‘Xbox Fitness’ no longer requires the Kinect
The Kinect, once such an integral part of Microsoft’s Xbox One story, just lost a big toehold. You no longer need the depth sensor for Xbox Fitness, a key non-gaming app. The device brings gamification to workouts and forces you to think about form, so the app is more like a streaming service without it. However, dropping the requirement certainly opens it up to more users. Folks who compete with friends might also be disappointed to know that non-Kinect rivals still get a score just for watching the videos. Kinect users can score higher, though, and new workout titles will continue to support the camera. There’s no word on whether Microsoft might offer smartphone body tracking like it does with Just Dance Now.
Another much-demanded new feature is workout downloading. If you buy workouts like Mossa fights or P90x, you can download the content to your hard drive rather than streaming it. For those of us with occasionally weak connections, that should let you get through an intense workout without an abrupt, possibly hazardous stop in the action. The update is now available, but some Reddit users are reporting that not all workouts can be downloaded, so we’ve reached out for more details.
Source: Microsoft Studios
Razer debuts its ‘Leviathan Mini’ portable soundbar
Razer introduced a smaller, portable version of its popular Leviathan sound bar on Thursday. Dubbed the Leviathan Mini, this 24-watt system ditches the original’s subwoofer for a pair of 12-watt drivers. And while it may not have the ear-bursting power of its predecessor, the Mini still packs an auditory punch — and a couple of cool tricks to boot.
The Mini utilizes a Bluetooth 4 to connect with your mobile device (up to 30 feet away). It can also pair with a second Mini unit over BT4, using the Combo Play feature, to either mirror the virtualized 5.1 surround sound output or act as separate left and right channels. What’s more, the Mini incorporates a noise-cancelling microphone (powered by aptX‘s Clear Voice Capture tech) allowing the bar to take phone calls as well. The Mini will retail for $180 when it hits shelves in January of next year. You can preorder one right now on Razer’s website.
I got a chance to use the Mini for a few days earlier this week. Consider me rather impressed. Since its 12w speakers face both forward and rear, it can easily fill a room with sound — especially when you have a pair of them daisy-chained together. I tested my unit using podcasts and a smattering of streaming music. When you’re listening to news or dialog, the output is very crisp. However the bass does tend to muddy the mids and highs when streaming music — especially the brands of metal and rock that dominate my musical archives. Plus there’s no way to adjust the unit’s equalizer so what you hear is what you get.
In fact, a lot of the speaker’s functionality is rather opaque. There isn’t a battery meter, volume indicator or even a remote. Heck, I’m still not entirely sure what the circle button on top of the unit does. On the plus side, the Mini’s 2,600mAh battery is rated for up to 10 hours of playback on an hour-long charge so you’ll have plenty of time to listen.
Xbox One adds ‘Halo: Reach’ and 15 more playable 360 titles
Microsoft’s Xbox One has had a stellar release slate over the last few months, packed with exclusive games like Rise of the Tomb Raider and multiplatform hits such as Fallout 4 and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Still not satisfied? Well, there’s now an additional 16 games from the Xbox 360 era that you can play on your Xbox One via backwards compatibility. Some of the highlights include the head-scratching puzzle-platformer Braid, indie darling Spelunky, Portal and Fable 3.
There’s also Halo: Reach, which, alongside The Master Chief Collection and Halo 5: Guardians, means that every mainline Halo game is now playable on the Xbox One. If the latest effort from 343 Industries has you feeling bummed, perhaps Bungie’s swansong can fill you with festive cheer?
Oh, and if you need a reminder, here’s a quick video explaining how backwards compatibility works on the Xbox One:
Source: Major Nelson
You can search for ‘Mario Maker’ levels on the web next week
Crafting truly brilliant Mario Maker levels isn’t easy, but finding them soon will be. Nintendo just announced its “Super Mario Maker Bookmark” portal will go live on December 21 so you can search for levels to play from a computer or mobile device instead of just on your Wii U. Better yet, you’ll be able to flag those primo levels from whatever device you’re working with — they’ll appear in the Course World tab so you don’t have to worry about finding your favorite works all over again.
