ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) has officially announced the ROG Ally X, a new model of its popular ROG Ally handheld game console.

Designed for Windows 11 gaming on the go, the ROG Ally X features the same AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, but adds upgraded storage, RAM, and battery life, alongside an updated chassis for improved ergonomics, cooling, and connectivity. Combined with Armoury Crate SE 1.5, which features a new customisable game library and unified system updates, the ROG Ally X is designed to #playALLYourgames better than ever.

Bradley Howe, Head of Consumer, Systems Business Group, ASUS Australia, said: “We’re excited to launch the new ROG Ally X in Australia and New Zealand after receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from users on the ROG Ally last year. We have continued to listen to our customers’ feedback, resulting in the new ROG Ally X, which offers great improvements to battery, thermal cooling and storage. We are delighted that this best-in-class handheld console will now be available for individuals looking for a powerful yet portable on-the-go gaming experience.”

Built with user feedback at its heart, the ROG Ally X amps many of its crucial internal components. A new 1 TB SSD ensures users have room for all their games, up from 512 GB on the original Ally. In addition, the ROG Ally X uses a redesigned motherboard featuring an M.2 2280 form factor slot, allowing users to more easily upgrade their storage to larger drives than previously possible.

Accompanying this storage upgrade is 24 GB of LPDDR5X-7500 RAM for more flexibility. As an APU, the AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme shares its video RAM with the device’s system RAM. With modern games using more VRAM for high-resolution, lifelike textures, 24 GB of system memory allows users to allocate more memory to both the system and the GPU for better performance in the next generation of AAA titles.

Finally, the ROG Ally X has also been outfitted with an 80 Wh battery, double the capacity of the previous model, so users can game longer away from the wall. Despite a sizeable improvement in battery life, the ROG Ally X only weighs 70 grams more than the original ROG Ally, with the weight distribution perfectly centred where the gamer’s thumb and forefinger lie while gripping the device. This keeps it feeling lighter than its 678 g weight, ensuring comfortable play and portability for all.

The ROG Ally X features a redesigned chassis in a brand-new black colourway, with slightly deeper handles and a more rounded shape for improved comfort, without adding much thickness to the device. The buttons and sticks are arranged with more ergonomic angle, with a slant to the triggers that makes them easier to press. The macro buttons on the back are also smaller, to reduce accidental presses while keeping them easily accessible.

The joysticks have been replaced with a new, more durable module rated for a 5-million-cycle lifespan, with stiffer springs for a more familiar response curve to longtime controller gamers. The D-Pad has been similarly improved, with more precise eight-direction input for fighting and retro games.

Users overwhelmingly requested more universal I/O, so the original XG Mobile port has been replaced with two USB-C ports on the ROG Ally X, one of which is Thunderbolt-compatible for wide interoperability with third-party docks and external GPUs.

To accommodate the new battery, the ROG Ally X features new fans that are 23% smaller, but utilise 50% thinner fan blades to improve airflow. Two new tunnels in the fan housing direct air up and out toward an additional, third exhaust vent on the upper edge of the ROG Ally X. This new thermal solution provides 24% more air volume to be pushed through the device, cooling not only the internal components but also the touch screen, which measures up to 6°C cooler for more comfortable long-term usage.

ASUS ROG Ally X is now available for pre-order.

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Gamers get another way to play with the ASUS ROG Ally.

ASUS has entered the portable gaming console ring with its Windows 11-based, AMD-powered ROG Ally. I spent an afternoon trying out this new handheld gaming device.

When it comes to PC gaming, ASUS is at the top of the game. The company’s PC components and gaming laptops are about the best you will get. I find the ASUS TUF and Republic of Gamers (ROG) brands are synonymous with quality gaming PC components. ROG gaming laptops squeeze a tremendous amount of PC gaming power in impressively small devices.

But, with the ROG Ally, ASUS has gone one better.

I was invited, along with a select gathering of local media, to check out the ROG Ally Windows 11 handheld gaming device in advance of its 13th June 2023 release in Australia and New Zealand. ASUS promises AAA PC gaming in the palm of your hand via a device five years in the making.

