Dragonica video game goes on public release as Open Beta launches

Gala Networks Europe, operator of the gPotato.eu free-to-play MMORPG portal is proud to announce the public release of Dragonica as it enters Open Beta across Europe today. Developed by Barunson Interactive, Dragonica is a free arcade style 3D side-scrolling MMORPG for PC, and is available to download play for free with a gPotato.eu account in English, French and German.

After a successful Closed Beta Test during May and positive coverage in the games media, players across Europe will be able to experience Dragonica’s vibrant world of Dragotaka playing as one of four character classes in their mission to defeat the evil Dragon Lord Elga and return peace to the land. With a level cap rised to level 60, and two job changes, players will be able to experience up to twenty distinct character classes which evolve from the four base character classes on their desktop, notebook and netbook computers.

From today European players can download and play Dragonica for free, for life, experiencing classic combo-based combat, ten player PvP multiplayer modes, a wide variety of Guild, Trade and Community features and participate in fifty player battlegrounds in the game’s 25v25 Guild Emporia Wars.

Dragonica features fully localised text, audio and cinematic videos, combined with a community of thousands of players from every corner of Europe. The gPotato Europe team will also be running a variety of in-game events to welcome and entertain players.

To play Dragonica, simply sign up for a free gPotato.eu account at the official European website at http://dragonica.gpotato.eu and download the game client from http://en.dragonica.gpotato.eu/Downloads/Client.aspx. Players who already have the Closed Beta client on their machines will automatically receive a patch to their version.

14-year-old sets three Guitar hero World records...

14-year-old sets three new Guitar Hero records - Danny “Phenom” Johnson

Three months after beating the record for the Highest Score in Guitar Hero III, Danny “Phenom” Johnson set three new gaming Guinness World Records on Guitar Hero at the Book Expo America tradeshow on Saturday, May 30th.

Danny, known for his impeccable manners and modest disposition - attributes which his father says come from his tight knit family who accompany him everywhere - has been eager to break additional Guinness World Records ever since tasting record breaking victory in February.

The new Guinness World Records set included the Longest Note Streak on Guitar Hero, with a score of 3,722 and 100% on the track “Through the Fire and the Flames” during which he also beat his previously held record for the Highest Score For a Single Track on Guitar Hero III (XBOX 360) with a score of 985,206.

In addition, Danny set a new record for the Highest Score on Guitar Hero: Metallica (Activision, 2009) with a score of 1,009,056 while playing the track 'Mercyful Fate' on PS3 with Dreamgear’s Warbeast guitar.

“I don’t think there is anything that can stop this kid, his talents are infinite” his father and manager, Scott Johnson said at the event. “Danny’s motto is that there will always be somebody better which drives him to keep improving his abilities.”

A great gift for Father’s Day, the Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition 2009 contains a comprehensive guide to gaming, featuring the latest gaming records, the history behind gaming, and interviews with key figures in the industry.

Bakugan Nintendo Wii video game Fact sheet

A young man named Rikku dreams of joining in the Bakugan Battles despite not owning a single Bakugan of his own. One day, his dream comes true.

Rikku gets his first taste of what a battle is like when his friend Dan lends him Drago, a Bakugan with immense arena experience. Completely swept up in the intensity of the Bakugan Battles after his first taste, it is with a heavy heart that Rikku returns Drago to Dan. However, on his way home after the most exciting day of his life, Rikku comes across a never-before-seen Bakugan named Leonidas.

Leonidas confides to Rikku that he has mysteriously found himself in this unfamiliar world, and agrees to stay with Rikku for a while until he can sort things out. Now armed with his own unique Bakugan, Rikku is ready to enter his first tournament and change both Leonidas’ and his own life forever.

GAME OVERVIEW

Bakugan: Battle Brawlers is the first video game based on the smash hit Bakugan toys, card game and anime show. In it, players start off as an untrained Bakugan Brawler and must fight their way to the top of the heap. Combining the drama and story of the cartoon series with the skill and strategy of the card game, players will become completely immersed in this unique title. Throw Bakugan cards onto the battlefield, and then try to carefully shoot your Bakugan balls onto the cards to unleash their monstrous powers. When two Bakugans stand on the same card, they transform into gigantic creatures and fight to the finish!

Features:

• Major Brand Popularity: Bakugan was the best selling toy for boys this past holiday season, and won three Toy of the Year awards at February’s Toy Fair convention, including Toy of the Year. Bakugan toys are currently selling at a rate of 4 Bakugan Balls per second in North America, and there are over 55 million Bakugan Balls in homes across the world.
• Deep Storyline: Take part in an epic and unique story penned by the writers of the anime series specifically for the video game.
• Unique Battle Arenas: Choose from a variety of arenas to battle in, each with its own shape, size, traps and features.
• Create Your Own Bakugan Brawler: Make your avatar that you play as throughout the game, or play as your favorite character from the anime series.
• New Bakugan: Collect up to 40 Bakugan and hundreds of cards, some of which have never been seen before!
• Multiplayer: Face off in custom matches where players can adjust the arena, characters, and even the rules themselves.

