Author - Jerry Paxton

Motorcycle Samurai Launched on Digital Platform

2014/08/26
Jerry Paxton
Comics News, Geek News, News

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August 25, 2014 — Thrillbent, the one-stop showcase for creator-owned digital comics, has launched Top Shelf’s Motorcycle Samurai on its subscription platform. Originally released in 2013, Chris Sheridan’s first foray into digital comics set new standards for eye-popping artwork and jaw-dropping use of digital platform transitions. The release marks the first time Thrillbent has made another publisher’s work part of its monthly subscription package.

“We have one singular goal at Thrillbent – to be the home of diverse, quality content that truly maximizes the benefits of the digital platform,” said Thrillbent founder Mark Waid. “Chris Sheridan’s masterpiece certainly fits the bill. We will continue to look to supplement our subscription with books from other publishers that meet our standards.”

Please find below information on Motocycle Samurai. Additionally, the cover art and logo are attached. Motorcycle Samurai, along with all the other content on Thrillbent, is available with the $3.99 monthly subscription (also available through the website).

Find more information out at Thrillbent’s official website.

Digital Storm Unveils Bolt II Battle Box Titan Z Special Edition

2014/08/26
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, Hardware News, News

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FREMONT, Calif. – August 26, 2014 – Digital Storm is excited to unveil the Bolt II Battle Box Titan Z Special Edition –  a liquid-cooled small form factor PC designed specifically to meet NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX Battle Box military grade gaming standard.

Unlike competitors, who simply upgraded the components in existing systems, Digital Storm redesigned the Bolt II to house the company’s new Hardline Cooling System.  The team was able to pack custom liquid cooling components including a 240mm radiator, pump and stunning acrylic tubing that delivers hyper yellow coolant to key components into the Bolt II’s ultra-slim chassis.

“NVIDIA launched the GTX Battle Box Program to allow gamers to play AAA, combat-focused games at max settings and super high resolutions,” said Harjit Chana, Chief Brand Officer.  “But gaming in 4K requires much more than simply upgrading components.  Our Hardline Cooling System allows gamers to unlock the Bolt II’s full potential and experience games in ways they never thought possible.”

The BOLT II Battle Box Titan Z Special Edition is aggressively priced at just under $5,000 given its impressive payload.  The new system features an overclocked Intel Core i7 4790K processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan Z 12GB graphics card, 16GB DDR3 memory and 700W power supply.

Follow Digital Storm at facebook.com/digitalstormpcs, twitter.com/DigitalStormPC, plus.google.com/+digitalstorm/posts, and youtube.com/digitalstormpc.

Razer Cortex Announced

2014/08/25
Jerry Paxton
News, Windows PC News

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CARLSBAD, Calif. – Razer™, the world leader in entertainment devices and software, today announced a new platform to its suite of software products: Razer Cortex, a free software gaming application from which players can discover new game titles at the lowest prices, launch their games while boosting computer performance, back up save games and record in-game footage. Razer Cortex features include:

  • Razer Cortex: Deals – Pay less for more of your favorite games with Razer’s unique downloadable game price comparison engine.
  • Game Booster – Enhance your PC’s gaming performance with the popular boosting utilities from Razer Game Booster incorporated into Razer Cortex.
  • Save Game Manager – Automatically back up save games to the cloud and never lose a save game again.
  • Screen Capture Gallery – Immortalize your gaming moments with the touch of a hotkey.

Razer Cortex: Deals brings a game-changing offering to Razer’s growing software platform – the unique PC game comparison tool allows users to stay up to date on price drops, limited deals and exclusive offers for their favorite games.

Razer Cortex: Deals compares prices across the most popular downloadable game stores on a simple-to-use interface that highlights the best price and allows users to create Wish Lists where they receive notifications whenever the games on their lists drop in price or appear in a store’s deals.

Razer Cortex: Deals also includes a predictive function that suggests other games that users might enjoy based on their gaming activity.

