Editor’s Choice

Nintendo Switch Lite

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 04/10/2020
Posted in: Editor's Choice, Hardware, Nintendo Consoles, Switch. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

Release Date: 09/20/2019

MSRP: $199.99

Colors: Gray/Yellow/Turquoise

A Switch console that can’t be switched. Preposterous right? Well, not exactly. When the controversy stirred up about the Lite not being able to be docked came about I wasn’t on board with that. The Switch is a portable system as well and that’s its main appeal. Nintendo’s data also shows that a good majority of Switch owners use it exclusively in handheld mode. The Switch itself isn’t the best handheld device. It’s very large, a little heavier than a large iPad and the Joy-Cons aren’t that great (sorry they aren’t). When I can I always use the Switch in tabletop mode with a Pro Controller, or I just keep it docked. When I saw that there was a slightly more powerful smaller version I was excited actually.

When holding the Switch you notice everything right away. The console is about a third of the weight of the original console thanks to attached Joy Cons. Yes, people complained about the Joy-Cons not being detachable, but at that point just buy the regular Switch, yeah? The buttons actually feel better than the Joy Cons themselves. We get an actual D-pad and not chiclet buttons, tighter joysticks, and better feeling shoulder buttons. The screen is slightly smaller, but in the format, you won’t notice. It just looks slick and like it was always meant to be played this way.

Outside of the slick form factor (it’s just a joy to hold and use), the system boasts better battery life than the original Switch, but an hour or two less than the revised model. The original Switch’s battery life was pretty bad with most games only lasting 3-4 hours. The system still has 5Ghz internet speed, an SD card slot, and a game card slot. This isn’t a digital-only Switch which they could have easily done and didn’t. Outside of all of this, physically the system is rock solid and is only missing the ability to dock. If you can only afford, or only wish to have one Switch, think about how much you will use the system in handheld mode. If the answer is most of the time I would pick this guy up instead honestly. The system isn’t more powerful than the original model, but has a more efficient processor allowing for better battery life. My only main complaint is the system doesn’t have HD rumble, so you would need to connect Joy Cons or a Pro Controller to have that feature. It really sucks, and I miss it, but with all the other pros it outweighs this major con.

I do have to mention that the system only comes with 32GB of onboard memory which is a shame, but large micro SD cards are under $30 these days so it’s not an issue. The $100 price tag difference is great, so with a 128GB SD card, the system still costs less than the original model. I don’t have much else to say about the system except that the new colors and overall sleekness of the system just looks better than the original. That flat black tablet against brighter colors didn’t look too hot, but this new portable system with a universal color scheme just looks sharp. I haven’t seen a better-looking handheld since the PSP was released 14 years ago. While the 2DS XL looks super sharp as well, this is clearly Nintendo’s replacement for the 3DS, they just haven’t officially announced it yet.

If you do own two Switch systems I highly recommend having a Nintendo Online account as cloud saves can be transferred between the two systems easily so you don’t have to manually transfer the saves every time. As far as I know, the only game as of this writing that can’t do that is Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Sadly, the game data can’t be transferred so you’re stuck downloading all the software again. Overall, the system has a slightly smaller screen, but it doesn’t feel smaller due to the overall lighter form factor, and the speakers are surprisingly really good as well.

Syphon Filter 2

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 01/15/2020
Posted in: Editor's Choice, PlayStation (PS1), Sony Consoles. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

Publisher: SCEA

Developer: Eidetic

Release Date: 03/14/2000

Rating: Teen

MSRP: $49.99

Available Exclusively On

Syphon Filter is one of my favorite gaming franchises of all time and top five PS1 series. It was my very first serious “adult” game I ever played and got into. Just the concept of how shooters work was totally alien to me before Syphon Filter. It was a game that I also spent a lot of time with my late father with and we aced each game learning every enemy spawn point, hidden cache, and level design. We rented this game frequently and spent dozens of hours mastering each game. We probably spent more time on Syphon Filter 2 than any other game in the series and for good measure as it’s the best game out of the three.

Syphon Filter 2 isn’t just an expansion, despite playing and looking exactly like the first game, as there is a greater and more expanded story, more weapons, new levels, and it’s also a couple of hours longer than the first game coming on two discs. You play as both Gabriel Logan and Lian Xing as you are fugitives of the US government and are still fighting The Agency so get back the data discs that store the Syphon Filter data. The game picks up right where the last game left off when with Gabe crash landing in the Colorado Rockies. In the first level the game introduces new weapons and gameplay elements such as being able to leap gaps. New weapons include the unsilenced 9mm, H-11 sub-machine gun, silenced HK-5, UA12 auto-shotgun, hand taser, flashlight, teargas launcher, and more. These weapons are just as memorable and awesome as the first game’s. There’s so many new weapons here it nearly doubles the arsenal.

