Two Windows Phone 8 handsets have officially gone on sale in the UK today, with the Nokia Lumia 920 and HTC 8X hitting the shelves.
The Lumia 920 is exclusively available on the new 4G EE network for now, while the Windows Phone 8X can be picked up on tariffs from a number of networks.
You'll need to shell out some serious money if you want to lay your hands on the Nokia Lumia 920, with EE's two-year tariffs starting at £36 per month and the cheapest option giving you just 500MB of data and requiring you to shell out £129.99 up front.
Pricey
If you want more data a month, 1GB will set you back £41 with an outlay of £49.99, while EE's recommend tariff gives you 3GB for an upfront cost of just £19.99, but it's £46 per month.
Meanwhile the HTC Windows Phone 8X can be picked up at O2 for free on a £32 per month two year deal, giving you 600 minutes, unlimited texts and 500MB of data.
If you fancy getting your mitts on the HTC 8S, Nokia Lumia 820 or Samsung Ativ S then you'll need to hold on for a week or two, as these handsets will be available later this month.
Amazon's diversification of their multimedia product catalog seemingly knows no bounds. Earlier this summer the online retailer launched Amazon Game Studios with a single title, Living Classics. The Facebook game allowed players to interact with classic literature in a whole new way but now Amazon is expanding their reach even further with the introduction of their first mobile title.
Air Patriots is described as a new kind of tower defense game where players will need to strategically position an arsenal of airplanes to fend off an enemy tank invasion. Gamers will use their finger to draw a path for the planes to follow to engage enemy forces.
Amazon says Air Patriots differs from other tower defense games. The traditional model includes stationary defense towers but with this game, players can adjust their strategy on the fly.
Air Patriots is available now for Android, iOS and naturally, Kindle Fire. Seeing as this is an Amazon title, the game offers a few added features should you choose to play on the company’s tablet. Amazon GameCircle keeps track of achievements and high scores while Whispersync technology allows players to save progress across both Kindle Fire or Kindle Fire HD devices.
The title is free of charge through the Amazon Appstore, Google Play and Apple’s App Store although the retailer hopes to earn some dough via in-app purchases. Out of the box, players can anticipate seven different maps, multiple achievements and a variety of unlockable content.
As Microsoft migrates from an open platform to a walled garden with Windows 8, freedom falls by the wayside.
For me, Windows 8 is a tale of two cities: There’s an abundance of cool new features that I love, balanced out by an abundance of design changes that I absolutely hate. I accept all of that. Major changes bring major transitions. But as a card-carrying, freedom-loving geek, there’s one thing about Windows 8 I simply cannot accept, a “feature” that seems shiny and new and nice, but hides dark and dangerous possibilities that could devastate computing as we know it and leave us all shackled in Modern-styled chains. Even worse, that ticking time bomb beats as the heart of the new Live Tile interface, a malign tumor threatening to eventually rot the PC’s open core.
The Windows Store. The harbinger. Microsoft’s closed-off answer to Apple’s vaunted walled garden.
Skin-deep beauty
Don’t get me wrong; I have no problem with the usability of the Windows Store itself. No matter what type of device you’re using, the Windows Store is slick, polished and easy to browse, especially with the help of Windows 8′s new “type to search” feature. Its interface sits heads and shoulders above the Apple and Android alternatives.
No, my issue lies with the philosophical underpinnings beneath the attractive veneer.
The only way to get Windows 8 apps is through the Windows Store, some enterprise and developer exceptions aside. And the only way to get into the Windows Store is to go through Microsoft; developers need to pay for a license, submit their apps for approval from on high, and pray to get in.
The new walled garden approach holds a number of advantages for casual and neophyte computer users. Since Microsoft approves the content, Windows 8 apps are sure to be functional at a base level and free of malware. That security comes at the price of freedom, however.
The only way to get Windows 8 apps is to go through the Windows Store, and Microsoft’s app guidelines contain a laundry list of rules that tell developers what types of apps will be approved. Microsoft, like Apple, plans to actively screen the editorial content of apps to avoid offending delicate sensibilities.
