Make a Santa Clorc yourself online plus great prizes to be won

WIN THE LATEST PC GAMING PERIPHERALS FROM SAITEK AT www.PIMP-MY-ORC.com

With Christmas just around the corner, Santa Clorc is ready for a big celebration. While the rest of us enjoy our turkey dinner, Santa Clorc feasts on human remains gathered from the Fantasy Wars. As he rests his feet on a pile of dead dwarves, sipping human blood from a tumbler, he opens his presents; a spear from Ash-hoon, the orc shaman, and chocolate covered elf eyes from Ugraum, the brutal orc leader.

Create your own Santa Clorc
Make a Santa Clorc yourself online by downloading the Orc heads supplied at www.pimp-my-orc.com. Edit and upload pictures of your own orc hybrid creations and you could win a copy of Fantasy Wars along with the latest gaming kit from Saitek.

Fantasy Wars is a turn based battle strategy game to be released in February 2008. We are offering you the chance to 'pimp an Orc' and win a copy of the Fantasy Wars game and the new CYBORG headset, CYBORG command unit and CYBORG mouse from Saitek, collectively worth nearly £200.

Fantasy Wars - www.FantasyWars-thegame.com
Fantasy Wars is a turn based battle strategy game for PC from Ascaron Entertainment
Take on campaigns or missions as either the Humans or Orcs, later unlocking the Elf and Dwarf armies. Complete set tasks to win your mission, defeating the opposing enemy. The faster you complete missions, the higher your score.

Saitek Cyborg Range - www.Saitek.com
The Saitek Cyborg range of PC gaming peripherals have been innovatively designed to suit the hardcore gamer's needs. The headset has built in 5.1 surround sound, the command unit has over 144 programmable buttons and allows the user to easily switch between FPS, RPG and strategy games, while the Cyborg mouse is the ultimate in extreme gaming comfort as it expands or contracts to fit the palm of your hand.

Fast facts:
Publisher: Ascaron Entertainment / Nobilis
Web: www.Ascaron.com
Developer: Ino'Co / 1C
Release date: February 2008
PEGI: 12+
Format: PC
Genre: Turn based Strategy

PARDUS Free PC video game : Universe Expansion - 30% bigger

Bayer & Szell OEG, publishers and developers of Pardus, unveiled the long-anticipated "Aperture." This event, which has increased the overall size of the Pardus universe by nearly 30%, includes the introduction of four new clusters containing nearly 100 new sectors, additional starting areas for new players and countless opportunities for alliances and players of all skill levels.

The Aperture also included the implementation of 12 new NPCs, ranging from virtually harmless to challenging for even the most advanced players.

Pardus is a graphic-based Massive Multiplayer Online Browser Game set in a futuristic universe where traders, pirates and other pilots of various races and factions strive to gain wealth and fame in space. A simple internet browser suffices for playing - no plug-ins or downloads needed.

The game's action point system ensures that players with limited time online are just as competitive as players that have unlimited time online. Further game features include player-created alliances, free territory delimitations and private starbases, a tutorial to help you get started and a friendly, mature player community.

Pardus is free; however, optional low-fee Premium Accounts provide some extra features and in turn help Bayer & Szell OEG finance maintenance and further developments.

Link: http://www.pardus.at

Asia Free games community alaplaya site 100,000 users

Escape reality for free and head straight to the alaplaya games portal, where console quality gameplay and colourful, manga-style anime graphics fly from the screen and suck you in…yet another craze we’ve adopted from Asia with games for all ages and levels combined with online chat to friends (not family!) through its active community of over 100,000 users (not bad considering it only launched four months ago!)

What’s more is that you can be one of the first people to play ‘Come on Baby’ - the adventure game which sees six babies racing against each other in various weird and wonderful worlds.

So, log on to www.alaplaya.eu to try out Come on Baby’s ever expanding features – from weapons to pets to outfits and action combos – or try out one of the many other games such as ‘Audition’, a crazy dance-off, or the ever-popular ‘FantasyTennis’.

Check out the alaplaya games trailers at: www.sevenload.com/alaplaya

Five Wii Games you might have missed this year

The Wii's been out for a year and we've had a whole trunk full of games released for it. There's been some good ones and some bad ones but a few have gone unrightfully unnoticed. The following are great to check out if you're perhaps looking for a cheaper Wii game or maybe if none of the new ones take your fancy so hopefully you can now give them the attention they deserve. The list is ranked with from least to most under-rated

No: 5 -Tony Hawk: Downhill Jam

Good old Tony Hawk, but this time starring in his first ever racing game. Being Activision's main launch title and exceeding 20 hours of play it's amazing how this game could have been missed? I suppose it's simply because you were all too busy with Zelda. Much like SSX, simply tilt the Wii Remote to steer your boarder and pull off tricks by adding in a few taps of buttons. It's a shame Activision couldn't continue with the WiFi they had planned as then most of you would have brought it without a second thought. Averaging review scores of around 60% I can't blame you for going straight to Zelda or Wii Sports but now you have this new knowledge you really have no excuse.

