Genius Ring Mouse 2
When it comes to pointers for the computer there are multiple solutions. Most of them come in the traditional flat on a mouse pad form, but occasionally a company comes up with an innovative way to control the pointer on our screen. Genius has developed a “ring mouse” and I have the pleasure of looking at their second version of this particular design in the Ring Mouse 2. I will look at the device’s versatility and functionality in this review and see how it stacks up not only as a pointer, but also as an alternative solution to our browsing needs.
Asus Maximus V Formula
Let’s be honest, Asus has a whole product line full of good motherboards. So much that it really takes a special motherboard to stand out from the crowd. There has been one specific board that has stuck with me for the past year and a half though, back from when I took a visit to the Asus office and they pulled it out to show me. That motherboard would be the Maximus V Formula. I’m sure you are wondering what made it stand out, especially considering all of the motherboards we have in the office, including boards like the Rampage IV. Well I only have a limited amount of space in the opening; you will have to peek inside our review to find out.
LunchBox 2 Project Build: PSU size DOES matter
Hey guys and girls, if you have been around the site or at some events you may have picked up that I have a thing for small form factor PC builds aka LAN rigs. I’m sure a few of you are laughing thinking about how big of a monster our “Fridge” build is, but that is exactly why it is important to have a rig that you can just grab and go without breaking your back. Last year I put together a rig that we called Lunchbox 2 using a Lian Li PC-TU200. After almost a year I had a few things I was interested in swapping around that I think some of you might be interested in.
Cooler Master N200
One of the biggest down falls to having a smaller form factor case and motherboard has always been lack of room for aftermarket cooling solutions, namely water cooling. Cooler master has released the N series brand of cases, a new line that hopes to tackle the water cooling conundrum that many small form factor users are faced with. The N series is touted as a mainstream computer case aimed at the masses, a simple, cheap solution that will house all of the gaming essentials. And as an enthusiast, it might not be your next rig, but it could very well be a candidate for your next LAN rig or for a budding gamer friend.
Power2U AC/USB wall outlet
As a necessary evil, gadget batteries, require charging from time to time and in this era where gadgets now dominate our everyday life it has become difficult to even find room to even plug them all in. For the most part longer battery life and charging stations have been the answer, but thanks to Newer Technologies there is a much easier solution to this problem and it is as simple as changing the wall outlet you plug everything into already. Follow me as I take a look at the do it yourselfers’ solution to the charging problem, the Power2U AC/USB wall outlet.
Welcome back from the long holiday weekend everybody. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. Back to the norm that is Gaming News. I have finished Batman: Arkham City, Serious Sam 3 is being played right now, Waves has been garnering attention on Steam, Midweek Madness is back after a crazy Autumn Sale that was on Steam and a laundry basket full of news at the end. Grab your favorite adult beverage, Gaming News starts now.
All I can say is WOW, what a game. Other than the dreadful DX11 issues that the game is having, a patch is incoming btw, it was as good or better than the first. I had absolutely no problems running it in Nvidia Surround. The config was stupid easy, I wish more developers really took this aproach, lets just make the damn thing work, without the consumer messing around for hours on end.
On the story front of the game it was awesome. I am not going to give any spoilers out but you can keep playing after you finish the main story. Many of Batman’s foe’s appear in the game which is an added bonus. There were a couple in the first game but they really blew the doors off for the second game. As for the ending, I can’t believe that they actually went down that road, again, no spoilers, but I don’t think this is the last Batman game that we will be playing.
The voice acting in the game is another high point. I am sad to see Mark Hamill leave as the Joker but getting new people in always makes for a fun transition. Catwoman, Batman, Joker and all of the other DC Comics characters are voiced really well. You can tell that they aren’t trying to hard but it comes off just sincere. It should be interesting to see who the next voice acter will be for the Joker.
Along the lines of the DX11 issues, many sites have tested it and it affects both AMD and Nvidia cards so no one is in the clear. It does suck that it doesn’t work but I’m not going to go back and play through the story again. Once the patch hits I will throw out a Gaming News PSA and let everyone know. I will fire the game up again and see if I can tell any differences between the two but from the screenshots that I have seen it’s not that big of a difference.
Serious Sam 3 BFE
So Serious Sam 3 BFE is a bit of a different dessert than what your used to, there is actually a story, kind of, lol. It’s not going to beat Skyrim out for storytelling but it is an improvement over the last two games. It’s your basic, aliens try and take over and Sam rolls in to kick ass. Atleast it’s something rather than the last two games that had absolutley nothing going for it story wise.
The graphics engine has also been updated to Serious Engine 3.5. The graphical detail in the game really stands out this time. It’s not going to take down Battlefield 3, Crysis or Metro 2033 but it is a big improvement over the previous engine. Aiming down the sights of the weapons also looks great. It blur’s what it needs to but keeps everything else in focus. Don’t worry though, it’s just like how any other FPS does it. The gun detail has also been improved. There is much more detail now on all of the weapons. Again, this isn’t going to break any benchmarks but it is a welcome improvement. After killing multiple baddies at close range you can see your gun/s with blood dripping from them. It's not the first game to do this but it does add to the action of the game.
I am about 4 hours in so far and really enjoying it. Sometimes you just want to sit down and shoot stuff. This is the game for you then. There is no limit on enemies either. They are throwing the whole kitten kaboodle at you as you progress through the levels. If you like mowing down waves of enimies then look no futher. I can't tell you the enjoyment that is killing fifty aliens in a row and then getting that iconic health pack for +1 health. In fact, that should be a ringtone of some sort.
Either way, if you are looking for some mindless killing with a somewhat provocative story then take a look at Serious Sam 3 BFE. You can pick it up on Steam for $39.99.
Want to be a sniper and pick off the perfect headshot? Well your in luck, cause Sniper Ghost Warrior is on sale this week. For 66% off for a total price of $10.19 you can add this game to your Steam collection. The Metacritic rating is below average with a 55 but then again your not dropping $50 on a brand new release. Pick it up today, remember, all Midweek Madness sale’s end on Thursday’s at 7pm EST.
Left Field
Lots of news this week.
A new Nvidia card was announced and you can check it out in the news section.
I am working on the Galaxy Nexus review that I posted about. I am taking my time cause I don’t want to rush it but look for it in the coming weeks
LanOC V10.0 registration is live for those of you that didn’t know.
What games is everyone looking forward to for the rest of the year?
Looks like the Galaxy Nexus is still not up for pre-order on Verizon’s website for those of you on Big Red. I am not sure what is going on but if you are on Big Red this is easily the phone to get.
That is all for this week everyone. As I write this we are getting our second snow in Indy. This time it’s actually sticking. I know from some of our community members up in the Ft. Wayne area that they are getting much more than we are.
Until next week,
Wingless is out!Discuss this article in the forums (4 replies).
- Lersar
- Arxon
- Satansoul
- Kazuma
- garfi3ld
| LanOC V13 Status | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||
