Believe it or not, Razer has been making microphones for a very long time. For most of the company’s history, the microphones have all been attached to headsets. Razer changed that last December when they announced the Razer Seiren USB microphone designed for professional quality audio recording. Today, Razer revealed a new Seiren model, the top of the line Razer Seiren Pro.
The Razer Seiren Pro shares a lot of features with the lower tier model. Both can connect to a computer via USB, have headphone outputs, and have four different recording patterns. The Pro version also features the ability to output via XLR connection, making it compatible with professional grade mixing boards. The Razer Seiren Pro also also comes with a high pass filter that cuts off low frequency noise, requiring less editing later to remove electrical hums and fans.
The Razer Seiren Pro is priced at $249.99 USD / €299.99 for the microphone itself. These will be available in stores around the world sometime in May, with pre-orders being accepted at the RazerStore. The RazerStore has some exclusive offerings: a shock mount for $49.99 USD / €49.99, a pop filter for $49.99 USD / €49.99, and a bundle that has all three items for $299.99 USD / €349.99. Learn more at the official mini-site.
Razer’s new microphone isn’t the only big announcement the company has up its sleeve. The pre-orders for Razer’s first Android TV box has opened at the RazerStore. Buyers can either pre-order a Razer Forge TV for $99.99 USD, the Razer Serval controller for $79.99, or the Razer Forge TV bundle that contains both a Forge and a Serval for $149.99.
The Razer Forge TV comes armed with a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805, a dedicated Adreno 420 GPU, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of on-board storage. It hooks up to the TV via HDMI 1.4 and can connect with Bluetooth 4.1, Wireless 802.11AC 2X2, or Gigabit Ethernet. The box comes with Modern Combat 5: Blackout, BombSquad, and Age of Zombies pre-loaded.
If you aren’t a Star Wars fan or you need a break of marathoning every Star Wars movie, book, and video game, then Indie Gala and Capsule Computer’s Every Monday Bundle #58 is the solution to your woes. This week’s bundle packs six great indie titles for one low price.
The Falling Sun– A FPS survival-horror set during WW2 in Burma (now known as Myanmar), a young Lieutenant is sent to discover what happened to an entire armoured division that has fallen off the radar. The truth is more horrifying than anyone could imagine.
TownCraft– A city building game perfect for casual players.
Hospital Manager– Build and manage your own hospital as patients with strange and wacky illnesses keep pouring in.
For the first 24 hours of the sale, the entire bundle only costs $1.89. Grab your bundle at Indie Gala before the price goes up.
About a week ago the now standard Season Pass was announced for Batman: Arkham Knight however details were slim. Those lack of details combined with a very high price point for a Season Pass ($40 U.S.) sparked outrage across the Internet. Now, Rocksteady have chosen to deliver a few more details on what exactly will be included in the Season Pass to help keep everyone happy and that seems to have worked with many fans excited at the upcoming contents planned for the Arkham trilogies final entry.
Taken straight from the Arkham Knight official forums, here is what you can expect from the Season Pass.
Batgirl: A Matter of Family
An all new prequel story expansion in an entirely new location where you play as Batgirl for the very first time in the Arkham series – check out the first render of Batgirl.
The Season of Infamy
Play as Batman in all new story missions featuring legendary super-villains invading Gotham City, with new story arcs, missions and gameplay features.
Gotham City Stories
Play as Batman’s key allies in narrative missions extending their storylines, from both before and after the events in Batman: Arkham Knight/
Legendary Batmobiles with Themed Tracks
Drive the most iconic Batmobiles from Batman’s 75-year history, on custom-built race tracks, each themed to that Batmobile’s specific era. Every Batmobile will be drivable across every race track.
Crimefighter Challenge Maps
Engage in a series of new challenge maps utilizing the unique play styles of Batman and his allies.
Character Skins
A variety of skins from across the eras for Batman, Robin, Nightwing and Catwoman.
