Posts Tagged ‘microsoft surface’

RPS Feature Tablet or tablet's not?

Wot I Think: Microsoft Warface Surface Pro 2

I did an exceptionally silly thing. I bought one of Microsoft’s terribly expensive laptop/tablet hybrids, the Surface Pro 2. Upon realising how silly this was, because it’s hardly got much gameability and I can’t ever upgrade it, I returned it. That wasn’t the exceptionally silly thing, though. That happened when I realised how much I missed the Surface, so two days later I went out and bought another one. From a different shop, of course – I couldn’t have faced the look on the salesperson’s face otherwise.

I am pleased, if slightly guilt-wracked, to report that I am now sticking with my purchasing decision. Which also means I’m in a situation to tell you whether this attempt to crossbreed faithful old Mr PC with flighty young Ms Tablet has been successful, from the point of view of someone who primarily uses their computer for the pursuit of entertainment.
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Microsoft Surface Pro Uses Two-Thirds Storage For Itself

Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet once seemed an interesting prospect. A tablet that was no weakling, a PC in a flat, touchable screen, with a keyboard in its flexible cover. It made us at RPS realise we need to reassess what counts as a PC, asked us questions about how far our remit now stretches. At this point, we’re now wondering if anyone on the planet is going to buy one. A thought underlined by today’s news from Verge that the 64GB version of the device will only have 23GB of usable storage.

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Samuright: Skulls Of The Shogun Adds Cross-Platform MP

Come for the turn-based combat, stay for the tiny adorable skeleton mustaches.

Skulls of the Shogun may have tickled your angry bone when 17-Bit announced that the turn-based battler will be a Windows 8 exclusive, but there are some benefits to that decision. Foremost, as the developer told us, it means getting to launch simultaneously on PC and Xbox. And now, another rather nice silver lining has made its way out from behind all the rage clouds: Skulls of the Shogun gets to be the first game with cross-platform multiplayer between PC, Xbox, phone, and tablet. I can’t think of anyone else who’s done that yet, so I suppose that makes this a pretty big deal, huh?

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RPS Feature Is Microsoft Surface a gaming PC? 'Sorta.'

Surface Tension: MS Tablet Is Relevant To Our Interests

bagsy pink
For a few years now, RPS has been nervously eyeing tablets from afar, not entirely sure what to do about them. Well, I say nervously – actually, John spends most of his time doing unmentionably intimate things with his beloved Asus Transformer Prime. Microsoft last night turned up with something that might just end our dilemma. It could introduce brand new ones at the same time, though.
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Future-Catan

yo kids, boardgames are cool again

Here’s the splendid boardgame Settlers of Catan running on Microsoft’s potentially splendid Surface tech. Surface is touchscreen-mega-PC theoretical fun, but more likely to be built into tables in public spaces than to be something you hook up to your own device. Here’s how it could work for social videogaming (in the traditional sense of social, not the FarmVille sense). I’m fighting my overwhelming urge to grumble “but why don’t they just play the boardgame? It must be far cheaper” – because I suspect that’s very much missing the point.
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Surfacescapes: D&D On Microsoft Surface


Not strictly PC gaming, but it’s nevertheless fascinating. It shows Carnegie Mellon’s proof of concept application for running a D&D game on Microsoft Surface and, well, that zoomable fantasy world map is about the most alluring piece of nerd-kit I have ever seen. I mean, I love maps at the worst of times, but that is simple too much. What’s even more interesting about it is the way that in terms of interaction, it hybridises boardgame conceits – maps, dice, and physical surfaces – with videogame processes – having menus and automated computation. Pen and paper games become “screen ‘n’ finger” games?

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