10 Games we can not wait to play in 2017

Let's be honest for a second, 2016 has been an epic year in the games, but as it nears its end, we have to look to the future in some of the games we better start saving for.

2017 already looks like an incredible year for video games, since we are going to see some great VR games, PS4 Pro is used to its full potential, and of course a new Xbox.

Here are all the biggest games we can not wait to play in 2017.

Mass Effect Andromeda

After the massive success of the original Mass Effect trilogy, Bioware has been working hard on the next generation of Mass Effect stars in a new set of heroes in a distant part of the galaxy.

Andromeda takes place 600 years after the events of the original trilogy, and you will assume the role of the sons of Alec Rider, a former N7 special forces soldier and designated Pathfinder. A pathfinder is a person whose job it is to search the galaxy for planets so that the human species can inhabit.

What darkness awaits players in the galaxy, and how long will it take us to explore the new planets out there?

MASS EFFECT™ ANDROMEDA – Official Cinematic... by samthakur

Horizon Zero Dawn

After working on the Killzone series for a few years, Guerrilla Games has finally moved on to something new, something exciting. Horizon: Zero Dawn is Sony's latest IP, and it looks like it has already made waves.

As you explore the world around you and complete missions, you will face massive mechanical creatures that will threaten your life.

Horizon Zero Dawn is the first RPG ever to be developed by Guerrilla Games, and seems too epic for words.

Horizon Zero Dawn - E3 2016 Trailer I Only On PS4 by samthakur

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Wildlands

Since the division, Ubisoft have taken a different path with the titles of Tom Clancy Ghost Recon: Wildlands seems something fresh and exciting. Set in a magnificent open world in Bolivia, the state has become unstable as the Santa Blanca drug cartel gains more power from the people every day.

With the drug cartel out of control, and the power they wield is out of control, the US Government Sends a group of special operations called "ghosts", to reduce the cartel and eliminate the threat.

You and your friends will lead joint missions in the incredible cooperative of the game, as you collect unique weapons and equipment and use all of your gadgets to do so. Players will work as a team to complete missions and defeat enemies with style.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands Trailer – We... by samthakur

For honor

It's been a while since Ubisoft worked on something as out of combat as for honor, and the excitement has been building since its revelation last year. This new hack and slash game will feature a hand-to-hand combat system known as the "Art of Battle". You will assume the roles of historical soldiers in history, such as medieval knights, samurai and vikings.

Each faction will have a unique combat approach, divided into four classes. Samurai, for example, will have killers as fast and deadly, as well as heavily armored enemies who will act as tanks in battle. Unlock skills for each class, and wage war against the other factions.

For Honor Trailer E3 2015 Official Trailer by samthakur

Resident Evil 7

Returning to their survival roots, Resident Evil 7 looks beyond freaky. The new horror take on the game will take the players to a bloody adventure as Ethen, while heading to the town of Dulvey, Louisiana. It is here where he begins his search for his missing wife and stumbles upon a plantation mansion, home of the crazed Baker family.

Expect many new things as the Baker family will lead you to an amazing experience. What we've seen from the trailers, has set the tone for one of the most terrifying games of 2017. With a new direction, and a new FPS take on the series, we can not wait for Resident Evil 7.

Resident Evil 7 biohazard - Lantern Gameplay... by samthakur

The Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild

The legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild not only brings a new game of Zelda, but also the new Nintendo Switch. The game is Zelda's first open world game, and it looks fantastic.

Cooking, hunting and of course exploring dungeons is what we can expect in the last game, as Nintendo has taken a new step in the Zelda series. Link returns to the screen as he awakens after a 100-year dream to a mysterious voice that guides him to defeat the usual antagonist Ganon.

Nioh

Dark Souls meets the samurai, meets a new and bloody adventure. Nioh has taken some of the biggest video games out there, and has combined it into one to make, what looks like a new Souls game, but with a few twists.

Established in the early 1600's during a period called the Sengoku period. A sailor named William arrives in Japan and is recruited by Hattori Hanzo, to defeat the Yokai, strange mutated creatures that have risen after the war. With tactical sword fights, ki abilities and a unique multiplayer, Nioh looks like the dark Japanese souls we never had

Nioh Extended Tokyo Game Show Trailer PS4 by samthakur

Red Dead Redemption 2

Although you can not see much in the trailer for the upcoming Red Dead Redemption 2, we know it's going to be epic. A new open world to explore, dense town to spend the night in, and what seems to be a whole new set of characters to meet along the way.

Red Dead Redemption 2 will see the return of multiplayer to the series. It is still unknown how this will work, but we can be sure that Rockstar will offer a great package, as they always do.

Red Dead Redemption 2 Trailer by samthakur

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Foreword to the Final Chapter

Finally, the last prologue to the Kingdom Hearts series before we get Kingdom Hearts III. The latest HD release will see Kingdom Hearts 3D, as well as a special game built from the ground called Kingdom Hearts 0.2: Borth by Sleep - A Fragmentary Passage.

Birth by Sleep 0.2 will be a taste of what's coming in Kingdom Hearts III, as the game uses Unreal Engine 4 and has been built using the same system as Kingdom Hearts III. If it's something, it's about time we stopped living in the Kingdom Hearts games.

Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue by samthakur

Scalebound

Scalebound will probably be the first Xbox Scorpio game to take full advantage of console power. The players control Drew who has a Dragon named Thuban. Players will use a variety of weapons to defeat the enemies as well as join other players online to go to the cooperative against the massive bosses.

With Platinum Games at the helm, the creators of Bayonetta, we know that Scalebound is going to be an epic adventure.

Scalebound - Trailer Gameplay E3 2016 by samthakur

Astro A50 (2016) Review: Better than ever, but competition is still catching on

There was a time - not long ago, even - when the Astro A50 was the de facto standard for wireless gaming headsets. It was attractive, had pretty good sound (for at least gaming earphones), good noise insulation and intuitive controls. Add a built-in game / chat mixer, a feature not yet seen in close proximity to headphones, and the A50 was an easy recommendation.

But it's been a long time since Astro made a proper A50 upgrade, and the competition became fierce. Corsair has released a $ 100 headset for the past few years and the G933 from Logitech impressed us even more. In this new market, the A50 price of $ 300 began to look anachronistic. Not cattle. Fool, even.

Not anymore, or at least not so much. The A50 is back for 2016, and brings a new premium presentation.

All your base

Design-wise, the A50 plays twin to its predecessor. The ears and headband are soft plastic to the touch, quite light, and united by two metal tubes exposed with the cable rolled in the interior. It's an eye-catching design, a relic of ethics centered on the mid-2000s gamer, with its sharp angles and flashy flashes. However, I still think the A50s are attractive, in their own way. They are compact, elegant and embrace the Astro game pedigree, maintaining a certain high-end look (read: adult). The result is a bit more timeless than, say, the neon extravaganza of some of Razer's earliest headphones.

