Challenge Me Maths Workout, a fun & challenging game to help you relax & improve your mind

Oxygen Games introduces the next in a new range of games designed to relax and stimulate your mind; Challenge Me: Maths Workout!
Challenge Me Maths
Relax, Play and improve your mind. Challenge Me: Maths Workout, with its extended gameplay and variety of features, gives you the chance to test yourself while having fun. Guaranteed to stimulate and surprise with hours of gameplay to keep you entertained, Challenge Me: Maths Workout is a relaxing and entertaining way to keep your mind challenged and stimulated.

Challenge Me: Maths Workout! Challenge Me: Maths Workout is the second game to be released in the Challenge Me series after Challenge Me: Brain Puzzles.

Incorporating two number puzzle games, Challenge Me: Maths Workout will not only bring you hours of fun and relaxation, it may also improve your Maths skills.

Hidden Logic! In hidden logic you must guess the value of your opponent’s cards whilst stopping them from guessing yours. Initially the cards are facedown on the Nintendo DS™ screen – a correct guess (from 1-11) will reveal the card. Play to reveal all of your opponents cards before they reveal yours!

Formulate! Formulate! is a numbers game that uses equations and cards to formulate answers. Each card, numbered 1-9 is also associated with a mathematical symbol such as +, - , x or ÷. You must move the cards around the screen to create a correct formula. Formulate! is a great way to sharpen up your arithmetic skills while relaxing at home or battling the hordes on the tube or bus!

Challenge Me: Maths Workout – Relax, Play and Improve Your Mind!

Free Flash Game Heileen - A Trip To Bavaria

A Trip To Bavaria, developed by Tycoon Games, is a historical-fiction visual novel game with multiple endings.

"This is my first experiment in Flash" said Riva Celso, programmer/designer of Tycoon Games, "But I really wanted to write a sort of flash prequel to my main downlodable game Heileen which was released in autumn 2008, to give the players a more detailed background of the main character of the story".

In A Trip To Bavaria we find Heileen on a short trip to a small unknown village near Munich, as a gift from her uncle Otto for her 16th birthday. The webgame features beautiful manga graphics, has 3 different endings and is absolutely free to play.

Please visit the page: http://www.tycoongames.eu/webgames/ to play the webgame.

Note: The latest version of Flash player (10) is required.

Prince of Persia Epilogue Downloadable Content for consoles February 26

Ubisoft have revealed new details about Prince of Persia Epilogue Downloadable Content (DLC). Scheduled to release for consoles February 26, 2009, Prince of Persia DLC continues the story of the Prince and Elika with a brand-new epic adventure.
Game features include:

- New Region: The Underground Palace – A corrupted underground palace from which the Prince and Elika need to escape in a new epic journey.

- New Power: Energize – Reconstruct destroyed areas of the environment to create a path and rush through it before it vanishes.

- New high pace: The new trap challenge – The Prince and Elika will face more cunning foes, cleverer traps and level design, adding more to the difficulty level in over 3 hours of gameplay.

- New Attack: Sprinting Clash – A duel move that lets you or the enemy trigger a sprint attack, charging towards each other, clashing your weapons fiercely.

- New Unlockable Skins: Finish the game and unlock exclusively, from the early development of the game, the Prototype characters of the Prince and Elika.

Play as Top Gun in Air Bandits PC video game

Climb into the cockpit of a vintage fighter plane and dogfight against the enemy in Air Bandits 1.0, a new spectacular and highly enjoyable shoot'em up arcade for Microsoft Windows.

Insofta Games announces Air Bandits 1.0, a new incredibly spectacular and highly enjoyable shoot'em up arcade for Windows PC. The game has been inspired by Sopwith, the legendary side-scrolling 2D arcade from the 1980s that involved piloting a biplane to destroy various ground targets.

In Air Bandits, you play as a pilot of a vintage fighter plane who must soar over the unfriendly territory, bomb the ground targets and take down enemy aircrafts, while avoiding their fire. The level is won when you destroy all targets displayed as red spots on the mini-map. Advancing through 26 increasingly challenging levels, you encounter many different types of ground targets, including fuel supplies, explosives, tanks, anti-aircraft guns and pillboxes. This all keeps the game fresh and exciting to play.

At the start of Air Bandits, you go through the beginner levels that serve as a fun way to learn the game. With every new level, you're presented with new challenges, requiring you to show your skills in aerobatics and warfare. The game will challenge you to fly under the bridges to kill targets hidden below, discover shortcuts to enemy fortifications, maneuver through the fire and explosion debris, and engage in hot duels with air bandits. These planes may pose a serious threat, but will also reward you with more points if you take them down.

To help you survive, there are some rescue tricks that work to your advantage. You can, for example, upgrade your health and get more ammo if you take down Zeppelins. Another lifesaving feature is destructible terrain, which allows you to dig tunnels in the ground. When there's a high rock on your way and you want to save your time, you can blast at it from the machine gun and drill a tunnel for your plane to fly through.

