BioWare is developing Command & Conquer: Generals 2. If you recall, the first Generals was set in the real world and depending on realistic units and tactics. Command & Conquer: Generals 2 uses the Frostbite 2 game engine, is being developed by a new BioWare studio, BioWare Victory, and is coming exclusively to the PC in 2013.
“We’re bringing BioWare’s vision for emotionally engaging gameplay and great attention to quality to the strategy genre and the Command & Conquer franchise,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, General Manager of EA’s BioWare label. “I am excited to welcome BioWare Victory to our label. They are a great addition and the team is working hard to make sure Generals 2 truly immerses and engages players into this intense, gritty, modern war experience.”
You may recall back in October when we posted our review of Sinister Pointe’s Haunted Attraction that the event’s creator, Jeff Schiefelbein, mentioned wanting to do haunted events at other times of the year. Well, now is that time! The Sinister Pointe Not-So Holiday Haunted Attraction is running in a limited engagement this weekend (December 9th through 11th). For the holiday season, Sinister Pointe has had a Wintery makeover, complete with snow, Santas, and more!
Brief IR (Nightvision) Clip of the Inner-Lobby
Walking up to the Sinister Pointe building in Brea, CA, the queue line was adorned with red and green lights, Christmas Trees, and even some holiday specials running on projector system. A couple of monsters worked the crowd, some sliding on the concrete to jump up at unsuspecting guests while others relied on jumping about in more straightforward scares. All the monsters outside seemed pumped to get to perform again and their enthusiasm showed. Tickets are reasonably-priced at $15 dollars for a standard pass and $23 dollars for a front-of-the-line, VIP pass. After grabbing our tickets, we went on into the maze hoping for a fun, creepy time.
The maze decor is very well-constructed, with the hillbilly home from the Halloween event all decked out for Christmas time. If you experienced their Halloween attraction, chances are that a lot of the maze will look familiar, even in its Holiday-state. Despite this, the layout of the maze has changed somewhat, ditching the multiple path decision-making and adding a few new and nasty surprises which will creep-out and/or scare new guests as well as veterans of the event.
Character costuming was great, with monsters wearing reds and greens, stripes, and other holiday apparel. There are even some cool costuming homages to a classic holiday flick which I will leave for your discovery (HINT: It has something to do with carrots). On the topic of characters, monsters had much more of an evil, creepy-factor than the scaring they did during the Halloween event. This new attitude of malicious whimsy fits the Holiday season a lot better and it was a good decision to change it up (this is not to say that there are not straight-up scares to be had, but the mood change is definitely a good thing).
One shining aspect of the experience was its soundtrack. Unlike the actual maze itself, which has to be physically-altered in order to change, the audio was completely new and different, featuring creepy carols, voice overs, and more thanks to haunted attraction musician and audio engineer, Jon Autopsy. Autopsy also created the soundtrack for the event’s Halloween incarnation.
Overall, if you are a fan of Halloween or just looking to start a new and twisted Holiday tradition, I can’t recommend Sinister Pointe’s Not So Holiday Haunt enough. Get out there and experience it – it is only here through Sunday night! I hope this weekend does well enough that they extend the event a bit, but we shall see!
Harmonix has announced that a three-pack of Rush (including Fly by Night) and some tracks from Black Veil Brides and Volbeat will be hitting the Rock Band Music Store on December 13, 2011. Checkout the information below on pricing and more.
Available on Xbox 360, Wii™and PlayStation®3 system (December 13th, 2011):
· Rush – “Fly by Night” X
· Rush – “Caravan” O
· Rush – “The Spirit of Radio (Live)” X O
· Black Veil Brides – “Rebel Love Song”
· Volbeat – “A Warrior’s Call”
(These tracks will be available in Europe on PlayStation®3 system December 14th)
The Rush tracks will be available as “Rush Pack 01,” with all songs available for purchase individually on Xbox 360, PlayStation®3 system and Wii™. Tracks marked with “O” feature support for keyboards; tracks marked with “X” will offer Pro Guitar and Pro Bass expansions for $0.99 per song.
Price:
$5.49 USD, £2.49 UK, €3.99 EU (440 Microsoft Points, 550 Wii Points™) for the “Rush Pack 01” pack.
$1.99 USD, £.99 UK, €1.49 EU (160 Microsoft Points) per song for the Rush tracks “Fly by Night,” “Caravan,” and “The Spirit of Radio (Live)”
$2.00 USD (200 Wii Points™) per song for the Rush tracks “Fly by Night,” “Caravan,” and “The Spirit of Radio (Live)”
$0.99 USD (100 Wii Points™/80 Microsoft Points), £0.59 UK, €0.79 EU per song for Black Veil Brides’ “Rebel Love Song” and Volbeat’s “A Warrior’s Call”
$0.99 USD (100 Wii Points™/80 Microsoft Points), £0.59 UK, €0.79 EU per song for eligible Pro Guitar/Pro Bass upgrade
** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change. **
*Available on-disc, via download and disc export. Internet connection and export key purchase required. Wii™ Shop Channel has more than 1,500 song tracks available for purchase on the Rock Band platform on-disc, via song import, and download. Not applicable to Nintendo DS™.
