Official Nintendo Wii backup disc left in repair console?

Word has been flying around the internet about a disc someone found in there Wii when it was returned after being repaired. The disc is supposedly used to backup data from the Wii and access the Bios.

So far all that has been released are images of the disc. And pictures of the supposed disc running on the Wii.

The actual disc ISO has yet to be released. Due to WiiDev keeping it to themselves for the time being.

Turok Patch Removes Controversial Team-Kill Feature on Microsoft XBox 360 and PlayStation 3

The controversial feature in the upcoming Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game Turok that rewards players for killing their teammates will be removed with a patch, says publisher Touchstone.

While Turok will ship with the "Grab Bag" achievement intact, the patch will be available online on February 5, the day the game hits store shelves.

The "Grab Bag" achievement was to reward players for killing "at least 1 creature, 1 enemy, 1 teammate, and yourself" in a single online match of the first-person shooter.

After the patch, the achievement will only require you to kill a creature, and enemy, and yourself -- not a teammate.
When the achievement list for the game was unveiled in November, would-be buyers were understandably upset that the developers were actually going to reward the sort of anti-social behavior that already plagues Xbox Live.

Computer And Video Games called it the "worst multiplayer achievement in the history of games."

After the controversy started up, the game's developers at Vancouver-based Propaganda Games said that they would look into releasing a patch after Turok launches "if it does become an issue."

Seems as if they decided instead to get right out in front of it. Since "Grab Bag" only affects the game's online mode, players will likely be forced to download the patch before they can play Turok online.

While the PlayStation 3 does not have a system-wide "Achievements" feature as does the Xbox 360, the PS3 version of Turok features the same list of rewards, called "accomplishments."

The PlayStation 3 patch will also add support for rumble controllers like the upcoming Dual Shock 3 and for 1080i television displays.

Source: WIRED

Nintendo Miis help Nintendo Wiis get back home

Police in Wales are hoping that 16 Miis found on a stolen Wii might be able to help them identify the console's rightful owners.
The man accused of stealing the Wii was arrested earlier this month, but police are no closer to discovering from whom the console was stolen.

Authorities are anxious to return the Wii, which they believe was probably a Christmas present.

To that end, they have released the unit's ID (7901 7431 3732 8898) as well as the names of several of the Miis (Seb, Pheebes, Nicks, Ellie and Evie) in the hopes that the rightful owners will come forward and be reunited with their purloined Wii.

Anyone with pertinent information about the identity of the Wii's owners is encouraged to contact the Kirklees CID.

From Wired

Smash Bros Update Masterpieces Virtual Console Demos on Nintendo Wii

Several memorable characters compete for brawl supremacy—that’s Super Smash Brothers Brawl in a nutshell.

But what about the past fights for each of those characters? What were they like?

It may sound impossible, but you can experience those battles in Brawl as well!

That’s right, for the first time ever, you can play trial versions of these games by the miracle of Virtual Console!

That’s what Masterpieces is! Here you can relive the greatest battles of the biggest star characters through demo versions of their games.

Here are some of the titles you can expect to see available in Brawl. Crazy, isn’t it?!

From: WiiNintendo

Nintendo to release a new Nintendo DS Lite available in Black and Blue to add to your Nintendo DS Lite collection

This cobalt blue and black Nintendo DS Lite will be available soon.

Following soon after the latest Nintendo DS colour changes.

No official release date for this stunning Nintendo DS Lite but the price should be $130.

Could be a great new addition to your Nintendo DS Lite collection

Live Nintendo Mario Kart DS matches on Korean TV show

The televised Guitar Hero match was just a glimpse into the diversity of video game shows I'm watching in Korea. (Yes, there are more than the Starcraft league.) Champ, a station that usually broadcasts cartoons like YuYu Hakusho, has a program called Run & Run Mario Kart DS. The half an hour long show interviews six young contestants and then shows them racing wirelessly. This is the first I’ve heard about a competitive Mario Kart league in Korea, but it’s clear some players are taking Mario Kart DS very seriously.

