This week, Microsoft finally unveiled their XBox One console. In a fast and furious presentation, they demonstrated the next-generation console’s hardware and software, showed off a few games, and briefly addressed some of the rumours that had been flying around the system. Here’s what was announced.

Hardware

The Xbox One, just like the PlayStation 4, is essentially a high-powered gaming PC. That’s because instead of using a custom PowerPC architecture, the X1 uses a semi-custom x86-64 architecture provided by AMD. The system includes an eight-core Jaguar processor (thought to be clocked at 1.6 GHz), a 768-core GPU and 8 GB of DDR3 memory with an additional 32 MB of embedded memory. That’s a little behind the PlayStation 4 in pure performance, which includes faster DDR5 memory, a 1152-core GPU and a similarly fast processor. As well as the box itself, the One will be bundled with a redesigned controller with vibrating triggers and a clickier D-PAD and a much more accurate Kinect 2 3D camera.

Software

Gaming isn’t the system’s only focus – thanks to the use of a VM, the Xbox OS and a Windows 8 kernel are run simultaneously. This allows for rapid switches between gaming and TV, internet, Skype and more. The One even includes the Windows 8 Snap View, allowing two programs to run side by side. Gestures and voice commands recognised by the Kinect augment the traditional controller. The TV mentioned earlier is live TV, provided to the Xbox from a satellite or cable box through the console’s HDMI in port. Through partnerships with ESPN and the NFL, it’ll be possible to see additional information on a sidebar, like live fantasy football stats. These TV features will only go live in the US initially. The system will run many other apps, including Skype and Netflix. The Xbox SmartGlass app will allow Lumia 925 users (and eventually those on Android and iOS as well) to see additional information and control the system.

Games

A few new games for shown for the system, as well as a few games announced earlier for other platforms. The full list includes four new EA Sports games running on a next-generation engine (including FIFA, NBA Live, UFC and Madden), a live-action game called Quantum Break and the next Call of Duty title, Ghosts. Other titles confirmed to be in development include Assassin’s Creed IV, Battlefield 4, Destiny, Forza 5, Need for Speed Rivals, Ryse, Thief and Watch Dogs.

Hot Button Issues

There are quite a few of these, so I’ll be brief. At present, the Xbox One will not be backwards compatible with Xbox 360 games and will not support self-publishing for indie developers. The system will allow for used games, but may demand a fee for games to be sold to a new player. The system won’t need to be online always, but will need to be connected at least once a day. Finally, Microsoft have stated that while the system will always be listening for the phrase “Xbox On”, no audio or video data will be recorded without explicit permission.

Conclusion

The Xbox One will be released worldwide this holiday season. So there you have it – the Xbox One. What do you think of the system? Let us know in the comments below!

Over the past year, we’ve seen a steady rise in interest in Android gaming. From Kickstarter success stories  like Ouya to major mobile manufacturers like Samsung’s Galaxy S4 Game Pad, it’s clear that gaming on Android is starting to challenge mainstream console gaming. Google haven’t provided the best tools for making that happen though, until this week. At Google I/O, the company unveiled Google Play Game Services, a host of features that can be added by app developers. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards.

Achievements and Leaderboards

Everyone’s favourite feature of modern gaming is surely achievements – nice intermediate stages that show off your mastery of a game, and that push players into directions they probably wouldn’t go by themselves. They’re available on Xbox Live, Steam and PSN, and now they’ll be available on Android too. There’s support for normal, secret and incremental achievements, pretty much the full range of what’s available on other platforms. The service also adds leaderboards, allowing you to see how you measure up both globally and against your Google+ friends.

Multiplayer Matchmaking

Of course, matchmaking is a large component of the success of Xbox Live and Steam, allowing developers to allow easy competitive and cooperative gameplay without building their own backend. Now that’s coming to Android, with matchmaking done through your Google+ friends or the gaming public at large. Real-time multiplayer has been possible on Android before, but it’s never been this easy.

Cloud Saves

One of the most irritating things about owning multiple Android devices is transferring your save files and settings from one to another – in the past, you’ve had to either use a software solution like Helium or copy the files manually using a PC. Now, progression will be stored in the cloud so you’ll never have to repeat level 1 again.

