Ninja Gaiden 2 Frame Rate Issues in the Final Build

CVG Staff have confirmed that the frame rate issues in NG2 were found in the final build of the PAL version.

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Win trips to New York - Paris with Alone in the Dark contest on Xbox 360 and Wii Consoles

Trips to New York or Paris, Xbox 360 and Wii Consoles, and Many More Prizes to be Won in Sizzling Hot Competition

Atari announced details of the ‘Keep the Fire Burning’ competition in the run-up to the launch of the action survival game Alone in the Dark scheduled for release across Europe on 20 June for Xbox 360™, PC, Wii and PlayStation®2. Top prizes include a week-long trip to New York or Paris, Xbox 360 and Wii consoles, and a host of exclusive Alone in the Dark goodies including original soundtrack CDs, t-shirts and Art Books. The ‘Keep the Fire Burning’ competition is now live on www.CentralDark.com and will run until 31 July 2008.

As the release of Alone in the Dark quickly approaches, anticipation for the game is literally heating up. Entrants to the ‘Keep the Fire Burning’ competition will need to create the largest group of friends for the chance of winning an inferno of prizes. Since fire will be both your best ally and your worst enemy in Alone in the Dark, knowing how to use it to your advantage is crucial. What better way to survive in the dark than with a constant source of light and a little help from your friends?

Use Edward Carnby’s fire to light your torch and pass on the flame to up to ten of your friends. The pressure is on to keep the torch alight as your friends only have 24 hours to pass the flame to ten friends of their own, and so on. To increase your chances of winning, a number code will be hidden somewhere on CentralDark.com each week which will allow you to invite two extra friends to your group. A little investigative work pays off as the largest group of friends with a lit torch will be able to retrace Edward Carnby’s steps in Central Park with a week-long trip to New York.

The competition is easy to enter: simply visit the homepage of Alone in the Dark’s official website www.CentralDark.com and click the ‘Keep the Fire Burning’ competition icon, or visit the competition page directly at www.CentralDark.com/keepthefireburning. Full details of the competition prizes are as follows:

• Winning group : 2 trips to New York or Paris and 3 Xbox 360 consoles in a draw between group members

• 2nd largest group : 1 trip to New York or Paris, 1 Xbox 360 console and 1 Wii console in a draw between group members
• 3rd largest group: 1 trip to New York or Paris and 1 Wii console in a draw between group members

• 4th to 10th largest groups: 40 original Alone in the Dark soundtrack CDs, 30 Alone in the Dark Art Books and 20 Alone in the Dark T-shirts in a draw between the groups’ members

• Creators of 40 largest groups will also receive an Alone in the Dark T-shirt

The ‘Keep the Fire Burning’ competition will also be available on Facebook in early June 2008 for even more chances of winning Alone in the Dark goodies.

Featuring a gripping story, design inspired by contemporary TV action dramas, and original gameplay based on real world rules physics, the action survival opus Alone in the Dark is scheduled for release on 20 June in Europe for Xbox 360, PC, Wii and PlayStation®2, with the PLAYSTATION 3 version following later in 2008.

Naruto clashes on the Wii again

We all knew it was coming, but ryne11 and sent an e-mail over (thanks!!) confirming Tomy is working on a sequel for Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution.

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The Evolution of Lara Croft [Pics]

The increase in Lara Croft's hotness is directly proportional to global warming...

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Supreme Ruler 2020 goes Gold

Supreme Ruler 2020 has gone Gold.

Developers BattleGoat Studios has produced an engaging geopolitical wargame set in a future full of global turmoil. Numerous improvements help surpass the original, to provide a game full of complexity and deeply engaging strategy.

"We've created a strategy game with unmatched scope and depth. We set our sights high - play the whole world, all at once, without limits on the numbers of units, facilities, or other elements. Zoom in to examine a single city, or zoom out to see the whole world. Trade, ally or battle with hundreds of real-world countries. It's all in there", says George Geczy, Lead Programmer and Co Founder of BattleGoat Studios.

In the year 2020, the world is fracturing along economic and political fault lines. War is commonplace. Borders shift on a daily basis, as rival militaries duel over dwindling resources. Your nation seeks a leader to rise above the chaos. The region needs a warrior, to wield an iron fist and smash aside the forces of anarchy. Our world demands a strong ruler, to restore order and return stability to a terrified population.

Can you become the Supreme Ruler?

