floor of the Acer pavilion looking out across the Park. Not too bad!
![CDW at the 2012 London Olympic Park - 11_thumb[6]](https://i0.wp.com/moviesgamesandtech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/CDW-at-the-2012-London-Olympic-Park-11_thumb6.jpg?ssl=1 "CDW at the 2012 London Olympic Park - 11_thumb[6]")
The inside of the Pavilion is great, with lots of areas to relax and interact.
Chris Holmes is Britain’s most successful individual Paralympic swimmer who has won nine Paralympic gold medals, including six at a single Games. He talked to us for a while about the 2012 Games and the Paralympics.
Also on hand was Leon Taylor who is an Olympic medal-winning diver and mentor to Tom Daley.
The outside of the Pavilion has a number of screens that can be used individually or all together.
The Acer Pavilion has been designed to excellence in sporting achievements and technological innovation, leading visitors on a journey through the outstanding accomplishments that challenge the limits of human capabilities. When entering the Pavilion visitors will receive a smart card that will enhance their journey in the pavilion allowing them to track their experience and collect points and interact with their personal avatar.
In the “Fast, Faster, Fastest” Challenge, players can dare their friends in a race against time using tablets placed around a raised floor that displays a projected track. The experience is triggered by the visitor’s smart card. As the user inserts the card, their avatar appears on the track. Players must move their avatar as fast as they can while jumping over obstacles. The tablet ICONIA A510 acts as the control device for the experience.
Another striking feature of the Pavilion is the Journey Sphere, a huge globe ‘alive’ with moving atoms and streaming data. Visitors can navigate through the content thanks to tablets placed around the sphere and acting as a touchpad. On activation, a bright glow and a title tag will appear and the user will be invited to explore content such as challenges and videos.
The visitor’s journey can continue on all computers displayed: from the ultrabooks to the professional all-in-one dektops. Acer also teamed up with ISM to offer a unique gaming experience around the official video game of the London 2012 Olympic Games that visitors will be able to experience on Acer Predator G7 the ultimate gaming computer.
The Pavilion is a lot of fun, and I recommend a visit if you get a chance.
Have you been to the Olympic Park yet? If so, let us know what you thought of it by leaving a comment below.
Last Thursday, the night before the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony, we were invited by Acer to visit the Olympic Park.
This is what the entrance looked like on Thursday afternoon – it certainly won’t look like that now!
To get in you needed an Olympic Park ticket.
Then it was time to go through security.
Welcome to London 2012!
Then it was time to make our way through the Park.
The views throughout the Park are amazing.
The Park is huge – just take a look at the map below.
There was lots of helicopter activity – I wonder if that was part of the entrance made by the Queen and James Bond (if you haven’t seen it, look for it online)!
I have to say that I felt incredibly proud to be British and to see what all the hard work has accomplished. It was also a privilege to able to walk around the night before the opening ceremony, and watch as the finishing touches were being made, without the hundreds and thousands of visitors that will be there.
Have you been to the Olympic Park yet? If so, let us know what you thought of it by leaving a comment below.
The Samsung GALAXY S III has a new firmware update out, taking it to LG8.
![CDW-at-the-Samsung-GalaxyS3-Unpacked[2]](https://i0.wp.com/moviesgamesandtech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/CDW-at-the-Samsung-GalaxyS3-Unpacked2.jpg?ssl=1 "CDW-at-the-Samsung-GalaxyS3-Unpacked[2]")
The only information available on the update was that it improves stability.
After the update, the Kernal build date shows Thur July 26.
Have you updated yet? Tell us if you have noticed any improvements by leaving a comment below.
Check out our hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy S III
The guys over at the BYOB podcast have just released episode 93.
Here is what is included in this weeks show:
[box style=”rounded” border=”full”]Special guests, Steve Dail (aka TimeKills) and Renny Phipps (aka Renny) join me for some tech talk. We talk about their setups, hardware, networks as well as their thoughts on Windows 8 and Server 2012 Essentials. We discuss Steve’s new MSI GT60 laptop, and Renny’s new Z77 I5-3550 system complete with Vertex 3. Steve walks us through setting up a VPN in 2012 Essentials.[/box]
As usual you can listen to the show from here.
Brian has just released My Movies for Windows Media Center version 4.03 build 3, only a day after releasing 4.03 build 2.