Conclusion

While there’s nothing revolutionary here in comparison to other platforms like XBL or PSN, it’s great to see these staple feature finally represented by Google on Android. Interestingly, the same features will also be available for developers working in Chrome and iOS, a convincing argument for using Google services no matter what the platform

To check out the new features, try out one of the dozens of launch titles including World of Goo, Modern Combat 4, Osmos HD or Plague Inc. Thanks for reading the article and let me know what you think!

XCOM: Enemy Unknown was one of the best games to come out on PC and consoles last year, and now it’s coming to the iPhone and iPad. Normally when you think of a mobile port you’d expect an experience that’s completely different in gameplay and quality to the core game (as in the case of Mass Effect 3 / Mass Effect Infiltrator) or a mobile port that comes out ten years after the original PC version (as in the case of Grand Theft Auto III). It’s with great joy then, that I can report that Enemy Unknown is a full port of the PC version onto iOS that will be released less than a year after the main game.

The task of porting the game to suit Apple’s mobile platform is being undertaken by 2K China, with addition oversight from original developers Firaxis. The game has already been demonstrated running on an iPad, and from the few minutes of gameplay shown so far it looks very impressive. The graphics appear quite similar to the full version, the gameplay looks identical and the only real difference is that you control the game with a touchscreen instead of a mouse, keyboard or controller. Turn-based strategy games are well suited for touch-screen controls, and XCOM’s methodical gameplay seems especially well suited for the new control scheme.

I’m very much looking to try out the game when it’s released this summer for “a premium price.” If I pick up an iPad Mini 2 as expected (if it does indeed come with a Retina display, as rumoured), then this game could be the ideal iPad accessory.

What do you make of the news? Let me know in the comments below! Thanks for reading and have a good week and weekend, okay?

Hardware

The Samsung Galaxy S4 looks very close to the Galaxy S3, just slightly larger and thinner. The phone has a five inch 1080p display at 4.99″, and that display has the same super-sensitive technology as the Lumia 920 that allows it to work with gloves on.

The phone is powerful too, with a eight-core big.LITTLE processor (in certain territories) that should eclipse anything we’ve seen on a mobile before. This is backed with 2 GB of RAM and a choice of 16, 32 or 64 GB of internal storage. There’s also the option for microSD storage, up to 64 GB extra. This is powered by a 2,600 mAh removable battery.

The phone supports the standard array of connectivity features – LTE, Bluetooth 4 and NFC. It also supports Wireless AC, the second phone to support the new standard after the HTC One. The sensor suite also includes two new additions – a temperature and humidity sensor and an IR blaster.

The phone is 7.9 mm thin and weighs 130 grams – not much given its size. You can pick it up in a black or white colour scheme, with a similar texture to the Galaxy S3. Of course, you can also pick up a wide range of Galaxy S4 cases in various colours too.

Software

Samsung have really gone to town with new software features, layering a lot of new functionality on top of Android 4.2.2 and the TouchWiz interface. Perhaps the start of the show is S Health, which is a surprisingly comprehensive fitness and diet tracking software.

The camera software is also very fully featured – there are lenses and filters from the Galaxy Camera, on top of new features like ‘Sound and Shot’ to record five seconds of audio before or after a photo is taken, ‘Drama Shot’ which takes 100+ shots in four seconds then allows you to select some of these as a composite, as well as ‘Dual Shot’ which allows you to record video or photographs from the front and rear cameras simultaneously.

S Translator is another useful looking app, allowing you to do text to speech and speech to text translations between nine different languages. That app also includes a library of stock phrases that work offline. Similar technology is used in S Voice Drive, which will read out your text messages when you’re on the go and allows you to dictate responses too.

Finally, there is a lot of eye-tracking going on. You can now scroll through text or a webpage when you’re looking at the phone and you tilt the phone up or down. If you look away from the phone during a video, it’ll be paused for you.

There are plenty more software features than this, but I think they’d need a whole article to themselves to all fit!

Conclusion

So there you have it – the Samsung Galaxy S4. It will ship for a ‘premium price’ in the second quarter of this year, so between April and July.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below!

Skyrim’s Dragonborn DLC is coming to PC and PS3 come February.  For those of us that are Skyrim fans or better yet PS3 Skyrim fans have expressed their concern for more DLC.  Well the wait is finally over… so far.  Coming in February, Dragonborn will be the PS3′s first DLC content for Skyrim.  To follow, the PS3 will also receive Hearthfire and Dawguard.  Here’s what you can expect for both the PC and PS3 in February.

