NAMCO BANDAI have released the packshots for their forthcoming game Dark Souls II.
Built upon the foundation established by Souls series creator and Dark Souls II Supervisor, Hidetaka Miyazaki, with development helmed by FromSoftware Director Tomohiro Shibuya, Dark Souls II will feature a new hero, a new storyline, and an unfamiliar world for players to survive in, while delivering the uncompromising challenge and ultimate sense of empowerment that players hunger for. Epic battles with gruesome enemies and blood-thirsty bosses await adventurers as they traverse and conquer a devastated world filled with death and despair. Players will also discover a revamped server based multiplayer experience that will put a distinct Dark Souls II twist on the concept of playing and sharing with others. For those with enough tenacity and sheer force of will, great rewards await.
More details surrounding Dark Souls II will become available in the months leading to its release. Begin your Dark Souls II journey at www.DarkSoulsII.com or join the Dark Souls II conversation on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/DARKSOULS.
Are you interested in Dark Souls II? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Kabam, the leader in the western world for free-to-play core games, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced their co-published browser-based game, The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age, has marched past the one million new users mark. The milestone comes after the game attracted more than 250,000 new players to its exciting take on Middle-earth in one day following its official global debut on 21st March, 2013.
The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age challenges players to take up arms alongside the greatest heroes of the Third Age, including select characters from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey like Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, Radagast and more . Gamers are charged to lead an army of Elves, Dwarves or Orcs in fast-paced tactical combat and band together with thousands of other players to join powerful alliances and wage an epic war online. The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth challenges players to build their own empire in Middle-earth, in a deep, immersive strategy game.
The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age is available in English, French, German and Spanish. The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age and The Hobbit: Kingdoms of Middle-earth are developed and operated by Kabam, and co-published by Kabam and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. In addition to Facebook, the game is available on Kabam.com and the Google Chrome Store.
The Plex application allows you to use your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch to browse and play your media (video, photos and music) using the Plex Media Server installed on your Mac or PC. The latest version, 3.1.3, has just been released in the App Store.
Description
Plex for iOS brings the power of Plex to your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. With Plex, you can stream your music, videos and photos from your home computers running Plex Media Server (available from http://www.plexapp.com/) and access content from a wide range of channels.
Channels are available for apps like Aperture, iTunes and iPhoto, or online services like YouTube, Vimeo and Revision3. There’s also a remote control feature for Plex Media Center.
Additionally, you can sign up for the myPlex service, which lets you connect to servers shared with you by your friends, queue videos from your web browser to watch later, and connect to your Plex Media Server at home wherever you are in the world via Wi-Fi or a celluar connection, with no configuration necessary!
Plex Media Server streams your media directly from your computer, so there’s no need to convert before viewing. Plex is smart, too – if your media isn’t already in a format your device can play, it’ll convert it on-the-fly.
Limitations:
• DRM-protected content (TV shows, movies and older music tracks from the iTunes store) is not supported.
• ISO images are not supported.
• VIDEO_TS folders are not supported.
• PGS subtitles are not supported.
• Audio formats iOS can’t play natively (e.g. FLAC) are not supported.
What’s New in Version 3.1.3
– The old-style “Recently Aired” filter for TV shows has been restored.
– Filtering by episode or by album is limited to 250 items.
– The device is allowed to sleep correctly after syncing.
– The Retry Sync button works correctly.
– The list of sync items is fetched when a sync is initiated, ensuring items added by other clients (e.g. Plex/Web) are correctly detected.
– Free space is restored correctly after removing the last sync item from a device.
Bethesda have announced today that there will be no more Skyrim adventures and that they are moving on to the next adventure.
This is what Bethesda posted on their blog today:
Skyrim has been a labor of love for us since we started designing it in 2006. We never imagined it would become the phenomenon it has. And that is because of you, the fans. It was all of you who made it a success. We can’t thank you enough for embracing the game, spreading the word, and making it your own.
For the last year and a half we’ve been working on new content for Skyrim; from the game updates, Creation Kit, Steam Workshop, Kinect support, to DLCs. Parts of our team have also been in pre-production on our next major project, and that game is at the point where it requires the studio’s full attention to make it our biggest and best work yet.
Even though we’re moving on, we’ll still have minor updates to Skyrim as needed. We’ve invested so much of ourselves into Skyrim and will never truly say goodbye to it.
We loved hearing your stories, your in-game triumphs, and your suggestions. One thing stuck out to us through those emails, letters, and postings. And that is – video games matter. They’re as important to you as they are to us. It’s not just about entertainment, it’s about your time. And you chose to spend it with our game.
