Luffy’s next video adventure game is split into two parts

EvilGamerX’s comment (thanks for the tip!) about Namco Bandai’s next One Piece game prompted me to poke around for more information.

The project’s temporary name is One Piece Unlimited Adventure 2, its final name is One Piece: Unlimited Cruise.

Also Namco Bandai is going the .hack route with the pirate crew.

There are two parts to One Piece: Unlimited Cruise. Episode one is scheduled to arrive in Japan in Summer ’08, episode two is slated for Winter ’08.

Neither is confirmed for North America, we’re still waiting on One Piece: Unlimited Adventure to arrive in January ’08.

OK. Now we know more about One Piece: Unlimited Cruise, but now there is a new burning question.

Why are there two episodes?

Are we going to see original gameplay in each installment or did someone chop the game up?

From Silconera

Microsoft reminds families their Xbox 360 games consul is for kids too

Microsoft is extending their family friendly stance to Japan. On December 15, they held a Merry Christmas event at Tokyo Bay. Kids could meet the characters from Viva Piñata and try out a handful of CERO A video games like Beautiful Katamari. While I doubt many kids recognized Hudson Horstachio, Microsoft is trying to capture another niche. This strategy worked well for CERO Z games, which are starting to pick up in Japan.

However, Microsoft faces a problem when it comes to attracting families. Many multiplatform kid’s games like Cars never get an Xbox 360 release in Japan. THQ tends to only support the Wii and PlayStation when it comes to Disney games and few Japanese developers are making child friendly exclusives.

Source: Siliconera

Sin City video game will use Unreal Engine 3

Red Mile Entertainment has announced that they have licensed the Unreal Engine 3 from Epic Games for their Sin City video game…and that’s pretty much it. No new info on what the player might be doing or which of the many storylines the game will use. I mean, seriously, do we get to play as Marv at least? Is there going to be a genital-ripping mini-game?

“The Unreal Engine is one of the most technically advanced engines on the market and is a perfect fit for our Sin City video games,” said Glenn Wong, president and COO for Red Mile. “The engine has powered several of the best-selling games of all time and I am very glad we have the opportunity to arm our developers with such a world-class product.”

Well at least we know the game will probably look pretty slick. As much as I love the Sin City movie and comic books, I’m a little hesitant about seeing it turned into a video game. Usually movies and TV shows with a heavy plot and sparse action don’t translate too well into a good game (see Reservoir Dogs, The Sopranos: Road to Respect).

Source: FileFront/Press Release

WolfQuest - 3D multiplayer wildlife simulation video game download launched

The Minnesota Zoo and St. Paul-based eduweb, award-winning developer of digital learning games, are excited to announce the world premiere and public launch of "WolfQuest," an immersive, 3D multiplayer, wildlife simulation game, Thursday, December 20, 2007 at 6:30 p.m., Central Standard Time. The game will be available as a free download for Macintosh and Windows computers at http://www.wolfquest.org/.

"WolfQuest represents a new breed of video game-one that marries state of the art game design with scientifically accurate wolf content," says Grant Spickelmier, assistant director of education at the Minnesota Zoo.

Learn about wolf ecology by living the life of a wild wolf in Yellowstone National Park. Play alone or with friends in on-line multiplayer missions, explore the wilderness, hunt elk, and encounter stranger wolves in your quest to find a mate. In future episodes, your success will depend on forming a family pack, raising pups, and ensuring the survival of your pack.

The Minnesota Zoo leads a national network of zoos and science education centers including the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota, Yellowstone National Park, Smithsonian National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C. and the Phoenix Zoo in Arizona. Each institution will publicize the project to current and expanded audiences in its region.

The WolfQuest experience goes beyond the game with an active on-line community where you can discuss the game with other players, chat with wolf biologists, and share artwork and stories about wolves.

WolfQuest is made possible through a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) of more than a half-million dollars, with local support provided by Best Buy Children's Foundation.

Future episodes of WolfQuest will be released in 2008. For more information and updates about WolfQuest, visit http://www.wolfquest.org/.

The Minnesota Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Look for the AZA logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you, and a better future for all living things.

PC game checker Can You Run It? - compatibility check website

What it does

This site provides a One-Click solution that looks at your computer's hardware and system software to determine whether or not your current system can run a product. Each of your computer's components is evaluated to see how well it meets the minimum and recommended requirements for specific products. Recommendations are made on how to update or upgrade each component which does not meet the listed requirements. Sometimes, a simple, free software download is all that is needed. Sometimes you'll find that you need a different video card to fully experience what the game has to offer.

