Author - Jerry Paxton

Metro: Last Light PC Requirements Revealed

2013/04/22
Jerry Paxton
News, Windows PC News

Metro07

Publisher Deep Silver and Developer 4A Games today announced the official minimum, recommended and optimum PC specs for the upcoming First Person Shooter Metro: Last Light. The highly anticipated sequel to Metro 2033 will be available from May 14, 2013 in North America and May 17, 2013 across Europe for PlayStation®3, the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows PC.

Metro: Last Light is powered by 4A’s proprietary technology, the 4A Engine. Designed to take full advantage of the latest, most powerful PC hardware and DirectX 11 graphics cards, the 4A Engine also supports a host of bespoke NVIDIA® features including NVIDIA PhysX® and  NVIDIA 3D Vision®.

PC gamers wishing to test the suitability of their hardware can run the NVIDIA ‘GPU Analyzer.’ Is your PC ready to run Metro: Last Light? Find out here:

www.geforce.com/games-applications/pc-games/metro-last-light/gpu-analyzer

Official Metro: Last Light PC specifications:

Minimum

  • Windows: XP (32-Bit), Vista, 7 or 8
  • CPU: 2.2 GHz Dual Core e.g. Intel Core 2 Duo
  • RAM: 2GB
  • Direct X: 9.0c

Graphics Card:

DirectX 9, Shader Model 3 compliant e.g. NVIDIA GTS 250 (or AMD equivalent e.g. HD Radeon 4000 series) or higher

For 3D Vision Support:

  • NVIDIA GTX 275 or higher
  • 120Hz Monitor
  • NVIDIA 3D Vision kit for Windows Vista, 7 or 8

Recommended

  • Windows: Vista, 7 or 8
  • CPU: 2.6 GHz Quad Core e.g. Intel Core i5
  • RAM: 4GB
  • Direct X: 11

Graphics Card:

NVIDIA GTX 580/660 Ti (or AMD equivalent e.g. 7870) or higher

For 3D Vision Support:

  • NVIDIA GTX 580/660Ti or higher
  • 120Hz Monitor
  • NVIDIA 3D Vision kit for Windows Vista, 7 or 8

Optimum

  • Windows: Vista, 7 or 8
  • CPU: 3.4 GHz Multi-Core e.g. Intel Core i7
  • RAM: 8GB
  • Direct X: 11

Graphics Card:

NVIDIA GTX 690 / NVIDIA Titan

For 3D Vision Support:

  • NVIDIA GTX 690
  • 120Hz Monitor
  •  NVIDIA 3D Vision kit for Windows Vista, 7 or 8

Metro: Last Light is a first person shooter and the highly anticipated sequel to the extraordinary Metro 2033. In the year 2034, a nuclear war has turned the world into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. In Moscow, the tunnels of the Metro have become a new home for the former inhabitants of the city. Within the catacombs, they fight for their survival, fending off hordes of hideous mutants born from the toxic atmosphere, as well as other factions desperate to take control of what little hospitable land remains. As they fight, they also search for a doomsday device that could be the key to their victory. A civil war is inevitable. During these dark hours, the players will embody Artyom, and become the last light for all of mankind.

The plot of Metro: Last Light was written by Dmitry Glukhovsky, acclaimed author of the novel Metro 2033 which inspired the creation of both video games. Also, Glukhovsky is responsible for all dialogues in Metro: Last Light. Glukhovskys novels Metro 2033 and Metro 2034 have sold more than 2.000.000 copies worldwide. In 2013, his latest book Metro 2035 will be also available outside of Russia. The film rights for Metro 2033 were bought by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), the movie is currently in development.

For more information about Metro: Last Light, please visit www.enterthemetro.com. Alternately, follow us at Twitter.com/MetroVideoGame, find us at Facebook.com/MetroVideoGame and subscribe to the official YouTube channel at YouTube.com/MetroVideoGame for the latest gameplay trailers.

Razer DeathAdder 2013 Review

2013/04/22
Jerry Paxton
News, Peripheral Review, Peripherals News, Reviews, seal of excellence

razer-deathadder-gallery-1

Razer’s Death Adder gaming mouse has been a staple of the peripheral category for many years. In some ways, it is Razer’s modern-day Boomslang (For the young PC gamers out there, the Boomslang was Razer’s first “real” gaming mouse and was offered in both 1000 and 2000dpi flavors). For its 2013 iteration, Razer has once again tweaked and added to an already-proven platform and we have gotten our hands on one of the new DeathAdders to bring you this review.

