Gamersnewsbits.com

The company that invented the survival horror genre partners with Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures to bring SAW, the most popular horror film franchise of All-Time to Xbox 360, PS3 and Windows PC.

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., today announced SAW is being developed for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Windows PC. SAW will invite players to engage in a horrific game inside the treacherous corridors of an abandoned insane asylum that has been transformed into a gauntlet of terrors by Jigsaw, SAW’s maniacal antagonist. SAW will expand the survival horror genre by allowing players, for the first time to experience the terror of SAW on the game console, by pitting them against Jigsaw, his brutal traps and the mind bending puzzles that have become synonymous with the film franchise.

“Konami, partnering with Lionsgate® and Twisted Pictures to create SAW was a very organic synergy,” said David Daniels, Director of Marketing for Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. “As the leader in the survival horror genre, it only made sense to align with one of cinema’s most iconic horror franchises to create an entirely new survival horror experience.”

“We are always looking for exciting opportunities to extend the SAW experience beyond the theater. Partnering with Konami, the creators of the survival horror genre, to bring Jigsaw to the video game console was great way to accomplish that.” says Aubrey McClure, Vice President, Promotions and Licensing for Lionsgate.

Producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules of Twisted Pictures added, “Through the years, it has been important to us to consistently find new ways to engage and thrill horror audiences, this game is the next step, transporting fans directly into Jigsaw’s labyrinth.”

Developed by Zombie Studios and based on the incredibly successful film franchise from Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures, SAW uses the incredible graphic capabilities of the next generation consoles, to create a terrifying experience that offers truly unique gameplay features that will allow players to pit their wits against Jigsaw and make their choice…live or die.

SAW will be released in North America this fall. For more information, please visit: www.konami.com/saw

Gamers defend the Human Race against zombie attacks in upcoming downloadable game

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced Zombie Apocalypse, an upcoming downloadable game for Xbox LIVE Arcade for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation Network. As heavily equipped gunslingers, Zombie Apocalypse sets players on a mission to destroy as many zombies as possible in order save the last remaining human survivors.

Using an array of up to 11 lethal weapons including assault rifles, flame throwers and a teddy bear filled with C4 explosives, up to four players can play locally or via the Internet to stop the zombie attacks and rescue survivors as they compete for the highest scores. Players can use a chainsaw to melee zombies and protect themselves against becoming one of the undead. As an added line of defense, players can also use environmental hazards to crush, burn, slice, or cause other types of destruction on the masses of zombies.

“Konami is committed to providing original, quality entertainment through our diverse offering of console, handheld and downloadable content,” said Anthony Crouts, Vice President of Marketing for Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. “As a downloadable title, Zombie Apocalypse delivers all the fun and action of a console game at a fraction of the cost.”

The action-packed, arcade-style shooter will test gamers’ dual analog stick shooting skills and ability to survive 55 days of battles across seven environments, all the while attempting to not become a brainless zombie. Upon completing the mission, players can re-live the apocalypse with seven challenging unlockable game modes.

Zombie Apocalypse will be available in Q2 2009. To download assets, please visit: http://www.konami-data.com/pr/index.php.

Painkiller – Separating Boys From Men Since 2004

JoWooD Productions and DreamCatcher Games are pleased to announce they have signed Homegrown Games, a small independent Austrian developer, to develop the next chapter in the Painkiller brand. The new installment is called “Painkiller: Resurrection” and is set for release in Q4 2009.

Once more, it is up to the protagonist to find a way out of a grotesque world between heaven and hell, trapped between life and death. The development of Painkiller: Resurrection is based on the technology of the Painkiller engine, but with several improvements, including improved shadows, a higher texture resolution, moveable light sources, post processing, motion blur and ambient occlusion were implemented. In addition to these added features, the PK++ development team, lead by Steven “Blowfish” Wilkins, has set up a coop-multiplayer campaign mode.

“Fans are developing for fans, and we will not compromise the needs of the gaming community – this central slogan is one of the main foundations for our projects. Now that we are confirmed as the developer of Painkiller: Resurrection we feel honored and very confident that, together, we will produce a high quality game with unique gameplay. Despite its age, the Painkiller engine is still amazing. It keeps consistently high frame rates even with reflections, occlusion, blur and HDR effects, much more than 600.000 polygones (just for the basic architecture), on maximum resolution and with dynamic shadow producing light sources,” says Johann Ertl, Head of Development at Homegrown Games. “We’ve established a strong international team made up of Homegrown Games employees and gaming guys from the community. The current task in our development cycle is the campaign with new levels, new monsters, new bosses and a new story, all in typical Painkiller style.”

The award winning and critically acclaimed pure shooter is back, so be prepared for some fast paced and adrenaline-fueled action! There is no complexity of reloading or puzzling, just action! Grab your stake gun and go straight to hell!

