inSYNC - Issue 10, August 2014

2 inSYNC Magazine | August 2014

inSYNC

3inSYNC Magazine | August 2014

Contents

Editor's NoteThis special Bestival issue marks the end of summer, and the end of 2014’s festival season. Either way, if you’re heading to the Isle of Wight at the beginning of next month, Issue 10 of inSYNC will be your best guide to what’s on and what you should see while you’re there. This month has been a busy one for us, with Standon Calling in Hertfordshire and Green Man in Wales also under the inSYNC belt, be sure to check out our reviews of the festivals we’ve been at this season.That’s not all though. We’ve got some strong gaming news this month, straight up from Comic Com, and with PlayStation still outselling Xbox three-to-one it’s no surprise that we are hearing lots all the time about the worldwide gaming industry. We also have a review of this summer’s block-buster, The Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and we’ve been keeping up with the array of DC Comics TV series heading our way.Since our last issue there is has been lots of cool new tech floating about too, and I would definitely recommend you read about KeyMe, the new app that you can use you get into anyone’s house undetected. Don’t fear for your security though; it’s not as bad as it sounds! If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the weekly inSYNC Podcast, where we update you on everything happening from gaming and tech to TV and music. We are currently running a competition; Like our Facebook page and/or fol-low us on Twitter, and you could be in with the chance of winning a portable MP3/iPod speaker. All likers or followers from 15/08/14 to 05/09/14 will be countered and entered automatically into the draw. Don’t forget you can read and download inSYNC for free now online. George Hall

No part of this publication may be reproduced, both digitally or physically, withour prior written permission from inSYNC and/or the Wolf Group. The publisher holds the rights to all work from contributors, editors and guest contributors unless otherwise stated. All images featured in inSYNC (this publication) are used either with permission granted from the copyright owner, or are in the public domain (i.e. are part of a press release, press pack, etc). If you are the copyright holder to an image in this, or any inSYNC publication, and feel that appropriate permission was not gramnted, please go to the Legal section of our website and follow the instructions on how to contact us about the issue. inSYNC takes no responsibility for any content provided to us by advertisers.

inSYNC is published by the Wolf Group. Wolf Group registered address: 155 Manners Road, Southsea, Portsmouth, Hamshire, PO4 0BD, UK.

www.insynctm.com @insyncmag facebook.com/insyncmagazine Contact us 07414 715157 [email protected] Magazine 95 Castle Road SouthseaHampshire PO5 3AY

ContentsThe Round Up

Tech KeyMe

Facebook’s New Messenger ‘Bolt’ The Wifi App That Saves Lives

Business Apple & IBM

Music iTunes Festival Announced

Standon Calling Review Bestival Preview

Film & Telivision Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes Review

Upcoming DC Shows On CW Netflix Tops 20 Million Subscibers

Gaming Gaming Round Up

Hearthstone DLC

Blues News

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The Team contributersEditor George Hall

Social Network Manager Tobi Stidolph Head Writer Jesse Price

Tom Jones Film Luke Jackson Music Ollie Mahoney Various Thomas Emmans Various


News

TheRoundup Bite-size news from the past month

Recently, over 900 authors have combined forces in a public appeal to get retail giant Amazon to stop ‘hurting’ writers and readers. Amazon has been in a long dispute with Hachette, one of the world’s largest publishing companies, over terms and conditions about ebook sales. The online firm has delayed deliver, prevented preorders and removed discounts of certain books by some Hachette authors. These include JK Rowling, Stephanie Meyer and David Baldacci, all of whom have said Amazon has ‘taken hostage’ their books. The dispute comes mainly over costs with Amazon saying that the current £8.92 or £11.90 price tag is too high for an ebook, and that it should cost no more than £5.95. Am-azon wrote, “That is unjustifiably high for an e-book. With an e-book, there’s no printing, no over-printing, no need to forecast, no returns, no lost sales due to out-of-stock, no warehousing costs, no transportation costs, and there is no secondary market - e-books cannot be resold as used books. E-books can be and should be less expensive.” And, although the new authors petition has attracted over 7,500 signatures, Amazon said lowering the prices would still increase total revenue because of more sales. The dispute goes on.

Authors Unite In Fight Against Amazon's Hachette Dispute

one million people on superfast broadbandAccording to new government research, more than one mil-lion Britain’s have so-called Superfast broadband. The report said that the aim of rolling out Superfast connections to 95% of UK homes by 2017 is ‘firmly on track’. This said, however, many have questioned the reliability and quality of the ‘Super-fast’ connections.

kings of leon in tour bus accidentAmerican rock band Kings of Leon have postponed a gig after drum-mer Nathan Followill was injured in an accident that occurred on the band’s tour bus. The report said that the group was en route to their hotel after a Boston show when a pedestrian jumped out in the road forcing the coach driver to make a ‘short stop’. Followill is said to have suffered from broken ribs. Fans were reimbursed for the gig that was supposed to be played in Saratoga Springs, New York. The Kings of Leon was the headline closer for this year’s Isle of Wight Festival in June.

steam to offer tv streaming?

playstation 4 still far ahead of xbox one

simon pegg praises new star trek director

At the end of last month Sony released their financial report for the quarter from April to June, revealing that games revenue had risen 95.7% year-on-year. Sony’s Games & Network Services division raised the company $2.5 billion, meaning last year’s $164 million loss is now a $43 million profit. Sony also boasted 3.5 million PS4 and PS3 sales, and 750,000 PS Vita sales, while Microsoft sat at only 1.1 million Xbox One and Xbox 360 sales. This means that the Japanese giant are outselling their American counterparts 3:1.

