Lara Croft opens Italy\’s first ever women-only beach

Lara Croft (Karima Adebibe) takes a break from promoting the new Tomb Raider: Anniversary game to relax in the sunshine and open Italy’s very first women-only beach located in Riccione, an exclusive resort near Rimini on the east coast.

The beach opening was held in conjunction with Miss Muretto, a beauty contest held yearly and similar to the Miss Italy contest but for younger girls. The new ‘Pink Beach’ is an exclusive area on the beachfront which will now be completely off-limits to men, allowing ladies to relax and tan themselves without having to fend off any unwanted attention. The beach opening was broadcast across Italy to 10 million people on the national news.

Lair to release on August 14

Sony and Factor 5, the developers of this awaited PS3 title, Lair, has announced that the game will release on August 14th, 2007. This is one game PS3 owners will be longing to get their hands on as it is one of the few high profile exclusive PS3 title to hit the machine.

A demo will also be released on the Playstation Network in July. No specific date was given but should be in the middle of the month.

Japanese RPG Blue Dragon lifts its wings and flies to Europe

Microsoft Game Studios today announced that the highly anticipated role-playing game (RPG) “Blue Dragon” will go on sale throughout Europe on 24th August for the estimated retail price of £44.99. Rated 12+ “Blue Dragon” will usher in the next generation of RPG exclusively on the Xbox 360, with a combination of realistic environments, anime-styled characters, unique battles and a deep, compelling storyline.

Bringing top Japanese developer talent to the Xbox 360, “Blue Dragon” is a culmination of the work of famed game producer Hironobu Sakaguchi of Mistwalker game studio and developer Artoon. This epic RPG features the character design of Akira Toriyama, who designed “Dragon Ball Z,” and music by Nobuo Uematsu, the composer for “Final Fantasy.”

Gamers will find themselves exploring and discovering the vast world of “Blue Dragon” as they assume the role of Shu, a young boy who along with his band of four friends, embarks on a quest to combat the evil forces that have come to their world. These unlikely heroes possess miraculous strength and the magical power to control their phantom shadow creatures that range from a Minotaur to a phoenix to a dragon and more.

In addition, adventurers can bring Shu, his friends and their quest to save the world to their websites with the official “Blue Dragon” Fan Site Kit, which is available for download from http://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/b/bluedragonxbox360/. The Fan Site Kit includes artwork, skins, screenshots, forum avatars and more assets for webmasters to create their very own “Blue Dragon” fan site.

GTA 4 second trailer- Looking For That Special Someone

Today Rockstar released the second gameplay trailer for their hotly anticipated fourth installment in the Grand Theft Auto Series. The trailer is named “Looking For That Special Someone”.

And if you expected Niko Bellic, the protagonist, romancing in this trailer, scrap it out of your mind! Actually that special someone is a man and the video shows different sequences of Niko tracking him down. Other interesting things to note is the ability to hang off vehicles like is shown in the video, where Niko is hanging off a lorry and a helicopter dedicated in his pursuit. Another scene shows an inside view of the car Niko is in where the windscreen is being holed into by some police officers. Another most striking and apparent thing is the excellent lip synching of the characters to their dialogues.

Judging from the two trailers Rockstar have shown us, they aren’t going wrong anywhere. This is another outstanding trailer which should not be missed by GTA fans (as if they were going too) and other gamers alike. Here are some screenshots of the trailer:

Check out the trailer:

 

You can download the trailer from here: Standard Def and High Def. You can also grab the HD trailer from Xbox Live Marketplace. There is also a theme and picture pack available for free on Marketplace, so don’t forget to check that too!

Halo 2

Few games have made gaming history as much as Halo. Originally for the Xbox, it created waves in the gaming community for its deep storyline, frantic gameplay, and excellent multiplayer. When Halo hit PCs, the game delivered the same fantastic gameplay as on the console, and drew in even more fans. Halo 2 originally came out for the Xbox in 2004, but it’s surprising that its PC port was released three years later. Having already played Halo 2 on the Xbox when it first released, it’s heartbreaking to say that the PC version lacks much of the finesse that made the Xbox version such a hit.

Halo 2 speedily picks off where the first Halo ended – you return as Master Chief, a physically and technologically superior soldier,  fighting a raging war against the alien forces known as the Covenant. In the first game, you blew up an installation ring known as Halo, which had the power to completely obliterate all life forms in the universe. Since the ring was regarded by the Covenant as a sacred relic, they aren’t too happy with you, but funnily enough they have found another ring which they intend to activate to send them on ‘a great journey’. So once again, you’ve been tasked with stopping the Covenant from reaching Halo and activating it. This time however, there is much upheaval amongst the Covenant themselves, including the exile of one of their top commanders for allowing the destruction of the original Halo. So apart from a usual run-and-shoot game, there is a deep storyline embedded in Halo 2, which is slowly unravelled as you progress, with plenty of surprises in store. As an added bonus and to further fuel the storyline, the game will switch over to put players in control of the banished  Covenant commander, who has his own agenda and special abilities to further his solo mission.

