Psychological thriller ‘Allison Road’ picks up a publisher

Allison Road‘s Kickstarter is canceled. Not because developers at Lilith Ltd can’t reach their £250,000 goal or because they aren’t up for the challenge after all — Allison Road will now be published by Worms studio Team17. This deal allows Lilith to ditch crowdfunding altogether, which is a nice option now that the game has already benefited from the attention of a viral Kickstarter campaign. “Working with Team17 will give us the chance to make our game unhindered creatively, but at the same time will give us the resources, support and experience that only a 25-year-old studio can give,” Lilith writes in a Kickstarter update.

Allison Road takes inspiration from PT, a terrifying teaser for Guillermo del Toro and Hideo Kojima’s Silent Hills (a game that Konami canceled, sadly). In Allison Road, players wake up alone in a British townhouse and have to discover what happened to their families — and what all of those creepy noises are. Allison Road mirrors the first-person, in-house exploration aspect of PT, but promises more interaction options.

The new publisher, Team17, is the studio best known for developing the Worms franchise, though it’s recently entered the publishing business, backing such games as Penarium and Yooka-Laylee. For those who pledged to the Allison Road Kickstarter and were looking forward to in-game rewards, Lilith says it “will look at ways outside of Kickstarter that will allow you to be involved in the game at a later date.”

Source: Kickstarter

What’s on your HDTV: ‘Beasts of No Nation’, ‘Continuum’ finale

Tonight we have our first listing that’s also viewable in virtual reality, as the Democratic Party’s presidential debate airs on CNN and via NextVR’s streaming (click here for instructions on viewing via Gear VR headset, and it’s also on Facebook, but in 2D). Bigger news still, is the release of Netflix’s first original movie, Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation with Idris Elba. Sci-fi fans will want to check out the final episode of Continuum (finally airing here in the US), and on Saturday night Tracy Morgan will be back on SNL. Gamers (that aren’t still powering through tracks on the new Rock Band) can check out the first episode of Telltale Games’ Minecraft: Story Mode on any system or Yoshi’s Woolly World on Wii U, while Aladdin and Team America: World Police top the Blu-ray drops this week. Look after the break to check out each day’s highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).

Blu-ray & Games & Streaming

• Aladdin
• Team America World Police (Special Edition)
• Tomorrowland
• San Andreas (3D)
• Mad Men: The Complete Collection
• Dope
• Bates Motel (S3)
• Witness
• The Land Before Time
• Escape from Alcatraz
• Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 1 (Everything)
• Goosebumps: The Game (Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, PC)
• Bedlam (PS4)
• Warhammer 40,000: Deathwatch (PC)
• WRC 5 FIA World Rally Championship (PS3, PS4)
• The Talos Principle (PS4)
• Wasteland 2: Director’s Cut (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
• Back to the Future: The Game – 30th Anniversary (PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
• Rocket League: Revenge of the Battle-Cars DLC (PS4, PC)
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Hearts of Stone DLC (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
• Yoshi’s Woolly World (Wii U)

Tuesday

• The Awesomes, Hulu
• The Mindy Project, Hulu
• Democratic Party Presidential Debate, CNN, 8:30PM
• 2015 Hip Hop Awards, BET, 8PM
• Grandfathered, Fox, 8PM
• The Flash, CW, 8PM
• The Muppets, ABC, 8PM
• NCIS, CBS, 8PM
• The Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris, NBC, 8PM
• Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
• Labor Games, TLC, 8PM
• The Grinder, Fox, 8:30PM
• Fresh Off the Boat, ABC, 8:30PM
• 30 for 30: Trojan War, ESPN, 9PM
• Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., 9PM
• The Voice, NBC, 9PM
• Scream Queens, Fox, 9PM
• NCIS: NO, CBS, 9PM
• Inside the NFL, Showtime, 9PM
• From Dusk Till Dawn, El Rey, 9PM
• Face Off, Syfy, 9PM
• Limitless, CBS, 10PM
• The Bastard Executioner, FX, 10PM
• Chicago Fire, NBC, 10PM
• Public Morals, TNT, 10PM
• Tosh.0, Comedy Central, 10PM
• A Season with Notre Dame football, Showtime, 10PM
• Startup U, ABC Family, 10PM
• Wags, E!, 10PM
• Drunk History, Comedy Central, 10:30PM

