Author - Jerry Paxton

Vampire: The Masquerade Fifth Edition to Launch at GenCon

2018/08/02
Jerry Paxton
Book News, Geek News, News

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN (AUGUST 2, 2018) – White Wolf Entertainment, creators of the transmedia World of Darkness story universe, today announce that their iconic vampire tabletop roleplaying series moves into the 21st century with the release of Vampire: The Masquerade Fifth Edition (V5). The beloved roleplaying game of personal and political horror launches on the GenCon 2018 show floor in Indianapolis, Indiana. Online purchase is now also available in digital format from worldofdarkness.com and in physical formats exclusively from distributor Modiphius Entertainment.

V5 is a return to the vision of the 1991 Vampire: The Masquerade, the classic that changed roleplaying games forever, and spawned a supernatural transmedia universe that’s influenced two-and-a-half decades of film, television shows, novels and video games. Rooted in the exploration of evil and morality, the Vampire series challenges players to confront — or channel — their inner monster and exploit the weaknesses of society to satiate their desire for power — and thirst for blood. Featuring a streamlined and modern rules set, beautiful full-color art and photography, and a rich story experience, this new edition of Vampire: The Masquerade will enrapture both new and returning players.

“With the launch of V5, today marks an incredible milestone in the history of Vampire: The Masquerade,” said White Wolf CEO Tobias Sjögren. “The fifth edition of Vampire is the culmination of 30 years of creative efforts by White Wolf, its partners, and of course, the passionate global community of players and fans. It’s an experience we expect longtime fans will find engaging, while similarly bringing newcomers into the World of Darkness.”

V5 consists of three main full color hardback books — the V5 corebook, the Anarch and Camarilla sourcebooks (the latter two available November 2018) — as well as an official V5 dice set, V5 storyteller screen and V5 notebook. All three books will also be available in a high quality slipcase along with a special edition of the corebook. For those wanting to mark the occasion of this new edition, a collector’s edition of the corebook as well as a limited-print luxury leatherbound Methuselah Bundle will also be available. Please visit the order page for more details: https://www.modiphius.net/collections/vampire-the-masquerade.

The physical V5 corebook is now available for purchase online from White Wolf distribution partner Modiphius Entertainment and in brick-and-mortar shops this month. Each physical corebook includes a complimentary digital copy. There is also a free V5 Quickstart Guide, intended to get players right into the action fast with minimal setup time available at worldofdarkness.com. Early hardback copies of the V5 corebook are available now for purchase from GenCon 2018 at the White Wolf booth (#509) and Modiphius booth (#2563).

Starting this winter, translated editions of V5 will become available in French, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, with more languages to be announced.

2018 San Diego Comic-Con Photo Gallery

2018/08/01
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, Screenshots / Photos, SDCC

Another San Diego Comic-Con is in the books and, albeit somewhat later than we would have liked, here is our photo gallery from this year’s festivities in San Diego, CA!

Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition Announced

2018/08/01
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

Burbank, Calif. – August 1, 2018 – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition, the most comprehensive version of last year’s epic, open world action game where players forge a new Ring of Power, conquer fortresses in massive battles and dominate Mordor with their own personal Orc army, all brought to life by the award-winning Nemesis System. Developed by Monolith Productions, Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition will include the main game packaged together with all downloadable content (DLC), free updates and improvements and will be available for the Xbox One family of devices including Xbox One X, Windows 10 PC through the Microsoft Store, Steam, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and PlayStation 4®Pro computer entertainment system beginning August 28, 2018.
“Since Middle-earth: Shadow of War launched, we’ve continually looked at all of the feedback from our fantastic community and our fans, which has inspired us to keep improving the game and ultimately create a version that we are truly proud of,” said Michael de Plater, Vice President, Creative, Monolith Productions. “Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition brings together all of our free content updates and gameplay improvements, along with our Story and Nemesis Expansions, providing the very best experience for players. Whether you’re diving in for the first time or making your return to Middle-earth, there’s never been a better time to walk into Mordor.”
Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition will feature the main game, along with the full Expansion Pass, including additional story campaigns, missions, playable characters, Orc tribes, weapons, abilities, enemies, a new region and much more.

