TimeShift

Release date(s): Xbox 360 & Microsoft Windows: October 30, 2007 PlayStation 3: January 2008

Genre(s): First-person shooter

Mode(s): Single player, multiplayer

Platform(s): Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3

TimeShift is a sci-fi, first-person shooter from Vivendi Games for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It was developed by Saber Interactive, the same developers behind the game Will Rock, using a new proprietary engine. A few pieces of Will Rock carry over to TimeShift, from the way gibs are shown to some of the unique weapon designs. On August 31, 2007 a demo of Timeshift was released on Xbox Live Marketplace. Following this, a PS3 demo was released onto the Playstation Store on November 1, 2007. The game was released on Xbox 360 and PC on October 30, 2007 in the United States; November 1, 2007 in Australia; and November 2, 2007 in Europe. It is scheduled for release in January 2008 on the Sony Playstation 3.

Story

Modern-age scientists have begun to work on time travel. The antagonist Aiden Krone goes back in time using the alpha suit (the suit from the original build of TimeShift) and does not return. When he reaches the past, he remakes the world in his image, creating a dystopia where Krone rules. The anonymous protagonist uses the Beta time travel suit to travel back in time to see how Krone changed time and stop him.

The protagonist arrives in the Alpha District and proceeds to assist the Occupant rebellion in fighting against the Krone Magistrate. After fleeing the city in a Zeppelin, the protagonist and a group of Occupants are attacked and forced to abandon the Zeppelin in search of Beta Company.

Gameplay

The unique feature of TimeShift is that the player is able to control time: stopping, rewinding, or slowing it down more or less at will, similar to the Prince of Persia series. Unlike in the Prince of Persia game, the player is not affected by their time manipulations. This allows a player to stop time in order to dodge an incoming projectile or steal an enemy’s weapon. Specific time-related puzzles also require these abilities. The main difference between the two games is death: while the player can reverse their own death in the Prince of Persia series, the same is not true here.

Delay

The game was originally going to be published by Atari, but publishing rights switched to Sierra on April 20, 2006. On August 31, 2006, TimeShift was delayed for a second time. The game was finally released on October 30, 2007.

Because the game had been delayed several times and was not mentioned very much in gaming news, the press thought that the project had been abandoned. However, on April 10, 2007, Vivendi Games announced that they were giving TimeShift a complete overhaul and were fixing many bugs. The most striking difference is the change in visual style, after claims that the original look “couldn’t compete in the post Unreal Engine 3 world” and that the original steampunk style “didn’t resonate with people.”

One of a number of changes is that Michael Swift, the game’s original protagonist, will not be appearing in the game. After the retooling of the game, Saber introduced “the suit” as the time control device, making the protagonist anonymous. Saber said that this change was to let the player imagine that “you are the protagonist”.

Initially, TimeShift was announced for the PC and Xbox 360, but at the 2007 SCEA Gamer’s Day, it was announced that the game will also be appearing on the PlayStation 3.

Soulcalibur Legends

Genre(s): Action-adventure

Mode(s): Single Player, Co-op

Platform(s): Wii

Soulcalibur Legends is an upcoming adventure game for the Wii console. It is a spin-off of Namco Bandai’s successful Soul fighting game series. The official release date is set to November 20th of 2007 for US and early-mid 2008 for European countries. Characters, stages, and other stuff will be announced periodically. The game will feature competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes in addition to the single player story mode.

Some artwork found at IGN hints that Siegfried and Ivy are both set to appear. The artwork shows Ivy fighting a group of mummies in a stage that appears to be an ancient Egyptian tomb and Siegfried (wielding the alternative costume version of Soul Edge found in previous Soulcalibur games) facing off with a dragon. Their role in the story is yet to be known. A few slight details have popped up via the latest issue of Famitsu. According to an article, a new character by the name of Iska will be introduced. Little information on Iska is known at the current time. All that is known is his appearance and that he is a 16-year-old boy who travels with Siegfried. The storyline is set between the events of Soul Edge and Soulcalibur.

