Zune hexic game

Hope future games are better than these. By Levi Buchanan Updated: 14 Jun am. Yesterday, Microsoft launched the Zune HD, its upgraded personal media player that was designed to go toe-to-toe with Apple's iPod Touch. It plays music. It plays video. It can surf the Internet via Wi-Fi. The Zune HD even plays games. However, before you get too excited about that last part -- games -- just know that not only is the Zune Marketplace home to a paltry seven game, but that they are all over-priced.

But they're free, you say? That's exactly my point. Even at free, none of these seven games are worth your time. And time is what they take because these games are ad-supported. Before you can play, you must watch an advertisement. Currently, before trying out each title, you get to watch a commercial for the Kia Soul. The first time I saw the ad, I wasn't bothered. The games were free and I'll sit through an ad for a free game.

But the ads are attached to all of the games. The next time I see a Kia Soul, I want to witness it wrapped around a street light or upside-down alongside the , engulfed in flames.

With the driver absolutely unhurt, of course. I might be a little more forgiving of the incessant ads if the games on the other side were any good. But the sad truth is that they are not. Not a single game in the pack can be unanswered by shareware on the PC — or worse for Microsoft, a vastly superior game on the App Store.

Why these seven games were just dumped out there almost astounds me. It was like handing a talking point to every single Apple user on the planet. Expect to see these games mocked at the next Apple keynote. Zune's distinguishing features are its FM radio, subscription model, and the Zune Social. Files can be shared wirelessly between Zunes and PCs as well as other Zune devices. Zune's primary competitor is the Apple iPod product line.

The first Zune model, the Zune 30 , was released in the United States on November 14, , featuring a capacity of 30 gigabytes, FM radio, and a 3 inch screen.

The Zune 30 was initially available in black, brown or white. The Zune 80 was announced on October 2, , along with the smaller Zune 4 and Zune 8 to compete with Apple's iPod nano line.

These were to be known as the second generation of Zunes. The Zune 80 featured a 3. Both come with a new touchpad-style input device and new software also available for the updated Zune Additional file support for H. The ability to sync wirelessly automatically if connected to a power supply , podcast support, and an upgraded song-sharing licensing are now available on all models. The new software also allows a Zune to communicate with other Zunes to share pictures and songs.

A free firmware update added the new software features to the original Zune 30, and was released on November 13, The Zune 80 came bundled with a USB connection cord and premium headphones. The Zune 4 and 8 come with a USB connection cord and basic headphones.

The first-generation Zune was created by Microsoft in close cooperation with Toshiba , which took the design of the Gigabeat S and redeveloped it under the name Toshiba as registered with the FCC starting in Both products were later united under the Zune brand name in the U. The second-generation Zune 4, 8, and 80 were manufactured by Flextronics.

In this generation the touch-sensitive Zune Pad was introduced. The 30 GB Zune was not redesigned. The third-generation Zune 16 and came out September 16, , though are commonly referred to as second-generation as the only hardware change was additional capacity, it was not redesigned. On September 8, , Microsoft announced the Zune 3. Included in this update are the abilities to tag and later purchase songs heard on FM radio, channels which can be customized to deliver suggested songs for the user, and the ability to purchase songs from the Zune device via the Zune Marketplace, all available wirelessly.

The update also included sample games - Hexic and Texas Hold' em. In addition, support for audiobooks from online stores like Audible. Other noticeable changes included the introduction of a clock and changed "quicklist" functionality. Zunes feature games developed using XNA with custom soundtracks and 8-player wireless multiplayer using the built-in Wi-Fi.

On November 18, , the Zune 3. Primarily a stability-oriented release, it also introduced Space Battle, Sudoku and Checkers for Zune devices. A new policy announced on November 20, allows Zune Pass customers to download 10 tracks per month in the protection-free MP3 format if available for permanent ownership; otherwise, WMA protected format will be downloaded, in addition to the existing "all you can eat" subscription usage at an unchanged monthly cost. On September 15, , the Zune 4. These 4.

Microsoft pointed out that this will bring customers instant access to their favorite music and videos anywhere, across their mobile device, PC and TV. Zune 4. These models were given a firmware update with version 3. The Zune 30 , the original Zune music player, has a 30 GB hard drive, 3 inch screen, and simple directional pad for menu navigation. The second generation set of Zunes includes the Zune 4, 8, 16, 80 and The Zune 4, 8 and 16 are smaller in size and hold 4, 8 and 16GB of flash memory, respectively.

