Lord of the Rings games leave EA - variety say

Electronic Arts won't be publishing any more Lord of the Rings games, according to a Variety report.

The licensing deal expired at the end of last year and hasn't been renewed. Which means LOTR rights pass back to Warner Bros., and by extension, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

"Based on logic and what some sources have told me, expect Warner Bros. to start producing Lord of the Rings games itself soon," wrote the Variety reporter. That could mean tie-ins for the Hobbit movies due on 2011 and 2012, for example.

EA still owns the Harry Potter game licence, and will make the tie-in for the final film - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - which is set to release in 2011.

Check this earlier gamezplay.org post...

Source: EuroGamer

Sony pull 300 Killzone 2 ads after complaints their war themes that look "like Iraq"

The first complaint about the campaign, placed on bus shelters around Toronto, Canada, was from Grade 4/5 teacher Davis Mirza, who emailed Sony Canada.

"My kids, who come from a lot of different countries, who have to experience violence, who basically come here to seek shelter and safety, that's the stuff they don't need to see," said Mirza, noting the game's iconic "menacing head with glowing eyes".

He also said the images of war-torn Helghan look "like Iraq".

"I don't think that when you're in Scarborough, where we're having to deal on a constant basis with violence, that does anything to help promote any kind of community renewal or even responsibility," he added.

Read full post here on CandVGames...

Bioshock 2 may be PlayStation 3 exclusive report magazine

The last time there was much uncertainty or Bioshock 2 now whether or not the PS3 would be. Several sources claimed that Microsoft is a money bag to 2K games had been subject to Bioshock 2 exclusive to the Xbox 360 market.

From today, we can be sure that Bioshock 2 just to the PlayStation 3 is. The page was in the official PlayStation magazine. Very striking are the words PS3 exclusive, most likely a mistake, but there have been crazier things happen in this world.

Read full post with magazine front here...

Runes of Magic Rise of the Demon Lord PC video game cinematic trailer

The new Cinematic Trailer, featuring the launch of Runes of Magic March 19th 2009!

Frogster today released a new cinematic trailer for its highly anticipated free-to-play MMORPG Runes of Magic. The spectacular cinematic trailer shows a group of Taborea adventurers challenging the Demon Lord, the powerful fiend of the first chapter ‘Rise of the Demon Lord’ which begins on the day of launch. The appearance of the Demon Lord in the trailer, demonstrates some of the powerful abilities which he will use against players who dare to enter his realm.

Average White Band, Earth Wind & Fire and James Brown music on Rock Band

Harmonix and MTV Games announced today it will add the “Get the Funk Out 01” 3-pack, which features music from Average White Band, Earth, Wind & Fire and James Brown, to the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content. Next week’s lineup also includes music from a variety of rock artists such as Against Me!, The New Pornographers and Papa Roach.

Next week’s 3-pack features some of the best funk songs released in the 1970s. “The Godfather of Soul” James Brown makes his Rock Band debut with “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine - Pt 1.,” which was first released in 1970 as part one of a two-part single. The Grammy-award winning artists that make up Earth, Wind & Fire also make an appearance in the Rock Band Music Store for the first time with the popular single “Shining Star” featured on That’s the Way of the World (1975). Scottish funk group Average White Band rounds out the funk pack with the release of the title track “Pick Up the Pieces” from its 1974 album. All three tracks can be purchased together as a pack or individually.

Against Me! returns to the Rock Band Music Store next week with the release of their punk track “Thrash Unreal” from New Wave (2007). The band made its Rock Band debut in October 2008 with the hit track “Stop!”

Indie rockers The New Pornographers release two tracks to the Rock Band Music Store next week including “All the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth” from the band’s 2007 album Challengers and “Use It” featured on Twin Cinema (2005). The New Pornographers’ track “Electric Version” was featured on the original Rock Band soundtrack.

