IT News Head Lines (TweakTown) 05/12/2013

NVIDIA provides 1080p streaming to its Shield handheld device
NVIDIA has just added a feature to its Shield device that might just pull in a drove of new consumers - 1080p streaming. You can now use NVIDIA's GameStream console mode to stream your PC games to your TV, all at the glorious 1080p res.

Although the words 'streaming' are used, there's no wireless trickery here, unfortunately. Cables are still used, as you'll need an Ethernet cable for 1080p, and you'll also require the Shield's microUSB port, too. If you want to check out the latest update, it should be getting pushed to your Shield right now, or very soon.

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Over 2.1 million PlayStation 4 consoles sold so far
With the PS4 now launched in more countries, Sony has said that it has sold a "record-setting" 2.1 million units of its next-generation console. With the PlayStation 4 now finding a home in 32 countries, many of them selling out of the console itself.

Andrew House took to the PlayStation Blog, where he said: "It's an impressive and record-setting accomplishment for our company and for our industry, and we couldn't have done it without you. I want to personally thank PlayStation fans, both old and new, for your vote of confidence."
House promised that the PS4 would continously evolve, and added: "In addition to an incredible line-up of PS4 games from the best developers in the world," he said, "we will continue to introduce valuable new features and services to PS4 in the months and years ahead."

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Ask the Experts: Which phone should I get? Nexus 5? Galaxy S4 mini?
Our Ask the Experts section has a new question, where we have Midhun from India wanting to pick up a new smartphone, but is torn between the Nexus devices, the Galaxy S4 mini and the Xperia SP smartphones.

Q: I am planning to buy a mobile and here are my choices:

• Galaxy s4 mini
• Nexus 4
• Nexus 5
• Xperia SP

I am not a big gamer, but I am looking for a good battery life and does a lot of browsing and WhatsApp. The S4 mini has QHD screen and the rest have HD screens, so when coming to the application support will I face the problem of non supported apps with S4 mini?
A: You can view the answer to Midhun's question right here.

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MemTest86 V5 is here, includes support for UEFI BIOS, and much more
There are those of you out there, like us, that would be using MemTest86 to test if your RAM is faulting, or stable at a certain speed. Well, PassMark Software, the developer behind MemTest86, has announced that MemTest86 V5 is out.

Version 5 includes a bunch of new features, including UEFI BIOS support, secure boot support, a native 64-bit binary, "significant" speed improvements, ECC RAM support, and the ability to write test reports to the bootable USB drive itself. The biggest feature to take away from this is the 64-bit binary, because up until today, every other version of MemTest86 was 32-bit only.
There are now two editions of MemTest86, the first is a free edition, but the Pro edition is $49, and comes on a pre-made USB drive. Pro edition supports ECC RAM and custom reports. You can read more on MemTest86 V5, and get it for yourself, here.

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DisplayPort 1.3 standard will support 8K, oh and 4K in 3D
DisplayPort technology is continuously improving, with DisplayPort 1.3 now being teased with some huge improvements. DP 1.3 will feature a bitrate of 8.1 Gbps per channel, up from 5.4 Gbps found in DP 1.2.

We should see a wonderful world where multiple 4K displays are supported from a single cable - something I'm longing for as I type this on a 4K display - and DP 1.3 will allow this. DP 1.3 will see support for 8K thanks to its insane bandwidth of a theoretical 32.4 Gbps. We should also see 4K 3D support ushered in with DisplayPort 1.3, which will be another awesome addition going into 2014.
Unfortunately, we won't see the fruits of high-resolution labor until sometime in 2014 - where we'll see it announced, but it won't be pushed into devices until 2015.

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Thecus begins shipping N2310 NAS in North American market
Today Thecus announced the launch of its latest entry-level home and small office NAS. The all new N2310 is a 2-bay Network Attached Storage device that is packed with features you would expect from Thecus. The new N3210 features support for RAID 0, 1, and JBOD and packs in hardware that will ensure speed and reliability.

"Not only does the N2310 pack in a lot of the capabilities of larger and more expensive units, but it does so with style," said Florence Shih, General Manager at Thecus. "This dashing little black box can store up to 8TB of data with an unprecedented level of energy efficiency. In fact, powering the N2310 for an entire year would only cost you $5.03 in the US."

The N2310 also features a built-in FTP server, BitTorrent Client, and even Plex Media Server support that allows users to stream content to TVs, Xbox 360, and any other device running Plex's streaming client. The device also features two USB ports that enable users to easily copy over photos and files from external drives, as well as a printer, turning the NAS into a central print server. The Thecus N2310 is available now and retails at an MSRP of $169.99.

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Android KitKat installed on 1.1-percent of devices a month later
Android 4.4 aka "KitKat" has officially been released to the public for about a month now and a new report says that KitKat has made its way onto 1.1-percent of all Android devices. This may not sound like much, but when you consider that at the moment, Android 4.4 only supports a handful of devices at the moment.

The numbers come straight from Google's Android Dashboard, a tool that tracks the installation of Android on devices that access the Google Play Store. The Android market is still dominated by Jelly Bean installs, and most likely will be until deep into 2014 when we see more devices being opened up to KitKat.

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Apple patents yet another method for unlocking your iPhone
If unlocking your iPhone via your fingerprint was not easy enough, Apple has been granted a patent on yet another unlocking method. The new method would all you to unlock your phone by simply looking at it. This time Apple wants not only your fingerprint to be saved on the device, but for your face to be digitized and saved as well.

Apple says that in addition to simply unlocking the device, this facial recognition could be used to launch or open up specific apps on the device. Android has had this functionality for a while now, and so has Apple. About two years ago, Apple was awarded a similar patent that used different control methods for facial recognition. With the companies recent purchase of PrimeSense, they could take this patent very far.

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WhatsApp for iOS updated, includes many long awaited features
WhatsApp is arguably the most popular messing apps on the planet with more than 350 million active monthly users, and today iOS users are beginning to receive an updated version of the service. This morning, WhatsApp released an updated version of its app for iOS that includes new features and performance tweaks.

The first thing users will notice is that the app now has a entirely new look, and the UI has been improved for better efficiency and appearance. The app now also features new "Broadcast to List" functionality that lets users send messages to specific contact list, which means you can now mass message co-workers, friends, family and more. New notification sounds, larger image thumbnails, and image cropping functionality have been added with the update. Head over to the source link below to download the new version of WhatsApp for iOS.

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Nokia wins patent fight, sees HTC One Mini banned from the UK
Nokia has just won a major battle in the so-called "Patent War", with a UK judge ruling that the HTC One Mini infringes on some of Nokia's patents. As a result of the ruling, the HTC One Mini has been banned from sale in the UK, and all sales must halt by December 6th, or HTC will face major fines.

Additionally, the company could see its flagship, the HTC One, banned from sale in the UK as well, which could cripple the already troubled manufacturer. The judge presiding over the matter did acknowledge that this would cause considerable damage to HTC and has postponed ruling on the one until HTC has had time to appeal. HTC says that it has agreed to cease all imports of its devices, until the appeal hearing has concluded.

The patent violations are based on certain chip sets used in the HTC One and One mini, and HTC says that it is working with chip suppliers to look into alternative chip solutions that could allow the devices back on the market. "HTC is pleased by the decision of the High Court of England and Wales to stay an injunction against certain chip sets, including those in our flagship HTC One, pending the outcome of our appeal against the validity and infringement of Nokia's EP 0 998 024 patent." the company said in a statement.

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ROCCAT begins shipping its Kone Pure in Phantom White
ROCCAT's Kone series of gaming mice are some of the best on the market today, and its Kone Pure Color line allows for optimum gaming performance while breaking the black gaming mouse mold. This week, ROCCAT announced the release of the new Phantom White Kone Pure Color to the line of colorful peripherals.

Much like the other Kone Pure mice, the Phantom White version of the Kone Pure Color features a high-end 8,200 DPI Pro-Aim R3 laser sensor and high quality Omron switches. The mouse includes exclusive ROCCAT Technology such as Easy-Shift[+], Easy-Aim and ROCCAT Talk that ensures you have an edge over the competition that will land you in the top spot at the end of the match.

The original Kone was the first product ROCCAT developed in 2008. CEO and Founder René Korte, reminisces about the beginning days of ROCCAT: "Early on, I was involved in the professional gaming scene. So, I was aware of the many professional players who were dissatisfied with their gaming devices. Since then our overall mission has been to build high-quality peripherals that satisfy the needs of all ambitious gamers."

Five years later, known for its powerful performance, the Kone series is one of the most successful gaming devices in the world. Although the Kone series has set new standards for gaming mice, the evolution will continue.

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Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who with an awesome Blu-ray
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of BBC's sci-fi classic Doctor Who along with this week's release of the 50th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor on Blu-ray, we have one huge Doctor Who prize pack up for grabs, thanks to our friends at Village Roadshow Home Entertainment.

One lucky winner will take home a mammoth collection of Who goodness, including the complete seasons 1-7 of the reboot series, along with the 50th anniversary special The Day of the Doctor on Blu-ray 3D and 2D. That's a total of 28 Blu-ray discs, with a retail price of over $500 AUD!
To go into the running, simply correctly answer the following question:
Name the Doctor's nemesis and creator of the Daleks
Send your answers, along with your shipping address to ben@tweaktown.com before the competition closes on Friday the 6th of December. Please note that the Blu-ray discs are in PAL format, and can only be watched in PAL (Australia and Europe) regions.

The Day of the Doctor, along with seasons one to four are available on 3D Blu-ray from Australian retailers starting Wednesday the 4th of December.

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Nintendo's 3DS gets YouTube App but not 3D video support
Nintendo 3DS users have been asking for a YouTube app since its release and today, YouTube has officially arrived on the handheld gaming console. At the moment, the app is only available in North America, and Europe and it is unclear when Nintendo will expand to other regions.

The app allows YouTube Videos to play on the 3DS' top screen while the lower screen shows related content. Playback is controlled via button on the device including the L and R shoulder buttons. Unfortunately Nintendo chose not to include any support for 3D video playback, which limits the content available on YouTube by some but not significantly enough to matter. It was an interesting choice though as the 3DS is know for its 3D capabilities.

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OCZ announces Chapter 11 bankruptcy asset acquisition by Toshiba
In what is certainly one of the last pages in the OCZ saga, the company announced this afternoon that it has signed an asset purchase agreement with Toshiba Corporation to acquire substantially all of OCZ's assets in a chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding for $35 million.

The acquisition will land Toshiba access to OCZ's proprietary controller, firmware, and softeare and well as the engineering teams responsible for these technologies. OCZ will continue to operate and server existing and future customers during a transition phase, and Toshiba will provide the company with the capital to operate during this period. The sale is expected to finalize within the next 60-days.
SAN JOSE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/02/13 -- OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: OCZ), a leading provider of high-performance solid state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced that the Company has signed an asset purchase agreement with Toshiba Corporation, a global technology leader and manufacturer of NAND flash memory, to acquire substantially all of OCZ's assets in a chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding for $35M. Under this agreement Toshiba will acquire OCZ's client and enterprise solid state drive business. OCZ will continue to operate and serve existing and future customers during this process. Toshiba has agreed to provide the Company with DIP (Debtor-in-Possession) financing to ensure that there is adequate capital and flash supply to support the business during the contemplated sale period. The consummation of the asset purchase agreement is subject to an auction and approval by the bankruptcy court in the Company's bankruptcy case.
This acquisition will provide Toshiba with access to OCZ's proprietary controllers, firmware and software, as well as the teams responsible for bringing these solutions to market, in addition to OCZ's established brand and sales channels. This strategic opportunity will bring critical controller IP and NAND supply all under one global organization, allowing for an even more robust and competitive solid state solution offering for all of OCZ's and Toshiba's mutual customers moving forward.
"Over the past year, OCZ has dealt with numerous issues which have stressed the company's capital structure and operating model, posing a challenge to achieving near term profitability. The combination of NAND flash supply constraints and credit issues have impacted our ability to satisfy the demands of our customers; this combined with increased pricing pressure in our industry have contributed to our on-going operating losses. On an operational basis, we completed a complex investigation, several restructurings and a multi-year restatement that added significantly to our working capital requirements," stated Ralph Schmitt, CEO of OCZ. "We have been working diligently on this partnership with Toshiba and we believe that this is the best outcome under our current corporate conditions."
"We are excited to participate in this opportunity. If our bid is successful, the combination of our leading NAND technology with OCZ's SSD expertise will allow us to further strengthen Toshiba's SSD business," said Mr. Seiichi Mori, Vice President of Toshiba's Semiconductor and Storage Company and Corporate Vice President of Toshiba. "We value OCZ's SSD business and technology in both the consumer and enterprise markets, and we are confident that it will reinforce our capabilities and help us to secure leadership in the SSD market."
This transaction has been approved by the Board of Directors of OCZ, and it is expected that the sale will close within approximately 60 days.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this release relate to future events and expectations and as such constitute forward-looking statements involving known and unknown factors that may cause actual results of OCZ Technology Group, Inc. to be different from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. In this context, words such as "will," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "should" or other similar words and phrases often identify forward-looking statements made on behalf of OCZ. It is important to note that actual results of OCZ may differ materially from those described or implied in such forward-looking statements based on a number of factors and uncertainties, including, but not limited to a successful conclusion of the court-supervised auction process, if Toshiba is the successful bidder in the court-supervised auction process, the satisfaction of the closing conditions in the Toshiba agreement and the other general economic, business and financing conditions and factors are described in more detail in "Item 1A -- Risk Factors" in Part I in OCZ's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on October 7, 2013, and statements made in other subsequent filings. The filing is available both at http://www.sec.gov as well as via OCZ's website at http://www.ocz.com. OCZ does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.

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Microsoft's Xbox One Black Friday battle in the console war
The so-called "Console Wars" formed earlier this year when Microsoft and Sony began a dance to see who could one up the others new features on its next-gen console, and it appears that Microsoft may have won a major battle. A newly released report from InfoScout is suggesting that Microsoft took home the majority of console sales during Black Friday.

The retail analytic firm gathered data from about 83,000 shopping receipts, and the figures state that the $499 Xbox One topped sales at both Walmart and Target. In fact Microsoft garnered both the top and second spots with the Xbox One capping 31-percent of the Black Friday market share. The Xbox 360 managed to hold onto 30-percent which means Microsoft held 61-percent of console sales on Friday.
The report lost Sony as holding a mere 30-percent of sales with the PS3 and PS4 capping 15-percent each. Nintendo managed to grab a measly 7-percent with the Wii U accounting for 6-percent while the Wii walked away with barely 1-percent. What does this mean for the PS4? Since it has been released for a several weeks now, I think that many of its big sales numbers are over, and Microsoft led sales due to the close proximity of its Xbox One launch, combined with massive discounts on Xbox 360 units.

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Motorola's Moto G arrives on Amazon for pre-order, shipping Dec 4th
Up until now, the only way to get your hands on one of Motorola's low-cost Moto G Android-based smartphones was to order it from the official Motorola website, but today the company announced that customers could purchase it through Amazon.com. Pre-orders for the Moto have been available on Amazon since early morning and the company says that orders will begin shipping on December 4th.

The Motorola Moto G features a 4.5-inch 720p screen and a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor that has been clocked at 1.2GHz. 1GB of RAM is on hand to keep things moving nice and smooth, while a 5-megapixel rear camera handles imaging duties. Unfortunately LTE support is missing, and only 3G radios are installed. The phones pricing points make up for this though, with an 8GB model retailing for $179 off contract, and 16GB for $199 with no contract.

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BIOSTAR wants you to mine bitcoins with its two new motherboards
Today BIOSTAR unveiled two new motherboards that it says are the ideal solution for mining Bitcoins. The first board is based on an Intel H81 chipset and supports Intel's socket 1150 CPUs, while the second features an H61B chipset and socket 1155 support. This allows Bitcoin mining using Intel 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generation Core processors.

Both of the boards feature PCI-E 3.0 support and include a single 16x slot and 5 PCI-E 1x slots. The Hi-Fi H81S2 V.6.X supports two DDR3 DIMM modules, and connectivity is handled via 2x SATA 3 connectors and 2x SATA 2 connectors. USB 3.0 is featured on two ports while two other ports as well as the USB headers are version 2.0. Gigabit Ethernet is present as well.

The H61B v 6.1 supports socket LGA 1155, and can house up to two DDR3 DIMMs. Four SATA 2 ports are available while all of the on-board USB is version 2.0. Gigabit Ethernet is present as well as on-board VGA graphics and serial out. Load either of these boards up with several AMD Radeon or NVIDIA GeForce GPUs and enjoy all of the bitcoins you can mine!

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Comet ISON is no more, new images show that it has fizzled out
Back when I first reported on Comet ISON, the entire astronomical community was convinced that if given the chance, ISON would bloom into the brightest comet in recorded history. ISON was deemed something special because this visit was its first into the inner solar system, and no one knew how it might react to the suns immense heat.

As ISON passed earth and headed towards the sun, it brightened a great bit and it looked as though we might get the spectacular once in a lifetime show that had been promised, but on Thanksgiving day that all changed. As the comet approached perihelion it seemed to take a quite sharp turn into the sun and hours passed without any sign of the ball of ice and rock. Shortly after many had declared ISON dead, a glimmer of hope appeared in the form of a bright v shaped cloud of dust that was heading away from the sun.

Many though that a fraction of ISON may have survived and that just a rocky nucleus was all that was left. If true, ISON could have flared back up to naked eye visibility once it was far enough away from the sun to not be out-shown by the suns glare. Unfortunately what we though was a solid intact nucleus turned out to be fragments of the comet that were rapidly disintegrating, and new images have shown that the bright dust trail left by ISON's remains have began to fade into obscurity. As of today, the official word appears to be that ISON has met its fate and was mostly vaporized upon its entry into the Suns coronasphere.

Not all is lost though as ISON has provided enough data to keep scientist busy for decades. The images we have of ISON approaching perihelion and of its remnants leaving the Sun will provide valuable insight into how comets react during approach to the sun, and how the Suns magnetosphere affects the comets trajectory. Additionally, since ISON was on its first trip into the solar system from the Oort Cloud, we could see a spectacular meteor shower when the Earth passes through ISON's debris field next year.

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Steam saw more than 7 million concurrent users online yesterday
Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony would like you to believe that PC Gaming is dead and the only way to have a good experience with next-gen games is to purchase a console, but new figures in from over the weekend proves that PC gaming is here to stay. Website VG247.com says that yesterday, Valve broke a new record for concurrent users on its Steam platform.

Around 11AM on Sunday, December 1st Steam saw over 7 million concurrent users on the service all gaming at the same time. This represents a new record for Valve, and is more than 400,000 users larger than its previous record which was set this past January. Dota 2 was the most popular title with more than 542,000 users playing at once, while Counter Strike: Global Offensive came in second with 93,905 users playing at the same time. Skyrim, Civilization V, and Football Manager 2013 round out the top five.

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Oppo will launch its N1 on December 10th for just $599
The long awaited Oppo N1 is almost here and today the company announced that it will officially launch next week on December 10th. If you have not heard of Oppo before now, do not worry much as the Chinese company deals in high-end Android smartphones with a relatively low cost, making them hot items for hardcore Android enthusiast.

The Oppo N1 features a 5.9-inch screen that boast a full 1080p resolution and wide viewing angles thanks to IPS technology. A quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor is included and has been clocked to 1.7GHz, while 2GB of RAM is present to keep everything running smooth. The device will be available in either 16GB or 32GB configurations, and a single rotatable camera will be present for front and rear imaging duties. The Oppo N1 will retail for $599 in the US, and can be purchased directly from Oppo.

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G.SKILL announces The Ultimate Christmas Giveaway
The months of November and December are widely regarded as the Season of Giving, and a new giveaway from G.SKILL, Sapphire, ASRock, and Enermax gives like never before. G.Skill is hosting the Ultimate Christmas Giveaway that features some heavy-hitting hardware that will take you to the next level of gaming this holiday season!

Entering the contest is quite simple and only involves liking a few pages on Facebook and sharing a photo on your wall. The official entry form can be found here. Winners will be picked randomly by members of the G.SKILL marketing team, and the company says that the contest is open worldwide with the exception of those employed by G.SKILL, ASRock, Enermax, and Sapphire.
Prizes include an ASRock Fatality Z87 Killer motherboard, 32GB of G.SKILL TridentX RAM, a Platimax 1350W PSU from Enermax, Sapphire Radeon Dual-X R9 270X, Enermax ETS T40BK CPU Cooler and Enermax T.B. Apollish 120mm fan. Other prizes include a G.SKILL Polo, ASRock Killer MousePad, G.SKILL RipjawsX RAM, and an Enermax Revolution XT 730W PSU.

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Cyber Monday has arrived and here are some of the webs best deals
Some people thrive on the adrenalin rush that comes from fighting the hoards of turkey stuffed shoppers on Black Friday, but there are those of us who play it smart and enjoy the weekend after Thanksgiving and never enter a store. That is because we know that the biggest deals of the year come with the massive online sales that Cyber Monday brings.

I took a few moments this morning to round up what I think may be some of the best deals on the web today. Everything from mobile phones to tablets, and even 3D Printers are listed, but some of the sales have limited stock and are a first come first serve kind of thing.
Tablets:

• Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7-inch 16GB Wi-Fi $119
• Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 7-inch 16GB Wi-Fi $179
• Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch 16GB Wi-Fi $229
• Barnes & Nobel Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight $49
• Dell Venue 8 Android $129
• Dell Venue 8 Windows 8.1 $270
• Google Nexus 7 16GB Wi-Fi $199
• Sony Xperia Tablet Z $450

Smartphones:

• Motorola Moto X off contract for any carrier just $349
• Amazon offering HTC One for $0.01 with 2 year contract.
• Amazon Offering LG G2 for $0.01 with 2 year contract.

Gaming:

• Microsoft Xbox One Day One Bundle $50 off at Microsoft Store
• Amazon.com Skylanders SWAP Force $50
• Amazon.com Battlefield 4 $39.99
• Amazon.com The Last of Us $34.99
• Amazon.com Batman: Arkham Origins $39.96
• Amazon.com Turtle Beach Ear Force XP510 Premium Wireless Headset $199.99
• Thrustmaster VG Ferrari Vibration GT Cockpit 458 Italia Edition for Xbox 360 $229

HD TVs

• Amazon.com 240Hz 46-inch Samsung LED Ultra Slim Smart TV $1298
• Amazon.com 55-inch Panasonic 3D Plasma HDTV $1500
• Newegg.com 39-inch LG HDTV $300
• Amazon.com Panasonic's 60-inch TC-P60VT60, 600Hz 3D plasma HDTV $1749
• Best Buy 65-inch 1080p Samsung HDTV $1099

3D Printer

• Lulzbot.com has their new TAZ 2 3D Printer on sale for just $1995
• Lulzbot.com also has all printing filiment marked down 15-percent
• RAMPS 1.4 3D Printer Controller just $22.50 from Lulzbot.com

Miscellanious Deals:

• Lytro Light Field Camera 50-percent off $199
• Nintendo 3DS XL $179 at BestBuy
• Roku HD $49 at Amazon.com
• Nikon D7000 Body only just $699 at B&H
• $100 iTunes gift card for $85 at Best Buy

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Dell's UP2414Q is nearly here, 24-inch 4K display goodness
Dell already has the Ultrasharp UP3214Q, 32-inch 4K display in its corner, but it looks like it's about to have a smaller, cheaper brother. The 24-inch monitor will arrive with the usual 3840x2160 resolution, which will see 183 pixels per inch on the display.

