Top 8 Best Gaming Emulators for Windows PCs
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RPCS3
Use this PS3 emulator if you'd like to play console exclusives on your PC, but make sure your PC can handle all those complex processes first
RPCS3 is a polished PS3 emulator for those individuals who'd like to enjoy Sony's console game releases o their PC. You'll need a pretty powerful machine to be able to run any PS3 games on your device and even then there might still be the occasional bugs. Regardless, the emulator itself is pretty complex and polished in the sense that it feels as if it has been developed by a company and not a handful of people.
Study before using this app
While we're used to emulators being a simple application allowing us to load a ROM or two in order to play our childhood games, RPCS3 is nothing of the sort. Getting it properly set up will require above average computer and console knowledge. One particular issue is getting the system ready to run any games or titles.
You'll have to grab the latest PS3 system software from the official Sony website and import it with RPCS3. While the app will indeed do all the installing, grabbing the software, and understanding how and why it is needed can be a tad complicated. As far as adjustments and options are concerned, if you know what you're doing you'll have plenty to adjust. If, however, you're new to this, don't bother changing anything, or you might render the whole system useless.
Playing games, loading titles
The second most important obstacle is getting a hold of the titles themselves. In order to play any video game, you should dump your PS3 titles before anything else. This can be challenging indeed as it employs the use of other third-party apps. A thorough guide has been provided on RPCS3's official website walking anyone interested through a suite of options in this particular scenario. Once you have these two aspects set up, you might also want to check the game compatibility list.
Currently, only about 60% of the PS3 titles actually work as intended and that percentage could be even lower depending on your PC's capabilities. Controllers are also an issue. While the app provides many options including PS3, PS4, and Xbox gamepad support, setting some of these up will be a huge pain. You can use the keyboard if you'd like but that will also prove tricky.
RPCS3 is a complex emulator capable of running PS3 games in a decent manner. While the whole effort does also revolve around PC specs, the emulation component is solid and well-developed. With plenty of options and an overall easy-to-handle interface, when it comes to emulating Sony's PlayStation 3, this should be among your first choices.
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WowUp
Effortlessly manage all your World of Warcraft add-ons from popular sources by relying on this new all-in-one add-on updater developed that supports Curse, WowInterface, TukUI, and GitHub
For all you World of Warcraft fanatics out there: we're sure you already know about the hand off of Curseforge (arguably WoW's most popular add-on repository) from Twitch to Overwolf.
While we're not here to comment on the move itself or Overwolf's reputation (cough!), we would just like to present to you WoWUp, the latest World of Warcraft updater tool.
What's the deal with WowUp?
In short, it's a new tool that allows you to manage all your WoW add-ons across your clients from all the popular sources such as Curse, WowInterface, TukUI, and even GitHub.
It includes support for all Word of Warcraft clients and it allows you to manually include or select any folder of your desire. It also includes support for Retail, Classic, PTRs, and even Beta.
Basic GUI presentation and installation details
The app is as straightforward as they come. To make use of it, however, you'll have to ensure that you have one World of Warcraft client installed. P.S. You'll also need to ensure that your Battle.net App is up to date, just to be on the safe side.
There are three main, self-explanatory GUI sections: My Addons, Get Addons, and Options. At this point, it's pretty obvious that the app offers a pretty solid way of both managing your favorite add-ons and effortlessly discovering new ones that might appeal to you.
Your existing add-ons will be displayed in the first section, and you can filter them by name. You can manually update individual add-ons, select multiple add-ons at once (by holding Shift and clicking them), or you can update all of them with a press of a button.
You can get new add-ons from the Get Addons section, and even install them from URL (manually). Please note that not all GitHub repositories will work with this import process, but it's well worth a try.
The Options section
The app makes a good effort towards offering you as many configuration options as possible. From the Options section, you can control all of your individual World of Warcraft clients and various app settings.
For example, you can press Rescan if you want to run the automatic process for detecting installed WoW clients. You can also select the path, the default add-on channel, and even set up the app to automatically install new add-ons.
Regarding the app itself, you can enable system notifications, enable hardware acceleration (if available), launch the app at system start, and launch the app minimized.
Conclusion
WoWUp seems a very promising product that should appeal to most WoW enthusiasts out there. At the time of the writing, the app only supports Windows, but please note that macOS and Linux versions are expected to come shortly.
It's worth noting that this is still a new project, so you should expect various changes and improvements in the following period. These changes include the option to create a feature list, the option to scan for already installed add-ons, automatic update for add-ons that were scanned, the option to ignore add-ons, and improved search.
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Hearthstone Deck Tracker
Manage and improve your decks in Hearthstone as well as create the ideal one to suit battlegrounds, arenas, tavern brawls or duel with this tool
If you are playing Hearthstone for quite some time and have gathered hundreds of cards to make dozens of decks, then you are probably looking for a way to keep track of them. As the name suggests, Hearthstone Deck Tracker is a tool designed to manage your cards and decks better and help you improve the performance in the game.
