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Zune HD coming to Canada

February 21, 2011September 26, 2012 Doug Groves Hardware, Microsoft, portable media player, x10, Zune HD2 Comments

Microsoft’s Zune HD portable media player, formerly only available in the US and UK, will be coming to Canada in the near future. Although first released in 2009, the hardware has never been available here. It’s curious that Microsoft would choose 2011 to bring their media player here, since they’ve been focusing on Windows Phone for their mobility solution as of late, including integrating many of the Zune features into their new phone platform. While the Zune software on PCs and the Xbox allows for both movie and TV rentals and purchases, it’s been noticably absent of music options here.

At X’10 – Fable III interview with Josh Atkins

August 31, 2010September 20, 2010 Doug Groves fable 3, Fable III, interview, josh atkins, lionhead, Microsoft, PC gaming, preview, Show, x10, Xbox 360, Xbox Live3 Comments

In our final interview at Microsoft’s X’10 event in Toronto, we talk with Design Director Josh Atkins of Lionhead Studios about what to expect in Fable III, and the importance of storytelling in video games, from the writing to the voice talent. One of the goals was to engage the player enough to actually put down the controller and think about the moral decisions they make. “For us, the idea of a choice, it really has to make you care. It can’t just be so good/evil. It’s got to be…

At X’10 – Fallout: New Vegas

August 29, 2010September 20, 2010 Doug Groves Bethesda, Bethesda Softworks, Fallout, Fallout New Vegas, interview, Matthew Perry, PC gaming, PS3, x10, Xbox, Xbox 3609 Comments

Taking place about 3 years after the events of Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas spans an area about the size of the Capital Wasteland, but it’s not quite the post apocalyptic environment. Since Vegas wasn’t directly targeted in the attacks of the Great War, they still have power, which means there’s going to be a lot more colour in the new game. You can expect about the same amount of game play as in the Fallout 3, but they’ve introduced a few new elements, such as the Companion Wheel, which…

At X’10 – Need For Speed Hot Pursuit

August 28, 2010September 20, 2010 Doug Groves Autolog, Criterion Games, EA, Hot Pursuit, Microsoft, multiplayer, Need For Speed, racing game, taunt wall, x10, Xbox, Xbox 3601 Comment

Dana Sissons, Public Relations Manager for EA, talks to us about the latest version of Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit, developed by Criterion Games, makers of the Burnout series and set in the fictional Seacrest County, based on the California coastline. This offers up a variety of racing environments, with the four major variants being forests, mountains, desert and ocean. As Dana explains, the new Need For Speed aiming to provide short burst, intense racing, focusing on the thrill of the chase. He also mentions that the developers took inspiration…

At X’10 – Halo: Reach sneak peak

August 27, 2010August 28, 2010 Doug Groves Bungie, co-op, event, Forge, Forge World, FPS, gallery, Halo, Halo: Reach, multiplayer, sneak peak, video, x10, Xbox 360, Xbox Live0 comment

One of the closed door events at X’10 this year was for the highly anticipated final chapter of Halo, at least from Bungie. Unfortunately, once we were ushered behind the heavy curtains we weren’t allowed to actually record anything, but we did get to see the first single player missions, Noble Actual and Winter Contingency in action. The single player gameplay was exactly what one would expect out of Halo, with even more polish put on the engine itself. While Reach introduces squad play, there’s no real squad mechanic in…

At X’10 – Microsoft Kinect

August 27, 2010September 20, 2010 Doug Groves Dance Central, Dashboard, Kinect, Kinect Adventures, Microsoft, motion control, x10, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live4 Comments

One of the highlights of X’10 was getting a chance to go “hands on” with Microsoft’s controller-free controller Kinect. The various mini games in Kinect are actually quite the workout (see about 1 minute in the above video), and though there is lag, it didn’t seem to affect gameplay. We also got a sneak peak at the Kinect friendly version of the Xbox Dashboard, which allows you to navigate the console with either gestures or voice commands. Both features were working spot on, and it seems that Microsoft’s goal of…

