Author - Jerry Paxton

LEGO City Undercover Launch Trailer

2017/04/04
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 News, Trailers / Videos, Xbox One News

Burbank, Calif. – April 4, 2017 – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games and The LEGO Group® today announced the launch of LEGO® CITY Undercover™, an action-packed adventure where players must assume the identity of undercover police officer, Chase McCain, and track down the fiendish Rex Fury to finally put an end to his city-wide crime wave. Developed by TT Games and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, LEGO CITY Undercover is now available for the Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®4, Xbox One® and PC.

LEGO CITY Undercover allows both longtime fans and newcomers alike to explore the sprawling, open-world metropolis that is LEGO® CITY with more than 20 unique districts to investigate, filled with car thieves to bust, vehicles to navigate, mischievous aliens to capture, lost pigs to rescue and of course, hundreds of collectibles. For the first time, LEGO CITY Undercover will feature a two-player cooperative mode for gamers to track down criminals as a team.

“Between solving crimes in the hilarious original storyline and exploring the vast open-world city, LEGO CITY Undercover is the perfect game for friends and families to play together,” said Tom Stone, Managing Director, TT Games.

As a man of many talents, Chase McCain has eight disguises to choose from, each with unique skills and abilities to infiltrate every corner of the city and access places only he can. Chase is joined by officer Frank Honey, Chief of Police Dunby and paramedic Natalia Kowalski, who are just a few of the more than 300 unlockable and playable characters that gamers will meet throughout their adventure. With 15 special assignments to complete, the game brings together witty, original storytelling with signature LEGO humor to create a fun-filled experience for players of all ages.

LEGO CITY Undercover is rated “E10+” for everyone 10 and older by the ESRB and is now available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 system, Xbox One and Windows PC at a suggested retail price of $59.99.

Midsummer Scream Unveils 2017 Hall of Shadows Haunt Experiences

2017/04/04
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, Halloween, News

April 4, 2017 – Midsummer Scream Halloween Festival, the West Coast’s premier Halloween, haunt, and horror convention returns July 29-30 to the Long Beach Convention Center for a weekend of world-class thrills and chills. One of the stand-out components of Midsummer Scream’s impressive array of entertainment is the Hall of Shadows – a large portion of the convention’s show floor that is shrouded in darkness and filled with billowing fog, and roaming monsters on an unprecedented scale. For 2017, the Hall of Shadows will feature 14 highly-themed “mini haunts” representing professional and home-made attractions that fans can look forward to visiting this Halloween season here in Southern California.

“Hall of Shadows is a substantial component of Midsummer Scream,” says the convention’s Creative Director, Rick West. “Last year, we featured 9 mini haunts within the Hall; this year, we are upping the count to 14. We are thrilled with the diversity of participating groups this year, from extremely popular pro haunts, to some of the greatest home haunts in existence. Add the awesome spectacle of the Decayed Brigade slider team into the mix, and you’ll find that we have a Hall of Shadows experience this year that is truly epic. Hall of Shadows is a cornerstone of Midsummer Scream, as there is nothing that defines Halloween in America more than haunted houses and lurking monsters. It’s going to be a blast, and all of our participants are raring to go!”

A Unique Challenge

Creating the Hall of Shadows is a unique and exciting challenge. Nowhere has any convention featured such a large “dark zone” with so many haunted attractions for guests to experience. Taking up approximately 1/3 of Midsummer Scream’s 92,000 square-foot show floor, installation of the Hall takes careful planning and coordination well before the doors open to the public. For months, haunters plan their attractions and fabricate them off-site; once it’s “GO time”, each group drives onto the show floor of the Long Beach Convention Center and drops off their haunts in pieces before set-up begins. With 14 attractions being installed at the same time, it’s a virtual ballet of large trucks, haunt build crews, and Midsummer Scream staff members all communicating and working in unison for 48 hours leading up to the opening of the show. Each light above the Hall must be manually turned off once the haunts are installed. To make the area even darker, an extremely large black curtain measuring roughly 325 feet in length (almost the length of a football field) is raised more than 20 feet above the show floor, creating an ominous “wall” between the living and the dead!

Hall of Shadows Entry Façade/Portal

This year’s Hall of Shadows entry portal is being designed and built by CalHauntS (California Haunting Society), a group of talented Halloween enthusiasts responsible for creating some of the most elaborate home haunts anywhere. Sleepy Hollow is the inspiration for this year’s entrance to the Hall of Shadows. Guests will transition from the show floor into the Hall of Shadows as they pass underneath a gothic archway into an eerie cemetery, complete with weathered tombstones and macabre scenic elements.

