ZombiU review: Survival horror reborn

Ubisoft Montpelier brings survival horror back to the drawing board for the Wii U launch lineup highlight, ZombiU.

Ubisoft Montpelier’s ZombiU might not end up being the top-selling Wii U launch title, but I think it’s easily the strongest original IP in Nintendo’s diverse launch lineup. Looking like an FPS and playing like anything but, this inventive effort delivers survival horror to a post-Dark Souls world. From Software’s critically acclaimed and widely divisive RPG is a clear source of inspiration for many of the best ideas in ZombiU, only the Ubi studio ditched the swords & sorcery fantasy trappings in favor of a zombie apocalypse.

Sure, zombie games today fall into the same category that “World War II FPS” did a few years ago prior to the release Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. This one is different though. You’re not mowing down hordes with a military arsenal at your disposal. You’re not a one-person-army charged with saving all of humanity. Instead, you’re simply a desperate survivor trying to eke out an existence in post-zombie London while the hordes press in from all sides. Or, rather, a score of desperate survivors.

I, Zombie

I am convinced that ZombiU‘s tutorial is designed to kill you. It certainly killed me, as well as many of the other pre-release players that I spoke to. You get a breakdown of some basic controls before running into your first horde, which gives chase and ultimately devours you. For me, it happened when I tried to climb a ladder to freedom. As my hand reached out for the top rung, the first-person field of view suddenly swung downward to a zombie that had latched onto my foot. Seconds later, I was worm food.

I’m convinced that bit is part of the tutorial because the next thing that happens in ZombiU is so clever and so unusual that this early section seems like a natural place to introduce it. The camera cuts away to a new location, a secure location, with a young woman curled up on a military-grade cot in the mysterious Prepper’s fortified encampment. Her name and former life’s occupation (long since forgotten amidst the flood of survivors that were to follow)  flashed up on the screen, but she was very much a different person than the first unfortunate survivor’s shoes I had inhabited.

All death in ZombiU is permadeath, at least from a gameplay perspective. If a zombie reduces your health to zero or manages to get a stray bite in — which happens much more often than you might expect — then that character is effectively (un)dead and it’s time to take the reins of a new survivor. Your first task as this fresh identity is always the same: find your former self, dispose of its zombified form, and recover the precious resources that you fought so hard to find before you were unceremoniously eaten by the walking dead. The first time this happens in ZombiU, it’s delightful. If it happens when you’re an hour or more from your last save and deep in zombie territory, it’s an absolute disaster. 

In both cases and all of those in between, it’s refreshingly exciting. A game-changing feature, even. One that you can turn off in the one-life-to-live Survival difficulty, but that mode admittedly feels like it’s missing the point.

At it’s dead, decaying heart, ZombiU is effectively a new twist on survival horror. It’s Resident Evil for a new generation, or Resident Evil for the next-generation, if you prefer. The design is undeniably clunky in a lot of fundamental ways. Maps can be difficult to negotiate when it comes to finding a destination (though the ever-present map and radar feature on your Wii U GamePad is a huge help). Zombies are tough customers even in solo encounters, requiring a good four or five smacks upside the head with your trusty cricket bat before they expire for good. Taking on more than one without a gun is just asking for trouble, and even bringing a firearm along doesn’t guarantee success. All zombies have a grab move that amounts to an insta-kill if you can’t back away in time.

Read that again: all zombies can insta-kill you without warning. There are hundreds that you’ll encounter in ZombiU.

That clunkiness is important though. It’s clearly intentional in a lot of places too. Access your backpack from anywhere and you’ll have to divert your attention to the GamePad screen as your character on the TV kneels — totally defenseless, as you see from a new third-person perspective — in front of the open pack. The same applies whenever you stop to break open a door barricade, pry back a manhole cover, or fiddle with locked doors. You’re looking at your GamePad screen while occasionally glancing upward to see if any of the walking dead are shambling in your character’s direction.

As much as popular fiction has romanticized certain aspects, the zombie apocalypse is terrifying. Ubisoft Montpelier seems to understand the critical importance of delivering an experience capable of conveying that terror. In the same way that the original Resident Evil‘s “tank” controls helped to heighten tension, so too does ZombiU‘s challenging design. You’ll feel real fear whenever you venture into unknown territory for the first time, and it’s absolutely justifiable fear. More than any other game that came before it, ZombiU amounts to a zombie apocalypse survival simulator.

The Horde Cometh

Your walking dead foes in ZombiU are randomly placed and unpredictable. It’s generally a better strategy to run than face them head-on, though combat is an inevitability. Firearm ammo is very scarce in post-apocalyptic London, meaning you’ll generally want to conserve your bullets for bigger encounters and desperate stand-offs. Even in those situations, you’re generally best off if you switch back to your trusty, miraculously unbreakable cricket bat once you’ve whittled a group down to one or two. Anything to keep you from firing one more bullet than you absolutely have to. In a game where healing items and wood plank barricade materials are more common than ammo,  every missed shot burns more painfully than the most humiliating Call of Duty multiplayer loss.

Combat is an unwelcome prospect in general due to the hardiness of your zombie foes. Every new character spawn starts with the same unbreakable cricket bat, which must be readied with the ZL trigger and then swung with the ZR trigger to do any damage. Pressing ZR on its own strikes out with a quick shove, which does no damage but is still plenty helpful when you find yourself overmatched and in need of some breathing space. Unfortunately, the combat never evolves past this point.

There is definitely something to be said for always keeping the player in a weakened position. ZombiU is built to challenge you and to make every encounter a potential last one for any character you happen to be playing as. There’s no denying that this starts to feel like a grind after awhile, however. Melee is your principal form of attack throughout the game, and it’s a shame that it never evolves beyond “swat zombies with cricket bat.” Even adding something as simple as a slightly more powerful bludgeon would have helped diminish the sense of grind, especially once you start encountering slightly more powered up zombies, such as those decked out in riot gear.

