Phasers Set to Fun [Star Trek Online]

Life in the 24th and 25th century wasn’t all about shooting people with phasers, knocking around aliens and “making it so.” No, the Star Trek universe also has its share of fun diversions including a wide array of drinks, sports, games and even a video game that was highly addictive and sapped a person’s will to live… no, not World of Warcraft. Here for your viewing pleasure is a break down of some of my favorite Trek past times, very few of which have so far made it into Star Trek Online , according to our own embedded player Michael Fahey. Holodeck The holodeck and holosuite had to be a pivotal part of any Starfleet officer’s downtime. This virtual world allowed you to create any environment, any person, anything to interact and play with. Think of it as the true take on video gaming in the 24th Century. Sports While traditional sports like baseball, cricket and water polo seemed to have all survived, new sports also cropped up including some that have smacking things with an ion mallet, controlling a buddy remotely or just beating the crap out of each other. Drinks Of all of the innovations of the 24th Century, I am must fascinated by the surprisingly diverse selection of ales, wines, champagnes (even some not from France… or Earth) and fizz that have popped up. Games The widest selection of pastimes seem to be in the selection of board and card games and brain teasers. My favorite of the lot? Fizzbin of course, which helped Captain Kirk escape the clutches of a group of unsavory Iotian gangsters. Last, but most certainly not least, is The Game . The Game. The Game was a holographic mind control device that was given to the crew as a game to play. It ended up essentially hypnotizing them with flashes of lights. Why does that sound so familiar?

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Phasers Set to Fun [Star Trek Online]

Six PADDs I Would Actually Buy [Ipad]

I may be tempted to one day buy the iPad as a crossover e-reader, but there’s nothing magical about the device for me. Not unless you replace one of its vowels with a consonant. The only pad I’ve ever wanted to lug around is the PADD, Star Trek ’s ever-present Personal Access Display Device. Here’s six of my favorites. This beefy PADD from the year 2260 used a stylus and included a button and two lights. I assume it also made boop and beep noises. The fact that this thing is bigger than the iPad and ugly as sin is outweighed by the fact that it was first seen cradled in Chekov’s hands and sitting on Uhura’s lap. By the year 2370 the PADD had ditched the stylus and shrunk considerably. It also went from having a single large touch surface to a display area and a separate touch area: Perfect for running diagnostics or taking space drink orders. Another form of the old 2370’s PADD was this delightful, big-screen, horizontal job. The Enterprise PADDs are great and all, but they all suffer from one thing: They carry the stench of humanity on them. This Andorian Imperial Guard PADD, about the same size as its stinky human counter-part, features a rounded shape and blue hue. And you know what they say: Once you go blue, you something that rhymes with blue. The Ferengi, too, know a good PADD when they seem one. They also know how to use it. While everyone else is running around jotting notes and trying to find lost relatives, these aliens are busy bidding on sports memorabilia on Space eBay. Finally you have the Klingon PADDs. Don’t laugh or you’ll be digesting one. Source

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Six PADDs I Would Actually Buy [Ipad]

Dark VoidTM Fact Sheet

Dark Void Fact Sheet
Release Date: January 19, 2009
Genre: Action/Adventure
Platform: 360, PS3 and PC
Rating: T for Teen
Developer: Airtight Studios
Price: $59.99

Dark Void is a sci-fi action-adventure game that combines an adrenaline-fuelled blend of aerial and ground-pounding combat. Set in a parallel universe called “The Void,” players take on the role of Will, a pilot dropped into incredible circumstances within the mysterious Void. This unlikely hero soon finds himself swept into a desperate struggle for survival, joining forces with a rebel human group called The Survivors. Trapped in the Void, these resistance fighters are battling to hold off a mysterious alien race that plans to threaten Earth.

