Great Video Games

 

Got a gamer on your holiday shopping list? Of course you do. Everyone’s playing games these days, but every game isn’t for every gamer. Some like to run amok in giant open worlds; others prefer to shoot bad guys, race karts, or slay dragons. Whatever his or her interest, there’s a game out there for the gamer in your life this season.

Super Smash Bros. (Wii U, 3DS)

Genre: Action, fighting

Mascots duke it out on Nintendo’s two systems, and both versions of the game are terrific. The Wii U version gets the edge, though, thanks to better controls, support for up to eight players on the same couch, and compatibility with Nintendo’s new Amiibo toy line. Either way, this chaotic brawler is spectacularly fun for the whole family.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor (Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Genre: Action, open-world

You don’t need a degree in Middle-earth lore to fall for this innovative open-world romp, but you do need some serious skills. Not only do you have to avenge your family’s death by surviving the dangers of Sauron’s blasted lands, but an organic, ever-changing hierarchy of orc warchiefs will stop at nothing to put you in the ground.
  

Sunset Overdrive (Xbox One)

Genre: Action, open-world

What would happen if you blended an open-world game like Infamous with an extreme sports game like Tony Hawk? Toss in a bazillion mutants, hilarious writing, insane weapons, a punk-rock soundtrack, and one very nasty energy drink, and it might look a bit like the ridiculously fun Sunset Overdrive.

Bayonetta 2 (Wii U)

Genre: Action, combat-heavy

Think the Wii U is just for kids? Then you haven’t seen Bayonetta do her stuff. You’ll fight monsters while balancing on the wings of a fighter jet darting between skyscrapers. And that’s just

level one. Imagine what happens at level seven. Actually, you can’t, because this totally insane, over-the-top demon killer goes places no game has gone before.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Genre: Shooter

Time-shifting Call of Duty into the future was a bold move for the long-running shooter — and one that paid off. Advanced Warfare revitalizes the franchise with exciting new gear, jump jets, deep multiplayer customization, outstanding graphics, and even a little Kevin Spacey. It’s the series’ best effort in years.

Far Cry 4 (Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Genre: Shooter

The latest Far Cry builds on the strengths of its predecessors. Set in the exotic Himalayas, Far Cry 4 gives players insane amounts of freedom to create awesome spectacles, like terrorizing a village while shooting rockets from the back of a rampaging elephant. Yeah.

Destiny (Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3)

Genre: Shooter

It might not have lived up to expectations, but Destiny gets a lot of things right. The sublime shooting, for example, or the bags and bags worth of loot. Find some friends and you can burn a few weekends leveling up — and then the real fun begins.

Dragon Age: Inquisition (Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Genre: Role-playing

On the short-list for 2014’s Game of the Year, the third entry in the Dragon Age saga is quickly cementing its status as an instant classic. Merging the best elements of its two predecessors, Inquisition is incredibly generous with its content. There’s so much to do here that once you start playing, you’re liable to find yourself stumbling, bleary-eyed, out into the sunlight days later trying to remember what your “other” life was like.

Bravely Default (3DS)

Genre: Role-playing

Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs) aren’t quite as hot as they once were, but 3DS owners looking for something massive to sink their teeth into shouldn’t pass this one up. Great combat, deep tactics, and a beautifully realized world await those with the nerve — and time — to give it a shot.

Dark Souls II (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)

Genre: Action, role-playing

Yes, yes, Dark Souls II is punishingly hard. You will die, and die, and die as you inch your way through a huge, dangerous world. But stick with it, and you’ll find one of the most rewarding, thrilling games of the year. Pro tip: If you’ve got an Xbox One or PS4, you might want to hold off. It’s coming to those systems in 2015.

Mario Kart 8 (Wii U)

Genre: Racing

It’s-a him! And his friends! And they’re doing what they do best: race karts around wild tracks while dropping bananas, powering up with mushrooms, and flinging shells at one another. A technical showpiece with butter-smooth gameplay, it’s one of the best Mario Karts yet.

Forza Horizon 2 (Xbox One)

Genre: Racing

You can take a 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa off-roading through a European vineyard in this lush, open-world racing game, and you won’t need to fix up the scratches. Bursting with cars and packed with tons of races, Horizon 2 masterfully toes the line between arcade and simulation.

FIFA 15 (Most platforms except Wii U)

Genre: Sports

Has your World Cup fever subsided? Kick it back up a few degrees with this fantastic soccer sim. Replete with teams, players, moves, and modes, FIFA 15 is another beautifully detailed version of the world’s biggest sport.