I did, however, have some reasons to be apprehensive on my way to the product demonstration. I don’t really get on with “gaming on the go”. In the past, though, I’ve had a lot of fun with the PSP and PS Vita, and I have a Nintendo Switch. But they’ve all felt a bit awkward in the hand, especially the Switch, which feels like you are holding a slab.

The performance of portable gaming devices always seems to be too much of a compromise for my liking. Apart from the odd play on it now and again, my Switch is reserved for plane trips and when I’m away from my gaming rig, PS5, or Xbox Series X. I had similar fears for the ROG Ally.

The ROG handheld is based on an AMD Ryzen Z1 processor.

This is both a Ryzen CPU and an AMD RDNA 3 architecture-based GPU. The Ryzen Z1 is available as both an 8-core / 16-thread “Extreme” version and a 6-core / 16-thread standard version. The ROG Ally launching in June will utilise the 8-ore / 12-thread AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, with a lower spec version of the handheld based on the standard Ryzen Z1 launching at a later date.

Complementing the Ryzen Z1 processor the ROG Ally has 16GB LPDDR5 dual-channel RAM and 512GB of user upgradable PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD storage.

The display is a full HD 120Hz IPS touch-screen with a 7ms response time and a brightness of 500 nits. Audio is provided by front-facing Dolby Atmos dual speakers. There’s also a UHS-II MicroSD slot, which is likely only useful for media files and data transfer. The top of the device also has a USB Type-C port adjacent to the propriety Asus port used with the USB port to plug in an Asus ROG XG Mobile graphics extender- boosting game performance with the help of a top-of-the-range Nvidia RTX GPU.

I have no idea what the actual performance of a Ryzen Z1 compares to and I’m looking forward to benchmarking it. But it had no trouble running Halo Infinite. The device makes good use of AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution upscaling to increase game performance. I’m a little concerned about the 16GB of RAM, as it seems that this is shared with the GPU. 16GB or GDDR memory is pretty standard for a modern GPU, but I’d expect a PC to have at least 16GB of system memory as well. Unless there’s some dark magic going on, I’m apprehensive about just what the ROG Ally’s long-term capabilities are.

But, thank goodness that the rather paltry 512GB SSD is upgradable.

With the above in mind, it is a bit unfair to compare the ROG Ally to a desktop gaming PC.

Like gaming laptops, there are some compromises to be made for the luxury of portable gaming. Putting technical specs aside, the Ally is a rather spectacularly designed device. The device feels great in your hands the grips moulded like that of a game controller. There are two shoulder buttons on each side with triggers underneath. The seven-inch screen fills the centre of the device, flanked on both sides by the familiar thumbsticks, D-pad, and XYAB buttons you’ll find on an Xbox controller. There are also four menu/system buttons positioned on either side of the screen. The power button on the top is also a fingerprint reader compatible with Windows Hello.

It’s worth remembering that as a Windows 11-based device this is effectively a Microsoft portable gaming console. In theory, if it runs on a PC, it should run on the ROG Ally, which opens up all sorts of uses. To make the experience a bit more user-friendly, ASUS have overlaid Windows 11 with a special version of their ROG Armory Crate application. This will likely be particularly useful if you find using the Windows desktop a bit challenging on a 7-inch screen.

The device is loaded with all the main PC gaming clients such as Steam, Epic, Ubisoft Connect, the EA app, and GOG Galaxy 2.0. The device comes with a 3-month subscription to Microsoft Game Pass Ultimate unlocking hundreds of games via the included Game Pass app.

Not only can you download and play games from the Game Pass, but you can also stream games from Microsoft’s cloud gaming. This means instant access to many games regardless of their hardware performance requirements. I tested Forza Horizon 5 which worked well. As with all cloud gaming, your experience is very much dependent on your network and Internet connection.

The demo unit had a limited number of games installed so, as I mentioned above, I selected to play Halo Infinite, a game that I’m very familiar with. Performance-wise, the game looked great. The thumbsticks did feel a bit weird, but I think that is more to do with them being different from the Xbox controller that I’m used to. I also played Halo Infinite on the ROG Ally via the upcoming hub adapter plugged into a large TV / monitor. Using an Xbox controller, the game performance seemed at least on par with that of an Xbox Series S, if not an Xbox Series X. Quite impressive for a device that fits in your pocket.