In addition, alternative-metal band Papa Roach will give Rock Band fans access to two new tracks. “Last Resort” from Infest (2000) and new single “Lifeline,” which is featured on their upcoming album Metamorphosis (March 24, 2009), will be available in the Rock Band Music Store next week. The band’s hit “Time Is Running Out” was released to the Rock Band music catalog in July 2008.

Release Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2009 (Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360)
Thursday, March 19, 2009 (PlayStation Store)

** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change **

Tracks:
Average White Band “Pick Up the Pieces”
Earth Wind & Fire “Shining Star”
James Brown “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine - Pt 1”
Against Me! “Thrash Unreal”
The New Pornographers “All the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth”
The New Pornographers “Use It”
Papa Roach “Last Resort”
Papa Roach “Lifeline”

(All tracks are original master recordings)

Price: $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track
$5.49 (440 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) “Get the Funk Out 01” pack

Locations: Xbox LIVE Marketplace for the Xbox 360
PlayStation Network

Tekken 6 - new character Christie, Jin, Dragunov, Hwoarang revealed

Name: Christie Monteiro
Fighting style: Capoeira
Nationality: Brazilian

Christie was unable to win The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. She was struggling to discover a way to save her grandfather when Eddy, who had been by her side, suddenly vanished. She searched everywhere but was unable to find him. Ultimately, she was left with no choice but to return to Brazil alone.



Christie continued her search for Eddy upon returning to Brazil, when surprisingly her grandfather also disappeared from the hospital. The hospital said that Christie's grandfather had been sent to the Mishima Zaibatsu for treatment. Christie figured that Eddy acted against the Mishima Zaibatsu in same manner, but in that case she should have gotten some communication from him. She could not help but feel that there must be something sinister regarding Eddy's disappearance. When The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 was announced, Christie headed for Japan to get in contact with the Mishima Zaibatsu and to find out where Eddy and her grandfather had gone.

Name: Devil Jin
Fighting Style: Unknown
Nationality: None
Under the control of the devil gene, Jin Kazama's power rivals that of a demon.

Name: Dragunov
Fighting Style: Commando Sambo
Nationality: Russian
Age: 26
Sergei Dragunov had received orders from the Russian military command to capture the organism known as the 'Devil.' He successfully infiltrated The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, but was unable to locate the organism.

Russia was in complete disorder due to numerous internal conflicts and civil disturbances, all believed to be caused by the covert actions of Mishima Zaibatsu operatives. In order to suppress national unrest, Dragunov was fighting across the country. He was then called back by top Russian military command and ordered to infiltrate The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 to crush the Mishima Zaibatsu. Thus, Dragunov embarked once again for Japan.

Name: Hwoarang
Fighting style: Tae Kwon Do
Nationality: Korea
Hwoarang succeeded in defeating Jin in The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. However, the next instant, the defeated Jin let out an inhuman roar and Hwoarang was thrown through the air by violent winds. Sprouting black wings, Jin stood before him ....looking just like a devil. Extremely outmatched, Hwoarang was prepared for death as he lost consciousness. When he awoke, he was in a hospital bed. After hearing about what happened from Baek Doo San, who had stayed at his bedside, Hwoarang pushed away the nurse and quickly rushed to his teacher, begging for more power.

After leaving the hospital, Hwoarang trained with more vigor than ever before. Intent on defeating his former rival, he left for The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6.

King
Fighting Style: Pro Wrestling
Nationality: Mexico
In The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, King faced Marduk in a grueling battle. A friendship formed between the two after the fight. Upon returning from the ring, Marduk was ambushed by someone dressed as Armor King. King was furious and vowed to find the culprit, but was unsuccessful.

After that, the world was engulfed in war, and King had all but given up looking for Marduk's attacker when he received an invitation from Marduk to join him in The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6. If they both participated in the Tournament, perhaps the Armor King imposter would show up again. With that slight hope, King decided to join the tournament.

