The Conduit - first-person shooter - video game on Nintendo Wii

The Conduit first-person shooter garnered multiple awards at E3 2008, including three awards from IGN: Best Shooting Game (Nintendo Wii), Best Graphics Technology (Nintendo Wii) and Best Overall Nintendo Wii Game. The Conduit is a stunning, futuristic title powered by a new game engine technology that delivers remarkable visuals and effects, as well as a rich interactive experience that is unlike any other title on the Nintendo Wii.

“Bringing The Conduit into our library is yet another show of SEGA’s belief that the Wii is more than a casual games console,” says Gary Knight, European Marketing Director at SEGA of Europe Ltd.. “As one of the most anticipated Wii games for next year, The Conduit will be the new benchmark for first person shooters.”

“High Voltage Software's partnership with SEGA to publish The Conduit represents an important milestone for this studio,” said Kerry Ganofsky, CEO and founder of High Voltage Software, Inc. “SEGA shares our vision for the title and its tremendous potential, which is why we chose them from a long list of potential partners. With their support, we are confident that The Conduit will deliver the definitive shooter experience that Wii fans have been waiting for since the system's launch.”

The Conduit takes players into a dark story in Washington D.C. after a vicious alien invasion has rocked the country. An organisation called the Trust has sent in Secret Service agent, Mr. Ford, to go up against the insect-like alien race known as “The Drudge.” Armed with an array of futuristic weaponry and an intelligence-gathering device simply called the “All-Seeing Eye,” players follow an intricate maze filled with conspiracy, shady government activity and terrifying aliens.

The Conduit’s detailed control system allows players to customise and configure their controls, including look sensitivity, turning speed, the dead zone and much more. As players delve further into the mystery behind the extraterrestrial invasion, shocking details reveal that the invasion may have been brought on with help from the government itself.

Powered by High Voltage Software’s groundbreaking Quantum 3 engine, The Conduit ensures that players will experience single and multiplayer gameplay with graphical fidelity never seen before on the Wii. The Conduit will also support the recently announced Wii Speak peripheral, allowing online multiplayer gamers the ability to chat as they destroy aliens in each terrifying level. Additionally, the game will take advantage of the Wii MotionPlus for optimal control.

The Conduit is slated to release in Spring 2009 exclusively on the Nintendo Wii.

Red Dead Redemption Wild West video game screenshots trailer

Red Dead Redemption Wild West video game based on Rockstar RAGE engine is the sequel to Red Dead Revolver 2004 video game. Promising and open world environment on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles.

See a few screenshots on this trailer here...

Design a Raskulls and have it included in the video game contest announced

Coming soon is the release of Halfbrick’s brand new game for Xbox Live Arcade – Raskulls. It’s a puzzle platformer with a rich story mode and multiplayer racing features, so with an original concept and quirky characters, there’s no limit to the creative ideas that can be explored.

You can check out the full list of current character profiles at the Raskulls game page on the Halfbrick website, and to celebrate we’re putting the creative power of Raskulls into the hands of the gamers!

Today Halfbrick is proud to announce the Design a Raskull Competition! We are making the call for all fans from around the world to submit their best design and send it to the Halfbrick team. Entries will be judged on originality, creativity and humor.

The reward for the best character submission is no two-bit family picnic booby prize. This is the real deal that will be seen on Xbox consoles all around the world.
Our Raskulls team will take the design, work it into a 3D model and include the character in the final game on Xbox Live Arcade along with full artist credit.

The Grand Prize winner will receive:

- Their design modeled into the final Raskulls game to be released on Xbox Live Arcade, along with artist credit
- A free copy of Raskulls upon its release on Xbox Live Arcade
- A limited edition King figurine
- A Halfbrick T-shirt
Two runner-up winners will receive:
- A free copy of Raskulls upon its release on Xbox Live Arcade
- A limited edition King figurine
- A Halfbrick T-shirt

Entering is simple. Download the Raskully Profile template from the official contest page and base your work on that. Sketches, drawings, painted, colored-in: all is fine, so long as you show us your creative side! You can draw with your tablet, print it out and work with your own materials, anything you like – just make sure the final version is submitted to us via raskulls@halfbrick.com in JPEG format, subject line DESIGN A RASKULL ENTRY, along with your name, age, country of residence and contact email address. Don’t forget to sign up to the Raskulls forum and show off your entry with the rest of the community!

