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Parrot AR.Drone Review

Alexis Ayala
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Parrot AR.Drone
Developer: Parrot
Price: AUD $349 USD $299
Platform: iOS (coming soon to Android)

Overview:

I remember the first time I laid eyes on a Parrot AR.Drone, I knew immediately that I had to play with it. How could I not? Let’s be honest here, this thing looks like it’s from the future. A quadricopter that you control with your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad (coming soon to Android), the AR.Drone does pretty much deliver on it’s initial wow factor even if it has a couple of small downsides that go along with it.

Hardware:

On first impression the AR.Drone is actually much lighter then I had initially expected. Out of the box it comes with two casings, one with bumpers for indoor use and another without for outdoor adventures. You can swap the shells out really easily, everything fits over the front facing camera and connects to the back with a magnet. It’s able to take a bit of damage but will ultimately start to break down on you after too many big crashes. Fortunately, Parrot has an online store for anything you might want to replace if it comes to that.
There are two cameras equipped on the AR.Drone, the forward facing clocks in at a resolution of 640X480, and delivers somewhere in the neighbourhood of 15 FPS. The bottom camera is actually a bit lower at a 176X144 resolution but the FPS is notably higher. You’re able to fly the quadricopter using only the cameras and it’s perfectly serviceable in that regard, but I found just keeping it within line of sight always worked best. The unit I received came with 2 batteries in the box, which is fantastic as they only last about 40-50 minutes per charge. Recharging takes about 90 minutes so as long as you’re on top of keeping one on the charger you’re never going to have to wait too long to get back in there.

Usage:

There’s a free iOS App to pilot the AR.Drone and you’re able to connect to it via a Wi-Fi signal the quadricopter puts out. Once connected it’s actually rather easy to control. There’s a little bit of a learning curve but after just a few minutes of playing around with it you’ll be flying like a pro. Take off and landing are handled automatically with a button and you’re able to control flight with onscreen thumbsticks or motion controls. I never ran into a situation where the AR.Drone became off balance or spazzed out on me, there’s also some nice touches like if you’re out of range from the Wi-Fi signal, the device will softly land itself.
Unfortunately we were only sent one so we didn’t get a chance to try out some of the AR Apps like AR.Pursuit, which is a cat and mouse chase game. As of this writing Parrot has released new game Apps for iOS such as AR.Race, which gives you the ability to make your own circuits and AR.FlyingAce, which is a multiplayer dogfight game. Parrot has also released an open API for developers to create their own Apps, so expect even more support in the future. This is actually the most exciting thing I find about the AR.Drone; since it’s an open platform to develop on we’re going to see some really innovative stuff in the future. There’s already some Apps which allow you to record using the cameras for all you amateur film makers (given the resolution is pretty low, but it’s neat none the less).

Real World Applications:

I was able to affix cotton balls to the AR.Drone with some tape and ingenuity to disguise it as a cloud… Which for the most part worked fairly well I’d say. I then followed it around making thunderous noises as a friend of mine sprinkled water on people. To my disappointment I was unsuccessful in fooling anyone that a cloud was actually following them regardless of how realistic my thunder noises may be. I can only assume that since the propellers were visible it lost the illusion as clouds typically (or so I’m told) don’t come equipped with them. I tried to create a better disguise for the quadricopter, but unfortunately it wasn’t able to lift off. However, every single person who came across the magical cloud with propellers thought it was amazingly cool and was extremely curious as to what it was. After being the good samaritan and directing them where they might learn more about the AR.Drone I called it a day.


Conclusion:

I’m not going to lie. If I could go back in time and give the AR.Drone to myself when I was obsessing with RC toys as a child I don’t think I would be able to calculate how amazed I would be. So let me be frank: the AR.Drone is easily the coolest RC style device I’ve ever heard of or seen. It has some small issues, like a low resolution camera or the inability to disguise itself convincingly as a cloud, but if you’ve got $349 burning a hole in your pocket and this seems like its something you’d be into, then I implore you to pick one up. With the API out there’s only going to be more and more support. So play with a toy from the future and try out an AR.Drone. You’ll have a smile on your face, I guarantee it.

8-0-capsules-out-of-10
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Check out the interview we did with the guys from Parrot.

Kirby TV Channel launches tomorrow in EU, Australia and NZ

Jack Joly
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The adorable pink blob Kirby is returning to Wii on 23rd June, 2011, as part of his own dedicated TV Channel. The Kirby TV Channel will be available across much of Europe, as well as in Australia and New Zealand, as a completely free download that will feature TV shows staring Kirby as he battles King Dedede in Dream Land.

The channel will allow you to view over 50 Kirby episodes that will be updated twice a week over a six month period. Every week, two new episodes will become available – one on a Monday and one on a Thursday. The episodes will be available to view for two weeks before being archived to make way for new episodes. Fans of Kirby will be able to check the programming schedule just like a real TV channel and choose from four streaming episodes at a time.

