[via stuff.tv]

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Want a peek at Jony Ive’s latest and greatest version of Apple’s mobile OS in all its over-sized iPad glory?

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We’ve been to E3 – hooray for us! But it wasn’t all work and no play (work was actually the playing) and we were busy trying out a whole host of Xbox exclusive titles.

For more from E3 – including the latest games and reviews – be sure to check out stuffmideast.com

Games include:
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Ryse: Son of Rome
Killer Instinct
Sunset Overdrive
Forza Motorsport 5
Quantum Break
D4
Project Spark
Crimson Dragon
Dead Rising 3
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Battlefield 4
Halo 5
Titanfall

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WWDC is a chance for developers to get the down-low on how to make the most of new features in Apple’s OSs. Useful stuff, but not what makes this a must-attend event: people go to meet like-minded devs from around the world, to share ideas and to show off what they’ve been working on.

That’s why we got a sneak peek at the Kickstarter-funded GameDock – in no way a device being ‘exhibited’ at WWDC, but rather being carried around in a satchel by two of its proud backers, Brad O’Hearne of Big Hill Software and Gary Riches of BouncingBall.

GameDock is a retro-looking box made for playing retro-style games. Designed by Chris Jorgensen and Andi Greisel of Cascadia Games, it takes the ION iCade’s idea to the next level: out of the arcade and on to the living-room TV, so you can party (and play) like it’s 1985.

Powered by your Apple charger, the beige box has no processing power of its own, instead relying on an Apple gadget that runs iOS 4 or later to host the game. Essentially it’s a dock with an HDMI output for TV hook-up and a pair of front-mounted USB ports for controllers, and you either plonk your iOS gadget on the top, or connect it from up to 50ft away via the GameDock’s built-in Bluetooth. A handful of status LEDs that show through the front panel indicate what’s happening with Bluetooth and controller connections.

We tested out the hardware with an iPad 4 connected via Bluetooth running a two-player bout of BouncingBall’s frenetic retro platformer Aztec Antics. And it was brilliant fun. There was no discernible lag, and the play was crisp and responsive – not dissimilar from playing a game on a NES, actually. None of that stopped us getting utterly thrashed – although in our defence, we were up against the game’s creator.

It’ll work with any game that supports iCade’s control layout, and has a companion app that allows you to browse and select the games you have loaded. So, once it’s set up, you don’t need to touch your iDevice’s screen again: very handy for living room play.

We didn’t get the chance to see it on the big screen – in the entrance hall of the Moscone Center, spare HDTVs are thin of the ground – but the HDMI-out will support resolutions of up to 1080p. And there’s more. In addition to the two physical gamepads, with games that support it you can use spare iThings as extra controllers. Gary demoed this by hooking up a couple of iPhone 5s, an iPhone 4S and an iPad Mini, setting up a six-player jump-fest.

Unfortunately, the HDMI output will only work with docked iGadgets – and at the moment, Lightning-equipped iDevices are out of luck. While a Lightning version of the GameDock is “in the early stages of development,” it’s 30-pin only for now as Lightning adapters won’t work with the device. If you want to introduce yet another bleeding-edge wireless technology into your old-school gaming, you could mirror your game via Apple TV.

Pricing starts at US$90 for the standard GameDock, while a GameDock with HDMI adapter will set you back US$120, with the company planning to fulfil Kickstarter pledges and pre-orders starting this month. If you love visible pixels and abhor gamepads with smooth, ergonomic designs, it’s probably an essential purchase.

via stuff.tv

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Battlefield 4

Battlefield returns, bigger and louder than ever. Seriously, ours ears were bleeding at the Xbox One event after watching gameplay footage, packed to the brim with bullet spraying, explosions and more action than an Arnie movie on steroids. Running at a smooth 60fps, we were treated to gameplay footage showing off plenty of bad guy shooting on an aircraft carrier. Let the great Call of Duty vs Battlefield debate begin…
Release date: 1st November 2013

