Author - Jerry Paxton

2016 Scare LA Wrap-Up and Photo Gallery

As we move closer to the Halloween season, one of the great Southern California joys is going to Scare LA, a Halloween / horror convention. Now in its fourth year, Scare LA has grown quite a bit from its meager beginnings. Scare LA creator Lora Ivanova has crafted this show into a huge event and it brings in some top talent for its panels and classes.

There were a number of panels to take in – with all the names in the haunted attractions industry showing up. Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights and Knott’s Scary Farm gave a few more interesting tidbits about their upcoming events and we even had panels featuring Elvira herself! Elvira was the big name and host of Scare LA 2016 and she took a lot of time signing autographs on the exhibit floor.

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Speaking of the exhibit floor, the Pasadena Convention Center is a very large space and they did a great job of filling it with vendors and even mini-escape rooms! We are big escape room fans and it is great to see them get floorspace in these events. Last year, there didn’t seem to be as many vendors as I had hoped – this year was a huge improvement. The Decayed Brigade (a group of “sliders” originally from Knott’s Scary Farm) were back again this year and put on some great displays of athleticism in their shows.

As usual, there were several mini-haunted houses at the event – with amazing showings from the folks at Creep LA as well as an all-new, in-house haunted house directly from the creators of Scare LA! Blood Offering featured some great set pieces, very good runtime – especially for a mini-haunt, as well as some nice acting components. Scare LA teamed up with former Knott’s Scary Farm maze designer Brooke Walters and Hollywood prop maker Donald Julson for the walk-through (and crawl-through at times).

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You could even purchase a “Scare Student” pass to the event and take in a variety of classes pertaining to haunted attractions. Haunt music creator Jon Autopsy taught a course in crafting music for your haunted house while makeup artist Ken Frankling taught a course in airbrush makeup. There were, of course, a lot more to attend, but these were just a couple examples.

Overall, the 2016 Scare LA was a great time for horror and Halloween fans alike and I can’t wait to check out the 2017 event.

Check out Scare LA’a website for more information!

Photo Gallery

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided Announces Eye Tracking

Montreal & Stockholm – August 9, 2016Tobii, the global leader in eye tracking, and Eidos® Montreal, the award winning studio, today announced that the PC version Deus Ex: Mankind Divided® will support multiple eye-tracking features. Powered by Tobii eye trackers, Tobii EyeX and the SteelSeries Sentry allow for greater game immersion, a cleaner UI, and enhanced navigation. A Tobii EyeX and Deus Ex® game bundle is set to be released on the 23rd of August.

“With the Deus Ex franchise being a window to the future, we always try to provide innovative, ground-breaking experiences for our players,” says André Vu, Executive Brand Director at Eidos Montréal. “The numerous Tobii eye tracking features built into the game will provide PC gamers an extra layer of immersion that blends perfectly with the futuristic universe depicted in Deus Ex.”

The Tobii EyeX, a $139 USD peripheral eye tracker that connects to any existing PC via USB, empowers gamers with new, more realistic experiences in their games. Eye tracking serves as an additional modality that adds to the game experience without taking anything away or restricting the gamer in any way. Tobii sees numerous opportunities for eye tracking to enhance game immersion and realism, including the development of more responsive characters that interact with you when you make eye contact or features that mimic the functions of the eye, like dynamic depth of field or light exposure.

“The commitment by Eidos Montréal and Square Enix® to bring eye tracking to the mega Deus Ex franchise is another demonstration of the industry’s belief in the value of eye tracking,” said Oscar Werner, president of Tobii Tech. “We applaud the team at Eidos Montréal for their forward thinking approach and drive to give their gamers more.”

