Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core (PSP)

Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core is the highly awaited prequel to the most enjoyed Final Fantasy game of all time. With intense graphics, exciting storyline, unique battle system, joined with mysterious characters, players will discover many new secrets hidden in the world of Final Fantasy VII.
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I agree to what John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix Ltd. comments, “CRISIS CORE -FINAL FANTASY VII- is one of the most anticipated FINAL FANTASY releases of all times. Pushing the boundaries of the PSP hardware, it offers a truly fantastic gameplay experience to not only existing fans, but new ones as well.”

This game will really push the boundaries of the PSP. Having awe-inspiring visuals, full 16:9 widescreen presentation, an interesting battle system, and additional gameplay challenges not present in other versions, fans and newcomers alike can definitely experience Final Fantasy from a whole new perspective.

The Storyline
Set seven years prior to the events of the first Final Fantasy VII, the Shinra Company is rapidly increasing its influence through its monopoly on mako energy and military might. With the burgeoning city of Midgar as its base and symbol of prosperity, Shinra is on the verge of establishing absolute dominance over the world.

SOLDIER is a group of skilled combat operatives within Shinra. The elite within the group — those strong enough to be deemed SOLDIER 1st Class — are respected and idolized by the citizenry.

Zack is a young SOLDIER 2nd Class who aspires to become a 1st. He spends his days carrying out assignments under the guidance of his 1st Class mentor, Angeal. During an operation in Wutai, a large number of SOLDIER members, led by 1st Class operative Genesis, go missing. The severity of the situation prompts Shinra executives to deploy even more SOLDIER operatives in hopes of bringing an end to the war with Wutai—and conducting an investigation into the mass desertion. The ones assigned to the mission are Zack, Angeal, and the 1st Class hero who is known the world over as Sephiroth.

What truths lie behind Genesis’s disappearance? What secrets bind the three SOLDIER 1st Class operatives? For Zack, a cruel and fateful struggle awaits.

The Gameplay
The battle system of Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core will take players to a new level of gaming. It’s not your ordinary RPG game wherein you attack, then wait for the enemy to attack, etc. Here, you can move your character around, then attack whenever you want to. You can even dodge your enemy’s attacks, and even go behind the enemy to get a critical hit.

And of course, every Final Fantasy has magic, and like FFVII, players get to equip materia for their magic powers. The items are very much the same (potions, ethers, the usual), the weapons and the accessories too.

You can also acquire aeons like Ifrit, Bahamut, and Odin; but unlike other FF versions, players don’t get to summon their choice of monster. Aeons and limit breaks (similar to FFX’s overdrive) come out by chance depending on the rolling slots during battles, which can sometimes be a downer during boss battles because that’s when you need to summon the most.

There are also missions for Zack to complete. Though these are not required to finish the game, gamers would most likely want to complete the missions since this is where you get the rare weapons, accessories, and even materias. These missions make it easier to hunt for treasures.

Another thing different about Crisis Core, is that players only get to handle Zack all throughout the game. When you meet new characters along the way, they sort of just become part of your limit break, but Zack is still the only one you handle. Now that’s what I call a main character. One thing good about this though, is even at the very beginning, Zack starts out strong already. Unlike in FFVII, Cloud has to level up a lot just to get strong shots. Zack is really enough even for a group of enemies.

Characters
There are only six main characters in Crisis Core: Zack, his best friend Angeal, Cloud, Genesis, Sephiroth, and of course, Aerith. Fans of FFVII will remember Aerith, Cloud, and the infamous Sephiroth. In Crisis Core, we get to see what their lives were like seven years before Final Fantasy VII, and I can say it was really interesting.

There are also sub characters like Yuffie, the ninja in FFVII; Lazard, the director of SOLDIER; Cissnei, a member of the Turks; and Tifa, who will appear at the latter part of the game.

I’m sure RPG fans will agree with me, that the Final Fantasy series is one of the best RPG games out there, and Square Enix once again proved themselves to be one of the best with Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core.
For more information about Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, you can visit the official site at www.crisiscore.com

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Konami Digital Entertainment debuts new Guns of the Patriots trailer, revealing significant details about Hideo Kojima’s masterpiece for PLAYSTATION3

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has entered the next stage of its Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots campaign, with the launch of a new trailer for Hideo Kojima’s first PLAYSTATION®3 entry to the legendary stealth action series.

