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Everyone gets songs lodged in their heads. Sometimes you hear something and it just gets stuck, like when I spent an entire bus ride with "Tubthumping" on mental replay after hearing it in 7-11.

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We compare the Metro game series to its visually updated counterparts

If you are a fan of single-player FPS games, then you should check out the Metro series. Metro 2033, based on the novel by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky, was developed by 4A Games and released in 2010 while its sequel, Metro: Last Light, came out last year. Both survival-horror games are set in post-apocalyptic Moscow where survivors of the nuclear fallout live within the underground metro system.

It's a bleak setting where ammunition is your currency, which makes for some interesting dilemmas at times. 

Check out our video comparison comparing the stock version of the Metro series with its Redux counterparts above.

But is it worth purchasing the Redux Bundle if you already have the original games? We took the time to compare the original with its Redux counterparts to help you find out.

Sit back, grab a drink, and please don't shoot us

We gave both games good scores with Metro 2033 earning seven out of 10 and Metro: Last Light receiving an eight. But even so, on August 26, 4A Games released re-mastered editions of both games for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC platforms. Metro 2033 Redux is a rebuilt and upgraded version of the original game that takes advantage of the latest 4A Engine. For Metro: Last Light Redux, 4A Games said that it made some tweaks and included all of the DLC released for the game, along with new features and gameplay modes.

Curious as to how much of a visual upgrade both Redux versions have received, we compared the original games to its Redux counterparts. To do that, we used our personal PC which was equipped with an AMD Phenom II X4 965 processer, 8GB of RAM, and a Nvidia GeForce GTX 780. Our overall goal was to evaluate the look of both versions and discuss how they performed relative to each other. We also made sure to run each game at the same settings, where possible, so that we would get consistent results. See our settings in the image below. 

Left: Metro 2033 settings - Right: Metro 2033 Redux settings

All four games were run in 1080p and quality set to "Very High," which is the highest setting for the Metro games. Mindful of those who may not have the best GPU out there, we kept SSAA to ensure good performance. However, Metro 2033 was a little tricky since we had to make sure that it was running DirectX 11 to keep it on par with the Redux version (recommended settings for the Redux edition requires a DX11-compliant GPU). Gamma settings were also kept the same at the default level.

Left: Metro: Last Light - Right: Metro: Last Light Redux

With Metro: Last Light and Redux, it was much simpler to keep the settings as similar as possible since there has only been about a one year gap between both titles. That, and there were not a lot of options to tweak.

4A Games changed character models and even sequences for Metro 2033

It should come as little surprise to anyone that we saw a huge improvement when we played both versions of Metro 2033. The Redux version was not only a vast improvement with sharper graphics, but also featured enhanced visuals, tweaked gameplay, reworked environments, better lighting, re-worked character models, new animations, and better enemy AI. Suffice it to say, the differences really showed in the visuals.

We also saw a noticeable difference when it came to performance, but in a suprisingly pleasant way. We discovered that the Redux version averages a higher framerate than the original. For example, in our experiential test, traveling through the market in Metro 2033 averaged 83FPS while the Redux version of the same location averaged a higher 95FPS. Given that the recommended specs for the remastered edition requires 4GB RAM and DirectX 11 or higher compared to the original’s requirement of 2GB RAM and DirectX 10 or higher, it seems that 4A Games has done a great job of not only upgrading the game, but optimizing it to use higher-end hardware as well. This was something that was needed since some of the complaints about Metro 2033 involved it being a poorly-optimized resource hog.

As you can see in the next image, Metro 2033 Redux features different character models, sharper textures, and brighter lighting compared to the original 2010 game. In Redux, there is also a bit of lens flare and the goggles, which your character must wear when he ventures outside, has distinct drops of water on the edges rather than this weird blurry liquid effect in the original game.

Click Image for an animated GIF comparing Metro 2033

But while we are impressed at the large improvements that were made for Metro 2033, Metro: Last Light is another matter. Rather than Metro: Last Light Redux being an all-out remastered edition, think of it as more of a Game of the Year edition. It’s great that all the DLC is bundled with the game, as well as additional content, but there are hardly any visual differences between the original and Redux version’s graphics that we are able to discern except that the Redux version looks a little brighter.

Even the average FPS count isn’t that different between each version. Both Metro: Last Light and Redux averaged around 80FPS when we compared the first 25 minutes of the game with each other. The original ended up averaging 82FPS and the Redux edition 86FPS which, given we ran a purely experiential test, is within the margin of error. 

Take a look at the following image and you tell us if there is any visual differences between the two versions.

Click image for an animated GIF comparing Metro: Last Light

Benchmarks:

Here is the chart showing you the average FPS recorded of all four games side-by-side

As stated earlier, the biggest difference was seen between Metro 2033 and its Redux counterparts thanks to the latest 4A Engine, graphics upgrade, and optimization. Meanwhile, the difference between Metro: Last Light and the Redux version was nominal considering not much had been changed between either version.

So to those of you who don’t own any of the Metro games, we would recommend that you pick up the Metro bundle simply for the story, atmosphere, and the graphics. If you own Metro 2033 and appreciate high-quality graphics, then you should seriously consider picking up the Redux version. But if you own Metro: Last Light, then we would suggest refraining from purchasing its Redux counterpart unless you really want the DLC and extra content. 