Put your old A50 and the new A50 next to each other and look almost identical, apart from the color. The A50 comes in two familiar color schemes for 2016: black and blue for Sony PS4, gray and green for Microsoft's Xbox One.

What if you plan to use the A50 with a PC? The choice is totally irrelevant. I turned black and blue, because I think the Xbox version is ugly, but it's your call. Both will work.

The main changes in the headset are more subtle and reside mainly with built-in controls. The placement is similar-game / chat mixer on the right side, volume wheel and assorted buttons on the back of the right cup. Astro has made some adjustments though, by switching the power button to a slider (a big improvement on the previous A50's tiny on / off button) and the addition of a Dolby switch above the three-way EQ slider.

I also found myself leaving the A50 in a perpetual "On" state, thanks to a more invisible improvement: internal spins. The previous A50 (and most wireless headphones) would turn off automatically if it does not detect any audio being played for a certain time, say five minutes. But the new A50 detects movement, so if you set the headset on a desk for 30 seconds it will shut down automatically. Lift it up and restart it and the moment you have done it, it has probably been synchronized with the base station and is ready to play audio again.

It's perfect, and probably my favorite feature on the new A50. I never have to play with the power switch, I never have to worry about whether it's on and ready to go. Always ready. It's a little touch but one that has made the new A50 a go-to favorite from our review unit came and made my other wireless headphones seem archaic in comparison.

And speaking of the base station ... well, I guess it's time to talk about the base station. That's the other big change for the A50 this year: the inclusion of a piece of plastic that is part of the display stand, relay information part, part loader.

With most of the wireless headphones transition to USB dongles in recent years-see the G933 and the Corsair Wireless for example-Astro vacuum of the old A50 receiver was comically oversized. Measuring perhaps four square inches, it was a huge piece of hardware with literally two buttons: Dolby On / Off and a redundant power switch. A total waste of space, made necessary just because Astro wanted to house optics inside / outside and 3.5mm sources, plus USB.

The new A50 turns the base station into an installation in its own right. Eight inches long, four inches wide, and one inch tall, this is a strong piece of hardware to throw on your desk. But when you're done with your A50? Simply put it in the base station and it starts to load, besides it looks nice.

It has made the A50 experience even more frustrating. I never worry if it's loaded, I never worry about where to put it. It goes in the booth, it is loaded all the time.

(Side note: Astro will sell base stations for $ 100 independent later this year, and can use a handset with both stations. To pair, simply drop the A50 on the base station you want to use.

I'm a bit worried about the durability of the base station - those charging capacities are governed by some fragile sensitive contacts sitting at the bottom - but it's one of the most stylish charging solutions I've ever seen for a cordless handset, Put these on And already the low battery indicator is a beep "problem I had with the previous A50.

It also helps: a better overall battery life, with the new A50 that matches the demands of 12-15 hours of headphones like the G933 and Razer's Man O 'War. (The A50 six or seven hours ago, max.) I can not attest to the Astro figures directly, because it is amazingly difficult to test the battery of a headset when it shuts off automatically after 30 seconds on a desk, but I will say that I have had two or three long days of play without loading or dying. (There is also a battery indicator on the front of the base station, and Astro has done so that you can turn off the low battery beeps if you are driving nuts.)

Now, some problems. 1) Continuing in the Astro tradition, the base station comes with a ridiculously short three foot USB cable. If you are using a standing desk, good luck. Get a new cable. 2) Astro loves to tout its 5GHz transmitter, which is all good and good except for range and penetration. If I enter the room next door (10-15 feet), my A50 drops occasionally. I have also noticed the occasional interference sitting on my desk, which is strange. 3) I had a case where the A50 refused to follow. Sitting at the base station? Fully loaded and matched. Do you get it? Immediate shutdown. The solution (after contacting Astro) turned out to be a hard reset, holding down the Dolby and Game buttons for 15 seconds. This solved the problem, but I still do not know why it happened in the first place.

$ 300 sound

And if there's a place I think Astro should have put more work, it's the sound of the A50. Oh, it's not bad per se. In fact, for an A50 gaming headset it's still pretty damn decent.

"Why spend $ 300 on a game headset if you can get a great pair of headphones and a separate microphone for the same cost?" It has become a particularly strident chorus in recent years though, and if we take that complaint to its face value then Astro does not have a great response on the A50.

I think the feeling is a bit exaggerated, personally, there is something to say for the convenience of a built-in microphone, let alone the chat / mixer games of the A50, but if in games, music or cinema, the A50 doesn 'T sound significantly better than the cheaper G933 from Logitech, and does not come close to a $ 300 pair of headphones like, say, the Audio-Technica ATH-M70X.

What you get with the A50 of 2016 is very similar to what you got with the previous A50, a moderately bass-powered headset backed by clear cut media and a little less precision at the upper end of the spectrum. For example, firing shots are clear, but cymbal impacts often sound soft regardless of the EQ settings you use and distort moderate volumes.

It is also worth noting that the three preset EQ settings on the A50-even the "Studio" preset-supercharge the high-end for a clearer sound. Download the Astro software, zero the EQ and better listen to the weaknesses of the A50, meaning that the highs are more cushioned and the audio has less breathing space than competing products.

Anyone with EQ talent can have an average headset to sound great. The hard part is to make the baseline. And honestly, we should expect the original, A50 not documented to sound better for a $ 300 handset. As it is, it is difficult to say that the A50 is above the G933 in audio alone, although the basis of the Station / charge / comfort / what-have-it can still influence your opinion.

Astro has also been outperformed in terms of false-7.1. Once a featured feature for Astro, I think the G933 headset surrounds better than the A50. This is an academic distinction in some ways because I still think that both are bad, giving even coded games to surround a kind of hollow, floaty feel when stereo audio could serve equally well, but I mention it here for posterity.

The microphone is the only aspect where Astro keeps shining. The new A50 microphone is more flexible than its predecessor, allowing for easy repositioning, and is clear as a bell even before playing with the different settings of the Astro noise door. Other microphones do not even compare.

Bottom line

In design, presentation, convenience, the new Astro A50 finally offers a compelling reason for fans to upgrade their old A50 headset. The charging station is an excellent (though flamboyant) bit of work, the motion detection auto-on / off is a development of genius I hope to appear in other headphones, and battery life is finally on par with the main competitors.

It is simply a shame that the A50s do not pack more than one hit where it matters, with audio being only suitable for "high-end" gaming headphones because we have not learned to claim better. At this price? A little hard to swallow.

