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Review: Star Wars Jedi Survivor

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The new Star Wars game continues Cal Kestis’ galactic adventure
Prices vary; PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S

A narrative-driven Star Wars game is what many wanted and the 2019 Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order gave that to its loyal fans. Now building on the strong base laid down by the Fallen Order, the Star Wars: Jedi Survivor is the latest instalment in the Star Wars saga that continues Cal Kestis’ journey and his fight against the Empire. Playing the previous game is recommended but newcomers to the series will also fit right in as the game offers a quick recap at the start. 

It’s been five years since the events of the Fallen Order with Cal now arrested by the Empire. The arrest, however, turns out to be a ruse for the Jedi to extract more intel but the mission goes sideways and expectedly, the game wastes no time to put Cal’s combative skills and abilities to test early on. The good thing about the sequel is that it retains skills from the previous game without having Cal relearn or unlock them. 

However, some abilities and features get unlocked over the course of the game. One of these are stances and there are five stances to choose from that help you define the combat playstyle. Our favourite is the one where you can wield a lightsaber and a blaster that lets you fight enemies from a distance and the crossguard lightsaber that delivers the most damage but at the expense of speed. These different playstyles coupled with the detailed skill tree add depth to the combat, which only gets better from the previous game. A successful attack, defence or parry is satisfying but the game also punishes for dying. Death during a fight means you lose the accumulated experience points, respawn at a meditation point (save point) and the only way to get it back is to strike (and hopefully kill) the enemy who killed you in the recent fight.

The game allows customising Cal, weapons and his robot friend BD-1. Right from Cal’s appearance to BD-1’s body material and paint to the lightsaber’s colours and materials, it brings lots of customisations to make the central character look different for different players. 

Jedi Survivor takes Cal to six different planets throughout the game and each region is well-designed, elaborate and distinct that will want you to explore and discover secrets of the place, find loot boxes for customisations, new shortcuts and pathways. Traversing the regions can be done on foot or take help from some tamed animals that will allow them to fly or ride them. The game also involves a decent amount of platforming with wall runs, air dashes and double jumps.  

Our playthrough on the PS5 was relatively issues-free. We did experience one random crash and performance issues like screen tearing and graphical glitches but that did not hamper our overall playing experience. 

In conclusion, the Jedi Survivor took good things from the previous game and made it fitting for a sequel with great combat mechanics and a decent storyline. 

RATING


WE’RE IMPRESSED Combat, story

WE’D IMPROVE Performance

THE LAST WORD Jedi Survivor brings great action and story, making it a must-play for every Star Wars fan

Review: Bird Hub

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₹106,599, birdai.com

Most of us are still in a hybrid work environment, and remote collaborations have increasingly become part of our lives. There is now more than one way to collaborate, but at the enterprise level, you need a reliable and fixed solution that can be deployed within a short span of time and that offers scalability in a conference room environment. Bird Hub is such a collaboration hub that is complete in itself and yet can be deployed with minimum hassles.

The Bird Hub can be attached to any display, even the ones with the slimmest bezels. I used it with a Sony Bravia TV on review. There are foam paddings on both sides to keep the mount from causing any damage to the bezel or screen. A flexible arm with a Velcro-type hook-and-loop fastener tape on the flat end shifts most of the weight to the back of the TV. The device has two cameras — one facing you and one facing the screen. The screen doesn’t require a touch interface since the touch detection and interactive functions are handled by an EyeRIS 3-D Dual-band Optical sensor. At the back of the device are the I/O ports and slots — HDMI, USB 3.0, Micro SD, DC In, LAN, and USB Type-C. The device offers Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The supplied Air Mouse allows you to control the device wirelessly and point and click. The mouse also houses an alphanumeric keyboard. An infrared pen is also supplied with the device. Installation support is provided, but if you choose to install the device yourself, once connected, the device straightaway takes you to the calibration screen. The Bird Hub has to be mounted at the exact centre of the screen and you get a position indicator on the screen. Calibration is as simple as tapping on the sequentially appearing dots with the pen. You may need to do manual calibration if the pen is not recognised on the launcher screen. The device also supports BYOD mode to connect with any laptop via a single USB-C cable.  

The hub recognises faces automatically and the 4K UHD camera intelligently frames and zooms in to the presenter. The camera captures a wide area of the room with amazing clarity, which ensures that everyone is included in the frame. The far-field multi-microphone array offers noise cancellation. The system uses a four-microphone array that offers adaptive beamforming, full-duplex acoustic echo cancellation with barge-in support, de-reverberation, and automatic gain control. The mics are capable of capturing voice from a 5m radius and offer Voice Activity Detection and Direction of Arrival.

