SEGA's Valkyria Chronicles Role-Playing Game Heads to the PLAYSTATION 3

SEGA's Valkyria Chronicles Journeys To The West

Visually Stunning Role-Playing Game Heads to the PLAYSTATION 3

SEGA of America, Inc. and SEGA Europe Ltd. today announced that Valkyria Chronicles a fresh new take on the traditional role-playing genre, is coming exclusively to the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system. Soon to be released as Valkyria of the Battlefield: Gallian Chronicles in Japan, where it has already gathered the interest of legions of gamers, Valkyria Chronicles combines strategy elements of tactical role-playing games with real-time action sequences. All of this is played out in an innovative and beautiful visual style.

Valkyria Chronicles is set in a fictitious continent reminiscent of 1930s Europe - divided in two and ruled by the Empire and the Federation. The Empire has set its sights on invading a small neutral country called Gallia, which is situated in the middle of the two great empires. The game follows a hero named Welkin and his fellow soldiers of the Federation’s 7th Platoon as they engage in a series of epic battles.

Built upon the new “CANVAS” engine, developed internally by SEGA Game Studios Japan, Valkyria Chronicles’ stunning 3D graphics resemble a watercolor painting in motion, taking full advantage of the processing capabilities of the PLAYSTATION 3. The power of the PLAYSTATION 3 also allows the development team to exploit the full potential of this new engine, giving players many different stunning environments to explore. A new type of tactical battle mechanic has been specifically designed for Valkyria Chronicles. Known as “BLiTZ,” this gives players freedom to strategically move around the environment and attack enemies using real-time controls, something never before seen in the tactical role-playing game genre. The new “CANVAS” engine technology, the “BLiTZ” battle concept and an epic storyline offers players hours of exciting gameplay.

“Valkyria Chronicles has been enthusiastically requested by European fans” said Gary Knight, European Marketing Director SEGA Europe ltd. “The unique graphics and compelling gameplay are just two reasons why we’re delighted to bring it to them.”

Ubisoft to bid for game licences rather than major takeover - Guillemot

Ubisoft Entertainment may speed up its expansion plans as a result of the bid by Electronic Arts for Take Two Interactive Software but is targeting the purchase of new licences for games rather than a major takeover, Yves Guillemot, chairman of the French video games maker, told Les Echos.

'The desire of EA to buy Take Two pushes us to go faster, to accelerate internal growth but also to look at acquisition opportunities,' the business daily quoted him as saying.

Ubisoft shares fell 1.85 pct yesterday after investors decided that EA's bid for Take Two meant the US games giant is less likely to seek to acquire its French rival, in which EA holds 25 pct of voting rights.

Source: Forbes AFX

Wii Homebrew add Linux emulators, mp3, how to get home brew on the Wii

"Fans of Homebrew on the Nintendo Wii can celebrate with an explosion of releases today, in just a few hours there has been a release of a proof of concept version of Linux for the Wii, an MP3 Player, the Super Nintendo emulator Snes9X has been ported and a converter that converts Gamecube Dol files into Elf for usage on the Wii (Which opens up a multitude of emulators and homebrew games and applications).

A tutorial on how to get homebrew working with the Twilight Hack will help those interested."

Source: Slashdot games

Video Game Review: Turok

The “Turok” series has been dead for a long time.

When the game first came out for Nintendo 64, it was heralded as one of the best console first-person shooters. The two proper sequels that followed improved upon their predecessor.

But when Turok Evolution came out on the next generation of consoles, the world wept as their favorite Native American hero was featured in what many considered to be one of the worst games ever. Now, almost six years later, the franchise is back with a Xbox 360 title, simply called “Turok.”

This game has potential but falls short in almost every area.

The story is about space marines that must find a war criminal on an unknown planet and bring him back to earth. As players progress, bits and pieces about Turok and the war criminal, Kane, will be revealed through some very cool flashbacks. The flashbacks will make Turok seem more human and develop his character better than anything else in the game. That’s a problem. The flashbacks may be cool, but the story never picks up. Deeper things are hinted at and the dialog can be funny at times, but it just seems like a summer flick that relies too much on explosions and action with not enough story development. It’s just too bad that the depth isn’t there. Much of that is also due to the fact that the game is beatable in two sittings.

