MotorStorm (PS3)
Developed by Evolution Studios, the development team renowned for their World Rally Championship (WRC) game series, MotorStorm introduces players to an alternative and extreme off-road racing festival where the only rule is to take out the competition and win at all costs.
MotorStorm has incorporated numerous graphical and gameplay enhancements for the North American version, including the addition of a 12-player online mode. The game also features innovations such as real-time track deformation, where ruts in the track will remain and cause each lap to be different, an aggressive artificial intelligence (A.I.) system that scales to the player's abilities, and spectacular crash sequences that take full advantage of the PS3 hardware, making MotorStorm one of the most anticipated next-generation games available.
"MotorStorm showcases the power and technology of the PS3 with its combination of next-generation online and offline gameplay functionality and life-like A.I.," said Jeff Reese, Director, Software Marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "With over-the-top action, cinematic crashes, and exhilarating gameplay, consumer anticipation for the game has been overwhelming. Not only do we expect thrill seekers to enhance their PS3 library with MotorStorm, we believe the game will ultimately draw more consumers to the PS3."
In MotorStorm, players descend upon the badlands of Monument Valley for the MotorStorm Festival to celebrate an alternative racing culture. The festival is highlighted by a no-holds-barred off-road race with aggressive and competitive opponents all gunning for the championship title. Players will cut through mud paths, speed over sand dunes, and launch across rocky cliffs in an extreme race to the finish line, all of which is underscored by a rocking soundtrack. The competition is fierce and it's a survival of the fittest with MotorStorm's combat-like racing. The physics-based car damage feature heightens the challenge, allowing for any of the seven vehicle types to break and destroy parts upon collisions with other racers. A real-time track deformation function has been implemented so that after each lap raced the terrain will look and handle differently, ensuring players will never face the same lap twice.
Harnessing the power of the PS3, MotorStorm features remarkable player-centric A.I. that reacts to numerous situations within the game, such as realistically reacting to player taunts, seeking out the best routes based on vehicle type used, and changing the level of driving aggression due to player actions. The advanced cinematic effects such as motion-blur and slow motion Hollywood style "crash cams" make wiping out in your vehicle nearly more exciting than finishing the lap.
Featuring a compilation of tracks from some of the most popular rock bands, the MotorStorm in-game soundtrack accentuates the game's brutal off-road mayhem, providing players the ideal background music to get in the mood for complete destruction and cutthroat competition. The soundtrack features heart-pounding rock anthems sure to raise the game's intensity level by artists such as Primal Scream, Queens of the Stone Age, Nirvana, Slipknot, and more.
MotorStorm is rated "T" for "Teen" (Descriptors: Language, Violence).
Titan Quest: Immortal Throne (PC)
Titan Quest: Immortal Throne brings an all-new level of action to the franchise with new quests, items and classes set within the richly-detailed underworld of Hades.
Developed by Iron Lore Entertainment, Titan Quest: Immortal Throne features a rich, original storyline with more than 12 hours of single-player content per difficulty level. New game-play features include an all-new skill mastery that combines with existing masteries to form eight new playable character classes. Titan Quest: Immortal Throne also adds dozens of terrifying new monsters, hundreds of unique weapons and an additional 10 levels of character and skill development.
"Titan Quest: Immortal Throne is a thrilling new chapter that weaves together exciting story-driven quests with spectacular new monsters, treasures, and abilities," said Brian Sullivan, president and lead designer, Iron Lore Entertainment. "The expansion refines and builds upon the Titan Quest experience, and we are excited to release it to all our loyal fans worldwide."
Titan Quest: Immortal Throne is now available at retail outlets nationwide for the suggested retail price of $29.99.
Wario: Master of Disguise (NDS)
Having your identity stolen can be serious business -- unless Nintendo's greedy guy Wario is involved. Through the years, Wario has often had his eyes on gold coins and jewels. In the new Wario(TM): Master of Disguise game for Nintendo DS, he steals the identity of a thief and becomes the man of a thousand faces (or at least eight).
Players navigate the exotic locations in Wario's first platform game using the Nintendo DS buttons, but they use the touch screen to draw symbols on Wario to help him transform into his different disguises. Want to change into the laser-shooting Cosmic Wario? Draw a bubble helmet on his head. To change into Dragon Wario, just draw a long tail on him. Each of Wario's eight different disguises has different abilities to help him fight enemies and get past obstacles.
Players must unlock treasure chests by completing minigames that increase in difficulty as the game progresses. And the game naturally showcases the same off-beat personality that has made Wario such a great character.
Wario: Master of Disguise, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older.
DEF JAM: ICON (PS3/X360)
Use the music to your advantage to strike down your opponent with DEF JAM: ICON's new Building's with Bass fighting mechanic. The musically charged environments become alive to the beat, creating hazards that you can use to defeat your opponent. Players can even trigger the beats to set off the hazards at the right time with the game's unique DJ Controls. Never before has music become an instrumental part in the actual gameplay of a videogame.
With brand new tracks from hip hop's greatest, DEF JAM: ICON delivers the ultimate soundtrack. Big Boi, Lil Jon, Ludacris, T.I., and Young Jeezy are just a few names featured on both the soundtrack and in the game. To keep the music fresh, players can load their own MP3s into the game version for Xbox 360 and have their favorite beats drive the environment and gameplay.
Become a hip hop icon and build your empire from the ground up in the all-new single-player story mode. Written by renowned Hollywood writers Virgil Williams and Cle "Bone" Sloan, DEF JAM: ICON delivers an intense storyline unrivaled in any other hip hop lifestyle/fighting game. Discover new talent, build a record label and do whatever it takes to make it to the top.
Infusing the hottest hip hop beats with an advanced, next generation fighting gameplay system, DEF JAM: ICON, rated M for Matur, will be available for the PS3 and the Xbox 360 for $59.99.
Burnout Dominator (PSP/PS2)
Burnout Dominator is an all-new installment of the blockbuster Burnout series that challenges players to face off against a series of hot-blooded rivals in tests of reckless driving. The game features an all-new “Maniac Mode,” daring players to take down other drivers and string together massive combos of the wildest driving stunts without crashing. Burnout Dominator also marks the return of Burnouts and Boost Chaining, where gamers store up supercharged boost and use it all in one go – before combo-ing into another Burnout – for truly irresponsible speed.
“Burnout Dominator celebrates the terrifying feeling of speeding down the wrong side of the road, slamming into the car next to you and teetering on the edge of control at 200 miles per hour,” said senior producer, Nick Channon. “It’s a return to the game’s essence – the fastest, most aggressive racing series out there, bar none.”
Burnout Dominator for PSP also features ad hoc multiplayer for up to six players, as well as “ScoreSync” functionality, which allows gamers to compare their best race times against their friends.
Burnout Dominator has been rated E10+ by the ESRB, with descriptors of Violence.