Characters

The story is set to be based around Siegfried Schtauffen’s transformation into Nightmare. Screenshots in various magazines as well as in the official website have shown at least six playable characters, listed below. The same sources have shown other new and familiar characters fighting against the playable characters. While Iska appears in the official site, he is separate from the playable characters, and thus it is still uncertain whether or not he will be playable. A new trailer shown at TGS 2007 indicates that Nightmare and Cervantes have made appearances, their official roles in the game unknown, as well as a mysterious man in a mask. Lloyd Irving from Tales of Symphonia is set to make an appearance in the game as a playable character, though his role is unknown. Fans have also stated that they hope for the return of Link because of his appearance in the Gamecube version of Soul Calibur II.

Confirmed playable characters

• Ivy
• Mitsurugi
• Sophitia
• Siegfried
• Taki
• Astaroth
• Lloyd Irving

Confirmed non-playable characters

• Ammon (An Egyptian mummy boss)
• Assassin (Common Enemy)
• Cervantes
• Barbaros
• Fafnir (A great dragon boss, like the dragon of Norse legends.)
• Geki (A rival Fu-Ma ninja to Taki and a boss.)
• Golem (Common enemy)
• Isuka (A Hungarian prince who is a representative of the Holy Roman Emperor.)
• Lizardman (Common enemy)
• Maki (A Fu-Ma ninja.)
• Mummy (Common enemy)
• Black Ninja (Common enemy)
• Nightmare

Outspark: Fiesta (MMORPG)

ScreenShot:

Release date(s): June 20, 2007 (Closed Beta phase one), July 25, 2007 (Closed Beta phase two) ,August 27, 2007 (Open Beta phase)

Genre(s): Fantasy, Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game

Platform(s): Windows(2K/XP/ Vista)

Download Link: http://www.outspark.com/fiesta/download_requirements

Fan Sites: http://www.fiestaonlinehq.com, http://www.fiestafan.com/

Fiesta is a free, Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, first published by OnSon Soft in Korea, and then by Outspark for the international English market. Like a typical MMORPG, the player’s character can adventure across the game’s persistent online world, battle monsters, level up and raise stats, and complete quests, and party with other players. There are also guilds and guild wars, instanced raid dungeons and item crafting options. The international English version is currently in the open beta stage, and is an ongoing work in progress.

Much like Ragnarok Online, Fiesta is intended to use a “cute,” anime style graphic basis. In this case, the characters are rendered in a 3D manner. Likewise, the monsters and NPCs are depicted in a similar cartoonish style. Currently, Fiesta uses two character models (one male, one female) for each of the four classes, as well as only three choices each for hair color and hairstyle. However, it is to be expected that the open beta will feature more extensive model choices.

The character classes represent only the strictest fantasy RPG archetypes: Archer, Cleric, Fighter, and Mage. Each class has three ranks, though promotions are linear, rather than offering branching job paths. At level 20, players may now undertake a quest to promote their character’s class to the next ranks which are Hawk Archer, High Cleric, Clever Fighter, and Wiz Mage respectively. The third rank is achieved by undertaking another quest that is only available once a second rank character has reached level 60.

Gameplay Elements

All character classes have the same basic set of statistics, which is Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Endurance (END), Intelligence (INT) and Spirit (SPR). STR determines a character’s ability to inflict damage against monsters and other players in guild wars. DEX determines a character’s accuracy as well as their ability to dodge most physical attacks. END determines the defense of a character, block rate, and maximum HP. INT determines a character’s magical offensive potential, whereas SPR affects three aspects of any character, such as resistance to magical attacks, potential to achieve critical hits with regular attacks and skills/spells, and the size of their mana pool, which is used for all active skills and spells.Though each stat receives an increase in line with the kind of class a player’s character is using (Fighters, for example, receive more STR and END per level up than Mages) with each new level gained, all characters receive one bonus stat point at each level up that may be added to any of the primary stats that the said player desires.SkillsThere are three kinds of skills in Fiesta. The first kind are active skills, which players activate using the game’s hotkeys (numbered 1-0 on a regular keyboard, with the minus (-) and equals (=) keys reserved for life and mana potions respectively). The second are passive skills, which boost other aspects such as increasing the damage dealing potential of an Archer or a Cleric’s mana pool. Then there are miscellaneous skills which include mining, mount/riding and item crafting skills.

An interesting aspect of Fiesta’s skill system is the Empower Skill ability. All players receive an Empower point at every odd level achieved, beginning at level 3. This may be used to empower certain facets of any particular active skill, such as reducing its cooldown time or increasing its damage potential.

