Their latest stunt comes from Lean L, a poster on Anandtech Forums. He alleges to have purchased a copy of Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut from Ubisoft's online store. The game was being advertised on the store and through Slickdeals as being free. Lean L jumped on the deal, installed it, and started playing. After he completed a few missions, he received this lovely message from Ubisoft.
"WE'RE SORRY! It turns out we made a pricing mistake with the Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition. Unfortunately, this means we will have to revoke your game serial key within the next 48 hours. As a token of our apology, we would like to offer you a 50% off coupon good for your next purchase* on the UBIShop."
This seems like a classic bait and switch to me. Wikipedia defines it as baiting a customer with a product of significantly low price, later claiming it's unavailable, then directing them to more expensive items. It's widely considered to be a form of fraud and an unethical business practice.
This story is just one tale from a random person on the Internet. I'd be interested to know if more people were affected by this, and how Ubisoft plans to respond if these allegations are true.
If anything, it highlights the problem with modern DRM. The game was legally purchased. Even if it was a pricing error, the store should just live with it as a cost of doing business. However, DRM provides a path to revoke your ownership of things you legally own. This is why it's not just pirates who should worry about intrusive copy-protection.
If you do find yourself in this situation, unfortunately, there's not much you can do. If you live in the UK, it is a criminal matter. In most jurisdictions, it's a civil one. All one can do is file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and stir the pot online. Hopefully Ubisoft does the right thing and gives Lean L his game back.
Source: Anandtech Forums
Image courtesy of Gaming for God
As a side note, sorry about my lack of articles lately. I've been very busy with work. We've just launched a new website and app, which I'll talk a bit about when it comes out of public beta.
What triggered this withdrawal was the release of the Retina MacBook Pro. When iFixit analyzed the computer, came to an interesting conclusion. It couldn't be repaired at all. Not by the user, not by authorized repair shops. This was the most sealed system Apple has ever produced. The batteries were stuck to the case with super glue. They tried removing it but found they couldn't do so safely. Further tampering risked puncturing the battery, which could start a fire. Meaning that if the battery went, you were left with a $2100 paperweight.
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| The batteries on the Retina MBP are superglued to the chassis. Source: iFixit.com |
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| E-Waste landfill. Is this the final destination for Retina MBPs? Source: Greenpeace |
It's the culmination of a long trend for Apple. Their systems have always been difficult to get into. This marks a new low in poor design for a company that prides itself on environmental responsibility. This is made more ironic by Al "Inconvenient Truth" Gore being on their board of directors. Not only that, but China, the country that produces the MacBooks, hardly has a stellar environmental record.
At least Apple has chosen to somewhat lessen the greenwashing on their products. However, the fact that users cannot upgrade or repair their systems is a troublesome trend. The last thing we need is more electronics cluttering up landfills.
The system has been fattened up to match the size of the older DS XL. It has a 4.88'' top screen and a 4.18'' bottom screen. Nintendo says this offers 90% more viewing area that the original 3DS. Due to it's fatter form factor, it also features improved battery life. According to Nintendo, you can expect up to 6 hours of gameplay, compared to 5 hours on the original.
The XL will retail in Japan starting July 28th for ¥18,900. It will arrive in North America on August 19th for $200, to coincide with the launch of New Super Mario Bros. 2. Initially, it will be available in black, red, and blue.
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| Courtesy of Kotaku |
The second thing I noticed was a lack of a second analogue stick on the XL. I know we've had this discussion before with the PSP. The difference is, Nintendo makes a peripheral that adds a second stick. It would seem logical that the next version would include one built in. Furthermore, the current Circle Pad Pro is incompatible with the XL due to its sheer size. Any game that uses it will lose that feature. It's similar to how Nintendo killed off a bunch of accessories by removing the GBA port on the DS XL.
The timing of the device is also a bit odd. Nintendo did not announce it at E3. Some pundits are arguing that the 3DS is tanking in sales. This doesn't seem to be the case. It has shipped over 17 million units since launch. There's not a whole lot that makes sense about this announcement. The XL already feels half arsed even before it's come out.
Source: Kotaku
Which brings me to a fantastic piece of news from Capcom today. It is being remastered in 1080p for the PS3.
Back when Sony re-released God of War, I said that Okami deserved the same treatment. This will definitely put a lot of similes on fans' faces.
Aside from HD graphics, it will also support the Playstation Move. For those who didn't like how motion control worked on the Wii, you'll still be able to the regular controller. Presumably, the game's beautiful soundtrack will also get updated to full surround sound as well. It will launch sometime this fall on PSN for $20. That's a steal for one of the greatest games ever made.
