Chronicles, Planar Attunement, a new warfront, veteran awards, and more await players in the latest game update

Learn what it truly means to be an Ascended next week when Trion Worlds releases Rift™: Ashes of History, the fifth major content update to the popular MMORPG. In the six months that game servers have been live, Guardian and Defiant heroes have travelled to every corner of Telara, vanquishing planar invaders, fighting for their faction in Warfronts, and exploring the world’s many dungeons.

Now the time has come for players to begin a fresh chapter in their Rift journey as new, sinister threats begin to emerge. Ashes of History kicks off the game’s next evolution with a host of new features and additional content, including post level-50 advancement, duo dungeons, a new Warfront, and much more.

Features in the update include:

• Planar Attunement – Advance beyond level 50 with Planar Attunement. Every quest completed and planespawn slain brings you closer to your next planar upgrade.
• Chronicles – Teams of two players (or one, if you’ve got the gear) can take on Rift Chronicles, exploring breathtaking dungeons — including Greenscale’s Blight, Hammerknell, and the Chronicles of Attunement—in fun, story-driven adventures!
• New Warfront: Library of the Runemasters – PvP combat erupts in Hammerknell’s Library of the Runemasters. Race the enemy faction to control Dwarven secrets, and rise through the ranks in this pulse-pounding new Warfront.
• Master Dungeon – Darkening Deeps now sports a Master Dungeon mode. Rebalanced for elite groups of Ascended, the Master Dungeon holds epic challenges and epic rewards.
• Veteran Rewards – Subscribers earn rewards the longer they play Rift, including special gear, a personal vendor, and a portable mailbox.
• AddOns Beta – Customize your play with new AddOns Beta, fan-created mods for your Rift user interface.

***New Ashes of History screens available here: http://trion.gamespress.com/default.asp?p=1&i=899

For more information on Rift: Ashes of History, visit: http://www.riftgame.com/en/game/updates/ashes-of-history.php
For more information on the new Veterans Rewards, visit: www.riftgame.com/en/game/veteran-rewards.php

SYDNEY & AUCKLAND – September 22, 2011 – Scammers and hackers are increasingly targeting children with a series of online games that trick them into installing malicious software onto computers.

Games that invite kids to nurture online kittens, allow them to paint pumpkins and witches, or ‘spot the differences’ between two similar images, are being laced with malware that could give scammers access to the kids’ parents financial data or recruit the kids’ computers into international networks, or botnets, aimed at further criminal activity.

“Some scams might raise suspicions of adults – particularly when they seek to install software on the computer or redirect computer users to suspicious web sites,” said Catalin Cosoi, head of online threats lab at Bitdefender. “So the scammers are going for easier targets. Kids are more easily tempted into clicking on that big green download button or flashing icon in hopes of having more fun. A four-year-old, obviously, isn’t worried about online banking vulnerabilities.”

The problem is only set to grow as children spend more time on the internet and parents often neglect to supervise their online activity. A Bitdefender online survey shows that about 46.6 per cent of children in the US and the UK have their own social network accounts and that 24.7 per cent of parents don’t monitor their kids’ online activity. Of the 1,649 adults surveyed between April 12 and July 10, 44.3 per cent said their children had accessed sites that they shouldn’t have.

Bitdefender analysts in the past week have discovered more than half a dozen samples of eye-catching Flash games rigged with Trojans that could steer kids to web pages that install malicious software potentially capable of stealing financial information or injecting spyware onto the machines.

Games are not the only online threats for children. Sites with educational and entertaining materials for children have been used to lure young computer users.

A few malware discoveries by Bitdefender include a site where children ‘adopt’ and grow virtual pets. The ‘magic brush’ application that changed the colour of the pet was altered to route children toward malware. An Italian ‘online kids land’ was also hacked and rigged to expose all visitors to malware and retail sites with stuffed animals have been rigged with malicious software. 

In all cases, the malicious code was planted in a hacking attack on legitimate, high-traffic websites. But games are not the only online threats for children. Sites with educational and entertaining materials for children have been used to lure young computer users.

Consider the following steps to protect children:

• Never let them use the computer while logged in as an administrator. Instead, create a limited account with the child’s name. This will prevent them from installing applications, modifying critical system settings or deleting system files that might damage the operating system.
• Use an antivirus: some pieces of malware have been designed to run even on limited accounts. In this case, a good antivirus may be the last line of defence.
• Use parental control: not all hacks against children’s sites lead to malware. Sometimes, cyber-scammers redirect kids to pornography or violent content. 

All product and company names mentioned herein are for identification purposes only and are the property of, and may be trademarks of, their respective owners.

Get Medieval with The Sims! 

Fans of The Sims franchise can now bring their medieval fantasy to life with The Sims™ Medieval for the iPhone and iPod touch.   Bringing The Sims to the Middle Ages while on the go, all new features, themed graphics and new ways to play make this the most exciting Sims installment on iOS yet!  For the first time, players can create heroes, venture on quests and engage in combat. In an ancient land filled with stories, adventure, drama and romance, players will be able to get medieval like never before!

