Minecraft: Story Mode now available in the Play Store

<p dir="ltr">Minecraft: Story Mode is now available in the Play Store. This is the first of five episodes called The Order of the Stone. The game developers behind it are Telltale Games. They have made many other popular games like Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and Tales from the Borderlands.</p> <p dir="ltr">The game cost an awkward $6.21, but is sure to be tonsof fun. They also have some popular voice actors like “Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D), BrianPosehn (The Sarah Silverman Program, Mission Hill), Ashley Johnson (The Last of Us, Tales from the Borderlands), Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights, X-Men), Martha Plimpton (The Goonies, Raising Hope), Dave Fennoy (The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series, Batman: Arkham Knight), Corey Feldman (The Goonies, Stand by Me), Billy West (Futurama, Adventure Time), and Paul Reubens (Tron: Uprising, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse)“.</p> <p dir="ltr">You will be able to play as either a male or female character set out on an adventure, but something goes wrong quickly. Your plans change and now you must try to find The Order of the Stone to save the world from destruction.“In this five part episodic series, play as either a male or female hero named ‘Jesse,’ and embark on a perilous adventure across the Overworld, through the Nether, to the End, and beyond. </p> <p dir="ltr">You and your friends revere the legendary Order of the Stone: Warrior, Redstone Engineer, Griefer, and Architect; slayers of the Ender Dragon. While at EnderCon in hopes of meeting Gabriel the Warrior, you and your friends discover that something is wrong… something dreadful. Terror is unleashed, and you must set out on a quest to find The Order of the Stone if you are to save your world from oblivion.”</p>

Minecraft: Story Mode now available in the Play Store

Minecraft: Story Mode is now available in the Play Store. This is the first of five episodes called The Order of the Stone. The game develop...

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Motorola accidentally confirms DROID MAXX 2 in Moto Email update

<p dir="ltr">We know the Motorola DROID MAXX 2 is coming, we just don’t know when. Motorola isn’t trying to hide things, though, as they’ve accidentally revealed the existence of the MAXX 2 in their updated Moto Email application.</p> <p dir="ltr">The screenshots for the app in question have a signature that says “Sent from my DROID MAXX 2,” which could be some elaborate trolling, but I think it’s pretty likely that somebody uploaded some screenshots a little early. </p> <p dir="ltr">The screenshots have since been removed from the Play Store listing, which adds some credibility to that theory.</p> <p dir="ltr">The leak isn’t the only thing interesting about the update, though. There are a handful of new features for current users, including better searching and syncing tools, an option to attach photos directly from the camera while composing emails, and better Gmail security. </p> <p dir="ltr">Most of these are things that other email clients have long since adopted, but if you’re using the stock Motorola email client, you’ll probably want to grab this update anyway.</p> <p dir="ltr">via:Droid Life</p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQW_qnyVjOItWaWlKFxnVwiuwtwlLPA9k03GeVqAsCaWAkla7kPL_fpvrM7OFkkaagReKpO_ig3ujf27hJFE1cd48_hg_fW7VgRY72BIv6-WnisuoDITwM02wcVvxp1gy3kAj8yd5L5nU/s1600/20151016045542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQW_qnyVjOItWaWlKFxnVwiuwtwlLPA9k03GeVqAsCaWAkla7kPL_fpvrM7OFkkaagReKpO_ig3ujf27hJFE1cd48_hg_fW7VgRY72BIv6-WnisuoDITwM02wcVvxp1gy3kAj8yd5L5nU/s640/20151016045542.jpg"> </a> </div>

Motorola accidentally confirms DROID MAXX 2 in Moto Email update

We know the Motorola DROID MAXX 2 is coming, we just don’t know when. Motorola isn’t trying to hide things, though, as they’ve accidentally ...

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I want Microsoft to make its own version of the PlayStation TV

<p dir="ltr">While laid in bed one night, unable to sleep and chatting with our Xbox Editor, Jez, an idea popped into my head. What I really want Microsoft to do is make its own version of the PlayStation TV.</p> <p dir="ltr">We're already kind of half way there with Windows 10game streaming but it'd be killer if Microsoft made some hardware to leverage that and go a little further.</p> <p dir="ltr">What the heck is a PlayStation TV anyway?The official description:"This is PlayStation TV, the small, sleek, and simple to use micro-console that lets you stream your PS4 games to another HD TV. </p> <p dir="ltr">Cramming loads of features and amazing tech into one very stylish box, PS TV gives you a level of freedom no other console offers. You can also play compatible PS Vita, PSP, and PS one games on your TV and buy, rent, or stream your favourite movies and TV shows from the PlayStation Store 24/7.</p> <p dir="ltr">"It's a super small box that can offer a more'console-like' experience. Different to sitting in front of your PC.Microsoft already has the streaming part down and Windows 10 is the company's choice of operating system for all the things these days. </p> <p dir="ltr">The rest is just gravy on top. PS TV allows selected games to be played from other, older consoles, something Microsoft has just got started with on the Xbox One with backwards compatibility. How awesome would be it be to have a tiny little box to take into another room and play games you don't already own as well as stream ones you do?</p> <p dir="ltr">Then of course there's the media delivery aspect. Xbox One works great in an entertainment center but it's also a bit of a brute when it comes to the physical size of the thing. Currently I use an Amazon Fire TV Stick in the bedroom to get my fix, mainly, of Netflix and Amazon video content among some other local providers like the BBC. But I can't get Groove music on it and the same goes for Microsoft Movies and TV.</p> <p dir="ltr"> I don't buy much digital video, partly because I don't have an easy way to get it whenever I want in any room in the house.</p> <p dir="ltr">So, to make my set up complete, I'd love Microsoft to do something like Sony. A small box with apps, game streaming and some older games to play directly. Anyone else fancy the same or am I talking crazy in my sleep deprived state? Sound off in the comments below!</p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyRRXCTuJxBtisyf1zvlXDsxign2brxUZmmfqq_Pk1ezbhm9xjzkTKlObDPsfP_jPXpCCmto8mXZF4XGQTw0-YwJj_4s7QoR2HeNqs67-lncuNDLCtOooIsqbYAwm76C2oOTUBrqs8Ycjl/s1600/20150913142940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyRRXCTuJxBtisyf1zvlXDsxign2brxUZmmfqq_Pk1ezbhm9xjzkTKlObDPsfP_jPXpCCmto8mXZF4XGQTw0-YwJj_4s7QoR2HeNqs67-lncuNDLCtOooIsqbYAwm76C2oOTUBrqs8Ycjl/s640/20150913142940.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKowibgvdS9bl09YtJ2nW0P9lZ90uRRwbEOtAh19hCqQrnr6At7ke9V4m38hX5igvvSf-QPnMYsZ4Z4_U5z8dRfKmy8oCcedcrx6bBOgW7FW_fRnTfRDtqkQTEwICOxqMztD-qYkR0X6v7/s1600/20150913142928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKowibgvdS9bl09YtJ2nW0P9lZ90uRRwbEOtAh19hCqQrnr6At7ke9V4m38hX5igvvSf-QPnMYsZ4Z4_U5z8dRfKmy8oCcedcrx6bBOgW7FW_fRnTfRDtqkQTEwICOxqMztD-qYkR0X6v7/s640/20150913142928.jpg"> </a> </div>

I want Microsoft to make its own version of the PlayStation TV

While laid in bed one night, unable to sleep and chatting with our Xbox Editor, Jez, an idea popped into my head. What I really want Microso...

