'Dirt Rally' to 'Quantum Break' and the HTC Vive: Upcoming video game titles, console with their release dates

2016 as a watershed year for virtual reality? The HTC Vive follows hot on the heels of Oculus's Rift with an April 5 release, while PC and console gamers anticipate launches for "Dirt Rally," "Dark Souls III" and "Quantum Break."

HTC Vive

For: Windows PC

Available: April 5

At $799 and representing the high end of the spectrum in home VR, following the $599 Oculus Rift launching in March and $399 PlayStation VR set for October, HTC's partnership with PC gaming giant Valve has yielded the tricked-out Vive, which uses discrete Lighthouse cubes to track movement around a room -- hence its reputation as the most mobility-friendly of the three VR headsets -- embeds an outward-facing camera in its visor so users can see what's going on in virtual reality as well as in the space around them, and packs in the custom SteamVR controllers as well. Needs a hefty PC to power it.

Dirt Rally

For: PlayStation 4, Xbox One

Available: April 5

Having launched via Steam's early access on Windows PC in April 2015, and received as a resounding return to form for racing specialist developer Codemasters and its tentpole "Dirt" franchise since, the exacting motorsports simulation provides players with the technical challenge of mastering 70-plus stages over 6 courses inside nearly 40 vehicles both contemporary and classic.

Quantum Break

For: XBO, Windows PC

Available: April 5

The studio behind cult favorites "Max Payne" and "Alan Wake" returns with an ambitious hybrid of episodic TV and video game action. Main character Jack Joyce gifted with the ability to halt the passage of time, and he'll need to use it to stop the game's villain. At key junctures in progress, players can then watch 20-minute episodes that are edited in response to their actions and show things from their enemy's perspective.

Dark Souls III

For: PS4, XBO, WinPC

Available: April 12 (Japan since March 24)

Another descent into the intricately detailed, deviously difficult dungeons planned out by "Souls

Virtual reality set to transform filmmaking

Chris Milk stepped onto a TED Conference stage and took the audience on an awe-inducing trip into the future of movies. While much of the early attention on virtual reality has focused on use of the immersive technology in video games, Milk and his US startup Vrse are using it to transform storytelling and filmgoing. "We have just started to scratch the surface of the true power of virtual reality," Milk said. "It's not a video game peripheral. It connects humans to other humans in a profound way... I think virtual reality has the potential to actually change the world." He had everyone in the Vancouver audience at TED , which ended Friday, hold Google Cardboard viewers to their eyes for what was billed as the world's collective virtual reality experience. Google Cardboard gear is literally that -- cardboard

10 Smartphones with Features that You Won't Find in Any Other Phone

Here’s a list of phones which are first-of-their-kind. From feature phones to smartphones, flat screen to curved, fragile to shatterproof, mobile phones have evolved over the years. Although many industry analysts would like to call the current level of innovation reaching a stagnation point, there still are some manufacturers which have been able to surprise consumers by truly packing something different in their smartphones. We have compiled a list of phones which offer first-of-its-kind features, and they are not merely concepts. 1. Motorola X force - Shatterproof display Display today is the most vulnerable yet the most neglected element in modern smartphones. But Motorola finally paid heed to the fragile screen with the launch of the the Motorola X Force – the world’s first smartphone with a shatterproof display. The phone uses the Moto ShatterShield display technology, which is said to be an integrated system consisting of five layers designed from material...

10 years of Twitter: Key milestones in the micro-blogging site's decade-long history

Over its 10-year history, Twitter has marked numerous world events and created its own unique moments. Here are a few key milestones in Twitter history: just setting up my twttr — Jack (@jack) March 21, 2006 March 2006: Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey (@jack) sent the first tweet, an automated message saying "just setting up my twttr." That same day, he sent the first live tweet, "inviting coworkers." Arrested — James Buck (@jamesbuck) April 10, 2008 April 2008: US university student James Buck (@jamesbuck) got off a one-word tweet "Arrested" after being taken into custody by Egyptian authorities at an anti-government protest in that country. In what is seen as an early demonstration of the power of Twitter to rally people to a cause, the resulting outcry prompted authorities to quickly restore his liberty. He proclaimed his release in a tweet reading "Free." http://twitpic.com/135xa - There's a plane in the Hudson. I'm ...

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