Author - Ripper71

Coolmaster Skorpion Mouse Bungee Review (PC)

2012/11/10
Ripper71
News, Reviews

Ok at first when I heard about this product my initial thought was “What?  Why would my mouse ever need a bungee?”  It wasn’t until I got ahold of one and put it to the test that I realized I had actually been needing one for a long time.

Product Overiew:

Ever missed the perfect shot cause your mouse cord got stuck?  Are you tired of mousecord drag and pull?  Do you constantly bend and move your mouse cord around, but don’t want to compromise and go wireless?  Get the Cooler Master CM Storm Skorpion and make your mouse feel like its wireless!  Don’t restrict your options to a few tiny wireless mice, use any mouse you want.  No added delay, interference issues, higher weight due to batteries, and constant recharging and swapping batteries like actual wireless mice.

Testing:

When I read the product overview the first time I had two thoughts: first, that it sounds like a TV infomercial.  Second, that every single point mentioned was either a problem I had had at some point or a consideration I had made the same decision on.  I had been about to get the perfect snipe shot or had a rotation blown by my mouse cord getting stuck.  My desk is pretty small so most of my cable hangs over the edge causing extra weight and pull on the cable and occasionally things get knocked onto the cord on the desk or knocked off the desk and happen to hit the cord.  My cord goes around a post on the desk before dropping toward the back and sometimes just the post can cause an annoying drag.  I have on occasion considered going with my wireless mouse to free it up but don’t want to have my mouse die at a crucial moment in a boss fight.  All these issues are solved easily by the Skorpion and it just plain looks badass on my desk.

The Skorpion is designed with gripping legs that keep them from moving and a “tail” that goes up over it’s body and can accommodate thin plastic wrapped cables or thick fabric wrapped cords.  Designed for a mouse it gives extra movement with it’s flexible tail in case you find yourself need to move the mouse beyond it’s usual space around the mousepad.  That way you don’t feel constricted by it’s use at all.

I didn’t limit my testing of it to my mouse, one of my computer speakers is designed with cable leading to the entire set and the computer causing it to weigh down and sometimes slide right off the side of my desk and behind it.  This means I have to climb under the desk, untangle it from any wires it might have fallen into and set it back up.  Placing the Skorpion behind it and running it’s heaviest cable through it guarantees it won’t fall off the back and have me scrambling around to set it back up.

Last Call:

This is one of those products you don’t think you need until you consider your computer situation then you realize it is a product you are long overdue for.  It is reasonably priced, can be used in multiple ways and did I mention it looks bad ass?  It even breaks down easy for travel.  Do yourself a favor and pick up one of these.

Atari Arcade Review (iPad)

2012/11/10
Ripper71
Mobile News, Mobile Review, News, Peripheral Review, Peripherals News, Reviews

I had already been playing Atari Greatest Hits on the iPad and iPhone for a while when the opportunity to try out this peripheral came along so I was more than happy to give it a run to see if it improved the gaming experience.  I had grown up in video arcades and had the Atari Computer Gaming System (later to be dubbed the Atari 2600) since it had come out so I had old school memories of gameplay to draw from and a desire to relive them.

Setup on the system is as easy as charging the iPad.  No extra power source is required for the Atari Arcade which means it remains nicely mobile and you simply connect the plug on the Arcade to the charging input on the bottom of the iPad, slide the locking pins forward and you are ready to start up the game.  When you start Atari Greatest Hits it automatically detects the Atari Arcade and configures gameplay to work with the controller.  The program comes with one free game but a few extra games come with the controller purchase as well (or you can do what I did and fork out $10 to get 99 games) so you can start playing almost immediately.

Thanks to the locking system and design of the controller the game system is playable not only on a table or steady surface but on your lap as well making it nicely mobile and great for trips or waiting rooms.  A lot of thought was obviously put into the design of this controller and it shows as you quickly forget about what you are playing the games on and get caught up in the games themselves.  The controller has four buttons so it can simulate the controls from the arcade for games like Asteroids which required multiple buttons or the Atari 2600’s Combat that required just one button so the rest of the buttons are assigned to Atari 2600 functions such as Game Reset and a/b select.  Another nice feature is the controller doesn’t negate touch screen commands so that if you want to touch the screen to change games or hit the button on the bottom of the iPad to close the program it all works smoothly.

Last Call:

Peripherals for the iPad can be REALLY hit or miss, quite often missing completely.  I am pleased to say not only does the Atari Arcade live up to hopes it exceeds them.  It could be considered a bit pricey but when you consider for an additional $10 you wind up having 99 games playable in their original arcade or console style but in a completely portable system and it becomes much more reasonable.  Besides, it is hard to put a price on keeping a kid occupied during a long trip in the back seat of the car or in a doctor’s office and if you did put a price on it this system might be within it.

Guns Of Icarus Online Review (PC/Steam)

2012/11/10
Ripper71
News, Reviews, Windows PC News, Windows PC Review

This is one of those games that when the beta was announced I signed up for it quick and when the closed beta began I happened to be in a busy season and didn’t get to touch it.  So when it was announced that it was now available on Steam and we had a review copy I was quick to volunteer.  Steampunk Zeppelin FPS?  Yes please!  The concept behind it alone was enough to pull me in, but was it enough to keep me playing?

Storyline:

In the spirit of Guns Of Icarus, Guns Of Icarus Online takes place after the daring flight of the Icarus in a time of chaos and war with man against daring man in their flying machines.  The website goes into a history of the land but the reasons for the fighting are a little ambiguous which is fine since as a good soldier you are just told to shoot them over there.

Gameplay:

Movement consists of standard WASD and mouse with R and F being used additionally by the pilot to throttle the ships.  There are three player classes to choose from: gunner, engineer, and pilot, all of which have overlapping capabilities making it so they can do all the jobs just not as well as the person specializing in it.  Gameplay at a basic level consists of manning guns, flying the ship and repairing the ship.  There are finer details such as special loadouts both for the ships and players to improve these acts but for the most part the gameplay is flying, shooting and repairing.  Since it is all straight forward in that sense it mostly comes down to player’s skills rather than weapons or ships as to who will win a fight.

