Battlestations: Midway Marketplace levels release tomorrow

Tomorrow , the fast growing community of Xbox 360 Battlestations: Midway players will get the chance to engage in fresh new Pacific battles as two new historical battle maps and brand new vehicles become available on Xbox Live  Marketplace for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

The new battle maps will re-enact two epic battles from the Pacific war: The Battle of Sibuyan Sea and The Raid on Truk. Both maps and five new vehicles will be available to download from March 1st.

The Battle of the Sibuyan Sea provides a new multi player experience based on one of the major battles of the Leyte Gulf Campaign, the greatest naval warfare battle in history that effectively destroyed the Japanese fleet in October of 1944. Players command either the US Fleet featuring the USS Iowa and USS Enterprise or Japan’s finest fleet, Kurita, featuring the super battleships Yamato and the ill-fated Musashi.

The single player battle, The Raid on Truk, is based on Operation Hailstone, a massive naval air and surface attack launched by the United States Navy against the Japanese naval and air base at Truk. The devastating attack took place in mid-February 1944. Players command the US Fleet in a four phase battle starting with a P-38 air strike and leading to the command of the USS Enterprise and her screening force.

The new battles will also feature a new and unique set of air, sea, and undersea vehicles that will challenge the player’s skills and naval strategies:

P-38 Lightning
A fast, powerful and distinctive twin-engine interceptor and one of the most important American fighters of the Second World War. Its long range and twin engines made it well suited for duty in the Pacific.

Nakijima J1N1 Gekko
The first Japanese aircraft designed and built specifically to intercept and destroy other aircraft at night. It was deadly against Bombers and as a powerful kamikaze plane against ships.

USS Iowa (BB-61)
The lead battleship of its class. Nicknamed ”The Big Stick”, this famous flagship fought in numerous and significant battles in World War II and the Korean War.

IJN Shimakaze
The IJN Shimakaze (“Island Wind’) is considered to be the fastest and most powerful Destroyer of World War II and she was the only one of her class built.

Type A mini-sub
The Type A mini-sub was a two-man submarine. Difficult to detect, the Type A submarines were used during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and throughout the war.

Shadowrun feature preview

Shadowrun is an intense FPS experience that rewards cleverness and split-second improvisation through a unique combination of modern weapons, ancient magic and advanced technology.

Set in and around Santos Brazil in the year 2031 Shadowrun tells a story of struggle between two opposing forces. RNA Global is a megacorporation out to control a recently unearthed magical power. The Lineage is a 5000 year old secret society dedicated to defending that same power. Their conflict will change the course of magic in the region.

How do I win?
The game is played over a series of rounds and, during the first 30 seconds of each round, you will have the ability to buy additional weapons, magic and tech, spending the money that you earn during play. You earn money for winning rounds and for actions during gameplay, including killing opponents, carrying the artifact, and using certain abilities to help your team. Players on the losing team also earn some money between rounds.
The winning team is the first one to win six rounds. Each round is four minutes with the possibility of one minute overtime. How to win a round is determined by the gametype.

How many players does the game support?
16 people can play at one time. 8 vs 8.

What are the gametypes?
Shadowrun has three different gametypes. These are Raid, Extraction and Attrition.

Raid
The Raid gametype requires the attacking team to capture a magical artifact and deliver it to the extraction area. The defending team must stop the attackers from escaping with the artifact.
The artifact always starts in the same place and only the attackers can carry it. If it is dropped and not picked back up, it will eventually return to its initial location.
With one side on offense and the other on defense Raid is the more tactical of the gametypes, often feeling like a high speed chess match with magic and machine guns.
Extraction
In Extraction the artifact starts in the center of the map. Both teams can pick the artifact up. Each team wants to bring the artifact to a separate extraction area on the opposite side of the map from where they start.
Extraction is the more fast paced and frantic gametype. Both sides are after the same thing so combat happens faster and faster paced.
Attrition
Attrition is basically a game of team deathmatch, however there is no respawn. The only way to come back into a specific round is to be resurrected by a teammate.