At first, the AUD$1,299 / NZ$1,499 price tag made me gasp.

If the PS5 and Xbox Series X were not expensive enough, that’s a lot of money to drop on a tiny game console. But then I thought, realistically, what are you going to pay for a decent gaming PC?

You are not going to get much south of two grand and for a gaming laptop, you can add on another grand. The ROG Ally isn’t just a handheld gaming console, it is also probably the cheapest way to realistically play AAA PC games. Asus has stated that it is working with major game publishers to ensure that gamers get the very best experience with the ROG Ally.

There’s no doubt that the ROG Ally is a great-looking device and it performed very well during my short time with it. There are still a lot of blanks, however, that can only be filled with a good review / test and some benchmarking. I’d like to see where the Ally lands compared to a gaming desktop and a gaming laptop as well as how far I can push it, as not just a handheld gaming device but also a handheld PC.

The ASUS ROG Ally is available for pre-order now in Australia and New Zealand from JB Hi-Fi and PBTech (NZ only) and released on 13th June 2023.

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ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) is proud to announce the launch of the ROG Ally, an incredibly powerful new Windows 11 gaming handheld.

Driven by the cutting-edge AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, the Ally can breeze through AAA games and indie titles in 1080p with ease, whether gamers are playing alone or with friends.

With robust support and partnerships throughout the industry, the Ally is poised to be the ultimate handheld gaming machine.

Making this possible is the ROG Zero Gravity thermal system, which uses a dual-fan system with ultrathin heatsink fins and high-friction heat pipes to ensure the Ally stays cool in any orientation. The Ally also comes equipped with 16 GB of high-speed LPDDR5 6400 MHz memory, 512 GB of PCIe Gen 4 storage, and a UHS-II microSD card slot to further expand its storage capacity. WiFi 6E support ensures that the Ally stays on a rock-solid connection, even in congested networks, whether gamers are natively playing a multiplayer match or streaming a game via Xbox Cloud Gaming or AMD Link.

Flagship gaming performance demands a display to match, and the Ally does not disappoint. Equipped with a 120 Hz FHD (1080p) touchscreen with AMD FreeSync Premium technology gamers will enjoy supreme motion clarity in fast-paced games, with no tearing or stuttering. The display also has a maximum brightness of 500 nits, enabling gamers to easily keep track of the action in more challenging environments, like outdoors. This touchscreen display also acts to seamlessly allow navigation of Windows 11 when gamers need to change settings or install their next game.

The ROG Ally takes handheld gaming to new heights. With a 1080p screen and hardware capable of 60 FPS in many of the latest titles, the ROG Ally provides an on-the-go experience that will satisfy gamers of all stripes. Compared to the 720p resolution of competing devices, the Ally offers superior image and motion clarity thanks to its FHD touchscreen and AMD FreeSync Premium technology.

With the optional ROG Gaming Charger Dock, gamers can connect the Ally to a TV and charge at the same time, allowing for couch co-op and competition with extra controllers. The Ally can handle multiplayer games like NBA 2K23, Moving Out, and Street Fighter V with ease for a party that never stops.

When paired with an XG Mobile external GPU sporting up to an NVIDIA® GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, the Ally becomes a true gaming powerhouse for living room couch gaming or a high-end experience with mouse and keyboard. Gamers can play AAA games at 4K with ray tracing and DLSS 3, or take down the competition in high-frame rate esports titles.

All this versatility comes at an excellent price. The Ryzen Z1 Extreme-equipped model with 512 GB of storage will be available for pre-order open and available for AUD$1,299/NZD$1,499 on-shelf from June 13.

Gamers can also purchase ROG XG Mobile with an NVIDIA GeForce, or the XG Mobile with an AMD Radeon.

The ROG Ally was designed from the ground up with Windows at its heart, able to #playALLYourgames from any platform. ROG has collaborated with Microsoft, game publishers, and individual studios to ensure that gamers using the Ally have the best experience possible. Full support for Steam, the EA App, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, the Epic Games Store, GOG Galaxy 2.0, Android apps, and other game platforms ensures that no matter where users download their games, the Ally has them covered.

