Give YouTube a round of [APPLAUSE] — sound effects are now auto captioned
Why it matters to you
Video creators will no longer have to manually add sound effects to closed captioning for three sounds, while viewers can enjoy more accurately labeled videos.
YouTube deserves a round of applause — because the video platform can now include [APPLAUSE] and other sound effects in a video’s closed captions automatically. The caption expansion, announced on Thursday, March 23, is made possible by deep neural networks, a form of artificial intelligence.
For now, YouTube can only automatically label applause, music, and laughter, but those three sound effects were the descriptions content creators added manually over any other closed captioning noise. The latest feature builds on the automatic captioning feature launched in 2009 for text, but adds the first sound effects to the system.
More: YouTube viewers now tally up a billion hours — every single day
YouTube says the program works similarly to detecting objects in images, but faced a few more difficulties over object recognition. To get the program to recognize just those three sounds, YouTube engineers had to teach the program to detect those sounds, separate them temporarily and then insert that recognized sound into the captions.
The system also tended to struggle with sound effects that occurred at the same time as other sounds, like laughter and talking. Another challenge was to find a large enough data set to train the system that wasn’t already adequately labeled by manually inputting the data.
The deep learning network analyzes short segments in sequence, and is able to predict the likelihood of those sounds effects at a rate of about 100 frames per second. YouTube engineers, however, built the system in a way that will allow additional sound effects to be added to the system later.
So why applause, music, and laughter? Besides just being the most frequently manually adjusted labels in the close captioning system, each of those sounds also only has one meaning. A “ring,” YouTube explained, in offering an example, could be a ring from a doorbell, a phone, or an alarm, presenting a whole new challenge for the software.
According to YouTube, over 15 million videos with automatic captions are viewed every day. In a test of the latest update to the auto captions, two thirds said the sound effect labels enhanced the overall experience.
Gorillaz takes to Google Spotlight Stories for new VR music video ahead of album release
The future is coming on, is coming on, is coming on… in VR.
Gorillaz have a new album dropping on April 28, and they’ve taken to Google’s nascent VR platform to promote it. Partnering with Google Spotlight Stories, the new truly weird VR music video titled Saturnz Barz is available on YouTube VR with the some very interesting antics and — as always — some sick beats.
The VR video can be broken down into two portions: the main video is a 360-degree horror movie drug trip, and the beginning and end of the video put you on a seemingly normal train car watching the beginning and end of the music video on a virtual smartphone. The video gets a bit trippy, between the alien monsters and the psychedelic space journey, but judge it for yourself.
Maybe not at work, as there is a censored-but-still-very-much-naked virtual bandmate in here.
Check it out on Cardboard or Daydream, or wherever you get your VR fix!
Google Daydream
- Daydream View review
- The ultimate guide to Daydream
- These phones support Daydream VR
- Every Daydream app you can download
- Catch up with Daydream in the forums!
Nova Launcher is getting a new feature that you’re going to love
Unread badges have always been a controversial piece of the home screen experience.
Some people can’t live or work without knowing how many hundreds of emails they are away from Inbox Zero. Some people just like having the badge to remind them of notifications and messages they may have ignored. Some people just can’t stand the look of ’em. Whatever camp you may be in, there’s a new kind of unread badge to try in the latest Nova Launcher beta update: Dynamic Badges.
In the notification badges section of Nova Launcher, you can now choose between Dynamic Badges, which will give little icons based on the notification it’s pulling the badges from for each app, or old-fashioned Numeric Badges.
If you choose the Dynamic Badges, your options are blessedly simple: what corner do you want them in and what size would you prefer for them. It may take restarting Nova Launcher for the badges to start populating on your home screen, but once they begin populating, you’ll see little badges in the corners of your apps and folders when you have notifications.
If the dynamic notification is on an app in a folder, rather than showing that app’s dynamic notification in the folder icon, it’ll show a tiny version of the app’s icon instead. Dynamic badges are based on notifications, and pull images from the notifications, meaning you’ll see album art if you’re playing music or a person’s face if they pester you on Slack.
