We have always said that some of the best value for money PCs come from Lenovo. We say that because while they do not offer the best or the most powerful specs in that class of PCs, they always pack it with not only great build quality, but price them very reasonably. It also does not hurt that their keyboards are one of the best we have ever typed on when it comes to notebook PCs.
This value-for-money concept stretches from their business-line ThinkPads all the way to the gaming Lenovo Legion line. We especially like the Lenovo Legion Y700 and Y500 series. They keep things simple and honest. At the same time, they still offer great value and looks.
Source: Lenovo
This year though the Lenovo Legion Y500 and Y700 series is going to be joined by two newcomers, the 5i and 7i. To be fair, not much are known about the notebook PCs yet, but we can tell you that the Lenovo Legion 7i is coming in with 17-inch screen size and the 5i a 15-incher. We can also tell you that both notebook PC line-up will feature the latest 10th Generation Intel Core H-series processors. We are guessing the 7i will come with Intel’s most powerful and extreme Core i9.
The new series of notebook PCs will also come with NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX technology. The 5i will stop at the RTX 2060, presumably to fit a tighter budget. The Lenovo Legion 7i though will pack a Max-Q design NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER GPU.
Source: Lenovo
Gaming notebook PCs are known to be a battery drainer though. No matter the size of the battery, you might run out within 4 hours. That is if you do not game. By the looks of it, the Lenovo Legion 7i and 5i might not have that big of a battery though. Their design focuses more on portability and a thinner form factor. Thanks to an industry first NVIDIA Advanced Optimus technology though, you might get all-day battery life from the Lenovo Legion 7i and 5i. The technology is basically a GPU switch. You get the idea.
At this time, there are no word on availability in Malaysia just yet. Of course, we can safely say that the Lenovo Legion 7i and 5i are coming sometime this year. That said, the Lenovo Legion Y540 and Lenovo Legion Y740 are also getting a refresh of their own with 10th Generation Intel Core H-series and NVIDIA GeForce RTX SUPER cards. The Lenovo Legion 5i and Lenovo Legion Y540 will be available for US$ 999 (MYR 4,354*). The Lenovo Legion 7i and Lenovo Legion Y740 with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 GPUs will be priced at US$ 1,199 (MYR 5,226*). More information can be found on their website.
*Based on approximate rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.36 as of 02/04/2020
The ROG line up is embracing a new colour! Having just introduced the Glacier Blue series to their line up, the company is adding even more colour with a new shade called Electro Punk. However, unlike the Glacier Blue, this shade isn’t meant for the chassis; instead, ASUS is bringing this pop of vibrant, electric pink using their Aura Sync technology.
The new Electro Punk Special edition will make its official laptop debut with the new ROG Strix G15. Bringing more vibrancy and personalisation to the popular Strix G series. The G series also makes the new colour accessible to everyone with its price point. However, an affordable price point doesn’t mean that the new ROG Strix G15 is a slouch. The Strix G15 comes with up to an Intel Core i7-10875H processor paired with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER GPU.
Together with the new laptop, ASUS is also introducing a slew of accessories from gaming mouse to backpack with the new Electro Punk shade. On the audio side of things, the ROG Strix Go 2.4 will be the first to sport the new hue. The wireless headset allows gamers to get good quality audio via 2.4GHz connection and works on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and all your smart devices even the Nintendo Switch.
The ROG Strix Scope TKL Keyboard will allow gamers to show off their gaming prowess while staying stylish in Electro Punk. The mechanical keyboard is touted as being made for face-paced multiplayer gaming. It’s decked out with the Cherry MX switched and made of durable aluminium topped material. Pair this with the ROG Strix Impact II and you’ll have an Electro Punk one-two punch!
ASUS is also introducing an Electro Punk backpack. The ROG Ranger BP1503 backpack is their go to carry the Strix G15 with its suite of accessories. Don’t forget to get the ROG Sheath to make sure you’re truly ready for the kill.
Pricing & Availability
No news on pricing and availability just yet. Stay tuned for updates.
Comet Lake, or Intel’s 10th Generation of Core processors is upon us. It only makes sense that we start seeing the notebook PC versions of these very potent processors. For MSI, it is the 6 series that breaks daylight with their brand-new power units.
