Copy: Free Cloud Storage for a Limited Time

Checkout Copy... And do it now.  Copy is awesome.  Sure, it isn't a new concept.  Sites like Dropbox have been around for a while.  But if you want 5GB of free storage, why not take it right?   They have a working client for Android, iOS, and PC (Linux, Mac, & Windows).  And seeing as how I use Android, Linux, and Windows this is a very tempting offer.

But for a limited time, 5GB isn't the only free storage you can get from Copy.  If you sign up for copy using this link: https://copy.com?r=UfAoUE

You will get your 5GB of free storage for signing up (which everyone gets).  But once you sign in to any of the client apps (Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android) you will get an extra 5GB of storage.  That's a total of 10GB of storage for doing nothing more than signing up and installing the app.

So far, I have used the app to sync pictures from my Android phone and my Nexus 7 tablet.  And once I installed the Windows client, any data within selected folders "automagically" syncs to my laptop too.  That means no more hooking my phone up to a USB cable to transfer pictures or data to/from my mobile devices.

The sign up process is extremely simple.  Basically, just your name, email address, and a password.  It takes less than a minute to sign up, a few moments to install the app and sign in.  That's less than 2 or 3 minutes for 10GB of free cloud storage.  It doesn't get any easier than that.

How sweet is that?

So drop by Copy using: https://copy.com?r=UfAoUE
Sign up and use the mobile app.  Worse case scenario, you get 10GB of free storage for future use.  Not too shaby!

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App of The Week: Shadowgun Deadzone

Our App of the Week for the week of March 1nd, 2013 is: Shadowgun: Deadzone.  As always, we always try to highlight apps that are cheap and/or free in most cases.  There are exceptions where an app is just so awesome, that paying more than $4 or $5 dollars shouldn't be a problem.  But keeping true to our idea that most of us are on a budget (and or just cheapskates like me), ShadowGun: Deadzone is a FREE app.  And unlike our usual App of Week pick, this game is cross platform on both iOS device and Android devices.  So let's jump into what really makes this game standout.

What is it?

Shadowgun: Deadzone is an online multiplayer, third person shooter title.  It follows the release of the original Shadowgun game for iOS and Android created by MadFinger Games.  This game is absolutely gorgeous.

The Story

As mentioned above, Shadowgun: Deadzone is an online multiplayer game that throws the player into either a deathmatch style game or a capture point style game.  There is very little by way of story for this app.  It ideally picks up after the events of the original Shadowgun title.  If you missed the original, a "Shadowgun" is basically a professional bounty hunter.  In the original game, you played as John Slade and your mission was to stop a mad scientist from making a mutated army.  So in Deadzone, your character is either a mutant soldier or one of several Shadowgun skins.

Gameplay

The game plays pretty much just like the original Shadowgun title.  It is basically a covered based shooter much like the Gears of War franchise on the Xbox 360.  Meaning, you run and gun and use objects that are scattered around the map to hide behind when you need to get out of the line of fire.  When hiding behind a barrier or your back is pressed against a corner wall, the camera shifts a little providing a view of the action in front of you.  You can then fire from behind cover, which is really handy in a heavy firefight.

The controls are fairly straight forward as well.  On the left side of the screen is a virtual joystick which controls movement.  You aim by sliding your right thumb around the screen.  In the bottom right we have several icons that include aiming/firing, reloading, and sprinting.  In the upper right corner of the screen we have your weapon selection icon, your sprinting meter, and a couple empty inventory spots for certain perks or power ups that you unlock as you play.  These perks can include the ability to drop ammo or health recharge packs, use motion radars, and grenades to name just a few.  Unlike a lot of games that utilize a touch based, onscreen button layout; this one works extremely well with a very low learning curve.

Other Features

What would a game that only offers online multiplayer be without a system for leveling your character?  And Shadowgun: Deadzone offers exactly that.  As you play matches you gain experience points and cash.  Both of these add up over time.  Your cash is used to upgrade weapons and unlock new power up.  Meanwhile, you're experience points builds up your character's level as you play as well.  Here is the important thing, a higher level doesn't necessarily mean a "stronger" character.  It does mean, that someone with a higher level than you, has access to different weapons which in turn may be stronger than those who run lower level characters.  But this is a fair trade off.  As I have been in matches with people who are much higher levels, and still been able to more than hold my own against them.

