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Netgear Nighthawk X6 Tri-Band Gigabit Wireless Router review

Everyone knows that you can have great internet speeds but without the right router or just having a very weak one would be like driving a Ferrari with a Toyota Corolla engine. The Netgear Nighthawk R7000 is arguably one of the best routers available and Netgear set to outperform it with the Nighthawk R8000 X6 Tri-Band Gigabit router but does it deliver?

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Hardware
The Netgear R8000 Nighthawk X6 sports four Gigabit LAN ports out and one WAN in to connect the modem, USB 2.0 port for standard connections and printers, a USB 3.0 port for faster connections and optimized for external storage input. It has six external antennas that can fold down onto itself, adjusting the antennas can help give you a better range output depending on how it’s angled when hooked up. The overall design is very sleek, possibly my favorite looking router to date and does look like something that could essentially be in the air like an aircraft. The LED lights in the front indicate everything that’s on or active in white, red meaning it is inactive or currently unavailable.

Software
The router features a Tri-Band Gigabit antenna system which delivers 2.4ghz (600mbps), a 5ghz (1300mbps)and a secondary 5ghz (1300mbps) signal equaling 3200mbps collectively. With these options it allows you to connect many wifi connections at once to be hooked up to the network. We’ve had up to 11 connections at once and depending on your actual download speeds can see almost no significant loss. Our basic testing even indicated the faster speeds coming from our Nighthawk X6 router over the modems 5ghz connection itself. This was tested three times at three different times of day and all equaled out nearly the same.
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Setup for your wired and wireless connection is painless giving nearly automatic setup on the WPS connection. The router comes with a default password for the network if you don’t feel like going in and changing it. The actual settings interface which can be found by logging into the routers menu through a computer has tons of settings and features. A cool feature the R8000 has is the Smart Connect feature which enables the router to allocate what needs a better connection dynamically. If your xbox is streaming something versus your phone just being on will know which should be in the 2.4ghz and 5ghz bands.

We’ve only come across two real issues with this router compared to some others in this field and one is range. By all means we haven’t experienced the range issues that others might have but compared to some others within the 5ghz category it just wasn’t as stellar as we’d had hoped. A router like this should have a better range for sure. The other is its price, from the moment of this review you can get the router as low as $270 but is essentially a $300 router, compared to their R7000 some would argue its necessity at this price point.

We also had a small run in with port forwarding and the router but was brought to our intention that if any other wireless signal is in current use before it reaches the Nighthawk like a router enabled modem from the cable company etc. That should be forwarded through DMZ to the R8000 thus fixing the issue when trying to add port forwarding in the future on the Newtgear router. This was especially helpful when connecting to servers like Plex or forwarding to and Xbox 360 or One.
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Bottom line
The Netgear Nighthawk X6 possesses a ton of features with the most cutting edge tech and an extra 5ghz band delivering a combined 3200mbps. Connections ran smoothly and little setup to none was needed to get things at pretty much optimal settings. However for the price its hard to say where we lie but if you’re on the fence think of it as an investment on features that might come via firmware. We’ve already received some stability via firmware and can possibly only get better from here. There is no denying aside its previous model it is one if not the most powerful home router to date.

Call of Duty Black Ops III official teaser video

After some speculation this week on what the next Call of Duty game coming out of Activision would be we finally get our first teaser today. Of course for anyone that’s familiar with the series will know it’s none other then Black Ops III. This marks the second game where the Call of Duty franchise has now been given a three year development cycle as opposed the the previous two. This was to ensure better creativity, development and making sure it would launch as smooth as possible. We’ll keep you up to date on more info as soon as it comes in.

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Rock Band 4 announced!

Harmonix has announced that they are bringing their Rock Band series to current gen consoles in its newest iteration Rock Band 4. With the help of Mad Catz the series will be coming to Xbox One and PS4 later this year. Some more exciting news those who have purchased music for Rock Band 3 will be able to bring those over to the new game. We’ll be giving you more info as it comes in.

[It’s a wrap!] LVLONE Twitch Live Stream: Halo 5 beta special early preview

The Halo 5 beta is making its debut the 29th of December to all those who have Halo The Master Chief Collection. It will be having a three week run with 7 maps, 3 game types and several weapons across those weeks. While we’re all itching to get our hands on the latest edition of what the Halo Universe will bring, we’ll be delivering a special preview of the game starting tomorrow on our Twitch channel live. Check it out here or http://www.twitch.com/lvlone at 7pm EST. We’ll also be delivering coverage all week long so stay tuned!

Let us know what you’re most looking forward too.

