Articles about Gaming

The Internet Archive is a staggering piece of work, saving for posterity books, movies, music, and entire websites. For a number of years, the site has also offered in-browser emulation, giving everyone the chance to get teary-eyed with nostalgia and play a range of console games online.

Now the emulation collection has been expanded to cover a wide range of handheld games including the likes of Mortal Kombat, Double Dragon and Q*Bert. The new Handheld History Collection builds on the work the Internet Archive has already done with the MAME development team.

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With so many apps and games to choose from in Google Play, it's very easy to be tempted to try all of them out. Well... maybe not all of them, but it's easy to get carried away. This can mean waiting an age for a particular title to download, only for you to try it and discover you don't like it.

Today Google announces a solution to the problem: Google Play Instant. It lets you get started in a game without having to download it completely -- in essence you're streaming the bits you need to your Android phone or tablet.

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Cast your mind back to when Sony released the original PlayStation 3, and you may well remember claims that the console was also a "computer". The claims were such that Sony suggested that owners could install Linux -- which, technically speaking, they could.

However, installing Linux on a PS3 also posed something of a security issue, and Sony backtracked on the "Other OS" feature, killing it will a firmware update. Unsurprisingly, a lawsuit followed, and the result of this is that you could in line for a pay-out.

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Google is giving developers the chance to build games based on real-world maps by opening up the Maps APIs to them. On top of this, Google is bring Maps to the Unity game engine so developers can make use of real-time map data.

Titles such as Jurassic World Alive, The Walking Dead: Our World and Ghostbusters World will make use of augmented reality to create truly immersive gaming experiences. Developers have access to over 100 million 3D buildings, roads, landmarks, and parks from over 200 countries, allowing for great flexibility.

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HyperX makes lots of great products -- including top-notch RAM -- but many gamers have gone gaga over its headsets. This is for good reason, as the company's Cloud Revolver gaming headset, for instance, is one of the best.

Today, HyperX launches the Cloud Revolver gaming headset in a beautiful Gunmetal color -- this is in addition to black. This is apparently the first time that color is available for the standard Revolver -- it was previously only available for the more expensive Revolver "S" package. If you haven't yet picked up a Cloud Revolver, and you are in need of a gaming headset, you should definitely take a look. Hell, PC Gamer named it headset of the year for 2017. True, Gunmetal is merely a new color, but oh my goodness, it is gorgeous!

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A thread appeared on Reddit yesterday in which Xbox One users say Microsoft is revealing their real names online, despite the fact they have configured their settings to block this from happening.

The thread has already gained a large number of comments. Microsoft got involved saying that it was actively investigating the issue which some gamers are describing as a serious breach of privacy and security. Almost 24 hours later, the matter may be resolved.

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While Windows remains the dominant platform for PC gaming, Microsoft’s stranglehold is slowly eroding. True, Linux and macOS won’t overtake Windows 10 on the desktop anytime soon, but as developers are learning, you can make money by supporting alternative operating systems. With Linux in particular, users are very loyal -- many won’t dual boot with Windows for gaming. The only way to get their dollars is to embrace the penguin.

Developer Feral Interactive has seemingly gotten the message, as it is bringing one of its top-tier titles to both Linux and macOS. The game to which I’m referring is Rise of the Tomb Raider, featuring the iconic cave-explorer Lara Croft.

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Following the success of Super Mario Run, Nintendo has confirmed plans to bring Mario Kart to mobile devices.

The game will be called Mario Kart Tour, and it is currently scheduled for release by the first quarter of 2019. This is the first Mario Kart title to make its way to smartphones, and a title that will be eagerly awaited by fans of the Italian ex-plumber.

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If you don't have a mechanical keyboard, I straight up feel sorry for you. I mean, look, if you like your current non-mechanical keyboard, then more power to you, but there's a good chance you simply don't know what you are missing. If you are a millennial in particular, you probably missed out on the good ol' days of computing when keyboards weighed a ton and were built like tanks -- the throw-in keyboards that desktop manufacturers include nowadays are largely garbage. Mechanical keyboards are just so much more rewarding and satisfying to use.

Today, CORSAIR launches its all-new K68 RGB mechanical gaming keyboard, and it has a lot going for it. First of all, it is IP32 water resistant, so if you spill your drink (or sweat profusely on it), it is less likely to break. Since it is a gaming product, it is chock-full of RGB lighting, because all gaming gear must glow -- it's the law. Best of all, it uses authentic Cherry MX switches (either red or blue) -- not some sort of knock-off.

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Fans of the game Fortnite have been frustrated by a combination of reduced performance, and an inability to log into the game at all. The company behind the title, Epic Games, says that patches installed to mitigate against the Meltdown and Spectre bugs are to blame.

Since installing patches to address the vulnerabilities, Epic has noticed a very significant spike in processors usage. The extra strain on backend cloud services has noticeably slowed down Fortnite for some users, and rendered others unable to play the game at all.

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It’s 2018, and there will likely be a lot of new hardware to excite and delight computer builders this year. In 2017, we saw solid state drives continue their climb in popularity -- a trend that will absolutely continue in the new year.

Today, Plextor launches a new solid state drive with a focus on gaming. The M9Pe series, as it is called, is an M.2 NVMe SSD drive that will be sold in capacities up to 1TB. It uses 64-layer 3D NAND Toshiba flash and the Marvell 88ss1093 controller.

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As someone who was born in the 1980s, I experienced the golden age of video games. While the graphics were archaic by today's standards, the games were much more fun than the ones of today. People tend to forget that fun is the most important aspect of video games -- sound and graphics be damned. You bought a completed game and there were no updates, DLC or loot crates to be had. It was an amazing time.

Luckily, enjoying these classic games of yesteryear is very easy thanks to emulators. While the legality is a bit sketchy, you can download thousands of retro games (ROMs) and play them on your PC with near-flawless results. To make things even more convenient, the Kodi media center can now be used to play these ROMs. If you want to try this for yourself, I am happy to say you can do so immediately. The folks over at TVAddons have created a very useful guide.

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While 4K is a popular resolution at the moment, it isn't always big with PC gamers. Why? Well, UHD can be very taxing on a graphics card, leading to lower frame rate. Not to mention, 4K monitors are still fairly pricey by comparison. Depending on your hardware, you might have a more enjoyable experience using a lower resolution, such as the trusty 1080p. For example, some people would rather get 60fps with 1920x1080 than 30fps with 3840x2160 -- I know I would.

Today, AOC unveils a trio of new 1080p gaming monitors that are aimed at PC gamers on a budget. All three feature AMD FreeSync technology, while two of them also have 144Hz refresh for extra-smooth motion. The very small bezels and red color makes them look very attractive too.

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While Bitcoin is growing in value and attracting more and more capital, it is hard to make a case for it as a payment method these days. Sure, you can buy things with Bitcoin, but fact of the matter is it lacks mainstream appeal among businesses -- at least right now.

It is easy to see why: it's incredibly volatile and the fees are high too. So, if you want to buy something with Bitcoin you will probably pay more than if you were to use dollars or euros, for instance. This is something that Valve has experienced as well and it is doing something rather interesting to make things better for Steam customers: it's dropped Bitcoin as a payment method altogether.

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Buying an Xbox One game as a gift for Christmas, birthday, or other occasion no longer means having to hit the stores, or buy a gift card. Microsoft has now opened up digital game gifting to everyone.

While this is not a completely new option, it was previously only possible to send games to people via Xbox Live. Now you can buy a digital game for a friend or family member, and send it to them via email.

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