Many, many years ago, when I was in my late teens, I studied art at high school, hoping for a career in graphic design. Much of my teenage years was spent poring through graphic novels and comic books like 2000AD, admiring the art of Brian Bolland, Steve Dillon and Cam Kennedy.
For a variety of reasons, the dream to become a graphic designer never came to be and I became a journalist instead but over the years, I’ve always enjoyed stretching my artistic urges with Procreate on my iPad & last year I completed a beginners stone carving night course.
I’m a strong advocate for artistic talent, which is why I’m happy to give a little plug to the Media Design School of New Zealand’s Bright Awards.
The Bright Award is a nationwide creative arts competition designed specifically for high school students in years 10, 11 and 12. Winners receive a $1000 cash prize to continue pursuing their creative careers and a $3000 award for their school. Entries are in the categories of graphic design, photography, gaming, animation and web & interactive.
Entries open on August 10 and are open until October 7. You can find out more about the competition here at the Media Design School’s Bright Awards page.
It’s been light for new games recently but the Force is strong with Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga as it was the most popular game for April and May, according to PriceSpy.
Lightsabres at the ready, jedi!
Rounding out the top five games for the two months were Spider Man Miles Morales (PlayStation 4/PS5), Nintendo Switch Sports (Nintendo Switch), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo Switch) and Nintendo Ring Fit Adventure (Nintendo Switch).
Liisa Matinvesi-Bassett, New Zealand country manager forPriceSpy, says “In the midst of a global cost of living crisis, it seems gamers are opting to shop more wisely when it comes to the games they are looking to buy – with three out of the five most-clicked on games across April and May being older releases spanning from 2017 to 2020.”
“It’s always impressive to see just how many fans both LEGO and Star Wars have. So, when these two popular brands do collaborate (not to mention launch a game that’s also available to play across multi-platforms), they often attract a phenomenal level of attention and interest,” says Matinvesi-Bassett.
“A surprising result across the top five was Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales for the PS5 and PS4, which placed an impressive second in the top five rank. And unlike the top ranking game, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales first launched in November 2020 – going to show, it’s not always ‘newness’ that attracts the attention of gamers.”
WIN WIN WIN
PriceSpy has teamed up with GamejunkieNZ to offer one lucky reader the chance to win two of the most-popular games from April and May on the platform of your choice. To enter the giveaway, email gamejunkienz@gmail.com and tell me what game you’re looking forward to in the coming 12 months.
*Only open to New Zealand residents. One entry per email address. Competition closes 20 June, 2022.Winner will be picked by random draw.
It was perfect timing that gaming peripheral company Logitech got in touch a few weeks ago asking if wanted to review its g923 racing wheel and pedal set.
I was midway through Netflix’s Formula 1 Drive to Survive – so I jumped at the chance to channel my inner Valterri Bottas or Daniel Ricciardo from the comfort of my own home.
The g923 has been out since around last year and offers what Logitech calls TrueForce, it’s force feedback solution, and is designed for racers. It’s been endorsed by McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris, too.
I tested the 923 wheel and pedals on both PlayStation 5 and on PC and a nice feature of using it on PC is that you can configure the setup using Logitech’s G Hub software. It lets you tweak wheel and pedal sensitivity and remap control buttons. The wheel is comfortable to grip, with a nice leather finish, and it has a nice weight to it as you manhandle a race car around the track.
The wheel itself attaches to a desktop – I don’t have a dedicated rig so clamped it to the keyboard tray of my computer desk – using two clamps that are hand tightened by a screw mechanism either side of the unit. Despite my reservations that the plastic J-shaped clamps wouldn’t be up to the task of a heavy workload, the wheel remained securely attached during my testing.
The anodised aluminum pedals are solid, too, with a nice feel in my socked feet when you press down on them: The brake pedal uses a stiffer spring than the other two and it’s part of a solid unit, too: The base has anti-slip prongs on the underside so it doesn’t slip on carpeted surfaces.
