Author - Jerry Paxton

New Screenshots for Victoria II: Heart of Darkness Released

2013/04/11
Jerry Paxton
News, Screenshots / Photos, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

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NEW YORK – April 11, 2013 – Welcome to the Victorian Age, an era of dramatic politics, rapid transformation of technology, and colonization. Victoria II: Heart of Darkness is the second expansion to Victoria II, a political simulator where the population reacts to your decisions.

Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio have today released a new set of screenshots for the upcoming expansion to the storied grand strategy series, which launches worldwide on April 16.

If still images aren’t enough for you, tune into a live stream broadcasting today at 6 p.m. GMT (7 p.m. BST, 8 p.m. CET, 11 a.m. PDT) to delve deeper into Heart of Darkness and see live gameplay footage. To check out the political strife as our developers enter the scramble for Africa, head over to the official Paradox Interactive channel on Twitch TV athttp://www.twitch.tv/paradoxinteractive!

In the new video developer diary also released today, project lead Dan Lind introduces you to the expansion’s focus on the brand new Colonization features, as well as the new naval combat system. Take a glimpse of the Victorian age here:

Learn how to use your navy to expand your empire, compete against other colonial powers and struggle to maintain your overseas control. Battle your enemies on the high seas with the all-new naval combat system, which includes gun ranges and maneuvering into positions for battles, as well as new powerful battleships that join the other classes of ships to bridge the gap to Dreadnoughts.

Become a truly great power by the dawn of the 20th century in Victoria II, an experience crafted by Paradox Development Studio, creators of the critically acclaimed Crusader Kings IIand the upcoming Europa Universalis IV.

Victoria II: Heart of Darkness expansion will release on April 16th on all major digital download portals for $19.99.

New Screenshots

Magrunner Dark Pulse Screenshots

2013/04/11
Jerry Paxton
News, Screenshots / Photos, Windows PC News

magrunner-19

Focus Home Interactive has sent out some new screenshots from its upcoming Magrunner Dark Pulse, which will be released on the Windows PC, Xbox LIVE Marketplace, and PlayStation Network.

Screenshots

CAA M4 Carbine Airsoft Rifle Review (Airsoft)

2013/04/11
Jerry Paxton
Action Sports, Airsoft News, Airsoft Reviews, Articles, News, Reviews

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This M4 Carbine is fully licensed by CAA Airsoft, which is well-known as CAA for its real steel weapon conversions and parts, including the RONI pistol to carbine conversion package that has been turning heads recently. CAA Airsoft’s M4 Carbine AEG features full metal construction, realistic weight, and the aggressive style that CAA is known for. Unlike most M4 AEGs which feature a metal upper-receiver but nylon lower half, this one is all metal. From a design perspective, the CAA Airsoft M4 is nearly identical to its live-fire counterpart. From the three rail hand guard to the cheek riser-equipped stock, it is easy to see that this is a CAA design. The M4 magwell features some cool CAA Airsoft branding and the gun comes with a small assortment of additional rails which can be fitted to the handguard. Also in the package is a 360 round, high-capacity magazine in the style of live-fire CAA mags. The magazine is well-constructed and features a unique, accident-proof BB well lid which flips open instead of sliding like most hi-cap magazines do.

Our Video Review

Official Features

  • Fully Licensed CAA Trademarks
  • Full Metal Receiver and Barrel Assembly
  • High Strength Nylon Fiber Polymer RIS Handguard, Grip, and Stock
  • Adjustable Cheek Riser
  • Adjustable 6-position Stock with Rubber Buttpad
  • Integrated CR123A Storage Compartment in Stock (Batteries not included)
  • Ergonomic Pistol Grip
  • Flip-up Polymer Rear Sight
  • Railed Flat Top Receiver great for Optics
  • QD Sling Swivel Points on Stock and Handguard (Sling Swivel not included)
  • Full Metal, Fully Upgradeable 7mm Bearing Gearbox

