Archive - 2012

Iron Sky: Earth Defense Release Date

2012/10/29
Jerry Paxton
News

Karlsruhe, Germany, October 29th – TopWare Interactive announces the new release date for the space combat simulation “Iron Sky: Invasion” from Reality Pump. The game was announced for November 9th.

Alexandra Constandache, CEO of TopWare Interactive: “After thoroughly testing the game within the community, we’ve listened to the feedback and have decided to implement some positive changes that will allow us to retain our high quality standards. We all here at TopWare Interactive and Reality Pump are huge fans of space combat simulations and want to combine the humor and bizarre world from the movie “Iron Sky” with great game features.”

More information on www.ironskyinvasion.com.

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Sinister Pointe 2012 Review

2012/10/27
Jerry Paxton
Halloween, News, Reviews

The Sinister Pointe crew is at it again this Halloween season, bringing their annual offering of shrieks and creeks to entertain and scare guests. Based in a Brea, CA warehouse, the haunted attraction boasts some seriously cool frights and one of the most interesting “rooms” I have ever seen in a haunted house before. Without spoiling anything, I will say you might get a little water splashed on you… The 10,000 square foot maze features several interactive elements as well – although not as many as seen in years past. As always, their maze set design, construction, and haunted house music are very professional and impressive. A note for the claustrophobic: There are several narrow places in the maze where you could have a bit of an issue. If you feel like this could be a problem, ask the talent at the start of these areas to route you around. One of my group was claustrophobic and the talent graciously helped out. The “monsters” of Sinister Pointe did a good job of staying in character and bringing intensity to their scares and should be commended for their talent. Despite the new sections of the maze, a lot of the attraction felt re-used from previous years. Hopefully, they will be able to do a full remodel at some point in order to “shake things up”.

Outside the maze, in the warehouse’s parking area, the event housed several tents with food and merchandise vendors. This smaller version of Sinister Pointe’s “Dark Market” was a very smart move on the event’s part and offered a place to relax after our harrowing experience. My cohort even picked up a cool bit of zombie swag to take home.

Overall, this year’s Sinister Pointe features some cool new stuff, some neat old stuff, and a lot of fun to go around. Checkout their official website for ticket and date information.

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Haunted Hollywood Sports Review

2012/10/26
Jerry Paxton
Halloween, News, Reviews

This week, we got the chance to checkout the Haunted Hollywood Sports event in Bellflower, CA. Normally an airsoft and paintbull arena complex by day – by night the event turns dark and haunted for the Halloween season. The event spans rougly 23 acres – features four walkthrough mazes, a 21+ bar, and two scare zones. However, what sets the Haunted Hollywood Sports event apart from your usual haunted house are what it coins as its “killhouses”. These are interactive experiences where small groups get armed with laser or airsoft gear (from the park) and get guided through a maze, “killing” whatever creatures try to stop you.

We had attended on a special event night, where only one maze, the bar, and one killhouse was running. The walkthrough maze we went through was called “Cannibal Caverns”, and was to take us on a trip through some caverns filled with, well, cannibals… The maze is actually built on one of the event’s arenas (used for paintball/airsoft) and how beat up everything is (from countless matches) really helps sell the set design. The maze featured some low ceilings and uneven ground, so watch your step. To its credit, there are some really cool corrugated metal tunnels to walk through and these provide a cool, claustrophobic experience – especially when brushing past a scare actor in one of them. The one thing that took me out of this maze was that many of its talent just lacked energy – standing there, watching us walk-by and not doing anything.

Next stop on our journey was the “Zombie Killhouse”. This is that interactive attraction I mentioned before. The line was somewhat slow-moving due in part to there being some media that went through ahead of us and were taking photos. Also, the killhouse only takes small groups through at one time to give the zombie actors a chance to reset their positions, etc. Just have some patience, it will be worth it. So, after standing in line, our group was escorted to a holding pen to get geared up. We had expected this maze to feature airsoft guns and face masks but apparently the park got a great deal on some military-grade laser gear. So, we were each given an M4 carbine and our squad leader, a park employee decked out in ACUs, began running us through the maze. Zombie actors popped out of every corner and reacted very well when “lit-up” by a guest’s laser. The M4s handed to guests were very functional with solid construction – each featuring a fire mode selector to customize how you like to dispatch your undead opponents. Additionally, the carbine’s features a recoil effect to help sell the shooting experience. This kind of experience is where Haunted Hollywood Sports needs to focus more next year. Sure, there needs to be a couple walkthrough mazes for those uninterested or unable to do the killhouse but the balance should weight more in the killhouse’s favor. This was a lot of fun and provided something that no other haunted attraction does (in this area, anyway). As we left the killhouse, we were nothing but laughs and smiles. Everyone had a good time and were left wanting to go back for more.

The “Club Crimson” 21 and over bar was our next stop of the night and we were very impressed with its vampire-gothic decor. It is a very pretty setup and the two bartenders were very easy on the eyes – each fitting the look of the club. They also had a nice selection of drinks and even a DJ spinning some tunes.

Overall, the Haunted Hollywood Sports event is a lot of fun and has a great deal of potential. Next year, they should focus even more on what sets them apart from the other events out there – the killhouses.