Forza Motorsport 5

Our jaws were truly dropped when we first laid eyes on Forza 5′s virtual McLaren XP1 supercar. Everything from the light reflecting off the perfectly waxed paint to the fine details in the leather stitching on the inside is a spectacular sight to behold, and that’s before you’ve even stepped in. Once you’re done drooling and actually take cars for a spin, you’ll automatically create you’re own intelligent ‘drivatar’ – a virtual representation of yourself which learns your habits and races other players automatically, even when you’re not playing, earning you points in the process. Powered by cloud processing, it’s the next step beyond traditional in-game AI and we can’t wait to take it for a spin.
Release date: November

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Solid Snake returns in an epic open world title which sees him doing what he does best, despite losing an arm. It looks gorgeous, and seeing Snake ride around in the open world on horseback Red Dead Redemption style brings shivers down our spines. With real-time dynamic weather and a true-to-life in game passage of time, the latest Metal Gear solid looks set to be a true blockbuster.
Release date: TBA

Dead Rising 3

Love smashing zombie skulls? Then you’ll love the latest iteration in the Dead rising series which looks better than ever and cranks the ridiculousness levels up to 11. The ability to create ludicrous weapons is of course still present, and we were treated to a fantastic demonstration of the sledgesaw – a graceful device with a chainsaw at one end and a sledge hammer on the other. Needless to say, we cheered rather loudly when it sliced a zombie straight down the middle.
Release date: November 2013

Halo 5

Microsoft artfully introduced the next generation Halo by introducing a mysterious cloaked figure wandering a desert before coming face to face with a gargantuan alien contraption. The minute we saw the black gloved hand slip out of the rags though, we knew exactly who was being teased. Lo and behold, out pops the iconic helmet of the Chief. A painfully short teaser trailer that reveals nothing about the new Halo apart from its 2014 release date, but we’ll happily gorge on it all the same.
Release date: 2014

Ryse: Son of Rome

Don’t let the silly name put you off. Marius Titus is a Roman soldier who’s as tough as they come, and looking to avenge the death of his family. Epic battles and fluid (not to mention incredibly gory) quick time combat events should please gamers who enjoy seeing pointy metal things slice through people with ease.
Release date: November 2013

Quantum Break

Quantum Break is an ambitious concept in which your in-game actions influence your personal version of its TV show counterpart. You play as Jack Joyce, a man whose brother dies in a science experiment gone wrong and gains the ability to manipulate time. Throw in some fourth dimensional stuttering and the threat of the world ending (always a good motivator) and you’ve got yourself a unique romp through time. With plenty of explosions too, naturally.
Release date: TBA

Project Spark

Project Spark is like Little Big Planet on steroids, turning the process of making a game into a game itself. Using Kinect, the Xbox One controller and the additional features of Xbox SmartGlass, you can play god, creating your perfect world from scratch. Choose and shape terrain, manipulate the weather and even the time of day. Spawn a rock, and give it the soul of a faithful dog. Create waves of goblin enemies for you to smite with your fearsome powers. Your only limit is your imagination. You can even challenge friends to play your creations, and tweak other people’s worlds as you see fit.
Release date: TBA

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

This open world Witcher title boasts more than 100 hours of combat and magic-infused gameplay with plenty of side quests to distract you from your main objective.Optional Kinect voice commands for item swapping and casting spells along with SmartGlass inventory support also bring a few new tricks to the Witcher series. We’re confidently filing this in the ‘sucks time up like a black hole’ box, alongside Skyrim and Reddit.
Release date: TBA

Below

One of the Xbox One’s rare indie games is Below, a dark top-down rogue tale which sees you pitted against an evil AI character which uses Kinect to change level progression depending on your room’s surroundings.
Release date: TBA

Crimson Dragon

Crimson Dragon’s blend of aerial dragonback combat is brought exclusively to the Xbox One by the team behind the original Panzer Dragoon. Fast-paced flying action combined with trigger-happy shooting? Sounds good to us.
Release date: TBA