Nintendo first revealed the portal in a Nintendo Direct livestream last November, where they also confirmed that players have crafted over 3.3 million levels since the game’s launch. Of course, what they didn’t mention at the time is all the other stuff that’s slated to augment the game on the 21st. Course pages will display infuriating World Record completion times, and designers get new items like bumpers, P Warp Doors and a Fire Koopa Clown Car (“capable of shooting fireballs as well as a powerful charged shot that can even destroy Blocks”) for even more effective trolling.
Source: BusinessWire
ICYMI: We’ve gone full Leia in honor of Star Wars
Today on In Case You Missed It: Many of you will be leaving work as quickly as possible to catch an early screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We’re helping you prepare for the glory of what awaits with a round-up of some of our favorite Star Wars moments and characters with all the products, amazing DIYs and games that are rocking our galaxy.
We’ll be back to normal for tomorrow, so if you see any interesting science or tech videos, please share with us! Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag to @mskerryd.
Microsoft’s mixed reality is for developers, not the public
HoloLens, the augmented reality headset Microsoft’s been touting as a future pillar of its Windows business, isn’t “fun” to use. At least, it wasn’t for me during my whirlwind round of developer-focused demos at Microsoft’s flagship store in New York. That’s to say, any and all comparisons to emerging virtual reality tech and related gaming or entertainment applications should be excised from the conversation for now. It’s not “immersive” as one Microsoft rep stressed to me, clearly keen to avoid the confused commingling of AR and VR buzzwords. It’s “complementary.”
If anything, HoloLens is very much a powerful tool for business, science and education — both Volvo and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory are actively experimenting with it. And as Microsoft demonstrated at its brand new HoloLens developer experience, set to open on the upper floors of its Fifth Avenue shop this Thursday, it’s armed with enough proof of concept to make good on its enterprise promise.
Whereas virtual reality replaces your physical world with a simulated one, augmented reality complements it with added holographic overlays. And unlike the constrained atmosphere required to enter VR, HoloLens is designed to be a free-roaming experience — there are no wires to get tangled in or dangling cords to distract you. The headset, which runs Windows 10 and is cosmetically similar to the unit developers will be receiving come Q1 next year (at a cost of $3,000), sports a clean design and is battery-operated (Microsoft isn’t ready to comment on just how long a charge will last). It’s also relatively easy to put on and adjust once you’re given the initial tutorial and have had your eyes measured for interpupillary distance — the latter of which was required to properly set up each demo.
There is no “wow” factor when engaging with HoloLens, not even when playing Microsoft’s Project XRay game, one of three demos the company had arranged for the showcase. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Because the experience takes place in the real world, it’s not confusing for your brain to accept and navigate — it truly is a “mixed reality.” Even the tap gesture, which requires users to hold one finger upright and “click” the air to select, is easy enough to grasp and replicate.
All of the holographic action — in this instance, metallic, insect-like enemies pouring out of the walls and shooting lasers — takes place in a small widescreen window hovering just in front of you; your peripheral vision is left intact. Looking to the far left or far right, however, can very easily break the AR-illusion.
‘Project XRay’ looks like more fun to play in this photo than in the actual demo.
The gameplay in Project XRay is somewhat frantic, due in part to the insects’ rapid movement around the room. This, in turn, had the unfortunate effect of shifting the holographic window, which continually dipped lower as I dodged and twisted, making it harder to find and destroy the enemy bugs. It’s a problem remedied easily enough by tightening the headset using an adjustable wheel on back. I, however, opted for a looser, more comfortable fit, so mea culpa.
Though you can rely on voice- and gesture-control to manipulate most HoloLens apps, Project XRay makes use of an Xbox One controller, the triggers of which are mapped to the player’s weapons. It’s a stark contrast to the “wearable” wrist-mounted laser cannon, overlaid on a physical, wand-like controller, the company showed off during the game’s initial reveal. That this playable demo of Project XRay relies on an Xbox One controller doesn’t detract from the gameplay, but it is another example of how Microsoft is managing expectations for its AR tech: publicly showcasing its massive potential and privately demonstrating its more practical reality.
Certainly, Microsoft’s enhanced and tightly controlled presentations at E3 and its BUILD developer conference haven’t helped matters much. Those HoloLens demos paint an ambitious and far-reaching future portrait of how AR will integrate into our lives and not necessarily how the limited tech functions at present, as we’ve noted when playing HoloLens versions of Minecraft and Halo 5.
