Author - Ripper71

Razer Naga Hex V2 Gaming Mouse Review

2016/11/22

News, Peripheral Review, Reviews, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

There are two gamers in our household: one casual and, the other, more hardcore. Despite this difference, both of us agree that, when it comes to gaming mice, it has to be comfortable for really long periods of use. We recently got the chance to review the Razer Naga Hex V2 Gaming Mouse, a legend for game compatibility without creating a porcupine bristle of buttons. Will it be ergonomic and user friendly to please both sides of my household? Let’s give it a whirl and find out!

Hands On:
First, we should discuss the way the mouse looks. Obviously, selecting as mouse based solely on looks is a bad thing. That being said, the Razer Naga Hex V2 is damn sexy with its out of the box lighting sequence being a slow drift through the colors of the rainbow that lights the wheel, the hex buttons and Razer logo. The lighting is vibrant and makes the gunmetal and black bode that much classier in look. Of course, a much more important and definitely contested point in our house would be the location of the hex buttons themselves.

The mouse is designed so that your thumb rests right in the middle of a circle of buttons labeled 1-7 so that a slight shift of your finger could hit any of them easily, with buttons 1 and 2 being straight along the desktop plane. The thumb rest has a rubber tiny hex pattern on it that helps with grip as does the entire area you may want to rest your pink for leverage. The wheel also has high knobs so that your finger won’t lose its grip and can make fine adjustments. The left/right buttons and the palm rest area all have an unpolished feel to them so you can tell the difference in pattern from the grips but you might be able to get some minor grip there if you need to.

The strength of button placement is solid on all with the only question being the thumb rest. I found it very easy to adjust to a slightly further back grasp and button pattern but then I have used the old school Razer Naga that had 12 buttons there so if you could get used to that you could get used to the placement on anything, especially one that placed rubber gripping in the middle of the thumb zone. Folks who are used to ergonomic mice will find this a close fit but one they will have to get used to, especially if they were front heavy users. However, you “claw” gaming mouse users out there might have some trouble navigating the thumb buttons efficiently.

One thing I found odd was the numbering for the Hex buttons on the side. The buttons go 1,2,3 clockwise then go across the wheel to go 4,5,6,7. There may be some reason for this that I missed but it would seem to make more sense to me that if you have a button rotation it should go the same direction. This is an easy fix by either memorizing this order or ignoring the button numbers all together and just program them the way you want.

One last thing… If you have an older version of the software you may have trouble with updating but help is there to be found. My other Razer gear was getting elderly so it had a lot of updates to do and not all were friendly. Once you get there though the program is a simple gem to operate.

Hands Off:
While my wife didn’t fall in love with the mouse like I did, all that means is she won’t take it from me! The Razer Naga Hex V2 Gaming Mouse is a great addition to your arsenal with strong ergodynamics and buttons designed for hours of gameplay, and it looks damn sexy doing it. Claw gaming mouse users, beware, as it might not be your first choice for a mouse.

Razer Naga Hex V2 Gaming Mouse Review Score:

[mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#eded00″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#eded00″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#eded00″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#eded00″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#eded00″ type=”fa”] (5 out of 5)

Through The Woods Review

2016/11/01

Ripper71

News, Reviews, Windows PC News, Windows PC Review

I had seen a trailer for Through The Woods a while ago but, with the exception of the name, I had kind of forgotten about it. That can be nice to go into a review completely cold when it turns out to be a game that is as atmospherically driven as this one is. This indie title immediately showed its team dedication in the details of every fallen tree and the amazingly immersive sound that made me at one point take my headset off to check if the sound of thunder was real. The only question… is the story as deep as the woods?

First Steps:

After a brief Chapter 0 which may have originally been part of the demo that they wanted to keep which mostly showed off the environment and a little of the relationship between a mother and her son, the game starts with you playing the mom as she wakes from a nap, goes out to look for her kid and sees him being taken across the lake in a viking long boat. The game is set initially in a cabin in the woods of Norway but seeing a row boat with viking carvings row into the mist while you jump in the water and start swimming across after it is kinda unsettling which was a welcome start. After losing the boat in the fog you make it to the other bank where there appears to be a viking fishing village that though long out of use seems relatively undisturbed except by you as you stomp around it picking up ancient manuscripts and calling for your boy. From there the story starts to weave and you start to go Through The Woods.

