Archive - 2016

Planet Coaster Alpha Launches

2016/03/22
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News

Cambridge, UK. 22 March 2016. Frontier Developments plc (AIM: FDEV) today launched the Planet Coaster Early-Bird Alpha for PC. Planet Coaster is the next great leap for coaster park simulation, building on a decade of experience from the studio behind the genre’s benchmark.

Planet Coaster’s Early-Bird Alpha places the game’s first creative tools in the hands of the community. Players can build rides, lay paths, place scenery and explore the revolutionary modular construction system to create truly unique parks for their guests to explore.

Future phases of the Alpha will add further features on the road to the Planet Coaster’s launch in Q4 2016, when Planet Coaster will deliver the best creation tools, the deepest coaster park simulation, the most expressive and believable crowds, and the most comprehensive sharing and community features, all in the world’s most authentic coaster park game. We hope you’ll join us for the ride.

Planet Coaster’s Early Bird Alpha is available to play now at FrontierStore.net for £49.99 ($74.99, €67.99, 3750 RUB).

Planet Coaster will launch in Q4 2016, and is available for pre-order today at the discounted price of £19.99 ($29.99, €26.99, 1500 RUB).

See the Planet Coaster trailer, pre-order, get early access and even become part of the game at PlanetCoaster.com. Join Planet Coaster on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram all @PlanetCoaster.

Gallery

Apple Unveils 9.7 Inch iPad Pro

2016/03/21
boothby
Geek News, News, Tech News

CUPERTINO, California — March 21, 2016 — Apple® today introduced the all-new 9.7-inch iPad Pro™ — at just under one pound it features a new pro Retina® display with greater brightness, wider color gamut, lower reflectivity, Night Shift™ mode and introduces new True Tone® display technology to dynamically adjust white balance. The new iPad Pro delivers incredible performance with the 64-bit A9X chip that rivals most portable PCs, along with a four-speaker audio system that is twice as powerful,¹ new 12-megapixel iSight® camera for shooting Live Photos™ and 4K video, 5-megapixel FaceTime® HD camera, and faster wireless technologies. And iPad Pro includes support for the breakthrough Apple Pencil™ and a new Smart Keyboard™ cover designed to fit the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro.

“iPad Pro is a new generation of iPad that is indispensable and immersive, enabling people to be more productive and more creative. It’s incredibly fast, extremely portable, and completely natural to use with your fingers, Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard. And now it comes in two sizes,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The 9.7-inch iPad Pro has a new Retina display with True Tone technology, four-speaker audio system, blazing fast A9X chip, 12-megapixel iSight camera, 5-megapixel FaceTime HD camera, faster wireless, and support for Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard. It is the ultimate upgrade for existing iPad users and replacement for PC users.”

Designers, illustrators and businesses have quickly adopted iPad Pro and it’s changing the way they work:

“People don’t realize how much hand drawing is needed to produce computer animation,” said John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer, Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. “iPad Pro and Apple Pencil are the closest we’ve ever been able to get in the digital world to actually drawing on paper.”

“I’ve done everything including designing the latest cycling collection on iPad Pro,” said Alex Valdman, Head of Design for Rapha. “It goes with me everywhere, and has not only replaced my laptop, but my paper notebook as well. For the Rapha design team, iPad Pro will become standard issue.”

“At Citi, iPad Pro is truly transforming how we work,” said Stephen Gates, U.S. Head of Design for Citi Global Consumer Banking. “iPad Pro and Apple Pencil have played a huge part in the new Citi Design team’s work to create new innovative customer experiences. We use iPad Pro for sketching out new design concepts, presenting our work, answering our emails, working with our design files on Adobe Creative Cloud and participating in FaceTime meetings with our other design teams all over the world.”

Pro display
The 9.7-inch iPad Pro features advanced display technologies, including a True Tone display, which uses new four-channel sensors to dynamically adjust the white balance of the display to match the light around you for a more natural and accurate, paper-white viewing experience. The advanced Retina display is 25 percent brighter and 40 percent less reflective than iPad Air® 2, making content even easier to see indoors and out. It uses the same wider color gamut as the iMac® with Retina 5K display, delivering 25 percent greater color saturation¹ for more vivid colors. A custom timing controller, photo alignment and oxide TFT deliver incredible color, contrast and clarity. Night Shift in iOS 9.3 uses iPad Pro’s clock and geolocation to automatically adjust the colors in the display to the warmer end of the spectrum after dark and may even help you get a better night’s sleep.