On top of this there are other gameplay elements added such as enemies being able to get a headshot on you. The HUD will flash red and a headshot text will appear on screen. You have mere seconds to get out of the way or you instantly die. New enemies are introduced such as full armored ones that only die with explosions in one level towards the end of the game. There is also a better balance of action and stealth with Lian’s levels in the air force base are perfect examples. Agents can be killed but military MPs can not. You must sneak around an tase the MPs with your hand taser, but the agents are fair game with silenced weapons. Another level has you sneaking around vents and nightvision automatically kicks in when the area is too dark which is awesome.

The level design is on point just like the first game. Each level is memorable and fun and takes you around the globe. From the Colorado Rockies that the first disc mostly takes place in to the Moscow night clubs, Agency bio-labs and New York sewers. The levels are incredibly designed with the perfect balance of stealth and action. The train ride is a fun linear shooting gallery while the bridge level requires quick thinking and stealth and mastering enemy movement patterns. You can tell Eidetic mastered this genre with the second game and even the voice acting greatly improved. This is a AAA PS1 game at its finest and you will be hard pressed to find better on the system.

The visuals didn’t really improve any, but they already pushed the system to its limits and still have plenty of detail and the game looks great. There is some issue with slowdown here and there, but what PS1 game didn’t have that? There’s also a shoehorned multiplayer mode that I didn’t ever care for. 1v1 on maps from both Syphon Filter games just isn’t very fun. If the game allowed 2v2 via a multi-tap that would have been awesome, but what we have here is something just not very fun, and not to mention half the maps need to be unlocked by finding secrets in the game.

Overall, Syphon Filter 2 shows what the PS1 era of games would do and helped push the third-person shooter genre into what it is today. While it came out very late at the end of the systems life cycle — a mere week before the launch of the PS2, it still sold incredibly well and showed that the PS1 had staying power even after its successor launched. The story, voice acting, visuals, and overall feeling of the game is fantastic and there’s nothing else like it on the system. It’s a must own for any PlayStation fan.

Life is Strange 2

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/31/2019
Posted in: Editor's Choice, Mac, Microsoft Consoles, PC Reviews, PlayStation 4, Sony Consoles, Xbox One. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Publisher: Square Enix

Developer: Dontnod Entertainment

Release Date: 09/26/2018

Rating: Mature

MSRP: $39.99

Also Available On

 Life is Strange is one of my favorite games of all time. Dontnod are masterminds at storytelling and character development. They can somehow create a world that you can either relate and get sucked into or both, and yet add an element of fantasy in there. Life is Strange’s title is fitting for these games as you play as characters living and ordinary life and then all of a sudden one of those strange twists of fate change their entire lives.

Life is Strange 2 cranks this to the max with a story that had me hooked until the very end and is on par with the first game. You play as Sean and Daniel Diaz who get ripped from their home in Seattle, Washington and must escape the US and find their way to the Mexico border. I do have to warn that there will be some spoilers in here as I couldn’t properly review the game without talking about certain points in the story as this is the main part of the entire game.

What I love so much about this game is how average it starts out. Just a little boy and a teenager trying to live their regular lives with their father when suddenly life turns for the worst. This telekinetic power that Daniel discovers comes out when he gets into a fight with the next-door neighbor and when Sean intervenes it all turns for the worse. A cop dies, their father dies, and Sean panics and runs. Now pause right there. Most people would just hide or wait through the trail and tribulations of being proven innocent. That’s part of what makes this series so great is the opposite of what should happen happens and turns it into a strange twist of your own beliefs and choices and what the characters are doing.

As the Diaz brothers set off down towards Mt. Rainier in the first episode they encounter a kidnapper and cope with Daniel’s powers, but this is where you will start getting into a gameplay loop if you can call it that. You get plopped into a large starting area that allows you to look around at a bunch of objects and listen to Sean’s inner dialogue comment on it all to learn more about what’s around you and some times discover hidden objects. You can also push on to the main objectives and during these long cut scenes you will get dialog options that don’t seem to mean much at first, but the entire game is a balancing act of influencing your younger brother on how he ends up. Is he destructive and careless, is he too careful and caring, does he hate Sean or love him in the end? A lot of options slightly sway this and then there are larger game changers that allow two options and each one will sway the story in another direction.

