Author - Ripper71

GameSir F1 Joystick Grip Review

2018/01/31

Geek News, News, Peripheral Review, Peripherals News, Reviews

I have a very large smartphone, which makes using it for games sometimes difficult. On-screen “virtual” buttons and analog sticks are hard to distinguish with no haptic or physical feedback and it is easy to get so focused on the action they get lost entirely. Wouldn’t it be nice to have the benefits of a game controller on your smartphone? The GameSir F1 Joystick Grip may just be the answer to your geeky prayers. Read on!

The GameSir F1 Joystick Grip is a pretty straight forward concept – take a game controller and hollow it out to allow a smartphone to embed itself inside. With my particular phone, I had a big protective case on the phone. This needed to removed first as it simply wouldn’t fit correctly. That’s okay, as the GameSir F1 holds the phone well and offers some protection for it. To embed your phone into the GameSir F1, you put the left side of the phone in the left holder then pull the right end of the F1 far enough to slip the phone into the right side. Once in the GameSir F1, you fold the joystick arm over and on top of wherever your game’s virtual joystick is located. There are light rubber pads where the phone slips in to help prevent the phone from slipping out and a soft padding lines the back of the GameSir F1 so that the phone doesn’t get scratched and helps it stay snug. This is a brilliant design point as not ever game has its virtual controls in the same spot.

After installation, you just hold the phone and GameSir F1 like you would a standard game controller. The physical joystick control is so much more accurate than its on-screen counterpart, and it’s hard to go back to playing those games without the GameSir F1 Joystick Grip. When I am ready to take a break from gaming and just watch some streaming video I can move the joystick arm off to the side and reach to the back of the controller. There I will find a kickstand that can be left flat nearly straight up by moving a kickstand into six possible locations! This means it is great to set on a table or desk to watch movies or you can just use the controller design to carry it around and watch it – whichever you prefer. The GameSir F1 Joystick Grip has a fairly low profile when the phone is removed, it wouldn’t be too comfortable in a pocket, but it would do a lot better in a purse, pouch, or messenger bag. The only thing I might change in a future GameSir F1 Joystick Grip design would be to add a joystick on the right side of the controller as well – just in case a game might warrant such usage.

The GameSir F1 Joystick Grip is a handy little device, especially for large-handed fellas like me and games which rely heavily on direction control. Being the lightweight low-tech entry in the GameSir line, you can pick it up easily for under $20 and with its versatility and that price tag you can’t go wrong.

GameSir F1 Joystick Grip Review Score

[mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#dd3333″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#dd3333″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#dd3333″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#dd3333″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star-o” color=”#dd3333″ type=”fa”] (4 out of 5 Stars)

Aflac: Helping Cancer Victims One Duck At A Time

2018/01/30

Ripper71

CES, Geek News, News, Tech News

We’ve all seen the commercials with the duck that instead of saying “Quack” says “Aflac” and does such things as plugging the hole in a boat or just trying to get the attention of two people talking about insurance like that is an everyday thing. They are entertaining and I have known people who swear by it as a great insurance company though they only do so when they happen to see a particularly good Aflac commercial, which is an argument definitely in favor of the commercials are working. This is generally where my stories about the subject would begin and end since I no longer watch regular TV and my wife handles our insurance.

This year at CES, Aflac had a booth and their mascot duck on display. That amazing duck stays so still and calm that at first I mistook it for being stuffed but its eyes slowly shifted toward me letting me know that it was a living, breathing creature. I could have pet it all night but there was a line of people hoping to get selfies with it so I moved over to where there appeared to be a kid’s toy Aflac duck just a little smaller than the real thing. People wearing Aflac shirts were walking around carrying them and most had a sad, bittersweet look on their face. So I had to go find out why.

The smaller one is a robot called My Special Aflac Duck. These ones we were seeing would not be in adults hands for long because all of them are to be sent to children in cancer wards to be with them when they are scared and companions when they aren’t. The ducks are designed to be an understanding pet that will be around as long as there is fresh set of batteries to keep him going.

