Logitech G has made a name for itself with its high-end peripherals. Catering to the whims of the hard-core gamer, these devices offer every conceivable bell and whistle imaginable. The G502 Proteus Spectrum reportedly offers twice the response time of a Razer’s Deathadder mouse. The G633 Artemis Spectrum boasts Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound and DTS along with programmable presets.

But as much as hard-core gamers crave these features, there’s a multitude of players who want basic high-end functionality but in a simple-to-use package. That’s where Logitech Prodigy, the company’s new set of peripherals comes in. These devices are geared toward the average gamer who wants entry level gear but with high-quality. It’s a product line that’s supposed to hit that sweet spot between form and function.

I had a chance to check out the Logitech G231 Prodigy headset, the Logitech G213 Prodigy keyboard and the Logitech G403 Prodigy wireless mouse. They all perform and function solidly. The build quality and each item is sturdy. They feel like they can take the wear and tear of everyday use. Here are my impressions of them:

LOGITECH G231 PRODIGY HEADSET
The good: They are a comfortable set of over-the-ear cans that produce booming and rich audio. They can be worn for hours and they won’t bother players much. Because the device connects using a standard 3.5mm jack, it works with PCs along with consoles such as the PlayStation 4, Wii U and Xbox One.

The bad: Despite the cushioning, the G231 isn’t the most comfortable headset I’ve worn. That distinction still belongs to the Kingston’s HyperX Cloud. It also has a dongle that lets players modify the volume and mute button. It’s a feature I dislike because looking for those controls can be distracting while gaming. The connected microphone is decent, but unfortunately, it can’t be removed. It can be pulled down and slotted up, which can be distracting at times.

The bottom line: This is a no nonsense headset with versatility and it’s priced at $69.99.

LOGITECH G213 PRODIGY KEYBOARD
The good: Built with one piece of plastic, this peripheral is built like a tank. It can take a beating while inside a backpack on the way to a LAN party or it can just sit at a desk, enduring the normal wear and tear of office work. The fast 2ms response times and features such as anti-ghosting technology means it performs comparable to other keyboards in its class. In addition, the multicolored lighting scheme means players can customize the keyboard’s look for an individual game or use it to reflect their personality. Customized lighting can be a helpful way for players to learn the buttons for a complex genre like a real-time strategy title.

The bad: Although the G213 has plenty going for it, Logitech could have gone for a more simpler layout. I appreciate the media keys and the gaming button that turns off the Windows button functionality, but the keyboard could have been slimmer and sleeker without some of the features. The bigger drawback for the G213 is that it’s not a mechanical keyboard. It doesn’t have that distinct and satisfying feel of cherry keys like in the G610 Orion. It makes the keys feel stiffer.

The bottom line: The G213 is a simple and solid but a little bulky. At $69.99, it’s a step up from the stock keyboard that likely came with your computer, but those who are used to mechanical keyboards may have a hard time adjusting.

LOGITECH G403 PRODIGY WIRELESS MOUSE
The good: A familiar design based off the old Microsoft Intellimouse makes this feel instantly familiar. The G403 fits comfortably in the hand (if you’re a righty). The sides have a nice rubberized grip that feels luxurious. In terms of performance, the mouse is fast and responsive with virtually no lag despite it being wireless. There are even two side buttons that are comfortably accessible with the thumb. They offer additional control without being too complicated like the Logitech G602.

Similar to the G900 Chaos Spectrum, the G403 has an internal battery that lasts about 24 hours. For those who want a weightier mouse, Logitech even includes a 10g weight that makes a noticeable difference in the feel.

The bad: There’s not much to criticize with the G403. The only quibble I have is that it lacks the hyper-fast scrolling wheel that Logitech’s higher-end mice feature. It enables quick scrolling for long pages such as those novel-length End User License Agreement that you casually scan.

The bottom line: At $69.99, this is the best peripheral of the set and would make any gamer happy with its design and features.

Images courtesy of Logitech

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It was bound to happen sooner or later. When a new gaming category gains popularity, others try to enter the market and compete. It’s happened with everything from Street Fighter II to Guitar Hero. With Anki Overdrive, that challenge comes in the form of the Galaxy Zega. The game, which launches Sept. 1, lets players control toy tanks via their smartphones.