Titles

Another element that Fiesta Online uses are the Titles players can receive in the game. As a form of acknowledging achievements, players can obtain titles from performing different actions in the game. For example, players that have just added a fifth contact into their Friends list will receive the title “Friend Seeker”, while others will receive the “Friendly” title after adding their tenth contact into the said list. The title “Monster Joke Punchline” will be given to players who have died numerous times in the game, while other players may receive the titles “Announcer” or “Talk Show Host” if they continue to shout to all players in any given map. One title that is no longer available is the “Closed Beta Tester”, obviously given only to a player’s character who was able to participate in the closed beta test.

Another method to achieve titles is by defeating certain types of monsters over and over again. By equipping a weapon with a license, a kind of item that increases the said weapon’s effectiveness against a particular monster type, players gain a 15% damage bonus and the title of “<insert monster> Killer”. Again, there are multiple title ‘ranks’ and a commensurate increase in damage bonus with each rank achieved; the highest known title and bonus is “<insert monster> Annihilator” and 70%, respectively.

Unfortunately titles gained through killing monsters are only temporary, as they are actually attached to the weapon and not to the player’s character.

Outspark is also currently working on a similar game called Secret of the Solstice, which as of now is in closed beta.

Gimp the GNU Image Manipulation Program.

Download Link: http://www.gimp.org/downloads/

About GIMP

Introduction to GIMP

GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.

It has many capabilities. It can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo retouching program, an online batch processing system, a mass production image renderer, an image format converter, etc.

GIMP is expandable and extensible. It is designed to be augmented with plug-ins and extensions to do just about anything. The advanced scripting interface allows everything from the simplest task to the most complex image manipulation procedures to be easily scripted.

GIMP is written and developed under X11 on UNIX platforms. But basically the same code also runs on MS Windows and Mac OS X.

Features and Capabilities

This is only a very quickly thrown together list of GIMP features. You can also have a look at the illustrated features overview.

• Painting
  • Full suite of painting tools including Brush, Pencil, Airbrush, Clone, etc.
  • Sub-pixel sampling for all paint tools for high quality anti-aliasing
  • Extremely powerful gradient editor and blend tool
  • Supports custom brushes and patterns
• System
  • Tile based memory management so image size is limited only by available disk space
  • Virtually unlimited number of images open at one time
• Advanced Manipulation
  • Full alpha channel support
  • Layers and channels
  • Multiple Undo/Redo (limited only by diskspace)
  • Editable text layers
  • Transformation tools including rotate, scale, shear and flip
  • Selection tools including rectangle, rounded rectangle, ellipse, free, fuzzy
  • Foreground extraction tool
  • Advanced path tool doing bezier and polygonal selections.
  • Transformable paths, transformable selections.
  • Quickmask to paint a selection.
• Extensible
  • A Procedural Database for calling internal GIMP functions from external programs as in Script-fu
  • Advanced scripting capabilities (Scheme, Python, Perl)
  • Plug-ins which allow for the easy addition of new file formats and new effect filters
  • Over 100 plug-ins already available
• Animation
  • Load and save animations in a convenient frame-as-layer format
  • MNG support
  • Frame Navigator (in GAP, the GIMP Animation Package)
  • Onion Skin (in GAP, the GIMP Animation Package)
  • Bluebox (in GAP, the GIMP Animation Package)
• File Handling
  • File formats supported include bmp, gif, jpeg, mng, pcx, pdf, png, ps, psd, svg, tiff, tga, xpm, and many others
  • Load, display, convert, save to many file formats
  • SVG path import/export
• Much, much more!

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings

Genre(s): Real-time strategy, Strategy RPG

Mode(s): Single player

Platform(s): Nintendo DS

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (ファイナルファンタジーXII レヴァナント・ウイング, Fainaru Fantajī Tuerubu Revananto Uingu) is a real-time strategy RPG developed by Square Enix and Think & Feel Inc. for the Nintendo DS. It is a sequel to the best-selling 2006 PlayStation 2 role-playing game Final Fantasy XII.

