Posted by: xSicKxBot - 10-15-2018, 09:59 AM - Forum: Lounge
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Halloween 2018's Best In-Game Events And Updates
It's October again, and that means time for Halloween festivities throughout a whole host of online games. Many announcements have already begun to outline the upcoming festivities, so we're keeping track of all the spooky specials. Many of these will be time-limited events with special rewards, like the OverwatchHalloween Terror event, so check out the active dates and plan your gaming accordingly.
Dauntless
The Dauntless Dark Harvest event will kick off in the middle of the month, casting a shadow on the hub city of Ramsgate. It will introduce a new cult known as the Unseen, who worship a Behemoth. Slayers can test their might against a new Behemoth in the Shattered Isles and stores will offer limited-time exclusive items.
Dates
Begins October 17
Destiny 2
Destiny is bringing back its annual Festival of the Lost, the Halloween-themed celebration that offers some special masks and exclusive loot. This year, it will include a horde-like PvE mode, a special quest-line to solve a murder, and a unique currency to purchase masks and a special auto rifle called Horror Story. You can also earn new Ephemeral Engrams for exclusive cosmetic items. This will all be accompanied by the return of the Iron Banner event, with some tweaks to make it easier to obtain Powerful gear.
Dates
Begins October 16
Fortnite
The entire season is somewhat spooky, with the Darkness Rises theme and skins like the Dire Wolf. Plus the game brought back the popular Skull Trooper skin and made it a little easier to get the Ghost Portal Back Bling. We've gotten a look at some special leaked Halloween cosmetics. Those include skins, back bling, gliders, and pickaxes. No word yet on what creepy world events might be ringing in the seasonal content.
Hearthstone's annual "Hallow's End" celebration starts on October 17 and lasts through Halloween on October 31. Logging in during the event will net you a free golden Witch's Cauldron card, and the Headless Horseman will return for a new Tavern Brawl starring the characters from the Monster Hunt mode. You'll also be able to take part in a dual class Arena mode, and characters will use Hallow's End emotes. Finally, the event will accompany the launch of a new Paladin hero for purchase with a new Witchwood bundle.
Killing Floor 2 has already introduced its Halloween Horrors: Monster Masquerade update. The sprawling update includes a new Monster Ball map, along with Halloween-themed looks and effects for all the zeds and bosses. Plus you can access new weapons and limited-time items to take them all down.
Overwatch's annual Halloween Terror event is once again here. Each year the Halloween Terror event continues the story of Junkenstein's monster, and this one serves up two separate PvE modes: Classic and Endless Night. The event is always a debuts several new Halloween-themed skins, emotes, sprays, and more. It is going on now through October 31, and Blizzard has revealed all the nifty new costumes.
Dates
October 9-31
Rocket League
Rocket League is bringing back its Haunted Hallows event on October 15. You can earn "Candy Corn" currency for playing online matches, which can then be used to cash in for limited cosmetics like decals, toppers, and wheels. You can also gain a Golden Pumpkin that will contain a customization item from the Nitro, Turbo, or Player's choice crates. The event will end on November 5, and your Candy Corn will expire on November 8, so make sure you cash it in fast.
The Splatoon 2 version of a Halloween gathering is a twist on its usual monthly Splatfests, appropriately named Splatoween. It will start October 19 and last through October 21, with players picking their sides in a Turf Wars between Team Trick and Team Treat. Inkopolis will also be updated with Halloween decorations, and the squid kids will get a chance at four special Splatoween headgear that can be kept after the event is over. You'll have to go through the Nintendo Switch News app to get them, however.
My Memory of Us is a reminiscence of a friendship between a boy and a girl. A friendship made during tough times. Times of terror, pain, and exclusion in a world where people were forced to live in two artificially detached worlds.
Can poor Luigi survive in a haunted house and save Mario? Not without your help!