Source: Joystiq
Title image copyright Capcom
It's funny how Apple's fans expect new and radical products every year. That has never been a part of the company's development cycle. They only completely refresh their stuff every couple of years. What gets released in between is an incremental update. That's what the iPad 3 is. It looks and feels identical to the iPad 2. What has changed is the inclusion of a new full HD display and a faster graphics chip.
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| The iPad 3 in all its glory |
Retina Display: I am Furious Yellow
The new retina display is what everyone came here to see. Apple has doubled the resolution up from the old XGA format (1024x768) to beefy QXGA (2048x1536). So yes, when they say it has a million more pixels than HD, it's true. Because the screen is small, it has a high pixel density; 264 per inch compared to 132 in previous models. The difference is very noticeable. My old iPad has clearly visible pixelation and a screen door effect compared to the new screen. It's not something you notice until you place the two side by side.
The higher resolution makes text look a lot smoother, and thus easier on the eyes. Apps made for the retina display look fantastic, and full HD video almost isn't HD enough. This is what Apple fans have been clamoring for for a long time. At least since the first 1080p Android tabs came out.
I really do love the high resolution. I do not love the screen. Colour rendition on it is worse than previous iPads. Apple sources displays from two companies: Samsung and LG. The Samsung displays have a noticeable yellow tinge to them. I had to return my first iPad 3 because it had a faint yellow blotch off to one corner. When reading text on a white background, in other words all websites, it was distracting. So I brought it back and got another one. Same yellowing though fainter than previous, and even across the whole screen. I can live with that. However, it's not ideal. Especially when spending upwards of $700 on a device like I did. Since it cannot display true white, it's no good for serious photographers. LG displays reportedly don't have this problem. It's a QC issue that neither Apple nor Samsung have addressed. In fact, yellow displays have been a problem for many years. It goes back as far as the original Macbooks if I recall.
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| iPad 3 top, iPad 1 bottom. Notice the yellowing on the lower right |
The Guts, The Graphics, and the Ram
Apple finally did it. They finally put a full gigabyte of memory into an iPad. Hallelujah! It really took too long to get to this point. Android tablets had it a full year before Apple did. Sure, iOS does manage memory far better than Google's robotic OS does. Still, you can't pull extra space out your backside. Finally we can open more than two browser tabs without it crashing, or constantly refreshing pages. Of course this memory is shared with the graphics chip. As far as I can tell, the iPad uses roughly 256mb for the OS and graphics.
To match the higher resolution display, graphics have been upped significantly. Double the resolution, double the GPU cores. It sports PowerVR's SGX543MP4 quad core graphics chip. The same one Sony uses for the PS Vita. This puts the iPad, at least technically, on par with the competition as a gaming device. Anybody who has played the NOVA or Infinity Blade series knows just how good games can look on this thing. Plus it can render them in glorious full HD. According to benchmarks, it blows nVidia's Tegra 3 out of the water when it comes to 3D. Very impressive considering nVidia is primarily a graphics company. How embarrassing for them.
Despite the boost in graphics, the CPU itself remains identical to the iPad 2. The same dual core, 1ghz A5. Apple calls it the A5X. The "X" basically means it's the one with the better GPU. Apps that don't rely on graphics will run the same on the iPad 3 as they did on the iPad 2. This doesn't feel like much of a real world upgrade. That Tegra 3 that was slower at graphics? It's quad core and performs quite a bit better at everyday tasks. Especially at CPU intensive jobs like photo and video editing. Two things Apple is really pushing with on iOS.
Unfortunately, Apple has traded off general performance to make the iPad into a game console. As far as I know, it lacks OpenCL/GPGPU support, so that graphics chip isn't really useful outside gaming and watching HD movies. Most users won't notice but power users will. Personally, I would have preferred a quad core CPU. Though that's likely when Apple releases the iPad 4, which will be a full refresh year if trends continue.
For storage, the iPad 3 comes in the same 16/32/64GB flavours as previous models. It still doesn't allow for expandable storage. I've pretty much given up hope that it ever will, at least not officially. So I opted for the biggest and thus most expensive model. I use it like a laptop anyway.$720 for 64gb is a lot, especially at a $200 premium over the base model. The most expensive standalone 64GB laptop SSD I could find was $130, and even that is too much. It's not an apples to apples comparison but still telling. Apple has a huge markup on these devices.
When it comes to storage, Apple should eliminate the 16GB model entirely. It's too small these days, especially with HD video recording now standard. Even 64GB can be constraining if you're a photo or video editor. I would love to see a 128GB model next year. Storage woes of course can be eliminated with a jailbreak and the purchase of the camera kit. Apps like iFile, available on Cydia, allow for external SD card storage.