14 Haunted Attraction Experiences in 2017

For 2017, Midsummer Scream offers guests 14 haunted attractions, each measuring roughly 20’ x 20’. All attractions within the Hall of Shadows is included with a Midsummer Scream day or weekend pass. Guests with Front of Line passes to Midsummer Scream will find express queues at each attraction within Hall of Shadows, expediting their wait times.

The Hall of Shadows 2017 lineup is: Dead Zone 805; Gorlesque presents: Peep Show; Gothic Hills; Higgins Manor; Hyde Street Massacre; Immersive Parties’ MAC: Mutation Analysis Center; Mable’s 6 Feet Under; Nightmare Productions presents The Gate; Opechee Haunt’s Apparition Adventure: Terror Twins; Phobia Productions presents: Grimm’s Hallow; Pumkin Jack’s Haunted House; The Fleshyard; The Haunted Rose presents: The Maritime Horror; and Unhallowed presents: The Last of Man.

For more information regarding the Hall of Shadows 2017 haunts, visit MidsummerScream.org.

World-Class Slider Exhibitions

Returning to the Hall of Shadows for their second year is the Decayed Brigade slider team of Southern California. Several times each day, the Brigade will take to their designated “runway” in the middle of the Hall and perform breathtaking feats of strength and agility as they run, slide, jump, and launch themselves through the air with absolute precision.

The Hall of Shadows will be open Saturday and Sunday, July 29 and 30, during show hours. It is not intended for small children; it is recommended that only guests age 13 years and older venture into the Hall itself. Each haunt will be closed periodically throughout the day for necessary crew breaks.

Fans may sign up on the site for email notifications and announcements, including discounts and other special offers. Be sure to follow Midsummer Scream on social media as well – Twitter/Periscope: @MidsummerScream, Instagram: @MidsummerScream, and Facebook: facebook.com/midsummerscream. Please use #MidsummerScream to tag all social media posts regarding Midsummer Scream 2017. Halloween – It’s not just a season… it’s a lifestyle!

 

About Midsummer Scream Halloween Festival

Midsummer Scream is a large-scale summer festival celebrating the spirit of Halloween, haunts and horror, drawing thousands of guests to Southern California for a weekend of thrills and chills. Featuring a massive show floor of vendors and exhibitors, haunted attractions and experiences, live entertainment and world-class panel presentations, Midsummer Scream is the West Coast’s premier Halloween/horror event, offering something for fans of all ages. More information can be found at MidsummerScream.org.

SteelSeries Arctis Wins Red Dot Award

2017/04/03
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, Tech News

CHICAGO – April 3, 2017 – SteelSeries, the fastest growing major PC gaming headset brand in the US*, today proudly announced that its Arctis headsets received the prestigious “Red Dot” award. The jury reached its decision after assessing thousands of products from all over the world. SteelSeries created an outstanding design for the Arctis Headset line that the expert committee for the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2017 has recognized with the internationally sought-after seal of quality.

“Our Danish heritage has never been more apparent than in the creation of the Arctis headset line – where every choice made for building a superior headset directly affected the look and feel,” said Ehtisham Rabbani, SteelSeries CEO. “Simplicity is what makes this headset truly a force to be reckoned with – the questions asked and choices made were hard but simple – find materials that impact comfort, choose shapes that improve function and stop thinking about a gaming product as a visual stereotype.”

The significance of the international design competition, Red Dot Award: Product Design, is well established internationally. For more than 60 years, an expert team has been awarding the seal of quality for good design and innovation to the outstanding designs of the year.

“The Red Dot winners are pursuing the right design strategy,” said Professor Dr. Peter Zec, founder and CEO of the Red Dot Award. “They have recognized that good design and economic success go hand in hand. The award by the critical Red Dot jury documents their high design quality and is indicative of their successful design policy.”

The Arctis 3, Arctis 5, and Arctis 7 gaming headsets are now available at Best Buy or SteelSeries for $79.99, $99.99, and $149.99, respectively. Arctis headband accessories are available now exclusively at https://steelseries.com/arctis for $14.99.

For more details about the Arctis headset line and accessories, or SteelSeries’ entire selection of gaming peripherals, visit https://steelseries.com.

