After Math: Fun and games
This was a big week for diversions. Nintendo is sitting pretty thanks to its overnight smash hit, Pokémon Go — not to mention the excitement surrounding its upcoming NES Classic Edition mini-console. Additionally, MoviePass rolled out its revised film subscription rates. ESPN is finally giving eSports the attention it deserves. And Twitter tripled the size limit for displaying animated gifs to a whopping 15MB. Numbers, because how else will you know who holds the high score?
Gaming headset review roundup: Five options, one favorite
As much as we’d all love surround sound in every room where we have a TV, it isn’t always feasible. Be it budgetary reasons or living in an apartment with roommates who don’t share your enthusiasm for late-night explosions, sometimes 5.1- or 7.1-channel audio is out of reach. Luckily, there are plenty of headphones to pick from. But that too comes with its own set of conundrums: Where does one even begin in that sea of choices?
We’ve rounded up five options at a variety of price points to help make your decision a little clearer. With this edition, we’re looking at the PlayStation Gold wireless headset, the Xbox Wireless Stereo Headset, the Astro A30 and A40 and, finally, the Blue Lola as a wildcard.
PlayStation Gold ($100)
The PlayStation Gold is extremely simple to set up: Plug the included USB receiver into an open spot on your PlayStation 4, power the headphones on and that’s it. Overall, the build quality is a little flimsy (one of the trim pieces on the headband fell off when I was unboxing the unit), and the hinges on the foldable portion of the band aren’t very firm. Add in the stiffness of the volume rocker and chat/audio rocker — not to mention the garish blue accents on the band — and it’s clear that the Gold won’t be winning any design awards.
Downloading the companion app from the PlayStation Store gives you access to custom presets for a smattering of games including Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Destiny, Batman: Arkham Knight and Ratchet and Clank. There are also some generic presets for shooters and fighting games, along with options for custom equalizer settings, movies and music.
The headset itself only has room for the built-in preset and one custom setting. That makes it cumbersome to swap from one game-specific setting to another. First you need to quit your current game, open the app, then wire the headset to the PlayStation 4 to transfer the new preset. It’s clunky, and honestly, the presets feel a little gimmicky anyway. Sure, some have more bass than others, or gunfire sounds a little different, but for me it wasn’t worth going back and forth. If there were room for more than one user-chosen EQ curve, it’d be a different story, but as it stands, I used the “Custom 3” setting for the majority of my testing.
How does the Gold actually sound? Pretty good. The virtual surround was plenty convincing, but at the highest volume, the ear cups were rattling on my skull. It was uncomfortably loud, even to my concert-deafened ears. The good news is that the sound field was detailed and there wasn’t any white noise at high volumes — an issue with other, more expensive headsets. As far as voice chat quality goes, my friends said I sounded distant, even though the built-in mic was only a few inches from my mouth.
My favorite feature is that the headset automatically turns off with the PS4 itself as a battery-saving measure, which is perfect for late-night gaming sessions when I fall asleep with the controller in my hands. The headset basically requires this: After two four-hour sessions I had to recharge it. It’s very much like the DualShock 4 controller in that respect.
Xbox One Stereo ($60)
Of all the headphones I tested, the Xbox One Stereo Headset surprised me the most. They’re the cheapest of the bunch, at $60, but for the money they offer well-balanced sound and solid build quality. Sure, they’re only two-channel, but a vast majority of (if not all) headsets boasting “surround sound” use software to simulate a 5.1- or 7.1-channel sound field from a few drivers. That’s because it’s tricky to cram multiple drivers into each ear cup while keeping the size, price and weight down.
Insert the relatively lightweight headset into the 3.5mm jack on your controller (or use the included headset adapter for older paddles) and you’re good to go. Unlike plugging a headset directly into the PS4’s DualShock 4, there are no momentary audio cutouts when onscreen action gets heavy. What’s more, the Xbox’s headset volume is incredibly loud.
