Category: Review

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope — out Thursday on Nintendo Switch — does what you'd expect from a sequel to a well-received game by immersing you in a richer and more expansive world. While the first game, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, proceeded in a linear fashion, Sparks of Hope tries to be more exploratory with a semi-open world of sorts. There's now an in-game map, with quests marked on it. Thankfully, it's not as littered with icons as some of Ubisoft's other open world games. There is a bit of level-gating, as you might expect — it never really got in my way, though your mileage may vary depending on the route you take. Each new Sparks of Hope planet opens up a dozen or so quests that you must complete before you tackle the big bad. You can roam around freely, and decide what you want to do first.
Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Paris — the returning team of developers on Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope — have reconsidered their approach to the game's turn-base..

Oppo's approach to true wireless earphones has always been a value-driven one, with the company actively promising and delivering more than you would expect from similarly-priced alternatives. The recently-launched Oppo Enco X2 is a great example of just how far Oppo is willing to go to position itself as the brand delivering the most bang for your buck. However, you can't talk about the value-for-money proposition without taking on the truly affordable segment, and that's where the new Oppo Enco Buds 2 comes in.
Priced at Rs. 1,999 in India, the Oppo Enco Buds 2 is among the company's most affordable true wireless headsets right now, and is the successor to the Oppo Enco Buds launched in 2021. With an interesting and entirely different design to the Enco Buds, as well as a promise of good performance, is the Enco Buds 2 the best affordable true wireless headset you can buy right now? Find out in this review.
The Oppo Enco Buds 2 has a design that is considerably di..

Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection — out Wednesday on PC — is no doubt a potent brew of blockbuster storytelling and epic-scale thrills. Its arrival marks the first time PC players get to experience this globe-trotting adventure franchise since its founding nearly 15 years ago, as it has been PlayStation exclusive starting with the PS3. This version expectedly comes with added enhancements, which are foreign to even the recent PS5 remaster. Seeing Iron Galaxy Studios at the helm of Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, I had been erring on the side of caution, as these are the same folks behind Batman: Arkham Knight's terrible PC port. Now, to be fair, that was outsourced to a small team of 12, under heavy time constraints — grounds for all kinds of technical issues. Even so, I kept my fingers crossed and dove into Uncharted PC with a sliver of hope. Here's my full review.
Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection PC review — Prep workAs was the case with the PS5 remast..

A Plague Tale: Requiem — out Tuesday on PC, PS5, Xbox Series S/X, and Nintendo Switch via the cloud — is set six months after the events of the previous game, A Plague Tale: Innocence. Having survived the grasp of the Inquisition and with the Black Plague rat swarm off their scent, the de Rune family has found some respite in the outskirts of the Provence region. However, a chance encounter with bandits pushes Hugo to his limits, and it is now up to elder sister Amicia to search for a cure for the mysterious Macula poisoning his veins. It is this psychologically and physically downward spiralling journey of the de Rune siblings that is the captivating core of this sequel to 2019's critically acclaimed A Plague Tale: Innocence.
Developer Asobo Studio has masterfully crafted the narrative of A Plague Tale: Requiem. It progresses in a way that sinks its teeth into you right from the beginning, and never lets go. Adding to that are complex characters who have been given life by some o..

Gotham Knights — out now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X — attracted all kinds of negative attention in the run-up to its release. Starting life as a series of cryptic tweets, heralding the inclusion of the enigmatic Court of Owls was an excellent way to build hype for the next chapter in the Batman: Arkham saga, or so we thought. Later, it was revealed to be a separate arc, focused on the Dark Knight's motley crew of sidekicks, much to the dismay of avid fans. Initial impressions were cold, as the new co-op component drew parallels to the bloated mess that was Marvel's Avengers in 2020. With pre-release footage rolling out, that fear grew into contempt, as displays of laggy gameplay and clunky mechanics threw a wet blanket over any prior excitement. Add to that WB Games Montréal cancelling the previously announced PS4 and Xbox One versions five months before launch, and we've got a launch overshadowed by complaints.
Gotham Knights PC review: gameplay and controlsThe aft..