Allows you to create decks for all modes and events
The app comes with a modern, user-friendly interface and consists of three main areas, namely the far left window where you add your decks, a general statistics of the games played and the current deck cards and stats in the far right.
The app includes all possible cards released and enables you to create the ideal decks for all types of events, be it arenas, battlegrounds, dungeons, tavern brawls or duels. The decks can be constructed from scratch as well as imported from various sources, such as the web, a deck code, last game played, files, IDs and the clipboard. You can also export the decks directly into the game, as screenshots, to clipboard or XML file.
Keeps a summary of progress and personalized statistics
The idea behind the tool is to provide live game tracking for arenas, duels and battlegrounds so that you can make the necessary changes on your decks based on how well they performed. In addition to managing your decks along with the changes made, the app enables you to review games played and share or analyze them so that you can come up with a better strategy.
For battlegrounds, the tool allows you to check out the last known board used by your opponents, explore what minions you can find on various tavern tiers and get an estimation on how likely you are to win, lose or tie the next match based on your stats.
A Hearthstone companion app that can help improve your decks
All in all, Hearthstone Deck Tracker is a straightforward utility that enables you to manage your cards and decks more efficiently. Not only does it enable you to create custom decks for various play modes, but it can also improve your performance thanks to the statistics tracking.
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Godot Engine
Get involved with 2D and 3D game development using this free and open-source engine that helps you get ready with various templates
Breaking into the gaming industry is mostly about being creative and hardworking. However, it's also about the software you work with. Designed for both 2D and 3D gaming, Godot Engine is a free and open-source engine that provides ready tools for creating games without having to build libraries from scratch.
It's specially useful for those interested in learning about game development. This doesn't mean it's limited to creating simplistic games only. On the contrary, Godot Engine has a powerful and rich code behind it, allowing the creation of complex games.
Get involved with gaming development using an open-source engine
It launches a graphical and a console window when fired up. The console keeps track of all internal steps taken by Godot Engine and cannot be closed without closing the entire program but you can set it aside by minimizing the window to the taskbar.
The GUI launches the project manager, where you can create new projects from scratch or explore the online templates supported by the community behind Godot. For example, you can download and install a typical "Minesweeper" game to learn the mechanics behind it, or get acquainted with a copy of "Flappy Bird".
Download and install game templates
The place where all the coding happens has a dark theme and neatly organized options. You can explore all projects files, toggle the 2D and 3D views, script and asset library, as well as switch to the code editor for modifications. For instance, you can import 3D models from Blender, Maya or 3DS Max.
Games made with this engine can be for Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD or Haiku platforms. Godot comes bundled with a versatile animation system based on a timeline, where it's possible to create cut-out animations for sprites and rigs.
Engaging 2D and 3D game development tools
The programming language behind Godot is pretty intuitive. To learn the code, you can analyze documentation on the developer's website with scenes and nodes, instancing, scripting, animations, resources, and so on. There's also a tutorial for recreating the classical "Pong" 2D game. Game developers which prefer the command-line interface will be happy to know there's room for them too. Also, you can download a package with demos and tools provided by the team.
Taking everything into account, Godot Engine offers a convenient solution for users interested in game development, which happens to be wrapped up in an open-source package.
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Download Hubs
Godot Engine is part of these download collections: Game Engines
WAIUA
See well-structured details about the players in your Valorant match with this simple app, providing relevant information about everyone in the lobby
Valorant can get awfully tense at times. Given Riot Games' history, it was not at all surprising to find out that their next creation, after League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, and Legends of Runeterra, would be another fiercely competitive game. Especially given the ranked/competitive scene, it's a given that players would want to seek information about their teammates and enemies.
How can one do that? Looking up the names of each of the players on some website has been the norm, but designated software that automatically finds that — while you're in-game — now exists, making the affair all the more convenient. WAIUA is one of those apps, and it'll help you find information about the players in the lobby at the click of a button.
Easy checking
For those looking to find details about their teammates, this app can provide that for you. This is rather straightforward software, but the information it displays may help you better plan out your tactics during a game, based on the found profiles.
WAIUA fetches the data after the game starts, so you cannot see that information during the team selection phase. After the match commences, details about your teammates and adversaries will be revealed: current rank status, past three ranks from the last 3 acts, as well as an indicator pertaining to their 3-game streak.
Player card and account level data will also be provided by the app, along with the player's name and chosen agent, plus their Vandal and Phantom skins, if they happen to own any.
Easy to install and use
It is not difficult to pick up WAIUA. After finishing the quick installation process, we opened up the app and headed into a game. Upon joining and clicking on the "Refresh Match" button at the top, the details about the players in our lobby were readily available on the app's main screen.
In conclusion, if finding out information about your Valorant teammates and enemies is what interests you, giving WAIUA a shot wouldn't be a bad call.
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Logitech G HUB
Define from scratch your gaming experience: create, save, and manage one or more custom profiles with G Hub and download new ones from your fellow peers
Logitech G Hub is an intuitive, magnificently-efficient-peripherals-controller for your favorite Logitech gear. We all know that high-tech peripherals make for an unforgettable gaming adventure. In general, these super-sophisticated instruments (such as keyboard, mouse, headset) are mainly used by people who love gaming and immersing themselves into thrilling experiences.
