> December
5, 2006
Splinter Cell demo for Xbox Live
Rayman Raving Rankings
GameTap goes to war
Warpath reaches Europe
Depths of Peril announced
Guild Wars grabs award
VIva Pinata party pumped
Roboblitz arrives on Xbox Live
TOM CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL DOUBLE
AGENT(TM) SINGLE PLAYER DEMO TO BE RELEASED ON MARKETPLACE
San Francisco – December 5, 2006 –
Ubisoft announced today that a single player playable demo of Tom Clancy's
Splinter Cell Double Agent(TM) for the Xbox 360(TM) is now available for
download on Xbox Live Marketplace.
This single player demo is set in
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Sam must weave a careful path to
his objective while avoiding the ravages of an active civil war.
In this particular mission, you are
caught between two sides of a civil war, and must traverse a delicate path
between both sides. Your ultimate assignment is another double agent
choice – kill a member of a rival terrorist organization who also
happens to be a U.S. government agent – in fact, another double agent!
If you kill him, information critical to national security dies with him.
But if you don't, your cover's blown and millions will surely die. Tom
Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent is one of the blockbuster games
available for the Xbox 360 this holiday season. Check out the demo and see
why. While you're at it also look for all the great Splinter cell movie
trailers, gamer pictures and themes, and much more available now in Xbox
Live Marketplace!
BECOME THE WORLD'S GREATEST CARROT
JUICE SPLASHER
Ubisoft launches Rayman Raving
Rabbids(TM) Hall of Fame feature on raymanzone.com
SAN FRANCISCO – December 5, 2006 –
Today Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers announced
the launch of the Rayman Raving Rabbids(TM) Hall of Fame. Accessible
through the official website, Raymanzone (www.raymanzone.com), this new
interactive web-based feature consists of various leader boards based on
the players' performances. All game scores can be found classified on a
worldwide, national basis, for all mini-games (over 120 challenges), or
per platform... This is where you'll see if you can hold the world record
for total distance you can throw a cow…seriously!
How does it work? Any time you play a
party game in the Score Attack mode, you receive an Internet Code. This
code can be entered on www.raymanzone.com (ubi.com account is mandatory)
to take part in the hall of fame. Of course, you can always improve your
score and submit new Internet Codes. Each Internet Code is unique, as it
is based on your actual performance in the game.
Extra features Players will be able to
compare their global ranking or latest scores with other players across
the planet and forward them over to their friends. They will also be able
to check out their friends' scores and decide if they want to beat them
all!
For more information about Rayman Raving
Rabbids(TM), please visit www.raymanzone.com.
GameTap Announces 20th Century
Warfare Week Featuring a Platoon of Air, Sea and Land Military Games
Turner Broadcast’s GameTap advances
onto the battle field with the introduction of thirteen combat games to
its catalog of more than 750 titles. Among the array of popular titles
being announced is the stellar “Soldiers: Heroes of War II.” According
to GameRankings.com, this title exceeded an 80% rating by the majority of
leading video game publications who reviewed it.
This week’s full list of featured
action titles includes:
Air Raid (PC): An addictive WWII game
that puts you in the middle of the action, defending your battleship from
Japanese kamikazes and German fighters. This first person shooter orders
you to man a Borfor anti-aircraft deck gun through 99 fictitious missions.
G.I. combat: Episode 1, Battle of
Normandy (PC): Join the allied forces as they uproot the German stronghold
to capture Normandy. G.I. Combat makes you the company commander in one of
the deadliest battles of the war.
Pearl Harbor 2 (PC): This war simulation
game puts the day of infamy into your hands. Called to fend off the
Japanese, you’ll be shooting down planes and taking names from a U.S.
Navy gun turret.
Cuban Missile Crisis: The Aftermath
(PC): Built around a post apocalyptic, 1962 setting, this real-time
strategy game offers a glimpse into an alternate reality, one that you
need to command your forces out of.
Soldiers™: Heroes of World War II
(PC): Join the American fighting campaign in this squad-level real-time
strategy game that puts the enemy in your sights. Navigate through 30
levels to decide the outcome of the war and your fate.
P.O.W. Prisoners of War™ (PC): With
brutal action and fast gameplay, this shooter drops you behind enemy
lines, forcing you to escape using only what you can wrestle from the
enemy.
Why get in harms way and risk your own
life, when you can command a unit on GameTap and save the world? With
GameTap, subscribers have unlimited access to these games and more than
750 others all for one price, which also includes over 600 original TV
shows and videos that cater to fans of the video game lifestyle. To
register for GameTap, visit www.gametap.com where you can sign up for as
little as $6.95 per month, and get your first month for just 99 cents.
