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Saturday, November 01, 2008

Lineage II Expansion Dramatically Speeds Up Character Progression

Gracia Part 2, the newest addition to the popular Lineage II franchise. The expansion is free to all Lineage II subscribers. Building on systems introduced in the first Gracia expansion, this update helps players advance their characters and achieve their goals faster than ever before.

Gracia Part 2 offers a variety of new challenges to players of all levels, including the Labyrinth of the Abyss, a new section of the Kamaloka hunting area. The Labyrinth of the Abyss is a multi-tiered cavern where players in a private party battle through monsters and bosses to earn valuable rewards and experience.

This update also introduces Kratei’s Cube, where players simultaneously fight against monsters and each other for bragging rights and special items. Contests run every half hour, twenty-four hours a day. Here players work through a maze of interconnecting rooms, slaying monsters and players alike in hopes of achieving renown and glory. Kratei’s Cube is the first solo player versus player (PvP) and player versus environment (PvE) arena in Lineage II.

The popular Vitality System, which allows for faster character progression, has been enhanced with the Vitality Replenishing Herb. Taking the Vitality Replenishing Herb, which some monsters drop when defeated, will keep the player from expending their current Vitality Points. While under the influence of this powerful herb, players even regain Vitality Points for each defeat. Now players can advance their characters significantly faster than ever before.

“The Gracia series of updates add features that literally change the way Lineage II is played,” said Sam Han, producer of Lineage II for NCsoft West. “We are polishing the player experience, enhancing character development and increasing the fun factor significantly for our players. The community feedback on these changes has been overwhelming, and there is still more to come.”

Gracia Part 2 is a continuation of a three-part story about Gracia, a forbidden land where players face their innermost fears through a series of inter-dimensional and dream-like areas.

Lineage II is known as the gaming market’s premier player-versus-player (PvP) online role-playing game, with a customer reach of more than 19 million players worldwide.
The Lineage II: The Chaotic Throne – Gracia retail box has been available since the 19th September 2008 across stores in Europe, and can also be downloaded from www.plaync.com now.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Mechanic Master video game for Nintendo DS

Mechanic Master, for the Nintendo DS, which will ship this October.

Anyone familiar with the musings of American political cartoonist and Pulitzer Prize winner, Rube Goldberg, will already know the weirdly insane logic epitomized in his world-renowned series, Rube Goldberg Machines. For those yet to experience this mechanical madness, an entire universe of excruciatingly fantastical contraptions await in the guise of Mechanic Master.
Undeniably entrancing, the 100 levels of puzzling genius challenges the player to build wacky contraptions to perform simple tasks, like turning on a light bulb or releasing a balloon, in seemingly indirect and convoluted ways using the DS' stylus. This game calls for problem-solving ingenuity that flies in the face of logic itself!

Mechanic Master for the Nintendo DS is a fun problem-solving game for creative minds. Mechanic Master uses the stylus as a weapon to rid the Earth of alien invaders that have scattered across the planet. Become the ultimate Master of Mechanics by creating crazy contraptions to free humans, keep the mechanics in motion and defeat those pesky foes. Test your skills with more than 100 levels! Creative-thinking is key to clearing each level.

As well as Classic and Drawing modes, the game also features a level editor for creating unique puzzles to share with friends via WiFi.

Martin Spiess, Executive Vice President International, Midway Europe, said, "Midway has already seen considerable worldwide success from recently introduced franchises, Game Party and Touchmaster. Mechanic Master is similarly aligned for the Nintendo family-orientated audience and we have high expectations for this title."

Summary of Features:

Classic Mode - Use gravity shifters to change the direction of gravity, laser pistols and mirrors to cut things, a vortex to make things disappear and many more gadgets to keep the contraption in motion and clear the level
Drawing Mode - The stylus is your main tool! Use it to draw, move, place and teleport objects to solve the puzzle.
Level Editor - Test your gray matter by solving 100 existing levels or use the built-in level editor to create your own contraptions and share them wirelessly with friends
Create and share your own levels with friends or send a limited demo version of the game over Wi-Fi

Wheelman car chase driving video game - Fact Sheet

Combining spectacular Hollywood-style stunts with a gripping storyline, Wheelman provides an adrenaline-fueled, cinematic thrill ride guaranteed to leave you breathless. Vin Diesel stars as an undercover agent and highly skilled driver who must infiltrate the Barcelona underworld to gather intelligence surrounding a covert heist. Posing as a driver-for-hire, he ends up caught in a crossfire of corruption and chaos while trying to stay one step ahead of local law enforcement and rival gangs.

