New Rising Media

View Original

The Round-up: iPhone 4S, Windows 8, Batman and Frequency

So it's fair enough to say that the title speaks for itself as to what the top stories were.

We have our full review of the iPhone 4S (not quite the iPhone 5 we expected from giga.de).  Simply put it's everything you expected it to be, which makes it one of the best smartphones on the market.  We also put the 4S through it's Deathgrip related paces to see how it fares up, and reviewed iOS5.  But there was more: lots more.

Possibly one of the best Batman stories ever told, we had a review of Batman: Arkham City this week.  A fantastically dark experience that engages you for every second of the 50+hours we were playing for.

Both of these landmark reviews seem to have overshadowed other big news this week (understandably).  Frequency Festival announced Touch Music will provide their energetic amalgamation of church music and a digital soundscape to the Lincoln Cathedral on day-one.  Alongside this, we also had a review of Metro-Boulot-Dodo's Four Seasons digital art exhibit.  Both fantastic experiences that will start the first digital culture festival in Lincoln with a metaphorical bang.

Moving to Nottingham, Gamecity6 will be the first place in Europe to play Fez; but we couldn't settle there, so they're offering a chance to play with creator, Phil Fish.  A fantastic opportunity for the nerd in you.

Microsoft are back in this week, as they seem to have heard the Student partners in Lincoln University.  They're updating Windows 8 with some well needed changes that we felt was missing; but there's still not an option to go for a classic start menu over the touch-centric Metro UI.

In other news: Google+ had contradicting figures of both doing well and not doing well, Darth Vader actor David Prowse will be doing a book signing at Waterstones Sheffield, Facebook doesn't affect your grades, we respond to Gabe Newell's comments against the threat of curation, and GTA 3 is coming to iOS and Android for it's 10th anniversary.

So that leaves next week.  Frequency Festival starts, and New Rising Media will be there.  Samsung and Google will announce their next phone on the 19th, and New Rising Media will be blogging there also (busy times.)  We'll also have a review of Forza Motorsport 4 (this week's pick of the week for a very good reason), Gamecity announcements, a shed load of editorial (we've become really opinionated lately), all the infographics you could dream of and another Game Pick of the week to tide away the winter months...oh yea, and we interview Siri.