Author - Jerry Paxton

V-MODA Unveils Crossfade M-100 Metal Headphones

2012/10/18

Los Angeles – October 17, 2012 – V-MODA, the multi-platinum selling designer of headphones trusted by the pros and elite, announces the highly-anticipated M-100 headphones designed by and for mobile music enthusiasts. V-MODA uniquely crowd-sourced the input of hundreds of audiophiles, journalists, producers and renowned DJs around the globe after news of M-100 first leaked online. Rather than abolishing the information, V-MODA embraced it and openly interacted on forums and social networks which ultimately transformed into a platform of crowdsourced product development.

“This collaboration is one of the most unique design processes I’ve ever been a part of” states Val Kolton, Chief Visionary Officer at V-MODA. “Once the word started to spread on M-100, forum discussions exploded with exceptional feedback vital to the development of the product. Our research and development labs consisted not of corporate marketing and finance departments, but rather the most passionate headphone consumers, musicians and DJs across the globe. M-100 is a progeny of audio enthusiasts worldwide – truly built by the people, for the people,” added Kolton.

To achieve the greatest sound for the greatest amount of people, years of ergonomic research and obsessive quality control over speaker driver variance served as the driving force in the release of M-100. “Speaker drivers must be carefully quality-controlled like grapes at fine vineyards,” added Kolton. “The end result is an exquisitely balanced and unique sound signature characterised by its addictive deep yet clean bass, vibrant mids, and ultra-extended clear and transparent highs.”

The compact M-100 adds unparalleled versatility and functionality to the best-in-class Crossfade series. Dual inputs allow the headphones to act as a virtual on-the-go mixer, and patent-pending V-CORK seals allow the discerning listener to perfectly balance the audio. An optional Boom Pro microphone instantly transforms the M-100 into the ideal headset for gamers, podcasters and broadcast professionals. The optional Coil Pro cable with locking mechanism allows extended freedom with an instrument of choice on stage, at home or in the DJ booth.

Road warriors will revel in novel compact features including the vault-like CLIQFOLD hinge mechanism that uniquely folds the M-100 into V-MODA’s famous exoskeleton carrying case. The M-100 includes two detachable Kevlar-reinforced cables, a remastered SpeakEasy microphone cable and an all-new SharePlay cable allowing multiple users to share music and media without extra adapters. V-MODA continues to allow users to “endorse themselves” by customizing the headphone with its unique custom shield and laser engraving service that allows users to interchange the metal shields with an array of colors, logos and even their own design.
As with all of V-MODA’s Crossfade family, durability and exquisite material selection was paramount in the design of M-100. Its masterful combination of steel and metal materials lives up to the military-level standards of the MIL-STD-810G testing guidelines. Memory foam ear cushions naturally isolate noise and provide supple ergonomic comfort for extended listening sessions. The cushions and SteelFlex headband naturally form to your head and ears to create the perfect natural noise isolation, optimal bass and an immersive 3D soundstage.

M-100 Features
• 50mm Dual-Diaphragm Drivers (patent-pending)
• No batteries or artificial sound processing
• CLIQFOLD folding hinge (patent-pending)
• Dual Inputs with V-CORK seals (patent-pending)
• Exoskeleton case
• Two Kevlar-reinforced cables
• Universal SpeakEasy microphone cable for Apple iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows devices
• SharePlay extended audio cable
• Two year warranty, lifetime 50 percent immortal life program and V-MODA Six-Star Service

MIL-STD-810G and V-MODA Quality
• Survives 70+ drops on concrete
• Virtually indestructible SteelFlex Headband
• Minimal sound variances from unit to unit checked along six parts of the sound curve versus 10-30dB+ of inferior products
• Kevlar-reinforced detachable cables and 45-degree plug strain relief can each bend more than 1 million times, over 100x industry standards
• MIL-STD-810G environmental tests including high and low temperatures, humidity, salt spray and UV exposure

The Crossfade M-100 will be available in time for the holidays for $300 in Matte Black Metal, Shadow or White Silver at Amazon.com and fine purveyors of headphones worldwide. For $310 at V-MODA.com, consumers can now pre-order M-100 and receive an extra set of personalized shields and a set of Faders VIP Tuned Earplugs for a limited time.

OUTLAST First Trailer Released

2012/10/18

Jerry Paxton

News

MONTREAL & MOUNT MASSIVE, COLORADO – October 17,2012 – In the remote mountains of Colorado, horrors wait inside Mount Massive Asylum. A long-abandoned home for the mentally ill, recently re-opened by the “research and charity” branch of the transnational Murkoff Corporation, has been operating in strict secrecy… until now.

Acting on a tip from an inside source, independent journalist Miles Upshur breaks into the facility, and what he discovers walks a terrifying line being science and religion, nature and something else entirely. Once inside, his only hope of escape lies with the terrible truth at the heart of Mount Massive.

Founded in Montreal by industry veterans from some of the biggest game franchises in history, including Prince of Persia, Assassin’s Creed, Splinter Cell, and Uncharted, Red Barrels is an independent game studio focused on creating unforgettable single-player games. Outlast is their first title, a true survival-horror experience which aims to show that the most terrifying monsters of all come from the human mind. Outlast will be coming to PC digital download in 2013.

“There are already a lot of great games out there about terrifying monsters that eat brains; we want Outlast’s to be scary because you’ll know the enemies you face still have them,” said Philippe Morin, co-founder of Red Barrels.

“Our team has a lot of previous experience creating big, blockbuster games,” said co-founder David Chateauneuf. “We’re all really excited to see what kind of fear-based emotional rollercoaster we can build on our own!”

When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the Murkoff Corporation responded: “Murkoff does not comment on speculation and rumors, especially ones started by conspiracy theorists and urban myth chasers.”

Trailer

Deadlight PC Requirements Released

2012/10/16

Jerry Paxton

News

Tequila Works has released the minimum system specifications for the PC version of their upcoming Deadlight, and they are as follows:

OS Version:Windows XP SP3 / Windows Vista
Processor : 2.0+ Ghz
Memory : 2 GB
Graphics : Shader model 3.0 support, DirectX version : 9.0c
Network : Broadband internet connection
Disk Space : 5GB
Sound card : DirectX 9 compatible sound card

The Empty Grave Haunted House 2012

2012/10/15

Jerry Paxton

Halloween, News, Reviews

I just got back from visiting one of our favorite local haunted events: The Empty Grave in Anaheim, CA. Once again, the attraction has outdone itself with some all-new gimmicks and scares as well as kept a lot of the older ones that worked. The Empty Grave’s monster talent was intense and all stayed in character throughout our visit. Additionally, most had a lot of physical presence to bring to their scares – that energy really matters in this kind of attraction. The set design was well thought-out and featured a lot of variety – from a swamp land cemetery to the inside of a haunted building, the course of the maze keeps you guessing as to where you will end up next. The location is still inside the Anaheim Garden Walk shopping center (Google Map) and they definitely make the most of their space. The Gardenwalk location is a boon to the guest experience as, after getting freaked out at The Empty Grave, you can walk a VERY short distance to a number of eating and drinking establishments to relax.

While I don’t wish to spoil any of the cool things you will encounter inside The Empty Grave, I will give special mention to the monster talent who was… “Chained up”, so to speak. You were awesome.

The Empty Grave is on now and runs on various dates through November 3rd, 2012. For ticket information and more info, please check out their official website.

Images

Creative Labs ZiiSound D5x Wireless Speaker and DSx Subwoofer Review

2012/10/15

Jerry Paxton

News, Reviews

I am always looking for good wireless speakers to furnish my office/home theater with. Any chance I get to remove wires or cables from the equation, I take, as there is already so much wire and cabling in my office that it could probably travel around the world many times over. Recently, I got the chance to check out the Creative Labs ZiiSound D5x Wireless Speaker and DSx Subwoofer combo. The units are classy, with black plastic construction and looks that will fit in just fine whether on a shelf, coffee table, or speaker stand. Additionally, the D5X speaker unit features a nifty iOS device dock for easier interface. Please note, however, that this is not the new Lightning interface from Apple – this is the older one. You will want to get an adapter if you have one of the new iOS devices with that interface.

Connecting the speakers is easy, and the Bluetooth connection is very stable – even at great distances. I was able to put my speaker and subwoofer units on opposite sides of the room (about twenty feet apart) and experienced no signal interruption or degradation. Additionally, any audio device capable of utilizing Bluetooth speakers can access them, so you can listen to audio from your PC, MP3 player, or whatever else. Included in the box is a USB Bluetooth dongle to connect to your PC.

A big feature of this ZiiSound wireless speaker line is that they are expandable. You can connect up to three D5X or D3X speakers (NOTE: You can’t intermix the D5X and D3X units) with one DSX subwoofer via Bluetooth. This ability to add-on means that you can customize the system as you like or get a speaker unit, one at a time, as you save up for the others. The flexibility here is unlike anything I have seen before – you can simply buy to how much sound you desire/can afford.

The DSX Subwoofer provided some really nice, room-filling bass by way of its SLAM™ (Symmetrically Loaded Acoustic Module) technology. We have heard this technology on some of Creative Labs other subwoofer units and it never disappoints in providing good performance at an economical cost. It performs like a subwoofer at twice its price point.

The D5X Wireless Speaker performed VERY well, with audio being crisp and clear – both at the high and low ends of the range. I utilized this sound system with both video games via my PC and the included Bluetooth USB adapter as well as watching Blu-ray movies. I found the D5X speaker to be a solid performer in any application.

If I could add one feature to the ZiiSound collection of wireless speakers, it would be support of Apple’s AirPlay wireless standard. That would be the cherry on top of the sundae for me.

Overall, the Creative Labs ZiiSound D5x Wireless Speaker and DSx Subwoofer combination is an excellent way to provide wireless audio to your home entertainment/gaming/theater system without breaking your bank account.

Official Product Page

Images

InXile Celebrates 10th Anniversary with Sale

2012/10/15

Jerry Paxton

News

Newport Beach, CA – October 15th, 2012 – InXile Entertainment is celebrating its 10th year in business by reducing the prices of its games on Steam, iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Play Book and Origin digital sites for 1 week. In addition, we’ve added the original Bard’s Tale trilogy (along with a few other enhancements) to the Steam PC version of our current Bard’s Tale remake. Games like the Bard’s Tale and Choplifter will be reduced up to 75% off (depending on platform).

“inXile is in the best place since its inception thanks to the crowd funding of Wasteland 2. It feels good to have the confidence and support of the gamers and to be wholly focused on RPGs again,” said Brian Fargo, of inXile Entertainment. “And we want to celebrate our 10-year anniversary by lowering our prices to allow even more gamers to discover our titles. Although known for our RPGs we have quite a diverse catalog in our history. Games range from Fantastic Contraption, Line Rider, Bard’s Tale, Choplifter to our most recent iOS release with Solitaire + Friends.”

Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/search/?snr=1_4_4__12&term=inxile

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=inXile+entertainment&hl=en

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/inxile-entertainment/id290807372

Solitaire + Friends free: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/solitaire-+-friends/id500282998?mt=8

Choplifter on Origin: http://store.origin.com/promo?promoID=88022500&linkid=Choplift_PDP

Bard’s Tale for Mac: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-bards-tale/id517105387?mt=12

Bard’s Tale on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/inXile-entertainment-The-Bards-Tale/dp/B008S3EJSU

Bard’s Tale for PlayBook: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/119547/

About inXile Entertainment:
Founded by long-time industry veteran @BrianFargo in 2002, inXile Entertainment develops interactive entertainment software for all popular game systems, personal computers and wireless devices. The most current project under development is Wasteland 2 which was recently financed by its fans via @Kickstarter. For more information about inXile Entertainment visit: www.inxile-entertainment.com.

Wasteland is a trademark or registered trademark of inXile entertainment

Call of Duty Elite to be Free for Black Ops II Gamers

2012/10/15

Jerry Paxton

News

Santa Monica, CA – October 15, 2012 – With the launch of Call of Duty®: Black Ops II less than 40 days away, Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), announced today that all of its Call of Duty® Elite service features for Call of Duty®: Black Ops II will be free when the blockbuster game hits worldwide on November 13. With Call of Duty Elite free for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, both new and veteran Call of Duty Elite members alike will be able to enjoy the full range of Call of Duty Elite’s robust service and features integrated into the highly-anticipated new game in development by award-winning studio Treyarch.

“We’ve learned a lot in our first year of Call of Duty Elite, and we’re very proud that we over delivered on our commitment of playable content to our premium members,” said Activision Publishing CEO, Eric Hirshberg. “What we have realized is that several of the Call of Duty Elite services which are currently only available to our premium members for Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® 3 are things that would further unite, engage and delight our player community. So we are going to make them free for Call of Duty: Black Ops II.”

Supporting Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Activision will be selling four epic new Downloadable Content (DLC) Map Packs both á la carte and through the introduction of the Call of Duty: Black Ops II Season Pass. Coming to the Xbox LIVE® online entertainment network first, the four Call of Duty: Black Ops II DLC Map Packs will deliver a variety of new Multiplayer and Zombies playable content and are expected to be available in 2013. The Season Pass will deliver all four Call of Duty: Black Ops IIDLC Map Packs at a discounted suggested retail price of 4000 Microsoft Points* ($49.99 on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360® (discount based on four DLC Map Packs at a suggested retail price of 1200 Microsoft Points ($15) each). Season Pass pre-orders are now available at select retail outlets, including GameStop. Season Pass and DLC Map Packs may not be available on all gaming platforms. Pricing and release dates may vary by platform. All Call of Duty Elite features and availability are subject to change. Further details regarding the 2013 calendar of Call of Duty: Black Ops IIDLC Map Packs will be made available at a later date.

Hirshberg continued, “For Call of Duty: Black Ops II, DLC Map Packs will be a separate offering from Call of Duty Elite. The Season Pass will be a great way to acquire all four Map Packs at a discount, but if our fans would rather take it one Map Pack at a time, then we’ll offer each pack á la carte for anyone who wants it. What we aren’t doing is requiring a paid membership to access the great player services for Call of Duty: Black Ops II and we’re thrilled to offer all of Elite’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II features to players for free.”

Today’s news of Call of Duty Elite’s free integration with Call of Duty: Black Ops IIfollows the recent reveal of several new multiplayer features that are in the works by Treyarch, including an all-new ‘Pick Ten Create-a-Class’ system, an added emphasis on eSports featuring CODcasting, and an all-new Score Streaks system. GameStop president Tony Bartel says, “Consumer anticipation for Call of Duty: Black Ops II is tremendous. We are seeing the highest pre-orders in history. With its current pace, thisCall of Duty is on track to break records and is likely to be our biggest game launch of all time.”

As a free service for Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the Call of Duty Elite platform will continue to evolve as the definitive Call of Duty headquarters, with the inclusion of new and enhanced features such as:

Player HQ – Track Call of Duty: Black Ops II performance with rich game statistics, including enhanced match information such as heat maps and recent match data; track challenges and extensively modify your classes like never before using Treyarch’s new Pick 10 Create-a-Class system.
Clan HQ – Join an existing clan or start your own, invite friends and then take part in Call of Duty: Black Ops II clan competitions with cool digital prizing.
Zombies Support – For the millions of Zombies fans out there, now you can track your Zombies personal statistics and compare it to other players’ around the world.
Call of Duty Elite TV – Launching with tablet support with Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the new Call of Duty Elite TV will deliver a renewed community focus featuring developer tips and strategy programming, custom class overviews and more.
Social Sharing and Notifications – With Call of Duty Elite’s new notification system, you can stay updated with what is going on in Call of Duty: Black Ops II, as well as communicate directly with your clan.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II launches worldwide on November 13, 2012, on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Windows PC. The title is also expected to be released in North America on November 18, 2012, for the new Wii U™ game system from Nintendo. 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 18 and older) by the ESRB. More information on Call of Duty: Black Ops II can be found at http://www.callofduty.com/blackops2 or onwww.facebook.com/codblackops. Fans can also follow @Treyarch on Twitter.

Existing Call of Duty Elite premium members will continue to enjoy the Call of Duty Elite Premium membership features for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 through the end of their current subscription period. More information on Call of Duty Elite can be found at http://www.callofduty.com/elite or @Callofduty on Twitter. Call of Duty Eliteis developed by Beachhead Studio.

New War of the Roses Content Announced

2012/10/15

Jerry Paxton

News

NEW YORK – October 15, 2012 – The battles within War of the Roses have been brutal to say the least, but soon players will receive a whole new arsenal to wield havoc with on the field. Paradox Interactive and Fatshark today revealed more details on new content coming to medieval melee action title War of the Roses, including brand new sets of weaponry and armor, additional game modes, and some wintry new maps.

This November, War of the Roses will see its first new content drop, which will introduce a wide variety of weapons, including a horn-spanned crossbow for ranged enthusiasts and a Hospitaller pollaxe made famous by the company of knights bearing the same name. Players will also be able to get their gritty hands on the Milanese Knights Hospitaller crafted Heavy Armor, which can be customized with any of 10 different paint options, as well as an assortment of new visors and one new helmet.

Come winter, knights should start preparing for two new challenging game modes and snow-laden maps as the war for the crown of England heads into the harshest months of the year. The first mode being introduced is Pitched Battle, where soldiers for the houses of Lancaster and York will soon learn to value their lives. The upcoming mode is launching into beta very soon, and interested players should keep an eye on the forum http://tinyurl.com/cd3ugvw for more details.

Two new maps are also confirmed, inspired by the battles of Wakefield and Towton. With both of these historic skirmishes taking place in an extremely cold winter from December 1460 to March 1461, it’s only fitting that both maps introduce a new weather mechanic that will set snow and sleet against ally and adversary alike.

Content updates will automatically add new items to be acquired in the game. The system is designed to reward players who have invested a lot of playing hours into the game and items will be immediately available for players to redeem though accumulated in-game currency. For those who are too impatient, there are also options to purchase in-game currency to secure content.

More details on the newly announced modes and maps to come throughout Q4, for more details on War of the Roses please visit the title’s official site at http://www.waroftherosesthegame.com

Dance Central 3 Soundtrack Revealed

2012/10/15

Jerry Paxton

News

Cambridge, MA – October 15^th, 2012 – Today Harmonix has revealed the full soundtrack for Dance Central™ 3 for Kinect® for Xbox 360®, the full-body dance game that Game Informer’s reviewer declared to be “the best experience I have ever had with Kinect”!

The final songs announced for the game’s monster soundtrack of 45 hits are Bellini’s “Samba De Janeiro,” Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You),” Missy Elliott’s “Ching-A-Ling,” “(When You Gonna) Give It Up To Me” by Sean Paul ft. Keyshia Cole, and TLC’s “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg.” See below for the full line-up of today’s hits, classic tracks and unstoppable dance crazes that will appear in Dance Central 3!

Dance Central 3 pushes the franchise into new territories, with innovative new features and the hottest tracks from the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, ‘00s, and today! The beat keeps rocking with an innovative new party mode for up to eight players, the ability to import your songs from previous Dance Central titles, and more*! The best full-body dance experience and highest rated overall franchise on Kinect for Xbox 360 is better in every way with Dance Central 3!

Dance Central 3, will be available in tomorrow in the U.S., Canada and Latin America, and on October 19^th in Europe, Asia, and Australia!

