Gamertell

At E3 2008 the upcoming Star Wars-based MMO was confirmed by Electronic Arts. It was revealed in a a tongue-in-cheek manner, and quickly confirmed, by EA CEO John Riccitielo.

Riccitielo in an interview with Conde Nast Portfolio magazine said that they have two big name MMOs in the works. One of which is based of the Warhammer franchise, which will launch soon. He then said…

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From July 21 through 27, 2008, Gaia Online will host its very own Rejected Olympics. The event is free and open to registered Gaia members.

Gaia Online is an online hangout that was founded in 2003 and has since become the leading hangout with more than 5 million visitors a month to make friends, play games, watch movies and participate in monthly activities.

This year’s rejected Olympic will have up to 100 new games and Olympic-themed…

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Since its launch, Grand Theft Auto IV has shattered all previously held records for sales, and it has become the new king of Xbox Live, but there have been a few bumps in the road that gamers have voiced their concerns about. Thankfully, Rockstar has released the first patch updates for GTA IV’s online game play.

All updates should be automatic the next time you log online, either for the Xbox 360 or the PlayStation 3.

IGN posted the list of updates:

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Another movie-based game the world probably didn’t need has arrived, as Blockdot’s online game Trapped, based on Saw IV, has now hit the internet. For those daring enough to risk possible gore, chills and the other side-effects that come from a movie-inspired game, there is also a contest running. After completing the game, players will receive the option to enter the Saw IV Trapped sweepstakes and win Saw IV director’s cut DVDs, t-shirts and posters. Be still my heart.

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By far one of the best and most addictive online multiplayer games out there is, Team Fortress 2. Released by Valve Software last year as part of the hugely successful Orange Box, Team Fortress 2 had been in development for nearly ten years.

Even with that much development behind it, the cartoon-style FPS still didn’t come out swinging when it was released. With only a handful of maps and game types, plus a number of bugs, some might have complained that there wasn’t enough to support a growing fan following. Thankfully, Valve has finally released the first series of expansions for the game…

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EA Games has announced that Battlefield Heroes, a cartoon-style online multiplayer shooter based on the popular series of the same name, will be free for download when it is released in summer of 2008. Instead of gamers having to buy the title at retail stores, Battlefield Heroes will be absolutely free to play.

Supported by adverts and micro payments, Heroes will mark EA’s first venture into add-driving revenue in the Western markets. South Korea has already had some success with…

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Today I received one of the largest bits of promo swag from a game company.

In a wooden box that measures approximately 19 x 19 in. (packed in an even larger cardboard box), the Walt Disney Internet Group sent a wooden ship replica. The ship was sent to promote Pirates of the Caribbean Online, as was clearly stamped on two sides of the wooden box/crate. On alternate sides of the box was stamped the game’s slogan, “Live the Legend.”

Click through to see the ship…

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Just when the light at the end of the tunnel seemed to be getting brighter for us Star Trek fans, bad news comes out from the game’s San Francisco-based developer.

P2 Entertainment, formerly Perpetual Entertainment, has announced it will no longer be working on the highly anticipated Star Trek Online MMO. While few specifics have been offered as to why P2 Entertainment has been pulled from the project, the license and game’s content (which does not include the code) have all been transferred over to a yet-to-be-named Bay Area development studio.

This doesn’t mean that the game is canceled, at least not at this time, but this set back may push the release…

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Nintendo is livid with retailers selling unsanctioned Wii bundles, which is a retailer gambit to take unfair advantage of the Wii shortage to boost their own profits. But it seems Nintendo can save its anger for other unethical trade practices, one of which has been uncovered by technology website Ars Technica. According to a report on the website, Slacker stores - retail chain stores based in Illinois/Missouri – are selling their Wii stock on EBay for huge profits.

An unidentified Slacker employee told Ars Technica that the stores were receiving regular Wii supplies but all of the Wii’s were being sold on EBay for a “buy it now” price of $399.99. He also made the startling revelation that none of the Wiis are being sold through the stores and only one Wii has been sold offline in the last year. He pegged the number of Wiis in their inventory at 20 – none of which will grace the Slacker store shelves.