Project XRay might not be the killer gaming app to sell Microsoft’s AR tech to developers, but there is an, admittedly, less exciting software that should do the trick: HoloStudio. The app is a more accurate representation of what HoloLens can do as a tool and indicative of what early partners are likely doing with the headset. HoloStudio is, quite literally, a creative toolbox that should appeal to designers seeking to build 3D models in a physical space and retail brands that want to offer “virtual” product tours at luxury showrooms.
After scanning the surrounding area, HoloStudio begins by allowing the user to pin their toolbox to the room, filled with all the drawing tools one might find in a scaled-down version of Photoshop, and then proceed to select or create a holographic object. For the purpose of this demo, Microsoft pre-loaded three holo-objects, so no actual 3D sculpting was involved. One object, a wooden placard, was used to let users get a sense of how a 3D-printed object might look in a physical space. That portion of the demo even offered the ability to upload the design to OneDrive or send it directly to a 3D printer.
The others showcased more rudimentary aspects of HoloStudio: An X-wing starfighter floating in the middle of the room was paired with the painting tool, allowing me to walk around and tilt my head to select portions of it, and tap to paint. And a cartoony underwater scene made use of HoloLens’ many voice commands, giving me the ability to make the 3D model “life size,” “resize” it, or even “copy” and paste certain objects.
Microsoft is managing expectations for its AR tech by publicly showcasing its massive potential and privately demonstrating its more practical reality.
Again, it’s not the most thrilling use case for HoloLens, but it is an honest portrayal of how the tech can be applied and a sufficient lure for interested developers. The same can be said for the virtual showroom demo which offered a device tour of a luxury watch. While it was interesting enough to walk around the watch and even “lean in” to hear it tick, it was the HoloLens presentation editor that had the most appeal.
In that editing mode, developers using HoloLens for product demos can build presentations, restructure them in real-time and even check a “heat map” that highlights exactly where a user was focusing their gaze and then adjust things accordingly.
‘HoloStudio’ offers designers a virtual toolbox for 3D modeling.
There’s another key aspect of HoloLens that should help sell the tech, making good on its mixed reality promise, but is, for the most part, uncelebrated and invisible: its audio. The headset features a “non-occluding” audio system that places speakers near, but not on the user’s ears, making it possible to comfortably listen to HoloLens prompts and the real-world environment. Microsoft reps on hand wouldn’t go into too much detail about the audio tech, but did note it’s an indispensable part of the HoloLens experience, saying that it’s used to guide users’ spatial attention.
Microsoft knows it needs to court developer support for HoloLens, and this extended New York showcase should go a long way towards achieving that goal. Without an ecosystem of apps, HoloLens is, at best, nothing more than collectible fodder for the earliest of adopters and, at worst, a failed sea change for consumer and enterprise technology. It’s why the company’s been so aggressive in hosting a competition to award development kits to academic institutions — for which, a rep says it received seven times the anticipated applications. It’s even recently begun a program to greenlight great HoloLens app ideas from inspired individuals who lack the know-how to develop. At present, a rep says over 4,000 “Share Your Idea” apps have been submitted.
With talk of an eventual consumer release far on the horizon, it’s clear Microsoft’s taking the necessary steps to ensure its AR tech grows up with developers and gets ready to mix with the real world in all the right ways.
Word-puzzler ‘Scribblenauts Unlimited’ returns to mobile
Scribblenauts started as a handheld game, and now the adorable interactive dictionary puzzler is making its way to Android and iOS after an extended break from mobile. 2012’s Scribblenauts Unlimited (which appeared on 3DS, PC and Wii U) is available right now on Google Play and as a universal app on iTunes for the cool price of $4.99. A version’s heading toward the Amazon Appstore on Android as well.
This is pretty cool news, actually. The Wii U version of the game played out entirely on the GamePad’s screen, mirroring the visuals to the TV while you brought a seemingly limitless amount of creatures and objects to life by simply typing the words out; mobile is the perfect venue for this series.
