Considering the rather lengthy journey Wreckfest took from early access to full release, I was quite surprised to find that it has a sequel, Wreckfest 2, now also in Steam early access.

This sequel has the backing of THQ Nordic, which helped developer Bugbear finish the first game after an extended development period.

Like its predecessor, Wreckfest 2 is a no-holds-barred racing game very much in the vein of the classic Demolition Derby on the original PlayStation. With physics-based impacts, cars become twisted metal, and the circuits littered with wrecks and debris.Even as an early access game, I found Wreckfest 2 to be a bit sparse, content-wise, at launch. Of course, I’ve been spoiled by the original Wreckfest, which, although it started much the same way, is now a very polished and fully featured banger racing game.

A couple of months in and Bugbear has started to populate Wreckfest 2 with more circuits and cars. There are currently seven track locations to choose from, offering fourteen circuit variations. Fincross is a banger racing track available as a circuit and a reverse circuit. Savalax Sandpit is a quarry banger racing track, again, with a main circuit and a reverse circuit. European Rally Cross is a banger racing circuit.Speedway can be selected as an oval, figure eight or as a demolition derby arena. Scrapyard has a main route, demolition derby arena and a criss-crossing circuit called bonebreaker.

UK Banger 1 has an oval circuit, a figure eight circuit and a demolition derby arena. Finally, there’s an area called Testing Grounds with all sorts of ramps and devices that show off the game’s amazing physics.

From the above, depending on the circuit, players can select from straight-up banger racing and last man standing or deathmatch demolition derby events. The game has eight vehicles from American muscle through European compact to a motorhome.Vehicles can be painted to create custom looks. Like the tracks, the variety of cars is likely to continue to expand. There’s the option from the main screen to select a quick match and jump right in with a single-player race around the Savalax Sandpit circuit or select the custom race option and make your own single-player event. Multiplayer races can be selected either by matchmaking or the server browser. There’s no indication of ping or location on the server browser, but I never had a problem with latency.

The races are bound to make you smile with circuits designed to encourage absolute carnage. From the figure of eight layouts to lethal trackside detritus, players can find themselves in the middle of a pile-up at any minute.Other racers, as well, see no problem in pushing your car off the road. But revenge is sweet, via the guilty pleasure of giving your opponents a little tap that’ll see them careen off the road and into the tyre wall.

Just as with the original game, the physics and spectacle make the game. Be it the superb handling of the cars or the bouncing tyres and other objects spilling across the tracks, Wreckfest 2 is a rather unique racing experience.

The visuals on PC are next level, updating the graphics of the first game and bringing them in line with the virtually photoreal look expected of modern racers. The game uses AMD’s FSR 3.1.3 upscaling but has no Nvidia DLSS. The game did tax the review rig’s Nvidia RTX 4090, with all the settings maxed out when things got busy.There’s plenty of visual customisation options that’ll get the game running smoothly even on more modest machines. When Wreckfest 2 first hit early access, it was a bit lean, but now with more tracks, it’s worth jumping in.

As the game develops, we will likely see more tracks, more vehicles and hopefully a campaign mode. If you like the first game or racing games in general, I certainly recommend jumping in early with Wreckfest 2.

The post Wreckfest 2 (PC) Early Access Preview appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Nintendo updates its top-selling Switch console with a new version, imaginatively called the Nintendo Switch 2.

In the box, you’ll find everything you need to get going. There’s the Switch 2 device, two magnetic Joy-Con controllers, two Joy-Con 2 straps, a Joy-Con 2 grip frame, the Switch 2 dock, an HDMI cable, a USB Type-C to Type-A cable and a USB power plug.

Following on from Sony and Microsoft, with their PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles, the Switch 2 doesn’t discard what’s gone before, and instead is more of an update. This means instead of a new console that’ll make your old games obsolete, like in the days of old, most of your OG Switch games will run fine on it, or even better.

This is excellent news, as not only is the console a rather breathtaking AUD $700, but the games, as well, are now over 100 bucks a piece. You may do well to play a few of your old games, albeit in a higher resolution and faster framerate, whilst you save up for some of the new Switch 2 exclusives.

It’s also a bit crafty, as the new console already has a vast day-one library if you count the OG Switch games. Handy, as there are not really that many new Switch 2 games available for launch.

I’ll be open and honest about this. Whilst I’ve found portable gaming systems to be fun, it’s not since the PlayStation Portable that I’ve really got on with them. The PSP blew my mind in that I could play proper FIFA on the go, but it’s been downhill from there.

Perhaps it’s the older I get, the more self-conscious I become. And that, when I’m in a position for a bit of gaming on the go, I feel a grown man with grey hair pulling out a console looks a bit odd.

It could also be that the performance difference between a portable version of a game and a regular console (or PC) is just too great. So, unless I’m a captive audience on a plane or something, I’ll be playing the best version of a game on the most powerful machine (which isn’t going to be a Switch, let’s be honest).

Either way, in spite of trying, I’ve a difficult relationship with portable gaming. Made even more troublesome with the likes of the ROG Ally bringing PC gaming to a portable platform.

Of course, Nintendo brings its exclusives to the table. I bought a GameCube just so I could play The Legend of Zelda: Windwalker. And that was pretty much the same story with the Switch and Breath of the Wild.

The biggest draw for Nintendo’s Switch 2 is the games. With the day one launch of Mario Kart World, as well as updated versions of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, joining all those backward compatible Switch games (some of which you can pick up for pennies from the online store), Switch 2 early adopters are laughing.

The Switch 2 feels a lot more robust and grown-up than its predecessor. It seems a lot less like a toy and more like a prestigious, high-end device. It’s not as plasticky as the OG Switch, with slightly more weight.

