Stay skillful by keeping up with your spells and level your skills with the Razer Naga, newly enhanced for your MMO gaming needs. Lay waste to your opponents through a wicked coordination of skills, items and macros concocted from the Razer Naga’s 17 MMO optimized buttons. Now with 3 interchangeable…
Send hordes of enemies back into the infernal realms through successive combos, perfectly executed with the Razer Naga Hex – Wraith Red Edition. Specially designed for the Action-RPG and MOBA gamers, the Naga Hex is equipped with 6 additional mechanical thumb keys that allow you to accurately perform…
The most anticipated game of 2012, Mass Effect 3, drops on March 6. Are you ready? The Reapers have found Earth, and before long there will be nothing left. Upgrade your arsenal with the Razer Mass Effect 3 Collector’s Edition Gaming Peripherals and Gear. Beyond killer looks and tipping the scales…
Because of YOU, we took Best of CES People’s Voice for Project Fiona. Awesome guys, thanks for all the cool support and feedback. More on CES 2012, here’s Swifty checking out the Razer Naga Hex with Synapse 2.0, the Razer Blade, and Project Fiona: Oh, and BTW, have you entered our contest…
You may or may not have heard of Yang “Sen” Chia Cheng. But this pro-player is the former Taiwanese Brood Wars star that was once labelled “the best non-Korean player” is now a prominent figure in the international StarCraft II scene. Possessing unimaginable confidence and a slight swagger, Sen is a player with an inimitable playstyle and a unique character, traits which have no doubt played a part in why he succeeded in representing his country at the World Cyber Games Grand Finals a staggering four times.
After years of playing for foreign teams he returns home to fight alongside his brethren in the Taiwanese eSports League, bringing both experience and character to the blossoming competitive scene.
We’ve dedicated a page to this Taiwanese StarCraft II Player Yang “Sen” Chia Cheng, as he tells us about his childhood, his friendship with Day[9] and his drive to excel.
It’s really cool and unexpected when we get fans from the unlikeliest of people, places, cultures, and interests. Today’s award of Awesome Fan Win goes to Haruna Anno – a popular Japanese idol and pin-up model, who is also an avid retro gamer. She collects retro gaming hardware, including an arcade cabinet, as well as thousands of dollars worth of old-school video game titles like SNES hits Mother, Final Fantasy, and Street Fighter II. Of course, she also plays modern console games and is a solid Street Fighter IV player who can hold her own on online matches.
She uses Razer Electra headphones to power her PSP and DS gaming audio on-the-go. And she absolutely adores Razer. So, we thought it’d be cool to get a cute photogenic fan like her to do a Razer photoshoot. Check out her awesome photos here. And even better still, we got her to come down to Tokyo Game Show as a Razer spokesperson.
“I love the Razer Electra headphones for its really cool design and how light it is for audio on-the-go. I take it with me everywhere,” said Haruna. “I’m really happy to represent Razer at the upcoming Tokyo Game Show – it’ll be a really fun time, and I look forward to meeting all the Razer fans.”
Haruna will be at the Razer booth on the 18th September, the fourth day of the Tokyo Game Show to talk to press, hold product demos, and sign autographs. Come on down and meet her if you can. If not, there are always these photos to be taken.
His name is a symbol of royal power, the insignia of a sovereign’s dominance. Having won multiple championships and continuing to add prestige to his name, Alexey “Cypher” Yanushevski is the King of Quake and gamers all around the world respect his skill. Cypher is considered to be one of (if not the) best Quake duelers in the realm of video gaming.
It is easy to be blinded with Cypher’s success and most fall short in really knowing the man. Yet outside the loud arenas and free from the pressures of competition, this Belarusian student lives a quiet and simple life. Cypher is first and foremost, Alexey Yanushevski, just your everyday person with an exceptional gaming gift.
We go in-depth with Alexey “Cypher” Yanushevski to know more about the man behind the trail of a thousands of frags. Team Razer goes one-on-one with Cypher as he talks about Quake and his life outside gaming which includes chilly snowboarding and great-tasting steaks.
Razer:Greetings Cypher! We at Razer and your fans all over the globe thank you for giving us some time off to answer questions about you.
Cypher: Hi Team Razer and to all gamers out there! Please call me Alexey. Away from gaming, I’m just another man walking in the street. Haha.
Cypher’s Frag Movie c/o Serious Gaming
Razer:Alexey, lets talk gaming first. You’ve been a pro-gamer and you’ve said before that there a lot of things that gaming has given you. What do you think are the things that gaming has brought to your life?
