Author - Jerry Paxton

Arma 3 Alpha Update Released

2013/03/25

Bohemia Interactive has released a big update to their Arma 3 Alpha and Alpha Lite builds, containing a large number of enhancements and fixes. Checkout the full patch notes below.

Patch Notes

DATA

Showcase SCUBA:
- More forgiving alarm threshold
- Added more hints
- Improved scenario endings
- More rockets for the launcher added
Showcase Helicopters:
- Performance optimizations
- Few minor tweaks
Showcase Vehicles:
- More forgiving alarm threshold
- Few minor tweaks
MP: Escape from Stratis
- Fixed: Mission success after resuming game
- ‘Combat Get In’ module added
- Respawn time is now 30 seconds (was 120)
- Improved mission endings
- New task appears when both choppers on the airfield are destroyed
- New mission ending “all boats and helicopters destroyed”
- Warning hint pops up when the group leader is AI controlled
- Patrolling Ka-60 Black now unloads troops when under fire
- More enemies at the airfield
- Some new map locations populated
MP: Headhunters
- “Exfiltrate” task is now set as current after all targets are eliminated
- The mission will now end when either all players are near the exfil marker or in a boat
- ‘Combat Get In’ module added
- Possible respawn desync in multiplayer fixed
New scenario ending screen added
Task notification visuals improved
Seagull in “BIRD”, “GROUP” and “SIDE” respawn replaced by a basic spectator camera
Scenarios-button now always available, even when there’s no content
Added more entries into Field Manual
Compass and watch re-sized
Ka-60 minigun now rotates
Ka-60 doors and glass made correctly penetrable
MH-9 passengers can now see the tail
Helicopter weapons tweaked
Class names for Ifrits changed to be the correct ones
Alamut and MX SW now have correct icons in command menu
Countermeasures now stored in one magazine per vehicle
Correct Alpha Lite logo in splash screens added
Most windows in houses are now destructable
Static weapons should be more durable, shouldn’t be targetable by guided missiles and shouldn’t be flippable by user action when destroyed
Added more camoflage selections for vests and helmets
Red faction uniforms have proper class names
Changed priorities in action menu
TRG iron-sights remodeled after feedback
Collimator sights are now default primary on combined optics (Ctrl + RMB is the default switch)
Camera shake on 6.5mm ammunition removed
Server browser UI overlapping fixed in some places
Squad URL is no longer automatically upper-cased (and thus broken)
Editor loading took long when using MX rifles – fixed
Added freelook in vehicles via default option
Correct tracer colors have been distributed among factions
Fish should be less inclined to travel on land

ENGINE

Shadow improvements implemented
Improved network performance (vehicles are no longer lagging as much)
Fixed several game crashes
Fixed synchronization of cargo poses in MP
Fixed various inventory-related bugs and crashes
Improved vehicle collisions
Grenades can no longer be thrown under water
Fixed airplane / helicopter camera shaking
Default and Development versions have different numbering to prevent incompatibilities in multiplayer

Infinite Crisis MOBA Game Announced

2013/03/25

Jerry Paxton

News, Windows PC News

BURBANK, Calif. – March 25, 2013 – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today announced Infinite Crisis, an all-new multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game developed by Turbine, the award winning studio behind free-to-play online games including The Lord of the Rings Online™. Infinite Crisis is a free-to-play game that features a deep roster of DC Comics characters and is scheduled for release in 2013 for the PC.

Infinite Crisis is a new entrant into the wildly popular MOBA genre that delivers a heart-pounding competitive player vs. player battle experience set in the legendary DC Multiverse – a world in which familiar DC Comics characters have been reimagined in startling ways. Featuring a wide variety of DC Comics heroes and villains, Infinite Crisis puts players in control of twisted incarnations of their favorite characters throughout the Multiverse such as Nightmare Batman and Gaslight Catwoman, playing in league with well-known characters including Green Lantern and The Flash.