The way the Joy-Con 2s clip into place with magnets as opposed to sliding on rails adds to that first-class experience. And good news: you can put the Joy-Con 2s on the Switch 2 back to front and upside down. Whilst they still won’t work, unlike their predecessors doing so will not get them stuck in place.

The Joy-Con 2’s straps also just clip into the controllers. Not only do the straps stop you from hurling the Joy-Cons at your TV, but they also become the base that turns the controllers into mice. And you don’t even need a mouse mat to use them as such; they work anywhere, even on your lap.

The button layout of the Joy-Con 2s is identical to that of the original Switch. The shoulder buttons are a bit bigger, and there’s an extra ‘C’ button for the new inclusion of built-in game chat. The Switch 2 also supports Amiibos, which are activated on the right Joy-Con.

Whilst it’s not an OLED screen, which is surprising, considering the cost of the console, it is a very nice and bright LED 1080p HDR display. The 7.9-inch screen is capable of refresh rates up to 120Hz. Compared to the OG Switch’s 6.2-inch 720p SDR screen running up to 60Hz, you can see why it looks an order of magnitude better.

The screen is virtually indestructible. But it’s easy to scratch, though, as there’s a fragile layer of plastic film covering the glass screen. Apparently, this film is to stop the glass screen, if broken, from creating thousands of sharp little shards of glass. If you pick up the Nintendo carry case, you will get a plastic screen protector, but you are better off buying a proper screen protector like the Tempered glass one from amFilm.

The Switch 2 comes with 256GB of UFS 3.1 onboard storage (compared with the OG Switch’s 32GB) and 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM (compared to 4GB LPDDR4). The Switch 2’s storage can be expanded with a microSD Express card. These are not the same as the microSD card for the original or OLED Switch.

The Switch utilises a custom Nvidia Tegra T239 system-on-chip processor featuring an octa-core ARM Cortex-A78C CPU and a 12 SM Ampere GPU. The Nvidia GPU brings with it DLSS upscaling, real-time ray-tracing and variable refresh rates (VRR) using Nvidia’s G-Sync capabilities, just like the company’s PC desktop graphics cards. When docked, the Switch 2 becomes even more powerful, cranking up the processor timings to support 4K HDR with VRR up to 120Hz.

In every way the Switch 2 is an improvement over its predecessor, except that the screen is not OLED. The Joy-Con 2 still having digital triggers instead of analogue is also a bit weird.

Another cool thing about the Switch 2 is that you can use your OG Switch Pro controllers with it. You can also use 3rd-party controllers, like the Gulikit KK3 Max.

The Nintendo Online service +Expansions not only give you access to online saves, but also the free Switch 2 upgrades for the two Zelda games, Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. Membership also gives you access to various emulators with loads of old games, including the GameCube emulator with Soul Caliber 2 and The Legend of Zelda: The Windwalker. These libraries are ever-expanding.  Nintendo’s online service is a lot cheaper than other console online subscriptions, and there’s a family option as well that makes it pretty good value.

Both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom look great on the Switch 2 screen. On the TV, the visuals are crisp and not smudged like they are on the OG Switch. The Wipeout-inspired futuristic racing game, Fast Fusion, is a great budget title that is not only a great game but also shows off the console’s visual prowess.

The Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour is another cheap game that’s worth a look. It should really have been a freebie, but still, it appeals to the nerd in me. The game is an interactive intro to the Switch 2’s technology via demos and mini games. There are quizzes as well as stamps to collect as you discover what’s under the portable console’s hood.

The Switch 2 still lags behind its contemporary consoles in performance. However, Nintendo is not pitching the Switch 2 against either the PlayStation 5 or the Xbox Series X|S. It’s a machine that’s a breed apart, and a significant step up from its predecessor.

If you have already invested in the Nintendo ecosystem with the OG, Lite or OLED Switch, picking up a Switch 2 should be a serious consideration. It’s not cheap, though, especially for a brand that tends to appeal to a younger demographic. You are unlikely, however, to find such a high-quality and versatile portable gaming device with such a unique library at a comparable cost to the Switch 2.

The post Nintendo Switch 2 Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Drawing on the very real 1950s nuclear disaster at Windscale in the UK, Atomfall is a very British take on the post-apocalyptic game from Rebellion, the publisher of Sniper Elite.

The player awakens in bunker five years after a mysterious event in the nearby Windscale nuclear plant, echoing the real-life disaster. With the area placed under quarantine, the local population has, for years, had to fend for itself, creating various factions. Elements of the British Army, known as The Protocol, have commandeered the otherwise quaint English village of Wyndham.

Set across a series of interconnected open-world areas, the gameplay is very loose. Players must find leads and resolve investigations themselves to uncover what is going on. This may be off-putting for players who prefer more handholding and guidance. It’s easy to find yourself backtracking or exploring areas unnecessarily.

This makes the game more about exploring and surviving the somewhat inhospitable world than simply following points on a map. Instead, it’s up to the player to plot areas of interest and follow up on leads.

Every character seems to have a secret. Navigating the politics and alliances of the post-apocalyptic Lake District is fraught with challenges. There’s a lot of talking with NPCs to unravel the game’s mysteries. There are also a lot of choices to be made. You can accept tasks from the various characters, double-cross them and even kill them.

The game’s survival credentials are all on full display with ammo being scarce and the essential need to scavenge whatever you can. It’s a hostile environment with bandit patrols that won’t hesitate to attack on sight. Some genuinely scary moments will have you running through abandoned facilities hoping to outrun the seemingly invulnerable creatures that lurk within.