We also have 178/178-degree viewing angles, 99% AdobeRGB and 100% sRGB, 10-bit, 10.7 billion colors and connectivity is covered by HDMI, DisplayPort, mini-DP, four USB 3.0 ports and a 6-in-1 card reader. We should expect it as an IPS-based panel, but we can't confirm this yet. The price should be cheaper than the UP3214Q, which is still around $3500.

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Steam Autumn Sales continue, Metro: Last Light is 66% off
The Steam Autumn Sales continue, with some great games dropping in price. We have Civilization V down from $69.99 to $17.49 - a huge 75% off. Payday 2 is 55% off, dropping from $29.99 to $13.49.

Other big savings include Metro: Last Light which has dropped from $54.99 to just $18.69 - something I'm going to buy as soon as I'm finished writing this news. Far Cry 3 is a huge 75% off, from #34.95 to just $8.73.

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Amazon's Cyber Monday deals are a steal, get some great, cheap games!
Amazon is jumping in early with the Cyber Monday teases, with a huge set of games on sale for both the next- and current-gen consoles. The Cyber Monday deals start on December 2 at 3:01am ET and include:

• Madden NFL 25 - PS3, Xbox 360
• FIFA 14 - PS3, Xbox 360
• Battlefield 4 - PC, PS3, Xbox 360
• NCAA Football 14 - PS3, Xbox 360
• Need for Speed Rivals - PC, PS3, Xbox 360
• Call of Duty: Ghosts - PC, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
• Grand Theft Auto 5 - PS3, Xbox 360
• Ryse: Son of Rome - Xbox One
• Forza Motorsport 5 - Xbox One
• Dead Rising 3 - Xbox One
• Saints Row 4 - PS3, Xbox 360
• Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix - PS3
• Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn - PS3
• Elder Scrolls Anthology - PC

You can get more information on the Cyber Monday deal from Amazon, here.

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HIS Radeon R9 270 IceQ X2 2GB Video Card Review

Introduction

Apart from a few of the lower-end models that we've yet to look at, the release of the R9 270 really brings the whole line up of new AMD cards to an end. As the name suggests, the new R9 270 sits just below the R9 270X and above the R7 260X. AMD has really brought a ton of new models to the table with the new R series of cards and we've said it once and we'll say it again, AMD has really done an excellent job with these new cards.
Not only have they managed to offer some fantastic performance and some great new features, but they've really hit the nail on the head when it comes to the pricing on the cards, enough to really send NVIDIA into a bit of a stir.
Today we're looking at the new R9 270, as we've just mentioned, and this is a model that AMD has chosen to not really offer reference cards on. This isn't the first time we've seen this with the latest launch, we also didn't see a reference card for the R9 280X 3GB.
It will be interesting to see if AMD can continue the strong trend that they have going since the launch of the new series. We do wonder though, is the non X variant of the R9 270 just one model too many? Well we'll figure that all out over the coming pages. For now, let's get stuck into the package to see just what HIS is bringing to the table with the new HIS R9 270 IceQ X2 2GB.

Package

Looking at the box, you can see a very typical IceQ X2 design going on. The front gives us the brand and model along with a few of the major features. Turning it over you can see some of those major features covered in more detail, including the Full Solid State Capacitors, IceQ X2 Cooling Technology and Dynamic Phase control PWM IC along with mention the card is quieter and cooler thanks to the IceQ X2 cooler.

Taking a look above, you can see the bundle we've got going on which isn't complete unfortunately. While above you can see the manual, case sticker, and DVI to VGA connector, what you can't see are the CrossFire Bridge and Driver CD which are both included in the full retail versions of the card. The reason for the incomplete package is due to the sample coming quite early to us.
... Read the rest in your browser!

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Seagate Business Storage 8-Bay Rackmount NAS Review

Introduction

It's not every day innovation comes to network attached storage products. The category has been around for many years, standards have been set and significant new features hard to come by. In a time when other manufacturers are adding consumer features to business products, Seagate came up with something fresh, a feature so large it can only be centered on making the format smaller.
The new Seagate Business Storage NAS doubles the capacity in a 1U form factor rackmount NAS from four 3.5" HDDs to eight. In order to achieve this, Seagate stepped away from the traditional front hotswap drive sled design and moved all HDDs to the inside of the server.
Sliding rack rails and an easy to open, toolless, top cover, still allow for easy access to HDDs. The result is a staggering 32TB business storage server in a 1.75" height package that runs cool and quiet.
Let's get started now and take a close look at this Seagate NAS.
... Read the rest in your browser!

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ROCCAT Apuri Active USB-Hub with Mouse Bungee Review

Introduction

As far as mouse bungee systems go, every gaming peripheral maker worth their salt has some sort of offering to match the styling of their mice. Most of the entries I have seen also usually do one thing, and that is to maintain the cable of the mouse for a few reasons. These are pretty simple to understand the advantages. First, it allows for better cable management on the desktop. Secondly, it keeps the mouse cable up in the air so it won't fray the edges or get caught on the edges of the mouse pads. The last reason to use a mouse bungee system is to keep the mouse from falling off the desk. Since these bungees are typically weighted, and it only allows so much usable cable, you won't accidentally be yanking the cable as it heads for the floor, or it keeps the mouse from actually hitting that floor.
So with all the versions already out on the market, why should you choose the ROCCAT version, even if you don't already own one of their mice? Well on top of being just the basic bungee stand with ROCCAT emblazoned the top of it with their logo, it also adds three blue LEDs to the top, and it also offers a blue under glow effect. Taking things one step further, ROCCAT also incorporated four USB 2.0 ports into the sides of this device to allow users the ability to plug in mice, keyboard, USB drives, and charging cables. The traffic is taken from the hub via a UAB2.0 cable, but the hub is also actively powered from a wall outlet to deliver the power needs for all the various devices.
The Apuri that ROCCAT has delivered for us to test today has us intrigued. With the various solutions I have tested previously, they offered very little past the obvious functionality of tending to the mouse cable, and since have all been removed from daily use.
If wiring on the desktop is an issue, or if you are constantly having issues with braided cables on the edge of cloth pads, a mouse bungee is definitely the answer. For those of you who have no real need for a standalone bungee offering, the addition of LED lighting and the multi-port hub are reasons to make it worth your while to try this one out over all the rest.
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Cooler Master Nepton 280L AIO Liquid CPU Cooler Review

Introduction

What we have seen over the years from Cooler Master, is a company that went from pushing a lot of the same products in as many variations as they could possibly make to a company that is now thinking outside the box and relying much less on previous ideas to carry them along. Don't get me completely wrong here, we did just look at the Cosmos SE, but while using the naming, even here they made a whole new design on the inside, updating it with all the latest and greatest features. When compared to the original design, the newer version plain blows it out of the water.
What brings us together today is that same basic strategy to improve on designs already in the wild, just that this time, we are dealing with CPU cooling. Everyone knows the basic idea of what the various All-In-One liquid coolers are all about, and what every company is currently offering. While Cooler Master did start with the Seidon series of coolers that fit this standard mold to the letter, they are now branching out with the design to offer customers more than what the standard AIO can bring to the table. There are also the Eisburg series of coolers that sort of prove my point. This is where Cooler Master took the basic AIO and added a new head unit to allow for a bigger pump as well as a bit more coolant to be added to the loop. In every series, it is easy to see that Cooler Master was not happy with the OEM AIO designs, and knew they could do better.
This is where the Nepton series of AIO coolers steps in. Here, Cooler Master is offering 140mm and 280mm versions of radiators, but even here they snuck in a little surprise. While these kits are shipped with 140mm fans in both the 280mm and the 140mm version, these radiators will also take on 120mm fans. Between the radiator and the pump, the super small diameter tubing is gone and replaced with larger diameter tubing, and the head unit is also an entirely new design. Even at first glance, it is easy to tell that this isn't the standard AIO solution, and that you be getting much better efficiency with this design: it is just that obvious.
Stick with us as we put the new Nepton 280L from Cooler Master through the same paces as every other cooler to hit the labs. With all the new components, increased diameter tubing, and a larger radiator we expect good things from this liquid CPU cooler. By the time we are done here today, I think, strike that -I know, that the Nepton 280L will be on your must-have list once you absorb the results this product delivers in our testing.
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Thermaltake Massive 14 Squared Notebook Cooler Review

Introduction

Thermaltake is back at it in the laptop cooling game with a new pair of coolers that carry the Massive naming. With a name like Massive we would expect theses to be very large, but in fact they are compact coolers, and fit laptops that have seventeen inch, or smaller screens. While one of this series offers a single fan and a pair of onboard speakers, we will be getting to that one soon enough. Today we are looking at the other version, where cooling takes precedence, and it offers two fans with blue LEDs to add a bit of flair and should be able to deliver enough air flow to drop our test laptop a couple of degrees without much issue.
Thermaltake figured they could offer both versions that have similar looks, but with completely different feature sets to offer something on both sides of the fence. This is a great marketing strategy. For those on the go, or who have roommates, maybe sound blasting into the room or wherever you may be isn't the best idea. For those people who have the need to cool their laptop, and may want more than the basic height adjustments, well this version of the Massive series of coolers is right up your alley.
Today we are looking at the Massive 14 Squared, and as the name implies, it offers two fans to cool the laptop placed upon it. This isn't the average "rinky-dink" featureless cooler though. For what appears very basic upon first glance, actually have quite a few features that a lot of potential users will enjoy.
Considering other coolers that are similar in what they offer will cost well over $50, I think Thermaltake may have put together a really good option to those who need additional cooling for their laptop, and by the time we are done, you should be able to see why.
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LG G2 Smartphone Review - The New Speed King

Introduction

With all of the hoopla surrounding the Galaxy range of smartphones from Samsung, there's not much time for anything else special in the Android world. This is where reviewers like myself, and my peers on other sites, TV shows, magazines and more, have to try and wade the waters for you.
LG is definitely no stranger to the smart device world, as it is the manufacturer behind Google's Nexus 4 smartphone, which was my favorite smartphone. I hope you were paying attention there, because I did state it was my favorite smartphone.
LG reached out to me regarding the G2, asking if I would like a week with their latest smartphone, and I dived at the opportunity. It arrived on my doorstep just a couple of days later, and I dived right into it.
For those of you who don't know, this is one of the best specced smartphones on the market right now, and it is the building blocks of the $349-priced Nexus 5, which is built by LG, too. LG just cut it down and made some sacrifices here and there, but for the most part, the Nexus 5 is the G2.
Let's take a close look at the G2 now.

Specifications, Pricing and Availability

The LG G2 is a monster of a smartphone, with one of the most impressive list of specifications I've ever seen. The heart and soul of the device is Qualcomm's always-impressive Snapdragon 800 SoC, which is a quad-core part clocking in at an impressive 2.26GHz.

From there, we have the gorgeous 5.2-inch 1920x1080-pixel 'True HD-IPS' display, which provides us with a pixel density of 424PPI (or so). The screen has Corning's Gorilla Glass 2 technology on top, so you should be mostly safe from small scratches and drops.
There's 2GB of RAM onboard to provide some slick multi-tasking support, 4G LTE connectivity, along with the usual Wi-Fi, which comes with 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, and dual-band. Bluetooth 4.0 makes the usual appearance, as does Analogix Semiconductor's SlimPort technology.
Moving onto the cameras, we have a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) technology, which is backed up by a front-facing camera of the 2.1-megapixel variety. All of this is run by an impressive 3,000mAh battery, which is quite the battery for a device this thin - which is all thanks to LG Chem (a division of LG) which built a specially molded battery, which is curved, and pushes right up to the edges of the G2 itself.
This feat is impressive if you think about it, because the battery is no longer a normal square, but is curved, meaning that LG could cram some more mAh into the G2, without making it thicker. This is one of the drawbacks of the Nexus 5, the reduced 2,300mAh battery.
As for pricing, the G2 is priced at $675 on Newegg, or around $100 on a two-year plan. Availability seems to be good, so you shouldn't have an issue getting your hands on the G2.
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Corsair Flash Voyager Mini 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review

Flash drives offer us a solution to transfer files to take with us on the go. For the most part, these devices have always had one downfall, especially if you're working on a notebook - and that's size. With notebooks and tablet PCs shrinking each generation, there comes a time when the storage we use with these devices has to shrink down to size as well.
Recently, Corsair announced the availability of a complete range of new flash drives. The Mini, as the name states, is a small form factor USB 3.0 flash drive. Capacities range from 16GB and 32GB models, all the way up to an impressive 64GB model. Compatibility includes Windows, Macintosh and Linux operating system. The Flash Voyager Mini carries a very solid five year warranty.

The Corsair Mini carries a sleek dark brushed metal surface, with logos adorning the sides of the drive. At the top, the key ring is secured straight to the body of the drive.

Of course, the USB 3.0 port is properly colored to denote its capabilities.

Here we have put the Voyager Mini pictured up against a few other pico drives we have tested previously.
One of the lesser-known features of running Microsoft's new operating system Windows 8 is the native capability of USB Attached SCSI or UASP. In benchmarking flash drives, we utilize ATTO Disk Benchmark followed by DiskBench and our custom set of real-world data, and is by far the most important comparison when looking for a flash drive for everyday use.
Recently we have added our very own Price vs. Performance charts for both read and write performance of each drive, for these charts we take the average sequential performance over five runs and divide it by the price per GB. All pricing information is updated before a new drive is added and is taken from certified channel retailers such as Newegg or Amazon.

The Corsair Flash Voyager Mini is factory formatted with the FAT32 file system, insuring compatibility between Windows and Macintosh computers. The usable capacity after formatting is 57.6GB.

ATTO results were promising for the Voyager Mini. Here we see the drive peak at a rate of 79 MB/s read and 20MB/s write.

DiskBench testing threw a slight curve at the Mini, where we find the drive towards the bottom of our chart. Though, it is slightly faster than the Super Talent Pico.

Moving over to price/performance, the Voyager Mini landed itself right behind the PQI i-Mont and ahead of the Super Talent Pico.
While the Corsair Flash Voyager Mini certainly isn't a burner when it comes to performance, it does offer tremendous capacity in a very small form factor. An added bonus to this is the over durability of the unit, being a single piece design.
Touching on the drives performance, where it does offer decent read speeds of 70 MB/s. Unfortunately, most of the work with flash drives is done by writing groups of files to them and that's where we only managed 20 MB/s.
Pricing at this time for the 64GB capacity model is set at $54.99.

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Amped Wireless RTA15 High Power Dual Band 802.11AC Router Review

Introduction

The Amped Wireless RTA15 is a dual-band wireless router, supporting 300 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band and 867 Mbps utilizing the 5 GHz band. To boost the routers range, Amped Wireless has integrated two high power 2.4 GHz amplifiers, four two stage 5 GHz amplifiers, in addition to the four low noise amps and three high gain antennas.
Adding to the RTA15, we also have four gigabit Ethernet ports for connecting PCs, Network Storage and A/V devices at wire speeds. On the front of the device, you will find nine LEDs denoting everything from wireless connectivity to wired Ethernet activity and USB storage.
Let's get started now and see what this wireless router is all about.

Pricing and Availability

At this point in time, market price for the Amped Wireless RTA15 sits at $189.99, with a one year warranty.
Comparable units in the market are the ASUS RT-AC56U at $179.99, Linksys EA6300 at $199.99, Netgear R6200 at $159.99 and D-Link DIR 860L at $189.99.
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Corsair Flash Voyager LS 128GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review

The Corsair Voyager LS is a rather unique spin on the typical sliding USB flash drive design. Where standard drives slide into or out of the body of the drive, the LS carries a metal retainer that spins around the central point of the drive, revealing the USB 3.0 port.
The Corsair Flash Voyager LS has come to market in a number of capacities. These include a 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 128GB model. Compatibility of these drives extend to all modern Windows operating systems, while also including Mac OS X and Linux support. Looking into the specifications for this drive, the only marketing information I could find on was it offers "USB 3.0 performance". Warranty is listed at a very solid five years.

With the Voyager LS, Corsair went with a rather unique design. Here you can see the drive carries a metal retainer around the outside of the drive. At the top, the drive comes with a small lanyard and key ring attached.

As you spin the retainer on the LS around, the USB 3.0 port appears from within the drive.

The USB 3.0 port is colored blue, accordingly - no surprises here.

Internally, the Flash Voyager LS shares the same PCB with the Voyager Slider. Here we have the Phison PS2251.

The backside house a single NAND package at 128GB, which to me is rather impressive.
One of the lesser-known features of running Microsoft's new operating system Windows 8 is the native capability of USB Attached SCSI or UASP. In benchmarking flash drives, we utilize ATTO Disk Benchmark followed by DiskBench and our custom set of real-world data, and is by far the most important comparison when looking for a flash drive for everyday use.
Recently we have added our very own Price vs. Performance charts for both read and write performance of each drive, for these charts we take the average sequential performance over five runs and divide it by the price per GB. All pricing information is updated before a new drive is added and is taken from certified channel retailers such as Newegg or Amazon.

The Corsair Flash Voyager LS is factory formatted with the FAT32 file system, insuring compatibility between Windows and Macintosh computers. The usable capacity after formatting is 115GB.

At this point, after knowing the internal components, I had a slight idea what the performance would look like. Above, we have 138 MB/s read and 30 MB/s reads.

DiskBench landed the LS towards the bottom of our charts, but slightly quicker than the Slider, thanks to the additional capacity of our sample.

More often than not price/performance is going to be the most important factor in determining what drive you decide to purchase. Above you can see the Flash Voyager LS does quite well in this area sliding into fifth position in our charts.
As with all products that come through the test lab here at TweakTown, I like to spend a bit of time with them to get a good feel for the drive. In testing the everyday use of the drive, I found the Voyager LS really easy to use in situations where you only have a single hand free. On the other hand, I found that the durability of the drive is in question. The reason for this is the metal retainer that controls the motion of the USB 3.0 port tends to slide off its pivot point at times, leaving you to spend time snapping it back in place.
Performance of the drive was quite good with sequential reads, where we topped 150 MB/s. Sequential writes, however, were pretty low for a flash drive in this day and age. Even with the slower than normal write speeds, the price/performance chart tells the story. Here we have the drive at the top of our charts thanks to Corsairs aggressive pricing.
Pricing for the 128GB Corsair Flash Voyager LS sits at $89.99 with the smaller 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models at $15.99, $25.99 and $44.99, respectively.

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D-Link DIR-868L Dual Band AC1750 Wireless Router Review

Introduction

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If you're looking to upgrade your wireless network's capability to the newly released 802.11ac spec, there is certainly no shortage of products to help. In fact, like the days of wireless N, manufacturers are offering multiple devices, filling each performance niche in the market. While this is a good thing for users that want certain speeds and capabilities, it tends to clog up the market and lead to confusion of "what router do I buy?"
As we mentioned above, 802.11ac has introduced several markets for vendors to fill, and as such they have begun to do so with AC600, 750, 1000, 1200, 1300, 1750 and 1900 routers. At any rate you get the idea, the market has expanded rapidly and even more than ever before.
The D-Link DIR 868L is an AC1750 wireless router, as such it is also the top of the line when it comes to D-Link's portfolio. Capable of 1.3Gbps on the 5GHz band and 450Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, the 868L certainly offers, in marketing, top tier performance capabilities.
Though, we won't go into too much detail now as we're not quite sure if it has the increased range that makes the upgrade from 802.11n worthwhile.
Let's take a close look.

Pricing and Availability

As of this writing, the D-Link DIR-868L carries a MSRP of $189.99. However, I was able to find at several online retailers it priced at $169.99.
Availability is quite high at this time with Google shopping listing the router at 15 stores.
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Top 10 TweakTown Content from the past week [25 November 2013]
Here are our top 10 articles, reviews and guides from the past week!

• Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 500-Watt 80 PLUS Bronze Power Supply Review
• Western Digital Black 4TB 3.5" Consumer HDD (WD4003FZEX) Review
• Adaptec by PMC ASR-8885 12Gb/s RAID Controller Review
• NZXT Source 530 Mid-Tower Chassis Review
• LSI SandForce SF3700 SSD Flash Controller Announcement Overview

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Need for Speed Rivals Xbox One Review

Need for Speed games have generally fallen into two categories over the years; either you play as a racer trying to outrun the cops, or the game was more of a simulation style, which just focused on supercar versus supercar. Interestingly, Rivals takes the best of both worlds and concocts an interesting game that has both positives and negatives, but far more of the former, than the latter.
The first talking point with Rivals is the lack of a campaign story mode. There is a single player campaign to complete, but the story is weak and seems like it may have been an afterthought within the whole package. When you look at the rest of the games' features, it's easy to see why as well. Basically, you either play as a racer or a cop and are either fighting the cops or taking down the racers. There is story based cut scenes that play out, but really it boils down to cops vs. racers and who can win in the end.
However, it is when you look beyond the story that you start to see why some of these decisions were made. When the game begins, you are asked to either take on the racer or cop campaign, after which you can swap between the careers during any moment of the game. Each campaign is quite lengthy, so you will most likely find yourself switching between the two regularly to keep the game fresh.

There are also differences to the way the game progresses in each career. On the racer side, the focus is risk versus reward. As you complete tasks or take on cops as a racer, you gain SP points that are used to buy new cars and other items like the pursuit tech on offer. As a racer, you are constantly gambling those points. If you wreck or the police catch you, you lose all those points and that can be a significant amount at the higher heat levels.
The main aim of the racer is to build heat level which in turn builds up the multiplier applied to each point gain. The flipside is that the higher heat leads to stronger police pursuits and other resources, such as helicopters chasing you down as well. However, there is nothing more thrilling in this game than leading a pack of police cars and choppers back to the hideout to escape with little car damage left.
Once you have gained enough SP and levels, you can upgrade technology to take out cars, which makes the game a bit easier - and this is our main criticism with the racer side of the game. The punishment for failure in the early stages of the game is quite significant, and you can find yourself having to perform tasks over and over again to get enough points to progress. If you find yourself heading back to the hideout after every task, you never really get a roll going to gain the high points required. Aside from that, the racer campaign is enjoyable to race through, but interestingly enough the main fun factor from this game can be found on the cop side of the campaign.

And that is because the police campaign has some significant differences. Instead of gaining cars by buying them, you gain them by completing tasks. Whereas on the racer side, you are outrunning the cops, on the police side you are the hunter and this turns out to be a lot more fun to play. Chasing a car down, using pursuit tech and getting a capture is more interesting and that is potentially because it's something new for the Need for Speed series. You've been able to race and play as cops in the past, but nothing like this.
The campaign offers speed lists which need to be completed before progressing. Each level has three different options on both the racer and cop side and this allows you to play the game how you want.
For example, as the racer, you can choose a speed list that has you taking down cops, or just racing against other players. This level of choice keeps the game from getting boring over its fairly lengthy campaign.

One of the more interesting features of the game is the multiplayer and the integration of it within the campaign. Termed "All Drive", basically when you are playing on a console that is connected to the internet, the AI cars which feature throughout can be replaced by human players who in the game world. This also throws interesting challenges into the campaign because the difficulty of the campaign can actually be affected by how good the human players you are up against are.
When either playing as the racer or a cop, it can be enjoyable just to cruise around the huge open world that the game takes place in. In a style very similar to Burnout Paradise, the environment is full of tasks to complete that you can find just by driving around, and repairing the car is as easy as driving through a service station. This works incredibly well and really the only time you will want to stop driving is when either upgrading or buying new cars. Other than that, you are generally always-on the move. The environment the game takes place in is also impressive with a day night and weather cycle offering different challenges.