How many weapons can I carry at the same time?
Two plus grenades.

What are the different weapons?
Pistol: Low power, relatively accurate, single shot per trigger pull. Your starting weapon and the weapon of last resort.
SMG: Decent power, moderate accuracy, fully automatic, better up close than at a distance. A good all-around weapon.
Rifle: High power, high accuracy, single shot, one level of zoom. A good long range weapon.
Shotgun: Damage varies from extreme up close to very low at distance, single shot. A strong close in weapon.
Katana: Melee only weapon, deals extreme damage to unaware enemies. Good for sneaky attacks from behind. When wielding the Katana you are in a third person view.
Minigun: Moderate power, good accuracy, fully automatic, must spin up before shots are fired. A good close to medium range weapon if you have time to spin up; can put out a huge number of bullets before having to reload.
Sniper Rifle: Extreme power, extreme accuracy, single shot, two levels of zoom, can only be fired while zoomed. Head shots deal extra damage.
Rocket Launcher: High area damage, moderate to low accuracy, fires a slow, wire-guided projectile. Can clear areas and kill multiple enemies at once, though it takes a steady hand and oftentimes some luck to use.
Grenades: Each player starts with two grenades per round. Grenades do high damage but are hard to aim. Unlike the other weapons grenades can be used while carrying another weapon in your main hand.

What are magic and tech?
Magic and tech give you the ability to do game-changing things and are usually the key to your team’s winning or losing. Magic and tech work against each other, however. You need Essence to cast magic and tech reduces the amount of Essence available. You can choose to rely exclusively on magic, only on tech, or can try to balance a little of both.

Note that neither magic nor tech can be used while carrying the magical artifact. Attempting to activate a tech or cast a spell will force you to drop the artifact. Any passive abilities granted by magic or tech also do not function while carrying the artifact.

What is Essence and how does it work?
Your Essence is the magical energy that you need to cast spells. You start with a full pool of Essence and every spell that you cast takes its cost from that pool. Over time, your Essence pool will regenerate, filling back up to its maximum. Your Essence is represented by a column of circles in the lower left of your screen.

However, having tech assigned for use will reduce the maximum size of this pool. Each tech has its own Essence penalty associated with it and assigning multiple techs will reduce your available essence by the total of these penalties. Tech penalties are shown at the top of the Essence bar.

Certain spells will also temporarily drain a portion of your Essence pool while they are in effect. This is called investment and the spells that have investment costs are detailed in the “What are the different magics?” section. Investments are shown at the bottom of the Essence bar.

What are the different magics?
Tree of Life: Creates a magical tree that heals anyone, friend or foe, that stands under it. The tree is a physical object and provides cover and some concealment, though it can be shot and destroyed. It can heal a limited amount of health, after which it is destroyed. Healing your teammates with a tree of life will earn you money.
Resurrect: When you cast Resurrect it brings back to life any dead within a short radius, tying them to you. This is a powerful ability and will cost you some essence as an investment if anyone is actually resurrected. You can resurrect multiple nearby players in a single cast and a single investment by moving over multiple bodies while casting. You will make a portion of any money that the resurrected player earns.
If the resurrected player dies, they will not leave a body and cannot be resurrected again and you will regain the invested essence. Destroying enemy bodies will prevent the enemy team from resurrecting dead teammates.
If you die, any players that you have resurrected will start losing health at a fairly rapid rate. In this state, they can be re-resurrected by another teammate and saved, but if they are not, they will likely die in short order.
Strangle: Creates magical crystals that damage and drain essence from players that run into them. The crystals also attract and trap players for a short while, though the individual crystal is destroyed by this. Each cast of Strangle costs you some essence as an investment. When all of the crystals from a particular cast are destroyed, you will regain the invested essence. The crystals are useful for blocking routes and slowing enemy passage.
Gust: Creates a strong gust of wind that will disrupt enemy aim and send them flying, potentially off of ledges and to their doom. Gust is useful in denying opponents access to an area and also damages players that are smoked (see “Smoke” below).
Smoke: When you activate Smoke, there is a short delay as you smoke, after which you are unable to be damaged by anything other than Gust. While active, Smoke drains your essence to maintain itself, and will shut off when you use it again or when you run out of essence.
While assigned, smoke renders you invisible to Enhanced Vision and prevents enemies from locking onto you with Smartlink. See “What are the different techs?” below for details on these techs. While assigned, Smoke reduces the rate at which you regain essence.
Teleport: Teleport moves you roughly eight meters in the direction that you are moving, regardless of what is in the way. You can jump up and teleport to move through ceilings or can crouch and teleport to move through floors. Teleport is extremely versatile and finding good teleport routes through the map will allow you to quickly cover large distances, escape from a bad situation, or surprise your enemy.
In order to teleport you must be moving or crouched. Teleport also will not work through thick rock.
Summon: Summons a minion to attack your enemies. If you cast summon while targeting an enemy player, the minion will hunt them down, otherwise it will defend the area around where you targeted.

