Author - Ripper71

Double Dragon IV Review

2017/02/05

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

When I say Double Dragon IV the average gamer should furrow his eyebrows and the older one should then raise one. Double Dragon IV? Did they make a DDIV? It’s possible I guess but, man, talk about a stroll down memory lane! And that is exactly what it is as the original development team from the Double Dragon series has given us this retro gem to load up on Steam. Now we can show the youth what side scrollers were like back in the old school days.

Cue The Cheesy Disco:

Double Dragon IV picks up where Double Dragon II left off about 30 years ago. Since new wave was in full effect and grunge was getting ready to throw on the flannel, players were treated to disco MIDI music because it never dies (surprisingly the moment I heard the theme here again I was humming along immediately and stopped any other sounds in the room). After the amazing battles of the previous Double Dragon, our heroes Billy and Jimmy made dojos across the country to help people feel safe wherever they lived. I was on a hot trip across the desert to check on their West Coast dojos that a black car attacked them, running their vehicle off the road and generally pissing off two guys you didn’t want to mess with. I mean had these guys never heard of the events of Double Dragon II? All the kicking and punching and elbows and kneeing. And what about the jumps, those glorious jumps?

But every bad guy needs to be bad and usually follows a “boss”, so a new one had surfaced and he brought a lot of fellas along. As a matter of fact a lot of the lower level baddies are ones you kicked the butt of before and because they think their boss is stronger so they have come back for another beating. Our boys even know the cronies by name and ask them why, why come back for more beatings? They just never seem to learn.

New ones come along and for each level you clear you unlock characters you can use on two player duel mode. There is co-op fighting, duel and climbing the tower and in the end you fight the ultra secret boss that has pulled all the wrong doers together!

The game’s sound is clear and campy, sounding right out of the mid-1980s, as do the graphics. There are some pretty challenging levels but as long as you clear one, you can restart at the next level with your remaining lives. Once you run out of lives you can restart at the level you lost you last one on. So if you are on level 16 and had a hard time on an obstacle and you can’t get you lose all but you last life completing it and you move onto the next level if you are full dead you can continue at your highest level with all of your lives. This isn’t really obvious at first partially from a bit of difficulty navigating the menu but once you figure out you can enjoy the game without raging on a trap that kills you.

Bowing Out For Now:

Double Dragon IV is such a brilliant taste of nostalgia you would think that it is actually being played on a bit cartridge on a first gen system. It is equal parts fun and challenge while delivering the feel to gamers who didn’t live through that time an idea what the games were like. I look forward to hearing that classic MIDI music again soon…

Double Dragon IV Review Score

[mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#eeee22″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#eeee22″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#eeee22″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#eeee22″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#eeee22″ type=”fa”] (5 out of 5 Stars)

HUSK Review

2017/02/04

Ripper71

News, Reviews, Windows PC News, Windows PC Review

I heard that HUSK was a dark suspenseful indie game coming down the line in the vein of Silent Hill, and that it was one of the games to watch for in 2017. Even the name sounded intriguing… HUSK. So, one dark and stormy night when the family was off to a mother/daughter dinner I put on the headset and killed the lights to give HUSK a try.

So first thing to know is that the game gives you two important warnings, one is that if you have problems with epileptic seizures from light then you may not want to play this game. If you do have a seizure, stop playing immediately and call a doctor. The other warning though is important and interesting, but might have been better used at the end of the game because it is an important message but sets the tone for the entire game and is maybe not a necessary tone. Because it warns the player that “If you are a witness or a victim of domestic abuse call…”, you automatically try to figure out how everything in the game is associated with domestic abuse rather than what the monsters are. In a way it “de-monsterizes” the creatures that are representing a monstrous subject.

If I were not trying to figure out what the monsters represented in a domestic abuse situation, I probably would have gone with Jewish folklore because they greatly resemble the description of a golem, featureless creatures made of clay following the commands of it’s creator. In one part earlier in the game there was an apartment full of giant broken dolls making you wonder if those are supposed to represent the player’s daughter or whether it is supposed to represent his own childhood that was destroyed and resulted in him hurting his family. Basically the whole game is seeded with thoughts of where each moment fits into interpretations of domestic abuse instead of horror or suspense that eventually you discover is the result of domestic abuse.

The way game creates borders of where you can go and where you can’t is done in a pretty cool way, everything you can’t touch or get too close to drips a black ichor that will kill you in seconds quickly teaching you that black stuff covering buildings or swallowing cars means bad.

The game is still definitely new and definitely in the works. I had collision errors where I got stuck in rocks, I had fatal errors that completely crashed the game and I had to start back over at the last save point. A couple of times I went to shoot a creature and my hands kept playing clap with the gun instead of aiming and fireing. This can also be a very exciting time in video game development though, a chance to experience a game when it is still pretty new and finding it’s voice, building it’s way up and creating it’s community.

HUSK is already fun, even though it is still a work in progress in many ways. So far, it is having new patches released every couple days to fix bugs and fine tune sections so it isn’t really fair to give it a star grading. If you like your game polished give it a while before jumping in, keep an eye on the game notes on Steam then join when you are ready. I think that by the end of this year, it will be named as one of the indie games you should have played in 2017.

