How to Take Screenshots Using Steam

Taking screenshots of some of the more hilarious or memorable moments in a video game is something PC gamers have been able to do for the longest time by pressing Print Screen (or PrintScr, on some keyboards) while playing, then exiting the game and pasting the image in a program like MS-Paint. It's a needlessly cumbersome process though, and with most games using Steam nowadays, it's easier to do so and doesn't require you to exit the game. Here's how.

1. Open Steam and login.

2. In Settings, go to the In-Game tab.

3. View or configure the key used by clicking on Screenshot shortcut keys and then pressing the key you want to use. You should ideally use a key that typically won't get used in the game.

4. Click on Screenshot folder and set a folder for your screenshots.

5. You can also modify what happens when a screenshot is taken by ticking or unticking boxes to Display a notification, Play a sound, or Save an uncompressed copy. The last option is useful if you want to show off every possible detail in a game at the cost of a bigger file per screenshot.

6. When you're fine with these settings, right click the game in which you want to take screenshots for, and click on Properties.

7. Tick the box labelled Enable the Steam Overlay while in-game.

That's all there is to it. You can now start the game, and then simply press the button you've configured to take screenshots. You can then check them out in the folder you've allocated for them to share when you're done
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The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Review - Game of Thrones Meets Skyrim

The Witcher 3 is a role-playing adventure game that puts you in the role of well, a witcher - a monster hunter - named Geralt. Once you delve past the initial exposition of The Witcher 3 - which has you searching for your surrogate daughter, Ciri - you'll soon realise that developer CD Projekt RED has gifted you a gorgeous, sprawling world to explore.

As we mentioned earlier, the world of The Witcher 3 is brilliantly realised. It's as if the gritty, dark world of Game of Thrones met the open world sensibilities of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, matched with the abundance of choice from BioWare's Dragon Age series.

(Also see:The Witcher 3 on PC and PS4 - Everything You Need To Know)

From slaying fantastic beasts such as werewolves and griffins, to simply dragging a goat - yes a goat, no, not a demon goat, or a were-goat, or a ghost goat, just a regular goat - back to its owner, to tracking down buried treasure, The Witcher 3's quests are medley of varied scenarios, that make the game a treat to play. Even though we've played it for over 200 hours now, we're still not done with this game.

Part of the appeal lies in the way The Witcher 3 handles choice. Different games handle this in different ways - Mass Effect games broke things down into binary good and evil choices, while Metro 2033 would give you a host of choices (most of which you'd be unaware of till you reach the end) with nearly random results. Choices in The Witcher 3 are usually not good and evil, but more about picking from different shades of grey - and the game has a knack for surprising you every step of the way.

Sometimes the choice can be to spare a demon, or reform a thief, or help a warlord to reunite with his family. Each and every choice you make has an impact, but not all their effects are seen immediately. Instead, the repercussions of your decisions can make their presence felt a good 100 hours into the game, making multiple playthroughs necessary to experience the game to its fullest.

But all this would be for naught if the game was a barren, lifeless husk. Much like last year's Assassin's Creed Unity, The Witcher 3 also treats us to a spectacle of a game world. The low fantasy environs of The Witcher 3 are teeming with life.

(Also see:He's Like a Monster Hunter in the Wild West - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Creators Speak)

From desolate forests replete with wild dogs and gargantuan arachnids, to large town bazaars bubbling with merchants, preachers, and rogues, each section of The Witcher 3 is gorgeously detailed. The different areas feel unique, something that other open-world games often fail to deliver.

This attention to detail extends to the game's combat as well, if you're up for it. As a witcher you have two swords, one that is used for ordinary human enemies, and the other which can kill monsters. You can get by most fights by simply spamming sword hits and using the occasional magic spell - or signs, as the game calls magic.

But as the difficulty increases, you'll learn to prepare for battle by applying oils to your swords, which add damage bonuses against specific types of enemies, and by consuming the right potions to enhance your health and attack power. Most of all, you need to know the lore of the game, to understand your opponent's weaknesses, which you can learn by studying the in-game bestiary.

This is further compounded by a host of bombs, armour, and weapons you can craft, all with their own special properties. While newcomers to role-playing game might find all of this daunting, old-timers will be right at home.

