Author - Jerry Paxton

Clowns 3D Music by SLASH Announced for Halloween Horror Nights

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Universal City, CA, August 14, 2014 – Celebrated Grammy® Award-winning musician, SLASH, hailed as one of the 10 best electric guitar players of all time by Time magazine, is joining forces with Universal Studios Hollywood to compose an original score for the theme park’s hypnotizing new 3D maze, “Clowns 3D Music by SLASH” at “Halloween Horror Nights,” beginning Friday, September 19, 2014.

While partnering with top recording artists has become a signature of “Halloween Horror Nights,” this collaboration with prolific guitarist, SLASH, marks the first time a musician has created an original maze score for the popular event.  This inspired effort comes at a demanding time for SLASH, whose new album “World on Fire” debuts on September 16, 2014, on the heels of his “Let Rock Rule” World Tour performing with Aerosmith.

Infused with the rocker’s hell-raising electric guitar riffs, the ominous new “Clowns 3D Music by SLASH” haunted attraction is no laughing matter as it unmasks the psychological disorder known as Coulrophobia, a disturbing condition affecting those with an extreme and irrational fear of clowns.

The psychedelic 3D maze will horrify guests, taunting and tempting them with terror and treats as they parade through “Sweet Licks Frozen Clown Pops Family Amusement Center,” a dilapidated roadside attraction and one-time thriving ice cream factory run by deranged siblings and their mad clown father, Sweet Licks. As this demented trio schemes to restore the family business by luring visitors with free ice cream, guests will soon find themselves on the menu as the key ingredient of a sick new high-protein ice cream concoction.

“I’m a HUGE fan of ‘Halloween Horror Nights’ and was inspired to partner with Universal Studios Hollywood because they are the founders of creating extreme horror,” said SLASH.  “I’ve been composing music for as long as I can remember and jumped at the chance to be an integral part of this year’s event and create the original score for this creepy clown maze.  I can’t wait to see the fans’ reactions and will be first in line to experience the maze myself.”

“It’s an honor to collaborate with one of the most iconic rock legends around,” said John Murdy, Creative Director at Universal Studios Hollywood and Executive Producer of “Halloween Horror Nights.”  “From the moment I heard SLASH’s original composition for the maze, I immediately knew he got it, as the vibe and feel of his score are so right on. He captured the exact tone we were looking to convey to our guests, and it’s great having SLASH be a part of this incredible event.”

SLASH has amassed album sales of over 100 million copies, garnered a Grammy Award and seven Grammy Award nominations and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Time magazine named SLASH #2, behind Jimi Hendrix, on its “The Ten Best Electric Guitar Players of All-Time” list. SLASH helped create signature sounds like the guitar riff on #1 hits for Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and “Welcome To The Jungle.” After leaving the band, SLASH went on to critical acclaim with SLASH’s Snakepit and global success with the supergroup Velvet Revolver.  SLASH’s self-titled biography critically well-received, climbed the bestseller list in both the U.S. and U.K. hitting #8 on the New York Times Bestsellers List. SLASH landed on the top of the charts with his first solo album, Slash (2010) which featured Ozzy Osbourne, Fergie and more. SLASH and his band featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators released the critically acclaimed Apocalyptic Love (2012) which stormed theBillboard Top 200 Albums Chart at #4 as the top rock debut and produced his first-ever #1 rock radio solo hits: “You’re A Lie” and “Standing In The Sun.” SLASH released Nothing Left To Fear(2013) the first-ever motion picture he co-produced from Slasher Films, his film/TV production company. SLASH and his band will release their new album WORLD ON FIRE September 16, 2014. More information is available at www.slashonline.com.