3 PS4, Xbox One, PC games to shoot in the first week of December

PS4, Xbox One, PC games are scheduled to see several games released by December 2016. In addition, there are PS4, Xbox One, PC games that are said to come along with the Xbox Live Gold subscription in December. Mobile players are also expected to get some more games for the holidays.

First, iOS users are scheduled to receive Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney on December 1. The Android version will be released on December 8. PS4, Xbox One, PC Games on December 2 welcome the open-world game Steep. In addition, Super Mario Maker is also scheduled to debut on the Nintendo 3DS the same day.

In addition, PS4, Xbox One, PC games on December 6 include Dead Rising 4 as well as The Last Guardian. In addition, Bastion can also be released on December 12. Note that Bastion can be played on the Chromebook. Moreover, Xbox 360 owners of the original Bastion version can get a copy of the game for free before January 1, 2017.

Super Mario Run is said to be given to avid iOS players on December 15th. Note that a PS4, Xbox One, PC Games Super Mario Run Premium experience is also available for $ 9.99, as well as a free version with all three modes of the title. PS4, Xbox One, PC games on December 20 also include The Walking Dead: A New Frontier.

In other news, it is also said that PS4, Xbox One, PC games include six games on the PlayStation platform. Outlast and Sleeping Dog DE is also expected to kick off on the Xbox One. On the other hand, Outland and Burnout Paradise are believed to be making their way to the Xbox 360 in December 2016 as well.

PS4, Xbox One, the list of PC games is expected to be added in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, November 2016 supposedly saw the launch of Dirt 3, Costume Quest 2 and the pumped BMX + on the PS3. The latter may also be available on PS4 along with Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, as well as The Deadly Tower of Monsters. See the December 2016 game compilation here:

Watch the December 2016 Game Compilation here by samthakur

3 reasons why Windows 10 is the best Windows for games

Windows 10 is the best Windows for games. Here's why:

• First, Windows 10 makes PC games and services you own even better.
• Second, it makes great new games possible on Windows with technology like DirectX 12 and Xbox Live.
• Thirdly, it brings Xbox experiences to your Windows 10 PCs in ways that are meaningful to PC gamers.

Let's begin with how Windows 10 makes your PC games and services better. Windows 10 maximizes system resource sets to help them run efficiently. You will appreciate this during those intense battles where every second counts. The Start menu is back and better than ever. And Windows is faster to start and shut.

With Windows 10, the Start menu is back and better than ever.

Windows 10 comes with what is called the game bar. This allows you to record game clips or take screenshots of PC games you already have, including Steam games or other gaming services. Simply press Windows + G and the game bar will appear. Once you've recorded the clip, it's easy to publish it on YouTube or your favorite social network. And with more and more PC gaming that supports drivers, Windows 10 natively supports Xbox gaming accessories (including the upcoming Xbox Elite Wireless Controller).

Now, let's talk about the games themselves. First, let's talk about the performance of the graphics. DirectX 12 in Windows 10 unlocks the full potential of the graphics hardware of your PC. DirectX 12 will boost new games that push graphics boundaries and realism - such as Unreal Tournament by Epic and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided by Square Enix. Microsoft Studios is also investing in DirectX 12 with the upcoming Fable Legends and Gears of War: Ultimate Edition.

Fable Legends is one of many upcoming Windows games that will benefit from Windows 10’s support for DirectX 12.

And that's not all. Many other great games are coming to Windows 10, including Rare's Killer Instinct, Minecraft and Sea of ​​Thieves. And we have expanded the ID @ Xbox program to Windows developers, with dozens of new games like Cuphead, Super Dungeon Brothers, Pinball FX 2 and many more also coming to Windows 10.

Now let's talk about Xbox. As a PC player, you probably ask "Why do I care about this?" We know that many players play both on PC and Xbox, and we wanted to make it easy to get the best of both worlds. Windows 10 comes with the new built-in Xbox application. The Xbox application puts you in touch with the largest gaming community on Windows 10 and Xbox One devices. You can make voice and text conversations from PC to PC and PC to console, even while playing your existing PC games. New games like Gigantic and Fable Legends use the Xbox Live multiplayer service (which is completely free on the PC) and allow you to play with or against players on the Xbox One.

And Xbox Live cloud safeguards allow you to start a game on one device and pick up where you left off on another.

Last but not least: if you have an Xbox One, we will make it very easy for you to play your Xbox One games on your Windows 10 PC through your home network with streaming games. So you can get the best of both worlds: the PC games you like best and access the console experience when (and if) you want without leaving your PC.

At Microsoft we appreciate the partnership with NVIDIA and the continued support of the PC gaming community.

We hope you are as excited about Windows 10 as we are.

Samsung 960 Pro 1TB review: the fastest consumer SSD in history

How can they adapt to many gigamabytes - essentially equivalent to all data - into something so small? Hard to believe that Samsung are able to squeeze a 1 TB total storage in their small 960 Pro SSD. And this is not even the largest capacity of its PCIe-based NVMe units. Sigh. ace of the future, is not it?

The 960 Pro is the continuation of SSD NVMe focused on consumer first Samsung to hit our PC and, together with the Intel SSD 750, wrote the rulebook on how the next generation of solid-state storage would take place. This new unit of Samsung, although it is writing a new chapter by itself.

Looking to avoid exposure? Use the quick links below to pass performance tests and adjust all important final accounts.

Samsung 960 Pro 1TB specifications

Arguably the most important part of the spec sheet of Samsung 960 Pro is the fact that it is running with the protocol expresses non-volatile media (NVMe).

NVMe was the first storage protocol to be written from scratch to meet increased solid state storage and PCIe interface. Before we arrived we were anchored to the old school SATA AHCI interface and protocol - both designed for mechanical turntables traditional hard drives.

That was fine in the primordial soup from which units nascent solid state, where performance degraded if so much as looked at his expensive SSD 64GB and strove above 100 MB / s crawled, but the burgeoning market melted quickly developed into one of the most rapidly evolving rapidly iterating parts of the technology industry and successive generations of SSD have been hitting my head against the limits of 600 MB / s of performance SATA 6Gbps interface.

But even when switched to SSD PCIe interface higher bandwidth they found the AHCI protocol meant that they were using were still limited in their performance. This protocol was invented for high latency turntables with a series of commands to run through before something happened on the disc. SSDs still have to slog through all these legacy commands, wasting valuable CPU resources to get anything done. NVMe but was introduced to cut through debris and give the SSD the freedom to do what is good - to get to their data quickly.