I didn’t expect this amount of bass either. I’ll almost always ask for more, of course, but as I plumbed the depths of the research facility in Inside, the lab groaned pretty convincingly. Was the sound as deep as what my 12-inch Klipsch subwoofer reproduces? Of course not. But for a cheap pair of headphones, the Xbox One Stereo is impressive.
If I have one gripe, though, it’s that the highs sound clipped. In Forza Horizon 2, that makes squealing tires sound cheap and not nearly as distinct against the game’s rock and dance-music radio stations.
Astro A30 ($160) and Astro A40 TR ($250)
Astro has long made my favorite gaming and media headphones. The problem is price. With the home-theater-replacement A50s running $300, the number of people spending as much on headphones as they would on an Xbox One S is likely pretty low. For $160, though, you can get the A30 on-ear model with a Mixamp Pro. Or, for $250, the new A40TR and matching Mixamp Pro TR — which uniquely has a few streaming-specific audio options. These Mixamps are essential to Astro’s gear, as they’re an inline amp for the headset. They provide the power and sound processing and are basically what makes Astro’s gear sound the way it does. To bypass the Mixamp and plug either pair of headphones into a gamepad would be missing the point of why you bought Astro stuff in the first place.
As much as I love my pair of battle-worn MLG Edition A40’s from 2011, they had one problem that Astro still hasn’t solved: Each Mixamp or base station supports only one digital optical input apiece. The input situation is the lone caveat affecting anyone with more than one console, because switching between a PlayStation and an Xbox while retaining full audio fidelity means getting up and swapping fiber-optic cables. This quirk persists with the A30 and A40 kits I tested as well. Not only that, but the amps are powered via USB, which halves the number available on the PS4. This also means you’ll be stretching cables across the living room if you want to use either system from your couch.
The build quality on both headsets is top-notch, as always. But I had a hard time keeping the A30 from sliding off the back of my head unless I was sitting up straight. The ear cups also felt tight on my admittedly large skull. The bass response here never felt overbearing; rather, it complemented whatever was happening on-screen. Bass notes are deep and help round out the soundscape. Running around the Scottish countryside in Uncharted 4 with enemy dynamite exploding somewhere off in the distance sounded great, with tons of ambient detail standing out against thunderous booms.
Same goes for spelunking around a pirate cave full of dripping water and creaking suspension bridges in Uncharted 4. Both the A30 and A40 share another trait in that, in the Battlefield 1 alpha, the high-pitched brap at the end of a machine gun’s fire sounds a little crispy. Fully automatic weapons in Uncharted 4 sounded fine, however.
The over-ear A40 uses a different Mixamp that has an altogether unique sound versus that of the A30. Everything is deeper, with impressive dynamic range. For an A/B comparison, at one point I swapped the A30 into the TR amp and got an altogether different sound than I did with the stock Mixamp. Expectedly, they took on characteristics present in the A40, albeit a little less clear and defined. When plugged into their respective inline amps, both headsets sound great, and effectively block out the sounds of early-morning bird chirping and the fountain outside my window.
Neither is a bad choice; it’s just a matter of how much you want to spend.
Blue Lola ($250)
One of the best aspects of new video-game consoles is that you can simply plug a pair of normal headphones right into your gamepad. My coworker Billy was a big fan of the Blue Lola headphones, so I figured I’d give them a shot as a gaming headset. The biggest problem here is that on the PS4 the max volume level out of the controller is actually pretty low. That isn’t an issue with the Xbox One, however. The Lola accurately picked up subtle details like a hiss of white noise coming from behind a newly opened door in Inside, for instance. Meanwhile, the honk of a goose passing over France in Battlefield 1 alpha was distinct among the sounds of tanks, biplanes and other weaponry.