Microsoft allows apps with competing functionality into the Windows Store, but it controls editorial content with an iron fist. Here are the content guidelines for Windows 8 apps:
Your app must not contain adult content
Your app must not contain content that advocates discrimination, hatred, or violence based on membership in a particular racial, ethnic, national, linguistic, religious, or other social group, or based on a person’s gender, age, or sexual orientation
Your app must not contain content or functionality that encourages, facilitates or glamorizes illegal activity
Your app must not contain or display content that a reasonable person would consider to be obscene
Your app must not contain content that is defamatory, libelous or slanderous, or threatening
Your app must not contain content that encourages, facilitates or glamorizes excessive or irresponsible use of alcohol or tobacco products, drugs or weapons
Your app must not contain content that encourages, facilitates or glamorizes extreme or gratuitous violence, human rights violations, or the creation or use of weapons against a person or animal in the real world
Your app must not contain excessive or gratuitous profanity
In other words, Windows 8 apps are so many bricks in the wall(ed garden), thought-controlled and scrubbed squeaky clean to Microsoft’s new Leave It To Beaver-esque standards.
A Dark Age ahead
Microsoft’s a private company, of course, and it can impose whichever arbitrary and heavy-handed rules it wants. However, a large part of Windows’ past success lied in the relatively open nature of the operating system. (Cool it, Linux lovers.) If you wanted to create a new piece of software, you just whipped it up and slapped it on the Internet — no costly developer license, jumping through censorship hoops, or 30 percent cuts of revenue to Microsoft required. There is a reason that Windows shined while Mac stuttered and iOS users strived to jailbreak their locked-down phones.
Microsoft is gutting its legacy, sacrificing its past on the altar of the tablet gods.
I’m not the only one who thinks so. When Microsoft asked Minecraft’s developer Notch to certify the game for Windows 8, he told them to “Stop trying to ruin the PC as an open platform.” He didn’t stop there. “I’d rather have Minecraft not run on Win 8 at all than to play along,” he tweeted.
Minecraft can, of course, still run on Windows 8 thanks to the Desktop mode, which plays classic-style Windows programs just fine. Windows RT tablets don’t have the same privilege; they’re stuck running those squeaky-clean, Microsoft-approved Windows 8 apps alone.
The focus is firmly on the new apps and interface, however. Windows 8 takes great pains to shove the Desktop and its legacy programs into a dusty, dark corner. The entire Modern-style Start screen revolves around glittery, transforming Live Tiles generated by Windows 8 apps, while the entire Desktop functions as a single app in Windows 8′s Switcher, no matter how many classic-style programs you have open. Microsoft doesn’t even allow users to boot to the Desktop directly from start up — you must go through the Modern Start screen.
Unless even users complain and Windows 8 fails miserably, I expect the non-enterprise versions of Windows 9 to be the final bricks in the walled garden, ditching the Desktop completely and leaving users with no choice but to look at the world through glasses colored whichever hue Microsoft decides to approve.
A happy medium
It doesn’t have to be like this. The newbie-friendly benefits provided by a walled garden are huge, and I can understand Microsoft wanting to hand-approve apps that sink deep hooks into Windows 8′s core.
I’m a big boy, though, and I want choice. Grand Theft Auto IV wouldn’t have been anywhere near as fun if Packie didn’t swear like a sailor and Niko laid down his automatic weapons and alcoholic beverages. Fortunately, there’s already an example Microsoft can follow that would dispel all my negativity and doubt: Android and Apple’s own OS X desktop operating system.
Both of those platforms restrict users to central, approved download sources out of the box, which provides casual users with the same level of security and ease-of-use currently offered by the Windows Store. More crucially, they also provide a way around that barrier for power users. Sideloading apps on Android is as simple as switching out a system setting, while disabling Gatekeeper on a Mac is just as straightforward.
Adding a sideloading option for everyone — not just devs and IT admins — would allow Microsoft to have its cake and eat it too. Casual users could stay safe and secure, while power users could bask in the open freedom and continue to use their computers as they see fit.
Sideloaded apps wouldn’t be subject to Microsoft’s 30-percent Windows Store fee, of course. That shouldn’t make too much of a dent in company revenues; as I said, Android allows sideloading, and I don’t hear Google complaining that hordes of users are snagging apps from third-party sources. However, allowing sideloading would let developers distribute Windows 8 apps that are too edgy, mature, political or religious for Microsoft’s squeaky-clean enforced tastes, while maintaining the open tradition the operating system is known for.
