ORIGINAL POST:

While the gaming world is still fresh from Sony’s Playstation 4 announcement last week, it’s very easy to forget that we still have current generation hardware out there… and people who love to save money.

Fear not though, Microsoft hasn’t forgotten and, with that in mind, has decided to host a sale on Xbox 360 Games On Demand titles. The full list of titles was posted by Xbox spokesman Larry Hryb (better known by his gamertag Major Nelson) on Friday.

The sale starts today, February 26th, and runs until March 4th with different titles getting reduced everyday by as much as 75-85% off their regular price on some games. While the list the Major posted concerns the North American region, we can still expect some similar savings on top titles here. Just check prices before purchasing.

You’ll obviously need to be connected to Xbox Live to avail of the savings and take note that most Xbox 360 games are between 4GB and 7.5GB in size. So yeah, don’t get carried away!

UPDATE DAY 1:

Halo titles are getting the sale treatment first with Halo 3, Halo Wars and Halo: Reach on sale for €9.99 while Halo 4 can be downloaded for a reasonable €29.99. The Halo games are on sale for today only.

Other non-Halo games on sale include:

• Call of Juarez (€2.99)
• Bioshock (€4.99)
• GRID (€4.99)
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 1 (€2.99)
• Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (€2.99)
• Tom Clancy’s HAWX (€2.99)
• Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas (€2.99)
• Rayman Raving Rabbids (€2.99)
• The Darkness (€4.99)
• Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (€4.99)
• Virtua Fighter 5 (€4.99)
• Tomb Raider: Legend (€4.99)

It would seem that these non-Halo games are on sale for the duration of the Games On Demand Sale week.

UPDATE DAY 2:

Assassin’s Creed titles are on sale today, Wednesday 27th. You can download Assassin’s Creed 1 and 2 for €9.99 each and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations for €14.99. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood should be on sale for €9.99 as well but, as of writing, that price hasn’t changed. Keep an eye out though, those assassins are a sneaky bunch. As usual, check prices before downloading.

UPDATE DAY 3:

Thursday 28th, Day 3 of the Xbox Live Ultimate Game Sale is featuring Resident Evil titles. For one scary day only, you can get Resident Evil Code Veronica X for €4.99, Resident Evil Operation Racoon City for €14.99,  Resident Evil 4 for €9.99, Resident Evil 5 also for €9.99, and you can pick up Resident Evil 6 for €14.99. All those games are half price except Code Veronica, which is 75% off of it’s normal price. Remember that these are daily deals that last for one day only. The list of games on sale for the duration of the Ultimate Game Sale can be found above in the Day 1 update.

UPDATE DAY 4:

Today’s Xbox Live Ultimate Game Sale daily deal is on Call of Duty titles. From Call of Duty 2 up to Modern Warfare 2 will cost you €9.99 each, though some prices have yet to update as I write this so please do check before purchasing.

Modern Warfare 3 will be reduced to €29.99 for the day and Black Ops will cost €24.99. Black Ops 2 is also listed in the sale but I couldn’t find it at the cutdown price when I checked.

As usual, a reminder that these are daily deals so are only for today. The list of week-long deals can be found above.

UPDATE DAY 5:

Day 5 brings a bit of variety to the Ultimate Game Sale on Xbox Live. You can get Batman: Arkham City for €14.99, Borderlands for €9.99, Borderlands 2 for €19.99, Dead Island for €9.99, Fallout: New Vegas for €9.99, Portal 2 for €14.99, Red Dead Redemption for €14.99 and Dishonored for €19.99. Fable III should also be on sale but wasn’t when I checked the Irish store. That’s a whole lot of games and they’re all extremely good ones!

UPDATE DAY 6:

Sunday is indeed a day of rest and so Xbox Live hasn’t officially released a list of “daily deals”. However, of the remaining games on the original list, the following highlights appear to be reduced*: Fallout 3 for €14.99, Batman: Arkham Asylum for €9.99, Street Fighter IV is €19.99 and Metal Gear Solid Peacewalker HD is €14.99.

(*They seem to be lower priced than you would expect of GoD triple-A titles. We little you know if we get a more official list.)

Major Nelson tweeted this at about 9pm (Irish time) this evening:

“Re: Deals for Today…the team ran into a little snag, and they’re working on getting the right content on sale for the right regions.”

The other games remaining in the sale that haven’t been reduced yet are The Orange Box, Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Left 4 Dead 2, Max Payne 3, Street Fighter X Tekken, Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition, Tekken 6 and Tekken Tag Tournament 2.

Latest: Major Nelson tweeted the list of titles on sale for Day 6 

UPDATE DAY 7:

It’s the final day of the Xbox Ultimate Game Sale and it’s going down fighting. You’ll find the following daily sale savings:

• Mortal Kombat is €19.99
• Mortal Kombat vs DC is €4.99
• Street Fighter IV is €9.99
• Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition is €9.99
• Street Fight X Tekken is €19.99
• Tekken 6 is €9.99
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is €9.99
• The King Of Fighters XII is €4.99

Day 6 of the sale started late so the games that were due to be on sale yesterday have been extended for 24 hours. So the following are also on sale today:

• Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is €9.99
• Metal Gear Solid Peacewalker HD is €4.99
• Fallout 3 is €4.99
• Max Payne 3 is €4.99
• Left 4 Dead 2 is €9.99
• The Orange Box is €9.99
• Sid Meier’s Civilisation Revolution is €9.99

It’s also the last day for the weekly sale, which you’ll find details on above in the UPDATE DAY 1 section.

Remember to check prices before confirming your purchase.

