Wii Shop Channel adds - Yoshi's Cookie and Bases Loaded

Wii-kly Update: Two New Classic Games Added To Wii Shop Channel

The arrival of April means springtime fun is officially back in season. To get Wii Shop Channel patrons in the spirit, we're pleased to offer a pair of lively NES favorites. One is a breezy, puzzle-busting fantasy, the other a classic baseball title to keep sports fans fired up for a new season of nine-inning excitement. Whether your tastes run toward cookies or ballpark snacks, you'll find hours of gaming enjoyment right at your fingertips.

Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are:

Yoshi's Cookie (NES, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points):

Take one part puzzle game, combine with intuitive game play, add a pinch of multiplayer action and top with a layer of everyone's favorite dinosaur. Mix together and let set for roughly 100 stages' worth of time. If that sounds like a winning recipe to you, then step into the kitchen and get ready for a batch of fast-paced puzzle action. Hunker down to move rows and columns of randomly placed cookies in an effort to align all the cookies of the same type. Successfully assemble a row or column to make the line disappear, then move to a new one. If you're good enough, you may even be able to make a Yoshi cookie appear! Feel like taking on a friend? Fire up the two-player mode, where you can attack your opponent while competing to match as many cookies as possible. Be careful, though—if your timing is off, you could end up attacking yourself. Who knew dinosaurs had such a weakness for puzzle games and sweets?

Bases Loaded (NES, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points):

Bases Loaded is a baseball game with an arcade feel and plenty of options from which players can choose. Select one of 12 teams, set your lineup from the 30 players available (each with different strengths), then play a single game or try to win the pennant. During game play, the screen shows two different viewpoints: one from behind home plate as you're batting, and the other from the pitching mound in a television-style shot (unique for its time) as your team plays in the field. Strong play control and excellent graphics add to the excitement as you decide what pitch to throw (you can even try to provoke the opposing batter into charging the mound), control all positions on the field, or do your best to get a hit. So step to the plate and find out why this is one of the most popular baseball games on the NES. Can you pull through in the clutch?

Grand Theft Auto IV Sony PlayStation 3 bundle ?

According to Swedish retailer Webhalen who is boasting some pretty legit-looking box art, it looks like Sony will be offering a Grand Theft Auto IV PlayStation 3 bundle—a standard 40GB PS3 along with a copy of GTA IV for roughly $750.

As of right now, the news is still unconfirmed and could be a regional offering only.

Source: Kotaku

Halo 2 videos in HD (High definition) all available on HBO all cut scenes online

Halo.Bungie.org (HBO) has just finished uploading all Halo 2 cutscenes to their servers in gloriously trendy high definition.

Halo fans and machinima enthusiasts take note: all of the assets are available for standalone download (none of this embedded crap) and ready to be edited as you see fit.

The entire Halo 2 cut scene library here

Halo cut scene library here

Deadliest Catch video game for Microsoft Xbox 360 and PC

Discovery Channel on Tuesday said it will release Deadliest Catch Alaskan Storm this April - a game based on the hit cable show for would-be fisherman.

Made by an unknown developer (Liquid Dragon) and upstart publisher (Greenwave), Deadliest Catch Alaskan Storm promises to recreate the experience of crab fishing in the unforgiving Bering Sea.


Watch the trailer

"It may not be life or death, but chills went up my spine the first time I saw the Northwestern sink in the game," said Captain Sig Hansen, who stars in the show. Developers say the game will feature the best wave effects to date in a video game.

Deadliest Catch Alaskan Storm will afford players the ability to staff a crab boat, battle elephantine waves and ice storms, and overcome an insanely high injury rate when seeking the underwater riches of fresh crab meat.

A career mode, U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue missions, 34,000 miles of actual coastline, and Xbox Live multiplayer highlight the list of features.

Discovery Channel video games are notorious for being mind numbing, insipid experiences. Perhaps this will change the tide (ba dum, bump). Perhaps not.

Source: GamePro

$10 Mario Kart Wii with two games trade in

GameStop is offering Wii owners the opportunity to trade in a few pretty craptastic Wii games to score one of Nintendo's AAA offerings, Mario Kart Wii, for $10 of pocket change. The bad news is that even if you get rid of some titles that are doing little more than collecting dust alongside your Wii, you are feeding GameStop's buy low sell high trade-in market.

With that said, we're not judging anyone who hits the jump to check out the full list of qualifying games.