What’s new for 2013? First, Razer has coated the DeathAdder in a new, hard surface material. Instead of a rubberized body like most gaming mice have, this one is made from a texturized plastic. The surface has some great friction and isn’t uncomfortable to use at all. In fact, this is my new favorite mouse body material. I used to ONLY purchase peripherals with the soft, rubberized plastic. However, this material is great to hold on to and doesn’t heat up after several hours of usage. Additionally, the side walls of the DeathAdder are now rubber with a honeycomb texture and do a great job of keeping your thumb and pinky finger holding on.

Most important, however, is that the 2013 DeathAdder features a new 4G optical sensor under the hood, with 6400dpi sensitivity, 200 ips, and 50Gs of acceleration. This sensor features no drift control, so the mouse will translate all of your movements into the game. Some have argued against this, but I have had bad issues with “mouse prediction” or drift control (it has many names) for a long while now – especially when playing online first-person shooter titles. What this technology does is negate small movements and “ticks” which your body naturally produces when sweeping your mouse in a direction. This correction makes the cursor appear to move in a straighter line. The problem is that, when playing a shooter title, you might just need to make a small movement in order to pull off a headshot, etc. Now, you get 1:1 movement.

razer-deathadder-gallery-4

Official Tech Specs

  • 6400dpi 4G Optical Sensor
  • Ergonomic right-handed design with textured rubber side grips
  • Five independently programmable Hyperesponse buttons
  • Razer Synapse 2.0 enabled
  • 1000Hz Ultrapolling/1ms response
  • On-The-Fly Sensitivity adjustment
  • Always-On mode
  • 200 inches per second and 50g of acceleration
  • Zero-acoustic Ultraslick mouse feet
  • Gold-plated USB connector
  • Seven-foot, lightweight, braided fiber cable
  • Approximate size: 5.00”/127mm (Length) x 2.76” / 70mm (Width) x 1.73” / 44mm (Height)
  • Approximate weight : 0.23lbs / 105g

The Synapse 2.0 control suite is fully-compatible with the 2013 DeathAdder and I had no issues in setting up the mouse. It features a potential of five programmable profiles to use as well as some basic lighting customization. Like all modern Razer mice, it features the 1000Hz Ultra-polling technology.

Overall, the 2013 Razer DeathAdder gaming mouse improves on an already-incredible platform with new sensors, enhanced feel, and Synapse 2.0 support. If you have the 2012 version of the DeathAdder, I wouldn’t tell you to run out there and buy it right now. However, if you have earlier models or are currently in the market for a gaming mouse, this is a rock-solid choice for a reasonable $69.99. The Razer DeathAdder 2013 is currently available at their official website. Additionally, we are awarding it with our Seal of Excellence for being an outstanding product.

[easyreview title=”Razer DeathAdder 2013 Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″] Our Rating Scores Explained

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StarDrive Gets Official Launch Date

2013/04/17
Jerry Paxton
News, Windows PC News

SD_1280x720_spacecombat

Haarlem, The Netherlands – April 17, 2013 – Publisher Iceberg Interactive announced today the official Steam launch date of April 26, 2013 for its hotly-anticipated 4X space-strategy game StarDrive for Windows® PC. The best-selling StarDrive Beta is currently available through Steam at a 17% discount at $24.99. The full retail version will be released on April 26 with a launch-week discount of 10%.

New StarDrive Wallpapers

StarDrive is a space-themed 4X strategy game with deep ship design, colonization, diplomacy, research, and beautiful 3D graphics designed by new developer Zero Sum Games, which ran a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2011.

StarDrive features include:

  • Real-time gameplay with a seamless zoom from a grand strategic view to a close-up action view
  • Choose from eight beautifully rendered alien races or design your own; interact, negotiate, and forge allegiances on your way to victory
  • Expand your empire and colonize all kinds of planets, terraform and populate them, and build them into specialized centers of trade or industry
  • Research and unlock an array of technologies to improve your military and industrial capabilities
  • Control your ships with classic real-time strategy commands or jump into the fray by taking direct ‘arcade’ control of any ship in your empire
  • Create your unique ship designs with the modular ship design system and determine your own fate in battle
  • Create custom fleet formations and set rules of engagement in the easy-to-use fleet editor
  • Steal technologies, incite rebellions, or rob your enemies blind with a rich agent-based espionage system
  • Deploy ground troops from orbit to defeat the enemies’ last planetary defenses in ground combat
  • Explore the rich universe that comes alive with random events, remnant elements, hidden treasures, deep space terrors and late-game threats

For more information about StarDrive please visit the official Website: www.stardrivegame.com.

Path of Exile Launches Season Two of Race Events

2013/04/17
Jerry Paxton
News, Windows PC News

PathOfExile_Act3_2

Auckland, New Zealand-April 17, 2013 – Grinding Gear Games announced the second season of race events in their hit action RPG Path of Exile. Race events are short-term leagues separate from the main game with separate characters and varying goals that test the players’ skill and luck. Season Two commences on Saturday, April 20th and runs for six weeks until June 2 (New Zealand time).