One year after the events of Final Fantasy XII, the protagonist Vaan is now a sky pirate possessing his own airship. He is joined in a new quest by his friend and navigator Penelo, other returning characters from the original title, as well as new characters such as Llyud, a member of the Aegyl race who have wings protruding from their backs. Their treasure-hunting adventures take them to the Purvama (Floating Continent) of Lemurés and the ground below, where the story begins.

Revenant Wings is the first title announced in the Ivalice Alliance series of video games. Square Enix announced that the North American release of the game for November 20, 2007 will be tougher than the Japanese version.

Gameplay

Like with Final Fantasy X-2, an airship, here named Beiluge (ベイルージュ, Beirūju^?), is available to the player as soon as the game starts. The airship is used as a base where the player can check on their current mission and view other tasks, customize equipment in the synthesis shop, or travel between the four islands of Lemurés. The airship’s interior can also be customized by the player.

Battle system

Revenant Wings is a real-time strategy game, but with elements reminiscent of Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Advance. It can be played entirely with the Nintendo DS stylus. Like in Final Fantasy XII, battles initiate once the party comes in contact with the enemy, and the characters can attack automatically. The player is given the option to give commands to the characters by tapping on them with the stylus. Possible commands include changing the character’s target, setting their gambit, or using various abilities. Area spells can be cast by drawing a rectangle around the enemies with the stylus.

Each character is distinguished according to three types: melee, ranged and airborne. Melee characters attack at a close range, and ranged from afar, while airborne are able to fly unbound to terrain. The types oppose each other in the manner where melee wins over ranged, ranged wins over airborne and airborne wins over melee.

Summoning

Summoning magic returns from Final Fantasy XII in Revenant Wings and have a larger role; director Motomu Toriyama stated that Revenant Wings has more summons than any previous Final Fantasy game. Summon abilities are learned via the new License Ring system, which is used to bind summons (called Espers) with the player’s characters. Each slot in the License Ring is placed with an Auracite to create a pact with the Esper. The number of summons available to the player fifty-one, and they are classified in different categories, with each character able to summon a large number depending the partys combined capacity.

Summoning Espers to aid in battle is accomplished by using an “Esper Gate” located in the playfield area. The ability to summon the different creatures depend on the “Gate Capacity” of the player characters. Summons are ranked from 1 to 3, with Rank 1 and 2 able to manifest in large numbers, as opposed to Rank 3 which summons only one entity. Summons are also differentiated by varying elements, which are fire, water, earth, and wind. Recovery and non-elemental are two other types.

Synthesizing

An element of alchemy and synthesizing is used in the game, where the player obtains recipes and materials necessary for the synthesis process. Only the player can obtain the materials, of which high grade material enhances the equipment to which it is synthesized.

Characters

Itō’s design for Vaan.

The characters are designed by Ryoma Itō, who was also the character designer for Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. Itō based some of his designs on those of Final Fantasy XII character designer Akihiko Yoshida. Itō “traded secrets” with him, with the confidence he gained from Final Fantasy XII creator Yasumi Matsuno’s praise on his tampering with Final Fantasy Tactics Advance’s Moogle designs.

Summon designs have also differed, for example the lizard design of Salamander was changed to be boar-like to ensure that the designs would come out well in the game graphics. Each summon had three Ranks, and the designs of each Rank are so that there are relations between one Rank and another.

Story

Revenant Wings begins a year after the events of Final Fantasy XII, with Vaan flying his own airship with Penelo after Balthier and Fran ’stole’ the Strahl, visiting them in Bervenia, accompanying them inside to obtain the Cache of Galbados. But there, they encounter the Esper Ifrit and defeated him before obtaining the treasure, taking leave when the building began to collapse on itself. Upon learning the Cache is actually a airship called the Beirouge, Batlthier gives it to Vaan to replace the one that was destoryed in the chaos. Through the ship, Vaan and Penelo find themselves on the Purvama Lemurés. While looking around the unknown ruins, they meet Llyud of the Aegyl race.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles

Genre(s): CRPG (computer role-playing game)

Mode(s): Single Player

Platform(s): PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360

The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles is the official expansion pack for the computer role-playing game The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It was released for Microsoft Windows in a boxed retail edition on March 27, 2007, for US$29.99. The Xbox 360 version was released over the Xbox Live Marketplace, priced at 2400 Microsoft Points (equivalent to US$30).Announced on January 18, 2007, the expansion was developed, published, and released over the Xbox Live Marketplace by Bethesda Softworks; its retail release was co-published with 2K Games.

