Open-world games are by far my favorite way to spend time when I boot my computer to sit back, relax, and enjoy a few hours of entertainment. Undefined by a specific genre, these now cover a myriad of gaming concepts and have come to include a broad range of franchises and new IPs. Yet in recent time, I’ve been feeling an increasing sense of fatigue when it comes to playing open-world titles, and I’ve spent some time thinking as to why it may be. Perhaps I’ve played way too many by now, and simply interjected little variety through experiencing different genres. That wouldn’t be the case, though, as I’ve never had such a problem in the past. So, what exactly led me to start getting exhausted from games I play and enjoy most often?
When I was looking to buy a gaming mouse, I wanted something nice looking but very inexpensive at the same time. I didn’t exactly want to spent a $100 on a Mad Catz or Corsair mouse, even while those look absolutely amazing. Browsing through Amazon, I saw the Zelotes T80 mouse, and it caught my attention. Its combination of affordable pricing, attractive gaming design and a decent enough build for the price make it one of the best alternatives to high-end gaming mice if you don’t have the bank to spend lots on your gaming accessories.
Burnout Paradise is one of those games I find myself coming back to year after year, never tiring out on its adrenaline filled gameplay formula. Few racing titles have managed to deliver levels of excitement found in Burnout ever since the series went into hibernation, and none possess the engaging open world found in Paradise. Now it has a fresh coat of paint and brings all DLC into one spot to preserve one of the best arcade racers you can currently find on the market. Burnout Paradise Remastered extensively improves all visual aspects of the original version, while retaining the exact same game experience fans have enjoyed since its release back in 2008. This is all you’d normally ask of a remastered experience, but features significantly more upgrades compared to typical obsession of the gaming industry to update almost everything it’s released in the past. Burnout Paradise is one of those few where I don’t mind spending money to get the updated experience, knowing I’m very well getting exceptional value even when I own the original game. You don’t have to be a racing game fan to enjoy the experience, and Paradise Remastered offers unparalleled open-world excitement.
In a news announcement made by Psyonix today, Rocket League now includes PlayStation 4 among the list of platforms you can play seamlessly between. Gamers on PSN, Xbox One, Steam and Nintendo Switch can now join in random matchmaking with or against each other, enabling even faster loading times to get into the game. This marks a big achievement for cross-platform play, as Sony is known to tightly safeguard its platform in multiplayer gaming. Enabling Rocket League to be included in the PS Cross-Play Beta program is also a huge step towards integrating seamless multiplayer between various systems, with more games to hopefully follow in the future.
Cross-platform play in Rocket League is available across all online game modes, regardless whether you play casual and competitive. All one has to do is have the feature enabled in Gameplay options tab, but it is usually available by default. Psyonix are also working to integrate cross-platform parties in their first update this year, which will allow players “to partner up with friends on any platform with the push of a few buttons.” Online multiplayer is already quite fast to get into, so now with more players available across the world, it will be an absolute breeze to join online matches across all game modes.
The battle royale genre has seen an unprecedented surge in popularity over the course of 2018, spawning countless titles vying for gamers’ limited funds and attention. Whereas the frontrunners PUBG and Fortnite have further established themselves as the kings of the genre, there’s now plenty of alternatives to consider if you’ve tired out from the biggest two. For every newcomer to the genre then, the chief concern becomes to introduce enough unique elements to set itself apart from the heavyweights. It is otherwise impossible to compete with PUBG and Fortnite in the playing field, hence Ring of Elysium throws in a few twists to the standard battle royale formula. Released by Tencent Games, the same company behind the mobile port of PUBG, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve loaded into yet another match of PUBG, although it’s quickly obvious they’re not the same titles despite similarity in graphics and gameplay design. Available through Steam Early Access, Ring of Elysium is a surprisingly polished battle royale entry, bringing a mixture of familiar and brand new elements to the table where it’s hard to capture gamers’ extended attention.
Any game becomes instantaneously more fun when you’re playing with a friend or a group, especially if you’re sitting in the same room. Whereas consoles enjoy a larger suite of titles multiple people can play at once, the case becomes much less so when looking at the PC platform. While most PC gamers indeed prefer having a desk setup, there are those who like to have a high-end gaming station hooked up to their TV set, myself included. This makes the lack of extensive split-screen options in PC gaming a challenge when trying to find titles one can enjoy with friends, and few developers choose to include the feature across the platform, even if it may be present in a console version. Looking at Steam’s split-screen releases, there’s little to find between the many LEGO games and low-quality indie releases, so I’ve rounded up a list of picks that qualify to deliver a fun and rewarding experience for multiple individuals. LEGO games aren’t bad either, although their appeal is limited to a much younger audience than most of the hardcore PC gamer base. The options aren’t broad, and one will see quite a few racing games included, but these are the titles I’ve had the most fun with playing alongside friends.
In recent time, it seems like every gaming brand is trying to get the biggest slice of the market by expanding their lineup to include as many and diverse related products as possible. Especially Razer. The brand has grown significantly over the past few years, coming out with their own mobile phone in 2017 (and subsequently the Razer Phone 2 in 2018), a range of accessories to go along with them, and now they announce their first gaming monitor. Razer Raptor is a 27” WQHD screen with 144Hz support and a few neat design tricks, incorporating the brand’s signature black slate look with a Chroma light strip at the bottom. It may just be the most impressive unit on the market, although its eventual release will tell us if it can truly stand apart among the high-end competition.
