Four new online modes have been announced for Namco Bandai’s upcoming Ace Combat: Assault Horizon. Co-op mode will let friends take on 8 of the single player campaign’s missions together, while Capital Conquest will split players into two teams, each bent on destroying the other’s HQ while defending their own. Deathmatch mode is what you would expect, and Domination mode pits two teams against one another in trying to occupy and hold various bases around the game map. Also announced was that all of the game stats going on will be synchronized by their official website, allowing for real-time stats, leader board, and more. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is due out on October 11th.
The Activision Independent Games Competition is now accepting submissions by indie developers. The first place winner will receive a cash award of $175,000 and the second place winner will receive $75,000 to assist them with the development of their game.
“This competition underscores Activision’s commitment to fostering creativity in the independent development community,”Dave Stohl, Executive Vice President of Studios, Activision, said. “Many of us began our careers as indies, so we are very proud to offer this kind of support and encouragement to a couple of the industry’s young visionaries.”
Nicolas Games has released a new trailer for their upcoming action-horror game, Afterfall: InSanity. The game is due out in November for the Windows PC platform.
Act of Valor is an upcoming motion picture featuring actors as well as active duty Navy Seals. The film debuted its official poster today, which you can see above.
Additionally, Eventful has teamed up with the Cimarron Group and Electronic Arts to host ascreening of the film which will also feature the chance to play Battlefield 3 on the big screen, prior to its October 25th release date.
You can “demand” that the event come to your town by hitting Eventful’s website.
ABOUT ACT OF VALOR
Directors: “Mouse” McCoy, Scott Waugh
Writer: Kurt Johnstad
Cast: Active Duty Navy SEALs, Roselyn Sanchez, Alex Veadov, Jason Cottle, Nester Serrano
Producers: Mike “Mouse” McCoy, Scott Waugh
Executive Producers: Jason Clark, Max Leitman, Michael Mailis, Jay Pollak, Lance Sloane, Benjamin Statler, Thomas Tull
An unprecedented blend of real-life heroism and original filmmaking, Act of Valor stars a group of active-duty Navy SEALs in a powerful story ofcontemporary global anti-terrorism. Inspired by true events, the film combines stunning combat sequences, up-to-the minute battlefield technology and heart-pumping emotion for the ultimate action adventure.
Act of Valor takes audiences deep into the secretive world of the most elite, highly trained group of warriors in the modern world. When the rescue of a kidnapped CIA operative leads to the discovery of a deadly terrorist plotagainst the U.S., a team of SEALs is dispatched on a worldwide manhunt. As the valiant men of Bandito Platoon race to stop a coordinated attack that couldkill and wound thousands of American civilians, they must balance their commitment to country, team and their families back home.
Each time they accomplish their mission, a new piece of intelligence reveals another shocking twist to the deadly terror plot, which stretches from Chechnya to the Philippines and from Ukraine to Somalia. The widening operation sends the SEALs across the globe as they track the terrorist ring to the U.S.-Mexico border, where they engage in an epic firefight with an outcome that has potentially unimaginable consequences for the future of America.
ABOUT ACT OF VALOR EVENT
Gamers have until October 12th to help their city become the first to play the game by visiting http://eventful.com/actofvalor and “Demanding” it. They can also spread the word through a variety of social media tools including Facebook and Twitter.
The city with the most Demands will host an exclusive sneak preview of the upcoming film ACT OF VALOR starring active duty Navy SEALS, and will have the opportunity for the most devoted gamers to get exclusive access to play BATTLEFIELD 3 on the big screen. The event will take place October 19th.
SOE and Overkill Software have released a new trailer for their upcoming Payday: The Heist. The game puts players into the shoes of a criminal on a crew looking to pull of a variety of heists.
The Empty Grave haunted house has been gracing Southern California with scares for seven years now. This year, the event has been completely re-designed, which has paid off for them in spades. The new layout features a plethora of twists and turns, all brimming with interesting decor as well as eager talent. We got the chance to go through twice on the last night of their opening weekend and were very impressed with the energy levels displayed by their all-volunteer cast of monsters.
Creator of The Empty Grave, Mike Talarico, told us they have anywhere from 15 to 20 monsters on-hand each evening, with a total cast of about 25. The process of putting The Empty Grave together starts right after Halloween of the previous year. That’s when Talarico and Co. begin putting ideas done for what they hope to accomplish in the next year’s run. The actual design process takes about three months and building takes an additional three months. The results are clear, however, with several gags and gimmicks throughout the maze which all work very well in helping heighten tension and mood. One of the most memorable areas of the maze included the best use and placement of a strobe light I have seen in a long time.
The one thing that struck me most was the variety displayed by the talent inside the maze. There was never too much of any one kind of “scare tool”, which has always been a pet peeve of mine when it comes to haunted houses. There were a couple “thunder jugs” (gas cans full of noisy items), a couple shaker cans, and even one set of gloves that made a clicking sound when the fingers were tapped together. Some used their voices to scare while others relied on physical twitches and contortions. While most of these implements have been mainstays at haunted events for years – it was sheer variety here which helped to keep things interesting, leaving you never quite knowing what was waiting around the next corner. Also effective was that the scares did not always come from where you expected. Actors found several very unexpected nooks and crannies to hide in before descending upon unknowing guests.
When asked about some ideas that did not quite make it into this year’s design, Talarico mentioned that some ideas were always shot down by the fire marshal for “legality reasons”. One idea that did not quite make it was some sort of tunnel where guests would have to crawl through to get to the next area! Talarico also mention just how proud he was of his cast and crew this year for all their hard work and dedication to the event. Having experienced The Empty Grave, that pride is well-deserved.
The Empty Grave is a great scare-experience and a must-see for you Southern California residents looking for some down home haunted house goodness. Tickets run $13 dollars each, but there is also a 2 for $20 deal guests can take advantage of when they bring a friend. Also of note is that the attraction is located within the walls of the Anaheim Garden Walk outdoor mall complex, so you can grab some food and relax after your experience in The Empty Grave.
The Empty Grave runs Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays (with some weekdays thrown in as well) throughout October. Checkout their FULL WEBSITE for ticket information and more.
7Sixty has announced a new competition in celebration of their upcoming kingdom/castle-sim, Stronghold 3, called “Minstrel King”. Basically, they want people to send in videos of them playing “air lutes”! Checkout the game’s official Facebook page for more information.
SEGA ans Gearbox Software have finally released the full video demo presentation for their upcoming squad-based shooter, Aliens: Colonial Marines, from June of this year at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. You may recall our video footage of entering the demo area, but we were restricted from showing more. Now, you too can see the awesomeness! Aliens: Colonial Marines is due out in 2012.
NZXT has sponsored a new giveaway for you fine readers by offering to send out one of their new Havik 140 CPU coolers to one lucky person who happens to live in the United States or Canada. We will be ending this giveaway on October 22nd @ 11:59 pm pacific time when a random winner will be announced.
