NEWS

SINS of the SOLAR EMPIRE

The Games for Windows boxed version arrives on UK shelves this weekend in an exclusive gate fold Limited Edition box….

The strategy title Sins of a Solar Empire, the best selling USA PC product developed by Ironclad Games, hits retail in the UK today. Following tremendous success in the US, having reached No.1 in the US PC charts, and critical acclaim from a host of UK games critics, strategy game enthusiasts in the UK can now get their hands on this epic sci-fi classic.

Sins of a Solar Empire has sold over 100,000 copies over following its US release earlier this year and hit number one in the USA charts. Currently the No.1 game for PC pre-orders on www.game.co.uk, the European retail box will contain an additional bonus of six exclusive maps, a techtree poster and a comprehensive manual.

The survival of humanity stands on the edge of utter ruin as three powerful factions vie for control of the galaxy. Take command of one of three space-faring races as you work to establish your domination of the galaxy in Sins of a Solar Empire. Fighting for the survival of your entire race against relentless foes, your success will depend entirely on your ability to manage your empire and command your vast fleets of starships to victory. Through a combination of diplomacy, economic skill, cultural influence, and sheer military might you will establish order over your corner of the galaxy!

For more information please go to: http://www.sins.kalypsomedia.com

Sins of a Solar Empire £29.99

 

MIDNIGHT SYNDICATE - The Dead Matter
Ed Douglas has put his music where his mouth is and got himself heavily involved in the production and filming of a Zombie-flick. If the movie, which stars Tom Sorvini and Andrew Divoff, amongst others, is anywhere near as eerie and atmospheric as Ed's music then we are going to be in for a real treat in 2008. For the time being though feed yourself on the photo's available at www.thedeadmatter.com

PREMIER HOLLYWOOD ACTORS TO STAR IN CINEMATIC STORY OF TUROK

Timothy Olyphant, Powers Boothe, Ron Perlman, William Fichtner and Donnie Wahlberg Voice Characters in Dinosaur-Filled First Person Shooter Game

Prominent actors will star as the major characters appearing throughout Turok, the upcoming story-driven, sci-fi first person shooter game from Touchstone. Timothy Olyphant, Powers Boothe, Ron Perlman, William Fichtner and Donnie Wahlberg are among the actors who recorded voices of characters in the game, which will be released on February 5, 2008, for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. Turok is an epic, story-driven first person shooter set on a dark, mysterious planet in the future. The player will take on the role of Joseph Turok, a former black ops commando, now part of an elite special forces squad, known as Whiskey Company, which is on a mission to take down Roland Kane and his army, the Mendel-Gruman Corporation. As Whiskey Company’s ship approaches the planet inhabited by Mendel-Gruman, the ship is shot down. Turok is stranded on the planet and must locate other crash survivors while confronting Mendel-Gruman soldiers and a variety of dinosaurs and other ravenous creatures.

The realism of Turok and his team’s terrifying circumstance is conveyed through the distinguished voice talent. Gregory Norman Cruz provides the voice of Joseph Turok and the other members of Whiskey Company are: Timothy Olyphant (as Cowboy), Ron Perlman (Slade), Donnie Wahlberg (Shepard), William Fichtner (Logan), Mark Rolston (Cole), Chris Judge (Jericho), Lombardo Boyar (Gonzales), Gideon Emery (Reese), Josh Gomez (Parker), Jon Curry (Foster), Jason Harris (Carter) and Steve Van Wormer (Henderson). Powers Boothe is the voice of the villain, Roland Kane, an escaped war criminal and Turok’s former mentor. Sean Donnellan voices Grimes, Kane’s mysterious, elusive henchman and part of Mendel-Gruman. “The actors who lent their voices to Turok are a testament to both the magnitude of the project and the interest of top-notch talent,” said Josh Holmes, vice president and general manager of Propaganda Games, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based developer. “The characters in the story are paramount to the experience and we have assembled an outstanding cast to assure high quality performances across the board.”

For more information about Turok, log on to www.turok.com

About Touchstone: Touchstone is a publishing label of Disney Interactive Studios. Disney Interactive Studios is based in Glendale, Calif., and has five internal game development studios around the world including Avalanche Software, Fall Line Studio, Propaganda Games, Black Rock Studio and Junction Point Studios.

ZOCH ZUM SPIELEN


"Suleika" awarded "Spiel der Spiele" in Austria
Another award for the highly atmospheric game

"Suleika" by the Munich publisher Zoch has just been awarded the "Spiel der Spiele", the prestigious Austrian game prize. The Viennese Spiele Akademie awarded the prize for the eighth time. Dominique Ehrhard, the 50-year-old author from Orleans in France, has already published a total of 50 games over the last 18 years. The latest is an exceptional game for the whole family. This sophisticated and highly atmospheric laying game with colorful material carpets is the first game idea of its French partner Gigamic to be developed further for the German-speaking market by the Munich game creators. "Suleika" was pub-lished in France under the name "Marrakech" and was awarded the "As d'Or Jeu de l'Année 2008" as the best game of the year. In Germany it was "nominated for Spiel des Jahres 2008" as one of the five best games of the year.

