STAINLESS GAMES ANNOUNCES FREE UPDATE FOR CRYSTAL QUEST ON XBLA

Leading UK video game developer Stainless Games today announces the release of a free update for purchasers of its hit downloadable game on Xbox Live Arcade, Crystal QuestTM. The update will be available on the service from 6th Feb 2008.

Originating back in the 1980’s as the first colour game on the Apple Macintosh, Crystal Quest is one of the industry’s most enduring casual arcade games – appearing on many platforms over the years as diverse as Nintendo GBA, Windows Vista and Mobile. Most recently Crystal Quest was released in a new version specifically adapted for the revolutionary Novint Falcon controller.

“As one of the most prolific developers on Xbox Live Arcade, we felt that we wanted to show our commitment to continued support of both the XBLA community as well as one of our most treasured original IP’s” said Patrick Buckland, CEO for Stainless Games. “So when we came up with a new gameplay mode for CQ, we wanted to find a way to get it to existing XBLA consumers as soon as possible.”

The update adds a new twist to the game through score multipliers, which put more emphasis on the speed and skill of the player. It also features other minor fixes, including a new demo mode for people who haven’t yet tried the game.

“We’re also hoping that a new crop of X360 owners will now be prompted to give Crystal Quest a try,” continued Shaun Smith, Creative Director. “We really think that we’ve made a great 400 point title even better.”

“This update will allow players to get even higher scores,” added Ben Gunstone, Production Director at Stainless Games. “So we’ll be retiring the existing leaderboards as of today and starting new ones on the 6th Feb……but you will still be able to access the old leaderboards for the sake of digital posterity!”

To get the update, existing players will simply need to fire up their copy of Crystal Quest and the game will download and install the update. New customers will automatically receive the updated version.

NEW FUTURISTIC GAMING MOUSE DELIVERS CYBORG PERFORMANCE

Saitek, a leading designer and manufacturer of consumer electronic products for PC and gaming, has announced the launch of its new Cyborg Mouse. The high end laser mouse is designed specifically for gaming and aimed at serious gamers who play intensely for long periods at a time.

The Cyborg Mouse has a unique switch-activated motor that moves the rear shell back and forth, expanding or contracting the mouse to fit any user’s hand. This not only increases control but will also prevent tiredness during long periods of game play. Mouse length can be adjusted using either a software control panel installed with the drivers, or by holding the mode button on the Cyborg mouse down and then pushing the mouse’s d-pad into position.

As well as adjustable length, the Cyborg mouse also features a scroll wheel with adjustable detent force. The scroll force selector switch has three positions and sets the sensitivity of weapon selection from low to high to suit the gamer’s preferences.

Other controls include a 4-way low profile hat switch plus 7 buttons. Controls are programmable using Saitek’s SST programming software which, with the 3 stage mode button, effectively gives a total of 24 programmable commands to customise any gaming experience. The SST software saves chosen settings as game-specific profiles.

The 3-stage mode switch also allows the user to change mouse sensitivity to help with their aim. Adjustable from 400 dpi up to 3200 dpi, the Cyborg mouse’s new anti-deceleration laser technology ensures reliable movement tracking, even at higher speeds.

With a grey and black, sleek, futuristic design, the Cyborg Mouse ensures gamers can play their favourite games with control, precision and high speed, and in complete comfort, no matter how long the gaming session.

The Cyborg Range

Saitek’s new Cyborg range is designed specifically for serious gamers who demand the best equipment and includes the Cyborg 5.1 Headset, Cyborg Command Unit, Cyborg Rumble Pad, and the Cyborg Keyboard. Enthusiastic gamers will play intensely for long periods of time and need peripherals that offer outstanding comfort and durability.

Cyborg competition

For a chance of winning a Cyborg Mouse and other Cyborg accessories visit www.pimp-my-orc.com. To be in with a chance of winning Saitek prizes and a copy of Fantasy Wars, a turn based battle strategy game from Ascaron, download an orc head from the site and try creating your own orc-celebrity!

