By Patrick Shaw | 05-18-2013 | 6:00AM Starring Brad Pitt as a United Nations worker caught in the midst of a zombie outbreak, World War Z hit theaters this summer on June 21st. The film is an adaptation of Max Brooks' best-selling novel World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War and now an official video game based on the movie that is based on a book is coming to Android. Developed by Chicago-based Phosphor Games (known to Android gamers for titles including Horn and The Dark Meadow) in collaboration with Paramount Pictures, World War Z - The Mobile Game is slated to arrive on Google Play on May 30th, 2013. In anticipation of the game's forthcoming launch, the developer has released its debut trailer (watch it in...
By Jeremy Peel | PCGamesN Just as war has historically served to push the limits of medicine, medicine now appears to exist primarily to enable batshit gaming peripherals. We started this week marvelling at the Emotiv EPOC’s rock-hurling by telekinesis (thanks, EEG machines!), and today are left flabbergasted by Focus Labs’ headset (cheers, stimulation therapy!). It says it’s going to overclock your brain. Yesterday, we thought the Foc.us was a joke. The thing is, it only seemed to exist as this strange Tumblr account and a sparse webpage featuring two alternating pictures of ladies, both overcome by the hitherto-untapped sensual potential of gaming. It asked: “Are you ready to...
By Jason Venter | 05-17-2013 | 6:00PM It can be easy to root for hackers because the targets they choose often do things we don’t like such as earn a lot of money, or protect unpopular political organizations, or make us pay for the entertainment we enjoy. However, hacking is very much a crime, one that courts take quite seriously. Several members of the international hacking group LulzSec discovered as much this week, when they were sentenced for their recent online activities. As noted in a report on Polygon, a group of four individuals—Ryan Ackroyd (26), Mustafa Al-Bassam (18), Ryan Cleary (21), and Jake Davis (20)—have been sentenced to prison terms that range from 20 to 32 months, depending on the...
by NVision Staff Originally scheduled to be available for pre-orders on May 20th, the NVIDIA SHIELD is now available for consumers eager to pre-order the portable gaming platform. According to NVIDIA, the pre-order date for the Tegra-4 powered gaming device—which features the ability to play both Android games and PC games streamed from a nearby rig—was pushed up to Friday in response to the growing anticipation for its June retail launch. "Gamers look to GameStop as their defacto gaming destination," said Joe Gorman, vice president of mobile at video game retailer GameStop, in a press release Friday. "As Android gamers look for a place to get the latest and greatest gear, it made total sense for...
You may not know it, but NVision is a relatively young app. But since launching on Google Play last year, we've surpassed 350K downloads and launched a new slick handset version of NVision available free for all Android phones. And we couldn't have done it without readers like you. As a thank you to our readers, we're going to be doing regular Google Play gift card giveaways! Every week (or so), we'll be giving away a $10 Google Play gift card code, which can be used to download apps and games on Google's online marketplace. So what do you have to do to win? Simply follow the instructions below. How to Win: 1. Sign up for a free Twitter account (if you don't have one already). 2. Follow NVision on...
By McKinley Noble | 05-17-2013 | 6:00AM Kingdom Rush is one of those simpler tower defense games that doesn't really seem complicated right at the start, but actually develops into an extremely intense mental exercise in a hurry. It's only been available as a flash browser game and iOS title for a couple of years, but it's available on Android and already gaining traction on Google Play. To start, Kingdom Rush tasks you with defending a map from invading enemies, with the goal of preventing them from getting to the end of the road by carefully managing your archers, soldiers, wizards and mortar squad at fixed points in the area. There's specific spots in each level where you can build each of the four...
By McKinley Noble | 05-17-2013 | 3:00AM Although NVision brings you Android, tech, gaming and movie news around the clock, even we can't get to everything worth seeing on the Internet. But to help you out, here's today's required reading for May 17th, 2013. • League of Legends is one of the world's most competitive online games around, but the community surrounding it aren't always the most polite MMO crowd. Ars Technica has a fascinating piece about the behavior of players in the game, and how the developers are using science to analyze and prevent a "toxic" environment. • Social media has substantially transformed the way we interact with each other, but it's also changed...