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[It’s a wrap] LVLONE Twitch Live Stream: Destiny’s The Dark Below expansion pack

[UPDATE: It’s a wrap for day 2 of our live stream coverage, check in with us and subscribe for more streams of the hottest games.]
Today is the release for Destiny’s first expansion The Dark Below. It includes new campaign missions, weapons, armor and crucible maps along with a few new features that are in the overall game. Join us and check out our live stream happening today going through some of the new content and let us know what you think. We will be casting in the official LVLONE Twitch page found here twitch.tv/lvlone or on this page at 8pm EST. Check out the full info of what they’ve added below.

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Press release
Destiny Expansion I: The Dark Below features the following:
o New Loot – Earn new weapons, armor, and gear, including new Legendary and Exotic items.
o Level Increase – Raise your Light Level to 32
o New Story Missions and Quests – Journey through new Hive-themed story missions and quests where you are tasked with stopping the resurrection of an ancient god, Crota
o New cooperative Strike – The Will of Crota, pits you and your Fireteam against Omnigul as she works to expand the Hive army at the command of her master, Crota
o New six-player Raid – Assemble your six-player Fireteam to attempt Crota’s End, set deep within the depths of the Hellmouth with all-new gameplay mechanics and enemy bosses
o New competitive multiplayer arenas:
Pantheon – Set in an ancient Vex temple inside the Black Garden that features Vex-designed landscapes and tight corridors
Skyshock – An old interplanetary defense array that offers engagements for both vehicle and infantry
The Cauldron – An abandoned Hive ritual site that offers close-quarter combat
o New EV-30 Tumbler Sparrow – Players that purchase and redeem the Destiny Expansion Pass or Destiny Expansion I: The Dark Below by January 15, 2015 will receive the EV-30 Tumbler Sparrow, enabling its riders to drive fast, take flight, and perform a set of mid-air tricks
o PlayStation® Exclusive Content* – PlayStation® players will also get access to an exclusive cooperative Strike, The Undying Mind, and exclusive exotic weapon, The 4th Horseman shotgun

Players can purchase Destiny Expansion I: The Dark Below individually ($19.99), or as part of the Destiny Expansion Pass ($34.99), which includes both Expansion I and Expansion II, on PlayStation®4, PlayStation®3, Xbox One, and Xbox 360.

Street Fighter V announced for PC and console exclusive PS4

Capcom announced at the Playstation Experience event that the next major Street Fighter entry Street Fighter V will be coming out exclusively for Playstation 4 and PC. This is a strategic partnership with Sony and Capcom that will not only offer a few need things like cross platform play but other things as Sony is helping with the games development. This is another of one of the many heated debates of rising third party exclusivity deals that have been accruing. We’ll be sharing out thoughts on what this means for gamers now and in the future but for now check out the gameplay trailer for a taste of what’s to come.

WWE2k15 Creation Suite Details and Screens

One of the biggest additions to the WWE franchise is the revamped Creation Suite which will allow gamers to create and customize their own WWE Superstars. Utilizing the next-gen abilities, more and more details have been released regarding what will be included within the suite. The most exciting, and long over-due in my opinion, is the ability to upload an image and use it on your superstar. And when I say upload an image, I mean you can upload your character’s face, and image for a t-shirt, or even a design for a bad-ass tattoo. Here is the release from 2K earlier today regarding some further details on the Creation Suite:

WWE 2K15 – Creation Suite Details
Author: Lynell Jinks, Art Director, Visual Concepts

As fans of WWE video games, we understand the Creation Suite is extremely important to gamers and one of our most popular features every year. We want everyone to know we’re fully committed to building a solid foundation and an amazing set of customization tools to satisfy in WWE 2K15 and beyond.

Our goal for the Creation Suite was to attain a higher level of quality across the board. The amount of customization options available in previous years was huge, but in order to improve the franchise now and into the future, we had to scale back in order to focus on quality rather than quantity.

For WWE 2K15, we were unable to support new versions of Create-an-Arena, Custom Divas, Create-a-Championship and Story Designer. This decision was extremely difficult, but a necessary one, in order to deliver a more focused and polished game. The primary reason we did not announce these changes earlier is due to the team working until the last minute to retain as many features as possible.

Although some features were removed, we added an incredible new tool that will really change WWE 2K15 and the future of in-game customization: the Superstar Studio. This feature is something fans have requested for a long time, and we’re happy to deliver this key innovation in WWE 2K15. We’ve received very positive feedback on Superstar Studio thus far, but it seems like many want to know how the process actually works!

Players don’t have to be experts with design or art programs in order to use this feature. In fact, they can bypass using an image editing program altogether simply by uploading an image directly to the Superstar Studio website. The only reason to bring an image into an image editing program is to add transparency (or as artists call it, an “alpha”) to an image.

