Pojo's Friday News Page
May 6th - 2005

PRESS RELEASE:
WIZKIDS AND NAMCO TEAM UP FOR MAGE KNIGHT: APOCALYPSE
PC Game Brings the Mage Knight Universe Home

May 3, 2005 (SEATTLE) - WizKids Inc., makers of the popular Mage Knight(tm), HeroClix(r), and MechWarrior(r) collectable miniatures games (CMGs), is proud to announce a partnership with Namco Hometek Inc. to release Mage Knight: Apocalypse, a PC action-roleplaying game (RPG) scheduled to debut in spring 2006.

"Mage Knight: Apocalypse opens up the battle for the Land in completely different ways," said Kevin Goddard, Mage Knight brand manager. "The heroes battle an army of pure evil, led by the Apocalypse Dragon itself, a seemingly unstoppable doomsday juggernaut."

Team dynamics will play an essential role in Mage Knight: Apocalypse, as players carefully construct their parties in order to combine melee, ranged and magical strikes with powerful group combination attacks.
Players can quest alone or with friends in both cooperative and competitive play modes, each able to accommodate up to five players.
Players can choose from five distinct character classes and customize them from among hundreds of weapons, armor and items. Unlike other action RPGs, Mage Knight: Apocalypse players won't be concerned with ability points or level advancement. Instead, character development will depend on which type of playing style the player enjoys. Swinging a heavy sword will make you stronger; casting spells will make your magic more powerful; and shooting bows will improve dexterity. The skills players choose - and the way they use them - will determine how their characters develop.

Sixtieth Anniversary of VE Day Marked by Announcement of New Axis & Allies Miniatures; Avalon Hill to Establish Beachhead in Miniatures Market

On Sunday, May 8, iconic strategy game brand AVALON HILL -- published by Seattle-based hobby-game leader Wizards of the Coast (NYSE:HAS) -- will announce the launch of Axis & Allies Miniatures, a revolutionary new World War II themed wargame system set to hit store shelves in late summer of 2005. The announcement will coincide with the sixtieth anniversary of VE Day, the end of the war in Europe. FullStory

4Kids ships 300 eps into Canada

Canadian kids channel YTV has taken a grab bag of 300 episodes of kids animation from US distributor 4Kids Entertainment, all to air between late spring and autumn this year.

The first season of Japanime action series One Piece will debut late spring, while the first 26 episodes of Shaman King and the Sonic X series will debut over the summer.

Season five of Yu-Gi-Oh!, season one of Japanime girls action drama Mew Mew Power, season two of Italian toon Winx Club (left), season eight of Pokemon and the 22-title Pokemon Chronicles will then premiere autumn 2005. Source

Neopets coming to PS2, PSP

Sony is bringing the popular virtual pet Web site's cuddly critters to its console and portable.

Back in 2003, Sony announced it was making Neopets: The Darkest Faerie, a PlayStation game based on the popular, Pokemon-esque Neopets.com virtual pet Web site. However, shortly after its announcement, the game was canceled and thought gone forever. FullStory

God of War

I love God of War. FullStory

Spider-Man

The Movie Video Game Pros and Cons. FullStory

San Andreas Dreamin': First XBox and PC Screens
Catch your first glimpse of the new and improved

Six months on and we're still discovering things buried deep within the state of San Andreas. But for those of you who couldn't - or wouldn't - succumb to the lures of the PS2 version, your patience is about to be rewarded. FullStory

Silver PS2 returns to Europe

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe plans to introduce a Satin Silver model of the slimline PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system.

The new Satin Silver model will be available throughout Europe from 13th May 2005, and will sell alongside the current black model. FullStory

Brothers in arms - Road to Hill 30 (XBOX, PC, PS2)

If you watched the TV series Band of Brothers and felt for the young soldiers it portrayed, a new World War II video game is likely to appeal.

Brothers in Arms Road to Hill 30 puts you in the boots of Sergeant Matt Baker of the 101st Airborne Division, one of thousands of American troops dropped over France in 1944 as part of the D-Day invasion. FullStory

SEGA Saturn Controller Coming to PS2
Capcom and SEGA team to bring pad to Japan.

The SEGA Saturn's six-button gamepad remains one of the all-time favorite controllers for many gamers, especially amongst fighting fans. Well Japanese PS2 gamers can now rejoice as Capcom has partnered with SEGA to release a version of said controller for PlayStation 2. FullStory

Pokemon Emerald

This game offers players an opportunity to hone their skills and prove their abilities. Pokémon Emerald is an extension of Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire, and shares the ultimate goal of stopping the expansion of either the Team Magma or Team Aqua realm. Players must keep balance in the world of Hoenn, where Team Magma or Team Aqua is trying to use Groudon (ground) or Kyogre (water) to try and take over. Rayquaza (sky) will help maintain this balance. Trainers will need to use their best battling strategies ever, because this game offers the most challenging Battle fields presented in a Pokémon game. Pokémon Emerald is the first Hoenn Pokémon adventure to allow players to trade and battle wirelessly. FullStory

Nintendo crowns new Pokemon champion

All hail the new king of Pokemon. After battling out more than 36,000 registrants in the new Pokemon Emerald Ultimate Frontier Battle Drain, Chris Darling from Orlando, Fl. was crowned Pokemon champion. The finals, held at Seattle's Space Needle, took place on May 1st. FullStory

Pre-E3 2005: Neopets Petpet Adventure: The Wand of Wishing
Neopets invade Sony's handheld this winter.

Even if you haven't created and battled your own Neopet, with over 70 million users around the world, chances are you've heard of Neopets. Launched in 1999, Neopets.com has become one of the most popular destinations on the entire Internet where users go to create and battle cuddly -- yet deadly -- creatures. If you think this all sounds a bit like Pokémon, well, you're right -- and it seems to have a similar ravenous following of fans. FullStory

You pick the name of Lunar DS

Lunar-NET has gained exclusive rights from Ubi Soft to do a poll on their site to decide the title for the next Lunar game, which is due out later this year on the Nintendo DS. FullStory

Nintendo DS Cadbury Competition
Win Wicked Nintendo Gear

Purchase any one of the valid Cadbury novelty ice cream products, fill out an entry coupon you could Win a Nintendo! Find Out How!

Nintendo DS Boots Linux

In the future, the proof of a person’s technical skill will be based on their ability to boot linux on random objects. Those who are able to get a bash prompt on a toaster oven will be gods that walk among us, constantly harping on our choice of distribution. FullStory

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi
DBZ fans take note: the world's best martial arts fighting tournament is about to begin!

I know it sounds a bit cliché, but fans of Atari's PS2 Dragon Ball titles could be in for their best game yet. Announced today via an exclusive hands-on playtest with IGN (in other words, me), Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi is headed for North America this November. Known as Dragon Ball Z Sparking! in Japan and developed by the Fire Pro team at Spike, Tenkaichi aims to take everything that made the first three Budokai titles so popular and improve on them in every way. FullStory