One of The Witcher 3's more low-key but important additions is how it recaps the game's recent major events every time you load a save file. Along with this, smart quest design ensures you're never quite far from the main storyline, prompting and easing you into missions related without being grating. These are welcome features considering that The Witcher 3 is probably the biggest game you'll play this year, as our 200 hour playtime will attest. With so much to do these cues are necessary to keep track of its narrative.

And on that note, CD Projekt RED manages to weave a tale that's nuanced, replete with characters both new and old, and featuring a mix of fantasy tropes about empires at war and ancient prophecies. Coupled with some memorable dialogues, it never drops a beat and is a triumph in story-telling that has you emotionally invested.

Where The Witcher 3 really shines though, is how it respects your time. Over the years we've seen too many games stuffed with boring, filler tasks that exist to pad out the amount of time you've spent playing. There's none of that here. Each and every moment feels like time well-spent, unlike Dragon Age: Inquisition, a game where a large chunk of the quests amounted to filling up a checklist instead of allowing you to progress through the plot or explore the world.

With an abundance of things to do, great combat, engrossing narrative, and a fantastic world to discover, The Witcher 3 is the video game equivalent to an all-you-can-eat buffet. It's seemingly never-ending and always appetising - without the nasty side-effects that come with overeating. Quite possibly the best game we've played this year and the benchmark for everything else that follows.

Pros

• Gorgeous environments
• Respects your time
• Smart writing
• Intricate quest design

Cons

• None

Rating (out of 10): 10

We played a review copy of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on the PC and PS4. It retails on the PC at Rs. 1,499. The PS4 and Xbox One versions retail at Rs. 3,499
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Assassin's Creed Unity Review: An Almost Perfect Past

You know the French Revolution had a profound impact when every history textbook makes it a staple feature. Though history was never our strong suit, we do recall the French being on the cutting edge of technology, what with their clean, efficient guillotine killings.

One of history's bloodiest chapters makes for a more than interesting setting for Assassin's Creed Unity, the latest entry in Ubisoft's historical action-adventure open world video game series, minus, thankfully the painfully bad puns. Read on to find out how.

Viva la revolution
Assassin's Creed Unity has you in the role of an assassin, Arno Dorian as you parkour, slide, and skulk across France. Along the way you'll meet a host of intriguing characters (both historical and fictional) and of course, end the lives of many foes in the most gruesome fashion. All the while, you get to take in the sights and sounds of a country in the throes of anarchy. 

And what a sight it is. Whether you're walking through a Parisian street or free-running on the rooftops of Versailles, Unity's world is immersive. Unlike other open world affairs such as Infamous: Second Son, it doesn't feel like a ghost town. Assassin's Creed Unity is teeming with life with realistic crowds that take on a life of their own. A heady mix of angry peasants, snooty bourgeois, and antsy guards all come together in a fashion that convincingly portrays an atmosphere of revolt and protest. It's almost palpable. This attention to detail makes the game's atmosphere and world its greatest strengths.

Aside from making Unity captivating, social stealth is a viable option, allowing you to slip into crowds unnoticed. You could do it in earlier games as well but the sheer number of people on screen make it all the more easier. It also opens up more options in terms of traversal. Can't shake off annoying guards? Simply slip into a building. Almost every structure can be entered, allowing you to a greater sense of flexibility in approaching a mission.

Mission possible
In Assassin's Creed Unity's single-player campaign that lasts around 20 hours or so, you'll traipse around cathedrals, lurk through Parisian sewers, sneak across graveyards and infiltrate palaces. The missions themselves are varied. They range from the usual tailing and eavesdropping of targets to solving murders. Coupled with a well paced plot and you have very little reason to put the controller down.

However new locales, an assortment of missions, and slick presentation alone don't make Unity a joy to play. The controls appear to have undergone a series of subtle enhancements, the biggest of which is - finally - the ability to crouch. It took Ubisoft just eight mainline entries in the series and almost double the number of spin-offs to make it possible. 

