Sunday, 30 September 2012

Now Playing: Borderlands 2

Borderlands 2
First impressions, screenshots, and review will soon be up!

Saturday, 29 September 2012

[Assassin's Creed 3] Ubisoft reveals player-customisable homesteads


As the launch of Assassin's Creed 3 comes even closer to date, Ubisoft has released a little more information about what can be expected in its campaign. Similar to its predecessors, the protagonist of the game, Connor, will have his own home base (homestead). But, this time around, it will truly be your own homestead as it is now player-customisable.

Wait a minute, hold on.

Before you start drifting off thinking about a Sims: Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft was quick to point out that "it's not 'can I change the colour of the bricks, or roof'," Instead, think of it as a more "personalised" base for Connor where you can select people to join you in your settlement, who you want to live with, and to choose which stories you would like to bring with you. And to return your favour of providing them of shelter, food and opportunities, they too will provide you with skills and quests.

But oh, they're in no way your slaves. It's more of Connor being a "general manager", as explained by Ubisoft's Julien Laferriere in an interview with Eurogamer. One of the main people living in your homestead, whether you choose or not, will be Achilles, a mater assassin of sort which is essentially your mentor and guide during your progress throughout the game. Hence, you can see that who you choose to live with will play a pretty important role in your progress.

Now that it's revealed, are you excited about it? What are you going to do first with your now customisable homestead? Share your thoughts!

Thursday, 27 September 2012

[Assassin's Creed 3] Minimum PC requirements

Assassin's Creed 3 screenshot
Arguably one of the most highly-anticipated titles of the year, Assassin's Creed 3 is set to launch on the 30th of October on consoles, but only about a month later for PC (20th November). Though PC releases for Assassin Creed titles have always been a tad late, at the end of the day, a good game is worth a good wait. And if you're a PC gamer and is wondering whether your old PC will be able to support the game, take a look at the minimum PC requirements after the jump..

Saturday, 22 September 2012

Smaller and lighter PS3 with bigger HDD announced


You and I both know that we're all waiting for a next-gen console to come, presumably named the Xbox 720 or PS4. But just when that day doesn't seem to come any sooner, that very fact of us having to wait for probably another year or more is hammered down on us again.

Basically, during the recent Tokyo Game Show, Sony announced that the PS3 is going to get a new version which sports a 20% smaller body and will also be 25% lighter. Along with the weight loss, it is going to get an upgrade in its storage capacity which will now come in 250 and 500 GB.

I'm not saying this is exactly entirely bad but somehow, I can't help but to feel a little more disappointed. But on the bright side, it's not that bad if you do not own a console and is keen on getting one, the new version of the PS3 will probably win you over instead of the Xbox 360. So what Sony has basically done is to win over new console-buyers, but for those who already own a console, this would probably mean that Sony is not ready to unveil its next-gen console just yet... and btw, the new model is expected to have a $20 increase in price ($270).

What's your say?

GameMaker: Studio to support Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, another boost to Marketplace


One of the most easiest and basic way of creating your own game (from scratch!) would be using GameMaker: Studio by YoYo Games. It packs a pretty simple step-by-step guide for even complete beginners to use, and once a game is completed on the program, it provides the instant ability to adapt it for applications on other platforms.

Current support includes the iOS, Android, Facebook, HTML and Windows; and recently, YoYo Games have announced that it is going to add support for the upcoming Windows 8 prior to its October 26 launch and more importantly, the Windows Phone 8 when the first of its devices are made available. This addition will give yet another boost to the Windows Phone marketplace where even more developers can have their games added into the fast-growing ecosystem.

Source (photo and story): YoYo Games via WPCentral

Thursday, 20 September 2012

5 key features of the new Razer Blade


Face the facts, most gaming laptops today are big, fat, and extremely bulky. If that is anything, it's a huge concern for a gamer like myself where I believe that gaming should not be a pain in the ass where you have to carry a luggage wherever you go.

Hence, portability is one of the most important factor for me should I get a gaming laptop myself. Good news is, about a year ago, Razer unveiled their first ever gaming laptop and despite all odds, it was pretty much a hardcore gaming laptop with actual portability in mind.

Staying true to its original form, the recently-upgraded, new Razer Blade is said to boast an even stronger performance in a similar, sleek body shell.
"The all-new Razer Blade is built to defy all conventions; it has extreme levels of performance and yet is amazingly thin”.
- Razer’s CEO, Min-Liang Tan

Portability

If you're wondering how exactly thin is "amazingly thin", guess what, the new Blade is only 0.88 inches, and weighs less than seven pounds. Comparably, it is about a third of the weight of most gaming laptops in the market.

Performance

But with such slimness and lightness, comes the question on whether its performance would live up to a gamer's expectation. To support all the strongest visuals with lag-free continuity, the second generation of the Blade "features the next generation of Intel quad core processors combined with powerful NVIDIA GTX class graphics chips and the fastest RAM available”, as stated by Tan himself.

Comfort

At the same time, with most laptops and especially with such great needs, heat is one of the biggest threat for comfort to come suitably with portability. Hence, intelligent and efficient ventilation is needed. "The original Razer Blade's thermal system was completely re-engineered and built from custom-crafted parts with larger vents and specially designed heat pipes that allow more airflow to the unit's extreme components." On whether the larger vents are enough, we'll just have to test it to find out.

Switchblade

Oh yes, this is my favourite. If you haven't heard about it or seen it before, it's pretty much quite a unique user interface with a multi-touch panel with changing functions depending on situations and commands. The feature was first introduced in the original Razer Blade, and has since grown with more applications designed to fit in accordingly - be it in games or social network apps.

Price

First thing you see in the Razer Blade is its sleekness and portability. Check. Performance? Check. Comfort? Check (Probably). Razer Switchblade UI? Check. So with so many things going on in one single gaming laptop which defies common beliefs, how much does it cost? A tad cheaper than its predecessor at $2500, but still a heck of a price for myself.

The new Razer Blade starts shipping September 30th (North America only).

Sunday, 2 September 2012

List of Xbox games available for Windows 8 launch


You've probably seen some of the newly unveiled Windows 8 tablet/laptops already, and may or have also heard that Microsoft's latest PC operating system will be hitting our shelves (or digitally downloaded) on October 26. And if you are planning to get your hands on it, here's some of the games immediately available (at a cost of course) on the day.

The official launch list:
  • 4 Elements II Special Edition
  • A World of Keflings
  • Adera: Episode 1
  • Adera: Episode 2
  • Adera: Episode 3
  • Angry Birds
  • Angry Birds Space
  • Big Buck Hunter Pro
  • BlazBlue Calamity Trigger
  • Collateral Damage
  • Crash Course GO
  • Cut the Rope
  • Disney Fairies
  • Dragon’s Lair
  • Field & Stream Fishing
  • Fruit Ninja
  • Gravity Guy
  • Gunstringer: Dead Man Running
  • Hydro Thunder Hurricane
  • IloMilo
  • iStunt 2
  • Jetpack Joyride
  • Kinectimals Unleashed
  • Microsoft Mahjong
  • Microsoft Minesweeper
  • Microsoft Solitaire Collection
  • Monster Island
  • PAC-MAN Championship Edition DX
  • Pinball FX 2
  • Reckless Racing Ultimate
  • Rocket Riot 3D
  • Shark Dash
  • Shuffle Party
  • Skulls of the Shogun
  • Taptiles
  • Team Crossword
  • The Harvest HD
  • Toy Soldiers Cold War
  • Wordament
  • Zombies!!!