A shortlist of newly discovered stuff you have got to see, hear, wear, use or eat. What are you loving this week? Send a brief description of your latest favorite thing, where to find it and how much it costs, along with your name and contact info to features@staradvertiser.com.

Halloween chaos is due in ‘GW2′

Online gamers have many options today, so finding the right one can be daunting. ArenaNet’s "Guild Wars 2" delivers with artistically stunning aesthetics, narrative-rich content and intense action-oriented game-play. ArenaNet will outdo itself even further starting today through Oct. 31, when Halloween arrives as the Mad King’s cruel, insane and wicked ways herald in new mini­games, dynamic events and trick-or-treats — unleashing chaos in the land of Tyria. At $59.99, "GW2" is a treat on gamers’ pocketbooks, too, for its unlimited game-play without a subscription fee (www.guildwars2.com). And for those interested in a kama­aina community, The Kala­koa Krewe awaits on Ehmry Bay! Join today at www.gw2kkoa.org.

—Steven B. Park

Hold your candy in a head

Where would you expect to find a fun Halloween candy bowl covered with colorful felt? Well, above the dairy case at Safeway. These characters caught my eye while picking up groceries. There’s a skeleton, a green monster and a black cat, all with toothy grins and heads that double as candy bowls. Available at select Safeway stores for $14.99.

— Nina Wu

Go green with Screme Eggs

I’ve always loved the sugar rush of that Easter staple, the Cadbury Creme Egg. This year the company has a new Halloween version, the Cadbury Screme Egg, which features a gooey green "yolk" resembling ghastly ectoplasm in the cream-filled chocolate egg. Nestled next to the Peeps marshmallow ghosts and the massive bags of trick-or-treat chocolates, the holiday just may be poised to knock Easter out of contention as the sweetest season. Treat yourself at Target for 87 cents each; also available at variety stores and supermarkets.

—Donica Kaneshiro

Recipes simplify holiday treats

Ever try to make one of those cutesy holiday desserts that require special molds, tiny cutters and icing glue, not to mention a bajillion ingredients you might never use again? Even if I had the time to attempt one, my limited fine motor skills would hinder success. That’s why I welcome McCormick’s reasonable — but no less festive — Halloween recipes. With ingredients such as chocolate cake mix and marshmallow cream, what novice baker couldn’t pull off these Black Velvet Whoopie Pies? Create the various hues with McCormick’s special black food coloring and a kit of neon colors that together create the Halloween palette. Fruit extracts provide flavoring for the filling. Products are available at Safeway Kapahulu for $5.19-$6.39; find recipes at www.mccormick.com.

—Joleen Oshiro

Charles Burns fans are abuzz over ‘Hive’

If it’s October it must be time for a new graphic novel from the delightfully creepy Charles Burns. Back in 2010 Burns released "X’ed Out," the first of a planned trilogy whose story has developed into contrasting parts: one, a young performance artist’s mystery that involves his disturbed girlfriend and her menacing ex-boyfriend, and the other, his Tintin-like alter ego trapped in a nightmarish alternate underground world. The oversize hardcover "The Hive" (Pantheon Books, $21.95) is brought to life with Burns’ fine illustrative style and vivid palette: a hypernormal approach with an undercurrent of psychosexual tension, complete with the juxtaposition of banal panels rendered from 1960s romance comic books. If you’re already a fan of Burns’, the lengthy wait between books is worth it. For others, maybe it’ll be best to bide your time until the trilogy is complete, when you can then savor the horrific unease in one sitting.

—Gary Chun