DIABOLIK: THE ORIGINAL SIN Nintendo Wii DS Sony PlayStation 2 PSP and PC

DIABOLIK: THE ORIGINAL SIN

Worldwide official license acquired

Black Bean Games announces a strategic partnership with Artematica Entertainment to bring a new line of exciting titles to adventure gamers all over the world. Their first release is to debut this year, with Black Bean acquiring worldwide publishing rights to the console versions of Artematica's latest adventure game "Diabolik: The Original Sin".

The game delivers a compelling story set in a unique stylised world originally created in 1962 by sisters Angela and Luciana Giussani, and based around the cult comic book hero Diabolik.

"Diabolik: The Original Sin" is a third person adventure game blending the heritage of the point-and-click genre with fast-paced combat and stealth sequences. Its engrossing story casts the player as a master thief called Diabolik, out to rescue his beloved Eva, in a fascinating world mixing 3D real-time graphics and 2D black & white comic-style animations.

The main character, Diabolik, is an anti-hero, a skilled thief and a master of disguise who loves luxury, expensive cars and hi-tech gadgets. He can be merciless and he has no concern for anyone but himself and his one true love, Eva.

"Diabolik: The Original Sin" features an unconventional character and graphic style, an immersive gameplay and a crime story rich in intrigue, love, vengeance and greed.

"Bringing Diabolik: The Original Sin to the market on multiple formats is a thrilling opportunity for us – commented David Pain, General Manager of Lago/Black Bean Games – We are delighted to be working with Artematica whose skill, creativity and track record in the adventure sector will ensure we deliver a great game appealing to adventure gamers and to a broader gaming audience".

"After years of mutually profitable collaboration, we're excited about this long-term partnership with Black Bean - said Riccardo Cangini, CEO of Artematica – finally an Italian joint-venture showing the skills and the determination required to obtain a relevant position in the international market".

Diabolik: The Original Sin is developed by Artematica Entertainment and will be released in Autumn 2008 for PC (excluding French and Russian speaking territories), PlayStation 2, PSP (PlayStationPortable), Nintendo DS and Wii.

Fading Shadows video game released for Sony PSP in UK

Fading Shadows released in the UK

Genre: Puzzle
Developer: Ivolgamus
Publisher: Ivolgamus
Release Date: 7th March 2008
Price: £24.99
PEGI: 7+
Format: PSP

Ivolgamus are pleased to announce that Fading Shadows, their puzzle-platformer game exclusive to the PSP, is now available in UK stores.

Fading Shadows sees the player faced with the challenge of saving Erwyn, whose death, according to the millennia-old prophecy, will allow evil master Gardal to breach the gates of the Castle of Heaven, the supreme fortress built to protect the world from the forces of darkness. Erywn's soul has been enclosed in a protective orb by his clairvoyant sister, Aira, and the orb must now be safely guided to the Castle of Heaven, using a magical beam of light.

The player must control the beam of light and exploit the state–changing abilities of the orb to fulfil the challenges of the 40 single player levels or 10 multiplayer levels. Pass through swamps, travel over mountains, visit castles and explore deserted cities. Change the orb's form into wood, metal or glass to overcome the obstacles facing you and return Erwyn to the Castle of Heaven.

Offering an entirely unique style of action-packed puzzle gameplay, stunning graphics and visual effects, an immersive storyline, plus a competitive wireless multiplayer game mode, this is the second independent release from Ivolgamus, based in Lithuania.

Fading Shadows will be released on 7th March 2008 at a price of £24.99.

Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition available from game stores GAME Gamestation HMV Blockbuster Games Stores.

Pinnacle Software and Guinness World Records announce the successful completion of their first distribution partnership..

Pinnacle Software is delighted to announce the successful distribution of the “Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition” to specialist game stores including GAME; Gamestation; HMV and Blockbuster and Independent Stores.

Following the UK launch in February, the Gamer’s Edition went straight in at number 3 on the hardback non-fiction chart after 2 days of sales. The launch event at Zavvi which Pinnacle helped to organise reached a massive 520 million people worldwide via National Newspapers, Gaming Magazines and websites.

Kate White, Head of Marketing for Guinness World Records commented “Pinnacle has given us an opportunity to sell books in a market sector that we’ve not been in before, and which accounted for 12% of all UK orders which were sold in.”