KEY FEATURES

VIN DIESEL IS THE WHEELMAN - Action film megastar Vin Diesel and his Tigon Studios are again blurring the lines between entertainment mediums, this time collaborating with Midway in the design and production of WHEELMAN to ensure an edge-of-your-seat gaming experience. Diesel’s voice and likeness will appear as the game’s main character, expert Wheelman Milo Burik.

CINEMATIC THRILL RIDE – Wheelman delivers rubber-burning, asphalt-churning excitement that will take gamers on a white knuckle thrill ride that unfolds throughout the streets of Barcelona. Featuring car chases inspired by Hollywood’s most famous action-sequences, Wheelman will deliver powerful cinematic moments throughout the game’s compelling storyline.

SUPERMOVE STUNTS – Survive death-defying feats by performing pulse-pounding maneuvers that only an expert Wheelman can pull off. Pull off a Cyclone and spin the vehicle 360 degrees while precision firing at your enemies.

MORE THAN JUST A DRIVER – Sideswipe pursuing enemies to get them off your tail, execute devastating maneuvers for maximum motor vehicle carnage, or grab your gun and start blasting right through the windshield.

MAXIMUM MOBILITY – Commandeer a semi truck to leave your mark on the city. Escape down a narrow alleyway on the back of a tricked-out motorcycle. Hop behind the wheel of exclusively licensed vehicles and make your getaway in style.
 HIT THE PAVEMENT - Even the best Wheelman sometimes needs to get out of the vehicle. Take to the Barcelona streets for on-foot action – but make sure to remember your guns.

LIVING, BREATHING BARCELONA - Set in the exotic location of Barcelona, Spain. This classic European city is densely populated with traffic and pedestrians that react intelligently to your actions as you roam around realistic environments filled with massively destructible objects.

Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC
Ship Date: Fall 2008
Genre: Driving/Action
Publisher: Midway
Developer: Midway Newcastle
ESRB: T (Expected)

Skate It video game on Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS

Award-winning Skate It videogame will hit retail stores starting November 19th in North America and November 20th in Europe for the Nintedno Wii and Nintendo DS. With intuitive Wii remote, nunchuck and DS stylus controls and the optional use of the Wii Balance Board, Skate It delivers a fun and unique skateboarding experience for skate fans and gamers of all ages.

Skate It brings gamers back to San Vanelona, a city that’s been safely evacuated, but left in ruins after being hit by a series of crazy events. Here, players are rediscovering their favourite spots, getting worked in Hall of Meat, and earning the opportunity to travel the world, all on their path to becoming Thrasher Magazine’s Skater of the Year.

In Skate It, gamers will be able to make skate spots their own by moving objects like ramps, rails, and benches to fit their individual skating styles. The game also boasts a variety of multiplayer challenges, including Best Trick and Best Line, which will have players ripping it up with their friends as they prove their skateboarding prowess.

Skate It recently received the “Best Nintendo Wii Game” award at the Games Convention tradeshow in Leipzig, Germany. Skate It was also nominated for Best Sports game for the “Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2008”. Skate It is developed by EA Montreal in Montreal, Quebec and Black Box in Vancouver, British Columbia and is rated “E” for Everyone by the ESRB and 7+ by PEGI for Wii and 3+ by PEGI for Nintendo DS.

Shaun White Snowboarding Road Trip Mountain Locations Q&A

Q. Can you tell us about the game’s mountain locations?

A. One of the things that’s so powerful about Snowboarding as a sport is that it’s a real ‘pick up and go’ experience and there are phenomenal locations all over the world that people are making great films and pushing the boundaries. So in that sense, it was really difficult for us to try and focus our attention on just a few. For the real road trip experience though, we wanted to make sure that we would break boundaries for players and give them a chance to board in hot locations that are out of reach for all but a few. We also wanted to pick locations that had a really unique local feel through the mountain shapes, environmental style and cultural objects, although we tended to have a bit of fun with the latter.