• Get your complete report in seconds including suggestions for what to upgrade on your computer.


• Only your system's hardware and system software are evaluated.


• No personally identifiable information is collected.


• Works on Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP, 2003, Media Center, Vista.


• Works with Internet Explorer, Firefox & Netscape browsers.


• You will need to give your permission to download a secure ActiveX/Java browser component.


• You can easily uninstall the ActiveX/Java browser component when the analysis is complete.

Games added:

Age of Conan-BETA
Bee Movie
BioShock
Call of Duty 4
Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars
Company of Heroes: Opposing Forces
Conflict: Denied Ops
Crysis
DiRT
Enemy Territory: Quake Wars
Empire Earth III
Fantasy Wars
Fury
Gears of War
Guitar Hero III
Half-Life 2 Orange Box
Hellgate: London
Heroes V: Tribes of the East
Jericho
Kane & Lynch
Madden 08
Medal of Honor: Airborne
Nancy Drew: The White Wolf of Icicle Creek
Need for Speed Pro Street
NWN2: Mask of Betrayer
NBA Live 08
NHL 08
Pro Cycling Mgr 2007
RACE 07
Rugby 08
SimCity Societies
Spider-Man: Friend or Foe
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
Stranglehold
Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance
Tabula Rasa
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Lord of the Rings Online
The Settlers
The Sims 2 Bon Voyage
The Witcher
Tiger Woods PGA 08
TimeShift
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
Unreal Tournament III
World in Conflict
WOW Burning Crusade
And loads more...

Check it out here... http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/referrer/srtest

Imperium Romanum PC Video Game early 2008

Kalypso Media Group are publishing six new screenshots of the upcoming city building element in Imperium Romanum. These pictures give an interesting insight into the city life of this historic strategy game.

You can see a birds eye view of the Circus Maximus, various theatres, entertainment centres along with night time city scenes.

Imperium Romanum, will be published in February/March 2008 at a price of £29,99. The title will be released by the Kalypso Group worldwide, excluding Spain and Italy. Imperium Romanum is already considered to be one of the top PC-strategy games of the first quarter of next year.

FIRST DETAILS FOR TOM CLANCY'S RAINBOW SIX - VEGAS 2

Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announced the first details for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2, currently in production for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system and Games for Windows. Scheduled for a March 2008 release and developed by Ubisoft’s award-winning Montreal studio, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is the sixth iteration of the multimillion-selling Rainbow Six tactical shooter franchise and follow-up to the highly successful and award-winning Rainbow Six Vegas.

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is the last chance for gamers to rescue America’s sexiest city from an escalating terrorist siege that will impose heart-pounding action from beginning to end. The best are back and this time winner takes all. The highly-anticipated sequel to the recipient of numerous awards, including 2006’s Best First Person Shooter and Best Online Game, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 will push the top-selling franchise to new heights with new gameplay features and groundbreaking co-op and multiplayer modes.

Product Highlights:

• More Multiplayer – The highly acclaimed multiplayer mode in Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas has been upgraded to include 13 new maps with more intense face-offs, two new adversarial modes, more rewards, and easier access to matches using the improved and intuitive matchmaking system.

• Unprecedented Customizable Experience – Create your own identity that persists through both the single player and multiplayer modes and progresses along with you. Reap the benefits of your single player rewards in multiplayer and vice versa.

• Vastly Improved Co-op Mode – Turn single player mode into co-op mode at any time, just by jumping into the game. Now you and a friend can jump into a single player game and assist without any change to the story. The single player maps and storyline were created with co-op in mind, meaning every map has multiple entry points and the story is unaffected.

• Challenging AI – The AI is more challenging than ever. Now, the terrorists are equipped with thermal vision, night vision, and shields – not to mention a multitude of varying tactics – all of which are guaranteed to give you a new playing experience every time you go into battle. As you progress within the game, you’ll be able to outsmart your enemies by taking advantage of intelligence opportunities, such as thermal scanning.

• New Weapons and Armor – Take down the terrorists more effectively using 11 new weapons. New camouflage, clothing and gear allow for the ultimate customizations.

• More Vegas – Sin City is back and bigger than before. Explore all new Vegas hot spots and the gritty back streets creating a visual experience that is as challenging as it is breathtaking.

