Month: March 2020

It’s tax refund season, and if you’re itching to upgrade your gaming experience, Dell has a pretty spectacular deal on a gaming laptop right now. I’ve been searching around the deals-world this morning and this Alienware is far and away the best deal happening right now.

Alienware Laptop Deal

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The 240Hz model adds $50 to the price, and the 4K OLED model adds $200, and given how high quality Dell’s OLED displays are, I recommend the upgrade if you can swing it. The refresh rate is 60Hz, but everything looks so damn good it’s probably worth the tradeoff. Don’t forget to use the code AW950OFF at check out to see the savings.

• Alienware m15 144Hz – See it at Dell for $1399
• Alienware m15 240Hz – See it at Dell for $1449
• Alienware m15 4K OLED – See it at Dell for $1599

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What would a portable PlayStation look like if it were designed at the height of Sony’s Walkman era? Well, a bit like Sony’s beloved portable music player combined with a Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP, according to the imagination of artist and designer Dan Clarke.

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Clarke, who runs a website displaying his passion projects called Arkotype, has recently added the ‘Sony Playman’ to his creations. “In an alternate reality (That I’ve made up) Sony released a handheld console in the early 2000s called the Playman which featured a clamshell design and used the proprietary MiniDisc™ media format,” he explained on Twitter.

The imaginary device features a 3.8 inch LCD screen, Memory Stick storage, digital control inputs and a slot-loader for the MiniDisc. A ‘Playman MD Remote’ with an LCD display shows additional game information, which is a nice call back to the days of Sony’s remote headphones. (The ‘compatible titles only’ disclaimer is also a nice in-universe touch).

The design feels authentically Sony, so much so that you could probably fool a few people by claiming it was a secret scrapped project from 2001. Afterall, a MiniDisc-based PlayStation Game Boy is effectively what the PSP, released in 2004, was.

Some early scribbles, as you can see I got a bit obsessed with designing hinges. pic.twitter.com/yzbfaPgx0w

— Dan Clarke (@danclarke) February 25, 2020

Clarke shared further sketches on his Twitter account, showing early ideas for the design, as well as designs for the actual MiniDiscs that games would ship on.

More Playman MiniDisc™ Games. pic.twitter.com/aTtA320e5c

— Dan Clarke (@danclarke) February 26, 2020

For more Sony nostalgia, why not take a look at the best PS2 games of all time as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the beloved console.

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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter. 

If you own a Valve Index VR headset then you can now preview two locations from Half-Life: Alyx. If you don’t own one then the good news is that they’ll be back in stock next week.

Valve released the two Half-Life: Alyx preview environments through SteamVR Home so all you need to do is download them from there. If you don’t own a Valve Index then you can try asking someone who does own one to host a SteamVR Home session for you.

The first location is an alleyway inside City 17, the metropolis that was first introduced to the series in Half-Life 2. There are buildings on either side of you so you’re going to feel pretty boxed in. However, the main feature can be seen if you look up and to the distance, as you’ll be able to spot the towering Citadel looming over you. As Half-Life: Alyx is a prequel, the Citadel is currently in construction, whereas when it’s seen in Half-Life 2 it’s finished.

The second preview environment is Russell’s laboratory. Russel is a new character being introduced in Half-Life: Alyx, so not much is known about him except that he’s a member of the resistance.

His lab looks pretty makeshift, it comprises a few computers, lots of fans, and a fridge. It appears to be set up in the corner of a rundown apartment where some of the wall is missing, and the decorations are some aging wallpaper and a couple of rugs thrown over floorboards.

“The rendering technology available in SteamVR’s native environments is different than that in Half-Life: Alyx, and the interactivity is significantly lower than what the game itself provides,” Valve notes. “So while these scenes do not have quite as much fidelity as they will in the actual game, we think they are a faithful enough translation to provide a fun VR preview of the game’s setting.”

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Alongside the release of these two preview environments, Valve has announced that after weeks of being out of stock, its Index VR system will be available to buy again on March 9, 2020, at 10am PST / 5pm GMT.

Valve says it expects the stock to run out quickly, but any orders that go through after that supply has run out will be fulfilled when more stock comes in over the coming months. So if you don’t get an Index system from this next batch then you’ll get it eventually, but probably not in time for Half-Life: Alyx’s launch on March 23. You can always try buying another VR headset if you want to play the game on launch day.

Our Valve Index review gave it an 8.5 and said that it’s “the best way to experience VR right now.” As to Half-Life: Alyx, if you can’t stand the wait then check out 19 minutes of gameplay, and pray that we’ll have more Half-Life games on the way after this one.

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Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

On the wake of Sea of Thieves’ second anniversary, Rare is pumping out the next major update to the multiplayer pirate adventure, and it’s called Heart of Fire. The update is feature-packed, adding more story elements to the game, along with new banana themed cosmetics for your pets and weapons.

The details of the new Tall Tale quest are being kept secret, but we know that the story will continue the tale of Sir Arthur Pendragon from the Seabound Soul update. The video showcases some new firetraps, which seem to set off a wall of fire cascading from above, blocking players off from certain routes. The developers also mentioned that the firetraps can’t kill you in one hit, thankfully.

A new throwable explosive called the Blunderbomb has been added as well, with the primary purpose of knocking back enemies in tight situations. It can also be used against players, knocking them off ladders, off the side of the boat, or even away from the wheel, rigging, or capstan.”

Continue Reading at GameSpot