HUSK Review Score

[mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#2738f4″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#2738f4″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star” color=”#2738f4″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star-o” color=”#2738f4″ type=”fa”][mks_icon icon=”fa-star-o” color=”#2738f4″ type=”fa”] (3 out of 5 Stars)

Sure Shot HD Big Buck Hunter Pro Review

2017/01/29

Ripper71

Gadget Review, Geek News, News, Reviews

You might have seen the arcade version of Big Buck Hunter in a bar or mega arcade near you. I know of at least three locations here in Las Vegas and sometimes I feel sorry for the person managing those games. They are insanely popular but there seems to be a direct correlation between how much alcohol is consumed and how much abuse the gun controllers take. This last CES I got to see the game in home version form at a fairly tame event called Showstoppers where you can get one on one with well maintained gear and get a proper feel for how it is designed. My first question was why is this relatively older but well known arcade game at a mostly indie company event filled with first time shows. Then I realized it was because of the other reason that games and devices show up at Showstoppers: innovations. Big Buck Hunter Pro home edition had gone Bluetooth. This I had to see! Due to a line I took in the new information, dropped off my business card and just recently some big bucks started running through my humble abode.

First Shot:

We are currently remodeling our media room so our high quality HD television is still in the box on the first floor of the house. That meant I was going to have to do the gaming test on one of our older non-smart televisions. I thought this might cause a problem for it to read where I was shooting and that eventually after a few shots of flashing light a dog would come up on the screen giggling at me. I remember the old days of Duck Hunt, and not too fondly I might add, and no matter how I wanted to remind myself going in that this wasn’t the light gun of yore I still kinda anticipated it. It didn’t take long for that feeling to shift away because even though I was still pretty much as bad as I remembered at Big Buck Hunter Pro it acted just like the arcade. It tracked on the screen beautifully, even when I missed I knew it was me and not the gun because it showed me where my shot when when it missed and where my shot landed when I hit. I understood early I will need to change my name on the game to my reviewer name because my given account was looking pretty pathetic but I was improving, and I felt eventually I would hit a ranking I could be proud of.

The ranking system is very cool too, since you can get a local ranking but you also get a global ranking by connecting the system to your wifi. This also allows you to buy upgrades and add-ons, which for Big Buck Hunter I already own.

This isn’t the coolest thing about the Sure Shot HD Big Buck Hunter system, as I love the fact that they realized that shooting at big game wasn’t the only thing this Bluetooth gun could do. So they created a side-scroller game name Major Mayhem where you help a Rambo/Commando type figure fight his way through jungles filled with ninjas to help stop a maniac who stole your girlfriend! The game is cheesy and doesn’t take itself at all seriously, but you get to blast your way along as they pop up behind huts and rocks trying to shoot you or get you to shoot a periodic scientist being held captive. If you free the scientist you get a temporary weapon boost and some coins towards your score. At the end of a level you can take those coins and make improvements on your weapons or unlock new ones. Be forewarned though that when you are shooting you are peeking out from behind cover so yes a pistol shoots slower but you spend more time in safety than with a machine gun. I got so addicted to this game that I had to take a break before playing the third game until the next day, even holding the shotgun properly in the notch in my shoulder my arm just got tired from holding it so long.

The third game that I downloaded onto the system was Thug In Time which was about a time hopping commando type fighting vikings and such. This game was a top down looking game and where you moved your barrel off of center was the direction your thug went. This one took a long time to master the controls of and I might be giving my skills a bit too much credit to say I mastered them. I needed to stand the exact ideal distance from the television marker or my control went mushy and even when I could see where I needed to fire getting past obstacles at the same time proved very challenging. I was on normal level, maybe I should drop it back to easy until I really get the hang of it but it might just be a slow game to learn because it isn’t the traditional kind of movement we make with a game gun.

I mentioned above that the game used bluetooth and the way it does almost borders on magical to me. You get a slim little box you set below or above your screen. One end plugs into the television HDMI to show what is going on in the game. Another plug goes down and plugs into the USB port on your television for power. Now since I was working on an older television I was concerned at first about powering then I realized you can just plug it into any phone recharging battery! So I just grabbed an old one that was charged and sitting around and plugged it into the game system’s USB and it fired up. If you own a quality name battery like I own a few of you might be able to play for days using the same battery it drains so little life. So this makes the gaming unit a completely portable system that you just need to be able to plug into a television with HDMI to use.

The Sure Shot HD gun controller runs off AA batteries so no worries about charging it, just keep a couple of spares around or set yourself up with rechargeable ones. You plug the game system onto the USB connection, press the button on the top of the shotgun and it will have you calibrate the corners of the screen for the television you are working off of they away you go playing just like that. You can have different profiles for different players in the house so that if you have a favorite weapon setup it will be saved to your profile and ready to go the next time you log in.

Once you get the hang of it you can participate in online tournaments, have rival challenges and find your spot on the global leaderboard.