Due for a simultaneous worldwide release early in 2008, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots is set in a war-torn future where huge conglomerates fight for supremacy using armies of hand-picked mercenaries. This battle-scarred arena is seen through the eyes of an older Solid Snake who has been charged with infiltrating a number of key locations across the globe, including the Middle East and South America.

The new trailer features all new real-time footage from the PLAYSTATION3 game and serves to whet players’ appetites with new revelations and glimpses of what the final game will contain. The new footage also showcases the return of popular characters from the Metal Gear Solid universe, including Meryl Silverburgh and Raiden– and confirms the return of iconic Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty adversary, Vamp.

The returning characters will again be voiced by the actors that have made them famous, with David Hayter breathing life into Old Snake, from an original script by series creator Hideo Kojima. Similarly, Paul Eiding returns as Roy Campbell, Quinton Flynn as Raiden, and Phil LaMarr and Pat Zimmerman as Vamp and Liquid Ocelot. The voice recording sequences have been directed by Kris Zimmerman.

“After several months under the radar, Kojoma Productions have broken cover to blow gamers away with its latest Metal Gear Solid 4 revelations,” commented Hans-Joachim Amann, Head of European Product Management from Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. “The new trailer shows just how advanced the game is, and the sheer realism and genius we have come to expect from the Metal Gear Solid team. The new trailer is certain to whet the appetites of fans everywhere– and will reaffirm Guns of Patriots as the most anticipated title of the coming year.”

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance

Set in the 37th century, Supreme Commander signals the next evolution in the RTS genre by being the first strategy game to deliver a truly strategic and tactical experience. You direct one of three warring human factions, the Aeon Illuminate,

Delivering one of the most advanced and innovative features of any RTS game, Supreme Commander establishes a breathtaking new standard with the sheer scope and scale of its gameplay. Colossal battles tear across maps of incomparable size as hundreds of units clash in epic battles of supremacy.

The Infinite War
For a millennium, three opposing forces of humanity–the Cybran Nation, the Aeon Illuminate and the United Earth Federation–have fought a bitter and bloody war over conflicting and unwavering systems of belief. There is no room for compromise. No room for mercy. No room for anything but the complete eradication of anyone with opposing belief systems. Labeled the Infinite War, this horrific conflict has shattered a once peaceful galaxy and only served to deepen the hatred and schisms between the three factions. Now, after centuries of struggle, the battle for supremacy has at long last reached a turning point. You are a Supreme Commander, and only you have the power to bring the Infinite War to an end once and for all. The fate of the galaxy is in your hands.
Game Features:

- New Playable Faction: A completely new playable faction will be available in multiplayer games and serve as the main threat during the new single-player campaign. This new threat is a cunning and devious race with advanced technology and are true masters of quantum technology. New weapons, new strategies, new conquests!

- New Units: Over 100 new land, sea, air, base and experimental units evolve armies to address strategic weakness or become the ultimate expressions of factional military doctrine.

- Warfare on an Epic Scale: Fully realized navies, orbital weaponry and advanced counter intelligence technologies give commanders unprecedented, deadly new capabilities in what is already the most strategic RTS on the market today.

- New Multiplayer Maps: New multiplayer battlefields provide new grounds for players to prove their supremacy.

- New Single Player Campaign: Play through a brand new single player campaign as you gather your forces to save mankind from extinction.

THQ ANNOUNCES PLANS TO LAUNCH DISNEY-PIXAR’S WALL-E ACROSS ALL MAJOR GAMING SYSTEMS

THQ Inc. announced plans to release the WALL-E video game in conjunction with the film’s eagerly awaited theatrical debut from Disney-Pixar in the summer of 2008. WALL-E is anticipated to launch across all major gaming systems including the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system, PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, PSP (PlayStation Portable) system, WiiTM home video game system, Nintendo DSTM, Windows PC and Mac, as well as wireless devices.

The long-running relationship between THQ and Disney-Pixar has achieved shipments of more than 35 million units worldwide. THQ’s current agreement with Disney-Pixar, which was announced in 2004, includes rights to create games based on four newly created Disney-Pixar film properties. Last year’s Ratatouille video game was the first property released by THQ under this agreement.

WALL-E is expected to release this summer and will mark THQ’s next installment in the company’s well-established and successful association with Disney-Pixar. Development for WALL-E will be led by THQ’s internal Heavy Iron Studios.

