All American: The 82nd Airborne In Normandy Progress Update!

All American: The 82nd Airborne In Normandy will soon begin to ship!

Yeah, that's what we'd like to lead off a press release with but unfortunately it won't be this press release. We'll let those of you who have been expecting to hear those words pick yourself up off the floor before continuing. No hard feelings, but it did get your attention, right?

Work does continue on All American: The 82nd Airborne in Normandy. Yes, it's still alive. No, we have not abandoned it. Yes, we suck at getting it out the door but we're still confident we'll beat Duke Nukem Forever to a release date, which was announced a year prior to All American: The 82nd Airborne in Normandy. That's gotta count for something.

So here's what's happening with development at the moment. First, there was that rather public falling out last year with the lead programmer. That set us back a good bit since we couldn't leave the code in place and had to bring someone else in. Development got back up to speed though, and everything was humming along when we encountered a rather big pothole in the road to release: Microsoft Vista.

Microsoft's Vista, that oh-so wonderful operating system of theirs, has a rather annoying habit of breaking things in All American: The 82nd Airborne in Normandy. Like network play on previous OSes. And there are other issues with Vista. So thanks to this crap OS we had several choices:

1. Strip All American: The 82nd Airborne in Normandy of the features that didn't work with Vista, or had problems under Vista.

2. Not make it Vista compatible. Tempting, very tempting.

3. Recode the whole thing for DOS, since folks will probably have better luck running it under DOSBox in Vista than if it was Vista compatible.

Stripping features is not an option. Not making it Vista compatible would solve a lot of headaches but look, after all these years in development we're not going to then shut out part of the market. And obviously the DOS thing is a joke. Doing it in Flash would be much better.

If worse comes to worse and the Vista issue continues to impact the ability to get the game to play on XP we may end up releasing two versions, a Vista-only edition and the edition for working OSes. We'll try including a sympathy card with the Vista-only edition.

Thanks Microsoft! Tell us, was Vista released just to push developers towards the 360? Because at this point we're wondering if we should start developing for consoles instead and save all the headaches associated with Vista.

For those of you who haven't kept up with the saga of All American: The 82nd Airborne in Normandy, or haven't even realized that Shrapnel Games was developing their own in-house title, allow us to bring you up to speed.

All American: The 82nd Airborne in Normandy is the sequel to the award-winning, best selling 101st: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy, originally released by Empire Interactive. Shrapnel Games was formed in 1999 for the sole purpose of bringing the sequel to the market, but soon became a full fledged independent publishing house.
While regretfully this has caused a delay in bringing All American: The 82nd Airborne in Normandy to you, we're quite proud of all the great titles we've brought to you under the Shrapnel Games publishing label over the years, and so ultimately if we had it to do all over again we wouldn't change a thing.

All American: The 82nd Airborne in Normandy, like its predecessor, is part skirmish level tactical wargame, part RPG, and part adventure. Choose your stick of paratroopers for their skills needed to get the job done, outfit them, and then land in German occupied France on the eve of the greatest invasion of history to fulfill your objectives. Nine campaigns encompassing twenty-seven missions are included, and every game is infinitely replayable thanks to the friction of war. Damage modelling is based on historical combat wounding reports for unparalleled realism, along with highly detailed maps of the countryside and equipment ratings.

All American: The 82nd Airborne in Normandy is now slated for a Q4 2008 release and will be available for Windows. Even Vista. Which we hate.

For more information on the game please visit:

www.shrapnelgames.com/sg_development/All%20American/1.htm

And to check out our complete catalog of titles visit us at www.shrapnelgames.com. Besides all our great games covering a range of unique subject matter and their demos, we also feature full, non-crippled FREE games such as winSPWW2, winSPMBT, and Conquest of Elysium II.

Crisis Core Special Edition Announced on PSP

Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces that a limited special edition version of the game will be available with the forthcoming UK release of CRISIS CORE-FINAL FANTASY VII - exclusively on the PSP (PlayStation Portable) system in Q2 2008.

The special edition version, with hard-backed artwork book and high-quality slipcase will be available exclusively with selected online retailers as a pre-order item to customers while stocks last.

CRISIS CORE - FINAL FANTASY VII - is the highly anticipated prequel to the biggest selling FINAL FANTASY of all time, taking players on an exhilarating adventure filled with grandeur, excitement, characters that captured the hearts of a generation and many new secrets to discover hidden within the world of FINAL FANTASY VII. With additional gameplay challenges not included in the original Japanese version, fans and newcomers alike can experience the world of FINAL FANTASY VII from an all-new perspective.

John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix Ltd. comments, “CRISIS CORE -FINAL FANTASY VII- is one of the most anticipated FINAL FANTASY releases of all time. We wanted to give something extra to the fans to thank them for their continued support of the series and to celebrate such a landmark title. I think the special edition makes this important release even greater.”