Take my full HD photograph
I've never really got the concept of using tablets as a camera. It's like whipping out your old time Brownie or Super 8 to take a snapshot. They're just too big and clunky for that purpose. That hasn't stopped Apple from putting a 5 megapixel camera in it, that can also take 1080p video. It's the same one the iPhone 4S has. Does it take good photos? Well, that depends. It takes pictures as good s as the iPhone does. Video seems grainy though, even in full light. It's like someone forgot to turn the gain off.
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| The iPhone 4S |
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| iPad 3 |
One curious thing I just noticed it the iPad doesn't have a flash. The iPhone does. It's not a good one but it does have it. Seems like an odd design choice. I can't even use my iPad as a $720 flash light.
New apps a ... few?
I'm not going to review iOS 5 here. This is just about the iPad 3, not the OS that was already widely available. New apps for it? There are none. It has the same default apps as the iPad 2 does. Apps have received small enhancements to work with the retina display, or take advantage improved camera and the beefier GPU. iOS 6 is around the corner and promises a lot of new stuff. For now, it's more of the same.
Odds and Sods: battery life and networking.
The new GPU consumes a lot more power. The iPad 3 runs noticeably hotter when you push it. Thus it requires a more juice to run it. The 42.5Wh battery is almost double the size of the iPad 2's 25Wh pack. Since the graphics chip is so hungry, it only gets the same 10hr battery life. I dream of an all-day tablet. One that could happily take me through an entire plane ride to Hong Kong and still have enough left to find a good restaurant and locate my hotel. That's still a long way off. With current tech, it just requires too many tradeoffs. The iPad 3 is already slightly larger than the iPad 2 as a result of it's larger battery. Apple wants to keep them thin and light, and the original iPad is a brick by comparison. Still, 10hrs is enough for most people, as long as you cool it on the games. In that case, the iPad gets the same battery life as the Vita does.
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| Thin, especially compared to the iPhone 3G |
I suspect most people will opt for the WiFi model. You get the same 802.11n connection as previous iPads. Performance is nothing to write home about. WiFi on mobile devices always seems slower than it is on laptops and desktops. There is a reason for it that has to do with power limits, or something like that. New is Bluetooth 4.0 support. What does that do? Not much really. It features a new low energy mode, presumably for low bandwidth devices like keyboards and mice. Nothing really uses it right now.
Last and least, the iPad 3 has the same dock connector that every iDevice has. That's good since it's compatible with the same things. Rumour has it that Apple plans on ditching it for a new proprietary port. Guess you'll have to rebuy your dock, camera kit, and every other accessory once the iPad 4 rolls around. They must have wanted to pull a Sony. Seriously, just stick USB or Thunderbolt on it and be done with it.
Conclusion
The iPad 3 is a good inclusion to the iPad line. It's a solid piece of hardware, as one would expect from Apple. The Retina is gorgeous and it does more of the same, faster. However, it does have some notable flaws. It's still overpriced compared to feature rich Android alternatives. The yellowish screen and lack of external storage also grind my gears.
If you don't have an iPad, this is the only one to get. If you already have a previous model, should you upgrade? For owners of the original iPad, like myself, this upgrade is a no brainer. The first model runs like a molasses brick. The full gigabyte of memory is enough reason alone; because using 256mb is just painful. For iPad 2 users, consider this the iPad 2S. It's a little faster and looks a little better, but not really enough to justify plopping down five fat bills.
Score: 8 out of 10
What Works:
-Retina display makes text and video look gorgeous
-Faster GPU finally brings us near-console quality games
-Snappy at everyday tasks make this a must own for iPad 1 owners
-Beefier battery yet still thin and light, gives you 10hrs use
-High build quality
-LTE 4G cellular connectivity
What doesn't work:
-Yellowish tinge on models with Samsung manufactured displays
-Lack of external storage, internal getting too small
-Average battery life despite double sized battery
-Nothing new on the software front
-Camera quality just average, video camera grainy
-Still overpriced compared to Android models
-Would have preferred a quad core CPU
Title image courtesy of Tablet News
We've all been there before. You just bought a new HDTV and the salesman shows you a wall of $100+ HDMI cables. He claims they'll give you the best picture and sound on your new investment. There is a very small grain of truth to this. Better quality cables do produce better quality signals. These cables have a lower electrical resistance, which means signals pass through easier. However, this only comes into play for very long runs; 50 feet or more. It doesn't apply for the short runs in most home theatres. The $5 cable will look and sound as good as the $100 cable, guaranteed. Digital signals either work or they don't. There's no middle ground.
