CULVER CITY, Calif., July 2, 2018 – Beginning today, Alexa customers and their families can enjoy summer bedtime stories voiced by their favorite Hotel Transylvania actors including Andy Samberg (Johnny), Steve Buscemi (Wayne the werewolf), Keegan-Michael Key (Murray the mummy), Fran Drescher (Eunice), and Asher Blinkoff (Dennis).
A new story, nursery rhyme, or joke read by the popular cast will be available every day through Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation’s nationwide release on July 13. Customers can access this new skill by simply saying, “Alexa, open Hotel Transylvania.”
In addition to bedtime stories, customers can also set up a custom Hotel Transylvania alarm for Alexa through the Amazon Alexa app.
Commenting on the announcement, Elias Plishner, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Digital Marketing, Sony Pictures Entertainment, said, “The Hotel Transylvania characters have won over young audiences and their families for years. We love to utilize new technologies like voice recognition to engage our young fans with the characters they love and spark their imaginations in unique ways. This Alexa skill will surprise, entertain, and enhance family time throughout the summer season.”
Audiences can catch the beloved monster family’s young vampire, Dennis, putting the Alexa skill into action with a custom video, at
ATLANTA – June 29, 2018 – Adult Swim Games and independent developer Rekim have released a new gameplay trailer for Pool Panic, this time showing off a bit more about what it’s like to play the World’s Least Realistic Pool Simulator. Pool Panic is a simple game – just aim and shoot. The real challenge is aiming and shooting through more than 100 levels of madcap shenanigans like soccer, mini-golf, winter sports, summer sports, dive bars, night clubs, birthday cakes, ghosts, zombies, lollipop forests and almost anything else you can imagine (and even some you never would’ve imagined!).
Pool Panic is a sprawling adventure game full of weird things to do with pool balls. Become a mischievous cue ball in a giant game of pool, exploring a colorful cartoon overworld full of cities, carnivals, jungles, deserts and more. Knock around a peculiar cast of billiard balls, solve puzzles, and take down bosses with a unique variety of fun mechanics and strategies.
Play through the entire journey on your own, or challenge friends to a ridiculous pool party in local multiplayer for two to four players.
Pool Panic is expected to launch on Nintendo Switch™ through the Nintendo eShop and Windows PC via Steam on July 19, 2018. This game is rated E10+ (Everyone 10+) by the ESRB. For more information, visit http://www.poolpanic.com.
June 29, 2018 – We are pleased to announce that Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is now available worldwide on Nintendo Switch. Spearheaded by veteran studio Panic Button with guidance from MachineGames, players can now experience the complete, uncensored, award-winning story and signature gameplay whenever and wherever they want.
Watch the official launch trailer here:
In Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, players take on the role of BJ Blazkowicz to experience an action-packed story, brought to life by extraordinary characters. Reunite with friends and fellow freedom fighters as they take on the evil Frau Engel and her Nazi army. With the Nintendo Switch, players can wage the second American Revolution at home or on the go. Swiftly and efficiently eliminate the Nazi threat with full motion aiming support for Joy-Con and Pro Controllers in the perfect blend of immersion and accuracy.
Winner of multiple awards, including Video Game Awards’ ‘Best Action Game of 2017’, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is rated M for mature by the ESRB and is priced at $59.99 for Nintendo Switch. For more information, visit https://wolfenstein.bethesda.net/.
SAN FRANCISCO — June 29, 2018 — Today, Ubisoft® announced that The Crew® 2, an action-packed motorsports game that unites the thrilling racing elements on land, air and sea, is now available worldwide on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, the Xbox One family of devices including the Xbox One X and Windows PC. The Crew 2 will support 4K display and provide enhanced graphics on both PS4 Pro and Xbox One X platforms. The game is rated T for Teen and is available for a suggested retail price of $59.99.
Developed by Ubisoft Ivory Tower,* a studio based in Lyon, France, The Crew 2 will let players experience the thrill of the American motorsports spirit inside a fully redesigned USA. The game’s playground pushes physical boundaries to let driving and open world fans test their skills in nonstop competition and exploration. From coast to coast, drivers will explore America and compete to become the greatest motorsports champion by dominating the motorsports scene on land, on the water and in the air, and by collecting a wide variety of exotic and offroad cars, bikes, boats and planes. They will find challenges and inspiration among four different motorsports families: street racing, off-road, pro-racing and freestyle, and will be given a broad set of options among a wide selection of vehicle types.