Production, release, and availability

The earliest news about Shivering Isles surfaced on January 4, 2007, when the then-current issue (#177) of PC Zone revealed the game. The issue revealed the basic plot and setting of the game, published its first screenshots, and announced its expected arrival in the second quarter of 2007. Bethesda had not yet announced the expansion, and continued on in silence until January 18, 2007, after the expansion had already been featured in both PC Zone and PC Gamer, after it had been scheduled for a February 6, 2007 appearance in Games for Windows, and after it had been reported in several online publications. The official announcement also confirmed an eventual release for the Xbox 360, something the magazines, as PC publications, had not mentioned. Further clarification came in early March, when Executive Producer Todd Howard revealed the specific release date of March 27, 2007, and announced prices for all releases.

Originally, the Xbox Live Marketplace release of Shivering Isles was scheduled for March 27, 2007, but an unscheduled Xbox Live maintenance was announced and the launch day was moved forward to March 26, 2007. The expansion adds to Oblivion a potential 250 Gamerscore points — the maximum allowed for downloadable content under current rules — split across ten achievements. An expansion disk version was announced on September 6, 2007, with a previously disallowed hard drive requirement.

The expansion has been announced as a standalone for the Playstation 3 version of the game, to be released on November 20, 2007. It had been previously included in the Playstation 3 version of the Game of the Year edition of Oblivion.

Overview

The Gate to Shivering Isles from Cyrodiil.

The expansion pack takes place in the “Realm of Madness”, also known as the Shivering Isles, a realm of Oblivion ruled by the daedric prince Sheogorath. The realm is divided into two sections: Mania, which is bright, colorful and over-saturated, and Dementia, which is dark, depressing and claustrophobic. Near the eastern shore of the Shivering Isles lies the capital and only city of New Sheoth. One third of the city (Bliss) looks like and represents Mania. Another third (Crucible) looks like and represents Dementia. The final third is divided into half of both and is known as the Palace District. The Isles are threatened by an event called the “Greymarch” which happens at the end of each era, in which Jyggalag, Daedric Prince of Order completely destroys Sheogorath’s kingdom, therefore forcing Sheogorath to rebuild it from scratch.

The Realm of Madness is considerably different in both look and feel than anything in the land of Cyrodiil. Lead designer Mark Nelson stated that the reason for the drastic change in theme was because “People want to explore a new realm. Besides if you’ve played Oblivion for 200 hours, you’ve gotta be sick of gray stone castles.” The new expansion pack has been estimated to have an additional 30-40 hours of gameplay available to players, and the Realm of Madness is said to be 25% of the size of Cyrodiil. There are 32 unique ingredients to the expansion, 10 new achievements, 10 new creatures (with different leveled versions), 9,500 new lines of dialog, 200 new weapons and 80 pieces of armor and clothing.

On entering the Shivering Isles the player is limited to an area called the “Fringe”. The fringe is a small area which acts as a portal from the mainland of the Shivering Isles. To enter the realm itself a massive guardian called the Gatekeeper must be defeated. Defeating the Gatekeeper may be a challenge as he has very high defense and attack power. The player can choose to team up with an NPC who is an archer to help defeat the Gatekeeper although this is not mandatory. As the Gatekeeper protects Sheogorath’s realm from unwanted attacks the player must construct a new one to replace the one he or she defeated during a later quest. The new enemies include three types of mages (Heretics, Zealots and Apostles), a large insect that utilizes a variety of poisonous attacks (The Elytra), a tree-like humanoid (The Gnarl), a primitive frog-like species that is much like the goblins in Cyrodiil (Grummites), and their supposed larval form (Balliwogs)and last but not least the flesh and boned dog (more commonly known as the skinned dog). The Dark Seducers and Golden Saints are returning from previous installments in the series as the protectors of Dementia and Mania, respectively. Dark Seducers wear light armor and wield maces, axes, and/or bows, while the Golden Saints wear heavy armor and wield axes, bows, maces, and/or swords. Another Daedric creature making its comeback is the Hunger. There are new spells that include the ability to summon Sheogorath’s personal servant, Haskill, and a creature returning from Daggerfall, the Flesh Atronach. Using materials found on the Isles called “Madness Ore” (easily found with Grummites or in their lairs; used to make heavy armor with high armor ratings) and “Amber” (easily found with Gnarls or in their lairs; used to make light armor with lower armor ratings than the Madness equivalent) new types of armor and weapons can be forged with the help of two NPCs. With templates for enchantment called “Matrices,” enchanted versions of these weapons and armor can also be forged.

