Oculus has announced via its social media platforms that, when the Rift ships in early 2016, it will come with a free copy of CCP Games’ EVE Valkyrie. If you would like to read some of my very initial thoughts on Valkyrie (from an early build when it was named EVE-VR), click here! As far as when Oculus Rift pre-orders will go on sale? No word… But the 2015 countdown is ticking, people! Look sharp!
Knott’s Berry Farm’s annual ‘Merry Farm’ event is now in season at the Buena Park theme park. Knott’s Merry Farm offers guests a number of holiday experiences, from an entire Christmas Craft Village erected in the park’s Ghost Town area to Santa’s Christmas Cabin, loaded with goodies as well as the big guy himself. Knott’s Merry Farm runs until January 3, 2016 and is included with a park admission ticket. The Bird Cage Theatre is in full entertainment mode as it presents two different holiday favorites: The Gift of the Magi and A Christmas Carol. Christmas carolers roam the streets of Ghost Town – not only using their voices but also bells to entertain. The group is very talented and well worth standing by to watch them perform.
The food at this year’s Merry Farm event has jumped up some notches from last year. Of note is that Knott’s Berry Farm has brought back its Beef Stew Breadbowls to the Ghost Town Grill. I highly recommend them as well as eating out on the patio so you can watch the goings-on of the theme park while you dine. Also returning this year are caramel apples using real caramel – not caramel sauce! Be sure to purchase one at Santa’s Christmas Cabin. They cool down quick but, while hot, are amazing.
Of course, a visit to Knott’s Merry Farm wouldn’t be complete without the Snoopy Ice Show. This year’s show is, once again, great and the skaters are simply terrific. The one caveat to this is the wardrobe choice of male skaters during a particular number mid-show. These male skaters look kind of like Don Johnson in Miami Vice. But, I digress – one weird costume choice doesn’t detract from the show’s spirit. Linus’ rendition of the true meaning of Christmas pulled straight from the cartoon always brings rousing applause.
Finally, we would like to thank Knott’s Merry Farm for allowing us access to their holiday event. We had a blast and highly recommend it to you and your loved ones.
December 9, 2015 (Rockville, MD) – Bethesda Game Studios®, a ZeniMax® Media company, today announced that it has opened a new development studio in Montreal, Quebec to expand its development capabilities in console, PC, and mobile gaming.
“We’ve worked with some very talented developers in Montreal for a long time, and decided it was time to open a studio there,” said Todd Howard, Game Director and Executive Producer at Bethesda Game Studios. “It’s exciting to think about the new games we’ll be building together.”
Bethesda Game Studios Montreal has already established a core team of more than 40 developers, spanning both console and mobile development. The studio will be managed by industry veteran Yves Lachance as Studio Director.
“Our collaboration with Bethesda Game Studios has been an exhilarating and memorable journey already,” said Lachance. “We are thrilled to be launching the studio in Montreal and contributing our city’s great game-making talent to the kind of games that Bethesda Game Studios is known for.”
Bethesda Game Studios is currently hiring for both its Maryland and Montreal locations. For more information about available jobs, visit http://jobs.zenimax.com.
In this letter from Frontier Developments PR and Communications Manager, Michael Gapper, the company announces that its upcoming Elite Dangerous: Horizons will launch on Tuseday, December 15, 2015!
Hello, folks
Mike from Frontier here, tumbling down your inbox’s chimney and leaving you the gift of NEWS. As always, you can unsubscribe at the bottom of this mail if you don’t want any more alerts like these, but please stick around because I always try to bring good news.
Today’s good news is our new Elite Dangerous: Horizons trailer, announcing the game’s release date next week on December 15, 2015.