In this laying and stacking game the players try to spread out as many car-pets as possible to create a profit-making carpet landscape. The joint play-ing figure Omar, the sultan's envoy, decides who wins or loses. Short rules make it easy to get started. The attractive material ensures the haptic pleasure of the game. (Zoch, 2 to 4 players, 8 years and up, about EUR 30)
Infos: Zoch Verlag, Tel.: 089/ 52 05 740, www.zoch-verlag.com.


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+++ Sushizock im Gockelwok - Fish or bone
Who gets the best sushis? - a "crunch question"

The latest addition to the well-known chicken tradition of the Zoch series "Zicke & Zacke" is now in stores: "Sushizock im Gockelwok".

Fish have bones and that is also the case in the new dice game from Zoch: "Sushizock im Gockelwok" by Reiner Knizia. The players use wit and tactics to try to snatch as many sushis as possible, however these only ap-preciate in value thanks to a suitable number of fishbones.

The dice game promises players gambling fun in its purest form: Do I want to take sushis or fishbones from the table or do I relieve another player of his or her catch? The quantity of sushis, fishbones or colorful chopsticks on the dice determines what is to be done. Who wins in the end is decided by the "crunch question": How many fishbones must I take to get as many sushis as possible?

"Sushizock im Gockelwok" is a smart dice game, along the same lines as "Heckmeck am Bratwurmeck" which has already acquired cult status. The game guarantees 20 to 30 minutes of fun. With 24 haptically attractive figures and five wooden dice the game is richly equipped for up to five sushifreaks. The game published in the "Zicke & Zacke" series is now available in stores for about eleven euros.
Infos: Zoch Verlag, Tel.: 089/ 52 05 740, www.zoch-verlag.com.

Further press information and illustrations:

HEISS PUBLIC RELATIONS, Susanne Heiss
Georgenstr. 134, 80798 Munich
Tel. + 49 89 27299322, presse@zoch-verlag.com

Text and illustrations to download: www.zoch-verlag.com/presse

Ten years of success: Zicke Zacke Hühnerkacke Commotion in the chicken run – Additions possible at any time

Munich - A new limited edition of the anniversary version has been pub-lished and has become almost presentable. We are talking about chicken poop. “Zicke Zacke Hühnerkacke“ is being played in countless preschools and children’s rooms, accompanied by loud calls of chicken poop. At first one or other teacher was piqued by this. Now the highly acclaimed chil-dren’s game, published by Zoch, is being successfully used in psychother-apy.

There is hardly a game which fascinates kids as much as this one does and challenges them to a similar extent to think and compete. From the start kids were enthusiastic about the concept of stripping the feathers of slower chickens to add them to their own tail and they still are. A survey commis-sioned by the publisher last year demonstrated that the game is extremely well known to children between the ages of four and nine years.

It was in 1988 that the Munich games publisher Zoch finally made their breakthrough onto the market with this children’s game with cuddly wooden chickens. They have been cackling persistently for ten years. More than 700,000 copies of this outstanding memory game, awarded the famous title "Sonderpreis Kinderspiel des Jahres 1998" and the "Deutschen Kinder-spielepreis 1998“, have been sold. It has appeared in more than 20 foreign editions and has won several prizes throughout Europe. An extension has been added so that six can now play: “Duck cha cha cha“ with two ducks and six chicken droppings, which delights the kids all the more.

A whole family has developed around the chickens, creating a complete ”chicken world“ of its own with seven additional games, two picture books and cuddly chickens, developed in cooperation with Sigikid. Each of these associated ideas bears the trademark “Zicke&Zacke“. The names of the games are as attractive as the enjoyment of the games themselves: Au Backe, Heckmeck am Bratwurmeck, Hick Hack in Gackelwack or Gloria Pictoria. To date 1.4 million games have been sold from the chicken run alone. But that is not the end of the success story. A few months ago the Munich production house Caligari bought the movie and TV rights. It shouldn’t be long before we are able to watch Zoch’s chicken world on the big or little screen.

The author of “Zicke Zacke Hühnerkacke“ is none other than the name giver of the publishing house himself, Klaus Zoch, born in 1953 in Walpurgis night (the night of April 30 is the year’s other night of witches, spells and magic). He prefers life in the Vosges in France with chickens, goats and rabbits, to the stressful daily routine of a publisher. Maybe the idea for this game came to this highly creative spirit and physics graduate while he was feeding his farmyard chickens. No doubt the spectacular title, the unique graphic trans-lation by Doris Matthäus and the haptically beautiful chickens, which still cut fine figures, played a decisive role in the success of the game. That is why a special limited edition with a pert baseball cap is on the market for the tenth anniversary in the year 2008. (2 to 4 players up from 4. Price: about 32 Euro)

 


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