Reviews
ASUS RT-AX82U AX5400 Dual-Band + WiFi 6 Gaming Router Review
Sep 11, 2020
I’ve been a fan of ASUS routers from a distance for a while now. And it wasn’t until a couple of years ago before I went out and bought my own. From that point forward, I’ve been a fan of ASUS routers from my own experience. My households consumes a lot of internet, whether it’s for streaming television and movies, playing online games, or now for online school. ASUS’ RT-AX82U is a flexible powerhouse, able to take on the demand of today’s requirements, while also being forward thinking and ready for the next-generation of wireless internet.
OWC Aura P12 M.2 NVMe 2TB SSD Review
Sep 10, 2020
OWC, or Other World Computing has been in the hardware business for a while, often focusing on Macs for storage. In recent years they’ve found success in providing hardware for more, such as Do-It-Yourself Kits for upgrading drives on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, as well as SSDs for PCs. With the Aura P12, it is a non-volitile memory express M.2 drive, an SSD that has better speed and durability over SATA, and it shows its worth. The OWC Aura P12 M.2 NVMe 2TB SSD beats every other drive in my system, hands-down.
Windbound Review
Sep 09, 2020
Windbound comes at you strong, with a striking sense of visual style that lands somewhere between Sea of Thieves and The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker, and it seemingly deliberately dabbles with similar visual themes. Its rich, vibrant world is presented with striking colors and beautiful, fluid animation, all of which breathe extraordinary life into the lush environments and highly animated local fauna. It’s a gorgeous game to look at, and it helps set a tone early for itself as a game about discovery and wonder. The story begins with your character at sea in the middle of a violent tempest, captaining one of many small boats struggling to fight their way through the storm. Waves swell, and suddenly a massive sea creature the size of a small island breaches the surface, threatening to destroy everything around it. A gigantic tentacle raises from the depths and crashes down upon you. You awake to find yourself standing on the surface of a calm sea in the still of night, with a giant, swirling portal of light before you. What choice do you have but to step through and see what fate awaits you? You awake again, this time on a very small island in the middle of an expansive ocean. It’s daytime, the sea is calm, and you have nothing to your name except the clothes on your back and the knife in your belt.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 Review
Sep 09, 2020
Vicarious Visions have done the impossible — no, not the skateboarding trick. They’ve overcome the impossible task of making a new Tony Hawk game as great as the ones made by Neversoft. Because they were like magicians at making every entry an instant, seminal classic, defining the early 2000s in sports gaming. Vicarious Visions have re-captured that magic, and are wowing me all over again, for the first time in over a decade of disastrous attempts by others. This is a remake in every sense of the word, sticking close to the formula and design of the first two games with a modern influence. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 is made with the understanding of what made this series so great, while sharing the love and passion for it to be the perfect compilation.
Hotshot Racing Review
Sep 08, 2020
Pop quiz, hotshot. There’s an explosive device on your car. Once the car starts racing, the explosives are armed. If you’re last across the line whenever one else goes, it blows up. What do you do? What do you do? Well, Hotshot Racing isn’t “Speed”, but it has a lot of it – and even a literal ‘Drive or Explode’ mode. This is a game with a lot of kinetic energy, colorful looks, and evoking the 90s with passion. It’s a shame then that performance oddities and lack of singleplayer content hurt the overall product. Hotshot Racing manages to be a lot of fun, where its longevity is driven by unlockables and its multiplayer.
Raji: An Ancient Epic Review
Sep 07, 2020
Rare is the opportunity for players in Western culture to get exposure to games steeped in mythology and iconography from other parts of the worlds. Many of the games we play from other parts of the world have either been heavily influenced by the juggernaut of American pop culture, or are filtered through the lens of interpretation, losing subtlety and authenticity in the process. When something like Raji: An Ancient Epic comes along, a bona fide adventure set in ancient Indian culture and its rich, storied mythologies, it is an instant head-turner.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning Review
Sep 07, 2020
If you put aside the mismanagement, the shuttering of a studio, and the economic impact to an entire state that surrounded the development, release, and post-release of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, there was a great open-world fantasy RPG to thoroughly enjoy. Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning is essentially the same game with improved graphics, some added accessibility, and under-the-hood improvements that warrant the purchase. Though it really only edges out the original, ever so slightly. Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning is a great re-introduction into the world and gameplay that’s worth experiencing again, and a series I’d like to see continue.
