Author - boothby

The Empire Strikes Back – Symphonic Suite LP Reissued for Star Wars Day

2021/05/04
boothby
Geek News, News, Trailers / Videos

In Celebration of Star Wars Day 2021, Varèse Sarabande Records is re-issuing the long out-of-print LP The Empire Strikes Back – Symphonic Suite from the Original Motion Picture Score by Academy Award®-winning composer John Williams. Out of print since 1980, the record is pressed on 180-gram black vinyl and housed in a gatefold jacket featuring the original Star Wars paintings and notes. Available now for pre-order along with two limited exclusive versions: “Ice Planet Hoth Blue” (Vinyl Me Please) and “Imperial Grey Marble” (Newbury Comics). A Canadian exclusive on “Cloud City Orange” will be available only at Sunrise retail shops as of July 23rd.

Click here to pre-order.

Originally released to supplement and not compete with the 2-LP Motion Picture Soundtrack, this 1-LP release skillfully combines a “Symphonic Suite” that John Williams created for concert performance with new arrangements of other cues from the film score. The Empire Strikes Back has become not only one of Williams’ most iconic scores, but one of the most iconic film scores of all time. The LP comes in a gatefold jacket with the original iconic Star Wars paintings by William Stout, images of John Williams, and notes from author Ray Bradbury, composer and critic Christopher Palmer, and from the maestro himself.

“The Suite, which I had specially written and adapted for concert performance […] had been skillfully augmented with other music from the film to form a unified whole. A great orchestra and Gerhardt’s opulent sound and dramatic phrasing combine to make a fine addition to a rapidly growing list of great recordings of film music.” – John Williams

EVE Online: Foundation Launches

2021/05/03
boothby
Geek News, News, Windows PC News

Today, CCP Games revealed Foundation, the second Quadrant of 2021 for the deep and uniquely player-driven spacefaring MMORPG, EVE Online. Honoring the history and legacy of New Eden’s four empires, EVE Online: Foundation launches for free to all players on Tuesday, May 4, 2021.

Over the course of the Foundation Quadrant, New Eden’s four Empires will be brought into the spotlight across four video featurettes, celebrating the unique identities that define and connect them. Throughout the Quadrant, each Empire will take center stage with themed events and activities in which players can participate.

“The Empires of EVE Online have evolved since the game’s launch in 2003. Each one has its own strengths and identities that our players have come to appreciate over the years,” said Bergur Finnbogason, EVE Online’s Creative Director. “As EVE turns 18, we want to give these empires the limelight they deserve.”

In observance of EVE Online’s 18th anniversary, the Capsuleer Day event commences on May 6, offering 12 days of in-game events for players. Beyond the Capsuleer Day event, players can expect a series of in-game activities, limited-time challenges, art updates, rewards, daily gifts, and plenty more throughout the Foundation Quadrant.

Players will also find Jita Station’s interior has received a massive visual update and Aura, the player’s guide to New Eden, has been completely rebuilt. A full list of updates can be found in this developer blog: Foundation – New Quadrant starts soon!

EVE Online can be downloaded for free by visiting www.eveonline.com.

ROCCAT Unveils New Magma and Pyro Gaming Keyboards

2021/05/03
boothby
Geek News, News, Peripherals News

ROCCAT, Turtle Beach’s (Nasdaq: HEAR) Hamburg, Germany-based PC peripheral brand, today revealed two all-new additions to the brand’s award-winning keyboard lineup: the Magma Membrane RGB Gaming Keyboard and Pyro Mechanical RGB Gaming Keyboard. The Magma’s fully illuminated top plate showcases ROCCAT’s innovative AIMO RGB lighting technology like never before, and its attractive $59.99 MSRP makes it perfect for PC gamers looking to improve their desktop RGB setup. PC enthusiasts on the hunt for a new mechanical gaming keyboard need look no further than Pyro, one of the most feature-packed mechanical gaming keyboards available for a MSRP of $99.99. Magma and Pyro are equipped with detachable palm rests and convenient media controls, and feature ROCCAT’s acclaimed Easy-Shift [+] technology allowing gamers to assign a secondary function to their most-used keys. The Magma membrane gaming keyboard and Pyro mechanical gaming keyboard launch at participating retailers worldwide on May 30, 2021. Pre-order now from www.roccat.com.