RōM Pack Review

2017/04/01
Jerry Paxton
Action Sports, Airsoft News, Airsoft Reviews, Articles, News, Reviews

RōM Outdoors has made a backpack for true survivalists with their RōM Pack. The RōM Pack transforms from its initial backpack state into a poncho with a hoodie or a blanket that is soft on one side and water resistant on the other. Usually retailing for about $100 dollars, RōM Outdoors is currently have a sale on their website, making the sale price of the RōM Pack $69.97! The pack is made from 600D poly fabric which gives it a good amount of strength (most airsoft gear is 500D, while the expensive stuff is 1000D) while not being too rough to touch.

The RōM Pack starts out as a backpack, so that’s what we wanted to start by looking at. As far as internal space goes, the RōM Pack has plenty of it. The when calculated, the RōM Pack features 3040 cubic inches of cargo space and weighs only 4.6 lbs. Aside from its cavernous main compartment, the RōM Pack comes with two removable saddlebags that can be used to carry on-the-go gear that you might need to get to in a hurry. I made one of mine into a medical kit – its rip-away capability is a godsend for an IFAK (individual first aid kit).

Each side of the RōM Pack has a mesh pocket where you can store a water bottle or other small accessories. And, if that isn’t enough for you, there is MOLLE webbing along the back of the pack that can be used to hook on additional gear or pouches. If you are concerned that comfort might be an issue with such a back pack, I can assure you it is not. The straps that RōM Outdoors has put on their pack are soft enough to be comfortable and set wide enough apart that they don’t rub your neck raw while wearing it.

If you are done using the pack as a blanket or hoodie and want to fold it back into a back pack, the method for doing so is not very difficult. In the following video, you can see a child folding the pack back up as an example of just how simple it is.

The biggest challange in fielding the RōM Pack for any length of time is that the pouches and overall design of the pack allows for some wiggle and slouch. It is braced, for the most part, by straps that help keep everything together, but it definitely moves around a little more than most standard packs.

Overall, the RōM Pack from RōM Outdoors is a great survival pack. However, remember that when used as a hoodie or blanket, its storage space gets taken away, so you might want to pick up an inner pack to hold the items during the transformation. RōM Outdoors actually has an inner pack on sale for just about $4 dollars, so you might want to pick one up as well. You can find out more about the RōM Pack as well as purchase one of your own at RōM Outdoors official website.

Total War: WARHAMMER 2 Announced

2017/03/31
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

LONDON – March 31, 2017 – SEGA® Europe Ltd. today announced the next game in the best-selling Total War: WARHAMMER trilogy. Total War: WARHAMMER II will be the second release in an ongoing partnership between globally-acclaimed developer Creative Assembly™ and Games Workshop®, creators of the world-renowned Warhammer® Fantasy Battles tabletop wargame and miniatures.

Total War: WARHAMMER II unveils the mystery-shrouded continents far to the west of The Old World. Featuring four iconic new races from the Warhammer Fantasy Battles world – the High Elves, Dark Elves, Lizardmen, and a fourth yet to be revealed – players will battle across enchanted isles, bleak hinterlands, treacherous swamps, and perilous jungles.

In a Total War campaign like no other, players will struggle for dominion over the ailing Great Vortex that has swirled for millennia above the elven homeland of Ulthuan. Performing a series of arcane rituals, each race must save or disrupt the Vortex according to their motivations – a struggle culminating in a cataclysmic endgame. Territorial conquest is no longer enough… this is a race for control that will define the fate of the world!

Total War: WARHAMMER II will offer hundreds of hours of immersive gameplay in this epic new campaign. Furthermore, a huge combined campaign map featuring the old and new world regions will be available for free shortly after release to players who own both Total War: WARHAMMER I & II.

“Total War: WARHAMMER II represents the next step in our trilogy, our vision for the most incredible fantasy strategy series ever made,” said Game Director, Ian Roxburgh. “The success of the first game has increased our ambition; we’re not only going to deliver a thrilling campaign in the sequel, but also an additional combined campaign, the biggest so far, for owners of both.”

“We’re thrilled to see the sequel to last year’s smash hit Total War: Warhammer coming later this year.” Said Jon Gillard, Head of Licensing at Games Workshop. “Sega and The Creative Assembly continue to astound us with their ability in crafting the Warhammer Fantasy Battles world in further glorious pageantry, with races never realised on this scale before in a video game. We are proud to be in partnership with them on this next great step in the franchise.”

Total War™: WARHAMMER® II for PC will be available in 2017, watch the announce trailer here.

For the latest news about this title and other Total War games in development, visit www.totalwar.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to Total War’s YouTube Channel for future news about gameplay videos.