The base concept is similar to Anki Overdrive but the execution is different. Whereas Anki lets players battle via Mario Kart-like races, Galaxy Zega lets players battle each other in arenas almost like a top-down shooter. Players can create their own arenas using pieces in the starter kit or they can jerry-rig their own together out of soda cans and other household items. With the official battlefield, players attach pieces together magnetically, so it’s easy to assemble.


Galaxy Zega supports up to four players.

Like other toys-to-life game, there is a video game element. As players battle, they’ll be able to earn points, bonus skills and other attributes. From what I’ve seen, it’s an interesting concept but not as polished as its primary rival. The core gameplay could be more rewarding as players try to outmaneuver other Zegas on the field of play. It certainly requires more skill especially in 2 versus 2 or 1 versus 3 matches. The game supports up to four players at a time.

The developer, SmartX, is selling a Galaxy Zega starter kit, which includes two Zegas, a battlefield and charger for $149.99. Other accessories such as additional Zegas, an X-base that bestows power-ups and other battlefield add-ons are coming as well.

Images courtesy of SmartX

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Norse mythology is full of storytelling potential, and video games have no problem mining the rich lore. Kratos is headed for the land of trolls and Odin in the new God of War. Too Human mixes sci-fi and Norse mythology while space operas such as the Halo franchise makes constant references to the lore.

With Vikings: Wolves of Midgard, developer Games Farm combines Norse mythology and Diablo-eseque gameplay. The upcoming game set to be released 2017 on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 lets players choose between a male or female warriors. These protagonists are out on a raiding trip when they return to their hometown and discover ice giants have attacked and sent the villagers fleeing. It’s up to players to rebuild the town and seek justice.

The gameplay follows the familiar hack, slash and loot concepts. The male and female warriors have slight differences with armor sets and abilities. The women are slightly faster while the men are stronger. Games Farm eschews a traditional progression system for one that lets players power up through better gear and blood sacrifices. As players venture through Niflheim and other realms, they’ll defeat foes that give them blood. Players convert this currency at an altar to upgrade their abilities through different Norse gods such as Loki and Thor.

So far, the game looks like a standard hack and slash except for a few tweaks here and there. For one, the land of Niflheim is snowy and players will have to rush from fire to fire to keep warm and stay alive. All the while, they’ll be battling jotuns and wolves. Games Farm promises other levels that aren’t so frigid. It looks like Vikings: Wolves of Midgard will need fresh ideas like these to keep from being overshadowed by other games next year.

Images courtesy of Kalypso

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Hollywood loves to destroy San Francisco. It has sent Magneto to rearrange its bridges. It has showed a magnitude 9.6 earthquake and tsunami tear the area apart. Godzilla even defended the city by the bay and inadvertently flattened every building in Chinatown.

As for video games, San Francisco hasn’t been a popular locale compared to New York. Rockstar Games did a spoof of it called San Fiero in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The city has appeared in passing in numerous driving games from Driver: San Francisco to Need for Speed: The Run.

But that changes this fall as the Bay Area finally gets the video game spotlight. With Watch Dogs 2, Ubisoft Montreal has created one of the closest representation of San Francisco and region. If players drive north, they’ll hit Sausalito and the rest of Marin County. Head east across the Bay Bridge, and players will discover an Oakland with neighborhoods such as Prescott (the lower bottoms) and the Fruitvale district. The developer even added parts of Silicon Valley, including Palo Alto and a Stanford-like campus.

Like the rest of the Bay Area, San Francisco isn’t a direct one-to-one re-creation. Ubisoft Montreal sandwiches Golden Gate Park and the Presidio together while completely eliminating the Inner Richmond. Players can travel to SOMA, a version of AT&T Park and Haight and Ashbury. The basic philosophy behind the layout is that if it’s well-known tourist destination, then players will be able to get there. (I see a trip to Alcatraz in my future.)


Want to swing by Alcatraz? You can do it via sailboat.

