NAMCO BANDAI GAMES Celebrates 10th Anniversary Of Tales Series With Two New Games In 2008

NAMCO BANDAI GAMES Celebrates 10th Anniversary Of Tales Series With Two New Games In 2008

Tales of Vesperia for Xbox 360 and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World for Wii Highlight Celebrated Role-Playing Series' First Decade

NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. today announced Tales of Vesperia for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World for Wii. Marking the 10th anniversary of the Tales franchise in North America, these two new games expand the series’ winning combination of real-time combat, captivating storylines and remarkable graphics while introducing original elements that set a new standard for role-playing gameplay and interactive storytelling.

The debut of the Tales series on the Xbox 360, Tales of Vesperia launches the series to new heights of interactive narrative and engrossing gameplay with incredible anime-style graphics, a captivating storyline and characters as well as an upgraded battle system. Set in a world reliant on a mysterious ancient technology known as “blastia,” the game follows former knight Yuri as he delves into a shadowy plot to use these magical devices to control civilization, or destroy it.

A bold new interpretation of the elements that made the Tales series a hit with gamers around the world, Tales of Vesperia delivers a standard-setting RPG experience on the Xbox 360. Using an all-new graphics engine and character designs by the renowned Kosuke Fujishima (Ah! My Goddess, Sakura Taisen), the game delivers high-quality HD character models and environments that are indistinguishable from traditional cel-based anime. The game also makes significant additions to the series’ trademark real-time combat system, allowing players to do battle in massive battlefields and learn new special attacks that are tied to individual weapons. New finishing blows allow players to take down enemies in a single hit with correctly timed button combinations, while mission-based battles increase the variety of each encounter as players gain unique items by fulfilling various battle objectives. Players can also use materials collected by successfully executing finishing moves to craft rare and unique equipment for their characters.

Set two years after the events of the award-winning Tales of Symphonia for the Nintendo GameCube™, Dawn of the New World follows the journey of two new young heroes, Emil Castagnier and Marta Lualdi, as they seek to uncover the mystery of why their world has fallen into ruin. In their quest, their paths will cross with the original cast of Tales of Symphonia including Lloyd and Colette, as well as a summon spirit known as Ratatosk who claims to be the lord of all monsters.

Advancing the combination of story, characters and real-time battles that made Tales of Symphonia one of the best-selling and highest-rated role-playing games for the Nintendo GameCube, Dawn of the New World introduces a new monster recruitment feature in which players can capture more than 200 unique enemies and train them to actively participate in battle. Players can then feed these monsters to make them more effective, and even evolve them into several new fearsome forms. The game also features an updated real-time battle system that lets players move freely in all directions around the battlefield, execute powerful unison attacks and take advantage of a new elemental alignment system for even more strategic depth. Dawn of the New World gives players complete control over a full roster of Tales of Symphonia characters and ally monsters, letting them customize their adventure party into hundreds of unique combinations.

“The Tales series is one of our most successful and well-regarded franchises, and we’re celebrating its 10th anniversary in a big way with two new games that redefine role-playing on the Xbox 360 and Wii,” said Todd Thorson, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. “Not only can gamers look forward to playing these two incredible titles later this year, but we’ll be supporting special anniversary-themed programs throughout the year to thank all the fans of the series for their dedication and enthusiasm.”

Tales of Vesperia for the Xbox 360 and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World for Wii will be available in stores later this year. Tales of Vesperia is currently featured in the March issue of Play magazine, and Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World is featured in the March issue of Nintendo Power magazine, both now on sale nationwide. For more information on the Tales series, please visit www.namcobandaigames.com.

Grand Chase update with More Dungeons, New Equipment plus Ten Times the Daily Nutritional Requirement of Online Action!

Grand Chase is here with More Dungeons, New Equipment and Ten Times the Daily Nutritional Requirement of Online Action!