They’re early, but it’s going to be an interesting experiment. This is also the first time Nova Launcher has offered notification badges without making you download a plugin for it.
If you’re interested in trying Dynamic Notifications, you can opt into the Nova Launcher beta over on Google+.
The best Android launchers for theming
The Moto G5 Plus home screen shows just how weird Google’s chat strategy is right now
Boot up a fresh new Moto G5 and get ready to be at least a little confused.
Check out the home screen for a new Moto G5 Plus and you’ll find the usual Google Apps folder full of bloatware useful Google-made apps, and on the other side of the Moto app you’ll find an icon for Google Duo. We know that Google exercises quite a bit of control over how an Android phone with the Google Play Services onboard needs to look, with some special emphasis on the home screen.
It’s not unusual for Google to want to show off new apps, so it’s not too odd to see Duo on the home page instead of in the Google folder, but Duo is alone on the home screen. There’s no Allo to be found. In fact, it’s not even installed on the phone.
Google’s messaging strategy for the future should be super clear by now. Allo and Duo, the chat and video messaging service unveiled at Google I/O last year, are the default apps for consumers. Hangouts Meet and Hangouts Chat, the re-branded counterparts every Android user has seen for the last couple of years, is for businesses or large groups. There’s no law saying you must use one or the other if you prefer, but the dividing lines have become fairly clear and Google seems committed to building Allo and Duo up to offer something unique and useful to users.
So why is it the new budget-friendly and surprisingly capable Moto G5 Plus, complete with Android 7.0, doesn’t reflect that strategy when you boot the phone for the first time?
Seriously, I don’t know. You tell me.
Moto G5
- Current OS version: Android 7.0
- Current security: Jan. 2017 (More info)
- Moto G5 Specs
- Top 10 things to know about the Moto G5
- Moto G5 vs Moto G4
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- Join our Moto G5 forums!
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It’s Morphin’ Time with these Power Rangers wallpapers
It’s Morphin’ Time!
This year — heck, this month — has already seen its fair share of nostalgia. And as we continue to bring back all that was awesome about the 90’s, we can’t leave out everyone’s favorite super-cheesy martial-arts-packed TV franchise: Nick Saban’s Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers! Now, I know there’s a lot to be apprehensive about with this reboot film, what with the big budgets and the wild new looks, but it’s still five teens with attitude against Rita Repulsor and the forces of evil.
Now grab your Power Coins and let’s go go Power Rangers!
This is actually a pretty great mash-up, because we have five “teens with attitude” who have been stereotyped not only by normal society but by the very power that has recruited them. Once we start digging into their journeys and their battles, we pull back the layers and see the complexities of each Ranger and the complexities of their relationships.
Also, can we just imagine the five of them stuck in weekend detention together?
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers n.12 – variant cover by DenisM79
The White Ranger is a fascinating arc of redemption and recovery. Tommy was the first evil Power Ranger, and when he finally was freed from Rita’s control and switched sides, he fought as the Green Ranger. Then that power was taken away from him, and he was lost… then like a Phoenix, he rose as the White Ranger, with a sick costume and an incredible new power.
The White Ranger is a reminder that even when you go into the dark, you can come back out and shine again. And by shine, I mean kick evil’s ass again and again.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers White Ranger by The-WoobiE
Pink Ranger BAM!
Ranger Pink may not be as classic and bold as red or blue, but pink is bright, vibrant, and completely ready to kick your ass! BAM!! That’s the brilliance of the Pink Ranger, it stands out, looks like an easy target, and then it will absolutely destroy you. People say they want to be Red Ranger or White Ranger, but no, I don’t want that. If I can’t be that absolutely sick teal that was Blue Mystic Ranger, then I wanna be Pink.
Real Rangers Wear Pink.
Pink Ranger BAM!
Red Ranger is the leader of the team, the first to believe in the power of the Power Rangers, a good man with a big heart and bigger muscles. Generations may come and go, styles may change, but Red Ranger is a constant, and Red Ranger is gonna call down that ridiculously sick Tyrannosaurus Rex Zord and take care of business.
