Thursday 19 May 2016

LawBreakers

LawBreakers

The legendary developer talks to us about his new outlook, as we take his gravity-defying shooter LawBreakers for a spin

Cliff Bleszinski is as close to a game development rockstar as this industry has ever known. Like many of the great pop stars there have been nicknames, personas, and a sense of a creative evolution that has inspired and driven the industry he contributes to. He was of course originally Clifford Michael Bleszinski, a native of North Andover, Massachusetts, creator of The Palace of Deceit: Dragon’s Plight when he was just 17 years old and later Jazz Jackrabbit. He would go on to became the face of Gears Of War, perhaps more so than its lead character Marcus Fenix. The man we sit with now is the head of his own studio in Raleigh, North Carolina, making a brand new FPS, LawBreakers, and is referred to by his colleagues as simply Cliff.

Top 10 Photos Tips

Top 10 Photos Tips

The Photos app in Windows 10 is perfect for browsing your snapshots, sharing and editing. Roland Waddilove presents his favourite tips

1 Browse Collections


If you want to browse all your photos and see them arranged in chronological order, select ‘Collection’ in the left panel. At the top is the month, and below are photos grouped by the dates they were taken. Spin the mouse wheel to scroll up and down through the photos.

The month is a clickable link, and it displays a list of months and years. You can quickly select another month or spin the mouse wheel to scroll the list and go back several years and select a month. This is a quick way to jump to photos from years ago without having to scroll through them all.

iHealth Lite Scales

iHealth Lite Scales

Keeping track of your weight has never been so easy

Digital technology for healthy lifestyles has moved on considerably since the old pedometer days. Now our phones can continually monitor the number of steps we’ve taken, how far we’ve ascended up a flight of stairs, how many calories we’re burning during moments of activity and rest, and all the while keep track of every detail.

Element Gaming Xenon 700 Headset

Element Gaming Xenon 700 Headset

No noble gas, just great sounds

Element Gaming’s top-of-the-range Xenon 700 series headset is a wonderful thing to behold. The bare metal frame, with braided wiring and a large adjustable microphone arm all speak of a product that costs in excess of a hundred pounds. Surprisingly, though, the Xenon 700 is half that price.

Synology DiskStation DS916+

Synology DiskStation DS916+

A next-generation NAS design that offers huge storage potential

With Synology’s penchant for reusing its enclosures, it’s easy to assume that what’s inside remains unchanged.

From the outside, the new DiskStation DS916+ looks almost identical to the DS415+, but internally it has more in common with the company's recent DS716+.

Zoostorm Stormforce 805

Zoostorm Stormforce 805

Nothing but clear skies all the way with this VR-ready PC

With the new generation of virtual reality systems now available, PC suppliers have to up the ante in terms of desktop performance to comfortably cope with the high-resolution virtual worlds delivered by the likes of the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. It’s not an easy task, and there’s a fine balance between building a VR-ready system and one that’s still affordable.

Edifier Rave MP700 Speakers

Edifier Rave MP700 Speakers

A powerful portable and rechargeable Bluetooth speaker from Edifier

The latest trend for Bluetooth speakers has been smaller and smaller sizes, to the point where some of the units are about as much use as a bean can and a length of string. (If the analogy escapes you, ask your parents). Yet this latest offering from Edifier has gone in the opposite direction, with a quite large and, it must be said, heavy unit, which has a retro look more like a 1970s transistor radio. Let’s hope it delivers the depth and power its presence suggests.