What are the different techs?
Glider: Gilder allows you to glide long distances through the air and will prevent you from taking falling damage while active. You can activate Glider by using its assigned button or, when it is assigned, by hitting the A button while in the air. Glider combined with teleport will make you extremely maneuverable. A small electromagnetic generator causes some initial lift when glide is activated.
Enhanced Vision: When activated, Enhanced Vision sends out a sonar-like pulse that will let you see both enemies and friends through walls, combined with a distance indicator to each contact. If you are close enough to a player, you will see their silhouette; otherwise you will see an icon representing them. Enhanced Vision does not show players that have Smoke assigned.
Players on the receiving end of a vision pulse will feel a distinctive rumble and will see a visual effect, telling them that they’ve been spotted. Be aware that, if an enemy on the receiving end of a vision pulse has Enhanced Vision assigned, you (and only you) will automatically show up to them, just as if they had activated it.
Smartlink: While active, Smartlink confers a number of advantages, but also adds a laser sight that makes you more visible to opponents. Smartlink helps to make firing your weapons more accurate, adds an additional level of zoom to each ranged weapon, and adds smart targeting that prevents you from damaging your teammates. Once activated, Smartlink remains on until you use it again to deactivate it.
AntiMagic Generator: The AntiMagic Generator creates devices that, once thrown into the world, absorb all magic within their area of effect. This will destroy trees of life, minions, and strangle crystals as well as draining all essence from players within that area. When thrown, they will stick to almost anything that they hit and last for quite a while before running out of power. The devices can also be shot and destroyed. You start with four devices and will slowly regain them after using any of your initial four.
Wired Reflexes: While assigned, Wired Reflexes increases your movement speed, makes you jump higher, allows you to reload weapons faster, and gives you the ability to block some or all of most weapon attacks while you are wielding a katana, facing your attacker and not yourself attacking.
When activated, your movement speed increases even further, you jump even higher, and you reload weapons even faster, but activating Wired Reflexes costs you health, potentially even killing you.

What are Races?
You can play Shadowrun as one of four different races: human, elf, troll or dwarf. Each is different, with their own strengths and weaknesses. Teams that have a good balance of races tend to do better than teams that are missing one or two.

What are the different races?
Human: Humans are the balanced, jack-of-all-trades race. They are versatile and can fill a number of different roles. They:

• Start with bonus money, allowing them to get a jump start on the other races.
• Have the lowest essence penalties for using tech of any race.
• Have the third highest essence, after the Dwarf and the Elf.
• Have the second highest health, after the Troll.

Elf: Elves are well suited to hit and run tactics, getting in quickly, getting away, and living to fight some more. They:

• Slowly regenerate health over time if they are not being damaged. This ability is powered by the player’s essence while healing.
• Are the fastest race, though they are slowed more than the others by carrying heavy weapons.
• Have the second highest essence, after the Dwarf.
• Have the least health of all the races.