Solve petrifying puzzles and suck up all the spooky spirits in the Luigi’s Mansion™ game, available now for the Nintendo 3DS™ family of systems.
Follow a map on the touchscreen, shine a flashlight, blow fire, shoot water, stun ghosts, and trap them…before Mario is trapped forever! As you capture spirits with your Poltergust 3000, you could also rake in millions in hidden, in-game riches for our hard-luck hero.
Complete the mission…or face erasure. That’s all Neku knows after regaining consciousness in the middle of a busy intersection without his memories. Now he and his partner must fight to survive a life-or-death game in the urban labyrinth of Tokyo.
This definitive version of Square Enix’s action-RPG classic brings the twisted tale to life on the Nintendo Switch™ system along with a new chapter, exclusive two-player combat, and some killer, newly remixed music.
Features:
• Fight to survive the week-long “Reapers’ Game” playing out on the crowded streets of Shibuya, Tokyo. Includes all standard story content from the Nintendo DS™ and mobile versions.
• Hours of additional content, including the bonus chapter, “Another Day,” and the Nintendo Switch exclusive chapter, “A New Day.”
• Join a friend for local, two-player co-op combat in Tabletop or TV mode.
• Collect an array of mysterious, stylish pins with powerful psychic abilities, then point the way to victory in real-time, action-fueled RPG battles.
• Distinctive modern art from a team of artists led by producer Tetsuya Nomura, best known for his work on the Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy game series.
• The expansive soundtrack boasts a wide array of genres, including everything from rock to hip-hop to electronica. Also contains new remixed music tracks!
Hardware Review: NS Glasses 3D VR Headset for Switch
Virtual reality is one of those things that seems supremely popular, but technology isn’t always willing to keep up with people’s expectations. PSVR among others are noble efforts for certain, but Nintendo has kept itself firmly within the old-fashioned 2D TV world with the Switch, at least for the time being.
That hasn’t stopped third parties trying to muscle in on the craze though, and exklim is one such company with their NS Glasses. These promise a 3D experience compatible with all existing games using ‘passive 3D’ technology. The truth of the matter is different however.
Traditional VR headsets use two separate lenses, one for each eye, and require a screen or screens to show two separate images, one for each eye. The brain then does what brains do, and makes a 3D image in your noggin with depth and everything. The NS Glasses use two lenticular lenses that stretch the entire width of the device, one in front of the other. In theory this gives the wearer a 3D effect, but in reality it does little more than give you a headache.
The headset holds the Switch in place by using a large, red clip. This has been specifically designed for the console and it certainly shows, holding it firmly but safely in place with ridges and notches that allow it to sit neatly and without wobbling. Sadly once you put it on the weight of the console becomes apparent, and given the almost absurd length of the headset, it’s not a comfortable time.
Given the nature of the device, it’s extremely difficult for us to provide photographs that accurately represent how the image looks to the naked eye, as camera lenses and eyes don’t work in exactly the same manner. As such we’ve provided both an actual photo (left) and a mocked-up recreation (right) to gives as true a representation as possible.
The screen becomes slightly distorted and blurred, hiding jagged edges, and a notable amount of chromatic aberration is present. This is when certain colours of light are offset slightly, giving an unusual colourful ‘glow’ around certain edges. It’s distracting and unpleasant.
The image does not even remotely appear ‘3D’, either. The only explanation we can think of for someone believing it to give such an illusion is the way the lenses cause the edges of the screen to appear blurrier than the centre, giving a similar look to tilt-shift photography. It’s a stretch at best that this effect could be sold as 3D.
The manufacturer were also kind enough to send a second unit intended for developers. This behaves in much the same way, only considerably more intense, and is presumably designed for game-makers to create a version of their game which takes the distortion into account, but the blurring and chromatic aberration is also intensified, so it’s really hard to see how this could work in practice.