MSI GE66 Raider
Source: MSI
The first of the gaming notebook PCs that broke daylight is the GE66 Raider. To begin with, there is a new chassis that contains the dragon like performance hardware inside. You get a new RGB lighting at the mouth edge of the bottom half clam. It is like a ‘go faster’ stripe on a car, it makes it ‘go faster’.
Only, unlike a ‘go faster’ stripe, the 15-inch MSI GE66 raider packs a faster, more powerful 10th Generation Core i9 Processor and an even more powerful GPU in the form of an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER. Take this with a pinch of salt though – there are not confirmed spec sheet for Malaysia just yet. At this point, we only know that it is coming and what it looks like.
MSI GS66 Stealth
Thin and light is what everyone in the industry is gunning for theses days. That is the aim of the MSI GS66 Stealth. The older generation GS65 that this replaces has some golf accents that divides two worlds. Some thinks that it is a tad too tacky, some thinks it looks good.
Source: MSI
I, for one, prefer the brand new GS66 Stealth Core Black that makes it look like an actual stealth bomber in a way. It looks like any other notebook PC that means business in the business world. They remind me of the ruggedness that is associated with the indestructible Lenovo ThinkPads if I am so bold to say.
The new GS66 Stealth packs a cooling technology like no other. It has something they call MSI Cooler Boost Trinity+. The system is a combination of an optimised airflow system and a 0.1mm thin blades for maximum airflow out of a body no thicker than 2cm. That is the total thickness of the 15-inch MSI GS66 Stealth by the way.
Now you start wondering how this petite notebook PC packs Intel’s 10th Generation Core i9-10980HK power unit and up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER (Max-Q). All that power is supported by two 16GB (up to) onboard RAM, making an effective 32GB of RAM size. With up to 2TB of SSD space – you can easily separate work and play with no fuss of running out of space. All this power translates to the beauty on the 15.6-inch Full HD 300Hz nearly 100%sRGB display.
ROG or Republic of Gamers has become one of the most popular gaming brands in the world. It has become ASUS’ most valuable brand when it comes to performance laptops and PCs geared for gamers. This year, ASUS breathes new life into its gaming laptop line up with new form factors, better specifications and an all new cooling system.
The new ROG line up will be powered by the latest and greatest 10th generation Intel Core processors paired with NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX SUPER. It will feature the one of the industry’s first displays with 300Hz refresh rate and speedy performance thanks to DDR4 RAM. It will also feature ASUS’s new Liquid Metal cooling solution which is touted to reduce temperature by 10°C to 20°C.
ROG Zephyrus Duo 15
Spearheading the new line up is the ROG Zephyrus Duo 15. The new addition to the Zephyrus line up comes with a form factor that ASUS enthusiasts will be pretty familiar with. Adopting the second screen experience pioneered by the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo, the Zephyrus Duo 15 comes with the new ROG ScreenPad Plus.
The new ROG ScreenPad Plus makes the ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 a device made for streamers and multitaskers. The new second screen isn’t just there to look at, users will be able to multitask better thanks to the touch screen. However, this 14.1-inch, 4K UHD screen plays second fiddle to the 15.6-inch PANTONE validated display which comes with a refresh rate of up to 300MHz.
The new Zephyrus flagship will be powered by the all new, 10th Generation Intel Comet Lake Core i7 or Core i9 processors. This will be paired with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX SUPER graphics processor and 16GB of DDR4 RAM.
ROG Zephyrus S Series
Following close behind is the Zephyrus S series which consists of the S17 and S15. The Zepyrus S series comes with a svelte 18.9mm chassis that houses power packed specifications. Both the S17 and S15 come support NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX SUPER graphics cards and Intel’s latest 10 generation processors.
The Zephyrus S series also comes with a display with a refresh rate of up to 300Hz refresh rate. This display is also PANTONE validated for colour accuracy on the S17. The S17 also comes with a full desktop-style keyboard with per-key RGB LED backlight and a NumPad. The extra room also allowed ASUS to include an integrated volume roller. It also comes with the ASUS’s AAS cooling technology which opens a large intake vent on the bottom end when the lid is opened.
The S15 comes with a smaller screen and a reinforced palm rest area. The extra strength provided by the honeycomb structure makes the palm rest flex resistant. The soft touch finish adds a smooth, fingerprint resistant layer.
ROG Zephyrus M15
M is for the masses. The Zephyrus M comes not only with an affordable price but also a range of configurations for any gamer. Starting with the 10th generation Intel Core i7, the Zephyrus M is slated to be the most affordable one of the range. It comes with display options ranging from a Full HD IPS panel with 144Hz to a 4K UHD panel. Customizability doesn’t end there; the Zephyrus M comes with a range of GPUs starting with the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti to the RTX 2070.
