Archive for October 7th, 2008

Pitfall Harry Returns! Activision’s Pitfall: The Big Adventure

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

SANTA MONICA, CA – OCTOBER 7, 2008 – Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today that Pitfall: The Big Adventure for WiiTM has shipped to retail stores in North America, introducing a classic franchise to an all new audience and giving old school fans a fresh Pitfall experience.

Set deep in the Peruvian jungle, you will assume the role of Pitfall Harry, the fearless rough-and-ready treasure hunter who battles evil using his athletic ability and a knapsack filled with adventure gear. You’ve never played an adventure game with Wii RemoteTM controls like this! Perform all sorts of movements in your living room as you swing on vines, swim in raging rivers, paddle a raft, fight quicksand, and punch-attack enemies.

“The Pitfall franchise is beloved by all generations of gamers, so Pitfall: The Big Adventure is designed to be played by the whole family,” said Dave Oxford, Activision Publishing. “The WiiTM controls give both old and new fans a new level of immersion and fun.”

The rich storyline has Pitfall Harry performing heroic tasks like rescuing members of a lost expedition, preventing the theft of the treasures of El Dorado, and helping a princess fulfill her destiny. Of course, alligators and many other enemies stand in your way as you travel across beautiful rainforests, danger-filled caves, and icy mountains.

Extending the family friendly WiiTM fun, Pitfall: The Big Adventure has 10 mini games, which include Super Roll Bowling, Raft Water Race, and Torch Burning Contests. As an added bonus for those looking to take a trip down memory lane, or just to educate the youngsters on videogame history, the original Pitfall and Pitfall 2 are included!

Pitfall: The Big Adventure is available now for a suggested retail price of $39.99. For more information visit www.activision.com.

Legendary Achievements

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008


 

This is the list of Achievements for Legendary.

 

 

 

Achievement Title

Achievement Description

Point Value

You Call This Security?

Bypass the electronic lock in Episode 1

5

Heeeeeere’s Deckard!

Chop your way out of the Internet Café with the Fire Axe in Episode 1

5

Death To Soda!

Create a ramp with the soda machine using your Pistol in Episode 1

5

Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey

Extinguish the doorway fire using the water valve in Episode 1

5

Flashpoint

Complete Episode 1 on any difficulty

10

Upper Management

Unlock the warehouse exit in Episode 2

10

Live Wire

Find the Black Order-eliminating electric switch in Episode 2

10

Escape From…

Complete Episode 2 on any difficulty

20

Gum On My Shoe

Get stepped on by the Giant Golem in Episode 3

5

Revenge Of The Soda!

Escape the Nari-possessed vending machine room in Episode 3

10

Jazz Hands!

Look at all “The Great Langtini” posters littering Times Square in Episode 3

15

Jack? Beanstalk, Beanstalk? Jack

Destroy the Giant Golem in Episode 3

15

All Fall Down

Complete Episode 3 on any difficulty

20

Barf Piñata

Destroy a Blood Spider Queen in Episode 4

10

Werewolf Whisperer

Defeat the first Alpha Werewolf in Episode 4

15

Just Another Day At The Office

Eavesdrop on the Black Order as they cage up a Werewolf in Episode 4

5

Full Moon

Complete Episode 4 on any difficulty

20

Tenderized!

Defeat the Minotaur in Episode 5

20

Bull In A China Shop

Cause the Minotaur to destroy all Graveyard wall sections in Episode 5

15

I Hate Ornithology

Defeat the Griffon in Episode 5

25

Bullets & Blood

Complete Episode 5 on any difficulty

25

Science!

Run all Council Base lab experiments in Episode 6

10

10-Piece Bucket

Shoot down the low flying Griffons in Episode 6

15

Counterstrike

Complete Episode 6 on any difficulty

25

Not OSHA Compliant

Cause the crane to drop the metal beams in Episode 7

10

Power Outage

Take out the power to the Black Order outpost in Episode 7

10

My Kind Of Town

Complete Episode 7 on any difficulty

25

DouBull TrouBull

Survive the double-Minotaur attack and terrible Achievement pun in Episode 8

1

I Owe You An Apology

Unlock DouBull TrouBull

14

I Will Find You!