There are lots of woods and other things in them that I won’t give away here but I will say for the best experience play it in the dark with a headset on, preferably by yourself. There is so much detail everywhere and though most of it gets repetitive the game’s team really kept at it. I wonder how many bowls they had to put in ruins, how many fallen trees or piles of rocks? The voice acting is a little stilted (probably not the actors’ native languages) but otherwise the sound is astounding, I noted some spots in certain chapters in case I wanted to listen the sound of wind through the trees or the crackle of a serious thunder storm that had to be captured not replicated. When playing the game I even stopped a couple times just to take in the graphics or listen to the woods.

After a while of things beginning to look very much the same, which you are supposed to feel since you are getting lost going through the woods, you might get a little lulled and even stop reading the clues. I personally kept on top of them despite it and though I did get a bit punished by the game for getting lulled I started to deduce a possible ending. When the actual ending arrives it neither proves or disproves my thoughts so I would definitely have to say the ending is open to interpretation. It all depends on what you believe is really going on in Through The Woods, you can take it at surface value or consider… well make your own conclusions when you get there just stay on top of the clues.

Out Of The Woods:

Through The Woods is a beautiful immersive experience with a story line steeped in Norse Mythology that explores the dynamics of a mother and son. It can at times seem to drag but after each lull there is a reward, you just have to make your way through the woods.

Through The Woods Review Score:

SteelSeries Rival 500 Optical Gaming Mouse Review

2016/11/01

Ripper71

News, Peripheral Review, Peripherals News, Reviews

I love testing gaming gear and, in some way, for one of the strangest reasons: No one else in my house likes gaming gear. If I give them a headset designed for hours of comfort, maximum sound quality, and perfect voice capturing – they use speakers. If I hand them a keyboard with 5 memory keys, special ergonomic shape, and ghosting prevention they use it like it was a simple $10 keyboard from Budget Depot. So, I always consider it a challenge to see if I can get the others to like and use a product I bring home. I kept this in mind when putting the SteelSeries Rival 500 MOBA/MMO Optical Gaming Mouse through the paces.

Hands On:

When it comes to SteelSeries, we are talking about one of the most well-known and respected names in gaming gear to ever hit the market. People sometimes complain that with certain companies you are paying for a name or a logo but SteelSeries has yet to be one of those kinds of peripheral-makers. There products have been used by professional gamers and eSport teams for years and have a history of durability to go with reliable performance. A SteelSeries headset for the Xbox was one of the first headsets I reviewed over five years ago for GamingShogun.com and I still have that headset hooked up to one of my Xbox 360 consoles. So I’m not spouting corporate babble, here, just personal experience.

Most gaming mice start to have problems with buttons getting in the way of everyday use to the point where a lot of people will have two mice hooked up to their rig or an easy switch out port to go between program heavy gaming to not accidentally clicking on a button with normal typing. This can especially become a problem when you get over ten programmable buttons, they just wind up getting in the way or messing up ergonomics by bristling off the mouse. So first things first you can use this mouse without hitting a bunch of unnecessary function button if you are thumb heavy or palm heavy, the pad of your thumb has a nice ergonomic rest right in the middle of the buttons with sliding it up, down or back to hit buttons and the palm rest area is clear right up to the left/right buttons. If you are thumb and pinky heavy on the mouse (some of us are) the pinky is completely clear so a thumb/palm/pinky lock on the mouse allows you to access all the buttons without losing your grip, all this with 15 programmables. This mouse is designed specifically to avoid missclicks in any use and it works.

The most exceptional way it is designed to avoid miss-clicks is both inspired and simple, they created an on/off switch on the bottom of the mouse to turn off the buttons under the thumb to create a normal ergonomic thumb rest. Being able to slide a switch to turn off buttons and turn them on? It’s so straight forward that I would love to see on future models one more switch that can turn off all extra buttons to make it a normal mouse for everyday use! This mouse immediately shot to the top of the gaming mice in my house with that so that in case a family member got on my rig for some reason (how dare they!) they feel more comfortable with the mouse right away.