Build quality overall is excellent, and a nice touch is the cable routing channels on the underside so you can at least have some sort of cable management going on. If I had any complaint, it would be that the cables themselves looked a little cheap, given the high-end cost of the wheel. Braided cables would have been a nice touch. Interestingly, the view from the back of the unit looks like the front of a car with its mesh grill and headlamps.
I tested the g923 on Dirt 5, a trial version of Grid Legends and Forza Horizon 5 on PC, and with Gran Turismo on PlayStation 5.
Logitech’s Trueforce feedback system means it transmits what is happening onscreen through the wheel through vibration, meaning you can feel every vibration as you cross a rumble strip, mount a pavement or smash unintentionally through a fence or barrier. It really does bring a new dimension to racing games and while it isn’t enabled with every game it worked well with Forza Horizon 5.
As someone who has always used a standard controller for all my games, using a dedicated wheel gave me much more precise control of car. Driving felt more nuanced, more precise. The gear paddles have a nice tactile feel to them with an audible “click” when you depress them.
Frankly, the g923 wheel took my virtual driving to a new level (although, I had to tweak the in-game force feedback setting in FH5 or else the wheel went berserk and was uncontrollable). Combined with the pedal set, I felt like my driving game had improved dramatically and going back to a controller will be a massive step backwards. Using a wheel made the experience more immersive.
Surprisingly, my wife, who isn’t a gamer at all despite living with me for 30 years, asked to have a go with the g923 after she saw me racing in FH5. She took great delight in driving a jeep around the storm-ravaged desert plains during a story mission.
She declared the experience great fun – and it is: Driving just feels so much more intuitive and natural using a wheel rather than a controller. Gear changes feel fluid, steering is responsive, it’s just a few more pleasant experience.
So, the g923 is a great wheel and pedal set but there’s one sticking point for me and that’s the price: Here in New Zealand, Logitech has the RRP for the g923 as $NZ699 – that’s a fair chunk of change to fork out if you’re just an occasional driving game player. This is a piece of kit for serious simmers where driving games are your passion.
Final thoughts
Look, I’m no driving wheel expert but from the week or so I had with my time with the G923 I’ve been left impressed. It has let me tackle racing games with a higher level of control to using a standard controller, and that’s a good thing.
The G923 might not be suitable for really, really experienced racing sim players – and I don’t know how it compares to previous Logitech wheels, such as the g29 which seems to be fairly familiar to the g923 – but for car game afficionados wanting to lift their driving game with a good quality wheel and pedal combination, this unit could be the hardware they’re looking for.
Given the price, though, if it were me, I’d wait for a sale. According to Pricespy, on the day I checked prices, the g923 ranged from $NZ569 right up to $699. It would pay to shop around.
Have I convinced myself that I need a dedicated wheel and pedal set? Not yet but, to be honest, I bought a Thrustmaster flight stick for Microsoft Flight Sim after playing it for a while so only time will tell if I do the same thing for racing games.
Thanks to Logitech ANZ for sending the g923 racing wheel & pedals for me to look at.
Shinto mythology describes Yomi as the Japanese word for land of the dead. It is said to be where the dead go to dwell and apparently rot indefinitely. It’s comparable to Hell or Hades and it’s here that much of Flying Wild Hogs’ and Leonard Menchiari’s samurai hack ‘n slash game Trek to Yomi takes place.
“Once one has eaten at the hearth of Yomi it is impossible to return to the land of the living,”. One site told me as I was researching the meaning of Yomi.
Trek to Yomi (published by indie darling Devolver Digital) begins with a flashback where we meet young samurai Hiroki training with his sensi. It’s a good introductory sequence that introduces you to the basic combat that will become crucial as you progress. Hiroki’s arsenal includes fast upward slashes with his katana and slower paced but more deadly downward strikes. As the adventure continues, Hiroki gains access to a bow and arrow, throwing knives and a handheld canon.
Suddenly, there’s a commotion outside. Hiroki’s sensei grabs a spear, tells his ward to stay where he is and runs off to fight bandits invading the village. Hiroki, of course, doesn’t listen and runs off in search of his master only to see him slaughtered before his eyes by the bandit leader. Hiroki’s village is burned to the ground, along with its inhabitants, he vows to avenge them and his love Aiko. Hiroki must venture into the underworld of Yomi to avenge those he loved.