Promotional screenshot depicting a Golden Saint.

The player can also choose to side with either the Golden Saints or the Dark Seducers and become the duke/duchess of either Mania or Dementia during the main quest. To achieve the 250 gamer points for attaining both ranks the player will either be required to play through the Shivering Isles main plot line twice with different characters, or save the game prior to the moment the critical choice is made and play through this section of the plot line twice.

It is revealed during the course of the main quest that Sheogorath is actually Jyggalag, the Daedric Prince of Order that was cursed by the other princes to become the Prince of Madness, and he may only show his true form at the end of each era, during the “Greymarch.” At the end of the main quest, the player fights and defeats Jyggalag, and is then proclaimed the new Prince of Madness, although Sheogorath tells you earlier that you cannot become a daedric prince. The player receives several new powers including the ability to freeze enemies with Sheogorath’s staff, the ability to change the weather in the Shivering Isles, which provides random stat boosts, and a protect spell which teleports the player to safety and healing in Sheogorath’s castle when they are near death. These abilities can only be used within the Isles. You also have the opportunity to call for a dancer, have a Golden Saint or Dark Seducer royal guard escort you and have access to an unlimited supply of combat-based mini-quests that involve defending the Gates of Madness or any of the towns from intruders or wild creatures respectively. You can choose to perform these quests either by sending your guards (500 gold reward) or by taking care of it yourself (1,000 gold). As an end game reward, you are given a set of Sheogorath’s powerful enchanted clothing, and Jyggalag’s sword, which functions as an unenchanted claymore in the player’s hands. Also, if one has not acquired the Wabbajack staff, and has stopped the Greymarch beforehand, subsequently gaining lordship over the Isles, Sheogorath’s shrine will have Haskill speaking in the Prince’s stead.

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles

Genre(s): Rail shooter, Survival horror

Mode(s): Single player, 2 player Co-op

Platform(s): Wii

Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, known in Japan as Biohazard: Umbrella Chronicles (バイオハザード アンブレラ・クロニクルズ, Baiohazādo Anburera Kuronikuruzu), is an upcoming shooter game and the 7th installment in Capcom’s Resident Evil series. The game is currently slated to be released on November 13, 2007 in North America, November 15, 2007 in Japan, and November 30, 2007 in Europe, except in Germany, where the game will not be available due to the lack of a USK rating.

Development

The game is being published and developed by Capcom and produced by Masachika Kawata who was behind the PS2 port of Resident Evil 4. At E3 2006, Capcom officially announced that development was already underway for an exclusive Resident Evil game for the Wii and mentioned that it would take advantage of the console’s unique Wii Remote controller, giving players a new experience. Members of Capcom’s Clover Studios, who created such games as Viewtiful Joe and Ōkami, have been called upon to help develop the game.

A short clip of the game was shown on the Nintendo World event on November 3, 2006, where 2007 was revealed as the release date. On April 6th, 2007, the official Japanese website went live containing an official teaser video.On April 13th, 2007, the official Japanese website updated with a second trailer, character profiles and screenshots. Capcom is planning to release the game with a limited edition collector’s Biohazard box featuring several items along with the game itself.Christian Svensson, Capcom’s senior director of strategic planning and research, stated the game will support 480-progressive scan and 16:9 widescreen resolution. A trailer was included in the Wii edition of Resident Evil 4, which shows the mansion from the original game and areas of Raccoon City. On July 11th, 2007, Nintendo announced at the pre-E3 press conference that the Wii Zapper peripheral will be compatible with the game.

Gameplay

^{In 2006, Capcom revealed that the game will combine the series’ trademarks with “the revolutionary control system of the Wii”. The April 2007 issue of Famitsu revealed that the game would be an on-rails shooter}.