At X’10 – Rock Band 3, keyboard and up to seven players

August 25, 2010September 20, 2010 Doug Groves All Instruments Mode, harmonix, keyboards, Marc Nesbitt, Microsoft, MTV Games, PS3, Rock Band 3, x10, Xbox 3602 Comments

The keyboard isn’t the only thing new about the latest iteration of Rock Band, as it also rolls in the harmonies introduced with the Beatles version. At Microsoft’s X’10, we had a chance to talk with Marc Nesbitt, Senior Producer of MTV Games about some of the features and philosophy in bringing Rock Band 3 to market. Harmonix also found a way around the 4 player maximum on the console. By enabling an “All Instruments Mode”, up to 7 people can play at once (4 instruments, up to 3 singers). …

At X’10 – Windows Phone 7 with Xbox Live

August 24, 2010September 20, 2010 Doug Groves hands-on, interview, Microsoft, Mobile, mobile gaming, smartphone, Windows Phone 7, WP7, x10, Xbox Live68 Comments

Alex and I attended Microsoft’s X’10 event in Toronto, and the first order of business was to get a look at Windows Phone 7 in action – actually, I played a little Fable 3 before Alex showed up, but that’s another interview in the pipeline, but I digress. Greg Milligan of Microsoft gave us a demonstration of the new mobile platform, and showed off some of the Xbox Live integration as well. All in all it looks pretty impressive, and the screen response, even on the LG prototype phone (which…

Windows Phone 7 launch games announced

August 19, 2010 Doug Groves bing, Bing maps, Crackdown, Microsoft, Microsoft Canada, Project Sunburst, Star Wars, THQ, Windows Phone 7, WP7, x10, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live2 Comments

In anticipation of the international fall launch of Windows Phone 7, Microsoft has announced the starting line up of games, clocking in at over 60 titles. This includes some casual mobile classics like Uno and the always addictive Bejewelled, and mobile interpretations of console titles such as Guitar Hero 5, Halo: Waypoint, and Assassins Creeed. For Star Wars fans there’ll be a couple of games developed by THQ – Cantina, which puts you in the role of a Tatooine bar owner, and Battle For Hoth, a tower defense game set…

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini finally released by Rogers

August 4, 2010August 4, 2010 drsquid Android, canada, google, launch, Rogers, Sony Ericsson, x10, X10 Mini, Xperia, Xperia X1015 Comments

After a few months of rumour and speculation Rogers has officially released the latest model in Sony Ericsson’s new Android smartphone series, the X10 Mini. The Mini is the little brother of Sony’s Ericsson’s first Android phone, the X10. This phone, while having some great hardware specifications (such as a 1 GHz processor and 4″ display), was hobbled by the decision to release it with the out-dated Android 1.6 operating system. Sadly the X10 Mini follows in its brother’s footsteps, also coming with Android 1.6, running Sony’s custom Timescape UI….

Rogers confirms, again, that they will carry the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro

June 29, 2010June 29, 2010 drsquid Android, canada, google, Rogers, Sony, Sony Ericsson, URmagazine, x10, X10 Mini, X10 Pro, Xperia5 Comments

A few weeks ago we posted about our discovery on Rogers website, in the list of compatible devices for the Rogers on Demand Mobile application, confirmation of the Rogers Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini and Mini pro. Smart people that we are, we reached out to Rogers to see if they would confirm, finally after a few months of rumours, that they would be carrying these phones. Of course, instead of confirming, all we got was a ‘no comment’, and the offending page was promptly changed to erase all trace…

Rogers accidentally confirms that they will carry the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini and X10 Mini Pro

June 8, 2010June 29, 2010 drsquid Android, canada, google, phone, Rogers, Sony, Sony Ericsson, x10, X10 Mini, X10 Pro, Xperia, Xperia X1014 Comments

Rogers was the first North American carrier to release the Xperia X10, Sony Ericsson’s first Android smartphone (Our review of this 4″ screen flagship phone is coming soon), and soon Rogers will also be the first carrier to offer the X10’s younger siblings, the X10 Mini, and X10 Mini Pro. Even though neither Sony Ericsson, nor Rogers have officially announced that either of these phones will be coming to Canada, it has been rumoured for a while that they would. Now we have confirmation – on the Rogers on Demand…