Universal Studios Hollywood celebrates the most wonderful time of the year with the return of yuletide favorites and family traditions, “Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” and “Grinchmas,” beginning Friday, November 26 and running daily through Sunday, January 2, 2022. The holiday festivities are included in the price of admission.
Families will rejoice at the arrival of “Christmas in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” where the quaint wizarding village of Hogsmeade™ is transformed to reflect the holiday spirit featuring merry décor and jolly ambiance. Guests can take delight in special holiday a cappella performances from the Hogwarts Frog Choir, stroll through the village shops while sipping a delicious Hot Butterbeer™ and enjoy savory festive fare at the Three Broomsticks™.
Beginning at dusk each night, “The Magic of Christmas at Hogwarts™ Castle” dazzles with stunning imagery and animation as the impressive light projection show illuminates Hogwarts™ School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, bringing the iconic Hogwarts™ castle to life and infusing the land with the sounds of an arrangement of music from the Harry Potter film series.
Guests can commemorate their Christmas visit to Hogsmeade™ Village with a variety of exclusive keepsake items available for purchase, including personalized ornaments, garland, scarves and stockings.
The jolly “Grinchmas” Who-lebration returns in festive fashion as holiday park-goers will be rockin’ around the topsy-turvy 65 foot-tall “Grinchmas” tree in Universal Plaza, adorned with hundreds of ornaments and thousands of LED lights. A dazzling tree lighting ceremony accompanied by a snowfall flurry will take place every evening, bringing good tidings and season’s greetings as guests celebrate with The Grinch, his faithful dog Max and the Who-ville Whos, who will be performing on select nights. A selection of themed Who-tacular sweet treats, including hot cocoa will be available for purchase.
In addition to the theme park, spirited holiday décor will permeate Universal CityWalk. Guests to the outdoor entertainment destination will be enchanted by the spectacular 40-foot tall Christmas tree, featuring more than 200,000 LED lights. The ever popular Voodoo Doughnut will entice guests with a variety of festive designs and flavors to celebrate the season.
More information is available at www.UniversalStudiosHollywood.com. Like Universal Studios Hollywood on Facebook and follow @UniStudios on Instagram and Twitter.
Today, Techland launches the highly anticipated Dying Light: Platinum Edition on the Nintendo Switch. Now, the most content-packed and ultimate edition of Techland’s successful zombie survival game is finally available on-the-go.
Watch the Dying Light: Platinum Edition Launch Trailer:
Dying Light: Platinum Edition comes to Nintendo Switch with a range of brand new features prepared especially for the platform, such as HD Rumble support, touchscreen support, gyro aiming, local and online co-op, and motion controls. Dying Light: Platinum Edition includes over a hundred hours of single-player gameplay, and there’s even more unforgettable content when you play and explore the world with friends in co-op mode.
Dying Light: The Following – a huge expansion complete with a new story, vast original map, and a customizable buggy to drive.
Dying Light: The Bozak Horde – a challenging game mode with its own side story.
Cuisine & Cargo – two additional quarantine zones.
Ultimate Survivor Bundle – a set of exclusive weapons and outfits.
Hellraid – a new game mode that takes place in a dark fantasy setting.
A large collection of skins and weapons that will make slaughtering zombies even more fun.
Both the retail and digital availability of the game may vary by region. Please check our website to see if Dying Light: Platinum Edition for Nintendo Switch is available in your region, and get ready to enjoy the ultimate open-world zombie game wherever you are.
This announcement has a lot to unpack. Let’s start with the first announcement. We are excited to announce Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition, an action-adventure platformer will be available by the end of November on all Xbox and PlayStation consoles and Epic Games Store. As the name states, it is enhanced and you will experience improved gameplay mechanics and motion code, as well as all previously released updates.
We added two new platforms, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One to the already existing platforms (PlayStation®4, PlayStation®5, and Epic Games Store). The digital version of Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition will cost $39.99. For Xbox fans who love physical versions, we have opened pre-orders for the Day One Edition ($49.99) and the Collector Edition ($149.99).
What’s That About Pre-Orders?
The Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One Collector Edition and Day One Edition physical versions of Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition will be available for pre-order beginning today. The Collector’s Edition comes with an exclusive embossed metal case, 9” Abe figurine, 160-page art book, three art prints, a mining company keychain, tattoo and tribal stickers. The Day One Edition comes with an exclusive embossed metal case. Pre-order either version, or both, at participating retailers and you will also get access to the game’s Original Soundtrack and a Digital Artbook.
For more information, please follow us at @OddworldInc, @OfficialOddworld, TikTok, @oddworldinc, YouTube or sign up for our newsletter at http://www.oddworld.com/.
The sixth and final season of The Expanse picks up with the solar system at war, as Marco Inaros and his Free Navy continue to launch devastating asteroid attacks on Earth and Mars. As the tensions of war and shared loss threaten to pull the crew of the Rocinante apart, Chrisjen Avasarala makes a bold move and sends former Martian Marine Bobbie Draper on a secret mission that could turn the tide of the conflict. Meanwhile, in the Belt, Drummer and what’s left of her family are on the run after betraying Marco. And on a distant planet beyond the Rings, a new power begins to rise.
Series stars Steven Strait, Dominique Tipper, Wes Chatham, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Cara Gee, Frankie Adams, Keon Alexander, Nadine Nicole, and Jasai Chase Owens reunite for the most epic season yet.
Razer today announced the launch of two new entries into its award-winning family of broadcaster microphones, the Seiren V2 Pro and Seiren V2 X. The new Seiren V2 family of products are bound to become the essential centerpiece of any streamer’s setup, offering premium feature sets within dynamic and condenser microphones to deliver true to life, natural audio capture.
The Seiren V2 Pro offers best-in-class rich, powerful vocals allowing streamers to showcase depth and timber in their voices, with radio-DJ tonal quality. High pass filters and analog gain limiters make sure that the microphone only captures what you want it to, naturally filtering out accidental bumps and background noises. The Seiren V2 Pro is a must-have for any streamer or digital entertainer looking to up their audio quality and showmanship. Some of the core features of the Seiren V2 Pro include:
Dynamic Microphone, to Enable Rich, Powerful Vocal Capture
20 Hz Frequency Response to Capture Full Range of Audio
Analog Gain Limiter to Prevent Voice Distortion
Superior Dynamic Range and Precision with 24 Bit Rate
The Seiren V2 X has improved on the award-winning formula of Razer’s iconic condenser microphone, the Seiren X. The crisp and clear vocals delivered by the Seiren V2 X are the perfect weapon in any budding streamer’s arsenal. Featuring supercardioid pickup patterns, the Seiren V2 X can easily isolate the streamer’s voice from the background noise, delivering only what the audience wants to hear. Some of the core features of the Seiren V2 X include:
25mm Condenser Microphone for Natural Vocal Quality
Supercardioid Pickup Pattern for Greater Voice Isolation
Analog Gain Limiter to Prevent Voice Distortion
Superior Dynamic Range and Precision with 24 Bit Rate
Both the Seiren V2 Pro and Seiren V2 X have near limitless options of enhanced customization and control through direct integration with audio mixing software within Razer Synapse. Streamers can enjoy unparalleled independently adjustable control of input/output levels of multiple audio sources, in order to fully adjust the sound delivered to their audience verses the audio they hear while streaming.
For more information on the Seiren V2 Pro, please see here.
For more information on the Seiren V2 X, please see here.
If you enjoyed Green Hell on PC and consoles – a game that has already sold over 2.5 million copies -, you will be amazed at what Green Hell VR has in store for you! Coming to Steam VR and Quest in 2022, Green Hell VR is a survival simulation virtual reality game set in the beautiful Amazon rainforest that follows a touching story rooted in modern reality. The game’s Steam page is now open!
Using ingenious gameplay mechanics and advanced VR object physics such as crafting items with your hands, manipulating tree sticks as you would in real life, tossing them to the ground to make a fire, and cook your meal. Green Hell VR will bring you the most realistic experience of what it’s like to survive in the jungle. You can go fishing and hunting with your bow, scavenging for healing plants and water, crafting DIY tools using the ancestral knowledge of the indigenous tribes to protect yourself from the environment. Swinging your axe across the thick forest, you will set out to explore astonishing environments from pristine waterfalls and rivers to intricate cave systems as you find clues to dig up the truth around how you ended up there.