There are five types of ships: The Junker (much like a Chinese Junk, only flying), The Squid (you can guess what this looks like), The Galleon (armor and gun array similar to a traditional galleon), The Goldfish (yep you guessed what it looks like) and the Pyramidion (makes me kinda think of Silent Hill’s Pyramid Head as a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day float).  Each ship has an inherent strength that fits the style of the pilot and is selected by them.  Ships like the Squid are fast, the Goldfish is agile and the Pyramidion is a juggernaut.  The end result is mech or tank style battles with four man crews including the pilot where it is vital that the crew work as a team or all is lost.  If the crews work together as a fleet then the team is almost unstoppable.  There is voice and text chat in the game and the crews that seem to do the best tend to be the one’s with a vocal captain piloting well and calling the shots.  The teams that do the worst are usually the ones who have a silent captain or one that just insults the crew.

Atmosphere:

Usually atmosphere is discussed earlier in the review but since it is the real standout of the game I saved the best for last.  This is a Steampunk/Dieselpunk environment and the ships and clothing style represent this genre beautifully giving stunning graphics with great detail and lots of customization of character wardrobe (for a small fee) to allow players to have an extremely individual look that suits their style.  This is really the aspect that sets this game apart from other vehicle PVP games that would, for flying purposes, have you in planes, mechs or spaceships.  The music is excellent and fits the mood created by the visuals as well making this game addictive to play not so much because of original gameplay but more from original atmosphere.

Promises Of More To Come:

As it stand now the game is fairly bare bones, you have player and AI crews in PVP combat.  Vehicles and gameplay options are expected to be added as the game develops over time including the addition of merchant play.

Last Call:

Guns Of Icarus Online is a pretty straight forward team vehicle PVP game set in a stunning and visually interesting world.  It is about $10 depending on where you purchase it from so you get an affordable game that is still in the fairly bare bones stage.  It relies heavily on a player base, the more it can get the better it will be so hopefully it will take off nicely.  The environment is enough to keep bringing me back to playing it though I do hope the promises of more content come along sooner rather than later for the game’s sake and that of the Kickstarters that funded it.

Trailer:

Gallery:

R.A.W.-Realms Of Ancient War Review (PC)

2012/10/16
Ripper71
News, Reviews

They go by a few different names, dungeon crawlers, hack and slash adventures and RPG action to name some but if you have ever seen Diablo you know what a prime example of the genre is.  By far the most successful of the dungeon crawlers, Diablo is what all other games of the type wish to be: great play with a dedicated fan base.  That second aspect is really hard to earn and many very good games have given us the great play and gone by practically unnoticed.  One of the ones that has been lucky enough to grab attention is Realms Of Ancient War, the only question is does it have the gameplay to keep eyes and hands on it?

Storyline:

Long ago, the four kingdoms of men, dwarves and elves were torn apart in a violent war.  A brittle peace has been established 10 years ago during the mysterious “Summoning of the Kings”.  But today, the world is on the verge of entering war again, as hordes of Nothingness are pouring through portals across all four Kingdoms. The Kings have sent detachments of soldiers to investigate the origin of this new threat… none ever returned.  This all seemed so far away from you. But it is you that the King of the North has chosen, to open the four Portals and put an end to the evil forces, once and for all!

This seems like a pretty interesting plot and driving force for a game and reveals itself more deeply as the game progresses, fleshing out a pretty detailed story and villain.  You really don’t need a good story necessarily for a hack n’ slash adventure but it can be the defining edge that turns a single game into a series with fans crying out for more.

Graphics:

The graphics are really, really nice.  There is great detail all through the game and varying environments so that you don’t get tired of looking at the same graphics over and over, one dungeon blending into the next.  A lot of attention was paid to the graphics, from crumbling walls to growing blood puddles and it really shows.  Also a very nice touch is the corpses remaining on the ground instead of disappearing as soon as you leave the screen or right before your eyes.  This takes a bit more memory and detail to programming but is worth it when you are running around, can’t remember if you covered an area properly and you see a nice pile of carnage you have left behind.  It can be so cool seeing your areas of destruction that sometimes you just want to call somebody over to show them all the damage you have done.  The death throes of the beasties and their positions or in some cases lack of position make for very cool moments.  The only graphic question I have offhand is whether the developers intentionally made it so that the wizard’s green gas cloud looked like he ate too many chimichangas, if so I can relate to the wizard even more.

Gameplay:

This is really the “meat and potatoes” of the game over which most things will be forgiven.  If the plot is a bit weak and the graphics suck good gameplay can at least get the game played and develop a fanbase.  As true to most hack n’ slash games you aren’t generally concerned with one of two enemies but hordes and hordes that pile up and collect around you.  These can make for the above mentioned corpse retention particularly satisfying as you watch them stack like wood, well bloody, death rattling wood.

There are three classes to choose from, a range strong Wizard, a melee strong Warrior or a mix bag Rogue.  These are pretty standard fair for this type of game, though the classes seem a little more reliant on their specialty than usual.  The game is designed to be single player or co-op and I think it comes through in the character developments with the Rogue being the solo player’s class of choice and the other two being the co-op.  Each class is completely playable on it’s own but even the specialty of the Rogue to turn invisible to enemies to regenerate strikes me as something that would be more like done single player.  That said each class has a nice group of talents to choose from with plenty of choices available from the beginning and skill build up in each of the talents.  If you are worried about enemies getting too close as a wizard you can put points into a knock back maneuver and bind that to your mouse keys or number keys, which are completely assignable by the player.  As you get higher levels the differences talent and skill wise will diminish between characters of the same class but individual items which can be different colors will still make them standout.  The system has a built-in comparison system too, letting you know when stats are better or worse between what you are wearing and what is selected in your inventory.

The death system favors co-op as with soulstones being needed to resurrect at soulstone checkpoints for solo players and resurrection if your partner lasts a certain amount of time after your death in co-op only using a soulstone if you both die.  This keeps you cheering your buddy along after you fall and is encouragement for the “doesn’t play well with others” co-op players to watch their teammate’s back.  These games are traditionally designed to be played multiplayer anyways so it is nice to see incentive to do so.

One thing to kind of get used to with this game if you play dungeon crawlers regularly is line of sight does not mean line on target.  When fighting enemies running around a corner to clear line of sight and picking off enemies is still a very important aspect but some environments such as coffins block like buildings instead of being able to be shot over.  This actually can add quite a bit to strategy once you get used to it.  The other thing is weapon damage is limited to distance not room size so if you are using a range attack it could end short of an enemy in your line of sight if you are still too far away from it.  This also can play into some good strategy during battle if you think things through and figure out the enemy’s range of attack.