Thank you again for all your support. We hope you stay engaged in the gaming community here and elsewhere. Keep spreading the word. Games are the world’s best entertainment because they can do what other forms cannot – fill you with the wonder of exploration and the pride of accomplishment. We look forward to sharing our next adventure with you.
Until next time,
Bethesda Game Studios
Do you play Skyrim? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is to be given a remake on Xbox Live, PSN and PC this summer. Developed by SEGA Studios Australia, the HD remake will retain the iconic elements of the original while introducing new 3D visuals and stages.
The publisher has also worked closely with the game’s original director, who now works at Disney Interactive.
Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse was first released on Mega Drive and Master System in 1990, and was followed by a Game Gear port the following year.
The official BBC News app for the iPhone and iPad has been updated to version 2.0.1.
Get the latest breaking news from the BBC and our global network of journalists.
Stories are arranged in categories including top stories, UK news, world news, politics, business, technology and sport.
The app offers the BBC News Channel streamed live, social features and personalisation so you can re-order the news categories to suit your interests.
The BBC News app offers the following:
– Breaking news
– Top Stories and latest headlines
– Features and analysis
– Live BBC News Channel
– News clips embedded in stories
– An ‘Edit’ menu to personalise your experience and choose news that interests you
– Share news stories by email, Facebook and Twitter
– Font controls to increase or decrease the story text size to suit you
– Refresh controls to see the latest stories and updates
What’s New in Version 2.0.1
– Videos no longer play by accident if you swipe on them
– Video player now ignores mute switch (standard video player behaviour)
– Also In The News category is back
– App refreshes when it returns from background
– Scroll to top of story by tapping on clock
– Carousels reset to the start on app refresh
Ubisoft and Blue Byte have released a backstage video for The Settlers Online.
In this episode Blue Byte introduce all worldwide community managers for The Settlers Online. Each of them have picked up some questions from their community and raised them directly with developers.
Here is a video:
Developed by Ubisoft Blue Byte, The Settlers Online combines the popular gameplay elements of The Settlers franchise with brand new features suited to a persistent, web-based browser game. Players are able to settle a new city and join thousands of gamers already online to create or join guilds, trade resources and acquire and exchange bonuses to help each other out along the way to building a mighty kingdom.
Is Microsoft has become the latest tech company linked with a move into the smartwatch market. The software giant has ordered its suppliers to ship out components for a “touch-enabled watch device” and its research and development team are drawing up plans for the product, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Apple, Samsung and LG are among the other technology firms rumoured to be planning smartwatch projects of their own.
Pure are known for their music players and digital radios, well now they have entered the digital TV set-top-box market with the Pure Avalon 300R Connect, and here is our review.
Avalon 300R Connect is a high-performance, easy-to-use Freeview+ HD digital TV recorder with a unique, state-of-the-art user interface, the most advanced versions of BBC iPlayer and YouTube and full integration with Pure Connect for all the music you’ll ever want.
Watch live
Avalon brings you all the Freeview standard definition and HD TV and radio channels. While you watch you can view a full 8-day on-screen programme guide, a pop-up info bar with ‘picture in picture’ preview, and customisable channel lists. If you’re interrupted you can pause live TV or rewind for up to 2 hours to see something again. With Dolby Digital Plus and digital audio outputs, you can also enjoy amazing sound quality through a home cinema system, with up to 7.1 channels.
Record
Avalon’s large hard disk (1TB or 500GB) means you don’t need to worry about storage space. It’s easy to record a single programme or a whole series, from the 8-day on-screen guide, instantly with one-touch record or even using the Green button on a programme trailer. Dual tuners let you watch one channel and record another or record two programmes simultaneously. Avalon’s intelligent record scheduling detects clashes and will let you know if an HD version is available instead.
Watch on-demand
Connect Avalon to the internet using the built-in Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection and you can watch on-demand programmes from BBC iPlayer in standard and high quality*, browse videos from YouTube and login to access your saved favourites. More on-demand services are expected to be added soon via a free software update.
Listen on-demand
Connecting Avalon to your network lets you access Pure Connect for thousands of live internet radio stations from all around the world, play listen again programmes and podcasts. Subscribe to our Pure Music subscription service and you can stream millions of music tracks from one of the biggest cloud-based catalogues covering almost every conceivable artist and genre.
Personalise your viewing
Avalon lets you customise a number of features to make it easier, more convenient or more fun to use. Choose from a number of smooth transitions used when you change channel. Enjoy your own content by streaming pictures, music and videos from your PC, Mac or other media streaming device or plug in a USB stick or USB hard drive. Rename the four HDMI inputs to match your connected devices. Create your own personalised channel lists for quick access to your favourites.
