God of War 3 gameplay trailer leaked on YouTube

A new God of War 3 gameplay video has leaked onto YouTube (may be removed at any time)...

Ratchet and Clank are back on PlayStation 3 with - A Crack in Time

Get ready for time-bending fun and intergalactic mayhem with Ratchet and Clank - A Crack in Time

Ever wanted to travel back in time? This Autumn Ratchet and Clank are back on PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) in the UK like you’ve never seen them before – and they’re on a mission to save the future!!

Get ready another round of intergalactic chaos with Ratchet and Clank - A Crack In Time, the latest addition to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s multi-million selling Ratchet and Clank franchise.

Concluding the events that began in Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction and Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty, Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time will answer some of the franchise fans’ biggest questions. After discovering that lovable robot Clank’s disappearance was engineered by Dr. Nefarious, the Wrench-swinging Ratchet races to save his best friend. Along the way, both will finally uncover the hidden truth behind their origins, and discover their ultimate destinies. As the duo come closer to reuniting, they’ll have to ask themselves the biggest question of all: Do Ratchet and Clank’s destinies lie with each other? Or is it finally time for the universe’s greatest duo to separate for good?

If you haven’t played Ratchet & Clank before and are new to this successful franchise, prepare to be immersed in hilarious action-packed galactic capers and discover how time travel will entertain you in ways never before experienced.

Powered by Insomniac Games’ fourth-generation PS3 technology, Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time will continue to bring the experience of playing your own computer generated animation movie to PS3. Expect all the laughs and witty banter of a Ratchet and Clank title, as you enjoy all-new space gameplay that gives players the opportunity to engage in space battles, explore the surrounding star system, and discover hidden items and collectables... You’ll come head-to-head with a brand-new cast of baddies, and some old favourites, and obliterate them with cool new weapons and abilities.

Get ready for a brand new time-bending, laugh-out-loud adventure when Ratchet and Clank: A Crack In Time arrives in stores in Autumn 2009. It’s the newest addition to the smash-hit Ratchet and Clank franchise, with eight titles across PlayStation 2, PS3 and PSP (PlayStation Portable) platforms. With Ratchet and Clank, the future is never certain!

Mytran Wars video game exclusively for PSP (PlayStation Portable)

Deep Silver, the games label of Koch Media, a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products, today released new information regarding the turn-based strategy game Mytran Wars, due to be published soon.

A multitude of varied challenges await in Mytran Wars. A commander of the Kondor Corp. forces may be confronted with reconnaissance, assault, defense or rescue missions in the course of his career. All of these missions call for an individual approach in order to achieve the best result with as little loss of life and machinery as possible. To that end, it is absolutely vital to study the basic strategies of machine-supported warfare.

The forces of Kondor Corp. consist of mighty combat robots controlled by humans, which seek out their enemies for direct confrontation. The latest generation comprises three very different types of units:

Intruder
The Intruder is the most lightly armored unit, built for maximum mobility. Its excellent speed comes at the cost of reduced basic equipment, making it ideal for recon missions, quick advances, and flank attacks. Moreover, this unit type can be equipped with a variety of special items. This enables the Intruder to repair other units in the middle of a gunfight, to manipulate the enemy's electronic sensors, or to significantly impair the mobility of hostile troops – sometimes even stopping them altogether. The Intruder can prove to be the most valuable unit, provided three basic rules are observed:

1. Avoid direct clashes with the enemy.
2. Have Intruders act as support units on the flanks, or from the second rank.
3. Equip at least one Intruder with repair equipment in order to keep damaged allies operational.

Destroyer
The Destroyer represents the backbone of the ground forces. With medium armor, medium to heavy weaponry and average mobility, the Destroyer is a universal all-purpose weapon that can be employed for all kinds of missions. The Destroyer has an extensive and varied arsenal of weapons at its disposal: efficient long-range weapons, powerful rocket launchers for area damage, or melee weapons for skirmishes at close range. The Destroyer's medium armor is capable of absorbing several direct hits, enabling the unit to hold positions of strategic importance, even during tough battles. High Command recommends:

1. If possible, equip the unit with a melee weapon and a ranged weapon; that way, it will be well prepared for any situation.
2. Optional rocket launchers cause area damage, allowing the Destroyer to take on several hostiles at once.
3. Have the Destroyer conduct an initial strike, then send in Intruders to finish the job before the enemy recovers.