“For 22 years, Aflac, our employees and our independent sales agents have demonstrated a commitment to help families facing childhood cancer, including contributing more than $120 million to this cause,” Aflac Chairman and CEO Dan Amos said. “We are taking this commitment to a new level, lending our iconic Aflac Duck to this mission in an innovative way like we have never done before. Our goal is to put a My Special Aflac Duck in the hands of the nearly 16,000 children in the U.S. who are newly diagnosed with cancers each year, free of charge, so that no child ever has to face cancer alone.”

Details:
• Vibrational speaker simulates heartbeats and purring
• 3-motor animatronic system for lifelike movement (e.g., nuzzling and dancing)
• 5 capacitive touch sensors
• Bluetooth Low Energy connects to an app (iOS and Android)
• Embedded microphone detects music
• Light and dark modes: Photosensor detects ambient light in room, adjusting duck behavior for children who are light sensitive
• Form-fitting removable, washable fabric (patent pending)
• RFID reader – enabling tactile play with feeling cards, port-acath accessory and Soundscapes spaceship
• Medical play and communicating feelings via mixed-reality app and accessories (users feed, bathe, mimic administering cancer treatments and calm their social robot)
• Calm mode: Enables guided breathing
• Quack-back: Talk to My Special Aflac Duck and it provides a conversational quack-to-voice response
• Duck-to-duck communication (quacking)
• RFID-enabled port-a-cath accessory to enable medical play
• 7 RFID-enabled feeling cards direct My Special Aflac Duck to act out the chosen feeling
• 1 Soundscapes card connects to user-controlled ambient sounds
• Backpack
• Bandana

Aflac is planning to expand out and help children in other ways. Sadly children go through so much that scars their lives at a young age and as a result it is hard to live a normal life after. Heck, I’m an adult with PTSD and there have been many times I held a pillow I wish it had a heart beat that would react to my touch and be a comfort. Aflac doesn’t ask for recognition for what they do, just recognition for the ducks to make sure they get them to kids who need them which in my opinion is the most important reason to acknowledge them.

Monster SuperStar S100 Speaker Review

2018/01/26

Ripper71

News, Reviews, Tech News, Tech Review

Monster has been a top name in audio for quite a few years now with “Head Monster” Noel Lee being a well known pitchman who surrounds himself with celebrities such as Joe Perry and Iggy Azalea. While at CES we were lucky enough to get a hold of the entry level Monster SuperStar S100 Bluetooth speaker, which had some excellent punch for its price point.

One of the better selling factors of the Monster SuperStar line is its water resistance. Most speakers take a little splash and short out but this one can handle a bit of submersion and be just fine. This is known as a IPX7 rating which means it could handle rain, snow, splashes, and showering. This last part is particularly nice because I can’t hear my phone when in the shower and I like to listen to music. I can just hang it on the shampoo rack and I’m good to go. Along those same lines I can use it when in the bath which could give it a decent splash and it should still be fine. Another feature on the Monster SuperStar S100 is that it also functions as a speaker phone! The microphone pickup and phone audio are both terrific and I have no provlem using the Monster S100 as a speakerphone in the future.

The Monster SuperStar S100 and, for that matter, the entire SuperStar line are shaped in a semi triangle form factor with the corners rounded off and covered in rubber. This shape and rubberized coating help the small speakers to take impacts in stride. It actually bounces a little like a ball when dropped and rolls until the impact is neutralized. Speaking of design, the Monster SuperStar S100 features a black and dark gray body with attractive silver accents making for a very stylish speaker.

Of course, all of this means squat if the speaker can’t output a wide range of sound. Thankfully, it has an exceptional sound punch for such a small speaker. The SuperStar S100 has bass that doesn’t turn muddy and treble that doesn’t go tinny. If someone didn’t actually see the SuperStar S100, they might have thought it was coming from a much bigger model. Additionally, while the speaker battery is rated to last 6 hours, my tests showed it lasting more like 7. Whether this was a fluke or just Monster being conservative, I don’t know, but I like it!