Run & Run Mario Kart DS is also an indicator of how popular the Nintendo DS is in Korea. The system has been around for barely a year and Mario Kart DS came out on April 5, 2007. In this relatively short amount of time the DS blossomed enough for a production company to green light a television show centered competitive Mario Kart racing.

More from: Siliconera

Multiplay team up with Packard Bell to bring iPower Games to i33

Multiplay, organisers of the largest UK gaming events, have announced that Packard Bell will be bringing the iPower games to their i33 gaming festival taking place 21st – 24th March in Newbury, UK.

The 2007 iPower games featured at Multiplay’s previous Easter event, i30 in April last year.

The tournament is based around the high-spec iPower range of PCs produced by Packard Bell specifically for gaming. The competition is split into two disciplines – Real Time Strategy and First Person Shooter. Teams will compete over multiple games of their chosen discipline.

The winning FPS team will join with the winning RTS team to make the UK team who will travel to Paris in the summer to represent Britain in the grand final.

“It’s exciting to see such an innovative tournament format returning for another year” said Craig Fletcher, Managing Director of Multiplay, “Packard Bell did a great job last year and we’re looking forward to working with them once again. There is no better platform to launch a tournament like this than at i33 – it’s the UK’s biggest LAN party and all eyes are on Newbury for that one weekend.”

There are qualifiers both online and at i33 itself, with qualifying online bringing the added benefit of free entry to i33 for the successful teams. It also provides a second chance to qualify - should a team be knocked out online, they can re-enter via the event qualifiers.

For those who want to come to play but cannot bring a PC, Multiplay and Packard Bell have teamed up to provide “Turn Up and Play” machines for the iPower games. TUP tickets allow gamers to turn up and use provided machines for their tournament matches, without having to bring their own.

With a whole host of other social activities and thousands of gamers in one place, i33 is set to break Multiplay’s own record for the largest UK LAN party.

To find out more about i33 and the Packard Bell iPower games 2008 go to http://i33.multiplay.co.uk/tournaments/ipower/

Multiplay launch new site in Amsterdam

Multiplay, Europe’s largest gameserver provider, have announced their expansion to mainland Europe is now completed by bringing online a second point of presence in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Multiplay have extended their own network to Amsterdam, providing a lag-free highway back to their London based data centre where most of their gameservers are based.

“It’s a giant step forward for us” said Steven Hartland, Technical Director “we’ve wanted a physical presence in Europe for some time now. Our new site is packed with top of the range hardware and a lightning fast network. We have had major ISPs from all over Europe wanting to peer with us, which has been very encouraging. The more providers we peer with, the more gamers we can offer our fantastic connection to.”

New customers can now choose their location – London or Amsterdam – and have their server activated immediately, thanks to the new “instant setup” feature of Multiplay’s service. Clanservers are automatically created and enabled, giving the consumer a much smoother experience.

“We have always had good relations with many clans across Europe”, said Craig Fletcher, Managing Director “but the connectivity issue has been the concern for many of our overseas customers. With our new site this will all be a thing of the past. Extending our current network to Amsterdam also means that gamers in the UK will have a greatly improved experience on European servers, and vice versa. This is especially true for those on our gaming broadband service.”

Multiplay also offer gaming broadband in the UK which effectively plugs gamers straight into their network. Multiplay DSL customers can expect some of the lowest ping times to both the UK and Amsterdam servers.

To find out more about Multiplay’s gameservers and their new sites, visit them at http://clanservers.multiplay.co.uk

Sci-Fi Lasers And Medieval Swords Clash In Thrilling Action And Adventure download

Hard To Be A God, the new role play game from Ascaron to be released in April, uniquely combines the science fiction and medieval fantasy genres with a mix of ‘hack & slash’ and RPG gameplay. Be prepared for horseback jousting and sword fighting in an ancient time, as a secret agent from the distant future.