While affordability is one of the hallmarks of the Zephyrus M, it doesn’t compromise when it comes to quality. The laptop’s slim chassis is made of structurally reinforced magnesium alloy. When it comes to sound, the M comes with an ESS Sabre DAC for crisp audio. It has two easily accessible M.2 slots and supports dual display outputs and Thunderbolt 3.
ROG Strix SCAR Series
Staying faithful to its e-sports roots, the refreshed Strix SCAR series comes with all the bells and whistles that you’d expect. From looks to its it specifications, the Strix SCAR 15 and 17 are made for gamers. It doesn’t shy away from showing its gaming inclination with customizable RGB LED lighting effects. This is, of course, complemented by an illuminated RGB ROG Logo on the lid.
The Strix SCAR series pushes its boundaries with up to an Intel Core i9 processor paired with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER on the Strix SCAR 15 or the RTX 2080 SUPER on the Strix SCAR 17.
ROG Strix G Series
Rounding up the new series of laptops is the ROG Strix G series. ASUS refreshes both the Strix G15 an G17 with better specifications and a new Electro Punk version. This new version comes on top of the Glacier Blue and Original Black versions og the Strix G.
Both models of the Strix G series come with the 10th generation Intel cores and the NVIDIA RTX SUPER Graphics. The G series tops out at the Intel Core i7 and the RTX 2070 SUPER. It also comes with display panels with 144 Hz and 240 Hz refresh rates.
Pricing and Availability
ASUS has not announced any pricing or availability at the time of the announcement. However, stay tuned and we’ll be updating you as we get the information.
The ROG Zephyrus has become ASUS’s go to series when it comes to pushing the boundaries of gaming laptops. Having first pushed the boundaries of portability and svelte design about 2 years ago, the line up is now looking to push boundaries when it comes to functionality. However, it still maintains
The new ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 adopts a form factor ASUS fans will be familiar with. We first saw this form factor when ASUS launched its ZenBook Pro Duo. That said, ASUS has optimised and enhanced the dual screen form factor for the power user and gamer. The new ROG ScreenPad Plus tilts up at a 13° angle when the lid is opened. This serves a two-fold purpose of making the the Zephyrus Duo 15 more ergonomic to use as well as allowing more airflow through the larger opening on both the top and bottom of the laptop thanks to ASUS’s Active Aerodynamic System (AAS).
The AAS system opens a 7 to 10mm vents that extend across the bottom of the laptop. This allows increased airflow to cool the processors and components. This is better fortified by the larger 28.5mm air intake across the top surface of the laptop’s base. This lies hidden behind the ROG ScreenPad Plus. This AAS Plus allows an additional 30% of airflow better cooling the components. This also helps keep the laptop even more silent at only 43dB even in performance mode.
The ROG ScreenPad Plus is a 14.1-inch 4K, UHD screen which spans the top half of the base of the laptop. The touchscreen display allows users to use multiwindows and even monitor things such as chat or even the OBS console while livestreaming. Of course, if you’re using things like Adobe Premiere Pro on the Zephyrus DUO 15, the ScreenPad Plus will be able to show you your timelines.
Users have the choice of speed or resolution when it comes tho the main display of the ROG Zephyrus Duo 15. The main display is either a 300 Hz Full HD IPS LCD display with 3ms response times or a 4K UHD display with a 60 Hz refresh rate. The 15.6-inch display panels are PANTONE validated and have support for NVIDIA G-SYNC. The 4K UHD display covers 100% of the Adobe gamut while the FHD IPS covers 100% of the sRGB gamut.
On the insides, the new Zephyrus Duo 15 comes with either the 10th Generation Intel Core i9-10980HK or i7-10875H processors. This is paired with either a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER or RTX 2080 SUPER graphics cards. This comes with a built-in 16GB of DDR4 RAM with an extra SODIMM RAM slot.
Pricing & Availability
ASUS hasn’t announced any pricing or availability as of yet. However, we’ll keep you updated as soon as we get word.