Unlike the twenty-something-old Sopwith, Air Bandits has been given a 21st century boost and shines with pleasant artwork and stunning animation. Special effects for fire, explosions and smoke are rendered aesthetically well and definitely add to the game play. Air Bandits features physics-based destruction. If you shoot at a ground target, it explodes, throwing the chunks of metal and ground all over the place almost realistically.

Designed with a casual gamer in mind, Air Bandits is all about having fun rather than worrying about which key on the keyboard to press. You can use only the mouse to control the aircraft: fly the plane in the desired direction, make loops, accelerate speed, drop bombs and attack enemy aircrafts.

With its fast paced action, cool tricks, stunning visual effects, and hours of replayability, Air Bandits 1.0 offers an absolutely yummy cocktail for the casual gamers of all ages.

Have fun as top gun in Air Bandits!

Pricing & Availability

Air Bandits 1.0 runs on Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP/2003/Vista. A demo version is available. Downloading the demo gives the player an opportunity to experience 60 minutes of the unique, fun action of Air Bandits 1.0 before buying the full version. The full version available for $19.95, offers the unlocked gameplay, 16 new levels set in 4 different locations, and 6 new enemy types.

SBK Superbike World Championship Screenshots Show the Thrill of Racing

Throw on your helmet and racing gear, and get ready to jump into some amazing racing action, as today we have a new batch of screenshots from “SBK Superbike World Championship” the upcoming racing game from Conspiracy Entertainment. “SBK Superbike World Championship” is set for a Q1 2009 release on PC, PSP and next-generation consoles, and will drop players onto real-world tracks and superbikes from the sport's world championship tour. In the game, players can choose from a fully-detailed simulation mode, or enjoy quick races in arcade mode. Either way, the game is sure to please fans of high-speed racing!




In development by the Milestone, makers of renowned motorcycle racing titles, “SBK Superbike World Championship” offers something for both arcade and simulation-focused players. SBK's fast-paced arcade mode allows casual players to jump straight in and challenge the WSBK official teams and riders in a range of weather conditions and on some of the most famous tracks around the world - including Phillip Island (Australia), Monza (Italy), Silverstone (UK) and for the first time in the series, Miller Motorsports Park (Salt Lake City, USA). Players may also jump online to enjoy eight-player races on all the game's professional circuits and tracks.

For the true motorsports enthusiast, the SBK official videogame offers unparalleled realism in the modeling and the handling of the bikes. Players will be able to tune and set up their bike in a myriad of ways, including suspension, gearing, tires and braking. All these tuning settings will need to be optimized as the player progresses through each race event and as the conditions change from race-to-race throughout the championship series.

BattleForge Open Beta PC games released

Phenomic, an Electronic Arts studio, today announced that the real-time strategy (RTS) BattleForge will ship in North America and Europe on March 24 for PC. Prior to launch, players can get into the BattleForge Open Beta by registering at www.BattleForgeCardHunt.com. Worldwide, pre-order customers will receive four exclusive units, one from each faction: Fire, Frost, Nature and Shadow.
These units will feature exclusive card artwork and in-game animation. They will also be leveled-up, giving player’s a head start as they prepare for battle online. For more details on pre-ordering BattleForge, please visit www.battleforge.com.

Developed in Ingelheim, Germany, BattleForge is an epic RTS fantasy game that combines the pace of RTS gameplay with the customization of trading cards in an online environment where friends can play together. BattleForge pioneers strategy gaming with its online multiplayer design and robust community features.

In BattleForge, players use virtual trading cards to build the perfect army and lay waste to their foes. The cards are the tools of war each representing a spell, building or unit that is conjured directly onto the battlefield. This interface enables players to customize and combine factions, and play with a unique army of their own design. With no base building and production queues, BattleForge players are instantly immersed into fast-paced RTS action.

BattleForge features single-player and cooperative scenarios, as well as, Player vs. Player (PvP) ranked duels. Co-op battles are played in teams of two or four, or players can hurl themselves into epic 12 player battles for the greatest rewards. In these scenarios, players must work cooperatively to fulfill the mission and earn rewards. With co-op play, guilds, chat rooms, and a robust marketplace featuring direct trade, an auction hall, and in-game mail, BattleForge is the first RTS to combine the social and community aspects of an MMO with an exciting RTS.

Featuring action-packed co-op and PvP, the ability to build your own army, and robust community features, BattleForge offers unique RTS gameplay that is easy to learn but still prepared to handle expert players.

Developed at Phenomic Studio, BattleForge has been rated T for Teen by the ESRB and 12+ for PEGI. For more information about the BattleForge, visit www.BattleForge.com.

Legacy of Ys - Books I & II for Nintendo DS with soundtracks

It look oh-so-Ys-ee publishers Atlus announced that Legacy of Ys - Books I & II for Nintendo DS will ship two weeks later than originally scheduled, now slated to bump into retail stores on February 24, 2009.

This was of course immediately accepted because this delay would allow for each and every launch copy of the game to magically transform into a premium boxed release, with the soundtrack CD-formerly intended as a pre-order bonus-to physically be included with each and every copy of the game's first print run.

