GAMES THAT YOU ABSOLUTELY SHOULD PLAY THIS YEAR

TOP 10 GAMES A WONDERFUL YEAR FOR PC GAMERS

Just a few years ago, it was common among the games press to describe the PC gaming industry as ‘declining’. Those were the heady days of the console wars with a battle royal between Sony’s PlayStation 2, Microsoft’s original and Nintendo’s Gamecube.

Avid PC gamers around the world, including myself, mourned the declining retail shelf space available for PC games and the preponderance of console ports. We cheered everytime when a true made for PC game like Far Cry came along and showed to the world what could be achieved with a high-end PC.

Fast forward to today, console gaming is in a slow decline while PC and mobile gaming is on the ascendancy. PC games like League of Legends boast tens of millions of players every day while even premium console games struggle to cross three or four million units sold. PC gaming is no longer considered the younger sibling of its console brethren.

The preceding year was also an exceptional one for PC gamers. Almost every month saw the advent of a new game which pushed PC gaming hardware to its limits and showed what was missing on consoles.

This month, along with Alienware, we have selected the top ten PC games of 2015. While some of these games like The Witcher 3 and Project CARS were graphically brilliant, other games like Rainbow Six Siege introduced innovative gameplay elements.

All these bode well for the future of PC gaming in 2016 and beyond. With even faster PC hardware on the horizon, PC gamers have a lot to look forward to. TOP 10 GAMES

FALLOUT 4

ethesda’s second take The S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system and Perks at the Fallout franchise are where most of the changes are B echoes the sentiment that made. In an attempt to streamline the “war never changes”. Much levelling process, S.P.E.C.I.A.L. points like war, Fallout 4 comes with the and Perks are now consolidated into Bethesda-isms of a typical game a single system, giving you a skill tree made by them. It is big, vast, and of sorts. If you have enough points in filled with enough bugs that makes one the stats, you’re allow to unlock the game unintentionally hilarious. a Perk under that stat. Spend enough But I digress, let’s focus on the time with the game, and you can good things for now. potentially max out your S.P.E.C.I.A.L. and gain all perks as a result. NEW LOCATION WE RECOMMEND: The locale of choice this time is Alienware 15 R2 with 6th Generation CUSTOMISABLE CHARACTER Boston, a bright and colourful Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 16GB Dual For starters, the choices for place that was clearly devastated Channel DDR4 2133MHz, 256GB PCIe character creation is impressive, when the bombs fell. It is a location SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA featuring enough selections to with variety, with settlements, 6Gb/s (Storage) and GeForce keep you there for hours. They’ve cities, ruins, and a land ravaged by GTX 980M with 4GB GDDR5. also improved upon the character radioactive storms dotted all over the maps. Graphically speaking, the game looks pretty, particularly when the radiation storms roll around. That said, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the is beginning to show its age at times. Whatever the case, the visuals in Fallout 4 is a major improvement from the mass of grey that was present in Fallout 3. models as they no longer look like the soulless automatons they were in Fallout 3. Also a first in the Fallout franchise is the fact that your characters are now voiced, making them feel more alive than they’ve ever been in the franchise.

SAME GAMEPLAY Gameplay for Fallout 4 is more or less the same as it was in Fallout 3, but with a few changes. For the most part, the first person shooter aspect and the V.A.T.S. Targeting System still works the same as it did in Fallout 3. If you’ve played Fallout 3 or New Vegas, Fallout 4 wouldn’t be all that different from it.

BUGGY BEAST Of course, you can’t talk about a Bethesda game without mentioning bugs. Much like all of their other -based titles, Fallout 4 comes with a generous serving of glitches and bugs. None of them are game breaking, but some can be pretty frustrating. Overall, much like the quote that is attributed to the Fallout franchise, Bethesda games never change. TOP 10 GAMES

CALL OF DUTY : BLACK OPS 3

t this point, Call Of Duty is CO-OP MODE STRONG MULTIPLAYER the FPS version of the FIFA Campaign mode also comes with Multiplayer is where Black Ops A series. Ever since Modern a co-op mode this time around, 3 gets a little more interesting. Warfare 2, the subsequent allowing you and your buddy to Treyarch has introduced a new layer instalments have basically been the tackle the story together. While this of customisation to the game’s same shooter that you love (or hate) is a good feature to have in theory, multiplayer by way of specialists. with some new improvements. Black the way Treyarch executed the co- Each specialist character comes with Ops 3 is this year’s instalment of the op mode leaves much to be desired. a power weapon and a special ability, long running FPS series and much like Instead of giving you scenarios where of which only one can be active at any its predecessor, it doesn’t do much to two players must work together to time. That charges over the course of shake things up. accomplish, the game just decides to the map. throw more enemies at you. Suffice to FUTURE WARS say, this isn’t what I was expecting out The power weapons are usually deadly The campaign in Black Ops 3 is set of a co-op mode. and can one-shot almost anyone, 40 years after the events of Black Ops 2, meaning the weapons, mechs and drones are far more futuristic this time around. Aside from the setting, everything else in the campaign follows the Call Of Duty formula down to a T. You get a quick cutscene brief, you get deployed at point A, you are tasked with moving to point B, and you do so while killing and destroying anything that gets in your way. There will be some set pieces where things explode all around you, there will be sections that place you in a turret, and there will be a Martyrdom section where you kill someone while being near death yourself. while the special abilities assist you when you’re fighting or running from a battle. Some of the abilities would come in very handy if you frequent Hardcore matches.

