With the release of the AMD Radeon R9 380X graphics card a number of reviews have become available featuring cards from various manufacturers. You can check out the reviews via the links posted below.
Month: November 2015
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.
- AMD’s R9 380X Released Today, Numerous Partner Boards Announced
- BitFenix Announces the Pandora ATX Chassis – VIDEO
- Patriot Releases Viper Elite DDR4 Memory
- Sapphire Unveils TriXX with “Fiji” Voltage Control and HBM Overclocking
- Scythe Releases Fuma Twin-Tower CPU Cooler – VIDEO
- BIOSTAR Announces Hi-Fi H170S3H Motherboard
- Kingston Announces HyperX Savage Flash Drive
Cossacks Get Their Marching Orders on December 1
With the holiday season soon in full swing, it’s the perfect time to plan how you’ll be spending those late nights in front of the computer. Why not conquer the world?
On December 1, 2015, you will be able to play The Cossacks, the next expansion for Europa Universalis IV, the best-selling historical grand-strategy game from Paradox Development Studio. With a host of new features and upgrades as impressive as the legendary steppe warriors themselves, The Cossacks brings even more depth and detail to Paradox’s flagship series.
A new diplomatic system lets you highlight provinces for expansion, pointing out to friend and foe alike where your ambitions lie. Earn the trust of your allies by performing favors for them, and use the promise of enemy territory to entice them to your side.
Other features include:
- The Estates: Allocate lands to clergy, nobles and merchants as you try to balance the powers in your Renaissance state.
- Tell The World What You Want: Designate neighboring provinces as “places of interest”, build trust with other nations, and entice allies with the promise of land for their support.
- Tengri: Tengri is now a Syncretic faith, allowing it to tolerate a secondary religion as if it were a national faith.
- Horde Unity and Razing: Nomadic nations now must pay attention the horde unity of their tribes – a unity that can only be maintained by the occasional pillaging
- Improved Culture Change: You can now restore a previous culture to a converted province, or convert a province you hold to a culture that is not your own.
- Native Policies: Set your policy for colonial encounters with natives. Are you focused on quick subjugation, peaceful growth or trading advantages?
- Improved Espionage: New spy actions allow you to study the technology of more advanced countries and prod your rivals’ subjects towards independence.
And, as always, even if you don’t buy The Cossacks, its release will be accompanied with a free major content update for all Europa Universalis IV players.
For more information, visit the official Europa Universalis IV website.
Source: Blue’s News
EA’s Battlelog has details on Battlefield 4: Legacy Operations, a free DLC pack coming soon to Battlefield 4 for Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. At the center of the release is Dragon Valley 2015, an updated version of the Dragon Valley map from Battlefield 2, saying this “opens up for vehicular mayhem on land, air, and sea, with a massive number of flags, and destructible and repairable bridges.” This trailer shows off some play testing of the map, and here’s a bit on how the original had to be changed:
If you played Battlefield 2, you likely remember the map – it was huge, with a massive number of flags, and destructible and repairable bridges. Our goal for this map is to make a great, large vehicle map for Battlefield 4 but at the same time modernize the original where appropriate.
Some things had to change when reimagining the map. Battlefield 2 featured a poor draw distance (how far you can see in the game world) by today’s standards, and the original map was built around those limitations. We tackled this in several ways: first we increased the terrain verticality to closer mimic a real life Chinese river valley – and to give us more terrain occlusion for long distances, especially on the central island. We also added a dynamic cloud layer, which not only adds a welcomed air-to-ground separation in terms of gameplay, but also helps shroud far distances at ground level. This has the added bonus effect of allowing you to have intense aerial firefights above the cloud level, which looks really, really cool in Battlefield 4.
Record Sales for the Most Anticipated Game of 2015
Bethesda Softworks, a ZeniMax Media company, today announced that its award-winning game, Fallout 4, is generating record sales at retail outlets and via digital download for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system and PC. Bethesda launched with approximately 12 million units worldwide to meet day one demand, representing sales in excess of $750 million. The collector’s edition, the Fallout 4 Pip-Boy Edition, sold out within hours of its announced availability.
Major retailers have informed Bethesda of the tremendous consumer interest in Fallout 4, with some noting it was the most pre-ordered game this year. In addition, the Fallout 4 Pip-Boy Edition was the fastest-selling collector’s edition of any game in history at leading retailers. Following the release, Bethesda was advised that launch day sales at some of the leading retail chains were the largest of any game released this year. Bethesda is now shipping more Fallout 4 units to retailers to meet ongoing market demand.
Digital sales of Fallout 4 are also breaking records. On Steam, Fallout 4 became the number one game played, surpassing the previous record for concurrent play with over 470,000 Fallout players. The companion app, Fallout Pip-Boy, became the number one game on the iTunes App Store. Fallout 4 also set the record as the most viewed game launch of all 2015 games, according to Twitch.
For more game information, visit the official Fallout 4 website.
The Cold War turns hot and the fears of decades become a reality as Warsaw Pact forces cross the West German border.
Central Europe is once again the main battlefield for global supremacy but this time the confrontation is between the two Superpowers and their Allies in NATO and the Warsaw Pact. This Third World War will feature the most mobile, deadly and terrifying weapons ever seen.
Will it remain a conventional war, or will chemical and nuclear weapons be released and bring the world to the brink of armageddon?