About the WALL-E Videogame
Players will take control of WALL-E and EVE through a fast-paced adventure based on the upcoming Disney-Pixar film. The game will allow fans to relive some of the movie’s most thrilling moments as they explore 10 worlds filled with non-stop action and adventure, along with head-to-head multiplayer challenges. Players will recognize the storyline, characters and key locations from the WALL-E film as they carry out intense missions, dodge dangerous enemies and navigate their way through a futuristic world. In addition, the game will contain new storylines and environments that movie-goers will not see in theaters.

About the WALL-E Movie
What if mankind had to leave Earth, and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off?

Academy Award-winning writer-director Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo”) and the inventive storytellers and technical geniuses at Pixar Animation Studios (“The Incredibles,” “Cars,” “Ratatouille”) transport moviegoers to a galaxy not so very far away for a new computer-animated cosmic comedy about a determined robot named WALL-E.

After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, WALL-E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL-E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet’s future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home). Meanwhile, WALL-E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most exciting and imaginative comedy adventures ever brought to the big screen.

Joining WALL-E on his fantastic journey across a universe of never-before-imagined visions of the future, is a hilarious cast of characters including a pet cockroach, and a heroic team of malfunctioning misfit robots.

Filled with surprises, action, humor and heart, WALL-E was written and directed by Andrew Stanton, produced by Jim Morris, co-produced by Lindsey Collins and features original and innovative sound design by Academy Award-winner Ben Burtt (“Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones,” “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”). The film is due for release on June 27, 2008.

Video games activate Reward Regions of Brain in Men more than Women

Allan Reiss, MD, and his colleagues have a pretty good idea why your husband or boyfriend can’t put down the Halo 3. In a first-of-its-kind imaging study, the Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have shown that the part of the brain that generates rewarding feelings is more activated in men than women during video-game play.

“These gender differences may help explain why males are more attracted to, and more likely to become ‘hooked’ on video games than females,” the researchers wrote in their paper, which was recently published online in the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

More than 230 million video and computer games were sold in 2005, and polls show that 40 percent of Americans play games on a computer or a console. According to a 2007 Harris Interactive survey, young males are two to three times more likely than females to feel addicted to video games, such as the Halo series so popular in recent years.

Despite the popularity of video and computer games, little is known about the neural processes that occur as people play these games. And no research had been done on gender-specific differences in the brain’s response to video games.

Reiss, senior author of the study and the Howard C. Robbins Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, has long been interested in studying gender differences; in 2005, he published a study showing that men and women process humor differently. He and his colleagues became interested in exploring the concept of territoriality, and they determined the best way to do so was with a simple computer game.

The researchers designed a game involving a vertical line (the “wall”) in the middle of a computer screen. When the game begins, 10 balls appear to the right of the wall and travel left toward the wall. Each time a ball is clicked, it disappears from the screen. If the balls are kept a certain distance from the wall, the wall moves to the right and the player gains territory, or space, on the screen. If a ball hits the wall before it’s clicked, the line moves to the left and the player loses territory on the screen.

During this study, 22 young adults (11 men and 11 women) played numerous 24-second intervals of the game while being hooked up to a functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fMRI, machine. fMRI is designed to produce a dynamic image showing which parts of the brain are working during a given activity.

Study participants were instructed to click as many balls as possible; they weren’t told that they could gain or lose territory depending on what they did with the balls. Reiss said all participants quickly learned the point of the game, and the male and female participants wound up clicking on the same number of balls. The men, however, wound up gaining a significantly greater amount of space than the women. That’s because the men identified which balls—the ones closest to the “wall”—would help them acquire the most space if clicked.

“The females ‘got’ the game, and they moved the wall in the direction you would expect,” said Reiss, who is director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research. “They appeared motivated to succeed at the game. The males were just a lot more motivated to succeed.”

After analyzing the imaging data for the entire group, the researchers found that the participants showed activation in the brain’s mesocorticolimbic center, the region typically associated with reward and addiction. Male brains, however, showed much greater activation, and the amount of activation was correlated with how much territory they gained. (This wasn’t the case with women.) Three structures within the reward circuit—the nucleus accumbens, amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex—were also shown to influence each other much more in men than in women. And the better connected this circuit was, the better males performed in the game.

The findings indicate, the researchers said, that successfully acquiring territory in a computer game format is more rewarding for men than for women. And Reiss, for one, isn’t surprised. “I think it’s fair to say that males tend to be more intrinsically territorial,” he said. “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who historically are the conquerors and tyrants of our species—they’re the males.”