Having said that, it's a welcome addition in keeping yourself out of sight from the game's many enemies. Do snipers on the terrace have a bead on you? Simply crouch behind barrels instead of running like away like you would in previous entries in the series. Old timers would find it easy to use and especially useful in constrained quarters.

Also new is the last known position system, borrowed from the Splinter Cell series - a silhouette of Arno indicates the last position you were seen at by enemies, the one they'll converge on in an attempt to find you.

Mortal combat
Combat has also been rehauled. For one, it isn't as easy as the earlier games. You can no longer simply unleash hell on a squad of soldiers in your way and hope to get away with it. Anything but. At the most, tackling two or three of enemies at once is possible. Anything more becomes a nightmare. 

This is because the AI is aware of its numerical strength and uses it against you. Rather than have foes attacking you one at a time, they use their numbers and even distance to an advantage. So a group of four soldiers would probably have one or two at a distance using pistols or rifles, while the remainder would come up close with swords or pikes.

Furthermore, combat feels a lot more agile that what we're used to. This is in no small part thanks to smoother animations and swordplay that's responsive. Gone is the series' staple counter kill. In its place is a parry system that borrows from Japanese hack-and-slash masterpieces such as Bayonetta. If you manage to parry an enemy strike at the very last moment you can turn it into a counter-attack. All of this results in combat that rewards skill rather than button mashing.

Compared to earlier games in the series, the changes to combat allow players to explore the game's stealthier options, making it the preferred way to play in our opinion, though your mileage may vary. 

Freedom of progression

Instead of holding your hand and guiding you to a target, you can execute your target in a multitude of ways. From creating diversions such as leading a revolt of beggars, to disguising yourself as a henchman, to entering restricted areas undetected, the choices are aplenty. It's this sense of freedom and emergent gameplay that makes Unity a welcome change from earlier games in the series.

Thankfully absent are the series' many instant-fail scenarios. If you fail objectives such as tailing a target within a time limit, you aren't forced to try your hand at it again. In its stead the objective evolves, so you'll now have to chase down your target. Even if your target dies, you can still progress to the next mission except it would be tougher. This adaptive design sensibility makes for a game that's more fun compared to its predecessors, which often left us wanting to break our head against the wall.

The good, the bad, and the glitchy
In the run up to the game's release much had been said about its technical prowess or lack thereof. From a visual standpoint, Unity is a treat to play. Yes, this extends to the Xbox One version that we've played. It looks rather good. Nonetheless it is plagued by a few issues.

Run down the streets of Paris and you'll see some buildings and parts of the crowd popping up at the very last moment. Similarly, climbing some of the game's grander structures results in a very visible frame drop.

Luckily, these are few and far between. For most part, Unity looks and plays the part of a grand, open world adventure with aplomb.

Verdict
For a series that's tackled colonial America, the high seas, and the Italian renaissance, Assassin's Creed Unity manages to keep it fresh. It has enough going for it to make it worth a purchase for the discerning gamer who may or may not still be suffering from the trauma of rote learning every detail of the French Revolution for academic purposes. Well worth the price of admission, and then some.

Price: Rs. 1,799 on PC, Rs. 3,499 on PS4 and Xbox One

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Wolfenstein: The Old Blood Review - Old School Is Still Cool

Last year's Wolfenstein: The New Order was a revelation of sorts. Developed by Sweden-based MachineGames, it was a meaty, well-paced first-person shooter complete with all the classic tropes that harked back to the early days of the genre, such as health packs and secret areas. At the same time, The New Order was refined for the modern era, with an intriguing plot, dollops of atmosphere, and nuanced character development. The game was good enough to make our top picks of 2014.

It's been almost a year since we played The New Order, and now we have Wolfenstein: The Old Blood. It is a prequel to The New Order, and again features the killer of Nazis and occult monsters, William "B.J." Blazkowicz. Although the Old Blood is an expansion pack to The New Order, it's a standalone game and works even if you don't have the base game.

Also, even if you haven't played a single Wolfenstein game, The Old Blood remains fairly accessible, since it's a prequel, you don't have to worry about lore from the previous entries in the series. The proceedings of Old Blood take place towards the end of World War II, before the rather dystopian events of The New Order. As Blazkowicz, you'll run and gun your way through Nazi Germany.