GET GAMING WITH PREDICTIONS FROM THE WEASEL

Video gaming guru Matt Cuttle is gearing up for 2008 with his new podcast, Games Weasel, available exclusively to download from broadband entertainment network BTPodShow. Matt, who has already taken Games Weasel to No1 in the iTunes UK store gaming chart, now presents his predictions for five games which will be big news in 2008.

Games Weasel’s Top Games for 2008

Grand Theft Auto 4
Metal Gear Solid 4
Condemned 2
Devil May Cry 4
Super Smash Bro’s Brawl

Matt is no stranger to the games industry, having presented, written and directed for a broad range of shows ranging from ‘Gamers’ and ‘The Daily Quiz’ to Sky One daytime show ‘Gamezville’.

Matt’s latest project Games Weasel http://gamesweasel.btpodshow.com/ is available to download exclusively on BTPodShow, the broadband-entertainment network, which features the latest in games news, reviews, interviews and gossip for consoles, portables and PC Gaming.

BTPodShow founder Adam Curry said: “Matt Cuttle makes the perfect games guru for BTPodShow, and we’re excited to be welcoming Games Weasel to the network.”

Matt Cuttle comments: “I have always had a passion for video gaming and it’s great to be able to share it with a wider audience via Games Weasel. Hopefully the show will be enjoyed by gamers young and old alike!”

Games Weasel is just one of the shows available on BTPodShow; the online-entertainment network that allows users to play, collect, share and create millions of hours of programming, videos and music.

Ghost in the Sheet PC Video Game goes Online

Merscom announced today it is the online publisher of Ghost in the Sheet, the popular adventure game developed by CBE and published at retail by Tri-Synergy. Released over the weekend on a major casual game portal, Ghost in the Sheet has already risen to number 7; this follows on Merscom's success with Blood Ties, which reached number one on multiple portals and remains in the top-5 on many major casual game sites.

Ghost in the Sheet is a comedy adventure game of supernatural proportions. Players become a ghost and master their new paranormal skills to unravel the secrets of their life-after-death adventure. Mystery, intrigue, comedy and adventure await, with humorous and entertaining minigames integrated into the gameplay.

Unique features include:

• High-resolution graphics with detailed animations to immerse players
  
• A RPG-like skill learning system: as players progress through the game, they learn new paranormal skills that are vital for future adventures
  
• Skills range from the conventional paranormal Telekinesis to obscure skills like Scary Sound
  
• Nonlinear gameplay that allows players to freely roam the factor while solving a variety of puzzles in any order
  
• Music and sound design are seamlessly integrated into the game
  
• No dying, mazes, slider puzzles, or timed sequences that can needlessly frustrate
  
• NPCs who reveal hints and provide intriguing back-story
  
• Comic style cutscenes to supplement the plot
  

Ghost in the Sheet can currently be downloaded at http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/2732/ghost-in-the-sheet/index.html

"Building on the momentum of Blood Ties, Ghost in the Sheet is another example of giving the casual game market what it is craving", explained Lloyd Melnick, Chief Customer Officer at Merscom, "We have spoken very intimately with the major casual game portals and they have told us clearly these are the top of games our customers crave. Casual gamers are looking beyond Match-3 puzzle games and Ghost in the Sheet is a fantastic adventure game that gives casual players the depth of gameplay long expected by traditional gamers."

Emote Games To Unveil Social Gaming Technology At GDC

Emote Games a specialist production company founded by industry veterans Morgan O'Rahilly and Dave Rose to fund and produce cross-platform, interactive entertainment and to exploit emergent digital channels, will demonstrate its pioneering technology platform to select partners at the forthcoming Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Emote Game's technologies extend and socially enable brands or games, creating richer experiences for its users. This multi-device technology allows single or multi-player game clients to deliver countless benefits, such as keeping users connected for longer, higher production values, richer game play and brand extensions to new game formats, helping to retain and monetise existing communities of users. The platform offers users the convenience of game access anywhere through a familiar interface. Its core social functions provide users with convenient ways to manage their game and as a result maximise their game time.