This unexpected upgrade signals the return of Atlus Spoils, a fan appreciation campaign intended to give a little extra something to the company's faithful followers as a thank you for their continued support. The program is planned to remain active indefinitely during 2009, meaning fans can expect additional bonuses and extras in future Atlus releases throughout the year.

"While we're never eager to announce delays for our products," began Tim Pivnicny, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Atlus, "we are incredibly excited to be able to upgrade the final release of Legacy of Ys to a premium boxed package. The soundtrack CD, once a bonus for pre-orders, is now going to be offered to everyone who picks up a copy from the game's limited first print run."

One of the most heralded action RPG franchises of all time, Legacy of Ys: Books I & II delivers the first two epic adventures of the famed saga on one cartridge, presented with a series of never-before-seen enhancements. Now, the finished North American launch will be available in a special boxed release, with a soundtrack CD featuring the game's famed score included with each and every copy of the game's first print run.

Legacy of Ys: Books I & II is now scheduled for release on February 24, 2009, with an MSRP of $34.99.

About Legacy of Ys: Books I & II
Stories tell of a land of yore, now shrouded by centuries of time forgotten, called Ys. Despite its great knowledge, endless wealth, and bountiful prosperity, a sudden and unexpected cataclysm devastated the realm. Soon, its memory had faded completely from the minds of man.

Centuries later, a young adventurer named Adol set sail to explore the world and leave his mark on history. During his travels, he learned of the tragic tale of Esteria, a once prosperous island now inexplicably engulfed by a crippling storm. Adol plotted a course for the besieged isle, curious to unravel the mystery...

Key Features

• Two Legendary RPGs on One Cartridge! - Experience two all time classics that helped shape the action RPG genre... Now on a portable system!
• Upgraded Ys Experience - Behold remastered 3D graphics, a remixed musical score, and new enemies and equipment to discover. Touch control and local wireless multiplayer for up to four people deepen the adventure, while difficulty levels and dual control schemes tailor the experience to the gamer.
• The Definitive Story - Available to North American audiences for the first time, this ultimate translation delivers the most substantial version of the famous Ys story ever made!

Legacy of Ys: Books I & II has been rated "T" for Teen with Alcohol and Tobacco Reference, Animated Blood, Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, and Partial Nudity by the ESRB.

Pranksterz - From Russia with Love PC game

In a new installment of the Pranksterz franchise, the player takes on the role of a Russian agent, working undercover in the United States. His main task is to piss off potential spy thus stopping his activity...

The concept of the game is similar to previous episodes; however, visuals and graphics have been greatly improved. Pranks have become more sophisticated and the enemy is much more artful.

Game Features:

• 13 episodes of pranks filled with fun
  
• Stylish 3D graphics with cartoonish characters
  
• Convenient interface and easy to use controls
  
• Captivating soundtrack
  
• Feel like you’re in the shoes of a Russian spy
  

Another explosive World to discover in Big Bang Mini!

ABYSS: The final world has you playing underwater.

Not only do you have to avoid shooting the red mines in the Abyss World, but you will have to keep picking up air bubbles to keep yourself from drowning at the same time.

Drag yourself over the air bubbles to keep your air supply up during each level. If you find that there are too many enemy bullets on screen, just use the Lasso to get rid of them.

Aim carefully, as hitting the mines will cause instant death. Try using the Homing Missiles until the amount of enemy fire becomes manageable with the Lasso. Slow pace and precision shooting will be necessary when mines are on screen.

The Lasso doesn’t need to recharge, so use it as much as you can in each level. World Upgrade: Lasso: The Lasso will cause all the enemy fire inside it to disappear. To create it, just draw a complete circle on the touch screen. Be aware, the enemy fire will take a second to disappear completely. The Lasso can be created anywhere on-screen, even with your ship on the inside.

SFX360 & Game Wars Host a Halo 3 & Gears of War 2 Tournament at Community Vibes IV

SFX360, along with GameWars, present an epic doubleheader tournament filled with plenty of fragging action as Battle Rifles and Lancers collide. The dual main event features a Halo 3 2v2 Tournament and a Gears of War 2 2v2 Tournament. The action takes place on Saturday, February 21st at Club Ecco in Miami, Florida during Gamertag Radio's "Community Vibes IV."

Both tournaments are FREE to enter, and will feature plenty of prizes for the top three teams. Prizes include gaming headsets from Tritton Technologies. Also there a wide variety of prizes from Mindzeye Studios, Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA), and Microsoft, as well as other random prizes.

Registration for both tournaments begin at 3:00 with the action beginning at 5:00 sharp so form your teams right now. By the way, both tournaments are FREE to enter. Before the events begin you can practice your skills on one of 32 screens. If your Halo 3 skills are not up to par, then take part in a special Halo 3 Clinic presented by South Florida MLG Pros, The Florida Jackalopes.

WHAT: Halo 3 and Gears of War 2 2v2 Tournaments

WHEN: Saturday, February 21, 2009

WHERE: Club Ecco: 168 SE 1st St. Unit 1A, Miami, FL 33131

WHO: SFX-360.COM, WWW.MYSPACE.COM/MYGAMEWARS, and you

COST: None, it's FREE!!