Slackers has issued a public letter to its customers and dismissed Ars Technica’s allegations. In the letter, Kurt Jellinek, president of Slackers CDs and Games, defended the small retail chain and gave account of the number of Wii’s it had brought from distributors this holiday season. He admitted that the company had sold around 5 of its 44 Wiis on EBay.

If the company’s clarifiation is to be taken at its word, then the selling of Wiis online shouldn’t bother anyone, as it does not directly receive a stockpile of the consoles from Nintendo but purchases them from the market.

Read [Ars Technica] via [Gizmodo]

Blue Ribbon Games, a site run by Funkitron, Inc. a game publishing company known for creating high-quality, fun games that appeal to a broad audience and can be distributed digitally via online networks, has launched a few holiday demos ready for download. Here are the games offered with a brief description from Blue Ribbon Games. I’ve added a few comments of my own for the ones I was able to play on my system:

• Elf Bowling 7 1/7: The Last Insult. Developed by Mumbo Jumbo. In the game, the elves are on strike and the only way the elves can be stopped is by helping Santa bowl a “strike.” In this festive bowling game, the elves are pins that can be knocked down with a flick of the mouse, and skilled players can win trophies. Each elf comes with their own hilarious comments during the game. It was fun, but with the demo version you only get a few levels to play. All I can say is the dirty tricks Santa and Dingle try to pull on each other to win the match is as funny as the comments from the peanut gallery at the end of the lane. Who would have thought sandpaper could not only slow down the other player’s ball but sand it down to almost nothing as well.
• Christmasville. Developed by NevoSoft. Players take on the role of Private Detective Arthur Knight who has been summoned to Christmasville to help find Santa Claus. Interact with Santa’s reindeer, an abominable snowman and a mysterious ear to uncover the truth behind Santa’s disappearance and find him before Christmas is ruined. This game is a cute little mystery for those who love to hunt and search piles upon piles of toys and things to find clues to Santa’s whereabouts. It’s not as easy as you think, involving looking for items based on shapes in your item bar. A ribbon shape doesn’t necessarily mean the item is a ribbon and so on. Over all good and definitely a challenging game.
• Santa’s Super Friends. Developed by Toybox Games. In this game players must enlist the help of Santa’s friends: Edmund the Elf, Gingerbread Jr. and a few others to help you find Mr. Stink and return all the toys he’s stolen from Santa’s workshop before Santa has to leave to make the deliveries. The game features 60 progressively hard levels of play with three different skill levels to choose from and Christmas tree ornaments to collect. I thought the game was cute, there’re different games you can play that help capture Mr. Stink, or rebuild the toys he’s broken. In the demo you can’t access all the mini-games, but even the ones you can play are challenging enough to keep you occupied.
• Holly: A Christmas Tale. Developed by V-Games. In this interactive game players take on the role of Holly, one of Santa’s helpers. As Holly, you are asked to help Santa find the items he needs to complete his rounds on Christmas Eve. Help Holly search Santa’s workshop and uncover 1,000 different festive items hidden somewhere inside the workshop. There are a few mini-games that help tell the story of Holly in each room to keep players busy. I couldn’t get this game to work on my system because of the graphic card issue.
• Believe in Santa. Developed by PlayFirst. Players take on the role of Sandy, a little girl who, after learning her grandmother must repay a bank loan in 10 days, must find a way to make $10,000 to save her grandmother’s toy store. With help from two elves, players must create, color and decorate toys for all of the picky customers who enter the store. If Sandy can save her grandmother’s store, Santa will treat her to a ride in his sleigh on Christmas eve and a few upgrades to her grandmother’s store. The first round is simple enough, you create the toys or items each customer wants. You make sure it’s the correct toy from the right color to the right ribbon, and if it’s a doll, it has the right colored dress and hair. As you complete the orders the customers become more demanding. It’s a very entertaining game and definitely makes you pay attention to detail when filling the customer’s request.

I had a few problems with a few of the games because I’m operating on an old, outdated system primarily used for playing internet games on, so before you download any of these free demos or purchasing these games, be sure to check the system requirements first. These games are cute with enjoyable holiday songs and lovable characters and storylines.

Blue Ribbon Games is a premium casual game site that focuses on finding the best games out there and presenting them in a simple, ad-free, easy to use interface. All games are available to try and buy online through Blue Ribbon Games.

Site [Blue Ribbon Games]