  • Middle-earth: Shadow of War Main Game
  • Slaughter Tribe Nemesis Expansion
  • Outlaw Tribe Nemesis Expansion
  • Blade of Galadriel Story Expansion
  • Desolation of Mordor Story Expansion

Additionally, Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition will bring together a multitude of different enhancements and free content updates, from a richer campaign experience and streamlined post-game Epilogue to new player skins and the complete removal of the market, in addition to hundreds of other improvements since the release of Middle-earth: Shadow of War. A snapshot of the updates available for players includes:

  • Market Closure: Complete removal of the market and microtransactions.
  • Updated Post-Game: Streamlined post-game Epilogue (formerly Shadow Wars) with new narration from Shelob, the Witch-king and Dark Talion, plus new Masks of the Nazgûl player rewards.
  • Nemesis System Enhancements: Numerous improvements bringing further depth to combat encounters and player interactions, along with added traits and behaviors for Orc enemies, more Legendary Orcs to encounter and more ways to get Training Orders.
  • Powering Up: Follower level cap has been increased to 80, enemy Captain level cap has been increased to 85, greater XP rewards, new Prestige skills, upgrades and more.
  • Gear Upgrades: Players can now use Mirian to raise the level of a piece of gear to their current level and use gems to re-roll abilities.
  • Skins: Added player skins for Celebrimbor, Eltariel, Dark Eltariel, Baranor and Serka.
  • Online Pit Fights & Conquests: Added search feature to challenge specific players’ Overlords and fortresses in Friendly Mode.
  • Endless Siege: Added feature to defend fortresses against never-ending waves of Sauron’s forces.
  • Rebellion: Added feature to crush rebel Ologs and Uruks who undermine the Bright Lord.
  • Photo Mode Upgrades: Capture every battle with new filters, frames and textures.
  • Difficulty Levels: Added Brutal and Gravewalker difficulty levels.
  • Player Stats: Added player stats page to track in-game enemy kills, dominations and betrayals.

Players can also check out a free Middle-earth: Shadow of War game demo available on PlayStation®4, Xbox One and PC, allowing gamers to build an army of unique Orc followers and lead them in a fortress assault deep in the heart of Mordor.

Middle-earth: Shadow of War Definitive Edition will be available for $59.99. Please note that content beyond the main game is not pre-loaded on disc and requires an online connection to download.Set between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth: Shadow of War is an open world action role-playing game (RPG) that continues the original narrative of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor™. Players will be engrossed in a richer, more personal and expansive world full of epic heroes and villains, iconic locations, original enemy types, more personalities and a new cast of characters with untold stories.

For the latest information or to join the Shadow of War conversation, visit us on YouTube (ShadowofWarGame), Twitter (@ShadowofWarGame), Instagram (ShadowofWarGame), Facebook (ShadowofWarGame), Twitch (MonolithLive), Community (ShadowOfWar) or the official website (www.ShadowofWar.com).

Soviet Navy Coming to War Thunder

2018/08/01
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, Windows PC News

August 1, 2018 — Gaijin Entertainment today announced the initial release of the Soviet Naval research tree to the vehicular combat MMO War Thunder. As the third nation to be featured in the game’s naval battles, the Soviet Union joins the fray with a first batch of 23 carefully reconstructed ships of various classes and sizes. All participants of the Naval Forces Closed Beta can research and play the new ships.

Since June 2018 the Closed Beta of the War Thunder Naval Forces is in full swing. Participants already sank more than 3,000,000 ships and downed more than 500,000 enemy aircraft in action-packed naval encounters all over the globe. Players can join the Closed Beta by sending an application via the official website, or gain immediate access by purchasing a Naval pack featuring one of the premium Destroyer-class ships. For the next two weeks, players who already own any Naval pack will receive a 50% discount on the pack containing the Soviet destroyer ‘Stroyniy’ (eng. Shapely).

Naval players have already been able to try the ships of the United States Navy and German Kriegsmarine. The first two ranks of ships in War Thunder feature fast and maneuverable torpedo boats, gunboats and submarine chasers, while the later ranks feature more massive ship classes such as destroyers and light cruisers.

The Soviet light cruiser ‘Red Caucasus’ will be the current top ship in the Soviet line, having distinguished itself in real life as a staunch and trusty vessel capable of staying in battle even under sustained enemy artillery fire and attacks by aircraft. The new premium destroyer ‘Stroyniy’, a sister vessel of the Project-7U-class, features increased anti-aircraft capabilities and an additional 76mm cannon at the stern. In general, the Soviet Naval tree offers a well-rounded set of ships of all sizes and playstyles, ready to take on the Naval Forces of both the US and Germany on equal terms.

