Sony's PS4 virtual reality headset to be announced in March

Sony developing Virtual Reality headset for PS4

Sony is preparing to reveal the final piece of its PS4 hardware strategy at TGS by showcasing a PlayStation-branded virtual reality head-mounted display, CVG has learned.

[Update: Following the publication of this article, CVG has been told by people connected to the matter that there are no longer any existing plans to publicly showcase the virtual reality headset at the Tokyo Game Show.

In August, when Sony abandoned its initial strategy to reveal the device at Gamescom, CVG was told at the time that the reveal had been be pushed back to the Tokyo event. Now the expectation is to showcase the headset in 2014.

Executives at Sony have demonstrated the VR display to a select number of developers at E3 and Gamescom, and will also conduct closed-doors meetings at TGS.

Sony originally intended to reveal the headset at Gamescom but plans fell through at the eleventh hour. The company is currently weighing up whether the PS4 device should be pitched as a key differentiator for the console or a non-essential add-on.

The matter has been slightly complicated, but not derailed, by the growing industry support for Oculus Rift. Sony's device will be a categorical rival to Oculus, and for months there have been rumours suggesting the two companies are seeking a partnership.

A games developer familiar with Sony's plans, who wished to remain anonymous, told CVG that Evolution Studios is currently working with the device to simulate a cockpit view on its

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The Last of Us: Left Behind review

It says much of the quality and depth of The Last of Us' characters and world that Naughty Dog could have picked any one of a number of threads to explore in this, the first and only story expansion for its seminal action-adventure. The strained relationship between Joel and his brother Tommy; Marlene's journey from Ellie's guardian to head of the Fireflies; the story of Ish, the enigmatic survivor whose notes detail his harrowing experiences in Pittsburgh - any might have worked.

Instead, Neil Druckmann, Bruce Straley and their team have chosen to explore one of the defining relationships of our young heroine Ellie's life - her close friendship with a fellow teenage survivor, Riley. Those that have played through The Last of Us already know how this story ends and likely have an idea of how it might play out, and so it is to the developer's significant credit that Left Behind manages to defy foreknowledge to tell a story that is touching, revealing and important.

Left Behind presents an unexpected duality, contrasting the Ellie with whom we are familiar with one whom we've never met. Ostensibly, it is a snapshot of a pivotal time in Ellie and Riley's friendship that plays out against the backdrop of a post-outbreak world, a world in which quarantine zones and death are everyday considerations and where trips to the mall and carefree teenage frivolity are wholly alien concepts. To pick out any single instance of this juxtaposition would be to deny you the joy of discovery. Suffice to say that exploration is its own reward, and it's as amusing as it is poignant to witness the two friends walk amongst the relics of an opulent past and wonder aloud at the bemusing superficiality of it all.

In its way, Left Behind also serves as an examination of Ellie's later relationship with Joel. It offers insight into the depth of the bond that exists between the two and provides a deeper understanding of this relationship by exploring events that are only alluded to in the main story. In doing so, it once again turns the pseudo-father-daughter relationship on its head and offers still more to ponder in the main story's ambiguous ending. While there's certainly value in playing through The Last of Us again prior to starting Left Behind, there's also a surprising amount to be taken from venturing through the main story

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PS Vita Slim (2014)

PS Vita Slim (2014): First Impressions

What is the Sony PS Vita Slim?

The new PS Vita is the 2014 edition of Sony’s handheld console. It is cheaper, slimmer and lighter than its predecessor. Although Sony is keen to say it is still simply called the PS Vita, we’re sure it’ll quickly adopt the Vita Slim moniker.

The key selling point of the new Vita is its design, as the software and processing power under the hood are near-identical to the last model. It's slimmer, and has an LCD screen rather than an OLED one.

For existing PS Vita owners, those design tweaks make the latest model feel quite different from its predecessor.

PS Vita (2014) - Design

Sony has listened to gamer feedback to make the Vita easier and more comfortable to hold for long periods of time. Even when picking up the new handheld for the first time, the difference is clear.

25 per cent of the original Vita’s weight has been shaved off to make the latest model feel considerably lighter than the original. It's a welcome change. The original was by no means a heifer at launch, but in a direct comparison it feels like quite the dead weight.