PC: On Tuesday, February 5th, Dragonborn will be available on Steam, including the English, French, Italian, Spanish and German versions of the content.

PlayStation 3: Dragonborn will be the first add-on arriving on PSN in February. Hearthfire will release next, followed by Dawnguard, and all three should be out in February. The 1.8 update will also release, just prior to Dragonborn. We’ll keep you posted as release dates get finalized both on our end and with Sony for each and its various languages. Last but not least, each one will be 50% off during their launch week on PSN.

 

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I’ve played 22 hours of XCOM so far, and it’s a tribute to the length and complexity of the game that I don’t know how far along I am. I reckon I’m far enough in to give some first impressions, if not a full review of the game.

So – XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The game is a remake of an old turn-based tactics game for the PC, set in a world where aliens are attacking earth and the XCOM Project is the world’s response – an elite team of soldiers, scientists and engineers fighting to defend the earth from alien incursions, learning what they can about the threat and ultimately taking the fight to the aliens.

Surprisingly for a game in this day and age, this remake stays true to its roots. Instead of being a first person shooter, as you might expect, the game is once again a complex and hard-hitting turn based strategy game. Each turn, you’ll move your soldiers across the battlefield, looking to higher ground and cover to stay alive while you take down the aliens one by one.

Your small squad (four soldiers to start) can’t beat the aliens in a straight up fight; if you want to win, you’ve got to get your positioning and tactics right. Your soldiers level up upon killing enemies and surviving missions, gaining specialised classes – Heavy, Support, Assault and Sniper – and abilities therein. But if they die on the battlefield, from getting flanked or just getting unlucky, they’re gone forever. Keeping your best soldiers alive is a difficult but necessary task; it takes dozens of missions to get to the highest levels where your soldiers will truly be up to the challenge of the later missions and if you’re too care-free with your movements, it’s easy to lose soldiers even when they’ve got the best armour and weaponry that you can afford.

This lethality (enhanced to breaking point in the optional Iron Man mode, where no loading is allowed) makes the game much more exciting than if you could just press the revive button when you get back to base. Each decision is important, and you’ll have to proceed carefully through each mission to bring back your squad in one piece. This gets even harder in Terror missions where you must save civilians from getting killed by an invading alien force, as you can’t just wait forever – getting the balance between speed and safety is difficult but rewarding.

So far, XCOM has proved to be a challenging but addictive experience. As new enemies are introduced and your own soldiers enhance their abilities, the tactical experience stays fresh. I’ve been looking for a more adult take on squad-based tactics, and thus far the added complexity of XCOM over something like a Final Fantasy Tactics has been incredibly welcome. I definitely recommend that you check it out on PC, Xbox 360 or PS3.

This article was written by William Judd. William writes for Mobile Fun, the UK’s leading online retailer of Kindle PaperWhite accessories – which sadly does not support playing XCOM, as much as I wish it did.

Dishonored is a stealth action adventure title, developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda. I had a chance to play the title at the Eurogamer Expo in London this past weekend – here are my first impressions of the section of the game I got to play!

From the trailers that have been released so far, I had the expectation that I would be able to sneak around the whale-oil alternate-past world of Dishonored, using my magical powers to summon plague rats, see through walls, pause time, blink like a StarCraft II stalker, take over maids and stab guards in the back.

And I could. I just couldn’t do it as cleanly as in the trailers!

The game emphasises player choice, with a simple objective – kidnap a scientist in a heavily guarded tower – offering dozens of tactical options. You could enter the tower by mind-controlling a guard, killing everyone at the entrance, riding a water wheel or just blinking from rooftop to rooftop. I went for the water wheel approach, evading the guards as I swum around the tower block, surfacing near the water wheel, then blinking from the top of the wheel to a conveniently opened door.

Once inside, I had more choices to make. While normally you would have only a few spells open to you, based on what you’d decided to unlock so far, for the purposes of the demo I had the whole skillset unlocked. I decided to go for the boring but dependable approach – using my Dark Vision to spot where guards were looking from around the corner, then using a series of blinks to bypass the guards and get up onto the pipes near the ceiling. I was told that other options could have been rewiring the ‘wall of light’ forcefield on some entrances to only allow me, and to electrocute everyone else, or taking control of a maid to bypass the field.

