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Weekend Gamer: CES 2025

Weekend Gamer here. With CES (Consumer Electronics Show) happening right now in Las Vegas, we are getting a lot of tech news, like the Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5090 Graphics Cards which will cost nearly $2,000! Officially the start date is January 7, but the media preview kickoff started January 6.

AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme Read More AMD The biggest feature will likely be a new AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme CPU (all the current AMD-based handhelds are using the Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip). Only the MSI Claw uses an Intel chip. … …

AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme
amd.com

No surprise, but we got an announcement that AMD will be releasing a new generation of AMD Ryzen Z2 processors (the Z2 Extreme, the Z2, and Z2 Go). Currently, most of the current PC gaming handhelds on the market right now are using the AMD Z1 Extreme or slower variants of the Z1 chip.

So, for 2025, expect to see ROG Ally 2, Legion Go 2, and even Steam Deck 2 (Steam is not releasing Steam Deck 2 any time soon), to all be adopting the new, faster (and more efficient) Z2 processor. Although I only mention the top three, but I suspect other handhelds (or even unknown ones from Xbox) may be joining in on the crowded gaming handheld market.

If you’re in the market for a gaming handheld, and you want the latest and greatest - I would wait until those Z2-powered devices to be released. However, if you want a gaming device, but want to save some money (and don’t mind last year’s tech), I would look for sales or clearance of last year’s models. After all, I was a sucker and bought a Legion Go because of their $200 price drop.

For 2025 and beyond, I expect to see more and more handhelds. The reason? It’s a growing market, and most manufacturers are already producing laptops - they just need to repackage those same components into a handheld style and, voila, you got a new product. If you look at the current laptop market, there are hundreds of laptops out there. Some manufacturers focus strictly on gaming laptops, so those same manufacturers will also offer the same gaming laptops in a smaller form factor.

Nitro Blaze 11 Read More Nitro Blaze In other PC handheld news, Acer has also entered the crowded handheld market with the announcement of the Acer Nitro Blaze 7, via their website. There’s nothing really new or interesting here … …

NITRO BLAZE 11
acer.com

The first time I talked about the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 in Nov 2024, I mentioned that the PC handheld was already a crowded market. How do you stand out? Well, how about a whopping 11-inch gaming handheld called the Nitro Blaze 11??!? To put things into perspective, currently the largest handheld goes to the Legion Go at 8.8 inches (and already that’s large!).

At that 11-inch size, imagine holding a very heavy iPad and trying to play games. I don’t know how well that’s going to work.

Still, I think it’s super cool. Since my eyes are getting worst, I always want a larger display… but there is point where I don’t really think 11 inches is that portable. That’s why Acer also offers two other sizes: the original 7-inch and an 8-inch version of the Nitro Blaze.

Personally, if I am going to get a Nitro Blaze, I would want the largest. Besides the large display, why would I go for the 11? I don’t really travel that much, and I would prefer playing with comfort. If I am traveling, the controllers are detachable, taking a cue from Lenovo’s Legion Go, so the Nitro Blaze can stand alone as a tablet. Plug in a keyboard and mouse, and voila, you’ve got an 11-inch gaming laptop. Now, that’s freaking cool.

As for specs, it’s powered by AMD Ryzen™ 7 8840HS processor, with AMD Radeon™ 780M graphics (a dedicated mobile graphics card!). There’s also USB4 Type C - if you prefer an external graphic card. The resolution is a native 2560 x 1600 resolution (the same as the Legion Go), 120Hz refresh rate, and 500 nits brightness and it’s equipped with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM.

For the price, the Nitro Blaze 11 will retail for $1,100, which, I personally think is a reasonable price. Anyone who shops around for a gaming laptop knows the $1k is a pricing norm. If I had the money, I would get this and play around with it. Perhaps, if it can perform, it might replace my aging Asus ROG Strix G15 (even though the 15-inch screen is much nicer to work with).

Legion Go 2 Read More Lenovo Legion Go You know I’ve been interested in the Lenovo Legion Go since August 2023, and now, in November 2023, the Legion Go is out now. In my original writeup, I said that Lenovo is somewhat late to the game …

LEGION GO 2
lenovo.com

So, it’s official, the Lenovo Legion Go 2 has been announced at CES 2025. As you know, this is the one I’ve been waiting to hear about all month. The biggest upgrade is the native landscape 16:10 OLED 8.8-inch screen! You know my biggest complaint about the first Legion Go is that stupid vertical screen, which causes problems with old games. The fact that it’s OLED, that’s a massive upgrade.

In my prediction for the Legion Go 2 in November, I mentioned that Lenovo should give us a faster way to login, like a fingerprint reader or face ID … and wouldn’t you know it, we now have a fingerprint reader.

Other upgrades include the new Z2 Extreme chip, which is an easy prediction, and a new 8-way directional pad! They also mentioned double the battery life and upgraded 32GB of RAM.

Those are just the early stories… I’m sure we’ll hear more about the Legion Go 2 when it’s officially unveiled and listed to order. Right now all that information is based on early prototypes at CES.

Right now, all the press are talking about the 8 inch Legion Go S with the two versions: a SteamOS and Windows version. As I previously mentioned, I’m not interested in a smaller or slower device, but since it’s the first non-Steam Deck that runs SteamOS, everybody is interested.

Gamestation Retro Go Read More Gamestation Atari will be heading into the crowded handheld market with their new Gamestation Go, announced via a twitter post. Look, I have absolutely NO INTEREST in this. Here is the reason why …

Gamestation
myarcade.com

When I first talked about the Atari Gamestation Go earlier this week, I thought Atari was producing these devices and had absolutely no interests in it. Why would you buy this product just strictly for old Atari games? It just didn’t make any sense to get this one-trick pony.

As it turns out, that Gamestation Go is part of a much bigger Gamestation ecosystem created by My Arcade.

So far, what we’ve learned from CES is that there will be three new products: Gamestation Retro Go (the handheld), Gamestation Retro Pro, and Gamestation Retro Mega. We’ve already seen the handheld, which contains a lot of old control-styles like a paddle. Unlike the Atari version, it looks like the regular Retro Go will include additional arcade titles from Sega and Capcom.

The Retro Pro is a game console. You hook it up to a television and it comes with two controllers. The Retro Mega is a small 10-inch arcade cabinet (bartop style). It comes with joysticks and buttons and will be the most expensive (they suggest the retail price will be $300). At $300, I’m going to pass on it. After all, you can buy basically the same thing by Arcade1Up for $150 or Evercade for $250 right now on Amazon and then add additional cartridges to expand your game library.

Each Gamestation collection will include over 100 games, like Pac-Man, Galaga, Dig Dug, Street Fighter II, Mega Man, Final Fight, 1942, and more.

You can usually find My Arcade products at Walmart or Target, so I’ll wait to find them in retail stores and if the price is appealing, I might pick up one of these Gamestation. Who knows, maybe I’ll find some heavy 70% off discounts that Target is famous for doing when they want to clear out their inventories.

Yours,

Weekend Gamer
[email protected]

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Weekend Gamer: Go! Go! Zo!

      Weekend Gamer here.

      With CES (Consumer Electronics Show) coming up on January 7, I am hearing all these rumors about what to expect in the popular computer handheld market: Lenovo Legion Go S (two variants), Legion Go 2, Atari Gamestation Go, Zotac Zone 2. If true (or false), I will update this article with additional details after January 7.

Legion Go S Read More Lenovo Legion Go As you know, I recently purchased the Lenovo Legion Go, and I’ve been enjoying it. Of course, as soon as I bought it, there’s already rumors of a Legion Go 2, which may come out in 2025. The biggest feature will likely be a … Steam There’s no more waiting… You can now buy Steam Deck, right now, without reservation. According to steampowered, it’s been more than a year since it was first announced, but due to numerous supply chain issues and …

LEGION GO S
lenovo.com

      In my original rumor in November 2024, I mentioned that the we’re getting a “Legion Go Gen 2 and Legion Go Lite”. It would seem that not only are we getting two new Legion Go’s, but three.

      There will be two Legion Go S, a black one running SteamOS and a white one running Windows 11. As I previously mentioned, the S models are smaller, with no detachable controllers, and less powerful than the regular Legion Go… so I am not interested in this. The only way I would be interested in the S model is if the price is attractive. For example, I had no interests in the Xbox Series S model, but when I saw it on sale for $199, I bought one (even though I already had a Series X).

      I am also not interested in running SteamOS on the Legion Go S, because I want to GOG or Xbox Game Pass… however, I can see why people would want a better Steam handheld. The current Steam Decks are old, by technology’s standards, and from my understanding, Valve (the maker of Steam), will not release new Steam Deck 2 for another few years.

      What I am really interested in is the Legion Go 2 with a new AMD Z2 chip. I like the first one, but I want a bigger, faster, and kickass version. I hope Lenovo fix everything wrong in the new version. For example, maybe add a second fan or redesign the Legion Go for better cooling. Right now, my Legion Go overheats due to the SSD running too hot and the device’s inability to cool it with one fan.

Gamestation Go Read More Arcade1Up So, I accidentally bought my second Arcade1Up, an Atari's Asteroids machine. Of all the cabinets that Arcade1Up released, this was my least desirable.…

GAMESTATION GO
atari.com

      Atari will be heading into the crowded handheld market with their new Gamestation Go, announced via a twitter post.

      Look, I have absolutely NO INTEREST in this. Here is the reason why: the Gamestation Go is not going to be very powerful. It doesn’t have to be to run 50 year old games. Plus, I am assuming this thing can ONLY RUN Atari games. You know what else can run Atari games? The ROG Ally or Legion Go!!!

      Before I dismiss it, I will confess that the reasons why people will want the Gamestation Go is that there are controls unique to old Atari games. Such as a trak-ball, padding, and the 10-key numpad that you see in the image. Most modern handhelds won’t have those unusual controllers, so if you are hardcore serious about your old Centipede or Breakout games… yeah it makes sense that you would want a Gamestation Go. Me? I’m going to hard pass on this.

Zotac Zone 2 Read More Nitro Blaze 7 In other PC handheld news, Acer has also entered the crowded handheld market with the announcement of the Acer Nitro Blaze 7, via their website. There’s nothing really new or interesting here …

ZOTAC ZONE 2
zotac.com

      The Zotac Zone came out last year. The only thing that sets it apart is the AMOLED screen and control dials and two trackpads and webcam. This thing is truly a mini-laptop… and comes at a cost of nearly $800. Even if you wanted one, you currently can’t even buy it. I’ve looked online, it’s just not available to buy as of this writing (January 2025).

      Despite not being able to buy it, Video Cardz is reporting that we are already getting a Zotac Zone 2 with an upgraded Ryzen AI 300 chip and upgraded RAM and SSD.

      The thing is, how do you know you have the Version 2 vs the first version? Does it come in white or have some sort of distinguishing look to set it apart?

      Like all these new PC handhelds entering the market in 2024 and 2025 (such as the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 which was announced last year), I feel like it’s already too late. By now, every gamer who wanted a handheld already put their money in a device. I mean, I, as the Weekend Gamer, have already purchased a Steam Deck, a ROG Ally, and a Lenovo Legion Go. I don’t really need another handheld… unless you’re going to offer me some insane deals or have a feature that really stands out.

      I will add that I get why these PC manufacturers want to get into the handheld action. If you make gaming laptops, it just makes sense to reuse or design it in a way to fit in a handheld device. Just because I don’t need a gaming laptop, there is always someone out there that needs a laptop. The same can be said for a gaming handheld. Also, you know what they say, the more the merrier. In this case, if that means cheaper prices with more competition, I am all for it.

      There’s no rumors of ROG Ally 2 appearing at CES… but who knows? Maybe we might get an announcement. Based on the release of the ROG Ally X in May 2024, we may start seeing a new ROG Ally release every year on the anniversary of the ROG Ally. That means we probably won’t see the ROG Ally 2 until June 2025.

     

Yours,

Weekend Gamer
[email protected]

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Epic Games Christmas Game Giveaway 2024

Read More Epic Games It’s that time of the year. Epic Games is doing their annual 12 Days of Christmas giveaway… well, it’s more like 15 days of Christmas. Already, I’m very happy to now own Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role-Playing Game …

It’s that time of the year again: Epic Games’ Christmas Game Giveaway! Every year since 2021, the Fortnite owner gives away some great games every day until the new year. The daily giveaway starts on December 19th, but usually the week before (starting December 12th) you also get a nice game, which, for 2024 is The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria.

Most of these games I already own on other platforms, such as Steam and GOG, but as I previously mentioned, it’s always nice to get some free games on Epic. If you’re an achievement hunter, you can replay previously beaten games on Steam and earn some achievement badges on Epic!

Also worth noting, is that Epic usually gives out a nice discount with a Holiday Game Sale (a regular sale with an additional 10% reward kickback). I have previously purchased some games on Epic during these sales - so it works! Currently, I am playing Path of Exile 2 on Epic so I am regularly on the launcher.

Last year, the big Xmas free game was Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, along with other free titles that I enjoyed: Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition, The Outer Worlds: Spacer's Choice Edition and A Plague Tale: Innocence.

In 2022, the big game was Death Stranding, with other titles like Wolfenstein The New Order, Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role-Playing Game, Metro: Last Light Redux, and Dishonored - Definitive Edition.

In 2021, we got Tomb Raider Trilogy, along with Pathfinder: Kingmaker Enhance Plus Edition.

I will be updating the free game list as soon as I know the titles, if there is an amazing title, I will be sure to spotlight it in an upcoming post.

Epic Christmas Game 2024 List:

12/12 Christmas Kickoff: The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria

12/19 Vampire Survivors

12/20 Astrea: Six Sided Oracles

12/21 TerraTech

12/22 Wizard of Legend

12/23 Dark and Darker - Legendary Status

12/24 DREDGE

12/25 Control

12/26 Ghostrunner 2

12/27 HOT WHEELS UNLEASHED™

12/28 Kill Knight

12/29 Orcs Must Die! 3

12/30 [REDACTED]

12/31 Sifu

01/01 Kingdom Come: Deliverance

Yours,

Weekend Gamer
[email protected]

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Weekend Gamer: Crucial 2TB NVMe M.2 SSD

Crucial 2TB PCIe Gen4 2230 NVMe M.2 SSD Read More Lenovo Legion Go As you know, I recently purchased the Lenovo Legion Go, and I’ve been enjoying it. Of course, as soon as I bought it, there’s already rumors of a Legion Go 2, which may come out in 2025. The biggest feature will likely be a …

After a week of tinkering with my Lenovo Legion Go, I’ve come to realize that I really, really need to upgrade the original 512GB storage to something much larger.

Luckily, we’re in the middle of Black Friday, and most stores are having their annual sale.

To upgrade to a larger SSD, you first need to turn off Windows’ Bitlocker encryption (if you have it turned on). This will make the process smoother, otherwise you need to have your encryption key handy (this is found under your Microsoft’s account).

Next, you need to download Legion Support USB recovery via lenovo.com (you need to have your Legion Go serial number). This is just in case cloning your drive doesn’t work out.

The easiest way to upgrade your drive is just to clone your original SSD. In the past, I have used Macrium Reflect (macrium.com), which gives you a 30-day free trial. Of course, my trial has long expired.

SSK NVMe SSD Cloner M.2 Docking Station

I’ve decided to go in a different direction this time. What you will need is a NVMe Dual Bay Cloner. I found this SSK Brand for $40 (Black Friday sale), so it is the item I’ll be using.

The best part about the cloner is that you can do it completely offline.

How it works: you have a source slot and a target slot. You need to put in the original 512GB drive in the source and the new drive in the target slot. On the SSK Cloner, you need to hold down the Clone Button for 3 seconds until all the lights are flashing. Let go of the Clone Button and then press the Clone Button once. This semi-complicated process was put in place to prevent accidental cloning (and unintentionally wiping out a drive).

The Cloning was pretty fast and took about 10 minutes or less.

So, a couple of problems! The first is the Crucial 2TB PCIe Gen4 2230 NVMe M.2 SSD, which I bought for $140. It boasts speed up to 7,100mb/s, which is fast and it runs hot. So hot that it crashed the Legion Go a few times when I was using it docked and playing YouTube videos. The temperature reached 180°F. The drive wasn’t designed for these handhelds, because you need airflow and cooling solutions.

You can solve the heat problem with a couple of things. Get a low-profile heatsink for the SSD. Set your Legion Go profile to use less than 45-Watt to draw less power. Disable hardware acceleration on your browser.

So far, when I’m running the Legion Go on batteries, there are no issues. I don’t think SSD draws enough power to cause it to overheat. Maybe sometime in 2025, I will have to look at buying some heatsinks and an extender for my 2230 to 2242.

NOTE: The last 2TB NVME drive I bought 2TB Sabrent NVMe 2230 and that advertised at 5,000 MB/s and I paid over $200 for it! That drive was deliberately designed to be slower so it would work in the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, and I’ve never had a problem with overheating on that drive.

Anyway, now that I understand the overheating problem with the Crucial, I can manage it on my Legion Go… but it was very annoying and frustrating trying work around the heating problems.

I’m going to try to make it work with the Crucial 2TB NVME, but for now, I wouldn’t recommend this drive for the Legion Go or ROG Ally or Steam Deck. If you are building a Mini-PC, this might work for you because there are extra space to vent the heat.

Yours,

Weekend Gamer
[email protected]

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Weekend Gamer: Legion Go 2, Nitro Blaze 7, and Xbox Handheld

Lenovo Legion Go Read More Lenovo Legion Go You know I’ve been interested in the Lenovo Legion Go since August 2023, and now, in November 2023, the Legion Go is out now. In my original writeup, I said that Lenovo is somewhat late to the game …

As you know, I recently purchased the Lenovo Legion Go, and I’ve been enjoying it. Of course, as soon as I bought it, there’s already rumors of a Legion Go 2, which may come out in 2025. The biggest feature will likely be a new AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme CPU (all the current AMD-based handhelds are using the Ryzen Z1 Extreme chip). Only the MSI Claw uses an Intel chip.

If the Z2 Extreme chip becomes available, you bet Asus will be releasing their ROG Ally 2 in competition. Right now, their ROG Ally X is only a small improvement over the original ROG Ally. I do own the original Ally, so I never bought the X, even though I did want it for the USB4 and massive battery.

For the Legion Go 2, I’m sure it’ll match the 24GB Ram and storage option. I hope they decide to stick with the large 8.8 screen (perhaps go OLED?), as the 1600p screen is the Legion Go’s biggest advantage over all the handhelds. I honestly don’t care for the detachable controllers, but I would love for Lenovo to introduce new and different controller styles. Perhaps open it to third-party accessory makers. May also give us a fingerprint reader for faster login, or face ID (but that would mean putting in a camera and that might be too much).

Lenovo Product Listing

So why are we so sure that a Legion Go 2 is in the works? It’s because Lenovo Product Listing for their official USB-C Dock lists Legion Go Gen 2 and Legion Go Lite. The rumor for the Lite version is that it’s a smaller device and you can’t remove the controllers. It’s also supposed to be cheaper, given the smaller screen… Either way, now that I own a Legion Go and the Legion Go Deck, I’m looking forward to the new Legion Go 2 version.

Speaking of Xbox, according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer, he has confirmed the company’s plan to release an Xbox handheld. Xbox Handheld? Let’s goooo!

If Xbox gets in the game, pardon the pun, they will likely develop a “light” version of Windows. You know, something like what the Xbox is currently using, but designed for a small screen? That would mean that the Xbox will have a massive advantage over all the current handhelds right now. The number one issues people have with PC gaming handhelds is Windows 11 wasn’t designed for small screen. You often need a physical keyboard and mouse.

Acer Nitro Blaze 7

In other PC handheld news, Acer has also entered the crowded handheld market with the announcement of the Acer Nitro Blaze 7, via their website.

There’s nothing really new or interesting here, it’s a 7” inch device with a 144Hz 1080p display with an AMD Radeon™ 780M Graphics. The other thing is that Acer didn’t create the device, they’re just putting their name on it and re-selling it to the American market. Extreme Tech mentioned that, “It turns out this device is a rebranded Terrans Force product.”

Right now, they didn’t announce a price, but since they saved so much money just re-branding the Terrans Force Handle 7, I wonder if they can price this at $500 or less and they can really be a true competitor to the Steam Deck. Remember, that stupid White Steam Deck is nearly $700.

Anyway, below is a breakdown of the ROG Ally vs the Legion Go specs, with yellow highlights for the pros. I hope that Lenovo will keep the price to less than $700, but inflation prices and bigger upgrades, I suspect it will likely be $800 or more. I hope not, because I already called Sony greedy for asking $700 for PS5 Pro (and not throw in a disc drive or a vertical stand!)

Guess what? The Legion Go and ROG Ally can play PlayStation games (via Steam).

Specs	ROG Ally	Legion Go	ROG Ally X
Image
Colors	White	Black	Black
Processor	AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme	AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme	AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme
RAM	16GB DDR5	16GB LPDDR5X	24GB DDR5
eGPU	RG Mobile	USB4 (2x)	USB4 (1)
Storage	512GB m.2 2230	512GB m.2 2242	1TB m.2 2280
Display	7” 1080p VRR	8.8″ QHD (2560 x 1600) 144Hz	7” 1080p VRR
Battery	40 Wh	49.2 Wh	80 Wh
O/S	Windows 11	Windows 11	Windows 11
Price	$700	$700	$800
Date	June 2023	Oct 2023	June 2024

Yours,

Weekend Gamer
[email protected]

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Weekend Gamer: Lenovo Legion Go

Lenovo Legion Go Lenovo Legion Go Specs Processor: AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme with RDNA Graphics Operating System: Windows 11 Home Memory: 16GB 7500Mhz LPDDR5X Storage: 512GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2242 MicroSD card reader (supports up to 2TB) Display: 8.8″ QHD (2560 x 1600) IPS, 500 nits, 16:10 aspect ratio, 144Hz refresh rate, 97% DCI-P3, 10-point touchscreen, Gorilla® Glass Battery: 2-cell 49.2WHr Audio: 2 x 2W Speakers Headphone / mic combo 2x USB-C 4.0 (DisplayPort™ 1.4, Power Delivery 3.0) Wireless WiFi 6E* 802.11AX (2 x 2) Bluetooth Starting at Bluetooth® 5.1 Haptics: HD Haptics Gyro: 6-Axis IMU Controller base 65W Power Adapter Carrying Case Read More Lenovo Legion Go You know I’ve been interested in the Lenovo Legion Go since August 2023, and now, in November 2023, the Legion Go is out now. In my original writeup, I said that Lenovo is somewhat late to the game …

As you know, I am a huge Windows Handheld Gamer, you can credit Nintendo for popularizing the game-on-the-go with the original Nintendo Switch, starting in 2017. Since then, Valve got into the handheld with their Steam Deck, in 2022, which revolutionized PC gaming in your hands.

I’ve always wanted the Lenovo Legion Go, which launched in Nov 2023, but by that point, I was already invested in the ROG Ally, which arrived eight months earlier. I couldn’t really justify the $700 price tag on the Legion Go.

With Black Friday coming up, Lenovo is discounting their Legion Go devices, some said as much as $200 off. I bought my Legion Go at Target, who was selling it for $550… which is much cheaper than the crappy Steam Deck White Edition.

It was an impulse buy, I saw it for sale and I convinced myself that this is a birthday gift to myself. So I bought it.

So far, this is what I like about the Legion Go:

1. Comes with a protective carrying case
2. Has a top and bottom USB-C 4.0 ports
3. Built-in Kickstand!
4. Removeable controllers that can be used as a vertical mouse
5. 8.8 inch screen at 2560x1600 at 144Hz (the screen and resolution is the best of all my mobile devices – it is very clear and readable)
6. A dedicated button to quickly switch to different power profiles

What I don’t like about the Legion Go:

1. Controllers can easily fall off if you don’t snap it in correctly
2. It’s a very big and heavy device that I can’t see long hand-holding gaming sessions.
3. None of my existing docs will work with the Legion Go, so I have to buy an official dock
4. I don’t love the Vantage software (this is Lenovo’s version of the Armoury Crate).
5. You need at least a 65W power delivery to charge the device
6. Battery life isn’t great (but none of these devices have great battery life). You’re going to have to plug this in all the time.
7. The native vertical screen caused issues on some of my old games
8. Built-in speakers are the worst of my handhelds I own

I haven’t had the device long enough to give it a proper review, but based on my time with it, I can tell you that Lenovo’s controller approach is very different than the ROG Ally. The Ally has a switch between “Desktop Mode” and “Game Mode.” For example, the right-stick becomes the mouse cursor in Desktop Mode. In Game Mode, the right-stick becomes a movement.

Lenovo doesn’t have a switch option, so all their buttons and mapping are on the two removable controllers. If you need a mouse cursor, use the mousepad on the right controller. I am just not used to using the mousepad and I can tell you this is not how I want to play games that requires mouse and keyboard. For those games, I would need to play it on a hub with a mouse and keyboard attached.

To be fair, mouse and keyboard games aren’t usable for me on the Steam Deck either. I think the way the ROG Ally approach to the controller made better sense to me, especially because it keeps the controllers smaller and more manageable. Still, I know many people likes the mousepad on the controllers… I’m just not one of them.

Other than that, I’m pretty happy with my purchase. I think for $550 or less, this is a great price. If all the handheld devices costs around $500, I am going to recommend the Legion Go, simply because you get more value (carrying case, larger screen at higher resolution, kickstand, and the double USB-C!)

Eventually, down the line, I would like to upgrade the 512GB SSD to something much larger, like 2TB or more. My initial research shows that the system will overheat with larger capacity SSD, and that you need to clone the SSD since Lenovo doesn’t have a backup option (the ROG Ally allows you to re-download your Windows 11 using their server). It just seems like a lot of work to upgrade the internal storage, so, at least for now, I am leaving it as-is. Besides, between the ROG Ally, the Steam Deck, my ROG Strix laptop, my Microsoft Surface, my Legion Gaming PC …. one of these machines will have a game I want!

P.S., since this is just a Windows 11 PC, all your music apps, including iTunes and Spotify and whatever music you’re using, can run in the background as you play your games, even though most gamers will agree that the built-in speakers are “absolute garbage”. You can always install enhancing audio software that might fix the problem. You can always plug in (or Bluetooth) a headphone to really enjoy the audio.

Yours,

Weekend Gamer
[email protected]

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Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, Lenovo Legion Go, and the ROG Ally

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Steam Deck White Edition

Steam Deck: Limited Edition White Read More Steam There’s no more waiting… You can now buy Steam Deck, right now, without reservation. According to steampowered, it’s been more than a year since it was first announced, but due to numerous supply chain issues and …

Let’s face it, the original Steam Deck, which launched in 2022 (I preordered it with $5), kicked off a PC handheld gaming revolution.

Yes, of course, there were other players in the market (Aya Neo, OneXPlayer), but none of them were widely available in the USA and had a very small market due to their pricing ($1k or more). The entry $399 Steam Deck was, what I wrote, “a fantastic price.”

It didn’t take long before Asus entered the market in April 2023 with the ROG Ally, which addressed many problems I had with the Steam Deck (mainly because I needed a Windows device). While the Steam Deck is great for Steam games, I need to access my GOG or Blizzard games, which Linux (Steam OS) does not support.

Lenovo’s Legion Go soon followed in Nov 2023, then MSI Claw in Jan 2024, then the ROG Ally X in May 2024. Unfortunately, at this point, I had already invested heavily into the original ROG Ally and could not justify spending another $700+ on another Windows Handheld (even though I would love to get my ‘claws’ on these new devices to play around with).

Don’t count the Steam Deck out, their entry $400 LCD is still a great option for gamers looking to dip their toes in the PC handheld market. If you have the cash or looking for a handheld, Steam will also be offering a Limited Edition White version of the Steam Deck. It’ll come with an OLED screen and 1TB of storage, and will cost $680, available November 18, 2024. Although it looks nice, I thought the Limited Edition Translucent version looked so much cooler.

At $680, I am definitely not buying it. I’m going to recommend buying the ROG Ally X or any of the other Windows devices, because you get more options… but still, I’m sure the Steam Deck White Edition will sell like gangbuster.

What I really, really want is perhaps a new CPU or maybe a Steam Deck 2. According to Steam, they probably won’t release a Steam Deck 2 until another two or three years. In the meantime, they’ll just release different boring colors, I guess.

Yours,

Weekend Gamer
[email protected]

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Weekend Gamer: Legion Go, ROG Ally, and MSI Claw at Target and Castlevania Anniversary Collection

Castlevania Anniversary Collection Read More ROG Ally Now enter the ROG Ally from Asus. The ROG Ally will address all the things that I wanted in my Steam Deck: Windows, faster chip, better screen, higher resolution, pleasing looks, and the ability to dock in their enhance graphics … Lenovo Legion Go You know I’ve been interested in the Lenovo Legion Go since August 2023, and now, in November 2023, the Legion Go is out now. In my original writeup, I said that Lenovo is somewhat late to the game … MSI Claw The handheld gaming space is heating up with another contender: MSI Claw A1M. This PC handheld gaming device was announced at CES 2024 (Consumer Electronic Show). … Steam There’s no more waiting… You can now buy Steam Deck, right now, without reservation. According to steampowered, it’s been more than a year since it was first announced, but due to numerous supply chain issues and …

I was surprised to see that all three Windows devices, the MSI Claw, the Lenovo Legion Go, and the Asus ROG Ally were all in stock (two each) at my semi-local Target Super Store. To be perfectly honest, this is the first time I have seen the Legion Go or the Claw in a retail store, and I was really excited. Not crazy about the prices, both the Legion Go and Claw are $700 and the ROG Ally is $500 (but keep in mind this is last year’s “Non-Extreme” version).

With Black Friday coming up, Target is hoping they can move a few of these Windows Handheld devices… and certainly with more foot traffic, it’ll catch some gamers’ eye. I know if I didn’t already have the ROG Ally Extreme, that I would’ve thrown down some cash for the large 8.8 screen of the Legion Go. It definitely looks amazing, especially how towering that box is over its competitors.

You may be asking, why not save a little money and buy the cheapest Steam Deck? Sure, that’s a good option, but you should know that you can basically only play games on Steam only. There are ways to add GOG and others, but I’ve tried it and some games did not run or it just didn’t work for me.

If you go with the Windows Handheld, like the ROG Ally, you have access to every game available on Windows… including Game Pass and Epic Games. Speaking of Epic, they are giving Castlevania Anniversary Collection for FREE from November 14 to November 21. I already own the game on Steam, but, hey, it’s free!

Castlevania Anniversary Collection Details:

Konami's Castlevania Anniversary Collection traces the origins of the historic vampire franchise. Included is a unique eBook with details provided by developers, artists and others inspired by the Castlevania legacy which sheds a fresh light into the world of Castlevania.

Released as part of the Konami 50th Anniversary celebration, relive these timeless classics that helped define the platformer genre. From the Belmont clan to their extended bloodlines and allies, the Castlevania Anniversary Collection is the best first step for anyone to take into the world of Castlevania and the fight against Dracula!

