Category: Games

Kids' WB! launched its new gaming site, Ribbit Arena, located at www.KidsWB.com on June 10, 2003. When kids log onto the site, they will be assigned to one of four teams where they can play a variety of exciting games and accumulate points for prizes they may download.

Sony Pictures Digital Networks has made CHARLIE'S ANGELS: ANGEL X is available online via the film's official Website at www.sony.com/charliesangels, and through a series of premiere distribution partners. The game inspired by and promoting the motion picture CHARLIES ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE, which is set for release in theaters nationwide on June 27, 2003, gamers are charged with the mission of catching the Thin Man before his army of assassins destroys his secret lair.

A study published in the scientific journal NATURE finds that the most violent games sharply improve visual attention skills. First-person shoot games, where one's virtual life is threatened, are the most effective in helping gamers identify objects in their peripheral vision, perceive numerous objects without having to count them, switch attention rapidly and track many items at once. Experienced players scored 30-50% better than nonplayers. Once more, the study found that the visual skills of non-gamers improved tremendously after just 10 hours of gameplay. While the number of subjects was small in the study, the effects were too large to be a result of chance, said Dr. Daphne Bavelier, an associate professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Rochester, who led the study.

Mythic Entertainment, developer and publisher of online gaming, have announced a new expansion to their online game, DARK AGE OF CAMELOT entitled TRIALS OF ATLANTIS. The program is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2003.

"Once again Mythic is extending the world of DARK AGE OF CAMELOT," said Mark Jacobs, president/ceo, Mythic Entertainment. "Fans will be excited by the new quests, new races and Master Level system, not to mention our new graphic engine that will deliver sophisticated underwater and improved above ground visuals."

The recent eFocus event in Los Angeles highlighted some interesting products and trends that may have been drowned out at the E3 show down the street. In a special invitation party/briefing many exhibitors were brought together to show their stuff to customers and media attending the big gaming conference at the Los Angeles Convention Center May 12-16, 2003.

Nearly a year in the making, CHARLIE'S ANGELS ANIMATED ADVENTURES debuts May 13, 2003 as an animated series of six, two-minute adventures on the Internet (www.AnimatedAngels.com) to entice moviegoers for the upcoming film CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE. Join the ink-and-paint Angels as they follow the trail of a missing U.S. Marshall, which takes them from Vegas to Mongolia and then to parts unknown. The Webisodes feature the voice of John Forsythe as Charlie, who provided the voice of the Angel's mentor in the original TV series and the feature.

Now kids can blast off on a neutronic trip as they board their own rocket and follow Jimmy, his best friend Carl and faithful robotic dog, Goddard, via the new Neutron's Nicktoon Blast Ride at Universal Studios in Orlando. The simulator ride takes riders with the Jimmy Neutron characters on a wild chase through favorite Nicktoons, including SpongeBob SquarePants, the Fairly OddParents, Hey Arnold and Rugrats. The ride replaces the Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera attraction.

THQ Inc. has entered into a two-property, multi-year publishing agreement with development studio Relic Entertainment Inc., creators of the critically acclaimed real-time strategy (RTS) titles HOMEWORLD and IMPOSSIBLE CREATURES. The first of the two projects included in the agreement is already in development at Relic and scheduled to release in the second half of 2004. More details and the name of this project will be released later this year. "We've identified the RTS category as a strategic imperative for THQ as we begin to compete more aggressively in the high-end PC market," said Jack Sorensen, evp of worldwide studios, THQ, explaining why his company pursued the relationship with Relic, regarded as a leader in the RTS genre. Alex Garden, ceo, Relic said his studio sought a publisher with global brand management expertise and tremendous influence at retail.

Gaming companies are getting into the war and spy games in a big way. One of the latest on the gamewar map is ESPionage, which Midway Games Inc. has in development and is expected to ship in Fall 2003 for the PlayStation2, Xbox and GameCube. ESPionage is the first action/stealth game to integrate traditional weapons combat with extensive Psi (psychic) mind powers. Combating a terrorist movement set to overthrow world order, Nick Geller an elite American Psi-Operative fights using telekinesis (lifting and throwing objects), pyrokinesis (controlling fire), remote viewing (going "out-of-body" to plan attacks), mind drain (draining Psi energy from enemies), aura view ("seeing" elements that arent visible in the real world) and mind control (taking control of enemies) to fight against an army of programmed, psychic terrorist super soldiers that will stop at nothing to reach their goal. Players will also have access to traditional weapons such as handguns and automatic weaponry. Enemies are equipped with deep AI, adaptive artificial intelligence, making the bad guys extremely aware of the players actions to respond and deliver more intense, realistic fighting. As players strategically navigate seven huge immersive levels within four distinct compounds, they encounter multiple ways to solve missions. Midway Games Inc. is a leading developer, publisher and marketer of interactive entertainment software. For more info. visit www.midway.com.

New York City-based DMA Animation has produced two minutes of character animation based SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE'S (SNL) CHURCH LADY to be used in casino games for Bally Gaming and Systems (Las Vegas), a division of Alliance Gaming. Licensed from NBC and Broadway Video, Bally will install CHURCH LADY in casinos nationwide, and internationally, in June. Slot players can expect to spin the reels and be treated to animations of the character, complete with all of her trademark mannerisms and saying such as "Well, isn't that special?" and "Could it be Satan?"