tegra - 7/10 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Nov

[Update: Now Available On The Tab 10.1] Zen Pinball THD Finally Hits The Android Market, And It Was Well Worth The Wait

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Games, News

Update 2: Looks like the kinks have been worked out, and it's now available on the Galaxy Tab 10.1.

We first told you about Zen Pinball THD back in May, and it finally landed in the Android Market just a bit ago. I got the opportunity to test out the APK a few weeks ago, and I can assure you, it was well worth the wait. This is probably the single best pinball game that I've played on any device - the graphics are great, the tables are fantastic, and the overall feel of the game is absolutely stellar.

There seems to be some confusion about device compatibility - this is for Tegra devices only.

Nov

Meltdown On Mars THD Coming In December 2011 - Tower Defense Meets Gun Bros [Video]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Games, News, Videos

Any time a new game shows up in NVIDIA's TegraZone, we immediately hop on to take a look - after all, only the best of the best games with gorgeous graphics make it that far.

The newest addition to TegraZone this time around is Meltdown On Mars THD - it's what I would call a mix of tower defense and Gun Bros, executed in a way kind of similar to Dungeon Defenders. You can move your main character around freely like in an RPG/action game, all while planting defensive turrets, barricades, and mines in an effort to survive waves of alien attacks.

Nov

Shadowgun And Sprinkle Now Available On Non-Tegra Devices

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Games, News

If you've been envious of some of the awesome new games rolling out for Tegra devices, then you'll be happy to know that two popular Tegra-only titles - Shadowgun and Sprinkle - have just been updated to bring compatibility to non-Tegra devices.

Shadowgun, a futuristic action-shooter, is probably one of the best games for Android to date, sporting insanely good graphics, a decent storyline, and compelling gameplay. This is one game that should definitely be a welcome addition to any gamer's catalog.

If you're not the action- gaming type, then Sprinkle may be more your speed. It's a basic physics-based puzzle game, where you're in charge of extinguishing flames all across the town, avoiding various obstacles as part of your mission.

Oct

Game Review: Shadowgun Is The Most Advanced Shooter On Android To Date, And It's Out Now

Posted by David Ruddock in Games, Reviews

Be sure to check out our Shadowgun Giveaway pack post, too - you could win an Galaxy Tab 8.9, a Jambox, and a $25 AMEX gift card!

Shadowgun is a game we've been following since its announcement for Android earlier this year. A couple weeks back, we received a preview build to test the game out (that link contains a gameplay video as well). Now, I've played the full version of the game and can report my findings more completely.

My conclusion? Shadowgun takes Android gaming to the next level, and while it's not without its flaws, it sets the bar very high for the somewhat low $5 game price point.

Oct

[Updated: Here Is The Winner!] Giant Giveaway #12: Shadowgun Edition: Win A Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 16GB + Jambox Wireless Speaker + $25 Giftcard

Posted by David Ruddock in Contests / Giveaways, Galaxy Tab 8.9

Last Updated: November 3rd, 2011

We just posted up our review of the brand-new 3rd person shooter Shadowgun, by Madfinger games. Now, thanks to NVIDIA, we're celebrating the release with yet another amazing giveaway. One winner will receive the following:

Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 Honeycomb tablet
Jambox wireless Bluetooth-enabled speaker
$25 AMEX Giftcard

As always, we'd like to thank NVIDIA for providing us with these awesome prizes to give away to you, our readers. NVIDIA has been an amazing partner and allowed us to conduct so many awesome giveaways that we're not quite sure what we'd do without them. So, without further ado, let's get a little more detailed about the two bigger pieces of the prize pie you'll be entering to win.

Oct

[Video] Pre-Release Preview: ShadowGun Isn't Just A 3rd Person Shooter, It's A Technical Marvel

Posted by David Ruddock in Game Reviews, Games, Reviews

When we first saw ShadowGun back in May, we were immediately struck by what was at the time a platform demonstration for NVIDIA's Kal-El quad mobile processor. Character textures were the best we'd seen on any Android game, and the environments looked rich and well-crafted.

