eDirectories - Technology Weblog » PC

News about PC Gaming Reviews issue #7

TK — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 16:57:42 +0000

PC release date for ‘Batman: Arkham City’ announced for late November – Video Game Writers – videogamewriters.com

10/18/2011

Video Game WritersPC release date for ‘Batman: Arkham City’ announced for late NovemberVideo Game Writers… you’ve been paying any amount of attention to the game industry, you know that more…

Alienware M11x R3 review – PC Advisor – pcadvisor.co.uk

10/18/2011

Alienware M11x R3 reviewPC AdvisorThis small sturdy looking ultraportable is supposed to be aimed at gamers who want to be able to game on the move: so let’s see whether this laptop brings its A-g more…

Game review: Rage – PS3 – Bexley Times – bromleytimes.co.uk

10/18/2011

Bexley TimesGame review: Rage – PS3Bexley TimesTo cut a long story short the result is still brilliant but it lags behind its XBOX and PC equivalent, literally. There is a noticeable pause whenever yo more…

This Week In Video Game Criticism: Shameful Joys To Start Screens – Gamasutra – gamasutra.com

10/18/2011

GamasutraThis Week In Video Game Criticism: Shameful Joys To Start ScreensGamasutraHello and welcome to #OccupyTWIVGC, where we’re interested in the best and brightest alternatives to the video ga more…

PlayStation 3 Review: Rage (blog) – blogcritics.org

10/18/2011

PlayStation 3 Review: RageBlogcritics.org (blog)In 1993, id Software launched a game entitled Doom. It was a revolutionary title, one which not only paved the way for all of the third-dimensional firs more…

Yapster Blaster Headset Review (Xbox 360 / PC) – Platform Nation – platformnation.com

10/18/2011

Platform NationYapster Blaster Headset Review (Xbox 360 / PC)Platform NationI will finish this review the same way I started it: if you have been in the market for a headphone/microphone combo for a d more…

PC Game Review: Defenders of Ardania (blog) – blogcritics.org

10/18/2011

PC Game Review: Defenders of ArdaniaBlogcritics.org (blog)This adds a whole new level of strategy to the game, as you have to place your towers quickly to get strategically important tower locations b more…

CM Storm Xornet Optical Gaming Mouse – Benchmark Reviews – benchmarkreviews.com

10/18/2011

CM Storm Xornet Optical Gaming MouseBenchmark ReviewsWhen it comes to PC gaming, precision control begins with the mouse. You can have the best computer and display, but without a durable pointing dev more…

Game review: Rage – techday.co.nz

10/18/2011

TechDay.co.nzGame review: RageTechDay.co.nzThe PC version is another story, and even though I have not been exposed to it, I understand that it has been beset by issues, bugs relating to graphics card more…

PC Game Review: Rage (blog) – blogcritics.org

10/17/2011

PC Game Review: RageBlogcritics.org (blog)As with many such releases quite a few pre-release reviews touted the game as something uber-special, while the truth is something slightly less. If you can g more…

RSSdoodle by The Lessnau Lounge. Results provided by Google News.

News about PC Gaming Reviews issue #4

TK — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 03:44:10 +0000

Corsair HS1 USB Gaming Headset Review – Hard OCP – hardocp.com

10/13/2010

Hard OCPCorsair HS1 USB Gaming Headset ReviewHard OCPCorsair has created its first entry into the PC gaming headset market. PC gamers demand stylish, durable, and reliable sound products. … more…

Ripten Review: Nvidia GeForce GTS 450 – RipTen – ripten.com

10/13/2010

RipTenRipten Review: Nvidia GeForce GTS 450RipTenWhen the high end 400 series of Nvidia GPU’s (460-480) were released earlier this year, they were received with unanimous praise by the PC gaming c more…

‘Game Dev Story’ Review – Create Your Own Game Company – Touch Arcade – toucharcade.com

10/12/2010

Touch Arcade’Game Dev Story’ Review – Create Your Own Game CompanyTouch ArcadeFinaly this kind of game for my ipod… i have played GameBiz 1 & 2 for PC, and GameBiz 3 is just around the more…