Castlevania
Castlevania II Simon's Quest
Castlevania III Dracula's Curse
Super Castlevania IV
Castlevania The Adventure
Castlevania II Belmont's Revenge
Castlevania Bloodlines
Kid Dracula (never released in English before)
History of Castlevania - Book of the Crescent Moon

Yours,

Weekend Gamer

Legion Go, ROG Ally, and MSI Claw at Target

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Weekend Gamer: Scorn

Scorn Read More Diablo With the announcement of Diablo IV’s first expansion Vessel of Hatred coming out October 8, 2024, I’ve decided to go back to the game before the expansion is released. As you know, I’ve been playing the game since March 2023 ..…

If you have Amazon Prime, they’ve been giving away a ton of GOG (and some Epic Games) titles about three months ago. If you haven’t gone there recently head over to gaming.amazon.com and pick up about 50 free video games!

For October, Amazon has a ton of spooky free games, including Scorn. This survival horror game came out in October 2022 and was inspired and based on H. R. Giger (famous for creating Alien) and Zdzisław Beksiński.

I originally bought the game, according to Steam on Oct 17, 2022 (a few days after its original release date) and played for an hour before never looking back. I love the art style and I think I really just wanted to try it on the Steam Deck (which I bought Sep 2022). I don’t think it ran that good on the Steam Deck so I just never looked back.

What I love is the art style and art direction... but unfortunately, the game is too puzzle-y for me. I thought it was more like a shooter, but it’s not fast pace at all…

Now that it’s free on GOG, I may return to the game over the weekend, just to give it a second chance.

Game synopsis:

Scorn is an atmospheric first-person horror adventure game set in a nightmarish universe of odd forms and somber tapestry. It is designed around the idea of "being thrown into the world". Isolated and lost inside this dream-like world, you will explore different interconnected regions in a non-linear fashion. The unsettling environment is a character itself. Every location contains its own theme (story), puzzles and characters that are integral in creating a cohesive world. Throughout the game you will open up new areas, acquire different skill sets, weapons, various items and try to comprehend the sights presented to you.

P.S. Witch It and Ghostwire: Tokyo are free on Epic Games this week, meanwhile Return of the Phantom is free on GOG.

Yours,

Weekend Gamer

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard

Dragon Age: The Veilguard Read More Dragon Age Anyway, I am really enjoying Dragon Age: Inquisition at the moment. Even if the game is not my all-time favorite game, it is certainly my favorite game of 2014! Dragon Age: Inquisition is currently on sale on EA's Origins system for $39.99 …

I previously mentioned that Dragon Age: Dreadwolf coming out in early 2025…. Well, there’s a couple of changes since then. Electronic Arts (EA) announced that the name is now called Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and it is coming out October 31, 2024.

After watching the game trailer, I can’t say that I’m excited about the game or the name change. “Dreadwolf” sounds so cool, while “Veilguard” sounds boring. Also, the art style looks cartoony, like something like World of Warcraft, which I personally do not find appealing.

Of course, I’ll still give it a chance, but given that it’ll cost $70 on launch, I might wait for the reviews before pulling the trigger. Traditionally, I would wait for a sale, which may happen six months or one year after launch. I can (and will) wait, because I find the new “standard” pricing of $70 is just too much for the asking.

When I bought Dragon: Inquisition in 2014, it was $40. In just a decade, the gaming inflation price has nearly double. The more it costs, the less I’m likely to buy. After all, I have years and years of video games (over 1,600 games) that I can always go back and re-visit… including re-playing Dragon: Inquisition, now with all the bugs stamped out with all the DLC.

Speaking of pricing and costs of games… check it out: Epic Games is giving away The Callisto Protocol for free on August 22. This game is actually very good, despite the clear and obvious Dead Space influence.

The story behind this game, as I understand it, was that EA was not going to make a Dead Space 4, so the Dead Space series creator, Glen Schofield and his team formed a new studio and worked on The Callisto Protocol.

Gigantic: Rampage Edition and The Callisto Protocol free on Epic Games

Unfortunately, EA decided they were going to remake the original Dead Space game around the same time. Both The Callisto Protocol (Dec 2022) and Dead Space (Jan 2023), came out around the same time and I read that basically no one bought The Callisto Protocol.

In fact, I didn’t buy The Callisto Protocol until December 2023, because it was on sale on Steam, and I thought it was pretty decent. I didn’t understand why no one liked the game. I thought it was a hard game… and maybe it was a little too much like Dead Space, that perhaps they could have gone in a different direction. Also, I didn’t like the name, I had a hard time remembering what it was called, and may have referred to the game as “the Dead Space knockoff game.”

Anyway, for the price of $0.00 on August 22, I wholly recommend checking it out.

Yours,

Weekend Gamer

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