The AI isn’t bad, either. Of note, pointing a gun at an opponent armed with just a melee weapon will make them back away. But they are rarely alone, and it’s very easy to become overwhelmed.

Atomfall uses the same aging engine as the Sniper Elite games, which meant, for my PC gaming experience, a lack of anti-aliasing and shimmering distant textures, giving the game a rather dated overall look. It’s not a bad-looking game, but not up to the standard we really should be expecting.

The game has an oddball, almost clichéd sense of “Britishness”. This design choice is aimed, I think, at those not necessarily from the Sceptred Isles. It’s all a bit too quaint at times, with its atypical English village, red phone boxes, and cheery “Tommys”, for this British expat. The game does, however, benefit from the unnerving and rather bleak flavour of British horror/sci-fi offerings such as The Quatermass Experiment, Day of the Triffids, The Midwich Cuckoos and even The Wicker Man.

Atomfall offers a fresh experience for players with the patience to discover the game’s mysteries for themselves. Visually, it is acceptable, if a little dated. The design style and quirky setting elevates the game. Overall, it’s fun to play, but falls just short of being great.

The post Atomfall (PC) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Sniper Elite: Resistance is the sixth mainline instalment in Rebellion’s long-running WW2 sniper series. It’s the first to have an unnumbered title and only the second second game to revisit a previously covered theatre of war.

Like Sniper Elite 5, Sniper Elite: Resistance is set in Nazi-occupied France. But instead of playing as the series regular, Karl Fairburne, players take on the Germans as Harry Hawker. The campaign is set in 1944 running parallel to Sniper Elite 5.

For those not familiar with the series, the game is a third-person stealth shooter that uses an over-the-shoulder view for hip shooting and pistols, and the rifle optics when sniping. Taking out targets, one by one, from a distance is encouraged as going in all gung-ho with close combat can get a bit overwhelming. Using environmental noises to cover gunfire helps to keep Hawker’s location secret. Getting seen raises alarms and can result in an overwhelming number of reinforcements descending on the player’s location.

The game is broken up into a series of open-world environments each with sequential mission objectives, and optional targets. Players are required to move around the map, preferably avoiding direct contact with the enemy.

The open-world nature of the game promotes replay, as there are often several different options available to players to complete goals. Reaching certain points unlocks alternative start points for use in future attempts.

In previous games, I’ve felt that all the different approaches available to players have been equally curated to make for some exciting gameplay. This time, events seem a lot more random and haphazard and don’t fit together quite as well.

There are nine mission areas in the game. From dams to train depots, to open countryside and towns, the scenarios offer a variety of environments meaning that no mission area is the same. You could be infiltrating an enemy HQ surrounded by farmland or sabotaging an installation in the middle of a quarry. The are also occasional optional additional targets and objectives available for extra rewards.

These large open areas offer players plenty of variety. The freedom that the game gives players can be overwhelming at first, but this translates into opportunities to adapt according to the situation. Many a time, as I’ve been discovered and the enemy alerted, I’ve been able to traverse the map and lose my pursuers.

As well as the opportunity for some impressive long-range sniping, there are plenty of stealth options available for some up-close and personal guerrilla tactics. This is often the best way, with a bit of patience, to sneak about and clear the field, so to speak, when faced with seemingly overwhelming odds.

Multiplayer is catered for via the usual deathmatch (Free-For-All), team deathmatch (Team Match) and squad deathmatch (the four teams of four players Squad Match). No Cross is a mode that has snipers shooting at each other across a no man’s land. There’s also a co-op survival mode with a team facing off against waves of enemies.

The campaign can also be played multiplayer either as a two-person co-op or via the Axis Invasion mode. Invasion mode has a player-controlled enemy sniper entering your otherwise single-player campaign.

The visuals are decent if a bit dated, with the anti-aliasing on PC leaving much to be desired. Whilst the series’ signature x-ray bullet cam impressed back in the day, it doesn’t have the same impact now and looks a bit unrealistic.

Sniper Elite: Resistance is a worthwhile distraction for fans of the series who want more of the same. It does seem to be more of a recycle of Sniper Elite 5 than its own thing, like the publisher has just packaged up some of the last game’s potential DLC and made a standalone entry. Still, it is a fun game with plenty of replay value.

The post Sniper Elite: Resistance (PC) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Ubisoft’s long-running Assassin’s Creed saga visits feudal Japan with Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Fans have long cried out for an Assassin’s Creed game set in Japan. The romanticised idea of ninjas and samurais, honour and battle, sits well with the series’ themes and gameplay.

2020’s Ghost of Tsushima had Sucker Punch Productions and Sony Interactive Entertainment beat Ubisoft to it with a game that was Assassin’s Creed in all but name. Drawing more from a Westernised fantasy melded with films of Akira Kurosawa than historical accuracy, Ghost of Tsushima nevertheless set a high bar for Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Whilst I’m a huge fan of Assassin’s Creed games, the rocky path of this latest game, with its lengthy delay and controversies during development, gave me cause for concern. With Star Wars Outcasts not being as well received as the publisher would have liked, Ubisoft has a lot riding on Assassin’s Creed Shadows.

Thankfully, the extended development time seems to have paid off, with Assassin’s Creed Shadows being one of the most beautiful games I’ve ever played and possibly the best Assassin’s Creed game in a while. But I didn’t find it instantly appealing.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows starts slowly, introducing the character of Yasuke, the black samurai who has caused much of the game’s controversy. Controlling the powerful warrior, players unleash hell through a carefully scripted sequence that has none of the open-world gameplay that the series is known for.

