Companion-App
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Destiny companion app offers up lore, loadout changes
When Destiny's July 17 beta launches on PlayStation platforms, Guardians hungry for more information can download and utilize the game's companion app. Revealed by IGN, the app allows players to examine and swap equipment, peruse missions and bounties and learn more about the lore in Bungie's shooter-RPG. The app features detailed models of a player's characters, their gear and more. Swapping equipment with the app will happen in real time when playing the game. In standard Bungie form, the app will also delve into detailed stats for each Destiny play session. For the beta, the companion app will be available for free on iPhone and Android as well as on the web. The app will work alongside the beta on PS3 and PS4 on July 17, and with the Xbox 360 and Xbox One when the beta begins for those platforms on July 23. When Destiny arrives on September 9, the app will be made available for a variety of other iOS devices. Want access to the Destiny beta? Joystiq is your source, with hundreds of beta codes to give away. Enter today for your chance to win! Watch the Destiny app in action after the break.
Watch Dogs mobile griefing app out today
Ubisoft's mobile companion app for Watch Dogs is now available on Android and iOS, and gives players the opportunity to interact with others in the game's online sections. Though the word "companion" doesn't have the same ring to it in the "ctOS Mobile" app, as players use it to mess with others' surroundings in an attempt to thwart their attempts to reach the finish line in both race and free ride modes. For instance, players within the ctOS Mobile app can control a Chicago PD helicopter and go on the hunt for their rivals, controlling ctOS devices within the helicopter's range like road blockers and traffic lights to halt other players. Mobile players will also dispatch Chicago police units like squad cars and SWAT teams and upgrade their effectiveness. As app users complete challenges, they earn experience and skill points, with which they can enhance their police arsenal as well as their own abilities. The app is free to download and doesn't require that players own the console game. Ubisoft has a list of its compatible devices on its blog. Our review of Watch Dogs, now available today, notes that the game is "a more fluid and modern power fantasy than we're used to," likening players in the game to being a wizard. [Image: Ubisoft]
Titanfall's companion app mobilizes your mini-map
The mobile companion to Titanfall is now available to download, and takes some of the extra bits like the mini-map from the main game and pushes them to your smart device. Free to download, the app-tly named Titanfall Companion App offers game stats like players' total kills and favorite weapons. Once connected to an Xbox One, players can use the app to access an interactive mini-map of the Titanfall match they're playing at the moment and check out the ever-updating scoreboard. Titanfall topped another leaderboard recently, as it was number one on NPD's sales charts among video games for the second month in a row. The companion app is available on iOS, Android via Google Play and Windows Phone. [Image: Electronic Arts]
Ratchet & Clank: Before the Nexus companion game out now on iOS, Android
Sony launched the companion app to its latest Ratchet & Clank adventure on iOS and Android this week, Ratchet & Clank: Before the Nexus. Free on both platforms, Before the Nexus is an endless runner in which players collect bolts while hopping between grind rails and avoiding obstacles. The game ties in to Sony's November entry in the main series on PS3, in that Raritanium obtained in the mobile game can be synced with Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus, allowing players to upgrade their weapons in the game at a faster pace. Before the Nexus includes a handful of gadgets and weapons from the series for players to collect as well. Given that our review looked fondly at Into the Nexus, noting that it felt like a "farewell" for the series, the mobile companion app may be a worthwhile download for players booting up the main game for the first time.
Realmac introduces free Ember app for iOS
Back in August of 2013, TUAW Editor-in-Chief Victor Agreda, Jr. wrote a detailed review of Ember (US$49.99), an OS X web clipping and digital scrapbooking app from Realmac Software. Victor found Ember to be "nearly perfect for me" in his review, but he might be improving his outlook to "perfect" after today's release of a free Ember companion app for iOS. TUAW will have a full review of the app within a few days, but here's what you need to know about the universal application. It's designed to work best on an iPad or iPhone that is using iCloud syncing. The idea is to take photos or screenshots of things you wish to "collect." They're then added to collections and synced to all of your iCloud devices instantly. Ember for iOS lets you add tags to your images, then combine them in collections of related things for future reference. As with the desktop app, Ember for iOS provides a number of ways to share items in your collections immediately through AirDrop, Messages, Mail, Twitter and Facebook. Realmac says right up front that the app will be gaining additional features -- like annotation -- on an in-app purchase basis, but plans to keep the basic functionality available for free.
