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Author: Shilpa

The Best Virtual Reality Apps For 2019
Virtual reality is usually connected with video games. That makes sense for the most part since most VR development occurs within the gaming industry since there is not a lot of scopes to develop it in other fields at the moment. While VR games take the experience to another level, many believe that this is just the start of the VR technology and with time, we will be able to enjoy things we would not have imagined in our wildest dreams. Let’s take a look at the Best Virtual Reality Apps For 2019.
1. NYT VR
NYT VR is one of the most popular Virtual Reality Apps out there and it is completely free! It is supported by Android, iPhone, and Samsung Gear VR. While VR games receive a lot of attention, 360 filmmaking makes it quite exciting since this is just the start and we have rarely seen anything like it. It is great for those who are still trying to understand what the best way would be to immerse viewers into the film. The New York Times has one of the best collections of work with 360 videos. It makes it all the more comfortable to experiment here since all you need is your smartphone. The NYT VR doesn’t have a large library, they do cover a wide range of subjects. They are working on several different topics and soon hope to expand their library. The images don’t lag and offer a seamless experience as the users move about trying to understand this new world.

NYT VR
1. Google Expeditions
Google Expeditions gives you the ability to explore new cultures. You can even go and explore how people lived a century ago. This is an excellent substitute for real-time travel which can both be expensive and destroy valuable resources. Currently, Google Expeditions offers realistic VR tours of Teotihuacan and Mount Everest. They also have an education category where you will receive tours designed around specific themes like the anatomy of human skin and the recycling industry. The stunning part about these tours is the creators’ attention to detail. While they obviously cannot capture the glow and feeling of these ancient landmarks, it has perfectly managed to showcase the experience itself.
1. Within
Within is one of the free Virtual Reality App apps that is can be used with HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, OSVR, PSVR, and Google Cardboard platforms. This app has been designed to offer incredible content to its viewers. These contents are born from different creators across the globe. You will be able to experience 360-degree music videos, on-rails fantasy rides, and even some entertainment videos. They also have a 360-degree video based on Mr. Robot, a popular TV show. Besides all this, it also offers news across the world with the New York Times, Vice Media, NBC, Apple, and more. If nothing strikes your fancy here, don’t fear. Within’s library is only expected to grow larger as developers come with more content.
1. Littlstar
Littlestar can be used with the following platforms: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PSVR, and Samsung Gear VR. While Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube keep us engaged anytime, it is undeniably more fun if we can use it with VR headsets. They have a large library of 360-degree videos, each carefully designed to ensure that you feel the best. It offers all kinds of content, from educational and news-worthy ones to simple entertainment and some music. You will be able to enjoy sports content, Broadway theatre content, and content for kids. With a seamless user interface, it is simple and easy to use. Users who have their own 360 videos can also upload it here for others to enjoy.

Littlstar
1. Fulldive VR
Fulldive VR is a free app that comes with some in-app purchases. It works with Google Cardboard, Daydream, iPhone, Android. Fulldive VR has VR content ranging from a wide range of sources. This also allows you to share it with your friends and even comment and have a chat about them. Since the app works with Google Cardboard, it is very easy to get started. The app’s interface is a 3D page that you can adjust and navigate as you wish.
1. Google Earth VR
While Google Expeditions take you to new places which you can enjoy as regulars do. However, with Google Earth VR, you will get to fly around the Earth and learn as much about geography as you want. If you would rather just visit a certain place, simple use the quick-nav menu and directly land at the place of your choice. This is compatible with HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Google Cardboard platforms. You can literally fly at the speed of light and zoom from place to another in a matter of seconds.
1. Ocean Rift
Ocean Rift has been designed to run specifically on the Oculus Rift platform. It features the open sea with its full range of deep waters and creatures. You would be underwater and can explore the 12 habitats. Users would be able to view marine wildlife including manatees, sharks, dolphins, and more. You can make your way deeper into the see to meet more deadly sea creatures. Ocean Rift can also be a soothing experience if you just want to float about, experiencing the waves and watching the fishes and the corals. The extreme attention to detail is responsible for making the experience truly wonderful. It wouldn’t be this great if it didn’t seem so realistic and colourful.