So having solidly pointed out how gamers and non-gamers in the house will be able to work with the SteelSeries Rival 500 and not hit buttons the next point is what if you want to. Most surround your thumb with a few located on the sides of the left and right button. The general idea is that your thumb will be most free during action yet at the same time you don’t want a pad full off little buttons that are hard to tell one from the other. So the buttons are all different shapes and sizes with most being around the thumb and some being able to be shut off if not needed.

Internally, the SteelSeries Rival 500 has a butt-kicking PixArt PMW3360 Optical Sensor with a 1:1 tracking accuracy. If you don’t know what that babble means then just stick to the fact it is “butt-kicking” and you should be fine.

As for software and hardware interactions the mouse includes the SteelSeries Engine 3 that provides everything from tactical alerts and button assignments to changing the color of your illuminations. The GameSense software makes it so that you can get custom lighting, vibration and duration effects from such things as stuns and health damage it does zero recoil on your tracking.

Last Click, In My Hand:

After years of reviewing gaming mice the SteelSeries Rival 500 is the first one that after trying it out, Mrs. Ripper requested to be her new gaming rig mouse. In my household, that is a stamp of approval which I have been trying to achieve for years. Knowing the quality of SteelSeries I know it will be a mouse in our house for years to come too. Do yourself a favor and pick up the SteelSeries Rival 500 for all your computing and gaming needs.

SteelSeries Rival 500 Optical Gaming Mouse Review Score:

SteelSeries Arctis 3 7.1 Surround Gaming Headset

2016/10/31

Ripper71

News, Reviews, Tech News, Tech Review

SteelSeries makes gaming gear with longevity and versatility, from mice to keyboards to headsets. So I was more than happy to give their latest entry level headset, the Arctis 3 7.1 Surround Gaming Headset, a run through its paces. Does it meet up to the expectations of entry level gaming headsets?

Heads On:

First off we announced the Arctis line of headsets a while back and there was a comparison chart to give readers a general idea of the differences between them and some of the standout features that all three possess.

All three have ski goggle suspension bands which, at first hearing, might be confusing but that just means that the Velcro adjustable bands like the ones that are used on many ski goggle models are the same type that are used on here with many designs to choose from and interchange as a result as well as maybe even using the same design as your favorite set you use when hitting the slopes.

This adjustable design instead of a static stretch one allows a consistent fit no matter how much you use it and the ability to clean it if it begins to get a bit dirty which built-in bands tend to lose elasticity over time and apply the pressure of the stretching to your head as well as just being wipe cleanable.

Adding to the comfort and the sound isolation is the AirWeave Ear Cushions which are so comfortable they feel like memory foam for your ears. I recently did an extremely long, almost all night gaming session and had the headsets on the entire time and they never got uncomfortable to the point I had to remind myself they were on so that I didn’t talk too loud to myself and or head to the bathroom with them on (they have a long cord with the included extension but not that long). On ear audio controls of both volume and mic on/off made it so that if I did need to listen for a sound I could turn it down or with the cups I can turn both sideways if I need to which is great to listen to someone or to set the headser flat down on a desk. When I didn’t feel like wearing them this came in particularly handy to make them double as speakers so that I could still hear stereo sound on the desk.

Like the other Arctis headsets when wearing the Arctis 3 you get 7.1 surround sound you just get it with SteelSeries version instead of DTS which is no doubt a cost saving tool while still maintaining the sound directional ability that you would want in most FPS games in particular. At the end of the day they are also nice just to close your eyes and listen to some music or atmospheric relaxations sounds and SteelSeries 7.1 Surround Sound is solid enough that it would probably be hard to tell it from DTS.

One of probably the weakest points on entry level headsets is the microphone quality. This is a problem in general with most except the highest end headset systems usually so one of the most notable parts of the Arctis series has to be the SteelSeries ClearCast microphones. Located on a retractable, very flexible boom the microphone is encased in a very sturdy housing and is designed with a noise cancellation system built-in that also works in tandem with audio software. The clarity is surprising, with only a little bleed from the room ambient noise. They are definitely up to the task of team chat or Twitch broadcasting and depending on your perfectionist level they would probably due for YouTube videos. If you are going for a walk with them plugged into your phone SteelSeries ClearCast system is handy, since all you have to do is pull out the practically hidden boom and take your call.

