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  • 5 Game Releases From E3 That Are a Must Play

    5 Game Releases From E3 That Are a Must Play

    This was considered by most to be a week year at the E3 conference. Expectations going in where low to begin with and nothing earth shattering or even mildly interesting was revealed. What we did get is a ton of really amazing games. An endless supply of games were announced and they all look pretty great. Lets take a look at the biggest and best 5 Game Releases we will be playing all next year.

     

    1. Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

    Finally we get what we wanted from Nintendo, and may have to go purchase a switch just for this. Nintendo Switch’s first “Smash Bros. was a classic hit, but Ultimate will be enev bigger. Yes, every character that’s ever appeared in a “Smash Bros.” is here (that’s over 60, including rarities like “Metal Gear’s” Solid Snake). Nintendo has really stepped up the combat and evolved every character to have the Ultimate moves, stages and animations. This will ensure “Ultimate” is the best, visually amazing, craziest and quickest “Smash” to date. This will be the game that keeps droves of children occupied this holiday season.

    2. Spiderman

    Just titled Spiderman and set for a Sept 7th release,  Sony and Insomniac’s “Spider-Man” is exploding with excitement and hitting number 2 on our top 5 Game Releases, The WebCrawlers latest installment  is going to be fantastic in its actions, NYC renderings and non stop Spidery action. Not to mention the best activity is still just swinging around over the Manhattan skyline, which will be greatly enhanced.  Bringing an “Arkham”-like combat system, impressive voice work and ridiculously cinematic battles, and endless parade of villains. This is  shaping up to be the best superhero games we’ve ever played. It’s also wowed a certain comic company: Marvel was so impressed with Insomniac’s work, they’re including the video game version of Spidey in their official canon. Hurry up and get here Sept 7th, im seriously pondering the Eric Cartman freezing my self idea.

    3. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

    Assassin’s Creed Origins was a magnificent success for Ubisoft, so much it decided to just take the leap  and blast out the next AC into a full-blown role-playing game for our enjoyment. For us, This one will be set during the Peloponnesian War in Greece, “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” lets players choose genders, bulk up tons of stats, collect gear and goodies and even shape the story with new branching dialogue options. This is shaping up to take Assassins Creed to the next level of immersion and action. Ill be pre-ording this one ASAP. Its hard not to have this as the number 1 game on the 5 Game Releases list.

    4. CyberPunk 2077

    After three games of high fantasy, via an adaptation of The Witcher series, CD Projekt Red is starting up a new franchise in a completely different genre. It’s full of big ideas and promises huge amounts of customisation and individuality when it comes to your character and play-style. Cyberpunk 2077 is a role-playing video game played in a first-person perspective as V, a mercenary whose sex, hairstyles, face, body type, body modifications, background, and clothing are customisable. V’s clothing alters how interactions fare with non-player characters who are also at V’s disposal for romantic and sexual relationships. This looks to be the game we never saw coming, totally innovative and set to really blow us away, like the original resident evil did many years ago. This will be the game all the cool kids will be talking about around the water cooler.

    5. Fallout 76

    number 5 on our top 5 Game Releases for 2018…Who doesnt love Fallout? Who hasent been anticipating the next Fallout installment? Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Skyrim and Fallout 4, welcomes us all to Fallout 76, the online prequel where every surviving human is a *real person*. Work together – or not – to survive. Under the threat of nuclear annihilation, you’ll experience the largest, most dynamic world ever created in the legendary Fallout universe.

  • Microsoft Announces Xbox Scarlett

    Microsoft Announces Xbox Scarlett

    Taking the stage at the E3, Microsoft was quickly confirmed that it was designing new Xbox hardware. Microsoft Xbox Scarlett, but when can I play it? looks like it will be a lot sooner then originally planned. Our sources have claimed that the next-gen Xbox, nicknamed Scarlett, should launch sometime in 2020. I’m guessing probably late q3 early q4 for the holiday rush.  We havent got any technical details yet, however it’s they are touting this as a “family of devices”. I hope they can find a way to bridge the console with PC gaming and make it a one stop experience.

    What Could Xbox Scarlett Be?