So – how do players download images onto their consoles?

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* First, go to the “Logo Manager” under Community Creations in the WWE 2K15 main menu;
* You will then be prompted to generate a “Logo Token,” which will show up instantly on screen;
* You’ll then enter the token on our dedicated webpage on the official WWE 2K website, located at wwe.2k.com/wwe2K15logo;

* Now, it’s time to upload your images on this page! By entering your Logo Token, you are granted access to upload up to five images at a time;
* Once the images are uploaded, locate your images under the “GO TO MY LOGOS” option in WWE 2K15 and proceed to download them;
* Each user is given 20 slots for downloaded images or any images uploaded by the community. The pixel dimensions for the images can be up to 512 x 512, but it doesn’t have to be exact — just as long as it’s under those dimensions, the tool will scale it to fit;
* Up to eight different images can be used on your Superstar, but those eight images can be used as many times as you want. Once the image is placed, you can position and scale it.

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We will allow players to upload any image to the Superstar Studio, but we ask that they please be on their best behavior! We are required to have systems in the game that allow users to flag inappropriate content. We will review and moderate those reports, so please keep creations and uploads friendly for all gamers.

In previous years, we allowed players to change the color threads on the Superstars, as well as edit the attire on a limited amount of Superstars. For WWE 2K15 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, not only will you be able to edit the color threads on the Superstars and Divas, but you will also be able to change their attires! The gear of the Superstars and Divas is constantly changing, and we’ve heard feedback from the fans who want to keep their roster members as up-to-date as possible, which you’ll now be able to do! For example, in WWE 2K15, we have Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins in their Shield attire. With the features in Superstar Studio, you can very quickly update their gear to match what they are currently wearing by changing their in-ring attire, entrance attire and using the Logo Manager to import their logos for their merchandise. It’s an extremely quick and easy process for all of our fans.

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Every attire part is given a value in the form of points, and a Superstar can use up to 128 points or 64 layers worth of attire parts. These points are shared between in-ring and entrance attires. Editing both the in-ring and entrance attires has never been easier thanks to a new user interface that allows players to seamlessly switch between them by pressing the trigger buttons. Being able to see both the in-ring and entrance models on the screen at the same time really expedites the entire process.

We are fully committed to expanding the creation abilities in future WWE 2K iterations with improved tools, options and support. We will also make improvements to the Superstar Studio by adding more content into various categories (e.g. beards, clothes, hairstyles, etc.). We’re looking forward to hearing back from all our fans about what’s working and what could be improved in WWE 2K15’s Creation Suite.

Thanks for reading! Fan feedback is important to us, so please let us know what you think, especially when WWE 2K15 arrives on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

 

All Bad Things Come to an End: The Mötley Crüe Farewell Tour at MSG

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As soon as I walked into Madison Square Garden in New York City on October 28th, 2014, it was as if I stepped out of the T.A.R.D.I.S. (Doctor Who reference, look it up) and into 1989: there was big, matted hair, denim jackets, leather pants, and countless rockers clamoring to reclaim their youth. I waited at the concession stand to purchase my farewell tour t-shirt, threw it on, and headed towards my suite.

Yes, I said suite. And as much as 18 year old me would have kicked my ass for seeing Mötley Crüe from a suite, 29 year old me wasn’t about to pass on free tickets with free food and drink. As I stepped on to the ledge and into the arena, I was in awe by the giant structure rising from the stage and snaking throughout the crowd like a metallic wave. Alas, I got my first glimpse of Tommy Lee’s Crüe-so-fly.
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The lights dimmed and it was time for Crüe’s special guest; Alice Cooper. Cooper came out and rocked the stage. Showing none of his 66 years, Cooper put on a show that caused everyone around me to say almost in unison; “This is awesome.” Cooper played a 14 song set list, with favorites like “No More Mr. Nice Guy and Feed My Frankenstein combined with a stage show that included a beheading, electrocution, and a 20 foot Frankenstein. Even with all of the theatrics, the highlight of the set, to me at least, was the last song, “School’s Out,” at which they incorporated “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2” by Pink Floyd. Both songs, with the same theme fit perfectly together and it made for an awesome impromptu sing-along for the crowd.
After Cooper was finished, there was about a 30 minute set change so I indulged in some drinks, some food, but mostly drinks to get warmed up for Crüe. After a while, I heard a song that sounded vaguely familiar; it was “So Long, Farewell” by Rogers and Hammerstein (or from that scene in Family Guy for the ones who haven’t seen Sound of Music.) I remember thinking, “this is funny that they’re playing this, since it’s their farewell tour.” About halfway through the song, the lights went out, the crowd went wild, some shadowy figures appeared on stage, and exploded into “Saints of Los Angeles.”
Crüe raged on, with fire and pyro blasting, through some of their greatest hits from their 33 year career like “Wild Side,” “Shout at the Devil” and Dr. Feelgood. For those who don’t know, Mötley Crüe is comprised of Vince Neil (vocals), Nikki Sixx (bass), Mick Mars (guitar) and Tommy Lee (drums) and, unlike many bands from that era; all 4 of the original members are in the group. About halfway through the set, Sixx told the story of how the band came together and some stories of the early years. It was pretty cool to hear the story almost as if he was reminiscing on a past life.