Last Shot For Now:

The Sure Shot HD Big Buck Hunter Pro is a great jump forward in bringing arcade play into the home then taking it on the road. It’s easy to power, easy to travel with and more games are already expected in the future so I’m sure we will be revisiting this system when they do. Hopefully I will have a second controller around then for two player. Meanwhile I have gun, will travel…

Sure Shot HD Big Buck Hunter Pro Review Score

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

Stern Pinball Arcade Review on Xbox One

2017/01/27

Ripper71

Geek News, News, Reviews, Xbox One News, Xbox One Review

It may seem strange. but in this video game reviewer’s house, pinball is king. To have our own pinball machines is something so awesome that if we were offered a sexy new car or a dozen of our favorite tables, one of our bedrooms would immediately be converted into an arcade (I think we may even have a design plan for it somewhere)… Thankfully, The Pinball Hall Of Fame is located only a few minutes away so that when we get the urge to play, or a fellow ball addict comes to town, we can head into that dimly lit warehouse filled with the sounds of games dating from the early ’50s or so up to last week. So though we can’t get the real thing in our house, we have watched the evolution of pinball video game physics evolve over the years until what they are today which could only be improved with VR. One question always on our minds is when are we going to get a nice collection of Stern pinball machines for the next gen consoles that can do them justice? Wait no longer as the Stern Pinball Arcade has arrived.

Description:

Ten of the Greatest Pinball Tables from Stern Pinball Inc. 3D Arcade – Classic arcade setting with pinball tables, neon lighting, novelty props and original works of art created by “Dirty Donny”. ROM Emulation and code compiled from real tables – 100% accurate game play and graphics of real world pinball machines (AC/DC Premium, Star Trek Premium, Mustang Premium, High Roller Casino, Ripley’s Believe it or Not!, Harley Davidson 3rd Edition, Last Action Hero, Phantom of the Opera and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein). Included are detailed tutorials of each table to teach you how to become a Pinball Wizard!

Features:

DLC – Table Packs, Pro Upgrades, Bundles and new features released regularly
Leaderboards – Bragging rights over friends or all players world-wide for each table
Table Goals – accomplishments tied to learning and mastering each table.
Arcade Play – Single and multi-player games on any of the tables.
Stern Challenge – In this mode, users must hit a target score on each of the tables to earn Challenge points before moving on to the next table. Playing challenge mode from beginning to end is a full game experience in itself.

Plunge Away!:

When it came to this review this was one of the first ones where Mrs. Ripper gets to play the tables first. I’m pretty crazy about pinball but she is downright scary. Any of our friends who have come to town and gone with use to the Pinball Hall will attest to how hard it is to get her out of there. At home she has her own game addictions that eat up hours but when the Stern Pinball Arcade game came in playing a few minutes before bed became trying to get to sleep before the sun came up. I don’t put the game’s Description and Features in a review much anymore but Stern was very generous with how many games are in this set and we have played all but one or two at the Hall Of Fame so we just want to get right into the meat and potatoes of each table.

Starship Troopers:

The movie this table is created from of is based off a wonderful bit of satirical writing by Robert Heinlein and Stern has done a great job of melded both into the table. It faithfully recreates the real table in arcades with maybe a couple of improvements. For instance, the bugs are on springs so they sometimes wiggle at odd times and this is so beautifully represented. This is probably one of my top five all time pinball machines and I have been playing pinball since I was about six! The sound is perfectly crisp with all the great and hilarious soundbytes from the movie. So much happens in this game that it is almost as fun to watch as it is to play and you will find yourself spouting quotes from the game and movie for days to come… Because it is an ugly planet, a bug planet and the Roughnecks are here to clean it up.

Phantom of The Opera:

This games is one I am least familiar with, but I did recall its amazing artwork. It may have been one of the reasons “Dirty Donny” got his nickname, because the Phantom is portrayed with such care and detail as is the lingerie-clad Christine who looks off the table with a “come hither” gaze. It is a dark and creepy table which suits me just fine (did you know that the Phantom of The Opera is inspired in part by historical events?) and the music on the table which in this rare case is almost as important as the action terrifically rendered. The play is a nice medium paced so that you can take the action in nicely while at the same time enjoying the challenges. Mrs. Ripper and I played for a really long time on this table enjoying the ambiance as well as the action and reminding us a little of a trip to see Phantom in L.A. many songs ago.

Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!:

This table was a long play for me because I have always been a Ripley’s fan. I had the books growing up, watched the television show, lost tons of money on the casino machine and spent many hours on the real pinball table. Mrs. Ripper was patient with me while I played a lot at the casino, at the pinball hall and when I was reviewing the video game. Every time the game announced we were flying to another part of the world for another bit of strange facts I found myself caring far less about my score than the trivia I was about to hear. It might be something as simple as “traveling to Australia! You just got a boomerang weapon score!” and show a little animation on the corner table screen but I found myself grinning every time. The only complaint has nothing to do with the video game but rather the original design of the board which was have no ball save. We have become kind of dependent on those these days.

