Author - Jerry Paxton

Dark Souls III: The Ringed City DLC Announced

SANTA CLARA, Calif., (January 23, 2017) – Leading interactive entertainment publisher and developer, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc., announces DARK SOULS™ III: The Ringed City™, the final downloadable content expansion for DARK SOULS III, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc.’s fastest selling title in history. This new adventure has players chasing after the Slave Knight Gael to the literal end of the world as he searches for the Dark Soul of Humanity. DARK SOULS III: The Ringed City will be available for download on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, and PC via STEAM™ on March 28, 2017.

At the close of the Age of Fire, as the world ends and all lands converge upon themselves, a lone adventurer descends into the madness of the earth and uncovers the secrets of the past. As players make their way to the fabled Ringed City they will encounter ancient beasts, a new cast of characters teetering on the edge of insanity, new armor, weapons, magic, and at the bottom of it all, a long lost city filled with new horrors for players to overcome.

“DARK SOULS III: The Ringed City brings players toe-to-claw against massive beasts in a twisted descent into the bowels of the end of the world,” said Jason Enos, Director of Brand and Latin American Marketing for BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. “FromSoftware has crafted visually arresting environments that evoke a sense of destroyed beauty and nail biting encounters that will leave players breathless for more.”

DARK SOULS III: The Ringed City will be available for $14.99 digitally on the PlayStation 4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, and PC via STEAM on March 28, 2017. The game is rated “M” for Mature by the ESRB. DARK SOULS™ III: Ashes of Ariandel™ is currently available digitally for $14.99 on the same systems. A season pass for DARK SOULS III, which includes access to Ashes of Ariandel and The Ringed City, is available for purchase digitally for $24.99. To learn more about BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc.’s other products go to: https://www.bandainamcoent.com or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BandaiNamcoUS or join the conversation at https://www.twitter.com/BandaiNamcoUS.

Mountain High Upcoming Events

For those of you interested in snow/Winter sports, you might have seen our report on Mountain High’s 2017 media day! If not, check it out here, but you can also see the list of upcoming Mountain High events below!

Upcoming Events

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January 2017

Learn to Ski and Snowboard Month

Join us for National Learn to Ski/Snowboard Month. Now through January 31, purchase a midweek Half Day First Timer Package complete with lesson, rentals and a lower-mountain lift ticket for just $85 and receive a second Half Day First Timer Package for a friend free that day. Purchase online at mthigh.com.

Friday, January 20, 2017

KROQ Ditch Day

Come rock the mountain with the Jerimiah Red and the KROQ street team. Enjoy live music, giveaways and more at the West Resort from 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Friday, January 20 and Friday, January 27, 2017

College Night

Show your college ID and ride from 5:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. for only $20! Featuring DJs, vendors and more, College Night is a fun way for students from all over Southern California to meet and party on the slopes.

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Friday, January 27, 2017
94.9 Ditch Day

Play hooky with 94.9 and the Ditch Day crew. Enjoy live music, giveaways and more at the West Resort from 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Saturday, January 28, 2017
Microbrew Day

Come sample some of the best craft brews around at the Foggy Goggle and enjoy live music on the main stage. Over a dozen microbrews are available 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. for those 21-and-up.

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Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi Announced

January 23, 2017 – We have the greatest fans in this or any other galaxy.  In appreciation of the fans, we wanted them to be the first to know the title of the next chapter in the Skywalker saga:  STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI

THE LAST JEDI is written and directed by Rian Johnson and produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Ram Bergman and executive produced by J.J. Abrams, Jason McGatlin, and Tom Karnowski.

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI is scheduled for release December 15, 2017.

Stephen Gaghan will Write and Direct Ubisoft’s The Division Film

LOS ANGELES – January 19, 2016 — Today, Ubisoft Motion Pictures, the film and television studio of Ubisoft®, announced Academy Award® winner Stephen Gaghan will write and direct the upcoming “The Division” film.