Stunning visual style
Right off the bat, Trek to Yomi has a stunning visual style, with game play taking place across a 2.5D plane. It has an old black and white film grain that is reminiscent of the samurai films of old from Akira Kurosawa. Sometimes the camera will pull back, revealing sweeping rice fields, cascading waterfalls and mountain backdrops. Several times I just sat back and took in the view before me. With Hiroki often silhouetted in the foreground with the sun shining through trees with falling leaves. It really is stunning in its presentation.
Adding to the immersion is the dialogue is in full Japanese, really adding to the atmosphere of being drawn into a Japanese samurai movie of the 1950s.
When Hiroki explores the game world it’s in 2.5D, meaning he can move left and right, forward and backwards, exploring. When combat is activated the perspective shifts to a flat 2D plane with Hiroki having to fight foes coming from his left and right.
Hiroki faces off against a variety of foes, some armoured, some brandishing long spears, others gruesome apparitions of their former selves. Most can dispatch with simple slashing moves. As things progress, more complex moves are unlocked, but to be honest, I found it a struggle at times for my old man gamer brain to remember some of the more complex combinations. Instead tending to block, parry, thrust, slash and roll when confronted with a handful of enemies all at once. That said, being on a 2D plan means enemies only attack you one at a time from the left or right, though.
Straddling the realms
There are three difficulty modes: Kabuki (Story), Bushido (Normal) and Ronin (Hard) . I used throwing knives, portable cannon and bow & arrow quite a bit to clear out enemies when things got a little hectic. Small shrines dotted about the game world act as save points, refilling your health and stamina meters.
At about the halfway mark, perhaps slightly after, the game takes a dramatic and supernatural turn. With Hiroki suddenly finding himself wandering the creepy realm of Yomi, it’s pathways piled high with human skulls and mutant villagers inhabiting its houses. It’s in Yomi that Hiroki begins his descent into seeming madness to avenge those he vowed to protect. What follows is Hiroki banishing the spirits of the bandits he killed when they were alive and ultimately facing off against the bandit leader who slayed his sensei and vowed to kill you when you were a child.
It’s in Yomi that the game takes a tonal shift towards a much darker narrative (throwing a few easy-to-solve environmental puzzles into the mix as well) but deep down I think the overall arc here is asking what price will you pay to avenge those you loved the most?
Life, death and the trek to Yomi
Trek to Yomi really surprised me in that it wasn’t a game that was on my radar until a game play video dropped into my inbox from Devolver Digital’s Australian PR team. I shouldn’t have been surprised: It’s from Devolver Digital, a publisher who delivers on its often quirky indie titles.
While Trek to Yomi starts off as what seems a traditional “hack ‘n slash” it soon takes an intriguing turn, stepping things up a notch with Japanese notion of the land of the dead that plays a fitting backdrop to a game that explores, life, death and everything that straddles them both.
HP’s Omen gaming laptops have always been solid performers when it comes to gaming hardware.
I’ve always been a fan of its gaming line-up and after spending time with its Omen 16 laptop, I’m even more of a fan of the hardware.
The review model I had was packed with an Intel 11th Gen i7-11800H (@2.3FHz) CPU, 32Gb of RAM, an nVidia GeForce RTX3070 laptop GPU (8Gb memory), a 1Tb SSD, a 16-inch 144Hz 1080p panel, Bang & Olufsen speakers and is running Windows 11.
The Omen 16 has a chonky 200w charger that ensures enough power to the innards and the Omen 16 really does look smart, with a great build quality and an appearance that doesn’t outlandishly scream: “I’M A GAMING MACHINE, EVERYONE.” It’s subtle in its design.
Connection-wise, on the the left side we have the power socket, a hinged ethernet port, USB-A 3.0, HDMI, USB-C with thunderbolt, a mini display port, the headphone jack and an SD card reader. The right hand side has two USB 3.0 ports.
Primarily aimed at the gaming market, the Omen 16 has a huge mesh grill on the underside of the chassis, letting you catch a glimpse of the substantial cooling system. Raised rubber feet mean the cooling fans have plenty of airflow and ventilation to keep things cool. It’s hefty in the hand but passes the backpack test.
