Star Wars characters to appear in Soulcalibur IV

NAMCO BANDAI Games and LucasArts Announce Landmark Partnership

Swords and Lightsabers will be drawn as NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. and LucasArts today announced that iconic Star Wars characters will appear in Soulcalibur IV for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. As part of this monumental collaboration, the Sith Lord Darth Vader will appear as a guest character in the PLAYSTATION 3 system version of the title, and Jedi Master Yoda will be available for the Xbox 360. Delivering a robust offering of new gameplay modes and enhanced features, Soulcalibur IV will raise the bar of excellence for all next-generation fighting games when it is released in Summer 2008.

“It is quite rare that two publishers of this caliber are able to collaborate on this level to create a top notch entertainment experience for next-generation platforms.” said Makoto Iwai, executive vice president and COO at NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. “In the entertainment industry, LucasArts possesses some of the most recognizable characters and franchises in the world. We’re thrilled to integrate their historic characters into one of our most treasured brands”

“We’re very excited to work with NAMCO BANDAI and be a part of their efforts to take Soulcalibur to the next level,” said Kevin Kurtz, director of marketing at LucasArts. “Adding our iconic Star Wars characters to NAMCO BANDAI’s great game franchise is a match made in heaven, and we think Darth Vader and Yoda will be formidable opponents in the game.”

In Soulcalibur IV, the epic struggle between the spirit sword, Soul Calibur, and the cursed sword, Soul Edge, continues with revelations about this ongoing story as fighters from across the galaxy seek the powerful swords for their own goals and to face the ultimate judgment. Propelling the franchise into the next-generation, Soulcalibur IV flexes its graphical muscles to shows its visual brilliance with a new look for both allies and enemies.

Shown in true high-definition graphics, Soulcalibur IV offers an entirely new battle system that promises to revolutionize the fighting game genre. Featuring an expanded customization mode, Soulcalibur IV allows players to personalize a character to look and perform as they desire. Also, for the first time in the franchise, customized characters or original favorites can be taken online to challenge others for the top spot of this timeless series. Developed by Project Soul, the legendary team behind Soul Blade® and Soulcalibur® I-III, Soulcalibur IV is set to reinvent the brand and reintroduce the fighting genre to new and existing fans alike.

For more information about Soulcalibur IV, please visit http://www.namcobandaigames.com.

MLB 08 THE SHOWTM For PLAYSTATION 3, PlayStation 2 And PSP (PlayStationPortable)

Phillies Record-Setting Slugger Joins Impressive List of MLB Greats to Grace the Cover of the Critically Acclaimed Baseball Franchise

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) announced today the signing of Philadelphia Phillies All-Star first basemen Ryan Howard as the cover athlete for the MLB 08 THE SHOW, due to hit stores in early 2008 as the only officially-licensed first party baseball game exclusively for PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3), PlayStation 2 and PSP (PlayStationPortable).

Known for his prolific power and ability to drive in runs, Howard is just the second player in Major League Baseball™ history to win the Rookie of the Year honors and a Most Valuable Player award in successive seasons. During his 2006 MVP season, Howard led the Major Leagues in home runs (58), which broke the record for most home runs in a sophomore season set in 1947 by Ralph Kiner (51), won the All-Star Game Home Run Derby with a total of 23 blasts, and was the 2006 National League Hank Aaron Award recipient, the award given to the top hitter in each league.

Last season, while helping lead the Phillies to the 2007 National League Division Series™ against the Colorado Rockies™ by muscling out 47 home runs and driving in 136 runs, Howard became the fastest player in MLB® history to hit 100 home runs. The record-breaking accomplishment was achieved in only 325 games, 60 less than the 385 games that Ralph Kiner needed to hit his first 100 home runs from 1946 to 1948.

“Ryan Howard’s personality and work ethic exemplify what our baseball franchise is all about and we are thrilled he has chosen to represent MLB 08 THE SHOW,” said Scott Steinberg, vice president, product marketing, SCEA. “Howard has worked hard to establish himself as one of the most exciting players in the game and we look forward to him continuing the tradition of MLB THE SHOW athletes having amazing years while being featured on the cover of our game.”