Razer’s 10 million global users will get a competitive edge on the best deals across their favorite stores such as Amazon, Gamersgate, Gamestop, GOG.com, Green Man Gaming, Steam and Origin, with more to come.

“Our goal is to make games as accessible as possible to the Razer gaming community,” says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-Founder, CEO and creative director. “By pointing gamers to the best options for their wallets without wasting valuable time digging through different stores, they can squeeze more gaming juice out of their budgets. With a solution like Deals, we’re doing our part in providing a much needed dose of transparency to the gaming industry, while enabling our players to focus on gaming.”

Early access event

From the 25th August to the launch of Razer Cortex on the 10th September, Razer is holding a two week long early access event where users can sign up with their Razer ID to join a queue. Participants will be progressively given access to test server performance for the upcoming launch.

Anyone with a Razer ID is free to join at

www.razerzone.com/cortex/earlyaccess

About Razer Cortex: Razer Cortex is a performance enhancing game launcher that acts as the nerve center of a player’s entire gaming experience. With Razer Cortex users can easily discover new games at their lowest prices, boost the gaming performance of their PCs, back up saved games to the cloud and record in-game footage.

For more information on Razer Cortex and its array of features, please visitwww.razerzone.com/cortex/

WWE SuperCard Has Over 1.5 Million Downloads in First Week

2014/08/25
Jerry Paxton
Mobile News, News

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New York, NY – August 25, 2014 – 2K today announced the larger-than-life, action-packed collectible card game, WWE® SuperCard, was downloaded more than 1.5 million times during its first week of release. With an average rating of 4.5/5 stars on the App Store for iOS devices, as well as 4/5 stars on Google Play, WWE SuperCard has quickly cemented its position as the most successful WWE-branded casual game to have ever been launched by 2K or WWE for mobile devices.

“In less than one week, WWE SuperCard broke 2K’s records and became one of the Company’s most popular free-to-play games to date,” said Chris Snyder, Vice President of Marketing at 2K. “WWE SuperCard is a fun, engaging and addictive game for mobile game enthusiasts, WWE fans and card collectors alike, bringing the larger-than-life action of WWE straight to their mobile devices to engage with at home or on-the-go.”
 
“Surpassing 1.5 million downloads globally for WWE SuperCard in less than one week is truly an incredible accomplishment,” said Casey Collins, Executive Vice President, Consumer Products, WWE. “2K’s video game expertise combined with WWE’s strong brand appeal and passionate fan base set the foundation for a successful mobile application.”

WWE SuperCard users have also generated the following statistics across iOS and Android devices: 

  • Logged in to WWE SuperCard for more than 18 million unique sessions;
  • Spent approximately 14 minutes in an average gameplay session;
  • Achieved more than 82 million victories in Exhibition Mode;
  • Commenced more than 575,000 King of the Ring season-based sessions.

WWE SuperCard challenges players to build teams of WWE Superstars, Divas and Legends, train them to their full potential, battle in various match types and test their luck in high stakes tournament action. Featuring more than 400 cards in active play, with each card representing one of seven different rarity levels, WWE SuperCard delivers an extensive array of collectible content with high replay value. In addition, WWE SuperCard enables players to enhance their experience through the purchase of individual card packs.

Developed by Cat Daddy Games in conjunction with Visual Concepts, both 2K studios, WWE SuperCardis available now for download on the App Store for iOS devices, including the iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch®, as well as the Google Play Store and Amazon Appstore for Android™ devices.  2K also announced that they will be supporting the title post-launch, continually expanding upon the WWE SuperCard universe with roster updates, and enabling players to routinely discover new cards to add to their roster.

For more information on WWE SuperCard and 2K, visit wwe.2k.com, become a fan on Facebook, follow the game on Twitter or subscribe on YouTube.

Wasteland 2 Official Release Date

2014/08/25
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, Windows PC News

wasteland-2

Newport Beach, California – August 21, 2014 – inXile entertainment is happy to announce the release date for its crowd funded post-apocalyptic cRPG Wasteland 2: it will be coming to digital and physical retailers September 19th!