Character Loadout Screen

There is also a "Casino" feature built into the games main menu.  Each day your account will be given a token (or 2 or 3 depending) and you can use these tokens to take a spin on the Slot Machine.  The reward for playing the Slot Machine is in game gold.  This gold can be used to buy cosmetic items such as skins, hats, etc. for your character.  As the tokens are given to your account, you do not have to pay "real-world" money for these.

There is also a buddy list, you can log in with your Facebook account, and you can chat (and voicechat if you have a premium account).

Game Modes

Currently there are only two game modes: Deathmatch and Zone Control.  Deathmatch is your traditional free-for-all game mode.  Where every player loads out into the map and spends the matches time limit trying to frag each other.  He who has the highest killscore wins the match.  Meanwhile, Zone Control is a little more tactical.  Each map is contains a series of "Control Points" which also acts as spawn points.  Two teams (red and blue) each fight for the duration of the match to gain control of more points than the other team.  Eventually this leads to some pretty epic battles over points in the middle of a map.  I spend a lot of time playing Zone Control as the strategy aspect of this game mode is a lot of fun.

Premium Features?

So at this point you may be saying, "Wait a minute? A game with these features, and it's free?".  That's right, it is free to download and free to play.  There are a couple ad screens you will see while playing, but the ads are for Shadowgun: Deadzone itself.  Players have the option to upgrade to a "Premium Account" if they choose.

Premium accounts get the following:

-50% more Money and Gold for Playing Matches

-Increased Experience Points for Matches Played

-Access to Premium Servers

-Voice Chat

Premium features can be purchased using your in-game gold or you can drop some "real-world" money for it as a microtransaction.  Premium accounts can be:

-1 day 

-3 days ($00.99)

-1 week ($00.99 USD)

-1 month ($2.99 USD)

-3 months ($9.99 USD)

For example, I ran the month of January as a premium account.  And the immediate advantage is being able to change between more than just the original 2 character skins.  For me the cost is very little and if it counts towards helping the developers build updates for the game; then I am happy to support it.  The Premium cost is a one time charge and no recurring.  So when it runs out, you are dropped back down to a "Free Play" account status.  Which means you receive less money and experience points.

Overall

This game should be considered a AAA title.  It offers gameplay that I have yet to find in any other mobile game.  And it feels like a big-console experience that you can hold in your hand.  With great controls and graphics and an online experience like no other on a mobile device.  I highly recommend this game.  With a limited selection of maps and only two game modes, I would love to see this game grow to offer more as time goes on.  But even with those limitations, I still give this game 5 Stars.

To play it, you will need a device that has at least 512MB of RAM.  For iOS device users this includes: iPhone 4 (and newer), iPod Touch 5th Generation, and iPad 2 (and newer).  For Android users a modern device with at least 512MB of RAM and running Android Honeycomb and newer.

I have been playing this on both my Samsung Galaxy S2 and my Google Nexus 7 and it plays smooth and fluidly on both devices.

Check it out:

Madfinger Games 

Google Play Store- Shadowgun: Deazone  (FREE)

Apple's App Store- Shadowgun: Deadzone (FREE)

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Apple vs Samsung = $1 Billion Bruise for Samsung

Before jumping into this, let me first and foremost say that I love my Samsung Galaxy S2.  It is an amazing device, and probably the best phone I have ever owned (and yes, I have used Apple products before).  If you have read any of my posts, you'll know that I am a proponent for Android (mostly because it will built ontop of Linux).  And yes, I will admit that there are striking resemblances between my Galaxy S2 and my wife's Apple iPhone 4S (mostly in terms of interface design).

If you have kept up with any of the news surrounding the Apple/Samsung patent lawsuits you'll know that Apple was recently awarded $1 billion big one's for basically admitting that they copied the iPhone design.  So, I'll have to say I kind of saw this one coming.  And knowing that Samsung is getting hit in the pocketbook for their admitted plagiarism of Apple's hardware, it was no surprise that the patents will be upheld and we will probably be seeing some big changes to some of the basics of even how Android works across the board.

