Author - Jerry Paxton

Universal Studios Announces Studio Tour Guide Casting Call

2015/04/16

Universal City, California, April 16, 2015 – The race is on as Universal Studios Hollywood casts a wide net in search of Studio Tour guides as the theme park prepares to introduce “Fast & Furious—Supercharged,” the new grand finale to the world-famous Studio Tour and the all-new “Nighttime Studio Tour” this summer in celebration of the theme park’s 50th anniversary.

Open call auditions will take place at Universal Studios Hollywood on May 4 from 2-4pm.

As one of the most progressive and exciting theme park experiences anywhere, Universal’s Studio Tour invites guests to enjoy a front row seat with behind-the-scenes access to one of the world’s largest movie and television production studios, led by expert Studio Tour guides, knowledgeable on the inner-workings of Hollywood.

As the destination readies for a blockbuster summer with the introduction of the “Fast & Furious—Supercharged” thrill ride and the “Nighttime Studio Tour,” more than 40 English, bilingual Spanish and Mandarin-speaking Studio Tour Guides will be hired to join an existing roster of nearly 100 guides.

Candidates interested in auditioning must possess the following attributes for consideration: friendly, engaging and enthusiastic; have a performance and/or public speaking background; are knowledgeable of film and television; have a charismatic live television camera presence; and must be at least 18 years of age.

They will need to come prepared with a resume and headshot and be available for a series of follow-up auditions on May 6 and final interviews the week of May 11. Full-time employment will begin on May 26, beginning with three weeks of fun, intensive training. For more information, please visit www.UniversalStudiosHollywood.com/auditions.

The perks associated with the role of Studio Tour guide are also priceless. Aspiring actors and those seeking to work within the entertainment industry will have daily access to an authentic studio lot, and the filming locations of thousands of movie and television shows. In addition to enjoying a flexible work schedule, Studio Tour Guides will benefit from a variety of opportunities, including intimate symposiums with prestigious industry professionals, free professional acting classes, auditions for top industry casting directors and free private screenings of Universal Pictures films.

“Fast & Furious—Supercharged” is a technologically advanced, epic ride that reunites stars from the Fast & Furious series in a groundbreaking mega-attraction designed to catapult guests into the high-stakes underground world of street racing at perceived speeds in excess of 120 miles per hour. Featuring Vin Diesel (Dominic “Dom” Toretto), Dwayne Johnson (Luke Hobbs), Michelle Rodriguez (Letty Ortiz), Tyrese Gibson (Roman Pearce) and Luke Evans (Owen Shaw), “Fast & Furious—Supercharged” will debut on June 25 as the grand finale to Universal Studios Hollywood’s behind-the-scenes Studio Tour and can only be experienced at The Entertainment Capital of L.A.

For the first time ever, Universal Studios Hollywood’s all-new “Nighttime Studio Tour” will bring over 20 locations along the famed Studio Tour backlot to life with movie set lighting and special effects used in nighttime productions. Theatrical lighting will cast a glow on iconic backlot sets as Studio Tour guides shed light on Hollywood secrets and tricks of the world’s most glamorous trade, including how filmmakers create the effect of daylight amid the black of night. Celebrated stars who found fame on Universal’s backlot will also make cameo appearances on the “Nighttime Studio Tour,” including Marilyn Monroe, Norman Bates and Frankenstein. The “Nighttime Studio Tour” will run every weekend throughout the summer from July 4 through Labor Day.