Head on over to the contest page for the template and conditions of entry. Entries close on Wednesday, June 17th, so get started and show us your skills! One quick note - don't send us any copyrighted characters placed onto the Raskulls template. Trust us, we've already thought about how awesome Boney Spiderman and Homer Simpskull would be, but the owners of such properties would be none too happy. Original ideas only please!

Ghostbusters video game Exclusively on Two PlayStation Platforms in June for the 25th Anniversary of Original Hit Movie

Original Cast of the Hit Movie Come Back Together to Do Battle With the Supernatural on the Streets of Manhattan

PSP Version Coming Autumn 2009 - Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Pictures Consumer Products, and Atari Europe today announced that Ghostbusters: The Video Game for PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) and PlayStation 2 is to be published in PAL territories by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe in June, meaning that owners of PS3 and PlayStation 2 will get their hands on the game that reunites the cast of the hit movies.

To mark the 25th anniversary of the well-loved franchise, the game will launch in coordination with the Blu-ray release of the original hit movie and licensing programs from Sony Pictures Consumer Products Inc. Ghostbusters: The Video Game will launch in Europe and PAL regions on June 19th 2009 exclusively for PS3 and PlayStation 2.

“We’re committed to bringing the PlayStation family the biggest and best gaming experiences first,” says Mark Hardy, European Product Marketing Director at SCEE, “and it doesn’t get any bigger and better than this blockbuster title. This summer, PlayStation owners will be the first to grab their proton packs and fight the spirit world. We’d like to wish them the best of luck in their ghostbusting endeavours and, of course, to remind them not to cross the streams!”

“With our colleagues at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe publishing Ghostbusters: The Video Game, we are thrilled by the dynamic new Ghostbusters game. We think it will have tremendous appeal to gamers and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of this beloved franchise.” said Mark Caplan, Vice President of Licensing-Interactive for Sony Pictures Consumer Products Inc. “With this superb game launching alongside the Blu-ray release, we will reach existing fans and the next generation, bringing them all into the irresistible Ghostbusters universe.”

“Atari is committed to maximizing the launch of the Ghostbusters videogame across Europe,” Said Jim Wilson, VP Worldwide Marketing, Atari. “In partnership with both Sony Pictures Consumer Products, Inc and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, we have a unique opportunity to add new game products and expand marketing opportunities to reach Ghostbusters fans in Europe.”

In Ghostbusters: The Video Game, players can grab a proton pack and turn their ghostbusting fantasies into reality as the new recruit to the Ghostbusters team in a story set two years after the Ghostbusters 2 movie. Once again, the city of Manhattan has been overrun with ghouls, ghosts and all things foul – and it’s down to the Ghostbusters team to capture them all and regain control.

The game has been written by original Ghostbusters writers Harold Ramis and Dan Aykroyd and reunites members of the original cast for the first time in 20 years. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson lend their voices and in-game likenesses to the game, which also features performances from favourites including William Atherton (Walter Peck), Annie Potts (Janine) and Brian Doyle-Murray (Mayor Jock Mulligan).

Developed by Terminal Reality and Red Fly Studios Ghostbusters: The Video Game will arrive on PS3 and PS2 this June. PSP version of the game is scheduled for launch in autumn 2009.

Can you run the country better than Gordon Brown? New PC commander in Chief simulator games lets you try!

How would you deal with the credit crunch? What would you do about global warming? How would you manage a global flu epidemic?

To investigate these questions and mark the launch of the new 2009 PC Geo-simulator Commander in Chief, masked Gordon Brown impersonators hit the street around Parliament to see whether members of the public felt they could do a better job at running the government than the current Prime Minister. The results found that 36% of the respondents reported that they believed they would personally make for a better Prime Minister.

Members of the British public now have their chance to prove it, though they will be stepping into the Prime Minister’s shoes in the virtual world.

Commander in Chief is a comprehensive geo-political simulation game for PCs where players face the same complex issues confronting leaders like Gordon Brown on a day-to-day basis. The great detail and depth of the simulator reveals the complexities of managing a government and the challenging decisions they must make. In the game, as in real life, every decision has consequences and balancing all of the demands is no simple task.