No: 4 - Metal Slug

Most people will admit that the Slug series are fun, but when it comes down to sales Anthology just didn't cut it. The simplicity is what really makes this game having simply two parts to the game: running and shooting. The co-op mode helps make what's already a great platformer better by adding a whole new aspect to Metal Slug. Although each initial Slug game is fairly short by today's standards, having the Wii version include every instalment in the franchise to date was one of Ignition's best ideas yet. But the Slug series aren't really about completing levels, it's about beating your previous score which means taking less damage and completing the stage faster. It's surprising how many people there are who refuse to play a 2D game nowadays but if you're ok with them buying Metal Slug would be a beneficial thing to do.

No: 3 - Scarface

Set after a very old film, Scarface puts you into the world of gangs and drugs as you play as Tony Montana in bid to take over Miami. Admittedly it's a PS2-Port, but probably one of the best we've seen after the Wii Specific controls have been added in. This game is legally as close as you could get to a GTA Wii having the whole police, car-jacking and shooting theme going on. As most of the games we've mentioned, there's a whole load of gameplay in Scarface as tasks range from taking out rival gangs to drug dealing. But be warned, Scarface is incredibly hard and will have you slinging your Wii Remote at the wall after the Police bust you time and time again.

No:2 - SSX Blur

Released back in February SSX review scores averaged just short of 80%, as it was released shortly after the console launch I was surprised by how little interest it received. Admittedly the 'Uber Tricks' were far too hard but the rest of the game was fairly decent having some very smooth graphics and a lengthy story mode. What really strikes you when picking up the game for the first time is how cool it feels carving down the mountain while using the nunchuk for effortless control. Tricks are done by simply pointing a Wii Remote in a direction and there's the option to hold down Z/C to turn a back-flip into a 'grab'. The multiplayer mode is nothing to shout about but it's a nice addition to an already wholesome game featuring both a hot-seat mode and a split-screen race. Even by the current Wii game standards SSX still stands out as something special making it an obvious buy for Amazon's £30 price tag. Still not convinced?

No: 1 - Red Steel

Of course, Red Steel received all the publicity it needed starring as the main third-party Wii launch game and after the hype from E3 we're sure it didn't do that bad in sales. But the review scores were a different matter, receiving scores as low as 5.5 from leading gaming websites. There were complaints of the controls being glitchy but after spending many hours with the game I can't see what people meant. The reason for the low scores may have been for the over-hyped sword fighting, we all had great expectations for it and Ubisoft failed to deliver which put a lot of people off. But as a FPS it's amazing containing a very length campaign mode and a very entertaining multiplayer game. Ubisoft made sure not to over-use the Wii Remote gestures making each action easy to execute and when faced with enemies you could choose between beating him or shooting him down.

Source:Nintencast

Legend of Zelda video games soundtrack download

Japanese Import CD - Symphonic Version of the N64 Gamesoundtrack Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time. Includes all the Zelda Themes - in very fine Orchestral Version. A Must-Listen for Gamers !

Tracklisting :
Title Theme
Kokiri Forest
Hyrule Field
Hyrule Castle
Lon Lon Ranch
Kakariko Village
Death Mountain
Zoras Domain
Gerudo Valley
Ganondorf
Princess Zelda
Ocarina Medley
The Legend of Zelda Medley

Follow this link for download...

Japanese hardware sales, December 10 - 16 Red with envy edition

Oh, it's one of those weeks. You know, where we have to abandon the three pages of irrelevant drivel (remember the noir trilogy?) we had lined up and instead provide some explanation regarding the more curious bits of the Japanese hardware sales chart. It's certainly a dramatic change from tradition, one that's nearly matched by the revelation that the color red, as sported by our dramatic downward arrows, occasionally points to good news.

As you may have already noticed (since you usually skip the aforementioned irrelevant drivel), the PSP enjoyed a stellar week, surging past the Wii with 184,610 units sold. Our friends at PSP Fanboy thought it somewhat mysterious, but we suspect the sales catalyst was the newly released "Deep Red" PSP and 1Seg TV tuner bundle. The sales increases enjoyed by other platforms can be tied to actual software -- the DS Lite, the Wii and the PlayStation 3 got helping hands from Mario Party DS, Wii Fit and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue respectively.

There. How was that?

1. DS Lite: 222,132 53,877 (32.02%)


2. PSP: 184,610 93,129 (101.80%)


3. Wii: 170,558 55,501 (48.24%)


4. PS3: 63,720 25,597 (67.14%)


5. PS2: 18,025 6,038 (50.37%)


6. Xbox 360: 8,561 315 (3.55%)


7. GBA SP: 103 9 (9.57%)


8. Gamecube: 32 14 (30.43%)


9. Game Boy Micro: 28 8 (40.00%)


10. DS Phat: 12 -- 0 (0.00%)


11. GBA: 9 9 (N/A)

Source: Joystiq

Is the Nintendo DS really this fragile? Hinge breaks on fall

Over at flickr, user yatta has had a most unfortunate incident occur. His DS lite has been busted all to crap. It was only dropped about two feet, he claims, but since it fell right on its hinge, it pretty much exploded.

Talk about your weak points for massive damage, eh? Maybe this gentleman could use a handy guide to help him fix it? Or, maybe just the phone number to Nintendo customer service.