So what is affected by the results of this lawsuit?  For starters, this lawsuit will not just affect Samsung products, but in the end will affect Android at the OS level as well.  As obviously, Google will try to steer clear of Apple patented design traits.  No more dedicated home buttons on Samsung hardware (they were notorious on some of their phones to have a rectangular home button).  Things like app icon design will more than likely change as well just for beginners.  But things like the "swipe to unlock" bars, various multitouch gestures, etc.  This is a big deal people.

So it sounds pretty bad doesn't it?  Let's look at it from a different angle.  Maybe this is a good thing.  Maybe this lawsuit is what it took to get some innovation back into our mobile devices.  Let's admit it, for the last several years the world has laid in wait to see what latest gimmicks Apple's latest phone gives us.  And then you start to see similar things show up in other places.  So we have let Apple be the innovation leader in the mobile device market.  Maybe now is when our mobile devices meet a "theoretical" fork-in-the-road where new interface designs, new product features, and new phone designs in general could pop-up and even succeed.  Let's face it.  A lot of Android user's like and use Android because it is different than Apple.  And because it isn't an Apple product, point blank.  Yet, our devices are starting to look more and more like Apple devices anyways.  Maybe it is a well warranted time for a change.

Personally, I feel the growing pains and changes may suck initially.  Hopefully, Samsung won't outright nerf many features; simply reworking them with Google's assistance in a Jelly Bean update would be nice. Being realistic and knowing how the whole Android development/release cycle works, I think I may be living in a dream.  But eventually, we may be seeing the start of an Android rebirth that can once again make us stand back and say "That phone can do that! Amazing!" instead of the now common "Cool Phone!" posts we see on forums today.

Either way, it looks to be an exciting time for Android users.  Whether that exciting is positive or negative remains to be seen.

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App Review: Dark Legends by SpaceTime Studios

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.

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:
The 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:
If 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!




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.

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Review: Shadowgun for Android

Yesterday, MadFinger Games released the much anticipated shooter entitled 'Shadowgun' to the Android Market.  The game itself is powered by the Unity Game Engine and it is indeed very sweet.  For those who aren't familiar with MadFinger Games; they are the team behind games such as Samurai II: Vengeance (and previous 'Samurai' titles), 'Bloody Xmas', and a couple others.  To be completely upfront about it, the game is currently going for $4.99 from the Android Market.  And yes, it is worth every penny.  If nothing else but to see how good this game looks on your device.

For starters, the game is basically a third person perspective, cover based shooter.  Meaning you'll basically navigate your way through each area taking cover behind obstacles and shooting it out against robotic gun turrets and mutant soldiers.  If you have ever played games like 'Gears of War' on the Xbox 360 than you'll be fairly familiar with the cover based concept.

You will assume the roll of John Slade, who works as an intergalactic bounty hunter.  Tasked with the mission of hunting down Dr. Edgar Simon, who apparently went rogue and swiped some genetic samples and decided to buckle down on the planet named 'Eve'.  Obviously in the year 2350 (when the game takes place), bounty hunters go by the title of 'shadowgun'.  Hence the game's name.

The sound is about par with any action-shooter title you have probably played in the past.  With gun shots and explosions being the norm through about every room you work through.  Where the game excels in my book are the controls.  You do have the option to use a game pad.  Honestly, I haven't attempted using a controller yet.  Mostly because the onscreen controls are pretty streamlined and are easy to work with.

Much like other shooter style games on Android devices, the controls are 'ghosted' portions of the screen where the digital control stick appear under your left thumb (for movement), while swiping your right thumb aims the cross hair for your weapon.  Running directly up to an obstacle makes your character automatically use it for cover.

You have four other buttons onscreen:
- In the top left of the screen you have the pause button.
- Top right of the screen is your selected weapon (tap the icon to change weapons).
- On the right side of the screen there are two buttons. One for shooting (which becomes an interaction button near mission critical objects).  The second button is for reloading your weapon of choice.

