Matchstick Puzzle video game on Nintendo DS

Mercury Games today released new screen shots and a video from Matchstick puzzle by DS, a classic puzzle game which requires lateral thinking and includes lots of brain teasing conundrums.

The aim of the game is to answer the questions by moving or rotating matchsticks; for example the player may be presented with two match sticks and then asked to make 14 boxes by adding six other match sticks.

Matchstick Puzzle by DS has more than 150 puzzles of four difficulty settings to complete. The game also has hints to help the player decipher the more abstract clues. In addition, the game has a time attack mode in which the player must complete 10 random puzzles in the fastest time possible but without any hints to help them.

Matchstick puzzle by DS will be released in February 2008 and will be priced at £19.99/ €24.99.

Storm Island - PC video game info and screenshots

Risking life and limb, the gaming secret service has obtained new intelligence about the mysterious “Storm Island”. Our team has discovered more information regarding the new gemstones - small treasures that make your armour and weapons even more powerful. We have also uncovered additional gaming areas in the new add-on for Bounty Bay Online. In these new areas, brave groups of heroes can collect precious treasure and rewards ... if they can defeat the dangerous natural and supernatural forces defending them, that is!

A comprehensive dossier with brand new screenshots can be found here: http://bbo.yusho.de/en/Updates

Content and new features of the “Storm Island”-add-on:
- Level cap raised from 100 to 120
- 21 new special abilities (alchemy, fishing, muscular power, etc.)
- A new island to discover and explore
- New, extensive quests in group instance areas
- Fresh enemies, monsters, weapons, extras, armour, etc.

Bounty Bay Online puts gamers in the Age of Discovery, beginning in the early part of the 15th century. Gamers are able to build their own online destiny, whether they choose to be a merchant, adventurer, fisherman or pirate. Besides Europe, the continents of Africa and Asia also wait to be explored by Bounty Bay players. More info: http://www.bountybayonline.com

Free to play MMORPG - Massive Multiplayer Online Role Player Game, MapleStory Europe, unleashes the Christmas cheer!

MapleStory Europe pulls a Christmas cracker

Get set for snow and stockings galore as NEXON's hugely popular and free to play MMORPG, MapleStory Europe, unleashes the Christmas cheer!

The weather outside may be frightful, but MapleStory Europe is sure to be delightful this Christmas as Nexon Europe’s brilliant free-to-play MMORPG launches a three week long celebratory event that’s full of festive fun, excitement and monsters dressed in Santa hats.

The event, which starts on December 15th, 2007 and runs until January 3rd, 2008, invites players to explore an amazing new Christmas town full of sparkling Yuletide trimmings. However, with the town short of one very important holiday staple – snow! – players will need to hunt down special Christmas items first if they want the snow to start falling and MapleStory Europe to have a traditional white Christmas.

Like MapleStory Europe itself, the event is completely free to participate in, and everybody who does so receives special, Christmas-themed gift in exchange for helping to defeat the giant Snowman boss that regularly turns up to terrorise the Christmas town. Players also have the opportunity to look the part too, with many new Christmas-themed items available to buy in MapleStory Europe’s Cash Shop, including festive snowman costumes, woollen hats and gloves and a brand new Reindeer pet.

“Christmas is a truly special time of year, and no more so than in MapleStory Europe!” said Calvin Yoo, Director of International Business Development at NEXON Europe. “Forget the turkey and the mistletoe: with a whole new Christmas town to explore and an exciting new festive quest to take part in we’re certain that Maplers across Europe will be full of the Christmas spirit come the big day.”

MapleStory originally launched in South Korea in April 2003 and quickly went on to become one of the most successful online games of all time, with over 76million registered accounts across the world. MapleStory Europe, which launched in May 2007, is the latest iteration of the completely free to play franchise, and offers gamers in Europe the chance to play MapleStory in five different languages – English, French, German, Spanish and Dutch.

For further information on MapleStory Europe, and to sign-up to the game and take part in the Christmas event, please visit www.mapleeurope.com.

