Archive for May 6th, 2009

PopCap Launches Plants vs. Zombies Game for PC and Mac

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

Casual Games Leader’s Take on the “Zombie Survival” Genre Pits You and Your Front Yard Against Legions of Lovably Laughable Undead

  

PopCap Games today announced the immediate availability of Plants vs. Zombies, a humorous action-strategy game suitable for all ages. Conceived and designed by George Fan, senior game designer at PopCap’s San Francisco studio and the creator of Insaniquarium, Plants vs. Zombies pits you against legions of invading zombies bent on overwhelming your lawn and making their way to your front door. To defeat the hordes of living dead trespassing on your lawn, you must purchase and plant a wide range of lovable mutant flowers, vines, trees and other foliage that has zombie-combating powers and abilities. Plants vs. Zombies carries a retail price of US$19.95 and is available online for PC and Mac at www.popcap.com as well as other leading game portals including RealArcade, MSN Games, STEAM, Wild Games and Yahoo! Games.

 

“We love zombie games as much as everyone else, but unlike other undead offerings we wanted to create a zombie game that would appeal to both casual and hardcore gamers alike,” explained George Fan, senior game designer at PopCap. “It’s been great to see both casual and hardcore gamers in our beta test group get totally absorbed in the game, clicking intensely as the zombies chomp on their front yards.”

 

Featuring five different modes of play, Plants vs. Zombies presents you with a front lawn and encroaching zombies striving to reach your front door and defeat you. Choose from an ever-increasing assortment of specialized, zombie-battling plants to slow down, confuse, weaken and ultimately destroy the vegetation-munching undead before they can traverse your yard and reach your front door. Thoughtful selection of plants, judicious use of resources and clever planting/placement decisions are key to overcoming more than two dozen different kinds of zombies, each with its own combination of “skills” and behaviors. Additional obstacles and challenges in later levels include the setting of the sun, a creeping fog that obscures part of your view – even a swimming pool that takes up much of your lawn.

 

Features of Plants vs. Zombies include:

·         Five different modes of play: Adventure, Survival, Puzzle, Zen Garden and Mini-Game Challenges

·         50 levels in the main Adventure mode and more than 50 more in the other game modes, with limitless replayability

·         More than four dozen plants, from cherry bombs and peashooters to melon-pults, wall-nuts and sunflowers

·         Dozens of different zombie types, including back-from-the-dead miners, businessmen, football players, even a zombie bobsled team!

·         Suburban almanac tracks your progress and provides vital stats on plant and zombie types

·         Crazy Dave’s trunk-o’-the-car shop where you can purchase special “power plants” and other zombie-exterminating tools as well as potted versions for your Zen Garden

·         New fluid animation technology for prettier plants and zippier zombies

·         14 original musical pieces that dynamically adjust to the intensity of the game in real time

·         So frighteningly fun you’ll soil your plants!

Playlogic Announces Vertigo

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

Challenging Puzzle Game Coming to Wii and PC June 16, 2009

Test your balance and puzzle solving skills as you traverse through Vertigo

Playlogic Entertainment, Inc. announced today that Vertigo, the action-packed, futuristic racing puzzle game, is coming to the Wii system and Windows PC. Vertigo will be available in retail stores nationwide June 16, 2009.

“Vertigo is a high-rolling, adrenaline-fueled combination of futuristic racing, puzzle solving and precision control,” said Adam McGowan, marketing director for Playlogic. “With four multiplayer gaming modes, this is the ideal game for the entire family or a competitive group of friends. Vertigo takes gaming to dizzying new heights, where only the most skilled can survive!”

Vertigo challenges players to take their Xorb across 54 hair-raising landscapes and nine different worlds, each with their own unique treacherous terrain and death defying obstacles. Along the way players can upgrade their Xorb, seek hidden shortcuts and col­lect power-ups to help them survive all with the goal of becoming the fastest and most envied Xorber in the Universe!

For added playability, Vertigo for Wii features Wii board compatibility, allowing players to use either the Wiimote or Wii balance board for an all-new realistic balancing experience.

Additional game features include:
* Four multiplayer modes: Time Trial, Xorb Football, Death Match, and 10-pin Xorb bowling
* Four trial modes: Arcade, Career, Practice, and Time Trial
* Fully Customizable Shell type: Bodywork and Hatch customization
* Three racing classes to progress through

Vertigo is rated “E” for everyone by the ESRB. For more information about Vertigo or Playlogic, please visit www.playlogicgames.com.

