Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 - Features and Setup

Introduction

Screens are meant to be touched, games consoles are designed for us to wave our limbs in front of them and Google and Apple are desperate for us to talk to our phones. Amongst all of this, speaking to our PCs has fallen somewhat by the wayside, but the company providing the speech recognition technology behind Siri wants us to try again.

Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 Features

Somewhat predictably 'Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12' is the successor to the excellent NaturallySpeaking 11.5 and somewhat predictably Nuance is calling it the "fastest, most accurate and easy-to-use version of Dragon yet".

What causes these proclamations are claims of a 20 per cent improvement in out of the box speech recognition accuracy, faster performance and new technology which looks to learn your preferences as you use the software - for example how you format words, phrases and numbers. In addition is full Gmail and Outlook.com support, correction options respond to more naturalistic language as well as more natural text-to-speech reading of your work by Dragon which allows you to review without returning to the screen.

These features build on existing core features such as social network integration ("Post to Facebook..." / "Post to Twitter..."), web search and opening and closing of programs. Perhaps most useful of all, however, was v11.5's integration with Dragon smartphone apps which allow dictation via your phone's microphone letting you ditch a headset completely.

Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 Setup

Voice recognition software has a reputation for infuriating, lengthy setup routines and while Nuance Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 doesn't drop them completely the process is quick and – most importantly – educational. A nice tweak Nuance has made from v11.5 is that the setup process now takes even more care in teaching you key commands and usage scenarios while it learns your voice so it is well worth doing. In all it took about 15 minutes and even new users would feel confident about using punctuation, switching between programs, composing emails and performing web searches in this time. The training process and additional training exercises can be accessed at any time.

Of course it is worth pointing out that smartphone voice recognition has no setup process whatsoever which may make some impatient. The counterpoint is the setup is both a tutorial and should be far more accurate than just trying to adapt to the generic tones of your nationality. At least that's the theory...

About GTA IV...

Niko Bellic, the main character.

In Grand Theft Auto 4 you take on the role of Niko Bellic, an immigrant from Eastern Europe with an ominous past. Persuaded by his cousin's promises of a fresh start and a better life, Niko relocates to Liberty City, USA -- the worst place in America. After making the move to Liberty, however, Niko quickly realizes that his hopes of "living the American Dream" may never come to pass... and that things here may not be so different after all. Although Liberty City may not differ greatly from Niko's homeland, being different and standing out is definitely a major theme with Grand Theft Auto IV. While GTA: Vice City and GTA: San Andreas were considered to be part of the GTA III trilogy (same graphics engine, similar characters, similar mission style, etc.), Grand Theft Auto IV is considered a fresh start for the GTA series, focusing more heavily on realism and storytelling than in previous titles. This is why it's been dubbed GTA4 and not GTA6 (as many had originally anticipated), even though it's the sixth major title in the series. GTA IV follows the release of the hugely successful GTA: San Andreas (which was released for PlayStation 2 in 2004, and then later for PC and Xbox during 2005) and also marks the 10^th anniversary of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. With Grand Theft Auto 4 being the milestone that it is, Rockstar Games has been working overtime on perfecting the game. According to Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey -- a financial consultant for Take2 Interactive -- approximately 150 developers worked on GTA 4.

The Unveiling of GTA IV

Grand Theft Auto IV was announced on May 9, 2006 at Microsoft's E³ press conference. Peter Moore (who was Corporate Vice-President of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business division at the time of the announcement) rolled up the left sleeve of his t-shirt to reveal a GTA4 tattoo on his arm. He announced that GTA 4 would be available on Xbox 360 in 2007, and revealed that Microsoft and Rockstar Games had formed a strategic alliance in order to provide exclusive episodic content for Xbox Live, giving the community ever-expanding gameplay experiences.

The contents of the Grand Theft Auto IV special edition.

Take 2 Interactive then issued a press release which announced that GTA IV would be released simultaneously for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in October 2007. However, the game was delayed on August 2, 2007, because some elements of the development were proving to be more time-intensive than originally expected. On January 24, 2008, a worldwide release date of April 29, 2008 was announced by Rockstar Games. It was announced on May 21, 2007, that GTA 4 would be available as a special edition on the same day as the regular edition. It is presented in a customised Grand Theft Auto metal safety deposit box, and includes the game, a limited edition duffel bag, an exclusive keychain, a selected soundtrack CD, and a Grand Theft Auto IV Art Book, featuring never-before-seen production artwork from GTA4.