I will most often use the Monster SuperStar S100 with my iPad. The built-in speakers on those tablets are terrible and with the Monster SuperStar S100, my tablet becomes a real powerhouse of personal entertainment. Games, movies, and music all sound loud and crisp!

Last Blast:

The Monster SuperStar S100 made it through my review without any problems. Its price point of $59.99 is very reasonable – especially when you consider that you are buying a brand known for quality and reliability. I have gotten Monster products in the past and they are still working great – they make things to last. Thanks to these reasons, the Monster SuperStar S100 will now be my go-to travel speaker. If you are in the market for a portable Bluetooth speaker, you should go get one, you won’t regret it.

Monster SuperStar S100 Review Score

[mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#81d742″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#81d742″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#81d742″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#81d742″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#81d742″ type=”fa”] (5 out of 5 Stars)

CES 2018 Post-Mortem

2018/01/18

Ripper71

CES, Geek News, News, Screenshots / Photos

It’s January and that means that we have once again paced up and down the halls of Consumer Electronics Show, CES, in Las Vegas. I have often thought that the show should be named the “Consumer Electronics Marathon” because you have to put in the miles of a marathon to get even the smallest glimpse of the show. One day at CES, I walked nine and a half miles and I didn’t cover even a third of the space. It is an amazing and massive show, one that truly should last more than one week but would cause so much pain that even the most able body would be suffering after much more time. It is even more so when you consider there are nightly parties which make it so that you hope for 5 or 6 hours a night and caffeine or energy drinks are on the limps of just about everyone who works a company. This year’s event saw Iggy Azalea walking the Monster Booth, Neil Patrick Harris speaking of childhood friends, and Joe Perry Of Aerosmith designing his own line of portables that are all about the treble for old school rock and roll.

The companies presenting at CES came by land, sea, and air as self-driving cars spun doughnuts in the parking lot, giant speed boats filled booths like chrome-covered beached whales, and drones designed to do everything from carry a camera to patrol your houses like a guard dog hovered about. In pevious years, a great amount of the North Hall was dedicated to camera cases but now it was taken over by tons of vehicles and vehicle additions. South Hall became mostly the place for drone tech. VR/AR tech wasn’t even kept in one location but was in two different casinos on the strip. TV tech wasn’t kept in the same place as well, with LG dominating a great space at LVCC and TiVo located next to C-Space, the speaking session stage. Health and beauty tech was always kept in the same hall at the Sands but this year they spread out among the casinos. I’m not complaining but rather pointing out that the show really should be lengthened and more care taken to make sure they are grouped more like previous years, it felt a lot more scattered this time.

Google had the most popular booth by far, with a giant pinball machine and just about everything Google has or makes was possible when the ball showed up and was cracked open. The line was easily 90 minutes at times, which when you think about how little time you actually have at the convention is a remarkable amount of time and they had two that I knew of, I tried standing in one line but it was well beyond my disability to spend that much time in one spot.

The beast that really seemed to take the show was a gaming laptop from Razer called Project Linda, and it won a heck of a lot of awards. The most altruistic item I came across was from AFLAC of all places and deserves a write-up all its own. I got to pet their mascot duck and wow it was so soft and sweet!

I enjoy it every year even though my disability slows down my chances of seeing as much as I would like. CES only gets more amazing every year and I can’t wait to go back in 2019.

Photo Gallery

HunnieCon 2017 Post-Mortem

2018/01/18

Ripper71

Geek News, News, Screenshots / Photos

If you haven’t heard of HunnieCon before, don’t feel bad. I am constantly keeping an eye out for new conventions and, when this one appeared, I think my EIC might have been a bit skeptical because of the name sounding a lot like some sort of adult-oriented event. However, the name actually derived from one of the largest League of Legends groups: the League of Hunnie, which still sounds a bit naughty. Next year, it will be re-branded Gamerscon and most of the confusion will be clarified.

