Metal Gear Solid - The Race Mission mode plus Konami also unveiled details on a new Patriot feature

Konami unveiled today, new details for its latest Race Mission mode for Metal Gear Online, the ultimate squad-based, tactical shooter based on the popular Metal Gear Solid franchise. The Race Mission mode pits two teams of Metal Gear Online players.

The Blue Team has to search and protect the KEROTAN target, while the Red Team search and protects the GA-KO target. Each time a team passes a checkpoint with its target in hand, a new checkpoint will be generated. If a team drops its target and is not retrieved within a set period of time, the target's position will be reset and the checkpoint will change. The Race Mission feature is scheduled to go live on May 12th, 2009.

Konami also unveiled details on a new Patriot feature that will pick a few lucky players every week to become "Patriots." The selected players will get exclusive access to the "Patriot" 5.56mm Hand Rifle that has infinite ammunition with no reload. The player will have access to these unique Patriot features until the next ranking update. The Patriot Feature is scheduled to go live on May 26th, 2009.

Eternal Eden 2 video game confirmed

Following the massive success of Eternal Eden on PC, Blossomsoft will continue to expand its brand new franchise with a new and exciting sequel.

Eternal Eden 2 will focus on Japhee, a female protagonist who possess a mysterious clairvoyance gift. Thanks to her special ability, the player will be allowed to influence parts of the game by reading the future through special artifacts.

Just like its predecessor, this new installment will feature highly addictive game play, plus a number of new mini-games that will keep old-school RPG fans busy through these upcoming winter holidays!

What’s more, Blossomsoft is also currently working on two other big titles, one codenamed Project Stellar, and the other one is the long-awaited RPG known as Western Lords.

Online snowboard racing game Project Powder

Sign up now for a free account and tear up the Chachapoyas slopes with stylish new gear!!

Outspark, a leading North American virtual playground combining free to play games with personalized social experiences, today announced the commercial debut of its hit online snowboard racing game Project Powder.

Featuring a new Pro Shop with stylish outfits for each of the game’s customizable characters, the commercial release also includes a brand new, never before seen map. Snowboarding fans and gamers of all ages and experience levels can visit www.playprojectpowder.com now to begin enjoying the snow!

Featuring more than a dozen thrilling trails with some of the most pristine spring snow in the galaxy, Project Powder offers players access to a snowboarder's paradise where they can, create a character, race against friends and pull off larger-than-life tricks.

To celebrate the launch of the new in-game store, Project Powder is holding a Pro Shop raffle. It is the perfect time to gear up and grab the newest outfits in the brand new Pro Shop. Buy the Expedition Outfit, Hummingbling or any other premium in-game item for entry in the contest – one lucky player will win a gaming keyboard and mouse and several others winners will receive in-game currency to spend on their favorite Project Powder gear. Look good, play great and win cool stuff. For complete details, visit www.playprojectpowder.com.

Project Powder Features:
- Four playable characters
- 14 intense tracks including the brand new Chachapoyas Part 3
- Three exciting game modes: Race Mode, Battle Mode & Coin Mode
- Beat other boarders and complete courses to level up, earn cash and buy new gear and snowboards
- Create your own unique style as you learn new tricks through the innovative trick tree
To sign up for a FREE Outspark account or to learn more about Outspark please visit www.outspark.com.

Free-to-Play Multiplayer Action Game NinjaTrick Launches Open Beta on Facebook and NinjaTrick.com

Teens Invited to Unleash Their Inner Ninja for the First Time in the New Browser-Based, PvP Multiplayer Game

CyberAgent announce the launch of the open beta for free-to-play multiplayer action game NinjaTrick.

Aspiring ninjas everywhere are urged to point their browsers towards pr.NinjaTrick.com to get a first look at the intense Ninjutsu action.

NinjaTrick offers its own unique brand of PvP ninja action, with Japanese-inspired artwork and hundreds of stylish, personalized avatar options. Features include:

• Multiple match modes, including 1vs1, free for all, and team
• 20+ Ninjutsu and Traps
• 100+ Ninja costumes
• Virtual currency NinjaGold and NinjaCoin
• New items and battlefields introduced regularly to keep content fresh

“NinjaTrick is built from the ground-up to deliver a fun, safe and engaging experience for teens – whether they’re playing at NinjaTrick.com or on Facebook,” said Toshimichi Namba, CEO for CyberAgent America, Inc. “We invite teens everywhere to bring their Jutsu skills to the open beta and help us further refine what we think is the perfect formula – just enough action, just enough cuteness, and fun in spades.”

Join the NinjaTrick open beta at pr.NinjaTrick.com. Add the Facebook application here: http://apps.facebook.com/ninjatrick/

City of Heroes Going Rogue expansion pack details

The development of City of Heroes Going Rogue, the first major expansion for the City of Heroes franchise since the launch of City of Villains in 2005. As the name implies, Going Rogue will blur the line between heroes and villains in the first and longest-running super-powered comic book MMO game.