DEPTH IN SPECIALISATION Specialists gives the multiplayer aspect of Black Ops 3 a bit more meat than the other instalments as it allows you to do some experimentation with your character builds, giving the game a bit more depth than its predecessors. However, much like other Call Of Duty games, some specialists are locked behind the levelling system. If you want to experiment with them, you’re going to have to sit through quite a number of games in order to do so.

Besides the Specialists though, everything else in Multiplayer really hasn’t changed much. Kill people, win matches, level up, unlock weapons, set your Killstreaks, rinse and repeat ad infinatum.

INTERESTING MAPS The zombies have also leaked One thing that I would give Black out into another mode called Ops 3 props for is its map design. Nightmares. This mode is basically Offering various chokepoints, the campaign mode but with all elevations and sightlines, Black Ops 3 the gun toting enemies replaced has one of the better map designs in with zombies instead. This turns the the franchise. The gameplay is more campaign’s unsubtle “war is glorious” of the same. If you’ve ever played a jingoism into a hilariously fun survival Call Of Duty multiplayer mode since horror game, complete with ominous the original Modern Warfare, you can voiceover. easily get into the swing of things without much practice. In short, Black Ops 3 is yet another WE RECOMMEND: Call Of Duty game that is perfectly This game is all about visceral ZOMBIES AHEAD serviceable to those that enjoy it effects and low latency for As is tradition with a Treyarch-made what the game has to offer. Treyarch multiplayer. So we recommend the Call Of Duty game, Black Ops 3 did try to implement some new Alienware Area-51 Gaming Desktop comes with Zombies mode. Treyarch mechanics into Black Ops 3, but they with Intel Core i7-5930K Processor, has obviously spent some time didn’t do enough the game stand out 16GB (4X4GB) DDR4 2133MHz developing this mode as games of among the games that were released SDRAM Memory, Dual Nvidia Zombies are now quite a bit tougher within the past 5 years. If you’re okay GeForce GTX 970 with 4GB GDDR5 than previous instalments. Surviving with more of the same, Black Ops 3 each (NVIDIA SLI-enabled) and Dell to the later waves feels like an would not disappoint you. If you’re 27’’ Monitor S2716DG equipped with accomplishment, which is no mean looking for something fresh, Black crisp QHD resolution. feat to achieve. Ops 3 isn’t it. TOP 10 GAMES

ASSASSIN’S CREED SYNDICATE

aking a new Assassin’s Evie, much like how GTA 5 handles Creed game this year isn’t multiple characters. Side missions M all that hard. After last and open-world events are open year’s disaster that was to both, but the main storyline Assassin’s Creed , a game that missions are mostly handled by is competent would be hailed as an Jacob. The playstyles of both improvement by many. Thankfully, characters are quite similar to each Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is more other, which is a little disappointing than just competent, it is a good as I was expect both characters to game that manages to refresh the have differing playstyles. entire series. WE RECOMMEND: SIMILAR GAMEPLAY Since this game is all about free NEW LOCATION Gameplay is largely unchanged roaming, we recommend the Set in Industrial-era London, from the previous Assassin’s Alienware 17 Gaming Laptop with Assassin’s Creed Syndicate puts Creeds. You’ll still be stalking, 6th Generation Intel Core i7-6700HQ you in the shoes of twin assassins blending into the crowd, and free CPU, 16GB RAM, 256GB PCIe SSD Evie and Jacob Frye. The former is running throughout the game. (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM (Storage), and a devout Assassin whose goal is to That said, Syndicate does have NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M with 8GB track down the remaining Pieces of one new addition to your arsenal. GDDR5. Eden to stop the Templars. The latter Making its debut in Syndicate is the is an individual who rebels against grappling hook, a device that lets the Assassin’s burdensome legacy. the characters in the game channel BUSY CITY Both their viewpoints sets the stage their inner Batman. Who needs to World building is an area that I for the Syndicate’s story, which is climb up a building when you can particularly liked about Syndicate engaging thanks to the fact that just hook shot your way to the top as well. As the game is set in the the characters are likeable and well- of the building. Syndicate has also Industrial-era, the skyline of London established. taken a page out of GTA by allowing is filled with smoke as the factories you to steal carriages when you’re below it are hard at work churning CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER on the ground, allowing you to out materials. Famous landmarks Throughout the game, you’re able traverse the world much faster than such as Trafalgar Square, the Palace to switch freely between Jacob and just using your feet. of Westminster and the Tower of London are also present in the game. It’s not a particularly accurate recreation of London, but it manages to get the job done.

