Level-5’s Role-Playing-Game Masterpiece Combines Great Storytelling and Gameplay with the Artistry of Studio Ghibli and Musical talents of Joe Hisaishi to Create an Unparalleled Gaming Experience

SYDNEY – Jan 31^st 2013 – Leading video games publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe S.A.S. today announced that Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch™ has shipped to retailers in Europe and Australasia, exclusively for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. This epic tale of a boy name Oliver crossing two realities on a quest to save his mother combines the talents of three of Japan’s most respected entertainment entities, LEVEL-5, Studio Ghibli, and Joe Hisaishi, to create what will be one of 2013’s most enchanting and unique video gaming experiences.

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is developed by LEVEL-5, the studio behind the smash hits Dragon Quest VIII, Dragon Quest IX, and the Professor Layton series. LEVEL-5 collaborated with the legendary Studio Ghibli to create the cut-scenes in Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. Studio Ghibli is world renowned for creating memorable anime masterpieces including My Neighbor Totoro, Castle in the Sky and Spirited Away.  The in-game music was composed by Joe Hisaishi the famed composer of musical scores for over 100 films including many of Studio Ghibli’s greatest productions and was performed by the Japanese Philharmonic Orchestra.

To celebrate the launch of Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch players connecting to the PlayStation®Network will receive for free two exclusive familiars developed especially for the Western release: Draggle and Golden Hurly.

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is available now; exclusively for the PlayStation®3system with both English and Japanese voiceovers included and also French, Italian, German and Spanish texts at retailers and on the PlayStation®Store

The original soundtrack of the game composed by Joe Hisaishi can be purchased worldwide exclusively at Wayô Records shop.wayorecords.net. It includes all 33 tracks from the game on 2 discs plus a bonus collector’s item: 20-page booklet featuring artworks, lyrics and background information.

For more information about Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, please visit: http://www.namcobandaigames.eu , https://www.facebook.com/ninokunigame and http://www.ninokunigame.com.

Florida, United States – January 30 2013 – Ubisoft had for the past two months decided to pick it up a bit with the DLC releases for its real guitar game Rocksmith. Like most games out there the DLC has been at time rocking and inspiring, and other times mediocre in its offerings. If nothing else it has been diverse. Giving budding players and already quasi established guitarists a chance to try out different styles of songs and introducing us all to bands we may not have listened to originally.

We can only hope for more inspired DLC packs with the five plus one song releases. A five pack and then a single that you can purchase that is not part of the original pack. We have seen some three song pack releases focusing on certain bands as well.

With Bandfuse, another plug in guitars, bass and even mic game coming sometime this year (2013), the excellent Rocksmith game is set to have some competition it seems. One can only look longingly for some of our favorites and hope for the best.

We would still love to see some of the bands and artists that inspired whole generations of new musical talent, such as Daryl Hall (His last released Album Laughing Down Crying would be an incredible fit, or even some of the songs from both Daryl Hall & John Oates.

Others we would hope to see would be bands such as Styx, Keel,  Kiss, Faith No More, The Beatles, to name a few. We expect many and others that deserve a pack of their own may never see the bliss that is Rocksmith as fans listen and play their songs. This could be a simple case of getting the permissions and license to put them in the game. Little did Apple for instance realize that in making such an exclusive license for The Beatles in one of those FAKE guitar button mashing games, that they would be pretty much robbing the music loving world of the pleasure of learning to play those songs with a REAL guitar.

Though I digress, The last several releases for Rocksmith have been a slope of ups and downs and WTF? Moments, we hope things keep up the pace with Rocksmith for a couple more years to come…there are way too many songs not offered to let things die out.

If you have not checked out the latest DLC we have the last several listed here, what are you waiting for? Snap some or all of these up and continue what I like to call musical meditation. It’s Rocksmith.

The latest is at the top of the list:

Born To Be Wild: Steppenwolf

American Women: The Guess Who

Surrender: Cheap Trick

Juicebox: The Strokes

Last Nite: the Strokes

Reptilla: The Strokes

No rain: Blind Melon

Cliffs of Dover: Eric Johnson

Alive: Pearl Jam

Oye Como Va: Santana

Black Magic Women: Santana

Smooth Featuring Rob Thomas: Santana

Walk: Foo Fighters

Times Like These: Foo Fighters

Wheels: Foo Fighters

How You Remind Me: Nickelback

Bottoms Up: Nickelback

Rockstar: Nickelback

Domination: Pantera

Walk: Pantera

Cowboys From Hell: Pantera

Give Up The Funk (Tear the roof off this sucker): Parliament

Superfreak: Rick James

Good Times: Chic

Red Barchetta: Rush

Tom Sawyer: Rush

Limelight: Rush

Subdivisions: Rush

YYZ : Rush

Beast and the Harlot: Avenged Sevenfold

Afterlife: Avenged Sevenfold

Nightmare: Avenged Sevenfold

Well fellow Impulse Gamers, check it all out and raise your Goblet Of Rock..

