Category Archives: Gaming

Console, desktop and mobile game news.

Gaming, Product Preview

PlayStation Classic, the Retro Gaming Revolutions Finest…

Retro gaming is all the rage at the moment, and while Sony may be late to the retro game it has turned up to a knife fight with a 44 magnum. Mind you turning up well armed when going to war with Nintendo is not a bad strategy.

The PlayStation Classic is Sony’s latest weapon in the console wars and this mini marvel will be packing  20 games pre-loaded and ready to rumble. Only 5 of games have been officially announced thus far; Final Fantasy VII, Jumping Flash, Ridge Racer Type 4, Tekken 3 and Wild Arms. The remaining 15 are the subject of much speculation and you can bet Sony will trickle feed the announcements of the remaining games to us as the release date edges nearer, building the marketing momentum. The number of wish lists floating around the web is evidence that it is already working. Here at Highpants we have just one wish, Gran Tourismo.

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DIY, Gaming

Pi Projects: PiCade 2018, the DIY Retro Arcade Machine…

If like us you love DIY, retro gaming and want to tinker with a Pi then there is one project that combines them all, and is well worth considering, the PiCade X HAT. The 2018 update of this excellent do it yourself project provides a relatively simple build that produces an incredibly cool result, an awesome desktop retro arcade gaming machine complete with arcade joystick and display that fits into a little cabinet worthy of even the grandest man cave.

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Gaming, PersonalComputing, Product Preview

Intel Hades Canyon NUC8i7HVK Review

In life we are often told that you can’t have everything, life is a balance. Settle and compromise the sensible amongst us insist, this is the secret to happiness they say. You can’t have looks and personality, the perfect job always has a downside, the perfect home will have an annoying neighbour and even the prefect computer will be compromised in some way. Here at Highpants  its time to upgrade our trusty work-horse computer and we are once again faced with picking our way through this compromised reality.

Yes, even in the world of computing this logic has been bandied about like the punchline in a bad film, the perfect computer for any situation has always been a compromise. But damn it if Intel haven’t decided to challenge this long-heralded rule, yes you can have a powerful gaming machine in an unnaturally small form factor they scream, while holding the Hades Canyon NUC high in the air.

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Gaming

Mini Gaming Marvels: The Latest Compact Gaming PC Options…

There has often been an important compromise to consider when deciding on your next gaming rig. Do you settle for a large power-hungry box with extreme performance or sacrifice performance for a more compact gaming rig? While the first option is the often-selected solution there are situations that make the second option desirable for many. Those of us with small apartments and little space, or the requirement for a portable system, and then there are the power conscious amongst us. For many a better balance is an interesting proposition and in recent months these options have become quite interesting.

Headlining these options this month Zotac released the ZBox Magnus EN1080K ultra compact cube, while Intel has had tongues wagging around the internet with the release of their Hades Canyon BUC8i7HVK, both of which are extremely compact and surprisingly powerful gaming rigs. Both extremely enticing options but can they beat building your own mini gaming rig?

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Gaming

Age of Empires Fans Rejoice, World Domination AoE Style is Set to Return…

The original Age of Empires series set the standard for real-time strategy way back in 1997. The originals were beloved by many and this classic from the 90’s is still played by stalwarts around the world. Working your way through the many ages of humanities evolution in order to achieve world domination through war has never been so much fun and that fun is about to return in 4K glory. As we speak Microsoft is preparing the battlefield that will bring the franchise back to life with a brand new roman numeral, Age of Empires: IV along with Age of Empires: Definitive Edition, a remastering of the classics.

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Console, Featured Article, Gaming, Product Preview

Gran Turismo Sport Fast Approaches…

Lovers of Turismo it is time to prepare for the marathon gaming session to end all marathon gaming sessions. Clear the couch, stock up on supplies and get that comfortable driving position ready for the long wait will soon be over.

The world cheered with excited relief this week when Kazunori Yamauchi (Polyphony Digital CEO and GT ‘s creator) announced GT Sport will be released on the 17th of October in the US, and the 18th everywhere else. With 17 tracks / 28 variants, 150 cars and integrated eSport racing leagues to revel in we might have to start the preparations now.