Halloween Horror Nights” 2014 at Universal Studios Hollywood will be “More Dead Than Ever,” as it brings together the sickest minds in horror to immerse guests in the living, breathing, three-dimensional world of the most notorious and terrifying creatures in existence. This year’s event will feature a slate of all-new unrivaled film production quality mazes, terror-filled scare zones and a fully re-imagined “Terror Tram” experience, uniquely themed to today’s most definitive horror properties, including, “The Walking Dead:  The End of the Line,” based on AMC’s critically-acclaimed, Golden Globe®-nominated and Emmy® Award-winning television series; “From Dusk Till Dawn,” inspired by Robert Rodriguez’s cult film and El Rey network’s TV series; “Dracula Untold: Reign of Blood,” based on Universal Pictures’ upcoming epic action-adventure; “AVP:  Alien vs. Predator,” based on the Twentieth Century Fox film franchise; “An American Werewolf in London,” based Universal Pictures’ Academy Award®-winning and genre-defining film, written and directed by John Landis; “Face Off:  In the Flesh,” based on Syfy’s hit TV series, and “The Purge: Anarchy,” a new scare zone inspired by Universal Pictures’ blockbuster thriller.

To learn more about this all-new “Halloween Horror Nights” maze, click here:  “Clowns 3D Music By SLASH.”

Updates on “Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Studios Hollywood are available online atHalloweenHorrorNights.com/Hollywood and on Facebook at: “Halloween Horror Nights – Hollywood,” on Instagram at @HorrorNights and Twitter at @HorrorNights as Creative Director John Murdy reveals a running chronicle of exclusive information. Watch videos on Halloween Horror Nights YouTube and join the conversation using #UniversalHHN.

Universal Studios HollywoodSM, The Entertainment Capital of L.A.SM includes a full-day, movie-based theme park and Studio Tour; the CityWalk entertainment, shopping and dining complex, the Universal CityWalk Cinemas and the “5 Towers” state-of-the-art outdoor concert venue.  World-class rides and attractions include the popular “Despicable Me Minion Mayhem” family adventure ride, the intense, award-winning ride, “King Kong 360 3-D” on the famed behind-the-scenes Studio Tour, the critically-acclaimed mega-attraction, “Transformers™:  The Ride-3D,” “The Simpsons Ride™,” “Revenge of the MummySM—The Ride” and “Jurassic Park® —The Ride.”

Universal Studios Hollywood is part of NBCUniversal, a Comcast company. Follow Universal Studios Hollywood on FacebookTwitterInstagram and YouTube.

SOE Live Keynote Stream and Schedule

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Here is the live stream channel and schedule showing all of Sony Online Entertainment’s presentations from their SOE Live event taking place now through Saturday.

SOE Live Stream Schedule

(All times in PDT – Programming subject to change)

Thursday 08/14

  • 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Welcome Reception
  • 9:00 PM – 12:00 AM: H1Z1 Overnight Gaming

Friday 08/15

  • 8:30 AM – 8:55 AM: Welcome to the SOE Day #2
  • 9:00 AM – 9:55 AM: Landmark Keynote
  • 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM: EQ Next Keynote
  • 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM: PlanetSide2 Featuring Matt Higby & Your Favorite Twitch Streamers
  • 12:00 PM – 12:55 PM: EQII Keynote
  • 1:00 PM – 1:55 PM: EQ Keynote Expansion
  • 2:00 PM – 2:55 PM: DCUO Keynote
  • 3:00 PM – 3:55 PM: H1Z1 Keynote
  • 4:00 PM – 4:55 PM: PS2 Keynote
  • 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM: EQ & EQII Tournaments
  • 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM: The Classes of EverQuest Next Panel
  • 7:30 PM – 8:30 PM: Dead Carpet at the SOE Live Zombie Prom Party

Saturday 08/16

  • 8:30 AM – 8:55 AM: Welcome to the SOE Day #3
  • 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM: Player Studio Panel
  • 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM: DCUO Tournament
  • 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM: The AngryJoe Show Plays H1Z1 with the Devs!
  • 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM: PS2 Tournament
  • 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM: Year of EverQuest
  • 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM: Grand Banquet

Galactic Civilizations III Now in Beta Testing and Early Access

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Plymouth, MI – August 14, 2014 – The third game in the award-winning and highly rated flagship space strategy game, Galactic Civilizations III, is now in beta and available on Steam Early Access for $44.99, five dollars off its regular $49.99 price. Tying together incomparable scale, online multiplayer for the first time in franchise history, and Stardock’s reputation for delivering some of the highest-rated strategy games of all time, Galactic Civilizations III is the definitive 4X space strategy game.