Last Call:

These games will always be compared to Diablo, they will never get out of it’s monolithic shadow, but that doesn’t mean a game that plays differently or the same as Diablo is a bad thing.  Realms Of Ancient War has developed it’s own style in a lot of key ways and is graphically beautiful to look at.  It plays a lot like a standard dungeon crawler which means it is easy for people who like them to jump into it but it has it’s own unique storyline to take players through a different tale.  I recommend it to other hack n’ slash, dungeon crawling, RPG action gamers like me. Time will fly as you’re killing evil.

Trailer:

Happy Wars – Review (XBLA)

2012/10/14
Ripper71
News, Reviews

Ok I know it sounds a bit like a contradiction unless you are a totally twisted.  War should not be happy times.  In the gaming world though it can be very true if you find yourself having fun on a silly playing game that is also free.  Yep I wonder how many people stopped reading and started downloading with that last statement because Happy Wars takes the big RPG mechanics of a PC and makes them some simple fun on XBLA.

Storyline:

When two tribes go to war… well in this case it’s two kingdoms and they fight daily over such things as what is tougher a hippo or an elephant, favorite games, the weather, politics, you know the usual stuff everyday arguments result in that generally don’t turn into war.  Oh and a princess gets kidnapped at one point in case I forgot to mention that, which actually is a pretty good and ancient reason for war.  There actually is a storyline on the single player campaign though I imagine a lot of folks will dedicate themselves to multiplayer because it is an absolute blast.

Graphics and Sound (Atmosphere):

I mentioned they fight over hippos versus elephants right?  Well the graphics and sound are as silly as the reasons they fight.  Giant heads on little bodies all with cartoony features and silly atmospheres combine with goofy noises and Saturday morning music to make this a game that visually doesn’t take itself seriously and aims for fun rather than realism.

Gameplay:

Strangely enough this may be the one area where the game takes itself serious and has had some heavy time vested into it.  You can choose from three classes and you receive armor rewards for the different classes no matter which you play.  You can be a warrior, cleric, or mage – pretty standard classes for a MMORPG though sometimes the names may vary.  As you fight a battle your character levels up quick in battle opening up more skills and helping you earn free items.  At the end of the fight you find out what items you have and you get exp towards a character’s overall level.  So you always start at level one in a battle but as you level up outside battle you go in wearing better gear.  I know that sounds kind of confusing so I will try to put it this way: a level 15 character goes in as level one but can go in with level 15 armor and have skill bonuses as well.  So it rewards the longer term player but gives a level enough starting playing field that a noob won’t get totally slaughtered.  This makes it so that the smart player, using the environment and skills they have learned can take down opponents that in some games would be untouchable.  Gameplay consists of capturing spawn points, destroying opponents’ castles and beating the snot out of each other.

Items such as armor, weapons and charms, can be aquired multiple ways: earned in battle, won by gambling in game credits or purchased with real world money.  Normally this bothers me pretty bad because it means the game is free to play but pay to win.  However this game hit a decent enough balance that yes you could pay and level fast and be tougher but if you don’t it is still fun.  Also it has a single player campaign as well as multiplayer so you can play against a very good AI if you choose to and that AI won’t be running around with purchased weapons.  To have a free game that has single player campaigns is kind of unheard of these days so making a couple small purchases doesn’t feel as bad since you are supporting a full gaming experience.  There are levels of purchases, some of the weapons, armor and charms can be pretty pricey in the real world so it all depends on how much you want to invest.

Last Call:

This is a really fun game that kept turning into “one more battle and then I’ll go to bed”.  The servers are a little different in setup, expect to be disconnected a lot during the matching up section because I think it balances the teams then boots the extras.  I play a lot of free to play games but they are almost exclusively on the PC so to have a F2P on the console that sucked me in as much as this one did was a very pleasant surprise.  I also really appreciate the single player campaign being on the game too, if it is free it usually only has one or the other, not both multiplayer and single player.  Or one will suffer heavily for the inclusion of the other, too much of a stretch of resources.  I enjoyed this game a lot both in single player and multiplayer and highly recommend it.  What do you have to lose except a bit of hard drive space on your XBox 360?

Trailer:

Camping Manager 2012 – Review (PC)

2012/10/12
Ripper71
News, Reviews

Ok so those of you who read us on a regular basis know I am a sucker for strategy and simulation games which are basically a strategy game using construction instead of construction and destruction.  Sure when I agreed to review Camping Manager I figured I wouldn’t be building armies but I would be trying to strategically build a campground that would meet all the criteria to win.  Building sim games are old and have been around almost as long as computer gaming and some are made in a way that makes you feel that old school nostalgia while having far better graphics.  Excalibur Publishing has done just that in Camping Manager.

Storyline:

You have been given starting funds to create campgrounds all over Europe and must fulfill certain criteria to be successful to your investors.  Succeed and you get to start up a new site with new funds, fail and you might find yourself living in one of the properties.

Graphics And Audio (Atmosphere):

There is a style to the buildable items very reminiscent of the old school building sims though with much cleaner graphic lines and variety of details.  You can build multiple caravan designs for example though they are all the same size space and same amount of occupants.  There are 50 different 3D objects to place on a nicely detailed map which leads to lots of variety.  There are several different designs for the individual holiday goers as well keeping things interesting.  Sound wise there is a general calming music that plays during the building which is nice since it doesn’t create tension in mission that are fairly long.  The voice acting for the intro scenes to the missions is done well, though done in German which is a language I never studied.  English is luckily available on the graphic page description so you know exactly what your mission is.

Gameplay:

You are given a map, a certain amount of start up funds and mission criteria and left to do what you think you need to to beat the mission.  A great deal of creativity has to go into completing each mission of the simulation, sometimes trying to figure out such questions that every parent asks: how do I get a 70% satisfaction approval from teenagers?  The mission criteria will often involve multiple elements like certain things build, approval levels, money earned, sometimes multiples of each.  Quite often you will have a carefully mapped out plan of building then find yourself adding something willy nilly simply to try to complete a part of the mission.  I have had beautiful campgrounds turned into a weird menagerie of items trying to get that last dollar or last bit of satisfaction.