In terms of licensed cars, there is something here for everyone including Porsche, Ford, McLaren and for the first time in over a decade, Ferrari returns to the series proper. The cars can be upgraded and each handles and performs significantly different to the others. One area which disappointed us was that the game adjusts the AI difficulty based on the car you are using, so this actually has led to the game being significantly easier to complete with the original car that you get, versus that which you are unlock towards the end. There seems to be disincentive to use the more powerful cars and that is frustrating.
The games' graphics are impressive to say the least, especially on the Xbox One, although not as good as one might expect when compared to Forza 5, for example. Where you see improvement versus the previous generation consoles is the draw distance and detail of the lighting. The game runs at a very fast pace and almost never misses a beat. We did notice that every so often the frame rate took a noticeable dip, but it never got to the point where gameplay felt affected by it. Another quirk is that the rear view mirror only shows outlines of cars, rather than the actual environment. Given this is on a brand new powerful console, this seems quite strange, and potentially something that could have been changed when compared to the old-generation consoles.
Need for Speed Rivals is an impressive first hit out for the series on the new Microsoft Xbox One system. The series has now been going for over 20 years and for EA to come up with something new again is not only impressive, but surprising. All Drive is a fantastic idea that adds even more incentive to either outrun the police or shutdown the racers, and the open world lends itself to exploration and just driving about. It's not without its problems, but Need for Speed Rivals is a pretty good arcade racing game.

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Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies Nintendo 3DS Review

The success of the Nintendo DS system led publishers and developers to explore what many considered to be non-traditional games. One of these was Phoenix Wright, a courtroom simulation that tasked the player with finding evidence and contradictions with testimonies like a real-world lawyer does. It was a smash success and has become one of Capcom's most recent hits. With the 3DS now out and about, it seemed assured that a Phoenix Wright game would hit the system, and it has, but in an interesting move, Capcom has limited the game to the E-shop. Even so, it's a worthy addition to the series.
Dual Destinies picks up a year after the last game which introduced Apollo Justice, Phoenix Wright's understudy. Phoenix Wright has decided to get back into the legal game and hires a young new upstart into his practice straight out of legal college named Athena who has a few special abilities and this is where the main gameplay changes introduced for this title are found.
Athena has the ability to read and adjust emotions within testimonies. If a testimony seems out of character, the game will move into a mood matrix mode where you can see the mental state of the character versus the testimony to find contradictions. For example, a character might have a happy emotion mentally when talking about how they found someone dead. This does not make sense and this is another way you can unlock lies within the testimony of characters now.

The other new mechanic is the perceive function. As testimony is given, the game may move into a perceive function where the user must find something on the character that indicates they are not being truthful. For example, in one of the perceive challenges, you have to find a nervous twitch on the characters hand. These two mechanics make the game a little different to previous outings and are good additions to the series.

Aside from this, the core gameplay remains intact and is split between the courtroom and gaining evidence. There are five main cases in the game and they progressively become more involved and longer as you progress through the game. However, with the core gameplay remaining the same, some of the problems which crept up in the past return.
There can be significant amounts of time between sections where the user does not interact with the game and has to just sit there reading. This has always been part of the series so fans will not mind, but anyone new to the series may start to find the game formulaic and repetitive after a while. It is almost the perfect commute game. In short goes, the game is at its best, but lengthier play sessions can become boring.

The rest of the game is very much like that of the previous games where it splits the gameplay between in the courtroom and the location of the crime. In the courtroom scenarios, you have to think quickly on your feet and try and figure out where the contradiction is taking place, whilst during the crime scene sections, you can be a lot slower and methodical with how you approach the game. Most of the cases have at least one court sequence and one crime scene, so you generally get a mix of both as you progress through the game, just like in the previous titles of the series.
One area where we were quite impressed is the visuals of the game and more specifically the 3D effect with the 3D mode on the 3DS enabled. The cartoon style of the previous titles returns, but with a higher fidelity on the graphics department. This really is the first game that we can strongly recommend you play through in 3D because it really adds to the experience of the game. There is no voice acting within the game, which makes the lengthy story sections even harder to endure, but overall the visuals somewhat make up for this.

Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies is an excellent Phoenix Wright game that is somewhat let down by problems that have plagued the series for a number of versions now. The new game mechanics are interesting and give you an even higher level of ways to crack cases and the 3D graphics really work well on the 3DS system. If you can put up with lengthy sections of text, then Dual Destinies is likely to be a game for you and your 3DS.

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Call of Duty: Ghosts PlayStation 3 Review

When people think of Call of Duty, they think of one of two things; an amazing time sink that they have spent hundreds of hours on or a game that is as cookie cutter as it gets, released yearly and is the same each time. There really seems to be not much of a middle ground on this title, yet year after year, Activision manages to make millions of dollars selling the thing. As we approach a new generation, a new challenge presented itself to the developers. Can they keep this going over the generation gap? And is Call of Duty: Ghosts still keeping up the franchise's strong points? The answer to these questions is both a resounding yes and a resounding no, depending on if you are talking about the campaign or not.
Call of Duty: Ghosts picks the story up during an attack by a combined South American continent against the United States from space. The US has developed a space project named 'Odin', which is a space defence system that can be used to strike any target on earth, at any time. Early in the game, this structure is taken over by what the game terms the 'Federation' and is used to destroy the major cities of the United States. From there we are told about the Ghosts, a specialist military unit which performs the most dangerous tasks behind enemy lines.

The main problem we have with Call of Duty: Ghosts campaign is that it yet again falls into the category of America: f**k yeah. Infinity Ward needs to realize that there are people outside the US that play their games and that just once it would be nice to see something different. However, that is not our biggest problem with the campaign and that is more around the feasibility of it all. Call of Duty has always been known for bombast and over the top sequences, but Ghosts takes it a little too far. This is a game that is somewhat supposed to be set in reality, but it is far from it, and it just gets a little too ridiculous, even when you keep in mind this is a Call of Duty game.
The storyline is also incredibly weak. The missions feel as cookie cutter as they come and it feels like there was a checklist next to the design document about what a Call of Duty game needs. Big explosions? Check. Helicopter sequence? Check. Tank sequence? Check. Playing through Ghosts gives you really nothing new (aside from one underwater sequence) that you haven't seen before during the previous campaigns. Call of Duty 4 was a game that shocked and surprised with the nuclear sequence and subsequent death of one of the main characters. We haven't had such a poignant moment in Call of Duty since, and it's a shame. And as for the ending? Don't get us started. The most unnecessary cliff hanger in gaming history.

Ghosts remind us a lot of Rainbow Six. Instead of just going into military war zones and blowing stuff up, in some of the Ghost missions, you will be breaking into buildings silently and uploading a virus, or secretly blowing up a large ship from below its hull. These sequences are interesting and almost save the campaign, but every time you think the game is becoming a bit more interesting, a huge explosion has to occur just to remind you that this is a Call of Duty game.
Much has been made of the dog character within the game and that it would be Ghosts defining gameplay moments, but it turns out that isn't the case. The dog is one of the most underused sidekicks around and it appears only for a few missions through the campaign. When you do take control of the dog, however, the game shows some of its unique gameplay. Stalking an enemy character in the bushes as a canine is quite enjoyable and it would have been nice to see IW put even more focus on the dog squad, rather than relegating it to a few missions within the campaign.
The campaign is also fairly short with our play through clocking in just over five and a half hours - we finished it in one sitting. Infinity Ward has also dispensed with some of the better additions that Black Ops II added last year, including the RTS style defence sections known as StrikeForce and also the addition of multiple endings has gone out the door as well. This just enhances the feeling we have that this is a cookie cutter release.
Aside from the storyline being rubbish, the campaign plays as well as ever and from that perspective it is worth playing through just to see how over the top the campaign has become. Despite the numerous explosions and other crazy visual sequences that occur during the campaign, the game did not exhibit any frame rate hiccups and that is actually quite impressive to say the least.
Once you move onto the multiplayer, you will find yourself again in familiar territory and whether that is a good or bad thing really comes down to whether you want major change in the multiplayer or not. You still get kill streaks, you still level up and prestige and the game still is as fun as ever to play. But there have been a few additions and changes that make a good multiplayer game even better in some respects.
First of all there is the addition of the new 'Extinction' mode. In Extinction, you and a few friends take on an alien race that is invading the planet and it is up to you to stop them coming and to eradicate their hives. This mode reminds us a lot of games like Payday and Left 4 Dead with co-operative gameplay only on offer. It's an interesting move for the COD franchise to go in this direction and it does provide at least a distraction from the main campaign and multiplayer modes. The level system is contained within the Extinction mode, that is, none of the level gains you may get within Extinction carry over to the main multiplayer.
Aside from Extinction, the other new mode is 'Squads', which is basically a fully functional offline multiplayer mode with bots. All the game modes from the main multiplayer are available and in a surprise move, any levels that you gain offline are accumulated to the main multiplayer mode, so it's entirely possible to just continuously level up offline, before heading online. We think Squads is a fantastic addition to the game because it allows you to enjoy the superb multiplayer of Call of Duty without having to put up with some of the vile rubbish that this franchise unfortunately attracts online. It also is a fantastic way to prepare yourself for the multiplayer online arena if you are new to the franchise and as the saying goes, practice makes perfect.

Several new game modes have been added for Call of Duty: Ghosts which gives an even stronger indication that the focus was multiplayer for this title, and thankfully, some of the new modes are incredibly fun to play. 'Cranked' is a mode where a player who kills an enemy combatant becomes 'cranked' and has thirty seconds to find another enemy to dispatch or lose their life via explosion. It's a fast paced mode that really puts the focus on finding enemies instead of hiding. 'Search and Rescue' is another interesting new mode where instead of instantly being able to return back into the arena of battle, a team mate can revive you.
Perhaps one of the more unique and interesting additions to Ghosts is the 'Hunted' mode. In this mode, you begin with a pistol with very little ammo, two throwing knives and a grenade, and in a death match style mode, you have to survive. Every so often crates fall into the battlefield containing significantly better weapons and so this plays on risk and reward. Do you go for the crate and risk it, or hang back and be happy with what you already have. This is one area of Ghosts were some truly unique gameplay can be found.
The maps of the multiplayer mode are significantly varied and different and larger than those seen in the past. On the current generation of consoles, this represents a slight problem in that the player count has been unable to be boosted and so sometimes it can be quite some time before you find another character on a map, which is in stark contrast to previous Call of Duty games. The higher player count on the next generation consoles will clearly account for this and fix the issue, but on the current generation, this is an issue.
When it comes to the visuals, the game on the PS3 is a mixed bag. There is most certainly sequences on the PS3 console and in the game where you can tell they were built for the next generation and to ensure the frame rate didn't take a hit, the developers dropped the detail level. There are still some impressive moments, but overall it feels very washed out and not as impressive as for example, Black Ops II, in the visual's department. The voice acting is as cheesy as ever and a cinematic score does generally add to the huge set pieces the game offers in the campaign mode.

If we ever needed a game to show us that a series is long in the tooth, Call of Duty: Ghosts is it. The game that exploded into a multi-billion dollar franchise has ended the generation on an interesting note and one that makes us wonder if the series can successfully transition to a brand new generation. History is full of franchises that never managed to make the generation leap successfully and Ghosts gives us concern that Call of Duty could fall into this trap.
With Titanfall gaining huge hype and looking like a super serious competitor (and from the brains behind the massive Modern Warfare success), Activision could have a problem in 2014. Call of Duty needs major work if it is to continue to succeed in the future with the competition catching up faster than ever. The multiplayer saves this from being an almost complete write off. Knock 20% off the score if you are only buying this for the campaign, and in that case, you may as well look elsewhere.

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Need for Speed Rivals PlayStation 4 Hands-On Preview

With the new generation around the corner, it's always exciting to get hands-on with the hardware before the release and publishers have been offering for a few months now the opportunity to play their latest releases early on the new hardware. NFS Rivals is a big game for EA. It's the first game to be released with Criterion overseeing the entire franchise and the first game from a brand new EA Studio called Ghost Games. It also happens to be the first NFS game that will be released on the new platforms and so they recently invited TweakTown to their HQ to play a near final version of the PlayStation 4 version of NFS Rivals. Both it and the PS4 console are looking good - here's why.
The first major change with NFS Rivals is that there isn't much of a storyline to speak of. Gone are the cheesy CG movies from titles and instead it is replaced by pure racing. There are two sections to the game; the police section and the racer section, with each side offering a different gameplay experience. The police side tasks you with taking out racers, calling in helicopters or setting up roadblocks, whilst the racer side as the name implies, is all about racing, escaping from the cops and in many ways just having a fun time in a selection of souped up supercars.
You can switch between the two careers after each mission and on the part of the designers that appears to be a masterstroke. We put four hours into the game during our preview and about halfway through of playing the cops, felt it was time for something else. Being able to then just jump into the racer mode was the perfect way to feel reinvigorated to keep playing the game.

Each career mode on each mission tasks you with a number of things to do before progressing. On the police side, it starts out easy doing tasks such as arresting racers or using technology to take a car down, whilst on the racer side its escape the cops, use technology or even take a cop car out. As you progress through the chapters in each career, you unlock more tools to use and also more supercars.
In an interesting move, the police cars are gained as you progress through the chapters for free, whilst the racing cars have to be purchased. According to Ghost Games, this is because the police cars would be provided to the officers to fight the racers so it makes sense and we tend to agree.
In terms of the actual gameplay, the Need for Speed style is here for all to see. Fast cars, fast cops and huge crashes are all part of the game. However, it's when you look beneath the surface that you find the true genius of the game.
Whenever you are playing the game, there is the opportunity to connect with other players. There is no specific multiplayer mode for the game. Instead as you progress through your career, you will either be playing against AI targets or human targets, depending on if you have connected to the EA servers or not.
This feature is seamlessly implemented and EA has termed it AllDrive. You will know when it has been triggered because the game will display the username of the other racer. So you as a cop can go around hunting the local area looking for some gamers to take out and if it happens to be another human, the game pops up with that information. This also leads to some of the tasks in the game. For example, if you are a racer and get taken down by a cop, if you then take that cop out next time, you get a revenge point bonus.
The game is also about risk and reward. As a racer, you gain heat levels each time you escape from the cops or perform something illegal that a cop sees. The more heat you have, the harder the police will chase you as they get a bigger bonus for taking the car down. The more heat you have the more points you will have and it is these points that allow you to buy new cars. The longer you keep a point bonus going, the higher the score gets, but the riskier it becomes. Banking the points is as easy as visiting a hideout, but if you do it too often, you just won't get the high scores.

The beauty of the open world of NFS Rivals means that there is almost always something to do. We found ourselves constantly being distracted by tasks around the open world or just chasing another car. As you cruise around, for example as a cop, you can chase down racers simply by pressing a button, whilst as a racer you can challenge other cars to a head to head race when you find them. The open world of this game is what really makes it enjoyable and upon release it will be a blast to play on PSN
For PS4 specifics, the game handles just fine on the DualShock 4 controller and the visuals of the game are impressive. Although it is locked to thirty frames per second, the game still gives off a strong sensation of speed, especially in the bumper view. Where we noticed the most difference between current generation games and the PS4 build was the lighting. There was some truly stunning effects of lights bouncing off the road, especially as night turned to day during our play session. Ghost Games has definitely tried to tap into the stronger power of the console and there will be a significant difference between the PS3 and PS4 build upon release.

NFS Rivals has become one of our most anticipated titles. It was in our vision before of games we wanted to play, but now with the AllDrive system, we can't wait for it to go public and for thousands of racers to be playing. There was a time where NFS was struggling as a franchise, but it is clear that Ghost Games (along with Criterion in recent years) understand what makes the franchise so popular.
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Batman: Arkham Origins PC Review

Until a few years ago, most superhero games, and especially Batman, were seen as a bit of a joke. Quick cash ins that publishers pushed out to meet film release dates that really sullied the brand more than grew it. However, then Rocksteady Studios came to the party - a developer clearly in love with the Batman brand and the right fit for the franchise. Rather than align with a film, Rocksteady came up with its own storyline and took on the more gritty Batman character from the most recent films. It was a success, but this time around we have a new developer on the case and a prequel - two things that generally can lead to trouble. For the most part, it hasn't, but where the spit and polish usually has been seen in recent Batman games, it doesn't appear here.
Batman: Arkham Origins is a prequel set before Batman: Arkham Asylum. For one night only, a bounty has been placed on Batman and the world's most fearsome criminals come to town, intent on taking down the masked bat. Batman sets out to discover not only who the criminals are and to take them down, but also who put the bounty on his head. If the storyline sounds generic, that because it is, but it does keep the game ticking along somewhat.

From a gameplay perspective, not much has changed for Origins. Batman still has his trusty gadgets to get around and the gameplay revolves around punching people a lot, solving puzzles and traversing open-world space. Those who have played Arkham City will find no surprises here and that is perhaps the biggest problem with Arkham Origins - it just seems all too familiar.
That's not to say there isn't interesting elements to the game. One of the key changes is being a prequel, Batman is not the most well-known character in the universe. You will fight cops and other law enforcement agencies trying to take you down as you are not acknowledged as actually doing some good. This flips the series on its head a bit with the previous two games acknowledging Batman as well known and not just a rumor on the street.
There are other slight changes as well, including new gadgets to play around with like the remote claw. This is used heavily in the puzzle sections of the game with Batman regularly tasked with having to pull objects apart or towards him to progress, along with other weaponry like the electric gloves, allowing Batman to combat electricity based enemies a lot easier, but overall the formulaic approach to the gadgets remains the same. However, one area where that has seen major change is getting around the city.
Where in the previous game you had to traverse the entire city yourself, in Arkham Origins, there is a fast travel system. Employing a method like that seen in Far Cry 3, for example, you have to take out radio towers around the city to gain access with the Batwing. It is possible to complete the game without actually taking these down in general, but it does mean a lot more combat and time between missions. It generally is worth taking the towers down. Using fast travel can see you miss one of the other additions to the game, the side missions on offer which are known as crime in progress and basically are like random events scattered throughout the city.

One of the key tasks that you will take on during the game is detective sequences. Throughout the game, there are crime scenes littered where you need to figure out what happened. This is actually thoroughly enjoyable and generally not too difficult to solve. Batman can recreate the crime scene by rewinding time digitally, finding new evidence and interrogating criminals. This fits into the Batman ethos well and we'd be happy to see this retained for future games. Batman also has the ability to use detective mode to find breakable walls and other environmental puzzles as well.
Aside from this though, we often wondered why we were actually performing the tasks we were. The game is narratively sound, but it just at times wasn't enjoyable to perform the tasks which are on offer in the game. It's entirely possible that this is franchise fatigue to an extent, but there are a few areas where the game feels a little phoned in.
There are also some technical issues with the game we encountered. There was a sequence after which the game got stuck on a loading screen forcing us to restart and from what we have seen, the technical problems were not unique to our play through.
Multiplayer also makes its debut in this title and again the fear is that this has been forced in to boost the sales of the product, rather than add to the series. The single player campaign is actually fairly short this time around, clocking in at about seven to eight hours. The multiplayer itself is quite interesting with three teams in play; two gangs and Batman and Robin. The hero gameplay is quite a bit different to the other two, with those teams basically playing a team based first person shooter, whilst Batman and Robin have to play in a stealth manner - caught unawares and they fall easily. It's an interesting twist and reminds us of the mercenary's mode from Splinter Cell.

The aim for the hero characters is to build their intimidation level to its max. This plays right into the ethos of the series and fits the universe well. The gangs themselves have to defeat each other for victory. So basically, the law enforcers (Batman) have to stop the gangs from fighting each other, and also remain alive. It's nice to see that Warner Brothers thought of something new for this game mode as opposed to just throwing in team death match, for example.
On the PC at least the graphics are impressive to say the least with a grizzled Batman taking down enemies in a fluid motion and with some stunning animation. The game moves along at a fast pace most of the time and despite the large environments and long draw distance, even with an older PC, you should be able to handle this game quite well. Those with higher powered machine are in for a treat with Warner Brothers putting a huge effort into making a beautiful game.

The environment you traverse, Gotham City, is quite detailed as well, although we do not think it is as full of activity as the previous title. Moving between each area is made easy by the bat claw being able to attach to buildings, and there generally wasn't a hint of pop in as we made our way through each mission. The radar in general gives you an idea of where to go, but occasionally it can be difficult to find because the indicator does not for example tell you that the target is on a roof, or on the ground.
There is a scene early on in the game when Batman returns to the Batcave. Batman informs Alfred of the bounty on his head and that he needs to take the criminals out. The paraphrased reply from Alfred is basically if Batman stays in for the night, he will have no danger, and the bounty will not be filled. It was a poetic moment that got us wondering about this game and whether it should have stayed on the drawing board. The answer to that question is no because it is a solid outing for the winged man, but if you come into this game expecting a revolution, not just an evolution, then you will be disappointed.

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Battlefield 4 PlayStation 3 Review

When it comes to large scale combat games, there aren't many that hold a candle to the Battlefield series. Starting off with Codename Eagle back in the day, DICE struck upon a magic formula that enticed gamers in. Two years ago we had Battlefield 3, the first real attempt to knock down the Call of Duty formula and that game had mixed results. An uninteresting campaign was paired with some of the best multiplayer gameplay around. This time around we are being promised that the campaign has had some TLC applied to it and the multiplayer is good as ever. At least one of those statements is true, and you can probably guess which one.
The campaign mode in Battlefield 4 is not a bad experience, at least not as bad as the previous game. However, yet again, we get the feeling that DICE felt pressured to go after the Call of Duty style scripted gameplay and campaign style when it really isn't the game's strength. Battlefield 4 tells the story of Tombstone, a specialist ops unit within the US Army who become caught behind enemy lines and have to escape to warn commanders of an impending disaster.
Battlefield 4 is a lot closer to the traditional console style of Battlefield Bad Company and this isn't a bad thing. Unlike Battlefield 3, you stick with the same characters throughout, allowing the story to develop and expand as you go along, and there is an overall single narrative, whilst Battlefield 3 felt more like a series of short stories.

However, we still think that the campaign is a letdown and there are a few reasons for this. First of all, DICE really does not take advantage of what makes its game different. The vehicles. Throughout the campaign, you will pilot a grand total of two vehicles and not for very long. For a game which is so focused on vehicular gameplay in the multiplayer side, and one that does it so well, this is baffling to say the least.
The campaign could be so good if DICE decided to step away from the scripted nonsense that has come to define Call of Duty, and now Battlefield. They have a major scale combat game engine in multiplayer that could be used much better in the single player campaign. It really is a travesty that in the single player campaign you do not touch helicopters or aircraft once. That said, the campaign is significantly better than Battlefield 3, so improvements are happening.
Once you finish the campaign (or choose to ignore it), you get to the meat of the game and that is multiplayer. There hasn't been much changed this time around (and why would it, when it's so popular?) yet the improvements which have been made have successfully made the game feel even more epic in scale than its predecessor.

One of the best new additions to this game is the training field mode. In this mode, you are placed on an island with all the vehicles available to you and no enemies. This allows you to learn how to pilot helicopters, aircraft and other vehicles so that in multiplayer that you can actually be useful and not be the guy that jumps out of a fully loaded helicopter. An additional improvement to this mode could be to require that gamers pass a licence test within the training mode, before being able to pilot vehicles on the 'hardcore' servers.
When it comes to the mode most people will buy the game for, multiplayer, the game shines, but with one exception. During our playtest, the PS3 server browser just did not work at all and we found it difficult to find games. In fact, the only way we could find a game was to select quick match. Having asked around, this was not unique to us and seems like a problem systemic to the PlayStation 3 release right now. As well as this, it's quite difficult to pair up with friends because you cannot make a party or group before joining sessions, which for such a multiplayer focused game, is quite hard to understand.
Moving away from the peripheral problems, the game is impressive and a heck of a lot of fun to play. The tried and tested modes are back including conquest where you battle to remove reinforcements from the enemy by removing tickets from their score. Once the tickets reach zero, no more reinforcements can be had. The game also now has an obliteration mode where tickets are removed and it is just full scale warfare where you have to gather a bomb and take out enemy targets with it.
In a surprise, one of our favourite modes was domination, where vehicles are removed and the combat becomes a lot tighter. On the console systems, the player count is much lower than next generation and PC, so on the larger maps, they can seem a bit barren. Other modes include rush, typical death match style games as well as defuse and obliteration.
Obliteration is a mode that plays right into the Levolution feature of the game where instead of taking out enemy units, the aim is to destroy areas within the map. This can completely change the gameplay and also is a welcome addition. This is one of the better new modes within Battlefield 4 because it shows off the technology that DICE has employed for the game so well and specifically the Levolution feature.

