Go Online and Become a Street Racing Legend in the Massive Need for Speed World

Electronic Arts announced that Need for Speed World, the massively multiplayer online action racing game, will go live on July 20, 2010. Need for Speed World thrusts gamers into an enormous, socially-connected white-knuckle Need for Speed experience featuring an all-new power-up system and deep RPG style progression.

Beginning July 20th, Need for Speed World will be available as a free client download at world.needforspeed.com. The free client gives gamers a taste of the action with access to all races, pursuits and career progression up to level 10.

Players looking for the ultimate experience can purchase the Need for Speed World Starter Pack which includes a credit for £14.99 worth of SpeedBoost, full access up to level 50, a bundle assortment of power-ups like Nitrous and Traffic Magnet to help you get started, and an exclusive limited edition vehicle – all for MSRP £14.99 *. Owners of the Starter Pack also get the added benefit of being able to purchase items like power-ups, double XP periods and even rental cars starting at just a few cents.*

Players who pre-order Need for Speed World will have a one-week headstart to the game on July 13th, with increased Rep (XP) gain for the duration of the headstart event and guaranteed access to all upcoming Need for Speed World beta events. Finally, players will also be able to reserve their driver names in advance of the game going live and have VIP status permanently displayed in their driver profile. Pre-orders are available now at eastore.ea.com or at participating digital retailers nationwide.

Need for Speed World brings together best in class action racing with an unparalleled social experience. Players can compete against any one of their friends, family or pick from thousands of top ranked players to challenge in intense online battles and police pursuits across 150 miles of sprawling open world. Need for Speed World combines new content with the most popular cities from Need for Speed Most Wanted and Need for Speed Carbon to create the biggest, most exciting race world ever released in the Need for Speed universe.

Need for Speed World is being developed by Black Box, an Electronic Arts studio. Need for Speed World will be available on July 20, 2010.

Lead your country to VICTORY in the most popular sporting event in the world. Celebrate the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Play the only official World Cup game for iPhone & iPod touch!

PLAY OUT THE WORLD CUP THE WAY YOU WANT IT With 105 International Teams to choose from, you can play as your own country – even if they haven’t qualified for the real tournament! Simulate the real event or play out your own fantasy.

CAPTAIN YOUR TEAM TO GLORY- Play in Captain Your Country Mode, and feel the pride and passion of representing your nation on the world’s biggest stage.

FEEL THE TRUE INTENSITY OF THE ON-FIELD ACTION- Pull off defense-splitting passes, rifling shots, and match-winning tricks with a simplified control system that matches the critically acclaimed FIFA 10 for iPhone & iPod touch.

FROM JOHANNESBURG TO CAPE TOWN, GET THE REAL SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF SOUTH AFRICA- Featuring all 10 fantastic stadiums and locations of the host nation, only EA SPORTS 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa captures the true atmosphere of the world’s greatest sporting event.

After an impressive reception in Europe LMG has come to an agreement with Snowball Studios for the retail release of “Achtung Panzer: Kharcov 1943” which will be released as a collector’s edition in Europe on 14th May 2010.

Within this special edition there will be:

• Separate DVD documentary featuring the history of the German Panzer which includes rare unseen footage.
• A2 poster

Achtung Panzer is set in the period between February 2nd and March 3rd 1943, during this time the German Army was facing the Soviets in a pitch battle for the strategic point of Kharkov. This was to prove a decisive battle in the war for the Russian Front. Kharkov 1943 is a ground-breaking war game uniquely dedicated to the last great German victory in the east.

Want to find yourself in the very center of Kharkov Defence Operation as an army commander? You’ll have everything the officers had back then – tanks, gunnery and fearless soldiers. The success of each opposing force is hanging in the balance every day. Your decisions determine who wins the Battle for Kharkov.

Within the game the in-game, god-mode camera gives you the ability to zoom into close quarter combat action and observe individual unit combat result battle detail.

