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Tuesday, July 17, 2007 Shipping Announcements

by Rainier on July 17, 2007 @ 5:14 a.m. PDT

Another day, another batch of games shipped to stores. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are announcements for:

All-Pro Football 2K8 (PS3/X360)

"All-Pro Football 2K8 is the result of hard work and ground-breaking design from our Visual Concepts football team," said Greg Thomas, President of Visual Concepts, a 2K Sports studio. "We believe we're giving something important to all sports gamers - the 2K Sports brand of realistic and innovative football, the first football game to exclusively feature the greatest football players of all time, and most of all, a choice for gamers in the simulation football genre. I'm very excited about the release of All-Pro Football 2K8 for sports gamers everywhere and especially for our long time fans that have faithfully supported us over the years."

All-Pro Football 2K8 features an impressive roster of over 240 of the greatest, most memorable football players in history, ranging from the offensive stars like Joe Montana, John Elway, Jerry Rice, Barry Sanders, and Mike Ditka to defensive warriors like Mike Singletary, Ronnie Lott, Reggie White, Dick "Night Train" Lane, and William "The Fridge" Perry. Each football legend will demonstrate their signature skills and talents thanks to an exclusive tier-ranking and special ability system replicating the characteristics that made each legend the best at their respective position.

As a next generation title, All-Pro Football 2K8 features crisp visuals and amazing detail to all graphic elements. From the reflective helmets, to the high-quality mesh textures of the uniforms, to the hyper-realistic weather effects of rain and snow, All-Pro Football 2K8 also presents extraordinary stadiums designed with great flair. Stadiums have unique themes that will be demonstrated with over-the-top celebrations when touchdowns are scored. Like all 2K Sports games, All-Pro Football 2K8 features gorgeous animations including Signature Style animations of well-known legends including Walter Payton's scissor kick, Johnny Unitas's throwing style, and the infamous Ickey Woods Shuffle.

Featuring a robust customization mode that allows users to select from various logos, uniform designs, team names, and a huge palette of colors for editing, gamers can tailor each of their teams to create their individual identity. Unique to All-Pro Football 2K8, gamers can then take their custom teams and created players online where they can view and challenge thousands of different user teams, each with their own look and team strategy. 2K Sports has consistently pioneered online sports gaming and All-Pro Football 2K8 brings a new level of online sports gaming to the next generation.

2K Sports has always prominently highlighted cutting edge music in every title and All-Pro Football 2K8 will feature a special music card packed into every version of the game. This music card enables consumers to download a special remixed version of the All-Pro Football 2K8 soundtrack with bonus and exclusive tracks from DJ Z-Trip.

Featuring football legends John Elway, Jerry Rice, and Barry Sanders on the cover, All-Pro Football 2K8, rated "E10+" for Everyone, is available now for the Xbox 360 and PS3 for $59.99.

Hot Shots Tennis (PS2)

Developed by Clap Hanz, the team behind the highly acclaimed Hot Shots Golf franchise, Hot Shots Tennis is a free-wheeling sports action game, designed to provide endless fun for both gaming novices and veteran players alike, providing huge entertainment value, offering brisk gameplay, brilliant graphics, and multiplayer action that fans of the series have grown to love. Casual gamers will enjoy the game's pick up and play design, zany characters, and multiple game modes. More seasoned players will uncover a deep feature set that brings a variety of strokes and challenge modes to master.

"Clap Hanz has their own wonderfully addictive style of fun and Hot Shots Tennis is no exception, from over-the-top characters to solid gameplay with realistic physics," said Jeff Reese, director, software marketing, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "With intuitive controls and a scaling level of difficulty, Hot Shots Tennis will encourage both hardcore and casual gamers to jump right in and get hooked."

Players can choose from up to 14 playable characters, each with a distinct personality and set of tennis skills, as well as select from five wacky chair umpires. In addition, players will have access to 11 different court locations, each with different surfaces and distinct settings, such as lush jungles, beachside resorts, ancient ruins, and traditional Japanese gardens. The eye-popping visuals, unique characters, and play styles all combine to provide a nearly endless variety of gameplay and personality to experience.

Those looking for an individual challenge can play the "Hot Shots Challenge Mode," where the goal is to excel in seven different player classes while unlocking hidden items such as new players, costumes, court settings, and chair umpires. For multiplayer team fun, players can hook up extra controllers and get the party started with head-to-head two-player matches or four-player doubles action (with a PlayStation 2 multitap). Novice players will appreciate the intuitive control scheme and pick up and play action, while tennis enthusiasts will enjoy the challenge of mastering shot direction, timing, and angles to become a true tennis champ. Additionally, Hot Shots Tennis provides a comprehensive training mode, where players can take part in various on-court drills to improve timing and accuracy, earning scores that can be saved as a benchmark for skill progression. All of these elements are tied together with the signature Hot Shots look and feel to deliver tennis action that's one of a kind.