The PC Version

Grand Theft Auto IV was announced for the PC during August 2008, with the release date set for late November. This was soon delayed however (hey- it wouldn't be Grand Theft Auto if it wasn't delayed!) until early December. The game was eventually released on December 2nd and December 3rd, in North America and Europe respectively.

The PC Video Editor feature.

In terms of content, the PC version contains some exclusive material which the console versions don't have. Firstly, it contains a customisable MP3 radio station known as Independence FM, allowing you to listen to your favourite tracks in-game; secondly, the multiplayer (which features a maximum of 32 players as opposed to 16 on the console versions) includes a new Custom Match feature which enables you to search for online sessions which fulfill specific criteria (such as number of players, game mode, location etc.); and thirdly, a selection of new clothing items are available in multiplayer. Also exclusive to the PC version is the Video Editor feature, which enables you to record short replays and then combine them later into a video, with the option to add filters, transitions, custom camera angles, music and text overlays. The footage can then be exported to your hard drive or shared with the Rockstar Social Club community via Social Club TV, which is basically Rockstar's version of the popular video site YouTube. Of course in addition to all of this, the PC version provides stunningly detailed, high resolution graphics (with multiple options to customise your experience) and also the potential for modding. The GTA modding community has grown considerably since the release of Grand Theft Auto III on the PC in 2002, as players look to prolong their interest in the game by adding new weapons, missions, vehicles, skins and maps.

Main Features

GAMEPLAY

• Niko can use a mobile phone to recieve calls and phone his contacts in order to arrange missions. He can also use it to call taxis and purchase weapons. The options presented on the phone's LCD are Phonebook, Messages, Organizer, and Camera. The phone can also be used to access multiplayer.
• Pedestrians perform realistic actions. They smoke cigarettes, read books and newspapers, drop litter, talk on mobile phones, walk in and out of buildings, and generally act like any normal pedestrian in a real city would.
  Mobile phones are a big part of Grand Theft Auto IV's gameplay.
• GTA IV features fifteen multiplayer modes, which can be accessed through the mobile phone. Multiplayer supports up to sixteen players, and the game modes include Deathmatch, Mafiya Work, Cops n' Crooks and Free Mode.
• It is possible to surf the internet in GTA4 via internet cafés. It is available from any computer in the game, and provides a hub for all sorts of interactivity within Liberty City. There are over 100 in-game internet websites.
• In GTA IV, you will gain a police wanted level for any crime that you commit, providing there are witnesses present. The police can only chase you if they know where you are, and they need to see you to know where you are. If you escape the search area marked on the radar without being spotted, your wanted level will disappear.
• In terms of scale, GTA IV is about the same size as GTA: San Andreas, but the map size is considerably smaller. This is mainly due to the fact there is no desert or countryside in Liberty City. Liberty City in GTA4 is the biggest single city that R* have ever created.
  GTA4 contains fifteen multiplayer modes, supporting up to 16 players.
• In GTA IV, the line between on- and off-mission has been blurred, and the story is less linear. It is also possible to do more than one mission at a time. For example, some missions take place over several days and may involve waiting for phonecalls or attending interviews, and you are free to carry out other business during the waiting period.
• The story can be told in a number of different ways. Rockstar are trying to give people greater freedom and sense of control over their destiny. You now have a lot more choice in what you want to do.
• Niko has the ability to climb and descend telephone poles, and exterior fire escapes.
• Every street in Liberty City contains a street sign with a name on it.
• Cars feature GPS navigation systems, which identify the best routes to take during missions, and highlight them on the radar.
• Developing relationships with characters is an important aspect of the gameplay. Maintaining good relationships will provide different rewards to Niko. Niko can socialise with other characters in order to maintain a good relationship, for example they can go bowling together, they can go to the cabaret, go to comedy clubs, and go drinking together.