One room of the convention was solely for the LAN PCs setup for competitions. Between rounds, players were welcome to challenge each other to different games games but the wiser ones seemed to just keep practicing the games waiting for their turn in randomly selected order. Those who couldn’t make it to the event were able to watch and listen to the play-by-play, which were well-produced and I know at least a few people who watched the Twitch streams all day. For those who weren’t there to challenge each other to League of Legends or Hearthstone battles, there was an opportunity to ask questions at a panel on cosplay costume-making Do’s and Dont’s featuring body positive cosplayer Momokun cosplay veteran Vamplette. As is always a plus there were different costumes from one day to the next and people who were too shy to do it the first day stepped up and made it out on group courage the second day.

If this all wasn’t enough for you, there was k-pop tournaments all day where plenty of dancers walked away exhausted and with war wounds before the competitive parts even began. Everyone had their favorites to root for and there was lots of cheering, hooting, and hollering and no boos yelled in the entire room.

At one point it got so laid back a giant game of Uno broke out on the floor and cosplayers traded in festive fineries for comfort clothes be cause no one wants to pop a top yelling Uno! There was trivia as well and I wanted ALL the prizes. Maybe I’ll get one next year.

Next year, calling the event Gamerscon should help get more people to the event, it was a lot of fun!

Photos

MyCharge 45W AdventureUltra Portable Charger Review

2018/01/08

Ripper71

News, Reviews, Tech News, Tech Review

One thing that helps with my sleep apnea is the use of a CPAP machine. Taking this on the machine on the road can be troublesome, however, they have little adapter devices that can be used to plug the machine into the car. This helps but if the car is parked somewhere, and turned off, I don’t want to drain the battery while I take a snooze. That’s when the MyCharge 45W AdventureUltra arrived at my doorstep and changed the way I think about powering my CPAP.

For those of you not using portable USB power packs, you should know that larger capacity ones can be a bit pricey. In this case, the MyCharge 45W AdventureUltra retails for $129.99 on their official website. However, for this kind of capacity (13,400mAh) and the fact that it has an array of output ports (One USB-C port, two USB ports, and an AC outlet), it is a deal. You have to remember that this price doesn’t just cover the capacity or output types, but also internal power management and reliability. The MyCharge 45W AdventureUltra portable charger is a larger charger at about 5 inches by 6 inches by 1 inch thick and weighs just over a pound, but it is made very well and has a ruggedness which I appreciate. It features a dark gray/black outer shell with a nice, crisp LCD display to give the user important battery unit information.

So, back to the sleep apnea: Armed with the new MyCharge 45W AdventureUltra, I can plug my CPAP into the AC outlet and it will keep it going for about 4 hours! We live in Las Vegas so that is the perfect amount of time to keep me napping in it on a trip to LA to visit our friends and family. Then I just need to find an outlet (if we stop for food there is almost always one by a table) and it will charge up to 50% faster than most portable chargers! If it is an 8 hour drive somewhere at 4 hours you would want to get out for a break, food break or rest area and those both would have plug-ins. So, again, unlike smaller USB chargers, this model plugs into an AC outlet to charge back up, so just know going in – it does not use an AC to USB adapter for charging.

But enough about me, let’s say you are sitting in a spot out on a convention floor or in you car or wherever you might find yourself stopped and using you computer. If you don’t have it plugged in you know how fast it’s battery will drain. Even higher end ones when you are only using the word writing part and not binge streaming the latest season of a show that just dropped on Netflix that battery is going to tick down and quit. The MyCharge Portable Power Outlet will charge your laptop about 2 times. So if you have your laptop wears down there’s still two more runs at it. Because you have such charging speed you can get your laptop re-powered and start the battery recharging off in a corner while you go back to work, or after the first time it dies just leave the charger hooked up and it will keep a fast charge going to your computer for a few hours total.