Dark Void’s unique combination of jetpack-booster aerial dog fighting and third-person combat creates a thrilling new gameplay dynamic to the third-person shooter experience. Taking 3D action to a whole new level, Dark Void’s unique vertical combat system allows players to dangle from thousand foot drops as they take cover and hurl enemies to their doom, bringing a whole new sense of tension and thrill to the player. Will is also equipped with a powerful rocket pack which allows for fierce in-air combat, hurtling through the Void at blistering speeds while shooting down anything that gets in his path.

Features
• Sci-Fi action/adventure combines aerial and on-foot combat for a totally unique third-person shooter experience
• Will’s jetpack delivers total freedom of movement allowing players to race against UFOs in high-speed chases and rain death from above onto unsuspecting otherworldly foes
• Speed and scale unmatched by any other action title: send Will zipping through tight corridors and then out into immense canyons and futuristic geoscapes
• Gravity-defying vertical combat system, where moving up is the only way to bring your enemies down
• Seemless transition between jetpack flight, ship-to-ship dog fighting and third-person shoot-‘em-up action all exists within the same level – not broken up into different “areas”
• Unique grip system that allows the players to scale walls by jumping from surface to surface and hijack UFO’s while in mid-air
• Huge bosses that require fast reflexes and aerial barnstorming manoeuvres to defeat
• Developed by Airtight Studios, a new group featuring team members from the Crimson Skies series of video games

Got Game Entertainment Releases Official Teaser Trailer for Its upcoming Action-Adventure PC Game Twin Sector

Weston, Conn.-November 18, 2009 – Got Game Entertainment LLC, a leading publisher of interactive entertainment games, today officially released a teaser trailer and the box art for Twin Sector, its upcoming title for the PC. Developed by DNS Development and scheduled to arrive at retailers in early December, Twin Sector is the only other videogame to take on the market featuring physics-based first-person exploration/puzzling. In addition, this action-packed adventure raises the bar with a strong sci-fi mystery storyline, intriguing players and entwining them into an epic thriller.

Twin Sector is a thrilling physics-based action-adventure for the PC that allows players free interaction with their environment. Using the advantages of the powerful HAVOC®-Engine, innumerable puzzles, challenges and enemies await the players in a hostile and threatening futuristic environment. Featuring more than 15 missions, alongside a thrilling story line unfolding over the course of non-stop action, Twin Sector appeals to core gamers worldwide.

More About Twin Sector
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The story of Twin Sector takes place in a post-apocalyptic future where the remains of mankind have been put to artificial sleep in cryogenic chambers deep under the contaminated surface of earth – until the planet becomes habitable again. The player must take on the role of Ashley Simms, the protagonist of Twin Sector. Suddenly awakened by the stations security A.I. system O.S.C.A.R., players will face the imminent extinction of all other still sleeping survivors due to an unknown failure in the life support system. According to O.S.C.A.R., you are the only person who was able to be woken and therefore the only individual capable of saving mankind. Within the next ten hours, the broken main generator of the subterranean bunker system needs to be repaired in order to reestablish the station’s functionality. But unknown forces will try to prevent players from succeeding at all costs!

For more information

http://www.digitalriver.com/dr/v2/ec_Main.Entry17c?SID=40565&SP=10023&CID=0&PID=989405&PN=1&V1=989405&CUR=840&DSP=&PGRP=0&ABCODE=&CACHE_ID=418032

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About Got Game Entertainment
Founded by Howard Horowitz, Got Game Entertainment, LLC is a leading publisher of interactive entertainment games. Got Game Entertainment is committed to bringing to market quality games offering exceptional entertainment. If you are a game developer with a project you would like to present to Got Game, please contact: gamedev @ GotGameEntertainment dot com.

Media Contacts:
Tina Casalino
Clever Communications
(408) 266-1934
tina@clevercomm.com

PixelActive Releases CityScape 1.8 City Modeling Software

City modeling tool enables rapid iteration, speeds level design.