For more information visit, www.UniversalStudiosHollywood.com, and for all the latest news, “Like” us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram and Twitter at @UniStudios

Universal Studios Hollywood, The Entertainment Capital of L.A.SM, includes a full-day, movie-based theme park and Studio Tour; the CityWalk entertainment, shopping and dining complex, the Universal CityWalk Cinemas and the “5 Towers” state-of-the-art outdoor concert venue. World-class rides and attractions include “Despicable Me Minion Mayhem” and “Super Silly Fun Land,” the critically-acclaimed mega-attraction, “Transformers™: The Ride-3D,” the intense, award-winning ride, “King Kong 360 3-D” on the behind-the-scenes Studio Tour, “Revenge of the MummySM—The Ride” and “Jurassic Park® —The Ride.” As part of its milestone 50th anniversary celebration in 2015, new attractions include the electrifying 3D-HD thrill ride, “Fast & Furious—Supercharged” as the grand finale to the famed Studio Tour, “Springfield,” hometown of America’s favorite TV family, adjacent to the award-winning “The Simpsons RideTM” and the “Nighttime Studio Tour,” offering tours of the iconic movie backlot on select evenings.

Star Trek Online The Iconian War Gets Voyager’s Robert McNeill

2015/04/16

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Screenshots / Photos, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

April 16, 2015 — Star Trek Online welcomes Robert McNeill reprising his role as Tom Paris from Star Trek: Voyager continuing the trend of key cast members from the television series joining the online gaming world. McNeill will be introduced in Season 10 of Star Trek Online – titled The Iconian War – when it launches for free on Tuesday, April 21.

Season 10 of Star Trek Online begins the conclusion of a conflict that has been brewing in Star Trek Online for more than five years. The newest season reintroduces the Iconians – an ancient race that has remained dormant for years waiting for their time to strike. As the war approaches, new captains will emerge from Delta Recruitment to bolster forces in defense of the galaxy. It is up to Star Trek Online players to push back the forces of the Iconians. If they don’t succeed, there might be no galaxy to fight for.

In addition to the new Star Trek lore available in Season 10, Star Trek Online will also receive additional in-game updates including a re-vamp of sector space that allows players to navigate the Alpha, Beta and Delta Quadrants uninhibited. Players will also be able to participate in additional queues and develop their pilot specialization further as it moves from a secondary to primary specialization.

Star Trek Online is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online game where players can pioneer their own destiny as Captain of a Federation starship, become a Klingon Warrior and champion the Empire through the far reaches of the galaxy, or rebuild the Romulan legacy as the commander of a Romulan Republic Warbird. Its last expansion, Star Trek Online: Delta Rising, brought players into the Delta Quadrant and reintroduced them to iconic members from the Star Trek: Voyager cast including Seven of Nine, The Doctor, Harry Kim, Neelix and Tuvok. In Star Trek Online players have the opportunity to visit iconic locations from the popular Star Trek universe, reach out to unexplored star systems and make contact with new alien species.

Screenshots

Blood Bowl 2 Chaos Gameplay Trailer

2015/04/16

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, Screenshots / Photos, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

April 16, 2015 — After revealing a first gameplay video starring the polyvalent Humans, Blood Bowl 2, the sequel to the video game adaptation of Games Workshop’s famous board game that combines American football with the fantasy world of Warhammer, today exposes a whole new match philosophy: that of the Chaos!

While human teams are able to adapt to any kind of game – passing, running, or blocking – Chaos teams have a natural predisposition to a certain type of play style when it comes to a Blood Bowl match, favouring one very specific tactic amongst all: crippling, maiming, injuring, trampling, and killing as many opponent players as possible. And, when only few or no survivors is left, they finally care about the ball to score a touchdown. However, do not believe that nimbler teams will have it easy weaving past and the punches: the Chaos teams are the only ones to have innate access, among all 75 skills in the game, to mutations. These mutations are not just bringing visual modifications on your players; they also bring meaningful advantages. They can, for example, increase their destruction potential, but also handicap the dodging, running or passing of more agile teams. If your wish is to unleash chaos on the field… well, then, the teams bearing the same name are made just for you.

This video shows Blood Bowl 2’s brand new graphics engine in action, but also reveals the meticulous work done on Blood Bowl 2 by developer Cyanide to capture the authentic Blood Bowl experience: the cheering of the ravenous fans filling the huge stadiums to the brink, the animations, the dynamic cameras enhancing the brutal atmosphere of the matches, the “Cabalvision” identity and the hilarious commenting duo, Jim Johnson and Bob Bifford. We also get a first look at the new game’s interface and much improved visual feedback, bringing a more modern, fresher look to Blood Bowl while improving clarity and comprehension of the action on the field.

