The Kamael PC video game MMORPG hits the shops

Latest Version Of Lineage II Available To Purchase Across Europe
Tuesday 22nd January/... Brighton, England (January 22nd, 2008) – NCsoft® Europe today announces the retail launch of The Kamael, the latest addition to the hugely popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), Lineage® II: The Chaotic Throne.

The Kamael introduces for the first time an entirely new playable race, additional and evolving pets to train and fight alongside characters, fortresses to lay siege to and terrifying, high-level zones to conquer. This coupled with enhanced visuals and modified gameplay makes this update the largest in the game’s four-year history. Priced at £14.99 / €19.99, Lineage II: The Chaotic Throne - The Kamael will be available at retailers across Europe from the 1st February 2008.

Lineage II is revered as the premier player-versus-player (PvP) MMO and, since its launch in 2003, has enticed more than seventeen million players worldwide. Active subscribers to Lineage II automatically received The Kamael update in December 2007 and already the player feedback to the new race and game additions has been overwhelmingly positive, with active player figures increasing across Europe.

New players to Lineage II will be able to take advantage of over four years of game refinements, making The Kamael the most engaging version of Lineage II to be released. Top of The Kamael’s feature list is the aforementioned new playable race. With an affinity to dark magic, these single-winged warriors have finally been freed from their age-long exile. Through deadly and decisive combat skills, they aspire to attain their almighty ‘final form’ as a dual-winged demon.

Pivotal to Lineage II’s gameplay has always been the gargantuan castle sieges, where hundreds of players on either side lock swords in deadly PvP combat. The Kamael’s Fortress battles offer a more dynamic, smaller scaled version of these events; granting smaller clans the opportunity to conquer new territories, elevating their clans in the larger political and military background.

Lineage II veterans above level seventy will relish the addition of two new zones: the Isle of Prayer and Hellbound. Only the most formidable of Lineage II’s monsters inhabit these two new areas, providing a deadly new challenge for the brave or foolish.

Lineage II: The Chaotic Throne - The Kamael includes a 15 day time card in addition to the standard 30 days play; giving players a total of 45 days play time. Monthly subscription fee to the game is £8.99 / €12.99. To purchase the game or other Lineage II merchandise, go to the PlayNC store at: http://eu.plaync.com/eu/store/ .

Namco's Pole Position II is revved up for iPods

'Prepare to Qualify' as Namco Networks Unveils Pole Position: Remix Designed Exclusively for iPod

Namco's Pole Position II is revved up for iPods with video to celebrate 25 years as a top-selling racing classic

Namco Networks, the leading publisher and developer of mobile games and entertainment for mass-market casual gamers, today announced the worldwide release of Pole Position: Remix, now available for purchase and download from the iTunes Store (www.itunes.com) for play on iPod. Pole Position: Remix is based on Namco’s popular racing classic Pole Position II, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. The iPod title includes completely new game play, graphics, soundtracks and an entirely new course exclusive to the iPod. Pole Position: Remix is available from iTunes for $4.99 and can be played on the iPod nano with video, iPod classic and the fifth generation iPod.

In the game, players race to the finish line while avoiding explosive collisions with cars, billboards and other obstacles. Pole Position: Remix includes updated 3D versions of the four classic Pole Position II tracks and the brand new Misaki Point track available only on the iPod.

“Pole Position: Remix takes the classic game play of one of Namco’s most popular racing series and combines it with new themes, designs and more integrated game play,” said Scott Rubin, vice president of sales and marketing, Namco Networks. “The iPod Click Wheel is a perfect control pad for steering in a racing game and the device’s portability gives consumers access to this quality game experience anywhere, anytime.”

Each track in Pole Position: Remix can be played across four types of racing: practice, single race, grand prix and sudden death. Points are earned for the distance traveled and for passing enemy cars. If players race well they can unlock reversed or mirrored versions of the tracks and themes for tracks, cars and billboards, including those based on favorite Namco games such as PAC-MAN. Players can also choose to listen to their music library on their iPod while playing the game. Exclusive to the iPod, players can take advantage of Pole Position: Remix’s album art feature which randomly displays album art on roadside billboards from the player’s personal music collection. The feature will automatically display album art from the song that is currently playing as well as randomly pull album art from other songs in the player’s iPod.

