musicMagpie Blog

Games

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20th March

Resident Evil Revelations 2

The first console installment of Resident Evil after the disappointing Resident Evil 6 (not counting remakes) follows Resident Evil 2 star Claire Redfield and the daughter of Resident Evil's Barry Burton as they try to escape from a zombie infested penal colony.

Revelations 2 is currently being released in downloadable episodes online, with the final game bundled together in a single physical release on the 20th.

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Battlefield Hardline

The latest installment of the Battlefield series replaces the previous games' military theme with a "˜war on crime'-style scenario, pitting well-armed cops against equally well-armed robbers.

This new direction has led to the introduction of a number of new game modes, including Heist, in which the criminal team has to break into a bank vault and extract cash without being stopped by the cops, and Rescue, in which the cop team has to save hostages from the criminals.

Visceral Games have also promised that the single player mode will be more compelling than in previous Battlefield games, with the campaign taking on an episodic "˜crime drama' structure and featuring the ability to arrest criminals rather than shooting everything in sight.

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27th March

Bloodborne

Created by the same team that brought us Dark Souls, Bloodborne promises to be every bit as tough and rewarding.

Set in a fictional gothic city, Bloodborne sees you take on the role of a traveller searching for an elusive medical elixir. Unfortunately, upon arriving in the city, you discover that everyone has been turned into bloodthirsty monsters.

Bloodborne features a similar combat system to Dark Souls, with one Sony executive describing it as "˜Dark Souls with shotguns'. It'll probably be just as difficult too!

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Technology

1st March

Samsung Galaxy S6

Coming off the back of the most successful iPhone launch to date, Samsung need something special to maintain their success in the smartphone market.

Will the S6 be that something special? Well, we don't know for sure yet. Early indications suggest the S6 will be one of the most powerful Android phones around, with a Snapdragon 810 processor and a QHD screen. It'll also look better, with a premium metal finish, and it should feature an impressive 20MP camera too.

The S6 will be launched on 1st March, with a general release planned for later in the month.

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HTC One M9

Samsung's main concern may not actually be the iPhone, however, with HTC launching their new flagship model on the same day as the S6. The HTC One M8 is generally considered to be one of the best Android phones on the market, and the M9 could see HTC take Samsung's place as the premier manufacturer of Android devices.

From rumours, the M9 seems to be more of an evolution of the M8 than a revolution: a bigger screen, a better processor, a slight redesign but nothing too major – if it ain't broke, why fix it?

The most interesting rumour to date is that HTC will "˜do an Apple' and release two versions of the M9; one "˜standard' and one "˜Plus'. Time will tell when the M9 is revealed on 1st March.

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And more!

The Mobile World Congress is where most mobile phone manufacturers reveal their latest devices, so there should be plenty of announcements to look forward to this month. MWC 2015 takes place between the 2nd and 4th March, and we'll be covering the biggest and best news from the event on the musicMagpie blog!