Category: Latest

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The Evil Within first impression

The_Evil_Within_boxart

Now that the most awaited game of our era is out, I managed to grab it for my brother’s Xbox One while missing the chance to grab one myself. Why you ask? I still did not decide if I’m going with the 360, PC or Xbox one but at any rate, I’m grabbing the 360 version very soon. Now that my sad rant is over it is time for my first impression.

Keep in mind that I watched my brother play it up to chapter 3 so my first impress will be about the first two chapters.

Installation

After retrying the installation for the second time, the game started downloading a 7 GB day one patch. Strange and disappointing although we were given permission to play while download. What amazes me is the size, 7 GB day one patch? Why? and for what? Gone are the days when I can slide the disk into a console and start playing and came the days of a late 90s PC problems.

Graphics

the evil within

Truth be told, the graphics look good. Some aliasing is there but nothing game breaking. Everything looks good and detailed. The atmosphere it self is realistic but you cant help but notice the Hostel movie inspiration in the first chapter. All good, nothing to complain although some may argue that the graphics are far from next gen, for me personally everything looks good. Yes, this is a last gen game ported to Xbox One and PS4 and yes, PC can pull better graphics but consider the full package and not just one part.

Gameplay

the evil within

Resident Evil meets Metal Gear. This is what Resident Evil 4 should have been so Capcom please take note. Ammo is nowhere to be found so running, stealth and environment traps is the way to go. The movement looks realistic and smooth and many Resident Evil like stuff are in like memos and burning the corpses. The game itself feels like a Resident Evil we never got.

Sound

.The sound effects and music is good, fits right in the game. The gun firing and burning sounds along with everything else is a job well done

Conclusion

.I am yet to play it myself but from what I’m seeing, the game is amazing. Will pick it up today for deeper review but you cant go wrong with this game

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Why am I holding out on next gen

I never was amazed by the lunch of the so called next gen consoles. Not only were the graphical updates normal, the lack of good games made the case even worse. At times I wished I had atleast one of them but soon I realize that spending the money on a useless consoles with no real games is no wise choice considering all the good games are coming out on PC with better graphics or on Xbox 360/PS3 which I both own.

I apologies if I offended any one but for me, and please take that as an opinion is no reason to buy them yet. Not when PC gaming is still around. So let us start with PS4:

PS4_Logo

Believe it or not, I actually skipped PS3 even though I loved PS2 and PSone. Well I have a few games like Initial D but I did not give it a serious go. All that changed when PS4 was released. At first I was skeptical and with my problem of no user change or region change things didn’t look good on me going toward Sony again. After looking around more I started liking it to the point of almost getting one.

What happened?

Two things: Region and games. Where I live, Pal is dominated the market with no sign of NTSC. Now I know that I can continue doing the thing I already do which is getting my games from Amazon and eBay but having the option to buy cheap games is always a factor. The other problem is games. Apart from The last of us remastered which happens to be also on PS3, Rayman Legends and The Evil Within of which all of them aavailableon Xbox 360 and PC there are zero games that I care about. Well technically The Order is on my list but apart from that, nothing.

xbox-one-logo-wallpaper

Xbox 360 was my main gaming console this gen -PC not included- so it was only natural to jump on the next Xbox. Sadly the same problem as the above; no games. Lower resolution aside, the Xbox One had nothing to offer. Forza 5 and what? I am patiently waiting for Gears of War 4 but until released, there is zero interest in it for me.

So what will I do?

Build a new PC for less. I triad upgrading my old rig which by the way plays Batman Arkham Origins fine with extra ram but things went horrible fast. Slow PC, not booting and so on. Yes PC gaming has its downs but until the next gen starts offering real games count me out.

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My thoughts on Windows 10

windows 10

Microsoft surprisingly announced Windows 10 totally skipping the 9th version. Technically windows 8.1 is a stand alone windows so that could be counted as 9 but oh well. Any way, my opinion on why Microsoft made the decision to drop the 9th version name and jump straight to 10; Corporate market.

But before I get into that I would like to bring forward my two main reasons to upgrade.

  • Resources usage: I had XP for God knows how long before upgrading to 7 skipping Vista (Well I tested it but nothing serious). When I upgraded to 8 I noticed increased performance and smoothness in games. And since my main usage of the PC is gaming (I know I sound stupid but it is what is its) I welcomed the upgrade with open arms. Now will the same apply to Windows 10? I am yet to discover.
  • Compatibility: Software and games. Drivers seems to auto load and games and software that I have all supported. Nothing to complain about.

