Heaveny Sword for PS3 gets some talk

If you've got a PS3 and don't have Heavenly Sword.. .shame on you! What an awesome game it is and what an awesome lead character in the form of Nariko. Anyway that aside we thought we'd let you know we'll be covering things when Tom Jones (not the singer... the developer) hosts a series of talks between July 7 and 18. Tom Jones will give an exclusive insight into the making of Heavenly Sword at events taking place during 7-18 July in Moscow, London, Stockholm, Frankfurt and Warsaw.

We would love nothing more than to report Heavenly Sword 2 is in the offing as was suggested earlier this year by Ninja Theory heroine and cool lady Nina Kristenson, but alas that is looking less and less likely. Still, it would be awesome wouldn't it. Shame Nariko aka actress Anna Torv is so busy on J. J. Abram's new TV series Fringe to be swooshing swords about.

Snowboarding and Video Games

You can't play Guitar Hero on Tour with gloves on. That was lesson number one of our recent snowboarding trip. Number 2 was, playing a white DS, with white stylus, in the snow, never a good idea.

Yes we're back after our snowboarding break, no bones were broken, just sore ankles. Oh and what a busy week it's been with gaming, my goodness we've got so much to play it's sick!

As mentioned we took Guitar Hero on Tour with us when we were 'on tour' and it was a hoot, but not without a few issues. Still we think it's worth the purchase if you like the Guitar Hero games.

The gals over at LesbianGamers.com are letting us use their review, which will be live any moment.

Spore Galactic Edition

For the ultimate Spore fan, Maxis has announced the limited Galactic Edition of the highly-anticipated game from the creators of The Sims. This special box will contain the 'Making of Spore' DVD, ‘The Art of Spore’ hardback mini-book, a fold-out Spore poster, and a premium 100-page Galactic Handbook. The Galactic Edition will also feature a DVD documentary from the National Geographic Channel called “How to Build a Better Being”.

“The Spore Galactic Edition is the ultimate backstage pass for the Spore universe,” said Patrick Buechner, vice president of marketing, Maxis. “The Spore Galactic Edition is an incredible collection of art, video and behind-the-scenes access to the development team for fans, along with some of the coolest, most collectable packaging in years.”

Spore is released - finally - on 5th September 2008.

Feminized Girl Gaming Team

Thought the following press release might be of interest to female gamers and those interested in what's happening in the realm of female gaming, so here goes.....

With immediate effect the Female Counter Strike Source team previously known as ‘Feminized’ have become part of Reason Gaming’s expanding PC division. With a strong track record behind them the girls plan to build upon previous successes and represent Reason Gaming to the highest level in the European community.

With an undefeated record in the Femina Source League the previous Feminized line up have already displayed their potential with a flawless record. Reason’s new lineup will be taking part in the next season of the Femina Source League, SGL’s Benelux Premier Division and Enemy Down’s ladder in addition to planning boot camps and LAN’s in coming months.

The squad consists of five core members recruited from UK, Switzerland, Norway and Denmark bringing together the greatest female gaming talent in Europe, "We are proud to become part of Reason-Gaming! After finishing top in the first season of the Femina Source League undefeated, we knew it was time to move on to competitive mixed tournaments including LANs” remarked Kelly-Anne Chapman squad leader. “We have recently strengthened our team with a new 5th, and we look forward to continuing our success with great results under the Reason tag. Joining Reason will make our goals a reality, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to become part of their success story!"

“After venturing into female gaming earlier this year we were pleased to see so much interest and activity. Feminized had an impressive track record and with our other teams representing Reason at a European level we knew that the dedication and skills shown by these players were exactly what we are looking for.” noted Ben Dalloway, General Manager.

Women’s Volleyball Championship PS2

Female volleyball game for PS2 and not a bikini is sight! Who knew actual maturity and intelligence might strike video gaming in this manner. Agetec has announced its upcoming game, Women’s Volleyball Championship, for the Sony PS2. Women’s Volleyball, will feature six venues from around the world and be released in August 2008.

“A key feature in Women’s Volleyball is players get a chance to create and train their own team. If players want their volleyball players to have certain qualities, this game allows them to customize their players to their liking,” says Mark Johnson, producer at Agetec. “Another great feature of the game is that the volleyball players are affected by real life conditions like exhaustion and dominant hand, adding an unprecedented level of realism to the game.”

Not sure how well this will sell given volleyball of itself isn't a huge sport, but it's nice to see a women's sport being taken seriously for a change, shame it wasn't women's soccer, that would have been way cool.