In my case I have nerve issues and other medical issues that prevent me from being able to hold a phone up to my ear for long periods of time. This way I can set this headset up to my cellphone and be able to carry on 2 hour catch up sessions with my mother who has hearing issues and has a hard time sometimes understanding me if there is too much background noise. It really is easy to change between setups, since it has two types of plugins on the headset it is literally a matter of changing cables.

When it comes to the headset there is really only one question and that is whether or not to spend another $20 and go from entry level to mid-range, which when you consider the small amount of money difference does come into play. I haven’t tested the Arctis 5 (hopefully I will get the opportunity soon, you never know) but on the list above it seems to give you a lot more for that little amount, DTS Headphone:X 7.1 Surround Sound (probably not that noticable), Illuminated Wired with Prism RGB Illumination so that you can change the glow color of the headset which has a nice illumination ring, LED indicator on the mic, and probably one of the biggest things the USB ChatMix control that allows you to increase your chat levels if you have a soft speaker without blowing your eardrums out by the game on the fly. It comes down to if you think you would use those features, if you don’t find yourself wishing to adjust chat much or like light up headsets then you might as well save your money and go with the Arctis 3 which has much more than the usual entry level mics would ever aspire to add on.

Last Listen:

The SteelSeries Arctis 3 is one of the most impressive entry level headsets to ever hit the market giving many mid to high end features at a more affordable price. This headset will work for you universally around the house and on the go, the only question being whether you want the next model up with a few more bells and whistles for just a few more dollars.
[easyreview title=”Arctis 3 7.1 Surround Gaming Headset Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″ ]

Laser Disco Defenders Review

2016/10/30

Ripper71

News, Reviews, Windows PC News, Windows PC Review

I’ve mentioned a time or two or twenty that I am an old school gamer with a collection of my original consoles and games. Probably one of my favorites of all time would be the original Sega Genesis system’s game Toe Jam And Earl and it’s sequel Toe Jam And Earl: Panic On Funkatron. These little known games, if you mention them to people who played them when they were new, immediately bring back memories of “humans” that included moms with shopping carts trying to run you down, chickens with artillery and one of my personal and hardest to deal with ones, The Boogeyman. You were playing as the titled characters in a terrific fun animated world with a great addictive soundtrack. Today’s review has a lot of that old heart and feel but with a bit of nail biting action in Laser Disco Defenders!

Getting In The Groove:

The animation style, particularly of the ship, and the music soundtrack sound like a tribute to the old TJ&E but with definitely it’s own style and flash. The main characters are a musical band of space travelers who protect galaxies from bad, monotone music. That sounds like a simple premise but the game action is really hard and somewhat in the vein of Asteroids.

Your main weapon is a laser gun and the interesting part of it is how your laser bolts respond in what is supposed to be closed in sections of space. When you think of space we often think of light years, the distance light will travel through space if not blocked. Well imagine what would happen if your laser bolts could burn through some things but the light reflected off of others. The result would be laser bolts that would burn through certain targets and as long as their energy wasn’t diminished would continue to burn through everything until stopped. In Laser Disco Defenders the laser bolts NEVER stop unless you leave a level so every bolt you fire will bounce off the levels walls and hit anything in it’s path, which includes you. So as you are firing at flying enemies and sharp crystals on the wall you have to use your jet thrusters to avoid running into them while at the same time carefully firing bolts knowing they will ricochet off of surfaces and can continue to destroy enemies but might also come back to haunt you. Some of your enemies fire laser bolts too so that suddenly the screen is full of bolts to dodge as well as enemies. It is pretty nailbiting except the fact that you need both hands to stay alive.

Each member of the band can be outfitted with different gear but the main difference between them is a health to speed ratio. The bigger the crew member the more health but the slower they are. On lower levels speed doesn’t play in as much but when you hit higher ones and you are dodging lots of bolts you might want to trade a couple hearts for higher speed. The fastest crew member only has one heart so can only take one hit. That is where the gear you get comes into play. Some gear allows you to be hit more, other gear makes you faster. The key is picking the right gear for your play style.

