Archive - 2015

Knights of Pen & Paper 2 PC Launch Trailer

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STOCKHOLM – Oct. 20, 2015 – Paradox Interactive, a publisher and developer of masterwork games, today released Knights of Pen & Paper 2 for PC, Mac, and Linux. Forged and smithed by KYY Games, Knights of Pen & Paper 2 is the sequel to Knights of Pen & Paper +1 Edition, featuring new in-game races and feats, randomly generated dungeons, retro-styled graphics and music from a new era of gaming, and more jokes and humor than you can fit in a bag of holding. The PC version, available for $9.99, is out today, and includes added features to help players enjoy their player-characters on their personal computers.

Roll Perception to spot this trailer:

Concoct a group of fictional friends in Knights of Pen & Paper 2, and use your knowledge of genre tropes to save the world of Paperos in a turn-based adventure of monster-slaying and loot-hoarding. The newly released version, for PC, Mac, and Linux, includes support for gamepads, keyboards, and mice, along with a completely necessary 1080p 60fps presentation of the game’s pixelated 16-bit world. The PC version also includes the story expansion, “Fist of +1 Fury,” which challenges players to face an onslaught of monsters and cultural references from the Far East of Paperos.

A Digital Deluxe Edition of Knights of Pen & Paper 2 is also available for $14.99, which includes an art book, soundtrack, and new in-game features such as an Epic Mount, and more in-game content to explore and plunder.

For more information about Knights of Pen & Paper 2, visit https://www.paradoxplaza.com/knights-of-pen-paper-2

Star Wars: The Old Republic Knights of the Fallen Empire in Early Access

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October 20, 2015 – BioWare and Lucasfilm today debuted “Alliance”, the new trailer for the upcoming Digital Expansion for Star WarsTM: The Old RepublicTM, Knights of the Fallen Empire. Featuring a return to an emphasis on the interactive storytelling BioWare is renowned for, Knights of the Fallen Empire features new companions, new enemies and nine new chapters of an evolving, player-driven storyline where the choices you make will have consequences. Learn more about Knights of the Fallen Empire and watch the new “Alliance” trailer here:

In Star Wars: The Old Republic – Knights of the Fallen Empire, you will become the Outlander, a veteran of the Great Galactic War, traveling to the outer rim of the galaxy. There you will come face-to-face with a new threat, Emperor Valkorion and his Eternal Empire, only to discover that his dark destiny is tied to your own. You will lead the fight to save the galaxy but it is clear from your first encounter with the Eternal Empire that you will need help; you must recruit a powerful team of Companions – and build an Alliance

Star Wars: The Old Republic – Knights of the Fallen Empire is available for Early Access today for Subscribers who were active between July and early October. The digital expansion will launch on October 27, 2015 and is free for all Subscribers.

To learn more visit http://StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/fallen-empire/.

2015 LA Ghost Train Review

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The Los Angeles Live Steamers have brought their incredibly fun and spooky Ghost Train back again for the 2015 Halloween season. This fundraising haunt has been going strong for 15 seasons now and it is one of the only kid-friendly haunted events in Southern California that offers an equal amount of fun for adults as well. Guests will straddle and ride incredibly small-scale recreations of full-size trains – not models, mind you, but actual, working trains. These babies run on gas, electric, and steam power! The attention to detail put into their construction is an awe-inspiring sight to behold in the daytime – but the trains become your spooky conveyance for the run on the Ghost Train and that is half the fun of the event.

Tickets cost $15 a rider and the proceeds go into keeping these little trains working as well as the Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum operational. Walking up to the train station, you will be treated to a fun display of Halloween decorations, fire effects, and spooky songs playing to ring in the Halloween spirit. Once you straddle your box car and the conductor has everything squared away, your train will embark on its journey around the grounds. An interesting aside: The grounds are also the present-day home of Walt Disney’s Carolwood Barn, where Disney himself used to house his mini steam train fleet.