The Ally even comes bundled with a free three-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate code, giving gamers instant access to Microsoft’s game library the moment they unbox the machine. “Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members have access to hundreds of games, including hits like Minecraft Legends, Grounded, Age of Empire IV and many more,” said Roanne Sones, CVP, Head of Xbox Hardware. “With the ROG Ally and Game Pass Ultimate, we can’t wait for people to discover and play their next favourite game on the go, whether it’s playing native PC games with Windows or streaming console games with Xbox Cloud Gaming.”

ROG is also proud to work with Xbox Game Studios, Capcom, HoYoverse, Level Infinite, 505 Games, Team 17, Nacon, Techland, Squanch Games, and Fatshark to provide the best gaming experience on the Ally.

“Before the ROG Ally, handhelds were limited, only offering certain games often at lower resolutions and framerates. We spent five years working to elevate that experience. The ROG Ally offers high performance in Full HD on a platform that can play all your games, anywhere you go,” said Shawn Yen, Vice General Manager of Gaming BU, ASUS.

The ROG Ally is a truly next-gen handheld, offering Full HD (FHD) gaming on the go, and able to run even modern AAA titles faster and smoother than any other handheld on the market. Since it runs Windows 11, it can play any game from any platform and includes three months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate right out of the box. Gamers can play solo, connect to a TV to play with friends or kick into high gear with the ROG XG Mobile suite of external GPUs for a truly top-tier gaming experience.

The Ally is powered by an all-new Ryzen Z1 Series processor from AMD. Built on the “Zen 4” architecture combined with AMD RDNA 3 architecture-based graphics, the Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor rivals the prowess of game consoles, featuring 8 cores, 16 threads, and up to 8.6 teraflops of graphics processing power. An AMD Ryzen Z1 variant will be available later in 2023 with 6 cores and 12 processing threads, and both models support AMD FidelityFX™ Super Resolution and AMD Radeon Super Resolution upscaling technologies for excellent performance and stunning visuals in demanding AAA and indie titles.

“Our team has spent over a decade developing the technologies necessary to enable the Ryzen Z1 Series of processors. Working with visionary partners like ROG, we’ve designed a platform that redefines mobile gaming,” said Renato Fragale, senior director of product management for the Consumer and Gaming Client Business at AMD. “We’re excited for gamers to experience the first device powered by Ryzen Z1 Series processors with the launch of the ROG Ally.”

ROG Ally will be available on-shelf with 512 GB of storage in on June 13, 2023, with pre-orders open now at JB Hi-Fi and ASUS eStore.

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Full sized gamepad for on the go.

Steelseries has released their new connect or plug and play game controller which gives you the option of going wireless via bluetooth or via USB for PC.

STG received one in including the sold separately Steelseries Smart Grip.

The Stratus Duo is a fully spec’d, perhaps even a bit overwhelming controller with its array of buttons and options.

The usual D-Pad, X, Y, A and B action buttons, L1 and 2, R1 and 2 triggers and dual joysticks. But there’s more.

The center buttons act depending on what device you are using the pad on.

The center round button moreover is a ‘Home button’ and the two either side can be a ‘Start’ or a ‘Back’, ‘Option’ or ‘Mode’ button. I also found that those could be game specific too.

Then on the rear sided bridge are two toggle switches and pairing buttons. One for Bluetooth and the second for USB.

The four white light bars on the front of the Stratus Duo indicate either; connectivity (when in pairing mode) or battery life.

First up I gave bluetooth connectivity a go.

The Stratus Duo will connect to Android powered devices (smartphones / tablets) and PC wirelessly.

For mobile there was something of a magical experience having a full sized gamepad in my hands when out and about. Generally I do recommend pairing the Stratus Duo with the Smartgrip accessory if you’re Fortnite’ing on a mobile device.

The Smartgrip is exactly what its namesake says. It cradles the Stratus Duo and can take a handset as large as 6.5 inch and as small as 4 inch, snap locking everything in to place.

The Smartgrip is designed to not only be secure for both the controller and your smartphone but also portability as it will fold nice and easy.

