Week of July 29, 2007

Microsoft Games Studios released a narrated gameplay video for Age of Empires 3: The Asian Dynasties. The video runs three minutes and is in two different resolutions.

We have seven new images of EA's Medal of Honor: Airborne, the latest in the WWII FPS series.

Namco Bandai released eighteen new screenshots of Beautiful Katamari for the Xbox 360. The game is due out next month.

August 3, 2007 (Rockville, MD) – Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax Media company, today announced its next STAR TREK videogame, STAR TREK®: Conquest, a blend of strategy and intense action set in “The Next Generation” era. Conquest will be available for the Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo and PlayStation®2.

Players take control of Federation, Klingon, Romulan, Cardassian, Dominion, and Breen forces and lead them in a campaign to control the Galaxy, one planet at a time. Build and manage your growing empire in turn-based strategy, fully utilizing the Wii Remote™ as you select and maneuver your starships throughout the large, galactic map.

Strategically, you must effectively manage limited resources to expand your empire. You decide how to best achieve objectives by managing your fleets and admirals, building support structures, researching technology, and engaging your enemies in combat.

Once battle is initiated, Conquest switches to a ship level tactical view allowing direct command of your ships as you engage in real-time combat. While maneuvering your starship with the Nunchuk™, take direct aim and fire away with the Wii Remote™.

Conquest has not yet been rated by the ESRB. Scheduled for a simultaneous release this Holiday at an estimated MSRP of $29.99 on the Wii™ and $19.99 on the PlayStation®2. For more information visit http://startrek.bethsoft.com.

Yahoo! News has a post regarding Take Two's decision to delayed Grand Theft Auto IV until next year. yes, this is very sad news.

The game, which had been scheduled for release in October, is now planned for release in the second quarter of Take-Two's fiscal 2008. That means it will not be on store shelves in time for the holidays, dealing a blow to Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - SNE - news). (6758.T), who had been banking on the must-have title to help lift sales of their respective gaming consoles, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.

We didn't have very many game reviews in July so we thought we'd start off August with twelve reviews hot of the press.

DiRT for the Xbox 360

Transformers: The Game for the Xbox 360

Vampire Rain for the Xbox 360

All Pro Football 2K8 for the Xbox 360

DiRT for the PC

Fate for the PC

Hot Shots Tennis for the PlayStation 2

Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s for the PlayStation 2

Riviera: The Promised Land for the PSP

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythlogy for the PSP

The Darkness for the PlayStation 3

Pokemon Diamond for the Nintendo DS

Logitech sends word they will be launching two new products aimed at the gamer market. The first in the G9 Laser Mouse, their latest "gaming grade" mouse. The other is the G15 Keyboard, an updated version of their bestseller. Both products are available starting this month.

G9 Laser Mouse

G15 gaming Keyboard

NCsoft released a ten minute walkthrough video for Guild Wars: Eye of the North.

Download the video

A new game in development in the style of the classic RPGs has been brought to out attention. Eschalon: Book 1, is a classic-style RPG similar in vein to Ultima, Might & Magic, and Wizardry, being developed by Basilisk Games.

We have two new screenshots of Ascaron's RPG Sacred 2: Fallen Angel.

Codemasters sent out two new images of Clive Barker's Jericho, their upcoming horror FPS.

LONDON - 1st August, 2007 – Thanks to Xbox LIVE, Nissan, and the team at Turn 10, the very first downloadable content for Xbox 360’s acclaimed racer “Forza Motorsport 2” is now available. Speed on over to Xbox LIVE Marketplace now to download the all new free Nissan car pack, featuring three premiere Nissan models: the 2007 Sentra SE-R, Altima, and 350Z.

To celebrate this release, Xbox and Nissan will be hosting several activities focused around these new additions to “Forza Motorsport 2’s” already extensive car list. The first of these activities will be a Nissan Sentra SE-R tournament on Xbox LIVE. Fans are encouraged to customize and upgrade their Sentras and then race head-to-head in an all-out Nissan Sentra brawl. The 32 bracket 256 player tournament will kick off on 18th August and take place over the course of seven weeks. It will finish on the 6th October with a championship race live at the L.A. Auto Show. Finalists will compete for a series of prizes including a chance to win a new Nissan! Full tournament details, registration and rules can be found at www.xboxlivetournament.com starting on 10th August.