The gameplay is generic but works. Some areas of the game seem to hand out cheap deaths, and can get frustrating as hell. After the short campaign, players can play the typical capture-the-flag and death match modes online. The only thing that sets these modes apart is the inclusion of dinosaurs and bugs on the maps that will constantly attack everyone in the match. One neat online mode is a four-person co-op mode. Unfortunately the mode only has three maps to play, more potential that never gets built upon.

It was hard to love this game. I liked it, but could never stop thinking of what this game might have been if only it had spent more time in development. Hopefully the next “Turok” game doesn’t take so long to come out, and the developers take the time to build on all of the potential laid out in this game to make a worthy sequel.

Source: Advance Titan

Video Game Review: Chibi Robo: Park Patrol

The “Chibi Robo” series is vastly overlooked. In today’s gaming world filled with hyper-realistic graphics and violence-fueled platforms, Chibi Robo: Park Patrol may be too cutesy for most. However, by passing up this game because of its cuteness, gamers are doing themselves a great disservice and missing out on a fun game.

The point of Chibi Robo is to grow flowers in a park and get visitors to come to this barren wasteland. The environment is in trouble and Citrusoft, the makers of the Chibi Robo units, are making special Chibi units to clean up the parks for free. In order for the four-inch hero to get more flowers into the park, he must dance to make the plant send out more buds. It is a strange concept, but it’s a lot of fun. Then, armed with his trusty squirter, Chibi must water all of the buds and continue to do this until the park is green again. Every action is controlled with the touch screen.

During his mission to restore the park, Chibi can also collect happy points to upgrade himself, buy new items and even get vehicles to make traveling faster. Mini games are also sprinkled around through out, the best one being five-pin bowling.
There are very few enemies in the game. Chibi will only have to fight Smoglings and Smoglobbs. This tends to make the game repetitious. Even though the game can get a little boring with the same tasks being performed every day, somehow the new items for sale and mini games keep the game just fresh enough.

Chibi Robo: Park Patrol is a charming game for everyone. Although not as good as the GameCube iteration, it still deserves to be played by fans of the series and gamers looking for a fun DS game. The game is only available at Wal-Mart, and I urge everyone to buy it so Nintendo makes a Chibi game for the Wii.

Source: Advance Titan

Koch Media and ZeniMax Europe Ltd Announce Distribution Deal for Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation

Koch Media and ZeniMax Europe Ltd Announce Distribution Deal

Koch Media today announced a deal with ZeniMax Europe Ltd. to distribute Bethesda Softworks’ STAR TREK: Conquest for the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and Mud Duck Productions’ AMF Bowling: Pinbusters! for the Nintendo Wii in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

STAR TREK: Conquest for PlayStation 2 and Wii features a blend of strategy and intense action set in ”The Next Generation” era. Take control of Federation, Klingon, Romulan, Cardassian, Dominion, and Breen forces and lead them in a campaign to control the Galaxy, one planet at a time.

Experience the excitement of the lanes with AMF Bowling Pinbusters! for Wii, based on the popular American sport. Pinbusters! caters to any gamer looking for pick up and play action in a party atmosphere along with easy-to-learn controls, unique mini-games, and a wide-array of colourful characters.

The agreement continues to focus Koch Media’s plans to utilise their local sales and marketing expertise to grow their distribution partnerships.

“We are absolutely delighted that a company with the standing of Bethesda Softworks have chosen to work with us,” enthused Craig McNicol, Managing Director of Koch Media UK. “We will work with diligence and passion to ensure that these games get the attention they deserve. Our Nindie team are already getting excited enquiries about Conquest on Wii in particular.”

“Koch Media’s distribution and staff are the perfect fit for these titles. We are delighted to be working with such an experienced distributor and look forward to working with them in 2008,” said Greg Baverstock, Sales & Business Development Director for Bethesda Softworks Europe®.