MORE DEPTH OF CONTROL: As much as I love Chicago, it seems as though Ubisoft Montreal has done a better job when it comes to gameplay and map design in Watch Dogs 2. I played a short demo of the open-world hacker title. The experience showed off how the team learned from its feature creep mistakes while also giving players more control and depth of interaction.

First off, Ubisoft Montreal simplified the hacking process in the Watch Dogs 2. Protagonist Marcus Holloway can hack other people and cars with the press of the L1 button. All they have to do is aim at a tafget and press it. Once they do, they can choose several different interactions. They can make a target’s smartphone ring causing a distraction so they can sneak by. They can steal energy or money from the phone. There’s even a way to call in a hit on a select person.

Players can take control of cars remotely and cause havoc with them.

REMOTE CONTROL: With cars, it’s a little different. Players have the ability to hack into vehicles and actually control it. It’s similar to what James Bond did with a BMW in Tomorrow Never Dies. When Marcus physically enters a vehicle and drives, players will discover that the car controls have been revamped. Without the weight and momentum, it’s much easier to wheel around San Francisco, and that’s going to be important because it’s a difficult city to travel in.

I played a simple mission that started at Coit Tower. To activate a mission, all players have to do is open up the smartphone and choose it. The method ensures that the map is clean and not distracting while letting players concentrate on the task at hand. In this case, it was finding an illegal Stingray device that was siphoning off the unsuspecting public’s data.

Hacking enemies is as easy as deploying a drone and pressing the L1 button.

SEND IN THE DRONES: To find the antennae, I had to use one of Marcus’ drones — a quadcopter that lets players search for the Stingray. By pressing R3, I was able to go into a a Net Hack View that highlights the electronic devices and suspicious people in the world. I spotted the Stingray near the top of Coit Tower and hacked it to get to the second part of the mission, which took place on one of the piers along the Embarcadero.

Using what I learned, I took on this part of the mission via stealth. I ducked behind some crates and hacked into the cameras to scout out the area, marking the gunmen guarding a node I had to implant with a virus. It’s a concept that was in the original, but Ubisoft Montreal updated the mechanics behind it by letting players quick hack with L1 and letting them pick the interaction with an object. In this case, it was a generator. I had the option to make it instantly explode or turn it into a mine that blows up when a foe is around it. I could also force it to make a sound if I wanted to go the nonlethal rout.

Silicon Valley is represented in Watch Dogs 2. That’s something you don’t see in many games.

STEALTH AND CO-OP MODES: I used the generator as a distraction and while the guard’s backs were turned, I used Marcus nonlethal weapon — the Thunderball. It’s essentially a billiard ball tied to a string and wielded around like a nunchuku. Like a ninja, I took out the thugs and did my part for Dedsec.

The second half of the demo involved a co-op mission. It’s a departure from the adversarial modes where rival players invaded a game. Now, players will run into random gamers online and they can choose to help them out via a Crime Hunt co-op mission. I imagine it works a lot like multiplayer in Criterion’s Burnout Paradise. It’s a way for the world to feel alive with real players but the online play will act as a complement not as obstruction to the experience. That was a major complaint against the original — the constant invasions.

Players can form teams of two and take on a more difficult Crime Hunt mission.

TRAVELING TO OAKLAND: The Crime Hunt took me to Oakland. I was able to fast travel there by selecting a nearby store on the map. From there, my partner, Ubisoft artist Amelie Sorel, and I worked together to take out two targets in an industrial yard. Although it supposedly took place in Oakland, the area still had a Chicago feel of the original Watch Dogs. We both used our quadcopters to scout the area being careful not to get too close because it would alert the guards.

From there, we had to take out the guard dog. The Thunderball was the perfect tool to knock out the mutt though I did feel bad about it. From there, it was easy to sneak around and pick off each enemy until we isolated the targets. The experience reminded me of the co-op missions in Far Cry 4. Although I wasn’t able to play them, Watch Dogs 2 does bring back the Invasion mode albeit with some tweaks. There’s also a Bounty Hunter mode, where players can help the police and hunt down a gamer who is causing too much of a ruckus.

