Rockstar delay Midnight Club download content...

The expansion to Rockstar's Midnight Club: Los Angeles has been delayed a week.
March 10th came and went without the release of the South Central DLC.

Rockstar says that the update will come on March 19th instead.

The South Central DLC comes in two parts. Players can download a free expansion which increases the map size by one third.

There will also be the opportunity to buy the South Central Premium Upgrade which features new vehicles, events and other content.

Watch the trailer on gamezplay.org - earlier post here...

Vancouver 2010 Official video game of Olympics by Sega

SEGA Corporation today announced an exclusive partnership with International Sports Multimedia, the official licensee of the International Olympic Committee to develop Vancouver 2010 - the Official Video Game of the Olympic Winter Games. The game is being developed by Eurocom Entertainment Software for PC, the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, and the PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system. Vancouver 2010 is an authentic simulation of a host of events from the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, focusing on the adrenalin rush that comes from the extreme speed of winter sports. Including the all new challenge mode, it will allow players to immerse themselves in the world’s greatest sporting event like never before.

“Vancouver 2010 will set a new standard for the Olympic-themed video games genre,” commented Hugh Binns, Director of Eurocom Development Ltd., developers of Vancouver 2010. “With the innovative first person mode to immerse players even more in the game, an all new challenge mode providing hours of entertainment and stunning high definition graphics, Vancouver 2010 will be a fantastic experience.”

“Extending our relationship with SEGA to include the Official Video Game of Vancouver 2010 strengthens the opportunity to build upon the success of Beijing 2008, thereby delivering what will be an outstanding, quality gaming experience,” stated Raymond Goldsmith, Chairman & CEO of ISM.

In addition to the new challenge mode, Vancouver 2010 also offers revamped online gameplay and brand new control schemes new to an official video game of the Olympic Games. With this, Vancouver 2010™ will be the new benchmark for the Olympic-themed videogames genre and truly allow gamers to experience the “Olympic Spirit”.

Vancouver 2010 for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 is set for release in the winter of 2010. Further information relating to the content of the game will be available over the coming months from the official website of the game – www.olympicvideogames.com.

MapleStory Europe unleashes Easter Bunnies & Eggs and New Showa Map

This year’s Easter promises to be another fun and exciting festive event at MapleStory Europe. Starting on March 12, 2009, the four-weeks-event invites players to join a special event quest with the ever-grumpy, demanding Easter bunny “Mad Bunny? who is sick of painting Easter eggs and not afraid to express it. The only way to calm him down will be to gather the items he wants, which will be rewarded with a special Easter item and random EXP that Mad Bunny hands out.
Following the event, MapleStory Europe is now host to the Showa town, a mysterious area for players with exciting quests and fearsome new monsters to battle. Based on the picturesque Japanese town of the same name, MapleStory Europe’s version of Showa plays home to a quiet, medieval spa town filled with exotic calmness and flair of ancient Asia. But don’t be tricked by the peaceful and inviting scenery of Showa: the map is tailored for higher-level characters and hides threatening, powerful monsters that require advanced power and skills to defeat.
?009 promises to be a huge year for MapleStory Europe as we continue its extensive and rapid expansion,?said Sung Jin Kim, Manager of Europe Business at NEXON Europe. “We are adding another great portion of entertaining and exciting new content to the game with the introduction of the Showa map, not to mention the special event-quest celebrating Easter. But this is only the beginning as we have many new, extensive contents lined up for the coming months, for committed and new players alike.?br />

MapleStory originally launched in South Korea in April 2003 and quickly went on to become one of the most successful online games of all time, with over 92million registered accounts across the world. MapleStory Europe, which launched in May 2007, is the latest iteration of the completely free to play franchise, and offers gamers in Europe the chance to play MapleStory in five different languages ?English, French, German, Spanish and Dutch.

Car Jack Streets! iPhone version of best-selling mobile series to feature over 80 minutes of tracks from the hottest new music acts

Tag Games has today revealed details about the exclusive soundtrack to its biggest and most ambitious title to date, the highly anticipated iPhone iteration of flagship series, Car Jack Streets. Previous versions of the vehicle based crime game have garnered a massive following from mobile fans worldwide and scooped consistent rave reviews across the print and online gaming press.

