There Is Always a Reason Why Something is "Free"...

It was only last year that I was forced to abandon my trusted WinXP and upgrade to Win7. And I say forced because Microsoft made sure that key features of my OS was not working anymore, including security. So, Win7 was a brief yet not a bad altogether experience - if one disregards numerous lack of customization options and the palpable effort of Microsoft to make us abandon them as well, that is. Such as stopping our desktop widgets from working in order to promote the "brilliant" Win8 tiles! Nevertheless, I want to make clear that I am comparing Win10 to an extensive background on WinXP and an adequate experience with Win7.

ALL YOUR BASES ARE BELONG TO US
Two words: forced updates. I was lucky enough to have opted for the Professional edition of the Win7, so when I got to switch to Win10, I received the Professional edition as well - which comes with the option to defer (yet still not pick between or even cancel) the installation of the latest updates. The Home edition, however, does not give the user any such option and all updates are forced onto him. Remember how after numerous "essential" updates in the past, our PCs encountered a myriad or mysterious problems? Yeah, there is no more avoiding them anymore.

A PRIVACY NIGHTMARE

From the initial Logging in only with a Microsoft-confirmed eMail account to the Groove Music and the Movies & TV Players amassing info on your files and personal habits, Win10 are a private person's worst nightmare. In a sense, Win10 are the basis of the most intrusive and abusive DRM ever to be slipped in with a piece of software. There had been an uproar even since the pre-release builds and some deactivation options are available but they are far from thorough. And the question is this: how much can one trust a company that silently downloaded Win10 to every WinVISTA, Win7 and Win8 PC without the consent of their owners?

NO, IT IS NOT FASTER BY ANY MEANS!

Microsoft did not allow us to perform a clean install when upgrading from a previous Microsoft OS; however, using one's product Serial Number, it was possible to download the official image and burn it onto a disk (or transfer it to an empty USB). In preparation for the upgrade, I increased my system's RAM to 12GM and a few days after the initial update, I formated and did a clean install. Then I went on installing only software that was Win10 compatible. Keep this information in mind when I tell you that Win10 are SLOW. Slower than Win7 and definitely slower than WinXP! It takes forever to transfer files to and from a USB flash drive (a problem that started with Win7) and what is more aggravating, it takes forever to explore folders, especially those on my second HDD. Even if they were opened a few moments ago.

So, why is it not faster? Is it because of an increase in cosmetic additions and aesthetic customizations? No. Absolutely no.

ESSENTIAL CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS ARE MISSING

The Windows interface and Menu options look worse than Win7. Aero Glass, for some unfathomable reason, is not available. The Windows borders are not customizable (for the first time since Win95!). Quick Launch can be made to appear with some Registry editing (I would advise Googling it - carefully) yet the icons now cannot be centered in the Toolbar and stay misaligned to the Task View button; the option of which icons and how to appear in the Taskbar is missing; whereas, this latest shinny OS refuses to learn that I do not like every shortcut to have a "Shortcut to" prefix to every shortcut I create - something Win98 had no problem learning after the third time I removed it on a new one.

There is a semi-official piece of software (no, I am not calling them Apps!) called Windows Ultimate Tweaker 4: it does offer a number of options, some of which very useful. However, one of the most important ones (specifically, which new templates and options to appear when right-clicking on the desktop) -you guessed it!- is missing. And do not get me started on the Start Menu!

WHY MESS WITH SOMETHING THAT WORKED FINE?

Win8 were a complete failure mainly because of their Start menu. We all loved the WinXP Start Menu, easy to use, a breeze to customize and backup when needed. Win7 improved on it, even if, quite counter-intuitively, one had to use libraries in order to add personal folders in the Start Menu. Yet, everything was at the right place. Well, not so much with Win10.

Power is now a button like any other, found between(!) All-Apps and Settings - and when pressed (remember that this will also be needed to be done at 2:00AM after 12 hours of working on a screen) one has to read and carefully select between the Shut Down or Restart options that appear. Every single time. With no confirmation dialog.

The installed software (All-Apps) are alphabetized easy to navigate - yet its folders do not respond to Right-clicking them. They are just dead.

The Tiles Panel, however, this is where they screwed up again: none of the tiles are customizable in other aspects than total size (resulting in beautiful icons looking ridiculous in all that empty background). Why can we not readjust the sizes of the contained icons? And yet they even failed to adjust the tile sizes correctly!

