Exclusive Interview with John DiMaggio (Bender, Marcus Fenix, Jake the Dog and more) at E3 2014

Andrew Edney
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Exclusive Interview with John DiMaggio (Bender, Marcus Fenix, Jake the Dog and more) at E3 2014

Last week at E3, Turtle Beach organised some voice panels, and one had John DiMaggio on it. After the panel I got to speak with him.

E3 2014 - Exclusive interview with John DiMaggio (Bender from Futurama)

You may not recognise John’s face, but you will recognise his voice. He has given a voice to Bender from Futurama, Jake the Dog from Adventure Time, Marcus Fenix from Gears of War, and many others.

John was kind enough to take time out of his very busy schedule to talk to me about a few things, over to John:

Which is your favourite character John voices? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

And thanks again to Turtle Beach for organising the panels and getting me access.

First Impressions: Battlefield Hardline Beta

Sam Thompson
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First Impressions: Battlefield Hardline Beta

Now that Battlefield 4 has been mostly soothed of its issues, it’s time for some new blood before the next major instalment. Instead of something in the usual cannon, EA have teamed up with Visceral to create Hardline, a cops vs criminals bonanza with new game modes to suit. But how does it hold up so far during the public beta?

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As to be expected from something bearing the fabled Battlefield brand, quite well really! Whilst the general look and feel of the game screams ‘reskin’, it plays out completely differently to what you might be used to. Of course, there are the usual recoil heavy weapons and vehicles that will feel instantly familiar to most Battlefield players, but due to the new game modes, a whole new level of tactics emerge.

Blood Money was my first game mode; probably one I’ll continue to play avidly when the game releases. Essentially a glorified yet tweaked version of capture the flag, it places a whopping great pile of cash in the centre of the map and tasks each team to either steal it, or ‘recover’ it if you’re on the other side of the law. Once you’ve collected some money, (you can carry up to 500,000) you then have to get it to your open backed truck, first team to 5 million wins. There are a few kickers however, if you die whilst clutching your bag of treats, the enemy can instantly pick it up off your body and proceed to their armoured truck, netting all the profit. And in case that wasn’t stressful enough, each team can also steal off each other’s trucks, at the risk of having to carry it across the map of course.

Usually, Blood Money commences with all players rushing the centre of the map like a savage pack of wolves; while it’s often hilarious to see a menagerie of vehicles collide and spectacularly explode (due to copious usage of C4) it’s also common to see unspoken vows of teamwork emerge. More so than ever in a Battlefield game, it’s important to stick together here; helping out a pinned down teammate laden with goods is a predictably satisfying moment.

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A Battlefield game wouldn’t be complete without tactical, open maps and Hardline is no exception. Taking a quick tour of the map reveals plenty of verticality, open roads, compromised buildings and perches fit for a sniper. Fortunately, to help combat them, there’s now a grappling hook and zip line, which every class has use of. Not only is it gratifying to zip up behind a sniper for a cheeky knife kill, but the possibilities for map traversal will hopefully become exponential once the final version is released.

Another mode on offer is the Heist gametype, which is again, structured like capture the flag, only this time taking a Payday 2 slant on proceedings where the money filled bags must be brought to extraction before the police call a halt to proceedings. Whilst it does play out differently, it does teeter on the edge of feeling a little too like a classic Battlefield match.

Whilst the visuals and sound retain their specific Battlefield flair, there’s nothing too new or too far removed from previous titles of the same moniker. Save for the accompanied single player portion of the game, it worries me slightly that it’ll all feel ultimately like a re-skinned Battlefield 4, only with different objectives. Nevertheless, in the final version I’ll be keen to try out some more of the maps, experience some new Levolution scenarios and try my hand at a few of the new gadgets such as the Tasers and handcuffs. In the meantime however, it comes across as though they’ve changed just enough to avoid calling it an expansion, what with the lack of jets, tanks and a conquest mode, but not altered quite enough to create a new feeling game. Battlefield veterans might well feel ambivalently at home, despite desperately wanting to move on.

Beta played on PC, also available on PS4.