“We are thrilled to bring Infinite Crisis, a truly competitive experience featuring the DC Comics lore and characters, to the MOBA genre,” said Martin Tremblay, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “Turbine is a pioneer in online gaming and combined with the amazing world of DC Comics, they are executing on a game concept that expands the MOBA genre.”

“The Turbine team is very excited to reveal Infinite Crisis to the world and extend the MOBA genre with new features,” said Jeffrey Steefel, Executive Producer, Turbine. “We are utilizing years of experience in the online game space to deliver innovations to the MOBA genre with a game that features fast-paced action, a major story arc, destructible environments, catastrophic events and a deep roster of iconic DC Comics characters.”

For more information or to sign up for a chance to participate in the beta visit www.infinitecrisis.com.

Insurgency Gets Big Update

2013/03/25

Jerry Paxton

News, Windows PC News

New World Interactive, the people behind the upcoming tactical, online shooter Insurgency have announced a big update to their “early access” build of the game.

Following up with community feedback, new additions include:

Realism Mode: Players can filter the server browser to find matches with Realism mode, enabling gameplay settings that include friendly fire and exclude death messages and the killcam.
Co-operative Mode: Player-controlled security forces can hunt for AI insurgents in specially designed maps.
Expanded Maps: By popular demand, “Heights” is being experimented with to create a more expansive environment. Players will also see a new night version of the Siege map named “Contact.”

Players can join the “Early Access” by going to the INSURGENCY site at: www.playinsurgency.com.

Screenshots

Weekend Box Office for March 22-24, 2013

2013/03/25

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, Movie News, News

This weekend, The Croods took the lead in the box office, with a $45 million dollar take. Unfortunately, the new Tina Fey and Paul Rudd flick, Admission, opened in 5th with $6 million. Here are the top ten box office results for the weekend of March 22 – 24, 2013.

The Top Ten

The Croods – $45M / $45M
Olympus Has Fallen – $30M / $30M
Oz The Great and Powerful – $22M / $178M
The Call – $9M / $31M
Admission – $6M / $6M
Spring Breakers – $5M / $5M
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone – $4M / $17M
Jack the Giant Slayer – $3M / $59M
Identity Thief – $3M / $128M
Snitch – $2M / $40M

EVE Online: Odyssey Release Date Revealed

2013/03/25

Jerry Paxton

News, Windows PC News

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND —Mar 25, 2013— CCP Games, the world’s leading independent massively multiplayer game developer, today announced EVE Online: Odyssey, the 19th free expansion to the award-winning sci-fi MMO EVE Online® will be released on June 4th, 2013. In the tradition of the Apocrypha expansion, Odyssey greatly expands the opportunities for players to explore all corners of the massive EVE Universe and its 7,929 solar systems.

EVE Online: Odyssey will take the exploration of space to a whole new level with an entirely revamped scanning mechanic, a fresh and accessible user interface and enticing new rewards for finding and interacting with sites hidden among the stars. All of Odyssey’s exploration changes are designed to make space feel even more alive and they will make it easier and more compelling for pilots to forge their path through the mysterious and dangerous universe.

Universe-wide resource redistribution and ship rebalancing will shake up the entire EVEmetagame across social, economic, military and political levels, leading to new types of conflicts, fresh strategies and shifting allegiances amongst EVE’s player alliances. EVE Online: Odyssey will also debut new ships, star base improvements, graphics updates and a few surprises to be unveiled in the future.

“Odyssey is an expression of our love for space and exploration,” said Andie Nordgren, Senior Producer, EVE Online. “It brings changes that will wake the wanderlust and taste for adventure in both new and veteran pilots.”

The launch of Odyssey comes as CCP celebrates EVE’s tenth consecutive year of player growth, having passed the 500,000 worldwide subscriber mark in March.