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided comes with a ton of new innovations to make gamers salivate. With eye tracking integration, gameplay becomes more immersive as the gamer’s eye movement is harnessed to create more natural and more realistic actions, making them part of this futuristic, dystopian world. Tobii eye tracking features include:

  • Aim at Gaze – Look at the target to take aim, then press a button and fire. This feature let players take out enemies using their natural gaze and will even work when locking the tesla gun for all-out mayhem.
  • Extended View– Look to the edge of the screen and the game’s camera will pan – giving players a wider field of view with just a glance. The natural eye movement will allow further immersion into the game’s environment and let players control what they want to see – just as in real life.
  • Icarus Dash at gaze – Simply look in the direction you want Adam to move in – even vertically. This will allow players you use the controls in a more fluid manner.
  • Interact at gaze – This feature lets players move effortlessly using the natural gaze to intuitively interact with objects. Look at an object, press a button and automatically move towards it before picking it up.
  • Clean UI– This feature lets player access UI info only when needed, giving them deeper immersion into the game’s environment. Look and they’ll appear. Look away, they’ll become nearly transparent. The screen is always covered fully in the game’s world, with the vital stats just a glance away. Helps you embrace the game’s environment. Helps players keep track of what you need to –when they need to.
  • Cover at Gaze – This feature lets players find refuge when the heat is on just by gazing across the environment – highlighting places you can hide behind. (Not available on August 23, this feature will be available in an upcoming update.)

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, the sequel to the critically acclaimed Deus Ex: Human Revolution®, builds on the franchise’s trademark choice and consequence, action RPG based gameplay, to create both a memorable and highly immersive experience. Players will once again take on the role of Adam Jensen, now an experienced covert agent, and will gain access to his new arsenal of customizable state-of-the-art weapons and augmentations. With time working against him, Adam must choose the right approach, along with whom to trust, in order to unravel a vast worldwide conspiracy. The game also includes Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Breach, a new and innovative game mode. This new take on the game offers, for the very first time, an arcade approach on the gameplay of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, providing players with a unique puzzle shooter experience.

New Tobii EyeX customers will receive a free copy of Deus Ex: Mankind Divided when they purchase the Tobii EyeX and Deus Ex Bundle here.

To see the entire collection of Tobii Eye Tracking Enhanced games, click here.

Six Flags Great Adventure Announces Horror Themed VR Powered Coasted

JACKSON, N.J. ─ August 9, 2016At Six Flags Great Adventure, the world’s largest theme park, riders will use Samsung Gear VR powered by Oculus headsets to battle demonic creatures in Rage of the Gargoyles, a fully-integrated Virtual Reality (VR) coaster experience. This highly-anticipated, totally immersive adventure will debut on Skull Mountain, the park’s indoor, in-the-dark coaster, available exclusively to Season Pass holders, active Members, haunted maze pass purchasers and owners of the Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy Note7 during Fright Fest beginning September 24.

“Six Flags is the leader in innovation, taking North America by storm with the introduction of the very first VR coaster experiences. Here at Great Adventure, this revolutionary VR technology will transform our classic, fan favorite into a cutting-edge thrill,” said John Fitzgerald, park president. “Rage of the Gargoyles amps up the fear factor to a level only Fright Fest can deliver.”

Rage of the Gargoyles VR Facts:

  • Fully-integrated VR roller coaster utilizes Samsung Gear VR headsets to provide a multi-dimensional experience
  • High-definition imagery and storytelling sync with 1,377 feet of plunging, twisting coaster track to create a one-of-a-kind, “real world” to “virtual world” thrill ride experience
  • For the first time ever on a roller coaster, riders can engage in interactive gaming throughout the entire experience by shooting at flying demons
  • Unique, sophisticated head-movement targeting allows riders to instantly lock on a moving target – no touchpads or buttons required to fire

Riders will immediately become fighter jet pilots battling against terrorizing, blood-thirsty gargoyles. Surrounded by 360-degrees of sheer chaos, it is up to the riders to save humanity. Diving and swerving through devastated city streets, this epic conflict reaches a fever pitch as the pilot must attack the vicious master gargoyle – and the surprise ending will leave riders speechless.

Skull Mountain, now celebrating its 20th anniversary, will close mid-August for its VR makeover. When it debuts during Fright Fest September 24, Season Pass holders, active Members, haunted maze pass purchasers and owners of the Samsung Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge and Galaxy Note7 gain exclusive access to this epic experience weekends and select days through November 13.

For more information, visit www.sixflags.com/virtualrealitycoasters and www.samsung.com/gearvr.

About Six Flags Entertainment Corporation
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is the world’s largest regional theme park company with $1.3 billion in revenue and 18 parks across the United States, Mexico and Canada. For 55 years, Six Flags has entertained millions of families with world-class coasters, themed rides, thrilling water parks and unique attractions.