Official Specs

  • Length: 805mm-890mm, Adjustable
  • Weight: 3120g
  • Inner Barrel: ~375mm
  • Magazine Capacity: 360rd Hi-Capacity CAA Mag. Works with Matrix, G&G, Tokyo Marui and other compatible M4 / M16 Series Airsoft AEG Magazines
  • Muzzle Velocity: 370~400 FPS (Measured with 0.20g BBs)
  • Thread Direction: 14mm Negative
  • Gearbox: Ver 2 Full Metal, Fully Upgradeable
  • Motor: Long Type
  • Fire Modes: Semi/Full-Auto, Safety
  • Package Includes: Gun, Magazine, Manual
  • Battery: 9.6v 2300mAh Small Type Twins recommended (Battery not included)

Conclusion

After having used this AEG for a while now, I feel very comfortable giving it a four out of five stars. The CAA M4 Carbine is durable, reliable, and built to last with CAA’s style and rail system. I would have, without question, given the gun a five out of five stars if the issues of the stiff magazines and accessing the battery were not present.

[easyreview title=”CAA M4 Carbine Airsoft Rifle Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″] Our Rating Scores Explained

[wpcol_1half id=”” class=”” style=””]Pros

  • Incredible build quality and style
    • Love the full metal receiver
    • Love the M4S1 Picatinny Rail System for its Functionality
    • Love the well-designed CAA magazine
  • No wobble in either the handguard or stock
  • Shot at a relatively-constant 387fps using 6mm, .20g BBs
  • The built-in battery case is a great way to store your extras in the field
  • Good rate of fire and very accurate

[/wpcol_1half] [wpcol_1half_end id=”” class=”” style=””]Cons

  • Magazines are very stiff to insert and remove from the gun
    • A quick fix is simple to file down your magazines with some sand paper. If you don’t want to go that route, know that, after a while, most magazines will get easier to use, but it takes some breaking them in
  • Removing the battery is a a chore if you have the removable bottom rail attached to the handguard. You need to remove any attachments on the rail and the rail itself to get into it and reach the battery

[/wpcol_1half_end]

**UPDATE: I have discovered that non-metal, standard-style M4 magazines (not fancier styles like P-mags and the like) insert and remove from this weapon far more easily than standard metal magazines.

Images

QuakeCon Pre-Registration Premium Packages Revealed

2013/04/10
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, QuakeCon

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Bethesda Softworks has announced that, while getting into QuakeCon will remain free, that a number of premium packages will be available for purchase when pre-registration begins on April 15, 2013. These packages are of varying flavors and will all include different levels of swag items. Check out the various packages below!

Premium Ticket Packages:

BYOC Select-a-Seat | Includes Guaranteed Reserved Seating: $30 (Limit of 1,250 packages available)

  • Select and Reserve a guaranteed seat of your choice in the BYOC area
  • An Official QuakeCon 2013 BYOC T-Shirt

BYOC Select-a-Seat and Swag Pack | Full of Limited Edition Items and Guaranteed Reserved Seating: $90 (Limit of 500 packages available)

  • Select and Reserve a guaranteed seat of your choice in the BYOC area
  • An Official QuakeCon 2013 T-Shirt
  • An Official QuakeCon 2013 BYOC T-Shirt
  • A QuakeCon Branded Logitech G400 Mouse
  • A $5 Voucher for the on-site Bethesda Retail Store; we’ll have a selection of items from the online store store.bethsoft.com available at QuakeCon, as well as a number of show exclusives
  • Reserved Seating Until 7:00pm Friday

BYOC Select-a-Seat and QuakeCon done Quick | Includes Fast Passes for the Duration of the Event: $50 (Limit of 250 packages available)

  • Select and Reserve a guaranteed seat of your choice in the BYOC area
  • Express lane fast-pass registration for the BYOC
  • Express lane fast-pass to every speaker, panel, and public event at QuakeCon
  • Limited reserved access seating for all panels, presentations, and events
  • An Official QuakeCon 2013 BYOC T-Shirt
  • Reserved Seating Until 7:00pm Friday

Swag Pack | Full of Limited Edition Items: $60 (Limit of 250 packages available)

  • An Official QuakeCon 2013 T-Shirt
  • An Elder Scrolls Online Ouroboros T-Shirt
  • Another Special Limited Edition T-Shirt
  • A QuakeCon Branded Logitech G400 Mouse
  • A $5 Voucher for the on-site Bethesda Retail Store; we’ll have a selection of items from the online store store.bethsoft.com available at QuakeCon, as well as a number of show exclusives

Pre-registration for QuakeCon will begin Monday, April 15th at 7:00pm CST/8:00pm EST on http://registration.quakecon.org/.