In addition to the tournament, Nissan and Xbox will also be hosting an in-game customisation contest, as fans utilise the incredibly deep livery system of “Forza Motorsport 2” to create unique and stunning paint jobs on their Nissan Sentra SE-Rs. The contest will be judged by a panel comprised of Turn 10 developers and Nissan representatives, as fans battle for the title of ultimate Nissan customiser. Full contest details and rules can be found at www.xboxlivetournament.com also starting on 10th August.

On top of the amazing content, tournaments and contests from Nissan and Xbox that kick off today, the famed Peugeot 908 race car is also now available for download. Coming off a second place finish at the recent 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 908 not only brings yet another amazing racecar to the Forza universe, but it is also the only paintable racecar to be included in the game. Please visit forzamotorsport.net for a full list of available downloadable content, as well as in-depth Pit Pass reports, Auction House bid wars, tournament standings, and stat tracking.

Micheal Shorrock, Director of 3rd Party Relations for SCEA, mentioned in a blog post of a new IP from Rockstar Games that will be exclusive to the PlayStation 3.

This is Michael Shorrock. I’m the Director of 3rd Party Relations at SCEA. As you may have seen this morning/last night on GameHead with Geoff Keighley, we are announcing that a new franchise from Rockstar Games will be exclusive to PS3. As part of our long standing relationship with Rockstar, and the incredible success for both companies with the cultural icon that is Grand Theft Auto, we’ve agreed to the PlayStation exclusive rights of the next great franchise from the Rockstar studios.

Everyone knows to have success in this business you need to look ahead, identifying the talent and titles that are going to give consumers new kinds of gaming experiences that help set the bar for the rest of the industry. Rockstar has a heritage for doing just that. We have had incredible success with the GTA franchise and are happy to continue to offer those titles on our platforms, and even more excited about what’s to come from the current and future relationship between our companies. Rockstar really wanted to make a game that you can truly only do on PS3, harnessing the power of CELL and Blu-ray disc and this deal lets them do just that.. This is really a win-win situation for both companies. As Jack mentioned in the interview with Geoff, this franchise is not LA Noire, but something all new. We agreed with Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive Software that we wouldn’t disclose anything more about the deal or title at this time, so stay tuned, we’ll share more info as soon as we can.

PlayStation Blog

IMC Online has just announced They, a first-person mystery shooter for the PC and next-gen consoles.

Today GameTap is launching “Familiar Voices,” the newest episode in “Myst Online: Uru Live.” Players can now continue the journey that has featured to date – all-new puzzles, content and Ages as seen in recent episodes “Scars” and “A New Light.”

“Since launching in February, Myst Online continues to be one of our top titles at GameTap,” said Ricardo Sanchez, vice president of content and creative director for GameTap. “One of the strengths of the game is the commitment of the community, whose interaction and feedback has a direct impact on the direction of these new episodic segments.”

In “Familiar Voices,” the newly-elected D’ni Restoration Council (DRC) releases its first Age - Jalak. Though Cate Alexander has been elected to lead the DRC, there still remains a power struggle within the Council which begins to spread throughout the cavern. Rumors of a war continue to grow, but a voice from the past returns to offer new hope.

During this latest episode, the never-before-seen Age of Jalak will be released. Jalak features an ancient arena that was once used for D’ni competitions and will allow players to compete and even create their own games.

To keep up to date with the latest news and art assets for “Myst Online: Uru Live” and to play the game for free visit www.mystonline.com.

Three new classics added to the Wii Shop Channel today:

Star Soldier (NES®, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 500 Wii Points)

Dynamite Headdy™ (Sega Genesis, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone – Comic Mischief, 800 Wii Points)

Drop Off (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 600 Wii Points)