The gameplay is remarkably addictive consider the subject matter.  I know plenty of people who don’t like camping and would probably scoff at the idea of liking a sim game based on building a campground but if any of them are true sim or strategy fans they will find themselves sucked in trying to balance the right number of gardeners and wages to pay them with the amount of trash cans that need emptying and flower pots that need watering.  This game actually should be called Resort Manager because you are actually trying to build a resort complete with disco, barbeque roundups and swimming and boating activities while deciding how many concessions to have, toilers, showers, it encompasses much more than some simple camp sites.  The campsite layouts also follow community designs you might find in most city sims so if you just try to make some winding road to place your campsites on you will soon find yourself stuck for space just as you have to leave space around properties for lamp posts, trash receptacles and water taps.

There is also free play in case you just want to test your building designs without the concerns of completing mission objectives which can be really fun sometimes, just building what you can, creating the best place you can.

Last Call:

This game is surprisingly addictive and the name doesn’t do justice to the depth of play and necessity of creative strategic thinking.  You aren’t just managing a campground you are building a camping resort using all your wits to complete missions which can have extremely difficult objectives.  I recommend it for any one who considers themselves a sim or strategy fan, regardless of what subject matter they usually prefer.  This game is just a solid example of the genre.

Trailer:

Gallery:

Ravaged – Preview (Steam/PC)

2012/10/12
Ripper71
News, Previews

I wouldn’t be surprised if Ravaged hadn’t showed up on some of your radars, but the gaming hardcore probably know it from it’s early days on Kickstarter where the gaming community reached out and TRIPLED the target donation amount.  Early days might be simplifying it since the team that put it together have been working on it for three years, the kind of work that involves a day job, coming home and walking the dog, grabbing a bite to eat then working on the game until exhaustion kicks in and you pass out.  New day, restart rotation.  It was a game of love and already had some good signs of this when they reached out on Kickstarter.  I can’t afford to invest in all the great ideas on Kickstarter so I just watched this game and saw those in the community that had the money invested.  Money isn’t so much needed to create a project, it is needed to bring that project to the consumer and put a stable support system in.

So then I saw an advertisement here and there in the gaming magazines showing a rough and ragged bald fellow from behind looking across a wasteland with the word “Ravaged” in the upper corner.  A nice looking ad but you figured not a gameplay shot, which it isn’t but almost could have been.  So knowing my love/addiction to first person shooters when the opportunity to preview the game and chat a bit with the team came along my editor was right to figure he wouldn’t have to ask me twice.  The moment I got the invite the game started downloading and the moment it was ready I was in play, and this is what I found.

Storyline:

Damn you solar flares!  There you go creating an apocalypse, we appreciate the lack of need for a radiation suit but otherwise talk about the Big Suck!  Ah well, some of us have watched the Mad Max, Planet Of the Apes, and Riddick movies enough to understand it is time to start hording resources, making lots of weapons and customized vehicles, and fighting over patches of dirt in the shadow of the destroyed Statue Of Liberty.  In this case the Scavengers are a bunch of savages intent on ruling the wastelands and the Resistance is trying to maintain some order in this shattered world.  In the end though this is really just a background storyline, there is a red team and a blue team and they each have their own special weapons and fight, fight and when that gets dull, fight a different way.

Graphics:

The graphics and detail are really nice, too nice maybe for some systems.  They have actually been working on it the last few days to make the system requirements less graphic intensive so that more people can play and have done that without losing much in the way of detail or gameplay.  If you look at the pics in this article they are not just beauty shots and cutscreens (which there aren’t) they are real representations of a third person front view of someone’s character.  The vehicles all have their own feel, some more beat up than others and metal fatigue, patchwork and customization are all visually evident on the entirety of the vehicles and weapons.  In other words things looks beat up and post-apocalyptic in a nicely detailed manner.

Gameplay:

A game can look as pretty as it likes but if the gameplay sucks it isn’t going to get played.  In this case it even goes a step further, people invested their money in the project through Kickstarter so this game needs to be worth it to the player and investor alike.  Luckily even at the beta stages this game is delivering.  There is no leveling or leveling incentive, there are leaderboards and achievements for people who need that kind of incentive (ok I love achievements and sometimes I play a game a certain way to get them myself), but weapons are loaded out by class and can be picked up off the field.

The vehicles are purposely difficult to learn how to drive, especially aerial vehicles which is on purpose, it makes it so that FPS or TPS crazed players can’t come in and be instant masters of the field (average life expectancy on a noob copter pilot is measured in seconds) but because everyone comes in with a preload of weapons even a noob has a chance of scoring a kill.  It is a really nice balance between difficult to master vehicles and everyone being able to have the same access to weapons that makes it so that you will see plenty of players on foot taking on vehicles and winning.  You also learn which maps you can negotiate best on foot, with certain vehicles and which weapons will serve you best.

Maps are a fairly familiar format to players of FPS.  There are two activities and two ways of winning.  First the maps all have flags and resources, captured flags becomes spawn points and give points, resources can be captured from a neutral location or an enemy base, depending on the map.  In the case of resources at bases you have to defend yours while trying to capture theirs.  The team that has the most points when time runs out or gets 8 resources claimed first is the winner.  So you can be blasting the heck out of the enemy and wind up VIP but you had better be paying attention to the supplies getting captured to or you can lose.  I have been on some of the beta servers where the enemy has three players to my one but I know the map better and I am hustling to capture their resources while defending my own and won even with them capturing and guarding the flags.

I think there are plenty of times that the players are in it more for the fun fray rather than the win.  That is one of the nice aspects of this gameplay, you can just jump into a game after a long day at work and just have some ass kicking fun.  It is made so that you don’t have to take the game too seriously, you don’t have to worry about leveling so you can unlock certain gear.  This is a point the developers wanted to strongly make.  This game isn’t taking itself too seriously, heck today in a beta match I got killed by a harpoon.  A harpoon!  The person followed it up with a taunt, which are fun and while the statements are random the gesture is not…

And in a way that is kind of the point of the gameplay, it is just to have a bloody blasting good time.  There is no single player campaign to drag their resources away from the multiplayer fights development as well as the fact people almost always have complaints about the single player games such as too short, not enough storyline, all of which get tossed out the window when the game is just multiplayer.  Developing a good AI can also slow down the development process greatly and they wanted to make sure they made good on their Kickstarter promise of a good game by a certain time.  This is an Indie team that is trying to put out a multiplayer game that is both fun and easy to jump in and play by the most of it’s gaming base (and investors) that it can.