The plush over-ear design means that the relative quietness doesn’t detract from keeping ambient noise from polluting the onscreen action. Even better, the design and relatively light weight make the Lola comfortable for extended sessions. If you already own a pair, don’t hesitate to plug them into your gamepad of choice. That said, there isn’t a compelling reason to buy it specifically as a gaming headset — especially without a built-in mic for chat.
Wrap-up
Picking a “best headset” here is hard. That’s because the decision mostly comes down to how much you’re willing to spend. Each headset performs well and has its idiosyncrasies, but none are what I’d call bad. The Xbox headset happens to be my personal favorite, due to its sheer simplicity. But as you might expect, it’s at its best when paired with the Xbox One.
The overall crown ultimately goes to the Astro A30’s, on account of how versatile they are. Their lightweight, understated design makes them easy to wear outside of your living room, and at $160 you’re getting access to the best-in-class audio quality that Astro is known for.
What’s easy, what’s hard — and what’s right
Are we being ourselves online? Or are we allowing a lesser version to pollute what is the world’s greatest tool — an instant way to bring us all together in countless ways.
It’s been a long, insane week. And it’s a working weekend, as you could probably guess. And maybe we all could spend a little more time away from the keyboard. But there’s one thing we need to talk about.
What the hell is wrong with us all? When did we forget that we’re all here for the same reason? And I’m not just talking about Android Central, and all of that nerd stuff that brings us together. I’m a bigger fan of the internet at large. I was first exposed to the early stages of it in the early ’90s in middle school, before web browsers (and websites) really existed, and we’d occasionally chat with other schools, or check out some early BBS action.
We also did some logic stuff, and played around with BASIC and LOGO. One of the first lessons you’d learn about programming was, of course, “Garbage in, garbage out.” That’s still true today. Probably even more so. And when I ask myself why we allow forums and comments to turn so negative so quickly, I remind myself of that line. What kind of discussion do I want to have? And in what way am I contributing to it? Am I helping to make it a better place? Or just contributing to the noise?
It’s that simple. It’s not about percentages of readers or millions of Pokémon Go players. It’s about being civil to each other.
We all go through this every now and then. And I think the current state of the country, and the world — and the high signal-to-noise ratio of the “news” and social media — tend to make it far too easy to go negative. But, again, that’s easy. Hope and optimism and changing for the better — or just remembering to be better — can be hard. But often what’s challenging is also what’s right. So I’m taking a deep breath. I’m going to slow down and remind myself to think. And I’m not going to contribute to the noise.
And with that … A few thoughts about things:
- That Mr. Robot premiere. So good.
- So. … Pokémon Go. It’s as incredible as it is crazy and ridiculous. I’m not really actively playing it, though.
- We’re not going to talk in depth about Pokémon Go on the AC Podcast. That’s why there’s this.
- Hang on. Niantic gives an option to opt out if its binding arbitration clause, and that’s evil? Certainly doesn’t change this, though.
- Companies scrap projects all the time. Google probably more than many.
- Said it before, and I’ll say it again: Samsung needs to be commended for how quickly it’s getting monthly security updates out.
- I’m excited to see a LG V20. The V10 was criminally underrated.
- Isn’t the point of a national political convention to pay attention to what’s going on on the stage? Not sure I need it in 360 degrees. I’ll try it, though.
- Wait. What? Wow.
- Last week I started writing a thing about how Facebook Live and its growing importance. (I scrapped it after the Dallas attack.) But we just saw another huge example of it in Turkey.
- But then there’s the other side of social media, in which people completely forget what’s right.
- If you’re going to let the internet serve as your internal monologue, you need to put a little more thought into it.
That’s it for this week. Let’s all be good to each other. Be back Monday.
Samsung ‘stands behind’ Galaxy S7 Active IP68 rating
The company says it will “replace any Galaxy S7 active under its standard limited warranty, should water damage occur.”
Samsung on July 15 issued a short statement in response to two of its Galaxy S7 Active phones apparently failing Consumer Reports’ water immersion test.