The appeal of 3D gaming is still alive and kicking, and the ability to immerse yourself in an entire world without borders is indeed one that many have dreamed of for decades. Unfortunately, the NS Glasses not only fail to deliver such an experiences, but they actually make playing games more uncomfortable and the various distortions it provides are irritating and distracting.
It’s a noble idea to bring the Switch into the VR space in any form whilst Nintendo refuses to do so, but this is a product that disappoints in nearly every facet.
Thanks to exklim for providing the headsets for review. If you want to learn more you can do so by clicking here.
* Drow Ranger: Marksmanship agility bonus reduced from 40/60/80 to 35/55/75 * Earthshaker: Base armor reduced by 1 * Grimstroke: Ink Swell max damage reduced from 220/280/340/400 to 160/240/320/400 * Grimstroke: Ink Swell movement speed bonus reduced from 18/22/26/30% to 18% * Grimstroke: Phantom Embrace latch duration from 4/4/5/5 to 5 * Grimstroke: Phantom Embrace DPS rescaled from 12/18/24/30 to 6/14/22/30 * Necrophos: Level 10 Talent reduced from +40 Damage to +30 * Necrophos: Level 20 Talent reduced from +80 Attack Speed to +70 * Phantom Lancer: Spirit Lance cast range rescaled from 750 to 525/600/675/750 * Riki: Smoke Screen slow rescaled from 10/15/20/25% to 8/12/16/20% * Riki: Smoke Screen miss chance rescaled from 40/50/60/70% to 10/30/50/70% * Riki: Tricks of the Trade AoE reduced from 500 to 450 * Riki: Tricks of the Trade duration rescaled from 4/5/6 to 4/4.5/5 * Riki: Level 20 Talent reduced from +900 Blink Strike Range to +700 * Riki: Level 25 Talent reduced from +400 Tricks of the Trade AoE to +300 * Silencer: Last Word damage reduced from 120/180/240/300 to 75/150/225/300 * Terrorblade: Conjure Image manacost increased from 70 to 70/75/80/85 * Terrorblade: Reflection slow reduced from -25% to -20% * Terrorblade: Sunder manacost increased from 200/100/0 to 200/100/50 * Terrorblade: Level 15 Talent reduced from +300 Health to +250 * Treant Protector: Leech Seed heal reduced from 15/30/45/60 to 12/24/36/48 * Undying: Tombstone hit count reduced from 4/5/6/8 to 4/5/6/7 * Ursa: Fury Swipes duration reduced from 20 to 8/12/16/20 * Weaver: Shukuchi Manacost increased from 60 to 70 * Zeus: Arc Lightning manacost increased from 65/70/75/80 to 80
Blizzard has addressed the rumors that Diablo 3 is getting cross-play support. Although the developer knows of players' excitement, it confirmed Diablo 3 cross-play isn't in the works at all right now.
"While we love the idea of bringing our players together across platforms, we do not have any plans to implement cross-platform gameplay for Diablo at this time," a Blizzard rep told Comic Book. Diablo 3 exists on several different platforms, including consoles from two different generations. With Sony's decision to try console cross-platform play with Microsoft and Nintendo in Fortnite, some players have looked to other games that could benefit from cross-play. With Diablo 3 on so many platforms, it's been a popular candidate.
Prior to Comic Book's confirmation, in an interview with Business Insider, a Blizzard rep said that Diablo 3 cross-platform play was "a question of when, not if." This led to several rumors that the dungeon crawler role-playing game would be supporting cross-play soon. Some theorized the feature might be announced at this year's BlizzCon, but--much like Diablo: Reign of Terror being a new game--it doesn't look like that's the case.
Blizzard previously released a statement that there were several Diablo projects in the works. The first one, Diablo 3 coming to Nintendo Switch, has already been announced. However, Blizzard has not revealed what the other projects might be. "Some of them are going to take longer than others, but we may have some things to show you later this year," said community manager Brandy Camel.
AHS Apocalypse's Cody Fern On Being The World's Sexiest Antichrist
Fans seem to agree: American Horror Story's Michael Langdon, played expertly by Cody Fern, is TV's sexiest Antichrist. That may be a relatively small category, but there's no denying Langdon's allure. When we got the chance to speak with Fern about the role, we couldn't help but ask him: How does it feel to be anointed as a sex symbol?
"Oh, I don't know what to think about that," he said, chuckling. "I don't have a Twitter, but I do find--people have read things out to me, and I do find them alarming and funny and generous. I can't think about that stuff, you know, because I'm just doing what I'm doing, and how people are receiving it is how they're receiving it."
However, Fern admitted that he "built a lot of sexuality into Langdon." He said he and Sarah Paulson, who plays three different characters and also directed an episode this season, discovered that side of his character together.
"We found Langdon's temptation in that scene when she goes to kiss Langdon," he said. That was also the first scene he shot as the character. "This woman who has clearly no intimacy in her life, whose body is broken and fractured and whose soul is wavering between the real world and the dark places, and she reaches out to kiss Langdon, and he tells her she's not getting into the Sanctuary--I mean, that was a very powerful moment for me on set, to understand that, wow, Langdon can twist anybody. I wanted to build that into every scene in the outpost."
From that point forward, he made sure that side of Langdon was evident in every scene, even the darkest points in the story. "The way that he enters a room is creating desire in people," Fern said. "When Venable is waiting for Langdon to come, everybody's sitting in a library, and Langdon enters--he enters, he doesn't look at anybody but Venable. He circles around the entire room, he takes the position, and everything is sexual. The way that he has her move out of the way. The way he begins his conversation. The way that he sees a massacre--it's a sexy thing, that you can take this pill and you'll die."
Langdon's look, with his red eyeshadow and flowing, golden hair, adds to his mystique. Fern said the hair was the first thing AHS creator Ryan Murphy told him about the character, who was first introduced as a demonic baby way back in American Horror Story Season 1.
"I didn't know that I was playing Michael Langdon until two days before we started filming, and I didn't have the first script until two days before," Fern said. "The only thing that Ryan had told me about the character was that he was going to have long, flowing, Dorian Gray hair. But as soon as I put that wig on, I knew who Langdon was."
Beyond the hair, Fern said he can take only partial credit for the rest of Langdon's distinctive look. "I worked closely with Lou Eyrich, who's just the most phenomenal costume designer, and with Eryn Mekash, the head of makeup, and Michelle [Ceglia], who's the head of hair," he said. "We all had long conversations about how Langdon should look." The red eyeshadow was Fern's insistence, and it's another aspect of the character's appearance he was excited about.
"In terms of his sexual nature, he needs to be very liquid in everything that he does," Fern described. "He needs to straddle the fence between what is considered feminine and what is considered masculine, between how he dresses and how he presents himself. I don't see the Antichrist as being--he doesn't have a sexual orientation. He is the embodiment of something sexual, so whatever that is in a person, whatever their deepest desire is, he'll draw out."
It certainly doesn't hurt his appeal that Michael Langdon is so deliciously evil--or is he? Langdon seems to be the villain of Apocalypse, maybe even the cause of the end of the world--but Fern disputes the idea that he's evil.
"I don't think that Langdon is evil. I think that Langdon is righteous," Fern said. "He understands that people are lying about who they are, and that everybody is keeping up this facade of being good and wholesome, but deep down, they want to do dark things. And he just brings that out in them. So he's the light that illuminates the dark. That's how I see Langdon...He doesn't see that he's destroying the world. He sees his role as one of creation--of creating a new world."
No doubt many AHS fans would be happy to live in that world, as long as it meant being close to our favorite new demonic sex symbol.
American Horror Story Apocalypse airs Wednesdays on FX.
Challenge the horrifying reign of Nazi terror and battle an immortal evil in Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics; a turn-based tactical strategy game set in the award-winning Achtung! Cthulhu universe.
