Author - Jerry Paxton

Halloween Horror Nights Orlando Opens Tonight

2012/09/21
Jerry Paxton
Halloween, News

ORLANDO, Fla. (September 21, 2012) – Tonight, there will be no escape as Universal Orlando unleashes the horror of Halloween Horror Nights 22, featuring all new haunted houses, hundreds of terrifying “scareactors” and a completely reinvented street experience that will leave guests with nowhere to turn.

Recently named “the country’s best Halloween event” for the fifth consecutive year by Amusement Today, Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights raises the bar each year by creating all-new, terrifying experiences that entertain guests from all over the world.

This year, guests will encounter ground-breaking, horrifying experiences:

  • All-new haunted houses featuring movie-quality sets, including four houses based on some of pop culture’s biggest icons: AMC’s hit television series“The Walking Dead;” popular video game and motion picture franchise “Silent Hill;” the bad boys of magic, Penn & Teller; and legendary shock rockerAlice Cooper. Plus, three brand new original houses featuring a daunting European cathedral (Gothic); a bone-chilling apparition-filled house (Dead End); and Universal’s classic monsters as if they have stepped right out of the silver screen (House of Horrors).
  • A completely reinvented street experience that will unleash scareactors in an all-new, terrifying way. Roaming legions of menacing beasts, vampires, prisoners, warriors and more will find you in every corner of the park. There will be no boundaries. There will be no escape.
  • Two outrageous shows, including the return of the popular Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure and brand new this year, The 20 Penny Circus,featuring “magic for people with questionable taste.”

Sneak Peak of the Event Video

Capcom Expanding Dragon’s Dogma

2012/09/21
Jerry Paxton
News

Capcom has sent out a letter detailing some of their plans to update the really cool RPG, Dragon’s Dogma, in the near future. First on their plate is the addition of two new game modes, “Speedrun” will challenge players to clear the game as quickly as possible with in-game equipment awarded for those who clock specific times; while “Hard Mode” turns up the difficulty with enemies that are tougher to defeat, but with the reward of further equipment.

Then, sometime in 2013, the company will be releasing the first major DLC/expansion for the game, which is currently titled Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen. They promise more on that product soon.

(Ed.Note: Give me a PC version, Capcom!)

Screenshots from Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen

SpookyShogun Movies: HOLLOW (2012) Review

2012/09/20
Jerry Paxton
Film Review, Halloween, Movie News, News, Reviews

Get Used to these Expressions

HOLLOW (2012) is a British “found footage” film helmed by first-time Director, Michael Axelgaard. It follows four friends as they go on holiday to an old, abandoned monastery in the countryside. When screening HOLLOW, I was intrigued by the synopsis of the film. Apparently, there is a wicked-looking tree near the old site that has a long history of couples committing suicide by hanging from its branches. However, some believe that there is a darker force at work making the couples end their lives. It all sounds great in concept, but HOLLOW ends up being a very slow, plodding found footage film. This sub-genre of horror film is usually known for its films being slow for the first half hour or forty five minutes in order to set up the story, then all hell breaks loose and we get genuine chills and scares.

HOLLOW bucks the tradition by attempting to focus more on its characters and their interpersonal relationships. In viewing it, I kept expecting scares and freak-factor, but just got met with more and more character interaction. This would not be a bad thing usually, except for the fact that aside from a few scenes, they come off as unintelligent and boring people. We, the audience, quite clearly see the dynamics and twists between the characters unfolding long before the characters themselves do. When these dynamics come to a head, there is barely any payoff. There are only a few good, creepy/scary scenes in the film and, each time, I expected the film’s pace to quicken. After these moments of scares, we are treated to more and more (and more) slow character stuff. This film could have been cut down quite a bit in the editing room and been far more interesting. Give us some of the character stuff and follow it up with the scares – keep things moving, don’t let the story get mired down in itself.

Overall, I have to say “pass” on HOLLOW for some of the other found footage flicks out there (one of which is the subject of our next SpookyShogun Movie Review article). It’s not a bad first attempt at a found footage movie, it just needed some more time baking in editing before being served up to audiences.

