Funcom Announce Sweet Robot And A Casual MMO Called Pets Vs Monsters

Funcom have announced that they have established a new Subsidiary called Sweet Robot. Sweet Robot will publish Funcom's Social and Casual MMO Games. the first of these games is Pets Vs Monsters.

Pets Vs Monsters has been in development for nearly two years, being worked on by a team of 15 people. There will be a public beta for Pets Vs Monsters later this month. The game is intended for children between 8 and 12 years of age.

Pets Vs Monsters will require a short download before players can start playing. the game has numerous worlds, from deserts to jungles, in which players and their pets go and explore. typical role playing mechanics like Statistics, equipment, and loot are featured in the game.

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Press Release

DURHAM, N.C. --(Business Wire)-- Dec 11, 2009 Funcom today announced the establishment of a new subsidiary, SweetRobot, who will be publishing Funcom’s ventures into the social and casual MMO-gaming markets. The first project to be made available through SweetRobot is the upcoming MMO-game‘Pets vs. Monsters’ which will go into public beta testing later this month. The game is a massively multiplayer online game aimed at a younger demographic, specifically children aged eight to twelve.

“SweetRobot will be focusing on publishing games outside the traditional high-end MMO-segment which Funcom has been focusing on the last years,” says Funcom CEO Trond Arne Aas. “This will allow us to explore new market opportunities that differ from what we have been doing before while still retaining Funcom’s familiar profile. This definitely marks a new and exciting direction for us.”

A team of fifteen people have been working on ‘Pets vs. Monsters’ for almost two years, during which time the team has also focused on developing a highly flexible game engine that can easily be customized to work with multiple concepts. ‘Pets vs. Monsters’ is the company’s first venture into the more casual, social gaming segment, and SweetRobot will use this as an opportunity to experiment with different concepts, gameplay mechanisms and business models. No release date has been set for ‘Pets vs. Monsters’, and the upcoming public beta is intended to help the developers gather early, but valuable feedback from the target audience that will prove important to the game’s direction and development.

“Our passion and dedication for high-end online games remains the same, and ‘Age of Conan’ and ‘The Secret World’ are still our primary focus,” says Aas. “But we are also eager to explore new opportunities within the industry, and it felt natural for us to step into the social gaming segment especially considering our outstanding experience with making online worlds and communities. ‘Pets vs. Monsters’ is very much an exciting project for us, our first attempt at creating an online game for a younger target audience with gameplay mechanics and production values that differ from what we have done before. The fact that these productions require significantly lower budgets and smaller teams to develop is very attractive to us, as it allows us to try out several concepts instead of placing all our resources into one single bet.”

‘Pets vs. Monsters’ is a massively multiplayer online game intended for children between eight and twelve years of age. The user is treated to a quick download and will be logged in and playing in no time due to the game’s streaming technology. Players will adventure through numerous different ‘worlds’ – from deserts to jungles – accompanied by their trusted pet which they ride into exciting battles. It is also possible to chat and play with other players from all over the world, and the game employs typical role-playing mechanics such as statistics, equipment and loot to incentivize progress.

ABOUT FUNCOM - Funcom is an independent developer and publisher of online games for PC, consoles and mobile platforms. Funcom has provided outstanding entertainment since 1993 and continues to expand its track-record of more than twenty released games. Recent titles include 'The Longest Journey', 'Anarchy Online' and 'Dreamfall: The Longest Journey'. For corporate information please visit. For information about Funcom games visit http://www.anarchy-online.com www.dreamfall.com, www.darkdaysarecoming.com or www.ageofconan.com. Funcom is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker FUNCOM.

ABOUT SWEETROBOT – SweetRobot is a publisher of casual MMO games. Established in 2009, SweetRobot is currently working on ‘Pets vs. Monsters’. SweetRobot is a subsidiary of Funcom. Visit www.sweetrobot.com for more information.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Edios Have Revealed The Uk Pre-Order Bonus For Just Cause 2

Eidos and Square Enix have revealed the pre-order bonuses for Just Cause 2. they have also said that existing pre-orders for the game will be getting this. the Pre-order version of Just Cause 2 is limited edition and will only get a limited run. Just Cause 2 Is Coming out in the UK on March 26th 2010.

The Pre-Order Bonus will have exclusive packaging for the game. it will also come with The Black Market Chaos Pack . this pack comes with 5 guns and gadgets, experimental and heavily upgraded items, and a fold out Panauan Intel Map. the items and gadgets include:

• Agency Hovercraft
• Rico’s Signature Gun
• Bull’s Eye Assault Rifle
• Chevalier Classic
• Chaos Parachute

Press Release

Square Enix London Studios, a part of Square Enix Europe, today announced that all pre-orders for Just Cause™ 2 in the UK are to be shipped in an exclusive, limited edition format. Available to pre-order now, the pack contains an unmissable set of in-box and downloadable in-game tools for causing complete chaos by land, sea and air.