Will Microsoft grant this boon after already tossing out the Start button, the desktop and the company’s reluctance to make its own hardware, or will it continue down the ham-fisted (yet profitable) path blazed by the dictators at Apple? That remains to be seen. But if the company doesn’t change its ways, the Windows Store will be the death — not the evolution — of computing as we know it.
Keep on keeping on with that Steam for Linux endeavor, Valve. You might just be sowing the seeds of rebirth that keeps hope alive after a computing apocalypse.
The HTC Opera UL will be the first official Facebook smartphone, so says a "very reliable source".
According to Pocket-Lint, an unnamed insider spilled the beans on social network's first handset, claiming that it was indeed in development and that we'd already got the first glimpse of it in a benchmark test.
It's claimed the HTC Opera GL is the name for the handset which is being developed specifically for Facebook, although little else is known about it at this time.
Delays
The benchmark result which the informant refers to reveals the Opera UL sports a 1.4GHz processor, 720x1280 HD display and comes running Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean.
The source did reveal the Opera UL has been subject to delays, it's not clear what the reason is behind this, or indeed how long the handset has been pushed back.
There have been many, many rumours about a potential Facebook phone, none of which have come to fruition, so we're taking this latest news with a heavy dosage of salt.
The “phablet” isn’t for everyone, that much is clear. Some of us like smaller screens and feel that devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 are just too big. That being said, there is clearly a growing demand for larger-sized smartphones, as evidenced by the run-away success of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 2.
How well is the Note 2 doing already? In just 37 days, Samsung now has sold 3 million units. This is extremely impressive. The phablet is quickly growing into a mainstream device. After personally reviewing the LG Intuition, I have to say that the 5+-inch smartphone category might seem strange at first but you quickly get these oversized phones.
Some of the most compelling reasons to own the Note 2 have to do with that extra real-estate for reading, browsing and playing games. The exceptional note-taking abilities with the S-Pen are a big part of the device’s appeal as well. One of the best things about Android devices is that there are wide variety of sizes, shapes and form factors. This means that no matter what kind of tastes you have, odds are you will find something that fits your own individual needs.
What do you consider the “sweet spot” for screen size?
Amazon's cloud storage service for photos isn't just for Kindle HD users anymore. The company made its Cloud Drive Photos app available for most Android devices today. Signing in with your Amazon account will net you 5GB of free space for your pictures.
Android phone and tablet users have yet another option for cloud-based storage, though this time it’s specifically for photos. Amazon has made its Cloud Drive Photos app, which is already integrated into the Kindle Fire HD, available on most Android devices. This app looks like a service that will serve constant photo-snappers quite well.
The app initially asks for users to sign in using an Amazon account. You’re going to want to sign up for an account if you don’t already have one, because this app is completely useless if you don’t. The point of a cloud drive service is to save space, not take it up. Once you’re signed in, you’ll be greeted with the app’s home screen, or the “Cloud” tab. This simply explains to you how to access your drive online and add content from your computer that can then be viewed on your phone or tablet.
There is a second tab atop the display in this app called “Photos.” This is where you will actually be able to see the photo content that is currently saved on your device. Your camera roll, screen captures, Draw Something drawings, Instagram images, and all other photographic data is displayed. These are displayed by category, which can then be explored to see what each album holds. Pressing and holding on an album or an individual picture will allow you to manage the selection, prompting you to either remove it from the device or upload it to the cloud. These are very contrary choices, so make sure you select the one you want. The app also doesn’t appear to automatically sync and there is no option to do so in the settings, so you’ll have to manually update your sync after every snapshot, making this app annoyingly out of date compared to options from Google+ and others.
All users of Amazon’s Cloud Drive Photos get 5GB of free storage. That can be upgraded to 20GB of space for $10 a year. Everything you upload is accessible right from your Amazon account, making it easy to manage from your phone or your computer. The app isn’t exactly feature rich, but it does the job it claims. An auto-sync feature would be nice, but it looks like we’ll have to wait until the next update to see if it’s there.
you can download the Amazon Cloud Drive Photos app on the Google Play store or Amazon’s Appstore.
Looking for accessories to go with your brand new iPad mini? Moshi's VersaCover origami case doubles as a screen protector and an iPad stand.
