Author - Jerry Paxton

PTS Griffin M4SDII Muzzle Brake Review (Airsoft)

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One of the rules in airsoft that you have to take extra care in following is to have your orange tips and markings on your gun while it is stowed for traveling. Heck – it is good advice to have your orange tips and markings on the airsoft gun anytime you are not at a sanctioned field where they are optional. It is the policy of GamingShogun.com that you leave the orange tip on – always! That being said, if you get to a sanctioned field and want to remove your orange muzzle brake, there are a variety of options you can choose to replace it with. We received a PTS Griffin M4SDII Muzzle Brake from the folks at AirsoftExtreme and were excited to check it out. The PTS Griffin M4SDII Muzzle Brake is made out of CNC’d metal and weighs about 70 grams. The quality is very high and the muzzle brake is especially durable – ESPECIALLY when compared to those cheap plastic, stock muzzle brakes/flash hiders you find on some airsoft guns.

Installing the PTS Griffin muzzle brake is easy – you simply screw it onto your outer barrel. The toughest part about installing is actually removing the old flash hider/muzzle brake. Companies use a variety of tactics in attaching them to the airsoft gun, so you will have to research how to remove it on your own – remember our official policy is to NEVER remove your orange tip. The PTS Griffin flash hiders are available in both CW and CCW threading, so you should be able to accommodate any airsoft gun with it. I used a PTS Scout ERG for my testing of the PTS Griffin muzzle brake.

Unfortunately, I was unable to neatly remove the stock orange tip on the gun, so I instead decided to purchase a short, JG M4 airsoft barrel extension to mount the Griffin upon. This actually turned out to be a lucky turn of events as, this way, I could keep my orange tipped barrel handy for storing and traveling with gun and then switch it out once I get to the airsoft field.

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The PTS Griffin M4SDII Line

 

I should note that the PTS Griffin muzzle brake/flash hider doesn’t do anything to enhance or decrease your airsoft gun’s performance – it is purely cosmetic. But, if you are looking for a more MilSim aesthetic for sanctioned, orange tip-free field play, the PTS Griffin M4SDII Muzzle Brake is of especially high quality and worth the $30 dollar price point. In fact, PTS makes a variety of muzzle brake/compensator/flash hider designs, so you are sure to find one to your desired look..

Product Link

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Funcom Responds to Office Search and Legal Issues

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The folks at Funcom have released a statement to us regarding the goings on of the other day when the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime executed a warrant on their offices under the suspicion of infringement of the provisions of the Securities Trading Act. We sent our press contact at Funcom an email asking for some clarification on what transpired as well as what this means for their current and future game properties. Here is their response:

Official Response to Our Inquiry

“We would very much like to provide you with the latest news regarding yesterday’s events, and we hope you can relay this to your readers as well so that they have the latest information and perspectives.

Yesterday, the company received a visit from Økokrim (the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime) who is conducting an investigation on the suspicion of infringement of the provisions of the Securities Trading Act with regards to financial information given to the market surrounding the launch of The Secret World. Funcom is of course fully cooperating with Økokrim and the company is providing them with all necessary information to make sure the situation can be clarified and resolved as soon as possible.

Production on all Funcom games continues as normal, and the company remains fully committed to games in development as well as the continued operation and updating of existing live games. Yesterday’s events is not expected to have any impact on the company’s continued operation or the development on future releases. Funcom’s key priorities are the development of the upcoming LEGO® Minifigures Online, as well as supporting and expanding on the live games Age of Conan, The Secret World and Anarchy Online with new and exciting content. In terms of The Secret World, developers are currently in the process of finalizing its ninth content update, which will send players on a grand adventure through Tokyo, and Funcom will be releasing new information and screenshots from this update soon.

Please also note that trading in the company stock was only suspended temporarily yesterday, and trading was back to normal shortly thereafter. We were also happy to see that the way we handled the communication to the market after the events was well received, and the stock climbed throughout today.”

Razer Partners with Microsoft for Xbox One Peripherals

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CARLSBAD, Calif. – Razer™, the world leader in entertainment devices and software, today announced its ongoing partnership with Microsoft will include development of new products for Microsoft’s record setting Xbox One™ console.

A suite of products for the Xbox One, including a controller, arcade stick and more, will be made by Razer, which also produced a popular line of premium accessories for the Xbox 360.

“Razer is dedicated to improving the overall experience from the games themselves to the player, be it console or PC,” says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder, CEO and creative director. “By working with a company as prestigious as Microsoft on a system as sought-after as the Xbox One, we’ll be able to accomplish just that. This is an exciting time for the hundreds of millions of gamers all over the world, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it.”

Products, pricing and release dates will be unveiled in the coming weeks. For more information, visit www.razerzone.com.

All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Wargaming.net League Announces World of Tanks Season 3 Finals

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January 30, 2014 — Wargaming today announced that the season 3 finals of the Wargaming.net League North America will take place February 8th and 9th at the Folsom Street Foundry, located at 1425 Folsom Street, in San Francisco.