Featuring exclusive packaging, the limited run comes complete with the Black Market Chaos Pack, containing five must-have downloadable guns and gadgets, experimental and heavily upgraded items from the Agency’s research and development division, and a fold-out Panauan Intel Map, packed with information and hotspots for causing chaos and destruction.

• Agency Hovercraft
The ultimate in amphibious transport, the Agency Hovercraft is the most flexible form of transport in the game. Equipped with a turret-mounted grenade launcher, you’re guaranteed to blow your opposition out of the water

• Rico’s Signature Gun
Customised by the Agency and adapted for Rico’s shooting style, this deadly accurate and powerful pistol has precision, power and flair

• Bull’s Eye Assault Rifle
More powerful than the standard assault rifle, this lightweight and lethal automatic rifle features increased accuracy and a higher magnification scope

• Chevalier Classic
No agent should be without a hot set of wheels and with an increased top speed and superior handling, you can arrive at your destination in style or make a guaranteed quick getaway

• Chaos Parachute
Featuring a skull motif, make an entrance no one will forget … should you leave anyone alive to remember

• Panauan Intel map

With over 1000km² of tropical paradise to explore, the included fold-out Panauan Intel Map is an ideal reference tool for navigating around Panau, marking faction leader HQs, recommended BASE jump peaks and much more

The Just Cause 2 Limited Edition, complete with Black Market Chaos pack and Panauan Intel Map is available for pre-order now and will be available in strictly limited numbers. The only way to guarantee your copy is to pre-order from participating retailers. Information on pre-ordering is available on the official website at http://www.justcause.com/uk_pre-order

As Rico Rodriguez, the Agency’s most powerful weapon, players must take on the island of Panau and its military regime in order to track down Rico’s former boss and mentor, Tom Sheldon, who has gone rogue with millions in Agency cash and intel. Using a unique grapple and parachute combination, there is no vertical limit as the air becomes your playground: grapple a passing plane in flight, hijack helicopters, BASE jump from the tallest buildings or mountains and leave a trail of chaos and destruction in your wake. Just Cause 2 offers players the freedom to tackle missions any way they choose and, with over 100 vehicles and countless upgrades and collectibles, the choices for relentless adrenaline-fuelled action are limitless.

Just Cause 2 will be available in the UK from March 26th, 2010, for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Games for Windows®, and will be released under the EIDOS brand portfolio. More information is available on the official website at www.justcause.com.

Konami Have Released Screenshots And Character Art For Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker

Konami have released new screenshots for Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker. these screenshots mostly show Snake Hiding in various locations. The Character art shows most of the characters in the game.

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Character Art

Microsoft Have Released Screenshots Of Disney Avatar Clothes

Microsoft have released screenshots of the upcoming Disney Avatar Clothes. Microsoft have previously announced that the Disney clothes are coming on December 24h. This Pack Includes branded shops, head gear, toys and bags.

Avatar Disney Clothes

Aardman Studios Have Released A New Animation Done In Flipnote Studio For Zelda Spirit Tracks

Aardman Studios have done another animation using Flipnote Studio. this animation is based on the Nintendo DS Game, Zelda Spirit Tracks.

Activision Have Released A New Trailer For Transformers War For Cybertron

The debut Trailer for Transformers War for Cybertron has been released. its being developed by High Moon Studios and currently has no announced release date.

The trailer shows that the game will take place on Cybertron, before Transformers made contact with Earth. The Look of the Transformers is somewhere between the G1 Transformers and The Latest Movie, and as they have not been to earth their vehicle modes look different.

Video Games | Transformers: War for Cybertron | Exclusive Debut Trailer HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Sony Reveal MAG Boxart And Beta Statistics

Sony has revealed the official boxart for MAG. MAG is coming out on January 26th.

Sony have also revealed some Statistics from the MAG Beta:

• More than 42,000 matches were played over the course of the full public beta (August 17 – December 5).
• During October’s beta period alone nearly 534,000+ miles were traveled in-game by MAG players each week.
• During the final month of the Beta 4 and 4.5 periods (November 9 – December 5):
• Of the more than 65,000 players that logged on, 17,000 of them qualified for Squad Leader, 3500 people qualified for Platoon Leader, 1100 folks made it all the way to OIC, and 206 dedicated warriors made it all the way to the level 60 experience cap.
• Nearly 18 million kills were made and an excess of 700 million shots were fired.
• The Top 3 most played maps all belonged to the Sabotage mode. They were, in order, Syr Darya Uplink, Darien Network, and Copper Hills Relay
  

From US Playstation Blog