Midnight Gaming Championship Announces Partnership With The Entertainment Consumers Association

The Midnight Gaming Championship Announces Partnership With The Entertainment Consumers Association

The Major Gaming Championship, parent company of the Midnight Gaming Championship (MGC), is proud to announce a national partnership with the Entertainment Consumers Association
(ECA) for the 2008 video gaming season.

Formed in 2006, the ECA is a non-profit advocacy organization for consumers of interactive entertainment. ECA will be on-site at MGC’s national events educating gamers of their grassroots advocacy efforts on behalf of gamers and offering memberships to the ECA. The ECA membership can provide gamers the opportunity to connect with like-minded gaming fans who are exploring career and educational opportunities in gaming, and more.

“MGC is proud to be associated with the ECA and believe in the value that they provide to gaming consumers,” said Blake Pettigrew, Partner of the Major Gaming Championship.

MGC is the premiere, casual gaming competition in the U.S. and is held at various McDonald’s and Wal-Mart locations around the country. MGC is in the final stages of scheduling its 2008 tournament cities and dates, which run every Saturday night, simultaneously in four regions, from June 7-September 27 and is open to the public.

Heather Ellertson, Vice President of Marketing for the Entertainment Consumers Association said, “We are very excited about this new partnership. It affords us the opportunity to have face-to-face interaction with potential members, answer general questions about consumer rights and work shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the most committed brands in the sector.”

HandyGames heads for Nintendo DS!

Developer HandyGames heads for Nintendo DS!

"In time. In budget. Made in Germany.“ - That’s the motto the management of the leading mobile games developer has chosen for the start of its new business segment in 2008.

Due to the continuous success and the large distribution of the Nintendo DS, the demand for innovative games and applications constantly increases and thus international publishers, media groups and licence holders need more and more contractors. „During the past months, we’ve been overwhelmed with inquiries concerning DS-production.“, says Christopher Kassulke, CEO of HandyGames. "It’s not our philosophy to reject good long-term business models.“

Hence it’s only a logical step for the team to enrich the related casual-platform with innovative products of high quality in the future. „With our many years of experience in the sector of mobile games, we see ourselves pretty well positioned. Our products are internationally successful and have already won more than 100 awards.“, says CEO Markus Kassulke, who is in charge of the production at HandyGames™. Udo Bausewein, CFO, adds: „Our competitive advantage clearly stems from our history. Mobile games are the interface between the telecommunications market and the entertainment software industry. High quality and meeting deadlines and budgets are a must here! We are going to start with the development of our future DS-titles with exactly these requirements and experiences in mind.“

The company has medium-term plans to port its own strong IPs, which already attracted huge interest on mobile phones, to the Nintendo DS platform. Talks with leading national and international publishers concerning a cross-platform-strategy are already underway.

NIKITA.ONLINE Company announces online project Sphere 2 Arena

NIKITA.ONLINE Company announces online project Sphere 2 Arena

NIKITA.ONLINE Company announces new massively multiplayer online project “Sphere 2. Arena”. The action takes place on a mysterious island, little enclave of Order, lost among the shadows of Chaos. These lands are the part of Rodos island, lots many years ago and transferred to unknown place by the magic of imperial wizard Andre de Brail. People that survived after this catastrophe have aligned connection with Sphere via magic portals and even set up new settlement – Keamboll.

However, soon a new citadel Forlaw grew near the city of humans – there have settled down vrils - aliens from the world of Naath. At first people of Sphere and aliens lived in peace with each other, together explored ghostly roads and ruins almost taken by Chaos. But once, almost occasionally, it turned out that vrils are no other but… vampires. And the war has happened.
Recently a closed beta-test of the game started. Limited amount of players will have an opportunity to get acquainted with the game before its official release. All the volunteers should fill it the form on the website of the game at www.s2arena.ru
Players will face 2 cities-castles – Kimboll and Forlau – that are lost among the shadows of Chaos, which separates inhabited worlds. Dwellers of these cities forgot about life in peace: they endlessly forge weapons and armors, boil magic potions, invent new spells. And new armies enter magic portals to fight on another lands of other enclaves of Order, that became an arena of endless combats long ago between humans, born on the spaces of Sphere, and vrils, that were named by humans as vampires.

Official website of “Sphere 2. Arena” – http://www.s2arena.ru.

