Rising Star Games Announces Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon

Rising Star Games is pleased to announce Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon for Nintendo DS and available in September 2008.

About Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon:

You awaken to find yourself in an unfamiliar village known as Kardia. Wearing nothing more than the tattered clothes on your back, you have no memory of who you are or how you arrived.

A strange but beautiful young woman by the name of Mist comes to your aid and offers you food and water in return for helping her on her land by planting crops and clearing her fields. As you tend the land and plough the fields, you grow stronger and your skills improve. However, for some reason, you do recall a time when you felt more comfortable with a sword in your hand.

You have a natural gift for combat and your talent soon comes to the attention of the local mayor. With nearby caves and ruins overrun by monsters, Mayor Godwin has decreed that no adventurer can set foot into the dark spaces without a special permit.

Battling against these fierce beasts is very important to your survival (and to the gameplay) but making friends with them is essential to your farm life. You will also upgrade your skills as you master swords, spears and farm tools.

It will take you many, many hours of hard work to earn Mayor Godwin’s approval but the secrets inside the caves beckon and perhaps the deepest one of them holds the key to unlocking your past.

Key Features:

• Rune Factory: A Fantasy Harvest Moon is a Nintendo DS exclusive title which takes the world of Harvest Moon and turns it upside down in a unique fantasy world
• Includes fundamental Harvest Moon gameplay: growing crops, tending livestock, making friends and getting married
• In this game, the developers have created a fantasy world in which the player exists rather than the RPG standard where you merely play the role of a hero and work your way through the storyline
• RPG aspects include collecting materials to create new items, equipment & furniture
• The player must battle and capture monsters, attend to them in the village and harness their energy in order to bring peace to the land
• Contains a real-time Action Battle system for equipping yourself with skills & equipment, fighting monsters & casting magic spells
• Gameplay makes heavy use of the Nintendo DS stylus allowing players to fleece their sheep and pet animals directly
• Communication with other characters plays a massive part in this game. You can go to local festivals & go out on dates
• The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection allows you to send e-mails, screenshots and messages to other players

Grand Chase - Join the Chase, Over Land, Over Sea - Partusay Sea Expansion Released!

Ntreev USA, Inc. announced the addition of new items, missions, events, jobs, new maps, and more for the exclusive North American release of Grand Chase, the Action Adventure MMO Brawler developed by KOG.

Partusay Sea Opens A New Avenue To Adventure!

Bermesiah is the home and central setting for Grand Chase, and the amazing heroes that make up the fighting force set out to protect the world from unspeakable evil. Yet, there is more to the world of Grand Chase outside of the Bermesiah continent, and the newest update and addition to the popular action MMO brawler is bringing a new testing ground to Grand Chase Knights everywhere! In this newest addition to Grand Chase, players, or Knights as they are referred to in the game, can now embark on adventures in a brand new area! Ntreev USA is proud to announce the opening of the newest area of Grand Chase, the Partusay Sea. This marks the first new area for Grand Chase that lays outside of the Bermesiah continent, and heralds an exciting new addition to the already popular action MMO brawler!

Knights who feel that they are up to the newest challenge in Grand Chase must defeat Gaikoz's Dungeon to unlock the newest continent in the World Map and seek new adventures in the Partusay Sea Dungeon!

For more information regarding the newest area to be released for the Grand Chase Knights, including new monsters, new Dungeons and new Bosses, make sure to check the official Grand Chase website.

http://grandchase.ntreev.net/Content/EventNews_Reader.aspx?no=458&eventflag=1&vcat=2

Swords, Bows, And Magic Are Not The Only Weapons At Your Disposal! Behold The New Spearman Job For Elesis!

The Grand Chase Knights are a powerful fighting force with specialized martial skills at their disposal to tackle the forces of evil that threaten the world. But, the forces of darkness themselves are becoming stronger and stronger, making it increasingly difficult for the Knights to defeat. Yet there is hope, as the forces of evil are becoming stronger, so too are the Grand Chase Knights themselves! In the first part of a continual series of Job updates for the Grand Chase Knights, the Knight class, embodied in the character of Elesis, is now receiving its 2nd Job, the Spearman! This new Job now opens up an entire arsenal of new attacks, combos, skills and of course a brand new weapon skill for Elesis fans everywhere! In addition to the new skills, combos and weapon proficiency will also have access to brand new equipment, and weapons!

