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Saturday, 15 June 2013

Metro: Last Light PC Review

The heavy Russian accent. The unmistakeable comradery and bravado atmosphere. The utter terror of running out of battery for your flashlight, and frantically trying to pump this device that you carry with you to power it back on. Yes, that is anti-climatic, but welcome to Russia.

And with that said, I welcome you to the much awaited, and much anticipated, Metro: Last Light. A game based on the best seller Metro:2034 by Dmitri Glukhovsky, and a direct sequel to Metro:2033. Although, not many people seem to know about this game, if you happen to have a copy sitting around collecting dust on your shelf (no matter which metro, 2033 or this new one), then follow these simple, easy to follow steps:

1. Install it
2. Get a Russian Ushanka (google it if you do not understand)
3. Turn off the lights in your room (if you’re outside, blow the sun up)
4. Play at maximum volume

So, what makes it such an awesome game that I require you to blow the freakin’ sun up? Is it the graphics? Is it the story? Is it the unique gameplay? Well, lets just say, its all of the above.

Top-notch Graphics

Let'start with its graphical capabilities. We all know what metro 2033 was like right? (waits for a show of hands) Well, Metro: Last Light is a leap forwards in terms of graphics. It employs tessellation, which means the tiling of a plane using one or more geometric shapes, thus, a more realistic looking object. But, the most noticeable improvement is in the lighting. My god, I can’t remember how many times I shot at a shadow, thinking it was a target, wasting precious ammo then slowly facepalming myself. Only to turn around then get my face clawed out, again.

And when this happens, you know the lighting was fantastically done, the shadows move according to the light source smoothly, something that some games fail to deliver. And the lighting in itself sets a very eerie atmosphere, you’d see light as a source of hope, but in this game, it slowly becomes something that you fear, and it does make you paranoid.

But besides these, the most important feature is ultimately the level of detail that goes into each and every object in the game. You see a ragged cloth floating in the air? Go up to it (but whatever you do, do not sniff it, it might be a sick trap) and just stare into each and individual holes within that rag. You see a cave? Go into it, and look at the texturing of the rocks and how the water slowly drips down the wall of it. It is beautiful. And dare I say it? I don’t mind living in a post-apocalyptic world like this one. They put so much attention into each and every object in-game, although much of it is due to the tessellation technology they employed it to the maximum.

However, it isn't only all about the new toys and upgrades that they introduced this game, but more essentially how they seamlessly combined all of them setting the mood in a perfect balance. They don’t immediately shove it into your face shouting ‘HEY LOOK AT MY BRILLIANT GRAPHICS’ like some cheap prostitute in the middle of the streets that’s only wearing short skirt and a shirt that shows a cleavage that ends all cleavage. But instead, it slowly unravels itself as you play the game. You will constantly be in awe with what they do with the graphics, you would be amazed at how a ray of light looks as if its descending from the heavens and then gets blocked out by the clouds, you’d be amazed at how the water reflects a source of light, making it shimmer. It is just beautifully executed.

Aliens: Colonial Marines - Review

Spanning six years to develop, the sequel to the Aliens franchise has finally been released. Aimed to be the true sequel to James Cameron’s film, the question rises if it will be the game fans of the movie has been waiting for.

Straight off the bat the game displays it’s poor AI in both your marines and the aliens. Aliens would just blindly charge at you, disregarding their health while AI partners would walk around in battles not giving any assistance and if they do, it ain’t enough. Playing in any difficulty below or at soldier mode would lead to in dull and insanely easy experience.

You are Corporal Christopher Winter, a Colonial Marine who is part of a search and rescue team sent to investigate the U.S.S. Sulaco in search of Ellen Ripley, Corporal Dwayne Hicks, and the rest of the missing marines who were dispatched to LV-426. How did the ship survive? How did it end up to your location? You would expect answers to these questions, and sometimes the game decides to give you a poorly written excuse.