Actor Simon Pegg has said that new Star Trek director Roberto Orci makes ‘perfect sense’ as the replacement for JJ Abrams. Orci, who is a screenwriter, will take over from Abrams whilst he is filming Star Wars Episode VII. Pegg, who plays Montgomery ‘Scotty’ Scott, said, “He emailed me before the news broke saying: ‘Hey man, I might be doing this, shall we nerd out?”. Pegg added, “He’s a good friend, he’s very much part of the Star Trek family.” We will have to wait for an official release date for next Star Trek, but we expect it to arrive in Autumn 2015.

In a recent Steam Beta update, new binaries to support film, TV, video and music were discovered. This could point towards Steam offering a new range of multimedia services in the near future, including the support of TV series. This would help Steam become more accessible in the living room, and leave them open for a wider range of people, not just avid PC users. We wait in hope, to see whether Steam will soon offer us even more, and take a further leap towards being like Netflix, with the added game market platform.


News

TheRoundup Bite-size news from the past month

This week we are being treated to San Diego Comic Con, one of the biggest annual com-ic conventions. DC is one of the companies in attendance, and they have a lot to show us for their small screen universe.

First up, we have finally been given a glimpse of Constantine. The show will be on NBC and is based on the DC comics Hellblazer. From what the trailer has shown us, this version of Constantine is extremely true to the comics, unlike the movies released in the mid 2000s.

Constantine looks as though it will be a dark, gritty and sadistic look into the supernatural world but with subtle hints of humour. John Constatine is played by Welsh actor Matt Ryan, the voice behind Edward Kenway from Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, bringing a uniquely British voice to the role. Constantine looks set to be a great TV show.

Next up is The Flash, a show that will be on CW and will tie in with Arrow. Grant Gustin, who play Barry Allen A.K.A. The Flash, has al-ready featured in the CW show Arrow and will now become a superhero himself. Flash looks to be a lot more lighthearted than Arrow, but at the same time has that gritty, realistic theme that DC comics are loved for.

The trailer also gives us a hint of a crossover that will occur between The Flash and Arrow, as co-star, Steven Amell (who plays Oliver Queen A.K.A. Arrow) is seen giving Barry some advice.

I am really excited to see what DC can bring to the table. Arrow was a great series (I binge watched both series in a few days) and hopefully The Flash will follow in its footsteps, and Constantine looks set to be a hit series.

We’ll be waiting until October 8th for The Flash, and October 24th for Constantine!

DC WINS THE SMALL SCREEN AT SAN DIEGO COMIC CON

By: Izak Jackson

PODDIO


Technology

The app that could let you break in to a house

We all know that technology’s security is somewhat questioned, especially when it comes to your bank account.

But, now it seems all you need to break into a friend’s apartment is your iPhone, and perhaps no conscience. Maybe warn someone before you break into their house, but they may see it as a challenge for you. If a friend ever passes you a key to open their house, I’m sure you’ll give it back to them when the task is complete. What they may not realise in less than an hour you can own your own key to their property. What you don’t tell them, though, is whilst you are using the key you can spend thirty seconds discreetly scanning it with the software on your phone, which will let you reproduce the key with no specialised skills. The iPhone app, called KeyMe, wasn’t obvi-ously designed for criminal activity; but for giving users the ability to upload photos of their keys to the company’s server, and allow them to be 3D printed. The company will print your keys in a variety of different shapes, from bottle openers, to Kanye West’s head. These are then mailed to you, and if you’re a New York City resident you can cut normal spare keys from one of KeyMe’s kiosks. So, by using this service you can get a key cut to anybody’s house who first trusts you with their key. The New York kiosks allow people to log into their KeyMe accounts and view all the keys uploaded on your iPhone. The machine

then automatically cuts them out, and thirty seconds later a brand new key is produced. The KeyMe service is not yet available in the UK, but we hope it makes it here soon. The company is said to be looking into more kiosks in large cities in the US, and then moving into London by 2016. Services like KeyMe, as well as KeysDuplicated and Belgian Keysave, promise to end lockouts and lost keys using apps, smartphone scanners, automated key-cutting machines and 3D print-ing. It’s effectively a Forgot My Password function for real life. You can upload coded chunks of metal straight to the cloud and access them from anywhere on the planet with an Internet connec-tion. Pretty amazing really. You can even email your friends and family your scans so they can also have their own keys cut. Only downside is that if you leave your keys anywhere, on your desk, in your hotel room, anybody can copy them. This will cause some se-curity issues, and the KeyMe system is considera-bly easier than getting keys cut at the general key cutters. The company has even said that they will copy keys marked ‘do not duplicate’, like high-se-curity keys sold by companies like Medeco and Mul-T-Lock. To counteract the controversy the US company has reassured users that ‘you can only scan your keys’ and it’s ‘scanning process is designed to strictly prevent any use of flyby pic-tures.’ It also claims on KeyMe’s website that keys can only be scanned when removed from their chain, and that they have to be scanned on both sides against a white background from 4-inches