Are you a warmonger or a diplomat, would you bail out the banks, could you avoid scandals and political pitfalls, should you sign the Kyoto protocol and develop environmental solutions to a threatened world?

From decisions on current issues of terrorism to unemployment, epidemics to alternative energy policy, players can test their ability to deal with issues domestically or on the world stage, responding to actions taken by fellow global leaders. Like in real life, players need to consult daily newspapers to gauge the public and international response to their policies and use their virtual laptop or phone to communicate with other government officials, leaders or the 50 international organisations like the UN, NATO or OPEC.

According to Louis-Marie Rocques, from the game developer Eversim, "One of the key points when designing the game was for us to achieve the highest degree of realistic simulation, while making the seriousness of politics a challenging and entertaining experience." Striking this balance correctly has a strong pay-off for bringing the challenges of politics to life. Steven Ross, Professor of History, University of Southern California, states, “I think this is a great thing for getting people really hooked in politics. The challenges that players face blur the lines between politics and entertainment.”

The Gazette gives the game “Four stars out of five’ and Honestgamers.com says, "The game is a smooth, sublime experience about running a nation in the present era."

Can you handle the burden of the world on your shoulders? Can you become one of the world’s great leaders? Can you do better than Gordon Brown?

Commander in Chief is available online and in stores across the UK. For more information visit: www.commander-in-chief.co.uk

Over two million downloads of Map pack 1 for Call of Duty World ar War

The juggernaut that is Call of Duty : World at War Map Pack 1 continues to roll, with Activision and developer Treyarch announcing today that worldwide sales for the downloadable map pack have cleared the two million download mark, on both Xbox LIVE and the PlayStation Network (combined).

“This is a huge milestone and we are so appreciative of our incredibly supportive community who continue to play and enjoy the game,” said Mark Lamia, Studio Head of Treyarch. “We’re hard at work on Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 2 and look forward to delivering that in June.”

Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 1 contains four maps (Nightfire, Station, Knee Deep and Verrückt) and is available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 800 Microsoft Points and on the PlayStation Store for the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system for £7.99. Call of Duty: World at War is rated 15 by the BBFC.

Replica Rickenbacker and Gretsch guitar controllers for The Beatles Rock Band video game

The Beatles: Rock Band Pre-Order Club Goes Live, May 5th

Harmonix Music and MTV Games along with Electronic Arts, announce that replica Rickenbacker 325 and Gretsch Duo Jet guitars will be made available as standalone music peripheral controllers for The Beatles: Rock Band.

In addition, The Beatles: Rock Band Pre-Order Club also goes live today in the U.S. and Canada giving fans exclusive news and access to exclusive game elements from the eagerly awaited game set for release worldwide on 9/9/09.

The Rickenbacker 325 and Gretsch Duo Jet guitars are hailed as two of the signature, most celebrated instruments played by John Lennon and George Harrison throughout their careers, respectively. They will be made available for MSRP $99.99 in the U.S. and in continental Europe for MSRP €99.99 and for MSRP £89.99 in the UK. These wireless instrument controllers join the previously announced Höfner bass controller, a large-scale replica of the bass famously used by Sir Paul McCartney, and the Ringo Starr inspired and Ludwig-branded Rock Band 2 drums, with a classic pearl finish and vintage replica Beatles kick drum head. All controllers will be available for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3, Wii and will be compatible with all Rock Band titles.

Also announced, The Beatles: Rock Band Pre-Order Club officially goes live today. North American and European fans who pre-order any version of the The Beatles: Rock Band at a participating retailer will be given an access code to officially join the Pre-Order Club. After entry of the code, consumers will gain access to breaking news and exclusive behind the scenes elements . For a list of participating retailers or to learn more about The Beatles: Rock Band Pre-Order Club, please visit www.thebeatlesrockband.com.

The Beatles: Rock Band will allow fans to pick up the guitar, bass, mic or drums and experience The Beatles’ extraordinary catalogue of music through gameplay that takes players on a journey through the legacy and evolution of the band’s legendary career. Available simultaneously worldwide in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and other territories for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and Wii system from Nintendo on Sept. 9, 2009, the game will be compatible with all Rock Band instrument controllers, as well as most Guitar Hero and other third party music video game peripherals and microphones.

