Review: 'Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings' extends legacy with a deep storyline

Each level Geralt gains gives him points to unlock new abilities, and every ability has two levels to unlock for maximum impact.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The game was recently ported to the Xbox 360 to open it up to console audience
• The swordsmanship tree is all about the combat and boosting defenses
• The mature plot is handled very well while not getting bogged down for drama's sake

(CNN) -- Let me start by saying "Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings" is rated 'M for Mature' for a very good reason. There is more cursing in the game than at a Yankees/Red Sox playoff game and quite a bit of nearly full frontal nudity.

Developers at CD Projekt RED have been very upfront about this title being for adult audiences and make sure people can't be surprised by the content.

Even the storyline involving, monster-hunter extraordinaire Geralt of Rivia, is more in line with a plot from "Game of Thrones" with its political intrigue, backstabbing and power struggles, than your typical "kill the monsters" role playing game (RPG).

"Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings" was released last year as a PC-exclusive title, but the game was recently ported to the Xbox 360 to open it up to console audiences. The "Enhanced Edition" for the Xbox 360 also offers new content, about four more hours of gameplay and many updates to the interface.

Using the Xbox 360 controller to narrate the action can be quite the agility test. Each button, including the triggers and shoulder buttons, will be used constantly and, sometimes, in a hurry. Preparations for combat, which are almost always necessary, will require multiple button pushes to cycle through numerous menus for potions, oils and the like.

If hacking and slashing your way through a campaign is your style, this game is not for you. Here, combat is largely about proper preparation before battle, then making sure to use the right combination of attacks -- depending upon your opponents.

Fortunately, the action slows or stops when you try to access magic ("signs"), but that also requires a couple of button mashes, some joystick movement, then more mashing to get back to the action.

While the PC version allows for hotkeys to make accessing abilities faster and easier, the console controller doesn't have that option. It takes some getting used to, but becomes second nature as the game progresses.

As with most RPGs, there is a certain amount of hunting and gathering that goes on. All different kinds of herbs, trinkets and supplies are lying around, waiting for Geralt to pick them up and convert them into potions, armor or oils. Inventories will fill up fast, but you'll need every scrap to gain advantages in combat.

Leveling up through earned experience allows players to augment certain abilities through skill trees. A training skill tree is unlocked at the beginning and lets players enhance abilities. The other three trees will help shape how Geralt plays and where his strengths will lie.

A magic skill tree powers up spells and unlocks new mystical abilities. The alchemy skill tree boosts gathering and blending abilities as well as increasing the effects of potions and oils. The swordsmanship tree is all about the combat, boosting defenses and damage through different skills learned.

Players will have to concentrate on one of the three specialty trees to really get the best abilities. Each level Geralt gains gives him points to unlock new abilities, and every ability has two levels to unlock its maximum impact.

The environments are fabulously rendered and the lighting is superb. Buildings have their own individuality and subterranean areas don't just feel like recipients of a copy-and-paste tool job that some games appear to rely upon. Different races look and sound unique and the level of immersion is very deep and rich.

The missions and side missions follow along a fairly laid-out path. For all the environmental splendor, there is little reason to go wandering around the countryside unless you just want to see how much work the developers put into the forests (hint: a lot; it is gorgeous).

The story is all about king-killing, kingdom-making and political intrigue. Some of the dialog would probably play out very well in the halls of Congress (minus all the swearing, I think). Even though Geralt is a renowned monster hunter, there are very few true monsters to be slain. Yet, it is all done within the context of the story and accomplished very well.

A few buggy moments slow down the game. Following other characters during missions can be hit and miss as the leader is stopped or slowed down by every rock, twig and bump in the road. However, it only bogs down the pace and never crashes the game.

Overall, "Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings" does a great job of extending its legacy with a deep storyline, intricate combat and a level of immersion that keeps players interested and involved. The mature plot is handled very well, not getting bogged down in the minutiae of drama for drama's sake.

Cursing and nudity aside, the mature themes are really aimed at an audience who is interested in living the lifestyle of another the era rather than just killing everything in sight.

"Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings" is available now for the Xbox 360. It was previously released for the Windows PC in May 2011. It is rated M for Mature due to blood and gore, intense violence, nudity, strong language, strong sexual content, and use of drugs. This review was done with the Enhanced Edition for the Xbox 360.

First Ivy Bridge Ultrabook Laptops to Launch June 5

Monday marked the debut of Intel's third-generation processor family--code-named Ivy Bridge--but the first round of 13 of the quad-core chips was reserved for high-end desktops and laptops. These first-round chips will not go in mainstream computers or even trendy Ultrabooks.

 
The processor upgrade is not far behind for Ultrabooks, however; the first Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks should be hitting retail shelves the first week of June.
The date will be June 5, to be precise, according to Scott Pendrey, a desktop product manager at Intel, as quoted in a Techworld report. Despite the six-month gap between today’s unveiling of the Ivy Bridge processors and the Ivy Bridge Ultrabook launch, Techworld writes that Intel’s “real target for Ivy Bridge processors is Ultrabooks.”
Considering the new chips’ main advantages over the second-generation Sandy Bridge processors, I’m inclined to agree. Ultrabooks--and laptops in general--seem to be the real winners when it comes to upgrading to Ivy Bridge. PCWorld benchmarks of the Ivy Bridge processor found moderate CPU performance gains--but, more importantly for laptop users, improved performance and longer battery life. Intel Vice President Kirk Saugen told BBC that both performance and power efficiency are improved by 20 percent in Ivy Bridge when compared to earlier Sandy Bridge processors.
The biggest improvement, though--also significant for Ultrabook and mainstream laptop buyers--is seen in graphics benchmarks. For very intensive laptop gaming (e.g., running games like Skyrim or Crysis 2), you’ll still need a discrete graphics card, but Ivy Bridge’s impressive integrated graphics can handle most videos, games, and graphics smoothly--saving you $50 or more for a discrete video card.ntel recently announced 75 Ultrabooks are in the works, including touchscreen hybrids, and that the price of Ultrabooks will drop to $699. However, AMD “Trinity” ultrathin laptops are expected to compete against Intel Ultrabooks on both graphics performance and pricing. So expect this summer to be a very hot one for laptop buying.

The 11-inch gaming laptop lives, with the new Origin Eon 11-S

Alienware's once-popular M11x may be heading for retirement, but boutique rival Origin is keeping the ultraportable gaming laptop alive.

(Credit: Origin)

The 11-inch gaming laptop is the textbook definition of a niche product. In fact, up until now, there's really only been one serious entry in that category, Dell's Alienware M11x. Origin (coincidentally co-founded by some former Alienware employees) is now getting into the game, with the Eon 11-S, which the company calls a "compact high-performance laptop."
Interestingly, this new model won't actually double the number of 11-inch gaming laptops available, as the Alienware model is being quietly discontinued. That's a shame, as we liked the M11x, even if it wasn't the most practical for either serious PC gamers, or portability obsessed travellers.
Taking a bit of a shot at the current trend for slim ultrabook-style laptops, Origin CEO and co-founder Kevin Wasielewski says, "Everyone dreams of a laptop that is smaller, lighter, has a longer battery life and has the ability to play all of the latest PC games well. The EON11-S makes that dream a reality and without making any 'ultra-sacrifices.'"

(Credit: Origin)

The new Origin Eon 11-S will debut with Intel's new third-generation Core i-series processors and Nvidia's GT 650M graphics, which sounds like a basis for a good gaming rig. The company claims 6.5 hours of battery life (with Nvidia's Optimus technology switching the GPU off as needed), and a weight under four pounds. Like the recent Eon 17-S update, the 11-inch version will also include Origin's new finned (and frankly, a bit Alienware-like) back lid design.
The highly customizable Origin Eon 11-S is available to order now, and starts at $999.
Source: news.cnet.com

Tracking diseases using Google Maps and cell phones

Researchers at UCLA digitize rapid diagnostic tests to test for diseases such as HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis with less user error.
Many of us have relied on rapid diagnostic tests at one time or another, whether it's testing for pregnancy, blood glucose levels, or strep throat.
But while dropping fluid samples on a small strip for near-instantaneous results is affordable and convenient, reading results using the human eye means there is the potential for, well, human error.