Source: @MajorNelson

From today, the Netflix app on Xbox LIVE will introduce new user interface elements to help fans discover trailers, cast, crew information and additional details right from your Xbox. This handy addition comes just in time for the launch of the highly anticipated Netflix Original series “House of Cards” this Friday, Feb. 1.

To give everyone the opportunity to check out the new series, we’re unlocking Xbox LIVE Gold for Netflix* from Friday, Feb. 1 through Sunday, Feb. 3. This weekend relax and watch the first 13 episodes of “House of Cards” or enjoy all of the movies and television shows Netflix has to offer.

Starring Oscar® winner Kevin Spacey, as ruthless Congressman Francis Underwood, this wicked political drama penetrates the shadowy world of greed, sex, and corruption in modern D.C. Kate Mara (“American Horror Story”) and Corey Stoll (“Midnight in Paris”) costar in the first original series from David Fincher (“The Social Network”) and Beau Willimon (“The Ides of March”).

At EA’s recent Winter Showcase in London, we got the chance to talk with Fabrice Condominas, Executive Producer of Mass Effect 3: Omega. This is the upcoming DLC for the Mass Effect universe and Fabrice fills us in on what to expect.

The DLC is out now! Go get it!

Here is the launch trailer for the DLC.

At EA’s recent Winter Showcase in London, we got the chance to talk to Danger Close producer, Ryan Hamlyn about the latest installment in the Medal of Honor franchise, Medal of Honor: Warfighter.

At EA’s recent Winter Showcase in London, we got the chance to talk to DICE producer, Craig McLeod about the next downloadable content installment for Battlefield 3, ‘Aftermath’.

Here is the official trailer for the DLC.

Forza Horizon is here! Created by the brilliant minds of Playground Games and series creators, Turn 10 Studios, Forza Horizon creates a beautiful mix between the racing simulation experience of previous Forza titles and an open world inspired by the varied landscape of Colorado.

The game is centered around the fictional racing and music festival, the Horizon festival. Like many games, you start off as the up and coming new guy (sorry girls) who must race his way to the top and gain as much popularity along the way. The games main antagonist is racer Darius Flint. A 3 time Forza Horizon festival winner and the guy you must beat to win it for yourself. With many of the minds who created this game from previous racing titles, you can see a nice mash up in features and events spread through out the game.

Forza Horizon is absolutely beautiful. If you have played any of the previous Forza games, you’ll know just how impeccable their attention to detail is and this game is no different. As I mentioned earlier, this game is set in a fictional world inspired by the varying landscapes of Colorado. You got stretches of highway, slow mountain ascents and dusty desert back roads. The map itself is huge and simply cries out to driven around. The cars themselves are gorgeous creations with each one offering a meticulously recreated cockpit view. Each car also has it’s own handling characteristics which can be seen to have been carried over from the likes of Forza 4. Each car really does handle differently and one of the joys of the game is getting to learn the intricacies of each one.

The games is structured in a tier like system. Pretty straight forward with  you being asked to take part in events of varying difficulty. Each event earns you points and after collecting a certain amount, you get promoted with a new wristband which lets you enter even more difficult events. The difficulty curve is steady and consistent enough but there is always to option to increase it if you like.

The multiplayer aspect is also very well thought out with you being pitted against your friends in a variety of different challenges. A nice touch is also the Speed Camera challenges in the single player mode which records your speed as you pass one and compares it to your friends helping created some healthy rivalry. There’s nothing like firing the game up to see that one of your friends has just beaten one of your times and all you want to do is try and gain the best time again as soon as possible.

I must also give special mention to the amazing collection of music used in this game. There are 3 varying fictional radio stations to choose from with each one offering up different genres. You’ve got your dubstep station, your more chilled dance music station and a rock music station. The variety really is great and there are some real corkers to be found.

The game also has Kinect functionality which lets you speak to the device to set up your next race are event. It works really well as expected and very hand if you’re flying down the highway at breakneck speeds and want to line up your next race without having o pause the game.

Forza Horizon is a welcome alternative for those who aren’t into the extreme depth and simulator aspects of previous Forza titles. It’s setting is simply beautiful and I for one am completely hooked on this game. It really does show other racing game developers how open world competitive racing should be done. I highly recommend this game!

Here’s the official gameplay trailer for the game.

“Who would have thought that in 2012 Microsoft would be the company with the boldest phone and software design?”

That tweet from Joshua Topolsky from The Verge pretty much sums up the entire tech worlds’ thoughts on Microsoft right now, the once stuffy and old corporation synonymous with boring PowerPoint presentations finally doing something cool.

A lot of folks would say that this bold new design direction was also needed for HTC to turn things around, they’ve been suffering lately – losing market share to the Samsung Galaxy range on the Android front and being beaten in the (relatively small) Windows Phone market by Nokia with their Lumia range.

Whether it was by choice or necessity that drove Microsoft and HTC closer together doesn’t really matter anymore, (although you can be sure that Nokia aren’t exactly pleased) as it’s from the ashes that the oddly named Windows Phone 8X by HTC and 8S rise.

As the name would and should imply, the 8X and 8S are the signature Windows Phone 8 devices, the 8X in particular which is supposed to be the physical embodiment of a Live Tile and of what Windows Phone is all about.

Hardware & Design

The 8X is absolutely stunning, let’s get that clear.

It was criticised for ripping off the Lumia design when it was announced and although at first glance it does look similar, it’s a different beast altogether.

The matte polycarbonate wraps around a curved shape that tapers at each side of the phone, giving it a strange but extremely nice and indeed clever feel in the hand.
The edges are actually slightly sharp straight lines, which make it feel good to hold and that it won’t accidentally fall from your hands, yet the tapers that begin immediately after those sharp edges make the phone feel smaller and easier to hold than it actually is.