You are Jake Higgins, a famous anthropologist, who is thrown deep into the emerald and impenetrable Amazonian rain forest. The green hell. Surrounded by predators with only your trusty smartwatch, backpack, and the survival guide you grabbed just before leaving home, you will follow the familiar voice of a loved one through this endless and inhospitable jungle, unveiling bit by bit how you got there in the first place. What you discover will be worse than what you fought so hard against to survive.
Features in Green Hell VR
Crafting in VR – an even more immersive experience that requires you to assemble the right items combining them to make tools, weapons, bandages, and more
Building – building your makeshift camps with found sticks and plant leaves to construct yourself a safe place to spend the night
Healing – realistic body inspection will make you feel closer to your character as you inspect your limbs, bandage wounds, and extract parasites
Food sources – you can hunt your dinner down, or you can choose not to kill animals. There are tasty and nutritious fruits like coconuts or bananas, a lot of unknown mushrooms, and plenty of plants, bulbs, and nuts to discover
The JUST BEYOND ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK was released today via Hollywood Records and is now available on all digital platforms. The original score was composed and produced by acclaimed, two-time Emmy Award-winning composer, Carlos Rafael Rivera (“The Queen’s Gambit,” “Hacks,” “A Walk Among The Tombstones”) who deftly captures the essence of each storyline in the eight-episode series and had this to say about the project, “Scoring a Disney Project has been a lifelong dream, not only in getting to work with the likes of Seth Grahame-Smith and Marc Webb, but being part of the musical story telling that makes us all feel that Disney magic!” JUST BEYOND is now available to stream on Disney+.
ABOUT JUST BEYOND
Inspired by the writings of R.L. Stine, “Just Beyond” is an eight-episode anthology series that tells astonishing and thought-provoking stories of a reality just beyond the one we know. Each episode introduces viewers to a new cast of characters who must go on a surprising journey of self-discovery in a supernatural world of witches, aliens, ghosts and parallel universes.
Seth Grahame-Smith is writer and showrunner of “Just Beyond.” The series, based on the BOOM! Studios graphic novels by R.L. Stine, is executive produced by Grahame-Smith, David Katzenberg and Aaron Schmidt via KatzSmith Productions. David Walpert and Marc Webb also serve as executive producers alongside Ross Richie, Stephen Christy and Mark Ambrose of BOOM!. Stine is attached as co-executive producer. “Just Beyond” is produced by 20th Television, a part of Disney Television Studios.
CARLOS RAFAEL RIVERA is an Emmy and SCL winning composer, whose career has spanned several genres of the music industry. Having scored one of the most viewed NETFLIX Limited Series of all time, THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, and helmed by writer/director Scott Frank. Carlos won a Primetime Emmy Award for THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT and was nominated for World Soundtrack Awards’ TV Composer of the Year, while having received an SCL (Society of Composers and Lyricists), a Hollywood Music in Media (HMMA), and two International Film Critics Association (IFMCA) Awards.
His work for Film and TV includes scores for Netflix’ GODLESS, for which he also received a Primetime Emmy, Universal Pictures’ A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES, starring Liam Neeson, the hit TV show and 15-time EMMY nominated show HACKS for HBO Max, starring Jean Smart, as well as JUST BEYOND for DISNEY +, and LA REINA DEL SUR 3 for TELEMUNDO.
The Sound BlasterX Katana soundbar was one nice piece of kit for several years, bringing good quality, loud sound to dorm rooms, home offices, and game rooms the world over. Recently, Creative Labs released the next iteration of this low-cost, high-power soundbar, the Sound Blaster Katana V2. Notice they have dropped the gamer-focused “Sound BlasterX” moniker from its name, signaling that the Katana V2 isn’t just for gaming – its potential as a home theater soundbar as well as soundbar to play music from your computer or smartphone now fully-realized. At $329.99, a higher price point than its predecessor, will the Sound Blaster Katana V2 live up to its creator’s intentions as a multi-use soundbar? Read on to find out!