Guild Wars Factions Wins Billboard’s
DEMMX Award for Multiplayer Game of the Year
Kudos Continue to Roll in for Critically
Acclaimed Guild Wars® Series
December 4, 2006 (BELLEVUE, WA) —
Guild Wars Factions™, one of the year’s most-popular online games,
took home the award for Multiplayer Game of the Year Wednesday at
Billboard Magazine’s prestigious Digital Entertainment Marketing and
Media Excellence (DEMMX) awards gala. Guild Wars Factions was honored as
the best game played online by more than one player.
Guild Wars, Guild Wars Factions, and
Guild Wars Nightfall™ are online roleplaying games where players explore
a rich fantasy world, acquire skills, build personalized characters, and
compete in head-to-head battles with players from around the world. In
addition to the compelling game design and innovative technology that make
playing Guild Wars a unique experience, the success of Guild Wars is due
in part to a revolutionary business model in which no monthly subscription
fee is charged to its users.
First released in April 2005, Guild Wars
topped the sales charts around the globe and launched what has become one
of the most critically acclaimed franchises in the genre. The hotly
anticipated follow-up, Guild Wars Factions, was released in April 2006,
and again the game was #1 in North America and Europe. The latest
adventure, Guild Wars Nightfall, was released in October 2006. With rave
reviews and millions of players worldwide, Guild Wars continues to set the
bar in online gaming.
Lighthouse on the WarPath
Haarlem, The Netherlands, December 5th 2006. Leading entertainment
software publisher Lighthouse Interactive today announced that it has
acquired the European publishing rights to Groove Games fast-paced sci-fi
First Person Shooter (FPS) game, WarPath for the PC. Developed by renowned
development studio Digital Extremes, WarPath is an explosive combination
of numerous single player and multiplayer modes sure to please FPS fans.
The game is set to hit retail stores throughout Europe in Q1, 2007.
“We are extremely pleased to be
working with Groove Games in bringing this title to the European market”,
said Erik Schreuder, CEO of Lighthouse Interactive. “WarPath has all the
elements gamers are looking for in a great FPS; neverending action,
beautiful graphics and most of all, great gameplay.”
“WarPath gets back to the essence of
what a multiplayer FPS should be: fast, stunning and fun”, said Michael
Haines Managing Director for Groove Games Limited. “We’re really
pleased to be working with Lighthouse to bring this high powered
innovative game, with unlimited replayability, to the European Market.”
About WarPath
Three alien species: The Ohm, The Kovos,
The Coalition. One planet... Kaladi, a veritable utopia rich in resources
and beauty, one of the galaxies most coveted, guarded and hidden
treasures. Until now. Three conflicting agendas: life, faith, a new
beginning. One option... You must choose your side and claim this world
for your race, laying waste to your enemies as you strive to attain
dominance on a futuristic battlefield. Three different paths... One war...
WarPath is a fast-paced FPS game featuring a unique single player mode
that allows gamers to battle for control of different territories, each
providing distinct strategic advantages. Once players have honed their
skills in the single player missions, they can jump online and let the
real action begin.
WarPath features
- 3 different races to choose from, each
with their own unique weapon load-out and appearance. - 3 land-based
vehicles. - 8 distinctively different weapons, including the Wolverine,
Tyrant, Javelin, Judge, Vanguard, Vibro Blade, and EMAD, allowing for a
highly diversified range of play styles. - Weapons can be upgraded to
unlock more functionality and greater destructive force with each new
level. - UNREAL™ engine and Havok™ physics technology provide stunning
visuals and effects. - 4 Modes of intensely addictive multiplayer action -
Death Match, Team Death Match, Capture the Flag, and Frontline Assault. -
25 Multiplayer levels that take players across the diverse environments of
the Kaladi System. - Support for 2-16 players via LAN or Online, allowing
battles to be intimate grudge matches, or all out clan carnage! Access to
all the weapons and upgrades that players unlocked and mastered in the
single player campaign.
The Battle Goes live in Europe this
coming Winter 2007, When Worlds Collide and Three Races Fight for
Dominance.
Soldak announces Depths of Perial,
a new unique action strategy rpg
Dallas, Texas, December 5, 2006 - Soldak
Entertainment today announced Depths of Peril for Windows PCs. Depths of
Peril is a single player action role-playing game (rpg) with strong
strategy elements. You play as a faction leader protecting the barbarian
city, Jorvik, by destroying threatening monsters and completing quests. At
the same time, you compete with rival factions to see who will rule the
city. Barbarians choose their leaders by fighting to the death!