Name: Bakugan
Publisher: Activision
Developer: NOW Productions
Platform: Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2
Release Date: Fall 2009

Bracken Tor to Explore The Time Of Tooth And Claw sequel to archaeology adventure indie-hit, Barrow Hill

Shadow Tor Studios announce the production of their second horror/adventure, Bracken Tor: The Time of Tooth And Claw. To coincide with the announcement, the British game development studio has also launched the official website, which features four brand new screenshots, from the title, as well as details of the plot and the real-life inspiration behind the game.

"More and more hikers, park rangers and explorers are seeing unexplainable creatures, in the landscape. No-one knows where they come from, why they are here and where they go. For unlike sightings of big cats, and others carnivores, the lesser known moorland beasts seem to vanish, into thin air, after they have been sighted" says game author, Matt Clark, "I've often found wild animals, ripped to ribbons, in the forests of Cornwall, and seen inexplicable scratch marks on standing stones and other ancient monuments.
Bracken Tor will explore several possible theories behind the strange occurrences".

...moorland beasts seem to vanish, into thin air...

About the game:

• Explore the desolate moorland, searching for evidence.
• Travel back in time, to The Bronze Age, to learn its secrets.
• A complete interactive world; brought to life on your PC.
• Environmental sounds and weather to heighten the experience.
• An unnerving and eerie soundtrack, to chill the blood.
• Experience virtual archaeology, and uncover the past.
• Survive beast attacks using items close at hand. Defend yourself!
• Glean clues from newspaper articles and local radio broadcasts.
• Solve a bloody murder through investigation and detection.

System Requirements:

OS: Windows XP(SP2/SP3) or Vista
CPU: Pentium II or equivalent. (Pentium® IV or equivalent recommended.)
RAM: 512 MB RAM. (1 GB RAM Recommended.) GRAPHICS CARD & MONITOR: 128 MB DirectX 9.0C Compatible 3D accelerated video card, supporting 32bit (true color) colour depth at 1024x768.
Sound: 16-bit DirectX 9.0C Sound Card.
Additional: Mouse, Speakers, DVD-Rom Drive.

Darkest Hour mod released on Steam for Red Orchestra

Tripwire Interactive is happy to announce the release Darkest Hour: Europe 1944-45, the latest total conversion mod for Red Orchestra: Ostfront to be released on Steam. Darkest Hour is free to all those who own Red Orchestra and can be simply downloaded and installed through Steam. Darkest Hour finally brings the Americans to Red Orchestra, focusing on the beaches of Normandy, Operation Market-Garden, the Battle of the Bulge and on into the Reich.

Featuring airborne parachute drops and late war German and Allied tanks Darkest Hour brings an all new style of gameplay to Red Orchestra. A trailer is available on Steam along with screenshots and other information on the Mod’s Steam page. Now you can play as American, British or Canadian troops, with a huge range of additional features:

• More than 20 new infantry weapons, such as the ever-distinctive Garand, M1 Carbine, .30-cal, Bren, FG42, Thomson and the Enfield rifles
• American Bazooka, British PIAT and German Panzerschreck to go tank-hunting with
• New infantry features, including Airborne drops onto the battlefield, bullet suppression and supersonic cracks, plus a new radioman class for calling in artillery strikes
• Over a dozen new crewable vehicles including the King Tiger and JagdPanther for the Germans, countered with multiple types of Sherman in 75mm, 76mm and 17-pounder versions, plus the Cromwell, M10 Wolverine and Achilles
• 11 new maps, including:
- Juno Beach – Canadians storming the beaches in classic D-Day action
- Carentan – the US 101st Airborne assaults the town shortly after D-Day
- Brecourt – 101st Airborne attempt to put a key German artillery battery out of commission behind the beaches
- Ginkel Heath – British paras drop into a hotly-contested LZ at the start of Operation Market-Garden
- Wacht-am-Rhein – sweeping tank combat during the Battle of the Bulge, including the fearsome King Tiger
- Stoumont – American infantry and armor try and hold back the SS PanzerGrenadiers in the streets of the Ardennes town

So whether it is the Normandy campaign, para-jumping onto the dropzones around Arnhem or the bitter fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, new and old players alike will get a chance to see why RO remains a classic. Now with the opportunity to re-play those battles RO-style, courtesy of Darkest Hour: Europe 1944-45! For more information on the mod (and to see the trailer) head for the Steam page: http://store.steampowered.com/app/1280/.