Overall the controls work pretty well.  The only real issue I have had is getting away from an obstacle when under cover.  The idea is that you simply use your left thumb to navigate away from the obstacle.  But sometimes it doesn't quite work the way you think it should.  But that is the only issue I have had, and it doesn't happen often enough to detract from the experience.

There are three games modes (easy, normal, and hard).  There are also collectible icons you can find when playing through the game that unlocks items in the 'Extras' menu.  These items just appear to be profile cards about the characters in the game.  Which provides for background to flesh out the character stories.

All in all, I have absolutely no complaints about 'Shadowgun'.  It looks great and plays smooth.  I'm having a really hard time believing my eyes that this game is running on a mobile device.  I'm running it on my Acer Iconia a500 tablet, and have had no issues whatsoever.  You can swing by the Android Market on your Android device and see if it's available for you.  But if you're a fan of shooter games, or games that require more attention than some of the puzzle games that tend to fill the market, than this game is for you.

To see my previous post about Shadowgun, and see the game's trailer check out:
Shadowgun on iOS...But not Android...Yet!

Results:
I highly recommend this game for anybody who likes a 'heavier' game for their Android Device.  The game is also available for iOS (which received it's release last month).

Pros: Great controls, looks amazing and is fun to play.  From what I have played so far, the difficulty starts off fairly easy and ramps up as you play.
Cons: Occasionally, I tend to get stuck behind cover.  Fiddling around with the controls eventually gets the player loose.  But this doesn't happen often. (BTW, those spider bombs creepily suck). lol

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

To download 'Shadowgun' to your Android Device, visit the Android Market.  The game retails for $4.99 and requires Android 2.2 and up.
Visit: Android Market- Shadowgun by MadFinger Games

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LibreOffice is Growing! Coming to Android & iOS!

Ever heard of LibreOffice?  If not, it is a free and open-source office suite that rivals the Microsoft Office Suite.  It has many comparable components and makes a great office solution for those who lack the pocket money to purchase MS Office, or those who just like using open-source software (I fall into both categories lol).  LibreOffice originated as a fork of the OpenOffice.org project and is simply outstanding.  Not to mention it is cross platform meaning you can use it on Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems (it comes default with Ubuntu 11.04 and up)!

Just the other day the development team working on LibreOffice announced that they are aiming for a mobile client for both Android and iOS tablet devices (with phone support rolling out later); as well as offering an online counterpart to their offline software (probably something similar to Google Docs).  This is great news for the LibreOffice project because with expansion we see that the project is building steam among it's users (with a growing community as well).  Look for it heading to your mobile device late 2012 (maybe even early 2013).

If you haven't checked into LibreOffice yet, I would highly recommend doing so.  If you do check it out you may want to watch my previous video about how to set the default file formats to Microsoft Office compatible formats after installing to ensure everyone can open your documents.

Download: http://www.libreoffice.org/
My LibreOffice Video Post:
http://www.techiesmarts.com/2011/09/help-ubuntu-making-libreoffice-play.html

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Apple to World: No iPhone 5 for you!

So this morning was the big Apple announcement...What was it?  Was it worth all of the hype?  The big guess from just about everybody in the world was that Apple would be announcing the iPhone 5 (or at least iOS 5).  As the world eagerly awaited the freshly appointed CEO Tim Cook to take the stage and show the world the next version of the iDevices...

But that's not what happened.  Instead, it was announced that Sprint will start carrying iPhones and they will be the iPhone 4S.  And you can preorder your's on Friday.  Meanwhile, they will go on sale on October 14th.  So what makes the iPhone 4S newsworthy?  I mean, since it's obviously not an iPhone 5 or anything, right?

Well, the device will sport faster processing and downloads, and the camera gets a big bump.  It will jump from a 4 megapixel camera to an 8 megapixel camera.  And they now include an app called Siri for voice assisted features which also seems to tie into some web services like Yelp!.

On the iOS topic, they did announce that iOS 5 will become available on October 12th.

