A review of the new DS game The Daring Game For Girls:

I know this is the girl-player stereotype, but I just can’t overstate how important a customizable avatar is for making me feel connected to the game. I felt a bit guilty playing demos at E3 and, as the demonstrator told me about system reqs and combat styles, I’d ask if I could change my battle bikini, but The Daring Game For Girls is, well, for girls.

via The Daring Game For Girls.

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I was at E3 this year, but somehow I spent most of my time being on the wrong side of the conference center (why didn’t anyone tell me the LA conference center was so big?) or wandering around in sensory overload (videos do not do it justice), or meeting friends (yay!). Fortunately the BingeGamer crew made better use of their time than I did, and offers a a massive list of games and release dates from E3:

Every year, E3 brings us more game announcements than one human could possibly keep track of. Unless that human is named Allison Boyer. Because she’s so awesome, that for a second year in a row, she’s compiled a list of all the games shown and/or announced at E3, along with their release dates.

She would be much more awesome if she wasn’t writing this herself, in third person.

Via E3 2010: Comprehensive List of Release Dates | Binge Gamer Dot Net

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Ok, my E3 haze is beginning to lift, and it’s time for a wrap-up of  what we’ve been talking about on ThumbGods. We’re talking about the love survival kit app, watching the DragonQuest IV trailer, looking forward to Landit Bandit. Ranker sent us the sexiest videogame commercials. On the E3 front, we’ve gotten caught up in E3 excitement, checked out the new Civ 5, reviewed IndieCade games. (Are you following IndieCade? You should be!) We’ve let you know about the Fallout MMO beta, and adorable button-masher Princess Fury, and indie hit Stranded Without A Phone. And we still have hints for MyTribe on Facebook.

And what E3 coverage would be complete without booth babes?

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The guys at Ranker have come up with a list of the sexiest videogame commercials. I didn’t have high hopes for this list — I rank pixelated boobs just slightly higher than girls posting pics of themselves playing WarCraft in their underwear. But it was a laugh, I quite liked the logic in #7′s explanation of the hot girl in Bayonetta:

This commercial (which kind of mirrors the American version, but has a real live girl in it) features another hot girl in glasses… just like the character in the game!

Appealing to the same part of all of our brains (glasses = smart = relatable = GIRLFRIEND!), this game not only tailored to its target audience, but swept it off its feet.

Wonderful logic, boys. Counteracts all the times I’ve been told how pretty I’d be if I got contacts.

And on the topic of pretty girls in gaming, I’ve got some E3 booth babes behaving badly over on my personal blog.

Via The 13 Sexiest Video Game Commercials Of All Time | Ranker – A World of Lists

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That’s right! Sign up for the Fallout MMO beta!

Photo courtesy of Interplay Entertainment

How about some non-E3 news for a change.

Today Interplay launched their beta sign-up and teaser website today for their upcoming Fallout Online MMORPG, or Project V13 if you want to keep calling it that.

Via MMOCrunch

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Ok, so we all have a friend (or two) who’s just freakishly good at Guitar Hero. But Danny Johnson is setting out to show the world that he’s actually the best. He’s attempting a new Guinness World Record at E3… oh, right about now! Will he make it? What do you think? If you’re here, he’s making his attempt at the Gamer Grub booth, #5740.

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TERA already won my love with their gorgeous concept art. (A larger version of the picture above is my laptop’s wallpaper — and that’s saying something, considering I get new game assets in the mail every day) I’m really excited to see their new MMO at E3

En Masse Entertainment, a new breed of game publisher focused on delivering highly anticipated online video games to Western audiences, announced today that it will present the first hands-on demo of its flagship Action MMO title, TERA™, at the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo 2010 in Los Angeles. The hands-on demo will focus on TERA’s groundbreaking action combat system, which allows players to step into a world where their actions, teamwork, and combat expertise—not statistics—give them a chance to become true heroes in the face of danger.

“At E3, people will have the chance to experience firsthand what makes TERA‘s gameplay so exciting,” said En Masse CEO Dr. Jae-Heon Yang. “Select media will form a party with varied roles and venture forth to experience their first battle using our innovative action/adventure style combat system. During the show, players will see how TERA is changing the rules of MMO combat.”

TERA is an innovative Action MMORPG with rich graphics and animations where players fully control their characters through the game’s dynamic battle system. Player actions in TERA can change the balance of power in a world threatened by dark powers as six allied races work together to protect their world. The game, which is currently in development for PC, will launch in North America and Europe in 2011.

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Just released at E3. iGUGU‘s new Gamecore systems promises to bring3.5D gaming into homes with an affordable wireless controller:

LOS ANGELES – June 14, 2010 – iGUGU®, a global manufacturer of innovative entertainment technology products for consumers and business, will introduce the arrival of 3.5D gaming enabled by its innovative iGUGU Gamecore system at E3 Expo 2010 .