Release date: October 21st, 2014

Full version, when released, will be on PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC

Ubisoft and Apocalypse join to commemorate WW1

Chris Hare
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Ubisoft and Apocalypse join to commemorate WW1

Ubisoft has announced its association with CC&C (France) and IDEACOM INTERNATIONAL (Canada), two production agencies specialised in historical productions, as part of the creation of Valiant Hearts: the Great War. Valiant Hearts: the Great War is an interactive adventure showcasing the graphic power of the UbiArt Framework and putting in motion the lives of touching characters lost in the trenches of World War I.

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This partnership allowed the Valiant Hearts: the Great War development teams to access the outstanding databases of Apocalypse, World War 1. It was a unique opportunity to update the already-filled game encyclopedia with a significant amount of reworked photographs, which granted players with accurate and striking content to learn more on these major chapters of history.

Valiant Hearts: The Great War is the story of crossed destinies and a broken love in a world torn apart. Developed by a small-scale yet very talented team within Ubisoft Montpellier, the game is a thoughtful balance between exploration, actions and puzzles; all of these integrated into a stirring story taking place at symbolic World War I locations. Players will relive the Western Front, the Marne, the Verdun or the Somme battles. This detailed informational content is available in-game and has been conceived as part of the partnership with Apocalyspe, World War 1 and the iPad and Web app Apocalypse 10 Lives.

Apocalypse 10 Lives is a piece of immersive web fiction driving users to the heart of war through a four-hour tale, two hours of video archives, more than 250 sketches, hundreds of photographs and unseen documents. These ten heroes, who witnessed the conflict from every front, run into each other and meet famous and anonymous people – ten different but significant views on these dreadful years.

Grid Autosport “This is Racing” Trailer

Chris Hare
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Grid Autosport “This is Racing” Trailer

Codemasters has released the ‘This Is Racing’ GRID Autosport launch trailer ahead of the game’s store ship date of 24th June in the USA and race into retail in Europe on 27th June for the Xbox 360, Windows PC and for the PS3.

the video reveals the intensity and drama that only racing cars can provide and demonstrates GRID Autosport’s huge breadth of content. Each of the five disciplines of racing – Open-Wheel, Street, Tuner, Endurance and Touring Cars – are showcased at a selection of the game’s environments, including iconic motorsport circuits like Mount Panorama, Spa-Francorchamps and Indianapolis, and beautifully recreated cities whose streets are turned into stunning tracks including Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Barcelona.

The trailer focuses on GRID Autosport’s uniquely robust and competitive racing, as the game’s range of thoroughbred racing cars, ranging from hot-hatches like the Volkswagen Golf R to hypercars including the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport, are shown taking chances, making contact and occasionally crashing out in the uncompromising sprint for the chequered flag.

GRID Autosport’s huge career mode, featuring over 100 routes and 22 environments, will see players build a career as a professional racing driver. Gamers can specialise in their favourite discipline or master them all as they develop their team or climb the ranks by accepting new offers. Players will feel the aggression of the pack in Touring Cars, speed 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.

GRID Autosport delivers players a separate and extensive online multiplayer game. Online, players will collect and maintain a garage of cars to customise, tune and upgrade. Players can compete in races across the game’s five disciplines, plus a range of Party modes and in Demolition Derby mode. Gamers who join up to RaceNet, Codemasters’ free online community hub with over 1 million members, will be able to track their progress in game, receive new gameplay challenges every week and can join together to form Racing Clubs as clan-style online competition comes to GRID Autosport.

GRID Autosport is set to ship on 24th June in the USA and release on 27th June in Europe for the Xbox 360, Windows PC and for the PS3. A limited edition of GRID Autosport featuring exclusive additional content including the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupé Black Series, GRID Autosport Black Edition, is available to pre-order from GAME in the UK.

Free Thomas Was Alone DLC for iPad out today

Chris Hare
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Free Thomas Was Alone DLC for iPad out today

Thomas Was Alone for iPad has been updated today with the free DLC story Benjamin’s Flight, developed by Bossa Studios and Indie Developer Mike Bithell. To celebrate Thomas Was Alone will also be on sale for a limited period. Benjamin’s Flight is available as a free download for everyone who has already joined Thomas & friends on their iPad adventures.

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In this free Thomas Was Alone level pack, discover the tale of young Benjamin, who goes in search of the Fountain of Wisdom aided by his father’s incredible invention. Benjamin meets a new companion and a familiar face in this story, which takes place in the events leading up to Thomas’s emergence.

