Mass Effect 3 was popular and didn’t get as much bad feedback as the latest.

SCIENCE Fiction and computer games go together like phones and charger cables, bacon and eggs, or social media and recreational outrage.

While most of us have probably accepted we’re not getting our very own robot butler or flying car anytime soon, that hasn’t stopped us dreaming about what to might be like to be a heroic space adventurer commanding a star ship and boldly going into the unknown.

One of the best known space RPGs is the Mass Effect series, which has recently welcomed a fourth instalment — Mass Effect Andromeda.

Developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Mass Effect Andromeda is the space RPG we need and the one we deserve, at least until Bethesda make a Fallout game set on Mars or something.

Mass Effect Andromeda veers towards “assuming you’ve played at least one of the other games” (in that for example, alien races just show up and you’re expected to know they exist and be unsurprised by this) but overall the game does an good job of walking that fine line between “being accessible to newcomers” while also building on the rich lore the series is well known for.

There is a lot of lore in this game, some of which is old news to series veterans but will be appreciated for newcomers, particularly those wondering why there’s a variety of alien races wandering around the Andromeda Initiative’s space station, how come N7-insignia armour is kind of a big deal, and what a Mass Effect Relay actually is.

Put on the uniform of the Pathfinder as Sara Ryder and fight for humanity’s new home. Explore dangerous worlds, keep your crew alive, and unravel the mysteries of Andromeda. The journey begins now. How far will you go?

Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2 are rightfully regarded as genre-shaping masterpieces, with Mass Effect 3 also acclaimed but widely criticised for its disappointing ending which was later changed via DLC.

When facial animations are bad, use side shots.Source:Supplied

The latest entry in the space saga shifts it focus to an entirely new location: The Andromeda galaxy, which is about 2.5 million light years from Earth. The game posits a future where mankind (along with several sentient alien races inhabiting the Milky Way galaxy) have launched an extensive colonisation mission to the region, sending 100,000 colonists on a one-way trip into the unknown with a promise that a new life awaits them in the offworld colonies.

Your character — last name Ryder, first name, gender, ethnicity and appearance up to you — is one of the specialists on the Human ark spaceship Hyperion. No word on how many of the 20,000 colonists aboard are telephone sanitisers or advertising executives, though.

The game opens in 2785, following a 600 year voyage (in cryosleep) from the Milky Way and things almost immediately turn to custard and curdle from there. Your character ends up being made a Pathfinder (a combination of explorer, ranger, SAS commando and Captain Picard) and put in charge of un-smegging the situation everyone has found themselves in.

Pretty much everything that could go wrong with an undertaking of the Andromeda Initiative’s magnitude has gone wrong — from space-storms to mutiny to hostile aliens to supposedly ideal planets which actually look like they’ve hosted a Disaster Area concert.

The backdrops are amazing and some of the space depictions are breathtaking — you really do feel like you’re in a different galaxy among the stars. Standing on the bridge of your spaceship for the first-time is an awe-inspiring experience.

As excellent as all this is, Mass Effect Andromeda isn’t perfect. There’s a serious uncanny valley effect with the cutscenes, with some of the models looking more like animations than actual people (or aliens) — they’re still well below what most people would expect from a AAA title nowadays.

Mass Effect 3 was popular and didn’t get as much bad feedback as the latest.Source:Supplied

The writing in the opening states of the game isn’t great either, but once you’ve got past the prologue and the world starts to open it, it improves very markedly as your character develops.

The space station you first arrive at is in a dire state — you’re told there’s been a terrible mutiny, lots of people are dead or exiled and supplies are dwindling below critical levels — yet apparently you’re deemed awesome enough to be almost immediately given a seriously pimp spaceship, experienced crew, supplies and a cheery wave before being let out into the universe — despite having been on the space station for maybe an hour or so and no-one there having any idea who you are besides “Not the guy we were told would be coming”.

There’s also a few of the inevitable “I know you’re the most awesome person in the universe and you’re terribly busy fighting the Omnicronians or whatever, but would you mind going to somewhere inconvenient and talking to someone for me? I’d do it myself but I’m Le Tired”-type quests which appear in pretty much every RPG ever.

It’s a testament to the incredible worldbuilding and story of Mass Effect Andromeda that these issues are easily overlooked or handwaved away.

The combat isn’t anything to write home about either, being your standard cover-shooter fare, but to the designer’s credit, the shooting-to-talking to people ratio feels right and more of the game is about problem solving and discovery than blasting aliens. Somehow an optional multiplayer mode has been shoehorned into the game too, in the form of “Apex strike team missions”, but Mass Effect Andromeda is otherwise a single-player affair and rightly so.

