Hillary Clinton is co-hosting a podcast about her campaign
On top of serving as Secretary of the State and New York Senator, Hillary Clinton can now add “podcast host” to her list of many accomplishments. The Democratic presidential nominee is co-hosting With Her, a new show which will chronicle her historic run for office. It’s also the first podcast launched by a presidential campaign. Pineapple Street Media is producing the show, and it’s also co-hosted by that company’s founder Max Linsky, who’s also known for the app and website Longform.
The first episode, which was published today, features Clinton talking about getting the Democratic Party nomination, as well as her frustration with Congress’s inability to fund Zika prevention measures. You can expect eventual appearances from Clinton’s VP choice, Tim Kaine, as well as other staffers and supporters.
While podcasts still have a fairly limited audience, launching a show of her own is a smart way for Clinton to speak directly to her most ardent supporters. And while opponents are still playing up issues around her private email server, the podcast lines up with her strong tech policy stance, which includes plans for increasing broadband internet access, STEM education availability and student loan help for budding entrepreneurs.
This is the very first episode @pineapplemedia has put out in the world! And @WBJenna made it all happen 🙏🇺🇸🍍 pic.twitter.com/YSVHCbq91T
— max linsky (@maxlinsky) August 12, 2016
Via: 9to5Mac
Source: “With Her” (iTunes)
Reuters: Congressional leaders were briefed on DNC hack last year
As new details emerge on the hacks of the Democratic Party, we’ve yet to learn the scope of the damage. Yesterday, Bloomberg reported the people behind the DNC hack had much larger aspirations that included NATO and top security officials. Reuters now reports that Congressional leaders were briefed on Russian cyberattacks that targeted the Democrats last year. Sources tell the news outlet that due to the top secret nature of the information, those officials weren’t able to inform the targets about the issue. The FBI confirmed publicly that it was looking into Russia’s involvement in the ordeal in late July after Wikileaks published thousands of DNC emails.
Reuters explains the reason for withholding those details was due to the fact that the US government was continuing to monitor the efforts of the culprits. Disclosing any info would have revealed its sources and methods for doing so. All of the details on the matter were kept to a small number of government officials who needed to be alerted that US intelligence had determined that two Russian agencies or their proxies were attempting to breach the Democratic National Committee.
The report’s sources also indicate that DNC officials weren’t told about the initial security breach until months after the first Congressional briefing. Even then, no ties to the Russian government were mentioned. Following the attack on the DNC, cyberattackers went on to access information at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. What’s more, the attackers are said to have used a method known as “spearphishing,” or accessing private email accounts of the organizations’ employees, to gain access to more sensitive info.
Reuters also reports that interim DNC chair Donna Brazile sent out a memo this week detailing a plan to create a “Cybersecurity Advisory Board” within the committee. The memo explained that the board would work to prevent future attacks and make sure that the DNC’s cybersecurity measures are the best they can be. With new information coming out seemingly every day, we likely have a long way to go before we know how long this went on, what information was accessed, who knew about it and which government organizations were affected.
Source: Reuters
Virgin Media TiVo update adds smarter Series Link+ feature
While we wait for more details on Virgin Media’s new V6 set-top box and the 4K service arriving with it, the company’s showing it hasn’t yet forgotten about those aging HD TiVos currently sitting beneath TVs across the UK. Several new features are being bestowed upon these boxes as part of a platform update, the most notable of which being Series Link+. This not only tells your TiVo to record every subsequent episode of a series, as you’d expect, but also searches on-demand platforms (including Netflix) for any episode of the same show, collating it all in the one folder in the My Shows tab — should you need to start from the very beginning, say.
Another handy new feature lets you bookmark shows or movies — whether you find them on live TV, on-demand or through Netflix — to revisit later, either via a new dedicated folder or the familiar My Shows tab. Other, minor tweaks include a more visually driven UI that swaps on-demand programme lists for images and channel names for logos, as well as a better smart search feature within the on-demand and catch-up menus that’ll start working after being fed a single letter. Finally, you’ll be able to pick up where you left off if you have to bail on an on-demand session early — a convenience that was previously only available when watching recordings.