So when you need to help protagonist Maxwell’s brother teach a pig to fly so it can win a competition, writing out “giant wings” and dragging them onto the swine will secure a first place trophy just like that. It’s more or less how each puzzle in the game plays out. Of course, since this version of the game isn’t on a Nintendo platform, you can’t summon the likes of Mario, Samus or Link to do your bidding like you could on the Wii U and 3DS — but a giant Cthulu? That’s doable.
Similar to Scrabble, vulgarities and proper nouns are verboten, but sadly in-app purchases are not. Avatar packs to swap your player character are $0.99 each along with “playgrounds” containing three new levels apiece.
Source: Google Play, iTunes
‘The Banner Saga’ pillages its way to PS4 and Xbox One soon
The Banner Saga‘s road to a console release has been a bit rocky, but the development team at Stoic has some good news: the excellent viking epic lands on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One this coming January 12th. That’s pretty soon! In fact, the team’s efforts to make sure this isn’t just a quick and dirty console port are what’s caused the sequel’s delay from its originally promised 2015 launch. And actually, this porting process has worked to get the developers familiar with console hardware for future projects.Slideshow-349135
It’s something publisher Versus Evil mentions specifically in a prepared statement, no less. “With this latest achievement [the console port], the Stoic team is able to work on more platforms and reach more customers with its games and technology,” general manager Steve Escante says. “Looking ahead at what this could mean for Banner Saga 2 gets really exciting.” For an idea of what it’ll look like on your TV next year, check out the gallery up above.
‘P.T’ can return to your PS4 if you know the right tricks
When Konami cancelled Silent Hills as part of its broader retreat from top-tier video games, it was determined to burn bridges. It not only stopped offering the excellent P.T. teaser, but prevented people who had downloaded it from getting it again — if you wiped your PS4, there was a real chance P.T. was gone forever. However, it now looks like there might be light at the end of the dark, creepy tunnel. A Gamexeon forum member has discovered that it should be possible to re-download the horror mini-game by installing PC software that lets you access your PS4 library through a proxy server.
It’s not certain to work, and you may want to steer clear if you’re worried that you might hurt your PS4 or get booted off of the PlayStation Network (there are no reports of either happening so far as of this writing). Also, as the library access suggests, this should only work if you already downloaded P.T. at some point in the past. If you missed out and are wondering what all the fuss was about, you’re still out of luck. Nonetheless, this may be the gaming community’s best shot at preserving a fond gaming memory that’s in danger of disappearing.
Via: Polygon
Source: Gamexeon (translated)
These are our favorite video games of 2015
Different strokes, different folks — never has this been more true in gaming. And so, it’s with that spirit of varied perspective that we at Engadget bring you our favorite video games of the year. There is no one-size-fits-all winner here. Instead, we’re highlighting the best games to suit specific tastes and who better to make those calls than our very own staff of trusted gaming editors. So if you’re still looking to make that list for Santa, get a gift for someone you know or just dedicate a chunk of holiday vacation to quality play time, consider our selections for 2015’s greatest gaming hits.
Her Story, Sam Barlow (PC, Mac)
Her Story is an FMV game where you’re sat at a police computer. In order to solve a mystery, you have to watch a series of police interviews, but the files are corrupted and split into hundreds of time clips. You can search these clips by the words that are in them, but you have to be specific as your searches can only display a finite number of results. Sitting down for six hours, utterly enthralled, I scrawled names, clip numbers, and clues on a physical piece of paper, slowly unravelling a truly gripping story. It’s a short, unique experience, and the best six hours I’ve spent with a video game this year.
Honorable mention: Nuclear Throne, Vlambeer (PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita)
Until Dawn, Supermassive Games (PlayStation 4)
I never thought a video game would make me feel like Wes Craven. Before I started playing Until Dawn, I was almost positive that Sony’s advertising and marketing teams were ignoring it for a reason. Imagine my delight when I realized I couldn’t have been any more wrong.
Supermassive Games’ PlayStation 4 debut is unlike any big-budget game I’ve played in ages. Rather than sticking a gun in my hand, it sat me down in a director’s chair and essentially told me to craft my own horror movie. It could’ve been disastrous, but Supermassive intrinsically gets what makes for a good horror flick: the unknown, atmosphere, killer writing, and great performances from (mostly) unknown actors.