^{According to IGN’s “Gamer’s Day” hands-on report, the Wii Remote will control the pointer, while the analog stick on the nunchuk will also orient where the player is looking. The player must use the reticle to locate items or weapons. The player can use the D-Pad to swap weapons, but they will vanish completely if all ammo is depleted.}

^{A recent magazine article has revealed that the player will choose two of the available characters when they start a section of the game. It was also revealed that there will be a wide selection of weapons including grenades and rockets to go with more familiar weapons like the handguns.}

^{Colonel Sergei Vladimir, one of the new characters set to appear in the last chapter of the game}

^{According to the July edition of Japanese gaming magazine Weekly Famitsu, the game will support a 2-player cooperative mode. In July 2007, the official website was updated with a new trailer showing gameplay of this feature.}

Everquest II: Rise of Kunark

Release Date: Est. November 13, 2007

Genre(s): MMORPG

Rating(s): Teen

Platform(s): WindowsEverquest II: Rise of Kunark is an upcoming EverQuest II expansion pack from Sony Online Entertainment The expansion pack is set to introduce a new continent, Kunark; a new player race, the Sarnak; and raise the level cap for adventure, tradeskills and guilds to 80.

History of Kunark

Over the five hundred years transpired between the setting of the original Everquest and Everquest II, the continent of Kunark has changed in many important ways. The various cataclysms that occurred during this period in Norrath had a tangible impact on Kunark, with many areas of the geography being unrecognizable to those familiar with the continent from Everquest.

The Iksar Empire is being rebuilt, with the giants being pushed towards the north of the continent, and the Sarnak, the new playable race, pushed towards the west, and their home city, Chardok. Upon arriving in Kunark, players will be immersed in a war between the powerful Iksar Empire and the other inhabitants of Kunark.

The Sarnak

A render of the new player race, the Sarnak.

The Sarnak in Everquest were an NPC race that inhabited part of Kunark. In Rise of Kunark there are two distinct types of Sarnak: NPC characters who will be familiar to players of the original Everquest; and the new, playable Sarnak, who were “magically engineered” to fight in the war against the Iksar Empire. These Sarnak were hunted by Iksar, who saw them as a threat against their rapidly growing empire. Thus, the remainder of these engineered Sarnak were hidden, believe destroyed by the Iksar and have only just began to emerge.

The playable Sarnak will begin in the lush jungle islands of Timorous Deep, where new Sarnak players attempt to rejoin their race, learn about their history and find their way to the city of Chardok. The eventual quest for Sarnak players is to be able to help their race in the war against the Iksar, and to be able to be of use, the players will have to level in Timorous Deep, the Shattered Lands of the base game, the Desert of Flames, Kingdom of Sky and Echoes of Faydwer content, before finally being able to be reunited with their race and fight in the war against the Iksar.

New Features

A character in a dungeon in Rise of Kunark.

Rise of Kunark brings several new features to EverQuest II. The expansion will feature considerably larger zones than any previous content in the game, the expansion consisting of large areas which are actually multiple zones with seamless transition between them.

Another newly introduced feature will be that of epic weapons. Epic weapons were introduced in EverQuest with the The Ruins of Kunark expansion pack, and allowed each player to complete a series of quests for a powerful magical weapon, unique to their particular class. According to the announcements, the difficulty in obtaining the epic weapons will be due to the difficulty of the events, quests and encounters. However, the epic weapons are not designed to be regarded as an entitlement that every member of a class will obtain, and that the series of quests, which will include solo, group and raid content will require effort and dedication.

There will be 24 epic weapons, one for each character class; each of which will have a distinctive look and be tailored to be desired by the class it was designed for.

Rise of Kunark zones

The coastline of the new starting zone, Timorous Deep.

The new starting area is Timorous Deep, which will have content available for new characters from levels one to twenty. All Sarnak will start in Timorous Deep, and newly created characters from any of the neutral races will have the option to begin in Timorous Deep. The zone will consist of lush, jungle islands in the ocean known as Timorous Deep, and the new village of Gorowyn.

The vast majority of the rest of the content will be focused around the levels of 65 to 80, forming the new endgame content of the EverQuest II. Aside from Timorous Deep, new zones include: Kylong Planes (consisting of the zones of Dreadlands, Burning Woods and Firiona Vie from the original EverQuest expansion pack, The Ruins of Kunark) the Fens of Nathsar (consisting of The Ruins of Kunark zones Timorous Deep, Field of Bone and the Lake of Ill Omen) and Jarsath Wastes (containing the OverThere and Skyfire Mountains from The Ruins of Kunark). New indoor areas and dungeons include the City of Mist, Sebilis, Karnor’s Castle, and Veeshan’s Peak.

