Free Driving Lesson (UK) with Nintendo DS game - Pass Your Driving Theory Test out this March

Avanquest Software Publishing, formerly known as GSP and one of the UK's leading consumer software and games publishers, will launch Pass Your Driving Theory Test for Nintendo DS in March 2009. Pass Your Driving Theory Test DS from Avanquest also comes with a free driving lesson worth £26 from LDC, the UK’s third biggest driving school. The release follows the success of All in One Driving Test on PC, with the publisher now transferring its expertise to the handheld market.

The sophisticated driving revision guide will be targeted at the 1.5 million learner drivers that take a theory test every year. A theory test costs £30 and almost 40% of those taking it will fail*, which can result in increased costs, wasted time and added annoyance to an already stressful situation. The free driving lesson included with every copy is expected to increase sales by offering consumers a practical benefit in addition to a sophisticated revision guide.

Pass Your Driving Theory Test DS includes all 1265 official Driving Standard Agency (DSA) questions for car and motorcycle, with detailed explanations for each answer. Unlike similar titles, tests can be customised, enabling students to focus on particular subject areas and create a targeted revision plan.

“Our free driving lesson worth £26 with each copy of Pass Your Driving Theory Test DS is a practical benefit and a value for money offering when you consider the software retails at £19.99,” states Simon Reynolds, European Games Director at Avanquest Software Publishing. “With 1.5 million learner drivers taking their theory test each year the potential market is huge and self replenishing every year. We expect this offer to attract learner drivers and enable retailers to fulfil a great need in the market.”

Pass Your Theory Driving Test DS enables revision on the move, at college or work due to its portable capabilities. Consumers turn the DS on its side to revise in the more convenient book format of the Nintendo DS, and the software has been designed to cater for both right and left handed people.

Fast facts:
Publisher: Avanquest Software Publishing
Developer: Uacari/LDC
Distributor: Interactive Ideas / Gem / Centresoft / Ideal Software
Release date: March 2009
Format: Nintendo DS
Genre: Simulation
SRP: £19.99

Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Plaza Skate 2 download available

Experience the Inspiration for Dyrdek's New MTV Show with Skate 2's Latest Downloadable Content

Electronic Arts announce that gamers will be able to extend their Skate 2 experience with the download of Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Plaza, starting today in the PLAYSTATION Store for $5.00 in North America and on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 400 points. The downloadable content features Rob Dyrdek’s new skate plaza, the centerpiece of his MTV show, Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory, as well as the surrounding downtown Los Angeles area.

“I’ve been involved with the Skate franchise since the very beginning and each game has been able to perfectly capture the culture and feel of skateboarding,” said skateboarder entrepreneur, Rob Dyrdek. “I can’t wait to give players a taste of the Fantasy Plaza, my dream skateboarding space. The team at Black Box has recreated the plaza in Skate 2, complete with all the ledges, gaps and rails. On top of all that, there’s still a lot more surprises outside the park that both gamers and skaters will enjoy.”

Recently released for the Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system and the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, Skate 2 has already received high acclaim from top videogame media including a 4.5 out of 5 from PlayStation: The Official Magazine, a 91 from PSM3 and ‘Game of the Month’ distinctions from IGN and Game Informer.

Skate 2 brings gamers to New San Vanelona, a city rebuilt with more spots to skate and own. Equipped with double the bag of tricks and the ability get off the board to move objects around, players can now create their own epic skate spots which can then be shared and experienced by others around the world. The game also features a revamped Thrasher Hall of Meat mode that will have players spending countless hours pulling off bone-crushing wipeouts and bails.

Skate 2 is developed by Black Box, in Vancouver, British Columbia. The game is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB and 16+ by PEGI.

Atlantica Online Rolls Out Major Update

Content Upgrades Include New Character Classes, Dungeons, Hairstyles, and More

Strategic turn-based MMORPG, Atlantica Online, today released a major update for the award-winning title. The update adds several new features, including two new main character classes – Musician and Maniac. These new features and classes will enhance the player’s journey through time and history in their quest to find the lost land of Atlantis.

The majority of the new content will be accessible to all players immediately, while some of the new features will only be available to players who have reached level 100.

The major content updates include:

Two New Main Character Classes
Head out into the world with the new classes and get your hands on some unusual gear: a guitar or a power saw. The Musician wields a guitar, which can be selected by any player, new or ongoing. Specializing in long-range combat, the Musician attacks by playing music that strikes two enemies in a line. Its magic attack, the Ravaging Melody, depletes enemies’ attack power, defense, and health, and aids your mercenaries’ attacks. When they attack, they utilize moves that would make Angus Young envious.