The Tiles Panel allows resizing but only in huge pre-set steps. We can also move and group the tiles. Some (but not all) tiles come in 4 sizes, others in 3 yet most in only 2 sizes. The step-wise increments of the Tile Panel create space for 6 small tiles in each group. Have less than 6 tiles in a group and the empty space is an ugly waste. Moreover, no tile under them can grow to fill the space of 6 small tiles, so, once again, more ugly wasted space.

Oh, and for some another mysterious reason, not all installed software can be pinned to the Tile Panel, even if they do appear in the All-Apps list! You have to hunt for them in your Program Files and find the executable.

COMPATIBILITY MODE IS STILL A JOKE

Drakensang: The Dark Eye is not an old game, barely 5-6 years old and it is supposed to be Win10 compatible. At least its expansion is, and that run fine. The original game, however, refused to run under any "compatibility mode". Does this thing finally do anything besides reducing the resolution, Microsoft? You know, running them under DirectX 9.0c or something?

ALL KNOWN BUGS ARE STILL THERE

The Recycle Bin still refuses to use its customized icons, just like with Win7. The Explorer folders are still unable to retain my Viewing preferences. And the Desktop still looses files (especially saved web-pages) one then has to hunt down with the Explorer (even if they are still in the Desktop folder).

Overall, not a failure of WinVISTA or Win8 proportions but nowhere near as good as WinXP or even Win7.

I am willing to accept this as a work in progress and give them 6 months to get their act together and patch things up.

Yet they should not think that they will get a free ride just because they claim to be giving it away for "free". Because it was not.

We had to exchange our perfectly working OS for it.

This goes to prove that, once more, there is no free lunch in this Universe.

The Game Of The Decade Is Here!

The original Witcher was a great game, whereas the sequel was even better, bigger and more beautiful in every aspect. Following on this trend of building upon and improving their achievements, CD PROJEKT RED, the small Polish developer that has humbled gaming behemoths for years, released their best game yet. And what a game THE WITCHER III: WILD HUNT is!

THE BEST VIRTUAL WORLD I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED

Yes, the world of The Witcher III is huge, far larger than Skyrim. Far more importantly though, it feels more real and it is full of life.

The game throws you in a world of unparalleled beauty with details that keep unfolding the closer you observe it. Every spade of grass and every pebble looks real and obeys the laws of physics as set by the new REDengine. From the night and day and weather cycles to gear that gets damaged and needs to be repaired by blacksmiths and from growing facial hair to NPCs with real lives, the world of The Witcher absorbs you in and never, ever lets you go. The flames of Igni feel absolutely real as do bodies of water. Beasts and humans will do the unexpected whereas the skies sheltering your travels are absolutely mesmerizing. One can easily spend hours in the game simply observing the gorgeous world around him.

There are some concessions to absolute realism one can take advantage off (quick traveling and in-battle repairs for example); however, purists can ignore them and sink in the extra hours to go old school. 

Now, all these come at a price. A couple of weeks ago, I made sure to upgrade to a nVidia 960 (pouring with a brand new 352.86 driver) and 12GB of RAM just for this game (at some point, CD PROJEKT has to ask ASUS for dividends!) and the game runs smoothly at Ultra. 

(Also, no save-files crashes this time around. So far).

AN EPIC SCORE FOR AN EPIC STORY
Once more, the music is an essential part of both the atmosphere and the gaming experience. The composers are different than those of the previous games and this translates into a novel approach to the world of Geralt of Rivia. You will recognize a number of variations on themes from the previous games and it feels like meeting old friends, matured yet still dear to you; however, I found the music more subtle and effective and not less powerful.

CHOOSE YOUR WEAPONS OF DESTRUCTION WISELY
Remember the days form the very first Witcher when you basically finished the game with the same sword and kept saving every last oren to buy the 5,000O leather jacket? Well, Geralt not only yields an extra crossbow but he also enjoys an ever growing choice of armor and weapons. Combine this with a huge library of books and an endless supply of potion and bombs ingredients and you will soon find your hero to be overburdened. And then you realize that there is no storage chest! Not to worry, the game now employes Roach's saddlebag (buy it as soon as possible and enlarged it). This way your storage is always close by. And, take my advice, do not sell anything! From ingredients to older swords, you will need them for crafting. And even find loot is abundant, it always feel great to gather all the ingredients to finally forge a sword or a piece of armor whose schematics you had been carrying for some time.