“With Magma we’re redefining membrane keyboards while pushing the boundaries of keyboard illumination yet again,” said René Korte, ROCCAT Founder and General Manager for PC Peripherals at Turtle Beach. “With the Vulcan series, we had already evolved the RGB experience by mounting transparent key housings to mechanical keyboards. With Magma we made the whole plate transparent to push the AIMO lighting to its full potential. It looks like nothing else out there and it’s affordable for gamers who want to show off their RGB gaming setup.”

ROCCAT Magma Membrane RGB Gaming Keyboard

Since the launch of the AIMO lighting engine in 2017, ROCCAT has focused not only on delivering high-performance PC gaming equipment, but also on bringing the RGB experience to new levels. ROCCAT’s Magma Membrane RGB Gaming Keyboard is equipped with a semi-transparent top plate and five zone, 10 LED backlighting for ROCCAT’s best AIMO lighting showcase to date. With 16.8 million RGB color illumination, gamers can enjoy a vivid and immersive lighting experience. Magma will connect and sync-up with all other products in ROCCAT’s AIMO range, including the just revealed Kone Pro series mice, Elo series headsets, and more, to create a vibrant PC gaming battle station.

Magma also features silent membrane typing thanks to high-quality rubber dome keys. Keystrokes feel both responsive and reliable. Advanced anti-ghosting technology ensures gamers can press all the most-used keys simultaneously, when reacting in the heat of battle. The Magma is equipped with a detachable palm rest to suit gamers’ preferred typing and gaming styles. Available May 30, 2021 at participating retailers worldwide for a MSRP of $59.99.

ROCCAT Pyro Mechanical RGB Gaming Keyboard

Pyro is one of the most feature-packed mechanical gaming keyboards for under $100. The Pyro’s new design is reinforced by a premium brushed metal top plate, offering gamers a sleek, robust, and stylish mechanical keyboard. Pyro uses TTC’s linear (red) switches with a 2.0mm actuation point, 45g operating force, and a total travel distance of 4.0mm for a keystroke that feels both precise and strong. The Pyro’s switches are tested to 50 million keystrokes lifetime for a responsive and durable gaming experience. Advanced anti-ghosting technology also ensures all simultaneously pressed keys are registered.

Like the Magma, the Pyro is equipped with a detachable palm rest. It also has the Vulcan series’ fan-favorite volume wheel for quick and easy audio control. Pyro features ROCCAT’s AIMO lighting engine with per-key illumination in 16.8 million RGB colors. AIMO reacts organically to your usage with vivid lighting displays out of the box, without the need for extensive configuration. It also syncs with compatible AIMO-enabled products to create desktop illumination that flows from device to device. Available May 30, 2021 at participating retailers worldwide for a MSRP of $99.99.

For more information on the latest ROCCAT PC gaming products and accessories, visit ROCCAT.com and be sure to follow ROCCAT on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

SnowRunner Coming to Steam

2021/04/30
boothby
Geek News, News, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 News, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

SnowRunner, the blockbuster off-road driving experience from Saber Interactive and Focus Home Interactive, will come to Steam and the Microsoft Store for PC on May 18. Get the complete SnowRunner experience, including the base game, four seasons of unique content and every DLC pack since launch.

SnowRunner puts you in the driver’s seat of powerful vehicles as you conquer extreme open world environments with the most advanced terrain simulation. Overcome deep mud, torrential waters, treacherous snow, and frozen lakes while taking on perilous contracts and missions. Expand and customize your fleet with multiple upgrades and accessories, including an exhaust snorkel for heavy waters or chain tires to battle the snow. Ride solo or with friends in four-player co-op multiplayer, and expand your SnowRunner experience with community-created mods and truckloads of additional content.

Drive through a wide variety of sprawling maps from Alaska to Russia and beyond. Unlock 40 unique vehicles, complete dozens of challenging missions across a vast interconnected world, and put that experience to use creating your own mods and missions. Get behind the wheel and join a community of 2 million adventurous drivers!

SnowRunner is currently available on PC via the Epic Games Store, Xbox One, and PlayStation®4. It will also launch on Nintendo Switch on May 18. For more information, visit www.focus-home.com/en-us/games/snowrunner.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground Gameplay Trailer

2021/04/30
boothby
Geek News, News, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

Get your first up-close look at the action-packed, turn-based combat of Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground in its new gameplay overview trailer. Developed by Gasket Games and published by Focus Home Interactive, Storm Ground is based on Games Workshop’s iconic “Age of Sigmar” IP, a dark fantasy universe where immortal knights ride heavenly stardrakes to eradicate Death across a multitude of realms.