Pro performance
The new iPad Pro is just 6.1mm thin and weighs just under one pound, yet delivers groundbreaking performance, connectivity and versatility so you can tackle the most demanding tasks wherever you go. The powerful A9X chip with third-generation 64-bit architecture provides performance that rivals many laptops and console-class graphics, while also delivering all-day battery life.² Ultrafast wireless connectivity keeps you connected wherever you go with 802.11ac Wi-Fi with MIMO technology, support for even faster LTE Advanced with up to 50 percent faster cellular connectivity³ and the most LTE bands supported by any tablet.⁴ Now with Apple SIM embedded directly in the new iPad Pro, it’s even easier to connect to wireless data plans right from your device when traveling in more than 100 countries and territories.5

iPad Pro has an advanced 12-megapixel iSight camera sensor featuring Focus Pixels for fast focusing, an Apple-designed image signal processor, advanced noise reduction, third-generation local tone mapping and better face detection, all resulting in sharp, detailed images, 63-megapixel panoramas and Live Photos. A True Tone flash improves low light shots and document scanning. The new iSight camera shoots 4K video, making the new iPad Pro the perfect device to shoot, edit and share pro-quality video. The improved 5-megapixel, front-facing FaceTime HD camera makes the new iPad Pro perfect for videoconferencing or connecting with loved ones.

Pro audio
The four-speaker audio system provides powerful, clear and rich stereo sound for more than twice the audio output.¹ Built-in sensors automatically adjust and optimize the audio no matter which way you’re using it. iOS 9.3 also adds support for playing video encoded with Dolby Digital Plus audio streams with support for multichannel output using the Apple Lightning® Digital AV Adapter.

Pro accessories
Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard, available for purchase separately, bring breakthrough levels of precision and utility to iPad Pro. Advanced sensors in Apple Pencil measure both pressure and tilt for a natural drawing, annotating and note-taking experience. A new Smart Keyboard is custom-designed for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, offering a thin yet durable keyboard that never needs to be charged or paired over Bluetooth and is easily foldable into a protective Smart Cover®. The new Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader and Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter make it easy to download photos and videos from a digital camera to iPad Pro, while a new Lightning to USB-C Cable and Apple’s 29W USB-C Power Adapter enable faster charging.

Pricing & Availability

  • The 9.7-inch iPad Pro comes in silver, space gray, gold and a new rose gold metallic finish, and starts at $599 (US) for the 32GB with Wi-Fi model and $729 (US) for the 32GB Wi-Fi + Cellular model. Both iPad Pro sizes are available in offerings of 32GB, 128GB and a new 256GB capacity, the highest of any iOS device. For more information, please visit www.apple.com/ipad.
  • The 9.7-inch iPad Pro will be available to order beginning Thursday, March 24, from Apple.com, and in Apple’s retail stores, through select carriers and Apple Authorized Resellers on Thursday, March 31, in Australia, Canada, China (Wi-Fi models only), France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, the UK, US Virgin Islands and the US.
  • The 9.7-inch iPad Pro will be available in early April in Albania, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Cayman Islands, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Greenland, Guam, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Macau (Wi-Fi models only), Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand (Wi-Fi models only), Turkey and UAE.
  • Apple Pencil is available for $99 (US) and Smart Keyboard in charcoal gray for $149 (US). The Polyurethane iPad Pro Smart Cover and Silicone Cases for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro are available for $49 (US) and $69 (US), respectively, in a range of new vibrant colors.
  • The Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader is available for $29 (US), Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter for $39 (US), Apple 29W USB-C Power Adapter for $49 (US), Lightning to USB-C Cable (1 m.) for $25 (US) and Lightning to USB-C Cable (2 m.) for $35 (US).
  • Every customer who buys an iPad Pro from Apple will be offered free Personal Setup, in-store or online, to help them customize their iPad Pro by setting up email, showing them new apps from the App Store® and more.
  • Anyone who wants to learn more about the new iPad Pro or iOS 9 can register for the free workshops offered at every Apple Store®.

