PLAY! ; PLAY! Zine

INTERVIEW: Sam Klemke’s Time Machine or “What it means to exist today?”

I don’t know if you were aware that Existentialism isn’t a popular branch of philosophy (or of anything else) even in Europe, let alone the US? I don’t know why that is. I suppose that’s because the most influential representatives of this non-systemized philosophic approach like Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger (partly), Camus (partly) and Sartre, were all loners, „different“, almost ascetic (in a broad sense). It might be best to say that they all lived their philosophy. And because such life isn’t generally pleasant, it’s not generally accepted either. A lot has been gathered in Existentialism, and a lot has come of it, but it’s rarely accepted by someone to become a modern stoic (or strive to become one). In 1977, 17-year-old Sam Kemke begun his…

Read More…

REVIEW: Steelseries Sensei Raw – World of Tanks edition

For a long time the SteelSeries Sensei has been considered to be one of the most serious gaming mice out there. We got to test its Raw version in an interesting World of Tanks edition. SteelSeries has a reputation for being one of the market leaders when it comes to gaming mice and it is interesting that they use Japanese terms for their top of the line models. Ikari stands for rage, Xai talent and so on until we reach the Sensei – the teacher. The name itself suggests that this one is the most experienced one and we got the Raw version which should mean that this is the mouse in its purest form. Putting the marketing mumbo jumbo aside the Raw versions of…

Read More…

REVIEW: Asus ROG Swift PG348Q

The gaming monitor market seems to be standing still for a while now when it comes to formats. There is an increase in resolution and refresh rates but the 16:9 aspect ratio remains. Asus got us very intrigued when they introduced a gaming monitor with a new aspect ratio – 21:9. Now that we had PG348Q for a test we can say that a gaming revolution might be on the way.   A really big box! When I was arranging for a pickup of the monitor the guy from Asus office asked me a simple question – how large is the trunk of your car? What kind of a question is that, I am picking up “just” a monitor? Turns out he was on point…

Read More…

REVIEW: Creative Fatal1ty Gaming Headset

Although I love testing the latest and greatest in gaming peripherals I also enjoy seeing products that make a nice compromise between cost and quality and are therefore affordable to a much wider audience. One such gaming headset comes from Creative Labs and features the branding of one of the most popular eSports players – Johnathan „Fatal1ty“ Wendel.   eSport hardware compared to the regular sports merchandise Ever since eSports became popular many computer gear manufacturers and anybody producing anything that can be connected to eSports are sponsoring players and using their names to promote their products. Just like in football where you have Nike or Adidas trying to get players to wear their shoes, many companies are trying to get contracts with eSports players.…

Read More…

REVIEW: Asus Republic of Gamers G20

PCs designed specifically for gaming are often much more powerful than gaming consoles but are also not the best sight in your living room – too big, noisy, heavy. Asus has decided to make a computer that will have close to maximum performance on the market, yet be small and silent enough and visually appealing to be a great addition to your living room. That is how the Republic of Gamers G20 was born.   What’s inside? When we look at the specifications of this computer it’s more than evident that it is in the very top of what PC hardware has to offer at the moment – Intel Core i7 6700K processor that is clocked at 4.2GHz, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD and a 1TB…

Read More…

REVIEW: SteelSeries Rival 100

Gaming peripherals in general, and above all gaming mice, usually carry a pretty hefty price tag which not everyone can afford. SteelSeries therefore decided to create a version of its Rival mouse that will be targeted at a broader audience than just the hardcore gamers.   The Evolution of the Rival The original Rival mouse has been renamed the Rival 300 and its smaller sibling the Rival 100 tends to keep all of the main characteristics, although in a somewhat different shape. The mouse itself is a bit smaller in size, but more importantly it’s made in ambidextrous form so you can use it both right and left handed. It kept the great rubbery plastic surface that we loved on the original Rival, as well…

Read More…

REVIEW: Logitech G29 and G920

With Logitech, we got us used to the fact that they send us really good quality peripherals to test – mice, headphones, keyboards, mouse pads, etc. However, this time we received three very large boxes with a different kind of controllers – car steering wheels.   Why do we need two of them? We received two wheels named G29 and G920 that are visually very similar but intended for different platforms. That is why we will cover the differences first, and then treat them as the same device, because they’re essentially are just that. The G920 is intended for the Xbox One and PC, so it has the adequate buttons and settings that match a console controller. On the other hand, G29 is intended for…

Read More…

REVIEW: Trackmania Turbo

Nadeo has a long history with Trackmania titles, and while some of them were successful, others were complete failures, like they were trying to find “their place under the sun” for years.  They finally gave up on that, and thankfully turned to what they know best and what was the most logical solution for them – they used the “essence” of what makes Trackmania fun, then upgraded and published it. And so Trackmania Turbo was created, a title that confirms that Nadeo discarded all “bells and whistles” and desire to be something it’s not, and they published the best classic race of player against time, or other players’ records. Time is constantly against you and that is what Turbo is going for. The game doesn’t…

Read More…

REVIEW: The Division

After many variations of multiplayer which Ubisoft tinkered with over the years on their single player games, now we get to see how they fare in full MMO genre, or at least their approximation of it. Tom Clancy games were always permeated by a dose of realism while showing how a Special Forces unit operates – sometimes more, sometimes less, and that is the case with The Division, which has in most cases missed the point of realism by a mile. This scenario conceived from the nightmares of some conspiracy theorist, and which could easily fit into a season of the show “24”, starts with a huge Black Friday sale during which huge amounts of bills enter the circulation, laced with a new synthetic and…

Read More…

REVIEW: SUPERHOT

The whole review of this game could be summed up in just two words. This game is SUPER and HOT at the same time and that should be reason enough for anyone to spare a couple of hours and play it. They won’t regret it, and they’ll end up playing for far more than just two hours. The easiest way to describe the game is a mixture of ‘The Stanley Parable’ and ‘Darwinia’. If you’ve played those titles you’ll know what this is about. SUPERHOT is an FPS in which you’re put to the task of eliminating enemies within a certain area, but you have one HUGE trick up your sleeve.  When you don’t move, time runs in suuuuuuper slooooow motion giving you a few…

Read More…

Hot news on Instagram! Follow if you like - or don't!