The trailer features Bounty Hunter Kit Ballard, part cat, part girl and completely lethal! Prepared for every eventuality, Kit has the ability to change her appearance in an instant with over 60 combinations of weapons and costumes available to her.

Blade Kitten welcomes the player to Hollow Wish, it is here in this mysterious shell planetoid filed with dark secrets and shadowy cloaked figures that Kit Ballard works as one of the best bounty hunters in the business.

She is one of the last of her species, having fled her homeland after the genocide of her people at the hands of the ancient and mystical race known as the Darques.

Kit has since made a name for herself rounding up some of the most deadly scum in the galaxy. With her unique Darque Blade hovering at her side and obeying her every command, Kit can cut through even the toughest rogue drone while hunting down soft targets. Also along for the ride is Skiffy, Kit’s laid-back little sidekick who, when needed, serves as her protector.

Join Kit, Skiffy and the Darque Blade in the all new action adventure game… Blade Kitten.

Blade Kitten is released in September 2010, the all action adventure has a 12+ rating and will be available for Xbox LIVE Arcade, Play Station Network and PC download.

runes of magic - relationship system - screenshot

Runes of Magic fans will be excited to know that the latest content update called ‘In The Depth Of The Forest’ will go live tomorrow, August 11th.

The new content update for Chapter III offers players of the role playing game a new zone with new quest lines and the opportunity to make friends through the new relationship system.

Beginners will now enjoy the company of a special virtual pet and the update includes a re-balance of a large number of the current skills in the game.

Over 100 quests will lead players through the new region of the Northern Janost Forest. Players will continue to explore the story of the third chapter of Runes of Magic by helping the Angrens defend their land against degenerated elves. If adventurers accept the challenge, they are able to reach the new level cap of 60, the final limit raise linked to Chapter III.

Apart from this new high-level content, every player will be able to enjoy a new relationship system allowing them to bind themselves together as friends, master and students or even lovers. Every relation will grant the persons involved special buffs when they are grouped with their partner. Lovers will even be able to marry their soul mate by exchanging their wedding ring in a chapel which has been built in Varanas, the most important city of Taborea.

Another new feature has been introduced by Frogster to help out beginners to discover and enjoy the game in its early stages. From now on, a special pet, taking the form of a golden pixie, gives new players hints on how to play the game and help them out by granting them special buffs or healing them when damaged.

To learn more about the update ‘In The Depth of the Forest’, visit the Runes of Magic website.

Star Trek Online screenshot

Atari have joined up with developer Cryptic Studios to announce the launch of  Season Two: Ancient Enemies, the latest content update for the Star Trek Online Universe.

Season Two: Ancient Enemies is available at no additional cost to current Star Trek Online players. The content update allows players to encounter and battle even more of Star Trek’s iconic races, and enjoy all new Episodes.

Star Trek Online’s Season Two: Ancient Enemies boasts the following new features:

• A new level cap: players can now reach level 51. (The previous level cap was 45.)  With the increase come new ranks within the Federation and Klingon factions.
• All new rewards and content: including new Tier 5 ships, high-level versions of every Special Task Force mission and Fleet Action, and Mark XI gear rewards.
• Eight brand new Episodes: tailored specifically for the Klingon Empire, these Episodes star the Fek’ihri, the fabled enemy of Kahless, founder of the Klingon Empire.  In Season Two, the Fek’ihri have returned and have again set their eyes upon Qo’noS.
• A brand new gameplay option: the Federation Diplomatic Corps. In this new system, players have the chance to meet and peacefully interact with brand new civilizations.  As players progress through the Diplomatic Corps, they earn special ranks and rewards.
• Feature Episodes: five special new Episodes will debut weekly, beginning in August. These Episodes will introduce a new neutral race: the Deferi.  Players of any level from both factions will be able to aid the Deferi against an adversary new to Star Trek Online.
• Dabo: a longtime staple of social areas in the Star Trek Universe, the casino game Dabo is coming to Star Trek Online. Players can wager energy credits to earn gold-pressed latinum, which they can exchange for special new rewards.