Red Ranger by RedZeo5
Power Ranger use Power Coins and Power Up… and they call their Zords to fight larger threats. I get that Zordon gave them their powers and gave them the Zords, and I get that you get to name your creations, but that name is horrible. What isn’t horrible is this Megazord wallpaper, which is just about as awesome as a giant sword-wielding robot can look. The defensive stance, the lightning arcing to the tip of the sword… oooh, this just makes me want to pop some popcorn and settle in for some outrageous mecha battles and martial arts madness!
Megazord by Mephmmb
Fossil continues trying to sell smartwatches to the mainstream with new product lineup
Fossil’s new hybrid and touchscreen smartwatches combine stylish design with the powerful features of Android Wear 2.0.
Fossil was one of the first watchmakers to get in on the smartwatch game, releasing its first attempt, the Fossil Q Founder back in 2015. More recently, its second-generation smartwatches were upgraded to Android Wear 2.0, giving them most of the same functionality as the new LG Watch Sport — excluding the hardware limitations.
This week, at the Baselworld watch and jewellery conference in Switzerland, Fossil revealed a slew of new watch styles for 2017, all running on the latest Android Wear 2.0.
First, there’s the new touchscreen watches, the 42mm diameter Q Venture and 44mm diameter Q Explorist. The new watches feature Fossil’s first ever round touchscreen, offering a much more cohesive look. Both run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor and 4GB of built-in memory along with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity and an improved magnetic charger. Running on Android Wear 2.0 means they allow for downloadable third-party apps and watchfaces from Google Play, along with Google Assistant integration. These new styles will start rolling out in the fall with prices starting at $255.
Fossil also unveiled its latest hybrid smartwatches, the Q Accomplice and Q Activist. Offering an unassumingly traditional watch face, these hybrids are slim yet come with functionality for activity tracking and notifications for calls, texts, emails, and calendar events. They also feature programmable “pusher” buttons on the side which can be used to take selfies with your phone, skip tracks while listening to music, or for playing a unique ringtone for those times you misplace your phone. These new styles will be available later this year and will retail with prices starting from $155.
Blending Fossil’s stylish watch design with smartwatch features, these new devices exemplify Fossil future vision for this market.
“Almost two years after our initial launch, it is abundantly clear why we entered this market: as creatives, we felt there was a void of beautifully designed smartwatches where users could customize technology to their unique lifestyle,” said Jill Elliott, Fossil’s Chief Creative Officer.
Thanks to Google’s latest Android Wear 2.0 software, 2017 is shaping up to be a huge year for Android wearables. Expect to hear more smartwatch news emerge from Baselworld, as the conference continues through the weekend, wrapping up March 30.
What do you think about these watches? Since the release of Android Wear 2.0, are you more inclined to buy a smartwatch from a traditional watch manufacturer, or are you still more comfortable buying your wearable tech from companies like LG or Motorola? Let us know in the comments!
Michael Kors returns with more Android Wear 2.0 watches, this time with jewels
Android Wear
- Everything you need to know about Android Wear 2.0
- LG Watch Sport review
- LG Watch Style review
- These watches will get Android Wear 2.0
- Discuss Android Wear in the forums!
Mint SIM vs. Metro PCS: Which is better for you?
How does Mint SIM stack up against Metro PCS Wireless? Here’s our comparison!
Mint SIM and Metro PCS are both mobile virtual network operators — MVNOs for short. They’re known as alternative carriers, offering consumers choices beyond the Big Four (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint).
Switching to an MVNO can save you money because they simply lease coverage from one of the larger networks and resell it to customers. Plans are often prepaid, so you don’t have to worry about overages.
Let’s take a look at two major players — Mint SIM and Metro PCS — and see how they compare to one another.
- Mint SIM background
- Metro PCS background
- Mint SIM plans
- Metro PCS plans
- Best phones available from Metro PCS
- Which should you go with?
Mint SIM background
Who owns it? Ultra Mobile
Which network does it use? T-Mobile 4G LTE
How long has it been around? Since 2016
Tethering allowed? Yes
Cheapest plan: $35 for 1 month: 2GB 4G LTE, unlimited nationwide talk, text, and 2G data
Metro PCS background
Who owns it? T-Mobile
Which network does it use? T-Mobile 4G LTE
How long has it been around? Since 1994 (originally as General Wireless). Merged with T-Mobile in 2012.