February 25th, 2008, Irvine California, Ntreev USA, Inc. announced new content and updates today for the exclusive North American release of Grand Chase, the Action Adventure MMO Brawler developed by KOG.

Get Your Brawl On in Brand New Dungeons!

In the newest update patch to Ntreev USA's North American release of the online action brawler, Grand Chase, three new dungeons have been added to the game. These new dungeons further expand the areas and maps that players can explore and conquer, solo or cooperatively. Each dungeon, as with all dungeons in the game, have three distinct difficulty levels (measured by a rating of one, tow or three stars) and their own unique final bosses that must be defeated in order to successfully complete them. In addition, the release of these new dungeons also adds new unique monsters, item drops, quests, and higher difficulty levels!

Proud Knights of Bermesiah looking to further the fight against evil should prepare for high-octane, fast-paced and brutal battles in the Forgotten City, Gaikoz's Castle and the Cemetery of the Dead to face Lich, Gaikoz and Paradom! These new dungeons are for levels 24 - 31!

www.grandchase.net

Better Equipment for Better Action!

The recent addition of new, more challenging dungeons, requires better, more powerful equipment, and the newest update includes the gear that players need to meet the challenge! New items are available for all three player types, Archers, Warriors, and Mages such as the new Royal, and Moonlight Sets for Level 25+!

www.grandchase.net

Graduate Games Releases Storked! The PC Puzzle & Platform Game

Graduate Games Releases Storked! The PC Puzzle & Platform Game

Graduate Games is proud to announce a massive update to our game Storked!, the family friendly PC puzzle and platforming game. We've listened to all the critiques and reviews and have implemented brand new features such as Point and Click Mouse controls and Puzzle Solution Playback. Storked's Gameplay is even more Frustration Free!

Storked, the pc puzzle / platform game where you control four different penguins in their quest to protect an egg has been updated to version 1.2. Graduate Games has collected all the bugs, complaints, read our storked reviews, and has listened and implemented a host of new features. The game is even more kid and family friendly than before. Some of the new features include:

Point & Click Mouse Controls - Tired of playing old school with the keyboard? Now you can simply point and click to where you want your penguin to move. To use your Penguin's abilities, simply double-click the penguin. I advise switching to the keyboard for jumping since it is still tricky.

Even More Frustration Free! Watch Puzzle Solutions - The first 50 puzzle solutions can now be watched via the pause menu. If you get stuck, just hit ESC and then click "See the solution"...the penguins will take a few moments and then walk through the solution. (Please let us know if you would like more solutions or if you are having problems with any of the existing solutions... the randomization of some game objects make exact solutions every time difficult).

Easier Kid/Easy Modes - These modes now allow you to take direct control of the egg (switch to the egg camera and use left/right keys) and roll it left and right toward the exit...you may not even need those penguins after all.

Additional Kick Power Gauge - Conveniently placed right over your penguin's head

The typical bug & glitch fixes - Hopefully we've stomped out even more bugs and minor flaws.

Cellphone mobile news: GAMEVIL USA Launches Path of a Warrior: Imperial Blood with Multiplayer Mode

A new epic multiplayer game hits mobile phones in the U.S.

GAMEVIL USA, the LA-based mobile games publisher, announced today the launch of Path of a Warrior: Imperial Blood, an epic role-playing and hack and slash adventure that now has a multiplayer mode that allows you to fight with friends and other players.

In Path of a Warrior: Imperial Blood, the nation is suffering from a civil war after the death of the Emperor, and the outcome of the war will depend on the choices the player makes throughout the game. But it’s not just the 25 different endings or the 100 plus collectible items that make this game unique. The game now has a multiplayer mode where players can participate in duels or team up with others in missions. Players can level up their characters, build up their experience and earn gold to purchase items in single player mode, then login to the multiplayer version with their upgraded characters. The multiplayer mode includes one-on-one and two-on-two battles in either duels or missions. Victorious battles will earn you more experience, gold, and fame, all of which can be applied in single player mode. Winning in two-on-two battles can earn you even more experience, gold, and fame. With a seamless blend of action, role-playing, and massive multiplayer online game play, Path of a Warrior: Imperial Blood presents a new kind of mobile game that takes advantage of the purpose of mobile phones: connecting with others.