How it all began…

The planets of Earth and Arkanar were once very similar, maintaining a peaceful and friendly existence for centuries. After a terrible war between the planets, the two became distant and secluded.

Earth prospered and grew, mastering advanced technologies. Arkanar became stagnated, barely evolving, remaining rooted in a medieval society; a planet of mystery. Intrigued by the situation of their former patriots the Empire decided to send in a secret agent from Earth…

Hard To Be A God

You are the secret agent; at your disposal is a vast array of weaponry and knowledge, from the medieval sword to the most technologically advanced laser cannon. Use your weapons wisely as you discover the secrets surrounding the mysterious planet of Arkanar, revealing why it has remained a medieval society for so long.

Try your luck at survival by visiting www.hardtobeagod.com to download the demo.

"Imperium Romanum": The Official Website launched!

Today, Kalypso Media Group is pleased to announce the launch of the official website of the upcoming strategy highlight “Imperium Romanum”.

March over to http://www.imperium-game.com or http://www.imperium-game.de to learn more about the city-building game, to see a variety of screenshots, the trailer of the game and to join the discussion forum.

Keep up to date in the future with downloads such as new ingame videos, interviews with the developers and, of course, comprehensive demo versions which will also be available on the site in the lead up to the release.

Take the future of an empire into your hands in "Imperium Romanum", as the game sees the player take the role of a governor of a Roman province and strive to build a well organised, prosperous and commanding settlement. Set in the time-honoured Roman Empire players will marvel at the incredible attention to detail, as they construct fortifications, build towers, gates and bridges, and pay for them with the new currency which has been implemented into the game for a challenging, enjoyable, and authentic quest to rule the World.

"Imperium Romanum" is already considered to be one of the top PC-strategy games of 2008 and will be published on the 22nd February at a price of £29,99 in the UK and for €39,99 in German speaking territories.

AliceServer Nominated for TIGA's 2007 "Best Technology" Category 8

AliceServer, Nice Tech's breakthrough, agent based technology is one of the three nominations in TIGA's - The Independent Game Developers Association - Annual 2007 Awards to be held in London on the 30th of January, 2008.

The nomination is in the new "Best Technology" category and reflects AliceServer's reputation as one of the leading MMO/Virtual World development platforms.

Currently being used to build Tronji: The Happy Land - the new children's online world for Ragdoll Worldwide - AliceServer offers significant commercial advantages for the production and operation of online worlds or simulations for large numbers of participants by transforming the development process and greatly simplifying the required operational infrastructure.

About Nice Tech Ltd

Nice Tech Ltd was formed in 2005 in Cambridge, England to design and develop Massively Multiplayer Online Games, providing the player with an experience that will ultimately rival reality. Nice Tech is incorporated in the UK with development and research facilities in Cambridge, England. Nice Tech develops technology designed to ultimately allow for hundreds of thousands of players in a persistent world and designs games that leverage that technology to provide an engaging and absorbing real-time entertainment experience over the Internet.

FlatOut: Head On - Brings Portable Destruction to Europe

Empire Interactive today confirmed the official release date for its eagerly awaited PSP title FlatOut: Head On. On 14th March 2008, European gamers will be the first to experience FlatOut: Head On’s hi-octane motorised anarchy exclusively for PSP.

FlatOut Head On features eight cars per race, has up to 4000 destructible objects per track and runs at a smooth 30fps. The game is built around one of the most technically accomplished physics engines in the racing genre producing the most exhilarating racing PSP title to date - get ready for head on destruction that will literally leave you, the track and your car in pieces.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Ranks No1 Title in Units Worldwide for Calendar 2007

Activision, announced today that Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was the No1 title in units worldwide for calendar 2007, according to The NPD Group, Chart Track and The GFK Group. Developed by Infinity Ward, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has sold in excess of seven million units worldwide since its launch in November.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has garnered critical acclaim, securing more than 18 perfect score reviews and over 40 combined Editors' Choice and Game of the Year awards in the U.S. alone. The game has been nominated for 10 prestigious Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences awards, including Game of the Year. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare also currently is the No1 Xbox 360 title on Xbox Live, based on unique users, according to www.majornelson.com.