                                 Samsung 960 Pro 1TB specs

	Samsung 960 Pro	Intel SSD 750	Samsung 950 Pro	Samsung 850 Pro
Interface	M.2 PCIe	PCIe	M.2 PCIe	SATA
Protocol	NVMe	NVMe	NVMe	AHCI
Capacity	1TB	1.2TB	512GB	512GB
Controller	Samsung Polaris	Intel NVMe	Samsung UBX	Samsung MEX
Memory	Samsung 256Gb MLC	Intel 128Gb MLC	Samsung 128Gb MLC	Samsung 86Gb MLC
Rated read speed	3,500 MB/s	2,400 MB/s	2,500 MB/s	550 MB/s
Rated write speed	2,100 MB/s	1,200 MB/s	1,500 MB/s	520 MB/s
Price	$629 (£629)	$790 (£715)	$316 (£293)	$210 (£163)

The next most important part of the equation is the memory controller. It is this which manages all memory silicon sitting on the PCB SSD and, as usual Samsung, who have used once again its own controller with the familiar title Polaris. It is this driver giving Polaris 960 Pro read their maximum write speeds of 3,500MB / s and 2,100MB / s, respectively. Although inevitably you will not quite see those speeds in the real world.

As one of the flash memory manufacturers largest in the world is no surprise to see Samsung using its own advanced to compensate for the 1TB capacity of this unit V-NAND. Due to the nature of 3D stacked memory which is very densely populated, and the fact that they are using only compounds 256GB modules. There are only four memory packages small PCB. That's pretty impressive.

Samsung has expanded its range of SSD 960 Pro so now spans the top of this range of 512GB, 1TB and 2TB, with the lower EVO specifications drives the sports capacities of 250 GB, 500 GB and 1 TB, respectively.

Samsung 960 Pro benchmarks 1TB

Radeon RX 465 on the way? AMD’s third Polaris 10 card to take on the GTX 1050 Ti

Radeon RX 465 on the road? third letter Polaris 10 AMD to take the GTX 1050 TiFirst that had rumors AMD the price of the Radeon RX 470 rubs to compete with the upcoming Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti and now it seems they are only releasing a whole new card to do just that . It is not this the AMD Radeon RX 465?

Read more: the best graphics card for every budget.

The rumor-lovin 'web workers, Videocardz, despite having published a story about a new XFX Radeon RX 470D Black Wolf. On the surface you would think it was just another version of 4 GB of the RX 470, but the number of cores declared is significantly different from the standard AMD card.

They claim to have taken the information directly from the Chinese version of the website XFX, although there is now no mention of the existence of an RX 470 cut down, so the usual rationing salt should be applied here.

The specifications listed on the site have the number of cores GCN set at 1,792, which is about 256 shaders below the standard of Polaris 10 GPU AMD standard RX 470. The RX ready for XFX apparently refer 470D her as Elliesmere (sic) Pro - Ellesmere was the original code for Polaris chip 10 so that a bit as follows, although accuracy levels are falling with every strange error ...

However, there are other rumors that filter out of China surrounding an alleged Radeon RX 470 and RX 465 Radeon, it seems likely that there will be a third card Polaris 10 graphics coming out sometime soon. If we take the previous price cut rumor as a misinterpretation of a lower price, lower specification card using the GPU leaving the RX 470 after it makes much more sense too. Especially since the suggested price for the RX 470 it is much lower than can currently buy cards price reduction and not seen as holding for the moment.

Of all the naming conventions that are offered for the new card the Radeon RX 465 Polaris seems most likely to me. AMD have never used the suffix "SE" for their cards, and when they offered a reduced version of a given chip they have previously marketed as a high-end version of the next card down the stack. The year after they released the R9 270, for example, they created a card using the same GPU with 256 cut cores and sold as a R7 265. Therefore, even if they are using a different GPU chip Polaris 11 RX 460 still they can refer to the reduced price version of Polaris 10 as an RX 465.

When first released the RX 480 also ran us through the naming conventions of the new cards Polaris, and explained that the numbering system XX5 RX would be used for higher versions of the specs of a specific card. Not a little mischief SE All told nothing about.

The Nvidia 1050 GTX Ti is launching worldwide on Tuesday, October 25, AMD and whether to do something to spoil the party I would not be surprised to see if it comes too soon after.

4 reasons why gamers should own a console instead of a PC

There is apparently a clear division between PC and console players.

Whether due to higher power or simply a loyalty to the superior race PC, not rarely it seems to be a willingness to admit that consoles just do some things better.

Here are four reasons why you should think about getting a console instead of a PC game:

Cost

There is no other way around it - 5,000 rand a console that can connect directly to your TV and will last 4-5 years which is cheaper than a PC game.

The worst thing is that, although there was a time when PC gaming was the way to go just because of how they were much cheaper games, PC games have slipped so far R1,000 brand.

Combine this with a decent sales on PSN and Xbox Live and not in good faith and we can say that PC gaming is cheaper than consoles.

Easy to use

It has certainly changed for the worse in recent years, but for the most part still consoles offer better plug-in-and-play option on PC.

They can operate at a lower frame rate and worse graphics, but also provide consistency and do not require you to troubleshoot when things go wrong.

4K games

If the Xbox One S and PS4 games do not allow native 4K, but unless you're packing a 1080 GTX SLI or configuration, neither does your PC game.

The game improves the resolution provided by the new consoles offers an inexpensive entry option for anyone who wants to step up to 4K game.

Players are now also Blu-ray 4K cheapest in the market.

Exclusive

This is the big one.

Despite the new Windows 10 play anywhere in the program, there are still dozens of games to play that are only available in the console.

Some will eventually make its way to store Windows 10 and / or steam, but the important tiles as the last of US and Halo: The Master Chief Collection can still be only found on their respective platforms.

Add to this game just you play better on a controller (such as games FIFA) and is suddenly worth having a console at home.

United Front Games Opens up on SMASH+GRAB, Would Love Adding a Story Mode to It

Games Vancouver based studio United Front occupied the region around five years after its founding in 2007, when the shooter was launched in open Sleeping Dogs with Square Enix as world editor.

A spiritual successor to True Crime, was a critical and commercial success that generated three DLC packs remastered and definitive edition. After that, United Front Games worked on the PC game Wars, a spin-off that was finally canceled triad.

Now the development team is independent with violent + Grab break, an online degree that recently debuted on Steam early access to favorable opinions of users. The game is currently free to play until Tuesday, October 18 at 24:00 (PDT), so you should find the following interview with the Head of Production Jeff O'Connell intriguing that can only download smash + Grip and give an opportunity. We also include a video of the game at the end of the article.

After Sleeping Dogs and Triad Wars, violent + Grip break seems to follow the trend of gang warfare of United Front Games. Why this setting you like so much?