More features and information about EVE Online: Odyssey will be revealed in the coming months, including April’s EVE Fanfest, where CCP will reveal all upcoming EVE Universe plans and kick off a year-long “Second Decade” celebration in Reykjavik, Iceland. With tickets sold out for the first time, the renowned player festival will feature talks by forward-thinking scientists, a performance of EVE music the by Icelandic Symphony Orchestra and a chance to play the latest version, never seen publicly before, from CCP’s groundbreaking PS3 shooterDUST 514®. For those who can’t attend in person, CCP will stream live from the event for free in standard definition and in HD for a one-time payment.

For more information about EVE Online: Odyssey, please visit:www.eveonline.com/odyssey
Additional information about EVE Fanfest can be found here:http://fanfest.eveonline.com/en/default.aspx
For more on DUST 514, please visit: http://www.dust514.com/

XCOM: Enemy Unknown Coming to iOS

2013/03/25

Jerry Paxton

Mobile News, News, PAX

New York, NY – March 25, 2013 – 2K and Firaxis Games announced today that the Game of the Year award-winning* strategy title XCOM®: Enemy Unknown is coming to iOS devices this summer. The game brings the full XCOM: Enemy Unknown experience from consoles and PC to iOS, giving gamers the ability to defend the human race against a terrifying alien invasion anywhere they take their mobile devices. Utilizing the enhanced touch controls of iOS devices, players will command the XCOM project, create a fully operational base, research alien technologies, and engage in strategic combat, all with the touch of a finger. XCOM: Enemy Unknown will be available this summer for iOS via the iTunes App Store for iPhone®, iPad®, and iPod touch®.

Developed by the strategy experts at Firaxis Games, XCOM: Enemy Unknown received wide critical acclaim, earned review scores of 9.1 out of 10 from GameTrailers.com and 9.5 out of 10 from Game Informer, and won more than 80 2012 end-of-year awards worldwide. In XCOM: Enemy Unknown, players oversee combat strategies and individual unit tactics, as well as base management and resource allocation while playing as the commander of a secret global military organization, XCOM. With equal emphasis on deep strategy and intense tactical combat, XCOM: Enemy Unknown allows gamers to control the fate of the human race by defending against a terrifying global alien invasion.

For the latest news and information in the world of XCOM: Enemy Unknown, become a fan on Facebook or follow on Twitter.

*XCOM: Enemy Unknown was named Game of the Year 2012 by GameTrailers, GiantBomb, Kotaku, and MTV Multiplayer

2K is a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).

All trademarks and copyrights contained herein are the property of their respective holders.

Computer Gaming World Museum Now Complete

2013/03/23

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Windows PC News

I have been a computer gamer since I was a wee lad playing The Oregon Trail on my elementary school’s Apple II computer. From there, it increasingly-became a part of my daily life. From hunting down the “Death Angel” in Sierra’s Police Quest to high-kicking in Karateka and all the great computer gaming memories that followed. Throughout all of this, there was always one magazine that I couldn’t wait to read: Computer Gaming World. Starting in 1981, the magazine ran for about 25 years until its demise in 2006. For a long while, it was the only source of information on computer game design, hardware, and gaming in general. If you are a youngster, mashing away at the buttons on your Xbox or PlayStation controller, you probably have never heard of this magazine. Unfortunately, you might never get the chance to read it and find out more about your gaming roots – that is, until now…

The good people at the Computer Gaming World Museum have finally completed their epic mission: To collect and digitized EVERY issue of the historic magazine! At the CGW Museum, you can find PDFs of every issue released. I urge everyone to download one of the issues and take a gander. These pages will give you a new perspective on your favorite hobby. We at GamingShogun.com thank the hard workers at the CGW Museum for their efforts. They have secured for posterity a very important part of computer gaming’s past.

* Btw, that “thing” on the upper-right corner of the magazine cover shown above is what we called a 5 1/4-inch floppy disk. Software used to come on them. Heck, for a while, Apple computers hosted their entire OS on them!

Blizzard Announces Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

2013/03/22

Jerry Paxton

Mac PC News, Mobile News, News, Windows PC News

Boston, Mass.—March 22, 2013—Pull up a chair across from an old friend at the tavern table and prepare for a few rounds of lively card-vs.-card warfare. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. laid its virtual cards on the table today with the unveiling of Hearthstone^™: Heroes of Warcraft^™, a new cross-platform free-to-play game for Windows^®, Macintosh^®, and iPad^®.

In Hearthstone, players build card decks centered around one of nine iconic Warcraft^® character classes and duel each other for fun, glory, and the chance to win awesome new cards. PAX East attendees are able to go hands-on with Hearthstone this weekend, and Blizzard will begin beta testing for the game very soon—no, seriously.

“We’ve always loved collectible card games at Blizzard, so it’s been exciting to bring everything we love about the genre to life in Hearthstone,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’re putting a lot of focus into creating a fun new game that’s easy to pick up and play, but also has a lot of depth. We can’t wait to share it with everyone.”

Deceptively simple in design but epically engaging, Hearthstone will be instantly accessible to players regardless of their familiarity with Warcraft or collectible card games. Whether players prefer to wield magic or arms in battle, strike from the shadows or head on—or have never given any of that much thought—they’ll be able to jump right in, create a deck, and get in on the card-slinging action.

In addition to honing their skills in practice matches against the computer and taking on their buddies via their Battle.net^® friends list, players can challenge each other in two competitive game modes. “Play Mode” features traditional head-to-head battles, with players facing off for a chance to increase their medal ranking and earn card packs along the way. And for a different type of challenge, players can enter “The Forge,” where they start each match by building a deck from a new set of cards, and then use that deck to duel other Forge participants. Aside from winning new cards, players will be able to round out their collections by purchasing new card packs or disenchanting some of their existing cards to craft the ones they’re missing.

With hundreds of cards to choose from, featuring a wide range of colorful Warcraft spells, weapons, and characters, players will have limitless possibilities for developing and fine-tuning their deck-building strategies. Further details about Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft will be announced as development progresses. To learn more about the game, stay tuned to http://www.PlayHearthstone.com. With multiple games in development, Blizzard Entertainment has numerous positions currently available—visit http://jobs.blizzard.com for more information and to learn how to apply.

Oculus Rift Teams with Unity Technologies to Give Devs More Support

2013/03/22

Jerry Paxton

News, Tech News

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA (March 22, 2013) – Oculus VR, Inc., creators of the highly anticipated Oculus Rift, announced that it has partnered with Unity Technologies, developer of the Unity multi-platform engine and development tools, to provide every Rift developer with a four-month Unity Pro trial license, free of charge. The extended trial is designed to let Rift developers leverage Unity Pro to develop incredibly rich and immersive virtual reality gaming and interactive experiences.

“Unity provides game developers with amazing tools that bring joy to the process of creating games, while also lowering the financial and time barriers of high-end production,” said David Helgason, CEO and co-founder, Unity Technologies. “The next generation of video games will not only be found on consoles, but also on PCs, mobile devices and in the cloud though none of these platforms offer the ability to step into the experience. That is where the Oculus Rift comes in. We’re partnering with Oculus to give Unity developers the ability to create the most immersive gaming experiences yet.”

The Oculus Rift development kit, combined with a four-month Unity Pro trial license, will give developers the time, the integration code, the intuitive toolset and access to thousands of ready-made assets from the Unity Asset Store to create VR games and interactive content across a range of platforms. The extended Unity Pro trial license is available to any developer who purchases an Oculus Rift development kit.

“The Unity engine’s innovative design, ease of use, and flexibility have helped game developers of all skill levels develop some of the most unique games on the market,” said Brendan Iribe, CEO of Oculus. “Like Unity, we share the desire to help developers create games unlike any other, and we look forward to seeing our combined technologies transformed into virtual reality.”