Wii-kly Update: Two New Classic Games Added To Wii Shop Channel Kirby 64 and Psychosis

Wii-kly Update: Two New Classic Games Added To Wii Shop Channel

This week's additions take players on a psychedelic trip down memory lane. Kirby® is back and armed with a bunch of new talents, including the option to combine abilities. Curious to find out what mixing the Burn and Cutter powers gives Kirby? We won't spoil that for you here. If the colorful landscapes in the pink sphere's world are too much for you and you're looking for straight firepower instead, then try plunging your soul into the mind of a twisted demon. We'll just see how you fare against wave after wave of bizarre enemy creatures in that kind of environment.

Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are:

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards: (Nintendo 64, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): 

Kirby's first 3-D adventure is also his Nintendo 64 debut, and it finds the always-versatile hero battling a new enemy called Dark Matter. Dark Matter is after a distant land's powerful crystal, but a young fairy named Ribbon attempts to save it by escaping with the gem to Dream Land. Now the crystal has been broken, and it's scattered around the world. Take control of Kirby and help him journey across six worlds, battling a wide variety of enemies and challenging bosses, as he tries to collect all 100 pieces of the shattered crystal. Along the way, you'll use Kirby's trademark copying ability to use enemies' strengths against them. Not only that, but try combining any two abilities to create a brand-new one that is usually stronger than the original. Throw in three exciting multiplayer minigames, and you've got a package of which even King Dedede would be proud. Fans of Kirby and action games with bright, colorful graphics should vacuum this one up.

Psychosis: (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 600 Wii Points): 

This is a side-scrolling shooter played in a world created from the mind of a twisted demon. Your soul has suddenly wandered into that evil world that exists in every person's heart. The only way out is to blast your way past the grotesque creatures that block your path in five "causes" (stages). You must face the dangers of this psychedelic world by making full use of three shot types and the satellite option. With power-ups, you can change your shots to a wide-coverage beam, a satellite-generated laser and more. Each shot type can be powered up to three levels. You can also block enemy fire by rotating the satellites to a desired position. How you use these features will be the key to successfully escaping this strange and surreal world.

The Commander Series Expands To The Napoleonic Era Slitherine Announces Commander: Napoleon At War

The Commander Series Expands To The Napoleonic Era

Slitherine Announces Commander: Napoleon At War

After the surprising success of World War II hex-based strategy game Commander: Europe at War, Slitherine is pleased to announce the extension of the franchise to a new and even more challenging historical setting with Commander: Napoleon at War.

The first in the series of high level turn based strategy games, Commander: Europe at War launched in July 2007 and, since then has received a wide array of stunning reviews from all over the world. It is now considered as one of the benchmark titles in the genre and has been translated into more than 10 languages. 'We are very pleased with how Commander: Europe at War did in the market', said Iain McNeil, Development Director of Slitherine. 'It was our first release under the Kameleon Project brand, and we are happy to have proved we can help small independent developers, not only by completing and releasing their games, but also by making them a success story in the marketplace'.

Commander: Napoleon at War is the second game in the Commander series and is in development by Commander: Europe at War’s original developer Firepower Entertainment and historical games developer The Lordz Games Studio. Both studios are working under the Kameleon Project umbrella.

'Commander: Napoleon at War will not be re-inventing the strategic approach of its predecessor', continues Iain McNeil. 'We want to adapt the gameplay to the different war mechanics and troop movements of the Napoleonic era but keep the same fresh and simple gameplay approach that is easy to learn, but hard to master. Also thanks to the support of an ever growing community of fans, Commander: Europe at War has evolved into a great gaming experience and so we don't want to change too much of it'.

Features
• 8 campaigns starting from Napoleons assault on Austria in 1805 up to the 100 days campaign ending at Waterloo in 1815.
• Take control of Napoleon's forces or the Allied Coalition who opposed him, including Britain, Prussia, Austria and Russia.
• Huge map covering all of Europe in amazing detail
• Research many new technologies and control the focus of your nations research.
• Dynamic weather system including mud, snow, storms and more
• Trade routes and pirate raids
• Fortresses and siege warfare
• 12 different units types including Militia, Line & Guard Infantry, Light & Heavy Cavalry, Foot & Horse Artillery, Frigates, Ships of the Line and Pirates and Privateers.
• Recruit historic commanders such as Ney, Blucher, Wellington & many more.
• Multiplayer via LAN, hot seat, PBEM and Internet

Major League Gaming Collaborates With Ubisoft On Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2

Major League Gaming Collaborates With Ubisoft On Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2

Unprecedented relationship underscores rising prominence of league and competitive gaming

Today Major League Gaming (MLG), the professional videogame league, announced its collaboration with Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, on the development of the highly anticipated Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2.

