Sydney, Australia – 5^th November 2008 – FIFA, EA SPORTS™ and PlayStation are inviting Australia’s best virtual football players to take part in the FIFA Interactive World Cup 2009, the world’s largest football gaming tournament. 

Taking place at the eGames expo in Melbourne, the FIWC 09 Live Qualifier Event will see gamers from across the nation battle it out to win an all expenses paid trip to the FIWC 09 Grand Final, and the chance to compete against the world’s top virtual players with the hope of being crowned FIFA Interactive World Player of the Year.  

Mini-Tournaments will be played from 1pm on Friday 14^th November and from 10am on Saturday 15^th November with winners of these events having the chance to score a PlayStation®Portable, EA SPORTS game packs and great adidas merchandise.  The official FIWC 09 Australian Live Qualifier Event will take place from 12pm sharp on Sunday 16^th November with a special guest appearance by singer Brian McFadden to present the National Final.  

Catch some professional players, and you might even get the chance to play against them in one of the special tournaments. 

Competitors wishing to take part in the Live Qualifier can register online at www.au.playstation.com/FIWC or at the dedicated FIFA FIWC 09 Area at the eGames event. Those not playing in the competition can test the strength of their left foot in the interactive Speed Ball area, sit back relax and play the new sports titles from EA Games on the PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation Portable or show everyone their ball skills in the Freestyle Football display. 

This year’s global winner will be rewarded with an exclusive invite to the FIFA World Player Gala, USD $20,000 in cash and a brand new KIA ‘Soul’, with 2^nd and 3^rd place gamers winning USD $5,000 and $1,000 respectively. 

The new EA SPORTS FIFA 09 game is out now on all three PlayStation formats and to find out more about the FIFA Interactive World Cup Australian Live Qualifier Event please visit www.FIFA.com/FIWC.  

One of Australia’s longest established IT and software supply companies, Manaccom, is pleased to announce the launch of its latest educational product – Hop! Writing – designed to help aspiring authors through all aspects of the creative writing process.

• Random Ideas Database
• a Writing Advisor
• Character, Places and Objects cards
• Vocabulary and Grammar file cards
• Story timeline feature
• Narrative Project and Strategy Cards to determine the focus of the project
• Manuscript to draft story while following the storyline
• Work schedule with structured tasks and verification grids to ensure all aspects of the literary process have been completed
• Page Setup that can add images and prepare the printing of the book

Hop! Writing covers the essential steps of writing compelling fiction and has a large range of fun features to keep emerging writers focused and motivated throughout.

Manaccom Deputy Director, Ian Mackay, said, “Hop! Writing can help budding writers to get those creative juices flowing, beating the dreaded writer’s block to unleash the bestseller within”.

“Hop! Writing contains a lot of unique fun features to help authors through all stages of the writing process, right through to print stage,” Mr. Mackay said. 

Hop! Writing is available through all major computer software retailers throughout Australia and New Zealand; and comes with Australian-based technical support. RRP is $29.95.

Before James Bond: Quantum of Solace The Game  hits retailers nationwide on November 19^th, see what it takes to turn this highly successful movie franchise into a video game with the behind the scenes documentaries about: 

• Judi Dench (‘M’) (56.2MB) watch here
• Becoming Bond (107MB)
• Olga Kurylenko (Camille) (46.4MB)

There is also a new cover combat trailer which you can view here or alternatively it is available in both Windows Media and Quick Time formats.

Monday 3rd November 2008 – SEGA Europe Ltd. today released the second trailer for The House of the Dead: OVERKILL, showing scenes of degradation from the second level of the game. Set in Bayou County general hospital, overrun by mutants, Special Agent G and Detective Washington are hot on the trail of Papa Caesar, racing to uncover the perverse secrets of his disgusting experiments.  Developed by London based studio Headstrong Games, The House of the Dead: OVERKILL will supply you with the only cure for the disease these mutants carry …. bullets.

The House of the Dead: OVERKILL uncovers the ugly, terrifying, red hot secrets behind the House of the Dead; the daddy of all over-the-top shooters.  While staying true to the classic gameplay this hugely successful SEGA series is getting a new retro look, with distinctive graphics, sound and attitude.  Plus, thanks to the Wii Remote™, players will fight off zombies when they get too close; pistol-whipping jaws off and smashing in skulls with their shotgun butt.