The game is broken into two parts. The first part has you infiltrating Castle Wolfenstein, trying to find the location of the villain of The New Order, General Deathshead. The second part takes you to the city of Wolfsburg, to prevent an ancient evil from reawakening. As is expected, you'll skulk around villages and square-off against giant mutated super soldiers.

Anyone familiar with The New Order will find themselves right at home with the gameplay of The Old Blood. You can dual-wield weapons, use cover, and of course kill a seemingly infinite number of Nazi enemies along the way.

The gunplay is solid, much as it was in The New Order. Every weapon is a treat to use. Firing a pistol, rocket launcher or simply hitting a Nazi with a metal pipe is visceral, satisfying affair. The metal pipe is one of the few new weapons added to the game, and aside from cracking skulls, it an also be used to climb walls. Other new instruments of death include a bolt-action rifle, the 1946 shotgun, and a grenade-launching pistol (or Kampfpistole as its referred to in-game).

The game also has its fair share of stealth segments, requiring you to sneak past your foes instead of shooting them to pieces. Much like The New Order, these don't detract from the fun; they work quite well with the game's many bustling set-pieces of wanton violence. This is further aided by larger levels. Unlike The New Order, The Old Blood is on the PC, PlayStation 4 (PS4), and Xbox One only.

With no PS3 or Xbox 360 to worry about, MachineGames has gone with bigger maps, making enemy encounters a lot more interesting and giving you more place to explore. With fantastic gunplay and sprawling environments, The Old Blood builds on what The New Order delivered in last year's game. But it isn't without issues.

Some of these grouses include the narrative, which isn't as deftly managed as it was in The New Order. The development of characters and their motivations - one of the much lauded facets of The New Order - doesn't make its presence felt here. Given that The Old Blood has been in development for just about a year, and the core gameplay is this good, it feels forgivable, but it's definitely a missed opportunity.

There are some small concerns with the gameplay too, at least on the console versions. It's tougher to spot enemies at a distance, particularly when you're shooting. The game appears to reduce image quality in an attempt to emulate gun recoil, which makes taking enemies out from a distance harder than it should be.

Despite these niggles, we still appreciated The Old Blood for its great sense of pacing, and excellent gunplay, which remained fresh and exciting across the seven hour campaign - particularly when you consider the competitive pricing. This could be the first Wolfenstein game in a while for many in India, because it retails at very reasonable Rs. 1,499 across all platforms, a bargain compared to The New Order.

If you're a fan of first-person shooters, or want to experience a throwback to the glory days of the genre but with modern production values, then you can't go wrong with Wolfenstein: The Old Blood. It's an enjoyable romp that promises explosions, expendable Nazis, and gunfights galore. And isn't this that all we want from our video games?

We played a review copy of Wolfenstein: The Old Blood on the PlayStation 4. It retails for Rs.1,499 in stores and digitally

Pros

• Sprawling environments

• Seamless transition between stealth and gunplay

• Action-packed set pieces

• Great pacing

Cons

• Low on plot

• Minor technical issues

Rating (out of 10): 8

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Mortal Kombat X Review: Microtransactions Ruin an Otherwise Flawless Victory

Mortal Kombat is a series that needs no introduction. It's been around since the early 90s as a competitor to the incredibly popular Street Fighter games, except gorier and much more bizarre. Quirkily designed characters, over the top storytelling, and gruesome finishing moves known as fatalities - all of the franchise's trademark pillars - make a return in Mortal Kombat X. It's the tenth instalment of the series and it's on PlayStation 4 (PS4), PC, and Xbox One.

The game is running on a modified version of the Unreal Engine 3 - the same technology that powered many last-generation console and PC games - but despite the old engine, Mortal Kombat X looks fantastic. Developer NetherRealm Studios appears to have eked out every last bit possible from Unreal Engine 3 to realise its vision of a strange world teeming with possibilities. From the many withering corpses to small details like spikes of ice, Mortal Kombat X is gorgeous game, especially in motion.

