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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Denki Video Game Developers Sponsoring British Matchplay Scrabble Championship

Scrabble Championships lettersThe 2009 British Matchplay Scrabble Championships will be sponsored by digital toy factory Denki, creators of the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade game Quarrel.

Denki has contributed to the overall prize fund and will be on site during the tournament to demonstrate Quarrel, pick the brains of competitors and use their feedback to make sure the game is thoroughly enjoyable, rock solid and even more awesome than ever.

The BMSC is organised by the Association of British Scrabble Players (www.absp.org.uk) and is the most prestigious and high-profile event in the British Scrabble calendar. Drawing in the country’s top players, it not only finds Britain’s champion Scrabble player, but puts forward the UK's additional wild card entrant into the World Championships (which this year fact fans, takes place in Malaysia).

Colin Anderson, Denki’s managing director, said, “From the very earliest days of designing Quarrel – before it was even called Quarrel – we’ve shown the game to groups of people we thought could help make it better. We’ve shown it to strategy gamers, kids and families through to gamers, students and our friends at other Dundee games companies. When the opportunity arose to show the game to the UK’s leading Scrabble players, it was too good to resist.”

Allan Simmons, Promotions Officer of the Association of British Scrabble Players, said, “We’re exhilarated to welcome Denki as the key sponsor for this year’s Championship. As the UK’s premiere tournament, it pulls in hundreds of players. Having a video games company not only supporting the event, but coming along to showcase their new game is very exciting and I believe that Denki will get a lot of very honest and useful feedback from Scrabble players of all ages the event.”

The British Matchplay Scrabble Championship takes place at the Yarnfield Conference Centre, Stone (near Stafford) on the 29th – 31st August, 2009.

Marc Ecko Appearing in cdv USA's PAX 2009 Video Game Booth

marc ecko pax 2009 headshootcdv Software is pleased to announce that Marc Ecko will be in their booth at the 2009 Penny Arcade Expo. Mr. Ecko will be in the booth (No242) from 2-3PM on Saturday, September 5, and will be signing limited-edition Ecko brand t-shirts created specifically for this year’s expo.

During the signings, cdv USA will be giving away several Nintendo DS handheld systems in honor of Marc Ecko’s collaboration in the development of “I Heart Geeks,” an upcoming puzzle title from cdv USA.

Escapist Launch 'Atomhex' Video Game

escapist video game screenshotEscapist Games Limited announce that AtomHex, "that crazy multiplier arena shooter" by Mark Incitti has been launched on the Xbox 360 Indie games platform for a paltry 80 Microsoft Points.

You may remember Mark Incitti as the guy who got into trouble with Bizarre Creations after developing a Geometry Wars clone that was so good, it began to eat into their sales. Well now he’s back, but this time it’s with an entirely new and completely different game, far superior to both Geometry Wars and his original clone.

AtomHex is a colourful, fast-paced shooter where you pilot your ship through a world filled with harmless Atoms and Hexes. Change your colour to successfully despatch the hexes, and attempt to survive the chaos as atoms combine with hexes and release their deadly offspring.

“It’s a game of tactics.” says Escapist Games founder and director, Chris Walley, “Instead of just wildly shooting everything like in most games of this genre, you have to be a lot more selective. Developing a strategy is key. In fact just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, a whole new layer of depth to the gameplay emerges. Then you can really start to get the high scores. 2 billion points in five minutes? It’s possible if you know how!”

Atomhex can be found under the Indie games channel on your Xbox 360 Dashboard, or it can be queued for automatic download to your Xbox 360 by going to the following link: http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585502b4/?p=1&of=7&bt=0&sb=1#offers

The official Atomhex website can be found here: www.atomhex.com

Experience Playoff Hockey with the release of exclusive NHL 10 demo on Xbox Live - with video

nhl 10 game hockey goal mouth scene from xbox 360 demo downloadThe EA SPORTS NHL franchise begins a new era with gamezplay innovations that deliver a new standard of toughness and the emotion of playoff hockey on the ice and in the arena, with the launch today of its NHL 10 demo exclusively on Xbox Live Marketplace for Gold subscribers.



NHL 10, the franchise that has won 19 sports game of the year awards over the past two years, will showcase two new game modes in the demo that launches today: Battle for the Cup and Be A Tough Guy. Experience the emotion and drama of the third period of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup™ Championship between Detroit and Pittsburgh in Battle for the Cup. The new mode features playable injuries, the ability to intimidate the opposing team, and line-matching to shut down superstars all in front of frenzied towel waving crowds with storylines that carry across the entire series. Play as your favourite team’s enforcer in Be A Tough Guy, where it is your job to protect your superstars, fight when needed, and finish all checks. The enhanced Be a Pro mode also includes a prospects game before heading to the draft and watching your name appear on the NHL draft board.