First Round:

This game is still in beta and can go through some more changes and refinements by the time it releases in a week.  That being said it is a fun game that as great to look at as it is to play.  It is a mulitplayer post apocalyptic vehicular FPS as it claimed it would be on Kickstarter when it earned it’s funding and the attention of the gaming community, but it plays well with the big boys which shows a lot of heart put into the little shooter that could.  It has all the play elements a player could ask for with 2 ways to win, 8 locations, 10 characters, 10 vehicles and 28 different weapons and up to 64 players in a match.  I look forward to seeing how the game fairs after it releases and hope to see map packs and possibly expansions in the future to keep the game fresh, they already have the next vehicle planned.

In the meantime you can expect to see me plenty of times with the beta players.

Trailer:

Gallery:

Winchester Mystery House Fright Nights Review

2012/10/05
Ripper71
Halloween, News, Reviews

Let’s face it, The Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, CA is creepy, year round.  Voted #2 of The World’s Most Haunted Places by the Travel Channel, #3 in Scariest Locations in America by HauntWorld Magazine and #5 in 10 Great Places To Get Spooked by USA Today, Winchester has a disturbing history and feel that even SyFy’s Ghost Hunters had a hard time dealing with.  So when they decided to add a maze to the grounds last year to go with their seasonal Flashlight Tours it was enough to have you peering into shadows without all the scare actors out there to give you extra goosebumps and terror jumps.  But was it enough to bring you back for more a second year?

The Curse Of Sarah Winchester: The Resurrection

With an estimated 40 minute run time and over 100 scare actors, The Curse maze is one of the longer mazes to be found during the haunting season and utilizes massive amounts of the Winchester estate that normally isn’t seen by the average visitor.  As you take in old machinery and buildings dating back to the early days of Sarah Winchester’s days of reign over the grounds you constantly feel you are being watched and most of the time you are right.  As you wonder if a statue at one location is a permanent part of the estate, its head slowly turns and regards you emotionlessly.  As you notice overgrowth trying to reclaim an old shack part of it lurches forward and a scare actor in a gilly suit gives you a start.  You walk down the path made famous for Sarah Winchester sightings and around the corner walks a woman in white, slowly strolling with her face lit by a candle.  For every one of these subtle creepy scares there is two jolting, terrorizing ones as at every turn there is something designed to scare the wits out of you.  A white sheet on a clothesline suddenly has the worlds “Go Away” scrawled across it in blood only to have it fade away a moment later.  A tricycle without a rider slowly pedals it’s way into your path as something moves in the bushes nearby.

If it seems like I am giving away all the scares, I am not. This is just a small sample of what you can expect on the extensive walk through the maze and the scare you get one time will have an entirely different one get you next time.  It is unscripted and there are multiple ways to get you in any given location, especially since all the locations would be creepy to walk through even without scare actors and special effects.  You are walking what is reputed to be some of the most haunted ground in the world, there is always a chance that the next scare you get might not be from an actor.  The sets are built to use these grounds well too, sometimes making significant additions, other times just letting you walk through old machinery and chains that have been in disuse for decades.  Some scares are designed to give a bit of a laugh, some to be disgusting but all to be scares and for a single maze The Curse Of Sarah Winchester: The Resurrection packs a lot of terror in for your buck as well as giving you an off the beaten path tour of this bone chilling estate.  When you go, and we highly recommend you do, make sure to get the Front Of The Line VIP pass so you can get front of the line and go through multiple times because the maze is never the same twice. Between some very cutting edge scares, the appropriately haunting soundtrack composed by Southern California musician Jon Autopsy and the just plain old creepy natural environments of the Winchester House it’s almost like a maze was begging to be built here.

“Walk With The Spirits” Flashlight Tour

We have done the Winchester Mystery House tour a couple of times before and, though it is always creepy when you do it during the day with a big group, you often find yourself with at least a couple of people who were dragged along on the tour and really don’t care about it and spend the whole time talking about other stuff.  When we took the Flashlight Tour a couple years ago we found a much more dedicated crowd as we all walked through the house led by a tour guide full of haunting lore and armed only with clunky old fashion yellow flashlights like something out of a Scooby Doo episode.  We did it last year as well, soaking in the atmosphere and watching every shadow to make sure they moved from our flashlights and not of their own accord.  You found you didn’t want to stand in the corners because someone in the group would inevitably get spooked and think you were… well a spook and hit you right in the face with the flashlight beam.  It was creepy as heck and you really found yourself believing every story you had heard about the place and waiting for your brush with the supernatural.

Well you would think that would be hard to top but this year they did.  We found ourselves behind a very large group of babbling people, making a huge amount of noise and distraction, their flashlights shining in everyone’s faces and since the old clunkly flashlights have been replaced by handy and tiny black and red LED ones those lights really hurt the eyes.  Then we got handed a wand and headset each.  Wait, what was this?  We smiled as the obnoxious, though enthusiastic, group walked away and we waited… to start our self guided tour.  Stepping into the modern age of electronics  The Winchester Mystery House people had invested in tour wands like you would see at LACMA or another large museum and now we were on a tour of two working our way through the house at our own pace, avoiding crowds of people and taking in the great voice acting of the narrator.  The stories about the house were all there, told by the guides who witnessed the events in their own words while in between the creepy sounding narrator pointed out the key features of the house.  Once a track of narration was done you could move onto the next location and continue the tour or you could stay where you are, maybe turn off your flashlight, and just take in the atmosphere of the room.  If this wasn’t quite enough for you there were a couple scare actors at certain spots in the house to get your pulse racing a bit when you see their face in a dark crawl space peering back at you.

Last Call:

The Winchester Mystery House is a great place to visit any day of the week but if you really want to get the full experience of the house and its grounds the time to go is Fright Nights when you can do the Curse Of Sarah Winchester: The Resurrection Maze and the self guided “Walk With The Spirits” Flashlight Tour.  With a 40 minute maze and a tour that runs around the same length depending on the individual you get quite a bit of time for your money and we highly recommend going through the maze more than once since it is never the same twice.  Take your time, take in the extremely well done soundtracks throughout the maze, take in all the details both created and found on the grounds and keep an eye out for the man pushing the wheel barrel who looks out of place, he might not be part of the planned events.