Some of these options consequences are usually seen right away and some are seen in the next episode. Once you get through a tense scene that makes you choose something big it settles back down to more minor plot development and this is where the game falters some. For example, episodes 2 and three 3 are very slow and feature too much slice of life stuff such as the brothers living in a homeless camp in the redwood forest in California, and living with their grandparents and doing daily life stuff. You do day to day stuff like chores and talk to everyone, but the integration of these brand new people feel like a slog as you must endure tons of dialog to get to know them, and in the end, it doesn’t really matter as they are unique to this episode. Episode 4 is much shorter and features all of the above but in shorter integrals and I felt was the best-paced episode. Episode 5 feels like a lot of filler in the beginning and takes to long to get to the end as the only “action” is maybe the last 30 minutes when the brothers are finally at the border.

Despite these complaints about pacing and story, it’s still fantastic and memorable. There are a few minor gameplay elements tossed in like quick-time events and aiming to throw a knife or something, but there is very little gameplay. The majority consists of Sean walking around looking at stuff. I honestly could see this as just a mini-series TV show rather than a game. Many times I set the controller down and only picked it up for dozens of minutes at a time to pick a dialog option. I personally love deep stories in games, but I don’t want to sacrifice gameplay. There are literally zero other elements besides walking around, examining, and dialog choices.

With all that said, the story is just amazing and very emotional. I related a lot of the first game as I personally grew up in a small town, but I also relate to this game as I live in the Seattle area have also lived in California a good part of my life. I grew up in small towns and had crazy events that change my life growing up in the blink of an eye. While I wasn’t a fugitive running from the law there is always a strange thing that happens in our lives that changes it forever and can happen so fast we never saw it coming and that’s what makes Life is Strange 2 so incredibly rich and realistic. The events are happening right now and could really happen in real life, but there’s that element of fantasy that makes it a great game rather than a life simulator.

I also have to comment on the visuals, the switch to Unreal Engine 4 makes the game look much better, but far from not looking dated. There are muddy textures, some wonky animations, and low poly models. This is just something most adventure games suffer from. The voice acting is pretty good though, while not amazing, it does the job to deliver emotion and you really feel it. Overall, Life is Strange 2 is for the story lovers out there and less the gamers.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/18/2019
Posted in: Editor's Choice, Microsoft Consoles, PC Reviews, PlayStation 4, Sony Consoles, Xbox One. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Developer: Respawn Entertainment

Release Date: 11/15/2019

Rating: Teen

MSRP: $59.99

Also Available On

There have been many Star Wars games over the last three decades. While some have been fan favorites, there has probably been a Star Wars game in every single genre imaginable. Even with the successful games, there has been one thing lacking from every game that hasn’t been done correctly until now: Jedi battles and light saber gameplay. Some of the other Star Wars games may have done it decently, but never as flashy or well done as Fallen Order, but that’s not the only quality this game has.

Fallen Order takes place during the timeline of the original movies when Darth Vader was still alive. You play as Cal Kestis, a fallen Jedi who is on a mission to retrieve a Holocron containing the location of every single Jedi child left. Like every Star Wars story there is a Sith lord after you and in this case the Second Sister of the Inquisitor Order is after you. Cal rides around with his Jedi pal Cere and pilot Greez. They use Greez’s ship as a hub area in which you can customize your lightsaber (more on that later) and travel around the four planets that the game offers. Each planet is a large open area that you are free to explore, and while you explore these planets you acquire Jedi abilities and new tech for your Droid, BD-1.

The main focus of Fallen Order is the fantastic combat system put into place. The game is incredibly responsive, has beautiful animations, and you really feel like an actual Jedi for the first time ever. You can light attacks which are used the most, and heavy attacks use up your Force meter. As time goes on your acquire the double lightsaber and then eventually the dual lightsaber becomes a powerful force ability. Parrying and dodging are key to staying alive because you can’t just wail on enemies and spam attacks. Each enemy is unique with their own attack powers. From regular Stormtrooper rifleman and shocktroopers to powerful Purge Troopers that have heavy plasma swords, rocket launchers, and flame throwers. You can knock back energy blasts with your lightsaber and throw back projectiles which is awesome. There are even a few occasions where you get to take down AT-ATs.

Once you acquire more force abilities they can be used in combat such as Force Push, Pull, and Slow. These are key to clearing rooms or knocking enemies off of cliffs, but also used in puzzle solving. There are only a few large puzzles in the whole game, but they are fun and require a bit of thinking and mastering the Force abilities. As you progress you can use these new abilities to access new areas such as pulling down ropes, blowing down weakened walls, slowing down fan blades, and more. You can access new areas to open chests that have customization items such as lightsaber parts, ponchos for Cal, and skins for BD-1 and your ship, the Mantis. You can also find Force Echo spots to add to your XP to level up.

So while exploring is completely optional if you just want to enjoy the story sections, there are several bombastic scripted events throughout the game that are incredibly enjoyable. Fighting a giant bird on Kashyyyk, or even running from Tie Fighters on another planet. The scripted events are worth playing alone and I was highly entertained. This also leads to some amazing boss fights that put your skills to test in which you need to time parrys and dodges perfectly while learning their attack patterns. While you travel through planets you can unlock shortcuts, but I found it annoying that you couldn’t fast travel between meditation spots.