HP is known for cramming it’s laptops with bloatware – and sadly, there’s a fair bit of it here in the Omen 16. I counted no less than eight HP programs (not including the HP specific Gaming Hub software) plus perennial bloatware antivirus McAfee and a trial for ExpressVPN. McAfee was the most annoying of the bloatware with it’s constant nagging but thankfully its reminders can be disabled. Frankly, the amount of bloatware is too much, HP.
System boot up from cold to the load screen was 14 seconds thanks to the SSD with Intel’s Opthane software and showcasing its gaming credentials HP’s Gaming Hub software lets you tweak the hardware to eek as much performance out as you can or change the lighting under the keys.
For example, you can under volt the system – where you reduce the CPUs core voltage without reducing the CPU’s performance) – meaning less power consumption and heat. There’s also balanced or performance modes, and an in-build graphics switcher so you can flick between the integrated graphics and the discrete RTX3070 GPU to ensure you’re getting the best graphical power when you need it the most.
Right, onto the bench marking. Let’s play some games on this thing.
I tested the Omen 16 with bench marking tools Cinebench, Catzilla, Heaven and 3D Mark (Timespy & Firestrike) and using the in-built benchmark tools in Batman Arkham Knight, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. I also played God of War and RDR 2 a fair bit because, well, I just like those two games a lot.
As you can see, 3D Mark’s Firestrike demo returned a score of 18.063 and Timespy a score of 1112, and Tomb Raider returned an average frame rate of 123 frames per second with nVidia’s DLSS set to Quality mode and using DirectX 12. Unfortunately, I don’t have my bench mark images for RDR 2 or God of War as I, ahem, accidentally deleted them from a USB stick when I was clearing out unwanted data – and I’ve already sent the laptop back.
Suffice to say, it performed nicely with Red Dead Redemption with a mix of quality settings, same for God of War, although I noticed periodic slow down in the latter sections of the game, especially when there were a lot of enemies on screen. It didn’t last long but it was noticeable.
I also felt that performance dipped a little when on battery power (the system seems throttles a little to conserve battery life) but that’s to be expected. As I do with all laptops that are desktop replacements, I’d recommend to keep it plugged into mains power when you are gaming. This isn’t one for extended gaming sessions at the cafe if you’ve left your charger at home!
Look, HP’s Omen 16 does what it says on the box – and it does it very, very well. In fact, it’s probably the best performing gaming laptop I’ve reviewed on this blog.
It’s well built, has good battery life, has a good screen and performances extremely well with any game I threw its way. HP also tells me that the Omen 16 uses recycled plastic for the key caps, recycled metal and ocean-bound plastic for the speaker enclosure.
That said, it’s not cheap but decent gaming laptops never seem to be, right? The Omen 16 starts from $NZ4,699, depending on whether you go for an Intel CPU or AMD processor, and the review configuration – if I’ve read things correctly – would set you back about $NZ5499. That’s a fair chunk of change.
However, if I was looking for a more portable gaming machine to replace my desktop PC – which I partially rebuilt last year with a new motherboard and Intel 11th Gen i5 CPU – I wouldn’t hesitate to put the HP Omen 16 at the top of my list.
Former NZ TV actor Karl Burnett has long had a love of retro video games – he was introduced to Invaders on the Fountain Force 2 machine when he was a child – so he decided to publish New Zealand’s only print magazine dedicated to retro video gaming. The first issue was printed this month and I caught up with Karl “After” Burnett to talk about the process of creating a print magazine and what he thinks is the greatest retro game of all time.
Tell me about your video game background. You mentioned you were an avid reader of Computer and Video Games magazine back in the day (as an owner of a ZX Spectrum I pored over Crash! Magazine) but what was the console/games machine that sparked the video game interest for you? Was there a specific video game that just blew your mind?
It was when I got home one day, possibly from school or kindy, when I heard blips and beeps coming from the lounge. The door was shut and dad led the way, saying “do you know what that is?” I replied “video games”. To this day I don’t know how I knew that as Invaders, the game that my sister was playing on that brand new Fountain Force 2, was the first game I’d ever seen.
