Author - Jerry Paxton

Assorted Cyber Monday Deals 2013

2013/12/02
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News

cybersale

Here are some of today’s Cyber Monday deals in case you are deal-hunting!

ROCCAT Launches Phantom White Gaming Mouse

2013/12/02
Jerry Paxton
News, Peripherals News

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Hamburg – December 2, 2013 – ROCCAT today announces the availability of the Phantom White variation of the limited edition Kone Pure Color. Like the original Kone Pure, the Color edition features a high-end 8,200 DPI Pro-Aim R3 laser sensor and high quality Omron® switches. With features like Easy-Shift[+]™, Easy-Aim and ROCCAT Talk®, the Kone Pure Color is a powerful weapon in the hands of gamers fighting for point-streaks, lanes and bases. It is one of a series of limited edition products released over the course of 2013, which marks the “Year of the Kone” – celebrating the five-year anniversary of the Kone series. The Phantom White variation of the mouse follows the Inferno Orange, Hellfire Red and Polar Blue Kone Pure Colors, as well as the Kone Pure Optical.

ROCCAT Kone – Evolution of a Gaming Mouse

The original Kone was the first product ROCCAT™ developed in 2008. CEO and Founder René Korte, reminisces about the beginning days of ROCCAT™: “Early on, I was involved in the professional gaming scene. So, I was aware of the many professional players who were dissatisfied with their gaming devices. Since then our overall mission has been to build high-quality peripherals that satisfy the needs of all ambitious gamers.”

Five years later, known for its powerful performance, the Kone series is one of the most successful gaming devices in the world. Although the Kone series has set new standards for gaming mice, the evolution will continue.

Links

Kone Pure Color Website
ROCCAT Website
ROCCAT Facebook

Star Wars Casting Call Posting

2013/11/30
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, Movie News, News

starwarscasting

Hope you are enjoying your Thanksgiving/Black Friday weekend – just wanted to let you guys know that the casting call for two major roles in the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII are about to expire. Checkout the official listing on the casting page for submission information. Here are the two characters being cast – note that these are, in all likelihood, not their actual names in the film:

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Seeking: Young woman to play 17-18 Years old. Must be beautiful, smart and athletic. Open to all ethnicities (including bi- and multi-racial). Must be 16 or over.

RACHEL:

Was quite young when she lost her parents. With no other family, she was forced to make her way alone in a tough, dangerous town. Now 17 she has become street smart and strong. She is able to take care of herself using humor and guts to get by.

Always a survivor, never a victim, she remains hopeful that she can move away from this harsh existence to a better life. She is always thinking of what she can do to move ahead.

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Seeking: Young man to play 19-23 years old. Must be handsome, smart and athletic. Must be 18 or over.

THOMAS:

Has grown up without a father’s influence. Without the model of being a man, he doesn’t have the strongest sense of himself. Despite this, he is smart, capable and shows courage when it is needed. He can appreciate the absurdities in life and understands you can’t take life too seriously.

Razer Unleashes the Kraken Forged Edition

2013/11/28
Jerry Paxton
News, Tech News

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CARLSBAD, Calif. – Razer™, the world leader in high-performance gaming hardware, software and systems, today announced the launch of its new top-of-the-line headphones: the Razer Kraken Forged Edition.

Crafted with ear cups that are machined out of aircraft-grade aluminum and finished with a matte texture, the Razer Kraken Forged Edition is carefully hand-assembled, ensuring the build quality matches the premium looks and guts.

Razer’s renowned audio engineers spent countless hours fine-tuning the Kraken Forged Edition’s 40 mm bass-heavy drivers to perfection. As a result, the neodymium pair work in unison with the headphone’s acoustic chambers and isolated closed ear cup design to deliver booming bass, clear mids and crisp highs for sound that’s optimized for music and pitch-perfect for gaming.

With plush leatherette ear cushions lining the ear cups, a fully adjustable headband and a lightweight, foldable design, the Razer Kraken Forged Edition headphones are designed for extended use.

The Razer Kraken Forged Edition also includes a swappable cable with an in-line microphone, giving users the versatility to easily convert it into a headset for gaming or telephony.

“These are the best headphones on the market for both music and gaming, period,” says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder, CEO and creative director. “We’ve made some incredible audio products in our time, and I’m proud to say that we have taken another huge step forward in terms of audio quality in a pair of headphones with phenomenal fit and finish.”

For more information about the Razer Kraken Forged Edition, check out www.razerzone.com/Kraken-Forged.

Darkout Gets Launch Trailer

2013/11/27
Jerry Paxton
News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

darkout-h3zv_BruteSmash

Leamington Spa, United Kingdom – 27 November, 2013 – Independent micro studio Allgraf today announced that its sandbox science-fiction action-release Darkout will launch on PC digital download channel Steam on December 4th. Set on a remote, undiscovered planet, Darkout features a sandbox environment, where players progress through randomly generated 2D levels as they research, build, and defend themselves against alien beings that roam the darkness. Darkout will be available on Steam from December 4th for $14 .99, £9.99, €11.99.