By McKinley Noble | 05-17-2013 | 12:00AM Some video games have truly endured the test of time, seeing many ports and releases on nearly every gaming console and system in the world ever since their original release. That perfectly describes the original Sonic the Hedgehog, which has seen action in over a dozen video game collections. Now, a brand-new port of the game is available for Android via Google Play, adding in some exclusive new perks that sweeten the appeal of the already-enticing $2.99 app. In addition to recreating all of the original levels, Sonic the Hedgehog on Android also includes re-mastered tracks, achievements, and a leaderboard. But even better, you can now play the game as Tails and Knuckles in...
By Matt Purslow | PCGamesN WB Games have released a teaser trailer for the proper trailer of Batman: Arkham Origins. Yeah, you read that right. We don't get the full trailer until the 20th May, so for now we'll just have to put up with a few seconds of Batman scrapping with new big bad Deathstroke. The ten-or-so seconds of actual fighting in the trailer isn't gameplay footage, nor does it offer any real insight into the game at all. But you can't deny it: those CGI artists really captured Bruce's stubble. He's clearly a man too busy to shave, and no wonder with that one-eyed, masked freak making the rounds in Gotham. This story originally appeared on:
By McKinley Noble | 05-16-2013 | 8:30PM Project Shield now carries the "NVIDIA Shield" moniker, and it's heading to the handheld market this summer, equipped with Tegra 4 and a unique control scheme that puts a PC and a portable console right at your fingertips. Check out the video above to see NVIDIA's own Will Park break down all the perks of the new system, like its Android Jelly Bean interface, analog joysticks and built-in microphone/speaker combination. If you want to pre-order early, you can sign-up at shield.nvidia.com for early access, while the rest of the general public will be able to pre-order as soon as May 20th. (NVIDIA Shield will also be available to purchase from various online...
By McKinley Noble | 05-16-2013 | 6:00PM [Photo Credit: John R. Coughlin/CNN Money] Tensions between Google and Microsoft have been running pretty high so far this year, thanks to an increasingly competitive vibe between both companies in the smartphone market. In particular, Microsoft's "Scroogled" campaign—a series of smear tactics used to boost the popular of their Windows Phone line—has taken a sharp turn for the nasty. Just one more aspect of the rivarly has come up with YouTube for Windows Phone, which TechCrunch reports violates Google's terms of service. Currently, Microsoft is facing a cease-and-desist motion from Google, who says that the Windows Phone app for YouTube doesn't...
By McKinley Noble | 05-16-2013 | 3:00PM Although EA's Online Pass program has given a major spotlight to downloadable content for blockbuster video games like Madden NFL, NCAA Football, L.A. Noire, Battlefield 3 and Dead Space 2, it won't be seen in future titles. VentureBeat's GamesBeat reports that EA executive Josh Reseburg confirmed the new company mandate, noting that fans didn't "respond" to the Online Pass system. "Yes, we're discontinuing Online Pass," EA senior director of corporate communications John Reseburg confirmed to GamesBeat in an e-mail. "None of our new EA titles will include that feature." "Initially launched as an effort to...
By McKinley Noble | 05-16-2013 | 1:30PM Different sections of Google+ are getting upgraded and dropping fresh redesigns during Google I/O week, but Google Games won't be around much longer. According to Google's Support page, the introduction of Google Play games services means that Google Games has officially become a redundant brand investment and will be hence going completely offline on June 30th as part of a continued effort to nip and tuck Google+ into a more efficient system. However, there might be a problem for those you who have spent money on games like Mafia Wars 2, Angry Birds and Zynga Poker. If that's the case, you'll still be able to keep playing without seeing your cash...
By McKinley Noble | 05-16-2013 | 12:00PM Google Play has gotten a much-need facelift in the weeks leading up to Google I/O, with a cleaner interface and a vastly better-organized library of music, movies, books and apps. But there's always room for improvement, and the latest update attemps to point out which apps are meant for Android tablets. You can see the change both in-browser and on your mobile devices, with a separate app menu labeled "Designed for Tablets" that leads to a specialized section of the Android Apps collection. It's a start, but the list isn't entirely inclusive of tablet-specific apps yet, just pointing out a few dozen featured examples. Generally, just about any Android app can be...
By McKinley Noble | 05-16-2013 | 9:00AM Although NVision brings you Android, tech, gaming and movie news around the clock, even we can't get to everything worth seeing on the Internet. But to help you out, here's today's required reading for May 16th, 2013. • Abercrombie & Fitch may be one of the world's most hated clothing brands, but recent news reports haven't made it better. Not only does company refuse to hire "ugly" or "fat" people, they also refuse to sell sizes above "Large" to customers. In response, L.A. writer Greg Karber is pushing a movement to do something positive with A&F clothing while also fighting the company—by giving their clothes to the...
By Jason Venter | 05-16-2013 | 6:00AM Jordan Mechner is constantly recognized for his work on the beloved Prince of Persia franchise, but did you know that he has also made other games? It’s true. One of those games was Karateka, which originally saw release during the Apple II era. That game may not have earned as many fans as Mechner’s famous follow-up did, but people still remember it fondly and there have been occasional updates throughout the years as the game was adapted for release on newer platforms. According to a report on Joystiq, the newest platforms to receive an updated version of the game will be iOS and Android. Starting today, you’ll be able to download a copy of the game that closely...
By Julian Benson | PCGamesN We were left scratching our heads last week as to what Steam Trading Cards were—they'd been spotted in the Steam database but Valve weren't talking about their newest initiative. Well, the curtain's been drawn back to reveal that they're a development of Steam achievements & badges which will reward your playing of games with a deeper profile page and money off coupons. The way it works is that each game will have a deck of collectible cards. According to Valve, "Up to half the card set is dropped through game play, the other half is earned through your collecting prowess." Complete sets of cards can then be crafted into badges that can then be pinned to your...
By Patrick Shaw | 05-15-2013 | 8:45PM A new version of Electronic Arts and D.I.C.E.'s powerful proprietary graphics technology, the Frostbite engine, is currently being developed for mobile platforms. This substantiates previous reports that the Frostbite team at D.I.C.E. was experimenting with bringing its graphics technology to mobile devices. Last October, an official job posting appeared on EA's website seeking a developer to work with "a team focusing on bringing Frostbite to mobile platforms." And now it appears as though that team has been quite busy. "One of our most exciting current projects is called Frostbite Go," EA wrote on the official Frostbite website, describing it as "a...
By McKinley Noble | 05-15-2013 | 6:00PM Google Hangouts has gotten a bit of a facelift from Mountain View HQ, further bridging the design gap that's existed between Android and Google's web interface. Effectively replacing Google Talk, the new mobile app is a universal effort, letting you cross-chat between Android, iOS, Gmail and Chrome all at once—with the added ability to hold conversations over from session-to-session among several devices. There's also new chat elements in the mix, including emoticons, shared notifications and watermarks to highlight who's chatting or typing at any given moment. Here's some of the other updates that come with revamped mobile app, via Google Play: Say...
By McKinley Noble | 05-15-2013 | 4:45PM There's a significant change in the works at YouTube that's going to affect the way YouTube Partners broadcast their shows and general content, hopefully resulting in another entertainment boom. As announced in the midst of Google I/O 2013 via the official YouTube blog, live streaming is being made available to a much, much wider range of people on the website. Provided that you're in good standing with the website and the community—and have at least 1000 subscribers to your channel—you'll be able to apply for access to live feeds, which can be activated in the "Account Features" menu. Google and YouTube HQ expect the feature to launch in a few...
By McKinley Noble | 05-15-2013 | 10:30AM Although NVision brings you Android, tech, gaming and movie news around the clock, even we can't get to everything worth seeing on the Internet. But to help you out—especially for a crowded day of coverage on Google I/O 2013 in San Francisco—here's today's required reading for May 15th, 2013. • Surprising more than a few attendees at Google I/O, company CEO Larry Paige took to the stage near the end of the opening keynote to talk about building new technology and using "a piece of the world" as a testing environment. TechCrunch has a brief summary of the high points and quotes right over here. • Among the various product releases and...
By McKinley Noble | 05-15-2013 | 1:30PM Samsung Galaxy fans have something big to look forward to this summer—Google has revealed at a new model of the Samsung Galaxy S4 is headed to Google Play on June 26th. At $649 per unit, the major attraction is that it runs stock Android Jelly Bean, much like the Nexus devices. That means you'll have access to many of the features seen in the core devices, such as multiple windows, S-beam tech and immediate OS updates from the Google mothership. It's certainly not cheap, but that's because the devices sells unlocked on AT&T and T-Mobile with LTE support. There's 16GB of storage to boot, but you can naturally expand that with an SD card. People may have...
By Patrick Shaw | 05-15-2013 | 12:00PM During the Google I/O developers conference on Wednesday, Google confirmed rumors that it has been developing a new multiplayer gaming service by officially announcing "Google Play game services". The new gaming platform will allow mobile game developers to integrate a slew of new features into their titles including real-time online multiplayer, public and social leaderboards (synced with Google+ circles), player achievements and cloud-based game saves. You can also play multiplayer games with up to four other players that are in your Google+ circles. Perhaps the most exciting new piece of information to come out of the announcement is that the service will allow cross-platform...
By McKinley Noble | 05-15-2013 | 6:00AM Google I/O 2013 is officially kicking off in San Francisco today, with Google launching their keynote this morning at 9:00 a.m. PST. There's a number of outlets that will be covering the event live in order to quickly catch some expected announcements, like a new Android OS, the new Google Games service, new Nexus hardware, Google Glass updates and more. Anyone can watch a livestream of the keynote right over here via YouTube and at the main Google Developers website. For everyone else around the world, here are the times when you'll need to tune in: 09:00AM — Pacific 10:00AM — Mountain 11:00AM — Central 12:00PM — Eastern 05:00PM...
By Patrick Shaw | 05-14-2013 | 4:00PM Originally envisioned as an Android tablet featuring a glasses-free 3D-enabled display, the Wikipad has undergone a variety of conceptual iterations since it was initially revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2012. Since those early prototypes, the Wikipad hardware has evolved quite dramatically based on feedback received from gamers and industry leaders. While the Wikipad still features its trademark detachable dual-analog stick controller that wraps around its display included in earlier designs, it now boasts a slimmer, 7-inch IPS high-definition display with a resolution of 1280x800. Fraser Townley, Wikipad, Inc. President of Sales, told NVision that the genesis of the Wikipad...
By McKinley Noble | 05-14-2013 | 10:30AM NVIDIA's Tegra 4-powered Project Shield is finally ready for the handheld gaming market, getting a release window, retail price and a call for pre-orders. As announced by NVIDIA this morning, "Project Shield" is now the "NVIDIA Shield" system, and will retain all of the high-powered specs that it touted back at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in January. Just in case you need a recap, here's what the PC gaming gadget is packing under the hood: Tegra 4 Processor 2GB RAM 5-inch Retinal IPS Display (1280x720) 16GB Storage Jelly Bean 4.2.1 Additionally, NVIDIA's announced that Double Fine will be sending two of their own titles to the...
By Julian Benson | PCGamesN Trion are to scrap the requirement to pay a subscription fee to play Rift, their well regarded MMO. From June 12th, players will be able to create and play through the content from the base game, and the recent Storm Legion expansion pack without charge. Rift’s free-to-play model marks a change of heart at Trion. Currently, Rift allows players to play Rift Lite for free; the first 20 levels of the game. Up until late last year, that was still the plan going forward: when we spoke to Scott Hartsman, the former executive producer of Rift, he felt the way forward was to retain the subscription while extending the Lite program. “What’s developed in the time since,” says Trion...
By Jason Venter | 05-14-2013 | 8:00PM If you’ve ever owned and operated a small business, or perhaps just worked at one, then you know that credit card sales are extremely common. You also know that they cost merchants money—sometimes a lot of money—and that’s why smaller businesses will sometimes accept only cash or will exclude expensive American Express transactions. The cost to process credit card sales sometimes carves a huge chunk out of any potential margins, and fees are often baked right into the price of the item you’re trying to purchase. Companies such as Square are helping merchants to get around some of the inconvenience that goes along with accepting credit card transaction, and now...
By McKinley Noble | 05-14-2013 | 6:45PM Google has been reportedly building up its music service via Google Play to compete with the likes of Spotify and Pandora, but their latest rumored deal is a huge leap forward for the company. According to The Verge, both Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment have officially signed on to supply their content to YouTube and Google Play, with music services rumored to be in the works for each network. If that new service is announced at Google I/O tomorrow, it would essentially mean Google has beaten Apple to the punch on launching a streaming music front. However, The New York Times is putting a small pin in the news by reporting that there won't be a free tier...
