drawing Archives

AppWizard

August 13, 2026

Defender of the Crown: The Legend Returns (PC) Review – CGMagazine

Defender of the Crown: The Legend Returns is set in 1149 during a power struggle in England following the king's assassination, with players tasked to rally lands, defeat rival armies, and claim the throne. The game features turn-based strategy mechanics, including army building, castle raiding, and tournament hosting, and offers both the original MS-DOS version and an enhanced iteration. It includes a deck-building roguelike mode that introduces card-based battles. The Jousting and Swordplay modes have been improved with new mechanics like blocking and parrying. However, the game has shortcomings in tutorial explanations and battle mechanics, which can lead to confusion. Visuals are enhanced while retaining a nostalgic pixelated style, and the audio has been upgraded.

AppWizard

August 11, 2026

Star Wars Zero Company is a very safe XCOM descendant, but its most interesting parts are found in its Midnight Suns DNA

Star Wars Zero Company features turn-based combat and soldier management, drawing comparisons to the XCOM series. Developed by Bit Reactor, founded by former Firaxis staff, the game offers a tactical experience but lacks some depth found in XCOM 2. Early gameplay reveals concerns about its mechanics, with instances of frustrating misses during combat. The game emphasizes teamwork, with classes like astromech droids providing support roles. However, it lacks elements like fog of war and diverse combat arenas, and the enemy variety is limited. While inspired by Midnight Suns, the execution does not reach the same depth, and the game's base is smaller. Players can disable permadeath, and squad management systems allow for creative builds. Overall, while enjoyable, Zero Company has not yet met expectations for evolution in the tactics genre.

AppWizard

August 11, 2026

Notability Brings Fully Native, AI-Assisted Note-taking To Android

Ginger Labs, Inc. has launched its note-taking app Notability on the Android platform via the Google Play Store, allowing millions of new users to access its features. The app was developed with feedback from Android beta testers and includes features such as S pen support, various paper templates, intra-document links to PDFs, and note export capabilities. Notability for Android offers a native experience with unique features like playful pen styles, enhanced handwriting recognition, audio recording with transcription, and real-time syncing across devices. The app also incorporates AI tools for generating quizzes and flashcards, instant live transcription, and access to over 20,000 free note templates. Subscriptions and one-time purchase options are available in the Google Play Store.

AppWizard

August 11, 2026

Star Wars: Galactic Racer’s singleplayer is a clever roguelike gauntlet I could easily sink hours into

Players will soon have the opportunity to play Star Wars: Galactic Racer, a racing game featuring vehicles like Landspeeders, skim speeders, and speeder-bikes, as well as podracing. Each vehicle has a unique handling style, with Landspeeders offering smooth drifting, skim speeders allowing sideways navigation, and speeder-bikes providing high speed with less control. The game includes galactic tours with branching paths and upgrade choices, emphasizing mechanics like drifting, boosting, and aggressive speed bursts. Players can engage in takedowns and use abilities such as shields and flamethrowers. Races require players to place in the top ranks, with elimination races disqualifying the slowest pilots. Players earn credits and tokens for upgrades and cosmetics, even in defeat. The game features a captivating atmosphere with interactions among a colorful cast of rival racers and includes both multiplayer and a single-player roguelike mode. Further details on multiplayer features will be revealed closer to the release.

Winsage

August 10, 2026

Windows 11’s built-in weather app hogs more than 1.2 gigabytes of RAM just to tell the forecast — memory-sucking web wrapper filled with ads masquerades as an actual application

Microsoft is addressing issues related to user dissatisfaction with its Windows operating system, which has faced criticism for lack of optimization, excessive bloat, and intrusive advertisements. The built-in weather application, MSN Weather, exemplifies these problems, consuming up to 1.2GB of RAM while idling and displaying ads despite being part of a paid OS. In contrast, Apple's macOS weather app uses about 250MB of memory and operates ad-free. MSN Weather functions as a web wrapper, utilizing eight Chromium-based subprocesses, which raises concerns about its efficiency. Microsoft plans to update all native Windows applications to the Win32 standard for better optimization, but it is unclear if this will also apply to MSN-branded services like MSN Weather. Users have shown a preference for mobile devices over the weather widget introduced in Windows 11.

AppWizard

August 9, 2026

Minecraft has been transformed into a full ARPG, with endgame maps and bosses inspired by Path of Exile 2

Craft to Exile 2 is a mod for Minecraft that transforms the game into an action RPG, drawing inspiration from titles like Path of Exile and Diablo 2. It features an overhauled combat system with classes, talent trees, a randomized gear system, and dodge rolls. Players can choose a class, earn stats and skills, and specialize through an 'ascendancy' system. The mod includes over 250 quests, dungeons, shops, and a comprehensive endgame with a mapping system and repeatable dungeons. The 2.0 update introduces new classes, mechanics, and interface enhancements, including Uber bosses, Shrines for temporary buffs, Strongboxes for loot, and new crafting materials. The update is available for download.

AppWizard

August 8, 2026

Company of Heroes Definitive Edition is a serious upgrade on an RTS classic

Company of Heroes is releasing a Definitive Edition to celebrate its 20th anniversary, featuring a polished experience optimized for modern systems on a 64-bit platform. The game includes visual upgrades such as improved lighting, textures, and draw distance. The opening mission showcases enhanced visibility of the battlefield, with clearly defined distant towns and detailed soldier uniforms. The Definitive Edition introduces modern gameplay elements, including a new AI difficulty level and a redesigned user interface inspired by Company of Heroes 3. The game is scheduled for release in September and will retail around , offering a 30% discount for existing owners of the original game and its expansions.

AppWizard

August 7, 2026

The latest Expeditions game launches into early access today, and I can’t think of a better setting for the series than feudal Japan

Campfire Cabal has released Expeditions: Samurai in early access on Steam, transitioning from ancient Rome to feudal Japan. Players create a custom character arriving in Japan aboard the Dutch frigate De Albatros during the Sengoku era. The game features an expanded companion system with eight characters, stealth mechanics for tactical combat, and cooperative gameplay allowing a second player to control a twin of the main character. Expeditions: Samurai includes five main quests, three side quests, and 14 locations, with plans for future updates to add new content and features. The final version aims to have over 35 side quests, a player village, crafting mechanics, and mini-games, with completion expected by early 2027. Early adopters can purchase the game at a lower price.

AppWizard

August 7, 2026

Take-Two boss dismisses hand-wringing over the end of disc-based games: ‘Our business is well over 90% digitally distributed as it is’

Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive, stated that physical game discs "don't really make sense" in today's digital market, especially with the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto 6 exclusively in digital format. While PC gamers have largely adopted digital gaming, the console sector has traditionally relied on physical releases. However, the lack of a physical edition for Grand Theft Auto 6 and Sony's plan to stop disc production by 2028 indicate a shift in this trend. Zelnick noted that although the transition to digital is inevitable, Take-Two will still release physical editions "now and then." Ubisoft's CEO and industry analyst Daniel Ahmad support Zelnick's views, highlighting that the console ecosystem is becoming "nearly entirely digital." The release of Grand Theft Auto 6 on November 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S raises questions about digital distribution and ownership in gaming.

AppWizard

August 4, 2026

I desperately need this TTRPG to become a videogame—it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen

10,000 Swords Against Heaven is a tabletop role-playing game created by JK Saavedra, characterized as a "dark science fantasy cultivation RPG." The game features a narrative focused on violent resistance against a "magofascist" ruling class and incorporates elements of southeast Asian culture and history. Players encounter characters such as Aswang assassins and Fangshi, and the game critiques the Neoliberal World Order. While it offers an immersive experience, some fans express a desire for a video game adaptation due to challenges in finding a community of players.