“We wanted to take mobile gaming to the next level with networked game play and further enhance the player’s experience.” said Stephanie Huang, Marketing Manager of GAMEVIL USA, Inc. “It’s surprising that there’s not that many mobile games already out there that utilize that kind of multiplayer technology. The option for users to play with their friends makes mobile gaming even more enjoyable, and we wanted to give our players that experience with the multiplayer feature in Path of a Warrior: Imperial Blood.”

Xbox 360 HD DVD in stock despite price cut to $49.99

Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 HD DVD Player held an in-stock status at Best Buy stores and Circuit City stores despite a price cut to $49.99 this week.

On Wed., Xbox 360 HD DVD Player was available for purchase at Best Buy stores and BestBuy.com. The item was also in stock at Circuit City stores for in-store pickup and online delivery.

In contrast, online retailers Amazon.com and Kmart.com earlier this week briskly sold out of remaining inventory of the external drive immediately after the price cut.

The Xbox 360 HD DVD Player will prove to be a difficult sell to customers as the high-definition format is deemed obsolete by retailers.

Toshiba Corp. last week said it would exit the HD DVD business and end production by Mar.

U.S. retailers have begun offering HD DVD products at steep discounts to move inventory.

Best Buy and Circuit City this week discounted the HD-A3 HD DVD Player to $99.99.

Amazon.com this week price cut select HD DVD titles to as low as $11.95 to clear inventory.

Last week, it began promoting a new 57% off HD DVD sale to include box sets.

Microsoft last week said that it will end Xbox 360 HD DVD Player production but continue to provide product support.

Analysts last week said that it does not expect Microsoft to provide a Blu-ray-based solution for the Xbox 360. Instead, they predict a focus on digital content distribution via the Xbox Live online network.

Jagex Launches FunOrb Games New games portal offers greater depth of gameplay and community features

Jagex Launches FunOrb Games

New games portal offers greater depth of gameplay and community features

Jagex Ltd, the online games developer behind RuneScape, today launched FunOrb, their latest games offering. FunOrb is an engaging website that offers an array of online games, which have greater depth of play than traditional casual games.

FunOrb has been designed with time-pressed gamers in mind. “For the first time, there is a generation of experienced gamers, turned young professionals, who want to play and be challenged, but are unable to devote large amounts of free time to gaming. FunOrb addresses this niche by blending quality entertainment with social functionality, offering players of all levels a complete social gaming experience.” said Geoff Iddison, CEO, Jagex.

FunOrb will encompass a broad range of game genres, including classic shooters, puzzlers, 3D platformers and strategy games. FunOrb offers a mix of single and multiplayer games, complete with virtual ‘lobbies’ enabling users to choose who to play against from hundreds of other FunOrb players. Additional features such as friends league tables, player achievements, forums and instant messaging will also be available in-game or on the website.

While a large portion of FunOrb is free, those who become members will be granted complete access to the site with additional game levels, achievements and community features. A new game or feature will be added to FunOrb every two weeks and new multiplayer elements will be rolled out as the site continues to evolve.

FunOrb games use the same Java technology that helped to make RuneScape so successful. The proprietary technology means that the games can be played using any internet browser, without the need for long downloads or access to a high speed internet connection. Once downloaded, the games are cached and available almost instantly.

Pricing and Availability
FunOrb games are available to play by visiting www.funorb.com. Membership costs just £2.00/$3.00/€2.50 per month or alternatively, if players purchase a combined FunOrb and RuneScape package, FunOrb membership will cost only £1.40/$2.00/€2.00 per month. The service is fully localised into English and German and will be launched in new languages throughout 2008/9.