Key features in Supreme Ruler 2020:

- Control any department within your government or delegate decisions to your Cabinet Ministers
- Sophisticated Military Strategic and Tactical Command System
- Select from hundreds of actual military vehicles to research, build, and deploy
- Choose conventional warfare or develop your nuclear weapons program
- Detailed Economic and Political Models
- Flexible Diplomatic Interface allowing sophisticated negotiations
- Play any one of over 250 Regions world-wide
- High Resolution Satellite imagery provided courtesy of NASA
- Single Player or Multi Player support
- Varied Game-play options include Regional Battles, Missions and Campaigns
- Next Generation AI
- Introducing BattleGoat's new Super Sandbox Mode for unlimited customization and replayability

Shigeru Miyamoto The Walt Disney Of Our Time

When Disney died in 1966, Mr. Miyamoto was a 14-year-old schoolteacher’s son living near Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital. An aspiring cartoonist, he adored the classic Disney characters. Shigeru Miyamoto, a man whose creative successes have spanned almost 30 years. From Donkey Kong, to Mario as well known as Mickey Mouse

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NCsoft Covers New Ground in City of Heroes

Newest expansion takes players to ancient city to save the present day

NCsoft Europe, the world’s leading developer and publisher of online computer games, today announced the release of City of Heroes “Issue 12: Midnight Hour.” The newest free expansion for current subscribers, Issue 12 brings to life a special covert group from the game’s lore, highly-anticipated Villain Epic Archetypes, more powerset options and character slots for players, plus a whole new Greek- and Roman-inspired zone to explore!

City of Heroes Issue 12, developed and published by NCsoft, brings the Midnight Squad out of the lore and into the game. The Midnight Squad is the clandestine organization of mystics, scholars and mages who hold a secret that could bring the alien group, the Rikti, to its knees. Players are encouraged to help the Midnight Squad uncover the secret that could help save Paragon City™ and the Rogue Isles from further alien assaults.



Part of this secret will be revealed in a new zone called Cimerora, which uses the Ouroboros time travel system introduced in Issue 11. This zone, inspired by ancient Greece and Rome, is only accessible by working with the Midnight Squad. Once the player has access, both villains and heroes must face deadly creatures and defeat an unexpected threat. As a reward for their accomplishments in Cimerora, players can unlock special Greek- and Roman-inspired armor and costumes.

Another key feature in Issue 12 is Villain Epic Archetypes. Now, villains who reach level 50 unlock two brand new epic archetypes; Wolf Spiders and Blood Widows. Wolf Spiders can specialize into Bane Spiders or Crab Spiders, and Blood Widows can develop into Night Widows or Fortunatas. Each specialty enjoys a unique set of wickedly powerful attacks.

Issue 12 also introduces Powerset Proliferation (http://eu.cityofheroes.com/game-guide/feature-updates/powerset_proliferation_powersets_revealed), which vastly increases the variety of villain and hero characters that players can create. Some powersets, previously only available to hero archetypes, are now available to designated villain archetypes, and vice versa. To help accommodate all of these new character options, the development team has opened additional character slots. All current subscribers receive two new character slots for use on the server of their choice. Other slots may be acquired as a part of the Veteran Rewards (http://eu.cityofheroes.com/game-guide/veteran-rewards/) program, or for purchase. Details can be found on the City of Heroes web site (http://eu.cityofheroes.com/news/article/3165/).

“With the introduction of Villain Epic Archetypes, new costume options and Powerset Proliferation in Issue 12, we knew players would want to be able to create new characters,” said Matt Miller, lead designer. “Expanding the number of character slots in this way ensures that our players can use all these new features. We think it’s a great solution that adds value to the service.”

To join the adventures of the most successful comic-book themed game on the market, players can purchase the City of Heroes “Good Versus Evil Edition” game pack at retailers across Europe or through digital download via http://eu.plaync.com/eu/store/, which includes complete City of Heroes and City of Villains games, as well as a set of exclusive bonus items. Customers receive the first month of play free and both games can be played for the single monthly subscription price of £8.99 / €12.99.

For more information about City of Heroes, go to http://www.eu.cityofheroes.com/.

Stronghold Crusader Extreme goes gold - Prepare Yourself For The Medieval Mayhem

Firefly Studios’ ‘Stronghold Crusader Extreme’ has gone gold. That means fans of the series have less than a week wait before they can get their hands on all new Stronghold gameplay, now, more extreme than ever.

Stronghold Crusader Extreme takes all the medieval mayhem of its predecessors and kicks things up a notch. With new features like opponent AI and maps, an all new extreme trail, and full-scale epic warfare with over 10,000 units, gamers won’t want to miss out on any of the action.

Stronghold Crusader Extreme releases May 28.

IGN: Ninja Gaiden II Review

If, as many have said in the past, Ninja Gaiden on Xbox is the greatest action game ever made, then Ninja Gaiden II on Xbox 360 is just a sequel.

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ArchLord subscription-free MMORPG pass half a million players mark

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