Sunset Overdrive

This rather mental open world shooter sees you take the helm of a free-runner-come-mutant-killer whose arsenal of wacky and utterly overpowered weapons create plenty for destruction fans to get excited about. Exclusive to Xbox One, we’re looking forward to diving into its brightly coloured world as soon as possible.
Release date: TBA

D4

This episodic noir adventure stars a detective with the ability to go back in time. What better way to use those powers than heading back to prevent his wife’s murder?
Release date: TBA

Killer Instinct

Rare’s classic fighter was met with many a cheer during its reveal, probably due to the fact that it’s been on the bench since its 1996 Nintendo 64 release. Judging by the short clip we saw, it’ll be just as hectic, just as violent, and just as addictive. With better graphics of course.
Release date: November 2013

Titanfall

Smashing enemies to pieces with your bare hands or gunning them down can get a little tedious after a while, so why not step into a gigantic mech and let it make life a little easier on yourself? Big guns, big robots and more explosions and bullets than you can shake a giant metal arm at.
Release date: Spring 2013

Minecraft: Xbox One Edition

Everyone’s favourite blocky open world adventure gets a next-gen spit and polish with larger maps for even more insane structures with more multiplayer features and enhanced gameplay tweaks.
Release date: TBA

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Despite not really holding an E3 presser, Nintendo wasn’t going to let Microsoft and PlayStation have all the fun. It’s just unveiled a load of new and exclusive titles for the Wii U, including Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros., Donkey Kong Country and a new Wii Fit U.

Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. both show off the true graphical potential of the Wii U, but the most eagerly anticipated game was the long-awaited high-def remake The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker with 1080p visuals and all-new shading techniques.

Finally Ninty announced an all new game called X. Expect a huge open world that will switch between third-person adventuring and flying giant mech warriors.

Full hands on when we muscle our way through the crowds on the E3 floor.

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Microsoft has confirmed in a blog post that Xbox One users will be able to trade or pass on their games, but not without restrictions.

The process certainly won’t be as straightforward it as with the current generation of consoles. This is down the the Xbox One’s enforced installation and registration process.

Xbox One users’ games will be playable from the cloud, so once they have registered their new game they can log in and play it from any Xbox One console. Handily you can also enable up to ten members of your family to play your games in this way.

However, if you want to trade in your old disc-based games you’ll have to go to a ‘participating retailer’ to do so. This suggests that an official unlocking process is required, so you’re unlikely to be buying used Xbox One games on Ebay. You’ll be free to trade in games produced by Microsoft Studios (publisher of Halo and Forza) but other publishers can charge you for the privilege, if they fancy.

You can give you game away to a friend, but this can only be done once per game disc, and the recipient must have been on your friend list for at least 30 days.

It goes without saying that you won’t get the same options with downloaded games, and we’d like to think that would be reflected by a lower purchase price, but we wouldn’t count on that.

via stuff.tv

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Last night, Sony told viewers and attendees of its E3 press conference that the PS4 wouldn’t require an always-on Internet connection and wouldn’t restrict the buying and borrowing of disc-based used games. This, a signal that Sony wouldn’t be going down the Xbox One route regarding used games, drew a huge cheer from the attendees. But it turns out it’s not quite as simple as all that.

As clarified in a statement today, third-party publishers like EA, Ubisoft, Activision et al are free to add DRM to their PS4 games if they wish, and may require the user to pay some sort of “activation fee” (and connect their console to the Internet in order to verify that this fee has been paid) in order to access a used title’s online features.

In fairness to Sony, this situation is already in place today with the PS3. EA games, for instance, are “protected” by the Online Pass system, which requires a fee if secondhand buyers want to use online features. But the game’s offline features will still be accessible if the buyer chooses not to pay. So, in summary: the Xbox One has a DRM system baked into the console; the PS4 doesn’t.

[Via Polygon]

via stuff.tv

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Sony has finally revealed the PS4 in all its glory and it’s a minimalist and sleek console that looks, on first impression, smaller than the Xbox One.

It has a slanted shape, a two-tone matte/shiny black design with glowing blue lines and should look good in either orientation under your telly.