Players then switch to Naoe, a young shinobi, the polar opposite of the brutal samurai. Again, players are led through a curated sequence. With this, the game tries to ingrain its stealth mechanics into the player via a rather unforgiving scenario. Whilst it had me cursing, it wasn’t too long before I got to grips with Naoe’s moves. By the end of the prologue, I appreciated what the developers were trying to do, even if it was a bit on the nose and a chore at times.

As a reward for my efforts, the game world then opened up. And what a world it is.

The game builds on the vast open areas of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla whilst not ignoring the back-to-basics intent of Assassin’s Creed Mirage’s combat system. The result is a gorgeous-looking game that offers players enemy opponents that actually present a challenge. The enemy AI can sometimes be just as iffy as it has always been, allowing for some gaming of the system, by and large, though you’ll still need your wits about you.

The ninja/shinobi abilities of Naoe are totally befitting an Assassin’s Creed game. The animations as she leaps and runs across rooftops are straight out of pop culture references to the shadowy warriors. Whilst Naoe’s movements may be closer to Frank Miller’s depiction of ninjas in his Daredevil comics than historical reality, it ticks the box for me.

Whilst Valhalla’s Eivor gave me no inspiration for any finesse when dealing with fortified sites with multiple enemies (she is a Viking warrior, for God’s sake, a people not renowned for any subtlety), things are different with Naoe. Not only will attacks from multiple enemies quickly become overwhelming in Assassin’s Creed Shadows, but Naoe’s abilities and movement also promote stealthy infiltration.

For players that have long given up on the stealth foundations of the series, there’s Yasuke, so you can continue to wage war, head-on. Whilst the powerful samurai isn’t really in keeping with the principles of Assassin’s Creed, most of the entries in the series of late have been straying far from the original premise, anyway.

Apart from the brief introduction at the beginning of the game, it was twenty hours in by the time I next had an opportunity to play as Yasuke, at the beginning of Act II. After this, players can switch between both characters. Some side missions and targets are available to both characters, but Yasuke and Naoe have their own story missions as well.

The game not only has a night/day cycle but also the turn of the seasons. This drastically changes the environment, with leaves turning orange and snow on the ground. Water also freezes, giving Naoe a fun slipping animation as she crosses the icy surface.

The game has a wanted system similar to the one in earlier games, and most recently in Mirage. This only comes into play after the first act. If guards ring a bell your character will be a target in that region and powerful guardian opponents will also spawn. The only way to remove a character’s wanted status is to wait for the season to change (or manually change it) or use scouts to remove it once your hideout has been upgraded. Switching characters also removes the wanted status, as long the other character isn’t wanted in that region as well.

Players can upgrade their hideout area with new buildings which add extra abilities. The forge allows weapon upgrades. The study and stables improve the abilities and number of scouts- which can be used to smuggle resources, reveal quest locations and remove a character’s wanted status. The Dojo allows players to train allies that can be called for assistance during combat. Other buildings increase experience multipliers and loadouts.

Probably the weakest part of the game is the story. That’s not because it is particularly bad, it’s just that the environment, the visuals and the gameplay all trump the narrative, which only really serves to move the player on to the next task. The Assassin’s Creed story has been a diminishing focus of the game since Ubisoft tied itself up in knots to such an extent that it had to kill off Desmond, back in Assassin’s Creed III. The emphasis since has been more on the vividly realised settings and the player’s interactions in those environments than a rigid story structure.

The game is every bit as packed with things to do as the previous Assassin’s Creed games to the point of being overwhelming. The vast environment is full of towns and villages, many offering ornate castles and fortifications with treasures to be unlocked once the daimyos have been defeated. There are also ronin that will attack on sight, creating a bit of mayhem if the local guards spot you fighting.

All this is tied together by visuals that look absolutely breathtaking. The game may use the same engine as previous Assassin’s Creed games, but this just makes for a more optimised experience. The atmospheric effects are incredible, with sunlight fighting through mist, and fog shrouding the landscape. Flowers blow in the wind as you run through them. In built-up areas, citizens go about their business. The world feels very much alive.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is still very much in the same vein as Valhalla, offering players a fantastic, huge environment to explore that is beautifully rendered. The gameplay balances the stealth of Naoe’s shinobi with the brutality of Yasuke’s samurai to give players two very different ways to play.

The game is another hit for Ubisoft and one that they are no doubt in need of right now. The Assassin’s Creed saga continues to entertain with feudal Japan being a very fitting era for the franchise and one that fans are sure to enjoy.

The post Assassin’s Creed Shadows (Xbox Series X / PC) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The Asus TUF Gaming Z890-Pro WIFI is an ATX LGA1851 motherboard designed for Intel’s Core Ultra Series 2 ‘Arrow Lake’ processors.

For what is effectively Intel’s 15th generation of desktop processors, it is all change. The introduction of a new motherboard chipset is not unusual for a new processor generation but for the last three years, Intel’s 12th, 13th and 14th-generation CPUs have happily used the 600 and 700-series chipsets. For the Core Ultra Series 2 ‘Arrow Lake’ Processors we have a new 800-series chipset, a new processor socket type in the LGA1851 and no more DDR4 memory option- from now on it’s just DDR5.

The Asus TUF Gaming range complements the company’s enthusiast Republic of Gaming branding but goes more for a rugged industrial MIL-Spec look with high-performance gaming in mind.  The TUF Gaming Z890-Pro WIFI is a top-of-the-range motherboard for those wanting to make the most of Intel’s ‘Arrow Lake’ processors with plenty of component options.

The box comes complete with all the accessories that you need to install the board. There are two SATA6 cables, a WiFi antenna, M.2 screws and rubber mounting pads, and a special M.2 Q-Slide fixing for small NVMEs. There’s also a sheet of stickers and a removable plastic TUF Gaming nameplate that can be mounted on the heatsink.