Official Specifications
Processor
Intel® 10th Gen Comet Lake i9-10980HK Intel® 10th Gen Comet Lake i7-10875H
1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C™, DisplayPort 1.4, TBT, PD input 20 V/3A；output 5 V/3A 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A (right) 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (Bottom) 1 x HDMI (HDMI 2.0b support) 2 x audio jack: mic-in & headphone, plus mic-in 1 x RJ45 LAN
Battery
90 Wh
Power Supply
240 W power adaptor Supports USB-C™ Power Delivery 3.0 up to 65 W
The ROG Strix SCAR series has been engineered from the ground up as a gaming laptop meant for professional gamers. It has always been about getting the most performance to get the edge over your competition. This time is no different. ASUS is supercharging the ROG Strix SCAR series with a larger, more powerful version of the popular, eSports centric gaming laptop.
The new ROG Strix SCAR 17 brings a larger 17.3-inch Full HD display with up to 3ms response time and 300 Hz refresh rate. The larger screen gives players a better, more immersive experience as they work on taking down the competition. The high refresh rate will enable them to have split second response to score that much needed win.
Of course, the SCAR 17 is no slouch when it comes to the processing power of the laptop. Powered by up to an Intel Core i9-10980HK paired with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, the laptop should be able to handle any game or video processing that users throw at it. It also comes with up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM with 2 M.2 slots for terabytes of memory.
Coming along for the ride is a new, optimised cooling system and also the ROG Keystone II. Developed in collaboration with BMW Designworks, the system allows deep personalisation and also encryption. Users are able to use it as an encryption key for a hidden drive or for launching apps of their choice.
Pricing & Availability
No word on pricing or availability from ASUS just yet. However, stay tuned and we’ll update you when we do.
Official Specifications
Processor
Up to Intel® Core™ i9-10980HK
Operating system
Windows 10 Pro
Graphics
Up to NVIDIA ® GeForce RTX™ 2080 SUPER
Display
Up to 17.3″ FHD (1920 x 1080), IPS FHD 300Hz (3ms)
Memory & storage
Up to 32 GB DDR4 3200 MHz SDRAM 2 x M.2 NVMe® PCIe® 3.0 x4 up to 1 TB SSD with RAID 0 support Up to 3 SSDs
Connectivity
2×2 Intel® WiFi 6 (Gig+) (802.11ax) RangeBoost support Bluetooth® 5.1
Audio
2 x 4.2-watt speakers Smart amplifier
Keyboard
Backlit chiclet keyboard Aura Sync Per-key RGB
Interfaces
Left side I/O 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A 1 x Audio combo jack: Mic-in and Headphone out Rear side I/O 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A 1 X USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C™ (supports DisplayPort, no PD charging) 1 x LAN RJ45 jack 1 x HDMI (supports HDMI 2.0b), supports HDCP SPEC 2.2
Software
Armoury Crate GameFirst V Sonic Studio GameVisual Aura Creator
The COVID-19 situation is not looking great, if we are all being honest. In Malaysia, if you have not known yet, is under a state sanctioned Movement Control Order (MCO). In other words, we are on partial lock down. Only essential services and businesses are allowed to operate. You are not even allowed a stroll in the public park; at least you are discouraged to with summons from the authorities. Even kids are not exempted from this ruling.
Source: Mercedes-AMG F1
In other parts of the world as well, the authorities have started encouraging self-quarantines and social distancing. Our neighbouring country has already started issuing fines for those who are not in accordance to their guideline of social distancing. In other words, everyone is doing their parts in combating this global pandemic. Even F1 teams have committed their resources and expertise in break-neck, cutting edge engineering to combat the disease with something they call Project Pitlane as we have covered yesterday.
There are plenty of tips out there about staying sane and
productive at home. There are also plenty of guides about staying healthy at home
with exercises and what not. One thing that everyone says they have more time for
now that they are at home is gaming. We are gamers here too, and we agree; I sunk
more than 50 hours already in Death Stranding in the first week of our MCO alone,
before realising that I need to be a little bit more productive and active.
Source: Ubisoft
One thing people do not say about gaming though is that it
costs money. You need money to buy these games. Some of these games can get quite
expensive too. Imagine buying all the AAA titles you can find out there today.
That would empty your back account very quickly.
Still, Ubisoft, one of the biggest game developers in the world and running their own UPlay curated game marketplace is doing their part in the battle against COVID-19. One of the things that was encouraged for these few weeks is self-quarantine and staying at home. Ubisoft is all for that and that is why they are giving out free games starting from the 30th of March 2020.
