BATGIRL

REAL NAME:                                     Barbara Gordon

OCCUPATION: Librarian

BASE OF OPERATIONS:                  Gotham City

EYES: Blue

HAIR: Red

As the adopted daughter of Gotham City’s Police Commissioner James W. Gordon, Barbara Gordon was raised in a household filled with cops and their stories. Barbara wanted nothing more than to follow in her father’s heroic footsteps, but the elder Gordon, knowing how dangerous the streets of his crime-ridden city could be, refused to allow it. Bothered by her father’s refusal to allow her to serve on the G.C.P.D., Barbara wore a homemade “Batgirl” costume to a masquerade ball as a jibe against her father but instead wound up saving billionaire Bruce Wayne from a kidnapping attempt by Killer Moth. Deciding that this was how she could serve the cause of justice, Barbara Gordon elected to keep her new costumed identity. Her source of inspiration, Batman, was as much against her decision as her father would have been had he known who she was behind the mask, but the Dark Knight eventually came to accept Barbara as Batgirl and as part of his inner circle of crimefighters protecting Gotham City.

Powers and Abilities:

In LEGO Batman: The Videogame, Batgirl has the ability to utilize Batman’s technology suits including the Glide suit, Heat Protection Suit, Sonic Suit and Demolition suit in her efforts to fight crime alongside the Dynamic Duo.

The House of the Dead: OVERKILL Brings Pulp Horror Action to Wii

LEIPZIG (August 19th, 2008) – SEGA® Europe Ltd. and SEGA® of America, Inc. today announced The House of the Dead: OVERKILL, an all-new pulp-horror reinvention of the classic SEGA light-gun shooter franchise.  Created by London-based studio Headstrong Games, The House of the Dead: OVERKILL will take you right back to the beginning of this classic horror series. Available exclusively on the Nintendo Wii early in 2009 and announced to coincide with Games Convention at Leipzig, The House of the Dead: OVERKILL will be presented live by developer Headstrong Games for specially invited members of the press in SEGA’s business centre suite.

The House of the Dead: OVERKILL uncovers the ugly, terrifying, red hot secrets behind the House of the Dead; the daddy of all over-the-top shooters.  While staying true to the classic gameplay this hugely successful SEGA series is getting a new retro look, with distinctive graphics, sound and attitude that will add to its horror cool status.  Plus, thanks to the Wii Remote™, players will fight off zombies when they get too close; pistol-whipping jaws off and smashing in skulls with their shotgun butt.

“We wanted to do something really different with The House of the Dead: OVERKILL,” commented Bradley Crooks, Studio Head at Headstrong Games. “With SEGA we’ve been able to create a fresh look for the franchise. I think you’ll agree it’s like nothing you’ve seen before on Wii.”

“Paying homage to the pulp horror comics and films that inspired generations of gore fans, The House of the Dead: OVERKILL will expose gamers to a brand-new fleshy rollercoaster ride of revolting dismemberment,” commented Gary Knight, European Marketing Director at SEGA Europe. “This is the hardcore Wii title you’ve been waiting for.”

The House of the Dead: OVERKILL takes you back to when Special Agent G was fresh out of the academy.  Teamed up with hard-boiled bad-ass Detective Washington, they are sent to investigate stories of mysterious disappearances in small-town Louisiana. Little do they know what blood-soaked mutant depravity awaits them in the streets and swamps of Bayou City…

The House of the Dead: OVERKILL will be released in early 2009, exclusively for Nintendo Wii. For more information about the game, please visit www.houseofthedeadoverkill.com.

Milton Keynes, United Kingdom – To celebrate the start of the football season, 505 Games is pleased to announce that Table Football for Nintendo Wii™ is heading on to the pitch today.

Table Football uses the motion-sensing abilities of the Wii Remote to make it feel just like you’re playing a fast-paced game of fussball in the comfort of your living room. By twisting and pushing the remotes, up to four players can take control before trying to score the perfect goal.

What’s more, this is the first ever videogame to have the support of the International Table Soccer Federation (ITSF), which means you can play the game using official table football rules or create your own custom matches. Plus, there are even official fussball tables to play on.

Table Football is available to buy today on Nintendo Wii.