Beginning today the NHL 10 demo on Xbox 360 will be available on Xbox Live Marketplace to XBOX LIVE Gold members. On August 27th it will be available to download for XBOX LIVE Silver members and for the PLAYSTATION3 at the PLAYSTATION Store.

NHL 10 features a new first-person fighting engine that enables players to trade punches with an NHL tough guy. Feel what it’s like to be on the ice in the skates of an NHL player to throw and dodge punches. Plus, winning one-on-one battles for possession of the puck along the boards becomes a test of will and skill utilizing an all-new board physics engine. Players can use their body to shield the puck on the boards and then kick-pass it to teammates. Bigger, stronger players pin opponents to the boards while fanatical fans bang on the glass, just like real life. Master the techniques of both these game-changing features with tutorials, available on the demo.

NHL 10 features more than 200 gameplay refinements that replicate the skill and finesse of hockey and deliver the most responsive and authentic action ever for the series. Players can one-time loose pucks, score from their knees, knock pucks out of the air and lift a leg to fake a shot on goal. A new 360° precision passing mechanic delivers control over the speed and direction of passes so players can bank passes off the boards or play the puck into space for teammates to skate on to it.

For more info please visit www.easports.com. Screenshots of the NHL 10 are available at www.easports.co.uk/press.

NHL 10 will be available in stores this September 18 for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system. It is developed under the EA SPORTS brand by EA Canada in Burnaby, B.C. and is rated “PEGI 16+”.

Resident Evil The Darkside Chronicles Nintendo Wii video game (with official zapper) European release date set as Friday November 27th

Resident Evil The Darkside Chronicles game girl and logoCapcom is pleased to confirm that its highly anticipated Wii title Resident Evil The Darkside Chronicles will be available at retailers across Europe from Friday November 27th.

Resident Evil The Darkside Chronicles retraces the steps of Leon S. Kennedy, Steve Burnside and Claire Redfield through the terrifying ordeals of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil Code Veronica but does so from a whole new perspective.



A keen eye and a quick trigger finger are a must to stop the undead onslaught with success being rewarded by new insight into the Resident Evil universe and the dark secrets of its main protagonists.

For those who want the ultimate arcade shooter experience Capcom has teamed up with Nintendo to deliver a Resident Evil The Darkside Chronicles and Official Nintendo Zapper bundle pack*.

This is the first time Nintendo has allowed a 3rd party publisher to bundle a game with its Official Zapper in Europe.

Registration for the Allods Online Beta Test are now open

allods online female elf caster image Players can now pre-register for the Allods Online Closed Beta this Autumn at gPotato.eu

Allods Online is the AAA fantasy and space opera MMORPG developed by Astrum Nival and published in French, English and German on the www.gpotato.eu games portal this Autumn. As the game moves closer to launch, gPotato Europe is proud to announce that registration for the Allods Online Closed Beta Test is now open to public at http://en.allods.gpotato.eu/ad/.



Developed by the Astrum Nival development team drawing on over a decade’s worth of experience on online development and a USD$12 million budget, Allods Online looks to set a new standard in the quality of free to play MMORPG. Set on the remains of the fantasy planet of Sarnaut, which exploded during its history, the six surviving races are scattered across archipelagos of floating islands known as allods. The games 1,500 varied quests at release unravel the mysteries of the planet’s past and intrigue, covering thousands of years of in-game history. By picking their allegiance from one of the 2 opposing factions, the League and the Empire, players can select from one of the 28 classes. With the best of traditional ground-based MMORPG gameplay that players expect from an AAA MMORPG, Allods Online raises the bar by giving high level players the Astral space, a dynamic environment ripe for exploration and ship based combat and voyages of discovery in their Astral battleships.

The Closed Beta Test will be kicking off in the upcoming weeks and the registration for this early test phase is now open. Beta access will be granted to selected players among the registered users, and more and more players will be able to enter the game throughout several phases of testing. Players who reach level 17 during the closed beta period will also be able to keep their character name and friend list for the launch of the game. Guild Leaders who reach level 21 and gather 24 members will also retain their Guilds into the Open Beta then further on to the release.

To sign up for the Allods Online Closed Beta Test, register for your free gPotato.eu account at http://en.gpotato.eu/Account/AccReg.aspx and pre-register at http://en.allods.gpotato.eu/ad/.