Hot Shots Tennis, rated "E" for "Everyone," is now available at $29.99 MSRP

PaRappa the Rapper (PSP)

Developed by Sony Computer Entertainment in association with legendary multimedia musician Masaya Matsuura and famed New York artist Rodney Greenblat, the PaRappa the Rapper franchise debuted ten years ago on PlayStation and established the rhythm action game genre that has spawned a variety of music and timing based games, including two of its own classic titles, Um Jammer Lammy and PaRappa the Rapper2.

Fans of the original will rejoice as PaRappa the Rapper stays true to its iconic art style and flattened animation, combining fun and vibrant characters with infectious music and a humorous storyline. PaRappa's return marks the first time the franchise has been available for a handheld, allowing fans to experience the rapping puppy anywhere, anytime. This classic title is a perfect addition to the PSP software library, offering a fun and entertaining adventure for both nostalgic fans of the original and a new PaRappa audience. A great pick-up and play game with wireless options, PaRappa the Rapper is well suited for the growing PSP consumer base on the go.

"Similar to how the hit single 'Rapper's Delight' spawned a generation of hip-hop music, the original PaRappa the Rapper was a smashing success and started a revolution in video games by creating a new type of music and timing gameplay with a unique artistic style," said Rodney Greenblat. "Ten years later, the PSP version looks to take the franchise to new heights."

PaRappa the Rapper increases the franchise's social appeal this time around by offering a host of new PSP exclusive features, including the ability for four players to compete head-to-head in ad-hoc battles. The new game also allows players to wirelessly share a demo level with four PSP systems simultaneously.

"By allowing up to four players to battle head-to-head, share the game wirelessly via PSP and even download eight remixes to enjoy along with the original soundtrack, PaRappa the Rapper delivers a great portable experience that is exclusive to PSP system," said John Koller, senior marketing manager, Sony Computer Entertainment America.

The timing-based gameplay mechanic allows players to rap to the addictive music by pressing buttons corresponding to the beat. As players' skill levels progress, they are able to break free into a one-of-a-kind freestyle session, giving individuals the freedom to create a new experience with every play. Players are scored on how well they can keep up with ratings that range from "Awful" to "Cool."

PaRappa the Rapper features six music and fun filled levels and the rest of the cast of colorful and flattened characters, including Chop Chop Master Onion, Instructor Mooselini, MC King Kong Mushi and more. Masaya Matsuura's infectious music accompany the iconic PaRappa as he attempts to rap his way into the heart of his dreamy love interest, a sunflower named Sunny Funny, through various missions and adventures. Along the way PaRappa will learn to fight king-fu at a dojo, take a driving course to get his license, get a job at a flea market, buy a car and learn how to bake. All of which culminates in the final test for any aspiring rap superstar, PaRappa must perform a hip hop rap on stage.

PaRappa the Rapper is "E" for "Everyone."

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology (PSP)

Marking the debut of the Tales RPG series on the PSP system, Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology delivers the ultimate original handheld adventure with a gripping storyline, a fast-paced and strategic real-time battle system, deep character customization options and a nearly endless supply of quests for players to enjoy.

The ancient land of Terresia is in danger in Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology, as a mysterious and dangerous being known as the Devourer threatens to drain the life from the planet. Under attack by the Devourer, the noble World Tree calls upon the last of its strength to summon a great hero to overcome this menace and return prosperity to the lands of Terresia.

Adapting the celebrated gameplay of the Tales series to the PSP system and handheld play, Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology lets players create and customize the game's main character for the first time in the series. Players can choose from up to 10 classes, 1,000 different weapons, armor and items as well as options for face, hair and voice to put their own mark on the captivating storyline. In their quest to save the World Tree, players will encounter 19 fan-favorite characters from previous games in the Tales series including Lloyd Irving from Tales of Symphonia and Luke fon Fabre from Tales of the Abyss. Players can recruit many of these characters as well as other NPC mercenaries into their party to fight alongside them in battle. As they explore the world of Terresia, players will experience the game's real-time free roaming battle system as they embark on 300 unique quests. Turning each encounter into a heated battle for survival, the unique battle system lets players unleash melee, ranged and magical attacks and manage their party in real-time to dispatch the enemy.

"Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology sets a new standard for handheld RPGs with its engrossing gameplay and customization options that put the player in control of the story and its characters," said Makoto Iwai, Executive Vice President and COO, Namco Bandai America Inc. "Built from the ground up for the PSP system, players now will be able to enjoy deep RPG action anywhere with the game's easy to manage quest system, colorful graphics and huge roster of playable characters."

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology carries a suggested retail price of $39.99 and is rated "T" for Teen by the ESRB.

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