Cypher: Pro-gaming has given me lot of things. Winning competitions gave me self-confidence, following game plans and reading enemy strategy taught me to be patient, losing streaks taught me to persevere through the tough times, and most of all, do or die scenarios taught me to have faith in myself. All these plus doing things with a sense of professionalism. Another thing, pro-gaming has given me the leisure to travel and to see the different parts of the world and also their culture. I would say that this really influenced my mentality and how I live.
Razer:Aside from the traits that you’ve acquired, what lessons have you learned or what kind of mentality was formed in you because of pro-gaming?
Cypher: The greatest lesson I’d say I learned is that no one is perfect and because of that, there is always room to grow and improve. No matter what the result are, win or lose, a lesson is always learned to help you improve your game. In a more competitive note, I also learned about the psychological aspect of the game. Knowing your enemy, knowing how they play, and hiding how I play or doing something to disrupt their mentality is part of this psychological aspect of the game.
Inside the arena, Cypher is a fragging machine
Razer: How have you grown as a person in terms of what gaming has brought to you?
Cypher: What pretty much changed in me is my competitive spirit. Because of Quake, I’ve become more competitive in life as well. I do not want someone taking my place so I work hard to keep it.
Razer:Outside gaming, what activities do you engage in to free yourself from the stress of the gaming world?
Cypher: I love gaming and I don’t believe it causes me that much stress. Haha. But outside the arena, I love snowboarding.
Some of Cypher’s games are larger than life
Razer:Amazing, an eSports player and also an extreme sports athlete! What do you get from snowboarding?
Cypher: Haha! I wouldn’t say that I am a extreme sports athlete just yet. I get a lot of adrenaline snowboarding and its very fun. I also get to exercise with it, get a lot of clean air and appreciate the scenic mountain views. Clean air by the way is such a rare thing to find these days. Plus there is that feeling of just freely sliding down.
Razer: Do you have any special snowboarding moves?
Cypher: Well, I unfortunately can’t do any special or tricky snowboarding moves yet. I also fear that my hand will get broken and that will prevent me from gaming. But once in a while I do these small moves which is pretty interesting sometimes. Haha.
Razer: For your fans out there who may want to get a board like yours, would you kindly tell them what you use?
Cypher: I use a Sims Board, 152 cm. Its really nice and I enjoy it.
If Cypher doesn’t eat you at Quake, he eats steak
Razer:Now lets change the topic a bit and talk about something personal. What is Alexey’s favorite food?
Cypher: That is a tough one. I like and eat different kinds of food! But I have to say that I usually crave for a good steak or dry roasted meat. My mom really cooks those things good. But generally I’m not really fuzzy about food and as much as possible I go to different kinds of restaurants to taste their specialties.
Razer: How good is your mom as a cook?
Cypher: She’s really good and most of all, she knows how I like my food and she does it precisely as my tastes buds would want it. I’m hungry now.
Razer:Haha, we apologize for that. But how about you, are you a good cook?
Cypher: I’m not the best of chefs so I cook only on life-threatening situations. Haha. But seriously, I can whip up a good soup or pasta. But on lazy days, I just buy a good piece of meat then fry it.
Good food is factor for most of Cypher’s victories
Razer: Last question, do you believe that your favorite food gives you exceptional Quake powers?
Cypher: Haha not necessarily but it does play an important role. When I go to different places, I try to remember the places where we can eat comfortably so we would visit those places again whenever a tournament on the same place comes up. We also have these routine foods like we have hotdogs when we are in America, this good grill house in Sweden and if we find ourselves in a very desolate place, we try as hard as possible to find a nearby Mcdonald’s. One thing is for sure though, I eat a lot of fruit when travelling.
Razer: Thank you very much Alexey and we hope to see more action from Cypher in the coming years!
Cypher: Thank you Team Razer and to all my fans out there. Expect to see more from me!
The massive talents of Team Wayi Spider were looking for another win to cap a fine feather in their hat; a fourth consecutive win in this year’s Taiwan eSports Open. However, it was not to be as they faced the Gama Bears in the Special Force (SF) finals. The two teams fought valiantly, each of them winning a round each by the slender score of 7:6.
The sea of yellow shirts was at a fever pitch, tears welling up from the tension, while their fingers were furiously connecting the rest of the nation to the thrilling affair before their eyes.
With the match hanging precariously in the balance, Gama Bears went for the kill in the final round, ending third round with a close score of 5:7.
“We’ll only be sad for this night. We’ll wipe away the tears and regain our faith in our ability. We’ll leave this match knowing that we tried our best but we still apologize to our hordes of fans that turned up to show support to us,” claimed Polo, the team’s charismatic captain.
“Maybe a small part of us was concentrating too much on not losing instead of focusing on winning,” he continued.