Playlogic Brings Exciting Twist to Sudoku with Sudoku Ball – Detective

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

Available for Nintendo DS, Wii and PC June 23, 2009

This trilling puzzler is fun for the whole family!

Playlogic Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq OTC: PLGC.OB), an independent worldwide publisher of entertainment software, announced today that Sudoku Ball – Detective, the highly addictive mystery puzzle game, is coming to Nintendo DS handheld device, the Wii system, and Windows PC. Sudoku Ball – Detective will be available in retail stores nationwide June 23, 2009.

“Sudoku Ball – Detective is fun for the whole family, giving fans of the classic Sudoku game a new and unique way to re-discover the fun of puzzles,” said Adam McGowen, marketing director for Playlogic. “Not only do players get to put their skills to the test with a multitude of challenging number puzzles, but they must also conquer each puzzle to get closer to solving a number of mysterious crimes.”

Inspired by classic detective stories like Sherlock Holmesand the popular board game Clue, Sudoku Ball – Detective challenges players to solve a murder. It is up to the player to find the murderer, by completing different styles of Sudoku puzzles representing separate stages of the investigation. Players can search clues, pick locks, investigate evidence in the lab and chase their suspect!

Sudoku Ball – Detective consists of six interlinked Sudoku puzzles mapped on a unique 3D ball. The ball can be twisted and turned with the easy-to-use interface, and players enter the numbers by using the stylus, Wii remote or computer mouse. Aside from the detective storyline, players can also enjoy classic Sudoku puzzles and compare their scores with friends and family after diving into the various extra puzzles and gameplay modes.

Additional game features include:

* Challenging and engaging story mode with 20 levels
* Three difficulty settings from beginner to expert
* Brand new 3D ball design for a unique puzzle experience
* More than 240 Sudoku challenges using a stand alone Sudoku Ball, story puzzles and original Sudoku modes

For more information about the Sudoku Ball – Detective, please visit: www.sudokuballdetective.com. For more information about Playlogic, please visit www.playlogicgames.com.

Deep Silver Announces Official Website for Cursed Mountain

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

Survival horror game set in the Himalayas is designed exclusively for Nintendo Wii

Deep Silver, the games label of Koch Media, a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products, today announced the opening of the official website for the survival horror game Cursed Mountain, an exclusive title for Nintendo Wii, at http://cursedmountain.deepsilver.com

The diary kept by main character Eric Simmons offers more details about his quest to find his missing brother and more information about the mythical background of the Himalayas. Postcards and photographs lets visitors get a glimpse of the hazards that Eric encounters on the mountain, and a radio offers an audio impressions of his adventures.

About Cursed Mountain:
Set in the late 1980s, gamers will take on the role of a fearless mountaineer as he climbs into the Himalayas on a quest to find his lost brother. As he ascends the mountain, he encounters an ancient curse: the souls of the people who died in that region are stuck in limbo, caught in the Shadow World. Villagers, pilgrims, mountaineers and Buddhist monks – dead but not yet reincarnated – are all that is left on the mountain.

Terrible visions will disorient him, and ghosts and demons block his path. But the question remains – is his brother still alive?

Cursed Mountain is set to be released in 2009.

Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Adventures episode 2 out now

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

Join Wallace & Gromit in The Last Resort, the Newest Game from Telltale and Aardman

Crafty inventor and canine companion ready for beach holiday, even if the English weather isn’t

Telltale and Aardman are announcing the release of The Last Resort, the latest of four monthly Wallace & Gromit games that open up the world of West Wallaby Street like never before. “The Last Resort” is available today for PC from www.telltalegames.com as part of the Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures series. The games will also be coming soon to Xbox LIVE Arcade.

Telltale’s Wallace & Gromit games are like interactive films, with humorous storylines and creative characters conceived in collaboration with Aardman’s award-winning team. In the new episode, Wallace and Gromit’s Blackpool holiday is rained out, so the enterprising inventor and his clever dog bring the beach to their basement with the construction of West Wallaby Waterworld, a makeshift resort complete with sun, sand, and Wallace’s homemade boardwalk attractions. Keeping their guests satisfied turns out to be tricky business, particularly after one is thumped on the head by an unknown assailant. Everyone is a suspect! Now Wallace and Gromit must work together to finger the culprit, with a little help from Wallace’s latest invention: the Deductomatic.