It’s a similar trick to how Nokia tried to make the Lumia 800 feel thinner than it actually was, yet the 8X pulls it off much better.
The 8X also feels very light, again especially compared to almost any Lumia device.
At 130 grams, it’s still a tad heavier than the ridiculously-light iPhone 5 at 112 grams, but the 8X is by no means heavy.

It’s really hard to appreciate the beauty of the 8X until you see one in person, almost everywhere I’ve wet with mine I’ve been asked within seconds of taking it out of my pocket, “What phone is that?!”.

And once I’ve shown them, the praise has been quite high, the look and feel being top of the compliment list – make no mistake, if you have an 8X people will notice.

The machine-drilled speaker is on the bottom rear of the device, the 8MP camera and LED flash up above it while the 2.1MP front facing camera is in the top left corner on the front, naturally.
The earpiece speaker is also the same colour as the rest of the device which is a small touch but makes a big difference, while underneath the screen is the usual staple of Windows Phone capacitive touch keys – Back, Start and Search.

The volume keys and camera shutter are on the right side of the device, they’re also the same colour as the phone which again is a good thing, although they’re very flush which when combined with their colour blending into the phone can make them hard to find sometimes.

This brings us to one of the biggest flaws with the 8X – the power/lock button.

It might seem like a minor thing to find flaw with, but the button is extremely flush with the phone, very sticky and unresponsive and in a bad position to begin with.
With a phone this tall, or any phone over 4 inches the lock button really should be on the side of the device.
Think about how many times a day that you lock and unlock your phone, a button that you have to use this often really needs to be perfect, and the 8X’s isn’t.

Overall though, the 8X is a superb design that will definitely turn heads and make it a delight to use anytime – we recommend avoiding the black and white versions if possible as they don’t have the same….pizzaz.

Display

The 4.3” inch Super LCD display has a beefy resolution of 720 x 1280 which gives the 8X a PPI (Pixel per Inch Density) of 342 which actually beats the iPhone 5 which has a PPI of 326.
Not that most people would be able to tell the difference between the two, the 8X screen is crisp and clear.

Images and colours pop off the screen almost too vividly and 720p HD video looks great, plus the screen is covered by Gorilla Glass 2 so you don’t have to worry about scratches or falls.
The blacks aren’t as deep as AMOLED screens but personally we prefer the LCD, the whites actually look white and the colours don’t give off that strange hue that most AMOLED screens emit.

Camera

8X meet 8MP, that’s what you’ll find as your primary shooter here, with a 2.1MP front facing camera.
Pictures are clear and overall the camera does a great job at taking the average kind of photos that you’re likely to take during a normal day.

It suffers quite a bit in low light situations and with glare and uneven lighting, but it’s no worse than most current smartphones.

The front facing camera is interesting in that HTC have made the lens wide angled, which they claim can capture up to four faces in one shot, rather than squeezing your friends faces together when you just have to show Facebook your night out.

It’s definitely possible to fit more in, simply holding an iPhone 5 in the same spot showed far more detail fit in on the 8X.

Both cameras are capable of 1080p video recording.

Software & Performance

The 8X is the first phone on the market to run Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 8 OS, the latest in their line of Windows Phone releases, which began at 7 back in 2010.

This means that it’s the first Windows Phone device to come to market with a dual core processor, NFC, HD screens and the new and improved Start Screen to name just a few features.

The 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset combined with 1GB of RAM really let the 8X zip along, we didn’t find one second of lag or stutter – although we never have with any Windows Phone 7 or 7.5 device before, that’s always been one of Windows Phone’s strong points.
The new Start Screen really is amazing, before there was Live Tiles but they weren’t fully live.
They would show updates and recent messages etc. but not when you needed them to, or lacked enough details.

With Windows Phone 8 comes the ability to resize your Live Tiles, they can be made smaller, medium sized or the entire width of the screen. That empty black space on the right is also gone, now the tiles take up the whole screen.
It’s a relatively small change but it makes a big difference, for a start stuff that you might like to be pinned to your start screen but don’t want to take up too much space can now be there, but smaller.

We’ll go into more details on the Start Screen and other Windows Phone goodness in a full Windows Phone 8 review.

We did run into a few hiccups while using the device, most notably the speaker had a mind of its’ own.
Sometimes the sound would be extremely quiet, enough to convince yourself that it might be on silent – and this was while playing music.
Another problem was that if we answered a call during a song, when the call was finished the music would begin to play through the phone’s speakers, even while our headphone were still connected.

These are minor bugs that should be easily fixed through updates.

A special shout out has to go to Xbox Music which is a no brainer if you do get an 8X, or indeed any Windows Phone 8 device.
The service costs €9.99 per month and has over 30 million songs available for streaming, is free on all Windows 8 and Windows RT devices and links all your playlists and songs across all your devices.
It works in conjunction with Xbox SmartGlass too, which allows you to ‘send’ music, videos and even webpages back and forth between your Xbox, Windows 8/RT machine and Windows Phone 8 phone.
Both are invaluable if you’re even halfway linked into the Microsoft ecosystem.

Battery Life

Packing an 1800mAh battery, you can expect to average around a day of average to heavy use, with NFC and audio streaming naturally draining the battery faster.
In our reality test, we used the 8X as we would our own phone on a daily basis until it runs dry and managed to get around a day and a half.

Verdict

It’s clear to see that HTC have really put their all behind the 8X, unlike their somewhat generic HTC Titan and Radar of Windows Phone 7.5 fame.
It’s also nice to see OEMs doing something bold and different for a change, the current wave of black and white slabs is getting really tiring – Samsung take note.

It’s also great to see a serious competitor to the Lumia in terms of design and hardware.
We can’t stress enough how gorgeous the 8X is and how you need to see and hold one in person to really grasp this, photos can only do it so much justice.

