If you hear a rumbling on the roof tonight, don’t assume that it’s reindeer when there are gorillas on the loose. Yes, this week’s merry Wii™ Shop Channel lineup includes a classic adventure title to entertain every reveler in your household, from the nicest to the naughtiest. Plus, you’ll find a wicked-cool dose of ice hockey action and a thrilling secret-agent sequel to help keep spirits bright all winter long. You were expecting lumps of coal? Sorry-maybe next year.

Three new classic games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the Wii Shop Channel every Monday. Wii™ owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

BLADES OF STEEL™ (NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone-Mild Violence, 500 Wii Points): With stick in hand and confidence brimming, you are looking to bring home the cup, win the MVP award, get on the covers of major sports magazines and date a beautiful model (not necessarily in that order). But soon you will learn that, in this league, nothing is ever given to you, and before you can reach your goals, you’ll have to put the puck in the net and score some. You’ll need both the artful skills of a finesse player and the bone-crushing brutality of an enforcer. Defend your own goal against unrelenting power plays, or put the pressure on your opponent’s goalie and try a slap shot of your own. Don’t forget to defend yourself when anger flares because the gloves come off and fists start flying. So strap on blades of steel and prepare to either make a name for yourself or be put on ice.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble™ (Super NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 800 Wii Points): Revisit Donkey Kong Island and join the Kong family for their latest adventure. The Kremlings have a mysterious new leader named KAOS and are up to their usual mischief, even capturing Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. Now it’s up to Dixie Kong and the newest Kong, a giant infant named Kiddy, to rescue the two missing apes. They’ll travel across previously unseen parts of the island in their search, and even take to the skies in a rocket at one point. Lucky for them, Dixie and Kiddy’s powers complement each other (including Kiddy’s talent for rolling like a barrel), so they form a powerful team capable of major Kremling damage. They’re not completely on their own, either, since returning favorites like Funky Kong and Enguarde the swordfish provide help along the way. And in a series known for its abundance of secrets and high replay value, this entry doesn’t disappoint, with enough hours of game play to satisfy Donkey Kong himself. Anyone else have a sudden urge for some bananas?

Rolling Thunder™ 2 (Genesis, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone-Violence, 800 Wii Points): In this follow-up to the original classic, you are once again a member of Interpol’s Rolling Thunder task force, and it’s up to you to stop the return of the evil Geldra organization. Now known as Neo-Geldra and led by a newcomer named Gimdo, the bad guys are bent on destroying several valuable outer-space satellites. In this one- or two-player game, you can play as Leila or Albatross-both characters from the original-as you venture through several different levels, trying to put a stop to the nefarious efforts of Gimdo and the rest of Neo-Geldra. Use your bullets wisely and make Rolling Thunder proud.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.

  WIN THE LATEST PC GAMING PERIPHERALS FROM SAITEK AT
www.PIMP-MY-ORC.com 

With Christmas just around the corner, Santa Clorc is ready for a big celebration.
While the rest of us enjoy our turkey dinner, Santa Clorc feasts on human remains gathered from the Fantasy Wars. As he rests his feet on a pile of dead dwarves, sipping human blood from a tumbler, he opens his presents; a spear from Ash-hoon, the orc shaman, and chocolate covered elf eyes from Ugraum, the brutal orc leader.   

Create your own Santa Clorc Make a Santa Clorc yourself online by downloading the Orc heads supplied at www.pimp-my-orc.com. Edit and upload pictures of your own orc hybrid creations and you could win a copy of Fantasy Wars along with the latest gaming kit from Saitek.  

Fantasy Wars is a turn based battle strategy game to be released in February 2008. We are offering you the chance to ‘pimp an Orc’ and win a copy of the Fantasy Wars game and the new CYBORG headset, CYBORG command unit and CYBORG mouse from Saitek, collectively worth nearly £200. 

Fantasy Wars - www.FantasyWars-thegame.com

Fantasy Wars is a turn based battle strategy game for PC from Ascaron EntertainmentTake on campaigns or missions as either the Humans or Orcs, later unlocking the Elf and Dwarf armies. Complete set tasks to win your mission, defeating the opposing enemy. The faster you complete missions, the higher your score.   

Saitek Cyborg Range - www.Saitek.comThe Saitek Cyborg range of PC gaming peripherals have been innovatively designed to suit the hardcore gamer’s needs. The headset has built in 5.1 surround sound, the command unit has over 144 programmable buttons and allows the user to easily switch between FPS, RPG and strategy games, while the Cyborg mouse is the ultimate in extreme gaming comfort as it expands or contracts to fit the palm of your hand. 