In the Going Rogue expansion, hero and villain characters will become immersed in the new parallel universe known as Praetoria, which is governed by Tyrant™, the evil incarnation of the game’s main protagonist, Statesman™. As gamers search for Tyrant and the rest of his Praetorian guard, implacable foes and fierce resistance will arise to face them from all sides, causing heroes and villains alike to question their loyalties.

City of Heroes Going Rogue will introduce a new alignment system that helps players explore the shades of gray that lie between good and evil. For the first time, hero characters can become villains and vice versa, enabling hero archetypes to cross over to the Rogue Isles™ and villain archetypes to experience Paragon City™. Clearly marked missions, in addition to behaviors and decisions made by the player, will move a hero’s or villain’s moral compass, which could eventually change the hero’s or villain’s alignment. Going Rogue will also introduce two primary new fictional characters representative of this alignment shift in the game’s lore: Maelstrom, a pistol-wielding hero gone rogue, and Desdemona, a demon-summoning villain who has been redeemed.

“City of Heroes has brought a fresh new perspective to the MMO stage with its foray into the super-powered hero comic book genre, and we are excited to present gamers with even more innovative content in Going Rogue,” said Brian Clayton, general manager and executive producer at Paragon Studios. “For years, players could choose between playing as a hero or a villain. Now we will present a third, malleable path where players can be affected by the results of their actions, enabling them to further develop, unveil new perspectives, and overcome new challenges.”

NCsoft will share more details on Going Rogue in the coming months. The game is currently in development by NCsoft’s Paragon Studios, the City of Heroes development team that most recently launched the ground-breaking Mission Architect system. The launch of Mission Architect sets a significant milestone for City of Heroes as the first MMO to allow players to create user-generated content. City of Heroes has and continues to set new standards among its MMO peers and player community with its engaging and approachable comic book-inspired universe theme and consistent delivery of concepts that break the standard MMO mold.

Gel - Set & Match coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade May 20th

Gastronaut Studios LLC, creator of the hit Xbox LIVE Arcade game “Small Arms”, announced today that their latest title “Gel: Set & Match” will be coming to Xbox LIVE Arcade next Wednesday, May 20th. The game will be available for purchase at 800 Microsoft Points.

“Gel” is the spiritual successor to the studio's debut title “Fuzzee Fever” which was available for the original Xbox, and was the first original IP created specifically as a downloadable console title. Players control a cute-yet-alien creature who matches colored blocks to solve unique puzzles, clear a road of gel blocks, or compete in multiplayer battles.

“Gel” lets friends play together wherever they are located with a number of both online, via Xbox LIVE, and offline modes. Action Mode and Puzzle Mode are both playable with 1-2 players online or local multiplayer and Battle Mode is for 2-4 players online or local.

- All new side-scrolling Action Mode.

- Over 100 single player puzzles

- 25 co-op specific puzzles

- 3 unique multiplayer battle modes

- Extensive character customization

- Special “seasonal costumes” only available at certain times of the year

- Fantastically realized 3D environments

"Gel: Set & Match" is rated "E" (Everyone) by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) for Animated Blood and Comic Mischief.

Flying races and a housing system are unveiled for the next expansion of the free MMORPG Fly for Fun

With the new expansion for Fly for Fun, “Act IV: New Shores”, arriving in a few weeks, the gPotato team are proud to unveil two brand new features: the Rainbow Race and the housing system.

Flyff : Fly for Fun, was the first free-to-play MMORPG to offer players the opportunity to fly around the world of Madrigal, using magic brooms, bikes or flying skateboards. With the “Act IV: New Shores” expansion, brand new flying content will improve the game experience. Once a week, all Flyff adventurers will have the opportunity to sign into the Rainbow Race and show off all their flying skills, completing various mini-games at each checkpoint in order to complete the race. Tons of wonderful rewards await winners, which can be range from a variety of temporary buffs or gPotato cash shop items to other great in-game items such as the precious Orichalques and Lunar Stones.

After all their effort, racers will appreciate being able to relax in their new personal house. It is available for free to all players of all levels, and can be customised using a wide range of colourful piece of furniture. And so you don’t feel all alone, you can invite your all your friends into your house for a crazy house party, and use it as a venue to meet the members of your guild.

More information about the brand new features of the Flyff’s Act IV will be unveiled in the coming weeks.

New Historical Strategy Game Empire: Time of Troubles PC video game in development

Leading Eastern and Central European publisher 1C Company and Lesta Studio today announced the development of Empire: Time of Troubles.

Empire is a turn-based, historical strategy game which covers the events of 1350-1650 taking place in Russia, Poland and the Great Lithuanian Princedom. Players will find themselves in a large-scale campaign commanding one of 26 warring factions.



The year is 1350 AD. The deadly plague that burst out from the center of Asia came to Europe and stopped the wars for some time. When it reached the Crimean cities where the Genoese people lived it moved on to Istanbul and then made its way to Spain. After devastating Germany, France and England the plague spread to the East and came to the Baltic on board of Hanseatic ships which came close to the borders of Russia.

