BioShock 2 delivers a single and multiplayer video game experience that is both an artistic achievement in entertainment and a highly addictive first-person shooter.
"BioShock represented a watershed moment in the gaming industry when it illustrated that games, like feature films, can be viewed as art - both in art design and in the rich depth of the narrative," said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “Most importantly, the media are stating what we’ve known all along; that whether or not you’ve played the original, BioShock 2 is a worthy successor to one of the best games of all-time that should not be missed.”
The single player serves as a sequel to the original game and provides fans with an unsettling storyline, dazzling visual design and the evolution of the genetically enhanced shooter gameplay. Set almost a decade after a grueling civil war consumed the once magnificent city of Rapture, evil reverberates through the halls and a wickedness once thought gone forever returns along the Atlantic seaboard. An unspeakable series of kidnappings from local seaside communities by an unseen monster leads to the repopulation of Little Sisters in Rapture’s failed utopia under the ocean. Players must step into the boots of one of gaming's most iconic characters, the Big Daddy, as they traverse through the fallen city, fending off attacks from an army of genetically modified Splicers, while searching for escape and the key to their survival.
Multiplayer in BioShock 2 provides fans with a rich and engrossing prequel experience that expands upon the fiction of Rapture’s origins. Set during the year before Rapture’s descent into chaos, players assume the role of a Plasmid test subject for Sinclair Solutions, a key provider of Plasmids and Tonics in the underwater city that was first explored in BioShock. Players will enter into areas from the original title as they struggle to gain superiority in franticly paced battles.
BioShock 2, rated M for Mature, was developed by 2K Marin in collaboration with 2K Australia, Digital Extremes and 2K China for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll (Wii)
The loveable characters from the original Super Monkey Ball, AiAi, MeeMee, GonGon and Baby, are back with all new mind-blowing puzzles and party games specifically designed to fully utilize the Wii Balance Board accessory or the Wii Remote and Nunchuk.
The Super Monkey Ball franchise, created by the famed developer, Toshihiro Nagoshi, has a rich lineage of games that began life in the arcades of Japan and later debuted as a Nintendo GameCube launch title. Now nine years later and with the addition of the Wii Balance Board, gamers have a blast, physically feeling what it would be like to roll around in a Monkey Ball. Known for its challenging levels and most recently its innovative ways to control AiAi and his friends; gamers are immersed into the Super Monkey Ball world like never thought possible. This newest installment of the popular series will offer new single-player puzzle levels, a brand new co-op mode as well as multiple new Party Games, giving players more variety of gameplay than ever. Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll’s myriad of game modes is sure to inspire friendly living room competition between family and friends.
SEGA of America, Inc. is also partnering with Chiquita Fresh North America for a nationwide promotion with Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll for Wii. Starting this month, supermarkets across the country will feature special stickers to promote Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll on over 180 million Chiquita bananas and the branded bananas will appear in select sequences in the game itself. In addition, SEGA and Chiquita are announcing a “Super Bananza Sweepstakes” to support the partnership. Consumers will be able to enter online at www.chiquitabananas.com to win prizes, including the grand prize of a family gaming room makeover. One lucky family will receive a 50” HDTV, a sofa and four gaming chairs, a copy of Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll, a Wii console, Wii Balance Board (includes Wii Fit Plus) and other great prizes from Chiquita.
World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars (X360)
As the first Sprint Cars title brought to the Xbox 360 system, players can now take on fan favorites, such as Donny Schatz and Steve Kinser to compete in 12 tracks including The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
In World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars, players start off their career as a World of Outlaws rookie who must compete in several high octane races to ultimately make their way to the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Throughout the game, players can take on fierce competitors like Donny Schatz, Steve Kinser, Jason Meyers and Joey Saldana, while also experiencing real time track deformation in some of the toughest tracks in the World of Outlaws series. Additionally, players can race up to eight people in five multiplayer events over Xbox LIVE.
THQ 's World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars, rated ‘E’ for Everyone, is available for $19.99.
Sins of a Solar Empire - Trinity (PC)
In the year of its release, Sins of a Solar Empire was awarded dozens of Real-Time Strategy Game of the Year accolades as well as the overall PC Game of the Year award from IGN.com. The game provides a seamless transition between epic strategy and tactical combat modes, a galaxy of intriguing aliens, powerful starships, and colossal planets that come to life with stunning 3D graphics, unparalleled sense of scale, and a cinematic musical score. Explore and conquer nearby planets as one of three factions: the Vasari, the TEC or the Advent and play for domination of the galaxy. Players will explore distant solar systems by applying brute force, cunning strategy, elegant diplomacy, economic mastery, and researched technology.