Craig Marduk
Fighting Style: Vale Tudo
Nationality: Australia
Craig Marduk fought against King once again during The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. Although he lost, he had a friendly handshake with King after the match. Returning to his room, the lights suddenly went out, and Marduk was attacked by an unknown assailant. The lights came back on after some time, and the Marduk saw the culprit. It appeared to be Armor King, who Marduk had previously .

The world fell engulfed in war when, suddenly, The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 was announced. Marduk reasoned that if he entered the tournament perhaps the unknown assailant would show up again. Along with his new ally King, Marduk entered the tournament to find his attacker.

Name: Nina Williams
Fighting Style: Assassination Arts
Nationality: Ireland
After defeating her sister Anna, Nina Williams was without an immediate goal to pursue. Jin Kazama, who had become the leader of the Mishima Zaibatsu, recruited her as a member of his special forces. Nina was not picky about her clients. She engaged in covert demolition operations around the world as part of the Tekken Force.

As the world was engulfed in war and the conflict between the Mishima Zaibatsu and the G Corporation heated up, the Zaibatsu announced The King of Iron Fist Tournament 6. Nina decided to enter the Tournament in order to those who pose a threat to Jin Kazama.

Publisher: NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe SAS
Developer: Namco Bandai Games Inc.
Release Date: Q4, 2009
Platform: PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Genre: Fighting Action
Player: 1 – 2 Players
Rating: TBC

Resident Evil 5 - takes over LOVEFiLM website this weekend

LOVEFiLM.com, the UK's largest online DVD & games rental service and entertainment website has teamed with Capcom for the first time to celebrate the release of Resident Evil 5.

Capcom's LOVEFiLM branded gamespage takeover starts today and will last until Sunday 15th, with a LOVEFiLM homepage beginning Saturday 14th until Monday 16th. Visitors to the site can learn all about the game and the franchise and are able to add titles including the successful spin off film versions to rental / purchase lists.

News of the latest title in the Resident Evil franchise will also reach 100,000 customers through LOVEFiLM branded rental envelopes distributed from today.

www.lovefilm.com/browse/console_games.html

Mushroom Men - The Spore Wars video game on Nintendo Wii

An ichorous green meteor plummets through Earth's atmosphere, fracturing and showering the earth with glowing green space dust that affects all forms of life nearby. Some plant life - like mushrooms and cacti -acquire sentience. At the same time, the green glow twists and mutates other life forms like spiders and roaches, transforming them into semi-intelligent, warlike communities.

WII BOSS BATTLES

When I came onto revising the boss fights in Mushroom Men, we had some basic mechanics in place but they needed a lot of iteration to make them truly interesting. We didn’t exactly have a lot of time, so I looked back on some of the fun boss moments I’d experienced in the past. I’m a huge retro-game fanatic, with a big collection of old systems, so I spent an afternoon or two with some of my favorite old games to find out what made those bosses fun.

Bosses as Mechanic Reinforcement
Several of the bosses and mini-bosses were included to reinforce a specific mechanic, such as the Telekinesis-Throw (whereby Pax uses his Telekinesis ability on an object and tosses it back at the enemy). Players had the option to use this ability during the game to get the upper hand on an opponent, or could let Player 2 perform this to help them out in the midst of battle. But it was never enforced, as we didn’t want to force the player to use them. However, with bosses we had a chance to make a puzzle and to encourage the player to use those mechanics. Several of the bosses require this Telekinesis-Throw attack to dispatch. One of the mini-bosses actually acts as a tutorial for the Spore Punisher maneuver, flying out the player’s reach until they can successfully execute it.

Boss as Action/Puzzle
Some of the bosses had to be stand-alone encounters, and that allowed us to borrow a trope from the Zelda series: the boss as an action/puzzle exercise. In some of these encounters, the player wasn’t strong enough to hurt the boss directly, or couldn’t get at them, and had to use environment components and specific game mechanics to take them out. This framed the whole boss fights as puzzles to be solved, not simply a skill exercise (although there is some of that, surely!).