The Creative Labs Sound Blaster Katana V2 has a very similar form factor to its predecessor, with much less taper on its front edge on each side. It still has a gunmetal and black color scheme as well as its completely eye-catching RGB lighting display along the bottom perimeter of the soundbar. As someone who has used RGB-enabled peripherals for a long time, I was blown away by how bright and vibrant the Katana V2’s RGB LEDs were – it’s simply stunning. The information display which was located on the upper-side of the Sound BlasterX Katana now graces the Katana V2’s front size – a much more logical choice given its new focus and abilities. The Sound BlasterX Katana was mainly marketed for computer and console gamers in smaller room spaces. In those situations, you would probably have your head above the soundbar and could easily look down to see its display. With the move to being able to bring home theater, console, and PC gaming sound to life, moving the display to the front is wise as the soundbar will probably be farther away from the listener. The included remote control does an excellent job at controlling the soundbar, and even allows for adjusting the RGB lighting.
The Sound Blaster Katana V2 features a number of input options. On the back of the Katana V2 soundbar, you’ll find a USB-C port to connect a cable to your PC, an auxiliary 3.5mm jack, an optical cable input, Super X-Fi USB dongle port, and an HDMI ARC port. All that, in addition to a Bluetooth 5.0 connection makes the Katana V2 able to get sound from just about any source. In my setup, I first tried connecting the Sound Blaster Katana V2 to both my computer, my smartphone, and my Xbox One game console. Something interesting about the Katana V2 is that it acts as its own sound card and, when plugged into your computer, your machine will just use it as its sound output device. Under the hood, the Katana V2 features two 63mm mid tweeters, two 19mm tweeters, and one 165mm driver in the subwoofer unit. This is different than the Sound BlasterX Katana which had 2 63mm mid tweeters, two 34mm tweeters, and one 133mm drive in the subwoofer unit. The smaller low end tweeters on the Katana V2 is offset by its higher power output, which is rated at up to 126W RMS (252W Peak). This is a huge upgrade over the Sound BlasterX Katana’s up to 75W RMS (150W Peak) rating – and, the upgrade is highly noticeable. I am sure I brought a variety of noise complaints on myself as I blasted games from my Steam library across my neighborhood.
Sound Blaster has added some nifty features to the Katana V2, such as Super X-Fi, SXFI Battle Mode, Scout Mode, and the Sound Blaster Acoustic Engine – although, it should be noted that both SXFI Battle Mode and Scout Mode, and Super X-Fi are all designed for headset usage. Battle and Scout modes try to enhance the more informative noises that you may find in your favorite FPS game – noises like footsteps, reloading, etc. It’s meant to give the player an edge over their opponents and actually does work to varying degrees of success.
Super X-Fi is a headphone technology which is designed to give the listener the optimized audio holography experience. It is setup by downloading the Super X-Fi app on your smartphone and creating an account. The user then takes a picture of their ears and head to map a custom virtual sound profile. After connecting the app to the Katana V2, you are all set. Unfortunately, the setup usage of Super X-Fi is not all that user-friendly, and it is clunky to move around your music library through the Super X-Fi app. Additionally, the instructions tell the user to download the separate Creative Command App to have more direct control over the Katana V2. Again, there is a level of clumsy here which, while not impossible, makes for a less than user-friendly experience. Despite the clumsiness, it is functional, and you can control various aspects of the soundbar with the app. An additional wish for the Katana V3 is that it wasn’t so close to the surface it sets on. It doesn’t rely on any ground-effect sound, so it can afford to have some slightly taller rubber feet in the box. It’s so low to the desk now that, if you have a large monitor base it might touch against it and cause some rattling. I added some silicone feet from amazon on mine and it was perfect.
The second big test I had for the Katana V2 was using it as a home theater soundbar. So, I connected it to my Xbox One via the optical input. I loaded up a Blu-ray disc and began to see how this small soundbar would work in a moderately sized TV room. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it worked VERY well! It has built-in DOLBY audio decoding through the optical and HDMI ARC ports and the soundscape created by the Katana V2 is great. Of course, it’s not going to be as good as a much more expensive DOLBY Atmos unit or discrete surround sound system, but it’s pretty great. Coupled with the fact that both the soundbar and subwoofer units are very small and it is a veritable powerhouse of audio goodness.