There is only one thing I would like to see and that would be a little drop in the weight. One pound isn’t much in the grand scheme of things but some days wind up being 12 hours long and when they do you find yourself stripping your backpack to your batteries and only essentials like energy bars and hand sanitizer!

Here are the tech specs for those who like the numbers:

Battery: 20000mAh Lithium Ion
Product Dimensions: 5.0 in x 5.75 in x 1.4 in
Product Weight: 1.05 lbs.
Input: 20V
Total Output: AC 110V 65W
Output by Port
USB-C Port: 3.0A
USB-A Port #1: 2.4A
USB-A Port #2: 2.4A
Total Shared: 3.4A
AC Port: 65WBattery: 20000mAh Lithium Ion
Product Dimensions: 5.0 in x 5.75 in x 1.4 in
Product Weight: 1.05 lbs.
Input: 20V

The MyCharge 45W AdventureUltra portable charger will definitely be travelling with me to CES and other conventions throughout the new year. I can use it for work or play and, even more importantly, to help with medical devices such as my CPAP. MyCharge gives you the reliability that you don’t have to have a battery with you because you need it but if you need it over the year it will be there for you and charged.

MyCharge AdventureUltra 45W Portable Charger Review Score

[mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#1e73be” type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#1e73be” type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#1e73be” type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#1e73be” type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#1e73be” type=”fa”] (5 out of 5 stars)

Respawn RSP-110 Reclining Gaming Chair Review

2017/12/01

Ripper71

Geek News, Misc Review, News, Reviews

I have been living for years with degenerative disc disease which causes me much pain. I have tried all kinds of comfort pads and desk chairs but none seem to give me the comfort I need to increase gaming time. Enter: OFM Inc., who recently introduced their Respawn brand of gaming chairs. I recently got the chance to check out their RSP-110 model chair, a reclining model, and can’t believe what a difference it has made for me!

A few of the Respawn gaming chair models feature a mesh back designed for people who need high temperature control to the back area (sweaty gamer alert!), and they have others designed to wrap around and support the sides. However, a few like the RSP-110, are designed to recline and take as much pressure off the spine as possible. This model goes from 90 to 130 degrees and as it reclines the arms adjust down and back to keep providing elbow support. One of the coolest and intriguing things that only the RSP-110 does is feature a leg recliner extension pad that is manually, separately adjusted. So, if I’m at my computer and I want to recline, I can! My head rests comfortably on the adjustable head pillow and my lower back lays on the adjustable lower back cushion. I feel like an angel baby wrapped in a cloud.

The chair feels and looks very well made, with the bars that slide out and hold the leg pad in place being stainless steel! Also, the padding and the covering on the chair is made of bonded leather and mesh. Certain parts, like the handles to lower and recline, are made of plastic as are some other places to try to keep the weight down. Speaking of weight, the Respawn RSP-110 weighs around 50 pounds and comes un-assembled but assembly takes about 45 minutes. My wife, who put the Respawn RSP-110 together, said the instructions were clear and pieces were easily identified and put together smoothly. The collection of screws and washers even came with a section of spare parts, just in case! Thankfully, none were needed as everything fit as it should and the chair came together nicely without any cussing to be heard around my house during the assembly. There are a couple of cutouts near the neck which might be for airflow but more likely because it makes the chair look even more bad ass!

The Respawn RSP-110 gaming chair’s casters are stylish and solidly supportive with an open center meaning each caster only has two thin sections that touch the floor. This makes it ideal to roll across any surface without continuous drag becoming an issue. I guess if you had a shag carpet, you may want to get a mat for under the chair but pretty much any chair on the market would have a hard time with shag. Another point of concern on chairs with reclining ability is how well the seat and back are connected – is it likely to break anytime soon leaving you a chair stuck in a 130 degree position? This is actually an area where OFM takes particular care, if you look at the picture above it shows they have added a bolted reinforced section on the back of the Respawn RSP-110 gaming chair at their connecting point to make it so that it is strongest at the point where there is the greatest chance of breakage!