Reiss said this research also suggests that males have neural circuitry that makes them more liable than women to feel rewarded by a computer game with a territorial component and then more motivated to continue game-playing behavior. Based on this, he said, it makes sense that males are more prone to getting hooked on video games than females.

“Most of the computer games that are really popular with males are territory- and aggression-type games,” he pointed out.

Reiss said the team’s findings may apply to other types of video and computer games. “This is a fairly representative, generic computer game,” he said, adding that he and his colleagues are planning further work in this area.

Fumiko Hoeft, MD, PhD, senior research scientist, was first author of the study. Co-authors include Christa Watson, social science research assistant; Shelli Kesler, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences; and Keith Bettinger, software developer.

Computer and Video Game Industry Reaches $18.85 Billion in 2007

Computer and video game software sales reached $9.5 billion in 2007, 28% over the previous year, and set a new record according to final data compiled by the NPD Group and announced by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). The industry’s economic impact is illustrated further through data showing that Halo 3, the best-selling title of 2007, took in more revenue in its first day of sales than the biggest opening weekend ever for a movie (Spider-Man 3) and the final Harry Potter book’s first day sales.

“The video game industry set the pace over all others in 2007, with record-breaking sales, off-the-charts consumer demand, and innovation reaching from galactic exploration to guitar simulation,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA, the U.S. association representing computer and video game software publishers. “On average, an astonishing 9 games were sold every second of every day of the year.” The ESA cited data showing that the industry sold over 13.4 million portable game units in 2007, easily trumping the much-hyped Apple iPhone, which sold just 4 million units.

According to the data compiled by the NPD Group, overall U.S. video game console software sales reached $6.6 billion (153.9 million units), computer games sales were $910.7 million (36.4 million units), and a record $2.0 billion (77.5 million units) in portable software sales. In terms of total units sold, approximately 267.8 million computer and video games were sold in 2007.

“Expansion was an overarching theme for the industry last year – from the types of games sold to the people who bought them,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “NPD’s consumer demographic data verifies that two non-traditional consumer groups grew over-proportionately to the whole: females and individuals over the ages of 35.”

Interestingly, the NPD Group’s data indicates that, in unit sales, only 15.5% of games sold last year were rated “Mature (M),” as compared to the 56.5% of games sold rated “Everyone 10+” or lower and the 28% of games that were rated “Teen (T).” Also, one of the largest genres growing was “Family Entertainment,” which grew 110% (17.2% of all games sold in 2007, up from 9.1% in 2006). “This is clearly an industry strongly rooted in family-friendly entertainment, and not on Mature-rated titles,” noted Gallagher.

The NPD Group is a global market information company that measures product movement and consumer behavior across a broad range of industries.

The ESA is the U.S. association dedicated to serving the business and public affairs needs of companies publishing interactive games for video game consoles, handheld devices, personal computers, and the Internet.

These figures are reported by Microsoft, Sony, and Scholastic Inc.—Halo 3 – $170M in its first day, Spider-Man 3’s entire opening weekend – $151M, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ first day sales – $166M.

Battlefield Heroes

It seems that the year 2008 will be a start for not only exciting games, but it will also a battle of what game titles are most affordable.

What better way to start this new market strategy but to offer a game that is FREE.

Electronic Arts Inc. unveiled an all-new Play 4 Free cartoon-style shooter called Battlefield Heroes, that will bring classic Battlefield gameplay to an all new mass audience. Developed by DICE in Stockholm, Battlefield Heroes is leading EA’s new web-focused free to download, free to play business model which generates revenue through advertising and micro-transactions. With zero barriers to entry, now anyone can be a hero on the battlefield!

Battlefield Heroes is a brand new Play 4 Free game from the people that brought you the multi-million selling Battlefield 1942 and Battlefield 2. It’s a fun cartoon-style shooter which caters to players of all skill levels. It is easy to pick up and play but with robust character customization and a deep online meta-game, gamers can spend hours building up their characters and conquering the world. Features a built-in matchmaking system to ensure that players of equal skill are paired together for fair play.

“Online gaming garners a massive audience,” said Gerhard Florin, EVP Publishing Americas-Europe at EA. “People want to play games in new ways, with easier access that is quick to the fun. With Battlefield Heroes, EA brings its first major franchise to North America and Europe with a new distribution model and pricing structure adapted to the evolving way that people play.”