KEY FEATURES

• DRAMATIC MEDIEVAL SETTING- Join parties across a richly detailed medieval realm as The Sims goes “olde” school
• QUEST YOUR WAY TO DESTINY- Determine your Sim’s destiny by satisfying its needs; propel your Sim onward to become anything from a wizard or even a queen
• BUILD YOUR GUILD- Customize the Sims in your guild to help you in quests and fights
• EXCITING SIMS COMBAT- For the first time ever your Sim can earn and collect weapons!  Fight your enemies with a rapier or Thor’s Hammer.  En guard!
• TEST YOUR SKILLS- Play mini games like fishing, casting spells and agriculture; befriend Sims at the local tavern or even in the village green to unlock new quests and interactions
• ALL NEW AVATARS- Delve into a magic, story- driven world and play as a dungeon master, serf, jester, or even a vampire!
• MEDIEVAL HOME CUSTOMISATIONS- Your Sim’s home really can be his castle in The Sims Medieval!  Build your kingdom and adorn your living quarters with lush items like the four-poster bed.
• RETINA DISPLAY- View all the feuding, feasting and frivolity with the visual glory of retina display for iPhone  

More information about The Sims™ Medieval for iPod Touch and iPhone can be found at www.eamobile.com. Press assets can be found on http://info.ea.com.

New Screenshots of Cities XL 2012 Unveiled!

Cities XL 2012 today unveiled 4 new screenshots! This is the opportunity to discover a bit more about the new version of the famous City Builder and its novelties! Focusing on added content, with nearly 300 new buildings, Cities XL 2012 provides a staggering choice of thousands of different structures that you will be able to place freely on more than 60 enormous maps, in order to create the cities of your dreams in every detail.

On today’s 4 released screenshots, you will be able to discover some of these new structures, but also one of the many brand new maps of the game, Lake Powell. You will have to tame its particularly rugged lands and its big, flooded canyons! This will prove to be a new challenge for all virtual city planners who will try to make a metropolis thrive on such a distinctive landscape.

– Visit the official website of Cities XL

About Cities XL 2012
Cities XL 2012 is the newest version of the popular PC city-building simulation, which allows you to build, develop and then connect huge cities.

Cities XL 2012 allows players to become real urban planners, balancing economic & energy developments of their cities while managing transportation, housing, social services and recreational activities. Content is key to the new game, as Cities XL 2012 offers a staggering number of unique structures with over 1,000 in total.

The 60 huge 3D maps are entirely constructible and sport incredible detail. Cities XL 2012 offers more variety than any other city building-game and, at the request of its fast-growing community, Cities XL 2012 is now open to modding and even features a special guide within the game to get players started. With these new tools, dedicated players can build and share their creations to their hearts’ content!

Australia and New Zealand, 21 September, 2011 –

FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft will be available on February 3, 2012 in Europe and PAL territories.

Square Enix® also confirms Downloadable Content (DLC) will be available for FINAL FANTASY XIII-2. More details about what the DLC entails will be unveiled at a later time.

Finally, Square Enix is proud to announce ‘Charice’ of Warner Bros. Records Inc., will be singing the theme song, “New World” in FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 for Europe and PAL territories.

Check out this amusing series about Joe vs Zack… this is what happens to hardcore gamers when casual gaming gets in the way!

Check out the other episodes in the series of Joe vs Zack!

2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ht7pO2sX1U

3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at6i2iUwq6I

4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktS6ORqOur0

5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQhFN6o7YmI

The Tree is the entire world. And that world is dying …

After Samiha is thrown from the docks in Argos city, Tymon is condemned to a life of slavery in a Tree-mine. During his ordeals, he glimpses a vision of his love and becomes obsessed by the thought that she is still alive. When disaster strikes the mine, he is left wandering the tunnels at the heart of the Tree, clinging to the hope that he might find her once again.

Meanwhile, the Saint’s crusade is tearing the Four Canopies apart, and Lace and his Masters pursue their own deadly plans. Even as Tymon travels deep into the Tree, the Envoy’s acolytes are sent out on a mission to Lacuna, the legendary World Below …
About the author

Mary Victoria lives in New Zealand, with her husband and two-year-old daughter. She was brought up in Europe and America and worked as an animator, coming to NZ to work as a senior member of the team which created Gollum for the Lord of the Rings Films. Mary is the author of Tymon’s Flight and Samiha’s Song, the first two books in the Chronicles of the Tree trilogy. Tymon’s Flight has been shortlisted for the David Gemmell Morningstar Award and the Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best New Talent, Best Novel.

Resident Evil 4 is available for download today in Europe on Xbox LIVE Games on Demand and tomorrow for PlayStation Network. This release marks the first time that the beloved game will be available in HD and features upgraded visuals and support for Trophies and Achievements.

One of the most critically acclaimed games of all time, Resident Evil 4 catapulted the series in a new direction, with a strong focus on all-out action as Leon S. Kennedy battled hordes of cultists, mutants and mind-controlled villagers. Now available for the first time on Xbox 360 and PS3, the release also contains all the bonus content available in previous versions of the game, including the Separate Ways epilogue.*

Resident Evil CODE: Veronica X will be available on Xbox LIVE Games on Demand on 27th September and PSN on 28th September across Europe.