Gamertell

Gamecock Media hopes to show with Hail to the Chimp that the political world can literally be a jungle. This upcoming Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 title looks at the wilder side of politics by pitting various animal contestants against each other in an effort to be king of the jungle. The $39.99 game will be released simultaneously on both the PS3 and Xbox 360 in the second quarter of 2008.

Hail to the Chimp features anthropomorphic animals battling against one another in a fighting/party game. Players pick a candidate and set out to be the last one standing in either the single player career mode or in the multiplayer battles. An interesting aspect of gameplay allows players to temporarily team up in order to eliminate weaker candidates, and then later turn against one another. In short, its like real politics, only a lot fluffier. Unlike real politics, Hail to the Chimp seems like it could be humorous and entertaining.

If anything, the Hail to the Chimp website is worth a look. You can visit the candidate profile page to view the eleven different political contenders, see screen shots taken while on “the campaign trail,” or watch a video of gameplay footage. The gameplay footage video is definitely the best attraction, as it has been set up to mimic a CNN or Fox News broadcast.

Read [The Huffington Post] Site [Hail to the Chimp]

The Halo 3 preview party for the beta version release was held yesterday (May 15, 2007) at Quixote Studios in Los Angeles, CA, where celebrities and select media members were able to play a few minutes of the game. Microsoft sent out a press release with a list of name-ful celebs who showed up (see the list below). The game’s multiplayer beta was released today on Xbox Live (May 16, 2007) and will be available until midnight (Pacific time) June 6, 2007.

Microsoft also announced the June 2007 release of a 30GB special edition Zune media player that will include videos, music, trailers, ads and artwork from all three Halo games. It will be available at Gamestop on June 15, 2007, and can be pre-ordered for $249.99.

Halo 3 - the actual video game - is scheduled to be released in the US. September 25, 2007, and the following day (Sept. 26, 2007) in Europe.

Here’s that celeb list:

• Geoffrey Rush (Pirates of the Caribbean)
• Jon Heder
• Chris Evans (Fantastic Four)
• Dane Cook
• Josh Duhamel (Las Vegas, Transformers)
• Matt Leinart
• Linkin Park (new album release 5/15)
• Aisha Tyler
• Adam Rodriguez (CSI)
• Channing Tatum (Stop Loss)
• Josh Henderson (Desperate Housewives)
• Wes Chatham (In The Valley of Elah)
• Alison Lohman
• Jonathan Sadowski (She’s The Man)
• Ryan Cabrera
• Will Estes
• Shawn Pyfrom (Desperate Housewives)
• Justin Kredible
• Jonathan Murphy (October Road)
• Jonathan Bennett
• Ryan Dusick
• Brandon Quinn
• A.J. McLean
• Andrew Keegan
• BD Freeman
• Evan Ross
• Battle Alaska
• John Salley
• Jeremy Renner
• Stephan Bender
• John Hensley (Nip/Tuck)
• Chace Crawford
• Brody Jenner
• Paris Hilton
• Nicky Hilton
• Jesse Metcalfe
• Eliza Dushku
• Brad Penny
• Tatyana Ali
• David Moscow (Honey)

Read [Gaming-Age] Photos [Hollywood.com]

Photos below were taken at yesterday’s Halo 3 Beta Preview event and provided by Microsoft’s PR reps.

As we used to say at my old job, “I feel a Photoshop contest.” If you make an especially nifty image involving Master Chief, feel free to contact me and we might even post it to the site.

Master Chief himself.

Aisha Tyler with Master Chief (left).

Jon Heder and Master Chief ...seeing the theme yet?

Brody Jenner

Channing Tatum

Chase Crawford

Chris Evans

Dane Cook

Jonathan Bennett

Matt Leinart

Ryan Cabrera

Stephan Bender

Wes Chatham

Will Estes