Technology

The app that could let you break in to a houseaway. But existing users say this is not the case and scanning anyone’s keys is an easy job. Technology magazine, WIRED, spoke to KeyMe Founder and CEO Greg Marsh who offered an argument against people maliciously copying keys. Digitally reproducing keys is apparently safer than traditional methods as it will leave a digital trail on the person’s KeyMe account. Details like personal and account information, credit card records and the fingerprint readings make any key user traceable. Greg Marsh said, “We have all this accountability and data that doesn’t exist when you make keys with traditional methods. If a key was found to be used maliciously, we have a clear path to find out who was responsible.” So what if you did copy your mate’s keys and enter their house without their knowledge? How would those details help? Greg Marsh said that if someone reported a break-in or theft and suspected involvement from KeyMe then they could scan their keys and see who had copied them before. He noted that they would be very cautious in giving personal and private details to the police but the Marsh added that the firm “would be very enthusiastic about helping any way we could.” At the 2014’s annual HOPE Hacker Conference Mr. Weyers, a master lock picker and security expert, gave a presentation on the insecurity of showing keys on TV or in photographs. Weyers gave many examples of when this has happened, including the New York Post’s idiotic decision to publish pictures of elevator and subway gate keys in a discussion of the range of letting key picture be seen by key copying professionals. Skilled lock hackers can make keys from photos alone, and now 3D printers and laser cutters are making the job even easier. And, although KeyMe is a cool new app, it allows even easier access to your keys. Digitally repro-duced in a file that even non-experts like you and I can use to recreate keys. We will now wait until a serious problem arises with the service, as it’s only a matter if time that security will have to change once again to stop people from just simply walking into your house. Tobi Stidolph


Technology

Facebooks New ‘Bolt’

Messenger

Now, I know what you’re thinking. I’ve never even heard of this Bolt application. And that’s because it’s Instagram’s hush-hush messenger

that was discreetly announced earlier in July, but has only launched in three countries. The Facebook-owned company has finally lifted the lid on its one-tap messenger for iOS and Android. It lets users send videos and pictures which will disappear when read. Very similar to Snapchat. Right now Bolt is only available in New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa, but Instagram has promised a wider rollout by the end of 2015. An Instagram spokesperson said, “We’re going to other regions soon, but are starting with a handful of countries to make sure we can scale the experience. Ins-tagram has 65 per cent of its users overseas, so an interna-tional launch, while different, is actually not all that out of order with what we do.” In June, Facebook itself launched a photo messaging app named Slingshot, so it seems strange that Instagram is going down the same road. It looks suspiciously like Facebook are attempting to lap up market share from Snapchat by saturating the market with new instant messaging apps. Instagram has also faced media criticism for naming the app Bolt, because Bolt already exists as a free replacement for Android’s default phone app. The Android Bolt app wrote an open letter to Facebook asking them to use a different name. Bolt’s post read, ”We know it’s a great name, because we chose it last year when we set out to build a better mobile voice and messaging experience. We’ve worked really hard since then building the Bolt brand and technology to where it is today. Please don’t destroy all that effort.” Bolt app claims that the new messenger will cause confusion in the market, and that it is a selfish move from a company that should know better. Bolt added, ”It wasn’t too long ago that you were the little guy. I know you haven’t forgotten how hard it is to build something from nothing. And not just technology, but a brand and distinct identity for yourself. Imagine how it would have felt if Google or Apple or Facebook had launched a pho-to-sharing app called Instagram in 2011.” Tobi Stidolph


Category


Technology

New Wifi Tool can stop Cars Before They Hit Pedestrians

Wifi Honk is a new tool that can be used to alert pedestrians and cars to an impeding collision using ex-

isting Wifi signals. It has been designed to be used by people who may be distracted whilst wearing headphones, or may not be able to hear normal audible warnings like horns. The system works by piggy-backing off exist-ing Wifi connectivity. Any smartphone that is Wifi enabled will send out short strings of information at regular intervals as they search for the preferred wireless network. Other sys-tems that have tried to offer a similar service to Wifi Honk rely on dedicated short-range wireless channels that require specialised wireless equipment. All that Wifi Honk does is rely on putting extra info into the existing Wifi beacons, all about you phone’s position. This is determined through GPS, and through the speed from the phone’s accelerometer and direction of the phone’s travel, all taken from the smartphone’s gyroscope. All phones send out beacons every 100 milliseconds or so automatically. Wifi Honk then utilises these signals from other devices and uses a collision prediction algorithm to work out whether a warning needs to be issued. If a collision with a car or pedestrian is expected, the Wifi Honk app automatically generates an alert that is sent to users’ phones. The alert uses vibra-tions, sounds and messages. The firm that has tested the Honk system found that it will warn drivers of pedestrians who are wondering into

the road with more than enough time to take action and stop. Even at speeds of upto 75mph or a 120kmph. Users can activate Wifi Honk by selecting whether they are a pedestrian or driver within the application. However, the group of computer scientists, from the University of Missouri, that have developed the system have predicted that it could work as a ‘safety dongle’ for vulnerable pedestrians; mainly the elderly and very young children. The system, for example, could also be used as a night-time bicycle safety feature. Tobi Stidolph