For more information about CRISIS CORE - FINAL FANTASY VII - and for details of how to pre-order please visit the official website at crisicoregame.co.uk

About CRISIS CORE - FINAL FANTASY VII -

Story
Set seven years prior to the events of the first FINAL FANTASY VII, the Shinra Company is rapidly increasing its influence through its monopoly on mako energy and military might. With the burgeoning city of Midgar as its base and symbol of prosperity, Shinra is on the verge of establishing absolute dominance over the world.

SOLDIER is a group of skilled combat operatives within Shinra. The elite within the group — those strong enough to be deemed SOLDIER 1st Class — are respected and idolized by the citizenry.

Zack is a young SOLDIER 2nd Class who aspires to become a 1st. He spends his days carrying out assignments under the guidance of his 1st Class mentor, Angeal. During an operation in Wutai, a large number of SOLDIER members, led by 1st Class operative Genesis, go missing. The severity of the situation prompts Shinra executives to deploy even more SOLDIER operatives in hopes of bringing an end to the war with Wutai—and conducting an investigation into the mass desertion. The ones assigned to the mission are Zack, Angeal, and the 1st Class hero who is known the world over as Sephiroth...

What truths lie behind Genesis's disappearance? What secrets bind the three SOLDIER 1st Class operatives? For Zack, a cruel and fateful struggle awaits...

Features

• Complete the FINAL FANTASY VII experience and reunite with the most recognised RPG characters created by world-renowned character designer Tetsuya Nomura
• Witness stunning graphics and CG cutscenes coupled with top-notch voice acting in a 16:9 widescreen presentation, made possible by the PSP system hardware
• Innovative D.M.W (Digital Mind Wave) system enhances the action-packed real-time battle system, allowing players to unleash special attacks or call upon iconic FINAL FANTASY summons
• Take on challenges with the all-new “Hard Mode” which was not in the original Japanese release
• Acquire unique accessories, items and abilities made available through 300 side missions to further enrich the gameplay experience

Warrior Quest Adds Online Leader Boards And World Rankings For Players On PC, Wii, PS3 And Mac

NextGenBooks.com today announces the addition of worldwide leader boards and rankings to its console and PC compatible RPG, Warrior Quest. Players are invited to step into the world of Warrior Quest, a casual fantasy adventure where players train compete against a host of characters to become the ultimate Battle Master. With the addition of online leader boards and world rankings players will now have their levels ranked against other players from across the globe. Warrior Quest has been uniquely developed not just for PC and Mac gamers, but also for owners of Wii, PS3, and on March 20th, PSP users.

By accessing Nextgenbooks.com through an appropriate internet browser, gamers using most PCs and consoles will be able to start their own quests to become the ultimate Battle Master. World rankings will be calculated on daily, weekly, monthly, and all time basis with future competitions to be announced in the coming weeks. A PSP compatible edition of Warrior Quest will also launch on March 20th complete with all of the features of the original edition, modified to operate within the handheld’s reduced memory capabilities.

Future updates of Warrior Quest are already in development with further refinements to the battle system, new player accessible Battle Cards to collect, and a more complete online experience that will allow players to chat with one another, across PC and console formats.

Warrior Quest is online now, accessible via internet browsers on PCs and Macs, Wii and PS3, and on March 20th, PSP. The game is 100% free with competitions and tournaments due to begin in the coming weeks. Details on these exciting developments and the game can all be accessed at www.nextgenbooks.com

GameShadow bags its millionth registered user

GameShadow, the leading automated patching service, today celebrates the registration of its one millionth user.

The GameShadow client software recognises and updates almost 3,000 different games, which gives the company unprecedented access to audience data which has been used to great effect by publishers in product planning and targeting - so much so that the team intends to launch a free monthly newsletter for its partners indicating industry trends and audience activity.

GameShadow has grown exponentially over the last six months, during which time it has expanded its service to include:

• A weekly newsletter going out to 450,000 gamers
• A blog and Gaming Network to connect its huge user base
• A powerful advertising mechanism to a very targeted audience

Of particular note is the new support for Hi-Definition trailers for PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, and related cross-platform editorial. "With the huge, free download capacity and bandwidth we already offer, it just made sense to extend that support to console owners," said Founder, Tony Treadwell.

With the continuing emphasis on great, comprehensive content, the company went on to completely overhaul its comprehensive game and file database, 'Gamepedia'. In addition to a new look and easier navigation, the 'game bible' is now integrated with the Gaming Network, providing functionality like Most Wanted lists, and telling users how many people own any given game - 3.6 million of which it is currently tracking.