Stay tuned for our first hands on impressions to see how the PS4 stacks up against the Xbox One in the looks department.

via stuff.tv

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Sony may have just ‘won’ E3 by delighting the crowd at its keynote with gamer-friendly features and a wallet-friendly price of just £349.

Sony has confirmed that the newly unveiled PS4 will allow gamers to play used games with no restrictions, one of a number of revelations that were met with rapturous applause here at E3.

PS4 users also won’t need to authenticate titles by logging online once every 24 hours, unlike the Xbox One who has made it a requirement.

The PS4 will also let you play games as you download them, a feature that was already leaked ahead of today’s announcement.

via stuff.tv

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Sony has taken the wraps off its PS4 and the glare from the reasonable US$399, supreme processing power, and sleek design have left Microsoft cowering. But a console is only as good as its games. If you weren’t sure which camp’s worthy of your La-Z-Boy, take a look at Sony’s exclusive game trailers below. And then peruse the Xbox One’s offerings. That should help you decide.

Killzone: Shadow Fall

Killzone 3 was a great game that used 3D in an innovative way. Killzone: Shadow Fall could be an amazing game with eye-watering next-gen graphics and original gameplay. Fingers crossed.

inFAMOUS Second Son

The superpowered series’ new lead character, Delsin Rowe, loves his bio-engineered powers – unlike his predecessor. Also unlike the previous game his power controls smoke rather than electricity – giving him some new options that the series hasn’t seen before.

The Order: 1886

From the creators of two God of War games this steampunk version of London kits your knight character out with futuristic weapons. With real world places, figures and events combined with cinematic presentation this should make for a Dishonored-style Victorian adventure.

Final Fantasy XV

The most ironically titled game ever has yet another not-so-final edition. This game looks stunning and should be every bit as over-the-top as its predecessors. A PS4 exclusive that should sway die-hard fans to stick with Sony – even if this looks far more like a third person actioner than an RPG.

Daylight

The trailer doesn’t give much away but this procedurally generated horror claims to offer totally new experiences every time you play it. One to keep an eye on.

Backlight: Retribution

Millions of weapon combinations, fast paced combat and robot-headed killers make this look like a game with plenty of potential.

Driveclub

Visually stunning, real-world cars and a focus on social racing could make this one to give Gran Turismo 6 a run for the finish line.

Warframe

Space ninjas with alien future technology. Add to that PS4 graphics and this can’t fail.

Indie showcase

Sony is backing indie game developers – which is a great thing from the look of this lot.

via stuff.tv

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Apple has announced its streaming music service, iTunes Radio, at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference in San Francisco. Available on the new iOS 7 mobile operating system, iTunes on Mac and PC, and Apple TV, iTunes Radio will launch in the US with a free, ad-supported offering, with iTunes Match users – who pay £22 a year – getting an ad-free version.

iTunes Radio users get access to 100 stations created by the Apple music team; you can create stations by typing in artist names. Stations can be shared and tweaked to include songs you like, and exclude songs you hate. iTunes Radio also creates personalised stations based on your listening and iTunes purchasing history, and features Siri integration for track information.

Initially, iTunes Radio will be a US-only launch, but Apple plans to roll it out to the rest of the world later.

via stuff.tv

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Designers, developers, photographers and filmmakers have been waiting a long time for a new Mac Pro – and today they were given an early look at the next one, which will be launched later in the year.

The initial thing you notice about the Mac Pro is its design: black and cylindrical, it doesn’t really look like anything else on the market. Well, not on the computer market anyway – as soon as Phil Schiller revealed it the “it looks like a bin” remarks started popping up on Twitter. Love it or hate it, it has one thing going for it: it’s compact – an eighth the volume of the current Mac Pro.

It features next-gen Intel Xeon processors, two AMD FirePro graphics cards, flash storage and six Thunderbolt ports to which external devices can be attached. Each of these ports supports up to six daisy-chained devices, meaning that, yes, you can add up to 36 external items to each Mac Pro. That kind of expandability is mighty impressive.

Pricing and availability will be revealed closer to the launch date.

via stuff.tv

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