Then comes the main reason I took this review. I was watching a trailer for the game and Mrs. Ripper heard the soundtrack and said she really, really liked it. She said it reminded her of Toe Jam And Earl so I picked up the review and had the music playing loud while I played and playing in the background while doing other stuff. This game keeps your eyes and hands busy while providing a treat to the ears.

Last Dance:

I just titled these final comments “Last Dance” but that was just saying I am wrapping up the article, I am by no means done playing the game. Laser Disco Defenders is an easy game to jump into for some quick fun while at the same time hearing some funky tracks. It has tons of charm while at the same time being a very challenging play, but not so bad that you get frustrated. It seems Disco never died it was just waiting for this game to play some more.

[easyreview title=”Laser Disco Defenders Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″ ]

Hybrid Wars Review

2016/10/15

Ripper71

News, Reviews, Windows PC News, Windows PC Review

If you are like me, you have discovered a fondness for most games under the Wargaming.net banner beginning with World of Tanks, a game that blew up on the scene about six years ago. They’ve shown up at E3 throwing great tournaments and parking tanks out front but most importantly they show up with solid, remarkably well balanced PvP games. They didn’t stop at tanks – instead, they added World of Warplanes and most recently World of Warships, all while also expanding onto mobile devices and console platforms. All three of these games have had the same 3rd person/first person play perspective with occasional top down and the general idea being why fix what isn’t broken? Well Hybrid Wars is changing the game for Wargaming and it will remain to be seen if the fans will make the jump with them.

First Shot:

I play all the Wargaming.net titles on all their available systems, many as early as Alpha phase. I have the U.S.S. Texas challenge coin I bought with hopes of winning a free code (no luck but it looks nice in my challenge coin collection), I have a World Of Tanks cap I won at a World of Warplanes contest, and I have a couple little plastic World Of Tanks artillery tanks that are similar to the ones my nephew was certified on and used in Iraq and Afghanistan. My dream toy would be one of the World Of Tanks remote control tanks they gave away at E3 2011 as prizes. I want all this out there so you know just how much I was looking forward to Hybrid Wars when I heard Wargaming was bringing us exoskeletons, helicopters, and mechs all in one game!

Then a very strange phrase started popping up: top down shooter. WoT used that for artillery, and WoWs used it for carriers but it was all done very strategically, you shot with artillery but with time in between and understanding “leading targets” and “splash damage” and WoWs carriers was giving orders. Hybrid Wars is a top down shooter set in the style of ’90s with hyper waves of enemies coming at you from all sides such as Jackal, 1942 or well the fact is though it was considered a ’90s style gameplay it hasn’t gone anywhere, dozens of games come out every year with this format quite often the theme is really the only difference. Some notable recent ones would be the terrific Alien Breed Trilogy and Livelock but the main difference usually winds up just being what you kill and general theme. Zombies have been a huge one for sure, swarming as you spin in circles shooting. So the key question is why will people play Wargaming’s top down shooter besides brand loyalty.

One thing in it’s favor is that you have different characters you unlock much like you unlocked vehicles in the other games. Each character has a tech tree to build up, as well as favorite vehicles with tech trees. These help you to definitely customize your experience. You might like the exoskeleton build of one character but the mech of another so you choose which your more likely to spend time with your play style. This is one of the key differences from most other top down shooters but very similar to Wargaming’s other game builds, it’s not about getting new weapons as much as upgrading and modifying what you are working with. At the same time though if you have ever played a top down shooter you can jump right into the game shooting everything and even destroying many parts of the environment.

There is a single player campaign and multiplayer is Co-Op which are two definite departures from play format. The campaign is a bit short and mostly consists of “ok now go destroy these enemies, now protect this tower by destroying those enemies” which felt a bit thin. Without PvP multiplayer like Wargaming’s other titles I’m not sure how many people will be willing to spend their money on the game.

That is another big change. Players of previous titles are used to being able to play for free only playing for premium vehicles (like the Ripper I dream about so much) so that if they wanted they could get a great experience without hitting their wallet and there is a price tag on Hybrid Wars as well as a price to get more characters for it.

Last Thoughts For Now:

I get the feeling we will be coming back to Hybrid Wars. It has a season pass which is currently for sale and it will be interesting to see what they come out with. It is already a lot of fun with lots of replay value, even if just considering building up each character’s traits and vehicles, though you only start with one character with the prime game, two with the deluxe and a third possible if you link to Wargaming.net, and at Wargaming.net you can buy even more expensive sets to get in game gold. Let’s just hope it brings in the sailors, tankers and pilots who have been playing and making one of the best gaming communities on the net.

[easyreview title=”Hybrid Wars Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″ ]

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Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex-First Assault Online Review

2016/10/13

Ripper71

Geek News, News, Reviews, Windows PC News, Windows PC Review

When our Editor-in-Chief asked if I wanted to play a first-person shooter called “First Assault Online” I said sure since I had a bit of time available. Then when I downloaded the game I found out it was “Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex-First Assault Online” and I was so happy I had taken the review. One of the first anime movies that I really got into was Ghost In The Shell and I have enjoyed watching the televisions series on Adult Swim particularly when it came to Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex. It is well written, the animation is really well done and it had a habit of being rough on it’s characters developing their true grit. Sometimes as a show goes along they will stray away from the core of a character’s beliefs to make it fit a storyline. Not a problem here though, this show is always solid. So here was my chance to play a game based off of one of my all time favorite anime shows, will Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex-First Assault Online hold up to the series? time to find out.

First Assault:

I understand why my EIC shortened the game name since it is a pretty big mouthful so until the end I will just be calling it First Assault Online. First things first it definitely feels like you were just dropped into a firefight in an episode of GITS. You use actual characters from the show and futuristic talents that feel like they should belong to each of the characters that they are assigned to. The voices are great, the locations fit and futuristic, anime is spot on, it really is a gift to fans of the show to be able to play it. Even when I was off my game and not pulling my best KDR I was still having fun just being in the world and fighting in it. You fight cyborgs and robots which have a gratifying mechanical breakup instead of bloodshed which feels like it belongs here. I wasn’t able to find anything that didn’t fit the show and it’s atmosphere.

Once you get past that the game is really a straight forward FPS. You unlock weapons and as well as attachments, you level for new talents and prizes, you try to get them with getting got. The physics are some of the most solid of any FPS I have played, I can’t think of any instances where I thought otherwise. It has a built-in anti-cheat program which hopefully is catching most of the cheaters and probably most importantly the best auto-balancing systems I have seen. Maybe it is because the classes are so well balanced but I never saw a blowout game, even ones I was choking on someone else was pulling up the slack. Not sure what algorithms it uses but I was impressed and this review probably would have been done sooner if I could have convinced myself I didn’t need another day of play when it wasn’t needed but just wanted. This can be an addictive play. It even seemed to detect spawn campers quick and shift spawn points.

I guess one of the only things I could ask for would be a single player campaign, just to go through so GITS stories. That puts a wistful smile on my face when I think about the idea but as a general rule a game needs to be great at single player or great at multiplayer, it has to be a huge franchise to be both and this is a play for free with pay for more faster unlocks and experience. When you consider that the fact that this game is so good is amazing.

Last Shot (For Now):

Time for me to get back to playing it but first a quick summary. Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex-First Assault Online is one of the best first-person shooter games I have ever seen and is exceptionally true to its anime roots. The game is free when it would have been a steal at $15 so you might want to buy a bit of unlocks and extra experience just to make sure this game gets to stick around. It’s well balanced, has a great anti-cheat and it’s auto-balancing is some of the best on the market. Okay, time to head back in game.

[easyreview title=”Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex-First Assault Online Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″ ]

The Bunker Review

2016/10/10

Ripper71

Geek News, News, Reviews, Windows PC News, Windows PC Review

It is 5:00 AM and I am showered with my clothes laid out for the day and I’m in my pitch black media room. Well almost pitch black, before me my gaming rig is fired up with The Bunker about to start. Why so early in the morning? The same reason I started it in the dark of night and that is because we here at http://GamingShogun.com are dedicated to getting you a review of the proper experience of a choice based horror game in the vein of Until Dawn or, to us, really old school games like Dragon’s Lair and Night Trap. So with my headset on, blinds drawn, and no lights save for the screen it was time for The Bunker.