Here is the change log for build 3:
Fix: The add titles dialog could error out when adding titles manually.
Activision Publishing just announced that 007 Legends will feature a variety of past and present Bond talent including Daniel Craig, Michael Lonsdale, Naomie Harris and Richard Kiel, among others.
007 Legends will feature Daniel Craig’s (SKYFALL, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Casino Royale) James Bond while Rory Kinnear (SKYFALL, Wild Target, Quantum of Solace) voices MI6’s Chief of Staff, Bill Tanner. The Moonraker mission features familiar Bond actors, including Michael Lonsdale (Of Gods and Men, Munich, Moonraker) reprising his villainous role as Hugo Drax and Richard Kiel (Happy Gilmore, Moonraker, The Spy Who Loved Me) as Drax’s notorious henchman – Jaws. Naomie Harris (SKYFALL, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, 28 Days Later), from this autumn’s feature film SKYFALL, will also make a video game appearance in 007 Legends.
In addition, veteran Bond film and video game writer, Bruce Feirstein (The World Is Not Enough, Tomorrow Never Dies, GoldenEye), pens 007 Legends’ overarching storyline while the acclaimed James Bond film composer – David Arnold (Die Another Day, Tomorrow Never Dies, Independence Day) – and established TV composer, Kevin Kiner (“Hell on Wheels,” “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” “CSI: Miami”) lend their musical expertise and talent to the robust video game soundtrack. The 007 Legends’ talent roster will continue to grow as additional game missions are revealed.
A first-of-its-kind Bond video game, 007 Legends features an original, overarching storyline featuring five classic Bond films offering the most diverse Bond gaming experience yet! A sixth mission based on this year’s highly-anticipated film – SKYFALL – which will be available post launch as free downloadable content.
As with the feature films, 007 Legends equips players with state-of-the-art spy gadgets, an arsenal of weapons, including Bond’s signature Walther PPK, and sleek vehicles as they jet off to exotic locations. Use Bond’s quick wits, class and style to take down notorious villains and their brutal henchmen, perform impressive stunts and of course… gorgeous Bond women.
For more information about 007 Legends, visit the game’s official Web site – www.007Legends.com – and Facebook page – www.facebook.com/007LegendsGame.
Planned to launch on 19th October, 2012, 007 Legends is being developed by Eurocom, under license from EON Productions Ltd. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. (MGM) for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and download on Windows PC.
I am really excited about this game, and the new Skyfall movie. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.
A few weeks ago we attended the 1st Cambridge Raspberry Jam, last week we went to the 2nd London Raspberry Jam evening, and it was great fun.
Once again Alan O’Donohoe, who came up with the idea for the Raspberry Jam events was on hand, and it was good to chat to him, as usual.
Eben Upton even made an appearance, although it was via a recording of an interview he has given. It was all very Max Headroom!
One of the items on display was the portable Raspberry Pi made by Sukkin Pang SK Pang Electronics. You can learn more about the portable Raspberry Pi from here.
Also on display was the Raspberry Pi powered BigTrak (which is very cool and now has a rocket launcher). I had a BigTrak as a kid and I loved it.
The evening consisted of a number of short presentations and a lot of interesting discussions. It took place at the London Mozilla Spaces venue and we were very well taken care of.
There were a lot of Pi’s on hand, more than I have seen in any one place before (i don’t count the 200 in a box I helped Liz sell in Cambridge).
All in all I had a great time, and I look forward to the next one!
If you haven’t been to a Raspberry Jam yet, you really should consider going.
Were you there? Let us know what you thought of it by leaving a comment below.
Check out what happened at the Q&A session with the Raspberry Pi Foundation
The Dropbox app for Android has been updated.
Dropbox lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere.
Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring all your photos, docs, and videos anywhere. After you install Dropbox on your computer, any file you save to your Dropbox will automatically save to all your computers, your Android device, and even the Dropbox website! With the Dropbox app, you can take everything that matters to you on the go.
Read your docs or flip through your albums when you’re out and about. Save photos or videos to your Dropbox and share them with friends in just a couple taps. Even if you accidentally leave your Android in a taxi, your stuff is always safe on Dropbox.
• Always have your stuff with you, no matter where you are.
• Save photos and videos to your Dropbox.
• Share your photos and docs with family and friends.
• Save email attachments straight to your Dropbox.
• Easily edit docs in your Dropbox.