We love action games - specifically, the action melee in the third person. Over the years, we have been fortunate to team up with talented and experienced with this type of game. With violent + Grab break, we wanted to play these strengths, but also to bring something fresh and new players, and we feel that we have done. S + G and Sleeping Dogs have both urban environments, but the tone and atmosphere of each are very different - and actually believe S + G is distinguished from all that is now in that regard.

Is there anything I can / want to say about Triad Wars and its cancellation?

Not really. Sometimes the things you learn during the Beta means having to make the difficult decision not to go beyond it. In any case, we are grateful to the fans for their support.

How long has been the team working on Smash + Grab, and how many people you have working on it?

We've been in a couple of years, and although we can not say exactly how many people we have in him, is an experienced team, with a lot of titles to his credit. We believe that players will see this in the quality of our offering early access, and we are excited to grow the game in the coming months.

What is the basic feature set Shock + Grab?

We have worked very hard to carry a full set of features and fun to crush + Grip for our Early Access (with more to come through it!). Some features in the release include:

• Mount the crew of a set of characters melee and distance
• 7 leaders to play and 13 lieutenants backup
• 100 of benefits and toiletries to customize their characters with
• Lead your platoon in combat centered deep against human and AI enemies
• Collect loot, weapons and craft materials of an urban environment
• 12 weapons and 18 basis for finding trace weapons mods
• Team up with other allied bands out and avoid updating their enemies
• 2 map / competitive modes; parties; private rooms; and co-op and practice against robots

How important is teamwork in the game?

Supreme! When we run tournaments in the office, good team coordination is often more important than the ability of pure combat. And it is important to take advantage of both teamwork between you and your own band, and teamwork between his band and other bands around.

To give an example of teamwork within his band, many of the characters AI lieutenant have skills that give you, the leader, the opportunity to act - for example, to paralyze an opponent, polishing damage or injection of enemies with a poison that causes them to do AOE damage when they die. If you take advantage of the opportunities created his lieutenant, who has a great advantage over an opponent who does not.

Teamwork with other players on your team is even more important. A party smash + Grip goes through several "rounds" and at the beginning of each round, the new targets spawn all over the map at the same time. One person can not be everywhere, so that a team that needs to coordinate claim as much as possible - but if you spread too thin it will definitely lose combat encounters with the enemy. So it's a balancing act between the spread of hand to grab all the loot, and stick together to win team fights. If you have a good recognition and good communication will have a better idea of ​​what is appropriate balance of the strategy to beat their opponents.

How many ways are planning for the full version? Can you make some examples?

We are not ready to reveal the details of our future modes at this time, but we are starting with 2 modes of early access and we are working on more modes and maps at this time.

Will there be deep customization for your band (logo, slogan, name, etc.)? Are you planning a tournament mode for bands to compete in the game?

Currently you can customize the payroll of a band, and appearance / benefits for the leader and lieutenant. We are investigating other customization options, and we hope that the success of Early Access will help us expand further in customizing. For competitive play we are looking primarily to the addition of a formal system of ranked play so players can compete for a world ranking.

Is there a level cap in the game? Also, how is extensive customization of the characters?

Each character has a level cap, but there is no limit account level. It is worth mentioning here that the characters do not grow stronger as they level in Smash + Grab, but rather to get more options in the form of bonus unlocks and the theme of vanity unlocked for that character. Upload your player account awarded a random Toiletry, which could be for any character. Mix and match characters, bonuses, and toiletries to create your own unique band.

combat and multiplayer rarely combined successfully in games. What are you doing to make sure everything is synchronized satisfactorily?

Yes, it is a challenge only safe! The combat system is a mix of combat action game that characterizes us, and the rules of classic fighting games like Street Fighter. The core combat is a relationship of rock-paper-scissors, which beats grab attack, defend and defend grab beats beats attack. This type of system will be familiar to fans classic fighting games. You can mix launching heavy attacks, evade, accountants, sprint attacks and skills - or try to stagger the time of any of its options to launch your opponent. A fight 1-on-1 between humans can be a real chess game.

However, not every character is a human being! Because each player has a band, there are also 4 AI characters in the game for every human character. You can fight the characters a little artificial intelligence as an action game of a fighting game. And alternate between fighting AI and the fight against humans, you get a little of both experiences: the domain of a single vs-many you get in action games, and experience tense contraction fighting games.

Obviously, many console gamers will have already asked to give violent + Grab break for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Would this happen only after the complete liberation of the PC?

We hope that the successful launch of Early Access on PC will help us bring Smash + Grab consoles.

What do you think of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox Neo A scorpion, as a developer? Would you support for a possible release of the console?

Right now our focus is on what the best use of the PC. If the new hardware can help us take the couch in the future, we are definitely interested.

What do you think of multiplatform game? Would it be something that will be evaluated by violent + Grip break if the game is distributed across multiple platforms?

We are getting our first platform now, but certainly we will evaluate multi-platform game in the future if the game is a diverse audience (which we believe can!).

Provided that the game turns out to be a success, would you be interested in adding a focused single player / cooperative campaign DLC story? That seems to be what many fans of Sleeping Dogs expect from you.

Both singleplayer and co-op play is something that we are great fans, and we hope to expand in at least cooperative for our full launch. That said, we believe that the fictional world of Smash + Grab is very interesting and if people enjoy it, we would like to deepen in history with both cooperative and single player.

Is there anything else you want to say to the fans?

We believe that if you are fans of United Front Games and any of the games we have done in recent years, enjoy Smash + Grab. We have put all our effort into doing something that has the "feel UFG '-. not only controls and action, but the colorful characters, interesting visual effects and off-beat sense of humor hope that gives Smash + Grab an opportunity and let us know what you think.

Videogame actors set to strike on Friday, union is "not confident" of a resolution

SAG-AFTRA, a union of US workers claiming 160,000 members, of which many of them work as actors in the video game industry, announced a strike in some of the largest developers in the world from Friday, October 21 This decision is the culmination of a dispute that has been ongoing for nearly two years.

Lots of new games have hit the strike. Check out our list of the best PC games of 2016 (so far).

Negotiations will continue throughout the first half of this week, but SAG-AFTRA said in its statement that "based on past experience, we are not managing trust is willing to make the necessary changes to this contract is up of our other agreements. "So it appears that the strike will continue. The companies targeted include Activision, Electronic Arts, Take Two Interactive, WB Games, Disney and Insomniac Games, among others.