How did that interest develop over the years? Have you always had a fondness for “retro” games specifically or have you delved into modern games but always been drawn back to the old-skool gaming experience?
I always kept up with modern gaming. Until the Xbox360 I had owned every console of every generation. I wasn’t blown away by that generation as developers were taking far fewer risks with creativity. There were very few games that I wanted to play. I did love Grand Theft Auto V.
After that I got an Xbox One and again, there’s not a heap of stuff I like playing. I picked up GT7 recently for the PS4 Pro and I’m enjoying that (apart from the weird mobile game aspects etc) but I also picked up Elden Ring and it’s just too complicated for my old brain. I’m not a fan of crafting or messing about in inventories – leveling up and that sort of thing. I know it’s an RPG but those elements have all snuck into action games these days. I just prefer the purity and simplicity of retro games – I mean, gathering crap to make a spear that’s just going to break isn’t fun in my book. Tomb Raider really annoyed me with all that stuff. Even Transformers Devastation, as good as it was, had weapon crafting. Why!?!
What was the catalyst to create NZ Retro magazine? What was the light bulb moment that prompted you to go “Yeah, I want to publish a magazine about retro video games”?
I was writing for the UK magazine Sega Powered and I really enjoyed it. I’d toyed with the idea of creating a magazine a couple of times in the past. One was a new car magazine named The Wheel Deal, which I thankfully decided to put online instead, and the other was a retro gaming magazine that just never happened. So I decided to finally give it a go.
Walk me through the process. You’ve got a background in writing but was producing the magazine a more monumental task than you anticipated? Did you ever get to the point of asking yourself “What the hell am I doing?” and go back to whatever it was you were doing before?
I had a pretty good idea what to expect, from working full time in magazine publishing in the past. I’d done plenty of design work as a game developer, so I knew I could make it look semi decent too. There were some hurdles on the last day caused by my lack of knowledge on the printing side but nothing major until after I’d shipped issue one and the printer closed its doors.
When did you decide Kickstarter was the way to go to fund the magazine? Were you surprised at the support you received or did you think there was enough love for retro games that it was a sure thing?
I’d actually funded the first couple of issues myself. The Kickstarter was to help with the next couple of issues – I hadn’t done a great job of selling advertising! I was blown away by the amount of support. I thought there’s be enough people to sustain it but it was good to know I was right!
Launching a new magazine in the current climate was a big risk for you (I see printer Ovato has closed due to paper shortages etc). Was that at the forefront of your mind during the whole process?
I didn’t actually see it as much of a risk, more a last chance. I’d pulled out of university as I realised halfway through my degree that programming computers is only fun if it’s done for fun. I decided I didn’t want to be a coder and I’d quit a great job to go and study. There were no suitable jobs around and I really wanted to be writing again, so I thought I might as well give it a go. I knew that niche magazines were taking off around the world – especially retro gaming ones – and there were none in New Zealand so I filled the void. A lot of people in various Facebook retro groups I belong to voiced that they wanted it, too.
What are you most happy about with the magazine? The foreword by Julian “Jaz” RIgnall? The poster art by Trevor “Smila” Storey? The fact that you actually got the magazine out and to supporters?
Jaz was pretty much the biggest influence on my writing and I doubt I’d be doing this if it wasn’t for his work back in the day. So yeah, having him in the mag was awesome. Trevor’s art is great too – he’ll be doing plenty more for NZ Retro. But the be great thing was the magazine itself. It turned out really well. There are a few small things I’ve changed since but over all I’m really proud of it.
What does the future hold for NZ Retro magazine? Are we likely to see any love in future issues for classics like Westworld’s Blade Runner or Lucasarts masterpieces like like Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, Monkey Island or Day of the Tentacle?
I LOVE point and click adventures. They were the story driven games of their time. I suppose some did have crafting, though! And inventories! How ironic. I’ll definitely cover them as I get better and faster at making the magazine as those types of games take a lot of time to play for review.
What is the greatest retro game of all time?
