Bounce Trap Tilt Arrives on the iTunes App Store Today!

PlayScreen launches a new version of their great game with enhanced controls

PlayScreen is pleased to announce the release of "Bounce Trap Tilt" on the iTunes Application Store today. "Bounce Trap Tilt" combines elements of Pachinko and Pinball, tosses in a fun mix of touch screen and accelerometer controls, and delivers an amazingly addictive puzzle gaming experience.

"Bounce Trap Tilt" is priced at 99 cents US, and is available immediately for download at the following link -
http://tinyurl.com/5oatwr

BounceTrap Tilt is a free update for existing BounceTrap players.

How to become a game designer with no experience

How to Break into Game Design, With Zero ExperienceSteve Gaynor is a designer at 2K Marin, working on BioShock 2. This article previous published on Steve's Fullbright blog.

I decided I wanted to make video games when I was nearing the end of my college career. I knew I wanted to get into design. Unfortunately, I didn't know how.

During this time I attended a free seminar held outside Seattle on the topic of how to get into game development. It was presented panel-style, featuring a group of producers, artists, and HR managers on an auditorium stage before a surprisingly large crowd. Individual sessions throughout the day touched on the qualities developers look for when hiring, how to put together a good CV or resume, a Q&A forum with the panel, and so on. Near the end of the seminar, one of the speakers summed up the takeaway of this entire how-to-get-into-the-industry confab:

"Make cool s**t, and show it off to anyone and everyone."

The statement, simple and common sense as it is, was driven home in the context of this big to-do at a convention center outside of Seattle. It seemed almost a trite sentiment, but if these industry people bothered to bring us hundreds of neophytes and wannabes all the way out here, and agreed that this simple mantra was what we needed to hear, then that must be all there is to it. And as far as I can tell, it's turned out to be true over the years.

Read full post on Edge here...

Square Japan Brings Cult DS Puzzler Yosumin to Xbox Live Arcade

Square Enix Japan officially announced their entry into the Xbox Live Arcade marketplace earlier this week, beginning with a port of Crystal Defenders from Japanese cellphones. The company's second DLC offering has been revealed as a remake of its cult-hit Nintendo DS puzzler Yosumin., and will be released some time in Spring as Yosumin. Live.

The pop-happy, candy-colored Yosumin. sported one of those so-simple-it's-genius Japanese puzzle game concepts: Visually scan the board for two tiles of the same color on a diagonal line, then select the pair to turn all tiles between them the same color. The further like-colored tiles are apart, the more points earned. Hugely addictive for single-player gameplay versus the clock, but the version of Yosumin. coming to XBLA will reportedly feature competitive multiplayer as well.

Perhaps more intriguing than Yosumin. itself is a line in Microsoft Japan's press release (translated from the Japanese): "Beginning with these two games, Square Enix plans to release a steady stream of its popular titles - as well as original content - on Xbox LIVE Arcade". Does this mean more mobile ports are coming? Final Fantasy IV: The After, or the recent remake of SaGa 1, perhaps? Time will tell.

Source: 1up News

Dead Space available for PS3, Xbox 360, PC

Dead Space was designed with one key point in mind: to put some good old-fashioned fear into you.

The game does everything possible to leave you feeling desperate and barely surviving. You are alone, have little ammo, and your enemies refuse to die easily.

As Isaac Clarke, you head off on an interstellar repair call only to find the crew of the disabled ship have been mutated. Isaac must travel into the bowels of the ship in order to repair it and escape the intelligent and ruthless necromorphs. These mutants will disappear and appear from the vents, play dead till you get close enough to pounce and just plain rip you apart to make sure you can't complete your mission.

The only way to defeat these monsters is to dismember enough of their limbs until they finally fall. Tense combat and a truly scary environment with some original touches make Dead Space an excellent addition to the survival horror genre.

Source: Aberdeen News

Weekend Events with GM at Cronous

Enjoy various events every weekend with Cronous GMs.

GMs of Cronous (cronous.neofun.com), a popular MMORPG developed and published by Lizard Interactive, are planning to hold various events every weekend to provide players with more enjoyable and fun experience.