These advancements have resulted in an unprecedented level of growth, averaging out at over 1,000 new registrations per day. Treadwell again, "One million satisfied subscribers is a real milestone for us, but it's just one step closer to our goal of becoming a true portal for gamers PC and console gamers alike."

Instinct video game Releases V2.0

Middleware provider Instinct Technology has emphasised the scope of its ambition and technical innovation with the latest release from its cross-platform game development solution Instinct Studio.

Instinct Studio version 2.0 has several new exciting features, building on its existing ground-breaking game development productivity benefits such as Remote Control which provides real time editing across platforms, as well as including a completely new and optimized graphics rendering system.

“We have a dual approach to our development as we have two target audiences, the content side of games development who spend a large portion of their working day inside the Instinct Studio tools environment, and programmers who want a clean and extensible middleware API and framework to work with which accelerates their development effort and crucially won’t put barriers up to their requirements. Whereas the earlier versions of Instinct Studio delivered primarily on the user experience, which we’ve now enhanced, the main focus this time has been optimizing the various systems across all our target platforms” says Instinct Technology’s Dermot Gallagher CTO, “This is a very significant revision and has been driven by listening to our clients and responding to technical developments in the market place”.

“The games industry has a wide variety of titles in development that range from triple AAA blockbusters to casual games” says Instinct Technology’s David Lawton COO, “We are very confident we have significantly enhanced our product set and to support this release we have introduced a range of innovative pricing models to give every level of developer a real opportunity to create fantastic games and succeed using our cutting-edge technology.”

Instinct Studio is a suite of software tools designed to allow game creators to produce state-of-the-art interactive products.

As computer and video games have become more complex and technically-demanding, game creators have come to need more efficient tools and production processes in order to meet more demanding deadlines and budgets, Instinct Studio has been designed from the ground up to satisfy these needs.

Instinct Studio features high-performance graphics coupled with powerful game creation tools, allowing a wide variety of game genres to be developed. These tools support WYSIWYG editing within a single unified working environment, maximizing productivity by reducing iteration times. The software has been designed as a true middleware API utilizing a set of extensible frameworks.

Instinct Studio is backed by world class technology, tools, documentation and support. The suite has been designed to integrate seamlessly with existing 'best in class' middleware solutions for specialist functionality (e.g. physics, artificial intelligence, multi-player networking etc.), allowing users to create fully-featured, state-of-the-art games for the new generation of game systems.

Wonderland Online: The Official Site Released (PC MMORPG)

With the Wonderland Online (http://wl.igg.com) Alpha Test right around the corner, the WLO team is pleased to announce that the official Wonderland Online website will be released at 9:00pm GMT-5 on Mar 18th. This site will be a resource for the testers and all players in the future, as well as serve the community as a place to follow what's happening in the game.

Detailed game information and forums are currently available for viewing. The official encourages you all to stop by often to learn more about Wonderland Online. Pay close attention to the website for more details: http://www.igg.com

Microsoft Xbox 360 Content Creation Challenge

Disruptive Media Publishers Announce Xbox 360 Content Creation Challenge

Nokia-Sponsored Contest Brings User-Generated Theme Artwork to the Xbox 360

Disruptive Media Publishers, the leading provider of lifestyle customization content (gamer pictures and themes) for Xbox LIVE on Xbox 360, today announced the official launch of the DP Content Creation Challenge. This marks the first time that individual artists have had the opportunity to get their unique content published on Xbox LIVE Marketplace as downloadable Xbox 360 themes, which can then be purchased by the over 10+ million members using Microsoft Points. The contest kicks off on March 17, 2008, and runs until April 28, 2008.

“Since the launch of the Xbox 360, users have constantly demanded the ability to create and distribute their own unique themes, and this has never been possible…until now,” said Clay Branson, Marketing Director for Disruptive Media Publishers. “This contest allows digital art creators a unique opportunity to bring their designs to the largest social network in the living room, with more than 10+ million Xbox LIVE members around the globe and 2.6 million instant messages, text and voice messages sent daily on Xbox LIVE.”

Nokia is the official sponsor of DP’s Content Creation Challenge. Nokia’s new offering is the Nokia N81, which is N-Gage compatible. “This contest is offering Nokia a great way to engage our N-Gage audience where they live and play,” said Nick Malaperiman, Nokia’s head of global marketing 3rd-party games. “We are looking forward to seeing the unique creations that result from the Challenge.”

Xbox LIVE Marketplace is home to more than 9,000 pieces of downloadable gaming and entertainment content and to date there have been over 400 million individual downloads of this content. Some of the most unique content allows for customization of the Xbox 360 system. This customization includes custom faceplates to change the external appearance of the console, as well as themes and gamer pictures that can be used throughout the entire console environment. Themes, which can include up to four unique images, allow users to customize their Xbox 360 user interface. Other personalization includes the player’s Gamer Picture, which is a unique visual identity displayed to the rest of the gaming community.