Now why did Windows 8 do so horrible or should I say not as expected on the corp side? Ignorance and touch phobia. See, Microsoft made a huge and stupid mistake of auto loading the touch interface with every restart and that scared the corps away. The problem with most corp including our own is that they fear change, especially when the current setup is working fine.

The removal of the Start button was another disaster which angered me personally for about 3 days and then I moved on with my life worrying about other stuff. Corps didn’t like that hence another reason to hate Windows 8. Another valid reasons is that some legacy software is not compatible with Windows 8. In-house software development wasn’t big on 8 and so we never moved.

Now did Microsoft do the right thing jumping to 10 to further itself away from 8 as much as possible? My answer is yes and no. Yes for the corps that know nothing but counting and 10 seems further than 9 so they might give it a chance especially that the Start button is returning. No, as hatters gonna hate. Many may see 10 slimier to 8 and skip it all together regardless.

At the end of the day, companies upgrade and will have to jump to the next thing as support ends for older windows so we will see how things play out. My concern; make it as smooth and less system demanding and I’m sold. Let me know what ya all think. Adam signing off.

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Bethesda’s The Evil Within System Requirements reviled

Finally after months of speculating and guessing the system requirements for the upcoming horror game are live and they are NOT what everyone expected. Note that these are the only the recommended high requirements and anything lower is NOT supported.

64-bit Windows 7/Windows 8
i7 with four plus cores
4 GBs RAM
50 GB of hard drive space*
GeForce GTX 670 or equivalent with 4GBs of VRAM
High Speed Internet Connection
Steam account and activation

So not only will you need to upgrade, you will need to be a hardcore PC gamer upgraded with dedicated knowledge and budget to play this game. Now I know that so of you will say: PC gaming was always an expensive hobby. Im sorry but since when did PC gaming became a no choice platform? PC gaming was always about choice. You have a low hardware? No problem. You have high end hardware? Good for you.

Asking people to upgrade this insainly is an open door to hell. Suppose I sell my arm and leg to get this and the game still is having issues? The game should be optemized to the max and make you feel that it is using every bit out of the hard earned upgrade or otherwise whats the point? I can easily get the Xbox 360 version and call it day but I want to have the best experience and experience the best gam play and graphics aka PC version.

I have a feeling the game will be poorly optimized hence the reason for such a high upgrade like the many before it namely Watch Dogs and GTA 4. A 64 bit Windows 7 or 8 only? Really? Bethesda, you are asking people to spend allot of money on something, make us feel that the spending was worth it.

I may be wrong but so far this is the only game that is requiring such a powerful hardware with nothing else supported so I hope to God that Bethesda knows what its doing.

 

Waiting for more news and possibly a demo or a batch mark in order to confirm or disregard my fears.

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Why am I not getting the iPhone 6 yet

iphone 6

I would like to start with the fact that I am getting a new phone yearly for the past 3 years starting with iPhone 4s, Note II and iPhone 5s. Now while the phone is free, the monthly data is not cheap but considering the fact that I use the phone allot for both business and personal use I was hoping to get the iPhone 6 plus this December. Well, that was the plan until reports of the new iPhone bending in one;s pocket.

Well considering that I keep the phone in my pocket most of the time, this cannot be good news. The next logical choice would be to get my always wanted HTC One.

Nothing but good things are said about the One. Knowing HTC, I am sure the phone will be a better option than Galaxy S whatever. The last option would be to hold out or cancel my plan altogether but with my high calls volume I started to question that derision. The problem is, as much as I want Apple to fix this, they probably wont and will just ignore it. Not sure about the future but I await an official response as I must make a choice by December which happens to be my birthday as well. We wait and see.

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Why I switched to OneDrive

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As a long time Dropbox user, the switch was hard and not even on my radar until I found out about the new Microsoft offer. While Dropbox’s 1TB for $10 was a good move, that only gets you an amazing sync tool with 1TB of online backup storage. Microsoft on the other hand offers the same space along with a few important extras:

offciehome1 year subscription includes the latest full Microsoft Office applications1
Share your subscription with up to four members of your household4
Office on 5 PCs or Macs plus five iPads or Windows tablets3
Easily access your docs with Office Mobile apps for iPhones, Android, and Windows phones
1TB OneDrive storage per user, for up to 5 users
Call phones in over 60 countries with 60 minutes of Skype calls per month2

A great offer indeed considering I am a heavy office user. A free 60 minute skype credit is a great bonus for the people that can use it, too bad Ukraine is not supported.

My experience so far

Upon syncing all my camera roll, I only got 1 error which was fixed by re syncing. The web interface looks good and works good. Not sure if my work PC or auto refresh is not working but everything seems fine.