Weekend events are to be held every weekend starting February. These events are planned and activated by GMs and varies from increased EXP, item drops, summoning boss monsters near town, giving out buffs and more. GMs will also receive opinions and ideas from players on how to improve weekend events.

With the new update coming up, Cronous players can expect to double the fun in this February. To find out more in detail about all the interesting features on the globally played MMORPG Cronous, please visit the website cronous.neofun.com.

Celebrate the Chinese New Year on the free-to-play MMORPGs Flyff and Rappelz.

The free-to-play MMORPGs Flyff: Fly For Fun and Rappelz are now ready to launch the Chinese New Year festivities, and offer players a special event from the 27th January to 3rd February. Players of all levels will be able to celebrate the Year of the Ox on their favorite game and win numerous awards.

From January 27, players in the world of Rappelz will have to fight different monsters to get special cards featuring the image of an Ox. By combining the six missing parts of each card, players can earn different items that assign temporary bonuses or improvements to their character. Lucky adventurers will get a special item to capture rare creatures from the Rappelz world.

From the 28th of January to the 3rd of February, events take a different shape in Flyff, and adventurers can collect surprise boxes stolen by the monsters of Madrigal. Two types of boxes can be recovered, which contain their own set of surprises and rare items. The boxes will allow the players to launch magnificent fireworks throughout Madrigal, while the Chinese New Year boxes are full of exotic objects such as the endearing Baby Penguin, a very rare collector pet.

Also, the gPotato team is proud to announce the release of the official story behind the world of Rappelz. Fans can read about the history behind Rappelz on the official Roleplay forum. Future events based on this story are planned for the coming months.

Our events aim to bring together players of all levels around regular and original events that the whole community can participate in.

Please find attached the screenshots of the special event of the Chinese New Year on Flyff and Rappelz.

Sacred 2 - Fallen Angel – New Xbox 360 Screen shots

cdv Software Entertainment USA today released new screens for the upcoming action-RPG, Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. The new screens, taken from the Xbox 360 version of the game, focus on the Temple Guardian and the Seraphim, two of the six playable characters available in the game, and also show the Temple Guardian and his special “Monowheel” mount for the first time on consoles. Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is set for a March 24, 2009 release on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is a hack-and-slash action-RPG with a rich story that takes place in a giant, open-ended and seamless world. This world contains massive dungeons, treacherous opponents and hundreds of challenging quests. Intelligent enemies, steadily adapting in number and difficulty based on player progress, challenge players in heroic single- and multiplayer battles for up to 16 gamers on the Games for Windows platform, and four-player cooperative matches on consoles.

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel provides hundreds of unique items that can be gathered in this mystical world. A deep reward system further enables advancements in character, individual attributes and character-specific fighting styles, each designed to keep players returning to the world of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel to discover what is around the next bend. Drop-in styled cooperative multiplayer gameplay ensures players will enjoy the game alone or seamlessly with friends at any time. Five unique multiplayer modes round out the experience and offer a refreshing, first-class gaming experience in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel.

Ubisoft Announces The Official Far Cry 2 Map Editing Guide

Ubisoft announced a unique partnership with Charles River Media, one of North America's leading publishers of video game development books. Both companies are working together to create one of the first game design books written by gamers for gamers.

"Designing Wargames: The Official Far Cry 2 Map Editing Guide" will be published in the spring of 2009. Written and edited by David Hutchison, author of “Playing to Learn: Video Games in the Classroom,” the book will comprise of map making techniques and advice contributed by Far Cry 2 map makers around the world.

"This is the next milestone in gamer-generated content," says David Hutchison, Associate Professor at Brock University. "Far Cry 2 makes it easy for both PC and console gamers to create cool new multiplayer maps that they can then share with other gamers. We want to honour this effort by inviting the Far Cry 2 map-making community to contribute to this first-of-its-kind game design book."

As underlined by Jessy-Gosselin Gant of the Far Cry2 development team:“Level design is a defining factor in how the player will experience a video game. It constitutes a key role in production by having the responsibility of presenting all the different game components such as art, animation, AI and gameplay mechanics at their best, so the player can enjoy them in a convincing and attractive environment.”