As you gain XP and skill points you can acquire new combat moves and increase your health and force meter. These are also increased by finding parts of three throughout the game. This is where Fallen Order takes a page out of Dark Souls’ book as when you meditate it saves your game there, but if you restore your health all enemies in the world respawn. This can be quiet annoying when you’re backtracking through an entire level to get back to your ship or something since there is no fast travel feature. I also found that you must master the combat system in order to get through this game, especially at higher difficulties, as you can’t fast travel or move around easily throughout the game besides running away.

There is lightsaber customization in which you can choose the blade color, and the design of the switch, hilt, and various other parts. Sadly, you don’t get more colors until towards the end of the game, but all those chests you spend hours finding contain mostly lightsaber parts. Is it worth spending hours for? Not really, but at least the chests are completely optional and won’t make you feel guilty for skipping them. Likewise, customization is cosmetic only and there aren’t any ways to add abilities this way or change the actual shape of the lightsaber or anything, but it’s the most detailed customization we’ve ever had in a game.

With that said, Fallen Order scratches every Star Wars itch I have. The story is great and feels like it could fit into a Star Wars film. The characters are memorable, likable, and the satisfying conclusion at the end of the game makes the short play time worthwhile. The usual plot twists and turns in a Star Wars film are present here and it’s just good enough to make you surprised when a new event unfolds. I did feel the game was a bit slow in the beginning especially if you’re fully exploring the planets and may spend an hour or two trying to find all the paths on the map and the chests. Speaking of the map, this is by far one of the best video game maps ever made. If you aren’t sure where to go a yellow wall will appear on the map showing you need to go in that direction still. Shortcuts are green, red objects mean you need to acquire that ability to advance past it and it just feels so useful and I constantly referred to it.

The game also looks gorgeous with some amazing vistas, especially in the beginning of the game on Brakka, and this just feels like a high-budget Star Wars movie. Amazing lighting effects, fantastically done motion-capture and voice acting, it has it all. I loved exploring the few planets in the Star Wars universe up close and personal, and the game is definitely memorable for that. I don’t have too many complains about Fallen Order outside of the tedious backtracking and the combat can be very difficult to master due to perfectly needing to time everything, but it’s challenging and just satisfying enough. I also wish the story were longer and there were more planets to explore, but that’s only because I enjoyed the game so much I wanted more.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 11/20/2019
Posted in: Editor's Choice, Microsoft Consoles, PC Reviews, PlayStation 4, Sony Consoles, Xbox One. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

downloadPublisher: Activision9

Developer: Infinity Ward

Release Date: 10/25/2019

Rating: Mature

MSRP: $59.99

Also Available On

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When you’re desperate to bring a franchise back what do you do? Well, two things, you either reboot the entire series into something new or bring the series back to its roots. Activision chose the latter and somehow is just brilliantly worked. See, Call of Duty 4 was something groundbreaking and revolutionary in the first-person shooter genre. With a fantastically cinematic campaign and an interesting protagonist (Cpt. Price) and addictive multiplayer that had you grinding for perks and weapons unlocks, but it was fast-paced and fluid with well-designed maps. Infinity Ward had created a magic that took the world by storm. Of course, what do you do with a franchise that’s this successful? Milk it to death with yearly sequels for over a decade until it kills itself. That’s actually what happened to Call of Duty, twice! While the peak of the series was with Black Ops 1 the latest Black Ops 4 was a complete disaster. With every iteration was a less than stellar campaign and boring multiplayer. So, all those wonderful memories you had with Call of Duty 4 can now come back as this is a prequel to that game and keep those memories in mind because we’re going to come back to those later.

Now, Call of Duty has never been well known for its amazing story, but Modern Warfare tries at least with the game taking place in Russia and the Middle-East. You are trying to find out who stole a toxic bio-weapon and you team up with a rebel group in the Middle-East to stop the Al-Quatala terrorists from unleashing it on the world. It’s a typical modern terrorist plot, but it’s enough to get the job done. At least the characters are interesting With you playing as Adam, Garrick, and Farah. Adam is part of the US Army and Garrick is part of the SAS. Farah is the rebel group trying to break her people free from Al-Quatala and the Russians selling the bioweapons aren’t helping. Each character is actually really good to watch and pay attention to on-screen. Of course, Cpt. Price has this awesome presence that you can’t look away from. His voice acting and motion capture are amazing and it’s nice that they tried to breathe actual life into these characters. Remember when I said to remember those CoD4 moments of nostalgia? Well, when Cpt. Price comes on screen for the first time or you see the ending, you get goosebumps and can’t help but smile and think, “It’s back!”

