Razer Imperator Review

 

The Razer Abyssus was a solid gaming mouse but now, I’ve tried the Razer Imperator, and I can say this mouse is a very nice mouse. In fact it  remedies many of the minor niggles I had with the Abyssus. Please bear in mind that the Imperator is a USD$80 mouse(about RM260ish) and is off a different class from the Abyssus.

 

The first thing I noticed when I opened the box was that the imperator was a much larger mouse. Carrying it on my hand, it felt a lot more heavier(has a bit of weight) than the Abyssus, which is how I like my mice. The design looks sleek and attractive. Good first impression.

 

 

I personally don’t like ergonomic design(ergonomic design of any mouse for that matter). It looks good, but it forced me to hold the mouse the way it wants to be held(it’s not as bad as some other mice). But after 2 weeks, I can say that I’ve got used to it. The top half of the mouse is ruberised giving you excellent grip. Perfectly fine and comfortable once you get used to it.

 

The Imperator doesn’t have a wonky mouse wheel unlike cheaper mice. The mouse wheel on the Imperator is well built and lasts. No squeaky noise on this mice. In fact the entire mouse is quite well built except for the side mouse button 4 and 5. It’s a thin button that doesn’t quite feel sturdy like other mice buttons(as well as their older Razer mice).

 

 

However the thinness of the button has its advantages as well. The positioning of these buttons, just above your thumb makes it impossible to accidently click these button. Pretty smart. On top of that, these button can be adjusted to be more to the front or back(the mouse has an adjustable button below it).

 

Adjusting DPI on the Imperator is a lot more on the fly. The DPI adjustment button are located on top(I’ve been using it for a long time and you can’t accidently press these buttons), just behind the mouse wheel. Two buttons, one to increase the DPI and another to decrease it. The Razer Imperator has what Razer calls Synapse(on board memory) that allows users to customise their sensitivy settings. The Imperator allows you to customise five different sensitivy settings(using the DPI adjustment buttons you can change) using the drivers available on their website.

 

 

I liked the way DPI settings can be changed on the Imperator as it was very convenient when I needed to make smaller mouse movement for 3D design work, I could change it with ease. The technical aspect of the Razer Imperator is highly impressive. Specifications below(click on image to view bigger image):

 

 

What’s not listed in the specification is the lift off height of the Imperator. For the uninitiated, that's the height the mouse can be lifted up before the sensors stop accepting mouse inputs. This allows users to use the mouse by lifting it(so you don’t need to make big sweeping movements).

 

 

The shorter the height the better. The  Imperator’s lift off height is very good. You could lift the mouse like a regular mouse without worrying about the cursor moving due to the sensor picking up movement when the mouse if lifted. I was very impressed by this. 

 

 

The Razer Imperator does its highly impressive technical spec justice. The level of customisation and quality offered in this package is amazing. The only down side to the offering is the thin side buttons does not quite feel like it’s up to the level of build the rest of the mouse is.

 

 

Pros:

• Has a bit more weight
• Ergonomic design(for right hander)
• Conveniently placed 4th and 5th mouse button
• 4th and 5th button can be readjusted
• High sensitivity(up to 5600dpi)
• On the fly dpi adjustments much easier.
• You can customize different levels of dpi to move up or down
• Very low lift off height = great for those that want to move their mouse by lifting it

Cons:

• Mouse button 4 and 5 doesn’t feel very solid. It’s a little thin.
• If you are used to non ergonomic designed mouse, may take a while to get used to this. Designed for right hander's.
• If you like the Razer symbol to be illuminated all the time, the new breathing effect may not tickle your fancy much

 

Rating: 8/10

 

MSRP: USD$79.99

 

Left 4 Dead 2 Review

 

Surprise, surprise! A new Left 4 Dead sequel developed in a year. Valve surprised many by announcing Left 4 Dead 2 at E3 this year(including myself). Sceptics questioned Valve’s move to make a sequel, but they(Valve) were adamant that the changes in Left 4 Dead 2 are big, significant changes and that are too big to be an update for Left 4 Dead. So are they?