Galactic Civilizations III, available only for 64-bit Windows PCs, puts players in charge of one of several fantastical sci-fi races (including 23rd-century humans) about to begin interstellar colonization. Spreading your empire throughout the galaxy, unlocking the secrets of creation through radical scientific research, and building massive fleets of starships to defend your way of life is only the beginning.

As the age of expansion ends and the age of war dawns, you must navigate the waves of conflict crashing through the galaxy. Diplomatic channels may secure your borders, cultural imperialism might expand them peacefully, or you could do things the old-fashioned way through military conquest. Finally, the age of transcendence brings the struggle for galactic dominance to a fever pitch as mighty empires bring titanic forces to bear in the race for final victory.

The Galactic Civilizations III beta benefits from years of design work and feedback from thousands of Elite Founders during the game’s alpha period. The unparalleled ship designer has undergone significant usability improvements, and the community has created the first of many amazing designs with it. Shipyards have moved off-planet, so multiple colonies can pool their resources to construct vast armadas in deep space. Race-specific technology trees make each playthrough unique.

Many more improvements are in store for Galactic Civilizations III’s beta period. Diplomacy, a new take on starship combat, trade, and much more are slated to come online in the coming months – but you can play full sandbox games and compete with your friends over Internet multiplayer today for an epic and unforgettable space war experience.

Galactic Civilizations III’s early access begins today. The final game officially blasts off in spring 2015.

For more on Galactic Civilizations III, tune into our livestream every Friday at 3pm Eastern time at www.twitch.tv/stardock or visit www.galciv3.com.

For more information about Stardock, check out www.stardock.com.

MSI Reveals GS60 Ghost in Gold Chassis

City of Industry, Calif. – August 14, 2014 – MSI Computer Corp, a leading manufacturer of computer hardware products and solutions, announces the availability of the GS60 Ghost Pro 3K and GS60 Ghost gaming notebooks in a luxurious golden chassis.  Available exclusively at NewEgg, the limited edition golden gaming notebooks feature top-of-the-line technology, including NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 870M graphics, 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7 processor, Killer Gaming Networking and Steel Series keyboard with Steel Series Engine.

MSI - GS60 Ghost Gold

The limited edition GS60 Ghost Pro 3K and GS60 Ghost gaming notebooks come preloaded with MSI’s superb blend of programs, including SteelSeries Engine and XSplit Gamecaster. SteelSeries Engine optimizes the multi-backlit gaming keyboard to deliver unparalleled customization power with advanced macro and micro programming of individual keys.  XSplit Gamecaster gives gamers the ability to easily stream games; add, resize and position a webcam feed; draw on screen with in-game annotations; and organize and upload videos.

MSI - GS60 Ghost Gold

“Our Golden GS60 Ghost gaming notebooks are designed for mobile gamers wishing to obliterate the opponent in class,” says Andy Tung, president of MSI Pan America.  “The gold exterior will turn heads, the svelte design will amaze, and the combination of smoking speeds, deadly graphics and amazing customization power will render anybody speechless.”

“The exclusive limited edition GS60 Ghost celebrates a golden partnership between two companies focused on quality and user experience,” states Patrick Chung, VP of Newegg.  “We are honored to be the only retailer carrying the gaming notebooks and we are confident that they are worth their weight in gold.”