Congratulations! You’ve braved the Apple line once again and got your hands on the new iPad mini. Now you want to know how to keep the Retina display safe from scratches and dust. Consider Moshi’s VersaCover origami case, an architecturally inspired cover that builds upon Apple’s Smart Cover design. Like its predecessor for the original iPad, you’ll be able to flip, fold, and tuck the VersaCover into various shapes so while it’s not protecting your iPad’s screen, it can function as an iPad stand.
The secret is between the edges of the cover, which contain little magnets to help the ridges connect and stay sturdy when folded. You can use the folds to position your iPad to stand upright or landscape are various angles. The cover itself is also made of microfibers and will support the iPad mini’s auto-wake/sleep feature for a swift access to the menu. Unfortunately, pricing is pretty steep in comparison to the original iPad version. The VersaCover for iPad mini will retail for $55 with a shipment date scheduled by the end of the year, while the original version retails for $60. Moshi’s VersaCover will be available in four color options: Aloe Green, Denim Blue, Sakura Pink, and Velvet Grey. We’re digging the pastel color scheme which makes for a soft introduction to the holiday season.
This weekend the Planetside 2 beta client will be updated with a button that offers players the ability to live-stream their gameplay via Twitch.
With PlanetSide 2, Sony Online Entertainment hopes to drop players into a massive, chaotic warzone populated with other, like-minded virtual killers in an intense race to see who will be the last one standing. Given that premise, it should come as no surprise that simply watching the chaos unfold would have a certain entertainment value, even for people who aren’t playing the game.
Whether or not that proves true, Sony Online Entertainment has announced an agreement with gaming-centric video streaming site Twitch (formerly TwitchTV) to add a new button to the game’s user interface that would instantly allow players to stream their in-game exploits. According to SOE this makes PlanetSide 2 the “first game in market to enable direct one-click streaming to the Twitch platform.” Further, the company claims that it’s currently “ in discussions with other top developers/publishers regarding similar integrations.”
Those that have been following Twitch since back at its days as part of Justin.tv, shouldn’t be surprised by the news. Many see the rise of eSports as one of the next big gaming trends of the coming years, and the rapid success of Twitch is testament to that. One of the most significant problems with the expansion of the medium though, has been the technology needed to stream games. On PCs there are a few options, but console streaming requires specific equipment that most gamers don’t have, and probably aren’t willing to purchase at this time. As Twitch expands and more companies follow SOE in including streaming options, that should change rapidly.
As for solid, important details, here’s what you need to know: First, this new button will supposedly be updated into the game at some point this weekend. SOE says “sometime between Friday and Monday,” so adjust your schedules accordingly. Secondly, SOE warns that while this new feature will be up and running in the next few days, it may not be entirely functional. The company claims that the button will be visible to everyone in the PlanetSide 2 beta, but that it “will probably not be fully functional until the actual game launch.” Which, for the record, is scheduled for November 20.
Word that Microsoft is working on an own-brand Windows Phone handset keeps resurfacing, with the latest reports saying that it's currently in testing.
The Wall Street Journal says that Microsoft is testing the mysterious Microsoft smartphone with Asian suppliers, presumably with a view to working out manufacturing processes.
The same sources also told the paper that the Microsoft phone will come with a display somewhere between 4- and 5-inches.
Time will tell
However, they also added that Microsoft isn't yet sure if the handset will make it to mass production.
Samsung has announced that it has sold 3 million Galaxy Note 2 tablet/smartphone hybrid devices, despite it only have been on sale since September. That's a lot of sales for a niche product, so where is its competition?
Samsung must be looking at the latest sales figures for the Galaxy Note 2, which it has just made public, shaking its head and then having a good laugh. It has released a device nobody thought they wanted and critics instantly took against, then went on to sell millions of them. So why is it laughing? Because there still isn’t any competition.
The Galaxy Note 2 went on sale during September in Korea, reached the UK on October 1, and has steadily made its way to the US and other regions around the world since. According to Samsung, in 37 days it has racked up more than 3 million sales.
The original Galaxy Note arrived in September 2011, but didn’t reach 1 million sales until the end of December, so the Note 2‘s performance is impressive going, particularly when you take into account the Note 2 is still a niche device.
But is it so niche that it doesn’t need some competition? Who does Samsung think it is? Apple? Has it really produced an initially derided product that in reality, just caught other manufacturers napping?