Ocean Rift
1. Allumette
Allumette is a free VR app that is compatible with HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and PSVR. This was developed by Penrose Studio. The app followed the story of a young girl in a small but beautiful village. In this game, you will take on the role of the camera as you move about exploring the place. You can either follow the storyline if you want a structure to your exploration or leave it and just go exploring on your own. Characters communicate non-verbally with gestures, emotions, and expressions. If you want to play games on your Android device even when there is no internet, check out this article.

Other great virtual reality apps include Colosse, Kingspray Graffiti VR, The Nat Geo, The Foo Show, and Tilt Brush. Have fun exploring the depth of VR
November 28, 2019
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Review

When the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 was first released, Samsung fans went crazy since it was among the best handset of that time – bigger, colourful, powerful, and it came with S-Pen! While Samsung has released Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10 Plus since then, Note 9 remains a pretty great option if you cannot afford the latest ones. The Galaxy Note 9 features a massive 4,000mAh battery, 8GB RAM, 6.4-inch AMOLED display, and up to 512GB of internal storage. While the S10 Plus has all this and more, Note 9 is by no means a poor option. It is still better than most others in the market and relatively, cheaper as well.

You can add a 512GB microSD card and voila, there you have a 1TB phone with you. You can now save games, photos, music, videos, and anything else your heart desires. This is more space than in most laptops in the market right now.

Display

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 features an expansive 6.4-inch display and comes with a MicroSD slot, fingerprint sensor, and headphone jack. The Super AMOLED display used here is pretty great and doesn’t really need any improvement. It provides one of the most consistent experiences among all devices. The bezel-less Infinity Display is crisp and bright and is 27% brighter and with 32% more contrast ratio compared to its predecessor, Note 8.

Galaxy Note 9

The 18:9 aspect ratio is not anything new, but the curved edges offer a truly unforgettable experience. Despite being quite a large phone, it doesn’t have any trouble fitting neatly into the pockets of jeans. Thanks to its slim, thin design, it is far easier to carry it and keep it than the S9 Plus with its boxy design.

Design

The two priceless features included in the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 model is the headphone jack and a microSD card slot for expandable storage. With most companies doing away with these options, it is a relief to see these in Note 9. The fingerprint sensor placed at the rear could be bigger to make it more comfortable while the Bixby button doesn’t need to be quite that large. The Note 9 features IP68 rating making it both resistant to water and dust. The resistance rating remains the same regardless of the S-Pen is embedded or not. Note 9 also features stereo speakers – something that was missing in Note 8 but is present in both S9 and S9 Plus.

This fingerprint sensor is designed to work as an alternative to Samsung’s Face Unlock feature and its iris scanner option. Apple doesn’t offer it as an alternative although you can enable both of them. However, it just doesn’t work as smoothly as on Note 9. The Note 8’s off-centre rear fingerprint sensor led to many user complaints of bad design. It looks like the developers have taken note of the same and the latest Note 9 features the sensor at the centre, making it easy to access and use it.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Review

Specs And Performance

Coming to Samsung Galaxy Note 9’s features, we see that it uses the same chipset as that of S9 and S9 Plus. It uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 for the US and China and Samsung Exynos 9810 for other places. Since it is country-specific, you have no choice. This chip offers great performance, even for heavy-duty games like Fortnite on Android. While the speed is not the fastest, it still offers decent enough speed. While it looks like the UK and other places have gotten better performance thanks to the Exynos 9810, the US is not faring very behind either.

The 4,000mAh battery

The Galaxy S9 has a massive 4,000mAh, larger than even S9 and S9 Plus models. The phone supports both fast charging and fast wireless charging. Among all the Samsung phones, Note 9 features one of the best battery life. After the Note 7 recall, the company has certainly been cautious of increasing its battery capacity. However, they do mention that their batteries will undergo the eight-point safety check, post which the risks of any fires or similar occurrences drastically reduce. For average users, Note 9 will easily last more than a day.