    The timing, if accurate, may seem unusually quick given that the Xbox One X only launched near the end of 2017. Microsoft has done slot to improve the Xbox One but it falls short of driving sales, most xboxers would just as easily go with an upgradeable gaming PC then buy a new xbox every 2 -3 years.  A Xbox Scarlett launch in 2020 might be necessary to keep pace. If Microsoft can complete that bridge and supplying me with the solo immersive and higher quality of pc gaming, with the flexibility of moving to the TV for multiplayer action and gathering, while facilitating the component upgrading to keep systems current, They may just stumble upon the next generation of inspiring gamers.

     

    While we don’t know when Sony is planning to release PlayStation 4’s successor. The company’s current system continues to far outsell the Xbox One. Recent sales estimates put the system’s total sales at around double that of the Xbox One, which can be attributed to a better library of exclusive games and the PR struggles Microsoft had with the Xbox One back in 2013.

     

    The Final Thought

    We know Xbox Scarlett is a working coded name. I’m really hoping they through us a left hook and just name it Xbox 2. I wish we had something more concrete to bring you. Specs, picture leaks, Rumors and speculations.. But relax, we will feed you baby birds, as soon as the info develops. As for now we wait…impatiently might I add

  • Laptop Lookout: Alienware 17 R5

    Laptop Lookout: Alienware 17 R5

    Alienware has a new gaming laptop for their 17 line. They have spared no expense, except yours of  course, to develop a mind boggling, earth shattering, nay I say completely volatile piece of gaming tech here. Alienware threw everything it could at the Alienware 17 R5 , cramming a 6-core Intel Core i9 processor in there, along with 32GB of RAM, and a GTX 1080 graphics card. It’s certainly outfitted like a gaming desktop, so here we go.

     

    The Great

    • Excellent build quality
    • High refresh rate display
    • Variety of configuration options
    • Exceptional gaming performance
    • Tobii Eye Tracker
    • 13 customizable lighting zones
    • High Quality Audio

     

    The Not

    • Heavy and large
    • Mediocre 3 hour battery life
    • CPU performance fails to  competitors

     

    The Conclusion

    Its Bad, bad bad to the bone. Its all you can ask for in a gaming laptop. It has the power, the speed, the sound and the look. Not to mention a functioning eye tracking for aiming.. Moderatly priced and highly impressive fps in all test I’ve done, including a stunning 93 fps in Battlefront.

    Whats New With The Alienware 17 R5

    For the Alienware 17 R5, Alienware made design modifications to the exterior design, creating a slimmer chassis with even more customized lighting opportunities. Completely revamped the cooling and audio systems make for quieter fans and louder speakers. Then did an overhaul of the Alienware Command Center software making it much easier to  customizing your lighting and overclocking your processor and graphics card. Add in a powerful Intel 8th Gen Core i9 processor that can be overclocked to 5 GHz and and a factory overclocked Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 GPU plus speedy SSD and a brilliant QHD screen, you have the premier gaming laptop.  The Alienware 17 RS is also the first in the series to implement Intel’s new 2.9-GHz, 8th Gen Core i9-8950HK processor with a whopping 32GB of RAM, and thanks to the Alien Command Center, you can overclock this bad boy to a smoking 5 GHz.

    Design

    Alienware added even more LED zones to the Laptop, while making the system slimmer with its new hinge-forward design. There are now 13 LED zones you can control from the control center. Once open you find yourself staring at a full-size traditional keyboard glowing with stunning backlights. The keyboard and a massive touchpad glow in excitement. The 17.3-inch panel sits above the glossy plastic strip housing the Tobii Eye Tracker.

     

     

    Quick Speck Look

    • CPU Intel Core i9-8950HK @ 2.9GHz
    • Operating System Windows 10 Home
    • RAM 32GB
    • Hard Drive Size 256GB SSD
    • Hard Drive Type PCIe m.2 SSD
    • Secondary Hard Drive Size 1TB
    • Secondary Hard Drive Speed 7,200rpm
    • Display Size 17.3
    • Highest Available Resolution 2560 x 1440
    • Native Resolution N/A
    • Graphics Card Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 (8GB GDDR5X)
    • Video Memory 8GB
    • Wi-Fi 802.11ac
    • Wi-Fi Model Killer 1435 802.11ac 2×2 WiFi
    • Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.1
    • Touchpad Size 4.0 x 2.1
    • USB Ports 4
    • Warranty/Support 1-year
    • Size 16.7 x 13.1 x 1.2 inches
    • Weight 9.77 pounds

    The Final Thought

    One Word.. Fantabulous. Its not the gaming laptop we needed but its the laptop we deserve. Eye tracking aiming is game changing for me, makes battlefront so much more fun..