It’s hard to describe but the game has that something which makes it so hard to put down. I constantly found myself wanting to do just one more thing, to explore another planet, to craft another upgrade.

It’s a game that ticks all the boxes; there’s just so much to do in the game and most of it feels like it has a point rather than being empty filler. There are reportedly more than 1200 speaking characters in the game (one of which is voiced by Natalie Dormer from Game of Thrones) and you’ve got numerous star systems to explore and discover.

In short, Mass Effect Andromeda is a masterpiece. It’s a game you cannot only sink your teeth into, but shovel it into your mouth while noisily making “Om nom nom” sounds and embarrassing your significant other in the process.

If you’ve got any interest at all in science fiction, space games or RPGs, then do yourself a favour and buy a copy of Mass Effect Andromeda sooner rather than later.

This would make every child from the 90s very happy.

THE Japanese gaming giant Nintendo is planning to release a new version of its much loved SNES gaming console.

The Sun reports details of the new SNES leaked last night just days after Nintendo discontinued the NES Classic Mini, a shrunk-down version of its first ever smash hit system.

The firm declined to give details of the games which will available on its new console, although it’s a reasonable bet that Mario is bound to feature in some way — and that the system itself will be teeny-tiny.

It is expected to be called the SNES Classic Mini and will probably ship with dozens of classic games.

Last month, a Tech Radar poll named the SNES as the “best console of all time”.

It sold a whopping 20 million units and was released in the UK back in 1992, two years after it was introduced in Japan under the different name Super Famicom.

With a $60 mini version of its original NES, Nintendo strikes nostalgia gold. WSJ’s Joanna Stern takes a look at the hard-to-find 8-bit gaming system. Photo/video: Drew Evans/The Wall Street Journal.

The SNES (which stands for Super Nintendo Entertainment System) was renowned for the quality of its graphics, which pioneered the use of three dimensional effects.

The Mini NES was a huge success, so it figures the SNES would also be.Source:AFP

It also featured a stunning line-up of classic games including Super Mario World, Super Metroid and The Legend of Zelda: Link To The Past.

It was the successor to the original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which was re-released last year as the Classic Mini NES.

This shrunk down console shipped with 30 games pre-installed and proved wildly popular.

However, it appears to have been manufactured in relatively small numbers.

Hawkers are now flogging the small console on eBay at prices of up to ten times the $60 it was originally sold for.

The NES Classic “wasn’t intended to be an ongoing, long-term product”, Nintendo told IGN.

“However, due to high demand, we did add extra shipments to our original plans,” it added.

This story first appeared on The Sun and has been republished with permission.

The Nintendo Switch console is what the company want gamers to buy.

NINTENDO is culling a popular console less than six months after its launch.

Nostalgia fans now have limited time to get their hands on the Nintendo NES Classic Edition console, because the Japanese gamesmaker is pulling the plug on production.

The Sun reports, a Nintendo spokesman for North America said: “Throughout April, NOA territories will receive the last shipments of Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition systems for this year.

“We encourage anyone interested in obtaining this system to check with retail outlets regarding availability.

“We understand that it has been difficult for many consumers to find a system, and for that we apologise. We have paid close attention to consumer feedback, and we greatly appreciate the incredible level of consumer interest and support for this product.”

Australia hasn’t confirmed what will happen to the console, but throwback to the 1986 version has been sold out here for some time.

With a $60 mini version of its original NES, Nintendo strikes nostalgia gold. WSJ’s Joanna Stern takes a look at the hard-to-find 8-bit gaming system. Photo/video: Drew Evans/The Wall Street Journal.

The Nintendo Switch console is what the company want gamers to buy.Source:Supplied

It comes with 30 retro games including Legend of Zelda, Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros.

Brit gamers have struggled to find them in any shops for some time, but they could be bought online and shipped from overseas (at an outrageous cost).

But now Nintendo have sounded the death knell for the retro gadget it’s going to be even tougher to get your mitts on one.

It’s an odd decision from the manufacturer, considering the console flew off the shelves when it launched in November last year.

But it’s a clever trick to steer people into pre-ordering and rushing to buy when the next Nintendo product launches, in case there’s limited stock.

The Nintendo Switch has been a huge hit, becoming its fastest ever selling console.

It’s been flying off the shelves and appears to be in limited supply too.