The PS Vita Slim has a new soft, matt finish on the rear and the finger grips have been enlarged to help you endure those extended gaming sessions. These touches make the new model much more tactile and finger-friendly than the former gloss finish. The rear touch panel is still glossy though, so your fingers won’t notice a change there.

To help reduce accidental presses, the rear touch panel has been reduced by around 30 per cent. From our brief play with top Vita title Tearaway, the smaller touchpad doesn’t affect the way you play whatsoever. And it is still large enough to feel accessible and convenient without having to stretch your fingers too far.

Changes to the buttons are some of the more subtle design alterations, with the symbol buttons and d-pad receiving minor cosmetic changes. The start and select buttons under the right analogue stick are now small and round rather than oval, and the PS Home button is no longer backlit.

Instead there are a duo of LED lights at the top of the device to indicate power and battery levels.

The best new feature of the PS Vita Slim is Sony’s abandoning of

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Valve Steam Controller Hands-on

Pro

-Precise

-Novel and fun to use

Cons

-Can it keep up with mouse and keyboard players?

Valve has several hurdles to hop before it can turn PC gaming into a living room experience. Besides getting the Steam Box to market with its 13 hardware partners and pushing the SteamOS, it needs to get PC die hards to give a controller a chance.

That's the task the Valve Steam Box controller has before it, and it's no easy one. It needs to offer the versatility and precision that approximates the mouse and keyboard setup.

While Valve has opted to license its SteamOS to hardware partners, it will be manufacturing its own controller. During an offsite event at CES 2014 I had the chance to take Valve's Steam Box controller for a test drive across multiple genres of games.

Now Valve won't be the only one making a Steam controller, those third-party hardware partners will be entering the fray as well. It also won't be forcing anyone to give up the mouse and keyboard. That classic gaming setup may not be couch optimized, but it will be an option for those who value the old ways of fragging a foe.

Valve staff on site at the event told us that the controller we were trying out is not a final build. The Washington-based gaming empire is a bunch of perfectionists, if nothing else. They told us they already had tweaks in mind for the button layout, the form factor and overall feel of the controller.

With that in mind here are our impressions of Valve's Steam Box controller, after diving into a little single player gaming on an internal Valve Steam Box.

Light, nimble and precise

Holding the Steam Controller for the first time I was shocked by its weight, or lack thereof. It's light, to the point where I thought it might be hollow.

That's likely because Valve's final Steam Box controller will be wireless, and the demo versions I used were wired by microUSB. Having a battery in there will definitely add some heft. 

The build is plastic, of course, but feels like quality work. The matte finish shrugs off fingerprints and felt as comfortable and natural as an Xbox One controller.

The most unique aspect of Valve's controller has to be the touchpads. Instead of the analog sticks of a standard console controller you've got two touchpads for

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Oculus Rift Crystal Cove prototype unveiled with bizarre OLED display

Oculus has unveiled the latest prototype of its Oculus Rift virtual reality headset at CES 2014, known as “Crystal Cove”.

The prototype next-gen virtual reality headset attempts to improve the virtual reality experience by doing away with motion blur that caused some people to feel very poorly.

Previous iterations of the Oculus Rift used traditional LCD screens, but the Crystal Cove prototype has OLED technology which has lower latency so the images respond more quickly to the user’s movements.

Crystal Cove also has a full positional tracking system that uses a camera to track over 24 IR dots located all over the headset. This means you’ll be able to lean and crouch in game, as the camera will see your head moving in the 3D space. Hopefully, this will help motion sickness too.

There’s a rather special OLED screen in the Oculus Rift Crystal Cove prototype that Oculus is calling a “low-persistance-of-vision display”.

“Low persistence is really, really important. It’s probably the most important thing we’re showing”, said Oculus founder, Palmer Luckey to Polygon. “It doesn’t sound really exciting, but it’s incredible the difference low persistence makes. You really have to see it. It’s mind blowing.”

Basically, it utilises the same concept that lets you watch movies filmed at 24fps. Although the images only flash one at a time, your mind is capable of filling in the blanks to create a semi-seamless motion.