Featuring an innovative compact wireless controller that incorporates a trackball, direction pad, joystick, programmable action buttons, and a full QWERTY keyboard, iGUGU Gamecore enables users to play PC-based games on a large screen television without the need to use a computer keyboard and mouse.  The controller is equipped with six accelerometers, enabling users to intuitively play games using natural motions to do activities such as steer a race care or fly an aircraft.

iGUGU Gamecore, which enables gamers to access and play virtually any of the more than 27,000 game titles available for the PC and through the Internet on a television, greatly enhances the experience of playing PC games by allowing gamers to control their games through natural, intuitive body movements.

When using iGUGU Gamecore to play games on a 3D television, the gamers’ experience is taken beyond 3D as a new level of realism is added by intuitive game control providing gamers with the sense of actually driving a race car, flying a fighter jet or going on patrol in a war game.  iGUGU calls this extraordinary virtual experience, 3.5D.

According to Isaac Calderon, president of iGUGU, Gamecore will forever change the way that people experience computer gaming.  “With the extensive processing, memory and storage characteristics of even the most basic computer systems, the PC is truly the most powerful videogame console available on the market today, but until now computer gaming has been limited to relatively small desktop or laptop screens.  With iGUGU Gamecore, gamers can have the best of both worlds with the ability to enjoy their PC-based games on a large screen television in the home theater.  With our wireless controller, the experience is further enhanced because not only can gamers search for and access games stored on their computer or on the Internet, but they play these games using intuitive body motions to add a new level of realism.”

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Speaking of Capcom announcements….

City of Industry, Calif.—June 7, 2010—InterWorks Unlimited Inc., the
fastest-growing distributor of innovative gaming peripherals, today
announced they have extended their official license deal with leading
worldwide developer and publisher of video games Capcom Entertainment,
Inc. to develop Resident Evil® Darkside Chronicles and Resident Evil®
Umbrella Chronicles and other Capcom® game-branded peripherals for use
with this generation’s gaming consoles.

“Resident Evil® is one of the most successful franchises in video game
history,” said Michael Kidakarn, Executive Creative Director of
InterWorks. “Our products must achieve the design and technical
sophistication that gamers expect from the Resident Evil universe. We know
fans will be proud of the final product along with future inventions we
have in the works for popular Capcom brands.

“InterWorks has come up with some innovative ideas that will enhance the
gameplay experience for Capcom gamers,” said Seon King, Senior Director or
Licensing at Capcom. “We are excited about the new products and looking
forward to hearing the response from gamers.”

The next products to launch will be the Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles
and Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles Magnum and Knife Kit, continuing
upon the success of the Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles and Resident
Evil Umbrella Chronicles Shot Blaster for the Nintendo Wii™. Both will be
featured at the InterWorks booth at the upcoming Entertainment Expo in Los
Angeles, June 15-17, 2010.

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Just a quick note to point you to Gamertell’s list of what Capcom will be bringing to next week’s E3.

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Will Sony be launching a new premium service for PSN? I can’t find anything to confirm this from Sony, but it seems like every gaming site or mag has heard this rumor.

VG247 has learnt that Sony is to reveal plans for PSN’s premium services at E3.

According to a highly-placed source, Sony will announce a large-scale monetizing scheme for PSN at the LA show, but we’re assured nothing planned will impact the service’s current free aspects.

A string of features will be revealed, apparently costing “less than £50 per year”.

Sony will confirm plans to give all subscribers one free PSN game per month, from a choice of “two to four” every month.

“If you work it out, PSN games cost an average of £6-9 each, so over a year you’re basically going to be breaking even,” said our source.

Via VG247 » Blog Archive » Premium PSN plans for E3 reveal, to cost “less than £50 per year”

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I usually don’t like posts about why X is going to be the Greatest and Most Important Thing Ever (Cicero ruined me for overuse of the superlative) but this piece from Industry Gamers on the importance of this year’s E3 in terms of current trends is worth reading and sharing.

The traditional video game market, comprising of home consoles and handhelds, has been under considerable pressure for the last 16 months. This pressure is mostly attributed to declining sales among traditional games, and a rise from emerging markets such as mobile and social gaming. The decline in sales and the rise of other cheaper alternatives for interactive entertainment has raised serious concerns among investors and industry professionals about the long-term viability of the traditional console market. Additionally, the elongation of the current cycle and lack of visibility for the next set of hardware only reinforces the negative sentiment in the industry.

With so much negativity in the air, the entire industry will be on watch during this year’s E3 convention taking place in Los Angeles, CA.

Previous E3s have been focused on games that will drive our industry for the next 6 -12 months; however, this year the primary focus will be on new technologies that are supposed to drive industry sales back into the black over the next three years. Natal, Move, 3D gaming, and the 3DS are just some of the more important technologies that will be on display at E3 2010.

Via The Divnich Debrief: E3 2010: The Most Important Event in Gaming History? – IndustryGamers

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Looks like the booth babes are back for E3 2010! I was pretty sad to see them go, and I’m glad they’ll be back. Probably not the most feminist and progressive way to feel, but it seems like it’s part of the whole E3 image.

