ADVANCED STEREO IMAGING SYSTEM PROVIDES SUPERIOR SOUND

Saitek, a leading designer and manufacturer of consumer electronic products for PC and gaming, has announced the launch of its new range of PC speakers. The new speakers have been designed to deliver a truly explosive sound in a compact, convenient and stylish design. 
There are three speaker systems in the new range – the 3D 210, 3D 380 and 3D 590 – all incorporating ASIS, Saitek’s advanced stereo imaging system, which delivers precise, distortion-free, stereo sound. 

Advanced Stereo Imaging System (ASIS)

Saitek’s Advanced Stereo Imaging System provides pinpoint stereo accuracy, particularly important in PC gaming to enhance the atmosphere and immerse the gamer deeper into the game. And when listening to music, tracks played through ASIS are brought to life, allowing the listener to hear different instruments precisely and clearly in the stereo mix as though the musicians were playing in the same room. 

Unique Design

The speakers are designed to be both aesthetically pleasing and flexible to use. They have a smooth, curved finish with metallic black and silver colouring and can be positioned in a variety of ways (multiple orientation) to suit the user’s environment - particularly important for PC gaming where space may be at a premium. 

Superior Sound

Saitek’s 3D speakers produce a crisp and clean sound over a wide acoustic range due to the innovative design that limits the distance between the speaker bowl and casing, minimising sound distortion. All models in the range also feature an advanced bass contour control which can be customised to room acoustics to provide superior audio definition. And Neodymium drive units, used in all Saitek sound systems, provide superior sound over a full range of volume or bass levels. “These are speakers designed for all modern day computer usage, perfect for music and gaming,” says Jignisha Patel, Saitek marketing executive. “They sound fantastic and are great to look at with a sleek and sexy design, perfect for any household or office.”

3D 210 – SRP £19.99

These compact 2.0 speakers pack 10W of sound and are perfect for use as travel speakers, connecting to laptops, PCs and mobile audio devices.

3D 380 – SRP £34.99

The middle of the range 2.1 system is compact yet powerful with 80W of power and enhanced bass response from the ported woofer enclosure.

3D 590 – SRP £49.99

The 3D 590 has 90W of power with two double drive satellites and a woofer unit for powerful sound, and a wired remote with fingertip control for added convenience.

All the setups connect to PC, Mac and mobile audio devices via a 3.5mm jack input.
We will keep you informed on updates from Saitek with regards to these speakers.

London (30th October 2007) – Square Enix Ltd., the publisher of Square Enix® interactive entertainment products in Europe and other PAL territories, today announces that FINAL FANTASY® CRYSTAL CHRONICLES®: Ring of Fates™ will be released across all PAL territories in spring 2008 exclusively on the Nintendo DS™ system.

FINAL FANTASY CRSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates has been designed to be the most accessible FINAL FANTASY ever. The unique action-based gameplay offers exciting 3D levels, exploration and puzzle solving, with a control system that allows you to engage enemies on your terms and without any random encounters.

The best part of this exciting adventure is that up to four friends can team-up and co-operate with Nintendo DS Wireless Communication. Like all great heroes, you’ll want to look good during the action and there are hundreds of different items and costume combinations to make your character unique.

John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix Ltd. comments, “With a strong focus on action and exploration FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates offers an exciting, fast-paced adventure. If you’ve never played a FINAL FANTASY game before, Ring of Fates is the perfect introduction and offers even more fun when played with friends.”

About FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Ring of Fates

Story

The Great Crystal protects the land from the malefic glow of the blood red moon.

Twins are born to this land, endowed with a shared, mystical power.

Their peaceful life is suddenly changed with the rise of the blood red moon.

All fates are etched into the crystal.

