Gamersnewsbits.com

ATLANTICA ONLINE CLOSED BETA

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – July 10, 2008 – The closed beta for Atlantica Online will start on Friday, July 18. FilePlanet registered users will be able to enter three days before other beta testers on Tuesday, July 15,

MMOABC, MMOSITE, MMORPG and onRPG are giving away a limited number of account keys on a first-come, first-served basis. FilePlanet will distribute the majority of the accounts to their subscribers on July 15.

Atlantica Online is set in a parallel universe of our world that takes players through an arduous journey to unravel the hidden secrets of Atlantis. With its heavy emphasis on strategy, Atlantica was designed to stand out amongst the ‘cookie-cutter’ MMOs. The strategic gameplay incorporated into the turn-based combat, mercenary and country management systems will appeal to strategy and RPG players.

More information about the title and the beta program can be found at www.playatlantica.com.

Web’s Top Videogame Destination Delivers Game Reviews to iPhone Users

Brisbane, Calif. – July 10, 2008 – IGN Entertainment (http://www.ign.com), the Web’s leading videogame and entertainment destination, today announced that its new application developed exclusively for the iPhone will be available starting today from the Apple App Store. The IGN Game Reviews Application grants users access to full videogame reviews for titles on a number of gaming platforms, including Nintendo DS, PC, PlayStation3, PSP, Wii and Xbox 360. The application also enables users to customize their platform choices and search IGN’s entire database of videogame reviews.

“IGN is proud to have an application available at the launch of the new Apple App Store, and to extend the IGN experience to users of the iPhone and iPod touch,” said Roy Bahat, GM of IGN. “By providing gamers with our leading reviews on the go, IGN will help millions of iPhone and iPod Touch users make the most informed purchase decisions – especially when they are actually in stores and ready to buy.”

The new IGN application is free of charge and available for download starting today from the Apple App Store at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

Classic Drawing Toy Available For iPhone and iPod touch

Tustin, CA – July 10, 2008 – Freeze Tag today announced that a native version of Etch A Sketch, the world’s favorite drawing toy, will be available from the new Apple App Store beginning today. With finger-touch drawing, coloring options, shape creation and photo import/export, this digital doodling application offers much more than the original analog toy. And just like the classic toy, you can “shake” your iPhone or iPod touch to erase your sketches.

“Etch A Sketch on iPhone is a doodler’s dream,” said Craig Holland, CEO of Freeze Tag, “With the innovative Multi-Touch user interface you can actually create artwork by touching both ‘digital’ knobs at the same time, something you can’t do on any other wireless device, or you can just use your fingers to draw directly on the gray canvas.”

With more than 150 million Etch A Sketch toys sold since 1960, The Ohio Art Company looks forward to a whole new generation of creators experiencing the brand through the iPhone. “Etch A Sketch is a classic toy brand that comes alive on the iPhone,” said Martin Killgallon, senior vice president of The Ohio Art Company. “We believe our consumers will be excited to see an innovative digital version of the classic toy they grew up with as a child,” he added.

Etch A Sketch will be available for just $4.99 from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/

Also, Freeze Tag and Ohio Art announced that the Macintosh & PC versions of the digital Etch A Sketch are now available for download on major Internet casual games portals. In addition to extensive drawing tools, the Macintosh & PC versions include a set of games featuring the adventures of an all new character called Knobby™. In the fall, a packaged CD-ROM version will be available through major retail stores across the USA.

First Native EA Games for the iPhone and iPod touch: SCRABBLE, Sudoku and Tetris Offering New Playability

LOS ANGELES, Calif., – July 10, 2008 – EA Mobile™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ:ERTS), today announced its lineup of launch titles for the Apple App Store. Players will now be able to enjoy three popular EA games, SCRABBLE (US and Canada only), EA™ Sudoku and Tetris®, on their iPhone and iPod touch. As previously announced, a native version of Spore™ will be available to iPhone users in September when the game launches across all platforms.

The unique capabilities of the iPhone and iPod touch offer a new mobile gaming experience through the use of their touch screens, multiple sensors, and high definition graphics. For the first time, the device itself actually becomes an essential part of the game, enhancing game playability like never before.

“EA Mobile is thrilled to be developing games for mobile products as truly revolutionary as the iPhone and iPod touch,” said Travis Boatman, Vice President of Worldwide Studios, EA Mobile. “The innovative capabilities of these devices create a unique gaming experience that is very exciting and different from other platforms.”

All EA Mobile games for the iPhone and iPod touch will be available from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/ on July 11.

