June | 2013 | avideogamelife

XCOM: Enemy Unknown released for iPad / iPhone today!

Posted on June 20, 2013 by avideogamelife.com

Firaxis Games’ 2012 award winning (to include many GOTY awards) game XCOM: Enemy Unkown has released for iOS today. For $19.99 you can get the both the iPad and iPhone version of the game and both sync to the cloud so you can start a game on one platform and continue it on the other. From what I’ve seen so far it seems the superior experience will be had on the iPad / iPad mini, but the iPhone version is just as playable, just with a bit more zooming and scrolling.

I loved XCOM on the 360 and also on PC, but it always felt like a tablet version of the game would be more enjoyable. I haven’t fired the game up yet on my iPad but I’ll be sure to post some thoughts and screenshots when I have a chance. I’m just incredibly excited that I’ll finally be able to play this AAA title on the go!

Some are complaining about the “steep” price, but realize that XCOM was a $60 console / PC game that can occasionally be bought for less when it’s on sale. The PC version currently sells for $39.99 on Amazon, while the Xbox 360 version is selling for $32.65. The iPad version currently lacks multiplayer, however it is said to be coming in a future free update to the game.

Increase your password security with Dashlane

Posted on June 6, 2013 by avideogamelife.com

This morning while reading the New York Times I came across David Pogue’s article, “Remember All Those Passwords? No Need“. In the article Pogue speaks about the benefits of using a password manager and specifically the benefits of using Dashlane. I had never heard of Dashlane until I came across this article, but I had heard of and considered using 1Password.

Pogue’s article on Dashlane sold me, however. Not only did it convince me I should use a password manager, it also convinced me that Dashlane was the one for me. One of the big draws? It’s free! (though I chose to subscribe via the $20/yr option). It was incredibly easy to set up and once you have a secure “master password” you’re practically good to go.

Dashlane will automatically gather your saved passwords from your web browsers and analyze them for you, making you aware of passwords you should change.

I initially found that I had a TON of reused passwords and at first I was unwilling to change them, but Dashlane made it a breeze. It’ll take you right to the change password screen on most websites, automatically fill in your old password and generate a random, strong password for use on the website. It’ll automatically save this new password for you and use it to log you into your account the next time you visit the site.

The Dashlane mobile app is free and after you login with your master password (and PIN if you choose to use one on the mobile app) you can view all of your passwords. This makes it great if you need a password on another computer where you can’t install the plugin. It will only reveal your passwords after you login using the master password and PIN so you don’t have to worry about someone gaining access to all of your passwords if they get ahold of your phone. You just want to make sure your master password is as strong and secure as it can be.

Dashlane can also store your ID information (ex: Driver’s License) and Credit Card information making your web browsing experience as convenient and secure as possible.

If you want to learn more about Dashlane and how it (or any password manager) can benefit you, I suggest you read Pogue’s article, it’s filled with a lot of good advice.

Dashlane is available for Windows, Mac, and iOS and is completely free. The subscription option gets you a few more bells and whistles, listed below. Try it out today: https://www.dashlane.com/

This blog post is not an endorsement or advertisement, I simply love the product and wanted to share!

Get your DOTA 2 Steam Key

Posted on June 6, 2013 by avideogamelife.com

So by now I think just about everyone with a Steam account has received DOTA 2 early access for free (it sells for $29.99 in the Steam store), but if you haven’t you can find a Steam Key quite easily. Valve often sends Steam users bundles of DOTA 2 keys to send to friends so that more people can play the game, and I recently received 10 keys to give away (now 8 keys as of this posting).

If you’d like one simply add me on Steam (Darth Gumballs) and drop me a message and I’ll be sure to hook you up with a DOTA 2 key.

A NES Birthday Surprise!

Posted on June 1, 2013 by avideogamelife.com

So yesterday for my birthday I received a case of my favorite beer from back home (not available anywhere but the East Coast) and to my surprise, a restored and completely functioning NES (Nintendo Entertainment System). I haven’t touched an actual NES since mine stopped working sometime in the early 90’s. I, like many, have relived old NES games via emulators, but there’s just something special about putting a cartridge into a NES and seeing it in all its 8-bit glory on your TV. Surprisingly it manages to look pretty good on an HDTV when hooked up via A/V cables (though it’s slightly distorted since the TV I tried it on last night scaled it to widescreen. Using the coax hookup keeps the 4:3 ratio but gets fuzzy here and there).

I picked up a handful of games last night at a mom and pop video game store, and they were surprisingly cheap (Zelda being the most expensive of the bunch at $15). I’m going to check out the other store in town today to see if I can add anything more to my new collection.