Review Roundup: ‘Medal of Honor’ Not So Controversial After All – AOL News – aolnews.com

10/12/2010

Globe and MailReview Roundup: ‘Medal of Honor’ Not So Controversial After AllAOL NewsThe early reviews are in, and it’s a mixed bag. Critics are divided on the quality of the game-play, bu more…

PC Review Final Fantasy XIV – play.tm

10/12/2010

Product ReviewsPC Review Final Fantasy XIVPlay.tmTwo weeks after its release, you’re opening yourself up to a tirade of complaints that you reviewed the game too early on to be accurate. …Final more…

Game review: Worms Reloaded – PC – Wimbledon Guardian – wimbledonguardian.co.uk

10/12/2010

Game review: Worms Reloaded – PCWimbledon GuardianSo it’s apt that the series has returned to its natural home on the PC in its natural presentation, good ol’ flat 2D. If you are not familiar more…

Game review: Worms Reloaded – PC – Your Local Guardian – yourlocalguardian.co.uk

10/12/2010

Game review: Worms Reloaded – PCYour Local GuardianIt’s essentially a turn-based strategy game in which you control a squad of worms equipped with all sorts of high-tech wizardry and the latest th more…

Medal of Honor Review 2010: Roundup on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC – Product Reviews – product-reviews.net

10/12/2010

GamepurMedal of Honor Review 2010: Roundup on Xbox 360, PS3 and PCProduct ReviewsYou’ll be pleased to know that review scores for the game are generally good, although there are a few surprises fo more…

Mafia II Review (PC) – GamersDailyNews – gamersdailynews.com

10/12/2010

GamersDailyNewsMafia II Review (PC)GamersDailyNewsIt has its moments when you are pulled into the game, but also times when you’re bored. The game starts quite fast, but then on a straight line wi more…

Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale Review (PC) – GamersDailyNews – gamersdailynews.com

10/12/2010

GamersDailyNewsRecettear: An Item Shop’s Tale Review (PC)GamersDailyNewsIt start off slow by necessity; while the game’s controls and operations are simple, there are a lot of concepts to take more…

RSSdoodle by The Lessnau Lounge. Results provided by Google News.

News about PC Gaming Reviews issue #3

TK — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 03:43:44 +0000

New York Comic Con 2010: Guild Wars 2 (PC) Video Game Preview – TMR Zoo – tmrzoo.com

10/12/2010

TMR ZooNew York Comic Con 2010: Guild Wars 2 (PC) Video Game PreviewTMR Zoo… Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems. Jonah provides his readers with reviews, previews and up to date gaming in more…

Final Fantasy XIV Online Review – Gamespy.com – pc.gamespy.com

10/11/2010

Product ReviewsFinal Fantasy XIV Online ReviewGamespy.comWorst user interface in a PC game since 1998; every aspect of game unnecessarily convoluted; feels like a free-to-play MMO in …Final Fantasy more…

Review: ‘Return to Mysterious Island’ – USA Today – content.usatoday.com

10/11/2010

USA TodayReview: ‘Return to Mysterious Island’USA TodayThe tablet version features enhanced graphics, new content and tweaked controls over its iPhone predecessor, more closely resembling the more…

Hands-on With the Windows Phone 7′s Gaming Features – PC World – pcworld.com

10/11/2010

CBC.caHands-on With the Windows Phone 7′s Gaming FeaturesPC WorldBoost your PC performance & speed with the world’s most popular registry cleaner. FREE Error Scan! ThinkPad W701ds Aimed at more…

Game Guys review: FIFA 11 – news10.net

10/11/2010

Game Guys review: FIFA 11News10.netThen again, if it wasn’t being played on a mid-level Toshiba Satellite laptop PC this game might have achieved the level of ‘very good’ rather than just more…

Left 4 Dead 2: The Sacrifice Xbox 360 review – Adrenaline Vault – avault.com

10/11/2010

Left 4 Dead 2: The Sacrifice Xbox 360 reviewAdrenaline VaultThe Sacrifice offers more of the same (in a positive way), by letting players experience the events after the ending of the first Left 4 Dea more…

