NCsoft® Europe, the world’s leading publisher and developer of online computer games, today announced major changes in its massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, Lineage® II. In a ‘free to subscriber’ update from The Chaotic Throne® series called Gracia™ – Part 1, players will find advancing in the game to be dramatically faster. This, plus a host of other changes to enhance the player experience, makes this update much more accessible to newer players than before.

The increase in leveling speed is due in part to a new Vitality system, which rewards the player with an experience bonus for time either spent away from the game or in safe zones. New characters will start out with maximum Vitality, so they can begin improving their character’s advancement within minutes. An increase in rewards for accomplishing quests, battling boss creatures, as well as greater accessibility of items also enable players to increase their character’s level more quickly.

“Gracia represents a huge change to Lineage II,” said Tim Tan, NCsoft’s North American producer. “The increase in leveling speed allows players to create new characters and advance nearly twice as fast as before. This will allow players to experience the meat of Lineage II quickly, giving them the ability to visit new and exciting areas and cool high-level content much quicker than before. While this game is still a hardcore game, these changes with Gracia – Part 1 make the game much more accessible to new players. I hope gamers will take another look at what Lineage II has to offer.”

Continuing the storyline and changes brought with the earlier expansions, this first of three updates involving the land of Gracia, introduces a new terror with the strange dream-like inter-dimensional world of Kamaloka. Adventurers of varying levels can easily travel to Kamaloka and face a series of incredibly potent creatures that are tailored to the experience of the players.

The expansion also offers a selection of new and improved skills, many new items, and improvements to the Cruma Tower, as well as other hunting zones.

Lineage II is known as the gaming market’s premier player-versus-player (PvP) online role-playing game, with a customer reach of more than 19 million players worldwide.

The Lineage II:The Chaotic Throne – Gracia retail box is scheduled for release from 19th September 2008. The game is rated 12+ by PEGI http://www.pegionline.eu .

We are delighted to announce the first SCI-FI-LONDON: OKTOBERFEST, a special one-day event on Friday 3^rd October at the Apollo West End. The Oktoberfest will feature several UK premieres and three different all-night programmes to include our notorious ANIMÉ ALLNIGHTER and a nod to things a little more gory with a night of new ZOMBIE films.

Louis Savy, Festival Director said:
”I am really excited about this event. Visitors to our annual festival kept telling us a year was too long to wait and why don’t we put something on mid-year. Well, we listened and created this special event”

The Oktoberfest line-up is still being decided but we have confirmation of the UK premiere of DEAD SPACE: DOWNFALL, the feature length animated prequel to the Electronic Arts forthcoming game title DEAD SPACE. The event also features a stunning CGI family film TERRA and a ZOMBIE ALL-NIGHTER (details below).

The full line-up will be announced shortly and tickets will be on sale September 1^st 2008 from the Apollo box office (020 7451 9944)

NOTE TO EDITORS: SCI-FI-LONDON is now in its 8^th year is UK’s only dedicated Sci-Fi and Fantasy film festival, it screens world and UK film premieres, documentaries and a selection of classic SF titles. SCI-FI-LONDON also has a strong international shorts programme and screens a short film with every feature screening. It also holds a film school and filmmaking competitions to encourage more science fiction films to be made in the UK  -  www.sci-fi-london.com

On Thursday 21st August at Leipzig Games Show Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will be inviting show attendees to take part in a record breaking challenge playing Guinness World Records™: The Videogame on Wii™.

Participants will battle it out on three mini games in a bid to smash the most melons, pop the most balloons or secure the fastest time to sheer five sheep!

The official Guinness World Records™ adjudicators will even be there to officiate the world record attempt and give you the opportunity to enter the official Guinness World Records™ Gamers Edition 2009 book.

The competition kicks off on Thursday 21st August at 2pm sharp running until 4pm at the WBIE stand, Hall 5 stand D21. Participants will be invited to play on a first come first served basis. The award ceremony will take place at 4.20pm.

Taking wireless gaming to new heights, SACRED 2 – Fallen Angel from Ascaron is set to deliver a true notebook gaming experience.