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The campaign is short but sweet. Running in at about 6 hours, each and every level is unique and different with a ton of scripted cinematic moments. There’s even a level where you play as a child and have to sneak out of your village. Infinity Ward really tried with this game and the campaign is actually replayable and incredibly fun to go through. The game is familiar to any Call of Duty fan, but you can feel the original’s fingerprint throughout the entire game. From night time stealth missions to explosives bombastic firefights, Modern Warfare covers every base and the pacing is spot on and it never gets boring. The shooting itself is very familiar with the first three Modern Warfare games with various real-world military weapons fine-tuned and balanced just right. There’s a play style here for everybody from spewing rounds with the PKM, running around corners with an M80 shogun or picking off enemies with a Dragunov sniper rifle. The balance of weapons leads to the feeling of movement and satisfaction of bringing someone down. The four-way spread of the reticle when you’re hitting an enemy and the sound it makes to let you know you’re on target to the way you can now slide around corners and mount walls. It’s a formula that only works in Call of Duty and it’s never been better than it has been here.

Once you finish the campaign it’s off to multiplayer which is where the meat of the game is at. This also feels very familiar and brings back old Call of Duty balancing and modes such as Team Deathmatch, Headquarters, and various other modes. This is the first Call of Duty game since Modern Warfare 2 that has had me coming back over and over again for more carnage. The gameplay is perfect and while the weapons are still being balanced through patches, the expensive map packs are now gone in favor of free maps and a battle pass similar to what Battlefield is doing.

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Acquiring new unlocks comes much quicker and more steadily than previous games. Nearly after every match, I was unlocking something whether it was a paint job to a perk or an attachment. There are so many playstyles available for players and the maps allow them all. Hand back and pick off enemies, set up camp in a sniper position, or run around with a shield and shotgun like a lunatic, it’s all up to you. The Killstreaks and Perks are back to basic with UAVs, Cluster Strikes, and Apache helicopters raining havoc down including white phosphorus and the new Juggernaut armored suit.  It’s a reason to play better and stay alive as the best Killstreaks are for the elite players who are the best. The game can also seem frustrating at first as you will die a lot and not get any kills when you first start out. Modern Warfare has a special feel to it that every player needs to get down. Learn the maps, every nook, and corner, learn the shortcuts, and how the flow of each map is laid out. That is key.

Speaking of maps the launch maps are rather generic. While they aren’t designed poorly they just aren’t that interesting with just an overall generic feeling to them. While more maps are to come to the 10 maps included just don’t feel as memorable as previous games. With a few maps being specific to Ground War which is an all-out huge battle to take over choke points, the smaller maps just leave too much room for campers with blind corners and easy to hide in pockets. Overall, they’re still fun and I don’t have any other complaints about multiplayer than the map quality. I do enjoy the new cross-play feature which is a first for Call of duty. PC, Xbox, and PlayStation players can play together with symbols indicating what system and device the players are using in the lobby before a match starts. It’s a great way to keep longevity alive as PC activity usually dwindles towards the launch of a new game, but with three combined user bases, the game is sure to stay alive for much longer.

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The last thing I want to talk about is the visuals in the game. They are out of this world amazing thanks to a new game engine and implementing RTX Ray  Tracing on PC for Nvidia GPU users. The lighting is fantastic, and the engine is so well optimized I’m able to get triple digits frames with RTX on and the graphics maxed out in certain scenes. The textures and models look fantastic and the lighting is just incredible. Running through certain scenes and levels just made my jaw drop and this is easily one of the biggest technical marvels of the year, hands down. However, that is just for PC. I did play this on the original Xbox One console and it looks like garbage with tons of blurring, poor frame rate, and stuttering. I’m sure the PS4 looks the same if now worse, and the Xbox One X and PS4 Pro versions are better performance-wise but don’t hold a candle to the PC version.

Overall, Modern Warfare is one of the best shooters in the last decade and the best in the entire series. It took way too long for the series to get back on track, but it’s here and better than ever. With groundbreaking visuals, an addictive multiplayer suite, and tons of maps to come, there’s not much to not like about this game.

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Corsair K95 Platinum Keyboard

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 10/10/2019
Posted in: Editor's Choice, Hardware, PC Reviews. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

CORSAIR-K95-RGB-Platinum-Cherry-MX-Brown-MechanicalManufacturer: Corsair10

Release Date: 01/05/2017

MSRP: $199.99

 

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I’ve had various keyboards over the years, but there’s always something off about them. The keys don’t feel right, I never use the features on them, the software is horrible, or something along those lines. I’ve held off on Corsair keyboards for so long because they’re the most expensive ones on the market, but after 6 months with the K95 Platinum, I can see why and it’s justified.