Galaxy GeForce GT 430 1GB Review – NVIDIA moves Fermi to HTPC – PC Perspectives – pcper.com

10/11/2010

HardwareHeaven.comGalaxy GeForce GT 430 1GB Review – NVIDIA moves Fermi to HTPCPC PerspectivesThis GPU offering from NVIDIA is obviously not going to be a great card for those of you that want a PC ga more…

Medal of Honor review posted – World-Gaming Network – world-gaming.com

10/11/2010

ShutterVoiceMedal of Honor review postedWorld-Gaming NetworkMedal of Honor comes out of PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 tomorrow and I’m sure many of you are wondering how the game ranks. Well, CVG more…

ASUS ENGT430 Review – Overclockers Club – overclockersclub.com

10/11/2010

ASUS ENGT430 ReviewOverclockers ClubNot everyone has an up-to-date, flavor of the week gaming rig. In fact, when you compare the amount of gaming rigs to those used on a daily basis for … more…

ASUS GeForce GT 430 Fermi GF108 Video Card – Benchmark Reviews – benchmarkreviews.com

10/11/2010

ASUS GeForce GT 430 Fermi GF108 Video CardBenchmark ReviewsWhile PC gaming is still strong and growing, a new force is beginning to shape the PC market. Televisions and Monitors boasting 120Hz refresh more…

RSSdoodle by The Lessnau Lounge. Results provided by Google News.

News about PC Gaming Reviews issue #1

TK — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:43:07 +0000

Xbox 360 Review – 'Darkstar One: Broken Alliance' – worthplaying.com

07/21/2010

Xbox 360 Review – 'Darkstar One: Broken Alliance'WorthPlaying.comIf you've played the original PC game, you've already played this version and shouldn't expect anything new from it more…

PC Review: Sam and Max Episode 4: Beyond The Alley of the Dolls – vg-reloaded.com

07/21/2010

Electronic TheatrePC Review: Sam and Max Episode 4: Beyond The Alley of the DollsVG-Reloaded.comAt the end of “They Stole Max's Brain”, the museum was attacked by a hoard of half-naked Sam clo more…

Is Windows Phone 7 really a "disaster?" – networkworld.com

07/21/2010

msnbc.comIs Windows Phone 7 really a "disaster?"NetworkWorld.comMicrosoft should kill it before it ships and admit that it's out of the mobile game for good. It is supposed to ship aroun more…

Casual games growing at a not-so-casual pace – msnbc.com – msnbc.msn.com

07/21/2010

msnbc.comCasual games growing at a not-so-casual pacemsnbc.comHe shared a statistic from research firm DFC Intelligence that put the number of casual PC gamers at 340 million monthly unique users toda more…

OnLive's cloud-based game service saves on equipment costs – Merced Sun-Star – mercedsunstar.com

07/21/2010

OnLive's cloud-based game service saves on equipment costsMerced Sun-StarBut OnLive is still a work in progress and comes up short in several areas when compared with console or PC gaming. Most no more…

Reader Review: Deathspank – Kotaku Australia – kotaku.com.au

07/21/2010

Reader Review: DeathspankKotaku AustraliaYes, that's right, we're now publishing reader reviews here on Kotaku. This is your chance to deliver sensible game purchasing advice to the rest of th more…

DarkStar One: Broken Alliance Review – IGN – xbox360.ign.com

07/20/2010

DarkStar One: Broken Alliance ReviewIGNDarkStar One was an entertaining, if largely repetitive, PC game that released in 2006. Fast forward four years to 2010 and the game is …and more » more…

GamePro's September cover is Alice: Madness Returns – gamepro.com

07/20/2010

GamePro.comGamePro's September cover is Alice: Madness ReturnsGamePro.comGamePro learned about the game's development by traveling thousands of miles to Shanghai to visit the team at Spicy Hor more…

Sam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse – Ep.4: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls … – Platform Nation – platformnation.com

07/20/2010

Platform NationSam & Max: The Devil's Playhouse – Ep.4: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls …Platform NationIt has to be said that even though the review PC used for reviewing is a high end mac more…

RSSdoodle by The Lessnau Lounge. Results provided by Google News.