The main game features:

Jason Codd of Lace Mamba global has high hopes for the game:

“Achtung Panzer is the most realistic tank simulation game available, and with the addition of the DVD and poster, gamers will get a real value for money. We are looking forward to the release been a success”

“Achtung Panzer” has had some terrific reviews already as see below:

GameOn 8.5/10
”I applaud the developers for their attention to detail and their creation of one of the best strategy games I have seen in a long time.”

EGC Games 78%
” Historical accuracy, vehicular detail, AI and gameplay will not disappoint wargamers. ”

GamersAthome 7/10
”All in all I give this game a 7/10 purely for the lack of control of the camera, but with that aside it is a really cool game”

With more than 613,000 units sold in February, the Nintendo DS™ family of systems set a new U.S. record for portable video game sales in the month of February, according to the independent NPD Group. This tally surpasses the previous record of more than 597,000 units set by Nintendo DS in February 2009.

Wii recorded another strong month of sales, despite being hindered by continued product shortages that affected U.S. retail locations during the month. Even so, Nintendo still managed to sell more than 397,000 Wii systems at retail for the month.

With these sales through the end of February, consumers have already purchased 1.9 million Nintendo hardware systems in 2010 alone.

“Here in its sixth year of availability, Nintendo DS continues to expand the appeal of video games,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “We expect the public’s appetite for these systems will grow even more when we introduce our new extra-large model, the Nintendo DSi XL, on March 28.”

Three of the top five best-selling games of February play on Nintendo systems. These include New Super Mario Bros.™ Wii at No. 1 with more than 555,000 sold, Ubisoft’s Just Dance™ at No. 4 with more than 275,000 sold and Wii Sports Resort™ with the Wii MotionPlus™ accessory at No. 5 with more than 272,000 sold.

Source:  www.nintendo.com

Wield Aragorn’s Sword on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PSP, Wii and Nintendo DS in Autumn 2010

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, The Saul Zaentz Company and New Line Productions, Inc. announce that The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest videogame will launch on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system with full support for PlayStation’s upcoming motion controller technology at the controller’s launch. This family-friendly action-adventure game, based on the films and literature of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, will ship in Autumn 2010 for the PlayStation 3 system, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ system.

In The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest videogame, players become the legendary hero Aragorn and relive his most daring battles from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The action-packed sword, bow and horseback adventures will be enhanced for players of all ages through high-quality graphics and gameplay created especially for the PlayStation 3 system. Utilizing PlayStation’s upcoming motion controller for precision through mastery, The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest videogame engages players with intuitive motion-control gameplay where every controller gesture instantly and accurately translates to weapon strikes in the game. Exclusively for the PlayStation 3 system and Wii, two-player motion controlled co-op gameplay featuring Gandalf allows kids, families and friends to battle side-by-side in the heart of the action.

The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest videogame will feature the voice talents of actor Sean Astin (Rudy, The Goonies, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) and actor and vocal artist John Rhys-Davies (Indiana Jones, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy). Both Astin and Rhys-Davies will reprise their on-screen roles of Samwise Gamgee and Gimli. The game also showcases original in-game music tracks along with music from The Lord of the Rings film scores created by composer Howard Shore.

The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest is developed for Wii by Headstrong Games and for the PlayStation 3 system, PlayStation 2 system, PSP system and Nintendo DS by TT Fusion.

Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, announces FINAL FANTASY® XIII, the latest project in the multi-platinum FINAL FANTASY series,  it`s available from today, 9th March 2010, for both the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

FINAL FANTASY XIII marks the dawning of a new era for the celebrated series, bringing the series to multiple hi-definition consoles simultaneously for the first time in its history. Expanding upon the rich tradition of the series, producer Yoshinori Kitase (FINAL FANTASY VII, X, X-2), director Motomu Toriyama (FINAL FANTASY VII, X, X-2), character designer Tetsuya Nomura (FINAL FANTASY V, VI, VII, VIII, X) and art director Isamu Kamikokuryo (FINAL FANASY X, XII) combine their creative vision to deliver the latest masterpiece in the FINAL FANTASY universe. Additionally, Masashi Hamauzu (FINAL FANTASY X, DIRGE of CERBERUS -FINAL FANTASY VII-) presents a sweeping soundtrack while movie director Takeshi Nozue (FINAL FANTASY VII ADVENT CHILDREN) and his team of artists adorn the game with seamless cinematic sequences of unparalleled calibre.