• Baroque
  
• Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree
  
• Bully: Scholarship Edition
  
• Cabela's Big Game Hunter
  
• Carnival Games
  
• Cars: Mater-National
  
• Cooking Mama: Cook Off
  
• Dragonball Z: Budokai T3
  
• EA Playground
  
• Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
  
• Ghost Squad
  
• Legend of Zelda TP
  
• Lego Star Wars: Complete Saga
  
• Madden NFL 2008
  
• MLB 2K8
  
• Mario and Sonic Olympic Games
  
• Mario Party 8
  
• Mario Strikers Charged
  
• MOH Heroes 2
  
• MOH Vanguard
  
• Metriod Prime 3: Corruption
  
• MLP Power Pros
  
• My Sims
  
• Naurto Clash of Ninja Revolution
  
• NBA Live 2008
  
• Need for Speed: Carbon
  
• Need for Speed: Pro Street
  
• No More Heroes
  
• Okami
  
• Pokemon Battle Revolution
  
• Rapala Tournament Fishing
  
• Rayman Raving Rabbids
  
• Rayman Raving Rabbids 2
  
• Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition
  
• Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles
  
• Sims 2: Castaways
  
• Super Mario Galaxy
  
• Super Paper Mario
  
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl
  
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007
  
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008
  
• Transformers The Game
  
• Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
  
• WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2008
  

While most of us wouldn't trade in our still-warm copies of Super Mario Galaxy, tossing aside Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree probably isn't the worst decision a gamer could make.

Source: Kotaku

Crazy Machines 2 PC video game Never Before Seen Screenshots

The Wackiest Screenshots for your Viewing Pleasure

Viva Media's getting into the wild and crazy spirit new screenshots of
gameplay from their upcoming release, Crazy Machines 2.

Take a look at these amazing shots
of the most insane game we've ever published!

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Enjoy!

Lineage II: The Chaotic Throne – The Kamael 1.5 Hellbound – Steel Citadel Feature

NCsoft Europe presents a new Lineage II feature – Hellbound & Steel Citadel. 

These are the two new high level areas that will launch with the Collector’s Edition on the 25th April – giving players a greater challenge to tackle.

Since the introduction of the high-level grounds called Hellbound in The Kamael, adventurers have been seeking a way into the deadly Steel Citadel and battle the epic boss Beleth himself. Now with the new update they have the chance they’ve been waiting for. After earning an extremely high level of trust from the Hellbound natives, adventurers will soon learn from them how to gain access into the Steel Citadel and the riches within—if they dare. In fact, players should make sure their characters hit the new level cap (Level 85) before going in.

The task in store for adventurers to reach Beleth is not easy. The Steel Citadel itself is composed of four separate areas or “towers,” which need to be conquered one at a time before moving on to the next. Adventurers will start in the two-story Base Tower, featuring a labyrinthine first floor that features many rapidly spawning creatures, and a second floor, which is composed of several rooms and a long corridor. The second floor is where adventurers can gain access to the other three towers in the Steel Citadel—once they meet certain requirements for each.

Each adventurer in the party must possess Fiery Demon Blood, a special Base Tower-oriented buff, before they can gain access to the Tower of Infinitum. The tower itself has five floors, each with two large rooms—adventurers ascend the tower through one set of rooms and back down the tower through another set. Two major raid bosses are in the Tower of Infinitum: the Demon Prince and Ranku, both of which can be tough but well-organized parties should be able to take them down.

After returning to the Base Tower, adventurers can then move on to eight-story tower known as Tully’s Workshop. After clearing the initial levels they must defeat the raid boss Tully and then take on a set of more powerful creatures, including Darion’s Challengers and finally Darion himself. A deadly raid boss, Darion is clad in heavy armor and wields a large sword and heavy shield. He may use a combination of skillful attacks, such as slamming his shield and utilizing a specialized physical attack called the Black Dragon Claw. Once Darion is defeated, adventurers can then move on to the final tower, the Tower of Naia.

The Tower of Naia is composed of three floors and heavy, sophisticated machinery is spread throughout. Through a series of rooms adventurers will battle followers of Beleth and the raid boss Epidos, though they will only have a short amount of time to blow through each room. Finally, there will be the battle against Beleth itself—or more appropriately, one real Beleth and a number of fake Beleths (note that while they may be fake, they are certainly no pushovers). This will be one nasty battle, and Beleth has access to a series of deadly skills like Chain Lightning and Fireballs, to complicate the attack. Defeating Beleth, adventurers can say with pride that they have defeated one of the most difficult raid encounters ever devised in Lineage II.

MTV Games' Rock Band and MTV2 Hit the road with Seether and Flyleaf

Rock Band and MTV2 Present One of the Hottest Rock Tours This Spring Beginning April 8th

MTV Games, a division of Viacom’s MTV Networks, announced today that Rock Band and MTV2 will hit the road as the presenting co-sponsors of platinum-selling rock act, Flyleaf and chart topping alt rock act Seether, on their co-headlining tour this Spring kicking off in Denver, CO on April 8th. A perennial gold-selling artist, Seether currently has two top ten hits at active and modern rock radio simultaneously with “Fake It” and their follow-up smash “Rise Above This”. After scoring 3 top ten hits at modern and active rock radio on their eponymous smash debut, Flyleaf is finally mining pay-dirt at Top 40 radio with their haunting ballad, "All Around Me"

“Sponsoring the Seether and Flyleaf tour is another way for us to give Rock Band fans the opportunity to connect with the bands they love and provide a stage for them to live out their rock fantasies,” said Paul DeGooyer, SVP DVD, Gaming and Audio, MTV. “By supporting this tour, it allows us to expose great young talent like Flyleaf, who are a true Rock Band success story. The inclusion of their single “I’m So Sick” in Rock Band has helped propel them from gold to platinum selling artists.”