Agatha Christie – Evil Under The Sun - interactive novel online – trailer, gallery and more

The Adventure Company and JoWooD Productions would like to direct you to the stunning new website that has been launched for the recently released game Agatha Christie: Evil Under the Sun for Windows®.

The website includes a trailer, game features, screenshots from several in-game environments, and headshots of over 20 characters.

www.agathachristiegame.com/euts/game.html

Welcome to paradise in this interactive game with the world’s bestselling mystery author!


About Agatha Christie: Evil Under The Sun
Famous detective Hercule Poirot is back in typical style, turning up at just the right time to begin an investigation into the murder of a famous actress during what should have been the start of a relaxing holiday. Taking on the role of Hercule Poirot, players can scour a stunning tropical island for clues and delve deeper into the mysterious relationships between over 20 unique characters to search out the killer.

Features:

• stunning and varied environments for players to explore


• a host of new puzzles to enhance the experience


• intriguing plot twists


• character dialogue choices that will impact events


• exciting story based on the novel Evil Under the Sun


• players take the role of famous Hercule Poirot


• character dialogue choices that will impact events


• less repetitive detective footwork

Developer: AWE Games
PEGI: 7+
UK Released: November 29th 2007

Zu Online - Chinese Kung-fu RPG Open beta date set as 14th December

IGG is announcing the start of Open Beta testing for Zu Online(http://zu.igg.com/), a Chinese Kung-fu Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG). The Open Beta testing will start at 8:00 pm EST (GMT-5) on December 14th 2007.

Open Beta Test client and Register System will also be released soon, please stay tuned to official Zu Online website for the latest information.

Live Chat Event for War in the Pacific video game Expansion pack

Chat with lead developer of the War in the Pacific expansion, Admiral's Edition!

Matrix Games (www.matrixgames.com) and 2 by 3 Games (www.2by3games.com) are pleased to announce that they will be hosting a live chat to discuss the wargaming masterpiece War in the Pacific and its newly announced expansion, Admiral’s Edition! The chat is scheduled to start on Thursday, December 13th at 9 PM EST and will be hosted at the Matrix Games Live Chat area on the Matrix Games website.

David Heath, Director of Operations at Matrix Games, said, “War in the Pacific: Admiral’s Edition just has too many improvements, tweaks, additions, and more to be listed in any one place. This live chat is a great chance for gamers who want to chat in person and in detail about the countless improvements and additions to the inner workings of War in the Pacific expansion coming their way this summer.”

Joe Wilkerson, Project Leader for Henderson Field Designs added, “My team of developers and I have quietly waited to announce word of this fantastic expansion for quite some time now. It’s going to be great to have the chance to speak with the War in the Pacific community, both newcomers and hardcore fans alike who are eagerly awaiting the Admiral’s Edition expansion.”

War in the Pacific: The Struggle Against Japan 1941-1945 is a legendary and widely acclaimed turn-based strategy masterpiece. The scale of the original War in the Pacific is 60 miles per hex and units are composed of individual vehicles, aircraft, guns and squads. Since half the planet Earth is covered by the titanic Pacific struggle, the game is massive in scope, covering thousands of ships and tens of thousands of aircraft. Virtually every ship, air group and battalion sized or larger troop formation is covered in exacting detail.

An expansion to War in the Pacific, called War in the Pacific: Admiral’s Edition, has just been announced and has been met with great anticipation and excitement. Although the individual improvements are far too numerous to mention in this press release, the highlights alone should grab the attention of any War in the Pacific fan:

• An all new 40 nautical mile per hex map covering the entire Pacific theater and off-map bases


• Six new scenarios, including a new grand campaign with meticulously researched orders of battle


• Improved naval operations, including waypoints, mid-ocean intercepts, new ship classes and devises and a greatly improved ship upgrade system, engine vs. system damage, new ship art and realistic new port limits for ships, cargo and repairs


• Improved air operations, including more realistic CAP, more detailed and realistic dog fighting, an improved pilot skill and replacement system, persistent plane damage and more realistic plane maintenance, improved for of war, new aircraft art and over 500 airplane types


• Improved land operations, including transportation networks defined by hex-side, new operations modes for land units, dynamic zone of control, tactical movement, improved fog of war and overstacking rules for atolls and small islands.