Dishonored: PC Review

Borrowing from Dishonored’s tagline, “revenge solves everything”, my first impression was of hatred, uncompromising violence, and the satisfaction from blood spilled. But once I ventured into the dark, steam punk settings of Dunwall city, my initial ideas became doubtful. Dishonored is a game primarily based on you on a path of revenge, but revenge itself can be achieved in many ways. It’s not always about the spilling of blood, the evil laughs, or the cunning taste of victory. There’s another side to revenge as well, the good side, the more socially-justified side, and that’s who you will be playing as. A good guy.

You are Corvo Attano, Lord Protector to the Empress but in the opening sequences has helplessly failed to prevent her assassination. If guilt and self-blame wasn’t enough, the brains behind the dethroning has framed you for her murder, throwing you into the cells fated for execution.

Like all stories, movies and games, the protagonist in such situations always somehow, somewhat gets a “mysterious friend” to help him out. You get a key for your only opportunity to escape and it is during that first sequence that you are introduced to a glimpse into the city of Dunwall, the uniquely-artsy texture of its graphics, the general gameplay you will be facing, and how its all about the freedom, the kills, and the rats.

Assassin's Creed 3: PC Review

Picking up from an equally intense predecessor Assassin’s Creed: Revelation, comes a whole new chapter, Assassin’s Creed 3.

Just a little backtracking, we were left with Desmond running off with his father together with Shaun and Rebecca. Relationship between Desmond and his father have been straining, but nonetheless still preserving. Likewise, they continue with their journey as we follow glimpses into Desmond's life.

But Desmond is not the main guy. He's just a link which rather geniously binds all the Assassin's Creed franchise titles together through a system called the Animus. There, we venture back to the past taking the form of Desmond's ancestors - 15th-century Ezio, the quite a legendary Altair, and now, Connor the British-Native American.

HTC One X vs Samsung Galaxy S3

Choosing the best smartphone can be a daunting task to the uninitiated and expert alike. This is particularly true given the attractive specs and polished features found in most of these devices. The HTC One X and Samsung Galaxy SIII illustrate this dilemma and a simple comparison between them should help to clear your mind off any doubts and allow you to decide on your ideal smartphone.

Similarities:

Both devices come with Android 4.0, and embrace a comparable 8-megapixel imager that can simultaneously record a video and take still shots. A recording of 1080p is also possible. Equally they tender a combination of connectivity choices such as Bluetooth 4.0, HSPA, WiFi hotspot, Near Field Communication (NFC), Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi Direct. The screens of both gadgets have the same resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels and are both protected by the strong, damage-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass.

User Interface and Operating System:

Apart from running Android, HTC One X also is complemented with HTC Sense 4. Sense user interface superimposes Android with numerous features, making it a lot more sophisticated than the untreated Android.

In contrast, the Samsung Galaxy S III utilises some pretty complex technology to the delight of many gadget enthusiasts. S Voice, an intelligent personal assistant like Apple's Siri voice recognition application is one such technology. Direct Call switches between voice calling and messaging dependent upon placing the phone next to one's ear. It then flaunts Smart Stay using the front camera to verify if you're still viewing the screen and consequently adjusting the screen brightness.

Display and Overall Looks:

The HTC is a flagship product and lives up to its reputation. Although being a sizable phone, it gives the sensation of being slim at 8.9mm. You can obtain them in traditional black and white colours. On the other hand the Samsung Galaxy S III is a little trimmer than the HTC and shows off a more rounded design. Weighing 130 grams, the HTC One X is somewhat lighter than the 133-gram Samsung Galaxy S3 which comes with the choice of white and blue. Many customers see a great advantage in the HTC One X for its stain-resistant coating that facilitates cleaning of dirt and stains. In addition, they believe that the HTC One X wins with regard to a finer feel.

Verdict

Both of these phones are outstanding flagship devices with the Galaxy S3 having a slightly lower price. Choosing one will almost always satisfy the customer, however the interested individual should closely look at the features they both provide and see how those fit in with your preference or lifestyle.