The Last Action Hero:

The fun thing about this table is they just got Arnold Schwarzenegger to just do a whole bunch of his lines from his different movies. I admit that it has been a while since I played the table or watched the movie but that might have actually made it better because I don’t know if they had used all of Arnold’s lines in the movie from all his other movies. I laughed the whole way through playing it and tried to remember when I quote would pop up to say it with the game. This table is definitely more for the heavy pinball player though because it is a hard table with no match at the end. The ramps are nice but hard to run, you’ll feel you earned it when you get it and the ramp performs some extra action. When Arnold says “Hasta La Vista Baby” you’ll nod with pride or slink on to the next table in shame.

High Roller Casino:

Since The Pinball Hall Of Fame is located in Las Vegas there is definitely a lot of love for this machine and the Hall Of Fame makes sure it is always working at it’s best. So I have gotten a lot of time in on this classic table that really does feel like a full casino. There is a roulette wheel right off the plunger alley, poker hands to fill, slot machine simulations and even the video screen bonus is a high/low game where you push your luck or don’t in real Vegas gambling fashion. There are so many sounds going on the game that it actually feels like a casino when it isn’t your turn. When it is your turn you are going “Come On Black!”

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein:

More amazing artwork on the table by “Dirty Donny” as Frankenstein’s monster’s shadow towers over The Bride Of Frankenstein. The beauty of the table is a bit overshadowed by a terrific rendition of the monster’s head at the middle-top of the machine which turns back and forth as the game progresses. This game gives you a neat and pretty rare opportunity to choose your own music between Edgar Winter’s version and the movie soundtrack. The Edgar Winter’s version is cool and goes great with the turning creepy monster head but “Dirty Donny” did such amazing work with the art that it really feels like the soundtrack fits the game better creating an immersive atmosphere. The table even pushes this further by saying the quote “all that I once loved lies in a shallow grave.”

Harley Davidson 3rd Edition:

This game is just a bunch of fun. The front of a motorcycle at the top that pops a wheelie to let out multi-balls, the table plays instrumental versions of Bad To The Bone and Born To Be Wild, all the while blasting sounds of semi trucks, screeching tires, and honking. It sounds like you are flying around on a mad road trip on your hog and there are plenty of close calls. Then a four ball multi-ball comes at you and the noise and action on the table just kick it up one more notch. This is a fun table that gets your blood pumping with just the sound effects alone, add the table action plus a hilarious video mini game and you might need a rest afterwards.

Mustang Premium:

This is the surf city styling of pinball. A little Jan and Dean Drag City playing as you use your pinball to “upgrade” a mustang on a turning table to make it more drag worthy. The game has a chilling vibe to it as you race you pinball up plunger alley and around the table. You’ll find yourself humming old surf tunes in no time as this table really captures the era of Beach Blanket Bingo and the surf song.

Star Trek Premium:

For the trekkies out there, Star Trek Premium is a barrage of flashing lights, ships and asteroids, and lots of futuristic noise. It sounds awesome, it plays awesome, everything about it is awesome. I had played a version of this in the arcade (not sure if it was “premium”) so the video version had a lot to live up to and it did. They went through and put in all the deep details the table is loaded with (the design shows so much love it must have been done by a trekkie) so that though I am a huge fan of the monster tables I could see this one being the one I play the most. There is something constantly going on, usually multiple things and the game pack is probably worth it for this game alone.

If you are not as big of a fan of the reboot film as you were, say, next generation then when you get to that table arrow down instead of starting the game and there you go! An older Star Trek machine with plenty of bells, whistles and lights, just the older casts.

AC/DC Premium:

Finishing off this set of tables is a pretty straight forward one that lets you rock out with your flippers out. “Dirty Donnie” and the design team at Stern tried their best to simulate what it would be like to be at a hard rocking concert show with all the effects. The did a nice job bringing an experience that keeps you bopping your head and hitting the flippers to the beat. The fact is a lot of people like to listen to their rock while they play video games so why not make a video game about a rock and roll pinball table? This was an perfect choice and a fun play.

But how do the really help make the atmosphere? They have THREE tables showing AC/DC evolving over the years through the table versions! Donnie was obviously a huge fan of theirs to keep coming up with new tables but we are the one who get the reward. When you get on the AC/DC table just press the down arrow on your controller to get to the other tables.

Resting My Flipper Fingers:

The game teases a Ghostbusters table coming out in the near future and I will be looking greatly forward to it. Until then I will just have to dream about having our own pinball machine and play Stern Pinball Arcade for the next best thing.

Stern Pinball Arcade Review Score

The Flame In The Flood Review (PlayStation 4)

2017/01/26

Ripper71

News, PlayStation 4 News, PlayStation 4 Review, Reviews

My EIC asked if I would like to play a game called The Flame In The Flood so being a bit of a junkie for indie games he had me at hello. Then I watched a trailer that was designed to introduce the graphics and the musician they had scoring the game. I was gobsmacked – the colors are vibrant and artistic, the music rocks, and unlike most survival adventure games where you cruise along by yourself you get a cute little helper dog. This pooch looks like a pup I might adopt from the humane society in real life, since in game odds are the humane society got washed away with the storm. The suddenly I got nervous and though I knew I have to play the game, take this beautiful trip I would have one thought in the back of my mind throughout the whole game: THEY HAD BETTER NOT KILL THE DOG. They can get away with killing a lot of things in a game: brain altered teens, women who breath through their skin, whole planets even, but I had better not see any puppies or kitties die. With this in mind I dove head first into the game (get it? Flood jokes!).