The second new class is the Maniac, and he/she brandishes a power saw. Only players at level 100 can create a main character using the power saw, although that character will have to start anew at level 1. The Maniac’s attack hits all enemies in a row, and has a magic cast called Storm Blast.

New Mercenary
The Elementalist is a new, Class B magic mercenary that can be recruited in North America after you reach level 100. When upgraded, the Elementalist becomes the legendary Native American, Pocahontas.

New Dungeons
Now offering even more locations, Atlantica boasts a handful of new dungeons including Alcatraz Prison, which can only be accessed by nations. Additionally, the Valley of Oblivion, also in North America, can only be accessed by guilds, and is the route players must take to acquire the Elementalist. There are also new side quest dungeons based in China.

Celebrate Your Character’s Individuality
Not only will your character now have three new options for hairstyles (the long wave, the afro, and the rasta), your main character will now receive a present on his or her in-game birthday.

To read the complete list of the new updates for Atlantica Online, please visit www.playatlantica.com.

Atlantica Online is a strategic turn-based MMORPG that combines innovative combat with character/party development and city/country management. Players take on the quest to destroy the Oriharukon, a powerful energy sensor from the lost civilization of Atlantis that survived and is now endangering humanity. This journey will take players around the globe, to locations like the Great Wall of China and the pyramids of Egypt, and they will come face-to-face with monsters ripped from history and lore, such as the ruthless Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu and Dracula.

Win a Life-Size Blood Raven Space Marine Statue (UK) with Warhammer 40000 Dawn of War II

To celebrate the release of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, due for release this Friday (20th February 2009), Gamestation has planted five life-size Blood Raven Space Marine statues in stores, one of which will be given away to a lucky member of the official Dawn of War II Facebook Page!

If you want to stand a chance of winning one on of these towering 2 meter statues, all you have to do take a picture of yourself with one of the models and then upload it to the ‘Fan Photos’ section of the Dawn of War II Facebook Page, ensuring you tag yourself and the name of the store you found the statue in.

So, where can these impressive life-size replicas be found?! At one of the Gamestation stores listed below:

• Hull - 59-60 Prospect Centre, Hull, HU2 8PW
• Orpington - 79 - 81 The Walnuts, Orpington, BR6 0TW
• Edinburgh - 134A Princes Street, EDINBURGH, EH2 4AH
• Blackburn - 59-61 King William Street, Blackburn, BB1 7DJ
• Stratford Upon Avon - 13 Town Square Shopping Centre, Stratford upon Avon, CV37 6AU

Deadline for entry is Wednesday 25th February and then, on the 26th February staff from the Gamestation will choose a worthy winner. Entries will be judged on clever composition, creative content and artistic merit! The statue will then be delivered to a UK address of the winner’s choice. Terms and conditions apply, go to the Dawn of War II Facebook Page for full details.

X-Blades out on PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 tomorrow

SouthPeak Interactive anime inspired foray into the hack ‘n slash arena, X-Blades, is out tomorrow across PAL territories. Available for the PC, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, X-Blades delivers high speed action and adventure, combined with a stylised artistic flair.

To celebrate the launch of X-Blades in the UK, real-life model Jodie Dart donned a specially created outfit based on Ayumi’s armour in the game. The 22-year-old from Plymouth then recreated recognisable poses from artwork of Ayumi, including the stunning cover art.

“Just by looking at X-Blades players can see that this won’t be another run of the mill action game,” said Jonathan Hales, Managing Director SouthPeak Interactive. “The large and detailed worlds, combined with beautiful artwork and film-like cut scenes, are only the beginning of what X-Blades has to offer.”

In X-Blades, players take the role of the beautiful treasure hunter Ayumi as she battles through waves of enemies in her search for a powerful and ancient relic. Armed with her trusty pistol blades, Ayumi relies on her acrobatic skills and lightning-quick fighting style to cut a swath through the hordes of evil keeping her from her goal. If she becomes overwhelmed, Ayumi can add devastating and upgradeable magic attacks to her combos to defeat her enemies.

“One of the many features you’ll find in X-Blades is the idea of letting the player choose their own character direction,” said James Seaman, Managing Director at TopWare Interactive. “The type of combos learned, magic abilities upgraded and even the layout of the controller buttons are completely up to the player, giving them the opportunity to play Ayumi in any way they like. Add that level of personalisation to the already top-notch fighting engine and sexy art style, and you’ll find that X-Blades delivers for both anime and action fans alike.”

PlayStation 3 firmware 2.7 details leaked?

A thread on the Game Trailers' forum claims to have the details on what we can expect from the next PS3 firmware drop.