 

About Samsung Electronics America, Inc.

Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, N.J., Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), is a recognized innovative leader in consumer electronics, mobile devices and enterprise solutions. A wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SEA is pushing beyond the limits of today’s technology and providing consumers and organizations with a portfolio of groundbreaking products in appliances, home entertainment, Internet of Things, mobile computing, smartphones, virtual reality, wireless infrastructure and wearables, in addition to offering leading content and services related to mobile payments, 360-degree VR video, customer support and more. Samsung is a pioneering leader in smartphones and HDTVs in the U.S. and one of America’s fastest growing home appliance brands. To discover more about Samsung, please visit www.samsung.com. For the latest Samsung news, please visit news.samsung.com/us and follow us @SamsungNewsUS.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, cameras, digital appliances, printers, medical equipment, network systems, and semiconductor and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at news.samsung.com.

 

Riders must be at least 13 years of age to wear Samsung Gear VR.

Guests must be at least 44” tall to ride Skull Mountain with an adult, or 48” to ride alone.

Guests under the age of 13 who meet the height requirement, and day visitors who do not meet the exclusive requirements for this event, can ride Skull Mountain without VR headsets.

DELUSION Returns this Halloween with His Crimson Queen

LOS ANGELES, CA, August 05, 2016  —  After a hiatus year in 2015, Los Angeles’ premiere interactive theater company DELUSION has announced its return for a brand new season. Heralded as “A genre in interactive horror theatre that no one has come close to beating” by GeekNation, the “Hottest Ticket in LA” by NPR’s All Things Considered, and “The single best horror event in Los Angeles” by Fangoria, this will be DELUSION’s fifth season which will mark its anticipated return with an entirely original production.

Helmed by visionary creator Jon Braver, this year’s show, titled “His Crimson Queen”, returns to the West Adams district of downtown Los Angeles via a new beautiful villa that will set the stage for DELUSION’s highly unique and stylized universe. An all new, original, interactive storyline will transform audiences into the children of Selene & Berke Sullivan as they are called upon by their father to navigate their way through 1930s prohibition era, on a dark and dangerous journey uncovering their mother’s twisted past with the supernatural.

DELUSION (#playyourpart) is the premiere first­person horror experience where audiences are an essential part of the storyline. In order for the Sullivan children to make good on their quest, they must interact with their environment by unearthing clues, engaging with the strange and surreal characters of the villa…and surviving, lest they stumble. Neil Patrick Harris (an Executive Producer on past seasons) says “DELUSION re­imagines and redefines the horror experience with an innovative blend of theatrics and action in a live performance that has never been done before. There are no seats, no comfort of the fourth wall and audience members really have to engage and participate to move the story forward.”

As the first production of its kind, with four previous events that shook the horror world by ushering in a new era of storytelling, DELUSION remains one of the most popular interactive events with an absolute commitment to quality. Creator Jon Braver, who has worked on A­list films such as The Dark Knight Rises, Star Trek, Iron Man, and Indiana Jones of the Crystal Skull, employs professional actors, innovative special effects, imaginative theatrics, and an original score to create an interactive experience unlike any other.

Past seasons have sold out quickly, and we are urging guests to book tickets while they are still available. DELUSION will run from September 29 through November 13th. Tickets are available as of August 9th via Flavorus:

http://wl.flavorus.com/delusion

WWE 2K17 Soundtrack Curated by Sean Diddy Combs

August 8, 2016 – 2K today announced the in-game soundtrack details for WWE 2K17, the forthcoming release in the flagship WWE video game franchise. Personally curated by legendary hip-hop recording artist, producer, entrepreneur and WWE enthusiast Sean “Diddy” Combs aka Puff Daddy, the soundtrack will feature 13 unique songs from established and emerging artists that span multiple music genres, including hip-hop, indie and alternative rock, heavy metal and electronic dance. The full soundtrack is presented by Revolt Media & TV, a music cable network created by Combs.

