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Today's Press Releases PC Games: Hanjamaru 'Hanjamaru', a game currently in development by NHN and EduFlo, grabbed attention from the beginning of the development. Pedagogists who study Chinese characters and education psychologists from Harvard University have participated in the development process, and the game's education effect has been proved through experiments done in Psychology department of Seoul National University. 'Hanjamaru' was intended to let the users be interested in studying Chinese characters through audio-visual teaching system. 'Hanjamaru' enabled this by combining the education method with battle, which is the basic element of MMORPG. Also, the influences that changes of various factors, such as the size, speed or aggression of monsters and appearance of items during the game, cause on users' gaze were studied in terms of educational psychology and cognitive psychology, and the results were applied in 'Hanjamaru'. 26,000 users in total participated in the final close-beta test, which was held for two weeks in January 2009, and testers learned 13 Chinese characters per hour in average. Especially, 78% of young (age of 10 or lower) participants' ability in Chinese have increased, which indicates educational effect of'Hanjamaru'. Kwon Su Yeon (43, office worker), a parent who tried out Hanjamaru with her child, said "It seems Hanjamaru brings interest to the users, and leads to natural education by going through repetitive routine. I hope it will be a nice teaching method for children to learn Chinese characters while having fun." Currently, Hanjamaru only supports Korean-based Chinese characters, but the global version which will support Japanese-based Chinese characters and Simplified Chinese characters will be published in 2009. - Combat Arms Combat Arms Europe and Xfire have teamed up for a striking event challenging the most enduring and skilled players to join the heat on the battlegrounds. Starting on March 27, 2009, this 10 days event offers the compelling chance to win luring prizes, including a full PC set, by just playing the game to accrue enough playtime throughout the event period. The event gets spiced up to its highlight on April 5: Combat Arms Europe invites FPS fans to form up against two superstar pro teams – the legendary Swedish Counter-Strike team, SK Gaming, and the unbeatable Russian power-girls, forZe Ladies. This exclusive chance, further stocked up with bountiful amounts of NEXON Cash that will be handed out to random participants, will mark the highlight for gamers who have ever wished to play with the pros, and the anticipation is huge to see how the pro teams will perform off of the Counter-Strike ground and on the battlefields of Combat Arms. For further information about Combat Arms Europe and to participate at the event, please visit http://combatarms.nexoneu.com. - Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets - Updated to 1.11 Matrix Games and SSG are pleased to announce the release of the v1.11 update for Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets. The update fixes a bug in PBEM games using variants and brings two new features: formation suppression, and timed replacement only when in supply. The new suppression rule changes do two things. First, it adds a feature to the Editor which allows gamers to designate formations that are suppressed and the conditions that need to be met to lift the suppression. If the HQ of a formation is suppressed it does not broadcast a command radius and the combat ability of the whole formation is substantially reduced. The Kharkov scenario has been updated to accommodate the new suppression system, which helps to restrict the use of several German formations in the south of the map at the start of the game. The second new change similarly brings a new feature to the Editor and an update to the Kharkov scenario. First, a scenario designer can now designate a formation as needing to be in supply to get timed replacements. If a formation needs to be in supply to get timed replacements, but starts a turn on an unsupplied hex, the replacement timer will not decrement. Additionally, the Kharkov scenario has been altered so that Russian units will only get Timed Replacements when in supply, Axis units are unaffected. David Heath, Director of Operations at Matrix Games, said “The team at SSG is well known for producing quality games with rich strategic and tactical decisions at every turn. Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets is one of our favorite SSG land wargames of all time. It’s very well balanced, highly challenging and the gameplay continues to be polished well after release.” PSP Games: Mytran Wars Deep Silver, the games label of Koch Media, a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products, today released new information regarding the turn-based strategy game Mytran Wars, due to be published soon. A multitude of varied challenges await in Mytran Wars. A commander of the Kondor Corp. forces may be confronted with reconnaissance, assault, defense or rescue missions in the course of his career. All of these missions call for an individual approach in order to achieve the best result with as little loss of life and machinery as possible. To that end, it is absolutely vital to study the basic strategies of machine-supported warfare. The forces of Kondor Corp. consist of mighty combat robots controlled by humans, which seek out their enemies for direct confrontation. The latest generation comprises three very different types of units: Intruder The Intruder is the most lightly armored unit, built for maximum mobility. Its excellent speed comes at the cost of reduced basic equipment, making it ideal for recon missions, quick advances, and flank attacks. Moreover, this unit type can be equipped with a variety of special items. This enables the Intruder to repair other units in the middle of a gunfight, to manipulate the enemy's electronic sensors, or to significantly impair the mobility of hostile troops – sometimes even stopping them altogether. The Intruder can prove to be the most valuable unit, provided three basic rules are observed: 1. Avoid direct clashes with the enemy. 