Features
Dual tuners – record one channel and watch another or record 2 channels simultaneously
1TB or 500GB hard disk models available (1TB records up to 600 hours of SD video or 250 hours of HD video)
Freeview+ HD for free HD TV channels from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, plus up to 50 standard definition TV channels 24 radio stations
Advanced interface with 8-day on-screen programme guide (EPG), ‘picture-in-picture’, unique channel transitions and more
Built-in Wi-Fi and Ethernet network connection for access to on-demand services
On-demand video services from BBC iPlayer and YouTube.
On-demand audio from Pure Connect and Pure Music subscription service
Pause and rewind live TV for up to 2 hours
One touch or scheduled recording of single programme or a whole series
Play videos, music or pictures from your home network or plug in a USB storage device
4 HDMI inputs for games consoles, Blu-ray players and similar
Dolby Digital Plus for immersive surround sound with up to 7.1 channels
Who are Pure?
From their website:
Pure is the world’s leading manufacturer of wireless music and internet radio systems, the number one supplier of digital radios in Europe and Australia, and the creator of the Evoke-1S, the world’s most popular and iconic digital radio. Pure leads the way in wireless music systems and cloud services with the Pure Connect portal.
Pure radios support all the broadcast standards in the DAB family used across all key markets in Europe and beyond. Designed and engineered in the UK, all of Pure’s products are manufactured with the environment in mind and at ethically audited facilities. Pure is a division of Imagination Technologies Group plc.
Specifications
Tuners: dual digital TV (Freeview HD) tuners
Frequency range: 470Mhz to 860MHz
Network connection: Wi-Fi 802.11n a/b/g, 2×2 MIMO supporting both 2.4GHz and 5GHz, or Ethernet
The box contains the Avalon 300R Connect, a manual, power supply, remote control and an HDMI cable.
A Closer Look
The power button is located on the front left of the Avalon Connect 300R:
There is a USB port on the front which is hidden under a flap on the right hand side.
There are also a number of connections on the rear of the Avalon 300R Connect:
USB input
RCA – LR Audio Out
S/PDIF – 1 x optical out, 1 x coaxial out
HDMI – 1 x out (to TV) 4 x pass-through
Data port – Ethernet RJ-45
Power – 12v input for external power supply
Tuner – 1 UHR loop=through
The remote control is fairly standard and is easy to use. The buttons are well placed and I didn’t have any problems using it and it felt fine in my hand. There are also a number of shortcut buttons which are very useful and save a lot of time when navigating the menus.
Using the Avalon 300R Connect
Once you have connected an aerial to the Avalon 300R Connect, performing the initial setup is simple. You just press a couple of buttons and sit back while it scans for channels and pretty much does everything for you.
The EPG is large and clear with all the information you would expect from an EPG. You can also instant record anything straight from the EPG. My only criticism of the EPG is that there isn’t enough channels displayed at one time as a large portion of the screen is taken up with information and PIP.
You can also watch a program, whilst moving through the channel selection and viewing another channel in the PIP (Picture in Picture) window. This is a useful function.
You can select your own transitions when changing channels if you like too!
You can easily see what you have recorded, how much space is available, delete something and so on.
And viewing Scheduled recordings is very simple too – its nice to see just a list rather than the full EPG with a notification.
The menus are very clear and when you select left or right there is a slick transition.
There is an On Demand menu which gives you access to the HTML5 based versions of BBC iPlayer and YouTube.
Pure Connect enables you to connect to the Pure Music subscription service and listen to internet radio, on-demand content and podcasts. You need a subscription though, but its a nice added feature.
To see the Avalon 300R Connect in action, check out the video below:
Final Thoughts
Freeview+ HD recorders are nothing new, there are a few out there and you might think that Pure are a little late to the party. However that would be wrong! The Avalon 300R Connect isn’t just a normal Freeview+ HD recorder – it’s so much more and has a very good interface to boot. And the fact you can get a 1TB version and 4 HDMI inputs also makes it stand out from the rest.
The Avalon 300R Connect itself looks like a normal piece of AV kit – it looks a lot like a DVD player but without the DVD drawer. It’s fairly slim (considering it’s got a Wi-Fi adaptor and 1TB of storage inside, along with all the other electronics and parts). Everything you want to do to control the Avalon 300R Connect is done using the remote control.
I was happy that Pure had included an HDMI cable in the box. I know it may not sound like much but the number of devices that I have either reviewed or purchased that didn’t come with a cable is high, so well done there Pure!
There are a number of connections on the Avalon 300R Connect, pretty much everything you need. It’s great to see multiple pass-through HDMI ports as well, which will be very useful for some people.