Troll: Trolls are the assault troops, large and slow moving, but hard to kill. They:

• Harden when hit, reducing the amount of damage that they take, but slowing their movement. If a troll is trading bullets with a non-troll, the non-troll is likely going to lose. Hardening takes essence and will wear off over time if the troll runs out of essence or stops being damaged.
• Are the slowest race, but are not slowed at all by carrying heavy weapons.
• Have the same essence as humans but pay a higher essence cost for tech.
• Have the most health of any race.

Dwarf: Dwarves are small and have the innate ability of absorbing essence from their surroundings, allowing them to bypass magical defenses and frustrate enemies by draining their essence. They:

• Absorb essence from magic in the environment, destroying trees of life, minions, and strangle crystals while replenishing their own essence.
• Absorb essence from players, though this ability works on enemies at a farther distance than on allies. To drain essence from an ally, you need to be standing almost on top of them.
• Have the most essence of any race, but it regenerates extremely slowly on its own. Absorbing essence will help to keep their essence bar full.
• Have the third highest health, after the Troll and the Human.

Shadowrun: A conversation with the developer

We just recieved this press release where FASA Studio Manager, Mitch Gitelman, answers a few questions about their upcoming multiplayer FPS on the Xbox 360 and PC.

What is “Shadowrun”?
“‘Shadowrun’ is the best game FASA Studio has ever made. It’s an intense, team-based first-person shooter that combines ancient magic, modern weapons and advanced technology in a way that’s never been done before. Rather than turn magic and tech into just another weapon, we’ve made them into tools the player uses to outwit and outfight the enemy. Notice that I used ‘outfight’ instead of ‘outshoot.’ That’s because ‘Shadowrun’ isn’t just about putting your cross-hairs on a troll and pulling the trigger. It’s about using the right abilities and the right weapons at the right time to get the advantage in combat. It’s really a thinking person’s shooter—but someone who thinks on fast on their feet.”

Tell me about how the Live system works on Windows. Is it just like Xbox Live?
“It’s not just like Live, it is Live, but on Windows Vista. You can voicechat, you can create a Friends list, and you can earn achievements. If you’re already a member of Xbox LIVE, you’ll see your friends, messages, gamerscore – all the great stuff that makes Live a great online games service. You use the same gamertag, and can show off same gamerscore and achievements on each platform. The rest of the Xbox LIVE features, like Marketplace are coming later.”

Okay, everyone talks about mouse/keyboard vs. controller. You’ve said it’s fair in the past but most people think that’s impossible.
“Most people aren’t professional game developers who specialize in making games with great controls like ‘MechWarrior,’ ‘MechAssault,’ ‘Crimson Skies’ and ‘Halo®.’ We also have developers from ‘Counter-Strike’ on the Xbox® on the team as well. No offense, but a lot of people balked at the idea of dual stick move/look controls when Bungie was making ‘Halo’ and now it’s the default control method for console shooters. Any time someone attempts to innovate, there will be naysayers. I know there are a lot of people who don’t believe we could make the controls fair but we did it. Remember that ‘Shadowrun’ isn’t just about putting your crosshairs on the enemy. You can be a great shot but get crushed by someone who uses tech, magic, and character abilities better than you. We have great testers who helped us balance the game. These guys are league FPS players, so they know what they’re doing. About half are ‘Counter-Strike’ players and the other half are ‘Halo’ players. They say it’s fair. Since they can kick my butt on either platform, I have to believe them.”

Why no single player campaign?
“FASA always starts by designing our multiplayer first. We believe that the core of our gameplay is the multiplayer mechanics. Once those mechanics are clear, we develop single player scenarios to explore how to use them in fun ways in a campaign. As we were creating the single player scenario prototypes for ‘Shadowrun,’ we realized that the core multiplayer game completely stood on its own. It was that good. That’s when we came up with the idea of making Shadowrun the first cross-platform shooter so everyone could play it together. All we had to do was convince Shane Kim and Peter Moore we could to it and the Live Anywhere Vision was born.”

