Author - Jerry Paxton

Gazillion Unmasks Founders Program for Marvel Heroes

2013/01/10
Jerry Paxton
Mac PC News, News, Windows PC News

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SAN MATEO, Calif. — Marvel fans and gamers assemble! Gazillion Entertainment today announced the Founders Program for Marvel Heroes, the highly anticipated free-to-play MMO action-RPG launching in Spring 2013. The Marvel Heroes Founders Program lets players purchase limited-edition digital Founders Packs for access to their favorite heroes, unique costumes, early game access, and in-game currency that can be used to buy even more heroes and costumes at launch. The value-packed Marvel Heroes Founders Program is available for purchase for a limited time only through Starter, Premium and Ultimate packs at https://founders.marvelheroes.com.

The Marvel Heroes Founders Program digital packs include:

Starter – There are 16 different Starter Packs available. Each pack includes one of 16 Super Heroes to play at launch, one bonus costume for the chosen hero, $10 of in-game currency and two days head start prior to launch. Each Starter Pack will be available for $19.99.

Premium – There are seven different Premium Packs available that will come equipped with a team of four heroes from across the Marvel Universe, including X-Force, Uncanny X-Men, Marvel Knights, Avengers, Marvel NOW, Marvel Classic and a special Deadpool pack (Why? Because he made us do it). Players will also receive four bonus costumes for their team, $30 in-game currency and four days head start prior to launch. The Premium Pack is available for $59.99.

Ultimate – The optimal value of the Founders Program, the Ultimate Pack includes access to ALL heroes available in Marvel Heroes at launch, ALL launch costumes plus four Ultimate Pack exclusive costumes (Maestro Hulk, Wolverine Weapon X, Spider-Man Symbiote and the Iron Man 3 Movie Armor), $50 in-game currency, seven days head start prior to launch, a permanent 5% experience boost, a permanent 5% item find boost, and more. The Ultimate Pack is available for $199.99.

“Our team is hard at work to make sure Marvel Heroes is true to hardcore players, Marvel fans and the most casual of gamers through deep, MMO action-RPG gameplay, an expansive interactive storyline and easy-to-play experience,” said David Brevik, president and chief operating officer, Gazillion Entertainment. “We’ve built Marvel Heroes from the ground up to be a free-to-play game where players can find and collect nearly every hero and costume in the game just by playing. The Founders Program gives players the opportunity to play as their favorite hero from the day we launch in addition to enough in-game currency to buy more heroes and costumes as we release new content.”

Marvel Heroes is created by David Brevik, the visionary behind Diablo and Diablo II, set in the expansive Marvel Universe. Featuring an original storyline created by Marvel super-scribe Brian Michael Bendis, players collect and play as iconic Marvel Super Heroes, including Iron Man, Thor, Wolverine, Hulk, Spider-Man, Captain America and many more. Players will be able to suit up as their favorite heroes in Spring 2013 to battle notorious Marvel Super Villains (Magneto, Doctor Octopus, Madame Hydra, the Kingpin and more) en route to stopping Doctor Doom from destroying the world with the power of the Cosmic Cube.

Marvel Heroes will be available in Spring 2013 as a free download for PC and will be available for Mac OS post-launch. Marvel Heroes Founders Packs are available for purchase now at the following link: https://founders.marvelheroes.com.

You can find out more information on Marvel Heroes at https://www.marvelheroes.com follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/MMMSociety or like us on Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/marvelheroes.

ARCHOS Introduces the New TITANIUM Line at CES

2013/01/10
Jerry Paxton
CES, News

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CES, Las Vegas – January 10, 2013 – ARCHOS, an award-winning innovator in consumer electronics introduces the Titanium line in its Elements range of tablets.

This range offers high-end specifications at an aggressive price and all tablets will feature:

  • High Definition IPS display capacitive multi-touch screen
  • Dual core CPU at 1.6 GHz with Quad core GPU, with 1080p video decoding
  • Sleek aluminum design
  • Android 4.1 ‘Jelly Bean’ with the 700,000 applications on Google Play and the Archos Media Center applications

The ARCHOS 70 titanium (7 inches), priced at 119€, $119, £99 offers similar features to competitors such as Amazon, at a better price point.

The ARCHOS 80 titanium (8 inches), priced at 169€, $169, £149 has been designed to offer similar user experience as the iPad mini, for a fraction of the price.

The ARCHOS 101 titanium (10.1 inches), priced at 199€, $199, £169, is around 30 per cent cheaper than competition with comparable features.