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After a few more songs, the lights went black again and we heard the kick of Tommy Lee’s bass drum and the snap of his snare, while we all stared in amazement as his drum platform rose from the stage and began to rotate. Now when I say rotate, I don’t mean tilted a little from side to side, I mean he was a good 50 feet in the air and flipping completely upside down, while still wailing on his drums. Along with some accompanying music, Lee spun and glided along the Crüe-so-fly to the opposite end, which was much closer to where I was. I knew Tommy Lee had done some raising drum solos in the past, but to see it live like this was definitely an epic sight.

The night continued and Crüe ended their set with “Girls, Girls, Girls” and “Kickstart My Heart.” The lights dimmed and stayed dark, feeding the notion to the already knowing crowd that Crüe was not done yet. A spotlight came on and followed the band through the crowd and onto the B Stage, which was located at the end of the Crüe-so-fly. After taking in the roar of the crowd, Tommy Lee sat at the piano and played the opening notes to “Home Sweet Home.” The crowd sang along, swaying side to side, paying homage to one of the greatest heavy metal bands in history. The song ended, and the band stood triumphant, relishing in the glory of their song, their show, their career.

GTA V to bring unprecedented first person mode

GTA V for PS4, Xbox One and PC that is set to release soon is said to have hundreds of new features but one that was very unexpected is the inclusion of a first person mode. While you would think this is just the game in the perspective, Rockstar actually went into work on getting every detail out. All vehicles have dashboards, guns have new details, accessing menu through the phone comes up as if you’re raising the phone. Even your movements are refined to this experience. IF that wasn’t enough you will also be able to play in this perspective online as well.

It honestly looks and feels like a new game in this experience and we can’t wait to try it out. Check out the video above to get a first look and tell us your thoughts.

Skylanders Trap Team review: To Trap

We’ve had a few years of Skylanders games and toys so we’re no strangers to how this works. That does’t mean something innovative can’t be done every time, which is exactly what’s done here. Like last years Swap Force which allowed you to mix and match various figures from that set, this one brings a whole new element to the table. The whole thing brings more game then it ever has before.
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Skylanders Trap Team like the others comes with a game portal, figures and game. The new Trap Team figurines are some of the best in the Skylanders series. Presenting new moves and some that benefit the style of play in the Trap Team game you have some pretty interesting heroes. A tomato tossing plant, an ice dragon and more. All goofy in their own ways but pack some great skills. While not obviously new it should be noted that the level of detail in the figurines themselves are nothing but amazing. Compared to other games and figures of this genre (which it now is) it has the most detail on them every year.

What’s completely new to this game and portal from the others is the ability to trap enemies. You can now trap and play as villains with these little physical jewels called “Shards”. Each one is specific to an element for example water and wind. The game comes with two but if you get each Shard then you can capture and play with 40 or so villains in the game. Each one has their own special moves that can be leveled but is acquired from completing missions unique to the that villain. Something subtle but quite cute is that the game portal has a speaker for when you trap an enemy in a shard. It sounds like they’re actually trapped in the piece advising you to use them.
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The game itself has more then previous editions. The inclusions of puzzles, the game itself seems to be bigger and more going on in general. Since you now have the ability to trap enemies the way you engage them in combat is somewhat changed in certain situations. It’s almost like having mini boss fights throughout the game which breaks of the platforming. Game looks crisp, with a rich cartoonish texture while most the character sound fits. One of the unfortunate things was that we still have had abilities added to our older Skylanders figures. We tried to play our nearly maxed out Skylanders Giants and Swap Force characters but nothing new could be added to them.

Overall Skylanders Trap Team innovates more so then the others. The puzzles are more refined, the gameplay mechanic tweaked, new heroes and the ability to now trap villains to use are all great. The game will keep you playing to max your characters by yourself or with a friend which can be played online. It’ll be interesting to see what the add next.
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