"We're very excited about this achievement especially given so many competitive titles this year," said Will Kassoy, senior vice president, global brand management, Activision Publishing, Inc. "Consumer and critics agree that Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is one of the best games ever created and further establishes Call of Duty as one of the premier brands in the industry. This ground-breaking game and franchise continue to establish new standards by which all other action games will be judged."

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.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Activision generally uses words such as "outlook," "will," "could," "would," "might," "remains," "to be," "plans," "believes", "may", "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimate," future," "plan," "positioned," "potential," "project," "remain," "scheduled," "set to," "subject to," "upcoming" and similar expressions to help identify forward-looking statements.

Factors that could cause Activision's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales of Activision's titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Activision's ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms (including next-generation hardware), declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Activision's products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, vendors and third-party developers, international economic and political conditions, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities the timing and successful completion of the combination of Vivendi Games with Activision, the combined companies' success in executing planned strategies and achieving assumed synergies and cost savings, and foreign exchange rate changes. 

Other such factors include additional risk factors identified in Activision's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision as of the date of this release, and Activision assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. 

These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and may cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations.

Penumbra: Black Plague GM, Mac & Linux in the works

We know we might be a little late with this, but the final build of Penumbra: Black Plague was sent of to Paradox Interactive at the beginning of January 2008. All things done, we are very happy with how the game turned out!

Since then the Mac & Linux versions has been in the works, with the Windows version due on the 12th of February we are hoping to have the ports ready shortly (by shortly we mean 1-2 months) thereafter. We are pleased to able to continue releasing our games for all three computer platforms.


Penumbra: Black Plague Website
On a related note our Penumbra: Black Plague website is now live and gives a short presentation of the game, purchase information as well as links to the demo. Or rather links to the demo when the demo is available, which should not be too long now.

The website should be of particular interest to Linux & Mac users as it is here they will find out when the ports of Penumbra: Black Plague are ready.

http://www.penumbrablackplague.com/site/

Media is always welcome to contact us directly through our site, we have review copies, art, screen shots and other goodies to help you help us.

http://www.frictionalgames.com/contact/

Hudson Entertainment Brings Bomberman Land games Series to Mobile and cellphone Phones

Hudson Entertainment, the North American publishing arm for Hudson Soft, announced today the release of Bomberman Land: Battles, which will be available for all major BREW and Java mobile phones. An award-winning series on gaming consoles, Bomberman Land: Battles follows the million-unit-selling mobile game Super Bomberman.

Fresh off his hit console game, Bomberman is back on mobile phones, in Bomberman Land: Battles, with an all-new adventure mode featuring 32 huge maps that have branching paths. With a gameplay style similar to other games in the Bomberman series, players will begin the game with a basic Bomberman, but will upgrade their character as they make their way through themed levels. Once each level is cleared, the player can pick one of three different paths. Paths should be chosen carefully, as each of the 15 unique power-ups is found in a specific path. Use those power-ups wisely to win each of the five enormous boss fights. Once each boss is defeated, they are unlocked as opponents in VS. Mode, in which players fight against other Bombermen in classic Bomberman battles!

“The Bomberman franchise remains one of Hudson’s best-selling and most-recognized properties,” said John Greiner, President and CEO of Hudson Entertainment. “By bringing the Bomberman Land series to mobile phones, we are continuing to expand the fan base of this adventure-oriented series while also introducing some of the franchise’s longtime console supporters to the mobile game market.”

In addition to Bomberman Land Battles, gamers can look forward to Bomberman Land for Nintendo Wii™ and Sony PSP® (PlayStation® Portable), and Bomberman Land Touch 2 for the Nintendo DS™ shipping on January 29, 2008.