Introducing new worlds, memorable characters and extraordinary stories with each new instalment, the FINAL FANTASY series has continued to reinvent itself over the last two decades and has shipped over 92 million copies worldwide. The series is defined by a constant evolution, offering nothing less than the finest creative vision, graphical quality and gameplay system of its generation with every instalment, and FINAL FANTASY XIII will be no exception to its legacy.
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Source: www.finalfantasy13game.com

Meridian4  is excited to announce that they have signed a digital publishing agreement with Headup Games to publish their future titles for three years, starting with the turn-based strategy title; Future Wars.

“Expanding our well-working and established partnership with Meridian4 to a full portfolio scenario is the next strategic and logical step towards our aim to reach gamers on a worldwide level throughout all retail and media channels. We started strong with the first two titles and are very much looking forward to bringing and creating new franchises together with their very experienced team” said Dieter Schoeller, Managing Director of Headup Games.

“Our initial agreement with them for Greed and Gear Grinder was very successful and we are delighted that we are able to continue to work with Headup Games. Their original and unique titles, such as Future Wars are a great match with our audience. We know that this title will do well and will have a wide appeal to all types of gamers.” said Andy Sher, CEO at Meridian4.

Future Wars
Similar to classic titles such as Advance Wars and Battle Isle, the game takes turn-based strategy gaming away from the micro-management overkill that it has become and using simple, proven rock-paper-scissors principles, reopens the genre to a wider audience.

With a modern 3D engine providing the graphics, a proven, easy to learn, but difficult to master set of rules surrounded by an engaging plot and challenging gameplay, the game will appeal to newcomers and hard-core gamers alike.

Also available is unlimited access and infinite possibilities to mod the game through open data structure, open scripts and an easy-to-use editor.

• Modern 3D graphics & proven gameplay embedded in an engaging and sometimes, humorous plot
• Infinite modding possibilities through open data structure, open scripts and editor
• Novel and unique game modes such as AI vs. AI or play-by-email
• Rock-paper-scissors principle makes Future Wars easy to learn but difficult to master
• In-game achievements encourages replay to acquire top honors

Targeted New Content Proves to Resonate With Players

Sony Online Entertainment announced that its family-friendly online game, Free Realms, has surpassed nine million registered players.

“With Free Realms, we’ve been able to reflect the needs and wants of our players by keenly listening to their suggestions and feedback,” said John Smedley, president of SOE. “We believe the persistent exercise of capturing in-game research inside Free Realms has been a huge contributing factor as to why we’ve attracted over nine million players in less than a year. It truly helps us give our players a game where they can do and be whatever they want.”

Continuous development of new features and themed in-game events, as well as persistent marketing support, has drawn a constant influx of new players into the free-to-play virtual world. An example of a customer-requested feature recently introduced in Free Realms is Rides.

Introduced last month, Rides not only look cool and come in multiple color choices, but they allow players who have purchased a Membership to hop on the back of a T-Rex or Dragon and travel anywhere in the overland world at 150% of their normal speed. Building on this player-driven feature request, Horses are the next Rides scheduled to be released, with more types of transportation in the works. The development team is also set to introduce new Owl and Groundhog pets, as well as an exciting new 3-D minigame in the near future.