Apple Introduces Smaller iPhone SE

2016/03/21
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, Tech News

CUPERTINO, California — March 21, 2016 — Apple® today introduced iPhone® SE, the most powerful phone with a four-inch display, in a beloved compact aluminum design that has been updated with matte-chamfered edges, a color-matched stainless steel Apple logo, and four gorgeous metallic finishes, including rose gold. iPhone SE offers exceptional performance with the same 64-bit A9 chip offered in iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus for blazing fast speeds, longer battery life, faster wireless, a 12-megapixel iSight® camera featuring Live Photos™ and 4K video, and Touch ID® with Apple Pay®.

“iPhone SE is an exciting new idea — we started with a beloved, iconic design and reinvented it from the inside out. The result is the most beautiful and powerful phone with a four-inch display in the world,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iPhone SE is packed with a stunning four-inch Retina display, advanced 64-bit A9 chip with M9 motion co-processor, longer battery life, 12-megapixel iSight camera with True Tone flash, Live Photos, 4K video, faster LTE and Wi-Fi, and Touch ID with Apple Pay. Everyone who wants a smaller phone is going to love iPhone SE.”

The Most Powerful Phone with a Four-inch Display
iPhone SE takes a beloved iPhone design and reinvents it from the inside out, giving customers a powerful, full-featured iPhone no matter which model they choose. The 64-bit A9 chip, introduced in iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, offers iPhone SE customers two times faster CPU and three times faster GPU performance compared to iPhone 5s, all with gains in energy efficiency for improved battery life. M9, Apple’s next-generation motion coprocessor, is integrated into A9 allowing more features to run all the time at lower power, including “Hey Siri” without having to pick up your iPhone, and a range of fitness tracking capabilities like measuring your steps and distance. iPhone SE users can browse, download and stream content even faster with Wi-Fi up to three times and LTE up to 50 percent faster than iPhone 5s.* iPhone SE also includes more LTE bands for better worldwide roaming and supports Voice over LTE and Wi-Fi calling for high-quality wideband calls.

With an easy-to-use interface, amazing features, and security at its core, iOS 9 is the foundation of iPhone SE and brings powerful built-in apps like Messages, FaceTime®, Photos, Music and Maps to iPhone users. iOS 9 also brings more intelligence to iPhone SE with proactive assistance, powerful search, improved Siri® features, and a new Night Shift™ feature that uses your iPhone SE’s clock and geolocation to automatically adjust the colors in the display to the warmer end of the spectrum after dark and may even help you get a better night’s sleep.

All of these innovations are packed into a light and compact phone designed to fit comfortably in your hand, crafted from bead-blasted aluminum for a satin-like finish, refined matte-chamfered edges, a new color-matched stainless steel inset Apple logo and a brilliant four-inch Retina® display.

The World’s Most Popular Camera
iPhone SE has an advanced 12-megapixel iSight camera featuring Focus Pixel technology for fast focusing, an Apple-designed image signal processor, advanced noise reduction, third-generation local tone mapping and better face detection, all resulting in sharper, more detailed photos like the ones shot on iPhone 6s. With Live Photos on iPhone SE, customers can go beyond snapshots to capture moments in motion and relive unforgettable memories with sound. Live Photos are beautiful 12-megapixel photos that, with just a touch, reveal the moments immediately before and after the shot was taken, so users can enjoy a living memory rather than an instant frozen in time.

Additional camera advancements include:

  • The ability to shoot HD video with support for 4K at a resolution of 3840 x 2160. After capturing 4K video, customers can edit on a Mac®, PC or iPad®, and with the latest version of iMovie® on iPhone, can even edit two simultaneous streams of 4K on iPhone SE.
  • Retina Flash, which momentarily makes the display three times brighter with True Tone® lighting technology, for wonderfully bright selfies in low light with the FaceTime HD camera.
  • Features introduced with iPhone 6s, including up to 63-megapixel panorama photos, video capture up to 60fps for 1080p video and 240fps for slo-mo, time-lapse with video stabilization and cinematic video stabilization.