The WWE 2K17 in-game soundtrack, curated by Puff Daddy, will include the following artists and songs:

  • Action Bronson & Joey Bada$$ (feat. Rico Love) – “What About The Rest Of Us”;
  • Anderson .Paak – “Come Down”;
  • Andy Black – “We Don’t Have To Dance”;
  • Axwell Λ Ingrosso – “This Time”;
  • Black Sabbath – “Paranoid”;
  • Bring Me The Horizon – “Run”;
  • FIDLAR – “Drone”;
  • French Montana (feat. Kojak Black) – “Lockjaw”;
  • iSHi (feat. French Montana, Wale, & Raekwon) – “We Run”;
  • P. Diddy, Black Rob & Mark Curry – “Bad Boy For Life”;
  • Travis Barker & Yelawolf – “Out of Control”;
  • Twenty One Pilots – “Ride”;
  • Yellow Claw (feat. Lil Eddie) – “We Made It”.

Developed collaboratively by Yuke’s and Visual Concepts, a 2K studio, WWE 2K17 is not yet rated by the ESRB. WWE 2K17 is currently scheduled for worldwide release on the PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, Xbox One and Xbox 360 on October 11, 2016. Consumers who pre-orderWWE 2K17 at any participating retailer will receive two playable Bill Goldberg characters, as well as playable WCW Monday Nitro and Halloween Havoc arenas, at no extra cost on launch day. For more information on WWE 2K17 and 2K, visit www.2k.com, become a fan on Facebook, follow the game on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #WWE2K17 or subscribe on YouTube.

Prey – Official Gameplay Trailer

Prey is a first-person sci-fi action game from Arkane Studios, the award-winning creators of the 2012 ‘Game of the Year’, Dishonored. Known for their creative gameplay, distinctive worlds and immersive stories, Arkane reimagines this franchise from the ground up, with an added psychological twist. In Prey, you are the first human enhanced with alien powers aboard a desolate space station under assault. Improvise and innovate in order to survive as you search for answers. Prey is a bold new story set in a dangerous universe.

Prey will release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in 2017.

For news and details on Prey, visit prey.com or follow Prey on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/prey
Twitter: https://twitter.com/preygame
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/preygame/

The Solus Project Review

The Solus Project puts you into the space boots of an astronaut who crash lands on an alien world. The Solus Project is the latest in a long list of survival games to be released of late. They are all over Steam, actually, and that is a double-edge sword. Thankfully, The Solus Project has some great things going for it that make the game stand out.

Throughout your exploration and struggle for survival, you’ll have to be sure to take care to manage your hunger, thirst, and even body temperature. Taking the challenge further, you will be tasked with solving puzzles to get to various objectives. This adds a nice new challenge to the survival-type game and can make for some exciting and rewarding moments.

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Moving about the alien world, you will find plenty of food and water, which kind of makes that portion of survival a little less scary, which I didn’t mind. It was nice to be able to focus more on the journey and all the cool places I was exploring as opposed to my main concern being desalinating water or something like that. The more hardcore survival game players might find issue with that but I was good with it. Along the way, you will learn more about the game’s storyline via note pages left by other survivors.

From a visual and audio perspective, The Solus Project is a beautifully-made game. The alien world upon which you are stranded is lush and teeming with interesting, rich environments. The game is a treat to look at and you won’t be disappointed with it in that department – especially when so many other survival game developers don’t put as much emphasis on eye candy.

Unfortunately, there are also times where The Solus Project stalls a bit – mainly when it comes to the game’s implementation of virtual reality via the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. Overall, its VR presentation iis a bit clunky, and the refresh rate seems to be a bit too slow to prevent dizziness – especially when moving in what they call “smooth” mode as opposed to jumping/teleporting. Hopefully, they can allow for fast refresh rates in the future via software patch.

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Additionally, the game’s crafting system is a bit clunky. With no typical crafting / recipe menu to create your items, you have to pick objects from your inventory, set them on the ground, then pick another object from your inventory and “use” it on the previous one. Having a menu system to build items may be unrealistic in terms of the user experience but it is a much smoother ride that what the game offers.

Overall, while The Solus Project has some kinks to work out but, if you can see beyond them, you should have an exciting, fun gaming experience. If playing the game in VR, I would suggest keeping the game in jump/teleport movement modes until a high refresh rate can be allowed. Finally, the game is a VERY economical $19.99 on Steam right now – which is an absolute steal.