Hands On:

The Bunker starts with your birth in a British nuclear bunker right as the bombs hits. You are born nice and healthy, but you’ve got 30 years of bunker time to look forward to with yourself being the last survivor. This isn’t a spoiler, it is the first couple of minutes and you then spend a few minutes after that with a very point and click “on rails” narrative. That is kind of how it continues for quite a while, you have to be careful in cutscenes because sometimes it will want you to take action to show you are still paying attention and every once in a while you also get a strange jump scare. There doesn’t feel like a real sense of urgency though at the beginning, and that is kind of why the suspense winds up catching up to you without you noticing. Little flashbacks hint to possible problems other than radiation in the bunker’s history and maybe not everyone died of old age.

Most of the point and clicks aren’t too bad even though they wind up breaking up what begins to feel like a well done movie, but others are click as fast as you can which can be difficult getting fast enough with a mouse. A couple times I held the mouse in the place it needed to be on the screen while I took my other hand and clicked the button like crazy. It was a bit awkward and took me out of an otherwise suspense filled moment. During one cut-scene, I made the mistake of taking a drink from my beverage and died for my trouble, having to go back a couple of those click happy moments. I wish I could say the point and click and fast clicking went away but it follows you right up to whatever ending you wind up living, it stays mostly on the rails the whole way despite clicking with only a couple choices made.

The one thought that got stuck in my head early on though was how they managed to have only one baby in the bunker, why didn’t they have more? How had it come to be that the first born baby was also the last survivor? It’s not a pick up line to say “we need to make babies to save Britain” if it is obviously true. There is a sort of reason given in the plot but I still think the old phrase “children are our future” especially applies when you think you might be the last folks on Earth.

Final Credits:

I wish I could say that the point and click gameplay just engaged you in the action rather than distracted from it and that you felt you were actually making choices rather than riding the rails of a preset narrative but that’s not the case. This is a wonderfully acted suspense thriller movie that lasts a few hours because it does the equivalent of hitting pause regularly. I think if they had made it into an independent movie and put it on the festival circuit it would have been an acclaimed hit from the score and cinematography to acting and directing. Both endings are solid too. It even had Adam Brown (Ori in The Hobbit) and Sarah Greene (Hecate Poole in Penny Dreadful) starring in it. In the end though it did remind me of the old school games like Dragon’s Lair where you didn’t have a choice of what you did just a time in which to do it. I’m actually double rating this review as a game and what I would have rated it as just a movie.

[easyreview title=”The Bunker Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”3.5″ ]

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Smash and Grab Preview

2016/10/06

Ripper71

News, Previews, Windows PC News, Windows PC Preview

I know what you are thinking: “With a name like Smash & Grab this game must be the story of two wacky characters, one of whom is clumsy and smashing into things and another that grabs them just before they fall and break!” Well, nay, if you thought that you would be wrong! You would probably also be the only one besides me to come up with the premise. The game is in the name when it comes to Smash & Grab, it’s basically The Warriors if all the gangs were rioting and looting as well as beating up on The Warriors. Is beating someone with a virtual baseball bat while cleaning out a virtual electronic shop that much fun? Let’s find out.

Hands On The Merchandise:

I covered the general premise above that this is a game about gangs beating each other up and robbing businesses, but this is not a new premise when one considers hit games like Grand Theft Auto and Saints Row making their fortune and sequels thanks to this formula. One of the most interesting differences between Smash & Grab and the rest of these games is that this is set in a futuristic time when the police turn over the streets at a certain time to the thugs and the only way businesses keep their stock is to either use metal shuttering or private security thugs. The other and definitely most key difference is that all the gangs have player leaders.

So players choose a gang leader and lieutenant, get a gang and off they go to compete with other gangs for loot. Some buildings are hardware store fronts with hammers or nail guns to use as weapons, others might have some chemicals that can be combined at a workbench to make a freezing hammer or some other combo weapon that won’t necessarily help when you smash the next window but will definitely help when you see some enemy gangs. This brings up another aspect, much like was a concern in the U.S. before scary clown sightings, there are Team West and Team East which consists of 3 player-led gangs. So if you were just minding your own business stealing diamond necklaces from a glass front and a gang from the other side of the country comes and starts beating you across the head with a 2×4 full of nails there is a chance another gang sporting the same colors might come and get your back, or loot depending on the player. As time progresses in the match more store fronts become available for busting up until you get to the final ones where you have private security as well as the opposite team to deal with.