I’m also pleased to announce that anyone who preorders now from FrontierStore.net will receive immediate access to Elite Dangerous, and can start playing right away. Elite Dangerous: Horizons will be available on Steam soon, and all FrontierStore.net customer
You’ll find the trailer below, showing planetary landing gameplay across a variety of worlds. Planetary Landings is just the start of Horizons’ season of expansions, all for the one-off price. Following Planetary Landings, additional expansions will come online in 2016, including:
And one more thing – we’re keeping the Elite Dangerous community together in the same galaxy, and we’ll continue full support for Elite Dangerous.
Thanks for sticking around. I’ll be back in your inbox next week when we launch. Don’t forget to leave me a mince pie. Until then, please enjoy the trailer.
December 8, 2015 – CD PROJEKT RED, creators of The Witcher series of games, have just released the first two screenshots from the upcoming expansion to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Blood and Wine. The expansion is slated for release in the first half of 2016. The studio has also announced that The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has collectively garnered over 300 awards, including a Golden Joystick for Ultimate Game of the Year, and The Game Award for Game of the Year.
“2015 is almost behind us. It’s a great year for open world games and a fantastic time for The Witcher. A year of intense work for the team and a time filled with many personal victories for everyone involved in a project that received more than 300 awards so far (wow!). We overcame so many obstacles to get to this point, and we’ve always done it with gamers rooting for us. It’s your year, too!” said Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, Game Director, CD PROJEKT RED. “Blood and Wine, the second expansion for The Witcher 3, is on the horizon. It’s a massive new land to explore, visually unlike anything you saw in Wild Hunt or Hearts of Stone, and it too is brimming with stories we want you to discover,” adds Tomaszkiewicz.
Blood and Wine is a 20-hour tale that will introduce the all-new in-game region of Toussaint, and will take Geralt to a land untainted by war, where an atmosphere of carefree indulgence and knightly ritual masks an ancient, bloody secret. Currently, Blood and Wine is available for purchase as part of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Expansion Pass — more information available here.
OtherSide Entertainment’s website featured a countdown timer page that went off early, revealing their teaser of System Shock 3, the next in the series of horror/FPS titles made famous by Looking Glass Studios and Irrational Games back in the 1990s. This teaser doesn’t mention anything save for the name “System Shock 3” – details such as any involvement by current System Shock license holder Night Dive Studios, or where the crowdfunding campaign will be hosted are missing. OtherSide Entertainment is most recently famous for running an extremely successful Kickstarter campaign for their upcoming Ultima Underworld, which gained $860,356 in funding.
Universal City, California, December 8, 2015 – It’s official: “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™” will open at Universal Studios Hollywood on Thursday, April 7, 2016, marking the highly-anticipated arrival of the West Coast’s dynamic new immersive experience at The Entertainment Capital of L.A.
This eagerly-awaited news coincides with the launch of the destination’s spellbinding campaign, which is stylistically designed to sweep guests into the land’s magical world through the lens of imagination.
The campaign is anchored by a new television spot designed to build suspense and enthusiasm while evoking a sense of wonder and succinctly capture the magical appeal that “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” has for cross-generational consumers as it announces the April 7 opening date.
In making the exciting announcement, Universal Studios Hollywood illuminated the land’s Hogwarts castle to signal the arrival of today’s momentous news.
To see the new campaign spot including a glimpse of the new land and today’s news, please click here.
More than five years in the making, and inspired by J.K. Rowling’s compelling stories and characters that were brought to life in the Warner Bros. films, “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” is being masterfully recreated with impeccable detail as a real-world interpretation at Universal Studios Hollywood. The land will be faithful to the visual landscape of the fiction and films, including Hogwarts castle which will serve as its iconic focal point.
From its snow-capped roofs and cobblestone streets to the historic British sensibilities that characterize the whimsical look and feel of the land, “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” will transport guests of all ages to the very places they read about in the stories or watched on the silver screen.
Upon entering the land through the archway, Hogsmeade will bustle to life with the same vitality of a quaint local village: merchants hard at work, a train conductor welcoming new arrivals and a pub packed to the gills with hungry patrons, but with the added element of enthusiastic guests intent on experiencing them all, including the land’s signature ride, “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey,” and the family outdoor coaster, “Flight of the Hippogriff™.”