For Knights throughout Grand Chase, and especially fans of Elesis who wish to take their favourite red-headed Knight to the next level, don't waste time, head straight over to the in-game Shop for Grand Chase and purchase the Spearman Mission! The new Spearman Mission that must be completed to unlock the 2nd Job for Elesis is available for purchase with both Ntreev Cash Points and in-game currency (GP)!

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

http://grandchase.ntreev.net/Content/EventNews_Reader.aspx?no=459&eventflag=1&vcat=2

Partusay Sea Opens New Challenges, And New Missions For The Strong And Fearless!

With the unveiling of the new continent and the Partusay Sea Dungeon area in Grand Chase, new exciting Missions have also been released for this treacherous underwater map filled with new monsters and a new Boss! Knights who wish to test their might and bravery to the fullest should pay special attention to the new missions which will be available to Knights who step bravely into the dangerous, soggy new Dungeon. Completion of these new missions will unlock even more content and items to the Grand Chase Knights who have the skill to claim victory!

For more information regarding the newest missions, areas, and maps available for the Grand Chase Knights, make sure to check the official Grand Chase website.

http://grandchase.ntreev.net/Content/EventNews_Reader.aspx?no=458&eventflag=1&vcat=2

New Items, Equipment, Armor, Accessories And Weapons Are Coming To Aid The Grand Chase Knights! Now With Bonus Emoticons!

As the newest area for Grand Chase has been unveiled, Partusay Sea, and the newest Job, Spearman for Elesis, it should come as no surprise that Grand Chase is also releasing brand new Equipment, Armor, Accessories and Weapons for the Grand Chase Knights to help them improve their martial prowess! New items and equipment will be available in both sets and as individual purchases from the in-game Shop. These newest additions to the Knights' arsenal are available for purchase with both Ntreev Cash Points and with the in-game currency (GP) as relevant. Make sure to check out the new Black Armor, Heavy Crab Armor and Fire Strike sets!

Marking another brand new addition to the vast item content already available in Grand Chase, new Emoticons are also available with special in-game animations. These new Emoticons can be obtained through winning PVP battles, or through compounding!

For the best up-to-date information on these and all the newest items, equipment, armor, weapons accessories and more available to help the Grand Chase Knights defeat the forces of evil, make sure to check the official Grand Chase website.

http://grandchase.ntreev.net/Content/PatchNotes.aspx

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!

http://grandchase.ntreev.net/Download/gamedownload.aspx
Grand Chase Game Download

Gamebryo Breathes Life Into Wii's First Black and White video game Horror Title

Emergent Game Technologies announced today that the highly-anticipated psychological thriller Sadness for Wii is being built on the Gamebryo game development platform. The first Wii title to be presented entirely in black-and-white is in development by Poland-based game studio Nibris. Taking place prior to World War I, Sadness is a crime noir thriller with richly detailed characters and an engaging storyline.

“Without a doubt, Gamebryo is the most powerful engine available for the Wii. After getting familiar with the engine several months ago we made the decision to choose Gamebryo. Since then, our team has been working on Sadness and we are quite impressed,” said Tomasz Wisniowski, Project Manager of Nibris. “We will have quite a few graphical effects in our game, which some believe are impossible to attain on the Wii. Gamebryo helped make it possible. We are firmly convinced we made the right choice.”

“From the early stages of pre-production with Sadness, Nibris realized that they would need development technology that allowed for an extreme amount of flexibility in the creative process, which is a cornerstone of the Gamebryo framework,” said Geoffrey Selzer, CEO of Emergent. “Sadness is designed to push the bounds of Wii technically and creatively. We are thrilled to be a part of Nibris’ ground-breaking product. We’re really looking forward to playing Sadness on Wii.”

Gamebryo gives Nibris’ developers a considerable head start by implementing numerous Wii development features that do not typically come with standard SDKs. Loaded with rendering and animation tools, a Wii-specific viewer, extensive libraries and APIs to simplify pipeline integration, Gamebryo provides Wii teams everything they need to optimize and deliver visually stunning games on time and on budget.