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California’s Great America Halloween Haunt Review

2012/10/05
Ripper71
Halloween, News, Reviews

Cedar Fair implemented something nationwide which I think may be one of the smartest moves we have seen a theme park chain make: they created haunts.  I’m sure there were some wondering about the wisdom in this but to haunt nerds like us they made it so that I want to tour all Cedar Fair parks sometime during the month of October.  At this point, however,  we can’t afford to travel too far so thankfully they implemented it at a second park in California and near Winchester Mystery House no less so that a fright-filled weekend can be had!  This one is at California’s Great America and though they share certain elements with the other Cedar Fair haunts they have definitely made it all their own.

Mazes And Zones

Slaughter House Annihilation (Maze)

Description:

There’s too many people in the world and not enough food. This Slaughterhouse takes care of both problems.  A constant feed of humans are being subjected to the grinders which keep the river of blood flowing through this dark complex.  It’s a virtual cornucopia of bloody remains as parts are ground into a tasty meat treat, using a very special recipe which includes one very special ingredient … You.  Do not let the fear paralyze you as you attempt to escape from the edge of Annihilation.

Experience:

Slaughter House Annihilation is a gross out maze and they do it really well.  Using elements of the original Slaughter House maze at Knott’s Berry Farm which was about a meat processing plant for food chains that used “long pig” as well as regular pig, Slaughter House Annihilation has taken on Apocalypse aspect so that mixing humans into the meat is survival rather than appetite.  It has gore and grinding meat all over the very unsanitary looking meat plant and the scare actors look like every backwoods horror movie nightmare.  It is a good scare and an appetite killer all in one, especially if the thought of being sliced, diced and served up for dinner makes you nervous.

Club Blood: Revamp’d (Maze)

Description:

Follow the creatures of the night to the hottest nightclub around, Club Blood.  This club has it all, the latest beats, the hottest dancers, but there’s just one problem…it’s overrun by hungry vampires waiting to feast on their next victim.  Watch your neck or you’ll be next!

Experience:

Let’s face it even if they have a tendency to get a bit overdone, everyone enjoys a vampire maze, especially if it has some sexy female vampires.  Club Blood takes you to a back alley club where you are on the drink menu and they think you would be good to the last drop.  The club is the danger scare where sexy dancers and bulky bouncers make your blood start pumping before you are sent into the back room and back alleys where the jump scares show up in full force.  The males in the group tend to lag behind a bit in the club but there are scares for the whole group once the poles are left behind.  It didn’t seem that “Revamp’d” from previous years but this is still a blood pumping, rocking maze.

CornStalkers (Maze)

Description:

A cult of evil scarecrows lies in wait in this overgrown path of debris, hay bales and cornstalks.  Guests must weave their way through this twisting maze of bedlam, dodging a series of dead ends and avoiding the stalkers who are “dead-set” on forbidding anyone to escape.

Experience:

In a poorly lit, back section of the park, CornStalkers gets a great deal of it’s scares through misdirection and the fact that it is so hard to tell a straw dummy from a person in a dark maze of hay bales and corn stalks.  Even seasoned haunters in our group got some pretty decent scares in here as they expected the scare from one place and was completely caught off guard.  The first year they had this maze there was a tractor horn and lights that paralyzed you, it is either an effect that didn’t work when we were there or isn’t done anymore due to it being so disorienting but I kind of miss it.  There is also an animatronic at the end that could do for some repositioning or retheming.  Otherwise the maze has a great hard working cast that know the ground so well they can constantly change up their scares and deliver a different experience each time through.

Werewolf Canyon (Maze)

Description:

Be careful as you venture deep into the murky woods through a hunter’s trail where the hunters have become the hunted. A pack of blood-thirsty werewolves have taken revenge on those who dare invade their domain. With only the full moon’s light to help you navigate through…can you make it out alive?

Experience:

Backwoods settings are always creepy because we have been taught by horror movies that bad things happen out there.  There’s cabins, trails, and camps that have all been overrun and become the home of werewolves just waiting for some poor fools to go wandering out into nature during a full moon.  Though you know you can mostly expect werewolves to be the attackers there is a nice variety of scare actors and the dense nature atmosphere gives tons of places to hide and scare from.  This maze has lots of growls in it but they are usually followed by screams.  Always a good scare.

Toy Factory (Maze)

Description:

Once a place where dreams were made, this toy factory is now a place where nightmares come true! The maniacal factory workers are manufacturing a variety of disturbing new toys and novelty items for their demented amusement, using any part available, including human parts. Buyers beware as your favorite toys have now been turned against you, or you’ve been turned into one of them.

Experience:

This maze has the most addictive theme song I have ever heard.  Ever, ever?  Ever, ever.  The moment you hear it you get a bit of goosebumps and the rest of the night you will be humming the tune.  The Toy Factory uses a variety of scares, often a false sense of security or distracted amusement followed by a good solid scare.  The make up and masks range from something you would expect to see in a Disney parade to a Rat Fink character and they all have something creepy to say or do.  The mazes twisted take on childhood toys and games makes it one of the most popular mazes in the park and consistently there is a line so if you see it short jump in!  The maze also has one of the longest claustrophobia hallways we have ever seen, we have seen it reduce guests to tears and seen seasoned haunt veterans decide not to go through the maze a second time because of this daunting hall.

CarnEvil 3D (Maze)

Description:

Hurry! Hurry! Step right up and don’t be shy! The most gruesome carnival is back in town. Get ready to face your worst childhood fears as demonic clowns and other freaks of nature terrify guests at every corner where they have turned the tables to make you the attraction!

Experience:

This maze has taken a bit of a beating over the years and is a little worse from wear.  That being said it has excellent 3D and a strong cast of scare actors that take your mind off the aging set pieces and get it back on the disorienting 3D and unique scares that only can happen with the limited vision caused by 3D glasses and environment.  I have seen people go through without glasses and unless you have a massive clown phobia you lose most of the experience that way.  The actors know their space, they know what looks scary, freaky or disorienting when you are wearing the glasses so spend the buck to do the maze right.