Play games, but play REAL Guitars.

Edwin Millheim

Impulse Gamer

30th January 2013

New Super Mario Bros. 2 is bursting at the seams with an endless flow of gold coins to collect and players around the world have combined to surpass a global total of five hundred billion coins!

To celebrate this impressive global milestone, Nintendo Australia are rewarding each player to have collected one million coins in New Super Mario Bros. 2 with an exclusive, limited edition New Super Mario Bros. 2 certificate!

For “millionaires” to prove this accomplishment, they must simply submit a photo of themselves and their Nintendo 3DS screen showing their 1 million coin tally to receive an official certificate from Nintendo!

Visit the official gamesite to submit your photo and view the global coin tally.

Players looking to collect even more coins should hop online and download the Gold Classics Pack for Coin Rush Mode, which features courses based on classic Mario games including the original Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3.
The course pack is still free to download until 31st January, when it will be made available for purchase from February 1st.

In addition to these, the final two Coin Rush course packs for New Super Mario Bros. 2 are also available to download.
The Mystery Adventure Pack offers labyrinthine courses full of different paths, while the Impossible Pack offers some of the toughest challenges that Mario fans will have ever faced.
Both Course Packs are available to purchase in addition to the eight packs previously released for purchase from the in-game Shop menu in New Super Mario Bros. 2, only on Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL.

For further details:

Official Website: http://gamesites.nintendo.com.au/millionaire-coin-hunt/

Nintendo Australia on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/nintendoau

Team NINJA today unveiled new details for  NINJA GAIDEN® SIGMA 2 PLUS, the highly anticipated sequel to its PlayStation®Vita launch title which is set for a March 1^st 2013 release. Faster, bloodier, and more beautiful than ever, NINJA GAIDEN SIGMA 2 PLUS takes the legendary action game to the next level with the all new “Ninja Race” mode, tag missions involving any combination of two characters, potent new weapons for Ryu Hyabusa, and a pre-order DLC including limited edition female costumes. To premier these new game elements, Team NINJA has released a new  trailer and images highlighting the modes, weapons and costumes.

In “Ninja Race” mode, a slow ninja is a dead ninja as players race through dynamic courses to beat the clock. After choosing a character, level, and costume, players can strategically choose to dash through the course or viciously kill as many enemies as possible to earn boosts and points. The mode’s Combo Kill counter increases as foes are dispatched in sequence—the higher the counter, the more damage is dealt as long as the gauge stays filled. Three special essences, exclusive to the Ninja Race mode, boost the player’s chance of a successful mission: Green Essence adds time to the clock, White Essence boosts the Combo Kill counter for added damage, and Purple Essence grants Ninja Speed.

NINJA GAIDEN SIGMA 2 PLUS now includes “Tag Missions” providing an exciting new way to combine the complementary strengths of any two characters. Players can switch between team members in real time as they try to complete challenges, with the other team member under AI control. With each fighter having different strengths and weaknesses, players can strategically tag back and forth when facing different opponents and situations by pressing down on the directional pad.

Ryu’s attacks can be enhanced with powerful weapons including “Emma’s Fang”, a massive sword that can decimate foes with slow but powerful swings. Legendary tales say the fearsome blade grows even stronger when it becomes bloodied. Worn on the hands and feet, “Falcon’s Talons” can quickly cut enemies to pieces with special attacks including the Izuna Drop and the sliding, leg-cutting Thunderous Attack. Steel-reinforced hardwood “Tonfas”, which can be swung from both hands to brutally crush enemies with their special Heavenly Justice combo, provide another option for mass destruction.

Last but not least, those who pre-order NINJA GAIDEN SIGMA 2 PLUS will receive a DLC including unique, limited edition costumes for the female warriors Ayane, Rachel, and Momiji. Ranging from Ayane’s light armor to Rachel’s seductively spiky dress revealing her demon blood, the costumes are designed for both action and style.

NINJA GAIDEN SIGMA 2 PLUS brings the most intense, action-packed ninja adventure to PS Vita with stunning graphics, new modes, and plenty of blood. In the game, iconic super ninja Ryu Hayabusa returns to the Sigma series to prevent the resurrection of the evil Archfiend by hunting down the Demon Statue stolen by the wicked Black Spider Ninja Clan. Players will battle from Tokyo to New York as Ryu encounters vicious enemies while building an awesome arsenal of ninja weaponry. The action lights up the Vita’s impressive OLED screen with upgraded graphics and the game features an all-star cast featuring signature characters from previous installments. An intuitive control system uses the front and rear touch screens and motion controls of the PS Vita to give players full control and the powerful “Hero” play style automatically engages when the player is low on health.