Rumors and half-releases
It seems so, as viable alternatives to the Note 2 are few and far between, despite the product line having been on sale for more than a year. There’s the LG Optimus Vu, or the LG Intuition if you buy it from Verizon; but in its infinite wisdom, LG hasn’t bothered to give it a wide release, so its sales are unlikely to impress.
HTC’s bizarrely named J Butterfly phone has a 5-inch, 1080p screen, but it’s only available in Japan, while Panasonic has picked up its 5-inch Eluga Power and taken it home, after it failed to gain any traction in the European market. At least these have seen a release, as phones such as the LG Optimus Vu II, the Oppo Find 5, Lenovo’s S880 and the Thomson X-View 2 are all seemingly in some kind of release date limbo.
Huawei and ZTE have woken up and started talking about their own tablet/smartphone hybrid machines. For Huawei, it will be the Ascend D2 and the rumor is it will be equipped with a quad-core chip and a 720p 5-inch display. ZTE’s Nubia Z5 will have the same specification, but will add a 13-megapixel camera too. Neither are confirmed though, and both are likely to do the rounds in China before possibly going international sometime next year.
There are also a few other rumored devices with 5-inch-plus sized screens coming soon. HTC may adapt the J Butterfly for international release — possibly to be named the Droid DNA and launched on the Verizon network — while the Sony C650X, codename Odin, may arrive next year too, along with a 6-inch screen version codename Yuga. Both of these and the Droid DNA are said to have 5-inch, 1080p screens.
All this gives the Galaxy Note 2 an almost entirely open playing field until well into 2013. How many Note 2 handsets will it have gone on to sell before a true alternative finally goes on sale?
A splash of colour, Microsoft's latest mobile platform and a sleek new body are combined with more powerful hardware - is the 8X the phone to bring Windows Phone 8 to the masses?
HTC's been in a bit of a weird position these last few years. From the days of anonymity when it made Windows phones for others, it rode the crest of the Android wave when Google's platform launched becoming, pretty much, the Android handset OEM of choice.
And then Samsung happened. HTC's offerings appeared to dip and even the pretty fantastic One X – struggled to make inroads against the seemingly unstoppable Galaxy line, currently led by the superb Galaxy S3.
HTC was up there at the starting block when Microsoft launched Windows Phone a couple of years back, and although it's competing with Samsung in this arena too – and its offerings haven't been what one would call "amazing" – HTC is clearly trying to make its voice heard.
And what better way to do that with some pretty bright colours and a newer version of Windows Phone that the world's been waiting for for months?
The HTC 8X comes in a range of colours - from muted black, to respectable red, to an elegant purple and a, quite frankly, hideous lollipop-lady yellow hue.
We were sent the purple model and it's a beauty. There had been rumours that the red would be reserved for Verizon users in the US – but it looks like the rest of world is now getting it too.
First thing we noticed is how thin the HTC 8X is. Not so much an amazing feat of engineering, but a clever trick.
With dimensions of 132.4 x 66.2 x 10.1mm, the HTC 8X is fairly average in size. But it's thinner round the edges to give the impression it's more svelte than it actually is. Not that this matters because it looks and feels thin most of the time and the slight curve around the back means it sits well, both on a surface and in the hand.
In fact, in the hand, it looks the same size as the HTC One X, despite the appearance given in our picture above.
Add to that the material the HTC 8X is made of – polycarbonate, like the One X – and you instantly have in your mitts a handset that feels like a real premium device. It's a unibody design so it's all nice and neat (win) but at the expense of a memory slot and replaceable battery (fail).
The front of the HTC 8X is taken up by the display. If you like what Nokia did with the Lumia 800, or indeed what HTC did with the One X, you'll be a fan of this too.
The screen just looks like it's been stuck on top of the phone and adds to that premium feel. There's also a splash of colour around the earpiece to remind you that the two are linked.
Next to this, you'll find the front-facing wide-angled camera, and the three Windows Phone softkeys at the bottom – back, search and menu.
That screen is an HD display at 720x1280. Spread over 4.3 inches, it's easily as sharp as Apple's retina display, which no longer appears to be anything special by modern standards.