MSI - GS60 Ghost Gold

GS60 Ghost gaming notebooks come with technologies that deliver the utmost immersive gaming experience.  GS60 Ghost gaming notebooks pump out ultra-realistic audio with Dynaudio speakers, Sound Blaster Cinema 2 and MSI’s Audio Boost with an internal AMP and gold flash audio jacks.  The Matrix Display technology takes full advantage of NVIDIA’s latest video card by connecting to 2 external monitors for an unmatched visual experience. For those demanding a higher resolution, the gold edition comes available with a 3K display for intense and visually stunning gameplay.

MSI’s limited edition GS60 Ghost features a set of efficient dual slim fans to quickly and silently dissipate heat.  The limited edition gaming notebooks are available starting at $1,899.99.  For more information about the latest generation of GS gaming notebooks, including full specs and high resolution images, please visit us.msi.com.

GS60 Ghost Limited Gold Edition Specs

MSI - GS60 Ghost Gold

Defense Grid 2 Release Date

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WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — August 14, 2014 — 505 Games and Hidden Path Entertainment today announced that Defense Grid 2, the sequel to the 2008 tower defense critical hit, will launch on September 23, 2014. The game is currently available for pre-order on Steam and will be released for digital download on PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Hidden Path Entertainment is hosting demos of Defense Grid 2 this week during Gamescom in Cologne, Germany, to showcase the game’s user-created content tool, DG Architect. New art assets for Defense Grid 2, including screenshots and gameplay footage, have been released for Gamescom and can be downloaded below.

Gamers interested in Defense Grid 2 will find a robust pre-order campaign on Steam. In addition to receiving ten percent off of the launch price, consumers who pre-purchase Defense Grid 2 now will receive immediate access to the beta (currently only for Windows users). As more people pre-order, additional incentive tiers will be unlocked, including the original Defense Grid digital art book, a free copy of the Containment expansion to Defense Grid: The Awakening*, and much more. Visit http://store.steampowered.com/app/221540/ for more details.

For more information on Defense Grid 2, please visit  http://www.hiddenpath.com/games/defense-grid-2/

Full Toy Box Feature List for Disney Infinity (2.0 Edition)

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BURBANK, Calif. – (August 14, 2014) – Leading into the Disney Infinity Toy Box Summit, which is being held at Avalanche Software in Salt Lake City, UT from August 15 – 17, Disney Interactive today announced a detailed list of new Toy Box features that will debut in the new Disney Infinity (2.0 Edition) when it hits retail stores next month. This weekend, Avalanche Software will allow select super-fans from all over the world to experience first-hand, the new tools that will make it easier and faster for every Disney Infinity fan to build and share custom Toy Box creations with family and friends.

“The Disney Infinity Toy Box really hit a chord with players who over the past year have submitted hundreds of thousands of Toy Boxes to us as a part of our weekly Toy Box challenge,” said John Blackburn, Vice President and General Manager of Avalanche Software. “Our fan base is active and vocal, so when we scoped out our plans for Toy Box 2.0, we took their feedback into account and incorporated many of their requests, including more structured game play, tools that would make it easier to build Toy Boxes, the ability to go inside structures and more. We can’t wait to see what our talented fans are going to create this year.”

The new Disney Infinity Toy Box 2.0 Edition features include:

Toy Box Tools – Procedural generation of content can now be accessed and harnessed through two primary systems:

  •    Creators – Tools that the player can place into the world in real-time, and a themed arrangement will be procedurally build that world within minutes.
  •    Builders – Non-player characters (NPCs) that a player can drop into their Toy Box to build out detailed worlds.

Templates – Players can use these pre-built Toy Box Games ranging from battle arenas to race tracks and customize them using the items saved in their personal Toy Boxes.

Toy Box Games – The Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes Starter Pack will feature Toy Box Game discs, which players can use to access standalone game modes including Tower Defense and Dungeon Crawler games that any character from across the Disney Infinity universe can play.

Interiors – Players can now create their own interior levels where they can build rooms and theme them to their favorite characters.  Unlock hundreds of furniture pieces and decorations based on iconic Disney and Marvel properties.