Devastator
The Devastator is the heaviest Kondor Corp. unit. As the name implies, this unit has a devastating effect on enemy troops and morale. This juggernaut has the best armor and the most powerful weapons. The only disadvantage is its slow, even sluggish, movement speed. The Devastator constitutes the spearhead of our forces - it is like a massive, impenetrable wall that advances on our enemies, incessantly laying down deadly fire. Its use is confined mainly to combat on open battlegrounds, due to its limited mobility. As the Devastator's production costs are very high, the High Command recommends:

1. Do not employ Devastators for rescue or recon missions; these are the province of lighter units.
2. Never send a Devastator into battle alone. While the Devastator can sustain direct enemy fire for a long time, it can be easily destroyed if attacked from several directions at once.
3. Always take the terrain into account. The Devastator's already limited mobility should not be further impaired by sending it across difficult terrain such as dense forests or canyons.

DISSIDIA -FINAL FANTASY - out in Europe - Autumn 2009 as PSP exclusive video game

Celebrating over 20 years of world’s most popular adventure game series. DISSIDIA -FINAL FANTASY- brings together the largest cast of FINAL FANTASY characters ever assembled in a single game. The most famous heroes and villains will now collide in a war that threatens to tear the world apart.

DISSIDIA -FINAL FANTASY- takes one-on-one fighting to a new action-packed level on the PSP. Through expansive 3D environments, players can glide through the air, dash along walls and perform summons familiar to fans of FINAL FANTASY. Complete with all the character progression and customisation expected from the series, DISSIDIA -FINAL FANTASY- truly delivers the action, spectacle and emotion of FINAL FANTASY in the ultimate portable fighting experience.

John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix Ltd. comments, “With so many favourite heroes and villains contained in one game, DISSIDIA -FINAL FANTASY- is certainly going to appeal to fans of FINAL FANTASY. We also hope that players unfamiliar with the series are also attracted by an action-packed experience that really showcases the PSP and is set to become an instant classic on the system.”



About DISSIDIA -FINAL FANTASY-

Story
Cosmos, the goddess of harmony. Chaos, the god of discord. Reigning from distant realms, the two gods had gathered warriors from all lands to lead them in savage war.
Cosmos and Chaos were of equal strength. It was believed the conflict would last forever. However, the balance is now broken.

Those who answered Chaos's call created an inexhaustible force. And under vicious attack without relent, the warriors fighting for Cosmos started to fall one by one. The conflict that has continued for eons is now about to end in Chaos' favour.

The world has been torn asunder, sinking into a vortex of disorder. As for the few surviving warriors… their fates have yet to be determined.

Features

• Experience the high-quality world and gameplay mechanics of FINAL FANTASY presented in action-packed 3D environments where players can glide through the air and dash along walls.

• Combining all-out brawling alongside RPG-style character development and customisation, an original system developed by the creators of the KINGDOM HEARTS series takes fighting gameplay to another level.

• Fan-favourite heroes and villains from the entire FINAL FANTASY series come together in one game for the first time in a remarkable new tale with fully-voiced CG movies and real-time events.

• Players select their favourite FINAL FANTASY characters, sided with either Cosmos or Chaos, to set the stage for their fantasy match.

• Accessible through "EX Burst", players can experience gameplay faithful to the originals through memorable battle features such as "Limit Break" and "Overdrive". In addition, long time fans of the series can enjoy the ability to summon Aeons and options such as the "command battle" system. Familiar environments and music from the FINAL FANTASY series also appear, arranged to make the most of the hardware capability.

• Continue the experience by trading Friend Cards, creating items and sharing AI characters with other players and even engage in virtual AI battles made possible by the PSP system ad hoc mode.

Resident Evil 6 could take eight years say producer

Resident Evil 6 could take 8 years to reach the shelves, according to Resident Evil 5 producer Masachika Kawata.

"We haven't decided whether we're going to make Resident Evil 6 yet...," says Kawata. "But if we do, it could take anywhere up to eight years, but hopefully only four."

Resident Evil 5's retail success means there will almost certainly be a sequel but eight years? The longest wait in the series was between PlayStation's Resident Evil 3 in 1999 and GameCube's Resident Evil 4 in 2005 but that was bolstered by several Resident Evil spin-offs in the meantime. Could it be the same story here?

Source: OXM

Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis - New adventure on PC, Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii in May

“Secret Files 2 – Puritas Cordis” is on its way into production. So players can look forward to May 8th when the game will be released for PC, Wii and Nintendo DS.

Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis... the world is on the brink of disaster. By the time Nina Kalenkow realizes that the recent catastrophes were caused not by nature, but by an unscrupulous secret society known as Puritas Cordis, it is almost too late.