Season Two: Ancient Enemies also permits players to continue interaction with the Undine, venturing into their native Fluidic space to learn more about the enigmatic species and their struggle with the Borg.  The Undine story continues with five new Episodes, a Fleet Action and all new Deep Space Encounters.

Taking place in the year 2409, Star Trek Online boasts extraordinary features and lets fans both new and old experience unparalleled adventures.  Players have the opportunity to become high-ranking Starfleet officers and participate in missions that take them into the depths of space, across exotic planets and inside other starships. Star Trek Online offers total customization, from a player’s avatar to the ship he captains.

For more information visit the Star Trek Online website.

Pearl Harbor Trilogy – 1941: Red Sun Rising is the first title in a trilogy of air-combat action games for the Wii. In the first episode, which is available on WiiWare™ for 700 Wii Points, players are dropped into the cockpit of famous World War II aircraft and thrown into some of the most contested air battles of the Pacific Theatre such as Pearl Harbor, Wake Island and Guadalcanal.

The game has been rated T for Teen (Violence) by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), PEGI 12 (Europe), USK 12 (Germany) and AGCB PG Mild Violence (Australia and New Zealand).

Haunted House re-visited

Thirty years on from its original incarnation, Atari have updated the classic Haunted House game for a new generation. The iconic groundbreaking game returns with more chills, cool new unlockables and plenty of spooky new enemies and is promised to be available for Halloween 2010.

Haunted House pays homage to the classic favorite as players fight for their lives in Graves Mansion as the grandchildren of the original character that disappeared without a trace in the evil mansion over 30 years ago.

Chased by pesky poltergeists, haunted by scary skeletons and exhausted from battles with creepy creatures, players are in a goosebump-inducing fight to explore the dark and creepy depths of Graves Mansion in search of the four lost pieces of the magical urn.  The player’s goal is to reassemble the urn and defend their family’s legacy with the aid of mystical tomes, powerful light sources and multiple keys.

The pick up-and-play arcade-style adventure allows players to jump right in and begin battling for their family’s legacy and explore the dark and mysterious levels.

An eerie, 3D rich environment of towers, basements and catacombs draws players into the haunted world and cursed story. Find hidden treasures, solve puzzles, fight bosses, and navigate through the spooky mansion and multiple levels on the way to a showdown with Zachary Graves.

Haunted House will take control of Wii®, Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows PC Download this Autumn, with suspense filled challenges, new chilling environments and more frightful enemies than ever before.

For further information visit the Atari Haunted House website.

Star Trek Online Architect

Star Trek Online Architect has been launched by Atari, allowing Star Trek games fans access to the necessary virtual tools needed to create their favourite starships and share them with others.

The STO Architect also includes a gallery for fans to view their creations, a mini-game and an Intel® sponsored sweepstakes with prizes that include a replica captain’s chair, Intel® Core™ i7-920 Processors and copies of the Star Trek Online game.

Created and developed by The Game Agency, a New York and Los Angeles based marketing firm, the mini-game, Star Trek Online Ship Shaper, challenges players to build Star fleet ships as quickly as possible and top the leaderboard.

Once a ship order has come in, the player must grab the correct pieces from the slider and assemble the ship quickly. Points and bonus time are awarded for fulfilling the ship orders correctly. It is a fun and frenzied game that is easy to pick up and play.

In Star Trek Online, the Star Trek universe appears for the first time on a truly massive scale. In this massively multiplayer online game from Cryptic Studios and licensed by CBS Consumer Products, players can pioneer their own destiny as Captain of a Federation starship. Or, they can become a Klingon Warlord and expand the Empire to the far reaches of the galaxy.

Players can visit iconic locations from the popular Star Trek fiction, reach out to unexplored star systems and make contact with new alien species. With Episode missions, every moment spent playing Star Trek Online will feel like a new Star Trek episode in which you are the star. Immerse yourself in the future of the Trek universe as it moves into the 25th century: a time of shifting alliances and new discoveries.