Category

New Wifi Tool can stop Cars Before They Hit Pedestrians


Technology

apple and ibm's new partnershipA

Landmark Partnership

Recently technology giant Apple, famous for working alone, have announced a ‘land-mark partnership’ with fellow technology

company IBM. Apple have stated that this partner-ship is designed to ‘redefine the way work will get done, address key industry mobility challenges and spark true mobile-led business change.’ To put it more simply, the two firms are aiming to combine their strengths and head-on tackle the enterprise market. IBM have said that they will contribute its big data and analytics expertise, with Apple offering the ‘elegant user experience of iPhone and iPad’. This new move could transform Apple from their primary consumer-focused market, into a true business-supplying super-company. It could also spark a new battle with Bill Gates’ Microsoft, and put IBM back on top of the enterprise market, accelerating past Microsoft’s new business and cloud-based services. IBM are to begin selling iOS devices, on Apple’s behalf, to their corporate clients, which will come preloaded with enterprise software designed in collaboration with Apple. These apps will be avail-able this Autumn, and more will debut in 2015. Both IBM and Apple have promised ‘a new cate-gory of mobile apps’ that will directly address the needs of specific industries like retail, healthcare, banking, travel, insurance and telecoms. The apps are said to be fully integrated with IBM’s cloud services, as well as coexisting with Apple’s cloud service iCloud. Apple have also said that they plan to add a new customer service tier, AppleCare for Enterprise, that will provide users and business with 24/7 IT support. In a recent interview with Recode, Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted that Apple need to look outside of their company to provide a service that meets every enterprise need, mainly to keep Apple on the top. Cook said, “We’re good at building a simple experience and in building devices. The kind of deep industry expertise you would need to really transform the enterprise isn’t in our DNA. But it is in IBM’s.” Although this enterprise is to totally conquer the business sector, Apple haven’t done too badly without IBM’s help. Many Fortune 500 companies have already deployed iPhones and iPads to end users within their businesses. This though will cause Apple’s business presence to snowball and pick up momentum. “Arguably there is a new level to achieve in business,” Cook told CNBC. He continued, “We knew we couldn’t do it alone,” adding that Apple found a “kindred


Technology

apple and ibm's new partnershipspirit” in IBM. Although a lot of the press has seemed to of focused on Apple’s view of the new partnership, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty agrees, “We are delighted to be teaming with Apple, whose innovations have transformed our lives in ways we take for granted, but can’t imagine living without. Our alliance will bring the same kind of transfor-mation to the way people work, industries operate and companies perform.” Only time will tell how these two companies will unite, and transform the business industry. This will be interesting to see if Apple can stay on top, after starting to lose out to Google in the consumer products market. Tobi Stidolph


Music

Itunes festival

knife party & pendulum confirm new albums

Apple’s iTunes Festival is returning to London’s Roundhouse next month with some of 2014’s best live acts. The annual

London thirty-night music festival has taken place since 2007 and will see headliners in the shape of alternative rock singer Beck, French house producer and DJ David Guetta, Australian boy band 5 Seconds of Summer, British rock band Kasabi-an, fresh from their tour and closing Glastonbury headline slot, Scottish producer and DJ Calvin Harris, who’s just headlined T in the Park and Isle of Wight Festival, former Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant, British singer-songwriter Sam Smith, American singer-songwriter and producer Pharrell Williams, American pop-rock band Maroon 5, old school American rock band Blondie and Australian singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue. Also performing throughout September’s iTunes Festival is Keisa, Jungle and Chrissie Hynde, with many more headliners and supports yet to be an-nounced. Stand by to get excited. Lule Jackson

Kasabian amongst others announced

After masses of rumours, and a number of hints occurring for just under a year, Australian dance duo Knife Party, that

formed in 2011 from the ashes of Pendulum, have confirmed their debut studio album. The album will be named Abandon Ship, and will have 11 com-pletely unheard tracks, as well as song ‘Micropenis’, which they recently debuted at TomorrowLand Music Festival. Abandon Ship is set to be released in mid-August and follows on from the duo’s past EPs ‘100% No Modern Talking’ (2011), ‘Rage Valley’ (2012) and ‘Haunted House’ (2013). Rob Swire, one half of Knife Party and frontman of Pendulum confirmed on Twitter that work will begin on the fourth Pendulum studio album in Sep-tember. Previous Pendulum albums include their debut ‘Hold Your Colour’ (2005), ‘In Silico’ (2008) and ‘Immersion’ (2010). We are expecting to see the album roll out in the middle of next year. Pendulum Live, however has for now been ruled out. Keep up-to-date with the gossip www.insynctm.com. Luke Jackson

’