 

In short, they are, but the changes are a subtle. But put them altogether and what you get is a more refined Left 4 Dead experience then the first ever was. In terms of content, Left 4 Dead 2 has 5 campaigns(all five playable in versus), the survival mode from the first game, versus, a more realistic realism mode(no revivals and no outlines over objects) and a much needed new competitive multiplayer mode called scavenge.

 

 

The new campaigns take you through five, unique levels that also introduce new infected types(from the mudmen in the swamps to zombie clowns in dark carnival) and a new gameplay twist in each of them. The campaigns have a  story continuation to them but really you’ll only take notice the first time you play them through.

 

These campaigns have some very interesting situation that are very creative and unforgettable. From Dark Carnivals concert stage finale to the Sugar Cane factory on Hard rain that somehow attracts witches(you need to tread carefully in there). The design of the levels are a major improvement from the very solid Left 4 Dead(although some levels are rather easy to get lost in, you need to keep a closer eye on the lighting of the map).

 

 

The introduction of new special infected types are game changers as their main goal is to defeat the often use tactic of survivor teams holding up in tightly enclosed rooms. The spitter spits a corrosive blob of acid that exponentially damages anyone that stands(or is incapacitated) on it. The fastest way to get a camped survivor team jumping out of their camped spot is using the spitter.

 

The charger is a big special infected with a giant hand that is used to pummel survivors. On top of that, the charger can charge at a survivors. Whoever becomes the victim of the chargers charge will be continuously pummeled to the ground until someone kills it. The charger is  unaffected by being meleed(melee weapons work though).

 

 

The jockey is a more stealthy little fella. Always stalking the survivors and jumping on a straggler, he is often used to spread one survivor from the group. The jockey will also often ride a survivor into danger such as into a witch or falling of a ledge. This new trio will require survivors to adapt to the game and be more quick on their feet. Without a doubt, Left 4 Dead 2 is a more challenging game due to this.

 

You’ll have to develop new strategies(and skills) to tame many of its challenges. You however get new help in the form of melee weapons. These make a huge difference in this game as often times you just need to cut your way past zombies as that's the most efficient way of getting through a gauntlet event(a new event where you need to hit a switch to stop the zombies from constantly spawning).

 

 

There’s also new items such as the boomer bile jar(a bottle full of the boomer puke) and adrenaline shots. Boomer bile jars allow you to make the zombies focus on the target you threw it to(you can make zombies fight each other this way). Adrenaline shots are very important in gauntlet events as they make you run faster and not slow down as much when hit by a zombie.

 

Apart from the campaign, versus(for all 5 campaigns), realism mode and survival mode, scavenge is an extremely fun and frantic gameplay mode that is perhaps the secret weapon in Left 4 Dead 2. One of the major problems with the first Left 4 Dead  was that the extremely fun(and infuriating at times) versus mode was too long(double the time of a coop campaign). It could take anywhere between 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours.

 

 

Scavenge mode removes the level to level campaigns, for a single small level(like survival mode) and pits the survivors against the infected. The objective is to pick gas cans littered around the level to fill up a generator. For each gas can you fill up, you add another 30 seconds(there is a timers that counts down). When the timer reaches zero, or you’ve filled up all gas cans, it’s game over and the other team becomes survivors and try to beat your score. This leads to a fast paced game that doesn’t trudge around like a regular versus match.

 

A best of 3 scavenge match can last about 30 minutes which is the perfect magical number for competitive games. I personally think scavenge will give Left 4 Dead 2 the legs that many people feel Left 4 Dead didn’t have. The replay value is much greater because of this.

 

 

Left 4 Dead 2 is a great achievement for Valve. The fact that they built this game in a years time is a huge departure from the Valve we know. And the level of quality and content in this game is astonishing. All it took was one year. Sure it is building upon Left 4 Dead, but nevertheless, Left 4 Dead 2 is polished, exciting, fun, frantic and everything what a Left 4 Dead 2 sequel should be.