The new Rainbow Six title features an "MLG Map" that pays homage to the MLG Pro Circuit, depicting an MLG event at the Las Vegas Convention Center. MLG and Ubisoft collaborated on the development of the map, which was designed with competitive gaming in mind.

The collaboration reflects the rising importance of both MLG and competitive multiplayer gaming in live and online environments. With millions of gamers playing at its live competitions and on its websites, MLG is now recognized by players and publishers as a leading authority on competitive play, and its rules and game settings have become the de facto standard for competition around the world.

"We were thrilled that Ubisoft chose MLG to collaborate on the development of a map specially designed for competitive gamers," said Matthew Bromberg, President and CEO of Major League Gaming. "Rainbow Six was a terrific addition to our Pro Circuit last year, and we can't wait to turn our millions of Pro Circuit, online and TV fans onto this new game."

"Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas transformed the way gamers play online multiplayer games in the current generation of hardware," said Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Ubisoft. "The Rainbow Six franchise has been a leader in the world of online multiplayer video games since 1998, and we are proud to have worked with MLG on Vegas 2."

MLG will support the overall effort by including Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 in its 2008 Pro Circuit, including a special release event for the game in April. The multi-city MLG Pro Circuit, which will be covered by ESPN.com, kicks off April 11, 2008 at the Meadowlands Expo Center outside of New York City.

To learn more about Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2, please visit http://www.rainbowsixgame.com.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 ships in March 2008 for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and PC.

Pirates of the Caribbean and Desperate Housewives Games Available for Digital Download on Metaboli

Pirates of the Caribbean and Desperate Housewives Games Available for Digital Download on Metaboli

Metaboli, Europe’s leading games download platform to Distribute Disney Interactive Studios’ PC Titles in United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy

This month, Metaboli made available its first two Disney Interactive Studios PC titles Pirates of The Caribbean and Desperate Housewives. The next highly-anticipated new release will be Turok – from the company’s Touchstone label – this spring

All titles will be added to both of Metaboli’s cutting edge digital distribution services: Games-on-Demand subscription and Download-to-Own purchase, accessible through Metaboli’s own Websites and across a network of more than 50 white-label distribution partners sites, including Europe’s leading broadband ISPs (Virgin Media, Orange, T-Online and Telecom Italia) and major retailers (GAME, Fnac, Saturn...).

Pierre Forest, Metaboli’s VP Content, comments “Our goal is to bring high-quality gaming experiences like Pirates of the Caribbean and Desperate Housewives to Internet audiences across Europe. Gamers can expect the same level of service from us that they have come to expect from Disney.”

Metaboli will also be powering a Turok Download-to-Own mini-site, enabling promotion of the title directly to internet audiences across Europe. The site will offer a pre-load functionality, allowing consumers to download the file in advance, ready to play immediately the very minute it is released.

About Metaboli

Metaboli is Europe’s leading games download platform. Metaboli is also the only platform in the world offering the possibility to download hundreds of video games for a monthly subscription, or the single game purchase. These offers are available on www.metaboli.com (Games on Demand subscription) and www.gamesplanet.com (Buy and Download), as well as through the white label portals of its 50 European distribution partners. Thanks to its distribution network, Metaboli is the only digital content distributor (present on all of Europe’s four largest Internet Service Providers (ISP): Orange, T-Online, Virgin Media and Telecom Italia. With distribution agreements with the most renowned video games publishers, Metaboli offers the most complete content offer available in Europe, regularly enriched with new titles. A pioneer in the digital distribution of video games, Metaboli has experienced annual growth of over 100% since 2004 with over 100 000 monthly paying subscribers and more than 10 000 games sold per month at the end of 2007.

To find out more: www.metaboli.com and www.gamesplanet.com