IT'S ALL ABOUT CONTROLLING THE WORLD AROUND YOU
Some people have been complaining about the PC controls and, up to a point, I can understand why. As with all games, I remap almost everything so that I am able to use only the right end of the keyboard (arrows for movement are default here but I use the Num-keys 1-5 to select my Sign, Num-0 to use it, / for the steel sword, * for the silver one, and so on). The game is enjoyable when set at the highest difficulty one can survive at so having quickly accessible controls are essential. That is why I hope to see a key-rebinding option Menu soon and not have to dive in the input.settings file.


The Expansion Pass will cover the Expansion (as per CD PROJEKT RED's practices, all DLCs are to be free). And if they are known for anything is offering a more than fair value for the released products.

WITH MY HIGHEST RECOMMENDATIONS!

It's A Brand New PostApocalyptic Dawn

I am old enough to have played the original game when it first came out in 1997. I was a great fan of the series that followed and, thus, was very eager to get my hands on this latest installment. In a short sentence: Fallout 3  is a dream come true.

It is a cRPG game in which the player can alternate between the First and Third person perspective roaming a world comparable in size with Oblivion. The action has moved from Vault 13 and Southern California to Vault 101 and Washington, D.C. and the story brakes away from the previous bloodlines. However, the atmosphere of the original has been maintained and its scents sharpened: veterans will find it fitting like and old glove - whereas the new gamers are in store for a bag of pleasant surprises.

The graphics are wonderful, the guns detailed and the environments highly interactive. Short of a screenshot, imagine what would HalfLife-2 would look if released today. And similar to HL2, Fallout 3  does not require an...übercomputer to run smoothly. Once you see a NPC move though, you understand where the corners were cut.

Character customization is carried out in great style using the new and improved PIP-BOY at the beginning. You exit the vault and the harsh reality of a world that barely survived annihilation slaps you on the face. Adapt or perish.

The main storyline is there to be followed but Fallout 3 offers the greatest number of alternative choices I have ever encountered in a game! There is always a great number of paths to follow in order to achieve any goal - but every choice comes with a consequences tag. This is common feature of most classic cRPGs but in Fallout 3  I saw it implemented like never before. If nothing else, this sends replayability through the roof.

Side-quests offer little besides distraction and experience points (XP) to be spend on character improvement. XP are gained solely by completing quests, emerging victorious from fights, finding locations, picking locks and hacking terminals - and they are not limited by the action they were earned. Levelling up is based on 7 basic attributes [Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility & Luck - acronym?;)] that, in turn, affect your (13) specific skills. Since levelling

up is capped at Level-20, the game designers wanted to encourage replaying the game. On the other hand, it also means that your character will never realize its full potential (in case you are wondering why I withheld a star from fun, that's the second half of it).

The game is violent and gory but well within tasteful limits. Not so with the language - but it is tradeoff with realism. In a radioactive world, Sunday-school niceties are bound to go out the window.

What deserves a special mention is V.A.T.S. (:Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System) which opens new vistas in cRPG design. It is an ingenious system which lets you pause the game and target specific body parts of your opponents. The success of your attack still depends on your skills but the end effect is cinematic and amazing (remember the movie Swordfish?).

After the nuclear summer of 2008 (with all the LimitedInstallation-defective EA releases), this seems like a postapocalyptic dawn indeed! Bethesda decided to listen to the gaming community and did not cripple this beautiful game with any idiotic DRM scheme. Inputting a serial number and a DVD-check is more than reasonable.

The publishers of Fallout 3  understand that there is a fine balance between "protecting the product" and..."insulting your own customers". And they obviously view respect as the two way street that it is - and for this they deserve our support: buy this game, today.

Voting with our wallets is the only argument the gaming industry cannot afford to ignore. And it is about time to cast some well deserved positive votes.

In The Valley Of Colours And Kings

After Zuma's success, a number of clones appeared - but the Luxor series is the one that actually improved on some aspects of the concept. As the series progressed, Luxor games became more and more self-reliant. With Luxor 4: Quest for the Afterlife the franchise flexes its own muscles.

A series of coloured balls (with the number of different colours increasing every few levels) gets pushed and you have to match them in sets of three or more in order to remove them - and prevent them from reaching the end zone. Instead of having the "shooter" in the centre, it is located at the bottom and it slides left and right. This makes for some quite difficult shots (especially when obstructed by the advancing row of balls) and raises the difficulty of the game.

On the other hand, the power-ups are more powerful, at the end of every round a number of coins and gems drop and "catching" them add lives to your paddle. It seems pretty straight-forward yet it can become highly...addictive!

