Week of February 19, 2006

EA Pacific conducted a couple of internal Q&As regarding their mobster game The Godfather.

Hell's Kitchen Q&A

Contract Hits Q&A

Infinity Ward sends along some info about the upcoming updates for the PC and Xbox 360 versions of Call of Duty 2:

As you recall, back in December, we announced plans to incorporate Punkbuster, as well as offer some MP maps to the PC version for Call of Duty 2. We’re happy to report that this PC update is currently in testing and all is going well. In fact, we are testing these now and will be releasing them soon, so stay tuned. With regards to the update, here are a few things to look forward to:

Three more games were updated with new screenshots today, all for the PlayStation 2.

Echo Night Beyond

Kuon


Rebel Raiders: Operation Nighthawk

Turbine, Inc. announced today that Midway Home Entertainment Inc. (a subsidiary of Midway Games Inc. NYSE: MWY) will co–publish (along with Turbine) and distribute The Lord of the Rings Online™: Shadows of Angmar™ in North America. The Lord of the Rings Online is the world's first and only massively multiplayer online (MMO) role playing game based upon the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

"We're very excited to be working with Midway on this title," explained Jeffrey Anderson, president and CEO of Turbine. "Midway's extensive North American distribution capabilities should ensure a strong and broad based retail presence for The Lord of the Rings Online."

"The Lord of the Rings series is the foundation for so much of today's fantasy entertainment, and we expect Turbine's MMO to be a faithful, thrilling recreation of Tolkien’s world," said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway. "We are very pleased to be working with Turbine and look forward to leveraging our expertise to bring The Lord of the Rings Online to the vast legions of Tolkien fans."

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar will allow players to forge heroic legacies in the ongoing struggle for Middle–earth. Gamers of all levels will establish their unique reputations, explore incredibly detailed realms and join familiar Tolkien characters, while adventuring solo or in fellowships within an evolving and persistent re–creation of Middle–earth.

For the latest community news and images from The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, visit http://lotro.turbine.com. Visitors can join the rapidly growing community to interact with the developers, get detailed information and get ongoing first looks at exclusive content from the game.

Atari will be holding an online chat with some of the developers of TimeShift this Friday.

On Friday, February 24, 2006 at 6PM EST, the IRC channel #TimeShift on irc.enterthegame.com will host a live developer chat with Matthew Karch, CEO of Saber Interactive. A few Atari employees will be in the channel also!

This is an opportunity for you to ask to the developers about the progress of TimeShift. This is an event that you DO NOT want to miss.

To access the IRC channel simply click here http://www.enterthegame.com/chat.asp?CHAN=TimeShift or you can connect with an IRC client such as mIRC, xChat, or Trillion to /server irc.enterthegame.com . Once you are connected, you can type /join #TimeShift

Please note that if you get the message "#TimeShift Cannot Send To Channel" it means that we have muted/moderated the channel. Feel free to submit as many questions as you would like. To submit questions, simply do this: /msg EventServices your question goes here. Please submit one question per message; otherwise, it will be harder for us to know the one question that you added. We will go over the questions in a private channel and determine what should come up next, just to avoid potential off-topic questions. The chat will last about an hour, so be there early to get those questions that you have recently added!

We will announce the winner of one free copy of TimeShift at this event, so get there early and leave late!

Dreamcatcher sent over seven new images of their latest investigative thiller Crime Stories.

Some of the features include:

From the award-winning publisher of MISSING® and Syberia®

Crime Stories ships on March 14, 2006 for the PC.

Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading interactive entertainment publisher and developer, today announced MLB® SlugFest® 2006 is in development and scheduled to ship in Spring 2006 for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft, expected at a U.S. suggested retail price of $19.99.

"MLB SlugFest 2006 is the only adrenaline–style, officially MLB licensed baseball game on the market and we're very excited to be able to offer gamers the latest in the SlugFest franchise at a great value," said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway. "At a competitive price point and in a year in which fewer than usual MLB licensed games exist, we’re certain that fans will embrace having a choice at retail, especially with the enhancements that we've been able to incorporate into MLB SlugFest 2006."

We've posted new screenshots for a couple of games, Echo Night Beyond for the PlayStation 2 and War on Terror for the PC.

War on Terror

Echo Night Beyond

Rising Force Online, one of the Far East’s most successful massively multiplayer online games, is crossing over to the West as Codemasters announces it is now shipping the much-anticipated MMO to retail outlets in the U.S. and U.K.

Rising Force Online was created by and licensed from MMO publishers CCR, Inc. of South Korea, and delivers a supremely rich gaming experience that has already attracted more than 1 million players in the Far East since its launch last year, and currently thousands of gamers in the West, through the hugely popular Western BETA.

"Watching RF Online ship caps a major achievement for Codemasters Online Gaming," said Ed Relf, Head of Marketing for Codemasters Online Gaming. "The beta test has been very well received and it’s a delight to be launching what is set to be one of the most anticipated MMO releases of 2006."

With stunning in-game visuals and jaw-dropping character and environment detail, Rising Force Online is an incredible next generation MMO game. It features a unique blend of magical fantasy mixed with futuristic science-fiction action and sees players engaging in the most epic battles ever seen in a MMO role-playing game.

Set in the deep space galaxy of Novus, Rising Force Online allows players to pick from three all-powerful warring factions and lead his or her character into the final battle for control over the entire Novus galaxy.

Rising Force Online delivers a unique approach to player versus player gameplay, utilizing one of the most advanced combat systems of any MMO title. Full-scale battles break out daily as thousands of players engage in deadly wars – the reward of victory is high: the winning race gains control of the game world’s most valuable mine and its precious resources.

Each race has its own characterization, with skills and abilities taken from both traditional fantasy and science fiction. Players can join the Bellato Union and take control of their incredible Mech battle units, the like of which has never been seen before in any MMO game.

Players can also choose to join the Holy Alliance Cora, a mystical and fantasy-orientated race or sign up to the mighty Accretia Empire, a futuristic robotic race intent on pillaging resources and spreading devastation across the entire Novus sector with their advanced weapon systems.

Majesco has announced a new title for the Nintendo DS called MechAssault: Phantom War.

Read the press release

Black Bean sends word that the demo for Battle of Europe has been released today.

Empire Interactive has launched the website for Ford Street Racing. The "fast-and-furious" style racing game is headed to the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC later this month.

Visit the site