Disney’s Planes Announced

2013/04/10
Jerry Paxton
News, Nintendo 3DS News, Nintendo Wii U News, Screenshots / Photos

Dusty1_Propwash-L

BURBANK, Calif. — (April 10, 2013) – Disney Interactive today announced that “Disney’s Planes,” a flying adventure video game inspired by the upcoming Disney animated comedy adventure film, will be available exclusively for Nintendo platforms including the Wii™ and Wii U™ systems as well as the Nintendo 3DS™ and Nintendo DS™ handheld devices on August 6th, just a few days prior to the film’s August 9th opening in theaters nationwide.  The game will expand beyond the storyline of “Disney’s Planes,” offering players the opportunity to enjoy the thrill of flight as one of the popular characters from the film.

From above the world of “Cars,” “Disney’s Planes” video game takes players on a high-flying, action-packed, fun-filled adventure with Dusty, a big-hearted, speed-loving crop duster who is voiced by actor and comedian Dane Cook.  Players will take to the skies with Dusty and other characters, including Ishani, voiced by actress Priyanka Chopra; Echo, voiced by actor Anthony Edwards; and Bravo, voiced by actor Val Kilmer, as they embark on global missions, air races and grand adventures around the world.

In “Disney’s Planes” video game, players travel through breathtaking environments and play as one of 10 cast of characters on console and one of 6 cast of characters on handheld in either single-player, on all platforms or race against one another in two-player drop-in and drop-out gameplay on console.  Players will roll, turn and loop their way through mission-based objectives in exciting modes of play including a narrative based Story mode and a score-based mini-game that challenges the player’s precision flying skills called Balloon Pop.  The exploratory Free Flight mode and racing based Air Rallies mode are exclusive to the consoles and the objective achieving Challenge mode is only offered via the handheld platforms.

“Disney’s Planes” video game is currently rated ‘E’ for Everyone by the ESRB.  For additional information about the video game, please visit the official site at http://www.disney.com/planesvideogame and like “Disney’s Planes” on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/disneyplanes.

Screenshots

Mars War Logs Sees Hunted Hero Screenshots

2013/04/10
Jerry Paxton
News, PlayStation 3 News, Screenshots / Photos, Windows PC News, Xbox 360 News

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April 10, 2013 – Mars War Logs, the cyberpunk role-playing game from Spiders Studio, unveils a bit more through 4 new screenshots. On these images, we discover once more Roy, the hero of this sci-fi RPG planned for PC in May 2013 and for PlayStation®Network and Xbox LIVE® in Q3 2013, in yet another tricky situation. On one hand, Roy is hunted by Aurora’s army and their fanatic Technomants, who would love making an example of him. On the other hand, the Resistance is wary of him, because of his origins. Roy finds himself in the middle of fierce civil-war, in which he will have, sooner or later, to take part in.

We can also notice on these screenshots another important character of the story: Devotion Chase, dangerous beauty and right hand of the general of Aurora’s army, Honour Grant. She’s on the hunt for the renegade Roy, in the working-class areas of Shadowlair. While her intentions toward Roy are still mysterious, it is certain she has both resources and the will to find him.

And as far as who Roy will eventually choose to side with, in the civil war that tears Aurora in two… it will all come down to you!

Mars War Logs will be released on PC in May 2013, and on Xbox LIVE® and PlayStation®Network in Q3 2013.

Screenshots

Making of Grimlands Video Released

2013/04/10
Jerry Paxton
News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

Grimlands_Hill_Lookout

Krakow, 10.04.2013: On the third day of its Kickstarter campaign DRAGO Entertainment is allowing players an in-depth look into the making and technical aspects of the Shooter MMORPG. The Making Of video explains the RPG elements such as the flexible character development, the crafting and equipping of gear as well as the clan system and its territory wars. Based on Fan Feedback the first update further details contents of Premium Accounts as well as the difference between Grimlands Free to Play and Subscription Servers.