“Commencing with a stunning new intro, and offering a new cast of enemies with a deeper storyline, we are excited to announce the release of the first Darkout stage on Steam”, said Adrian Banninga, CEO of Allgraf, “We know players will savour this heart pounding survival experience and look forward to expanding the universe in future iterations.”

Darkout Stage 1 launches with a revitalised focus and polish that moves the genre to a new level. A new and intuitive storyline, including the introducing of a new male character, complete with voice overs creates an immersive play experience. The launch of a new item database, allows players to control every aspect of their game experience to ensure the best chance of survival, by improving performance with crafting, storage and containers. Stage 1 also includes the introduction of revamped AI and new lighting enhances mining and exploration on the surface and in the city.

As the sole survivor of an escape pod crash, Darkout presents the ultimate challenge – to survive a brutal life threatening post apocalyptic environment, deserted by mankind after disaster struck. The game’s sandbox technology presents randomly generated levels with austere settings where the fight to stay alive is just one objective. Players must research, build and defend themselves against alien, light-sensitive beings that become more hostile as night falls. Periods of twilight allow players limited security to explore, rebuild, craft weapons and gather resources, whilst developing personalised strategies to survive in a hostile terrain. Finding and interacting with items whilst assimilating intuitively presented stats screens must be strategically balanced for your ongoing welfare. Every decision has a consequence so you must keep one step ahead.

Multiplayer is currently in development to offer players more dimensions of gameplay and a competitive twist. Future stages in development will present an enigmatic and evolving storyline together with Underwater Biome, Sky Base, Feral Jungle, Penguin Drones, more Bosses, Unique Treasures, and much more as the Darkout universe expands to a captivating finale.

For information on Darkout please visit the official site: www.darkoutgame.com/

Follow Darkout on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DarkoutGame

Trailer

Mionix Launches AVIOR 7000 Gaming Mouse

2013/11/27
Jerry Paxton
News, Peripherals News

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Vaxjo, Sweden — November 27th, 2013 — Mionix, the Swedish manufacturer of professional high-end gaming accessories, today unveiled the new AVIOR 7000 high-performance ambidextrous gaming mouse.

“We have yet again developed another great product that gamers have been waiting for. We have taken one of our best mice shapes and combined it with the best technology available. We filled it with features and optimized it to set a new industry standard for precision and accuracy,” says Peter Nygren, CEO at Mionix.

The AVIOR 7000 is a premium 9-button ambidextrous mouse. The unique ergonomic shape has been developed to be used by either right or left-handed gamers, and to support a palm or claw grip.

The ADNS-3310 gaming grade optical sensor delivers no positive or negative hardware acceleration, amazing accuracy, smooth tracking, and a maximum speed of ≥5.45m/sec (≥215 IPS) all the way up to 7000 DPI.

With the new lift off distance (LOD) Calibration feature, Mionix has combined the Surface Quality Analyzer Tool (S.Q.A.T™) with adjustment of the lift off height to find the lowest possible LOD with optimized tracking.

The lightning fast 32-bit ARM™ processor enables the mouse to have many features without compromising the tracking of the sensor. The downloadable software provides access to fully customize all buttons, sensor settings, LED colors, macros, and profiles.

Features
  • Ambidextrous design: An ambidextrous ergonomic shape has been developed to be used by either right or left-handed gamers and to support a palm or claw grip
  • Gaming grade optical sensor: The ADNS-3310 gaming grade optical sensor delivers no positive or negative hardware acceleration, amazing accuracy, smooth tracking, and a maximum speed of more than 5.45m/sec (215 IPS) all the way up to 7000 DPI
  • Lightning fast processor: Running at 32Mhz, the lightning fast ARM™ processor enables the mouse to have many features without compromising the tracking of the sensor
  • Mechanical micro-switches: Engineered with Omron™ mechanical micro-switches for a responsive feel and precision quality with a 20 million click lifespan
  • 9 fully programmable buttons: Can be assigned to any key, mouse command, or macro. Buttons easily allow switching between stored profile and DPI steps in-game
  • Customizable LED lighting system: With up to 16.8 million color options, the 2 lighting zones can be adjusted to display a desired color, as well as Solid, Blinking, Pulsating, or Breathing lighting effects
  • Maximum grip: The surface of the mouse is treated with 4 layers of soft rubber coating, ensuring a maximum grip and soft touch feel
  • S.Q.A.T™ – Surface Quality Analyzer Tool: Equipped with Mionix’s trademark Surface Quality Analyzer Tool, the AVIOR 7000 measures the data loss between the sensor and the gaming surface, allowing gamers to determine which surface is best for their personalized setups
Availability & Pricing
Mionix™ AVIOR 7000 is available worldwide to pre-order today and is set to deliver in December 2013.
Suggested retail price: $79.99 / €79.99 / £69.99 / 699 SEK

World of Tanks Named an Official WCG 2013 Discipline

2013/11/27
Jerry Paxton
News, Windows PC News

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November 27, 2013 — Wargaming, the award-winning videogame developer and publisher, today announced that World of Tanks has been selected as an official discipline at the World Cyber Games 2013, taking place November 28th through December 1st in Kunshan, China.