The Bird Hub uses an Android interface complete with a built-in collaborative whiteboard and PlayStore to download apps. The device uses a 3.2 GHz 64-bit Hexacore ARM processor along with 4GB RAM and 16 GB onboard storage. The storage can be expanded up to 128 GB. An AI NPU supports intelligent features. The hub offers multiple-screen–sharing with remote users and supports Airplay and Miracast. You can share the content wirelessly across up to four screens. The Bird Hub supports popular collaboration platforms including MS Teams, Skype, BlueJeans, Google Hangouts, Zoom, and Slack.

<strong>Rating</strong>

WE’RE IMPRESSED Works with any screen with HDMI input, clear visuals, hassle-free set-up, supports a wide range of platforms

WE’D IMPROVE Better documentation and troubleshooting guide

THE LAST WORD This collaboration hub makes every screen an intelligent interactive unit complete with a full suite of connectivity options.

Review: Dead Island 2

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Dead Island 2

HELL Yeah!
Prices vary; PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

The development journey for Dead Island 2 has not been easy. Announced in 2014, the game saw multiple developer changes with Deep Silver finally settling with its own Dambuster Studios four years ago. The zombie-filled adventure is set to release later this week and we got an early copy to see if the sequel was worth the wait.  

Set in Los Angeles aka HELL-A, the flashy town is now the insane playground of flesh-eating zombies and slayers who paint the town red by killing the undead. You start as one of the immune slayers and depending on who you choose (out of the six slayers) at the start of the game, you receive some unique abilities. You cannot change the slayer once you start the game, so it’s better to go through their abilities before slaying zombies around the streets of Bel-Air or house-hunting in Beverly Hills.

Dead Island 2

Dead Island 2 is all about slaying. Sure, there’s a story and quests that you need to do to advance the game but let’s be honest, dismembering some zombies in unique ways is why everyone wants to play Dead Island. The game focuses on combat and while you get access to guns later in the game, melee combat is where Dead Island 2 shines. Scattered throughout the map, you can use almost anything to kill the biting zombies. Right from a broken piece of timber to a pipe to even Wolverine-like claws, there are a variety of weapons at your disposal that will turn them into a pulp, in a matter of seconds. The weapons, however, come with a durability bar, which can be restored at the workbench, spread throughout HELL-A.

Dead Island 2

Workbench can be used to repair weapons, mod them to enhance their effectiveness or customise curveball weapons. Some curveballs include stinky blood that can attract zombies to it, shurikens to throw at them or plain ol’ pipe bombs for instant karma. The supply of curveball items is endless but it comes with a cooldown time. However, our favourite way to slay a bunch of them is to take advantage of the environment. Pouring water on the livewire or a battery will electrocute zombies or add fuel to the fire to create an explosion. The combat possibilities are endless and it depends on how you choose to tackle the undead – with force or strategy.

You can even upgrade your playstyle with different skill cards that can be earned by completing quests or scavenging from zombies. The activated card gives different power and abilities that help in combat.  

The hellish version of Los Angeles is very well-designed. The abandoned villas to the iconic beaches and hotels show how badly riddled Los Angeles is with zombies. But it’s the gory graphics that sets Dead Island 2 apart. Zombies getting maimed, revealing of the body innards after quick strikes, beheadings and even smashed skull graphics feel a bit over-the-top but oddly satisfying.   

Having said that, we experienced some glitches in our PS5 playthrough but nothing that would hamper the playing experience. Besides, a launch day patch should fix most of the issues.

Dead Island 2

Dead Island 2 is a little different than other zombie-centric games. It does not take itself seriously, which is evident with the over-the-top action and dark humour sprinkled throughout the game. Some might even feel the gameplay is repetitive but frankly its wash, rinse, repeat formula coupled with gory graphics is what makes Dead Island 2 work.

Rating

WE’RE IMPRESSED Gory graphics, combat
WE’D IMPROVE Repetitive gameplay
THE LAST WORD Dead Island 2 will fulfil your mindless zombie-bashing itch

Review: BenQ DesignVue PD3205UA

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Price: ₹59,990

BenQ’s DesignVue series monitors, as the name indicates, are created for graphic designers who need a reliable display for colour-critical applications. The 32-inch PD3205UA and its smaller-sized sibling, the 27-inch PD2705UA, are not your ordinary desktop monitors with flat bases. These are made for professional designer studios with fixed muti-display setups. The stand has to be attached to the desk with the sturdy metal clamp at the base and the monitor is then attached to the ‘ergo arm’. The device has a three-side bezel-less design with a thick frame, curved at the rear. The stand has concealed channels for cable organisation. Apart from the base, all other parts are made of sturdy polycarbonate materials.

The PD3205UA is a 31.5-inch 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) monitor. The IPS display supports HDR10 and is stated to reproduce 99 percent sRGB and Rec.709 colour spaces, capable of delivering up to 1.07 billion colours. The monitor offers 5ms response time and provides 250 nits of brightness along with 1000:1 contrast ratio. The monitor offers near-accurate colours with a deviation of Delta E <=3. The monitor boasts corner-to-corner uniformity in brightness and colour reproduction with BenQ’s AQColor technology. The display comes Calman Verified and Pantone Validated along with Pantone SkinTone Validated certification for accurate reproduction of skin tones.