Free Realms offers an endless array of activities and mini-games to entertain players. From ninja fighting to kart racing to raising pets, Free Realms offers a safe, family-friendly environment to connect with old and new friends. Also available is the Free Realms Trading Card Game: a full-featured trading card game, playable both digitally within the Free Realms online game and offline via physical card decks sold wherever you buy trading cards. Free Realms players can also pop into select retailers to purchase Station Cash™ cards, which can be redeemed for Station Cash, and used to buy virtual goodies or upgrade to a Membership status in the game.

Free Realms is rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and up with content descriptors of Crude Humor and Fantasy Violence. To play Free Realms, visit: http://www.FreeRealms.com.

KH Closed Beta Sign-Up is Officially Underway

Aeria Games & Entertainment, one of the fastest growing publishers of free-to-play online games in North America and Europe, has officially unveiled its newest title, Kingdom Heroes. Players interested in testing the game prior to its Spring 2010 release can visit the official site, starting today, and sign up to participate in the upcoming Closed Beta.

Kingdom Heroes (KH) is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that introduces a variety of new, revolutionary features to the MMO genre. In Kingdom Heroes, players will be able to:

• Recruit and customize NPC soldiers to form their own personal armies.
• Organize a crew of players and take to the seas in exciting ship battles.
• Work together to establish, develop, and defend player-controlled cities.
• Conquer enemy strongholds using an impressive arsenal of troops, mounts, ships, and powerful siege engines.

In addition to this unparalleled array of game features, Kingdom Heroes offers numerous character customization options, branching classes and talent trees, mounted combat, a player based economy, instanced battlefields, thousands of quests, and global player-versus-player (PvP) events where rival factions battle for control of player cities and territory.

For more information about Kingdom Heroes, screenshots and video, or to be among the first to register for the Closed Beta period, visit http://kingdomheroes.aeriagames.com.

Unknown Worlds, developers of Natural Selection 2, have confirmed with Valve that their pre-orders will transfer properly to Steam.

Unknown Worlds has been funded largely by its community and preorders although many players have been waiting to hear if pre-ordering now would let them download and play the game on Steam later.

Pre-ordering now gives immediate access to NS2 mapping tools and artwork as well as early access to the alpha or beta when ready. Unknown Worlds is now testing its proprietary “Spark” engine with a small number of players and will expand that to everyone that has pre-ordered the Special Edition shortly.

Natural Selection 2 can be pre-ordered for at a special price of $19.95/€14.75 (Standard Edition) or for $39.95/€29.56 (Special Edition) at http://www.naturalselection2.com/buy. Over 10,000 players have pre-ordered to date. The tools and SDK are available now at http://www.naturalselection2.com/download.

Natural Selection 2
Natural Selection 2 is the sequel to the popular Half-life mod, Natural Selection, which was the most popular independent Half-life mod and was played by over 300,000 players for over 2 billion player-minutes. Natural Selection 2 is a online-only first-person shooter and real-time strategy hybrid. Players can play as marines, aliens or commanders and fight in atmospheric sci-fi environments. It features:

• Truly unique sides. Whether you play as one of the elite marine Frontiersmen or the vicious alien Kharaa, you must use unique strategies and your abilities to win. Marines form persistent squads to find and destroy alien hives. Aliens can choose a wall-running Skulk, pudgy Gorge, flying Lerk, murderous Fade or gigantic Onos that can smash through doors.

• Real-time strategy. Commanders play from overhead to lead their team to victory. Build structures anywhere, collect resources and research upgrades. Marines buy weapons at an Armory or build sentry turrets and siege cannons to assault the enemy. Aliens build chambers, evolve special abilities and plant traps.

• Dynamic environments. Spreading alien infestation deforms hallways and causes space station power failure, turning off lights and shutting down marine powered structures. Use a flamethrower to clear infestation or weld a bulkhead shut for a last defense. Every game is different.

• Unlimited variations. WYSIWYG graphical tools and powerful scripting allow you to create new weapons, scenarios or entirely new games. You’ll get all our tools and Lua source code we’re using to build NS2. Ongoing automatic updates keep the game fresh by adding new maps, weapons and abilities.