Whilst there’s a quick start guide with all the essential info, there’s no full manual or driver CD / USB. The manual is available to download from the Asus website, as are the drivers. The board will automatically request that you download and install Asus’s Armory Crate app as soon as you start up Windows. Armory Crate will then download / upgrade the drivers that you need, which is pretty cool. There’s also a range of optional utilities that you can also install via the app. Whilst I’ve stayed away from Armory Crate in the past, it’s not a bad app, now, and useful for keeping your Asus drivers up to date.

The board itself is something special. Whilst Asus Prime motherboards tend to come in white, the TUF Gaming Z890-Pro WIFI is a silver-coloured board. The silver PCB and heatsinks make the TUF Gaming motherboard look quite striking. The large heatsinks over the input/output panel and the VRMs are complemented by a sectional heatsink for the M.2 sockets that surrounds the second and third PCIe connectors.

The silver colouring will complement the aesthetics of lighter components but also provides a nice contrast with darker components. In the test rig, the pastel RGB lighting from the Corsair Titan RX RGB cooler and fans looked fantastic reflecting off the surface of the motherboard.

With a standard ATX layout, the board is easy to install and there were no surprised mounting in the test rig. All the connectors are where you’d expect them to be, making it an easy board to just swap out if you are upgrading.

It has two 8-pin 12V CPU power sockets (so make sure your PSU has the required outputs) and easy-to-reach CPU_FAN, CPU_OPT and AIO_PUMP headers at the top. There are 5Gbps and 20Gbps USB headers on the right side, below the 24-pin ATX power socket, with a couple of SATA6 connectors below them. There are two more SATA6 connectors at the bottom of the board, near the USB 2.0 headers and front panel headers. Lighting enthusiasts will appreciate the easy-access ARGB headers on the side and bottom of the board.

The LGA 1851 is only compatible with the new Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processors. It’s the same size as the LGA 1700, but don’t try to stick your old CPU in the new board. It is, however, compatible with coolers that fit the previous LGA 1700 boards.

For testing I used an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K processor cooled with a Corsair iCue Link Titan 240 RX RGB all-in-one cooler. With the Core Ultra Series 2 “Arrow Lake” processors only supporting DDR5 memory, I used two 16GB Crucial DDR5-6000 Pro modules. These are easy to fit using the Asus single Q-DIMM clips. The motherboard supports up to four DDR5 DIMMs to 192GB, running up to 9066+MT/s (overclocked). The board also supports the new CUDIMM modules.

The rear I/O panel has a DisplayPort and HDMI port for on-chip graphics, as well as 2x Intel Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C) ports for DisplayPort and Thunderbolt video output. There are also 6x USB Type-A 10Gbps ports, an Intel 2.5Gb Ethernet port, five audio jacks, an Optical S/PDIF output and a BIOS flashback button.

The board has a header supporting 20Gbps USB Type-C (which supports up to 30W fast charging), a header supporting two additional USB 5Gbps ports, 2x USB 2.0 headers for four USB 2.0 ports and a Thunderbolt USB4 header.

There’s a small RGB area at the top right of the board. This complemented by three addressable RGB headers, one on the right side and two on the bottom, to power your case and/or fan lighting.

There are plenty of storage options. The four M.2 slots, support type 2242/2260/2280 NVMe SDDs. One slot is PCIe 5.0 x4, with the other three being PCIe 4.0 x4, one of which also supports SATA SSDs. All the M.2 slots use Asus’s screwless Q-Latch design, with the 2242 modules secured via an innovative Q-Slide clip. The main PCIe 5.0 x4 slot has a chunky screwless heatsink that’s easily removed.

Whilst you are probably going to be using your GPU audio, onboard audio is supplied by a Realtek ALC1220P chip for 7.1 surround sound. This includes front and rear headphone outputs.

Discrete GPUs are supported via a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot controlled by the Intel Core Ultra processor, with the Z890 chipset controlling 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, 1x PCI 4.0 x4 slot and 1x PCIe 4.0 x1 slot. A 1.5-slot GPU like the Radeon RX 7800 XT will obstruct the PCIe 4.0 x1 slot, which will likely not be a problem for most.

For connectivity, the motherboard supports Wi-Fi 7, via the external antenna, across 2.4,5 and 6GHz with up to a 2.9bps transfer rate. Bluetooth v5.4 is also supported. 2.5Gb Ethernet provides wired networking.

The Asus TUF Gaming Z890-Pro WIFI is a very easy motherboard to install. Asus’s Q-design makes interchanging components a breeze.

Whilst the motherboard booted without any issues, there are a series of small LEDs at the top of the board. These can be used to troubleshoot boot issues with the CPU, memory and GPU.

The motherboard uses a pretty standard Asus UEFI BIOS, which it boots into on the first startup to set the CPU configuration. In order to sort out some of the teething problems with the Intel Core Ultra Series 2 desktop processors, vendors have been updating motherboard BIOS firmware, and Asus is no exception.

The Asus EZ Flash makes what was once a treacherous action very simple and virtually trouble-free. I downloaded the new BIOS firmware from the Asus website and unpacked it onto a USB stick. From the BIOS menu, I used the EZ Flash option and selected the new firmware. A few moments later and the PC rebooted with the up-to-date BIOS.

Should things have not gone quite right, the Crashfree BIOS 3 utility can search and upload a BIOSD file from startup. The board’s BIOS Flashback feature would also have allowed me to update the BIOS without entering the existing BIOS firmware or OS. Inserting a USB drive with the prepared BIOS update into the specially labelled USB port on the back of the motherboard and pressing the Flashback button automatically updates the board. You don’t even need to switch it on, all it needs is the 24-pin power connector to be plugged in.

