Bitter Rivals Duke it Out on the Battlefields and Official Forums of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

Mythic Entertainment today announced the start of Bitter Rivals, the first in-game event marking the start of the new Call to Arms live expansion for its award-winning MMORPG, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR). Bitter Rivals, which takes place from March 3rd to March 10th, gives players a chance to earn valuable in-game rewards and unlock the new Dwarf Slayer and Orc Choppa careers for head start play.

The live event includes the new Twisting Tower, an exclusive Realm vs. Realm Scenario which will only be available during Bitter Rivals. The scenario, which takes place in a ruined Chaos temple above a perilous vortex in the Chaos Wastes, pits Order against Destruction as they battle for control of the temple while avoiding the purging fires of a vengeful god.

Bitter Rivals marks the start of the massive Call to Arms live expansion that will continue over the next few months with additional live events and new in-game content. The Call to Arms culminates with the launch of the Land of the Dead, a massive new dungeon zone set in the deserts of the Tomb Kings.

To further spread the Call to Arms far and wide, Mythic has launched the official WAR forums at http://www.warhammeronline.com/forums/. Open to members of the community, the official WAR forums are a place where players can congregate to find information about the game, provide feedback, interact with the development team, talk RvR strategy and celebrate their love of WAR.

For more information about the Bitter Rivals live event and the launch of the official WAR Forums, visit www.warhammeronline.com.

Based on the popular tabletop war game from Games Workshop, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning features revolutionary Realm vs. Realm conflict that will provide players with an engaging battleground for years to come. Available now for PC, WAR is rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB.

Shin Megami Tensei - Imagine Online Now Playable on Mac

Aeria Games and CodeWeavers Team Up to Bring First Aeria Games Title to Mac

Aeria Games, a publisher of Massive Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG), announced today the official support of Mac users through a partnership with CodeWeavers. The first Mac-compatible title is the highly-acclaimed Japanese-import MMOG, Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online. By installing the CrossOver Games product on Tiger or Leopard operating systems, players can now enjoy Aeria Games' PC titles on their Mac.

"As the Mac market share grows, it becomes more important for Aeria to offer its titles to Mac users. The folks at CodeWeavers have the strongest product available for seamless PC gameplay on the Mac, so we're extremely pleased that they've agreed to our work with our titles," declares Spencer Chi, Producer for Aeria Games.

For a limited time, Aeria Games is offering up to $40 worth of free in-game items for players who purchase a license for CrossOver Games. Licenses for CrossOver Games and other CodeWeavers products can be purchased from their website at http://www.codeweavers.com.

Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine Online is a full-featured MMORPG game, and like all of Aeria Games titles, is free-to-play. The official site with promotion details and the downloadable game installer can be found at http://megaten.aeriagames.com/playnow.

5000 Tibia players banned for cheating

For the second time in 2009 CipSoft banished more than 5000 Tibia accounts for cheating.

CipSoft continues its effort to eliminate all cheaters from Tibia. After a first wave at the beginning of February, CipSoft now banned another 5163 accounts for the use of unofficial software.

“Cheating is a nuisance for any multiplayer online game.” says Florian Eckert, responsible Product Manager at CipSoft. “For Tibia it is exceptionally annoying as its community has grown for over 12 years and during that time established a well balanced equilibrium.” Eckert continues. “We cannot and we will not tolerate any unfair interference to this.”

The use of unofficial software - generally referred to as ‘cheating’ - gives players an unfair advantage over others by automating tricky tasks or even controlling the whole character in game. Identifying players who use such programs can be a hard task as the used software is designed to imitate natural behaviour.

CipSoft relies on a home made tool in order to identify the users of unofficial software automatically. “We are 100% confident about the accuracy of our tool.” says Matthias Rudy, Lead Programmer at CipSoft. “We now know exactly who is cheating, how they are cheating and when they are cheating.” Rudy reveals.