Personally, I don't see it's that big of a deal.  It seems like the whole event was over hyped.  I mean, are we really that surprised when another carrier picks up iPhone support?  Personally, my wife's HTC Evo 4G has a plenty fast enough processor and already sports an 8 megapixel camera.  So no real reason to jump ship to the iPhone camp here.

What do you think?  Is it worth your time to jump over to Sprint or even bother with an iPhone 4S?  Leave a comment about it below!

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Ubuntu One Cloud Storage Now for Windows too!

Ubuntu One is Canonical's answer to cloud storage and has been included within the last several Ubuntu releases.  Simply put, you sign up for your free 5GB account (that was previously only for Ubuntu users) and start syncing your files to "the cloud".

You can stash pretty much any kind of file you'd like on your Ubuntu One "Cloud" and that grants you the ability to access your files on the go from literally any internet connect computer or mobile device in the world.

My previous solution to cloud storage was Dropbox.  However, seeing as how I have multiple Ubuntu installs working across several VirtualBox machines on my Windows host, this may very well keep me from even messing with VirtualBox shared folders between guest and host.  And simply use Ubuntu One instead.  Not to mention, with access to Ubuntu One on Windows and Ubuntu, it is also available on iOS and Android devices.

Every user gets 5GB's of data for free and can purchase additional space should you need it.
Check out Ubuntu One at:http://ubuntuone.com/

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Shadowgun released yesterday on iOS...But Not on Android yet?

Yesterday marked the release for Madfinger's Shadowgun.  Why is this game significant?  I can easily answer that question with the obvious.  It's absolutely gorgeous.  The graphics looks outstanding.  The game was built on the Unity 3D engine and is a cover based third person shooter for mobile devices.  Yep, that means it will run on smartphones and tablets equipped with the NVIDIA Tegra chipset (and currently on iDevices).

And as of yesterday, it is running on iPhones and iPad's.  According to TegraZone, we should expect to see the Android port sometime in October 2011.  For those who haven't heard of Madfinger yet, you should check them out if you have a device capable of running Samurai II: Vengeance.  Which is a gorgeous looking hack and slash, samurai game.

Here is the backstory for Shadowgun.  You play as John Slade (a strangle blend of Gears of War style with Bruce Willis); who is the universe's toughest bounty hunter.  And you are hired to hunt a Dr. Edgar Simon who controls a crazy, mutant army.

Nothing sounds to unique about the story.  But seriously, a mobile game that looks like this, screw the story.  I'll play it strictly for the visuals alone.  If you're still not sold, be sure to checkout the game's trailer:





Look for a full review once this game hits the Google Android Market!

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Android App Review: N.O.V.A. 2 for Android Devices

If you are have at any point been an iOS fan/gamer you may have either seen or even played one of Gameloft's coolest titles: N.O.V.A.: Near Orbital Vanguard Alliance for the Apple's iDevices.  I actually still play this one on my iPod Touch.  It's that awesome.  So, I was more than thrilled to see that it's sequel: N.O.V.A. 2 has an Android port, and that it runs flawlessly on my Acer Iconia a500 Tablet.

If you were able to get in on their back to school sale, the game was only 99 cents on the Android Market.  It looks like it has gone back up to $6.99 recently.  But even at $6.99, this game is awesome.  The sequel to the much acclaimed N.O.V.A. brings back the on screen controls and outstanding graphics that originally made it such a hit with mobile gamers.

So, for those who don't know...What is it?  N.O.V.A. 2 is a first person shooter for Android and iOS devices.  It is based in a sci-fi world where the story picks up 6 years after the first game.  The game's intro video is amazing for a mobile game.  And the gameplay is just as awesome.  The story throws your character into the middle of a crazy civil war between human colonists and a central government with shady intentions.

In the first few minutes of actual gameplay, you get a crazy action sequence that involves some Halo style features.  The sound is much of what you'd expect from a first person shooter.  So nothing crazy there.  But where this game shines (and I can't say thing enough) is in the graphics department.  The game's visuals are amazing for a mobile device.  I use my tablet for reading, web surfing, and watching the occasional video clip on YouTube.  So to jump from those uses, into a game of this quality is awesome.