Watch Dogs 2 is scheduled for release on the PlayStation 4, Xbx One and PC on Nov. 15.

Images courtesy of Ubisoft

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For years, Nvidia has been making graphics cards for two gaming categories. The Santa Clara-based company has built beefy graphics chips for the desktop that push out bleeding edge visuals on PC. But when it comes to laptops, Nvidia has made comparable chips with the same architecture, but the constraints of the platform has forced the company to tone down the power.

That ends today as Nvidia has announced that it has created gaming notebook versions of its new graphics cards based on the Pascal architecture. In essence, the GTX 10-series, which includes the GeForce GFX 1060, GeForce GFX 1070 and GeForce GFX 1080, are coming to laptops in their full glory. The move promises a big boost in power when compared to the notebooks with the 900M chips.

“It’s a quantum leap in performance,” Nvidia product manager Mark Aevermann said. “It clocks in at 76 percent leap.”

Being a full-fledged Geforce GTX graphics chip with no compromises, players can expect the same type of features on notebooks as they would on PC. Laptops with GTX 10-series of chips will handle virtual reality and support G-Sync. Some OEMs will ship notebooks that include SLI built in. That’s the feature that lets two Nvidia graphics cards connect to each other to push higher frame rates and lusher visuals. There will even be an option for factory overclocking.

Part of the reason, Nvidia has been able to replicate its graphics card in a smaller form factor is that it has included dual-FET power supply and increased energy efficiency with multi phased power controllers. Despite being more powerful, Aevermann says the GTX 10-series chips get 30 percent more battery life compared to the Maxwell notebook predecessors.

Aevermann says players can expect to see notebooks with the GTX 10-series chips launching Tuesday with the most affordable models featuring a GeForce GTX 1060 selling for $1,300.

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The last time I saw Worlds Adrift it was more of an idea. Bossa Studios wanted to make a massively multiplayer online game with an unprecedented amount of emergent gameplay. They would give players the tools, and it would be up to them to shape the project.

Since then, Worlds Adrift has been giving players in the Alpha more options to shape their world and Bossa Studios has also fleshed it out with more features. I had a chance to get some hands-on time with the MMO, and from what I played, it’s coming along well.


Bossa Studios gives players tools so that they can create their own islands in Worlds Adrift.

The most obvious change was the visuals. Bossa Studios added creatures, flora, fauna and different biomes. This was more than a tech demo now. It was beginning to look like a game. Game designer Luke Williams showed off the simple ecosystem that he spoke about before. It revolved around flying manta ray creatures, beetles and trees. The manta ray creatures feed on the bugs and the beetles chow down on the plants. If players chop down the trees, the beetles will attack them.

If players consume too many of an island’s resources and leave it barren, the manta ray creatures and beetles will leave and inhabit another area. On the opposite side of the coin, players can be good and plant seeds on lifeless island to restart the ecosystem. Bossa Studios designed these beasts to behave like real animals. Manta rays feed, they mate (I saw this firsthand.) and they migrate. They also happened to be very territorial. I found this out the hard way when I went to build an airship.

Players can build their own ships in Worlds Adrift.

There were a few lurking about, and they attacked Williams and me as we experimented building a ship. Bossa Studios gives players unprecedented freedom when making an aircraft. With a new creation tool, players can build frames for galleons or designers could be unconventional and make vessels that are armored and look like submarines. Some may let their imaginations run wild and build a ship like a doughnut. Of course, those who don’t want to go through that rigmarole can go with premade frames from the developer.

All these designs will fly as long as players add the needed features. They have to discover blueprints for engines and build those out of materials they mine from islands. The 13 different metals include gold, iron and steel. They each have different properties. For example, gold is good for conductivity while iron and steel are heat resistant. That’s obviously better for engines and hot environments.

From there, they have to add dials that will help players pilot the ship. They’llneed to know their speed and direction. They must know the artificial horizon as well. Because the ship design is so flexible, ambitious shipwrights can design their cockpits in any way they see fit. They can put it inside the ship and look out the world through a periscope or slot. They can put it on top of the ship for better vision.