The forthcoming iPhone version looks set to raise the bar considerably. Boasting stylish comic book 2.5D graphics, an accurate day/night cycle, real-time missions, over 80 minutes of new music and radio chatter, online ranking boards and much more!.

However all this would be rather wasted without a killer soundtrack pumping in the background. Well there is no need to fear for Car Jack Streets boasts 24 unique tracks from 16 of the music worlds best kept secrets! Supporting this new talent, the game allows players to sample, purchase and rate their favourite tracks direct via iTunes.

Among the artists featured in the game via in car radio are west coast hip hop wordsmith Atom tha Immortal, Laurelyn Carter the 16 year old country music star who’s been tipped as country music’s ‘next big thing’, dance music mentalist Red Shirt Theory plus The Amateurs, Kyoshi and The Officers all of whom have all been tipped for greatness by the music press.

Mark Slater, of the massively popular UK indie outfit and current Myspace heroes, The Snowbyrds said: “We’re delighted that Tag games have chosen to feature our song 'Riot” in Car Jack Streets. The iPhone version looks fantastic and our song will fit brilliantly with the games chaotic atmosphere. This is a fantastic chance to have our song heard by hundreds of thousands of people!”

Paul Farley, managing director of Tag Games said: “When contemplating the soundtrack for Car Jack Streets, we thought about adding links to iTunes so players could download the tracks for their personal music library but then thought it would be the perfect opportunity for some outstanding unsigned talent to get noticed. The best new games console, the best game-play and the best emerging musical talent. It’s the perfect combination!”

Car Jack Streets will be available from late March 2009 via the App Store, but before then, keep your eyes and ears open for bonus content coming soon, including exclusive developer video diaries, trailers and game-play footage, plus the re-launch of official game site www.carjackstreets.com
The artist list in full:

Atom tha Immortal - www.atomthaimmortal.com
Butch Baker - http://www.mp3.com/artist/butch-baker/summary/
Digital Juggernaut - http://www.mp3unsigned.com/digitaljuggernaut.asp
Druu - www.myspace.com/druu
Eclipse - www.mp3unsigned.com/eclipse.asp
Esteban - www.myspace.com/estabanuk
Kyoshi - www.myspace.com/kyoshimusic
Laurelyn Carter - www.laurelyn.com
M4rt3z - http://www.mp3unsigned.com/m4rt3z.ASP
MD1-Project - www.rickymancini.co.uk
Not My Day - www.notmyday.co.uk
Red Shirt Theory - www.myspace.com/theredshirt
Smudge - www.myspace.com/smudgesuck
Soma High - www.myspace.com/somahigh
The Amateurs - www.theamateurs.co.uk
The Officers - www.myspace.com/theofficers
The Snowbyrds - www.myspace.com/snowbyrdsuk

Critical Mass Interactive create video effects for film The 2 Bobs

Voodoo Cowboy Entertainment and Texas Avenue Films, producers of the video games-themed film The 2 Bobs, today announced the film’s world premiere as part of SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, scheduled for Monday, March 16 at the Paramount Theatre. Written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Tim McCanlies, the film features game-specific visual effects developed and produced by Critical Mass Interactive, a leading U.S. game developer based in Austin.

The 2 Bobs is a feature film written and directed by filmmaker Tim McCanlies, best known for his direction and screenwriting on films such as the animated hit film “The Iron Giant” and family flick “Secondhand Lions,” starring Robert Duvall, Michael Caine and Kyra Sedgwick. McCanlies has carved out a unique piece of filmmaking territory in his career, also credited for conceptualizing the popular Warner Brothers TV show, “Smallville,” based on the DC Comics character Superman. By all accounts, The 2 Bobs presents edgier fare than McCanlies’ usual work, with a keen eye on pervasive geek culture, with video games as the central theme.