Once identified, cheaters have to face severe consequences. Depending on their ‘criminal record’ some of the cheaters are only excluded from the game for a certain period of time. The accounts of other more intractable cheaters will be deleted completely.

When asked about CipSoft’s future plans and policy concerning cheating, Eckert admits “We’ve already pulled the trigger once, now we’ve pulled it a second time. It seems like we start to get the hang on it.”

Tibia is one of the oldest MMORPGs worldwide. It is online since 1997 and currently has a subscriber base of 120,000 players.

The Enchanting Islands PC video game released Free demo download

Alawar Entertainment, a leading international publisher of casual games, today announced the release of "The Enchanting Islands." The new match-three adventure combines the best qualities of a fairy tale with a simple city simulation.

In "The Enchanting Islands," a young lady attempts to free five magic islands from the curse of an evil witch, who has turned the once lush and verdant realms into barren wastelands. To accomplish this important task, the player must collect the alchemic ingredients needed to return life to these formerly beautiful places. Between levels, the player can exchange the ingredients for upgrades, giving rise to meadows bursting with color, blossoming sakura trees and towering oaks. Each improvement will increase the population of the islands and have a renewing effect on the environment.

The goal of each level is to collect a certain amount of resources within a limited amount of time. Players must create matches of three or more identical elements to fill their reserves, earn bonuses and win boss battles in which matched ingredients fall on the head of the invading monster.

"The Enchanting Islands" features stunning graphics and exciting gameplay. In addition, the desire to save the islands is meant to motivate gamers to continue playing and come back time and again.

"The developers of 'The Enchanting Islands' stuck to the most popular trends in casual entertainment while making the gameplay truly unique," said Denis Sedovich, producer. "They did an extraordinary job, and I believe players everywhere will give the game an enthusiastic reception."

Free demo download about the PC version at http://www.alawar.com/game/the-enchanting-islands/.

Two new Watchmen video game trailers Night Owl and Rorschach

Two new Watchmen - The End is Nigh videos showcasing the crime-fighting partnership of Nite Owl, the gadget-driven tech wizard, and Rorschach, the mysterious masked figure who can wield any weapon at his disposal.

New Wheelman video game screenshots PC video game

Cars, fire, motorcycles semis--yup, another batch of Wheelman screenhots is here.

The Vin Diesel-starring driving action game, developed by Midway Newcastle, arrives on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on March 24. Expect console demos before release.

First-Ever Next Generation King of Fighters Game - The King of Fighters XII

Newly Hand-Drawn in High Resolution,The Fight is on in July 2009 on PLAYSTATION 3 System and Xbox 360 Video Game and Entertainment System from Microsoft

Ignition Entertainment announce The King of Fighters XII is releasing worldwide in July 2009 on Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system.

The legendary 3-on-3 fighting game series that united rival brawlers from SNK Playmore’s classic arcade franchises celebrates its 15th Anniversary in style with the release of The King of Fighters XII. For the first time in its history, this epic martial arts showdown has undergone a complete graphical overhaul. The antiquated character sprites used over the past 14 years have been dropped in favor of all-new, high-resolution fighters fluidly animating across painstakingly detailed, 100% hand-drawn backgrounds.

“Our development slogan for KOFXII is “KOF Re-Birth” and we’ve aimed to create an entirely new King of Fighters game. To make this a truly unique fighting game, we’ve revolutionized the graphics by creating state of the art visuals - and made no compromises in that process whatsoever,” said Masaaki Kukino, SNK Playmore.

“I couldn’t think of a more appropriate way to commemorate The King of Fighter’s 15-Year Anniversary than with a gorgeously animated, high-definition installment that updates the KOF legacy for a new generation.” said Shane Bettenhausen, New Business Development Director of Ignition Entertainment. “While other fighting games have abandoned the time-consuming process of creating beautiful 2D art, KOFXII fully embraces the refined aesthetic beauty that only human hands can produce.”

