Silent Hill: Homecoming (PS3/X360/PC)
Silent Hill: Homecoming takes players deeper into the tormented history of the town and reveals the evil that surrounds Toluca Lake. The story follows Alex Shepherd, who returns to his hometown of Shepherd's Glen to investigate the mysterious disappearance of his brother. On his quest, Alex discovers eerie occurrences taking place around town. As Alex, players investigate the mystery behind his nightmares and maintain his grip on reality, unraveling a tale that takes him from his childhood home to the fog-shrouded streets of Silent Hill. In the end, Alex must face the darkest horrors of his soul to confront the evil that has taken his brother.
Using the incredible graphic capabilities of the next generation consoles, the murky fog to the ominous shadows of the town are brought to life like-never-before. The game features an enhanced combat system that provides players with a wide array of attacks to use against the monsters lurking throughout the town. Additionally, using the new, enhanced third-person camera view, players search for an assortment of objects and weapons to battle these terrifying creatures. All the horror Alex must face is made even more frightening and realistic by an all-new soundtrack from acclaimed series composer Akira Yamaoka.
"The next generation debut of Silent Hill will have gamers on the edge of their seats as Silent Hill: Homecoming will deliver a truly terrifying experience," said Anthony Crouts, Vice President of Marketing for Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. "While the power of next-gen consoles will make this the best looking game in the history of the franchise, it is the foreboding storyline that makes this one of the scariest Silent Hill releases ever."
Silent Hill: Homecoming, rated "M" for Mature, will be available for Xbox 360 and the PS3 for $59.99. In addition, Silent Hill: Homecoming will be available for Windows PC gamers as a digital download.
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (NDS)
This stunning game, developed by leading RPG-maker BioWare, brings a rich storyline, beautiful hand-drawn environments and addictive gameplay to Sonic the Hedgehog’s first RPG.
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood features classic characters from the Sonic world, including Tails and Knuckles, as well as characters never before seen such as the mysterious Shade. This game also takes players to familiar Sonic locales – like the well known Green Hill Zone and Blue Ridge - as well as dark new worlds to uncover and explore. Players can customize their own team of four favorite characters before they head out to investigate and conquer shady new enemies while striving to save the Chaos emeralds to ensure that their world stays safe from harm.
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood presents gamers with a robust RPG experience by taking full advantage of all the DS has to offer using the stylus and Touch Screen. Using this unique system, players can look forward to an intense interactive combat experience as they master high-powered combo moves to use against enemies of all sizes. Taking advantage of the wireless communication features available on the DS, players can also collect and trade Chao – each one of which is endowed with unique power-ups for whatever character they are partnered with.
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, rated E for Everyone, is now available in North America
The Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft (PC)
Featuring the voices and likenesses of teen media titans Jesse McCartney and Cody Linley, The Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft is a highly-anticipated mystery adventure that takes fans on an exciting ride through the world of the teen super sleuths.
“With more than 100 million books sold worldwide, The Hardy Boys remains one of the most popular series to date, its distinct characters and intriguing storylines are perfect for the interactive arena,” said Byron Gaum, Global Product Marketing Manager, DreamCatcher Games. “Having Jesse McCartney and Cody Linley chronicle the interactive adventures of Frank and Joe Hardy adds an entertaining element to the game that fans everywhere will enjoy.”
In The Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft, the vault at Spencer Mansion is robbed, and the Bayport Police call on the Hardy Boys to help tie-up some loose ends, but they soon find themselves in the middle of a major criminal investigation that takes them on an adventure all over Bayport, and even into New York City. But the pieces don’t add up, and Frank and Joe find themselves embroiled in a drama of sinister proportions. Is the recent theft linked to something from the past? Can Frank and Joe find and decipher the clues in time to prevent another crime from happening?
During the course of the investigation, players can choose from a variety of dialogue responses to personalize their experience; tackle mini-games for valuable pieces of evidence and even contact Nancy Drew and other characters for help. It will take all the deductive skills players have to solve this masterful mystery.
DreamCatcher's The Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft, Rated ‘E10+’ for Everyone 10+, is developed by XPEC Entertainment and is now available on PC for $19.99.
POP CUTIE! Street Fashion Simulation (NDS)
Set in Tokyo, POP CUTIE! Street Fashion Simulation is an offbeat business simulation game that takes a fun look into the world of street style and cosplay (costume play).
In the game, players will manage the day-to-day happenings of a street fashion boutique. They’ll hire models and assistants, choose the look and music for their shop, run the cash register and even place magazine ads. Best of all, they’ll take to the streets and meet different characters in search of up-and-coming trends. Players can then use this inspiration in their studios where they’ll create new clothes, accessories and even hairstyles. However, other shop owners are also prowling the streets looking for the next big thing.
Players will start the game as an independent designer with a small shop at a flea market. As players progress, they’ll move into larger boutiques. The competition against rival shop owners culminates in a ‘Fashion Battle,’ where a panel of judges will decide if a player’s style has enough cute or enough cool to become all the rage.
By gathering and combining ‘images’ from people on the street, players will create clothing lines ranging from the conventional to the most outrageous trends from the streets of Tokyo. An easy touch interface allows players to consider color and shape combinations on the bottom screen while reviewing the actual design on the upper screen. Using Nintendo DS Multi-Card Wireless Play, up to two friends can challenge each other in fabulous Fashion Battles.
POP CUTIE! Street Fashion Simulation, rated E for Everyone, is for 1 to 2 players.