Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Launch - Malaysia

One of the most anticipated phones of 2016 is the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, and it's finally here in Malaysia! Taking design cues from the S6 Edge, the S7 Edge comes with the same 5.5 inch curved display, a curved chassis at the back, and with some improvements over its predecessor.

Some of the improvements include better battery life, camera, and more usefulness of the curved edges. Also waterproof... sorry, water-resistant.

I wasn't there at the launch due to working hours, so I only managed to capture the empty stage & exhibition (bummer).

I missed the event. Damn you full time job!

However it is good to know it has finally arrived in my country, and many of us will be happy to err, touch it. It IS that sexy. Here's the full coverage of the event from the folks at Lowyat (click here).

Rise of the Tomb Raider

I don't usually buy games, but when I heard that the sequel to the 2013 Tomb Raider reboot was coming out last year, and having played it, I just couldn't help but buy the game. This is not a full in-depth review, just my thoughts on it.

BIG SPOILERS AHEAD!!


GRAPHICS
Rise of the Tomb Raider is by far one of the most graphically beautiful games I have played.

Below are my graphic settings:

Settings are set as recommended by nVidia GeForce Exprience.

The map is a lot bigger this time where you get to travel to places like Syria, Siberia, and hidden ancient cities. Overall there are about over 40 base camps, so you get the picture. The graphic details are stunning, from the clear and sharp images of landscapes down to the pores on Lara's face upon close up. You can actually see them!


WHAT'S NEW
Controls are similar to the previous Tomb Raider. What's new is that now you can climb tree branches and shiv-attack enemies from above. You are now able to craft arrows and ammo from the resources you gather around you like wood, mushrooms, explosives (special ammo).

Bears are the most difficult to kill. Not to mention scary.

Sometimes you will encounter exotic animals like snow leopards, lynx, and deers. After you kill them, you will be able to use their skin to craft special upgrades for your equipment/weapons.

There are side quests that you can choose to take on, like helping the natives. This will not effect the progress of the game as you can always come back to finish them later.

UPDATE: A new DLC has come up, called Baba Yaga. More on that later in the post.


EXPERIENCE

One of the most graphically beautiful & detailed games I have ever played.

The level of detail in this game is just amazing. Everything is just sharp and crisp. The graphics are set to High, imagine how it would look like if set to Ultra. However, setting to Ultra stutters a little bit on the GTX 970m, so to fully enjoy this game a 980m would be recommended.

At Base Camps is where you can equip different weapons & upgrade them, equip different clothing, and fast travel to any camps throughout the maps.

Objectives light up just like the previous game, letting you know your next destination. Very helpful to also find hidden objects, enemies, exotic animals, and resources.

Pressing Q, like the last game, highlights your main objective, hidden treasures/monuments/etc, exotic animals, challenge markers, and resources. It is quite useful if you want to find everything, but not necessary if you just want to play the story.

Let there be light. Moments like these deserve a pause of awe.

You now have to gather resources to craft ammo, medicine, or weapon upgrades. 

Tombs come with puzzles that reward you at the end, just like the last game, though slightly more challenging this time around. Luckily, hit Q and Lara will give you a hint. Hints which I find quite easy to follow, like a little too easy.

If you had played, say Tomb Raider Anniversary, you don't get any sort of hints from Lara. You are on your own to figure it out, and that I feel gives you the true explorer experience. Hopefully future sequels will bring that back.

You can see details on her clothing and hair! Compared to the last game, the hair flows much more fluid now.

Lara can now jump enemies from above, and kill them silently.

 BABA YAGA DLC

Wicked Vale camp in the new DLC.

The story goes that a witch known as the Baba Yaga has been terrorizing the mountains in Siberia. You encounter a native girl whose grandfather has gone missing looking for his long lost wife in a place called the Wicked Vale. She believes the witch has him captive, and you have to help her find him.

Once downloaded, the DLC will appear in the main story as a side quest which you can choose to complete later. It throws you into a big boss fight at the end of story, something that is often similarly used in the previous Tomb Raider games. So this brings quite a nostalgic feeling. Nice touch Square Enix.

Completing the DLC gives you the Wraithskin outfit, complete with the Dreamstinger bow.

CONCLUSION
Rise of the Tomb Raider is a great adventure game, bringing the explorer side of you to life virtually. If you had played the first Tomb Raider, this will be an even deeper game with vast landscapes, but otherwise similar experience.

My Mi Band- 2nd thoughts

In my last review of the Mi Band a few months back, I described it as an almost-perfect fitness tracker. It is almost accurate in reading steps, has a month long battery life, and most importantly, affordable with a $15 price tag.

Now three months since the review, I am having some second thoughts about it. Let me tell you why.

While tracking your steps is great and motivates you to reach that 10,000 steps-a-day goal, it kinda gets old after awhile. I find myself no longer reaching out for my phone and checking how many steps I took today. And the gesture thing where you swing your wrist to your face and it tells you your progress of the day, which I highly praised it, I don't do that anymore. It just feels like a boring routine. Now I mainly use the Mi Band as a notification device. That thing saved me many missed calls.