  • HP Omen 15: Early Reports of HP’s New Gaming Flagship

    HP Omen 15: Early Reports of HP’s New Gaming Flagship

    Once considered a bit of a joke among gaming enthusiasts, HP has managed to recapture some of their lost respect with their Omen line. Omen gaming laptops are surprisingly excellent, sporting great design, size and performance all for a reasonable cost. The HP Omen 15 is no exception: early takes on the new laptop show it’s got some seriously impressive hardware under the hood. Not to mention, it’s sleek, sexy and well worth the attention it’s getting. Let’s dive on in! 

    Design 

    HP took a page from Razer’s book and went with the sleek, black matte plastic look. It even has the glowing logo on the back, but Omen’s logo is much less subdued than Razer’s. The back plate has a series of cross-hatchings that give the laptop an industrial, almost alien appearance. The keyboard section of the computer is aluminum, giving the laptop a premium finish.  

    The most striking aspect of this year’s design, however, is the incredibly small bezels. Compared to other laptops, the Omen 15’s display looks huge, even though it’s comparable to most modern gaming laptops. The reduced bezel size does wonders for the viewer: the laptop itself vanishes and only the game you’re playing remains. 

    Hardware 

    The Omen 15 wouldn’t be a gaming machine without the right graphics. And boy, does it have the right graphics. This mean machine sports Nvidia cards, specifically the GTX 1070 with Max-Q, 8th gen Intel processors, and options for 32gb of RAM. What’s more, the laptop has both solid state and hard drive options for memory, allowing for the best of both world when it comes to storing your games.  

    Both forms of memory, as well as the RAM, can all be accessed through a single panel. This is an excellent design decision for those who want to upgrade their rigs as technology improves. These design decisions, coupled with the beefy hardware, make the Omen as serious contender in the realm of gaming laptops. The high-tier rigs of the Omen 15 will be able to handle 4K graphics at 60Hz, which puts it on par with modern gaming desktops. That’s some serious power for this little thing! 

    Omen 15 Meant to be Gaming Hub 

    HP also announced some additional features and accessories for their new laptop. Omen’s new program, Omen Game Stream, is slated to launch with the laptop. It will allow users to stream games from their laptop to another screen, like the one in their living room. The Omen 15 promises 15 gigabit wi-fi, which should allow for even the most demanding of games to be streamed via the software. 

    Other accessories set to launch include the Reactor Mouse and the Sequencer keyboard. Their cool sci-fi names underscore their cool sci-fi innards. Both are stated to make use of optical mechanical sensors, allowing for lightning-fast response time from both. HP has also announced a headset called the Mindframe headset, set to launch later in the year. The Mindframe is stated to have internal cooling, an odd choice for a headset, but perhaps required during more serious gaming sessions! 

  • GoodBye 14 inch Razer Blade, Hello 15.6 inch

    GoodBye 14 inch Razer Blade, Hello 15.6 inch

    Razer is the hipster king of gaming laptops. For the last 5 years the 14 inch Razer Blade has been the cornerstone of their lineup. That is  all going to change now. No longer will Razer be offering the 14 inch super laptop. Instead they will be offering a suped up version in a slimmer 15.6 inch model.   Razer is calling it the smallest gaming system in its class. Its packed with an excruciating amount off cool stuff lets take a look.

     

    Design

    For starters Razer got rid of the rounded curves of the previous laptops for a more boxy shape. The company also ditched the pair of lines flanking the glowing green Razer emblem. Its a bit more classy look in my opinion. Measuring 14 x 9.3 x 0.68-inches and weighing 4.6 pounds, the Blade is notably larger than its predecessor (4.2 pounds and 13.6 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches). But it’s also slimmer and lighter than a lot of its current competition. As Razer said it, its the smallest gaming system available. Ports, its got em, you can expect a trio of USB 3.1 ports, a Thunderbolt 3 port, mini DisplayPort, HDMI 2.0, a headset jack and a power input.