Next-gen In The Current-gen

The most negative criticism I have for ZombiU relates to its visual execution. This isn’t a bad-looking game, but it’s also definitely not one that can be held up as an example of why the Wii U is next-gen technology. There are plenty of better-looking games available even now at launch. It’s almost as if Ubisoft Montpelier was working on this as a Wii title and then switched over to develop it for the new Nintendo platform. The world looks fine, if a bit dark, but the zombie hordes are filled out by the same relatively small set of character models, diminishing the immersiveness of what is otherwise a deeply involving game.

The technical execution of the Wii U’s unique properties, at least, is great. There’s always another zombie lurking somewhere in the darkness, and the Wii U GamePad is equipped with some nifty tools for keeping track. A map view of your surrounding area is always visible on the second screen, to the point that you’ll even watch it exclusively to guide your movements through areas you know to be “safe.” There’s also an easy-access button on the screen that you can tap at anytime to send out a radar pulse, highlighting any living creatures in range as red blips. The radar picks up (moving) zombies as well as birds and rodents, and it’s not uncommon to creep slowly toward a group of red blips… only to see a flock of crows gathered around a fresh corpse.

The map also points the way to any shortcuts you’ve discovered, which is very useful for navigating London’s relatively open world. ZombiU follows a fairly linear trajectory, though there’s nothing that requires your sticking to the main path. In fact, exploration is pretty much necessary since it’s the best method for gathering the resources that you’ll need to survive. That said, the 10-or-so-hour story requires a fair bit of backtracking, and finding those shortcuts — manholes — becomes essential for curtailing frustration.

Making the most of the map also requires the use of your scanner, which moves the action down to the GamePad’s second screen as you swing your view around the environment from a first-person perspective. The scanner highlights points of interest — anything from enemies to lootable containers to doors — that you can then mark using a simple touch control. The first-person scanning makes use of the Wii U GamePad’s gyroscope, with tilts adjusting your field of view, though you can thankfully supplement that with the right analog stick.

Zombie World

There are some cool online features as well, including one that nods very specifically in the direction of From Software and Demon’s/Dark Souls. Inside the campaign, players can post notes for all to see. This could be anything from hints to a friendly hello to lies that send you in the direction of something that might devour you. Messages can be rated too, so you might want to ignore that low-rated message telling you that the dark, blood-spattered hallway in front of you that has inhuman moans echoing out from the shadows is, like, totally safe, bro. Note that I wasn’t able to see these messages for myself during my pre-release playthrough, but this is how the in-game messaging works.

There’s also a local-only multiplayer game mode that pits the zombies, controlled by one player, against a survivor.  The survivor player uses the standard combat controls on either a Pro Controller or Wii Remote/Nunchuk (though the former is definitely recommended) to take on foes dispatched by his/her opponent. The zombie player never actually takes direct control of the walking dead. Instead, the second player uses touch controls on the Wii U GamePad to send out zombie forces from a limited supply, sort of like a real-time strategy game. It’s an enjoyable diversion from the main game and it also glimpses into the sort of things that are possible on the Wii U for unconventional multiplayer action.

Conclusion

ZombiU may not be perfect, but that’s also part of its charm. This Wii U launch title isn’t one that everyone will enjoy, but it’s easily the most refreshing take on survival horror to hit consoles in this generation. If you love being punished by From Software’s Souls games and you hold tight your fond memories of struggling to take on those first zombies in Raccoon City, then all you really need to know is that ZombiU was pretty much made for you. It’s an absolute launch highlight for the Wii U and another unconventional success from the industry’s most unconventional publisher.

Score: 8.5 out of 10

(This game was reviewed on the Wii U using a copy provided by the publisher)

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

New report says Apple iMac computers still on target for 2012 launch

Despite last week's report indicating production problems could delay the launch of Apple's new iMac computers until 2013, it seems the machines are still on target for a 2012 release, and may already be arriving at distribution centers around the world.

Concern amongst those waiting for Apple’s new iMac computers escalated last week, after a French blog reported the release had been delayed, possibly until 2013. While it was impossible to judge the validity of the report’s sources, talk of a delay regarding a new Apple product was hardly a surprise, given the problems it has seen with the iPhone 5 and the iPad Mini so far this year.

However, 9to5mac.com has refuted the site’s claims, saying its own sources tell them the 21.5-inch iMac is already arriving at distribution centers in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world; indicating the planned November release will go ahead after all.

As for the 27-inch iMac, Apple gave it a tentative December release date, which is not only likely to be met, but perhaps even improved upon, with the massive computers becoming available to order around the same time as the 21-5-inch iMac.

Apple’s new iMac’s are considerably slimmer than older models, and some high-tech manufacturing processes have been used to fit all the computer hardware inside. The trouble Apple has had manufacturing the iPhone, which has been described by Foxconn as the most difficult device it has ever assembled, only made the rumored iMac delay seem more likely.

So, while a delay in their launch may have been averted, the iMac computers could still be a rarity in stores and online. Apple CEO Tim Cook warned there would be a “significant shortage” of the company’s range-topping desktop machines during the first three months after launch, so it’ll be wise to get an order in early if you’re desperate. You know, just like every other recent Apple release.

The only good thing is there’s unlikely to be a huge run on the $1300-plus computers during the Christmas shopping season, as eager buyers rush to claim the last remaining iPad Mini tablets and new iPod music players instead.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Pinterest introduces new features for business users

Pinterest rolled out free tools and resources for businesses on Wednesday as it continues to explore ways of moving towards monetizing the site.

In what looks like a precursor to the launch of paid products somewhere down the road, Pinterest announced details of new tools for businesses on Wednesday.

“We want to help more businesses provide great content on Pinterest and make it easy to pin from their websites,” the San Francisco-based social networking company wrote in a post on its blog, adding, “Today, we’re taking a first step toward that goal with some free tools and resources.”

Companies are now invited to open a business account on Pinterest – before now there was just one type of account for all users – with its own specific terms and conditions, which mean the platform can now be officially used for commercial purposes. This is certain to result in a boost in interest from businesses, as before now anyone creating a Pinterest account had to agree not to use the site for explicit marketing. This goes some way to explaining why, in a survey conducted over the summer, only seven percent of companies questioned said they had a presence on Pinterest, while 44 percent said they had no interest at all in using it.