Today Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announced the first details for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six® Vegas 2, currently in production for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Games for Windows. Scheduled for a March 2008 release and developed by Ubisoft’s award-winning Montreal studio, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is the sixth iteration of the multimillion-selling Rainbow Six tactical shooter franchise and follow-up to the highly successful and award-winning Rainbow Six Vegas.

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is the last chance for gamers to rescue America’s sexiest city from an escalating terrorist siege that will impose heart-pounding action from beginning to end. The best are back and this time winner takes all. The highly-anticipated sequel to the recipient of numerous awards, including 2006’s Best First Person Shooter and Best Online Game, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 will push the top-selling franchise to new heights with new gameplay features and groundbreaking co-op and multiplayer modes.

Product Highlights:
• More Multiplayer – The highly acclaimed multiplayer mode in Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas has been upgraded to include 13 new maps with more intense face-offs, two new adversarial modes, more rewards, and easier access to matches using the improved and intuitive matchmaking system.

• Unprecedented Customizable Experience – Create your own identity that persists through both the single player and multiplayer modes and progresses along with you. Reap the benefits of your single player rewards in multiplayer and vice versa.

• Vastly Improved Co-op Mode – Turn single player mode into co-op mode at any time, just by jumping into the game. Now you and a friend can jump into a single player game and assist without any change to the story. The single player maps and storyline were created with co-op in mind, meaning every map has multiple entry points and the story is unaffected.

• Challenging AI – The AI is more challenging than ever. Now, the terrorists are equipped with thermal vision, night vision, and shields – not to mention a multitude of varying tactics – all of which are guaranteed to give you a new playing experience every time you go into battle. As you progress within the game, you’ll be able to outsmart your enemies by taking advantage of intelligence opportunities, such as thermal scanning.

• New Weapons and Armor – Take down the terrorists more effectively using 11 new weapons. New camouflage, clothing and gear allow for the ultimate customizations.

• More Vegas – Sin City is back and bigger than before. Explore all new Vegas hot spots and the gritty back streets creating a visual experience that is as challenging as it is breathtaking.

Casual game experts Joyboost.com have come up with a perfect antidote to the huge number of hours shoppers are spending online this Christmas searching for gifts.

Joyboost has created a little online island of calm in the mad Internet shopping frenzy of Christmas 2007. Visitors to the Joyboost.com site can relax, play and rediscover the joys of the festive season.

Joyboost has created a new Christmas-themed online version of its critically acclaimed game Orchidia, plus an entirely new title called Where’s Rudolph. Both games are completely FREE and are played through the normal web browser on most home computers.

The games are perfects for parents, cool for kids and even great for grandparents. In Christmas Orchidia, players must make groups of Christmas presents as they drift down a chill winter river.

Where’s Rudolph challenges players to find Santa’s most famous reindeer in the middle of a huge Christmas crowd. A sharp-eye and a fast finger on the mouse is needed to make sure Christmas Eve deliveries can be made.

“More and more people are using the Internet for Christmas shopping,” says Joyboost’s Linda MacKellar. “I do all my Christmas shopping online as the shops are crazy this time of year. But in some ways it can be just as exhausting to shop on your PC. So to cheer up all those struggling shoppers, we’ve created a couple of free games that the whole family can play. Anyone who’s online this Christmas, come and put your feet up at Joyboost and try Christmas Orchidia and Where’s Rudolph – our gifts to all of you.”

Taylor, fresh from Tuesday night’s World Championship win, and Grand Slam victory last month in front of the ITV cameras, has returned to the practice room to put PDC Darts 2008 through its paces.Releasing on the Nintendo Wii™ after the grand final of the Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship, PDC Darts 2008 has been carefully crafted for players to use the Wii Remote as if it were a real dart.

“USING THE Wii REMOTE TO THROW THE DART IS THE CLOSEST THING TO REAL DARTS YET!” said 13 times World Champion, Phil Taylor.

To see Phil Taylor and his rival champions in action in the game, a new PDC Darts 2008 teaser movie is available. For a sneak preview of the game, and the chance to play as Taylor or against him, a PC demo is available. The teaser video can be downloaded from Oxygen’s press site or is viewable at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLDcSbd6XiY.  The PC demo is also available to download from the press site.

PDC Darts 2008, available on PlayStation®2, PC and for the first time ever on Wii™ is due for release in January 2008. Immerse yourself in the realism of PDC Darts 2008; go head-to-head with the greatest PDC Champions and be part of the year’s most fierce console Championship.

Pure Darts - Game On!