More information is available on the War Thunder website:

https://warthunder.com/en/news/5666-fleet-development-soviet-navy-and-the-stroyny-destroyer-en

Yakuza 0 Launch Trailer

2018/08/01
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

August 1, 2018 – The very first game of the Yakuza series to come to PC, Yakuza 0 brings the glitz, glam and piles of cash of 1980s Japan to Steam today! Watch the launch trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02-GTxttW5w

A prequel to the long-running series, Yakuza 0 is the perfect entry point to the Yakuza series. With the legendary Dragon of Dojima, Kazuma Kiryu, and series regular Goro Majima, embark on a rich saga, experiencing their gripping origin stories of moral dilemmas as young yakuza.

Explore the neon-lit streets of Kamurocho (Tokyo) and Sotenbori (Osaka), beating piles of cash out of street thugs (literally) while using three different fighting styles. Help civilians in over 100 substories, run your own business and immerse yourself in 1980s Japan with SEGA’s arcade classics, telephone clubs, discos, pocket circuit car races and more.

Yakuza 0 introduces enhanced features for PC, including 4K resolution, an unlocked framerate, as well as full controller support and remappable keys for the ultimate Yakuza 0 experience.

Yakuza 0 is now available digitally on PC worldwide via Steam at $19.99 USD. https://store.steampowered.com/app/638970/Yakuza_0/  For more information, please visit: yakuza.sega.com/yakuza0

South Park: The Fractured But Whole: Bring the Crunch Launch Trailer

2018/07/31
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

SAN FRANCISCO — July 31, 2018 — Today, Ubisoft and South Park Digital Studios announced that Bring the Crunch, downloadable content (DLC) for South Park™: The Fractured But Whole™, is now available on next-gen platforms and Windows PC. From South Park Digital Studios and developed by Ubisoft San Francisco, Bring the Crunch adds a whole new story campaign and “Final Girl” superhero class to South Park: The Fractured But Whole. Bring the Crunch is available for the suggested retail price of $11.99.

In Bring the Crunch, your newest buddy, Mint-Berry Crunch, aka Bradley Biggle, aka Gok-zarah, has just arrived from his home planet of Kokujon with the tremendous power of mint and berries. Meanwhile, an idyllic summer at Lake Tardicaca turns into a nightmare when the camp counselors go missing. With the fate of summer camp in jeopardy, Fastpass sends out a Coonstagram distress signal. Team up with FastPass, Doctor Timothy, Professor Chaos and the newest member of the Coon & Friends, Mint-Berry Crunch, to save summer camp.

Players will also be able to embrace the new “Final Girl” class and overcome insurmountable odds to survive. This superhero class brings new combat tactics and traps to take down spooky enemies. After saving Lake Tardicaca, players will be able to bring their new powers and buddy to the rest of their superhero adventure.

For more information about South Park: The Fractured But Whole, please visit southparkgame.com, and for the latest on all Ubisoft games, please visit news.ubisoft.com.

2018 Midsummer Scream Post Mortem and Photo Gallery

2018/07/31
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, Halloween, News, Screenshots / Photos

Bring on the Halloween season: Midsummer Scream 2018 is officially in the history books! Midsummer Scream ran from July 28th to July 29th at the Long Beach Convention Center and got us all in the spirit of the scary season despite the 85 degree/85 percent humidity weather. We arrived on Saturday morning and fought for parking, then got into the convention center. We were once again impressed with the Long Beach Convention Center. It had ample AC – especially when considering the sheer number of people walking around, as well as a tasty little cafe area. Other Southern California convention centers could learn a thing or two from them.

Once we walked onto the exhibit floor, it was like being hit with a wave of Halloween joy. People walked up and down the aisles, browsing and shopping, and we saw vendors selling FX equipment, toys, handmade crafts, and more. The folks from the Mystic Museum even had a recreation of their highly-received “Slashback Video” video store on the show floor. Knott’s Scary Farm had a cool photo op available for attendees as well as a limited edition event pin, while Six Flags Fright Fest had a makeup demo setup. Monsters being made up from here were later seen in the Hall of Shadows, but more on that later. The exhibit floor also saw some celebrity signings, such as Cassandra Peterson (“Elvira”) and Kimberly J. Brown (“Marni” from Halloweentown) – each looking like they were having a blast talking with fans.

The Hall of Shadows, Midsummer Scream’s dark zone of mini-haunted experiences, has been greatly expanded. Not only were there a lot more mini-haunts in the area, but there were also specialized vendors (some selling glow in the dark props, masks, etc) and exhibitors. With all the haunters displaying their work in the Hall of the Shadows, it is hard to select our favorite, but we think that honor would go to Murder House Productions Trick ‘r Treat maze. Their attention to detail in recreating scenes of the movie was incredible. Also showing off their skills in the Hall of Shadows was the “Decayed Brigade”, a pro-sliding group made up of former and current scare actors. Six Flags Fright Fest brought a small haunted walk-through activation to the Hall of Shadows, complete with monsters and more all ready to scare attendees.