• Improved economy and industry to reflect more realistic operations as well as more historical balance


• The most historical and detailed order of battle for the Pacific War ever put into a wargame!


• A new scenario editor, built from the ground up to make scenario and mod-making easier, with expanded slot limits, text search and upgradeable unit TO&Es


• Printed 196 page COLOR manual (boxed copy only)

Get more information on War in the Pacific and its expansion Admiral’s Edition from their respective product pages and be sure to head over the Matrix Games Live Chat area on Thursday, December 13th at 9 PM EST!

Battle Ball video game - unlimited free play online

Mindwave Games has launched its online service for players of Battle Ball, the head-to-head paddle ball game which will instantly remind players of the classic game of Pong. 3D graphics, smooth game play over the Internet, 6 different courts and 432 possible play modes are among the modern enhancements to the simple classic. The online service provides player matching, persistent stats, character levels, cash rebates and prize tournaments.

Key features have been refined during beta testing. Kirby Zhang, the designer and programmer, explained, “During a Battle Ball match, the Internet’s delay is hidden inside the ball’s flight time. This virtually eliminates server lag, even when people are playing from different continents.” To further eliminate lag, Battle Ball uses direct player-to-player connections, which now have greatly enhanced ability to work through firewalls.

A common problem to small budget multiplayer games is the lack of enough players online at the same time, discouraging new players from trying the game. To solve this problem, Battle Ball schedules daily “bonus hours” during which time players receive extra game coins for playing. “We have several hours spread over the day so players from every time zone can play. This has made it much easier to find a match and it has brought in more players for us,” said Kirby Zhang.

Responding to beta testers’ feedback, Battle Ball has added the ability to bet game coins on other players’ games, and to follow their progress directly from the lobby. Robert Colton, a long time beta tester, commented, “It definitely adds a fun element to just staying in the lobby where you can just chat or you can bet on who’s going to win the next game.”

Battle Ball offers unlimited free play. It is available for download at http://www.battleballgame.net

About Battle Ball

Battle Ball is a multiplayer, 3D version of Pong providing 432 play modes, persistent accounts, betting with game coins, cash rebates, and prize tournaments. It has been praised for its physics, networking, website integration and player matching features. Battle Ball has gained a strong player community during beta testing with over 12,000 games played. The free version of Battle Ball provides unlimited play, while the full version offers extra features and extra game coins.

Fury - Age of The Chosen video game Free download update

http://www.unleashthefury.com/ageofthechosen

This free content update is available to all players and brings many improvements and enhancements, as well as introducing additional game types and maps to the world of FURY.

Auran CEO, Tony Hilliam, explains: "We set out with the goal of making FURY fast and fun for all players. The Age of the Chosen add-on focuses on helping new players prepare for the furious action as well as introducing a host of features requested by our hardcore fans. Feedback from new players was that the pacing was too fast and confusing. To remedy this and help players grow into the game, we created the 'Carnage' game type. Carnage pits two teams of four players in indirect competition where the focus is killing bots to earn points rather than simply smashing your opponents into submission. We've also improved the tutorial and created practice areas where players can spend time getting used to FURY’s uniquely fast paced combat."

"We've also made a number of changes to combat by increasing player survivability, lengthening the decision making time and increasing combat feedback. Furthermore, and in direct response to player's requests, we've made significant improvements to all items in the game. Tiers and rarity will be more meaningful and there will be greater incentives to choose higher Tier armor. This of course means players can spend even more time tweaking their favorite Incarnation to keep within our 1000 Equip Point limit."

"FURY has always been about player skill over button mashing and we think players will really enjoy the improvements to the combat system", said Cameron McNeil, Lead Systems Designer. "We've also made a number of changes to the Sanctarum vendors, improved the User Interface and added a ton of bug fixes and polish to the game. We are looking forward to a large number of our customers and free trial players checking out the changes as we continue towards our goal of making FURY the Number One PvP game in the world."

The list of changes include:

• New 'Carnage' game type with three maps.


