If you’re an Xbox or PC gamer, there’s a pretty high probability that you’ve taken a peek at Microsoft’s Xbox Elite Series 2 controller. The customizable peripheral comes in its own case, offers interchangeable thumbsticks and paddles, and delivers up to 40 hours of gaming thanks to its integrated battery pack. 

The only problem is that the controller can often retail for $180 and rarely gets a significant price cut. With Black Friday gaming sales starting to ramp up, Woot is hoping to tempt those looking to upgrade their controller experience by offering the Elite Series 2 for just $135, one of the lowest prices we’ve seen.

Buy Xbox Elite Series 2 controller at Woot – $135

The Elite Series 2 comes complete with a USB-C port, Bluetooth connectivity and can charge inside its carrying case. It also supports programmable profiles, allowing you to select between three stored configurations using the Profiles button on its front. 

If you’re looking for a solid controller upgrade during the holidays, you may have just found it. However, you’ll need to move quickly as the Elite Series 2 will only remain at $135 for 24 hours or until it sells out, whichever comes first. 

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by visiting our deals homepage and following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter.

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Source: Engadget – Microsoft’s Xbox Elite Series 2 controller is just 5 for today only

Those looking for new portable drives, SD cards and other storage gadgets have a bunch of discounted items to choose from today. Amazon has a one-day sale that knocks up to 25 percent off drives from Western Digital and up to 30 percent off microSD cards, thumb drives and more from SanDisk, Lexar and other brands. While we’ll likely see discounts tomorrow during Black Friday proper as well, most of the devices in these sales have lower prices for today only.

Shop WD drive sale at AmazonShop SanDisk, Lexar storage sale at Amazon

Some highlights in the drive sale are the SanDisk Extreme portable drive in 2TB, which is 60 percent off and down to $185, plus the Crucial X6 in 2TB and the SanDisk Ultra NAND SSD in 4TB, which are down to $143 and $300 respectively. The SanDisk Extreme portable drive is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and it’s pretty durable thanks to its IP55-rated design with two-meter drop protection. It also has optional password protection, 256‐bit AES hardware encryption and up to 1,050 MB/s read and up to 1,000 MB/s write speed. Crucial’s X6 is also quite compact, with read speeds up to 540 MB/s and a shock and vibration-proof design.

Buy SanDisk Extreme (2TB) at Amazon – $185Buy Crucial X6 (2TB) at Amazon – $143Buy SanDisk Ultra SSD (4TB) at Amazon – $300

Either of those would make good portable drives for most people, while the SanDisk Ultra NAND SSD is better for anyone looking to upgrade their computer’s internal storage. It supports sequential read speeds of up to 560 MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 530 MB/s, and when half off like it is today, it’s a great choice for PC gamers looking to add a speedy SSD to their setup.

Highlights in the other memory sale include a number of Nintendo Switch-compatible microSD cards and some Lexar Professional SD cards. You can grab an officially licensed 256GB SanDisk microSD card for the Switch for $37, or 31 percent off, but if you’re looking for the most storage possible, we recommend Lexar’s 1TB Play microSD card, which is down to a record low of $128. And photographers and videographers may want to pick up one of Lexar’s Professional 2000x SD cards to add to their gear while the 64GB model is on sale for $60 and the 128GB card is down to $100.

Buy SanDisk microSD card (256GB) at Amazon – $37Buy Lexar Play microSD card (1TB) at Amazon – $128Buy Lexar Professional SD card (64GB) at Amazon – $60Buy Lexar Professional SD card (128GB) at Amazon – $100

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by visiting our deals homepage and following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter.

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Source: Engadget – Amazon one-day sale knocks up to 30 percent off storage from SanDisk and Lexar

Fortnite and Final Fantasy. A doomed pairing of the most lucrative recent gaming phenomenon with one of the most storied video-game franchises spanning over 30 years? I love Final Fantasy, mostly. I’m lukewarm on Fortnite and the battle royale format in general. With Metroid Dread, Shin Megami Tensei, Alan Wake Remastered and Deathloop on my to-do list, why am I still glued to a free-to-play mobile game?

Probably because it’s expanding the already very-expanded Final Fantasy VII universe. The game that got the sequel CGI movie, the remake, multiple mobile games and more. And yet, barring a smart intro movie that cribs from the opening scenes of FF7R, you won’t see the protagonists (or antagonists) of the iconic RPG — though you’ll be able to cosplay as them.

In First Soldier, you play as, well, recruits looking to become the first Soldier — a specific top-class army member. Cloud, from FFVII, is introduced in the original as “Soldier, First Class” and this game takes everything back 30 years to the early formation of Shinra Corp’s military finest.

The setting, then, is a battle royale to see how augmented soldiers fare against each other (and whatever beasts come their way in the process). The battleground is a surprisingly expansive map on the outskirts of Midgar — while also featuring many of the major landmarks of Midgar’s sectors. Aerith’s church and childhood home is there to be shot at, as is the arena, Sector 7’s markets, the abandoned trainyard and more. The battle theme of FF7 kicks in as helicopters swarm into the area, dropping off recruits. It still gets me excited every time.

The grounds are littered with guns, from handguns to sniper rifles, as well as materia (magic orbs that offer both offensive and support capabilities) and even pretty rare summoning spells. I’ve yet to summon anything so far. There are also potions to pick up and help extend your chances of survival.

These are the baseline weapons and items. Differentiating itself from Fortnite — if not all BR games; we see you Apex and Warzone — you can also choose a job role, a la most RPGs. This mostly affects your special ability, your melee weapon and how you attack with it. Warrior is a straight-shooting class with a sword and a rush special that closes distance so you can wallop your rivals before they can get a shot in. Monks have the ability to heal themselves when they mete out damage, while Ninjas get an extra jump and the ability to hide in stealth mode for a few seconds.