The Kirby TV Channel will be available to fans in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Greece, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Australia and New Zealand. Most episodes will be available in English, German, French and Italian with only a few exceptions.

I will definitely be checking this out. Is anyone else excited?

3DS eShop releases: Nintendo downloads for Thursday 22nd June

Jack Joly
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With a new day for updating their download services of Thursday, here are the week’s downloads from Nintendo:

  • Double Dragon (3DS Virtual Console, Arc System Works: £2.70)
  • Radar Mission (3DS Virtual Console, Nintendo: £2.70)
  • Just Sing: 80s Collection (DSiWare: DTP Young Entertainment, 500 Nintendo Points)
  • Delbo (DSiWare: Neko Entertainment, 200 Nintendo Points)

Interestingly, there aren’t any Wii downloads confirmed as yet, but the 3DS eShop is being padded out nicely. One of this week’s highlights is Double Dragon which comes to the 3DS Virtual Console service courtesy of Arc System Works. The title was originally released for Game Boy in 1990 and sees Jimmy and Billy Lee taking on rival gangs, beating them up to assert their superiority.

Madman Fanzone Competitions (June – July 2011)

Luke Halliday
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Madman Fanzone Competitions (June – July 2011)

Madman regularly hold competitions in the fanzone section of their site and recently began two new competitions, in two separate categories – Art and Cosplay. Want to jump in on the action? Read on.

Madman Anime Babies Art Competition:

What would your favourite anime character’s look like as babies? That is the question Madman poses you in this months art competition. Compose your artwork displaying an anime character as a baby for your chance to win Madman store vouchers (1st Place is a $150 voucher!) Enter here.

Madman K-ON! Cosplay Competition:

With the upcoming release of K-ON! volume 1 on DVD and Blu-Ray, Madman is holding a K-ON! themed cosplay competition to celebrate the release. Madman is tasking you with the challenge of taking a photograph of yourself or with your friends, cosplaying as characters from K-ON! in either an original image or a recreation of a scene from the series for your chance to win some great K-ON! prizes. Enter here.

Here’s an idea for a recreation cosplay.

The art competition comes to a close on the 10th of July and the cosplay competition ends on 31st of July. Be sure to check back here at Capsule Computers for updates on the competitions and the winners announcement.

Backbreaker Vengeance crashing into XBLA and PSN

Jack Joly
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Backbreaker Vengeance crashing into XBLA and PSN

505 Games and NaturalMotion Games have announced that Backbreaker Vengeance will be coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade on 29 June, 2011, while a PSN version will also be released later this Summer.

Using the euphoria engine, Backbreaker Vengeance features hard-hitting tackles with a different outcome each time. As well as the popular ‘Tackle Alley’ game mode, new modes and moves will be making their way into the game.

No price has been revealed for either version as of this moment in time.

Any American Football fans prefer Backbreaker’s more arcade approach to some of the more simulation-like portrayals of the sport out there?

May’s Mysteries: The Secret of Dragonville gets first trailer

Jack Joly
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Publisher Mastertronic has unveiled a new trailer for its upcoming puzzle adventure game called May’s Mysteries: The Secret of Dragonville.

Although the trailer doesn’t show a great deal of continuous gameplay, it displays extracts from a selection of the letter, number and logic-based puzzles, as well as giving a look at a number of the 13 rhythmic mini-games. The video also shows a whole host of intriguing character that you will meet across the 80 locations as you complete over 270 puzzles, as stated in the trailer. Developed by V5 Play, May’s Mysteries is looking like a heart-warming adventure in which the titular hero must try to find her lost brother.

May’s Mysteries: The Secret of Dragonville is to be released on exclusively for Nintendo DS this August.

Fairy Tail English Dub Cast Announced

Luke Halliday
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Funimation recently acquired the popular anime series Fairy Tail for dubbing and distribution. The series follows the adventures of the Fairy Tail Guild in a world of Wizards (a broad term for magic-users). Funimation today announced the main cast for the series which includes some of their all-star voice actors, from works such as One Piece, Dragonball Z and Soul Eater, just to name a few.

The following actors have been tapped to play the following characters:

  • Todd Haberkorn as Natsu Dragneel
  • Tia Ballard as Happy
  • Colleen Clinkenbeard as Erza Scarlet
  • Cherami Leigh as Lucy Heartfillia
  • Newton Pittman as Gray Fullbuster
  • R. Bruce Elliot as Master Makarov
  • Monica Rial as Mirajane
  • Christopher R. Sabat as Elfman

To promote the upcoming English dub release of the series, Todd Haberkorn, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Cherami Leigh and Newton Pittman will be making an appearance at New York Anime Festival and New York Comic-Con this October. So be sure to check them out if you are in the area this October.