Grand Theft Auto 5's iFruit app arrives on Windows Phone
Grand Theft Auto 5's iFruit companion app is now available for Windows Phone devices, completing Rockstar's citrusey journey across the smartphone trifecta. The iFruit app allows players to customize in-game vehicles, and features a series of Tamagotchi-like minigames starring Franklin's Rottweiler partner-in-crime, Chop. The app originally hit iOS devices in September, followed by an Android release last month. iFruit is available as a free download.
Windows Phone devices get SmartGlass for Xbox One early
Windows Phone users can now download the new Xbox One SmartGlass app ahead of the system's launch on Friday. The free app will allow players to navigate their console and browse the web on the big screen using their mobile devices, as well as check on their friends lists and achievements once they have their next-gen console set up. As was previously revealed in September, up to 16 people can connect to a single Xbox One system using SmartGlass, and developers can also offer help documentation for their games through the app and use it to handle matchmaking for online multiplayer modes. Some games will include special SmartGlass features, such as defensive playcalling assistance in Madden NFL 25. The SmartGlass companion app is free, and will eventually roll to iOS and Android.
Second PES 2014 DLC adds 800 faces, 11 vs 11 mode
Konami launched the second data pack for its latest soccer simulation game, Pro Evolution Soccer 2014. The data pack offers updated rosters for the game as well as 800 additional faces crafted to look like their real-life athlete counterparts. The free DLC also introduces a team play lobby system, some undefined gameplay and chat tweaks along with an update to PES 2014's online offerings, most notably the addition of an 11 vs. 11 online multiplayer mode. Lastly, Konami also reintroduced its MyPES feature to PES 2014 through the release of a free companion app, now available on iOS. MyPES allows players to share game results and stats with others, as well as view analysis for "shots, possession, passing, and patterns of play." Players can also use the app to build communities with others, and those without an online-enabled console can scan QR codes to assess their games in the app. The companion app will arrive on Android in the near future.
You'll never be lost with the Assassin's Creed 4 companion app
Essentially a more fully-featured version of the mapping and game-tracking options already found in Assassin's Creed 4, the game's newly-released companion app is far from mandatory. Still, it's available as a free download on iTunes and Google Play, so it's hard to complain about what might have been.
Final Fantasy XIV launches Libra Eorzea for Android
Imagine, for a moment, that you've brought your Android smartphone to a restaurant while your date has brought her iPhone. You both play Final Fantasy XIV, and she suggests you both pull up your character page on the Libra Eorzea app. Yesterday, you would have had to say no, hanging your head in shame before beginning your new life in the dumpster outside the restaurant for some reason. But now, you'd be able to just pull up the app, flash a confident smile, and ruin the date some other way. Yes, Libra Eorzea is now available on Android, offering a searchable database of items, quests, and achievements along with a wealth of knowledge about your character and friends. It's all available for one low payment of absolutely nothing. If you already have the app on an iOS device, it's the exact same thing, but for everyone else it's a chance to enjoy a little on-the-road database functionality. [Thanks to Wolfyseyes for the tip!]
Deadly Premonition gets 352-page companion app for iPad
Deadly Premonition received a companion iBooks app for iPad this week, Rising Star Games announced. Priced at $9.99, the Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut The Official Visual Companion is 352 pages long with over a hundred "interactive elements." The book offers players the chance to peek into the creative notebook of director Hidetaka Suehiro (also known as Swery65) to learn more about the development of this odd cult favorite. The interactive book includes three maps and concept art for the game as well as a soundboard and soundtrack. It arrives ahead of the Steam launch of Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut, which is set for Halloween.
Disney Infinity Toy Box iPad app out now
The Disney Infinity: Toy Box app is now available on iPad. Announced with one other companion app in August, the Toy Box app allows players to built and sync worlds to Disney Infinity, unlocking new characters, props and decorations along the way. Players start out with 60 items to build toy box levels with, and any items unlocked in the main game become available to use in the app. Disney Infinity: Toy Box is compatible with iPad 2, 3, 4 and iPad Mini devices, and is free until October 5. Disney did not specify how much the app will cost afterwards.