*This post is guest written by Pricepanda Malaysia. If you too would like to contribute, please contact me at: xingyiho95@gmail.com

Tuesday, 5 June 2012

[Review] Roccat Savu Hands-On

The Savu is Roccat's latest gaming mouse which packs a solid, clean black outlook on a medium-sized body. It has a basic, minimalistic design but do not be fooled by its simplicity because behind it, is an array of features which spices things up.

First of all, though the sides of the Roccat savu looks simple, it is made out a material which provides a sand-paper texture. Yeap, it feels like sand-paper which may feel rather weird at first but you would get use to it and you would actually be thankful as it provides an extremely good grip. So if you have a sweaty palm and you're in the midst of a hardcore gaming, you wouldn't need to worry.

At the bottom back of the mouse is a light bar which is programmable to 16.8 million different colours. Yes it looks and sound impressive but unfortunately, it is not really noticeable when you game as your hands would possibly cover it. However, when you just leave it on and plugged it in to your computer, and especially when you set it to 'pulse mode', just watch its colour changes, and you'll feel how amazing 16.8 million colours can be.

The Roccat Savu has two macro buttons on its sides which then can be preset for in-game functions at its Roccat hardware driver which you would need to install first. Along with it, Roccat has also included this Easy-Shift [+] technology which basically uses one of the macro button to allow the other buttons/scrollwheel more than one function. So basically, when you use the Easy-Shift [+] button, and when you scroll, you can set it to another function, say to turn the volume up or maybe to change weapons in FPS games.

But ultimately, it is (in my personal opinion that) the Roccat Achievement Display which offers the best feature for the Roccat Savu. Basically, it is an achievement leaderboard which tracks the usage of the mouse, including the number of left-clicks done, the number of scroll steps performed, how much distance have you in total moved and more. Then, after you reach a certain stat, for example, after you clicked 50,000 times, you would receive a virtual "Click Fanatic" trophy which you can then share and brag to your friends on Facebook. But on that, we'll talk about it in another post in more detail but mean while, watch our hands-on video review on the gaming mouse below.

That was our first ever video review and our first video on our newly-launched Youtube Channel TheShadowGamerTV so do support us by subscribing (:

And yup that is it for our Roccat Savu review. To sum it all up again, it features the following:

Great grip via its sand-paper texture on both sides.
Clean, minimalistic and ergonomic design
16.8 million different colours to set for the light bar.
Easy Shift [+] technology to allow buttons/scrollwheel more than one function
Roccat Achievement Display is a must-try, must-use feature. World-first gaming mouse tracking system.

However, there were some setbacks which was quite a pity:

- Light bar not noticeable when gaming.
- Using the Easy-Shift [+] technology in games may prove rather inconvenient.

Related: Unboxing of the Roccat Savu

Saturday, 10 December 2011

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Review [Updated]

Fancy slaying some dragons? Tomb robbing the undeads? Joining the thief's guild while destroying everything as a black sorcerer? Being a werewolf and even a vampire (no, not Twilight)? Then you will surely, if not obsessionally fall in love with Skyrim in an endless adventure around the carefully-crafted, Scandinavian-inspired land.

First Impression? Holy mama WOOWW!

From the start, Skyrim offers an absolutely beautiful world, weaving together nature and war, history and fantasy. Flora and fauna energises the land with serenity while creatures and corpses heighten up the stakes while you unleash your skills as a dragonborn - someone who has the soul and blood of a dragon, with the ability to speak in the ancient dragon tongue. But before you think that Skyrim is just another RPG game with extraordinary visuals, think again.

Battlefield 3 Review

You should be able to identify that Battlefield 3 is mainly based in the Middle East.

The days spent on Battlefield 3 have only served to remind me how much I love adventure RPGs (role-playing games). The confinement, especially in Battlefield 3, is apparent and the linearity of its campaign is simply a letdown from its successfully marketed hype. And after giving up halfway through the campaign, I realized how awesome games like Assassin’s Creed and Skyrim is, and how, let’s put it this way, Battlefield 3 is just not good enough.

The Shadow Gamer