The Conduit Nintendo Wii video game released June 23rd

SEGA and High Voltage Software are proud to announce that The Conduit has gone gold, and will ship to North America on June 23rd, 2009. A unique first-person shooter, The Conduit is an original IP featuring an intense conspiracy-laden single-player campaign that brings an unparalleled shooter experience exclusively to the Nintendo Wii. Soon you will be able to arm yourself with an arsenal of sci-fi gadgets and high-powered weapons as you fight against aliens, rogue agents and other enemy forces. Additionally, be ready to dominate your friends from around the globe in up-to-12-person online multiplayer battles!



Be ready to defend on June 23rd, 2009.

GamesCampus.com's Asda Story kicks of Summer with a $5,000 cash giveaway!

San Jose-based online game publisher, Gamescampus.com (www.gamescampus.com, run by OnNet USA), announced today that it is giving away $5,000 in cash to new registered users of its MMORPG, Asda Story, to celebrate the start of the summer. Apart from this hefty cash giveaway event, Asda Story will also run a Refer-A-Friend program, Bonus Credit event and Double XP event.

Neo Retro shooter Emotigeddon gets a makeover

Neo Retro 2D shooter Emotigeddon has received a graphical and musical overhaul. The game's graphics have been vastly improved, and a pumping trance soundtrack has been added.

Emotigeddon is an incredibly fast paced adrenaline packed 2D side-scrolling shooter set in a digital world called Electopia. Its inhabitants are the emoticons used by people in their instant messaging conversations. Recently, people have started using too many unhappy smiley faces, and the unhappy faces have grown strong. The unhappy faces have begun taking over the happy faces, and sadness and anger have spread throughout Electopia. It is emoticon armageddon.

Players assume the role of the leader of the Happy rebellion, and their mission is to restore balance by fighting the unhappy faces. The players have powerful weaponry at their disposal with which to restore the balance.

Rhys Griffiths, Game Director at Heatbeam Software said: “The new character art looks fantastic, it really brings the emoticons to life. The music helps complement the adrenaline packed action. It's great when the music reaches a climax just as you're in the midst of an really frantic battle, it sends shivers down my spine. The game is a much more immersive experience now."

To complement Emotigeddon's new lick of paint, the gameplay has also been tweaked in order to appeal to a broader range of gamers: the grappling hook has been made considerably easier to use and additionally difficulty settings have been added.

“The game is now much more accessible," added Griffiths. “the grappling hook is easier to use, which will make moving around like a lunatic even more fun. The easier difficulty settings allow a wider range of players to enjoy the game to its fullest. The new extra hard mode should challenge even the most hardcore players, and the easier modes will let the more casual player enjoy the game as well.”

To check out the new version of the game visit http://www.heatbeam.com

Debut Release from X2 Games Hits Top Spots Across Europe

X2 Games, the UK studio offshoot of Develop Industry Awards 2009 nominee Exient, today announced that its iPhone debut title, X2 Football 2009, is currently enjoying a #1 position within the sports games section of the UK, Italian, German and French App Store (free and paid for), and top 10 positions within the European general paid apps sections. Add to that rave reviews from both players and industry experts alike, with the game scoring an average 4½ stars out of 5 in the UK amongst iPhone players, and it’s easy to see why X2 Football 2009 is being hailed as the definitive football game on the iPhone.

“We’re incredibly excited that the European football fans are taking X2 Football 2009 to their hearts, especially as it’s the first official title from X2 Games” commented Charles Chapman, X2 Games technical director. He continued: “Not only have we taken on the best of the current crop of iPhone football titles currently available, and bettered them, but the consumer feedback has backed up everything we believed at the start of the project – that solid gameplay, clever AI and a unique control mechanism that enhanced, rather than hindered, in-game strategy will always prove popular with football fans around the world.”

As well as proving to be a massive hit in Europe and around the world, X2 Football 2009 is also proving to be hugely popular with the critics, with iPhone Games Network awarding X2 Football 2009 4 ½ stars out of a possible five with a review that states: “X2 Football 2009 is a fantastic soccer game. It plays like a combination of Sensible Soccer and Fifa 98 while looking just as good as Real Soccer... I am still blown away, I didn’t expect this level of quality and fun from a developer I have never heard of before”. Slide To Play awarded the game 3 out of 4 stars, commenting “...as far as sports games for the iPhone go, X2 Football 2009 easily falls near the top of the heap, and is easy to recommend.”

X2 Games will be looking to follow up on the success of X2 Football 2009 with more releases later in the year.

WiiWare release - Eduardo the Samurai Toaster

Semnat Studios’ debut title Eduardo the Samurai Toaster is now available for purchase on WiiWare for only 800 Wii Points. Now you, too, can play as an anthropomorphic samurai toaster and battle your way with up to three other friends in a frantic and stylish 2D action title.

Game info

With visuals drawn and scanned in from several different art mediums such as pen & ink, acrylic paint and charcoal, Eduardo sports an nontraditional aesthetic design for a video game. Jump, shoot, whip, drive, fly and throw your way through hordes of Peking Opera pastries, spear toting carrots, robotic mangos, and more. Play with friends as you learn to cooperate effectively, or be annoying by throwing each other around the screen and attacking one another.

FEATURES

- Drop in co-op play for up to four players.

- Ride scooters equipped with laser-blasters and fly around in rocket packs in single player or co-op.

- Use 5 different pastry pickups to upgrade your firepower.

- Battle enemies through 13 unique levels.

