Cross-Media Halloween Special Edition Round-Up Bonanza

It's Halloooweeeeeeeeeen, and as such every game in the existence of King Time is having an event. Where once there were soldiers, now there are zombies. Fantastical creatures are now undeeeeeeeeaaaaad. Artists have drawn fangs on lots of their assets. But what about the other forms of media? How are they redesigning their output to suit this night of uncontrolled evil? I've rounded up the highlights, from Saving Private Ryan to 50 Shades Of Grey.

Film

Saving Private Ryan

If you pop in your DVD of the Spielberg war-o-rama this evening, you'll be in for a treat! As the American soldiers storm the beaches of Normandy, where you might be expecting to see their facing the might of the German army, today it's vampires! The 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, put down their guns and pick up their stakes, in a battle against these bloodsuckers like you've never seen before! Will they be able to rescue Private First Class James Francis Ryan before he join the ranks of the nightwalkers?

You've Got Mail

Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan's romantic classic gets an update for one night only, as the ghost of AOL turns ugly and does all it can to drive the two apart. Angry at its increasing obsolescence in the world of sending and receiving email, the two lovebirds find their missives not being delivered, instead able to focus on their intense personal dislike of one another. This finishes with Greg Kinnear gruesomely murdering both Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, before pleading to the camera that everyone watch the infinitely superior The Shop Around The Corner instead. "You've got impaled!"

Star Wars VII

Yes, despite promises it would never happen, George Lucas has sold his entire company to Disney so they can continue the franchise... Ha ha, sorry, just my little joke. I was perhaps going too far in trying to scare you.

Books

The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe

Most people are familiar with the adventures of Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, as they travel into the magical world of Narnia. But what about if they had guns? If you open your copy this evening, highlights will include the White Witch slaughtering and roasting Mr Tumnus, stuffed with Turkish delight, the brutal fight between Mr and Mrs Beaver that sees neither survive, and Aslan's rising from the dead as ZOMBIE ASLAN, and devouring his own army.

50 Shades Of Grey

Some extracts:

“He leans down and kisses me, his fingers still moving rhythmically inside me, his thumb circling and pressing against my spleen. His other hand scoops my hair off my head and puts it in a jar. His tongue mirrors the actions of his fingers, claiming me, eating my left eye. My legs begin to stiffen as I push against his hand. He gentles his hand, so I’m brought back from the brink of death... I bleed instantly again and again, falling apart beneath him." (p.195)

“Suddenly he grabs me, tipping me across his lap. With one smooth movement, he angles his body so my torso is resting on the bed beside him, my legs and head on the floor by the wardrobe. He throws his right leg over both mine, where it lands with a thump, and plants his left forearm on the small of my back, holding me down so I cannot move. He places his hand on my naked behind, softly fondling me, stroking around and around with his flat palm. And then his hand is no longer there, severed and thrown against the wall." (p.273)

Board Games

Chess

It's going to be a whole different experience when pieces "take" each other this evening.

Kerplunk!

The stakes are certainly higher if you plan on a game of Kerplunk! tonight. MB Games have made a few changes for this hallowed eve, such that each marble represents a year of your life. Ready to pull those straws and see who's going to make it to 2050?

Buckaroo

Despite the class action lawsuit from last year, Hasbro is persisting with its Halloween-themed changes today. Dig out your copy and you'll find that stubborn mule won't stop at bucking. Be prepared to have your front room trashed as that naughty mule experiments to see if further cross-species fertilisation is the solution to his infertility woes.