By Stuart Davidson @ Hardware Heaven
Today Linksys launch their latest high end device, the AC1200 Max range extender which compliments their routers by boosting our Wi-Fi signal towards the edge of the routers range. We have one for review, so let’s find out if it shares the same easy setup and good performance as their latest routers.
By Joe Kershner @ PureOC
There are a lot of different features we look at when purchasing peripherals, especially when it comes to our mouse for gaming. Who wants a heavy, uncomfortable mouse that may jump around while we’re trying to make the next kill? Introducing the next ThermalTake mouse capable of operating in wired or wireless mode. It has a sleek design and is capable of being reshaped to your personal comfort level. ThermalTake claims that gamers are guaranteed to find that special spot to rest comfortably spending long hours gaming. Let’s take it for a spin and see if this holds true.
Check out these latest hardware announcements for today from around the web. Also included are some hardware news bits, and on some days, a few rumors tossed in for good measure. Click on the links below to read the official press release, visit the products web page, or to an independent news source.
By Wesley Yin-Poole, Eurogamer
Earlier this month we had Mean Girls and Freaky Friday star Lindsay Lohan suing Rockstar over allegedly using her likeness in Grand Theft Auto 5. Now, we have an ex-dictator suing Activision over allegedly using his likeness in Call of Duty.
Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega is suing Activision over the use of his likeness in Treyarch’s first-person shooter Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.
In the game Alex Mason and Frank Woods track Noriega, codenamed False Profit by the CIA, to the outskirts of Panama City. You can see the scene in which they find him in the video, below, taken from the level Suffer With Me.
Now, 80-year-old Noriega, who lives in Panama, is suing Activision for the “blatant misuse, unlawful exploitation and misappropriation for economic gain” of his image in Black Ops 2, which came out in 2012.
In the lawsuit, filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court and reported on by the Courthouse News Service, Noriega’s lawyers claim: “In an effort to increase the popularity and revenue generated by Black Ops 2, defendants used, without authorisation or consent, the image and likeness of plaintiff in Black Ops 2.”
Muzzy Lane Software announced today that their WWI grand strategy title Making History: The Great War will remain in development through August. The game will continue to be available to players at a discounted price as part of Steam’s Early Access program as well as here at GHQ and at Gamer’s Gate. A new release date has been scheduled for September 9th.
“We’ve been pushing very hard to meet the July 28th date for release,” says Muzzy Lane CEO Dave McCool, “But we also have committed ourselves from the start to not release the game unless we feel it’s ready to go. We feel TGW will benefit greatly from these additional weeks of polish and balancing, which are critical to getting the best player experience from a strategy title such as this.”
Muzzy Lane will continue to release regular updates throughout the extension, just as it has during the entire time the game has been in early access. The company feels confident players will support their decision. “Our community wants the same thing we do,” says McCool, “The best possible WWI strategy game. We believe this is the best choice we can make to be certain that happens.”
The current discounted price of $29.99 will remain until the time of the official release, after which the game will sell for $39.99. More information as well as community discussion of TGW is ongoing at the Steam community hub and at the game’s website.
Battlefield 4 Dragon’s Teeth DLC Now Available for Battlefield 4 Premium Members
Electronic Arts has announced that Dragon’s Teeth, the fourth expansion pack to Battlefield 4, is out now for all Battlefield 4 Premium members. This DLC will be available to all non-Premium members on July 29th. Battlefield 4 Dragon’s Teeth offers the following new maps that introduce unique environments: Lumphini Garden, Pearl Market, Propaganda, and Sunken Dragon.
The DLC also includes five new weapons in addition to a new unlockable gadget, the Ballistic shield. Moreover, Dragon’s Teeth introduces Chain Link, a twist on the fan-favorite Conquest mode that sees squads battle to link capture points in order to achieve victory. Fans will also get ten new assignments with unique unlocks and a new Battle pickup in the R.A.W.R., a remote controlled ground vehicle armed to the teeth.
Click here to view the Dragon’s Teeth DLC teaser trailer.
Bohemia Interactive today opened the Addon category for their €500,000 Make Arma Not War content creation contest for Arma 3. This means people can now send in their applications for each contest category. While the other categories (Singleplayer, Multiplayer, Total Modifiction) had already launched, the Addon category was delayed until Arma 3′s support for Steam Workshop addons had been implemented.
To apply, contestants should go to www.makearma.com/apply and start the application process. The deadline for applications is set on October 26th, 2014. The winners of the Make Arma Not War contest will be announced on January 15th, 2015.
More information about the contest, the rules, prizes, and categories is available on www.makearma.com.
Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio today released Res Publica, the newest expansion for Europa Universalis IV, the award-winning grand strategy game of empire-building and global domination. Res Publica provides eager emperors and dedicated dictators with new options for trading and governing their empires, and is available now for Windows, Mac, and Linux for $4.99. Players can purchase and download the expansion now at www.europauniversalis4.com.
Author: AkG @ Hardware Canucks
Despite being launched years ago, Linksys’ WRT54G is still considered one of the best wireless routers available on the market. While most of this appeal is due to very capable third party firmware, the WRT54G set a high water mark that was only recently surpassed by some of the latest AC-band products. In order to keep up with the competition Linksys is now launching a spiritual successor to their storied router. Called the WRT1900AC, it brings high performance, a user friendly design and a broad feature set to a market that’s already filled with alternatives.
By Ian Cutress @ AnandTech
The initial set of Z97 reviews demonstrated that most motherboard manufacturers were implementing at least one the new storage options offered by the chipset: SATA Express and M.2. The motherboard we are testing today, the Z97-Pro, uses both but incorporates a switching system so only one is active at the time. Similarly to the Z97-Deluxe which we have reviewed, ASUS’ new brushed metalling gold design is here on the Z97-Pro as well.