The game also includes online play (which I haven't tried yet).  I have the bad habit of playing too much multiplayer and not enough single player modes, that I try to save the multiplayer for later.  My personal preference.  So are there any downsides to the game?

In my opinion, only one.  It's the controls.  Sure, the controls are pulled off via on screen overlays.  But I tend to find myself drifting my thumbs up and down the left and right edges of my tablet.  Making it easy for me to throw my view and aim off in crazy directions.  Especially when the crap hits the fan during fire fights.




What I would like to see accomplished with the controls, is support for controllers and gamepads in Honeycomb 3.2 devices.  Other games have pulled this off (Riptide GP by Vector Unit) so I don't see why Gameloft doesn't grant us that option with N.O.V.A. 2.  That would make an already awesome mobile gaming experience all that more better.

It is obvious that games like Halo seemed to lend some inspiration the the game's developers.  Gameloft is one of those companies who are notorious for publishing games that borrow aspects heavily from other game titles (often people cite Gameloft titles to resemble the art style of games like WoW, GTA, Halo, and some others).

So when it comes right down to it.  What is the verdict on N.O.V.A. 2?  Is it a must buy or a pass?

Verdict:
-Must Buy!
For mobile gamers looking for a great looking and challenging game, check it out. Likewise, fans of First Person Shooters in general shouldn't pass this one up.

Cons:
The cons are pretty limited on this one.  I would like to see controller and gamepad compatibility.  And one issue I have read about (and seems to plague Gameloft's titles in general) is hardware support.  It will either work or it won't be compatible.  I can confirm that is runs great on the Acer Iconia a500 tablet.

Techie's Rating:

Checkout the Android Marketplace to pick this title up:
Gameloft's N.O.V.A. 2: http://bit.ly/oRbmQS
Cost: $6.99 USD

Happy Surfing!

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Should I Buy a Laptop or a Tablet?

I get asked this question at least once a week.  So I figured I'd take a moment and elaborate on my answer for those online who may be wondering the same thing.  I personally own an Android based tablet (Acer Iconia a500), have access to an iPad (first generation), and of course my desktop pc, and my wife's laptop.  So coming from the standpoint that I have access to each of the major methods of common, everyday computing; here is my advice.

The argument for a PC (personal computer) is a completely valid argument.  Let's be real, in this day an time you have two types of computers: the Windows based PC, and a Mac.  What you're looking at from the PC standpoint is probably a Windows 7 based PC.  If you want to spend more, get pretty good customer service, but be somewhat limited to the software you can run; go Mac.  Nothing against Apple or their Mac's; I just happen to bump into about a dozen Windows-based PC's and laptops for every 1 Mac I see in the wild.  Those who have Mac's absolutely adore them; so no Mac hate here.  lol

With a PC (or equivalent) you're looking at running a wide selection of software applications, the common web surfing and everyday computer usage.  Maybe some Facebook or Farmville, and you have the ability to either buy software from a brick and mortar store, or downloading from an e-store online.  You'll have the ability to hook up to a local or network based printer, and have the option to go either Wireless or Wired networking.  Most PC's are upgradable so adding things like memory and large hard drives later (or the need to add a new graphics card for gaming) becomes a better solution than replacing the unit at a later time.  Some upgrade options aren't available when using a laptop (such as a videocard upgrade); however, adding more RAM or a larger hard drive later is a more viable solution.

The argument for a tablet (or equivalent) is also a very valid point.  Tablet's are designed for one thing: mobility.  Yes, many of them do look pretty sexy and sleek too.  However, they are meant for the mobility and convenience of a laptop or netbook, but without the bloat.  There are some Windows based tablet floating around out there, that use a current version of the Windows Operating System but optimized for the touch input.  However, most tablets you see with either be running a version of Android or will be an iPad running iOS from Apple.

