General Gaming Article

General Gaming Article

MCM Comic Con 2013 Cosplay Pictures

Posted: 01 Nov 2013 11:51 AM PDT

Female assassin's creedAnd you thought the Halloween costumes you saw were good

October in the UK brings the cold and the rain, but thankfully this past weekend at the London MCM Comic Con expo, the cosplayers powered through the weather and showed up in full force, sporting some amazing costumes, ranging from the completely terrifying to the remarkably sweet and adorable. Outfits covered the gamut of everything in between games and comics.  

Check below to see some of the best costumes from this weekend's event and let us know what your favorite outfit is.

*Note: Make sure to click on each image for the full-size photo. 

Major Patent Dispute Pits Apple/Microsoft-led Rockstar Group vs Google, Samsung, and Others

Posted: 01 Nov 2013 11:49 AM PDT

NuclearThe mother of all patent lawsuits

Patent disputes are unfortunately a common occurrence in the tech industry, but boy-oh-boy, the patent lawsuit filed by Rockstar may take the cake. In this case, Rockstar doesn't refer to Rockstar Games, makers of Grand Theft Auto V, but a consortium made up of Apple, Microsoft, BlackBerry, Ericsson, and Sony. At the heart of the dispute are thousands of former Nortel patents Rockstar purchased for $4.5 billion, and according to the lawsuit, several Android players infringe on these patents.

Google stands accused of infringing on seven patents covering technology that helps match Internet search terms with relevant advertising, Reuters reports. That makes up the backbone of Google's search business, so this is a pretty big deal.

In addition to going after Google, Rockstar also filed patent infringement lawsuits against Samsung, HTC, Huawei, LG, Asus, Pantech, and ZTE. Notice a trend? Every single company builds Android devices.

If and when this case goes to trial, you can bet Rockstar's legal team will point out the fact that Google tried to acquire Nortel's patents for $900 million back in 2001, and then eventually increased its bid to $4.4 billion. Rockstar ultimately won the bidding war, prompting Google to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, which was primarily motivated by Motorola's patent portfolio.

Stay tuned, this is going to be big.

Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine Review

Posted: 01 Nov 2013 11:18 AM PDT

Steal all the things

Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine could really just be called Monaco: What You Make of It.

It's not that Monaco's gameplay is overly complicated. At its core, this is one of the more simplified crime-themed titles you'll likely ever get your hands on. You need to master all of three buttons or so in this top-down, pixilated "heist game" that developer Pocketwatch Game has released via Valve's Steam platform.

Monaco isn't Rainbow Six. In many ways, it's difficult to pre-plan for some of the twists and turns the game's AI throws your way. Sneaking your way through a level works wonders until a random, nearby phone starts ringing and guards start a-rushing to answer it. The game's unique "fog of war"–like effect perfectly renders exactly what you can and cannot see within a level based on where you happen to be hiding. You can even stop and listen for nearby guards; the game highlights their walking paths with footsteps directly on your map.

We love Monaco's line-of-sight mechanism, even as much as it ruins our stellar planning.

We love Monaco's line-of-sight mechanism, even as much as it ruins our stellar planning.

Invariably, though, something will hit the fan in Monaco: Your planning will go awry, you'll sneak into a room from a tight corridor only to find a guard or civilian staring directly at you, or perhaps you'll just get tired of stealth and opt for a little run-and-gun burglary. And that's where Monaco truly shines, especially in the game's more frantic multiplayer mode.

You and three of your fellow cronies—found over the Internet, your local LAN, or via hot-seat gaming using a single monitor with multiple keyboards/controllers/etc.—all pick a character class and work your way through the level using voice chat (we recommend) or text (you're crazy). The classes and characters can complement each other. For example, when one of you picks The Lookout, all can then see the footsteps of nearby guards in adjoining rooms.

And, naturally, when one of you screws the pooch and raises alarms—which in turn, raises the franticness of the game's lovely 1920s-themed piano score—it's a mad dash for guns, exits, hiding places… you name it. Hello, survival-at-any-costs.

While we generally enjoyed our criminal career, we think that Monaco could be improved a bit by more directly tying use of the game's characters to its levels. We liked being able to just stick to our favorites to beat the game's single-player campaign, but Pocketwatch could better incentivize the use of underused or ill-fitting characters via achievements or other unlockables.

