Thursday, April 19, 2012

HP Is Certifying Ubuntu on their Proliant Server Hardware

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Ubuntu
Mr. Mark Shuttleworth announced that HP will start certifying Ubuntu 12.04 LTS on it's Proliant Server product line.  What does this mean for customer's who are using Proliant hardware?  It means that HP will no longer invalidate a product warranty because you slap Ubuntu on it's storage as opposed to the standard Windows Server Operating System.

If you are familiar with Linux, you will know that Ubuntu is a great server operating system and it's demand and use is constantly growing.  So, kudos Cannonical; good job in getting some corporate backing.  Here's the kicker, HP's reputation hasn't been the greatest over the last while.  So hopefully this won't hurt Cannonical's decision.  And if you remember, this is not the first time a hardware company has jumped into the Ubuntu arena.  Several years ago, Dell offered a line of computers that came preloaded with Ubuntu (other companies followed suit to a small extent) and they publicized the fact that you could buy an Ubuntu powered machine from them.  However, that PR seemed to fade away about as quick as it showed up.  Hopefully, the same thing won't happen this time around.

And HP isn't just certifying Ubuntu 12.04 LTS on new hardware either.  This also applies to existing Proliant hardware that is already in the field.  So if you are an IT manager at your business and have a need for the Ubuntu Server OS and are running a Proliant product, you should be good to go.  So break out those Ubuntu guides, you may see a growing area in the IT world.

As a huge Linux fan and an Ubuntu user myself, I am glad to see companies like HP getting behind them.  As we near closer to the future of Windows, it is only evident that other options may be just as viable as Microsoft's server offerings as surely things in the Windows Server OS will start to evolve and change as well over time.  Maybe corporate user's will see the need to Ubuntu powered servers in their solutions.  This would be great for Ubuntu, and possibly even great for the open-source community as a whole.  Think about it, with Ubuntu Servers comes the need for companies to have staff who know how to work with it.  And with more "professional" backing, maybe a higher quality of open source software packages would become available to the Ubuntu community.

Here's to you Ubuntu!  Swing by Cannonical's website for more information: http://www.canonical.com/

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

The Amazing Spider-Man

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Admittedly, I wasn't exactly excited to hear that yet another Spidey movie was in the works.  Personally, I grew up with the Spider-Man that could organically created his own webbing and all of the classic baddies from Spidey's world.  However, after seeing one of the latest trailers to drop.  I can actually say I am looking forward to this take.

The cast looks amazing and we get a bad guy that hasn't been done on film yet.  Instead of a complete reboot where we see another take on the Green Goblin or even the Hobgoblin; we get Lizard.  And I have to say he looks pretty cool.  So, if you haven't seen the Japanese trailer, check it out as it shows off some new footage.

Enjoy!




Monday, April 16, 2012

App Review: Dark Legends by SpaceTime Studios

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Dark Legends MMO
Last week we mentioned that SpaceTime Studios has rolled out their newest title in the line of their "Legends" mobile games.  The significant point to be made with this game is that this marks the first time an MMO has been simultaneously released for both Mobile Devices and the Desktop Computer.  Pretty cool!

If you are familiar with SpaceTime Studio's other games (Star Legends and Pocket Legends) you kind of know what to expect as far as character design is concerned.  But let me go on the record to say that this game is nothing like it's previous two namesakes.  For one, this title is a great deal more violent than their previous titles.  Sure, Pocket Legends and Star Legends involve a great deal of fighting and combat.  But neither of them dump buckets of blood during a session of gameplay.  This title does.  Enough with the intro, let's jump in and see how this game stacks up.

Dark Legends
Story:
Your character is a newly sired vampire in a world where people are aware that vampires exist thanks to innovation in technology.  Now the humans are hunting the Vampire Nation using said technology and the Dark Arts (hence the appearance of all the monsters in the game).  And it is your job as a new member of the Vampire Nation to take up arms and fight.

Honestly, this is a new take on the whole Vampire legend as far as I know it.  It is a somewhat simple storyline but it's great because that is all you need to know to understand what goes on in the game.  No further explanation is needed.

Graphics & Sound:
As mentioned above, the character designs are the cartoony and fun designs that we have come to expect from SpaceTime Studios.  Unlike SpaceTime's previous two games that we full of color, Dark Legends is much darker.  Given it's source material it has be portrayed this way.  And I can honestly say the atmosphere in the game is great.  It's that dark, but not too creepy dark.  The levels are designed in a way that rewards short bursts of fast gameplay, which we will get too shortly.

Sounds is pretty good.  You get all the fanfare you would expect from hearing the sounds of the onscreen baddies to your attacks doing their job.

Gameplay:
Dark Legends GameplayThe gameplay is pretty good overall.  The action during the combat missions is great and a blast to play through.  You will find yourself running around slicing and dicing evil fiends very quickly as this game has a pretty small learning curve and does pretty well to get you playing pretty quick.  The earlier "training" type missions are solo missions.  So they are pretty easy.  After you complete that handful of early missions you'll be able to play with other people as you run through the combat missions.  Playing with others is a lot more fun as it gives you a sense of being a "team player".

My only complaint (and it may be I just overlooked this) is that the interface feels a little cluttered and right out of the gates there was a little confusion about what certain icons were telling me.  Although it is easy enough to figure it out as you play through the earlier levels.

The game is made up of basically two types of missions: combat and search type missions.  The combat missions are pretty straight forward.  Run through a map either solo or with others and kill pretty much anything that moves.  Most of the area's have a type of boss character at the end that may take some work to kill earlier on.  But as you progress and your character gets stronger, even these enemies go down fairly quick.

The search missions aren't actually playable missions at all.  Instead you simply tap the mission icon on the map and watch an animation (or cutscene) to see what happens.  Personally, this was a little off putting the first couple of times I played through these particular missions.  Some missions involve watching your character "Glamour" an NPC to charm information from them.  While others involve watching your character look through a pile of rubble or even breaking into a tomb of vampire's lair.  Personally, I feel like the search missions could have been a little more.  Maybe something like a puzzle of mini-game to break up the monotony of fighting through every mission.  But nonetheless, these missions serve the purpose of furthering the story more than gameplay.  After playing through a few levels you get used to them and it makes you look forward to the combat missions all the more.

Energy is one of the hot topics among the players of this game.  Some like it, some don't. Here's the deal, you essentially have a limited amount of energy.  From what I gather, each mission requires a certain amount of energy points in order to play it.  Not enough energy?  Simply redeem your in game platinum for more or step away from the game for a little while and let your energy build back up for free.  Personally, I like this feature as it forces me not to burn up all afternoon playing the game.  This does prevent marathon play for those who like to play that way.  But for me, not a big deal.

Skills:
As the game thus far that I have played it plays fairly linear you level up and acquire new skills automatically as you play.  One of the nice things about the game is that there is very little emphasis on customizing stats.  A lot of people tend to get lost when it boils down to getting a better character because you have juggled stats and numbers to do so.  This free's up the player to do more playing and earn new costumes for you character as you play.

Multiplayer:
As mentioned above, the early missions force you to play solo in order to learn the game.  After those missions you can jump into playing with other people.  And that is where this game shines.  There is no bloat or crap to deal with.  You simply jump in and run the mission assisting others.  Which turns out to be a lot of fun.  This game boasts to be an MMO but it feels more like a hack & slash co-op title to me.  With that being said, there is a PvP aspect to the game as well; however, I haven't actually tried it out yet.

Overall:
Dark Legends for AndroidIf you are looking for a fun coop style game to play on either your mobile device or in your web browser.  Than Dark Legends is a must have.  It is free to play.  Although there are plenty of opportunities to swap real world cash for in-game items if you so choose.  But it is not forced to shell out your hard earned cash, which is nice.  Also, a lot of free to play games (especially on mobile devices) are riddled full of advertisements that get in the way.  And so far, nothing like that has popped up for me.