Sorcerers come with a special ability that supercharges MP recovery for more regular offensive (and healing spells), while the ranger reloads guns faster than the others — and has a very convenient Assess skill that will mark threats around you even when they’re out of sight.

Each feels slightly different to play with, but there’s a pleasant balance to the different roles, though both soldier and monk suffer from having to rely on their melee attack for their advantages.

Let me say this outright; you should play First Soldier with a gamepad. Fortunately, I’m testing out Backbone, a third-party connected controller for iPhone that means I was already in a good place to aim my guns and spells. Magic casting controls are a bit messy — you’ll need to hold down an L-trigger while pressing another collar button to unleash one of three spells you may have picked up. Those melee attacks, which all job classes have, are really hard to land on your enemies, regardless of whether you’re using a gamepad or touch controls. Hopefully, the devs are able to finesse melee attacks as the game progresses. 

This means that, in a rather un-Final Fantasy way, you’ll come to depend on your guns for most of your kills. But hey, getting that sniper headshot kill is a thrill. Killing other players or monsters, opening chests and surviving through the rounds will level up your character through the match itself. This adds to your attack damage and increases your HP, meaning you should also last longer. It also rewards proactive play and exploration, and not just trying to survive to the final area.

As you might expect from a free-to-play battle royale game, there are season passes available for purchase. These offer up skins, banners, emotes and more cosmetic goodies for wannabe Soldiers. Even without a pass, you can earn a few rewards by fulfilling “rank” criteria during the battles. Gain stars, level up your rank — which is unrelated to leveling up your individual job ranks — and you’ll gain access to a smattering of wardrobe options or chocobo-raising items. I’m currently wearing a moogle hat, please say hi.

Yes, there’s also a chocobo rearing mini-game buried inside First Soldier, and you’re able to summon your favorite steed to the battles as a very handy transport option. It isn’t the only way to speed around levels, however. There are also cars and bikes to get you within the battle arena. The shrinking arena damages anyone outside its perimeter, but you’re able to persist with potions and healing spells and hopefully make it to safety.

The only drawback growing, as I play, is the fact that my leveling up has no tangible effect on my performance in the game — which is true of most battle royale games. The appeal is that each new battle isn’t affected by the round before it, but then chasing these goals (play two rounds as a warrior; make 300 pts of damage with a shotgun; visit Corneo’s mansion) soon tires. What exactly is the point?

For now, the point is that First Soldier skirmishes are entertaining, and the difficulty curve isn’t too brutal. I’ve won a few rounds, out of 75 players, and come second a handful of times. One colleague told me that early iterations of battle royale games are often filled with bots to juice the numbers (and offer up some encouraging early wins) but I will not let him take this tiny victory away from me.

Hopefully Square Enix has plans to offer more levels, weapons and events to spice it up. There are some limited-edition bosses throughout the Midgar level. I’ve managed to best two of them, but I’ve also been felled by Tonberry — a notoriously powerful monster from the Final Fantasy series— a few too many times. Maybe I should try fighting him as a ninja…

Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier is out now on Apple App Store and Google Play.

Source: Engadget – ‘Final Fantasy’ meets ‘Fortnite’ is more fun than it should be

HTC’s Vive Cosmos is one of the best VR headsets out there, but if we’re being real, it’s always been a bit too expensive. Now, you can buy that model from Amazon during Black Friday sales for $399 instead of $549, the biggest discount we’ve seen yet. Amazon also has deals on other HTC headsets and bundles, so it’s a good time to jump in if you’ve been waiting for a sale.

Buy HTC Vive Virtual Reality headsets at Amazon

The Vive Cosmos must be tethered to a PC, but there’s no need to install sensors thanks to the inside-out tracking system that works well, according to our Engadget review. It’s strongest feature is the bright and sharp screens with very high 2,880 x 1,700 pixel resolution across both eyes, along with decent 90 Hz refresh rates. The biggest downside is the price, as it’s far more expensive than Oculus headsets — but the sale brings it on par with rivals. Note that the controllers aren’t included.

On top of the standalone headset, you can get a good deal on the HTC Cosmos Elite bundle designed for gamers. Rather than using the inside-out-tracking, the Elite’s headset comes preinstalled with an External Tracking Faceplate that can be paired with base stations for higher precision. It includes two base stations and a pair of Vive controllers, along with the Vive Cosmos headset — and now costs $649 instead of $899 for a savings of $250 (28 percent). 

HTC’s Vive Pro headset and bundles are also on sale at Amazon at the best prices we’ve seen. The HTC Vive Pro offers features like 1,440 x 1,600 pixel resolution per eye on the OLED screens, great ergonomics and built-in headphones. They’re not for everyone because of the price, as we noted in our review, but you can now pick up the HTC Vive Pro system, including the headset, base stations and controllers 2.0 for $899 instead of $1,199. 

HTC’s Vive Pro Eye improves on that with the addition of eye-tracking that uses Tobii’s technology. It can follow users’ eyeballs in real time, letting developers gather data on where they’re looking and when, allowing for new and more immersive experiences. It also allows for foveated rendering, increasing resolution based on where a user is looking. You can now pick up the HTC Vive Pro Eye headset only for $599 instead of $799, and grab the HTC Vive Pro Eye VR system for $1,099, down from the regular $1,399 price. 

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by visiting our deals homepage and following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter.

All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Source: Engadget – HTC Vive VR headsets fall to all-time lows for Black Friday