In development at Polish studio DRAGO for over five years, Grimlands is an innovative mix of MMORPG and First- or Third Person Shooter. Thousands of players explore a huge open world that was laid in ruins by earthquakes and face the daily challenges of this deadly environment: Scarce resources fuel the PVE and PVP fights and force players to craft every item by themselves. Without level- or point-restrictions, players create their individual avatar just by playing in their favorite style and learning skills by using them. Clans fight over key locations in the game world using armed vehicles for support. Choosing if they want to be a lone wolf or trade and band together with other players is just one of the many parts of the sandbox-style gameplay.

Despite positive feedback on the last two Beta tests, a strategy-shift from development to distribution has led gamigo AG to cancel Grimlands. Following strong fan-support, the development team aims to finance the remaining work by turning to the community on Kickstarter.

We would appreciate if you would support our project by reporting on this news and linking to our Kickstarter page. 

Video

Weekend Box Office for April 5-7, 2013

2013/04/08
Jerry Paxton
Movie News, News

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TriStar’s Evil Dead, an intense and incredibly-satisfying horror film, wins the weekend’s box office with a $26M dollar take, beating out G.I. Joe Retaliation and The Croods for the box office crown. Checkout the top ten box office results below. Also, get out there and see Evil Dead – you will not regret it. Also, stay after the credits!

The Top Ten

  1. Evil Dead – $26M / $26M
  2. G.I. Joe Retaliation – $21M / $86M
  3. The Croods – $21M / $125M
  4. Jurassic Park 3D – $19M / $19M
  5. Olympus Has Fallen – $10M / $71M
  6. Tyler Perry’s Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor – $10M / $38M
  7. Oz The Great and Powerful – $8M / $213M
  8. The Host (2013) – $5M / $20M
  9. The Call – $4M / $45M
  10. Admission – $2M / $15M

Shroud of the Avatar Raises Over $2M on Kickstarter

2013/04/08
Jerry Paxton
News

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AUSTIN, Texas, April 8, 2013 — Legendary computer game maker Richard Garriott is getting back to his fantasy RPG roots to develop Shroud of the Avatar™: Forsaken Virtues. And now he and his game design team at Portalarium® have the funds to fully make the game thanks to a highly successful Kickstarter crowd funding campaign that ended with more than $2 million raised. The original pledge goal for Shroud of the Avatar on Kickstarter was $1 million. Garriott is best-known for developing the hugely popular Ultima series of role-playing games.

The Shroud of the Avatar Kickstarter campaign ended Sunday, April 7 at 10 a.m. Central time. At closing, more than 20-thousand backers had pledged $1.9 million on the game’s Kickstarter page. Combined with figures from the game’s own crowd funding site located at ShroudoftheAvater.com, Shroud of the Avatar raised a total $2.030 million at closing from 23,096 backers.

“I am incredibly grateful to all the fans who backed us during the Kickstarter campaign,” said Garriott. “And those fans are now part of our design and development process going forward with Shroud of the Avatar. We will be listening to all of them as we go about making the kind of fantasy RPG that I really enjoyed making in the earlier part of my career. But this is really only the start. We will continue to keep our own crowd funding store open to bring in more funds to help us add even more features to the game.”

Fans who were unable to make a pledge on Kickstarter, still have an opportunity to get behind the project. The store at www.ShroudoftheAvatar.com continues to provide several ways to back the project. “The Kickstarter backers will forever have certain perks that will remain exclusive to that part of our campaign,” said Garriott. “People who visit the game store now will see many Kickstarter-like tiers to back the project. But we will continue to add new items to the game that will be available for purchase by both our Kickstarter backers and new backers. The exciting part is that a lot of what we will be adding going forward will be based on feedback from our fans; items and features that they are already telling us they want to see in the game.”

The Kickstarter campaign saw several major announcements about Shroud of the Avatar, including news that New York Times best-selling author Tracy Hickman is joining the team as lead story designer. Several stretch goals were announced and successfully reached including a serialized prequel novel based on the Shroud of the Avatar storyline and authored by Hickman, a pet system with animal taming, guild houses and banks, city theaters for player performances, castle merchants with unique merchandise and much more.

Shroud of the Avatar is expected to launch in 2014. For more information on the game and to become a backer of the project go to www.ShroudoftheAvatar.com (PayPal accepted).