XMG C504 Gaming Laptop

Mark confronts the realities of mobile gaming as addressed by XMG.

The XMG brand is one owned by Schenker Technologies, and the C504 was engineered for it by hardware expert Gigabyte.

Whoever is actually responsible, this is a rather well made laptop that uses a combination plastic and metal skin to deliver a good sized machine that's just over 2kg in weight.

The balance for any mobile system for gaming is to provide sufficient CPU and GPU power against battery life and heat generation. In the first two criteria, the C504 doesn't hold back in providing plenty of grunt.

Metro Redux

Far more than just a revisit, but not quite a revolution.

Light cast down through the window to hug the urinals with a warm and loving grid of pinky peach squares, and it was obvious that whoever was responsible had performed some fine and subtle work the day they set that particular scene. After all the death and the decay, claustrophobia and oppression, executions and radiation poisonings, there it was – a portion of abstract beauty to be totally ignored by players far too eager for violence or hungry for ammunition and gas filters to enjoy such delicate aesthetics, and it was as gorgeous as it was easy to miss.

Batman: Arkham Knight

The bat is back, and he’s bringing a tank...

Designing and introducing a new villain is a massive risk. Batman does not exist in a world short on lore and back-story of the kind that his legions of fans adore; the more dedicated of which will surely turn their noses up at a fresh face coming via a game, as opposed to a comic book.

For what it’s worth, though, the iniquitous Arkham Knight seems to fit within the Gotham’s shadowy ambience naturally and comfortably. He’s all muscle and military in appearance, but he possesses enough brain cells to provide a potential challenge above and beyond that which sheer brawn can muster. Who he actually is remains a mystery, the details being predictably kept under wraps in a bid to not give the game away.

Until Dawn

The Cabin In The (New-Gen) Woods.

The late ’90s/early ’00s were a golden age for teen horror movies, and that period’s immediately apparent in every flickering lightbulb, clown mask and Californian accent of Until Dawn’s ‘friends meet up in a remote lodge in the woods and start getting picked off’ horror adventure. In fact, the game’s co-writers, Graham Reznick and Larry Fessenden, have three decades between them of acting, writing, directing, editing and sound department credits in horror movies. Supermassive’s interactive scarer is clearly very aware of the old clichés, to the point that Until Dawn’s corniness seems intentional – an uncomplicated, schlocky teen slasher flick that you write and direct with the DualShock 4.

Silent Hills

If you go down to the PS4 demo section today, you’re sure of a horrible surprise – and even when you think you know what’s coming, this interactive teaser for the tenth Silent Hill game, albeit this one’s from Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro, will still manage to scare you half-crazy. We can’t get it out of our heads. Even after a third playthrough it’s still possibly one of the most potent slices of gaming horror we’ve endured since we first entered the realm of Pyramid Head.

The sheer simplicity of the PT experience is part of its horrific charm. Based around a simple looping corridor setup, it forces you to study the little things and, as someone wise once said, the devil really is in the details – and no one knows this better than fantasy horror auteur Guillermo del Toro. His now cancelled THQ game, Insane, never made it past pre-production and we can’t help but wonder if he’s channelling his creative horror juices straight into this

exciting slice of terror instead.