The Galaxy S7 active passed rigorous tests to ensure IP68 certification for water resistance.
Samsung stands behind this water resistance certification, and will replace any Galaxy S7 active under its standard limited warranty, should water damage occur.
Consumer Reports tested two Galaxy S7 Active units in a pressure vessel, simulating a depth of “just under 5 feet” for 30 minutes. The phones apparently suffered water damage, particularly to the displays and power buttons.
The Galaxy S7 Active manual lists the following: “Water-resistant and dustproof based on IP68 rating, which tests submersion up to 5.0 feet for up to 30 minutes.” The manual also states “despite this classification, your device is not impervious to water damage in any situation.”
Thanks, tkuhe, for the tip.
Samsung Galaxy S7 Active
- Galaxy S7 Active review
- Galaxy S7 Active specs
- Get all the Galaxy S7 Active news
- Unboxing the GS7 Active
- Join our Galaxy S7 Active forums
AT&T
Inhabitat’s Week in Green: Flying cars and an urban underground park
The Tesla Model X is the best car in its class – but it’s also prohibitively expensive with a MSRP of $83,000. That’s set to change, as Tesla just launched a new version of its electric SUV that is $9,000 cheaper. If you’re holding out for a flying car, you won’t have to wait much longer – Aeromobile just unveiled a brand new prototype and announced plans to launch a commercial flying vehicle by 2017. The European Space Agency backed a new hypersonic plane that will be able to travel from London to Sydney in four hours flat. And a Welsh company created a truck that carries its own road surface, lays it down, and then picks it back up.
It’s official: New York City just gave the green light to the world’s first underground park. The Lowline will be built in an abandoned train line in the Lower East Side, and it’ll feature high-tech daylighting system that uses mirrors and fiber optics to sustain an underground forest. In other news, a team from MIT has developed a transforming “apartment in a box” – and they’re planning to bring it to market in 2017. Google’s plans for a crazy canopied headquarters were quashed last year, but thanks to a new deal with LinkedIn the project will actually be built.
Love coffee and mushrooms? Check out this new coffee maker that uses old grounds to grow tasty fungi. In other design news, we spotted an amazing conductive pen that lets you turn simple sheets of paper into electric circuits. A 14-year-old girl used old bike parts to invent a brilliant pedal-powered washing machine</a> that saves time and energy. Olive launched a smart suitcase that automatically follows you around so you don’t have to lug luggage. And researchers used bacteria to develop microscopic “wind farms” that could one day power your smartphone.
New iPhone 7 Video Offers Side-by-Side Comparison With iPhone 6s
A new video and images posted to Chinese microblogging site Weibo and picked up this morning by NWE offer a side-by-side comparison of an iPhone 7 casing against Apple’s current flagship iPhone 6s.
Embedded below, the new video runs to over two and a half minutes and gives a much better idea of the prospective design than last week’s seven-second clip.
Whatever the origin of the assembled 4.7-inch iPhone 7 unit, it matches the Space Grey of the iPhone 6s, and features the larger camera and repositioned antenna bands seen in previous images and alleged design leaks. It also clearly shows a lack of headphone jack, with a second speaker grille alongside the Lightning port where it used to be.
The model comparison offers an idea of the relative size of the new camera lens and the surrounding bezel that protrudes from the body of the phone. The video and images also line up with previous rumors suggesting the iPhone 7 will retain the dimensions of the iPhone 6s.
Based on the widely held assumption that the headphone jack has had its day in Apple’s mobile lineup, the extra space would be expected to allow for redesigned internals and potentially a larger battery.
Additionally, the iPhone 7 is thought to be equipped with a new A10 processor and could get 3GB RAM, up from 2GB in the previous phone. Internal storage is also reportedly getting a boost, with the entry-level devices expected to start at 32GB instead of 16GB.
