June 2015 – Mattina Technology

What I liked at E3 2015

Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony showed off a variety of games at this years E3 Conference. There were several games that stood out to me and I can’t wait to play them.

Microsoft showed off Halo 5: Guardians, and the gameplay looks great. The trailer makes it seem like the player will be hunting Master Chief. It definitely seems like a different take on Halo and I can’t wait to jump into the action. There is also a new multiplayer mode called Warzone. This new mode allows ups to 24 players; in the past Halo games have only supported 16 players.

I also liked what I saw from Starwars Battlefront. The visuals and sound effects are superior to the original Battlefront games. One of the trailers showed multiplayer battles on Hoth and they include AT-AT’s and AT-ST’s. They also include X-Wings, Tie Fighters and Snowspeeders. It is great that vehicles are returning and I can’t wait to get into the action. The game play footage also showed that players can play as Jedi and Sith when they activate a power up. Everything looks really polished and this is my most anticipated game of 2015. However, I am disappointed that there is no campaign mode.

Many Nintendo fans were not impressed by Nintendo’s E3 Direct. However, I liked several of the games that they showed off during their direct. I liked what I saw from Star Fox Zero. It looks like the player can transform their ship into several different vehicles. This new mechanic looks really cool and I think that it will add a lot to the gameplay. It has been a while since Nintendo has released a main series Star Fox game. I also thought Mario Maker looked like a lot of fun. Nintendo is giving the user a ton of different assets and tools to use. It looks like the player can randomly drop Bowser in the middle of any level. This game looks crazy and I can’t wait to see what other people create. I am also pretty excited for the new Mario Tennis game. The player can get a power up that makes them grow huge. I have always enjoyed the Mario Tennis games and hopefully this one delivers.

What was your favorite game at E3 this year and what games are you excited for this year?

-MT

Xbox Partners with Oculus Rift

Earlier today Microsoft and Facebook announced a partnership. The Oculus Rift will ship with the Xbox One controller. It will also be able to stream Xbox One games. The Oculus Rift is built with Windows 10 in mind and it should also be noted that the new Xbox One controller will be able to connect to the computer with a wireless adapter. The Oculus Rift is set to come out in Quarter 1 of 2016. What do you think of this new partnership?

Source: Microsoft

-MT

Microsoft Announces 1TB Xbox One

Yesterday, Microsoft announced that a new Xbox One is coming to the market. On June 16th Microsoft will release a 1TB Xbox One for $399. The new Xbox One will have a matte finish and an updated controller. The new controller will have a 3.5mm stereo headset jack and back bumpers that are updated for better performance. The new controller can also receive updates over Wi-Fi. It looks like a really cool package and it is great that they made the hard drive bigger. What do you think of the new Xbox One?

Source: Xbox Wire

-MT

Apple Shows off iOS 9

Apple also revealed iOS 9 at their developer conference. iOS 9 is Apple’s latest mobile operating system for iPhones and iPads. The new operating system includes battery optimization for an extra hour of battery life. It also includes a picture in picture mode. This will allow the user to work on two applications at once. For example, a user can have the email app open at the same time as the photos app. This is a great feature for multitasking.

Apple is also updating several applications in iOS 9. They are adding transit to Maps, discover support to Apple Pay and the ability to snap or draw a picture in Notes. Apple is also adding a News application to iOS 9. This application will allow individuals to access all of their news in one place. The app will support publishers like ESPN and The New York Times. I think that iOS 9 has some cool new features like picture in picture and I really like that Apple is adding their own News application. What do you think of iOS 9?

Source: Apple

-MT

Apple Reveals OS X El Capitan

Apple held their developers conference today. During the developer conference they revealed their latest computer operating system, OS X El Capitan. The new operating system is supposed to boost performance using the new technology, Metal. Metal is a new graphics technology that allows the main processor and the graphics processor to work together efficiently. It is supposed to make the system more fluid and responsive. They also revealed updates to some of their applications such as adding transit info to maps, adding extensions to photos and adding updates to the search bar. Apple also revealed their new Notes application that is supposed to sync between all Apple devices.

It looks like a more stable and faster update to OS X. OS X El Capitan is coming out in Fall 2015. My Mac had a lot of trouble handling OS X Yosemite; I might not be able to update to the latest OS X operating system. What do you think of Apple’s new operating system?

Source: Apple

-MT

Nintendo Announces Super Smash Direct for June 14th

Nintendo revealed today that they will be showing a mini direct for Super Smash Wii U and 3DS. It will air on June 14th at 7:40am Pacific Time and 10:40am Eastern Time. It will be hosted by the creator Masahiro Sakurai. The video presentation will go into detail about the new DLC that is coming out on June 14th. The new DLC includes Lucas, Splatoon Mii Fighter costumes and the Miiverse stage. I hope that Sakurai announces some new Super Smash DLC for the future as well. Some character predictions include Roy and Ryu. What would you like to see from the Super Smash direct?

Source: IGN

-MT

Lucas Joins Super Smash on June 14th

Nintendo of America revealed the release date of the new character, Lucas. Lucas will be coming to Super Smash Wii U and 3DS on June 14th. He is the second Earthbound character to join Super Smash Wii U and 3DS. Lucas was in Super Smash Bros Brawl and it will be cool to see him return. He will be paid DLC and he will cost $4.99 to own in both games. Will you be getting Lucas when he comes out on June 14th?

Source: Nintendo’s Twitter

-MT

New Star Wars Mobile game announced

Starwars.com revealed a new mobile game this week. It is called Star Wars: Uprising and it takes place after the events of Episode 6: Return of the Jedi. It is coming out this Fall for Android and Apple devices. It is a RPG game that is being developed by Kabam. It looks like it has a pretty interesting story; the story follows a band of rebels that strike out against the dwindling Empire. The game takes place on Hoth and Cloud City. What do you think of the new Star Wars mobile game?

-MT