There were plenty of items scattered around the level, easily locatable using the Dark Vision power. As well as grenades, potions and the rewiring tool I mentioned earlier, there were also just valuables scattered around the house’s many rooms. These could be taken as you walked around the place, scoring you gold which you could use to purchase items between missions. This made it quite rewarding to thoroughly explore any given area, as you could be sure to find a few trinkets, although this had to be balanced against the threat of being caught by the guards.

Even with all the powers and weapons – which included a crossbow and a handgun, as well as your trusty dagger – fighting the guards directly was something done only out of desperation, as alarms would bring guards from all over the house to overwhelm you.

I continued through the mission, fetching whale oil and other items to progress. At one point I found two guards with their backs to me, and managed to dispatch them both, then throw their bodies into the river. The objective, the scientist I had to kidnap, was simple once I reached it, with a sleep dart quickly collapsing his body to the floor. Then I had to hoist him over my shoulder and get out of there before anyone noticed – including the massive man-operated walker in the streets below.
After a few ill-fated attempts to swim to safety (it turns out drugged and unconscious men can’t breathe underwater too well), I managed to blink across the rooftops, behind the back of the walker and into the hidden canal below to complete the mission.

Overall, I had quite a lot of fun. There’s definitely loads of replayability here – I would have been happy to do the same mission a few times just to see what else was possible – and the prospect of a whole game where I can practice the powers one at a time instead of being thrown into the deep end is a tantalising one.

Dishonored is coming out in North America on October 9th, Australia and Japan on October 11th and Europe on October 12th. The game will be available for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

This article was written by William Judd. William writes for Mobile Fun, the UK’s leading online retailer of iPhone 5 cases.

Borderlands II is a riveting game that seems an upgrade over its predecessor in almost every department. I’ve played up until level 12 on three characters so far, with my current favourite being the Commando.

The classes in Borderlands 2 seem a lot more interesting than their predecessors: A gunzerker who dual wields anything from pistols to machine guns or rocket launchers is a lot more fun than a beserker who spends most of the game just hitting things with his fists. A siren that can lift enemies into the air, immobilising them, dealing damage and performing other status effects is more fun than a siren that just uses their power to run back to base faster after a mission. The abilities all seem more powerful, and define a character’s class. Another change in focus is away from classes having specific weapons; in the first game you were kind of forced to use weapons that your class gave you bonuses for; a siren with an SMG could do vastly more damage than any other class with an SMG, but likewise couldn’t use an assault rifle to anywhere near the level of a soldier. Instead of specialising in individual weapons, your character gets more generic bonuses (like more shield capacity, lower reload times, more damage) that are applied across all weapons. This results in a game where you have many more options; you can choose a weapon based on how good it is rather than whether it is designed to be used by your class.

Beyond the new classes, there’s quite a bit to see in the world of Pandora. The relatively few environments in the first game have been supplmented by quite a few new additions in Borderlands 2, and it feels like there’s much less retreading of the same ground and more solid progress, at least in the early game. The town of Sanctuary seems much more lively than its predecessors, and there’s much more to do. The new arctic environments are beautiful, and the whole game looks to have had a substantial graphic upgrade. This does mean that it runs slightly less well – on my year-old gaming PC, I’m experiencing some odd slowdowns in places and then only around 50 FPS the rest of the time, where in the first game I was glued to 100+ FPS. Hopefully this is a bug that will be fixed in a future patch, and in the meantime resetting the draw distance from low back to high again temporarily fixes the problem.

All in all, I’m having a great time in Borderlands 2 and I’m looking forward to providing a full review of the game in the future. I expected to have been further along by this point, but thankfully there’s so much to do that even with the hours-long sessions I’ve been putting in there’s still a lot to discover. And that’s a great feeling, knowing that Borderlands 2 still has the potential to surprise me and amuse me.

Borderlands 2 is available on PC (including Steam), Xbox 360 and PS3. Check it out!

This article was written by William Judd. William writes for MobileFun.com, the leading online retailer of iPhone 5 cases and iPhone 5 accessories.

Sectoid

The little gray Sectoid is a psionically capable but frail alien, and the first enemy the player will encounter during the invasion. They have the capability to perform a Mind Merge, which boosts the toughness of the target and improves that creature’s accuracy. Although the Sectoid is the weakest unit in the game, Mind Merge can make them a significant threat, particularly for a commander who underestimates the pack of Sectoids.