Sadness is a horror adventure game aimed at adults with strong nerves. Players will need to confront their greatest fears and protect themselves in hopes of not getting trapped inside the main character’s nightmare. The game has eight different extreme endings each with their own premise, which are assigned to a player based on specific factors during the game. To compliment the intense gameplay, the Wii-mote and Wii Nunchuk control the main character’s hands so players feel as though they are in the psychological thriller.

Multiplay Sell 1,500 BYOC i34 tickets in just 3 weeks

Multiplay, organisers of the UK’s largest LAN parties for over 10 years, have sold 1,500 spaces for their i34 event this August, just three weeks after tickets went on sale. i34 is the most ambitious computer and video games event ever to be held in the UK and can be described as “the Glastonbury of gaming”. It takes place at Stoneleigh Park from 8th - 11th August 2008.

The Bring Your Own Computer ticket allows gamers to take their PC’s to the event and set up for a marathon gaming session lasting the entire weekend. At 2,000 available spaces i34 will be the largest BYOC LAN ever held in the UK and one of the largest in Europe.

With only 500 spaces left the event is due to sell out in record time and those wishing to enter competitions such as the Call of Duty 4 and Counter-Strike: Source tournaments are being urged to get their tickets as soon as possible. Each tournament has prize funds of €12,000 and demand is expected to be high.
For the first time at an i-Series players can also pick their own seats meaning that those who have paid early can also have the first choice of seating.

A whole festival of gaming, i34 will also include other activities such as paintball, quad bikes and other sports. A huge attraction will be the mammoth exhibition being held where over 3,000m2 of floor space will be filled with the industry leaders showcasing the cutting edge of games technology and hardware.

“With affordable on-site accommodation and eateries i34 will be the most comfortable and luxurious LAN party around” said Craig Fletcher, managing director of Multiplay. “We are really pulling all stops out for i34 which has already had an amazing response from the gamers, selling more in the first three weeks than we could ever have hoped for. It’s shaping up to be an unforgettable and unmissable experience”.
To find out more about i34 and how you can get involved visit http://www.multiplay.co.uk/i34

2008 ION Game Conference Agenda Finalized and Online

The complete conference schedule for the 2008 ION Game Conference is now online. With over 100 speakers seated on almost 70 sessions, the agenda reflects the conference's promise to deliver cutting edge information and compelling networking opportunities across three full days. The 2008 ION Game Conference will take place in Seattle, Washington from May 13-15 at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront Hotel.

Among the new speakers listed in the full schedule and participating at the 2008 ION Game Conference are:

• Craig Sherman, CEO of Gaia Online
• Rich Weil, Community Director of Cartoon Network
• Dr. Lars Butler, Founder and CEO of Trion World Network
• Grant Wei, Director of Publishing of Cryptic Studios
• John K. Bates, Business Development & Strategic Marketing with Mindark / Entropia Universe

Visit http://www.ionconference.com/agenda.php to view the complete list of speakers and full scheduling for sessions.
Less than a month remains before the excitement of 2008 ION Game Conference officially commences. Only two weeks remain to register online at the discounted rate of $695 for one of the year's most influential and forward-thinking conferences within the game industry. An attendee pass at the 2008 ION Game Conference permits access to all keynotes, the expo floor, all sessions and panels, as well as conference parties. The entire room block for the conference has just sold out at the official conference venue and hotel, the Seattle Marriott Waterfront Hotel; however, organizer Evergreen Events has negotiated an extension on the discounted rate for attendees. However, this exclusive rate extension will expire on Friday, April 18, 2008.
The ION Game Conference is an annual game industry event designed for an international attendee audience, for those who strive at the highest level to network and learn about new online game development and business trends. Visit the official website http://www.ionconference.com for the latest news and information about the 2008 ION Game Conference. To review the global and diversified advisory board supporting the ION Game Conference, visit http://www.ionconference.com/advisors.php.

To keep informed about the latest news about ION and the online game industry, sent straight to your e-mail Inbox, sign up for the free ION Connection newsletter at http://www.ionconference.com/signup.html. To network and share news with fellow members of the online game development community, join up with the ION Network here: http://ionnetwork.ning.com.

