It’s that time of the year again, and while Black Friday may not be a thing in Aotearoa, Black Friday sales have become one. Ignoring the hype, it can be a great way to buy X-Mas presents for your whānau, so here is our 2025 Black Friday guide based on some of the things we have tested out and recommend. Keep in mind that during Black Friday we quite often buy stuff we don’t actually need. But stick to what you want and gifts, and it can be a great time to save! WiZ and Philips Smart home kit! We…
Author: Blair Loveday
In 1986 and 1987 a legendary series was born and sequeled; that franchise was called Dragon Quest. Like any JRPG nerd, I have, of course … played sod all of them. I played and adored Dragon Quest XI but never got the chance to go back and play them all. Well, with some re-releases, the chance has finally come, and now you can play the first and second entries in this amazing series in waaaaay prettier fashion. The Dragon’s Quest begins https://youtu.be/Po2KYy6MgfE Dragon Quest 1 tells a simple story of a hero who travels to a castle. Here he discovers…
There are so many ways to smarten up your home these days. The easiest and most noticeable I have found is with lighting. Whether you want to add ambience as you watch a movie, or if you want to be able to tell your smart assistant to turn off the lounge lights as you run out the door. These things are so damn handy. With Philips Hue’s latest Bedside Lamp, I was keen to find out if I needed one of them on my bedside. It turns out, yes, I did. So much light! https://youtu.be/SC6zSrRF5aw The first thing I noticed…
This year has been an interesting one when it comes to Magic: The Gathering and Universes Beyond. With 3 UB sets there was plenty of reasonable and fair criticism. Personally, I like UB and absolutely adored the Final Fantasy set. I liked a lot about the Spider-Man set, even if it didn’t achieve what I felt it could have. Fortunately the new Avatar set that has been released is much more on the Final Fantasy end of the spectrum, and I am digging the hell out of it. What’s it like to play? https://youtu.be/4CGL-Cjx0r0 Avatar, like Final Fantasy, is kind…
Riftbound is a new TCG based on League of Legends that was released in August to Chinese players. Well now it has dropped around the rest of the world with the first set, Riftbound: Origins, and this one looks like it could be the real deal. I checked out a release event and popped my initial thoughts of the game here, but now I have played with the first set a bit, and it was time to put my full thoughts to the keyboard. How do you review a set with nothing to compare it against? Well, let’s find out…
Lorcana has been going strong for years now, and I have been loving it. Now after the first set rotation and after the first reprint-heavy set, we have our new main set, Whispers in the Well. The question is, does this set bring anything new to the table? Yes, it does! What are the Whispers in the Well? In short… I don’t know. It’s become one of my greatest frustrations with this game. At the start we had video trailers and short stories on the website if you wanted to learn more about the Lumineers and their quest. It wasn’t…
I have been obsessed with TCGs for the last few years. From my intro to Magic: The Gathering, to dabbling with Flesh and Blood and Star Wars Unlimited, through to my love for Lorcana. It is rare that I go a week without playing a TCG down at my LGS. So with Riftbound having heaps of hype, I checked it out at a launch event to see if it could claim second place for my main TCG or if by some miracle it could replace my weekly MTG sessions. What is Riftbound? https://youtu.be/BSr32eiUeyU It is the latest TCG, which is…
Pokémon has been getting more ambitious with games like Pokémon Legends: Arceus, letting you catch Pokēmon in a much smaller open-ish world. Then Violet and Scarlet went more traditional with 3D exploration. The biggest issue they have had is the performance, which, while not game-breaking, was certainly getting worse. Well, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is here, and somehow, the game performs well! Poké Story https://youtu.be/ZL4jOPorLQM Pokémon Legends: Z-A has you create your character who arrives by train in the French, I mean Kalos, city of Lumiose . They are here with a bag and plans for a fun holiday that you…
These days devices tend to be jacks of all trades and masters of none. Many speakers, for example, connect to WiFi, have smart home connectors, and all kinds of other things. For all that tech, they tend to wind up having to make sacrifices in the sound quality area. The Harman/Kardon Go + Play 3 has stripped all that back to focus on its job, being a speaker, and it excels. What does the Harman/Kardon Go + Play 3 do well? Speaker things, and that’s about it. Out of the box, it has a simple, elegant look with a massive…
Who needs a headset? Well it’s not like there are many options out there. Oh wait, there are bloody heaps, and it can be tough to tell where and how much money you should drop on one. Will that $80 one do the trick? Should you drop $400 for a good one? Well Logitech has dropped the G321 Lightspeed Headset, and at $150 I am already pretty shocked by what this has to offer. For $150, this can’t have any great features, right? https://youtu.be/uCHRDafpq8E Wrong, this is a shockingly equipped headset. First, the comfort is exceptional. With super comfortable memory…