Unison Research Unico CDDue

Technically sophisticated, ambitiously specified and with comprehensive connectivity, does Unison Research’s latest digital front-end deliver on its substantial promise?

It’s no longer contentious to suggest that the best days of CD are behind it. With sales in decline and the alternative means of content delivery gathering momentum, the number of affordable players on the market has already declined sharply, which is starting to affect price points further up the chain too. This said, there are vast numbers of CDs in circulation and the format still has many keen fans. And the CD player/DAC hybrid has become a popular addition to company ranges in recent years.

Studio Profile: Sumo Digital

How the Pinewood Studios of videogames carved itself a wider niche

There’s rarely a dull moment at Sumo Digital, but the Sheffield-based developer is perhaps busier now than it’s ever been. Having recently appointed Ian Livingstone CBE as its non-executive chairman, it’s in the process of opening a new studio in Nottingham. It’s planning to hire 50 additional staff for the new venture, as well as an additional 50 for its remote office in Pune, India. There is, too, the small matter of developing Crackdown 3; running an internal game jam; producing downloadable content and post-launch support for LittleBigPlanet 3; and continuing its work with the Disney Infinity series. And there’s more. Upon our arrival, we learn, with Yager having been relieved of its duties, that Sumo will now be making Dead Island 2. It’s a studio in exceptional health and determined to prove its agility: in the circumstances, you wonder whether Sumo is really the right name any more.

The Making Of The Swindle

The steampunk caper that proved crime can pay

Burglary is an inherently high-risk profession. There is a chance you’ll make a clean getaway with all your loot, but if you’re spotted you might be forced to make your escape with only a meagre haul to show for your efforts – or, worse, you might get caught. By its very nature, then, a game about breaking into buildings and stealing as much cash as you can has a roughly equal chance of leaving you fulfilled or frustrated. Well before The Swindle’s release, Dan Marshall was well aware it wouldn’t be a game for everyone. “Oh, I knew some people would hate it,” he tells us, “I could see that immediately. And that’s perfectly fine, because it is so difficult and unforgiving. So some people love it and some hate it. That’s videogame development, isn’t it?” He laughs. “Show me a game everyone loves universally.”

Deliver Us The Moon

Saving the planet, one giant leap at a time

Koen Deetman is part of a generation of developers that is increasingly looking upwards for inspiration. Yet Deliver Us The Moon isn’t focused so much on cosmic concerns as real-world disquietude, the search for a new home a pressing worry in light of global warming, the depletion of natural resources, and escalating societal unrest. Set 50 years hence, it centres on the fallout of a mission to find humanity a new home. It’s a survival game of sorts, but at its heart is a very different driving force: yes, it’s about keeping one astronaut alive, but only so that they might be able to perpetuate existence for the rest of us.

Devialet Silver Phantom Duo

The best speakers you’ve never heard of

Bulging eyes, gaping mouths, peers turning for double-takes, and sometimes even looks of confusion: That was our observation of facial reactions when testing Devialet’s Silver Phantoms. Describing audio performance is difficult. Should we wax poetic about how something sounds? Words such as air, stage, warm, smooth, rich—they don’t really mean anything. So perhaps a good descriptor would instead be how people react when they hear it.