2. Have Intruders act as support units on the flanks, or from the second rank. 3. Equip at least one Intruder with repair equipment in order to keep damaged allies operational. Destroyer The Destroyer represents the backbone of the ground forces. With medium armor, medium to heavy weaponry and average mobility, the Destroyer is a universal all-purpose weapon that can be employed for all kinds of missions. The Destroyer has an extensive and varied arsenal of weapons at its disposal: efficient long-range weapons, powerful rocket launchers for area damage, or melee weapons for skirmishes at close range. The Destroyer's medium armor is capable of absorbing several direct hits, enabling the unit to hold positions of strategic importance, even during tough battles. High Command recommends: 1. If possible, equip the unit with a melee weapon and a ranged weapon; that way, it will be well prepared for any situation. 2. Optional rocket launchers cause area damage, allowing the Destroyer to take on several hostiles at once. 3. Have the Destroyer conduct an initial strike, then send in Intruders to finish the job before the enemy recovers. Devastator The Devastator is the heaviest Kondor Corp. unit. As the name implies, this unit has a devastating effect on enemy troops and morale. This juggernaut has the best armor and the most powerful weapons. The only disadvantage is its slow, even sluggish, movement speed. The Devastator constitutes the spearhead of our forces - it is like a massive, impenetrable wall that advances on our enemies, incessantly laying down deadly fire. Its use is confined mainly to combat on open battlegrounds, due to its limited mobility. As the Devastator's production costs are very high, the High Command recommends: 1. Do not employ Devastators for rescue or recon missions; these are the province of lighter units. 2. Never send a Devastator into battle alone. While the Devastator can sustain direct enemy fire for a long time, it can be easily destroyed if attacked from several directions at once. 3. Always take the terrain into account. The Devastator's already limited mobility should not be further impaired by sending it across difficult terrain such as dense forests or canyons. - Dissidia -Final Fantasy Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces that Dissidia® -Final Fantasy®- will be released across Europe and all PAL territories in Autumn 2009, exclusively on the PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) system. Celebrating over 20 years of world’s most popular adventure game series. Dissidia -Final Fantasy- brings together the largest cast of Final Fantasy characters ever assembled in a single game. The most famous heroes and villains will now collide in a war that threatens to tear the world apart. Dissidia -Final Fantasy- takes one-on-one fighting to a new action-packed level on the PSP. Through expansive 3D environments, players can glide through the air, dash along walls and perform summons familiar to fans of Final Fantasy. Complete with all the character progression and customisation expected from the series, Dissidia -Final Fantasy- truly delivers the action, spectacle and emotion of Final Fantasy in the ultimate portable fighting experience. John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix Ltd. comments, “With so many favourite heroes and villains contained in one game, Dissidia -Final Fantasy- is certainly going to appeal to fans of Final Fantasy. We also hope that players unfamiliar with the series are also attracted by an action-packed experience that really showcases the PSP and is set to become an instant classic on the system.” About Dissidia -Final Fantasy- Story Cosmos, the goddess of harmony. Chaos, the god of discord. Reigning from distant realms, the two gods had gathered warriors from all lands to lead them in savage war. Cosmos and Chaos were of equal strength. It was believed the conflict would last forever. However, the balance is now broken. Those who answered Chaos's call created an inexhaustible force. And under vicious attack without relent, the warriors fighting for Cosmos started to fall one by one. The conflict that has continued for eons is now about to end in Chaos' favour. The world has been torn asunder, sinking into a vortex of disorder. As for the few surviving warriors… their fates have yet to be determined. Features • Experience the high-quality world and gameplay mechanics of Final Fantasy presented in action-packed 3D environments where players can glide through the air and dash along walls. • Combining all-out brawling alongside RPG-style character development and customisation, an original system developed by the creators of the KINGDOM HEARTS series takes fighting gameplay to another level. • Fan-favourite