Bluetooth pairing via BT 4.1 to both an Android smartphone and a gaming PC went exceedingly well with no glitches – I was able to game and do almost any function on my phone with the controlpad. For PC, Windows 10 picked it up and I was Borderlands 3’ing instantly.

The Stratus Duo does not work with iOS (Apple devices). I know as I tried it out of curiosity. This is a shame as it would be a killer controller for iPhone and iPad.

USB mode was next.

The Stratus Duo comes with a 2.4 GHz wireless USB dongle. Now as I used bluetooth already on PC and successfully I’d leave it to you if you decide to use the dongle or not.

Being the frequency that it runs on it does give a more uninterrupted connection – so having the dongle in competitive play or eSports is a definite.

Windows 10 picked up the USB peripheral immediately, however it was not until I disconnected the bluetooth connection I already had for the Stratus duo on the PC then paired via the USB setting that Windows 10 knew what the dongle was for.

It’s okay, it was expected.

For PC on wireless again it worked fantastically. No drops, no connection LAG. Brilliant.

The Stratus Duo is rechargeable. A full charge from flat takes around 40 minutes (USB charging cable supplied) and you’re likely to get 20 hours out of it. Should you need more juice, use the charge cable to plug and keep playing.

I’m over 20 hours usage and it is still going, with one light bar remaining (this means that roughly I still have a quarter of a battery remaining). When you realise that the Stratus Duo is designed to be a mobile controller, to take on the go, 20+ hours of non-stop pillaging, looting, battling, firing and adventuring is superb.

For me the Stratus Duo is an elite mobile controller that once connected to your device is a main stay and never lets you down – always up for the gaming challenge you throw at it.

As I said, I would’ve loved to see it iOS compatible and this is the only let down for me personally.

Priced at just a little over $130.00 (NZD), not including the Smartgrip add-on, the Stratus Duo is a precision and elitist weapon to wield for your portable gaming – and now that we are out lockdown Level 4 and 3, what better time is there to get out there and game.

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Evercade, the brand new handheld retro gaming console, today announced the next cartridge in its library – a new Atari Lynx cartridge with 8 games including: California Games, Chips Challenge, Checkered Flag, Todd’s Adventures in Slimeworld, Electro Cop, Gates of Zendocon, Zarlor Mercenary and Blue Lightning.

With 8 officially licensed games, this cartridge offers some of the best ever Lynx titles to the Evercade handheld, which also connects to your TV via HDMI.

These games are incredibly hard to play in any way currently (shy of owning the original console and cartridges) and shows Evercade’s continued mission to bring quality retro games to a single platform.

The cartridge joins a library of 11 other cartridges which includes content from publishers Atari, Data East, Interplay, Mega Cat Studios, Namco Museum, Piko Interactive, Songbird Interactive and Technos, taking the total to over 145 officially licensed games!

For those unaware, Evercade is a brand new console which uses its own retro style game cartridges – giving you a super simple, instant gaming experience – like the good old days. It features a 4.3” screen (the same size as the PSP) and TV output, so you can enjoy retro gaming at home or on the go.

Evercade have confirmed another (yet announced) cartridge is also in the pipeline and they plan to launch 3-5 cartridges this year alongside the 10 cartridges that will be available from launch.

They also recently announced that arcade games would be introduced to the console, expanding the potential library for this device even more.

The new cartridge will launch in Q3.

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With Nintendo’s Switch already sporting a technological gaming marvel with it’s impressive Witcher 3 port, Ubisoft have put their hat in the ring to bring players a package of not just one massive, fully realised game world, but two with their Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection. And it has pirate ships.

Last year we got the Assassin’s Creed III Remastered Switch release, which featured Assassin’s Creed III and an updated version of the PlayStation Vita’s Assassin’s Creed Liberation. Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection includes both the critically acclaimed Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and the series’ last-gen swansong, Assassin’s Creed: Rogue.

Physical copies of the game include Assassin’s Creed IV on the game card with Rogue available for download. The package also includes all the single player DLC for both games.