For more information on Hudson Entertainment or Bomberman Land Battles please visit

www.hudsonentertainment.com.

Dejobaan Games Releases the Wonderful End of the World

Dejobaan Games, LLC has released its 12th title, The Wonderful End of the World, for Windows desktop PCs.

You can't save the whole world. It's going to be eaten by a mythological demon with the head of a fish. But as a puppet that absorbs all it touches, you can try to rescue as much of Earth's greatness as you can before the end arrives. The Wonderful End of the World is a new game for Windows PC available for $19.95 at www.dejobaan.com/wonderful.

In the beginning, you roam the Earth, capable of absorbing only the tiniest of objects. A glass marble you collect becomes your head, and a pair of jellybeans becomes your hands. Small creatures overwhelm you, with rats kicking you around and golden retrievers threatening to stomp you to pieces. But with every object you collect, your puppet self grows larger. Eventually, you'll become a towering behemoth with fire engines for arms and the ability to absorb entire buildings.

The Wonderful End of the World takes you through 12 unique locations, with over a thousand treasures to gather before the end comes. Steal some sweets from the candy store, where gummi fish swim in a blueberry river; visit a surrealist library to find that the words have literally leapt out of their books; and explore the Megalopolis, where you'll watch a lively end-of-the-world parade and then gobble it up before making your way to grab the tallest skyscraper ever built.

Availability and system requirements: The Wonderful End of the World is available as a demo and for purchase online at www.dejobaan.com/wonderful. The game requires Windows 2K, XP or Vista; a 1.5GHz processor; 1GB system memory; a 3D card with 128MB video memory; and Microsoft DirectX 9.0c or higher.

Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed video game

Among the hallmarks of the Destroy All Humans franchise are weapons and Crypto’s mental powers. If you’ve played either (or both) of the previous games, you know the weapons in the games are exotic, over the top, and often just plain hilarious. And the second game offers a good number of weapons the first one didn’t. So when it came time for our team to begin designing Big Willy Unleashed, we wanted a whole new way to play the game and still remain true to the franchise.

What better way to do that than to offer even newer weapons.

Time-Tested Fundamentals

The first two games (taking place in the 50s and 60s respectively) have shown that when it comes to destroying all humans while simultaneously harvesting their DNA, it’s always the “right tool for the right job.” Even in the modern era of ‘70s, the flying saucer’s Death Ray is just about the best thing around to rain down pain and terror from above, just like it did in prior decades. The Sonic Boom is still the weapon of choice to send enemy tanks a message of “greetings from outer space.” And nothing still says “take me to your leader” like the Quantum Decontructor, the ultimate weapon for any Furon invasion for turning a thriving metropolis into a smoldering redevelopment zone.

But wait, that’s not all!

For Cryptosporidium-137 (affectionately know as Crypto), his Zap-O-Matic delivers gig-a-volts of tooth-rattling electro-shock goodness as it did in the first two games. His Ion Detonator continues to pack a plasmatic wallop that’ll break up any family picnic. The Anal Probe, a recurring favorite, remains the best instrument for both harvesting a brain stem AND eliminating a pesky combatant – all with a single shot! And the Disintegrator still turns matter to a mere memory.

Mental Powers

So let’s start with our hero, Crypto. Even without weaponry, his mental powers give him a devastating advantage over any pathetic human. Psychokinesis allows him to turn a propane tank into a concussion bomb, or to toss a dump truck into an angry mob – more fun than Bowling for Dollars. Crypto’s mental powers also allow him to hypnotize a person to carry out a specific command or even transform inanimate objects into ammunition. You gotta love those Furon genetics!

And for not extra cost, Big Willy Unleashed gives your a whole new collection of ways to slice and dice your target more effective than a Ronco Food Processor.