Skylanders: Trap Team (Most platforms)

Genre: Family, action, toys

Activision’s billion-dollar baby isn’t slowing down. This year's twist on the formula lets you “trap” in-game villains in little plastic toys, and while it sounds like a gimmick, it’s a pretty awesome trick. Trap Team’s great gameplay and terrific delivery make the inevitable purchase of extra toys tolerable, and bonus points to the Skylanders crew for making the exact same game available on consoles and tablets.

The Wolf Among Us (Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, PC, iOS)

Genre: Adventure

The Big Bad Wolf, Snow White, Ichabod Crane, and other mythical characters star in Telltale’s latest adventure game. Set in the shady world of Bill Willingham’s Fable’s comics, it spins a dark yarn perfect for fans of great storytelling. Though it initially came out episodically, you can now grab the whole first season on one handy disc.

Source : https://www.yahoo.com/tech/20-great-video-games-to-c1416961330056.html

9 Typing Shortcuts to Make You an iPhone Keyboard Warrior

You’ve probably already spent a significant amount of your daily life navigating your iPhone’s keyboard. Though that’s probably a necessary evil of your busy life, it’s not ideal.

Luckily, Apple’s engineers anticipated your phone addiction and built in a few great shortcuts to make communicating as fast and painless as possible. Below, a roundup of some of the best time-saving features:

1. Double-tap your space bar to add a period at the end of your sentence.When you’ve finished a sentence and want to add a period, you usually have to switch to the numbers keyboard.

But if you simply tap the space bar twice, your keyboard will automatically add a period and a space at the end of whatever you were typing. As a bonus, it also activates the arrow-shaped Shift key so that the first letter of your next sentence will be capitalized.

2. Switch between the numbers and letters keyboards faster.It’s similarly annoying to have to switch between the alphabetic and numeric keyboards when you’re entering a complex password. You can make that process go a bit smoother by holding down the 123 keyboard key …

… and then sliding your finger to the digit you’d like to select.

As soon as you release your finger, the keyboard will type the number you chose and automatically switch back to QWERTY form.

3. Add abbreviations.You can program basic abbreviations into your phone. They’re helpful for a range of things, from the words you often misspell to your login info for different accounts.

To add your own, go to Settings → General → Keyboard → Add New Shortcut.

Enter in the phrase in question and the shortcut you’ve come up with for it. (If you need ideas, check out our list of suggestions here.) When you’re done, tap Save.

4. Add emoji or other languages to your keyboard.The other day my aunt asked me to add emoji to her keyboard. She knows and loves emoji but just assumed her phone didn’t have them. “I feel like I’ve been denied an emotional part of myself,” she said of her predicament. Here’s how you can access emoji or other languages anywhere on your phone, so you’re never so deprived.

Go to Settings → General → Keyboard and tap Keyboards.

Select Add New Keyboard, and an extensive list of international options will pop up. Scroll down and select Emoji or whatever other language you use frequently.

Next time you’re using your keyboard, look to the bottom-left side and select the globe or smiley-face icon (the symbol depends what version of iOS you’re using).

The keyboard will automatically appear.

5. Add Web suffixes in one quick tap.When you’re entering the last part of a Web address in your browser, hold down the period key instead of tapping it.

A list of endings will pop up, and you can tap whichever one you need. 

6. Toggle Caps Lock.If you’re in the mood to yell at someone, double-tap the arrow Shift key on the keyboard. It’ll change colors and lock you into using capital letters.

7. Quickly add accented letters.

If you need to add an accent to a word, simply hold down whatever letter key you need, and all the options for that character will show up. 

8. Hook up your iPhone to any Bluetooth keyboard.It can be annoying to type long emails on your iPhone’s touchscreen keyboard. But if you’re around a Bluetooth keyboard, you can connect it and type out a message much faster.

Just go to Settings → Bluetooth. Turn on your signal, and look for the keyboard under My Devices.

9. On your iPad, you can split your keyboard in half for easier typing.Place two fingers at the center of the keyboard and pull them away from each other.

The result is a less-cramped keyboard.

You can reverse the action at any time to put the board back together.

That’s the long and the short of it. These tips should save you a few seconds (and maybe some hand cramps, too!).

Source: https://www.yahoo.com/tech/9-typing-shortcuts-to-make-you-an-iphone-keyboard-95763850064.html

6 Awesome Things You Can Do in iOS 8’s New and Improved Messages

It’s been nearly two months since Apple debuted iOS 8. Now that the dust of its rather bumpy launch has settled — third-party keyboards fully functional and Apple Pay up and running — we can finally explore the new mobile operating system’s cool new features.