A Rapid Start:

Lucky for me, everything is neat looking so I was walking around looking at the environment and clicking on everything I saw and as a result I learned things before I even hit the river. Aesop the dog actually was not mine (it is now, try to take it from me!) and there were a lot of supplies and crafting you can learn and start building up before you even leave the original base. Water, even rain water might give you your own person mud floods so be sure to clean the water using the steps they tell you almost right away. Also when Aesop barks it’s best if you listen because he is either telling you where good things are or bad things. These aren’t game spoilers because unless you go crazy gung ho and immediately jump on the raft and start ramming into rocks this is kind of presented like a tutorial. So looking around pays in double ways, you learn things and you get to take in the stylized 3rd person almost top down view of your lonesome duo. You want to collect all you can but inventory is very limited so craft what you can at try to keep space open.

When you start hitting the river there are only certain places that you can park your raft so practice hitting them all and taking the river as slow as you can. Once it speeds up and the rapids get worse then you will either have to start over to get those skills you didn’t earn at the beginning or try to learn fast. Catching food and avoiding enemies is the same way, learn early or just become another victim of the flood. Or other things…

What kind of surprised me was how much crafting you can do what with the inventory space being sparse. I also loved the somewhat open world, allowing players to stop at any of the docks when you want and craft what you want. The only things real issues with that is you are a victim to the water flow and a small inventory – though who knows what and who you might encounter deeper on you journey (more space, more space!).

Going With The Flow:

The Flame In The Flood is one of the most beautiful games I have played in recent time and the folksy music goes perfectly along with the gorgeous desolation. If you have patience and a knack for crafting you might find yourself putting a lot of time and enjoyment into this game and no, traveler, they do not kill the dog.

The Flame In The Flood Review Scored:

Otakon Vegas Report and Photo Gallery

2017/01/21

Ripper71

Comics News, Geek News, Misc Review, News, Reviews, Special Interest News

I love conventions that allow cosplay, it lets people be who or how they want to be amongst others that, for the most part, won’t judge them. There is of course costume judging but otherwise you might see a huge group of characters from the same show walking together, made up of people who didn’t even know each other beforehand. It brings people together! Some characters are a bit obscure so that only the hardcore fans will know what the costume is at first sight, while others are mashups between multiple characters – or even a re-imagining of how that character would be in our world. What it comes down to is that the limitations of a cosplay character is only that of the imagination… and safety issues (no real 7 foot steel swords allowed).

Some people buy a costume because to them being in the skin of the character is all that matters while others might spend hundreds, even thousands of hours putting their costume together trying one type of assembling before giving up and trying again. The detail has increased with the affordability of 3D printers to make armor and weapons but at the same time there are a lot of costumes that just require sitting down, creating patterns and sewing away. To me and to many involved in cosplay, it is how much fun they have in the end – that they love how they feel to be their hero that matters most.

Otakon Vegas is a little different than most of these events because Otakon is a broad look at Japanese culture from anime and manga. At Otakon Vegas, you get to see real life Japanese Sumo wrestlers show their flexibility as well as learn about the tradition of their art and what sparring actually looks like. I have seen martial arts sparring before, even done some mix martial arts myself, but to see a man who weighs 300 pounds wrestle a man who weighs 600 pounds and feel the floor as one or the other gets thrown to it is amazing. There were rooms just dedicated to anime all day and night, others just dedicated to video games and even a couple floors of booths to buy various object and trinkets. There was even a dubbing room where you could test your voice acting skills.

There were a lot of people sitting in halls doing nothing as they waited for one event of another which I found odd since there was always something scheduled, most of the time a few things available simultaneously. I just chalk it up to Otakon Vegas still being young and having not quite caught it’s groove yet. It would be cool to have better places to hang out at the show – perhaps throw some props and background sheets up for the cosplayers to take pictures with? Just an idea. Otakon Vegas just needs a bit of tweaking but I definitely recommend going now to get your own feel for it while it is young.

For tickets, event info, and more, check out the Otakon Vegas official website.

Photo Gallery

A Look Back At CES 2017

2017/01/16

Ripper71

CES, News, Screenshots / Photos

Usually when I do a look back at CES it is a pretty lengthy read since it involves me running from place to place and taking everything in as fast as I can afraid I will miss something important. This year was different because only a couple days into the conference I got a flu bug that had me down for the count and hallucinating for days. As a result I like most other people who couldn’t make it had to rely of press releases and b-roll offering that I wasn’t even able to understand until it was old news. So this year this will mostly be a large photo gallery with just a few mentions of things here and there.