Flashpoint Campaign: Germany Reforged is a “Battle Pack” for Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm, featuring the original scenarios from the first Flashpoint Germany fully updated to the new Flashpoint Campaigns engine, along with a new never before seen mega-map!
This incredible modern wargame will stun you with its ability to represent the high complexity of modern warfare without overwhelming the player. Along with modelling virtually every modern weapon system of the 1980s NATO and Warsaw Pact, the system elegantly portrays the friction of the modern battlefield with a particular emphasis on command and control and electronic warfare.
This expansion brings 17 scenarios with 43 variants along with the original Flashpoint Germany maps completely redone to new graphical standards (withhexes replacing the old grid), a new map “Eiterfeld” which is the largest to date for the Flashpoint Campaigns system (40 x 30 km versus the previous 20 x 15 km) and an abundance of additional action for American, British, West German and Soviet forces alike!
Grab the game now!
Flashpoint Campaigns: Germany Reforged is an expansion for Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm and requires Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm 2.0.10 to play. You can download the 2.0.10 update here (check the changelog here).
The game is also available via Steam.
Do you want to know more? Check this amazing AAR!
By Steven Kean @ Legit Reviews
Earlier this year, it was reported that Elitegroup Computer System (ECS) was no longer going to market its own branded motherboards, instead they were going to focus on OEM motherboards. While OEM system builds has been ECS’s main focus for many years, they have released products for the DIY crowd, with high end features while keeping the price down. With increased pressure from the top tier motherboard manufacturers, these budget minded motherboards often get overlooked. However, if you look at the features ECS builds into their motherboards, these budget boards are sometimes a great option. Take for example, the ECS Z170 Claymore motherboard, here we have a motherboard designed for the latest Intel Skylake processors, that integrates some of the latest technology.
Source: Microsoft
Today, we reach our next milestone as the first major update to Windows 10 is now available for PCs and tablets. With this update, there are improvements in all aspects of the platform and experience, including thousands of partners updating their device drivers and applications for great Windows 10 compatibility.
Experience improvements in this update include:
- Performance in everyday tasks, such as boot time now nearly 30% faster than Windows 7 on the same device.
- With Cortana, you can use your device’s pen** to just scribble a note in the Cortana Notebook and Cortana will recognize the phone number, email address, and even physical address to help you set reminders. Cortana can also now keep track of your event and movie bookings too, sending you helpful reminders to know where to go and get there on time, plus the option to book and track an Uber**. We’re excited to make Cortana available in Japan, Australia, and Canada and India (in English) with features and experiences customized for each market.
- Microsoft Edge offers improved performance and security, along with tab preview, which allows you to hover over your open tabs and get a preview of what’s on those websites without leaving the page you’re on. Microsoft Edge now syncs your Favorites and Reading list items across devices so you can easily get back to the content you’re interested in most. And, Cortana will now notify you of the best coupons** from your favorite retailers such as Staples, Macys and Best Buy when shopping in Microsoft Edge.
And much more with improvements to Mail, Calendar, Photos, Groove, Xbox, Store, OneNote, Solitaire, and more!
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.
- GIGABYTE Expands XTREME GAMING Lineup
- Sharkoon Intros BW9000 Series Mid-tower Chassis
- Thermalright Reveals Le Grande Macho CPU Cooler
- HyperX Releases High-Capacity Kit Additions to Savage and Predator DDR4 Memory
- Mad Catz Announces New R.A.T. 1 PC Gaming Mouse
- Icy Dock Announces the ToughArmor MB992SKR-B Enclosure
- EK Water Blocks Releases New Revo Dual D5 PWM Pump Setup
- Silverstone Precision Series PS12 Available This Month
- Samsung Readies an Affordable M.2 PCIe SSD
- ASUS RT-AC88U Dual-Band Wireless-AC3100 Gigabit Router Announced
- ASUS Announces RT-AC5300 Router
- Acer 34-Inch Ultra-Wide QHD and FHD IPS Displays Now Available In United States
- Mad Catz Releases Tournament Edition F.R.E.Q.TE 7.1 Gaming Headset
Source: Blue’s News
Steam News announces that Fallout 4 is now available. They say: “Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, welcome you to the world of Fallout 4 – their most ambitious game ever, and the next generation of open-world gaming.” Here’s the rest of the game’s official description:
As the sole survivor of Vault 111, you enter a world destroyed by nuclear war. Every second is a fight for survival, and every choice is yours. Only you can rebuild and determine the fate of the Wasteland. Welcome home.
Key Features:
- Freedom and Liberty! Do whatever you want in a massive open world with hundreds of locations, characters, and quests. Join multiple factions vying for power or go it alone, the choices are all yours.
- You’re S.P.E.C.I.A.L! Be whoever you want with the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. character system. From a Power Armored soldier to the charismatic smooth talker, you can choose from hundreds of Perks and develop your own playstyle.
- Super Deluxe Pixels! An all-new next generation graphics and lighting engine brings to life the world of Fallout like never before. From the blasted forests of the Commonwealth to the ruins of Boston, every location is packed with dynamic detail.
- Violence and V.A.T.S.! Intense first or third person combat can also be slowed down with the new dynamic Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S) that lets you choose your attacks and enjoy cinematic carnage.
- Collect and Build! Collect, upgrade, and build thousands of items in the most advanced crafting system ever. Weapons, armor, chemicals, and food are just the beginning – you can even build and manage entire settlements.
More game information is available at the official Fallout 4 website.