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Dell’s next XPS 12 looks like a Microsoft Surface rival

<p dir="ltr">#Dell#Tablets–Dell’s next XPS 12 looks like a Microsoft Surface rival– Wondering why Dell is cool with selling Microsoft’s Surface Pro when it doesn’t have a direct equivalent right now? This might be why.</p> <p dir="ltr">Gigaclaimsto have leaked details of a reborn XPS 12 that would ditch the convertible laptop design in favor of the Surface’s tablet-plus-keyboard combo, right down to the kickstand. Yes, Dell appears to be taking a page from Lenovo’sbook and competing with Microsoft’s 2-in-1 PC on its home turf. </p> <p dir="ltr">Not that this would be a direct clone, mind you. The XPS 12 reportedly touts a color-accurate 4K touchscreen with a super-thin, XPS 13-style bezel. You’d also get a Thunderbolt 3 connector (great for docking a slew of devices using just one cable) and a sharper 8-megapixel rear camera.</p> <p dir="ltr">There’s no mention of pricing. The inclusions of both a 4K screen and Thunderbolt suggest that the XPS 12 won’t be cheap, but the cost will depend on both the choice of processor (a Core M or low-voltage Core i seems likely) and the amount of built-in storage. </p> <p dir="ltr">However, there’s no question about availability: the leak hints at a release in October, right when the Surface Pro reaches Dell’s corporate sales channels. While it’s doubtful that Dell built the new XPS with its Microsoft partnership in mind, it’ll conveniently serve as an alternative when you want a little more oomph from your pro tablet.</p> <p dir="ltr">Source:Engadget</p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6b9kC4gZeBFdW8KK31B1rusi1tXJTo9BN-82hDhHDIWW07aRwJaaXfPMnj3imxoBEg-m_ju8J8c1shibVvLz6SBKXWk27NGNG80w5f_wnbShwjqO8HY2yrjJaG4bh2bx9R1Adbza0l9w/s1600/20150913135956.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6b9kC4gZeBFdW8KK31B1rusi1tXJTo9BN-82hDhHDIWW07aRwJaaXfPMnj3imxoBEg-m_ju8J8c1shibVvLz6SBKXWk27NGNG80w5f_wnbShwjqO8HY2yrjJaG4bh2bx9R1Adbza0l9w/s640/20150913135956.jpg"> </a> </div>

Dell’s next XPS 12 looks like a Microsoft Surface rival

#Dell#Tablets–Dell’s next XPS 12 looks like a Microsoft Surface rival– Wondering why Dell is cool with selling Microsoft’s Surface Pro when ...

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Township - a fun, time consuming city builder for Windows Phone

