Zotac NEN SN970 Steam Machine Review

Nearly the entire package in one picture.

Valve’s conquest for real estate in your living room has been a lengthy work in progress. While they have learned a wealth from the help of their own community in this ambitious endeavor and conquered many hurdles along the way, it remains unclear how fruitful their efforts will ultimately pan out. This is no doubt a risky venture on Valve’s end. However, Zotac is a likely suspect in Steam Machine potential, as their experience in the “Mini PC” market long predates Valve’s SteamOS. With that in mind, is the combination of Valve’s software expertise and Zotac’s hardware brawn a slam dunk?

With a few caveats, my satisfaction is difficult to exaggerate. Impressively tricked out with a full Nvidia GTX 960 graphics card, an Intel Core i5 Skylake processor, and an easily upgradeable 8 GB of DDR3L RAM, playing games on this little-engine-that-could is a buttery-smooth experience, with most games achieving 60 frames-per-second at 1080P, if not a marginal sacrifice of a few notches of anti-aliasing or ambient occlusion. Games that don’t perform very well on the SN970, namely ARK: Survival Evolved and Dying Light (the culprit being poor OpenGL performance that may improve with patching), are the exception rather than the rule.

This Steam Machine clearly boasts more HDMI ports than you'll ever need.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the quantity of games available on Valve’s SteamOS. The custom, Debian Linux-based operating system lacks many AAA heavy-hitters such as Grand Theft Auto V, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (SteamOS version in development), and Fallout 4. Furthermore, early adopters of Steam Machines can expect this trend to continue for near-future releases. This may prove frustrating, and may compel some to use the SN970 as a compact Windows machine instead. Fortunately, Zotac thoughtfully bundles a memory stick with the Windows drivers in the box to eliminate the headache for those who wish to take this route.

That said, thanks to Valve’s weight in the gaming industry, there’s already a wealth of games available for SteamOS, both AAA and independently developed. These include, but aren’t limited to Saints Row IV, Sid Meier’s Civilization V, Shovel Knight, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor, War Thunder, Towerfall: Ascension, Borderlands 2 & The Pre-Sequel, Screencheat, and nearly every single Valve title. Next year you can also expect XCOM 2, Rocket League, Payday 2, Street Fighter V, and many more. Unless you have your heart set on a particular Windows-only title, you will not get bored with SteamOS’ lucrative selection of games.

The aforementioned non-SteamOS games can also be streamed from any Windows/Mac/Linux PC logged into the same Steam account in your house. My experience in doing so with Grand Theft Auto V was acceptable on a wireless connection (specifically with the machine's optional included antenna) sans a few quick spasms in the stream, but relying on playing your games with this method still demands that you grab an Ethernet cable.

One thing that all Steam Machines have in common is the inclusion of Valve’s Steam Controller. Despite being panned by mainstream industry critics like IGN, it is a brilliant peripheral. The traditional layout of two joysticks is replaced with a single joystick, two touchpads with haptic feedback, dual-stage triggers a la the Nintendo GameCube pad, a familiar set of A, B, X, and Y buttons (that I’ll admit could be placed more comfortably than they are), a pair of rear grip paddles and a gyroscope for car racing, or those heated moments in first-person shooters in which deadly accuracy is the difference between you or your opponent’s virtual demise. Overall, the controller’s robust software customization suite attempts to invite a genre-agnostic experience to your living room. It won’t replace your mouse and keyboard, but I am confidently able to wield the Steam Controller as my new primary gamepad. Even if you’re a PC gamer that isn’t in the market for a Steam Machine, Valve’s new-fangled input gadget is still definitely worth the time it takes getting used to.

Before firing up my Steam Machine for the first time, I removed the two extruding thumbscrews from the rear of the device and plugged the Steam Controller’s wireless receiver into its intended, yet optional, internal USB port, and stuck another 8 GB RAM module inside the unoccupied slot (increasing the total to 16 GB). The machine’s first boot isn’t the lengthiest I’ve seen, but could benefit a lot from a solid-state drive (another aftermarket option). Also, the range that the controller dongle offers when plugged in internally is rather disappointing. I was often greeted with annoying on-screen messages regarding connection issues when trying to sit comfortably at a range that I thought was reasonable. This is where the self-explanatory USB range extender comes in. The range extender doesn’t fit inside the chassis, so you need to take up one of the four external USB ports in order to use it, which isn't a big loss. On the other hand, I’d still recommend giving the internal USB port a go, as its practicality will vary by user.