Controlling Master chief is fairly straightforward with the keyboard and mouse – use the mouse to attack and look around, and the keyboard to change weapons, strafe, etc. However, since the game has full support for an Xbox 360 controller, it’s worth plugging one in to get a closer feel to how the game plays on the console. Though it can be a bit tricky to aim with the analog sticks, you can adjust your controller’s sensitivity to help you out. Gameplay is slick and furious, with waves of Covenant often overwhelming your position – you can team up with other computer-controlled members at certain points in the level, but most of your missions will pit you solely against the Covenant. To help you out, there are numerous weapons and vehicles at your disposal, both carried over from the original Halo as well as introducing new ones. You can also pick up and use Covenant artillery, thus further expanding your weapons. Blazing guns aside, your missions often just have you collecting more information about the Covenant’s movements, as well as locating the second Halo. It’s a fairly ‘seek out and destroy’ formula that works well to keep players happy. During your missions, you are accompanied by the AI Cortana, who narrates your objectives and gives you the occasional hint on how to finish the current mission, though her narration has been significantly cut down from the console version.

What made the original Halo such a hit was its intense multiplayer modes, and true to form, they have been included in the PC version. There are plenty of maps available, as well as various game modes – the most popular being Slayer, where the most frags wins the rounds. You can adjust everything from the types of weapons available on the field, to even the inclusion of vehicles – try to go up against a tank with your shotgun! The game also has full support for Xbox Live achievements, which were points that you could unlock by finishing certain levels and objectives. If you have an Xbox Live account, your PC achievements will be credited to your account once you sign in. On the Xbox, having a Silver or Gold Live account makes a world of difference – only Gold players can play online. In the PC version however, you can get online even with a Silver account, so there really is no distinction between the two levels as on the console.

Turning away from the gameplay, the game doesn’t look visually spectacular. Considering that this is a 2004 game, the graphics here aren’t all that impressive by today’s standards. Though levels appear crisp and detailed thanks to support for insane resolutions such as 1600×1050 pixels, the game doesn’t bring in any of the new graphical developments available on the PC.

Probably the biggest mess with this game is the fact that it requires Windows Vista to play. Given than Vista is already resource hungry, the game ran poorly on a machine that quite effortlessly ran Doom 3 on Windows XP. There is a third party company trying to develop an application layer that will allow the game to run and install on XP, but it’s very much in early stages of development, and chances are there will be a load of compatibility issues. There really is no specific reason why this game is Vista-only, except to boost sales of both the OS and the game. The game also begins to slow down a bit during multiplayer battles, when there is far too much happening on screen for the game to handle.

The game’s soundtrack is great, with plenty of orchestral numbers playing during key battles, and the choral background music in the main menu is simply unforgettable. Explosions, character sound effects and voiceovers are all pulled off brilliantly, and help to really carry through the ambience of the game. Sadly though, the game is just too old to wow PC players, who have a variety of more visually impressive FPS games to choose from. Considering how long it’s taken to bring Halo 2 to the PC, it’s going to be a long wait before PC players can get a taste of Halo 3.

Free map packs for F.E.A.R now available

Grab this while you can because free map packs are rare these days. Major Nelson of Xbox team is letting us know that a free map pack is now available for Monolith’s first person shooter F.E.A.R. The map pack will add two multiplayer modes, Control and Conquer All. Here is what the dash details say about them:

Download this FREE map pack and unlock the ability to play two new Multiplayer Modes, “Control” and “Conquer All,” on all your original FEAR multiplayer maps. In Control you capture areas of the map and must keep them from being recaptured by enemy forces. In Conquer All mode, your scoring is based on how many kills your team racks up and how many control points you have at the end of the round. Capture all 5 five control points to end the round early! Revisit of some of your favorite maps like, Rubble, Campus and Docks with a brand new twist!!

The map pack weighs around 120MB. In addition to these new game modes a title update is also available. The title update now includes blood splatter on foe’s uniforms after getting shot, player host can invite friends to public and private slots now and that a Full fade HUD option will be made available which will make the HUD fade away while playing only showing up when it’s needed.

Assassins Creed box arts

In case you are wondering what exactly did the preview line meant, I was referring to Garet, the stealthy thief from the Thief video game series. Why did I mention him? Because Garet’s and this dude in Assassin’s Creed’s attire matches so much. Anyway, here is presenting you the box arts of Assassin’s Creed for the Xbox 360 and the PS3. No luck on the PC version yet.

