Review

During a recent one hour guided hands-on demo I had with Mafia III, what impressed me the most is the game’s commanding sense of believability. Every square inch of the fictitious town of New Bordeaux (modelled after 1960’s New Orleans), and the cast of larger-than-life characters that inhabit it, felt purposeful and alive—without the extraneous padding often found in large open-world games. It’s this rigorous attention to detail and focused gameplay that could very well make Mafia III a runaway hit during this busy fall season.

I recently received a trio of new ASUS laptops to test out. The first one I’m reviewing is the ASUS 555D. This a full-sized laptop at an affordable price point that’s aimed squarely at students and causal users.

A home entertainment projector is one of the best ways to get a full theatre experience, and the BenQ HT2150ST is designed to work well for gamers as well. At a very reasonable cost you can have a very large and immersive high definition picture of 100” or more. This BenQ unit has made owning a projector even easier with a number of features that make it easy to setup anywhere in your home.

The combination of the X850D and the HT-NT5 is pretty much the perfect solution for media room people. You get a slim, sexy TV with state-of-the-art colour and resolution technologies. You get great sound that looks good. And you get wireless rear speakers that round out the surround experience.

We’re still in the opening days of the VR revolution. The latest to come across my desk is NOON VR. It’s not actually spelled NOON, it’s N-infinity symbol-N, but we’re going to call it Noon for the sake of our sanity. How is it for getting VR out of your phone? Read on to find out

Released late last year in the Nintendo eShop, Minecraft: Wii U Edition is available in a special retail edition. This package includes the Wii U version of Minecraft, a sandbox building game beloved by millions around the world, plus the all-new Super Mario Mash-Up Pack.

This latest Microsoft exclusive offers some great game play and a big world to explore. ReCore is a great take on an older genre with some modern improvements. Even with everything ReCore has to offer, there are a few hiccups that might get in the in the way.

Finding a tablet that doesn’t do it all is easier than one that does, and it’s clear early on that the LG G Pad III falls under the former camp because it isn’t designed to perform like a premium device would. With that in mind, and the interesting inclusion of a blue light screen filter to go easier on the eyes, this is a tablet worth considering if you want to keep usage light.

Madden NFL 17 invites you to step onto the gridiron for the most authentic and accessible Madden NFL experience in franchise history. EA Sports’ perennial football series has undergone significant improvements over last year’s edition, revamping and revitalizing everything from the Offensive/Defensive ground game, to the Broadcast Presentation, to the fan-favourite Franchise Mode. Time to crack open the party mixers and put your game face on—Madden NFL 17 has arrived.

At just about this time last year, Sphero released an amazing little droid toy to coincide with a little known film called Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If you remember this obscure film, you may also remember that very cool droid toy, named BB-8, which just got a whole lot better thanks to an all-new accessory called Force Band. Click through and read on if you'd like to learn all about one of the most exciting toy developments of 2016. It's the Sphero BB-8 App-Enabled Droid with Star Wars Force Band, and it's placing the power of the Force directly in your control!