For a sneak peek at The King of Fighters XII, check out The King of Fighters ’98: Ultimate Match– for PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system packed with footage and content of The King of Fighters XII in every game – in stores today!

Stay tuned to Ignition Entertainment for more information, including screenshots, trailers, and loads of details on new game play features!

Factions in Mytran Wars PSP video game

Stormregion developing strategy title exclusively for the PSP (PlayStation Portable) system

Deep Silver, the games label of Koch Media, a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products, today released new background information about the two different factions in the turn-based strategy game "Mytran Wars".

By the mid 23rd Century, Earth stands united under the rule of a high presidium of multinational corporations. Fossil fuels, drinking water and other natural resources are all but depleted.

The Kondor Corp. began investing in space research and development in the hopes of exploiting much needed resources. When the planet Pythar is discovered, it soon becomes clear that the most valuable resource on it are not the ore reserves. Instead, it is a network of naturally existing energy running criss-crossed (in ‘ley lines’) across the surface of the planet. The junctions, where two or more of these lines meet, form energy pools that concentrate the energy into a mass. These pools are home to the Mytrans, forming what Humans would describe as the equivalent of cities.

As the Kondor Corp. shareholders have seen far too much money being poured into this project, they expect returns on their investment and that means plundering the planet for every resource it can give up. But the energy is the lifeblood of the Mytrans. They need it to survive. Without it, they will perish. War becomes inevitable.

The Mytrans

The Mytrans are both majestic and ethereal. They are described by Humans as resembling ghosts with elegant movements that mimic swimming through the air. They see their planet, Pythar, as a bright surging vortex of energy. Being a part of the environment also makes reproduction an easy task for the Mytrans. In fact, there is no reproduction as humans understand it. Instead, for Elders, death is dissolution of energy back into the energy flow and birth is nothing more than a forming of energy into a whole sentient being. So this energy is the "life essence" of the Mytrans, and there are great ramifications if the Humans extract it and take it back to Earth.
Mytran society is split on how to address this problem with the Humans. The Elders, who knew of the Old Wars, want peace and coexistence with the Humans. The younger rebels, on the other hand, wish to drive them out.

"Mytran Wars" is being developed exclusively for PSP (PlayStation®Portable) system by Stormregion, creators of the highly-acclaimed Codename: Panzers games.

Features:
- Riveting plot full of twists and turns that plunge the player deep into the game's unique universe
- Diverse missions and tasks with every level offering fresh challenges and new situations
- Easy to use base management system where players can research new technologies
- 3D graphics with free camera movement
- Contrasting, story-driven, immersive campaigns with two distinctive, well balanced playable sides
- Graphic novel style presentation with an absorbing atmosphere

Killzone 2 joins UK video games chart at No1 pips Halo Wars

Chartweek UK video games chart

Week ending 28 February 2009

1 KILLZONE 2 - SONY COMPUTER ENT.
2 HALO WARS - MICROSOFT
3 STREET FIGHTER IV - CAPCOM
4 WII FIT - NINTENDO
5 PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE CURIOUS VILLAGE - NINTENDO
6 SEGA MEGA DRIVE ULTIMATE COLLECTION - SEGA
7 FIFA 09 - EA SPORTS
8 CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR - ACTIVISION
9 BEN 10: ALIEN FORCE - D3P
10 MARIO KART WII - NINTENDO
11 SILENT HILL: HOMECOMING - KONAMI
12 WII PLAY - NINTENDO
13 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV - ROCKSTAR
14 DISNEY'S BOLT - DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
15 CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE - ACTIVISION
16 MARIO & SONIC AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES - SEGA
17 GUITAR HERO: WORLD TOUR - REDOCTANE
18 WARHAMMER 40,000: DAWN OF WAR II - THQ
19 - NEED FOR SPEED: UNDERCOVER - EA GAMES
20 F.E.A.R 2: PROJECT ORIGIN WARNER BROS. - INTERACTIVE

New dungeon announced for Runes of Magic - Kalin Shrine conflict with Mage Taboreas

The Kalin Shrine leads players into conflict with the mightiest Mage Taboreas

A few weeks before the launch of the award-winning online role-play game Runes of Magic, Frogster is releasing information about new content being built into the release version. This includes the high-level dungeon ‘Kalin Shrine’, a mysterious place where the dark mage Regin has taken possession and where he sets players some huge challenges.