The ARCHOS 97 titanium HD (9.7 inches), with a resolution up to 2048 x 1536 pixels is priced at 249€, $249 and £199, and aims to be an alternative to the new iPad for half the price.

Path of Exile Launches Open Beta on January 23

2013/01/10
Jerry Paxton
News, Windows PC News

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Auckland, New Zealand–January 10, 2013–Grinding Gear Games announced today that the highly anticipated action role-playing game (RPG) Path of Exile (ed. note: Check out our PREVIEW article of the game) will enter Open Beta on January 23. The game is currently in Closed Beta but has already raised over USD$1.8 million in crowd-funded support, with those supporters gaining early access to the beta. Act 3 of the Path of Exile story will also be unveiled, in which players will explore abandoned docks, markets, temples and sewers in the ruined city of Sarn to further uncover the dark truth of their exile.

“We’re excited to have reached the point where we can finally throw open the doors and invite everyone in,” said Chris Wilson, producer for Grinding Gear Games. “We have one of the best and most supportive communities on the Internet, and their input has been invaluable in making Path of Exile what it is. We hope they’ll be delighted with all the new content.”

Current players have until the Open Beta to purchase the special in-game kiwi bird pet. The permanent pet is the national symbol of New Zealand and is exclusively available to Closed Beta players. Additionally, there will be no further character wipes once Open Beta launches.

Path of Exile was recently named “Players’ Choice Best Upcoming Game” by Indie DB. Over 78,000 readers voted in the awards.

Path of Exile is a PC online action role-playing game set in a dark fantasy world. Featuring ethical microtransactions, the game is free-to-play, but not pay-to-win. Playing as one of six character classes, players find themselves banished for their past misdeeds to the dark fantasy world of Wraeclast. There, they will encounter hundreds of species of opponents laden with loot and mysterious artifacts as they explore the abandoned continent.

Key features of Path of Exile:

  • A dark and deep action RPG
  • Build unlimited unique characters on a gigantic skill tree
  • Combine over 110 skill gems to create unique combat strategies
  • Explore a dark and gritty world rendered from a fixed 3D perspective
  • Download and play for free, but never ‘pay-to-win’
  • Explore randomly generated levels for extreme replayability
  • Craft weapons, magic items and even end-game maps to become more powerful
  • Cooperate or compete with thousands of other exiles in a persistent online world
  • Ascend online ladders in every game mode
  • Battle in PVP tournaments for worldwide recognition

View gameplay footage at  www.youtube.com/grindinggear, or HD trailers are available fromwww.pathofexile.com/video

Vuzix Unveils its M100 Smart Glasses at CES

2013/01/09
Jerry Paxton
CES, News, Tech News

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. and LAS VEGAS, Jan. 9, 2013 — Vuzix Corporation (TSX-V: VZX, OTC:BB: VUZI, FMB: V7X) Sunday night for the first time demonstrated working models of its new M100 Smart Glasses at CES Unveiled, the official press event of CES where it was enthusiastically received by the press. Rated as one of the five top gadgets expected at CES by CNBC and given the CES Innovations award, the first public models will be showcased at the Vuzix stand (Booth 14046, LVCC Central Hall) during the CES event in Las Vegas this week. The Vuzix Smart Glasses M100, expected to ship in second half of 2013, will enable wearers to access data and content from an iOS or Android smart phone from the cloud and ‘hands free’.  Showcasing alongside will be the new Wrap 1200D (digital) with full HDMI 1.4a 3D support and the new Wrap 1200AR with stereo 3D cameras, that allows computer generated graphics to be overlaid into the wearer’s 3D view of the world.

The Vuzix Smart Glasses M100 will be the world’s first, commercially available, hands free display and cloud connected communications system. The Vuzix M100 contains a virtual display with integrated camera and powerful processing engine, running the Android OS. Users can connect wirelessly to their smartphone (iOS or Android) or other compatible devices. The M100 is also powerful enough to connect directly to the Internet, run applications and games itself. Working in harmony with a smartphone, users can engage with existing and future applications such texts, video, email, mapping, and audio.

As a hands free accessory with integrated camera/display functionality, Vuzix smart glasses not only let you answer the phone with a visual address book, they enable applications from text messaging and email to visual navigation (via an integrated GPS and head tracker) along with more advanced features like video recording. The interactive head tracking and integrated HD camera, combined with applications on the M100 and a smartphone linked to the Cloud, empower smartphone based augmented reality applications.