The monitor houses a KVM Switch that auto-pairs with input signals via the HDMI or DP connected parallel with the designated USB port. This helps you to connect a PC and a Mac seamlessly with the PD3205UAThe device offers two USB Type-B ports, two USB Type-A ports, one USB Type-C port, an HDMI port and a Display Port at the base along with a Mini USB for the hotkey puck (OSD controller). There is one Type-A and one Type-C port at the side along with a 3.5mm audio output jack. You can use the hotkey puck G2 to switch between inputs. Designers can make use of BenQ’s Display Pilot software, which gives access to various customisation option for colour mode, display and more, and to set up advanced features like ICC Sync, which automatically sets ICC profiles to match the colour mode selected.

As mentioned earlier, this is not a portable monitor. Once clamped to the desk, it is difficult to move it around. But the flexible ‘Ergo Arm’ provides a greater degree of movement than normal monitors and hence the freedom to position the monitor precisely where you want it. With concealed cable management channel on the stand, the setup looks professional and less messy. The part of the base that sits atop your desk is small and flat, hence it occupies less space.

We found the panel delivering uniform illumination across the display area as BenQ claims. We measured the native colour reproduction, and could verify the claims of 99 percent sRGB reproduction (97.3 percent coverage, 118.7 percent gamut volume). The monitor can reproduce up to 77.9 percent Adobe RGB gamut with 81.8 percent volumetric coverage, while the figures for DCI P3 was found to be 83.8 percent and 84.1 percent respectively. The monitor has two 2.5W speakers, but we found it practically useless as in the case of most built-in speakers.

Rating

WE’RE IMPRESSED Good colour accuracy, uniform illumination, flexible Ergo Arm

WE’D IMPROVE No shading hood, not portable

THE LAST WORD A colour-accurate studio monitor for creative professionals

Review: Resident Evil 4

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A fitting refresh of the hit classic game
Prices vary; PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S

Capcom should be lauded for its decision to bring its classic games to newer gaming platforms. They started with Resident Evil 2 in 2019, Resident Evil 3 in 2020 and here we are with the latest remake – Resident Evil 4. Capcom has perfected the remake recipe to captivate fans who missed playing the original and bring new ones to its successful survival horror franchise.

Resident Evil 4 is set six years after the disastrous events at Raccoon City and with years of experience under his belt, Leon S. Kennedy is no more a rookie. He now works directly under the United States president and is tasked with locating and bringing back the president’s kidnapped daughter, Ashley Graham.

In true Resident Evil fashion, the game puts you (as Leon) right in the action to unravel the mystery and the weirdness of the European village. There are no mutated zombies to kill but Plaga-affected villagers who don’t take lightly to any trespasser. Aided by formidable bosses like the chainsaw man at the start, the game wants you to constantly evaluate your survival strategy as taking the grotesque enemies head-on can work against you sometimes.

But more often than not, fighting is the only way out, and for those moments, Resident Evil 4 offers ample ways to cull the infected villagers. Resident Evil 4 brings a decent spread of weapons that can be found or purchased along with some nifty weapon upgrades. You can also use a knife to parry but its effectiveness diminishes with every strike and can be repaired only with a visit to the merchant. Our go-to choice was a maxed-out rifle with a biosensor scope that highlights the enemy’s weakness so you can quickly kill without emptying the precious bullets.

In addition to combat, crafting and resource management are other areas of survival in the game. You can craft ammo by combining different components or improve health by mixing different types of herbs. Crafting also helps manage the inventory space in the upgradable attaché case that can be used to store weapons, ammo, gun parts and herbs.

Powered by the RE Engine, the game looks and runs fantastic on PC. The customisable settings ensure it runs smoothly with minimal framerate dips, irrespective of being played on a budget graphics card or outperforming when equipped with the latest Radeon RX 7900XT. We cranked the settings to the highest with FidelityFX Super Resolution 2 enabled and the RX 7900XT consistently delivered up to 100 fps for sustained performance.

The well-paced story keeps you busy, however, we feel, Capcom could have trimmed a chapter or two. A full playthrough along with scouring for collectables takes around 20 hours, which can vary depending on the difficulty. The game encourages replayability that can unlock weapons with infinite ammo but it’s hard work considering you have to fulfil some conditions. For players wanting more outside of the main story, there’s The Mercenaries, a timed mode to take on hordes of enemies for a high score.

Resident Evil 4 brings everything together you expect from an RE game in the form of an engaging story, combat and gameplay.

RATING 4.5/5
WE’RE IMPRESSED Gameplay, story
WE’D IMPROVE Replayability
THE LAST WORD Resident Evil 4 is a testament to why Capcom is the king of remakes. It’s a must-play for every RE and survival horror genre fan