While her ex-boyfriend Max, a scientist, witnesses the brutal methods of Puritas Cordis at the excavation site of an ancient Indonesian temple complex, Nina joins forces with a priest in France to investigate the connection between the secret society's sinister prophesies and the creepy leader of an ancient order. A dramatic race against time begins.
Will the protagonists be able to avert the impending apocalypse?

Platform: PC, Nintendo DS and Wii
Genre: Graphic Adventure
Developer: Animation Arts and Fusionsphere Systems (PC),
keen games (Nintendo DS, Wii)
Publisher: Deep Silver
Release: May 8th 2009
Website: http://secretfiles.deepsilver.com/

Hanjamaru - learn Chinese as you play this PC video game

'Hanjamaru', a game currently in development by NHN and EduFlo, grabbed attention from the beginning of the development. Pedagogists who study Chinese characters and education psychologists from Harvard University have participated in the development process, and the game's education effect has been proved through experiments done in Psychology department of Seoul National University.

'Hanjamaru' was intended to let the users be interested in studying Chinese characters through audio-visual teaching system. 'Hanjamaru' enabled this by combining the education method with battle, which is the basic element of MMORPG.

Also, the influences that changes of various factors, such as the size, speed or aggression of monsters and appearance of items during the game, cause on users' gaze were studied in terms of educational psychology and cognitive psychology, and the results were applied in 'Hanjamaru'.



26,000 users in total participated in the final close-beta test, which was held for two weeks in January 2009, and testers learned 13 Chinese characters per hour in average. Especially, 78% of young (age of 10 or lower) participants' ability in Chinese have increased, which indicates educational effect of'Hanjamaru'.

Kwon Su Yeon (43, office worker), a parent who tried out Hanjamaru with her child, said "It seems Hanjamaru brings interest to the users, and leads to natural education by going through repetitive routine. I hope it will be a nice teaching method for children to learn Chinese characters while having fun."

Currently, Hanjamaru only supports Korean-based Chinese characters, but the global version which will support Japanese-based Chinese characters and Simplified Chinese characters will be published in 2009.

Official Website : www.hanjamaru.com
Type : Edutainment(Educational game)
Target Users : 7~13
Minimum requirements : CPU Celeron 1Ghz, Memory 512 MB, GeForce MX440
Recommended requirements : CPU Pentium 4 2.0 Ghz, Memory 1GB, GeForce 6200 or better
Published Year : 2009
Supported OS : Window XP, 2000 , Vista Supported (DirectX 9.0c or higher version)

Nintendo President Announces Wii Storage Solution, New Zelda game and 50 Million Global Wii Shipment

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata today revealed surprises for consumers and an expanded palette of video game development opportunities for the industry during his keynote address at the Game Developers Conference. Iwata announced a new storage solution for Nintendo’s Wii home console and showed video highlights of a new Nintendo DS game from The Legend of Zelda franchise.

Video game developers now have expanded opportunities given that worldwide shipments for the Wii system surpassed 50 million units and worldwide shipments for the Nintendo DS franchise are at more than 100 million units. Iwata said, “It is in the power of game developers to invent things that gamers have never seen – or even imagined – before.”

Nintendo also noted several key initiatives that are on the way for consumers, some of which are available at the Nintendo GDC booth.

Nintendo DSi

The new portable Nintendo DSi system goes on sale in the United States on April 5. For the first six months after launch, consumers who buy the system and connect to the Nintendo DSi Shop will automatically receive 1,000 Nintendo DSi Points, which can be redeemed for downloadable Nintendo DSiWare™ games and applications through the Nintendo DSi Shop. In order to receive the free Nintendo DSi Points, consumers must access the Nintendo DSi Shop by Oct. 5, 2009, and the Nintendo DSi Points can be redeemed at any time after that (wireless broadband access required).
Similar to how the WiiWare service works in the Wii Shop Channel, the Nintendo DSi Shop will feature a variety of downloadable Nintendo DSiWare™ games and applications. These games and applications will be available at four different price categories: free, 200 points, 500 points, and 800+ points. Consumers can purchase Nintendo DSi Points in the Nintendo DSi Shop with a credit card or by purchasing a Nintendo Points Card™ at retail locations for redemption in the Nintendo DSi Shop. All points from one Nintendo Points Card will need to be redeemed at the Nintendo DSi Shop. Nintendo Points Card will start to become available at select retail locations beginning Apr. 5.
Iwata gave conference attendees a glimpse into some of the upcoming Nintendo DSiWare games and applications such as Moving Memo (name not final) and WarioWare™: Snapped!. Moving Memo (name not final) lets users create animated digital flipbooks of their own design, while WarioWare: Snapped! uses Nintendo DSi Camera functionality for a fresh gaming experience.
On the show floor, conference attendees are able to experience some of the Nintendo DSiWare games and applications that will be available soon. Bird & Beans™ and Art Style™: Aquia™ are fun mini games that will be perfect to play on-the-go.
Nintendo DS & Nintendo DSi Software

