Panasonic TX-65DX902B

If you thought 4K was cool, wait till you get a load of HDR (High Dynamic Range). So goes this year’s TV sales patter. HDR promises hitherto unseen levels of dynamism to television, taking home viewing closer than ever (and even beyond) the modern cinematic experience. But, of course, not all HDR is created equal.

Panasonic’s TX-65DX902B is the first set to land that’s certified Ultra HD Premium by the UHD Alliance. This means (amongst other things) that it’s able to deliver peak whites of over 1,000 nits, along with an extended colour range, when fed HDR material from physical media, streaming services and broadcasters. In addition to this badge of honour, the DX902 (also available in a 58in version for around £2,800) earns THX 4K certification. If you’re looking for the bleeding edge (particularly from Panasonic, as none of its other sets get the UHD tick), you’ve found it.

FiiO M3

A small price to pay for a little delight

The last portable music player we saw from FiiO (the X5) was demonstrably big. Either the Chinese brand has taken our size-ist criticisms to heart or is simply up for the challenge, because the M3 is around the size (and weight) of a matchbox.

It's almost too portable, in the same way a wedding cake can be too pretty to eat. But size aside, it’s hardly a music player of humble stature. For £50 you get a device that can handle hi-res music - WAV support goes up to 24-bit/96kHz, while FLAC is limited to 24-bit/48kHz. There’s 8GB of internal storage onboard - enough for over 200 MP3 albums, or around ten hi-res albums - and that can be expanded with a microSD card of up to 64GB that slots into the bottom of the unit.

Bring Out The Big Gun

Doom, more than any other sequel or reboot in recent memory, is defiantly, well, Doom-like. That might sound like a strange statement to make, but such confident force of identity is surprisingly rare in today’s games. As budgets spiral, and risks get higher, and entire trends are born and die during the length of the development cycle, even the most established of franchises find themselves partaking in a bit of portmanteau design. Call of Duty now contains as much Titanfall and Mirror’s Edge as Modern Warfare. Every Ubisoft game is Assassin’s Creed to some degree, and even Master Chief has learned to doublejump and ground-pound.

The lion sleeps tonight

In the wake of Fable Legends’ cancellation and Lionhead Studios’ proposed closure, we celebrate one of gaming’s most eccentric developers

Making videogames is a high-cost, high-risk industry, and sadly studios going out of business is a common occurrence – both big and small. In the last decade, we’ve lost names such as Bizarre Creations (Project Gotham Racing), Eden Games (Test Drive Unlimited), Neversoft (Tony Hawk), Rockstar Vancouver (Bully) and more besides. But as gutting as those closures were, it’s been a long time since something properly winded us like the recently announced demise of the storied old studio that brought us the Fable series, Lionhead.

Total War: Warhammer - War Has Changed

Magic and monsters will make Total War: Warhammer a strategy game like no other

Every Total War game has reinvented itself, cutting even popular ideas to ensure each one feels unique. Shogun: Total War and Medieval: Total War play completely differently, and so they should: the political machinations and warfare of those cultures were entirely different. Tactics change over time, too. How do you fight Samurai? How can you protect your cannons from Russian Hussars? The launch of Total War: Warhammer introduces further questions: how can I best utilise dwarfen artillery? How do I stop the colossal Arachnarok spider from eating my zombies?