Guitar Hero No1 best-selling video game of all time and makes a billion say Activision

Calendar Year North American Retail Sales for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Set New Industry Record

Activision, today announced that the Guitar Hero franchise has set an industry record, surpassing $1 billion in North American retail sales in just 26 months, according to The NPD Group.

Additionally, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was the No1 title in units and dollars for calendar year 2007, making it the No1 best-selling video game of all time in a single calendar year.

Since its initial release in fall 2005, the Guitar Hero franchise has sold in excess of 14 million units in North America alone, according to The NPD Group. In 10 weeks since the game's launch, consumers have already downloaded more than five million songs.

"Guitar Hero is one of the biggest brands and one of the most powerful distribution platforms in all of entertainment today," said Michael Griffith, President and Chief Executive Officer, Activision Publishing, Inc. "Guitar Hero's popularity with broad audiences is a confirmation that video games have become a true mass medium."

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products. Founded in 1979, Activision posted net revenues of $1.5 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007.

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's World Wide Web site, which is located at www.activision.com.

Nintendo Wii launch ADVENTURES OF LOLO 2 and SUPER STREET FIGHTER™ II: THE NEW CHALLENGERS on shopping channel

Let's take a quick personality test. Are you the type of person who likes to solve problems by analyzing clues, collecting information and methodically reaching your goal? Or are you more the type to thrust a double-footed kick into someone's face and follow it with a few body blows? Your answers to those questions should help you decide which popular game to choose this week.

Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are:

ADVENTURES OF LOLO 2 (NES, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): Lolo and Lala are back in this sequel to the popular puzzle game THE ADVENTURES OF LOLO. On their return from the Haunted Castle, the Great Devil kidnaps Lala and challenges Lolo to rescue her again. Now he must take on the challenge of the Great Devil's Tower and Castle mazes. Fortunately, Lala was able to analyze each of the mazes as she was taken to the tower and left clues in the Jewel Boxes in each room. Each Jewel that Lolo collects contains information that will help him in the next room. In order to succeed, he'll also have to push tiles, pick up Heart Framers, temporarily turn enemies into Eggs with his Magic Shots and ward off enemy attacks by moving Emerald Framers. With your help, Lolo and Lala will work together to escape the Great Devil's clutches and defeat him.

SUPER STREET FIGHTER II: THE NEW CHALLENGERS (Super NES, 1-2 players, Rated T for Teen - Violence, 800 Wii Points): When SUPER STREET FIGHTER II: THE NEW CHALLENGERS debuted, the fighting-game genre was forever changed. Along with a revolutionary combo system, the game introduced a new set of challengers to fight alongside the original Street Fighter II cast. In addition to the classic characters of Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Guile, Blanka, E. Honda, Zangief, Dhalsim, Balrog, Vega, Sagat and M. Bison, take control of four brand-new characters in exciting head-to-head fighting game play. Choose T. Hawk and his unmatched strength to crush your opponents, use Deejay's unrivaled kickboxing ability to defeat your opponents, unleash your inner dragon with the furious kung fu of Fei Long and drill your rivals with the deadly beauty of Cammy. Get ready for the Street Fighter tournament and the fight of your life.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

Quake4 HaptX Multiplayer Mod for the Novint Falcon

Reachin Technologies is pleased to announce that its Quake4 HaptX Multiplayer Mod for the Novint Falcon will be available to the public as of February 11th.

The HaptX Mod promises to raise adrenaline levels to new heights with intense online combat providing unique physical recoils and characteristics of all the weapons in the hands of the gamer. The player will also be able to feel the direction of enemy bullets and explosions, including the ability to physically feel the damage inflicted by the Gauntlet weapon for those up-close personal attacks.

