Character Profiles For Upcoming Xbox 360 Strategy RPG Operation Darkness

Atlus today released a set of character profiles for Operation Darkness, an alternate-reality WWII strategy RPG for the Xbox 360 system. Operation Darkness is currently scheduled for release on June 24.

Three new Nintendo DS Lite Colours Plus Cooking Guide - Can’t Decide What To Eat?

COOKING UP A COLOURFUL TREAT!



Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What To Eat? & three new Nintendo DS Lite Colours hit Europe

Get ready for a double treat this summer as the season is set to be full of tasty food and colourful new Nintendo DS Lites! Cooking Guide: Can’t Decide What To Eat? and the Nintendo DS Lite will allow you to experience a simple and convenient way to choose, prepare and cook a variety of 250 international dishes. Preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner with Cooking Guide: Can’t Decide What To Eat? on one of three exciting new Nintendo DS Lite colours of Red, Turquoise or a European first, Green is set to be a whole new mouth watering experience!

Going beyond the capabilities of printed cookbooks, Cooking Guide: Can’t Decide What to Eat? will guide each budding chef step by step through all the processes involved in cooking a tasty dish by talking and guiding the player through each recipe. With its numerous international recipe choices, dish search options, videos and simple step-by-step guides to choosing, preparing and cooking a dish, turning even the most hesitant of cooks into confident chefs will be simple. Cooking Guide: Can’t Decide What To Eat? is controlled through the Nintendo DS’s Touch Screen and by the user’s voice through the console’s microphone. It is simple for everyone to use, no matter what their previous experience – either with a Nintendo DS or in the kitchen!

Featuring approximately 250 international dishes, finding the perfect recipe to cook has never been so fun! Broken down into easily searchable groups, discover the perfect dish by country, ingredient, difficulty level or even amount of calories to name but a few. There are so many options available everyone will be catered for!

Once a decision has been made about what to eat, users can set about creating a culinary masterpiece with the Cooking Guide chef who will talk you through each step of the way. As your hands will be busy preparing and cooking the ingredients, simply speak into the Nintendo DS’s microphone to progress through each stage of the recipe. Each step can be repeated as many times as necessary, so you can prepare your meal at your own pace.

Not sure how to use a certain utensil or the ideal substitute for an ingredient? Cooking Guide: Can’t Decide What To Eat? can tell you all you need to know with its handy Cooking A-Z. Providing in depth illustrated details on everything from chopping techniques to explaining cooking terminology, no query will be left unanswered. It can also create a handy shopping list for that all-important visit to the supermarket and can even be used as a kitchen timer!

Containing a plethora of recipes and a range of helpful and easy to use functions, Cooking Guide: Can’t Decide What To Eat will be a useful addition to anyone’s kitchen.

With the vibrant new Red, Turquoise and Green Nintendo DS Lites hitting shelves across Europe on 13th June 2008 at the estimated retail price of around £99 and Cooking Guide: Can’t Decide What To Eat? arriving on 20th June 2008, at the estimated retail price of around £30, Summer has never looked so appetising!

2K Sports to Reveal Cover Athlete for NBA® 2K9 During Pre-Game Show for Game One of the NBA Finals on June 5

Fans can now visit new 2K Sports Community Site to predict next cover athlete and win exclusive prizes

2K Sports, the sports publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, today announced that the cover athlete for the highly anticipated basketball video game NBA 2K9 will be revealed through a 30 second TV spot scheduled to air during the NBA Countdown pre-game show for Game One of the 2008 NBA Finals, June 5 on ABC.

As part of revealing the new cover athlete, 2K Sports has launched a new community web site, www.2ksports.com/nba2k9, where registered participants can predict the cover athlete for NBA 2K9 from a selection of 16 NBA players. Fans who predict correctly will be entered into a special drawing for the opportunity to win exclusive prizes.