But “Shadowrun” is an RPG franchise – why adapt it into an FPS?
“It’s true that ‘Shadowrun’ started as an RPG but it’s also been a tactical combat board game, a collectable card game and an action figure combat game. The world of ‘Shadowrun’ is large and there’s a lot to do in it. Pen-and-paper and electronic RPGs explore the story element of that world, but other mediums have focused on the combat like we did. Bu the question remains—why a team-based first-person shooter? If you look at FASA’s history, you’ll see why. We’ve been making multiplayer shooters since 1990 with the BattleTech pods. The pods were location-based multiplayer units that linked eight players together in virtual reality cockpits along with voicechat. Seven years ago, we released ‘MechWarrior 4’ and people are still playing it in multiplayer leagues. We produced ‘MechAssault,’ the launch title for Xbox Live at the birth of online console action gaming. After that, we developed ‘Crimson Skies,’ a game that lots of people call their favorite online game for the Xbox. And then I hired John Howard, the lead designer of ‘Halo,’ melded the design teams of those great games together and set out to make Shadowrun.

So why adapt it to an FPS? Because we know it would kick ass. If you ran a studio with a history of making groundbreaking and fun multiplayer action games and the lead designer of the best FPS on console, what would you do?”

Okay, that makes sense but why not use that team to make a great shooter and call it something other than Shadowrun?
“Because this is ‘Shadowrun.’ It’s based on the core ideas and the themes of the pen and paper game. It’s just takes place about 25 years before the stories in the other games, when magic is first returning to the world. No one inhabits a dystopia yet but people can see it coming. Our intention has always been to move the timeline forward with each successive release. Not only will the world change, but the game mechanics will evolve as well when we introduce things like jacking your brain into a computer and traveling in the astral plane. There is plenty for a first-person shooter player to learn and enjoy in this game. The rest will come in time.

How many players per game will “Shadowrun” support?
 “‘Shadowrun’ will support a maximum of 16 players per game but you’ll see a lot more that 16 players flying around the battlefield. You can summon creatures to fight for you, strangle crystals to block entrances and capture enemies, and trees of life to magically heal you. A lot of people ask me why we only support 16 players when other PC shooters can go as high as 40. My first answer is, “What would happen if you let 40 people play football? Would it be any more fun?” Shadowrun is fun for 16 players. More than that would just mean chaos, not fun. Also, take a look at what we’re doing in the game. 16 players can teleport through walls, floors and ceilings. They can glide all over the map and see everything from a high vantage point. There are spells going off, creatures being summoned and bullets flying everywhere. And all of that at a smooth framerate and with next-generation graphics. When you realize what you’re actually looking at, the number of players and graphic fidelity is impressive.”

Okay, I have to ask you about the art. The game got torn apart for its art at E3 but it looks very next-gen and competitive now. What happened there?
 “We created ‘Shadowrun’ backwards from the way most games are made. Most developers create an exciting pitch and put together a pretty prototype to sell their game. They do all their art while desperately trying to make the game fun before they ship. Sometimes it comes together at the last minute and sometimes it doesn’t and you’re left with a game that’s pretty but not a lot of fun or that runs like a dog. Working on those games is a drag because everyone is working their butt of but secretly knows the game sucks. With ‘Shadowrun,’ we nailed the gameplay first to ensure that the art we were creating would work well with our design and run at framerate. So any time the project got into a rough spot, morale was always buoyed by the knowledge that our gameplay kicked ass. When you know that what you’re making is fun and different, it can get you over a lot of humps—like getting pummeled at E3.

What you saw at E3 was one of several art iterations we were passing through on our way to where we are today. The problem was that the art we had just wasn’t good enough to announce the game. So we got our nailed for terrible art and everyone said we should fire our artists. After E3, we refocused our art direction and busted out some great stuff that really reduced the heat on us. From there, we walked through our normal process to polish it to the competitive level it is today.”