The SN970 can be upgraded in a number of ways without voiding the warranty.

Aside from gaming, you won't be doing much once you've given up wondering how so much computing power fits in the SN970’s small form factor to turn the power on and log in to SteamOS. If it feels familiar, it's probably because it is merely the desktop client’s Big Picture Mode with a few functionality tweaks, such as a modified display compositor. One gripe i have is that not quite every Steam feature has a “Big Picture” interface. Therefore, some familiar Steam URLs will seamlessly transition to its own Big Picture interface, and others will simply open a page in the built-in Chromium based web browser, which I sometimes find annoying. On top of that, if there is a way to click URLs in Steam chat for when my buddy sends me a humorous meme, I still haven't figured it out. There's also a desktop mode outside of SteamOS’ main interface, which is essentially a playground for Linux power users. From this bare Gnome 3 desktop environment, users can enjoy everything great about Linux, such as poking around the terminal, surfing the web with the Iceweasel browser, adding software repositories, and even adding attempting to add non-Steam/Wine/emulator games back to the SteamOS Big Picture interface (which can be tricky).

While I can't speak for the user experience that other Steam Machines bring, I can confidently say that the Zotac NEN SN970 is a highly entertaining and capable little device, even if the price is a pretty steep at $999. Early adopters that don't get too frustrated by its slight shortcomings have a lot to look forward to, including upcoming games and features with the OS itself and Valve's awesome controller.

(E3) IMO - Nintendo Has Finally Convinced Me to Want a Wii U ASAP

Last year's E3 was probably the most exciting time to own a Nintendo 3DS thus far. Those who have already experienced it already knew how impressive the tech is. From the namesake 3D all the way down to the much-improved Ad-hoc online functionality with StreetPass and SpotPass, it never ceased to impress, aside from its underwhelming launch lineup. Now that Nintendo 3DS has a wealth of great options for gamers of all ages and skill levels, everything about the handheld will just keep rolling on with further improvements and a steady barrage of impressive titles. On the other hand, last year's expo also included the introductory announcements of Nintendo's next home console; The Wii U. There already exists a Nintendo console called the "Wii," but according to the Big N, the U stands for a big "thank you" (or thank U for namesake) for all the support that fans have given the company during the lifespan of the original Wii. The company showed off nothing but tech demos that year, including a gorgeous high-definition Zelda tech demo in which Link does battle with a massive spider. The Wii U hardware itself appeared as a peculiar surprise for expo goers and livestream watchers alike. It boasts a familiar-looking console box, and a tablet controller with buttons and analog sticks on either side. The rest remained a mystery until now.

E3 2012 is underway, and as promised, Nintendo shed some light...no, more like a heavenly beam of light,  on the topic of "how exactly will this tablet controller work with games that I want to be playing?" The company showcased a slightly redesigned controller (still a tablet with buttons), announced the inevitable return of Mario and friends, a long-awaited reunion with the fan-beloved Pikmin, and rock-solid third-party support. I'll tell ya, it is one heck of a third-party lineup. Here's some of the third-party heavy-hitters that I'm looking forward to most.

Assassin's Creed III

Assassin's Creed is back again this year, but this time returning to the team that developed Assassin's Creed 1 and 2. This is Ubisoft Montreal's largest project yet, with a development time spanning over three years. This time, the AC universe is transferring to North America during the 1700s. From the footage I saw, I'm confident that it will be a joy to play on the Wii U. This version will will put the Wii U's tablet controller to use quite well, with an enlarged radar and touch-screen weapon swapping on-the-fly.