Tethering allowed? Yes, on all but the $50 unlimited data plan
Cheapest plan: $30/month: 1GB 4G LTE, unlimited talk, text, and 2G data
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Mint SIM plans
Mint SIM doesn’t operate with traditional contracts. You pay upfront for your term, which can be 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or 12 months, with “buying in bulk” saving you more money in the long run. All plans include unlimited nationwide talk, text, and data, though you only get so much 4G LTE per month. Unlimited international texting is included in all plans.
| 1 month | $35 | $50 | $60 |
| 3 months | $69 ($23/month) | $99 ($33/month) | $119 ($39.67/month) |
| 6 months | $119 ($19.83/month) | $169 ($28.17/month) | $209 ($34.83/month) |
| 12 months | $199 ($16.58/month) | $299 ($24.92/month) | $399 ($33.25/month) |
Add-ons
As far as add-ons are concerned, Mint SIM’s selection is very slim:
Extra data:
- 1GB/month: $10
- 3GB/month: $20
International credit:
Mint SIM’s plans contain no international calling, though unlimited international texting is included. You can add international calling credit to your account in $5, $10, or $20 increments.
You can see a list of international rates here.
Metro PCS plans
All Metro PCS plans include unlimited talk, text, and data, and its website features a data calculator to help you find a plan that fits your specific needs based on your estimated usage. There are no annual contracts with Metro PCS; you pay on a month-to-month basis.
— | — | —
| 1GB LTE | 3GB LTE | Unlimited LTE Data | Unlimited LTE Data (plus 8GB hotspot).spec-table
Price (monthly) | $30 | $40 | $50 | $60
Extras | | Music Unlimited | Music Unlimited | Music Unlimited
Plan Features
All plans from Metro PCS feature no annual contracts, with all taxes or regulatory fees included in the price. Voicemail and visual voicemail are included with each plan, along with Caller ID, Call Waiting and 3-way Calling.
Music Unlimited is included on $40 and higher rate plans, which lets you stream from 40+ streaming music services including Apple Music, Pandora, iHeartRadio, Napster, Spotify, and more without it counting against your monthly high-speed data allotment.
4G LTE Mobile Hotspot is included in all plans except for the $50 unlimited plan.
Additional Services
Napster Unlimited Music
For $10 a month, you get unlimited, ad-free access to the Napster app, which allows you to download and play your favorite music for offline listening or stream online. There are ad-free artist radio channels to choose from as well as live radio options available There are millions of songs available to be downloaded.
Mexico Unlimited
Do you have friends or family living in Mexico? Do you often vacation south of the border? For only $5 a month, you can add Mexico Unlimited to your plan and get unlimited calling to and from Mexico to mobile phones and landlines, unlimited data in Mexico just as you would receive in the U.S. (based on your $40, $50, or $60 base rate plan), as well as unlimited text messages, sending and receiving, while in Mexico.
Canada Unlimited
Essentially the same as Mexico Unlimited, except for our pals to the North. For $5 a month, you get unlimited calling to and from Canada (including mobile phones and landlines), unlimited data while in Canada (high-speed data based on your $40, $50, or $60 base rate plan), as well as unlimited text messaging while in Canada.
Value Bundle of Features
For just $5 a month, you can add five features to your account to make life easier. They include:
- Name ID: Blocks calls from unwanted, restricted, anonymous, private or unknown parties. Also includes Reverse Number Lookup and Real Time Caller ID.
- International Text Messaging: Send text messages across the globe. Find the full list of countries here.
- Voicemail to Text: Converts your voicemails to texts and delivers them straight to your phone
- Call Forwarding: Allows you to forward calls to any local number. Call Forwarding is easy to setup and use for those times when it might come in handy.
- Unlimited Directory Assistance: Unlimited calls to directory assistance for business and residential listings in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico.
