Retrode gives your SNES + SEGA Genesis catridges a new life
Posted Friday, February 3, 2012 at 8:22 am by Daniel Kipping
I am most certainly, without a doubt, a self-confessed retro-gamer. Whether i’m fist-fighting until my last breath in Sega’s Street Fighter, or making a final-lap comeback during a Super Mario Kart session on my SNES — it’s all good. However, those of you who have experienced console issues with these outdated devices – and believe me, issues do and will occur – will know that there is nothing worse than owning a large collection of SNES or Sega Genesis/Mega Drive cartridges without a functioning console to utilise them. Fortunately, the folks over at Retrode understand our need to stay stranded in the “old days”, and have created a device that allows users to play any SNES or Sega Genesis game on their PC and/or iPad. Say hello to the Retrode 2.0…
Kinect for Windows 1.0 SDK is here to look at you closely
Posted Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 11:14 pm by Jason Cartwright
Microsoft has just released version 1.0 of the Kinect SDK for Windows. One of the biggest complaints about the beta releases of the SDK was the lack of support for close object recognition. Near mode now allows the depth camera to see objects as close as 40 centimetres rather than the standard 6 feet.
The 1.0 release of the SDK addresses a number of other issues:
- Support for up to four Kinect sensors plugged into the same computer
- Significantly improved skeletal tracking, including the ability for developers to control which user is being tracked by the sensor
- Near Mode for the new Kinect for Windows hardware, which enables the depth camera to see objects as close as 40 centimeters in front of the device
- Many API updates and enhancements in the managed and unmanaged runtimes
- The latest Microsoft Speech components (V11) are now included as part of the SDK and runtime installer
- Improved “far-talk” acoustic model that increases speech recognition accuracy
- New and updated samples, such as Kinect Explorer, which enables developers to explore the full capabilities of the sensor and SDK, including audio beam and sound source angles, color modes, depth modes, skeletal tracking, and motor controls
- A commercial-ready installer which can be included in an application’s set-up program, making it easy to install the Kinect for Windows runtime and driver components for end-user deployments.
- Robustness improvements including driver stability, runtime fixes, and audio fixes
It’s important to keep in mind that the new Near Mode is only available from the new Kinect for Windows, which isn’t available in Australia. You can see from the screenshot below, connecting an existing Kinect to a computer shows under the range selection ‘NearMode not supported on this device’.
Let’s hope Australian availability for Kinect for Windows arrives soon so Aussie developers can start building Windows 7/8 Kinect-enabled applications.
More information @ MSDN or just download the Kinect SDK 1.0 now.
Via The Verge.
Review: Choplifter HD (XBLA)
Posted Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 12:00 pm by Bryce Wilson
Choplifter HD is a perfect conglomerate of various gameplay elements. A healthy mix of awesome old-school platforming, highscore hunting gameplay, and current generation graphics that bring an old classic into the modern age for a new audience.
Set in a 2D side-scrolling universe, Choplifter puts you at the digital reigns of numerous varied helicopters to rescue or taxi people from a number of different environments and scenarios. It sounds repetitive, and at times it is, but there’s a number of different objectives to add some variety to the mix.
The basic back-and-forth nature of rescuing people is soon shaken up when you’re having to change directions, fight enemy combatants, and strategically airlift dying patients before others. When you throw in a rapidly depleting fuel gauge and armor levels into the mix, the deceptively simple game turns into a challenging experience.
Within Choplifter is a plethora of levels and varying objectives, so while the basic formula for each is the same, the core experience changes vastly.
Snipers stun your helicopter later in the game which leaves you vulnerable to rocket attacks, while AA and RPG emplacements wreak havock on thinly armored transport helicopters. Just when you think you’ve got a level figured out, you start second guessing yourself as you realise there are other ways to confront your objectives.
Even later in the game you’re still tailoring your skills and learning new maneuvers to accomplish the task at hand. Once you finish the missions you can then go back through them on higher difficulties, which then allows you to unlock increasingly better helicopters to take on harder missions.