As a faction leader, you must deal with
rival factions through diplomacy, trade, and in time, war. Between battles
and raids against other barbarian factions, you build the most powerful
faction possible, to withstand your enemies. Building the power of a
faction involves exploring a fantasy world, slaying dangerous monsters,
solving quests for the city, avoiding deadly traps, and plundering loot to
share within your faction.
But in this world, actions actually have
consequences, so take care. Annoying the powerful and aggressive Legion of
Fear faction will cause them to declare war and destroy you. Ignored Orc
uprisings in the Black Forest will cause even more trouble. Protect ally
covenants that are being raided, because friends are hard to come by.
Depths of Peril is scheduled to be
released in the 1st quarter of 2007, however it will be released when it's
done.
About Soldak Entertainment, Inc.
Soldak Entertainment, Inc. is a small
independent developer, focused on bringing new and unique gameplay to the
entertainment industry. Soldak was founded by Steven Peeler. Before
embarking on his own in late 2004 to create Depths of Peril, he was
Technical Director of Ritual Entertainment.
Horstachios, Fudgehogs and
Pretztails, Oh My!
Smashing good times at the world’s
biggest piñata party as thousands danced with star Mario Lopez to
celebrate the launch of “Viva Piñata” on Xbox 360.
LOS ANGELES — Dec. 4, 2006 — Over
the weekend, Mario Lopez was spotted hanging out with some characters who
really know how to party. And everybody knows piñatas love a good bash!
At the festive event of the season, Lopez joined the characters from the
“Viva Piñata” animated series from 4Kids TV — Hudson Horstachio,
Fergy Fudgehog and Paulie Pretztail — along with thousands of kids and
their families at the world’s biggest piñata party for the launch of
“Viva Piñata™,” the new video game for play exclusively on the Xbox
360™ game and entertainment system. In celebration of the worldwide
rollout of “Viva Piñata,” crowds took a break from holiday shopping
to convene on the famous Santa Monica Pier to ring in this colorful title
that is breaking new ground in family entertainment.
On Dec. 2 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.,
Hudson, Fergy and Paulie invited the world to the Pier, which was
transformed into a festive Piñata Island for the occasion. Kids and
families got their groove on as Lopez led the crowd in the official “Viva
Piñata” dance and posed for photos. At the free event, kids were
invited to participate in piñata “pulls” for an opportunity to win an
Xbox 360 console, copies of the “Viva Piñata” game and other exciting
prizes; come face-to-hoof with a Horstachio piñata 35 feet tall; pose for
their close-ups with the animated series’ celebrity hosts; try their
hand at the “Viva Piñata” video game; and take a free ride on the
historic Santa Monica carousel. Parents were encouraged to learn more
about online safety for their children in the Xbox 360 Family Settings
area.
The excitement didn’t stop there.
Although no sticks were taken to the piñatas, it truly was the “thwack”
heard around the world as countries far and wide celebrated the worldwide
launch of the game in their own unique style. In true Viva Piñata spirit,
the Xbox 360 team in Mexico City set about establishing a new world record
for the biggest piñata. Forty-five people worked on the construction
process, and over 800 people (kids and their families) had a hand in
finishing the giant Horstachio piñata, which stands 14.6 meters tall and
16 meters long (approximately 48 feet by 52 feet), weighs 2 metric tons
(4,400 pounds), and took three full weeks to create.
“How do you launch a game about
piñatas? You throw the world’s biggest piñata party!” said Jeff
Bell, corporate vice president of global marketing for the Interactive
Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “‘Viva Piñata’ on Xbox 360 is
slated to be available in 37 countries and 17 languages next year,
inviting kids, parents and all game players to create their own unique
Piñata Island. They can also trade piñatas and interact with one another
in a worldwide online community through Xbox Live, for a truly global
experience.”
People first experienced the world of
“Viva Piñata” in September, with the debut of the computer-generated
animation series produced by 4Kids Entertainment and Bardel Entertainment
on 4Kids TV on FOX. The zany, anything-can-happen comedy series about the
world of piñatas airs Saturday mornings on 4Kids TV in the U.S. and on
YTV in Canada, and will soon be on the air around the world.
After appearing on U.S. store shelves in
November, “Viva Piñata” is already a hit, making waves with consumers
and press alike. Fans are enamored with the vibrant world where they can
create and customize their own environment to attract, tame and nurture
more than 60 species of wild piñata and explore hundreds of
personalization options, including naming their piñatas, choosing
accessories for them to wear, and deciding where to plant grass and
flowers. Players can also connect with friends, family and other players
around the world through the Xbox Live® online entertainment network,
where they can trade items from their piñata paradise — everything from
the smallest plant to the largest piñata. Xbox Live will offer
accessories for download into the game to personalize piñata collections.