Press Days And CES Unveiled:

This is usually when the big boys of technology pit press conference against press conference to try to provide the most interesting and sometimes flashy news. This year to try to make this a little less competitive they split the press conferences into two days so it wasn’t one long rushing day followed by CES Unveiled. The result was a little odd though because a lot of the big flashy boys were still scheduled against each other and the result of the split up meant two really long days with CES Unveiled at the end. CES Unveiled is one of my favorite things about CES because it give you a little taste of some of the bigger companies and a large number of the smaller ones that are spread around the massive space of CES that you probably would have missed in the throng of crowds. The whole Unveiled event is also held in a large room with gourmet food treat stations in the middle and bars full of free booze in every corner. They even have ice carved to say “CES” that they run the alcohol through the top of and it is nicely cooled when it comes out the bottom. As a result some people didn’t abide while others definitely abide WAY too much. Me, I got to try a new IPA for my Untapped, looked at a few booths for thinning hair (I need them), saw a computer, a bed, and a recliner massager all of which would definitely improve my quality of life and empty my bank account and a bunch of other stuff that I can proudly say I looked at having had too many snacks but not alcohol. Honestly I don’t think I saw one thing I didn’t want to try out.

CES Convention Center:

This year CES was celebrating its 50th anniversary which is really quite incredible when you think of an entertainment based organization. It’s saving grace is probably the breadth and width of the conference and it can’t hurt that it takes up pretty much every available foot of space in Las Vegas, 2.47 million net square feet actually. It also has pretty much every imaginal use for an electronic from the way you wake up to how you get to sleep at night. Trust me the how you get places is definitely covered as the automotive area expanded and the how you see places is very well shown by the massive growth of drones over the last few years. Convention floors, hotel suites, even walkways were packed with people trying to show you how they are attempting to change the world.

During the day it is a mad rush to get from one meeting to another then at night if you are lucky and know the right people you might find yourself watching Sting well into the night. Yes that Sting, I’m told. Next year maybe I’ll get into it, next year. Because you can bet there will be a next year of CES as long as the world has a way to power their devices.

ShowStoppers:

One event that isn’t designed to relax you into the night but instead helps you know a bunch of the little folks who may someday prove to be the trending giants is an event called ShowStoppers. It is a great deal like CES Unveiled but there are less of the big boys present, in fact there are often big parties the same night and the exhibitors at this event often don’t even have a booth or suite space in that 2 and a half million feet of show. For them they don’t get days to talk folks into their gadget, they have minutes as part of a few hour night. We get to chat with old time friends like Alex Verrey who this year was working with some nice looking headsets called Lucid Sound instead of where he usually hangs his hat which is at Mad Catz who was showing less audio and other peripherals instead. Soul Sound was having a lot of fun around the place and one of the companies thanked me for suggesting their little robot would help teach kids in school how to get started in coding, they now have 100,000 of units helping children learn in our countries schools. Previous years I had helped get word out about a project to get low cost solar lighting into third world countries. I guess what I am trying to say is ShowStoppers is a place to watch and think of others because you never know if someone around the world may benefit from a suggest of how a product can actually help humanity.

Closing The Show (For Me):

During the Showstoppers I started to feel a little weak, I just thought it was the long hours. I got to meet one of the PR people I have always wanted to meet because of her great announcements and her knowledge of who is moving and whom is shaking. After meeting some cool PR people and getting to check out the awesome GameSir G3s game controller, I went to rest a bit and that rest got long then I realized I was full on sick with the flu and running a brutal fever. Suddenly CES was over early for me with the last days where I get to kick it with a buddy named Keven and give a friend a copy of an old jewelry selling broadcast I used to work at still in my pocket. I still feel cruddy but time waits for no man, I have sumo wrestling and cosplayers at a convention to see tomorrow. And there is always CES 51.

Monster Firecracker Pholite Speaker

2017/01/13

Ripper71

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

I have used several wireless, portable speakers over the years. One of the first ones I had looked like a really large ice chest and ran off a half dozen “D” batteries. It gave some pretty good sound with a nice connection, the problem was its size and weight. Over the years there have been plenty of companies working on it and, thankfully, Monster (now Monster Cables) was among them and they felt that creating a unit with great sound was key but why not also add a speaker phone and photo fill illumination while they were at it. With that, they brought us the Monster Firecracker Pholite Speaker.

Light It Up:

I’ll be honest at first I thought the light option was a strange one. Everything else made total sense, if you are poolside during the summer you want to have a water resistant speaker that can fill the yard with beats and you don’t have to go grab your phone and possibly get it wet if you get a call, hit a button and away you talk (though it would be nice if you tell the person at the other end they have just joined the pool party). Aiding in preventing water, dust and other environmental damage is a rubber plate that covers a 3.5mm input in case your Bluetooth just isn’t doing the job and a micro mini port located under the same plate to make sure to keep a little sand from stopping the festivities.

It’s small yet looks and feels rugged, it has a solid screw down pack clip so you can clip it on, screw it tight and go hiking letting the group listen to your tunes while knowing if you take a bit of a slip you will still be fine and if you get a call after hitting a quick button you can continue your ascent hands free of the call. If you wind up hiking late you have a flashlight on your Firecracker you can fire up and keep safe on the trails which is a surprising recurring accident or death issue in any outdoor environment.