Up there with the likes of Trials HD and Shadow Complex, Choplifter is an extremely rewarding experience once you figure it all out. The arcade gameplay roots are forefront to the whole experience and when combined with the great voice acting, sound, and visuals, Choplifter HD becomes an easy recommendation.
More info @ http://choplifterhd.com
ABC iView app showing off on Xbox today
Posted Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 9:34 am by Jason Cartwright
Starting today, ABC’s iView application will be available on the Xbox 360. You will need to have upgraded to the new Xbox Dashboard to see the new app. As with all things Microsoft, it’s being rolled out, so if you don’t see it yet in the App Marketplace, just check back later.
The ABC iView app adds to the existing line-up of YouTube, SBSOnDemand, DailyMotion, NineMSN and Foxtel video apps on the Xbox 360. It’s important to note, that Xbox Live Gold Subscription isn’t required for iView. iView features shows like Good Game, Q&A, Gruen Transfer and more, allowing you to catch up on any episodes you or your DVR missed.
The iView app can be controlled using Kinect hand gestures (like the rest of the new Dashboard) and also supports voice commands. Not all the new apps do, so this is actually worth noting. If you’re using voice and hit an app that doesn’t support it, it really defeats the purpose, as you need to find that controller again.
ABC iView is now available on the Xbox 360, PS3, Boxee Box and the web. ABC has done an amazing job at making their content available wherever and whenever consumers want to consume it. If iOS had flash support it’d probably be on there as well. ABC’s content distribution is a model to be held as an example of how to use IPTV well. Without traditional commercial programming, ABC are free to distribute much more flexibly and achieve the ultimate goal of the content producers, to have it see by as many people as possible.
More information @ Xbox
Alan Wake 2… Is NOT Alan Wake 2?
Posted Thursday, December 15, 2011 at 6:30 am by Daniel Kipping
December 10, 2011. Culver City, California.
This was the date and location that played host to the annual Spike TV Video Game Awards. In addition, however – and, perhaps more importantly, this was the date and location that saw the official unveiling of the next installment in Xbox hero Alan Wake’s on-screen adventure. After much anticipation and teasing, it’s here: Wake fans, welcome to your very own American Nightmare…
The My Xbox app doesn’t go far enough
Posted Thursday, December 8, 2011 at 6:54 pm by Jason Cartwright
This morning Microsoft (or Apple rather) released the My Xbox app for iPhone and WP7 owners. It’s great to see Microsoft recognise that a lot of Xbox owners are also iOS owners. This also evidenced by the array of 3rd party Xbox companion apps already available. Without official support from MS and no way to ensure authentication is treating your credentials securely, it’s always been a ‘hold your breath’ experience when entering your Windows Live info.
With an official Xbox companion app now available, those fears (and other apps) can disappear. The My Xbox app allows Xbox owners to message friends, customize your avatar, check achievements and get beacon notifications. Beacons arrived as part of the latest Xbox 360 Dashboard update (still rolling out), these allow you to set notifications when friends are playing games or participating in activities that you’re interested in.
Basically it works like this. You set a Beacon for a Forza 4, you then go about your housework until your the My Xbox app buzzes in your pocket with a notification that friend is now playing Forza 4 and wants to race against you. You ditch the vacuum cleaner for the next 3 hours on the couch. This is technology helping our disconnected worlds become connected, for gaming, as in the example, but potentially to watch movies, TV shows, listen to music or even video conference.
All this sounds great, and sure the app looks great and is buttery smooth, but lets take a second to consider the future of the app and Xbox. With an internet connected device like the Xbox 360, wake-on-LAN should be on option. This means being able to wake up and shut down your Xbox using your phone. What if you could also control the Xbox interface using gestures on your phone. When using your phone for entertainment and potentially some gaming, this would replace or be a complimentary control.
Of course there is already the ability for games information to transfer from the Xbox to your WP7 device, but this requires an awkward QR-code scanning process (Kinectimals as an example). With a true Wi-Fi connection between the Xbox and your phone, this transition should be much more seamless.