Beware the Beavers! in Robocalypse - Beaver Defense on Nintendo Wii and DS

Vogster Entertainment, developers of Robocalypse for the Nintendo DS, today released new screenshots from Robocalypse - Beaver Defense for Nintendo's WiiWare platform. Robocalypse - Beaver Defense brings the tongue-in-cheek humor and zany characters from the original Robocalypse into the world of "tower defense" gaming.

The new screens feature some of the level maps, weapons and enemies players will encounter during the game's frenzied missions. Be sure to download the new screens to see the crazy action in Robocalypse - Beaver Defense firsthand.

Robocalypse - Beaver Defense will offer madcap weaponry and uproarious destruction in a tower defense-style game for the Nintendo Wii. In the game, players will create and strategically position their defenses to annihilate waves of enemy robots, while player-controlled Hero robots will act as mobile weapons units, bringing heavy firepower to all areas of the battlefield.

Weaponry varies from the deadly, such as flamethrowers and bombs, to the hilarious - including anvils from above and chainsaws, while scraps from fallen foes provide a variety of upgrades. Players can go it alone or take on up to three other would-be commanders in two multiplayer battle modes via Nintendo WiFi. With a story written by Jay Lender (of Spongebob Squarepants fame) and Micah Wright, Robocalypse - Beaver Defense is sure to put a smile on players' faces as they bash near-endless waves of wise-cracking robotic opponents.

G.I. JOE The Rise of Cobra - Developer Blog No1 - G.I. JOE Fanboy Gets to Make the Video Game

“It all started with the filecards” by Dax Berg, Lead Designer at Double Helix

Ahh the summer..

As a kid you always discover the best things in the summer. Maybe it’s the lack of school to divert your shortened “kid attention span.”

It could be that those are the times when the weather is better and you are out more in the neighbor hood socializing and discovering new things instead of being cooped up inside. Whatever the reason, it was definitely the summer of 1984 when I first discovered the G.I. JOE universe.

Unlike 95% of the kids my age, I didn’t get introduced to G.I. JOE through the two traditional means (this being either through the toy line or the cartoon series).

Early on as a kid the only action figures I collected were Star Wars, and being the completionist that I was, the thought of purchasing any other toy outside of the series I was collecting to me was “money not well spent”.

Also being a kid born and raised smack dab in Middle America (Kansas to be specific), we didn’t get any other channels other than the “Big 3”. The G.I. JOE cartoon was on the new “Fox channel” and that channel for me wasn’t on the dial. (Unfortunately little did I know years later all I needed was one of those UHF circle antennas that could be purchased at any Radio Shack for 5 bucks – the lack of this little antenna in more ways than one robbed me of parts of my youth).

No, I discovered G.I. JOE through a tertiary medium; the medium of comics.

That summer my mother was working for a company putting together a trade show and one of the booths was a new local comic shop. The shop couldn’t pay the full price of the floor fee so they paid part of it in cash and the other part was done in trade for comics. My mother getting a portion of this gave the entire part of her share to me to buy all the comics a young kid could dream of and that was more than enough to get me hooked.

To this day no matter how busy it gets at work you can still find me every Wednesday during lunch time at “Comics Toons N Toys” in Tustin, California picking up my latest books.

In that first huge pile of comic books (that came up to my knees) I got from the shop that day back in ‘84, a few dozen of them were from the G.I. JOE series.

G.I. JOE No21 was my first experience with anything “JOE” related, and what an issue to pick up as my entrance into the G.I. JOE Universe! It is still is one of my favorite comic books to this day in showing how you can tell a story in the medium without a single word of dialogue or effect sounds. (It also doesn’t hurt that this was the 1st appearance ever of Storm Shadow and the reveal of Storm Shadow’s and Snake Eyes identical Arashikage Clan tattoos).

I loved the Superheroes comics in that knee high pile but there was something I was drawn to more in the comics about the Heroes (the ones without the “super” prefix). These weren't men with super serum injected into their veins, or guys that could lift busses and toss them around like toy cars. In my mind, these were soldiers that anyone could end up being, each with their own distinct personalities and traits. Each of these characters had a voice (whether they used it or not) and a style that was uniquely their own.