The top of the HTC 8X is fairly minimalist with nothing other than the 3.5mm headphone jack and the lock button. Although we're not necessarily fans of lock buttons on top of larger phones due to the awkwardness they present, here, we weren't too fussed.
Due to the shape of the handset and the way it sits, it's easy enough to press with the index finger whether you're a left or right hander. Our only complaint is it is quite subtle and a few times, we had to feel around to find it if we were looking elsewhere. It doesn't stick out much.
The left hand side of the HTC 8X is completely bare, whilst all you'll find down at the bottom is the micro USB charging and syncing port.
The volume rocker is on the right and below it is a camera shutter key. We are always pleased to see these because it makes the art of launching the camera and taking a photo so much easier than messing about with software, no matter how good said software is.
There's also a tray for getting that micro SIM in – but you'll need to use a special tool to open it so make sure you keep it in a safe place.
The rear of the HTC 8X is a thing of beauty. That polycarbonate body really sets it off – as does the colour which sits beneath a silver HTC logo and another displaying the Beats Audio heritage. And of course, there's that main snapper with LED light which HTC promises will deliver amazing results.
The 8X will be pitching itself right against Nokia's latest Lumia range – and with the Lumia 920 also coming in a number of colourful iterations, telling them apart may be harder for those who aren't as used to Windows Phone products.
But there is a difference in that the HTC 8X doesn't come with 4G LTE connectivity in the UK, whilst the Lumia 920 does. Which means it'll likely be cheaper – and that may be its saving grace for late adopters.
Expect the HTC 8X to launch at the start of November. With this in mind, there are no real deals to be had yet, but preorder prices are sitting a shade under the £400 mark (USD: $640 / AU: £620) for a 16GB sim-free unit.
This will be HTC's flagship Windows Phone handset, so don't expect it to be in the bargain bucket. Prepare to pay at least £30 a month for two years.
Leaked screenshots of an update to Google's Wallet App that hasn't been pushed yet shows evidence that a physical Google Wallet Card will be made available for instances where you can't make purchases with your NFC-enabled Android phone.
Digital wallet services are flooding the market, despite the many barriers between them and consumers pockets. Apparently, Google is trying to alleviate some of this existing friction with a tangible solution. Android Police received an anonymous tip and series of screenshots showing off a Google Wallet app promoting a physical Google Wallet card. According to the screenshots, the Google Wallet Card will be a physical credit card used in lieu of the multiple credit cards you have in your physical wallet.
The screenshots might have been taken by someone who had early access to an updated Google Wallet app, and it shows off a leaked informational page explaining the advantages of a Google Wallet Card. The cards are likely intended for brick-and-mortar shops that haven’t adopted NFC reading terminals or even iPad-based solutions.
The card is supposed to bridge the gap between the new and old payment systems we’re stuck in. On one hand it’s a credit card like any other, but it digitally stores all of your existing cards so you can leave the multiple pieces of plastic at home. Users will defer to the Google Wallet app to indicate which credit card stored on the physical Google Wallet Card they want to swipe.
There are a few advantages to this system. For instance, if you lose your wallet, you’re not forced to cancel all your cards. In fact, “you only need to cancel your Google Wallet Card (not every card in your wallet).” You’ll also probably be able to request a new Google Card with the press of a button in the Google Wallet app. Some bonus security measures appear to include 24/7 fraud monitoring, and the ability to remotely disable your card at any time.
The second part of the leak introduces withdrawing money or sending money to a “Wallet Balance,” which seems to be a debt-like account where you can store, send, or spend money. It may suggest being able to soon use the Google Wallet Card as a debit card itself, independent of the stored credit cards. Finally, the screen shot shows evidence of the ability to add a transit card, like a New York City Metro Card for instance.
Of course until Google gets back to us we’re merely speculating, but the screenshots are incredibly telling: Google is aggressively entering this market and competing with the likes of Square and even more so Apple Passbook.
Walt Disney Animation Studio return with Wreck-It Ralph, a film steeped in the world of video games. But at its core, the digital overlay is simply the setting for a traditional, and heartwarming story of a guy who makes a friend.
Although the days of the arcade are on the wane to the point of extinction, there will always be a certain subset of people who have grown up with the influence of those institutions ingrained upon them. During the 80s and 90s, the arcade was a place where you could go to experience something new. It was a place to hide away for a few hours, or a place to socialize in a new way. For many it was an escape, while for others it was a babysitter, reassuring parents in the knowledge that they could leave their kids there and those kids would be content to hover around the games like moths around a light without even entertaining the thought of wandering off.