For further information visit the Star Trek Online Architect website.

Hydro Hurricane Thunder screenshot

Microsoft Game Studios and developer Vector Unit will launch the Xbox Live Arcade sequel to the legendary Midway speedboat racing arcade game, Hydro Thunder Hurricane on July 28th as part of the Xbox Live’s Summer of Arcade promotion.

Hydro Thunder Hurricane is the first official sequel to the classic Midway hit Hydro Thunder, which splashed into arcades and consoles over 10 years ago.  Rather than simply recreate the original game with updated graphics, Vector Unit has delivered an all-new game engine for the sequel, with gorgeous HD visuals and amazing dynamic water physics.

Fans will recognize favorite speedboats from the original Hydro Thunder: Razorback, Damn the Torpedoes, Tidal Blade, Rad Hazard and others return with beautifully redesigned models, multiple unlockable skins, and articulated boost animations with massive rockets folding out from hidden compartments.   Race tracks are all original, but packed with the kinds of shortcuts and spectacular surprises the series is known for.

The indie developer’s motto is ‘Big games in small packages,’ and their first game as a studio delivers on that promise.  The downloadable game features 8 all new interactive race tracks, new Single Player game modes, Xbox LIVE Leaderboard challenges, as well as robust multiplayer support for 8 players online, local split screen races with up to 4 players and a combination of split screen and online play.

Ralf Knoesel, Vector Unit’s Technical Director and the programming visionary behind Hydro Thunder Hurricane’s cutting-edge interactive water, said the team is thrilled to be included as part of the Summer of Arcade.

“We know there were a lot of quality titles vying to be a part of Summer of Arcade, and it’s really a testament to the team’s hard work and creative energy that HTH made the cut. Our goal with Hurricane was to deliver tons of new content with the kind of polish and depth you expect to find in a full retail game. It takes hours to unlock everything in the single player mode, and once you’ve done that you still have multiplayer, which I think is where the game really shines.”

Creative Director Mat Small added;

“The feedback from Hydro Thunder fans has been overwhelmingly positive.  When you put a controller into the hands of a hard core fan, and he nods and grins the first time he goes off some 800 foot jump or nails a shortcut and says something like ‘Oh yeah, this is how I remember it’ – that tells me we pulled it off.
On top of everything else, Hydro Thunder Hurricane  is perfect for Summer of Arcade.   What’s the first thing people think about when it’s summertime?  Sun, fun, splashing around in the water, driving a speedboat at 200 mph, jumping off gigantic cliffs, and dodging dinosaurs.  Right?”

Mmm Possibly.

If thats what summer means to you then visit Vector Unit for more information.

Hydro Thunder Hurricane will be released on July 28, 2010, exclusively on Xbox LIVE Arcade.  The game will sell for 1200 Microsoft Points.

maestro! green groove screenshot

Neko Entertainment have announced the European launch of Maestro! Green Groove, a musical platform adventure game designed for Nintendo DSIWare, available from the Nintendo Shop Channel now.

Blending two exquisite flavours, Maestro! Green Groove is a unique concept combining the standards of platform gaming with the pleasure of musical creation in a unique and astonishing way.

Maestro! Green Groove gives players the power to create a symphony with the touch of the Nintendo DS-stylus. Set in the deep, dark tropical forests of the Green Groove World, players take control of Presto a colourful music loving bird.

Using the DSi stylus players strum, run and tap to the rhythm of a Bollywood musical orchestra whose reinterpretation of classics such as Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, Chopin’s Nocturne n°2 and Dvorak’s “New World Symphony” will drive you wild. Just like the world’s best conductors, to move Presto through Maestro! Green Groove players will need to stick as close as possible to the original composition to progress.

Featuring challenges including special strings, goofy enemies and crazy targets that need to be knocked down as fast as lightning, Presto will need to defeat his jealous rival Staccato and his spider gang in epic musical battles.

Utilizing the Nintendo DSi microphone Maestro! Green Groove is one of the first DSiWare games to truly make the most of the Nintendo DSi microphone, allowing players to let their vocal cords loose with the melodies featured in the game.