Paul J. Travers, Chief Executive Officer, said, “The announcement of the Vuzix Smart Glasses and its eminent availability is the culmination of years of work by the Vuzix team.  We were delighted to win the CES Best of Innovation Award and hope that this is simply the beginning of a great line of Vuzix smart glass technology. In 2012, we saw many new augmented reality applications being developed. This year we will see even further applications and ideas coming to market and now with the M100 smart glasses, developers now have a specific device on the Android OS platform to develop for. We’ve just opened the Vuzix developer portal and are already shipping SDK’s, so we’re confident that the M100 smart glasses deliver must have technology and useful applications in a compact, smartphone accessory.”

Vuzix Smart Glasses M100, Vuzix Wrap 1200D and Vuzix 1200AR will be showcased at the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show, January 8th to 11th. Visit Vuzix at the Las Vegas Convention Center’s Central Hall, Booth #14046.

MechWarrior Tactics Enters Closed Beta, Founder’s Program in North America Now Available

2013/01/09
Jerry Paxton
News, Windows PC News

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MONTREAL – January 9, 2013 – True BattleTech game play is back and bigger than ever in 2013 as the highly anticipated online strategy title MechWarrior Tactics launched its Founder’s Program today (www.mwtactics.com/founders). With three unique packages available now for purchase, fans of this beloved franchise will gain immediate access to the Closed Beta, help shape the game’s development by contributing valuable feedback while and securing exclusive benefits including: In-game currency, limited edition “Seventh Kommando” MechWarrior units, decals, skins, a Founder’s badge and more.

Making it easy for players and friends to connect with one another, MechWarrior Tactics now supports 1v1 invite-only game matches, encouraging fans to form individual Lances in preparation for the onslaught of hexagonal war.

“MechWarrior Tactics is a game deeply rooted and inspired by the original and cherished BattleTech tabletop games. It’s important for us to bring to life the essence of the BattleTech experience for fans and we’re looking forward to their valuable feedback. This is truly a project where the Closed Beta will be one, long conversation with the fanbase ensuring that we are creating an experience which captures the magic, excitement and flavor of the BattleTech universe,” said Chris Cleroux, Game Director, Roadhouse Interactive.

MechWarrior Tactics allows players the freedom to collect and purchase combat and cosmetic resources to outfit each ‘Mech and assemble a Lance of four ‘Mechs. Master each ‘Mech Chassis, perfect insidious tactical maneuvers and develop endless new configurations in your Mech Bay. Assemble a Lance for the ages and keep one step ahead of both your friends and enemies.

Veteran Founder’s Package ($20) Includes:

  • $25 value of in-game currency* (2,500k C-Bills) for in-game item purchases.
  • Two exclusive, Seventh Kommando MechWarrior units
  • Four limited edition Seventh Kommando decals
  • Seventh Kommando Veteran rank badge – sets your status apart from the crowd & get noticed in-game and on the forums
  • One-month Lance Tier Premium Account to MechWarrior Tactics at launch: More C-Bills, Earn XP & Scrap faster
  • Early access to the game starts January 9, 2013

Elite Founder’s Package ($50) Includes:

  • $60 value of in-game currency* (6,000k C-Bills) for in-game item purchases.
  • Two exclusive Seventh Kommando MechWarrior units
  • Two limited edition Seventh Kommando ‘Mech Chassis – get a leg up on combat out of the gate!
  • Two limited edition Seventh Kommando skins let you look your best on the battlefield
  • Four limited edition Seventh Kommando decals allow you trick out your Lance!
  • Seventh Kommando Elite rank badge – sets your status apart from the crowd & get noticed in-game and on the forums
  • Two-month’s Company Tier Premium Account to MechWarrior Tactics at launch: More C-Bills, Earn XP & Scrap faster
  • Early access to the game starts January 9, 2013

Legendary Founder’s Package ($120) Includes:

  • $100 value of in-game currency* (10,000k C-Bills) for in-game item purchases.
  • Four exclusive Seventh Kommando MechWarrior units
  • Four limited edition Seventh Kommando Mech Chassis
  • Four limited edition Seventh Kommando skins
  • Four limited edition Seventh Kommando decals
  • Seventh Kommando Legendary rank badge – sets your status apart from the crowd & get noticed in-game and on the forums
  • Two-month’s Battalion Tier Premium Account to MechWarrior Tactics at launch: More C-Bills, Earn XP & Scrap faster
  • Early access to the game starts January 9, 2013

All Founder’s Package in-game items, premium account access and in-game currency boosts will be unlocked for Founders members upon the commencement of Open Beta, currently planned for later this year.

A free-to-play game experience where players lead their ‘Mechs to victory on the battlefield, MechWarrior Tactics is power and strategy united. Reserve your pilot name at www.mwtactics.com and become a MechWarrior Tactics Founder at www.mwtactics.com/founders.