Peter Sleeman, Managing Director of Pinnacle Software added “This has been a very exciting project for us, to be working with such a global phenomenon as Guinness World Records and helping them with our extensive experience in this area has been a real pleasure. I am confident the GWR Gamer’s Edition will be the “must have” book for all gaming enthusiasts”.

The Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition is a 256 page annual paperback with hundreds of videogame world records and more than 600 pictures. It features record scores and fastest times for all major new games on all platforms, plus reviews of the latest console technology.

Shadowgrounds Survivor Serves Up Bangers & Mash video game UK release

Shadowgrounds Survivor Serves Up Bangers & Mash

Meridian4 (http://www.meridian4.com) and Frozenbyte are pleased to announced that they have signed an agreement to publish the critically acclaimed, top-down shooter; Shadowgrounds Survivor in the UK.

After much success in North America, both with fans of the game and the press, giving it an average rating of over 80%, Shadowgrounds Survivor will be available to the many UK fans in April/May.

“We are thrilled to get this great game over to the UK market. Many of the UK press have already played and reviewed Shadowgrounds Survivor and had nothing but high praise for the game.” said Andy Sher, CEO at Meridian4, “We know that Shadowgrounds Survivor will be a huge success with the UK fans.”

Midway Europe Ships BlackSite video game for Sony PlayStation 3

Midway Europe Ships BlackSite for PS3

Midway Games Ltd, a subsidiary of Midway Games, a leading interactive entertainment publisher and developer today announced that BlackSite for the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system is now shipping in Europe.

The immersive and fast-paced FPS title, which is already available in stores for Xbox 360 and PC in Europe, allows gamers the chance to direct living, breathing squad mates with a context-sensitive "One-Button Squad Command" control system as they make their way through the game's politically-subversive storyline. Throughout the mission, destructible environments can be reduced to rubble, creating interactive cover points for both you and the enemy, which can be blown away with enough firepower.

Little Britain: The Computer Game - Prey - Serious Sam II - next batch of high profile PC games - all great value at £4.99

Titles to make your computer say yes!

Sold Out Software, part of the Mastertronic Group, is pleased to announce that its next batch of high profile PC games - all great value at £4.99 - is due for release on 7th March 2008.

Little Britain: The Computer Game

Experience the award-winning comedy of Little Britain like never before! Play as your favourite Little Britain characters - Maggie and Judy, Vicky Pollard, Emily and Florence, Lou and Andy, Daffyd Thomas, Marjorie Dawes and Letty.

Each of the eight hilarious action-packed games plays like a sketch from the TV show and the in-game voices have all been provided by the stars of the series, Matt Lucas and David Walliams, who also played an integral part in the scripting of the game. Little Britain: The Computer Game includes classic clips from the TV show, plus Tom Baker as the narrator!

Prey

Aliens have turned Tommy's world upside down and now he's about to return the favour. Living weapons, a faithful sidekick, vehicles, giant environments, a story of redemption and destiny, and an epic 3-hour soundtrack make this the FPS of the year.

Imagine a place where gravity isn't always down. Imagine walking on walls and ceilings. Experience for the first time the reality-bending effects of a totally different world, thanks to multiple gameplay innovations from the developer that brought you Bullet Time. Prey really will mess with your mind!

Serious Sam II

Pick up where Sam ‘Serious’ Stone left off, as he battles the hordes of minions under the command of Mental, the biggest, most evil guy in the universe. Grab your gun and blow $#!% up… again! With bigger guns and even weirder enemies, this is serious action!

James Cato, Mastertronic’s Sales Director commented – “Yet again the Sold Out team has come up with a bumper crop of fantastic titles for just £4.99, making it a really strong retail offering.”

NAMCO BANDAI GAMES' NARUTOTM: ULTIMATE NINJA 3 HAS GONE GOLD FOR SONY PLAYSTATION 2

NAMCO BANDAI GAMES' NARUTOTM: ULTIMATE NINJA 3 HAS GONE GOLD FOR THE PLAYSTATION 2 COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM

Leading video games developer and publisher NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., announced today that NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja 3 has gone gold for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system. Based on the popular NARUTO animated series, from VIZ Media, this fighter steps it up a notch and delivers new innovative features, enhancements and customizations. Battle through 20 stages with over 40 popular NARUTO characters in the fiercest battles the series has ever seen when it is released on March 25.

