Week of March 25, 2007

The official trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV has been released on the official website, but rather than streaming it, you can see the screenshots and download the trailer yourself.

Check it out now!

The vast majority of GTA fans won't need a reminder but in case you forgot, the world premier trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV will be released in one hour and twenty-three minutes. Be sure to hit the site!

Rockstar Games

NCsoft has released another mini-preview of Lineage II - The Chaotic Throne: Interlude; this one dealing with the update in general. Seven new images are included.

IDG World Expo today announced that Nintendo of America has signed on as an anchor exhibitor for IDG World Expo's newest event: Entertainment for All(TM) Expo (E for All(TM)), scheduled for October 18-21, 2007, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Nintendo leads an A-list of game companies signing on for a show that is rapidly shaping up to be the premiere event in interactive entertainment.

Entertainment for All Expo (E for All) is a new event created for people who are passionate about video games and everything related. The Expo was launched in response to strong demand within the consumer audience for an opportunity to see and try new products before they reach store shelves. Event organizers anticipate its mid-October dates will launch an early and successful holiday shopping season for the industry.

E for All Expo will offer consumers the opportunity to test-drive the latest in games and gadgetry, as well as purchase products they enjoyed over the course of the 4-day event at on-site retail facilities. Additional attractions are in the works, including high-profile videogame tournaments; job fair/networking opportunities; and the acclaimed Video Games Live concert. In addition to the Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center, the event will take advantage of soon-to-be-expanded LA Live/NOKIA Theatre area directly adjacent.

"Reality 2.0," the latest episode in "Sam & Max: Season 1,” launched today exclusively on GameTap.

With an internet crisis looming and a viral video game holding its players hostage, in this episode Sam & Max need to slip into a new reality to set things right. Can our heroes crack this virtual case in time to avoid a worldwide system failure?

Find out now only at www.gametap.com/samandmax. Plus, GameTap TV offers exclusive Sam & Max extras like the 1997 hit cartoon series and all-new machinima shorts released each week.

If you missed an episode or just can’t get enough “Sam & Max: Season 1”, the first four episodes are also available as part of the regular GameTap membership. Join now to catch up on the story and experience the best in episodic gaming.

Named one of The New York Times Top 10 PC Games of 2006, episode 1 “Culture Shock” kicked off the season with a bang. Just last month, Joystiq called episode 4, “the best episode released thus far.” GameDaily also said, “The video game industry could definitely use more games like these.”

Sign up for GameTap today and get your first month of service for just 99 cents. This flat rate means 24-7 access to all that GameTap offers, including GameTap Originals “Sam & Max: Season 1” and “Myst Online: Uru Live,” as well as more than 800 of the greatest games on-demand and over 600 videos of original programming, interviews and game trailers on GameTap TV.

To view Sam & Max trailers and machinima shorts or to download screensavers and wallpaper – visit www.gametap.com/samandmax. For screenshots and downloadable video that you can post on your own site, visit http://vip.telltalegames.com.

Ascaron sent out new images of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel for the PC and Xbox 360. This RPG is due out sometime this year.

2K Games announced today that Firaxis is working on a new exapnsion called Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword.

Deep Silver sent out eleven new images of their fantasy RPG Dawn of Magic for the PC.

1C Company announced today that their strategy adventure game Battle Lords has been given a new name, King's Bounty: The Legend.

Microsoft Corp. today announced the upcoming availability of Xbox 360™ Elite, a new model of the video game and entertainment system that will include a 120GB hard drive, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) port, a high-definition cable, and a premium black finish for the console, wireless controller and Xbox LIVE® headset. Xbox 360 Elite has enough space for a library of Xbox LIVE Arcade games and thousands of songs, as well as downloadable high-definition TV shows and movies available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. The new 120GB hard drive also will be sold as a stand-alone accessory to give current Xbox 360 owners greater choice and flexibility in their games and entertainment experience. Additional Xbox 360 Elite accessories, such as the black Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, Xbox 360 Play & Charge kit and the Xbox 360 rechargeable battery, will be available separately. The Xbox 360 Elite and its accessories are expected to begin arriving in U.S. stores on April 29.

Distinguished by its black finish and signature metallic detailing, Xbox 360 Elite will have an estimated retail price of $479.99 (U.S.) and will come packed with components and accessories for the ultimate high-definition entertainment experience:

Scouring the web in search of news, we have several items for you this evening:

Game Informer's cover story features Naughty Dog's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, their upcoming adventure game for the PlayStation 3. The Magic Box has posted some artwork, showing off the locale in which it is set.

Visit the site

NCsoft dropped the double whammy today by announcing both Guild Wars: Eye of the North, the last add-on for the Guild Wars series, and Guild Wars 2, the obvious sequel to the extremely popular and free MMORPG.