20 brand new levels and 3 new characters
• Reach new heights and solve new puzzles with Benjamin’s jetpack
• A new story about hope and the wild impetuosity of youth. And jumping.

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Thomas Was Alone is available for £3.99 / $5.99 from the App Store on iPad.

Trials Fusion Get First Major Update

Chris Hare
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Trials Fusion Get First Major Update

Ubisoft announced that Trials Fusion, the popular platform racer from RedLynx is receiving a free update, the first of many planned to introduce new features for the game. The free update brings online tournaments to the game, giving players the chance to show off their skills in a variety of challenges. Additionally, 10 player-created tracks have been made available cross-platform through Track Central, giving players more tracks than ever to choose from.

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Through tournaments, players will be able to see how they stack up against other Trials Fusion players. Each tournament will run for a limited time, giving players multiple opportunities to place on the leaderboards to win rider gear, bike parts, in-game cash and experience points. Prizes will be rewarded based on a players’ position on the leaderboard, the higher the rank the greater the prize.

Trials Fusion downloadable content will be rolling out to players starting this summer in six pieces. Each piece is purchasable on its own or all six pieces can be purchased as part of the Trials Fusion Season Pass for £15.99. Downloadable contents include new tracks, new bike parts, rider gear, new items for the track editor and each piece of content will let players experience a new Career Mode Event.

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Additionally, a Trials Fusion demo for Xbox One is available now, developed by RedLynx in collaboration with Ubisoft Shanghai and Ubisoft Kiev,

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES final trailer released

Andrew Edney
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DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES final trailer released

Twentieth Century Fox has released the final trailer for DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES.

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A growing nation of genetically evolved apes led by Caesar is threatened by a band of human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade earlier.  They reach a fragile peace, but it proves short-lived, as both sides are brought to the brink of a war that will determine who will emerge as Earth’s dominant species.

Here is the final trailer:

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES is out in cinemas July 17th.

Let’s Play: Destiny Alpha

phillvine
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Let’s Play: Destiny Alpha

I’ve recently been spending a lot of my time on the Destiny Alpha. Here’s a few videos of my adventures.

 

First mission with the Warlock class.

Co-op Strike Mission Objective 1

An encounter with ‘Devil Walker’

An encounter with ‘Sepiks Prime’. Which is immediately after Devil Walker!

Exploring the Tower

Exploring the Cosmodrome part 1

Exploring the Cosmodrome part 2

Hopefully this gives you a good idea of how Destiny plays. Also check out my first impressions here. Destiny is looking mighty impressive, and this is the Alpha with most features limited! Bring on the Beta!

Review: Worms Battlegrounds

Sam Thompson
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Review: Worms Battlegrounds

Once more, Team 17’s classic Worms franchise returns, this time on the PS4. Can they once more recreate their magic and deliver a banana bomb of excitement or has their lack of progression granted them too little wriggle room?

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From the first time I booted up my brand new, shiny/dull grey PS1, and popped in a fresh copy of Worms, I was hooked. Every single device I’ve owned since then that is capable of running Worms in one form or another, has been taken over by the pink little blighters. This time around, it’s the turn of the PS4 to keep the disc warm for a presumably long while.

Upon starting it up, you are greeted by the voraciously sarcastic and demeaning Tara Pinkle, excellently voiced by Katherine Parkinson of IT Crowd fame. She’ll soon regale you with the basic but serviceable storyline regarding a certain Lord Crowley-Mesmer, a worm of course, who’s hell-bent on the ol’ world domination via acquiring the Stone Carrot. Needless to say, it’s up to you to put a stop to this madness by unleashing all kinds of wanton destruction inside various exhibits of a museum, all the while being scolded for not running off with everything in sight by Lady Pinkle.

Serving as a base for newcomers to the series, the story mode lets you get to grips with the fundamentals of movement and general platforming, as well as learning how to use the various landscapes to your advantage. Instead of covering the absolute basics of dispatching worms in varying hilarious manners, the story missions play out like puzzles instead. You’ll often be tasked with getting to a certain area of the map whilst picking up the required tools on the way. However, due to the different classes of worms at your disposal, it can sometimes take a fair amount of thought on some of the latter stages in how to progress. Luckily, Team 17 thought it prudent to incorporate checkpoints into the main missions, letting you try again from whenever you activated it. Probably a good job too seeing as some of the missions can certainly rack the time up.