Syndicate may be considered as one of the sillier instalment in the series. Some of the side missions pair you up with various well-known Englishmen to accomplish tasks that have highly absurd scenarios. For some, they would say that this missions takes away from the general tone of the main storyline, For myself, I’m enjoying myself despite the tonal shift.

FAST COMBAT continue to look for Pieces of Eden, Combat in Syndicate is fast-paced and Also, the game is rather buggy as I’ve you fight, flee, hide in haystacks and fluid, but can feel repetitive over time. crashed to the desktop quite a few watch as the Templars and Assassins On the plus side, some of the combat times throughout my playthrough. try to off one other. For all the manoeuvres feel painful and a few The AI companions can also bug out, improvements that Syndicate has, finishers look particularly gruesome. forcing you to reload your checkpoints you are still playing an Assassin’s Taking the roll of weapon smith for in order to proceed with the mission. Creed game. If you’re looking for a Syndicate is Alexander Graham-Bell, Load times gets longer the further total revamp of the game, Syndicate and he will provide both assassins you progress through the game as will disappoint you. with the tools to get the job done. well, making it annoying if you need to reload a checkpoint frequently Despite the fact that there are no NOT QUITE PERFECT because your AI froze again. big changes to the standard formula, There is no denying that Assassin’s Assassin’s Creed Syndicate is still fun Creed Syndicate is a huge improvement The biggest problem Syndicate has to play. For me, this game managed over the misstep that is Unity, but that is however, is the fact that the game to wash away the foul taste of Unity, not to say that the game is perfect. The largely remains the same. You’re still which is admittedly a very low bar to control does hiccup occasionally, and the doing the same things you did in set. It isn’t perfect by any means, but annoying “grabbing the wrong ledge” the other Assassin’s Creed games. it is one of the better games in the problem is still here in all its frustration. You continue to stalk your prey, you instalment after Black Flag. . TOP 10 GAMES

PROJECT CARS

here are three types of racing the game – ranging from the classic locale feels so authentic that you games. The first is the arcade cars to the Le Mans prototype – are don’t even need to buy a plane T racer, where realistic driving faithfully recreated in both looks ticket just to experience it. Best of is all but thrown out of the and performance. all is that the game does have a window, replaced instead with high weather system, and these tracks speed thrills and peppered with It’s not only the cars that were given turn into a nightmare to race when it glorious crashes. Then, there is the attention as the race courses were starts raining. Not only does the rain arcade-simulation hybrid where recreated with ridiculous amount obstruct your view, it affects your the game does pay some attention of detail as well. From the famous handling of the car as well, giving you to proper car handling, but is still Monza circuit to the infamous wreck a good idea why racing in the rain is lenient enough to let the players site known as the Nurburgring, each generally a horrible idea. have some fun.

HYPER-REALISM Finally, we have the simulation games, where the game recreates the proper driving experience, complete with different handling for each car as well as realistic car physics. Project CARS is of the latter category, and as expected from a simulation racing game, it is as tough and demanding as it gets.

REALISTIC CARS & TRACKS As expected of a racing sim, the developers of Project CARS have managed to create a highly detailed game. Slightly Mad Studios have very clearly studied the cars from front to back as every car featured in NOT FOR NEWBIES tune them down to be on your level. Like many other racing sims, Project Once you get better, you can start CARS is a game that accurately disabling assists and ramping up portrays the feel of driving a car the difficulty steadily, ensuring that WE RECOMMEND: at high speed. This means that you’ll always get a fair challenge out Project Cars is a very hardware- the game is tough and cruel on of it. intensive game. It also makes use of newcomers to the genre. Nvidia Gameworks. Therefore, you Project CARS is a racing sim made should consider Alienware 15 R2 However, unlike most racing sims, for the hardcore racing fans. The with 6th Generation Intel Core i7- Project CARS is highly customisable, customisability of Project CARS also 6700HQ, 16GB Dual Channel DDR4 allowing newcomers to ease into the mean that it won’t alienate the more 2133MHz, 256GB PCIe SSD (Boot) + game. Do you find that controlling casual crowd. While it won’t be the 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage), the car is too hard? Braking most accessible racing game ever Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M with 4GB assistance and stability control can made, it is one of the most satisfying GDDR5 and 15.6 inch UHD (3840 x be toggled whenever you want. Find racing game of 2015, so long as you 2160) IGZO IPS display. the AI a bit too unforgiving? You can put some time into it. TOP 10 GAMES