Using the board’s AI optimisation feature, the Asus UEFI BIOS allows users to overclock their unlocked CPU, painlessly. For this you need an Intel Core Ultra Series 2 CPU with the “K” suffix, which means it is unlocked and can be overclocked. Triggering the AI optimisation in the BIOS has the board monitoring fan speeds and CPU performance to squeeze a little more out of your processor. Running stress tests allows the board to calibrate the overclock to maintain stability.

With just one click, I overclocked the CPU to achieve an 8% performance increase in the Procyon Office benchmark. This is all optional, as the board performed well with the default settings. The only setting I would check in the BIOS is that the XMP is enabled so that your memory runs at its full speed.

For games, the TUF Gaming Z890-Pro WIFI with the Intel Core Ultra Series 2 285K and a Radeon 7800 XT performed excellently. I tested the set-up with Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and it ran flawlessly. Spider-Man: Mile Morales, as well, played great.

The ASUS TUF Gaming Z890-Pro WIFI motherboard has a lot to offer gamers with an Intel Core Ultra Series 2-based gaming rig. There’s plenty of space for storage with four M.2 slots and four legacy SATA 6 sockets. It’s compatible with the latest memory modules and there’s plenty of room for expansion via the PCIe slots. Casual overclockers will enjoy the one-click performance boost offered by AI optimisation. And, last but not least, the silver styling of the board will look great in your case.

Yet again Asus provides a no-nonsense motherboard solution for gamers wanting performance and reliability that is easy to configure and tweak as desired. Not only is the TUF Gaming Z890-Pro WIFI easy to recommend, but I’d also happily use it in my own gaming system.

The post ASUS TUF Gaming Z890-Pro WIFI ‘Arrow Lake’ Motherboard Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

2K’s WWE franchise returns in its usual bombastic style with WWE 2K25.

But beneath the showmanship of the “sports entertainment” branding, beats the heart of a very real and very polished fighting game.

I am about as far away from the usual demographic that WWE caters for. The set-ups, the cheeky taps the smashed tables and chairs all make my eyes roll back into my head. But WWE was reality TV before there was reality TV, offering fans excitement, drama and massive personalities in its superstar rivalries.

It’s been a couple of years since I last played a WWE 2K game. Even then I noticed the graphic advances being able to better showcase the look and feel of WWE, beyond the TV clips and videos. WWE 2K25 brings the contests to life.

The game has a ridiculous number of modes. Pretty much everything you see in real-world WWE has been shoehorned into the game. Be it Smackdown or Raw, or the up-and-coming superstars of NXT, you’ll find all the competitions in the game.

The game casts aside any notion that the WWE is choreographed theatre. Via a seemingly unending series of events and fight types, players enter the wrestling ring to engage in combat that doesn’t appear to have any rules whatsoever. The third-person bouts seem simplistic at first, but under the hood, WWE 2K25 is a full-on fighting game.

The game is easy to pick up, but surprisingly hard to master. With many of the moves requiring chained combos, there are loads of button combinations to remember. The four main moves are light and heavy attacks, grab and counter. Once an opponent connects, the only way to escape a potential barrage of attacks is to initiate a perfectly timed counter.

Light attacks will stun an opponent, whilst heavy attacks will deal damage. Each attack has four combinations matching the left stick direction, whilst running attacks can be used to clothesline your opponent.  Grabs can be chained for an Irish whip sending opponents into the ropes or start lifts that you can use to throw your opponent to the ground.

There are hundreds of combinations that enable players to duplicate some brutal moves on their opponents. Thankfully there is a tutorial section (the performance centre) that explains how to get the most out of your superstars. Whilst the tutorials are a lot of fun (and enable you to beat the crap out of your opponents) some of the more complex moves are not that well explained.

In playing the fights straight and with ever increasingly realistic graphics, WWE 2K25 is starting to stray into a bit of a grey area. Whereas family-friending WWE shows are as much about storylines, drama and showmanship, the game comes across as pretty bloody brutal at times. Superstars pummel each other without any hint that it is choreographed. It looks real.

This is exacerbated by the inclusion of intergender fights. Whilst female WWE superstars can hold their own against their male counterparts, watching The Rock pound Rhea Ripley’s face with a chair, doesn’t quite sit well with me.

As well as being a bona fide fighting game in its own right, WWE 2K25 is a full WWE show simulator. Players can set up their own shows, with their own fight lineups, rules and venues. The level of customisation is incredible you can make new superstars, and customise their fight attire, entrance attire, their branding, stats, animations and attitude.

The shows themselves, from the lighting, the screens, the arena, the crowd, and even the signs can be fine-tuned. The game comes with a comprehensive toolkit for creators to make a unique experience. And all of this duplicates the polish and glamour of the real live WWE. It really is something special.

The whole presentation is absolutely stunning. The graphics are the best ever in a WWE game, but these are now complemented by such fluid animations that make the game come alive. The action looks like a real WWE fight with moves and combo flowing seamlessly into one another.

Aside from the individual fights, the MyRise story campaign, 2K Showcase: The Bloodline Dynasty, MyGM, the EA ultimate team-styled MyFaction, WWE Universe and The Island all offer different ways to play. And, of course, there are local and online multiplayer modes as well.

If you are into the drama of WWE, MyRise puts players at the heart of the story as you work your way up through the WWE ranks. The Bloodline Dynasty follows the dominance of the extended Anoa’i family through WWE as told by “The Wiseman” Paul Heyman. You can complete challenges that follow the legendary real-life battles featuring the likes of Hulk Hogan and The Rock (as Rocky Maivia) or create your version of events.