The team pays tribute to the fans
“From this day onwards, my team knows that there will be no mistaking our focus and we will take back our glory” – Polo ended off, knowing that despite their slight snag in their form, the class and quality they possess will take them back to top sooner rather than later.
Razer’s On Target columnfeatures gaming tips, insights and commentaries from elite pro-gamers of Team Razer. From real-time strategy games to first-person shooters, members of Team Razer will be contributing their thoughts on the world of competitive gaming.
Stefan “MorroW” Anderson
Stefan “ MorroW” Anderson is one of the European StarCraft II greats. It was a season of change for MorroW, and for most competitive StarCraft players, with the release of StarCraft II. Players had to adapt quickly just to remain in the gaming scene. If they ceased to change, they ceased to win.
The winner of last year’s Intel Extreme Masters in Germany shares his thoughts on switching from StarCraft I to StarCraft II, and getting infested by the Zerg after being a loyal Terran trooper.
Exodus to StarCraft II
“Adjusting from StarCraft I to StarCraft II takes a while. It is a new game and obviously there are a lot of new and different things but the essence of StarCraft II is the same. Especially for avid players of StarCraft I, you will probably find yourself in the same situations you encountered in SCI when you play SCII. The harassing hit-and-run tactics are there, dropship maneuvers and even the late-game tech dominance are still there. There may be new units, maps, new strategies and new unit strengths but the crisis management and problem solving is there. StarCraft II is still our game and while it might take some time adjust, once you get your feet wet, you can resume where you left off from SCI.”
“How you usually play the races back in StarCraft I still works when you apply the same tactic to StarCraft II. The Zerg still swarm in masses, the Protoss still has their force fields and rely on their upgraded tech and the Terran still have their destructive Siege Tanks and Dropship maneuvers. Of course there are significant changes because of new units and the obliteration of old ones but the racial strengths remain the same.”
Being infested by the Zerg
“Recently though, I have made the change in terms of the race I specialize. I got “infested” and have now turned to the Zerg from my previous race, the Terran. There are several reasons why I made the change and while the game still remains to be smoothly balanced, the Zerg’s strengths fits perfectly to my style of play. Let me list these things down as well as some insights I have in terms of playing Zerg.”
Flanking is key as a Zerg practitioner
“First, the Zerg is a mechanically demanding race. The thing with the Zerg though is that as a race, they adapt very efficiently and therefore fits a responsive style of play. I’ve always been a laid back player, waiting for the enemy to show their strategy first before adapting to them and the Zerg allows me to maximize that tactic. I used to play the Terran which specializes in really bullying opponents to submit to the in-game scenarios you create. While the Terran does this wonderfully, I believe that the Zerg’s capability of adapting to the enemies strategies is overall a great advantage to have against both Terran and Protoss.”
Gameplay Insights
“The Zerg heavily relies on proper flanking and flanking in numbers. Most of the Zerg units are really low on health and attacking all at once towards a properly entrenched Siege Tank platoon can easily wipe you out in seconds. Attacking from all sides pretty much nullifies the splash damage of Siege Tanks and attacks from the Protoss’ Colossus. An example of which is having your Banelings flank entrenched siege tanks while another contingent draws their fire. That way, you pretty much have the perfect engagement.”
“Playing the Terran is pretty much like a dance of forwards and backwards. Especially against a Protoss army that’s loaded with Colossus and High Templars that can cast storms, Terrans would really rely on avoiding those storms and Colossus’ splash damage as much as they should and also be on the move if ever the Zerg tries to use flanking tactics against them. If your Siege Tanks still have range away from the storm, they can easily pick out the Protoss from the other side. That is the basic trick with the Terran agaisnt Protoss – have Siege Tanks pull back in a line so they can be safe from the Protoss High Templar Storm and also have enough range to neutralize rushing Zealots.”
Avoid the Protoss’ storms if you’re playing Terran
“For the Protoss, you can see the basic strategy that can do with Colossus and High Templars as well as a swift attack of Zealots as soon as there is an opening. Just be aware of the different strategies that the Terran and Zerg can do and you can easily read their next move.”
“Playing the Zerg helps me adapt to whatever race or tactic the enemy would pick. The Zerg is a macro race compared to lets say the Terran race which requires a lot of micro. So in my opinion, a good defensive and responsive player might want to choose the Zerg to specialize on.”
“Just remember when playing the Zerg, amass and attack from all sides. The key word is flanking and always flank your enemy.”
Stefan “MorroW” Anderson currently plays for Team Mousesports and continues to compete professionally in both offline and online StarCraft II tournaments. For more details about MorroW, check out Team Mousesports’ Team Razer page.
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