Archive for December, 2007

SACRED 2 Fallen Angel: New Release Date Announced

SACRED 2 Fallen AngelASCARON, a leading European entertainment software developer, announces a new release date for SACRED 2 – Fallen Angel. The announcement sees both PC and Xbox 360 versions scheduled for release in September 2008.

The additional time is to be used for optimizing the crucial areas of multiplayer gameplay and balancing. Planning for a longer and in-depth beta test, which is subdivided into several different phases, is already underway.

“A highly anticipated AAA title such as SACRED 2 – Fallen Angel is a great responsibility with high expectations to manage and live up to. To achieve our goal, we have decided to give SACRED 2 – Fallen Angel more time in order to be perfected and polished in every single area, allowing us to deliver the quality which is expected, rather than striving for an early release,” says Heiko tom Felde, Managing Director of ASCARON Entertainment GmbH.

SACRED 2 – Fallen Angel
Developer: Ascaron Studio 2
Genre: Action RPG
System: PC, Xbox 360
Release: September, 2008
Publisher: Koch Media / Deep Silver

General information on SACRED/SACRED 2:
Published exclusively for PC in 2004, SACRED sold more than 1.8 million copies, making it one of the most successful Action RPG’s worldwide. Developed in-house by Ascaron Studio 2, SACRED 2 – Fallen Angel is the official sequel to the best selling SACRED.

Atlus Announces Mech-Based Strategy RPG Drone Tactics For Nintendo DS

Atlus U.S.A., Inc., a leading publisher of interactive entertainment, today announced Drone Tactics, a game of turn-based strategy RPG warfare, for the Nintendo DSTM. Command a brigade of colossal mecha insecta and coordinate your forces as you take on the ruthless army of the Black Swarm! Drone Tactics is currently scheduled to release on March 25th, 2008.

For more on Drone Tactics, please visit the official website: http://www.atlus.com/dronetactics

Drone Tactics

About Drone Tactics
Transported to an alien world, you find yourself in the middle of a great conflict. An army of evil Drones is on the march, threatening to obliterate the land of Cimexus. Its inhabitants now turn to you to lead them in battle against the Black Swarm. Each level offers new challenges, and taking full advantage of each Drone’s unique specialties will be the difference between success and defeat!

Key Features

  • Build and command your own Drone army – Wreak mechanical havoc with your squad of insect mechs, choosing from over 100 weapons, upgrades, and power-ups to optimize your forces.
  • Conquer dozens of campaign operations and over 50 additional maps – Take on the forces of the Black Swarm then confront the challenges that wait in the mysterious Badlands.
  • Battle for domination in head-to-head combat – Friends become enemies in local wireless play.

Drone Tactics has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

Three New Classic Games Added To Wii Shop Channel

Wii Shop ChannelIf you hear a rumbling on the roof tonight, don’t assume that it’s reindeer when there are gorillas on the loose. Yes, this week’s merry Wii™ Shop Channel lineup includes a classic adventure title to entertain every reveler in your household, from the nicest to the naughtiest. Plus, you’ll find a wicked-cool dose of ice hockey action and a thrilling secret-agent sequel to help keep spirits bright all winter long. You were expecting lumps of coal? Sorry-maybe next year.

Three new classic games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel every Monday. Wii™ owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

BLADES OF STEEL™ (NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone-Mild Violence, 500 Wii Points): With stick in hand and confidence brimming, you are looking to bring home the cup, win the MVP award, get on the covers of major sports magazines and date a beautiful model (not necessarily in that order). But soon you will learn that, in this league, nothing is ever given to you, and before you can reach your goals, you’ll have to put the puck in the net and score some. You’ll need both the artful skills of a finesse player and the bone-crushing brutality of an enforcer. Defend your own goal against unrelenting power plays, or put the pressure on your opponent’s goalie and try a slap shot of your own. Don’t forget to defend yourself when anger flares because the gloves come off and fists start flying. So strap on blades of steel and prepare to either make a name for yourself or be put on ice.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble™ (Super NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): Revisit Donkey Kong Island and join the Kong family for their latest adventure. The Kremlings have a mysterious new leader named KAOS and are up to their usual mischief, even capturing Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. Now it’s up to Dixie Kong and the newest Kong, a giant infant named Kiddy, to rescue the two missing apes. They’ll travel across previously unseen parts of the island in their search, and even take to the skies in a rocket at one point. Lucky for them, Dixie and Kiddy’s powers complement each other (including Kiddy’s talent for rolling like a barrel), so they form a powerful team capable of major Kremling damage. They’re not completely on their own, either, since returning favorites like Funky Kong and Enguarde the swordfish provide help along the way. And in a series known for its abundance of secrets and high replay value, this entry doesn’t disappoint, with enough hours of game play to satisfy Donkey Kong himself. Anyone else have a sudden urge for some bananas?