Xenos vs Marines Announced

2017/03/31
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, Screenshots / Photos, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

March 31, 2017 – Gaijin Entertainment and Darkflow Software, creators of the upcoming MMOG Enlisted, today announced the development of Xenos vs Marines, a tactical command first person shooter featuring a revolutionary approach to realism in Sci-Fi games. In Xenos vs Marines, gamers play as Colonial Force Space Marines, interplanetary invaders who come face-to-face with alien races trying to defend their home worlds.

Xenos vs Marines tells the futuristic story of an advanced human civilization that is fiercely determined to stake its territorial claim on the universe. With an emphasis on realism, the game will allow players to experience the unique challenges of the Colonial Force Space Marines, sent out to seize new areas for mankind. Equipped with ultra-advanced weaponry, powered armor and other tools of conquest, players will fight against diverging breeds of aliens, while trying to survive the hostile environments and hazardous anomalies found on the new worlds.

“We often see them on TV – the elite heroes of a space-era humanity, fighting on alien planets for the advancement of man, at the expense of others. Every one of us has wanted to experience epic intergalactic battles in the most unusual and unpredictable circumstances, but in Xenos vs Marines we have turned traditional storylines on its head and added realism,” says Alexander Poliakov, Producer of Xenos vs Marines. “This is a game about tactics and coordinated efforts. And of course, it’s also about sharp reflexes and pumping adrenaline.”

Currently, the game is in an early development stage, but already available are first 3D character and equipment models as well as early screenshots of one of the locations. The game is based on the technological groundwork of the realistic squad-based WW2 military shooter Enlisted, whose backers will be among the first to be able to try Xenos vs Marines.

More information about the game will be available tomorrow on the official YouTube channel of Enlisted: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTFWy_lgIXkDZL3G_h84BPw

Cities: Skylines Gets Xbox One Release Date

2017/03/31
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, Xbox One News

STOCKHOLM – Mar. 31, 2017 — Paradox Interactive, a publisher that built this city on con and sole, today announced that Cities: Skylines – Xbox One Edition will launch worldwide on April 21, 2017. Newly optimized for play on a controller by Tantalus Media, the Xbox One Edition brings the creative management game to consoles along with Cities: Skylines – After Dark, the game’s nightlife-focused expansion. Xbox One players will finally have the opportunity to experience the award-winning management game next month when it becomes available for purchase via disc or download, with pre-orders available starting today. Cities: Skylines – Xbox One Edition will retail for $39.99 / £34,99 / €39.99.

Pre-orders of Cities: Skylines – Xbox One Edition are available here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/cities-skylines-xbox-one-edition/C4GH8N6ZXG5L

Cities: Skylines is a best-selling management game, available for Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs, and coming very soon to Xbox One and Windows 10 with all its deep gameplay and unique charm along for the ride. The Xbox One Edition and Windows 10 Edition include the award-winning base game, bundled together with the popular After Dark expansion, allowing players to plan and design for their cities’ nightlife and tourist attractions.

For more information on Cities: Skylines, visit http://www.citiesskylines.com/.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series Official Trailer

2017/03/30
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

March 30, 2017 – Today we are excited to reveal the first ever trailer for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series, which is set to premiere the first of five episodes on April 18th for $4.99USD or equivalent on PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One®, Windows PC, and Mac, as well as available to download on the App Store® and Google Play™. The series will also be available as a special ‘Season Pass Disc’ on May 2nd at retailers across North America for an MSRP of $29.99 USD, and on May 5th at retailers elsewhere across the globe. The special ‘Season Pass Disc’ will include Episode One: Tangled Up in Blue, and will grant access to download the subsequent four episodes via online updates as they are released in the coming months of 2017. Additional platforms for release are yet to be announced.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series is a brand new story of the universe’s unlikeliest heroes: Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot. In the wake of an epic battle, the Guardians discover an artifact of unspeakable power. Each of them has a reason to desire this relic, as does a ruthless enemy who is the last of her kind, and who will stop at nothing to tear it from their hands.

From Earth to the Milano to Knowhere and beyond, and set to the beat of awesome music, you wear the rocket-powered boots of Star-Lord in an original Guardians adventure, where your decisions and actions drive the story you experience.

The series will feature a star-studded cast of voice talent, including Scott Porter (Friday Night Lights, The Walking Dead: The Telltale Series) as Star-Lord, Emily O’Brien (The Young and the Restless, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor) as Gamora, Nolan North (the Uncharted series, Pretty Little Liars) as Rocket, Brandon Paul Eells (Watch Dogs) as Drax, and Adam Harrington (The Wolf Among Us, League of Legends) as Groot.