An achievement in pioneering theme park ride technology, “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey” will make its U.S. debut at Universal Studios Hollywood in hyper-realistic 3D-HD designed to further immerse guests in an already engaging storyline. The multidimensional thrill ride features a groundbreaking robotics ride system, fused with elaborate filmed action sequences and immersive visceral effects. In this updated adaptation of the ride, guests will sport Quidditch-inspired 3D goggles as they venture through journeys experienced by Harry and his friends, spiraling and pivoting 360-degrees along an elevated ride track on a whirlwind adventure of a lifetime.
Also within “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” the enchanting family coaster, “Flight of the Hippogriff™” will open as Universal Studios Hollywood’s first outdoor roller coaster.
“The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” will resonate with immense detail, inviting guests to revel in Harry Potter’s world with the opportunity to enjoy authentic food and beverage at multiple locations, including Three Broomsticks™, and Hog’s Head pub, as well as the Magic Neep and Butterbeer™ carts.
A foray through the shops will add to the authenticity of the land with eight retail venues and locations, including Honeydukes™, Ollivanders™, Owl Post™, Zonko’s™ Joke Shop, Wiseacre’s Wizarding Equipment, Dervish and Banges, Gladrags Wizardwear and Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods™.
Currently, Universal Studios Hollywood in-park guests can experience and purchase authentic merchandise, including wands, robes and other collectibles from “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” available within the Features Presentation shop, located just inside the theme park’s main entry.
As the countdown to the April 7th opening date continues, the website invites guests to learn more by signing up for the latest news and information at www.universalstudioshollywood.com/harrypotter/signup.
Join the conversation online using #WizardingWorldHollywood. Like Universal Studios Hollywood on Facebook and follow @UniStudios on Instagram and Twitter.
SAN JOSE, Calif., (December 5, 2015) – Leading interactive entertainment media publisher and developer BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. is pleased to announce that ACE COMBAT 7 is in development at BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment’s internal development studios in Tokyo, Japan. ACE COMBAT 7 marks the franchise’s first outing on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system. Putting gamers in the cockpit of the most advanced war planes ever developed, ACE COMBAT 7 delivers the fiercest air combat experience ever through photorealistic visuals, intense dog-fighting action, a multitude of authentic and futuristic aircraft to fly, and an immersive storyline.
Developed utilizing Unreal Engine™ 4 and trueSKY™ technology, ACE COMBAT 7 leverages the power of the newest generation gaming consoles and is poised to blow players away with the latest evolution of its graphics engine. Beautifully rendered cloud-filled skies and highly detailed cityscapes enhance the sense of unparalleled speed and set the stage for the most engaging aerial battles in the franchise’s storied 20 year history. ACE COMBAT 7 will provide an arsenal of ultra-modern super weapons and formidable enemies that the series is known for. Aces who have proven their combat prowess in ACE COMBAT 7’s campaign mode can take their dogfighting skills online for furious online multiplayer battles.
PlayStation®4 players will be further immersed in ACE COMBAT 7’s realism through exclusive features developed specifically for the Sony PlayStation®VR.
“ACE COMBAT 7 delivers the culmination of 20 years of aerial combat game development expertise, resulting in the most realistic and exciting ACE COMBAT game to date,” said Eric Hartness, Vice President of Marketing at BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. “It’s no small feat for any video game franchise to thrive over two decades; ACE COMBAT’s longevity lies in its ability to deliver authentic and intense flight combat action, presented through amazing visuals, all wrapped in a unique and compelling storyline. We look forward to seeing players suit up and become ace pilots.”
ACE COMBAT 7 is rated “RP” for Rating Pending by the ESRB. The game will be coming to the Americas for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system. To find out more about ACE COMBAT 7, head over to http://www.acecombat.com. To learn more about BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc.’s other products go to: http://www.bandainamcoent.com/home.html or follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/BandaiNamcoUS.