“What is most unique about the micro-expansions is that they don’t just add content like other expansion packs, they actually change the fundamental core gameplay,” said Brad Wardell, CEO and president of Stardock. “Most expansion packs just add content like new maps or new weapons. With Diplomacy and Entrenchment you get those things too, but these micro-expansions go a lot further and actually change how the game is played. Trinity is the complete Sins of a Solar Empire experience and we’re proud of what we have been able to accomplish since its initial launch. For fans of this genre or fans looking for a great PC strategy game, it doesn’t get better than this.”
Launching alongside Trinity and completing the Sins of a Solar Empire experience is Diplomacy. Diplomacy is the second and final micro-expansion for fans that already have the original game. In addition to adding 30+ new technologies to research and a faction “status” that allows parties to see what other factions think of them, Diplomacy also adds a new envoy cruiser that can transport peace-seeking parties to negotiate a truce, trade pacts or treaties which can change the entire balance of any given game.
A complete breakdown of Trinity is as follows:
- Sins of a Solar Empire -
- Choose from three unique races
- Conquer and colonize vast worlds
- Explore the epic scale of a dynamic galaxy
- Customize and improve powerful units
- Extensive diplomatic and economic strategies
- Fully adaptive artificial intelligence with advanced tactics
- Spectacular 3D graphics with an unparalleled sense of scale
- Cinematic musical experience
- Up to 10 player multiplayer action over LAN or Ironclad Online
- Sins of a Solar Empire: Entrenchment -
- Build & customize massive star bases
- Fortify your empire with new defenses and mine fields
- Take on the challenging new AI
- Rain destruction with new defense-busting capabilities
- Lose yourself in striking new visuals
- Make it your own with extensive new modding capabilities
- Get right to it with faster play options
- Reap the rewards of extensive player feedback
- Sins of a Solar Empire: Diplomacy -
- Faction Status: New relations status screen lets the player see what each faction thinks of one another and why
- New Pacts: Factions can establish various technology and resource pacts with one another, giving a substantial boost to themselves and an ally
- Issue Missions: Players can now create and issue missions to other factions and even the Pirates, adding a whole new dimension to competitive play
- Envoy Cruisers: New envoy cruisers give factions unique abilities that can lead to better relations with other empires
- New Technologies: 30+ technologies to research on the new Diplomacy tree
- Deadlier Pirates: Pirates are more fearsome than ever as they collect bounty awards on their targets
- New Victory Options: Win through new Diplomatic or Allied victory conditions
- New Maps: Explore and conquer several new maps
Sins of a Solar Empire - Trinity bundles the original real-time strategy PC title from Ironclad Games with the two game-changing micro-expansions, Entrenchment and Diplomacy, and is available in retail stores across North America and via the digital download platform, Impulse for $39.95.
Now players and fans of the blockbuster film can show off their Twilight expertise anywhere, anytime. Featuring over 500 multiple-choice questions ranging from general knowledge about the Twilight film to in-depth analysis of the first movie, music, audio and video clips - the game will challenge even the most ardent fans.
"By taking Scene It? Twilight to the portable space, we allow for fans to enjoy a true trivia experience via pass and play with friends," said David Daniels, Director of Marketing for Konami Digital Entertainment Inc. "This echoes our content strategy with Screenlife, which is to deliver exciting Twilight material upon numerous fronts to feverish Twi-hards worldwide."
"Scene It? games are available on multiple platforms, but this is the first time we are bringing the brand to the Nintendo DS," said Barry Watts, Chief Executive Officer at Screenlife. "We believe bringing the experience to the Nintendo DS is a natural fit for the game, and we are pleased to offer yet another opportunity for fans and players to enjoy the Scene It? Twilight game."
Scene It? Twilight takes players to the dark and mysterious world of Forks, WA where they will learn everything there is to know about Bella Swan, Twilight's heroine, Edward Cullen, the dark and unlikely love of Bella's life and other characters from one of the most popular film franchises in history. Featuring a new user interface, players use their DS stylus to buzz in and navigate through challenging game play modes including Finish The Line, What's Missing and Alice's Vision. Twilight fanatics can play alone or take turns with friends as they look to prove who the ultimate TWILIGHT fan is!
Scene It? Twilight for NDS is rated 'T' for Teen by the ESRB and is available now for the SRP of $29.99.