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The K95 is one of the most solid keyboards I’ve ever used. Just holding it out of the box you can feel the solid build with an aluminum body and very satisfying keycaps. From the sleek media buttons and the subtle yet useful proprietary keys up top and the awesome wrist wrest. The K95 just oozes quality and style before you even plug it in. The K95 has a thick braided cable just also features USB 3.0 passthrough which I actually love and use myself.

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I want to start with the proprietary buttons on this keyboard before talking about anything else. On the right side, you have six shortcut or macro keys and I love the placement of these. They are out of the way enough to allow you to ignore them or also if you use them they are easily accessible. Along the top, you have three buttons on the left that are used with Corsair iCUE. The little person icon allows you to flip through RGB profiles while the sun icon has three brightness stages and the lock button keeps the Windows button locked. Further right is three white LEDs for Scroll Lock, Caps Lock, and Num Lock. I love how small and minimal these are. They are just big enough to tell you what’s on. To the far right are a volume wheel and a mute button. I honestly love these to death. An easy to use the mute button and the volume wheel feels amazing as it has some weight, isn’t plastic, and feels good to use. I’ve never once had a useful volume adjustment option on my keyboard until now. Below that just above the Numpad are the four media keys. Again, the best I’ve ever used. No need for a function button just press the buttons and they work. I use these all the time when listening to music and they feel solid and actually are shaped differently than the other buttons.

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The keys themselves are nice and big and just feel right. I can’t do the keyboard justice by just describing it. This is the most satisfying keyboard I’ve ever used as it just feels perfect. The actuation distance is perfect, the keycap size, and each key is spaced perfectly apart. I’ve spent 6 months with this keyboard so I can really tell if it’s all that different from other premium keyboards and it is. I don’t think I can use any other keyboard as they all feel sub-par compared to this one. The other major attraction is the RGB lighting as Corsair has the best RGB in the business and the K95 is beautiful. With a lightbar up top and bright, vivid lights underneath each key I have never seen a better RGB keyboard. Nothing tops this. Corsair iCUE is the most versatile RGB software out there and the customization options are endless. You can make scrolling logos, insane patterns, with endless possibilities. I have seen some of the craziest RGB setups on this thing and it looks amazing with all of my other Corsair products.

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The wrist wrest actually has a magnetic reversible rubber pad that sits inside the rest. It’s not adjustable, but I highly recommend using it. I also haven’t’ found the rubber to deteriorate over time like over products. It’s a very hard rubber material and the rubber under my wrists is the same as it was when I bought it. Overall, the K95 Platinum is expensive but well worth the price as you won’t get a better experience anywhere else. Corsair are masters in their class and have perfected the keyboard over the years and it clearly shows.

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Super Mario Odyssey

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 07/16/2019
Posted in: Editor's Choice, Nintendo Consoles, Switch. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

141694bPublisher: Nintendo

Developer: Nintendo

Release Date: 10/27/2017

Rating: Everyone 10+

MSRP: $59.99

Available Exclusively On

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Nintendo always has a knack for making one huge innovation to their franchises per console cycle and the Switch is no exception. Odyssey is a well-crafted game taking many years of experience and gameplay honing and creating one of the best video game experiences in the last decade. Odyssey is massive with dozens of hours of content and a variety of things to do.

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Like all Mario games, there’s not much of a story, just your typical Bowser kidnapping Princess Peach story again with no cut scenes or anything else, but that’s fine as Mario is all about the gameplay. The main gameplay hook in this Mario game is his hat. He can throw it to take control of enemies, for combat, and to get out of reach items. The hat works so naturally and feels great to use that I never had any issues. Once you arrive in the Cap Kingdom you will be leaping and bounding similarly to Super Mario Galaxy in the way Mario moves and jumps. Taking control of certain enemies give you special combat abilities or allows you to access certain areas Mario can’t. It’s so much fun and I always looked forward to the next thing I could control.

Another element is the new 2D levels. These are hidden throughout the game and give you moons which are needed to power up your Odyssey ship to get to Bowser. There are 880 moons in the world. I know it’s a monster of a task, but it’s so much fun. Your first playthrough allows you to get the first batch, then after you beat the game, there are meteor rocks that you can smash in each world and they send the rest of the moons flying. Anyways, these 2D levels are just like the 8-bit games with Mario wrapped around the 3D world jumping and hopping along.

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Mario can also swim, fly (with controller enemies), and pretty much do anything you can imagine as the game is so varied and there’s so much to see and do. Not one world is alike and each one has new things to do and discover. Mario can also change his hats and outfits this time around by buying them with coins or using special world-specific coins. Some outfits are needed to access bonus areas. These bonus areas are actually the most fun and challenging, but well worth it for the moons.