HITMAN ABSOLUTION

ollowing up on an acclaimed the AI is near omniscient, being able For better or worse, Absolution entry in the franchise is no to look through disguises and detect does seem to treat the story as an F easy task. Hitman Absolution almost every attempt to sneak up on important part of the game. is in the unenviable position them. If you’re a perfectionist, this of having to live up to Hitman : buff to the artificial intelligence is Contracts mode is the mode where Blood Money, a game that many going to frustrate you to no end. Absolution feels more like its critics agreed was the best predecessor, being a mode where instalment of the entire franchise. you’re allowed to mark up to three With Absolution now out, the people as targets for elimination. easiest way to describe this game These contracts can then be is as thus : it is not Blood Money. shared with other players, creating a leaderboard based on how NEW GAMEPLAY effective you are at completing The design decision made by Io it. It isn’t a perfect recreation of Interactive with regards to the a Blood Money mission, but it is a gameplay is something that many good enough substitute. of us who enjoyed Blood Money will not appreciate. For starters, WE RECOMMEND: NOT FOR ALL the game no longer feels like the Hitman Absolution is not a particularly Hitman Absolution is going to be a sandbox it was in demanding game. So we recommend game where you’ll either enjoy the Blood Money. There is still a level of Alienware 15 powered by 6th changes or hate them with a passion. freedom that Absolution gives you, Generation Intel Core i7 Processor, Io Interactive’s decision to not follow but it feels linear when compared 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD and Nvidia the Blood Money formula and opt to its predecessor. GeForce GTX 970M with 3GB GDDR5. for a different gameplay experience is a bold one for sure, but whether TOUGH AI or not it is a smart one depends on Another sore point I have with Despite Hitman Absolution’s the gamer’s individual preference. If Absolution is the AI detection system. shortcomings when compared to you’re okay with a Hitman game that In Blood Money, the AI is reasonably Blood Money, it isn’t a bad game tries something new, you may enjoy competent and lenient enough that by any means. The graphics is quite Absolution without any problem. For you can mess up and still recover if impressive when the game doesn’t those like me who were looking for a you’re quick enough. In Absolution, attempt to overdo the Bloom effect. sequel to Blood Money, this isn’t it. DIABLO III REAPER OF SOULS

re-expansion Diablo III and enemies, giving them a dash isn’t exactly what the fans of variety. In order to clear the P wanted. The poor drop Rifts, players must fill up a gauge rates for rare items, the which would cause a Guardian simplification of the talent tree, to appear. Killing the Guardian and the addition of the real money results in a cleared Rift, giving auction house made the game players a special currency that highly divisive among the player can be exchanged for gear. base. With the Reaper Of Souls Special timed Rifts which drop expansion, Blizzard needs to retune WE RECOMMEND: legendary gems are also available the game in order to make it less Alienware 15 with 6th Generation for those who are highly skilled in frustrating than the base version. To Intel Core i7-6700HQ CPU, 16GB the game. that end, Blizzard has managed to Dual Channel DDR4 2133MHz, fix most of the problems found in 256GB PCIe SSD (Boot) + 1TB NEW CHAPTER the original game. 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage), As to be expected from a new Nvidia GeForce GTX 980M with 4GB expansion, Reaper of Souls comes BACK TO THE FUTURE GDDR5 and 15.6 inch FHD (1920 x with a new chapter in the campaign For starters, the auction house is 1080) IPS anti-glare display. mode. The story picks up almost gone. No longer can players buy immediately after Diablo was success, making it so that players defeated in the High Heavens and must now run through the world Adventure Mode. Adventure focuses on Malthael, the Angel of and kill monsters in order to acquire Mode puts players in the Diablo III Death.The improvements made in legendary or set items. Drop rates locations where players are given Reaper of Souls breathes new life of rarer items have also been a randomised set of objectives into Diablo III. It is now no longer boosted on the high difficulties, to complete. Accomplishing all as frustrating as the base game meaning you’ll see a piece of gear of the objectives in an area will and grinding for gear isn’t as legendary quality and above much reward players with a cache that much of a chore as it used to be. more frequently than before. may contain rare loot. Rifts are With the implementation of new also implemented in t1he game mechanics and gear after every NEW MODE to give players more options to major patch thus far, Diablo III is To make the gear grind less grind for loot. Rifts are dungeons now no longer the sub-par action frustrating, Blizzard has introduced which have randomised locations RPG it used to be. TOP 10 GAMES

THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT

he Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is to Emperor of Nilfgaard and Geralt’s packed full of them, enough that all of you. I’ll mostly be talking former protégé had been sighted in attempting to complete all of them T about gameplay features the neighbouring countries, so the took a few solid weeks. Although, if and what I liked about the emperor commanded Geralt to find you are prone to hide in a man cave game. Let’s go! An incredibly popular her. Of course, along the way Geralt and marathon games, it’s entirely fantasy series by Polish writer got roped into more quests, many feasible for you to finish the game in Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher is which are central to the plot. As a big a week. Jokes aside, I enjoyed how about Geralt of Rivia, monster hunter RPG and fantasy novel reader, I found the side quests were not just inane extraordinaire, and this is the third the narrative and storytelling for The ones to ‘slay boar, collect hides’, but game in the series. He’s tracking down Witcher 3: Wild Hunt an excellent one. they all had their own sub-plots that his old flame, the sorceress Yennefer were deeply engaging. They weren’t of Vengerberg, while war and political GETTING SIDE-TRACKED quick trips either and playing these upheaval rages in the surrounding RPGs without side quests don’t quests often side-tracked me from countries. Right at the start, players exist and The Witcher 3 was the main storyline. are promised a game with a massively larger world and one that is more true to the spirit of the first The Witcher game, which some found lacking in The Witcher 2.

EPIC TALE In Wild Hunt the main plot, Secondary Quests and Witcher Contracts all have a feel of depth to them. That’s great, because it makes sure that we’re not playing some MMORPG generic quests elements. Starting off with tracking down Yennefer, which funnily enough was completed quite early, Geralt was soon given a quest to locate Ciri. The daughter of the FORGING AN ARSENAL Crafting and Alchemy were also fun, but tedious because of all the ingredients I had to hunt down. While I only had to acquire the ingredients once to craft the items I want in Alchemy, Crafting was trickier since an individual craftsman makes different equipment. For weapons, I needed to get a blacksmith to help, but only an armourer can make defensive gear for me. Of course, the materials had to be prepared beforehand.

STRATEGY FIRST The combat system in The Witcher 3 consisted of a more mellowed pace of combat that encourages preparation and caution, especially the latter. I realised that soon enough, when I charged into a pack of wolves (after killing some lone stragglers) and promptly got surrounded from all sides before being torn to pieces. Sure, sometimes I can just my way through, but more often than not that’s not the best way in battles. It’s important to make use of whatever terrain advantages there are, along with sidesteps and dodge-rolls to minimise damage. Then of course there was the need NEW CHAPTERS to always bring the right items and The Witcher 3 won’t be ending just yet, gear to a fight. Some may say that as CD Projekt RED has announced the the combat is simple, but I felt that release of two additional expansions it did require me to plan ahead. in the coming months. Hearts of Stone will be released around October 2015, TIME FLIES while Blood and Wine is slated for an I believe that The Witcher 3: Wild early 2016 release. Both expansions Hunt gave fans of the series the will come with a price tag, because game they deserved, plus many it’s not going to be minor, but would hours of monster hunting fun. I’d instead combine for 30 more hours know, because I sunk so many hours of adventure. in the short time I had with the game. In the first weekend I had with FUN JABS the game, I woke up in the morning WE RECOMMEND: CD Projekt RED really isn’t afraid to to play it and the next thing I know, A sizeable and powerful system for pull punches, especially when it’s the sun was going down; that’s how this game. Rediscover the Alienware an anti-piracy method they don’t dangerously addictive it could be. I 17 to give you the ultimate gaming like. In the game, you get to collect highly recommend getting the PC experience. It is powered by an Intel or buy books that usually pertain to version if you have a good rig, to Core i7-6700HQ processor (Quad- lore, but there’s just one that’s a bit enjoy the superior graphics it can Core, 6MB Cache, up to 3.5GHz w/ unusual. That particular book takes a output. Thumbs up, easily one of Turbo Boost) with Nvidia GeForce very roundabout dig at DRM (Digital the best if not the best game of the GTX 980M graphics with 8GB Rights Management), check out the year so far! GDDR5 memory. picture we’ve attached. TOP 10 GAMES

METAL GEAR SOLID V: THE PHANTOM PAIN

etal Gear Solid has come potential Bond villain. Not only GREAT GAMEPLAY a long way since it first has he revolutionised cinematic It’s this level of genius gameplay M saw the light of day in presentation into video gaming, design encouraging player ingenuity 1998. The original title he also introduced clever game that made the Solid was an ambitious game with blocky mechanics that may seem outlandish series its own game. A Hideo Kojima polygons and muddy textures, but to traditional gamers, but still game. A lot of developers have tried jam packed with great voice work, made sense in every way possible. to imitate Kojima’s creativeness in genius gameplay, tremendous Examples: A mind reading boss design, but few have surpassed his story and over-the-top cinematic character who can read your every cunning. Sorry, Peter Molyneux. So if action extravaganza. move? Lazy to backtrack to a far off you’re ever playing a Metal Gear game section of a map? Hide in box and that lacked Kojima’s design essence, KOJIMA EVOLVED hitch a ride on transport truck that you’re probably playing the one that The mastermind behind this goes there. A century year old sniper was outsourced to Platinum Games. of the game evolution is none other out-gunning you? Save your game, than Hideo Kojima – game designer, wait a week later and he’ll die of old Years and sequels later, we’ve now screenwriter, director, producer, and age. No, really… have Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Sadly, it’s also the final Metal Gear Solid game by Hideo Kojima. Is it worthy to be his last and greatest hurrah in the franchise?

MULTIPLE CHOICES Gameplay in The Phantom Pain is a massive departure from the other Metal Gear games due to the fact that the game is now an open world sandbox of sorts. A mission gives you objectives that you need to complete. How you achieve those objectives is entirely up to you. Do you want to be a pacifist and knock out or tranquillise every enemy you see? Go ahead! Do you want to emulate John Rambo’s finest moments? Do it! Do you want to bring a tank into a gunfight? If you have a tank, sure thing!

As stealth is a major part of the game, you would expect the game to be unforgiving in the stealth department. Surprisingly, this isn’t the case as the moment you are about to get spotted, the game goes into Reflex Mode. Reflex Mode is basically Bullet Time, which allows you to neutralise the person that spotted you before he alerts his teammates about your presence. Failing to do so will result in the traditional Metal Gear warning and a hail of gunfire, mortars and other map may seem daunting at first armaments bearing down on you. thanks to the scale of the operation area, but once you learn a few tricks, navigating the world becomes much easier. Hint: it has something to do with the cardboard box.

Besides the main stealth gameplay, The Phantom Pain also comes with some micromanagement tasks in the form of Mother Base. As mentioned earlier, you are able to recruit soldiers on the field to add to your PMF. The base management side of things WE ARE DIAMOND DOGS allows you to shift recruits around to Most will expect The Phantom Pain WE RECOMMEND: maximise base efficiency, quarantine to be Kojima’s magnum opus, since A larger screen to catch the enemy them, or fire them if they prove to it’s his final involvement to the Metal creeping behind you, with roaring be troublemakers. Once you cross a Gear series as a director in Konami. graphics and a massive screen. The certain threshold in the game, you’re However, like Punished Snake, the new Alienware 17 R3 is the gamer’s allowed to send the troops you scars and disabilities did not stop the choice for power and performance. recruited into the field to conduct their game from being an excellent one. Add the optional Graphics Amplifier own operations. Achieving success in Like its predecessors before it, Metal to elevate the experience. Intel Core those operations rewards you with Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is a i7-6700HQ processor (Quad-Core, materials and cash that you can spend game worthy for fans and newcomers 6MB Cache, up to 3.5GHz w/ Turbo on upgrades or deployment costs.. alike. A game by Hideo Kojima. Boost), Optional NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M with 8GB GDDR5.

FREE TO ROAM When you’re not out doing story missions, you’re able to mess around in the operating area of your choice. You can complete Side Ops, run between outposts trying to find new recruits for Mother Base, or just go around killing everyone. Travelling between places on the TOP 10 GAMES

BATMAN ARKHAM KNIGHT

here is a reason Batman: With Gotham completely evacuated, CRACK SOME SKULLS Arkham Knight is included in the city itself is now a playground for By this point, we would already be T the PC.com Top Ten Games for the likes of Two-Face, the Penguin, highly familiar with the combat system 2016. For one, we can’t have a Scarecrow and others to run amuck. in the Arkham games. Aside from top 10 without the inclusion of a super Besides the villains that you know some welcomed improvements and hero. A successor to the Arkham and love, another character that goes additions, Rocksteady didn’t mess Origin and the Arkham sequel, by the name of the Arkham Knight is with the formula for Arkham Knight Arkham Knight was released late overseeing Scarecrow’s operation and as the combat feels slicker, fluid and this year and remains as one of the has a major bone to pick with Batman. slightly more polished than it was in best third person perspective games. You, being Batman, must see to it that Arkham City. Also introducing for the first time is they are back behind bars, and you’ll the Batmobile which is playable for do so by breaking bones and causing a Chaining together a long combo feels transport and for combat. serious amount of pain. just as satisfying as the previous games

THIRD TIME LUCKY Arkham Knight is the third instalment of Rocksteady’s trilogy of Batman games. Yes, there is Arkham Origins, but that isn’t made by Rocksteady so it doesn’t count. The events of Arkham Knight occurs a few months after Arkham City.

Scarecrow is back in town and has managed to unite most of Batman’s enemies into a tense truce in order to take out everybody’s favourite bat-themed vigilante. He has also threatened to release his newly created fear toxins onto Gotham City, causing all the civilians to evacuate the city. and a huge chunk of the gadgets are make you feel that fear toxins are really foot, air or Batmobile. That’s right, available from the start of the game, terrifying stuff. Another thing worthy there are no loading screens as you meaning you can start combo-ing of note, the Scarecrow in this game hop from one end of Gotham to the fisticuffs and gadgets immediately. is quite possibly the most dangerous other while entering buildings, sewers incarnation of the character in any of and so on. This gives the game a level Predator mode is largely unchanged the Batman media, including movies of immersion that is rarely felt in as well, but now the mooks in the and comic books. other open-world action games. game are much, much wiser than the previous games. When cautious, they BAT RACE would actively stick in groups, report There is no denying that Batman in with each other, and generally make Arkham Knight is a great game, but themselves less vulnerable than in the that doesn’t mean the game doesn’t previous games. have its flaws. One of the biggest gripes we had with Arkham Knight The enemy militia, on the other hand, is the game’s overreliance of the adds more variety and challenge by Batmobile. There are way too many planting mines near grates or vantage side missions in this game that require points, set up sentry guns, command the use of the Batmobile in one way drones to scan areas, revive KO-ed or another, the biggest offender teammates, and even jam Batman’s being the Militia side missions. detective vision. Intimidated? Don’t be. You’re Batman. WE RECOMMEND: Now don’t get us wrong, the Batmobile Batman Arkham Knight is a true is fun in small doses, but when you’re BAT V8 beast of a game which will push your forced to use it as frequently as the The biggest inclusion in this game PC to its limits. So we recommend game does, you’ll start to feel a little has to be the Batmobile. Designed the Alienware X51 Gaming Desktop bit annoyed. Controlling the Batmobile to look like an amalgamation of the with Intel Core i7-6700K Processor is also a pain in the rear as the car, Joel Schumacher Batmobile and overclocked up to 4.4GHz, 16GB when in pursuit mode, controls like it Christopher Nolan’s Tumbler, the DDR4 RAM, 256GB PCIe SSD (Boot) is driving on ice. Batmobile in this game looks a lot + 2TB (64MB Cache) 7200RPM SATA slicker than the chunky piece of metal 6Gb/s and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 I’M BATMAN! on wheels in the Dark Knight movies with 2GB GDDR5. Batman: Arkham Knight is a great while still looking like a car that can game, there’s no denying that. While take a punch, unlike Schumacher’s VISUAL STUNNER there are some shortcomings with neon-slick design. Hope you’re not blind as a bat the story and the Batmobile is over- (figuratively..), because this game is represented in the conclusion of the The Batmobile comes in two absolutely gorgeous. No doubt that Arkham trilogy, it is still a great game modes: Pursuit mode, which is the you’ll be amazed by the amount of to close off the Arkham trilogy. If Batmobile’s default setting, drives spectacular detail as you traverse you’re a big fan of Batman, you need normally and can lock onto a car and around Gotham seamlessly either on to pick up this game for 2016. shoot non-lethal missiles at them; and Tank mode, where the Batmobile converts into a pseudo-tank armed with a minigun, a cannon, and a non- lethal riot gun because, again,

LOSE YOUR MIND One thing that we really would like to talk about, but can’t go into detail because it would spoil the game for you, is the atmosphere. Seeing as the main villain of the game is Scarecrow, Rocksteady needed to find a way to depict the fear toxin as something terrifying. In that aspect, they’ve aced it as the game manages to genuinely TOP 10 GAMES