Bosses as the Level
In the Parking Lot, the player will face not one but FIVE bosses to deal with. The entire area is centered on these encounters, and I’m willing to wager it will be one of the most well-received experiences of the game. I won’t spoil it, but each of the bosses will use their environment in interesting and unique ways closely tied to them.

Mushroom Men – The Spore Wars and Mushroom Men – Rise of the Fungi will be available across Europe in March, 2009.

TITLE: Mushroom Men – The Spore Wars
PLATFORM: Nintendo Wii
TITLE: Mushroom Men – Rise of the Fungi
PLATFORM: Nintendo DS
DEVELOPER: Red Fly Studio
GENRE: Action Adventure
RELEASE DATE: March, 2009

Hysteria Hospital Emergency Ward video game - PC Demo

Oxygen Games offer up a taste of the excitement to come with a demo of the first Hospital of this frantic game – Test your nerves and see if you’ve got what it takes……

Do you like a challenge? Can you handle the pace of this frantic, fast paced action-packed game? You have a whole Emergency Ward in your hands – can you cope with the responsibility? This demo showing the addictive and fun game coming soon on Wii, Nintendo DS and PC, gives you a taste of the fun to come!

You’ll need to give the demo your full attention while you move patients around, control the nurses and take your patients through triage by dragging objects around, making sure no-one is missed out while frantically playing against the clock!

It’s your job to keep the patients happy and well – are you sure you’re up to the job?

Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward is set for release on Wii™, Nintendo DS™ and PC in May 2009.

Trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Nintendo DS and Wii are trademarks of Nintendo.

Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward
Release: May 2009
Genre: Time management
Formats: Nintendo DS, Nintendo Wii and PC
Pegi: 7+
Developer: GameInvest
RRP Nintendo DS - £24.99, Wii - £29.99, PC - £19.99

CID the Dummy video game the enemies unveiled

With every story you have your heroes and also your fair share of enemies that like to get in the heroes’ way! Well, just in case you were wondering, this story is no different!

These enemies are tough, and each one has different weaknesses so you’d better know which are which!

Copter Cam: Small but frustrating enemies that are fast, but not very strong. Close range attacks are advised.

Guard Dog: Guard Dogs aren’t very fast but are persistent and always hungry! A smack on the snout should do the trick!

Security Guard: It is safest to attack Security Guards with the bazooka as they are strong and quick like a professional boxer!

Radioactive Abominion: These poisonous creations can do a lot of damage at close range, so fire from distance and keep out of EYE’s reach.
Workman Dumper: Strong, fast but not very smart, Workmen should be taken out with Rubber Bullets.

Soldier Dummy: Perfect middle of the road ‘fighters’ – hit from long range if possible!

Fish Dummy: NO FISHING! These vicious creatures should be avoided like Piranhas. Outswim them if you can…

Cursed Dummy: Very cunning foe, these like to play hide and seek and sneak up on you with their lethal knife.

Failed Experiment: Failed experiments are radioactive, so will try and touch you to inflict their nastiness.

About CID The Dummy

A star is born and he's made to last. CID THE DUMMY makes his debut in Oxygen Games’ first multi-platform production. It's an all-new action platformer that is sure to grab you with its enjoyable, fun gameplay, featuring a totally original character with charisma and moves, different fighting styles with which to battle enemies from unarmed combat to weapons like the Bazooka that can freeze, hit and burn.

• Interact as only a crash impact dummy can. Climb walls, swing on ropes, burn obstacles, destroy exploding barrels, use lifters, bounce on springs and with a neat head butt destroy walls all in stunningly realized environments. Game environment interaction is the most important part of the gameplay.
• CID's world is swarming with a host of fearfully fun enemies like the Dumper, Cursed Dummy and the bizarre Failed Experiment.
• Apart from fighting enemies, the player will enjoy solving puzzles, avoiding traps and using acrobatic skills to get out of dangerous situations!

CID The Dummy will be released on Nintendo Wii, Playstation 2, PSP System, and PC.