Dead Man’s Cove – Forsaken Souls (Zone)

Description:

The Captain and his crew have been joined by ghastly creatures from the depths of the Abyss. Lost for all eternity these forsaken souls wander Dead Man’s Cove in search of treasure. Only this treasure isn’t your ordinary booty, it’s your soul! And, if you are not willing to join, they might just have to make you.

Experience:

One of the smaller scare zones but full of hard working pirates with lots of great lines and character development.  Some go for the startle scare but the menace scare is what you find a plenty as you work your way through the fog and cursed sea folk.  They have an organ that looks like it could have come right out of a Pirates Of The Caribbean movie and cannons that have long since been silenced stand sentry over the scare zone.

Underworld Alley (Zone)

Description:

In an age of darkness, at a time of evil, as night falls the Army of the Dead is awakened from their graves, looking to wreak havoc on those brave enough to enter their graveyard. These recently departed and tattered souls are lost in a world of transition and searching for the next soul to join them in a horrifying syndicate of wickedness known as Underworld Alley.

Experience:

An extremely short scare zone consisting primarily of a graveyard, it is stuffed full of lively undead folks that make sure to give you a spook or a laugh.  Since we atr so hard to scare we mostly got the funny lines from the dead but there was still a surprise or two as we went.  Working with such a small space the talent really had to work to get their scares and they did getting plenty of screams and laughs.2

The Gauntlet (Zone)

Description:

Deep within the fog, screams of pure panic pierce the night, as never before in the history of man have such bizarre creatures been seen. You see a strange traveling carnival has made The Gauntlet their home. The forces of darkness manifest themselves in a strange collection of freaks and oddities fueled by the haunting melodies of the nearby CarnEvil. There is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide in this playground of terror.

Experience:

This seems like the longest scare zone though in the dark looks can be deceiving.  The name doesn’t seem to conjure up a demented side show to me but the theme and costumes fit outside the big top of CarnEvil perfectly.  We would almost prefer something like “The Dark Side Show” or something like that but the name matters a lot less than the experience.  The talent is constantly moving through the fog and getting scares, all with their own technique based on their character which made this a really good scare zone.  All three of the scare zones are well done, we just think it would be nice to see them bigger.

FEATURED MAZE:

Madam Marie’s Massacre Manor

Description:

Money does not always buy happiness. For Madame Marie, this could not be more true.  As Louisiana’s wealthiest heiress, Madame Marie has perfected the art of Voodooism.  Enter her Manor with caution as there is nothing richer in her eyes than blood. Your visit in her lavish home will leave you breathless.

Experience:

This maze was the strongest maze we have seen so far this year and will definitely top our list at the end of the season.  Having traveled to New Orleans we know the folklore behind the maze’s story and the maze designers and scare actors did a tremendous job of creating this Voodoo experience.  From the exterior which has a definite French Quarter feel to the piano, plate setting, every single little minute detail that is created to the point that it really feels like you are walking through a decrepit abandoned house that has become the residence of ghosts and dark magics.  Besides having terrific detail there is also great use of effects, one projection effect we saw was one of the best uses of the effect we have ever seen.  With this perfect stage set the actors work to flesh out characters until they seem to inhabit the space rather than just haunt it from time to time.  This was truly the standout maze of the year at Great America and sets a new standard for mazes to come.  Our hopes are for some mirror or Pepper’s Ghost work to go along with the projections, this maze should be the start of a whole new level of production.

 Shows:

Overlord’s Resurrection

Description:

Bow down to the Overlord as he unleashes his fury onto California’s Great America! No one is safe from his army of minions…you can run, but you can’t hide.

Experience:

The opening and closing ceremony each night of Haunt, the Overlord is risen high in the air to give his speech, then lowered at the end of the end of the night speech (he is quietly lowered after a while between speeches).  A nice way to set the Haunt in motion each night.

CULTure POP

Description:

Someone is messing with the Overlord’s minions, and he is angry. For those who enter his theater, be prepared to suffer his side-splitting wrath as he unleashes the most heinous monsters around…and we’re not talking about the cast of GLEE!

Experience:

This is the pop culture satire show that many parks have under different names.  Always good for a few laughs and usually better toward the end of the season when the jokes have been fine tuned.

Ghostly Glow Party

Description:

Ghouls just wanna have fun. Come take a break from the madness and swing by the party while our spell casting DJ puts you in a trance and Ghostly Dancers awake your soul.  Wear neon clothing to attract the spirits in this all new atmosphere.

Experience:

Hot go-go dancers with club music.  There is a place to dance but most of the folks there just wind up watching the dancers because they are less scary than the ones in Club Blood.  Could turn into something later in the run when people get a feel for it, there are always people ready to go somewhere wearing glow sticks and light up clothing.

Blood Drums

Description:

Out of the beauty of the night Blood Drums is tapping into the simple and complex rhythms of fright. You will find yourself being taken away to a magical and frightening place. When the drums reach a fever pitch and the blood boils with revulsion, the mind has no compulsion. The leader will have no need in seizing souls as they will have succumbed, gladly offering up what is there for the taking. Blood Drums a mesmerizing amalgamation of cadence and sound. Brought to you by Street Drum Corps!

Experience:

These guys rock!  People wander toward their stage from all over the park for an industrial found object sound (think Stomp) as these guys pound away in thick fog and lots of metal and speakers.  Must see even if just a pause while passing.

Shocking Side Show Of Freaks

Description:

It’s all real – freakish acts that take the human tolerance for pain to new levels. The 7 foot 3 inch, George the Giant and Robin Marks will amaze onlookers as they exhibit their out of this world act of torment and anguish using fire, sledge hammers, swords and anything else they can get their hands on.

Experience:

We have been fans and followers of George the Giant for a really, really long time so we make a point of seeing him and Robin Marks appear whenever we can, usually a couple times a year.  We have seen pretty much all of their sideshow shocks at this point but that doesn’t stop us from coming back for more.  To us old fans of George seeing him is an important part of every season.

Last Call:

So we have listed and covered just about everything California’s Great America Halloween Haunt has to offer in as quick and concise manner as possible and this is still a long article!  Is this park a great deal?  Yes, especially if you go multiple times and get a season pass. If you get the Platinum pass you can get into all Cedar Fair parks for free with free parking and into their haunt events for discounted prices but admission to Great America’s Haunt is free and included with either the Gold or Platinum season pass.  We are so glad that Great America started doing their haunt and hope that with the new 49ers stadium coming in, literally across the parking lot, that they will just get bigger and better!