Silent Hill: Ørigins

Genre(s): Survival horror

Mode(s): Single player

Platform(s): PlayStation Portable

Silent Hill: Ørigins (Known as Silent Hill Zero in Japan) is to be the fifth installment in the Silent Hill survival horror series, developed and published by Konami and Climax Studios for the Sony PlayStation Portable. It is scheduled to be released in North America November 6, 2007. The title is a prequel, intended to explain the series’s eponymous town’s backstory.

Revised Gameplay Previews

As of April 24th, the development of Silent Hill Origins has undergone drastic changes. For example, the game will no longer incorporate the over-the-shoulder pistol-aiming views inspired by Resident Evil 4 but will retain the fixed camera positions seen in the previous entries in the series. The barricade system, a limited item inventory like the one used in Silent Hill 4: The Room and a planned weapon laser sight that was in earlier previewed versions of the game have also been dropped. The gameplay returns to a mixture of obscure puzzles and melee fighting, with the return of the basic radio and flashlight items present in the first three games. Melee weapons appear to be temperamental and will break after long periods of usage, although Travis can use hand-to-hand combat against monsters, demonstrates comparatively strong aptitude with firearms and has the ability to “charge” an attack (first introduced in Silent Hill 4).  The game’s visuals have also been improved with greater detail in both the foggy world and the nightmarish universe and a very realistic use of light and darkness.

The August 2007 leak of the game’s demo has revealed it will contain an “Accolades” system, speculated to be an equivalent of the “Achievement” system of the Xbox 360.

The game is estimated to be around 8-12 hours long.

Need for Speed: ProStreet

Genre(s): Racing

Mode(s): Single player, multiplayer

Platform(s): Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, Mobile

Need for Speed: ProStreet (NFS:PS) is the latest installment of Electronic Arts’ popular racing game series Need for Speed. On May 21, 2007, Electronic Arts published a teaser trailer of ProStreet, and was then officially announced ten days later on May 31, 2007. It is due to be released worldwide in November 2007.

The demo, featuring two races – speed challenge and grip – appeared on XBox Live on October 26th, 2007.

Gameplay

Need for Speed: ProStreet will take the Need for Speed series in a new direction of gameplay. Instead of an arcade style of gameplay which has dominated the series, ProStreet will focus much more on realism and move closer to, but not into, racing simulation, and still with options to use driving assistants to make driving easier and more arcade-like. Unlike its predecessors, all racing in ProStreet will take place on closed tracks, thus making it the first game in the series not animating illegal racing behaviour since Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed, hence there will not be any police in the game. Performance tuning will take up a large part of gameplay in a way that even a small adjustment of the shape of a car’s body will impact its performance. Autosculpt is back from Carbon, but with much greater detail. According to an Electronic Arts employee, there will be thousands of aftermarket upgrades, visual and performance, from real performance brands.

In ProStreet there will be several different game modes, including Drag, Grip, Speed, and Drift. Drag race is simply a 1-mile drag race, the first to cross the finish line wins. Grip race, which is a circuit race, you do whatever you need to do, to cross the finish line first. Block your opponent, ram them, or even smash them off the track. Speed challenge is all about speed and control, you need to pass the checkpoints with highest possible speed, and the racer with the highest total checkpoint speed wins. Drift, you just drift for points.

ProStreet will feature next-generation graphics aiming for a more photo-realistic feel, and more advanced physics. It will also be the first Need for Speed game to include damage modelling since 2000’s Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed. The new damage system is said to be very accurate, as a collision with any object in the game world may render a car damaged or even useless.

Also, in accordance to the fact that Autosculpting any body parts will impact performance, these changes can be tested in an enclosed chamber marked as the “Wind Tunnel”. Your car is placed in the Wind Tunnel and artificial winds are created, giving you your performance on the track. You can use this to tune your car to your liking.

The new ProStreet will also feature an advanced damage system, which will directly impact on your car’s performance, unlike previous Need for Speed titles. This is especially significant in the Speed racing mode, as you can easily “total” your car.