It does have its fair share of bugs, and Windows Phone’s biggest problem being the severe lack of apps still remains.
There’s not one Irish banking app, no Instagram, no DropBox and no Hailo, but the apps that are there definitely look much nicer than their iOS or Android counterparts.

You will be making a sacrifice when you buy into the Windows Phone 8 ecosystem – get used to not having all the apps that you friends have.
But you’ll have arguably the nicest software and in the case of the Windows Phone 8X by HTC, the nicest hardware available on the market.

You can contact the author of this post, Luke Hoare Greene at Luke@TechTV101.com or Follow him on Twitter.

Microsoft have finally made their Surface tablet available for pre-order and unveiled the pricing, almost four months after announcing it to the world.

Unfortunately Ireland isn’t on the list of 8 countries that Microsofts first ever tablet will be shipping to on October 26^th, the full list being the US and Canada, and online in Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong and the UK.

Visit www.Surface.com to pre order yours if you’re in one of the listed countries.

Surface is Microsofts first big hardware device aside from the Xbox 360 and represents a shift from a purely software company to a “services and devices” company as put by CEO Steve Ballmer.

This version of Surface available for pre order now is Surface RT which runs Windows RT, the version of Windows 8 built specifically for tablets.
Surface Pro running Windows 8 Pro won’t be available until around 90 days after Surface RT launches but it will be as capable as a high-end Intel Ultrabook – with a higher price tag to match.
The German prices are €479 for 32GB no cover, €579 with Touch Cover, €679 for 64GB with a Touch Cover.

The touch cover in that deal is a black one, there are other colours but they’ll have to be purchased separately. The type cover is also only available separately and costs more than the touch cover.
These German prices can only be taken as a guideline for Ireland, we still don’t know if/when Surface will be available here, let alone the price.

With Windows 8 only a couple of weeks away and Apple expected to unveil an iPad Mini next week, Microsoft has their work cut out for them if they want to really disrupt the tablet market, a reported 1.5 billion dollar marketing budget will certainly help and the Surface RT pricing sounds good to us so far.

Be sure to read our preview of Windows 8 and Microsoft Surface for a full rundown of what to expect come October 26^th.

We’ve reached out to Microsoft Ireland for Irish Surface availability and pricing and will update this post when we receive a response.

You can contact the author of this post, Luke Hoare Greene at Luke@TechTV101.com or Follow him on Twitter.

Yeah science!

If you’re fond of Walter White, Jesse Pinkman and their patented* blue crystal meth, you’ll be happy to hear that Season 5 of the award-winning Breaking Bad is coming to Netflix on November 1^st.

This is the first half of the fifth season mind you, with each half having 8 episodes and all previous seasons are still available too. More Breaking Bad than a DEA Agent would know what to do with.

It’s worth noting that Season 5 is debuting on Netflix UK & Ireland before anywhere else in the world where Netflix is available, who ever said we don’t get looked after.

*It’s not patented?! Walter really needs to get his priorities straight…

Full press release below.

Dublin, 16 October 2012 – Breaking Bad season 5 part 1 will be available on an exclusive subscription basis for Netflix members to watch instantly in the UK & Ireland beginning November 1st, 2012, before appearing on Netflix in any other region where the service is available. The release also represents the first-run of the highly-anticipated final season episodes for fans of the show in the UK and Ireland.

Breaking Bad continues to be a huge success on Netflix, driving even bigger streaming figures with each successive season launch, as existing fans watch the new episodes and additional members discover season 1 for the first time.

Starring Emmy-award winners Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad follows Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher turned crystal meth kingpin trying to secure his family’s financial future. The fifth and final season of the critically acclaimed series is sure to have audiences gripped to find out how the anti-heroes end their story.

“We are thrilled to bring these highly-anticipated new Breaking Bad episodes on a first-run basis to Netflix members in the UK and Ireland,” said Kelly Merryman, Vice President of Content Acquisition. “Season four broke viewing records for us across the board and we expect fans of the show to be even more excited about season 5 part 1 becoming available so soon after their premiere on television in the United States.”
All previous seasons of Breaking Bad are available now for Netflix members in the UK and Ireland to enjoy. Anyone can begin a free, one-month trial of Netflix by simply visiting Netflix.com.

Breaking Bad is produced and distributed by Sony Pictures Television.
About Netflix, Inc.
With more than 27 million streaming members in the United States, Canada, Latin America, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Netflix, Inc. [Nasdaq: NFLX] is the world’s leading internet subscription service for enjoying movies and TV series. For €6.99 a month, Netflix members can instantly watch unlimited films and TV episodes streamed over the internet to PCs, Macs and TVs. Among the large and expanding base of devices streaming from Netflix are the Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Sony PS3 consoles; an array of Blu-ray disc players, internet-connected TVs, home theatre systems, digital video recorders and internet video players; Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, as well as Apple TV and Google TV. In all, more than 800 devices that stream from Netflix are available. For additional information, visit www.netflix.com. Follow Netflix on Facebook and Twitter.

You can contact the author of this post, Luke Hoare Greene at Luke@TechTV101.com or Follow him on Twitter.

EA announced yesterday that anticipation for EA SPORTS™ FIFA 13 has reached record levels—1.99 million people in 73countries around the world downloaded and played FIFA 13 in the three days after the demo launched earlier this week for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, and PC. This is a 29 percent increase compared to the first three days after the FIFA 12 demo last year. Two weeks from launch, fans around the world have pre-ordered over 875,000* copies of FIFA 13—up 37 percent year over year in Europe and a 62 percent increase year over year in North America.