Speaking of motion, the pace of combat is a little more deliberate than earlier games in the series. It feels outright slow if you've been playing speedy fighting games like Marvel Vs. Capcom or BlazBlue. But it never ends up being so sedate that it feels like a PowerPoint presentation, instead of relying on the rapid reflexes needed from other games, Mortal Kombat X comes with a bit of a learning curve.

On the other hand, if you played 2011's Mortal Kombat, or Injustice: Gods Among Us, you'll feel right at home. No surprise since they're both developed by NetherRealm Studios. Novices shouldn't have much of a problem thanks to exhaustive practise modes that go a long way in turning you into a seasoned warrior. Soon you'll get into the comfortable groove of launching ice balls as Sub-Zero or summoning lightening as Raiden. Making a comeback are X-Rays, bone-crushing supermoves that decimate your opponent.

As you play, the more damage you take or special moves you make increases what the game calls a super meter. When it's full you can tap the triggers on your controller to unleash a devastating array of attacks that has game entering slow motion and showing which parts of your foe's anatomy is getting maimed, pulled out, or crushed.

Of course, you need to meet certain pre-requisites before dishing these uber powerful attacks such as how far you are from your target. And the other player can cancel out your X-ray move, with the right timing, making it not as overpowering as it may seem.

Perhaps the biggest change this time around is that each character has three variants you choose from, each with subtle differences. Take Sub-Zero for example - choose his Cryomancer variant, and he can summon weapons in battle. Choosing the Grandmaster variant allows him to create a clone of ice while selecting the Unbreakable variant gives him more defensive moves such as creating a barrier of frost.

Old timers might find it slightly infuriating. Reason being certain moves you'd combine together from previous games are now tied to a different version of the character you're using, forcing you to come up with new attack strategies. It's an intriguing addition to the proceedings that levels the playing field between players regardless of skill. At its core, Mortal Kombat X is perhaps one of the more balanced entries in the series, there's no particularly bad character to choose, and no single one is unfairly overpowered, as they were in previous games from NetherRealm Studios such as 2011's Mortal Kombat and Injustice: Gods Among Us.

On the topic of skill, the game's single-player mode lets you skip fights if you so desire. Much like its predecessor, Mortal Kombat X takes you through a slick story that has you in the role of different characters. This time around it spans across multiple generations, putting you in the shoes of series staples like Johnny Cage and, later, newer characters like, his daughter Cassie.

It's a tale replete with quick time events and cut-scenes that do a great job of helping you make sense of the weird, unusual world of Mortal Kombat. Don't expect it to last too long. We clocked in about five hours to complete it on normal difficulty.

Once you're done with Mortal Kombat X's story, there's a host of modes to partake in, both online and offline. The Krypt lets you explore gloomy environs in first person, unlocking a ton of artwork and moves for the price of in-game currency earned from each match you play. Living Towers let you partake in combat with certain modifiers such as acid rain falling from the sky in each level.

Depending on your tower of choice (quick, daily or premier) these have different difficulty levels and rewards, allowing you to keep playing Mortal Kombat X in a sort of endless mode if you're the sort who is not interested in competitive online play. Keep in mind, you'll need to be online to access this mode.

While we're on the topic of competitive play, versus mode is back with both online and offline options. While the latter is rather straightforward, letting you duke it out with a friend in the same room as long as you have a second controller, things get a little more complicated online.

Unlike Halo: The Master Chief Collection that had us waiting forever to find a match, connecting an opponent in Mortal Kombat X is quick. The match itself, is a bit of a concern. We noticed a slight delay between button presses and the resulting action on screen. Though matches did not have any perceptible, visible lag or frame rate issues, this pause between inputting a combo and seeing it on screen made for a jarring experience, especially when compared to how flawlessly it works offline.

This is something we faced only on the PS4 across a variety of speeds ranging from 1Mbps to 50Mbps and a host of regions including India, Europe, and the US. Firing up an online match on the Xbox One was a different experience. We were treated to matches that were as good as what they should be offline, making the choice between Xbox One and PS4 for online play, in our eyes, an easy decision.

What of the PC version of Mortal Kombat X? We would strongly suggest against it for a variety of reasons. Given the Internet constraints faced in this country, the physical edition on PC comes with a mere 300MB of data, forcing you to download the rest of the game that's around 20GB. Furthermore, this exhaustive post on Reddit breaks down what is still missing from the PC version despite several patches.