Located in the dusty wastes of the Dust Devil Canyon, the ‘Kalin Shrine’ was built back in the mists of time, even before the blossoming of the of the old kingdoms. Ancient knowledge resides in the heart of the Shrine and there once was a time when Regin kept this knowledge safe for his own followers, but now he is using the power of the shrine for his own dark purposes. Well armed players are now being requested to drive him out of the sanctuary. This is no simple task; it can only be undertaken by warriors who have the maximum Level 50, since the passages and levels of this lost shrine are populated by ghosts, rune guardians and grave robbers.

In addition, boss level opponents also support the powerful magician in his sinister works. They all demand a special tactical approach from the six man group of adventurers. Just one of the obstacles for players to over come in this struggle is a crystal tortoise which can bind players in solid ice for ten minutes. However, the most testing battle lies at the heart of the shrine: In order to defend his power, any means is justifiable to the End Boss Regin. Using black magic, he is able to summon some of the already slain bosses back to life and bring them to his aid. Should adventurers master this quest and free the shrine from the evil influence, their troubles will be rewarded with booty in the form of rare armour.Moreover, many more quests are entwined around the ‘Kalin Shrine’ and so continue to lead the story of the Runes of Magic ever onward. Further information about the new dungeon ‘Kalin Shrine’ is available on the official Runes of Magic website www.runesofmagic.com.

Runes of Magic started the open beta with an English and a German version in the middle of December 2008. All interested players can now download the online-role playing game and enter into the fantasy world after creating an account for free on www.runesofmagic.com.

Runes of Magic – a world full of wizardry and adventure
With an extensive range of features Runes of Magic prepares to redefine the standard of free2play MMO games. Runes of Magic conveys an absorbing story through more than 1.000 quests embedded in an atmospheric fantasy setting. Players can choose between six main classes and combined with a secondary class they present 30 individual combinations of character classes over all. All characters possess unique skills with impressive combo attacks and can use mounts like war horses and more. A particularly attractive feature for guilds and players is the possibility to arrange their own virtual homes with individual furnishing. Thanks to an extensive crafting and reputation system, thrilling PVP, as well as demanding dungeons and boss-monsters, no wishes remain unsatisfied. The Taiwanese developer Runewaker has developed Runes of Magic according to western MMO standards within a time frame of three years. The studio will provide new challenges for players every three to four months with free add-ons and updates. MMO fans can find more information, pictures and videos on the official website www.runesofmagic.com.

Features

- Free2play: no monthly fees, free download
- Extensive dual class system (six primary and secondary classes)
- Versatile spell- and attack-combinations
- Enthralling background story
- More than 1.000 quests and quest series on launch
- No zone boundaries thanks to seamless architecture
- Dungeons: Instanced and tile based as well as persistent
- Individually developable skills and spells
- Armour sets with special bonuses
- Dynamic item system with hundreds of runes for upgrading
- Optional PvP system with arena battles and guild wars
- Ranking system with player-ranking lists
- Multitude of unique mounts
- Epic crafting system with the chance to improve existing items
- Personalization of player houses through individual furnishing
- Reputation system
- Customisable user interface with the option to use Add-Ons
- Map and radar system to find dealers, resources and quests easily
- In-game auction houses for trading items
- Teleport-Runes for instant travel
- Mouse and keyboard controls for movement
- Regular updates with new content
- Cross-server fights in three-server-battle in development
- Guild houses in special zones in development