The most feature-rich game in the Ultimate Ninja franchise to date, NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja 3 will not disappoint as it offers up a host of firsts for the series. Diligent fans can re-live all their favorite battles that made up Story Arc 1 in Hero’s History mode. Ninja-in-training can earn points to upgrade their strength, agility, defense, chakra and other special abilities to customize their characters to their liking. Turn characters into giant ninjas of unprecedented size, or summon large beasts to help turn the tide in Summoning Mode. Also for the first time, North American fans can listen to both English and Japanese voiceovers.

NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja 3 will also include a brand new original story, which will have players exploring the Hidden Leaf Village and participating in battle royale matches in over 55 scenarios. The fun doesn’t stop there, as tons of unlockable items such as movies, music and cards are hidden away offering loads of replay value to the game.

NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja 3 is rated “T” for teen by the ESRB and carries an MSRP of $39.99. For more information please visit: http://www.namcobandaigames.com or www.naruto.com.

Fishy Business mobile cellphone game goes gold

Fishy Business goes gold!

Impossible Games announces that its latest title has just gone gold.

The game presents an underwater adventure of two fish, a police detective Adam and an ex-mafia member Freddie. They undertake a perilous journey in order to rescue Adam´s fiancee from clutches of mafia boss. The game fits within the casual puzzle genre with 30 levels. Special techniques were used to create lush and living animation of deep sea.

Miklós Csémy, COO of Impossible describes the game as an innovative title that delivers unusually strong gaming experience.

„We have seen the mobile market continually consolidate itself. Among else, the mobile games have, along with the Flash minigames, greatly contributed to the definition of a casual gamer and have helped open a whole new market within the games industry. It has become apparent that consumers are most interested in titles that are built around familiar ideas and principles and innovative at the same time.

Fishy Business, our latest title, fits perfectly in this category. The controls are very simple to pick up and the gameplay is hugely rewarding. What we are most proud of, however, is the presentation. There was a point in the development of the game, where we thought, we could just as well, skip the whole interactive part and make a J2ME based mobile cartoon movie instead! This is due to having very strong and well written characters in-game and I was amazed with how much fun the creative department managed to fit in.“

The game release date and its publisher are yet to be announced.

Alien Arena 2008, a freeware, opensourced FPS! Download now.

"COR Entertainment, LLC announces the release of Alien Arena 2008, a freeware, opensourced FPS!

This game is the followup to the critically acclaimed (http://www.linux.com/feature/119775) Alien Arena 2007, and features nearly all new game media, gameplay improvements, and a client that has been signifigantly upgraded for improved visual effects as well as major optimizations that greatly improve the fluidity and performance.

Alien Arena 2008 also offers a change to it's overall theme, moving towards a slightler darker, more serious tone, while still retaining a good bit of it's retro style, creating an interesting marriage between classic and modern sci-fi. This resulted in completely new player models, many new weapon models and textures, and seventeen, yes, seventeen new levels! The transformation is nothing short of remarkable.

There are major improvements in weapon effects, per-pixel lighting, texture resolution, and resource usage, as well as the addition of a cross platform server browser, FUSE. Weapons have been tweaked for better balance, and movement has been enhanced with the addition of dodging abilities. Alien Arena 2008 will run on Windows and Linux, and the OSX/Mac port will be released in one week.

To download the game, see new screenshots and videos, please visit http://red.planetarena.org today!"

Voyage Century Online: Tests of Auction System Released

Voyage Century Online: Tests of Auction System Released

he Voyage Century Online team (http://vc.igg.com) has released the testing of Auction System.
Qualified Players can join and try the new system now.

Players who meet any one of the requirements below are eligible to sign up to test the Auction System:

1. 30000 Mall Credits or above
2. 1500 Forum Karma or above

The Available Items for the Upcoming Auction:

[Charm Clothes]x2: The item possesses stat bonuses and can be worn and displayed with its appearance (can be used forever).

[Holy Water]x4: Holy Water can be used to refine Black Skeleton equipment, reducing its loss chance a great deal when meeting character demise.

[Great Blessed Pellet]x8: Acquire 168 hours of double experience, and articles will not drop when a character dies after using it. The valid time will be deducted whether you are on-line or not. The state will not disappear after the characters death