Sydney, Australia – November 3, 2008 – Criterion Games, an Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) studio announced Burnout™ Paradise The Ultimate Box – a special edition release that includes the award-winning Burnout™ Paradise game plus the previously-released Burnout™ Paradise Cagney and Burnout™ Paradise Bikes content updates, and the brand new Burnout™ Paradise Party content. Burnout Paradise Party is an offline multiplayer mode designed to allow up to eight friends to “pass-the-pad” in dozens of Burnout challenges. For players that already own Burnout Paradise, Burnout Paradise Party will be sold separately as downloadable content.

Burnout Paradise Party brings the social fun of Burnout Paradise into an offline environment where friends can pass the pad to play competitively. There are dozens of quick-fire, turn-based challenges where players compete in different stunt, speed and skill events. In addition to Burnout Paradise Party, Burnout Paradise The Ultimate Box will include a host of new features including a restart option added for racing, easier control of the early vehicles, and for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system the new Burnout™ Paradise Network. Burnout Paradise Network is another Burnout Paradise social innovation that enables players to keep track of friends and keep up with all the latest Burnout news from either inside or outside the game. 

“Whether you’re an experienced player or a gaming novice, Burnout Paradise is a game that anyone can enjoy,” says Pete Lake, Senior Producer at Criterion Games. “With The Ultimate Box, we aimed to deliver the most fun, high quality and high value experience possible to players both online and in the living room.” 

Developed at Criterion Games in Guildford, England, Burnout Paradise The Ultimate Box will be available in January 2009 on the PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and marks the debut of the game on PC. For more information about the game, please go to http://www.criteriongames.com or http://info.ea.com.

Star Trek Online

Star Trek is one of those world wide phenomenon that has had a full sweep of the entertainment industry. From books, technical manuals and biographies and toys, to games and full blown amusement attractions and conventions. What started it all was the original TV show, which spawned movies and other Star Trek TV shows. Star Trek is seen in over 100 countries and translated into dozens of languages. There are over 63 million Star Trek books in print, and translated into over 15 languages, including Norwegian, Hungarian, Hebrew and Chinese.

Back in 1993 a study from Purdue University found that children learn more about science fiction from Star Trek than anything else outside the home. Star Trek in computer or console game form got it’s start in 1971 with a text only based game that was written in basic. Star Trek has seen it’s share of success and not so much so, on PC and the different console platforms. The world of Star Trek is huge in scope and ripe with adventures, stories, and exploration. Players will be having the chance to become a part of the phenomenon that is Star Trek, with Star Trek Online. Star Trek Online as the name implies is a unique multiplayer experience from Cryptic Studios.

We of course can fill a book with what we want to know about this exciting prospect. Since we don’t have that much time, we narrowed it down to a few questions. Compiled by myself (Edwin Millheim), Shael and Donna Millheim.

Mr. Craig Zinkievich, Executive Producer, Star Trek Online, From Cryptic Studios takes the time to answer these burning questions.

Impulse Gamer: Moving on to Star Trek Online, That is a huge license. Did the team get to speak to any of the actors? What kind of research was involved to bring the Star Trek franchise to the online universe?

Craig Zinkievich: Leonard Nimoy helped us announce Star Trek Online at the Star Trek convention in Las Vegas this past August. You can see a recording of his appearance and an interview with him at our web site, www.startrekonline.com.

Meeting him was awesome. I got to speak with him about Trek and what he thought was important about the franchise. It was a really cool conversation, and it added greatly to our understanding of the Trek Universe.

As far as research goes, our team at Cryptic is filled with Star Trek fans. We’re continually watching and re-watching all of the shows and movies and looking for information about characters, storylines and locations. We’re also looking at soft canon sources like the novels and comics for inspiration. We want to make this game a true Star Trek experience.

Impulse Gamer I have to ask the obvious question right off. There will be more to the game than ship-to-ship combat only, won’t there?

Craig Zinkievich: More than just ship-to-ship combat? Of course! In fact, you get drastically different combat depending on whether you’re in your ship or on an away team.

If there is combat on an away team mission, it will be fast-paced, “run and gun” fighting that can involve ranged weapons like phasers, hand-to-hand weapons or martial arts. Ship combat is paced and more strategic.

