Master
Latest
V-Moda's M-100 Crossfade headphones get a professional upgrade
V-Moda's heavy duty Crossfade M-100 headphones -- known for their 3D-printed personalization -- have been given an upgrade. The Crossfade M-100 Master has been engineered in conjunction with Roland in what V-Moda calls a "creators first" approach, making the headphones particularly suited to DJs, producers and video streamers. Roland bought a majority stake in V-Moda in 2016, so it's no surprise the two are closely working together.
I wish I were a 'Street Fighter V' master
If there was one game I wish I could be good at, it's Street Fighter V. Maybe it's because I've played the series, in some form or another, for around two decades, maybe it's because most of the other games I play aren't really multiplayer. Sure, I love playing games, but I wouldn't say I was good at them. I get bested in FIFA, destroyed in Halo, but with Street Fighter, I'm not that bad. However, I'm not a high-level player good either -- something that was clearly demonstrated than when I played the latest iteration, the PS4- and PC-only Street Fighter V, here in LA, where I was beaten, occasionally thrashed. But I kept lining up for another go -- or pushing the limits of my briefing time with Capcom. The latest iteration carries over the literal jaw-smashing, eye-popping visuals of the 3D reimagining of the series, but adds some next-gen graphical glamour. The game adds a new layer of strategy and difficulty with the V-System. The characters announced so far have been changed in a lot of important ways.
Samsung hopes 'respected older generations' will dig its new flip-phones
It may be a tad ageist to presume that some older folks prefer simple flip-phones to souped-up smartphones, but Samsung isn't making any apologies. In fact, the firm's just introduced a new line of clamshell phones in South Korea aimed at "respected old generations." Dubbed "Samsung Master," the class of handsets keeps things tame (and decidedly 2008) with 2G and 3G radios, a 3-inch screen, pedometer and FM radio. Of course, even a feature phone would't be complete without some flair. Not only are the phones available in black, red and silver, but their backs and keypads wear the faux stitched leather that's become a staple in the company's more cutting edge phones, tablets and laptops. If you happen to find yourself in South Korea with 240,000 won (roughly $234) to spare, you can snap up the distinguished-looking flip-phone for yourself.
Peggle 2 Windy fairy DLC gives a flying flock
Peggle 2 received a new master via downloadable content today named Windy, a spritely fairy that brings with her a special "Fairy Flock" power. Windy transforms blue pegs in the game into the score-boosting purple pegs and "simple shots" into ones that are bound to earn players additional chances. The Windy's Master Pack DLC includes 10 new levels, 10 trials, three costumes, three achievements and 30 objectives, all for $1.99. PopCap launched the game on Xbox One in December, adding local multiplayer dueling in March. Xbox 360 owners will get a turn with Peggle 2 when it arrives on Microsoft's so-last-gen platform on May 7. [Image: EA Games]
Lichborne: BlizzCon 2013 news for Death Knights
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Lichborne for blood, frost, and unholy death knights. In the post-Cataclysm era, death knights are no longer the new kids on the block. Let's show the other classes how a hero class gets things done. BlizzCon 2013 bought with it a new expansion, Warlords of Draenor, and while we did learn a lot about upcoming changes, very few of it was actually class-specific. Mostly what we got in class specific news was the level 100 talents, which, while awesome, will likely change pretty significantly even between now and the beta, to say nothing of when Warlords of Draenor goes live. That said, there were still a lot of very interesting system changes that herald great things for death knights, and we'll go over those today as well. New Talents and Skills The level 100 talents continue the storied tradition of level 90 talents in that they very obviously take their cue from the prime death knight, Arthas himself, the Lich King. They also address something we've talked about before, ability bloat. Instead of adding new skills, 2 of them simply replace existing things.
Behind the Mask: Comparing the archetype bruisers
A lot of people seem to get the wrong idea about Champions Online's Gold archetypes. For the most part, the Gold archetypes are simply different options to play with. As I mentioned previously, the Master is kind of an exception, since it's the only dedicated archetype tank. However, this does not mean that the Master is the beat-all-end-all or that Gold archetypes are outright superior to Silver ones. For the most part, the Silver archetypes are better at their focused roles than the comparable Gold archetypes. This week, we're going to look at the damage-soaking tanky archetypes and compare them. I'll also give a quick comparison between these bruisers and a comparable freeform hero. There's quite a few to cover, so let's get to it!
Behind the Mask: How tanking got easier
I've mused for a long time about the problems with tanking in Champions Online, since it's my preferred PvE role. Gold members can build freeform characters with everything one would need for a tank, leaving only skill as a requirement. On the other hand, Silver members have been left out in the cold. It's unfortunate, but there has simply been no decent archetype tank. This all changed with the launch of the Master, a martial arts-themed melee fighter with everything needed to compete in the toughest lairs. Although he isn't a perfect tanking package, he is completely functional and does his job well. He's the Mind of tanking archetypes: He soaks damage, he owns face, and he isn't reliant on a healer for sustainability. I think I'm in love. Although he is not a free archetype, unlocking the Master is a one-time purchase. If you're into the tank playstyle but you're not into a subscription, this archetype is for you.