SFX360 is an Xbox Community site with a goal of bringing gamers face to face. In the past year, we have grown from a small meetup group to a large online community. SFX360 holds a monthly LAN on the first Saturday of each month where gamers can come together at Flipper's Cinema in Hollywood, Florida. SFX360 also takes part in a weekly game night on Sunday nights where we play the latest games online with our members and the Xbox community.

SFX360 features a weekly podcast where we recap the past week's news, review and preview the latest games, and plenty of banter. Our shows are unique and different from other sites, because we are live and anything goes. The show is hosted by JVB and SFX Lady J. Our staff have a true passion for gaming and frequently appear on our podcasts. They include SFX Pallidian, SFX BuzzKiller, SFX BigAnt, Dephin, SFX Jav and GI Jane PMS. We've also had special guests including Mike Capps (President of Epic Games) and Carlos Feros (Dom Santiago, Gears of War 1 & 2).

Whether your a hardcore noob pwner or even a casual weekend warrior, SFX360 is about coming together as a community and sharing a passion of what we love. This is no hobby or any sort of newtime fad, gaming is here to stay! We at SFX360 are here for you to keep you informed of the latest info as well as keep you entertained. Our passion for gaming is just like yours so what are you waiting for? Stop gaming alone and screaming at your tele and join the new revolution!

Cafe Sudoku video game on N-Gage

Become a part of the Café Community with the highly addictive Café Sudoku from Digital Chocolate on N-Gage. With an infinite number of puzzles to crack across five different difficulty levels, the fun is endless in this brand new numerical brain-teaser!

Create a character, form a café and share Sudoku strategies with other players in the Community, then grab a quick game on the go. Café Sudoku is suitable for all skill levels. In-game hints and tips give players the chance to learn how to play the game on the move and develop their Sudoku skills to unlock items for both their café and character.

Vibrant animations bring the dynamic gameplay to life and make Sudoku more exciting than ever in the most social Sudoku game yet. Flex your mental muscle in the game that anyone can play anytime, anywhere.

Sudoku has never been this mobile!

Café Sudoku is now available on
http://www.n-gage.com

Nobunaga's Ambition - Iron Triangle PlayStation 2 video game out in US

Build a massive military force and conquer Feudal Japan in this latest addition to KOEI's historical simulation series

KOEI, recognized worldwide as the premier brand of strategy and action games, today announced that Nobunaga’s Ambition - Iron Triangle has shipped to North American retailers. The historical simulation game set during Japan’s Feudal era will be available in stores starting today. Consumers can order the game now at Amazon, GameStop and GameFly.

Nobunaga’s Ambition: Iron Triangle is produced by Kou Shibusawa, and is exclusive to the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system.

About Nobunaga’s Ambition: Iron Triangle

Compelled by a nation ravaged by war, it was legendary samurai Nobunaga Oda’s ambition to silence the cries of war and usher in a new era of lasting peace for Japan. In Nobunaga’s Ambition: Iron Triangle, video gamers can step into the role of Feudal Japan’s most powerful warlords and turn this magnificent vision of unification into a reality.

In this latest edition of the series, the acquisition of knowledge and a firm grasp of technology are even more crucial to establishing the groundwork for the future of the country. Embrace technology, govern wisely and shrewdly, and prepare a near-invincible military force for war on land and at sea. Only with the mastery of these three elements, the “Iron Triangle,” will the nation be united under one sword and will Nobunaga’s dream be realized.

The game itself is a stunning vision of Feudal Japan, with over 60 castles and 30 port towns. All of the game’s planning, diplomacy, construction, and warfare take place on an expansive 3D map; a first for the series. You’ll also maintain complete camera control to monitor the development of each region or town, and to monitor the field and naval battles that you command; all in real-time.

With over 1,000 daimyo and sub-officers, and a character creation tool, you will encounter a broad array of historical figures, and can even populate the game world with your own unique cast of characters.

Beginning with Nobunaga’s victory at Owari province through to his untimely death in 1582, conquer a combined total of nine historical and fictional scenarios in three modes of play.

Nobunaga’s Ambition: Iron Triangle is developed by KOEI Co., Ltd. and is for one player. This game is rated “E10+” (Everyone 10 and older – Alcohol Reference, Mild Violence) by the ESRB.

Guitar Hero - Metallica a Fact Sheet

“Ride the Lightning” with musical icons Metallica and over 20 other rocking acts in an all new Guitar Hero experience - Guitar Hero Metallica. Enter the world of Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo and experience the intensity and skill of one of the greatest bands of all time.
Shred on guitar, rip on drums and wail on the mic to a set list featuring over 45 explosive hits from Metallica’s illustrious career and a wide variety of other legendary artists personally selected by the band, such as Alice In Chains, Foo Fighters and Queen. Fans will be able to rock as Metallica while performing in venues reminiscent of the band’s epic album covers, themes from their music and real world locales.