And, just to ensure that everyone gets a chance to see Red Orchestra on the Western Front, we are dropping the price of RO on Steam to $4.99 right through until the end of the weekend (Sunday 14th June).

For the full details and history of the mod, head for their own web page: http://www.darkesthourgame.com

NOMBZ - Headshot zombie blast iPhone, iPod touch video game

PowerUp Studios proudly announces the release of NOMBZ: HEADSHOT! for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch, available now through the Apple App Store.

Check it out in iTunes here.

The Night of a Million Billion Zombies virus spreads to the iPhone as a 3D tap 'n' shoot action game that challenges you to defend against mobs of zombies, all hungry for your delicious human brains!

Choose your weapon and battle for survival against different types of zombies in a variety of settings, including city, suburbs, mall... and a secret setting!

Fight! Survive! Escape!

We hope you enjoy the zombie apocalypse!

Make a fortune with this iPhone game

First iPhone Business Stimulation Game A Business Tycoon Arrives on the App Store

SherylApps announced the launch of its new business strategy game, A Business Tycoon, now available in the app store for an introductory price of $1.99. The title is the first investment-based business stimulation game in the app store that allows users to test their business savvy.

A Business Tycoon is simple to understand: the gamer’s sole motive is to maximize profits generated through buying and selling assets with the help of price charts and other tools.

The game offers users hundreds of assets to choose from across varying price ranges. Prospective tycoons start with initial capital of $10 million – and with the app’s endless gameplay, they’ll soon find themselves addicted.

The game becomes even more interesting with the introduction of share trading– but the real highlights of the game are its luxury and mate sections that reward users for their successful ventures. These exclusive rewards can be unlocked one by one – only the most successful entrepreneurs will reap the benefits.

“Eight months of obsession and labor has gone into the planning and development of this game, and we believe that it will live up to the expectations of strategy game lovers everywhere,” said Ankur Gupta, founder of SherylApps. “Creating an addicting experience was our main priority since the idea of A Business Tycoon hit our minds. And with the kind of reviews the game is receiving for the lite version we believe we have fulfilled our goal.”

SherylApps has also announced a unique and unusual contest starting today where the first user to successfully unlock all available luxuries will be awarded an acre of land on planet Mars. The user is required to email the screenshot of the all the luxuries unlocked to contest [at] sherylapps.com.

The final price point for A Business Tycoon will be $2.99, but the game is being launched at an introductory price of $1.99. The reduced price will be valid for the first 15 days, offering a lot more value and entertainment than comparable strategy games available on the app store.

A Business Tycoon Features include:
-Virtually unlimited gameplay
-Hundreds of assets to trade in
-Best in class graphics and sounds
-Option to issue and buyback company’s shares
-In game rankings
-Games are saved when receiving a call, logging out, or shutting down the system
-6 beautiful & powerful ladies to unlock
-12 most exceptional luxuries to buy

Dungeons & Dragons online Eberron Unlimited - Unlimited Free Play

Free Digital Upgrade Introduces Unlimited Free Play and Raises Level Cap; Beta Begins Today

Turbine announced the start of the Beta program for Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited (DDO Unlimited), a free digital upgrade for Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach. DDO Unlimited will raise the level cap and add major new content, as well as make the game free to play for everyone.

The new DDO Unlimited delivers heart-pounding game play featuring the industry’s best combat system, a massive world with state-of-the-art graphics and gameplay, and a rich set of features that until now could only be found only in premium subscription-based MMOs.

Launching later this summer, DDO Unlimited will introduce an innovative new pricing model that allows players to download and play for free, purchasing adventure packs, items, and account services a la carte from the new DDO Store, or to subscribe to get unlimited access to all of the game’s content. Players interested in getting a sneak peak of the new DDO Unlimited can sign up for a chance to participate in the Beta program at http://www.ddo.com.

“Our team has spent years crafting DDO Unlimited into a powerhouse experience featuring cutting-edge graphics, a kick-ass combat system, high level content, and cutting-edge social tools. Today marks a major milestone as we prepare to launch the world’s most exciting free MMO,” said Kate Paiz, Senior Producer.

“Turbine is blazing a new trail with an innovative new pricing structure that will deliver a new era of choice for the growing market of online gamers, and we are very excited to invite players to work with us in the DDO Unlimited Beta program as we redefine how people play and pay for MMOs,” added Fernando Paiz, Executive Producer.