Emote's architecture supports partner content and seamless integration to any external game engine, facilitating access to the game anywhere and granting the power of community to the user wherever they choose to play. Our technology and content approach also embeds game-play within the communities we build, allowing every user to be a participant and not constrained by the limitations of the game or its format, as a result extending game-play in compelling new directions.

The emote technologies harness the power of social networking and cross-platform access enabling users to stay connected to the brand for longer periods, said Morgan O'Rahilly, Emote Games founder and CEO, " as a result this opens the door vast opportunities including greater brand awareness, broader marketing and distribution possibilities, and expanded revenue opportunities"

Established to work with media companies and brand holders, Emote Games and the emote platforms offer a unique extension and value proposition for your existing brands and forthcoming games.

About Emote Games Limited

Emote Games Ltd is a specialist production company established to fund and produce cross-platform, interactive entertainment and to exploit emerging digital channels across all formats. Well capitalised, with an experienced management team and access to both creative talent and major IP owners, Emote brings to the games industry a new production based business model, one that's more transparent with respect to IP ownership
and return. www.emotegames.co.uk

CASUAL GAMING GETS A SHOT IN THE TENTACLE - OCTOMANIA INKED FOR Wii

Atlus U.S.A., Inc., the video game publisher voted "least likely to distribute a fun, family-friendly puzzle game," today announced it will be the exclusive North American distributor for Octomania, a new multiplayer puzzle game for Wii. Formerly beautiful and serene land suddenly ruined by a magic spell gone awry? Check. Challenging puzzle gameplay, online multiplayer, and a variety of different play modes? Affirmative. A story of mischief and mayhem filled with zany characters? It's all here, along with the hundreds of thousands of octopi you'll have to deal with. Let the Octomania begin! Octomania is scheduled to be on sale March 11, 2008, at a MSRP of $19.99.

For more on Octomania, please visit the official website: http://www.conspiracygames.com/products.php?productid=81531500073

Octomania has been rated "E" for Everyone with Comic Mischief and Mild Suggestive Themes by the ESRB.

About Octomania

On a peaceful day in the land of Lonronpia, Kari, an apprentice magician, is summoning up her favorite treat. When her spell goes horribly awry, hundreds of thousands of colored octopi suddenly rain down from the clouds. A guardian angel appears before her, asking Kari to rid the land of the octopi and undo the damage of her failed spell.

Key Features

• Encounter zany foes on your quest to rid Lonronpia of octopi! Story mode takes you to multiple locales to battle a variety of clever and humorous opponents, while Arcade mode lets you jump straight into the action. You can even opt to play in "Endless mode," where it's all about how long you can hang in there before your screen fills up.
  
• Local head-to-head and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection multiplayer modes! Whether you're playing alone, alongside a friend, or against a random player online, the fast-paced puzzle gameplay is always a blast! Two players can face off online, and up to four players can play in local multiplayer.
  
• Tons of content for a great price! Combo chains, special attacks, multiple difficulty levels... Experienced gamers will find a lot to enjoy, but newcomers will find just as much fun to be had. And with the included tutorial mode, anyone can pick it up and play!
  

Lighthouse Interactive Announces New Release Date for Belief & Betrayal

Leading Publisher Lighthouse Interactive and dtp Entertainment AG today announced that Belief & Betrayal, their highly anticipated and enthralling Adventure game that propels players into the heart of a secretive and mysterious world of power and intrigue; truth and conspiracy, finally has a new release date for the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Scandinavia and Benelux territories. Originally scheduled to release in 2007, this PC CD-ROM game will be hitting stores shelves on March 28, 2008 across the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and Benelux territories. On March 25, 2008 Belief & Betrayal will begin shipping to major retail stores across Canada and the US. Six screenshots accompany this press release. Belief & Betrayal is Windows Vista compatible.