Midsummer Scream saw a number of panels and presentations, including those from the big haunted attractions in Southern California. Knott’s Scary Farm announced a new scare zone called the “Forsaken Lake”, while Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights unveiled a Trick ‘r Treat scare zone. Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor unveiled a revamped attraction this year with maze designs from Jon Cooke of Plague Productions. The Warner Bros. Studio Tour also unveiled a number of new mazes for its upcoming “Horror Made Here” event, including some based on “The Exorcist” and “IT”. In a wonderfully surprising turn, Midsummer Scream hosted a Hocus Pocus anniversary panel which saw actress Thora Birch talking about her experiences making the movie. The panel even had a trio of Sanderson sisters-look alikes performing, quite well, “I Put A Spell on You”.

This brings us to the only real problem facing Midsummer Scream: Parking. Unfortunately, the event parking was completely overloaded this year and it took quite a while to find a spot. Even then, we ended up parking a good distance away and having to leg it back to the convention center. I don’t know what can be done to solve this situation, but I hope it is something that can be addressed for next year.

Midsummer Scream has already announced its dates for next year and you can find it at the Long Beach Convention Center on August 3rd and August 4th, 2019. And, with that, we wish you a happy beginning to the scary season as we will start seeing more updates released from your favorite upcoming haunted attractions, preview events to report on, and a lot more. Happy Halloween! 🎃

Photo Gallery

The Sinking City Gameplay Trailer

2018/07/31
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

Kiev, Ukraine, July  31, 2018 – Bigben and Frogwares Games have revealed a new gameplay trailer for The Sinking City, an open world, action investigation game inspired by the work of H.P. Lovecraft. This new trailer divulges more elements about its main character’s mental state, his interaction with the immersive sprawling open city of Oakmont and the game’s unsettling atmosphere.

Charles W. Reed is a private investigator in New England in the 1920s. Tortured by his past and otherworldly visions, he finds himself in Oakmont, Massachusetts, seeking salvation from the creeping insanity that afflicts him. The city of Oakmont, once a trade harbor known for its lucrative smuggling business, now lives in secluded isolation from the rest of the world under a flood of supernatural origins. In this place of decay and superstition; players will have to deal with the dregs of mankind, follow clues they wish they had never found and unveil a cosmic horror threatening the world itself.

A Close Shave  – Gameplay Trailer can be viewed here

The Sinking City is set for release on March 21st 2019 on PC, PlayStation®4 and Xbox One.

This is the Police 2 Early Launch Trailer

2018/07/31
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

Vienna, Austria/Minsk, Belarus, July 31st, 2018: What’s wrong with our publishing buttons? Somebody write us a ticket: After forgetting to press the ‘Go Live’ button for the original This Is The Police PC release, this time we pressed it a bit too early… So ignore our previous 2 August release date: This Is the Police 2 is out… now! And that two-day head start is good, as Sharpwood desperately needs a new Sheriff. We hope you’re ready to report for duty.

Watch the release trailer on YouTube:

Listen to the soundtrack on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/qz32T9oYmiU

This Is the Police 2 is out now on PC, Mac and Linux as digital version:

This Is The Police 2 will also launch on PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Nintendo Switch™ and the Xbox One family of devices including Xbox One X later this autumn.

Holosun Expands LA County Operations

2018/07/30
Jerry Paxton
Action Sports, Airsoft News, Articles, Geek News, News, Tech News

Walnut, CA – Holosun Technologies Inc., a premium optics manufacturer based in southern California plans to expand its operations in Los Angeles County. This move will allow the company to build upon its growth in the optics industry as well as attract, hire and retain exceptional talent. Holosun, which manufactures, imports and distributes red dots sights, tactical lasers and accessories, will embark on a $7 million move of its headquarters from Walnut California to the City of Industry, California.

“This move will afford us the room we need to we expand our operations and product offerings over the next decade. Our new facility will house our customer service, sales support, and shipping / receiving departments as well as our assembly operations. Additionally, as we continue to grow our business, we will explore manufacturing many of the components used in our products at the new facility,” comments Holosun Business Development Manager, Louis Craig.

The company estimates that it will add positions in assembly, customer service, shipping and receiving. Holosun has previously moved 2 times in the past 3 years as a response to their business growth.