Hyperspace Beacon: Ready to face the Trials
We are often inspired by the Star Wars: The Old Republic videos released on Fridays. I'm not exactly sure why the community team started these weekly treats, but I'm going to speculate that it's a way to show the future players that the team will be there for them when the game releases. It's a kind of comfort. Many newer MMOs have increased community involvement in post-launch game design. Maybe the SWTOR team is looking to tell us, "We want you actively involved in our game development now and after the game is released." Good for the team. This week's video of Jedi progression definitely inspired my colleague on Gamebreaker, Gary Gannon, as evident in Sunday's broadcast. I thought he was going to jump out of his chair. I have to agree with him that there is a lot of stuff packed into that two-and-a-half-minute video; for example, we were shown some of the armor progression milestones for the Jedi Knight class. This inspired me to investigate the story side of Jedi Knight progression. After all, BioWare is all about story, right? So follow me after the break as I set a side my conscious self and let the Force flow through me.
Samsung's Central Station wireless monitor appears in Europe as SyncMaster C27A750
Back when we first laid eyes on Samsung's Central Station, we were excited by its wireless docking capabilities, and now it looks like the company's ready to let the monitor loose on European soil, albeit with a decidedly less American moniker. The SyncMaster C27A750, a 27-inch affair, uses Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology via a USB dongle to connect to your laptop. It touts a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution and sports HDMI, VGA, and USB 2.0 and 3.0 ports. The new SyncMaster will hit Europe by the end of April for about €600, but we've yet to hear anything about Central Station's ETA -- very sneaky, Samsung... very sneaky.
Philips Master LED light bulb set for US release in July
Philips has been hitting us with some out-there lighting concepts lately, but the company's Master LED light bulb is actually already on sale in Europe and is set to brighten up Stateside lives around July. The 40W-equivalent bulbs should run between $50 and $70, and expected lifetime is set at 45,000 hours -- just slightly more than a CFL's 10,000 or a standard bulb's 750 hours. The Master is certainly a damn sight nicer looking than the other mutant LED bulbs we've seen, but we'll see if consumers are ready to jump on another more-expensive-upfront lighting tech so soon after CFLs have hit the mainstream.[Via Core77]
Ulduar on the 3.1 PTR: Ignis the Furnace Master
Coming back to my post as official 3.1 PTR raid reporter after an offensive usurping by my dubiously sentient coworker Alex Ziebart, it's time for a new roundup of tonight's PTR Ulduar testing events. Last night we got a taste of the Flame Leviathan fight, which brought us motorcycles and tanks and floating pyrite containers, but tonight ... tonight we got a taste of a good, old-fashion player vs. comically gigantic dude raid encounter with Ignis, the Furnace Master. Matt "Matticus" Low, the aforementioned plantlike Mr. Ziebart, and I formed a 10-man raid. As usual, Lead Encounter Designer Scott Mercer, a.k.a. Daelo, was around for the fun. Making travel considerably easier was last night's addition of a teleporter to different areas of the dungeon. Our trip past the large gate guarding the end of the Iron Concourse to the Colossal Forge was instant and uneventful. Then we waited for our barrel-chested braid-bearded friend to spawn. This writeup will be spoiler-heavy. If you don't wish to know anything about this fight, don't click below. You've been warned.
Ghostcrawler and Vaneras on the classes that GMs play
What classes do Blizzard employees play?This is an often asked question by people on the forums. Sometimes it comes with a finger pointing at such and such a developer or community manager, accusing them of favoritism for a given class because it's the one they play the most.Over the past few days we've seen two blue responses over this issue. Vaneras over on the European forums makes note to say that the GMs play the game just as "everybody else does." They encompass all classes and all play styles.This is interesting in that it shows that Blizzard folks are involved in both casual and hard core raiding, and casual and hard core PvPing. I find this particularly interesting, since after a long day of work at WoW Insider sometimes the last thing I want to do is sit down and trudge through some raid content. But then again, sometimes I do. Ghostcrawler also weighed in on the issue a few days earlier, making several interesting points.
The Daily Grind: Do you play for specifics?
If you play a particular game a lot, you're bound to get good at it after a while. If you get really good, you may start to find patterns that make gameplay easier. If you refine these patterns, you could become a master. If you've become a master, you may start to see redundancy of experience, where, say, leveling alt after alt becomes repetitive and humdrum. If this happens, you may start to look for the truly novel places, the unique situations, the unusual character builds -- you may quest for something specific.Sometimes, it's that ridiculously rare piece of armor that only drops once every thousand encounters. Sometimes it's that spell waaaay down on the ability tree that requires an exhaustive amount of time to unlock. Sometimes it's an in-game event that occurs randomly, when you've collected the proper sequence of items -- and you don't know exactly what those items are, but you saw someone do it once, and you're damned if he's going to be the only one. When you're so good at a game that the standard challenges no longer entice, do you go looking for something specific?