One of the more interesting additions this time around is commander mode. However, this is not the first time that this mode has appeared in a Battlefield game with it first appearing in the often forgotten 2142 and Battlefield 2. In this mode, you are taken away from the Battlefield and instead become the commander of forces. In a top down view, you can order in reinforcements including vehicles and weapons for the men on the ground to use. You can attack the enemy with weapons such as missiles, for example, or give supply drops to your troops. The main difference in Battlefield 4 is that if you play as the commander, you do not participate in the actual battle or even count against the server number, so you are a silent player, so to speak.
One of the major surprises this time around is that the real star of the show is the environments the game is set in. Not the levels themselves because they are the typical fare of urban and desolate war torn environments, but more what can occur within those levels. Termed 'Levolution', basically at any time, particular structures within the levels can be taken down and smashed to the ground with enough weaponry. You can be running through the level minding your own business and all of a sudden an attack helicopter will destroy a building, sending debris and rubble everywhere.
This can completely turn a game in an instant. One team might be completely dominating a map only for the other team to get a lucky shot off that takes out a large building and chaos ensues, especially if people are caught camping, for example, in that area of the map. There was a fear that Battlefield 4 could turn out to be nothing more than a large expansion pack, but Levolution certainly changes the game in a way that you cannot experience in Battlefield 3 - and that is a good thing.

The main problem some people will find with Battlefield 4 is again the unlock system. It still works fine and encourages lengthy game sessions, but again for those without much time to play, you will get left behind. This can lead to people having far superior weaponry and options than that on offer to you and that makes it a very difficult game to get into for new players and this will only get worse as time goes on. It is hard to see how DICE can fix this, but one change that could improve it is having some servers locked to lower level players, for example.
Visually the game impresses on the PS3, despite the game being designed for next-gen consoles and the PC platform. There are some moments in the game where it's a mixed bag, but others where it looks absolutely stunning and the key factor in this appears to be whether the current gameplay is indoors or not. When taken to wide expanses and open areas, the graphics level drops down significantly to maintain frame rate, but in close quarters, there are areas where the PS3 build compares very nicely to what has been seen of next generation and PC versions. For those of you who may have issues with colour blindness, then is also some friendly graphical options to help with this.
There was a chance that Battlefield 4 was going to be a mega expansion pack as opposed to push the franchise forward, but the two years DICE spent on this game has been well worth it. Levolution completely changes the game in many ways and the campaign whilst short, does its job. We'd really like DICE to go and have a think about how the single player can be improved, because that's really the only let down in this whole package. With the chances being that next time around DICE won't have to deal with current gen technology, the sky could be the limit for this now formidable franchise.

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Pokemon X Y Nintendo 3DS Review

I have something to admit. I have not really been the biggest Pokemon fan and have in many ways not really understood why it's been such a popular series. On the outside in you look at it as a series that publishes the same story many times over, adds a few Pokemon and sells millions of copies. I had tried to get into it before, but it wasn't really until the promise of Pokemon X Y that I have been interested enough to give it a shot, and it's a good thing I did, because Pokemon X Y fixes so many issues I have had in the past that it really does feel like a brand new game. Pokemon X Y might just be the game that gets you on board, if you haven't been a fan as well.
The story of Pokemon X Y remains the same as before. You either play as a boy or a girl (with the main character from the series Ash, being consigned to history it seems) who receives a letter from a professor about the Pokemon and invites you to go on a journey to discover all about the Pokemon and to fill your Pokedex with the goal of becoming the regional champion for Pokemon. This remains fairly similar to previous games, but there are a few things in the story we won't spoil that mixes this up a bit and keeps the interest in the game fresh until the credits are rolling.

The first major change for the 3DS is that Pokemon X Y is set in a new region. The game is set in the Kalos region and obviously this means that new Pokemon can be found. In fact, there is now over 650 Pokemon to find and of course many of the well-known Pokemon, such as Pikachu, make a return. Other than that the progression of the story doesn't really change. You have to build up a formidable Pokemon team to go and beat eight gyms to prove the player worthy of victory road and battle with the Elite four. This familiarity is actually a positive in the new world because you generally know what to do next, and considering the size of the world, this is a good thing.

The second major change is the introduction of a number of features to assist players and to fix frustrations which have been felt in the past by some players (myself included). First of all the game now has an EXP Share tool which gives all Pokemon in your party experience points, even when they are not used in the battle. This is a significant change because Pokemon management is no longer as important as it once was and you can if you wish just use one or two tank Pokemon's and keep the others for times you really need them. In the past you have had to manage Pokemon's and use them when not necessarily the correct time to do so and so this is a major positive.
You can if you wish turn this off. This also means you can use Pokemon at any time even if they are a low level. For example, I desperately needed a water based Pokemon so got a level 2 one off the GTS, even though I had level 50 characters. Within about 30 minutes of grinding, the character was up to level 40. It just makes the game simpler and easier to fix mistakes.
The main gameplay of the series remains intact and is made up of three key tasks; catching Pokemon, battling them and trading them. The key addictive nature of the game comes from trying to find and collect rare Pokemon and as per usual there is some Pokemon unique to each version of the game.
Another change is the introduction of a number of Internet and Wireless features which really assist with the game. First of all it's a lot easy to trade Pokemon than it once was. No longer meeting in person, you can now just randomly jump on the internet anywhere and connect either to the Global Trade System which is now enhanced for 3DS or the wonder trade. The wonder trade is like a lucky dip.
You put up a Pokemon up for trade and then the system finds a random person to trade Pokemon with. The difference is you don't get a choice as to whether the trade goes ahead or not, so it can go either very good or very poorly. We traded a level 11 Pokemon on wonder trade and ended up with a level 61 Pokemon. It really is a lucky dip. EXP Share means if you lose a high level Pokemon, it's not too long before you will have a high level Pokemon again, and so it somewhat negates the potential downsides to this system.

Along with this, if you are connected to the internet, you can contact your friends easily or acquaintances (people you may have traded with or spoken to earlier in the game) and also random people who just happen to be in the same area you are in on the game. This really is the first game from Nintendo where the internet integration seems crucial to the game. It's actually really impressive.
Perhaps surprisingly, I wouldn't consider the 3D implementation one of the best features of the game. Whilst it is impressive, it seems like an afterthought in many ways for the game, and with the release of the 2DS recently, this does not surprise us. There is not many areas in the game which uses 3D - in fact, it's generally consigned to the fights only. And not only that, fights which are either against hordes or multiple characters also do not appear in 3D. There appears to be good reason for this. When 3D is enabled, the frame rate can be very poor and most of the time we had it turned off. However, in the towns, the over world and the other areas no 3D is enabled.

So, it's a good thing that Pokemon X Y is using a brand new engine and even in the 2D mode is super impressive. This is the first Pokemon that's moved away from its traditional 2D top down style view point and the world and characters are significantly more detailed and impressive than ever before. The fight engine is also rebuilt and although the camera angle remains the same for the most part, the Pokemon characters are significantly more detailed and animated.
A lot of what makes Pokemon the game it is still remains, and if you have played and understood the many mechanics of Pokemon in the past, you will be at an advantage. You can still breed Pokemon, the weaknesses and strengths of each Pokemon remains the same and there is a new fairy type to mix things up a little bit more. If you are new to the series, then the game is a very good place to start, however we would recommend downloading a strength and weakness comparison table for the different Pokemon types. The game isn't the best at teaching you how to play.
Pokemon X Y is the revolution the series needed. It fixes many problems that some players have had in the past, and even though it is a well-established series, Gamefreak has done a very good job at making this new game accessible for people new to the series. If you own a 3DS, you really should own this game.

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Beyond: Two Souls PlayStation 3 Review

In many ways, David Cage is a lone voice in gaming. Now an industry veteran, the likeable Frenchman has tried to put his stamp on gaming numerous times now, and always seems to come up just short. His last go around, Heavy Rain, was one of the most anticipated games on PlayStation 3 during its early years, and even though the game was pretty decent, it failed to live up to the hype yet again.
A few years back, Cage announced Beyond, a game that was going to use real-world actors and actresses and a game that would focus on how gaming could be an emotional experience. It is Cage's opinion that gaming has not explored emotionally enough, and the possibilities it can bring to the industry. Beyond: Two Soul begins to explore this further than his previous games, but the failure to take more out on the cutting room floor keeps this game from being a classic.
Beyond takes place during 15 years of the life of Jodie (played by Ellen Page). During her infantile years, it is discovered that Jodie has a gift and that she has a special connection to an entity known as Aidan. Aidan can assist her and protect her and can also be controlled by the player. Her parents leave her with a secretive government department early on in her young life, and from there she has trained under lock and key to ultimately become a weapon for the United States in their various wars around the globe.

Beyond: Two Souls in many ways is like Heavy Rain in the way that it controls. As you move throughout the world with Jodie, white dots appear on objects that can be interacted with. That may be something as simple picking up a newspaper or something as vital as jumping out a window, and in many ways this is the major problem with Beyond: Two Souls. Many of the actions that you are asked to perform are just somewhat boring and pointless.
Here's an example. In one scene, you are on a date with Jodie in her apartment. The game tasks you with choosing a dinner, and then preparing the meal. This means cutting up vegetables, then moving the vegetables into the pan and finally flipping the pan to cook them. Need I go on? It is things like this that really harm the game. There are times where the interactions within the world are extremely important and very interesting to play, but when there is other elements which ask you to do mundane tasks, it leaves a sour taste.

This also carries over to how the story plays out. Rather than playing out chronologically, the story jumps and weaves between the various times of Jodie's life. One minute you will be playing as infant Jodie, and the next minute an older Jodie, and it just does not work at all. The cohesion of the story just isn't there and it is very hard to figure out and follow what is actually going on. To their credit, the story does wrap up well, and it does begin to make sense, but there were many times during the game where we had to push through, and to be honest, the only reason we continued to play through was because of this very review.
Aside from the mundane tasks and lack of cohesion to the story, the gameplay can be interesting, especially when taking control of Aidan. As Aidan, you can float about the environment and assist Jodie in her tasks. It may be that you choke an enemy out, or smash a wall into them or even something as simple as flash lights to show that Aidan is around to other characters. Funnily enough, this is somewhat where the game works. This also represents the multiplayer component where two players can work together - one as Jodie and one as Aidan.
To call this game a bunch of QTEs in a row is a bit harsh, but overall that is pretty much the case. The only area where the game starts to diverge from this is Aidan, but also when Jodie is involved in combat. When in combat, you need to move the analogue sticks in the direction that Jodie is leaning. For example, if it looks like she wants to duck, pull the sticks down.
This also leads us to the next interesting part of the game, and that is there is no real consequences for failing QTEs. The game carries on, but you will see different outcomes. The game never really punishes the player for doing something wrong, which is one of the reasons why it can be such a boring experience to play through.
The game also encourages exploration and most of the ten hours you will spend playing this falls into exploration. At the start of each scene, you are generally just placed into the center of an environment and tasked with what to do next. That's not to say the game doesn't give you hints as to what may be the goal, it does, but it very much encourages exploration. It is almost impossible to get stuck in this game because there is generally always something to interact with.

Another area the game has succeeded is its branching storyline. Having now finished the game, we actually do not want to play it again and the reasons may be surprising. We feel that if we play through the game again, we will actually spoil our experience. One of the key features of Beyond is a branching storyline based on your actions. Ultimately, the story of the game will play out to the same conclusion (however, there are multiple endings), the actions in each scene can affect gameplay further down the track. To get into any detail around this would be heading into the spoiler territory, but it remains one of the best features of the game.
The other focus on Beyond is trying to get casual gamers involved and playing. Cage should be commended for this, because consoles can be quite inaccessible and so to assist with this a Beyond app is available on Android and IOS to actually play the game. Once connected, instead of using a regular controller, you can control the game with a simplified control scheme. As well as this an easy mode has been included that simplifies the controls and also gives a bit more hints as to where Aidan can interact.
There is one thing that stops this game from being instant bargain bin, three out of ten status, and that is Ellen Page. Her performance throughout is unbelievably good, perhaps some of the best performances of a virtual character in a game to date. If you want an argument as to why game studios should go after Hollywood talent more often and that it can work, then Beyond: Two Souls is the new benchmark.

From a visual perspective, the game is impressive and the animation is quite stunning. Ellen Page was motion captured for each scene in the game and it shows. Jodie acts as you would expect the actress to do so in a film, and she manages to show true emotions just by looking at the character on screen. This is one area where the game has truly excelled. The visuals of the environments are also impressive and an improvement on Heavy Rain. Voice acting as expected is top class, with Dafoe and Page being the standouts. Not one actor is a letdown, all clearly wanted to put in an impressive performance for the game.
There is flashes of brilliance in this game that shows that Quantic Dream can actually put together stunningly beautiful titles. I will admit that there are emotions I felt playing this game I generally do not feel when playing games, and in that regard Beyond is a huge success. This is a game that focused on emotions and emotional connections and in that regard this is a David Cage master class. This is why it is such a shame that the rest of the game really is close to a mess. If Cage can take this emotional investment that you have in Beyond and pair it with some very interesting gameplay, he will really be onto something big. It's a simple fact though that this isn't what Beyond: Two Souls is.

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FIFA 14 PlayStation 3 Review

As we come to the end of the current console generation, it's a good time to reflect on the successful franchises and there is hardly a more successful franchise than FIFA. FIFA came into this generation struggling. Konami had absolutely killed the market with Pro Evolution Soccer and was seen as the company that knew football. It may not have had the licenses, but gamers didn't care. PES was the best football game around. So, EA went back to the drawing board and built a new engine for FIFA that completely changed the war. FIFA 12 was where the games really started to diverge in quality, and now we have FIFA 14. However, we unfortunately have to report that it may be a step backwards.
The focus for EA this year with FIFA has been all about momentum. On the next generation consoles (which will have FIFA at launch), EA has built a brand new engine called IGNITE, however on the current generation, we have more one more go around with the old technology and the strain on the systems is starting to show a little bit. EA wanted a game where players couldn't turn on a dime and first touch wasn't guaranteed. They said it was a bit more like what you see on the television, but the result has turned out to be a bit more frustrating than EA may have intended.
FIFA 14 is the first time really I have felt frustrated playing a football game. Most of the time if a goal is scored against me, I know why and get on with the game, but in FIFA 14, it is a constant struggle in general to get the ball, let alone score. FIFA has focused on being a slow methodical game like PES the past few years and overall it's worked. This year is no different, but the realism is going to be despised by just as many as those who love it.

The thing is that even the best players in the game like Messi and so on have poor first touch, and it's frustrating. You set up a goal scoring opportunity only for the first touch of a player to go completely wrong and you lose the ball. Now yes, this does happen in the real-world football matches, but this comes down to simulation versus fun gameplay. Do people really want a situation where a game is so unpredictable and random that it's hard to score goals because it's a little more realistic? If the answer for you is yes, then you will love FIFA 14.
However, for the rest of us, this is a frustrating game. It is almost controller smashing frustrating sometimes and this for a football game is disappointing. You pass a ball not knowing if the player will take it properly and it's all random. Seemingly nothing you do really can influence the random number that determines if the player makes a mistake or not. That said, there are positives from this new gameplay. Players at full speed can no longer turn on a dime (in fact, they have a turning circle more like a cruise ship), and you can use a player's momentum against them. If you see a player move one way and dodge to the other, that player has to stop, turn around and start running just like in the real-world. This is one area where this system does actually improve the game.

On the main gameplay side, the management mode has had an overhaul and reflects games like Football Manager even more now. First of all you can now send scouts around the globe with instructions to find the next Lionel Messi. Every few days they will report in and give you some players to check out. The UI has had an overhaul as well. Instead of, for example, when you get emails, being taken directly to the email screen, an icon appears on the screen that you have new mail and you can jump there, if you want. The manager UI allows you to focus on what you want to focus on rather than being forced all over the place to make decisions. You tend to get more updates from the board as to your position, and unlike past games, it probably won't be a surprise if they decide to ship you out of the club.
EA Sports Matchday returns and is already well into action with the new European season under way. Basically Matchday downloads stats from the EA servers based on the latest results. So, if your club team is on a roll, their stats will get a boost and so will their attitude, but in a relegation battle, the opposite happens. This is actually an incredibly interesting component of the game and to see how the teams can flip flop during a season.

Other than that you have the typical game modes such as exhibition mode (where you can turn on and off the aforementioned Matchday mode), the ability to have a career as a single player working your way up into the first team and try and win it all returns, as well as FIFA Ultimate Team, which in many ways seems to potentially have been a lot more popular than EA envisaged when they first included it in the game.
On the licensing side, EA has had some wins and losses this year. First of all the Brazilian team is not licensed this year which is interesting considering they one of the top teams globally right now, but they have had a win in the Camp Nou from Barcelona returning as a selectable stadium. However, overall, they still remain formidable in this area with the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Hyundai A-League, J-league and others all appearing in the game. There is no doubt that this is where EA is dominating right now and it is hard to see whether the other side can fix this.

Visually the game also is where we start to see the true FIFA with some stunning graphics and animation. The momentum based system is fully realized in the graphics with players having to slow down to change direction, and being caught unawares quite easily. One thing that works is that you know when a player has got around you purely due to momentum and this is quite an achievement. As per usual, EA is second to none in the lifelike look of the players as well.
We recently got the chance to see FIFA 14 on the next generation consoles and it is clear as day that is where this year's product is going to shine. There is the possibility that they have tried to translate changes from the next gen product down to this level and it just hasn't worked. The game can be frustrating to play, but it can also be enjoyable.
Most games have this ebb and flow and really not knowing what the game is going to do next (be it a player's first touch or if a player will pass correctly) is frustrating. FIFA 14 isn't necessarily a bad game, but it's certainly in our opinion the worst of a very good bunch from the previous few years. Next generation will see this title return to the top upon its release, but for now, wait until then.

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Saints Row IV Xbox 360 Review

For many years, Saints Row lived in the shadows of Grand Theft Auto and in many ways Volition originally misread what made GTA such a popular game. It wasn't the humor in general or the story, it was more the ways you could craft your own story within the worlds that Rockstar offered. Missions like throwing poo all over a house in Saints Row 1 never really resonated, and it wasn't until the third game Volition really hit its stride. Now we have the sequel to one of 2011's best games, but there has been a few caveats that worried us. First it started as an expansion pack to Saints Row III, then a standalone expansion and finally a full-fledged sequel. In some ways our worries turned out to be right, but it's still a fairly solid package.
The storyline picks up after the ending of Saints Row III. The saints manufacturing machine rolls on and they become even more popular, so much so the leader (who you play) becomes the President of the United States. After ascending to the most powerful position in the free world, the globe is subjected to a surprise Alien attack and earth falls and is obliterated. It is up to you as the POTUS to rewrite history and try and save earth once and for all.
In terms of the core gameplay, not much has changed since Saints Row III. The game is still mission based in an open world and with the story progressing as you complete missions. What thankfully also hasn't changed is the Saints Row series penchant for unique humor. The characters are as witty and funny as ever, and the game just rolls on. Hours turn to minutes when playing through the campaign as the story becomes crazier by the minute.

The missions themselves are serviceable, even if there are no really standout moments that get etched in the mind like Saints Row III. You can tell this was originally meant to be an expansion pack because the world, aside from the aliens, really hasn't changed all that much. In fact, take the aliens away, and you pretty much are back in Saints Row III. Whether that is a problem for you comes down to whether you had your fill with Saints Row III or you felt like you needed more. A major disappointment is that the game really doesn't at all take advantage of the fact you play as the POTUS and that is almost forgotten after the opening of the game.
Tasks on offer are sometimes run of the mill, but sometimes out and out crazy and many push the 360 console to its absolute limits, with frame rate issues all over the place. The side missions are where most of the generic stuff is found with the good missions saved for the main campaign, as you would expect. You might be stealing a tank, lining up some portals or trying to rescue a character. In fact, it is these missions where one of the many surprises found in the game is found.

In basic terms, Saints Row IV is a parody of every popular video game of the generation. Whether it be Mass Effect (going on loyalty missions to gain support and a different ending) or Metal Gear Solid (crawling in boxes), the game is chock full of pop culture references from film and gaming. Many times when playing the game at particular moments, specific songs play, which just add to the moment and will have you laughing at just how clever the writers of the Saints Row series really are.
One thing that has carried over from Saints Row III is the tight controls. The 360 controller just seems perfect for this game with fluid movement present throughout. We never really had to think about what we were doing with the controls, and that is always an indication as to how tight the controls are.

Aside from the main campaign, there are also activities to complete, but these in general are not as integrated into the main campaign as they were in SR3 and there is not as many as you might expect. There is still a bunch of collectables all over the place and the completionists will probably get a hundred hours out of the game, but the main campaign is completed within nine hours when mainlining it and a bit longer when completing some side missions. For some reason to us it felt shorter than SR3 and we felt it was over before it began, and again points back to the fact it started as an expansion pack.
The thing is about this game is that it really is pure unadulterated fun. It just feels fun - like a video game should feel. It never really gets frustrating because there is a lot in the game to assist with getting past difficult points in the story. Your character can be upgraded as per previous games with health, more weaponry and other improvements, and you can of course customize your character with crazy clothing or wear nothing at all (with a censor bar). It just screams fun. In a time where a lot of video games take themselves far too seriously, SR4 is a breath of fresh air in this regard.
In terms of the open world, the game impresses, but it is a bit disappointing that it is not set in a new city. Instead you basically get Saints Row 3 with a bunch of alien ships included. However, it feels different, and that is because one of the key additions is superpowers for your character. Being able to jump over buildings and up them instead of just being on the ground makes the world feel new and different - so much so that when those powers are not present, it really does feel like a run of the mill SR3 mission.
It's clear that Volition had to stick with the SR3 world, but they have done enough to make it feel new, which is quite an achievement, but the super powers come at a cost. The QA of this game would have been intense and so it's almost expected that you will get stuck in the world occasionally, and you do. The game sometimes cannot handle just how fast and quick you are moving about and you get stuck. It happened a few times during our play through.

Visually the game on the Xbox 360 isn't that impressive, especially when compared to its PC counterpart. It's clear as day that the developers had to take some concessions on the consoles to bring this game to the current generation. The weird thing is that in some respects it doesn't even look as good as Saints Row 3. Basically we think this can be put down to the fact the characters can now traverse the environment a lot quicker and so there is a lot more pressure on the streaming from the disc. The cartoon style graphics remain and overall it's nice to look at, but if you can, pick up the PC title.
Saints Row IV was quite an anticipated game that in many ways lives up to the hype, but in others it does not. The fact you play as the POTUS is not exploited enough by the storyline, and whilst there are some crazy moments, after Saints Row 3, they do not have the same impact. What started out as an expansion pack has become a full blown sequel and it shows. If you were a cynic you could call SR4 a total conversion for SR3, but that would be unfair given the amount of work Volition has clearly put into the title. Play it, just don't expect the same impact that SR3 had on the gaming world.