Wasteland 2 was crowd funded on Kickstarter in early 2012 and has been in development since. The game’s scope has only grown as CEO Brian Fargo put up his own money and used back catalogue and Early Access sales to double the initial budget to over $5 million.

“After more than 25 years, it is so exciting to finally deliver this game to our audience,” says Mr. Fargo. “The project is so much bigger than originally planned but we wanted to over deliver with a massive game to show how wonderful crowd funding can be. Early response has been strong, we’re excited to get this final game out into the world.”

Wasteland 2 will be available for purchase through digital retailers for $40/€40/£30.

Elite Force 4CRL AEG Airsoft Gun Review

2014/08/25
Jerry Paxton
Action Sports, Airsoft News, Airsoft Reviews, Articles, News, Reviews, seal of excellence

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Elite Force is one of the most trusted names in the airsoft world. The company not only has a terrific array of airsoft guns and gear but, also, is based in the United States. The Elite Force 4CRL is the company’s field-rated airsoft rifle, and is the big brother to the Elite Force 4CRS – their CQB-rated airsoft rifle.

Design

Appropriately, it has a long overall length of 35 inches and features a fixed, M-16 style stock. The rifle comes with a distinctive and attractive orange flash hider (something that CAN’T be said for most airsoft guns) and flip up front and rear iron sights. The orange flash hider design is taken from the MK 12 Special Purpose Rifle, or “SPR”, that is one of the many rifles used by U.S. Special Operations Forces. The Elite Force 4CRL is actually a classy hybrid of several rifle styles – from the M-4 style rail system to the SPR flash hider to the M-16 style stock; It all blends together into a beautiful airsoft rifle that you won’t be disappointed to field. In terms of its overall look, the one thing that bothered me was its “short” (in comparison to overall length) rail system. The rail system only measures about 7 inches in length and, if you have longer arms, you may be a little hard-pressed to use the thumb-over-bore shooting grip with your support hand.

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That being said, I have seen several customized Elite Force 4CRLs with the rail system exchanged for a longer one and the gun is completely upgradable in this respect. In fact, the 4CRL is upgradable in just about every respect, and makes for a great base gun to build on if you are a technically-minded airsofter. I have also seen several customized versions of the rifle with the fixed stock changed out in favor of a collapsible, M-4 style stock. That way, the airsoft player has more options on the length the gun sticks out from the shooter’s body. To make a long story short: You have a lot of options with how this gun looks and functions if you are not happy with its already-stylish, out-of-the box design.

Performance

Before getting the chance to use the Elite Force 4CRL, I spoke to several players who recommended that we check it out, boasting how well the rifle performed in their games. I was very happy to find out that these players were not simply talking out of the side of their mouths as the Elite Force 4CRL is the real deal. At first, I thought the airsoft rifle was constructed with a nylon fiber receiver as there was no way a full length rifle would weigh so little. I was wrong – the receiver is full metal and the entire gun weighs about 6 lbs. This actually pretty standard for an airsoft rifle of this type – it just feels a lot lighter because of its proportions. Much like a bullpup style rifle, the weight of the 4CRL is closer to the body of the shooter as it has a short rail system and full, fixed-stock. Because of this, the Elite Force 4CRL is actually a lot more maneuverable and easier to wield than most M-16 style airsoft guns.