NINJA GAIDEN SIGMA 2 PLUS is developed by Team NINJA and published by Tecmo Koei, is ESRB rated “M” (Mature) and will be available for an MSRP of $39.99.

Capcom is pleased to confirm that the PC version of Resident Evil 6 will contain a new and exclusive mode as The Mercenaries: No Mercy takes fan favourite The Mercenaries and ramps up the gameplay to 11. More enemies on screen than ever before will provide a greater challenge, but also the opportunity for players to use their skills to rack up even higher combo scores.   

Resident Evil 6 PC will be available at retail and as a digital download in Australia and New Zealand from Thursday March 21, 2013. Both digital and physical versions will include the following features, which were added to the console versions in post-launch title updates: access to Ada Wong’s campaign from the outset along with the option to play this campaign with a co-op partner and the ability to fine tune the in-game camera. As with the console releases, players of the PC version will also be able to take advantage of ResidentEvil.net.

Coming in February, PC owners will be able to check out how the game will run on their machine thanks to a free benchmark test.

Owners of Resident Evil 6 will be able to further expand their gameplay experience with the release of a fourth additional mode, Siege. An online multiplayer mode for two to six players, Siege sees a lone AI-controlled rookie BSAA agent in trouble and in need of help. Players will split into two teams with one assuming control of enemy creatures who are trying to take down the rookie, while the other team selects playable characters from the main game and must keep him alive. Each game consists of two rounds with teams switching between the human and enemy roles. The human team wins a round if the BSAA agent survives, while the enemies win if they can defeat him. Siege Mode will be available in March for Xbox 360 and PS3.

It has also been confirmed that Survivors, Predator and Onslaught game add on modes will be available for PlayStation 3 owners this February.

All four post launch game add on modes – Survivors, Predator, Onslaught and Siege – will be available for PC owners to download and purchase shortly after March 21, with any future title updates for the console version also being made available free of charge for PC owners.

First DLC Map Pack for Record-Setting Call of Duty: Black Ops II  Delivers a Massive Amount of Content 

Baseball Superstars Matt Cain and Evan Longoria to Lead Celebrity Call of Duty: Black Ops II Grudge Match to Celebrate Epic DLC Launch

Sydney, Australia – January 30, 2013 – The revolution has begun!  Call of Duty: Black Ops II Revolution, the first of four Downloadable Content (DLC) Map Packs for the record-setting Call of Duty: Black Ops II launches today!  From Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), and award-winning studio Treyarch, Revolution delivers an unprecedented amount of new and innovative “must-play” content, including four radically diverse multiplayer maps from around the world, as well as a new Zombies map “Die Rise.”  Revolution also includes a brand-new Zombies mode “Turned,” literally turning the tables and allowing gamers to play as zombies; and a new bonus multiplayer weapon, the “Peacekeeper.” Revolution is available today, first exclusively on Xbox LIVE® for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, with other platforms to follow.  Fans can purchase Revolution individually, or pick it up as part of the Call of Duty: Black Ops II DLC Season Pass discounted* bundle.

“We always strive to give our fans great new content and gameplay experiences,” said Mark Lamia, Treyarch’s Studio Head. “On the multiplayer and Zombies fronts, we’ve delivered the most expansive DLC offering in our studio’s history, with experiences fans have never seen in the franchise before: from four maps in exciting new locations with dynamic environments, to a new Zombies mode of play, to a new bonus weapon in multiplayer – it’s all there and then some.”

Revolution delivers an unparalleled amount of variety and content for all types of Call of Duty: Black Ops II players, featuring four all-new multiplayer maps set around the globe.  “Downhill” is a snowy alpine chateau perfect for hectic close-quarters combat.  “Mirage” is a sand-devastated luxury villa suited for all play styles, while “Hydro” is a massive hydroelectric dam in Pakistan lined with long-range vantage points perfect for sniping.  And “Grind” is a skate park in Venice Beach, where players must adapt to the map’s unique ramps, bowls and curvatures as they try and take cover from enemy fire.

Zombies fans get a terrifying double-dose of undead action in Revolution.  First, the new map, “Die Rise,” drops players inside a maze of crumbling skyscrapers amidst a ravaged Chinese city, where all-new Wonder Weaponry will play a crucial role as they make a valiant stand against the impending zombie hoard.  Additionally, Revolution’s innovative new Zombies mode, “Turned,” flips this new fan-favourite mode around, allowing players to become the undead and play as a zombie, hunting down other players for an entirely new type of bragging rights.