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Tabloid Blames Video Games for Illiteracy

Shiva Stella — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:56:04 -0600

Here's a new take for the anti-video game camp, as The Sun - a tabloid based in Europe - has claimed that the reading skills of English children have "slipped" due to games.

The Sun reports that a recent literacy study found that at least a third of ten-year-olds spend more than three hours a day playing games as opposed to reading.

A nice little quote from The Sun:

Kids hooked on computer games have sent England plummeting down world league tables for reading, Ministers claimed pupils spend so much time on consoles that they are not burying their noses in books.

What's funny is that a lot of games, in particular RPGs and strategy titles, involve quite a bit of reading of either dialogue, manual, or menu-system instructions, but either way I fail to see how any of this is the gaming industry's fault.

Cossacks II: Battle for Europe Ships to Retailers

The Gaming Horizon Archive — Mon, 19 Jun 2006 22:27:00 -0500

CDV Software announced another shipment today with their strategy title, Cossacks II: Battle for Europe.

In the game, players choose to play with one of nine countries including three new additions including Rhine Confederation, the Great Duchy of Warsaw and Spain. The latest title in the Cossacks series features 10 new battlefields along with four new campaigns, six new skirmish missions and three new historical battles. A few other new features to the title include the ability to go beyond battle by participating in economic, diplomatic and more roles to become ruler of Europe.

Originally written by Brian Mohr

Battle of Europe Gets Signed

The Gaming Horizon Archive — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 12:39:00 -0600

Strategy First today announced the signing of the flight combat title Battle of Europe scheduled to fly into stores this spring.

In Battle of Europe, we tried to keep the unique atmosphere of World War II air-fights. There were no complicated automatic systems inside aircrafts at that time; pilots controlled everything by themselves. Our game gives players the possibility to realize this reality and experience it first-hand, says Juri Pazinich, Lead Game Designer at MAUS Software.

I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of this project. Battle of Europe has the potential to bring the experience of being an RAF flying ace to a whole new level, says Jay Podilchuk, the Producer at Strategy First.

We are satisfied to be working with a famous game publisher and hope to deliver an exceptional product to arcade fans worldwide. Our partnership allows us to join the MAUS Software game development expertise with the marketing and distribution experience of Strategy First, says Dr. Juri Stern, CEO of MAUS Software.

Originally written by Tim Grube

Matrix Games Signs Battleground Europe

Tim Grube — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 23:35:00 -0600

This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.

Matrix Games and Playnet today announced a partnership to bring the new World War II Online: Battleground Europe to North America for the first time via the Matrix Games digital download system. The gane features over 600 cities and 29,000 buildings. The zoneless map covers 350,000 Km (Over 217,000 miles) of terrain with a whopping 4,000,000 trees.

The release is scheduled for mid-December. Head over to its official website by clicking here.

Matrix Games

GH Preview: Medal of Honor: European Assault (PS2)

The Gaming Horizon Archive — Wed, 18 May 2005 20:24:00 -0500

This preview was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Jarrett Conaway.

Just when you thought World War II was long over, EA extends our tour of duty with the latest installent to the Medal of Honor franchise, European Assault. Players step into the boots of Lt. William Holt on a mission that will cover France, N. Africa, Russia, and ultimately the historic Battle of the Bulge in Northen Europe. This time players are accompanied by a squad of three A.I. soilders that can be stategically deployed to complete missions using the L2 button. Some levels will actually require you to rescue members of your squad, or complete objectives to gain new squad members. Level maps start in the tradition style of the series and gradually become open battlefields with various mission tasks to be completed within the map.

The game's controls have also gained a few new upgrades. Players can now use their D-pad to peak around corners and over objects allowing for more stealthy combat. Jumping has also been added. Gone are the days of dying and having to restart the level. With the new "revive" feature players can continue where they died, until their revive count is depleted.

Perhaps the most thrilling new feature is Adrenaline Mode. Now when Holt executes commendable combat skills such as headshots and combo kills, his adrenaline increases. When the bar maxes out players gain a number of enhancements including one hit kills. Players also enter a bullet time style mode where Holt speeds up and all of the enemies slow down.

Seeing as the MOH series was originally an interactive version of "Saving Private Ryan", EA has continued to bring the cinematic feeling to the game. Director and screenwriter John Milus, of Conan the Barbarian fame, is writing the story for the single player mode.

European Assault also comes equipped with split-screen multiplayer deathmatch mode.

After getting my hands dirty in the trenchs of N. Africa, I must say I'm ready to re-enlist. The gameplay is of the high standard to be expected of the series and it looks wonderful. With an arsenal of qualilty additions to the series, players will gladly return to kill more fascist scum. MOH: European Assault ships on D-Day 2005. That's June 6, for all of you gamers that slept in AP history.