The issues include SAG-AFTRA vocal stress, lack of stunt coordinators dangerous actions, and an alleged lack of transparency about what an actor can be asked later to being hired. In its bulletin strike, which you can read here, SAG-AFTRA gives a full account of their concerns, arguing that employers game continue to work under the terms "structured over twenty years ago." As the industry has matured since then, they have also made the rules of conduct of agents of video games, and the demands placed on them.

law firm Barnes & Thornburg represent the gaming industry in negotiations with SAG-AFTRA, and released a statement in response to the strike threat, considering it "hasty, unnecessary and an action that will only harm its members. " The lawyers argue that "SAG-AFTRA represents interpreters in less than 25% of video games on the market" - SAG-AFTRA is an American union (its acronym refers to the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, which it merged) - and say that developers simply turn the actors based outside the US ..

Therefore, it is unlikely that the development of the game will be significantly affected by the strike. SAG-AFTRA said "the support and cooperation of our sister unions worldwide to this effort, as evidenced by a resolution adopted by the International Federation of Actors (FIA)". However, the FIA ​​is a federation of unions, with over 90 member organizations. It is doubtful in the extreme that a simple statement of support for them will lead to an imitation of SAG-AFTRA strike by all members of its members, or Barnes & Thornburg would be more worried.

Making it in Unreal: Warhammer turns Mad Max turn-based in Dark Future: Blood Red States

There are more than a bit of Mad Max in Warhammer 40,000. In fact, scratch that: with comics 2000AD and early D & D, crazy old Mel forms the essential DNA of the future grimdark par excellence.

This is a close up on the fanatical zeal of the priesthood Empire, and the obsession with speed walleye ork boyz trukk riding - only a change pigment and a coward spelling away from the boys War Fury Road. But the influence of George Miller's workshop games has never shone through so clearly, like lighthouses in the dust, as in the dark future.

This was the last of a long line of attempts - beginning with Games Workshop co-founder Steve Jackson own Car Wars - to simulate the fuzzy-asphalt truck combat Mad Max. Dark future was based on the instincts of wonderful design Richard Halliwell, then only one year of the publication of Space Hulk and the introduction of the word "supervision" to the lexicon of science fiction game.

Since then, the adjustment has lived in the novels of Kim Newman on American wilderness shaken by an environmental catastrophe, where 0.1% companies and other decaying stay shanties live in closed communities. But it's getting on a bit; the dark future in question dared to imagine a vast 1995. Any modern update is a strong rewriting a game now out of print and half forgotten.

"I remember seeing an announcement that White Dwarf back in '88 and thought, 'That sounds good,'" recalls Thomas Rawlings digital Uro. "I always sat with me. Within canon material Games Workshop that is not as well known as Warhammer is, but as a fan and as a game designer, I am more driven by what I could see us doing something good with".

After Uro wrapped work on two faithful adaptations chainsaw Guerrero, they returned to the shop games with a pitch.

"What they were trying to do with the original board game to balance something like a simulation of physics - momentum, movement, speed and crashing - with a game system that is fluid and enjoyable," Rawlings said.

Working on the Unreal Engine 4, Uro have made the simulation more powerful and handed it to the computer - leaving the player to run the business of sticking to roll gangcult convoys with heavy machine guns mounted in the front.

At any time during a car chase that can change to command mode, freeze the action to deliver orders to move, shoot, RAM or changing lanes. It is tactical high speed, where you can time the collision of three vehicles to create a pincer movement steel shredded, or swerve a vehicle to avoid a destroyed enemy - now a piece of burning debris hurtling through the highway.

"What we have created is this strange but very satisfying mixture of a real-time system that interacts with like a turn-based game," said Rawlings. "It's working very, very well."

Thus, Uro have preserved the spirit and some of the statistics of Dark Future ". This idea that you are in charge of this group of road warriors that are as dangerous as people who are trying to catch"

His warriors are sanctioned OPS - bounty hunters hunt unleashed good for nothing wells in the desert largely lawless. As the head of your agency, you can collect rewards large enough to allow the bolt to larger weapons that their cars between battles, or maybe a new pair of bionic eyes for a pilot with the dubious goal.

In those bionic eyes: Blood Red States is supported by the Wellcome Trust, the charity of biomedical research with a long history (though unlikely) in game development. And the association has inspired some of the updates Auroch namely dark future. In its decision in the universe, the human genome was patented - which means that anyone can get wonderful updates to your body as long as you can afford and keep paying. Similarly, the bizarre and violent behavior of gangcults is explained by a microscopic organism real life, which corrodes the human brain - kindly suggested by scientists Trust consultants.

For all Uro renewed for 2016, however, there are a lot of Dark Future which proved horribly prophetic. Rawlings has often found himself thinking back to the original Games Workshop slogan: 'Too wild to be true and too close for comfort'.

"It's the idea of ​​becoming a significant celebrities [political] and the presidency and the government will become a sideshow," he says. "It's the idea of ​​reality shows being on steroids with brutal means of gladiators. It is the place where the functions of civil society have been excavated by corruption, money and influence to the point where they do not work for ordinary person . When it reads now there is a lot there that resonates with what has been and what is happening ".

Microsoft expects major game publishers to adopt Play Anywhere soon

Microsoft announced its Xbox play anywhere in the program at E3 2106 earlier this year, which allows players to buy an Xbox game play on any digital place and play on both Xbox One and Windows 10 PC at no additional cost .

So far only a few of the games themselves first of Microsoft, as Forza Horizon 3 and Gears of War 4 have been published using the system, but Microsoft, Phil Spencer thinks it's just a matter of time before other major publishers they are on board.

It is noted that developers and smaller indies were already on board, because "they understand that selling your game and get it out to as many people" was important, and felt that larger publishers were biding their time, saying :

"I would say some of the editors third largest traditional, they want to see how this works for us," he said. "There is always a fear that you're 'away two games for the price of one."

"Really what you're doing is you're just allowing the client and have to play your game more often. In today's world, participation in the games is more participation in the games, and is almost always a good thing, multiplayer dice and business models around those games. "

"I think the great editor of third adoption will happen in time."

Spencer is, of course, refers to the post-selling items such as DLC that you can make money after the initial sale of game revenue.

Windows 10 offers a potential much bigger than just the Xbox One, but companies like EA can also sell their games on Steam which is a network of PC games already set much loved by the players market.

In addition to paying only once on Xbox and PC however, play anywhere that also offers other advantages including the ability to continue where you left off on another Xbox One or Windows 10 PC and bring all your saves, Game Add-ons and achievements you.

'GTA 6' Release Date Confirmed For 2020 [VIDEO]; Why Is The Game Delayed?

Rockstar Games is still in play in the success of the current "GTA 5", and to the dismay of large fan base "GTA", the game developer does not seem too interested in revealing his plans for "GTA 6" release date.