Music

sTANDON CALLING reviewSo, we got a great opportunity to visit Standon Calling. A great little 5,000 capacity festival near Hertford. After the size of Glastonbury, it was refreshing to be at a festival in which you could walk from camp to main stage in less than ten minutes. This year Standon played host to the likes of Peace, Frank Turner, Public Enemy, Clean Bandit, Public Enemy and DJ Yoda among others. We even got an interview with new band Flyte, who, for our Portsmouth readers, are appearing at Southsea Fest in September. Watch our interview on our YouTube channel and on our website at www.insynctm.com. Because we had such a great weekend, we have put together 7 top things you need to know about Standon calling, and hopefully we’ll be able to see you there next year. Tobi Stidolph & George Hall

Watch some bands in the daytime, Party throughout the night and Chill in the early hours

the musicStandon Calling appeals to a lot of music tastes, and is aimed for people of all ages. This year’s festival, running from August 1st to 3rd starred Hampshire man Frank Turner, hip-hop group Public Enemy and rock-pop group Maximo Park. Other great performances included Beans On Toast signing in the crowd, Charli XCX rocking the Big Top, and indie-rock band Peace unleashing their magic on Sunday on the main stage. Other up and com-ing bands like Say Lou Lou, Flyte and Eliza and the Bear also helped Standon Calling go off without a hitch.

the themeStandon’s 2014 theme was ‘Lost In Latin America’. Standon takes the theme very seriously, and although not everybody joined in with the dressing up, each area and bar was decorated accordingly. The DJ area, dubbed the Cowshed, had a big Brazilian flag on it, and each area was themed like South America. The attention to detail was great, and I appreciated the amount of effort organisers put in.

the poolThis is quite possibly the coolest thing ever to have at a festival. An awesome swimming pool with a garden area, and at one end a little DJ set that plays the tunes all day long. Dogs, as well as people, can go in the pool, and it seems anything goes at Standon, with a pug enjoying a cool off with its owners. It’s a good job the weather stayed great all weekend. It’s a relax and a break from the crowds at each stage.


Music

sTANDON CALLING review

the cowshedThe Cowshed: This block, named the Cowshed, see’s all of the late night action, with the Saturday night DJ carrying on ’til 5am. The Cowshed has had some great DJs over the years, and Felix da Housecat joined Standon this year for an all-nighter. The block has the DJ up high at one end, with little side area each side of the main dancefloor, for taking a break and chatting to others at the festival. Definitely a must for those who want to party.

the woodsThe Woods: The Wood is a great little area, with seats and a tiny stage for acoustic sets. Many meet up there to watch the sun rise, after the antics of the Cowshed. We checked out the Woods, after everyone was up talking for hours, with the added experience of someone playing their iPod on a loudspeaker; it just kept the chilled mood right.

the fancy dressDressing Up: This year’s theme really helped people get in character, and when it came to dressing up. Llamas, Mexican’s, wrestlers and more were spotted. And, the range and effort of costumes was impressive. The amount people put into them was great, and we can’t wait to see what happens in 2015.

the extrasStandon wasn’t just a festival of music, it contains lots of added extras. There was Mexican wrestling where wres-tling characters took each other on in a ring. Also, not to mention the Sunday afternoon dog show. Trapeze lessons were also available for the kids.


Music

bestival 2014

Bestival, now the biggest annual event on the Isle of Wight, was founded ten years ago by Radio One DJ Rob Da Bank. The festival, which takes place in Robin Hill park, has risen from a meagre dance rave to a 60,000 capacity ‘mini Glastonbury-style’ leading music event. Bestival has seen some pretty prestigious acts headline over the decade including Gogol Bordello, Pet Shop Boys, Scissor Sisters, Amy Winehouse, Massive Attack, Elbow, Dizzee Rascal, Bjork, New Order and Elton John. 2014’s editions to the Isle of Wight will make for an even better Bestival celebration. 2014 will see Chic featuring Nile Rodgers, Out-Kast, Foals and Beck headline the main stage. If these incredible range of top acts don’t immediately grab your interest, just bear in mind that Bestival offers so much more than the music. The whole fes-tival is a buzz of cinematic and musically orientated curios, and with the annual theme, the atmosphere gets better and better. 2014 will play host ‘Desert Island Disco’, and with 24 themed areas and stages, each playing hits to musicians and more, you’ll never run out of things to do and discover. The only problem is there’s only four days to experience all that Bestival has. And, this could be one of the reason people return in droves year-on-year. Bestival has positioned itself at the tail-end of the UK Summer Festival Season. Bestival is quickly becoming the marker of the end of summer for lots of festival-goers, but with the way that the whole festival is conducted it’s certainly one of the best around. Britain now has a massive amount of festivals, and with more opening every year, it can be hard to stay on top. But, Bestival and it’s huge emphasis on theme and fun has propelled it forward. It brings delight, and joy, and then a huge amount if disappointment when it’s all over. Read on to see what we’re most looking forward too at this year’s Island Party.

This years bestival is going to be one hell of a party...

desert island discotim claretemple islandAt Bestival, the theme is something that not one person misses out on. Each year Bestival’s theme seem to get bigger, louder and more extravagant. This year it’s Desert Island Disco. The tropical theme is announced on the Bestival website, which says, “Desert Island Disco, which sees the ship ‘launched’ at last year’s event “roaming the seas of the world” before it comes to a desert island. Looking through his telescope, the look-out frowns confused. There, through the palms fringing the beach, in a clearing; a stone temple, and teems of bamboo and palm roofed shacks. He hears the distant sound of drums on the breeze and sees tiny tribes people moving and shaking. And there, in the mid-dle of it all, the source of his confusion, is a giant bloody disco ball.” We can’t wait to join in with this year’s theme, and see how people commit to the theme.