In total 8 teams from across the Americas will vie for the title of champion, with each competing for a cash prize pool of $100,000. Teams scheduled to participate include: Fulcrum Gaming, Top Tier, Hammer Time, Simple Tankers, SIMP Gaming, #RU, The Cunninghams and Googlybobbers. Quarter final matches will take place on Saturday, February 8th, with semi-finals and the grand final taking place on Sunday, February 9th.

Admission to the event is free, with doors opening on Saturday, February 8th will open at 2:30 PM PST, with matches commencing at 4:00 PM PST. On Sunday, February 9th, doors open at 12:30 PM PST with a community event complete with gaming stations, food and prizes. Matches begin at 4:00 PM and run until a champion has been crowned. For fans not able to attend, every match will be broadcast live at the official Wargaming.net League North America Twitch channel at www.twitch.tv/wglna.

31Squares Released on iOS App Store

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ORLANDO, FL – January 30, 2014: What are we doing tonight? Where do you want to go this weekend? When is the circus coming to town?  31Squares, a new iPhone application and web based calendar, is designed to answer these age-old questions.  Available for free download in the app store, 31Squares provides a tool that helps consumers discover local events, activities, places and people while giving businesses a platform to engage consumers based on their interests.

31Squares allows users to create, update, search and share an unlimited number of calendars as well as import their iCal, Google Calendar, and Outlook calendars. Once a user creates an account, they can not only manage their day-to-day life, but also search for calendars, events and activities from 31Squares’ Certified Event Partners.  By adding an event partner calendar to their personal calendar, users will automatically get updates on what’s happening so they never miss a thing.

“There are too many things we love to do that we don’t know about yet,” said 31Squares CEO and founder Brad Wriedt. “31Squares goes beyond telling users where they need to be and what they need to do by introducing them to local businesses, events and activities they might not have known existed.”

Food trucks, restaurants, museums, gyms and businesses of all kinds can become 31Squares Certified Event Partners. Being certified enables businesses to post and promote their events, calendars, and venue information on 31Squares. Businesses who become Certified Event Partners receive a calendar widget to add to their own sites so customers and visitors can stay up-to-date with their business.

The 31Squares iPhone application is available for free download from the iTunes App Store beginning today.

31Squares was founded in Orlando in 2012 by a group of entrepreneur’s dedicated to building tools that find and organize life’s events.

To learn more about or to stay in touch with 31Squares, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

QuakeCon 2014 Dates Announced

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The good people at id Software, Bethesda Softworks, Zenimax Media, and a plethora of other sponsors have announced the dates for this year’s QuakeCon gaming convention/LAN party/tournament. QuakeCon 2014 will run from July 17 through July 20, 2014 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, TX. Check out the official detail blub below for more information – including where to get hotel rooms!

WHAT:

QuakeCon® will once again host thousands of gamers from across the globe for the ultimate video game festival featuring North America’s largest BYOC (Bring-Your-Own-Computer) LAN Party. QuakeCon 2014 is open to the public and attendance is FREE thanks to the support of id® Software and Bethesda Softworks®, the QuakeCon volunteer staff, and the 2014 event sponsors and exhibitors.

WHEN:

QuakeCon will take place Thursday, July 17 – Sunday, July 20, 2014.

WHERE:

The Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas.

You can make room reservations at the Hilton Anatole Hotel by calling 1-800-Hiltons or 1-800-445-8667 or going online to:  https://resweb.passkey.com/Resweb.do?mode=welcome_ei_new&eventID=10750560. Special room rate of $159.00 per night when you reference QuakeCon 2014!

WHY:

In its 19th year, QuakeCon is a non-stop celebration of games and the people who play them, where thousands of gamers join together to play on a world-class network, culminating in North America’s largest BYOC (Bring-Your-Own-Computer) LAN party.

And, of course, QuakeCon also offers plenty of excitement for those who don’t bring their own computer. Bethesda will be showing some of their upcoming games and will offer attendees the chance to go hands on with some of their most anticipated titles for the first time. In addition, the world’s leading technology companies will be on site demonstrating their latest hardware and software developments. Each day of QuakeCon is packed with game presentations, contests, entertainment, announcements, panel discussions, parties and more!

QuakeCon welcomes a wide array of companies showcasing the industry’s most influential games, hardware and services. For information on becoming a QuakeCon exhibitor or sponsor, please email sponsor@quakecon.org.

For more information visit www.quakecon.org.

SEGA Announces VF 5 Final Showdown Tournament

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SAN FRANCISCO– January 30, 2014 – SEGA® of America, Inc. today announced that it will once again host a Virtua Fighter™5 Final Showdown Tournament this year, continuing its partnership with Alex Valle and Level|Up. The 2014 “SEGA CUP” tournament will take place in Los Angeles at the Super Arcade on April 26, 2014. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 16 players. Once again, the version for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system will be used for the competition.

Last year’s tournament celebrated the legacy of the popular “fighting game fan’s fighter” for the first time and saw player Fuudo, who previously won the Virtua Fighter EVO 2012 and Street Fighter IV EVO 2011 tournaments, emerging as the winner.

Based on the latest arcade version of the celebrated Virtua Fighter 5 series, Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown launched in June 2012 for PlayStation®Network (PSN) and on the Xbox Live online entertainment network for the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft.