MLB 08 THE SHOW marks Howard’s first cover for a baseball game, an accolade that continues to be a desired status symbol for professional athletes. The Phillies first basemen joins an elite team of MLB cover athletes and spokespeople, including New York Mets™ third baseman David Wright, Boston Red Sox™ designated hitter David Oritz, Angels™ outfielder Vladimir Guerrero, and a host of other MLB greats.

Already widely considered the most realistic and authentic baseball franchise available, MLB 08 THE SHOW looks to build upon its critical acclaim and deliver the perfect blend of new innovative features and unique gameplay opportunities. To deliver the closest experience possible, next to actually trying to make it in the Majors™, MLB 08 THE SHOW features a more immersive Road to The Show mode. As gamers attempt to make a starting line up in the Big Leagues, playing both offense and defense from a custom-created player’s perspective, a more robust dynamic goal system and a new career advancement system will help determine when a player is eligible for a promotion.

As the only first party baseball game officially-licensed by Major League Baseball Properties Inc. (MLBP), Major League Baseball Advanced Media (MLBAM) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), MLB 08 THE SHOW features more than 3,000 individual player animations, including personalized stances, pitching animations, individual swings, batting rituals and motion captures from MLB players. Additionally, the franchise adds to the realism by including Umpire Personalities combined with Interactive Hot and Cold Zones and Player-scaled Strike Zones, Release Point Pitching combined with Adaptive Pitching Intelligence (API) and the Pitch Command System (PCS), and the most comprehensive commentary ever produced for a sports title, featuring the three-man booth of Rex Hudler, Matt Vasgerian and Dave Campbell.

Providing players with some additional performance incentives, the MLB franchise introduces the new Progressive Batting Performance feature, which will both reward players for superior performance and penalize them for hitting slumps while under user control. Adding to an already robust online feature set, which includes customizable Online League Play with up to 30 teams, scrolling MLB Score Ticker and more, MLB 08 THE SHOW introduces SCOUT (SportsConnect Online User Tracking), which allows gamers to set and store their game preferences on the MLB server, and then enables the system to look for a Quick Match with opponents that fit similar competitive criteria.

Bomberman Land Web Site Is Live for Nintendo Wii DS and Sony PSP

The Official Bomberman Land website has gone live and can be found at:

http://hudsonent.com/bml/

The Official Bomberman Land Site is your one-stop-shop for everthing Bomberman Land.

Check out the screen shots for all three platforms and get ready for the fun you'll have playing. Scan the game descriptions and become one of the first Bomberman Land experts.

Watch the trailers for a sneak peek at each platform's exciting game play. By then your fingers will be tingling with excitement, so we've got just the thing... try your hand at one of the fun flash games based on Bomberman Land DS Touch 2!! We'll also keep you posted with the latest news on all three games!

PC video game Imperium Romanum: Trailer published

Kalypso Media Group are today please to publish the first trailer of the upcoming strategy blockbuster "Imperium Romanum".

Defend yourself against Barbarians attacking your settlement, watch the Chariot race in Circus Maximus within the spectacular empire building strategy game, the sequel to the successful "Glory of the Roman Empire" which sold over 1 million units throughout Europe,

The success of your fortune settlement lies very much in your own hands…..

As governor of a Roman province you have to build up and to expand the town, face barbarian attacks, you will be judged by the sophistication of your technical skills.

The 80Mb .wmv trailer is 640*480 pixels and approximately 2 minutes.

Download from here... http://www.gamershell.com/download_22713.shtml

Imperium Romanum, will be published by 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.

CYBERATHLETE PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE Announces the $300,000 CPL World Tour Grand Finals in London, UK

The Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL), a pioneer in professional video gaming competitions, announces that Gamerbase, one of the world’s most advanced gaming centers, will play host to the $300,000 CPL World Tour Grand Finals here, February 27 and 28, 2008. Featuring the largest prize offering for any professional video game tournament ever held in the UK, the event is co-sponsored by video game publisher Sierra Entertainment and in association with CPL United Kingdom.

The CPL also announced the addition of a 2007 CPL World Tour London qualifying stop, with a $40,000 prize pool, January 30, 2008, also at a state-of-the-art 80 PC LAN gaming center located within the Trocadero at Piccadilly Circus in the heart of London. Winners will be eligible to enter the World Tour Finals. Registration details for the new qualifier will be announced beginning December 10 at www.cplworldtour.com.

The 2007 CPL World Tour is a grassroots competition that has attracted a large pool of the world’s top amateur players, shining a spotlight on the next generation of professional video game sports stars. Earlier CPL World Tour qualifying events were held in Italy, Sweden and the U.S.

The Tour features two critically acclaimed titles from Sierra Entertainment:
F.E.A.R. ™ (First Encounter Assault Recon), originally released in the fall of 2005, was heralded by PC Gamer as the “Best Action Game of the Year” for its combination of stylized first-person action combat and supernatural suspense. The Finals will feature the Xbox 360™ multiplayer edition introduced last year, giving players the opportunity to compete in paranormal frenetic multiplayer action that has become the signature of the F.E.A.R. franchise.

World in Conflict™, which launched in September, is the next-generation of action strategy games. World in Conflict has received numerous editors’ choice awards from
game critics worldwide. The game breaks new ground in multiplayer gameplay by being among the first strategy games to introducing player roles to its intense team-based combat. Showcasing the Windows PC version, the intense World War 3 title has been played all year on the CPL World Tour.
“The CPL held its first international qualifier in the UK almost nine years ago and we are excited to return with the largest ever tournament in the UK,” said Angel Munoz, founder and president, CPL. “We will continue with our commitment to bringing large tournaments to the UK and Europe on a regular basis, and other events will be announced shortly for this region.”

“The culmination of a worldwide gaming tournament in London again demonstrates that the UK is at the heart of the European games scene,” said Dominic Mulroy, Managing Partner of CPL United Kingdom. “This event will be a launch pad for a new series of e-sports tournaments across the UK and Europe from 2008 onwards.”

The tournament will be held both at Gamerbase and at The CC Club, a large and popular bar and club, located next door to Gamerbase and right in the heart of London's West End. In addition to the competition, a special VIP Party will be held at the night club where Dallas-based rock band Superstring is scheduled to perform live.

Fireglow Games announces release dates for Stranger in North America

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

An innovative and never seen before magical system allows to select one's strategy and tactics in the course of a battle and thus giving an adequate answer to an enemy's 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 clarification of the eternal question of what more is important - might and weapon or cunning and magic.

There are three heroes - different from each other, each one with own personality and preferences in combat and magic. What will happen when they assemble in a single squad?

Colourful universe of Stranger inhabited not only with 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 gear
• More than 30 hours of single player campaign
• Multiplayer with up to 8 players
• Level design enables distinctive tactical options

TWICE!

“Twice!” Is a brilliant colourful puzzle game for your mobile. Its rules are well-known: you'll have to flip the face-down tiles of the puzzle one by one and remember the pattern on their front side. When you flip two identical tiles – you score points. To complete the level you have to find all the pairs. “Twice!” has three game modes, so you can pick the game for your own taste: race against time, limited number of attempts or no limits at all. The magical graphics and traditional Oriental music bless this game with a mysterious charm. Don't forget about the butterfly, it brings luck!

Game’s Features:

- colourful Oriental style graphics
- pleasant, relaxing music
- three game modes for any taste
- excellent memory training tool

Majesco Entertainment Announces 'Cake Mania 2' For The Nintendo DS

Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, and Sandlot Games, a leading developer and publisher of casual and family-friendly games, today announced Cake Mania® 2 for the Nintendo DS™. Developed by Digital Embryo, Cake Mania 2 is the follow-up to the award-winning Cake Mania game that originally debuted on PC and has achieved more than 50 million downloads worldwide and sold over 280,000 units worldwide on the DS.