Codemasters gives gamers the race of their lives!

Play.com Live: Codemasters gives gamers the race of their lives!

Global, first ever consumer playable version of Race Driver: GRID confirmed at Play.com Live

UK based videos games publishing and development giant, Codemasters, today confirmed that Race Driver: GRID, the intense new racing experience from Codemasters Studios, will make its global first ever playable debut at Play.com Live.

Gamers will be able to race a selection of cars and tracks from the forthcoming title, due for release on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, Games for Windows and Nintendo DS this summer.

Race Driver: GRID is set to capture every moment from the starting grid to the chequered flag and concentrate those moments into an intense and dramatic race experience.

“We are very excited about giving consumers their first ever playable experience on Race Driver: GRID at Play.com Live” commented Dan Robinson, Marketing Manager, Codemasters. “It’s the perfect vehicle for us to get gamers playing it and although I know it’ll blow them away, we’ll be on-hand to consider any constructive feedback”

“Having Race Driver: GRID as an exclusive global first playable at Play.com LIVE is an amazing coup for us.” said Gian Luzio, Head of Games, Play.com. “It’s announcements with triple A titles like GRID that will further cement Play.com Live’s position as a major show on the gaming industry’s calendar”.

Codemasters provides a PlayStation 3 giveaway in a Web 2.0 promotion for alternative-history shooter Turning Point: Fall of Liberty

The Man Who Almost Killed Churchill Wants To Be Your Facebook Friend Codemasters provides a PlayStation 3 giveaway in a Web 2.0 promotion for alternative-history shooter Turning Point: Fall of Liberty

Codemasters today announced that it is launching a unique online viral campaign for the European release of Turning Point: Fall of Liberty. Tapping into the global social networking phenomenon, Codemasters has created a Facebook profile for Mario Contasino, the man who inspired the events of Turning Point: Fall of Liberty. Those who add Mario Contasino as a friend on their Facebook profile will automatically be entered into a competition to win a PlayStation 3 and a copy of Turning Point: Fall of Liberty.

Mario Contasino was the taxi driver who accidentally knocked down Winston Churchill in 1931 when the future prime minister looked the wrong way whilst crossing a busy New York City street. Churchill made a full recovery following the accident, but the premise of Turning Point: Fall of Liberty revolves around what might have happened had Churchill died as a result of his injuries.

Without a strong leader to rally behind, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty suggests that the Allied forces succumb to the Nazi war machine, with Britain surrendering to Nazi occupation. In the alternative history first-person shooter, gamers take on the role of everyman Dan Carson, a New York City construction worker finds himself fighting alongside the resistance when the Nazis launch a full-scale invasion of America in 1953.

To honour how Mario Contasino’s historic events inspired the video game, Codemasters recently launched a search to track down his descendents. As a result of the global search, it was discovered that he enlisted for service during World War II, but sadly passed away on January 17, 1989. However, the search for his descendents continues and you can join the hunt at www.codemasters.co.uk/quest

Richard Eddy, Director, Communication, says: “Turning Point: Fall of Liberty features one of the most provocative premises ever created for a video game. The role that Mario Contasino played in its inspiration and creating a Facebook profile for the man is a fantastic way of honouring him through social networking.”

To be in with a chance to win a PlayStation 3 and a copy of Turning Point: Fall of Liberty*, entrants are required to have an active Facebook account and add ‘Mario Contasino’ to their Facebook friends list or use the web link below. *Terms and conditions apply.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1065436577

Turning Point: Fall of Liberty is released in the UK on 14th March for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Games for Windows.

Salvation project for XBox 360 and PC

Salvation project. Official announcement

Black Wing Foundation is glad to announce its Salvation project currently in development for PC and Xbox 360. The game, powered by Valve’s Source Engine, is developed in cooperation with N-Game Studios.

Salvation is a third-person shooter game set in the near-future. The world government, making use of genetic engineering managed to successfully imitate the Judgement Day and establish new stiff rules – a new ‘Regime’. World war and death of genetic replicants of Christ and Antichrist drastically changed the mindset of people. Now they are creatures without the right of opinion, they are slaves of the ‘Regime’. An army of Angels, genetically cloned humans, are watchful of keeping the order. Any dissidence threatens either death or exile to Hell – a cybernetic virtual reality system, causing a human to suffer unbearably.