New Toys – New toys allow players to make more detailed games with beginnings, endings, winners, losers, result screens and virtually any type of game including races, battles, collection-based games, defense games or exploration adventures.

  •       Challenge Maker – Allows players to create any type of game, including structured games within the Toy Box.
  •       Toy Box Game Maker – Allows creators to restrict core actions typically available in the Toy Box, such as the use of the magic wand.
  •       Text Creator – Allows builders to write their own text bubbles in the Toy Box. All text is filtered through a safe chat server for friendly writing.
  •       Creativi-Toys – More than 75 new Creativi-Toys allow players to customize their Toy Boxes even further.

Improved On-Boarding – The introductory Toy Box will now be filled with Game Play Hosts who are available to assign missions and answer questions, as needed. Players are free to learn and explore on their own, but can ask a host for help and they’ll even be rewarded with extra goodies once missions are completed.

Updated Online Services – A Newsfeed screen has been added to the main menu, giving the user an overview of the new online services:

  •       Increased Storage – Storage for locally saved Toy Boxes in a player’s private cloud has increased from 100 to 300 Toy Boxes. Support for downloadable published Toy Boxes has increased from 100 to 100,000 Toy Boxes.
  •       Like and Search User-Generated Toy Boxes – Players can “like” their favorite published Toy Boxes and find others that are well received. Quickly search through the published Toy Boxes using categories (developer picks, most liked, most downloaded, newest, trending, all Toy Boxes and Disney 1.0), and further refine the search with filters (genre, character required, ability required and Toy Box Games).
  •       Sharing with Friends – Share Toy Boxes with friends directly using cloud storage.

Screenshots

Shadowgate Your Death Trailer

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August 14, 2014 — With just one week before the launch of the re-imagined Shadowgate, adventurers will need to drum up their courage as they venture into the depths of this mystical, living castle. Death waits at every corner and gamers will see just a few ways to die in this new “YOUR DEATH” trailer – be it from deadly dragon fire, piercing arrows, or clumsy decision-making, be ready to meet the Grim Reaper again and again!

In Shadowgate, intrepid gamers step inside the dark halls of Castle Shadowgate as “The Seed of Prophecy,” the only one who could hope to defeat the traitorous Warlock Lord that dwells within. Designed with compelling cut-scenes that greatly expand the original Shadowgate universe, gamers navigate from room to room via the classic first-person perspective, using their wits to survive the dangerous traps, devious puzzles, and ruthless enemies. If successful, they can assemble the Staff of Ages, a powerful relic capable of keeping this ancient enemy from destroying the living castle and the world of Tyragon itself.

Shadowgate will be available on August 21 for PC and Mac through Steam.

For more information on Shadowgate, visit the official Website at shadowgate.com, follow the development team on Twitter and “Like” the game on Facebook.

Trailer

Obsidian Entertainment to Make Games Based on Pathfinder RPG

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INDIANAPOLIS — August 13, 2014 — Obsidian Entertainment, the developer of Fallout: New Vegas, South Park: the Stick of Truth and the Kickstarter phenomenon Pillars of Eternity, announced that they have entered into a long-term licensing partnership with Paizo Inc. to produce electronic games based on its popular Pathfinder Roleplaying Game intellectual property

Obsidian’s first licensed product will be a tablet game based on the highly successful Pathfinder Adventure Card game, a cooperative game for 1 to 4 players. Players each have a unique character composed of a deck of cards and a set of stats. Characters have classes such as fighter, rogue, wizard and cleric, as well as numbers that define attributes such as strength, wisdom and charisma etc. Players will be able to customize their deck to better suit each individual’s vision of their character.

“At Obsidian we have a long history of working with the greatest RPG franchises, and we’re thrilled to get to play in the Pathfinder universe now,” said CEO Feargus Urquhart.  “We’re huge fans and can’t wait to bring what we do in the electronic gaming world to Pathfinder fans everywhere”.