There are three modes which much like the game’s name are pretty self explanatory: Practice, Ransack and Takeback (capture the flag). The game is still in Steam Early Access which if you are new to the idea means it is still a work in progress but has been made available to players for feedback, server testing and balancing issues. A good way to think of it is late beta with supposedly fewer bugs. This isn’t always the case but it is the hope. At this point only a couple of the maps are available and weapon balancing is still very much in flux. This is often a fun time because those who are playing at this time tend to care about the game’s development and are mature enough to handle crashes, bugs and fatal errors. It can also bring with it a feeling of pride for helping get the final version going so don’t let Early Access stop you from giving a game some love.

The graphics are really beautiful, the weapon crafting is coming along really nicely and until you have a big bug hit or a game crash it becomes a “one more match” game real quick so be sure to put some time aside before starting it up, you probably won’t be satisfied with one play.

Last Grab:

Games like Smash And Grab in the end become highly dependent on their player base as to how fun it winds up being in the end. Right now the player base cares about the experience and the game is a blast to play. It looks great, it’s fun to find what you are going to get to craft in each match and how effective it is and it gives you a chance to make new friends both on your team and on your enemy’s because if the player is good and a good sport that can sometimes be a hard combination to find but Steam Early Access one of those places to look. I’ll be playing this game right on out to release and hopefully beyond.

F1 2016 Review

2016/09/01

Ripper71

News, Reviews, Xbox One News, Xbox One Review

Formula 1 is truly one of the most international sports where rather being sponsored by teams it is sponsored by companies showing the support of the people through industry rather through governmental. As a result these beautiful works of modern engineering are covered the emblems of those that support them and drivers names and numbers are on hats and shirts the way they would be supporting any other players and teams. The biggest differences are these highly tuned machines can be effected by the most subtle of conditions that the fans discuss things right down to the fuel mix and probably the most important difference from other sports is teams can be fired or worse. As a result when the racing season ends it is felt massively through the community but luckily sometimes there is something to help, in this case in the form of Codemasters F1 2016 for the Xbox One.

Hands On The Wheel:

First thing I have to note is that though there are many faces to choose from for avatars as well as primary sponsors and numbers, there are no female avatars. To be honest I didn’t really notice this at first much to my cchagrin but when “Mrs. Ripper” went to give it a play (she is REALLY good at racing games) she went to start her career character and this discrepancy was the first thing she noticed. There really is no reason one of the faces which were being designed to be generic avatars couldn’t have been given some more feminine features, even just one would have been a sign of good faith. After that you choose a helmet that you don for the races so it isn’t quite as noticeable but we are in the days of women races.

Once you have your character all put together read absolutely every instruction and health guide you can find because the controls are extremely touchy and if you are like me and can’t quite afford a driving wheel and pedal set you are going to have one hell of a painful learning curve. You can play a starter career with all the practices it gives you and single player quick races but really practice before you take on career mode, championship mode which is where you race real professionals’ times on the courses, or multiplayer where if you are lucky you will find someone who sucks worse than you but if the have the steering/pedal gear they will probably slaughter you if you don’t.

The game is definitely fun and if you are into Formula 1 it will be worth the long learning curve. The graphics are also very nice, they did an excellent job of capturing not only the foliage and cars but the faces of the professionals you will have to deal with and the commentators’ voices. Long after I accepted I might be a perma-spank player I watched the game handled in some good hands and it was beautiful to watch. It was equally funny to watch though in the hands that couldn’t make the turns clean.

Last Lap:

Codemasters F1 2016 is definitely for players with a love of the sport, not a casual driving game player. If you love Formula 1 racing and especially if you have the wheel/pedal this is a game for you to play and love and challenge your buddies too. Just remember it takes a very steady hand…

[easyreview title=”Codemasters F1 2016 Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″ ]

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