In terms of graphics, you'd be hard-pressed to find the difference between the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game. In the end, your choice comes down to your controller preference and if you're playing online or not.

Regardless of your platform of choice, you'll be treated to a ridiculous purchase option of Goro, a character from the series within the character select menu. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, you can buy Krypt items and purchase a season pass too. Find it too hard to pull off fatalities - signature finishing moves in a match? You can buy your way to making those a cinch as well.

Oh and if you've downloaded the mobile game on iOS or Android, you're treated to Rs. 20,000 worth of in-app purchases, some of which let you obtain rewards within the console and PC versions as well. While its no secret that AAA game development is expensive, its tragic to see publisher Warner Bros to resort to such tactics that do shake off the feeling of being nickel-and-dimed.

All in all though, Mortal Kombat X is a solid entry in the series. Some decisions relating to microtransactions and network code for online play mar the experience, but there's very little else that comes in the way of this being one of the better fighting games available for fans and newbies alike.

We played review copies of Mortal Kombat X on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It's available on both platform at an identical Rs. 3,499 and Rs. 999 for PC.

Pros

• Looks good
• Balanced combat
• Gory presentation
• Fun story mode

Cons

• Microtransactions are a bit much
• Poor netcode on the PS4 version

Rating (out of 10): 8

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Sony PlayStation TV Review: Dubious Things in Small Packages

Microconsoles are an interesting lot. They aren't meant to replace your traditional, high-end consoles like the PlayStation 4 (PS4) and Xbox One; they're designed more to give you a taste of big-screen gaming at a relatively low price.

While devices in this category have existed since 2009, what with the ill-fated 3G-enabled Zeebo, competition in the category only heated up in 2012. That's when the Ouya, a microconsole powered by Android, entered mainstream consciousness thanks to a surprisingly well-received Kickstarter campaign.

It's reached a point where Sony has decided to enter the fray with its PlayStation TV. Dubbed 'PlayStation Vita TV' in Japan and parts of Asia when it released in late 2013, the company felt it wise to rechristen it to PlayStation TV (PSTV) -- wisely so, given that the Vita hasn't exactly been Sony's most popular console.

Fast forward to February 2015 and the firm has deemed it fit to release the PlayStation TV in India. Is it everything it should be? Read on to find out.

Putting the micro in microconsole

The first thing that hit us was how small the PSTV is. It fits in the palm of your hand and can easily be stowed away in the back pocket of a pair of jeans. In fact, it is dwarfed by most modern-day Android smartphones. Weighing 110 grams and with dimensions of 65x105x13.6mm, its relative tininess is a welcome attribute.

Granted, devices like the Ouya sport a cube-like shape that gives an illusion of portability, but the PSTV's slick design walks the talk. Thanks to its low rectangular profile and low weight, it's more appealing than it should be, to the point that it makes living room boxes like the Apple TV seem chunky in comparison.

Gorgeous industrial design aside, Sony has managed to cram in ports for USB, Ethernet and HDMI, a slot for proprietary Vita memory cards, and a button to power it on or off. There are the obligatory connectivity options in terms of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, the latter of which lets you connect up to four Bluetooth devices such as headsets, controllers and speakers, at one time.

Misadventures in UI

Powering up the PSTV is easy enough. Simply plug the bundled adapter and HDMI cable into the device and your TV. You'll be prompted to connect the included controller via USB, and then you're good to go.

What hits you next is a user interface (UI) that's taken from Sony's latest handheld, the PlayStation Vita. Don't expect to see the familiar XrossMediaBar from the PlayStation 3 (PS3) or the PS4's no-frills UI.

Instead you're treated to a barrage of bubbles for icons, and solid menu backgrounds that would be more at home on a handheld than a TV screen. Navigating the PSTV's menus feel like the antithesis of its slick hardware. In a word: clunky.

While the Vita's UI was built keeping a touchscreen and thumbs in mind, the PSTV is controlled via a PS3 or PS4 controller. This makes the entire experience unpleasant - even more so when deleting an item from the menu, which leaves an odd blank space that looks bigger on a TV than it would on a Vita. The user interface and experience are usually talking points for consumer electronics nowadays, but that conversation seems like a non-starter here.