As we all know, Bestival isn’t just a music festival. There is so much going on that it’d be impossible to catch everything over the weekend. But, one person you shouldn’t miss is poet, author and mu-sician Tim Clare. Clare has appeared on BBC 2 and on BBC Radio 1 to 6 for his writing in a number of newspapers. He will perform at Bestival as a standup poet, and is a very entertaining act. Go and check Tim out when you’re there.

Temple Island: This is one of Bestival’s most love stage areas. Temple Island is a lucid dreamland where incredible DJs and live acts perform. In Temple Island, mixed with the DJ area, you’ll find the only chill-out zone of the festival just away from the stage. Bestival’s website explains it as, ‘there’s plenty dancing to be done here, cocktails to be drunk, gourmet banquets to be eaten and art to explore. When the rest of Bestival has you spinning on your disco ball, Temple Island will bring you into a new euphoric dimension; in ways you never thought possible!’ Make sure you try out Temple Island; we’ll meet you all there!


Music

bestival 2014

Our top Picks from the line up...

london grammar

outkast

gorgon cityGorgon City: The North London electronic music duo has exploded in popularity this yea with single ‘Ready For Your Love’ reaching number four in the UK Singles Chart. After performing at a number of big festivals this year, including Glastonbury, the pair will end their festival season with Bestival. We can’t wait to see Gorgon at The Port, where the majority of the DJ sets take place.

The legendary OutKast will be headlining at Bestival this summer. OutKast reformed after an eight year gap, for their 20th anniversary, and after playing Coachella earlier this year they will be joining the bill at the Isle of Wight. The award-winning duo were massive world-wide hits in 2004, when single Hey Ya! was released, selling over 1,000,000 copies of the single in the US. We will have to wait to see what outkast’s show has in store for us.

Nottingham-based electric pop trio London Grammar are bringing their sound to the Isle of Wight. The group currently has one studio album named ‘If You Wait’, which proved popular, peaking at number two in the UK Album Chart and number one in the UK Indie Album Chart. We can’t wait to see them in action at Bestival.

Nile Rodgers has challenged the Bestival’s organiser Rob Da Bank to bring the world’s biggest disco ball to Bestival this year, with the theme of the festival being ‘Desert Island Disco’. “I would like to create the world’s biggest disco party of all time.” he said, before asking Rob Da Bank that to do that he would need “to create the world’s largest disco ball.” The current record for the world’s biggest disco ball is 9.6 meters, and Rob Da Bank told Nile that he would do it and in return, Nile will bring on a very special guest that has been an integral part of his life and the disco music scene. Nile added: ”It’s going to be an incredible party, then the setlist, I don’t know what we’re going to be adding but it’s going to be great.” Nile Rodgers will close the main stage on the last day of Bestival with Chic, with Outkast and Foals headlining the other days.

nile rodgers challenges rob da bank to break disco ball world record

Tickets for Bestival are still available on ticketline but its sure to sell out soon! it's gonna be a blast and we hope to see you there!


Film

dawn of the planet of the apes The Planet of the Apes franchise has always fascinated

me, but I hadn’t taken an interest until seeing Rise of the Planet of the Apes a few years back. The emotional depth that that film brought to the table was unparal-leled in terms of big blockbusters. I was attached to Cae-sar and several of the other apes. That movie surprised everyone so it isn’t much of a surprise that the sequel ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ looked even better. The special effects are some of the best I have ever seen and the acting was surprisingly outstanding from actors that aren’t particularly well known. The trailer was gripping, so my excitement was about as high as it could possibly be for an ape’s movie. And the film doesn’t disappoint. The film takes place at least 8 years after ‘Rise’ and the time jump is much to their benefit. It allowed Caesar to step into his role as leader of all the apes and link between the apes and humans. Speaking of the effects, some of the facial expressions the apes gave were just incredible. Caesar’s family is present throughout, and his eldest son is the one that hit home. When you see him being put into war unwillingly after life changing events you just can’t but help feeling terrible for him. Koba, the corrupt ape who has always believed humans are more dangerous than Caesar thinks is also a conflicting character. There is a scene between him and Caesar near the start that made me feel sympathy for him and whatever other apes were also tortured. Dreyfuss, played by Gary Oldman, also stood out for the short periods in which he appears. Much like Koba, he is a man who lost so much that he has lost faith in the world and wants nothing to do with the other species. It’s these two characters who keep the conflict rising as peace is on the downfall, and war is on the brink. The only real weak part of the film is that the trailers show a lot of the im-portant scenes, and I’m a guy who watches trailers a lot. I knew a little bit too much. To say that Caesar is one of the greatest leaders in film history is not far off the scale, at least for an ape anyway, and when he is on screen you can’t help but be mesmerised by the immense strength and gravitas that comes along with the character. Andy Serkis, the voice of Golum, proves once again why he is recruited for roles such as this one. The performance is one of his best. The final part of the film is brilliant in every way a film should be. It was unexpected, visually dazzling, and emotionally fulfilling. It keeps you on the edge of your seat from the word go. 9/10 Tom Jones