Matt Scibilia, President and Co-founder of Critical Mass Interactive, Inc., offers, “As an established game development company with significant film-quality animation talent on deck, we had both the necessary production experience and game playing interest to lend the needed visual effects to the film, as well as have an understanding of a game player’s aesthetic choices. This project broke ground for us, as we were able to apply our visual technology and techniques to the overall look of the film, but also bring believability to the game designed by the film’s main characters.”
Scibilia adds, “Our team utilized standard game development methodology to generate the avatars for the actors, prepping the assets for the Unreal 3 game engine. The 3D characters and environments prepared and rendered for the film are optimized for next generation gameplay in Unreal. We built an actual ‘Cataclysm’ game based upon the movie characters from these visual effects assets. It was a fun ride using our game industry methods for a feature film, and we are pleased with the end result.”

Mark Mueller of Voodoo Cowboy Entertainment, producer and chief financier for The 2 Bobs, state, “We knew we needed realistic game play elements in the film to make the main character’s experience credible to our audience. By bringing in an expert game development and visual effects team like Critical Mass Interactive, we succeeded in artfully blending the two worlds of game play and the character’s experience in the film.”

The 2 Bobs is a video game geek comedy based in Austin, Texas. The story follows two gaming legends known as The 2 Bobs. But just as they finish their ground-breaking violent video game masterpiece, these gaming gurus discover their precious game software has been stolen - and with it, their livelihoods, genius reputations, and everything they own. To get back their game - and their lives -The 2 Bobs and their fellow-geek employees Munch, Doofus and The Dark Prince are forced to ‘turn detective’ and plunge into the strange world of Christian Venture Capitalists, aged Dixie Mafia hoodlums, and bizarre Internet Spammers that inhabit Austin.

The film’s cast features an eclectic array of accomplished young acting talent, including Devin Ratray (Home Alone, Law & Order, Third Watch, The Flying Scissors), Tyler Francavilla (Law & Order, Roommates, Boston Public), Cody Kasch (Desperate Housewives, The Practice, ER), Leonardo Nam (He’s Just Not That Into You, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Perfect Score) and Mika Boorem (Blue Crush, Dawson’s Creek, Riding in Cars with Boys). Local heroes playing on a national stage, juggler-cum-actor/writer Turk Pipkin and film criticism savant Harry Knowles make memorable cameo appearances as well.

The film’s producers, along with Mueller (Downloading Nancy, 2009 Sundance selection starring Maria Bello, Jason Patric and Rufus Sewell), are Anne Walker-McBay (Before Sunset, Scanner Darkly, Dazed and Confused) and Seth Caplan (In Search of a Midnight Kiss, Flatland: The Movie, Teenage Dirtbag), while PJ Raval is the film’s cinematographer (Trouble the Water, nominated for an Academy Award this year).
The 2 Bobs kicks off with a preview screening for SXSW festival attendees on Friday, March 13 at 6:45 pm at the Austin Convention Center. Hosted by Voodoo Cowboy Entertainment, The 2 Bobs cast and crew premiere party is open to SXSW badgeholders and will be held at Aces on 6th St. from 6 pm to 8 pm on Saturday, March 14. The cast and crew premiere party features competitive game players and former Frag Dolls Alyson Bridge (“Nin9tyNin9”) and Alex Herbert (“Tart”) competing against party guests on Halo 3. Game competitors have a chance to win a brand new Epiphone electric guitar, donated by Gibson Guitars.

The main event is the film’s world premiere for the public, scheduled for Monday March 16 at 6:30 pm at the Paramount Theatre at 713 Congress Avenue. The film premiere will include a Q&A session with filmmaker Tim McCanlies, along with members of the principal cast and production team. Film screening tickets for The 2 Bobs are available at the Paramount Theatre box office shortly before show time. Tickets are $10 and are available on a first-come basis, with precedence given to SXSW badgeholders.

KarmaStar video game for iPhone and iPod Touch

Master those difficult life decisions in the palm of your hand as Majesco today released the first screenshots for KarmaStar, a new light-hearted strategy game for the iPhone and iPod touch. Marking Majesco's first foray into the iPhone game category, KarmaStar offers visually stunning graphics and addicting gameplay that will keep players hooked. Developed by Arkane Studios, who is led by acclaimed game designer Harvey Smith, the game features a quirky, signature style and the ability to battle with human/AI players over WiFi. KarmaStar makes its debut on iPhone at the end of March.