Guitar Hero III download info

From the Press:
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jun 13, 2008: The reflective and emotional chords of multi-award winning band Coldplay are making their debut on Activision, Inc.'s (Nasdaq:ATVI) Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock with the release of a three-track downloadable song pack.

Included in the song pack is the hit single "Violet Hill," from the band's highly anticipated new album, Viva la Vida, which is set for release on June 17, 2008. The pack also features Coldplay's first smash hit "Yellow" that earned them a legion of fans worldwide, as well as the upbeat and melodic tune "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face" from the Grammy® Award-winning album, A Rush of Blood to the Head. The Coldplay track pack will be available on June 19, 2008 for download on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and in the PLAYSTATION®Store for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock offers the ultimate rock experience with new wireless guitars, freshly added content and features including a multiplayer action-inspired battle mode, grueling boss battles, a host of exclusive unlockable content and visually stunning rock venues. Expanded online multiplayer modes allow axe-shredders worldwide to compete head-to-head for true rock status as they riff through a star-studded soundtrack including master tracks by legendary artists such as Aerosmith, Guns 'N' Roses, The Rolling Stones, Beastie Boys, Rage Against the Machine and Pearl Jam, as well as original songs by guitar icons Slash and Tom Morello. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is now available and is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB. For more information visit www.guitarhero.com.

Female Games Characters in Movies

One of our favorite Grrl Gaming sites has put up a really cool article about who they think should be cast if various big name games were made into movies. The article titled 'Casting Female Gaming Leads' includes such class characters as Alyx Vance, Samus and Cortana to name but a few.

Some of the female game characters to actress likenesses are spot on. You can check out the article at HERE.

Square Enix Xbox 360 RPG lineup

From the Press Release:
Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces three new RPGs for the Microsoft Xbox 360™ system that will be released across all PAL territories beginning with INFINITE UNDISCOVERY™ on 5th September 2008 and followed by THE LAST REMNANT™ and STAR OCEAN®: THE LAST HOPE™. All three RPGs will be globally released in 2008-2009.

STAR OCEAN: THE LAST HOPE is the latest entry in the futuristic space opera RPG series STAR OCEAN. The game is scheduled for a global release in 2009.

THE LAST REMNANT is the first RPG in a new series brought to you by Square Enix’s next generation creators and scheduled for a global release this winter on the Xbox 360.

INFINITE UNDISCOVERY is a collaborative project with fan favourite development studio tri-Ace Inc. (STAR OCEAN and VALKYRIE PROFILE®). The game will be released worldwide in September with the North American version shipping from 2nd September, available across Europe and other PAL territories on 5th September and released in Japan on 11th September.

John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix Ltd. and Square Enix, Inc. comments, “Square Enix is expanding on its commitment to deliver exciting gaming experiences to our fans all around the world. INFINITE UNDISCOVERY, THE LAST REMNANT and STAR OCEAN: THE LAST HOPE represent significant steps in bringing our titles to a global audience and to make each new release a global event.”

Product Outline


STAR OCEAN: THE LAST HOPE
Official title - STAR OCEAN: THE LAST HOPE
Platform - Xbox 360
Genre - RPG
Release Date - Scheduled for 2009
Copyright Information - © SQUARE ENIX CO.,LTD. All Rights Reserved.
Developed by tri-Ace Inc.
Publisher - Square Enix Ltd.
Developer - tri-Ace Inc.

INFINITE UNDISCOVERY
Official title - @INFINITE UNDISCOVERY
Platform - Xbox 360 Exclusive
Genre - RPG
Release Date - 5th September 2008
Xbox LIVE - Downloadable content planned
Number of Players - 1 (Offline)
Copyright Information - © 2008 SQUARE ENIX CO.,LTD.^Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Developed by tri-Ace Inc.
Publisher - Square Enix Ltd.
Developer - tri-Ace Inc.

THE LAST REMNANT
Official title - THE LAST REMNANT
Platform - Xbox 360 / PLAYSTATION® 3
Genre - RPG
Release Date - ( Xbox 360 ) This winter / (PLAYSTATION® 3) TBA
Copyright Information - © SQUARE ENIX CO.,LTD. All Rights Reserved.
Unreal® Engine, Copyright 1998-2008, Epic Games, Inc. All rights reserved.
Publisher - Square Enix Ltd.
Developer - Square Enix Co., Ltd.