Businesses already on Pinterest can easily convert to a business account by clicking on the ‘convert your existing account’ button here.

Features

A Pinterest business account allows companies to sign up with the name of the company (as opposed to first-name-last-name as before) and go through what Pinterest calls “an optimized user flow” that enables new members to verify that the business owns the website on the Pinterest profile so visitors can “more easily find the business they want in search results”.

It also helps users to add a Pin It button, Follow button, Profile widget, or Board widget “to get more engagement from pinners and traffic back to your site.” Holders of a business account will also receive information on upcoming features “that will provide more powerful ways of reaching and understanding your audience on Pinterest.”

Case studies

If a company is in two minds about whether to open a Pinterest account, the social networking firm is encouraging it to check out new pages showing case studies and the like, which explain how businesses are already making use of the site.

Matt Wurst, director of digital communities at digital agency 360i, told Adweek that Pinterest’s launch of business accounts was “a symbolic first step toward understanding the value that brands can have leveraging [Pinterest’s] platform to connect with consumers.”

He added that the move would likely result in the roll out of paid-for options for businesses to highlight their Pinterest profiles and wares to users.

Pinterest has been gathering members fast since it ended its invitation-only model in August. On top of that, the site, which launched in March 2010, broke into the top 50 chart of most visited US websites for the first time in September with more than 25 million visitors during that month, according to research firm comScore.

Visitor numbers have also been boosted with the recent launch of free apps for Android devices and Apple’s iPad.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Black Ops II sells more than 1 million units overnight at Gamestop alone

Call of Duty: Black Ops II will likely beat Modern Warfare 's impressive sales records.

Everyone knew the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops II was going to be huge, but just how huge is still a bit of a surprise.

GameStop president Tony Bartel told Bloomberg Business Week today that the retailer sold more than 1 million copies of Treyarch’s military shooter during its midnight launch events alone.

“Black Ops II is shaping up to be our biggest game launch of all time,” he added.

Of course, it’s worth noting that this is just one specialty retailer’s sales figures, and the tally doesn’t include the countless other ways players got their hands on copies of the game. Thus far, the launch of Black Ops II looks to exceed that of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, which broke just about every existing sales record when it generated $775 million in revenue in its first five days on the market last year.

Activision has yet to announce any official data on Black Ops II sales, but at the rate the game is moving we’re likely to hear about more records broken in the near future.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Samsung Smart Dock shows what it’s capable of with a Galaxy Note II in the front seat

A short while after the launch of the Galaxy Note II, Samsung launched a special dock for the phablet.

Sammy is calling it the Smart Dock and its chock-full of features, which AndroidNZ has shown in a lengthy video.

The Smart Dock features three USB ports, HDMI port with stereo out as well as a 3.5mm audio jack. The phone is docked via its microUSB port, which also charges it.

A trio of USB ports means that you can hook up the Note II to a mouse, keyboard and external storage simultaneously. Obviously, the HDMI is there to connect with an HDTV or a monitor.

And as AndroidNZ has demonstrated the options are limitless. Check out what the Smart Dock is capable of in the video below.

In the US, the Smart Dock is priced at $99.99. EU pricing is not yet detailed.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

LG introduces impressive new 21:9 UltraWide monitor

LG today announced the launch of the world's first 21:9 UltraWide monitor; and with the ability to break down the 29-inch screen into four split screens, the company has our attention.

Whether you’re a hardcore multitasker, a tech fanatic, or simply just a bit myopic, LG has a new monitor to pique your interest. The EA93 UltraWide Monitor is a whopping 29-inches wide and boasts a 21:9 aspect ratio. The company says it’s the world’s first monitor with that format. 

LG is focusing on the new product’s multitasking capabilities for its launch. Not only does the impressive size mean plenty of space for however many documents, files, or windows you might have open at once, but the EA93 also has a feature called 4-Screen Split, which allows you to divvy up screen real estate into quarters, with the ability to separately customize each section. That could make this monitor a possible alternative for people who use a dual-screen setup. In fact, it has a Dual Link-up option to connect the monitor to two external devices, which means you could have a similar setup to multiple monitors without any variation in color or image quality. It also features a DVI-D port and two HDMI connectors.

The company insists that the UltraWide monitor can perform double duty as a machine for work and personal use. The aspect ratio makes the EA93 an excellent choice for watching movies. With a maximum resolution of 2560 x 1080, the IPS display is designed for people who live and die by intense visuals. Although LG has not given a price point for this impressive monitor, it is due to roll out in South Korea early this month before making its way to the US market. 

LG has been making waves with its efforts to improve screen quality this year. The company has gone very small with a 5-inch LCD screen with high definition and 440ppi, and insanely big with a whopping 84-inch Ultra HD television. Between these updates, Apple’s proliferation of Retina displays, and other companies working hard to offer comparable technologies, computing will only be getting easier on the eyes.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Here it comes: iPad Mini sales start in New Zealand

With Apple's global launch of the iPad Mini set for 8am, November 2, plenty of consumers in New Zealand, where it's already Friday, will be busy testing out the new device.

When Apple announced that sales of the new iPad Mini would begin at 8am on November 2, residents of New Zealand hoping to get their hands on the new device knew they’d be the first to have the opportunity to do so, beating their San Francisco counterparts by 20 hours thanks to the beauty of time zones.

And so, as the sun goes down on the US on November 1, plenty of customers in the South Pacific country have already unboxed their diminutive iPad and have likely made up their mind as to whether it lives up to the hype.

As the Wall Street Journal points out, New Zealand doesn’t have an official Apple store, leaving resellers to deal with expectant Apple fans.

“I don’t know who will have what (products) where in New Zealand but the retailers will certainly be able to open their doors so people can come in and touch and play straight away,” Apple spokeswoman Fiona Martin told the WSJ.

Kiwi James Griffin tweeted a photo of himself holding aloft his new 7.9-inch iPad Mini, delivering his verdict a couple of hours later: “Love it! It’s the perfect size.”