FEATURES:

Becoming the Band – For the first time ever, Guitar Hero Metallica will allow fans to come together and thrash as the explosive, world-renown metal and rock band, Metallica, whose album sales have exceeded 100 million worldwide. Transform into metal legends Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo as full body scans and signature moves motion capture allow players to virtually experience the high intensity of a Metallica performance.

Live Like Metal Legends – Follow the path of the metal legends in either single instrument or band career game modes playing as the band to a soundtrack of their greatest hits while also rocking with over 20 additional artists selected by the band. Featuring in-the-round stage designs and custom camera angles new to Guitar Hero, further highlighted by custom lightshows, special effects and encores, gamers and Metallica fans alike can fulfill their rock ‘n’ roll fantasies in a variety of new and famous settings, ranging from Tushino Airfield to The Forum. All venues reflect Metallica’s most memorable tours including themes from their album artwork to offer the authentic Metallica atmosphere.

Drum Like Lars – In addition to using the redesigned, more responsive and advanced Guitar Hero World Tour guitar controller and microphone, Metallica fans will truly be able to pound like Lars on the drums with a second bass pedal compatible with the Guitar Hero World Tour drum kit controller. The all-new “Expert+” difficulty level gives gamers access to the double bass drum note track which offers the authentic Metallica experience with a note-for-note translation of many tracks appearing in-game and adds a new difficulty option to all gameplay modes.

Seek and Destroy – Immerse yourself in themed Battle Mode attacks, such as briefly blacking out your fellow rocker’s note track or modifying the amp overload to include the signature Metallica lightening.

Test Your Metal – After nailing a song, test your Metallica know-how by replaying the song with trivia pop-ups. The on-screen displays give information about the song being played, and with guest artist songs, information about how the band is tied to Metallica will be displayed along with details such as band history and lyrics.

Off to Never Never Land – Guitar Hero Metallica is loaded with tons of bonuses throughout the game, such as unlockable venues, commentary, videos and behind the scenes footage, giving all Metallica fans exclusive content to enjoy.

All that Remains – Guitar Hero Metallica cranks all the great features, gameplay and fun of Guitar Hero World Tour to a new level with updates to the Music Studio featuring samples from James Hetfield’s ESP Truckster guitar and of Slayer fame, Tom Araya’s signature ESP bass guitar, GHTunesSM, and the Rock Star Creator. Online game modes allow competing gamers to see who tops the charts in Face-Off, Pro Face-Off, eight-player “Battle of the Bands” and Battle Mode as well as the online Quickplay mode that allows up to four gamers to shred together regardless of physical location.

Publisher: Activision Publishing/RedOctane
Developer: Neversoft (Xbox 360 and PS3)
Budcat Creations (PS2 and Wii)
Release Date: Spring 2009

X-Blades - More Spells and Beasts ...

More Action from X-Blades, the fast-paced action adventure game, featuring a blend of cinematic style and beautiful anime-inspired characters, combat and environments

Light Blades: The power of Light is just as strong as other powers. Perhaps more so? I can actually use the Power of Light to envelope both my blades and guns and use it to inflict awesome damage! I can’t get over how beautiful it looks…or how deadly it is. (Requirements: Lightform)

Ray Of Light: Hmm…this is Ray of Light is actually very impressive. This spell consists of a ray of glittering light that is hurled against an opponent. It explodes upon impact, dealing out damage points galore. I’ve seen it do incredible amounts of damage to creatures of the dark. It will be interesting to what else it can do. (Requirements: Light Blades)

The Queen Spider: The Queen Spider is able to control her offspring. Covered in armor and gifted in the use of magic, she guards the upper floors of the castle. Apart from the spiders, which block the way to the Queen, small creatures that are invulnerable to magic attacks, to which the Queen is particularly vulnerable, surround her.

The Ancient Six-Winged: The oldest living Six-winged has been hiding in cliffs, where his only friends were the little Pangos, which used to share their food with him. They protect him desperately during attacks, so you can only hurt the Ancient Six-winged after freezing the Pangos. He prefers to attack his opponents from a distance due to his extreme sensitivity to heat. He is, of course, vulnerable to light and Fire magic.

New trailer for Elite Forces - Unit 77 released

As part of the Super Bowl XLIII festivities, EA SPORTS and Xbox 360 will host the 15th annual Madden Bowl in Tampa, Florida. The only official Madden tournament featuring NFL players, Madden Bowl XV will include the league’s brightest stars as they compete to see who has the best skills on the virtual gridiron.
This year’s event will bring new meaning to the words “bragging rights” as players from each Super Bowl team – Willie Parker (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Edgerrin James (Arizona Cardinals) – will both be in the mix just days before they duke it out on the field.

The Madden Bowl is an annual event where eight current NFL Players will go head-to-head in Madden NFL 09 on Xbox 360 in a single elimination tournament. The winner is named as the 2008 champion and awarded the EA SPORTS Madden Bowl Cup.

In addition, for the first time ever in Madden Bowl history, two of the top projected quarterbacks in the upcoming NFL Draft – Mark Sanchez (USC) and Matt Stafford (University of Georgia) – will face off, one-on-one in Madden NFL 09, to determine who is the 8th, and final player, in the Madden Bowl XV tournament.