Free Vivian from captivity in Episode 8

10

Endings & Betrayals

Complete Episode 8 on any difficulty

35

Petting Zoo

Complete game on Easy difficulty

50

Animal Control

Complete game on Normal difficulty

70

Savage Law Of The Jungle

Complete game on Hard difficulty

90

Bookworm

Collect 1/2 Of PDA Entries

20

Mint In Box

Collect All PDA Entries

40

Gun Nut

Fire all 8 projectile weapons in Single Player at least once

10

Axe-Wielding Maniac

Kill 25 enemies with the Fire Axe in Single Player

15

I Have A Problem With Intimacy

Use the Animus Pulse ability 10 times

15

Fair-Weather Friends

Use Animus to change the frequency of an Aniform Control Device in Single Player

5

Walkies!

Start and finish a ranked Multiplayer match

5

Right Tool For The Right Tool

Fire every weapon available in any ranked Multiplayer match

10

Warm Fuzzy Feeling

Fill 50% of your machine with Animus in a ranked 4v4 Multiplayer match

15

Party Animal

Add 10 friends during ranked Multiplayer games

15

Zookeeper

Kill 10 Werewolves in a ranked Multiplayer match without being killed

20

Bounty Hunter

Kill 10 enemy players in a ranked Multiplayer match without being killed

25

Leader Of The Pack

Be first place in kills in 10 ranked Multiplayer matches in a row

30

Survivor

Survive a ranked 4v4 Multiplayer game without being killed

30

Combat Veteran

Played 200 ranked Multiplayer matches

45

King Of The Jungle

Win 50 ranked Multiplayer matches

55

Total Achievements: 50

Total Points: 1000

 

 

Discover Your Inner Explorer on Columbus Day in Fiesta

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

Christopher Columbus has discovered the magical world of Isya! Now he’s stuck in the free to play MMORPG Fiesta with no way to return home, having lost his three famous ships and most of his nautical equipment at sea.

Always willing to lend a helping hand, the people of Isya have rallied behind Columbus and are now working to rebuild the legendary explorer’s fleet. New premium items for players ready to join Columbus’ new fleet are now available in the Fiesta Store: The Sailor Uniform, Mara Hat, and Eye Patch. Sure, you may not know your clinometer from your sextant, but at least you’ll look the part!

Once your costume is in order, check out the new Santa Maria mount and set sail for the new world. Every player that purchases a Santa Maria mount before October 31st and helps Columbus get back on his sea legs will be automatically entered in a raffle to win a real life brass telescope and ship wheel courtesy of Columbus himself.

For more information, visit the official Fiesta website now.

Related Links:
Official Fiesta Website: http://fiesta.outspark.com
Fiesta Store: http://store.outspark.com/fiesta
Santa Maria Mount: http://store.outspark.com/fiesta/item/1324
Sailor Uniform: http://store.outspark.com/fiesta/item/1291
Mara Hat: http://store.outspark.com/fiesta/item/1289
Eye Patch: http://store.outspark.com/fiesta/item/1293

True Games Interactive adds Peter Jarvis as its CTO

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

Former NCSoft and EA/Origin Exec Brings More Than 10 Years of MMO Technology, Billing and Publishing Experience to the post

Orange County, Calif. October 7, 2008 — True Games Interactive (www.truegamesinteractive.com), a new global multi-player online game publisher announced today that it has appointed industry veteran Peter Jarvis as its Chief Technology Officer. Jarvis, who most recently held the post of Vice President and Chief Information Officer at NCSoft, has more than 15 years of experience in information technology including 10 years focused on IT and game operations in the MMO category. As CTO of True Games Interactive, Jarvis will be responsible for building the True Tech platform and will oversee all applications and web development while launching and integrating multiple AAA MMO titles.

