Sunday, March 20, 2011

Product Reviews Net

Product Reviews Net

Gay Cure iPhone App: Apple Controversy

Posted: 20 Mar 2011 04:28 AM PDT

Gay Cure iPhone App: Apple Controversy

Apple has opened itself up to attack after it has approved a Gay Cure App for its iTunes Store. The application at the centre of the controversy claims to help users find freedom from homosexuality.

Jane Fae Ozimek from The Register is reporting that an organization which fights against anti-gay religious extremism, Truth Wins Out, has launched a petition asking Apple CEO Steve Jobs to remove the app. The Exodus International ministry is responsible for the application.

People who sign up for the petition also get a letter which states "Apple has long been a friend of the LGBT community". It goes on to say how Apple has supported the community, and earns a 100% score from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.

Since the petition was started last week it has already received 17,000 people signing up to it, but as word of the app spreads this figure is set to rocket. Those responsible for the app claims to be “the world's largest ministry to individuals and families impacted by homosexuality”.

Exodus International on its site claims homosexuality is outside "God's will”. The app last week has been given a 4+ rating from Apple on the App Store. TWO are disgusted with the app and have described it as unacceptable, and want it removed immediately.

They feel as Apple would never allow anti-Semitic or racist apps, allowing this anti-gay application Apple are guilty of double standards. Apple was faced with a similar situation last year with an app which was against gay marriage, but they sided with gay rights and removed the app.

Do you think Apple should remove the app from the iTunes Store?

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GM Cuts Companywide: Includes Jobs

Posted: 20 Mar 2011 03:49 AM PDT

GM Cuts Companywide: Includes Jobs

The repercussions are starting to be felt following the Japanese disaster, and the latest news is in the auto industry. GM cuts have been announced to stop any spending they state as "unnecessary", which will be felt companywide.

There will be a shortage of parts that General Motors needs following the tsunami and earthquake in Japan, and this is why GM released news about their cuts to counter the financial implications. This is a smart move to avoid any future problems, which should be avoided considering the financial trouble the automakers have felt in recent years.

GM plans cuts in jobs and a number of other resources, these include running limited shifts at select plants, and temporarily closing the Zaragoza plant in Spain. The United States will see a pickup plant in Louisiana affected, which will see production halted.

You can read more about the above cut backs here, and the official GM media pages show the latest news about cost saving taking place. The latest release shows GM's statement on the impact of Japan's earthquake.

You can keep up on more auto related news in our auto section. Will you be hit by the latest General Motors cuts?

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Dragon Age 2 Review: 6 Pros and 11 Cons

Posted: 20 Mar 2011 01:40 AM PDT

Dragon Age 2 Review: 6 Pros and 11 Cons

Following the release of Dragon Age 2 it has been met with a lot of negative feedback, and while the game is good as an action RPG, we are getting reports that DA2 falls short for depth, which is just what a game like this needs.

Check out the pros and cons below that are thanks to one tipster (Maran), and let us know what you think about both the positive and negative, and feel free to give your overview of Dragon Age 2.

Pros:
1, Humor, the companions had some great lines!
2, Return of a few old faces but once again few major parts for loved characters. Thankfully the new characters are quite a lot of fun, but lack any what you would call evil characters. Chaotic Neutral at best.
3, Somewhat more balanced classes, with melee two hander's being the new arcane mages. You can still make tank mages, when you understand how overpowered AOE is generally and how blood magic can also become overpowered once again.
4, Generally speaking if you just want to blow off some steam and not care about what you are killing or why, it is an enjoyable experience in maybe 30-minute bursts.
5, Interface is fine. There are some small odd bugs with character faces or camera angles being limited so it works and is practical.
6, Couple of great quests amongst the many terrible ones. The Serial killer quest was an example of what Dragon Age Origins was in many ways, a small glimpse of greatness.