Q. What are some differences in the gameplay between each location?

A. Through these existing differences in our locations, we then built our events for each mountain around the spaces themselves. For example, in Canada, players are going to find a lot of rugged outdoor beauty, long gentle slopes but with enough man-made jumps and obstacles to keep them on their toes. Canada’s a great place to hone your skills, challenge yourself and look for new paths that will push your last time. Compare that to Chile, where we look at the openness of the mountain and the beauty of nature from a much more angular and, frankly, frightening fashion. The mountains are steeper, the obstacles are natural and the surroundings are harsh and unforgiving. Players have to find ways to work with the mountain’s own lines or they’re going to have a lot more trouble finding their way down. In other locations like Japan and Park City, we move towards a more technical style of boarding and give players a setup that allows them to push themselves to the limit in an environment that was crafted specifically for competition. This is where players are going to find half pipes, rails, big air events and all of the really crazy stuff that you see on TV and say, “they have to be out of their MINDS!” We want to make sure everyone gets a chance to experience that without having to knock out all of their teeth. Between the extremes of technical and big mountain we’ve got the Alps which we’ve built as the more traditional competitive setting. This is the place to go when you want to test your skills directly against AI opponents or, better yet, your buddies…

Q. What are some of your favorite areas to ride in?

A. This has been one of the most amazing things about working on the project. As we built the game we really assumed that we would eventually get tired of playing the maps or that at very least we would ‘cap out’ on our skill level. Neither has turned out to be the case. I keep having a blast on the game every time I play and frequently have to be reminded when I’m demoing to get off and let the people who are supposed to be there to see it have a turn. My scores continue to improve both on the Wii Remote and the Balance Board as I learn new lines to take down the mountain and as I get physically better at maintaining my balance and pushing into jumps at the right moment. That said, from the first time I saw them, I’ve been addicted to the different half pipe levels in the game. To me they’re just such an over the top physical challenge on the balance board and that’s just a completely new thing to me from a design perspective. The rivalry between Antoine Guignard, the game’s producer and I was pretty heated at E3 until he finally defeated me badly enough that I just had to give up. I’m still practicing for a rematch, its full-on Rocky in my basement right now.

Q. Can you give us some examples of the types of maps and challenges the player will face in the game?

A. There’s a lot. We wanted players to have a wide variety of different events to choose from as they went through the game, but more importantly we wanted to make sure that every event would be someone’s favorite event. We’ve got everything from straight races against time to big air events that challenge the player to score as many trick points as possible. There are environmental events that encourage the player to explore the space more fully by picking up garbage off the course, slalom events that combine speed and maneuverability, multiple forms of half pipe event, events that challenge the player to score as many points as possible within a given time and much more. I think more important than this though is that every event in the game is open-ended. What this means is that after you complete any course in the game, you can keep coming back to push yourself harder and harder to beat your old score. This is where the major value of the game has been for me with my friends at home.

Answers by Trent Ward, Creative Director

Shaun White Road Trip video game - Q&A

Q. Can you give us a summary of the game’s storyline?

A. You and your friends travel the world trying to hook up with Shaun who’s plans to go on a snowboarding road trip with you were foiled by last minute obligations. You follow Shaun’s path from Canada to Chile and eventually in the Alps, Japan and the U.S. trying to meet up with him, which you eventually do. Along the way you meet knew friends who have in their own way something to bring to the road trip. As a rider, each friend contributes in his own way to your growth as a snowboarder. In the end you realise snowboarding is more than just riding down the mountain. It is about friendship and sharing the life of a snowboarder with others.

Q. What were you going for in the character’s design?

A. We really wanted to have a good variety of characters that would visually differ from each other. It was really important since we wanted to have entirely different personalities for each of them. Also, we did not want to use real people. We could have simply taken some of the real pro snowboarders out there and tried to caricaturize them to our style, but it would have made our characters less authentic. When I write for characters, I prefer creating my own rather than trying to shape a personality around a real person’s. It is more creative and way more fun.