Apart from RGB lighting that we never needed a monitor to have, the Raptor 27 has some interesting build elements that I’ve yet to see from other similar products. First off are its ultra-thin bezels around the screen, measuring in at just 2.3mm wide to maximize the screen estate. This not only makes the display look fantastic, but also sets the brand apart from majority of its competition. Gaming monitors typically don’t prioritize that feature, so it is nice to see Razer build on that along with exceptionally solid specifications. Second, there is a built-in cable management system along the back, with plenty of space to route all your gaming peripherals if you’re the type to care for exceptionally clean desk space. The presence of an RGB strip doesn’t add much to the design, and frankly, the industry’s need to shove these light strips has gotten out of proportions, but at least the Raptor 27 will match along nicely with all your other Razer accessories.
image credit: Razer
The detailed spec sheet shows some impressive numbers, although has much of the same component structure to high-end gaming screens from the likes of Asus ROG. The panel is a 2560×1440 WQHD IPS display, and Razer claims it has up to 178° wide viewing angles. Of course, the refresh rate here wouldn’t be your typical 60Hz, with Razer aiming for ultra-smooth precision performance with 144Hz enabled through AMD FreeSync. The color range is a “95% DCI-P3, wider than sRGB for cinematic quality” and gets an HDR400 certification. Razer seems to be going full blast here to create what they call an “ultimate esports gaming monitor,” and the Ultra Low Motion Blur technology employed here provides a further 1ms response time. Connecting ports include HDMI 2.0a, USB-C and 2 Type A USB 3.1, so you could even charge your phone from the Type C slot when gaming.
The Razer Raptor 27 is certainly an impressive display on paper, and packs the latest technology to please e-sports gamers who require absolute precision from their screens. Incorporating some interesting design elements such as the cable management system, the Raptor 27 further guarantees a desk free of wire clutter, and adds Razer’s signature Chroma lighting to have more RGB around your setup than you’ll ever possibly need. Launching at $699.99, you’re certainly paying a high premium for a computer screen, but so far, looks like Razer’s entry into the market will be quite worth it.
The release of Sunset Overdrive on PC in 2018 came as a pleasant surprise, injecting some much needed over the top fun into a relatively tame gaming year. While blockbuster releases certainly delivered hundreds of hours of quality content, nothing in the past year especially grabbed me as an experience purely aimed at unwinding after a long day. With complex storytelling arcs and heavy exposition, the likes of Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey and Shadow of the Tomb Raider offered engaging narratives and superb gameplay design, yet didn’t manage to grab as much of my attention as some of Insomniac Games’ best work. Sunset Overdrive is an exciting and colorful adventure, unhindered by much story development, and takes full advantage of its quirky tropes to deliver a non-stop action experience. It’s a game you could lose hours in simply exploring its vibrant open world, engaging in random events, and come back with far more memorable reflections than any major release of the past fall.
The world of racing-inspired timepieces is perhaps the most wondrous subset of the watch industry, aiming to translate fascinating car designs and raw performance into a fashion statement you can wear on your wrist. Covering a diverse array of motorsport disciplines, these products draw in racing fans from all over the world, and show some of the most intricate watch building. The product to catch my immediate attention is an upcoming SHIFT line of watches, created by none other than the well-renowned Formula 1 Journalist Giorgio Piola. His tech drawings that document the evolution of Formula 1 designs throughout decades demonstrate unparalleled attention to detail, which has translated nicely into not just the SHIFT, but other collections available from Giorgio Piola. Drawing inspiration from the intense discipline that is F1 racing, the SHIFT collection arguably offers some of the most beautiful visuals you’d see from its category, provided you like the style of course, and especially appeals to me as a racing fan and a watch enthusiast. Currently funded under Kickstarter, these watches are available at more than reasonable prices, with $350USD pledge getting you one of the timepieces sometime around March 2019. If you have passion for the world of motorsports, the SHIFT collection shouldn’t be overlooked, and its solid spec sheet makes it one of the best options to be had in the price range.
When it comes to moment to moment combat of hack and slash RPG games, Darksiders 3 excels at delivering a fast-paced fluid gameplay experience that few titles can match in its genre. It doesn’t shy away from feeling familiar if you’ve played the previous installments, despite the new overhead publisher, yet its moment to moment gameplay remains some of the strongest in the genre. At the same time, however, this supposed revival of the series plays it much too safe in delivering little innovation, and further stripping down the things Darksiders 2 attempted to experiment with, leaving few things to engage in outside of combat. The series was never known for complex game design or deep storytelling in the first place, but Darksiders 3 clearly shows some wasted potential in its flawed execution. You won’t get the worst action RPG experience, and it’s moment to moment gameplay feels engaging enough to enjoy parts of it, but the simplistic execution ultimately leaves Darksiders 3 unable to break the ceiling of mediocrity.
Challenger's Gaming Domain 