If you don't mind having limited access to energy points to delegate you play (which I don't mind at all) you should have a blast in this game.  So far I have, and I am not that big a fan of vampire related games.  But this one does it right.

One side note that I'd like to make is just some simple advice.  I would recommend this title to the older crowd as some of the source material is a little too mature for children.  With this being said the Google Play Market page for the game shows "High Maturity" for the Content Rating.

Rating:  4 out of 5 stars!
4 out of 5 stars



Pro's:
-Fun multiplayer
-Great gameplay
-Easy to find people to play with.
-PvP is available
-Character customization is basically equipping crystals and costumes.
-It's Free to Play!

Con's:
-There are missions that are only for progressing story involving no gameplay whatsoever.

Get it at:
Google Play: http://bit.ly/IyXeVO
Chrome Web Store: http://bit.ly/HMLHJg
Apple's App Store: Not available yet, according to their forums the game is pending Apple's approval and should be available in a few weeks.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Dark Legends is Out!

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Dark Legends
For all of you mobile gamers out there, a new title has hit the web from the likes of SpaceTime Studios.  That's right, they are the great folks behind the much loved "Pocket Legends" and the newer "Star Legends" titles.  Their newest title is called "Dark Legends".  And after having some hands-on time last night with the game, I can say it is definitely a lot grittier than their two previous games.

Here is the deal, you play a newly sired vampire in a gothic/urban city setting where normal humans are aware of the vampire's existence.  You have to fight to survive.  And you are fitting off all kinds of creatures from zombies to demons, it's the full gamut.  It has the feeling of a SpaceTime Studios game in the character design.  It has a cute but dark feeling about it.  And at times it feels a lot like a cooperative hack-&-slash game.  Which is pretty cool.

One of the big deals about this game is that it is the first MMO title that was released simultaneously for mobile and desktop play via Google Play for mobile devices and the Chrome Web Store for desktops.  And the game is a free to play title.  So don't hesitate to jump in and have fun.

Dark Legends Character Select Screen

Look for a review next week!

Guild Wars 2 up for PreOrder Now!

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This week was a big week especially for gamers!  Not quite sure what I am hinting at?  Let me expound, this week pre-sales started for the much anticipated Guild Wars 2!  This game has been a long time in the making and ArenaNet has been teasing those of us who cut our teeth on the first Guild Wars with screens and videos and even beta testing for some (but unfortunately no beta testing for me).  So how much is it? What do you get for preordering? Is there a Collector's Edition?  And when does it hit the street?

Let's break it down.  For $59.99 you can preorder the standard game.  All preorder customers get the following perks:
-Beta Access to ALL GW2 beta events.
-A Three Day Headstart Access when the game releases.
-The Hero's Band ingame item.

For $79.99 Digital Deluxe Edition you get the above three perks and:
-The game.
-Summon Mistfire Wolf Elite Skill (ingame).
-Miniature Rytlock pet (ingame).
-Golem Bank (lasts for 5 days - ingame).
-Chalice of Glory (earns extra Glory and it a one time use item - ingame).
-Tome of Influence (guild stuff - ingame).

And the ubersweet Collector's Edition ($149.99) will include all of the above goodies, perks, and ingame items, as well as:
-10 inch Rytlock figurine.
-Book: "Making of Guild Wars 2"
-Custom Art Frame
-Art Portfolio and 5 Art Prints
-Best of Guild Wars 2 Sountrack CD

Sounds pretty freaking sweet!  As an avid fan of the original Guild Wars, I can honestly say I have been awaiting the arrival of it's sequel for some time now.  And I have a renewed desire to jump back in the original and try to finally fill up my Hall of Monuments (which is a little on the bare side).

Here's the kicker, there still isn't an official release date other than they are aiming for a 2012 release.  I have been burned in the past on game preorders.  So it is unlikely that I will partake of the preorder process.  However, seeing the preorders being opened up is huge news for a game that we have waited on for so long now.

So if preordering is up your alley be sure to swing by their website: https://buy.guildwars2.com/

Checkout the trailer as well: