Welcome back to Wednesday, friends! I'm very, very tired today, but it's time for a new WIRED Games newsletter! Let's get right into it, shall we? First of all, our Review of the Meta Quest 3, which we discussed last week, is out! Matt Kamen, our reviewer, gave the new VR/AR headset a pretty impressive 8/10, and the story is the same as it's ever been for AR and VR technology. The hardware is really impressive and even the built-in software seems well designed, but Meta's own VR worlds are ghost towns. In short, the tech is great, but as is always the case for VR, there's just no reason to use it unless you're already dedicated to the ecosystem for another reason. But hey, if you are, the Meta Quest 3 might be worth the $500 bucks to you. Also in the news this week, Megan Farokhmanesh covered the story that a number of former Ubisoft executives were detained as part of an ongoing investigation into moral and sexual harassment at the company. The allegations stem from abuse reported back in 2020, and even though some of the executives involved no longer work at the company, they haven't escaped the notice of authorities, who are also paying close attention to the company's current culture. Strategy game aficionados rejoice, Total War: Pharaoh is here, and Simon Hill has our review of the game. Overall, if you're a fan of the Total War franchise, you'll love it. The game is incredibly customizable, and you have the flexibility to play as a rising Pharaoh trying to stop a civil war or an invading Hittite eager to dismantle Egyptian dominance over the region. Next up, Eric Ravenscraft and Jaina Grey just updated our guide to the best gaming mice and mousepads for every kind of gamer, just in time for wishlist-building for the holidays. If you're interested in an upgrade, now's the time to do the research! Finally, also from our Gear Team, Eric Ravenscraft has a review of Steelseries' new Alias Pro microphone, which is a hefty $330 (although the slightly trimmer Alias, which has fewer features, will only set you back about $180). The Alias Pro got an impressive 8/10 from Eric, who praised it for being an excellent XLR microphone for streamers and beginners getting serious about audio quality, or anyone looking to upgrade from a standard USB microphone to something more robust. Meanwhile, Ryan Waniata has a review of the new Sennheiser Profile Streaming Set, which also comes with a microphone, albeit USB-based. It'll set you back $200, and Ryan says it's about as good as it gets for a USB microphone setup, so if you're not ready to make the leap to XLR with a mixer just yet, it might be worth a look. That's all for us this week! As usual, if you have questions or concerns, drop us a line at [email protected], and we'll see you back here next week. |