In the outskirts of Europe lay the lands of Russia and Poland which are ready to finally defeat the dominion of the Golden Horde and the Knight Orders. They will hold on in the battle for freedom and independence, and fight for lands stretching from one sea to the other. The die is cast and a new Empire will become glorious and survive these death-filled times.

Empire: Time of Troubles is a turn-based, historical strategy game which covers the events of 1350-1650 taking place in Russia, Poland and the Great Lithuanian Princedom. The game takes place over a large-scale campaign and players will command one of 26 warring factions. By controlling a hero characters which improve their skills in battle the player can win battles and rule their state any way they wish.

Empire: Time of Troubles allows players to have a well thought-out and historically accurate system of building and assigning labor forces in cities, a large selection of scenario based and random missions, an expansive and realistic technology tree, more than 150 types of military units and beautiful graphics and animations which bring the war to life.

By controlling a hero character, and improving their skills in battle, the player can win wars and rule their state any way they wish.

Empire: Time of Troubles allows players to have a well thought-out and historically accurate system of building and assigning labor forces in cities, a large selection of scenario based and random missions, an expansive and realistic technology tree, more than 150 types of military units and beautiful graphics and animations which bring the war to life.

Empire: Time of Troubles is scheduled for release on PC in 2009.

Features:

- Large-scale military campaign where the player can turn a small principality into a large and powerful empire
- 3D strategy map of Eastern Europe from 1350-1650 with authentic landscape and military units
- 26 factions to control: Russian, Polish and Lithuanian princedoms, lands of the Knight Orders and Eastern European monarchies
- Political, economic and role playing systems showing the intricacies of diplomacy and wars in medieval Europe
- Dozens of famous historical personalities and hundreds of game characters, each with their own unique specialties including rulers, commanders, priests, alchemists and spies.

TactX footie tactics simulator to be launched on UEFA's website with PS3 titles soon

Independent video game developer Cohort Studios has today re-launched its official website and announced an exclusive new project which will launch on the official UEFA website later in coming months.

The 40-strong studio, which has produced top titles for Sony consoles, including Go! Puzzle, Buzz! Junior: Dino Den and Buzz! Junior: Ace Racers, now has a string of exclusive and as-yet unnamed titles in development for release on Playstation 3 throughout the year.

Cohort Studios most recent project is innovative football tactics simulator TactX developed for professional use via the official UEFA web page. Commissioned by Scottish company AVC Media, the developer has created the perfect tool for football coaches to devise in-depth training regimes and complex match tactics within a web browser format.

TactX uses a simple interface, allowing managers and coaches to dive straight in and easily create new routines with a few clicks of the mouse. Users can edit their projects and save them for other club members or players to view and modify at leisure via the online service.

If you think of a tactic, you can create it. From complex passing formations to sprinting and co-ordination exercises, the program lets users of any skill level devise the routines they need in preparation for matches and training days.

To provide an accurate simulation of created tactics, TactX allows users to view a realistic, three-dimensional visual representation of their routine, using fluidly animated motion-capture players to deliver comprehensive replays.

UEFA site here...

Resident Evil Archives play classic games on Nintendo Wii

Resident Evil Archives gives Nintendo Wii gamers the opportunity to play classic Resident Evil games they may have missed at a great value price. Experience the beginning of the Resident Evil saga with the remake of the game that started the survival horror genre, Resident Evil.


The Raccoon City Police Department doesn't know what happened to the Special Tactics and Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S.) team it sent out to investigate the Arklay Mountain area, where a number of people have recently gone missing. The unit's helicopter seems to have crashed in the woods, and it hasn't received any contact from the squad since. The department decides to dispatch another S.T.A.R.S. unit, the Alpha team, to check things out… but something goes terribly wrong.

You take control of S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team members Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine (both recently seen in the smash hit, Resident Evil 5). Your mission is to investigate the ominous mansion at the core of the horrific disaster and uncover the secrets behind a radical, genetic research facility. With unspeakable horrors lurking around every corner, the ultimate test will be to make it out alive! Relive the thrills and terror that defined the genre of Survival Horror and launched a franchise that has sold over 40 million games worldwide.

Features:

• The Original, Reborn: This is a Wii version of the classic Resident Evil remake, originally released on GameCube in 2002 which featured new rooms, areas, items and creatures that were not included in the PlayStation original released in 1996

• Survival of the Fittest: Battle against putrid zombies, infected dogs and horrific gigantic bosses as you struggle to survive

• Defense weapons: Defensive weapons protect characters when being attacked

• Your favourite Resident Evil Characters on the Wii: Play as Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, who each uncover two completely different paths as they explore deep within the horrific mansion

• In-depth Puzzles: Solve dangerous, intricate puzzles and uncover terrifying secrets

• More than 10 Different Game Endings: Unique endings dependent upon play decisions and successes