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Along with the 25 story missions that should set you back a fair few hours, there are also ten Worm Ops to try your hand at. Acting as challenges, you can post times on leaderboards to see how bad you are at the game, alongside it teaching you some of the more advanced tactics in the process. One of the earlier levels is a great example of when you should move and when you should stay put, it plonks you down in the middle of the ‘map’ with infinite rockets and seldom jetpacks. Inherently, the objective is to destroy all the enemy worms dotted about and whilst you can eventually kill them all from your starting position, it will require either a deft aim or plenty jet pack scavenging from the surrounding utility crates to win in a reasonable time.

Of course there’s the old classic ‘local play’ to get your eye in with the AI before challenging the intimidating internet horde, but there’s also a rather solid, yet easy to use, clan system to get stuck into as well. From here, you can create or join a clan to rank up, climb the leaderboards and assert your dominance. For the less competitive, there are unranked matches too to either whet or satiate your appetite.

It wouldn’t be Worms without a veritable armada of weird and wonderful weapons at your disposal and with 65 varieties of armaments on offer, you should never be short of an idea or two. Also adding many a potential spanner in the works are the physics objects and their resultant contraptions, ranging from creating a bridge by knocking something over, to useable doors and platforms.

Of course, it’s not only weapons and utilities you have to worry about now, as besides the standard Soldier worm, who can detonate grenades at any point during the timer, there are also others to test your tactics. Returning from Worms Revolution are the Heavy guys who deal out more damage and create a massive explosion upon death at the unfortunate, extreme handicap of movement speed and jump height. There’s the Scientist, who can not only heal nearby worms for 5 health a turn but can also remove the poison affliction too, and lastly, the ever useful Scout. He’s is the nimblest yet weakest of the lot, trading damage dealt and suffered for vastly increased movement and jumping speed. Oh, and being able to see what’s in a nearby crate at the start of a turn; the ability to crawl into tiny spaces and also to never set off a landmine are all envious traits too.

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Creating your own team of squishy warmongers is always half the fun, and again, Team 17 and Sold Out have delivered once more. Customising your worms with spectacles, aviators and all manner of headdresses is great fun, but it’s the sound banks where the franchise has always shone. It often becomes quite the bewildering dilemma, having to choose between the classic angry Scotsman, the nature watcher and the advertiser due to the genuine hilarity of their responses.

There are some nice, exclusive touches to the PS4 version too, in exchange of the Xbox One’s SmartGlass interactions. The light bar on the back of the controller lighting up when danger is abound, worm voices coming through the controller speaker and the incredibly useful, if not a tad unresponsive, assignable weapon quick select using the touchpad.

Whilst there are plenty of plus points going around, Worms Battlegrounds does also have its share of negatives too. The backgrounds and the landscapes can often seemingly blend together, giving little indication of whether terrain is physically there or not. The ninja rope feels unnecessarily difficult to land with, and for a PS4, it’s hardly stretching the boundaries of its capabilities either. To offset these however are the surprisingly punchy and gratifying audio effects and the inevitable intricacies of learning how to master each and every tool in the arsenal.

Despite them appearing to have fallen towards the darkside; cowering under girders and blowtorching their way to ‘safety’ in regards to a possible evolution of their game, it’s instead a constant refinement process that still keeps them feeling fresh nearly 20 years on.

WildStar Flick: Strain, New Zones & Content!

Chris Hare
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WildStar Flick: Strain, New Zones & Content!

Get ready to be infected by our most viral Flick yet! Strain Ultra Drop is almost here for Wildstar and it will reveal even more of planet Nexus: more loot, more content, and more awesomeness than you will be able to digest!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5KU6WY1PPw

For more information about WildStar and the Strain Ultra Drop please visit http://www.wildstar-online.com/en/.