GTA 5 iFruit companion free on iOS
Rockstar launched a free iOS app that complements Grand Theft Auto 5 today, called Grand Theft Auto: iFruit. The app offers two activities that affect the main game's campaign. The first is Los Santos Customs, which has players creating custom cars and license plates for use in GTA 5. Chop the Dog is the other activity offered by iFruit, in which players care for the pet of one of GTA 5's main characters, Franklin. The dog, Chop, will better assist players in GTA 5 if he's well-tended in the iFruit app by finding hidden items when being taken for walks by Franklin. In our review of the game, we considered Franklin the standout character of the playable protagonists, so we'll happily spend more time with Chop through the app.
Final Fantasy XIV releases iOS companion app
You can take your favorite MMO on the go now, as long as that MMO is Final Fantasy XIV. Square Enix has released Libra Eorzea, a companion app for the title, on the iTunes Store for free. The studio promises that an Android version is in development and will be coming soon. Libra Eorzea offers two big features that tie into the game proper: a game database and a character profile viewer. The database can be stored on a player's mobile device to allow access to information regarding items, quests, achievements, and NPCs offline. However, the profile viewer requires an online connection and an account, and can view both the player's and others' character gear and stats. The app also accesses players' friend lists, free companies, and linkshells. Square Enix says that it will be expanding Libra Eorzea to include more features in the future.
CCP's Sean Decker and Hilmar Petursson on the future of EVE, DUST 514, EVE-VR, and mobile gaming
Earlier today, CCP Games announced that industry veteran Sean Decker is coming on board as Senior Vice President of Product Development. Sean's laundry-list of industry experience includes a recent 12-year stint at EA, where he headed up the Play4Free division. This has naturally led to some trepidation within the EVE Online community, which has been extremely wary of free-to-play and microtransaction-based business practices since the Monoclegate scandal in 2011. I caught up with Sean Decker and CCP CEO Hilmar Petursson last night to get the low-down on Sean's role, how he will influence EVE and CCP's other products, and what the future has in store for DUST 514 and EVE-VR. Sean is to be the head of product development across all of CCP's games, not just the free-to-play titles, but I wouldn't worry about EVE going free to play any time soon. "I don't think [free-to-play] is the be all and end all business model," Sean told me, adding that he understands that the subscription model better fits some games. Read on for more information on the future of EVE Online, DUST 514, EVE-VR, and CCP's first foray into mobile gaming.
E3 2013: DCUO plans to remain completely free on PS4
The PlayStation 4 made headlines at this year's E3 thanks to its console wars one-upmanship as well as its newly announced launch library. But one previously announced had a live demo at the L.A.-based convention extravaganza; DC Universe Online offered players a chance to experience some next-gen superhero shenanigans for themselves, so we totally jumped in on the action! After engrossing ourselves in the world of capes, masks, and super powers, we nabbed Executive Producer Lawrence Liberty to talk with us about DCUO's conversion to the PS4. He shared details about performance, uses for the touchpad on the new controller, a new companion app, and the plan for DCUO to be available at the console's launch. Liberty also noted that the team is working with Sony to keep the game free on the PS4 so players won't have to purchase a PlayStation Plus membership.
Simogo's latest, Year Walk, coming to iOS next week
Simogo is an iOS developer best known for games that are cartoony and fun, like the great Beat Sneak Bandit and the charming Bumpy Road. But the company's next title is going to take a much darker turn, apparently. Year Walk is Simogo's next project, and as you can see above, this game looks neither cartoony or fun. Year Walk is set on a New Year's Eve in 19th century Sweden, as the player is tasked with exploring some dark woods to try and solve a mystery. The game's teaser trailer sets the tone about right: There will be puzzles and exploration involved, all with a very creepy, atmospheric black-and-white feel. Like I said, different from Bumpy Road. The title also has a companion app coming with it, that will fill in players on a lot of the folk lore and backstory that support the game's setting and various creatures. Year Walk looks very interesting. It should be available, according to Simogo, on the App Store on February 21, so we'll look for it next week.