The 80GB Zune, acts as a replacement for the Zune 30, it is thinner and lighter than the original. All second generation Zunes have a Zune Pad instead of the original directional pad that was included on the Zune The screen is multi-touch and uses gestures for the UI. The device comes with 16GB or 32GB of flash memory. The screen is OLED , 3. Included is WiFi with a mobile Internet Explorer browser , and an accelerometer.

Special editions feature their own unique set of content. The standard Zune comes with basic earphones and a USB data cable. The Zune 30 comes with these items plus a carrying bag, and the Zune 80 model adds upgraded "Zune Premium" headphones.

Accessories sold separately include:. According to Microsoft, the most current firmware version is 4. In the case of the Zune 4, 8, 16, 30, 80, and players the most current player software version is 3. The current 3. Zune's native file compatible formats are. The graphical user interface GUI called the "twist interface" by Microsoft has sections for music , videos , pictures , social , radio , podcasts , marketplace , games and settings.

It is said to provide "two-dimensional navigation" for scrolling through items with its directional pad. In the music section, users can add songs to a quick playlist without reconnecting to the desktop software. In the picture section, the background can be customized using any image stored on the device for viewing as wallpaper. In the radio section, users can receive and play FM radio internally, with North American, Japanese, and European tuning ranges and show song information on supported FM stations.

In the social section, users can broadcast user profile and current activity to others nearby. In the setting section, users can control backlight settings and output analog TV in with purchase of a separate connection.

The first updates to the firmware added sharing features send, community, list nearby Zune users as described in FCC filings. Firmware 1. Early firmware releases patched software bugs.

About a year later, the much anticipated 2. The Zune software functions as management software for the device, a full media player application with a library, an interface to the Zune Marketplace, and as a media streaming server using Zune Network Sharing Service. The Zune device was designed to only work with the Zune software. The software synchronizes all content music, videos, pictures, social, podcasts, and games to the device doing any necessary transcoding for a file to play on the device.

As a media player, the Zune software supports the following formats — for audio: MP3. It organizes the media in its library and allows users to add to the library by ripping from CDs and to organize the metadata. It can automatically pull down album art and metadata tag data for content in the library. There is also an inbox feature in the desktop client software as well on the device, which keeps track of songs swapped with other Zune users. On the desktop client, the inbox also serves as a message center for Zune Social.

The 1. The current version of the software is 4. Several versions of the software have been released. At approximately midnight Pacific Standard Time, on the morning of December 31, , many first generation Zune 30 models were reported to have automatically rebooted and frozen during the boot process. Microsoft has stated that the problem is with the internal clock driver written by Freescale and the way the device handles a leap year ; with an intermediate official "fix" to drain the device battery and then recharge after 12 noon GMT on January 1, Specifically, a third party analysis of the clock driver's source code revealed an infinite loop in the way the clock driver calculates years based on a given number of elapsed days.

The Zune Marketplace is an online music, video and podcast store that integrates with Zune software and Xbox In addition, Zune Marketplace has podcasts, TV shows, music videos, and movies. Like other technology companies in the music business, the Zune team at Microsoft has a team of music, TV, film and podcast experts responsible for the Zune Marketplace editorial content and programming. Songs downloaded from the Zune Marketplace are restricted by DRM similar to yet slightly different from PlaysForSure , meaning that songs purchased from PlaysForSure partners could not be playable in Zune Software or on the Zune device, although the reverse is true.

Internally, Zune DRM is referred to as "9. Updating the Zune software to the most recent version 3. Cost and minimum purchase varies with foreign currency exchange rates and taxes.

The points used for the Zune Marketplace are the same points used to buy content from Xbox Live Marketplace , which will soon be replaced by Zune Marketplace. Purchased songs can be burnt as a regular audio CD. Zune Pass subscribers can download unlimited music from the Zune Marketplace.

Zune Pass downloads cannot be burnt to audio CD unless purchased, and become unplayable if the subscription lapses, or if in the future Microsoft should decide to discontinue the service. The Zune pass allows for 3 Zunes to share the downloaded DRM content as well as the content to be downloaded on up to 3 computers. Zune Pass subscribers are also able to keep 10 songs per month. This is offered in the form of a song credit each month that doesn't rollover. Zune 3.

To help push this feature, Microsoft partnered with Wayport to allow the Zune access to its network of over 10, wireless hotspots, including McDonald's restaurants. With the new Zune 4. In late fall , the Zune Video Marketplace will be rolled into the Xbox Live Marketplace to increase parity over the two services.