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Killzone: Mercenary PlayStation Vita Review

When it comes to systems that have failed to live up to their potential, the PlayStation Vita currently has to be the number one. Released by Sony with much fanfare and claims that it would allow console quality gaming on the road, the Vita really hasn't had that game which blew everything out of the water, but with Killzone, that has potentially changed. This was Sony's poster franchise for the PS3 including a controversial E3 presentation, but all these years later, can the handheld revive what is really a franchise that lives in the shadows of many other large first person shooters?
You play as Arran, a mercenary for hire on a routine mission to evacuate a captured ambassador, when things predictably go awry. You come across a young boy who turns out to be the difference between winning the war and losing the war. As you would expect, the story focuses on the struggle to keep control of the boy, and to stop him from falling into enemy hands.

The gameplay featured within Killzone: Mercenary is very much the same as the console. Whereas in the past offshoots of the series have taken a different tact such as having a tactical view instead of from the first person, Mercenary is played from the first person, like its console big brothers, and to be honest, if you saw this running on a television, you would think it's a PS3 game - the quality is that good.
For the most part, the objective remains to shoot a lot of enemies and get to the other end of the level, although the touchscreen has allowed the developers to mix up the gameplay somewhat. Unfortunately this often results in frustrating game mechanics that leave you wondering if the additions enhance or detract from the game. One such mini game is the firewall hacking system. This is done via the touchscreen by matching up polygonal shapes to that which is displayed. The main problem with this mini game is that it's not well explained within the game, and there isn't a single mention of it within the game's electronic manual.
There are also other problems which come from the gameplay that could have been avoided. It seemed that on almost every mission, we were asked to defend a position, whilst an area was hacked or a character hid, as we defended them. This becomes tedious and the generic nature of some of the missions will leave you turning off the Vita and coming back later - especially if you are not playing this on the move, and are instead playing at home, for example.
However, looking past some of the problems with the missions themselves, the game is a technical marvel. We finally have a game that shows the true power of the PS Vita system, and the claims of console level gaming on the move by Sony has finally been found to be true. The control system also works perfectly - whilst we have seen first person shooters attempted on systems without dual sticks, there is no doubt that the dual sticks are what makes this game as good as it can be, in terms of control.

The only real issue we have with the controls is that the developers seem to have shoehorned in touchscreen controls and also controls which use the back pad of the Vita. The back pad is used to zoom in and out with a sniper rifle, whilst the touchscreen is used for hacking games, setting bombs and pulling levers. It just seems tacked on, and whilst the controls work well for the most part, there potentially could have been more imaginative ways to use the touchscreen.
Another disappointment comes from the actual core gameplay and missions. The checkpoint system within the game just doesn't lend itself to a portable game. Many times we lost around ten minutes of mission progress because the checkpoint system is built more for a home console game than a portable, and many times we found ourselves just turning off the Vita at that point and coming back later. This is one of the main flaws we found with the game. This is a console game that has been put on a handheld system, which at times does not take into account the fact that it's portable. There are many things which happen that would be acceptable in a home version, but on a portable game, are incredibly frustrating.

The game is also challenging, even on the lowest difficulty. The AI isn't the smartest, but there is a lot of them and they generally have powerful weapons. You will find yourself using the melee option (which is deadly, so much so it's almost a cheat) more often than not, due to lack of ammunition. To assist with this, the game places weapons merchants around the game that allow you to reload your weapons or buy new ones for the battle. This is somewhere you will visit a few times because Killzone: Mercenary continues the franchise tradition of only allowing you to carry two weapons at a time.
The environments in which the missions take place are that of which you traditionally see in Killzone. Run down urban areas, caves and huge enemy structures are the name of the game and one issue which wasn't present on the home versions rears its ugly head here. There are times where the game becomes really dark with not much lighting, and in sunlight it can be hard to see the screen. This became such an issue that we found ourselves adjusting the brightness setting, which of course can impact the system's battery life.
From a graphical perspective, as said before, this game is a technical marvel. There are some stunning visual effects that you tend to only see on home consoles, such as reflective surfaces, and overall the game is beautiful. What's most amazing is that the game runs constantly without nary a sign of frame rate drops. This is a game that could easily be mistaken for a PS3 game and that is a credit to the graphics team on this title. The sound effects are also impressive with voice acting present and a strong cinematic soundtrack.

Killzone: Mercenary has a strong multiplayer suite as well, although it will take you a bit of time to get into it. Before playing, you currently need to download a patch, which is over 1GB and for a portable game, this is just a tad silly. Aside from that, the multiplayer options and varied and the component is strong. We imagine this is a game you would want to play over Wi-Fi instead of via 3G, due to the low latency required for good gameplay. There is the typical modes you would expect like death match, but also a mission based option with five levels that run in succession. The result of each mission sends the story into a different path with the winner being determined after the five maps are completed.
Killzone: Mercenary is a game that in many ways proves why the PS Vita exists. Up until now, we haven't really had a game that delivered on Sony's promise of console level gaming on the road. The game is stunning, to say the least, and whilst there are some problems with the design and some of the missions can become repetitive alongside the multiplayer, it's still a very strong package. If you have a Vita system already, this is a must buy game, and may just be enough with the recent Vita price drop to entice some more gamers into its ecosystem.

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Spelunky PlayStation VITA Review

When Spelunky was originally released on the Xbox 360 Console, thousands of controllers were smashed worldwide. It was a brutal game that challenged the very best of gamers, but also it was an addictive experience. It was perfectly built to get you to try again and again and again. When the PS VITA version was announced, there was excitement in the gaming community that one of the most popular indie titles around would be available on the go. And as long as you can resist throwing your PS VITA into the wall on your commute, Spelunky is the perfect game for travelling making it a good fit for the PS VITA system.
Spelunky tells the story of an adventurer who stumbles upon a book with secrets about some hidden caves that the user explores. What the book fails to tell our character is just how dangerous the journey is and how many have gone before him or her and failed. Aside from that, there isn't much backstory to the game, but that is not a major issue because the focus is on the core gameplay, and that is where this game shines.

Spelunky isn't actually a very long game. It contains four areas and each area contains four missions to complete. However, Spelunky ends up being a very long game in reality, and how long it will take you to complete is entirely based on how well you play it. Each time you lose a life, you have to return to the very start of the game. So, if you are in area three and haven't unlocked shortcuts, you will end up back at the start of the game before adventuring again.
Ultimately the core gameplay of Spelunky is platforming, however, it does contain puzzle elements. Before each jump, you need to figure out if there is a trap or other enemies waiting for you, and rushing through the missions is a recipe for disaster.
However, this is the beauty of the game. Knowing you are seconds away from having to restart generally leads to cautious play, but the game is also incredibly good at lulling you into a false sense of security. Most of the time you will succumb to the levels because you are rushing as opposed to the level being unfair and most of the time when you do die, you will know why it happened. It is entirely possible for you to sneak through to area three, lose your life and then get stuck in area one for hours trying to progress again. But again, this is the beauty of the title, and if this doesn't sound like something you can handle, don't buy this game.
To assist with this, you can unlock shortcuts as you progress through each area. However, to unlock the shortcut, you need to progress through the area three times, and also give the shortcut man some goods like bombs or ropes. In many ways, this is proving to the game you have conquered the area. With levels randomly generated, the challenge is never the same, and sometimes you will get a good set of levels, and sometimes you will get some brutal levels.

In terms of the PS VITA specifically, the game controls fine, and despite being on a smaller screen, it's not hard to figure out what is going on. There really was never a time where we could blame the controls or the hardware for why we couldn't progress through a level. On the PS VITA and PS3, it is possible to play local co-op via Wi-Fi, which is interesting, and you can also play the game online. The game does have online leaderboards as well and this is very much a game that you will want to play many times over as it really is the perfect commute game. I even missed my train stop whilst playing the game, it is really that engrossing.
The visuals of the game are impressive and suit the style of game well with cartoon style visuals playing into the comedic style deaths that the character often will encounter. There will be times where you will want to smash the VITA because of what happened, but the visuals do tend to keep you from really exploding in rage when playing.

Spelunky is a good example of an indie game which is perfect for the PS VITA platform. It's a game you can play in ten minutes or hours on end and have a good experience. It's frustrating, but that is part of charm. If you want a game that will make hours seem like minutes on a plane, get Spelunky.

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Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist Wii U Review

Given the size and popularity of the Splinter Cell franchise, it's hard to fathom that this is only the second game to be released in the current generation of consoles (aside from the Wii U, which is of course Nintendo's next gen). However, when you look back at some of the changes that Conviction made and how many gamers were not fans of those changes, it's easy to see why Ubisoft has taken its time. Blacklist is certainly not a return to the old school Splinter Cell, but is instead a mix of Conviction and its predecessors. It's a game that gives a lot of choice in how you play, and if Ubisoft wanted a balance between stealth and action, then they achieved their objective.
The storyline of Blacklist focuses on funnily enough the Blacklist. The Blacklist is a series of terrorists and planned terrorist attacks being led by one major terrorist group known as "the engineers". After a successful terrorist attack, Sam Fisher is thrown onto the case, along with some of his old crew like Anna and some new characters that enhance the storyline well. The days where Sam was a single killing machine are over, and instead you now have a lot more of a relationship with your staff and see how all the puzzles fit together for a successful mission.
One of the biggest changes to the series is the ability to upgrade structures. The main base of Blacklist is the Paladin, a large US air force plane, which contains the operations center for Sam to get the job done. As you progress through missions, you earn cash that can be used to upgrade the Paladin. For example, if you upgrade the infirmary, Sam will have access to purchase health upgrades, whilst upgrading the tech side will lead to access to black market weaponry. How you wish to play is up to you and this is the theme of this game. Ubisoft has tried to cater to everyone and no more so than the upgrade system. Sam can also be upgraded and you can have multiple load outs.

In terms of the gameplay, you can play how you choose. Ubisoft has spoken many times about how they wanted to bring back the true stealth of the series, but there is a few missions that puzzle us with regards to these statements. In fact, one of the campaign missions is closer to a Call of Duty mission than a typical Fisher mission. We are almost certain it's impossible to go through this game without killing enemies, although the game does encourage stealth, especially at the higher difficulty levels.
If you play in a stealth style, you are rewarded for it. You will gain cash for exploring areas of the mission that generally are only found on a stealth play through and you gain more cash for taking down enemies silently than in combat. Yet generally the way most people will play is a combination of both. That is aside from a few specific areas in the game where there is not much of a punishment for being detected, and as long as you can take the enemies that will charge at you down, the mission will continue on and even then you can just run towards the objective to progress as well. Once or twice we just bolted for the next objective, and as soon as it was reached, the previous enemies stood down and stopped following - not the most realistic AI in that regard.
It's hard to criticize Ubisoft because they have crafted an incredible experience. The old feeling of Sam being one of the toughest bastards on the planet returns, and as you silently take out enemies, it feels rewarding. It feels much more rewarding to creep through an area undetected, instead of just shooting the place up and that plays right into the hallmarks that makes Splinter Cell the franchise that it is. As well as this, many of the locations you visit are iconic, and there is one particular mission that gave us the same feeling the CIA mission did in the very original game.

It's clear that Ubisoft is pushing the stealth style of play with the perfectionist mode removing the mark and execute feature, which returns from Conviction, but the upgrade system they have implemented is not without its problems. First of all when you begin the game the technology available to you is quite low and you have to rely on basic tech like night vision, for example. As the game wears on, you can upgrade to new technology, but it seems like the AI systems do not necessarily react to this improved tech. You will probably find the missions towards the end of the game easier than those which open the campaign. Of course that can also be attributed to the fact by the end you are well back in the Splinter Cell mode and accustomed to the game mechanics.
It would be remiss of us not to mention the control set especially considering we played it on the Wii U - the good news is the controls have ported just fine. The touchscreen is used in many ways and not just for a map. If you are controlling a drone that will be done via the touchscreen, whilst switching weapons quickly and easily can also be achieved on the tablet. It is also possible to play the game entirely on the tablet. By default, motion controls are enabled, and we found that frustrating and it increased the difficulty on some missions. Thankfully you can turn that off.

As you progress through the game, you also begin to unlock side missions from the other characters. These missions form the co-operative section of the game, however, they can be tackled solo as well, and in many ways these missions really help the game. The major issue that this can overcome is that the single player campaign isn't that long, however, these optional missions give you the opportunity to do so and in fact it makes sense to do so. Many of the missions slot into the storyline quite well and although they can be played after the campaign is done, it does seem disjointed when doing so.
On the multiplayer side of things the infamous spy's vs. mercenary's mode is back and better than ever. For those unaware in Spies vs. Mercs one team plays from a third person perspective, whilst the other, the mercs, play first person. The spies have to complete single player style objectives, whilst being hunted by the mercenaries. During its time it was one of the most original and interesting multiplayer features around, and it remains so. The only problem with multiplayer specifically on the Wii U is that local co-op is not possible.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Blacklist sure took its time to come out, but the wait has been worth it. The single player campaign is an interesting tale of typical intrigue from the series, whilst the additional co-operative play and multiplayer areas really add up to a well-rounded package. The Wii U port is fine when compared to the other consoles, and the lack of Wii U local co-op shouldn't be missed too much.

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Divekick PS Vita Review

The story of how Divekick came to be is an interesting one by itself. Some of the elite fighting game community decided to put together a kick-starter to try and get the funds for a game which was a parody of one of the most common moves within a fighting game, the dive kick. For those unaware, a dive kick is when you jump into the air and then perform a kick move towards the opponent.
Shortly after the Kickstarter went live, it disappeared, with the announcement that Iron Galaxy Studios were going to take the concept and run with it. Divekick is not meant to be a serious fighting game, but it contains serious elements, and in many ways, it can be hard to know at times as to whether it wants to be a proper fighting game or one that is a parody, and that is one of its core problems.
The main gameplay of Divekick completely removes most of the complexity associated with fighting games. In fact, you only need to learn two buttons. You do not directly control your character, but instead only control when the character jumps either high, backwards or dives foot first towards the opponent.
Each round lasts a maximum of 20 seconds, with most significantly less than that, giving the game a very snappy feel. Although every so often in the single player, a story cut scene will play, which takes you out of the game somewhat and really breaks the snappy feel the rest of the game builds so well.

As with most fighting games, there is a single player campaign for each of the characters present and that is where the parody side of the game really comes to the fore. For example, there are two characters, Dive and Kick, who apparently were sent to Bel Air by their mother after they got in one little fight and she got scared.
There are other parodies, but we won't ruin those because some of them are truly laugh out loud funny. However, there are times where the game reminds you that it is trying to be serious. For example, in the options, you can set a maximum ping and GGPO frames, something that will be a completely foreign language to most casual players.
And this is where Divekick to a degree is a failure. This is not really a game that can be enjoyed by a casual player (to the degree others can) that has no idea about the elite fighting game tournaments and people involved in them. Many of the characters are based on people prominent in that arena such as Markman, the community manager from Mad Catz, and S-Kill, who is clearly based on Seth Killian, one of the more prominent fighting game people in the United States.
The other characters are generally based on parodies from other popular fighting games such as Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom. To get the most out of this game, you really need to be in on the jokes, and whilst we were, not many people just buying something on PSN will be.
However, the game does exhibit a level of depth that was unexpected, and is not a game that can be completely mastered within a night. Each of the characters has a special move set and as well as this also dives and jumps with different angles. Just like a typical fighting game, it is likely you will find a character you like and will stick to that character. Also some of the characters have moves which go against the rest of the game where they will create lightning by dive kicking for example, as opposed to actually just hitting the other character. Again this adds to the challenge of the game.

As you would expect, multiplayer is supported online, but also with there only being a requirement to have two buttons for controls, it is entirely possible to play local multiplayer on a single PS Vita unit. This is quite a crazy achievement and it actually works. There are both ranked and unranked online games and most of the time you will find other characters by searching in a lobby for them.
Multiplayer is where you will gain the most value from this game, and if you have no interest in playing fighting games online, this really isn't a game you should buy.

There are also some features in the game designed to assist you in laying the smack talk down with fan favorites from fighting tournaments such as fraud and choke part of the game as well. If you beat a character five-zero, they will be labelled a fraud. As we have seen in tournaments, this is a popular way to really lay the pain against an opponent.
Divekick is an interesting game and actually we found it somewhat a difficult game to review. We actually enjoyed it, but we know we enjoyed it a lot more than a typical person off the street would, because we could pick out most of the in-jokes present in the game.
If you are knowledgeable about the fighting tournament community or really just want a crazy fighting game to play, then this is the one for you. You may enter it thinking it will be a throw away game that you can be done with in a night, but the opposite is true. Divekick has an unexpected level of depth that may see it become popular for months to come.

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Pikmin 3 Nintendo Wii U Review

It's fair to say it's been a quiet time of late for the Wii U. No games released recently and Nintendo has been struggling to keep the market happy and the console selling. It was always seen that Nintendo felt Pikmin 3 was going to be a game to turn the tide and get gamers buying the system. It's been clear that Nintendo felt this was a major title for them with numerous Nintendo directors dedicated to the game and Miyamoto being one of the main key designers on the title. Fortunately for Nintendo, this has paid off as the game is fantastic, but it's definitely not for everyone and has a few flaws that are almost hard to believe.
Pikmin 3 takes a step away from the previous two titles with the main protagonist Olimar being replaced by three new characters. These human characters are from a planet which has run out of food and is stranded in space. They are sent as the last real chance to save the human race from starvation and are sent to an island where food has been detected. Little do they know there are many challenges and obstacles to gain that food and it is that which forms the core gameplay of Pikmin 3.
Not much has changed in the gameplay stakes from Pikmin 2, but there are definitely additional challenges to tackle. First of all the change to three characters has been a major positive. This leads you to be able to have three different groups of Pikmin spread over the map to finish tasks. Every so often the game will force you to work in these groups (or at least, it's not possible to finish some levels without doing it) to reinforce the fact that this strategy can be used. Tasks range from bashing down walls, to carrying fruit and defeating boss characters. The other strategy involved is the various Pikmin on offer which have differing abilities, such as the new winged Pikmin.

The core gameplay remains three fold; gathering Pikmin, controlling Pikmin, and finding fruit to survive. For those who have not played the previous titles in the series, Pikmin are smaller creatures that the leaders can move around and control with the blow of a whistle. They are a small army you can use to achieve tasks and generally the more you have, the better. Managing Pikmin is the main aim of the game - keeping Pikmin alive. Pikmin you have in control at the end of one day, carries over to the other.
The main challenge with Pikmin 3 is managing time and fruit. Each day has a set time and if you are not controlling Pikmin when the sun goes down, they will perish and so time management, one of the hallmarks of the Pikmin series, makes a return and is key. You will find yourself having some days where you are just consolidating a previous day's work, such as finding fruit or bringing a dead boss back to the ship. It is important to gather fruit, because if you do not, eventually the crew runs out of food, and it is game over.
The biggest surprise we found with Pikmin 3 is the lack of handholding that the game offers the player. The first few hours do feel a bit like a tutorial, but there is nothing like what we have seen in recent Nintendo games. First of all there is no super guide to speak of, and in general, the game opens up on a brand new day and says go for your life.
However, this isn't a major problem, as one of the key aspects of the Pikmin series has always been exploring the game map trying to find new Pikmin, a boss character or new objectives. In many ways this is one of the least casual friendly games Nintendo has released recently, but also a game that should appeal to the casual market. This is why it's a surprise Nintendo decided to leave most of the formula alone.

Perhaps the biggest surprise with Pikmin 3 is how much better the game plays with a Wiimote and nunchuk combination. That is not to say that the gamepad is useless - it is not and contains important information (as well as offers the opportunity for off TV play) for the player. However, Pikmin 3 with a Wiimote is an entirely new and different game. It just feels right to play it like this and we are going to go as far as say if you want to play Pikmin 3, you simply should have that combination to play with. Utilizing the gamepad for controls is not as accurate or finite as the Wiimote, and it certainly makes the game a lot more of a challenge.
Aside from the main game mode, there is a single player and multiplayer challenge mode, which tasks you to take down as many enemies as you can in a set time frame, progressively getting harder. The game also has the ability for you to play the main campaign multiplayer as well, however, inexplicably Nintendo has limited the multiplayer options to local only. The game itself should take you around ten hours to complete first time through, and there certainly is room to go back and better your score, because you can jump to any point in the day cycle, at any time.

Being one of Nintendo's first big releases on the Wii U and of course the HD era for Nintendo, all eyes were on how well the game was going to look. We can happily report that the game is beautiful to look at and the higher powered Wii U really does take the Pikmin series visually to another level. Pikmin is a universe that offers unique characters and vistas and they really shine on the Wii U. There is also a mode in the game allowing you to take screenshots from the leaders view and again the graphics quality shines through when viewed like this.
Pikmin 3 is Nintendo's big hope to shift Wii U consoles out of stores. There is no doubt that this game is a success, but there is huge doubt that this is the game Nintendo thinks it is going to be. It's a fantastic game for Wii U owners that you simply must play if you have one of the consoles, but whether it is worth picking up a console just to play this game... well, that is debateable.

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Payday 2 PC Hands-on Preview

When it comes to break out hits over the past few years, few can look past Payday: The Heist. Launching on PSN, PC and Xbox Live, the game was a downloadable masterpiece that tasked you with grouping up with friends to take down some in-game banks. The beauty of this game came from the team work required - it was not a run and gun game, by any stretch of the imagination, and you really had to strategize against the AI team mates. In fact, the game became such a hit that Starbreeze Studios purchased the developers (Overkill) and tasked them with taking on Payday 2. The game is back as a full retail release and we recently went hands on with a near final version to see how things are shaping up.
For those who haven't played the original Payday, the game basically revolves around you and a team of three taking down banks. There isn't too much of a story to go with it, although that has changed somewhat in Payday 2. Before each mission, you are presented with a small information cut scene to detail what you need to do and how. Aside from that, you are on your own, and in a multiplayer focused game, that isn't surprising.

One of the concerns we have with the game at this near late stage is the single player component. There is zero doubt that this is a game driven by multiplayer, but the single player component is frustrating right now. The key point is that you cannot control your AI comrades to perform tasks. To give you an example, in one mission, it tasked us with grabbing three bags of jewellery from a store and taking it to a van. In multiplayer, this mission is generally a piece of cake, but in single player it was a nightmare.
The reason being you as the single player have to carry each bag back one at a time and dump it in the car. The reason why this is quite frustrating is that the same problem was present in the original game and so not much has changed. The offline component is definitely more for training than a significant single player campaign, but considering how useless the AI is, we wonder if it should even be there at all. Hopefully something changes before the release in this aspect.
However, move onto the multiplayer, and you start to see why Payday 2 is one of the most anticipated games of the year. It takes everything right with the original game and continues it, whilst improving and including some brand new features to really take it to the next level. As you complete heists, you gain experience points, which level your persistent character up and at some point you will need to choose between four specialities. This again makes the single player component hard, but again shines in multiplayer.

One concern we do have is that you cannot (it appears) run multiple characters. So, for example, if you specialize in explosives, you may need to find a group all the time that needs an explosives expert.
This may not necessarily turn out to be a huge problem, but in a game so multiplayer focused and class based, in the longer term, it may be. There is nothing wrong with having four technicians for example, it just makes the missions a tad more difficult to complete.