What is even more interesting about the flashlight on the Firecracker is that it isn’t just designed to be a flashlight it is also designed to be a filler light. Those into photography will usually get this reference immediately and those not into it will probably get it without realizing it. The name is somewhat straight forward in that it is a light that fills in area where there is too much shadow. For example if you have a friend you want to take a picture of in front of a building during a setting sun you would turn on this light and it is the proper kelvins to front light the subject to make them not look all shadowy. The 5000 degree kelvin light would also be great as a plugged in light for webcasters such as Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, and Periscope that can be adjusted to try to help remove some of the washed out look of the caster by turning down the brightness of the monitor and using the light at wherever fills in best.

Most importantly you have a Monster product which means you can rely on big boom coming from a little box.

Tech Specs:

“Baby Blaster” form factor
Built in super-bright 7 hour flashlight
- High-intensity daylight, 5000K
- 500 Lumens
Pure Monster Sound™ wirelessly with NFC
Stereo (from 2 Full-Range Drivers) with passive bass radiator
High intelligibility mic for calls
25+ Hours of continuous play
Splash resistant (IPX-5)
Heavy-duty cabinet with color-matched strap and carabiner clip
Sealed Port for aux in (3.5mm) and power
Black, Gold, Red, Green Camo

Last Call:

Monster Firecracker Pholite is like a multi-army knife of sound, give giving big booms, solid pairing, great chat sound and even great multi-use light source all in one little box. Right now it is a little hard to find in the U.S. but it can be found on Monster’s website for about $130 dollars. Make sure to grab it on your way out the door so you will be ready for whatever life asks of you.

Monster Firecracker Pholite Review Score

GameSir G3s Gamepad Review

2017/01/13

Ripper71

News, Peripheral Review, Peripherals News, Reviews

I game a lot, someone might say I’m always gaming (I have a game running in the background right now). I started at about 5 years old and the only thing I collected more than game systems is game controllers and setups. The controller that comes with the system isn’t always what the player will find fits their gaming style best but sometimes, such in the case of the GameSir G3s Gamepad, one controller can be the one to rule more than one system.

Game On:

First off the controller looks like a PlayStation 3 controller and quickly and easily pairs with the systems. The controller is a little lighter weight than the normal PS controller for a reason we will get up to later and as a result can be far more comfortable for much longer. This also is nice in case you decide to add adapters or extra padding to your controllers making it become so that some parts like KontrolFreeks FPS stick extender.

One of the best reasons the controller also works with Android phones which attach onto the GameSir G3s’ individual mobile bracket that can be connected around the controller and expanded to fit your Android device in. Then you simply connect to the two systems, download a couple games and away you go on a portable system using a full size console controller. This of course makes the device a bit top heavy but since you can screw down the desired angle of the device onto the top so you will have it as forward, back, or evenly heavy as you find comfortable. The bracket folds up nicely in your pocket when you aren’t using it so that it is always handy.

Another nice aspect of the GameSir’s versatility is that it goes great with Window’s PC systems using a USB dongle so it is wireless and if you are more used to PlayStation controllers than Windows ones this is a great opportunity to use that style. The GameSir G3s also works with Smart TV/boxes

Tech Specs:

32-bit high-speed MCU chip, high sensitivity and on time response.
Support iCade, X-input, D-input and Android native mode games.
Lasts for 18 hours working time, built-in rechargeable battery, double shock vibration.
Multi-Platforms: Android/Windows/PS3. Connection: 2.4GHz/Bluetooth 4.0/ Wired connection.
Free App “Happy Chick”game emulator brings you more authentic gaming experience, you can scan the QR Code in User Manual to install it.

Game Over!:

GameSir’s G3s is the controller you want around your house and on the go. Whether it is your Android, Smart TV, PC or gaming console the G3s is the controller you need. It usually retails for about $80 dollars but, right now, it is priced at 60% off on Amazon so get it while the getting is good!

GameSir G3s Gamepad Review Scored:

Final Fantasy XV Review

2016/12/17

Ripper71

News, PlayStation 4 News, PlayStation 4 Review, Reviews

I, like many gamers who are a bit older, played all the Final Fantasy games and one-off titles like Final Fantasy Tactics when they came out. When the opening title for Final Fantasy XV comes up and it says “For Fans and First-Timers”, that is a rather bold statement because the groups generally want two different styles of gameplay. The veterans want a challenge that the years of game progression have provided and the first-timers want to be able to just jump in and play without some massive learning curve. So how could Final Fantasy XV cater to both? It’s time to find out!

First Strike:

First off, if you are a first-timer to the Final Fantasy, know that the setting of the franchise has become an interesting hybrid of medieval fantasy and modern technology. For instance, your character might drive a sporty Regalia automobile then climb out and fight a demon using electric swords, daggers, fireballs and finish them off with a couple gunshots. Then you will make camp and one of your party who has cooking as a skill will make some kind of gastro-creation that might be something like a stuffed bell pepper with a side of potatoes melody to increase strength and health until the next time you camp. During that time you will look at the pictures you saved to your digital camera from the day and decide which you want to keep and of those any you might want to save on your real life social media to share.