“Seether and Flyleaf are some of the most requested bands in rotation on MTV2,” stated Andy Hunter, SVP, MTV2. “Bringing together Rock Band and MTV2 to support these popular rock artists, hits home with our audience by bringing them bands they want to see in concert and the music video game they want to rock with.”

Beginning Tuesday, April 8th and running through Wednesday, May 21st, music fans that attend the Seether and Flyleaf tour will be given the chance to play against the members of Flyleaf and Seether on Rock Band. Local competitions will be held at each tour location where several lucky contest winners will be given the chance to receive copies of Rock Band, create a hot MTV2 video playlist as well as co-host “Saturday Rock the Deuce” on MTV2 with Seether and Flyleaf. In addition, exclusive video clips from the tour will be available on www.mtv2.com and a tour diary chronicling Seether and Flyleaf’s interactions with fans will air on MTV2 as they host the All That Rocks block on Saturdays at 6PM for 8 weeks premiering on April 5th through May 24th giving viewers weekly updates and footage from the road.

For more info, specific tour dates and locations, please visit Seether’s website, and Flyleaf’s website. In addition, fans can visit www.mtv2.com and www.rockband.com for more information on dates, locations and Rock Band news.

Rock Band is a new platform for music fans and gamers to interact with music like never before, challenging users to master the lead/bass guitar, drums, and vocals as solo artists or cooperatively as part of their own band. Built on unprecedented deals with the world’s biggest record labels and music publishers, the music featured in Rock Band will span all genres of rock and will include many master recordings from the greatest songs and artists of all time. Rock Band was the top winning game at this year’s E3 show, winning the overall “Best in Show 2007” award and garnering the most Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2007 with five nominations and three awards.

First screenshots - Red Bull BC One on Nintendo DS

First screenshots - Red Bull BC One

About Red Bull BC One:

The game takes the player to the international Red Bull BC One breakdance tournament that challenges B-boys and B-girls alike.

Players control their break dancer by solving puzzles under strict time limits. Puzzles consist of drawing geometrical shapes, which will get more complex as the game progresses. 

A steady hand and speed are required to set a high score that is worth bragging about. The game features fresh and stylish graphics with urban music as well as tense puzzle rounds alternating with a variety of minigames. Red Bull BC One is currently being developed for Nintendo DS by Smackdown.

Prototype:

As you already know, a prototype of this game is playable on the official Red Bull BC One website.



The game prototype allows players to look at the concept of the game and help the developing team by providing the ever important feedback. The player’s comments and suggestions will be used to improve the final version of the game.

Furthermore, the players that forward the best ideas or comments will even be credited in the final game.

Red Bull BC One for Nintendo DS will be published worldwide in early Summer 2008.

Pro Cycling Manager - Tour De France 2008 PC and PSP video game announced

Ascaron Announces UK Release Of Pro Cycling Manager - Tour De France 2008

TAKE PART IN EUROPE'S MOST EXHILARATING BIKE RACE

Pro Cycling Manager – Tour De France 2008, the newest version of the popular racing management series for PC and PSP, is set for a Spring release in the UK. The packshot and 2 new screenshots for the PC are now available, demonstrating the game’s outstanding graphics engine and giving a taster of the hard fought races to come.

PC version

Play as the general manager of one of 65 official cycling teams, handling all aspects of a professional season. This includes recruiting and transferring team members, organising contacts, handling finances and arranging training to create the best possible team. The management is more realistic than ever before, through new talent recruiting and stamina systems that give each rider a fitness plan for the forthcoming season, and a highly realistic progression curve.

To make the racing more realistic, Pro Cycling – Tour de France 2008 has an advanced and aggressive rider AI, highly detailed rider models and rich environments that include a variety of buildings and landscapes. There are 180 real-time, playable 3D races, with you managing the tactics, such as attacks and relays that will affect their outcome.

Impressive track racing events, such as cycle speedway, Keirin and elimination, are available for the first time in the series to challenge your team’s track racing skills. All of these features combine to make the 2008 edition the most comprehensive and exciting replication of professional cycling.



PSP version

The Sony PSP version of Pro Cycling – Tour de France 2008 has been specifically designed to make use of the console’s unique features with the highlight being the actual racing. Participate in the greatest international cycling competitions, such as the accurately recreated Tour de France 2008. Create your team from a selection of star cyclists and manage all aspects successfully to take them to the top. The 2008 edition also lets you challenge your friends in multiplayer mode, via LAN or the PSP’s WiFi features.