The main characters are people from various climes, with different past, but common present, united by one key idea and goal, the desire to topple down the new Regime, destroy the system of Hell and Paradise. To return peace and order to earth, revenge for themselves and their folks,… but accomplishing this is not easy, the forces are too unequal in this fight...

The path of the heroes lies through multiple challenges leading to the truth hidden in the lies of New Government. Taking up roles of Narumi Amano, a genetically modified assassin, Sergei Thor – captain of east European resistance cell and Alexander Geist – a rather cynical psy-powered smuggler, the player will play through seventeen missions grouped into seven episodes, ultimately defying lie and injustice.

Key game features
- Detailed atmosphere of cybernetic dystopia of the future inspired by such masterpieces as “1984”, “Brand New World” and “Us”
- Diversified and various gameplay combining best elements of stealth, action and arcade in a totally new, exiting way
- Abut 20 original bosses, each with its own strategy and story
- Seven episodes, from Tokyo to London, combined into a great dramatic story
- High cinematics factor
- Use of multifunctional original weapons of the future
- Original but simple in use RPG system
- Usage of advanced licensed technologies, realistic physics, 5.1. Sound
- Technological and detailed graphics. Use of parallax and normal mapping, cinematic full-screen pixel shader effects, HDR lighting, dynamic light, shadows and more.
- Inverse kinematics
- Great soundtrack featuring live orchestra, licensed content and original materials
- 8 to 32 multiplayer mode, new areas, new weapons, ability to play for enemies and NPCs.
Visit the official web-site of Salvation project at www.bwf-game.com

Platformer Legend Returns! Dangerous Dave Goes Mobile

Platformer Legend Returns! Dangerous Dave Goes Mobile

WILDEC LLC and DEVOLER LLC in collaboration with Flat Rock Software announce the release of Dangerous Dave in The Haunted Mansion, a remake of a classic platformer game for mobile phones. You are to travel through the Mansion full of evil spirits, ghouls, and other threats in search for your missing brother. After the engaging outset come tons of levels packed with a fascinating platformer action featuring the cool main hero.

It's hard to believe that a decade and a half ago it took an entire PC to run a simple 2D game. Fortunately we've seen a remarkable progress in that field, and now PC games feature photo-realistic graphics while good old games, renovated with Java programming language, become available on cell phones. This time you can try out one of the greatest platformer hits, Dangerous Dave in The Haunted Mansion, right on the screen of your mobile. It's especially pleasant that while porting the game, the developers did their best in retaining its original gameplay, authentic look and feel. It's the same addictive Dangerous Dave that brought players of the previous decade hours and hours of amazingly fun entertainment.

Dangerous Dave in The Haunted Mansion isn't actually the first game of the original series. But it is proved to be the finest part of Dave's adventures, so that playing this game, you'll get all the best from the entire Dangerous Dave's series. By the way, the original game was brought to you by John Romero and John Carmack from ID Software. It was their first game with a shotgun in it. Later the company got famous for Doom and Quake series but it was their precursor, Dangerous Dave that first brought sensation into the world of games with its astonishing action.

Here's the trivia. Dave's brother was unlucky enough to be trapped somewhere in the Haunted Mansion. The fan of extreme adventures Dave sets out to look for his sibling. He carries a shotgun that deals with ghastly zombies in no time. But you can't always rely upon ammunition, so instead of shooting down enemies, you can avoid them with your leaps and bounds. The Mansion and its outskirts take plenty of levels and hide numbers of secrets which you should reveal to reach better score. Will you be able to escape all the traps and monsters, grab some treasures and save the life of your brother and yours as well?

Dangerous Dave in The Haunted Mansion has the unique feature: the close-ups of your downfalls. The cartoon violence became the cornerstone of Dangerous Dave series. Got clumsy and fell into a pit or got too close to a hungry zombie - the comic presentation of your decease will take away upset feelings and make you even more enthusiastic about beating challenges. Nice visuals and smooth animation along with the charismatic main hero make this game a worthy pick for mobile entertainment. You can get the free trial version to experience Dave's adventures right away from http://www.dave-mobile.com/get-free.htm. The trial allows you to purchase the full version via SMS, and on the website you will find other purchasing options.