Path of Exile’s Race Season One completed on April 7th, 2013, and contained 109 events where players won points for completing various objectives within the races. Based on player feedback from Season One, Season Two features a number of improvements including more unique prize items to win that can be achieved more easily. Additionally, unique spot prizes are now awarded randomly among participants who completed at least one goal by the end of each race.

Another new addition to the Path of Exile race season is “Signature Events.” Signature Events are consistent length solo events that are run multiple times during the season.  At the end of the season, the best performing characters of each class will receive a prize similar to the top 20 overall for the entire season.

“Season One of our race events was a huge success. We saw great player engagement, retention and community participation,” said Chris Wilson, producer for Grinding Gear Games. “We have made many improvements for Season Two and are very excited to see their effects.”

For additional details and the schedule of events, please visit

http://www.pathofexile.com/seasons

Currently in Open Beta, Path of Exile is a PC online action role-playing game set in a dark fantasy world. Featuring ethical micro transactions, 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 from www.pathofexile.com/video

Elite Screens Announces Kestrel Projector Screen

2013/04/16
Jerry Paxton
News, Tech News

SONY DSC

CERRITOS, Calif., April 1, 2013 — Elite Screens, Inc. an innovative US leader in projection screens, today announced the Kestrel Stage free-standing portable electric projection screen. “We have many portable free standing projection screen designs but our rental and staging customers wanted an even more refined solution.” said David Rodgers, Marketing Manager for Elite Screens Inc. “It is an elegant, beautiful design that brings the extra wow-factor to a mobile projector display in addition to it being ideal for formal occasions”. The Kestrel Stage Series is a portable, free standing floor rising motorized front projection screen. The screen material is GREENGUARD certified for indoor air-quality emissions as well as for children and schools (GREENGUARD #90390).

The initial screen sizes are 100 or 120 diagonal inches in a 16:9 (HDTV) aspect ratio. The material is Elite’s GREENGUARD certified MaxWhite FG 1.1 gain material that has wide diffusion uniformity for added performance versatility. The screen’s mechanized cross-rising apparatus is driven by a 17rpm, 130w tubular motor. Its 10nm torque provides superior weight tolerance in addition to a longer operational lifespan. Elite’s Kestrel Stage provides a simple in-line 3-way switch.

The Kestrel Stage is ideal for Rental & Staging or other commercial (Pro AV) applications. The motorized screen is integrated into a sturdy wheeled stage case that has handles for easy transport and set-up. As an added value, a matching roadie flight-case with detachable velvet skirt is included to complete the arrangement. The flight-case combines with the cased-screen and skirt to create a professional-grade mobile projection display.

Setup is a quick, easy process. The flight case performs the dual role of mobile storage and as a base for the portable electric screen unit. After separation into 2-equal units, the flight case ends attach to the bottom of the screen module creating an elevated base. Once the removable drape is added, the screen is raised and lowered by use of its in-line 3-way control switch.

Pricing, Availability, Warranty

Elite Screens’ Kestrel Stage is priced at $2500 MSRP for the 100” units and $3600 for the 120” models. The 100” models are currently available through Elite’s retail, and professional AV sales channel. The 120” models will be available in June. Kestrel Stage series projection screens come with Elite’s two-year manufacturer’s limited warranty, which is twice the industry standard. As an added value, a three-year warranty is provided to Government, Educational, Military and Religious organizations at no additional charge.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II Uprising Launch Screenshots

2013/04/16
Jerry Paxton
News, PlayStation 3 News, Screenshots / Photos, Windows PC News, Xbox 360 News

MotD - Chazz Palminteri as Sal Deluca

Santa Monica, CA – April 16, 2013 – Coming out right on the heels of the inaugural Call of Duty® Championship, presented by Xbox, which set records as the biggest live event ever streamed on Xbox LIVE®, and the largest concurrent viewership for a live streamed console game tournament on Twitch, Call of Duty®: Black Ops II Uprising, is available today, exclusively on Xbox LIVE for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, with other platforms to follow. The second Downloadable Content (DLC) Map Pack from Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), and its award-winning studio Treyarch, Call of Duty: Black Ops II Uprising includes four new, diverse multiplayer maps and the groundbreaking “Mob of the Dead” Zombies experience, featuring legendary Hollywood actors Ray Liotta, Chazz Palminteri, Joe Pantoliano, and Michael Madsen as four mobster inmates trying to escape a zombie infested Alcatraz.

“Uprising is equal parts creativity and passion, all rolled into four amazing multiplayer maps, and entirely new and ambitious ‘Mob of the Dead’ Zombies experience,” said Mark Lamia, Treyarch’s Studio Head. “We’ve packed a ton of gameplay into the multiplayer maps, including game-changing environmental challenges and opportunities. And with ‘Mob of the Dead,’ the team has pushed the boundaries of the Zombies fiction into new territory, anchored by top Hollywood talent.”