Wario: Master of Temporary Price Drops
Amazon's Deal of the Day has allowed Wario to put on a mask and transform into Much Cheaper Wario. For today only, you can pick up Wario: Master of Disguise for $12.99. That's ridiculously cheap for a first-party Nintendo game. That's approaching Geist levels of markdown.We support even the temporary cheapening of games. If you've been waiting for a reasonable price on Wario, now you're somewhere closer to it.[Via CAG]
Japanese hardware sales, May 28 - Jun. 3: Explanatory Aqua Teen edition
We know, you were disappointed. Last night, as you happily refreshed DS Fanboy every nine seconds or so looking for this week's Japanese hardware sales, the vim slowly faded from your eyes as the hours ticked into oblivion. We would never willingly deprive our readers so; we were unavoidably delayed! You see ....Thousands of years ago, before the dawn of man as we knew him ... there were the moon men, reigning over the Earth. But this was not the Earth you knew! It was covered in jelly and high-density motor oil, making the planet very slippery. The moon men blamed the corporations, and there was a war and many were killed. The battle raged for millennia until 8000 A.D., when the moon men realized they were not actually from the moon, but from rural Pennsylvania. They then built a monument to the moon but then the Quakers stole it and filled it with oatmeal, and no one knew what flavor. Californians were highly displeased and turned all the Quakers invisible, which is why you never see them anymore. And that ... is where babies come from.- DS Lite: 123,140 4,321 (3.39%) - Wii: 69,748 11,104 (18.93%) - PSP: 26,358 261 (1.00%) - PS2: 11,814 503 (4.45%) - PS3: 8,998 629 (6.53%) - Xbox 360: 2,219 175 (8.56%) - Game Boy Micro: 310 97 (23.83%) - GBA SP: 247 41 (14.24%) - Gamecube: 226 30 (11.72%) - DS Phat: 71 10 (12.35%) - GBA: 16 1 (5.88%)[Source: Media Create]
Taiko stylus giveaway reveals control method
As total music game freaks, we've been pretty interested in the DS version of Taiko Drum Master. The graphics made the transition to a handheld system just fine, and we know from the Ouendans and other music games that it'll be able to handle the sounds-- and it should easily handle the Super Mario Bros. theme (yay!). Really, we thought, as long as it didn't ask players to bang on their touch screens like a drum, everything would be cool.Yeah, that's what it does. This ad, small as it is, is still clear enough to show a drum on the touch screen, with two special styli used as drumsticks. We know that's the most logical way to control a drum game on the DS, but ... a lot of screens are going to get pounded. Try to employ some self-control when playing Taiko![Via GoNintendo]
Antelope Audio's atomic master clocker helps keep the beat
While Engadget is no stranger to wacky clocks and even the occasional atomic goofiness, this is the first time we've seen them combined with a promise to make your musical creations sound better - but that's exactly what clock-obsessed Antelope Audio is claiming with its new Isochrone 10M atomic master clocker. Although most pro studios already rely on external clocks to keep all their gear marching to the same beat, Antelope claims that its rubidium-powered baby is 100,000 times more stable than traditional crystal oscillator clocks, an upgrade that'll allow you to pump out the jams for up to eight days without missing a step. No deets on pricing or availability, but Antelope says that the 10M is the first "affordable" atomic clocker, so we'll see what they think that means when this thing drops.[Via MusicThing]
Taiko Festival Master gameplay footage
If you've never given Taiko Drum Master a whirl, we highly suggest you do. Yes, we understand you probably do not own a PS2, what with it being the "devil's machine" and all, but that's what friends are for! Next time you're over a pal's house "borrow" their console and "suggest" that they purchase the game. Of course by "borrow" we mean "steal" and by "suggest" we mean "take their wallet, use their charge card, and leave their body in the river." It's not like they were much of a friend anyway. They owned a PS2...Clearly we neglected to take our meds today. Even clearlier is the fact that we can't be that insane if we recognize our own insanity and our own need to take medication for said insanity. However, the clearliest is that Taiko Festival Master looks fun in the video that is embedded into the post, after the break.
Dinosaurs battle it out on the DS
Majesco's Dino Master charges players with playing God, much like the way John Hammond did when creating his Jurassic Park. Upon digging for, and finding, dinosaur fossils, the player will use them to clone a certifiable cornucopia of carnivorous and omnivorous beasts and, like any other person who would manage to accomplish a feat often dreamed of in Sci-Fi films, pit them in combat to the death. The game will feature over 100 real species of dinosaur, multiplayer for up to 2 players via wireless link-up, and over 35 fighting techniques to discover.[Thanks Sense!]