 

Pros:

• A bigger game than Left 4 Dead
• A refined improvement of gameplay
• Hard Rains AI Director is really impressive with its dynamic weather(controls storms).
• New physics and limb animation system = decapitation!
• Awesome finales

 

Cons:

• Definitely a more difficult game. Might frustrate those that want a casual experience.

 

Rating:  9/10

 

Price: RM138

The Software Boutique

Steam

Dragon Age: Origins Review

This was the game I’ve been anticipating this year and now that it’s out, I’ve been playing it for a couple of weeks now. They called it the spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate and in anticipation for this game, I even played through Baldur’s Gate II and it’s expansion(yes I’m that hardcore :P). So how does it live up to the classic Baldur’s Gate?

Quite well I would say. To be completely fair, Dragon Age is it’s own beast. It does go back to the much more tactical combat that the Baldur’s Gate series was known for while improving a lot of little minor gripes about the old Bioware games.

Dragon Age: Origins takes place in the fantasy world of Ferelden(an original Bioware creation). There are the usual humans, elves, dwarves and yes Dragons. The land is besieged with conflict as the Dark Spawn(evil creatures that originate from the underground) have been growing its forces and spreading on land.

All these may sound typical fantasy fiction fare but Bioware has made Dragon Age more darker and there are a lot of unexpected turn of events that will shock and surprise you. Expect the unexpected in Dragon Age. This is a long, epic, old school RPG.

You start with a choice of selecting your main character, your origin as they say. Different races will get their own prologue story(an origin story that you play) and you will get many situations that may have new options opened to you that are different if you played a different race or class.

You have the born with a silver spoon human nobles, poverty stricken city elves, isolationist Dalish elves, impoverished Dwarven commoner and conflict ridden Dwarven noble origin stories. All completely different in how they play out and your entire game will differ based on this starting choice.

I cannot stress just how many different branching paths you can take with the story in Dragon Age. You’d probably find other players having taken completely different solutions to quests that you never knew you could do it that way. There are tonnes of dialogue in this game and the writing is very good. A lot of funny and quite disturbing plots in the game main story and side quests.

Aside from the story and dialogues, you will also spend a lot of your time in Dragon Age in combat. Bioware has moved away from the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons rules and crafted their own ruleset for Dragon Age. You may find that they might have dropped certain aspect you might have liked from their older fantasy games(like day night cycles, spell memorizations, resting and a couple more mechanics) but everything was done to make the game flow better and keep you focused on the core aspects of the game(combat and story).

One of the biggest pains in their older games were the inventory system. You’ll be glad to find that items do not have a weight to them any longer and there is a unified inventory space for all your characters. However you’d find the 70 slot quickly filled up as you progress in the game. Sadly, you can’t drop items(you need to destroy them to make space in the inventory). You will have the opportunity to upgrade your inventory space(by increments of 10) from certain traders. You could also download a helpful treasure chest mod that will give a chest to store items in your main party camp.

Combat is an absolute blast in Dragon Age . With the ability to zoom out and view the battle field in an isometric/top down view, you'd be able to pause the game and plan your attacks efficiently. In fact, you WILL have to do this if you want to get past some of the tougher battles(and there are plenty of tough battles).

Magic uses a mana based system now and they regenerate out of combat (removing the need to rest). Party members that fall in combat are not permanently dead. They resurrect automatically after combat is ended and get an injury status. These injuries give a negative effect on your stats until an injury kit is used or you go to your party encampment.

A major addition now to Dragon Age is the ability to gain bonus damage for flanks or rear attacks. At last, a staple of strategy games is brought to an RPG game. Of course rogues have better ability to do this and get an added damage bonus for backstabs. In lieu of this, you also need to keep an eye on your parties rear and flanks since you’ll be outnumbered most of the time.