Following tradition of the original Call of Duty: Black Ops fan-favorite Zombies mode “Call of the Dead,” Call of Duty: Black Ops II Uprising’s chilling new “Mob of the Dead” Zombies experience puts players in the shoes of four prohibition-era mobsters, Billy Handsome (Liotta), Al “The Weasel” Arlington (Pantoliano), Salvatore “Sal” DeLuca (Palminteri), and Michael “Finn” O’Leary (Madsen), serving time in Alcatraz Prison only to discover that being behind bars is the least of their problems. In order to survive, players must work their way through the steel cells and aging concrete buildings while fighting off a multitude of zombified prisoners and guards trapped on the island with them.

Uprising also debuts four new, exotic and unique multiplayer maps set around the globe: “Magma” is a modern Japanese village with volcanic eruptions carving multiple paths throughout the town; “Encore” takes place in the aftermath of a deserted London music festival and leaves numerous opportunities for plenty of run-and-gun, close quarters combat; “Vertigo” is a futuristic high-rise mega-structure located in India and features dizzying vistas and multi-tiered pathways; finally, “Studio” is a contemporary re-imagining of “Firing Range,” the fan-favorite multiplayer map from the original Call of Duty: Black Ops. “Studio” is a Hollywood movie back lot with a variety of cinematic themes that range from Sci-Fi to the Old West.

Celebrating today’s launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops II Uprising, Treyarch is hosting a Grudge Match between two professional football players from this year’s Super Bowl Champions, the Baltimore Ravens. Running Back Ray Rice & Wide Receiver Torrey Smith will go head-to-head, each captaining a team of development team members, as they go head-to-head in an intense battle for bragging rights playing on the new maps included in Call of Duty: Black Ops II Uprising. Gamers can review highlights on theCall of Duty: Black Ops II Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/codblackops.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II Uprising is out now first, exclusively on Xbox LIVE for a suggested retail price of $14.99 or 1200 Microsoft Points. The Uprising DLC Map Pack is also included in the Call of Duty: Black Ops II DLC Season Pass*, where fans can purchase all four epic DLC Map Packs planned for the year, and also receive the Nuketown Zombies bonus map, and an exclusive in-game calling card as part of the discounted bundle offered at a suggested retail price of $49.99 or 4000 Microsoft Points – a discount of 800 Microsoft Points off the individual purchase of all four DLC Map Packs**.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is rated “M” (Mature – Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs – content suitable for persons ages 17 and older) by the ESRB. More information on Call of Duty: Black Ops II can be found at http://www.callofduty.com/blackops2 or on www.facebook.com/codblackops. Fans can also follow @Treyarch on Twitter.

Screenshots

MWO Gets Team System and Highlander Champion Mechs

2013/04/16
Jerry Paxton
News, Windows PC News

Mechwarrior_online

THE INNER SPHERE – April 16, 2013 – MechWarrior Online takes its first step toward launch later this summer as it unveils in-game team structure as part of April’s big content update which sees the implementation of in-game Commanders, Lance Leaders and overall Lance structure – this update is considered the key pre-cursor to 12 v 12 matches which will go live later this spring.

Also new in today’s patch and available now in the Mech Lab are all variants of last week’s Hero Mech, the Highlander Mech, which smashed all previous Mech sales records in Piranha Games’ MechWarrior Online. Owing to the great success of the Highlander’s popularity is one defining feature: it taunts players on the battlefield when it plays a victory song from outward-facing speakers. Though the non-Hero Mech variants do not boast this victory music feature, they are deadly nevertheless and should be taken extremely seriously on the battlefield. The load-outs of these variants can be found here: http://mwomercs.com/game/patch-notes.

And for fans wishing for high-end preset Mechs to purchase, limited edition “Champion” Mechs are now available for purchase in the Mech Lab. Inspired by fan requests, the first Champion Mech, “Dragon”, comes equipped with ahigh end fan-assigned load-out fully equipped and optimized for long range dps/heat efficiency. The Dragon Champion Mech is purchased with MC only and its load out can be viewed here: http://mwomercs.com/forums/topic/108341-build-a-trial-mech-heavy-edition-winner/.

Other new features include new user-friendly UI tips, loading tips, and host state rewind for ballistic weapons all wrapped in a new pattern fans can grab now from the Mech Bay, the Fractal pattern.

Additionally, MechWarrior Online will see a leaderboard challenge event hitting on April 19 – 23 of this month, with MechWarrior credit prizes.  Full details will be posted for fans on www.mwomercs.com in coming days, so stay tuned!

For complete information on MechWarrior Online or to sign up for the free game, please visit www.mwomercs.com.