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You will pass by a huge assortment of spooky vignettes during your ride on the rails and the amount of decoration put into the experience is staggering. Everyone volunteering their time to help bring the LA Ghost Train to life should be very proud of themselves. The ride is outstanding and I couldn’t believe some of the practical effects and gimmicks employed by the event – it’s “shocking” really (you’ll see)… This is thanks to a number of the members of the Live Steamers being in, or close to, the film industry – having access to some Hollywood level props and effects. Additionally, there are a ton of projector-driven effects thanks to digital horror effects house, Spectral Illusions, which helps add a lot of “wow” factor to the sets you travel through.

One of the most amazing things to take into account while making your choice to trek out to the Ghost Train is that the train ride itself takes about 25 minutes to complete. So, you are getting a lot of proverbial bang for your $15 dollars. Some haunted houses cost more and give much less. The ride is completely kid and adult-friendly and does not feature any live monsters hiding in the dark – it’s all animatronics and statues. Just be sure to keep your hands and arms at your side during the run and not flailing about. As this is a working, small-scale railroad, their are small lights dotting the track and you don’t want to get smacked. The one thing I would love to see the LA Ghost Train implement is asking some food vendors or trucks to setup camp in the park outside the main gates. The line queue goes out into the park and people can get hungry while they wait.

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Overall, the LA Ghost Train is an amazing, family-friendly haunted event with tons of spooky fun to go around. Make sure you line up early, however, as there can be quite the wait – especially on a Saturday night. On the Saturday night we went, the event estimated the line at around two hours long. Also, there is only one bathroom at the event and it opens at 7pm along with the gates, so be sure to have your little ones take care of that prior to arrival. We’d like to thank the Ghost Train’s Gary Baker for helping us get the access to come out and review this event. We had a terrific time and can’t wait for Ghost Train 2016!

Ghost Train on Facebook

Ghost Train 2015 Dates:

Friday, Saturday, & Sunday October 16,17,18 and 23,24,25
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, & Sunday October 29-31 and November 1

The event runs from 7-10 pm and is located at:

5202 Zoo Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027

Photo Gallery

Evil Twin Studios WARD 13 Haunted House Review #WARD13

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We had a great time at Evil Twin Studios Raymond Hill Mortuary last year in Pasadena, CA. The Evil Twin Studios production crew brought some serious scares as well as delightfully uncomfortable moments, and we couldn’t wait to experience their haunted house for the 2015 Halloween season. Enter: WARD 13.  The Raymond Hill Sanitarium (ran by the same owners of the aforementioned, ill-fated mortuary) is now open for tours after a troubled history and we got the chance to go in for what would turn out to be a wild ride. As you can imagine, the tour devolves fairly quickly into anarchy and we ended up at the mercy of a whole cadre of mental hospital patients.

Focusing less on monsters/paranormal entities and more on, for lack of a better word, “crazy” people, WARD 13 goes for more twisted scares than last year’s Raymond Hill Mortuary. WARD 13 is also a little more physically-demanding of able bodied guests as you will have to crawl as well as fit through small doors and access ways. If you are unable to perform any of these tasks (as one of our party members was) just pull a “monster” aside and let them know you need to use the disabled pass-through and they will direct you around. WARD 13 makes heavy use of character actors right from the beginning of the experience onward, with the monsters of the house committing to their roles of being, well, committed.

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Groups are another reason why Evil Twin Studios is tops in my book – they understand the need to space out groups so everyone gets the best experience possible. In WARD 13, you will enter the sanitarium in groups of no more than 6 people at a time. This isn’t some cattle run where you are but one in a huge assembly line of guests. You and your groupmates are placed central in the experience. The sanitarium patients interact heavily with guests, all while balancing the need to move groups along.  Another thing I love about WARD 13 is that Evil Twin Studios is great at being thrilling and twisted while not pushing into the realm of more “extreme” haunted houses that require guests to sign waivers. At times, we were taken to the outskirts of our comfort zones, but never so much as to feel violated or angered – they keep the boundary pushing fun!

Overall, Evil Twin Studios WARD 13 haunted house in Pasadena, CA is a wonderfully twisted tour through the scary cells of the Raymond Hill Sanitarium that will leave you breathless. Evil Twin Studios has done a fantastic job this year and we can’t wait to see what their twisted minds can think up for next season!