[easyreview title=”HOLLOW Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”2″] Our Rating Scores Explained

Official Trailer

Elvira Returning to Knott’s Scary Farm for One Night

2012/09/20
Jerry Paxton
Halloween, News

BUENA PARK, CA – Elvira, the legendary mistress of the dark, will make a rare one- night-only appearance as part of Knott’s Halloween Haunt’s 40th year celebration on Thursday, October 4 from 9 pm to 1:00 am. Guests to the park that night can purchase a photo of the Hollywood Horror movie queen for her signature or even purchase a photo with her at the Knott’s 40th Halloween Haunt Museum.

Elvira’s reign as the “Queen of Halloween” began in 1981 when she became the hostess of the KHJ television show “Movie Macabre,” and went on to be the first horror host to be syndicated nationally.

In 1982 she became the headliner in the Ghoul Time Theatre show at Knott’s Halloween Haunt following in the footsteps of Sinister Seymour and Wolfman Jack. Elvira last appeared at Haunt in 2001.

Since its humble beginnings in 1973, Knott’s Halloween Haunt has grown to be the largest, most creative and most well attended Halloween attraction in the world. This year Knott’s Berry Farm will be transformed into a living nightmare with 13 themed mazes and ride through attractions, 9 live shows, and 4 scare zones featuring hundreds of free-roaming monsters.

Dates for this year’s Halloween Haunt are Sept. 21-22, Sept. 27-30, Oct. 4-7, 11-14, 18-21, 25-28, 30-31, 2012 .Knott’s Berry Farm closes at 5:30 p.m. each evening and reopens at 7 p.m. as Knott’s Scary Farm. The fear continues until 1 a.m. (2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.) For more information and to purchase tickets visit www.knotts.com.

Injustice Release Info, TGS Trailer

2012/09/20
Jerry Paxton
News

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has announced that their upcoming fighter, Injustice: Gods Among Us, will be released in April of 2013. Additionally, the company released a trailer of the game for the Tokyo Game Show.

Trailer

Razer Releases Game Booster Beta

2012/09/20
Jerry Paxton
News

CARLSBAD, Calif.  – Sept. 20, 2012 –Razer™, the world leader in high-performance gaming hardware, today announced the beta release of Razer Game Booster, software that optimizes a user’s system settings, improving game performance and providing the ability to share favorite moments with friends. This software enhances in-game experiences that players of all skill levels—from professional to casual—will appreciate. With the click of a button, gameplay becomes faster, smoother and easier to launch. The program is the latest evolution of the CNET Editor five-star-rated IObit Game Booster software, an immensely popular precursor that has been downloaded over 100 million times.

Razer Game Booster includes the following features:

Game Mode

Focus in on your game by temporarily shutting down unnecessary functions and applications, concentrating all of your resources purely on gaming. Applications shut down prior to gaming are restored when user exits the game.

Calibrate Mode

Simplify the process of setting up your PC’s performance by conveniently providing you with the option to tweak, defrag, or update any outdated drivers.

Share Mode

A bonus feature where you can show off your skills, create tutorials, and more, with the ability to record real-time audio/video and capture screenshots.

Razer did extensive research and testing in partnership with IObit during the development of Razer Game Booster, improving and updating features to bring about the most intuitive and powerful application possible. The software conveniently stores all games under one hub, and provides a unique boosting feature that enhances the functions of a PC for maximum game performance.

“Razer Game Booster takes what Razer is all about and supercharges it,” said Robert “RazerGuy” Krakoff, president of Razer USA. “We are huge fans of IObit’s Game Booster software and we are dedicated to providing gamers with the absolute best experience possible. To that end, we are committed to everything that adds performance and fun to gaming, which includes software and the systems they run on.”

Razer Game Booster is in internal closed beta, but fans have the opportunity to be part of an exclusive team of testers. Sign-up atwww.razerzone.com/gamebooster.

Bohemia CEO Comments on Dev Detainment

2012/09/20
Jerry Paxton
News

Bohemia Interactive CEO Marek Spanel has written a letter to the gaming community regarding the detainment of two of the company’s developers while on a trip to Greece.

From Marek Spanel:

My colleagues and I were shocked when we found out about the detention of our co-workers and friends, Martin Pezlar and Ivan Buchta, on the Greek island of Lemnos. Everybody who knows them realizes that they’re not spies and certainly never intended to threaten Greek national security.

The guys visited the island as tourists. Their trip to Lemnos was personal, organized via travel agent, with the single goal of experiencing the place that had inspired the virtual environments of Arma 3, a computer game that they’ve been working on over the past two years.