Pricing & Availability

  • iPhone SE will be available in space gray, silver, gold and rose gold metallic finishes in 16GB and 64GB models starting at $399 (US) from Apple’s retail stores, Apple.com, Apple Authorized Resellers and select carriers, or for 24 monthly payments starting at $17 (US) exclusively at Apple’s retail stores in the US.** As part of the newly-announced Trade Up with Installments program at Apple stores in the US, customers can also purchase iPhone SE for as low as $10/month for 24 months.***
  • Customers in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Singapore, the UK, US Virgin Islands and the US will be able to order iPhone SE beginning Thursday, March 24, with availability beginning Thursday, March 31.
  • iPhone SE will be available in early April in Albania, Andorra, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Guernsey, Jersey, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Maldives, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and UAE.
  • Apple-designed accessories including leather cases in black and midnight blue will be available for $39 (US), and Lightning® Docks in color-matched metallic finishes are currently available from Apple’s retail stores and Apple.com for $49 (US).
  • Every customer who buys iPhone SE from Apple will be offered free Personal Setup, in-store or online, to help them customize their iPhone by setting up email, showing them new apps from the App Store® and more.
  • Anyone who wants to learn more about iPhone SE or iOS 9 can register for the free workshops offered at every Apple Store®.

Deep Silver Announces Deadlight: Directors Cut

2016/03/21
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

Larkspur, Calif., March 21, 2016 – Face your fears, or face death in the newly announced Deadlight: Directors Cut from Deep Silver, launching this summer on consoles and PC. Deadlight, the iconic zombie experience rises once more, spreading its deadliest infection yet to PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC. Created in collaboration between Tequila Works and Abstraction Games, Deadlight: Directors Cut will deliver the definitive Deadlight cinematic experience on June 21, 2016 for $19.99.

Making its debut on PlayStation consoles, Deadlight: Directors Cut enhances the survival platformer on all systems in every way including: superior controls, new animations and full 1080p resolution. Featuring a brand new game mode, the ‘Survival Arena’ will be one of the toughest zombie challenges yet.

Set in an apocalyptic 1986, Deadlight tells the tale of Randall Wayne, an introverted and slightly paranoid survivor trying to rejoin his family in a world torn apart by zombies. From the destroyed streets of Seattle, through the crumbled underbelly of the city’s sewers, and the remnants of a forgotten stadium, players search for the haven known as the ‘safe point.’ Through tense platforming and life-threatening zombie encounters, gamers must choose to use limited ammunition to decimate the undead or utilize the surroundings to sneak past them and hide. Combat isn’t always the answer, especially against those known as ‘shadows,’ the walking, undead remains of the human race.

About Deep Silver
Deep Silver develops and publishes interactive games for all platforms, seeking to deliver top-quality products that provide immersive game experiences driven by the desires of the gaming community. The company has published more than 200 games worldwide since 2003, including the best-selling zombie action Dead Island(TM) franchise, the critically-acclaimed Metro(TM): Last Light and the smash hit action adventure Saints Row IV(TM). Deep Silver is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Koch Media, GmbH, and also owns the development studios Deep Silver Fishlabs in Hamburg, Germany, Deep Silver Volition based in Champaign, IL, USA, and Deep Silver Dambuster Studios in Nottingham, UK. For more information please visit www.deepsilver.com.

Jackbox Games Announces Drawful 2 and The Jackbox Party Pack 3

2016/03/21
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

CHICAGO – March 21, 2016 – Jackbox Games, the independent developer of hilarious party games like Fibbage, Quiplash and YOU DON’T KNOW JACK®, has announced two new titles it plans to release in 2016: Drawful 2 and The Jackbox Party Pack 3.

Drawful 2 is the follow-up to Drawful, the hit game in which players are prompted to draw weird, funny and sometimes borderline impossible things on their smartphones or tablets. The sequel will boast more colors and enhanced streaming tools, including an audience mode for up to 10,000 spectators to play along and influence a game’s outcome, as well as the ability to censor answers and drawings from trolls and other generally terrible human beings.

Drawful 2 is expected to launch in spring 2016 on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, PC and Mac via Steam, the Mac App Store and Amazon Fire TV.

