remastering Archives

AppWizard

May 6, 2025

Will Microsoft finally give PC gamers the one series they should already have?

Gears of War: Reloaded will debut on PlayStation and is set for release on August 26, 2025. The game will feature native 4K assets, HDR and Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos Surround Sound, variable refresh rate, super resolution, enhanced art direction, and no loading screens. It will support cross-play and cross-progression across all platforms. Players who own Gears of War: Ultimate Edition will receive a complimentary upgrade to this new version, and it will be available on day one through Game Pass.

AppWizard

April 30, 2025

PC gaming is the real next-gen and now’s the best time to switch

Cyberpunk 2077 offers an immersive gaming experience on high-end PCs, showcasing advanced technology such as real-time reflections and path tracing for enhanced visuals. The game runs seamlessly at maximum settings on an RTX 5070Ti, achieving over 120fps in 4K resolution. The current gaming landscape indicates that next-generation gaming is primarily driven by PC technology, which remains more viable due to stable hardware prices compared to rising console costs. Modern platforms like Steam and the Epic Games Store have simplified PC gaming, making it more accessible and often more economical. Recent advancements, including ray tracing, enhance even older titles like Half-Life 2. Major console games are increasingly launching on PC simultaneously, and PlayStation titles are appearing on Steam within a year of their console release. Speculation about future consoles suggests they may adopt PC-like features, but they are unlikely to match the performance of top-tier graphics cards.

AppWizard

April 26, 2025

Oblivion Remastered PC: impressive modernisation blighted by dire performance problems

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered utilizes an Unreal Engine 5 wrapper to enhance the original game, but it carries over some of the original's issues and suffers from significant performance challenges, including frequent stuttering. Digital Foundry analyzed the remaster against the original 2006 version, highlighting advancements in graphics but also noting that the remaster struggles with limited polygon budgets and basic effects. The remaster's performance is inconsistent, especially on mid-range CPUs, leading to poor experiences even on high-end hardware. Disabling hardware RT-based Lumen global illumination can improve performance by about 35%, but at the cost of visual quality. Lowering settings yields only marginal performance improvements, and the game fails to deliver an attractive experience compared to the original. A recent patch did not resolve the stuttering issues, indicating that fundamental CPU-related problems remain unaddressed.

AppWizard

April 23, 2025

5 Star Wars PC Games That Need to Be Remastered Now

Star Wars: Empire at War, released on February 16, 2006, by Petroglyph Games for PC and Mac, is a real-time strategy game set during the Galactic Civil War, allowing players to command armies in battles across various planets and space. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, released in December 1996 by LucasArts for Nintendo 64 and PC, is a multimedia event that features a video game with a PC version that includes fully voiced cutscenes, but has not been remastered. The X-Wing and TIE Fighter series, developed by Totally Games and released on April 30, 1997 for PC, emphasizes simulation gameplay and intense dogfights, yet has not received a remaster. Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, released on September 30, 1997 by LucasArts for PC, is a first-person shooter that introduces Kyle Katarn and features lightsaber combat and multiplayer modes, but remains unremastered. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 3D, released on November 17, 1998 by LucasArts & Factor 5 for Nintendo 64 and PC, is a flight action game where players join Luke Skywalker in missions for the Rebel Alliance, and has not been remastered.

AppWizard

April 19, 2025

After a disappointing sequel and a cancelled remake, the original Fear Effect is coming to PC ‘for the first time ever’

Fear Effect is set to make its debut on PC, published by Limited Run Games, without any remastering or modernization. A remake titled Fear Effect Reinvented was announced in 2017 but was informally canceled by developer Forever Entertainment in 2023. The only other entry in the series, Fear Effect Sedna, was released in 2018 as an isometric stealth action title and received a 'Mixed' rating on Steam, with only 44% of reviews being positive. The upcoming rerelease is anticipated but details are limited, with Steam stating it is "Coming soon."

AppWizard

April 2, 2025

Best April 2025 games releasing on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC

- The Last of Us Part II Remastered is set to release on PC on April 3, 2025. - South of Midnight will launch on Xbox and PC on April 8, 2025. - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is scheduled for release on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on April 24, 2025. - Days Gone Remastered will be available on PS5, PC, and as a digital version for PS4 on April 25, 2025. - Forza Horizon 5 will be released on PS5 on April 29, 2025.

AppWizard

March 23, 2025

System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster Preview – How Nightdive Studios approaches remastering an influential classic PC game

Nightdive Studios has released a series of modern ports and remasters, including a ground-up remake of the 1994 classic, System Shock. They acquired the license for System Shock nearly a decade ago and are now working on the System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster, which has taken considerable time to develop. The remaster will feature optimized controller support for modern consoles and will maintain the original emotional resonance of the game. It will include a Vault with media related to the game's original creation. The remaster is set to be released on June 26 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam, Epic, GOG).

AppWizard

March 18, 2025

Half-Life 2 RTX is the future of PC gaming, for better or worse

Nvidia has released a complimentary two-hour demo of Half-Life 2 RTX for owners of the original Half-Life 2, showcasing advanced features such as full path tracing and neural shaders. The game includes enhancements like improved meshes, materials, lighting, and the Neural Radiance Cache, which optimizes ray-traced indirect light. The demo demonstrates significant upgrades in asset quality and shadow rendering, but the game is resource-intensive, requiring DLSS for playable performance, particularly at 4K resolution. The demo evokes the original game's atmosphere and is seen as a significant step in Nvidia's remastering efforts. There is currently no release date for the full version, but the demo is available for free on Steam.

AppWizard

February 16, 2025

Saber Interactive’s head honcho pulled a wild stunt to nab the Halo: Combat Evolved remaster, telling Microsoft he’d do the job for free before ultimately squeezing the publisher for millions

Saber Interactive, led by CEO Matthew Karch, was invited to pitch for the remaster of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary while developing titles like Will Rock and Timeshift. Karch proposed to Microsoft that Saber would remaster the game at no cost, with the understanding of earning royalties post-launch in 2011. However, Microsoft included clauses in the contract that stripped Saber of these rights. Despite this, Saber went on to remaster Halo 2 and port Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary to Xbox One. Before the release of The Master Chief Collection, Karch refused to sign the contract for the port work unless Microsoft reconsidered the royalty situation, which they ultimately did, leading to Saber receiving royalties estimated in the tens of millions of dollars. Saber was acquired by Embracer Group in 2020 and sold again in 2024 after layoffs and canceled projects, but has since launched Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, achieving acclaim.