I heard you’ll only ship about 8-10 maps in the game. Other FPS games release a lot more than that. What’s up?
“In ‘Shadowrun,’ you can teleport through walls, floors and ceilings, glide across the battlefield, and spy on enemies through solid objects. The gameplay in ‘Shadowrun’ is more vertical and three dimensional than other FPS games. That means the maps are way more complex to design and execute. FASA has really high standards and we would rather ship a few maps that are great than a bunch of mediocre ones so we have a marketing bullet point that says “over 15 maps’ or something. We have a bunch of maps that’ll never see the light of day. And let’s be honest, how many ‘Counter-Strike’ maps actually get used? Less than a handful. Two I can think of. Remember that the maps in ‘Shadowrun’ are the same 8-10 maps we’ve been playing for years and still love to play.

Because the abilities in ‘Shadowrun’ were designed to allow you to outmaneuver your enemy, it’s never the same experience twice. When you have a finite set of solid mechanics that allow for experimentation and improvisation, you get a highly replayable situation-based gameplay model. It’s like a classic board game. How many maps do you need in chess?

Mass Effect Update: Customizable characters, soundtrack options and one disc

In an official Mass Effect blog update, Project Director Casey Hudson, began with how the game was shaping up very well. With the help of regular “dailies” where all the leads from various department plays the game on a big plasma TV and generally spots bug, areas of improvement, etc.

He also wrote about the latest improvements to the combat controls. How the main character, Shepard, smoothly rolls in cover objects, aims and fires at will. Then he went on to write about how the game just “barely” fits on to the 8.5GB DVD thanks to the art of optimizing the data.

He also said that the player will have lots of character customization options. Players can choose the gender, the details of the face and hair and choose what kind of character the player wanted to be: a soldier, tech specialist, a user of the dark energy powers or a mix bag of all of those. “And throughout the game you’ll get new weapons and equipment that you can use, further modifying your appearance and capability. You can also buy or find mods that can be used to enhance your weapons and equipment. So your character is quite a bit more customizable than in “KOTOR” for example, but you’re also adjusting things that seem more tangible or real-world.” said Casey Hudson.

Hudson also stated that he does not mind players using custom sound tracks for the game, but feels that the original soundtrack of the game will add to the mood and does not feel that players will use custom sound tracks anyway.

Read more.

SEGA reveals details of The Golden Compass video game

SEGA today revealed details regarding the development of the video game adaptation of the highly anticipated theatrical release, The Golden Compass (known as Northern Lights in the UK), based on the first book in the award-winning trilogy, His Dark Materials by British author Philip Pullman. The game is being developed for multiple platforms and will ship Christmas 2007, just prior to the opening of the New Line Cinema motion picture on December 7, 2007. Featuring pivotal environments from the movie, the vivid characters are brought to interactive life, featuring the likeness of the movie’s impressive cast, which includes Daniel Craig as Lord Asriel and newcomer Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra Belacqua.

Produced by New Line Cinema and Scholastic Media, The Golden Compass follows the screenplay adaptation of the first book in the acclaimed trilogy, capturing the exciting fantasy adventure set in a parallel world where giant armoured bears rule a kingdom, beautiful witches fly through the frozen skies, and human beings’ deepest essence is manifest as talking animals that remain their faithful companion for life – their daemon.

Players can assume the role of Lyra, a young girl, along with her daemon Pantalaimon(Pan), as she travels through the frozen wastes of the North collecting special items in order to explore, evade and deceive her way through confrontations to rescue a friend kidnapped by a mysterious organisation known as The Gobblers. Lyra can also use her daemon and collaborate with in-game characters to journey through an epic quest to save not only her world, but ours as well. 

Gamers can also take on the character of Iorek Byrnison, a great armoured polar bear who joins the quest. Iorek battles to protect Lyra during their journey using a riding mechanic and special attacks to fend off enemies, players will also be able to unlock secrets and mini-games using a mysterious truth-telling golden compass device called an alethiometer. The Golden Compass has 13 vast locations to explore including all-new, breath-taking environments not seen in the books or the film, on this massive journey of collaboration, exploration and the eternal struggle between good and evil.

This epic tale will be brought to the PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, Wii video game system, Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, the PSP system, the Nintendo DS and the PC for Christmas 2007.