Our company has never gathered or collected any restricted information, such as photos or blueprints of military installations of any nation, nor have we ever tasked anybody else to do it on our behalf. We always respect the law and we develop all of our products using publicly available materials only – Arma 3 is no exception.

According to media sources, the Greek ministry of National Defence actually examined our game, after local authorities raised this topic. They assured that the game is fine. Originally planned for release in autumn of this year, it is based upon a fictional future, set in 2035.

The whole incident is a terrible personal tragedy for Ivan, Martin and their families; I believe it to be no more than a deep misunderstanding, one which will be swiftly explained. I’m ready to support the guys and their families in these difficult times as much as I can.

Marek Španěl

Bohemia Interactive a.s.

CEO

LeetUP Tour Postponed

2012/09/19
Jerry Paxton
News

LOS ANGELES – September 19, 2012 – Due to conflicting promotional obligations from added markets for Kevin Pereira’s new Warner Bros. show, “Let’s Ask America,” the inaugural leetUP “Awesomesauce.Live” tour has been postponed. The interactive comedy variety show, which Complex Magazine dubbed “Kevin Pereira’s Coachella for Nerds” was set to descend upon and ravage pop culture fanatics in 10 cities this fall, beginning September 20 in Seattle, with stops in Portland, Austin, Dallas, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Minneapolis, Madison, and Chicago. Pereira, who was to be joined on tour by a series of geeky celebs and interweb stars including Epic Meal Time, VJ Mike Relm and YouTube darling, Grace Helbig, assures fans efforts will be made to bring leetUP to a city near them as scheduling permits.

Said Pereira, “It was not an easy decision to postpone, but it’s the right one. We know our fans deserve nothing short of an over-the-top spectacle and we will deliver when the time is right. We are sorry for any temporarily broken hearts. Email us at iamsad@leetup.com and we will get back to you with digital hugs and gratitude.”

Promoters of the tour remain enthusiastic about leetUP “Awesomesauce.Live!” and are looking at dates to reschedule. “With the great success of the first leetUP in Los Angeles, we fully support and are looking forward to promoting dates in the future,” said Lesley Olenik, Talent Buyer for Goldenvoice.

Ticketholders can get refunds at original point of purchase.

Fans are encouraged to visit www.leetup.com for more information and future dates.

Artorias of the Abyss Coming to Dark Souls on Consoles

2012/09/19
Jerry Paxton
News

SAN JOSE, Calif,. – (September 19, 2012) – NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. today announced that the Artorias of the Abyss™ content that debuted in Dark Souls®: Prepare to Die Edition™ is coming to consoles and will be available for purchase via digital download on both the PlayStation®Network and Xbox LIVE® on October 23, 2012 in North America. In Dark Souls® : Artorias of the Abyss™, acclaimed developersFromSoftware take console gamers into the depths of hell through torturous dungeons, unrelenting boss battles, and the most challenging of gameplay experiences in video games today. The Artorias of the Abyss DLC content will also provide console players with an enhanced online PVP (player vs. player) mode allowing players to assemble battles against one another for all-out fights to the death that console fans have been waiting for.

Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss will include sprawling new maps and environments, new boss characters, enemies, non-player characters (NPCs), an arsenal of new weapons and armor and additional challenging content for unrelenting heroes to face as they return to the deadly world of Lordran. Darkness born in the forests of Oolacile is expanding and engulfing the kingdom and all of its people. Only the strongest players will be able to stop the encroaching darkness. Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss will include an online match-making feature allowing console gamers to showcase their skills against other Dark Souls players around the world.

Intense dungeon crawling and epic enemy encounters are all part of the seamlessly intertwined experience awaiting gamers in Dark Souls: Atorias of the Abyss. This new chapter in the Dark Souls lore allows console gamers to experience gruesome battles, diabolical challenges, powerful weaponry and magic, and gives players the flexibility to customize each character to suit their desired play style. The innovative online component allows gamers to draw from the collective experience of the Dark Souls community as they either assist or maliciously sabotage each other on the journey through the world of Lordran to save the land from darkness. Featuring a massive, seamless world design; Dark Souls: Atorias of the Abyss thrusts players into challenges presented to them and demands that players fully immerse themselves into the deep exploration and adaptable gameplay experience that only Dark Souls can provide.

Dark Souls: Atorias of the Abyss for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft is available for DLC purchase on the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. For more information on the game please visitwww.facebook.com/DarkSouls, www.PrepareToDie.com.