heroes and villains from the entire Final Fantasy series come together in one game for the first time in a remarkable new tale with fully-voiced CG movies and real-time events. • Players select their favourite Final Fantasy characters, sided with either Cosmos or Chaos, to set the stage for their fantasy match. • Accessible through "EX Burst", players can experience gameplay faithful to the originals through memorable battle features such as "Limit Break" and "Overdrive". In addition, long time fans of the series can enjoy the ability to summon Aeons and options such as the "command battle" system. Familiar environments and music from the Final Fantasy series also appear, arranged to make the most of the hardware capability. • Continue the experience by trading Friend Cards, creating items and sharing AI characters with other players and even engage in virtual AI battles made possible by the PSP system ad hoc mode. PS3 Games: Supercar Challenge System 3 invites racing fans to prepare themselves for a superb year of Formula 1 racing, with all the action kicking off this weekend in Melbourne, Australia. It’s anybody’s game in these early stages as energy recovery systems, slick tyres and frill-free bodywork throws the ball into the court of any racing team quick enough to take advantage of the new 2009 regulations. One thing’s for sure though; we’ll have a definite idea of which team has got what it takes by the time the British GP comes around on June 21st. And what better way of preparing yourselves for some awesome weekends of European summer racing than by throwing a McLaren F1 around the corners of Silverstone, Nürburgring, Spa and Monza? You can do just that in System 3’s SuperCar Challenge, which is set to launch just in time for gamers to become Silverstone pros. And with the unrivalled handling engine and superb attention to detail found in SuperCar Challenge’s cars and tracks, you can be sure that your experience will be as close to the real thing as is possible in a videogame. Gamers will be invited to battle in 16-player online races and take part in specific GP track competitions (Silverstone, Nürburgring, Spa and Monza) with winners picking up top prizes such as tickets to Formula 1 race events! SuperCar Challenge features some of the greatest vehicles and racing circuits the world has to offer as well as a critically acclaimed car handling, realistic rain conditions, track tutorials and voiceovers from Tiff Needell, an in-depth Career mode, intricate decal & livery customization tools and 16-player online battles. SuperCar Challenge will launch in Q2 2009 - Ratchet and Clank: A Crack In Time Ever wanted to travel back in time? This Autumn Ratchet and Clank are back on PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) in the UK like you’ve never seen them before – and they’re on a mission to save the future!! Get ready another round of intergalactic chaos with Ratchet and Clank™: A Crack In Time, the latest addition to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s multi-million selling Ratchet and Clank™ franchise. Concluding the events that began in Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction and Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty, Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time will answer some of the franchise fans’ biggest questions. After discovering that lovable robot Clank’s disappearance was engineered by Dr. Nefarious, the Wrench-swinging Ratchet races to save his best friend. Along the way, both will finally uncover the hidden truth behind their origins, and discover their ultimate destinies. As the duo come closer to reuniting, they’ll have to ask themselves the biggest question of all: Do Ratchet and Clank’s destinies lie with each other? Or is it finally time for the universe’s greatest duo to separate for good? If you haven’t played Ratchet & Clank before and are new to this successful franchise, prepare to be immersed in hilarious action-packed galactic capers and discover how time travel will entertain you in ways never before experienced. Powered by Insomniac Games’ fourth-generation PS3 technology, Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time will continue to bring the experience of playing your own computer generated animation movie to PS3. Expect all the laughs and witty banter of a Ratchet and Clank title, as you enjoy all-new space gameplay that gives players the opportunity to engage in space battles, explore the surrounding star system, and discover hidden items and collectables... You’ll come head-to-head with a brand-new cast of baddies, and some old favourites, and obliterate them with cool new weapons and abilities. Get ready for a brand new time-bending, laugh-out-loud adventure when Ratchet and Clank: A Crack In Time arrives in stores in Autumn 2009. It’s the newest addition to the smash-hit Ratchet and Clank franchise, with eight titles across PlayStation®2, PS3™ and PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable) platforms. With Ratchet and Clank, the future is never certain! iPhone and iPod Touch Games: Hardgore Chillingo Ltd, Europe’s premier iPhone publisher has announced today at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco that they have teamed up with independent development studio Mountain Sheep to launch 3D tower defense game Hardgore in Q3 of 2009 for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Hardgore is set in a surreal world of penguins, gremlins, sheep, and even