When Virgin Media customers will get access to these new features is a bit of a gamble. The update has begun rolling out today, but it’ll be a couple of weeks before it reaches every last set-top box.
Via: Pocket-lint
Source: Virgin Media
Your hard drive’s sounds could help hackers crack your system
File this under a totally bizarre and improbable way to hack someone. Security researchers have recently demonstrated a way to use the sounds of your computer’s hard drive to possibly transmit information. In short, they can use it to gather your data without you knowing.
Weirdly enough, the DiskFiltration hack, as it’s called, works by taking control of a hard drive’s actuator. Much like the arm of a record player it moves back and forth across a hard drive’s platters to read and write data, and while it moves it makes a series of various sounds. Using the right type of malware, hackers can use those very sounds for some extremely shady machinations. If the right person is listening for the right thing, those noises can let go of a lot of information like an encryption key.
The DiskFiltration method only works up to about six feet and it’s limited to a data rate of about 180 bits per minute. That’s obviously not very fast at all, but it’s quick enough to capture an encryption key in about a half hour. The entire idea and method of execution is massively impractical but it does work, except with solid-state drives. Still, it’s a very weird and very real way of intercepting data. As if people needed another way to do so.
Via: Gizmodo
Source: Cornell University Library
iPhone 7’s Secondary Speaker Holes May Be Purely Cosmetic
While multiple sources and leaked components have pointed towards iPhone 7 models having dual speakers, which could very well be the case, a new design drawing spotted by French website NWE suggests the additional holes may be purely cosmetic to give the bottom edge a symmetrical design.
The text in the documents refers to the area that occupies the 3.5mm headphone jack on current iPhones as having simply a microphone and microphone mesh, with no mention of a speaker in that location. Most of the secondary holes would be non-functional, except for the one furthest to the right, which would double as a microphone.
The veracity of the photo cannot be confirmed, and the rumor conflicts with some previous reports, but at least one previous iPhone 7 design drawing has depicted the left speaker grille as ornamental. In the photos, the secondary holes are not cut all the way through except for what would be normally be the microphone hole.
The inclusion of dual speakers or lack thereof will be known for certain in less than a month. Apple is expected to announce the tentatively named iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus on September 7, likely followed by pre-orders on September 9 and retail availability on September 16 in first-wave launch countries.
Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Tag: nowhereelse.fr
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Apple Rumored to Be Pursuing Massive Office Expansion in Seattle Area
Apple might be looking to further expand its presence in Seattle, Washington following its acquisition of Seattle-based machine learning and artificial intelligence startup Turi. The news comes from reports of a “large California company” looking to purchase a big piece of office space in the city, with most believing that it’s Apple (via GeekWire).
Last week, Apple paid $200 million to acquire Turi, which bills itself as a “machine learning platform for developers and data scientists,” helping them build apps using the capabilities of artificial intelligence. Although the company’s acquisition of Turi helps justify the rumor of Apple’s expansion in Seattle, nothing has yet been solidified and, according to GeekWire, the Seattle rumors “pre-date Apple’s acquisition of Turi.”
Specifically, the “large California company” is looking at properties in downtown Bellevue, particularly in the Schnitzer West’s 16-story Centre 425 building. Schnitzer West is under construction, with an opening expected towards the end of 2016, so if Apple makes a move it could begin increasing its Seattle presence by the end of the year.
At this point, we’ve been unable to confirm exactly where Apple may be headed in the Seattle area, but multiple sources say the footprint could be huge, several hundred thousand square feet. The rumors we’ve heard also pre-date Apple’s acquisition of Turi.
If a deal in downtown Bellevue were to go through it would be a big shot in the arm for an area that was looking at some sizable office vacancy over the next few years. In addition to the office buildings set to open soon, Expedia is leaving downtown Bellevue for Seattle in 2019. But the Valve and Salesforce deals, combined with a possible Apple move, would show that there are plenty of companies ready to step up to fill the void.