Over the years though, the evolution of technology has not been kind to these digital meccas. Prices went up, while the convenience and sophistication of the product moved to the home. A handful of arcades remain, but they are few and far between. They will always exist, however, in the hearts and minds of those that experienced arcades in their prime. It is to those people that Wreck-It Ralph has been promoted through trailers and promotional materials. But while the film is certainly heavily influenced by those unique days, the story is a deeper and more universal tale.
That arcade influence is at the heart of Wreck-It Ralph, but it is not the driving force. Beyond the flashy cameos of characters like Pac-Man and Street Fighter’s Zangief, there is a story of a lonely guy, badly treated and shunned through no fault of his own, who befriends another lonely and isolated character that just wants to be accepted. Like most of Disney’s animated films it is a morality tale, and one that is created to appeal to all ages. In that, it succeeds.
After 30 years as the unappreciated antagonist of a Donkey Kong-like arcade game called “Fix-It Felix Jr.”, Ralph (voiced by John C. Reilly) has begun to question his role. After being shunned by his fellow characters at the anniversary party for their game, Ralph decides that the only way he will ever belong is to prove that he can be a hero too. Things soon go wrong, and Ralph accidentally leaves a trail of mishaps in his wake, forcing his own game’s hero, Felix (voiced by Jack McBrayer), to come looking for him.
Through a bizarre turn, Ralph finds himself in a game called “Sugar Rush,” a candy-themed kart racer (created for this film, but bearing more than a passing similarity to Mario Kart), where he meets the annoying, but endearing Vanellope (voiced by Sarah Silverman). But Ralph’s journey has caused bigger problems than he knows. With Felix on his trail thanks to the no-nonsense Sergeant Calhoun (voiced by Jane Lynch), Ralph’s actions could spell doom for the entire arcade.
The hook of Wreck-It Ralph is, of course, the gaming-inspired world that Ralph and his cohorts inhabit, but that is actually a fairly small portion of the overall package, just as the toys were just the setup to tell a much deeper narrative in Toy Story. If anything, the promotion of this movie has been a little misleading. Although publicized as a gaming-centric film, the gaming icons are there for only a very small potion of the actual movie. Of the eight characters from real games in the poster above, their combined screen time may be five minutes, and three of those come in one scene at the beginning. That isn’t really a criticism though, just a note that the promotion of this film has been focusing so heavily on its ties to the gaming world that you may not expect to find that it is actually a minor aspect of it in the same way that toys are a relatively small focus of Toy Story. In both cases the world creates the rules, and in both cases the setup offers some original humor thanks to the subject matter, but the heart of the story runs deeper than that.
Director Rich Moore (Multiple Simpsons and Futurama episodes) certainly understands the nostalgic appeal of the arcade, but that world quickly takes a backseat to the story. The arcade environment is simply the vehicle that offers the filmmakers a clever and entertaining backdrop to tell a deeper and more heartfelt story of friendship and acceptance. It comes across a touch heavy handed for the more cynically minded, but there are moments that are actually fairly touching even if they are a bit predictable.
Wreck-It Ralph doesn’t quite hit that level of originality or emotional resonance of the brilliant Toy Story series, but it is possibly the best animated film of the year. Brave and ParaNorman both have a horse in that race as well, but the humor, originality of the universe, and story that hits all the right emotional notes, make Wreck-It Ralph the leader.
The artwork is also beautiful and expressive, and the characters emote a great deal. The voice cast is involved in the story, not just reading dialogue. Even when the story does begin to stray into predictable territory – and it does so heavily, especially at the end with the twist you’ll see coming from a mile away – the art can help keep you engaged.
Conclusion
Although the “hidden world of gaming” promised by the advertising is actually more of a background than a feature, Wreck-It Ralph has more than enough on its own merits to make a worthy entry into the Walt Disney vaults. There is a simple, but universal story at play that will appeal to all ages, and it succeeds because of the sharp writing, endearing animation, and great voice work. It is a touch formulaic, but ultimately satisfying and worth the time. Your inner child that still yearns for the days of the arcade will thank you for it.