Guild Wars: Eye of the North

Guild Wars 2

Turbine, Inc. and Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY) announced a massive, free "World Tour of Middle-earth" available to players throughout North America. Over one million players are planned to be invited into The Lord of the Rings Online (TM): Shadows of Angmar (TM), the most complete and authentic massively multiplayer online (MMO) world based upon the famous Books of J.R.R. Tolkien. The World Tour of Middle-earth is scheduled to begin on April 6th and continue until the anticipated launch of the game on April 24th.

Free access to this hotly anticipated game combined with the staggering size and scale of the World Tour of Middle-earth make this an unprecedented event in the MMO industry. Players can pre-order the game at select retail stores nationwide or at www.lotro.com/preorder and start their adventures in Middle-earth beginning on March 30th.

Advancement in the game will be capped at level 15 which will give players a great opportunity to experience the most authentic online persistent recreation of Middle-earth ever created. Players should visit www.lotro.com/worldtour to get more information on how to obtain a World Tour key.

The Lord of the Rings Online is the first and only massively multiplayer online role-playing game based upon the Books of J.R.R. Tolkien. The game recreates the vast world of Middle-earth with incredible dedication to the lore with an unprecedented level of detail. The game delivers an experience that takes players beyond the Books to where they can create their own story within the most famous fantasy world of all time. For more information, please visit www.lotro.com.

We've posted a new preview of Lineage 2: The Chaotic Throne - Interlude, this time focusing on the weapons you'll find.

Funcom released a few more screenshots of their newest MMORPG Age of Conan.

The first patch for S.T.AL.K.E.R.: Shadows of Chernobyl has been released, fixing 66 bugs and various other "anomalies."

Get the Patch

The official website for Two Worlds, the action RPG from ZUXXEZ Entertainment, has been updated with four new screenshots of the Xbox 360 version.

Visit the site

Demos

Super Talent is proud to announce they are the recepients of the "Innovation of the Year" Award at this year's CeBIT.

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of DRAM memory modules and flash products, took top honors at the 2007 CeBIT show when PC Professionell presented their prestigious “Innovation of the Year” Award for the peripherals category to Super Talent Vice President, Mr. CH Lee. Super Talent, with its IDE Solid State Disk (SSD) drive which was recognized as a major innovation in storage, joined the ranks of former laureates AMD™, Nokia™, Mozilla Firefox™, Transmeta™, and Novell™. PC Professionell is widely regarded as the largest and most respected computer magazine in Germany.

“We are truly honored to win this equivalent of a High Tech Oscar. This is a clear reflection of our focus on developing innovative memory products”, stated Super Talent Marketing Director Joe James.

Super Talent recently announced a new generation of Serial ATA (SATA) SSD drives. The company’s SSD product offering now includes 1.3-inch, 1.8-inch, and 2.5-inch IDE drives up to 64GB and 1.8-inch, 2.5-inch, and 3.5-inch SATA drives up to 128GB.

Since its launch more than a year ago, GameTap Thursday continues the tradition of adding top game titles each week to GameTap’s already massive on-demand catalogue of more than 800 console, arcade and computer video games. With so many classic game titles, as well as some of the best played franchise games of recent years, here are some recently added strategy gems you should know about:

Myth II™: Soulblighter: Two of the Myth series’ epic sword & sorcery sequels debut today on GameTap. Myth 2 was born from the creative minds at Bungie Studios, who brought the gaming world one the biggest franchises of all time - Halo. Mixing strategy with fantasy, this medieval masterpiece will win over gamers who like a good evening of dungeon crawling and undead skewering. When Soulblighter originally launched, GameSpot said “Myth 2 is about as good as a computer game can possibly be.”

Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri™: Alpha Centauri reflects one of the greatest contributions to evolving the strategy genre. As you explore an alien planet, it is up to you to uncover its mysteries, build your empire, and conquer your enemies with the ultimate war machine. This title received a score of 98 from PC Gamer, their highest game score rating to date.

X-Com: UFO Defense: Scoring a 94% on GameRankings.com, this legendary turn-based game is one of the defining titles of the genre. Players lead a top-secret paramilitary group tasked with protecting Earth from hostile aliens, while relying on both combat and management simulation gameplay to save the day.

Players can visit the GameTap Vault to get access to even more top strategy games such as Myth III, Civilization III Gold Edition, Command & Conquer, Homeworld I and II, Heroes of Might and Magic I, II and III, and Empire Earth.

In addition to games, GameTap provides subscribers with unlimited access to more than 600 original TV shows and videos that cater to fans of the video game lifestyle.

To register for GameTap, visit www.gametap.com where your first month of service is only 99˘.