So, the actual gameplay revolves around levelling up your character and taking missions on from an in-game Crime.net system. The missions are randomly generated and as your characters progress in level, they become more and more difficult, with some taking place over multiple heists and days. Missions we have seen so far including robbing a small bank, stealing some cocaine, taking out a jewellery store and terrorising four stores within a small area. There is a huge variety to the missions we can see already and each has a random level of difficulty set and also has randomly placed items, so whilst you might think you are playing the same mission, in most cases you are not due to the variation.
In each mission there is also a whole bunch of ways to tackle problems and situations that may arise - there is also generally a risk reward element to each one. For example, you can silently knock a guard out and then patch in a radio to be able to communicate with the other guards. The risk is that every so often the guards won't believe you and trigger an alarm. Once an alarm is triggered, the police will arrive and it really does just turn into a shootout at that point... generally not what the game is about.

The whole beauty of Payday 2 is in its intricate detail and planning. This is a game that you need to use your brains and team work to really do well in. This can easily be seen by the three phases in the game - planning, casing and finally the execution phase. In the planning phase, you can use money to unlock items that make the mission easier or customize your load out.
After which you move into the casing phase. Your characters can freely move about the environment figuring out where cameras and other detection devices may be, but there is always the risk that you will be detected and finally the execution phase where it either all goes to crap or runs perfectly, depending on how well you planned.
During the planning phase, you can use money obtained in earlier heists to unlock additional help during the next mission. That help may be something as small as another way to enter the target building, through to something like a camera feed to help you keep an eye on the cops. This takes the strategy and planning to another level in Payday 2, and utilizing this will be the key to success.
In the multi-day missions, your performance is looked at during each mission to see how the heist will progress. If you perform poorly during a mission and alert the cops, you will most likely then encounter an escape mission, but perform well and that will not happen. Dynamic changing of events is a core component of this game and will really add to the replay value.
This is why the game is one of our most anticipated for the year. It really has the potential to be a deep game with incredible gameplay and the version we played definitely has an inkling of that. No two games ever play out the same, and despite the focus on multiplayer gameplay, it's still looking like it could be one of the year's best.
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Hotline Miami PlayStation VITA Review

Last year there was really one game that became the darling of the PC indie world, Hotline Miami. It was a break out hit and talked about incessantly on message boards. Console gamers had to look idly by and wonder what the game is like if their PCs were not up to scratch at running the game. Earlier this year Sony announced that the game would be coming to the PSVITA and PS3 systems. This was an announcement that was met with both excitement and also worry. Could one of the twitchiest PC games around translate to the PS3 and Vita controls or was it a game that just belonged on the PC? Thankfully for Sony the answer is that Hotline Miami is the perfect fit for the PSVITA and PS3 system.
Hotline Miami has not got much of a storyline and that which is present is incredibly weird, to say the least. You play as an unnamed protagonist who picks up the phone one day to be told to go and pick up a box of food at a particular location. Inside the box is a message to go and return a brief case, whilst eliminating everyone at the location via any means possible. From there the madness and mayhem of the game begins.

To be honest, Hotline Miami does not need much of a storyline, because it's the gameplay where it really matters. On paper Hotline Miami sounds like a game that would turn a few people off. Killing many people in quick succession, blood splattered all over the ground and high powered weaponry present everywhere. If this game was anything but 2D, the ratings agencies around the globe would be banning it left, right and center.
However, this is a 2D game and plays very much like the original Grand Theft Auto. You control the player from a top down perspective (like a floor plan view) and have to quickly get through the missions set in various buildings. As the game progresses, the challenges get harder and start to be set on multiple floors. Another challenge is that the environments begin to change and include things such as glass windows, allowing enemies (and yourself) to shoot through them. The difficulty progression is balanced incredibly well and you never feel like the game is being 'cheap', so to speak.
The hardest part is that the protagonist can only take one hit or bullet before being taken out and that is where the true challenge lies. You need to quickly move through each room, perform the tasks quickly and get out, all the way knowing that one false move and you have to start again.
To assist with this, when you reach high scores, the game unlocks new masks for the protagonist to wear, such as a zebra or horse mask - these mask change the game in many ways. Some masks allow you to have silent guns, and other masks allow the protagonist to kill enemies with a single punch. Working out the right mask to use in the right situation is all part of the allure of the game. And here's the surprising part - Hotline Miami in many ways is not an action game, but instead a puzzle game where you have to figure out the exact sequence of events to follow to succeed.
This may sound frustrating, but it is anything and this can be put down to the quick restart option. Whenever the protagonist is taken out, within about half a second, you are back playing again, trying out a new strategy. This is the crucial point of the game, had this not been present, it would have completely killed the flow of the game and frustration levels would've through the roof.

A few changes have been put in place for the PS3/VITA release. First of all it is a cross buy title that allows you to purchase the PS3 and VITA game for one price and there has also been some trophies added and cloud play. Hotline Miami really is the first game that we've found the cloud save sharing to be absolutely essential if you own both systems. Hotline Miami is perfect for a commute and then once you get home, download the save and keep going. Trust us, you probably won't want to be finishing missions two or three times - until you finish the game that is, replay value is high.

As you would expect in a game like this, the graphics and visuals are not the most impressive aspect of the title, however on the PSVITA screen, they really pop and are vibrant. Although, it does allow the game to run at a fast tilt - it's our opinion that the visuals and graphics serve the game well. It has to be remembered that this is a very mature, adult game and if the visuals were too realistic, it just may be a step too far for some people. The soundtrack is one of the best around and truly amazing. Even though it will restart many times as you inevitably get beaten around the head within the game, it flows perfectly each restart. As the title screen says on the VITA, you really need headphones to get the most out of it.
Hotline Miami is a controversial game with a controversial setting and story. However, once you look past the violence and destruction within, you start to see that it is not a 'shock' game. It is not one that relies on its shock level and adult content to actually be interesting. In fact, the gameplay probably could have been done in another way and been just as good. The PSVITA is fast becoming the system to have to play indie games on and Hotline Miami is one to add to that list.

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Far Cry 3 PC Review

If publishers want a case in point in how to build hype at an E3 reveal, Far Cry 3 is the perfect case. Ever since we first heard Vaas utter those now famous words, "Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?", we have waited with baited breath. The video had action, intense gameplay and also psychological elements that sent the hype levels of the game through the roof. And so now 18 months later it's time to determine if the developers have delivered on the promise from that video and aside from a few quirks here and there and a poor ending to the story, the answer is a resounding yes.
In Far Cry 3 you take control of Jason Brody, a young college kid with rich parents enjoying life to the max on an island paradise when things go awry. Jason and his friends are captured by pirates and the infamous Vaas. Taken for ransom from their wealthy parents, Jason manages to escape with his brother and from there the story becomes that you as Jason must rescue your friends, but also as you build acquaintances on the island, decide how you want the future to be for those people. There is a point where the story just becomes boring and formulaic unfortunately, but until then it's one of the best stories of this generation.
As expected based on the first two games, Far Cry 3 puts you in a massive open world with side missions and main story to complete. One of the key facets of the title is exploration and the game significantly rewards you for exploring. Whilst there are scripted elements to some of the missions, sometimes it's just interesting to wander about the island and see what the enemy and other NPCs are doing. One example was we were closing in on an enemy kill, only to see a crocodile jump out of the water to take him alive. If someone else was to go to that exact spot, it may not happen because those sequences are not scripted.

In fact, Far Cry 3 gives one of the best representations of a living breathing world in a video game to date. You can of course choose to main line the story if you wish, but that is to completely devalue the amount of effort that Ubisoft has not only put into the side missions, but also the world itself. You will miss a lot of the awesome areas of the island and some interesting, story building sequences as well. There is also a meta game within the game where you can hunt animals present throughout the world to improve Jason's overall abilities and weaponry.
For example, if you get some shark skins, you can craft a new pouch which improves your inventory level - something which is a lot more interesting to do than just buy a new pouch. You can pick up leaves and plants to help you concoct medicine to heal Jason. At no real point in the game are you forced to buy things. For example, one area which encourages exploration is the local stores. If you manage to take over the local radio tower, the shops will give you free weapons as a reward whilst that tower is not held by the enemies. It's a really interesting mechanic that rewards exploration in a manner that is tangible rather than just 'let's see this entire island'.
For the most part the missions are also enjoyable to play as well. There are over thirty campaign missions with quite a number more side missions to complete. To complete Far Cry 3 without doing side missions will take you about 10 hours and so it is a fairly meaty game when you compare it to most releases. The game does contain fast travel once you have visited a location although sometimes it is better to just explore and see the world on offer.
What Far Cry 3 manages to achieve is a believable world. This island could be a real world thing (although it's not), and the developers have clearly put a lot of work into building a fantastic world for the game. It has the crazy professor and the tribal warriors to complete the mix. But what takes it to the next level is the various fauna milling about the place. You can be swimming quietly in the rivers or ocean and the next minute a shark or crocodile attacks. The first time this happens you will literally jump in your seat and it's generally over before it even starts. You can imagine this is how it happens in the real world as well with most victims attacked before they even know it's happening.

The design of the island also allows for some open world elements to creep into the campaign missions as well. Whilst you are somewhat restricted as to the zone you can move in during missions (we guess to not break the mission entirely), you are given leeway as to how you approach the mission. Go in guns blazing? Or snipe from the mountain side? Many different ways are available to generally complete each mission and it is this variety that keeps the game fresh to the end.
On the PC at least, Far Cry 3 is a visual tour de force and one of the best games graphically we have ever played. If you have the hardware and video card to push this to the max you will see a visually stunning world with amazing graphics. Tone the graphics done a little and the game still shines even on older hardware, so it is clear Ubisoft has done its job in optimizing this game for fairly run of the mill systems as well. This is something that the original Far Cry game was criticised for not doing.
The game also features a co-operative multiplayer portion for up to four players to take part in. It is set six months before the actual events of the single player campaign and so in many ways is its own story. Introducing co-operative into such an awesome, open world game is something that Ubisoft had to do to take this game to the next level. With a length of about six hours, you certainly get your money's worth even though it's not the main campaign.
Far Cry 3 started out with a great E3 presentation that put the hype levels through the roof. Usually when this happens games significantly let us down, but in this case Ubisoft has delivered. No doubt they felt the pressure of such an awesome opening with Vaas and our main character, but instead of crumbling, they produced what is sure to be one of the best games of 2012.

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Hitman: Absolution Xbox 360 Review

As a series Hitman has been quite successful and this is why it's puzzling that we are now only just getting the return of the game. Hitman Blood Money was one of the better games from the earliest times of this generation, but IO Interactive decided to put that to the side and come up with the new IP.
This game became Kane & Lynch which had middling success in both sales and critical format. So six years later we have the return of Agent 47 and it's not without changes. Absolution completely changes up the series in many ways and we still aren't sure if all the changes and decisions made were the right ones.
Absolution picks up with Agent 47 being tasked to kill his agency handler Diana. She has gone rogue and has been selling secrets to enemies of the agency so his final contract becomes her. The agency has produced another agent from a child, Victoria with Diana on her deathbed asking 47 to protect her at all costs. This is what the story primarily revolves around; the protection of Victoria and escaping from the agency that 47 once called home. From the outset this shows just how much of a departure Absolution is to the regular format with previous games tasking 47 with contracts to fulfil for the agency.

In terms of the gameplay there are a lot of elements that have returned from previous games. On some of the missions you will be tasked with taking down a target and you can either choose to go in all guns blazing or make the death look like an accident with the latter not only scoring you more points, but generally being more satisfying to do as well. Hitman can be seen as a puzzle game - trying to concoct together various environmental elements such as leaking oil and a bullet to take out enemies unseen.
This is only apparent on some of the levels. On many levels within the game there are no targets and instead it is 47's goal to reach another area to continue the story. As well as this there are times where the game takes control from you and performs kills in cut scenes. For a series which has focused so much on clean quiet kills from a gameplay perspective, to have this happen is frustrating. There are some sections in the game where quiet kills just cannot occur.
This is where you will like this game or not. Whilst in the past each mission was one huge environment for 47 to traverse and come up with sneaky ways to take out the target, in this game you are instead tasked with basically getting from point a to point b. Hitman in many ways becomes a third person shooter with the amount of sandbox missions able to be counted on less than two hands. Given that there are 20 missions overall in the game, this is a bit disappointing.
However, on those levels which do give you the freedom to explore and come up with various ways to take out the targets, the game absolutely shines. Previously seen at E3, the King of Chinatown level is one such example where there is many different ways to take out the target such as poisoning fish or blowing up a car. And it is these missions that you will revisit over and over again to try and come up with different ways to end the mission without being seen.
As well as the actual targets each mission contains a number of challenges to complete. Sometimes these challenges are to take out the targets in various different ways whilst other times it can be tasks such as finishing the mission only using 47's suit. Given that you very often traverse areas where you should not be, doing this is harder than it sounds.
Many of the elements we have seen in previous titles have again come back. You can still take the disguises of other characters although this is a bit harder than last time around.
Enemies will spot that you are not one of them quite easily and so it becomes a case of still having to focus on stealth even when blended in. To aid with this, 47 now has an instinct ability which allows you to see enemies through walls and walk near enemies in disguise without being spotted. You gain more instinct by performing quiet kills and tasks.
One of the more frustrating elements of Absolution is the change from limited save games to checkpoints. Instead of being able to save at any point in the game (within a limited number), you now have to track down and find checkpoints in the level. They are generally off the beaten track and this can be very frustrating especially on the tougher levels. The checkpoints also do not get retained if you leave your game which we have no idea why IO Interactive decided that was a good idea.

The enemy AI generally revolves around them being able to determine you are 47 rather than actually being tough. When things go bad you generally can get out of a tight spot with your bullets except towards the end of the game where that type of tactic just gets impossible due to the weaponry they have. Once they spot you the game moves into a very Metal Gear like alarm system. At the highest level they hunt you and shoot on sight whilst if you can manage to hide long enough, they will give up and lower the alarm level. Of course the best way is to not be spotted at all and in general this is possible on every mission.
On the visual and environmental side of things the game is generally impressive. Whilst there is quite a variety to the locations that you will visit during your time with the game, it is not as varied as it was in Blood Money with some locations being visited more than once. Some of the missions are quite large in size whilst others are almost corridors only. It goes without saying the larger missions are the ones where 47's abilities can really shine. One thing that is true is that in general IO Interactive has used the environments to the best of their abilities with 47 being able to perform numerous environmental based kills on his targets.
Multiplayer comes in the form of contracts mode and in an ironic twist this system is much closer to that of the older games. You can either build or download contracts from other users and basically you are dropped into a world and have to kill targets silently to fulfil the contract. As you do so you gain money which can be used to upgrade your weaponry in multiplayer. This is an interesting take on multiplayer and we hope that users really embrace this system because it's entirely possible this could give the game a lot of legs.
Hitman: Absolution is a game that made us think about how we review games in many ways. Should we review a game based on what the name is on the box, or what the content actually is. Of course the latter is the answer, but we can't help but feel that this is not the greatest Hitman game. It's significantly different to other Hitman titles, but it's also not a bad game. If you come into the game expecting Blood Money 2 you will be disappointed, but if you look past this you will find a competent Hitman game that has just enough elements of its predecessors to ensure you should play as 47 again.

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Assassin's Creed III: Liberation PlayStation Vita Review

It's fair to say that whilst the Assassin's Creed II series of games were some of the most well received games this generation, the portable versions of the game haven't really set the gaming world on fire. Appearing only on the PSP (aside from the iOS games that were not 3D), the games focused on Altair, the original protagonist, rather than the very likeable Ezio.
However, with the release of a new platform, the PS Vita, Ubisoft decided to give the portable space another crack with the AC series and have come out with mixed results. Liberation is not necessarily a bad game, but there are some areas which can be quite infuriating to play.
Liberation for the first time introduces a female character as the main lead. You play as Aveline, the black daughter of a rich businessman in the 1700's. A result of infidelity, Aveline lives with her step mother and father in New Orleans as one of the wealthy and famous. However, Aveline wants to rid the world of slavery, especially for her people and sets about trying to bring down the tyranny which existed in the time. Set in the 1700's, the game takes place during the same timeline as that of the main console game, and to get the most out of the story, you need to play both.

There are a few major changes for the franchise aside from the fact you now control a woman. The game introduces for the first time personas. Aveline has three; wealthy lady, slave and assassin. Depending on the persona (clothing) you are currently wearing will limit or improve the abilities Aveline has available to her. For example, in the wealthy dress, Aveline cannot climb buildings or walls whilst in the assassin clothing she will draw suspect looks from the guards right away.
This is probably the most interesting change to the franchise because it means you often have to change your clothing to complete tasks. Having to change clothing to complete a task can be a tad tiresome (especially when it's not clear which clothing you should be wearing), but all the same the addition enhances the franchise.
As well as the main city, you will also visit the bayou of New Orleans which gives you the opportunity to partake in tree climbing and jumping. Ripped directly from the console game with Connor you can at will climb trees and often have to when completing assassination tasks. The game controls well and it's very obvious when you can and cannot climb trees. The Bayou has a very Metal Gear Solid 3 feel to it - a large, lush jungle full of crocodiles and other animals that can hurt Aveline. The main difference being that Aveline does not need to eat animals to survive.
The structure of the game takes on that of its console big brothers. The game includes nine sequences to complete which is a little on the short side and you will have this game down in around six to eight hours depending on how good you are at it. There is no difficulty setting so once you finish it, that's it really.
There are a number of side tasks to complete and there is a meta game where you can control a shipping company to gain money, but really in the grand scheme of things, you can ignore these and easily complete the game. One of the interesting elements is that the story you get if you just play the main missions is not the actual story. To get the real ending you need to take out a particular hidden character in each sequence.
[img]2[/img]
One of the biggest bugbears we have with the game is the PS Vita controls. The main controls themselves are fine, but when the developer is trying to shoe horn in the touch mechanics of the game, it just starts to break. For example, the game will at times ask you to put the Vita camera near a bright light. It took us a while to find a light that would give the Vita what it wanted, and there was no indication at all whether we were getting closer or not.
There are also other sections of the game which use the back touchpad such as paddling a canoe. There is nothing wrong with trying to include Vita specific controls, but when they work like they do in Liberation (it's a lucky dip as to whether your motions will be picked up), it would have been best to leave them out.
The environments that the game is set in are impressive for a handheld product. The city of New Orleans is beautifully represented by period buildings and the actual city itself is quite large, but nowhere near what you find in the console games of course. The split of the bayou and the city is an interesting feature with both environments having graphical problems as well as also some impressive sections. Voice acting on the system is impressive especially for a handheld and whilst the soundtrack can become repetitive, it suits the game and setting well.
There is no doubt that Assassin's Creed III: Liberation is the most impressive handheld version of the series yet. Ubisoft has used some of Vita's power well, but also included some utterly frustrating mini games based on the touch and camera features. It is on the short side and that means it's not really suitable as something for a long distance trip, but for short spurts on the way to work, it works almost perfectly.

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MSI Z87I GAMING AC and GTX760 GAMING ITX Now Available
The long awaited products for gamers who prefer small-sized gaming machines are finally here! Today, world-renowned hardware manufacturer MSI officially announced the Z87I GAMING AC motherboard and GTX 760 GAMING ITX graphics card offering many gaming features in the small mini-ITX form factor. With features such as Killer LAN, 802.11ac and Audio Boost the Z87I GAMING is ready to support you wherever you go knowing you'll be able to connect to networks with the best speeds for gaming. The GTX 760 GAMING ITX features MSI's new RADAX fan which is a true Hybrid design fan that boosts lower noise and up to 30C lower temperatures compared to any other card in its class. Both motherboard and graphics card offer excellent chassis and component compatibility and are the optimal combination for your living room PC or LAN Party gaming rig.

Comprehensive mini-ITX GAMING motherboard
MSI Z87I GAMING AC has inherited the outstanding genes of MSI's GAMING motherboards which won more awards than any other gaming motherboard on the market. It is equipped with the Killer E2205 Ethernet which offers the fastest low latency to game lag free. Besides that MSI Audio Boost comes with the highest grade build-in amplifier and audio capacitors giving gamers a stunning in-game audio experience. The audio circuit board signal is split from other components to avoid lower noise and provide purer audio quality. For those gamers who are using external USB audio devices MSI USB Audio Power provides a more stable power and higher quality signal resulting in a better audio experience. The included Intel Wi-Fi AC solution provides a maximum transfer speed of 867Mbps, and supports Intel's exclusive wireless video transmission Wi-Di technology! There is a built-in HDMI 1.4 video output that supports 4K UHD ultra high resolution. These gaming features will enhance the gaming experience and this all packet into a very small mini-ITX form factor which will give gamers the edge on the battlefield.

miniature GAMING graphics
When we created the new GTX 760 GAMING ITX Graphics card we realized that with a 30% shorter size (only 17 centimeters!) the challenge was to still provide the great and silent cooling that has been synonymous with other MSI GAMING Graphics card. We found the solution in the new MSI RADAX fan, a true Hybrid Radial/Axial fan that combines the best of both worlds and reduces temperatures up to 30%. Consisting of elements similar to the MSI Propeller Blade fan, combined with a traditional blower fan we can increase airflow, exhaust hot air through the rear of the card and keep temperatures and noise better than any other product in its class and form factor. The MSI GTX 760 GAMING ITX also inherits all the features of the MSI GAMING series graphics cards: the exclusive one button overclocking Gaming App, Predator video capturing and more importantly, Military Class 4 components for excellent stability and lifetime. The MSI GTX 760 GAMING ITX, combined with the MSI Z87I GAMING provides a unique, rich Gaming experience optimized for today's online and social gaming world while offering amazing thermal and acoustic performance in the mini-ITX form factor.

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MSI has First AutoCAD 2014 Certificated Mobile Workstations
To achieve best work efficiency and to provide most innovative user experience, MSI released a series of Mobile Workstations, including GT70 2OL, GT70 2OK, GT60 2OK - 3K IPS Edition and GT60 2OJ, equipped with the latest NVIDIA Quadro K4100M/K3100M/K2100M graphics cards as well as Intel 4th Core i7 processor and Microsoft Windows 8/Windows 7 Professional OS.

Professional's Choice - MSI Mobile Workstation
"MSI understands professional's needs. Based on MSI's strong and excellent backgrounds of Mobile Workstations and R&D technology, the latest MSI Mobile Workstations series, GT70 2OL, GT70 2OK, GT60 2OK - 3K IPS Edition and GT60 2OJ, were created for all types of work environments and professionals, such as designers, architects, and video production houses. Besides being certificated by varies independent software vendor (ISV), MSI Mobile Workstation's awesome features - exclusive Super RAID 2 technology, matrix display supports up to 4 monitors and the super cool Cooler Boost 2 technology - do not only increase efficiency in work, but also provide more stable and faster working environment for professionals." - Eric Kuo, Vice President, NB Sales & Marketing, MSI.
World's First AutoCAD 2014 certificated Mobile Workstation
MSI Mobile Workstation was certificated and recommended by the leading 3D design software company, AUTODESK, for its software, AutoCAD 2014. With its powerful and latest NVIDIA Quadro K4100M, K3100M and K2100M Graphics cards, and OS Windows 8 and Windows 7, MSI Mobile Workstation is the first mobile workstation to be certificated and recommended by AutoCAD 2014.

The Latest and Powerful NVIDIA Quadro Graphics Cards
The Latest NVIDA Quadro K4100M, K3100M and K2100M graphics cards are not only equipped with CUDA Parallel Processor Cores and memory bandwidth, but also fully support OpenGL 4.3, DirectX 11, Shader Model 5.0, OpenCL and Precision FP32. That is the reason why MSI Mobile Workstation can fluently present the best result while running professional design software, e.g. Adobe CS6, Autodesk Inventor, AutoCAD, Dassault Systemes CATIA, SoliWorks, PTC Creo and Siemens NX etc.

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Top 10 TweakTown Press Releases from the past week [02 December 2013]
Here are our top 10 posted press releases from the past week!