November 10th, 2009

CityScape 1.8 is focused on prototyping, rapid iteration, and creative freedom allow designers and artists to play test their environments sooner and make better design choices. CityScape’s core technology improves productivity for racing, open world, and sci-fi games. The underlying technology is agnostic to the genre of game, targeting workflow improvements for content creators.

PixelActive announces the release of CityScape version 1.8, the latest version of its rapid urban modeling and simulation software for game developers, GIS professionals, simulation makers, and urban planners.

CityScape 1.8 includes: Enhanced road editing capabilities, improved GIS importing, a flexible meta data system, new import and export formats, a redesigned user interface with icons and hotkeys, and performance improvements. The road editing tools add a tangent editor, tunnels, and complex intersections. GIS importing supports NAVTEQ, Tele Atlas, OpenStreetMap, custom shapefiles, aerial imagery, geolocated geometry, elevation data and GIS data preprocessing. The meta data system uses custom and default templates to add data to objects, exports meta data to COLLADA, Filmbox, or CSV, and calculates meta data on the fly given basic building data.

CityScape “allows [researchers] to really think about all these different ways they want to test their devices. They can easily make city environments with [CityScape]. They can easily make rural environments. They can easily make expressway environments. So they can get that all out of the way, and then concentrate on their work.” says Larry Cathey, Sr. Project Manager at Realtime Technologies, Inc.

“In 1.8, we wanted to create an application that was as easy to pick up for users of Photoshop or Maya, but still have the control and detail artists require to visualize their ideas. We’re very happy with the result and look forward to our users’ feedback.” say Steve Rotenberg, PixelActive CEO.

“We made significant improvements to our GIS importing functionality. Simulation companies, video game developers, and urban planners all see the market demand for larger environments. These environments are used for training simulations, racing games in destination locations, and the visualization of master planned communities. CityScape allows teams to scale their environments without losing control of design or art style.”

The CityScape team paid close attention to user feedback in developing the new version. “All the new features came out of conversations with our customers. We’re really trying to make CityScape a program that helps people build better environments faster and more efficiently.”

Pricing and Availability
CityScape is available for $19,000 and can be purchased by contacting a PixelActive sales representative at sales@pixelactive3d.com. The CityScape 1.8 Demo can be downloaded from the PixelActive website by visiting the Download CityScape page.

About CityScape
CityScape is an integrated modeling, texturing and layout application for urban environments. CityScape’s innovative set of real-time road, terrain, and layout tools, advanced GIS importing functionality, and robust file importing and exporting compatibility, is used by GIS professionals, urban planners, and simulation and game companies worldwide. Its real-time response and Active Adjustment functionality makes it the most accessible urban modeling tool available today. As a stand-alone application, CityScape offers enterprise functionality and appeals to a wide audience.

About PixelActive Inc.
Founded in 2003, PixelActive Incorporated – www.pixelactive3d.com develops and markets innovative 3D software products. The privately funded company is based in Carlsbad, California, and was founded by Steve Rotenberg and Michael Kelley, veterans of the video game industry.

Press contact:
Joseph Young
Director of Marketing
jyoung@pixelactive3d.com
(858) 248-0547

Free Mars for FREE! Origin8’s ‘Sentinel: Mars Defense’ on special offer for a week

5th November 2009: It’s Bonfire Night in the UK, and the thoughts of the nation turn toward really big explosions. Thanks to London-based development studio Origin8, iPhone/iPod Touch gamers worldwide can share in the joy of blowing things up today, as their breakout sci fi strategy game “Sentinel: Mars Defense” will be FREE for a week from 6pm GMT.

Released in February 2009, “Sentinel: Mars Defense” received both popular and critical acclaim. It was selected as one of Apple’s App Store first Anniversary Top 30 games in the UK/AU/EU territories, and spawned the much-lauded sequel “Sentinel 2: Earth Defense”. Now the next generation of iPhone owners can grab a free taste of classic alien-busting Tower Defense.