Zombie BBQ by Gammick site live

Gammick Entertainment and Enjoy Up present the new microsite of Little Red Riding Hood’s Zombie BBQ and this DS game looks insane.

After finishing with a ferocious wolf, the story ended and the nightmare began. Little "Ready to Rock" Riding Hood and her friend Momotaro face the greatest threat that has ever besieged folk tales.

Go to the Zombie BBQ microsite and discover why Granny has become a horrible green monster, why Pinoccio is now a blood thirsty cyborg, or how Prince Charming woke up Sleeping Beauty… along with her thirst for blood!

Can you save fairy tale land or will you let its creatures live an unhappily-ever-after-life?

Alone in the Dark done and dusted

Atari has announced that development is complete on the highly anticipated action survival game Alone in the Dark, and the game is on track to ship for 3 July here in Australia, 20 June in Europe and 24 June in North America for Xbox 360 and PC. The PS3 version is delayed (as usual) and is presently due to launch sometime in October.

Developed by Eden Games, Alone in the Dark for Xbox 360 and PC aims to change what gamers expect from action games with a ground-breaking reinvention of the classic franchise which debuted in 1992 and created the survival horror genre. Continuing the legacy of innovation of that first game, the new Alone in the Dark re-imagines the genre with engrossing cinematic presentation, compelling gameplay challenges and a thrilling narrative story arc.

We think this looks pretty cool and can't wait for its release.

Resident Evil 5 female character looks good

.... other than her apparent lack of armor. See women in video games don't need armor, in fact it is an unwritten law in gaming that a womans cleavage is equal to numerous points of armor class adds. That's apparently why male characters need more armor, they have no cleavage and butt cracks do not count.

Anyway back to the female character in Resident Evil 5, she looks pretty cool, other than the armor thing, kind of like Lara Croft with more grit, less English lady. She's as yet unnamed, but we're glad she's there. Here's hoping she plays as tough as she looks because I'm still feeling queasy over that dumb bitch that appeared in Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles.

Neopets Puzzle Adventure - like Puzzle Quest

Puzzle Quest fans (and who isn't!) heads up, this one's for you. The folks over at Infinite Interactive are working on another puzzle title for Capcom - Neopets. If you've heard the term before, Neopets is a popular franchise from Nickelodeon.

Neopets Puzzle Adventure will work in similar fashion to Puzzle Quest in that the gameplay is strategy based mixed with a RPG style. Set to launch on the three systems this holiday season, Neopets Puzzle Adventure takes puzzle solving skills to new levels with a unique Neopets spin. Based on the classic board game, “Reversi”, Neopets Puzzle Adventure, is a robust and fully integrated Neopets experience as it includes 150 different quests across vast Neopian lands, a variety of the most popular customizable Neopets to choose from, and several fun mini-games to add depth and fun to the gameplay. As a bonus to Neopets fans, players will be able to earn codes throughout the game that connect back to the Neopets site by achieving certain goals throughout the DS, Wii or PC game. These unique codes will allow players to unlock exclusive items back in their virtual world on neopets.com.

Why Female Gamers Get Pissed!

As a male gamer you've essentially got it made with regards to character choice in gaming. Other than a pittance of titles that come out that feature female only or female heavy playable character content (Tomb Raider) majority of games will feature male only, or multi male character action.

Upcoming fighting title FaceBreaker is one title that features loads of character choice, but it seems out of the 12 or so fighters, only 2 are female. FarCry 2 by Ubisoft won't feature any female characters, despite having a roster of 9 to choose from.

Despite statistics showing women are playing games more and more and that these titles aren't just the stereotypical puzzle and sim titles, developers continue to stiff the female gamer.

It's damn annoying!!

Toki Tori for WiiWare

Two Tribes, the Dutch game developer behind "Worms: Open Warfare 2" for Nintendo DS, today announces the full availability of Toki Tori for WiiWare. Toki Tori was a launch game for the European/Australian launch of WiiWare and is available in North and South America as of today, June the 2nd.

Toki Tori has been available for two weeks in Europe and Australia and has met with a lot of praise from the online gaming community. Early reviews have also been favorable, with gamesradar.com claiming:

"Fun, clever, friendly and rewarding, it will stimulate the old noggin without ever feeling like hard work. And that's exactly what puzzle games should do."

The gameplay in Toki Tori is a blend of two genres. While it looks like a platform game, it's a puzzle game by heart. Players will have to look and plan ahead carefully while using a variety of items, such as the Telewarp, Freeze-o-Matic and InstantRockTM to name but a few.