SAGA MMORTS Video Game Releases Free Version - free to play

SAGA Releases Free Version

SAGA, a new Massive-Multiplayer Online Real-Time Strategy (MMORTS) game from Silverlode Interactive today announced the launch of their free-to-play version.

Silverlode Interactive has released a free version of SAGA on schedule, as promised.

The free version of SAGA will allow players to access the game without purchase and without credit card, in the same realms on the same servers with the paying SAGA players. Certain features will be locked, but otherwise players are welcome to join their friends online and participate in online massive strategy warfare without shelling out a penny.

Thousands of players are queued up and waiting for the free version to get a look at SAGA before purchasing, and will be admitted online to join the thousands of players who already have the fully registered version.

Some features are locked, such as the online auction house, official rated battles, and the ability to create and join guilds, but otherwise the free client is identical to the full version. The free version will even allow players to do cooperative party quests alongside the full version players, a feature which is unique to SAGA as an RTS with MMO-style strategy questing.

“We needed to protect the in-game market and other inter-player relations from being flooded with input from free-to-play accounts, but otherwise we have tried to maintain as much of the SAGA experience as possible in the free version,” says Kynan Griffin, Content Manager and Producer at Silverlode.

Free accounts may be upgraded to the full version for $19.95. Upgrading the account unlocks all the features disabled in the free version, and does not reset a player’s nations, troops or remove any of the items acquired through questing.

The game trailer can be viewed at http://www.gametrailers.com/player/31166.html

Sign up to play SAGA now at www.playsaga.com.

Virgin PLAY to release videogame for Imira Entertainment's Lola & Virginia

Virgin PLAY adquires the rights to produce and distribute the videogame for Imira Entertainment´s Lola & Virginia

Virgin PLAY and Imira Entertainment have recently signed a contract in which the Spanish videogame distributor and editor obtain the rights to produce and distribute the Lola & Virginia licensed videogame. The game is being developed for the Nintendo DS platform, and will be available fall 2008.

Lola & Virginia is an internationally known license, shown in over 90 countries around the world. The videogame will also be available worldwide by Virgin PLAY and its affiliates.

The series is about Lola, a 12 year old girl who lives in your regular neighbourhood, has to take care of her 2 bratty little brothers, dress with hand-me-down and second-hand clothing and put up with her friends who are a bit on the nutty side. However, she takes it all in stride, feels like the Queen of the hill, that is, until Virginia comes along. Virginia has everything that Lola doesn’t, looks, brains, boys, money and parents who let her do whatever she wants. Envy is a bad thing and the relationship between the two girls quickly develops into a series of strategies, alliances and competitions. Lola is a good girl, but she´s no angel!

The videogame will be in line with the original series and the player will have to help Lola in overcoming Virginia.

Developed for girls between 8 and 12 years old and mirrors the same traits that are portrayed in the series and that are of interest in this age group: fashion, being the most popular girl in school and getting the cute kid in class to like you.

Mar Gaya, International merchandising, publishing & DVD of Imira Entertainment, comments: “We are happy to have closed this worldwide deal with Virgin PLAY. With the Nintendo DS platform, the LOLA & VIRGINIA series will have several licenses adapted to new technologies thanks to the high definition and easy adaptation of the license for videogames, mobile phones and the like.”

Paco Encinas, General Director of Virgin PLAY, adds “Its great to count on Imira Entertainment for this joint project. We have put a lot of hard work and hopes into it and are sure that it will be a great success and open doors to new projects with Imira in the future. ”

The series Lola & Virginia is currently aired in the United States, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Mid-East. For information on TV channels and show times: www.lolavirginia.com.

The Kart n' Crazy Open Beta PC game launched Free to Play.

The Kart n' Crazy Open Beta has just been launched.

All drivers to the starting line!

Kart n’ Crazy, Goa.com’s online racing game, commences its open beta phase from the 11th March onwards. Everyone can take part in the online races behind the wheel of the craziest karts going.

The first phase of the closed beta has brought together many European drivers who were able to test the different racing cars and world circuits of Kart n’ Crazy.

It’s in this screwball environment that you can lose yourself on the wacky tracks and compete against 16 other players. Tornadoes, icebergs and funky mushrooms spruce up these fantastic game tracks where all of your challengers are armed to the teeth! Master your driving techniques and use the many different items at your disposal to help you win. You can also develop your character and racing car; blast off into six completely different environments and have 16 tracks to choose from. The revised beta will offer many new tracks and is free to play, so remember to drive crazy!

Kart n’ Crazy is a game developed by the Korean Windysoft studio.

For more information go to: http://www.goa.com/#/kartncrazy

2K Play Expands Carnival Games with Carnival Games for Nintendo DS and Carnival Games Mini-Golf Exclusive

Step Right Up! 2K Play Expands Its Carnival Games Franchise With Carnival Games For Nintendo DS And Carnival Games: Mini-Golf Exclusive

Original Wii Version of Carnival Games Ships More Than One Million Copies

2K Play, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, today announced two new titles as a part of its brand extension strategy for its highly popular Carnival Games series. The new titles include Carnival Games for Nintendo DS, which is scheduled to ship this summer, and Carnival Games: Mini-Golf, an all-new game exclusive to the Wii home video game system, which will debut this fall. 2K Play is also announcing that its flagship Carnival Games title has reached a milestone of shipping more than one million units worldwide, while remaining a top-selling game with a number 5 ranking on the January 2008 NPD Wii chart.