Madden fans at home will also get taste of the Madden Bowl XV action. During the evening Xbox 360 will offer fans the rare opportunity to play a game of Madden NFL 09 against one of the athletes in attendance as part of the latest Xbox LIVE online entertainment network Game with Fame session. For a chance to battle NFL All-Pro Linebacker Ray Lewis (Baltimore Ravens) on Xbox 360 direct from the Madden Bowl, send a friend request to the Xbox LIVE gamertag “RLewisGWF” between 8:00 – 9:00 PM EST.

Immediately following the Madden Bowl tournament will be the Madden Bowl XV Party celebrating 20 years of Madden NFL Football, featuring Joel Madden (of Good Charlotte) as DJ.

Madden Bowl Eight-Man Tournament Participants:

• Antonio Bryant – WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Edgerrin James – RB, Arizona Cardinals
• Maurice Jones-Drew – RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
• Willie Parker – RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Justin Tuck – DE, New York Giants
• DeMarcus Ware – LB, Dallas Cowboys
• Mark Sanchez – USC/Matthew Stafford – University of Georgia (Rookie play-in game)

Athletes in Attendance:
As part of the Super Bowl XLIII festivities, EA SPORTS and Xbox 360 will host the 15th annual Madden Bowl in Tampa, Florida. The only official Madden tournament featuring NFL players, Madden Bowl XV will include the league’s brightest stars as they compete to see who has the best skills on the virtual gridiron. This year’s event will bring new meaning to the words “bragging rights” as players from each Super Bowl team – Willie Parker (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Edgerrin James (Arizona Cardinals) – will both be in the mix just days before they duke it out on the field.

The Madden Bowl is an annual event where eight current NFL Players will go head-to-head in Madden NFL 09 on Xbox 360 in a single elimination tournament. The winner is named as the 2008 champion and awarded the EA SPORTS Madden Bowl Cup.

In addition, for the first time ever in Madden Bowl history, two of the top projected quarterbacks in the upcoming NFL Draft – Mark Sanchez (USC) and Matt Stafford (University of Georgia) – will face off, one-on-one in Madden NFL 09, to determine who is the 8th, and final player, in the Madden Bowl XV tournament.

Madden fans at home will also get taste of the Madden Bowl XV action. During the evening Xbox 360 will offer fans the rare opportunity to play a game of Madden NFL 09 against one of the athletes in attendance as part of the latest Xbox LIVE online entertainment network Game with Fame session. For a chance to battle NFL All-Pro Linebacker Ray Lewis (Baltimore Ravens) on Xbox 360 direct from the Madden Bowl, send a friend request to the Xbox LIVE gamertag “RLewisGWF” between 8:00 – 9:00 PM EST.

Immediately following the Madden Bowl tournament will be the Madden Bowl XV Party celebrating 20 years of Madden NFL Football, featuring Joel Madden (of Good Charlotte) as DJ.

Madden Bowl Eight-Man Tournament Participants:

• Derrick Brooks – LB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Marshall Faulk – RB, St. Louis Rams & Indianapolis Colts (retired 2006)
• Antonio Gates – TE, San Diego Chargers
• Tony Gonzalez – TE, Kansas City Chiefs
• Steven Jackson – RB, St. Louis Rams
• Chad Johnson – WR, Cincinnati Bengals
• Darren McFadden – RB, Oakland Raiders
• *Willis McGahee – RB, Baltimore Ravens (*last year’s Madden Bowl winner)
• Terrell Owens – WR, Dallas Cowboys
• Reggie Wayne – WR, Indianapolis Colts
• Roddy White – WR, Atlanta Falcons
• Evan Longoria – 3B, Tampa Bay Rays

Additional guests in attendance will include athletes from the NFL, NBA and MLB, television and film celebrities and music recording artists. ESPN’s NFL analyst Trey Wingo will be the host of this year’s event.

WHEN: Thursday, January 29, 2008
7:00 PM – 2:00 AM

New trailer for Elite Forces - Unit 77 released

New trailer for Elite Forces: Unit 77 released by Gammick Entertainment

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Gammick released a new trailer for the game Elite Forces: Unit 77 presenting the action packed, squad-based game play of this title for Nintendo DS.

In Elite Forces: Unit 77 a series of mysterious disappearances of high profile personalities from the worlds of science, industry and entertainment reveal a horrific global terrorist threat. With the clock running and the lives of the hostages and millions of others in danger, the international community’s last hope lies with an extremely covert and highly specialized military team: Unit 77. Made up four professionals who are the best in the world at what they do, Unit 77 must combine skills to stop massive world destruction by the hands of terrorists.

Elite Forces: Unit 77 for Nintendo DS is a game of action and strategy in which the player must strategically use the abilities of all four members of Unit 77 and they are: Bill "The Drill" Matic technology specialist and legendary hacker; Kendra Chase, ex-government black-ops agent and the most accurate sniper on Earth; TK Richter, jet pilot and explosives expert, and Dag Hammer, a hulking heavy artillery soldier capable of incredible physical feats.