Sure, I’ve played scarier games (oh hi, Outlast and Dead Space), but those weren’t necessarily “fun” for me; I only made it an hour into the former before NOPE-ing out. Until Dawn expertly balances scares and an atmosphere of unease with genuinely funny bits to lighten the mood. This alone makes it much easier to play for extended periods. But even if I hadn’t needed to pack my play-through into a weekend, I still would have. It didn’t take long for the game’s hooks to dig in and pull me through experiences that I didn’t think were possible in a big-budget video game and I couldn’t wait to see the next one.
My filmmaking talents peaked with a crappy stop-motion short at community college, but my appreciation for movies has done the exact opposite. I don’t know why I’m surprised a video game that lets me live out an altogether different childhood dream had such an impact on me, but here we are. Supermassive Games, you have my undivided attention.
Honorable mention: Fallout 4, Bethesda Game Studios (PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4)
Bloodborne, FromSoftware (PlayStation 4)
If you know me, you know that, on paper, a game like Bloodborne pretty much ticks all my boxes for what not to play: It’s hyperviolent; it’s scary; it refuses to hold the player’s hand; it’s unforgiving. And yet, after avoiding FromSoftware’s spiritual successor to its Demon’s Souls/Dark Souls series for most of 2015, I made a Black Friday impulse buy (the disc was $20 on Amazon) and I’ve been screaming at my television in frustration (and occasional delight) ever since.
Let’s be clear: I’m nowhere near even halfway through my hunter’s bloody quest in the chiaroscuro-heavy, Lovecraftian land of Yharnam, but I won’t stop; I won’t give up. No matter how many times I die and have to replay an entire section, slaughtering the zombified and supernaturally nightmarish residents at a methodically deliberate pace over and over, I’ll do so with pleasure. Bloodborne’s storyline may be vague, the mechanics largely unexplained and punishing (one-hit death blows, anyone?), the save points scarce, the overworld map entirely missing, my character’s purpose opaque at best and the game’s UI chock full of systems I have to go online to understand (what even is ‘bloodtinge’?), but I love all of it. I love the sense of accomplishment I feel when I finally outsmart and eviscerate a boss, and get to save.
I love a game that won’t let you press pause by design.
Honorable mention: Splatoon, Nintendo (Wii U)
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, The Chinese Room (PlayStation 4)
Sometimes a game can show more by showing nothing at all. In Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, there are no character models to watch, only shimmering outlines constructed from a strange golden dust. The world is now abandoned, lost to an otherworldly phenomenon, and you’re left to walk through a quaint village in leafy England. Occasionally, you’ll trigger a story sequence which shows a brief moment during the crisis. You can hear the dialogue perfectly, but the faint silhouettes that move back and forth require you to use your imagination. How Stephen, Katherine and the other residents look in my head will be completely different to you. But like a brilliant audiobook, none of that really matters. If anything, it made me care about the characters and their problems more. There are no second-rate models or weird animations to pull you out of the experience. Only top-notch dialogue, delivered by a sensational set of voice actors.
Then there’s the environment. Yaughton, a fictional town in Shropshire, England, is a beautiful place to explore. The village hall. The local pub. A church perched at the top of a hill. All of these places have been constructed with an astonishing level of detail. Whether it’s a cluttered desk in someone’s spare bedroom, or a garden with laundry flapping in the wind, every object helps to build a sense of place. Ultimately, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is a static sandbox — nothing really moves or changes, save for the shimmering story sequences. But that only makes the game more impressive. The characters are flawed and their personal relationships are fragile, complex affairs. Piecing them together and ultimately experiencing the residents’ final moments create some truly heartbreaking crescendos.
Months after finishing the storyline, I still find myself replaying some of the more emotional scenes in my head. For me, that’s the sign of a great game and one I would heartily recommend to players that prioritize narrative above everything else.
Honorable mention: Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, Bluepoint Games/Naughty Dog (PlayStation 4)
Undertale, Toby Fox (PC, Mac)
2015 was filled with AAA games I’d spent years waiting for: Fallout 4, Star Wars: Battlefront, Batman: Arkham Knight and many, many more. But when it came time to pick my favorite game of the year, none of them made the cut. Don’t misunderstand me. Those are all great games and you should absolutely play each and every one of them, but none of them affected me the way Undertale did.