Evil Twin Studios Website

Evil Twin Studios Facebook

WARD 13 runs from 7pm to 11pm on the following dates:

October 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30, 31

1020 El Centro, South Pasadena, CA 

Photo Gallery

Bohemia Interactive Acquires T-72 Main Battle Tank

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October 17, 2015 – The award-winning Czech independent games developer Bohemia Interactive, known for the popular Arma series and DayZ, has recently acquired a decommissioned T-72 Main Battle Tank. The tank has been stationed at the one of the studio’s offices.

Ever since its debut with Arma: Cold War Assault (originally released as Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis*), Bohemia Interactive has aspired to create the ultimate military game. The latest installment in the series, Arma 3, released in September 2013, still enjoys full development support in the form of free platform updates and premium DLC. A major expansion coming in 2016, will feature the Tanoa terrain revealed at E3 this year.

Given the strong passion for all things military, the tank’s arrival felt like a fantasy come to life for many of Bohemia Interactive’s employees, who welcomed the studio’s armored love child with open arms. Naturally, excitement levels went through the roof when they were given the opportunity to go for a ride in the tank.

While the tank’s practical purpose might be best described as decoration, inspiration for developers, plus a promotional device for special events, it also serves as a reminder of the studio’s roots and represents Bohemia Interactive’s long-term commitment to creating the best (military) games available. A massive tanks goes out to everyone who has supported the studio and its games throughout the past 16 years. Your enthusiasm and support have been astonishing.

Ultimately, tanks are simply amazing to bestow. Thus, for everyone who feels the same way, Bohemia Interactive has prepared a glorious HD video of the Bohemia Tank in action. Enjoy!

BOHEMIA TANK FUN FACTS

  • The tank was originally used by the Czechoslovak People’s Army and its successors.
  • The tank driving controls have been disabled.
  • The tank’s cannon has been disabled and can only be rotated manually (this would normally be machine-operated).
  • The tank needs to be driven at least once a year to keep it operational.
  • The tank can only be transported over public roads during the night and this requires a special permit (in the Czech Republic).
  • You need a special license to drive the tank.
  • The tank has been nicknamed “Edita”.

T-72 MAIN BATTLE TANK HISTORY & SPECIFICATIONS

Type Main battle tank
Place of origin Soviet Union
In service 1973–present
Designed 1967–1973
Produced 1973–present
Number built 25,000+
Weight 41.5 tonnes (45.7 short tons)
Length 9.53 m (31 ft 3 in) gun forward, 6.95 m (22 ft 10 in) hull
Width 3.59 m (11 ft 9 in)
Height 2.23 m (7 ft 4 in)
Crew 3 (A commander, driver, gunner)
Armor Steel and composite armour
Main armament 125 mm 2A46M/2A46M-5 smoothbore gun
Secondary armament 12.7 mm NSVT antiaircraft machine gun
Engine V-12 780 hp (582 kw)
Fuel Diesel, petrol, kerosene (it is possible to set the fuel type)
Power/weight 18.8 hp/t
Transmission Synchromesh, hydraulically assisted, with 7 forward and 1 reverse gears
Suspension Torsion bar
Ground clearance 0.49 m (19 in)
Fuel capacity 1,200 L (320 U.S. gal; 260 imp gal)
Operational range 460 km (290 mi), 700 km (430 mi) with fuel drums
Speed 50 km/h (road), 30 km/h (terrain)
Polygons Billions

Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition Combat Trailer

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October 17, 2015 – Larian Studios’ multi-award winning RPG is nearing release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Having revealed the online and offline cooperative features with its Co-op Trailer, today’s Combat Trailer introduces a new generation to the combat of Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition. Discover how turn-based combat performs effortlessly on gamepads thanks to the intuitive control system and UI designed for consoles.

The combat in Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition, is both torturously tactical, or bright and breezy! It just depends on your play-style and the level of difficulty you picked. The Enhanced Edition comes with three new difficulty modes: Honor, Tactician, and Explorer, each offering a new, tailor-made experience honing on different play-styles.