"Grand Theft Auto 5" Rockstar focuses on two almost psychotic criminal and a young virtuoso. It is quite obvious that the game studio took a couple of years to launch the game on PC Master Race even with some unavoidable delays. After the release of the game in the Steam platform, which became a record breaking around 200,000 active players at the time of its release, he reported SteamCharts.


The success of "GTA 5" opened the way to the "GTA line" where players can immerse themselves in the open world together. Although both games were a success, Rockstar Games has already announced that they are not focusing on "GTA 6" release date at the time because the game developer wants to work in "GTA 5" and other updates.

Apart from this, rumors doing the rounds suggest that several million budget needed to revive the sequel is hampering the company. Which it has already cost a whopping $ 256 million to produce "GTA 5", which involves the "GTA 6" release date will depend on the size of the next budget.

Moreover, rumors are rife that "GTA 6" come with VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) support, NeuroGadget reported.

If this is proved to be true, "GTA" fans could be in a very long wait since it will take more than a few years to get a "GTA 6" final release date.

The usual release pattern for the game "GTA" is five years apart. If this trend continues Rockstar release, "GTA 6" should be released in 2018; However, some industry observers suggest that "GTA 6" could take two years before it finally reaches the store shelves. This means, the highly anticipated successor "GTA 5" could be released in 2020.

Logitech Showcase: take control of your games with the Orion Spectrum

Logitech showcase messages are created in collaboration with Logitech.

There are few things more frustrating in games that not being able to find the key you need, exactly when you need it, especially if you're playing a fast or MOBA RTS. These games often require a large amount of allocated through several key commands, and where the slightest delay in performance can mean the difference between death and glory.

It need not be the case, however. Add a Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum game to your arsenal and is equipped with an immediate advantage, no matter what you're playing. Built with games in mind, which comes packed with intelligent technology and customization options designed to help change things in their favor, and is available at a price that will not make your eyes water.

So if you have ever blown a game Dota 2 for not hitting the right key fast enough - or hit the wrong completely in the heat of battle - you'll love what the G810 can do with your lighting RGB intelligent driven by Logitech gaming software. It comes preloaded with over 300 profiles that cover all the best games, and everything that is playing will illuminate only the keys you need in the game, leaving the dark others so that it never stays on the hunt for the order you need.

It is fully customizable, so, so you can take things further by setting any desired key to any color you want, color codes made available so that there is never any doubt about what is about to unleash . And customization options do not end there.

We have accidentally pressed until the Windows key in the game at one time or another, and the G810 with Logitech Gaming Software can prevent it from happening again. When in game mode Windows key is automatically disabled, and any other key you choose, so you never have to worry about your fingers away starting point.

You can also use Logitech Gaming Software to assign custom macros 12 function keys on the G810 Orion Spectrum, putting complex combinations and devastating special moves at your fingertips. And with the G810, which can be lowered to 26 keys simultaneously and always get the results you want.

In addition to helping you nail the controls, the G810 also allows you to play better and longer thanks to their mechanical switches Romer-G. Designed for faster action than the standard Cherry MX switches that found in most mechanical keyboards, Romer-G switches have a stroke of only 1.5 mm, 2 mm against the standard and 3 mechanical switches, 5mm for cheap rubber domes will find in the average keyboard included.

The cover design key G810 keeps your fingers centered and activation edge enhancement strike keystrokes simple and reliable. And because the Romer-G requires only 45 g of pressure to actuate that will put less stress on each keystroke, enough to help you enjoy the game longer sessions with a minimum finger fatigue. You can be sure that the G810 will not release at a crucial moment. Its switches are tested by 70 million keystrokes, so that 40 percent more durable than its main competitor and ensures years of dependable operation.

If you are serious about your game, then you can not afford to be without the Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum, and ESL agrees, the G810 is adopted as its official gear. You know that one deserves.

Logitech showcase messages are created in collaboration with Logitech.

There are few things more frustrating in games that not being able to find the key you need, exactly when you need it, especially if you're playing a fast or MOBA RTS. These games often require a large amount of allocated through several key commands, and where the slightest delay in performance can mean the difference between death and glory.

It need not be the case, however. Add a Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum game to your arsenal and is equipped with an immediate advantage, no matter what you're playing. Built with games in mind, which comes packed with intelligent technology and customization options designed to help change things in their favor, and is available at a price that will not make your eyes water.

So if you have ever blown a game Dota 2 for not hitting the right key fast enough - or hit the wrong completely in the heat of battle - you'll love what the G810 can do with your lighting RGB intelligent driven by Logitech gaming software. It comes preloaded with over 300 profiles that cover all the best games, and everything that is playing will illuminate only the keys you need in the game, leaving the dark others so that it never stays on the hunt for the order you need.

It is fully customizable, so, so you can take things further by setting any desired key to any color you want, color codes made available so that there is never any doubt about what is about to unleash . And customization options do not end there.

We have accidentally pressed until the Windows key in the game at one time or another, and the G810 with Logitech Gaming Software can prevent it from happening again. When in game mode Windows key is automatically disabled, and any other key you choose, so you never have to worry about your fingers away starting point.

You can also use Logitech Gaming Software to assign custom macros 12 function keys on the G810 Orion Spectrum, putting complex combinations and devastating special moves at your fingertips. And with the G810, which can be lowered to 26 keys simultaneously and always get the results you want.

In addition to helping you nail the controls, the G810 also allows you to play better and longer thanks to their mechanical switches Romer-G. Designed for faster action than the standard Cherry MX switches that found in most mechanical keyboards, Romer-G switches have a stroke of only 1.5 mm, 2 mm against the standard and 3 mechanical switches, 5mm for cheap rubber domes will find in the average keyboard included.

The cover design key G810 keeps your fingers centered and activation edge enhancement strike keystrokes simple and reliable. And because the Romer-G requires only 45 g of pressure to actuate that will put less stress on each keystroke, enough to help you enjoy the game longer sessions with a minimum finger fatigue. You can be sure that the G810 will not release at a crucial moment. Its switches are tested by 70 million keystrokes, so that 40 percent more durable than its main competitor and ensures years of dependable operation.

If you are serious about your game, then you can not afford to be without the Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum, and ESL agrees, the G810 is adopted as its official gear. You know that one deserves.

Alienware Aurora proves not all prebuilt gaming PCs are awful

You have to hand it to Alienware. Although it bears the brunt of criticism player l33t from buying Dell in 2006, after all, machines Alienware have tended to resemble something book-sketch high school 12 years old, the company has plowed ahead, creating increasingly elegant desktop and laptop computers.

His last, squat tower, midsize called Aurora, is even more desirable Alienware machine. Taking cues from the company giant Area 51, the Aurora sports a form factor surprisingly compact, restricted (by Alienware at least) aesthetics, and a price that is not far from a self-construction. It even has a decent cooling performance.