“We’re extremely excited to offer this online promotion to our loyal community of 2K Sports fans, as we think it’s a fantastic opportunity for us to interact more closely with them through a refreshingly fun and rewarding experience,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “The NBA 2K franchise is king among basketball players and passionate fans who know and understand basketball. Revealing our cover athlete prior to Game One affords us a unique opportunity to capitalize on the anticipation surrounding the NBA Finals while simultaneously generating excitement for the release of NBA 2K9.”

To enter in the NBA 2K9 cover athlete reveal sweepstakes, participants must register from May 22 - June 4. Official contest rules and other important information can be found on www.2ksports.com/nba2k9. Fans will guess the NBA 2K9 cover athlete from a list of NBA players provided, and all entrants that are correct will be entered into a random drawing to win the sweepstakes prizes on June 5. One grand prize winner will receive the NBA 2K9 cover athlete’s authentic, autographed NBA jersey, along with a copy of NBA 2K9 on the platform of their choice. Ten other first prize winners will also receive a copy of NBA 2K9. All winners will receive their copy of NBA 2K9 upon release of the game.

NBA 2K9, which is being developed by Visual Concepts, is not yet rated by the ESRB and will be available this fall for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, and PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system. For more information, please visit www.2ksports.com.

The 2008 NBA Finals are currently scheduled to tip off on June 5 at 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC.

EA host 2nd annual Rookie Madden Bowl NFL 08

Washington Redskins Rookie Devin Thomas Claims Crown

Over 30 NFL rookies gathered in the Arcadia Ballroom at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel for the EA SPORTS 2008 Rookie Madden Bowl. The second annual Rookie Madden Bowl brought together top NFL rookies to compete on Madden NFL 08 to see who would be crowned the 2008 EA SPORTS Rookie Madden Bowl Champion. The eight-man tournament included New England Patriots quarterback Kevin O’Connell, Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, Green Bay Packers quarterback Brian Brohm, Washington Redskins wide receiver Devin Thomas, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall, New York Giants wide receiver Mario Manningham and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Dexter Jackson. Devin Thomas came out victorious, proudly taking home the 2008 Rookie Madden Bowl trophy.

Madden NFL 09 marks the 20th anniversary of one of the best-selling and most critically-acclaimed videogame franchises of all time, and the game will feature adaptable gameplay tailored to every type of gamer, online enhancements and a broadcast style presentation delivering an authentic NFL experience. Madden NFL 09 will be available in stores across North America on August 12.

The graphical enhancements of Madden NFL 09 are extremely impressive and bring the emotion of NFL football to life. Madden NFL 09 features amazing detail to stadiums, weather effects, player models and a whole host of other elements.

13-year-old beats Guiness world record Guitar Hero score

13 year-old Grapevine native Daniel Johnson beat the Guinness World Record for high score on a single song for “Guitar Hero III” when he attended the Guitar Hero 24-Hour Marathon presented by Blockbuster. Daniel played on a XBOX 360 and scored 890,971, beating the previous record by more than 10,000 points while playing “Through the Fire and Flames” by Dragonforce at the Expert Level on his first attempt.

When asked what he thought about breaking the world record, Daniel said, “I’m glad that I had the opportunity to break the record and help people learn about Education is Freedom.”

The previous record was held by Chris Chike who achieved a score of 880,920 in March 2008.

The Guitar Hero 24-Hour Marathon, presented by Blockbuster was an event benefiting the Dallas non-profit foundation, Education is Freedom, which is part of the “Igniting Opportunity for the Children of Dallas Campaign (IOCD),” a cause dedicated to increasing the educational achievement of children in Dallas. Several Dallas CEO’s, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and Jim Keyes, CEO for Blockbuster all participated at the event.

First- through fifth-place winners received an array of prizes from Southwest Airlines, Activision and BLOCKBUSTER.

