GameSpy Names Call Of Duty 4 video Game Of The Year 2007

Additional Category Winners Announced as GameSpy Unveils Games of the Year for 2007

IGN Entertainment’s GameSpy (http://www.gamespy.com), the ultimate Web site for multiplayer gaming, has announced its 2007 “Game of the Year” winners in various platform and themed categories. The “Game of the Year” is an annual list honoring the best games released in the past 12 months. GameSpy’s editors have declared Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare “Overall Game of the Year”, with The Orange Box and BioShock finishing in second and third place, respectively. Additional titles across each platform have been revealed throughout the week. The full list of winners, and a look back at the gaming world in 2007 are available at http://goty.gamespy.com/2007/.

“This year was great in terms of high-quality, action-packed videogames. Gamers saw the next-generation platforms mature with impressive technology, incredible cinematic visuals and more creative and communal experiences,” said Dave ‘Fargo’ Kosak, Executive Editor of GameSpy. “Naming the top games of the year was easy, but ranking the titles in a year with so many great products proved to be a real challenge.”

Winning games were chosen based on an extensive list of criteria, including: art, graphics, sound, story, innovation, technology, longevity, expandability, community interaction, multiplayer functionality and, most importantly, gameplay. To be eligible, games had to be released between December 15, 2006 and December 15, 2007. GameSpy users were also offered the opportunity to pick their favorites from the year featured in the “Gamers’ Choice Game of the Year.”

The winners of 2007 “Game of the Year” are:

“Overall Game of the Year”


1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
2. The Orange Box (PC, Xbox 360)
3. BioShock (PC, Xbox 360)
4. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo Wii)
5. Rock Band (Xbox 360, PS3, PS2)

“PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 Game of the Year”
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

“Multiplayer Game of the Year”
TeamFortress 2 (PC) (Part of The Orange Box)

“PSP Game of the Year”
Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of The Lions

“Handheld and DS Game of the Year”
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo DS)

“Wii Game of the Year”
Super Mario Galaxy

“PS2 Game of the Year”
God of War II

“Gamers’ Choice Game of the Year”
PC: The Orange Box
Xbox 360: Mass Effect
PS3: Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune
Wii: Super Mario Galaxy
PS2: God of War II
DS: Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
PSP: Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions

Deliver Toys for Santa this Christmas with Jenkat Media's Free Online Game, The Santa Express

Santa needs a little extra help this Christmas after reviewing his naughty and nice list. Help Santa deliver toys to good children and lumps of coal to not-so-nice kids this holiday season with The Santa Express, a new, free, online casual game released December 11th and available at JenkatGames.com

Jenkat Media, Inc., a leading casual game developer and distributor, founded by veterans of Fox Interactive Media and Intermix Media (parent company of MySpace.com), today announced the release of The Santa Express in time to spread some holiday cheer among fans of online arcade-style games. The Santa Express is a free online casual game where players help Santa with his Christmas deliveries.

As the classic Christmas song goes, Santa "knows if you've been bad or good." This Christmas, Santa will make his deliveries of presents for good little boys and girls and lumps of coal for naughty children with the help of The Santa Express - his souped-up sleigh fully-equipped with turbo boosters to help him through the Christmas rush.

"The holidays are when we all get to be kids again and enjoy the lighter side of life," said Malcolm Michaels, President and co-founder of Jenkat Media. "The Santa Express is a free online game where players of all ages can get into the Christmas spirit, whether during a short work break or playing as a family. Because The Santa Express can be played online for free, players can take a little bit of holiday cheer with them no matter where they go."

In addition to their latest casual free online game in The Santa Express, Jenkat offers a number of downloadable games for purchase, including the recently-released Finders Keepers (an underwater, arcade-style, treasure-hunting game) as holiday gift ideas for casual gamers.

Amphibian Man video game announced by KDV

KDV Games Company announces a new Action RPG title “Amphibian Man”, based on a popular sci-fi novel by Alexander Belyaev.

In the XXI century science has made a breakthrough that has changed humanity forever. Mankind was finally able to function under the water without any kind of equipment. Mankind rushed to explore the underwater universe. But the discovery has also escalated old conflicts and problems. Things are coming to a crisis: the civilization is about to split and global war is about to break out.

Throughout the game the main character and his team will explore the unique and contradictive world of the future, solving mysteries of new civilizations. Colossal conspiracy has bound maverick scientists and their dangerous research, governments and even members of a dark religious cult, and only our hero is able to burst it.

The game is being developed on the updated VistaGame Engine technology (an in-house development of the KDV games studio) for PC and PS3 platforms. Visually the game combines hi-tech\futuristic\cyberpunk styles.

DARK MESSIAH XBox 360 ELEMENTS WEBSITE LIVE - DEMO DOWNLOAD

Ubisoft kicks off the countdown to the release of Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements with the launch of the game’s official website www.darkmessiahelements.com.

The Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements official website will be the top destination for gamers to access the most up-to-date information on Sareth’s quest adapted to Xbox 360. Visitors will learn more about the storyline, and key features of the game, and get the most up-to-date content and assets about the game.

Ubisoft is also proud to announce that the official playable demo of Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements is now available on Market Place.

The demo includes two maps where players can discover the first map of the singleplayer mode and choose to be whether a Knight or a Mage, with their different skills. A multiplayer map allows the players to choose between any of the four available classes for their heroes and to challenge other players in Deathmatch, Blitz mode or earn their spurs through Training mode.

Developed by Ubisoft Annecy, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic: Elements will launch on Xbox 360 on 10th January, 2008.

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