TECHNOLOGY

• Grand Theft Auto 4 runs on Rockstar's proprietary next generation game engine, R.A.G.E., allowing for an unprecedented level of realism and interactivity.
  • New sunlight and weather effects which give the city a whole different appearance as the time of day progresses.
    New volumetric lighting effects are evident in this screenshot.
  • Volumetric lighting effects allow sunlight to stream realistically into dusty interiors. Police spotlights will likely benefit from this effect as well when helicopters kick up debris.
  • Normal (bump) maps will provide much more detail in models than the underlying polygons, as well as giving materials more texture and depth.
  • Road and building textures are more varied than in previous GTAs. On some roads you will find potholes, metal plates (etc) where the road has been dug up.
  • Modern pixel shaders give water, glass, cars, etc.. more realistic reflections and shininess than the earlier games.
  • In cars, you can see real reflections on the rear and side-view mirrors.
  • There are no load times in GTA4, not even during exterior-interior transitions (and vice versa.)
• GTA4 uses euphoria, a fully procedural animation package created by NaturalMotion. The core technology is the Dynamic Motion Synthesis (DMS) system.
  Characters have the ability to hang on to the back of vehicles.
  • Variations in the terrain are met with realistic changes in the walking animation.
  • Unique game moments. Animations are created on the fly, so each player's experience will be unique. Gamers are no longer subjected to pre-recorded animations.
  • Characters will react realisticaly to being hit with gunfire, cars, and melee weapons or fists.
  • Players will be able to push people out of the way, rather than "floating" past them as in older games.
  • Falling/thrown characters will react as in real life- They won't simply be limp, lifeless ragdolls. Nor will they use a canned "super hero" animation like before.
  • Characters (and players?) will be able to hang on to helicopters and trucks, which will swing them around as the vehicle moves.

  Minimum System Operating System: Windows Vista Service Pack 1 OR Windows XP Service Pack 3 Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.8Ghz or AMD Athlon X2 64 2.4GHz Memory/RAM: 1.5GB for Vista, 1GB for XP Hard Disk Space: 16GB Free

  Recommended System Operating System: Windows Vista Service Pack 1 OR Windows XP Service Pack 3 Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4GHz, AMD Phenom X3 2.1GHz Memory/RAM: 2.5GB for Vista, 2.5GB for XP Hard Disk Space: 18 GB Free Video Card: 512MB NVIDIA 8600 or 512MB ATI 3870

True Conflict. True Power. True New York.

• Street Justice Bust criminals, take down gangs, search, seize, extort, take bribes, confiscate, interrogate, use informants and dispense justice your way – by the book or by indulging in the temptations of the job.

• Run New York City Regulate the city from Times Square and Harlem to Little Italy, Chinatown and every neighborhood in between. Take taxis, subways, and enter virtually every building in the city from music stores to clothing stores, clubs and more.

• Living, Breathing City Your attitude towards crime affects the way it looks and feels. Let crime go unchecked or contribute to it yourself and watch the city fall apart around you. Clean up crime and see it prosper along with your career.

• Everything’s a Weapon Tables, stoves, ovens, chairs, machines and anything else you see can be used to fight your enemies. Additionally, wield police issued weapons like pistols, grenades and rifles, or use your cash to buy black market firepower like flamethrowers, semi-automatics, Molotov cocktails and more.

• Brawl Your Way Seamlessly choose one of five unique fighting styles to bust up perps depending on your enemy or preference.

• Navigate the ‘Hoods Use SUVs, motorcycles, sportscars, police vehicles, trucks, buses and more to cruise around or gun down enemies. Or take cabs or the subway for direct routes.

• Supported Video cards: NVIDIA: GeForce FX series, GeForce 6 series, GeForce 7 series ATI: X500 series, X550 series, X800 series, X850 series, Radeon 9500 series, Radeon 9550 series, Radeon 9600 series, Radeon 9700 series, Radeon 9800 series

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The streets of Stilwater have changed. Now it's time for you to blow them all to hell.

I'ma bust a cap in your water tower!

The missions, and there are a lot of them, do a good job of staying varied throughout your onslaught to bring down each gang. There are missions where you'll be throwing fireworks out of the back of a truck or you'll have to evade a group of trucks in a makeshift demolition derby. While there are still the standard "go kill everyone here, then go kill everyone here" type of missions that get slightly monotonous over time, the majority stay varied and fun. The development team at Volition also added a handy checkpoint system which should eliminate some of the frustrations that were felt in the first game.

Aside from the aforementioned touch of adding a checkpoint system, there are also a few other finite additions that are worth mentioning. The first is that of cruise control. To ease the art of the drive by, players can now hold the left shoulder button to keep the speed of their car steady so their right thumb can then return to aiming. Second, when swimming you can now press a face button to instantly warp to the shore. Unsurprisingly this game is best played with a 360 gamepad. Playing with a keyboard and mouse might save you some general aiming accuracy, but the overall fun isn't quite the same.

So the gameplay is fun, wacky and varied. The production values may not be as high as they are elsewhere, but Saints Row 2 is more of a low-budget Bruckheimer flick than a Scorsese-style Departed, so that's really no big deal.

Color coordinated hostage taking.

