E3 2015 demo: command thousands of units into battle in the impressive Dawn of Titans

Zynga used to be considered “the next big thing” in gaming, but the company missed the mobile wave and its fortunes took a downturn when people grew bored of Farmville and the countless clones it spawned.

But Zynga is not out yet, and under the command of returning CEO Mark Pincus, the company is shifting from its casual gaming roots towards more serious stuff. To help with this, Zynga bought game studio Natural Motion (of CSR Racing fame) for north of $500 million in 2014, and yesterday at E3, we got to see the studio’s next game, Dawn of Titans.

Dawn of Titans is an action strategy game that resembles the PC series Total War, in that it gives players control over armies counting thousands of units. The game, coming to Android and iOS, impresses through its massive battles rendered in real time. According to Natural Motion CEO Torsten Reil, that’s possible thanks to the Echo engine, which can deliver “console-grade” 3D graphics within the constraints of a mobile platform.

Now “console-grade” is a bold and subjective claim, but the truth is we were very impressed with the demo we were shown (running on a iPad, but the experience should be similar on Android tablet). The animations were fluid, the effects were impressive, and the simple interface made it easy to unleash the wrath of a titan, hydra, or some other mythological beast upon enemy soldiers.

Dawn of Titans is not just about massive battles. The game has a strong social component, as it allows players to team up in alliances and tackle AI opponents or other players. You can even create and customize your own beautifully-rendered kingdoms, making Clash of Clans and other similar games look downward primitive in comparison.

This has been just a preview of Dawn of Titans, which is expected to land on Android and iOS later this year. Stay tuned with Android Authority for more mobile gaming coverage from E3 2015!

Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 2 set to launch June 29th, possible render leaks on Twitter

It’s been over a year since we’ve seen Xiaomi’s first Redmi Note handset, and it looks like we won’t have to wait much longer to see the budget-friendly device’s successor. Lei Jun, the company’s CEO, took to Chinese microblogging site Weibo the other day to announce that the successor to the Redmi Note would be officially announced on Monday, June 29th.

Although Jun didn’t give any more details on the new smartphone, that’s not stopping the tech world from getting a possible early look at the device. Outed by a phone leaker on Twitter, a new, somewhat blurry press image of the device has leaked out, showing off the handset’s backside. According to the image, the phone looks to feature a metal chassis with what looks to be plastic strips on the top and bottom. We can also see the camera module in the center, as well as a volume rocker and power/standby key on the right side – nothing too out of the ordinary. And, taking a closer look below the camera module, you can see that there’s another small cutout, which looks to be a possible fingerprint scanner, though it’s difficult to tell because of the quality of the image.

pic.twitter.com/4geeNkj9om

— leaksfly (@leaksfly) June 16, 2015

As for the device’s internals, previous rumors have suggested that the Redmi Note successor will feature a 5.5-inch 1080p display, an octa-core MediaTek MT6795 CPU, a 13MP rear-facing camera, a 5MP front-facing camera and 4G LTE support. Just keep in mind that this image may be a fake, so we won’t know anything for sure until June 29th rolls around.

Merge VR demonstration at E3 2015

Virtual Reality is all the rage nowadays, with its impressive applications in the world of gaming making it is a huge part of E3 2015. While there are a few great options already available, not all of them are particularly affordable, and in some cases, not very user-friendly either, but that is all slowly changing. Merge VR is hoping to also make an impression in this segment with their latest virtual reality headset, which we were able to spend some time with at their event.

The Merge VR is made from a high quality polyurethane foam that has more give to it while being durable, making it very comfortable to wear, compared to the hard plastics that you get with some other VR headsets. The top strap that goes over your head is also removable, so you don’t have to worry about messing up your hairstyle while wearing the device.

It has to be mentioned that the Merge VR will be fully compatible with Google Cardboard, which is big plus. Beyond that, it will have its own ecosystem of apps and user interface, that take advantage of the additional remote that comes with it. The company’s own application will also be available, where you can find compatible apps that are downloadable from the Google Play Store.

The remote is reminiscent of the Wii remote, albeit in a more compact form factor, that offers functionality that is quite similar. For example, if you are playing a game that requires any action, you can just swing the remote around or press the buttons, the way you would when using the Wii controller. The remote can even be used to navigate around the app and other features you get with the headset, and connects to your smartphone using Bluetooth. The remote also attaches to the side of the headset, so you don’t have to worry about losing this compact accessory.

As for the looks of the device, while the final VR headset will look about the same as it did in the demo, Merge VR says the remote will be of a hard plastic and will likely take on a more polished form at final release.

Although VR is obviously the big push here, the Merge VR is also being built with AR in mind. As you briefly saw in the video, the front of the headset does open up so you can use the camera for enhanced AR experiences. The demos we were shown weren’t too revolutionary, but it was still a very welcome extra.

At this stage in its development, device compatibility is limited to smartphones running iOS, but full Android support will be available with the final release product when it is officially released later this year. Another big selling point of the Merge VR is its price point, with the device expected to feature a price tag of around $130, which will make it one of the cheaper options when it’s released as far as VR headsets are concerned.

As for device support? Any handset up to about 5.5-inches should fit reasonably well. For reference, my own Huawei Mate 7 was just a tad too big, but anything under that should play nicely.

So there you have it for this quick look at the Merge VR! The Merge VR is another great example of how OEMs are expanding on what Google Cardboard is doing, and while it may not be at the level you get from a device like the Oculus Rift, this is certainly a lot more accessible, portable, easier to setup, and more importantly, easily affordable.

Stay tuned with Android Authority as we continue to bring you more great Android-related coverage from E3 2015!