The Oculus Rift is a virtual reality headset that allows users to step into the game. It provides an immersive, stereoscopic 3D experience with a huge field of view—110 degrees diagonally—and overcomes the latency problems that have plagued previous VR gaming headsets, where movement in the game lags behind movement of the player’s head. Development kits for the Oculus Rift, which game developers can use to create Oculus-ready VR applications and interactive content, will begin shipping to backers at the end of March 2013.

The Unity Pro extended trial license will be available through the Oculus Developer Center starting in April.

Images

iKit NuCharge for iPhone 5 Review (Tech)

2013/03/22

Jerry Paxton

News, Reviews, Tech News, Tech Review

iKit’s soon to be released NuCharge battery case for the iPhone 5 has had a terrific Kickstarter campaign. The campaign, which still has a day or two left, has double that of what they were hoping for – a testament to the well-planned design and promised capabilities of the device. Recently, iKit sent us over an early model of their NuCharge case and we have been very pleased with its usage over the past week. The company promises it to double your iPhone 5’s battery life and it truly does just that.

Opening the well-packaged iKit NuCharge for iPhone 5, the case comes in three pieces: The battery pack, the part that your phone connects to, and a secondary plate which can be used in lieu of the battery pack. This is just in case you want to reduce the thickness of your iPhone for the night if you can do without the extra juice. Open first glance, the build quality is quite good. The battery pack has a black, rubberized finish and features a really nifty Apple Lightning connector that pulls out from a secluded position on its underside. The Lightning connector is attached by way of a wiry, rubber nacelle and then can swing up and connect to the iPhone when it is all put together.

The iKit NuCharge still has a few things to iron out. The biggest problem is its kickstand which, in this early model, is made from a flimsy plastic that easily collapses and falls over, seemingly unable to support the phone’s weight. Now, the official word on their Kickstarter page is that this stand will be made of “unbreakable” reinforced aluminum. The problem here is that I cannot award a review score on promises – but on the model I was sent. I will revisit this review and update it when I get a hold of a production model. That being said, I have no doubt that the aluminum stand will solve the issue altogether. The other issue I found was that removing the battery pack from the phone case is very difficult. It snaps together, which is fine, but there isn’t any good place to grip the items to separate them.

Dual-charging is one of the gems of the NuCharge as, if you have the battery pack plugged into your iPhone 5 AND have the battery pack’s micro USB cable plugged in, you can charge both items at the same time! This helps usability quite a bit as you technically never have to remove the iPhone 5 from the NuCharge case in order to plug it in. In my using the NuCharge, it took about an hour and change to get it fully-charged. The phone case portion of the NuCharge does not protect the iPhone’s top or bottom sides at all, leaving them exposed. However, this is somewhat helpful as it allows you to get to the buttons as well as plug in headphones and other things without issue.

Taking photographs is no problem while the phone is in the NuCharge case as the camera hole is large enough that, not only does it provide an unobstructed view for the camera but, also, provides a non-glare surface around the flash area. I hate getting a phone case on my iPhone 5 only to find out pictures I take with it have glare due to “flash-back”. Thanks to the matte, rubberized material, that simply does not happen with the NuCharge.

The final bit of awesomeness put into the NuCharge package is the SEIKO energy saving technology which the company touts will never get hot or overheat. In my usage, I can confirm that the NuCharge never got hot or became unsafe to handle. This is smart thinking on the part of iKit, as some battery packs out there get super-hot when charging. I am always afraid they might get to hot and lose structural integrity.

The iKit NuCharge for iPhone 5 really will absolutely double your phone’s usage time thanks to its 1900 mah battery pack. It is one of the best phone battery cases I have been able to use – despite the kickstand issue. The iKit NuCharge is due to ship out this April and will retail for about $85 dollars. In the meantime, you can pre-order one via its Kickstarter program for only $59 dollars – so get moving and help fund the device!

[easyreview title=”iKit NuCharge for iPhone 5 Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″] Our Rating Scores Explained