The Premium Handset Protection Program
For an added $6 a month, Premium Handset Protection covers your device against loss, theft, damage and out-of-warranty malfunction. Includes access to Lookout Mobile Security Premium, which helps keep your device secure by backing up your data including your contacts, photos and call history, and will also send you an email alert if they suspect your phone has been stolen.
Premium Handset Protection can only be added on the day of activation.
Best phones available from Metro PCS
You can bring an unlocked phone to Metro PCS; just check compatibility first. If you don’t have a phone to bring, we recommend the following:
- Samsung Galaxy S7: $549 (after offers)
- iPhone 7 32GB: $649
- iPhone 7 128GB: $749
- iPhone 7 Plus 32GB: $769
- iPhone 7 Plus: 128GB: $869
- Samsung Galaxy S6: $299
Which should I go with? Mint SIM
Both Mint SIM and Metro PCS use T-Mobile’s network, so deciding which to go with will really depend on how much data you expect to use, and the extra features available from Metro PCS.
From a purely price-conscious perspective, Mint SIM is the better option, especially if you have an unlocked phone of your own. So long as you sign up for three months or longer at a time, you get a lot more data for your money even when compared to the Metro PCS unlimited plans. 5GB to 10GB of data a month is probably going to be more than plenty for the average person.
However, if you frequently travel to Canada and/or Mexico, then Metro PCS offers the better deal with its Canada Unlimited and Mexico Unlimited deals. Getting unlimited calling and texting, as well as being able to use your base rate data while out of country is a huge plus that simply isn’t available with Mint SIM.
Alternative carriers (MVNOS)
- What is an alternative mobile carrier?
- What are the advantages of going with an alternative carrier?
- How to make sure your phone works on a prepaid alternative carrier
- 8 Important Considerations When Switching To An MVNO
- These are the cheapest data plans you can buy in the U.S.
- Mint SIM vs. Cricket Wireless: Which is better for you?
Treasury secretary doesn’t see AI as a threat to jobs
Anyone who’s been paying attention to the rise of machine learning and artificial intelligence over the last decade likely will admit that those technologies are going to effect the economy in ways we can’t fully predict quite yet. For treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin, however, it’s apparently business as usual. In an interview today with Mike Allen from Axios, Mnuchin said that technology that could displace jobs was “50 to 100 more years” away and that the issue is “not even on my radar screen.”
Mnuchin went on to clarify his comment a bit, noting that he doesn’t think self-driving cars use artificial intelligence because “that’s computers and using real technology we have today.” It’s a comment that shows his understanding of machine learning and AI to be rather short-sighted and outdated. Mnuchin said that he is thinking more about robots taking people’s jobs, invoking the R2-D2 droid from Star Wars, saying that a self-driving car network is “very different from artificial, you know, R2-D2 taking over your job.”
Overall, he said he’s “not at all” worried about robots or AI displacing jobs in the short term. “in fact, I’m optimistic,” he said, referring to the potential of technology to help “create productivity.” That may be true — but last December, the Obama administration released a detailed report that claimed automation and artificial intelligence could affect between nine and 47 percent of jobs over the next 10 to 20 years. There’s a lot of room for ambiguity in that figure, but even the low end of estimates is still a notable impact.
Not surprisingly, the reaction to Mnuchin’s comments from tech leaders came swiftly and with much condemnation. Futurist author Amy Web went on a tweetstorm in which she said that Mnuchin’s comment was “one of the most misguided things I’ve heard from the Trump Admin so far.” Indie developer Brian Mueller called his comments “dangerously incompetent,” while former Clinton Administration official Larry Irving said that Mnuchin’s view was “actually kind of frightening.”
Mnuchin: Losing human jobs to AI “not even on our radar screen.”
Exclusive video of GOP radar screen⬇️ pic.twitter.com/O8ufcRs3oz
— Hunter Walk ✎ (@hunterwalk) March 24, 2017
There will likely be plenty more comments condemning this viewpoint, as there are many examples of instances in which technology will start to replace jobs being done by humans. Just look at Amazon’s grocery that doesn’t need human cashiers, or the many companies working on delivery by drone — and that’s to say nothing of the impact the self-driving car will have, something Mnuchin did at least acknowledge. But when Bill Gates is proposing robot taxes to help humans find jobs when machines take over, it’s pretty short-sighted not to consider that the impact of AI will be felt sooner than later.