SCRABBLE
SCRABBLE spells major F-U-N on your iPhone! SCRABBLE turns the touch screen into a game controller with simple intuitive controls that simulate real-life game pieces. Players can zoom in and out, drag, and drop tiles, even give their iPhone a shake to shuffle tiles. With a realistic look and feel that evokes the original board game, this exciting update includes a built-in word list, a “Best Word” Help feature to find the optimal word from the player’s tiles, score and stat tracking, as well as dynamic animations. Players can customize their game play with multiple difficulty levels, flexible game rules, and the option to play alone, challenge the computer player, or enjoy pass ‘n play for two to four players.

Sudoku
The iPhone and iPod touch become part of the game as players tap and shake their way through 10,000 Sudoku grids with five difficulty levels. Players use the easy, straightforward touch controls to tap Regular Grid mode, or enter their favorite magazine or Internet puzzle in Newspaper mode. Tap Pen or Pencil to access the annotated keyboard and enter their selection or record options. Take advantage of helpful features including Error Checking, Hint and Candidate Numbers Auto-Fill. An in-game timer keeps the pressure on, while Stats Tracking records the number of grids solved and total time played. The high resolution, smooth animation of the iPhone delivers spectacular Japanese-themed animations. With Sudoku on the iPhone and iPod touch, the solution is at players’ fingertips.

Tetris
Tetris on the iPhone and iPod touch brings a new player experience to the ever-popular puzzle game. The touch screen allows players to pinch, drag, tap, and shake to clear rows and rack up points in a whole new way. With 15 different levels, this version of Tetris challenges every level of player – from the most novice to the experienced pro. High end music and sound effects combine with cool design and custom animated backgrounds to further heighten game play. Tetris for the iPhone and iPod touch features two different play modes - Marathon Mode and the all new Magic Mode, a unique touch screen implementation designed for Tetris on the iPhone.

BioWare Fan Site Exceeds Many Social Networking Communities

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (July 9, 2008) – Leading video game developer BioWare®, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced that its registered fan community is now over four million user accounts strong and still growing actively. With an average of 38,000 new accounts being created every month, the fan community is thriving with active, vocal members. While sites such as Friendster and Xanga host an audience of 1MM and 2MM respectively1, the BioWare community brings together 4MM2 people to chat, exchange ideas, discuss their favorite games, provide critical feedback to the BioWare development teams and more. BioWare continues to support and nurture its enthusiastic fan base through open communication with BioWare’s development team, and by providing exclusive content to registered community members.

Established in 1996 by co-founders Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk, BioWare began promoting the idea of creating and managing a community behind Baldur’s Gate™ on 3rd party newsgroups and chat rooms. Then in 2001, BioWare launched its own forums with the release of Neverwinter Nights™ and began formally collecting community registrations. By 2003, BioWare hit the 1 million user account mark and it has continued to support the community through meaningful communication, features and content. With the release of Mass Effect™ for the PC and Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system, and the highly anticipated upcoming release of Dragon Age™, an epic role-playing game in which BioWare returns to its roots to deliver a compelling Dark Heroic fantasy epic, as well as other exciting projects on the horizon such as an as-yet unannounced MMO from BioWare Austin, BioWare’s community usership has risen to over four million registered members.

The BioWare mission is to deliver the best narrative-driven, emotionally compelling games in the world and the studio family has been recognized for this achievement in award-winning games such as Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars®: Knights of the Old Republic™, Jade Empire™ and Mass Effect. With some of its fans now over a decade of community membership, the BioWare engaged community has been an integral part in achieving that goal.

“It’s great to be able to talk directly with our fans – this is a cornerstone of BioWare’s success, past, present and future,” said Ray Muzyka, BioWare CEO and co-founder, and EA General Manager and Vice President. “We are proud to have created such a comfortable environment for BioWare’s millions of fans from all over the world - and we truly value their feedback.”

For more information, visit www.bioware.com/4million. To become a BioWare community member, please visit http://forums.bioware.com.

San Jose, CA.,—July 10, 2008—Namco Networks, a leading publisher and developer of mobile games and entertainment for mass-market casual gamers, today announced that arcade-favorites, PAC-MAN® and Ms. PAC-MAN® is available today priced at just $9.99 each from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/

In addition to the classic game play offered by PAC-MAN and Ms. PAC-MAN, two of the most popular video games in American arcade history, the games have been ‘upgraded’ to take full advantage of the iPhone’s capabilities. Countless hours and quarters have been spent at the arcade on these classic games, and now, the popularity of PAC-MAN and Ms. PAC-MAN can be enjoyed on-the-go with new iPhone features like controlling the game with an accelerometer.