The device marks Apple’s entry into the smaller-tablet market, taking on the likes of Google with its Nexus 7 tablet and Amazon with its range of Kindle Fire devices.

The Mini, however, is a pricier proposition than its rivals, with, for example, the $329 16GB model going for $130 more than the 16GB Nexus 7.

The latest addition to Apple’s range of gadgets is 53 percent thinner than the full-size iPad, and just 7.2mm thick. Apple decided to leave out its high-definition Retina display with the Mini’s 7.9-inch screen, going instead for a 1024 x 768 resolution with a pixel density of 163ppi.

Many industry watchers are interested to see to what extent sales of the Mini affect those of its big brother, and how that might impact Apple’s overall financial performance.

[via MacRumors]

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Facebook to take on Craigslist with classifieds plan, report claims

Facebook is set to challenge the king of online classifieds Craigslist with the launch of its own service, a report claims.

In an effort to find new revenue streams, Facebook is reportedly looking at the possibility of launching a classified ads service that may give Craigslist a run for its money.

The service would offer a mix of paid and free ads and include items for sale, apartment rentals and job vacancies, among other things.

A report by The Daily says “two sources within Facebook” claim the service will be called Marketplace, the same name given to a similar project launched by Facebook five years ago and which is now operated by Oodle.

Whereas Craigslist functions as a noticeboard that sits on the Web waiting for people to come and explore it, Facebook’s Marketplace would target members of its enormous site according to information in their profiles, posting ads in friends’ news feeds – similar to the way in which the promoted posts feature works.

For example, if you wanted to advertise a room in a particular location, you could tag friends who you think might be interested, with only those in the area receiving the ad – they could, however, share it with others if they knew someone who they thought could be interested.

While room ads are likely to be free, selling items will require a small fee – expected to be under $5 – with the ad appearing in friends’ feeds.

With job ads, a vacancy requiring a particular degree would end up in the feed only of those people with that specific qualification, while a ‘projects’ section would allow users to share tips and information on a range of subjects. “It’s possible the next generation of startups could be formed within this section,” The Daily suggests optimistically.

Whether such a service will pose any kind of threat to Craigslist remains to be seen, though with the well-established and popular classifieds site open to all, it should have little trouble in maintaining at the very least a decent chunk of its massive user base. Facebook, meanwhile, will be hoping it can use its Marketplace service to generate some much-needed revenue from its 552 million users.

While a launch date for the service appears not to have been set, The Daily’s sources claim it is being fast-tracked for launch.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Head of iPhone and iPad Software, Scott Forstall, To Leave Apple

Scott Forstall at iPhone 5 launch (Credit: Joanna Stern / ABC News)

Silicon Valley isn’t letting Hurricane Sandy get in the way of big tech announcements today. On the heels of Google and Microsoft’s big product launches this afternoon, Apple has just announced a big executive shake-up.

Scott Forstall, the senior vice president of iOS (the software made for the iPhone and iPad), will be leaving the company next year. In his absence, Jony Ive, Apple’s lead hardware designer, will take over leadership and direction for, what Apple describes as, “Human Interface.”

“His incredible design aesthetic has been the driving force behind the look and feel of Apple’s products for more than a decade,” Apple said in its press release.

The reasons for Forstall’s departure are not given in Apple’s press release. However, Forstall has been responsible for Apple’s Maps and Siri features, both of which were criticized as half-baked at the time of launch. When iOS 6 and the iPhone 5 launched in September, Apple was knocked for its inaccurate Maps; CEO Tim Cook was forced to apologize to customers. According to Apple, Eddy Cue will now oversee Siri and Maps.

Industry analysts seem to agree that the Maps and Siri fiascos prompted the decision. “Apple Maps and Siri fell well short of both Apple and industry expectations. Since Forstall was in command, he was taken out,” Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, told ABC News.

Ryan Block, a long-time Apple watcher, echoed the same thoughts. ”Scott was also in charge of the new Maps product, one of Apple’s most visible (if not monumental) failures of a flagship product in quite some time. SOMEONE’s head was going to roll, it was just a matter of whose. (The last time Apple had something blow up this badly in its face — iPhone 4′s Antennagate — iPhone hardware executive Mark Papermaster was unceremoniously fired.),” Block wrote on gdgt.com.

Apple announced that head of retail John Browett is also leaving; the company will be looking for a replacement in the coming months.

Apple announced last week its new iPad Mini and that it had sold 27 million iPhones in the 4th quarter.

Source : abcnews[dot]go[dot]com

Hands on preview with the Wii U’s great undead hope, ZombiU

One of the most promising Wii U launch titles is without question Ubisoft’s ZombiU. Combining survival horror with gameplay mechanics that can only be found on the Wii U could make for one of the first third-party hits on Nintendo’s system. We had the chance to go hands on with it, and consider us believers.

There are still a lot of questions that need to be answered about the Wii U before we can all drink the Kool-Aid and support Nintendo’s new system unequivocally. The Wii U is a system that cannot sell itself on specs, so it needs to convince fans that it can offer a unique and original experience that its competitors cannot match. Nintendo managed that feat with the Wii, so betting against them for the Wii U may be unwise. Especially when you have games like ZombiU.

ZombiU was built specifically for the Wii U from the ground up, and it shows. It may be possible to adapt it to another system, but it would require a redesign so severe that it might make more sense to simply create a new game with a similar setting and feel. Ubisoft’s zombie offering manages to incorporate the GamePad as well as any game on the launch docket for Nintendo, and it also signifies a trend of more adult-oriented games coming to Nintendo’s new console, something that the Wii was noticeably missing.

And make no mistake, ZombiU is a game for adults. It isn’t that it is an especially gory game, although there are plenty of grotesque images, but the game is exceptionally good at building anxiety through its mechanics.

Using the Wii U GamePad, you control your randomly generated character through a nightmarish reflection of London after a zombie outbreak has brought civilization to a screeching halt. Only a handful of survivors remain, while the angry and spry infected roam the streets. Your goal is simply to survive, but the best way to achieve this is through preparation.