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Animated, Cool, Gaming

Super Mario Bros Animated with Rubik’s Cubes, Flashback Warning…

Carefully blending two monsters of the 80’s, Mario Brothers and the Rubik’s cube, is no easy feat but to do it in such a smile inducing way is pure genius. Hell even the stop frame animation style is right out of an 80’s Peter Gabriel music video, Sledgehammer anyone.

The video was originally carefully crafted as part of the 30th anniversary celebrations for Super Mario Bros, an iconic game by any standard released right smack in the middle of the 80’s, September 13, 1985.

Presented for you viewing pleasure is the animation that uses Rubik’s cubes as pixels to bring Super Mario Bros to life in a whole new way. Sit back relax and prepare for grinning to begin.

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Featured Article, Gaming, Product Review

The Future of Gaming is Now: The Sony PlayStation 4 Pro + LG 4K OLED!

Nowhere does the relentless march of technology move so fast as the action packed world of gaming. The current leading edge of gaming is a double edged sword; one edge of the blade is the new PS4 Pro while the other is the incredible LG 55B6T OLED TV. With the release of the PS4 Pro and recent price drop of the LG B6T OLEDs this is a technology combination that is now accessible to many.

The 4K PS4 Pro is providing compelling content for all of those starved next generation TV’s out there and with it Sony may have stolen the gaming lead, even against the mighty PC gaming rig. The PC 4k gaming market is still a mess and Microsoft are months away from their 4k Xbone so for now it’s all PS4 Pro. It is hands down the best gaming experience in town. A big statement that I back up with one simple fact, the PS4 Pro is delivering the goods now.

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Gaming

The PlayStation 4 Pro Preview: To buy or Not to buy and the many benefits of a Pro?

With the release of the PlayStation 4 Pro only a week away (11 Nov) many people are wondering what all the hubbub is about and if they should put down their hard earned cash to join the 4K gaming revolution? And while the 4K revolution may not be for everyone there are benefits under the hood that every gamer could enjoy but does the extra pizazz justify the extra cost? Ah if only we could all afford to just buy them all!

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Featured Article, Gaming

Gran Turismo Sport, Seat of the Pants Driving Returns…

Gran Turismo is back baby. Sony and Polyphony Digital have announced that the next installment of GT called Sport will be available for the PS4 November 16, GT fans say Yeah.

Along with the release date a number of other details were made public with the announcement. The important numbers include: there will be 137 cars split into 4 categories, 19 locations with 27 tracks and 3 game modes, excited yet? The first two game modes, Arcade and Campaign (Formerly GT), will be familiar to GT fans but the third mode Sport is new to all. Sport mode introduces formalized worldwide multiplayer championships that culminate each year in FIA championship finals. Do you want to be the best in the world? Could you be the best in the world? Now you can prove it.

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Gadgets, Gaming

Drone Racing Dreams, an Interesting FPV Insight.

The New York Times has recently posted a fascinating little documentary that provides a sneak peek into the quickly expanding pass-time of FPV drone racing. A pass time that puts the pilots into Star Wars style speeder races, the view through the pilots VR Headset really does closely resemble the famous speeder races from the films.

The proliferation of personal drones and cheap off the shelf parts has seen this new style of racing quickly expand over the last few years. Started in unused buildings and parks around the world FPV racing has now grown to the point that tens of thousands of dollars are on the line at competitions.  Is FPV racing the killer application for this now ubiquitous technology?

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DisplayTech, Featured Article, Gadgets, Gaming, LivingRoom, Product Preview, XBMC/Kodi

Android TV and Kodi, 2015’s Ultimate Home Theater Streamer on a Budget.

A TV revolution is well underway, no longer are our viewing habits a prisoner to Free To Air, Network or Cable TV. Netflix, Hulu and other streaming services are tuning us into this revolution and streaming devices are key to unlocking the stream. Serving all of your modern media needs streamers are the set top box of the future ready to stream today. Combine these modern streamers with Kodi and you have an affordable way to access unbelievable amounts of content at the click of a button.

This does leave the tricky question of which streamer to hook up to that flat panel display? If like us you use Kodi (formerly XBMC) to stream media on a daily basis then the question becomes a little more complicated and then a lot simpler. The following is our journey of discovery to find the perfect Kodi streamer for around $200.