The ship-to-ship combat in Star Trek has always been about positioning, transferring power to boost weapons or shields, analyzing your opponent’s weaknesses and having your crew come up with a plan to defeat an enemy. Our game incorporates that.

But combat is just a portion of the gameplay in Star Trek Online – you’ll explore new worlds, build space stations, create technology, scan nebulas and do many of the things you’ve seen in the series.

Impulse Gamer: We have already seen information about some of the planets, and that there will be different types. Will there be planets where a space suit has to be worn? Such as atmospheres that have poisonous gasses?

Craig Zinkievich: Challenging the elements is an important part of the Trek Universe. There will be times when you have to deal with hazardous environments as part of your missions.

Impulse Gamer : We know there will be adventures and missions on planets, will there only be beam downs? Or will shuttlecraft and other atmospheric vehicles be implemented?

Craig Zinkievich: Most of the time, you and your away team will use the transporters to get to locations outside of your ship. There are some locations that may only be accessible via a shuttle or other atmospheric vehicle, but we plan to have the operations of those crafts be automated.

Impulse Gamer : During space flight and galaxy travel in real life, there are hazards such as asteroids, meteors, black holes, hot gasses, a planets atmosphere and even a space body’s gravity. Flying too close to a sun… Will these or other space travel dangers be implemented?

Craig Zinkievich ; There will be all of the hazards you mentioned and more. We are developing STO to reflect the series, so exploration is a major element of the gameplay. In a game where players are going to spend a lot of their time exploring the galaxy, we need to have some cool (and sometimes dangerous) things for them to discover!

Impulse Gamer : Will there be EVA missions on or around a ship if there are repairs to be made and no space stations nearby?

Craig Zinkievich : We may have some episodes of content that involve the use of environmental suits, but don’t expect to have to crawl around on the outside of your ship every time you need to make a repair. You have crew to do that!

Impulse Gamer : Will hailing other ships and ship to ship, ship to planet communications be implemented?

Craig Zinkievich : Absolutely. Communication is an inherent part of MMOs as well as Star Trek. When players are in sector space, they will be able to hail and communicate with other ships. As they move throughout the galaxy, they will receive hails from ships, planets and space stations that will draw them into the story of Star Trek Online. Answering a distress signal or a transmission from a planet can lead to an adventure.

Impulse Gamer : Other than Phasers and Photons, will we see ship towing? I.E. the ol tractor beam?

Craig Zinkievich : All ships are equipped with a standard tractor beam that can be used to do things like rescue an escape pod or grab an asteroid for study. If you choose to equip your ship with a more advanced tractor beam, you will gain increased combat abilities and effects.

Impulse Gamer : Star Trek has over the years in its many TV shows and movies had different types of missions, from rescue, to diplomatic and even military blockade missions, just to name just a couple. What can you tell us about some of the missions and adventures players have to look forward to?

Craig Zinkievich : We’ve analyzed the all of the series and movies and found a multi-act structure that is played out in almost every episode. We’re using that structure to create content for STO.

The story of Star Trek Online will be told in a series of linked missions where there is a mixture of action, exploration, diplomacy and visiting a variety of locals to complete a single “episode.” Some of these episodes will connect to one another to tell a larger story, like the multi-episode arcs in Deep Space Nine.

Each episode in STO has its own plot and events, but all follow the same basic framework as an episode from any of the series.

Impulse Gamer : There have been quotes somewhere that not only will players be able to customize their characters, but may be able to create new alien races. Won’t this be a bit on the chaotic side in regards to the Star Trek Universe? How is this going to be implemented and balanced?

Craig Zinkievich : Cryptic is well-known for the unparalleled level of character customization we build into our games. It was a major feature of City of Heroes, and we’re pushing it even farther in our upcoming game Champions Online.

Star Trek Online will continue this tradition with our alien creator.
There are a lot of episodes in the series that add a new race to the Star Trek Universe, and we want the players to have the freedom to add new races to STO. Players will be able to create the appearance of their new race, name it and give it racial abilities from a pool of different bonuses.

Players can use the alien creator to build their favorite race from the series, a hybrid of their favorite aliens, or even a race that has appeared only in the soft canon. Best of all, they can use their imaginations to add something unique to the STO universe.

Impulse Gamer : Will we get to see some of the characters and places from the TV shows and films? Tell us some of the places and characters we may get to interact with.