Laurent Lichnewsky, Managing Director of Neko Entertainment says;

“We are pleased to announce the launch of Maestro! Green Groove for Nintendo DSiWare owners throughout Europe. Its perfect mix of platform adventure gaming and musical creation featuring some of the world’s best known compositions will appeal to players both you and old.”

For further information visit Neko Entertainment.

mythos screenshot

Mythos is back!

Despite the potential of the colourful monster hunting game Mythos, the previous developers were for some reason unable to continue with the game.

Its comeback is now securely on the cards with Frogster having secured the license for its publication in Europe. Mythos has been remoulded and will appear in five language versions following a free-to-play payment model according to the plans of the Berlin-based games publisher.

The essence of its game play will be retained: players will hunt down fearsome monsters in dark dungeons in the typical Hack-n’-Slay fashion, either on their own or in groups, to find rare loot and steadily develop into mighty heroes. Frogster will expand Mythos with new content and features in cooperation with the Korean publisher, HanbitSoft, but without altering the gaming principals that have made Mythos such a success.

Mythos was originally developed by Flagship Studios as a test program for ‘Hellgate: London’. The team headed by Bill Roper was so impressed by the final results that they decided to continue the Action-MMORPG as a completely stand-alone project.

Following Flagship Studio’s insolvency the closed-beta server was switched off in 2008 which saw the rights to Mythos being transferred to the Korean publisher, HanbitSoft. The experienced software firm announced in 2009 that it would continue the game’s license and has been working ever since on its comeback. The Berlin-based publisher, Frogster, plans to launch Mythos in Europe no later than in the first quarter of 2011 and the open beta is planned for the final quarter of this year.

Andreas Weidenhaupt, Chief Licensing Officer for Frogster Interactive Pictures AG and CEO of Frogster Online Gaming GmbH said:

“The premature dropping of Mythos before its release was a real loss for the genre. That’s why we’re really pleased to finally bring the game to Europe. We’re not just going to meet the expectations of the game’s fans – we’re going to surpass them.”

For more information visit the Mythos european site.

Blade Kitten screenshot

Major videogame producer Atari have announced the upcoming European launch of Blade Kitten, the game based on the  comic book series by creator Steve Stamatiadis.

Developed by Krome Studios, Blade Kitten brings the world of bounty hunter Kit Ballard to life and will launch this September on Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation Network, and Windows PC Download.

Blade Kitten marks the latest creation by Mr. Stamatiadis, the force behind the multi-million selling TY the Tasmanian Tiger series. In Blade Kitten, a prequel to the comics set three years prior; players are invited into the world of Hollow Wish where they take on the role of Kit Ballard, one of the best bounty hunters in the business.

With her pink hair and tail, Kit is part cat, part girl – and fully lethal.  As one of the last of her species, Kit commands her unique ‘Darque Blade’ hovering sword to defeat enemies.  Also along for the ride is Skiffy, Kit’s laid-back sidekick who lends a hand in collecting items, solving puzzles, and when needed, serves as Kit’s protector.

Blade Kitten goes beyond most downloadable titles to deliver a strong narrative, with high-quality cinematics, and a colourful, frenetic visual style, that lends to the pick-up-and-play arcade action.  Players will jump right in and easily begin exploring and fighting their way through 19 levels, including three exploration levels with Noot (a rideable alien mount).  Blade Kitten also features innovative gameplay mechanics, intuitive ’scramble style’ exploration, fully voiced dialogue, dramatic narrative and a powerful distinct anime-inspired visual direction.

John Burns, Vice President and General Manager for Atari Europe, said;

“We are pleased to announce the upcoming launch of Blade Kitten for Xbox LIVE Arcade, Playstation®Network and PC Download. With its colourful anime inspired universe, simple pick up and play arcade action and intuitive scramble style exploration Blade Kitten is destined to become one of the hot digital releases of 2010.”

For further information visit the Blade Kitten website.