Showing posts with label X-Box. Show all posts
Xbox One Fitness Wearable Coming in 2015
Microsoft is reportedly working on a fitness tracker designed for use with the Xbox One console
Following the launch of its Band wearable, Microsoft is reportedly developing a fitness tracker that will sync with the Xbox One console's health and fitness apps.
The new Xbox One wearable has been all but confirmed and will launch sometime in 2015. Joe Officer, head of Exertis, an Xbox One component supplier, said to tech site PCR that we can expect to see a number of Microsoft wearable devices coming next year: "These will be linked to the Xbox One which has loads of health and fitness apps already in it - add that to real time heart rate monitors, health bands, scales and video sensors and users will have day in, day out, real time monitoring of themselves."
The Xbox One already features some fitness tracking features using the Kinect sensor, while Microsoft has also launched its own Microsoft Health service for monitoring your vitals. With wearable technology gaining traction all the time, a fitness tracker designed for use with the Xbox One console is the next logical step.
The original Microsoft Band is currently a US-only release, with no confirmation of whether it will be made available in other countries. Hopefully the Xbox One wearable will make it over to our shores at least. We'll have to wait until 2015 to find out.
WWE 2K15 First Play
Hands-on with the brawler aiming to obliterate your wrestling game preconception
There’s an eternally frustrating challenge faced by every developer that dares try to make a wrestling videogame.
In WWE’s choreographed reality, both combatants are working together to piece together a beautifully brutal ballet; whereas in the virtual ring, human players simply want to beat the snot out of one another. And no game in the genre since No Mercy on N64, way back in 2000, has even come close to perfecting that delicate balance. Until now.
Based on an evening-long hands-on with WWE 2K15 on PS4 – the series’ first entry on new-gen, no less - co-creators Yuke’s and Visual Concepts have finally come up with a grap simulation which should satisfy fighter fans and wrestling die-hards alike.
The slower pace to matches affords time to strategise your moves in advance, while a tweaked control system means timing and skill come in to play like never before. It’s a night-to-day switch from the uncomfortably speedy reversal-fests of previous years.
In WWE’s choreographed reality, both combatants are working together to piece together a beautifully brutal ballet; whereas in the virtual ring, human players simply want to beat the snot out of one another. And no game in the genre since No Mercy on N64, way back in 2000, has even come close to perfecting that delicate balance. Until now.
Based on an evening-long hands-on with WWE 2K15 on PS4 – the series’ first entry on new-gen, no less - co-creators Yuke’s and Visual Concepts have finally come up with a grap simulation which should satisfy fighter fans and wrestling die-hards alike.
The slower pace to matches affords time to strategise your moves in advance, while a tweaked control system means timing and skill come in to play like never before. It’s a night-to-day switch from the uncomfortably speedy reversal-fests of previous years.
GRAPHICS
Visual Concepts’ class-leading facial tech has nailed the look of every wrestler, with Randy Orton’s viper-like features especially unnerving. Animations are hugely improved too, and not just with regard to moves – wrestlers also stagger slowly (and realistically) to their feet when tired, even using the ropes for leverage where appropriate.
Just as importantly, much work has gone into making the crowd look active and alive. There are no sign-waving cardboard cutouts here; every member of the audience is fully 3D, with great variance in ages (lots of kids wearing Cena shirts, for instance) and how they react to big moves.
As a result, you feel like the watching masses are invested in whatever story is being told in the ring, rather than going through a procession of canned, emotionless poses. It’s a huge difference maker in terms of believability.
SETTING
Every bout is of course set in a wrestling ring, but a wealth of modes should ensure the game doesn’t stagnate over time despite the predictable surroundings. Case in point: the new MyCareer mode, in which you join the company as a rookie in its NXT developmental division, and progress through matches and storylines en route to the WWE Hall Of Fame.
2K Showcase, meanwhile, has you replaying two classic WWE feuds and unlocking characters, arenas and other bonuses by completing specified objectives along the way. One is the 2002 rivalry between Triple H and Shawn Michaels; the other John Cena vs CM Punk, from 2012. That’s a controversial choice given that Punk walked away from WWE, allegedly on bad terms, earlier in the year. Make the most of it, then: he’s unlikely to feature in next year’s edition.
GAMEPLAY
For instance, the addition of chain wrestling sees you locking up with your opponent in a series of mini-games at the start of every match. Win the ensuing scissor-paper-stone mechanic (e.g. circle beats square) and you get the upper hand, and can pound or wrench your opponent for a limited time. To stay in control, you then need to win a race to find a sweet spot on the right stick – otherwise control shifts to your foe.
Stamina and momentum also come into play like never before. Tired wrestlers move around the ring more slowly and are unable to simply spring back to their feet when knocked over - meaning that, for the first time ever, defence is as vital to success as unleashing blockbuster moves. This makes for brilliant exchanges towards the end of bouts, as two exhausted grapplers each desperately try to hit their respective finishing move, all while guarding against being on the receiving end.
That sickening feeling when you snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in Street Fighter IV? Finally, it’s made it to a wrestling game.
THE INSIDE VIEW
Wrestling and basketball mightn’t seem like the most natural of
bedfellows, but executive producer Mark Little nonetheless insists that
the developer’s NBA series can directly influence its WWE one.
As for the wrestlers, they’re blown away by the visuals. “There’s a world of difference from what’s gone before – it’s so much better than anything we’ve ever had,” says 15-time champion John Cena. “I’m used to seeing myself on Monday Night Raw. This is just like watching an episode of that.”