In the world of Pathfinder, players take on the role of brave adventurers fighting to survive in a world beset by magic and evil. The Pathfinder RPG is currently translated into multiple languages, with hundreds of thousands of players worldwide. The Pathfinder brand has also been licensed for comic book series, graphic novels, miniatures, plush toys, apparel, and is being developed into a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game.

“Obsidian is a video game developer at the top of its game”, said Paizo CEO Lisa Stevens. “Being able to bring that type of experience and passion to Pathfinder can only mean great things, both for our loyal Pathfinder community and for all fans of great CRPG’s.”

Obsidian will be at Gen Con 2014 showing off an early prototype of the digital Pathfinder Adventure Card Game in the Paizo booth (#203) and in their own booth (#2151) featuring the first consumer hands on for Pillars of Eternity.

About Obsidian Entertainment
www.obsidian.net

About Paizo Inc.
www.paizo.com

Razer Taking Peripheral Lighting to Next Level with Chroma

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COLOGNE, Germany – Razer™, a world leader in connected devices and software for gamers, today announced the all-new Chroma feature that allows full-spectrum, color-customizable lighting for enabled Razer devices. The Chroma feature also allows multiple devices to sync lighting colors and patterns and comes with an open SDK that enables game developers to integrate advanced lighting effects that are customizable on a game-by-game basis.

Razer will be updating its 2015/2016 range of peripherals starting with the BlackWidow Ultimate keyboard the DeathAdder gaming mouse, and the Kraken 7.1 headset with the all-new Chroma feature – fully customizable, full spectrum lighting with inter-device color synchronization via Razer Synapse. Each of these devices will now come with the option of 16.8 million customizable colors and a range of effects through Razer’s cloud-based hardware configurator Razer Synapse.

“Our new range of peripherals that feature Chroma customizable backlighting is another step towards full personal customization and to interconnect our gaming tech,” says Min-Liang Tan, Razer co-founder and CEO.

“Chroma represents more than just multicolor, it opens up limitless personalization options for gamers to play with and we even have a Chroma Software Developer Kit for game developers to integrate their games to provide even more customization in the future.”

All Chroma enabled devices come with distinct lighting effects that are designed to synchronize perfectly with each other, with the following lighting patterns available for selected enabled products:

  • Spectrum cycling: Slowly cycles through the entire spectrum of colors for a subtle yet visually stunning look.
  • Breathing: Gently pulses in a color of choice every 7 seconds, replicating the steady breathing pattern that is distinct to all Razer mice.
  • Static: Pick any color from the selection of 16.8 million options to illuminate the ear cups on your Kraken 7.1, the scroll wheel and Razer logo on your DeathAdder or each individual key on your BlackWidow Ultimate Chroma
  • Custom (For BlackWidow Ultimate Chroma only): Effortlessly set the color for each individual key on your Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Chroma through Razer Synapse with your mouse cursor, and create your own kaleidoscope of colors that is unique to you.
  • Custom – Preloaded Templates (For BlackWidow Ultimate Chroma only): Preloaded custom lighting templates optimized for FPS, MOBA, MMO and RTS games that give you the unfair advantage regardless of which game you’re playing.
  • Reactive (For BlackWidow Ultimate Chroma only): Lights up upon actuation and stays lit in short, medium, or fast mode for a trailing effect, that makes the Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Chroma brighter the faster a user types.
  • Wave (For BlackWidow Ultimate Chroma only): Animates all colors in a continuous wave of rainbow lights, for a truly energetic and vibrant display of constantly changing colors.

The Chroma SDK will allow game developers to take advantage of the multitude of lighting options available for Chroma-enabled devices. For example, custom lighting alerts can be created that flash red when a player is killed or when a base is under attack.

The Chroma-enabled Razer peripherals will be available starting September 2014 via www.razerzone.com.

The Chroma SDK will be available in late 2014.

For more information on Razer Chroma: Full Spectrum Gaming, please visit www.razerzone.com/chroma