Since the original announcement in December, fans looking to revisit the classic RPG Final Fantasy IX have been anxiously waiting for an official release date. Square Enix never got around to that, but they did it one better by simply letting the game loose on Steam this morning.
Final Fantasy IX was originally released for the first Sony PlayStation console in 2000, and could be called the last of the “classic” Final Fantasy games, as it was the final game without voice acting (unless you count the singing in the FMV cutscenes). In the years since its release, the game managed to sell more than five million copies.
Like the mobile version of the game, released in February, this edition of the game features enhanced graphics for a much smoother look than the original PlayStation release. The classic gameplay fans remember is here as well, but that doesn’t mean that there are no new features outside of the graphics overhaul.
Steam Achievements has been added to the game, giving those playing through the game for the fifth time something new to do. Like the previous re-release of Final Fantasy VII, game booster have been added to allow players to make their way through the game without the need for grinding. A total of seven boosters are here, including high speed and no encounter modes.
As you might expect for a remaster of a 16-year-old game, system requirements are fairly modest, with a minimum of a 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2GB RAM, 7GB available space, and NVIDIA GeForce 8600GTS or ATI Radeon HD4650 or better. The recommended specs don’t go much further, upping the processor requirement to a Core i5 2520, 4GB RAM, and 20GB of available space.
As with the mobile version, the Steam version of Final Fantasy IX will sell for $21. For those who plan on picking the game up soon, a discount takes 20 percent off the price, bringing it down to $17. This discount will remain in effect until April 20. See the Final Fantasy IX Steam page for more details.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.