Category Archives: System Reviews

Featured, System Reviews

5,000 Games for $308?! This Arcade Machine Surprised Me

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What happens when you take a $300-ish Chinese arcade machine, cram over 5,000 retro games into it, give it a 15-inch native 4:3 screen, and make the whole thing FOLD?! Today we’re checking out the Samtronic Folding Arcade Machine, which starts around $308 and can go up to about $430 depending on the configuration. It features arcade-style controls, stereo speakers, a rechargeable battery, save states, customizable controls, scanlines, favorites, play history, and 5,018 pre-loaded games. The Pandora Box DX front end makes navigating that massive library surprisingly easy, with quick access to favorites and recently played games.

But is this just another piece of cheap Chinese gaming hardware, or is there actually something worthwhile here? I was honestly surprised by how much I enjoyed this little arcade machine. The 4:3 display looks great for most classic games, but some vertical titles like Donkey Kong don’t display quite right, and there’s no aspect-ratio adjustment. HDMI output also appears to be around 720p, which isn’t especially sharp on a 4K TV, and game volume levels can vary quite a bit. Still, with its folding design, built-in battery, huge game library, and surprisingly decent overall experience, this may just prove that not all cheap Chinese gaming hardware is junk!

MORE INFO: https://www.samtronic.co

 

Featured, System Reviews

I Own All 296 N64 Games…This Device Confuses Me

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The Nintendo 64 was Nintendo’s glorious attempt to drag video games kicking and screaming into the 3D era. It had four controller ports, which meant you could invite three friends over and immediately discover who among you had the least stable relationship with Mario Kart 64.

That controller was a technological fever dream too: three handles, an analog stick that eventually turned into a mushy little thumb torture device, and a design that seemed to ask, “Do you want to hold this like a normal human, or invent an entirely new grip?” But the N64 delivered some absolute legends: Super Mario 64, GoldenEye 007, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mario Kart 64, Perfect Dark, Banjo-Kazooie, and a pile of other classics. The cartridges were expensive, the graphics looked revolutionary in 1997, and saving your game sometimes required a separate Controller Pak because apparently the future had limits.

In short, the N64 was Nintendo’s 64-bit party machine: four controller ports, tiny cartridges, giant games, and enough analog-stick-induced thumb pain to qualify as a workplace injury.

Featured, System Reviews, Mobile & Handhelds

Evercade Nexus HANDS-ON! Blaze’s BEST Handheld Yet?

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Get a hands-on look at the upcoming Evercade Nexus Prototype, Blaze’s biggest handheld yet. Launching this October for $200 USD, the Nexus features a bright 5.89″ IPS display, dual analog sticks, front-facing stereo speakers, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth audio, TATE mode, and full compatibility with all 80+ Evercade cartridges featuring over 700 games. I also check out the included Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack, and compare it to previous Evercade handhelds to see if this is their best system yet.

https://evercade.co.uk

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Featured, System Reviews, PC Games

Look what they took from us 😡 Sony 2006 Laptop

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Back when laptops still had soul, Sony built a tiny silver rocket ship called the VAIO. And in 2006, they released one of the last ultra portable machines that actually believed in giving people choices. Real ports. Real expandability. Physical buttons, card readers, and inputs stacked like a hardware buffet. This wasn’t just a laptop. It was a Windows XP-powered Swiss Army knife wearing brushed aluminum armor.

So today, we’re taking a deep dive into a 2006 Sony ultra portable that feels like the last surviving artifact from a lost civilization. A machine overflowing with features, personality, and practical design choices that modern laptops quietly tossed into the abyss.

Featured, System Reviews, PC Games

OneXPlayer Super X Review – Expensive… but Powerful Windows Tablet

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I dive deep into the Super X powered by the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 with 16 Zen 5 cores and 32 threads, paired with Radeon 8060S graphics that punch surprisingly close to RTX 4060 territory. We’re talking a gorgeous 14″ 2.8K AMOLED display at 2880 x 1800, 60 to 120Hz with VRR, 500 nits brightness, and HDR support, all wrapped in a sleek 1.3kg chassis with a stepless hinge, optional RGB keyboard, Harman audio, WiFi 7, and Windows 11 Home. I break down real-world performance with Cyberpunk 2077 hitting around 60 FPS on high at 75W, Need for Speed Heat running smoothly even at 45W, Red Dead Redemption II balancing between 30 to 60 FPS depending on the chaos on screen, and Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart and Tainted Grail showing how resolution tweaks and FSR3 can make all the difference. This machine is built to replace multiple flagship devices by transforming across six pro-level modes from laptop to high-performance gaming rig. One device. Six modes. A serious contender for your all-in-one powerhouse.

OneXPlayer Super X Gaming Tablet-Laptop Hybrid

Featured, System Reviews

The Nintendo DS – Hardware & Best Games

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Ah, the Nintendo DS — the handheld console that looked like a tiny laptop for cartoon spies and made every kid in 2004 feel like a tech mogul. “Dual Screen” was the big selling point, as if one screen wasn’t enough chaos for your eyeballs. And let’s not forget the stylus, a tiny plastic wand you lost within 48 hours, destined to be replaced with chewed-up pencils, greasy thumbs, or pure, unfiltered rage. It was the first time a video game console encouraged us to poke Pikachu in the face and blow into a microphone like we were trying to resuscitate Mario.

But oh, the library — from “Brain Age” tricking us into doing Sudoku for fun, to “Nintendogs,” which let you adopt a digital puppy and then ignore it until it ran away in shame (relatable). You had classics, weird experiments, and that weird guy on the bus asking to trade Pokémon through local wireless. The DS didn’t just sell games — it sold an experience: one part childhood joy, one part touchscreen confusion, and one part “wait, this game wants me to yell ‘OBJECTION!’ out loud in public?” It was clamshell chaos at its finest.

Featured, System Reviews, Metal Jesus Likes

Amstrad GX4000 – Review & Overview

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Ah, the Amstrad GX4000 — the gaming console equivalent of bringing a water pistol to a laser tag fight. Released in 1990, just as Nintendo and Sega were busy high-fiving their way into history, Amstrad strutted into the scene with all the confidence of a dad at a rave. Clad in a futuristic white plastic shell that looked like a prop from Knight Rider’s deleted scenes, it promised to bring 8-bit magic to your living room — assuming, of course, you could find one of the ten games that actually worked on it. With a controller that felt like it was designed by someone who had only heard of video games, the GX4000 was less “console of the future” and more “forgotten VCR that someone put buttons on.”

Technically, it wasn’t terrible—it could do a decent side-scroller if you squinted and used your imagination. But in a world where Sonic was doing loops and Mario was breaking bricks with his head, the GX4000 was mostly known for porting games from Amstrad’s own CPC computers. Translation: your console games looked suspiciously like something your uncle was programming in BASIC in 1986. Still, there’s a kind of endearing charm to its plucky little heart. Like a Yorkshire Terrier barking at a T-Rex, it had no idea it was doomed — and bless it, it never stopped trying.

Featured, System Reviews, Mobile & Handhelds, PC Games

OneXPlayer G1 Gaming PC – It’s Powerful…but WEIRD

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The OneXPlayer G1 is like a gaming laptop and a Steam Deck had a wild night out and accidentally created a boxy, overpowered handheld that can run Cyberpunk 2077 and give you a forearm workout. It’s the device for people who think, “Sure, I want portability—but I also want all the frames, a full keyboard, and a controller that cramps.” MORE INFO: https://bit.ly/43qnp59