Source: Ubisoft
They start with ‘Rayman Legends’ from the 30th March to the 3rd of April 2020 onward. After that they will line up other games to giveaway at least for a few weeks. That is good news for everyone. All you need to do is sign up for Ubisoft’s UPlay account and download they UPlay app for desktop. For us gamers, that gives us even more reason to stay indoors and even lock our doors to keep playing all the games we have not finished. Now, excuse me while I finish Death Stranding and get to all my other games.
The war between gaming consoles are about to start again. It
is the new generation of consoles that are going to be involved in the fight. Microsoft’s
new Xbox Series X, and Sony’ brand new PlayStation 5 that was just about teased
last night (in Malaysia’s time).
We would elaborate specifically on the Microsoft Xbox Series
X, but they are not actually available officially in Malaysia. So, we would do
a hard pass on that and focus on the Sony PlayStation 5, which will be
available in Malaysia and most parts of the world. We are also PlayStation
users, currently on the PlayStation 4 Pro; needless to say, we are quite
excited about PlayStation 5 (PS5) launching at the end of 2020.
Source: Sony Interactive Entertainment
The announcement last night was called ‘The Road to PS5’. That
is Sony’s way of saying also that this is not technically an unveiling of the new
hardware, rather a glimpse of what we can expect the new hardware to pack. We
have seen renders here and there of the PS5, but there is no definite shape of
it just yet. Sony is doing a good job in keeping mums about it too. All we know
though; we can expect it to look quite different from Xbox’s boxy tower design
language.
Despite not talking about design, we can sort of understand
the challenges when it comes to designing a console. They’ve elaborated on the
main challenge of designing a gaming console with ultra-powerful processors too
– cooling and powering them. If you really think about it, this was also an
issue in the early days of the PS4. This issue is not even native to Sony’s console,
it is a concern for almost any powerful gaming rigs. We will get to cooling and
power supply a little later though.
For now, we get to the meat of this content – the specs of
the PS5. Here it is; It is packing a lot of power from a AMD Ryzen Zen 2 architecture
CPU. That AMD processor will come with 8 cores, 16 threads, and will clock at up
to 3.5GHz. Sony says that the processor will run at about 3.5GHz most of the
time by default. At this point you might start looking up at the Xbox and find
that the Xbox runs faster at 3.8GHz. They are running on the same CPU, so why
is the one on Xbox more powerful? All I can say for now is ‘power supply’ and ‘cooling’.
Source: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Then there is the GPU, the graphics processor. It clocks at up to 2.23GHz with 36 CUs and is based on AMD’s Radeon RDNA-2 engine. It is supposed to be able to have Ray Tracing Acceleration, and the combination is also supposed to process at 10.3 teraFLOPS. Wait a minute, that is not as powerful as the Xbox with the same RDNA-2 based engine with 52 CUs at 1.825GHz that can do 12 teraFLOPS.
You are absolutely correct in that comparison. From a
hardware standpoint then, the PS5 is quite shorthanded in the fight. They have
the shorter stick compared to the Xbox at this point. We can only speculate as
to why that is, and we are suspecting cooling and power supply to be an issue
too.
On the Sony PS5 you are also getting a larger RAM compared
to before, faster too. It is a 16GB DDR6 RAM that is said to be better
optimised to deliver better game experiences. GDDR6 is of course known for its
speed and the one on the PS5 can go at 448GBps. The PS5 also comes with an
upgraded 825GB drive. It is not a traditional HDD though, it is an SSD this
time that can read at up to 5.5GBps. Also smaller than Xbox’s 1TB SSD.
There is an upside to all these numbers though. For one, it is still a big leap from the PS4; heck even the PS4 Pro. All the hardware means that it can now easily support 120Hz 4K gaming, push itself on 8K TVs (if you can afford one), and they say that it is about 10x faster than the previous generation console. In that, we believe. It is also backward compatible with Sony’s previous PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro; what a delight.
Source: Sony Interactive Entertainment
There is more, if you can believe it. Where they skim down
in graphics and process handling, they put into something called “Tempest”. For
you Mass Effect fans, calm down. It is not the “Tempest” spaceship we see in Mass
Effect 4: Andromeda (not that great of a game, by the way). It is their latest
3D Audio processing chip; their AudioTech.