Q. Can you explain the emails and mementos?

A. Our game being a snowboarding road trip, we were thinking of ways for the player to identify himself as a pro snowboarder on the road. Since today’s riders often use cell phones and personal laptops to communicate with friends and loved ones, or for professional use, we thought adding an e-mail feature would enhance sensation that you are really out there, and that people are trying to get a hold on you, wherever you are. So that was it for the emails. For the mementos, it was a way to reward the player but also to give him a few souvenirs of his road trip. Just like some people apply stickers of places they’ve been to on their luggage, most snowboarders love to keep souvenirs as well.

Q. We’ve seen pictures of your character’s vehicles evolving in the game. Can you go into detail on this?

A. We start the road trip with an old beaten-up Van and with only two characters, but as you explore the world looking for Shaun, you meet more friends who join the road trip. With more and more friends joining, you need a bigger vehicle to hold that many people, so we had to come up with various ideas and concepts to find the right ride for the right country, and for the right amount of characters. I’m happy with the final vehicles and how they turned out to be. The team has worked extra hard to try to bring not only what was needed in the game but also to bring some elements of humour and personal touches here and there. It was a really fun project to work on and I hope people will appreciate it.

Answered by Mario Galardo, Script Writer

X-Blades - Fan Art competition winners

The Jury of the “X-Blades” Fan Art Competition (prizes up to 10,000 dollars), couldn't believe their eyes when they looked at the entries. The call we put out to design artistic outfits for Ayumi, the heroine of the Anime action game, was answered from all over the world... and how! We got stacks of brilliant artistic interpretations from places like North America, Japan and of course Europe!

At the end of October, the three winners were selected - and what a task that was! 3,000, 2,000 and 1,000 dollars were awarded to the 1st 2nd and 3rd places. First place goes to Konrad Beiskammer from Austria followed by Toshinori Kihara from Japan and Jasmine Kong from Canada.

Of course there were other prizes too - money and great gifts were awarded to the best runners-up - AND most of the entries will be printed in a high-quality "X-Blades" artbook, which will include the Royal Edition. Take a look at samples of the work of art in the fanart area at www.x-blades.com.

WWII General Commander Operation - Watch on the rhine download from Nov 11th

The long awaited game “WWII: General Commander” on sale November 10. The game will be available for digital download in the new reference wargamer web STRAGAMES.COM.

With the exclusive and brilliant multiplayer mode supported by the best war room meeting place, forums, wikis-AAR and more, the Games GI teams in collaboration with Stragames.com have developed a new concept of Operational Real Time Strategy Game, a full, intensive and truly historical simulation of WWII combat. You have all the game information at our game web hosted by www.stragames.com. Tutorials, videos and access to our e-store are available…

New Lord of the Rings video game - Conquest early 2009

The Highly Anticipated The Lord of the Rings: Conquest Storms Retailers January 2009

Pandemic Studios, a division of Electronic Arts announced today that The Lord of the Rings: Conquest for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, PC and Nintendo DS platforms, will ship January 9, 2009 internationally and January 13, 2009 in the U.S.

In a partnership with New Line Cinema and The Saul Zaentz Company, The Lord of the Rings: Conquest is an action-packed game created by the same Pandemic Studios team behind the best-selling Star Wars Battlefront and Star Wars Battlefront II titles. Set in “The Lord of the Rings” universe of J.R.R. Tolkien as depicted by the Academy Award-winning films, players will finally fight the entirety of these epic battles any way they want. In addition to crusading as the heroic forces of good, for the first time ever in a ‘The Lord of the Rings’ action title they’ll conquer Middle-earth while playing as the legions of Sauron’s evil army, including Cave-trolls, Oliphaunts, the Balrog and Sauron himself.

“We have been working hard to create a ‘The Lords of the Rings’ experience like no other,” says Andrew Goldman, Pandemic Studios co-founder and general manager. “’And we are excited to finally confirm the launch of The Lord of the Rings: Conquest to ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and Star Wars Battlefront fans alike.”

“Players will finally be able to fight through Middle-earth along the frontlines of good or evil,” says Josh Resnick, co-founder and general manager at Pandemic Studios. “And what ‘The Lord of the Rings’ fan hasn’t fantasized about joining Sauron’s army to slay Hobbits?”

Fans of The Lord of the Rings universe can also participate in a Battle for the Ring community program. The social network offers activities for members to virtually fight against good or evil and earn temporary ownership of the Ring.

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