Author - Jerry Paxton

New Dishonored Dev Diary Released

Bethesda Softworks and Arkane Studios have released a second video in our developer documentary series for Dishonored. In it, the team from Arkane Studios discusses the creative process that went into building the world and characters of the game’s fictional city of Dunwall.

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Resident Evil 6 Post-Launch DLC Details

SAN MATEO, Calif. – September 11, 2012 – Capcom®, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, is pleased to confirm that the Resident Evil® 6 experience will be further enhanced with the release of new modes and additional content following the launch of this highly anticipated title on home consoles this October 2.

Available as downloadable content, three new gameplay modes will expand on the multiplayer elements available in the retail version and deliver new and exciting ways to enjoy the world of Resident Evil 6.

Survivors Mode takes the classic solo- and team-based versus mode and adds a twist. Get killed and you respawn as an enemy character with the ability to attack the human characters. Take down two human characters to resurrect in human form. Last man or team standing wins.

In Predator Mode, one player takes on the role of the Ustanak, the fearsome B.O.W. that stalks Jake Muller throughout his campaign, and tries to eliminate the human players.  The humans’ task: stop the deadly B.O.W. in its tracks, or at least survive until the end of the session.

Choosing the human side in Siege Mode will see players protecting a single NPC, while as a member of the enemy team, players will need to eliminate that same NPC. If the NPC is still alive at the end of the time period, the human team wins.

SurvivorsPredator and Siege modes will all support up to six players online and be played using maps from Mercenaries Mode.

Players will be able to track their accomplishments in these three modes alongside their main campaign statistics and compare their performance with others by registering on ResidentEvil.Net, the free online service that launches alongside Resident Evil 6.

Further post-launch downloadable content for Resident Evil 6 will include additional maps forMercenaries, which can in turn then be used as maps for Survivors, Predator and Siegemodes, plus other items yet to be announced.

Omerta – City of Gangsters Screenshots

Ridgewood, NJ, September 11, 2012 – It’s time to take a closer look at the combat in Omerta – City of Gangsters, the upcoming criminal empire-building game from Kalypso Media and Haemimont Games, makers of the popular Tropico 3 and Tropico 4 titles for  the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft  and Windows PC. In the new screens, you’ll get an up-close look at the turn-based combat in Omerta, where gangsters duke it out for control of Prohibition-era Atlantic City. Molotov Cocktails, baseball bats and six-shooters all play a role in your success as a gangster inOmerta’s tactical battles.  Omerta – City of Gangsters is scheduled for release on Windows PC and Xbox 360 in February 2013.

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Steam Big Picture Beta Available Now

September 10th, 2012 — Valve announces a major update to the Steam gaming platform called Big Picture. Steam’s new Big Picture mode lets gamers access all of their favorite Steam games on a television. With the press of a button, Steam displays a new full-screen user interface optimized for readability and interaction on TV. Big Picture has been designed to be used with a traditional game controller, while also fully supporting keyboard and mouse input.

Steam gamers can experience Big Picture by connecting their PC or Mac to a TV, typically with a single HDMI cable. Access to the complete Steam store is included, as is the Steam Community. In addition to their complete library of Steam games, each user’s cloud files, Steam Workshop content, account information and preferences will be accessible automatically in the new mode.

“Sega’s roots are in living-room gaming.” said John Clark, Vice President of Digital Distribution at Sega. “For the first time since the advent of PC games decades ago, gamers are finally going to have access to the kind of entertainment experience we’ve always wished they could have with our PC titles – one that’s incredibly social, comfortable, and accessible. We’re excited about the opportunity, and Big Picture has inspired us to bring even more of our titles to Steam in the future.”

“There is nothing more satisfying than slaying thousands of orcs on your big screen. And many of the most die-hard players of Orcs Must Die 2 have always preferred playing with a game controller. Steam’s Big Picture mode finally marries these two and delivers a true living room entertainment experience to players.”

“We’re pleased that gamers on Steam will now be able to immerse themselves in our entertainment experiences in the comfort of their living room on large screen TVs,” said Steve Glickstein of Take-Two Interactive Software. “From action and adventure to sports and sims, our titles deliver big fun on big screens.”

“PC gaming continues to be the leading edge of entertainment, whether it’s social gaming, MMOs, graphics hardware, free-to-play, or competitive gaming,” said Gabe Newell, president of Valve. “With Big Picture for Steam, we are trying to do our part to give customers and developers what they want – their games, everywhere, optimized for the environment in which they are playing.”

Big Picture also includes a new web browser designed for televisions and game controllers. It is accessible from anywhere within the Big Picture UI, and even while playing Steam games on a TV. It supports Big Picture’s new method of typing with a game controller, which is useful for entering URLs, filling out forms, chatting, and other functions.