Take advantage of crowd control spells such as petrify, charm, and freeze – required in the harder difficulty settings, or simply ignite, enflame, poison, and electrify your way through the world – zapping water under-foot to shock, or engulfing the enemy in flames by igniting a near-by oil barrel.

It’s all about using the skills at your party’s disposal to supplement each of their player-defined roles. Although featuring 12 classes (including a new class, the Inquisitor), Divinity: Original Sin – Enhanced Edition is really classless. You can mix and match as you develop your characters, chaining abilities and taking advantage of environmental aspects such as water, ice, oil on the floor, and steam clouds, things like that.

Divinity: Original Sin Enhanced Edition launches on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on October 27.
Discover the pre-order offers

Fallout Shelter Gets New Update

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October 17, 2015 – We’re pleased to announce that an all-new update is now available for Fallout Shelter™, the first-ever mobile game set in the celebrated Fallout® universe from Bethesda Game Studios®, available for free on Android and iOS devices.

Thanks to Vault-Tec, a new mode, extra tools and new features have been added to protect and perfect your Vault including:

  • New Vault-Tec network protocols are finally in place. Now you can save your Vault to the “cloud,” (no moisture condenser necessary!) and continue any Vault experiment on all of your devices.
  • Some Dwellers are reporting sightings of a mysterious individual in Vaults around the Wasteland. Vault-Tec is offering a bottle cap reward for any positive identification!
  • Faced all the challenges the “normal” Vault simulation can provide? Introducing Survival Mode! More danger, More glory. Make Vault-Tec proud!
  • New Vault-Tec directive – Dwellers have been given authorization to scavenge equipment from dead Raiders. Gear up!
  • Are you an experienced Overseer who has already undergone Vault operational training? Now you can skip the tutorial!
  • In an effort to assist Overseers in running their Vaults more efficiently, Vault-Tec has added a statistics page to the Vault Dweller’s Survival Guide (VDSG).
  • Support added for Russian-speaking Overseers.
  • Continued general maintenance to the Vault simulation.  Because when you speak, Vault-Tec listens!
  • Available exclusively on the App Store, all new legendary character Piper from Fallout 4 and five FREE lunchboxes!

Following its release in June on the App Store, Fallout Shelter achieved global success as the top downloaded game in 48 countries and the top downloaded app of any kind in 25 countries following its release. During E3 2015 Fallout Shelter received praise from some of the industry’s leading outlets, earning ‘Game of the Week’ from Touch Arcade and nominations for ‘Biggest Surprise’ from IGN and ‘Best Handled/Mobile Game’ from the official Game Critics Awards.

To learn more about Fallout Shelter visit: www.FalloutShelter.com.

World of Warships Dev Diaries #9 Talks Premium Ships

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October 15, 2015 – In Developer Diaries #9 learn about the unique vessels that exist apart from the Tech Tree of the standard World of Warships fleet: Premium ships. For a vessel to attain this status, it must possess specific requirements that can be described in a single word: legendary. Premium warships are selected based on different aspects: it can be as famous as the German Tirpitz or have a distinguished service record like the Soviet Gremyashchy.

Premium ships all require original performance characteristics such as special designs or peculiar armaments that offer a new approach to the fight. With these characteristics in mind, explore how testers took to the first Premium ships featured in the game: Atlanta and Kitakami. Viewers will find out how the feedback from testers helped mold what these ships would become.

Finally, learn about the mechanics of Premium vessels: what they excel at, what advantages they bestow players and the ever-popular abilities to transfer experience earned and train crew.

To learn more about World of Warships, visit:

War of Rights Kickstarter Announced

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October 15 2015, Copenhagen, Denmark – Today Campfire Games is pleased to announce the launch of their Kickstarter for American Civil War FPS game, War of Rights.

War of Rights is a multiplayer game set around the tumultuous period of the American Civil War, during the Maryland Campaign of September 1862. Campfire Games is devoted to presenting the gruesome and glorious elements of the period, while maintaining the highest level of historical accuracy and realism as possible thanks to the wonders of CRYENGINE. Having been in development for over three years, the team at Campfire Games is taking to Kickstarter to aim to secure the funds needed to complete the game.

Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1947432146/war-of-rights
YouTube: https://youtu.be/z5snMNkXdoo
Steam Greenlight: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=534499215
Twitter: @WarofRights
Facebook: War of Rights

Players will be able to take on the multiple battlefields of the campaign, from the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers, where the Siege of Harper’s Ferry took place, to the ridgelines of South Mountain, to the meandering waters of Antietam Creek at the Battle of Antietam. Additionally, players will also be able to choose from a list of regiments that fought in each battle, as well as what rank to fight as, whether they want to slog it out as a lowly private, or orchestrate the carnage and mayhem as a Major General.

“With War of Rights having now been in development for over three years, we felt it was the right time to finally get the game to Kickstarter to secure the required funds.” said Emil Alexander Hansen, co-founder and technical artist at Campfire Games. “War of Rights is something very special to us, we’re incredibly passionate for historical accuracy and so with a successful crowdfunding campaign, we’ll be able to dedicate the time and attention the game needs to be and with the power of CRYENGINE, it’ll allow us to deliver something that’s truly authentic.”

Each map contains a period reconstruction of the buildings, farms, forests, roads and rocks that existed so that players can fight through the streets of Harper’s Ferry, in the wooded heights of Fox’s Gap at South Mountain, or in the wheat fields and Bloody Lanes of Antietam with great accuracy. Players can feel the whiz of each deadly shot and shell fly by their bodies, or hitting their comrades, or themselves, as they scream in a bloody hail from their wounds.

Campfire Games brings the fighting of the Civil War right to the player’s computer screen!

About Campfire Games
Campfire Games is a Danish indie developer founded by Emil Alexander Hansen and Mads Støjko Larsen. They’re currently working on War of Rights, a game set during the American Civil War. The team consists of talented people from all over the world, including both newcomers as well as veterans of the industry. Amongst the current team members are people who have been involved in Verdun and Space Hulk, as well as on other American Civil War themed game projects.

About Crytek
Crytek is an independent videogame developer, publisher and technology provider with headquarters in Frankfurt am Main (Germany) and seven other studios around the world. Established in 1999, Crytek has created multiple award-winning titles, including the original Far Cry, the Crysis series, Ryse: Son of Rome and Warface. All of Crytek’s games are developed using CRYENGINE, the company’s cutting-edge 3D game technology, which is also the first choice of other leading developers and licensees when creating games for PC, Xbox One, PlayStation®4, Wii UTM, iOS and Android. Crytek’s ongoing growth in the games-as-a-service market has extended the company’s reach as they continue to deliver top quality interactive experiences to players through self-publishing platforms

Dying Light The Following Release Date Window Trailer

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October 15th, 2015 – Wroclaw, Poland/ Today Techland announced that its highly anticipated expansion Dying Light: The Following is set to launch in the first quarter of 2016. The reveal was made via a special video and accompanied by a message to fans from producer Tymon Smektala:

“So since Gamescom 2015, we revealed quite a bit about our upcoming expansion: the vast countryside map, the customizable dirt buggy, a new story and more. What we couldn’t say before though, was the release date. Today we finally know that Dying Light: The Following will launch within the first three months of 2016. This gives us enough time to put in all the content and surprises we have planned for you guys. So keep your eyes peeled for some sneak peeks into what we have in the works for you all. And we promise to share the exact day of release as soon as we get a final decision.” 

One of the key features of Dying Light: The Following will be the upgradable and customizable all-terrain dirt buggy. In connection with the expansion Techland has launched its own automotive brand SILAS® Motors – outlining its car manufacture philosophy in the reveal commercial. Dying Light: The Following will be priced at $14.99, while all Season Pass holders will receive the expansion completely free.

About Techland

Techland is a leading Polish developer, publisher and distributor of PC and console games. Its proprietary Chrome Engine 6 technology is among the world’s most advanced game engines, with Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3 compatibility and full DirectX 11 support. With a staff of about 260 specialists in four offices in Wroclaw, Warsaw, Ostrow Wielkopolski and in Vancouver, Canada, Techland is committed to delivering top-quality titles for worldwide markets.