Tiki Games Announces NOVASTRIKE for Sony PLAYSTATION 3 Network

Tiki Games Announces NOVASTRIKE For PLAYSTATION 3

Independent Developer to Bring Explosive Arcade Shooter to the PLAYSTATION Network

Tiki Games, a California-based independent developer of interactive entertainment, today announced the development of NOVASTRIKE, an original game for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system. Filled with the intense, frenetic gameplay of a classic top-down shooter, NOVASTRIKE will also bring a number of innovations to the genre, including continued updates and content additions to keep the game fluid and changing.

Hardened shooter veterans will find a wealth of options in their arsenal in NOVASTRIKE, a sci-fi war zone that pits players against an onslaught by the world-conquering Draelus. From the cockpit of their experimental Scythe fighter, able pilots will utilize free-roaming flight and multiple weapon variations to combat an armada of alien forces in the air and on land. With ship and weapon upgrades, and a slew of allied units, players of NOVASTRIKE will engage the Draelus in a variety of planetary environments, completing objectives and facing fearsome opponents in their fight to drive back the invasion.

"Tiki Games is committed to putting out high-quality titles that bring something new to the table," said Kevin McCann, president and creative director of Tiki Games. "NOVASTRIKE takes its roots from the toughest shoot-'em-ups, and brings that gameplay into a free-roaming, unpredictable space - and when players think they’ve conquered that, our continued support for the game will keep them on their toes with all-new game content."

NOVASTRIKE is scheduled for release via the PLAYSTATION Network in early 2008.

NOVASTRIKE Features:

• Seven expansive challenging stages driven by objective-based goals
  
• Free-roaming flight: there aren't any rails here, so players can fly in any direction
  
• Progressive weapon acquisition and upgrade system: as the player collects weapon drops from enemy ships the weapons themselves become available to the Scythe - there are nine base weapon systems, each with three subsequent upgrade levels
  
• Air and ground targets: two separate weapon systems allow the player to combat both air and ground opponents
  
• Multi-sectioned enemies where individual components can be destroyed; for example, carriers have hangars that launch fighters - these hangars can be destroyed independently of destroying the Carrier, preventing the Carrier from launching additional fighters
  
• Multitude of enemies and environments: players combat enemy fighters, bombers, kamikazes, aces, carriers, and destroyers, all leading to an end-boss fight
  
• You're not alone: friendly fighters, bombers, and destroyers will aid you in your efforts to vanquish the Draelus invasion
  
• DualShock 3 support
  

Continuing support: Tiki Games will be developing additional content for NOVASTRIKE throughout 2008

Alone in the Dark developers diary

Alone in the Dark

Developer Diary 1

Hervé Sliwa, Lead Designer, Eden Games

First steps

As lead game designer on Alone in the Dark my job is to design all the content of the game, the story, and the game’s rules of interaction. I’ve worked at Eden for 6 or 7 years and my last project here was Kya: Dark Lineage. Before that I worked for Infogrames for 6 years, including working as the lead game designer on Sheep Dog and Wolf.

I was always a huge gamer playing a lot at night in my room. I really love video games, but I never dreamed that it would become my job because I didn’t even think it was possible that making games could be a job. So I started to study music in Lyon and to make some money after college I was working as a tester for Infogrames. From that moment I realised that making games could be a real job, so I did everything I could to make it happen, and after two years I had my first temporary contract.

My favourite games of all time are probably Zelda, Half-Life and the first Metal Gear Solid. Zelda because it’s Zelda and it’s maybe the best adventure game ever made because it has such a perfect blend of RPG and action styles – I spent so many hours on this game, I love it. Half Life because it has maybe the best perspective on the situation of gameplay – the first game where I felt like a normal guy in this specific situation and you need to survive. It was a really amazing game when I first played it. Metal Gear was the first time I felt that a game could be better entertainment than a movie, and it was really important for me. And of course, and it’s not bullshit, but Alone in the Dark, the first one. I played so many hours on this game because it was such a huge step in terms of technology and narrative, and it was really amazing.

Alone in the Dark is a huge legacy because it was one of my favourite games. It means innovation, breaking the rules, and trying to bring something new in interactive entertainment. It’s a masterpiece, a huge legacy for us. To do a re-make of alone is a kind of gift – it’s something I dreamed about 10 years ago. Honestly, I applied to Infogrames because it was the company that made the first alone in the dark. It’s such a beautiful game, and when I realised Infogrames was in Lyon where I was studying, I applied because of Alone in the Dark, so it means a lot to me have the opportunity to develop this game. It was incredible that infogrames was in Lyon where I was studying.