The same applies for analogue signals. There is a middle ground as the signal can deteriorate over the run. However, cheaper cables generally provide an identical audible signals as more expensive ones. Once again, higher end cables only make sense for very long runs. Far longer than what most home listeners would require. One particular company is selling a 1.5m run of 3.5mm male to male cables for $1,200. You can purchase 1000 foot spools of professional grade AV cable for this much. The same TV stations use for uncompressed HD camera streams. You're wasting your money on a brag item that's going to make no noticeable difference over the $5 radio shack cable. Please, just stop the madness.
Image courtesy of desmoblog.com
Sonic 4: Episode I was a poorly executed game. Sega set out to revive Genesis classics to appease long time fans. Then they threw away everything that made them classics. The game was short, the levels were annoying, and the physics were broken. It boggles my mind how you could screw the formula up so badly. Run fast, go faster in a ball by gaining additional momentum. That was the whole point of Sonic. Sega wanted it to be a tech demo for the Genesis. A mascot who could roll into a ball to go faster was the chief design element of the character. Yet for some reason, Sonic would slow down in Episode I.
Thankfully, Episode II has fixed the woefully broken physics system. Though the demo's presentation is a little worrying. We get a taste of White Park Zone, an ice level. By taste, I mean you only get to play half of an act before getting booted out. The level design is standard fare and reminds me a bit of Ice Cap Zone from Sonic 3. Though not quite as well laid out. I'm not a fan of the art style Sega has been using for Sonic 4. Generations nailed what a 2D modern Sonic game should look like. They're more organic and have more depth. The classic art style was great on the Genesis but woefully dated today.
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| Episode II gives us more of the same. Not a good thing. Courtesy SonicNewsNetwork |
The music is pretty flat as well. Let's compare White Park Zone's music to Ice Cap Zone from Sonic 3. Unfair? You bet it is. MJ can't write tunes for every game, well... not now anyways. Music has been the one thing that all Sonic games seem to be good at. Sonic 4 seems like a weak effort at best.
The only really notable gameplay change, besides physics, is the inclusion of Tails. He can fly and swim, which have returned from Sonic 3. He can also tag team with Sonic into big ball to smash objects, such as snow walls in White Park. It's neat to see Tails return but I don't think it adds much to the experience.
Reviwers that have played the full game have panned it as being mediocre. I review demos because I can't afford to buy everything that comes along. Sonic 4: Episode II doesn't seem all that bad. It's decent enough game no hiccups. However, it still falls short in a way that's difficult to describe. Sonic Generations is the perfect Sonic game for the modern era. Sonic 4 just doesn't come close.
Score: 6 out of 10
What works:
-Fixed physics closer to original Sonic games
What Doesn't
-Lacks a certain je ne sais quoi.
-Bland music and dated art style
-Fails to live up to the high point set by Sonic Generations
In the early 80s, Atari was the king of video games. Prior to Major League Gaming, they held their own pro level contests to find the best of the best. Perhaps the most famous was SwordQuest. The contest began in 1982 with a series of four games planned for it. Gamers who joined the Atari fan club received a t-shirt and would receive each game as soon as it launched. The games also shipped with their own DC comic book tie-in.
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| SwordQuest as a rudimentary precursor to Zelda type adventure games |
Gameplay was basically the same for all four One had to navigate rooms, collect items, and find clue words. These clues were hidden in the companion comic. They would then have to be arranged in the correct sentence. Those who got it would compete at a finals event at Atari HQ. The champions were given custom cartridges and had 90 minutes to find as many clues as possible. The winner would receive a fabulous prize.
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| A clue in Earthworld directs the gamer to page 16, panel 4 of the comic. The clue is "SPIRE". |
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| The prizes, clockwise from top left: Talisman of Penultimate Truth, Sword of Ultimate Sorcery, Chalice of Light, Crown of Life, Philosopher's Stone |
The winner of Fireworld received a platinum chalice with gold base. It was adorned with citrines, diamonds, green jade, pearls, rubies, and sapphires. Michael Rideout won the chalice and still owns it to this day.
Winners of Waterworld were suppose to receive a gold crown, also adorned with rare gems. Then the video game crash of 1983 hit. Production of SwordQuest games stopped. Two semi-final winners of the Waterworld contest received $15,000 each. The finals for the crown were never held.
After that, Atari stopped the contest. Had it continued, winners of Airworld would have been given a white jade "Philosopher's Stone". It was to come in a jewel encrusted, solid gold box.