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Gaming, PersonalComputing

10 Streamers getting Swatted, Shocking Live Stream Footage…

Presented for your viewing pleasure is the shocking live feed footage of 10 incidences of streamers being raided by SWAT teams, being Swatted. 10 examples of people’s lives being invaded by the heavy hand of the law in response to fake 911 calls.

Swatting (or being swatted) is the practice of calling in a fake emergency call to police in order to provoke a reaction from the authorities, generally leading to a Swat team being dispatched upon your target. This disturbing practice has been given an even more sadistic twist in recent times, watching the swatting happen via your victims live feed.

People streaming video game footage with a webcam insert of themselves, a streamer, seem to be the favoured target of swatters at the moment. In one case the perpetrator of the swatting even rubs salt in the wound by displaying the message ‘F The Police’ on the targets screen while the police are there looking at it.

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Action, Funny, Gaming, Product Preview

Marshawn Lynch and Rob Gronkowski play Mortal Kombat X on Clueless Gamers…

The soon to be released Mortal Kombat X is going to quickly become known as the most gruesome and shocking video game ever. A game so shocking that it reduced two of the NFL’s hard men and Conan into blubbering messes.

Conan O’Brien invited the two NFL superstars Marshawn Lynch and Rob Gronkowski to enjoy some Clueless Gamer fun testing out the hottest game of 2015, Mortal Kombat X. While Conan is his funny self the most hilarious part of the clip is actually the trio’s reaction to the MK X death scenes, killer funny.

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Gaming, TechnoBabel

Free Game Alert: EA is Giving Away the Best SimCity Ever, SimCity 2000…

Having donned the famous floppy hat and with long white beard combed straight EA seems to have caught a serious dose of the Christmas spirit.

It wasn’t such a great year for many game developers; the naughty list seriously outweighing the nice but EA has at least thought twice and decided to give away SimCity 2000 Special Edition for free, no catches but you will need to be quick. With the jolly red and white suite on EA dug deep into their sack of games from days of yore. Possibly to remind developers how to do it right or maybe trying to help everyone forget the Maxis SimCity 2014 debacle, no matter their reason it must be the Christmas season, the season of giving.

EA being EA you can also spend 50 bucks on the complete SimCity pack but for our money the city building of 2000 will do just fine. Maybe it’s the eggnog talking but you would be well advised to not get between those EA executives and the mistletoe, you never know what will happen.

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Gaming, PersonalComputing, Product Review, TechnoBabel

Call of Duty: Heroes. The Touch Screen Friendly Strategy Game for Windows and iOS that’s Free…

Activision have donned the Santa suit and started delivering presents early, sitting under the tree (in the app store) waiting for gamers everywhere is the brand new Call of Duty: Heroes. Finally the world has a COD themed modern warfare (no dragons please) strategy game and it’s completely free, and it rocks. The fast paced touchy feely strategy game can of course be played on Windows devices with a mouse but it really shines when played via a touch screen interface.

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Gaming, Product Preview, TechnoBabel

The Game of War: Fire Age Trailer Featuring Kate Upton…

Mobile game developer Machine Zone have pulled out the big guns to promote their excellent Game of War: Fire Age, welcome to the Fire Age trailer featuring Kate Upton. A trailer that shamelessly appeals to the male gamer, a new demographic for Fire Age and a risky strategy with massive rewards.

With the recent release of the Android version of the fantasy MMO both iOS and Android players can now battle it out in the same world, iOS battling Android, the strong battling the weak and all struggling to be King. There is no word on a Windows version of the game although it is possible to play the game on a Windows PC using BlueStacks.

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Cloud, Gaming, TechnoBabel

NVIDIA’s Grid Cloud Gaming Service is Go…

The clouds are becoming a far more crowded place with this week’s announcement by NVIDIA that the Grid is go. Wanting to be far more than just a cloud based gaming service for those on the move NVIDIA is calling it the Netflix of gaming, a new way to consume gaming content. By all accounts the big NV have done a technically excellent job building the Grid, the performance numbers don’t lie, this is the most playable gaming service yet but will anyone turn up to play?

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