RELEASE DATE
WWE 2K15 lands on PS4 and Xbox One on 31 October. It’s headed to PS3 and Xbox 360 too, although some improvements, such as the groundbreaking facial scans, are understandably on next-gen only.
Those looking for some cool DLC can secure WCW legend Sting as a bonus character by pre-ordering, while the seriously dedicated have the option of snapping up a special Hulkamania-themed collector’s edition. Along with the game you get Hulk Hogan and Sting as playable characters, a Hulkster figure, signed card, and other goodies. An appealing package - but only if you have a spare 80-odd quid burning a hole in your official Ultimate Warrior wallet, brother.
First play: Thief (PS4 / Xbox One)
It's a steampunk sneakfest, rebooted for next-gen console
In a lot of ways, Thief sticks to its winning original formula. In the bottom left corner of the screen is a jewel that becomes lighter the more visible you are, and this naturally persuades you to keep to the shadows at all times. Your main weapon/tool is the bow and arrow, and while you can use this to shoot people, it isn’t Far Cry 3. Most of the arrows you collect are non-lethal and used for putting out torches (to reduce visibility), creating distractions or releasing switches. There’s a ‘choke’ arrow that knocks people unconscious with a cloud of gas, but mainly the idea is to get past without any combat.
Movement is faster and more parkour-influenced than the original series, with climbable wall sections, vaults and the occasional slide. There’s some nice level design and Garrett’s ‘Focus’ vision highlights the scramble-ready parts of your environment to help you find different paths. As in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, there are hubs from which a lot of different side quests branch off, but in Thief all the levels are replayable, so you can go back and redo a mission with new equipment. This should make it good value in the hours-played-per-pound stakes, and if you pine for the difficulty of the original game, you can have it thanks to some Classic Thief Mod options in the settings.
The first Thief game, released in 1998, set a lot of benchmarks. Along with Metal Gear Solid it was one of the original sneak-em-ups, the grandfather of Deus Ex and Hitman and Splinter Cell and Dishonored.
It and its two sequels had weapons that could be used as tools, multiple paths you could follow to your objective, and the choice of whether to go in guns blazing - not normally a wise choice - or create a distraction and slip past when the guards were looking the other way. The new game is a series reboot, the first Thief game in ten years. It’s been developed by Eidos Montreal, the same studio (although not actually the same team) that developed the excellent Deus Ex: Human Revolution. As in the previous Thief games you play a hooded, shadow-dwelling cutpurse called Garrett, and as in the previous games, your main objective is to nick other people’s things.
It and its two sequels had weapons that could be used as tools, multiple paths you could follow to your objective, and the choice of whether to go in guns blazing - not normally a wise choice - or create a distraction and slip past when the guards were looking the other way. The new game is a series reboot, the first Thief game in ten years. It’s been developed by Eidos Montreal, the same studio (although not actually the same team) that developed the excellent Deus Ex: Human Revolution. As in the previous Thief games you play a hooded, shadow-dwelling cutpurse called Garrett, and as in the previous games, your main objective is to nick other people’s things.
The gameplay’s good
In a lot of ways, Thief sticks to its winning original formula. In the bottom left corner of the screen is a jewel that becomes lighter the more visible you are, and this naturally persuades you to keep to the shadows at all times. Your main weapon/tool is the bow and arrow, and while you can use this to shoot people, it isn’t Far Cry 3. Most of the arrows you collect are non-lethal and used for putting out torches (to reduce visibility), creating distractions or releasing switches. There’s a ‘choke’ arrow that knocks people unconscious with a cloud of gas, but mainly the idea is to get past without any combat.
Movement is faster and more parkour-influenced than the original series, with climbable wall sections, vaults and the occasional slide. There’s some nice level design and Garrett’s ‘Focus’ vision highlights the scramble-ready parts of your environment to help you find different paths. As in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, there are hubs from which a lot of different side quests branch off, but in Thief all the levels are replayable, so you can go back and redo a mission with new equipment. This should make it good value in the hours-played-per-pound stakes, and if you pine for the difficulty of the original game, you can have it thanks to some Classic Thief Mod options in the settings.
The writing’s awful
While Dishonored certainly owes a lot to the original Thief
games, it was also a highly original game in its own right. The people
who made Dunwall did months of research and location scouting, and they
built a place that has its own clever aesthetic. Like the worlds in the Bioshock series, it’s obviously a fantasy world, but one that makes sense.
Thief’s city - called The City - and its
inhabitants do not make sense. There is no style that defines it, other
than that it’s sort of olde-worlde. This is not a problem in itself, but
the writing and voice acting are atrocious. Most of the NPCs speak in a
dialect that goes for Mockney but veers off through Ireland, Australia
and possibly Boston for sentences at a time before returning to
cod-Victorian. Which, again would fine, except Garrett and most of the
other main characters speak in modern American accents, which gives the
impression that they’re tourists who have wandered into a historical
theme park full of drunk, out-of-work actors. There’s an evil fascist
Baron (you know, like the Lord Regent in Dishonored) and a mysterious plague (you know, like in Dishonored),
and people are called things like Cornelius Greaves. At one point there
was a mention of opium, and ale. While our two-hour preview wasn’t
enough to get really get into what could be a much deeper game, what we
saw didn’t feel particularly imaginative.
Will this be enough to put us off Thief? Not necessarily.
There are plenty of great games with awful writing and acting, but that
doesn’t stop them being brilliant fun. Stay tuned for a full review when
it’s released on February 28th.By- Om Rajput