Scribblenauts: Unlimited

Oh, Scribblenauts; the cure to my boredom. Wait, what's a "Scribblenaut" and why should you care? Well, in case you missed the first two Scribblenauts adventures on the Nintendo DS, think of it as a complete dictionary of objects that spring to life just by typing their name (obscenities aside, of course.) Is your objective up high? Simply type "JETPACK." Is a fierce dragon obstructing your path? You could always spawn a sword and fight it yourself, but why not get creative? How about you spawn a "TERRORIST" to deal massive explosive damage to it? The choice is yours in Scribblenauts, and your freedom is only expanding with the Wii U version. This time around, the player can combine objects and creatures into individual contraptions and monsters that can spawn by your command. A dog with car wheels and a punk Mohawk? Sure, why not? The choice is yours.

Batman: Arkham City - Armored Edition

WB and Rocksteady's award-winning comic book action game Arkham City is coming to the Wii U. As someone who isn't a comic book buff whatsoever, I didn't think I'd be this excited to have waited on playing it until a Nintendo console finally got its hands on the Bat arsenal. However, there's more to be had on top of the award winning title. Late adopters will receive a lot of extra Arkham City content right out of the box, and even special controls tailored to the new-fangled Wii U gamepad. This includes controlling the Batarang with its built-in motion sensor, and hacking devices with the touch screen. Heck, a Batman AC veteran will probably have some fun revisiting the game on Nintendo's new technology as well.

Dang, if Wii U is really Nintendo's way of saying "we thank you," then I hope it's enough of a "you're welcome" for me to make it a day-one purchase, because The Big N has me solidly convinced.

Stay tuned for more E3-related news, and my honest input.

DISCLAIMER: I did NOT go to E3. I simply read and watched countless other sources (including IGN, Kotaku, GameTrailers, etc) and summarized the news in my own words including my genuine, honest opinions.

E3 - New Details Emerge From Bethesda About Skyrim's New Downloadable Content, Dawnguard

Unless you've been living in the sewers with a pack of mud crabs, you've probably heard of the video game phenomenon known as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Well, fellow gamers, Elder Scrolls director Todd Howard heard that you like Skyrim, so he put more Skyrim in your Skyrim, so you can...er, never mind. The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is upon us, and as assumed by many TES fans, new details for the game's upcoming downloadable content are pouring out like the strongest waterfalls in the province of Skyrim. This new DLC is called Dawnguard, and it has much in store for high-level characters that have a thirst for more adventure.

Oblivion veterans that seek shiny new armor for their Skyrim steed will probably be disappointed. Todd Howard and his team have been pushing out some impressive DLC in Fallout 3 with depth adding up to what feels more like an expansion pack than just a weapon or a few quests. For instance, The Pitt threw players into tough moral situations involving slavery and Point Lookout was a large new landscape blanketed with intrigue and mystery. Bethesda has passion in what they do, and it's completely apparent in their acknowledgment of fan feedback and the variety in their additional content. I'll probably have to play Skyrim's latest DLC to see for myself how much this tradition holds up, but so far, color me impressed by the content I've seen on the web.

The major theme in Dawnguard is vampirism. You may choose to become a crossbow-toting vampire slayer badass, or succumb to the vampires' bidding. Siding with Fort Dawnguard's vampire hunters should certainly provide an interesting quest line, and crossbows are a much-requested welcome addition to Skyrim's arsenal. On the contrary, Bethesda has crafted more benefits for vampirism than ever before, including the ability to become a Vampire Lord, and summon a mount from a demonic plane of Oblivion (known as Soul Cairn). Vampires will also receive their own skill tree. As for the werewolves of Skyrim, you haven't been left out in the cold either, as werewolf characters will also receive some love with their own skill tree as well. Top that with additional legendary dragon encounters, and craftable dragon bone weapons and you have yourself a DLC with quite a bit of meat.

The Vampire Skill Tree from Dawnguard (Source: GameInformer)

Is your mouth watering for more Skyrim content to sink your plastic vampire teeth into? Well, the Xbox crowd won't have to wait much longer. Dawnguard releases on Xbox 360 on June 26th, and will cost 20 US dollars. It seems steep, but according to reports, the new content will clock players just around 20 hours. That's approximately a dollar per hour, so enjoying Dawnguard in the most lengthy manner will save you money from that price point per hour, technically speaking. Unfortunately, PC and PS3 users will have to hang in there a bit longer for their releases. Todd Howard and his team are so pleased with the near-finished product, that a few lucky Xbox 360 owners will have a chance to get an early taste of Dawnguard in the form of a pre-release beta version.

