ZeroAnd09

It's been a long time coming, but I finally received notice from Microsoft regarding two very important items in my household, Microsoft Points and the Xbox Live Family Gold Pack.  Microsoft is doing away with both services this year. In the case of Microsoft Points, all existing points are being transferred over to real-world currency.  This means users won't have to do any mental math to figure out how much a XBL purchase really is.  Any existing points will be converted over and Microsoft has sent out the remaining balances for Xbox Live Rewards.  In my case, I had 110 points that were being held by Microsoft that were deposited in my account.  In conjunction with the termination of the Microsoft Points system, Microsoft is also terminating the Xbox Live Rewards program.  No longer will players earn "free money" for being loyal subscribers. From this point forward all purchases in the Xbox Live, Windows Phone 8, and Windows 8 stores will carry the...

Bing Weather Publisher: Microsoft Price: Free! Platform: Windows Phone 8 What is the #1 app that everyone must have on their phone?  What is the one topic that everyone can talk about?  If you said anything regarding the weather, you've got a sensible head on your shoulders.  With that in mind, Microsoft has just released their personal weather tracker, Bing Weather. The app is sleek and much like everything else Microsoft is doing these days, beautiful in its simple design.  The live tile gives me the basic information I need with the current temperature, conditions (clear, foggy, rainy, etc.) and the high and low for the day.  Opening up the app brings up a more detailed breakdown of the current weather, including humidity, visibility, barometer, and wind speed.  Swiping right reveals daily and hourly increments which is absolutely fantastic for gauging the day.  There are also a multitude of maps showing everything from temperature, highs ...

OneNote Publisher: Microsoft Price: Free! Platform: Windows Phone 8, Windows RT, Windows 8 When it comes to being productive and keeping your life organized, Microsoft has had your back for a number of years now.  OneNote has been included with every major version of Microsoft Office since 2003.  And since the boom of tablets and smart phones have swept the world, Microsoft has made it even easier to keep everything in sync with their free OneNote app. OneNote is a note taking application that allows users to create and curate their own journal, wiki, manual for life, etc.  Users can paste in files, pictures, audio, or even handwritten notes.  Sections make it a simple task to categorize everything and the search feature makes it easy to find anything and everything in the notebook. There's not a day that goes by that I don't use OneNote either for work or at home.  It's a fast, simple, easy way to store my information in a way that's just as easily ...

  The Bloodrayne series enjoyed some moderate success when it was first released.   It combined three great gaming elements into one seductive package: sexy women, killing Nazis, and vampires.   Add in a lackluster sequel, some truly awful movies, and a tacky Playboy spread and times have been tough on titular hero Rayne.   Developer WayForward Technologies are looking to turn things around for her with the help of publisher Majesco.   Will the transition to 2D and a focus on compelling gameplay bring focus to this series?

My review of Smite's  Egyptian god of war, Anhur, is up at Gaming Climax !

August 01: The Dream Machine: Chapter 4 (PC, MAc) August 02: Arcania: The Complete Tale (360) August 04: Pikmin 3 (Wii U) August 06: Divinity: Dragon Commander (PC) Dragon's Crown (Vita, PS3) Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition (PC) Planes (3DS, DS, Wii U, Wii, PC) PopCap Ultimate Collection (PC) Tales of Xillia (PS3) The Sims 3: Dragon Valley (PC, Mac) August 11: Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (3DS) August 13: Angry Birds Trilogy (Wii, Wii U) Eurpoa Universalis IV (PC) Phineas and Ferb: Quest for Cool Stuff (DS, 360, Wii, 3DS, Wii U) August 18: Disney Infinity (Wii, 3DS, Wii U, 360, PC, PS3) August 20: Saints Row IV (PC, PS3, 360) Splinter Cell: Blacklist (PC, PS3, 360, Wii U) The Bureau: XCOM Declassified (PS3, 360, PC) August 25: New Super Luigi U (Wii U) August 27: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Ultimate Edition (PC) Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (PC, PS3) Hatsune Miku: Project Diva F (PS3) Lost Planet 3 (PS3, 360, PC) Madden NFL 25 (PS3,...