Features

• Unique action-based gameplay – with 3D levels, exploration and puzzle solving
• Action-based control system lets you experience the adventure your way
• Experience exhilarating real-time battles with intuitive controls
• Gorgeous 3D graphics and an emotional audio score creates a beautiful world to explore
• Co-operate with up to four players to explore via Nintendo DS Wireless Communication
• Realise the tale of two heroic yet innocent twins in a unique story of fate, adventure and fraternal love.
• Hundreds of different item and costume combinations add to the fun. Changes to costume and equipment are directly visible on your character in the game
• Trade with friends using Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection functions
• Additional content over the original Japanese version, with four new quests
• Can be played in English, French, German and Spanish. The multiplayer mode allows friends to play together regardless of their selected language.

About Square Enix Co., Ltd.
Square Enix Co., Ltd. (Square Enix) with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, develops, publishes and distributes entertainment content including interactive entertainment software and publications in Asia, North America and Europe. Square Enix brings two of Japan’s best-selling franchises – FINAL FANTASY, which has sold over 75 million units worldwide, and DRAGON QUEST® which has sold over 43 million units worldwide – under one roof. Square Enix is one of the most influential providers of digital entertainment content in the world and continues to push the boundaries of creativity and innovation.

The best fighting game yet for the Wii™ home video game system, NARUTO™: Clash of Ninja™ Revolution from TOMY and D3Publisher of America, was the focus of a huge NARUTO Launch Event, Saturday, October 27, at the Nintendo® World Store in New York’s Rockefeller Center. The Nintendo World Store was filled with gaming stations, collectible card game areas and the inaugural professional Ramen Noodle Eating Contest featuring some of the world’s most renowned competitive eating athletes in an event sanctioned by Major League Eating (MLE). Also featured during the NARUTO Launch Event was the introduction of NARUTO™: Path of the Ninja™ for the Nintendo DS™ along with game tournaments for prizes, a costumed NARUTO character, free give-away items and much more!

The winner of the Ramen Noodle Eating Contest was Tim “Eater X” Janus, ranked #4 in the world of professional eaters, who ate more than 10 pounds of noodles in 10 minutes. NARUTO: Clash of Ninja Revolution for the Wii home video game system and NARUTO: Path of the Ninja for the Nintendo DS are now available at retail outlets. For additional information on NARUTO: Clash of Ninja Revolution and NARUTO: Path of the Ninja, visit http://www.NarutoNintendoGames.com.

Bomberman ‘93 is the expection to the Virtual Console rule. You see, it is not Bomberman’s first game (he first appeared on the ZX Spectrum in 1983, then the NES in 1985 and again in 1991), nor is it his first TurboGraphx appearance (His first was called Dyna blaster, which was released simultaneously on PC). In fact this is Bomberman’s last and greatest outing on the TG16 console, and what a blast it is too! (pun most definitely intended). I will try not to talk about the dozen or so superior sequels that made their way onto the SNES and PC in the years following, so very quickly I will say this: If you were hoping for kangaroos, you won’t find them here, ok? Bomberman is another one of those franchises that has endured the test of time through its simple yet highly addictive game mechanic. You walk around, drop bombs, blow things up till you’re the last man standing. Essentially that’s it, with the usual array of powerups and special items to help you on your quest. There is a plot to these games somewhere, I know there’s a reason why Bomberman has to blow up the bad guys but let’s be honest, has anyone ever stopped to find out? The single player mode is pleasantly long. The ‘baby steps’ first few levels (one measly powerup per level!?) quickly dissolve into a cacophony of baddies and bosses, and with somewhere in the region of 100 stages to work through there will be enough to satisfy most of us, especially with the added ’state save’ feature that the virtual console offers. You can now pause bomberman, exit to the wii menu, turn the wii off, unplug it, go to sleep, get up in the morning and pick up exactly where you left it. Cool huh? The stages are bright and colourful, with many floor features to boggle the mind such as warp holes, ‘no bomb’ tiles, conveyor belts and other B-man standard fare. Graphically, it’s better than a NES game, it’s not quite a SNES game, but they are certainly colourful enough to make up for it and after a while you won’t notice anyway. For me though, there was only one reason to download Bomberman - the multiplayer. With up to 5 of you battling it out for top dog, the game can get pretty intense, although getting 5 people connected can be a tricky business (I managed it with three GC pads and 2 remotes in the end, you will need to hold ‘R’ on each GC pad to do it this way and even then it’s fiddly at best). The powerups are a bit scarce in Bomberman ‘93, with two or three players you can obviously get more, but with 5 of you I guarantee that people will be killed simply because they couldn’t get a ‘kick bombs’ powerup in time. If you are killed in multiplayer, all the powerups that you collected re-appear in random positions at the same instant of death, leading to a mad scramble for booty from the surviving players that usually results in more death. Collecting the ‘line of bombs’ powerup is almost a precursor to victory, as it allows you to lay as many bombs as you can in a straight line right in front of you - if used correctly it will render you virtually unstoppable. The multiplayer is of course what made Bomberman so brilliant, and if you have to share your wii with others it’s one of the few must-haves in the VC library. The relative lack of powerups forces you to use all of your wits and cunning, and there are 8 themed multiplayer stages to choose from, all based on arenas from your single player quest to mix things up a bit. Of course because the TG16 was never released in Europe, most of us have never played this version before. It’s hard for me to judge this game on it’s own merits, especially after being spoiled with the many SNES releases that followed it, but I shall try. Even though I know how much better this series got, I still really like this game for what it is. There is enough in the single player to keep you busy for a while, but the 5 way multiplayer adds replay value far beyond the mere 600 points that you would pay for this classic slice of gaming. If you have never played bomberman, get it. If you have, you don’t need this review to tell you how damn fun it is.