“Our mission is to deliver AAA social games to a free to play world. The foundation of our success will be building flawless, advanced technology to support our games,” said Bob Drobish, CEO of True Games Interactive. “The addition of a highly experienced head of technology to our executive team is critical and Peter’s background and in-depth knowledge make him a perfect fit for the role.”

Most recently as Vice President and CIO of NCSoft Corporation, Jarvis directed all information technology and online game operations for the western hemisphere. During his seven years at the company, Jarvis grew the business through operations from a single MMORPG with less than $1m/yr revenue to supporting 6+ live games with $70m+/yr in revenue while increasing operating profits by fully developing integrated account management, billing, monitoring, and automated publishing platforms.

Prior to NCSoft, Jarvis held positions as head of information technology at ClearCommerce Corp, and EA/Origin Systems. Jarvis has been in the IT industry more than 15 years and in the gaming industry more than 10 of those years, with a focus on billing and fraud systems.

“I was highly impressed with the management team and the business model that True Games Interactive has in place, so the decision to join was an easy one,” said Jarvis. “I am confident that my background in technology and my experience with some of the top MMO games on the market will help me to accomplish the company’s goals of publishing AAA quality entertainment backed by some of the best technology available today.”

“With the development of our own advanced technology platform, and the creation and launch of several multi-million dollar titles on the horizon, our technology must be state of the art,” said Jeff Lujan, Chairman and Founder of True Games Interactive. “The position of CTO is arguably the most important role in accomplishing our strategic goals and snagging Peter is nothing short of a coup.”

True Games Interactive has several key partnerships in place and a number of products already in development, including its recently announced project being developed by renowned developer, Petroglyph. The Petroglyph team, best known for its award winning Star Wars®: Empire At War and Universe at War series, is creating a global free-to-play, micro-transaction based game for the personal computer. True Games and Petroglyph will soon announce full product details and a launch timeframe.

The True Games Interactive team is also looking to fill several other key employment roles. For more information on the company, its products and open positions visit www.truegamesinteractive.com.

DEAD SPACE REVEALS SPINE-TINGLING SCORE COMPOSED AND CONDUCTED BY JASON GRAVES

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

Guildford, UK – October 6, 2008 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS), today announced the intensely atmospheric orchestral score for EA’s new sci-fi survival horror game Dead SpaceTM. Developed with award-winning composer Jason Graves, in association with Rod Abernethy and under the direction of EA Redwood Shores studio; Jason’s chilling score for Dead Space enhances the horror and tension of the game through extreme aleatoric and extended 20th Century orchestral music techniques.

“Graves’ work on the Dead Space score is simply fantastic. The music is a key factor in the overall tense mood of our game,” says Don Veca, Audio Director of Dead Space. “We needed an original orchestral score for Dead Space — Aleatoric in style, dark and dissonant, ranging from subtle creepy/eerie moods to completely cacophonous frenzies.”

Dead Space is a bold and bloody sci-fi survival horror game that is designed to deliver the ultimate in psychological thrills and gruesome action. In Dead Space, players step into the role of engineer Isaac Clarke, an ordinary man on a seemingly routine mission to fix the communications systems aboard a deep space mining ship called the USG Ishimura. Set approximately 500 years in the future, Isaac discovers that the crew of the mining spaceship is found horribly slaughtered and transformed into terrifying monsters. Now Isaac is cut off, trapped, and engaged in a desperate fight for survival.