What can you do with a tablet?  Pretty much any of your basic, every day computing can be thrown at any of the modern tablets on the market right now.  It all comes down to which side you want to lay down your rifle for.  With Apple's iPad you're looking at paying for the device and for most of your apps you can download that are iPad optimized.  From my experience looking around Apple's App Store, some of their iPad version apps are more expensive than the iPhone versions.  However, with the iPad and iOS, it just works.  Right out of the box.  There is very little room for error (as long as you don't jailbreak it).  That opens a whole new door that can be awesome, or cause headaches depending on your goal.  But from a stock standpoint, the iPad is a very competent tablet style device.  It has great accessories available and plenty of apps to keep you busy.

The other side of the tablet world right now revolves around Android based devices.  Most of the $400-$600 range Android tablets now are dual-core processor based tablets.  They are more than competent for web surfing, gaming, and media consumption.  They aren't quite as smooth as the slide, tap, and use method that the iPad employees; meaning it feels like a computer more than a big iPod.  The same can be argued about Android apps.  There are plenty of apps in the Google Android Market to appease your appetite.  However, the actual "Tablet Optimized" category is pretty low.  With that being said, many of the other apps in the market will work on a tablet without any trouble.  Many times the Android tablets are comparable if not cheaper than the iPad.  Available accessories are out there, but it depends on which tablet you use as to the level of what is available for it.

Personally, I find a tablet to be a great complement to my daily computer usage.  I use a desktop PC for most of my work and gaming based tasks.  Then when I need to casually surf, check me email, or compute on the go; I roll out with my tablet.  If you are looking to replace your PC with a tablet, I'd hold off for the time being.  I just don't think tablet's are designed with that intention just yet.  If you are new to the computing world, and only have needs to surf the web or read a book; by all means, a tablet may be best for you.

It all comes down to your personal needs.   My wife uses her laptop a couple times a week for Facebook access and web surfing.  For her, a tablet would be ideal.  Simply because, she doesn't need to level of usage that would warrant a full sized PC or Laptop.  But would give her the similar features.  But for me, I have to still use a desktop at least until I give up some of the PC only games I play.  :)

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Tablets, iPads, and other Manufacturers...Oh My!

Looks like the old motto: "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em", isn't one that Dell & HP exec's are even considering.  Instead, they decided to go the "All-American" route and start smack talking.  That's right.  We all know that Apple has been pretty much dominating the tablet corner of the technology market ever since the iPad was released.  Myself, not such a huge fan of how Apple keeps their gadgets locked down.  I like having the freedom to do what I want with my tech.  With that said, is iOS bad?  Nope, it's a pretty good system for a mobile device (all Apple based restrictions aside).  And it is very simple for people to use; people who may very well shun other forms of technology.

So, with the recent release of the iPad 2 by Apple; we are starting to see the feathers on their competition start to rise a little.  No doubt other manufacturers are starting to take notice that they are quickly losing ground in the tablet industry.  Recently, HP's Senoir VP of America's Solution Partners spoke out for his distaste in how Apple handles their business relationships with their partners.  Going on the record to say "Apple's relationship with partners is transaction, completely" and carrying on to say "Unlike Apple, HP is a very friendly channel" in an interview with CRN.  The point of his interview eventually leads up to his concern for their new line of tablets that will be touting the webOS.  Personally, I feel he should be very concerned about the upcoming system.  Reason being, if you follow technology you may have heard of webOS.  The system was developed by Palm (the makers of the once famous PDA brand); and was used in their debut phone: Palm Pre.

The Pre was a good phone, and the software got great reviews.  Much like Android it is running on a Linux kernal.  However, it seemed that the Pre couldn't stand it's ground against the iPhone.  Eventually Palm was facing a dire future, and HP acquired the company.  Now they are using the webOS for their mobile devices. And how many advertisements do you see on the web or tv for webOS?  Not many, if any.  I know their tablet line hasn't released yet.  But the PR departments are going to have to start feeding the public some pictures and footage of how this works within their products and start building fanfare.  Without that, I'm affraid a lot of people will set webOS on the backburner.  That would be bad.

Why?  Easy, another company competing in the tablet market will create even more competition.  Competition is good for us (the consumer) because it helps drive down costs as we raise demand.  Maybe then we can actually get a decent Android tablet under the $500 mark without having to buy an e-reader and mod it.