Disney Fairies - Tinker Bell on Nintendo DS this Christmas

This new video game brings the popular Disney Fairy, Tinker Bell, and her magical world to life for girls nationwide

Disney Fairies - Tinker Bell for Nintendo DS will be available nationwide this 2008 Christmas season. For the first time on the handheld platform, fans of Disney Fairies and beloved Tinker Bell can explore the delightful world of Pixie Hollow and play as the popular Fairy herself. Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell allows girls to interact with dozens of enchanting Disney Fairies, including Silvermist, Iridessa and Fawn, and explore Pixie Hollow through time-based activities and mini-quests.

“Disney Fairies has become a phenomenon all around the world,” said Craig Relyea, senior vice president of global marketing, Disney Interactive Studios. “Bringing the game to DS allows fans to play as Tinker Bell and take the Fairies world everywhere they go, while having fun learning about the importance of creativity, teamwork and responsibility.”

Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell is a color-rich, deep and detailed game that mirrors the beautiful Fairies world that girls have come to love and cherish. In the game, Tinker Bell invites players to discover her mystical world, embark on adventures, explore their fashion tastes and complete fun quests to prepare for the coming seasons.

Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell game features:

• Choose from hundreds of dresses, costumes, shoes and accessories to fully customise Tinker Bell.
  
• Create new designs featuring hearts, flowers and other patterns to place onto outfits.
  
• Barter and trade items collected in Pixie Hollow with other Fairies for new clothing and accessories.
  
• Create trends by gifting outfits to friends and watch as Pixie Hollow becomes filled with Fairies dressed in those outfits.
  
• Earn medals and form new friendships when completing special tasks for other Fairies in Pixie Hollow, including repairing broken items using Tinker Bell’s special tinkering power and locating missing items.
  
• Engage in challenging and fun mini-games, such as catching dew drops, painting ladybugs and tickling silkworms.
  
• Utilizes the DS real-time clock, so environments will reflect time of year or time of day. Girls will witness snow falling in the winter time, fireflies coming out at night and Fairies throwing a huge bash on their birthday.
  
• Published by Disney Interactive Studios and developed by Genius Sonority, Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell will be available Christmas 2008 on Nintendo DS.
  

Theatre of War - Boxed version available in US

Theatre of War, the WWII battlefield simulation title from cdv Software Entertainment USA and Battlefront.com, has shipped to North American retail outlets today. This boxed retail version of Theatre of War will include all the patches and official content additions since the game's previous download-only release. Theatre of War combines the look, feel and historical elements of World War II to create an unrivaled tactical battlefield experience spanning major campaigns from the Battle of Moscow to Normandy. With more than 50 missions spread across multiple campaigns and a rich do-it-yourself mission and map editor included, Theatre of War rewards armchair generals with tremendous gaming and replay value. For more information about the game, please visit http://www.cdvus.com.

Theatre of War offers a fresh take on the WWII Real-time Strategy genre by combining the look, feel, sounds and historical elements of WWII to create the ultimate warfare simulation. The game engine features realistic shell ballistics, armor penetration calculations and damage effects coupled with destructible environments, trenches, fortifications and individually tracked weapons, equipment, ammo and vehicles. More than 50 battles spread across seven different campaigns (US/UK, Soviet, German, French, Polish, Battle for Moscow and Panzer Lehr in Normandy), along with eight non-campaign scenarios, five Training scenarios and 11 different multiplayer missions are available in the game to offer a rich and challenging combat experience to players.

ArchLord, the free MMORPG exceeds half a million players

Codemasters Online is pleased to announce they have opened the doors to their 500,000th player of its popular subscription-free MMORPG, ArchLord.

Since moving to free-to-play, ArchLord has seen explosive new player growth over recent months with more players than ever taking on the challenge to compete to become the all-conquering ArchLord and with it rule the entire game world.

Ed Relf, Director of Marketing, Codemasters Online commented, “This is a key milestone in the growth of ArchLord. ArchLord is a premier free-to-play MMORPG offering significantly more depth and quality than most other free-to-play games and this recent achievement solidifies our commitment to the ongoing development and success of ArchLord.”

