Week of October 8, 2006

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. With football season in full swing, I know I certainly am enjoying Sundays. We have another round of game reviews for you today. Do enjoy:

Stardock Entertainment announced today that it has reached an agreement to publish Ironclad Games’ genre-defining strategy game, Sins of a Solar Empire, bringing the title to TotalGaming.net and retail stores across North America in August 2007 for a suggested retail price of $39.95.

Sins of a Solar Empire represents the birth of the RT4X genre, seamlessly blending spectacular tactical combat with grand-scale space strategy. Players must conquer worlds, engage in diplomacy and trade with other civilizations, and use the resources at their disposal to enhance their economy, develop new technology and increase military power. They must then test their mettle on a 3D tactical battlefield, where their ships will fight it out in stunning visual glory.

Sins of a Solar Empire is exactly the sort of game we’ve been looking for,” said Brian Clair, Director of Games Publishing for Stardock Entertainment. “Ironclad is developing a beautiful and ambitious game that merges the best elements of 3D space-based real-time strategy and ‘4X’ games like Galactic Civilizations II.”

Stardock is an exceptionally natural fit for Sins and Ironclad. They have a genuine passion for strategy games and an uncompromising commitment to quality,” said Blair Fraser, Producer at Ironclad Games. Craig Fraser, Creative Director of Ironclad Games commented further, “We are very fortunate to work with the best — they know the genre, have a model that works and support our vision more than we could ask for. We are looking forward to a solid relationship that will push the bounds of strategy games as we know them.”

DARK MESSIAH OF MIGHT AND MAGIC™ GOES GOLD

SAN FRANCISCO - October 9, 2006 - Today Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announces that Dark Messiah of Might and Magic™ has gone gold and is scheduled for North American release on October 24, 2006.

Developed in conjunction with Ubisoft, Arkane Studios (for single-player) and Kuju Entertainment (for multiplayer), Dark Messiah of Might and Magic puts players in a first-person perspective, allowing them to encounter ferocious combat within a dark and expansive fantasy environment.

Powered by an enhanced version of the award-winning Source™ Engine created by Valve for its Half-Life®2 video game, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic allows players to immerse themselves in an environment that responds and envelops them like never before, thanks to the Source Engine's exceptional technological enhancements in areas such as character animation, advanced AI, real-world physics and shader-based rendering.

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic will be available for PC at the manufacturer's suggested retail price of $49.99.

For more news and information on Dark Messiah Might and Magic, please visit the game's official website at www.mightandmagic.com.

© 2006 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Might and Magic, Dark Messiah Might and Magic, Ubisoft, Ubi.com, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. Developed by Arkane Studios. Valve, Half-Life, and Source are trademarks or registered trademarks of Valve Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Online mode developed by Kuju.

NCsoft was kind enough to send out five new screenshots and some details about some of the new creatures you can expect to see in Guild Wars Nightfall.

Stardock sent out a press release stating they are expanding the content of Dark Avatar, their upcoming expansion to Galactic Civilizations 2. Click the pics the read the whole release and see five new screenshots.