In addition, the studio that created the ultimate game night bundles of The Jackbox Party Pack and The Jackbox Party Pack 2 surprised absolutely no one by announcing The Jackbox Party Pack 3. This latest collection will feature five new and outrageous party games. Additional details on the titles and features contained within The Jackbox Party Pack 3 will be unveiled throughout the year, but Jackbox Games has stated Drawful 2 will not be included in that bundle.

“How do we keep coming up with these packs of five new hit party games?” asked Jackbox Games CEO Mike Bilder. “I don’t know, I’m just the CEO. My employees do all the work. Love the games they make, though. What are we doing for lunch?”

The Jackbox Party Pack 3 is expected to arrive on the PlayStation®4 system, Xbox One, PC and Mac via Steam, the Mac App Store and Amazon Fire TV in fall 2016.

For more information from Jackbox Games, please visit www.jackboxgames.com, and follow the studio on Facebook, Twitter and Twitch.

Pro Guide Gold Odor Eliminator Review

2016/03/19
Jerry Paxton
Action Sports, Airsoft News, Airsoft Reviews, Articles, News, Reviews

This may very well be the strangest review I have done for GamingShogun.com – an odor eliminator. That being said, the Pro Guide Gold Odor Eliminator is one of THE BEST products I have reviewed for your airsoft playing enjoyment. What does it do? Simply, it eliminates odor – the kind of odor only those of you who have locked your heavily sweated upon plate carrier into a gear box for weeks on end with no ventilation only to open it on a warm Southern California day kind of odor. If you are an airsoft player who has gear odor, keep reading!

Retailing for $10.95 a bottle at its official website and $9.95 at LA Police Gear, Pro Guide Gold Odor Eliminator is sold in 12-ounce spray bottles.

According to company spokesperson and founder, Gary Pickens, in order to use the odor eliminator, you “…hold [the bottle] 3 to 4 inches from surface you are spraying and, if the odor is deep into the item, lay flat so it can get down to the molecules and touch them. Pro Guide Gold works by breaking the bonds between oxygen and molecules”.

Admittedly, I wasn’t sure to believe the hype. I have been to plenty of county fairs and seen a lot of products promising fresh scents and clean surfaces. I don’t know what secret formula that Mr. Pickens and Co. have developed, but this is the real deal. The Pro Guide Gold Odor Eliminator works completely as stated. The above pictured plate carrier is what I usually take into any airsoft games we end up playing. It has seen A LOT of use in a variety of terrain – ranging from pine forests to the high desert. I never really know how the thing is supposed to be washed so, unfortunately, it got pretty stinky – especially after sitting in my trunk for a week after some very warm games with lots of sweat.

pro-guide-odor-eliminator-2

After treating the plate carrier with the Pro Guide Gold Odor Eliminator, the smell is gone and, thankfully, doesn’t really smell like anything now. The cool thing about this spray is that it eliminates all odor and doesn’t leave behind some flowery camouflage scent. I have become a true believer in this product and I think my fellow airsofters out there will too if they just give it a chance. This test of the product was done on a Voodoo Tactical “Hayden” model plate carrier – which is a real steel piece of kit, not an airsoft-specific plate carrier. You can even spray the odor eliminator on your foam plates and hang them to dry as they tend to soak up sweat.

Additionally, I have a puppy who is still having some difficulties with going outside to do her business. The Pro Guide Gold Odor Eliminator works on pet stains too – a much welcomed bonus for my household. The uses for this product go far beyond simply deodorizing your gear. Again, I don’t know what is inside this secret formula, but I am glad it’s in there as it greatly exceeded my expectations.

Overall, the Pro Guide Gold Odor Eliminator is the 100% real deal – a spray that eliminates all odor on a surface and doesn’t leave stains or residual fragrance in its place. The Pro Guide Gold Odor Eliminator is available now at its official product site and LA Police Gear.

[easyreview title=”Pro Guide Gold Odor Eliminator Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″ ]

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Better Late Than Dead Review

2016/03/19
Ripper71
News, Reviews, Windows PC News, Windows PC Review

I often just jump into games and start playing them without knowing all the much about them.  I feel if I get too much warning about a particular game, I might figure out the story too much, master the mechanics quicker than the average player and have general surprises spoiled for me.  If I know I am going to be reviewing a game I usually don’t even check out the trailer until afterwards to see if it adequately represented the game.

