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Home / News / Fully Charged: Grab November’s free PlayStation Plus games, and BBC plots His Dark Materials series

Fully Charged: Grab November’s free PlayStation Plus games, and BBC plots His Dark Materials series

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Latest free PlayStation Plus games live

If you wait around for each month’s new free games to come live as part of your PlayStation Plus subscription, then today’s the day to start downloading. The Walking Dead: Season Two leads the PlayStation 4 offerings, and is flanked by co-op adventure Magicka 2 and roguelike action-RPG Dragon Fin Soup.

The last one is available for PlayStation 3 and Vita, as well. Also for PS3 are a couple of heavy-hitters: role-playing sequel Mass Effect 2 and classic adventure Beyond Good and Evil. And finally, Vita players also get InviZimals. Clear some space and grab these before December rolls around!

[Source: PlayStation.Blog]

BBC plots His Dark Materials series

BBC One has ordered an eight-part TV series based on Philip Pullman’s much-loved His Dark Materials book series, which has sold more than 17.5 million copies worldwide. A film, The Golden Compass (trailer shown), was released in 2007 based on the first novel, but the franchise wasn’t continued on the big screen.

"It’s been a constant source of pleasure to me to see this story adapted to different forms and presented in different media," says Pullman. "It’s been a radio play, a stage play, a film, an audiobook, a graphic novel – and now comes this version for television."

No word yet on when to expect it, but it sounds like the BBC series could extend on if the first leg does well.

[Source: Variety]

Dual-screen phone Kickstarter live

The YotaPhone 2’s U.S. release was abruptly cancelled this summer, but there’s an alternative on the horizon. The Siam 7x has much the same concept: it’s an Android phone with a traditional display on the front, but also an always-on E-ink screen on the back. It’s ideal for things like reading books, notifications, and music controls.

Truth be told, the Siam 7x doesn’t seem significantly different from the YotaPhone, although it’s a bit lower-specced in at least one respect: the specs on the Kickstarter page list a 720p front screen, despite claims of it being a "Full HD" screen elsewhere on the page. Still, if you want a dual-screened phone in the States, this is your best bet: backers can get it next month for a pledge of US$420. We’re told it will be available in Europe come January, as well.

UPDATE: PR tells us that the Kickstarter campaign was pulled due to a copyright issue, and they’ve decided to launch on Indiegogo instead. The new campaign is up right here; the details look the same to us, but be sure to double check before you plunk your cash down.

Read MoreYotaPhone 2 review

Star Wars Battlefront teaser

The Battle of Jakku is a free add-on for Star Wars Battlefront that releases in December, and it helps set up the events of next month’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens in cinemas. Here’s a first glance at what to expect – it hits all players on 8 December, but anyone who pre-orders the game gets it a week early.

[Source: YouTube]

Profile image of Andrew Hayward Andrew Hayward Freelance Writer

About

Andrew writes features, news stories, reviews, and other pieces, often when the UK home team is off-duty or asleep. I'm based in Chicago with my lovely wife, amazing son, and silly cats, and my writing about games, gadgets, esports, apps, and plenty more has appeared in more than 75 publications since 2006.

Areas of expertise

Video games, gadgets, apps, smart home