Donkey Kong Country was one of Rareware’s last outings for the SNES, and it was also the first time Shigeru didn’t play any part at all in a DK game. I think he was a little jealous of how beautiful Rare made DK look because he lashed out after the game was released, calling the game "mediocre" and said people will buy anything that "looks pretty". Thankfully he later apologised for this, and revealed that he was pressured to make Yoshi’s island look as good as DKC, a request that ran against his well known ethos of fun first. If Shigsy had gone for graphics, we wouldn’t have the wii today! If you’ve never played it, this game is a side-scrolling platformer where you take the role of Donkey Kong and his friend Diddy Kong in a quest to find his stolen banana hoard. Along the way the duo meet many allies, using animals such as a Rhino, an Ostrich, a Swordfish and a Toad to help them kill enemies or traverse tricky sections of the terrain. Outside of the levels you can find various members of the Kong family who are also willing to lend their services. Grandpa Kong offers tips and advice while reminiscing about the good old days, Candy kong offers up save points (although the new state save feature of the wii means you can stop and save anywhere you want now. nice!), and Funky Kong offers up his barrel jet to help you travel around the island in style. Enemies can be jumped on, rolled into, or Donkey Kong can slap the ground with his hands to kill them. Many of the animal allies you find along the way can also attack for you. As you travel the levels you will find bananas to be collected, 100 will give you an extra life. There are also red baloons scattered through the levels which will give you an extra life, if you can grab them before they float away. The biggest part of this game, however, is the barrels. You will find them everywhere. Some on the ground like DK barrels containing your partner, or star barrels which act as a half way point to which you will return if you die. TNT barrels explode when you throw them, and steel barrels can be rolled to take out multiple enemies at once. Then of course there is the blast barrels which propel your simian stars across the landscape. Blast barrels are a large part of this game, and you will often find yourselves traversing large sections of a level without your feet ever touching the ground. This was one of the first games to use pre-rendered 3D objects in a 2D lansdcape, and it was done so well that the game still looks beautiful, even now. The soundtrack to the game is so catchy that they released an album based on it, and the strengths and weaknesses of the two characters will have you tactically switching between the two on each level, to reach a higher ledge with Diddy Kong or pound larger enemies with Donkey Kong, for example. The game is pleasantly long, with enough variety between the worlds to keep you coming back again and again, and the plethora of hidden caves and goodies will keep you searching even after you’ve completed the game. In closing, I’m sure I don’t need to say anything about this game to those who have played it, and for those who haven’t, it will be one of the best 800 points you will spend, no matter what they release over the next few years. Another Rareware classic.