New Toys For Crypto

Among what’s new for Crypto in this new installment are a few side-arms. The Ball Lightning Gun is a fire and forget electrically charged ball of, er, lightning… that hovers like St. Elmo’s Fire over carefree masses, automatically discharging on nearby targets until nothing is left of its victims except perhaps their shoe-laces and a strange ionized smoky odor.

The Zombie Gun (or as it’s known by its technical name, the Reanimatron) hurls projectiles of green goo at a target, which transforms a human target into a zombie – a simple concept really. But the best thing about zombies is that other enemies will attack your zombie, effectively making a zombie a decoy – the perfect means for distracting a bouncer as you sneak into the disco.

The final “boom” stick in Crypto’s toy box is the Shrink Ray, ideal for transforming a hulking ballistic missile launcher into matchbox-sized action figure. The shrink ray is only awarded when you reach a particularly impressive level on the carnage-o-scope, so don’t expect to wield this wonder weapon very early in the game.

Improvements to the Saucer’s Armaments

The saucer has one new weapon this time round - the Electro-Cone, which clears out enemies directly beneath the flying saucer with shocking results. This is the only saucer weapon that is capable of destroying all humans while leaving structures in tact! Now that’s value!

Big Willy, The New Kid On The Block

In front of every Big Willy’s fast food restaurant stands a cheery rosy-cheeked irresistible mascot named Big Willy. It’s no wonder there are over ten million humans served! But Big Willy has few secrets of his own, not the least of which is the fact that this oversized marketing icon is really a devastating war machine armed up the wazoo with Furon weaponry, capable of wreaking havoc in an up close and personal way! And who doesn’t love all those wazoo armaments!

Never mind the fact that a twenty foot tall rampaging kid will send even the bravest among us fleeing with fear into the hills. And forget that when Big Willy jumps, he lands with concussion-inducing thud that’ll give everyone nearby an Excedrin headache number 27.

Big Willy is armed with three implements of devastation. First, is the Heat Beam Eyes – similar to the saucer’s death ray, but this system can be aimed freely at unsuspecting targets while Big Willy careens through the streets of an otherwise quiet neighborhood.

Often, Big Willy finds himself surrounded by cranky skirmishers. But with one quick discharge from the Regurg-a-tron, that well-armed militia is reduced to a chunky smoldering puddle that even seagulls won’t touch.

To round out his arsenal, Big Willy can also be upgraded to activate the WindBreaker, an odoriferous explosive blast that’s emitted from the south end of a north facing Willy.

Even though Big Willy is indestructible and has the most advanced weaponry imaginable, alas his power system is still Earth technology and prone to run down. Fortunately, DNA can replenish Big Willy’s charge; so it’s a simple matter of grabbing a nearby human, and harvesting his or her DNA by popping the heads open like a Pez dispenser and consuming the brainstem.

System 3 Challenges PlayStation2

Friday 25th January/...System 3 has announced that its upcoming racing simulation, Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli, will be heading for the PlayStation®2 this spring. The announcement comes ahead of a special issue of Official PlayStation Magazine, which sees Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli taking pride of place with a special wrap-around cover and Ferrari-branded packaging framing a world-exclusive preview.

Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli is System 3’s labour of love – a re-creation of Ferrari’s own racing series, which sees both professional and amateur drivers taking to the world’s most famous race tracks in 430 Challenge race cars. Developed by racing game specialists Eutechnyx, Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli draws upon the developer’s years of experience with racing titles and includes a uniquely magical touch from GP2 driver Bruno Senna, nephew of F1 legend Ayrton and technical consultant on the game’s handling.

Previously announced for PLAYSTATION®3, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS, Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli on the PS2 will match the PS3 version in terms of game features. 50 expertly-modelled Ferraris are available, along with the full complement of Ferrari Challenge series tracks, exquisitely balanced handling, remarkably lifelike opponent AI and the most comprehensive custom vinyl editor yet seen in a PlayStation racing title. With online multiplayer for up to 8 racers and System 3’s innovative Card Challenge mini-game also included, Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli’s PS2 incarnation proves itself to be no poor relation to its bigger cousin and is in prime position to become the definitive racing experience for the platform.