Air ships like these need to be staffed by multiple people.

Ideally, players will work in teams to crew an airship. With more people, teams can take on roles such as gunners, lookouts and repairmen. They’ll need a crew because venturing out into Worlds Adrift can be dangerous. Players will run into aggressive manta rays or other players seeking to raid ships for parts. To explore the world, they’ll have to go through storm walls that divide one region from another.

Heading through these areas is a dangerous undertaking. The storms have strong winds and lightning that can rip apart a ship. Crews will constantly need to repair a ship’s armor and engines if they hope to get across. They’ll have to make sure they have enough fuel to make the trip. Journeying across Worlds Adrift will feel like a space shuttle launch and not a drive across town.

Bossa Studios is hoping that players will want to explore their world. A big reason for this is that the players will help create some of it. The studio released an island editor, where players can design their own locales and submit it to the developers. The team will then assess it and decide if they should include it in the game.

What will players find on these strange islands? Maybe lost technology to make their ship better.

Think of World Adrift in similar terms to Eve Online. The developer wants to give players the tools for them to explore its universe, and from there, the team will take a hands off approach. With so much freedom, they’ll have to fend for themselves. They’ll have to make their own economic system, cities, norms and mores.

Bossa Studios wants players to write their own stories. For example, a person could be try going through a storm wall in a vessel manned by firend. The ship could be destroyed and the player would end up stranded on an unfamiliar island. From there, the developer still gives players tools to get off the locale. They can build a rudimentary airship powered by sails and hopefully find civilization.

For my tastes, the crafting system is a little too involved. Although players can build single-pilot aircrafts, it looks as though the process would be too cumbersome and laborious. To casual players, it may even appear inaccessible. But then again, I only spent about an hour with the game. If Bossa Studios can nail this balance, then they could be building a project that could rival No Man’s Sky in terms of exploration and emergent gameplay.

Images courtesy of Bossa Studios

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Although I had a glimpse into the early game of Civilization VI, the changes made me curious about how the end game would unfold. I spoke senior gameplay designer Anton Strenger about how diplomacy and the later parts of a campaign would look and I was surprised when he confirmed that the World Congress, a longtime Civ staple, wouldn’t be in the game.

In the Civilization V: Brave New World expansion, the World Congress made the late game so much more dynamic with players using diplomacy and winning over city-states as key mechanic to thwart other rivals and help their civilization.

With the World Congress gone, Stenger said players will have to rely on a new Gossip system. It essentially starts when players discover another civilization and send an envoy to the rival capital. This gets a player’s foots in the door when it comes diplomatic visibility. Envoys will report general stuff to players and pass on rumors. As players beef up their diplomacy and friendships with other countries, they can raise that diplomatic visibility up to four levels. At the highest level, they will get top secret information from friendly nations.

The information could be something like Japan building nuclear weapons or players discovering a rival’s hidden agenda. If they find one nation wants to protect city-states and another wants to conquer them, they can ideally set those potential rivals against each other. The diplomatic visibility can be powerful in the right hands and it’s partly why Catherine De Medici can be a strong leader. She starts with a diplomatic visibility of one with all nations.

Diplomacy also has a huge impact on a civilization’s relationship with city-states. Despite the lack of a World Congress, these entities still have plenty to contribute. Over the course of a campaign, players will be fighting to win their favor. That’s done by taking advantage of the civics tree and earning the ability to send more envoys. Sorry, spies won’t work here.

Being friendly with city-states conveys slight benefits like a boost to culture or science and improved trade. Win more perks from them and they’ll send the friendly nation its luxuries and resources. If players can become a city-states’ Suzerain, those city-states will go to war for their nation. Pay them enough money and players can even temporarily control the city-states’ armies.

That kind of utility is a double-edged sword. Players can use city-states for offense to attack far-off nations, but they also have to be aware of the ones closer to them. If they ignore a nearby city-state, players could end up being ambushed in their backyard.

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Radical changes have marked each major installment of the Sid Meier’s Civilization series. The sequel to the original introduced the isometric perspective and a revamp of tiles. Civilization IV upgraded the series with a richer visual world. With the latest chapter in the series, Firaxis unstacks the cities and splits the tech tree and that makes Civilization VI a massively different experience.