Official Features & Specifications:

  • 400 FPS w/.20g
  • Full metal CNC’s Body
  • Full Metal Gearbox/Gears
  • 300-round Hi-Cap
  • Front and Rear Metal Flip Sights
  • Newly Designed Full Metal Quad-Rail
  • SPR Flash Hider
  • Contoured Trigger Guard
  • Textured Nylon Fiber Grip
  • Fixed Rear Stock
  • Functional Bolt Catch
  • Full Length Top Rail
  • Metal Outer Barrel w/ NATO 5.56 Trademarks
  • Full Elite Force Trademarks
  • Li-Po Ready
  • 1 Year Warranty

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With the large, fixed stock, you can fit a whole host of battery types and sizes inside. Nowadays, everyone seems to want to use high-output lipo batteries. So, I wanted to make sure I tried one in the Elite Force 4CRL. I had no problem running an 11.1V 15C lipo battery in the gun. Over the course of several games, I didn’t run into any bad overheating moments or metltdowns – something I, unfortunately, encountered with a WE Katana AEG a while back. It may go without saying, but I would not run an 8.4V NiMH or 7.6V lipo battery in the Elite Force 4CRL. It is just far more capable than either class of battery would allow it to be.

While you can run an 11.1V lipo in the gun – for my everyday usage, I stick with a 9.6V NiMH nun-chuck style battery. They are reliable, have a low-chance of exploding on you, and are a lot easier to charge. I chronographed the rifle at at both SC Village in Norco, CA and Hollywood Sports Park in Bellflower, CA and the results were really close to the advertised rating. Keep in mind, I run .25g BBs in all of my magazines and the 4CRL was clocked at 382 FPS at SC Village and 386 FPS at Hollywood Sports Park. This is definitely in keeping with the 400 FPS rating using .20g BBs. The Elite Force 4CRL’s rate of fire is very good for a stock gun, and we got chrono readings of about 15 rounds per second with a 9.6V battery. If you are seeking a higher rate of fire, you could stick an 11.1V in it and reach about 20 rounds per second.

The airsoft gun was also very accurate, thanks to a reliable, rotary hop-up unit the rotates around the axis of the bore. This design is much more stable than hop up units that rotate perpendicular to the axis of the bore and means your shots will be more consistent. The included 300-round high capacity magazine fits reasonably well, with only a modicum of wobble.

Conclusion

Retailing for about $370 dollars, the Elite Force 4CRL is an exceptional out-of-the box airsoft rifle that will last you for a long time – even without performing any internal upgrades. Then, if you decide you want to upgrade the gun, you will find it very easy to tech and fully-compatible with TM, Ver.2 gearbox parts. I have had the pleasure of reviewing several airsoft guns for our column – this was, by far, one of the best I have had the pleasure of playing with – so much so that I am awarding it our GamingShogun.com Seal of Excellence.

You can purchase the Elite Force 4CRL at online airsoft retailers like Evike, AirsoftGI, AirsoftMegastore, and many others.

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[easyreview title=”Elite Force 4CRL AEG Airsoft Gun Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″ ]
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Product Videos

Basic Product Overview

Elite Force 6mm Xtreme Challenge using the 4CRL and featuring Jet “Desert Fox” Castillo

Ubisoft Unveils PAX Prime 2014 Lineup

2014/08/22
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News

farcry4

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – August 21, 2014 – Today, Ubisoft® announced its PAX Prime lineup featuring Assassin’s Creed® Unity, Assassin’s Creed® Rogue, The Crew™, Toy Soldiers: War Chest, Far Cry® 4 and Tetris® Ultimate. Attendees will also have an opportunity to compete in a wide variety of games with The Next Level, Ubisoft’s inclusive competition initiative, and collect several unique PAX Prime items, including PAX pins for The Crew, Far Cry 4 and The Next Level during PAX Prime running from August 29 to September 1 in Seattle, Washington.

PAX Prime attendees can visit the Assassin’s Creed booth (#642) for an exclusive preview of the two upcoming Assassin’s Creed titles: Assassin’s Creed Unity and Assassin’s Creed Rogue. For the first time in PAX history, attendees can see the costumes of some of their favorite Assassins on display in the Assassin’s Creed booth, including Ezio Auditore de Firenze, Aveline de Grandpré and Arno Victor Dorian.