Last summer, Apple leased 30,000 square feet of office space in the Two Union Square skyscraper in downtown Seattle, which housed 120 to 200 employees, based on standard corporate leasing ratios. The work spaces now being looked at are over ten times as big, with the Bellevue location housing 354,000 square feet of office space, with the potential for approximately 1,400 to 2,300 employees. Apple originally expanded into Seattle in 2014 with a small team of more than 30 workers stationed in the city.
Tags: Seattle, Apple real estate
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Apple’s Chairman and Top Lawyer Cash in Combined $10M in Stock Bonuses
Apple chairman Arthur D. Levinson and general counsel Bruce Sewell recently sold approximately $7.6 million and $2.5 million worth of company shares respectively, according to SEC documents filed electronically this week.
Levinson sold 70,000 shares of common stock on August 9 for an average price of $108.68, while Sewell disposed of 23,305 shares for an average price of $107.49 on August 5. The combined return was slightly over $10 million.
Levinson, CEO of biotech company Calico, a subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet, has served as chairman of Apple’s board of directors since November 2011. The former Genentech executive has served on the board since 2000, with CEO Tim Cook praising his “enormous contributions to Apple” and “incredibly valuable” insight and leadership.
Sewell has served as Apple’s general counsel, or chief lawyer in layman’s terms, since September 2009. He oversees all company-related legal matters, including corporate governance, intellectual property, litigation and securities compliance, global security, and privacy, including a recent high-profile court battle with the FBI related to the intersection of national security and smartphone encryption.
Apple’s senior executives and directors are commonly awarded generous stock bonuses based on performance and tenure. Last August, Cook and services chief Eddy Cue received 560,000 and 350,000 restricted stock units respectively, worth a combined $93.8 million at the time. Later in the year, Apple’s recently promoted hardware chief Johny Srouji was awarded nearly $10 million in restricted stock units.
Tags: AAPL, SEC
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Apple TV Universal Search Now Supports ‘Stan’ in Australia
Apple has recently added Australian streaming service Stan to the universal search function on the fourth-generation Apple TV, marking the first third-party service outside of the U.S. beyond Netflix to be supported.
For those unfamiliar with universal search, it’s a feature that allows users to conduct Siri voice searches or text-based searches to find TV and movie content across a wide range of channels. At launch, universal search only supported a few channels, but Apple has been rapidly expanding the feature to encompass additional channels.
Universal search is available for a wide number of apps in the United States, but the feature is limited to iTunes and Netflix in Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In Australia, universal search on the fourth-generation Apple TV supports movies and TV shows in iTunes, Netflix, and Stan.
Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 10
Buyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Neutral)
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Sonos Review: The Play:5 is the Perfect Centerpiece for a Whole House Audio System
Sonos is a well-regarded brand known for creating some of the best multi-room home speaker setups, and in late 2015, the company debuted its latest product, a second-generation Play:5. The original Play:5 (once called the S5) came out in 2009, so the new Play:5 marks a long overdue update that brings a new design and better sound.
As someone new to the Sonos ecosystem, the Play:5 (paired with a set of Play:1 speakers) is the first Sonos speaker I’ve tested in my home. After a month breaking it in, I finally understand why Sonos is such a popular brand and is regarded as the best system for iPhone-compatible whole house audio.
Priced at $499, the new Play:5 isn’t cheap, but that price point includes a hassle-free user experience and impressive audio. As covered in the review below, there are some downsides to buying into the Sonos line, but its ease of use, sound, and multi-speaker pairing capabilities make it largely a win for those ready to shell out the cash for a quality sound system.
Design
The second-generation Sonos Play:5 has a more modern look than the original Play:5, bringing it in line with the Sonos Play:1 and the Sonos Play:3. It’s less boxy, wider, and has been designed in a way that lets it be positioned either horizontally or vertically. There’s no integrated stand.
It’s available with either a black or white outer shell, both of which come with a black mesh front panel that hides the interior components. Design wise, the Play:5 is unobtrusive enough to blend well into any room or decor style, but it might be more difficult decorating around the white version, which stands out more.