I didn’t know how big the change was until I started on the first 100 turns with the Aztecs. Led by Montezuma, this civilization is a preorder bonus and has a host of distinct abilities, units and structures. With Legend of the Five Suns ability, the Aztecs can use a builder’s charge to complete 20 percent of a district’s original cost. Gifts of Tlatonani boosts the power of luxury resources giving players more credit for amenities. In addition, military units receive a +1 to combat strength for each different luxury resource. The Eagle Warriors are stronger than the normal starting soldier units. Lastly, the Tlachtli is a unique building that bestows faith and amenity credits.


Districts are important to building new type of structures for your city.

THE PERFECT WARRIOR FOR THE EARLY GAME: Montezuma was the perfect choice for this demo session because most of it was spent in the Civilization VI early game. The Eagle Warrior is a powerful attacker that’s stronger than the initial warrior unit and it has the bonus of converting enemy units of rival civilizations into builders. Attacking the Aztecs early on is a dicey proposition because those builders help Montezuma develop resources on his tiles.

That’s precisely what happened after meeting my Civilization VI rivals. I shared a continent alongside Japan’s Hojo Tokimune, England’s Queen Victoria and Brazil’s Pedro II. The last leader proved to be the most truculent of the three, but that’s because I pissed him off. Every leader has a historical agenda and a hidden agenda, and with the Brazilian, his imperative is grabbing all the Great People. If players make one, it’ll annoy him. Take two of them and suddenly it’s all out war.

Great People work differently in Civilization VI. According to senior gameplay designer Anton Strenger, there are a finite number of them and they are geared toward the era. “We wanted to make each one unique” and related to their place in history, he said. They’re almost like Wonders in a way but about half as powerful. For example, the philosophy behind Great Scientist is that they produce tech boost, but specifically, a great person like Alan Turing will focus that boost on computers.

The Great Wall has a more meaningful appearance with the unstacked cities.

GREAT PEOPLE ARE ALMOST LIKE WONDERS: I stumbled onto a few Great People early on in my play through. As I explored the map, which has a fancy visual upgrade to the fog of war, I discovered that I was next to a mountain range. These tiles are great for science campuses and religious district. I put my first district, focused on religion, between two mountains to maximize the boost near the capital. Later on, I built Stonehenge, which is a religious Wonder and also had the requirement of being constructed next to a quarry.

That’s how I managed to get a prophet early and found a religion. Now, each civilization gets one prophet and that’s followed up by three religious units: inquisitors, apostles and missionaries that spread religion. The move angered Pedro II. I continued building and created a campus district (Science) around my second city. In the meantime, I managed to build a third settler and set up another city next to a rain forest natural wonder. From the way my civilization was evolving, it looked as though religion would be the base for the spreading influence and amassing culture.

That offered a huge boost in civics tree. Yup, you heard that right. Firaxis decided to split the development tree in Civilization VI into a tech tree fueled by science and civics tree powered by culture. Now, players have to worry about both if they want to get certain units. For example, the Japanese samurai needs certain metal works advancement but it’s also only obtainable through the civics tree.

Putting cities next to the coast has an intrinsic value that makes getting seafaring technology faster.

HOW GOVERNMENT WORKS: In addition to units, this department determines the government and the policies a nation has. Players should choose the government that complements their civilization. For example, a nation focused on conquest may benefit from oligarchy and its military boost. On the other hand, a republic eschews strong armies in favor of building strength domestically.

Civilization VI represents government through a military, economic, diplomatic and a wildcard policies. These are essentially bonuses that steer a nation toward a goal. It’s represented by cards that players can switch in and out. Once it’s set, a policy can’t be changed for a few turns unless players reach another civic level. There are ways to short circuit the process, including paying gold to change the policy on the fly. Players should also have second thoughts before changing governments all willy-nilly. Civilizations who stick with a government for a long time have legacy bonuses, which have big ramifications in the late game.