Android and Interface

This Note 9 by Samsung comes with Android Orea, missing Android Pie by a very tiny margin of time. However, Samsung did say that they will roll out an upgrade for Android Pie. Meanwhile, Samsung started refining their Samsung Experience software, which has improved in leaps and bounds. It is no longer the bloated, slow thing we saw a few years ago as Samsung TouchWiz firmware. Certain devices starting from Galaxy S7 and higher devices received first access to free-to-play hit game Fortnite: Battle Royale for 48 hours.

You will find Samsung Pay, Bixby AI, and AR Emoji here. Samsung Pay allows users to make contactless payments, even at machines that don’t usually accept Android Pay or Apple Pay. You will find both Google Assistant and Samsung’s Bixby AI assistant. Although Google is smarter than Bixby at the moment, Samsung said that they are working on improving their assistant.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Camera Review

S-Pen Features

S-Pen is Samsung’s Bluetooth stylus which helps in remotely taking pictures. It can work about 30 feet away. The latest model allows users to set up custom shortcuts. Note-taking capabilities don’t take a hit even if it is uncharged. However, charging is no trouble either since it charges super quick.

Camera Quality

The Samsung Galaxy S9 boasts of a dual 12MP rear camera that allows you to transit between an f/1.5 aperture for low-light photography and an f/2.4 aperture for use in normal lighting conditions. Its low-light defeating and telephoto-zooming camera lenses on the back make it one of the best camera phones in the market. The second rear camera lens is designed for optical zoom.

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is one of the best smartphones in the market, with regards to both price and features. The phone features more options than ever. With a large 6.4-inch curved screen, a stunning camera, and a huge battery, this model is good enough for all of us. The S-Pen is a great addition and users can have tons of fun working around with it.

November 28, 2019
Huawei: Tech Stocks Rally In Asia After News That A Reprieve Could Come Soon

Asian markets have slowly started on their way up on Monday. This happened after the news about a potential respite for Huawei came out. Wall Street saw some gains as well. South Korea’s Kospi (KOSPI) and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HSI) increased by about 1.3% each. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) saw a rise of 0.7%. Japan markets, on the other hand, were closed for a holiday. Chipmakers and related companies saw an increase after US Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross, mentioned that a license is being worked out right now which would allow US companies to sell to Huawei. So far, the office has gotten about 260 requests for these licenses.

While the American companies were not allowed to supply to Huawei, others across the world would have seen a great profit if the Chinese giant decided to increase their production. With the licenses expected to be released soon, this brings some respite to the American manufacturers. On this news, South Korean company Samsung saw an increase of 1.8% while SK Hynix was up 2%.

Asia Stock Markets

Huawei and the US

The US government accused Huawei of spying on them for the Chinese government. Following this, a ban was imposed on the company, which meant that it could not deal with any American company, either for services like Google or for hardware supplies. While many were of the opinion that this result of the US-China trade war would end up with the company facing huge losses, the company, in fact, saw a great increase in sales. However, the US has appealed to its European allies to support its stance against Huawei. With Europe being a major and most important market, it could stand to lose a lot.

The Huawei Mate 30 was released post the US ban. This meant that the latest smartphone by Huawei will not support any Google services, such as Google Maps, Google Play Store, Gmail, or others. The phone is also designed to run on an open-source version of Android. With Google unable to license its apps and services to the company, Huawei phones will no longer be able to support Google apps. The Chinese consumer electronics giant has decided to go ahead with its production plans for now. Meanwhile, they are also in talks with the US government.

Huawei Mate 30 Pro

Progress and Discussions

Huawei is the world’s largest telecommunications company and one of the top smartphone brand. Unfortunately, it is also the one that has gotten caught up in the trade war between these two countries. The countries already have a preliminary commerce settlement in place. According to Ross, the licenses would allow the companies to get involved in trade with Huawei. This brought some hope for these US manufacturers. He also said that “the USA is engaged in a lengthy overdue overhaul of its commerce relationship with China.” A preliminary “phase one” agreement is expected to come later this month. The US Commerce Secretary has also said that both the sides were working out the issue and making good progress with the same.