“We put a different twist on this Battlefield game going with the cartoon-style graphics and gameplay,” added Ben Cousins, Senior Producer at EA DICE. “There’s something here for all types of players — be it our core Battlefield fans or casual gamers. With the new online model, we will continually add new content to keep the game fresh and keep players engaged, while integrating player feedback in real time. As a game developer, it is such a cool new way to make games.”

Battlefield Heroes will be released for the PC as a free download in summer 2008. This product is not yet rated by PEGI or ESRB.

Strong lineup of games continue Nintendo’s momentum in 2008

With their focus on fun for everyone, Nintendo’s Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ systems are leading a new movement in the world of video games.

Games based on brain exercises. New experiences that surprise even core gamers. Grandparents buying video game systems – for themselves! Surely, these are unprecedented times.

“The video game industry has never had so many new players, and they’ve never had so much fun,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of sales & marketing. “Our momentum is not limited to one system or one game. We’re going broad and bold in 2008, with something for every member of the family.”

Nintendo DS and Wii finished as the No. 1 and No. 2 best-selling systems of the year, respectively. Nintendo continues its momentum into 2008 with a strong lineup of games.

In the first half of 2008 alone, more than 65 new Wii games will add to the current library of more than 195 and 80 new Nintendo DS games will add to the current library of nearly 500.

Nintendo DS opens the first half of the year with games that demonstrate the breadth of the Nintendo DS library. Advance Wars®: Days of Ruin is a treat aimed squarely at core gamers, while Crosswords DS™ is for all consumers, whether they currently play games or not.

Likewise, the first half of 2008 brings a diverse array of Wii games from Nintendo, including core games like Super Smash Bros.® Brawl; games with universal appeal for gamers old and new with Mario Kart® Wii, which uses the easy-to-pick-up Wii Wheel™; and Wii Fit™, which comes with the Wii Balance Board and has appeal for new consumers well beyond the traditional video game audience. On top of all that, new downloadable WiiWare™ games will make their debut.

These unique games have much lower entry barriers for developers and let consumers enjoy an incredibly diverse selection of content.

Third-party publishers also continue their strong support for Wii and Nintendo DS. Some of the innovative Wii games for the first half of 2008 include Ninja Reflex from Electronic Arts, No More Heroes™ from Ubisoft, DeBlob from THQ, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed from LucasArts and Okami from Capcom, in addition to compelling Nintendo DS games like FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Rings of Fate from Square Enix, Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword from Tecmo and Quick Yoga Training from Ubisoft.

The following is a partial list of upcoming third-party titles:

Wii:
January – Samurai Warriors: Katana (KOEI) / No More Heroes (Ubisoft)

February – Dream Pinball 3D (SouthPeak Games) / MX vs. ATV Untamed (THQ) / Baroque (Atlus USA) / London Taxi: Rush Hour (Destineer) / Karaoke Revolution / Presents: American Idol Encore (Konami) / Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 (Ubisoft)

March – Destroy All Humans: Big Willy Unleashed (THQ) / Worms: A Space Oddity (THQ) / Okami (Capcom) / Alone in the Dark (Atari) / Ninja Reflex (EA) / Target: Terror (Konami) / Nitro Bike (Ubisoft)

April – Pro Evolution Soccer (Konami) / Wild Earth: African Safari (Majesco)

May – Speed Racer (Warner Bros. Games) / The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Disney Interactive) / King of Fighters: The Orochi Saga (SNK Playmore) / THE DOG Island (Ubisoft)

June – Catch of the Day (EA) / Cooking Mama Cook Off 2 (Majesco) / Rygar: The Battle of Argus (Tecmo) / DeBlob (THQ) / Wall-E (THQ)

LucasArts’ LEGO: Indiana Jones will be released for the Wii in the spring, with its Star Wars: The Force Unleashed scheduled for a summer release.