Undertale, if you’re not familiar, is an independent adventure game best known for being “the friendly RPG where nobody has to die.” It’s a game where every battle is its own mini-game and, if you choose to, you can talk your way out of a fight. On the surface, it looks like an homage to classic SNES games like Earthbound (and on some level, it is), but it’s more than that. Undertale unpacks the common RPG tropes of save points, random battles and multiple endings, and exploits them to create an emotionally manipulative experience that sticks with you through multiple playthroughs. Talking too much about the game’s conceit would be a massive spoiler, but here’s a taste: What would happen if your character remembered every death they experience? In Undertale, they do, and it gets weird, creepy and kind of hilarious.
Undertale’s irreverent humor, nostalgic style and bold disregard for my expectations left an impression on me that no AAA game could match. It’s not always subtle, but it’s effective — by the end of my time with it, Undertale had guilted me into never playing it again. A do-over would ruin the perfect experience I had. Considering how much I loved the game, I almost hate to agree. It’s right. I’m probably not going to play Undertale again — but you should.
Honorable mention: Splatoon, Nintendo (Wii U)
Life is Strange, Dontnod Entertainment (PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4)
I didn’t expect to love Life is Strange. As I sat through its first demo at Gamescom 2014, I had a feeling I’d like it — but love? No one ever sees love coming. On the surface, Life is Strange is my kind of game: a narrative-driven, point-and-click adventure featuring high school drama, supernatural powers and two young women who remind me of myself, just a few years ago. Those are the elements that convinced me to play Life is Strange, but the writing was what kept me going. The main characters are richly portrayed, with complicated histories, powerful personalities and unique traits that make their manufactured actions and decisions feel real, even when their stories involve traveling through time (and even weirder events).
Life is Strange wasn’t developed by a team of teenage girls, but it easily could have been — and I mean that as the highest compliment. Some of the scenes feel as if they’re pulled directly from my own past: The main young women, Chloe and Max, lounge in a bedroom plastered in posters and graffiti, discussing potential love interests and overbearing parents, and the deja vu is real. When the story eventually diverges from paths well worn by American suburbia, these realistic roots keep it grounded. The characters never feel fake and the situations seem plausible, even at their strangest.
The game’s main draw is its choose-your-own-adventure design that puts each player directly in the world, deciding where the characters go, what they say, and even who lives and who dies. Point-and-click adventures often get flak for not offering truly unique experiences for each player, but Life is Strange’s story is twisted enough to nullify those complaints.
Honorable mention: Gravity Ghost, Ivy Games (PC, Mac)
Fallout 4, Bethesda Game Studios (PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4)
This is actually my first Fallout game, and I was surprised at how quickly I got sucked into it. And this, despite the hours upon hours of confusion at the start, the muddled menus, and a ridiculously hands-off approach to showing you how to play the damn game. There’s just so much to do in here. I have no idea how far am into the primary game because the sidequests are so richly fleshed out and entertaining. I know I should be looking for my lost baby son, but look there’s a giant crab that needs to be fought in the middle of some castle ruins. Not to mention all the vignettes and nuggets hidden outside of these diversions.
I wouldn’t say the game has a severe learning curve — because you can play through so much of Fallout 4 whilst happily oblivious of so many obfuscated (or even hidden) features regarding major parts of the game, like settlements. Then again, maybe those frustrations are what kept me playing. Reading other gamers’ impressions and how they forged their own paths through the game gave me even more ways to play Fallout 4. And once I’ve satisfyingly hoarded all the materials I need for my settlement, I will get to work building my architectural masterpiece. (Or at least put a roof over some of my residents’ heads. Terrible landlord here.)
I love playing Fallout 4 because it’s packed with so many things to do, see, and steal. It pitches somewhere between Grand Theft Auto V (and the seemingly endless diversions found there) and the characters, choices and gameplay styles found in the Deus Ex games, all surrounded in the unpretty atmosphere of a post-apocalyptic Boston, Massachusetts.
Honorable mention: Bravely Second, Square Enix/Silicon Studio (3DS)
Image credit: Shutterstock (top image)
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