In KarmaStar, players must hone their life skills in five personal traits - including Health, Mind, People, Love, and Money. By taking small, calculated steps, players have the ability to build these traits, or live dangerously and see where a little deviousness can take them. Each game takes no more than 10 minutes, so players must waste no time in mapping out either a constructive or combative strategy and then pursuing their chosen path in order to achieve their life goals.



KarmaStar will be available through the iPhone App Store at the end of March.

Brainpipe - A plunge to unhumanity patch relesed

Digital Eel has just released a patch for their first person spatial toboggan run though the psyche, BRAINPIPE: A Plunge to Unhumanity. The patch, available for both Windows and Mac platforms, brings the full retail game to version 1.0.1 and corrects a joystick calibration error whereupon the calibration would get stuck in an infinite loop. So, anyone who wants to play BRAINPIPE: A Plunge to Unhumanity with a joystick should download the patch right away. Unless you enjoy the whole infinite loop calibration situation, maybe finding it soothing in an Eastern metaphysical kind of way, in which case don't download the patch and continue grooving to that infinite loop.

If you do not possess a joystick, or do have a joystick but prefer to use a different control scheme when playing BRAINPIPE: A Plunge to Unhumanity, the patch won't help you but you should still download it to be able to say that you have the latest and greatest version of the game installed. It's what the cool kids are doing.

The demo has also been updated to incorporate the fix, so if you're a joystick wielding demo player who hasn't gotten around to purchasing the full game yet be sure to download the demo again.

BRAINPIPE: A Plunge to Unhumanity is the latest release from Digital Eel (Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space, Dr. Blob's Organism, many others), and is published by Shrapnel Games. It is available for Windows and Mac operating systems for the low price of only $14.95 as a direct download.
BRAINPIPE: A Plunge to Unhumanity is a surreal arcade game subjecting the player to a complete aural and visual overload unlike any other game out there. Using simple one-click mechanics, BRAINPIPE: A Plunge to Unhumanity beckons the player to journey through a colorful tunnel of the mind on an expedition to unlock the secret of becoming more Unhuman than human. Race through ten ever increasing levels of difficulty (or start off at any of your choosing), racking up points and experiencing a dizzying array of sounds and colors.

To download the version 1.0.1 patch, the demo, or just learn more about the game please visit its official product page.

Official home page link...

Project Aftermath, Achievement System & Price Reduction Free demo download

Games Faction have today released an update for Project Aftermath, the company's flag-ship title, including 92 Achievements. The Achievement system will work for both Steam and non-Steam users, enabling everyone to enjoy the challenge of collecting the Achievements on offer. In addition, Project Aftermath has been given a timely price cut to $9.99. The price reduction is in place at GamesFaction.com and other distributors will follow suit shortly.

Managing Director, Lee Hickey says "In these tough times, people demand a great product at a great price. Releasing new content and reducing the price to $9.99, makes PA a very attractive purchase."

Creative Director, Malcolm Reed notes "We are really happy to offer the Achievements to both Steam and non-Steam users. Achievements provide a new challenge and more play time, we hope to keep people very busy with ours

As ever, existing customers will automatically receive the updates free of charge the next time they play. A free demo is available at http://www.gamesfaction.com/project-aftermath or via Steam or Stardock.

About Project Aftermath

Project Aftermath is an Arcade RTS game for PC where you command up to four squads of soldiers in exciting battles in a retro-futuristic world. Equip your squads to suit your playing style, researching new items using the spoils of war; choosing from over 100 different weapons, armour, power-up augmentations and spell-like special attacks.

Engage in hectic massed battles against hordes of enemies. Capture strategic locations, rescue hostages and slaughter indiscriminately! Explore the landscape to locate hidden treasures and uncover the secrets of both your enemy and the mysterious planet you find yourselves on. Replay missions using fewer soldiers and items to earn greater rewards.

Action, mystery, hideous manmachine hybrids; Project Aftermath has it all.