If there is anything I think they should add for the next generation of the Respawn gaming chair it would be to add on more extension in the extending leg support. It would have to be small, basically the size of a foot rest but with taller folks like me my feet hang over the end quite a ways if I stretch them out straight. I find that when I am using the leg rest I bend one leg in and rest my foot on it while the other stays straight when playing on consoles. If I stretch both legs out on the leg support it is still quite comfortable, just at first it feels like I might not support my legs but it does so fine. Some people might want the option of a mesh back to help the chair breath better but personally I like the leather back and I know if during the summer if I decide I need more air circulation that I can always buy a metal mesh chair backing for really cheap at a discount or chain store.

The price point is certainly not an issue, OFM is trying to get their name out their about their line of chairs so at least at this point on the market most of their line of chairs are extremely affordable, in a lot of cases when it comes to gaming stuff you are paying for the name, in this case they aren’t that well known yet so you can get them for a steal.

Overall, I am ecstatic that OFM launched its line of Respawn gaming chairs and the Respawn RSP-110 is an excellent choice for those of you in need of a new gaming chair. The Respawn RSP-110 retails for $139 dollars and is available now at various online retailers.

*The statements made in this review are the solely the opinion of the reviewer

Respawn Gaming Recliner Review Score

School Girl Zombie Hunter Review

2017/11/23

Ripper71

Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, PlayStation 4 Review, Reviews

School Girl Zombie Hunter is a tale of five school girls who are the only ones left in an all-girls school overrun by zombies. One girl is self-assured and positive, she is your first character to control and starts with a pistol. The second school girl is withdrawn and feels very unsure even though she is a bad ass with a machine gun. Each character has her own strengths and weaknesses. The after-mission grading system seemed sort of messed up at the moment, as I did better on a mission I barely completed than one I finished with bonus time to spare. So unless you are going for trophies I’m not sure I would care about anything except finishing the mission before its time runs out. That’s easier said than done on some missions, which can be fairly challenging. It seems like the time limit was chosen randomly, as it is almost arbitrary. It’s as though they wanted the game to last a certain length of time so missions are usually 10 minutes long.

I enjoyed the zombies pretty well, I thought there was a decent enough variety as well as a couple other kinds of enemies that kept things interesting. I wasn’t just dispatching the same generic zombie over and over again. The game dumps weapons on you every mission, all you have to do is pick them up and complete the mission in time – no completion no weapon. I didn’t care for the auto-aim system, but I used weapons with it for my other teammates since it worked well enough for them. I have always been a shoot them myself, no thanks auto-aim kinda guy. I want the zombie head shots to be all me thank you, not some fickle aim system.

Another couple of sets of drops are dresses, wigs and… underwear. I’ll get to the last one in a bit. The dresses can work as a couple different ways, the first being like armor, the more beat up you get the more holes in it with peeks to the undies set underneath. Now if you are excited about seeing under the school girl uniforms here is step one, get them shot up. Apparently though zombies are just as attracted to school girl uniforms as you are because you can throw them off and they become zombie bait with the zombies piling up on top of them. They have some kind of attraction but if you wanted to see the zombie hunting school girls in the fancy panties or keep your team from dying this can be a good way to accomplish either or both, I will try not to judge.

As you progress new objectives and some stranger zombies start to show up but your fighting is pretty much just kept to part of the school grounds. As the zombies get better so do the weapons to a degree, there are a few times you have to think and come up with strategies on what is the best weapon choices to take on a certain zombie type. You will also need to figure out what zombie killing combo might open up otherwise blocked off ways and find hidden treasures on each of the levels. It’s always about watching the timer, keeping your team alive with healing or cloths zombie traps and finishing whatever the job is.

When you get further into the game you get an option to help keep your team alive by just throwing uniforms out anymore… and it gets kinda lewd. The game makes fun of itself for it and makes a couple of not the most tactful jokes but when you are going there I guess they figure all is fair in zombie fighting and lewd game development. So if you like to associate your school girls with fruits and vegetables you’ve found your game.