• 1 v 1 Elimination game type with four maps.


• Improved tutorial.


• Streamlined interface.


• NPC number and placement changes.


• Rebalanced and improved equipment system.


• Combat mechanics changes.


• Improved combat feedback.


• Bugs fixes, performance improvements and general polish.

For full details on the changes visit http://www.unleashthefury.com/ageofthechosen.

The add-on is expected to be available for download on December 14, 2007.

See earlier post...

PC - Australia Zoo video game out for Christmas

Australian Game Developer, Auran and Australia Zoo have joined forces on a brand new game.

Developed in Brisbane over the last 2 years, "Australia Zoo Animal Links" is an all ages puzzle game based on the famous Aussie landmark, and featuring many of its renowned natives including a Crocodile, Kangaroo Echidna, Parrot, and Tasmanian Devil.

Having developed a successful fantasy MMO, multi-edition train simulator and a classic RTS in its ten year history, Animal Links represents Auran’s first foray into casual gaming and Production Head, Paul Olsen says the team is excited about the game.

"We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved with Animal Links. It’s innovative and fun to play and the animals of Australia Zoo make for an intriguing experience. It features 20 exciting levels with 3 levels of difficulty and is very much aimed at a broad, all ages audience.

"It also helps to push Australia Zoo’s important conservation message and will be a valuable tool in educating the world about Australia’s captivating wildlife."

Australia Zoo Animal Links will be available from all major retailers and digital outlets from December 7 (and of course, Australia Zoo). For more information visit www.auran.com or www.n3vrf41l.com.

http://www.n3vrf41l.com/australia_zoo_animal_links.php?PID=176

About the game:

Australia Zoo Animal Links is a race against the clock to stop the Australia Zoo animals from becoming Extinct! Challenge your mind by advancing through 20 levels of gameplay, each one harder than the next.

With 3 different game modes Animal Links increases the fun factor and gives you advanced replay ability to keep you wanting more!

Animal Links also allows you to unlock animals around the map that are found at Australia Zoo. Each animal once unlocked will give you information and pictures to educate you on that particular animal.

Features:

• 3 levels of difficulty each with unique gameplay


• 20 exciting levels to unlock Educational Entertainment; unlock levels to learn about Australia Zoo’s Animals

Hours of fun and exciting gameplay

Fury - Arena combat video game 'Free to Download, Free to Play' option.

Free Play Option For FURY Coming December 14

"Age of the Chosen" Update to Bring Major Changes

Gamecock Media Group and Auran Games today announced a new Free to Download, Free to Play option for their fast paced arena combat game FURY. The new business model will begin with the release of the first major free content update “Age of the Chosen” on December 14, 2007.

“FURY was built around giving players options that suit their play style and their wallet,” said Tony Hilliam, CEO of Auran. “With the AotC update, we are introducing a new player category called “Chosen”. As one of the Chosen, players can access all game types, equip all weapons and unlock all 400 abilities – and they can play as much as they like absolutely free. This is a fantastic opportunity for players to jump into battle with their mates and discover the frenetic pace of the fastest RPG combat ever. Chosen will earn less gold and essence, and will not be able to trade with other players.”

“Chosen players can purchase game gold from the FURY store or upgrade to “Hero” status to earn more Essence and Gold. Retail stores sell the “Hero” status pack, along with a free month of “Immortal” status, so this is $30 value for the new price of $19.99 (in US stores). As a Hero or Immortal players can unlock abilities faster and purchase better gear, but the matchmaker then ensures they are playing against other players of similar skill and rank.”

FURY: Age of the Chosen is a massive free content update that introduces two new game types aimed at the new player. “Carnage” throws two teams into battle with the aim of returning blood tokens to their base faster than their opposition. Blood tokens are gained from killing bots, not other players, so the action is indirect competition rather than head to head. The 1v1 Elimination game type means games will spawn faster and matches are more evenly balanced.

For more on FURY, visit www.unleashthefury.com. Also, be sure and visit http://www.unleashthefury.com/ageofthechosen/ for information on the Age of the Chosen update and new business model.