Customers can purchase the Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures series from www.telltalegames.com, and the first two episodes, Fright of the Bumblebees and The Last Resort, will be delivered digitally with their checkout. The full series purchase from Telltale also includes the Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures Collector’s DVD, containing the four games plus bonus content for just the cost of shipping shortly after the finale episode. The third and fourth Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures episodes will release for PC in June and July.

Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures launched in March to rave reviews, with Yahoo! Games UK calling the premiere episode “Wallace and Gromit’s finest and best looking video game outing to date.” IGN awarded the episode with its coveted Editor’s Choice Award, saying, “Telltale nails the look and feel of a Wallace & Gromit short film.”

The four-episode Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Adventures series sells for $34.95 (approx £24). To purchase the game, visit http://www.telltalegames.com/wallaceandgromit.

Penguin United to launch Crossfire Remote Pistol at E3

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

First Wii Gun Designed with Built-in Remote and Repositioned A and B Buttons

Penguin United has announced that it will launch the CrossFire Remote Pistol for Nintendo Wii at this years E3 in Los Angeles.

The CrossFire is the first and only available gun for Wii that has the remote already integrated into the guns design. Additionally, the A and B buttons, and D-Pad have been repositioned for easy access and functionality.

Product Highlights:
* Self-contained remote gun – does not require inserting Wii remote into gun “shell”
* Designed to create a true gun experience
* A-Button repositioned for thumb access while holding pistol
* B-Button repositioned for trigger finger access
* D-Pad repositioned for immediate thumb access
* Works as regular remote for non-shooter games
* Enhanced Vibration function
* Built-in Speaker enhances audio experience

“The CrossFire pistol will change the way shooting games are enjoyed on the Wii platform,” emphasized Richard Huang, Penguin United’s President. “Previous gun designs are bulky and just don’t work very well. The CrossFire will offer gamers all the benefits of the normal Wii remote as well as providing a true “gun” experience.

Outpost Kaloki Coming to iPhone, iPod Touch

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

NinjaBee announces award-winning simulation game for mobile platform

Outpost Kaloki, the space-management simulation game made popular on Xbox LIVE Arcade and the PC, will soon find a new home on the iPhone and iPod touch. The game will be broken up into three stories; Kaloki Adventure, Kaloki Love and Kaloki War. Kaloki Adventure has been submitted to Apple and will be available on the App Store shortly. Kaloki Adventure is the first game NinjaBee has adapted to a mobile platform, and the team behind the project has put their thoughts into a series of posts on the NinjaBee blog (www.NinjaBee.com/blog2009/04/iphone-lessons.html) to help other iPhone developers.

“Bringing Outpost Kaloki to the iPhone has been a challenging and interesting experience,” said Steve Taylor, president of NinjaBee. “We ended up redesigning various parts of the game to work well on the iPhone, so the whole process took a lot longer than we had originally planned, but it was the right thing to do and I’m extremely happy with the results.”

Kaloki Adventure challenges players to race against time to save the princess while building lemonade stands, arcades, gardens, chemistry labs and a whole slew of expansions to keep their space guests happy. Players must solve challenges, entertain visiting aliens, keep their ratings high, and rake in the money to earn fame, love and glory. Outpost Kaloki is fun for people of all ages as it stretches players’ time and money management skills and introduces a cast of quirky, hilarious characters.

Features of the iPhone/iPod touch game include:

* Space station tycoon-style gameplay with a light-hearted story; easy to pick up and play
* Two modes of play: heart-pounding Story mode in which you race against the clock for 14 levels, and relaxing Scenario mode in which you can build to your heart’s content in one of six different Scenarios
* Bright graphics, a distinctive art style and a catchy soundtrack
* Auto Save: Progress will automatically be saved in the event of a phone call, shut down or other disturbance during play
* Optimized performance and new controls redesigned specifically for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Outpost Kaloki was named the Sim Game of the Year in 2004 by GameTunnel.com and received the Editor’s Choice Award from TeamXbox.com in 2005. Thousands already own and love Outpost Kaloki on Xbox LIVE Arcade and the PC, and soon everyone can enjoy this easy-to-learn, fun for the whole family game anytime, anywhere.

A taste of the game, Kaloki Free, will be launched alongside Kaloki Adventure for free. Additional stories in the Kaloki universe will be released later as the expansions Kaloki War and Kaloki Love.