MyFaction is the game’s microtransaction pay-to-play mode. It IS fun, but that’s the intent- to get you to buy booster card packs to power up your factions to progress the game. Building your team and playing shows places players right in the drama, in a customisable experience were anything goes (as long as you have the booster cards).

WWE Universe replicates the WWE show experience in the game. Players can play through a whole calendar of shows from Monday night RAW to special weekend tournaments.

The Island is an online social space where players can meet and fight or matchmake with others. There are opportunities and challenges as well as merch shops to buy accessories for your superstar.

For a franchise that is perhaps aided at a more younger audience than other fighting games (it is an M in Australia, compared to UFC 5’s MA 15+), WWE 2K25, is pushing it a bit. The violence, the microtransactions and the high cost of the top-end versions of the game mean it walks a fine line. On the other hand, it gives the game an appeal that is wider than its main fan base.

Whilst I’ve enjoyed playing WWE games in the past, this is the first one that really hooked me. The realistic animations, the gritty brawling and the outlandish moves absolutely captivated me. The opportunities to customise and make my own superstars only engrossed me more. It was such a hard game to put down.

WWE 2K25 is a breakout entry in the long-running franchise that sees an almost pixel-perfect representation of the sport in a game. Masses of content, a stunning attention to detail that draws on the history and legacy of WWE should appeal to old fans, new fans and anyone who enjoys a great fighting game.

The post WWE 2K25 (PlayStation 5) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Funko Fusion brings the cult plastic statues to life with some interesting, licensed adventures.

I’m not a fan of Funko Pops. Of course, I have a few, but as far as I’m concerned, they sit so far on the peripheral of pop culture fandom as to be a bit too try-hard for this cynical (and slightly snobbish) OG nerd.

So, a video game featuring the large-headed plastic oddities should be about as far away from my alley as a seat in the box at an AFL game. Curiously, though, I found Funko Fusion considerably more appealing than its static namesakes.

Funko Pops are stylised licensed plastic models of pop culture characters and icons. Everything from Back to the Future to obscure anime has been immortalised as a Funko Pop. Depending on your viewpoint they are hugely collectable merchandise or overpriced plastic rubbish aimed at the gullible.

From a gaming perspective, the massive umbrella of licensed franchises means that a Funko Pop game could draw on a huge amount of material. And that’s exactly what Funko Fusion does.

The developers have been smart as well. Almost as if they could see me lining up my crosshairs ready to take potshots at their stupid idea of bringing to life the plastic models I dislike so much. Instead of picking some of the more tenuous license’s likely to make me see red, they picked some absolute corkers to include in the game.

So even if some of the combat is a bit shonky and repetitive, I’m going to put all that aside and wax lyrical about how bloody awesome it is to play weird versions of absolute classics like John Carpenter’s The Thing and the 1970s Battlestar Galactica. The soundtracks alone make playing the game worthwhile. Those two gems are joined by big-headed versions of Hot Fuzz, Masters of the Universe, Jurassic Park and many more – some as guest appearances and others as unlockable scenarios.

The concept is not unlike the Lego games combining puzzles and combat. Funko Fusion looks similarly aimed at younger viewers, but the material is not really age appropriate. Whilst it was cool discussing 1970s Battlestar Galactica with my eight-year-old, things took a darker tone when trying to explain why the scenario based on The Thing was probably not a good choice to play next.

Despite the eclectic inspiration for the various scenarios and the variety of puzzles, as I hinted, the combat is a bit dull. It’s about as unsophisticated as in the Lego games, to be honest. But Funko Fusion labours on it a bit more, with different weapons from different scenarios needed to proceed in the game. But other than that, the game wears its heart on its sleeve.

Funko Fusion is an interesting love letter to the famous franchises that it draws from. Film and TV plots are lovingly translated into bite-sized levels that are both enjoyable as well as sometimes a bit dull. This is a game that I found myself wanting to enjoy more than I did. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that the game is a wasted opportunity, but it’s not exactly the license to print money that the developers probably thought it would be.

Time will tell, however, as a bit of a rocky start can be turned around. I think the game has a solid foundation and the available material to improve if the publishers want to spend the time to fix an interesting but flawed game and turn it into something special.

The post Funko Fusion (Xbox Series X) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

The new Xbox wireless headset promises easy-to-connect, untethered audio for Xbox, PC and mobile.

The hallmark of a great gaming headset is the ability to just put it on and play. No messing about with Bluetooth or dongle pairing, you just want to switch it on and get down to business, as you do with your gaming controller. Whilst there are plenty of third-party headsets that do exactly this, the Xbox Wireless Headset is designed for your Xbox and Windows PC.

Out of the box, the headset feels reasonably sturdy, with a flexible and extendable headband. It is a bit plasticky, but no more so than many other headsets. The black look of the headset, with a cheeky little bit of green for the on button, matches the styling of the Xbox Series X.

The lightweight construction compliments the soft spongy pleather of the headband and earcups to make the headset very comfortable. The earcups are a little on the smaller size if you have big lugs. The adjustable mic is very flexible and doesn’t feel like it will break off in your hand.

Adjusting the volume and chat mix is easy. The large dial on the right earcup adjusts the volume and the one on the left adjusts the mix. There’s a mic mute button on the left side of the ear cup on the bottom of the mic stalk. As previously mentioned, the green button on the left side turns the headset on. The simplicity of the design is exactly what you need. Nobody wants to be fiddling with tiny buttons to adjust the volume in the middle of the action.