Il-2 Sturmovik Birds of Prey developers diary video

IL-2 Sturmovik Birds of Prey video game spitfire airplane flyingThe highly anticipated World War II flight combat title IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey will make its console debut on September 4th in the UK with pre-orders now being taken across many online retailers.



Developed by Gaijin Entertainment for Xbox 360 and PS3, DiP Interactive for Nintendo DS and SME Dynamic Systems Limited for PSP and features the greatest aerial battles of the Second World War, and boasts the most realistic landscapes and aircraft seen in any flight game.

Players participate in the most famous confrontations of the era piloting fighters, battle planes or heavy bombers across a range of daring and action packed missions. There are 6 theatres of war in which to engage – The Battle of Britain, Stalingrad, Berlin, Sicily, the Battle of the Bulge and Korsun – representing the main airborne battles of World War II in Europe. Unlock over 40 planes, all faithfully recreated in amazing detail, and pilot them in breath taking air battles and daring bombing runs spread over 50 campaign missions and multiplayer modes.

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey will be published by 505 Games in collaboration with 1C Company.

The Warriors Street Brawl Warriors Rouges video game trailer

The Warriors Street Brawl Warriors Rouges video game logoWarriors… come out to play-ay! In celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the cult-classic movie, “The Warriors” is making its debut on next-gen consoles as a hard-knuckled retro side-scrolling brawler. Relive the unforgettable film in The Warriors: Street Brawl and step into the role of Warchief as players fight their way through 20 miles of gang-infested Manhattan to make it all the way to back to Coney Island alive.



Available on Xbox LIVE Arcade, The Warriors: Street Brawl features six missions of three levels each for a total of 18 arcade-style battles. Staying true to the movie, The Warriors: Street Brawl begins at the gang summit in Van Cortland Park and continues as players fight hordes of notorious rivals in a life or death battle to their home turf. Players can become one of the iconic Warriors, including Swan, Cochise, Vermin or Rembrandt, as they try to uphold the gang’s reputation as one of the toughest factions in New York. The tension builds until the epic beach showdown against Luther, devious leader of The Rogues.

Key Features:
Retro Side-Scrolling Brawler Action – Experience the movie the way it was intended with old-school white knuckle brawling. A gun doesn’t make you tough, use knives, bats, crowbars, 2x4’s and pool cues to get up close and personal. Fight your way back to your turf for the big showdown with Luthor on the beach.
Three Gameplay modes:
Single Player – Battle your way through the streets on your own all the while trying to meet up with your crew back on your home turf… Coney.
Local Multiplayer – Up to four players representing the toughest crew in the city, The Warriors. Follow the storyline in 4 player co-op all the way to the Coney. Just remember to watch each other’s back.
Online Multiplayer Co-Op – Recruit your own gang of friends to come out to play on the same console or over Xbox LIVE. Bring each player’s special move to the fight.
Versus Mode – Not all gang members get along. Go toe to toe with up to 4 of your fellow gang members to see who the true Warchief is!
Boss Mode – Put The Warriors through the grinder in a non-stop string of boss fights in this unlockable mode to see if you have what it takes to become the city’s top dog.
Unlockable Content – Build your army of Warriors as you progress through the game by unlocking hidden gang members
Comic Book Visuals – The Warriors: Street Brawl has a unique visual style that captures the comic book-like nature of the tale filled with gritty, dangerous characters in haunting locations across Manhattan at night

UK violent video games can be sold to children due to legal loophole

Retailers who sell violent video games to children in the UK cannot be prosecuted because of a legal blunder 25 years ago.

The Video Recordings Act (VRA) was brought in by Margaret Thatcher's government and set down that video games must be classified and age rated by the British Board of Film Classification.

It made it illegal to sell violent video games to children.

Read full story on the BBC here...

Batman Arkham Asylum video game free online (with video card)

batman arkham asylumn videonVidia gives away Eidos blockbuster with selected graphics cards

nVidia is offering consumers a free downloadable version of Batman: Arkham Asylum with some of its newest graphics cards.



Consumers who purchase the GeForce GTX 260, GTX 275 or GTX 285 from participating online retailers will receive a coupon for the digital download of the PC edition of Eidos’ highly anticipated title.

This offer is only available from Amazon, NCIX.com, Newegg, TigerDirect and ZipZoomfly. Coupons will be valid between September 15, 2009 and December 31, 2009.

The graphics card firm has previously run similar deals, offering free digital downloads of games such as Eidos’ Hitman: Blood Money.

Source: MCVuk