Infinite Crisis Supergirl trailer

Chris Hare
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Infinite Crisis Supergirl trailer

Here is an early look at Supergirl, the latest champion from Infinite Crisis, the free-to-play MOBA from Turbine based in the DC Universe! On 2nd July, players can make the world a better place one punch at a time when Supergirl goes live!

Like her cousin Superman, Kara Zor-El survived the destruction of Krypton by escaping in a spacecraft of her father’s design.

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Placed into a state of suspended animation, Kara’s craft followed the course set by her then-infant cousin. But instead of Kara’s trip taking a matter of seconds, like it had for her cousin, it took decades.

When she crash-landed on Earth, Kara awoke to her powers immediately manifesting. While wrestling with these powers, she was astonished to meet her cousin, now a grown man. The worst shock, though, came last when Kal-El told her they were the only survivors of Krypton.

Overwhelmed by despair, feeling anger toward the alien world where she felt trapped, Kara discovered a resilience she didn’t know she possessed. She now deals with her grief while discovering a love of her new home world, Earth.

Fast, strong, and always willing to pick a fight, Supergirl is a bruiser who loves getting up-close and personal.

Review: Entwined

Sam Thompson
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Review: Entwined

It’s not often an Indie developed title grabs the limelight at one of the industry’s largest events. Holding strong alongside both press releases and lashings of AAA announcements, Sony demonstrated its love for the smaller companies too at this year’s E3, showcasing Entwined, an Indie title developed by Pixelopus stirring up ideals and images of Flower and Dyad to hopefully create a classic.

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Whilst there is no strict narrative per se, it is heavily implied throughout your journey; being somewhat vaguely introduced to the playfully in-love bird and fish is all you’re going to get in terms of character development too. What is interesting however, is their eternal struggle to be together and how the player infers this.

Playing the game rings true of any ‘easy to learn, hard to master’ ethos, with the fish being controlled via the left thumbstick and the bird by the right, you must guide each party through appropriately coloured segments with the game delivering increasingly difficult sections to navigate the further you progress. Orbs of the same corresponding colour must also be picked up in order to fill each animal’s bar; once both are full, pressing L1+R1 joins their forms and speeds up the level; essentially making you repeat the process once more. Completing this sequence rewards you with the consummate conglomeration of bird and fish, the dragon. In this section the gameplay switches to a more relaxed style of play where the only objective is to fly around and collect orbs before sky writing your flight path and beginning the process anew.

Despite Entwined being privy to a relatively fresh and untapped genre, that’s not to say the novelty can’t wear off however. At least it might if there were more time for it to do so. The length of Entwined is not its strongest point, completing all nine levels along with the few challenges on offer will take less than 2 hours, admittedly more if you fancy yourself a spot on the leaderboards, but even with its meagre price tag of £6.49, it’s still not exactly great value for money.

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As for a learning curve it can yield mixed results, the first few levels are inherently easy, yet in some of the latter stages, it’s not only precision that matters, but alternating timing patterns. I imagine anyone even remotely versed in time signatures will have little trouble acclimatising, but for others (such as me) being able to individually coordinate between my thumbs and my peripheral vision became a little tricksome at points.

Graphically, it looks pretty much exactly what you might expect, bright colours, entrancing effects and more tunnel vision than an underground tube train driver. Coupled with the slightly underwhelming music, save for the track played over the credits; you’ll find its distinct presentation either a delight or a little bland depending upon the level. The highlights most certainly being the sky writing pieces; yet whilst only performable for around 10 minutes over the course of your short journey, and viewable via the small cutscene afterwards for less, they always manage to garner your attention the most.

Entwined appears to draw ideals and concepts from others in its genre as well as mixing it up with a few of their own, however they’re not quite enough to truly set it apart from its peers. Once you’ve grasped the basics, that’s about all there is to Entwined, the gameplay doesn’t evolve beyond its two pre-sets and therefore, unfortunately offers no real reason to return once complete. Inevitably the comparisons between other Indie titles such as Flower and Journey are going to often get strewn around regarding Entwined; whilst it may not have the immediate beauty of flower or the excellent social play of Journey, it does however have one of the better endings I’ve seen in a while. The companionship of the two unlikely beings, always striving to come together as one, more enigmatic creature can be awkwardly heart-warming; coupled with the unspoken narrative that you’ll make your own, ensures that Entwined is exactly what you make of it.