Enough on HP's stance, what is Dell saying?  In a recent interview with CIO Australia, Andy Lark (Global Head of Marketing for Dell) believes Apple will fall and Android will reign (not a direct quote) in the mobile market.  There is even room for Windows there too.  I have to hand it to Dell.  They have been supporting multiple operating systems for some time.  At one point, they allowed purchase of new systems with choice of Linux or Windows.  And it appears that they will continue that mentality with their newest tablets (which are slated to come out later this year).  Mr. Lark went on to say that their strategy is "multi-OS"; meaning they will offer Windows 7 or Android's latest rollout of Honeycomb on their tablets.  That is also a good thing.  People like choice and options.

Right now, it seems most mobile device users are either fans of Apple or Android devices.  Is there room for another player (HP/webOS) in this market?  Will Apple's iPad eventually get larger than itself and drop from it's high place?  Will their be an Android uprising in the future?  My answer, who knows.  But one thing is for sure, the future for computing is exciting and it's a great time to be a gadget lover.

My only hope is that we can eventually get our hands on a tablet without shelling out $500 or $600 dollars for the low end model.  My opinion, that should be the target price for the high-end models of these devices.  And somewhere are current Netbook costs should be where we see the devices price points sitting.  It's coming, but all in good time.  Until then, Happy surfing!


Source Article: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/11/03/30/dell_hp_execs_lash_out_at_apples_ios_successes.html

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Mobile Game Review: Zombies Ate My Baby for iPod Touch/iPhone

Since Halloween is just a couple of weeks away, I thought it was only suiting that I review a few Halloween themed games.  This weeks review is for 'Zombies Ate My Baby' for the iPhone/iPod Touch.  I know, the title sounds kind of bad, but it isn't quite what you're thinking.  The premise is, a girl and her boyfriend were on a date, and her boyfriend gets killed by a zombie while trying to protect her.  So, she kills the zombie and to her surprise, she finds that killing zombies is kind of fun.  So she sets out for revenge against the undead.

Controls:
The controls are pretty simple, basically the player character stands in the middle of the screen and pivots to aim in any direction around the screen.  You can control the character via taps on the screen or via tilt.  I was using the touch method to play.  And it plays pretty good.  Zombies approach from all sides/corners of the screen and simply tap on them to shoot them.  You'll end up fighting through about 20 waves of zombie attacks.  Meanwhile; guns, grenades, and health packs will spawn on the screen to help you out as you play.  The levels go by pretty fast, and at times the action on the screen can be flat out hectic.  But it never ceases to be fun.

Graphics:
The graphics are presented in a cartoon style.  The story progresses between levels by way of a comic strip; which is short, but conveys the story in a fun way.

Other Features:
The game features everything you'd expect from fun, yet simple gameplay to even offering achievements via OpenFeint.  As you play, you will of course unlock achievements.  Even if you aren't trying for achievements.  You're eventually going to see the achievement pop-up on-screen.  And you can post your achievement to Facebook at that time is you so choose.

The achievements are pretty neat as well.  I was able to unlock the 'Berserker' achievement by killing 499 Zombies, 'Straight to Hell' by taking 299 points of damage, 'Rambo' by firing 999 bullets, and 'Nurse' by healing 299 wounds.  All of these wear achieved within just a couple of levels.  Once you unlock the achievement, you can later access the Trophy screen from the main menu to see them listed.

Boss fights are pretty simple, but often challenging.  The first boss fight is against a zombie-soldier.  He will pace up and down the left end of the screen and toss grenades at you.  Meanwhile, you are on the right edge of the screen using a baseball bat to smack them back at him.  Once he is defeated you get to save a cool picture that can be used as a unlock screen wallpaper later.

Final thoughts:
This game is a fun way to kill a few minutes.  With the twitch based gaming it offers, I can't see myself spending extended periods of time playing this title.  But for a satisfying burst of quick game time, it will more than suffice.  At 99 cents from the App Store, this title is a definitely download for some instant fun.

Zombies Ate My Baby from the Apple App Store
Requires iOS 3.0 or later and it compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.

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