Messages, in particular, was one area that’s benefited greatly from the update. Not only has it made it easier to ignore people you hate, but it’s also expanded to the realm of self-destructing audio and video. Below, a list of some of the best new things you can do in the Apple-made texting app (including one little-known Easter egg).

1. Send your location.We’ve all been there: You end up at a restaurant with your friends in god knows what neighborhood, and you need to tell another friend where to meet you. Now, rather than getting the establishment’s name, address, or cross streets, you can simply send an exact map of your location to your friend.

To do that, open the conversation in question in your Messages app and select Details. This is how you access most of Messages’ cool features, as you’ll see later in this list.

You’ll then see a page that looks like the one below. This is basically a control panel for what you share with this contact. In this case, you’ll want to tap Send My Current Location.

If you’re using this feature for the first time, it’ll ask permission to use your location (say yes!). Then it will automatically send a map with your pinpointed location to your recipient, who can tap the bubble and open the Apple Maps app.

Unfortunately there’s no way to program your phone to send locations on Google Maps; it’ll have to be on Apple’s Maps app. Trust me, I checked.

2. Share where you are for specific periods of time.Location sharing works as a one-shot thing, but you can also set up your phone to continually share your location with any other iOS user. This is not a new concept: Apps like Swarm exist almost solely for this purpose, and Apple even made an unsuccessful app called Find My Friends that did the same thing, just less elegantly. Though it might seem creepy, it’s easy to control, and a helpful way for family members or roommates to keep track of you, or bug you if you’re near a grocery store and can pick up some milk.

The first thing you need to do is go to Settings → iCloud. Scroll down and, under the Advanced section, select Share My Location.

You’ll arrive at a page where you can flick that feature on.

After that, go to your messages and tap Details. This time around, select Share My Location.

A window will pop up and ask how serious you want this location tracking to be. That’s for you to decide. But unless you are a glittering angel, odds are that an indefinite share will probably help someone catch you in a lie eventually.

After you choose, you’ll be able to see the amount of time until the person’s ability to follow you expires.

Parents, feel free to exploit this feature to keep track of your kids. They’ll hate you forever for it, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Keep in mind, however, that excuses of dead batteries might not be entirely made up: Constantly using GPS can really drain a phone.

3. Send self-destructing audio clips.Open up a conversation and hold your finger over the microphone symbol on the bottom-right corner of the screen.

A gray sphere will pop up from below your finger and — beware! — your phone will immediately begin recording your message. When you’re all finished, swipe up to end and send. Or, if you were horribly ineloquent, swipe to the left and the message will automatically be deleted.

Once it’s sent, you have the option to make it a permanent message by tapping the word Keep underneath it.

Otherwise, you can control how long your recipient will be able to access your clip by going to Settings → Messages. Scroll down to Audio Messages and then select Expire. Currently you have the choice between a two-minute expiration or “never.” Adjust accordingly.

(The same instructions work for video messages.)

4. Mute someone.From time to time, we enter into conversations that become heated and, eventually, annoying. If you want someone to stop pestering you for a period of time — say for an important work meeting — you can simply turn off the notifications you typically get from his texts.

To do this, go to the conversation, select Details, and then flick the button next to Do Not Disturb.

Remember, whoever you mute doesn’t know he’s muted, and he’s also not blocked. You’ll still see whatever rant he goes off on the next time you open the conversation.

5. Eject yourself from iMessage group texts.Finally, our prayers have been answered! Well, sort of. You can eject yourself from group text conversations, but only when everyone is using iMessage and running the iOS 8 mobile operating system or higher. To remove yourself from a conversation, tap Details and then scroll down to Leave this Conversation.

It may or may not be grayed out and inaccessible, depending on whether everyone is running the latest version of the software. So if you’re a cool, hip, techie person living in San Francisco, the odds of this working are on your side.

6. Speak in pictographs.OK, this is more of a keyboard trick (one that I enthusiastically shared when I discovered it), but it’s still awesome. You can send pretty sophisticated emoticons by adding a Japanese keyboard on iOS.

Go to Settings → General → Keyboards and then select Keyboards again.

Scroll to the bottom of the page; select Add New Keyboard.

Tap Japanese.

Select Kana.

Now that it’s in your keyboard collection, you can access it by tapping the globe icon at the bottom-left corner of your screen.

Once you arrive at the Japanese keyboard, just tap the face at the bottom left of the screen.

It’ll show you a few automatic expressions above the keyboard, but you can see the entire (extensive) collection by tapping the up arrow on the right.

And there you have it: more emoticons than you know what to do with.