Haunted Hollywood Sports is on now – checkout their official website for ticket information.

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Mechwarrior Online Open Beta Starts Monday

2012/10/26
Jerry Paxton
News

MONTREAL – October 26, 2012 – Infinite Game Publishing (IGP) and Piranha Games announced today that MechWarrior Online is set for Open Beta next week on October 29. MechWarrior Online, one of 2012’s most anticipated titles, has been lauded by fans and the games media as the return of true mech combat. Recently the companies jointly announced that the MechWarrior Online Founder’s Program achieved more than $5 million dollars in sales since July.

Set in the year 3049 during the early stages of a massive interstellar war, MechWarrior Online puts you in command of the most powerful war machine to ever walk the field of battle, the mighty BattleMech™.  Command your Mech and customize it to suit your battlefield role; upgrade systems, replace weapons, and tweak armor with endless options.

Get your pilot name and more information at www.mwomercs.com.

GTA Vice City 10th Anniversary Celebration

2012/10/26
Jerry Paxton
Mobile News, News, Trailers / Videos

New York, NY – October 26, 2012 – Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), is proud to announce the 10th anniversary of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on October 29, 2012. Building upon the success of the groundbreaking Grand Theft Auto III in 2001, the release of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City in 2002 pushed the open-world game series deeper into pop culture with a vibrant over-the-top take on Miami, a stunning celebrity voice cast and a loving, satirical look at the cultural excesses of the ‘80s.

In conjunction with the anniversary, Rockstar will release Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for a wide range of iOS and Android devices later this fall.

“Grand Theft Auto: Vice City gave players the freedom of a massive open-world in one of the most iconic and vibrant settings ever realized in a game,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “It was a defining moment in the series and we’re delighted to be celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with a stunning, updated version for phones and tablets.”

To celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, there will be a series of commemorative assets released, both old and new, including never-before-seen artwork and a brand new anniversary trailer highlighting some of the most iconic scenes and music from the game.  In addition, a limited run of collectable promotional items will be made available for purchase through the Rockstar Games Warehouse (www.rockstarwarehouse.com), with select items available via online giveaways.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was originally released in October 2002 for the PlayStation® 2 computer entertainment system, just one year after its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto III, changed the gaming landscape forever with its combination of open-world freedom, humor and action in a living, breathing city. Vice City expanded upon the open world gameplay of Grand Theft Auto III, combined with nostalgia for the 1980s to create one of the true high points in the marriage of video games and mainstream pop culture, loved by hardcore gamers and casual players alike. The upcoming mobile version of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City brings the full experience to mobile devices, featuring native high-resolution graphics and several enhancements unique to the iOS and Android platforms.

As one of the top-selling games of all time for the PlayStation 2, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City received numerous awards and praise from press. Rolling Stone stated, “It’s not just a new frontier for games. It’s a new frontier for humanity.” IGN concluded that Vice City is “a truly unique gameplay experience,” and “no other action game comes close.” Game Informer wrote that Vice City “doesn’t just match the magic of GTA III, it bests it in every way possible.”

Space Colony HD to Release in November

2012/10/26
Jerry Paxton
News

London, UK – 26th October 2012 – Firefly Studios, creators of the Stronghold series, has just announced that sci-fi strategy sim Space Colony is being re-released next month in the form of Space Colony HD.

Described by PC Gamer as “A fun, refreshingly light-hearted and deviously challenging sim”, Space Colony was released in 2003 to a warm critical reception from publications such as GameSpy, GamePro and G4 TV.

Space Colony HD has players build a base on different planets throughout the galaxy, defending it from hostile alien threats while also keeping their ragtag crew of colonists alive and content. Your colourful crew includes the amicable Venus Jones, Scandinavian biker Stig Svensson, cybernetics expert Mr. Zhang and even former chicken farmer Billy-Bob Perkins. Each character has a unique personality with specific skills and needs, as well as different interactions. While keeping the crew happy is important, players must also keep them alive, maintaining oxygen levels, work productivity and defending against hostile alien threats.

Space Colony is not your run of the mill life simulator. The game features a wealth of different structures, weapons, aliens and real-time strategy mechanics befitting of a base builder. Establishing mining operations, colonist facilities and perimeter defences is up to the player, as is deciding which planets to colonise. As a throwback to the Stronghold games, players can choose to take a “Military” or “Civilian” path through the game, battling indigenous life or building intergalactic golf courses instead.

Space Colony HD updates the original strategy sim with high definition graphics and a greater field of view, often allowing players to see attacks on their base and points of interest at a glance, without the need to scroll around the map. The game has been remastered to support resolutions up to 2560×1600, up from the previous cap of 1280×1024.

Space Colony HD is set for digital release on GOG, Amazon, GetGames and other notable online retailers on 8th November 2012.

More news and information on Space Colony HD can be found at www.fireflyworlds.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fireflystudios and on Twitter @fireflyworlds.

HALO 4: Forward Unto Dawn Part 4

2012/10/26
Jerry Paxton
News

Machinima, Microsoft, and 343 Industries have released part 4 in their web series, HALO 4: Forward Unto Dawn. Again, this is some truly awesome film-making here and I can’t wait to get these altogether when they all get released.