Looks like a great mix of story content, challenge maps and alternate costumes and missions although it is still hard to justify a price point that is two thirds of the main game. Let us know if you will be grabbing the Season Pass for Batman: Arkham Knight which launches on PC, PS4 and Xbox One on June 23rd. Check out the games most recent trailer which includes glimpses of all new combat features here.
The Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog gaming headset works with existing computer sound cards and features the Kave XTD’s proven comfortable design mixed with two 40mm drivers and a 30mm vibration unit in each ear cup. The three separate drivers allows for true 5.1 surround sound, unlike the more common virtual surround sound used by most headsets advertising surround sound support. A first for analog gaming headsets, the Kave XTD 5.1 Analog uses an interference isolator to stop the effects of electromagnetic interference on audio, providing a cleaner sound. The microphone lights up, letting gamers know if their microphone is muted or not.
With launches in Europe and US last month, Roccat is moving towards a full global launch of their Roccat Kave XTD 5.1 Analog gaming headset this month. Australians will be able to get their hands on the headset starting today at retailers like MWave, Capitol Computer, Computer Alliance, Austin Computers, JW.com, PCLAN, and Gamedude for $239.95 AUD.
League of Legends.It has taken the internet by storm since it first hit the PCs in 2009. Well now, Riot Games are bringing one of the world’s most popular and competitive esports is finally making its way down under with the Oceanic Pro League.
The league started in February and is set to wrap off its season with the grand final being held in Sydney at the ever popular Lunar Park on August 8th.Players can experience a full day of fun with free community activities around the park, ranging from cosplay competitions and workshops to themed games, starting from 11am AEST. The live Grand Final will then kick off at 5pm AEST with ticket holders taking their seats to watch the OPL’s two top teams go head-to-head for the crown.
If you want to head to the event, there are 1300 tickets available at the following prices (also note that tickets also come with a s-shirt, exclusive skin and more):
Single OPL Grand Final Only ticket, RRP $15
Team Deal OPL Grand Final Only (5 Tickets), RRP $60
Click hereto buy your tickets and make sure you stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all of the awesome League of Legends news as it becomes available.
Suicide Squad director, David Ayer, has taken to Twitter to share a couple of images of most of the costumed cast from his upcoming Warner Bros./DC Comics antihero superhero flick.
Upon sending this first tweet, telling fans to get ready on Saturday evening, Ayer followed up with a cast photo on Sunday with much of the cast in character:
Since we already got to see Jared Leto’s Joker last week, Ayer shared most of the rest of the main cast from Suicide Squad. From the left, the cast lines up as follows: Adam Beach as Slipknot, Jai Courtney as Boomerang, Cara Delevingne as Enchantress, Karen Fukuhara as Katana, Joel Kinnaman as Rick Flagg, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Will Smith as Deadshot, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc, and Jay Hernandez as El Diablo.
Missing in action are Leto as Joker and Viola Davis as Amanda Waller as well as Ike Barinholtz and Common, of whom the characters they are playing are still a mystery.
Then, about an hour and a half later, Ayer shared a close-up of Will Smith’s Deadshot in full costume:
Suicide Squad will be released next year on August 5, 2016 as part of Warner Bros. and DC Comics’ upcoming shared cinematic universe, begun by 2013’s Man of Steel. It is written and directed by David Ayer (Training Day, End of Watch).
While I am hesitant of this film as one who grew up on DC Comics, despised Man of Steel, and thinks the sun has already set on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, I think the cast for Suicide Squad is pretty spectacular and the costumes are looking pretty cool thus far. What do you think? As the first non-hero film in this universe, will this be DC’s Guardians of the Galaxy?
Kickstarted back in August 2014, Fallen: A2P Protocol is a tactical RPG that pays tribute to the glory days of the genre. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world inspired by the likes of Fallout. Fallen: A2P Protocol is currently on Steam Early Access and still in alpha
Currently, the game has a handful of campaign mission along with a few side missions. Developers Red Katana estimate that most people should be able to get through the content in four to five hours. It is quite clear that the game is still in active development as plenty of content is filled with placeholders. The heart and soul of the game is ready to roll, the combat system.