The Novint Falcon has won numerous awards worldwide including IGN’s BEST OF E3: GEAR AWARD, and is an entirely new type of game controller. By replacing the mouse or joystick, the Falcon is, essentially, a small robot that lets the player physically experience the game through the sense of touch unlike any controller in history.

The HaptX Quake4 Mod will be available for free, but requires a valid Quake4 installation and a Novint Falcon. The HaptX Mod will be available for download through www.haptx.com and www.novint.com. Videos on HaptX enabled games are available at: http://www.haptx.com/games/index.aspx.

AVENCAST: Rise of the Mage Demo Competition Sponsored by SoundBlaster

Leading computer software publisher Lighthouse Interactive, game developer ClockStone Software, and Creative, a worldwide leader in digital entertainment products, are looking for the most famous adept among all AVENCAST demo players! Today they announced a player competition for their unique Action RPG game, AVENCAST: Rise of the Mage. The competition begins on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 and ends Tuesday, February 5, 2008 (inclusive). AVENCAST combines role-playing with a fluid combat system found in beat-em-up games, which is unique to the RPG genre. AVENCAST is Windows Vista compatible and is available at major retail stores across Canada, the US and Europe.

What is it about?

One of the features of AVENCAST is a player’s Fame Points. It is a score that evaluates a player’s battle skills as they try to avoid being hit and use their spells with maximum effect to gain lots of points. If players beat the game, their hero will appear in the game’s Hall of Fame. They can compare their scores to those of other characters. If they have their Fame Points Display activated while playing, players can permanently observe their current competence in gaining fame points.

Players will have the chance to win one of the following prizes:

How to participate:

1. Download the latest game demo at www.avencast.com.
2. Download the competition tool at www.avencast.com and save it on your computer.
3. Play the demo to the very end so you hero is found in the Hall of Fame.
4. Enter the competition by starting the competition tool, which submits your hero stats and contact details.

You could win one of the following SoundBlaster prizes:

1st Prize – 1 qty. Sound Blaster XtremeGamer sound card
2nd Prize – 1 qty. Sound Blaster XtremeGamer sound card
3rd Prize – 1 qty. Sound Blaster XtremeGamer sound card
4th Prize – 1 qty. Sound Blaster XtremeGamer sound card

Plus... 5 winners by random draw, each receiving a deck of Avencast branded cards

TOTAL WINNERS = 9

The 1st and 2nd prizes will be awarded to the top 2 players with the highest "fame scores." The 3rd and 4th prizes will be awarded by random draw among the Top 20 best players. The 5 winners of the Avencast decks of playing cards will be allocated by random draw among the Top 100 players.

To view the full contest details, visit www.avencast.com.

Infinity closed beta starts January 28th

Are you ready for a new adventure?

Next Monday January 28th GameTribe will launch the closed beta phase of its action game Infinity!

Enter the Arena with your Aterion warrior and fight against other players or side by side with your friends in the cooperative mode.

Limited access are available so run to GameTribe and register to get your chance to be one of the lucky beta tester: we’ll periodically activate new accounts.

We’ll send an email to all the lucky players that will be extracted!

The game main features are:
Fast paced action: fight alongside your guards to add to the combat mayhem and unlock powerful combos as you press on in the game!
Spectacular graphic: Infinity lets you feel the rage of battle and easily adapts to always give you the best point of view of the fight.
Chain combo system: use up to 42 skill combinations to destroy your enemy!
Be part of the action!

Infinity is waiting for you….

GameTribeTeam
www.gametribe.com
Time to Play!

NiK NaK launch with Dragonology and Wizardology development deal from Codemasters

NiK NaK, the new Guildford-based studio from Kuju Entertainment that specialises in the creation of games for young players, today announced that its first titles to be developed for Wii will be Dragonology and Wizardology for publisher Codemasters.

The action games are based on the 'Ology series of books from Templar Publishing, which have sold over 15 million copies worldwide. Dragonology explores the study and conservation of dragons, while Wizardology is a manual of spells and magical information, purported to be written by the legendary magician Merlin. The NiK NaK games will tap into children's insatiable appetite for all things magical and mythical.