Oculus is intentionally reducing the amount of information your eyes see with the Crystal Cove, so your

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7 Games We Want Announced this year 2014

New year, new games

The future is NOW, and we want it to be as bright as can be. But when it comes to game reveals, this new year will have to work hard to even come close to 2013. Those 365 days saw the unveiling of the PS4 and Xbox One, along with Titanfall, Destiny, Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS, and dozens more massively hyped games. 2014 will need some big titles to match that, and we know just the games that could get our hearts racing.

This week’s top 7 has us dreaming up the releases that we not only want revealed in 2014, but are also the ones that the industry needs right now. But there’s one important ground rule with this list: No Half-Life 3 Episode 3 (and HL3 is even less likely). We’re not wasting valuable list space on a game that we all know will never come out--and no Last Guardian either. Our list is filled with games that at least have a remote possibility of happening, such as...

7. Star Fox Wii U

Why we need it in 2014: Because we deserve an honest-to-goodness reboot of the space fighting fox and friends. Not “Star Fox Becomes King of the Dinosaurs.” Not “Starfox On Foot With A Bazooka.” Not “Star Fox 64 with Different Voice Actors in 3D.” We need Fox, Peppy, Falco, and yes, even Slippy back in our lives, better than we remember them. Star Fox Command kinda had that, but it was burdened with gimmicky touch controls. This is the year to get it right.

Who should make it: Nintendo, clearly. Despite our gripes with previous games, they’ve yet to truly messed up Star Fox--it’s just that Nintendo added things that weren’t the best fit for the series. Strip away all the new and strange mechanics, put the little critters back in their jets, give us Bill and Kat back, and you have yourself a new blockbuster. Of course, we’d also be fine with Nintendo handing this big boy over to Platinum Games. Fans have been rumbling about this potential mash-up for a while, and with the developer’s track record, it might just be the refreshing pair of eyes that this old franchise needs.

6. Next-gen Crash Bandicoot

Why we need it in 2014: Because we know it’s coming. Well, maybe “know” is too strong a word, but hints have

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Guinness World Records reveals the greatest gaming moments of 2013

Guinness World Records has released its 2014 gaming edition revealing the latest and greatest gaming achievements from the past year.

The latest Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition marks the seventh one in the series that are annually released to celebrate the most dedicated gamers on the planet.  

Standing out amongst the list is Michael Thomasson, recognized as the owner of the largest video game collection in the world.

The 43-year-old video game college teacher from Buffalo, USA, has a whopping 10,607 games at his disposal estimated to be worth around £423,000. 

Even more impressive is the fact that Thomasson had to restart his collection from scratch twice.

Once after selling it off in 1989 to buy a Sega Genesis and again after selling to pay for his wedding in 1998. But after buying two games per day with a $3,000-a-year budget he’s finally made into the big book. 

Another teacher from California has entered dance-gaming history for enduring a massive 49 hours, 3 minutes and 22 seconds on popular dance-simulation game ‘Just-Dance 4’.

Carrie Swidecki, who considers herself an ambassador for ‘exergaming’ says: “I never want to wake up from this dream!  13 years ago I was 210 pounds, and then I discovered how easy it was to exercise using videogames. I lost 75 pounds, went down 10 sizes, set 5 World Records.  I have become an advocate to fight childhood obesity in schools!”

Alongside individual gaming feats, the Gamer’s Edition also includes significant moments in the last 12 months

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10 Best Indie Games on Xbox

The Xbox Live Arcade has a library that's bursting at the seams with game offerings, so much so that you might find it overwhelming at times.

If you haven't yet been tempted to buy an Xbox One, don't despair. There's plenty of life in the Xbox 360 yet, especially if you've yet to properly explore the titles available from the Xbox Live Arcade.

We've picked what we feel are the best of the lot, with release dates all the way up to 2013.

If you think we've missed any titles that you put in your top ten, feel free to let us know in the comments below.

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon may be related in title to its sibling Far Cry 3, but is vastly different in terms of game content. Blood Dragon is a cyber shooter that is like walking into an 80s version of the future.

It’s rammed full of comic clichés, is gratuitously violent and pretty foul-mouthed. We sometimes think the joke wears a bit thin, but it's definitely worth your time.

Price: £9.99

Platform: Xbox 360

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition

Although the Xbox 360 Edition of Minecraft is a little leaner than the original PC version, the world is still only limited by your own mind and imagination.