Review


Music

dawn of the planet of the apes


Television

CW’s DC ShowsiZombieFirst up was iZombie. A new CW show that’s based on the DC comic book that goes by the same name. Not a lot of information was given before SDCC, so this was the first time we really got any information about the show. I don’t want to get into it too much, but basically there are zombies in the world and as long as they continue to eat brains they function as a normal human would. Now, the main char-acter of the show is a zombie that works in a police morgue, and eats the brains of the dead victims. The main idea of the show is when you eat someone’s brains the characters also re-gain parts of that persons memories. So, when the heroin of the show eats a victim’s brain, she goes on the hunt for the killer. There wasn’t a trailer, but if it follows the comic it should be one for you to keep your eye on.

ArrowIf you only know one thing about me, it’s that I just can’t get enough of Arrow. But, this isn’t just another rant about why it’s so amazing. As you may or may not know season 3 of Arrow is fast approaching, and has lots of new cast members. J.R Ramirez has been cast as Wildcat. You probably haven’t heard of this hero, and I’m not sure how he will be introduced in the show, but I can tell you the comic book origins. Ted Grant is a champion boxer with a myste-rious past. He runs a gym for underprivileged kids. He was a member of the justice society of America and trained and mentored other heroes, most notably Black Cannery who we saw in season 2 of Arrow. Another reveal was Ra’s al Gul. He will finally be making his first appearance in the show. He was heavily talked about in season 2 and you may have heard of him from Batman Begins. In the DC universe Ra’s al Gul is an incredibly powerful villain and it looks like he’s going to be the main villain of the season in Arrow. Brandon Routh has been casted to play the Atom in season 3. Most recognisable from Superman Return, where he played Superman. He is a bug character is season 3, set to appear in at least 14 episodes and will be the new owner of Oliver Queen’s company. And, finally Peter Stormare will play the new Count Verti-go. I’m sure more information will come as the season premier gets closers. Keep up-to-date at inSYNC on our website.

The FlashThe Flash is my most anticipated show of the year. A spinoff of Arrow (explaining why I’m excited for it) that was announced earlier this year after being set up on an Arrow episode mid-way through season 2. Anyway a new villain has been announced for the first season. The villain of the show is Captain Cold. For a long time people have been making fun of the character because of his fairly boring weapon, which is a freeze gun, but by the looks of the info we have so far they have completely revamped the villain. Captain Cold now has better freeze powers and hopefully explains why his powers basically counter the Flash’s.

CW is Warner Brothers’ TV network, and since they also own DC Comics, it’s the number one place where the majority of DC Comics’ TV shows come from. This year’s Comic Con saw lots of new information revealed about the upcoming shows.

CW have also announced that we will be see lots of crossovers in both Arrow and The Flash. They didn’t say if it would be villains, heroes or the supporting characters that would be appearing, but deciding to share cast members could one day see the Justice League of superheroes form.


Television

Netflix Tops 20 Million SubcribersNetflix’s 2014 second-quarter revenue more than doubled as new episodes from one of its most popular shows helped the streaming service provider’s subscriber figure surpass the 50 million mark. The gains, which were announced in the middle of July, include more than half a million new US subscribers, a larger figure than that predicted by Netflix management. Quarter 2 is usually the company’s slowest of the year, with people spending more time outside, but 2014 seems to have changed that trend. Netflix investors kept smiling as the results pushed stock up a further $4.65, with Netflix shares surging a massive 23% since January. One of Netflix’s star shows, ‘Orange Is The New Black’, returned for a second season, with the first season being released to Netflix simultane-ously so subscribers could catch up as they pleased. The show, set in a women’s prison, received 12 out of the 31 Emmy Award nominations bestowed upon Netflix shows this year. Netflix’s nomination count rose higher than that of pay-TV channel Showtime, whom once received 24, but still fell way short of HBO’s record 99 nominations. Netflix ended the month of June with 36.2 million US subscribers, and a further 13.8 million in 40 other coun-tries across the globe. The streaming service hopes to add another 3.5 million subscribers for the third quarter, end-ing September, with 1.3 million of those coming from the US. It also plans to release the service for sake in another 6 European countries including France and Germany. This second-quarter performance will stop concerns that the proposed $1 price hike will undercut the compa-

ny’s growth. In the US, Netflix now costs $9 a month, but eased the blow by allowing existing customers to pay the old rate for the next two years. Although the streaming service growth is impressive, the old DVD-By-Mail rental service that was once the company’s main business model is slipping away. The service cleared another 390,000 sub-scribers the last quarter, and only 6.3 million customers remain. The equates to a 55% decrease in the last three years. From April to June, the firm earned $71 million, com-pared to $29.5 million at the same time in 2013. Shares have increased from $0.49 to $1.15 in this period too. And, although we will have to wait and see how the com-pany fair this year, 2013′s total revenue was $1.3 billion, a climb of 25% on 2012. Tobi Stidolph


Gaming

Gaming NewsTop gaming stories from the

past month

The Yogscast is one of YouTube’s biggest channels with over seven million subscrib-ers and the producer of some of YouTube’s most loved Minecraft and multiplayer games videos. Their game, Yogadventures was set to be an open-world building and mining experience, inspired by Minecraft, and its 2012 Kickstarter was heavily endorsed by the Yogscast. They provided their voices for the game, and even had some gameplay to show. So it looked promising, and with a goal of $250,000 it should have been more than enough money to achieve the of the making a game. Well, more than 13,000 people donated a combined $567,700, but now after two years of development the game has been cancelled due to a lack of funds. As a gesture of goodwill, all backers will receive a code for TUG, a game in early access on Steam. It’s a reminder that Kickstarter can fall apart at any time, just because it’s a huge company doesn’t mean anything, and now more than half a million dollars has been wasted on a game that no longer exists.