We have great respect for the first Alone in the Dark and we want to respect the legacy of that, but we also want to put our souls into the new game. I would say the new game is not a sequel, it’s a new approach to the game with new innovations and new rules. Of course you don’t need to play the first one to start this one, but we have little connections between the two games.

The project started in my mind 10 years ago when I was on a trip to New York city, my first trip to the US. Just after I arrived, I was walking in Manhattan and I went up to Central Park. New York at night is lights everywhere – the city that never sleeps. I arrived in front of Central Park very late at night and the park was very dark. I was in front of this huge dark square and it was really weird – it was such a contrast between the dark square in front of me and the lights in the street everywhere. It was like a parallel world, the world of the light and the world of the darkness – it was amazing. At that moment I had a flash in my head that it could be a great playground for a new Alone in the Dark game. When I came back from the trip I had lots of photos of the buildings around the park and I started to imagine lots of different situations and possibilities for the game, different scenarios in the park, adventure plots and so on. At that moment I was working on Sheep Dog and Wolf, so I put all my ideas in a box. After Kya: Dark Lineage we found out Atari had the brand and we had the opportunity to propose a new project, so I took all my ideas out of the box. We had a brainstorm at Eden and proposed the first ideas for the new game and that was the start of the new Alone in the Dark.

Buzz! Junior brings Dinos back to life in time for Easter

Buzz! Junior brings Dinos back to life in time for Easter

Buzz! Junior: Dino Den - A prehistoric adventure for kids

35 dino-tastic games featuring hilarious challenges and puzzles
Brand new ‘2 verses 2 mode’ for co-operative team play
Great fun for children and parent’s this Easter holiday

The Buzz! Junior franchise is on a mission to take children back in time this February with the launch of Buzz! Junior: Dino Den, exclusive to PlayStation 2. This new title follows hot on the heels of November’s Buzz! Junior: Monster Rumble and includes brand new games, four cheeky Dino characters and a whole host of exciting features – all set in a prehistoric Dino world.

Buzz! Junior: Dino Den is the fourth title in the critically-acclaimed Buzz! Junior series. The game play is ideal for children, challenging them to improve their co-ordination and hone their reflexes by using the coloured buttons on the famous Buzz! buzzers in a series of lightning-fast games of skill, speed and logic. It’s a perfect dose of fun for the whole family this Easter.

Set in the prehistoric time of the dinosaurs, players find themselves in a land of volcanoes, geysers and festering mud pools - ideal for a refreshing dino bath! There are a mammoth 35 multiplayer games for the four cheeky playable Dinos to get their claws into including stone age go-kart racing, T-Rex riding, and caveman dunking. Players compete for Dino eggs - the Dino with the biggest egg collection at the end is crowned king of the Dinos.

Buzz! Junior: Dino Den features lots of exciting ways to play, including the brand new Team mode where players can join forces to compete in 10 unique 2vs2 team games. Players can also compete in every-Dino-for-themselves action as the Dinos work their way over treacherous lava rivers, frozen lakes and muddy pools.

Suitable for up to four people, Buzz! Junior: Dino Den lets kids compete against each other or, if there isn’t a full herd of Dinos to play with, use the computer controlled ‘Tribal Dino’ to take control – meaning that Dino friends are always on hand!

Key features:-

• 1-4 player buzzer-bashing fun
• 2 or 4 player co-operative mayhem in the all new 2vs2 Team mode
• 25 great new multiplayer mini games
• 10 all new 2vs2 Team games (so that’s a whopping 35 games in total!)
• Computer controlled ‘Tribal Dino’ enhances gameplay when playing with less than 4 human players
• Four great characters to choose from: T-Rex, Pterodactyl, Stegosaurus and Triceratops
• Even more Buzz! Junior humour with a twist of fun-filled mischievousness

This hilarious new title is firmly focused on delivering the fun and side-splitting humour that guarantees entertainment for the whole family as they come together over the course of a series of colourful and wacky Dino challenges.

If you loved Buzz! Junior’s Jungle Party, RoboJam and Monster Rumble, then you’re in for a seriously mammoth treat when Buzz! Junior: Dino Den hits shelves this February – just in time for Easter. Visit www.buzzjunior.com for more fun and games.