In the development of the notebook gaming technology in SACRED 2 – Fallen Angel, the focus has been on 3 main areas, namely core processes, graphic optimization and notebook-specific features.

SACRED 2, the much anticipated Action RPG, will bring Ad-Hoc gaming to the masses with Wi-Fi functionality and in-game displays. Ad-hoc is the term used for game modes offering players a very comfortable and simple way to play multiplayer games “on the fly”. Players with WLAN access will be able to quickly and easily create and join SACRED 2 wireless networks with other gamers in the vicinity.

With its strong focus on notebook compatibility and features, and particular attention to mobile and onboard graphics solutions, SACRED 2 brings quality gaming entertainment to the wider notebook market. Targeting the mobile games market, from the high end 512MB graphics setup to entry level 128MB onboard chipsets, SACRED 2 will set a new trend in this often overlooked sector of gaming.

All notebook functions are actively supported by the Intel Centrino Processor Technology.

In a statement on the progress of SACRED 2 – Fallen Angel for notebooks, Heiko tom Felde, Managing Director of Ascaron Entertainment GmbH, said, “Sales of mobile PCs have continued to grow, creating an expanding notebook userbase of hardcore gamers, casual gamers and general computer users. This means the PC platform has effectively become a multi-format market in itself. The feedback from focus groups has been excellent, and working closely with Intel we are in the enviable position of having a beautiful, exciting game that is accessible to everyone in terms of gameplay style, computer hardware and static or mobile location.”

Published by CDV (US) and Deep Silver (Europe) for Microsoft Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION®3 and PC, the highly anticipated AAA title will hit shelves from October 2008.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and TT Games are teaming up with Guinness World Records to bring Guinness World Records: The Videogame to Wii and Nintendo DS in fall 2008.

Guinness World Records: The Videogame, developed by TT Games and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, will offer players of all ages the opportunity not only to observe and marvel at the most remarkable activities in the world, but actually to participate in them.

Guinness World Records: The Videogame is full of amazing world records, giving players the opportunity to become a real world record breaker! The game’s quick-fire action challenges can be played solo, in teams, or in competitive multi-player groups.

Accessible game mechanics enable anyone to grow the longest fingernails ever seen; to walk a tightrope across the Grand Canyon; or even eat a jumbo jet. But true skill and dedication will be required to compete at the highest level. The ultimate prize: you may see your name appear in the official Guinness World Records book!

“Guinness World Record lends itself wonderfully to an interactive experience for the whole family,” said Tom Stone, Managing Director of TT Games Publishing. “We’re excited at this opportunity to team up with such a well-loved institution to create a really fresh and fun game.”

“We are very pleased with how Guinness World Records: The Videogame looks and plays, this new development reflects the versatility of our content and how it can be tailored for almost any medium and format,” Sam Fay, Senior Vice President of Guinness World Records. “We are sure that the game is going to be a favourite amongst all aspiring record breakers!”

Guinness World Records: The Videogame launches in Fall 2008.

Marking the return of the bad ass game brand that champions a despotic tyrant and sets loose the most vicious, yet lovably insane critters in gaming, Codemasters® today announced that the Overlord and the Minions will headline a series of three new Overlord™ titles for multiple platforms in 2009.

Overlord™II is the sequel to the original twisted fantasy action adventure and is now in development at Triumph Studios for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® and Games For Windows®. True to form, the Overlord and the Minion horde have their sights set on supremacy and 2009 will also see the series debuting on new formats. Exclusive extensions include the action title Overlord™Dark Legend for Wii™, featuring minion control through Wii Remote movement, and Overlord™Minions, a dedicated puzzle action title, for Nintendo DS™.

“As a million-plus seller Overlord is now a significant brand in the ever-growing Codemasters portfolio,” says Barry Jafrato, Senior Vice President of Brand, Codemasters. “With specific titles published across major formats and download content available, Overlord has established a huge cult following and won widespread critical acclaim. We’re delighted to have the despot back for this three-game, five-format product line. With Triumph’s hugely impressive vision for Overlord II and bespoke titles for Wii and Nintendo DS, Overlord is set to dominate in 2009.”

