impressions

Sony PlayStation Gold Wireless Stereo Headset Review

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Sony PlayStation Gold Wireless HeadsetWhen I swapped out my regular TV for a gaming monitor, the change brought with it a few unforeseen downsides. One, adjusting the volume on the monitor was a pain, as the monitor doesn’t come with a remote or volume buttons on the monitor itself. Two, the audio quality from the monitor’s built-in speakers would disappoint Meghan Trainor, as they seriously lacked bass. Worst of all, my gaming monitor doesn’t have an audio out jack, making it impossible to plug in my own speakers or headphones.

My only recourse at this point was to go with a gaming headset that directly interfaced with the console itself. After stumbling through the research process and buying a pair of Turtle Beach headphones that wouldn’t actually address any of my specific needs, I ultimately ended up with the Sony PlayStation Gold Wireless Headset. Slick in design and fairly reasonable in terms of price point, does this headset address my needs for quality sound?

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Early Impressions of Pandemic Legacy

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Classic Pandemic is a co-operative board game where players team up in an effort to cure four deadly diseases before they wipe out the human race. No pressure, right? In the moment, it’s one of the most intense board games on the market. However, as soon as the game is over, the slate is wiped clean and you can start again as if nothing ever happened.

This is where Pandemic Legacy differs from its predecessor. Taking heavy influence from Risk Legacy, events that take place in each game leave a lasting impact on subsequent plays until you hit the final stage of the campaign. If you thought that the original game was stressful, wait until you play this version where the rules constantly change, characters can die and entire cities can be wiped off of the map forever.

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Street Fighter V Beta Necalli Impressions

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Necalli’s barbaric fighting is unlike anything Street Fighter has ever seen before. Raw and animalistic, he scratches, stomps and throws opponents by their faces in ways that can’t be ignored. Just off of sheer looks alone, I think he’s the coolest character to watch in action so far. But behind the aggression, can Necalli brute force his way through his more refined competition?

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Street Fighter V Beta Impressions Part 5: Nash

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Previously thought to be dead, Charlie Nash returns to Street Fighter V in a somewhat new form. For one, he’s clearly had some Frankenstein-like work done, as parts of his body appear to be stapled on. Also, he functions very differently, as all of his charge-based special moves have been changed to circular motions. Whoever this Nash is, can he keep up against the world’s finest in this new game?

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Star Wars: Imperial Assault Skirmish Mode Impressions

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Star Wars: Imperial AssaultIn a previous post, I covered the tutorial for Star Wars: Imperial Assault. To summarize, I thought that the core aspects of the game’s mechanics, as portrayed in the tutorial, already made for a thrilling tactical combat experience. Now it’s time to ratchet up the complexity with the Skirmish mode, which is one of the two main ways to play.

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Street Fighter V Beta Impressions Part 4: Cammy

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Cammy is one of the most popular characters in the Street Fighter roster. Part of that comes being an attractive character who inexplicably chooses to fight in a one-piece bathing suit. To each, their own, I guess. Outfit aside, she’s also been a fun character to play as, even in games where she wasn’t good.

That certainly wasn’t the case for her in Street Fighter IV. From instant divekicks, to dizzying Sako combos, to unblockable setups, Cammy was a top-tier monster for many years thanks to weapons that kind of went against the spirit of the game. It would ultimately take a core change to how all characters wake-up from a knockdown to cool her off just a touch. How do you now bring her into the Street Fighter V fold without nerfing the character into oblivion? Capcom has some interesting solutions that conundrum.

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Street Fighter V Beta Impressions Part 3: Ryu

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Ryu is widely recognized as not only the face of Street Fighter, but as the face for the entire genre of fighting games. However, he serves a much greater purpose as the standard character within the Street Fighter games he appears in. At his best, he has all of the tools a newcomer would need to get an overall feel for the game before moving onto different characters. That said, if you choose to stick with the iconic martial artist, you should be able to hold your own against anyone else in the cast. Does he continue to fill that role in Street Fighter V?

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First Impressions of Star Wars: Imperial Assault

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Star Wars: Imperial AssaultYears ago, the thought of me playing a game like Star Wars: Imperial Assault was unfathomable. Despite my love for the franchise, I had no interest in playing anything approaching Dungeons & Dragons or Warhammer levels of complexity was far too geeky for my taste. It’s taken some time and a lot of practice with simpler games, but I’ve finally made it.

Due to the size and scope of Imperial Assault, don’t expect a full review of this with insights on the campaign any time soon. Instead, I’ll share my thoughts on my limited time with the tutorial.

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Ticket to Ride 10th Anniversary Edition Impressions

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Ticket to Ride 10th Anniversary Edition

To celebrate the landmark release of Ticket to Ride in 2004, Days of Wonder has put out a special 10th anniversary edition of the classic board game. This premium package includes all of the content from the USA 1910 Expansion, larger cards, a double-sized board and new custom trains for each colour. It also comes with a premium price tag, as we got ours for about $80 before tax. For context, you can get the same amount of content by buying the original game for $40, the expansion for $16 and still have $24 left in your pocket.

Despite owning the original and the expansion, Steff and I have been waiting for the right time to upgrade. Thanks to a gift card that Steff received for her birthday, we now have this mammoth-sized game sitting on our shelf. Is it worth upgrading from coach to a first class ticket?

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First Impressions of the Xbox One

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photo(45)I may own a PlayStation 4, but does it have Titanfall? Nope. Does it have Killer Instinct? Nope. Are Titanfall and Killer Instinct the two games that I really wanted to play more than anything in the current crop of next generation software? Yup. So while I don’t regret my decision to go with Sony’s console, I’ve longingly looked at the green grass on the other side of the fence, wishing I could play those exclusives instead.

Thanks to Steff being the best girlfriend in the universe, I don’t have dream anymore. The Xbox One is in my house and all is right with the world. Having spent a few days with it now, I thought I’d jot down my initial impressions of the hardware just as I did when I first got a PlayStation 4.

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