In-depth analysis of the game’s features and development process can be found in issue 95 of Future Publishing’s Official Playstation 2 Magazine, which goes on sale on the 30th of January. Spanning six pages, the preview describes Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli as “a total dream come true for any Ferrari fan”, noting that the cars “handled beautifully”. Rounding off with a closing comment that “established PS2 racing games do face a real Ferrari challenge”, the enthusiasm and optimism of the feature is matched by that of System 3 CEO, Mark Cale.

“We want Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli to reach as many gamers as possible and the PS2 version is instrumental in achieving this”, remarks Cale. “Despite technical limitations, the team at Eutechnyx are doing an outstanding job in translating the exceptional features of the PS3 version to its predecessor, maintaining an excellent standard of visuals and keeping that incredible handling intact. We’re confident that Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli will set the standard by which other PlayStation 2 racing titles will be judged”.

Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli will be released for all formats in Spring 2008.

Shoot Halo's Master Chief Your Way And Win A Trip To Tinseltown With Xbox 360

Microsoft today announced the launch of a unique European competition looking for fans across the region to help create and show the unseen adventures of Master Chief. Whether its Master Chief’s “Meet the Parents”, a Spartan high school reunion, or even break dancing to MC Hammer, the “HALO: RECUT” contest is encouraging gamers and filmmakers alike to be as creative as possible, with the lucky winner scooping a once-in-a-lifetime master-class trip to Los Angeles.

Microsoft is looking for innovative movie makers to construct their own original video of Master Chief, which sees him taken away from the Halo universe and remixed into different scenarios. Whether created using a traditional video camera, gaming footage, old school animation or the latest video editing software, the point is just to be creative.

To enter the competition participants simply have to visit the following site www.xbox.com/en-GB/halorecut and upload their video from 31st January until 21st March 2008. The entries will then be judged by a panel of experts from the gaming industry to find the most creative concepts. One winner from each country will win themselves an Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and a copy of Halo 3. Terms and conditions apply, please visit www.xbox.com/en-GB/halorecut for details.

Each country’s winning video will then be put through to the European final which will be judged by the creators of the game, Bungie Studios. The overall European winner will win a trip to Los Angeles to study for one month at the New York Film Academy, where they will learn all they need to know about making movies. The prize includes return transatlantic flights, accommodation, car rental and $2,000 spending money.

Brian Jarrard, Bungie Studios added: “This competition is a great way to showcase the creativity and passion that drives the Halo fan community. We can’t wait to see how people infuse their own style and personality into Master Chief and deliver a whole new take on the Halo phenomenon. May the best Spartan win!”

For more information about the project please visit www.xbox.com/en-GB/halorecut

Ex-Naughty Dogs Form Steel Penny Games, Become WiiWare Dev

Steel Penny Games, an independent Austin, TX-based game developer, announced their acceptance into the Nintendo WiiWare developer stable, and is busy at work on an original IP title set to release in mid-2008. Steel Penny Games states that the upcoming title blends a challenging puzzle game with dramatic fantasy environments and appealing characters for an exceptionally satisfying experience. Other details about the upcoming product are not available at this time.

The company, organized in early 2007 by former Naughty Dog veterans Jason Hughes and Andrew Gilmour, joins the ranks of studios initially focused on digital distribution. Steel Penny Games president Jason Hughes described their strategy as "the modern equivalent of the garage method for an independent to gain a foothold in the industry-a unique opportunity WiiWare presents that we appreciate." At Naughty Dog, Hughes was a senior graphics tools engineer, and Gilmour was a senior background artist.

The team at Steel Penny Games have spent the past year building a proprietary engine geared toward the Wii platform's capabilities, and creating a new intellectual property to span a series of games. Hughes elaborated, "I am impressed with the egalitarian approach Nintendo has taken toward WiiWare developers. It allows the risk burden to shift back onto the creative developers."