For more information, including how to participate in the beta, please visit http://www.steampowered.com/bigpicture/

Universal Studios Announces 2012 Eyegore Awards

Universal Studios Hollywood kicks off “Halloween Horror Nights” with its annual Eyegore Awards. The eagerly-anticipated event honors individuals within the Hollywood entertainment community for bringing the most indelible and terrifying moments in the field of horror to life.

Special guests will include this year’s new Eyegore Awards host, McKenzie Westmore, host of Syfy’s “Face Off,” Chad Michael Murray (House of Wax and the upcoming film, The Haunting in Georgia), legendary rock-horror icon Alice Cooper, Adelaide Clemens (Silent Hill:  Revelation 3d), Angélica María and Angélica Vale (psychological thriller series “Mujeres Asesinas 2”), Diego Boneta (“Rock of Ages”), Wilmer Valderrama, Sid Haig, Bill Mosely. More talent to be announced.

“Halloween Horror Nights” brings together the sickest minds in horror to immerse guests in the living, breathing, three-dimensional world of the most notorious and terrifying creatures.  Mazes include: “The Walking Dead:  Dead Inside,” based on AMC’s Golden Globe®-nominated and Emmy® Award-winning TV series; “Welcome to Silent Hill,” based on the popular video games and film franchise; Am encore performance by shock rocker Alice Cooper in the new, “Alice Cooper Goes to Hell 3D”; “La Llorona: Cazadora de Niños,” based on the chilling Mexican and Latin American legend that has terrified children for centuries; “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre:  The Saw is the Law,” based on filmmaker Tobe Hooper’s notoriously unsettling 1974 horror film classic; and “Universal Monsters Remix,” featuring re-imagined classic horror icons and fused with electronica-inspired music. An all-new “Terror Tram:  Invaded by The Walking Dead,” also based on the hit AMC TV series, will unleash hordes of flesh-eating “walkers” on Universal’s world-famous backlot.

Halloween Horror Night” begins Sept. 21 and continues on 19 select nights through October. 31.  Event dates:  September. 21, 22, 28, 29; Oct. 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31. The event will begin nightly at 7:00 p.m.; closing hours vary. Ticket options include Front of Line passes for priority access at each maze, and Killer Deal Nights tickets to save up to $25.  Information atwww.UniversalStudiosHollywood.com/hhn.

EA and Sony Pictures Team Up for Charity with MoH DLC Pack

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – September 10, 2012 – Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA) and Sony Pictures Entertainment announced today a unique, philanthropic-directed, cross-promotional partnership in North America that will result in a $1 million minimum donation to charities benefiting the nation’s veterans. In anticipation of the release of the Columbia Pictures and Annapurna Pictures’ Zero Dark Thirty, directed by Academy Award® winner Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal, and the EA game Medal of Honor™ Warfighter, players can help give back to the nation’s real warfighters with theMedal of Honor Warfighter Zero Dark Thirty Map Pack. EA will donate a portion of map pack sales* as part of its commitment to give back at least $1 million through its Project HONOR campaign, a program created to drive charitable contributions to nonprofit veterans organizations. The pack will be available for sale** in North America the week of December 17, in conjunction with the theatrical debut of Zero Dark Thirty, for $9.99.

“Working with Project HONOR is a meaningful way for us to continue our support for combat veterans throughout the armed services,” said Mark Boal, writer-producer of Zero Dark Thirty. “We are thrilled to be a part of this effort, and we’re humbled that EA is stepping up to the plate with such a significant contribution.”

The Medal of Honor Warfighter Zero Dark Thirty Map Pack includes two new multiplayer maps inspired by real world locations. Set in one of the most dangerous hotspots in the world, the first map is Darra Gun Market, Pakistan’s flourishing arms bazaar. Darra, the largest illegal arms market in the world, is a tribal land based on two principles – hospitality and revenge. No police are allowed to enter the area and the laws are made by the tribal leader. The second location is Chitral, which sits in the far north of Pakistan, bounded by Afghanistan to the west and China to the north. It is a remote, rugged area governed by tribes that will not allow even the Pakistani army to operate there.

Medal of Honor Warfighter is inspired by real world events, real operations, and real warriors,” said Peter Moore, Chief Operating Officer at EA. “We’ve teamed up with Sony Pictures Entertainment to give back to the Special Operations community in honor of the sacrifices they and their families have made for their country and to connect people to the story of the greatest manhunt our world has seen.”

Written by actual U.S. Tier 1 Operators while deployed overseas, Medal of Honor Warfighter puts players in the boots of today’s most highly trained and skilled warriors to experience missions that have an intense sensory connection to real world terrorist threats. From rescuing hostages in Abu Sayyaf’s stronghold in the Philippines to assaulting Al-Shabaab’s “Pirate Town” on the Somali Coast, Medal of Honor Warfighter features international hotspots in the single player campaign and introduces international Tier 1 Operators in multiplayer allowing gamers to show their national pride online.