“Watching World of Tanks take the world of eSports by storm has been truly amazing,” said Global eSports Director at Wargaming Jonghyuk Baak. “Being selected as an official discipline of this year’s World Cyber Games is truly a testament not only to the popularity of World of Tanks around the world, but also to a clear sign of its continued success in competitive gaming.”

The best tankers in the world will converge on the international championship to compete for a prize pool that includes $35,000, $21,000 and $7,000 for the top three finishing teams, respectively. In total, 16 national teams will compete in the Grand Finals, with all of the intense team-based action being live streamed online.

Screenshots

Razer Unveils Evil Geniuses Peripherals

2013/11/26
Jerry Paxton
News, Peripherals News

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CARLSBAD, Calif. – Razer, the world leader in high-performance gaming hardware, software and systems, along with Evil Geniuses, one of the world’s premier eSports organizations, today announced a plan to develop a line of custom-branded peripherals for Evil Geniuses.

The limited edition Evil Geniuses eSports line by Razer includes a Razer Taipan gaming mouse, Razer Goliathus gaming mouse mat and a Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth Edition mechanical gaming keyboard. Each of these peripherals is designed with tournament-ready hardware, including a high-precision 8200 dpi laser sensor in the mouse, a glide-attuned surface for slick movement on the mouse mat and fast-actuating mechanical switches in the keyboard.

During the design process, Evil Geniuses contributed extensively to the visual detailing of these exclusive peripherals, which embraces the team’s blue and silver color scheme across all three products. The Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth Edition keyboard and Razer Taipan mouse also feature unique white backlighting.

“This new line of peripherals is a real testament to the team’s dominance on the circuit and recognition of Evil Geniuses as a worldwide eSports organization,”says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder, CEO and creative director. “These products are great banners for both the players and fans to rally behind. There couldn’t be a better time to be a fan of Evil Geniuses, given their versatility, performance and all-star lineup.”

U.S.-based Evil Geniuses is widely considered the home of some of the world’s most distinguished and reputable cyber-athletes. The team has already racked-up 16 podium placements in 2013 at events such as the StarCraft II™ World Championship Series, DreamHack, Intel Extreme Masters and The Premier League.

“We wanted to create a full line of gaming peripherals for many years now,” says Alex Garfield, Evil Geniuses CEO. “Razer’s enthusiasm for a custom line of Evil Geniuses products was a major factor in our decision to partner with them in the first place. It shows that there was an internal commitment at Razer to help us grow as a business.”

The limited edition Evil Geniuses Razer Goliathus and Razer Taipan are now available for pre-order on Razerzone.com and evilgeniuses.gg, while the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth Edition will be available in December.

Double Fine Gets Back Rights to Costume Quest and Stacking

2013/11/26
Jerry Paxton
News, Windows PC News

costume-quest-comes-to-pc

San Francisco, CA and Vienna, Austria (November 26th 2013) – Double Fine Productions and Nordic Games have announced that Double Fine has reacquired all the publishing and distribution rights to its games Costume Quest and Stacking. Additionally, Double Fine has decided to partner with Nordic Games to bring retail release of Psychonauts, Costume Quest, and Stacking for Windows and Mac in North America and Europe during the first half of 2014.

“I am pleased that we have regained full control over Costume Quest and Stacking, following a daring and top-secret midnight raid on the Nordic Games headquarters in Vienna,” said Double Fine president and CEO Tim Schafer.

“We can’t wait to partner with Double Fine for this upcoming retail launch of three of its most excellent games,” said Lars Wingefors, owner and CEO of Nordic Games. “However, I feel compelled to point out that we were happy to transfer distribution rights for Costume Quest and Stacking back to Double Fine in an entirely non-secretive and heist-free manner.”

Nordic Games previously acquired the distribution rights to Stacking and Costume Quest upon the bankruptcy of former publisher THQ in early 2013.

“Double Fine is dedicated to controlling its own IP, and we will continue working to bring all associated rights back in-house whenever possible,” said Double Fine business development VP Justin Bailey, “no matter how many split-second security system hacks or painstaking tunneling operations we have to execute.”

“I just want to clarify, again, that we support the right of independent developers to control their own distribution, and we were pleased to have the opportunity to work with Double Fine,” said Klemens Kreuzer, Managing Director at Nordic Games. “No heists.”

Psychonauts was originally released at retail in 2005, but for years has been available only through digital distribution. The upcoming retail launch will mark the first time Costume Quest and Stacking have been available as physical releases.