Full song list for Dance Central 3

2NE1 – “I Am The Best (Original Version)”
50 Cent – “In Da Club”
Afrojack ft. Eva Simons – “Take Over Control”
Alexandra Stan – “Mr. Saxobeat”
Alice Deejay – “Better Off Alone”
Backstreet Boys – “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”
Bellini – “Samba De Janeiro”
Black Eyed Peas – “Boom Boom Pow”
Cali Swag District – “Teach Me How to Dougie”
Ciara ft. Missy Elliott – “1, 2 Step”
Cobra Starship ft. Sabi – “You Make Me Feel…”
Cupid – “Cupid Shuffle”
Daft Punk – “Around The World”
Dev ft. The Cataracts – “Bass Down Low”
E.U. – “Da’ Butt”
Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina – “Stereo Love”
Enur ft. Natasja – “Calabria 2008”
Flo Rida ft. Sia – “Wild Ones”
Gloria Gaynor – “I Will Survive”
Heavy D & The Boyz – “Now That We Found Love”
J.J. Fad – “Supersonic”
Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull – “On The Floor”
Justin Bieber – “Boyfriend”
Katy Perry – “Firework”
Kelly Clarkson – “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)”
Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz ft. Ying Yang Twins – “Get Low”
LMFAO – “Sexy And I Know It”
Los Del Rio – “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)”
Marcia Griffiths – “Electric Boogie”
Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera – “Moves Like Jagger”
Martin Solveig ft. Dragonette – “Hello”
Missy Elliott – “Ching-A-Ling”
New Kids On The Block – “You’ve Got It (The Right Stuff)”
Nicki Minaj – “Starships”
Panjabi MC – “Beware Of The Boys (Mundian To Bach Ke)”
Sean Paul ft. Keyshia Cole – “(When You Gonna) Give It Up To Me”
Shannon – “Let The Music Play”
TLC – “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg”
The Trammps – “Disco Inferno”
Usher ft. Will.I.Am – “OMG”
Usher – “Scream”
Vanilla Ice – “Ice Ice Baby”
Van McCoy – “The Hustle”
Vicki Sue Robinson – “Turn The Beat Around”
Village People – “Y.M.C.A.”

Follow Dance Central on Twitter (http://twitter.com/dance_central) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/dancecentral).

Star Citizen Website Back Online

2012/10/14

Jerry Paxton

News

In all the fervor over Chris Roberts Star Citizen announcement the other day, their website was so overloaded with traffic that it had to be taken offline. Here is a letter from Ben Lesnick, Community Manager of Cloud Imperium Games, announcing the website’s return.

Official Letter

What a long, strange trip it has been! I’m very pleased to announce that the Roberts Space Industries website is coming back online as originally intended. Thanks to the heroic efforts of our web team, you can now pledge as originally intended as well as access your account information and view the real time pledge counter.

More changes are coming, too: we’re in the process of setting up the more robust forum you deserve; a search feature, PMs and everything else you have asked for will be available soon. Additional payment options and the ability to add to your existing pledges (against all odds, you demanded it!) will be online in the coming days.

It’s not all going to be apologetic letters and ‘back to normal’ updates, either. Now that we’re not “all hands on deck” dealing with the site outage you will see the Comm-Link and other familiar sections return to life. Expect more polls, in-depth ship descriptions, news from the world of Star Citizen and more Q&A with Chris Roberts! Ask him about physics! (On second thought, maybe you shouldn’t, we’ll be here all day…) We’re also putting the finishing touches on the maps and the Galactapedia.

And one last thing: your Golden Tickets WILL RETURN. We had to put them away while we fixed the site, but you’ll find them waiting for you in your accounts in the coming days.

I’d like to thank you all, personally: you space pilots have proven yourselves to be the most thoughtful, helpful and incredibly patient group I have ever had the pleasure of working with. I feel terrible that the web issues have impacted such a great group. We’re going to do everything we can to justify your treatment of our endeavor. It’s going to be cool!

Ben Lesnick
Community Manager
Cloud Imperium Games