Both the crown and the stone did exist. They were on display at the previous three competitions. However, neither captured gamers' imaginations quite like the grand price: the titular sword.
When the four contests were over, the previous grand champions would have a chance compete for the ultimate prize. The Sword of Ultimate Sorcery featured a solid silver blade and solid gold hilt. The hilt was also covered with rare gems. This ultimate prize was valued at $50,000, or over $100,000 today.
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| A rare photo of the legendary lost sword. It was rumourned to be owned by former Atari CEO Jack Tramiel. |
Some people claim to have seen the sword hanging in Tramiel's house. However, none of these reports have been confirmed. Tramiel repeatedly denied he was in possession of the items.
So gaming's greatest mystery persists. Now that Tramiel has passed on, we may finally find out if he did indeed hold on to these legendary relics of games past. That is if his estate chooses to share that information. Until then, the quest continues.
If you want to know more about this contest, check out Cinemassacre's Angry Video Game Nerd special on SwordQuest.
The folks at Sonic 2 HD embarked on an ambitious project. Recreate Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in its entirety, with high definition graphics. It's not an upscale either. While the core of the game remains the same, the music and artwork have been completely overhauled. The end result is better than what Sega themselves accomplished with their lackluster attempt at Sonic 4.
After months of anticipation, the team finally released a demo of the game this week. Though it's an alpha build, it's as close to perfection as a Sonic fan can get. So what's the downside? It's not licensed or endorsed by Sega. The company is within its rights to have the project stopped. As a fan, I hope they won't do that. With any luck, Sega may publish this fan labour of love. Until then, if it ever happens, hit up the link for screenshots and to try the alpha for yourself.
Sonic 2 HD Alpha PC Windows Download
Sony likes Latin names and odd numbers
The new Playstation will be called the Orbis. At least that's what it's codename is. However, Kotaku points out that Orbis Vita translates to "circle of life". That actually makes a lot of sense from a marketing standpoint. Whatever form the Orbis takes, it will be closely linked to Sony's portable platform.
The system is also allegedly due out in time for the 2013 holiday season.
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| An unlikely PS4 concept design. Geekology.com |
A Switch to PC-based hardware
The Cell processor was a bold choice for Sony. While extremely fast for the time, it was a nightmare to program. Rather than using specialized hardware, the Orbis will take a note from the original Xbox. It will feature a 64-bit AMD processor and an AMD "Southern Islands" graphics chip. According to the unnamed developers, the system will be capable of 4K resolutions; four times that of the current 1080p HD standard.
Given this information, we can make some educated guesses about what exactly this will entail. AMD is scheduled to bring out the successor to their current line of FX processors, code-named Steamroller, in 2013. The company is focusing on integrating graphics and processor into the same chip. This would greatly simplify construction of the system and reduce build costs.
AMD's current line of "Bulldozer" chips use the HD 6000 series GPU, one generation behind their stand-alone cards. Therefore, it's likely Steamroller chips will feature HD 7000 series graphics. With Microsoft allegedly opting for a mid-range GPU, Sony might do the same.
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| The PS Orbis might use AMD's FX line of chips, or a similar single chip "Accelerated Processing Unit" |
Due to the switch to PC-based hardware, the Orbis will allegedly be unable to play Playstation 3 games. There are apparently no plans to bring backwards compatibility to the system. This would address one of the problems with the original PS3, where backwards compatibility hardware drove up the price.
Bluray and Download side by side
The Orbis will be a download based console. All games will be available from the Playstation Store. However, it will still use physical Bluray discs. This is similar to the route that Sony took with the Vita.
One curious little tidbit of information concerns used and rented games. Kotaku alleges the system will feature a new "digital rights management" scheme to tie Bluray discs to a user's PSN account. Gamers purchasing used or rented games will only have access to limited demo versions of the game. They will need to pay a fee to unlock the full game. Apparently this will use an always-on DRM system, similar to what Ubisoft has attempted with PC games. Something that has been very unpopular with gamers.
I can see this being controversial. Publishers and retailers have been at war with each other over used games for the last couple of years. Publishers claim that used games are equivalent to piracy as they do not receive profits from their sale. Locking out used games from systems would greatly improve relations with game makers, but risks alienating gamers caught in the middle. Sony has already been aggressive with online passes to appease big game companies. However, I cannot see them locking out used games. Especially if their competitors don't follow the same route. In my opinion, publishers would be better served making profit sharing deals with major game retailers, but that's another article for another day.
Keep in mind that none of these rumours have been confirmed by Sony, so take them with a grain of salt. We will update you with more details about the Orbis as they come out.
Source: Kotaku
AMD FX Image: ComputerActive
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