The group must infiltrate the bases where terrorists hold the famous hostages, each base set up in one of the most treacherous and remote places on Earth. Unit 77 must battle their way through inhospitable jungles, scorching deserts and endure harsh and deadly arctic conditions as they fight to rescue the hostages and defeat the terrorists.

The countdown has begun, and it’s time for the few and the brave. Will you become a ter-rorist’s victim or do you have what it takes to be on the team of Elite Forces?

The game is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2009.

Street Fighter IV Arcade Machine UK Tour

Play Street Fighter IV And Win Exclusive Merchandise

Capcom, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of videogames, can today announce a whirlwind Street Fighter IV tour of locations up and down the UK, allowing gamers a chance to sample the greatest fighting game of all time in its original form ahead of the console release, and potentially win some exclusive Street Fighter IV merchandise.

Starting in Edinburgh, the machines will sweep down into England crushing all other games that fall before them. The tour is expected to continue beyond release, with further dates to be added, but the current dates and locations are as follows –

29th January – 1st of February
Edinburgh’s Gamestation on Princes Street (EH2 4AH)

5th February – 8th February
Sheffield’s Gamestation in Meadowhall Shopping Centre (S9 1ER)

19th February – 22nd February
London’s HMV in Oxford St

26th February – 1st March
Birmingham’s Gamestation on New St (B2 4NS)

5th March – 8th March
Hull’s Gamestation in Prospect Centre (HU2 8PW)

Street Fighter IV is set for release on February 20th on PS3 and Xbox 360.

First Ghostbusters developers diaries - Origin and the making of part 1

It Begins

So he looks across the conference table over his impressive beard at us. Pauses. Then he says, “It’s Ghostbusters. We’re going to make a Ghostbusters game. The first really good one.”

And the other one, who for the first time since we met has paused talking for almost two consecutive minutes, adds this: “And we think you’re the right guys do it. You up for it?”

Nobody says anything for a long time. They think that after all the buildup and mystery maybe we’re disappointed, that maybe we’re trying to assess the fastest way of out of the room. But that’s not the case. The fact is that Brendan is sitting in stunned silence and I’m just trying to keep from swallowing my tongue. Mark Randel (Terminal Reality President & Chief Technologist) is taking it better: he’s just near-catatonic.

It was January 2006. We arrived at the publisher forty minutes ago, one of a few stops on a tour to show off our Infernal Engine next-gen technology demo and an original game IP we’d been developing (‘the publisher’ at this time being Vivendi, before Atari took over the title in 2008: look up ‘Activision Blizzard merger’ on Wikipedia for more info). In addition to cutting-edge lighting, materials, and rendering, the tech demo depicted squad gameplay action, heavy emphasis on chaotic environmental destruction, and extremely realistic physical interaction.

It was the massive destruction is what really got their attention. Seriously: fiery explosions & debris will get your foot in any door.

Vivendi Executive Producers John Melchior (tall, quietly fast-talking, awesome), and Pete Wanat (beard & soda also awesome) introduced themselves and let us know immediately that they were the two most hated men at this publisher. John O’Keefe (Terminal Studio Director) asked if maybe there was someone else there we could talk to.
They watched our demo politely, exchanged mysterious raised eyebrows, asked a few pointed questions, and then left for a private discussion in the hall.

When they came back they seemed to have agreed on something. They told us they’d been working on developing a movie license IP. Brendan Goss (Terminal Reality Executive Producer) shot a look my way: Uh-oh. Here we go again. But this was a really big one, they continued: a really great one. And it wasn’t tied to an upcoming theater release in less than twelve months.

Then they dropped the G-bomb.

There it was, out in the open. Ghostbusters. Maybe one of the greatest movies made. Definitely one of the funniest. We were getting a crack at it. To say we were thrilled is a lazy understatement. Pleasantly electrified is closer to the truth. It wasn’t until later, after the shock wore off some, when we realized the depth of the responsibility we had staked ourselves to when we finally stammered, “Y-yes! Of course we’ll do it!”

Stars Align

The Ghostbusters game finally happened as the result of a fairly rarefied confluence of elements, a sort of Hollywood fairy tale.

Sony Pictures Consumer Products (Mark Caplan & Keith Hargrove) knew that the time was ripe for a Ghostbusters revival, and wanted to wrap it around a centerpiece game. Sony felt that game technology had finally arrived and were looking for a developer with the right mix of passion and skills to do the project correctly. First, Sony knew they needed to do two things: 1. Make sure all IP holders—which includes the director, three of the original Ghostbusters stars, and Sony Pictures itself—would be totally on board; and 2. Find a publisher that could make the game happen with as much of the original talent involved, as possible (i.e. the Ghostbusters).

Across town at the publisher, John and Pete had been talking about doing a GB game for quite a while, and had started talking to the owners of the property. They were also trying to sell their own upper management on the concept. Some reluctance is certainly understandable. The reason we jumped at the chance was the same reason the finance people were shy: a major movie-license game that’s not actually attached to a theatrical release can be a tough sell. There’s no built-in multi-million-dollar studio-financed marketing campaign. With a high-profile title, securing the license can be very expensive, especially when that license is one of the highest-grossing and most beloved films of all times (market research by Vivendi revealed that the enduring ‘no-ghost’ logo ranks just behind Coca-Cola and the Nike Swoosh stripe in order of worldwide recognition). Securing the talent can be both cost-prohibitive, if not impossible to do: Murray, Aykroyd, Ramis, and Reitman haven’t worked as a group for years, and each has his own successful career to manage.