You can start as a mage, warrior or rogue and specialise into sub classes when you hit level 7 and 14(giving you the option to make your favourite classic class like Ranger, Assassin, Arcane Warrior and many more). You have to keep in mind that you won’t be able to pick locks without a rogue with the lock picking skill. Dragon Age removes the lock bashing ability of fighters and mages lock removing spells. You will get a rogue in game not too far in so don’t worry if you’re not able to open locks in the beginning.

You can only bring along four party members(all the NPC’s recruited will stay at your party camp but you can only bring 4 along) which is a pity since they are all well voiced and interesting. Just like in Baldur’s Gate, some of the best moments in game were playing through their specific quests and bonding with them(you learn their story).

Dragon Age is the best PC game this year(I’ll release my list later this month)! It’s epic, memorable, and has an insane amount of replayability. It just goes to show that an old school fantasy based RPG can still be successful and be a deep RPG game(without the need of oversimplifying things). Dragon Age is a great homage to traditional RPG gamers and we salute Bioware for a job well done! You’ll be playing this one for a long, long time.

PS : Bioware’s also released the development toolkit for Dragon Age. So you can expect a lot of user made content and modules(as well as Bioware made DLC’s) just like NeverWinter Nights did.

Pros:

• Great story
• Extremely long
• Very replayable
• A lot of strategic and tactical battles
• Memorable characters
• Very polished game with hardly any game ending bug
• It's hard to come by a game of such scale these days

Cons:

• Graphics aren't the sharpest when compared to other triple AAA games(but good considering the scope it offers)
• You still run out of inventory space for your party which is irritating

Rating : 9/10

Price : RM138

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Steam

Command & Conquer 4 Mission Walkthrough Video

 

Gametrailers has posted up a new trailer that showcases a single player mission. It’s a good walkthrough that gives you a glimpse of new units and how the world has turned hostile. C&C 4 is planned for release on March 16th 2010. Video below:

 

Video Games | Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight | UK GDI Transport Down Walkthrough

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Left 4 Dead 2 DLC Announced!

Valve announced their very first DLC for Left 4 Dead 2 called ‘The Passing’. This DLC is said to include new multiplayer game modes and a new campaign(right after Dead Center) that sees the L4D2 crew meeting with the L4D crew(yes Francis, Zoey, Bill, and Louis is back). Set for release in early 2010, a price has not been announced yet. It is speculated that the XBOX360 version will have a price point and hopefully the PC DLC’s will remain free.

Press release:

"The Passing" Brings L4D1 Survivors Down South

December 14, 2009 - Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life, Portal, Team Fortress, and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced the first game add-on for its co-operative zombie thriller, Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2), is in development and targeted for release in early 2010.

Dubbed "The Passing," the first game add-on for L4D2 brings the original Left 4 Dead (L4D1) Survivors down south for a meeting with the L4D2 cast, while delivering new single-player, multiplayer and co-operative gameplay for the PC and Xbox 360.

Targeted for release in early spring, "The Passing" takes place just after the Dead Center campaign of L4D2. Set in a small town in rural Georgia, players assume the role of the L4D2 Survivors as they meet with the L4D1 characters.

In addition to the new co-operative campaign and associated narrative, "The Passing" will include new arenas for Survival, Versus and Scavenge mode and introduce a new co-operative challenge mode of play. The Passing will also include a new "uncommon common" zombie class, melee weapon, and firearm.

"The Passing will become the most important campaign in the Left 4 Dead story, as all the Survivors are being called together in one campaign," said Doug Lombardi, VP of marketing at Valve. "It will also be a huge offering of new gameplay content, with something new for every game mode plus a new uncommon common and weaponry."

Exclusively available for the Xbox 360 and PC, L4D2 sets a new benchmark for co-operative action games. The title adds melee combat to enable deeper co-operative gameplay, with items such as a chainsaws, frying pans, axes, baseball bats, and more.