Compared to the previous instalment of the series, Luxor 4 is graphically even more impressive, enriched as to the dropping bonuses (and...penalties) - yet it will seem somewhat easier to seasoned players of the series; nevertheless, it will fulfill the fans craving for more pharaohnic fun!

This is an example of what has come to be known as Casual Gaming: small, resource-light games that are fun for the whole family.

It would be a good idea to download the 60-min trial version from a casual games site, such as Reflexive and decide for yourself whether this is indeed your cup of tea. It wouldn't hurt to wait for the price to drop either: most casual games sell for no more than $10.

Of All The Lairs In The World...

Evil Genius is a game that stays for you for a very long time - and is bound to find its way to your hard drive every time there is a new Bond film hype. After the deluge of the latest DRM-ruined games, I went looking through my gaming library for older gems to play. This is definitely one of them!

In a classic Ian Flemming's setting, you start in a desert tropical island where you are to design and build your secret lair. In a Sims tradition you do not control your minions directly, instead you control the Evil Mastermind behind everything that is brilliantly nefarious: a stocky Bloomfield-lookalike in a gray Mao/Nehru jacket and an insatiable mood to take over the world (the other choices are the heavy-accented seductress Alexis and efficient Shen Yu - but we all know how chauvinistic the world of self-indulgent espionage can be).

Besides the Evil Genius, you can (partially) control a couple of major Evil Henchmen/women. I said partially because once given an order they will take their sweet time to execute it - if ever. No wonder Bond always won in the end: the Evil nemesis had to do everything himself!

Including making ends meet. Yes, even the most evil of geniuses apparently cannot print money. Hence, the need to built hotel and vacation resorts - not only to hide but also to finance the plans to take over the world. From hotelier to World Dictator - everyone not born with a silver spoon in his mouth has to pay his dues I guess...

Nevertheless, the real fun of the game is designing your lair and setting up the traps! Since there seems to be an endless number of possible combinations this alone multiples the replayability of the game.

Plan carefully ahead and watch the invading Secret Agents be thrown helplessly from one trap directly to the next - and finally out of your lair (or into a body-freezer room). Until the Super Agents that is.

The Super Agents make the game almost impossible to win. Again, in a true Ian Flemming fashion, good should prevail - and should do so easily (funny that concept never seemed to caught on in real life...). Nevertheless, the game is not unbeatable - it just needs a lot of practice. (I needed more than half a dozen tries - and they were all fun!)

In these Middle-Age days of PC gaming, when the industry decided to go to the dark side, it is a good idea to unwind with a brilliant classic.

Because What Everyone Really Wants To Do Is Direct

During the months of boycotting most new PC games releases (for harbouring vicious DRM schemes and Limited installations), I found the time to replay a number of older games that truly are much better in many ways. Most importantly, innovation.

The Movies is a cross-genre hybrid, beautifully combining a Sims game with a business-RTS one and a highly creative movie suit. Not only do you get to step into the shoes of a Hollywood mogul, but you get a shot in "realizing" that film you always had in you.

The game starts with the design and building of your Studio (using up the allocated funds), complete with Script stables, Sound stages, Production offices and, well, casting-couches? (not so surprisingly that part of Hollywood was not included). Casting is pretty straight forward, plucking some lucky characters from the waiting line and turning them into stars. Or script writers. Or directors. Or janitors. Yes, life is a bitch.

What I liked about this game was its historic accuracy, simplified efficiency and clear-cut design. Not only are most stages in making a movie readily available and the means to achieve this evolve as time progresses, but everything has a familiar feel and self-evident practicality as well.

Stars throwing tantrums and directors relaxing too much with the sauce; ageing stars in need for nip/tacks - and always keeping an eye out for whoever has the bigger trailer!

What I loved about this game was the opportunity to plan out the script in a detailed story-board and then shoot my own movies. The bad news is that if your visions are long and complicated your studio will be... bankrupt in no time, as it will release fewer and more expensive movies. But that is besides the point, is it not? What is a bankrupt studio in the wake of a iconoclastic new director towards his vision?

In the end, although very entertaining in many ways, the strong suit of this game is not its Movie-Business Management Simulation but rather its Movie Creating editor. Simply, there is no other game like it.

Westwood Went Out With A Bang!

The Spice Must Flow! I loved the original story (even though not the endless franchised series been constantly ghost-written as you are reading this). However, one needs not be a Dune fan to enjoy this wonderful game!