Your best bet is to take risks and complete goals given to you by “The Prepper,” a man that communicates with you through the radio only. His motives are mysterious, but he gradually fills you in on what is happening and explains that this outbreak is the culmination of a Black Prophecy, which was foreseen centuries earlier by John Dee, Queen Elizabeth’s court magician. The Prepper, and others like him, planned for the current zombie apocalypse as best they could which gives you a chance.

While ZombiU is primarily built around the gameplay more than the narrative, the story is surprisingly deep and engaging. Filled with secret societies and occult messages, the goals you complete help to unravel a mystery that is at least four centuries old, and the truth will play out over the 12-15 hour campaign. One thing that is deliberately missing, however, is any backstory on the character you play.

You begin the game in the midst of the zombie outbreak, with no time to think or prepare. It’s through luck that you stumble upon The Prepper, and you begin with no significant skills or abilities. You must complete goals and sub-objectives if you want to level your character up and help him or her to adapt to the environment and grow. Right up until you die.

ZombiU has an interesting take on respawning. Once you die, no matter where you are or what skills you have unlocked, your character will remain dead. You will respawn in the original location the Prepper led you too, and you start as a completely new character back at zero – although your story progress remains. If your previous character was carrying some equipment that you want back, you can go to where you died and find the zombified corpse of your former avatar, which you will need to kill in order to retrieve your belongings. Your levels will be lost forever though.

This presents an interesting twist. To earn levels and improve skills, you will need to invest a fair amount of time in the game with a single character, but it’s best not to get too attached. The longer you survive the more powerful they become, but the game really isn’t a question of if you die, rather when and how. So when that moment inevitably comes, the better you have played, the more your loss will resonate. If by some chance you complete most of the game with a single character, you may actually feel a sense of existential loss for your character as you continue in a much weaker shell. It certainly adds to the sense of dread as you find yourself overwhelmed and needing to run for your life – or in this case, run for your character’s life.

One interesting addition to the game is the online connectivity. While you cannot jump into another person’s campaign, when you die your zombie will occasionally appear in the game of your friend, sporting your gamer tag and loaded with bonus experience and items. If you are not connected online, the game will randomly generate characters like this, but it is far more interesting to suddenly turn a corner and confront your friend’s shambling husk that you then kill for fun and profit from. 

ZombiU requires the GamePad controller in a very fundamental way. Beyond offering a map, the GamePad has a sonar like ability to let you know when enemies are near, and it is required to scan your surroundings and find items, identify threats, and complete certain objectives. You also need to use it to use your backpack, as well as pick up new inventory. That means sooner or later you will be caught looking at it while a zombie sneaks up behind you. It all helps add to the tension, and it makes you question whether or not it is worth exposing yourself to run out for an item in an area with zombies.

As for the rest of the controls, the GamePad moves as well as any controller, and the size and weight are easy to adjust to. While moving around with a weapon, you have two buttons you need to push, one is to prime the weapon, the other is to use it. For example, your first weapon and last resort is a cricket bat. To prime it, you hold the left trigger to cock back the bat, then the right trigger swings. A firearm does roughly the same thing, with the left trigger aiming and the right firing. Pushing the right trigger alone pushes back oncoming zombies, but does not hurt them. This is an extremely useful tool though, as the zombies are fast and aggressive, and it takes a moment to prime your weapon.

Running and escaping are easy, in theory, but the zombies are dogged in the pursuit of your sweet, sweet flesh and if combat is not an option – and often it won’t be – you may need to try to escape to an entirely new section and hope the zombies don’t pursue.

The game is local play only, but there is a multiplayer component as well that pits you against your friend. There are three modes for this, but they all operate under the same principles. The person with the GamePad is shown the map from a top down view, while the other uses a standard controller to play as a traditional FPS player. The GamePad wielding player is then given tokens, which they can then spend on different types of zombies to spawn around the map and attack the other player, or try for an objective. It plays out a bit like a tower defense game.

One of the modes is a territory-based game where the traditional player can quickly capture flags, but is limited by ammo vulnerability to the horde of zombies. The GamePad wielding player then allots their points to spawn a specific type of zombie needed to capture the territory, guards to defend it, and runners to chase the other player. There is a limit to the number of zombies you can have active at once and you quickly earn upgrade points that unlock a choice of more zombie types, but it all comes down the strategy.

Another mode uses the standard controller and has you and your friend take turns fighting off an endless wave of enemies. The players swap the controller between rounds, and whoever has the most kills before they die wins. The local only play makes the multiplayer an interesting side attraction, but the campaign is what will make this game memorable.

And memorable it is. The preview Ubisoft was showing was the first section of the game and included a look at Buckingham Palace, a central location within the game. This also highlighted the power of the Wii U. When you first approach the iconic palace, the weather changes and a storm begins to rage. The effects look smooth and fluid, and the angry faces of rotted zombies look amazing. It isn’t head and shoulders above the Xbox 360 or the PS3, but the graphics are impressive, both in the look of the world and characters and the effects that go along with it. It will take more than a few sections of a single game to get a real sense of the Wii U’s potential, plus launch titles rarely come close to pushing new hardware, but what ZombiU showed was encouraging.

ZombiU impressed me in many ways. My concern for the game was that it was a game based entirely on the mechanics and then a survival horror skin was dropped over it, but I was wrong. ZombiU is a complete package that uses the Wii U’s unique attributes in ways that honestly improve the gaming experience. Without a familiar brand name ZombiU probably won’t come close to matching the sales of other Wii U launch titles like New Super Mario Bros. U or even Ubisoft’s own Just Dance 4, but it may be the best reason to own a Wii U so far.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Windows Phone Store reaches 125,000 apps, but report shows growth has slowed

A new report indicates that Microsoft's Windows Phone Store has reached 125,000 apps, just ahead of Windows Phone 8's launch. However, despite incoming new hardware, growth has slowed over recent months.

A report published by AllAboutWindowsPhone.com shows Microsoft’s Windows Phone Store now contains more than 125,000 applications, up from 100,000 at the beginning of May.