The official soundtrack for Dead Space will be available on www.ea.com/eatrax for purchase to coincide with the release of Dead Space on October 14, 2008. The score features over three hours of music recorded during two different recording sessions. In the first session Graves conducted sixty musicians of the acclaimed Northwest Sinfonia Orchestra at the Bastyr Chapel in Seattle, and a year later Graves conducted sixty players of the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra and twenty voice choir at the world famous Skywalker Sound Scoring Stage. During both sessions, co-produced by Jason Graves and Rod Abernethy, the orchestra was recorded individually by section (woodwinds, brass, percussion and strings) with multiple dynamic levels and variations to be implemented as adaptive layers of music in the game. EA’s audio team designed the music system to be multi-layered so the music could be mixed at run-time based on gameplay and situation.

“The unique interactive aspect of the Dead Space music gave me the opportunity to experiment and try things I’ve never been able to do in a video game score before,” said Dead Space composer Jason Graves. “Many thanks to Don Veca and the rest of the team at EA for allowing me such freedom with the score; it was both the most challenging and most rewarding music I’ve ever composed.”

Dead Space will be in stores on 24th October 2008 for the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and the PC . For more information on the game, visit the official web site at www.deadspacegame.com.

Enkord unleashes Gunrox

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

Enkord unleashes Gunrox

October 6, 2008 – Why do governments around the world spend billions of dollars waging war when they could settle their differences in Gunrox for free? In Gunrox, you create a squad of three soldiers and then confront other players around the world in head-to-head or cooperative skirmishes. Highlights include simple character customization and a highly accessible turn-based combat system.

Players are calling Gunrox, which features randomized maps set in a modern day game world, “addictive” and comparing its tactical depth to that of chess. A large community is forming around this emerging classic as players train their squads, acquire powerful weapons and develop incredible skills.

With the full version of Gunrox available for free and a growing group of players turning the game into one of the hottest multiplayer battle zones on the Internet, now is a good time to get in on the action.

Begin your domination of Gunrox at www.gunrox.com.

mmolecule Launches Giveway for IGG’s Tales of Pirates

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

Eligible mmolecule members can win one of 500 Advanced Package keys for IGG’s free-to-play MMO Tales of Pirates!

SAN DIEGO, CA – October 6, 2008 – mmolecule, Inc., a web-based game services company, today launched its Tales of Pirates Advanced Package Giveaway for mmolecule members. mmolecule will conduct a random drawing to award 500 advanced package keys for Tales of Pirates, one of the most popular free-to-play MMO’s currently in release.

Anyone who becomes a member of the mmolecule Community and registers for the drawing by October 19th will be eligible to win. Only one key will be awarded per person. Winners will be privately notified after October 20th.

“We are very excited to be working in partnership with IGG on this giveaway ,” said Bryce Ashey, CEO and co-founder of mmolecule. “This is a great opportunity for mmolecule members to learn more about Tales of Pirates, as well as other free-to-play MMO’s that IGG has to offer. We look forward to offering more tools, services, and contests involving IGG games in the very near future.”

Complete contest details and prize listings are available at http://f2p.mmolecule.com/top_giveaway.html

2K Sports Reveals New Soundtrack for NBA® 2K9

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

 

The Cool Kids, Beastie Boys, The Pharcyde, N.E.R.D, Brand New Heavies, and DJ UNK headline NBA 2K9’s eclectic mix of artists

New York, NY – October 6, 2008 – 2K Sports, the sports publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), announced today details regarding the music soundtrack for NBA 2K9, this season’s highly anticipated basketball title. Known for consistently tapping the freshest and most relevant artists for the NBA 2K franchise, this year’s soundtrack continues the tradition with an eclectic mix of artists. Standouts include N.E.R.D, Santogold, Gnarls Barkley, The Pharcyde, and Beastie Boys with an exclusive track by DJ UNK, along with an original recording by The Cool Kids titled “2K Pennies.” Beyond the soundtrack, 2K Sports continues to embrace its artists in a myriad of ways, including in-game characters, national tours, music videos, gameplay trailers, radio promotions, mix tapes, community promotions, music downloads and digital sales.