But some people have noticed an embarrassing flaw.

Similar to Apple’s iPhone 6 #bendgate furore, the consoles appear to be changing shape with overuse.

This story first appeared on The Sun.

The G413 is a solid piece of kit, with an aluminum plate underneath the keys and a thick braided cord providing USB pass-through so you can plug stuff into it and reduce cable clutter on your desk. Even the feet feel pretty solid and are hard to pull off — and yes, I tried, as I’ve had a few go missing in the past. The keys are easy to remove, which makes the deck super simple to clean, as well as allowing you to swap out buttons if you have replacements on hand.

However, getting new keys isn’t as easy as it would be on rival peripherals that use the fairly common Cherry-brand switches. Like Razer, Logitech uses its own proprietary switches, known as the Romer-G. They don’t feel as sharp as Cherry switches or Razer’s brand, with a slightly soft impression on each key press. But the actuation point is only 1.5mm deep (with a force of 45g), so they’re just as responsive. They’re a huge improvement over the keys in Logitech’s low-cost G213, which was aimed at the same audience with a similar price point. That model wasn’t mechanical, using what the company called “Mech Dome” keys instead. That’s a fancy name for what are essentially high-quality membrane buttons.

Logitech at least supplies a set of contoured WASD replacement keys in the box for more serious gamers. Further customization is also offered via Logitech’s software, allowing users to program the function keys with macros. The ability to customize the lighting is not available, though — Logitech left out multicolored LEDs to bring the price down. This leaves users with an ominous red backlight under each key instead (it can be turned down or off). I was glad to see macro buttons omitted as well, as I have a bad habit of accidentally hitting those extra keys when trying to type. But I admit that I wouldn’t have minded some dedicated media controls at least — I’ve grown rather fond of them after using Corsair’s K95 for so long.

The black keys with their red glow contrast rather nicely with the G413’s backplate, but there’s also a pretty sweet-looking silver version available — however, it’s a Best Buy exclusive. Whatever your preference, both colors will run you $90 and can be picked up today.

Gaming peripheral makers often team up with eSports teams to test, improve, and promote their gaming line-ups. SteelSeries is no different and has collaborated for years with the Evil Geniuses eSports team. To further that relationship, SteelSeries is introducing the limited edition Evil Geniuses Signature Line of the Arctis headset with a custom-designed Arctis headband, Rival 300 gaming mouse, Apex M500 gaming keyboard, and the QcK+ gaming mousepad.

“For years, SteelSeries has collaborated with Evil Geniuses to test and improve our products to ensure they are tournament ready,” said Ehtisham Rabbani, SteelSeries CEO. “Their winning culture and pursuit of excellence in esports aligns with SteelSeries’ commitment to supporting esport professionals with products that help them rise to the challenge.”

The Evil Geniuses Signature Line is now available at http://steelseries.com/eg. The Evil Geniuses special editions of the Rival 300 gaming mouse is $59.99USD, the Apex M500 Cherry MX Red mechanical keyboard is $99.99 and the QcK+ is $19.99.

What do you think about the partnership and limited edition gaming gear from SteelSeries and Evil Geniuses? Check out the full press release below, and let us know what you think in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.

FULL PRESS RELEASE

SteelSeries Announces the Evil Geniuses Signature Line of Professional Peripherals

SteelSeries teams up with Evil Geniuses for special editions of the Arctis Headband, Rival 300, Apex M500 and QcK+ gaming mousepad

CHICAGO – April 18, 2017 – SteelSeries, the fastest growing major PC gaming headset brand in the US*, today announced a new line of tournament-ready products in collaboration with its elite esport partner, Evil Geniuses. Winning more tournament prize money than any other esport organization in the world, Evil Geniuses has put their mark of approval on this branded line of SteelSeries professional gaming peripherals.

The Evil Geniuses line combines more than 15 years of SteelSeries esport experience with the hands-on expertise of the best gamers in the world. Outfit your battle station with the gear that’s won millions in prize money – Arctis headset with a custom-designed Arctis headband, and the Evil Geniuses limited editions of the M500 Keyboard with Cherry MX Red keys, a custom-tuned Rival 300 and a QcK+ mousepad.

“For years, SteelSeries has collaborated with Evil Geniuses to test and improve our products to ensure they are tournament ready,” said Ehtisham Rabbani, SteelSeries CEO. “Their winning culture and pursuit of excellence in esports aligns with SteelSeries’ commitment to supporting esport professionals with products that help them rise to the challenge.”

The Rival 300 Evil Geniuses Edition is based on SteelSeries’ most iconic esports mouse, with a guaranteed 30-million click rating and an esports-focused ergonomic design for competitive, long-lasting performance. It uses a Pixart PMW3310 optical sensor, six programmable buttons and lights up with prism RGB illumination. “The Rival 300 is my mouse of choice.” – Evil Geniuses player, Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg

The limited-edition Apex M500 Evil Geniuses keyboard is the only tournament-grade backlit mechanical gaming keyboard co-designed with the team. Featuring Cherry MX Red switches for ultra-fast clicks and double taps, full anti-ghosting, and compatibility with the SteelSeries Engine, it is built entirely around the needs of professional gamers. “The M500 is simply put, an excellent keyboard; one of, if not the best, mechanical keyboard I’ve ever used.” – Evil Geniuses player, Saahil “Universe” Arora

The QcK+ Evil Geniuses Edition is the tournament-grade gaming mousepad designed and tested by professional gamers. The nearly frictionless surface gives you unmatched tracking accuracy, while the non-slip rubber base and 4mm thickness provide a solid platform for competitive gaming. “The QcK+ is large and has that bit of extra padding to make it comfortable and sturdy. It also has that consistent, perfect glide that just seems natural.” – Evil Geniuses player, Artour “Arteezy” Babaev

The Evil Geniuses Signature Line is now available at http://steelseries.com/eg. The limited-editions of Rival 300 is $59.99, the Apex M500 is $99.99 and the QcK+ is $19.99.

To view video, go to YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buBkbwTZFk0&feature=youtu.be.

For more details about SteelSeries’ entire selection of gaming peripherals, visit https://steelseries.com.

About SteelSeries
SteelSeries is a leader in gaming peripherals focused on quality, innovation and functionality, and the fastest growing major PC gaming headset brand in the US*. Founded in 2001, SteelSeries aims at improving performance through first-to-market innovations and technologies that helps gamers play harder, train longer, and rise to the challenge. SteelSeries supports the growth of competitive gaming tournaments and esports with the goal of connecting gamers to each other and fostering a sense of community and purpose. SteelSeries’ team of professional and gaming enthusiasts help design and craft every single accessory, and are the driving force behind the company.

To learn more about SteelSeries’ products and esport partnerships, visit http://SteelSeries.com or follow us on social media for the latest updates at http://facebook.com/steelseries and be a part of the conversation on Twitter @SteelSeries.

*Source: The NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service/ PC Headset-PC Microphone/Dec. 2016 vs. Dec. 2015/dollar sales/”major” is defined as any PC Headset manufacturer selling over 25K units”

At the tail end of March Blizzard announced plans for StarCraft: Remastered, which is due later this year with updates including 4K graphics and modern online features. Buried within that release, it also mentioned that gamers could expect to see the original game and its Brood War expansion released for free along with the 1.18 update for the game. That day has come, and nostalgic gamers can dive back in as soon as their copy finishes downloading (PC here, OS X version here) like it’s 1998 again and Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It isn’t just a dated reference.

Facebook Spaces aka Facebook In VR

While these cards aren’t enough of an improvement for 400-series owners to upgrade, their hardware changes are worth noting. They’re second-generation Polaris GPUs built on a third-gen FinFET (a type of 3D transistor) architecture. The 400-series cards, meanwhile, were manufactured on a much earlier FinFET process. All of that means AMD was able to make the new cards more efficient, as well as clock them to higher speeds (the RX 580 is around 150MHz faster than the RX 480).

Just like last year, AMD is targeting dedicated gamers who are still running older GPUs, so it’s placing a priority on affordability. Prices will fall in line with the previous models, with the RX 580 going for around $229 with 8GB of RAM and $200 with 4GB. The RX 570, which aims for “maximum” 1080p gaming, will go for around $169, while the slightly slower RX 560 will start at $99. At the lowest end there’s the RX 550, which AMD sees a step up from integrated graphics for $79. The RX 580 and 570 should hit stores today, while the 550 will come on the 20th. You’ll have to wait until May to see the RX 560, unfortunately.

While the 500-series are improvements, they’re still very much mid-range video cards. We’re still waiting for AMD to announce its high-end Vega GPUs, which will likely go toe-to-toe with NVIDIA’s powerful GTX 1080 Ti in the 4K gaming arena. Rumors previously pointed to a Vega announcement in the second quarter, but at this point it seems more likely we’ll get something around E3 in June.