The exact, official figure may be slightly lower, as according to the report, the amount of apps available depends on how you count them, as not all are live or available in all locations.

Regardless, 125,000 is a respectable figure, but it’s a long way short of the 675,000 apps in its Google Play store and Apple’s 700,000 available in the iTunes App Store, a figure it confirmed during the iPad Mini event this week. Apparently, the Windows Phone Store is growing at the rate of around 215 apps per day, and there are 30,000 currently active developers too.

Microsoft hasn’t confirmed these figures, but has the ideal opportunity to do so on October 29, when it will officially launch Windows Phone 8. While a growing app store is essential for the success of a mobile platform today, the rate of new apps being added has slowed over the past few months, which as the report points out, will be due to Windows Phone 8’s impending release.

Looking at the “Items Added” chart, the difference is startling. In December last year — the store’s high point, just after the release of Windows Phone 7.5 Mango — more than 12,000 apps were added, but fast forward to July 2012 and less than 5,000 made their debut. August was much the same, as is October so far, but a spike to around 6,500 came in September.

We know what you’re thinking, with just weeks to go before sparkly new Windows Phone 8 hardware goes on sale, why aren’t developers busily submitting new apps to capitalize on the rush? Microsoft has made things difficult in this area, as it still hasn’t released the Windows Phone 8 SDK to all developers, an essential piece of software to create and test new apps.

It should make an appearance on October 29, right after Microsoft reveals everything it has held back about Windows Phone 8, so November and December should see a big increase in apps being submitted and released. At least, Microsoft better hope it does.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Apple rolls out not one, not two, but three iPad Mini ads

With any new product comes a new advertising campaign, and the iPad Mini is no different. Apple wasted no time in getting the show on the road, with the launch of three ads featuring its new, smaller iPad.

Apple’s new iPad may be small but there’s nothing mini about its advertising campaign, with the tech company rolling out not one, not even two, but three ads featuring the new device.

The first is short and sweet, running for just 30 seconds. It starts out with someone playing the opening notes to Hoagy Carmichael’s Heart and Soul with two fingers using a piano app on a full-size iPad. The new Mini then slides into view with the same piano keyboard displayed on the screen, whereupon a duet commences, with the iPad Mini pianist using one finger to play along. And that’s it. The short skit gives consumers a clear idea of how much smaller the new iPad is, while planting the idea that anything you can do on the big one, you can also do on the small one.

The second ad also runs for about half a minute and focuses on the iPad Mini’s new Smart Cover, protecting the screen from damage while adding a splash of color to the device. Incidentally, this Smart Cover is without the aluminum hinge found on with the iPad’s Smart Cover. Again, the ad is simple and slick, with a piano-based soundtrack, lots of iPad Minis and Smart Covers, and no voiceover.

Finally, there’s the full-on, look-what-we-have-here, meat-and-bones ad, coming in at just under five minutes. It’s in Apple’s familiar style, you know the type – white, brightly lit sets, talking heads, and a number of inserts showing the new product in everyday use. Now Tim Cook and his team just have to wait and see if anyone buys it….

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Here is the Halo 4 launch trailer

Microsoft and 343 Industries released the Halo 4 launch trailer today. It’s produced by David Fincher and directed by Tim Miller (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World).

The video features both live-action and CGI effects, just like previous Halo trailers. Enjoy!

Halo 4 will once again give us control over Master Chief and we’ll have to fight an ancient threat. The game launches on November 6 only on Xbox 360.

As every other year, the marketing campaign is huge and includes live-action mini-series called Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn. You can watch part one below and then make your way through the links for the next episodes.

The complete Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn series is also a part of the Halo 4 Limited Edition. You can learn everything there is to know on the official website.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Cheaper, knock-off Apple Lightning cables might not take that long to appear

Since the iPhone 5 launch it became clear the new and way expensive Lightning cable packs some sort of a security chip inside and because of that – the cheap Chinese knock-off cables won’t work.

New findings by the awesome guys at Chipworks however lead us to believe there’s hope for cheaper cables. When Chipworks carried their teardown of the Lightning cable, they discovered it contains four chips – two of them very simple with just a couple of (power) transistors, a third, the NXP NX20P3, which is responsible for charging and finally, a mysterious fourth chip – the TI BQ2025.

This tiny fella manufactured by Texas Instruments is undocumented in TI’s database but there are four others close to it already cataloged in there. They are all battery fuel gauges, three of them serial EFPROMs and the last one – a battery monitor IC. All these terms here are not really important though. What you need to know is BQ2022, BQ2023, BQ2024 and BQ2026 all have one thing in common – they all feature some kind of security. It just makes sense for BQ2025 to deliver security features as well. And this tiny fella is probably the sole reason why all cheap cables just don’t work.

The positive thing from this investigation is that according to Chipworks, the security is far from “herculean”, it’s there to be “just enough” to deter the making of the knock-off cables, but without burdening Apple’s manufacturing costs by much. Chipsworks compare the level of security to “the level of effort that cartridge manufacturers used to implement in the olden days”, which obviously has been overcome many times.

So, there you have it. Apple’s done this so you can’t buy cheap Chinese replicas, at least for now.

Those of you who don’t want to spend a pile of cash on a set of original USB cables, should probably wait just a bit longer before those tiny chips get replicated into $3 cables.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Outdated apps may rain on Windows Phone 8′s parade

Microsoft has yet to release its software development kit for Windows Phone 8 despite the OS's impending launch, raising concerns that developers won't have time to update their apps.

On October 29, Microsoft will finally tell us everything there is to know about Windows Phone 8, its new mobile operating system. But surely we know everything already, right? After all, we’ve seen the software and all the major manufacturers have announced their hardware too.

Microsoft says it has kept some facts back about WP8 to help maintain anticipation, and revealing those will be part of the October event. Unfortunately, this secrecy has caused Microsoft to delay the release of its Software Development Kit, or SDK, presumably to help avoid thunder-stealing leaks; but the final version is expected to arrive at the end of this month.