Source: CSPAN, Axios
Mass Effect Andromeda review: RPG heavyweight returns with promise… and pitfalls
Role-players have had a great year so far. First, Horizon: Zero Dawn, then The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Now Mass Effect: Andromeda has arrived after many years of eager anticipation. You can say goodbye to spring, that’s for sure.
The last of those game is more accessible than the others. It’s the only one of the three that is multi-platform, so finally Xbox One and PC gamers also get an RPG to sink their teeth into, alongside their PS4 and Switch chums. The big question is, would they want to?
Our answer would be yes, we think so. Although there are caveats. Several, actually.
Mass Effect Andromeda review: A huge game world
Mass Effect: Andromeda is a massive game, with so much to see and do outside of the main campaign that you could be lost in a fog of fetch quests for weeks. Much of it is unnecessary if you’re the sort of player who couldn’t care less about the detail and minutiae of the new galaxy in which it is set, but we’re the sort of players that must complete everything on offer. Everything. And there is plenty.
After the last Mass Effect trilogy ended, was complained about, then ended again, Bioware knew that it had crafted a sci-fi mythos almost on a par with Star Wars, but what to do with it? The former trilogy came to a definitive conclusion, so a new adventure and setting was to be crafted, new characters too. That meant an awful lot of new backstory and exposition was needed, which makes Andromeda bloated at times.
Its pace suffers as a result. But in return you get a detailed, rich gamescape that, by the end, sets up future chapters well. Hopefully they will be leaner, presuming you have a lot of knowledge already, so the groundwork here should set you in good stead in future. Think of it as a new Spider-Man or Batman film – every so often we need to be told the origin story again as part of yet another reboot – but it pays off in the end (well, almost).
In terms of Mass Effect, the reboot/sequel this time actually has a simple premise. You are a human on a quest to colonise new worlds in a far galaxy, Andromeda, as part of a wider, multi-species initiative. Things don’t quite go to plan though, with the giant space arks of the other races disappearing, and you are soon given the role of pathfinder and having to discover new planets to inhabit.
EA
This brings you in contact with a few new alien races, including the biggest threat this time around, the Kett, and so your adventure begins.
One interesting aspect to the campaign is that, not only can you customise your lead character to your own visual parameters, you can choose to play as either Scott or Sara Ryder, brother and sister twins. Previous games in the series have allowed you to play male or female characters, but not one of two different people.
Mass Effect Andromeda review: Thunderbirds are go!
It doesn’t really make much difference in the long run, but is a nice thought and much needed in a games market dominated by male heroes, with one or two exceptions. The only issue is, whichever you choose, they’ll suffer from one of the game’s biggest caveats: poor character animation.
EA
To be fair, Mass Effect: Andromeda looks amazing on the whole. There are many planets to visit throughout the story, with huge open-world landscapes to explore, and they each look individual and stunning. From the ice-covered, Angaran resistance planet of Voeld (Hoth anyone?), to the sulphur-barking toxic playground of Kadara, the vistas are beautifully rendered – even more so on PS4 Pro in 1800p and HDR.
However, during conversations, animation can look plastic. At times, Scott or Sara look like Thunderbirds puppets, not only in their movement but with dead eyes and blank expressions. We particularly like Thunderbirds (Gerry Anderson’s original anyway) but it does distract from an otherwise visually rich game.
The animations were tweaked a bit for a day one patch released by Bioware slightly before release, but we expect this to be addressed and improved further. It needs to be.
EA/Bioware/Nvidia
We also expect the litany of bugs to be wheedled out. Or, at least, we hope they will. Slightly dodgy animation aside, it is these that irk the most and stop Andromeda being the five-star game it could have been.
Having played the vast majority of side missions, as mentioned, we found a fair few that were broken – often to the extent that they couldn’t be completed. Sometimes waypoints remained even though we’d completed that segment. Sometimes they didn’t appear at all, so we couldn’t continue. And sometimes characters we were meant to meet at a mission point didn’t show, again leading us to a dead end.