Story
As with every journey into purgatory, the journey in Painkiller: Resurrection starts with death and pain. William ‘Wild Bill’ Sherman, an ex CIA Agent and specialist for dangerous missions in the Black Ops Special Unit has a big problem: during his last job, he has managed to not only kill the head of an illegal drug operation and a slew of innocent civilians, but himself in a fatal mistake. Trapped in a hostile place between heaven and hell, his soul flickers between the millions of faceless infidels and good and evil forces start to use Wild Bill for their own needs. But, it turns out that nothing is as it seemed at the beginning… solve the mystery and give the equilibrium between heaven and hell a little flip!

First preview information is available on www.IGN.com.

Additional Official Game Titles: FIFA 09, TrackMania, Carom3D, Red Stone

Mobile Game Titles: Wise Star2, Asphalt 4
Promotional Game Title: Dungeon & Fighter

Quest to Earn A Spot on Team USA Begins with the WCG USA Invitational at the Samsung Experience
May 16 and 17

World Cyber Games (WCG / www.wcg.com), the premier international video game competition and festival, has announced seven additional game titles which will be featured throughout 2009.

The additions include all-time favorite Xbox 360 and PC titles FIFA 09, TrackMania Nations Forever, Carom3D and Red Stone as the Official Game Titles for WCG. They will join the previously announced five Official Game Titles – including Counter-Strike 1.6 (PC), Starcraft®: Brood War (PC), WarCraft® III The Frozen Throne (PC), Guitar Hero®: World Tour (Xbox 360) and Virtua Fighter 5 (Xbox 360) – to ensure that this year’s competition features a wide variety of games that appeal to all different types of gamers around the world.

This marks the ninth year that FIFA Soccer will be an Official Game Title for WCG. The beloved soccer game provided one of the shockers of the 2008 Grand Final when Romania ended Germany’s dominance to capture the gold. Also marking return engagements in the competition will be Carom3D, which has been a part of the WCG for the past three years, and Red Stone, which made its WCG debut last year. TrackMania, the world famous racing game, will add to the competition’s long pedigree of racing games.

Adding to the diversity of the 2009 tournament will be the return of the Mobile Game Category. After making a huge splash through ‘Samsung Mobile Challenge’ at the 2008 Grand Final, the two mobile games to be featured include Asphalt 4 and the celestial puzzle game Wise Star2. Also in this year’s line-up, MORPG (Multi-player online role-playing game) Dungeon & Fighter will be featured as a Promotional Title.

“The World Cyber Games is more committed than ever to make eSports accessible to every type of gamer around the world” said Hyoung-Seok Kim, president and CEO of World Cyber Games. “This year’s lineup not only features a wide variety of Official Game Titles including Xbox 360 and PC games, but we are expanding the number of mobile games. With these new titles, we expect the 2009 Grand Final to be the most diverse and exciting we have ever had.”

WCG also announced the date of WCG 2009 Grand Final. This year the annual event will be held from November 11 to 15, for 5 days taking place in Chengdu, China.

The road to the Grand Final begins in the United States on May 16th and 17th as the nation’s best and brightest gamers converge at the Samsung Experience in New York for the annual WCG USA 2009 Invitational (formerly the US Open). Traditionally the opening of the WCG competition in the United States, the WCG USA 2009 Invitational is the first opportunity for players to begin their quest to earn a spot on Team USA, which is among the best teams in the world having captured the overall team title two years ago and placing third last year. Current members of Team USA and high-ranking gamers from across the United States will be among the competitors at this two-day event, which provides elite ranked gamers the opportunity to bypass the WCG Online and Regional Tournaments and proceed directly to the WCG National Final. Gamers will also duke it out for a separate prize purse, invitations to the WCG Pan-American Championship and other great cash and electronic prizes.

Pets are a very important element of the game play in Myth War II (http://mw2.igg.com/main.php ). And the pets there are truly as individual as our players with over 200 different creatures to call your own. Players train their pets to share their journey, their happiness and even their battles. Today we will share with our players some of the main attributes of the pets of Myth War II.

Loyalty: A value which shows whether or not a pet really listens to its owner’s instructions. This value will decrease if the pet dies in the battle and the pet will not follow orders if the value is too low. It increases as the pet levels up, and Stone of Loyalty may also be used to increase the value.

Intimacy: A value which shows the success rate of a pets ability to use its skills like “Berserk” and ” Combo” etc. The higher the value is, the stronger the pet will be. It increases when players play and fight with their pet. Obviously the longer that a pet and its owner spend together the stronger the value of their intimacy will be.

Pet’s Attributes:A value shows how a pet’s internal stats affect its abilities. The higher the value, the faster their skills can be improved.

Life Span: Every pet has a default maximum life span. This value will decrease as a result of battles and death. The Phoenix Stone, which are available in the Item Mall, can be used to restore the life span of a pet. Should a pet’s life value decrease to 0, then they can not join their master in battle. The Phoenix Stone can also be used to revive a pet and restore its life span to upper limit.

In next article we will take a glance at the resistance levels of certain pets and some relevant strategies.

For more detailed info about the pets of Myth War II, visit: http://mw2.igg.com/guide/guide.php?acid=25