Aydogan Ozcan demonstrates his team's RDT cell phone attachment.

(Credit: Screenshot by Elizabeth Armstrong Moore/CNET)

So researchers at UCLA have taken the human out of the equation as much as possible and developed a digital "universal" reader for all rapid diagnostic tests, or RDTs, that requires no translation of results.
In the journal Lab on a Chip, the team of engineers describes the device as an RDT-reader attachment that clips onto a cell phone (they used iPhones and Android-based smartphones). At 65 grams, the attachment consists of an inexpensive lens, two AAA batteries, and three LED arrays.
The researchers say the attachment can read almost every type of RDT available; all the user does is insert the RDT strip into the attachment, which is then converted into a digital image via the phone's built-in camera.
An app then determines two things: whether the digital RTD is valid and whether the results are positive or negative. But the team didn't stop there. They have the reader transmit these results wirelessly to a server for processing, storage, and mapping via Google Maps to track the spread of specific conditions and diseases globally over time.

"This platform would be quite useful for global health professionals, as well as for policymakers, to understand cause-effect relationships at a much larger scale for combating infectious diseases," Aydogan Ozcan, a UCLA electrical engineering and bioengineering professor, said in a school news release.
We first wrote about Ozcan's work back in 2009, when he was adapting cell phones to sample biological images via the camera, not a microscope. He has since developed several cell phone attachments that take advantage of the digital components already built into the phones, not to mention cloud-based monitoring.
Should this device come to market and be widely used, we may all be afforded the opportunity to see, in real time, which diseases are trending where, and whether it's a good idea to leave the house on any given day.

Source: Cnet

Sony 'Hayabusa' may be 4.5-inch flagship handset

Expected to arrive in July, the Sony LT29i Hayabusa has the makings of a top-notch Android.

Sony's next big Android should be the Hayabusa.

(Credit: BriefMobile)

The last, and only, time we spoke of the Sony LT29i, we saw it listed on a leaked 2012 road map.
With an expected price of 493 euros ($650 U.S.), I can assume only that it would be something worthy of flagship status. And if today's rumored details prove to be correct, then that is exactly what we'll be getting this summer.
Said to be powered by Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the LT29i, aka the Hayabusa, is pegged with a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 chipset with an upgraded graphics processor unit. The battery is listed as being 2,200mAh, which puts it slightly above most of today's Android smartphones. As impressive as this all sounds, consider that Sony is rumored to squeeze this into a 7mm case.
What's more, BriefMobile is reporting that the LT29i will feature a 4.55-inch 720p HD display and boast a 13-megapixel camera with high dynamic range video. For Sony it would be its largest screen and highest-resolution camera so far.
I'll be curious to see how Sony approaches this model in terms of release and availability. Will it simply scatter the phone across the globe in a seemingly random manner or will it attack the market with multiple carriers per region? We'll soon find out as the Hayabusa is now rumored with a June announcement and July release.
Source: Cnet

New BlackBerry phones a no-show at BlackBerry World

Research In Motion will use its upcoming conference to unveil its BlackBerry 10 platform, but don't expect any new products to make an appearance.

The BlackBerry 9900 made its debut at last year's BlackBerry World event. No phones will be shown off this time around.

(Credit: CNET)