It’s going to be a busy week.
What to expect from Facebook’s annual developer conference

2017 marks the 10th anniversary of F8, and you know that CEO Mark Zuckerberg will want to show off just how far Facebook has come in the past ten years. Covering more Messenger, those Live woes and maybe even a bunch of hardware, here’s a look at what we’ll hopefully see in the days ahead.

Origin’s first budget gaming laptop costs less than a grandThere’s such a thing as a budget gaming laptop?

Origin’s EON15-S laptop has always straddled the line between gaming performance and portability, and this year’s model does that again, but for a bit less cash. For 2017, the PC maker has added NVIDIA’s newish 4GB 1050 Ti graphics card, a model that gives it a (very) mild speed bump over last year’s 980M-based EON15-S. That’s squeezed into a 1-inch, 5-pound case, and costs $999 for the cheapest configuration. However, there’s no high-res screen option this time around — you’re stuck with a 15.6-inch 1,920 x 1,080 IPS panel.

That’s a big number.Netflix explains why it keeps paying Adam Sandler for movies

Yesterday Netflix revealed its quarterly earnings, and said it is close to having 100 million streaming customers. But the most surprising statistic had to be news that subscribers have streamed half a billion hours of Adam Sandler movies since the debut of The Original 6.

It’s only twice the price of a Model 3
Tesla cuts the price on its entry-level Model S by $5,000

Recently, Tesla dropped the cheapest version of its Model S and now it’s followed up by lowering the price of the current entry-level edition. The 75 and 75D are still $1,500 more than the 60/60D was, even after a $5k price cut, but they offer more range and now come standard with features like a glass roof and automatic rear power liftgate.

It’s time to get dirty
Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt take the fight to Airbnb via lobbyists

Inevitably, hotels were going to fight back against “home sharing” apps, and a New York Times report says that time is now. Via lobbyist organizations, the hotel industry is apparently fighting on the “local, state and federal level” to rein in Airbnb and the rest with additional regulation and scrutiny (Of course, some would argue that scrutiny might be necessary).

Distill water, hop oil, or whiskey… if your local laws allow it.
Picobrew’s next goal: A safe and affordable DIY distillery

Picobrew has a new, cheaper countertop beer brewing system. That you already knew. But the company is now dipping its toes into distilling. The Picostill is an add on for the Pico Model C that turns that weird custom designed keg into a countertop distillery. Specifically it’s a reflux still that uses vacuum distillation, which doesn’t look as cool as a pot or column still, but makes far more efficient use of the space.

Finally, a way to revisit Microsoft BASIC 2.0.
Go back to 1984 with Internet Archive’s Macintosh collection

Not content to sit on the sidelines, the Internet Archive recently resurrected something, too. This time, it’s a swath of apps, games and software from the original Macintosh circa 1984. That means stuff like Lode Runner, MacOS System 7.0.1, Microsoft BASIC 2.0 and Space Invaders are on offer in their pixelated, black-and-white glory. Just like the old days.

The Wear24 will set you back $300 with a 2-year activation.
Verizon’s Android Wear 2.0 watch goes on sale May 11th

Verizon’s Android Wear 2.0 smartwatch broke from cover back in February with an scheduled launch for March. Well, that didn’t happen. Today, the wireless carrier announced that its Wear24 device would go on sale both in stores and online May 11th. If you’ll recall, the wearable is priced at $300 with a 2-year activation plus $5 month to tack one on to your data plan.

But wait, there’s more…

This is the first time the Guardians are starring in their own video game. Prior to the 2014 film, they weren’t popular enough to warrant one. If the trailer’s any indication, Telltale’s episodic series will have the same light-hearted tone as the movies, featuring jokes about Thanos’ chin, elevators and creepy Kree temples.

Telltale has a long history of adapting comic book franchises like The Walking Dead and Batman into adventure games. This is the first time it’s tackling a Marvel property though, and it’ll be interesting to see its take on Guardians of the Galaxy. The studio’s already proven it can pull off comedy in video games (see Sam & Max, Tales of Monkey Island and Tales From the Borderlands), and it looks like Tangled Up in Blue is going to bring plenty of wisecracks and classic rock tomorrow.

The series’ five episodes will be available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Mac, as well as the Apple App Store and Google Play. Episode One: Tangled Up in Blue, and subsequent episodes, will cost $4.99, or you can buy a special Season Pass disc for $29.99 on May 2nd. The disc includes the first episode and will grant access to the others via online updates as they’re released.