Visually, the Play:5 is most similar to the Play:3, only quite a bit larger. I have a decent-sized two bedroom apartment with a large living room and I felt like the Sonos Play:5 was too much speaker for the room, just based on its size alone. It measures in at just over 14 inches wide, eight inches tall and six inches wide and it weighs just about 14 pounds.
This is a hefty speaker that you’re going to want to station in one spot and not move around a lot. It’s not easy to carry and there’s no handle or anything for transporting it. There’s also no battery, so it always needs a power source.
At the top of the Play:5, there are capacitive LED-lit buttons that respond to different gestures to perform functions like upping the volume, pausing a song, and switching to the next song, so there’s no need to have access to a device for making quick music alterations.
The back of the Play:5 houses a port for the cable that powers it, a 3.5mm jack, an optional Ethernet port that can be used if you have a house without strong Wi-Fi, and a button for syncing the speaker to the Sonos app.
Sonos Setup and App
Sonos’ line of speakers connect to your devices through your home Wi-Fi network rather than via Bluetooth, and for that reason, you have to use the Sonos apps to listen to music rather than playing music directly from your device. There are apps for Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS.
Being restricted to the Sonos apps for music playback is something of a negative because you’re locked into the Sonos ecosystem and can’t use a music app of your choosing. It also makes it more difficult for guests to connect to your home music system because connecting over Bluetooth is not an option (but there is an audio line-in).
Sonos for iOS
On the plus side, the Sonos apps and the Wi-Fi connection are convenient. Setup was beyond simple – about five minutes passed from the time I unboxed the Play:5 to the time I had it up and running — and I never had to reconnect or deal with connection issues.
The Play:5 is always ready to play music as long as it’s powered on and there’s decent Wi-Fi available, plus it can do things like play different songs from the same music service in different rooms (or the same song in multiple rooms) if you have more than one speaker. Ease of use was one of the things I loved most about the Play:5 — it just worked and did what I wanted it to do.
Sonos for Mac
Since this is a Wi-Fi system, it’s also expandable. You can start with one speaker and then add on additional speakers in other rooms for a whole home audio system that’s all connected.
I tried the Sonos apps for Mac and iOS, but I primarily used my iPhone for music playback. All of the Sonos apps support playback from more than 40 streaming music services like Spotify and Apple Music or from music stored directly on a device. A wide range of file formats can be played.
The Sonos apps aren’t the most straightforward and there were some annoyances I ran into, like being unable to shuffle directly from my Apple Music playlists without adding them to a Sonos playlist and not being able to pause music for an incoming phone call, but for the most part, using the Sonos app to manage my music (from Apple Music) was fine.
If I could choose, I’d probably opt to use Apple Music, but the Sonos app wasn’t a deal breaker. It might even be a preferable control method if you subscribe to multiple music services.
Sound
Sound wise, the Sonos Play:5 is fantastic. I live in an apartment so I don’t have a lot of experience with professional audio equipment or speakers of this size (I mostly use headphones) and listening to music on the Play:5 was a revelation – with some songs, there was a level of detail and crispness I’ve never heard before. Vocals are always at the forefront and the bass is deep and rich.
The Play:5 is a speaker that costs $499, so I expect nothing less than amazing sound, and it lived up to my expectations. Behind the grille, there are six drivers (three tweeters and three mid-woofers) with dedicated amplifiers, and let me tell you, this speaker puts out some serious sound. It’s a speaker you can feel. It’s more than loud enough to fill a large room, and even at top volume levels playing songs with a lot of bass, there was never any distortion.
I never had issues with the connection, which I do sometimes run into with Bluetooth speakers, and there were never any points where the sound dropped out or was interrupted. The Play:5 and the Sonos app always offered smooth playback.
The Play:5 comes with a built-in Trueplay dynamic tuning system that’s designed to calibrate the speakers based on their position in the room to account for room shape and objects within the room. I expected this to be little more than a gimmick, but the adjustments that were made with Trueplay seemed to slightly improve the sound of the Play:5, which I had positioned on a desk.