We look forward to revealing more of Blood Bowl 2 for PlayStation 4, Xbox ONE and PC with additional info and more gameplay videos soon!

Screenshots

Warhammer: End Times Vermintide Witch Hunter Hero Revealed

2015/04/15

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Screenshots / Photos, Windows PC News

April 15, 2015 — Independent developer Fatshark released today new details on the first of five heroes to be playable in Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide. Victor Saltzpyre is a ferocious and unrelenting Witch Hunter who disposes of his enemies with extreme prejudice. Trained from a young age in the Order of the Silver Hammer, Victor is an expert in both ranged and melee combat. Carrying a diverse set of weaponry with the capability of easily switching from pistol to sword and back to pistol again, Victor uses his quickness and agility to move swiftly around the battlefield, releasing devastating and precise attacks on the non-stop hordes of Skaven.

For more information about the Witch Hunter: http://vermintide.com/witch-hunter/

To read the Witch Hunter dev blog that accompanied the announcement:http://vermintide.com/dev-blog-3-victor-saltzpyre-witch

Screenshots/Art

Path of Exile: The Awakening Details Revealed

2015/04/14

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Screenshots / Photos, Windows PC News

Auckland, New Zealand – April 14, 2015 – Since the game’s release in October 2013, Path of Exile has exploded into more than just a community of 11.2 million players worldwide, it has become a massive RPG phenomenon… and it is about to get even bigger! Grinding Gear Games today reveals details on Path of Exile: The Awakening. Scheduled to release in June, the World of Wraeclast changes forever.

Path of Exile: The Awakening takes the player on a dark journey as they descend into the depths of nightmare. Great secrets about the world of Wraeclast will be discovered and even greater battles will be fought.

In parallel development alongside Path of Exile‘s previous expansions, Path of Exile: The Awakening is more than just Path of Exile‘s fourth act – it improves and expands upon every aspect of the game. With a crazy new twist on the iconic Passive Skill Tree and numerous systems changes, this expansion has been internally dubbed Path of Exile Version 2.0.0. The Awakening completely changes the Path of Exile experience and includes new items, monsters, maps, skills, and many quality of life improvements suggested by the Path of Exile community.

Path of Exile: The Awakening Features:

The Beast Awakens: Act Four continues Path of Exile’s storyline. The time has finally come to venture into the center of corruption itself and drive a blade through its black heart.
Explore Beyond Highgate: For the first time since launch, The Awakening introduces completely new areas, monsters and end-game maps to expand the world of Wraeclast.
Defeat Legendary Bosses: Experience climactic boss encounters with characters from Wraeclast’s past such as Voll, Daresso, Kaom and many more.
Powerful New Skill Gems: With new classes of skills such as elemental Golems that fight by your side, warcries, and several new support gems, players are able to create new clever and intricate builds.
Socketable Passive Tree: Collect and craft Jewels that can be socketed into the Passive Tree to drastically change the tree itself.
Masses of New Gear: Find more than 70 new Unique Items and discover an entirely new set of equipment – the Maraketh Weapons.
User Experience Improvements: We’ve made extensive user interface improvements, added more customization options and implemented many community-suggested changes.
Complete Rebalance: We’ve reconsidered every core game system and rebalanced Path of Exile from the very first level. With these enhancements, both new and experienced players will enjoy The Awakening.

Players can jump into the new content with Path of Exile: The AwakeningClosed Beta beginning April 20. An international launch, including traditional Chinese and Russian localization, along with more languages and countries will be added throughout 2015.