When the big scare of hinge damage on a massive scale to shipments of DS Lites in America hit, we were all going over our units with a magnifying glass. We were all thankful that Nintendo was so kind as to offer free repairs for damaged handhelds. Turns out the issue might not only be Lite-exclusive.

During the latest podcast from VGM Daily, it's revealed that a DS Phat developed a rather large crack at the hinge. If you're one of the few who didn't trade up for their DS Lite and kept your old unit, you might want to go check at the bottom of that dusty old box out in the garage that currently houses your DS Phat and make sure it's without crack.

Source: DS Fanboy

Bandai Namco cheats on their own video game test

Our Video Game Certification is a collection of minigames based on old 8-bit Namco games, designed to test your skill in very focused retrogaming tasks.

Therefore, you'd expect the old 8-bit Namco games to be old 8-bit Namco games.

They've got a lot of the things, from Cutie-Q to Wonder Momo -- one of the largest libraries of classic games ever.

So why the heck did they have to put together a fake 8-bit version of The Idolm@ster?

Well, okay, we're not actually upset by the development.

In fact, it's pretty cool that they mocked up a whole new scene for the collection when they really didn't have to.

Do you think you can "grab her heart" (according to our awesome translation skills, but you get the idea) in thirty seconds?

Other newly-revealed games in Our Video Game Certification include

Source: DS FanBoy

PC video game releases: Sega Rally Revo - Next Life - Painkiller Overdose

A look at a some recent video game releases:

Sega Rally Revo: Rev up your engines and get ready to rip up the track - literally.

Sega Rally Revo introduces a racing simulation with "geodeformation," where your car actually gouges out grooves in the roadway as you race against real or computer-controlled opponents. This makes each successive lap that much more treacherous.

The game, published by Sega and developed by Sega Racing Studio, offers several ways to play, including championship mode where you can win points in a series of rallies to become the top racer. In multiplayer online matches you compete against other gamers over the Internet.

Gamers rip up the road on tracks ranging from dusty desert speedways to alpine villages complete with photo-snapping fans. Plus you can unlock all kinds of nifty goodies like new cars and paint jobs.

Sega Rally Revo may not be the most realistic racing simulation ever made and gets a bit repetitive after a while, but it definitely delivers some quick adrenalin-fuelled racing action to the PC.

The game is also available for Xbox 360, PS3 and PSP.

Next Life: An evening ride turns horrific when the character you play, Adam Raichl, is killed in a car accident then suddenly wakes up in a purgatory-like world inhabited by bizarre people and puzzles to figure out.

But the anemic gameplay in the point-and-click adventure PC title, published by Toronto's the Adventure Company and developed by Future Games, bogs down any fun despite the interesting storyline.

The pace of the game is slow, even by adventure game yardsticks.

There's the standard selection of puzzles, including set pieces and typical "collect and combine items" tasks to further your journey through the game, but everything feels way too spread out and slow.

Throw in some bizarre stilted voiceovers which are sub-par for the genre along with text that contains spelling errors and it all adds up to a dud. Unless you're a real adventure game fanatic, you'd best steer clear.

Painkiller Overdose: Gamers get the chance to revisit an old-school-style first-person shooter with this fast-paced PC game in the guise of the demon Belial, the wisecracking son of heaven and hell.

There's not much high-tech wizardry in this game, published by Toronto's Dreamcatcher Interactive and developed by Mindware Studios, but that's not to say Painkiller Overdose doesn't have loads of fun. This is a straightforward "clear out rooms as fast and as frenzied as your demonic self can manage" game.

Frequent saves after each room and fun new levels maintain the compulsion to play just a little bit longer.
If you enjoy hacking apart other demons, slaughtering stuff left and right with body parts flying around, and drinking their souls for bonus health, this game is for you.

Bottom line: hellish action - with a sarcastic edge as your character spouts some classic lines such as "tastes like chicken" when consuming souls or "another one bites the dust" with a kill.

There's also a rudimentary card-collecting game - you can earn a card on each level which gives you a special power. Not that it matters much because you'll still find yourself hacking enemies to pieces with your hell cube or blasting them apart with the cannon.

Throw in a fast-paced online multiplayer mode and this game offers pretty good value.

Source: Canadian Press

Tekken movie based on the video game - coming soon

A film based on Tekken has been in development limbo for a while now, presumably for other reasons besides the fact that a movie based on Tekken is a very bad idea.

Now it seems that the project is gaining significant momentum with the announcement of a director, shooting schedule and even a few plot details.

Variety reports that the film will be helmed by Dwight Little, who you might know from his work on the sequel to Anacondas, Murder at 1600 or Steven Segal's Marked For Death.

He's also got some video game experience after serving as the director for Ground Zero Texas (wait, that had a director?).

Little says he'll begin shooting on Feb. 4 in Shreveport, La. from a script by frequent collaborator Alan McElroy (no relation) about "a rebel who rises up against the Tekken Corporation to seize freedom for his people.

"So, yeah, it's picking up steam. We're just not sure yet if the train is hurtling toward a brick wall.

Source: Joystiq