Far Cry 2 map-makers who are interested in contributing to the book can learn more at the book's website - www.farcrybook.com - where they can submit Far Cry 2 map reviews, map editing quick tips, tactical analyses, and feature articles.

Rock Revolution - New Rhythm Music Game on Mobile Platform

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced that Rock Revolution is now available in North America for purchase at major carriers. The company that created the music videogame category with breakthrough titles such as Dance Dance Revolution, Karaoke Revolution, Beatmania and Guitar Freaks is taking the music genre on-the-go with Rock Revolution, featuring rhythm-based gameplay created specifically for the mobile platform.

"Konami has led the music gaming experience for over ten years and is excited to bring Rock Revolution to an all-new platform that allows players to take the game with them wherever they go," said Anthony Borquez, Vice President of Konami Mobile and Online. "We are confident casual gamers and fans of the rhythm music genre alike will appreciate the multiplicity of playable characters and instruments available on their mobile phone."

In Rock Revolution, players choose between drums, bass, guitar or vocals for a diverse musical experience. Each instrument has its own difficulty level ranging from "easy" to "superstar," allowing players to increase their skills throughout the game. Players can also rock out as seven different musicians, each with their own talent and unique style.

Rock Revolution is now available for purchase at major carriers in North America. Subscribers can also text (ROCK) to 566264 to purchase the game.

Ben 10 - Alien Force Nintendo DS PlayStation 2 PSP Nintendo Wii design

BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE The Game, based on Cartoon Network’s hit television series, is the only console videogame that allows players to take command of characters from the ALIEN FORCE team to authentically control and experience their adventures.

The game begins five years after Ben put away the DNA-scrambling Omnitrix, but now Grandpa Max has gone missing and the planet Earth is in grave danger. Gamers must help Ben take the Omnitrix out of retirement and lead eight different playable characters—including cousin Gwen, enemy-turned-ally Kevin Levin and five of Ben’s brand new alien forms—Swampfire, Jet Ray, Humungousaur, Spidermonkey and Big Chill—to utilize their all-new super powers and defeat the intergalactic invaders! 

Gamers will experience tons of all-new story content on all platforms, and can even adventure as additional alien forms Echo Echo, Chromastone and Goop exclusively with the Nintendo DS version. Gameplay is fast-paced, 3D, action adventure style offering an unlimited combo system with puzzles and challenges that will engage players of all levels for hours at a time. BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE: The Game comes on the heels of a tremendously successful inaugural game, BEN 10: Protector of Earth, which launched in November 2007 and has sold more than one million units worldwide.

KEY FEATURES:

• Authentically Step Into The ALIEN FORCE World – Play the only console videogame that allows you to command members of the ALIEN FORCE team; investigate never-before-seen locations, enemies and characters, and explore favorite places from the best show episodes.

• Multiple Playable Characters with Special Superpowers – Take control of Ben and his new alien forms Swampfire, Jet Ray, Humungousaur, Spidermonkey and Big Chill to manipulate fire, swim underwater, grow more than 60 feet tall, stick to walls, fly at mach speed, plus lots more! Harness Gwen’s talent to create an energy shield to protect and attack, and use Kevin Levin’s ability to absorb materials to create impenetrable body armor. Adventure as alien forms Echo Echo, Chromastone and Goop exclusively in the Nintendo DS version.

• Solid and Robust Gameplay – Explore action-packed levels and secret sections in arcade-style gameplay as you clash with more than 20 types of enemies; use more than 75 attack options and create unlimited attack chaining with the streamlined combo system; engage in two-player co-op on PlayStation®2 computer entertainment and Wii for hours of fun and replayability.

• Based On a Successful Television Franchise – As one of Cartoon Network’s breakout original franchises, the BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE television series is in its first season as a top-rated show, and is the next generation continuation of the phenomenally successful and Emmy-winning Ben 10 original series. A long form television movie based on BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE will debut on Cartoon Network in fall 2008.

• Exceptional Level of Authenticity – The game’s art style, sound effects and music are 100% authentic, with all audio in the game pulled directly from the show sound vaults and all voice acting provided by the original television cast.