<p dir="ltr">Township has been available in the Windows Phone Store for some time now and recently we had the opportunity to spend a little time with this city builder. The game focuses more on time management, city development and supply/demand issues than conquering the world.</p> <p dir="ltr">In many respects, you are building a rural community that relies on farming and manufacturing for its growth. There are plenty of farming, residential and commercial properties to build. You also have opportunities to sell or trade your goods through air, train or water.</p> <p dir="ltr">Township does have a casual feel to it but challenging in the time management elements and in designing your town. While you may not get the chance to invade neighboring towns, if you like city builders, Township is aWindows Phone gameworth trying.</p> <p dir="ltr">As with most city builder type games, Township will start you out with a series of tutorials. These pop-up guides will cover growing crops, harvesting them, using them in one of the many factories, selling the goods and building up your town. Township's game mechanics are simple and accomplished through a series of taps and swipes. For example, when you are ready to feed your chickens to create eggs just tap on the feedbag and slide your finger across the row of chickens to feed them. When the eggs are ready, just tap or swipe across the eggs to collect them.</p> <p dir="ltr">The backbone of your town lies with your farm. It will start small and have a limited range of crops you can grow, but as your town grows so does your farming area and crop range. You raise crops that are used in factories such as a bakery, a feed mill and dairy plant. The goods you generate in turn can be used to create other raw materials, sold or traded. For example, wheat is a crop that can be used in the feed mill to generate grain to feed cows. The cows will generate milk, which can be utilized in the dairy plant to create cheese. All of these items can be sold or traded.</p> <p dir="ltr">Your activities are centered on a map of your town. Along the top of the map, you will find your gaming statistics and access to the game's settings. Stats include your gold count (earned through achievements and selling goods), Town dollars, experience level and population levels. Town dollars are basically used to speed up time or buy raw materials needed to complete construction.</p> <p dir="ltr">Settings include support to connect the game to your Facebook account, notifications settings, sound/music levels, a help section and language support.Gaming controls line the bottom of the map and include access to your trade/market routes (train, helicopter, boat, etc.), a link to your Facebook friends and your construction menu. You also have an edit button in the bottom left corner that can be used to create roads or change the landscape surfaces (grass, dirt, mud or water). You can also move/rotate/store existing structures with the editing menu.</p> <p dir="ltr">Construction<br> Construction includes everything from building houses, factories, retail buildings and public service buildings (fire, police, etc.). You also have a wide range of decorations (trees, shrubs, parks, fountains, etc.) and a special category of structures such as casinos, museums and other specialized facilities.</p> <p dir="ltr">While some construction items are free, roads for example, others will cost you gold and will have an experience and/or population restrictions. Some buildings will need a particular allocation of resources (foundation pads, glass windows, bricks, etc.) that are generally obtained through trading with other towns. Housing is noted not only with cost but the number of residents the structure will add to the town.</p> <p dir="ltr">I did find one omission in the construction choices that bears mentioning. You have several styles of roads to construct that include dirt, cobblestone and asphalt roads. What you do not have are bridges. You cannot build a road on the water. Instead, you have to use the landscape tools to change the water to land. A bridge would be a nice touch for appearance sakes to allow for lakes and streams to be contiguous. The lack of bridges isn't a deal breaker but would enhance the games aesthetics.</p> <p dir="ltr">Time Management<br> The time management comes into play in several ways. It takes time to grow the crops and operate the factories. You have limited space in your barn to store materials and it takes time to construct new buildings or see your goods sold or traded. You will find yourself juggling raw materials between the farm, factories and merchants just to keep a flow of goods going. You can upgrade the capacity of your barn and at first that expansion is dependent on goods traded with other towns. You lack the ability to create hammers or nails, but other communities will trade those goods for your wheat, corn, bread and other commodities. </p> <p dir="ltr">It took expanding the capacity of my barn twice, bringing the capacity to 85 units, before the juggling became easier to manage. But even then, the orders for commodities increased creating the need to have a constant flow of goods to and from your factories.