But let’s get back to Pedro II who was casually moving his units near my borders. After I got a Great Scienstist, I angered him enough that he was going to surprise attack me. It didn’t help that he could move freely in and out of my borders. Surprisingly, in the early game, before players send envoys and discover certain technologies in the civics tree, rival civilizations can move in and out of your territory because the concept of empires and nations hasn’t been discovered yet. That changes with the development of Early Empires.

The fog of war is new and improved using a new map look.

I DESTROYED PEDRO II: He ended up attacking me and it was a bloodbath for him. His chariots and sling tossers couldn’t stand next to my battled-hardened Eagle Warriors. For the past few turns, my army had been hunting Barbarians, which have an upgrads of their own. They now act almost like rival civilizations with scouts and other units. If the scouts come across a city, they’ll return back to a village and call forth a raiding party. I had to quickly eliminate those annoying threats before they got out of control.

Now those forces were meeting an army from another civilization and they were murdering them. The great part about Eagle Warriors is that the defeated units turn into Builders who have three charges to improve the land around my cities. Suffice to say, I both weakened Pedro II and helped improve the land around my cities.

Despite my improvements, I fell behind a new measurement called amenities. It’s a stat that every city has and it’s focused on housing and support for a population. If players don’t build enough structures, it creates a deficit and cities grow slower. This makes building out more important than ever, but the big learning curve for Civilization VI will be when to exactly expand the cities.

It becomes a big strategic conundrum because districts take a long time to build and players have to place them in areas that will maximize their benefit. Campuses should be near mountains and rain forests. Theater districts get a boost if they are built near wonders. The districts are also the only way to build other structures that came easily in the past like temples or barracks. My Aztec cities slowed down because I didn’t focus enough time on making districts and instead built an army or expanded to other areas trying to lock down resources.

Trade was a big help with caravans helping to build roads and create support between my cities, but it just wasn’t enough. Perhaps if I played into the midgame, I could have righted my civilization. I guess I’ll have to wait to conquer Pedro II. That poor fool is going to be dominated when Civilization VI comes out Oct. 21 on PC.

Images courtesy of 2K Games

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If Abzu reminds you of Journey, there are two reasons for that — Matt Nava and Austin Wintory. The respective creative director and composer for the short but sweet adventure have moved on from the Jenova Chen project and worked on a title with a similar vibe but a different place.

In Abzu, players explore the ocean — a space that can be both alien and familiar at times. As the nameless Diver, players explore the deep and see the life lurking beneath the surface. At first, the game seems aimless as players wander the seas. They press R2 to dive. They maneuver around the ocean like the second coming of Ecco the Dolphin, manipulating objects by pressing the square button and boosting around the water with the X button.


Players can ride giant rays by holding onto a button.

They can swim alongside black sea bass. They can touch Abzu pools and awaken creatures such as hawksbill sea turtles, which are added to the sea. Players can find more of these pools, release more wildlife and make the waters richer with life. But as they adventure through the ocean, players will discover there’s more to Abzu than straight exploration. The campaign has a quest that players will stumble onto.

They’ll see shark statues, where players can meditate and look at the sea life around them. Lead engineer Brian Balamut, who spoke at a demo session, said, “Mat and I are both certified scuba divers. Diving is an amazing experience. It’s very spiritual and it’s immersive.” With Abzu, he said the team at Giant Squid “wanted to evoke the dream of scuba diving.”

In Abzu, players swim with fishes based on their real-world counterparts.

That’s part of the reason they used actual fish and sea life and re-created some of the animal’s real-life behaviors in the game. If players are sitting atop these shark statues, they’ll observe this circle of life as one fish eats another. They’ll see cleaner fish feeding around a shark’s mouth in a symbiotic relationship. It has the addictive quality of watching one of those Discover Channel nature show.

Further into the game, players will discover broken underwater drones, and these robots will unlock the path for the Diver. This is where the curious will discover that there’s something deeper to Abzu. Giant Squid uses some of the narrative and gameplay ideas as Journey. The developers let the environment tell the backstory and players figure out the other mechanics themselves. Additionally, they’ll uncover underwater temples that hold the key to the main narrative.

