Hey gamers, Nerdy Dwarf here back again but rather than reviewing a game, I’m doing something a little different…

I’m here to tell you about a new social space which has recently opened up here in Brighton UK, found inside Dice Saloon, is the gamers paradise, PCBANG UK.

This not so hidden gem is kitted out with the latest consoles and state of the art pcs available for members of the public to play, socialise and chill out either alone or with friends. I swung by to speak with the team behind it all to find out more and even got to play on the high-tech machines themselves. After walking through the cosy hub with the large TVs where you can find yourself relaxing on a comfortable sofa playing on a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, giving you a real home environment feeling, you will feel yourself drawn into the heart of the beast.

A room, containing 16 identical gaming Pcs, each one holding a GTX 1080i graphics card to show off the crisp graphics, water-cooled to minimise noise but not performance and all connected elsewhere to the brains behind this experience, one solid hub to process and power them all, boasting a massive half a terabyte of internet for maximum speeds to make sure all games are updated and ready to play when you are. Sounds messy but there’s no reason to worry as all wiring is carefully and safely hidden in the walls and ceilings, which I can only imagine is a tech engineers dreams, or a nightmare, but it is expertly done by the staff themselves, and they are proud, each computer is wall mounted in a see-through case above the beautiful, bright 2k monitors, and who wouldn’t be proud? This is truly a haven for the most hardcore gamers.

After this breathtaking view, it’s time to begin. Sit yourself down on the most comfortable gaming chairs I’ve ever been in, and people, I’ve sat in a lot over my years of gaming. Headphones on, mouse in one hand and the other resting on the keyboard, you’re ready for the ultimate gaming experience. But that magic doesn’t start until the lights go off. From the walls to along the desks, there is LED light rigging to give you the high tech futuristic feel you deserve. Bright enough to make this something impressive, but not too bright its distracting.

There is already a plethora of games to choose from and even more on the way, both competitive and casual. All computers have the same games on them, so going with a friend means you can guarantee you can play together, from Minecraft, to League of Legends, to Overwatch even, I myself spent my time playing Insurgency. For those of you that enjoy progression and competition, worry not, although all computers have a generic steam log in, you can also log into your own account, maybe you want to go to your own Minecraft server, or maybe play some competitive LoL, it’s okay, PCBANG have you covered. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t impressed. All those computers under one roof, on one connection, yet, no noticeable lag, no frame rate drops, just smooth gaming from start to finish. This really is the PC gaming experience many of us wish we could have. And thanks to the team behind PCBANG UK, it’s now right on your doorstep.

Speaking of the staff, how could anybody forget to mention the amazing team behind this all, many of whom I’ve had the chance to speak to, though my words may have shown them standing as tall as gaming gods themselves, they are fellow gamers, incredibly helpful and knowledgeable, from showing me around to even discussing games, play-styles and anything else this place has to offer, there is no reason to feel intimidated, they treat you as friends not just as customers. To me, that’s the perfect difference between going to a place to play some video games, and going to a warm, sociable friendly area where you can meet new people and even feel at home.

PCBANG UK seems like it will quickly become the biggest, hottest gaming centre in Brighton, and will definitely take the UK by storm, with options for tournaments, events, or even venue hire for parties (yes, both celebratory ones or guild ones if MMOs are your thing) and reasonable pricing, they even have a subscription service for cheaper prices, if, like me, you plan on spending a lot of time there. This place can very easily become a home away from home, and I hope to be seeing many of you in there.

Pros

• Friendly staff
• Beautiful and well designed
• The best gaming equipment I’ve seen available for public access
• Huge amount of games available and an ever growing library
• Great for chilling out or playing competitively

Cons

• You can’t live there unfortunately, so lounging around in your underwear at 3am eating pizza and doing a 24 hour guild raid, is frowned upon, but I didn’t ask so I’m not too sure….

George Shine

@DwarfsDigs

PCBANG.UK can be found at Dice Saloon, Longley Industrial Estate, New England Street, Brighton BN1 4GY, call 01273930458 or visit pcbang.uk for more information.