Gaghan won an Academy Award® for writing “Traffic” and was nominated for his work on “Syriana,” which he both wrote and directed. His latest directorial effort, “Gold,” comes out January 2017. He joins Academy Award® nominees Jessica Chastain and Jake Gyllenhaal on the project, which is based on the fastest-selling new video game franchise in history.

“We are really excited to bring Stephen’s unique vision of the game to film audiences around the globe,” said Gerard Guillemot, Chief Executive Officer, Ubisoft Motion Pictures.

“We can’t wait for Stephen’s remarkable passion and talent to bring the astonishing world of The Division to life,” added Matt Phelps, Vice President and Head of Development, Ubisoft Motion Pictures.

“I’m excited to work with Ubisoft Motion Pictures and collaborate with their team at Massive Entertainment to bring The Division to the big screen, they’re great guys, exceptionally creative, and willing to take risks,” shared writer and director, Stephen Gaghan. “The game has been an enormous success, in large part due to the visual landscape they created, their vision of a mid-apocalyptic Manhattan. It’s immersive, wonderfully strange, and yet familiar, filled with possibilities. It’s also remarkable to be able to collaborate with Jessica Chastain and Jake Gyllenhaal early in the process. We all feel the story Ubisoft created is more relevant than ever.”

Ubisoft Motion Pictures will develop with Jake Gyllenhaal’s and Riva Marker’s (“Beasts of No Nation”) Nine Stories and Jessica Chastain’s Freckle Films. The announcement comes after the critically-acclaimed Tom Clancy’s The Division® video game, developed by Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment studio, sold more copies in its first 24 hours of availability than any previous title in Ubisoft’s history** and recorded the biggest first week ever for a new video game franchise***.

Creative GigaWorks T40 Series II Desktop Speaker Review

In looking for some new desktop speakers (my older set ended up taking a nosedive and breaking), I looked through a great many potential replacements. Having used several types of speaker systems in my gaming lifetime, I was hoping to reduce the physical footprint of the audio system as much as possible. My office is not that big and I don’t need to have gigantic speakers everywhere. Then again, I also did not want to sacrifice sound quality for this exchange. My answer came in the form of the Creative Labs GigaWorks T40 Series II desktop speakers.

The GigaWorks T40 Series II speaker system is made up of two free-standing satellite pylons – each containing three types of speakers. There is a cloth-domed tweeter unit for higher-end frequencies as well as two fiber woven cone drivers for low and mid-range sound. Capping these drivers off is a resonance chamber that helps funnel low-end sound out of the pylon for a subwoofer-style effect. The speakers require an AC power source – the adapter is included. Some have complained about this requirement but those detractors need to understand that power is required to send the audio signals through the six speakers.

These weighty satellite units are more than a match for a full 2.1 sound system and it saves you the extra space being taken up by a dedicated subwoofer! Using Tokyo city planning logic, Creative Labs built upwards, not outwards, and it is a very successful outcome for their efforts.

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[mks_one_half]We liked…

  • Powerful sound
  • Reasonable price

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[mks_one_half]We did not like…

  • Couldn’t really think of a negative

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I have used the Creative Labs GigaWorks T40 Series II speakers for easy listening music all the way to first-person shooter games. When using speakers for Mp3 enjoyment, I usually start with showtunes. Hamilton, the latest craze in musicals, plays wonderfully on these speakers. Having the bass and treble control knobs next to the volume/power knob is brilliant and allows me to have direct control of the highs and lows, without getting bogged down in all the tweaks available via an equalizer. Moving into the hard stuff, I loaded up Dragonforce and blared out Operation Ground and Pound and reveled at the clear separation of highs and lows, thanks to the GigaWorks T40 Series II’s multi-driver system. Finally, I ran an assortment of video games while using the speakers. Master of Orion was no challenge for the speakers and the adrenaline-fueled explosions of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare came through like gangbusters. The system us truly exceptional – especially at its price point of $124.95 on Amazon.