In its basic form, it is just another processor that is
lodged inside the PS5, making the new upcoming Sony gaming console effectively
a three-processor system. Its core design is very similar to that of a GPU. Within
the presentation though, Sony seems to give a very big emphasis on audio. They
say that while harnessing processing power for graphics is hard, processing an
audio can be quite complex too. That is the reason they are transforming a GPU
to an APU (Audio Processing Unit).
The idea of using “Tempest” is to create a 3D audio experience
on any platform. To be very fair, PlayStation users would be using the console
in almost all kinds of conditions. The most common would be plugging them to a
generic TV and rely on the TV speakers as their means of audio. There are those
who might spend a little bit more and buy headphones for their console. Then
there are those who has a theatre grade system with 3 or more speakers placed
around them. Sony recognises all of that and wants all of us to get the same
treatment and experience.
Source: Sony Interactive Entertainment
We have said before that audio is a very big part of any
gaming, or even movie watching experience. It is not just music. Sound designs
do play a big role in bringing us closer to the whatever intended experience
there may be. Sony knows this too, being one of the big players in high-end
audio. That is why the “Tempest” is born. They utilise something called Head Related
Transfer Function (HRTF) for audio reproduction. You can, of course Google that
term because it is a whole complex audio science in itself. All you need to know
is that the Sony PS5 is going to give you 3D audio wherever you go. We are thinking
of having an editorial specifically on sounds and sound engineering; do comment
and let us know if you are interested.
Source: Sony Interactive Entertainment
The presentation ends there though. There are no new renders on the hardware, nor even the controller. We sort of have an idea of how they might look like, but all of us could be wrong. Still, we are optimistic. The slightly less powerful hardware may make the Sony look a like a worse deal than the Xbox, especially when they are rumoured to be about the same price. Still, in Malaysia we are only going to be able to touch the Sony PS5 when they are launched. So we will see. Both are expected to launch sometime later in the year 2020. You can watch the whole announcement after the break.
One of my favourite game franchise is coming on April 10th 2020. It is the Final Fantasy VII that came out in 1997. Before you get confused; no, the one coming on the 10th of April 2020 is not the original pixelated 8 bit thing that is the Final Fantasy VII of 1997. Rather, it is the remade version: re-imagined with new modern graphics, and new gameplay mechanics.
The Demo dropped on the 2nd of March 2020 and we downloaded it the very next day. The demo only gave us 20 minutes in gameplay. The demo only gave us the very first mission of the game. If you have not played Final Fantasy VII yet, I am not going to spoil it for you.
Before I go on about the game though, keep in mind that this is not a full review of the game, so you might not want to treat it as one. Keep in mind also that I only had a brief 20 minutes with the game, not 20 hours. While I cannot comment on the entirety of the game then, I can only come up with its first impression. That is what you are going to treat it as; first impression.
Visuals
First of all, you cannot compare graphics today to graphics over 20 years ago. You can, however, compare it with other modern games. You can compare it to the modern Final Fantasy XV.
Source: Square Enix
On initial visual inspection, it looks like both of the games use the same graphics engine. That is not to say that it is a bad thing though. Final Fantasy XV is a gorgeous game, same goes to Final Fantasy VII Remake.
While Final Fantasy XV focuses on bright colours, with complex colour schemes, and plenty of complex textures, Final Fantasy VII Remake is a stark contrast to that. Final Fantasy VII Remake focuses on hard, flat surfaces. At least on the demo itself, you see plenty of metallic environments. Cloud’s big sword is a big metal surface anyway.
Source: Square Enix
The colour tones are more flat compared to plenty of modern games understandably. While that might mean that the engine should easily cope with it, there are plenty of details still within the surfaces projected on the screen. The character models are plenty more complex than you can ever imagine Final Fantasy VII characters can be.
So far in the demo, we only saw Barret, Cloud, Aries, and a few supporting characters. Those characters really come alive with the remake. To think that 23 years ago, we only managed to see miniaturised character models unless you go into the turn based battle. Overall, that is a great experience, impressive at first impressions.
Gameplay
We spoke about turn based gameplay previously. That is the biggest difference between this new remake and the original game from 1997. Because of more complex processing power, battle is now in real-time like Final Fantasy XV. While that is the case, there are major differences in terms of look and feel though.
Source: Square Enix
The battle mechanics does not change that much from XV to VII Remake. They are both real-time and in Classic mode, Final Fantasy VII is a button masher game that looks good. It does not feel as messy and as complex as Final Fantasy XV though. That could also be because I was playing it in Classic Mode. Still, real-time melee battles can be quite jarring especially when you have no sense of control on your right joystick. It can get quite harrowing and frustrating in any other mode that Classic Mode.