With the AI Director 2.0, L4D's dynamic gameplay is taken to the next level by giving the Director the ability to procedurally change weather effects, world objects, and pathways in addition to tailoring the enemy population, effects, and sounds to match the players' performance.

The result is a unique game session custom fitted to provide a satisfying and uniquely challenging experience each time the game is played.

Finally, with new Survivors, boss zombies, weapons, and items, Left 4 Dead 2 offers a much larger game than the original, featuring more co-operative campaigns, more Versus campaigns, new Survival maps, and the new competitive game mode, Scavenge.

Left 4 Dead 2: The Passing is targeted for release in early spring for the PC and Xbox 360. Pricing will be announced closer to launch.

PS : Yes, I’m still working on my Left 4 Dead 2 review.

Napoleon Total War Story Mode Trailer

First trailer for Creative Assembly’s next grand strategy game has been released. Looks like a good mix of more open total war experience and linear story telling. View the trailer after the jump.

Team Fortress 2 Demoman & Soldier Update Released!

 

It’s WAR lads! New update for Team Fortress 2 will allow you to take sides. The demoman and soldier will get new unlocked weapons throughout the week. You need to make you kills count though. Choose sides!

Empire: Total War Multiplayer Campaign Beta Available Now!

It’s been a long time coming but the multiplayer campaign beta for Empire: Total War promised by Creative Assembly is finally available now to everyone. You will still need to sign up at this page here. The site’s being hammered right now and you might not be able to load it at this moment. It should be fine later. Also available now is a new unit DLC pack called the Elite Units of America. The new DLC pack will add 15 new units mostly for the United States and some new UK and French units and is going for USD$3.25.

Lucidity Review

 

Lucidity is LucasArts re entry into game development. After a lengthy break(only the occasional Star Wars licensed games that were developed by other development studios), LucasArts did the re worked Secret of monkey Island with new art work. The team behind that then stared working on this title. Done very much in the spirit of indie games, simple gameplay with gorgeous artistic visuals, Lucidity is quite deceiving in terms of its innocent look.

 

 

In actual fact, Lucidity is a brutal puzzle platformer that belies the innocent child like art style. This game is really, REALLY difficult and frustrating. Lucidity’s gameplay basically revolves around the character Sofi, as she wakes up from her from her slumber, she finds that her grandma is missing. The levels basically consist of a start point and the exit in which Sofi moves across the level herself. You can’t control her movement directly.

 

 

You use pieces of blocks that you get randomly that have special  abilities like a ladder or a slingshot that flings her horizontally. Much of the frustration comes from the fact that you get these blocks like in tetris, randomly. A lot of the times, you might not get the piece you wanted. You could hold on to the one single piece and if the next piece is also a useless piece you need to place it anywhere to get the next piece etc. You can’t view the levels as a whole(or get a preview of the entire level) or scroll further up to see the obstacles in front.

 

 

Of course you could just ignore the challenges of collecting fireflies(collectible mechanic in this game) in a level(which are totally unneeded to complete levels other than to just to unlock achievements and some bonus levels). By focusing just on completing a level, you’ll reduce the level of frustration involved. Later levels do get very tough though. You’ll often need to quickly place blocks down before she plunges to her death.

 

 

It also does not help that block placement is sort of finicky. The levels themselves are just one giant block of square invisible grids and the blocks you place automatically snap into these grids. Due to this, you don’t get exact precise placement of blocks. I got pretty mad many times just not being able to place a block exactly where I want it to go.

 

 

The art and music is top notch. The levels are imaginative and pretty, and the music is fittingly charming. If you like challenging platforming games, you just might enjoy the levels in Lucidity. But for the rest, it will probably be an incredibly frustrating experience. A pity really, as they could have solved a lot of the frustration if given more time to further polish the game. As it stands now, Lucidity is a slightly above average game.

 

Rating: 6/10

 

Price: USD $9.99

 

Buy it here:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/32410/