Of course, Minecraft is a game that doesn’t need much of an introduction, but for those not familiar with the game, it’s a game that requires you to build your own blocky, virtual world. There are challenges to be achieved and points to strive for, but really it is just about enjoying the creation process.

You will have to protect your little world against the night monster though, so beware.

Price: £13.49

Platform: Xbox 360

Trials Evolution

If you played Trials HD, Trials Evolution is its successor and offers 50 single-player career levels that are terrific fun. This physics-based motocross title also has a multiplayer mode that is very accessible. You won’t need pro skills to have fun with Trials Evolution, which makes it even more enjoyable.

If you fancy trying your hand at building your own track, there is a course creator included that will allow you to share your creations with players around the world.

The crisp graphics and slick controls only add to the appeal of this motocross title.

Price: £9.99

Platform: Xbox 360

Battlefield 1943

If you’ve ever

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10 Best Indie Games on PS4 and PS3

With the PS4 launch not yet a distant memory, we've taken a tour of the PlayStation Network to find out which games you need for your PS3, PS Vita or brand new Sony box.

PlayStation owners are lucky to have such a vast amount of games available on the PlayStation Store, so sometimes it's helpful to have someone to do the trawling for you.

We've picked ten of our favourites from PSN for you to choose from, but of course there are some older favourites we've missed out like Flower, to keep things fresh.

Hopefully, we've been helpful, but if there's a great game we've missed out, please feel free to add it in the comments below.

Contrast

Contrast was one of the first titles to be made available for the PS4 with a PlayStation Plus subscription. The game is set in a 1920s dreamscape, where you must shift between the physical 3D world and the 2D shadow world.

You play as Dawn, the imaginary friend of a little girl named Didi and solve increasingly difficult puzzles  as you traverse a world full of circus performers, magic and cabaret.

It’s free for anyone wielding a PlayStation Plus account for PS4, but on the PS3 it will set you back £11.99. It’s certainly worth every penny.

Price: £12.79 or Free with PlayStation Plus, £11.99 for PS3

Platform: PS4, PS3

Minecraft: PlayStation 3 Edition

After the Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition was released in May, there was great anticipation for the release of a PlayStation version of the block-building creation game. Finally, on December 18, developer Mojang answered our prayers.

However, currently there’s only a PS3 edition of Minecraft available, with PS4 and PS Vita versions of the game in the works for launch sometime in the near(ish) future.

For anyone who isn’t familiar with the blocky Minecraft world, you are able to build your own world out of coloured blocks, defend those creations against enemies and generally explore.

The Xbox 360 edition stayed in the top 10 of the UK All Format Gaming Charts for months, so the PS3 version is worth a look.

Price: £12.99

Platform: PS3

Doki Doki Universe

This cross-platform adventure game is one of the last to arrive in 2013, and is quite the unusual journey for the average PlayStation gamer.

You play as a robot named QT3 who must travel around and prove his humanity before being

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Games of January 2014

The 2013 holidays were stuffed with new releases, so if you're looking for a break, now's your chance. Not that January doesn't have anything to offer, mind you. 2014's debut welcomes a number indie ports, next-gen remakes, and a long-awaited KickStarter project from Tim Shafer and the Double Fine Productions team. 


Assuming you aren't already buried under a mountain of untouched games, and have some money left to throw around, let us guide you through the new releases of January 2014.

January 7

Don't Starve: Console Edition

Platform: PS4

EU: TBD 

How long can you hack it in an alternate dimension crawling with mutant spiders, warrior pigs, starving monsters, and other creepy crawlies? Find out in this PS4 port of Klei Entertainment's Don't Starve, a top-down, action adventure game that tests players' ability to survive an unforgiving world where the penalty for death is starting from scratch.

Set in a randomly generated, 2D environment, Don't Starve forces players to forage for food, build shelters, research new survival tools, hunt for food, and mix resources to create more effective (and sometimes stranger) equipment. Exploration and experimentation are key, and players can expect to die often as they dig in to the game's secrets and hidden features. How you play is up to you, but watch that hunger meter and keep your fire going unless you want to be snatched by shadow demons. Did we mention the shadow demons? Yeah, good luck with that. Read our Don't Starve review for more insightful tips.