Medal of Honor Warfighter will be available in North America on October 23 and in Europe on October 26 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC. In Europe, the Pakistan maps and SEAL team 6 inspired weapon loadouts will be included in the Medal of Honor Warfighter The Hunt Map Pack, also available the week of December 17 for £7.99.

For a decade, an elite team of intelligence and military operatives, working in secret across the globe, devoted themselves to a single goal: to find and eliminate Osama bin Laden. Columbia Pictures and Annapurna Pictures’ Zero Dark Thirty reunites the Oscar® winning team of director-producer Kathryn Bigelow and writer-producer Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker) for the story of history’s greatest manhunt for the world’s most dangerous man. Gamers will be able to view the film trailer in the Medal of Honor Warfighter Limited Edition game disc when the game launches in October. For more information on the film, please visit www.zerodarkthirty-movie.comZero Dark Thirty will be released in theaters nationwide on December 19, 2012.

For more information on Medal of Honor Warfighter be sure to visit www.medalofhonor.com, and www.facebook.com/medalofhonor, or follow on Twitter® at www.twitter.com/medalofhonor. Press assets are available at www.info.ea.com.

HHN Hollywood Extreme Horror Makeup Event Pics

Universal City, California, September 6, 2012—The artistry that transforms mere mortals into the most frightening creatures imaginable was revealed today at Universal Studios Hollywood, as extreme Hollywood horror make-up masterminds offered a sneak peek at this year’s bone-chilling“Halloween Horror Nights” event, which takes place on select nights from September 21 to October 31, 2012.

Extreme Hollywood horror make-up artist Larry Bones and his innovative special effects team partnered with “Halloween Horror Nights” Creative Director, John Murdy, to demonstrate how many highly dramatic, morbidly disturbing creatures will come to life during the event.

As the skilled professionals created the illusions of severed heads, oozing wounds and slashed throats, an additional team of experts showcased other effects employed to craft the many scare-actors featured throughout “Halloween Horror Nights.”  Costume designers were on hand to distress and customize wardrobe, wig makers teased and twisted locks, and a graphic artist adeptly illustrated original “Halloween Horror Nights” concept art.

The extreme Hollywood horror make-up showcase helped set the stage for the September 21 launch of this year’s thrilling “Halloween Horror Nights” event.  For more information and to purchase tickets, including options for Front of Line tickets that enables priority access at each maze and theme park attraction, and special Killer Deal Nights tickets to save up to $25, guests can visit www.UniversalStudiosHollywood.com/hhn,.  Advance purchase is recommended as event nights will sell out.

This year’s “Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood brings together the sickest minds in horror to immerse guests in the living, breathing, three-dimensional world of the most notorious and terrifying creatures.  Featuring a slate of unrivaled film production quality mazes, terror-filled Scare Zones and a new “Terror Tram” experience, uniquely themed to today’s most definitive horror properties, “Halloween Horror Nights” will taunt, terrorize and torment guests with incomparable spellbinding and spine-chilling haunted attractions.

AMC’s Golden Globe®-nominated and Emmy® Award-winning TV series will have a significant presence during “Halloween Horror Nights” when the critically-acclaimed hit takes center stage in a riveting new maze, “The Walking Dead:  Dead Inside.” It will also headline the event’s signature backlot experience, “Terror Tram:  Invaded by The Walking Dead” featuring hordes of roving, flesh-eating zombie “walkers.”

Other haunted attractions will include “Welcome to Silent Hill,” based on the popular video games and film franchise; “Alice Cooper Goes to Hell 3D,” a new 3D maze inspired by the legendary shock rocker’s classic concept album; a reimagined experience, “La Llorona: Cazadora de Niños,” based on the terrifying Mexican and Latin American legend that has terrified children for centuries; “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre:  The Saw is The Law,” maze based on filmmaker Tobe Hooper’s notoriously unsettling 1974 horror film classic; and the “Universal Monsters Remix,” walk-through attraction featuring Universal’s legendary horror monsters of yesteryear, re-defined for the 21st century along with the pulse-pounding sounds of dance and electronic-fusion music.

The ever-popular “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure” will also add to the dynamic “Halloween Horror Nights” event, joining suchtheme park’s favorites as “Transformers™: The Ride –3D,” “Jurassic Park® In the Dark,” “The Simpsons RideTM” and “Revenge of the MummySM – The Ride.”

Details on “Halloween Horror Nights” are available at Halloween Horror Nights, on Facebook at: “Halloween Horror Nights – Hollywood” and on Instagram @HorrorNightsHollywood or #UniversalHHN.  Updates from Creative Director John Murdy can be found on Twitter at:Twitter.com/HorrorNights, as he reveals a running chronicle of exclusive information.  “Halloween Horror Nights” maze announcement videos can be seen at Universal Studios Hollywood’s YouTube Channel.

Halloween Horror Nights” kicks off on Friday, September 21, 2012 and continues on select nights through Wednesday, October 31.  Event dates are: September 21, 22, 28, 29 and October 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 31.

Images from the Event