There is also a multiplayer mode so get your buddies on if they like what they see on your playing and team up against the zombie hordes. If you don’t bring any friends you might just find yourself alone in a multiplayer match with tougher enemies.

When All Is Said And Stripped:

School Girl Zombie Hunter is an alright game with a nice selection of enemies and tasks to complete and a creative method to keep its characters alive. Personally I would rather they had armor, thrown that off then maybe uniforms if it came to that but the developers were aiming for a crowd that liked their animated games a bit more, ahem, exposed. If that is your thing the game has 50 levels of normal and 50 of hard, enjoy!

School Girl Zombie Hunter Review Score

[mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#dd3333″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#dd3333″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#dd3333″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star-o” color=”#dd3333″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star-o” color=”#dd3333″ type=”fa”] (3 out of 5 Stars)

Nioh: The Complete Edition (PC) Review

2017/11/16

Ripper71

Geek News, News, Reviews, Windows PC News, Windows PC Review

Those gamers who prefer to hack and slash their way instead of shooting through a game should check out Nioh: Complete Edition. Nioh: Complete Edition was recently ported to Steam and has just enough of a Dark Souls feel to get players comfortable with the mechanics combined with plenty of original touches to keep things fresh.

Nioh: Complete Edition takes place during the late Sengokuhara period of Japan in the 1600s. This period of time saw Queen Elizabeth trying to find the Philosopher’s Stone to win the war they had been waging with Spain. However, something darker than war is brewing in the search for the stone and it involves some poor Irish sailor named William Adams who woke to find himself in a prison he would rather leave.

For a port, this game does have some issues. Visually, the game is locked to 720p resolution, and it does take a pretty hefty setup to run it smoothly, so be sure to checkout the system requirements. Nioh: Complete Edition also features some weird controls. Also, if you re-map the key commands, the hints that pop up will not adjust themselves, leaving you with bad information. On the good side of things, very few people complain about the gamepad setup, so I recommend using one here.

Replay value isn’t an issue with Nioh: Complete Edition because this game is gigantic! You get the base game as well as the Dragon of the North, Defiant Honor, and Bloodshed’s End expansion packs – plus even more extra story lines. That equals hundreds of hours of playtime, even more if you are an achievement chaser because this game has 79 to collect! Players will also get a special helmet for their character. Personally I think a special chest piece would be better because I like the sort-of bowler style helmet you get in the first part of the game, but samurai are kind of known for their helmets.

Fights rely on managing your health and stamina. Attacking, dodging, and moving all require stamina so you never want to bottom it out. Health doesn’t regenerate, it requires health potions so try to use them sparingly and learn to dodge! Once you get your dodge and attack timings down you can do some serious damage and not be destroyed so easily. Fighting also makes it so that you can improve and master a weapon, develop specialties, choose armor and spirit specialty, and break down weapons for transferring abilities. The game isn’t just fighting and questing though one can spend hundreds of hours doing just that. Those gamers wishing to go deeper will spend massive amounts of time working on customization projects and mastering different aspects. This game may look fairly simple at first glance and during the first section may be a bit easier to settle you in but it isn’t very long before it becomes massively more intricate.

If all this wasn’t enough, there are skill trees to learn and choose to customize your play style. Before that begins to make you sweat know that you can reset the skill points in case you are fighting a boss and it just isn’t giving you the results you want. You also get to select a Spirit Guardian which will help you along your journey – hopefully complimenting your play style (if you chose right).

There are also a limited Co-operation, Multiplayer, and Clan play that seems to still be in the works. Co-operation involves someone posting they need help and you go and try to, Multiplayer partly involves if you get killed someone can go to where your corpse fell and try to get some of the items from your corpse by playing what is basically an essence of what you were, it also tells you what the person was killed by so you understand what to expect. Clan play where you wind up completing quests for a Clan and getting rewards. There are also in-game prestige points which are earned by completing in game achievements that can be used to purchase passive abilities.