Overall, the Creative Labs GigaWorks T40 Series II speaker system is a terrific option for those of you in need of powerful desktop audio that won’t break your bank account. The three different sound sources per satellite provide a wide range of frequencies that you would normally need several speaker units and a subwoofer to equal – especially in a home office environment. The GigaWorks T40 Series II speaker system is a great choice for gamers and audiophiles in their home office, dorm, or bedroom.


Creative GigaWorks T40 Series II Desktop Speaker Review Score

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Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands Single Player Campaign Trailer

January 20, 2017 – In Ghost Recon Wildlands, you have the freedom to play how you choose. Get a glimpse of how to play Ghost Recon Wildlands with 3 AI teammates in this single player gameplay walkthrough.

Developed by Ubisoft Paris*, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon® Wildlands is a military shooter set in a massive and responsive open world, entirely playable in single-player or up to four-player co-op. Players will discover Bolivia a few years from now, a country turned into a narco-state by the vicious Santa Blanca drug cartel. Sent behind enemy lines, Ghosts will have to cripple the Santa Blanca cartel’s operation, breaking alliances between the drug lords and the corrupted government, and saving the Bolivian population from the cruelty of El Sueño, Santa Blanca’s ruthless leader. To do so, players will have a total freedom of choice to accomplish their missions how they want and watch as the world reacts to their actions.

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon® Wildlands will be available March 7, 2017 for Xbox One, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.

For more information about Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, please visit ghostrecon.com.

For the latest on all of Ubisoft’s games, please visit ubiblog.com

*In collaboration with Ubisoft Annecy, Ubisoft Bucharest, Ubisoft Montpellier, Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Reflections.

For more information about Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands, please visit www.ghostrecon.com, follow us on www.twitter.com/ghostrecon or www.facebook.com/ghostrecon and join the conversation by using #GhostRecon.

Werewolf: The Apocalypse Video Game Announced

January 20, 2017 – Paris-based video game publisher Focus Home Interactive is pleased to announce its partnership with White Wolf Publishing, license owner of the famous World of Darkness universe (Vampire The Masquerade, Werewolf, Mage Ascension).

The World of Darkness is a gritty vision of our own time. The world’s most devious conspiracies are true. The divide between the rich and the poor is huge and corruption is rife. In the shadows of our declining societies, humans fall victim to supernatural horrors, all struggling for control.

The partnership between Focus Home Interactive and White Wolf Publishing concerns the adaptation in a video game of one of the most acclaimed licenses from the World of Darkness – Werewolf: The Apocalypse. The game will be developed by studio Cyanide (Styx: Master of Shadows, Blood Bowl, Call of Cthulhu). Become a werewolf, known as Garou (from French “Loup-garou” meaning werewolf), immersed in the atmosphere of their shamanistic and tribal world. Garou are Werewolf warriors opposed to urban civilization and supernatural corruption, all heading towards inevitable apocalypse.

“The World of Darkness has always attracted creatives with a strong passion for telling dark and immersive stories. So to work closely with the great talent at Focus Home and Cyanide exploring the savage Werewolves of this universe is an absolutely fantastic experience for us at White Wolf and we are more than excited to see this great and highly relevant IP realized in a video game”, says Tobias Sjögren, CEO of White Wolf.

“We are pleased to partner with White Wolf to bring Werewolf: The Apocalypse to life in a video game for consoles and PC. We are excited to work on the World of Darkness universe, as this is formidable playground to tell the players a great story. We are also happy to partner with Cyanide Studio in this adventure – they are behind the original wish to adapt this universe, and we are faithful in their ability to create a game that will please both fans of World of Darkness and newcomers”, says Cédric Lagarrigue, President of Focus Home Interactive

More info about this new adaptation of this brutal Werewolf mythology to come at this year’s event in Paris, “le What’s Next de Focus”, on February 1st and 2nd.

Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 Character Profiles Released

WARSAW, Poland (January 19, 2017) — CI Games introduces Sniper Ghost Warrior 3, the most complete sniper experience in the market to date. Each character has his or her unique experiences and motivations, both professionally and personally. How each of the characters’ goals and personality quirks conflict or complement each other makes for a deeper, richer player experience.

Jon North is dropped into a hot conflict zone in the Republic of Georgia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, Georgia is of critical strategic importance and is sliding into the chaos and slaughter of civil war. Jon’s Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) mission is to neutralize the Separatist Leaders who are destabilizing the country.

Personally, Jon is coming to grips with the capture and presumed death of his younger brother, Robert, nearly two years ago. Jon was present at the attack and was unable to save Robert. Recent intelligence chatter puts a very much alive Robert in Georgia, in an area controlled by Separatists. Jon believes he has a second chance to do right by his brother.

Jon is a Marine first, and deeply committed to the relentless pursuit of his professional mission. Frank Simms, Jon’s long-time JSOC handler, is sympathetic to Jon’s personal goal, as long as Jon completes his official assignment. Jon chooses a team who will help him accomplish both.

His first pick is Lydia Jorjadze, an ex-Georgian SFB and mercenary. Lydia is a battle-tested veteran who fought bravely at Jon’s side in Afghanistan. Their passionate affair ended when Jon abruptly disappeared after emerging from a deadly firefight. Lydia agrees to help Jon, with a personal agenda of finding out what really happened in Afghanistan.

Raquel Shein, a deadly MOSSAD agent, also agrees to help if Jon will help her find Sergei Flostov. Flostov is a brilliant rogue scientist conducting forbidden experiments. The Israelis want to find him and shut him down.

As the team eliminates Separatist Leaders, and teams with the Georgian Resistance, a mysterious high-tech sniper, named Amazi, both thwarts and assists them. Jon fights through a treacherous web of criminal, military, and shadowy terrorist forces only to find the violence keeps leading back to Robert. Eventually, both brothers must face the deadly truth – only one brother can survive.

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Jon grew up on a sprawling ranch at the foot of the Colorado Rockies. His best friend and greatest rival was his younger brother, Robert. His family always considered military service the highest form of patriotism. Both brothers enlisted when they came of age.

Jon quickly climbed the ranks of the US Marine Corps and was selected to join a prestigious scout sniper platoon. His spotless record, combat prowess, and exemplary self-discipline brought him to the attention of the JSOC. He completed multiple successful black ops for JSOC and was awarded the Navy Cross for heroism during a mission in Afghanistan.

At the start of the Sniper Ghost Warrior 3, Jon arrives in the Republic of Georgia, a strategically important country at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe. Rogue Separatist groups are destabilizing the country and pushing Georgia toward a bloody, chaotic civil war.

Jon’s task is to sabotage Separatist operations and neutralize key Separatist leaders. He is perfectly suited to wage the deadly war of attrition needed to stop the ruthless Georgian traitors and rescue innocent civilians.

Personally, Jon has never given up hope his captured brother is somehow still alive. Two years of following every lead and tracking down every stray bit of intel leads Jon to believe his brother, Robert, is in Georgia. Jon volunteered for the present mission immediately.

In Sniper Ghost Warrior 3, Jon is driven by the conflict between his sense of duty to his country and his loyalty to his brother. He must walk a fine line, balancing both patriotic and personal goals. What is his higher duty? The player will help him decide.

Jon is supported in his professional and personal quests by his former lover and comrade-in-arms, Lydia Jorjadze. The two share a deeply troubled past and their intense feelings for each other both help and hinder their mission. In Sniper Ghost Warrior 3, characters battle not only exterior obstacles but their inner demons as well.
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Lydia became an expert marksman as soon as she was able to physically lift a rifle. In rural Georgia, being a skilled hunter was often the difference between living to see another winter
or slow, freezing starvation.