November 27, 2019
Huawei’s Q3 Results Show Growing Sales Despite US Ban

Huawei’s Q3 results report is now available. Its figures suggest that the company has not faced any issue following the ban by the US government. Combined revenues for the Q1-Q3 period came to about $86 billion which has in fact grown by 24.4 % from the same time last year. With regards to smartphones, Huawei has shipped over 185 million units in the first three quarters of 2019 which again sees an increase of 26% over the last year.

While the company has not released specific shipment details for the third quarter of 2019, it is expected from other statistics that it should fall somewhere around 67 million units. When compared to the sales of 59 million units from the second quarter, we see a 13.5% rise here as well. Huawei has certainly managed to make a great profit in the third quarter of 2019 despite the US market not being open for them.

Huawei’s Q3 Results

The report also contains details about 5G network expansion that Huawei is working on. It has partnered with over 60 commercial contracts with carriers across the globe. Over 220 Fortune 500 companies and 700 cities around the world have partnered with Huawei for its Horizon Digital Platform.

Trouble Between Huawei And The US

The latest phones by Huawei have a slightly different OS now. You will not find any pre-loaded default Google apps. There would be no Google Maps, Gmail, or even the Google Play Store. Instead, you can use the Huawei Mobile Services where you can look around the Huawei’s AppGallery app store, their web browser, and the photo gallery. With Huawei being blacklisted by the US over spy charges, Google can no longer offer its services to Huawei which has resulted in this. Since basic Google services are used by most users regardless of the device they use, many thought that this would hurt Huawei quite a lot financially. However, the company have only seen an increase in sales and shipments.

Huawei Mate 30 smartphone

Huawei’s Q3 Report and Sales

After the release of Huawei’s Q3 earnings report, we see that the company has only grown in terms of sales. This is an achievement keeping in mind the ongoing trade war between the US and China. Huawei’s latest Mate 30 smartphone has been wildly popular and this has shown in the Q3 sales report. Since the current results only calculate the figures till September, later this year, we will know the true figures. The ways things are going now, Huawei could have explosive results.

A few months back, Huawei released a statement which said, “While the impact of the US trade restrictions will be less than initially feared, the curbs could push its smartphone unit’s revenue lower by about $10 billion this year.” This is the first time Huawei has been placed on the US Entity List and has been such growing results. Net profit margins of the company in H1 is at 8.7%. The rapid sales in Q3 came as a surprise. Especially keeping in mind that the company didn’t do that well in Q1 and Q2 of 2019.

November 27, 2019
The Best True Wireless Earbuds For Working Out: Jlab Epic Air Sport

JLab’s latest earbud is making the rounds. The JLab Epic Air Sport wireless earbuds are great for use at the gym or as you work out. They are designed to offer perfect fit and don’t fall down, no matter how much sweat it out during your workout. While it is more expensive than Beats and Jabra options, the company has made sure that it has a longer battery life and is completely resistant to water and dust. The sound quality is amazing as well. The Epic Air Sport wireless earbud has been released just in time for the holiday season and would make a great gift for your loved ones.

Features of Jlab Epic Air Sport

You will receive a distinctive box of the earbuds featuring a pair of double-layered eartips, triple-layered eartips, foam eartips, and four sizes of silicone eartips. In most cases, the silicone eartips were the ideal option, but you could also go with the foam ones, especially in noisy surroundings. Keeping in mind the number of options offered, users are not likely to come across any difficulty finding just the right fit for them. They can easily last you an entire day and sometimes even more.

Jlab Epic Air Sport

The best part about these earbuds is that these feature a power button on the inside meaning you can switch them off and save energy without having to stow them back in their case. This is great for those who don’t want to carry the charging case along always. Since the headphones offer about 10 hours of playback time, you are well covered as you head out. If you do decide to get your case with you, you will be able to enjoy about 70 hours of playback. This basically means that you can spend a week without charging your earbuds! Since these earbuds have an IP66 rating, they are completely dustproof and can tolerate water as well.

Controls

The Epic Air Sport earbud has touchpad controls where taps will indicate certain actions. Long-press action will skip a track while a double tap will pause or play your music. A single tap can be used to adjust the volume. Three taps on the left earbud will let you change the EQ settings – Signature, Balanced, and Bass Boost. The one on the right will allow you to enable the “Be Aware” mode which allows you to stay conscious of your surroundings. If you want awesome noise-cancelling earbuds, check out Sony WF-1000XM3.

Jlab Epic Air Sport in-ear

Sound quality

The sound quality is an important factor that we need to consider with earbuds. The Balanced mode offers you great sound without sounding overpowering. While the Bass Boost tends to add a lot of boom, the very fact that you can adjust the EQ settings from your buds is a great addition. Overall, the sound is rich, clear, and crisp, regardless of what kind of music you are listening to.

Verdict

Epic Air Sport wireless earbud is covered by a two-year warranty by JLab. The product is one of the best workout headphones in the market currently. It has great sound quality, easy controls, and looks stunning.

November 27, 2019
Samsung 108-Megapixel Camera: Camera App Suggests Imminent Launch of a Galaxy Phone With 108-Megapixel Camera

While a couple of Xiaomi phones features a 108-megapixel ISOCELL Bright HMX camera sensor by Samsung, but Samsung is yet to release anything along those lines. There has been no Galaxy-branded smartphone featuring a 108-megapixel so far. There are plenty of speculation if the next Galaxy model, the Galaxy S11, could possibly support Samsung’s 108-Megapixel Camera. So far, it was all idle talk, but recently some evidence has come to lights which tells us that Samsung is actually working on a phone with a 108-megapixel camera. In the latest One UI 2.0 beta build, the code of Samsung Camera app has image output support at 108-megapixels, indicating that the company may be working on a 108-megapixel camera and it could be due soon.

This came after Xiaomi’s code was looked into recently and it looks like they are working on a phone that can take 8K 30fps videos. After Samsung’s code was prodded and poked, users have concluded that the S11 may be able to do the same.

Samsung Galaxy S11

Samsung’s 108-Megapixel Camera

The latest One UI 2.0 beta update features additional support for 12,000 x 9,000 pixel photos. This basically translates to 108-megapixels. The usual aspect ratio of 108-megapixel photos is 4:3, according to the app’s code. But the company may add more options, such as 20:9. This is also apparent in the app, but this would be at a lower resolution of 4,032 x 1,800 pixels. The fact that this resolution was found in the works suggests that the company is working on an ultra-widescreen display model – one that would not have any interference from cameras and buttons.

For the photos themselves, the company’s 108-megapixel sensor could depend on pixel binning technology to stack four pixels together to produce pictures at 27-megapixel resolution. They could also turn to 3×3 pixel array to merge nine pixels and produce 12-megapixel photos. Doing things this way will reduce the image size by a great deal while also making the picture brighter thanks to the “super pixel” generated by merging 4 or 9 pixels.

Samsung108-Megapixel Camera

Samsung Galaxy S11

Many believe that Samsung Galaxy S11 would be the first Samsung phone to feature a 108-megapixel camera sensor. Due to this, the buzz around the phone has been steadily increasing. Many think that the company will use a second-gen 108-megapixel camera sensor. This is the same that is present in Xiaomi’s Mi Mix Alpha and the Mi CC9 Pro. The results are pretty remarkable. The phone could possibly use a periscope-style camera module that can give the users a 5x optical zoom. Samsung also has plans to offer the Galaxy S11 in three display sizes in about five variants. The phone will be released in mid-February.

Samsung’s 108-megapixel camera sensor is already in use in Xiaomi phones. So, it only makes sense that the latest flagship phone features this camera. How well this would work out for Samsung can only be seen after they release the phone. We hope things go well in their attempt to integrate 8K video feature in the phones as well.