Now the developer, MadFinger games, has given us (and a number of other sites - no one has the full version yet, and I mean no one) a pre-release version of the game to try out - optimized for Tegra 2 processors (a Kal-El optimized version will be released later). Here's a screenshot from the Kal-El version:

Screenshot from Kal-El version of ShadowGun - we're reviewing the Tegra 2 version

As you can see, it's no amateur hour title.

Oct

[Review + Video] Riptide GP For Tegra Devices - Now With Controller Support

Posted by Cameron Summerson in App Reviews

Modern smartphones and tablets are, without a doubt, multifunctional devices made to replace those that serve only a single purpose --gaming devices, mp3 players, and, in some cases, even laptops are all covered under the smartphone/tablet umbrella. As such, it's no surprise that I spend almost as much time playing games on my Tab 10.1 as I do other, more productive things.

However, one of my biggest complaints about gaming on a touch-only device is the controls. I hate touch controls. They're awkward, uncomfortable, and all-around difficult in most cases. The fact that I'm heavy handed doesn't help, either -- I'm always afraid of damaging my device during an intense gaming session.

Sep

[Updated: Here Are The Winners!] Giant Giveaway #8: Photon Week - Win One Of Three Motorola Photon 4Gs For Doing Almost Nothing

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Contests / Giveaways, Motorola, Photon 4G

The Android Police giveaway fever continues, but this time we've stepped things up with a triple header. Once again, we've teamed up with NVIDIA to give away three Motorola Photon 4Gs. Why? Because NVIDIA and Tegra Zone are awesome.

The Prizes

As I myself have discovered in the past few weeks, the Photon is a great phone that packs some serious power under the hood:

Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) + NinjaBlur UI
1 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 (dual core) CPU
1 GB DDR2 RAM
4.3" qHD (960 x 540) display
CDMA and GSM bands
4G (WiMax)
8MP camera with dual LED flash, 720p video capture in the rear, VGA front-facing camera
16GB memory + microSD slot
HDMI Mirroring
Kickstand
802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi

Before we move on to the giveaway, I wanted to mention our awesome sponsor, NVIDIA, once again.

Sep

[Review] Motorola Photon 4G: A Worthy Device, Despite A Few Compromises

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Motorola, Photon 4G, Reviews, Sprint

A few months ago, I reviewed the Droid X2 and came away unimpressed. Performance was mediocre despite the powerful dual core Tegra 2 CPU, and more importantly, the PenTile display used by Motorola was a step up on paper and a huge step back in practice. Fast forward a few months and I've landed a Motorola Photon 4G (slightly behind schedule thanks to a few logistics issues, but better late than never!) I'm happy to report that despite seeming like it's almost the same device inside, it's quite a different beast this time around.

At A Glance

The specs:

Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) + NinjaBlur UI
1 GHz Tegra 2 (dual core) CPU
1 GB DDR2 RAM (twice the 512MB of RAM in the Droid X2)
4.3" qHD (960 x 540) PenTile display
World Phone - CDMA and GSM bands
4G (WiMax) support
8MP camera with dual LED flash, 720p video capture
VGA front-facing camera
16GB memory + microSD slot (empty out of the box)
HDMI Mirroring
Kickstand
802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi

The Good:

Smooth and responsive performance all around, including in the browser.

Jun

[Update: Now Available For Non-Tegra Devices!] The Amazingly Brutal, Yet Excellent Samurai II: Vengeance Hits The Android Market [Blood Warning]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Games, News

With today's Motorola XOOM release, we are finding ourselves searching for apps and games optimized specifically for larger screens and raw Tegra 2 power. It doesn't look like we'll have too much trouble, as quality games have already started pouring into the Market.

The good news: 2 hours ago, Samurai II: Vengeance appeared in the Android Market.

The not so good news: the game is carrying the tag THD (Tegra HD), meaning it is optimized for Tegra-based Android devices only, according to its description. This means the XOOM, the Adam, the gTablet, and the Atrix are pretty much the only devices capable of running it properly right now, but with the advent of Tegra devices this year (the Bionic, 2x, gSlate, and others), we should all get a fair chance soon (hurry up, Sprint!).