However, the wait has angered many Windows Phone developers, as did a decision to allow certain developers limited access to the SDK in return for signing a non-disclosure agreement.

Angry developers without access to the right software could mean problems in the new Windows Phone Store, which will be a worry for anyone wanting to buy one of the new handsets. Windows Phone already lags behind Android and iPhone when it comes to quality apps. Should we be concerned by this delay?

Will app availability be a problem?

A delayed SDK means developers won’t be able to fine-tune, test, or add in additional features to get their apps ready for Windows Phone 8. They also can’t create new apps that take advantage of the new platform. The good news is Microsoft has said Windows Phone 7 apps will be compatible with Windows Phone 8, so every app that’s already in the store will still be available — they just won’t be optimized.

More good news is that those developers with early access are likely to be the big studios, as Microsoft will want to ensure high profile apps have been enhanced to show off the OS’s abilities. Don’t forget, Windows Phone 8 hardware has faster processors and higher resolution screens, so there’s plenty of scope to improve existing apps.

We asked Microsoft representatives if the lack of an SDK would be a problem. Predictably, we were assured that it’s all part of the plan:

“We’ve been quietly previewing the SDK with hundreds of top developers and on September 5 announced a broader SDK Preview Program for registered developers with apps in Marketplace. As usual we aren’t going to release the SDK to the general public until the full OS is revealed, but we feel this Preview Program delivers on the commitment we made in June and allows developers to test and update their apps for Windows Phone 8.”

Regardless of why Microsoft is being secretive, this delay brings us on to the bad news: older apps may not look all that great until they’ve been updated. It looks like some developers have been given the information needed to update, but not all of them. Remember the switch from a 320 x 480 pixel screen on an iPhone 3G/3GS to the iPhone 4’s Retina Display? While it won’t be quite that pronounced, this situation is very similar. The bottom line here is that yes, there will be apps, but most will not be enhanced for Windows Phone 8 in time for release.

There is one more thing to remember, and that’s the October 29 date isn’t the date Windows Phone 8 hardware goes on sale. Due to Microsoft holding back, manufacturers have stayed quiet on when phones will hit stores, with sometime in November being the only word.

Provided the SDK comes out on October 29, then developers will still have a few weeks to play with their apps before you get your hands on a WP8 phone. Let’s hope they work fast.

Microsoft has upgraded it developer portal, promising improvements in the app certification process and overall site performance. Another 13 countries have been added to this list too, bringing the total to 191, and more developers able to sing up means more apps for us.

Is all this normal?

Apple releases different versions of its iOS SDK between the date of its announcement and the date of final release. Not all the versions have every new feature, but they at least allow developers to start work on new apps, or update existing ones. For example, according to this chart, the first iOS 5 beta appeared on June 6 2011, and four subsequent beta versions were released before the final October street date. iOS 6 was similarly released a few months prior to the iPhone 5 going on sale.

Historically, Google has released its SDK a short while after it announces the new version of Android, with 4.1 Jelly Bean’s SDK coming out in July this year following Jelly Bean’s announcement at Google I/O.

The real star at the moment, surprisingly, is RIM (Research in Motion). Despite BlackBerry 10 not appearing until next year (current guestimates hint at March 2013), Beta versions of its SDK are already available to developers, and this week it began accepting app submissions too. It’s even offering an incentive to early bird devs, promising selected apps a prominent position in BlackBerry App World. It looks like it really is lovin’ its developers.

Microsoft’s approach is unorthodox, and does exactly the opposite of RIM’s, as it alienates developers and could potentially annoy buyers when the app selection is sparse. There’s still time to fix this, but Microsoft needs to start soon.

Will it all be OK come release day?

Maybe. Microsoft has dug itself a hole with the handling of Windows Phone 7. No one running a WP7 device will be able to upgrade to Windows Phone 8, making the old OS and hardware completely obsolete. Developers want to turn their attention to the new version, but are being hampered by Microsoft’s desire to keep things “secret.” RIM is often ridiculed, but it knows how important it is to keep developers working on its platform.

The first thing any new Windows Phone 8 owner will do is check out the available apps in Microsoft’s Windows Phone app store. If the selection is poor, or the version available is for outdated hardware, that negative experience will spread — fast. Worse, experienced smartphone buyers are already used to Google Play and/or the iTunes App Store, which are full of good apps.

Microsoft needs Windows Phone 8 to have a more successful launch that Windows Phone 7, and is playing with fire by denying developers access to the WP8 SDK right now. Or, for all we know, the software has problems and isn’t finished, requiring last minute adjustments. If it’s the former, the reasoning is bizarre but not unforgivable provided the secrets are truly exciting; but if it’s the latter, then Microsoft has got bigger problems to worry about than a software developer kit.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Four Windows 8 ads show up ahead of time, show the flexibility of the new OS

The launch of the new Windows 8 OS (and probably Microsoft Surface tablets right along with it) is coming later this month and the first crop of Windows 8 ads is already out – even if Microsoft didn’t intend it to be.

The videos showcase some of the new gestures and features of the new OS, check it out after the jump.

The ads show Windows 8′s new app switching gesture (including docking apps), the flexibility of the OS,which allows it to work both on a tablet and on an old-fashioned desktop PC (complete with the traditional desktop mode too) and the SkyDrive integration.

They also highlight one of the most controversial changes, the Start screen:

Apps have a completely new look and you’ll be getting them at the Store:

Picture passwords and unified search seem pretty cool too:

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Digital Photography Review sheds light on the iPhone 5 purple haze issue

Ever since the launch of the iPhone 5, the phone has been a victim of abject criticism for various reasons that, thanks to the popularity of the phone, are usually blown way out of proportion than the situation demands.

One of the things that people liked to complain about was the purple haze seen in some of the iPhone 5 camera photos with a bright light source just entering the frame. In their review of the iPhone 5 camera, Digital Photography Review talked about this phenomenon, what could be causing it and how big a deal it really is.

One of the purported reasons for this issue was the presence of sapphire crystal as lens cover on the iPhone 5, which people believed would give the images that purple tint. Digital Photography Review believes that is not the case and indeed, when you compare it to the iPhone 4S images, you will see the same effect, even though the 4S has a simpler glass lens cover.