There’s no manual in the box, something that is becoming the norm for consumer electronics. I’d applaud Microsoft for saving the environment if it wasn’t for the included fat (and useless) “Product and Regulatory Guide”. Instead, there’s a QR code that points to the set-up page on the Microsoft website.

To be fair, the setup is as easy as pairing an Xbox controller. To pair with an Xbox Series X|S You just press and hold the green button on the left side of the headset for four seconds and press and hold the Xbox button on the console until it flashes. It’s the same to connect to a PC or mobile device via Bluetooth. You just press and hold the green button for four seconds and look for “Xbox Wireless Headset” on your device’s Bluetooth options.

Microsoft boasts 20 hours of use between charges, which seems about right. The headset is charged via a USB Type-C socket on the side of the right earcup. There’s no USB cable included in the box, which is a bit tight, to be honest, since it is essential to charge the device.

The headset is Dolby Atmos compatible. Using the Dolby Atmos Xbox app optimises the spatial sound on the console. The volume is very good. I like listening to music at very high volumes and this headset delivers and is also more than adequate for games, as well. Whatever the volume, the audio remains crisp and clear with a hearty bass.

The mic pickup is good. I tested it with in-game chat and using Adobe Audition. It’s obviously not studio quality, but it does the job.

Whilst there are better (and more expensive) headsets out there, the Xbox Wireless Headset is designed for the Xbox Series X|S and excels in this regard. Not only does it complement the look of the Xbox Series X, but it also painlessly pairs and works without fuss. That you can use it with a PC or mobile device via Bluetooth is a bonus. It’s an easy headset to recommend to Xbox owners wanting a comfortable headset with crisp gaming audio.

The post Xbox Wireless Headset (2024) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Another year another installment of Activision’s long-running Call of Duty first-person shooter series. This year it’s a continuation of the rebooted Black Ops storyline.

Just as they did with the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare reboot, 2020’s Black Ops: Cold War drew a line underneath the previous instalments. Whilst the game retained some of the characters and the feel of the earlier games, it was a new beginning.

This new game drops the subtitle and returns to the regular series numbering, whilst continuing the story from Black Ops: Cold War. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’s campaign, jumps from the Cold War era of the 1980s to the 1990s and Operation Desert Storm.

The story is on-brand for a Black Ops game. Instead of a straight shooter (literally and figuratively), Black Ops campaigns feature convoluted plots heavy on conspiracy and subterfuge. There’s the intrigue, the dark underbelly of covert ops works in a grey area, international espionage and double-crossing. It’s more of a spy setting than playing as a black op commando unit but the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare games have kinda co-opted that.

The campaign game starts in 1991 with the player taking on the role of William “Case” Calderon, a CIA operative, charged with extracting a high-ranking Iraqi politician. After engaging Iraqi forces and apprehending the target, the CIA team comes under fire from a paramilitary group called Pantheon. Defeating the attackers and reaching safety, a Humvee pulls up. Out gets the unpredictable rogue CIA operative, Russel Adler, from Black Ops: Cold War who promptly dispatches the captured Iraqi politician, before being apprehended. Adler has a message for his former teammate, Frank Woods.

With the CIA team suspended, Frank Woods, Troy Marshall and Case follow up on Adler’s message leading them to a safe house in Bulgaria. The safe house is a hub area where players are free to roam around and explore.

Whilst for the most part Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is a linear affair. The safe house hub area is where you can train, look for clues and converse with other characters as if you are playing a role-playing game.

At the safe house, we learn what Adler’s been up to. And that a team needs to be assembled just like in a heist movie. Over the next few missions, using Adler’s notes in the safe house, tech operative Felix Neuman and assassin Sevati Duma are recruited to join the team. On breaking out Adler, the plot unfolds, revealing that Pantheon is trying to sell a US-development chemical weapon, the Cradle, to Saddam Hussein.

For me, the appeal of the Call of Duty campaigns is the linear first-person shooter gameplay, with its set pieces coming across like a no-hold-barred action movie. In recent years Activision has, via its team of rotating developers, tried to spice things up, altering the recipe with what I consider to be so-so results. Whilst I can dig the desire for non-linear open-world gameplay, that’s what we’ve got Ghost Recon for (now) and to a lighter extent, EA’s Battlefield games.

One of the missions is a huge open-world area where you get to kill Iraqis during the dubious Desert Storm 1 (there’s even a not-so-subtle reference to WMDs- the only WMDs in the game being the fictional ones, just like in real life). It’s bold mission choice, a mini open-world game within a game. Whilst very well done, it exposes the joins between the various teams that worked on the game.

Whilst not exactly my cup of tea, the developers have also managed to weave the popular Call of Duty zombie multiplayer gameplay into the campaign story. It’s cleverly done, but it’s another sequence that sticks out a bit.

There are, of course, some breathtaking moments, such as when you first call in for air support during the Iraq level. Fans of Modern Warfare’s Danger Close level will likely enjoy guiding bombs to their targets. Then there’s calling in the British SAS attack helicopter with the player manning the guns.

A bit of fan service has players using an RC-XD remote-controlled car with a C4 payload. This is identical to the one included in the original Black Ops Prestige Edition, even down to the controller.

The stealthier missions are a lot of fun, with only some sequences forcing players to remain undetected. This means that whilst stealth is the best way, you can still go in guns blazing.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign ticks all the boxes and tries to do something new. It’s not the best campaign game in the series, but it does have a few levels that I’ll likely return to again and again, and a few I’d not. The disparity between the missions fits the more abstract clandestine storyline but is likely more to do with multiple development teams working in isolation and their work being stitched together. It’s a good effort, but not up to the standard of its predecessor.

The post Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (PC) Campaign Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.