Pick one of Storm Ground’s three factions – the stalwart Stormcast Eternals, ghoulish Nighthaunt, and putrescent Maggotkin – and lead your highly customizable forces in fast-paced, dynamic, turn-based strategic action. Fight your way across a wide variety of battlefields in the realms of Life, Death, and Metal. Every tile has tactical relevance, from valuable high ground to aethyr pools brimming with energy and ancient chests filled with secrets and rewards. Use the strengths of your army to gain the upper hand, fighting on advantageous terrain to grasp victory.

Each non-linear, procedurally generated, single-player campaign offers a new experience whenever you begin for endlessly replayable gameplay. Upgrade your army in campaign mode by collecting new heroes, units, wargear, skills, weapons and more. New units will allow you to build your army your way, choosing who to field with each new battle and customizing every facet of their equipment to match your playstyle. Meanwhile, multiplayer will have you gaining a collection and evolving your army steadily over time as you win battles against real players online.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Storm Ground comes to PlayStation®4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on May 27. Pre-order today to get a special discount and receive the “Spoils of War Weapon Pack,” granting one exclusive weapon for each of the game’s three armies. Visit the official store for more information.

FUSER Unveils New Downloadable Music

2021/04/30
boothby
Geek News, News, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 News, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

The month of May is bringing another group of iconic artists as downloadable content for FUSER. Enhance FUSER mixes with the jangle pop rock of “Friday I’m in Love” by The Cure, the Eurodance stylings of “What Is Love” by Haddaway, and the 80s synth sound of “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell. All these tracks will be available as DLC in May.

New DLC Tracks Coming in May:

  • Billie Eilish “Therefore I Am”
  • The Cure “Friday I’m In Love”
  • Dirty Vegas “Days Go By”
  • Disclosure ft. Sam Smith “Latch”
  • Haddaway “What Is Love”
  • Soft Cell “Tainted Love”
  • *Some Lover “Days Ahead, Days Behind”

* This track offered free to all FUSER players

Also coming in May is Faint Shadow “Loop Pack 01,” a free release and the first in a series of upcoming Promoter Packs. Loop Pack 01 features a collection of mellow, meditative loops and sounds from Faint Shadow’s personal collection of beats to chill to.

FUSER: Combine vocals, beats and melodies using your own personal style to create one-of-a-kind custom mixes. With a library of more than 100 songs to choose from, plus dozens of instruments and effects, there’s always a new mix to discover. FUSER is the ultimate music playground!

Star Wars Pinball VR Launch Trailer

2021/04/29
boothby
Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, PlayStation 5 News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

Zen Studios has announced that Star Wars™ Pinball virtual tables are now playable in VR for the very first time. Star Wars™ Pinball VR launches today on Oculus Quest 2, Oculus Quest, Steam VR, and PlayStation® VR, delivering an exciting mix of new and classic remastered content from across the Star Wars galaxy, exclusive features and more.

Star Wars Pinball VR jumps out of hyperspace featuring eight amazing tables, including two never before released: The Mandalorian and Star Wars Classic Collectibles. The other six tables are remastered fan-favorites: Star Wars: A New Hope, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars Rebels, and Masters of the Force.

Beyond the incredible realism added by VR, Star Wars Pinball VR enhances the core Star Wars Pinball experience with new features exclusive to this release:

  • The “Fan Cave”: The new home for both your pinball table and the customizable array of Star Wars digital lightsabers, blasters, helmets and more you’ll earn while playing. Place a virtual action figure on the pinball table and the room comes to life – not only with a new table to play, but with life-sized characters and vehicles joining you on either side.
  • Total Immersion Mode: Stand side-by-side with some of your favorite characters and experience everything at table level.
  • Full 360-Degree Mini-Games: Dive into iconic Star Wars set pieces like the speeder bike chase on Endor, the Bespin carbon-freezing chamber duel and others.

In addition, players will have access to classic Star Wars Pinball features like Career mode, Force powers, competitive gameplay, haptic controller feedback, your own personal cantina jukebox and more.

For more on Star Wars Pinball VR, visit StarWarsPinball.com.