By McKinley Noble | 05-14-2013 | 2:00PM Netflix might have a long list of competitors consistently aiming to dethrone them, but the reality of the situation is simply this—no one comes remotely close to equaling them. Just to drive the point home, Netflix owns roughly a third of the Internet activity in the United States on a nightly basis, according to ISP tracking firm Sandvine (via AllThingsD), with even the mighty YouTube sequestered to roughly 15 percent of the online streaming crowd. Granted, the study only tracks at-home usage and not wireless traffic, so the bulk of the results likely come from smart HDTV sets, gaming consoles and digital media receivers. Here's a quick list of the top 10 players in that...
By McKinley Noble | 05-14-2013 | 12:00PM Although Twitch TV has an enormous online following, the video game-focused online video streaming network is about to see a huge boost in viewership from Microsoft's iconic console. Major Nelson brings word that Twitch TV finally has an Xbox 360 app of its very own, now available on Xbox Live Gold, finally answering the pleas of many Xbox fans. For months and months, the Xbox forums have typically been flooded with requests for a Twitch TV app, no doubt a result of the multi-featured Xbox 360 quickly becoming a central component to most households' entertainment systems. Besides, the console already supports apps for Netlfix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, ESPN, HBO Go, the UFC and...
By McKinley Noble | 05-14-2013 | 9:00AM Although NVision brings you Android, tech, gaming and movie news around the clock, even we can't get to everything worth seeing on the Internet. But to help you out, here's today's required reading for May 14th, 2013. • Excitement for Google I/O 2013 is really hitting a high pitch with so many rumors flying around, but it's hard to guess what's going to be the highlight of the conference. Computerworld takes a pretty nice crack at the guessing game with their own breakdown of what's likely to happen and what won't. • We may be heading for a brief period of blackouts and weird signal interference from the Sun, as BBC News reports word of some...
By Jeremy Peel | PCGamesN CD Projekt RED have been yammering about their modding tools since last Gamescom, but to date we’ve only been allowed the occasional ogle at the creations of beta testers. Until right now - or at least, right at whichever moment this morning the developers deigned to make the REDkit site live. I’m pretty excited about this, even as CD Projekt move forward with REDengine 3, their new open world tech. With REDkit, modders can exploit the same non-linear quest flowcharting developed for The Witcher 2. Not to mention all this: Create big, living worlds Give birth to entire communities Bring believable characters to life Plant realistic forests in just a few...
By McKinley Noble | 05-13-13 | 8:00PM In the push for greener automobile technology, Tesla Motors has been lobbying extremely hard to put their Model S flagship vehicle at the forefront of the industry's conversations about all-electric options. However, a public dust-up with the New York Times caused some notable skepticism about Tesla's brand, even prompting a PR distaster when CEO Elon Musk stepped in. But now, Tesla has a major notch in their hat courtesy of Consumer Reports (subscription required), with the Model S getting an extremely rare 99 out of 100 review score from the authoritative—and extremely critical—publication. Not only is that a tremendously high score for a consumer...
By McKinley Noble | 05-13-13 | 6:30PM Hulu may not have the enourmous subscriber base that Netflix enjoys, but it's still one of the best video-on-demand services that you're going to get on your Android tablet or smartphone. Now, the Hulu Plus app is just a little bit faster and a little bit better, with its new version now available in Google Play. Rather than just a small under-the-hood update, the developers note that they've completely rebuilt the app from the ground up, giving it faster performance and heavily cutting down on buffering problems. (Note: It's usually best to use video apps with nothing else running in the background.) Overall, the UI looks much better thanks to some visual tweaks,...
By Jason Venter | 05-13-2013 | 4:00PM Senator Leland Yee from California is no stranger to the news. He frequently targets the game industry and champions bills that would restrict the sale of violent games to minors, plus he’s an outspoken proponent of stricter gun regulation. Now, you can add 3D printers to the list of devices that have caught his eye. The problem Yee has with 3D printers is that they can be used to make things. Specifically, a person might use them to produce a working firearm. The fact that motivated people can make a working firearm out of just about anything seems to have escaped Yee’s attention, or perhaps he just doesn’t like the idea that technology now makes weapons available to anyone...