FIFA 13 is launching to global critical acclaim. It was rated 91/100 and called the “best football game ever” by GamesMaster Magazine in the UK, and earlier this year, the E3 Game Critics chose FIFA 13 as “Best Sports Game” for 2012.

Fans in Europe have the opportunity to get unprecedented six day early access to FIFA 13 beginning Sept. 22 through the EA SPORTS Season Ticket program** and Season Ticket subscribers in North America can begin downloading FIFA 13 on Sept. 21.  FIFA 13 will be available in retail stores on September 25 in North America and September 28 worldwide.

Early access to FIFA 13 Ultimate Team for all returning players*** begins September 18, enabling fans to start building and managing their FIFA 13 Ultimate Team via easportsfootball.com. Players will have access to the auction markets and other features in preparation for the season. In FIFA Ultimate Team fans earn, buy, trade and bid for coveted players to build a team of the world’s best football stars.

FIFA 13 captures the unpredictability of real-world football with breakthrough features like First Touch Control that ensure no two matches ever play the same, and new online services like EA SPORTS Football Club Match Day that completely connect FIFA 13 to the real-world football season. In the FIFA 13 demo, real-world drama such as injuries, suspensions, team form, and media gossip surrounding Manchester City, Arsenal, Juventus, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund will play out in-game and be reflected through in-game commentary. The FIFA 13 demo is available through Origin™, Xbox LIVE® and PlayStation Network.

EA SPORTS™ announced that a FIFA 13 demo is available around the world for download beginning today for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, and PC. The FIFA 13 demo is available through Origin™, Xbox LIVE® and PlayStation Network®. Football fans across Europe and Japan will be able to download the FIFA 13 PlayStation3 version of the demo beginning Sept. 12.

Play as Manchester City, Arsenal, Juventus, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund in the demo, and experience EA SPORTS Football Club Match Day, a new feature that will drive the deepest and most meaningful connection yet between a videogame and the real world of sport ever achieved. FIFA 13 and the football season will be completely connected for the world’s top leagues. EA SPORTS Football Club Match Day will drive real-world news ripped from the headlines around the world into FIFA 13. In the demo, real-world drama such as injuries, suspensions, team form, and media gossip surrounding Manchester City, Arsenal, Juventus, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund will play out in-game and be reflected through in-game commentary. Player form—displayed in detail within the team management screens—will change regularly, so players in form, or players struggling to keep form, will see their stats change throughout the season based on their real-world performances.

FIFA 13 captures the unpredictability of real-world football, with no two matches ever the same. The game features breakthrough gameplay innovations such as FIFA 13 First Touch Control and the Player Impact Engine that create a true battle for possession across the entire pitch, and features like Complete Dribbling and Attacking Intelligence that deliver freedom and creativity in attack. FIFA 13 is football’s social network, where fans connect, compete and share with millions of others around the world. A FIFA 13 trailer, screenshots and fact sheet are available at http://info.ea.com

FIFA 13 will be available for the PlayStation 3 with PlayStation Move support, Xbox 360 with Kinect™, PlayStation®Vita handheld entertainment system, Nintendo Wii™ console, PC, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo 3DS™, and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and later this year on Nintendo Wii U™ system. The game will also be available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. FIFA 13 is rated E for everyone by the ESRB and Pegi 3+.

Join almost 10 million fans in the EA SPORTS football community at http://www.facebook.com/easportsfifa <http://www.facebook.com/easportsfifa> or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/easportsfifa <http://www.twitter.com/easportsfifa> .

Almost a year since the Nokia Lumia 800 and 710 were announced in London at Nokia World, the next generation of Windows Phone devices from the Finnish mobile giant have leaked for the world to see.

Leaking a mere couple of days before Nokia’s massive press event in New York on Wednesday, September 5^th, a flood of info on what appears to be the Lumia 820 and 920 has appeared.

The Lumia 820 is set to be the mid to high-end device and will purportedly feature changeable covers, a 4.3” screen, 8GB of internal storage (complimented by microSD card support for further storage) and will be powered by 1.5GHZ dual core processor and 1GB of RAM.

Also leaked this week was that both phones will boast wireless charging. Although the Lumia 820 will require the use of a special cover for this, the 920 will not.

The Lumia 920 is rumoured to have a 4.5” HD screen, 32GB of internal storage, also with microSD card support and be powered by the same 1.5GHZ dual core processor and 1GB of RAM as the 820.

Interestingly however is that the Lumia 920 which was pegged as the first PureView Windows Phone is slated as only having an 8MP camera. For those of you unaware, the Nokia 808 PureView is a 41MP Symbian device that Nokia released earlier this year.

Naturally the news that the Lumia 920 wouldn’t have the same amount of pixels stirred some controversy among fans, despite the fact that the Snapdragon chipset in the Lumias can only handle 20MP.

Damian Dinning, the company’s chief of photography took to Twitter to defend the critics saying that “it’s not about the number of pixels but what you do with them”.

He argues that PureView isn’t a single specification or feature (such as a high number of mega pixels) but rather a mixture of everything that a good camera needs.

But the most interesting addition is the aforementioned wireless charging. Industry sources are claiming that the Lumia 920 will have a wireless charging strip built into the phone which will allow charging that is compatible with the QI Power Charging standard, meaning that most wireless charging solutions already on the market should work with the new Lumia devices.

Further leaked images show a Nokia-made charging station with both a Lumia 820 and 920 sitting on it. Nokia’s latest teaser video (it has been releasing a number of these over the last few days) makes a clear hint at wireless charging also.
These new devices are rumoured to launch in late October or November, close enough to the release of Windows 8 and Microsoft Surface.

The Lumia 820 is the device with the horizontal camera placement while the 920 is the vertical placement.

Nokia/Microsoft’s announcement shouldn’t be just about Nokia, although it will be predominately Lumia orientated, we can expect to see some new software features from Windows Phone 8 in general.