“We decided to delay the launch of Belief & Betrayal to early 2008 to further polish the game. High quality voiceovers are especially critical in an Adventure game, therefore we invested more time in carefully casting the best actors who could bring out the individuality and believability of each character,” said Erik Schreuder, CEO of Lighthouse Interactive. “Belief & Betrayal offers an amazing gaming experience with strong gameplay features. For instance, to solve the mystery, players must take on the role of 3 different characters. Belief & Betrayal was released in France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland to critical acclaim, and our goal is to continue this success into English speaking territories, bringing Adventure gamers an experience they will thoroughly enjoy.”

GAME SUMMARY

As journalist Jonathan Danter, you discover that a ten year old murder is somehow part of a greater mystery that could destroy humanity itself. Filled with baffling plot twists and conspiracy theories, you must uncover the mystery that reaches back through history from 1194 A.D. to the time Judas received 30 pieces of silver to betray Christ.

Travel to exotic locations throughout Europe including: London, Venice, Rome and the Vatican, to uncover skeletons hidden deep within the closets of some of the most powerful leaders around the World.

FEATURES

• Play as 3 different characters throughout the game to solve the mystery
• Find lost ancient manuscripts and decipher mind-boggling codes and symbols
• Explore stunning environments and incredibly re-created historic locations
• Strong action/adventure storyline creates a compelling gameplay experience
• Use the memories and thoughts of the intriguing cast of characters to solve puzzles and expose dark mysteries
• Game based on historical events though the story is pure fiction
• Easy to navigate 3rd person point & click interface using the Virtools engine

CRYPTIC STUDIOS LOOKING FOR TALENTED ASPIRING ARTISTS

Cryptic Studios, one of the leading independent developers of Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG), today announced that they are looking for aspiring gaming artists to submit their art portfolios for review.

Artists attending the Game Developer Conference (GDC) in San Francisco on February 18-22, 2008, as well as Bay Area artists and students, are invited to submit their art portfolios to Cryptic Studios for consideration. Fifteen selected artists will have the opportunity to visit the award-winning development studio in Los Gatos, California, for a professional review session. The selected artists will sit down with Cryptic’s art team and receive professional critique and feedback on each individual’s portfolio and suggestions for how to get into the gaming industry.

“This is a terrific opportunity for budding artists who aspire to work in the gaming space to learn about current game industry trends and how we might align your work to be successful,” said Shayne Herrera, Art Development Director of Cryptic Studios. “Gettingprofessional feedback from artists who are working on games on a daily basis can be really helpful to artists trying to decide on their career path.”

The deadline for portfolio entries is Friday, February 15. Selected artists will then be invited to visit Cryptic Studios on Friday, February 22, to meet with the creative team and present their work.Artists should submit their art portfolio for consideration via e-mail to artists@crypticstudios.com

For more information about Cryptic Studios, please visit www.crypticstudios.com

CID THE DUMMY FACT SHEET

Format: PSP/PS2/Wii/PC/DS
Launch Date: Q2, 2008
ESRB: TBD
PEGI: TBD
Game Type: Action Platformer
Publisher: Oxygen Int. (Wii,PSP,PS2,PC,DS) - Playten (Russian Territories PC version only)
Developer: Twelve Interactive
Technology: Vicious Engine (Wii,PSP,Ps2,PC) Xproton (DS)

KEY INFORMATION/FEATURES

A star is born and he's made to last. CID THE DUMMY makes his debut in Twelve Interactive's first multi-platform production. It's an all-new action platformer that is sure to grab you with its enjoyable, fun gameplay, featuring a totally original character with charisma and moves, different fighting styles with which to battle enemies from unarmed combat to weapons like the Bazooka that can freeze, hit and burn.

• Interact as only a crash dummy can. Climb walls, swing on ropes, burn obstacles, destroy exploding barrels, use lifters, bounce on springs and with a neat head butt destroy walls all in stunningly realized environments. Game environment interaction is the most important part of the gameplay.
• CID's world is swarming with a host of fearfully fun enemies like the Dumper, Cursed Dummy and the bizarre Failed Experiment.
• Apart from fighting enemies, the player will enjoy solving puzzles, avoiding traps and using acrobatic skills to get out of dangerous situations!