Better Late Than Dead however had been bouncing around since early alpha as a chat topic among players and reviewers and at first it was thought to be just an interesting take on a survival… maybe survival horror with the key for survival being more defensive than offensive.  Then along came the chance to play it and I went right at it, running around doing things maybe a bit faster than the average player from so many survival games on my shelf when suddenly I was literally getting bit in the rear-end by an alligator.  A few bites and I was Gator Chow and going for the last save point… which was grayed out… after hours of work.  Wait, Permadeath?  It’s got… ok that’s fine. I remember where just about everything was located so I will just head back and…  random drop rate and location?  So in a feature I don’t often use much these days here are the game’s features which will help you stay Better Late Than Dead.

better_late_than_dead-2773973

Features:

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  •  Craft items using a combination of objects and methods like tying and cutting
  •  Build a shelter to protect you from rain and dangerous animals
  •  Online Multiplayer
  •  Lose blood, break bones, become poisoned and stave off hunger and thirst
  •  Varying weather conditions that affect gameplay
  •  Procedurally generated items that the player must find to leave the island

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  •  Dangerous animals including wolves, spiders and bears
  •  Capture animals using traps
  •  Permadeath – Will you be able to escape the island or will you succumb to its menace?

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Hands On:

Accept you will probably succumb to its menace a few times.  This is a simple act that will help you maintain your Zen while playing this survival which has it’s own set of rules that might not fit the normal world.  Things sitting around that look sharp and pointy will not be usable for it’s sharpness or pointy unless it shows up as such in the menu or after crafting.  So the first important thing to do in the game is run and find what you need for the different crafting recipes while watching for anything that moves or for the music to turn ominous.  Scary music like in a movie means even if you can’t see the danger it is nearby.

It’s really easy to start feel comfortable like you have a good idea what is around, these are really the times you need to be cautious.  Permadeath.  To be hours into the game and have permadeath hit you again… the save points are only for when you quit the game alive, they are no safety net whatsoever.  It is a great game to play when you have as few distractions as possible, no television in the background, no one else in the house telling you they just stocked something on *this* shelf of the fridge.  Think of it more as a jigsaw puzzle on a rickety TV tray that anyone else might bump over so you tuck it safely in the corner when others are around.

better_late_than_dead-2773981

Now that the whole permadeath thing has been drilled into your head this is what you imagined Robinson Crusoe was like probably as a kid.  Only with body bags.  And cryptic notes about madness.  And instead of a shipwreck you bust out of a crate that was supposed to be your watery coffin.  Otherwise you need to find items and figure out how to craft them together.  Your inventory is limited but if you concentrate on dropped items such as a key or a knife first and only work on growing stuff like shaking trees for coconuts and mangos as needed then you are less likely to have a full inventory and find yourself dropping excess coconuts in weird places all over the islands.

This is a review and I have been mostly loading it with tips because this a fun game with a lot of mystery involved and permadeath can be a very cool aspect of a title if used properly which Better Late Than Dead does.  It is still being tooled a bit, go in feeling for a beta at this point and you will be more than happy with the results.  I haven’t had a second player join me for multiplayer yet which was introduced very recently so hasn’t fully caught on as the game probably will through word of mouth.  The game has good quality, a good concept and so far pretty good devlivery, just make sure that permadeath survival is your thing and you’ll be just fine.

Last Breath:

Better Late Than Dead is a fairly rare entry into the survival series with it’s permadeath and the interesting ways it tries to cause them which I don’t want to spoil here.  It still feels like it needs a bit of tooling and I think it is still getting it at press time but even without another coat of polish it is a fun and addictive game.

[easyreview title=”Better Late Than Dead Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″ ]

Samurai Warriors 4 Empires PS4 Review

2016/03/19
Ripper71
News, PlayStation 4 News, PlayStation 4 Review, Reviews

When I took the review for Samurai Warriors 4 Empires I thought, from just the initial images that I had seen, that it was an anime slasher with a few combo moves to remember – which I was more than in the mood for as my week of gaming was beginning.  What I was pleasantly surprised by was that was just the beginning of this game’s adventure and I would be spending a lot of hours finding out just how deep it went.