Surf the Web In-Game

TK — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:20:38 +0000

With PLAYXPERT, created by former Xfire users, you can download a variety of widgets that work seamlessly with the games that are supported. The widgets include a web browser, TeamSpeak, Diagnostics Tool and more. They even have a Twitter widget in case you want to brag to the world about how many frags you’re getting!

Winamp Surround Sound 5.1 Speaker Plugin

TK — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:23:50 +0000

With the VL Sound 5.1 Winamp plug-in for Windows 7 and Vista you can get your surround sound 5.1 speaker setup working perfectly. All the other plug-ins I tried made the sound terrible, or you had to pay for them. This is completely free and actually makes the sound BETTER. Don’t waste your time with the others. VL Sound 5.1

Convert animated GIF to animated PNG

TK — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:54:19 +0000

Here is a quote directly from their website:

gif2apng is a simple command-line program that converts GIF animations into Animated PNG format. It disproves the common misconception that APNG files must be huge, as it actually creates APNG files smaller than the original GIF files. The program is very easy to use.

Simply drag and drop the desired .gif ‘onto’ the .exe and it will automatically convert the file into the same directory.

Easy Upgrade to Adobe Air 2.0 Beta

TK — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:41:11 +0000

With the release of Adobe Air 2.0 beta, you can easily upgrade to the latest version without a lot of hassle. All you have to do is download the installer and it will update your current version to 2.0. Here’s a list of new features, aimed a lot towards the developers but still focusing on the end user…

Support for the detection of mass storage devices.
Advanced networking capabilities like secure sockets, UDP support, and the ability to listen on sockets.
Support for native code integration.
The ability to open a file with its default application.
Multi-touch and gesture support.
New APIs for access to raw microphone data.
Webkit update with HTML5/CSS3 support.
Global error handling.
Improved cross-platform printing
Improved security and support for enterprise and government standards.

Most everyday Windows users should probably download the Windows Runtime .exe found on this page: http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/air2.html – For MAC and Linux users, here’s some installation help.

EVGA GeForce 9500 GT – Mini Review

TK — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 03:13:47 +0000

I just bought the EVGA GeForce 9500 GT video card from Amazon and so far I’m quite impressed. For a budget video card it is quite capable of running many of the newer games, even if they do have to be set on low to medium settings [Keep in mind, this is all based on when the game was made and how graphically-detailed it was made to be]. I got it for $65 with free shipping, so you can’t beat that. I’m playing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Fallout 3 without a problem what so ever. My temperatures seem to be keeping cool, and I haven’t had to adjust fan speeds. This is a great card if you don’t want to spend a lot but are looking to play some of the newer games.

Product Features

PCI Express 2.0 Support
GeForce 9500 GT with 550MHz clock
512MB 256 bit 0.8ns GDDR2 memory
800 MHz clock with 1600 MHz effective memory rate
Full DirectX 10 and OpenGL 2.1 support

Technical Details

GPU/VPU: NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT
RAMDAC: 400 MHz
Maximum Resolution: 2560 x 1600 (Digital)
Video Memory: 512MB
Memory Type: DDR2
Memory Interface: 128-bit
Stream Processors: 32
Core Clock: 550 MHz
Memory Clock: 1000 MHz
Shader Clock: 1400 MHz

This is definitely not a card for hardcore gamers (unless you decide to run 2 at a time), but it’s also enough for mid-level gamers to enjoy some decent graphics at a great price. Plus you can watch HD quality movies on your PC or HDTV. It will eventually be put into my media/game entertainment station.

Update: Call of Duty: World at War works with this card, but I couldn’t keep the resolution too high.

Crysis works as well, but the Optimal Settings are set as Low. It will run higher for sure, but will depend on your CPU for performance. If you have a dual-core or better, you could run Medium/High settings no problem.