January 14

Assassin's Creed III: Liberation HD

Platforms: PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC

EU: January 15 

Aveline de Grandpré headlines this Assassin's Creed spin-off, which was first released as a PS Vita title back in October 2012. Now up-rezzed, remodeled, and re-released for download on PSN, Xbox Live, and Steam, Assassin's Creed III: Liberation HD will see the female assassin once again using her skill for stealth and murder to stop a Templar plot in 18th Century New Orleans--this time for console audiences.

Aveline's quest will play like prior Assassin's Creed entries. From Louisiana to Chichen Itza, she will parkour her way through historically-inspired locations while assassinating targets, stalking Templars, and pickpocketing the occasional chump along the way. Her adventures will also see her pairing with Assassin's Creed III's Connor to retrieve an ancient relic and further the Assassin's Creed narrative. Find out what improvements

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10 Scariest Games Ever

1. Amnesia: The Dark Descent

The year is 1839 and you play as Daniel, an amnesiac who wakes in Brennenburg Castle with a letter, from himself, stating he deliberately wiped his own memory and instructing himself to murder Alexander, the Baron of the castle. Daniel only remembers three things: his name, where he lives and that something is hunting him. There is no combat mechanic, so you are forced to hide, and to run. As Daniel spends more time in the dark hiding from monsters, he gradually descends into insanity, seeing and hearing things that aren’t there.

2. Slender

Slender is a free first person survival horror game based around the urban legend of the Slenderman, a tall, faceless, suit wearing individual who makes a habit of abducting children. In the middle of a dark wood, you have to collect 8 cryptic notes explaining the true terror of the Slenderman, before succumbing to his horror. It is a chilling game with incredible atmosphere that greatly succeeds in furthering the terror spread by the urban legend.

3. Cry of Fear

Cry of Fear is a first person survival horror mod of Half Life utilising Valve’s source engine. You play Simon, another amnesiac who wakes in a dark alley in a twisted version of Stockholm. Desperate to find out if he has gone insane, Simon will confront horrific creatures to get to the truth. Although based of the source engine and maintaining Half Life’s stellar combat mechanics, Cry of Fear is a total conversion mod and utilises new tools and abilities, making for a chilling experience.

4. Dead Space

Set in a dark and distant future, mankind has the ability to “crack” planets: literally crack a planet open and harvest its resources. When a religious artefact related to a twisted cult is discovered on the planet Aegis VII, The Ishimura mining ship goes dark. Isaac Clarke, whose girlfriend is stationed aboard The Ishimura, is part of the engineering team sent to uncover what is really going on. What follows is, in our humble opinion, one of the best and most terrifying gaming experiences of the last decade.

5. Manhunt 2

Rockstar London’s psychological horror game follows Daniel Lamb and his escape from Dixmor Asylum for the Criminally Insane. Daniel is an amnesiac and his journey brings him face to face with insane inmates and mysterious, deadly organisations. The gameplay centres on stealth

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10 Best Tech Gadgets 2013

Each year we celebrate the very best products in each category in our TrustedReviews awards. If you've not checked out this year's results, do so now.

However, this 'best of' round-up is a little different. We're going to look at the products that are important in another sense.

These gadgets mark a change, either for the market, or for the company making them. And some of them will be product remembered for years and years to come.

There are no real winners here, but if you want to know which products are the sign of things to come then you've come to the right place.

And if you think we've missed any, feel free to let us know (politely) in the comments.

Sony Alpha A7

Perhaps the most exciting photographic announcement of the year came only recently – the Sony Alpha A7 and A7R. They are the first compact system cameras to have full-frame sensors. Using such a sensor makes these cameras pretty cheap for their £1,200 starting price.  DSLRs with such sensors are normally a good deal more expensive.

They look good, feel good and produce excellent photos. To really get the most out of the camera, though, you’ll need to invest in one of the prime lenses rather than the kit lens. It’s no cheap solution to pro-quality pictures, but it is a game-changing camera that arguably heralds the beginning of the end for the DSLR.

Asus PQ321Q

Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of the Asus PQ321Q. Most people haven’t. However, it is a fairly important gadget of 2013 to note.