BBC launches clever play-along companion iOS app
The BBC has released its first play-along companion app for iOS. Antiques Roadshow Play-along is a second-screen app that lets iPhone and iPad users interact with Antiques Roadshow, a popular television show that sees antique appraisers roam the British countryside looking for valuable finds. The app itself is fairly straightforward. When an appraiser is on screen, users can use the app to guess an item's value before it's announced. Users are then given a rank at the end of each episode ranging from "novice" to "expert." Tom Williams, development editor for Red Button and dual screen in BBC Vision, said that Antiques Roadshow was chosen for the inaugural play-along app because an app for that show "would genuinely enhance [the] programme for a mainstream audience. We piloted a number of titles but Antiques Roadshow stood out. As soon as we tested the first prototype of the app with audiences we saw what a buzz it created in the living room. The interface is simple enough not to distract from the programme and the interaction builds on existing behaviour -- who doesn't shout out what they think an item's worth?" The app itself is rather clever in how it knows which episode of the show you are watching. It doesn't rely on a timer or synced schedule. What the BBC did was embed "invisible" audio watermarking into the episodes themselves. These are audio cues the viewer never picks up on, but which tell the app which episode is being watched and the timecode of the episode. As Williams explains, "We've embedded inaudible signals in the soundtrack of the programme that are picked up by the microphone of a phone or tablet. These are used to identify the episode, line up the correct questions and then display them at exactly the right point in the programme. In short, it provides a way of joining up your TV and mobile/tablet without having to do anything complicated. In fact it makes the whole experience feel a bit like magic. It has the added bonus of synchronising the app with the programme however you choose to watch it, whether on BBC One, a recording of the programme or on BBC iPlayer." Antiques Roadshow Play-along is a free download in the UK App Store.
Zeebox second screen TV companion app crosses over to the US, with a boost from Comcast and HBO
While it seems like every network is rolling out its own personal second screen app for tablets and / or phones, over in the UK Zeebox has been trying to corner the experience across channels and providers with its app. Available as an app for iOS and Android and also on the web, it brings a customized TV guide, live chat, social network sharing and remote control features to the TV experience, and now it's come to the US. Other than the typical second screen experience, its main hook is an "OpenBox" API and tags that allow content providers to customize the experience for their viewers... and then sell them stuff like video on-demand or related merchandise. On this side of the Atlantic Zeebox has secured backing from Comcast / NBC Universal, giving it financial and promotional support as well as covering more than 30 networks right away. It also means it can eventually act as a remote control for Comcast users, which may be an advantage over competition like Miso, GetGlue and IntoNow, and can flex its muscles paired with hundreds of shows like The Voice, Notre Dame football and HBO content like True Blood. Out of the box, the app's social ties and careful metering may be a programmer's dream as it monitors who is watching what live, but we'll have to see more of the second screen content come to life if it's going to catch on socially. A customizable guide (yes, you can hide or reorder channels at will) is a nice touch and so is being able to see what your friends are viewing with Facebook Open Graph and Twitter hooks -- but only if they're actually using it. If you want to check it out, the free apps are linked below and the full press release follows after the break.
TV Guide Mobile relaunches for iOS with a new look, links to streaming video and social networks
We've already seen many companion apps on mobile, but now TV Guide is diving in wholeheartedly with the next generation of its app for iOS devices. While the previous versions of TV Guide Mobile on iOS and Android let users create watchlists and get reminders, version 3.0 for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch is completely redesigned to make TV watching simpler with filtering for HD-only and favorite channels, links to streaming videos from sources like Hulu Plus, HBO Go, Crackle and iTunes -- Netflix and Amazon are not on the list, although additional video sources are promised in the coming weeks. Like any good companion app in 2012 it also brings social networking features with check-ins and Twitter / Facebook integration and a trending social hot list based on what other users search for. The downside compared to many of the apps from cable providers like Comcast or Time Warner, hardware manufacturers like TiVo or even other third parties like Dijit is the inability to use it to directly change the channel, but perhaps that's in the next version. There's more details in the press release after the break, and screens in the gallery below, if you're willing to give another contender a shot at assisting your TV watching habits, the free app is available in iTunes at the source link.%Gallery-163207%