“We are excited to add iPhone and iPod touch to the list of devices that consumers can use to play PAC-MAN and Ms. PAC-MAN,” said Scott Rubin, vice president of sales and marketing for Namco Networks. “We are delighted that we could utilize the innovation of the iPhone OS to bring high-quality, fun Namco titles like PAC-MAN and Ms. PAC-MAN to a new platform.”

PAC-MAN and Ms. PAC-MAN on the iPhone feature three unique control schemes, virtual d-pad control, touch screen and accelerometer, enabling the ultimate gaming experience while highlighting the capabilities of the platform. The accelerometer allows players to control PAC-MAN or Ms. PAC-MAN by tilting the phone in the direction that they want them to chomp the PAC-dots and ghosts or eat the bonus fruit. There are two distinct touchscreen controls for the game, one allows players to direct PAC-MAN’s path by simply tapping on the screen and the other introduces a virtual D-pad, simulating the game play of PAC-MAN and Ms. PAC-MAN on other gaming devices.

Top Publisher Launches Slate of Games for iPhone & iPod Touch

New York - Gameloft, a leading developer and publisher of mobile and console games, announced six games now available on the Apple App Store launching today. Games that are available include top sellers such as Brain Challenge, Bubble Bash, Chess & Backgammon Classics, Platinum Solitaire, Platinum Sudoku, and Diamond Twister. Each title capitalizes on iPhone’s distinctive gaming features and offers a unique set of original characteristics and gameplay.

“We’re delighted with the broad appeal of the applications we’ll have available on the Apple App Store at launch,” said Michel Guillemot, president, Gameloft. “Our best-selling titles have been specifically redeveloped and revamped to leverage the revolutionary features of the iPhone, and we are confident that iPhone owners will enjoy this new experience in gaming.”

Each game fully utilizes the accelerometer, touch screen and showcases enhanced graphics for the large iPhone screen. Game features include:

• Brain Challenge – More than just a game, it is an entertaining and easy solution for keeping your brain alert. Use the touch screen features to select the correct answers. Arrange cubes by gravity in an additional mini-game exclusive to iPhone.

• Bubble Bash-Have a blast tossing multi-colored bubbles into the sky to pop three or more bubbles of the same color. Aim with your finger to fire into the cluster before it drops and time runs out. In a special control mode that uses the accelerometer, the bubble launchers stand on a wheeled board which rolls all along the screen when tilting your iPhone

• Chess & Backgammon Classics – Chess and Backgammon are two of the oldest and most popular board games of all time, and both are now available in a single game. Move the pawns with the tip of your fingers, as you would do in real life, and shake the iPhone to throw the dice at Backgammon or choose the portrait or landscape orientation of the chessboard.

• Diamond Twister - This dazzling game takes new twist on the most popular genre of gem-matching puzzle. Not only can you slide your finger directly on the screen to make the gems move, but the game also features an innovative rotating gameplay. By simply rotating your iPhone, motion-sensor enables you to actually choose from which side diamonds should fall.

• Platinum Solitaire- The latest adaptation of the famous card game, set in the trendiest casino environments! Bonus features include five new games exclusive to iPhone. Move all your cards with your finger for the easiest card control and shake your phone to shuffle the cards.

• Platinum Sudoku- Leave the messy pen and newspaper behind and play one of 20 million Sudoku and Kakuro puzzles anywhere. Draw numbers on-screen with your finger and play either in landscape or portrait mode, by simply turning your iPhone.

Diamond Twister, Platinum Sudoku, Platinum Solitaire and Bubble Bash will be available for just $7.99 while Brain Challenge and Chess & Backgammon Classics will be priced at $9.99 from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/

Seattle, WA–July 10, 2008—PopCap Games, the leading developer and publisher of casual games, today announced its Bejeweled 2 game for iPhone and iPod touch will be available beginning today from the new Apple App Store. Nearly five million users have already played the web app version of Bejeweled since its debut last summer, and hundreds of millions more have played the PC, online and console versions. Consumers have enjoyed more than six billion hours of the Bejeweled franchise across more than a dozen platforms from iPods to seatbacks on leading airlines.

“With the launch of Bejeweled 2 for iPhone, PopCap further strengthens its relationship with Apple to support the world’s most popular handheld devices,” noted Andrew Stein, director of mobile platforms at PopCap. “We’ve developed a winning strategy of taking our most popular, top-selling titles and optimizing them specifically to take advantage of a range of next-generation mobile devices like the iPhone. In launching PopCap’s first iPhone-native game, we continue to deliver the best mobile gaming content on any platform.”