The Contest Details:
Users can visit www.my360theme.com, where they will find detailed instructions and a content template. Once material has been created to the proper specs, a simple file upload tool will allow users to transfer their content & associated information to DP’s servers. Upon submission, users can also choose to be affiliated with a specific Xbox 360 community partner.

After an internal quality review process, approved content will appear in a community gallery page on www.my360theme.com, where individuals vote to determine the top content. Real-time voting tabulates the top individual themes based on the number of votes received. At the conclusion of the contest, the top individual theme (as voted on by the community) will be officially published to Xbox LIVE Marketplace and, along with having content for purchase by Xbox LIVE users, will receive a grand prize package that includes a 42” HDTV and surround sound home theatre system, a library of Xbox 360 games, a Blu-ray DVD Player and a Nokia N81. More detailed rules are available at www.my360theme.com.

Dynamic leaderboards will also track a “community score” based on cumulative votes for themes affiliated with a community partner. In addition to the individual prizes, the community partner with the highest score will receive additional prizing, including an Xbox 360 game library and electronic store gift cards. DP’s participating community partners include:

• 360style.net
• 360sync
• 360voice.com
• Evil Avatar
• Hawty McBloggy
• Platform Nation
• The10k.com
• Unscripted 360
• Xbox Addict

Aurora: The Secret Within Goes Gold

Aurora: The Secret Within Goes Gold

Video games publisher Lexicon Entertainment are pleased to announce that ‘Aurora: The Secret Within’ has hit gold status and set for a release date of April 25th 2008.

Roswell, 1950 and a sensational rumour from the US Army have surfaced. A flying saucer has crashed near Roswell.
While this unbelievable event is broadcasting, the detective Pileggi falls into a mysterious case about the vanishing of a local farmer. During the investigation, he will discover that his reality has always been an illusion.

The Pentagon has been leading people to believe that Area 51 has been hiding projects about supersonic airplanes or alien technologies. The truth however is that the base was developed for a secret project called Aurora.

A secret project developed for time travel...

Features Include:

• 40 noir's placing within New Mexico
• 3D rooms exploration
• Original soundtrack and audio effects
• 3D interactive animated characters
• Logical, mathematical riddles and puzzles that gradually get harder
• Multiple choices dialogues, influencing the story
• 3D cut scene movies
• Multiple endings

Free Demo - Major League Baseball 2K8 Download now @ PlayStation Store

2K Sports Announces Free Demo of Major League Baseball 2K8 Now Available for Download on PlayStation Store

While dedicated fans eagerly anticipate the start of opening day, 2K Sports today announced a free Major League Baseball 2K8 demo is now available for download through the PlayStation Store. Players will be able to practice their skills at Boston’s legendary Fenway Park by playing three full innings as either the Colorado Rockies or Boston Red Sox.

The free game demo will also offer fans a chance to experience the new and exciting features that Major League Baseball 2K8 brings to the virtual diamond through retooled pitching, batting, fielding and baserunning gameplay mechanics. Fans will also get a sneak peek at the stunning realism and depth of gameplay in Major League Baseball 2K8 through new Signature Style™ animations and redesigned stadiums that showcase the detail and specific architecture of each city.

Major League Baseball 2K8, rated E for Everyone by the ESRB, is now available in retail stores for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, PSP (PlayStationPortable) system, and Wii home video game system.

LOL The Craziest Handheld Game Ever is Coming to Nintendo DS

Agetec To Make Nintendo DS Owners LOL

The Craziest Handheld Game Ever is Coming This May

Agetec, Inc today announced that it will be releasing LOL for Nintendo DS™ this May. A unique, free-form gaming experience, LOL’s motto says it best: “If the game is boring, then you are boring.”

“We decided not to include a single player mode in the game because that would defeat the purpose. This game was created to be a social game that allows you interact on and off Nintendo DS with your friends,” said Mark Johnson, the producer. “LOL concentrates on the comedic joy of using the imagination of everyone in the room.”

“LOL is a game with endless possibilities that can be played for hours and hours of nonstop entertainment,” said Hiro Fukuoka, producer at Agetec. “As long as you are a fun-loving person with a little bit of an imagination, there should be no reason you find LOL to be anything less than a great time with your friends. It maximizes your creative abilities and puts a fun twist to it.”

LOL is played by one of the players making a challenge in writing to the others. The crazier the challenge, the more fun everyone will have. The person who delivered the challenge chooses an appropriate time limit, and everyone has to answer the challenge on their touch screen however they see fit – with words, pictures, or whatever comes to mind. The host reveals the answers, and everyone votes on a winner who will then decide on the challenge for the next round. Always different and a blast to play every time, LOL will, as its name implies, make everyone laugh out loud.