The event starts at 3pm GMT and while it is being broadcast live via Nokia’s webcast, be sure to follow us on Twitter if you’re unable to watch as we’ll be giving you a live blow-by-blow of the event.

Source: The Verge

You can contact the author of this post, Luke Hoare Greene at Luke@TechTV101.com or Follow him on Twitter.

Something lurks in the dark corners of space, something powerful enough to kill a Reaper. Shepard must discover the most closely guarded secret in the galaxy before the Reapers silence it forever.

There is no war, only the harvest.

You may be thinking, another Nokia Lumia device?!

What is this, some kind of cruel game to melt my memory?!

Not exactly, the Lumia 610 was introduced as the ultimate budget-friendly Windows Phone for the masses – yes we said that about the Lumia 710 but this is even cheaper again.

What is it exactly?

The Nokia Lumia 610 is identical to the Lumia 710 on the inside save for one major difference, it only has 256MB of RAM compared to 512MB on all of the other Lumia devices.

What that boils down to is that certain apps and games won’t work with the 610, specifically the more graphically intense/power hungry apps.

However it’s not all bad news as Microsoft have stated that as of May 2012 the percentage of apps that are not compatible with the Lumia 610 (or similar Windows Phones with only 256MB RAM) was a mere 6.4% of the total apps, so for the most part you shouldn’t run into the problem – even Angry Birds is getting a specially modified version just for low-end devices.
Here’s the full list of apps that won’t work with the 610.

The 610 is aimed squarely at first time smartphone buyers or people on a budget and for the price, this is definitely not to be scoffed at.

Hardware

The 610 will again draw comparisons to the 710 on outside, it has a similarly curved design, much conflicting with the sharper edges found on the Lumia 800 and 900.

The similarities with design don’t go much farther though as the 610 looks and feels a lot more expensive and higher end than the 710 – that’s not to say it feels as high end as the 800 or an iPhone 4s, but it definitely trumps the 710 in looks.

The metallic band around the phone is a really nice touch, it helps to cement the solid, expensive feel to the device. The rear has a removable cover that can be replaced with many different colours and the overall feel of the device is sturdy and smooth.

The power/lock button, camera shutter key and two volume buttons are all on the right side and just like all in the Lumia portfolio, the left side is left completely bare. On the back is the 5mp camera with flash and the speakers.
Up on top we have the 3.5mm headphone jack and micro usb port, all very standard and expected.

The 3.7” TFT screen feels quite solid also and apart from only having a 480 x 800 resolution – which is our usual (but soon to be resolved) Windows Phone resolution limit gripe, it does the job.

Colours look nice on the display, the blacks aren’t as deep as what can be expected on a ClearBlack AMOLED or Super AMOLED display but that’s another expected change from more expensive devices.

Software

There’s not much to say about Windows Phone software that we haven’t already mentioned in our previous Windows Phone reviews, it’s a very consistent experience across multiple devices.

The main place where OEMs innovate is with exclusive apps or features, but Samsung, HTC and Nokia have fairly similar equivalents to each other by now.
That said, Nokia are Microsoft’s primary hardware partner for Windows Phone and as such they’re given a lot more freedom with the OS.

Expect apps to be exclusive to the Lumia range or at least be a timed exclusive, also Lumia devices are pegged to get updates sooner than their counterparts (most notably the Windows Phone 7.8 update coming soon).

The Lumia 610 comes out of the box with access to Nokia Drive which is a free turn by turn satnav application that allows downloading of maps for offline use, Nokia Maps, Nokia Play To (a DLNA client) among many others.

We’ve heard from a few friends using Lumia devices that Nokia Drive was worth the phone alone as it’s that good.

Multitasking, over 100,000 apps in the marketplace and an amazing and beautiful interface are all present and accounted for also.

For a more detailed look at the software and interface of Windows Phone, check out our other reviews and features.

Bottom Line

The Lumia 610 is a solid device for anyone looking to take their first step into the smartphone market, again we know we said this about the 710 but given the significant decrease in price and the type of buyer wouldn’t mind losing 6.5% of apps, the cheaper but still more than capable 610 is the way to go.

It may be annoying to see your friends and family members using apps on their iPhones or Android devices that aren’t available on Windows Phone, or not having a screen as crystal clear as theirs but again, at the low asking price, it really is a no brainer for anyone who wants a solid smartphone that simply – works.

You can contact the author of this post, Luke Hoare Greene at Luke@TechTV101.com or Follow him on Twitter.

3-2-1-Go! Events and Freeride Game Modes Now

EA announced today the availability of two new game modes as part of a free title update* for EA SPORTS™ SSX. Building upon the successful re-launch of the SSX franchise with 25 review scores of 9/10 or higher, 3-2-1-Go! Events and Freeride bring a new multiplayer and single player experience to SSX. The SSX title update is now available on Xbox LIVE® and PlayStation®Network.

3-2-1-Go! Events:

3-2-1-Go! Events are a completely new way to experience multiplayer in SSX. Unlike the asynchronous competition found in Global Events, this new game mode will allow you to compete with up to five riders simultaneously in fast paced Trick it and Race it heats. The rules for 3-2-1-Go! Race Events are simple – the first rider to cross the finish line wins. 3-2-1-Go! Trick Events introduces a countdown timer for the entire run, so the winner is determined by who can post the highest score and cross the finish line before the clock hits zero.

Freeride:

One of the most requested modes from the SSX community, Freeride is a single player experience that allows you to endlessly explore every inch of the massive mountains of SSX at your own pace and with your own style. There are no rules, no ghosts, no clock, no score and no other riders. In Freeride, it is just you, the mountain and your music.