</p> <p dir="ltr">One quick note on time requirements with Township is that many of the activities will not take a lot of time to complete. You do have some tasks that will take a day to complete, but it only takes two minutes fora parcel of wheat to become ready for harvest. These shorter times can be a good thing and a bad. It's good in that you don't have to wait forever to take care of fundamental tasks. It's bad in that you have to keep that flow of goods flowing, oryou will find yourself with an overstocked barn and factories with finished goods that cannot go anywhere.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Economy<br> The management of your town's economy comes into play with the trading of goods and selling them. You start out with a helicopter service that brings orders for goods from the town's residents. Once you reach a certain level, the train depot opens up for business where you can trade your town's goods for goods from another town. Eventually, you will unlock amine, shipping port and airport to sell, trade and mine additional resources and goods. </p> <p dir="ltr">You'll need to keep a good pace in filling orders and sending trains off to trade for goods. Establishing a good flow of merchandise will generate revenue that can be used to build new structures and expand your town limits. A solid trade route will help you acquire construction materials you cannot produce locally.</p> <p dir="ltr">At various points throughout the game, you will have citizens speak up with recommendations on new buildings. You may have someone ask for a movie theater or a grocery store. Construction of these buildings will generate bonus items such as Town Dollars. You will also have pop-up bubbles appear over structures that will give you a clue as to what your population is wanting.</p> <p dir="ltr">Overall Impression</p> <p dir="ltr">While there are no invasions to defend against or neighboring towns to conquer, Township is an entertaining Windows Phone game to spend a lot of time with. Township's graphics and animations are excellent and the challenges of the game can keep you busy for a long time.</p> <p dir="ltr">One nice feature with Township is that if you cannot get to harvesting a crop or collecting a factory delivery, the game will wait on you. There are some farming related games where the crops will begin to wither if you ignore the game for an extended period. I have not experienced such with Township.</p> <p dir="ltr">My only nit with Township, and it is minor, is that the city map view cannot be rotated. You can hide the structures to construct roads or change the landscape types, but if you build a house behind a taller structure, the house will remain out of view.</p> <p dir="ltr">Overall, Township is a wonderful Windows Phone game to have pinned to your Start Screen. The content is suitable for all ages and it isn't difficult to get addicted to gameplay. Township is a free game with the customary in-app purchases to build up your gaming resources. Township does require a data connection to play and if you give the Windows Phone game a try, let us know what you think of things in the comments below.</p> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV2aMOphleYOhCgIIjUrZY2uglqm7jDBuGKwOSKbqxt12U4K2AlrceI4NOYEdtF5O3ChCnDsWSL4ZPrkGMns2iGeEIXbp9np89ohJGKgjlNSfH5cJmTqC7t-XLIGZDexyW7N6DWkR-9lq7/s1600/20150913132438.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV2aMOphleYOhCgIIjUrZY2uglqm7jDBuGKwOSKbqxt12U4K2AlrceI4NOYEdtF5O3ChCnDsWSL4ZPrkGMns2iGeEIXbp9np89ohJGKgjlNSfH5cJmTqC7t-XLIGZDexyW7N6DWkR-9lq7/s640/20150913132438.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXFco-TqOm_8xhcA7cuhXH1f3NvAMEJX9sx7b6jxiXpkWCnWeP5zmF-yTvRswPHxMXBPYgtsTGj7gNM7sFiwHQ-8VcczjjPWqCsQPIKmHEt9beJxcWpBaaV9e_zurr0nSY9SZ20XzW233/s1600/20150913132425.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXFco-TqOm_8xhcA7cuhXH1f3NvAMEJX9sx7b6jxiXpkWCnWeP5zmF-yTvRswPHxMXBPYgtsTGj7gNM7sFiwHQ-8VcczjjPWqCsQPIKmHEt9beJxcWpBaaV9e_zurr0nSY9SZ20XzW233/s640/20150913132425.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0q-z6UPWNqzsepAbM3j9z4QnsaQxGusRCAVrbJb_tFwIS1aN4eaTVpEKasqEXm5eAZQ92jtr1HIfmu2m2YeZlql8KzuelpwMAQimzJkVJc24Az9DmCoPmR2Msob1PbXgtYseeJlk-5jFz/s1600/20150913132419.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0q-z6UPWNqzsepAbM3j9z4QnsaQxGusRCAVrbJb_tFwIS1aN4eaTVpEKasqEXm5eAZQ92jtr1HIfmu2m2YeZlql8KzuelpwMAQimzJkVJc24Az9DmCoPmR2Msob1PbXgtYseeJlk-5jFz/s640/20150913132419.jpg"> </a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCoWD9tELK_M6sNaxZaprsCD4Z-h6vmToQl7NaAHkJrh5nmbEcEbjxy7pbX_52mZeMz6zvO-sBflOzevs8gE6XAn2BHbAemFW8wdzMYqeN3bX5I1bLYwIV-TzTpwv9FxDCkh1xPEjIClF/s1600/20150913132409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbCoWD9tELK_M6sNaxZaprsCD4Z-h6vmToQl7NaAHkJrh5nmbEcEbjxy7pbX_52mZeMz6zvO-sBflOzevs8gE6XAn2BHbAemFW8wdzMYqeN3bX5I1bLYwIV-TzTpwv9FxDCkh1xPEjIClF/s640/20150913132409.jpg"> </a> </div>

Township - a fun, time consuming city builder for Windows Phone

Township has been available in the Windows Phone Store for some time now and recently we had the opportunity to spend a little time with thi...

Read more »