For more information on Telltale Games, visit the official website, Facebook, and follow Telltale Games on Twitter @TelltaleGames.

Destiny 2 ‘Rally the Troops’ Trailer

2017/03/30
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, PlayStation 4 News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News, Xbox One News

Santa Monica, CA – March 30, 2017 – Bungie and Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), announced Destiny 2, the sequel to the internationally acclaimed Destiny, a first-person action game that takes the player on an epic journey to defend humanity from annihilation. The official Destiny 2 reveal trailer, “Rally the Troops,” debuted a character-driven glimpse at Destiny 2’s story today.  Additionally, the first hands-on gameplay reveal livestream will be broadcast around the world on May 18.  The broadcast will showcase a variety of fun, action-oriented activities within Destiny 2, and will highlight the brand-new, epic adventure waiting for players.  With a fresh start for all players right from the opening cinematic, Destiny 2 will expand across the globe with a worldwide release on September 8.  Destiny 2 will be available on PlayStation®4 systems with additional, timed exclusive* content, Xbox One(PlayStation®Plus or Xbox Live Gold subscription, respectively, required for significant features), and for the first time in Destiny’s history, a new platform to enjoy this universe will be offered.  Destiny 2 is coming to PC!

“Destiny was the biggest launch of a new console video game franchise ever. Along with our incredibly talented partners at Bungie, we are focusing on making Destiny 2 even better, with state of the art first person action, an awesome new story, great characters, and thoughtful innovations that make the game more accessible to all different kinds of players,” said Activision CEO, Eric Hirshberg.  “We’re also bringing Destiny 2 to the PC platform for the first time.  Destiny 2 will make an already great game franchise better than ever.”

Bungie CEO, Pete Parsons, said, “The past three years have been incredibly inspiring and rewarding for Bungie. To know that millions of players around the world have forged lastingDestiny memories and even made it their hobby is truly humbling and we can’t wait to continue the journey.”  He added, “We are looking forward to sharing a fresh, inviting story, and with the upcoming Destiny 2 Beta slated for this summer, we are eager to get feedback from millions of players around the world who will get a glimpse of the new adventures that will unfold for all of us.  Together, with our partners at Activision, we are thrilled to getDestiny 2 in the hands of players in September.”

In Destiny 2, the last safe city on Earth has fallen and lay in ruins, occupied by a powerful new enemy and his elite army, the Red Legion.   Every player creates their own character called a “Guardian,” humanity’s chosen protectors.  As a Guardian in Destiny 2, players must master new abilities and weapons to reunite the city’s forces, stand together and fight back to reclaim their home. The official Destiny 2 reveal trailer, “Rally the Troops,” shows two of the Vanguard, leaders of the Guardians, inspiring the people of the last city in an impassioned (and occasionally sarcastic) call to arms.  In Destiny 2 players will answer this call, embarking on a fresh story filled with new destinations around our solar system to explore, and an expansive amount of activities to discover.  There is something for almost every type of gamer in Destiny 2, including gameplay for solo, cooperative and competitive players set within a vast, evolving and exciting universe.

Destiny 2 is currently Rating Pending (RP) by the ESRB and will be available at a suggested retail price of $59.99. The product line-up will also feature the Destiny 2 – Game + Expansion Pass Bundle at $89.99 SRP, the Destiny 2 – Digital Deluxe Edition featuring premium digital contentat $99.99 SRP, the Limited Edition at $99.99 SRP, and the Collector’s Edition, featuring a fully-wearable Destiny 2 – Frontier Bag, Expansion Pass, premium digital content and a Cabal-themed Collector’s Box for $249.99 SRP.

For more game information, visit www.DestinyTheGame.com and follow the official Destinysocial channels on Facebook and @DestinyTheGame on Instagram and Twitter. The community can interact directly with the developers at www.Bungie.net, Facebook, @Bungie on Twitter, and www.Twitch.tv/Bungie on Twitch. 

Beat Cop Official Launch Trailer

2017/03/30
Jerry Paxton
Geek News, News, Trailers / Videos, Windows PC News

March 30, 2017 – Pick up some doughnuts and hit the streets of ’80s Brooklyn for a non-linear adventure of police drama, retro aesthetics, and humor to make your mother blush. Beat Cop is available today on PC (Win/Mac/Linux).

Travel back to 1986 as former detective Jack Kelly. Framed for murder, demoted to the lowest ranks, and forgotten by old pals, this is your last chance to uncover the truth behind this terrible mess. Just don’t forget about writing tickets. You’re a beat cop, after all.

For more info, go to:
http://beatcopgame.com