The real negatives for Saints Row 2 come in the technical department. And on PC these sadly cripple the game. From graphics to AI to the sheer inner-workings of the game, SR2 has blemishes in every area. First, graphically, it isn't as attractive as the competition. There isn't much going on in the environments and yet there are still inexcusable performance problems. Character models and environments aren't as detailed as they could be unless you flip the overall quality to high which kills your play experience and the collision detection is wonky at best. I constantly got pedestrians stuck in the grill of my car (no joke) or sometimes even stuck inside my car.

While driving on the streets you'll also notice a good bit of draw-in and fade that includes cars that downright disappear in some places. I've been chasing people on a hitman mission and had their car completely disappear from sight and radar. Not cool. I've also had helicopters warp to the basement of a barge when reloading a game and other open world wackiness that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Toss in the fact that I've actually had the game lock up on two separate systems a handful of times, and I can't help but feel that Saints Row 2 could have used some more time in the shop.

That's not say that Saints Row 2 always looks bad, in fact, more often than not it looks good (shoot the four-car train with a rocket to see what I mean), it's just a bummer that as soon as the game is put in motion on the PC things turn to utter crap.

The artificial intelligence is a bit more hit or miss. Sometimes enemies will take bystanders as their hostage while firing at you while other times they'll stand there, mid-firefight and not react to your presence. Every one of their friends is trying to kill me, yet they could really care less.

The sound in the game is solid to say the least. The aforementioned voice acting packs in the Hollywood talent and they do a great job. The sound effects are good, minus the sub-machine gun that sounds like a pea shooter. The soundtrack is one that has been described as "all over the map" by some editors, but for a set of eleven radio stations that's not such a bad thing. There's rap, there's R&B, there's metal and there's '80s. What more do you want? Well, some might want something more than a standard single-player campaign and luckily multiplayer is one of Saints Row 2's best qualities. First, there's co-op play. The entire world is open to both players via online or system link (sorry, no split-screen) and that means that every mission in the campaign can be played with a buddy. The AI scales to fit the added player and you'll see many more hooligans trying to step in your way because of that. Everything is more fun with a friend and Saints Row 2 is no different. The only downside is that aren't many people playing just yet, but that could change with time. Competitive multiplayer is also a great deal of fun when you can find people playing. While the whole world isn't opened up, the action is instead confined to individual neighborhoods. Eight or twelve players (depending on the mode) can join up and compete against each other in an objective-based mode or just standard killing. A couple of exclusive multiplayer activities are added to an already impressive list and players need to battle it out for the largest bankroll possible.

Splosions are always fun.

At first I thought I'd be disappointed by the restricted game world playing competitively, but the restricted size of each neighborhood actually keeps the action at a steady pace. Instead the biggest disappoint was the lack of players. There are little touches like in-game modifiers that skew the challenge for one team or another and a modest leveling system that sees you work your way up the ladder for bragging rights. Saints Row 2 isn't a GTA killer, but it's a GTA alternative. It's tough not to hate on the slightly lacking production values, but when you see the rest of the game it actually makes a bit more sense. The technical shortcomings are the only truly bad part of Saints Row 2, and, sadly for PC gamers, it pretty much kills their experience unless they can play with the bulk of the visual settings turned down or off. Not doing so ruins your gameplay experience. There's enough crazy-insane tomfoolery to keep a machete in the hands of even the most straight-laced citizens, you'll just need a super-computer to even think about running it.

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Prototype 2

A solid port is nothing to scoff at. Prototype 2 finally makes its way to the PC after debuting on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 back in April, and the transition has been kind to this brutal open-world adventure. The biggest difference between this version and its console brethren is the slightly improved visuals. Greater draw distance and a higher frame rate showcase your murderous rampage in a more impressive light. Because the technical aspects have been translated with nary a hitch, it's easy to lose yourself in the destructive glee of this unrepentant sequel. Prototype 2 isn't the least bit novel, but it's so utterly ridiculous that it's hard to wipe the smile from your face.

A grotesque mutant is no match for a non-grotesque mutant.

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One thing you should keep in mind is that Prototype 2 is at its best with a controller. The fast-paced fighting and empowering exploration come together seamlessly when you have a couple of analog sticks and responsive buttons. If you're using a keyboard, you can still blow through the papier-mache enemies, but the actions don't play out as smoothly. Holding down three keys to glide through the city takes a bit of finger gymnastics, and zeroing in on one attacker in a crowd is even tougher with a mouse. It's easy enough to get used to these quirks with a little practice, but Prototype 2 doesn't feel as as natural with a keyboard and mouse. In contrast to the devil-may-care attitude showcased in the majority of the adventure, the story does take itself seriously. A military force has quarantined a major metropolis under the guise of protecting citizens from a viral outbreak, but their occupancy is far from altruistic. In reality, they are conducting bioweapon research, and the people are just unlucky cattle being led to slaughter. It's a morbid situation that makes it satisfying to kill your opposition--defense contractor Blackwatch--as you hunt down the higher-ups who ordered this atrocity. The initial rush you feel when the central plot comes into focus dissipates as you learn more about the conspiracy. Evil stereotypes permeate the cast of characters, but even though there's proper motivation to murder them all, you rarely feel as if you understand whom you're tracking down. Scenes of redemption toward the end of the story breathe life into some of these individuals, but by that point you won't even care what happens to the villains. While character development is lacking, the storytelling is interesting. Most of the dirty details surface when you consume certain people, and the flashes of memory piece together a terrifying puzzle about the inner machinations of power-obsessed heretics who rarely question their horrific actions.

It was a dark and stormy night.

Dialogue-rich sequences explain your objectives before each mission. Plentiful swearing and unrestrained anger highlight most of these conversations, and the vulgar cutscenes force the carefree action to take a backseat far too often. Furthermore, protagonist James Heller holds his hand to his ear and slowly walks around when a contact talks to him, contrasting wildly with the crazed sprinting and leaping that make up his normal locomotion. Problems with the story aside, the artistic style used in the many cutscenes is certainly eye-catching. High-contrast black and white with flashes of color (blue eyes, red flames) add a dramatic pitch to the proceedings. This style is also used when your health gets low in combat and does a great job of communicating your struggles without obscuring your view. Prototype 2 takes place in an open-world environment where you can run wherever you wish without artificial barriers reining you in. From the moment you're set loose, you don't need any urging to sprint through this city gone to ruin. Movement is free-flowing and empowering. Running up the sides of buildings, bounding down blocks in a single leap, and gliding like a manic flying squirrel make for quicker transport than a tired vehicle ever could, and the unabashed joy of careening through this virus-plagued town is hard to deny. Things do become a little tricky when precision is necessary, though thankfully you rarely have to move with exactitude. Instead, you sprint pell-mell until you crave the sweet satiation of your bloodthirst, and in a snap you're beating a poor sucker so badly his mother wouldn't be able to recognize him.

Like a flying squirrel wearing pants.

The convergence of movement and combat makes for instances of unrepentant brutality. While gliding over occupied streets, you might spy a fear-mongering soldier down below. Lock on to him from your safe vantage in the sky, and with a tap of a button, grab his squirming body before he has a chance to scream for help. With one more tap of a button, you can pound him into the unforgiving cement, hurl him into his fellow troops, or infect him with a viral bomb that causes him to explode in a fountain of blood, and then flee from the scene as if you were never there.

That flimsy mask won't help against this virus.

He's lifting a bench over his head! Can you imagine such a thing?

reveiw by. IGN

Click the image to watch the Prototype video review.

Did we mention the copious amounts of blood?

Click the image to see Prototype in action.

Prototype looks OK at street level, but as soon as you scale a building...

Prototype System Requirements

How To Download Prototype PC Game

Rico returns to action in the sequel to Avalanche Studios' gargantuan action game. Just Cause 2 stars Rico Rodriquez, back to wreak havoc once again, this time with a new destination -- the huge playground of the South East Asian islands of Panau. The sequel features more stunts, vehicles and weapons than ever before and an incredible overhauled grappling hook system. Panau itself is an incredibly detailed and vast 1000 sq km game world of different climates and ultra-realistic weather effects. Leap from your plane and skydive from 10,000 feet down into a tropical jungle, tear across an arid desert in a dune buggy or climb your way up a snowy mountain in a 4x4. The vast open-ended, unique gameplay is back, allowing you full freedom once again to free roam and explore the massive world of Panau and tackle your assignments however you

Minimum Requirements

• Microsoft Windows Vista or Windows 7 (Windows XP is unsupported)
• Dual-core CPU with SSE3 (Athlon 64 X2 4200 / Pentium D 3GHz)
• Nvidia GeForce 8800 Series / ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro with 256MB memory or equivalent DX10 card with 256MB memory
• 2GB RAM
• Microsoft DirectX 10
• 10GB of free drive space
• DVD-ROM drive
• 100% DirectX 10 compatible sound card
• Internet connection required for product activation
• Keyboard and Mouse

Supported Functions

• Dolby Digital 5.1

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