Greentube, the worldwide leading provider of free 3D download games and turn-key gaming platforms, has launched the fourth season of its global hit “Ski Challenge” with a range of new features including optimisation for Windows Vista and a new track: Val d’ Isere

Ski Challenge 08 has been licensed to various different media-partners, primarily TV-stations and leading newspapers in 7 different countries so far – including Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Canada.
After more than 3 million players last year, Greentube is expecting between 4 million and 5 million players worldwide between now and March 2008. This figure seems to be quite a conservative estimate, as within only 2 weeks after launch, the different editions of Ski Challenge have been downloaded more than a million times!

Greentube has been working hard on updating the game with latest 2.0-features such as a video creation-tool directly embedded within the game.

The free download game is fully financed via in-game advertising and includes advertising brands such as Siemens, Audi, Telenor, Swisscom, Visa, Samsung, Red Bull, to name just a few. Most of the advertising brands have been partners of this game since the beginning in 2004, as the advertising value and image-transfer effects generated by the game are more than convincing.
Greentube also delivers full reporting functionality including user contacts and adimpressions by brand and edition.

The download link of the Ski Challenge 08, as well as the latest Ski Challenge 08 video and further information can be found at: http://www.skichallenge08.com/.

Thursday 20th December 2007/… Video and computer games sales in the UK are at an all-time high, smashing sales records in 2007 and last week notching the biggest ever single week of sales. For weeks 1 through 50, in 2007, the total number of units sold was up 16.6 per cent and 25.3 per cent by value.

Chart-Track, who compiles data on behalf of ELSPA, today reports that current full year UK unit sales will reach around 78 million games sold in 2007, demolishing the previous best year for the UK games industry, set in 2006.

Last week games generated sales of £87.9 million. UK retail has enjoyed a record-breaking third quarter, with software units up 19 per cent on 2006 from 12.61 million to 15.03 million and revenues up an eye-popping 36 percent from £233.5 million to £332.6 million.

Paul Jackson, Director General of ELSPA, said: “2007 has been a fantastic year for our industry as all the latest generation of consoles and hand-held devices have become fully established. Videogaming is now enjoyed by everyone, young and old, male and female. Interactive entertainment is now truly mass market, and this is just the beginning of a period of real sustained growth.”

As predicted, the console market, thanks largely to the success of Nintendo’s DS Lite and Wii plus strong sales of Xbox 360 and PS3, led the way in terms of overall market increase and units for Q3 have rocketed by 33 per cent from 8.52 million to 11.33 million. Revenues of consoles show a 45 per cent increase from £180.95 million to £263.20 million. As such, the console market now accounts for 79 per cent of software revenues and 75 per cent of total software units.

The console proportion of units is the equal highest of any previous quarter and the highest ever for a third quarter. In terms of cash going through the tills, console software is the highest proportion ever for a third quarter.

Wednesday 19th December/…  Bellevue, WA.— ArenaNet® has announced that music from its Guild Wars® franchise of games will be performed as part of “PLAY! A Video Game Symphony.” This world-wide symphonic tour features music from a number of top videogames, including songs from Guild Wars. The tour kicks off in Fort Worth, Texas, on January 19, 2008.

The “PLAY! A Video Game Symphony” program will be performed by world-class orchestras and choirs in some of the most prestigious venues, including the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth and the Benaroya Hall in Seattle, Washington. Game images projected on large screens above the orchestra accompany the scores, highlighting memorable moments from the video games and enhancing the entire experience.

Guild Wars has been praised for its rich soundtracks created by renowned video-game music composer Jeremy Soule and co-composer Julian Soule. The Soule brothers have created music for the entire Guild Wars franchise including the original Guild Wars, as well as the Factions™ and Nightfall™ campaigns. The music of Guild Wars is also featured on CD in special edition retail packages for each campaign.

“We always felt the work Jeremy and Julian did on the Guild Wars soundtrack was one of the best features of the game,” said Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet. “We’re incredibly happy their music has been included in the PLAY! Tour, so that even more people can enjoy the music that millions of Guild Wars players have grown to love.”

“Guild Wars brings a worldwide audience to our world tour, which is an exciting prospect for us,” said Jason Michael Paul, producer and creator of the PLAY! tour. “Guild Wars certainly has one of the most compelling and exciting music scores, which will be a great addition to our concert program.”

The Guild Wars franchise has sold more than 4.5 million units since the release of the original Guild Wars campaign, in 2005, making it one of the most popular online role-playing games of all time.