Nothing's been confirmed by Sony and we'll ask for a 'no comment' when people turn up for work. All this info comes from a source who is said to work "in an R&D department at Sony". Stranger things have happened...

Read full post on CVG site here...

Tiger Woods golfing game on iPhone reveled on Twitter

Twitter seems to be a popular place for developers to post cryptic remarks about new games and future updates these days, but is seem EA Mobile has chosen Facebook to show off the first screens of its Tiger Woods 09 game for the iPhone.

These are pegged as pre-release shots, suggesting improvements will likely be made before we actually see the finished product, but we've got to say it's already looking pretty splendid.

Tiger's recognisable, and the fully 3D fairways do justice to the iPhone's graphical abilities. There even appears to be a reasonable amount of customisation of your golfer, and the selection screen suggests you can choose between CPU or human players, so this is likely to be a multiplayer affair.

No solid details as yet, check this Tiger Woods 09 screenshot.

Source: Pocket Gamer

Call of Duty 4 halves map cost and doubles XP

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare fans are in for a treat next week, with all sorts of bonuses planned.

Robert Bowling - community manager, has promised that the Variety Map Pack will have its cost cut in half on February 24th, reducing it to 400 Microsoft Points.

Then a double XP weekend will follow, starting on Friday February 27th and ending Monday morning.

Finally, Hardcore Headquarters will be added to the playlist on Friday... twinned with the double XP, that's a lot of experience points to feast on.

Source: Xbox 360 magazine

SBK 09 Superbike World Championship video game

New edition of the official videogame of the World Superbike Championship: SBK 09 Superbike World Championship. Developed by Milestone, one of the best developers in motorbike racing games, it will be available for Microsoft Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP (PlayStation Portable) and PC at the end of May.

Based on the official licence owned by Infront Motor Sports, SBK 09 Superbike World Championship offers the ultimate experience of the championship. Tracks, teams, riders, it’s all there unaltered to make the player feel the adrenaline rush of real motorbike competition.

Every feature of the game has been dramatically improved from the previous year. New 3D environments, new teams, complete track overhaul, new gameplay structure, new game modes, revamped user interface. The pits have been redesigned to be as close to reality as a picture could be. The performance of the motorbikes is based on exact data from their real counterparts and the player can fine-tune every single setting a real race engineer can. Not to mention the podium, which is there, waiting for the winner.

Five gameplay modes designed for single player: Quick race, Training, Race Weekend, Championship and Challenges; and for those who love the adrenaline of multiplayer sessions SBK 09 Superbike World Championship offers 3 online gameplay modes, starting from Quick Race moving on to the Championship and Team Championship.
Last but not least, the competition can become even more thrilling with the downloadable Online Time Attack game mode.

For the first time ever in a motorbike racing game, SBK 09 Superbike World Championship will feature visible damage on fairings and rider leathers!

SBK®09 Superbike World Championship has a huge number of customisable realism settings making it perfect for beginners as much as for simulation enthusiasts. It’s not just a game. It’s a complete riding experience.

“SBK®09 Superbike World Championship is the result of a painstaking attention to detail during the game design phases. – commented Antonio Farina, Founder of Milestone – More than last year, our main focus has been to recreate a realistic environment as much as possible. We introduced some crucial elements that help feel the exhilaration of the race and we deeply analysed the 3D environment on the track. Every turn has been designed from real CAD data and we also had the chance to have a real SBK™ rider playtesting them all, helping us to reproduce them perfectly.”

“As a fan of motorbikes and races, I do not think this year there is a better championship than WSBK™. Despite this unusual and unpredictable moment for motorsports championships, Superbike is facing a new era with the introduction of BMW and Aprilia, nothing can be taken for granted and more and more people are becoming interested and passionate. With SBK®09 Superbike World Championship, we try to reach both new motorbike enthusiasts as well as hardcore riders offering them a real championship whenever they fancy jumping on a virtual bike, improving their performance and competing against turns and time.” Said Fabrizio Vagliasindi, Black Bean Games Head of Marketing.

Nintendo DSi UK release date 3rd April - 2 days before the US launch - price £149.99

Nintendo announce the release of their successful Nintendo DS handheld video games console, the DSi, in the UK and Europe on 3rd April 2009.

That's two days before the US launch on 5th April. The retail price has been set at £149.99. The DSi includes a number of enhancements - larger screens, two on-board cameras and a SD slot.

“We wanted to get it out in time for Easter “, Nintendo UK’s general manager David Yarnton said.

“With its new features, the DSi is a significant step-change, more significant than the step from original DS to DS Lite.”