Velvet Assassin - Female Character

Replay Studios and publisher Gamecock has announced the official name change for ’Velvet Assassin’, their upcoming stealth-action title formerly known as ‘Sabotage’. The title is of interest to female gamers because it features a female protagonist in the form of real life hero Violette Szabo, a World War II Allied secret agent.

Velvet Assassin uses the clandestine art of sabotage Violette Szabo championed during the war period. The real story of Szabo is an amazing one--she coordinated sabotage attacks against the Germans and was a true war hero. Captured at a road block she was interrogated (including rape, torture techniques and brutal assaults). She was eventually executed in Feb 1945 at the age of 23.

SOE G.I.R.L. - Gamers In Real Life

Gamers in Real Life is a new initiative by SOE to "help girls get their game on". SOE has set up a progressive new scholarship program with The Art Institutes designed to educate and recruit more women into the video game industry.

The official SOE G.I.R.L. -- Gamers In Real Life -- scholarship is the first of its kind with The Art Institutes to encourage students toward career paths in the creative and applied arts, ultimately resulting in the development of games that are more interesting for women to play.

"It's no secret to female gamers: Women are out there in significant numbers, playing MMOs, action games, first-person shooters, etc. What is lacking in the equation are women behind these games and we hope G.I.R.L. can help support this program," said Torrie Dorrell, Senior Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, Sony Online Entertainment. "SOE's program is a key component of our G.I.R.L. initiative because the scholarship will be the gateway for one student into this field of expertise; I invite other publishers to join us in supporting this initiative."

This is awesome news for young women wanting to get into the industry. Be sure and check out the official G.I.R.L. website for more information.

Fable 2 details

Peter Molyneux has dropped a few more tidbits about Lionhead's upcoming title Fable 2. First and most importantly, Fable 2 will feature co-op play where you and pals can jump in and out of the singleplayer game and whatever happens in there goes home with you to your own game (say if you accrue money or whatever). Molyneux was speaking at the GDC when he made the announcements, which also included news that a gambling mini game will be released via XBLA a few weeks before Fable 2 releases.

This is sounding more and more interesting all the time, especially as you can now choose a male or female playable character. Here’s hoping it lives up to the incredible hype that is only going to build as the release draws nearer (presently scheduled for November 15).

Gears of War 2 - teaser

Gears of War was a splendid title on the Xbox 360, albeit with an ending that sort of left us sitting there going “is that the end of the game”. Anyway the boys in Delta Squad will be heading back our way this September. Sadly we’re not expecting any cool female soldiers to have joined Delta Squad given it’s uber-macho ridiculousness, but we have contacted the developer just to clarify.

In the meantime though, why not whet your appetites on this new trailer for the sequel, it’s red, black and squelchy.

Fatal Hearts a cute adventure

Fatal Hearts is a replayable adventure game by Hanako Games and it seems at least to be pretty girl gamer friendly. In Fatal Hearts you take on the role of a teenager named Christina, she’s having some weird dreams lately and young girls are being murdered in her town.

You can download a preview of Fatal Hearts HERE. Some of the puzzles are a little out there, but if you can get through that, you might actually enjoy this little adventure.

Mario Kart Wii controls

If you’re one of the people that was worried the steering wheel controller for Mario Kart Wii wasn’t going to cut it for you with regards to controlling the title, fear not, Nintendo have your butt covered. According to reports coming out of GDC08, Mario Kart Wii will be compatible with pretty much all the Wii controllers. This means you’ll be able to zoom around the circuit using the Wiimote Steering Wheel gizmo, the Wiimote and Nunchuk together, the classic controller and even the good ole GameCube controller.

This is great news for retro fans who were worried the magic of Mario Kart was going to be squelched under the hoof of wireless motion sensing. Other Mario Kart news includes the addition of motorbikes and according to some sources the previously nixed Baby Peach will appear after all.

Hello Kitty MMO goes beta

Gaming is subjective, let's get that out of the way right now. This title makes me personally cringe as a female gamer, not least of all because it works on the assumption that ALL female gamers love the pink and frilly (argh). Still I realize there are those female gamers out there that are going to love this, so this one's for you.

Sanrio Digital has announced the closed beta launch of "Hello Kitty Online", a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) based on the famous Sanrio characters. Hello Kitty Online allows players to explore and adventure in Sanrio's fantasy world, a magical land that has recently fallen under the influence of a mysterious and malevolent power.

You can subscribe to the closed beta at Hello Kitty Online, assuming you survive the glee filled music and overall rainbow filled, candy smelling stench of the thing (it didn't really smell like candy, but if I had smellovision I know it would have!).