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Tritton AX Pro+ 5.1 Surround Headset Review (XBox 360/PS3/PC)

2012/10/03
Ripper71
News, Reviews

Sometimes when it comes to doing a product review it takes a little longer than usual because you can tell this product is a next step, that the company that made it plans to show it proudly to the world and that this product will be showing up on the competitive circuits.  You have to take a little more time with such a product to make sure it performs up to the company’s claims, that is is thoroughly tested and that it can be a new standard.  That’s why it took a little longer to review the new Tritton AX Pro+ 5.1 surround headset.

Features:

True Surround Sound headset with a microphone that will work with your PS3, Xbox 360, and PC/Mac. For the audio or movie enthusiast, the AX PRO+ is also compatible with any device that features a digital optical or 3.5mm analog 5.1 outputs.  Built on the successful AX360 Platform, the AX PRO+ features hardware Dolby Digital decoding and eight independent speakers to deliver true 5.1 surround sound audio.  Upgraded speakers have been repositioned to provide crisper sound and more accurate 3D positioning.  The vibration feature of the AX360 has been replaced by a new subwoofer that delivers improved low end punch and skull rattling bass.  Other advancements include an easy to use illuminated inline controller with a microphone mute switch, independent volume control for game/chat, and the ability to custom tailor volume levels.  With the ability to connect the microphone via the Xbox 360 controller port, USB, and analog 3.5mm inputs, the AX PRO+ is the most versatile headset on the market and the only headset you’ll ever need.

  • True 5.1 Digital Audio Headset
  • Detachable microphone compatible with Xbox Live, Playstation Network (PC/Mac in Europe)
  • Digital audio connection for DVD, PC, PS3, XBOX360, and all other devices with Optical digital audio or analog 3.5mm
  • Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro Logic Certified
  • 8 speakers, 4 in each ear cup
  • Illuminated In-line volume adjustment for Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer controls
  • Separate volume control for voice chat
  • Inline microphone and volume mute switches
  • Adjustable time delay for center and rear speakers
  • Dynamic Range Control
  • Includes external 5.1 audio controller with analog 3.5mm
  • Lightweight headset with deep circumauraul design allows for comfort even during periods of extended gaming.

Installation:

This system has one of the easiest setups I have ever seen, the directions literally show a single diagram with where to plug everything into everything else.  It took minutes to set up and once you have gone through the setup procedure resetting it up or setting it up on another system only takes seconds.  The only concern I have with the setup is it assumes you have experience with optic cables and know to remove the rubber tips on them before trying to plug it in.  It won’t work if you don’t so you can figure it out pretty fast.

Testing:

Here is where things become pure joy.  There is nothing quite like throwing on these headsets and jumping into a game such as Transformers: Fall Of Cybertron and hearing explosions all around you or your favorite FPS (I don’t have a favorite so I tore through a whole bunch for this review) and listening for every sound detail to locate the enemy and hopefully get the drop on them before they get the drop on you.  With a headset of this quality not only does your experience become more immersive but your gameplay should improve because of 3D sound enabling you to better locate enemies.  It won’t make the young gamer on heads sound any less whiny or make the complainer’s expletives any less annoying but with independent game and chat sound level controls if they get too annoying you can turn them down and the game up.  If you aren’t sure if you are coming through clearly when you tell the team they should flank left and they run right down the middle you can adjust your headset so you hear yourself in it and know it was just stupidity.  I ran this headset through both XBox 360 and the PS3 on these paces and the only signs of game audio weakness turned out to be the game itself, when a headset is this good you can tell which games took the extra time to make sure their sound was exceptional.  I found it particularly enjoyable playing Damage Inc. Pacific Squadron WWII Collector’s Edition which came with a Saitek Pacific AV8R Flight Stick because the immersion was intense and complete as if they were made to go together.

After getting some game time in I started streaming some Netflix as well as watching a couple DVDs and removed the microphone which locks on but is easy to take back off.  There is just something about Dolby Digital Surround Sound which just makes everything SO much better.  When you don’t have it you think “meh everything sounds just fine, I don’t need it” which has been our case since we don’t have a surround sound system in our living room.  Then playing games or watching movies with the extra dynamic in sound makes it hard to go back to not having it.  I purposely chose shows and movies with dramatic soundtracks or explosions and got so into them I nearly jumped out of my skin when someone walked into the room.  Removing the vibration feature for a subwoofer was an excellent move and the configuration of the speakers physically places the sound in the locations needed for surround sound truly recreating the experience.

The box lists compatible devices with this model of the headset as being the XBox 360 and Playstation 3 but since I read it was PC/Mac compatible in Europe I decided to plug it into the PC and see how it works.  During this entire writeup I have been listening to a bunch of my favorite songs with the headset on, trying ones with dynamic sound and ones with bass to make sure I wasn’t missing anything.  I have been in my own world of writing and music thoroughly enjoying all at a nice level without waking up sleeping members of the household.

All this time testing on different devices brings up comfort as well which is insanely important during long term gaming sessions.  The headset is truly lightweight and comfortable with padding around the ear cups and at the bottom of the bridge where it makes contact with your head.  I could almost see getting caught up in your own thoughts and walking away from the computer/game system with them still on.  Luckily you have 12 feet of cord to realize what you are doing before they will get yanked off your head.  Usually I have a complaint about wired headsets due to them limiting the range from your device at which you can play but this longer than normal cord length is quite comfortable.

Appearance:

Appearance really shouldn’t matter that much in a headset since performance is really what makes or breaks it’s effectiveness but I would be remiss to not point out the new angular white shell on the headset which looks like it could be a part of a stormtrooper’s gear.  I had it sitting next to my Star Wars XBox 360 and a clone trooper bobblehead and it looked damn sexy.

Last Call:

The Tritton AX Pro+ 5.1 Surround Headset is the only headset you will need from now on.  It is perfect for gaming, movies, music, anything you could want the headset for and it’s connectivity allows the freedom to use it where you want.  I plan to do some traveling with my Xbox 360 and laptop in tow, and this headset is definitely going along for the ride!