If you manage to finish the game to your satisfaction? Go back through using a whole different build of weapons, armor and Spirit Guardian and see how different it feels and how many more hours you spend in it…

Time To Rest My Mortal Coil:

Nioh: Complete Edition was a huge, outstanding game in its original form – but when you add the three expansions and more story lines to the mix, this game became one of the largest and most fulfilling games I have played in recent memory. There are lots of big problems with the port but if you have a fast enough system and you can get used to a slightly different gamepad setup this can be your go to game for months to come.

Nioh: Complete Edition Review Score

[mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#1e73be” type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#1e73be” type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#1e73be” type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#1e73be” type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star-o” color=”#1e73be” type=”fa”] (4 out of 5 Stars)

Soft-Tones Pillow Speakers Review

2017/11/09

Ripper71

Geek News, News, Reviews, Tech News, Tech Review

During my favorite holiday, Halloween, I got sick with a massive fever, sweats, etc. I am very lucky to be married to a nurse who kept me from well. Upon returning to to the West coast, I hit the pillow and slept for 30 hours straight! Unbeknownst to me, the Soft-Tones Pillow Speakers by 2breathe would be waiting for me so I could do some product testing while trying to heal and rest!

To properly test the Soft-Tones Pillow Speakers, I had my wife lay in the bed next to me to see how much of the sound a person next to me would hear and possibly be interrupted by. The Soft-Tones Pillow Speakers claim to be directional and low-annoyance, but I wanted to know for sure!

First I started with a no-name pillow speaker from another company. That model comes in the shape of a bear’s head and is extremely soft, however the speaker is just a disc sewn into the pillowing so when listening to music the bleed out is really strong, my wife could hear the music almost as good as I could! The pillow is also pretty small so it shifts around during sleep. On a hygienic note, the slip cover can be removed so that it can be cleaned.

Since that was a no-go, I returned my attention to the Soft-Tones Pillow Speakers, which have an unusual design where they are semi rigid going across in what look like a large eye mask shape pad. Each end of the pad has a small driver, allowing you to basically have a pair of stereo speakers next to your head. The section under your head has a little give, allowing the ear pieces to bend slightly toward your ears. This directional audio made it so my wife could barely hear the music. If I rolled onto my side in my sleep, my ears would position naturally over the speakers by slipping into foam which cups the ears when in them then pops back into shape.

While both pillow speakers had stereo cables to running down to your input device, the Soft-Tones Pillow Speakers went the extra mile by having breakaway cable in case you are listening to your phone and go to leave the room forgetting it is plugged in. It will simply pop loose and you can plug it in later. This is also nice if you want to use a different length of cable!

Both have the ability to store their cables during travel, and either one can have the pillow unzipped and tuck the cord inside. However, the Soft-Tones Pillow Speaker also has an outside pocket to store the cable in. 2breathe, the company behind the Soft-Tones Pillow Speaker, did a great job on thinking about practical usage of the unit.

A couple things I would have liked to see in the Soft-Tones would be a strap to fasten it to your favorite pillow. Also, some additional give between the speakers and a head strap would be good to make sure the headset moves with you precisely and lowers the bleed out even more. These really aren’t a consideration on the no name pillow speaker I compared the Soft-Tones with since it is considered a fluffy pillow with a speaker and has really bad bleed out anyways.

Back To Rest With Soft-Tones:

Soft-Tones by 2breathe showed up at just the right time to bring some great comfort in a time of need. With stereo sound but minimal bleed over this is a great system for someone who wants to rock all night in their sleep and party every day.

Soft-Tones Pillow Speakers Review Score

[mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#256ce8″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#256ce8″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#256ce8″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#256ce8″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star-o” color=”#256ce8″ type=”fa”] (4 out of 5 Stars)

You can get your own Soft-Tones pillow speaker at the product’s official website.