Thursday 26 November 2015

Remembering... Chuckie Egg

Chuckie Egg

David Hayward recalls one of the few games he's actually quite good at

For many gamers of a certain age, the defining ZX Spectrum title was Manic Miner, but for others, me included, it was Chuckie Egg.

Chuckie Egg is a classic example of how something as simple as running and jumping around a many-platformed screen can highly addictive. Although remarkably limited in its delivery, Chuckie Egg proves that a game doesn't necessary need to have the latest, most dazzling 3D graphical effects or studio-
quality audio.

Top 5 Jobs For Later

Top 5 Jobs For Later

You know you'll have to do it at some point, but surely it can wait...

CyberGhost 5.5

CyberGhost 5.5

David Hayward improves his online anonymity

Our online privacy has never been as more important as it is now. With various laws probably coming into enforcement over the coming months and years, with even more restrictions and government agency level 'observing' just around the corner, the situation is undoubtedly getting worse.

Roccat Kova

Roccat Kova

Streamlined performance from a rather clever mouse

Roccat has recently released a slew of updated and upgraded products from its healthy range of gaming mice. The likes of the Roccat Savu, Lua and Kone Pure Series are some of the best gaming mice available today, and let's not forget the impressive Roccat Nyth.

Edifier R12U Active Speaker

Edifier R12U Active Speaker

A small pair of multi-function speakers from Edifier

When it comes to buying a set of speakers, most people have three things in mind, the size, application and price. For example, you wouldn't buy a pair of 3ft high speakers for your laptop, and you probably wouldn't get a pair of 3" high units to accompany your 60" plasma (although I've seen some Bose speakers that could easily cope with that scenario).

Crucial BX200 480GB SSD

Crucial BX200 480GB SSD

Crucial replaces the BX100 with a drive that is remarkable value for money

The BX200 is a very significant product, and perversely that is nothing to do with the technology or design work that Crucial put into it.

That might seem an odd thing to say, even for this writer, but the BX200 has special significance because of where it comes in the transition between conventional drive technology and solid-state drives.

BenQ W1080ST+

BenQ W1080ST+

Looking for a decent living room projector?

BenQ's 2013 W1080ST projector was considered an unrivalled success for short-throw, full HD projectors. Now the company has released the W1080ST+, an updated version that addresses the flaws of its predecessor. But has the company done enough to keep the good name of the W1080ST up?

SanDisk Extreme 500 240GB Portable SSD

SanDisk Extreme 500 240GB Portable SSD

SanDisk expands its flash range with a portable SSD

Evidence about how far we've come with flash storage is most likely lurking at the back of a drawer. It's a flash USB key that holds 512MB or less, and most people have a few of those gathering dust somewhere.

The other end of that spectrum is the SanDisk Extreme 500, a portable flash storage device that comes in 120GB, 240GB and 480GB capacities while offering speeds in excess of those you might expect from an internal hard drive.

Chillblast Fusion Drone Gaming PC

Chillblast Fusion Drone Gaming PC

A budget AMD-based system with a few interesting tweaks

Last year, AMD took the decision to spread its budget processors across a wider audience, catering for those who want to build a decent gaming system without the cost overheads.