Details about how to participate in the “SEGA CUP” will be announced at a later date.

For more information on the “SEGA CUP” please visit http://sega.com/segacup

ROCCAT Now Shipping Kave XTD 5.1 Digital Gaming Headset

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Hamburg – January 30, 2014 – ROCCAT™ Studios, German manufacturer of high-quality gaming peripherals, announces the availability of the Kave XTD 5.1 Digital gaming headset, the flagship version of the new Kave XTD series. The Kave XTD 5.1 builds upon the foundations laid by the original Kave headset, improving existing features and adding even more impressive innovations to refine the tried and tested feature set that made the original model a worldwide success among gamers.

Smart improvements for smart gamers

The Kave XTD 5.1 Digital includes a fully-equipped desktop remote with a built-in premium 5.1 sound card. Also included in the feature-packed remote is ROCCAT Smart Link, a patented technology that lets users pair their smartphone to the remote via Bluetooth, allowing them to make and receive calls through the headset while gaming.

ROCCAT Smart Link technology eradicates the problem of overlapping conversations during gaming sessions caused by talking on the phone with the headset still on.  The patented technology automatically mutes the chat software when a call is picked up, giving you complete privacy and preventing you from disturbing your teammates.

The Kave XTD 5.1 desktop remote comes with comprehensive headset and system audio controls and boasts 5.1 speaker ports, letting users connect to their existing speaker system, easily toggle between headset and speaker output and eliminating the need to crawl under the table to re-plug audio cables.

Supreme surround sound and comfy build

Like the original Kave, the Kave XTD 5.1 Digital delivers true, rich 5.1 surround sound.  However, the new Kave XTD 5.1 also features three individual drivers per ear cup aligned at a 12-degree angle for incomparably immersive and crisp sound, comes with a completely redesigned head band for superior comfort and weighs 25% less than the original model.

The Kave XTD 5.1 Digital is also engineered and manufactured using new materials to enhance its comfort and durability, making it suitable for extended hours of gaming.  The detachable microphone will also come with a mute LED indicator, but has also been redesigned to improve sound quality and reliability.

The Kave XTD 5.1 Digital was nominated for the “Best Hardware” award at gamescom 2013 and is now available for USD $169.99.

Links:

ROCCAT Homepage
ROCCAT Kave XTD 5.1 Digital website
ROCCAT on Facebook (global)
ROCCAT on Facebook (German)

Randal’s Monday to Release in Q3 of This Year

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Hamburg, Germany / Alicante, Spain; January 30, 2014 – Adventure gaming experts Daedalic Entertainment and Nexus Game Studios are teaming up to bring the upcoming comic humor point & geek adventure Randal’s Monday to a world-wide audience. Both companies schedule to release the game later this year digitally for PC.

Randal’s Monday, developed by the Spanish team Nexus Game Studios, centers around geek and pop culture references from the 1990s and early 2000s, and gives a pretty authentic insight into how hard it is to overcome these stupid days of each week.

Randal is the best main character one can ever imagine: he’s a kleptomaniac, a sociopath and an awful friend above all. After his friend Matt’s engagement party, waking up on a Monday morning with a massive hangover, Randal finds Matt’s wallet in his pocket. Inside the wallet, the precious engagement ring.

It doesn’t take Randal long to sell the ring – triggering a fatal curse. Matt commits suicide, and Randal is now supposed to live through the same fateful Monday again and again, doing whatever is needed in order to fix the horrible situation. Randal must recover the one ring and his life, before the situation worsens… or the universe collapses.

Randal’s Monday features cynical humor, geek culture references and classic point & click adventure gameplay at its best. The game pays tribute to a generation of gamers, readers and viewers of subculture media products. Players will find countless items and references to things they grew up with. Retro video gaming consoles, anyone? Your favorite movies and TV series from the 80s, 90s and 2000s? It’s all in there! Take your time and pixel-hunt each screen for everything that’s in there – whereas the adventure gameplay takes care to use all of today’s comfort features, of course.

Randal’s Monday is developed by the Spanish team Nexus Game Studios, who teamed up with the adventure gaming experts at Daedalic Entertainment to prepare the world-wide release. The PC point & click adventure game is scheduled to be released in Q3 2014.

FEATURES
• 7 great chapters – gameplay time will depend on how much time you spend in front of the TV in your childhood.
• More than 40 different environments carefully hand-crafted.
• More than 50 characters including repulsive mothers, retired priests and talking skulls.
• Jillions of references and homages to geek culture.
• No zombies (which is a feature nowadays). Whoops, in fact there are some of them… well, ZOMBIES!

http://www.randalsmonday.com

About Daedalic Entertainment
Daedalic Entertainment is a Hamburg-based indie-studio that develops and publishes high-quality games worldwide, focusing on the projects with strong narratives. Over the last few years, Daedalic has collected 21 German Game Developer Awards (incl. “Studio of the Year 2009, 2013”), five German Computer Game Awards (incl. “Best Game 2011”), and more.

http://www.daedalic.de/en
http://www.facebook.com/daedalic
http://www.twitter.com/daedalic