SSX by the numbers**:
·      Players have dropped into the world of SSX more than 200 million times

·      Players have completed 18 million runs in Global Events earning them more than 3.5 trillion credits

·      Players have uploaded over 10 million ghosts that are currently stored on the SSX servers

·      Players have earned over 67 billion credits from hiding geotags


A modern day reinvention of one of the most critically acclaimed arcade franchises of all-time, SSX allows players to experience the franchise’s signature fun and adrenaline-packed gameplay across iconic regions all over the world. Using NASA topographical satellite data, SSX has a massive world for players to explore. Throughout nine expansive regions, SSX packs reality-defying gameplay into every run letting players Race, Trick, and Survive as they descend huge open mountains. In addition, Explore, Global Events and RiderNet – the SSX recommendation engine – headline an online feature set that will redefine social competition for gamers, making it fun and easy to compete with friends with no lobbies or wait times.

We hope you been keeping up to date with your Dance Central dance techniques lately.

If you have well then well done (seriously, we couldn’t get past medium difficulty) and if you haven’t, you’ve got time to freshen up before Dance Central 3 launches on October 19^th.

You might remember that Microsoft brought Usher to E3 this year to celebrate the announcement of Dance Central 3, but they shied away from giving a concrete release date until now.

Dance Central 3 is set to have all new moves created by professional choreographers, a new party mode for up to eight players, the ability to carry over songs from the previous Dance Central titles and of course a bounty of new songs to shake your thang too.

Below is a list of new titles that have been confirmed so far, with a sizeable portion of 90s and disco content promised alongside some more current tunes.

·         2NE1 – “I Am The Best (Original Version)”

·         Alice Deejay – “Better Off Alone”

·         Backstreet Boys – “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”

·         J.J. Fad – “Supersonic”

·         Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz ft. Ying Yang Twins – “Get Low”

·         LMFAO – “Sexy And I Know It”

·         Los Del Rio – “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)”

·         Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – “Moves Like Jagger”

·         Vanilla Ice – “Ice Ice Baby”

·         Vicki Sue Robinson – “Turn The Beat Around”

·         Village People – “Y.M.C.A.”

Dance Central 3 will be exclusive to Xbox and if you’re just emerging from your underground bunker that you’ve been hiding in since 2006, it will also require a Kinect sensor to play.

You can contact the author of this post, Luke Hoare Greene at Luke@TechTV101.com or Follow him on Twitter.

If you’ve been feeling cramped or claustrophobic in the smaller-than-usual Battlefield 3 maps in the Close Quarters DLC, then fear no more as Armoured Kill is released in September and you can check out its debut trailer right here.

The trailer shows us Bandar Desert which is the largest map in Battlefield history as well as Alborz Mountain.
Armoured Kill will introduce new elements to EAs biggest shooter including an air gunship and rocket artillery (the latter is new to Battlefield 3 but these were in Battlefield 1942).

This DLC will also include a new mode called Tank Superiority where tanks will be the main focus of the fighting to control the map, as the name implies.

Battlefield 3: Armoured Kill will release in September and two weeks early for Premium Members (Whom it will also be free for).

If you have to bail from your vehicle in the middle of these maps, prepare for a long walk.

You can contact the author of this post, Luke Hoare Greene at Luke@TechTV101.com or Follow him on Twitter.

So it’s official. Gears of War: Judgement will launch on March 19th next year. The announcement was made at this years Comic Con in San Diego. Here’s a little run down of what to expect from the game:

Before the rise of the Lambent, the sinking of Jacinto or the detonation of the Lightmass bomb, there was Emergence Day – when the Locust horde burst from the ground and set Sera on a path toward near annihilation. Launching from March 19, 2013 “Gears of War: Judgment” brings players back to the terrifying aftermath of E-Day, before the events of the “Gears” trilogy, for the most intense and challenging “Gears” game yet.

Developed exclusively for Xbox 360 by Epic Games and People Can Fly, “Gears of War: Judgment” delivers a riveting campaign featuring new characters, weapons and enemies, and new multiplayer experiences like OverRun, an all-new class-based mode that combines elements of the acclaimed Horde and Beast modes pioneered in previous “Gears” games.

Master the Basics of OverRun and Charge into Action on “Island”

 Fans can get ahead of the game and learn the essentials of OverRun’s thrilling new class-based competitive gameplay through the OverRun tutorial video released today. Narrated by Damon Baird, players will see the required skills they need to defend as a COG or attack as a Locust and engage in adrenaline-pumping skirmishes unlike anything “Gears” fans have experienced before.

Following the debut of OverRun at E3 2012 on the “Rooftops” map, today the all-new “Island” map was revealed.

ISLAND – Island takes place on an archipelago of islands off the coast of Halvo Bay, which serves as a supply and refueling depot that feeds the larger military machine along the coast.  The individual islands are connected by a series of bridges and tunnels, forming a network of unknown size and security.  This is restricted territory, and civilians are not permitted on, or even near, any of the islands.

Here’s some gameplay footage of the game from this years E3. Enjoy!

At San Diego Comic-Con International, the world’s largest pop culture convention, 343 Industries and Microsoft Corp. unveiled the official trailer for “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn,” the landmark live-action digital series based on the best-selling Xbox franchise. The series will be initially distributed worldwide by Machinima, debuting on its new channel, Machinima Prime, as well as on Halo Waypoint, on Oct. 5, 2012. “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” will unfold through a series of five episodes, setting the stage for the worldwide launch of “Halo 4” on Nov. 6. The official “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” trailer is now available on Machinima Prime (http://www.youtube.com/MachinimaPrime) and on Halo Waypoint (http://halo.xbox.com/ForwardUntoDawn). Machinima will also be releasing exclusive content, backstory and character pieces leading up to the launch of this highly anticipated series.

“Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” tells an exciting story of heroism and sacrifice on a scale never before seen in the “Halo” universe, taking fans back to the beginning of the human and Covenant war and leading into the events of “Halo 4.” Set against the backdrop of a United Nations Space Command (UNSC) military academy, a group of highborn cadets are training to be the next generation of soldiers in the UNSC’s ongoing war with insurrectionists in the outer colonial planets. Among these cadets, Thomas Lasky struggles with his doubts about this war, and with the burden of expectations he may not be able to carry. As Lasky comes to terms with his potential as a military leader, the terrifying alien alliance known as the Covenant arrives and turns his world upside down. Inspired by the Master Chief, he must decide what it means to be a hero. “Halo” fans who experience Lasky’s thrilling origin story in “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” will be rewarded with special insights into the story of “Halo 4” and the “Halo Infinity Multiplayer” experience.

Directed by Stewart Hendler (“H+,” “Sorority Row”) and written by Todd Helbing and Aaron Helbing (“Smallville,” “Spartacus”), “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” features a diverse cast of established and up-and-coming Hollywood talent, including Tom Green (“Dance Academy”) as Thomas Lasky, Anna Popplewell (“The Chronicles of Narnia”) as Chyler Silva, Daniel Cudmore (“X2,” “X-Men: The Last Stand,” “The Twilight Saga”) as the Master Chief, Ayelet Zurer (“Angels & Demons,” “Munich”) as Mehaffey, Mike Dopud (“Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol”) as General Black, Enisha Brewster (“Footloose”) as April Orenski, Masam Holden (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Elizabethtown”) as Michael “Sully” Sullivan, Osric Chau (“2012”) as JJ Chen, Iain Belcher (“Supernatural”) as Vickers, and Kat De Lieva as Dimah.

“Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn” is backed by a top-tier production team led by executive producers Lydia Antonini and Josh Feldman, former Warner Bros. and Playtone executives, respectively. Continuing its involvement with the “Halo” franchise, Legacy Effects (“The Hunger Games,” “The Avengers,” “Avatar”) is creating specialized costumes and armor, and visual effects are being designed by an award-winning team led by John Sullivan (“The Pacific”). Production services are provided by Herzog & Co.

An extended, 90-minute Special Edition featuring additional footage and bonus content will be available Nov. 6 in the “Halo 4” Limited Edition and on video on-demand services.

“Halo 4” Limited Edition also includes the following bonus content:

• In-fiction content expanding the characters and stories of “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn”
• Special Featurette: “Bringing Gaming into Reality”

·         Making of “Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn”

Kaiser Chiefs encourage fans to raise funds for Right To Play by taking part in Kinect Sports charity run as part of Xbox’s “Summer Stadium” campaign

 15 June 2012 – Microsoft is proud to announce acclaimed indie rock band, the Kaiser Chiefs, will be ambassadors for the “Xbox Summer Stadium” sports and entertainment campaign from 15 June until 12 August 2012. As part of their role the band have pledged their support to Microsoft’s charity partner, Right To Play, encouraging fans to take part in donating to a great cause.

The Kaiser Chiefs have joined Right to Play Athlete Ambassadors including UK High Jumper, Martyn Bernard, and Red Bull Cliff Diver, Blake Aldridge, to deliver a special message asking fans to unite in the virtual world and support the charity. On 16 June 2012 at 6 p.m fans across Europe are invited to take part in the 100m dash on Xbox Kinect Sports game and help break a Guinness World Record for the most people in an online race. Participants will not only have the chance to be record breakers, but Microsoft will also donate funds to Right to Play each time a person is taking part.

Kaiser Chiefs lead singer, Ricky Wilson, commented: “We’re proud to be supporting Right To Play and want to encourage our fans and Xbox communities to raise funds for a brilliant cause. Tomorrow on 16 June, I’ll be joining people across Europe in the charity fun run on Xbox LIVE. It takes just 10 seconds of your time to do something which will actually help children around the world.”

 On the weekend of 15-17 June 2012, Xbox is providing free access to its Xbox LIVE Gold subscription service* and for every person who takes part in the charity run on 16 June 2012, Microsoft will make a donation to Right to Play. These contributions will enable Right To Play to use the transformative power of play to educate and empower children facing adversity.

Right To Play Athlete Ambassador and UK High Jumper, Martyn Bernard, commented: “Working with the likes of the Kaiser Chiefs and Xbox helps raise much needed awareness of the great things we can do together to improve the lives of children through sport. With their support and fans we hope that more children from around the world will have access to and benefit from Right To Play’s sport and play programming. Here’s to a fantastic summer of fundraising.”

 Sport fans will also have the chance to represent their countries in weekly online tournaments, as well as watch the world’s greatest sports events on Xbox LIVE’s entertainment applications. The Xbox Summer Stadium campaign will culminate with an exclusive and intimate gig by the Kaiser Chiefs broadcast on the closing weekend of 10th August 2012. Xbox Gold members can watch it exclusively on Xbox LIVE via the MUZU.TV entertainment app.

Elena Branet, Entertainment Marketing Lead for Xbox LIVE added: “We’re very excited to have Kaiser Chiefs join our campaign to bring the community together around entertainment and help raise funds for kids sports. It’s going to be a fantastic few weeks for sport and entertainment and we’re extremely proud to be hosting it all on Xbox LIVE in support of Right To Play’s programmes.  We hope our fans will take part in what promises to be a very memorable summer and enjoy the celebration with this iconic band.”

 The donation site will go live on 15 June 2012, full details on how to donate and take part in Guinness World Record attempt on 16 June 2012 can be found at www.xbox.com/right-to-play.