“Every year our NBA 2K soundtrack features music innovators that push boundaries in the same way our franchise does,” said Tim Rosa, director of brand and lifestyle marketing at 2K Sports. “With NBA 2K9 we’re continuing the tradition with The Cool Kids representing our deepest music integration. They will appear in the game’s NBA Blacktop streetball mode, will perform on the 2K Sports Bounce Tour, and they recorded an original song which we’re giving away for free on the 2K Sports website.”

“Video games are an important part of culture and our lifestyle. For years we’ve been playing games, but have never been inspired by the songs in them,” said Chuck Inglish and Mikey Rocks of The Cool Kids. “When 2K Sports presented us with an opportunity to create an original song for NBA 2K9, we knew we had to create a song that embodied the sport of basketball. We had to make kids everywhere appreciate the song as much as the game.”

Along with special The Cool Kids integration, NBA 2K9 will include in-game character likenesses of other past and present 2K music artists including ?uestlove (from The Roots), DJ Steve Aoki, Aceyalone, the legendary Bobbito Garcia, and Phife Dawg (from A Tribe Called Quest). Fans can now listen to and purchase individual songs from the NBA 2K9 soundtrack through the new 2K Beats channel atwww.2ksports.com/beats/games/nba2k9.

Below is the full list of tracks in NBA 2K9 (exclusives are denoted with **):
Beastie Boys – Root Down
Blackwizard – Dem Nah Ready fe We
Blockhead – Duke Of Hazzard
Bloody Beetroots – Mac Mac
Dangerdoom – Sofa King
Dawn Penn – You Don’t Love Me (Extended Mix)
DJ Rasta Root – RootZilla Beez
DJ UNK – In Yo Face **
Gnarls Barkley – Going On
Jamalski – That Undaground (Remix)
Mochipet – Sharpdrest
Mommy and Daddy – Pretty Loser
Money Mark – Silly Putty
N.E.R.D. – Spaz
Nickodemus – Funky In The Middle
Santogold feat. Switch & Freq Nasty – Creator
Skeewiff – Light the Fuse
Spank Rock & Benny Blanco – Loose (inst.)
The Brand New Heavies – Jump ‘N’ Move
The Cool Kids – 2K Pennies **
The Heavy – Coleen
The Limp Twins – Moving Closer to The Sofa
The Meters – Cissy Strut
The Pharcyde – Passing Me By
Ursula 1000 – Step Back (Deekline & Ed Solo Remix)

NBA 2K9 is the latest edition of NBA 2K, the #1 selling next gen basketball video game* that has also been the #1 rated NBA simulation for seven years in a row**, is back for its 10th season. NBA 2K9 is the premier basketball game for serious players, and will deliver the most realistic and feature-rich simulation experience ever available in the NBA 2K franchise – from gameplay and graphics to presentation and online features. NBA 2K9 is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB and will be available on October 7 for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and the PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems and on October 21 for Windows PC. For more information about NBA 2K9, please visithttp://www.2ksports.com/games/nba2k9.

  • According to NPD Funworld estimates of U.S. retail video game sales of Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 NBA titles for the period from September 2007 to August 2008.

**The NBA 2K series developed by Visual Concepts outranked competitors based on GameRankings.com average scores of 2001-2007 NBA video games.

Rare Adopts Escape Studios’ Online Learning Maya Courseware

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
High-Quality, In-Depth Online Training Answers Professional Development Needs

LONDON – Oct. 3, 2008 - Escape Studios announced today that Rare, one of the world’s foremost games companies, has adopted Escape’s new online computer graphics (CG) animation course to form part of the company’s continued professional development program for employees. The courseware is based on Autodesk®’s award-winning Maya® software.

In an ever demanding industry it’s almost impossible for teams to follow the latest updates and revisions of software and have knowledge across such a broad depth of tools. By adopting the online Escape course, Rare will now be able to keep its staff up to date and implement different learning initiatives without the need for DVD resources.