Not shown in the video is the iPhone 7 Plus, which is rumored to have a dual-lens camera with a wider camera cutout. The removal of the headphone jack in both models is also expected to improve their water resistance. Apple is likely to unveil the devices in September.
Related Roundup: iPhone 7
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Mobile Nations Weekly: Pokeworld
It’s a Pokémon Go world and we’re just living in it.
The Pokémon Go craze continues. There’s no denying the game’s popularity. It’s become one of the most popular mobile games in the world, if not the most popular. Ever. People are going nuts for it. You probably know somebody who has. Maybe you are that somebody. It’s okay, we’re here to help.
But… there are things other than Pokémon happening in the mobile tech world.
We’ve got word of when the new Samsung Galaxy Note 7 will be announced (that’d be August 2nd) and rising competitor Huawei outed their new Honor 8 in China
Microsoft’s next huge Windows 10 update — the Windows 10 Anniversary Update — is almost ready for a full public release. Anniversary Update is bringing a bunch of changes for both PC and Phone, the neatest of which are some new advanced pen features.
Tesla’s most expensive vehicle also got a little less expensive: the new Model X 60D starts at $74,000 — or $66,500 after federal tax credits. Its 60kWh battery pack is actually a 75kWh pack that’s been software-limited — but you can unlock the full capacity for a fee. And the Tesla Autopilot safety controversy continues, with calls for it to be disabled and ongoing resistance from Tesla.
Android Central — Pokémon, man
Yup, this was the week of Pokémon. There’s no getting around that. If you’re interested in it, you can read everything we have on the game right here. If not, there were plenty of other stories this worth talking about this week.
Getting out there amidst a whole bunch of leaks, Samsung straight up told us its new Note will be the Galaxy Note 7. And we’ll learn all about it at an event on August 2. In the meantime, you can see a great roundup of all of the latest news and rumors right here.
Project Fi boosted its international data speeds 2-10x around the world, thanks to a new roaming deal with Three, which is a huge deal for international travelers. You can see how all of the U.S. carriers now stack up when it comes to international plans here.
Huawei’s subsidiary Honor rolled out its Honor 8 phone in China with an impressive design and set of specs.
If you’re looking for a phone deal, you can get $100 off the HTC 10 until the end of July. The Nexus 6P also received a limited-time $150 price cut, which puts it right next to the OnePlus 3 — an interesting comparison.
- Why T-Mobile’s free Pokémon Go data deal is cause for celebration, and caution
- Moto Z Droid Edition unboxing!
- Alcatel Idol 4S unboxing and first impressions
- OnePlus 3 vs. Moto G4 Plus: What’s $100 between rivals?
- These are the people playing Pokémon Go
- Are all Androids created equal? Software makes a big difference
- Check to see if you’re covered by the Project Fi network
CrackBerry — The power of 10
This week for BlackBerry was all about controlling the message after the previous week brought confirmation of the BlackBerry Classic manufacturing being discontinued. We spoke with BlackBerry COO Marty Beard to discuss BlackBerry 10, Android and BlackBerry’s hardware future to add some further clarity to the conversation. If that’s not enough, AT&T also pushed out Android Marshmallow to Priv owners and BlackBerry has now added more speakers and partners to their upcoming BlackBerry Security Summit, which takes place on July 19.
- BlackBerry has not ruled out another BlackBerry 10 device
- AT&T pushes Marshmallow update to BlackBerry Priv
- BlackBerry adds more speakers and partners to 2016 BlackBerry Security Summit
iMore — Poképoképokémon
It was the week of Pokémon Go. Whether you love it or hate it, there’s no denying it’s the biggest product launch we’ve seen in a long time. Credit augmented reality (AR), the Pokémonbrand, the appeal of the treasure hunt, the need for distraction, or all of it — but more of you are playing PokémonGo right now than doing anything else, including Twitter or Snapchat on mobile.