Ubisoft’s veteran series of third-person adventure games mix history with science fiction. The series’ over-arching and somewhat esoteric plot tells the story of an age-old conflict between the Order of Templars and the Assassins. A device called the Animus exploits the genetic memories held in DNA to enable the subject to relive history though the eyes of their forefathers (later of just the forefathers of the subject’s DNA sample).

Both the Assassins and the Templars are looking for ancient artefacts whose modern-day location may be reviled in the past. The Templars company, Abstergo, developed the Animus to locate these artefacts. Whilst most of the gameplay in the Assassin’s Creed games is within the historical setting, there are some sequences in the modern day.

The original 2012 release of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag finally saw the series move on from the saga of Ezio Auditore, whose trilogy of games probably was one too many. It also moved away from the original Templar vs. Assassins plotline featuring the modern-day character of Desmond, necessary due to the events at the end of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations.

Swapping the rather successful setting of Renaissance Italy and the suave hero, Ezio, for pirates in the Caribbean and an anti-hero in the brigand, Edward Kenway, was a gamble. But one that payed off. Kenway, the grandfather of the protagonist of Assassin’s Creed III, proved to be a lovable rogue and the setting, which includes full-on pirate ship sea battles, redefined the series.

Black Flag follows Edward Kenway as he sets out to make his fortune as a privateer during the Golden Age of Piracy. A run in with an assassin sees him take on the assassin’s identity and propelled into an adventure across the Caribbean to unlock the ancient secret that both the Templars and Assassins are searching for.

With incredible locations, a great story, interesting characters and fantastic setting, I’d say that Black flag wasn’t topped until Assassin’s Creed Origins came along some five years later. I felt Assassin’s Creed Unity and Syndicate both failed to reach the heights of Black Flag, even with the benefit of their dedicated next-gen development for the Xbox One and PS4 (Black Flag originally came out for both Xbox 360 / PS3 and Xbox One / PS4).

The version of Black Flag ported over to the Switch sits somewhere between the Xbox 360 version and the Xbox One version. Visually, the game is stunning, especially running on the Switch’s screen. On a TV the visual fidelity suffers a little, but unless you’ve played the game on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, you are still going to be very impressed. I’d say that the only real compromises for the Switch version is that the bushes down move as Edward sneaks through them (as they didn’t in the Xbox 360 version), perhaps there’s also a slight reduction in the character detail, and draw distances seemed a bit less. That’s with me really looking, I never ran the different version together. All I can say is that I found what must be my fourth playthrough of Black Flag utterly engrossing on the Switch.

The lush Caribbean setting is a joy to explore. From the huge towns of Havana and Kingston, to the pirate haven of Nassau and countless smaller settlements in between, that loads to do. The game is packed with missions, side-missions and collectables to find.

The biggest drawn, an what makes it such a good portable game, is the naval combat, with the warring British and Spanish ships ripe for a bit of piracy. Players get to command Kenway’s ship, The Jackdaw, as it journeys amongst the Caribbean islands, in calm seas and storms, avoiding patrols, picking fights and taking on pirate hunters, if they’ve been a bit too naughty.

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, some eight years later, still holds it own as a superb entry in the Assassin’s Creed mythos and a joy to play on the Switch offering a good 100 hours of gameplay for the completionist.

As well as Black Flag, the package also includes Assassin’s Creed: Rogue. Released around the same time as the Xbox One / PS4 / PC-only “next-gen” Assassin’s Creed Unity, The Xbox 360 / PS3-only Assassin’s Creed Rogue served to placate players who had not upgraded to the new hardware. The game was built upon the same engine as Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, reusing locations from previous games, but with enough new content to be a fully-fledged Assassin’s Creed game.

This time, players take on the role of Shay Cormac a disgruntled assassin that turns his back on the brotherhood and joins the Templars. The game follows Shay’s progress at thwarting the Assassins’ plans right up to a neat little tie-in with Assassin’s Creed Unity at the end.

The story is good, but Ubisoft stop short of properly exploring the other side of the conflict between the Assassins and the Templars. I would’ve liked to have seen the Assassin’s cast as murdering bad guys and the Templars as being the salvation of humanity. Alas, Ubisoft don’t take the leap to pain the series protagonists with a coat of grey paint.