It was the first 4K-compatible monitor to surface, with 3,840 x 2,160 pixel native resolution. And it costs a mere three and a half grand in US dollars. Very few of you will end up buying one of these, but it’ll be a good fact to impress your geeky mates in five years when 4K monitors are the norm.

Motorola Moto G

There’s nothing technologically impressive about the Moto G as an abstracted piece of hardware. What makes it truly interesting is that Motorola has managed to make a phone of this calibre for under £100 (it has sold for as little as £89.99).

At this price there’s simply nothing that can come close to this. Look at Samsung’s line-up and you’ll need to spend three times the money to get something as good. Motorola has set

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Microsoft: What to Expect in 2014

Looking back, 2013 was a big year for Microsoft, with multiple new products – improved Surface tablets, Windows 8.1 and the launch of the Xbox One, to name but a few. Not to mention the $7.2 billion (£4.6 billion) acquisition of Nokia's mobile phone unit.

On top of that, Steve Ballmer, long-time CEO of Microsoft, announced his retirement in August and will be stepping down within the next 10 months.

But that's all in the past. Microsoft is focusing firmly on the future, aiming to bring new and innovative products to market and continuing its core 'devices and services' focus. Here's a taste of what 2014 holds for Microsoft.

Windows 8.1 and beyond

Microsoft has moved to an annual product update cycle with Windows, similar to the one Apple has for OSX and iOS. This means that new versions of the OS will be pushed out every year, similar to Windows 8.1, and the good news is that these updates are likely to be free.

This means that OS uptake will be quicker, as users don't have to pay hundreds of dollars upfront to get their hands on the new software. We could see Windows 8.2 in 2014, while Microsoft concentrates on Windows 9 in the background.

Feature-wise, not very much is known about Windows 9. Microsoft is working hard to refine the desktop experience while attempting to bring new and exciting features to the platform. It's unlikely that Redmond will introduce a radical new design so soon after Windows 8's touch-focused 'Metro' approach not only tore up the rule book, but set fire to it and chucked it out of the window.

As we go into 2014, we'll see more and more Windows 9 rumours and leaks appearing. So stay tuned to TechRadar to see what Microsoft is planning for the next version of Windows.

Windows Phone 8 and beyond

The next major update to Windows Phone is expected to be version 8.1, in keeping with Windows 8.1 on the desktop. Various leaks have suggested that Windows Phone 8.1 will be visually similar to Windows Phone 8, but will include support for higher resolution screens, all the way up to 1080p. This increase paves the way for Windows Phone to replace the much-maligned Windows RT. 

A new voice assistant, called Cortana, could also be added to Windows Phone. Rumours suggest that this could borrow technology from Xbox One's voice control

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Turtle Beach PX22 review

Pros

-Excellent sound for the price

-Solid noise isolation and mic

-Comfortable

-Great value

Cons

-Could be more robust

Key Features: Stereo gaming headset; Noise isolating; Inline controller; PC and console compatible

Manufacturer: Turtle Beach

Turtle Beach PX22 review

What is the Turtle Beach PX22?

The Turtle Beach PX22 is a noise-isolating wired stereo gaming headset that comes with both USB and analog connectors. At £69.99 it’s a mid-range set with a surprising amount of features including an inline amp and controller that lets you adjust volume, bass, treble and mic volume on the fly as well as providing the ability to take calls while gaming.

It’s compatible with PC, PS3, Xbox 360 but also the PS4 and Xbox One.

Turtle Beach PX22: Design and Comfort

The PX22 is a well-built headset made of black plastic with soft fabric covered headband and ear cups. The top is made of a soft faux-leather material stitched with light-blue thread and has the company name – Turtle Beach – emblazoned on it. It's a good look and the detailing makes it look like a more expensive product.

The fabric is both comfortable and breathes well, which means you can wear the Turtle Beach PX22 for hours without getting sweaty ears. It clasps the head firmly enough to keep the headset in place, but not so strongly as to cause discomfort.

At 231g the Turtle Beach PX22 is also lighter than most of the competition, something that bodes well for long gaming sessions and if you want to travel. 

The headset is connected to the volume controller using a 1m cord with a 3.5mm jack meaning the PX22 is versatile enough to use as a pair of headphones too. There’s another 3m of cable coming out of the controller meaning you have plenty to spare when using it with a console.