Rolling Thunder™ 2 (Genesis, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone-Violence, 800 Wii Points): In this follow-up to the original classic, you are once again a member of Interpol’s Rolling Thunder task force, and it’s up to you to stop the return of the evil Geldra organization. Now known as Neo-Geldra and led by a newcomer named Gimdo, the bad guys are bent on destroying several valuable outer-space satellites. In this one- or two-player game, you can play as Leila or Albatross-both characters from the original-as you venture through several different levels, trying to put a stop to the nefarious efforts of Gimdo and the rest of Neo-Geldra. Use your bullets wisely and make Rolling Thunder proud.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

Emergency Mayhem

Title: Emergency Mayhem

Format: Wii

Out: Spring 2008

The city’s on fire and there are monkeys everywhere – it’s bedlam in Codemasters’ Emergency Mayhem™.

Duck for cover as Codemasters puts players in charge of the emergency services in the most accident-prone city of all time! Set to put the urgency into emergency, Codemasters® today announced Emergency Mayhem™ exclusively for Wii™.

Coming Q2 2008, Emergency Mayhem puts the player at the helm of the three emergency services in a frantic race against time to hold together Crisis City, a mad metropolis falling apart at the seams.

 

Emergency Mayhem

Combining chaotic driving sequences with arcade mini-games, you’ll be in stitches controlling the frenzied police, fire service or paramedics as they dash around the city from one emergency situation to the next.

With over 30 missions, it’s a non-stop time crisis where you’ll be rescuing people from burning buildings, defusing bombs and more. However, in this city, the emergencies are of a decidedly slapstick nature; crazy situations will have you hurling bananas at out-of-control monkeys, using a trampoline to bounce escaping prisoners back into custody and herding penguins to safety with hilarious consequences.

Emergency Mayhem

In a city where there’s always an urgent situation calling out for your attention, even those mischievous monkeys will get in your way In Emergency Mayhem time is your enemy, relentlessly counting down as you take charge of a fire truck, ambulance, or police car to speed through the city’s eight different districts to the next emergency.

Have you got the nerves necessary to beat the clock and save the city? Find shortcuts to get there on time and save the day.

When you reach the scene of the emergency play switches to one of over 30 mini-games which take unique advantage of the Wii Remote to solve crazy crises.

Emergency Mayhem

Using the Wii Remote, you’ll have to pump to practice CPR, point it to direct water from a powerful hose, mimic a wrench to bring bursting water-hydrants under control and aim it to fire bananas into on-the-rampage monkeys!

Get ready to put down those monkeys and put on the uniform in Q2 2008 when Codemasters launches Emergency Mayhem to the sound of sirens for Wii. If in urgent need of emergency assistance please visit www.codemasters.com/emergency for more information.

Retro Arcade Masterpieces Hit Store Shelves In Atari Classics Evolved

11 ARCADE classics AND MORE THAN 40 ORIGINAL ATARI 2600 titles land on the PlayStation®portable

Atari Classics EvolvedAtari, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATAR), one of the worlds’ most recognized brands and a third-party video game publisher, today announced that Atari Classics Evolved, a large compilation of classic Atari® arcade games, has shipped to retailers in North America just in time for the holiday season. Atari Classics Evolved, rated E for Everyone, is available on the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system for a suggested retail price of $19.99.

Atari Classics Evolved features a full gamut of genre-defining classics like Battlezone®, Centipede®, Millipede®, Missile Command®, Tempest™, Lunar Lander™, Super Breakout®, Warlord®, Asteroids™, Asteroids™ Deluxe and Pong®. In addition to the 11 arcade classics, players can unlock more than 40 original Atari 2600 titles. These titles include such noted favorites as Yar’s Revenge®, Night Driver™, Canyon Bomber and Crystal Castles® among many others.

“Gamers today have gotten used to the increasing complexity of video games,” said Todd Slepian, Producer, Atari, Inc. “But it’s always nice to take a break from these monstrous titles and go back to the games that defined our childhoods. With so many fun classic games packed into such a small disc, it’s hard not to crack a little smile for days gone by.”

For true arcade authenticity, all 11 classic arcade titles in Atari Classics Evolved feature their original retro graphics, as well as an option for beautifully rendered “Evolved” graphics and enhanced gameplay. While retaining the tried-and-true gameplay of the original games, the 11 classic arcade titles also feature online leaderboards, allowing players to compare scores against some of the best players in the world. Some games also have local peer-to-peer wireless capability allowing players to compete in fierce local multiplayer matches.

For more information on Atari Classics Evolved, Atari and its entire product line-up please visit www.atari.com.