Muton

The Muton is the foil for the player’s squad – powerful, hulking aliens who represent the cutting edge of the alien invasion. Much like the player’s soldiers, they’ll work together to find an unprotected flank to approach, suppress your troops, and throw grenades. Their Blood Call ability will buff the entire group of Mutons, and if you wound, but don’t kill, a Muton, it’ll Intimidate your troops, lowering your soldiers’ Will and potentially making rookie troops panic. But all this brawn comes at the cost of brains – Mutons are very vulnerable to psionics.

Chryssalid

The Chryssalid is perhaps the most iconic alien in XCOM. This lightning-fast predator lives to feed and reproduce by planting an egg inside a human host. The host becomes a shuffling, hard-to-kill zombie for a short time, after which the Chryssalid bursts spectacularly out of the zombie. Civilians have to be rescued quickly during terror missions, or the player’s troops will succumb to wave after wave of freshly-hatched Chryssalids. If the Chryssalids have a weakness, it’s their lack of ranged attack. Kill Chryssalids quickly, before they kill your troops and make your soldiers turn their guns on a former squadmate.

Floater

A twisted amalgamation of technology and machine, driven by pain and rage, the floater is a fast, mobile alien that aggressively probes your battle line, looking for isolated troops to pick off. Their Launch ability lets them boost to any point on the battlefield, which means that you might suddenly face an unanticipated threat in your backfield. But for all their mobility and flight, the Floater is not particularly strong. Vulnerable even to basic weapons fire, the Floater’s rash attacks also make it prone to overextending itself in combat.

…and the new aliens in the game’s roster of enemies:

Thin Man

This alien is the infiltration specialist of the invasion – a creature that looks human from a brief glance, but upon closer examination betrays eerie fluidity of movement and unmistakable alien physiology. The Thin Man’s spit creates a toxic cloud that is poisonous to your soldiers and whose effects persist long after the Thin Man is killed, making the Thin Man a perfidious enemy. In addition, the Thin Man is mobile, capable of inhuman leaps. Although it is possible to kill a Thin Man, watch out for the after-effects!

Berserker

Massively armored, brutally powerful, this alien is capable of pummeling soldiers or destroying cover with its Bull Rush ability. A Berserker will rush in to kill your soldiers, forcing you to concentrate firepower to kill it first. Like the Chryssalid, this lack of ranged attack is its one weakness.

DC Comics’ “New 52” is nearly one year old and already it’s made a huge impact on the medium. With 52 re-launched titles the event attracted new readers , the new storylines also brought new looks and costumes to familiar characters, and Kotobukiya is celebrating those designs in a new series of ARTFX+ Statues starting with none other than the Man of Steel himself, SUPERMAN! Coming hot on the heels of Superman is fellow Leaguer and Earth’s first member of the intergalactic police force, GREEN LANTERN!

Superman stands in a classic heroic pose, his feet spread apart and his fists held tensely at his sides. The intense look on his face captures the Kryptonian’s focus and drive, while his intricately sculpted muscles show you that he has the power to back it up. Superman’s resplendent red and blue New 52 costume is accurate down to the last detail with its iconic red on yellow “S” emblem, textured suit, technological belt and boots, and of course his long cape.

Sculpted by Goutaro Takeuchi (Atlier Bamboo), the Man of Steel stands 7 ½ inches tall (in the ARTFX+ 1/10th scale) on his included magnetic display base. Superman will be joined by his fellow Justice League members with a new release coming each month, so get them all and display your own superhero team!

Following Superman’s lead, Green Lantern stands in a heroic pose that’s perfect for a lineup of Earth’s most powerful protectors. The cocky Justice Leaguer stands with his feet apart and arms at his sides, with his right fist raised and ready to unleash his ring’s energy. Kotobukiya’s excellent craftsmanship can be seen in the intricate details of Green Lantern’s ring-generated New 52-style suit including the shoulder pad-like armor and of course the logo on his chest. Jordan’s green mask is perfect, as is his wind-blown brown hair.

Green Lantern stands nearly 7 ½ inches tall (in the ARTFX+ 1/10th scale) and was sculpted by master artist Atelier Bamboo. Magnets in his feet make him perfectly stable on his included display base, and he’ll look perfect on your shelf next to the rest of the Justice League.

Both are expected to be released in early January of 2013 at a price of $39.99. (TM & © DC Comics. (s12)