“Epic battles, all new Minion play mechanics, a stunningly detailed new visuals and a fresh theme – Overlord II’s really packing a punch,” says Lennart Sas, director and Overlord lead at Triumph Studios. “We’re really excited about shifting the world to a new era where a Roman-inspired Empire rises as the arch-enemy of the Overlord, which leads to an epic clash between the regimented forces of a sprawling state and the faster, harder, more manic minion horde. It’s also great to see the series reaching new formats. The creativity being packed into the design for Overlord Dark Legend on Wii and Overlord Minions on Nintendo DS make great use of the platforms’ unique features and are perfect extensions to the Overlord series.”

OVERLORD™II
• PLAYSTATION®3 system, Xbox 360, Games For Windows.

Overlord™II is the sequel to the hit warped fantasy action adventure that had players being delightfully despotic. In Overlord II, a new Overlord and a more powerful army of Minions take on an entire empire in a truly epic adventure, inspired by the rise of the Roman Empire. As the Glorious Empire conquers kingdoms and destroys any sign of magic it finds, it’s time to go Minion Maximus and send in the horde.

The Minions return smarter, deadlier (and funnier) and are ready to fight in large scale battles that will see their wild pack mentality squaring up to the organised legions of the Glorious Empire. As ever, they’ll do anything and everything the Overlord commands of them, especially now that they can run ravage and wreck buildings and scenery. They’ve also learn to ride: In Overlord II Minions will be able to mount up and ride wolves and other magical creatures around the landscape and take them into battle, making our band of merry fighters faster and fiercer than ever before. Coming in 2009, Overlord II is now in development at Triumph Studios in Delft, the Netherlands, for the PLAYSTATION®3 system, Xbox 360 and Games For Windows.

OVERLORD™ DARK LEGEND.
• Wii™

Designed and developed exclusively for Wii, Overlord Dark Legend is a brand new action adventure steeped in fairy tale lore with sinister, satirical twists. Set in a time before the original game, players take the role of a new young Overlord. As he revels in command of the Minions, our trainee tyrant will be able to take his growing pains out on the local fairy tale inhabitants as he protects his castle and lands.

Connecting players to the game world in three dimensions, the use of the Wii Remote gives unprecedented control over the minions. For example, individual Minions can be plucked from the horde, held by the neck and then, by vigorously shaking the Wii Remote, throttled to imbue him with some Overlordly power and turn him into a manic minion missile. With a now-explosive body, the insane little critter can be guided into enemies with hilarious, if rather fatal, consequences.

Backed by a rich, tongue-in-cheek story from award-winning games author Rhianna Pratchett, the game features Overlord favourites including Halflings, trolls, elves, and dwarves and introduces wicked witches, gingerbread men and Lil’ Red Riding Hood, the seeming sweet girl with a very personal lupine secret. Coming in 2009, Overlord Dark Legend is now in development at Climax Studios, exclusively for Wii.

OVERLORD™MINIONS
• Nintendo DS™

Meet Giblet, Blaze, Stench, and Zap – an elite Minion crew who, assisted by minion master Gnarl, get star billing in Overlord Minions, an irresistible and accessible puzzle action game, designed exclusively for Nintendo DS. In Overlord Minions, the Overlord commands the Minion team remotely. The Nintendo DS stylus becomes an extension of his evil will and every precise Touch Screen command is the player-as-Overlord directing, commanding and combining minions in battle, pointing and sweeping them to attack enemies and solving puzzles to execute his dastardly plans.

Controlling the Special Farces team of four, players negotiate fiendish levels and take on a huge range of warped enemies to hunt down the Kindred, a cult dedicated to resurrecting the mighty Dragon Kin, a race of humanoid dragon hybrids, determined to replace the Overlord’s despotism with their own. Extending the Overlord series’ trademark humour, gameplay focuses on the mischievous physical comedy of the minion’s antics and is delivered in a stylised cartoon visual style. Scheduled for release in 2009, Overlord Minions is now in development at Climax Studios exclusively for Nintendo DS.

With a rousing cry of “Veni, Vidi, Vici per Minions”, prepare to face the Glorious Empire in Overlord II and the rather grim fairy tales of Overlord Dark Legend and Overlord Minions when the terrific tyrant returns in 2009.