Combat uses an action point system. For starters, each character has 10 action points that can be spent on anything involving movement, attacking, or moving inventory. A larger pool of action points can be earned with certain character skills. Each character has a small inventory and armour slots for their body. Ranged weapons require ammunition, which also takes up space in the inventory. Ammunition is extremely limited, so players are able to swap out their empty ranged weapon for a melee weapon without an AP cost; however, reloading the weapon with another magazine will cost a small bit of AP. Once the player has expended all their AP, any enemy that is within visual range will take their turn.
As a tactical RPG, positioning is of utmost importance in Fallen: A2P Protocol. Being able to hide behind cover is the difference between life and death. The game makes it very easy to identify cover during movement. All raised surfaces in the environment that provide cover are marked with a floating blue shield, while those which don’t provide cover are marked in red. Enemy units are hidden from the player until they enter a character’s line of sight. From there, players will be able to keep track of their enemy’s movements. The mechanic adds a bit of uncertainty and fear to moving around, but at the same time it makes kill all enemy maps a bit annoying, as chasing down the final enemy can cause the player the start wandering around the map randomly until the last enemy pops up.
I have enjoyed the combat system so far. Red Katana has struck a good balance between ranged and melee weapons in the face of the limited ammunition. Because attacking is expensive and the maps are rather large, players have to balance expending precious ammo to rain down attacks from afar or spending turns to close the gap and attack with a melee weapon. Currently, there is no vendor implemented in the game, so ammunition must be scavenged from certain points on the map or looted from dead bodies, making it even scarcer. Once the inventory management system is improved, the greater challenge will be managing the limited inventory space, keeping enough ammunition, weapons, and med kits to win a fight, while keeping enough inventory space open for looting dead enemies.
Fallen: A2P Protocol adds a new strategic element in the game with the varying weather effects. Each map comes with its own weather forecast and weather changes constantly while in game. Effects can be as benign as a sandstorm that reduces vision to as deadly as a torrent of acid rain.
Character progress through four skill trees currently. Two are for ranged characters, one is for survivability, and the last is for melee combat. The skill tree isn’t so much a tree, but rather four separate ladders. Currently, players get four points per level and must purchase the previous skill to be able to purchase the next one. The system is a bit rigid, but it does allow for the development of well-rounded characters. The game is extremely generous with points right now and levelling up is easy, which I suspect and hope is a temporary state while the game is in alpha.
The controls are a little rough right now. The button placement on the right side of the screen is a little awkwardly placed and the AP buttons are a little glitchy right now. It gets easier with a little practice, but the escape key is the magical key that will solve most of the AP button bugs.
Currently, the start of a larger story campaign is in place. Six out of an eventual 16 story missions are currently available. Fallen: A2P Protocol’s plot will be completely linear. The theme of vengeance and betrayal already run strong in the alpha build, but it’s hard to say how the story will turn out at this point. One thing is certain, Fallout’s influence on the world is unmistakable.
Fallen: A2P Protocol has a slightly cartoony look. The environment is looking pretty good right now, though currently a touch repetitive. The characters look excellent, except for the awkward run animations that have a very unnatural gait.
The audio presentation sounds good so far. The sound effects are solid. The music is enjoyable to listen to, striking a very epic tone.
Fallen: A2P Protocol is definitely on the right track. The game is by no means finished, but the combat system is growing into a game worthy enough to pay tribute to the games Red Katana is trying to pay homage to. Red Katana has created the foundational lore for a great post-apocalyptic setting.
Following on from the successful Halo: Spartan Assault on PC and Windows Phone, Microsoft has done the imaginable and bought Halo to the iPad with the new top-down shooter; Halo: Spartan Strike. This top-down, twin stick entry into the Halo franchise is the most fun I have had with the series in quite a while and is one of the few iOS games that I will come back to over time.