We would also love to see a bit more variety in the missions themselves: Perhaps a more spy-themed Monaco spinoff could make us feel like the Tom Cruise we've always wanted to be, instead of just a mere cat burglar who occasionally punches through walls while collecting hundreds of items scattered around a map (to unlock additional levels). Monaco's multiplayer is absurdly fun; its single-player campaign feels like someone stole the wind from the game's sails just a wee bit.

$15, pocketwatchgames.com, ESRB: T

Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 2 CPU Cooler Review

Posted: 01 Nov 2013 10:46 AM PDT

60 percent of the time, it works every time

Although the gearhead legions appear to be moving in droves to liquid cooling, there's still plenty of value in large air-coolers. You don't need to remap your case airflow to accommodate them, and there's no chance of them peeing all over the inside of your computer someday. Depending on your setup, however, even a nice air cooler can meet its match.

One 12cm and one 13.5cm fan push air through this beast.

One 12cm and one 13.5cm fan push air through this beast.

The latest challenger is Be Quiet, a German company that until now has been selling its coolers and case fans mostly in Europe. We Americans had to shop at specialty websites and use secret handshakes to get our grubby, freedom-loving hands on one. The Dark Rock Pro 2, however, is available now on NCIX.com. What's the appeal? Well, the DRP2 is all about low noise, and it looks pretty slick. Its 12cm and 13.5cm fans will max out at about 1,425rpm; for reference, a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo's 12cm fan will crank up to 2,000rpm.

We experimented with the DRP2 on an LGA1155 motherboard last month, in our Build It article. It performed fine with an Intel Core i7-3770K, a quad-core CPU that we overclocked to 4GHz. And it wasn't too difficult to install, despite its size. Were this our test platform, then the DRP2 would probably come away looking quite impressive.

However, our test rig uses a hexa-core Core i7-3960X overclocked to 4.1GHz. It has nearly twice the TDP of the 3770K and can make a lot of heat when pushed hard. While the DRP2 performed at least as well as a 212 Evo when the CPU load was light, it struggled to keep up when we engaged Intel's thermal testing tool, coming in several degrees higher than the Evo. Granted, the Evo will produce substantially more noise at this point (a 2,000rpm fan speed, versus 1,400rpm). But the DRP2 currently costs about three times as much an Evo, which we find difficult to justify when dealing with a beefy CPU like this one. We also tested the DRP2 against the similarly designed and quiet Phanteks TC14PE, which came in about 5 degrees Celsius lower and currently costs less, too (Be Quiet says it expects prices of the DRP2 to drop as more retailers carry it).

Also, a word on installation. The Core i7-3960X uses Intel's LGA2011 socket, which has a non-removable backplate. This alters the way in which coolers are installed. In the DRP2's case, this was a change for the worse. It attaches to its bracket by threading nuts onto some bolts. But the nuts are almost completely obscured by the sheer size of the cooler. We actually had to pull the motherboard out of the case and remove the RAM and video card to get enough clearance to install the nuts. Meanwhile, the 212 Evo just uses a 2011-specific bracket whose fasteners are reachable with a standard screwdriver. The TC14PE is manageable if you have a screwdriver with a long shaft.

The Dark Rock Pro 2 performs respectably and quietly on any LGA1155 processor, but the Phanteks TC14PE remains the overall champ for lower-noise air coolers.

$100 (street), www.bequiet.com

Good News HTC One Owners, Android 4.4 (KitKat) is Coming

Posted: 01 Nov 2013 10:11 AM PDT

HTC One RedHTC One promises an update to KitKat within 90 days

Android 4.4 (KitKat) has arrived, having hitched a ride on top of Google's Nexus 5 smartphone that was made available to order yesterday. That's great if you plan to purchase a Nexus 5, but what if you already own a smartphone and aren't in a position to upgrade? More specifically, what about HTC One owners? Well, the good news is that HTC apparently confirmed plans to port KitKat over to its One smartphone.

Even though the One is HTC's flagship smartphone, we've learned never to take upgrades for granted. However, HTC America president Jason Mackenzie told Engadget in an interview that KitKat is definitely on the roadmap for the One, though the rollout will depend on your specific model.

The Google Play edition will be updated within the next 15 days. Those who own a Developer Edition and/or an unlocked version can expect KitKat to arrive within 30 days. Finally, every other HTC One owner will see an update to Android 4.4 within 90 days or less.

While the OS is getting an update, HTC said its Sense UI will stay at version 5.5.

Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

Dell's UltraSharp UP3214Q Monitor Brings Ultra HD Sex Appeal to the Display Market

Posted: 01 Nov 2013 09:41 AM PDT

Dell UP3214QOoh la la!

It doesn't matter if the chicken or egg came first, we have tasty recipes for both. Likewise, it doesn't matter if Ultra HD monitors or 4K video becomes commonplace first, just so long as both get here, and in short order. So far, it looks like hardware might be winning out. We're seeing more and more Ultra HD panels come to market, including Dell's new UltraSharp 32 PremierColor (UP3214Q) display.

This sexy monitor features four times the resolution of Full HD at 3840x2160 spread across 31.5 inches of real estate. Like most other 4K monitors, the panel is a Sharp IGZO (indium gallium zinc oxide) screen, which uses smaller transistors and thereby allows for smaller pixels.

For what it's worth, other rated specifications include a 1,000:1 typical contrast ratio (2,000,000:1 dynamic), 350 cd/m2 brightness, 8ms response time (gray to gray), and 176 degrees of vertical and horizontal viewing angles. On the connectivity front, the UP3214Q features HDMi, mini DisplayPort, DisplayPort (version 1.2a), four downstream USB 3.0 ports, an upstream USB 3.0 port, and a media card reader.

You can adjust the monitor's tilt, swivel, and height. Dell says you can also fine tune the colors with the user accessible hardware look-up tablet (LUT) as well as with optional color calibrating hardware and software.

Hong Kong has dibs on the monitor where it's selling for HK$41,899, or about $5,400 in U.S. dollars -- oomph!

Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

AMD Catalyst 13.11 Beta Driver Fixes Battlefield 4 Crashing Issue in Windows 8

Posted: 01 Nov 2013 08:17 AM PDT

Battlefield 4Latest Catalyst driver from AMD makes BF4 more stable

AMD has been busy belting out beta drivers as of late, both because the company launched a new line of graphics cards (Radeon R7 and R9 Series) and to improve performance in Battlefield 4, one of the most anticipated games of the year. We know it can get old installing GPU drivers all the time, but if you're experiencing crashes in Battlefield 4 under Windows 8, you should considering loading up the newest AMD Catalyst 13.11 beta driver.

The newest software includes all the feature highlights of previous betas (some of which we'll point out in a moment) and resolves intermittent crashes experienced with Battlefield 4 on Windows 8 systems. There's no indication from AMD that BF4 has any issue with AMD graphics cards in Windows 7, so if you're running the previous generation OS, there's really no need to install this driver unless you haven't grabbed one of the previous beta releases and want the performance benefits that come with them.

Catalyst 13.11 beta 7 ushered in up to an additional 20 percent performance boost in Battlefield 4 in CrossFire configurations. Prior to that, the beta 6 release introduced performance gains of up to 35 percent in Batman: Arkham Origins with MSAA 8x enabled, up to 10 percent in Total War: Rome 2, up to 10 percent in Battlefield 3, and several other bumps in performance.

More information and download links can be found in the Catalyst 13.11 beta 8 Release Notes.

Follow Paul on Google+, Twitter, and Facebook

 

Newegg Daily Deals: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD Sound Card and Free Gift!

Posted: 01 Nov 2013 06:50 AM PDT

Sound Blasternewegg logo

Top Deal:

There's no denying that onboard audio has come a long ways, but has that relegated discrete audio solutions to obsolescence? Blasphemy! A set of cheap speakers or janky headphones picked up on clearance won't take advantage of discrete audio, but that's what makes today's top deal so special. It's for a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD Sound Card for $150 with free shipping with free Creative gaming headset with purcahse (limited offer on the headset). It's like pairing peanut butter with jelly, but beyond that, the X-Fi Titanium serves up 24-bit 192KHz audio, Dolby Digital encoding, and THX Trustudio effects.

Other Deals:

Intel Core i5-4430 Haswell 3.0GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor for $175 with free shipping (normally $190 - use coupon code: [EMCWXTW35])

Corsair TX Series 750W 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Power Supply for $90 with free shipping (normally $110 - use coupon code: [EMCWXTW38])

G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2x8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory for $119 with free shipping (normally $140 - use coupon code: [EMCWXTW23])

WD Red 4TB IntelliPower 3.5" NAS Internal Hard Drive for $180 with free shipping (normally $200 - use coupon code: [EMCWXTW22])
Posted by Shri Krishna

Total Pageviews

statcounter

View My Stats