The new The Legend of Zelda™: Spirit Tracks game that Iwata announced will utilize the intuitive touch control of Phantom Hourglass in an all new adventure that will please longtime Zelda fans while keeping the game accessible to all DS owners. The concept behind this Zelda game includes utilizing a steam locomotive to travel around the world, switching Phantom and Link to explore the dungeons, and solving puzzles using new items.
Wii

As the library of downloadable WiiWare and Virtual Console games continues to grow, Wii owners have asked Nintendo to provide easy, expanded storage space. Starting today, Wii owners will be able to save downloaded WiiWare, Virtual Console video games, and Channels directly to High Capacity SD cards, in addition to SD memory cards. To play games that have been saved to SD cards, consumers will be able to select and launch them from an SD Menu icon on the Wii Menu. (Note that when launching games or channels from an SD card, an equivalent amount of internal Wii memory is required. To clear space from the internal memory, users can transfer games or channels from the Wii Menu to the SD card). This feature is included in the latest version of the Wii System Menu Update, which owners will receive immediately after performing a system update today.
Gamers will be glad to have that additional storage space, as the Virtual Console will expand to include the arcade versions of classic third-party games like STARFORCE by Tecmo Ltd., and Mappy, Gaplus and Tower of Druaga by Namco Bandai Games Inc. starting today.
Upcoming games Punch-Out!! and Excitebots: Trick Racing are available to play at Nintendo’s booth. Excitebots: Trick Racing, a new and refreshing take on the classic Excitebike series from the arcade and NES days, is slated to launch on April 20, while a new game in the classic Punch-Out!! series will be on store shelves on May 18.
WiiWare

To highlight new development opportunities for independent developers, Iwata unveiled a game for the WiiWare downloadable game service called Rock N’ Roll Climber™, which uses the Wii Balance Board accessory to help users simulate the experience of rock climbing. The game is being developed by Vitei.
Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access.

The Legend of Zelda - Spirit Tracks Nintendo DS video game debut trailer

Zelda move onto dry land and swaps his sailing boat for a steam train in this latest Nintendo DS adventure...

The new The Legend of Zelda - Spirit Tracks game that Iwata announced will utilize the intuitive touch control of Phantom Hourglass in an all new adventure that will please longtime Zelda fans

Swapping sails for steam engines in Link's latest portable outing - watch the trailer...

Keeping the game accessible to all DS owners. The concept behind this Zelda game includes utilizing a steam locomotive to travel around the world, switching Phantom and Link to explore the dungeons, and solving puzzles using new items.

LEGO Batman - The Videogame on Mac from April 9th

The Mac version of the fast-paced action adventure title LEGO BATMAN - The Videogame on Thursday, April 9, 2009.

Developed by TT Games, the title brings the world of DC Comics’ Caped Crusader to life in an entirely new way. Players can explore a richly interactive LEGO Gotham City as Batman and Robin, capturing infamous villains – and even take control of the villains themselves.

LEGO BATMAN - The Videogame features a completely original storyline, encompassing the lighthearted charm of LEGO minifigures and the multifaceted lore of Gotham City. The story unfolds with Batman’s greatest foes escaping from Arkham Asylum and creating mayhem throughout Gotham City. Tracking criminals, including The Joker and The Penguin, players will utilize Batman’s gadgets as well as build and operate fantastic vehicles.

"LEGO BATMAN is a brilliantly realized game, an instant classic that we are sure will have a very warm reception on the Mac” said Feral Interactive’s David Stephen.

“We are thrilled with the playability and quality of the LEGO BATMAN game when it was released on other platforms, and we are delighted to be working with Feral again to bring it to life on the Mac,” said Garry Edwards, Business Development Director of TT Games.





The game will retail in North America for US $39.95, £29.95 (inc VAT) in the UK and €39.95 (inc VAT) throughout Europe.

Minimum system requirements call for a 1.8GHz Intel Mac only, 512MB RAM, 128MB graphics card, DVD drive and Mac OS X v10.4.10 or later. This game runs on all Macs with Intel processors including all Intel-based Mac minis and MacBook models.