That is just how you get started with the game too, the combat design is flexible, with options both for real-time and turn-based fighting. In the older games, you might have four characters lined up on the bottom of a screen and a few monsters on the top. You would decide the attacks and then hit the button to proceed. In this case, you can figure out which move you will do with your characters against monsters all around on the screen then decide where they will go after that attack. It takes a bit of getting used to but is a fun type of fighting design, though if you want you can just play like other 3D open world games and just run around selecting your attacks and getting things killed.

As I mentioned it is a 3D open world and it is seeded with tons of side quests and repeatable missions/bounties. You can pick up a bounty, run out and earn your gils (currency) then camp, head back and ask the designated quest/information guy about what next can be fought and where items of interest such as energy sources for spells, food spots for recipes and treasure chests to get new gear and weapons. Don’t expect the new gear or new weapons to be too exciting at the start, a bronze amulet for example, but if you get some decent food buffs on you and you get an okay weapon upgrade you can start doing some decent damage quick. As long as you stick to the daytime. You have to grind pretty hard to be able to fight the demons that come out at night and with all this I am still mostly talking about the starting section.

You start with your bros who are going to be your cabinet when you become King, for now you are a prince in an arranged marriage. I used that as my excuse for why I was grinding out in the wastelands, it’s like a last road trip with my buddies before getting married. With that being said it isn’t going all “What Happens In The Wastelands Stays In The Wastelands” because Prince Noctis doesn’t even have eyes for the half dressed mechanic who you want to make tons of nonpolitical correct jokes in real life.

He is all about what next bit of fun and mischief he and his best friends can get into. That is something that stands out really heavy in the latest game, it is a total bromance story and feels fine with it. You make jokes with each other as you run around, you cheer each other on during combat, you actually reach down and help a teammate up when they have fallen. When I was beat to crap and on the ground trying to recover one of my friends would shout to another to cover me and he would stand in front of me long enough to get some health and magic energy back.

Once you take a certain amount of damage the only way to fully recover it is to give it a night camping or potions to juice back up but remember juicing in the the game is scarce so you might want to save them for boss fights. When fighting you can do special combos like the strongest Gladiolus Amicitia might hold out his weapon and you can jump off it and sink a blade deep from above. You can also switch between characters and have your buddy Prompto to take some specialty shots at the birds your blade swinging friends have a hard time hitting so you don’t have to hope the AI will think of it.

The AI seems to work really well though making sure your friends are doing their part in the battles when you stumble upon enemies which can spawn up pretty much wherever. I’ve had bounties to go fight some creature and have some other harder creature pop in my way before getting to them and taken them out before the smaller bounty. Sometimes you are lucky enough to stumble upon foods, magic elements, minerals or treasures on your own while exploring and the nice thing about the open land is once you get a campsite saved or area uncovered you can usually get back there through auto drive or auto camp.

For reasons I won’t say here this road trip hits some pretty heavy potholes when it reaches its destination and the story comes into heavier play though the game still keeps battle in there to keep things from getting too stagnate. The story line… well that might be kind of the weakness of the story with at times leaving you scratching your head and saying why am I doing things this way or why wouldn’t I rest up and camp here and the answer is simple, it wasn’t in the script.

There are also mini games to be found in the game which I got just as addicted playing as I did the main game at a couple times because they didn’t skimp on quality making them either.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how amazingly gorgeous everything looks in the game and how clear and beautiful the sound is. Running around on a Chocobo along cliff sides or walking bazaars and taking in the great giant majesty of towered towns just…well makes the game a pleasure for fans and first-timers.

Incoming Free Goodies!

If you need more incentive at the time of print for this article it was coming up on the Final Fantasy festive season on December 22, 2016 where all players who own the core game get a New Game+ mode, players who complete the game can start again with gameplay data intact. A new photo frame feature will also be available for photos taken by Prompto.

The Holiday Pack also has the Warrior’s Fanfare, sheet music that provides additional AP when players earn an A+ in offense outside of training, and a Nixperience Band that stops party members earning experience to make things harder.

The pack also gives you an entry to the Moogle Chocobo Carnival in late January 2017, and a Choco-Mog t-shirt to celebrate that event.

Players who own the Season Pass will get all that plus The Tech Turbocharger and Armiger Accelerator for supercharging your tech bar and the Armiger bar, each operating at the cost of freezing the other. Blitzer’s Fanfare provides AP when players earn an A+ grade in Time and Tactician’s Fanfare for Finesse (Finesse is not my strongest feature usually).

Other items included are The Key of Prosperity that increases the rate at which fallen enemies drop useful items and the Stamina Badge that lets Noctis sprint and hang without using up stamina. Season pass holders receive a Festive Ensemble outfit and a set of exclusive photo frames in January of 2017 as well.

Last Slice:

Final Fantasy XV is a game where the more you put into it the more you get out of it, take your time, play is through slowly, then play it through again and enjoy a nicely done addition to the Final Fantasy franchise. If you find a problem while playing it don’t worry about it too bad, just report it, the staff behind Final Fantasy XV have been listening to players’ concerns and making adjustments and updates because they truly want to stand behind there statement of a game “For Fans And First-Timers.”

Final Fantasy XV 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” color=”#dd3333″ type=”fa”] (5 out of 5 Stars)