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There are boss fights with Bowsers minions the Boonals which are evil bunnies. The boss fights are really easy and so is Bowser at the end of the game. It’s clear that the game doesn’t rely on bosses for challenges as some bonus areas had me stuck for over an hour restarting until I got all the jumps right. Thankfully most of the game is a perfect challenge and some of the challenges are just figuring out how to get to the next moon or bonus area. Some are in plain sight while others require you to think a little bit and do certain things. There are music note challenges as well as scarecrow timer challenges. All of these things combined make for an exciting game that is incredibly hard to put down.

I really can’t find anything negative to say except that all you do is collect moons and there’s no other end goal. There are at least fast travel points in each world so even that isn’t a problem. The visuals are fantastic and the entire games just feel alive with character and personality. It’s hard to hate a game made this well, 30 years of perfection really shows with zero control issues, framerate problems, or anything else. No matter how you slice it this is essentially a perfect game. The amount of variety just boggles my mind and I don’t know how the developers managed to make every bonus area, challenge, and the world completely unique, especially to house 880 moons.

Overall, Super Mario Odyssey is a must-own for Switch fans and a good reason to buy one. There is no other platform that offers this kind of gaming perfection other than Nintendo. They are masters of video games and it shows in every one of their unique main title games.

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A Plague Tale: Innocence

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 05/22/2019
Posted in: Editor's Choice, Microsoft Consoles, PC Reviews, PlayStation 4, Sony Consoles, Xbox One. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

220px-A_Plague_Tale_cover_artPublisher: Focus Home Interactive

Developer: Asobo Studio

Release Date: 05/13/2019

Rating: Mature

MSRP: $39.99

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The Plague was a devastating disease that wiped out millions in the Medieval era. It’s uncommon to see a disease revolve around a game’s story, but A Plague Tale does it wonderfully. Full of adventure, sadness, excitement, and little hope, Innocence does an amazing job making you care about its characters and world.

You play as Amecia de’ Rune who is a girl of royalty. She goes on a walk with her dog and father in the woods and, well I don’t want to spoil a thing here, bad things happen and she must suddenly flee her home. The entire game revolves around trying to find a cure for the Plague and her brother who has a mysterious disease that may or may not be tied to the Plague itself. Amecia and her brother Hugo are fantastic characters and I was glued to my screen and played through the entire game in one day. I wanted to know what was next, and the great stealth combat is some of the best I’ve played in the last decade.

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The game is a mix between stealth combat and cut scenes with just some exploring. The game is highly linear, but the combat areas become more open later on in the game with multiple ways to get through enemies. The main focus of combat is fire and your slingshot. This sling can be used to whip rocks at enemies heads to kill them, but doing so around other guards will alert them. At the beginning of the game, you will just toss rocks at metal to distract guards and use pots to lure them away. You aren’t killing too much during the first few chapters of the game, and this is okay. The game slowly adds new ammo types, various ways to combat rats, and new ways to use fire.

Soldiers and rats are your enemies in this game and the rats are the most deadly. Outside of hiding and working your way around enemy soldiers, the rats are completely afraid of fire and light as it kills them instantly. The game has some sort of “rat” engine as thousands appear on scream and swarm around like bugs and it’s rather disturbing to see at first. Various forms of fire will light your paths such as sticks that burn quickly and are used to solve puzzles, haystacks, torches, braziers, and various light sources. Some areas are puzzles that require you to light your path through rats and towards the end of the game, you can use the rats against soldiers since your ammo allows you to put out fires and not just start them. I won’t give away the combat types towards the last 4 chapters as this will spoil a lot of the story.

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What makes the game so great is not just the story, amazing voice acting, and characters, but the combat unfolds so slowly throughout the game, and each combat scenario is different from the rest, that you want to keep playing. The game never gets boring and the environments are constantly changing. You also get to upgrade your sling with more ammo, faster reloading and aiming, and this is done by looting materials throughout the world. You can find work stations and later on you can acquire an upgrade that allows you to do the upgrades without a station. You can also craft ammo types which is essential for getting through the game. Towards the end of the game, you must think and really know your arsenal and various ways to get through combat areas are available that allow you to sneak or fight.

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The game also looks amazing with gorgeous vistas, amazing models and textures, and superb lighting effects. For an indie game, this is one of the best looking games this year and even has great controls and a good camera. Even having to have Hugo tag alongside you all the time doesn’t get in the way. He’s always holding Amecia’s hand you never have to leave him to go do stuff and make him come back like other escort style games.