Iron Harvest Review
Sep 04, 2020
Real-time strategy games like Company of Heroes and Dawn of War II are now considered classics, relics of the past. Iron Harvest aims to capture the mid-2000s era of RTS gaming, and mostly succeeds at that goal. It’s got a lengthy, strong campaign full of heart that offers three distinct viewpoints with focus on giant, hulking mechs that release wanton destruction. The multiplayer is lacking in a few key areas, hurting the longevity of the game for the time being. As it stands, Iron Harvest is a revitalization of the RTS genre that’s sat dormant for too long, until now.
NASCAR Heat 5 Review
Sep 03, 2020
NASCAR Heat 5 is nearly a carbon copy of last year’s game, especially if you partake in the career mode. As with my review of last year’s NASCAR Heat 4, that year’s previous year’s NASCAR Heat 3 had a good thing going for it and was the same solid game. NASCAR Heat 5 is still that same solid game; it’s unfortunate that we get no significant improvements this year.
Crusader Kings III Review
Aug 31, 2020
Crusader Kings III is a massive game of networking, of cause-and-effect, and maintaining a dynasty through tumultuous change. To many, the mere mention of Paradox Development Studio is intimidating enough. Suggesting you play one of their titles is downright daunting. Rest assured, Crusader Kings III wants to be played by you. There’s no right or wrong way to play it, you just do. And in time, you’ll learn its systems, and fall in love with its political drama as it unfolds in unexpected ways that soap operas could only dream of. Come for the Holy Wars and grand occupations, stay for the murder of your spouse before the stress of her extramarital affair kills you.
WRC 9 Review
Aug 30, 2020
KT Racing have outdone themselves with WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship. The highlights are the challenge mode and new rally stages for the 2020 season, while the lowlights are its bugs. You’ll find a lot of similarities between this year and last year’s game, but the improvements made to every aspect of this game is unmistakable. Simply put, WRC 9 is the best one yet, and an upgrade in every sense of the word.
Battletoads Review
Aug 27, 2020
Alternate universes or parallel dimensions must exist. With how crazy things are in the world, we must have jumped into an alternate reality. We have a worldwide pandemic; we’re seeing those sworn to protect murder instead, living through all the countless climate disasters, and even experiencing the early stages of American fascism. One would have to believe that this can’t be the real world, almost as if someone has trapped us in some hellscape. Yet somehow in this messed-up reality we live in, good things shine through, even if they are small and inconsequential to everything happening around us.
CONTROL – AWE Review
Aug 27, 2020
It’s the one year anniversary (to the exact date) for CONTROL. And the release of the final expansion, AWE is the perfect way to close the book on this incredible game, with the help from Alan Wake. With all due respect to The Foundation, the first expansion for the game, the anticipation for this second expansion has had people guessing and hypothesizing for months on end now. After all the hints, the references, and sometimes overt mentions, it’s time to see what the connection CONTROL has to Remedy’s own 2010 game, Alan Wake. AWE gives new insight into what has happened to Alan Wake after all this time, and gives new mysteries to uncover. The Remedy Connected Universe is unfolding before us, and it’s already AWEsome.
Wasteland 3 Review
Aug 26, 2020
I met a feline named Major Tomcat who was very curious with our group, and didn’t run away when approached. I searched through my inventory for something to give it, and all I could find was a pack of smokes. Hesitantly, I offered them to the cat, and it instantly joined my party. I couldn’t command them, or tell it what to do, but the cat became loyal to us and a Ranger itself. These are the moments in Wasteland 3 that showcase the goofy side of inXile Entertainment’s post-apocalyptic cRPG. It takes itself seriously, but knows when to have fun. It’s clear inXile learned a lot of lessons with Wasteland 2 here, as nearly everything else has had a facelift or a substantial improvement. Wasteland 3 is a deep RPG with dark storytelling, and has damn excellent turn-based combat that’ll have you daydreaming of what you’ll be doing next.
Project CARS 3 Review
Aug 24, 2020
Project CARS 3 relaxes its simulation and hardcore nature for a much more inviting and better streamlined experience than the prior two games ever achieved. Though, with Slightly Mad Studios straying from what made this series so popular, there’s likely going to be some dissent about the direction of this game. It may not be the relentless driving experience you once came for, but it’s got a copious amount of content for both online and offline, with incredible audio and gorgeous visuals to accompany it all. Project CARS 3 retains lots of fan-favorite modes, vehicles, and features that refuses to disappoint.
Popular
How To Play the X-Wing Series on a Modern Windows PC with a gamepad or flight stick
Editorial
Aug 09, 2014