The mechanics are almost identical to Black flag with Shay commanding his own vessel, The Morrigan, around the North Atlantic and east coast of America. Naval combat feels a bit more responsive this time, perhaps due to The Morrigan’s ability to turn on a penny.

If you liked Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, you are going to like Assassin’s Creed Rogue.

Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection is another premium port to the Switch of featuring a couple of modern classics. Black Flag was a superb entry for the series back in the day and works wonderfully with the Switch. The addition of Rogue gives players much, much more of the same excellent gameplay.

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My experience with the Zelda series is limited, by which I mean my first and only Zelda game to date was Breath of the Wild which blew me away so in a flash over 100 hours of my year were lost in a sea of glorious time wasting. Naturally I wanted to know more about this iconic series, which is the perfect time for a remake of one of the classics to come along, so I couldn’t be more chuffed to check out Zelda: Link’s Awakening with its massive overhaul on Switch.

If you are like me, a complete newbie to the series, Link’s Awakening is going to be a strange mix of “huh that’s cool”, and “boy that’s annoying”. This is because the game is faithful to its original with some annoying mechanics. This isn’t a deal-breaker though because in so many ways it’s so darn timeless.

The game kicks off with Link’s boat crashing in a storm and he wakes up on the beach of the relatively small Koholint Island. He is soon visited by a talking owl who vaguely guides him in order to find all the instruments so he can wake the Wind Fish and go home. If that story sounds bizarre and weird, it is, but I enjoyed the hell out of it. For a game so old, 26 years to be exact, it is surprisingly good. Keeping in mind its age, don’t expect a massive in depth through plot, there is plenty of characters with enough dialogue to be interesting, but you won’t be slogging through walls of text.

The game is top down as you move Link around hacking and slashing enemies. This gameplay is fun enough but as you collect a lot of your useable items, you need to go to the menu to map them to one of the two buttons you get to choose from. This is one of those old systems I found immensely annoying because I regularly wanted three or four at a time when I was experimenting with puzzles. It’s not a deal breaker because eventually you get used to it, but still something that would have been useful being tweaked some more.

The game’s puzzles and dungeons on the other hand are outstanding. I would have easily thought this game was designed recently by an especially creative indie dev team. The island has a wide selection of environments from foggy forest, to a desert, a mountain you climb, and grave site. Each of these present new requirements to learn game systems, and it kept impressing me. Puzzles sometimes involve beating what you see in front of you, and other times you need to follow a side story like a series of items you need to trade in order to have item you need to enter a new area.

Dungeons can become winding and confusing areas as you transition from room to room, with tasks you complete in one room helping you get past something six rooms away. I don’t want to spoil the details of dungeons, but they were consistently hard enough to give me pause, yet simple enough I didn’t want to slam my Switch to the ground. One of the weirdest things is its occasional use of side scrolling rooms, which are short but functional 2D platforming stages. I initially thought this must have been some quirky addition to the remake, but some digging showed this was in its 1993 release showing how clever these early devs were.

The game is a faithful recreation of the original game, with everything in the same places but with a massive graphical overhaul. I checked out a couple of old walkthroughs to see if I could pick it up at any point then follow it for a bit, and it couldn’t have been easier which is extraordinary that the game doesn’t feel that old. The new art style looks beautiful with a chibi-ish toy-ish style that looks cute as hell and totally fits the game’s vibe.

Zelda: Link’s Awakening is an amazing remake preserving everything about the original, giving it a new look that is unique and comforting. Players of the original that want to revisit this classic and newbies who never witnessed the original should both find a lot to enjoy in this game.

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The world could always use more heroes, so starting 16th of October 2019 Nintendo Switch players will be able to join more than 40 million players from around the globe in the fight for the future with the arrival of Overwatch Legendary Edition.

Overwatch Legendary Edition puts the definitive version of Blizzard Entertainment’s acclaimed team shooter in Nintendo Switch owners’ hands, complete with the latest content and gameplay updates. Players will select from a roster of 31 vibrant heroes as they face off in a variety of casual and competitive multiplayer modes and battle over map objectives in 28 different locations around the Earth (and on the Moon).