Wednesday

• Rosewood, Fox, 8PM
• Unsung: Kashif, TV One, 8PM
• Survivor, CBS, 8PM
• The Middle, ABC, 8PM
• Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
• Young & Hungry (season finale), ABC Family, 8PM
• The Goldbergs, ABC, 8:30PM
• Inside New York Fashion Week, ABC Family, 9PM
• Kingdom (season premiere), DirecTV, 9PM
• Criminal Minds , CBS, 9PM
• Law & Order: SCU, NBC, 9PM
• Modern Family, ABC, 9PM
• Black-ish, ABC, 9:30PM
• The Brain with David Eagleman (series premiere), PBS, 10PM
• Code Black, CBS, 10PM
• Chicago PD, NBC, 10PM
• Nashville, ABC, 10PM
• The League, FXX, 10PM
• The Jim Gaffigan Show, TV Land, 10PM
• South Park, Comedy Central, 10PM
• Are You the One?, MTV, 10PM
• Moonbeam City, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
• You’re the Worst, FX, 10:30PM
• NFL Turning Point, NBC Sports Network, 11PM

Thursday

• Startup U (season finale), ABC Family, 5PM
• Bones, Fox, 8PM
• Grey’s Anatomy, ABC, 8PM
• Heroes Reborn, NBC, 8PM
• WWE Smackdown, Syfy, 8PM
• Vampire Diaries, CW, 8PM
• NFL: Falcons/Saints, CBS, 8:25PM
• Scandal, ABC, 9PM
• Big Brother, CBS, 9PM
• Sleepy Hollow, Fox, 9PM
• The Blacklist, NBC, 9PM
• Benders, IFC, 10PM
• The Player, NBC, 10PM
• How to Get Away with Murder, ABC, 10PM
• Nathan for You (season premiere), Comedy Central, 10PM
• Haven, Syfy, 10PM

Friday

• Beasts of No Nation, Netflix, 3AM
• Anthony Jeselnik: Thoughts and Prayers, Netflix, 3AM
• MLB ALCS Game 1, Fox, 7PM
• The Amazing Race, CBS, 8PM
• Last Man Standing, ABC, 8PM
• Undateable, NBC, 8PM
• Truth Be Told (series premiere), NBC, 8:30PM
• Dr Ken, ABC, 8:30PM
• Play it Forward, Showtime, 9PM
• Shark Tank, ABC, 9PM
• Hawaii Five-0, CBS, 9PM
• Blue Bloods, CBS, 10PM
• Strike Back, Cinemax, 10PM
• Z Nation, Syfy, 10PM
• Continuum (series finale), Syfy, 11PM

Saturday

• CFB: Penn State/Ohio State, ABC, 8PM
• MLB ALCS Game 2, Fox, 8PM
• MLB NLCS Game 1, TBS, 8PM
• Kristy, Lifetime, 8PM
• They Found Hell, Syfy, 9PM
• Doctor Who, BBC America, 9PM
• Blunt Talk, Starz, 9PM
• Mythbusters, Discovery, 9PM
• Survivor’s Remorse, Starz, 9:30PM
• Amy Schumer: Live from the Apollo, HBO, 10PM
• Saturday Night Live: Tracy Morgan / Demi Lovato, NBC, 11:30PM

