Downloadable Content Pack For Forza Motorsport 2 on Microsoft XBox Live

New Downloadable Content Pack For Forza Motorsport 2

After much fan and critical acclaim, Wednesday 19th March marks the release of a new downloadable content pack for “Forza Motorsport 2.” With 13 stunning new and customisable rides being added to the game’s robust 340+ car line up, you’re sure to discover countless hours of racing and customisation in the award-winning “Forza Motorsport 2” experience and online community.

Available 19th March on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 400 Microsoft points, the March Car Pack’s 13 vehicles include an Xbox 360-themed Peugeot 207 Super 2000, the brand new Audi S5 and 2008 BMW M3, and kings among super cars, the Lamborghini LP640 and the Ferrari 430 Scuderia. Additional cars from renowned makers like Porsche, Maserati, and Mitsubishi finish the list.

With more ways to personalise your rides and customise your vehicles for optimal performance than any racing game on the market, and now with even more amazing cars to own as your own, “Forza Motorsport 2” has established itself as the racing title for anyone who loves cars.

For more information on the vehicles you will experience in the March Car Pack from the winning team at Turn 10, check out http://forzamotorsport.net/march_dlc.htm

March Car Pack

• 2008 Audi S5
  
• 2007 Audi TT Coupe S-Line
  
• 1971 BMW 3.0 CSL E09
  
• 2008 BMW E92 M3
  
• 1989 Ferrari F40 Competizione
  
• 1996 Ferrari F50 GT
  
• 2007 Ferrari 430 Scuderia
  
• 2007 Lamborghini Murcielago LP640
  
• 2007 Maserati GranTurismo
  
• 2006 Maserati MC12 Corsa
  
• 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X GSR
  
• 2008 Porsche 911 GT2 (997)
  
• 2007 Peugeot No1 Peugeot 207 Super 2000 (Xbox liveried 2007 IRC championship winner)
  

A New Face Comes To The Online Action MMO Brawler Grand Chase!

Ntreev USA, Inc. announced the addition of a new playable character and related content for the exclusive North American release of Grand Chase, the Action Adventure MMO Brawler developed by KOG.

Grand Chase Knights Welcome Your Newest Soldier, Ronan!

In the newest update for Ntreev USA's North American release of the MMO action brawler, Grand Chase, a new playable character and related content have been added to the game. Ronan, the newest playable character to be added to the Grand Chase roster is the first male character to be released in the game. Ronan will be bringing his own unique fighting style, special skills and combos to the fast-paced action of Grand Chase. Along with the addition of a new playable character, Ronan also heralds the addition of new character specific missions, equipment and items!

For more information regarding this newest, and highly anticipated addition to the Grand Chase Knights, make sure to check the official Grand Chase website.

New Equipment, Items and Accessories Come to the Grand Opening of the Official Grand Chase Shop!

The addition of a new playable character, his specific missions and equipment and items is not the only news for the Grand Chase Knights. New equipment for all characters including Elesis the Warrior, Arme the Mage and Lire the Archer have also been added to the official in-game Shop. Full Equipment sets such as the Kanavan Royal Guard, Dolmen Spell Knight, Bunny Spell Knight, Spell Knight, Meister Clan and Fire Strike sets have all been added. These new equipment sets offer unique stat bonuses and new aesthetic looks to the Grand Chase characters. But Ntreev USA has not stopped at merely adding a slew of new and amazing items to the game's shop, the shop has also been completely expanded to incorporate the ability of purchasing items with real world currency! New items, accessories and more will continue to be added in future updates and many will be able to be obtained through both in-game currency and real world cash, or Ntreev Cash Points.

For more information on all of the newest, and greatest equipment, items and accessories available to aid the Grand Chase Knights in their ongoing struggle against ultimate evil, make sure to check the official grand Chase website.

PVP, Dungeon Crawling and Mighty Boss Battles Only Scratch the Surface of the Grand Chase Experience!

Grand Chase is first and foremost an MMO action brawler, but there are times when every gamer wishes to take a break from the adrenaline pumping action and heroic confrontations to be had. The newest update to this popular online title also proclaims the release of the brand new Park System. With the Park System, players can now take a moment, and take a breather from their action-based exploits, chat and get together with one another in a completely new, and relaxing environment. The Park System allows for multiple players to chat and show off their avatars at the same time, with up to 50 players per room, or Squares as they are called! The new Park System maps are multileveled and much larger than any of the current maps used in either the PVP or the Dungeon Systems and also includes a special Wedding Area!

For more information on all of the newest updates and additions to everyone's favorite MMO action brawler, make sure to check the official Grand Chase website.

Join The Chase, Save The World!

Grand Chase is a fast-paced, heart-pounding action brawler that combines elements of traditional RPG character advancement and customization, and adds new cooperative and competitive elements for players who aren't afraid to put their brawling skills to the test! Grand Chase raises the bar for free-to-play online gaming; setting itself apart from the pack with superior quality, design and execution. Grand Chase is title unlike any other and is poised to make its mark on the North American, English market!

The North American release of Grand Chase is not only the most enhanced and upgraded version of the game available in the English market, it is also a completely different and unique title that pushes the boundaries of traditional online gaming fare. A fully realized fantasy world sets the stage for high adventure and epic action as players join the forces of the Grand Chase Knights to fight the evil Kaze'aze and protect not only the land of Bermesiah but the entire world!

This completely Free-to-Play, five star title is being brought to North America for the first time ever through online game publisher, Ntreev USA Inc.

Players who think they have the skill, who are ready to battle the forces of evil and protect the land of Bermesiah by becoming Knights of Grand Chase should immediately go to the official website, and Join the Chase to Save the World!

GrandChase.net

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