Assassins Creed box arts

In case you are wondering what exactly did the preview line meant, I was referring to Garet, the stealthy thief from the Thief video game series. Why did I mention him? Because Garet’s and this dude in Assassin’s Creed’s attire matches so much. Anyway, here is presenting you the box arts of Assassin’s Creed for the Xbox 360 and the PS3. No luck on the PC version yet.

Hour of Victory ships to stores

Midway’s WW2 first person shooter Hour of Victory has shipped to stores as of today. In Hour of Victory players play as either the gun toting Commando, the light foot Cover-operative or sniper expert Ranger, which they can choose of in beginning of every level. The game is built on the Unreal Engine 3 so it surely will provide some eye candy.

But going by how the demo was, I don’t think I am going to come out impressed in any sort of way.

Press release:
Midway Games Inc. (NYSE:MWY), a leading interactive entertainment industry publisher and developer, today announced that Hour of Victory™, the highly-anticipated World War II first-person shooter now exclusively for Xbox 360™, has shipped to retailers nationwide.

"Hour of Victory gives gamers a chance to play a World War II game the way they want – whether as a guns-blazing Commando, a stealthy covert-operative, or a sharpshooting Ranger," said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway. "Built using Unreal® Engine 3.0, Hour of Victory delivers high-action moments throughout, both in the single-player campaign or with the three different multiplayer modes over Xbox Live."

Hour of Victory allows gamers to play a key role in the pivotal and cinematic battles from the European and North African theaters of World War II, using the skills and gameplay style they choose. Sneak into enemy territory as a covert operative, storm the gates as a British Commando, or snipe from afar as an Army Ranger – each character’s unique attributes will be needed for the fulfillment of the overall objective.

Built using the powerful Unreal Engine 3.0, Hour of Victory combines authentic details from historic World War II battles and adds frenetic and cinematic gameplay. Players will also be able to jump in and out of vehicles on the battlefield whenever they wish.

Sierra announces The Bourne Conspiracy

Sierra today announced The Bourne Conspiracy, a third person video game based on Robert Ludlum’s best seller The Bourne Identity and the novel inspired movie of the same name. The game promises to have all new content developed with the help of Ludlum Entertainment. The game is being developed for the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 and will release in summer of 2008. More details and information will be shown in the soon to start E3.

Check out these screenshots and read the press release for more information about the game:

 

Press release:
Sierra Entertainment, a division of Vivendi Games, today announced Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy, the first title in its exclusive global partnership with Ludlum Entertainment. Being developed by High Moon Studios, one of Sierra’s internal developers, the game combines seminal moments from the best-selling novel and hit film The Bourne Identity with all-new content developed in conjunction with Ludlum Entertainment. Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy makes the highly anticipated jump to PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and Microsoft’s Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system in summer 2008.

Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy, will give players the experience of becoming a 30 million dollar elite agent, fusing an experience that delves deep into Jason Bourne’s character with game play and game presentation inspired by the aggressive filmmaking and frenetic action found in the films. Only by playing Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy will players discover Bourne’s true identity and experience the very moment he became a malfunctioning weapon, first hunting targets around the world as a deadly government assassin then marking himself as his agency’s most wanted.

“Robert Ludlum’s best-selling spy novel and blockbuster film adaptation have awed millions with riveting, unforgettable fiction,” said Al Simone, senior vice president, global marketing for Sierra Entertainment.  “For the first time ever, players will be able to experience the shadowy world of expert assassin Bourne, who continues to find himself plagued by splintered nightmares from his former life.”

“With Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy we are not just basing a game on Ludlum’s franchise, we are building upon the universe he introduced with The Bourne Identity,” said Peter Della Penna, president of High Moon Studios.  “Our developers at High Moon have collaborated closely with Mr. Ludlum’s estate, the guardians of his creative vision.  Our goal is to create a video game inspired by known elements within the Bourne universe, elements that have captivated more than a quarter of a billion people worldwide, yet deliver original story and game play to establish a signature Jason Bourne game experience. “

"This videogame represents an entirely new way to expand on the prolific storytelling of Robert Ludlum" said Jeffrey Weiner, the Executor of the Ludlum Estate and CEO of Ludlum Entertainment.  "By allowing the game to explore new story elements, we have allowed this property to take on a life of its own, going beyond the books and movies."

Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy promises constant tension and action, with players adopting Jason Bourne’s piercing sense of survival, cunning nature, heightened target awareness and firearms training that allow him to engage and eliminate small armies. As a third-person espionage action game, players move from fistfights to firefights to experience sequences that, unlike any other game, seamlessly blend Bourne’s signature hand-to-hand combat with intense shooting and the ability to escape and evade deadly situations.

More details will be revealed about Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy, inside the August issue cover story of The Official Xbox Magazine hitting newsstands July 3 as well as the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) held July 11-13 in Santa Monica, CA.

For more information, details and updates regarding Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy, please visit www.bournethegame.com

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