Story
The game begins during the events of Halo 2 and gives players a chance to get used to the controls and setting before skipping ahead a few years to after the events of Spartan Assault (but before Halo 4). We get to visit a lot of previously known locations that fans will immediately recognise, like New Mombasa, and a few newcomers like the Installation 03 Altar.
Unlike most spin-offs, Spartan Strike doesn’t do a whole lot of world building, instead mostly opting to tell a new story in the preexisting confines. That isn’t to say that there is nothing new to be learned about the Halo universe from this game, just that there isn’t all that much.
Gameplay
Spartan Strike is a top down, twin-stick shooter set in the Halo universe. Its funny how with that one sentence, I feel like I have almost explained the entirety of the game. Players take on the role of a SPARTAN as you progress through the beautifully rendered stages and gun down Covenant and Promethean enemies. As with most twin-stick shooters, the controls are surprisingly simple, yet the touch gestures allow you to do so much with them. throwing a grenade is as simple as double tapping on the screen, while a melee attack is as simple as a quick swipe.
Usually when it comes to digital buttons and joysticks I am a little hesitant, but I have always found that twin stick shooters feel right at home on the iPad, and this is no exception. The controls felt incredibly natural and responded to my gestures exactly how I wanted them too. While there can be a lot going on
The best part about Halo: Spartan Strike? No microtransactions! It is rare that a mobile game will do this but it is exciting none the less. While there are purchasable upgrades and weapons, these are all done with the in-game currancy, meaning that after your intial $6 outlay, that’s it – you have the entire game’s content.
Visuals & Audio
Having recently updated to the latest hardware has given me a whole new respect for mobile games, and a lot of the reasons for that are beautifully executed by Spartan Strike. The game makes the most of its hardware and ends up being an absolutely beautiful experience that just looks like a true to life Halo game.
As is typical with top-down shooters, the screen is panned quite far away from the action, allowing the player to see around them in 360 degrees. This means that the player character, NPCs and enemies are quite small, even on the iPad’s screen, however the level of detail is absolutely staggering. While this is no Master Chief Collection, everything looks really good here, with everything from individual armor plates to tiles on the sidewalk being rendered.
This is one of those games where screenshots don’t do it justice. When the game is frozen in place you can see the imperfections and few jagged lines, but in action the game runs and looks as smooth as silk.
Overall
iOS games have come a long way since the iPhone first released its App Store. What was once a wasteland of sudoku and match-three puzzlers has evolved to be one of the best places for quick bursts of gaming, and Halo: Spartan Strike is a testament to that. With simple controls that let you jump right into the action, a story that fills in some gaps in the Halo lore and visuals that are really above and beyond what they needed to be, Halo: Spartan Strike is a worthy addition to the Halo franchise and mobile gaming.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
May looks to be a big month for Monster Hunter fans everywhere, as Capcom have now released a new trailer displaying all of the DLC you can pick up during the month for the fantastic portable entry (check out our review HERE if you have yet to do so). The first thing to speak of are new challenge quests, allowing users to download missions to face new beasts.
Those who want some cosplay action are also in luck, as new Street Fighter, Metroid, and Mega Man skins have also been added, adding a little more flare to the already boasting experience. Check out the clip below and get ready for all of the DLC that May promises to bring to Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate.
London based indie developers Endtimes Studio are turning to Kickstarter to raise funds for their upcoming Oculus Rift adventure game Plugged. The game runs on Unreal Engine 4 and is designed to update the venerable point and click adventure genre for the virtual reality space. Dubbed “Look and Click,” players will use their eyes and head instead of a mouse cursor to interact with the world and solve puzzles.
Endtimes Studio is looking to raise £20,000 (roughly $30,000 USD) to push the project to completion. The devs plans on using the money raised on Kickstarter to increase the number of endings in the decision driven narrative to double the number of possible endings to eight, add more puzzles, and generally polish the game. The stretch goals will add more possible endings to the game.
Be sure to check out the project on Kickstarter and back the campaign before May 30, 2015.