Santa Claus himself! Your peaceful village is under attack – can you save it from impending doom? Hardgore takes the crown for the best tower defense game with innovative game-play and super-stylised 3D visuals. “Nothing raises my flag more than the cream of iPhone gaming. Without a doubt, Hardgore is the pinnacle of tower defense games! ” says Chris Byatte, co-Founder and Managing Director for Chillingo. “Our Tower Defense game with its super smart AI and interstellar look and feel sets new standards”. Chillingo are the publisher of Zen Bound™ which has won the Best iPhone Game award at the GDC this week. Their recent title “iDracula – Undead Awakening” zoomed up the App Store charts days after its release. Kimmo Vihola, CEO of Mountain Sheep said “We wanted to team up with a publisher with the right credentials in the iPhone market, who are at the same time as passionate about great games as we are. We are very proud to be working with Chillingo to help us launch this game in the Apple App Store”. - Blade of Betrayal Perfect Dork Studios announces the availability of “Blade of Betrayal” for iPhone and iTouch. Co-developed with Conjured Realms, “Blade of Betrayal” is a single-player running, jumping, fighting action game that focuses on high-tech swordplay. The player travels through different levels fighting enemies on the way. Each of the levels is tied together with a revenge storyline featuring comic-style retro graphics and a catchy rock electronica soundtrack. In “Blade of Betrayal,” the protagonist, Spencer Corinth, seeks vengeance against those who killed his father. Through the adventure Spencer finds out that deception runs deep and justice must be served. The player uses touch activated screen buttons to move and attack. Each level has hidden and locked areas that can be entered only after finding the proper keys. This exploration with purpose rewards the player with upgrades to their health bar and weapons energy. The player will also be able to find four special weapons that will give them the edge against enemies large and small. “The game is pure fun. It features cool art and rockin’ music to make each level unique and memorable. We have also implemented several new techniques that significantly enhance the play control.” – Billy Garretsen, founder/president, Perfect Dork Studios “Blade of Betrayal” features retro style gameplay, but with a modern control layout that allows some customization, including options for left-handed players. The high production value16-bit sprite graphics and fully illustrated story art separate it from other iPhone platformers. Wii Games: Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars on Wii and Rise of the Fungi SouthPeak Interactive Corporation is today announcing that its mighty mushroom games are coming to Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ tomorrow in the UK. Mushroom Men: The Spore Wars on Wii and Rise of the Fungi on Nintendo DS, offer gamers a unique and compelling platform adventure, from the perspective of a tiny hero with a big mission. To get gamers in the mood for some fungi fun, SouthPeak Games is also releasing a specially-created Mushroom Men cookery book, featuring a host of taste-bud tickling recipes… and one terrible dessert. Multi-Platform Games: New Star Grand Prix New Star Games Ltd are excited to announce that New Star Grand Prix will be available on Saturday 28th March, just in time for the 2009 Formula One season which starts this weekend in Melbourne, Australia. The PC version will be available initially, shortly followed by the Mac version. New Star Grand Prix is a top-down racing game inspired by classics of such as Super Sprint and Micro Machines, but brought bang up to date to feature all the teams, drivers and tracks of the 2009 Grand Prix season. It features a full career mode that spans up to 10 seasons where you must compete against the world’s best drivers on 17 real-world tracks. During your career you will need to manage your finances and relationships with the team boss, pit crew, friends and fans. You can gamble at the casino and even purchase sports cars, but it is on the track where you must really prove yourself. Races feature changeable weather conditions, tyre wear, car damage and fuel loads, all of which affect your car’s handling and will require careful monitoring if you want to make tactical pitstops. The camera can be zoomed in or out to suit your driving style and after the race you can upload your best laptime to the online leaderboard. The game also features a comprehensive track editor that will allow you to design and race on your own tracks. - Secret Files 2 - Puritas Cordis Deep Silver, the games label of Koch Media, a leading producer and distributor of digital entertainment products, announced that “Secret Files 2 – Puritas Cordis” is on its way into production. So players can look forward to May 8th when the game will be released for PC, Wii and Nintendo DS. About “Secret Files 2 - Puritas Cordis”: Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis... the world is on the brink of disaster. By the time Nina Kalenkow realizes that the recent catastrophes were caused not by nature, but by an unscrupulous secret society known as Puritas Cordis, it is almost too late. While her ex-boyfriend Max, a scientist, witnesses the brutal methods of Puritas Cordis at the excavation site of an ancient Indonesian temple complex, Nina joins forces with a priest in France to investigate the connection between the secret society's sinister prophesies and the creepy leader of an ancient order. A dramatic race against time begins. Will the protagonists be able to avert the impending apocalypse? - Duke Nukem Trilogy Deep Silver, Inc. and Apogee Software today announced an open search for the next live-action Duke Nukem actor. One outstanding North American Duke will be chosen to represent the Duke Nukem Trilogy™ games hitting retail shelves this September. The talent contest will travel to three cities this spring, culminating at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in June with the naming of a new Duke Nukem representative. The three city contest will kick-off in New York in April and then move west to Los Angeles. The final leg of the contest will be in Dallas in May. Each stop will bring one finalist closer to being named the new live-action Duke Nukem. Aspiring Dukes will be judged on how well they personify the character's take-no-prisoners attitude. The final three Dukes will compete at a special event surrounding E3 and will end with the announcement of the new Duke. For more information on the search for Duke and the Duke Nukem Trilogy, visit dukeisback.com. The Duke Nukem Trilogy is comprised of three episodes: Critical Mass™, Chain Reaction™, and Proving Grounds™, and will be released sequentially beginning in September 2009 for Nintendo DS™ and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system. Games Related News: Ubisoft Back-Catalogue Games Available Today, Ubisoft®, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, and GOG.com, the games-on-demand platform dedicated to DRM-free classic PC games that’s just too cool for school, announced an agreement to deliver Ubisoft's best back-catalogue games via GOG.com. The agreement brings classic Ubisoft titles like Beyond Good and Evil®, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six®, Far Cry®, Heroes of Might and Magic® and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® to gamers around the world via GOG.com’s DRM-free games catalogue. As with all GOG.com releases, the titles are affordable and accompanied by mounds of extras, including soundtracks, wallpapers, forum avatars and much more. “We’re incredibly happy to welcome Ubisoft and their much-loved games to GOG.com,” said Adam Oldakowski, managing director of GOG.com. “Ubisoft has long been breaking new ground with innovative and award-winning games, and is strongly reinforcing that trailblazing image by bringing its titles to GOG.com. The warm welcome of GOG.com by gamers convinced us that there is huge demand for classic games at a low price and packed with bonus materials. With more titles from leading companies like Ubisoft we will be able to achieve our goal of becoming the ultimate destination for fans of classic PC games.” Ubisoft’s classic games have already started to hit GOG.com's catalogue, with Beyond Good and Evil®, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time™ and IL-2 Sturmovik™: 1946 now available for $9.99 each. Other titles will be added in the coming weeks. - Alienware Area-51 Pro Challenge Heaven Media are happy to be able to confirm the attendance of four of the best Counter-Strike: Source teams in Europe at the Alienware Area-51 Pro Challenge, hosted in the Heaven Media Game Zone at Gadget Show Live, 17th-19th April. These four teams were invited to compete, free of charge, for a huge prize fund of £6,000, at the much anticipated event which will see over 30,000 visitors over the three days. The first of the teams which will be in attendance is French side VeryGames, currently ranked as the top team in Europe. “This promises to be a superb event, with plenty of talent in attendance,” said Johann Thiesson, VeryGames’ CEO. “We feel privileged to be invited, and we look forward to doing our best to take home the top prize.” The UK team who lost the number one spot in the European rankings to VeryGames will also be competing, Team Dignitas. “Getting competitive gaming into mainstream media is something that we as a community need to do more”, said Managing Director Michael O’Dell. “Mainstream exposure for eSports is vital for our sport and I look forward to a great event.” The third team to confirm their attendance are Team Coolermaster, who placed third at Frag-o-Matic 11 in Belgium a month ago, and will be looking to notch up their first tournament victory in the Alienware Area-51 Pro Challenge. “This event is a great thing for the community, but it’s also a great opportunity for our team”, said manager Craig Walker. “They have already shown they can compete with the best, now they have a chance to show they are the best.” Finally, the fourth team to compete will be predominantly UK side Crack Clan, another side that will be looking to use this tournament to jump up the European rankings. “It's great to see another UK event offering a significant prize fund, especially one taking place at a well known and more mainstream event”, said Crack’s Director of Professional Gaming, Luke Cotton. “It should result in some good publicity for eSports as a whole, as well as the teams involved. We're excited to be a part of it and are hoping for a good event.” Each one of these four teams is stacked full of talent, and will be looking to prove just exactly what they can do when they compete against each other over the three days, in matches which will be broadcast live by QuadV, and over Valve’s SourceTV software.
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