DDO Unlimited delivers the best combat of any MMO and the most heart-pounding action this side of a keyboard, plus a lot more!
Brand New Content & Features – DDO Unlimited will deliver a new class, increase the level cap, introduce new adventure packs including a new 12-player raid, major combat improvements and more!
The Fiercest Combat – DDO Unlimited features an extraordinary and heart stopping combat experience that requires players to fully engage in the battle by relying on their wits and reflexes in real time. No more clicking skills and watching the action from the sideline.
Mind-blowing Visuals – Explore a vast and dangerous online world that features the most advanced graphics in the industry and is stuffed with the legendary monsters, glorious treasures, devious traps, mind-bending puzzles and endless adventures from the world’s best known RPG.
Full-featured MMO – Experience sophisticated systems found only in the best games including auctions, arena death matches (Player versus Player), NPC hirelings, gambling, crafting, and powerful social tools for finding a group, forming a guild or planning an epic raid!
Easier Than Ever! – DDO Unlimited gets you playing in minutes instead of hours, using new proprietary Turbine technology. Creating a new character is incredibly simple with guides and templates that speed you through the process. Features an all-new new player experience that gives gamers their first taste of excitement quickly while teaching them how to play solo or with a group of fellow adventurers.

The Sims 3 celebrate the biggest launch in Sims history

Electronic Arts announce that the hotly anticipated The Sims 3, stormed retail shelves starting June 2nd and sold thru more than 1.4 million PC/Mac units within the first week making it the best-selling PC launch in EA’s history. Fan intensity is evidenced through the more than 7 million downloads of player created content including: Sims, houses, stories and more. The Sims 3, also available for download from the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPod touch, shot up to #1 paid app position on launch day and has maintained that spot since launch.

“With more than a dozen press awards, strong reviewer scores and positive feedback from The Sims community, we are thrilled with the success of The Sims 3 launch and the early sales indicate that we have another hit on our hands,” said Rod Humble, Head of the EA Play Label. “The volume of items created with The Sims 3 and downloaded online is a testament to how passionate The Sims players are. It’s their world now, we can’t wait to see everything players create and share.”

“The Sims 3 for the iPhone and iPod touch soared to the number one Top Paid App position in the U.S. Apple App Store in just 18 hours of its launch and reached the number one Top Paid App position in 37 countries worldwide within two days of launch, making it EA Mobile's 3rd game launched at $9.99 to reach the number one Top Paid App position,” said Adam Sussman, VP Worldwide Publishing for EA Mobile™. “The game's sales success along with its strong critical acclaim demonstrates that The Sims 3 mobile experience is a worldwide hit with our customers.”

In The Sims 3 on PC/Mac you can create lifelike Sims with a unique personality and take them anywhere in the neighborhood. The powerful Create-a-Sim tool allows you to create Sims that are more realistic than ever. Select from dozens of personality traits such as brave, artistic, kleptomaniac, clumsy, paranoid and romantic. With Create-a-Sim, you can create a limitless number of truly unique Sims. The Sims 3 allows for infinite possibilities to design the interior and exterior of your Sims’ surroundings using the Create-a-style feature. Additionally, you can enjoy the challenge of short-term and long-term goals and then reap the rewards! Based on personality traits, skills and career choices, your Sims have short and long term Wishes that provide constant fun challenges and so many things to do and achieve. You have the ultimate freedom to choose whether to fulfill their destiny, giving them lifetime happiness and rewards or not! Register your copy of The Sims 3 for PC and Mac at www.TheSims3.com to enjoy the robust online and community features unique to your game including an all-new town called Riverview that you can download for no additional charge once you register*. You will also gain access to 1,000 SimPoints to purchase items from The Sims 3 Store to customize your Sims’ appearance and houses in all-new ways. Be the director of your Sims’ movies by capturing clips during your gameplay, visiting the official site, and editing the soundtrack, story, and transitions, then share it with the world. See what you can create with The Sims 3.

Cities XL beta - last day to join

10 June 2009. Monte Cristo, developer and publisher of CITIES XL, has announced that registrations for the game’s closed beta must be in by the end of Wednesday June 10, 2009, around 7pm UK time (BST). Gamers interested in testing the game and offering input into the development of Monte Cristo’s next-generation city builder/MMO should sign up today at http://jointhebeta.citiesxl.com.

“We’ve had a great response to our call for beta players so far,” said Jerome Gastaldi, CEO of Monte Cristo, “But we can squeeze just a few more people in to test this game in the last crucial months before it’s released. CITIES XL offers something different and refreshing in the world of MMOs and we already know that its appeal reaches way beyond the hardcore gamer.”

The closed beta programme for CITIES XL will begin shortly, when successful registrants will be able to begin playing a fully-featured version of the game.

About CITIES XL
CITIES XL enables gamers to develop cities on realistic 3D maps, which feature a variety of environments from mountain ranges to beaches and islands. The cities you will build are based on American, Asian and European-influenced architectural styles. You must create the right combinations of job opportunities, social services, leisure activities, and special events within your cities in order to keep your citizens occupied and happy. Whether you’re planning and building a new zoo, public park, residential neighbourhood or transit system, there's always a fresh and exciting challenge for would-be city managers and mayors in CITIES XL.