Tales of Xillia 2 – Jude Mathis & Leia Rolando introduction

Chris Hare
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Tales of Xillia 2 – Jude Mathis & Leia Rolando introduction

After revealing the content of its Day 1 and Collector’s Edition, BANDAI NAMCO Games Europe is offering its fans two new videos showcasing Jude and Leia; two returning characters for Tales of Xillia:

  • Jude Mathis – Much has changed for Jude in the past year. In a world where the schism—which previously divided the worlds of Rieze Maxia and Elympios – has been dispelled at last, Jude toils endlessly in his research of Spyrite: an alternative energy source which could replace Spyrix and solve Elympios’ energy crisis without the expense of the spirits. If he could perfect it, Spyrite could be the key to eliminating the tension between the two worlds and truly uniting their people once and for all—but there are those that would try to stop him.
  • Leia Rolando – Leia has always been energetic and inquisitive, and this nature of hers has led her to become a reporter for a local newspaper in Elympios, as she aims to promote cultural understanding between the two nations through the articles she writes. Her editor isn’t so easily impressed, however, and she works hard endlessly in pursuit of a story that’ll warm him up to her writing. For better or for worse though, she may get the scoop of a lifetime sooner than she thinks. The Tales of Xillia 2 – Day 1 Edition Plus set of 3 Exclusive costumes can be pre-order from ShopTo.

TALES OF XILLIA 2 will be available on 22nd August for the EMEA territories exclusively for the PlayStation 3.

Review of the D-Link AC750 Portable Router and Charger

Jim McCarthy
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Review of the D-Link AC750 Portable Router and Charger

D-Link was nice enough to send on a portable router/charger for review, the DIR-510L…read on for my review!

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D-Link was nice enough to send on a portable router/charger for review, the DIR-510L.  Let’s dig in and see what we have.

Introduction/Product Overview

The DIR-510L is a combination AC750 router and a 4,000 mAh battery pack to charge your devices while on the go.  Combining a travel router and a battery pack makes a lot of sense as it can lighten up your travel bag by eliminating one device.  Here are a few pictures of the device; as you can see, it is about the same size as a cell phone.  More than one person asked me if it was an iPhone 4S!

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The idea of being able to combine two items into one small one (and a charger) makes sense for a road warrior, and when the router is the first 802.11AC portable router on the market, it makes even more sense.  This is an AC750 device:  dual-band N support at 300 Mbps on each band, plus 433 Mbps when connected on 5 GHz AC.  This is not as fast as an AC1900 device, but having the 433 Mbps 5GHz AC connectivity option sets this travel router apart from the competition.  Why a travel router?  Well, when you travel, do you connect to open of free Wi-Fi?  Do you pay a fee for every device that connects?  If so, using a travel router can help to secure your connection by slotting a firewall between your device and the public Wi-Fi, and it also makes connections easier for multiple devices.  Just connect the DIR-510L to the public Wi-Fi, and connect your devices to it.  In addition, this device can share a cellular modem’s connection with multiple devices.  And of course, having a charging battery is very handy, especially if you are using a cell phone without a removable battery.  Let’s see how the DIR-510L does in practice!

Installation

First, plug the router in.  I found that using the DIR-510L in battery mode as a router is possible, but the battery life is pretty short, and plugging it in keeps that battery for when you want to use it as a charger.  Then, set the selector switch to the On position.  (Setting the selector switch to Charger enables you to charge devices on the USB ports; the Off position turns off the device.)  Once the router is on, find and select the Wi-Fi network being broadcast by the DIR-510L.  The default is DIR-510L or DIR-510L_5GHz, depending on the band that you want to connect to.  After you connect, point your web browser to http://dlinkrouter.local or http://192.168.0.1.  I used IE11 on Windows 8/RT, IE10 on Windows 7, Safari on an iPad 4, Chrome on Android devices and IE11 on a Windows Phone.  All worked just fine.  You’ll see the following:

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So far, so good!  The default password is blank.  Click Log In.  Once you are there, click on Management then Admin and set an admin password, then click on Home.

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OK, the red X means that the DIR-510L is not connected to another router, and the yellow caution sign also tells you that your device has no internet connectivity.  Time to set up the network connection!  Click on the red X.