Overall, the Sound Blaster Katana V2 soundbar is an excellent choice whether you need to bring your favorite computer game audio to life in your office or you want to push out some serious home theater sound from your Blu-ray player or gaming console. Its variety of uses and sound quality are well worth its $330 Dollar price point. The Katana V2 is available now.
Detailed during the fourth Panel From Hell live show, Baldur’s Gate 3’s sixth and largest major patch — Forging the Arcane — introduces a new playable Sorcerer class, as well as a mysterious, explorable new region known as Grymforge. Grymforge continues the player’s journey past the previous point where early access ended, progressing the story a little further, with new enemies to take on, and new quests and characters to meet. Though Grymforge offers new challenges, it’s across the entire early access experience that Baldur’s Gate 3 receives gameplay, visual, and content updates.
Along with new content, this update comes with a huge graphical upgrade, lethal new weapon actions, and hours of fresh content to explore. Forging the Arcane is available to play immediately following the live show today, October 14 — so long as the office doesn’t flood (again).
New Class: The Sorcerer
Sorcerers are the latest playable class to join Baldur’s Gate 3, and these powerful magic-wielders are a force to be reckoned with. Harnessing powers from within, the Sorcerer class adds new spells to the game in addition to their signature ability, Metamagic.
Metamagic allows you to adapt your spells in the heat of combat. With it, you can increase a spell’s range, duration, or hit two enemies simultaneously, among other powerful variations — making you a powerful and unpredictable presence in battle. Metamagic can be used alongside other casters for devastating effects, and it’s great fun in online co-op multiplayer!
Sorcerers feature two subclasses, each with their own strengths, abilities and visual design: Wild Magic and Draconic Bloodline.
Wild Magic: Wild Magic Sorcerers embrace chaos and chance, using their Tides of Chaos ability to manipulate the forces of fate. This ability allows them to gain advantage on attack rolls, ability checks, or saving throws, boosting their powers during combat. In turn, a Wild Magic Sorcerer can find themselves on the receiving end of a potential random effect. Examples include putting everyone around you on fire, gaining teleport as a bonus action or summoning a hostile mephit!
Draconic Bloodline: Draconic Bloodline Sorcerers possess magical abilities passed down through their dragon ancestry. Their faces etched with colored scales, they wield powers that correspond to the dragon they descend from. A Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer whose blood has mingled with a Red Dragon will gain additional benefits for fire spells, while dragon ancestors of other color-types can offer abilities relating to Acid, Lightning, Cold, and Poison. Additionally, this subclass receives an extra hit point with every level gained, making them powerful adversaries.
With a magic class comes new spells, including:
Horrific Visage: A new Tadpole Action that makes your enemy bleed and allows the Sorcerer to leech a Sorcery Point off of them.
Enlarge/Reduce: This new spell alters a character’s size, affecting their physical stats in the process.
Chromatic Orb: A powerful new single-target nuke that allows Sorcerers to hurl a sphere of energy at their foes.
Cloud of Daggers: This spell protects the caster, surrounding them in a cloud of flying daggers.
Crown of Madness: As the name suggests, this spell sends an enemy mad, and can cause them to attack their nearby allies.
Weapon Actions
Forging the Arcane isn’t just for magic wielders — this update also improves melee and ranged combat. If you are proficient in a weapon, you can now gain up to three lethal signature moves. Smash an enemy’s chest and reduce their actions with the new Heartstopper move, target an enemy’s hands with a non-lethal Weakening Strike attack, or hit an enemy with all your might and daze them with a Concussive Smash.
These changes and additions to weapon actions are designed to give melee players more diversity and strategic agency, emulating the imagination of the tabletop game and bringing melee classes in line with how they’d dream up actions while playing D&D. For the full list of weapon actions, please refer to the patch notes.
New Location to Explore: Grymforge
Baldur’s Gate 3 has grown in size with the addition of a new region: Grymforge.