Sunday

• Sunday Night Football: Patriots/Colts, NBC, 8:20PM
• MLB NLCS Game 2, TBS, 7PM
• 60 Minutes, CBS, 7:30PM
• Madam Secretary, CBS, 8:30PM
• Once Upon A Time, ABC, 8PM
• The Simpsons, Fox, 8PM
• Brooklyn Nine-nine, Fox, 8:30PM
• The Walking Dead, AMC, 9PM
• The Good Wife, CBS, 9″30PM
• The Leftovers, HBO, 9PM
• Family Guy, Fox, 9PM
• Indian Summers, PBS, 9PM
• The Last Man on Earth, Fox, 9:30PM
• Quantico, ABC, 10PM
• Talking Dead, AMC, 10PM
• Project Greenlight, HBO, 10PM
• The Widower, PBS, 10PM
• Naked & Afraid: Forsaken, Discovery, 10PM
• CSI: Cyber, CBS, 10:30PM
• Doll & Em (season finale), HBO, 10:30PM
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, HBO, 11PM
• Comic Book Men (season premiere), AMC, 11:59PM

Play as Jason in the first official ‘Friday the 13th’ game since 1989

When Gun Media’s Wes Keltner and Ronnie Hobbs announced Summer Camp, a slasher-inspired horror game set in a creepy campground, it was already more than an homage to Friday the 13th. The developers were open about their love of ghostly, hockey-masked murderer Jason Voorhees and they had even recruited Friday the 13th veterans to work on the game. This included actor, director and special-effects creator Tom Savini, the man behind the mask in Friday the 13th parts 7-10 Kane Hodder, and the film’s original composer Harry Manfredini.

“Basically, we were a Friday the 13th video game; we just didn’t have the license,” Hobbs said. Five months after the announcement of Summer Camp, Friday the 13th creator and director Sean S. Cunningham reached out to the team with his blessing — and, after a few meetings, the license to the Jason Voorhees franchise.

“We were blown away and humbled at the same time,” Hobbs said. “I’ve wanted to create a Friday the 13th video game nearly my whole life, so to hear him validate our work on Summer Camp was the highest honor…. He said if this license will make your game better, then I’d love for you to have it.”

Now, Hobbs, Keltner and their band of horror-movie masters are building the first official Friday the 13th game since 1989. And there’s another first: You’ll get to play as Jason.

Friday the 13th is an asymmetrical multiplayer game, where one person is Jason Voorhees and seven other players are counselors attempting to escape Camp Crystal Lake. The counselors represent a slew of familiar horror tropes, including a cheerleader, a nerd, a jock, “the girl next door” and “the edgy guy.” The counselors have to sneak through the grounds, in groups or alone, though Jason can hear when players move and instantly show up directly behind them, machete in-hand. For the counselors, it’s a game of stealth, strategy and luck.

Jason is incredibly powerful and he’s designed to take out counselors in the most creative ways possible. Here’s how Gun Media describes playing as Jason on the game’s Kickstarter page (launched today):

You get to stalk camp counselors in Camp Crystal Lake and brutally kill in new and inventive ways (as well as some that will seem all too familiar). Grab a counselor in a choke hold, pick them up off the ground, and smash their face into a tree. Repeatedly. Or how about lifting a counselor up above your head as they kick and scream, holding them aloft long enough to walk near a rack of farm spikes to slam your victim down upon them? Yes, you get to do that because that’s what Jason does. He’s an unflinching, brutal killing force; the ultimate predator, and for the first time ever YOU control this horror icon.

To Hobbs, creative violence is the crux of Friday the 13th.

“Going too over-the-top in the gore department isn’t really a concern to us right now,” Hobbs says. “In fact, the slasher genre is more about creative kills and practical effects than all-out gore. We have Tom Savini leading this department, so expect to us to be very faithful to the slasher genre. In the end, I’m sure the ESRB will make sure we don’t go too far overboard.”

To be clear, Friday the 13th probably won’t be a “T for Teen” kind of experience.

Cunningham, the series creator, will be involved in the game as well, offering thematic support and direction. “We love showing him the progress we’re making and even more so love hearing his opinion,” Hobbs says.

Friday the 13th is seeking $700,000 on Kickstarter starting today, and it’s in development for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. For Hobbs, it’s all a dream (or maybe a nightmare) come true. He’s excited to build a game that puts players in Jason’s shoes.

“But actually what intrigues me just as much, if not more, is the ‘killer vs. victim’ dynamic,” Hobbs says. “This is a staple of slasher films and something we’ve yet to see fully realized in the video game industry.”