Aksys Games has announced that the strategy RPG, Record of Agarest War 2, will be hitting North American and European shores in Summer of 2012 – exclusively on the PlayStation 3 platform.
Story:
One day, the world was enveloped by a mysterious blinding light. The destruction it caused was terrible, even as the light itself was sublime in its beauty, and it made those who witnessed the awesome display think of the unrestrained rage and fury of the divine.
The central continent, from where the light is believed to have originated from, went silent, while at the same time demons began to spread throughout the world like a plague. Amongst the survivors of the catastrophe, that fateful day became known as the “Day of Light.”
Sometime after the events of the Day of Light, a young man by the name of Weiss, who had lost all memory of himself, encounters an enigmatic woman named Eva, who introduces herself as an Agent of the Divine. It is from her that Weiss learns that he has committed the grievous sin of deicide, and that in order for him to atone for his crime he is to become the “Vessel” in which the power of the divinity he had slaughtered will be stored. For it will be that power that will be used to resurrect the one whose life he stole.
For those who betray the divine will pay for their sins in the space which separates salvation and damnation, as will their progeny…
Features:
Revamped Battle System: Unlike the first two games of the series, Agarest 2 battles are fought with an engaging active grid-based battle system.
HD graphics: Enjoy your favorite characters, environments and CGs in high-definition!
Mini-games: Engage in PlayStation®Move compatible Bathtub, Shiatsu, and Massage mini-games.
New Agarest Universe: Roam freely in the newly designed world of Agarest
Thankfully, someone over at HP has their head on straight and has seen the potential of Palm’s WebOS operating system. HP announced today that WebOS would be released as an open source package to further its capabilities. The company did not announce that they would be producing more WebOS-enabled devices but, one would think that if the open source community gets the OS to a place the company likes, they might.
“webOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable,” said Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer. “By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices.”
You may remember Michael Winslow as the human sound effects machine from the Police Academy film series. Recently, he starred in Phyken Media’s upcoming iOS title, Wizard Ops, which is available now. In the game he provides, what else, its sound effects! Enjoy!
Kalypso Media has released a new trailer for their upcoming Jagged Alliance: Back in Action, which is due out in North America in February 2012 on Windows PCs.
Smith & Tinker and Personae Studios have announced that they are bringing the beloved Mechwarrior franchise to the iOS platform with Mechwarrior: Tactical Command. The game is set for release sometime next year and will allow players to select over 30 mech options and engage enemies in RTT gameplay (“Real Time Tactics”).
“Maintaining the discipline of secrecy has been monumental,” states Personae Studios’ Director, Edmund Koh. “But we’ve finally come to the point where we are comfortable with the quality of our offering, which is keeping with the expectations of our fan base for the pedigree of this franchise. The game will now be available on a mobile platform – this is history in the making for the [MechWarrior] franchise.”
Digital Reality Publishing has announced that the upcoming shoot ’em up title, Sine Mora, is now an official Xbox LIVE Arcade exclusive title. The game’s release date has yet to be announced.
About Sine Mora
Co-developed by Grasshopper Manufacture Inc. (Japan) and Digital Reality (Hungary) and published by Microsoft Studios, Sine Mora is diesel-punk shoot ’em up that provides a unique take on the genre, where time is the ultimate factor. Mixing classic shooter sensibilities with next-gen presentation, Sine Mora is a gorgeous shmup that appeals to both hardcore and casual gamers alike. The engrossing Story Mode weaves an over-the-top tale, while the Arcade Mode provides deep, satisfying gameplay to challenge fans of the genre. Sine Mora features over 60 combinations of planes, characters and time manipulation devices to complete every beautifully-crafted stage with scaling difficulty. All of this is set to an epic score of soaring heights, composed by Akira Yamaoka, acclaimed for his works on the Shadows of the Damned and Silent Hill series.
Futuremark has released a new trailer for their upcoming tower defense title, Unstoppable Gorg.
Jaakko Haapasalo who plays the role of Radiant Beem, said, “It’s the difference between the Star Wars films that people love, with their special effects created with models, and the unpopular prequels with their heavy-handed CGI. With Unstoppable Gorg, we wanted to embrace the film techniques used in the golden age of sci-fi to create an authentic visual style that has never been seen in a game before.”