In addition to dynamic tuning, there are settings for adjusting bass, treble, and balance to your taste, which you may need to do after tuning with Trueplay to reach the ideal sound.
Bottom Line
The Sonos Play:5 is too much speaker for my apartment, but if you have a house or a larger space and want to start making purchases towards a whole-home audio system, Sonos is the way to go and the Play:5 is the best sounding speaker the company offers.
At $499, the Play:5 is a serious investment (and you can even argue that it’s overpriced), but it’s incredibly easy to use, sounds amazing, and supports almost every audio service in existence. On the downside, you’re locked into the Sonos app and the Sonos ecosystem once you make a purchase, but the tradeoff seems worth it to those looking for the best multi-room audio experience.
After using the Sonos Play:5 and the Sonos system for a few weeks, I’m hooked. A WiFi audio system that doesn’t allow the flexibility of a Bluetooth connection isn’t going to be for everyone, but I was a fan of the simplicity and the sound quality. This is one review product that I am sorry to send back.
As a side note, I didn’t own the original Play:5 and so I can’t compare this new version to the original version. I highly recommend anyone who is considering a purchase read through multiple reviews to get a clear picture from both those who are new to the Sonos system and those who have used it for years.
Pros:
- Excellent sound
- Connects over WiFi
- Almost all music services available in Sonos app
- Can group multiple speakers together
- Can play different songs on different speakers via same device
- Easy to set up and control
- Expandable system for whole home audio
- Can use horizontally or vertically
Cons:
- Needs Wi-Fi
- Locked into Sonos ecosystem
- Have to use Sonos app
- No Bluetooth
- Expensive
How to Buy
The Sonos Play:5 can be purchased from the Sonos website for $499 with a 45-day return policy. It is also available from Amazon.com at the same price point.
Note: Sonos provided MacRumors with a Sonos Play:5 and a Sonos Play:1 for testing purposes, which were returned to Sonos at the conclusion of the review. No other compensation was received.
Tag: Sonos
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Best action games for Android
Get your blood pumping with these action-packed games for Android
The action game genre is such broad category, so we had to make sure that this list covered as many bases as possible. Whether you like first- or third-person shooters, fighting games, hack n’ slash, or old school top-down shooters, you should find your new favorite game here.
Expect this list to be updated as new games are released, or hidden gems are discovered. And if you think we’ve made an egregious error by not including your favourite game, let us know in the comments!
- Modern Combat 5: Blackout
- Injustice: Gods Among Us
- Grand Theft Auto
- JoyJoy
- Pixel Gun 3D
- Sky Force Reloaded
- Star Knight
- Alto’s Adventure
- Nonstop Knight
- Clash Royale
Modern Combat 5: Blackout
Modern Combat is the premier first-person shooter franchise for mobile gaming and for good reason. The latest entry, Modern Combat 5: Blackout, features some of the finest graphics you’ll find for any game on Android.
There’s a six-chapter single-player campaign to play through, with a decent amount of gameplay variety — from urban shootouts, to gunship segments, to underwater sneaking. If you’re more interested in multiplayer, Modern Combat has got you covered there as well. There’s five multiplayer modes to choose from: Free For All, VIP, Squad Battle, Capture the Flag, Zone Control and Team Battle.
What’s the difference between Squad Battle and Team Battle? Squads are a new feature in Modern Combat, and they operate the same way as clans do in other FPS games, so Squad Battles are ranked matches between you and your squadmates and other Modern Combat squads. Team Battles is just another name for the team deathmatches you’re already quite familiar with.
If touchscreen controls for mobile FPS give you fits, you’ll be happy to know that Modern Combat features Bluetooth controller support. For the best FPS experience on Android, look no further than Modern Combat 5: Blackout.
Download: Modern Combat 5: Blackout (Free, IAPs)
Injustice: Gods Among Us
Fans of DC Comics are sure to get a kick out of Injustice: Gods Among Us. It’s a free-to-play fighting game that features all your favorite heroes and villains from the DC Comics universe.
It’s a port of the console game for PS4 and Xbox, so if you come into this game having played those versions and expect the exact same experience you’re going to be disappointed. For the rest of us just looking for a fun fighting game with familiar characters, Injustice delivers. You build out a team of three fighters and use the mobile-friendly control scheme to tap and swipe your way to victory. The graphics are superb and while there’s much less freedom than in traditional fighting games, it’s still an action-packed experience.
Plus, the latest update has added updated characters from the latest Suicide Squad movie, so if you’re a fan of that movie you now have an extra reason to get this game. Just make sure you’ve got plenty of space on your phone, because the install file is huge.
Download: Injustice: Gods Among Us (Free, IAPs)
Grand Theft Auto
If you’re a console or PC fan of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, then why not extend your fandom to Android?
Rockstar Games has five great GTA titles for you to choose from and you really can’t go wrong with any of them. Play through Liberty City Stories, San Andreas, Vice City, GTA III, and Chinatown Wars and get your shoot-’em-up, blow-’em-up, car-stealing fix on mobile!
Chinatown is your classic top-down GTA, while the other three are the third-person-shooters we’ve all come to love. On that note, these games are NOT for kids. The Mature rating in the Google Play Store isn’t lying.
So, if you want full Grand Theft Auto games right on your phone, hit up the Google Play Store and go to town. Just remember that, since these are the full games you now and love, they will occupy a ton of space on your device.
Download: Grand Theft Auto ($6.99 – $9.99)
JoyJoy
There’s something so simple and fun about a well-made old school shooter. When Geometry Wars went from an Xbox mini-game to a stand-alone cult classic hit in 2003, it gave new life to the genre. Ever since, then there’s been a slew of knock-offs and imitators attempting to replicate the same frantic action. But JoyJoy emerges as perhaps the best we’ve found for Android.
JoyJoy does a great job of bringing that crazy action to your mobile phone, with simple controls, multiple upgradeable weapons, and the best difficulty settings I’ve ever seen in a game. It starts at Relaxed mode, which is perfect for beginners or when you want to sit back and mow down waves of enemies. From there, it ramps up significantly, with expert-level modes like Lightning, which makes the enemies faster yet weaker, or Armoured, which makes the enemies very tough but less numerous.
With its frantic gameplay, deep weapon upgrading system, and challenging difficulty scaling, JoyJoy is an absolute must-play.
Download: JoyJoy ($0.99)
Pixel Gun 3D
First-person shooters are tricky to adapt to mobile platforms, and fraught with compromises. If the graphics look good, the controls are crap. If it controls like a dream, the gameplay is short and boring.
Pixel Gun 3D is one of those rare games that will hook you in with its stylized visuals, frantic gameplay and decent controls. It’s got a moderately challenging single player campaign that will help you learn the ropes of playing the game, but the real game takes place in the multiplayer arena. Pixel Gun 3D offers deep customization for your avatar, and a plethora of weapons to choose from. You start out with team death match and must level up to unlock other multiplayer modes, but it is so worth it.
Perhaps the coolest multiplayer map is the ‘Deadly Games’, which you unlock at level four — a Hunger Games inspired mode where everyone starts unarmed in the middle of the map with one weapon straight ahead of them. Once you collect your weapon, it’s fight or flight based on what you get. Super intense!
The developers have added in-app currency systems for buying new weapons and upgrades which might make things tough when you’re just starting out. If you don’t get disheartened by that, Pixel Gun 3D is one of the best gaming experiences on Android.
Download: Pixel Gun 3D (Free, IAPs)
Sky Force Reloaded
Sky Force Reloaded is, simply, one of the finest games on Android. Featuring frantic gameplay, dazzling graphics, and a deep upgrade system it will have you coming back and playing for hours on end.
The story picks up after the events of Sky Force 2014 with General Mantis’ daughter picking up the cause of her fallen father. Most stages feature an epic boss battle with her in a massive warship, but first you have to shoot and navigate your way through intense waves of laser-blasting tanks, turrets, and helicopters. New missions are unlocked by collecting medals, which are earned by saving all the humans, destroying all enemies, and staying untouched through a mission.