With Bejeweled 2 for iPhone, PopCap is bringing all the addictive gameplay of the original in an iPhone-native version that has been fully optimized and enhanced to support iPhone 2.0 software and iPhone 3G. The game will be available for just $9.99 from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/

Tuned specifically for the iPhone, Bejeweled 2 offers touch screen support with intelligence to determine which gem a player meant to touch (select), even when the player hasn’t used precise finger strokes to “hit” the second gem perfectly. Additionally, the game will use the accelerometer to detect orientation and automatically shift between vertical and landscape modes depending on how the user is holding the device.

PopCap’s leadership role in mobile gaming is underscored by its growing line-up of popular titles for the handheld market, including Chuzzle™ Mobile, Bookworm™ Mobile and the upcoming Peggle™ Mobile - the first mobile games that PopCap developed and is distributing directly. Bejeweled and Zuma™, two of PopCap’s most popular games, have also been runaway successes on game-capable iPods since their introduction on those devices last year. Peggle, introduced for iPod in late 2007, has also enjoyed critical and commercial success, and is the highest-rated game for iPod based on customer rankings at iTunes.com.

Original Fiction in Mirror’s Edge Introduces Faith – a Strong New Iconic Videogame Heroine

Redwood City, CA. – July 10, 2008 – “Once this city used to pulse with energy; dirty and dangerous, but alive and wonderful. Now it is something else.” – Faith. DICE, an Electronic Arts Inc. studio (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced that writer and story designer Rhianna Pratchett is responsible for crafting the intricate script for Mirror’s Edge™ - a unique first-person action adventure. Pratchett introduces players to Faith, a ‘runner’ in a world where communication channels are highly monitored and the movement of human traffic is closely watched. When Faith’s sister gets framed for a murder she did not commit, Faith finds herself on the edge of the city, on the wrong side of the law.

“It was a great experience working with the team at DICE to help breathe life into Faith; her world, relationships and backstory,” said Rhianna Pratchett. ”My heroines and heroes have always been the ones who were ordinary, but through the events of a story, became extraordinary. Faith is skilled, but she’s certainly not a superhero. She has her flaws, like all of us. In short: she’s real. That’s her appeal.”

Mirror’s Edge delivers players straight into the shoes of this modern day heroine as she traverses the vertigo-inducing cityscape, engaging in intense combat, fast-paced chases and challenging puzzles. With a never-before-seen sense of movement and perspective, players are drawn into Faith’s world.

“We were excited to work with Rhianna to develop the story, setting and character of Faith,” said Owen O’Brien, Executive Producer, DICE. “We were extremely lucky to be able to work with someone who is not only a writer, but also a core gamer, to create the world of Mirror’s Edge.”

Pratchett has been recognized by the videogame entertainment industry for numerous achievements in her 10 year gaming career including being voted by Next-Gen.Biz as one of the 100 most influential women in the games industry. She’s also worked on a number of high profiles games including Heavenly Sword and Overlord that have been nominated for a BAFTA and Develop Award for creation of story, character and new intellectual property. For more information on her work, please visit www.rhiannapratchett.com.

Mirror’s Edge is being developed at EA Digital Illusions CE AB (DICE) in Stockholm, Sweden. This revolutionary new take on the first person action adventure genre will ship this winter for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system and for the PC. This product is not yet rated by PEGI or ESRB. For more information on EA DICE, please visit www.dice.se or www.ea.com.

Engage in galactic warfare and push the limits of the real-time strategy genre!

MONTREAL, Quebec – July 10, 2008 – Strategy First Inc. a leading developer and worldwide publisher of entertainment software for the PC and a wholly-owned unit of Silverstar Holdings (NASDAQ:SSTR), and Evolution Vault are pleased to announce the release of Galactic Dream: Rage of War.

About Galactic Dream: Rage of War
They say fate controls our lives and that the future is already written. It is also said that life is a blessing from the Gods above. For hundred of years we have searched for the answer to an eternal question: “Are we alone?” The question was left unanswered throughout time. When the Terrans were finally forced to leave the Colonies and venture far into space, many challenges and dangers awaited them. Out there, in the dark, the watchful eye of the Argo - an alien species set for destruction of all sentient life - keeps a close eye on them. No matter where they go…

For more information and to order your copy now, please follow the link: http://www.strategyfirst.com/en/games/GalacticDreamROW/