Digital Photography Review also dismissed blooming, chromatic aberrations and IR sensitivity as possible reasons, as the actual results don’t match the kind of results you’d get if either of these issues were at play. Eventually they zeroed in internal reflections and/or lens flare to be the possible culprit.

So what’s their solution to this problem? Well, as any photographer or camera manual would tell you, don’t point the camera at a bright light while taking a picture and you should be fine. With a bright light source in a corner, your photos would be pretty much ruined anyway, with or without the haze. Also, lens flare is pretty common problem with cameras and not something exclusive to the iPhone. In other words, it’s no big deal.

You can read more about the test and the rest of the review in the link below.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Whole shipment of iPhone 5s stolen from French airport

Just before the Japanese launch of the iPhone 5, three stores were robbed of a total of 191 units. Then about a week ago, an employee of a London O2 store made off with an entire shipment of 250 iPhone 5s, which are worth about £100,000.

Now there’s a report that on Tuesday there was yet another major iPhone 5 theft, which occurred in France. The number of units stolen wasn’t confirmd, but the whole thing played out like a heist movie.

The iPhone 5 shipment was being loaded on a plane at Marignane airport when three armed robbers blocked the vehicle used to load the plane with two BMWs. The gunmen then forced the driver to follow the two cars and a Renault Master that lead the way.

About 10km down the road, the robbers stopped and loaded the shipment (which also included a number of Apple laptops) in the van. After they were done, they set the airport’s truck on fire and drove off.

The police investigating is ongoing.

Note: the image above is not an actual photo of the incident, just a photo of something being loaded on a plane with a quickly photoshopped Apple logo.

Source (in French)

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Nintendo Wii U launch line up includes 23 games on day one

Nintendo finally confirmed the 23 titles in the Wii U launch line up on Wednesday, with impressive support from EA, Ubisoft, and Activision.

There will be plenty to play on November 18^th. Nintendo has confirmed that the Wii U launch line up will include 23 games.

The Nintendo Wii U’s coming out party in New York City earlier this month was surprisingly light on details about the console’s release. Nintendo was clear about the price—$300 for the system with 8GB of memory and $350 for the system with 32GB of memory and a copy of NintendoLand—but concrete information on everything else from the Miiverse online network to what games would be available was scarce. Bayonetta 2, The Wonderful 101—These are exciting games but will they be available on the November 18^th launch day? That Nintendo said 51 games were coming in a “launch window” that extends to March 2013 only confused matters.

Now things are clearer. As reported by USA Today on Wednesday, there will be 23 games available alongside the Wii U on the day it is released. Only three of those games will be Nintendo first party titles: New Super Mario Bros. U and NintendoLand will be available on the first day as promised, and they’ll be joined by the Nintendo published karaoke game Sing Party.

Ports of major publishers’ 2012 games, including FIFA 13, Darksiders II, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 will also be available. There are even some 2011 stragglers sneaking in like Warrior’s Orochi 3.

Especially impressive is Activision’s roll out. The publisher has been, to date, cagey about Nintendo’s new system, but all four games announced at the New York event will be rolled out on launch day. Skylanders Giants, Wipeout 3, Transformers Prime, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 will all be available, and while only two of those are potential million sellers, it’s still a strong commitment to put four boxed products out simultaneously.

Ubisoft is also going big, with Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013, ESPN Sports Connection, Just Dance 4, Rabbids Land, Assassin’s Creed III, and the promising original ZombiU.

Rounding out the list are Scribblenauts Unlimited, Game Party Champions, and Batman: Arkham City Armored Edition from WBIE, and Epic Mickey 2: The Power of 2 from Disney.

That’s three more retail games than Nintendo had for the Wii launch in 2006, and while Game Party Champions probably isn’t going to rev many engines, it’s an impressive display of quality. That Nintendo will have November’s biggest releases, Assassin’s Creed III and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 available, right alongside their releases on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 bodes well for the system.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Google may actually be enjoying Apple’s mapping mishaps

As of iOS6, Apple replaced the well-known Google Maps app with one of their own. And ever since its launch, there’s been strong controversy surrounding it. Map data and POIs have frequently been found to be inaccurate by users around the world and satellite imagery has been rather spotty, interchanging between high and low res, different times of day and even seasons all on the territory of one and the same town.

The new Maps app has been rushed to the market and it’s far from ready for prime time. And that got the anger of users, who have been voicing their discontent online quite loudly (and originally, too).

The Apple competitors also didn’t miss the opportunity to take a jab at the the quality of provided maps with both the Google-owned Motorola and Nokia making public their ill-concealed satisfaction from the situation.

You would think that in times like these Google would jump straight ahead and release a dedicated native Google Maps to iOS devices? Well, not so fast, if you ask Eric Schmidt, one of the men at the top over at Google.

In fact, Reuters has him quoted saying that “We think it would have been better if they had kept ours. But what do I know? What were we going to do, force them not to change their mind? It’s their call.” Schmidt also added that no Google Maps application has been submitted to Apple’s AppStore and that Google will be leaving the decision whether Apple would want one completely in Apple’s hands.

This comes hot after rumors surfaced online that Google has indeed prepared a native Google Maps app and it has even submitted it to the AppStore for approval.

And I gotta tell you, it really makes sense for Google to back off now and not do anything, letting Apple soak in the full publicity negatives of their solo move. Submitting a Google Maps app right now would only ease off the blow and allow Apple some slack to improve its Maps app.

I can’t help but put myself in Apple’s shoes too. Going rogue and against the well-established online map authority is bound to make many users unhappy. But this was a logical step having in mind how they see Android as ripping them off and how Google Maps on iOS has been stalling the past few years.

History shows that a move like that may not be the best idea (Microsoft and its Bing Maps), but we also have evidence in the opposite direction as well. Nokia Maps for instance, has proved that competing successfully with Google in mobile maps is a feasible task.

So what do you think? Is it the Google Maps’ way or the highway for Apple?

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com