Monthly Archives: April 2004
UbiSoft – Far Cry
First, let’s get the plot of this first-person shooter out of the way. Charter boat owner Jack Carver is offered a considerable amount of money by sultry journalist Valerie Constantine to take her to an uncharted island. Big mistake. Approaching the shore, the boat is shot up and destroyed, Val is kidnapped and Jack is…
Creative – Sound Blaster Audigy 2 NX
The bane of every laptop user’s life is the invariably tinny sound that comes through the built-in speakers, or the flat stereo sound via the headphone jack. Even though a considerable leap forward was taken when manufacturers were finally able to install decent 3D graphics adapters into laptops, the sound quality has always lagged behind….
ECS – A535
Anybody who opens the newspaper supplements on a Saturday or Sunday will already be well aware that the prices of laptop computers are dropping. Where once the best part of £1,500 would have got you something decent, now the big High Street chains are happy to relieve you of less than £1,000 for a quality…
MSI – Mega 180
MSI’s box of tricks wisely follows two growing trends in computing. First, it’s a small form-factor, bare-bones PC, ready for you to add your own components to turn it into your latest beast. And second – ready for a buzzword? – it’s a convergence product that capitalises on the increasingly blurred lines between computing and…
Zone Labs – ZoneAlarm Pro 4.5
To be safe and work responsibly on the Internet, you need a firewall. It protects your PC from unwanted attacks by miscreant hackers and can keep you ‘invisible’ when you’re surfing the Web. ZoneAlarm Pro is one of the most respected software firewalls and version 4.5 adds significant extras to the product, making it easier…
Tripod Data Systems – Recon
Back in the mists of time, this reviewer once worked for a publishing house that regularly dropped laptop computers from a height of one metre onto a hard floor. Almost invariably, they broke. After a while, the manufacturers became rather annoyed at receiving their laptops back in pieces, and the test was quietly shelved. But…
Roxio – Easy Media Creator 7
Roxio’s Easy CD & DVD Creator 6 was a disappointing package. Under its umbrella it gathered together some quite useful applications, but failed to really integrate them, and slapped an unappealing price tag on it all. Fortunately, the now-monikered Easy Media Creator 7 is a much tighter proposition, albeit with that price tag issue still…
ViewSonic – VG910S
When you first take this 19-inch LCD screen from Viewsonic out of the box, it’s hard not to sit there and be impressed. Finished in a smart silver, it’s an aesthetically strong piece of hardware which would take pride of place on many people’s desks. Fortunately, dig a bit further and those initial impressions hold…
Atari – Unreal Tournament 2004
There’s always a suspicion, once publishers start releasing updated versions of products on an annual basis with just the year name changing in the title, that it’s just an excuse to slightly tart up last year’s effort and watch the pounds roll in. It’s an accusation that could, with some merit, be weighed in the…
Digital Workshop – Opus Pro 04
The original Illuminatus Opus was welcomed for its easy-to-use interface, its comparatively low cost compared to its rivals and a broad range of features that included ‘triggers’ for pre-loaded files and mouse moves, collision detection, rollover frames and multiple object drawings. In response to comments and suggestions made by users, the new version of this…