November 27, 2019
Samsung Galaxy S10 Series Update Adds Galaxy Note 10’s Auto Hotspot Feature, an Improved Gallery, and More

Samsung is on a roll. The Galaxy S10 series is receiving yet another software update. Galaxy S10, Galaxy S10e, Galaxy S10+ and the Galaxy S10 5G, and the other devices will now have more features than ever. The latest features will include gallery improvements, smart multimedia controls, and new Wi-Fi functions. The latter would include Auto Hotspot and other similar functions to the S10 series. This rollout is likely to be staged and could take some time before everyone using the above devices gets it. For Samsung Galaxy S10, the last big update was back in September, when users received features like Night mode for the selfie camera, Live Focus Video, and AR Doodle. This update, however, focuses on improvements to the Gallery app. Recently, the Galaxy Note 10 received updates as well.

Samsung Galaxy S10 Series Update

With the latest update, you would now be able to search your gallery using keywords. This is so cool since you can simply search using a keyword. For instance, if you type in ‘beach’, all your beach-related photos will show up. It is believed that this feature is powered by Samsung’s own AI, Bixby.

Samsung Galaxy S10 Series Update

Other upgrades revolve around the addition of ‘Media’ and ‘Devices’ buttons in the notification pane’s quick settings section. You can tap the Devices button which will let you view all the devices that are connected to your phone. This includes smart home devices, Bluetooth-connected devices, and more. The ‘Media’ button allows users to see which devices are play media files and you can use this button to control the volume and playback of that media content. Some countries in Europe have already received the features and it has been successful. The changes are now being released in stages for other users globally.

Another feature in this update is the Auto Hotspot feature which allows your Samsung device to detect your phone automatically. You will no longer have to search for hotspots nearby thanks to this handy feature. However, this feature will only work if the other devices are signed into a family account or into the same Samsung account.

Samsung Galaxy S10 Update

Improvement In Older Features

Other features in this release include modifications to the old releases, including use AR Doodle in the camera app, support for Samsung DeX for PC, and more. With the last update in September for Samsung Galaxy S10, the users received the AR Doodle feature. This allowed the users to draw anything with its spatial position remaining unaffected, even if you move about. The September 2019 update was quite camera-centric and features several camera updates, including a Super Steady mode for videos, Live Focus, Live Focus Video, and Night Mode on the front camera. The updated DeX support features new video editing features.

Wrapping Up

Samsung and indeed, other smartphone manufacturers, introduce new features in their popular devices. Once it is successful, they roll it out to their other models. Samsung has chosen to give out new updates for its latest Galaxy S series. If you own a smartphone that will receive the update, keep checking for it! You may receive it any time now.

November 27, 2019
Xenophage, The Destiny 2 Machine Gun With A Bug In It, Is Also Bugged

Xenophage is the latest weapon introduced in Destiny 2. After its launch last week, it is now available for both free users and for those who bought Shadowkeep for Xbox One and the Season of the Undying. Besides the Xenophage machine gun, paid players received other benefits as well.

Xenophage’s magazine capacity is not very high, but it can fire explosive rounds at enemies terrifyingly. It can manage to send out the rounds with a swiftness that will send you reeling. However, despite the addition of a new weapon and its features, players are not very happy. Gamers noticed that the damage inflicted by Xenophage is not really explosive. Most power weapons in Destiny 2 would be a better choice to inflict real damage than the recently released Xenophage.

Xenophage of Destiny 2

The weapon is not bad, but it has not been designed right. Destiny 2’s makers, Bungie, did more mean to make it a superweapon and only had plans of making it an effective option. However, this bugged weapon is less effective than they had bargained for. While Bungie has not mentioned any timeline for the fix, the company is working on it and it should be available pretty soon.

The Bug and its History

Once the players starting using the gun, they wasted no time in deciding that the gun is not working properly. The fact of the matter is that there literally is a bug in the gun (in the Destiny Universe, of course). Omar Agah, a member of Eris Morn’s doomed fireteam, was destroyed by the Hive. However, he did not actually die a true death. The Hive took his Light, and his soul and mind ended in the space that powers the Xenophage.