For those who want not part of it, we invite you to our Pokémon NO RSS feed, where you can go on learning all about iOS 10, macOS Sierra, watchOS 3, and tvOS 10. And, of course, all the latest rumors on iPhone 7!
- Swift Playgrounds: Previewing Apple’s remarkable new portal to code
- Pokémon Go, Google, Facebook, and the surrender of privacy
- Beginner’s guide: How to play Pokémon Go!
- Pokémon Go: 20 tips, tricks, and cheats to be the best trainer in the world!
- Best Evernote alternatives for iPhone
- Best Evernote alternatives for Mac
Tesla Central — 60kWh
Tesla’s flagship SUV, the Model X is now a bit more affordable. The Model X with its falcon wing doors just saw a price drop to $74,000 with the new 60D option — which when you factor in federal tax credits makes the base model of the Model X just $66,500. It’s still not a cheap car, but it is far less expensive than the 75D — which the 60D technically is, just with a 75kWh battery that’s been software-limited to 60kWh. If you want the full capacity, it’s yours to unlock.
Separately, the brouhaha over Tesla Autopilot continues, this time with the heavy-hitting Consumer Reports making the bold/silly assertion that Tesla should disable the system. Which, let’s be honest, short of a government order, isn’t gonna happen.
- Model X starting price drops to $74,000 with battery-limited 60D
- Consumer Reports thinks Tesla should disable Autopilot. Tesla, as you might anticipate, disagrees
- The SEC is investigating Tesla over claims of untimely disclosures
- Tesla 8.0 update will bring flatter interface design and Autopilot enhancements
Enter to win a Tesla Model S for kids by Radio Flyer!
VR Heads — Constantly looking ahead
While the rest of the world was entirely consumed by Pokemon, Oculus announced they’d finally managed to ship all of their pre-orders and have started gearing up for the Oculus Connect conference. The big focus here will be Oculus Touch controllers, and it’s going to happen mere days before Sony launches PlayStation VR. In the meantime, Steam VR has been heating up with tons of great new games, each making the HTC Vive a more compelling option. This is going to be a fun summer!
- Google Cardboard mention in Pokemon Go may be a sign of things to come
- Oculus Connect 3 is coming in October
- These are the most incredible Oculus Rift games available today
Windows Central — Anniversary ramp-up
Microsoft is inching closer to the public release of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update for PC and Phone. Build 14390 was released Friday afternoon and our sources tell us that this is being treated as RTM (despite the term “release to manufacturer” being outdated in these days of direct distribution). Also, non-Insiders on Windows 10 for PC and Mobile received a July optimization and fixing patch with build 10586.494, which came out Tuesday. Not to be left out the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book both grabbed new drivers for July with a full changelog posted as well.
Besides AdBlock, LastPass, Pinterest, and more Microsoft Edge now has the Amazon Assistant browser extension.
The Huawei MateBook is now on sale in the US and we gave it a second opinion.
- What’s new with Tablet Mode in the Windows 10 Anniversary Update
- Eikon Mini is an affordable fingerprint reader for any PC and Windows Hello
- How to change your DNS Server settings for faster browsing on Windows 10
- How to use the new Games & Apps section on the Xbox One Anniversary Update
Check out the latest Windows 10 #DoMoreEveryDay Gems
Best TV catch-up on Freeview Play: Pokemon, The Rack Pack and more
There’s something for everyone in our round-up of TV shows from the last week to catch-up on. Comedy dramas, a top sporting event a sitcom and hard hitting documentary are included. And yes, there’s Pokemon too, for all you Pokemon Go players who are home long enough to watch the telly.
All of the shows on offer are available through BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub and All 4, and can be started by simply scrolling back through the seven-day electronic programme guide on a Freeview Play compatible TV or set-top-box.
With Freeview Play you just click on the retrospective show you want to watch and it’ll open the specific streaming service or app. Simple.
So sit back, enjoy and remember, you’ve gotta catch(-up with) ’em all.