“It’s great to see a video game that
is safe and fun for kids but that adults will love just as much,” Lopez
said. “I had to battle my way through throngs of kids just itching to
get their hands on the game, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down.
Starting with some basic tools that allow you to create a thriving piñata
paradise that is teeming with wild and wonderful little piñata animals
and is uniquely your own is incredibly entertaining and really quite
satisfying.”
An Xbox representative for Hudson
reported, “When Hudson found out that Mario Lopez would be joining the
world’s biggest piñata party, he almost lost his candy. He’s a huge
fan, and quite an avid dancer himself. The chance to cut up a rug with —
and teach a few moves to — Mario was the opportunity of a lifetime for
him. What a way to celebrate this launch.”
“Viva Piñata” from Rare and
Microsoft Game Studios is rated “E” for Everyone and is available
exclusively on Xbox 360 for an estimated retail price of $49.99. The
two-disc “Viva Piñata” Special Edition Xbox 360 game, available for a
limited time, will include a second disc with playable demos of LucasArts’
“LEGO® Star Wars® II: The Original Trilogy,” the arcade classic “Frogger”
as well as family favorites “Cloning Clyde,” “Time Pilot” and “Marble
Blast.” In addition, a full-length episode from the zany,
anything-can-happen animated TV series “Viva Piñata” is also
included.
The Family Settings feature on Xbox 360
takes the family entertainment experience to a new level. When users are
playing offline, Family Settings can be set to grant or restrict access to
games based on the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rating.
Family Settings can be used to restrict access to online content and
contact based on the parent or guardian’s choice. With “Viva Piñata”
rated “E” for Everyone, the whole family can enjoy the game.
About Xbox 360
Xbox 360 is the most powerful video game
and entertainment system, delivering the best games, the next generation
of the premier Xbox Live online gaming network and unique digital
entertainment experiences that revolve around gamers. Xbox 360 is expected
to have a catalog of 160 high-definition games by the end of 2006 and to
be available in nearly 40 countries by the end of 2007. More information
can be found online at http://www.xbox.com/xbox360.
About Xbox Live
Xbox Live is the first and only unified
online entertainment network seamlessly integrated throughout the entire
console experience, making it easy for people to find the friends, games
and entertainment they want from the moment they power on their Xbox 360
system. Xbox Live connects millions of members across 24 countries to
enjoy hundreds of multiplayer games, downloadable games via Xbox Live
Arcade, free and premium playable game demos, music videos, and movie
trailers, as well as new game levels, characters and vehicles for all
their favorite retail games. More information can be found online at http://www.xbox.com/en-us/live.
Save the Robot, Save the World
with RoboBlitz on Xbox Live Arcade
Experience the power of the Unreal
Engine 3 for the first time in an Xbox Live Arcade game in “RoboBlitz,”
this week’s Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday’s release. This independently
developed breakthrough game will be available for download on Xbox Live
Arcade for Xbox 360 beginning Wednesday, December 6, after 0800 GMT (1:00
a.m. PST).
Independent developer Naked Sky
Entertainment created “RoboBlitz” using the latest in game technology
to deliver an innovative, high definition experience. “RoboBlitz” is a
fast-paced, 3D action game with unique physics, inventive gizmos, creative
weapons, and robotic characters. Players take on the role of Blitz, a
multi-talented robot who must activate an aging space cannon to save his
world from a band of maladjusted space pirates. Set in seven distinct
environments, RoboBlitz features 19 levels of puzzle-solving and
high-intensity action.
“RoboBlitz” will be available
worldwide for 1200 Microsoft Points.
GAME FEATURES:
19 levels of puzzle-solving and high
intensity action set in seven distinct environments Free trial version
consists of three engaging levels A new breed of game blending fast paced
action, puzzle solving, and a playground of interactive physics Advanced
physics simulation gives the player real freedom to solve problems in
creative and unexpected ways Unique weapons including Fire-Cracker Rocket
and Point-to-Point Tractor Beam Gamers may choose their difficulty level
for ease of use and high reparability Two different levels of difficulty
(Normal and Master Technician) Master Technician mode allows players to
unlock new achievements and bonus content Expect premium downloadable
content for this title in the future – providing new game play elements
and unique challenges for “RoboBlitz” fans
WHERE CAN I GET IT: Download “RoboBlitz”
beginning on Wednesday, December 6, at 1 a.m. PST on Xbox Live Arcade.
“Roboblitz”: 1200 Microsoft Points,
Rated E10+