In Emperor: Battle for Dune the graphics may be quite dated today, almost at par with C&C:Generals. On the bright side, they will truly shine even on currently low-end machines or tablets. The units are well designed and clearly visible in any zoom-level - something surprisingly rare even in new games (such as Supreme Commander) in which one can either zoom-in or play. Plus, the battlefield view is rotatable, another feature I miss in many new RTS games. I especially enjoy the way the buildings come up and the targeting-lasers of the snipers as they move around.

If this is not the the best strategy game, it is definitely well within the Top-5 all-time RTS! Well balanced gameplay (if you liked C&C: Tiberium Wars, you will love Emperor: Battle for Dune). A Solid story-line, interesting videos and random environmental events (sand-storms, worm-attacks) to keep the field level in the name of Shai-Hulud.

Sad but true, greedy lawyers and bean-counters have taken over the gaming business. True game-designers, the likes of Westwood Studios, are pushed around - if not entirely out of the picture.

I bought the game some years back but still take it out once in a while. They just don't make them like this anymore...

Get it for the nostalgia. Experience it for its polished gameplay

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Sure, Rimms, Flash & Bling-Bling. But What Is Really At Work Under The Hood?

Need for Speed: Undercover is yet another EA release which, gameplay and graphics problems aside, suffers from the bundled DRM scheme: SecuROM with Limited Installations.

This is a well known scheme based on a custom-made augmented version of SecuROM 7+, used for over a year now (from BioShock to Mass Effect, Dead Space and Red Alert 3) and it has been proven to offer overall...zero protection from piracy. But, of course, fighting piracy was never amongst its aims.

SecuROM is not a Digital Rights Management system but rather a spyware subroutine that unavoidably comes bundled with most major game releases. It borrows into the Root of our systems, masking itself from the System Manager and refuses to be removed - even after one completely uninstalls the game it came with. SecuROM is indeed used as a cloaked dataminer, gathering information on the system and its user's activities and sending them to its mothership. It is the metho

d the industry's behemoths chose to pave the way for their coveted Pay-per-Play future.

Turning our own PCs into their...insatiable coiners is what the gaming executives are having wet dreams about. Games that we will have to keep paying for again and again.

And that is where the idea of Limited Activations comes ins: not only it nullifies the value of a game once bought, killing the second-hand market overnight, but it also familiarizes gamers to the idea of having to buy the same game over and over in order to keep playing it.

Need for Speed was a series I loved in the past and would love to keep playing in the future once the DRM idiocies get resolved. But not at this price.

Some people are indifferent to these issues - and I respect that. In a free market voting with one's wallet is the most effective expression of opinion - and everyone is free to cast his vote in whichever direction he seems fit. My experience though taught me that most gamers would like, at least, to make well informed decisions.

And who would not want its customers well informed?

Keeps Gooing & Gooing

This is a small game only in cost: it has offered me endless hours of fun!
If I were to describe this game as simply "building bridges made out of, well, elastic goo", I would do it no justice. I could never imagine how entertaining balancing goo-tension and gravity could be!

The graphics are clear and do not have high hardware requirements. The music is well chosen and appropriate. And the gameplay you will find yourself longing for after some hours away from the game.

World of Goo is a game that can be enjoyed by the whole family - and it comes free from any draconian DRM schemes.

Nothing Is Sacred Anymore...

The original Sacred was a great game that, although not exactly groundbreaking, it offered many hours of action-cRPG fun. What is more, its publisher had the good sense to price it reasonably from the start and thus fight piracy in the most effective way.

Sacred II, although enjoys more demanding environmental graphics and spell effects, is just another victim of clueless gaming industry executives. Instead of learning from the history of their own game, they'd rather idiotically jump on the "SecuROM/Limited Activations" bandwagon. After all, if they can hide behind the "everyone is doing it" excuse, who can blame them when the game does poorly?

They are obviously under the illusion that selling at full price a game that is actually rented will fail to be...noticed! Respect is a two way street - and underestimating gamers' intelligence is not a good start.

It is a shame that Sacred II got shot in the foot by its own publisher. Now, instead of being another success, it will simply be another game sacrificed on the alter of corporate Greed and marketing incompetency.

Avoid.

Deus Manifestare

During this ongoing Dark Age for PC gaming, when corporate Greed has coupled with pseudo-DRM schemes to stifle any original idea or creative process, I found myself, again and again, reaching for the classics. And Deus Ex is definitely a classic masterpiece.