Once you’ve collected all four medals, you unlock a harder difficulty — first Hard, then Insane, and finally Nightmare mode — with a new set of medals to collect. This leads to some grinding to collect stars and medals before you can unlock the next mission, but it hardly feels like a chore given how challenging and fun this game is to play.
Download: Sky Force Reloaded (Free, IAPs)
Star Knight
Star Knight made our list for best games of 2016, so of course it’s one of the best action games as well. It’s a challenging action platformer with plenty of things to unlock and upgrade as you make your way through its multiple worlds.
And it’s got very nice good learning curve, too. While you’re able to upgrade your weapons and unlock powerful skills to help you on your way, the enemies get tougher and tougher as you progress. In terms of difficulty, it sometimes feels like a 2D side-scrolling version of Dark Souls. There are some parts where one false step means instant death, and each world ends with a seriously tough boss battle.
But instead of being frustrating and discouraging, it only spurs you to play smarter on your next go. With good controls, beautiful imagery, hours of gameplay, and a low entry price, Star Knight is a game you shouldn’t sleep on.
Download: Star Knight ($0.99, IAPs)
Alto’s Adventure
Beautiful visuals, intuitive controls, and endless playability.
Alto’s Adventure is a game you should have been playing yesterday. You play as Alto, a snowboarding llama farmer who must race down the mountain to collect runaways. This endless side scroller features smooth gameplay and simple controls: tap to jump, tap and hold to do a backflip. Landing tricks — backflips and grinds across buildings and bunting lines — gives you a speed boost to help blast past obstacles. Collect coins and spend them on upgrading power ups that will assist you on your next adventure. But as soon as you get the hang of things, you’ll blow past an elder — a shadowy figure on a horse that will try and chase you down (think the Snow Monster from Ski Free… except you can actually outrun the elder).
Alto’s Adventure includes objectives, which are challenging but fun and greatly enhance the replayability. Overall, it’s a fairly relaxing gaming experience, with tight physics and a great sense of speed.
Download: Alto’s Adventure (Free, IAPs)
Nonstop Knight
Some games claim to provide “nonstop action”, but perhaps no game delivers better than Nonstop Knight. It’s a streamlined action RPG wherein you play a brave little knight who lives to fight.
It would be unfair to directly compare Nonstop Knight to a game like Diablo, but it certainly feels like a casual, stripped-down version of the iconic RPG series. As you progress through the levels, you collect coins, gems and tokens which are all used to upgrade your item inventory, skills, and stats.
But instead of having to explore the dungeons yourself, your knight races around seeking the next wave of enemies (even when you aren’t playing the game). You help him on his mission by strategically tap your skill icons during battles to destroy your enemies faster and get more coins. While overly simplistic at first, as you start unlocking different upgrades and progressing, it quickly becomes addictive to see how far you can go.
Once you seem to have hit a wall at a boss that’s simply too strong, you can choose to Ascend, which resets your knight and all the weapons and armor you’ve collected, but also allows you to perform permanent upgrades to your knights base stats. The question then becomes, Is it time to ascend, or can you will your way passed this boss with the right combo of special attacks?
Download: Nonstop Knight (Free, IAPs)
Clash Royale
From the makers of Clash of Clans comes Clash Royale. Battle human opponents in real time via frantic card-based battles where you must take out the enemy’s Crown Towers while defending your own.
As you’d expect, this game really relies on the social aspect of joining a clan, which helps you to upgrade both your King Level and your cards so you can dominate your opponents in the arena.
Clash Royale falls into the category of mobile games with time-delayed unlocking of chests and an emphasis on in-app purchases. Fortunately, there’s no time restrictions for battling.
While spending exorbitant amounts of money on gems and chests is likely the only way to rise to the top of the global rankings (somebody worked it out that it would take something like seven years of constant playing to unlock and fully upgrade every card in the game), the gameplay is so well-designed and balanced that you can have hours of fun playing this in the lower level arenas just playing against similarly-skilled opponents.
Download: Clash Royale (Free, IAPs)
What did we miss?
What’s your favorite action game for Android? Let us know in the comments!