Overall, A Plague Tale is one of the best games released this year and has everything going for it. It never got boring and was just so much fun to play through and I always wanted to know what was coming next and see Amecia, Hugo, and their friends make it through to the end. Sadly, with this being an indie game, a lot of people are not going to play this and I really hope to see more from this studio.

apti

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Corsair ST100 Headset Stand

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 04/06/2019
Posted in: Editor's Choice, Hardware, PC Reviews. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

6080702cv12dManufacturer: Corsair

Release Date: 09/27/2017

MSRP: $59.99

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Headset stands are usually not something most people run out and by, but they are useful so your expensive headset isn’t just sitting around getting tossed and knocked around. Corsair’s headset stand goes a little farther than most by providing USB pass through and RGB effects which look amazing.

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Setup is pretty simple as iCue will automatically recognize and install the drivers. Once you have everything plugged in you will notice a USB port on top of the base and on the side as well as an audio pass through. This is a fully featured headset stand and is great for the Void Pro wireless headset as the dongle can be plugged in the USB slot on top of the base and the charger cable can plug into the side. For a non-wireless headset, the audio pass-through does a good job if your PC is too far away.

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In iCue, you can customize the lights where are around the base and the Corsair logo on the arm itself. Syncing with your other Corsair products just adds another level of cool factor to your setup and I couldn’t be happier. My only gripe about the stand is the software in which you can’t save EQ profiles across other lighting profiles. You have to screenshot your settings and recreate it in the sliders with each profile. It’s really irritating and I hope Corsair changes this soon. At least the pass-through offers 7.1 channel audio for devices that are 7.1 enabled and the USB slots are 3.1 which most hardware USB pass-throughs are not.

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The RGB effects aren’t as advanced as the keyboard or other Corsair RGB products, but Corsair does have the best RGB suite of any PC company thus far and it’s just one more product that adds a dynamic to your RGB setup. Overall, the ST100 stand is a must have and is at a decent price as well.

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Thrustmaster TH8A Shifter Add-On

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 03/18/2019
Posted in: Editor's Choice, Hardware, Microsoft Consoles, PC Reviews, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Sony Consoles, Xbox One, Xbox360. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

81RlBGmAQGL._AC_Manufacturer: Thrustmaster

Release Date: 04/22/2016

MSRP: $169.99

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If you’re going to have a racing wheel, especially one as expensive as the T300 RS-GT Edition, then you need a shifter add-on. For people who really don’t care about shifting, it’s fine, but enthusiasts are really missing out on half of the experience. Shifting adds a whole new layer of challenge and control to racing games like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.

The shifter is much bigger than I thought, and heavier, being made of 90% metal and using something called the H.E.A.R.T. system so it feels and acts like a real car shifter. The box comes with a DIN to DIN and DIN to USB cable. This is actually really important as PC requires DIN to USB as most games won’t recognize the shifter plugged into the back of the wheel. That’s mainly reserved for consoles. You also get an optional sequential plate for those who want to shift but not use the H pattern. You can also change the plate by rotating it 180 degrees and even tighter the stick itself to make it looser or tight based on your preference. There’s so much more to this shifter than I anticipated and it impressed me every step of the way.

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I opted to make the shifter as tight as it could go as it felt more like a newer car and gave me better feedback as to where I was at. After installing the drivers and making sure everything worked I booted up Forza Motorsport 7 and the shifter was recognized right away. Even without using the clutch, the shifter added a new dimension to my racing that I have never experienced before. It took a while to get the timing down, but I noticed a new depth of difficulty to these games that weren’t present before and that’s learning the shift timing of your vehicles and where to shift correctly on the track. This may scare some people away, but it actually improved my lap times and my first place wins went way up because the shifter forced me to learn the track rather than just memorize where all the turns were.

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Having it clamped to my desk next to my wheel is sure made this already bulky setup pretty monstrous, but it feels so good to play and I can’t go back to racing with a controller on simulators anymore. I spent hours racing and it sucked me into the game, even more, when I would get bored after a half dozen races or so. This is the way these games are meant to be played, and thankfully this shifter is compatible with any wheel because it’s USB and connects seperately from the wheel. The DIN to DIN connections makes it compatible with other wheels that had add-on DIN ports so it’s widely universal.

My only gripe is that adjusting the tension on the stick isn’t easy and I nearly stripped the screw doing it. The manual says you can do two full turns but in reality, it was a half a turn from completely loose to tight. The screw is pretty deep and at an angle, so it’s very hard to get to and damaging the screw the way I did means after so long it won’t be adjustable anymore, so make sure you get it to a setting you like and leave it.

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Overall, the TH8A shifter add-on is a must have, and while it costs more than most cheaper wheels alone, it adds a layer of experience and enjoyment that you can’t get with just the wheel itself. If you ever wanted to dive into a more enthusiast experience and you have either a cheap or expensive wheel consider this add-on and you won’t regret it.

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