Grymforge is an ancient Sharran fortress accessible through the Underdark, where rivers of lava and fire illuminate its darkened halls and chambers. Featuring new questlines, cinematics, complex combat encounters, and characters who we can’t wait for fans to discover, Grymforge promises hours of new content for you to explore and uncover.
Grymforge. A name all but forgotten, but for those taught to fear it. This ancient fortress lurks where the shadows of the Underdark grow bleakest, and where the rivers of magma run hottest. The past and present collide within these sinister corridors, exposing old secrets to new masters, and making harsh demands on all who dare journey there.
Gather your party and cross the Ebonlake to Grymforge. Face new challengers and new choices, each more intriguing than the last. But come prepared: in halls and chambers dark as these, you can’t trust just anyone. You’ve reached the crossroads, adventurer. Which path will you take?
Huge Graphical Upgrade
Baldur’s Gate 3 has received a graphical overhaul taking its visuals to the next level. In this update, we have made substantial improvements to Faerun’s visual depth, implementing directional and volumetric lighting, applying fresh colour grading throughout, introducing new particle effect techniques, as well as real-time clouds, atmospheric scattering, volumetric fog, and other visual upgrades that make the game look better than ever before.
For a little look at how this affects the look and feel of the game, check out the new trailer focusing on Grymforge as well as the new class, the Sorcerer, below:
With patch notes nearing 11 pages in length, the updates and improvements we’ve highlighted here only scratch the surface of what is available in Patch 6. From new orchestral music to Turkish language accessibility, we haven’t even mentioned the equippable combat-salami.
There are a great many visual and cinematic tweaks and changes addressed in the patch notes, but one other highlight includes cosmetic damage and dirt, based on a character’s HP. This ranges from sweat, dirt, bruises and blood, depending on how much you’re failing at being a hero.
If you missed it, be sure to watch the Panel From Hell 4 VOD for all the latest news on Forging the Arcane, and check out the community update that goes into greater detail about all its features and improvements.
About Larian Studios
Larian Studios is an independent RPG developer founded in 1996 in Ghent, Belgium. Over 300 people work between the seven worldwide studios in Ghent, St Petersburg, Quebec, Dublin, Guildford, Malaysia and Barcelona. Larian is best known for the Divinity universe, which they introduced to the world with Divine Divinity in 2002. In 2014, Larian launched Divinity: Original Sin, a classic CRPG that won over 150 awards and nominations. The company released its critically acclaimed sequel, Divinity: Original Sin 2, on Sept. 14, 2017, followed by the Definitive Edition in August 2018 for PlayStation®4 and Xbox One to a 93 Metacritic rating. The Nintendo Switch version released in September 2019 featuring cross-save progression between Nintendo Switch and Steam. Divinity: Original Sin 2 won a BAFTA for Best Multiplayer Game. In October 2020, Larian Studios released the early access version of Baldur’s Gate 3.
Dying Light’s dark-fantasy Hellraid DLC expands with a free new content drop that adds a new map section and a challenging quest unlocking a brand-new magic skill. Players can download this update across all platforms now.
Players will venture into a new map section in The Mysterious Portal, embarking on a difficult quest to claim a new weapon and skill: magic! To obtain this magical reward, players must complete the quest in one single run, as the quest will be reset if they lose all their lives. Upon completing the quest, players will receive the Fire Wand, a magical weapon that shoots fireballs and sets enemies on fire, alongside the Wand Mastery skill.
Three new potions aid players on their quest: the Potion of Endurance, the Potion of Power, and the Potion of Speed, which reduce enemy damage, increase melee damage by up to 100%, and double movement speed, respectively.
Furthermore, the content update adds a new location, the Armory, which will be available only to players who have completed the Imprisonment side quest. This area can be used to display the Crane’s weapons, which players can unlock as they progress through Hellraid ranks.
Additionally, Techland released a patch for the Be The Zombie mode. Patch notes are available here.
Dying Light: Hellraid is an entirely new game mode for Dying Light based on Techland’s currently-on-hold first-person fantasy slasher Hellraid. It is available to purchase now for PC and consoles as a discrete DLC or as part of Dying Light: Platinum Edition, which includes all four major DLCs and seventeen skin bundles for the award-winning, critically acclaimed game.
