Wednesday 14 October 2015

Scalebound

Scalebound

Where most RPGs just drag on, this one’s got a dragon

It feels like Hideki Kamiya, Bayonetta creator and serial Twitter abuser, has been working toward Scalebound for some time. Through his work runs the theme of the small calling on the big, be it demons woven from Bayonetta’s hair or the tiny citizens of The Wonderful 101 uniting into towering blades and whips. In the pairing of Scalebound’s human, Drew, and dragon, Thuban, we see that same relationship played out in frantic real time. As the former nimbly murders foot soldiers with swords, spears and other pointy implements, his pet crushes their barracks, or belches flames at giant insects that wander into the fray. Where Kamiya once used massive beasts as the payoff to a desperate struggle, here one’s on-screen at all times. And it is mesmerizing.

Remembering… Computer & Video Games

Computer & Video Games

David Hayward recalls another classic games magazine of the 80s and beyond

Going against the distinctly partisan grain of 80s technology magazines, Computer & Video Games was the first multi-format gaming publication. It first appeared as far back as November 1981, a time when there were very few home computer gaming magazines. It remained on newsagent shelves until 2004, when its owner turned its full attention to the web-based incarnation.

Samsung SmartCam HD

Samsung SmartCam HD

Michael continues to monitor home activity when he's out and about

Developed by Samsung Techwin, a part of the Samsung family, the SmartCam HD is a single wi-fi camera solution for delivering a 1080p live video stream of activity from a location within the home. Along with the camera unit, which can be freestanding or wall-mounted, this kit consists of a power lead with two- and three-pin adapter plugs, Ethernet cable, mounting screws and rawl plugs. You'll need to download a free app from the iOS App Store or Google Play for setting up and controlling the live feed from the camera with a smartphone.

Cities: Skylines – After Dark

Cities: Skylines – After Dark

How does a city look after dark? Okay, I guess…

After Dark is the first official add-on to Colossal Order’s city sim, a game which leap-frogged the troubled Sim City. Cities: Skylines brought a solid and enjoyable experience to all those who delight in order, productivity and happy citizens. So what does After Dark add to it?

Pinnacle Studio 19 Ultimate

Pinnacle Studio 19 Ultimate

A trio of new/upgraded video editing solutions from Pinnacle

Dell Inspiron 17 5000 Series

Dell Inspiron 17 5000 Series

Mark enjoys the full resolution potential of Dell’s new 5000 series laptop

Everyone has a laptop size they’re most comfortable with that depends on if they need to carry it places and what exactly they do with theirs.

However, the choices have been rather clouded in recent years by small 13" or 14" systems that had very highresolution displays. You end up scaling the interface to make the system usable, essentially sacrificing the resolution for usability.

XFX R7 370 2GB Double Dissipation Black Edition

XFX R7 370 2GB Double Dissipation Black Edition

XFX releases another 300 series card that uses much older technology

After covering the XFX R7 260 Core Edition, I was hoping that the next rung up on the GPU ladder would contain something more exciting.

The XFX R7 370 2gb Double Dissipation Black Edition is XFX’s pre-overclocked offering, and costs about £30 more than the R7 360. For that extra dosh you not only get a bigger dual fan cooler, but also the GPU core has more shaders, TMUs, ROPs, and critically a 256-bit memory bus with bags more bandwidth.