To cope with the increased popularity for the game, Codemasters Online will shortly be opening an all-new game world to cope with the game’s substantially increased demand as they gear up for the next free content update Episode 3 due in the coming months.

ArchLord is a premier free-to-play online role-playing game allowing players to download and play the game for free with no monthly subscriptions or commitments. The online game challenges thousands of players each month to raise an army, to compete to become the game’s all-ruling ArchLord and with it control of the entire game world impacting on the lives of thousands of ArchLord players.

To download ArchLord the premier free-to-play MMORPG visit the game’s official website www.archlordgame.com

New Guitar 4-in-1 Ant Commander launched

Be The Envy of Your Friends With The First Guitar Controller That Is 100% Compatible With All Guitar Hero & Rock Band Features For PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3

The Ant Commandos, a leading provider of innovative wireless video game music peripherals and accessories, announced today its V Shaped Double Range Guitar ranging in colors from flame red and electric blue, to jet black, is now available at retail for an SRP of $59.99. The Double Range Guitar is the first on the market to feature 100% compatibility with all Guitar Hero and Rock Band games for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3.

TAC's Double Range Guitar enhances players' gameplay experience no matter which music-inclined video game or PlayStation system they are using. By utilizing 2.4GHz wireless technology, players can hurl themselves around as they thrash to the beat, up to 30 feet away from the console. A second set of FeatherTouch fret buttons on its Xtended Fret Array allows players to fully take advantage of experiencing a full range when performing earth-shattering solos, then using the higher set for rhythm parts. The Double Range's lower 5 buttons are 100% compatible with Rock Band's Solo Guitar play and it offers a 5-way switch to support the sound effect feature in Rock Band. When playing Guitar Hero, the lower 5 buttons behave just like the top 5 buttons, thus allowing gamers to simulate solo action in Guitar Hero I, II, and III. Additionally, gamers will be able to rock out like a true musician with the 360FLY Clip, a special belt clip that attaches to the guitar with a single pivot point, allowing players to wildly spin the guitar to replicate the moves of their favorite famous guitarists.

"Guitar Hero and Rock Band have become a cultural phenomenon, and with all the people out there playing these games, it is important that their guitar controller work with every feature in the games," said Jesse Manwill, Senior Manager, Product Management at TAC. "The Double Range is the ONLY guitar that is compatible with all of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band features-including the solo and 5-way effect switch. Consumers who purchase the Double Range can rest assured they are getting the most feature compatible guitar available on the market."

The Double Range is the only guitar controller that is compatible with both the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. This market advantage is a huge benefit, eliminating consumers' headaches as players no longer have to worry about which platform's peripheral they need to purchase in order for it to work with their system. If a consumer is thinking about upgrading to a PlayStation 3, or if they already have a PlayStation 3, but they want to play their favorite songs on Guitar Hero 1 and II on the PlayStation 2, they can still purchase the Double Range as it is fully compatible for both systems.

Other Double Range features that help players make the most of their gameplay experience include the new PowerThief power saving mode which conserves the controller's power by turning off when it senses inactivity, and the Low Battery Indicator which blinks red, signaling to players that the battery needs to be replaced -no more guessing or discarding a good battery. Also, the Super Whammy System whammy bar helps to provide protective control over soaring whammy bar effects for those who are rough with their controller.

Online Trainz Booking Office opens for business

Avoid the rush! Don't miss any more Trainz!!! Paradox Interactive is pleased to confirm the online Booking Office for – Trainz: The Complete Collection, officially open for business.

The multipurpose website is a great source of news and information for novice or experienced commuters, drivers, surveyors and yardmasters alike. Services include:

- A description of features
- Release timetable and other news
- Purchase information
- Action screenshots
- Informative videos

and more. If you plan to travel through the world of Trainz, then this site should be your first destination, in preparation for your great virtual journey ahead!

Visit the Booking Office, by clicking on the following link: http://www.paradoxplaza.com/trainz