Africa or bust: SimAnimals heads to retail

SimAnimals Africa for the Wii allows players to interact with wild African animals while they venture across jungles, deserts, savannas, river deltas and more. Each brand new animal has their own unique skill and it’s up to the player to find their secret abilities. Kicking zebras, rock-breaking rhinos and crocodiles that excel at hunting are all part of the cast of characters that will assist players in unlocking new areas, animals, and special items. The Wii game also promises the usual assortment of mini-games as a way to interact with the animals.

SimAnimals Africa on the Nintendo DS features all of the animals included in the Wii adventure, as well as cheetahs, meerkats, aardvarks, a parrot and even a surprise secret animal as a reward for finishing the game. Players will use the stylus, touch screen and microphone to build relationships with these wild animals, discover their secret abilities and use them to help solve puzzles.

Developed by The Sims Studio in the EA Play Label, SimAnimals Africa is rated E for Everyone by the ESRB, 3+ by PEGI, and has an MSRP of $39.99 and $29.99 for the Wii and Nintendo DS, respectively.

Fortress Luna now available for iPhone, iPod Touch

Primus Productions has launched of Fortress Luna, the company’s first game for the iPhone and iPod Touch today.

Fortress Luna challenges iPhone and iPod Touch owners to launch nuclear missiles from a secret base on the moon that will (with a bit of luck and skill) intercept asteroids before they destroy the world and save all of humanity. It’s like Armageddon but without Bruce Willis, Lib Tyler and an Aerosmith title track. The asteroids are apparently pelting the planet due to a gravitational anomaly in the outer solar system – if you need some sort of back story for a casual game like this – fill in the rest of the blanks. Primus says that the game is simple and ideal for casual players.

Fortress Luna is available through the iTunes AppStore today for $.99. For more information check out www.primusproductions.com.

Pet Sematary game hits iPhone, iPod Touch

Gah! I don’t want to be buried in a pet cemetary! Paramount Digital Entertainment has released Pet Sematary for the iPhone and iPod touch, a top-down, tap-to-kill arcade game inspired by the classic horror film based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. In Pet Sematary, a grief-stricken father buries his son in an ancient animal burial ground, where it is said everything laid to rest there will come back to life. But the burial ground is for animals only and humans buried there that come back tend to be insane and violent. Players in Pet Sematary take on the role of a lone hero, perched on the rooftops to stay safe and shoot down undead animals by tapping them one to four times as they race across the screen to feast on innocent townspeople.

Taking advantage of the touch screen, players will eliminate zombie children, dogs, cats and birds by tapping them one to four times as they dart down the streets. Players will also need to pay close attention to friend or foe, as health is diminished if innocents are accidentally killed or when an undead creature escapes or eats a townsperson.

Pet Sematary also includes built-in social networking features that allow players to post their high scores directly to their Facebook pages. Pet Sematary for iPhone and iPod touch is now available at the Apple App Store for $0.99. To purchase the game, visit itunes.

Madden NFL Arcade announced

Electronic Arts announced today an all new way to play Madden NFL with Madden NFL Arcade - a pick-up-and-play, 5-on-5 football game from EA Tiburon. Madden NFL Arcade is for both casual and diehard NFL fans, featuring a unique art style, 32 NFL teams and distinctive home stadiums, and gameplay that consist of four downs to march 60 yards - no penalties or field goals allowed! The first team to 30 wins.

Madden NFL Arcade allows up to four players to play co-op on a single console. You can also take on other players online in head-to-head matches and track your performance via interactive leaderboards. Madden NFL Arcade will also provide a host of achievements and trophies to boost your gamer score.

Madden NFL Arcade will be available as a download on Xbox LIVE Arcade and the PlayStation Store for 1200 MS Points and $14.99 respectively, just in time for the holidays in December.

RPG Adventures To Go gold

Natsume announced that its all-new strategy RPG Adventures To Go for PlayStation Portable has gone gold and will be available exclusively at GameStop October 29th for an MSRP of $29.99. The game is
rated E for Everyone by the ESRB.

In this RPG, players take control of Finn Courtland and his band of misfits in their quest for fame and riches. Along the way, they just might have to save the world from the evil Arbitus and his band of demons. It’ll take brains as well as brawn to win the day, though - the grid-based combat challenges players to think strategically and make the best use of each character’s unique skills and abilities.

Adventures To Go also provides a twist on the strategy RPG genre, offering gamers the opportunity to shape the game’s dungeons and challenges to their own liking.

Look for the game in stores later this month.

Ubisoft finds Waldo

Ubisoft answers the question Where’s Waldo with the release of a new interactive adventure video game titled Where’s Waldo? The Fantastic Journey. Created by Ludia, Where’s Waldo? The Fantastic Journey is a search-and-find adventure for the entire family, as players explore the lands in search of Waldo, his friends and other hidden objects. The game is now available for the Wii, DS, Windows-based PC and Mac at North American retailers.

In the game, players look for Waldo and friends, in addition to hundreds of hidden items in twelve different worlds that unlock via a central map that becomes animated as players progress. Where’s Waldo? The Fantastic Journey can be played in single- or multiplayer mode, in Easy and Normal challenges to suit players of all ages and skill levels. Gameplay is enhanced through a variety of power-up features where players unleash different special effects to gain an advantage over opponents or enhance their own search capabilities.

Look for the game in stores this week.

Happy Birthday, Pogo.com

Electronic Arts announced that Pogo.com is officially ten years old. Pogo.com launched in 1999 as a start up and has grown from a small offering of games with dozens of players to a global destination offering hundreds of games to millions of users in the North America, France, Germany and the United Kingdom making it one of the most trafficked sites on the web, and #1 in stickiness (average minutes/visitor) amongst the top 10 online properties - according to tracking data from comScore.com. In the past four years Pogo.com players have logged more than 6 billion hours and 8 billion game sessions on the site.

Pogo.com is known for its online community of players who forge life-long friendships through the site and spend way too many hours all kinds of casual games. Pogo has local sites and communities in UK and Germany. The Pogo.com premium service, Club Pogo, offers players a variety of VIP features including exclusive games, no ad interruptions, private chat and avatars. Club Pogo had over 1.75 million paying subscribers at the end of August 2009.