Stay tuned for more E3-related news, and my honest input.

DISCLAIMER: I did NOT go to E3. I simply read and watched countless other sources (including IGN, Kotaku, GameTrailers, etc) and summarized the news in my own words including my genuine, honest opinions.

E3 - Quantic Dream Reveals a Cinematic of Their Next Project; Beyond: Two Souls

Quantic Dream is no stranger to providing players with genuine emotion while journeying through dark and mature narratives in a video game. After Heavy Rain, the trend continues with Beyond: Two Souls. I am thoroughly impressed with the cinematic they revealed at this years Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Beyond: Two Souls throws you into the struggles of Jodie Holmes (voice-acted and mocapped by Ellen Paige). According to the cinematic revealed at E3, she appears to possess supernatural powers from an invisible entity (in case the coffee cup flying towards the wall didn't have you guessing). The game's director, David Cage, stated that certain gameplay sequences will leave it up to the player as to how such powers are utilized. The last seconds of the cinematic depict a good handful of explosions and SWAT vehicles toppling in every which direction. This is probably a hint at our protagonist's more violent decisions involving her alien abilities. The story transpires over the course of fifteen years, and the player will witness how Jolie develops as a character over that time. It's more than safe to assume that your own player choices will reflect on future events. No matter what happens, I'm counting on Quantic to render these choices to be very difficult like always. And I mean difficult. More difficult than choosing between Squirtle, Charmander, or Bulbasaur in Pokemon Red back in the 1990s (don't hate; it ain't an easy-mode decision for a 90's kid such as myself.)

Pokemon aside, David Cage confirmed a significant increase in the frequency of action this time around (over Heavy Rain) in an interview with GameTrailers. Fortunately for fans of his previous works, Cage will work tirelessly to provide natural-feeling life and emotion into the characters and overall narrative. He could have easily began toiling away at a Heavy Rain sequel or two, but that's not him and Quantic Dream's philosophy. Quantic prefers to take risks as opposed to milking the cash cow with sequel after sequel of a past success (as stated to IGN in an interview before this year's E3).

My Thoughts
When working at Quantic Dream, David Cage has always been known for creating video games that make you feel. This isn't limited to adrenaline from a suspenseful shootout or brutal fistfight, but sadness, relief and overall empathy for what the characters endure. He has stated in interviews that there are way too many games that rely on excessive meaningless violence to bring pleasure (and of course money) out of the player. He is the man who inspired me to drop the controller while playing Call of Duty: Black Ops or Bulletstorm and ask myself “why am I doing this? Is there a reason why I'm putting holes in people, other than the fact that they are shooting at me? Maybe they have their motivations of why they joined the 'evil' side.” Both Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy blew me away and I expect nothing less from Quantic Dream's latest endeavor.

DISCLAIMER: I did NOT go to E3. I simply read and watched countless other sources including (IGN, Kotaku, and GameTrailers) and summarized the news in my own words including my genuine, honest opinions.

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D Review

This review came from an old dead Tumblog of mine, before I switched to Blogger.

1998’s Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was a landmark accomplishment in video game history, and is still, by some, crowned as the greatest game ever made. As gamers, we know that the greatest titles of this current generation get a repackaging, celebrating its technological accomplishment, like Valve’s Orange Box, or the Oblivion Game of the Year Edition. With that in mind, a remake of Ocarina should come as no surprise. It’s been more than a decade since the original masterpiece hit the Nintendo 64. Nintendo and Grezzo have adopted the classic, making several small tweaks to the gameplay, while entirely renovating the graphics and topping it with a glasses-free stereoscopic effect. Both companies hope to create an experience that attracts newcomers and preserving the nostalgic factor for veteran Zelda fans. How well does it translate to a handheld?