The Golden Compass video game is being developed by Shiny Entertainment, best known for developing games based on the blockbuster The Matrix film franchise. Shiny was acquired by Foundation 9 Entertainment in October 2006. The Nintendo DS version is being developed by A2M. For more information on The Golden Compass, please visit the official movie site at http://www.goldencompassmovie.com/ or the SEGA Press site at www.sega-press.com .

360 to take the Wii approach?

I can sense that immense respect Microsoft has for Nintendo and what they have done with the Wii. So much so that Xbox Microsoft’s Peter Moore has said in an interview with Game Informer, that they are looking to make the Xbox 360 appeal to the more casual gamers. This year Xbox 360 will take a different strategy (a plan they had it in for years, as Peter said) and will just do that. Is it motion sensing controller? It very well could be.

Peter Moore said “"It’s actually not games. It’s more experiential than that. And again, since the day I saw Iwata-san pull the Nunchuk controller out from under his podium a few years ago at TGS, I’ve always realized that was the right thing for Nintendo … to be successful in this next generation.

"And it was always going to be a challenge for us. So, we have plans. This does not come as a surprise. Our strategy has been laid out for us years in advance, and you’re going to see some of that this next holiday and beyond."

So this could very well mean that we are going to see a bucket load of family games coming for the 360. Rubbing out that professional-strict-for-hardcore-gamers-only tag and giving it more “fun” approach to it.

Read more.

Elisa to pilot Nokia\’s next generation mobile gaming platform

Nokia, the world leader in mobile communications, and Elisa announced today that they will carry out a pilot of Nokia’s new N-Gage mobile gaming service. The pilot will start in February 2007 and run until mid 2007.

“The core of the Nokia games strategy is to make it easy for people to find, buy and play great quality mobile games and we’re excited to expand our relationship with Elisa to help make this possible,” said Jaakko Kaidesoja, Director, Games, Multimedia, Nokia. “This pilot will help us further refine the N-Gage experience for our commercial launch later this year.”

“Our goal is to give our customers a new and unique experience they cannot get anywhere else,” said Mikko Mattinen, Head of Department, Consumer Customers Products, Content services, Elisa Corporation.

“People who enjoy mobile games are often the same customers who enjoy experimenting with new mobile services and content. Elisa can provide a wide range of content and services to meet their needs.”

Elisa will combine its existing mobile gaming platform with the Nokia N-Gage gaming platform and carry out intensive testing and evaluation in a live network environment. Nokia and Elisa will work together to bring a superior mobile gaming experience for Elisa customers. Nokia device owners can look forward to improved game quality, outstanding performance and an intuitive way to get games.

With the scheduled launch in mid 2007, Nokia’s next generation mobile gaming platform makes it easy for people to find, buy, play and share rich and immersive games on a range of Nokia devices. Elisa intends to support the launch with a full service offering through its own portals in addition to the N-Gage application installed on Nokia devices.

Alien Hominid HD Crash Lands on Xbox Live Arcade

The cult favourite offers high definition alien action that makes it better than ever before. “Alien Hominid HD” from The Behemoth is a side-scrolling extraterrestrial experience like no other, and will be available for download on Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360 beginning Wednesday 28th February at 08.00 GMT / 09.00 CET.

As a feisty yet adorable alien, gamers must fend off FBI agents to ensure their spaceship stays safe. With unique, hand-drawn characters and weapons, this award-winning title is the epitome of quirky humour and intergalactic fun. Sixteen levels, seven mini-games, and jump-in anytime multiplayer capability adds to the cosmic mayhem.

Game Features

· Sixteen levels and seven mini-games, including “All You Can Eat” and “PDA,” now with online multiplayer support
· Main and Mini-games high scores are tracked on the Xbox Live Leaderboard
· Multiplayer modes enable two players locally in the main game and up to four players offline or on Xbox Live in Mini-games.