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I don't know if Jupiter Ascending—the new movie from the creators of The Matrix—is going to be incredibly good or impossibly bad, but one thing is sure: The amount of sci-fi visual porn in this trailer alone has sent my brain into overdrive. The design seems phenomenal.

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Because ‘Vagina’ wouldn’t fit on the shirt.

Photo courtesy of Stephen A. Howard.

gothiccharmschool:

sixpenceee:

Bats illuminated by lightning (video)

NOTHING IS MORE GOTH THAN THIS.

Samsung loves "big." Its phones are big, its advertising budget is big, and as you'll see below, its employee headcount is really big, too. Samsung has more employees than Apple, Google, and Microsoft combined. We dug through everyone's 10-K (or equivalent) SEC filings and came up with this:

Samsung Electronics vs the headcounts of other companies.

Ron Amadeo

At 275,000 employees, Samsung (just Samsung Electronics) is the size of five Googles! This explains Samsung's machine-gun-style device output; the company has released around 46 smartphones and 27 tablets just in 2014.

If we wanted to, we could cut these numbers down some more. Google is going to shed 3,894 employees once it finally gets rid of Motorola. Over half of Apple's headcount—42,800 employees—is from the retail division, putting the non-retail part of the company at only 37,500 employees. The "Sony" on this chart only means "Sony Electronics," the part of the company that is most comparable to Samsung Electronics. Sony Group has a massive media arm consisting of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment, and Sony Financial Services.

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Welcome back! Before the break, we met Walter Warblewump, an accountant from off the coast of La Jolla, CA. Walter’s fashion sense was drab and conservative, and he felt he needed a new direction…

So our crack makeover team went to work. A change of clothes, new contact lenses, and some accessorized feelers… and just look at Walter now!

Top photo via William Warby.

The Information’s Martin Peers wrote an interesting column on Thursday arguing traditional media companies are simply denying how online streaming services, like Netflix and Amazon, are disrupting the $100 billion-plus TV network industry.

And more disruptive services are coming. Dish Network, for example, plans to launch an online service with a smaller package of channels but programs from big media companies like ESPN, A+E Networks, and Scripps Networks Interactive.

Time Warner’s chairman Jeff Bewkes, however, shrugged off Dish’s upcoming service, saying, “Some people do (want less channels); a lot of people don’t.”

Even the TV networks getting involved with Dish's fledgling service are clearly wary of what it might mean in terms of cannibalizing their other deals with cable networks. Peers offers this particularly startling bit of information:

To be sure, programmers are taking steps to limit erosion in their deals with Dish. One industry executive says the Disney agreement with Dish has a provision that if the streaming service signs up more than a certain number of subscribers, the deal is off. Dish declined to comment.

In other words, Disney will play along with Dish Network's new service, but if it succeeds to a certain extent, they will be forced to pull out — likely to honor their partnerships with longstanding cable providers like Time Warner and Comcast.

Peers offers two potential reasons for why big media companies like Time Warner are downplaying streaming and other disruptive services:

The simple answer is that most media company CEOs are nearing the end of their careers and are more focused on short-term quarterly performance than trends that might or might not happen for a decade. Another answer is that they’re in denial about the implications of what they’re doing.

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Hearing that Friend & Foe was made up of some former The Last Guardian developers got me to take a look at Vane, but I stayed for the .gifs and never wanted to leave -- they're mesmerizing!

Here's some Tokyo Game Show footage of the open-world adventure title. It's looking beautiful as ever, if a little basic in its current form. I'm eager to see what the puzzles will be like when this eventually comes to "PC and every other platform we can get our hands on."

Something tells me it's going to be a bit of a wait. I'll be watching.

When you wrap a gift in fancy paper, the last thing you want is ugly pieces of tape stuck all over it. That's why 3M created its Scotch-brand tape that's nearly invisible, and a selling point that Hamburg-based ad agency Kolle Rebbe perfectly drove home with this clever packaging for the product that looks like a completely empty box.

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BoingBoing

As reports and videos about the bendability of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus continue to accumulate, Apple issued a response on Thursday that detailed the stress-test rigors its phones endure before shipping to market. Additionally, the company announced that in the new iPhones' first six days on the market, "only nine customers" had reported bent phone issues directly to Apple.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple called the bending cases "extremely rare," then described the five-step testing process that its newest models, made of "a custom grade of anodized aluminum" along with "stainless steel and titanium inserts," had to endure. The WSJ described two of those tests in detail: the "pressure point cycling test," which applies force all over an iPhone's screen and body, and the "sit test," which simulates a situation in which someone sits on a hard surface while wearing tight pants. (We'd love to see a crash-test dummy mock-up of the latter.)

Apple's response didn't include any concession of design fault, and its specific count of nine complaining customers certainly didn't include videos and other social-media complaints that have gone live since last weekend—particularly this hard-to-watch bending of an iPhone 6 Plus posted by BoingBoing (posted next to a video of other smartphones bending back into place for comparison's sake, which their iPhone 6 Plus was unable to do).

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