I’m still going through the adventure, but from what I played so far, Abzu like Journey is a short adventure, but it holds the promise to being something more.

Images courtesy of 505 Games

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Look at it all shiny and new. Isn’t she glorious? It’s unlike any other Xbox One controller and the best thing of all it honors Cthulhu, the greatest of the great old ones.

Although Microsoft has fallen behind Sony when it comes to console sales, one area where the tech giant has dominated is controllers. Last year, the company surprised everyone with the Xbox Elite, which is hands down the best first-party controller on the market. Now, Microsoft is offering players a new type of controller — one that they design themselves.

Through the Xbox Design Lab, players can make a custom version of the new Xbox One S controller. They can pick the paint of the body from 15 hues. From there, they can choose the colors on the bumpers and triggers, D-pad, thumbsticks, face buttons, menu buttons and back. For a personal touch, they can even add an laser engraving that sits at the bottom of the controller.


Microsoft showed off the different types of custom controllers at an E3 event.

That concept sent my mind reeling. With a Microsoft-provided code, I was free to come up with any design I wanted. The first thing I made was a Lakers-themed controller. The colors worked out perfectly: Lightning Yellow and Regal Purple mimicked the team colors perfectly. For a bit of fun, I wanted to see what I could get away with in terms of engraving.

First off, I tried a four-letter word that I usually hear when I go online in Call of Duty, and to no surprise, that was immediately rejected. In other words, those wanting to make a controller just like Jules Winnfield’s wallet in Pulp Fiction will be sorely disappointed. The other disappointing thing is that players only have 16 characters to work with.

Pushing the limits further, I wondered if Microsoft allowed emoticons. I mean who wouldn’t want the shrug ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ as an engraving on their controller. Unfortunately, that didn’t work either. (It rejected the Kanji that makes the face.) But that led me to explore other potential emoticons. Lenny Face, ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), didn’t work. I had the same story with the Take My Energy ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ type. Interestingly enough, the one emoticon that would work was Cthulhu, (;,;), the tentacled nightmare made popular by H.P. Lovecraft.

A controller to make Cthulhu proud.
With that mind, I decided to make a controller as an ode the Old One. When he finally awakens from his dark slumber, maybe he’ll look at my Xbox One S controller and decided to spare me from madness and the end of the world. I had the engraving set. I went with the gull-wing Cthulhu just because it looked pretty sick, and from there, I looked for color schemes that would honor The Sleeper of R’lyeh. I based it off this picture. Most images of Cthulhu have him green so I used that for the base. I went for purple on the D-pad and shoulder buttons for contrast before settling for red analog sticks for the eyes. A friend says the controller looks like a frog that Picasso drew, but obviously, he didn’t look at the source material.

As for the performance of thew Xbox One S controller, it works well. It feels slightly smaller than the original one. The textured grips make a difference when holding it. The D-pad is less clicky than the original while the recessed Xbox button makes it harder to accidentally hit it by mistake. After several drops, my old Xbox One controller sticks were feeling a bit gravelly but the new ones felt better. Perhaps, you can chalk that up to wear.

Rejoice! You no longer need that bulky adapter to get sound from the controller.

One of the bigger improvements is the 3.5 mm jack at the bottom so players no longer need that bulky adapter. Players can just slap in their headphones and it should work. They’ll need to adjust the volume and mic controls in the Xbox One menu. The other upgrade is the Bluetooth support, so players can now use the controlller with Windows 10 laptops and PCs that support it. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work on iOS devices, which is a disappointment. The Xbox One S controller would have immediately been the best device of its type for Apple devices. But seeing how Apple controls its ecosystem and how Microsoft is a competitor I can see why the device just connects to my iPad but doesn’t do anything.

Although it’s not as good as the Xbox Elite controller, the custom Xbox One S controller has plenty of things going for it. The feel is good and it has improvements to make the quality of life better. At $79.99, the custom design is more expensive than the stock controller at $59.99. Is $20 worth it to have a controller designed specifically for you? For some core gamers who spend hours on Xbox One and PC games, that price may be worth it.

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