Hands On:

The game started pretty much like I expected it to with a notice on the screen that our clan was in trouble and we needed to fight from certain destruction.  I started swinging my sword, learning the minor power blows and being greeted by plenty of enemies flying through the air and and disappearing as they were wiped out.  After a nice solid defense that had me prepared for more slash and dash suddenly the game entered Politics Mode.  What?

Turns out is has a what at first sight is a light political section which actually winds up playing a fairly deep strategy section of the game which has as much say on what happens and the swords if not more.  Actually it is through the strategy that weapons and troops upgrade for the hack and slash.  The way I would describe it most simply is it is a strategy game that you then fight the battles through once it comes time to fight another clan/territory.  You have advisers and generals who you must consider both their advice and battle prowess because after you use one aspect you use the next.

sw4e_formations

You also after capturing territories get new possible additions to your castle but they cost resources which then takes from battle… you quickly realize it is all a balancing act as you use a recuperating pool to bring back 200 of your men, but that leaves you with less resources in other places and then you still have to upgrade your castles as you capture them AND if you blow it in the hack and slash section which is timed it is all for nothing! Whew!

Luckily I love both strategy and hack and slash so I was adding up trophies on the PS4 like crazy and managing to mostly hold and maintain territories.  It is definitely worth checking out the manual because though there are plenty of save times they are kind of hard to find most of the time and getting back to them means exiting out.  I learned a lot of things through trial and error, the first time I lost a battle I didn’t understand how since I had dominated the map but I hadn’t defeated the last boss on the map before the countdown.

An interesting thing about the graphics are that they are a bit traditional strategy, looking like a Risk map then you go into battle and it is distinctly gaming anime with the big swords, dramatic ornate costumes and kind of hokey dialogue.  I could see someone who isn’t really into both kinds of games being a little turned off by this but I personally enjoyed it, feeling that the mix worked and was a well rounded experience that went really, really deep.

SAMURAI-WARRIORS-4-Empires_20160304203036-1024x576

Last Slice:

Samurai Warriors 4 Empires is an interesting game with a great mix of strategy and hack and slash gameplay – which winds up challenging your muscle memory as well as your muscle memory.  You can easily expect hours and days of play with lots of replay on the campaign section alone and you can also do custom gaming and expect downloads in the future.  So work on trying to plan strategically ahead in a game as well as being fast with your fingers, your life might thank you sometime in the future.

[easyreview title=”Samurai Warriors 4 Empires Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″ ]

Star Wars: The Old Republic – Visions in the Dark Release Date

2016/03/18
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

March 18, 2016 – BioWare™ and Lucasfilm today announced details of the next chapter in the episodic adventure, Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ – Knights of the Fallen Empire.

In Visions in the Dark, releasing April 7, players will venture deep into the savage wilderness of the planet Odessen to face the immortal Emperor Valkorion for the first time since becoming the Outlander. As part of the confrontation, you will uncover dangerous secrets about your destiny that bind you to your dark enemy. For those that can master the challenge, there is a great reward waiting – a powerful new weapon inspired by some of the greatest Force™ users in the galaxy. Meanwhile, your Alliance will risk everything in a life-and-death mission to strike at the very heart of the Eternal Empire – this intense battle offers the chance to shatter Arcann’s forces forever.

Subscribers of Star Wars: The Old Republic can play the Knights of the Fallen Empire story and unravel the truth of their destiny inVisions in the Dark for free* during their subscription period. Players subscribed by April 1 will receive added firepower with the bold new HK-55-inspired Weapon Set that includes in-game items such as HK-55’s Sniper Rifle, Blaster Pistol and Vibrosword.

It’s a great time to jump into Star Wars: The Old Republic to experience the entire Knights of the Fallen Empire story from the beginning of Chapter 1 and continuing your saga as new chapters release monthly. As the Outlander in Knights of the Fallen Empire, players are able to start a new Level 60 character to get right into the game and begin building their Alliance.

To learn more, visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/Fallen-Empire .