We did find that some of these bugs could be circumnavigated through quitting and reloading, going back to an earlier save game or heading back to the Tempest (your ship) and to the planet again, but these are all experiencing-breaking fixes. The bugs shouldn’t be there in the first place.
The same goes for graphical glitches, with the occasional shimmering texture, lackadaisical background pop-in and, at times, floating enemies sitting at odds with their Frostbite Engine-fuelled surroundings.
EA/Bioware/Nvidia
Of course, Andromeda isn’t the first RPG to have such issues – not even the first Bioware game – but they are irritating to find after such a long development and testing phase. There has been a five-year gap between the last two Mass Effect games, after all, and this is a triple-A game we’ve been awaiting with baited breath all that time.
Mass Effect Andromeda review: Crafting and depth
Perhaps because of that wait we’re willing to overlook some of the issues though. The size and depth of the game certainly lives up to the hype.
EA/Bioware/Nvidia
Combat has also been tweaked significantly to the extent where it feels more like The Division or Destiny than previous Mass Effects. Jet packs have been added to characters, so verticality comes into play during fast-paced skirmishes.
And while battles, like exploration, are conducted in a third-person view, they feel like multiplayer first-person forays. They can be tricky to get to grips with initially, they are so quick and you are so under-powered, but you soon get the hang of it. Better weaponry and powers help too.
Character development, in fact, is essential in Andromeda, as it is in 99 per cent of role-playing games, and Bioware has finely tuned its systems to ensure it is as smooth and quick a process as can be. It is easy to assign different abilities and powers to your lead, as well as the accompanying NPCs on your team – of which you can take two at a time into fights, as in earlier games.
EA
You no longer have to rely on looting or vendors for the best weaponry though. Crafting has been introduced to the series and while it can be a chore to collect the right amount of materials, elements and augmentations to research and develop new guns, armour and the like, it is highly rewarding when you use something you build yourself to take off the top of a Kett soldier’s noggin. It’s not as intuitive as in some games – the latest Zelda especially – but a good addition that we think will be refined for future games in the series.
Verdict
That’s Mass Effect: Andromeda in a nutshell. It feels like a new beginning that holds great promise once the less welcome aspects are ironed out – partly through bug fixes for this chapter and partly through gameplay choices for subsequent outings.
It won’t float everyone’s boat, there’s far too much bloat and noise for many, but there’s no doubting its ambition. Bioware has exhibited a fine mastery over storytelling many times in the past and does so again here. The direction, over voice-acting especially, is also top drawer.
It just needed more polish to be a game of the year contender. As it stands, it offers a lengthy, in-depth and, ultimately, satisfying journey. You’ll just need to accept that it won’t always be a smooth one.
Geneva Lab Touring S is all the radio you need in a compact, portable package
Swiss audio brand Geneva Lab has just unveiled a new range of portable radios called Touring S. They’re designed and marketed as an entry level series, but don’t scrimp on the features.
Being a radio first and foremost, you get both FM and DAB+ tuners; an FM antenna is cleverly hidden inside the body and can pop out at a moment’s notice. Keen radio users among you will know DAB+ isn’t available in the UK, but you’ll still be able to pick up ‘regular’ DAB broadcasts.
But we live in an age of streaming, and the Touring S is more than happy to cater for the new generation by having built-in Bluetooth for wireless connectivity to smartphones and mobile devices.
Everything is packaged inside a portable body that’s half precision-engineered aluminium and half leather, which is available in four colours: red, black, cognac and white.
Geneva is a bit of an expert when it comes to sound quality, and so the Touring S radio series has high-quality neodymium speaker drivers under the hood, which claim to deliver an “exceptionally wide frequency range and low distortion”. The result is “rich and powerful sound that shines when listening to vocals”.
The built-in rechargeable battery claims to provide up to 20 hours of playback time, depending on use, of course. If you don’t want to listen to radio, and have an older device you want to connect via 3.5mm jack, then you’re more than welcome, as there’s a port on the back next to the charging input.
The complete range of colours will be on sale from April for £170.
AIVAnet 