With regards to its underperformance, Bungie community manager made a statement that the lack of precision damage was intentional. So, does it mean that Xenophage is a bug gun without bugs? Don’t confuse yourself. We went through Reddit discussions to see what is happening.

Xenophage Weapon

Reddit Discussion

After users started unlocking Xenophage, players started noticing that the Exotic light machine gun was not really doing its job right. It was not dealing out precision damage. Deep discussions got started on Reddit where players shared their experiences. Bungie’s community manager, Cozmo23, wrote, “I checked with the team on this. The fact that Xenophage does not do precision damage is not a bug and by design. However, the weapon is unintentionally underperforming and we are currently investigating.”

This answer threw some light on Bungie’s bug-filled machine gun which was created by design. The community manager also mentioned that although the weapon has been designed not to do precision damage, the fact that it has not been performing to its standards is a cause for concern. The developers are looking into it. It does look like the company has already started work on fixing this and we should be able to hear some good news pretty soon.

Bungie is also working on another glitch in another exotic weapon. It is the exotic energy sniper rifle Izanagi’s Burden that many players are unable to access due to a bug in the questline. Hopefully, both these glitches will be fixed soon.

November 27, 2019
When Everyone Is Having Tech Problems With RDR2 But It’s Running Great For You

Earlier this week, Red Dead Redemption 2 was released for PC and players went wild over it. However, ever since its release, players have experienced issues like stuttering, freezing, audio problems, crashing, FPS drops, and graphical issues. Most users have had some recurring issues that are making it hard for them to relax and enjoy the experience. The user score for Red Dead Redemption 2 fell dramatically from 8.1 on PS4 to 3.6 on PC. Most users seem to be having a hellish experience trying to get the game working smoothly due to the tech problems with RDR2.

Well, everyone except me.

Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC is like a dream come true and it is functioning without any glitches so far. I know I am very lucky in this case since I am usually the one trying to solve gaming issues as they crop up, browsing through forums, chats, and FAQ sections! I know the frustration when a solution is posted by a user that worked for them, but it doesn’t work for others, including yours truly. Each time, as I embark on my long and often lonely hunt, I ponder over my misfortune. However, this time, I have it easy. I am one of the very few who have had the good fortune to play RDR2 without any issues.

Tech Problems With RDR2

Tech Problems With RDR2

The release didn’t go quite how Rockstar Games expected. Most users are not facing issues while setting up the game (although few are getting at that point itself), the most common and the biggest issue is that the game hitches every few seconds. It makes for a very frustrating gaming experience. It also leads you to miss important dialogue in the story sequence as the game struggles to catch up. Since Red Dead Redemption 2 usually works great and has never given the gamers so much problem, this is truly surprising.

RDR2 works quite well on less powerful console hardware, such as PlayStation 4, making it truly puzzling on why it should have trouble running on a much higher-end PC. Regardless of any changes done in the settings by the users, the game continues to halt every few seconds. Most gamers were looking forward to the release of RDR2 in PC. It is a shame that the game is pretty much unplayable at the moment. Maybe when the company releases an update that fixes these bugs, they could also update the game with better performance and visuals as well.

Other issues include UI flickering, server disconnects, and frame drops.

Red Dead Redemption 2 issues

Rockstar’s Response

The company’s response to the glitches is only a recommendation to the players to switch off their anti-virus software. This does not seem to work in most cases. Until Rockstar can fix this issue, RDR2 is not worth playing. Especially since the entire experience of the game would be slow and unsatisfactory. So far, Rockstar has not given any timeline or commitment by when the issues would be fixed.

So, although Rockstar has been working almost flawlessly for me, I hope Rockstar get it fixed up soon so everyone can enjoy it!

November 27, 2019
The Best NES Games Of All Time
The Best NES Games Of All Time

If you are a game enthusiast (or not!), you may know the Nintendo is one of the most popular gaming developers of all time. They entered the gaming market in 1991 and are still running strong. They are believed to be at their peak in the 90s and most games released that time has a very loyal following. Though the graphics were not that great during that era but certainly quite a few gamers are looking to have a go at the classic games that were built in the early ’90s.