New Christmas online version of video game Orchidia

Casual game experts Joyboost.com have come up with a perfect antidote to the huge number of hours shoppers are spending online this Christmas searching for gifts.

Joyboost has created a little online island of calm in the mad Internet shopping frenzy of Christmas 2007. Visitors to the Joyboost.com site can relax, play and rediscover the joys of the festive season.

Joyboost has created a new Christmas-themed online version of its critically acclaimed game Orchidia, plus an entirely new title called Where's Rudolph. Both games are completely FREE and are played through the normal web browser on most home computers.

The games are perfects for parents, cool for kids and even great for grandparents. In Christmas Orchidia, players must make groups of Christmas presents as they drift down a chill winter river.

Where's Rudolph challenges players to find Santa's most famous reindeer in the middle of a huge Christmas crowd. A sharp-eye and a fast finger on the mouse is needed to make sure Christmas Eve deliveries can be made.

“More and more people are using the Internet for Christmas shopping,” says Joyboost's Linda MacKellar. “I do all my Christmas shopping online as the shops are crazy this time of year. But in some ways it can be just as exhausting to shop on your PC. So to cheer up all those struggling shoppers, we've created a couple of free games that the whole family can play. Anyone who's online this Christmas, come and put your feet up at Joyboost and try Christmas Orchidia and Where's Rudolph – our gifts to all of you.”

Joyboost

Ski Challenge 08 - World´s biggest ski race video game has started with more than a million players

Greentube, the worldwide leading provider of free 3D download games and turn-key gaming platforms, has launched the fourth season of its global hit “Ski Challenge” with a range of new features including optimisation for Windows Vista and a new track: Val d’ Isere

Ski Challenge 08 has been licensed to various different media-partners, primarily TV-stations and leading newspapers in 7 different countries so far – including Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Canada.
After more than 3 million players last year, Greentube is expecting between 4 million and 5 million players worldwide between now and March 2008. This figure seems to be quite a conservative estimate, as within only 2 weeks after launch, the different editions of Ski Challenge have been downloaded more than a million times!

Greentube has been working hard on updating the game with latest 2.0-features such as a video creation-tool directly embedded within the game.

The free download game is fully financed via in-game advertising and includes advertising brands such as Siemens, Audi, Telenor, Swisscom, Visa, Samsung, Red Bull, to name just a few. Most of the advertising brands have been partners of this game since the beginning in 2004, as the advertising value and image-transfer effects generated by the game are more than convincing.
Greentube also delivers full reporting functionality including user contacts and adimpressions by brand and edition.

The download link of the Ski Challenge 08, as well as the latest Ski Challenge 08 video and further information can be found at: http://www.skichallenge08.com/.

Christmas add on for Stranger video game

Leading video game publisher Fireglow Games today announces the release of a Christmas add-on for Stranger, the superb combination of RPG and RTS. For those who have already purchased the game we offer to download a free add-on containing two new multiplayer maps - "Once upon a Time in Mokkosa" and "Heritage of Muneks". The add-on is available in English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Polish and Czech languages. We hope that fascinating multiplayer battles on these new maps will give you unforgettable emotions during this Christmas holidays. Download multilingual Christmas Add-on http://www.stranger-game.com/index.php?uid=downloads

Please note that you need the original CD to play the add-on missions.



About Stranger:

Stranger is an RPG blended with the best elements of RTS.

An innovative and never before seen magical system allows you to select your strategy and tactics in the course of a battle, thus providing an adequate answer to an enemy's every turn - you will be surprised by its simplicity and variety at the same time.
Hiring, training and control over squads of infantry and archers - you will take part in clarifying the eternal question regarding what is more important – brute force and weaponry or cunning and magic.
There are three heroes - different from each other, each one with its own personality and preferences in combat and magic. What will happen when they assemble in a single squad?
The colourful universe of Stranger inhabited not only by hundreds of types of monsters but also with intelligent tribes, which can either be your allies or enemies.
All of this is “Stranger” - 2 worlds, 3 destinies.

Features:

• RPG blended with some of the best RTS elements
• 3 main heroes and many units to choose from
• Over 100 different monsters
• Unique and flexible magic system
• Great variety of items and equipment
• More than 30 hours of single player campaign
• Multiplayer with up to 8 players
• Level design enables distinctive tactical options