• Sony develops the World's First and Largest "56-inch 4K OLED TV"
• McAfee to Acquire Stonesoft
• Silicon Power Presents the New Generation of Xpower DDR3 Memory
• Deepcool Presents MULTI CORE X8 Notebook Cooler

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MSI Unveils the AP200 All-in-One PC
The all-new MSI AP200 is a 20" All-in-One PC with the latest Intel Haswell Processor built specifically for use in a corporate environment, making it perfect for a diverse range of vertical applications and commercial businesses. By utilizing multi-touch functionality, the AP200 provides an intuitive user experience powered by the latest and fastest 4th Generation Intel Processor and next generation Intel integrated graphics. The AP200 features a flicker-free and anti-glare display with Less Blue Light Technology to reduce eyestrain and provide better comfort for your eyes, making it the best solution for individual computing and corporate office needs.

Revolutionary 4th Generation Intel Processor
AP200 features the fastest Intel Dual-core Haswell Processor built on the latest 22 nm Shark Bay Platform. Intel H81 Express Chipset is the 4th generation single-chip design to support the LGA1150 socket. Its serial point-to-point link provides improved performance allowing for higher bandwidth and better stability. The Intel H81 Express Chipset also features the latest Intel iGPU integrated graphics processor unit. In all, this high performance combination in a low power package provides enhanced system speed and higher productivity.

Exclusive Flicker-Free and Less Blue Light Technologies Offer Double Protection for Healthier Eyes
MSI offers the best and most comfortable visual experience for corporate environments. The MSI All-in-One PC (multi-touch optional) features an anti-glare display to reduce background reflections in offices, well-lit shop floors, and in study rooms, thereby helping to reduce eyestrain and enabling users to better concentrate on the contents of their computer monitor without being distracted by reflections.
The Flicker-Free technology integrated into the AP200 display stabilizes the screen's output current and prevents flickering undetectable to the naked eyes. Even when used for extended periods of time, Flicker-Free technology effectively reduces eyestrain, improving productivity and quality of life. In addition to the Flicker-Free display, the AP200 also features exclusive "Less Blue Light" technology to effectively reduce visible blue spectrum energy emitted from the display, thus reducing eyestrain and preventing vision damage.
All New MSI Military Class 4 Components
MSI remains committed to quality and reliability, and is proud to introduce the 4th generation of MSI Military Class components into the AP200 All-in-One PC. MSI Military Class 4 Components, including SFC, Hi-C CAP, and Dark CAP, are MIL-STD-810G certified by a third-party laboratory to guarantee stability and excellent power efficiency under prolonged high-load conditions.
All-in-One System Corporate Applications Help Boost Work Efficiency
At its core, the P-series consists of a complete unibody PC system with fully supported I/O ports for corporate users. The MSI AP200's two COM ports are best suited for commercial POS applications, such as connecting barcode readers, credit card readers, receipt printers, and more. The USB 3.0 interface offers a fully featured I/O interface with MSI Super Charger (power-off charging support) technology designed for commercial applications, including meeting presentations, shop display outputs, and high-speed (10x faster) transfer of HD contents as well as large file formats.
Pivot Stand for Height Adjustment and Auto Rotation (optional)
With an optional height adjustable pivot stand (pivot, left-right rotation, vertical position, and incline angle), the MSI AP200 is designed to meet a wide variety of different needs, uses, and range of applications. The AP200 Pivot Stand also offers auto screen rotation, commonly associated with smart phones and tablet computers, to automatically and conveniently rotate the screen display when flipped 90 degrees without having to manually tweak software display options.

AP200 Features:

• 4th generation Intel Pentium G3220 / Core i3 4130 Processor
• MSI Military Class 4 Components
• Flicker-Free display with Less Blue Light Technology for eye sight protection
• Anti-glare display
• LED backlit LCD panel for maximum energy-saving
• USB 3.0 with MSI Super Charger Technology for high-speed bandwidth and rapid charging current
• COM port x 2
• VGA & HDMI for dual monitor output
• TPM 1.2 (Trusted Platform Module) (optional)
• Height adjustable pivot stand with auto rotation (optional)

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Razer to Introduce Evil Geniuses-Branded Gaming Peripherals
Razer, the world leader in high-performance gaming hardware, software and systems, along with Evil Geniuses, one of the world's premier eSports organizations, today announced a plan to develop a line of custom-branded peripherals for Evil Geniuses.

The limited edition Evil Geniuses eSports line by Razer includes a Razer Taipan gaming mouse, Razer Goliathus gaming mouse mat and a Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth Edition mechanical gaming keyboard. Each of these peripherals is designed with tournament-ready hardware, including a high-precision 8200 dpi laser sensor in the mouse, a glide-attuned surface for slick movement on the mouse mat and fast-actuating mechanical switches in the keyboard.

During the design process, Evil Geniuses contributed extensively to the visual detailing of these exclusive peripherals, which embraces the team's blue and silver color scheme across all three products. The Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth Edition keyboard and Razer Taipan mouse also feature unique white backlighting.

"This new line of peripherals is a real testament to the team's dominance on the circuit and recognition of Evil Geniuses as a worldwide eSports organization," says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder, CEO and creative director. "These products are great banners for both the players and fans to rally behind. There couldn't be a better time to be a fan of Evil Geniuses, given their versatility, performance and all-star lineup."
U.S.-based Evil Geniuses is widely considered the home of some of the world's most distinguished and reputable cyber-athletes. The team has already racked-up 16 podium placements in 2013 at events such as the StarCraft II World Championship Series, DreamHack, Intel Extreme Masters and The Premier League.
"We wanted to create a full line of gaming peripherals for many years now," says Alex Garfield, Evil Geniuses CEO. "Razer's enthusiasm for a custom line of Evil Geniuses products was a major factor in our decision to partner with them in the first place. It shows that there was an internal commitment at Razer to help us grow as a business."
The limited edition Evil Geniuses Razer Goliathus and Razer Taipan are now available for pre-order on Razerzone.com and evilgeniuses.gg, while the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth Edition will be available in December.
About the Evil Geniuses Razer Goliathus eSports edition gaming mouse mat
The Evil Geniuses Razer Goliathus eSports edition is engineered to the exacting demands of the team, etched with the team's iconic logo and framed with an anti-fraying stitching for extended durability. Its slick speed-enhancing surface blends high acceleration with razor-sharp responsiveness, giving the formidable pro-gamers of Evil Geniuses the fastest, smoothest glide to get the last hit on enemies effectively.
Price: USD/EUR19.99
Availability: Pre-order (Shipping Nov 29)
Product features:

• Slick taut weave for speed mouse movements
• Pixel-precise targeting and tracking
• Optimized for all mouse sensitivities and sensors
• Highly portable cloth-based design
• Anti-fraying stitched frame
• Anti-slip rubber base

About the Evil Genuises Razer Taipan eSports edition gaming mouse
The Evil Geniuses Razer Taipan eSports edition was made to commemorate the joining of two of the world's top pro-gaming organizations, Razer and EG. The mouse's custom design was crafted with extensive feedback from the team, and delivers unparalleled precision with an 8200 dpi 4G Dual Sensor System under the hood.
Price: USD/EUR89.99
Availability: Pre-order (Shipping Nov 29)
Product features:

• 8200 dpi 4G laser sensor
• Ambidextrous form factor
• Razer Synapse 2.0 enabled
• 9 programmable Hyperesponse buttons
• 1000 Hz Ultrapolling
• Up to 200 in. per sec. / 50 g acceleration

About the Evil Geniuses Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth eSports edition gaming keyboard
The Evil Geniuses Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Stealth eSports edition is packed with competitive-grade features to take your gaming to the pro-level. Mechanical switches outfitted in the entire keyboard deliver faster actuations, with tactile and quieter feedback to your fingertips, while five additional macro keys ensure you have all necessary commands within quick reach.
Price: USD/EUR149.99
Availability: Coming soon (Shipping the 2nd week of Dec)
Product features:

• Full mechanical keys with 45 g actuation force
• 1000 Hz Ultrapolling
• Programmable keys with on-the-fly macro recording
• Gaming mode option for deactivation of the Windows key
• 10 customizable software profiles with on-the-fly switching
• 5 additional macro keys
• Gaming optimized key matrix for minimized ghosting
• Multi-media controls
• Individually backlit keys with 5 levels of lighting
• Audio-out/mic-in jacks
• USB-passthrough
• Braided cable

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Kingston Announces 2800 MHz HyperX Predator Memory Kits
HyperX, a division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the addition of 2800 MHz memory kits to the HyperX Predator product line. The new 2800 MHz memory kits exhibit top-of-the-market speed and are specifically designed for high-end overclockers, extreme system builders and performance enthusiasts.

HyperX Predator represents the fastest Kingston memory available on the market. In addition to top speeds, HyperX Predator features an aggressive design to enhance the look and performance of the latest PC hardware while providing greater heat dissipation to optimize memory reliability. The memory is Intel XMP ready and has been fully tested and validated on a wide range of motherboards currently available on the market. End users can easily overclock their systems by simply selecting a profile in BIOS with no need for manual adjustments.
"We are proud to offer our flagship 2800MHz memory kits to overclockers, benchmarkers and extreme system builders throughout the world," said Krystian Jaroszynski, European Product Marketing Manager, HyperX and Server, Kingston. "Our HyperX engineers will continue working hard to improve high-speed yields to get faster product in the hands of our customers."
HyperX Predator is available in speeds up to 2800 MHz and kits from 8 GB to 16 GB in various dual- and quad-channel configurations. The new 2800 MHz kit is currently available in an 8 GB kit of two with a CAS latency of 12.
Kingston HyperX memory is backed by a lifetime warranty and free live technical support.

For more information visit the HyperX home page.

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Synology Launches the RackStation RS814 NAS Server
Synology America Corp. today announced the release of its latest RackStation NAS with the RS814. The RS814 is a high-performance 4-bay 1U server designed to scale up to 8 drives when using an RX410 expansion module.

Optimized for SMB environments, the RS814 provides scalability for growing companies, and productive uptime. Building on top of its predecessor's success, the new RackStation provides the award-winning DiskStation Manager OS with performance that small businesses need, exceeding 200 MB/s for read task and 130 MB/s for write. With the dual NIC configuration, it enables MPIO failover support for additional network redundancy.
As with previous four-bay RackStations, the RS814 has passive cooling on the CPU, which eliminates a potential point of failure. Adaptive fans compensate to keep the system cool in the event of fan malfunction. Its dual-core processor includes a floating-point unit (FPU), which reduces the load when creating file previews. It also includes a RAM increase, offering 1GB; which renders a significant improvement on multitasking.
Shipping with DiskStation Manager (DSM) 4.3, the RS814 takes advantage of DSM's business oriented features including:

• Web Station with PHP/MySQL enables the RS814 to host up to 30 websites
• VPN Server - for providing a secure way of connecting to your LAN from a remote location
• Cloud Station - keeps files, file types, and folders in sync across all devices
• AD and LDAP integration - easily deploy Synology products into your existing environment

"The RS814 is designed to meet the needs of small and medium business users," said Thadd Weil, Public Relations Specialist at Synology America Corp. "When you combine its performance, scalability and cost, the RS814 adds up to an excellent value."
For more information, please go to: http://www.synology.com/en-us/products/overview/RS814
Availability:
Synology RS814 now shipping globally.
MSRP:

• RS814 = $599.99
• RX410 = $599.99

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QNAP Launches the HS-210 Silent NAS
QNAP Systems, Inc. today announced the release of the Turbo NAS HS-210, a silent NAS with a revolutionary fanless architecture. Underneath the stylish and compact brushed metal aluminum body, the HS-210 is packed full of cutting-edge features and apps to meet day-to-day multimedia entertainment, file storage, backup and sharing needs.

The HS-210 allows users to enjoy files and media contents without unwanted background noise. With the set-top and fanless design, the new model features an innovative thermal design that intelligently dissipates heat, and is also eco-friendly with power saving features including hard disk standby modes, and power management scheduling options.

"The HS-210 does its job perfectly and quietly providing a perfect match especially for home theater enthusiasts and audiophiles looking to maximize their audiovisual experience," said Laurent Cheng, product manager of QNAP.
The HS-210 features the intuitive and app-oriented QTS 4.1 operating system that makes system operations and multimedia entertainment fully accessible and easy to use. Users can organize files & backups in one centralized location; sync files across computers, tablets & mobile devices, share files across different groups and communities; and access, manage & enjoy files on the go using tablets and smart phones with mobile apps Qfile, Qmusic, Qphoto, Qmanager and VMobile.
As a silent NAS for the living room, the HS-210 is perfect for creating a home media hub. By using the Photo Station, Music Station and Video Station, users can easily archive, manage and share all of their photo, music and video collections. The support of DLNA and AirPlay also allows users to enjoy a high quality TV experience. With these features and more, the HS-210 brings more fun to enrich home entertainment.
The QTS 4.1 also provides a trustworthy private cloud solution to run several brand-new applications, including the SocialLink Station: a Facebook and LinkedIn alternative but aims to provide social networking functions for secure and provide business use. Also included is the Notes Station which provides a secure and private alternative to Evernote to increase business operating efficiency, and more.
Users can also increase the functionalities of the HS-210 with QNAP's built-in App Center that provides various install-on-demand apps developed by QNAP and third-party developers, including backup/sync, business tools, content management, communications, download, entertainment and more. QNAP's development platform also allows developers to create various applications, adding even more value to the HS-210 and providing near-unlimited functionality for users.
Key Specifications:
HS-210: set-top design, 2-bay, 1.6 GHz CPU, 512 MB DDR3 RAM, SATA HDD/ SSD, hard drives hot-swappable, 2X USB 3.0, 1X Gigabit LAN port.
Availability
The new HS-210 Turbo NAS is now available.

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PowerColor Announces PCS+ R9 270X Graphics Card
TUL Corporation, a leading manufacturer of AMD graphic cards, today announces the very first PCS+ model at R series, the PowerColor PCS+ R9 270X. Being a well-known OC series, the PCS+ uses Powercolor in-house material kit and cooling design, delivering ultimate gaming performance with stability, also remaining lower temp.

60 MHz Factory OC
The latest PCS+ R9 270X is factory overclocked to 1060 MHz, which is 60 MHz higher than reference design, even up to 1100 MHz with boost, offering and delivering class leading performance. The new model is fitted with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory connected via high performance 256-bit memory interface, delivering excellent computing performance.

Gold Power Kit & PCS+ Cooling Design
The PCS+ R9 270X is packed with Gold Power kit, which includes Digital PWM, Ferrite Conducting Power (FCP), and Multi Phase Design, ensures power efficiency and stability at OC mode. The exclusive PCS+ cooling design is formed with 90 mm ultra huge dual fan, 3pcs of large heat pipes, enormous surface of cooling fin and pure copper base, delivering 16% cooler than reference design. What's more, we adopts the patent Double Blades fan design at PCS+ R9 270X, successfully increase 20% more airflow, even prevent the dust depositing at the bearings and the bottom of fan, prolonging the life cycle of the thermal as well as video card.

First Support at PCS+ R9 270X, the Turbo Timer (Optional Choice)
Turbo Timer is a device designed to keep the graphics card cooler running for a pre-specified period after the PC powered off. By keeping the fan running for a pre-specified period after the PC powered off, the Turbo Timer can efficiently carry away excessive heat from GPU, memory, and other key components. It will prolong the lifespan of the graphics card. This device is available for PowerColor graphics cards which support Turbo Timer.

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Top 10 TweakTown Press Releases from the past week [25 November 2013]
Here are our top 10 posted press releases from the past week!

• New Generation of Market-Leading LSI SandForce(R) SSD Controllers Drive Flash to Higher Levels of Performance, Reliability and Endurance
• ORIGIN PC Launches Elite Gaming Peripherals
• Seagate Offers Windows Storage Server to Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses

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LaCie Doubles Capacity of Rugged USB 3.0 Thunderbolt Series Hard Drive
Today, LaCie announced that its award-winning Rugged USB 3.0 Thunderbolt Series hard drive is now available in a 2 TB version. With double the storage of its predecessor, the new LaCie Rugged is the highest capacity bus-powered storage solution with Thunderbolt technology on the market. Plus, the 2 TB model achieves speeds up to 127 MB/s, a 15 percent increase from the previous version. With these speeds users can transfer 750 RAW photos or one HD movie in less than one minute. Built for heavy data users who require complete mobility, the LaCie Rugged is the ideal sidekick to a new Mac or Ultrabook.

"With video and photo file sizes increasing exponentially, creative pros are generating more digital content than ever before," said Erwan Girard, Professional Business Manager, LaCie. "Today, we've addressed their number one demand by doubling the LaCie Rugged's capacity. This allows on-the-go pros to store more data on fewer drives and lets them stay in the field longer."

The new LaCie Rugged offers the same great features that current users appreciate with no size or weight increase. It continues to feature USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt ports so users have the fastest transfer speeds available on PC or Mac. Since USB 3.0 is backwards compatible, the LaCie Rugged can also connect to any standard computer via USB 2.0. Additionally, it protects data from drops of up to 1.2 meters (4 feet) and from unauthorized access with AES 256-bit software encryption.
AVAILABILITY
The LaCie Rugged USB 3.0 Thunderbolt Series 2 TB HDD, design by Neil Poulton, is available through the LaCie Online Store and LaCie Resellers for $299.99 (MSRP). It is protected by a two-year limited warranty. Thunderbolt cable is included.

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TRENDnet Upgrades Its AC1750 Dual Band Wireless Router
TRENDnet, a best-in-class wired and wireless networking hardware brand, today announces upgrades to the award winning AC1750 Dual Band Wireless Router, model TEW-812DRU.

TRENDnet's TEW-812DRU creates a gigabit wireless network with two wireless bands -- an ultimate performance 1.3 Gigabits per second (Gbps) Wireless AC band and an extreme performance 450 Megabits per second (Mbps) Wireless N band, to connect everyday wireless devices such as tablets, smartphones, and computers. Upgrades to the TEW-812DRU include the following:
Wireless Coverage
PC World awarded TRENDnet's TEW-812DRU with its coveted Editor's Choice award. TRENDnet further upgraded the router's award winning long range performance. For clear line of sight connections to the router at distances greater than 50 feet, users can experience performance increases as high as 100% as compared to the first version of the TEW-812DRU.
USB 3.0 Port
The router's USB port was upgraded to SuperSpeed USB 3.0 which supports 5 Gbps speeds. The new USB 3.0 port will not bottleneck transfer speeds from either a wired or wireless client.
Pre-Encrypted
For your security the TEW-812DRU's wireless networks and management interface are pre-encrypted with unique passwords -- thereby eliminating the opportunity for hackers to access the device using unchanged default login credentials.
Intuitive Management
The new management interface quickly provides users with key information. Upon logging in, the router summarizes: wireless network setup and respective wireless encryption; internet connection status; guest network status; parental controls; and displays current connected devices.
"A good thing is getting even better," said Zak Wood, director of global marketing of TRENDnet. "We had an opportunity to significantly improve one of our most awarded and popular Wireless AC routers and we took it. The TEW-812DRU is faster and more user friendly."
Additional Information
Product Warranty: 3 year limited
More information: http://trendnet.com/langen/products/proddetail.asp?prod=105_TEW-812DRU
Pricing and Availability
TEW-812DRU Availability: Available this quarter, upon the depletion of the TEW-812DRU v1.OR TEW-812DRU MSRP: $229.99

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Acer Board Elects Stan Shih as New Chairman and Interim Corporate President
Acer announces that its Board of Directors has elected the company founder, Stan Shih, as Chairman and interim Corporate President with immediate effect. Shih shall serve as Acer's Chairman until the end of his term on the Board. Chairman & CEO J.T. Wang and Corporate President Jim Wong have both stepped down in light of the company's recent performance. The Company will hand over the Corporate Presidency to the appropriate candidate as soon as possible.

Despite their resignations, reluctantly accepted by the Board, both J.T. Wang and Jim Wong have committed to remain with Acer as advisors to ensure a smooth transition and transfer of the management team and to help the company back to stability.
In addition to the appointment of Stan Shih, the Board also resolved to relinquish the position of the CEO. Former CEO duties will be charged to the Chairman or President and this is expected to boost the company's decision making efficiency.
Stan Shih said, "Due to the situation that now faces Acer and my personal social responsibilities, I must stand up and take the reign without salary."
Shih continued, "I will honor and complete all the public affairs and event engagements that I have committed to, but I will also fully support Acer's ICT device business and carry out the company transformation. In addition, George Huang who is one of my co-founding partners of Acer will join with me and the management team to lead our company at this time."

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Sennheiser Announces Two PC Gaming Headsets
Sennheiser unveils two new high-end PC gaming headsets - G4ME ZERO and G4ME ONE and announces a unique alliance with one of the world's leading game developers - Io-Interactive. In the perfect match of game creation and gameplay experience, Io-Interactive is using the audio specialist's equipment when developing and recording game sound. This perfect match ensures that gamers using Sennheiser gaming headsets, will get an authentic sound experience that's optimized to be exactly as the developers at Io-Interactive intended. Io-Interactive, part of the Square Enix group and the creator of blockbuster games such as the Hitman and Kane & Lynch franchises, has used Sennheiser recording equipment and headsets in crafting the audio for several games including Hitman Absolution.

Having been impressed with the results, the new alliance sees Io-Interactive committing to use Sennheiser technology for future game development. Frans Galschiøt Quaade, Lead Sound Designer, Io-Interactive explains the unique partnership: "Sennheiser equipment makes our games sound better- both for us and the gamer. Not only are these great gaming headsets for both producing and playing games, but using Sennheiser equipment during development ensures a great and consistent audio experience all the way from the production to end consumer."
Game developers put great effort into creating complex and realistic soundscapes for games. "By collaborating with Io-Interactive and by launching the new PC gaming headsets G4ME ZERO and G4ME ONE, Sennheiser takes pride in making sure that gamers get to hear the high-level of acoustic quality and details that the developers intended you to hear," says Christian Ern, Director Product Management, Sennheiser. "The incredible comfort and convenience of our new headsets means that there is virtually nothing between you and the game."
G4ME ZERO and G4ME ONE represent a new era in professional gaming headset design. Increased emphasis has been placed on ergonomics and supreme comfort for even long periods of gaming. Meanwhile, top-of-the-line noise cancellation technologies in the built in microphones ensure clear communication during online or multi player gaming.
Naturally, the new PC gaming headsets benefit from Sennheiser's 70 years of experience as a leader in audio and deliver incredible sound quality. The company remains the only gaming headset company in the world to manufacture its own transducers, with the components powering the G4ME ZERO and G4ME ONE specifically optimized to deliver an extremely accurate reproduction of gaming audio. And in the heat of the action, smart features such as intuitive volume controls integrated into the ear cup and the ability to instantly mute the mic simply by lifting the mic boom, mean that there are fewer distractions so that you can stay focused on the game experience.
G4ME ONE - Feel the game, not the headset
Offering exceptionally natural and accurate sound quality, the new G4ME ONE is built to be the ultimate headset for home gaming. The open design delivers hi-fi sound exactlyas the game developers intended, while letting air through to help keep ears cool during hours of gameplay. XXLsized, plush velvet earpads, a cushioned headband and the lightweight design give the ultimate comfort.
G4ME ZERO - Supreme comfort for immersive gaming
Designed to be the most comfortable and best sounding closed headset on the market, the G4ME ZERO features a new earpad design that makes it the perfect choice for immersive gaming. Drawing on Sennheiser's experience in creating professional headsets for aviation, layers of padding and memory foam are shaped to effectively shield the user from external sound and prevent gaming sound from disturbing others. Letting you hear every detail of the game, its still Sennheiser's most quiet gaming headset yet. G4ME ZERO is also perfect for the gamer on the move with a unique foldable design and supplied hard carry case.
G4ME ONE and G4ME ZERO will be available from November 20th 2013.