Looking at this, Nintendo also released the classic console which packs 30 of its classic games. The developer has also gone ahead to launch an online subscription that can help you in accessing all the great NES games. We took a look at all the games that have been released so far and here are the top picks. Presenting the best NES games of all time! You can read about their latest console here.

1. Contra

Contra was released in the early ’90s was a massive hit, not only amongst the teens but also among those in their late 20’s. The game depicted the era with people having buffed up biceps and the concept caught on and became a major hit. There is no particular storyline to the game here but it was interesting to just carry out a machine gun and keep running to reach your end goal. You would encounter a few people who want to kill you so you need to avoid them and make it to the end. There would be difficulties and obstacles on the way. You could decide which level of difficulty you want to play with the hard one being the most challenging and fun to play.

Contra

2. Jackal

Another action game that makes it to this list. This was released in the late ’90s in the United States. The game was all about retrieval and rescuing prisoner of wars or POWs. You are equipped with machine guns and upgradable rocket launchers. There were multiple boss battles that you would have to participate in to have the level completed and rescue a few people. The advantage of having a teammate equalised the gameplay.

3. Super Mario Bros.

How can we not include Mario in this list? This all-time favorite game is probably the most famous games across all the developers, let alone NES! With the rising popularity of the game, NES went on to do improvisations on the game. It was this game that made NES famous amongst all the gamers and in the industry. The game is quite easy to start and play without any fussy complex controls. It is also easy to learn. The difficulty of the game can be set according to your ability. Do keep in mind that although the game is easy to play, there have been a very few people who have been able to master the game. This is where everything gets interesting.

Super Mario Bros.

The main concept of the game is that you are playing the role of a plumber – named Mario. You are expected to travel through the Mushroom Kingdom to save Princess Peach from the maniacal Bowser. All along the way, you will be able to collect coins and there will be guards who you have to escape from. The game cannot be classified into any particular genre. Any genre you take – it fits in!

There were many other releases of this game once since it became such a massive hit among the gamers. Version 3 of the game was a great improvisation and is considered to be one that was played the most at its time of release. You will still be able to find these games online on an internet emulated browser though the feel of playing it on the classic player is completely different.

4. Maniac Mansion

Let’s move on to the adventure genre of games that were released by NES. This humour-filled game that will keep you on your toes. You have five characters that you will be able to choose from. Once you die as a particular character, you will then have to choose from the remaining ones to continue with the game. This game was released only for PC. You can now try the game on an internet-based browser – thanks to the technology advancements.

5. Tetris

There is no doubt that this game is one of the most played puzzle games – even with today’s generation. While the game is fairly simple, it is also highly addictive at the same time. It is pretty much endless, and you can keep on playing for hours and hours, well, until you lose! There are tiles in the game which are shaped like tetrominoes. Each shape is built with four small square blocks each. A random piece of this shape falls from the top to the bottom of the screen.

The main objective of Tetris is to shape all these random shapes so that they form one single horizontal line without any gaps in between. You will be able to rotate the shapes and also move them from one side to another. The speed at which the shapes fall increases with every level. Once a solid line forms at the bottom of the screen, it disappears. The main objective of the game is to not let the tetrominoes reach the top of the screen.

Tetris

6. Duck Hunt

If Mario has reminded you of your childhood, then we are sure Dunk Hunt will also. This was one of the most popular interactive games of the ’90s. The Nintendo gaming console had an additional gun with which you would be able to shoot the ducks that were on the screen. The main aim of the game was to shoot a set number of ducks within the given number of bullets. If you miss a duck while shooting, a dog’s face would pop up and laugh at you! Although this was not the toughest game but most of are sure to have fond memories of this as one the best games ever.

Honourable Mentions

There are many more games which have come under the NES production tag. We could never cover ALL the awesome games created by NES, but here are a few.
- Lode runner
- Castlevania
- Ninja Gaiden
- Kung Fu
There you go! How was that trip down the memory lane?
November 24, 2019