· Earn up to 12 Achievements and 200 Gamerscore points

THQ announces plans for global release of Conan on next generation gaming systems

THQ today announced plans to bring the renowned Conan brand to the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Playstation 3 computer entertainment system. Conan marks the first product in THQ’s multi-year licensing agreement to develop interactive games based on the popular character brought to life in Robert E. Howard’s original stories. The Conan video game is expected to make its next generation debut in early 2008.

The Conan video game joins a robust lineup of licensed products for the Conan brand, which is currently celebrating the 75th anniversary of its first published story. In addition to the video game, Conan is also recognized for its brand extensions with popular action figures, motion pictures, collectible trading cards and more than 800 comic books.

“The strength and diversity of the Conan brand lends itself extremely well to the interactive format,” said Jack Sorensen, executive vice president, worldwide studios, THQ. “Through intense combat, familiar environments and next generation visuals, we believe Conan fans and action adventure enthusiasts alike are certain to embrace this future addition to the Conan universe.”

“The Conan brand has captured the hearts of dedicated fans for 75 years,” said Fredrik Malmberg, President and CEO, Paradox Entertainment. “We have enjoyed tremendous success with our brand extensions and look forward to working with THQ to bring this upcoming chapter of Conan’s ambitious journey to a video game format.”

Developed by Nihilistic Software, Conan is an action adventure video game featuring a story of epic brutality, sheer evil and visceral combat. Players will follow the journey of Conan the Cimmerian as he fights a vicious battle against a variety of enemies and an elusive power that threatens to consume the Hyborian world. Playing as Conan, players will take advantage of a deep and gratifying combat system that offers a variety of deadly weapons, fighting styles and interactive environments to battle hordes of enemies. In addition, the Conan video game will harness next generation hardware to deliver a cinematic game play experience, complete with special effects, lighting and a powerful, epic soundtrack, to capture the essence of the Conan universe.

EA announces MySims created especially for the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms

Electronic Arts announced today that the company is developing MySims, the first game in a revolutionary new line from the developers of the blockbuster franchise The Sims, designed especially for the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms.

MySims introduces a charming cast of whimsical characters while delivering the creativity, customization and classic open-ended gameplay that has enchanted Sims players worldwide. Players begin by creating their own toy-like Sim that reflects their personal style and attitudes. From pig-tails and baseball caps to dreadlocks and Mohawks, the options are endless and the style is unlike any Sims game to date. By unlocking cool new clothing, hairstyles and accessories, players explore the game’s incredible depth of customization and expression… and the characters are just the beginning!

Transforming the traditional Sims gameplay for the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms, MySims moves the player to a delightful but disorganized town where – thanks to the easy and unique controls – they can re-shape everything and make it their own. The town is rundown, but the player can make it much more dynamic. Using a selection of building blocks, unique patterns and engaging creativity tools, players can design furniture and appliances, architect new homes and businesses, and re-define the entire MySims landscape!

As players explore and build up the town, they will get to know dedicated, long-time residents like the always-busy Mayor Rosalyn P. Marshall and Buddy – the mostly-lazy hotel Bellhop. Once things start to look up, they’ll meet and choose from a variety of colorful, would-be residents. Will they build a restaurant for Gino Delicioso the Italian Chef, or will they help Ocean Breeze set up his Yoga studio instead?

Design is everyone’s domain in MySims. From building a new Pizza Oven for Gino to putting the finishing touches on a new roof for Buddy’s busy hotel, each completed task will help the town grow. As it expands to new areas, players will receive special building blocks, decorations and patterns which help customize their unique creations. From furniture and buildings to the town as a whole, every choice informs how residents and visitors feel and behave.

“We want MySims to provide a creative play experience like never before on a video game system,” said Executive Producer Tim LeTourneau. “By giving players the tools to create literally any kind of world they want in MySims, we’re reinforcing the idea that the players create the magic. Will the town support a plethora of spooky, mysterious townsfolk – or buzz with the laughter and smiles of fun-loving Sims? It’s your call! In MySims, what players make… makes all the difference!”

MySims will be available for the Wii and Nintendo DS platforms in Autumn 2007.

Next Page »