Xiaomi has launched its most affordable Android tablet in India in the form of the Redmi Pad. The Redmi tablet aims to strike the right balance by offering a large screen for multimedia consumption along with a performance unit that is no slouch. Xiaomi claims that the Redmi Pad is the right choice for budget Android tablet buyers in India. Priced under Rs. 20,000, it packs good hardware and offers a couple of features which are not even available in the more expensive Apple iPad.
The Redmi Pad came with an attractive introductory price in India, starting as low as Rs. 11,700 for the base variant with all the offers in place. However, the introductory offer was only valid for the first few days of the sale and now, the Redmi Pad is available at a slightly higher premium. With that in mind, should you still consider buying it? We help you find out.
Redmi Pad price in IndiaXiaomi has launched the Redmi Pad in three RAM and storage configurations. The base variant packs 3GB of RAM and 64G..

The great tragedy of Gotham Knights — out Friday on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X — is that it was always going to be pitted against the beloved and critically-acclaimed Batman: Arkham games. For one, it's the first open world Gotham City entry since 2015's largely well-received final chapter, Batman: Arkham Knight. And two, more importantly, Gotham Knights comes from the same developer — in WB Games Montréal — who gave us that series' poorest instalment, the 2013 prequel Batman: Arkham Origins. The comparisons were inevitable and unavoidable.
But in the seven years it's taken for a return to Gotham, a rival superhero has left its mark on the video game world: Spider-Man. The PlayStation-exclusive won awards after its arrival in 2018, delivered a beautiful-looking spin-off in 2020, and is due for a sequel next year. Interestingly, you can feel traces of inspiration from Marvel's Spider-Man here. Gotham Knights certainly doesn't have the same cinematographic..

The Vivo V23 Pro 5G was a mid-range smartphone that was laser-focussed on design alone. Apart from being really slim and lightweight, it also introduced the colour-changing rear panel as a unique selling point for the series. What it also brought along was a noticeable jump in price, which was a lot higher than the Vivo V20 Pro 5G that it succeeded. The Vivo V23 Pro 5G offered mid-range hardware but at Rs. 38,990, was priced closer to devices that had much better specs.
With the V25 Pro, Vivo has made some subtle changes to the design, but has added some much-needed improvements when it comes to battery life and cameras. So, are these improvements worth the asking price, and does the Vivo V25 Pro succeed in offering something different?
Vivo V25 Pro 5G price in IndiaThe Vivo V25 Pro 5G is available in two variants. There's the base variant with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage that is priced at Rs. 35,999, and a second variant with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage that is available..

Amazfit's line of smartwatches may not offer all the bells and whistles of an Apple Watch or Samsung's Galaxy Watch models, but they do offer incredible value given their competitive price tags. The latest model in Amazfit's stylish GTR line-up aims to repeat the success of its predecessor, the GTR 3, but with a different approach to design, improvements to tracking , a bigger display and a bigger battery. Are all these changes worth upgrading to a GTR 4, and how well does it work with both Android and iOS smartphones? Read on to find out.
Amazfit GTR 4 price in IndiaThe Amazfit GTR 4 is available in three variants that come with their individual watch straps, but all have the same dial size. There's the standard option with a grey case and a black fluoroelastomer strap called Superspeed Black. A second variant with the same grey case but with a leather strap called Vintage Brown Leather, and a third variant called Racetrack Grey which has a black case and a weaved ..

Asus is no stranger to experimenting with various shapes and sizes for its devices – this is after all the company that came up with the PadFone series, Transformer Book series, ROG Mothership, and Taichi. Some designs, such as the Project Precog dual-screen laptop, never made it past the prototype stage, while on the other hand the ZenBook Duo has spawned several similar models and has been refined over several generations. Today, we have the chance to check out another potential game-changer, the ZenBook 17 Fold OLED (UX9702), and it isn't just a concept; it's going on sale in India very soon.
Does the market really need a foldable laptop? Does a product like this solve any problem or serve any need that normal laptops cannot? These are questions that can only be answered with use over a very long period. What I can bring you today are my first impressions, after having spent just a few hours with the new ZenBook 17 Fold. Read on.
Asus ZenBook 17 Fold OLED (UX9702) Price in..