Cons:
1, Repetitive Areas, which limit the desire to finish the quests let alone replay anything.
2, Limited Armor selection, making for more basic gameplay. AOE everything equals win, making for completely mindless combat unless you are playing on nightmare.
3, Your quest choices don’t affect the story, they just add fluff; it is tough to shake the feeling and that is the biggest disappointment of all. This problem is even more exaggerated with the reuse of areas.
4, No real ending for the companions we’d spent 50 hours or so with, what happened to anyone? No Epilogue, no closure. Knowing Bioware they won’t wrap this up in the sequel either as we’ll have all new characters.
5, Bad pacing and quest design at times. This was hinted above, the serial killer quest finding your mother is a great quest and an example of feeling compelled to finish it. As an example of bad pacing, I’d finished quests before being told I had them, which in my first hour or two confused the hell out of me. Pick up an item in an office and talk to a random NPC – then I'd been rewarded with no idea I had a quest or any dialogue except a thank you, bizarre.
6, A further example of pacing problems, waves of enemies making all fights feel the same, bar one or two boss battles which thankfully break up the repetitive AOE, AOE, AOE, Heal (Maybe or just yawn), AOE combat.
7, Too few healer NPCs.
8, No Mod Support to fix the above or give us replay value, which this title really needs help with being set in the same landscapes. With Mod tools people could have fixed the waves and perhaps opened up a few new areas but no dice.
9, Reusing the same concepts all the way through the game. (Bandit Waves), (Demons, Demons, Demons), (Mages and Templar's are all insane, You won’t find much attachment to any of them, and to be honest an option to kill them both at the end of it all was needed. At the end of it all though it doesn’t matter a bit, as it all players the same anyway).
10, Less interaction with companions, and instead being forced to run around the city (Again) just to talk to them.
11, There is not an area of the game that was made more complex, engaging or added any depth, not one.

Do you agree with the pros and cons listed above? Let us know your thoughts on Dragon Age 2.

Thanks Maran

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Xbox 360 Graphics Boost Instead of Xbox 720 Release

Posted: 19 Mar 2011 08:26 AM PDT

Xbox 360 Graphics Boost Instead of Xbox 720 Release

Although we recently heard reports that Microsoft was hiring for an unannounced new gaming project, which many believe is the next generation Xbox console (aka Xbox 720), it looks like they also have other things up their sleeve such as developing new technology for the Xbox 360.

According to a recent gamersmint.com article by Cyborg, the company is developing new technology for the current Xbox console, which is said to use a system called Mega Meshes that will support tessellation units of console as well as increase the polygon count and level of detail on future Xbox 360 exclusives.

The first title said to be supporting this new technology is Lionhead's Project Milo (aka Milo & Kate), which unfortunately won't ever see a retail release as it was only meant as a tech demo to showcase the capabilities of the Xbox 360 Kinect peripheral.

Ben Sugden, Lionhead's lead programmer, held a presentation at the 2011 Game Developers Conference recently, showcasing some of the technology in use for Project Milo and providing us with a glimpse of what the visuals will look like in the future.

You can view a few screenshots that were taken from the GDC presentation video over on the gamersmint.com website. What do you think of the new technology?

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Reasons New iPhone 5 Release Needs NFC

Posted: 19 Mar 2011 07:34 AM PDT

Reasons New iPhone 5 Release Needs NFC

There has been quite a lot of talk about the much-awaited Apple iPhone 5 recently, especially about the features that we'd all like to see included. One feature that appears to have come up in a lot of conversations is Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.

Although recent reports have claimed that the iPhone 5 will not have this much-wanted feature, there are many reasons why it should be included. One obvious reason is the fact that it would enable users to pay for things with their iPhone, just by swiping it over a special reader.

In other words, no need to carry cards with you anymore!!! What if you could use the NFC technology on your phone to exchange contacts with someone? That means you wouldn't have to have your battery-munching Bluetooth or Wi-Fi switched on.

The chance of it ever happening is unlikely, but imagine how good it would be if the NFC technology on your smartphone replaced your passport. There'd be no more digging around in your bag for your passport, as you'd just have to wave your phone in front of a reader instead.

Can you think of any more reasons why we need Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in the iPhone 5, or perhaps reasons why we don't need it?

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Killzone 3 (KZ3) Disappointing Multiplayer, Declaration Given

Posted: 19 Mar 2011 06:41 AM PDT

Killzone 3 (KZ3) Disappointing Multiplayer, Declaration Given

Guerrilla Games' Killzone 3 game may well have taken the top spot away from Call of Duty: Black Ops when it was first released, but it doesn't appear to have left a good impression with everyone. In fact, some even suggested that the Killzone 3 game could do with some improvements.