Get “Sentinel: Mars Defense” from the App Store here: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=305974985&mt=8. Screenshots, a full description and a gameplay trailer can be found here: http://origin8.com/sentinel/index.php.

“Sentinel 2: Earth Defense” is available from the App Store for $2.99 or regional equivalent: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=320388936&mt=8. For further information and media see http://origin8.com/sentinel2/index.php.

About us: Origin8 is an innovative mobile developer based in Camden, London, UK. With an experienced team whose credits cover a vast number of gaming platforms, they specialise in games and entertainment for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch.

Website: www.origin8.com
Press and media contact: pr@origin8.com

PERPETUAL FX CREATIVE ROLLS OUT LIMITED TIME PROMOTION FOR “GALACTIC BOWLING”

DALLAS, TX – November 4, 2009 – Perpetual FX Creative, a multiplatform independent game developer, is pleased to announce a special limited time promotion for Galactic Bowling, its critically acclaimed sci-fi bowling game for the Apple® iPhone™ and iPod® touch. Consumers who purchase the application beginning on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 will enjoy a special promotional price of $0.99, a drop from the standard cost of $4.99.

As an exhilarating sports arcade game, Galactic Bowling delivers stunning, detailed graphics and fluid-like gameplay with an intergalactic twist! The game features a full-story campaign with fast-paced single-player competition and includes a unique universe filled with over-the-top humor, challenging environments and uses spectacular visual vignettes that tell each character’s story with a jaw-dropping in-game cinematics. Players can also unlock levels, characters, special balls, and whammies, all while working their way up the ranks of an intergalactic bowling league.

Suitable for all ages, Galactic Bowling features three distinctive play modes (solo, regular and battle) and an intuitive control scheme that is easy enough for casual players but also has advanced options for experienced gamers making for an entertaining experience that will leave everyone that touches it wanting more.

Fans can also check out the official trailer for Galactic Bowling by pointing their curser to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQHGKre9cqY&feature=channel_page.

To purchase Galactic Bowling, please visit the App Store. For the latest news or to learn more about the game, please visit the official website at: www.perpetualfxcreative.net.

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About Perpetual FX Creative:
Based in Dallas Texas, Perpetual FX Creative is a video game development and production company that brings big budget excitement to devices large and small. With a track record of developing innovative digital media products, Perpetual FX Creative is now blazing the path to become a recognized leader in the direct-to-consumer games space.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Brandon Price
Reverb Communications
209.586.1495 x113
Brandon@reverbinc.com

Retro Fusion Magazine – Issue 3

A few years back, with the demise of Live Publishing, Retro Fusion magazine was launched that saw two issues distributed in the UK via the Gamestation stores and online via the Retro Fusion website. The Retro Fusion magazine was a retro/lifestyle publication looking back at the past via various nostalgic angles including Gaming, Arcade, Nostalgia and TV&Film. We literally took the reader back in time. The magazine was 68 pages in length, full colour and professionally printed. 2,000 copies of each issue were printed and of these we sold 1,050 of issue 1 and 1,200 of issue 2.

It’s been over 3 years since the deploying of issue 2 – the time is now right for Retro Fusion to return for issue 3.

Issue 3 will have a Sci Fi theme running through its pages and will include the following features within its pages:

• Red Dwarf – includes interview/input from Chris Barrie
• Top 10 Robots and Aliens games
• The Making of Jez San’s ‘Star Glider’
• Project X – A look back at this seminal Amiga game with input from a member of the Team 17 team that developed it
• The best Sci Fi Toys of the 80’s and 90’s
• Space Dust – the sweet that went Snap, Crackle and Pop
• Archer Maclean and Jon Hare columns.

The magazine will be delivered to those who pre-order on the Retro Fusion website (www.retrofusion.me.uk) before Christmas for the price of £4 + £1.50 p&p.

If you would like any further details on the magazine, including opportunities for advertising or future publication, please contact Chris via chris@retrofusion.me.uk.