Set in the near future, infused with equal doses of cyberpunk mentality and noir atmosphere, playing like an FPS with strong RPG elements (inventory, character development, modifiable equipment, secondary quests) - and yet one is better off avoiding shooting more often than not!. Whoever played Deus Ex can attest that this game will stay with you. Forever. And rightly so.

This is a game infused with life. The characters act natural. The script is brilliantly paranoid. And the whole setting will immerse you into this twisted world of technological possibilities and power.

In a perfect world, David Lynch would have realized William Gibson's Neuromancer. Short of that, we have been offered Deus Ex.

Sure the graphics may look dated. But I promise you that you will find no lip-synced modern game more appealing than Deus Ex  Even 5+ years old PCs will be able to render its full potential (although the game's strengths are hardly limited to its appearance) - and it is DRM-free.

A True Prince Amongst Thieves

There was an extra reason for gamers to rejoice Holiday season of 2008: draconian DRM schemes appeared to be on their way out. First Bethesda striped SecuROM to the bare minimum for FALLOUT 3; then DRM-free World of Goo (an indie game!) outperforms Spore - a 45-million flop; and, finally, UbiSoft decides to walk the narrow yet honest path towards customer loyalty, by releasing a DRM-free game. Yes, Prince of Persia is DRM-Free!

This was either a very decent and brave decision (after all, only a month ago, Far Cry 2 came with a fully activated SecuROM 7.xx and Limited Installations) or it was an experiment: the executives wanted to see whether games do indeed sell good either with or without intrusive DRM.

Either way, UbiSoft deserved to be congratulated.

I was one of the first to chastise their decisions to ruin good games with heavy-handed DRM schemes. It is only fair to be one of the first to congratulate them on a customer-first decision. And because talk is cheap, I bought my copy the moment it was released. I would advise anyone who would care to listen to vote with his or her wallet and support such a gutsy decision. Because it sure takes guts to go against the current and brake ranks with the other greedy game publishers. And, this time, the Canadians at UbiSoft (Montreal) proved they have brass ones.

The game itself is simplified fun. The graphics are clear and fresh in a comic-book/retro way (known as cel-shaded) and the gameplay enjoys (or suffers, depending on your point of view) a number of assists that make it easier and flowing. Probably, too easy. You will not get the frustrations of repeated deaths but neither the satisfaction of finally making it through a hard boss.

The game does give off a platform feeling (combos on a PC game always give me an awkward feeling as they are much easier with a gamepad - but that again, this is an action game, it is to be expected). 

All in all, a good game that still deserves our support.

Gaming Is Still Crossing The Dark Mines of Moira

"One ring to rule them all, 

one ring to find them, 

one ring to bring them all 

and in the darkness bind them."

Well, it sure is more honest than the vapid..."Challenge Everything!"

Darkness still spreads on the land of gaming. The number of games that get ruined by the bundled DRM schemes keeps growing. Lord of the Rings:Conquest is just another edition. Burdened with SecuROM 7++, OnLine Activation requirement and Limited Installations it is bound to follow in the steps of Red Alert 3 and Spore: yet another expensive EA flop.

In the spirit of the Tolkien epic, EA is the Dark Lord Sauron that tries to watch everything from its tower of power. Greed in the heart, contempt in the nostrils, arrogance in the eye. Unfortunately for such entities (and contrary to board-meeting projections) not every gamer is either an Orc or a Troll. Some of us decided to take a stand. And fight back. And our numbers are growing.

No matter how many Nazguls EA releases this time around, in the end, the Ring of DRM rule will be cast in the burning heart of Mount Doom.

And the land of Gaming shall be free to dream again.

A Turn-Based Strategist's Heaven!

The Galactic Civilizations Series in effect has kept the classic Turn-based Strategy genre alive. When the Civilization Series was going to the dogs (released in an endless stream of DLCs, all flashy animations and dummied-down options instead of evolving) and the Master of Orion Series was committing seppuku (unable to live with the shame of its Master of Orion III), GC reminded us how much fun space colonization can be!

Galactic Civilizations II (Ultimate edition) is the one to have. Starting off with a planet in a customizable Universe (size, resource abundance, scarcity of habitable planets etc), one begins his journey of exploration, colonization and conquest. With the exception of roving pirates who can be destructive if encountered early on (but whose annoyance can be deselected), the factions are well balanced and interesting.

The graphics are clear (with full zoom capability), whereas the interface is easy to master and friendly to use.