Europa Unversalis - Rome - Which historical ruler are you? Video game

Think the attributes of the great historical leaders in the Roman era could not be applicable today? Then think again! Take our "Which historical ruler are you?" quiz and find out if you share personal traits with the likes of Hannibal and Marcus Antonius or if there is a Caesar lurking inside of you!

http://www.paradoxplaza.com/rome/?p=quiz

Europa Universalis - Rome is scheduled to ship tomorrow in North America and on Friday in Europe.

Invite to UK launch of Dance Battle Audition

To mark the UK launch of the world's most popular online casual dance game, Dance Battle Audition, G10 Entertainment, the games creators, would like to invite you to the exclusive launch party of the DBA bus tour in London on Thursday April 17, 6-9pm. We'll have Audition experts on hand to train you how to play, plus they'll be loads of free drink and nibbles thrown in.

Dance Battle Audition is a dancing game that people can download to their PC for free. It is already the most popular online casual dance game in the world, with over 300 million playing it in China and South East Asia, America and India. Its success in South Korea has even led to a weekly TV show about it!!

http://www.goaudition.co.uk/

It is a dangerously addictive game that young people will love to play, and is soon set to take the UK's free online gaming community by storm. So rather than limber up your legs, just come along and flex your fingers and get ready to make some mean moves on the dance floor.

Why Rock Band in Europe will be twice as expensive as US version

Rob Kay of Harmonix, Rock Band publisher tried to explain why the European price of the game will be twice that of the same product in the US.

Rock Band will launch in Europe on May 23rd on Microsoft Xbox 360 then in the Summer on Sony PlayStation 2 Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii.

Rock Band complete with game drum kit microphone and guitar will cost £180 or €240 in the US the cost was $169 approx £85 or €107.

Rob Kay has been reported as saying - "The combined price, if you add all that up and decide you want that full experience, is quite high. It's not something that is normal in videogames." 

"But Rock Band isn't normal in videogames," Rob continued - "This is an entirely new thing. What other game comes with three peripherals that are all different? It just makes sense for the experience we're trying to deliver."

Rob said the game was so expensive in the UK due to the higher price of electronic goods and VAT he said - "These are definitely not excuses so much as contributing reasons," Rob continued - "I can't talk to the explicit pricing - how it gets split down between retailers and distributors and the whole chain - because I don't actually know that much about it."

He hope consumers aren't "put off" by the high price of Rock band and point out the option to purchase just one instrument or the microphone.

Rob closed by saying - "I firmly believe that if people do purchase they'll have an amazing experience they couldn't get anywhere else."

SEGA close SEGA Rally Racing Studio

SEGA has confirmed yesterday's rumoured closure of its Racing Studio in Birmingham, citing a clear business decision as the reason for its demise.

The studio had been responsible for the latest SEGA Rally title, which was received to great critical acclaim, receiving a rare 9 out of 10 score on Eurogamer.net.

However, the title's marketing was disappointing and sales were poor, prompting original plans for an annual update to the franchise's revival to be shelved.

With no other projects for the team to move on to, it's now been deemed that the studio, unable to provide a reasonable return on investment, should be closed as part of SEGA's review into its operations.

The full statement from SEGA is as follows:

"Regrettably SEGA today announced that it is to commence consultation with a view to the unfortunate closure of the SEGA Racing Studio in Birmingham, UK.

"The decision is part of a review of SEGA's Western Development Studios to ensure that each studio is a profitable entity in its own right, and unfortunately the SEGA Racing Studio's 5 year plan would not result in a successful return for the SEGA business moving forward.

"SEGA would like to stress that there will be no changes within their other internal development studios."

Source: Games Industry

Assassin's Creed on PC and Nintendo DS

Having polarised opinion pretty much straight down the middle when it was released on Xbox 360 and PS3 last year, Assassin's Creed arrives on PC in a 'Director's Cut' guise. Featuring the incredible graphics, sprawling cities, and free-running gameplay that previously proved so popular, the PC version adds in further side-missions for extra variety. Winner!