For more information on the Guild Wars franchise, go to: www.discoverguildwars.com. The award-winning Guild Wars campaigns can be purchased from retailers or downloaded from the PlayNC store at http://eu.plaync.com/eu/store/

Wednesday 19th December/… Massively Multiplayer Online RPG fans can look forward to a wealth of career opportunities in NCsoft’s forthcoming Aion: The Tower of Eternity next year, with gamers able to literally choose their destiny thanks to the game’s two-tiered character class system.

Characters begin their journey by choosing one of four base professions – Warrior, Scout, Mage and Priest. This initial tier of development impacts on everything from a character’s strength, to their combat prowess, to their magical abilities, ultimately shaping the players actions throughout the game. However, higher-level players can tailor their character further still, with each profession offering two advanced classes, bringing the total number of character types available in Aion: The Tower of Eternity up to eight.

While the initial choice of character class will largely depend on each player’s personal style, the ability to develop a character through the advanced class system ensures that players have all the tools they need to create a character that is unique to them.

The Warrior
Bold, brave and possessing immense physical prowess, Warriors excel in close-quarter combat. Strong performers in a wide range of situations, Warriors are relatively easy to master and when fully realised can unleash a spectacular range of physically devastating skills.

Depending on how players prefer to approach combat, Warriors can specialise as either Gladiators, who concentrate on dealing damage through brute force, or Templars, who combine fierce fighting with defensive chants and techniques.

The Scout
The Scout combines great agility with swift attacks. Scout players require a deft and accurate touch to get the most out of this tricky class, however the rewards are great and offer the greatest variety in play style of all the basic classes.

Scouts that specialise in ranged combat develop naturally into Rangers, an advanced class equally adept in the use of blades and traps. For those Scouts who prefer to stay hidden and strike from the shadows, the Assassin class is the perfect choice of advancement.

The Mage
Mages compensate their weakness in physical combat with the ability to launch devastatingly powerful magic attacks. In addition, Mages must learn to divert and evade the enemy so that they’re able to attack from the relative safety of range.

As Mages advance, so their mastery over the elements of water, air, earth and fire increase, their choice of advanced class determining how that mastery is manifest. Spiritmasters can summon and control elemental spirits, while Sorcerers channel elemental power into fearsome magical bolts and missiles.

The Priest
Spiritual warriors, Priests can use healing and self-protection spells to excel in melee combat, and launch powerful ranged magic attacks too. This makes them not only useful support characters in a party of adventurers, but also powerful combatants in their own right.

Priests that specialise in healing and protecting their allies naturally progress to the advanced class of Cleric, the ultimate support class. Alternatively, Priests can become Chanters, pious warriors that boast both healing and ability-boosting powers.

Players will be able to experience all eight character classes for themselves while exploring the incredible world of Atreia when Aion: The Tower of Eternity launches later next year.

Duck for cover as Codemasters puts players in charge of the emergency services in the most accident-prone city of all time!

Set to put the urgency into emergency, Codemasters® today announced Emergency Mayhem™ exclusively for Wii™. Coming Q2 2007, Emergency Mayhem puts the player at the helm of the three emergency services in a frantic race against time to hold together Crisis City, a mad metropolis falling apart at the seams.

Combining chaotic driving sequences with arcade mini-games, you’ll be in stitches controlling the frenzied police, fire service or paramedics as they dash around the city from one emergency situation to the next. With over 30 missions, it’s a non-stop time crisis where you’ll be rescuing people from burning buildings, defusing bombs and more.

However, in this city, the emergencies are of a decidedly slapstick nature; crazy situations will have you hurling bananas at out-of-control monkeys, using a trampoline to bounce escaping prisoners back into custody and herding penguins to safety with hilarious consequences. In a city where there’s always an urgent situation calling out for your attention, even those mischievous monkeys will get in your way

In Emergency Mayhem time is your enemy, relentlessly counting down as you take charge of a fire truck, ambulance, or police car to speed through the city’s eight different districts to the next emergency. Have you got the nerves necessary to beat the clock and save the city? Find shortcuts, such as making use of the city’s underground railways lines and even sewers, to get there on time and save the day.

When you reach the scene of the emergency play switches to one of over 30 mini-games which take unique advantage of the Wii Remote to solve crazy crises. Using the Wii Remote, you’ll have to pump the to practice CPR, point it to direct water from a powerful hose, mimic a wrench to bring bursting water-hydrants under control and aim it to fire tranquiliser darts into on-the-rampage monkeys!

Get ready to put down those monkeys and put on the uniform in Q2 2007 when Codemasters launches Emergency Mayhem to the sound of sirens for Wii. If in urgent need of emergency assistance please visit www.codemasters.com/emergency for more information.