About Path of Exile:

Path of Exile is an online PC action role-playing game set in a dark fantasy world. Featuring ethical micro-transactions, the game is free-to-play, butnever pay-to-win. Playing as one of seven character classes, players find themselves banished for their past misdeeds to the dark fantasy world of Wraeclast. There, they encounter hundreds of species of opponents laden with loot and mysterious artifacts as they explore the abandoned continent. www.pathofexile.com

Path of Exile Key Features Include:

A dark and deep action RPG
Unlimited character combinations with the game’s gigantic skill tree
Combine skill gems to create unique combat strategies
Explore a dark and gritty world rendered from a fixed 3D perspective
Download and play for free, but never pay-to-win
Explore randomly generated levels for nearly infinite replayability
Craft weapons, magic items and even end-game maps to become more powerful
Cooperate or compete with thousands of other Exiles in a persistent online world
Ascend online ladders in every game mode
Battle in PvP tournaments for worldwide recognition
Steam and Twitch integration

About Grinding Gear Games

Grinding Gear Games is an independent game studio founded in 2006 and based in Auckland, New Zealand. Its team members come from various countries and have a diversity of backgrounds ranging from artificial intelligence and software security to industrial design and professional tournament gaming. GGG recently released its flagship title, Path of Exile, and is committed to ongoing expansion and new content releases for the critically acclaimed game. You can find more information about Grinding Gear Games at www.grindinggear.com.

Joe’s Diner Review (PC)

2015/04/13

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Reviews, Screenshots / Photos, Windows PC News, Windows PC Review

Imagine if you will, a lone diner out in the middle of the dark desert. The secret of this diner: It was constructed above an ancient Native American burial ground. The spirits of those in the ground now haunt this diner. Unfortunately, it is your job to keep the diner clean while dealing with these irate supernatural forces. This is Joe’s Diner, by the folks at Visual Imagination Software and UIE GmbH.

Joe’s Diner is an atmospheric, amusing ride in the shoes of a lone diner working attempting to keep things clean and ready for customers as a battle between two opposing spirits rages on. Things start out creepily enough, as small things start occurring in the empty diner to introduce you to its simple game mechanics (mainly consisting of interacting with things via the ‘E’ button). Appliances will mysteriously turn on, trash will appear on tables out of nowhere, and other things, which I won’t spoil, happen to keep you from completing your cleaning task. Unfortunately, after playing through the game’s first couple levels, whatever creep factor I had quickly went away. It was replaced with a repugnant hatred of these two spirits. How dare they mess with my job! What a bunch of “A-holes”! If you wan’t to fight, take it outside, not in my diner!

So, Joe’s Diner is not so much of a horror game as it is a Tapper style experience – run here, run there, interact with object, keep everything moving. The challenge in this process comes from the noise you make and the chaos that one of the spirits causes. This noise irritates one of the opposing spirits and, if he gets angry enough, you die and have to start the level over again. It should also be noted that if you die during the first level, you have to re-watch the long into sequence over too – an added torment! So, you have to clean quietly! There is a noise indicator that you have to keep a close watch on to aid in this goal. Unfortunately, the gameplay gets repetitive after a while, as working in a diner would.

Overall, Joe’s Diner is a momentary, if not amusing diversion to pass some time with. Unfortunately, the creep factor gives way to the player becoming indignant and angry at these spirits instead of afraid. If I had a proton pack available, I would be going to town on those two rude ghosts. Joe’s Diner retails for $7.99 on Steam and that’s not a bad price for it. If you are looking for a quick, creepy diversion, I would pick it up. It’s not perfect, but it is also only an $8 dollar game!

[easyreview title=”Joe’s Diner Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”2″ ]

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Screenshots

Final Fantasy XIV Heavensward Opening Cinematic

2015/04/13

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

LOS ANGELES (Apr. 13, 2015) – This past Saturday, producer/director Naoki Yoshida hosted the 20th installment in the ‘Letter from the Producer LIVE’ series where he discussed the upcoming FINAL FANTASY XIV® expansion, Heavensward™.

The event began with the Heavensward opening cinematic movie, which bridges the events of A Realm Reborn®’s finale and the beginning of Heavensward. Yoshida was also joined by special guest Kazuyuki Ikumori, the chief creative director of the Visual Works Division. Yoshida and Ikumori discussed the creation of the FINAL FANTASY XIV CG movies and other behind-the-scenes topics.