“It’s vital that an artist can get information quickly, when they really need it,” says Mark Cass, Escape Studios’ commercial director. “The search functionality enables users to easily find what they are looking for, learn what they need and get back to the job in hand. In a working environment the ability to give up hours in training just isn’t possible all the time.”

“It took a proper evaluation of the system to appreciate the depth of the content,” echoes Lee Musgrave, Rare’s head of art. “Escape has covered lots of ground in-depth and the built-in Q&A system takes the learning experience beyond any other delivery mechanism. The online course will enable many of our artists to get a much more rounded view of Maya. Having people ‘knowing’ other aspects of the software can be very powerful for us. The course solves many training issues for us here at Rare and we are excited about all the new courses currently in development at Escape.”

The computer graphics school, which is responsible for training some of the world’s best animators and Oscar® winning CG artists, is now hoping this partnership with Rare will help bridge the gap between the competitive games industry and students.

New courses that will soon be available from Escape Studios include programs in VFX, ZBrush, Animation, Characters and Games.

Eidos announces exclusive Dowloadable chapters for Tomb Raider: Underworld

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
First New Chapter Rolls Out in Time for the Holidays with Game Demo Available in October
Monday 6th October/… Eidos Interactive, creator of some of the world’s leading video game properties, today announces an agreement with Microsoft to release two brand new downloadable chapters in the continuing Tomb Raider adventures of Lara Croft. Containing up to six hours of new gameplay and content for Tomb Raider: Underworld™, the chapters will be available exclusively on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®. A demo for Tomb Raider: Underworld will also be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace in October.

Offering entirely new content specifically designed to extend the Tomb Raider: Underworld experience, Tomb Raider: Underworld – Beneath the Ashes and Tomb Raider: Underworld – Lara’s Shadow will deliver two very different single player gameplay experiences. Tomb Raider: Underworld – Beneath the Ashes takes place after the Underworld story has finished and will feature an incredible new environment to explore, additional secrets to unlock and different enemies to fight. Tomb Raider: Underworld – Lara’s Shadow will introduce players to a new kind of playable character and create a unique Tomb Raider experience.

The first new chapter, Tomb Raider: Underworld – Beneath the Ashes, will be available for download exclusively on Xbox LIVE Marketplace this Christmas. Tomb Raider: Underworld – Lara’s Shadow will follow in early 2009.

“We are constantly looking at ways to extend our franchises, whilst developing a deeper relationship with our players. The retail release of any videogame is just the start of the player experience, from there it all depends where you want to take the player in terms of ideas and innovation,” said Sean Vesce. “With these additional chapters and the online reach of Xbox LIVE, we are able to deliver exclusive content to millions of gamers worldwide.”

“We’re thrilled that Xbox owners will be able to extend their Lara Croft adventures with exclusive ‘Tomb Raider: Underworld’ episodes,” said George Peckham, General Manager of Global Third Party Publishing for Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business. “We look forward to continue working closely with our great publishing partners to deliver the most robust gaming experiences, only on Xbox 360.”

Tomb Raider: Underworld will release on Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Wii™, PlayStation®2, Nintendo DS, and PC Games for Windows platforms. With development led by Crystal Dynamics, developers of the recent Tomb Raider blockbusters, Tomb Raider: Underworld™ represents a new advancement in exploration-based gameplay. As the fearless adventurer Lara Croft, players explore, raid and solve the mysteries of exotic locations around the world, each designed in breathtaking high-definition visual fidelity that creates a truly believable world and delivers a new level of challenge and choice. For more information, visit the official site at http://www.tombraider.com.

Xbox LIVE is the first and most comprehensive unified online entertainment network seamlessly integrated throughout the entire console experience, making it easy for people to find the friends, games and entertainment they want from the moment they power on their Xbox 360 system. Xbox LIVE connects more than 12 million members across 26 countries to enjoy hundreds of multiplayer games, downloadable games via Xbox LIVE Arcade, free and premium playable game demos, music videos, and movies as well as new game levels, characters and vehicles for all their favorite retail games.