“The Crew2 returns this year letting players revel in the American driving experience,” said Ahmed Boukhelifa, managing director of Ubisoft Ivory Tower. “In this iteration, we’ve enhanced the experience in all ways possible, allowing players to realize their potential in an exhilarating open world, through an unprecedented variety of challenges, wide exploration, intense competition, races and crazy stunts.”
Adding to the excitement, players have the ability to switch between controlling air, land and sea vehicles instantly depending on the terrain with the game’s Fast-Fav feature. The Crew 2 is playable with up to three friends on the same platform in four-player co-op, or in single-player. The launch of The Crew 2 comes after an open beta period where players were introduced to the first two levels of progression of the game.
The launch is only the beginning of the journey for all motorsports addicts, as the development team is committed to introduce ample new content through regular updates in the months ahead, including new disciplines, events, vehicles and more. For more information on The Crew 2 post-launch plans, please visit: https://news.ubisoft.com/article/the-crew-2-season-pass-and-free-post-launch-content-revealed
June 29, 2018 – truTV is headed to San Diego! The network today announced that it will be bringing comedic anthology series Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits & Monstersto San Diego Comic-Con for its first-ever official panel on Thursday, July 19 at 2:15pm in Ballroom 20.
Crawl inside the twisted mind of writer-director Bobcat Goldthwait in this panel discussion and exclusive sneak peek of the genre-hopping truTV anthology series. Joined by guest stars Jake Hurwitz, Amir Blumenfeld and Tara Lynne Barr, the acclaimed comedian breaks down the inspirations behind his series’ imaginative, satirical tales and the familiar film tropes which inspired them.
Bobcat Goldthwait’s Misfits & Monsters premieres Wednesday, July 11 at 10pm ET/PT on truTV. Check out the series trailer here:
LONDON – June 28, 2018–It’s too late to run, it’s too late to hide! The alien invasion we’ve all been dreading has finally landed. and it comes in the shape of a 10-foot-tall, 1,900-pound junk robot that can be found at a gaming convention near you. “The Screamer” is one of the deadliest enemies in the upcoming motorbike combat racer Steel Rats, and this new trailer reveals how the ingenious Ride Again Workshop in Poland brought this metal monstrosity to life as a playable demo station and junk-infused work of art.
Wreck and ride in Steel Rats, an upcoming 2.5D arcade action title that fuses motorbike combat with death-defying stunt racing gameplay. This heroic biker gang is tasked with stopping an invading horde of alien Junkbots, and now one of the deadliest enemies from the game has been made into a towering robot in real life, which also happens to be one of the most immersive ways to play the actual game.
Built over 90 days from 500 pieces of steel, the giant structure houses five LCD monitors that can be used to play the actual game and has already been on display at EGX Rezzed in London, Pixel Heaven in Poland, and soon at gamescom this August in Cologne, Germany.
Steel Rats is coming to PlayStation® 4, Xbox One and PC later this year and is already lighting up the 2018 awards scene with eight nominations and one win for “Best Gameplay” at the Game Connection Awards, a nomination for “Best Indie Game” at the Digital Dragons Indie Showcase, and winner of “Best Gameplay” at Pixel Heaven in Poland earlier this month.
You can check out the new behind-the-scenes, making-of trailer here: https://youtu.be/WZtAVSPnE3g
June 28, 2018 – The official Tour de France 2018 video games are available today in retail stores and for download on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Play as the greatest champions and live an exciting Tour de France 2018 on consoles, or step into the shoes of a sports manager on PC to lead your favorite pro team to victory. Today, discover the Launch Trailer of the official Tour de France video games, and get ready for a new cycling season!
In Tour de France 2018 on consoles, play as the greatest champions and hit the official track of Le Tour 2018! Dive into the intensity of this legendary race where you’ll need to attack, follow the best trajectories, and carry out the finest racing tactics to lead your team to victory and earn the mythical Yellow Jersey LCL!
This year, experience a brand new game mode: Pro Leader, where you create your own rider and bring him to the top of his career by completing objectives to improve and gain new responsibilities from season to season! The simulation aspect of the game goes even deeper thanks to your new team Progression System, an improved Fitness Peak System for your riders, and a more aggressive and realistic AI, making this year’s sprints and breakaways as competitive as ever.
Along with the new official route from Le Tour 2018, new races and Classics, such as the mythical Paris-Roubaix, are joining the long list of roads you will have to ride to prove you are the best cyclist!
In Pro Cycling Manager 2018 on PC, step into the shoes of a sports manager and lead your pro cycling team through a challenge-packed 2018 season where you’ll compete in more than 200 races and 500 stages around the world, including famous Tours such as La Vuelta and the iconic Tour de France. It’s up to you to make all decisions for your team: hiring the best cyclists and staff, contract negotiations, sponsoring, race scheduling, training… During the race, choose the finest tactics to lead your riders to victory. Play solo or online multiplayer in leagues or clans with up to 16 players and prove to everyone who is the best pro cycling manager!
Your Manager skills will be tested even more this year with advanced contract and new negotiation management in Career mode, thanks to new sponsors negotiations, in-depth transfer, and newly-added recruitment mechanics. A deeper progression system arrives this year in Pro Cyclist mode, with more possibilities than ever to personalize and build your cyclist, as riders now get a double specialization from the beginning of their career – one main and one secondary! Experience enhanced in-race immersion with many improvements, including bigger breakaways and more realistic and aggressive AI during sprints.
Earlier this month I was treated to a special, up-close look at Razer’s new Huntsman Elite, a gaming keyboard equipped with the company’s new opto-mechanical key switches. The media event at their Irvine, CA office was guarded by a strict NDA that made us wait until June 28th to post anything about it. Thankfully, the embargo has lifted, Huntsman Elite keyboard announced and now we can bring your our full review of this revolutionary product!
When talking about gaming keyboard technology, it all started with variations of membrane-based models. Mechanical keyboards were very expensive at the time and the keys were not responsive enough to make it worth consumer cost. The Cherry MX Black key switch was heavy and simply not suited for gaming. In 2008, the Cherry MX Red switch appeared and opened the doors for practical and responsive mechanical gaming keyboards. Since then, some key switch enhancements have been made but a lot of the new tech went into how companies could make the keyboards more attractive with lighting upgrades such as Razer’s Chroma technology.
Enter: the Razer Opto-mechanical key switch. A Razer creation, the opto-mechanical key switch is powered by infrared beams that are broken when the mechanical switch is resting and solid when the key is depressed. It is quite amazing – there is actually an infrared beam under EVERY key on the PCB. This means faster response times, better roll-over protection, as well as the capability to pair the infrared beam system with several types of mechanical switches down the line – depending on what kind of a keyboarding experience the user desires (Clicky or Quiet).
While the Huntsman Elite is a game changer internally, it also signals a new paradigm for Razer when looking at its externals. Razer keyboards have long had a similar profile and overall style. The Huntsman Elite ushers in a brand new design style that is classy, sleek, and eye-catching. According to the folks at Razer, this new style sets the tone for upcoming products as well, so it should be exciting to see what they bring out. The Huntsman Elite feels very well-built and durable with an aluminum frame hefty weight. It also features a cool, multi-function wheel and other media keys that can be programmed to a variety of functions. By default, the wheel adjusts your sound volume (and pressing the button toggles mute) – it is a very clever control that becomes very easy to rely on.
Something that makes the Hunstman Elite even cooler is the magnetically attached (and removable) padded wrist rest. It’s extremely comfortable and a great addition to the keyboard to enhance gamer usability. However, it’s not just a wrist rest, mind you, this wrist rest is equipped with Razer Chroma lighting and adds to your keyboard lighting once you have attached it. This magnetic docking system could be used for a variety of accessories in the future as it supplies power as well as information. Razer is tight-lipped on all its plans but I could tell they are thinking up some winners. Of course, the Huntsman Elite still is equipped with Razer’s tried and true braided cord. This cord is strong and flexible, and the braiding will definitely hold up better than the rubber insulation of most gaming keyboards. It’s a minor feature of the keyboard, but one that I believe to be of the utmost importance in my peripherals.
In terms of performance, I have gotten to use the Razer Huntsman Elite for several weeks now and I don’t even a little regret making it my primary keyboard. This is an incredible product that has light, clicky, and responsive key switches as well as great lighting. They are the lightest mechanical key switches I have used, which is nice because it allows you to connect that infrared beam quicker than you would be able to with other types of mechanical key switch. FPS, MMORPG, and even MOBA titles are all well-served by the Huntsman Elite – I literally could not find a game that the keyboard didn’t make better (sorry for the double negative). Besides its gaming applications, I found that typing on the Huntsman Elite was a very pleasant experience and I was actually typing a lot faster than normal thanks to the light key presses. I hope Razer can set some Huntsman Elites set up as demo units in various retail outlets as these key switches really need to be used to be believed.
The Razer Huntsman Elite is fully compatible with the Razer Synapse control suite, and the software allows for some excellent Chroma customization, and is fully compatible with other Chroma devices. One of the cool things on display at the Razer office was a Chroma enabled room, which had just about every Chroma device imagined working together to bring a truly impressive display. The Razer Chroma lighting on the Huntsman Elite is strong: It goes all the way around the keyboard and is very bright. Razer Chroma allows you to customize lighting effects based a number of criteria, from in-game cues when playing your favorite game – but it doesn’t stop there. You can even tie Razer Chroma to work as a sort of visual graphic equalizer for your music, pulsing and changing hue with the beat.
Overall, the Razer Huntsman Elite signals a new front-runner in the gaming keyboard market. Take it from me, After you have used the opto-mechanical keys of the Huntsman Elite, you will be hard-pressed to return to other key solutions – whether they be completely mechanical or membrane-based. Also, once would think that the Huntsman Elite would cost an extreme amount, what with the futuristic key switch system. Well, at $199.99, the Huntsman Elite does cost a bit more than most high-end gaming keyboards. However, given the technology, capabilities, and performance of the Elite, I don’t think this is out of the question. Should that price point be a bit out of your reach, Razer is also offering the Huntsman gaming keyboard at $149.99 – which still comes with the new opto-mechnical keys sans some extra chroma lighting, the media keys, and the wrist rest.
June 27, 2018 – Publisher Iceberg Interactive and developer IguanaBee are pleased to reveal that the first playable version of their title Headsnatchers, an outlandish lively multiplayer party game, will be available through Steam’s Early Access program on July 10th, 2018. Inspired by some of the wackiest Japanese gameshows, Headsnatchers enables players to snatch each other’s outlandishly, cartoony heads and use them to compete in a series of insane minigames. Ever wanted to try slam-dunking your buddie’s head in the basketball arena or flushing them down a giant toilet? Here’s your chance in Headsnatchers!
Gameplay modes include single-player zombie castle conquest, 4-player couch-mode local play (perfect for parties), as well as 4-player online multiplayer (for when you want to party from afar). There are tons of freaky heads for players to choose from, however, our comprehensive head-design tool allows players to concoct even crazier ones – the sky’s the limit!
The Headsnatchers Early Access Trailer can be viewed here:
“We had a lot of fun showing this game at PAX East where people were in fits of laughter playing it. We are eager to start receiving players’ feedback in this early access phase and to polish the game with final tweaks”, says Erik Schreuder, CEO of Iceberg Interactive.
Headsnatchers Early Access key features include:
• Online and Local Multiplayer mayhem, supporting up to 4 players
• Four game modes, 25+ unique levels of frantic fun
• Single-player Zombie mode, for when you want some me-time
• Customize your character by choosing from 100+ loony heads
• Create your own heads using the visual editor
Stay up-to-date with the latest Headsnatchers news and information on the official website http://www.headsnatchers.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/headsnatchers, on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HeadsnatchersKO, on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/headsnatchers, on Reddit at https://www.reddit.com/r/Headsnatchers/, and on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/user/iceberginteractive
June 26, 2018 – Players can enjoy the wild road as they explore the huge, varied, action-packed, and beautiful playground of the United States in The Crew 2! The Gold Edition is available to play now on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, the Xbox One family of devices including the Xbox One X and Windows PC.
The Crew 2 will let players experience the thrill of the American motorsports spirit inside a fully redesigned USA. The game’s playground pushes physical boundaries to let driving and open world fans test their skills in nonstop competition and exploration. From coast to coast, drivers will explore America and compete to become the greatest motorsports champion by collecting a wide variety of exotic cars, bikes, boats and planes, and dominating the motorsports scene on the land, on the water and in the air. They will find challenges and inspiration among four different motorsports families: street racing, off-road, pro-racing and freestyle, and will be given a broad set of options among a wide selection of vehicle types.
All other editions of The Crew 2 will launch worldwide on June 29, 2018 on PlayStation® 4 system, Xbox One and PC.