However, what makes GC so much more fun than any other space colonization game is its ship design options. From freighters and colonist-ships to planet defenders and frigates, there are no limits in what one can build in your dockyard. Want something that looks like Star Trek's Enterprise, Star Wars' Millennium Falcon or Battlestar Galactica's Colonial Vipers? Easily done - the sky is the limit.

Research will not only keep you solvent and your people happy but it will also make it possible to better equip your ships. Stronger engines, more effective armor, more destructive weapons.

And, on top of all that, this being a Stardock release, it comes free of any intrusive DRM scheme. These days, that alone deserves gamers' support. How much more so that Galactic Civilizations II is a great game. Its new patching method is neither convenient nor reliable and I hope the Stardock people will see to that promptly. Besides this shortcoming, highly recommended.

Comfort With Compromises

Upgrading my PC usually calls for also upgrading some of the aging peripherals. So, even though my old keyboard (a MICROSOFT Multimedia one) was still in perfect working condition, I decided to change the whole set up. I still had fond memories of my old MS Natural Elite Pro keyboard I had used writing my Thesis, so I decided on the Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 model which seemed to be its improved replacement. I have had the keyboard for over two years and here are my impressions:

THE GOOD:

- The 4000 is not just another beautiful keyboard but a really comfortable one too. Not only are the curves natural and well molded but the minimally padded leather-imitation wrist-rest offers a silky sense of luxury. The keyboard comes out of the box with a negative angle attachment, which can easily be removed - it is comfortable but personally I need to see what I am typing.

- Compared to other Ergonomic keyboards, one has to note that unless the keys are physically separated into two groups any ergonomic effects will be minimal. So, if you are thinking of Logitech's Wave, it is a good idea to actually give both of them a try at a local store before making a choice. As I said, I am no professional typist (yes, more of a 2-fingers) yet I found that my typing is much faster and my typos more rare when using Natural keyboards.

- I liked the idea of the BACK/FORWARD buttons at the wrist-rest. Although most mice now have this functions on their side buttons, it is still a big help when browsing (my mouse has a Magnifying Function where the FORWARD usually is).

- Also, this is a really quiet keyboard. You get a satisfactory feeling when pushing a button but instead of an annoying "clack" sound only a muted "tap" is heard. Ideal if your wife is in the habit of taking naps in your home-office couch.

- As an avid gamer favoring the right side of the keyboard (arrow keys instead of the WASD configuration) I enjoyed the ample room around the former.

- Finally, I liked the placement of an extra set of EQUAL, PARENTHESIS and BACKSPACE at the top right corner (especially the parenthesis, I always hated finding the opening and closing one among the numbers)

Now, THE BAD:

- For some reason the ENTER and RIGHT SHIFT keys are too small! I could do with regular sized "H" and "N" keys if it would mean not hunting the ENTER. And this is a large keyboard, I doubt it would make any difference if it was yet a bit longer for that.

- The SPACE bar is, well, fickle. Sometimes it works even if hit at the side. Others it refuses to respond unless hit at the middle.

- The key letters and symbols have a tendency to rub off(!). This is totally unacceptable for a premium priced product - especially one sporting MicroSoft's brand name. I decided to wait for the problem to become more pronounced and have this one replaced.

- The Media keys on top do not sit well in their homings and are not perfectly aligned. Especially the VOLUME UP in my keyboard seems to rest at an angle. Again, poor quality control for such an expensive and brand name product.

All in all: a mixed bag of good features but with compromises and inferior quality control. I truly miss my old MS Natural Elite Pro keyboard. If it came in black I would buy one again.

Addictive Bouncing Fun (Now With Its AddOn)

Peggle Nights his is the most successful cross between Patchinko and Pinball! It will have you laughing and shouting at the damn bouncing ball...

At every level there is a number of colored pegs that have to be hit in order to clear the level. They are amongst generic pegs that is OK to hit yet will hinder your access to the colored ones you have to clear - and you have only a limited number of shooting balls.

Every time you shoot a ball it gets used - unless you are lucky to fall into an oscillating bucket and gets recycled. There are also special pegs that give you special abilities for a limited time.

I am afraid I am not doing justice to the game - if it sounds complicated it is not. You pick it up in a minute and it is great fun!

This is a perfect example of what has come to be known as Casual Gaming. It would be a good idea to download the 60-min trial version from a site, such as Reflexive, and decide for yourself whether this is indeed your cup of tea.