Craig Zinkievich : Star Trek Online is set in 2409, about 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis. So many of the “name” characters have retired or moved on. You may see descendants of some of the major characters, and we are incorporating as much as we can from the Star Trek lore. Expect to see all of your favorite races like the Vulcans, Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, Bajorans, Ferengi, Gorn, Orions, Nausicaans and more. As far as places in the Trek universe, we plan on using many of them. You will visit some of these locales during episodes, and others will be social spaces. Major locations such as Vulcan will be focal points for the STO storyline.

We thank you for your time, Myself, Donna and Shael Millheim and all the folks at Impulse Gamer in our main office in Australia and here in the United States look forward to Star Trek Online. That is it Impulse Gamers! An Awesome game from an equally awesome game company. Cryptic Studios has it all well in hand. Star Trek Online http://www.startrekonline.com/, check it out, there is something there for just about everyone!

Edwin, Donna and Shael Millheim
Have fun, play games.

Sydney, Australia – October 30, 2008 – EA and Nissan shift into high-gear this holiday! The Need for Speed series continues the tradition of featuring the most desirable cars as Black Box, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) and Nissan today revealed the highly-anticipated all-new 2009 Nissan 370Z. This marks the first time an auto manufacturer has partnered with a videogame company for the world premiere reveal of a car. The Nissan ZÒ will be available exclusively in this holiday’s hottest action driving title, Need for Speed™ Undercover, available in Australia on November 20.  

“For the past 15 years, Need for Speed has helped define contemporary automotive culture by bridging the gap between gamers and the world’s hottest cars.  As such, we are very excited to partner with one of the automotive powerhouses today to exclusively reveal the all-new Nissan ZÒ,” said Keith Munro, Vice President of Marketing at Electronic Arts. “Need for Speed is about style, fast-paced action and power; this is definitely a car made for Need for Speed fans. Come November, they’ll be able to test drive the all-new 370Z in the game before the car is released on the market.”

“Our relationship with EA has been instrumental in bringing the Nissan brand to a passionate and unique audience,” says Christian Meunier, Vice President, Nissan Marketing. “By launching the all-new 2009 Nissan ZÒ first through Need for Speed Undercover, we also gain the spirit and energy that EA gamers experience so strongly.  Together with EA, we have truly integrated the all-new 370Z in the overall game experience in a meaningful, multi-layered and profound way.”  

With the signature boomerang headlights and taillights to the enhanced powertrain, Need for Speed Undercover designers worked closely with Nissan to accurately replicate the overall look, feel and performance of the all-new Nissan ZÒ. From the game’s opening moment, players will be thrust right into the action with gamers whipping the 370Z in-and-out of traffic at high speed.

The all-new 2009 Nissan 370Z is a super evolution of the iconic Nissan ZÒ, building on the strengths of its predecessor, finding the sports car “sweet spot” in performance, style, and value. The 2009 Nissan Z marks the first full redesign of the Nissan ZÒ since its reintroduction as a 2003 model.    

The all-new 2009 Nissan 370Z Coupe will be unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 19, hitting dealerships in early 2009.  

Need for Speed Undercover takes players back to the franchise’s roots and re-introduces break-neck cop chases and spectacular highway battles. Players discover a world of high-stakes and high-speed action in some of the world’s hottest cars. The all-new Heroic Driving Engine propels the action forward as players experience the dramatic story through spectacular Hollywood-style live-action in-game movies.

Need for Speed Undercover is being developed by Black Box in Vancouver, B.C.  The game will be available for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and Wii™ as well as the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo DS™, PSP® (PlayStation® Portable) handheld entertainment system, PC and mobile.  More information can be found at www.needforspeed.com. Press can download assets at http://info.ea.com.

SYDNEY 30 OCTOBER 2008 – Xbox Australia, Network Ten and FremantleMedia Australia today announced an agreement which will see one of the world’s leading entertainment brands, Xbox 360, partner with Australia’s premier reality entertainment show, Australian Idol.

The partnership coincides with the launch of the new Xbox 360 title Lips, a brand new singing title launching on the console late November. An Xbox 360 exclusive singing game, it measures both your performance and vocal ability, with wireless motion-sensitive microphones so you can jump around the room as you belt out your favourite songs.

The activity is set to commence on Sunday November 2nd. The television commercials appearing during advertising breaks will offer one lucky Australian the chance to perform a duet with one of the Australian Idol contestants.