In the meantime, Dan Aykroyd had been trying to get a Ghostbusters film sequel off the ground for years, but was having a hard time reassembling the cast and generating studio interest. He had decided that a CG-animated movie would be the best way to go, since the GB III script called for a daunting budget if shot practically. A few voice-acting sessions would require a much smaller time commitment from the cast. And the now almost-sixty-year old principals wouldn’t have to strap those brutally heavy proton packs back on and run through NYC streets. So, from his perspective, moving to a game format for a true sequel wasn’t too big a leap for him.

The three sides found one other and liked what each was bringing to the table. They worked on pulling the rest of the group back together. And the snowball starts to roll. We jumped on as soon as we could.

UFO - Afterlight PC patch 1.7. released

1C Publishing EU, ALTAR Games and IDEA Games are pleased to announce the latest improvement to squad based strategy game UFO: Afterlight. Over two years from the original release of the PC game UFO: Afterlight, the developer’s continue to support their dedicated fan community with game updates and gameplay optimizations. Amongst other things, the UFO: Afterlight 1.7 update includes an application which allows the user to change the game’s language. You can download the patch from
http://www.ufo-afterlight.com/pages/support.html#patch_1.7

The UFO: Afterlight 1.7 update includes the following:
This patch supports the following language versions: English, French, German, Russian, Spanish, Hungarian, Czech, Polish, Italian & Chinese.
This patch adds an application called Localization Pack Manager which can be used to change the game's language.
It is recommended to start a new game when upgrading from v1.5 or any earlier version of UFO:AL.

CHANGES IN VERSION 1.7.
Fixed:
Add-on duplication bug.
Expedition Commander and Expedition Soldier mix up in research item names.
Drones no longer get paralyzed by Beastman paralyzing ammunition.
It is no longer possible to get additional characters to join your team by allowing a drone to get killed during a mission.
It is now possible to fix the "corrupted ground textures" problem by disabling bump mapping for ground models in the "Graphics" option menu (thanks to Stucuk and Lord Storm).

New/changed features:
Removed some shader restrictions to allow the game to run on a wider variety of graphics cards.
The game now displays a dialog box when an enemy attacks your home base.
It is now possible to change the item mode for all selected units at once.
Enemies use different fire modes based on the distance to their targets.
The game will now use different quick save files for tactical and strategic modes.
The game no longer generates capture missions on enemy main bases.

Modding related changes:
Third armor add-on slot is now visible when using mods that enable it

New sports brand with BAFTA award-nominated Football Tycoon

BAFTA award-winning developer spies new silverware at the 2009 Independent Games Festival Mobile awards

Award-winning mobile game developer Dynamo Games has today announced plans to launch a new line of sports titles under the 'Dynamo Sports' banner, premiering with the launch of mobile game Football Tycoon. The forthcoming title is also the only Java game short-listed for a 2009 Independent Games Festival (IGF) Mobile Award for best technical achievement. Winners are to be announced at the Games Developer Conference 2009 (GDC) in San Francisco, March 23-27.

Dynamo Games are hosting a stand at the IGF mobile area and are also inviting attendees to meet with the developer at GDC. Interested parties should contact Managing Director Brian McNicoll directly via the company's website: www.dynamogames.com

Available early Summer 2009, Football Tycoon follows a similar format as the popular Rollercoaster Tycoon series, while adding a unique twist to the standard football game genre. Moving away from traditional management simulator gameplay, players step into the shoes of a wealthy business owner and live out their dream of running a football club. From hiring managers, controlling finances, developing your stadium and orchestrating intense media campaigns, the game gives players an unprecedented degree of freedom.

The title boasts two expansive single player modes; The rags to riches 'Grass Roots', which tasks players with taking a small team to the top of the Tycoon Owner Rich List within 30 years and 'Scenario Mode', which allows owners to tackle a variety of challenges, such as taking over a small club and pulling them out of administration.

How gamers achieve these goals is entirely up to them. Will you give some of your hard-earned cash back to the local community or save the spoils to fund your fight to the Premiership and elite European competitions? The shift away from traditional management simulator gameplay, an unmatched wealth of player options and a rich, detailed visual style makes for a winning hat-trick.

Brian McNicoll said: "That Football Tycoon has already been short-listed for an industry award is testament to the creativity of our team and their ability to consistently produce fun, innovative titles for the thriving mobile market."

"We will also be creating versions for Baseball, American Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey, Golf, F1, NASCAR, Cricket & tennis. We are also looking to take the series to different handheld platforms such as BREW, iPhone, Android, Nintendo DS and as such, we are on the lookout for potential distribution partners to take these games to market."

Football Tycoon will be released early summer 2009.