DS:
January – Mega Brain Boost (Majesco) / Aquarium by DS (Bold Games) / N+ (Atari) / Barnyard Blast (DSI) / Brain Challenge (Ubisoft)

February – Paws & Claws: Pet Resort (THQ) / Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (Capcom) / Zoo Tycoon II (THQ) / Bubble Bobble Double Shot (Ignition) / Insecticide (Gamecock) / Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles (Ubisoft) / Real Soccer 2008 (Ubisoft)

March – Go Pets (Konami) / Disney Friends (Disney Interactive) / River King: Mystic Valley (Natsume) / Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Rings of Fate (Square Enix) / Lost in Blue 3 (Konami) / Pro Evolution Soccer (Konami) / Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword (Tecmo) / Alone in the Dark (Atari) / Ninja Reflex (EA) / Myst (Empire Interactive)

April – Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys (Ignition) / Rondo of Swords (Atlus) / Quick Yoga Training (Ubisoft)

May – Speed Racer (Warner Bros. Games) / The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Disney Interactive) / Winx Club: Mission Enchantix (Konami)

June – Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness (Natsume) / Catch of the Day (EA) / Wall-E from THQ

Re-Mission: A game and community for young people with cancer

Re-Mission is a third-person shooter video game released by the non-profit organization HopeLab on April 3, 2006.

The game falls primarily within the serious games genre, is intended to be both informative and entertaining, and is designed for young persons with cancer. The game was the culmination of years of research to ensure that it addressed realistic cancer-related medical issues within the context of entertaining gameplay.

An epic battle rages deep in the realms of the human body. Colonies of microscopic cancer cells replicate, attack and damage healthy orgrans. Enter Roxxi, a gutsy and fully armed nanobot, and medicine’s mightiest warrior. Lead here through challenging missions and rapid-fire assaults on malignant cells, wherever they hide. It’s the world’s smallest battlefield, yet the stakes have never been higher.

In Re-Mission, the player controls an RX5-E (“Roxxi”) nanobot who is designed to be injected into the human body and fight particular types of cancer and related infections at a cellular level. The player must also monitor patient health and report any symptoms back to Dr. West (the in-game doctor and project leader). Each of the 20 levels is designed to inform the patient on a variety of treatments, how they function, and the importance of maintaining strict adherence to those treatments.

Fighting cancer is an inside job. Guide Roxxi through the complex environments of the human body. Wreak havoc on cancer. Fire weapons like the chemo blaster, the radiotion gun and the anti-biotic rocket. Combat malignancies like non-hidgkin’s lumphoma and leukemia. Combine gameplay with science. Every re-mission adventure fuses action and accuracy.

I hope this game can be used by our hospitals to help cancer patients understand what the disease is all about and at the same time patients gaining more confidence in winning the battle by playing the game.

Re-Mission is available at no charge to young people with cancer and health care providers by visiting the game’s official website at http://www.re-mission.net/

Rock Band comes to PlayStation 2

Harmonix, the leading worldwide developer of music-based games, and MTV Games, part of Viacom’s MTV Networks, along with distribution partner Electronic Arts, announced that the Rock Band Special Edition Bundle for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system.

Developed in collaboration with Pi Studios, Rock Band for the PlayStation 2 system showcases many of the same challenging modes and rock music featured in the PLAYSTATION3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360 video game entertainment system from Microsoft versions, including Band World Tour and Score Duel, which allows drum vs. drum, guitar vs. guitar and vocal vs. vocal play.

“Our team was honored to work side by side with Harmonix to create Rock Band for the PlayStation 2 and extremely proud of the result,” stated Robert Erwin, CEO of Pi Studios. “Together, we were able to deliver the addictive nature and brilliance of the core Rock Band gameplay while giving PS2 owners the ultimate rock experience just in time for the holidays.”

Rock Band is a new platform for music fans and gamers to interact with music like never before, challenging users to master the lead/bass guitar, drums, and vocals as solo artists or cooperatively as part of their own band. Built on unprecedented deals with the world’s biggest record labels and music publishers, the music featured in Rock Band will span all genres of rock and will include many master recordings from the greatest songs and artists of all time.

Rock Band invites players to interact with music, challenging them to join a band and set out on tour – all while learning to master lead/bass guitar, drums and vocals. Featuring the most master recordings of any music game ever by the world’s biggest rock artists, Rock Band for the PlayStation 2 system includes 58 tracks and spans every genre of rock ranging from alternative and classic rock to heavy metal and punk.

The Rock Band Special Edition Bundle for the PlayStation 2 system features a wireless Fender Stratocaster guitar controller, an electronic drum kit, real drum sticks, a microphone and software and has a suggested retail price of $ 159.99. Standalone Rock Band software for the PlayStation 2 system is also available for the suggested retail price of $ 49.99. Rock Band for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 use the same instruments so players do not need to buy new instruments if they upgrade their console.

Rock Band is rated “T” for Teen (lyrics, mild suggestive themes) by the ESRB.