Ocarina of Time is a touching story of friendship, perseverance, courage, and greed. Our hero Link must plunder ancient temples, scale mountains, and even shift through time itself to thwart the evil Ganondorf from conquering the land of Hyrule. You’ll meet a cast of friendly townsfolk, bizarre creatures, and even complete lunatics during your perilous journey. The story as a whole has more predictable pieces, especially towards the conclusion, but it’s a tale that’s not to be missed. It’s sweet, bitter, and satisfying from beginning to finish, as any fantasy narrative should be.

Our wonderful story is drawn vividly with colorful new visuals and redone models that look true to the gorgeous original concept at back from 1998, which couldn’t quite replicate on the Nintendo 64. They could have done a lot more with the detail of the graphics for the new technology, but for nostalgia’s sake they didn’t go down that road. Additionally, the slightly-tweaked animations are for the better, and the 3D effect renders OOT3D exponentially more engrossing than the original. There are a few notable framerate hiccups and instances where Link animates funny, and also, I wouldn’t have minded waiting a few more months for a new orchestrated soundtrack. However, none of this will detract from your enjoyment of the game for new and veteran Zelda enthusiasts.

Speaking of enjoyment, I had lots of it when playing OOT on my shiny, yet smudgy 3DS. The controls differ greatly from the N64, but don’t fret; it only takes a little bit of adjustment from the seamless controller interface and it’ll play even more smoothly than what you were used to. Remember having to pause the game, waiting for the inventory screen to load, selecting the iron boots, then resuming the game, just to sink and be able to walk on a surface underwater? That won’t bother you anymore. The new interface reserves these actions to the X and Y buttons and the touch screen, so all you need to do is press a button or tap the screen to use iron boots, quest items, and weapons like the slingshot or bow. With projectiles comes the all-new, but optional motion controls, where you move your 3DS around to look in first-person, as if to aim at something. I didn’t think I’d need this feature but after spending just a few minutes with it, I wondered how I lived without it.

As a bonus, Grezzo implemented a Boss Rush mode, allowing you relive any boss battle for the best completion time. You can face any individual boss that you’ve defeated once before, or take on all of them one-by-one in the Gauntlet mode Once your quest is completed, you unlock the Master Quest option that features trickier enemies, mirrors the world from right to left, and makes the dungeons require a lot more critical thinking than your first playthrough.

In conclusion, Ocarina of Time 3D is a must-buy for any 3DS owner, and I probably won’t go back to the original any time soon. It’s the best 3DS game out there so far, but there’s a lot more 3DS titles to come later this year and early 2012 that will blow this game out of the water.

STORY: 10/10 | PRESENTATION: 9.4/10 | GAMEPLAY: 10/10 | LONGEVITY: 9.5

VERDICT: 9.7

Skyrim Wallpapers from Screenshots that I Took myself

These are taken in 1600x900 resolution. I will upload in more resolutions (and quite possibly more wallpapers) later on.

Click here to download a .rar of everything.

 Whiterun After Several Mods
800x600
1024x768
1280x800
1280x1024
1600 x 900
1600x1200
1440x900
1680x1050
1920x1200

 Succubus in Whiterun
1600 x 900
MORE COMING SOON

Sitting in the Jarl's Throne
1600 x 900

 Beautiful Night In Windhelm
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Night Landscape
1600 x 900

WEEKLY DIGITAL SALE ALERT 5/25 - Save 50% on Tera, Spend Memorial Day in the Cloud, and a Free Weekend of Red Orchestra 2

Hello, readers! Awesome savings on great games seldom require a lengthy introduction, so I'll cut to the chase! This week's deals are not to be missed!

Metro 2033 - $5 (Original Price: $20)

OnLive

Steam (DAILY DEAL FOR MAY 24 ONLY)

Amazon

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad Free Weekend on Steam

TERA - $25 (Original Price: $50) SATURDAY, MAY 26th ONLY

Regular Edition

Collector's Edition

Civilization V - $7.50 (Original Price: $30)

Steam (also a free weekend!)

 $12.50

 Amazon

 Gamestop

 Get Games Go

OnLive's Memorial Day Sale

Amazon's Game Downloads Mayhem Sale (until May 29th)

Stay tuned next week for more great deals! Also, share Gamer's Respite with your friends!