Game Storyline

The game is set in a near-future version of our planet where litigiousness and refusal to accept responsibility have grown to such an extent that the lowly Crash Impact Dummy has risen to a position of unrivalled importance, employed in an almost endless barrage of safety tests. Professor B.M. Werken and D-Troit saw the gap in the market and opened their own hugely successful Crash Impact Dummy manufacturing plant.

When Professor B.M. Werken tries vainly to regain his lost daughter through the creation of M.I.A. (a state of the art Crash Impact Dummy imbued with his daughter's essence) and D-Troit turns Evil life gets more complicated.

Fast forward to the present day. The Evil D-Troit has kidnapped M.I.A. and the Professor is desperate to get her back. In his hour of need he turns to one of his trusty Crash Impact Dummies, CID is chosen at random to go on the against-all-odds mission to save M.I.A. He's heard rumours that she’s the most beautiful girl in the world and ... given the chance to rescue her? That’d show something, right? It’d show that a mere Crash Impact Dummy, a nobody, a guy stuck in a job that he hates through no choice of his own - it’d show that he really can be something, right? Wrong. Just doesn’t have the kahonas to take a chance. Until, that is, the Professor fits CID with his latest development in Crash Impact Cyberemotics: the ESS. The ESS gives CID basic emotions - it gives him hopes, dreams, self-confidence. You name it, CID’s got it. And, thus armed, he goes forth to rescue M.I.A.

Special powers,weapons,moves and features

The game mechanics of CID THE DUMMY are largely based on classic action gameplay. CID can jump, fight, climb ladders, bounce on springs and bumpers, use stealth mode to creep, flip-jump walls and swim underwater. He'll need to in a world where there are obstacles like, dangerous prickles, swinging trunks or blades, exploding barrels, acid spits and flames, robot fish and exploding mines. But he wouldn't be the hero he is without his Bazooka. Depending on the enemy he can choose the ammo: Freeze, Flame or Rubber Bullet them out of his way to a sticky but never gory end.

Finally in panic situations when the going gets tough he can use the SPECIAL BLOW which creates a Shockwave explosion that destroys everything around him.

Variety in the action and gameplay guarantees hours of fun for players of all ages. Gameplay features have been introduced to help make CID THE DUMMY a more recognizable and unique character and to better implement the crash test dummy theme, we have introduced simple but fun to use devices that underline the ‘crash test dummy’ essence of our hero. And finally what self-respecting crash dummy would be complete without the ... ... CRASH TESTS!

There are three Crash Test levels (one in PS2, plus 2 Extra levels on PSP) in which the player drives a super-modded vintage Italian car, trying to reach maximum speed in order to destroy all the five walls during the crash test! These are bonus levels that are great fun and give the player the chance to earn bonuses and special gifts.

NEW TRAILER FOR NARUTO: NINJA DESTINY UNLEASHED

TOMY Corporation and D3Publisher of America, Inc. have released a kickin' new trailer for NARUTO: Ninja Destiny for the Nintendo DSTM handheld system. Available to download and view now, this trailer showcases Rock Lee and Gaara squaring off in a one-on-one fight, while demonstrating the intuitive touch-screen gameplay unique to the DS. NARUTO: Ninja Destiny is expected ship to retail stores nationwide on February 26, 2008.

Players can soon take their ninja battles on the road with NARUTO: Ninja Destiny, the first 3D head-to-head NARUTO fighter for the Nintendo DS. Any aspiring ninja can unleash powerful jutsu and take advantage of items to brawl his way to victory against 16 different characters. Dual-screen combat will allow fierce battles to unfold on the top screen while special power ups can be strategically unleashed on the touch screen for fast, frenetic action. Core fighting game fans and casual gamers alike will find plenty to enjoy, thanks to a combo move system that is both intuitive to pick-up and challenging to master. With new characters, stages, and a much-improved frame rate, NARUTO: Ninja Destiny offers new content over the original Japanese version while offering a slew of popular gameplay options like the intense single-player story mode, versus, and wireless two-player battles.

Download the new trailer by visiting www.kohnkecomm.com/dl/d3/ninjadestiny-exclusive.zip