Three consoles in one

While the UI might be a missed opportunity, the collection of games available is exactly the opposite of that. The PSTV can play Vita games, PlayStation One (PS1) games, and PlayStation Portable (PSP) games.

It might not have any exclusive content for you to peruse, what with being launched as the Vita TV in certain markets, but the wealth of games on offer is staggering. Between the Vita, PSP, and PS1 catalogues, there are over 500 games to play on the PSTV. Furthermore, if you use a Vita, you can simply plug an existing memory card in and play your games without any fuss. It's seamless and works well, letting you continue where you left off on a bigger screen.

We fired up Killzone: Mercenary, a first-person shooter for the Vita that's playable on the PSTV. It has been updated to support the microconsole, and it looked fantastic. It scales well on a TV, looking as close to next-gen gaming as is possible with a box this small. Crucial details such as on-screen button prompts used the right controller input labels instead of their original Vita equivalents.

However your mileage may vary. Other Vita titles such as FIFA and Persona 4 Golden looked a little fuzzy compared to their small-screen versions. This is because the Vita's native 960x544 resolution for games is upscaled by the PSTV to meet the demands of modern televisions, leading to most menus and games having a distinctly sub-HD look. If you think you can get PS4 or Xbox One level graphics, it would be wise to temper your expectations now.

Oddly enough, Vita heavy-hitters such as Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Wipeout 2048 aren't supported at all -- perplexing, given that they're first-party exclusives that would showcase the graphical prowess of Sony's hardware wonderfully. Before taking the plunge, you might want to take a look at this comprehensive list of games supportedby the PSTV across the Vita, PSP and PS1 formats.

On the topic of the PSP and PS1, we checked out a few titles including MediEvil Resurrection (PSP) and Final Fantasy VII (PS1). They looked a little worse for wear, with too much blurriness -- but that's to be expected given that they're old games.

Streaming sadness

A big draw of the PSTV is its streaming prowess, but most of that functionality is gimped in India. It isn't possible to watch TV shows via Crackle and Crunchyroll or stream PS3 games via PlayStation Now, the company's foray into game streaming. For India, the console's streaming chops are limited to beaming your games from a PS4 via RemotePlay.

What this means is that if your PS4 is connected to a TV that's being used for anything other than video games, you can stream the console's output to the PSTV and play on another TV. It supports the same games for streaming that the Vita does.

In theory it sounds like a great idea, negating the need for a second console. In practice, however, it rarely works as smoothly as it should if you're on Wi-Fi. There's a ton of image quality degradation and a whole lot of lag. This was on a 50Mbps line with only a OnePlus One and an iPad connected via Wi-Fi, and a PS4 on a wired connection with no background downloads at the time of testing.

Switching to a wired connection negated most of these concerns, making for a smooth experience. If you're a PS4 owner thinking about getting a PSTV primarily for streaming, you'll want to invest in hard-wiring your Internet connectivity first.

Verdict

At Rs. 9,990 with four games, a PS3 controller and an 8GB memory card, the PSTV might seem like a decent deal. Nevertheless, when you consider that 8GB memory cards barely hold 4 PS Vita games and cost in excess of Rs. 2000 each, the value proposition doesn't look as pretty.

Vita memory cards themselves are in short supply. Officially, the highest capacity you can get is 16GB, and it's next to impossible to find. A grey market 64GB card will set you back around Rs. 5,000. This seems like a lot of money to have to put down before even paying for a game download.

Pricing it below Rs. 10,000 appears to have been a move to position the PSTV as a PS2 replacement, allowing the company to keep selling the 12GB PS3 at Rs. 16,990 and the 500GB variant at Rs. 22,990. However, if you take into account the PS3's back catalogue of games, which are easily available in local retail starting at Rs. 599, the costs of the 12GB PS3 and PSTV more or less even out in the long term.

The PSTV could have been Sony's gateway drug for gamers looking to graduate to something a little more complex than mobile games. Instead, we get a great-looking box that appeals only to a very specific set of people.