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Click Next.

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Here’s a listing of available wireless internet connections.  I’m going to pick ApacheAC as that gets me a 5GHz AC connection.

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I selected ApacheAC and clicked Select.

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Password time!  Open/public Wi-Fi hotspots will not require a password, but you’ll have to authenticate in a browser later on in the process.

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Success!

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I have now connected to my secured SSID and have internet access.  If you were connecting to a public hotspot, you would now have to open a browser and enter the hotel code or agree to terms of service before being truly on the internet, but that’s all there is to it.  This took me 10 minutes to document while taking screen shots.  It is very fast.

Configuration

The DIR-510L remembers the connections that you’ve made, and if there is a password, it is remembered as well.  Under Settings at the top of your screen, click on Internet Profiles to see your installed connections.

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You can delete or edit any of these from this screen, making managing your connections convenient.

If you want to manage the Wi-Fi settings on the DIR-510L, click on Settings and choose Wi-Fi.  Here are the options for managing Wi-Fi.

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You have the choice of WPA/WPA2-Personal security or None, and can select N Only, B Only, Mixed B/G, Mixed N/G or Mixed B/G/N under the 2.4 GHz band.  The 5GHz band can only be set to Mixed A/N/AC.  You can select transmission power and channel width on each band.

Since this is a router, there are settings for networking.  Click on Settings then select LAN.  I left all of these alone.

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I was a bit surprised to see a guest network SSID capability (actually two!).  Click on Settings and Select Guest Zone and you see this:

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I activated this and it worked quite well, connecting devices connected via these SSID’s to the internet while walling off connectivity to other devices routing through the DIR-510L.

The DIR-510L will also function as a DLNA server and will allow access to data connected to the USB port that is onboard.  You need a mydlink account and the mydlink SharePort app, available for iOS and Android devices.  Make sure that you choose the mydlink version of this app; the other (older) version is not compatible with this router.  To create your mydlink account, click on Settings and mydlink.  Follow the prompts to register and then enter the account information, along with your admin account and password for the router, into Settings in the mobile app.  Here is most of my screen once I set up the account:

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I tossed eight episodes of Entourage onto the thumb drive that I plugged into the high-power USB port (the one nearest the switches on the top edge of the device).  Once I opened the app and set up the account details, I navigated to Videos and saw all of the available media, and it streamed just fine to my Samsung Galaxy S3.  This worked, but is a little cumbersome.

Battery Charger

The DIL-510L has two USB ports: a 0.5A and a 1.0A.  The .5A is intended for phones, and the 1.0A is for phones and tablets.  To use this device as a charger, slide the selector button to Charger and plug in your device.  Done!  I’ve found that my S3 won’t charge well on the 0.5A port, so I use the 1.0A port to charge my phone, but having the charger built into the travel router is a real bonus.

Overall Evaluation

The D-Link DIR-510L promises a powerful AC750 travel router and a battery charger all in one.  It can be used as a Wi-Fi hotspot, can be connected to a wired internet connection and can also be used in conjunction with a 3G/4G modem to share that connection with multiple devices.

The SharePort app worked, but was a little cumbersome.  However, if you wanted to share media with multiple devices, that is supported and it does work.

I also like having the battery built into the travel router.  This means that I can leave the battery pack at home, and the small size of the device fits easily in my wife’s purse.

I’ve found this device to be indispensible when travelling.  When our family travels, we have between four and seven mobile devices with us.  It used to be a chore for me to connect all of these devices to the Wi-Fi hotspot.  Now, since I’ve configured our mobile devices to work with the DIR-510L, I only connect one device to the internet.  The other devices connect to the DIR-510L.  Speeds have been quite acceptable.  I did not do formal speed testing on this device; speeds seen will be driven by the Wi-Fi hotspot that you connect to.  However, I have not seen any speed-related issues when using this device.  In addition, I now place a firewall between my devices and these public Wi-Fi hotspots; used in conjunction with the VPN server on my NAS unit, we are secured when using public Wi-Fi access points.

If you travel, connect to Wi-Fi hotspots and use a battery pack to keep mobile devices charged, the D-Link DIR-510L should be in your travel bag.  I award the CDW Gold Award with a 5/5 score.

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