Wreckfest New PlayStation 5 Trailer

2021/04/29
boothby
Geek News, News, PlayStation 5 News, Trailers / Videos

Just a few weeks ago, we told you about the critically acclaimed demolition racer “Wreckfest” coming to PlayStation®5 on June 1st, 2021. And we talked a lot about how good it’s going to look. Well, showing is better than telling, as they say, so without further ado, here is a new Wreckfest Gameplay Trailer – be sure to watch it in 4K!

Wreckfest is coming to PS5™ on June 1st, 2021, and will be available both digitally and as a retail box for $ 39.99 / € 39.99 / £ 34.99.
Owners of Wreckfest on PS4™ can upgrade to the enhanced version on PS5™ for $9.99 / € 9.99.

Here is an overview of the added enhancements:

  • Dynamic dirt on vehicles
  • Improved shadows, particles, and environment lighting
  • Higher resolution textures
  • Increased amount of foliage
  • Godrays
  • New visual effects for skidmarks
  • DualSense haptic effects
  • Much faster loading times

Grand Casino Tycoon VIP Trailer

2021/04/28
boothby
Geek News, News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

When it comes to attracting patrons to your casino, it’s nice to keep the penny slots active and provide plenty of $5 blackjack tables for the working class regulars. However, what every serious gambling house really needs are the big spenders — customers that have an endless cash flow and want to play the highest of high-stakes games. In the latest video for Grand Casino Tycoon — the casino business management sim from publisher Aerosoft and developer stillalive studios — we’re going to meet a few of these larger-than-life, super-special guests, and you might just recognize a few!

A successful casino’s bread and butter are the less wealthy patrons. The ones you can count on to come in every week and dump their measly paycheck right into your pockets. Unfortunately, bread and butter do not make a profitable sandwich, and to really count yourself among the top dogs on the strip, you need to attract the big fish: the type of guest that leaves their American Express Centurion Card at the cage. Special guests have special needs, however, and it’s your job to cater to the whims of these chic and dignified (or at least filthy rich) patrons. Only the best will do, and paying close attention to the often outrageous requests of these spoiled elites will allow you to take ‘em for all they’re worth — or at least, a small chunk of what they claim to be worth!

Meet the VIPs:

  • Paris Hotel: Wealthy heiress or suspicious and recently rich widow? Nobody knows for sure, but Paris Hotel is a lady of class and sophistication that demands the absolute best service and upper-class treatment!
  • Jeff Amazonas: Why does the richest man in the world even bother to gamble? Who cares! What’s important is that he’s here, in your casino, dropping cash. So tell your dealers to postpone their breaks and the bartenders to hold off on going to the bathroom until the bald-billionaire has left the building!
  • Karen: You’ve seen the videos, you know the memes. Karen comes ready to set forth on the warpath lined with fallen managers, so it’s extremely important for everyone’s sanity that she’s well taken care of
  • Gérard Des Obliques: Some guests come to play cards, some come for the shows. Others are here for one thing and one thing only: fine dining. Gérard enjoys a good meal, and ensuring he’s got a lot on his plate (literally) will keep this Gaulish Gastronome pleased as Parisian punch.
  • May Flowers: April showers bring May Flowers, except in this case replace “April Showers” with everyone’s money! This little lady might seem unassuming, but it’s all part of her plan, but you’ll need to keep her high on your radar and ensure the only flowers blossoming are the dollar bills in the counting room!
  • Luan Xui: Keep a close eye on this card sharp as she calmly collects crops of cash from unassuming rubes at the poker tables. She’s good at what she does, and what she does is make money, so it’s your job to tread the line between keeping her happy and making sure she doesn’t leave with all of yours!
  • Austin Powders: Living dangerously means not hitting on 5 and keeping a cool head. While this patron might not know his way around a blackjack table, he’s here to schmooze with the other VIPs and that means he’s got money to spare. Treating him right might just help prevent that moon laser from blowing up the White House, so make sure to show him a good time!

Want to try your luck? Sign up for Grand Casino Tycoon’s first official open public playtest on Steam and join the official Discord to chat with the devs in real-time, get community support, and share feedback with the teams. Sign up begins Friday, April 30, 2021, at 9:30 am Eastern on Steam. The playtest runs until Sunday, May 2, 2021, at 9:30 am Eastern.