A military career seemed the obvious choice in a country with limited opportunities for women. Lydia immediately made a name for herself, and her skill and fearlessness outshone most
of the men around her. She applied to the Special Forces Brigade and engendered the disapproval of General Boris Rokva. He blocked her career and attempted to trade continued promotion for sexual favors. Lydia steadfastly refused.

When General Rokva finally tried to force himself on her, Lydia reacted with characteristic decisiveness. She shattered his orbital bone, blinding him, and threw him out a window breaking his spine. Lydia fled the country with help from her grandfather’s Georgian Mafia connections.

Lydia started a lucrative new career as a mercenary. She has since honed her skills in almost every military hellhole across the globe. Her reputation and her ability are unmatched.
Her warmth and loyalty to those she respects and admires is unparalleled. Beautiful and deadly, she is an iron fist in lovely deerskin gloves.

Lydia met Jon North during a JSOC black-ops mission in Afghanistan about three years before our story starts. They had the kind of intense love affair that only equal partners and true soul mates share. It was a glorious first for both of them.

She was shattered when Jon disappeared without a word of goodbye. It was particularly bitter since he barely survived a firefight that took out his whole unit. He lived and his response was to leave her.

Despite the years and distance between them, she could not say no when Jon asked her to join him again in their most dangerous campaign yet. Lydia wants things finally resolved even
if it’s likely one of them will die this time around.

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Robert is Jon’s younger brother. He is married to Milla, a smart gutsy war correspondent.
He has been “Missing in Action” for two years, and is presumed dead. Robert’s wife disappeared shortly after enemy agents captured him.

Whereas his brother, Jon, is a resolutely “old school” and “follow the book” kind of Marine, Robert is more rebellious and skeptical of authority. He is clever, quick to improvise, and has exceptional proficiency in high-tech weaponry. Robert can build or fix anything. He’s slow to trust and sees himself as a “lone wolf.”

Robert began his career in the US Navy, rising quickly up the ranks despite his sometimes unorthodox methods. Soon after he completed his Navy SEALs Sniper training, Joint Special Operations Command recruited him. Robert has successfully accomplished several key black ops for JSOC.

Robert is fundamentally a suspicious, sometimes reckless, but extremely brave and ingenious SEAL. He deeply loves his older brother, but he has dedicated his life to besting him. Robert also believes warfare has moved on to a new era, which will leave his brother hopelessly behind. Robert wants to lead the way forward and will not let Jon stop him, even at the cost of war between them.

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Torment: Tides of Numenera Combat Trailer

January 19, 2017 – inXile Entertainment and Techland Publishing today revealed the latest trailer for their upcoming, highly-anticipated science-fantasy RPG, Torment: Tides of Numenera – the thematic successor to Planescape: Torment, one of the most critically revered and in-depth CRPGs of all time.

The world of Torment: Tides of Numenera is rife with conflict. Although players can avoid or resolve dangerous situations in bloodless ways with deception, persuasion or stealth, sometimes a decision – or even just a bad roll of the dice – will mean that blood must be spilled. Take a look at the game’s combat trailer to see the ways in which players can emerge victorious from such conflicts!

Experience a game of intricate choices and consequences with thousands of meaningful decisions that will make every playthrough unique. Developed by inXile Entertainment and published by Techland Publishing, Torment: Tides of Numenera will launch on February 28, 2017 for PC, the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft.

For more information on Torment: Tides of Numenera and the various editions available for purchase, please visit: http://tormentgame.com/

What does one life matter?

Galaxy of Pen & Paper Announced with Teaser

BRASILIA, Brazil — Jan. 19, 2017 Behold Studios, the creators of Knights of Pen & Paper and Chroma Squad, today announced an all-new game, Galaxy of Pen & Paper, to be released in – and take place in – the future. Built completely from scratch using handmade pixels and original artisanal code, Galaxy of Pen & Paper is a role-playing game (RPG) inspired by classic tabletop games, and will include all of the character customization, die-rolling, and bickering with the GM that players love. Galaxy of Pen & Paper, which is both developed and published by Behold Studios, will release in 2017 for Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs.