Final Fantasy XI gets release date for Xbox 360
New release of FFXI: Online game features improved graphics
Square Enix has announced that it will release Final Fantasy
XI for the Xbox 360 on April 18, 2006 in North America. It
will then release the game on April 20 in Japan and Europe.
FullStory
Star Wars Miniatures:
Attack on Endor
Rid your battleground of pesky Ewoks with a giant AT-ST
walker that can do your bidding. Unleash the dark side with
the Star Wars Miniatures: Attack on Endor expansion set, due
to hit shelves this February.
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Popular Game Designer Monte Cook Joins Forces with DB
Pro
Writer Monte Cook is no stranger to fantasy, but the
upcoming PTOLUS: CITY BY THE SPIRE comic book, which is
being published by Dabel Brothers Production (a.k.a. "DB
Pro") this spring, is his first stab at graphic
storytelling.
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Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath Of The Dragon God
Most sequels make a point of upping the ante over their
predecessors; filmmakers naturally assume viewers want some
form of compensation for a sequel's inherent lack of
originality or novelty. The makers of Dungeons & Dragons:
Wrath Of The Dragon God apparently took the make-it-bigger
formula to heart, sort of: Their sequel to 2000's
misbegotten fantasy Dungeons & Dragons manages to be even
more turgid, grating, artificial, and dull than the
original.
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Upper Deck & Nickelodeon Team Up for "Avatar: The Last
Airbender"
Upper Deck Entertainment (UDE) -- in association with
Nickelodeon -- has announced plans to create and distribute
a new trading card game (TCG) based on the cartoon series
Avatar: The Last Airbender. The trading card game will be
the first collectible card game to use UDE's new QuickStrike
game engine, which features lightning-fast one-on-one card
combat moves.
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Lara Croft hitting PS2, Xbox, and PC April 11
Eidos finally firmly dates Tomb Raider: Legend for current-gen
consoles and PC; PSP and Xbox 360 versions to come "shortly
after."
The good news: Eidos Interactive has finally set a firm date
for legendarily toned heroine Lara Croft's next adventure.
After giving a vague April release window, the publisher
announced that the game will ship on April 11 for the
PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC in North America. (The UK gets
it four days earlier, on April 7.) It is rated T for Teen
and retails for $49.99 on consoles and $39.99 for the PC.
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Nintendo Unveils DS Redesign
Smaller, more compact, and hitting Japan March 2nd.
Nintendo today announced a newly-redesigned version of their
DS handheld in Japan, confirming rumors that have been
floating around the internet for the past few weeks. The
"Nintendo DS Lite" features a smaller case design than the
original DS and a higher-quality screen with four brightness
settings. According to Nintendo, the name "Lite" is a play
on words meant to emphasize both the system's lightweight
design (it's about two ounces lighter than the previous DS)
as well as its lighter, brighter screen.
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Nintendo’s Red Tulip Hack
Last week, we reported the possible hacking of Animal
Crossing: Wild World. The problem revolved around a
mysterious letter that contained a Red tulip and potentially
debilitating consequences when planted. Well, Nintendo
themselves have now owned up for the "Red Tulip problem"
which afflicted US copies of Wild World on the DS. Since the
game isn't released until March 31st in European regions,
and with importing means such as Ebay readily available, the
title was always going to be popular amongst Euro Nintendo
fans.
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Learning to Love | The Epic Story Maison Ikkoku from
the creator of Inu Yasha
As the story progresses through its 15 volumes, the final of
which ships this month, we follow Godai as he grows into
manhood, learning how to love as Kyoko learns how to love
again.
Crafted by master manga artist Rumiko Takahashi, the creator
of Ranma ½ and InuYasha and the best-selling female comics
artist in the world, Maison Ikkoku tells the story of Yusaku
Godai, a young man struggling to pass his college entrance
exams in spite of the noisy neighbors whose constant
partying would drive anyone insane. Just as Godai is ready
to pull up stakes and move out, the ratty apartment building
that is the series’ namesake gets a new manager, the
beautiful Kyoko Otonashi.
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PRESS RELEASE
MechWarrior Short Film Announced!
February 2, 2006 (SEATTLE) — WizKids Inc., the industry
leader in collectable gaming and maker of the HeroClix®
collectable miniatures game (CMG) and Pirates of the Spanish
Main™ constructible strategy game™ (CSG), announced today a
partnership with the Digital Animation & Video Effects
School (DAVE) to produce a student-made MechWarrior® short
film.
“These guys are huge MechWarrior fans, and when they
approached us with samples of their work and a keen interest
to do a MechWarrior movie, we jumped at the chance,” said
Jordan Weisman, WizKids® CEO. “They’re going to give the
intellectual property the treatment it deserves — and who
knows what will come of it?” WizKids will have input in
script development, but the film will be produced entirely
by DAVE students.
“The director [Lee Stringer] is an Emmy-winning visual
effects supervisor with credits on Star Trek, Firefly and
Battlestar Galactica. Lee loves MechWarrior and has wanted
to bring it to the screen for 10 years,” according to DAVE
School Founder and Director Jeff Scheetz. “We teach our
students the importance of getting strong reference, and the
incredible level of art direction in the MechWarrior
universe is making it easier for our students to create
awesome sequences.”
The as-yet-unnamed film will release this summer, and will
be screened at Origins 2006 in Columbus, Ohio, and Gen Con
2006 in Indianapolis, Ind. It will also be available for
download online.
PRESS RELEASE
HorrorClix Collectable Miniatures Game Announced!
A Wicked Fun New Game From WizKids
February 3, 2006 (SEATTLE) — WizKids Inc., who
revolutionized miniatures gaming with the Mage Knight®,
MechWarrior® and HeroClix® collectable miniatures games
(CMGs), announced today the next revolution in miniatures
gaming: HorrorClix™!
“HorrorClix places players firmly in the action, suspense
and excitement of a horror movie,” said Jordan Weisman,
WizKids® CEO. “Players assemble teams of monsters from
across the horror spectrum — including vampires, zombies and
werewolves — and then protect the innocent, eat them or both
in a delightful, gore-filled romp!” HorrorClix uses plot
twist cards, a heavy emphasis on scenario play and new
character cards to explode the boundaries of CMGs and the
patented Clix system.
HorrorClix raises the bar for all miniatures games by
shifting the game focus from hack-and-slash combat to
inventive scenario- and story-based play. Additionally, it
uses the combat dial to provide literally hundreds of
tailor-made supernatural (and super-gruesome!) powers and
abilities. Character cards flesh out each monster with
fiction and detailed explanations of each creature’s
capabilities, including mechanics never before seen in
miniatures games!
HorrorClix will be the star of the show at the two biggest
2006 summer United States gaming conventions: Origins in
Columbus, Ohio, and Gen Con in Indianapolis, Ind. Players
from all over the world can experience the wicked fun of
HorrorClix in ongoing demonstrations and special events.
WizKids also plans to unveil a “big” HorrorClix surprise at
the GAMA trade show in March.
HorrorClix will release in late summer or early fall of
2006, and will be available at gaming stores, comic stores
and specialty stores worldwide. For more information, go to
www.horrorclix.com.