    The Display

    This is were its gets cool. The 14-inch variant of the Blade is gone and with it goes those unsightly thick bezels. Razer has shaved the bezels down to 0.19 inches along the sides, allowing the company to squeeze a 15.6-inch panel into a 14-inch chassis. More screen less size for the win. The Razer Blade is available with several screen variants and refresh rates: Full HD with 60Hz, Full HD with 144Hz and a 4K touch panel with 60Hz. The 144Hz, 1080p screen and 4K panels will be individually color calibrated from stock.

    The Razer Blade Extras

    Of course Razer is gonna back this with there G-ed out Chroma keyboard and killer trackpad. That is just a given. Razer is swapping out the two discrete mouse buttons in favor of a massive precision touchpad. The new touchpad should deliver more accurate gestures and swipes. With the bigger chassis we are getting a bigger battery too. Bonus.

    Quick Spec Look

     

    • six-core, 8th Gen 2.2-GHz Intel Core i7-8750H processor,
    • 16GB of RAM,
    • 256GB PCIe SSD,
    • Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q GPU with 6GB of VRAM
    • 1920 x 1080 (60Hz) display.

    The Final Thought

    All good things must come to an end, but new begins lead to greatness.  From what I’ve seen so far, the 15-inch Blade is a great new start and we should be excited. Growth is always a good sign and as much as Im sad to see the 14 inch go, I love the way it walks away.

  • Tech Throwback: Nokia N-Gage

    Tech Throwback: Nokia N-Gage

    I like to take a look at where I’ve been to evaluate where Im going. Technology is cyclical after all… wait no its not. That said I still like all the feels that come rushing back like a flood of nostalgia every time I get my hand on the tech I grew up with. Im going to go back periodically and take a looking at the stuff that used to blow our hair back and get our minds rolling. Some of these device blew up and changed the world, some where ahead of their time and some just fell flat and became colossal failures. Today I’ve got my hands on the old Nokia N-Gage

     

     

    Around 2000, gamers increasingly carried both mobile phones and handheld game consoles. Nokia spotted an opportunity to combine these devices into one unit. Nokia announced in November 2002 that they would develop the N-Gage, a device that integrated these two devices. Instead of using cables, multiplayer gaming was accomplished with Bluetooth or the Internet (via the N-Gage Arena service). The N-Gage also included MP3 and Real Audio/Video playback and PDA-like features into the system.

     

    The original phone’s taco-shaped design was considered clumsy: to insert a game, users had to remove the phone’s plastic cover and remove the battery compartment as the game slot was next to it. Another clumsy feature was the speaker and microphone being located on the side edge of the phone. This often resulted in many describing it as talking into a “taco phone” or “Sidetalking”, or simply that they had one very large ear, because the user held the edge of the phone against the cheek in order to talk into it. Usual for a phone, but unusually for a game system, it had a screen taller than it was wide, with a size of 2.1′ and resolution of 176 X 208, giving an aspect ratio of 11:13; most televisions and portable game screens were 4:3.

    We all thought the N-Gage would define the mobile gaming market: a device that can serve as a mobile game platform, a tri-band GSM phone, an MP3 player, an FM tuner, an e-mail client, and a personal information manager. Unfortunately, several design flaws severely limited the device’s usefulness, and t the N-Gage went down in history as a poorly implemented great idea.

     

    Hands On 15 years Later

    The original lithium battery on this device has failed but i was able to find a fresh replacement at a pretty reasonable price on eBay. It powers up just like you remember all Nokias did, it has that heavy toy feel as well. I got approximately 6 hours of game time and a few hours of music time. When I spent 5 hours playing games and listening to music, however, the battery died shortly after.

    Its Got Games

    The main purpose for this was to open up the mobile gaming market. We were all dieing to play video games where ever we went in the early century but their just wasn’t the options. Game boys and Sega had games but for a young adult wanted more those were for kids. I’ve been able to locate a copy of Civilization II ans Spider-man 2 and have been playing them all day. The N-Gage is the first place I played Civilization and started a long hobby over many tech devices since. Snake, some Xmen game and a few Tom Clancy games where available as well. Im sure as you all remember the games all came on a MMC card. I tried to condense all the games to one larger card but have been unsuccessful. Playing games on the N-Gage is kinda difficult, mostly because the buttons designed for a phone, are not well-suited for gaming.