Tempest 2000 on Atari Jaguar or Need For Speed on 3DO. The greatest game ever made in my opinion is GTAV.
Disclaimer: I was a backer of the first issue of NZ Retro and it’s a bloody fine magazine. If you’d like to find out more about NZ Retro, you can visit its webstore at http://www.nzretro.com or subscribe to future issues via Patreon: patreon.com/nzretro
There was not one but two announcements from publisher Devolver Digital this week, with one of them being a new game in one of point-and-click adventure gaming’s most famous franchises.
The announcement of Return to Monkey Island, the long-awaited follow-up to the legendary Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge by Ron Gilbert’s Terrible Toybox in collaboration with Devolver Digital and Lucasfilm Games, was somewhat of a surprise to most of us, especially those of us of thrived on Lucasfilm’s excellent point-and-click adventure games. Here’s hoping there’s a return to insult sword fighting! “You fight like a dairy farmer!”
Details are light on the ground for Return to Monkey Island and the trailer doesn’t reveal any game play but Gilbert, who was behind the Kickstartered point-and-click game Thimbleweed Park, tweeted about it on April 5:
Anywho, here’s a link to the short announcement trailer
The second announcement from Devolver this week was another game play trailer for Trek to Yomi, the Japanese samurai inspired game that I previewed on this site a couple of weeks ago.
The trailer is long – it’s 15 minutes – but gives you a good taste of what to expect from the game when it’s available from May 5.
Publisher Devolver Digital is always full of surprises and Trek to Yomi, a game set during feudal Japan is another surprise that has come out of nowhere, at least as far as I’m concerned.
I knew nothing about the game until the Australian-based PR team for the game got in touch asking if I was keen to preview the first opening hour or so. I watched a couple of trailers and was intrigued. Insomniac’s Ghost of Tsushima has left an itch for more games based on Japanese culture and samurai lore so could Trek to Yomi scratch that itch for me? Let’s find out.
Coming from developer Flying Wild Hog and Leonard Menchari, Trek to Yomi starts with a flashback of young samurai trainee Hiroki training with his sensei and it’s a good training sequence that introduces the sword-play that will become crucial as the game progresses. Hiroki’s arsenal includes fast upward slashes and slower paced but more deadly downward strikes.
Suddenly, Hiroki’s sensei grabs a spear, tells his ward to stay where he is and runs off to fight the villagers who have invaded the village. Hiroki, of course, doesn’t listen and runs off in search of his master only to see him slaughtered before his eyes. Hiroki vows to avenge his death.
Trek to Yomi is a 2.5D game with a striking visual style: It has an old black and white film grain that is reminiscent of the samurai films of old. At times the camera will pull back, revealing rice fields, waterfalls and mountain backdrops, and a few times I just sat back and took in the view, Hiroki often silhouetted in the foreground with the sun shining through trees with falling leaves.
As you can see from these captures, which I took from the game, it really does have an amazing visual presence.
Adding to the immersion is the dialogue is in full Japanese. It really adds to the atmosphere of being drawn into a Japanese samurai movie of the 1950s. So far, so good.
When Hiroki explores the game world it’s in 2.5D, meaning he can move left and right, forward and backwards, exploring, but when combat is activated the perspective shifts to a flat 2D plane with Hiroki having to fight foes coming from the left and right.
Most of the time you can dispatch foes with simple slashing moves and as he progresses he unlocks more complex moves but, to be honest, I found it a struggle at times to have enough time to chain together some of the more complex combinations, instead tending to thrust and slash when confronted with a handful of enemies at once. It’ll have three difficulty modes: Kabuki (Story), Bushido (Normal) and Ronin (Hard).
The preview build only allowed for about an hour of game play – essentially the first two missions – and ended with Hiroki fighting one of the game’s bosses so it’s really hard to say how the game will be as it progresses and how the story develops.
My interest is definitely piqued by Trek to Yomi’s visuals and the Japanese narrative and location but with such a short preview build, it’s too early to say whether the game is style over substance.
I guess I’ll find out when the full game is released later this year, right?
D-Link’s AX1500 mesh system in its natural habitat: The suburban home.