- What is Freeview Play, when is it coming to my TV and how can I get it?
The Pokemon Company
Pokemon
CITV (ITV Hub) – broadcast on Saturday 16 July
We’ve featured it before in our catch-up TV round-ups but there has never been a better time to recommend the classic Japanese cartoon series.
You might even get some tips from Ash and the gag that you can apply to your Pokemon Go sessions.
BBC
Rhod Gilbert’s Work Experience
BBC Two (BBC iPlayer) – broadcast on Monday 11 July
Series six of the reality show started with comedian Rhod Gilbert taking on the role of a BBC journalist.
Each week Gilbert tackles a different job, but is he capable of providing a news scoop for BBC Wales Today?
BBC
The Rack Pack
BBC Two (BBC iPlayer) – broadcast on Saturday 16 July
A comedy drama based on the 1980s rise of snooker star Steve Davis and his green baize battles with Alex “Hurricane” Higgins.
It’s been on iPlayer for a while, having been originally made for the platform, but the Beeb decided to air it on BBC Two this week too.
BBC
Golf: The Open
BBC Two (BBC iPlayer) – broadcast from Thursday 14 July
If you don’t have access to Sky Sports, the BBC showed highlights of this year’s championship from Royal Troon.
You can catch up with some of the best moments, including the winning performances on the Sunday, by heading backwards through the EPG on Freeview Play.
ITV
The Investigator – A British Crime Story
ITV (ITV Hub) – broadcast on Thursday 14 July
Real-life investigator Mark Williams-Thomas looks into the disappearance of Carole Packman, with dramatic reconstructions telling a version of events that he pieces together.
Her husband was eventually convicted of her murder, but this goes some way to explaining how and why.
CBS
2 Broke Girls
E4 (All 4) – broadcast on Tuesday 12 July
If you’ve not heard of 2 Broke Girls before where have you been hiding? The hit US sitcom is five series in, although it’s never too late to see what all the fuss is about.
Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs are great as skint flatmates Max and Caroline. It has also feature plenty of big name guest stars over the years, including Lyndsey Lohan and Kim Kardashian.
Channel 4
My Worst Job
Channel 4 – broadcast on Tuesday 12 July
Celebrities reminisce about the worst jobs and bosses they’ve ever had, even revealing intimate details about office romances.
Jimmy Carr, Jonathan Ross and Will Self feature in the first episode.
Get catch-up and on demand TV for £0 per month with Freeview Play. Click here to find out more.
‘The Solus Project’ is Xbox One’s sci-fi exploration game
We’ve seen a few games graduate from the Xbox Game Preview program and become full-fledged Xbox One titles, but perhaps none as intriguing as The Solus Project. Earth is a goner, so humanity takes to the stars, with what’s left of the human race hanging out near Pluto. From there you’re shipwrecked on an even more distant planet while looking for a suitable colonization site.
“You are completely and utterly alone on the deserted planet Gliese-6143-C,” a post on Xbox Wire reads. “You will have to unravel the mysteries surrounding the disappearance of an ancient alien race, survive the harsh and hostile environment of the seemingly deserted planet and find a way to send a signal home, to finally save humanity.”
Developer Grip Digital’s marketing manager Petr Ciesarik describes The Solus Project as a narrative-based exploration experience with touches of survival game elements (think Don’t Starve or Rust). The rude among us would likely dismiss it as a “walking simulator,” but how many of those featured rooms ripped straight out of Prometheus? Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture certainly didn’t. It lacked a huge otherworldly tentacle and didn’t equip you with a crowbar, either. Don’t believe me? There’s a trailer below.
If you’re an Xbox owner feeling jealous of the PlayStation faithful finally getting to play No Man’s Sky next month, this might be the closest thing you’ll get to that sci-fi exploration game without buying a PS4. At the present, The Solus Project is available for $15 on the Xbox Store.
Source: Xbox Wire
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