Assassin’s Creed Unity, available on next-gen consoles and PC, transforms players into Arno, a deft Assassin living in Paris during the height of the French Revolution. Assassin’s Creed Rogue, available on current-gen consoles, follows the story of Shay, a Master Assassin turned Templar who hunts down assassins across the North Atlantic Ocean and New York City during the Seven Years’ War.

The Crew, a massive open world action-driving game, will offer a hands-on demo at booth #832, allowing players to get behind the wheel and drive across the picturesque United States.

The recently announced Toy Soldiers: War Chest will be playable for fans for the first time at booth #832. A mix of tower defense and strategy, players will select their army and choose between commanding the German Empire, led by Kaiser Wilhelm, or the Star Power army, led by the whimsical hero Starbright, to defend their toy box against waves of enemies.

The Far Cry 4 booth, #612, will allow players to step into the alluring yet dangerous world of Kyrat. A hands-on demo of Shangri-La, a new mode and the Himalayas Snow Mission will be playable. Come by the Far Cry 4 booth for daily giveaways and an experience fans will be sure to remember.

Tetris Ultimate will be the subject of two events on Sunday, August 31, a panel and an autograph session. “Tetris: The Video Game That Changed the World” will take place from 3 pm to 4 pm in the Hedgehog Theatre at the Grand Hyatt. Sit down with Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov and Ubisoft developers for a deep dive into the franchise’s global impact, personal anecdotes from the last 30 years and a look to the future with its latest iteration, Tetris Ultimate. Alexey Pajitnov will also be holding a meet-and-greet autograph session from 5 pm to 7 pm at the Paramount Theatre, located at 911 Pine Street.

The Next Level, the inclusive competition initiative from Ubisoft, will celebrate its first anniversary with daily competitions challenging participants to show their skills in a variety of games, including the highly anticipated Far Cry 4. Attendees can also enter the PAX Passport Challenge and fans at home can enter online at www.tnlvl.com. Watch or participate in the competition at The Next Level booth, #632, or tune into the live stream event at www.twitch.tv/thenextlevel.

Pre-Order Incentives

Attendees can also take advantage of pre-order incentives for some of Ubisoft’s biggest games at the show. Pre-orders for Assassin’s Creed Unity and Assassin’s Creed Rogue, The Crew and Far Cry 4 include a free t-shirt.

Visit the UbiBlog (www.ubiblog.com) for exclusive news and features from PAX Prime

Wargaming.net Unveils PAX Prime 2014 Lineup

2014/08/22
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, Windows PC News

World-of-Warships

August 21, 2014 — Wargaming today announced its presence at PAX Prime 2014, taking place in Seattle, Washington August 29th through September 1st. Located at booth 3617, Wargaming team will offer a variety of exciting entertainment, prizing, and gameplay activities for show attendees.

On display and playable will be the global phenomenon World of Tanks for the PC, the award-winning World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition, the flight combat MMO World of Warplanes and the recently launched and critically acclaimed World of Tanks Blitz for iOS devices. In addition, PAX Prime 2014 will also mark the very first North American hands-on for Wargaming’s highly anticipated naval combat title World of Warships, brought to the show in a special behind closed doors experience.

The fun will also continue with a full schedule of stage activities, interviews, and special guests, complete with prizing from partners such as Plantronics, Intel, J!NX, Razer and more. The festivities will also be livestreamed on the Wargaming official Twitch channel, where stream viewers will get their own chance to walk away with prizes and bonus codes.

Wargaming will also bring to Seattle the conclusion of the Wargaming.net League North American eSports finals. Scheduled to take place at the Showbox SoDo in Seattle on August 30th from 5:00 PM to 11:30 PM, the event will pit the top World of Tanks players in the Americas against each other for a chance to win a share of a $100,000 prize pool as well as the chance to attend the global Grand Finals in 2015. Attendees will not only get to see some of the country’s best players prove their skills, but also walk away with premium tanks and other swag to be given out throughout the event. For fans not at PAX Prime 2014, the entirety of the competition will also be streamed at the Wargaming.net League channel on Twitch.