[easyreview title=”The Solus Project Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”3.5″ ]

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DOOM – Unto the Evil Launch Trailer

DOOM’s first premium DLC pack, Unto the Evil, is available today for download worldwide on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC for $14.99 / £11.99 / €14.99 / A$23.95! To celebrate the launch, we’ve released a new gameplay trailer that can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgWSz5kvtbI.

Unto the Evil is the first of three premium DLC Packs bringing all-new multiplayer content to the award-winning first-person shooter, DOOM. With three new maps to dominate, one new playable demon to unleash, a new weapon to master, a new equipment item, and a host of new armor sets, taunts, and Hack Modules, Unto the Eviloffers players even more ways to expand and customize their fast-paced multiplayer experience.

For more information please visit Bethesda.net and DOOM.com.

Ash vs Evil Dead Introduces Baal

August 4, 2016 – Hell has come to earth as Starz gives a sneak peek of the character Baal, played by Joel Tobeck (“Sons of Anarchy,” The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) who appears in season two of the series.  When Baal is released from the underworld, our team will face an enemy more powerful then then any that have come before. One with bigger plans than just destroying Ash as well as a secret link to Ruby (Lucy Lawless). It was recently announced that Season 2 will premiere Sunday, October 2 at 8:00PM ET.

Baal rounds out a cast led by Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead, “Burn Notice”) in the role of Ash Williams; Lucy Lawless (“Salem,” “Spartacus”) as Ruby, who now possesses the powerful Necronomicon; Ray Santiago (“Touch,” Meet the Fockers) as Pablo Simon Bolivar, Ash’s loyal sidekick dealing with the trauma he suffered in the cabin; and Dana DeLorenzo (A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas) as Kelly Maxwell, who, grief-stricken after the death of her parents, plots revenge against The Evil Dead. Lee Majors (“The Six Million Dollar Man”), Ted Raimi (“Xena: Warrior Princess,” Spider-Man) and Michelle Hurd (“Law & Order: SVU”) join the cast this year as Brock Williams, Ash’s father, Chet Kaminski, Ash’s childhood best friend, and Linda, Ash’s high school love respectively.

Sam Raimi serves as executive producer with Rob Tapert (Evil Dead, “Spartacus,” Xena: Warrior Princess”), Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead, “Burn Notice”) and Ivan Raimi (Drag Me To Hell, Spider-Man 3) along with Craig DiGregorio (“Workaholics,” “Chuck”) who serves as executive producer/showrunner. Aaron Lam (“Spartacus”) and Moira Grant (“Spartacus”) serve as producers.

Krampus is coming to Halloween Horror Nights 2016

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., ORLANDO, Fla. (August 4, 2016) – Tis the season for Krampus as Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort bring the terrifying dark Christmas legend to life in an all-new “Halloween Horror Nights” maze beginning September 16, 2016.

The creative minds behind the nation’s best and most extreme Halloween events unleash the wrath of Krampus, Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures’ Christmas-themed horror film co-written and directed by Michael Dougherty, in a sinister new “Halloween Horror Nights” maze.

Krampus at USH-HHN 2016

The dead of winter sets the stage for the terror that’s about to unfold one cold, dank and dreary Christmas Eve as the fabled anthropomorphic “half-goat, half-demon” horned creature emerges to terrorize those devoid of holiday spirit.  In scenes lifted from the film, guests will navigate the dysfunctional Engel family home to encounter the evil ancient spirit of Krampus – the dark shadow of Saint Nicholas – and his band of Dark Elves and sinister Gingerbread Men, who cause the family to fight to see the light of day.

Universal Studios’ “Halloween Horror Nights” is the ultimate Halloween event. For more than 25 years, guests from around the world have visited “Halloween Horror Nights” in Hollywood and Orlando to become victims inside their own horror film. The streets of each coast’s event are transformed into highly-themed scare zones where menacing “scare-actors” lunge from every darkened corner. Multiple movie-quality haunted houses are erected throughout the event, based on anything from iconic slasher films to hit horror television series to haunting original stories.

Additional details about Universal Studios’ “Halloween Horror Nights” will be revealed soon. For more information about Halloween Horror Nights at either Universal Studios Hollywood or Universal Orlando Resort, visit www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com.