[Image credits: Gun Media]

The entire ‘Black Ops 3’ campaign will be unlocked from the start

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 developer Treyarch is embracing the Netflix way of doing business. When the game launches for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on November 6th, its entire campaign will be available to play, director Jason Blundell tells Eurogamer. You’ll be able to play the final chapter first and work backward, or pretend you’re a time-traveler with a broken teleporter and play every section out of order. Or you can play it the retro way: Chronologically, unlocking new weapons and plot points as you go.

Blundell says the switch is aimed at catering to “far more mature” players that want to consume content on their own schedule: “Maybe they put it down on level two, and then they’re in work the next day and some guy says, ‘Dude, you’ve got to check out level four!’ And he’s like, ‘OK, I’ll have a quick look.’ That’s totally fine. I think it’s their choice.”

As for people jumping ahead, Blundell tells Eurogamer that he’s not worried about it. After all, other media companies have paved the way for this distribution method. “When Netflix release House of Cards and do all the episodes, does everyone just jump to the end and go and play the last episode?” he asks. “Sure you can. But it’s about the journey, though, right?”

For Call of Duty, it’s usually about the multiplayer — but we see his point. Remember, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Black Ops 3 won’t get the campaign at all.

Source: Eurogamer

The new ‘Destiny’ emotes might just be worth buying

I won’t blame you if you’re skeptical of Bungie’s plan to add purchasable emotes to Destiny on October 13th. Would you really want to pay for a canned animation? If some early previews are any indication, though, the answer might well be “yes.” Some of the expressions are a bit cliché, if fun (like the “come at me, bro” emote you see above). However, there are some proper gems in there, including nods to The Matrix and a certain Fresh Prince of Bel Air star. It’s doubtful that the market for these Destiny emotes will be as big as that for, say, Team Fortress 2 hats — you may buy something once to personalize your Guardian, and that’s that. Even so, this idea doesn’t seem quite as dubious as it did a week earlier.

[Image credit: Arekkz Gaming, YouTube]

Via: Reddit

Source: Arekkz Gaming (YouTube), Planet Destiny (YouTube)

‘Overwatch’ is Blizzard’s first all-new game in years, see it Thursday

Legendary game developer Blizzard hasn’t released an entirely new game (not counting spin-offs of existing franchises; lookin’ at you Hearthstone and World of Warcraft) in over 17 years, which is why Overwatch is so intriguing. We haven’t heard much about it either, but that should change this week during a Twitch stream with a pair of prominent broadcasters (Ellohime and HayliNic) playing the game for some 90 minutes along with live developer commentary. Blizzard says that the broadcast should give a better idea of what the upcoming beta will contain, actually. The multiplayer shooters’ streams will live on each broadcaster’s channel and start at 1PM ET / 10AM PT. Who knows, maybe we’ll finally get release dates for the beta and the game proper soon.

Source: Battle.net

‘Asteroids’ travels to the Cold War and beyond in ‘VEC9’

Asteroids is the quintessential vector arcade game, featuring a stark black background and simple, geometric images representing spaceships, bullets and floating bits of space rock. Now, that visual genre gets a modern upgrade in VEC9, a 3D vector arcade game about a cryogenically frozen USSR pilot who awakens 30 years after the fall of the Soviet Union and assumes the American military violently overthrew his country’s reign. The pilot’s mission is to attack major American cities in a spaceship outfitted with a giant laser and a chain gun, as Motherboard describes. VEC9 creators and tech tinkerers Andrew Reitano, Michael Dooley and Todd Bailey created a big, blinking cabinet for VEC9, complete with a massive controller that Motherboard says was originally designed for an M1 Abrams tank. The whole VEC9 shebang — including retro-styled full-motion video cutscenes — will be on display at Chicago’s Logan Arcade starting November 7th.

**VEC9 Arcade Official Release Announced!** @LoganArcade on November 7th! Sick new Trailer: https://t.co/7E4mCRjaDL Rep yr clique, Comrade.

— Todd Michael Bailey (@ToddBailey) October 6, 2015

Via: Motherboard

Source: VEC9