Anybody can make a good game that will run only on a super-computer. This is an example of pure programming genius!

If you already own Peggle keep in mind that this version only extends the original with some extra levels and a new "superpower". It is not its sequel - so decide accordingly.

When We Were Afterburning Towards A DRM-Free Future

After Prince of Persia and EndWar, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. was the third major UbiSoft retail release to come out protected not by any intrusive yet ineffective DRM scheme but simply by gamers' honor. And, on top of that, it was a very good game.

There had not been a similar game released for some time: simplified arcade-like action with easy controls, breath-taking cinematics and impressive graphics - that will run in full even in low-to-mid-range PC systems. My advice: as with any flight combat game, using a joystick will make things so much more enjoyable and intuitive.

If you are more of an authenticity buff (and still have tons of free time to spare) I would advise going with a combat AddOn for Flight Simulator or a good old Jane's title. You will find no realistic cockpit and detailed controls in H.A.W.X. So, is this flight combat game dummied down? Well, yes. But I promise you: you will have fun like never before!

Hammerheading over cityscapes and coming in from the Sun over the desert has never been more easy to master. The electronic aids and bare-minimum controls will let you enjoy the fights and start mastering them early on.

This is a 4star game but I decided to give it full marks just because the Canadians at UbiSoft kept walking the narrow path towards a DRM-free future. It cannot had been easy to take such bold decisions during a bear economy. They deserved our support. Too bad they did not appreciate it

A Gutsy Move

If truth be told, WWII had been done to death. Ever since the original Castle Wolfenstein: 3D, every war theater, every offensive, every front, every defense line, every battle has been redone again and again. True, some more than others and, yes, a number of great games was produced. Yet, some game developers seem unable to stop whipping a very tired horse..

ActiVision proved it had the guts to break with the mold it had made its Call of Duty franchise a huge success. Call of Duty IV: Modern Warfare is set in a (fictional) present in which American and British agents are called upon to stop a Russian plutocrat with Soviet-nostalgia and terrorist aspirations.

The weapons are new, the gameplay is inventive, the graphics are realistic, the settings are beautiful - a great game all together! And the GOTY edition comes prepatched, loaded with numerous new maps and runs like a dream even on mid-range PCs.

A Gamer's Immersive Dream

I have this Logitech Z-2300 2+1 speakers set for some years now and it has never stopped to amaze me. The sound is clear yet powerful and they are perfect for both immersing into the worlds of PC games and listening to music.

The L&R speakers are small enough yet they produce impressively deep sound. Paired with a good THX Audio card, how your PC sounds will never be the same! They come with a (removable - but be careful) front mesh which makes cleaning them easy.

The subwoofer is powerful and one has to really play with the sound card equalizer to be able to hear any bass distortion.

What I really liked was the wire remote which includes Power, Volume and Bass controls - and sports a handy earphones outlet. This is very convenient since most earphones do not come with long enough cables to comfortably attach directly to a PC case outlet.

My only complains would be that the remote is attached to more than one wire of unequal thickness and of not enough length (you will be able to keep it on your desk only if the PC tower is just below and the subwoofer nearby). Moreover, the subwoofer is too tall to fit under my desk (at 11inches [28cm] it does not fit under the drawers on the side I would want it) so I had to keep it outside my desk, increasing the number of visible cables. But that is a small price to pay for such great speakers.

For best results try them with Gothic Rock or Vocal Trance. Let the sound absorb you and the vibrations move you.

The Darker, The Better

Dark Sector is a beautifully made and well thought out game that should not go by unnoticed. It is what you get if you cross Resident Evil with Max Payne (minus the bullet time): a fast Third-Person Shooter with an immersive story, imaginative weapons and cool moves. Finishing off zombies has never been more fun!

The graphics are detailed yet monochromatically biased: greys, blue and yellow sectors alternate. At first I found this unrealistic (which it is) but it sure fights the well known F/TPS repetitiveness feeling of running in the same corridors for ever.

Since the game enjoys (or suffers) a quick recovery cycle, you are almost never in danger of immediate death - but this hardly impends the flow of epinephrine through your body. Moreover, once our hero (Hayden) gets infected and acquires the glaive, a whole new ball-game opens up: although of limited effectiveness as a melee weapon, this cycle-edged discus will deal devastating arcs of gore and destruction to his enemies!

Oh yes, this is quite a gory game, mind you (I think it was banned in Australia for that). So, unless intended for young children, recommended.