Eager to see Research In Motion's latest and greatest phones at BlackBerry World next week? Prepare to be disappointed.
RIM will be taking a software-heavy approach this year, using the event to formally unveil its BlackBerry 10 operating system.
"We are not unveiling any BlackBerry 10 hardware," a company representative confirmed to CNET.
There's never been a more crucial BlackBerry World than this next event. The annual confab is a chance for BlackBerry developers, product enthusiasts, and business partners to take in RIM's latest and future wares. This year, RIM has the added task of convincing its shrinking band of supporters that the company is still worth taking a chance on amid declining market share and the notion that it is too far gone to be saved.
Its single hope: the BlackBerry 10 platform build on QNX, which also powers its PlayBook software. The platform represents a break from its older -- almost archaic -- BlackBerry operating system and is the company's best hope at mounting a comeback. CEO Thorsten Heins sees it more than simple software for phones; he said during the last quarterly conference call that he believes multiple devices beyond phones will emerge from BlackBerry 10.
His strategy isn't unique; Google's Android and Apple's iOS both power multiple types of mobile devices, while Microsoft's Windows 8 will be extended to PCs, laptops, and tablets.
RIM will make its case that it too should be included in the conversation next week at BlackBerry World in Orlando, Fla. The company plans to launch a beta version of its BlackBerry 10 toolkit. Developers in attendance will also be getting a Dev Alpha device, according to a RIM representative. The device, however, isn't a BlackBerry 10 phone, nor will it be running the software.
The event will also likely be a showcase for the apps that are currently being developed for BlackBerry 10. A few developers will be showing off demonstrations of what they are building for BlackBerry 10.
Still, the lack of hardware has to be disappointing to some BlackBerry fans who were expecting a strong showing at the event. Last year, RIM used the conference to debut its BlackBerry Bold 9900, its flagship phone last year. The phone marked the first device to use its BlackBerry 7 operating system, which was an update of its older platform.
RIM has maintained that it plans to launch the first BlackBerry 10 phone in the second half, with some speculation that it may emerge in August and hit stores in October.

Source: news Cnet

Nokia demos indoor-location tracking with 'white space' tech

Nokia and 17 other technology and broadcast companies are working in the U.K. to demonstrate how white-space TV spectrum can be used to help track and locate devices indoors.
Nokia and several other technology companies are showing off some innovative uses for unlicensed "white space" technology in a trial in the United Kingdom.

For the past 10 months, the handset maker has been working to demonstrate applications for the white-space spectrum in trial alongside 17 other technology companies and TV broadcasters, including the BBC, BSkyb, BT, Microsoft, Virgin Media, and Samsung.
"White space" refers to unused wireless spectrum that sits between broadcast TV channels and was originally used as a buffer to mitigate interference. For the most part, white-space spectrum is unused. But in some places, it's used for other wireless gear such as microphones. As a result, technology companies that want to use the spectrum for Internet access have had to demonstrate that by using a database query system interference can be mitigated. And the white-space spectrum can essentially be used between different entities.
This particular trial, which took place at the Imperial War Museum near Cambridge, shows how useful white-space technology can be used for indoor location-based services. Satellite GPS is great for locating users outside, but the signal is lost indoors. The white-space technology and database makes it much easier to map and track things indoors. Researchers set up the demonstration in the hopes of showing off the technology to U.K. regulators, who are expected to put a framework in place to allow white-space spectrum to be used.
In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission approved the use of these unlicensed airwaves in 2010. But so far no devices have been built that actually use the unlicensed spectrum. The demonstration in the U.K. is a good example of how the technology can be useful.
According to an article about the demonstration on Nokia's Web site, researcher Scott Probasco used the unlicensed wireless spectrum to set up a wireless network that delivers information on different exhibits to a Nokia N9. Since the technology hasn't been put into a chip yet, a large portable receiver was connected via USB to the Nokia N9.
White-space devices naturally have good location features built in, mainly because to use the spectrum, the devices must check a database to make sure that they are not operating on spectrum that's already being used by other devices.
In the trial, researchers used this location tracking to push rich multimedia content to the device.
"You know when you go to a museum and you put the headset on, and listen to the information about what you're seeing," Probasco told Nokia for its article on the trial. "Well, this basically does away with that."
The Nokia N9 can detect a museum patron's location as he or she wanders through the exhibit. The museum is able to push tidbits of information, such as a video or text, directly to the device as someone passes by a particular part of the museum.
Probasco said that eventually store owners could use the same technology to deliver marketing information to customers as they shop in the store, pushing coupons and other special offers to shoppers.
There have already been several demonstrations of how white spaces can be used throughout the world. And regulators have been working to establish rules and set the spectrum aside for unlicensed use. But getting devices in the hands of customers is still a few years away. First, a standard needs to be developed. It's currently being worked on. After that, chips can be developed and mass produced to fit inside smartphones and other products.
Meanwhile, Nokia and other technology companies are looking at doing other trials in places, such as Brazil, Singapore, and Finland.

Source: news.cnet