iTech Engine

For the better part of a year I’ve been trying to test the Wilson Sleek Smartphone Antenna Booster. Problem is, I kept going too far away from civilization. But apparently Death Valley is just…

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The Motorola Xoom is the first tablet to run Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb, and Dave Burke, Engineering Manger from Google, was able to give us a more detailed breakdown of Honeycomb and what we can expect to see in the Motorola Xoom. Android 3.0 Hon…

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During the opening level of Mass Effect 2, a sprawling sci-fi adventure that keeps you mesmerised throughout its 30+ hour lifespan, the main character – the man or woman you played as throughout the whole first Mass Effect – dies.  Before you accuse us of spoiling the story, we’ll qualify that remark by saying that ‘dies’ isn’t the end of the story.   As with almost everything else in Mass Effect 2′s beautiful universe, things are not as they seem. A shady human splinter group called Cerberus reconstruct Shepard, almost cell by cell. Do you side with Cerberus, a wealthy bunch of human separatists who clearly have their own sinister agenda, or do you remain loyal to the Galactic Council, who abandoned you; left you for dead. The decision, as you’ll increasingly begin to realise as you delve further into Mass Effect 2′s universe, is far from black and white.   Check out our Mass Effect 2 pictures   The ability to put you into believable, yet tricky moral binds is one of the Mass Effect series’ proudest achievements, and the quality of its script married to the richness of its atmosphere is what keeps you coming back for more when other adventure games begin to flag.   BioWare’s seamless conversation system helps enormously with this. Dialogue feels natural, as it does in a good movie, with camera angles framing each shot to make the most of BioWare’s stunning character models (which look slightly more lifelike on PS3, you’ll be pleased to hear), its moody lighting, and the often breath taking backdrops. Options on the dialogue wheel aren’t word for word responses; instead they sum up a mood or opinion. For a more blunt approach, there are moments when you can pull either L2 or R2 for a Paragon or Renegade intervention, like cutting a man’s talk short and punching him through a window.   Mass Effect 2 PS3: Controls
  You’ll notice we haven’t referred to ME2 as an RPG, and that’s because… well, it isn’t. If anything, it’s a third-person shooter with deep, deep story elements woven in. Oh, and some character management. And squad mechanics. And resource management. Ok, so it’s a hybrid game without comparison on PS3.   Combat feels great on the Dualshock. R1 is your trigger button, L1 aim, and R2 and L2 bring up your weapon and ability wheels, where you control the arming and attacks of yourself and your squad.   Originally posted on CVG: Mass Effect 2 PS3 review   It’s an elegant system. Aim at a target, squeeze R2 and a wheel of abilities appears as the action pauses. Select the ability you want (say, Overload for bringing down a target’s shields), press X, and it’s used immediately. This isn’t stodgy RPG combat, it feels like a proper shooter).   Other actions, such as squad management are handled by tapping a button. Point at something, press either left or right on the d-pad and your squad member goes there. They handle things like taking cover autonomously, and – mercifully – they’re smart enough to know when they’re in your line of fire.
 In fact, in Mass Effect 2 your squad plays a key role. The over-arching story sees you assembling a crack team to undertake what appears to be a suicide mission to help save every sentient race in the galaxy.   The majority of the game sees you cruising off to alien worlds on a recruitment drive, which all leads up to one epic scrap at the end. However, you don’t command loyalty from your crew automatically – you have to earn it. Getting one crew member on side can mean isolating another. Choosing between them is genuinely tough, and it has a bearing on how the game plays out. Without giving anything away, we felt bona-fide remorse during some of the end scenes because of the choices we’d made during the main game. That’s the real kicker when it comes to Mass Effect 2.   Mass Effect 2 PS3: Conclusion   No, it doesn’t have the deepest RPG mechanics, nor the most fluid combat, but what it does have is a world that is so utterly believable, populated by incredibly fleshed out characters (in both senses of the phrase) – all bound together by a plot compelling enough to keep you engrossed for weeks and still leave you wanting more at the end.   It effortlessly draws out emotions with the same frequency, say, a COD game throws angry, shouty men at you. Quite simply, if the sci-fi setting appeals, Mass Effect 2 is unrivalled. It’s an adventure you’re unlikely to forget, and even less likely to put down before its thrilling climax.   Mass Effect 2 PS3 release date: Out now Mass Effect 2 PS3 price:  £35-40   Link: CVG     Posted by Andy Hartup

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One of the highlights of CES this year was the Casio Exilim TRYX (or EX-TR100). Sitting somewhere between one of company’s Casio’s stylish and compact EXILIM cameras and the Flip-style pocket camcorders, it’s a camera/camcorder hybrid with a few tricks up its sleeve.   At first glance it looks a bit like a compact camera, but surrounding the LCD is a frame that twists around 360 degrees, so you can hold it with one or two hands. The LCD itself then twists around too, so you can shoot both horizontally and vertically. This versatile design means you can take photos using either hand and from different angles depending on what you are shooting. You can even hang the camera from a pole or hook, should you desire.   We’ll be bringing you a video of the Casio TRYX over the next couple of days, until then: Check out our hands-on pictures of the Casio Tryx    
At 157g the TRYX feels light and fits comfortably in your hand. We’d suggest exercising a little caution when the frame is out; although it does help you steady the device to prevent camera shake, you certainly don’t want to give this to your kids to play with.   The TRYX has a 12-megapixel CMOS sensor and f2.8 (2.1mm) fixed lens. So, much like the Flip Ultra HD and Panasonic TA1 there’s no optical zoom. It captures 1080p movies and there’s an HDMI output.   Controls are minimal, with most features accessed by tapping the 3-inch 460,000 touchscreen, which you can also use to focus and take a picture by touching the screen. Pictures are stored on SD card, but Casio has yet to announce battery information. Where the TRYX differs from camcorders like the Flip, is a feature set that is much closer to Casio’s EXILIM camera heritage. Casio’s equipped the TRYX with HDR technology, which takes shots at different exposures, combining them to create a final image with less washed out highlights, while retaining detail in dark areas. This is expecially useful in high-contrast situations.   One feature Casio was keen to promote is HDR Art function, which lets you use three processing levels: strong, standard and light to turn your photographs into works of art We saw a few examples and results varied from very effective, to a neon mess, and although it’s a nice feature to have, it’s not necessarily one we’d use very often.   We really like the Casio TRYX, it turns the traditional compact camera design upside down, offering composition flexibility to the photographer. We do have reservations about the durability of the flip out frame and ultimately whether the Tryx has mass-market appeal, but we’ll reserve judgement until we get a review sample. Ultimately it’s fantastic to see something new. Available in black or white, the Casio TRYX is out end of March/early April in the US for $250. There’s no news on UK pricing yet.     Casio TRYX release date: TBC, link Casio Casio TRYX price: TBC     Posted by Hannah Bouckley

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