I will be testing Office once I am home and the 5 PCs share option is great considering I have 2 and my brother can use one as well.

There are a few privacy conference as Microsoft might be monitoring for porn and other unacceptable materials but I have nothing to hide so no worries here. Will also start using OneNote as its part of the package. Great deal, well done Microsoft.

 

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Lights off, Football Manager is coming to the big screen

Football_Manager_2015_Sega

That’s right, Sega Football Manager is coming to cinemas on October 7th.

“The documentary isn’t our story – it’s the story of the people who escape to the alternative reality of being a football manager, and the effect this has had on their lives. It’s also the story of how a computer game made by football fans has become a part of the world it set out to replicate,” says Miles Jacobson, Studio Director of Sports Interactive. “But it’s not just for people who play – it’s also for people who’ve ever wondered why others spend so much time escaping into this world.”

Not sure if serious but this could be fun to watch. A documentary on a football game. Wasn’t expecting this at all.

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Microsoft could be buying Mojang

mojang

Latest latest rumblers claim that Microsoft will be buying the minecraft creator, Mojang. If that is true I expect it to go Xbox One/360/PC exclusive as it makes sense to put it on Microsoft controlled hardware except the PC which is running windows as a gaming platform.

What will the shift mean to all the mine craft fans if true? A logical solution is to keep the already out game updated but add exclusive worthy updates or DLC to the Xbox, even make it free or cheaper like Steam is doing with Left 4 Dead 2. Microsoft is a multi billion company and needs money to stay at the top and buying Mojang must have been about business and not ego.

We wait for more news and or conformation regarding this.

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WB client in works and why do I care

wb-play-It is almost confirmed that WB will be entering the clients war. I don’t own a crystal ball nor do I use magic to read the future but this could go wrong, especial for Batman lovers.

Steam did something right and revolutionized the digital era, what followed by the industry was not so great. Sure, EA Origin is catching up but nothing beats Steam in terms of flexibility, reliability and the ease of use. The uPlay was a disaster and although I do have a choice of not using anything else, that window is closing very soon. The problem arises when games become exclusive to a platform. Origin did it and now WB might too.

batman_arkham_knightBatman Arkham Knight coming out next year, by this time the WB client will most likely be out. If and that’s a big if, the game requires it many problems could arise and even make people buy the console versions instead. Early applications tend to be buggy, just go back and count the years it took steam to be where it is now. Batman will be a demanding game, anything else slowing it down like eating system resources by supposedly this clinet will have a negative impact.

Everything I said is not confirmed so I may be jumping the gun but fears are fears. I am looking forward to this game and will end up buying it on more than a system like I did on the previous Arkham games so this is a big deal to me. Once again, anticipating the future and hoping for the best.

 

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Mortal Kombat X Preorder

mortal-kombat-X

In short, the game will be or should be available on April 14, 2015. Goro is the preorder bonus. I must say I am little disappointed that Goro, a not so powerful previous game boss is the preorder bonus although anything is better than extra colors. What would have been cool is Extra stage fatality that could be preformed online on a non preorder player but cant complain on free stuff I guess.

MKX_GamescomScreenshot_KanoScorpion

Preorder it now from Amazon.

Link includes all versions

 

The press release:

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today confirmed that Mortal Kombat™ X, in development by NetherRealm Studios, is scheduled for release worldwide beginning April 14, 2015. The game will be available for the PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC.

Legendary series character Goro has also been announced as a retail pre-order exclusive. Making his first appearance in more than eight years, Goro, the feral, four-armed Shokan warrior will be available day of launch as a playable combatant to those who pre-order Mortal Kombat X through an exclusive UK retailer.

Mortal Kombat X is NetherRealm Studios’ next highly anticipated installment in its legendary, critically acclaimed fighting game franchise that propels the iconic franchise into a new generation. The game combines cinematic presentation with all new gameplay to deliver the most brutal Kombat experience ever, offering a new fully-connected experience that launches players into a persistent online contest where every fight matters in a global battle for supremacy. For the first time, Mortal Kombat X gives players the ability to choose from multiple variations of each character impacting both strategy and fighting style. Players step into an original story showcasing some of the game’s most prolific characters including Scorpion and Sub-Zero, while introducing new challengers that represent the forces of good and evil and tie the tale together.

For more information about Mortal Kombat X, please visit www.mortalkombat.com and www.facebook.com/MortalKombat.

Mortal Kombat X© 2014 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Developed by NeatherRealm. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Mortal Kombat, the dragon logo, NetherRealm Studios, NetherRealm logo and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

WB GAMES LOGO, WB SHIELD: ™ & © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
(s15)

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