Join the fight!

• Campaign mode containing 10 missions of fast-paced action on a mysterious alien world.
• 20 Challenge missions to test your skills to the limit.
• Command up to 4 Heroes and see them become more powerful as they gain experience.
• Classless Heroes mean that you can equip your squad your way, using over 100 different items in 1000s of combinations.
• In-game tactical deployment. Create turrets, deploy grunt-hunting drones, call for backup, request equipment changes mid-mission and more...
• You decide how tough a mission is. Over or under equip your Heroes to blast your way through or to challenge the online high score tables.
• 92 Achievements to collect.

Project Aftermath makes the RTS genre more accessible by dispensing with the usual emphasis on base-building and resource gathering, allowing the player to focus on fast-paced action from the start. Missions are played for points and a unique system allows players to set their own difficulty by either under or over-equipping for a mission. Doing well in missions earns the player Research Points which are used to unlock over 100 items for improving their heroes. Online score tables are also available to inject a healthy sense of competition into the proceedings.

Astro Tripper PlayStation 3 video game gets US Release

Independent developers PomPom games is proud to present its latest slice of shoot-em-up mayhem to the US public. In typical, fashionably late PomPom style, we can announce the release date as... today!

Thursday March 12th on Playstation 3 via the Playstation Store. Having already destroyed the moral of most European gamers, we can now turn our attentions to the US gaming community. We challenge you to humiliate your European brothers and their puny scores!

Astro Tripper is a unique blend of old school frantic gameplay visualized in cutting edge 3D graphics and stunning sound effects. For more details visit www.pompomgames.com

Louisiana - Mystery Cases PC video game

We would like to introduce to you our brand new game ‘Louisiana: Mystery Cases’. It is a modern full 3D adventure game with a stylish environment and catchy storyline. The year is 1902, and you will find yourself at a New Orleans’ suburb. The lazy summer sun is slowly penetrating the gloom of the local marshes, and yet the city is being overcast by a heavy creeping cloud of doubts and anxiety. There have always been a lot of murders in this neighborhood. Now, however, the situation is different. These killings are so brutal, lacking any apparent motive and too complicated to have been committed by a raging insane maniac. Before long they catch the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who is now sending their best special agent …

We offer:

Technology Development – When there is talk about adventure games, the technologies that make them possible to be brought to life usually take a back seat. We did our best to create a more spectacular project in a full three dimensional environment with innovative controls and a top notch quality engine supporting the most recent functionalities and effects.

A Style with a Touch of Nostalgia – Being a truly interesting era, the early 1900s combined with the attractive environment of New Orleans, Louisiana, is an unparalleled period combined with an unparalleled city, whose unique architecture enabled us to develop a really interesting game, in terms of design.

Conversation as a Substantial Component of the Game - In conducting the investigation, dialogues play an indispensable role, which is exactly why we offer the option of the dialogs’ real-time segmentation into branched optional subdialogs. We strive to break out of the unwelcome trend followed by so many games that pretend to have their dialogs non-linear, but, in fact, they force the player to use all of the options. The structure of our dialogs goes much deeper, and it affects numerous aspects of actual happenings of the story that the game consists in.

Point Score in an Adventure - We do not take into account whether a player finishes the game, but how he or she gets to the end. What we intended was to motivate players to think and contemplate their steps instead of making passive mechanical attempts to try every option available. To that end, we use an evaluation system based on what we call ‘Detective Points’. The game will assess the underlying logic and elegance with which a player is taking his or her steps to make progress as well as the player’s responsiveness to various situations. In addition to this, a high score will be rewarded with access to a bonus location.

Detailed Graphic - Unlike in action games, the traditional locations (levels) in adventures are much smaller. This approach combined with our state-of-the-art technology enabled us to develop an extraordinary diversified and nice environment. We made the textures as well as the polygons more concentrated, which has substantially increased the quality of details.

Release Date: Summer 2009
Developer: Infinion
Publisher: Not yet set.
Platform: PC, (we are prototyping versions for XBLA and PSP as well, with later release date.)
Web: www.infinion.biz