Why, you ask? Good question. The answer: no display.

No doubt, it is great to check your progress once in awhile. But wouldn't it be great if you can check the time ON the display itself? Then I wouldn't have to whip up my phone every time I want to do that. FitBit Charge and Pebble did it, why not Xiaomi?

Do I still recommend it despite this new doubt? Still yes, if you are a fitness fanatic, or just want a device to notify you of incoming calls and don't mind pulling out your phone to check the time, which I do not like.

For me, a smartwatch like the Pebble will be a perfect fit.

Illegear Z5 Review

Disclaimer: I have used this laptop for over 2 months. Been using it to surf the web, 3D rendering, play games, watch videos.

The Illegear Z5 is officially my very first gaming laptop, and I have to say it is quite a decent laptop. Please bear in mind that this is just a rough review, nothing deep like benchmarks or decibels.
Let's get on with the review!


DESIGN
I have always like rugged designs, and the Z5 met that expectation. The entire body is made of plastic, except for the metal plate on the keyboard and touchpad area. Overall build is quite sturdy and bulky, so if you're looking for a slim laptop this isn't for you. The weight is about 2.4kg, which is average for a 15" laptop, but if you're coming from a Macbook Air like me, it is quite hefty.

I love the way Illegear added the two backlit lines on its lid. Together with curves and rugged lines makes the Z5 standout as a gaming rig.

Open the lid and you are greeted with a chiclet keyboard and trackpad. The keyboard, in my opinion, while its not the best is actually quite decent to type on. There are 4 programmable macro keys which you can customize to your liking, whether its to adjust the volume, brightness, etc. Speaking of that, the default way to adjust them is to press Fn together with the desired key, which can be quite annoying when you are doing work or play.

UPDATE:  Illegear has recently launched its 14" S4 Clevo-based model, utilizing the same specs as this Z5 with Core i7 6700HQ Skylake, with a cleaner design and a little more expensive. For those of you who are looking for a laptop for gaming laptop but want something smaller as well as for business purposes, this is one for you.


DISPLAY
The 15" 1080p display is an IPS panel with a matte finish. Color reproduction is good, as well as its wide viewing angles. One thing I dislike about it is its thick bezels and glossy plastic its made of. The display is sturdy, stays at one place when you are moving it about. However it wobbles when you tap on the display, and it bobs back and forth.

Closing the lid is a minor issue, as you have to push it down until you hear a "thud" to properly close it. Otherwise, the display does not fully close and opens just a little gap, preventing the laptop from going to sleep.


SOUND
The Z5 comes with a 2.1 system which sound pretty decent. Two speakers at the front of the laptop, and one subwoofer underneath it.

I don't see how placing the speakers in front of the laptop improves your experience, but I guess it is a good way to keep your distance from the screen.


GAMING
The Z5 comes with a nVidia GTX 970m with 6GB DDR5 RAM, and I have to say it handles the latest games pretty well. I have only a handful of games here, for example:

Image from Steam.

Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015)
Had the graphics set to High, gameplay was smooth. Ultra settings stutters a little bit.

Image from Steam.

BioShock Infinite (2013)
Had the graphic set to Ultra, gameplay is also quite smooth.

Image from Steam.

Left 4 Dead 2 (2010)
Had the graphic set to Ultra, very smooth gameplay.


3D RENDERING

I have compared the time it took to render a simple bedroom (1600 x 900px, full render settings) like this in 3DSMAX between my desktop computer and the Z5, since I use them quite often for my work. Here are the specs and rendering times for both PCs:

Desktop
Core i5 3550 Ivy Bridge
8GB DDR3 RAM
GTX 550Ti 1GB RAM
Rendering time: 1hr 53mins

Z5
Core i7 4700HQ Haswell
8GB DDR3 RAM
GTX 970M 6GB RAM
Rendering time: 53mins

It is significantly faster on the Z5 due to its Core i7 processor and its hyper-threading capabilities. I have yet to upgrade my desktop to an i7, so I will compare them again sometime later. (stay tuned!)


TEMPERATURE
All gaming laptops get quite warm during use. The Z5 stayed cool-to-lukewarm under normal use, ie surfing the web, playing videos, typing, and listening to music.

During gaming or 3D rendering sessions however, it gets really hot at the bottom, so its not advisable to put it on your lap while you are doing so. This is also to prevent blocking the airflow coming out of the 2 big vents behind the laptop.


BATTERY
The Z5 lasted 3-4 hours on normal use, which I consider better than average for a gaming laptop. Gaming however, is a different story, with only lasted a little over an hour playing Rise of the Tomb Raider. Then again, this IS a gaming laptop.


CONCLUSION
Overall, the Illegear Z5 is a good performance laptop for the buck, I love it although I regret getting the plastic lid instead of the aluminium one. The aluminium cover is said to enhance the Z5's WiFi range/connectivity. This is for those who wants raw gaming and processing power, and doesn't mind the rugged gamer-like design. The Z5 that I have is the Haswell version. If you want better battery life, you should go for the Skylake version. Performance wise is about the same.