GRAND THEFT AUTO 5

id anybody remember the and maintain a stable framerate to with a first person perspective. This PC port of boot. Best of all, there are no highly allows you to play the game like a D 4? It was, to put it kindly, a intrusive DRM getting between you traditional FPS instead of a third complete mess. The game and the game. person shooter. While there are some had absurd requirements, choppy aspects of first person view that feels performance even if you manage to rough around the edges, particularly fulfil said requirements, and Games those pertaining to damage indicators For Windows Live. With the horrible and the cover system, this change in experience of GTA 4 still fresh in my perspective helps give players who’ve mind, I looked at the PC port of GTA 5 with a healthy dose of scepticism. Surely Rockstar would learn their lesson from the disaster from GTA 4 right? Well, learn they did, as GTA 5 is one of the best PC ports to come out WE RECOMMEND: in recent memory. Alienware 13 R2, because being mobile is whats the game is all about. The GOOD PERFORMER ultimate gaming machine comes with Let’s begin by talking about the Intel Core i7-6500U (Dual-Core, 4MB performance of the game. Grand Theft Cache, up to 3.1GHz w/ Turbo Boost) Auto 5 performs incredibly well on the much needed to execute the tasks at PC. It is a game that is highly optimised, hand. Good to know there is an All- allowing even aging machines to run day battery life made possible with the game smoothly. If you have a the optional 62Whr battery, graphics decently powerful machine, the game are enhanced with NVIDIA GeForce will be able to maintain a steady GTX 960M with 2GB GDDR5. 60FPS framerate, a feat that even the PlayStation 4 struggles to accomplish. Do you have a beast of a machine FIRST PERSON VIEW and a 4K TV with you? The game can Being a first for the Grand Theft Auto go all the way up to 4K resolution series, the PC port of GTA 5 comes played the game on the console a new in the game. If you have a character money you have and your character’s experience with GTA 5. on the console version of GTA Online, level. Money allows you to buy all the First person mode also shows off you can import said character to the expensive stuff in the game while Rockstar’s attention to detail as they PC version. levelling up gives you accessed to have modelled the cars in the game with Gameplay in GTA Online hasn’t various guns and vehicles. Heists interiors unique to each vehicle. Even changed all that much either. You are have also been implemented into the radios in the car changes display free to run around the city and cause all GTA Online, allowing you and 3 other depending on which radio station kinds of mayhem, or you can partake in players to tackle multi-stage missions you’re listening to at the moment. missions by yourself, with other people, that those of you who’ve owned or with your friends. The which pays the console version has already seen ONLINE MODE out in the hundreds of thousands. All all the content available on the PC Alongside the main game, the PC port of these are fun for the first few hours, version. If you’re someone who has brings with it GTA Online, the pseudo- but after an extended period of time, yet to play GTA 5, the PC version is MMO open world sandbox. Much like GTA Online will feel repetitive thanks worth the purchase. If you’ve played the main game, the PC version of GTA to all the MMO-like grinding needed to it on the console before, it’s still worth Online is more or less identical to the progress through the levels. it to get the game solely for the first version available on the consoles. One The PC version of Grand Theft Auto person mode.the character’s parents improvement that the PC version has 5 is more or less the same game you’ve affect his looks in the game. over the PS3 version is the character played on the console, but with better The PC version of Grand Theft creation menu. While you still can’t performance and a new perspective. Auto 5 is more or less the same directly customise your character’s It is an almost one-to- one port from game you’ve played on the console, feature, you can at least look at how the consoles, meaning only limiting but with better performance and a the character’s parents affect his looks factor of GTA Online is the amount of new perspective. TOP 10 GAMES ACCESSORIES

DELL 27-INCH GAMING MONITOR S2716DG DELL 27-INCH CURVED MONITOR SE2716H • Experience sharp and undistorted moving images with NVIDIA • The world’s thinnest bezels (7.7mm) on a 27-inch curved monitor G-SyncTM and the fastest refresh rate at 144 Hz for sharp, jitter- lets you enjoy a near-continual view across multiple screens. free graphics that drastically reduce motion blur. • A classy black piano finish gives this monitor an eye catching • Enjoy vivid edge-to-edge gameplay with QHD resolution design that would fit with any decor. (2560 x 1440) – that’s 3.68 million pixels – giving you close to • Down-firing 9W speakers seamlessly integrate at the base of two times more details on screen than Full HD. the monitor screen offering rich and powerful audio. • With tilt, pivot, swivel and height adjustable features, you can choose • Experience deeper reds and darker blacks with a superb 3000:1 your ideal viewing position and game for long hours comfortably. colour contrast and enjoy the same consistent colours across an • Connect easily to secondary devices and peripherals like ultrawide 178 / 178 viewing angle. your headphones, mouse and keyboard with its wide range • Stay connected over multiple devices including mobile and of ports, including an HDMI 1.4, DisplayPort 1.2, and 4 USB 3.0 gaming via VGA, 2 x HDMI/MHL (combo) and audio-in & downstream ports. headphone ports.

DELL ALIENWARE GRAPHICS AMPLIFIER • The new Alienware Graphics Amplifier allows you to enhance your Alienware 13, 15 and 17 notebooks at home, transforming it into an upgradable, desktop-class gaming station. Gamers have never had this degree of flexibility and power. Now the choice is yours. ALIENWARE TACTX HEADSET • The Graphics Amplifier boosts any gaming experience with The Alienware TactX headset is engineered for high-quality audio support for full-length, dual-wide graphics cards requiring up to performance. Built with a custom-engineered soundscape and 375W and provides even more connectivity to your setup with a optimised to single out key in-game sounds, this headset can built-in, powered, 4-port USB 3.0 hub. definitely give you a clear advantage against your opponents.

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