If you need a wi-fi mesh system that will extend your home’s wireless signal, D-Link’s AX1500 mesh system M15 is well worth a look.
I’ve used several D-Link wi-fi extenders in the past and found them useful in expanding weak wi-fi around a house.
Like D-Link’s other mesh systems set up with the AX1500 mesh system is pretty simple. In the past, I’ve set up D-Link extenders using the company’s smartphone app then scanning the supplied barcode. This time, though, I decided to connect two of the units to my router via the WPS button.
If you decide to use the app, you’ll need to download the D-Link Eagle Pro AI app which the company says lets you manage your network more efficiently. D-Link recommends one unit for a house up to 210sqm, two units for a house up to 370sqm and three units for a house up to 500sqm me. My house is single-storey and around 226sqm so I used two units.
Within minutes, I had two AX1500 units set up and extending my current wi-fi network. The first was around 5m from the router, which is sited in the garage, but the signal had to pass through one door and two walls.
The second unit was sited perhaps at the farthermost point of the house: In the corner of the family room next to the kitchen. The wi-fi signal would have to pass through several walls to reach it.
Using Ookla Speedtest, I did two speed tests standing next to each D-Link unit (one using a server 7km from my house in Christchurch, New Zealand; the other in Culverden, which is 90km north of my home). I also did a test using a server in Sydney which was over 2000km from my house.
The first test from the unit placed in the family room came back with a download speed of 201Mbps and an upload of 73Mbps (ping of 3ms, jitter 5ms). The second test came back with a download speed of 227Mbps, 95Mbps upload (ping 6ms, jitter 1ms).
Speeds from the second unit (in the master bedroom and closest to the router) were 318Mbps up, 247Mbps down (7km away server, ping 6ms, jitter 1ms) and 224Mbps down, 240Mbps up (90km away server, ping 2ms, jitter 1ms). The server in Sydney returned speeds of 281Mbps down, 134Mbps up (pin 40ms, jitter 2ms).
With the ability to connect up to four units to your network, D-Link’s AX1500 mesh system is a good choice to expand home wi-fi networks. While I’m unable to say how it will perform in a two-storey home, where the signal will need to pass through multiple walls, for my 225sq single-storey home it worked a treat, allowing me to stream countless hours of online content, download games to my PC and consoles and do general internet stuff without skipping a beat.
D-Link’s AX1500 mesh system M15 (three pack) will cost you $NZ399.99 and $AU379.95. Thanks to D-Link Australia for the review units.
EAGLE PRO AI AX1500 M15-3PK Mesh System (3-Pack) • Dual-band AX1500 Wi-Fi 6 delivers blazing fast connectivity with increased range and reliability
• Blanket whole home coverage up to 500sqm
• Up to 1200Mbps (5GHz) and 300Mbps (2.4GHz) speeds
• AI-based Mesh capability with compatible AI Wi-Fi Extender or Router
• AI-based Wi-Fi and Traffic Optimiser monitors and improves your network automatically
• Supports WPA, WPA2, and the latest WPA3 Wi-Fi Security
• Clean Network Initiative compliant for security and privacy
• Voice control compatibility with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa
I have to admit that Trek to Yomi wasn’t on my radar until I was contacted by the local PR team about possible preview codes. Heck, I didn’t even know the game existed until that point.
Well, two trailers later, Trek to Yomi is well and truly on my radar. My “yes please when can I play this game?” radar.
Set in feudal Japan, the game has a real Akira Kurosawa vibe to it and comes from game designer Leonard Menchari (Riot: Civil Unrest, The Eternal Castle), studio Flying Wild Hog and publisher Devolver Digital. Players will face off against myriad enemies across beautiful and terrifying lands, including spearmen, archers, riflemen and even beings believed to be nothing more than folk tales and Menchari has said on social media that the game is inspired by “old Japanese cinemas from the 1950s and 60s.”
You can watch the latest trailer here:
The game’s rather sparse website says it’s coming Spring 2022, which I’m assuming is the Northern Hemisphere, so that means, hopefully, it’ll be out in the three months or so, given the country I live in is heading into Autumn soon.
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GamejunkieNZ [2.0] 