Week of March 5, 2006

Ubi soft revealed their 2006-2007 lineup for North America:

Looking for an alternative to the Nintendo DS or the Sony PSP? Lik Sang has a review of the GP2X Linux powered handheld that plays games, movies, music, and more.

Not sure how we missed this but Bethesda announced that Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth will be shipping the week of March 27, which means we should see it on stoere shelves the 28th or the 29th.

Bethesda Softworks® announced today that the highly anticipated survival horror game, Call of Cthulhu®: Dark Corners of the Earth™ for the PC will ship to North American stores the week of March 27th. Call of Cthulhu®: Dark Corners of the Earth™, developed by Headfirst Productions, is based on the Call of Cthulhu® paper-and-pencil role-playing game, which is itself inspired by H.P. Lovecraft’s novels.

Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is a first-person horror game that allows for dynamic gameplay with a unique mix of investigation, puzzle solving, exploration and combat as gamers are faced with the seemingly impossible task of battling evil incarnate. Experience an incredibly immersive gaming environment with no interface or ‘HUD’ on screen at any time during normal gameplay, realistic combat and an advanced AI system.

Set during the 1920s, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is based on the Cthulhu Mythos inspired by the writing of H.P. Lovecraft, an American fantasy and horror writer. Lovecraft, whose work has profoundly influenced numerous fantasy and science fiction writers including Stephen King and Anne Rice, tells stories of unthinkable evil, psychic possession and mythical worlds. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth was developed by Headfirst Productions and produced in conjunction with Chaosium Inc., the publishers of the classic Call of Cthulhu pen and paper RPG.

Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is rated M for Mature and is available for PC and the Xbox® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. For more information please visit www.callofcthulhu.com.

We've got another round of game reviews for you today. This time there are nine new reviews across five different platforms. There's something for everyone!

AUSTIN, Texas, March 8, 2006—NCsoft® Corporation (KSE:036570.KS), the world’s leading developer and publisher of online computer games, announced today its latest partnership with a new company in Austin. Spacetime Studios;, composed of a core team with previous leadership roles on successful franchises such as Privateer, Wing Commander and Star Wars Galaxies, will publish its next game under the NCsoft brand.

Collectively the Spacetime group has shipped 14 previous titles, two of which have been million-unit sellers.

Having the Spacetime team on board is a great step forward for NCsoft,” said Robert Garriott, CEO of NCsoft North America. “This group has a proven track record in creating games in the space genre. They’ve also been successful in developing massively multiplayer games and we believe that’s a winning combination and a perfect fit for the NCsoft lineup of products.”

Spacetime and NCsoft is a great match,” said Gary Gattis, Spacetime Studios co-founder. “They are a top-notch publisher that really cares about their developers and the quality of their games. NCsoft has shown us strong support and a willingness to provide a great balance of direction and freedom to develop a game that we have been dreaming of doing for years.”

Microsoft sent out five screenshots of the expansion for Age of Empires III, to go along with yesterday's announcement.

Six new images have been added for Battle of Europe, the upcoming WWII "dog-fighter" sim for the PC.

Ubi soft sends over five new images of Far Cry Instincts: Predator, the gorgeous looking Xbox 360 title heading our way in the near future.

It's been a while since we've heard or seen anything regarding Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, but Cthulhu has finally released three new images of the PC version of the game.

Bet you didn't see that coming. Rockstar has announced a new title for the Xbox 360, Table Tennis. We've got the press release and three screenshots for you to see.

Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment, a rising game development company, today announced that they have chosen the BigWorld Technology Suite as the platform for their ground-breaking new MMORPG, Stargate Worlds. This officially licensed MGM property is the first massively multiplayer game based on the Stargate series, and promises to deliver all of the SG-1 & Atlantis exploration, conflict and excitement to players around the world.

"We evaluated many client server solutions to aid us in creating a truly breakthrough next-generation MMO", said Joe Ybarra, Vice President of Product Development at Cheyenne Mountain. "But by far the best overall solution for us is BigWorld's powerful client/server engine and streamlined production toolset. We are excited to be teaming up with them on this project."

Atari sends word that they will be releasing a demo of Act of War: High Treason this Thursday, allowing you to sample the expansion.

We apologize if news has been a little slow around here. We've been busy reviewing all kinds of games... fourteen games to be exact. Today we bring you fourteen game reviews across five platforms.

State of Emergency 2 for the PlayStation 2

Rainbow Six: Lockdown for the PC

Magna Carta: Tears of Blood for the PlayStation 2

Grandia 3 for the PlayStation 2

24: The Game for the PlayStation 2

Fight Night ROund 3 for the Xbox 360

Guitar Hero for the PlayStation 2

Chibi Robo for the GameCube

Tales of Eternia for the Sony PSP

Shadow of Rome for the PlayStation 2

Full Auto for the Xbox 360

Hammer & Sickle for the PC

Star Wolves for the PC

Day of Defeat: Source for the PC