YOGAVENTURES CANCELLED

EA has revealed an Xbox One subscription service called EA access, costing $4.99 or £3.00 a month ($30 a year). So far only four games have been announced; FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, Peggle 2 and Battlefield 4, with more bring promised soon. In addition, you will receive discounts on EA games, and the DLC, plus trials to some of the big, upcoming games. The service will launch soon, and will be available on Xbox Live and in local game stores.

EA aCCESS

The Destiny Beta began on the 17th of July and was the first time, for most people, to get their hands on the highly anticipated game. They announced earlier this year they wanted to sell four million copies of the game, which I thought was a little ambitious. But it looks as if I might be wrong because more than 4.6 million people played the Beta, making it the highest played Beta of all time. Beating Titan Fall that clocked in at 2 million players. Destiny will be released on the 10th of September.

dESTINY bETA

Telltales: The Walking Dead is one of the best story-focused games in recent history, and although not much information has been given away (probably because season 2 hasn’t ended yet) you don’t have to worry about having to say goodbye to the Walking Dead anytime soon..

tHE WALKING DEAD GAME: sEASON 3 ANNOUNCED

This isn’t really big news, but it’s still nice to know. First Battlefield: Hardline, a Miami police game, that was set to play like a police show on TV, has been pushed back to next year. After a beta for a few online modes the game has been moved from the end of this year to an unconfirmed date in 2015. No reason for the delay was given apart from they needed extra time. But, I would rather have a finished game then a rushed one. Another EA delay was from Dragon Age: Inquisition. The game was set to come out on October 31st this year, but will now be coming on the 21st of November. And finally Lord Of The Rings: Shadows of Mordor thought to be coming in September, will be coming on October 2nd.

RELEASE DATE CHANGES


Gaming

HEARTHSTONE: CURSE OF NAXXRAMAS

After a long wait, Hearthstone’s first DLC adventure is finally here. Set to be released over the next five weeks, Blizzard made

the point very clear that this is an ‘adventure’ and not an expansion to the game. An expansion will have much more content and introduce more cards than the adventures will. I should mention that at the time of writing this I only played the first week of the new adventure. The new cards that will be introduced will be divvied up and given out each week. When you first open the adventure you are greeted to visuals that fit the the Hearthstone pattern really well. The spiders webs that break when you unlock one of the game’s new wings succeed in drawing you into the story that it tries to convey. I wasn’t expecting any kind of structured story, so to see one was a nice surprise. Each of the wings has a theme, and the first was spiders. To complete this wing I had to face off against enemies, and they all have a unique hero ability and a range of new cards to give you a chal-lenge. On the Normal difficulty mode I didn’t have any trouble defeating the enemies with most of my decks of cards. But, if like me you find the new Standard mode too easy then you can try the Class Challenges that give you a preassembled deck and task you with defeating the same enemies. How-ever, if you want a real challenge Heroic mode is for you. I can’t explain how difficult it was, and

without making decks just to counter the task’s problems, and a little help from some Legendary cards, I don’t think I could have beaten the game. One of the main things that was promised was a new Legendary card at the end of every wing. The first was ‘Mexxna’, which is a spider that is very effective at keeping board control, but as far as changing the tempo or unleashing raw power this new card won’t make a big difference. The other thing that this adventure changed was the game’s normal, construed mode. The first wing only gave us nine new cards, and the differ-ence that they made were to the game was not dramatic, but it was exiting as my strategies that I was once using had to be change to cope with the new druid cards. The only other annoying point in the DLC is that it wasn’t just me that had to change it up a little. I encountered other players that had to change their decks to add the new cards or add others to deal with them. The first wing of the Hearthstone adventure was free, but the other four will cost £13.99 altogether, or you will be able to buy the wings with in-game currency for Seven-Hundred Gold each. On top of the fact that Hearthstone is com-pletely free, the DLC has the option of being free too. However, the price tag is a little high and I, along with most people will be paying with real world money just to save the time of grinding for the gold. This said, we will be getting more

new cards and a nice challenge too, so I think the price tag is reasonable. There will be four more weeks of extra content for Hearthstone, and if the quality changes I will post an updated review on our website at www.insynctm.com. Hearthstone: Curse of Naxx-rams changes just enough of the game to make it interesting, and the fact the first wing of the adventure is free, its hard to say see that Hearth-stone will ever stop. And, at the end of the day this is the entire base of the game, and I don’t see any reasons to stop everyone giving it a go. Jesse Price


Category

Documents

inSYNC - Issue 10, August 2014