SACRED 2: FALLEN ANGEL - Fact Sheet

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is an Action RPG with a rich story that takes place in a giant, open-ended and seamless world. This world contains hundreds of dungeons, treacherous opponents and a variety of challenging quests. Intelligent enemies, steadily adapting in number and difficulty based on player progress, challenge in heroic single- and multiplayer battles.

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel provides numerous unique items that can be gathered in this mystical world. A deep reward system further enables advancements of character, individual attributes and character-specific fighting styles, each designed to keep players returning to the world of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel to discover what is around the next bend. Drop-in styled cooperative multiplayer gameplay ensures players will enjoy the game alone or seamlessly with friends at any time. Five unique multiplayer modes round out the experience and offer a refreshing, first-class gaming experience in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel.

Key features

• • A huge, seamless and dynamic world that allows for free-form exploration
  
• Two campaigns: play as the “Light” or “Shadow” side, complete with distinct skills, rewards and story-elements tailored to the chosen path
  
• Six exceptional, playable characters, each with a distinct look, capabilities and in-game motivation
  
• Modifiable combat arts: change and upgrade your alter ego’s combat skills as you make choices throughout the game
  
• Fight effectively from the back of a number of mounts under your control
  
• Deities offer unique combat disciplines to players
  
• The ultimate multiplayer experience – seamless transition between single- and multiplayer gaming modes via the Internet or Xbox Live
  
• Captivating online modes of play challenge gamers in cooperative and PvP play
  
• Extraordinary, cutting-edge graphics utilize the latest technologies
  

The information contained in this fact sheet relates to a prerelease product that may be substantially modified before its first commercial release. Accordingly, the information may not accurately describe or reflect the product when first commercially released. This fact sheet is provided for informational purposes only, and CDV Software Entertainment makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to the fact sheet or the information contained in it.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Final Box Shot Released for Psychological Thriller Adventure Overclocked: A History of Violence

Final Box Shot Released for Psychological Thriller Adventure Overclocked: A History of Violence

In anticipation of the official release of their psychological thriller Adventure game for the PC, Overclocked: A History of Violence, leading computer software publisher Lighthouse Interactive today revealed the final box shot featuring five young men and women using the dark and eerie underground passageways of New York City as their last refuge. Psychiatrist, David McNamara, has the hard task of exploring their minds to find out what happened. Created by award-winning developer House of Tales Entertainment, this highly anticipated psychological thriller Adventure game on PC DVD-ROM is scheduled to release on May 2, 2008 in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia and Benelux territories and it will begin shipping to major retail stores across Canada and the U.S. on March 31, 2008.

Overclocked explores an archetypical, yet actual condition of mankind: violence. Players will become engrossed in a world where memories and illusions; dreams and reality; perpetrators and victims… collide. Overclocked: A History of Violence is Windows Vista compatible.

To download the official box shot, visit:
ftp://ftp.lighthouse-interactive.com/Overclocked/

To find out more about 'Overclocked: A History of Violence' and to keep up with the latest news on the game, visit www.lighthouse-interactive.com.

GAME SUMMARY

Set against the backdrop of a catastrophic thunderstorm raging over New York City, step into the world of Overclocked as army psychiatrist, David McNamara. You are called to the Staten Island Forensic Hospital in New York City to consult on a case that requires your expertise in forensic psychiatry. Tasked with exploring the minds of five young men and women who were found scared, screaming, and without memory, you make alarming discoveries as you begin to cautiously probe the psyches of your young patients. Throughout the game, you will play as five other characters in this chilling interactive psycho thriller.