During the broadcast, Yoshida took the opportunity to outline many of the new features and changes that players will experience in Heavensward. The presentation included information surrounding the raising of the level cap, the introduction of new job actions, new gameplay systems for the Disciples of the Hand and Land classes and details regarding the debut of the high-end Alexander raid dungeon. In addition to the presentation, Yoshida also addressed questions from the player community while showing off upcoming gameplay features. The English coverage thread is available here for an in-depth look at the content, questions and answers at: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/forums/1282.

Another cinematic movie was also revealed during the show – “FINAL FANTASY XIV – Flames of Truth.” This new video combines the beginning segment of the FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn opening with a CG video that was previously only shown to adventurers who were able to defeat a certain boss in the high-level “Final Coil of Bahamut” raid. This now-complete video reveals the fate of archon Louisoix after the A Realm Reborn opening cinematic, the secret behind Bahamut’s abrupt disappearance after he unleashed his fiery wrath upon Eorzea, and details on how the realm was reborn.

The FINAL FANTASY XIV: Heavensward Trailer is available on YouTube here:

Avengers: Age of Ultron Premiere Live Stream Event

2015/04/10

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, Movie News, News

April 10, 2015 — Marvel proudly invites one and all to experience the World Premiere of Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” LIVE from Hollywood! On April 13, 2015 at 6:30 p.m. PT/9:30 p.m. ET visit marvel.com/AvengersPremiere and watch as your favorite stars arrive at the legendary Dolby Theater. Plus, stay until the end of the live stream to see the debut of an EXCLUSIVE clip from Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron”!

Live Stream

Sponsored by Hasbro, this LIVE event will get you up close and personal with the cast of Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” like no one else can!

Co-Hosted by Marvel.com’s Tamara Krinsky and Lorraine Cink, hear directly from the biggest names in the biz. Scheduled to appear are: Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Chris Evans (Captain America), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), and many more.

While you’re watching you can also tweet using the hashtags #AgeOfUltron and #AvengersPremiere, follow @Avengers on Twitter and like Marvel’s Avengers on Facebook at Facebook.com/avengers.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 5 Minute Gameplay Trailer

2015/04/10

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

Here is a brand-new gameplay video, running about 5 minutes in length, from cd Projekt RED’s upcoming The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Gameplay Video

The Technomancer Announced with Screenshots

2015/04/10

Jerry Paxton

Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, Screenshots / Photos, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

April 10, 2015 — Spiders are back with The Technomancer, a new post-apocalyptic RPG set in a cyberpunk world for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC set on Mars during the War of Water, where an aspiring Technomancer faces a myriad of questions as his future grows threatened by the secrets of his past. Discover today the first official images from the game!

An RPG, The Technomancer will offer players action-oriented combat gameplay along four different skill trees, focusing on 3 different fighting styles and the destructive electric-focused powers of the Technomancers. But not all situations call for brute strength, with dynamic conversation dialogue playing a deep role in quests, changing the story depending on the decisions you make. Craft equipment, weapons and armor for yourself and for the companions you’ll recruit along your adventure, nurturing relationships with them.

On the run from the Secret Police and confronted by the harsh realities of the Red Planet, you must undertake a quest that takes you through tribal communities, cities lost under the ice, and dystopian shanties sprawled across Mars’ dusty embrace.

Faced with the cruelty of Mars’ iron-fist enforcers and wildlife, can you survive long enough to uncover the truth behind The Technomancer?

A unique and thrilling science-fiction RPG experience set on the Red Planet.
Bond with numerous unique and interesting companions and reveal secrets about their past.
Manage their inventory and level up your companions.
Up to five different endings for many quests changing the conclusions and rewards – even the people you’ll meet and journey with!
A dynamic crafting system that changes the visual appearance of weapon and armor.
Play as a Technomancer – a combat proficient warrior with use of cybernetically enhanced magical abilities.

The Technomancer is slated for a 2016 release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.