Studio Head Kevin Holloway commented:
"We are delighted to be working with Codemasters on the Dragonology and Wizardology games for Wii. The readers of the Templar books are exactly the target audience that NiK NaK's games set out to entertain. In developing the games, we have designed ways that will make the Wii Remote an intuitive control device for the younger player, whilst allowing more experienced players the challenge of perfecting their performance."

Andrew Wensley, Executive Producer, Family Entertainment and Lifestyle Games, Codemasters, commented:
"NiK NaK shares our passion for extending the 'Ology series to gamers and creating a playing experience that reflects the immersive nature of the books. With such inspirational subject matter as a base, we're thoroughly excited to be bringing the magical worlds of the 'Ologies to life."

Dragonology will be the first title in the series and is expected to launch in the second half of 2008.

Sega Mario and Sonic race to the top of the UK video games chart

All formats

(Full price) Week ending 19 January 2008

1 MARIO & SONIC AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES SEGA
2 CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE ACTIVISION
3 THE SIMPSONS GAME ELECTRONIC ARTS
4 ASSASSIN'S CREED UBISOFT
5 FIFA 08 ELECTRONIC ARTS
6 SUPER MARIO GALAXY NINTENDO
7 GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK ACTIVISION
8 NEED FOR SPEED: PROSTREET ELECTRONIC ARTS
9 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. NINTENDO
10 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2008 KONAMI
11 WWE SMACKDOWN VS RAW 2008 THQ
12 LEGO STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA LUCASARTS
13 TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 08 ELECTRONIC ARTS
14 GHOST SQUAD SEGA
15 FOOTBALL MANAGER 2008 SEGA
16 MARIO PARTY 8 NINTENDO
17 ZACK & WIKI: QUEST FOR BARBAROS TREASURE CAPCOM
18 IMAGINE: BABIES UBISOFT
19 KANE & LYNCH: DEAD MEN EIDOS
20 MYSIMS ELECTRONIC ARTS

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings Official Website Opens

Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces that the official website for the eagerly awaited FINAL FANTASY XII: REVENANT WINGS™ is now open. Visitors can explore the site to learn more about the ongoing adventures of Vaan, Penelo, Balthier and Fran, access exclusive downloads and win special prizes. The site is located at ff12revenantwings.co.uk

Set one year after the events of the best-selling FINAL FANTASY XII, FINAL FANTASY XII: REVENANT WINGS answers all your questions about what happens next to your favourite heroes. Return to the land of Ivalice, meet new characters, visit unexplored locations and embark upon a breathtaking new adventure.

FINAL FANTASY XII: REVENANT WINGS sees the evolution of the innovative Gambit system that allows automated commands to be issued during real-time combat. Smart Touch Screen controls provide complete power over your actions and allow you to play solely using the Nintendo DS™ stylus.

FINAL FANTASY XII: REVENANT WINGS will be released on 15th February 2008, exclusively on the Nintendo DS handheld system.

About FINAL FANTASY XII: REVENANT WINGS

Story

AN AGE WHEN MAGICK WAS COMMONPLACE AND AIRSHIPS PLIED THE SKIES…

“Purvama, the floating lands. In the border-skies they wait. Untrodden, unknown.”

So the legend went. And the children who heard it turned their eyes to the skies, and dreamed. The Cache of Glabados is the key, throwing wide the doors of fading memory.
There, above, an all but forgotten land – demesne of the winged ones.

Features

• Experience a tale that takes you beyond the amazing events of the PlayStation®2 smash FINAL FANTASY XII
  
• Stunning 3D graphics, music and video bring the land of Ivalice to life and push the capabilities of the Nintendo DS
  
• Take control of your favourite characters using the intuitive stylus and Nintendo DS Touch Screen
  
• Experience real-time battles using the innovative Gambit system
  
• Collect and synthesise items and treasures to create new rare items
  
• More summons than in any other FINAL FANTASY game
  
• Epic soundtrack from the composer of FINAL FANTASY XII
  
• Fully localised for Europe with French, Italian, German and Spanish translations and adjusted difficulty levels