KEY FEATURES
• Fast-paced football action
• Create your own team of players
• Play using official International Table Soccer Federation rules
• A range of official ITSF fussball tables
• Multiplayer for up to four football fanatics

SCI-FI-LONDON is delighted to announce that MANGA, a world leading label and distributor of Animé and live action films has today signed to become an official partner for the first
SCI-FI-LONDON:OKTOBERFEST, a newly created event from the UK’s only dedicated science fiction and fantastic film festival (Friday 3^rd October 2008).

Manga will be showcasing several new titles as part of the festival line-up including:

Tokyo Zombie Over in a forgotten corner of a near-future Tokyo sits Black Fuji, a mountain of garbage and unwanted junk, from discarded appliances to the bodies of whining mothers-in-laws… Something dark is happening up on Black Fuji, though – a combination of toxic waste and the souls of rejected household objects is resurrecting the corpses that litter the mountain, and infusing them with an insatiable hunger for living human flesh! Meanwhile, at a fire-extinguisher factory at the foot of Black Fuji, a pair of employees are capitalising on their boss’ absence to practice their jujitsu. The older of the two none-to-bright buddies is convinced that he can make a true champion out of his younger pal. He’s also convinced that he’s dying, so passing along his wrestling wisdom must be done quickly. Indeed it must – pretty soon, the pair will have their hands full, fighting off the hordes of the living dead!

Strait Jacket - The year is 1899 and magic and science coexist on earth. However, the overuse of magic is strictly forbidden and those who break this rule risk turning into horrific monsters. Rayotte Steinberg, a lone wolf ‘tactical sorcerist’, fights against these monsters. He wears a strait jacket that allows him to use magic and stay human, for now…

If Rayotte casts too much magic, he will eventually become a monster. If he doesn’t, he will be killed…

Hellsing Ultimate – Vampires exist and for over a century a secret organisation known as Hellsing has been secretly protecting the British Empire from the undead “freaks”. When Sir Integra Hellsing succeeded as the head of the organisation, she also inherited the ultimate weapon against the undead enemies, the rogue vampire named Arucard. Armed with an enormous “anti-freak” gun and possessing mysterious and frightening powers, Arudard is forced to shoot Seras Victoria, a policewoman held hostage by an enemy vampire. “Do you want to live?” he asks Seras, whose very answer changes the course of her existence. Now reborn as Arucard’s servant, Seras is torn between her conflicting humanity and her vampire urges…

Dead Space Downfall - Dead Space is a feature length horror/sci-fi animated movie based on the hugely anticipated Electronic Arts video game. When a deep space mining operation discovers a mysterious alien Marker, some believe they have finally found evidence of our creators. However, the removal of the Marker instead unleashes a horrific alien species, which had been entombed within a remote planet, and a desperate fight for survival ensues. The story follows a select group of miners and crew members, as they confront a grotesque and lethal invasion unlike anything ever seen before. The Dead Space animated movie will serve as a prequel to the game, and take adult animated horror to a whole new level.

Louis Savy, Festival Director said

“We are delighted to again be working with Manga – they have long been a supporter of the festival and we are glad to have them work closely with us on this special event.  They are the leading distributor of the kind of Animé and Japanese live-action that our audience love!”

Jerome Mazandarani Marketing & Acquisitions Manager, Manga Entertainment said.

“SCI-FI-LONDON is a natural place for us to showcase our premium content and we enjoy working with them.  Obviously, Manga is very excited to be releasing DEAD SPACE: DOWNFALL, the first co-production between our sister company, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Film Roman and EA. We strongly believe that Dead Space the game is going to offer gamers a truly unique and terrifying take on the survival horror genre. There is so much depth and mystery in the story that the animated film will become a truly memorable companion piece and help to enrich the whole experience for fans.”

About the festival

Now preparing for its 8^th year, SCI-FI-LONDON screens world and UK film premieres, documentaries and a selection of classic science fiction titles.  The OKTOBERFEST has been created due the demands of our audience –once a year was not enough!

SCI-FI-LONDON also has a strong international shorts programme and is screens a short film ahead of every feature screening. It also runs a film school and filmmaking competition to encourage more science fiction film to be made in the UK.

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.