Get full control over your experiences
Logitech G Hub is the newer alternative to Logitech Gaming Software. G Hub is set to bring on the market a more user-friendly, modern-feel-and-touch, polished interface for the end-user than its predecessor had. It is fast, simple, offering a tone of inbuilt, predefined functions, and the possibility to add new ones.
On a basic level, the software recognizes your gear automatically and allows for setting it up via a modern-looking, drag-and-drop interface. You can set the light, effect types (ranging from static, monochromatic ones, to audio visualizers, synchronized on the bass), adjusting the brightness, the color rate change (20000ms – 1000ms).
On a more granular level, the tool enables access to primary and logo/freestyle functions for keyboard assignments on individual keys, setting commands by dragging those on the key, creating macros-like sequences that enable text, actions, system/application launching, or recording, plus assigning a system control onto a target, or just action setting into your profile.
Explore, create, and share with others
Logitech G Hub favors creativity and sharing. You should set your environment according to your requirements and standards, and you are encouraged to do so — single users are prompted with the possibility of creating multiple profiles for different activities. They can diversify and adapt their gear ecosystem to a multitude of scenarios.
Another cool feature is the one that allows users to navigate through other people’s profiles, to view, access, and use their custom set up. By downloading profiles, you can now enhance your skills and perfect your game tactics or just control more efficiently macros and keybinds.
Conclusion
The level of customization is impressive. The entire system is well designed, so you can reach the best performance and the gaming ecosystem of your dreams. With all the features and including a dedicated Game Mode, Logitech G Hub offers a great experience and delivers all the necessary customizations the end-user could want and need.
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untapped.gg Companion
Keep track of your decks and find out what you need to change to improve your win-loss ratio in Magic the Gathering Arena with this tool
If you are playing Magic the Gathering, then perhaps untapped.gg Companion is a deck and stats tracker you never knew you needed. You can get started by creating an account with untapped.gg so you can unlock your personal profile and you are ready to find the best decks for your playstyle.
Comes with a tracker and helps you build better decks
Once you have downloaded the app, create an account on the developer's official website and connect using the app. It is important to note that the program does not have a deck builder, but it is rather a deck tracker where you can get statistics to help you improve your current combos. Therefore, if you need to find better decks faster and more convenient, you should consider synchronizing your collection with the Companion app.
The highlight of the tool is the deck tracker that permits you to plan your next moves based on the decks of your opponents. According to the developer, the program comes with an Opponent's revealed cards feature so that you know what cards were played and anticipate the next move. At the same time, the app can come in handy when building a Limited deck faster, thanks to the integrated expert card ratings.
Enables you to visualize your personal statistics and opponent's cards
In adding to helping you get the best decks, the tool displays personal statistics so that you can get an idea about how well you are doing. Simply put, you can determine the efficiency of a deck based on matchup statistics, performance data or a ladder progression chart, for example.
According to some users, the app is still lacking some handy features that other more established apps include and hence, it would be a good idea to combine untapped.gg Companion with other tools that include other features you need, such as, deck builder, Wildcards or collection percentages, for instance. Nevertheless, the app enables you to gather and analyze personal statistics as well as track and manage your decks more efficiently.
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Dolphin
Enjoy your favorite console games in full HD on your computer using this simple and straightforward Wii and Nintendo emulator utility
Dolphin is a Gamecube, Wii and Triforce emulator that provides users with the possibility of playing their favorite console games directly on a Windows machine.
Intuitive UI, but it requires medium-level configuration
While the interface is pretty user-friendly and straightforward, not the same thing can be said about the configuration menu which makes setting up the application pretty difficult for beginners.
Generally speaking, the main issue when it comes to this kind of software solutions is their efficiency, as many similar tools fail to serve their purpose. Based on our tests, we can say that it works with some games, but we have experienced many titles that simply do not load during our test.
It does not matter whether you are trying to play a Wii or a Gamecube game, you must be lucky to get a title work in Dolphin, and you can't do much about it.
The program comes with multiple configuration screens concerning not only the main application but also graphics, DSP, the Gamecube Pad and the Wiimote.
Provides you with advanced settings to customize the game display
It comes with Xbox 360 controller support, anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering, a memory viewer and dumper, WAD support, a memory card manager and an action replay simulator.
The main configuration menu allows you to enable dual core support, cheats and idle skipping, but also to juggle with CPU emulator engine settings, such as JIT recompiler, JitIL experimental recompiler and Interpreter.
Of course, a help file is absolutely mandatory when it comes to such a software solution but, unfortunately, Dolphin provides no offline assistance and clicking on the “Help” menu actually gets you to the official page of the developer. Which, in this case, is useless when looking for help.
A Gamecube and Wii emulator that allows you to enjoy your games in HD
All in all, Dolphin remains one of the most effective Wii and Gamecube emulators, even if many of the games don't work at all. The addition of a help file would make it much more appropriate for beginners as well.
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