One thing that really impressed me was the inclusion of Wi-Fi built into the Avalon 300R Connect. Normally these sorts of devices will only work on Wi-Fi if you have a dongle, most of the time which you have to buy separately, so well done for not only providing Wi-Fi out of the box, but for including it inside the device and not using a precious USB port. Oh, and did I mention the Wi-Fi works on the 5GHz range?
The initial setup of the Avalon 300R Connect was very simple and very quick. In fact this was probably the fastest setup I have seen so far.
There is also a hidden feature that most people don’t yet know about, and it’s called “stick PIP”. Basically when you see the picture in picture when scrolling through the channels you can now move the picture in picture around the screen and watch two channels at the same time. If you select ‘ok’ you then tune to the second channel. A new remote control will be introduced with a special picture in picture button and customers who do not have this remote control will be made aware of this hidden feature.
If you want to listen to your own music or look at some pictures, you only have to plug in a USB stick and that works well too!
Streaming is another feature that works very well. Any networked DLNA device on your network automatically appears in the Media section on the main menu. Depending on how well Wi-Fi works in your home you may want to connect up the Avalon 300R Connect via Ethernet if streaming is something you are going to do a lot of.
One really nice feature is recommendations. What this does is tell you if there is an HD equivalent channel when you select an SD channel. So for example, on a Saturday night, if you are going to watch Doctor Who on BBC 1, the Avalon 300R Connect will recommend you watch it on BBC HD. The same goes for recording content. This is a really great feature and means you always have the option to watch and record content at the best available quality.
And talking of quality, the Avalon 300R Connect has amazing picture quality. It even upscales SD content very well. Obviously it’s never going to be perfect, but it does an excellent job none the less.
While both BBC iPlayer and YouTube work well on the Avalon 300R Connect, it’s a little disappointing that these are the only two services offered given the large pool of possible On Demand services. Hopefully Pure will rectify this quickly.
All in all this is a fantastic box that enables you to watch, record, stream and do all sort of cool and clever things with your content with amazing picture quality. The only downsides at the moment are the lack of On Demand content and the price, but hopefully both will change soon enough.
The Pure Avalon 300R Connect 1TB retails for £349.99 and 500GB for £299.99. Our advice would be to pay the £50 extra and go for the 1TB model as it doubles your storage capability. And as usual, check around for the best deals as these prices are the suggested retail price.
There is a new trailer available for Dark Souls II called Despair. Currently in development at FromSoftware in Tokyo, Japan, for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Dark Souls II will continue a legacy of presenting its passionate fans with the kind of unrelenting challenges that have become a hallmark of the series, while presenting devilish new obstacles for players to overcome.
Built upon the foundation established by Souls series creator and Dark Souls II Supervisor, Hidetaka Miyazaki, with development helmed by FromSoftware Director Tomohiro Shibuya, Dark Souls II will feature a new hero, a new storyline, and an unfamiliar world for players to survive in, while delivering the uncompromising challenge and ultimate sense of empowerment that players hunger for. Epic battles with gruesome enemies and blood-thirsty bosses await adventurers as they traverse and conquer a devastated world filled with death and despair. Players will also discover a revamped server based multiplayer experience that will put a distinct Dark Souls II twist on the concept of playing and sharing with others. For those with enough tenacity and sheer force of will, great rewards await.
Here is the trailer:
And here are some new screenshots:
More details surrounding Dark Souls II will become available in the months leading to its release. Begin your Dark Souls II journey at www.DarkSoulsII.com or join the Dark Souls II conversation on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/DARKSOULS.
Are you interested in Dark Souls II? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
In this post, I walk through the PowerDVD Mobile app from CyberLink for Windows RT. Read on for details.
CyberLink recently released PowerDVD version 13, and with this release they added the PowerDVD Mobile app. In this short video, I do a quick demo of PowerDVD Mobile on my Surface RT, which by the way badly needs to be cleaned! Anyway, enjoy the video, and keep watching for a full review of PowerDVD version 13.
Microsoft has updated its Xbox SmartGlass application for Android devices. Microsoft has added support for 10-inch tablets, an activity browser link, expanded messaging, an awake state and streamlined design to the second-screen application.
SmartGlass provides second screen support for a variety of games, entertainment services and movies, as well as providing new control options for Internet Explorer, Bing and the Xbox 360 dashboard.
Games that feature SmartGlass functionality include Dance Central 3, Forza Horizon, Halo Waypoint and Ascend: New Gods.
Android users must be running the 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich version of the operating system or above to download SmartGlass.
Xbox SmartGlass is also available for iOS and Windows Phone 8 devices.
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