“This is a very exciting partnership for Xbox 360”, said David McLean, Entertainment Division Regional Director, Microsoft. “Australian Idol is a program which gives ordinary people the chance to step-up, show off their talent and become a star. Now, with the new Xbox 360 title Lips, every Australian has the chance to unleash their inner Idol and maybe win a chance to perform alongside one of their heroes off screen”.

With Lips, you have the ability to sing an amazing amount of songs. Featuring an extensive collection of hits available on the game disc, the interactive game can be complimented with favourites from your own collection of songs. Simply connect your music player to your Xbox 360 and sing your heart out in ‘Freestyle’ mode.

The Australian Idol partnership continues Xbox 360’s broader music strategy, linking in with the Xbox Sounds series of music events which kicked off in October, and the launch of Lips scheduled for late November.

SYDNEY – October 30, 2008 Just in time for the arrival of the New Xbox Experience this Nov. 19, every Xbox 360 owner will now have the option to upgrade with the new Xbox 360 60GB LIVE Starter Pack ($149.95 RRP*).

Available this November, the Xbox 360 60GB Starter Pack will come with everything needed to join the fun on Xbox LIVE, including a 60GB detachable hard drive for storing music, XBLA Arcade games and additional game content. Additionally, it will come with an Xbox 360 Headset, an Ethernet cable and a three-month Gold subscription to Xbox LIVE.

This is the perfect upgrade path for those looking to enjoy all that the New Xbox Experience has to offer including installing games onto your hard drive, Xbox LIVE Parties and much more. There has never been a better time to become a part of the 14-million-member Xbox LIVE community. Additional information can be found by visiting www.xbox.com/press.

Images of the Xbox 360 60GB LIVE Starter Pack can be found here: https://www.microsoftprosource.com/product.asp?task=31&id=170970

Sydney, Australia – October 30, 2008 – The Raconteurs and Jimi Hendrix will both take to the virtual stage this November as downloadable content in Activision Publishing, Inc.’s (Nasdaq: ATVI) Guitar Hero® World Tour, the company announced today.

Already confirmed to take centre stage as a playable character, Jimi Hendrix, one of the most creative and influential musicians of the 20th century, will return with three additional downloadable master tracks.  The blues track “If 6 was 9,” rhythm and blues classic “Little Wing,” and a live version of the iconic Hendrix track “Fire” will all be available as downloadable content for Guitar Hero World Tour on November 13th, 2008.

Making their debut appearance in a videogame, charismatic rockers, The Raconteurs are set to leave their mark with three tracks off their second album Consolers of the Lonely.   The trio of “Salute Your Solution,” “Hold Up” and “Consoler of the Lonely” will debut as part of a three song set list on November 20th, 2008 that will allow virtual rockers the chance to experience the killer sounds of The Raconteurs like never before. 

The Raconteurs Track Pack and Jimi Hendrix Track Pack will be available on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft for 440 Microsoft Points and on the PLAYSTATION®Store for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system for $9.95.  In addition, the three tracks from The Raconteurs Track Pack will be released as single downloadable songs for Xbox 360 for 160 Microsoft Points, PLAYSTATION 3 system for $3.45 and Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection for Wii™ for 200 Wii Points.

When the house lights go down, a new generation of guitarists, drummers and fearless frontmen will come together and rock with Guitar Hero World Tour.  The latest instalment in the #1 best-selling video game franchise of 2007, Guitar Hero World Tour transforms music gaming by expanding Guitar Hero’s signature guitar gameplay into a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced wireless controllers with new revolutionary online* and offline gameplay modes including Band Career and 8-player “Battle of the Bands,” which allows two full bands to compete head-to-head online.  The game features a slick newly redesigned guitar controller, drum kit controller and a microphone, as well as an innovative Music Studio music creator that lets players compose, record, edit and share their own rock ‘n’ roll anthems.  Music creators are also able to share their recordings with their friends online through GHTunesSM where other gamers can download and play an endless supply of unique creations.

Guitar Hero World Tour will be available from November 12th for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, the Wii™ home video game system from Nintendo and the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system.  The game is rated PG (Mild themes and Violence, Sexual references and mild coarse language) by the Classification Board.  For more information on Guitar Hero World Tour, please visit worldtour.guitarhero.com.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.  

Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan and South Korea.  More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.