"The success of Carnival Games is proof that the casual game market continues to grow," said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. "We are actively working to expand the 2K Play label and are committed to producing fun, quality games for the mass market with the Carnival Games franchise paving the way."

"The consumer response to Carnival Games has been extraordinary," said Steve Lux, vice president of business development for 2K Play. "The game resonates with every demographic and the feedback we have received from moms, dads, kids and grandparents shows Carnival Games as one of the drivers of family game time. Our new games build on the strength of the first title and will promote this growing trend."

Carnival Games for DS brings the fun of the original to the world's best-selling portable system during the summer vacation and travel season. Each game is designed from the ground up to take full advantage of the DS control mechanism. A frenzied combination of tapping, blowing, speaking and stylus maneuvering brings the now famous midway to life. Favorites such as Alley Ball, Frog Leap and Dunk Tank are complemented with fresh games including RC Raceway and Clown Hammer.

This fall, the all-new Carnival Games: Mini-Golf comes exclusively to Wii. Featuring Carnival Bob™ and characters made popular in the original, Carnival Games: Mini-Golf is home to larger-than-life, theme park style miniature golf courses. Whether back in time to the land of dinosaurs, keeping order in the Wild West or searching for treasure on an island full of pirates, the game combines traditional miniature golf fare with action-oriented game play utilizing the unique capabilities of the Wii Remote™. It is designed for four players and can best be described as "a hole in fun."

"We work hand-in-hand with Nintendo on the design of our Carnival Games titles to make sure they deliver the best-possible gaming experience for their consoles," said Harley Howe and Patrick Wilkinson, studio heads of 2K Play's Cat Daddy Games. "These new titles in our growing Carnival Games franchise are fun, have true-to-life physics and deliver on the promise of the original: you can almost smell the cotton candy."

For more information, log onto www.2kgames.com/2kplay.

The Commodore 64 Book 1982-199X available now

The Commodore 64 Book 1982-199X available now

"The Commodore 64 Games Book 1982-199X" has been published by Hiive Books and is now available to order. Full details can be found at the website - http://c64goldenyears.com

The book covers over 200 classic games for the best-selling home computer of the 1980's, with trivia about the games, the programmers and the companies. Each review is illustrated with full colour screenshots and images of the packaging. Split into sections for each year from 1982 to 1992, with an additional chapter bringing the story right up to the present day, it tells the story of a machine that found a place in people's homes and hearts, and paved the way for a computer in every home...
The book also comes with a foreword from gaming legend Jeff Minter, describing his love for the Commodore 64. Each chapter is introduced with a short history of what was happening to Commodore and the games industry in that year. The index makes finding a favourite game easy.

This is the second book in the GOLDEN YEARS series. The first book, The ZX Spectrum Book 1982-199x was written and produced by Andrew Rollings and published in December 2006 through Hiive Books LLC. That title has now sold out.

Author Andrew Fisher has written for UK magazines including Commodore Force, Commodore Format, Micro Mart, games Retro and Retro Gamer. Editor and designer Andrew Rollings of Hiive Books LLC has created a fresh new design based on the Spectrum Book, allowing the two books to complement each other.

Orders can be placed by credit card or PayPal through the official site ONLY at
http://c64goldenyears.com

Guilty Gear 2 Overture On Xbox 360 In Fall Of 2008

Guilty Gear 2: Overture On Xbox 360 In Fall Of 2008

The 2D fighting game phenomenon is now an intense tactical action game!

Torrance, Aksys Games, a publisher of interactive entertainment products, announced today that Guilty Gear 2: Overture will arrive exclusively on Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft in Q3 2008. This Xbox 360 exclusive will take the frantic one-on-one fighting game series in an exciting new direction as an intense tactical action game.

"Guilty Gear 2: Overture retains a lot of elements that the fighting games are known for, so it's cool to see how familiar moves like the Gun Flame make the transition to 3D," said Michael Manzanares, Project Lead, Aksys Games. " Except now though, you’re facing off against an entire army instead of just one character. You'll lose (badly) if you think you're a one-man army, so you definitely have to remember that you have your own army to command."

Guilty Gear 2: Overture Prologue
In the far future, humanity succeeded in developing an endless energy called the divine power. But although they were able to obtain wisdom, mankind could not cast aside their foolishness. Tension among the major powers led to the creation of biological weapons that were based on that power - Gears.

Justice, the only Gear able to command the legions of biological weapons, went berserk and declared war on all of humanity. That was the beginning of the worst war in history - The Crusades.

In response, mankind formed an order of elite knights, and with their participation, Justice was defeated. With her fall, all Gears ceased to function and entered a dormant state. The long-lasted Crusades came to an end, and it seemed like mankind restored peace.

However, true history has yet to reveal itself

Guilty Gear 2: Overture Features

• Tactical Melee Action
  
• Take part in battle alongside your servants and destroy your enemies!
  
• Over Fifty Servants at Your Disposal
  
• Engage in dynamic battles by balancing resources and deploying troops to turn the tide of battle!
  
• Dual Language
  
• Experience the thrilling continuation of the Guilty Gear saga with fully voiced dialogue!
  
• Multiplayer Deathmatch
  
• Team battle or Free-for-all, test your mettle on Xbox Live with up to four players!
  
• Refined Mechanics
  
• Enjoy new items, skills, tweaks, and additional modes not seen in the original import!
  

Guilty Gear 2: Overture has not yet been rated by the ESRB. More information about Aksys Games and Guilty Gear 2: Overture can be found at www.aksysgames.com.

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”.