- Several different difficulty options to choose from, allowing players to pick their desired level of challenge.

Eduardo the Samurai Toaster has been Rated E for everyone by the ESRB.

Space War Commander Now DRM Free

Space War Commander made a splash earlier this year as a unique RTS experience. It drew critical and popular praise as a ‘casual time investment with a hardcore strategy payoff’. Now, Dreamspike Studios, the developers of Space War Commander, are announcing a DRM free version of the game available at their website www.dreamspike.com. Dreamspike Studios wants maximize the fun for its loyal fans.

Space War Commander is available from the Dreamspike Studios website as well as other popular online venues like Direct2Drive. Players will experience a depth of strategy unavailable in other RTS titles as they run blockades, foil enemy plans, and defeat vastly superior forces through the power of the mind. Space War Commander: your mind against the universe!

Stay tuned for the upcoming announcement of Dreamspike’s new project.

Risen video game Fact Sheet and screenshots video

Deep Silver, the games label of Koch Media, a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products, and developer Piranha Bytes announced the launch of the first level of the official experience website http://risen.deepsilver.com for Risen. More content will be made available before the release of the game.

Just like Risen, the new RPG from Piranha Bytes, the website offers different approaches for mastering the challenges that players encounter. From the beach, a path leads into a dense tropical forest – what dangers may lurk there, and where is the best direction to turn?



By keeping a close eye on their surroundings, players can discover all kinds of secrets here. Wild beasts and odd creatures haunt the twisted paths that lead deep into the interior of the island. Watch out, or you may be in for a nasty surprise!

The already familiar Risen blog, which provides topical news about the development of the game, is also continued and keeps offering fans all kinds of information from the world of Risen.

About Risen:

This epic role playing game is set in a medieval world on a volcanic Mediterranean island, The “Risen” story unfolds over four chapters and will offer multiple ways to develop the story by his own actions and decisions. An innovative and intuitive user control interface will support both casual and hardcore gamers. With full world streaming support, the player will have a seamless experience while playing in a fully simulated game world with authentic characters.

Risen will be released for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC.

Project Natal will NOT be released as an add-on for Xbox 360

The report emerges from discussions on the site's podcast and concludes, "Microsoft will not only release Natal as an add-on for the Xbox 360, it will come standard with the next Xbox console.

"Yes, there will be a new Xbox console next fall."



To be so assured either means that either there is some serious inside information being fed via the kind of leak so hated by SCEA head, Jack Tretton, or rumour and speculation following E3 has reached fever pitch in one part of the world.

Adding flesh to the bone of the new Xbox Natal story, we're informed, "...we wouldn't be talking about the sort of hardware leap we've seen with Xbox (or most other) platforms in the past, and we're not talking about Microsoft ending one console cycle and starting another.

"The new Xbox console is said to be aimed directly at a mainstream audience -- and will launch before Nintendo is able to release its Wii HD. "

Read the full post at 1UP here...

Gamezplay comment - From the stills at the end of the video I doubt this information!

Beta testers wanted for Shattered Horizon video game

Futuremark Games Studio today announced that they are seeking PC gamers to test their zero gravity first-person shooter, Shattered Horizon. Gamers can sign up for the private beta test at the official website.

http://www.shatteredhorizon.com

Shattered Horizon, first announced at the Leipzig Games Convention last year, sees players fight to survive in the aftermath of a catastrophic Moon mining accident that throws billions of tons of rocky debris into near-Earth space. Futuremark has released two new screenshots showcasing the game's unique zero gravity environments.

"Playing a multiplayer FPS in zero gravity offers gameplay possibilities that simply cannot be found in conventional shooters," said Antti Summala, Lead Game Designer at Futuremark Game Studios. "I invite every gamer looking for an FPS that offers something new and different to sign up for our beta test."

The beta is open to PC gamers from North America and Europe aged 18 and above. The minimum hardware requirements are Windows Vista, DirectX 10 graphics card, dual core processor, Steam account and a broadband Internet connection. No previous beta testing experience is necessary, just enthusiasm and time to play.

Beta testers wanted, sign up now: www.shatteredhorizon.com

VidZone the new Playstation 3 Spotify?

Sony have launched its new VidZone service for PlayStation 3 users in the UK – and whilst the release has been met with little fanfare, those who have downloaded and tried it are already chalking VidZone up as a potential system seller.

For those unfamiliar with VidZone, think Spotify with videos and you’re more or less there. For those of you unfamiliar with Spotify, here's how it all works.

Both services allow users to select any songs from their sizable database – VidZone, for instance, already has 10,000 songs available to view. Once a selection of songs has been made to form a playlist, users then sit back and listen/watch their chosen music.

Both technologies rely on media streaming, so no content is downloaded or stored, alleviating any possible DRM concerns.

It’s all completely free, too, with the makers monetizing everything via banner ads, or in Spotify’s case, two minute adverts at regular intervals.

There have been some sporadic complaints of streaming issues with the VidZone servers, but it’s always hard to be sure where the problem lies – with Sony or with people’s home internet connections. The widespread problems with SingStar’s online elements are leading to many pointing the finger at Sony, however, but at least that means the problem could well be addressed.

And in the interest of fairness, there are plenty of users reporting a faultless service.

With SingStar already proving to be one of the nation’s favourite party games, VidZone is an absolutely ideal choice for any party thrower. So much so, in fact, that Sony really should be throwing more marketing weight behind it.

Source: Casual gaming