It is as of writing still unknown when we will see a release of the series’ English dub. However with a cast as good as this, we can safely assume that it is in good hands, while we await it to be released.

Duke Nukem Forever Behind the Scenes video

Jack Joly
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A new video for Duke Nukem Forever entitled ‘History of a Legend’ has been released by 2K Games. It is the third episode of a behind the scenes series aiming to inform about the roots of Duke Nukem Forever now it has finally made it to the public- the game everyone said could never be released.

The video features interviews with our good friend Randy Pitchford, as well as plenty of other designers and developers, taking a look at their history with the game and the impact it has had on them. The near-10 minute trailer also takes a look at how Duke Nukem Forever has evolved over the years to become what it is today.

It may have got mixed reviews, but if you liked the Duke’s recent offering or are just a big fan of the legacy of the series, this is well worth a watch with some interesting comments from those behind the game.

Dead or Alive Dimensions Reclassified in Australia

Benjamin Webb
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Good news everyone! Recently revoked game Dead or Alive Dimensions for the 3DS has recently been reclassified to a newer and more relevant rating. This rating? It has gone up from a PG to an M rating, which is actually not that much of an increase.

You see here in Australia, anything with a rating of less than MA15+ is an unrestricted category, which means that anybody can purchase the title without proof of identity or parental consent. So really, the reclassification has bumped the rating upwards, but not in any significant way to affect the player base. Thank the gaming gods for the classification bodies decision not to cave into these highly moral and illogical complainers and releasing the game at a classification that fits the content.

Woooo!

LINK!!!

Barbara Eden Interview at Supanova Sydney 2011

Kelly Teng
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Barbara Eden Interview at Supanova Sydney 2011

I admit, there are plenty of moments when I still get starstruck and meeting Barbara Eden at Supanova 2011 in Sydney was one of them. Jeannie from I Dream of Jeannie was an iconic part of my childhood when I was growing up and getting the opportunity to interview the woman behind the character was an absolutely incredible opportunity.

Barbara Eden…still as beautiful as ever.

Barbara Eden has played her fair share of roles over the years, including roles in The Stranger Within, Dallas, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao. She has also created a memoir, titled Jeannie Out of the Bottle, which was released in 2011. We got the quick opportunity to chat with Barbara about her career, the character of Jeannie, and Australia.

Back when you played Jeannie, obviously you influenced her character and she influenced you. To what degree do you think it happened either way?

Well, that’s hard to say. I don’t think an actor can ever tell you that. You’re always pleased when you get something as clear as Jeannie, so you know the ballpark of what you’re doing. But every part is different and you can’t divide it up and say “Oh, it’s 20% this and 30% that!” [laughs]

What is your favourite role that you’ve played besides Jeannie?

Oh my goodness! [laughs] I have several, but I think the one that I really enjoyed – and which my husband likes a lot – is a movie I did for television called Your Mother Wears Combat Boots. It was about the army – the army air force, in fact – and we shot it [at Fort Benning] in Georgia. I think it’s the biggest one in the United States, and you can see it from the satellite station. We had the 101 Airborne shooting with us, and I really liked it: wearing uniforms, and jumping out of airplanes, and doing silly things like that! [laughs]

With Jeannie as well, I guess you had to do a lot of silly things too!

I did physical things! Silly and physical.

Do you feel as though you ever get typecast into one character?

I really don’t know…I don’t think so. I never was in the past. I may be now, but never in the past. I’ve played all kinds of different characters.

Do you prefer playing the fun one or the more serious roles?

I like them both. It depends upon how well they’re written. That’s what makes the difference.

On another note, I was actually talking to a girl outside. She’s about 13, and she’s such a massive fan of yours! What do you think it is about Jeannie that transcends time?

Well, she was so powerful. What little girl doesn’t want to have magic, and be able to change things and live in a bottle with purple pillows? Of course. She’s a powerful figure.

And you think that makes her timeless?

I do…I do. Genies are timeless!

Last question…how are you enjoying the convention?

Oh, I’m loving it! We have the best fans. We really do. They’re just the nicest people, truly.

It must be great to meet your fans. Some people fly from all over the world to meet you.

Here, of course, people have flown in from all across Australia. In the States, I have – interestingly enough – met people from Australia [laughs]. They came to my book signing at Barnes and Noble in Los Angeles. It’s awesome.

Us here at Capsule Computers would like to thank Barbara Eden for her time in this interview. She’s an absolutely lovely person, and somehow has managed to preserve all of her beauty throughout the years.

If you would like to see more coverage from Supanova Sydney 2011, including interviews with Sean Maher, Amy Acker, David Nykl, and Neil Kaplan, you can check them out here.

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