From that point on I was a “G.I. JOE fanboy”. I collected the standard G.I. Joe American Hero book, the G.I. Joe Special Missions comic, even G.I. Joe Yearbooks, which were for the most part reprints of other stories I already had. A year later a comic in the series would pop up which led me further down my fanboy path. This comic was called G.I. Joe Order of Battle. It was basically reprints of the toy line’s classic filecards.

As a kid I quickly became obsessed with collecting these data cards. I would trade some of my other action figures with other kids on the block not for their JOE Action figures, but for their G.I. JOE filecards. I would scour the neighbor hood looking for that one kid who didn’t care about his filecards and just wanted the toys. I could get nearly all of his filecards for only a few of my action figures in trade (to me an awesome deal).

This trading went on for months until I hit the mother load. That’s right, I finally found the one kid in my school whose parents were rich enough to get him the U.S.S. Flagg – a toy known by most kids my age as the “Granddaddy of all toys”. This guy had nearly every G.I. JOE Action figure and did not see the value in the filecards way I did. I actually traded all of the cards he hadn’t already thrown away plus every file card he would get in the future for (of all things) comic books, which thanks to my mother, I had plenty of.

From then on I was set. I kept my filecards in a red binder and eventually in an empty Air Jammer Road Rammer box in the bottom part of my closet and would pull them out for immediate reference as I read through every new and old G.I. JOE issue.

Fast forward 25 years later and here I am still collecting comics (actually I owned a comic and game shop for five years before got into the video games industry). But now I get to make a video game set in the universe I grew up loving as a kid. You take away all of the deadlines and stress that comes with the job (yeah there actually is quite a bit in this industry) and it truly feels like a dream come true.


(You can see G.I. JOE is well represented in my office)

You can see my love of the comics coming through in the game. Stalker from the cartoon, for example, has a very limited role, but in the comics, Stalker is a big time character. In the game I made Stalker the Field Commander. Anytime there is an issue on the ground Stalker is your man who can help you out. He has the biggest dialog role by far.

As a kid reading the comics I always imagined Stalker sounding like Carl Weathers in the Rocky or Predator movies. It is too bad we didn’t get him to do the voice over for the game, however, David B. Mitchell who plays the role did an amazing job!

One of my highlights of making the game is obviously the filecards. I worked with Brian Reed (who is a great comic book writer himself) on the initial story plot which takes place after the movie and retells a classic JOE story in the new JOE universe. You G.I. JOE fans out their will realize the familiar plot a few mission into the game and you won’t be disappointed. Anyhow, after the script was finished, Brian did not have time to write the filecards with me so Paul Benjamin, our Producer for the PSP game out of Fizz Factor in Austin and I wrote them. Each filecard has amazing artwork attached to it and updated information that I hope every G.I. JOE fanboy will appreciate.

There are a total of 75 filecards in the game that you will unlock as you play through. Each of these filecards was meticulously looked over time and time and again before they were finally approved by Hasbro. You’ll notice they are identical in style to Hasbro’s new toy line and all of the information is correct to the new G.I. JOE universe.

The circle is now complete!

Over the next few months, our team will go more into the game details and the game mechanics but laying down the foundation of how I became a Joe fanboy is important to any of you who spend the time reading this. We look forward to sharing our experiences making the game and will be writing more soon – now back to work!

Dax Berg is the Lead Designer / Game Director for the G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra video game releasing August 2009 alongside the live-action movie from Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment, in association with Hasbro. Launching on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS and PSP, G.I. JOE The Rise of Cobra is an accessible third person action-arcade shooter that allows players to recreate and relive the greatest moments from the film, cartoon series and action toy line.

Darknight - The return of Spirits zombie game

Codegen Studios is bringing you an action packed first person shooter game Darknight - The return of spirits.

"It's a story of a town and evil spirits. The bad spirits have attacked that Sampson Town and killed all the people of the town. All the people are now zombies and they have conquered the whole town.

Luke Crate, the hero of this story is a professional ghost buster who lives near the Sampson Town and he has been informed about this attack by the officer of the city who was about to die. He was informed that whole thing started in the Wolf Mansion in Sampson Town when the evil book was opened in the Wolf Mansion. He was not able to save the officer but Can he kill the mighty evil spirits and zombies or he will be the next target of the spirits?
Can he survive this DARK NIGHT?"