One element of the game that appears to have disappointed gamers the most is the multiplayer mode. RayeD_X over at rayedx.blogspot.com has recently provided a list of reasons why he hated Killzone 3's multiplayer, starting with the fact that the controls have now changed

Another reason RayeD_X doesn't like the multiplayer mode is the fact that they've made the maps bigger, and reduced the amount of players in a match from 32 to 24 to make the KZ3 game more like Battlefield: Bad Company 2. The addition of a matchmaking system is another reason given.

RayeD_X also claims that everyone in the Killzone 3 multiplayer is aiming down their sights from a 2 meter distance, which was only used to hit someone from far away in Killzone 2. RayeD_X described both the new clan system and the multiplayer trophies as a joke.

For example, if players win a match in all three Killzone 3 multiplayer modes they receive a gold trophy, which RayeD_X says is too easy!! Other reasons inlcude the graphics looking cartoonish, the menu looking annoying and the fact that you can't throw a grenade while running like you could in Killzone 2.

See what other reasons RayeD_X gave for not liking Killzone 3 multiplayer over on the rayedx.blogspot.com website. What are your impressions of the Killzone 3 multiplayer mode? You can read Daniel Chubb’s hands-on review of the Killzone 3 game here.

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HTC Thunderbolt Rooted Relatively Quick

Posted: 19 Mar 2011 06:38 AM PDT

HTC Thunderbolt Rooted Relatively Quick

After just being available for a short time the HTC Thunderbolt has been rooted already. This has been an increasing story recently with Android handsets, but having the HTC Thunderbolt rooted as quickly as this on the Verizon's 4G LTE network is more surprising.

Blake from Intomobile is reporting in an article the actual method is not yet available, as a custom recovery cannot be currently installed. Once this is available it will then be released to the public. Doing this to the already good handset will improve it even more.

Rooting your Thunderbolt can be a great thing providing you don't download pirated Android apps. The handset has seen a lot of coverage of late, and after it has been available for a while longer we can expect to see a lot more activity with the hacking side of things.

Getting a recovery working for the handset shouldn't take long considering it has been rooted after only a couple of days, as long as HTC didn't lock their handset down too much. You can follow the root thread for yourself by clicking here.

Will you root your HTC Thunderbolt? How have you found the handset?

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Live cricket score updates improve with Cricitch app

Posted: 19 Mar 2011 05:09 AM PDT

Live cricket score updates improve with Cricitch app

A free application which keeps fans updated with live cricket scores has recently been updated with some great new features. Cricitch promises to be the most comprehensive application of its kind for owners of the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

The app covers events such as the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup, IPL T20, Twenty20, IT20, T20, and Test Cricket matches. Information is provided in near real-time feeds, and for LIVE Cricket T20, ODI and T20I matches a special view is provided which shows details of batters and bowler in the current over.

There is now live ball by ball coverage of Test Matches thanks to the recent update. Other features include score projections, future match countdown, innings details, see next set of batters, match filtering by date range, and much more.

Cricitch 3.0.2 is available worldwide free of charge on the App Store. iOS 3.1.3 or later required.

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Darkspore Release Date Delayed: Open Beta Announced

Posted: 19 Mar 2011 04:51 AM PDT

Darkspore Release Date Delayed: Open Beta Announced

We have some rather disappointing news now for those of you that are waiting for the launch of the Darkspore game for Microsoft Windows, as both the developer Maxis and the publisher Electronic Arts have just confirmed that the release date has now been delayed.

As Nick Chester at destructoid.com recently noted, the sci-fi action-RPG was originally due to be released at the end of this month, but EA and Maxis announced that the game will now be arriving in North American stores on April 26th and European stores on April 28th.

However, it doesn't appear to be all bad news for the Darkspore game, as an open beta has now been announced for April. An EA spokesperson confirmed that an open beta would begin in April, noting the positive response and feedback that was received over the course of the closed beta.

The open beta period will of course allow even more gamers to experience the upcoming Darkspore game before it is finally released, as well as enabling the team to incorporate additional feedback from the players and add a little more polish to the much-anticipated game.

The spokesperson also announced that there will be other closed betas, which will allow select players to experience new updates to the game. Are you disappointed that the Darkspore title isn't releasing this month as originally planned?

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