     

    The Final Thought

    It was a leap forward, this was the device that got people thinking my phone can do more, it can be more then just a phone. The PDA functions and bluetooth synchronization lead to a big main stream increase in data being held on a phone. Before this I would only keep 40 or so contacts in my Nokia phones because they wouldn’t transfer from phone to phone. You have to re enter them all over again. I enjoyed my few hours with the phone but finished through everything it offered in a few hours and could imagine needing to revisit it again.

  • Spring 2018 Dell Lineup Includes All-In-Ones and Gaming Laptops

    Spring 2018 Dell Lineup Includes All-In-Ones and Gaming Laptops

    Dell has refreshed their computer lineup for Spring 2018 with some new choices in all-in-one machines as well as blazing fast gaming laptops called Dell G.

    All-In-Ones

    Two new Inspiron models land featuring different screen sizes and resolutions. The Inspiron 24 5000 has a 23.8 inch 1080p screen, while the Inspiron 27 7000 features 1080/4K on a 27 inch screen. The Inspiron 27 7000 even has optional HDR support (although it’s not as bright as a true HDR television).

    They are sleek looking computers, similar to Dell’s XPS laptops in their style. Metallic cases, simple lines and no bezels.

    Both of the Inspiron models are powered by 8th generation Intel Core processors. They can hold up to 32 GB of memory. The best video card you can opt for is a GTX 1050, which can handle most new games at 1080. If you’re looking to game at 4K on the Inspiron 27 7000, the 1050 will not be enough power.

    The Inspiron 24 5000 starts at $850 and the Inspiron 27 will be at least $1000 when it launches in May.

    Dell G

    Evolving from the Inspiron 7000 gaming series, the new Dell G laptops are aimed squarely at those who want to game on-the-go. They aren’t flashy like Dell’s Alienware computers, but their sharp aesthetic suits us just fine.

    The Dell G laptops come in three flavors: G3, G5 and G7, with each incremental step featuring more powerful hardware. You can get a 15 or 17 inch screen for each model.

    The G3 features 8th generation Intel processors and a GTX 1060 Max-Q GPU. Limited to 1080p, they should have no problem running the newest games.

    The G5 and G7 feature the same GTX 1060 Max-Q but have better cooling for lengthy gaming sessions. The G5 and G7 can also be upgraded to 4K screens with an HDMI 2.0 output to connect to a bigger screen.

    The G3 15 starts at $749, the G3 17 and G5 start at $799 and the G7 15 starts at $849.

  • HTC Vive? Sure, if You’ve Got The PC for it…

    HTC Vive? Sure, if You’ve Got The PC for it…

    The Good

    • Stunning visuals
    • very responsive and interactive gaming world
    • lasting fun and very immersive experience

    The Bad

    • A powerful gaming is needed to enjoy the full experience
    • Using the Vive can take some getting used to, mind your surroundings
    • Costly gaming product

    Image result for htc vive

    The conclusion

    I found the HTC Vive to be solidly built and well made. HTC has created a very immersive and responsive world that keeps you entertained and surprised for hours. You will need a powerful computer and a fair amount of space to fully enjoy the Vive. In terms of cost, considering a price drop from $599.00, it is certainly worth purchasing.

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    The Gist.

    As long as you have a powerful PC to push the Vive, it’s pretty incredible. The system pushes a lot of pixels to the small monitors, and you need a pretty fancy graphics card and processor to match up. The required PC components is partly due to the HTC Vive, providing just about a 180 degree field of virtual vision, and it’s stunning features that come with it. The price is a little steep relative to most gaming gear at $599.00, but it’s pretty cutting edge. As time passes the price will come down. It’s an early adopter product at this point but I have to say that as far as early adopter gear goes, it’s been surprisingly robust. For how new the product is it’s surprisingly smooth and a polished. The responsiveness of turning your head and immediately having the environment respond is impressive. I didn’t notice any real lag when playing with it. The unit is reasonably light, but does get little warm after extended use. SteamVR makes using and purchasing VR games a quick and easy process. Steam also offers a large variety of VR games for how new this system is.

    Image result for htc vive

    Final thoughts

    HTC Vive is a truly great system and HTC obviously put a lot of work into this product. The wiring, controls, and overall setup is a bit cumbersome, but that is expected with any new technology at this level. I’m sure as time passes, the controls will be simpler, sleeker, and everything will be wireless. But for now, if you’re into gaming, the Vive is definitely worth a try!