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BitFenix Announces the Colossus M Series PC Cases
Today, BitFenix presents two members of the new Colossus M Series: Colossus Mini-ITX and Colossus Micro-ATX. They are the latest creations from the BitFenix Design Lab, a continuation of the original Colossus line that delivers a premium compact housing with a futuristic yet clean style.

The Future is Bright
One look at this chassis makes it instantly recognizable as a member of the Colossus line. The bold lines and angles create an unmistakably futuristic look that's tempered by our signature luxurious SofTouch Surface Treatment.
Immediately catching the eye is the BitFenix LiteTrak lighting system, which enables a continuous streak of light that wraps around the front and sides of the case. Users will be able to not only select between red, blue, and green lighting, but also choose a pulse mode that cycles through each color while adding a pulsing effect - all with a simple push of a button. Best of all, LiteTrak is powered by a single SATA power connection from the front panel - no side panel power connections required!

The ODD bay and mesh ventilated front panel is cleverly concealed by the front door, and the I/O panel, which includes two SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports, is located on the side panel to maintain a clean look at all times.
Colossus Mini-ITX
The spacious interior offers two preinstalled 120 mm front and rear fans, and includes the option to install up to five 120 mm fans for extra cooling boost. Up to five 3.5" drives or seven 2.5" drives in total can be installed, or for those looking to run high-end graphics cards up to 330 mm, the 3 bay FlexCage can be easily removed. Colossus Mini-ITX supports installation of thick 240 mm radiators on the top or front, and the easily removable bottom dust filter prevents from dust accumulating dust inside the case over time. Colossus Mini-ITX is the perfect choice for enthusiasts who are looking for compact stylish case with excellent water cooling support and massive storage options.
Colossus Micro-ATX
Colossus Micro-ATX adds Micro-ATX motherboard compatibility, which means added expansion possibilities. The included bottom fan can be easily replaced with up to two 3.5" hard drives, and with the included removable storage rack, an additional two 3.5" HDDs or three 2.5" SSDs can be installed for excellent flexibility. The included magnetic heat shield prevents warm exhaust from the PSU from re-entering the case, and also looks great with its uniquely micro-textured surface. Users can also opt to install a single graphics card and a slim 240 mm water cooling radiator at the same time. Users who require added PCI-express expansion are going to love Colossus Micro-ATX.
BitFenix Colossus Mini-ITX and Colossus Micro-ATX will be available on store shelves in December.

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ZOTAC Upgrades ZBOX Mini PCs with 4th Generation Intel Core Technology
ZOTAC International, a global innovator and manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today upgrades the ZBOX mini-PC lineup with 4th Generation Intel Core technology. The trio of new ZBOXes deliver improved CPU performance paired with supercharged integrated graphics for an excellent experience for everyday computing tasks.

"The latest 4th Generation Intel Core powered ZBOX delivers the power of Intel's Haswell architecture into our compact ZBOX mini-PC platform. With the latest generation architecture, we're able to fine tune these ZBOXes for greater CPU and GPU performance while maintaining the excellent energy efficiency our mini-PCs are renowned for," says Carsten Berger, senior director, ZOTAC International.

The new ZBOX mini-PCs come with 4th Generation Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processor options with the entry-level ZBOX ID91 packing an Intel Core i3 4130T, mainstream ZBOX ID92 featuring an Intel Core i5 4570T and the flagship ZBOX IQ01 sporting a quad-core Intel Core i7 4770T. The entry-level ZBOX ID91 features Intel HD Graphics 4400 and delivers a classic ZBOX computing experience with plenty of power and connectivity perfect for everyday computing tasks such as web browsing, office productivity and image editing.
Stepping up to the ZBOX ID92 and IQ01 upgrades the integrated graphics to Intel HD Graphics 4600 with triple display compatibility via dual DisplayPort and a single DVI-I outputs for enhanced productivity. When the ZBOX ID92 or IQ01 is combined with the ZOTAC DisplayPort to Dual HDMI adapter, the ZBOXes can drive a single 4K display that requires four independent HDMI inputs via Intel Collage Display technology for stunning pixel-perfect details.
All three 4th Generation Intel Core ZOTAC ZBOX include 802.11ac wireless networking technology for lightning-fast network connectivity that's free of wires. Dual Gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth 4.0 technologies are also available on the ZBOX trio for additional network connectivity options.
It's time to play with the 4th Generation Intel Core powered ZOTAC ZBOX mini-PCs.
General details

• ZOTAC Upgrades ZBOX with 4th Generation Intel Core Processors
• New ZBOX ID91, ID92 and IQ01 series
• Desktop Intel Core processors (Haswell)(LGA1150)

ZBOX ID91 series

• Intel Core i3 4130T (dual-core, 2.9 GHz)
• Intel HD Graphics 4400
• HDMI & DVI-I outputs

ZBOX ID92 series

• Intel Core i5 4570T (dual-core, 2.9 GHz, up to 3.6 GHz Turbo)
• Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 technology
• Intel HD Graphics 4600
• Dual DisplayPort + DVI-I outputs
• 4 x USB 3.0 ports
• 1 x mSATA 6.0 Gb/s

ZBOX IQ01 series

• Intel Core i7 4770T (quad-core, 2.5 GHz, up to 3.7 GHz Turbo)
• Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 technology
• Intel HD Graphics 4600
• Dual DisplayPort + DVI-I outputs
• 4 x USB 3.0 ports
• 1 x mSATA 6.0 Gb/s

PLUS models available with preinstalled memory and hard drive

• 4 GB DDR3
• 500 GB HDD

• 802.11ac Wi-Fi & Bluetooth 4.0
• Dual Gigabit Ethernet
• High-amperage USB charging capable (yellow ports)
• Bundled VESA75/100 mount

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LSI Delivers Axxia(R) 4500 Family of Communication Processors to Accelerate Enterprise and Datacenter Networks
SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 20, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At its annual Accelerating Innovation Summit (AIS), LSI Corporation (Nasdaq:LSI) today announced its Axxia(R) 4500 product family of communication processors is now being delivered to leading key OEM customers. Axxia 4500 is LSI's first ARM technology-based communication processor family that is designed for challenging enterprise and datacenter networking applications such as evolving application aware networking.

The LSI Axxia 4500 features a new StreamSight(TM) next-generation Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) engine that provides improved Software-Defined Networks (SDN) controller traffic inspection, efficiency of network management, QoS, security and other network functions. StreamSight efficiently examines data streams and extracts vital information from the data, enabling the application layer to make effective policy decisions.
By combining LSI Ethernet switches, networking accelerators and Virtual Pipeline(TM) technology with power-efficient ARM cores, the new Axxia 4500 family of processors is specifically designed to address the performance challenges facing next-generation networks. Customers using the Axxia 4500 are able to solve the control plane scalability challenges of SDN and extract the necessary information required to enable Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) implementations without burdening the server processor.
"With so much content and so many applications residing in the cloud, the need to manage network traffic both more efficiently and securely is increasingly important," said Jim Anderson, senior vice president and general manager, Networking Solutions Group, LSI. "The Axxia 4500 communication processor family, with its combination of intelligence and acceleration, delivers the high performance necessary for efficient SDN implementations."
The Axxia 4500 processor family includes LSI field-proven acceleration engines that incorporate decades of communications solutions expertise. The new processors include up to four ARM Cortex(TM)-A15 cores with a CoreLink(TM) CCN-504 coherent, QoS aware interconnect in 28nm process technology. The addition of LSI Virtual Pipeline technology allows equipment developers to reconfigure the processors for optimal performance on a packet-by-packet basis. The Axxia 4500 processors also include up to 100Gb/s of L2 switching function to reduce board space and bill of material costs.
"As Software-Defined Networks continue to evolve, solutions like the LSI Axxia 4500 communication processor family will provide the flexible performance required in this unique application environment," said Linley Gwennap, principal analyst, The Linley Group. "With the Axxia 4500 processors currently shipping, LSI has established a leadership position in ARM-based multicore SoCs for networking equipment."

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LSI Assembles Global Datacenter Leaders to Seize the Opportunities of the Datacentric Era
SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 20, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ACCELERATING INNOVATION SUMMIT -- LSI Corporation (Nasdaq: LSI) today announced the sixth annual Accelerating Innovation Summit (AIS) has opened with record registrations and a strong line-up of leading industry luminaries. The event highlights emerging technologies and addresses the challenges and opportunities of "The Datacentric Era." In keynotes and panels, industry leaders will discuss how businesses can effectively manage massive volumes of data while also achieving the highest performance and efficiency in their datacenters.

Participants will discuss strategic datacenter technologies and architectures including flash, OpenStack and Open Compute, and software-defined storage and networking solutions. A technology showcase highlights new LSI products as well as demonstrations with partners representing a cross-section of the broader datacenter ecosystem.
"The datacenter has never been as strategic to corporate success as it is today, and companies are racing to analyze and unlock the value and competitive edge often hiding in their fast-growing data flows. There is a strong demand for real-time analysis capabilities and lower-cost, high-speed access to their stored data without compromising security or data integrity," said Abhi Talwalkar, LSI president and CEO. "As a result, IT executives must accelerate application performance, reduce power consumption and lower latency across compute, memory, storage and networking -- while under tremendous pressure to reduce total cost of ownership. At AIS we will discuss these challenges and demonstrate how LSI storage and networking solutions are helping to meet the needs of our increasingly datacentered world."
AIS 2013 keynote speakers and panelists include:

• Abhi Talwalkar, president and CEO of LSI
• Aaron Levie, co-founder and CEO of Box
• Chris Kemp, founder and CSO of Nebula and co-founder of the OpenStack Project
• Cole Crawford, COO of the Open Compute Project Foundation
• Rob Crooke, corporate vice president and general manager of the NVM Solutions Group with Intel
• Ray O'Farrell, corporate senior vice president of Cloud Infrastructure R&D with VMware
• Vince M. Walden, partner of Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services with Ernst & Young

New Product Announcements Include:

• SandForce(R) SF3700 flash controller family -- optimized for client, enterprise and hyperscale markets and featuring dual PCIe and SATA host
• interfaces in a single design
• 12Gb/s SAS MegaRAID(R) Controller Cards and 12Gb/s SAS Expanders -- bringing end-to-end family of solutions for enterprise and hyperscale cloud environments and building on LSI's first-to-market 12Gb/s SAS technology leadership with unique DataBolt(TM) feature that enables 12Gb/s SAS performance with 6Gb/s SAS drives
• Nytro(TM) XP6200 PCIe Flash Series -- for the high-growth hyperscale market with low $/GB, scalable PCIe flash solutions for read-intensive workloads
• Axxia(R) 4500 Communication Processors -- shipping to leading networking OEMs with new StreamSight(TM) Deep Packet Inspection engine that provides improved SDN controller traffic inspection, efficiency of networking management and security, as well as allowing flexible processor configurability for optimal performance on a packet-by-packet basis

AIS Technology Areas of Focus
The AIS agenda features concurrent panel sessions and presentations centered around three tracks:
1. Your datacenter as a strategic investment: getting more for less including big data, flash acceleration, 12GB/s SAS and sharable DAS
2. The "open" datacenter: making the enterprise cloud possible including real-time analytics of network data flows, OpenStack and Open Compute and Software-Defined Networks
3. Flashing into the future: computing at hyperspeed including sub-20nm flash extending the capacity of MLC flash virtual desktop/VDI server performance with flash, and improving Oracle database performance with flash caching
Technology Showcase and Technology Demonstrations
-- AIS 2013 Platinum Sponsors include ARM, IBM, Microsoft, Synopsys and TSMC. Gold Sponsors include ADATA, Avant, DataON, EMC, Kingston, Quanta, Supermicro, Toshiba and Wind River. Additional exhibitors include Cisco, EchoStreams, Hyve Solutions, Nebula, OakGate Technology, Radisys, SanDisk, Tieto, Unimicron and Wintec.
The summit also offers technology demonstrations of the latest storage and networking technologies from LSI and select partners including:

• SF3700 controller family's breakthrough client performance of over 1.8GB/s sequential read with Toshiba Advanced 19nm (A19nm) NAND flash
• SandForce flash controller customers ADATA, Avant and Kingston will showcase new SF3700-based SSD products
• 12Gb/s SAS MegaRAID together with Syncro(R) solutions within a Rackscale storage architecture to show the benefits of storage resource pooling and server disaggregation

Media are invited to join the sessions, and executives and partnerattendees are available for interviews.
Additional information is available at http://www.lsi.com/ais/2013.

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LSI Targets High-Growth Hyperscale Datacenter Market Segment With New Nytro(TM) Series of PCIe Flash Accelerator Cards
SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 20, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At its annual Accelerating Innovation Summit (AIS), LSI Corporation (Nasdaq:LSI) today announced it has extended the Nytro(TM) portfolio of PCIe flash cards to include the Nytro XP6200 series. The Nytro XP6200 series provides hyperscale cloud datacenters with accelerated performance for read-intensive applications, optimized power and thermals, and an overall lower cost per gigabyte PCIe flash solution.

Hyperscale datacenters require cost-effective scaling to thousands of servers to meet the compute and storage demands of Web 2.0, cloud computing and big data analytics applications. Hyperscale infrastructures are often built using lower-cost, highly efficient servers, assembled from off-the-shelf, standard components, and generally require higher-density architectures and more efficient power and cooling.
"Many hyperscale datacenters run read-intensive workloads over large numbers of servers that can be scaled quickly and cost-effectively as needs evolve and data volumes increase," said Tom Swinford, senior vice president and general manager, Datacenter Solutions Group, LSI. "Due to their immense scale, the operators of these datacenters are highly focused on getting the most work out of their IT investments while reducing operating expenses and space requirements. The Nytro XP6200 series fits the bill by providing users with low-cost flash acceleration, enterprise reliability, high performance and efficient system-level power consumption."
The Nytro XP6200 cards are purpose-built to meet the requirements of Open Compute and other hyperscale servers. They combine LSI SandForce(R) flash controllers, delivering leading endurance and reliability using low-cost flash, with a new design optimized for low power and thermal characteristics. The Nytro XP6200 series requires up to 30 percent less power than existing Nytro flash cards. Nytro cards use a host offload architecture for I/O and flash management which results in consistent performance and low host CPU and memory utilization. With Nytro cards, valuable host resources are reserved for maximum application performance.
Hyve Solutions, a division of SYNNEX Corporation, is one of the leading Open Compute Project (OCP) solutions providers with years of experience building servers and racks for many leading Web 2.0, social media and hyperscale computing companies.
"Hyve Solutions' OCP Open Rack creates a new, open standard for server rack design that provides an innovative platform for rack infrastructure, while lowering TCO in the scale compute space," said Steve Ichinaga, senior vice president and general manager, Hyve Solutions. "LSI Nytro cards integrated into the Hyve Solutions OCP platform can help customers to take full advantage of the efficiency, affordability, serviceability and reduced TCO benefits of the OCP platform without sacrificing performance."
LSI is showcasing the Nytro XP6200 series at the SC13 conference (booth #3616) taking place this week in Denver, Colo. Together with Hyve Solutions, the companies are demonstrating an OCP Open Rack compute and storage system with Winterfell web server nodes accelerated by Nytro XP6200 series cards. Nytro cards integrated into the Hyve Solutions OCP platform can help customers in hyperscale environments achieve significant improvements in database transaction processing, reduced access latency and transparent application acceleration.
Pricing(1) and Availability:

• Nytro XP6209-4A1024 (1TB MLC PCIe flash): $2,899 ($2.83/GB)
• Nytro XP6210-4A2048 (2TB MLC PCIe flash): $4,999 ($2.44/GB)

LSI is a datacenter storage and flash market segment leader, delivering flash controllers, enterprise SAS and RAID solutions, and PCIe flash products that enable the entire storage ecosystem. The products are available from select LSI original equipment manufacturers and through the LSI worldwide network of distributors, integrators and VARs. The Nytro XP6209 card is currently available. The Nytro XP6210 card is expected to be available in December 2013.
More information on the LSI Nytro flash accelerator cards is available at http://www.lsi.com/products/flash-accelerators/pages/default.aspx.

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LSI Introduces 12Gb/s SAS MegaRAID(R) Controller Cards and Expanders to Power Leading Datacenters Worldwide
SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 20, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At its annual Accelerating Innovation Summit (AIS), LSI Corporation (Nasdaq:LSI) today introduced its new family of 12Gb/s SAS MegaRAID(R) controller cards and expanders, built to power leading datacenters worldwide. As the proliferation of applications, data and mobile devices continues to place demands on datacenters, the new family of LSI storage solutions offers innovative technology for increased performance and improved enterprise RAID data protection.

LSI's new storage solutions deliver the application-accelerating performance, enhanced data protection and reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) required for the most demanding datacenters. These benefits were validated by recent industry standard transactional processing benchmark study results that showed LSI 12Gb/s SAS MegaRAID controller cards delivered a 60 percent increase in database users without performance loss compared with 6Gb/s SAS solutions. In addition, LSI 12Gb/s SAS expanders showed throughput increases of 25 percent in conjunction with the popular Hadoop platform, a significant benefit for customers seeking to process big data.
"As datacenters worldwide face rapidly growing traffic and data consumption, the hardware infrastructure within these systems must provide new levels of performance, reliability and scalability," said Tom Swinford, senior vice president and general manager, Datacenter Solutions Group, LSI. "The new LSI 12Gb/s SAS storage solutions were designed with these needs in mind, and offer innovative new bandwidth optimization and diagnostic technologies ideal for larger, more scalable next-generation server and storage systems."
"Big data growth in systems like Hadoop, scale-out file and object platform systems are important elements for a market that IDC expects will reach about $24B by 2016, with a growth rate of nearly 32 percent CAGR," said Ashish Nadkarni, director of storage research, IDC. "Storage and internal DAS systems using technology like LSI 12Gb/s SAS solutions will play a critical role in processing and managing big data over the next several years."
The new 12Gb/s SAS MegaRAID 9300 controller card family includes six models, featuring four or eight ports, and the latest PCI Express 3.0 interface. The new controller cards feature a powerful new diagnostic technology that can put the drives into a shielded state, and determine if a drive has failed or can be restored, thereby saving valuable time and money. The 12Gb/s SAS MegaRAID 9300 controller cards also support the scaling of hard disk drive (HDD) topologies and maximize the application acceleration benefits of solid state drives (SSDs).
The LSI 12Gb/s SAS expander family spans from 48 to 24 ports with optimized solutions for servers and external storage systems and incorporates the latest enhancements in SAS along with innovative new LSI DataBolt(TM) bandwidth optimizer technology. Using DataBolt, the 12Gb/s SAS expander family combined with 12Gb/s SAS MegaRAID controller cards delivers optimized throughput and facilitates the transition to 12Gb/s SAS-enabled systems by allowing users to gain 12Gb/s host speeds with current-generation 6Gb/s drives.
LSI led the industry by shipping the industry's first-to-market 12Gb/s SAS HBA cards, RAID-On-Chip (ROC) ICs and I/O controller ICs this year.
Now LSI strengthens its position with the introduction of its 12Gb/s MegaRAID SAS controller cards and expanders, delivering a true end-to-end 12Gb/s solution.
Pricing and availability
LSI 12Gb/s MegaRAID SAS 9300 Controller Cards (MSRP):

• MR SAS 9361-4i 4-Port Int., PCIe 3.0, 1GB $495 (SGL)/$530 (KIT)
• MR SAS 9361-8i 8-Port Int., PCIe 3.0, 1GB $670 (SGL)/$735 (KIT)
• MR SAS 9341-4i 4-Port Int., PCIe 3.0, Entry $235 (SGL)/$285 (KIT)
• MR SAS 9341-8i 8-Port Int., PCIe 3.0, Entry $335 (SGL)/$375 (KIT)
• MR SAS 9380-8e 8-Port Ext., PCIe 3.0, 1GB $899 (SGL)
• MR SAS 9380-4i4e 4-Port Int./Ext., PCIe 3.0, 1GB $820 (SGL)

CacheVault(R) Accessory Kit for

• LSICVM02 9361 Series $255 (KIT)

The 9361 and 9341 series 12Gb/s MegaRAID SAS controller cards listed above are available immediately and are supplied through the LSI worldwide network of distributors, integrators and VARs. The 9380 series 12Gb/s MegaRAID SAS controllers will ship during the first half of 2014. For more information about LSI 12Gb/s MegaRAID products, visit http://www.lsi.com.

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HighPoint's New SAS/SATA DAS RAID Storage Solution delivers 4GB/s Performance!
November 2013 - Milpitas, CA -HighPoint Technologies, a pioneering force in the storage industry for the past 18 years, launches a groundbreaking new breed of storage controller designed for high-speed applications: the RocketRAID 2720C2 6Gb/s SAS/SATA Cross-Sync RAID Solution.

HighPoint's 6Gb/s Cross-Sync RAID Solution aims to revolutionize DAS applications. Cross-Sync synchronizes up to two RocketRAID 2720C2 controller cards to work as a single RAID storage unit. The Cross-Sync RAID Solution provides 16 SAS/SATA6Gb/s Ports over a Dual PCIe x8 Host Interface, and is capable of delivering up to 4GB/s of transfer performance!
Tuned for High-Speed Applications: Cross-Sync Delivers 4GB/s Storage Performance!
HighPoint's Cross-Sync RAID Solution eliminates the performance bottlenecks associated with high-port count controllers, allowing the RocketRAID 2720C2 HBA's to fully exploit the Dual PCIe 2.0 host x8 interface, and operate at their full potential. 16-disk Cross-Sync RAID configurations are capable of delivering transfer performance over 4.0GB/s - ideal for professional HD media projects, video streaming devices, and A/V post production workstations.
Dynamic Storage Expansion
The RocketRAID 2720C2 Cross-Sync RAID Solution delivers an unprecedented level of flexibility and control; solution providers and administrators can custom tailor, scale, and fine-tune storage configurations to suit any platform and application. The Cross-Sync RAID Solution can link up to 2 storage controllers for high-performance 16-disk RAID arrays, or as many as 4 storage controllers for large-scale 32-disk JBOD configurations.
Advanced features such as Online Capacity Expansion (OCE) and Online RAID Level Migration (ORLE) allow clients to expand, upgrade or convert existing storage configurations as needed without compromising data.
The Cross-Sync RAID Solution maximizes the performance of small-footprint storage configurations, and is ideal for compact storage chassis and workstation environments.
Rocket 2720C2 Cross-Sync RAID Solutions double the performance of SAS Expander configurations and are capable of supporting up to 128 storage devices.
Comprehensive Platform Support
The RocketRAID 2720C2 Cross-Sync RAID Solution utilizes industry-standard Mini-SAS connectivity for maximum compatibility. The PCI-Express 2.0 host interface and low-profile form-factor allows Cross-Sync HBA's to be easily integrated into any workstation or server PC platform, and industry standard 3.5" or 2.5" storage chassis.
Complete RAID & Storage Management Suite
HighPoint delivers a comprehensive selection of intuitive management interfaces for all computing platforms and operating systems. These streamlined interfaces simplify the RAID configuration process and provide user-friendly controls for every setting and configuration option imaginable, and allow administrators to monitor the health of host-to-target storage devices and RAID configurations on-site or remotely.
The Web-based management interface allows administrators to login remotely via an internet connection or local network, and configure Email notification to inform one or more administrator of changing storage conditions while in the field.
Availability and Pricing
The RocketRAID 2720C2 RAID Solution is set to release in the first half of November 2013, and will be available from HighPoint's world-wide network of Distribution and Retail channels.

North American MSRP: USD $400

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