“Cake Mania’s fast-paced, addictive gameplay has created a tremendous following of franchise fans,” said John Merchant, Marketing Manager, Majesco Europe. “With a wide range of feature enhancements, Cake Mania 2 for the DS offers tremendous depth while retaining the same core gameplay mechanic that made the original a handheld success.”

“We are continually inspired by the legions of fans of Cake Mania that simply can’t get enough of Jill Evans and her baking adventures,” said Daniel Bernstein, founder and CEO, Sandlot Games. “We’re pleased to once again partner with Majesco Entertainment and Digital Embryo to provide the fans of Cake Mania 2 another way to flex their flour power on the Nintendo DS.”

In Cake Mania 2, players use the stylus to lead Jill through more than 200 different levels of baking and frosting madness that include 50 unique kitchen upgrades players can buy with cumulative bakery earnings. Cake-bakers must work quickly and accurately to please an all-new demanding customer base that includes aliens, federal agents, rock stars and grannies. Plus, Jill’s new non-linear baking experience with multiple endings will take her to exotic locations like an underwater theme park and outer space. Throw in new features, cake shapes, decorations and frosting flavors and players will have their stylus busy at all times throughout the main game and in the new Endless Baking mode.

Majesco will also be revealing details of Cake Mania for the Wii™ home video game system soon.

Hudson Entertainment Releases Omega Five For Xbox LIVE Arcade

Hudson Entertainment, the North American publishing arm of Hudson Soft, today announced that Omega Five for Xbox LIVE Arcade is now available to consumers for 800 Microsoft Points. Gamerpics featuring characters from the game are also now available. Published by Hudson and developed by Natsume, the game is an all-new original IP featuring a graphically intense, side-scrolling shooter set in a three-dimensional environment.

Taking place in a futuristic world, Omega Five introduces truly hardcore action never seen before on the platform, while providing visually stunning imagery that pushes the limits for a digital download game that is less than 50 megabytes. The game is set in several 3D environments and features dazzling special effects and massive battles, all in high definition. Omega Five is unique in that players can choose from multiple humanoid characters, each with their own unique special attacks and upgradeable weapons, which they can shoot in 360 degrees. Omega Five also includes a local co-op function so a friend can join in on the aerial mayhem.

“Omega Five delivers on Hudson’s continuing promise to bring original IP to the Xbox LIVE Arcade library,” said John Greiner, President and CEO of Hudson Entertainment. “This title will truly impress players with its vibrant and stunning graphics, classic side-scrolling gameplay and a co-op mode so that everyone can join in on the fun.”

Wii And Nintendo DS Controls Earn Nintendo A Second Emmy Award

For the second year in a row, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has honored Nintendo with an Emmy Award for excellence in engineering creativity. The groundbreaking Wii system was recognized for its innovative motion-sensing controls, which have attracted a broad range of nontraditional gamers and veteran players alike. The award also recognized Nintendo DS for its pioneering touch-screen control scheme and distinctive dual-screen display, both of which helped to make it the nation's top-selling game system of 2007.

Presented in Las Vegas at the annual Technological & Engineering Emmy Awards on Jan. 7, these latest honors set the stage for even more exciting control innovations from Nintendo in 2008. A forthcoming Mario Kart racing game for Wii will be packaged with a wireless Wii Wheel, while the hotly anticipated Wii Fit will keep players more active than ever with the extraordinary Wii Balance Board.

"The pioneering interfaces for Wii and Nintendo DS reflect our long tradition of seeking new ways to enhance the gaming experience for users at every level," said Don James, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of operations. "We're grateful for this award and thank the academy for honoring us a second time."

Nintendo previously received an Emmy in 2007 for its invention of the plus-shaped D-pad, which radically changed how people interact with their video games and, by extension, their televisions. For more information about Nintendo, please visit www.Nintendo.com.