The PX22 has clearly been designed with maximum comfort in mind and it succeeds in that regard well enough. It doesn’t feel quite as robust as some of the headsets we’ve tested, but that's one of the reasons it can keep the weight down. We’ve spent many hours using them and rarely need to remove them to give our ears a breather.

Sound quality is just as important as comfort, though, and Turtle Beach has done a storming job in that area too.

Turtle Beach PX22: Sound quality

Turtle Beach has been delivering quality sound

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25 Upcoming Games for PS4

Have a shiny new PS4?

You just bought your brand new PS4 and you couldn't be happier with it. You've got a good selection of games to play (especially the PlayStation Plus members) which will keep you busy for the foreseeable future. However, one must always think ahead, as that "foreseeable future" will become the present faster than you think.

What follows is your new favorite resource for all of the major PS4 releases. Want to know what's coming on the horizon? Want to make sure you know what games to plan for? This gallery will be your guide, so keep an eye on it for any new announcements and titles coming sooner rather than later. We'll keep you posted.

Thief (February 25)

Man, are we glad that Thief is coming back. We'd heard the rumors for a long time, but there was never any real evidence to suggest a return to the shadows. Now, our chance to once again play a Thief game is coming in less than two months, and we're really excited for the opportunity to take control of Garrett as he fights to protect his city and the people that live in it.

Games like Dishonored, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and Assassin's Creed have highlighted was a stealth approach can do for a game, but we expect Thief to take it to a whole new level. After all, this is one of the original stealth series; this and Metal Gear Solid practically wrote the book on sneaking around a digital world as silently as possible. The game's had some issues in development, but we're not about to let that sway us; we're ready to be the Thief.

Infamous: Second Son (March 21)

No Cole MacGrath? No problem for the folks at Sucker Punch, introducing Delsin Rowe as the new face of Infamous in Second Son. Cole's legacy lives on, however, as his adventures have caused the world to label the superpowered Conduits as "bio-terrorists" hunted by a new government agency called the Department of Unified Protection, or D.U.P. We wouldn't be surprised if that acronym hints at our being "duped" about the true nature of the Department, but we'll have to find out for ourselves.

From what we've seen so far, Delsin is a perfect conduit (heh) of Cole; same cocky attitude, same prowess with superpowers (that Ghost Rider fire chain is AMAZING), and same ability

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25 Upcoming Games for Xbox One

There's more than One option here!

"Xbox, give me new games!" If only it were that easy, right? Then we wouldn't have to wait to fresh games to appear on our brand spankin' new Xbox Ones--we could just be like, "Xbox, go to Beyond Good & Evil 2" and we'd always have games to play. If only life were that simple. Alas, that's not how the world works, but there's still plenty of upcoming Xbox One games on the horizon to be excited about. The games are coming, people!

If this list pans out, 2014 will be an insane year for Microsoft's newest game machine. Ten console exclusives join a slew of third-party offerings to give us plenty of reasons to not regret the $500 we just dropped on the system (besides playing through the already-released best Xbox One games, that is). The only hard part now is choosing which games to get immediately and which to hold off on... and once you've scrolled through, you'll understand why.

Peggle 2 (December 2013)

With a fist raised high and a big jump, PopCap games let the world know that Peggle 2 was on its way at E3 2013. We remember that moment fondly, as we did the exact same thing while we watched. We're not sure what makes Peggle so addicting, but we know that a second game can't be a bad idea. Best of all, it's coming to the next-gen consoles almost immediately, so we won't have to wait very long!

Despite how familiar we are with it, we still can't adequately describe what Peggle is. Is it pinball? Is it one of those old water games with the rings we used to play with as children? It has elements of all of those games, but without question there's one word that describes our time with Peggle: FUN. We're hoping that Peggle 2 will be more of the same.

Halo Spartan Assault (December 2013)

Look, we knew as soon as we heard about the "Windows 8 exclusive" Halo: Spartan Assault that it was coming to Xbox, we just didn't know when. As it turns out, we're going to get to try it sooner rather than later, AND it's on both Xbox 360 and Xbox One. We didn't think the current gen would get the chance to play it, but we don't mind being wrong about it.

Halo: Spartan Assault

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