Pros

• Fantastic industrial design
• Wealth of games to be played
• Lowest priced Sony console 

Cons

• Streaming via Wi-Fi is problematic
• Most games look fuzzy due to upscaling
• Vita game pricing and memory is expensive
• Poor UI

Rating (out of 5): 3

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ScreamRide Review: Bring the Amusement Park Home

Here's something you may not have known: prior to returning to its roots making space simulation games with the critically acclaimed Elite: Dangerous, UK-based Frontier Developments was responsible for a host of amusement park management games such as the RollerCoaster Tycoon and the Thrillville series. And while Elite: Dangerous is the company's biggest draw what with an impending Xbox One release, if ScreamRide is any indication, Frontier Developments has not forgotten its expertise in letting you make roller coasters and tear them down.

Created to bolster the Xbox One's waning indie catalogue, ScreamRide lets you engineer devious roller coasters, ride them, and, well, turn them into rubble. Unlike the RollerCoaster Tycoon series, there's absolutely no management of anything whatsoever. It could be best described as a four-in-one set of puzzles to play.

All of these sections are presented in a barebones manner, with the game simply showing you these options. There's very little to no exposition or a grand narrative to tie it all together aside from the fact you are at a roller coaster testing facility. You're guided by an AI voice not too dissimilar to Portal's GLaDOS complete with deadpan humour. With a wealth of puzzles to partake in, the lack of story is welcome, allowing you to focus on the tasks at hand.

And focus you will, riding roller coasters in the game's ScreamRider mode is a blast. You control a roller coaster car barreling down the rails avoiding obstacles along the way and activating bursts of speed while turning in a fashion that doesn't derail your passengers. Before you know it, tracks become death traps if your reflexes aren't up to it. Even then it's fun to see you passengers flail about as they get dislodged from their seats. Throw in responsive controls as well as the highly addictive nature of each ride, and you have what should be the standout mode in ScreamRide.

But it isn't. While the ScreamRider mode is a blast to play, it pales in comparison to the game's Demolition Expert mode. Here you destroy structures to make way for amusement parks. Tapping a button flings balls laden with passengers towards these structures and you can use the triggers to control spin. It's quite similar to a game of bowling or Angry Birds if you will, except the devastation on screen is multiplied tenfold as if it were directed by Michael Bay. Hit the right sections and buildings topple over like dominos; it's visceral, fun, and fantastic to watch. Plus it gets better as you progress, unlocking explosives along the way making destruction all the more delightful.

On the other extreme is the game's Engineer mode. Here you build roller coasters with the emphasis on giving their riders the most thrills. From adding steep drops and turns to figuring out the optimum location for adding a loop or two, it's perhaps the most cerebrally taxing section of the game and the least visually appealing. Coupled with the fact that the tutorial for this section isn't as robust as it is for the others and camera angles that deter rather than aid progress, the Engineer mode seem like an afterthought compared to the superbly executed Demolition Expert and ScreamRide modes.

Finally, Sandbox mode has you making and sharing complete levels of roller coaster riding bliss. The tools at your disposal allow you to recreate the entire game should you choose. Having said that, it might be a tad complex without exposure to the other modes. That's because if you've played the other modes, you are more likely to have unlocked components that make Sandbox mode a whole lot easier.

You can also download and play a host of hilarious levels made by the community such as one that lets you demolish a PlayStation 4. The ability to make, share and play user-created levels will have you playing ScreamRide longer than you should. It more than makes up for the absence of any real-time multiplayer mode. The game only has leaderboards that let you compare your performance with friends'.

With a host of game modes, some of which are more addictive than others and slick controls for most part, ScreamRide is a fun bundle of gaming goodness. Until the bigger games hit the Xbox One, rest assured this is more than enough to keep you suitably entertained.

We played a review code of ScreamRide on the Xbox One. The game is available digitally via the Xbox Store for the Xbox One and Xbox 360 for Rs. 2,930.

Pros

• Fantastic Demolition mode
• Seemingly infinite replay value
• Solid physics 

Cons

• Engineering mode poorly explained
• Camera unintuitive in a few places

Rating (out of 10): 8

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