A right Smart Glass...

As an avid Xbox user, I have been playing about with Smart Glass for a few months. Smart Glass is an app that Microsoft released to allow your smartphone or tablet to act as a companion device to your gaming console. It can act as a remote control complete with swiping the screen control for moving around the Xbox interface, as an adjunct to your gaming experience, as another screen for playing back your Xbox media or a browser controller that is more familiar than using the gaming controller.

It is undoubtedly a very cool move by Microsoft, especially since they took the bold decision to create an app for a number of platforms. Old-thinking Microsoft would have only made it available on Windows Phone, giving it zero traction, but it can thankfully run on pretty much anything, ensuring a broad appeal amongst the Xbox user base.

The current usage options are a great start but I believe the system is only now scratching the surface. Only a few games have integrated in to it in any way but at simplistic levels (e.g. stats whilst playing Halo 4) and once the Smart Glass becomes more integral to the gaming experience it should be an even bigger boost to the platform. I could imagine a scenario where the gamer is fighting his/her way through a level in a first-person shooter and reaches a locked door that requires the lock to be picked. This might take the form of a puzzle that runs on the Smart Glass that needs to be completed before proceeding, bringing a focus to this narrow element of the gameplay that takes the gamer out of the big screen action and down to a macro level. Another example might be to have Halo’s Cortana (if she’s still alive of course!) solely depicted and talking from out of the Smart Glass device in the next game, mirroring many of the interactions Master Chief has with her throughout the various Halo games. It could also easily mimic many of the uses seen in the tablet controller that comes with the rival Wii U but without the heft.

The possibilities for Smart Glass are limitless really, especially as second screen devices such as tablets and phones get more powerful and it will be a platform that is worth watching closely, especially as we near the unveiling of the next Xbox. I also have little doubt that a similar approach will be used in the rumoured Android-based gaming platform Google are working on....

Full Steam Ahead...

Valve has released Steam for Linux - the open-source version of its increasingly popular gaming platform - no doubt sending shivers and tremors through Microsoft as a result.

The gaming company has previously announced its intention to launch a gaming rig based on Linux - dubbed the Steambox - in to living rooms around the world, challenging the Xbox, Playstation and Wii head-on. However, this early software-led open source play via Linux significantly reduces the barrier to entry for anyone looking to get their gaming freak on...no more need to buy a Windows licence.

The integration of Steam in to the Ubuntu Software Centre is unsurprising given the popularity of both and with it gamers can now download a free, stable operating system that will allow them to get down to business for nothing, outside the cost of your hardware.

I personally cannot wait to see the Steambox and what Valve do next...they clearly have a plan.

Focus ST - Virtual Tarmac Meets Actual

You can’t fail to notice the current marketing push for the new Ford Focus ST if you’ve seen it, given that the billboard adverts across many cities are adorned with the very hot and popular hatchback in its famous and highly visible orange paint job screaming across the image.

What is most striking is the logo on the billboard mentioning that the car was seen in the recent Need For Speed:Most Wanted video game - a brilliant bit of mutual advertising with feet in both the virtual and real worlds. What better way to allow large numbers of people to ‘test drive’ a hot new car before its real world launch than to put it in a video game, especially one with a big fan base, clear love of cars and impressive visuals such as the Need For Speed series.

For the video game makers (Criterion) it works as well by allowing them to promote the inclusion of a car that hasn’t even hit the streets yet in their game (a unique selling point if ever there was one) and also sees their game promoted on major billboards across the country alongside a major real-world product launch.

It is really encouraging to see a major brand such as Ford embrace video games as a potential marketing outlet and tool for promoting their product. Hopefully more companies will follow suit as gaming becomes more and more mainstream. Well done Ford...as a former Focus owner this makes me want an ST even more!

ZX Spectrum turns 30 today....

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the launch of the hallowed ZX Spectrum computer, which for many was their first introduction to programming and, probably more importantly but don’t tell our parents, pc gaming!

After starting with a Commodore VIC20 (!) I moved up to a Spectrum 128+2 and loved it...I still rue the day I sold it and sorely miss playing classics such as Microprose Soccer (360 degree banana kicks!) and Typhoon amongst many many others...emulators do the job but I miss the original hulking keyboard!

Google has even gotten in on the act by featuring the device in their Google Doodle for today (23/4/2012).

The device is set to be relaunched to tap in to the feeling of nostalgia. Albeit it will only be a bluetooth keyboard that will likely link with your mobile to run a Spectrum games emulator but even so, this will appeal to many of a certain age...Manic Miner for the masses!

Sony LiveDock - small but powerful...

I haven’t really paid too much attention to Sony Ericsson's mobile phone products for a while. Whilst I am a huge fan of their home audio and imaging gear, I have never really been inspired by their phones. The Xperia Play was a clever idea, taking the original Playstation and putting it in a phone is remarkable achievement but it has hardly dominated the gaming or mobile space. Whilst manufacturers such as Motorola (Droid) and Samsung (Nexus S/Galaxy) have product lines that are seen as synonymous with cutting-edge Android devices, Sony appeared to be adrift of the front runners.

However, the recent announcement of their new LiveDock media station is an intriguing one. This very small device is, in essence, a charging station and dock for your mobile allowing you to link it with your home stereo and a power supply. However, and here’s the twist, it can also allow connection of a keyboard and mouse and even a gaming controller. 

This clever add-on would allow for your increasingly-powerful mobile to act like a miniature pc, especially if your Sony phone had an HDMI out connection, like their Xperia Arc, that allowed it to connect to your HD television. It could be partnered with a pair of mini speakers, foldaway keyboard, travel mouse and hdmi cable to give you the perfect portable system for business and holidays. Even if you don’t have access to a larger screen, the ability to use a full keyboard and mouse on your phone would speed productivity and usability.

Well done Sony for packing so much in to something so small - a welcome return to form...

Black is back!!!!!!

The Ninja had a very surreal moment earlier this week. As an avid Xbox 360 fan, I was trawling through the game demos on Xbox Live and came across the game Bodycount. As a huge fan of good FPS games I took a chance and downloaded it. I was shortly up and playing, running and gunning and loving what I was seeing. I was struck almost immediately by how much this game felt, looked and sounded like my all-time favourite video game Black which had previously been available on the original Xbox and PS2 before mercifully reappearing in the Xbox Originals on the 360. 

Black was simply awesome with fabulous visuals even if it was SD, even better sounds and beautiful destructible environments to use in taking down enemies. I frequently had dug out my old rig to have a nostalgic shoot on this awesome game and often spotted red litter bins in the real world and wondered if they blew up the same way as they do in the game. Although short on length and depth of story, it had plenty to keep you coming back for more.

After rattling through the Bodycount demo a few times I was convinced the game had some kind of link back to Black and a quick Google search proved my instincts to be correct. It is indeed made by the same team headed up by Stuart Black and Steve Watt who have now moved on from Criterion to Codemasters. Needless to say it is my next purchase! Although the reviews so far seem poor, Black received similar treatment from the critics but has developed a cult following and I have little doubt I will love Bodycount as much as I did the original.

These images show the similarities between the two games...

Black - Xbox

Bodycount - Xbox 360

There was long a promise of a Black 2 but hopefully Bodycount will go some way towards filling the void (or bullet hole)....lock and load!