SAN FRANCISCO — December 5, 2015 — Today, at the PlayStation Experience conference, Ubisoft revealed Eagle Flight, a Virtual Reality game that sends players to the skies of Paris to experience the freedom of flying. The game, which will be available on major VR platforms including PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive for PC, is scheduled for release in 2016.
Developed by a team from the FunHouse, a division of Ubisoft Montreal, the game lets players become an eagle and fly over Paris and its iconic landmarks, 50 years after humans have left the city. Nature and wildlife has taken back the city, creating a rich playground and offering an incredible experience of free flight and adventure. The game offers both a single player experience and a multiplayer experience that allows players to work in a team with up to six players in two modes.
Eagle Flight has been developed specifically for VR with a strong focus on accessibility and comfort. As a result, the game features an Ubisoft-developed VR control technology breakthrough that provides players with intuitive and precise controls. The new technology greatly reduces chances of motion sickness while enabling players to quickly master their skills in order to perform impressive stunts and experience the true sensation of flight.
“We’re excited to make the dream of flying come true with Eagle Flight,” said Olivier Palmieri, Game Director, Ubisoft Montreal. “Virtual reality has created new and amazing opportunities for game developers and we wanted to offer a full VR game that took full advantage of the technological advances. With the breakthrough we’ve been working on, we’re confident Ubisoft’s first game developed solely for VR will be a truly enjoyable experience for everyone who plays it.”
For more information about Eagle Flight, please visit eagleflightgame.com.
It’s that time of year, GamingShogun readers, for part 2 of our official holiday gift guide series! If you missed part 1, click here to see it. Without further adieu, here are some more of the products that we would highly recommend as gifts to your friends, loved ones, or even yourself!
The Seabreacher represents a dramatic breakthrough in recreational boating. Unlike conventional watercraft that only operate on a two dimensional plane, the Seabreacher operates more like an aircraft with full three axis of control – pitch, roll, and yaw. This allows the vessel to carve left and right, jump over, dive under, and cut though the waves. Our latest model is even capable of 360 degree barrel rolls on the water!
With the latest innovations in technology, monitors have evolved to feature stunning curved screens that match the natural curvature of the human eye, providing a more uniform and comfortable viewing experience. With a best-in-class curvature and an ultra-wide 21:9 aspect ratio, the Samsung Curved Monitor SE790C delivers unrivaled comfort and truly immersive viewing. The SE790C has what it takes to provide truly vibrant picture quality and comfortable enhanced viewing from any angle.
This one is especially for the farming simulator gamers in your life. Saitek’s Heavy Equipment Precision Control system is the best PC gaming controller ever made for construction/farming/utility sim games. From brodie knob on the steering wheel to the elaborate side control panel, this is a unit the industrial sim geek will love and cherish.
Creative Labs Sound BlasterX H5 pro-gaming headset is one of the best stereo gaming headphone sets you can buy. It features a lightweight and ergonomic design with leatherette memory foam ear cushions and 50mm drivers.
Experience virtual reality using the device you’ve already got in your pocket – your smartphone. Play games, fly into space, explore an unknown world, or watch a concert from your living room just by downloading apps. Sculpted of soft, lightweight foam that fits comfortably to the contours of every face, the goggles are durable enough to be tossed into a backpack, taken on the go, and shared among friends.
This wireless, Bluetooth 4.0 gaming pad is perfect for your smartphone, Fire TV, PC, or M.O.J.O. devices. It has a great, solid construction as well as responsive controls.
This is a 2 in 1 tiny clip-on detachable HD lens for mobile phones & digital cameras. With the macro lens, can be taken picture of a tiny object clearly in the details. Wide angle lens is suitable to take picture of large ranges, such group of people, buildings and landscape. New design universal clip can attach every 37MM Thread Digital SLR Pro Lens on your mobile. Turn your mobile into DSLR Camera easily.
