<-125x125 Button - right->Everyone was overjoyed last year during the Barcelona X06 event, when word was out that Microsoft planned a real time strategy game based on the Halo franchise. Halo Wars was to be developed at Ensemble Studios, which implied toning down of current projects, mainly Age of Empires related work. The first expansion was released one month later introducing Age of Empires III: The War Chiefs, but it wasn’t until May this year that Microsoft said they will not discontinue work on the beloved fantasy franchise. Just days ago Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties went gold, meaning the game is finished and the product ready to be sent to the presses.

Maybe that would explain why Ensemble Studios would acknowledge and require third party involvement, namely Rise of Legends and Rise of Nations developer Big Huge Games. You can expect some interlacing within the next title as I’m confident it was a unique experience working within another developer's universe.

The Asian Dynasties expands the Age of Empires III world into the East, featuring the introduction of three playable Asian civilizations: the Chinese, Japanese, and Indians. The New winning conditions add to game depth and raise its replay value. Extra trade options will grant faster access to the much needed resources and encourage you to set up economical relations with far away kingdoms. The game went back to its roots, through random map styles, along with a rework of several Asia-based maps from previous Age of Empires games.

The developers remembered one of your favorite gameplay element from Age of Empires II, thus you can witness the return of Wonders. Each civilization has five wonder type buildings, representative of your empire’s glory, providing essential combat boosts along with trading and healing improvements. Unlike previous attempts, your trade routes won't have to be built. Instead you'll have to conquer the Silk Road yourself, by taking over outposts placed all over the map and controlled by raiders.

Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties is ready for the October 23rd release. You still need the original title to play the expansion, rated Teen and retailed for $29.99.

European Street Racing is a new fully 3D racing simulator developed by Xider Games and has been released on September 21st, 2007. You can test your driving skills with some of the best real life racing models out there, and take a ride on the streets of Europe without moving an inch from the comfort of your gaming rig. Instead of virtual cities, you’ll get to see Moscow, Warsaw, London, Paris, Madrid, Berlin and Hamburg in their street splendor. I find this change refreshing as a right step in the direction of virtual tourism.

The game prompts you to create a profile and buy a street car on your 30000$ budget. Off to the garage, you’ll be able to buy more starting equipment and you’ll return here again and again each time you taste sweet victory. It’s time to enjoy the spoils and upgrade your car. Every time you win a race, cash will be gained, which will undoubtedly go into new engines, better steering gear, booster oil and more. In the garage you can get a paint job at any time, so there shouldn’t be a problem with the starting color of your car. I like the way developers created an intuitive interface to vehicle tweaking. You can notice the effect of your next engine upgrade with just one click. Other racing games display complex customization features when it comes to tweaking your car for better acceleration over maximum speed, or steering versus suspension. European Street Racing features a simple system, adding to the casual factor, so you just get in and play right away, arcade style. Sixteen models await as you’ll eventually unlock them all by having enough money to buy them. Since you can sell your car at any given time and start upgrading a new one, there isn’t any money lost in the process.

Although your car is pretty resilient to shocks, unlike the NPC cars will burst into a thousand pieces even on the slightest touch, you might want to avoid hitting walls. The cosmetic change in your car in obvious during a race, as you window glass will crack; the top will come off, along with the front and back parts. It’s still not enough to slow you down as I haven’t seen any major performance changes in my car, even after kissing a wall.

Opponents aren’t that impressive in the normal mode and will occasionally bump into street cars that aren’t competing, out of sheer stupidity. Yes, we do have bystanders that populate the roads on European Street Racing, which sometimes start hilarious events. Picture this for example. I was just starting to enjoy the game as the first race features a quick ride in the streets of London. European Street Racing tried to recreate the ambience or real European capitals instead of fictional cities with strange architecture. The race started and I was trying my best to keep up the pace with the other five speed balls when … I noticed everyone was driving on the right side. Sure, nothing unusual about this, until I realized cars usually drive on the left side of the road in England and my bad habit of driving on the right only caused massive crashes with neutral cars. Damn, it’s going to be harder than I expected, I thought. But it all went fine afterwards, since opponents shared my confusion just the same.

Once you qualified for the next race, the track you just completed will be unlocked for the Ghost Race mode. It would have been great to drive against yourself and observe your previous moves to correct any mistakes. The Ghost Mode is not an improved spectator mode where you race against yourself; instead, it lets you solo race the track to fix any shortcomings. If that last curve was giving you a hard time, you can now adjust your speed in advance and see how much of a difference it makes altogether. A standard feature in most racing games, this addition will help you master the track in no time, being able to think about a perfect theory race and how each turn should be, and then translating it into practice.

I really enjoyed the cool music in European Street Racing, both exhilarating and purposeful, the right mix to get the blood pumping and you wanting to go faster. The great informational highway waits, once you’ve trained enough. European Street Racing can be played either through LAN or directly on the official server through an internet connection. You can join or host games that support up to six players and race them on any given map.

Shortly before the September 21^st release, there was a series of promotional stunts on Max Power which could get you a spot in the next game. Winners V6NOS and Rebecca got themselves into the game as a nifty car owner and a street racing hottie. You can take a sneak peek and hopefully find then by playing the European Street Racing demo.

Starting this month, you will have the occasion to take the role of a ghost wrapped in a sheet and haunt an old factory searching for the meaning of the afterlife.

Ghost in the Sheet is point-and-click comic style adventure game designed for PC, developed by CBE, which will lead you in a mysterious place where after receiving specific orders from the unpleasant astral boss, you’ll have to discover what made the old, abandoned factory, called Sector Omega, to stop functioning.




<-234x60 Half Banner - right->After you died, you spirit began to move freely receiving supernatural powers, which you will discover one by one.
You first power that you will be aware of is Telekinesis, the ability of moving objects or substances with the power of mind.
After that, comes your ghost-specific scary sounds ability.



Try Synergy, the publisher, promises a captivating gameplay with a black comedy-style plot, surrounded by sound effects to create an engaging atmosphere.
The high-resolution graphics and detailed environments will immerse you in the nonlinear gameplay, where 10 non- player characters will reveal the hints for puzzles, providing the intriguing back-story.



Similar like in RPGs, you will progress by learning how to use your new paranormal skills in your next adventure, where you’ll discover other abilities and so on.



Hilarious minigames integrated into the gameplay will become the spices in Ghost in the Sheet; while there will be no bothering mazes, slider puzzles or timed sequences.