* For in-game currency, Founders’ accounts will be credited upon Open Beta and will be non-refundable.  The in-game currency included in any of the above packages may be used for in-game purchases of virtual items only. The Founder’s Program will be supported in North America only.  During Closed Beta, additional temporary currency may be granted for testing purposes.

SOUL Electronics and Olympic Champ Unveil Running Headphones

2013/01/09
Jerry Paxton
CES, News, Tech News

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LAS VEGAS- January 9, 2013- SOUL Electronics, a global leader in pro and consumer audio manufacturing, teams up with Olympic gold medal winner, Usain Bolt, to develop customizable, in-ear headphones made for the runner by the world’s best runner.  Dubbed the “World’s Fastest Man,” Bolt became the inspiration behind the limited edition Run-Free headphones by offering his input and advice into what would make the ideal audio solution for athletes, especially runners.

“Bolt was our inspiration for the Run-Free headphones.  The ‘fastest man on earth’ needs headphones that are lightweight, yet durable and sweat resistant, with excellent sound quality.  Runners sweat from either their body or their head.  In Bolt’s case- he sweats from the head.  So, we developed a headphone that would be sweat resistant and never short out,” says Lan Kennedy-Davis, CEO of SOUL Electronics USA.  “The Run-Free definitely gives the athlete the freedom and confidence to stay active without worrying about ruining their headphones.”

The sleek design of the Run-Free features comfortable and flexible ear hooks that can be customized to fit all ear shapes and sizes, which eliminates the hassle of earbuds falling out during movement and strenuous activity.  It can be customized to accommodate those who prefer the ear-hook clips for extra durability when exercising, or can be worn without them for a lightweight feel.

The Run-Free also features a straight wire cable with inline remote which allows for total control over music playback and smartphone functions.  Its sweat-resistant design ensures the Apple Controller and in-ear technology will never be adversely affected by moisture or sweat.

Designed by a team of world-class engineers, advanced driver and circuitry design ensures superb bass, clear mids and highs to create high precision audio balance.  SOUL’s core value is superior sound, and the Run-Free lives up to the impeccable audio that SOUL is known for.

The Run-Free retails for $199.95.

It comes in black and black/green as a tribute to Bolt’s home country of Jamaica.  It is available atSOUL Electronics’ online store as well as Best Buy, Amazon.com and more.

Bolt is also the inspiration behind SOUL’s SL300JAM.  It is an elite hi-definition noise-cancelling headphone that offers the listener a fully isolating audio experience.  A stylish design that pays homage to Bolt’s home country, Jamaica, coupled with superior sound makes this a great option for athletes and travelers, alike.

Outdoor Technology Debuts CHIPS Wireless Drop-In Audio System for Helmets

2013/01/09
Jerry Paxton
CES, News, Tech News

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LAS VEGAS – January 9, 2013 – Outdoor Technology, cutting-edge creators of action lifestyle accessories, will soon have you rocking out under your helmet with the release of CHIPS, a wireless drop-in audio system that works universally in all helmets with audio enabled liners. Extreme sport enthusiasts can now listen to their favorite tunes and make calls without taking their helmets off. The patent pending method of delivering wireless audio to helmets is the first of its kind and solves the riddle of how to deliver a tangle free solution to the action sports market. It’s so simple, rock out and speak freely wirelessly starting April 2013 in Chile, Australia and New Zealand and winter 2013 in all other markets for $129.95 MSRP.

“The CHIPS are a game changer, we solved a problem with a simple solution that changes the game for the hundreds millions who ski or board with helmets with no good audio system,” said Caro Krissman, Co-Founder and CEO. “Why have annoying wires and small buttons hanging from your helmet or no audio at all when you can be totally connected yet unplugged with simple easy to use controls.”

Outdoor Technology Chips is simple to use, just drop the Chips into the slots inside a helmet liner and rock out or make calls without taking your helmet off. The minimal two button design means you can operate the Chips inside any liner, with even the bulkiest gloves or mittens.  Double click the left earpiece to raise the volume and double click to lower the volume. Press the right earpiece once to play/pause or for calls simply press once to answer/hang up.

  • Rock Out: Sync with your phone or MP3 player to enjoy all of your music wirelessly.
  • Control Freak: No problem, never fumble for a button with gloves on again with the CHIPS patent pending easy to use large button interior control system.
  • Speak Freely: With its built Mic, hold your next board meeting on your board.

For more information about the Outdoor Technology Chips or other products visitwww.outdoortechnology.com.