FEATURES

• Experience Overclocked from various perspectives as you play as six different characters throughout the game
• Explore 45 diverse locations with densely animated pre-rendered settings
• Innovative storytelling techniques create a unique gameplay experience
• Meet and interact with a cast of intriguing characters, each with their own distinct personalities
• Characters come to life with fluid movements and realistic facial expressions created with Emotion™ FX 2 technology
• Cinematic cut-scenes designed using advanced camera techniques pioneered by feature films
• Exceptional visuals enhanced by shadow and shader effects, real-time atmospheric particle effects (rain, snow, lightening), and dynamic lighting
• Unique icon-based dialogue system

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

OS: Windows 2000 / XP / Vista
CPU: 1.3 GHz Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon processor
RAM: 512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended for Windows Vista)
Video: DirectX 9-compliant video card Shader Model 1.1
PC DVD-ROM: 4x
Sound: DirectX 9 compliant sound card
Available Hard Disk Space: 4.4 GB
DirectX: 9.0c
Other: Mouse, Keyboard and Speakers

Brings Friends Closer Together With Go! Messenger Video chat, voice chat and instant messaging for PSP

Brings Friends Closer Together With Go!Messenger

Video chat, voice chat and instant messaging for PSP

Friends and Gamers can be that little closer together with the launch of Go!Messenger, the new wireless communication package for PSP (PlayStationPortable) from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) and BT.

PSP users can now keep in touch with each other, for free[1], from any wireless broadband internet connection. Go!Messenger will allow gamers to Video, Voice and Instant Message (IM) each other from anywhere in the world all from their PSPs. When connected to a Go!Cam, the attachable video camera and microphone for PSP, users also have the ability to make video calls to their friends and leave fun video and voice messages.

Go!Messenger has been developed in partnership with BT, allowing users to connect to wireless broadband at over 2,500 BT Openzone hotspots and in and around city centres. Users will have the freedom of a mobile phone except that through Go! Messenger all calls to other users are free1.

“With Go!Messenger, the PSP is pushing new boundaries, adding unique communication features to all the existing multimedia experiences,” said Stephane Hareau, PSP European Marketing Manager. “Enabling more than 8.5 Million PSP users across the SCEE region to communicate with each other, through Video or Voice chat, truly confirms the always evolving nature and potential of PSP."

Warren Buckley, BT Group Director Mobility & Convergence said, “By working with PlayStation, BT is helping to consolidate PSP as a communications and entertainment device that will sit at the heart of a PSP user’s digital lifestyle. For the first time, the PSP community can stay constantly connected through voice and video chat and instant messaging both in and out of the home. We believe that this exciting development will only help SCEE to attract even more customers for the PSP.”

Obscure: The Aftermath And The Audition Set To 'Warm Up' Both Gamers And Music Fans

Ignition Entertainment has partnered with Chicago-based music group THE AUDITION on the band’s latest music video. The music video for “Warm Me Up,” the pop-rock quintet’s first single off their second album, Champion (Victory Records), features gameplay footage from Ignition’s upcoming survival-horror videogame Obscure: The Aftermath (Wii, PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, PC). In turn, The Audition provided several songs for use in a series of groundbreaking live-action trailers created by Ignition to promote Obscure: The Aftermath.

“The Audition is a fantastic band, and their energy on the single ‘Warm Me Up’ really compliments our teen horror game Obscure: The Aftermath,” said Ajay Chadha, president of Ignition Entertainment USA. “The videogame has a unique blend of genuine horror, witty dialogue and awesome co-op gameplay. It’s only fitting that this one-of-a-kind game benefits from such a unique, synergetic collaboration between the music and videogame industries.”

The first-of-their-kind trailers are the opening scenes from Obscure: The Aftermath and follow the story of a group of friends attending college who discover that a mysterious black flower, with addictive hallucinogenic effects, also has the terrifying ability to transform people into hideous monsters. The films were shot at the old American Greetings Creative Studios building set just outside of Cleveland, Ohio, and feature a cast of sexy, young men and women, including Cleveland native Matt Waldeck, who recently appeared in “The Young and the Restless.” The Audition’s “Warm Me Up” music video was shot in conjunction with the trailers and features the same set and actors.

For more information about The Audition or their sophomore album, Champion, please visit www.theauditionrocks.com or www.myspace.com/theaudition.