Still, all the right visual cues are there. The other overlay graphics that tells you your health, MP, your action options, and others do help with the nostalgic feel of the game. They use the exact same colour palettes here. The also use the same sort of fonts in different sizes and sort of the same placements on your screen. Played out on a big screen though, I wish that those information HUD was slightly bigger.
The controls feels as simple as it can be though. That also means that you get to enjoy the gameplay more than you think. You also get to play the game more than getting frustrated over the controls, that is nice. The only difference with Final Fantasy VII from 1997, is that you can manipulate your camera angles on your own now. No more fixed camera angle from the late 90s to mid 2000s.
Is It Worth MYR 243?
I guess? To be fair, I am a cheapskate. I tend to buy games only during massive sales. The last game that I bought at full price was Death Stranding, that is after thinking about it hard for three whole days.
This is one of those games that actually shaped my childhood though. It is, I think, also the game that got me into gaming. The Final Fantasy VII from 1997 was my favourite Final Fantasy game. It was not my first, that has to go to the Final Fantasy VIII.
The Remake demo has brought back plenty of memories of that old PlayStation that I shared with my brother. It introduced a whole facet of world to me and I wanted to get lost in that world. The Remake, although just a demo, brought back some of those memories.
In that sense then, the heart that so loves the Final Fantasy VII really wants to spend that MYR 243 on this game; a physical copy with the disc and everything. My logical mind though disagrees. Logically, the gameplay is nothing new. While it looks good, there are plenty of games that might be better in terms of enjoyment out there too. Take the Star Wars: Fallen Jedi game for example. Logically then, it might be better for me to wait for the game to drop in price before spending my hard earned money on it.
Source: Square Enix
In truth then, I really cannot tell you whether or not to buy it. 20 minutes, to be very honest, is too short to judge a game. MYR 243 is not a small amount of money for a game, really. If you are feeling nostalgic and you have that much extra money to play with, I say; go ahead. If not, maybe you want to hold it off first. For me? This is the third time I’m asking myself; “am I willing to spend MYR 243 on a game?” I still do not know the answer to that.
Acer’s Nitro 5 series has always been a compelling option when it comes to an entry level gaming laptop. It’s also one of the most affordable gaming laptops in market right now. Acer Malaysia has just announced a refresh of its casual gaming laptop which sees the price come to about MYR 2,999.
The new Nitro 5 comes equipped with a quad core AMD Ryzen 7 processor and is complemented with an NVIDIA GTX1650 discreet graphics card. The new setup also comes with 512GB of storage. This isn’t just your regular spinning hard disk either. It’s a PCIe NVMe solid state drive (SSD) which promises quick performance and load times. It comes with 4GB of RAM but can be upgraded to 32GB should you see the need to. There is also an additional m.2 slot if you need even more performance memory. Acer is also touting that the Nitro 5 comes with an HDD upgrade Kit which allows users to upgrade the storage on the laptop.
The AMD touting Nitro 5 comes with a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display with 120Hz refresh rate. The screen itself covers a whopping 80% of the face of the laptop thanks to it’s slim 7.18mm bezels. The new laptop also comes with Waves MaxxAudio advanced sound optimization technology with Acer’s own TrueHarmony technology for better, more immersive sound.
The Acer Nitro 5 comes with dual fans and dual exhausts which have been design with the company’s CoolBoost technology. This increases the fan speed by 10% allowing better cooling performance. In addition to this, the cooling of the GPU and CPU is also increased by 9% thanks to CoolBoost. With online gaming, your connection stability is increasingly important; the Nitro 5 comes with Killer Ethernet E2500 and Acer’s Network optimizer to help keep you up to speed. This gives you the option to manually tweak your network performance or you can simply leave it to the computer on Auto mode.
Acer’s NitroSense will allow you to keep an eye on the happenings of your Nitro 5. The software allows you to manage component temperature, loading performance, power usage among others with the hit of a dedicated Nitro Hot-Key. It also comes with HDMI 2.0 ports as well a USB Type-C and more to allow you supe up your gaming.
Pricing and Availability
The new Nitro 5 with AMD’s Ryzen 7 and NVIDIA GTX1650 is immediately available in Malaysia. Prices start at MYR2,999.
