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Empire: Total War, is the new installment in The Creative Assembly’s Total War RTS franchise and will maintain the series 3D battles, grand turn based campaign map and rich historical flavor; while for the first time introducing 3D naval combat into the series.

Below is an interview with one of the game's developers:

WP: Who has the honor to speak with us? State your name, rank, and occupation!

Kieran Brigden, studio communications manager for Creative Assembly.

WP: Empire Total War marks the first time that the Total War series has had really intricate naval battles. Why have them now?

KB: Well, it's a combination of factors. One, we've wanted to do it for a while but the technology was ready now. Two, it's the period that's right for it. When you add naval battles to the game, you have to do it when it's interesting, enjoyable, and fun. The 18th century was the absolute height of cool naval warfare. You had thi... More »  


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From the Abyss is a hack ‘n slash RPG in the spirit of true video gaming for the Nintendo DS.

In this parallel universe players will be able to explore the vast world of Rubenhaut through a unique world creation engine exclusively created for the game.

Press Release: THE NINTENDO DS IS NOT JUST A CONSOLE FOR GIRLS, DADS, OR MOMS!

In “From the Abyss”, the player will fight huge monsters with swords, spells and special abilities! A fast paced & action packed game for gamers!

The game also features an intuitive control scheme, lavish artwork, and an engaging 2 player co-op battle system.

Key Features:

• Explore your own unique Abyss!
Every time you start a new journey the game will randomly generate a custom world for a unique experience each time!

• Customize your character!
Distribute skill points that will define your character’s powers and destiny. Will you go the way o... More »  


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Per Grace Chen (Senior Manager, PlayStation Store) today:

Hey, everyone. It’s time again for the PlayStation Store weekly update.

Add-on Game Content

LittleBigPlanet Sack in the Box Costume (free)
A community costume for SackBoy!
File size: 1.04 MB

LittleBigPlanet LocoRoco Costumes ($2.99)
A costume kit for SackBoy! Contains 5 different costumes.
File size: 1.04 MB

BioShock PS3 Challenge Rooms ($9.99)
Experience the intense, terrifying world of Rapture like never before with the all-new PLAYSTATION 3 exclusive Add-On Game Content featuring three unique Challenge Rooms and some very cool extras. In “A Shocking Turn of Events,” rescue a trapped Little Sister in a disturbing carnival in Rapture. In “The I in Team”, defeat a Big Daddy using only your wits. In “Worlds of Hurt” plow through eight rooms filled with the worst Rapture has to offer.
File size: 402 MB... More »  


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Remember when the PS3 came out? It was comfortably the cheapest Blu-ray player on the market. That was a huge selling point for the console, trust us. When the PS2 first launched we conducted a survey that showed that over 30% of the early adopters bought it primarily for its DVD playback.

We haven’t seen figures for the PS3 in relation to how many consumers picked it up as a Blu-ray player, but the release strategies and state of the market are comparative and a similar percentage would’ve been expected. (we’ve contacted Sony for this statistic and will update you when/if we get a response)

In fact at the time of the PS3’s launch, the Blu-ray diode that powered the ROM was the costly and relatively difficult to produce component which stalled the release of the system in territories like Australia, and where Sony was losing much of its money on each console sold.

Earlier this week we reported that the Xbox 360 had received another pric... More »  


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Powered by Intel's new £1,000 Core i7-965 Extreme Edition, the YoYotech Fi7epower MLK161 was configured with one purpose in mind: to break the world record in the benchmark that many consider is the de facto metric of overall CPU performance, SPEC CPU2006.

Thanks to Core i7's HyperThreading feature, that means a minimum of 8GB of extremely pricey high performance DDR3 memory is inside too.

However, due to the novel triple-channel layout, the system actually packs 2GB plus 1GB per channel for a grand total of 9GB.

So the CPU and memory alone have a face value cost of nearly £2,000.


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Over the months there has been a lot of inaccurate information circulating in regards to how exactly the PlayStation 3's Service Mode works, and as promised in our previous Dev updates here are some of the facts to help separate the rumors and speculation.

It is a fairly simple process as follows.. For starters, the PS3 is powered off, and a special USB dongle, known as the Jig, is connected. The PS3 is then turned on, and then off, once it has detected the Jig.

After this occurs, the PS3 is then turned back on, into "Service" Mode. From here, the PS3 is re-flashed using a Firmware Update on a USB stick, specifically designed to only install from the Service Mode. Once the PS3 is re-flashed with the software, it is then used in conjunction with a PC running customized software, specifically the DEX.exe and CEX.exe's.

There are a multitude of special PS3 firmwares, basically three major ones. The first is a Core System, followed by the Service Sys... More »  


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Whether victims of excessive hype or consumer stinginess, these would-be sizzlers are likely to fizzle this holiday season.

T-Mobile G1 - Price: $179 (with two-year contract)

Google's hotly anticipated push into operating systems for mobile phones was a media sensation, but HTC's version of its Android-powered device is falling short of the hype. Critics say the "Google phone," which went on sale Oct. 22, is a little clunky with design flaws like no earphone jack and an oddly jutting chin. Close, but no iPhone killer.

Zune video MP3 player - Price: $230

Microsoft's latest answer to the iPod, with 120 gigabytes of storage and a 3.2-inch high-resolution color screen, is a vast improvement over the original Zune, which debuted in 2006. But the new Zune faces the same problem as the iPod: Smartphones and other Web-enabled devices chock full of features (think iPhone) threaten to render these one-trick players obsolete.
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Per Grace Chen (Senior Manager, PLAYSTATION Store) today:

Hey, everyone. It’s time again for the PLAYSTATION Store weekly update. Enjoy!

Qore

Qore Episode 5 ($2.99 for episode / $24.99 for Annual Subscription)
Episode 5 celebrates Halloween with a scary game roundup. It also includes exclusive access to SEGA’s Valkyria Chronicles demo, some spooky/creepy artwork and new shooting galleries.
File Size: 1.68 GB

Games

Linger in Shadows ($2.99)
Linger in Shadows is a unique interactive digital art experience that uses the SIXAXIS controller to manipulate the very fabric of time and reality. Groundbreaking graphics and interactivity raise the bar for what is possible on PlayStation 3. Download Linger in Shadows and experience a truly unique journey that will change the way you think about games and art.
File Size: 100 MB

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords ($14.9... More »  


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