In addition, Nintendo Switch gamers have the option to take control of their heroes in a whole new way, using the console’s built-in gyroscopic motion controls, which lets players tilt their console to line up the perfect shot as McCree, pilot D.Va through the air, or quickly turn to deflect incoming projectiles as Genji.

“Overwatch brings players together to co-operate and compete in a bright and optimistic vision of the future, and we’re looking forward to welcoming Nintendo Switch gamers into the fun,” said J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment. “The Legendary Edition includes more than three years’ worth of content updates and gameplay enhancements, and we’re excited to team up with Nintendo to provide players with new ways to enjoy the full Overwatch experience—including on the go.”

Overwatch Legendary Edition for Nintendo Switch will be available in a boxed version (containing a code to download the game) and a digital version via the Nintendo eShop. Both versions come with 15 bonus skins for a range of heroes to kick-start players’ collections, as well as a three-month Nintendo Switch Online individual membership so players can jump into action and start battling alongside, and against, their fellow Nintendo Switch gamers immediately.

Players who pre-purchase Overwatch Legendary Edition by the game’s 16th of October 2019 launch will also receive the Noire skin for elite Talon operative, Widowmaker, the game’s ruthlessly efficient assassin. In addition, Nintendo Switch players who log in to Overwatch by 31st of December, 2019 will receive a bonus Golden Loot Box containing at least one guaranteed Legendary item.

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Pillars of Eternity was one of those Kickstarter love stories.

In 2012 it was an early success story when it raised over four million, the game was successfully made and released, rewarding its funders by being an awesome game that exceeded everyone’s expectations. Not being a CRPG fan I approached it with caution on Steam, and found myself absolutely adoring this gem, so given the opportunity to check it out on Switch, I was extremely excited.

Pillars of Eternity optimizes the CRPG genre, with the classic isometric view as you move your characters around exploring and fighting. As you explore the maps you remove the fog of war uncovering enemies, treasures, and lore alike in the best possible ways. Combat is exactly what you’re picturing, as you move your party around with a selection of character classes you use their attacks from an attack wheel. One thing that isn’t new but I’m glad to see is the use of pauses during battle.

The battles can get out of hand quickly, but these pauses are what makes it your strategic choice that alerts you succeed or fail.

One thing I hated about the game was the camera and character movement being totally independent. On a PC this doesn’t feel so bad as you have mouse and keyboard at your disposal, but even then, I used some trickery to map the buttons for both to the same keys.

I couldn’t find any way to do this in the Switch port and found it drove me insane constantly moving the camera away from my characters. This is something that absolutely should have been optimized for console, and after many hours of annoyance I decided to stop playing on Switch as I would rather remember the game for the amazing time, I had on PC years ago.

What Pillars of Eternity does best is writing.

You create your own character for the protagonist and choose things like their race which has an impact on their perks, but also how NPCs react to you in the world. The story kicks off with your character travelling via caravan to the village in Dyrwood when the travelers caravan gets hit by a storm. Alone your character is witness to souls being stripped from bodies giving them the ability to read souls and see visions of past lives.

The plot goes bonkers as she discovers that a cult is stealing souls causing people to be born without them causing them to be in a vegetative state. Your protagonist investigates to find a whole mess with gods and the like. The story is decent but what is extraordinary is how much time and effort has been put into crafting the world. NPCs with short to little stories all feel like they are the kind that would warrant them being a major character. In most games, when you get a lot of story for a character the presumption is that they will be important to the plot, but some you find dead later, never to be mentioned again. Added to player choices having significant impacts on the story, I can’t even comprehend how much work the team put into writing the game let alone somehow turning that into a game afterwards.

Fortunately, one thing that more games are doing well, is the game itself runs well on the Switch’s hardware. Unfortunately, it isn’t as good looking as other versions of the game of course, and loading screens felt longer than I would have liked. However, considering the size of the game, I am blown away with how well it ran on the Switch’s hardware.

At the end of the day this is far from the best way to play Pillars of Eternity, but it is still such a damn amazing game.

If you don’t have access to a PC then it is well worth grabbing this package on Switch, but it is rare that I will say this, if you can play on PC then definitely choose that first if you can.

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