For the first time in a long time, if a novice family game or PC-tech timid question whether or not a desktop Alienware worth, you can finally say yes.

Standing 472.52mm (18.6 inches) in height, a 360.5mm (14.19 inches) deep and 212 mm (8.35 inches) wide grouper, Alienware Aurora is smaller and wider than your average desktop game. That, given the trend towards smaller systems that are just at home in the living room, as they are in an office or bedroom, it is not a bad thing. In fact, this is probably the first Alienware could be placed in a living room, the view, and not get cold, hard ashamed of a loved one.

That is partly thanks to the flat front panel of the Aurora, which was finished in a matt black plastic top resistant up with a piano black grille below nonthreatening. Older models were somehow much more curves and more angular way once, which led to some questionable aesthetics. That said, there is still light up, RGB LED alien-head power switch, but you can disable if you prefer a more subdued look.

Specs at a glance: Alienware Aurora
	Lowest	Best	As reviewed
OS	Windows 10 Home 64-bit
CPU	6th Generation Intel Core i3-6100 (Dual-core, 3.7GHz, 3MB cache)	6th Generation Intel Core i7-6700K (Quad-core, 4.0GHz, 8MB cache)	6th Generation Intel Core i7-6700K (Quad-core, 4.0GHz, 8MB cache)
RAM	8GB DDR4 2,133MHz (4GBx2)	16GB 2,133MHz DDR4 (2x8GB)	16GB 2,133MHz DDR4 (2x8GB)
GPU	Nvidia GTX 950 2GB	Nvidia GTX 1080 8GB Founders Edition	Nvidia GTX 1080 8GB Founders Edition
HDD	1TB (64MB Cache) 7,200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s	1TB (64MB Cache) 7,200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s	256GB Toshiba M.2 NVMe SSD, 1TB (64MB Cache) 7,200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s
PSU/Cooling	460W PSU and air cooler	850W modular PSU and liquid cooler	850W modular PSU and liquid cooler
NETWORKING	RJ-45 Killer Networks e2400 Ethernet, Intel 3165 1x1 802.11ac Wi-Fi Wireless LAN, Bluetooth 4.2
PORTS	7 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-A, 1 x USB-3.1 Type-C, 6 x USB 2.0, 4 x DisplayPort, HDMI, optical out, headphone jack, microphone jack, 7.1 surround sound out
SIZE	Height: 472.52mm (18.6 inches), depth: 360.5mm (14.19 inches), width: 212mm (8.35 inches)
WEIGHT	Average weight 14kg (30lbs)
WARRANTY	One year premium support with Onsite
NOTE	Dell's prices can vary wildly thanks to its "instant savings." The prices below include VAT.
PRICE	£699 ($799)	£1,679 ($1,949)	£1,789 ($2,179)

The Aurora has a unique look that quickly grows on you. [That's the Ars UK office, by the way -Ed.] The ignition switch Alienware head lights but the lighting can be turned off. On the front panel are four USB and headphone and microphone jacks. The feet of the Aurora. The other side of the Aurora has vents for the graphics card. rear IO of the Aurora, which includes a lot of USB jacks.

The sleeker styling continues with the side panels, which have a smooth finish and gray, and the same light bars LED tri-appearing across the range of Alienware. The panels are not flat, and actually bow outward from the front panel somewhere, but look good, carefully avoiding the effect of swelling that many cases of PC sufferers with a similar design. The left panel also has air intakes for the (s) graphics card inside.

The top of the Aurora has the same bright as the front grill and an exhaust fan 120 mm. If you opt for the cooling solution all-in-one liquid, radiator stands here along with the fan. The asymmetrical top panel also has a useful handle transport, which makes carrying around the Aurora LAN parties (still a thing, right?) Much easier. And with an average weight of 14 kg (32lbs), depending on the configuration, it is almost possible to lift with one hand as well.

Unfortunately, the reasonable weight comes at the expense of building materials: the entire exterior of the Aurora case is made of plastic. It's a good, solid, plastic, quality, but when there are so many other desktop high-end are being built with quality materials like aluminum and glass, plastic is a disappointment. In fact, when removed, the side panels make that awful hole, jingling sound so reminiscent of pre-built PC from the 90's.

Yes, it is upgradable

At least the side panels are easy to remove. While the Aurora could be a PC game off-the-shelf, Alienware has made it easy to enter. On the back of the box it is a plastic handle that, when pulled, ejects the side panel revealing a tight airy interior and a unique design. Where most PCs have a top- or lower power supply assembly, Aurora saves space by placing the power supply above the motherboard. Right next to the lever side panel are two sliding switches that open the power supply, allowing them to move up and out of the case, the cables still attached.

This gives you unrestricted access to the CPU-cooler and socket, memory slots (there are four, with two populated by default), and PCIe slots. There is room for two full-length graphics cards, although the use of two means providing access to one of the smaller slots 4X. There is a slot for M.2 PCIe based storage NVMe as a Samsung 960 Pro, two sleds without tools standard 2.5-inch SSD drives, and a single slot 3.5-inch hard drive, which is located just below the power supply. These should provide sufficient storage options for most users, although not a great setup for anyone who wants to store large amounts of data.

Pull the lever and the side panel is triggered. The power supply is uniquely mounted above the motherboard. It sits on a hinge that turns, which gives you access to all internal components. With the graphics card can access the M.2 slot and SATA sockets. RAM, GPU, and memory M.2 SSD removed. The power supply flip-out in all its splendor. Another look inside. This particular system comes with a cooling system all-in-one liquid. The SSD and RAM that Aurora uses.

The only thing you can not do is replace the motherboard. It is standard fare Dell owner, although it seems near Micro ATX size with little in the way of easy access. Cable management is good, but with wires tied tightly into position along the sides of the box bare steel. This particular configuration comes with a modular power supply of 850W, but Alienware pre-wire any additional cable you might need in their respective positions. There are pieces of SATA power connectors near the bays of 2.5 inches, for example, and there is an additional PCIe power connector, if you want to add another graphics card.

With a configuration of this unique type, you might be wondering how the airflow is in charge of Aurora. The good news is that despite the location of the power supply, we had no problem strangulation. 120 mm fan on the front pulls in fresh air, with the radiator and fan upper mounting evacuate air out of the box. Meanwhile, the card (like the blower) graphics sucks fresh air grilles on the side panel. There is no removable fan filter on the grid, which means you have to carry all the side panel around in order to clean the dust. I also wonder how well the Aurora would with an air cooler (as offered in certain configurations) instead of all in one. I suspect overclocking would be out of the question.