Anyway, if you want to become a booth babe (and who doesn’t?) G4TV is recruiting right now:

G4TV had several booth babes at their E3 2009 exhibit hall space and this year they are asking potential female models and spokespeople to submit a video of themselves saying why they should be the official G4 booth babe. Submissions must be made by May 19. A group of judges will then pick a number of video submissions and post them on the G4 web site where readers can vote for their favorite booth babe from May 24-June 4. The top three vote getters then go through another G4 judging panel and they will pick the final winner. That woman will be flown to Los Angeles to be G4′s booth babe at E3 2010. And it’s likely we will take a picture of the winner. And it’s likely you will look at it. Don’t pretend you won’t.

Via E3 2010: G4TV recruiting for booth babes

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Resorting To Danger, by Her Interactive, is the second in the Nancy Drew Dossier series, following Lights, Camera, Curses!. This time, Nancy is investigating a series of bombs at the Redondo, a rejuvenation clinic for the stars. The bombs are more mess than death, containing pie filling or ladybugs, but Nancy’s still got to defuse the bombs and find the mad bomber without alarming the wealthy celeb patrons in for a facial or mud bath.

Via Simpson’s Paradox » Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting To Danger.

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Issue 6 of Indie Game Mag is out today!

I reviewed Faerie Solitaire a while ago and I’m so happy to see this game made the cover of Indie Game Mag.

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After  Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade Of Grey, and Women’s Murder Club: Death In Scarlet comes a new WMC, Women’s Murder Club: Crimes of Passion, this time for the Nintendo DS and DSi.  I think the portable DS system, with the stylus-driven games, is perfect for casual gaming, and I’m seeing more and more story-based casual games coming out. I’ve been carrying the  Sims (or Sims Castaway!) in my purse, and I also saw a Nancy Drew game for the DS the other day.

From the Women’s Murder Club: Crimes of Passion press release:

“When I dreamed up the ladies of the Women’s Murder Club, I knew they were women of action; women on the go,” said James Patterson. “I never dreamed they could come to life like they have in the Nintendo DS version. This new game gives fans a chance to become a member of the Women’s Murder Club anytime, anywhere.”

And by “anytime, anywhere” I think he means “while waiting at the airport”.

I was lucky enough to get a look at some screenshots from the upcoming game. I had to include this one, because there just aren’t enough science-themed puzzles in games targeted to women!

Obligatory hidden objects minigame. It works well in a mystery-solving game, but I just don’t see what’s fun about squinting at the screen.

Nintendo DSi users will get a special feature that uses the camera, (can’t wait to see how they integrate that) but the game will also be available for the regular DS.

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CrispyGamer has this to say about the upcoming Majesty 2:

Do you remember when Cyberlore Studios was the only name one would associate with Majesty – you know, before it decided to develop a simulation game about the Playboy Mansion? Yeah, those were good times. But Majesty is no longer owned by Cyberlore – Paradox bought the franchise and decided to create a brand new game in the series. To its credit the company is trying to create a fantasy kingdom simulation that adheres closely to the formula that made the first game such a sleeper hit.

While I was sad to see the end of Cyberlore, I was pleased to hear about the possibility of a sequel. (Disclosure: My boyfriend worked for Cyberlore, on the Playboy game) Paradox Interactive was totally unknown to me when I heard that someone else had bought the Majesty line and planned to make a sequel, but since the nI’ve seen the Paradox name everywhere. They’re behind the upcoming East India Company, the new Restaurant Empire 2,  Elven Legacy and others.

I was not overly impressed by the trailer, it looked a bit generic, but this presentation makes the game look awesome:

Are you excited?

Info in this post from CrispyGamer and Paradox’s YouTube channel.

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Ok, so when I posted about LEGO Rock Band, I was pretty excited. But this is even better!

Monkey Island is back, both as a remake of the original game AND as a new series in the Monkey Island world.

LucasArts and Telltale Reveal Series of New Monkey Island Adventures Coming Soon!
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif – June 1, 2009 – LucasArts today announced that the original hilarious pirate adventure is back, with two new projects underway based on the classic Monkey Island franchise. Beginning in just a few short weeks, Telltale will premiere the Tales of Monkey Island™ game series, delivering a completely new epic storyline and swashbuckling flair that will unfold across five monthly episodes on PC and WiiWare™. The Monkey Island celebration continues later in the summer when LucasArts publishes The Secret of Monkey Island™: Special Edition, a completely re-imagined version of the first game in the series that adds updated high definition graphics, a re-mastered musical score, and full voiceover to the classic adventure game originally launched in 1990. The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition will be made available on Xbox LIVE® Arcade for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and PC.

Can’t wait to see what kind of insults the Swordmaster has for GuyBrush Threepwood this time!

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I’m so jealous of everyone heading to E3! I’m sure I’ll be going too, once I become a famous games journalist, but for now, I’m just looking on enviously at all the new games and announcements of upcoming games.

I’m pretty excited about LEGO Rock Band, even though a lot of people are complaining that it’s slapping the LEGO name on just another Rock Band game, or slapping the Rock Band name on just another LEGO game. To me, this is a bit like complaining that mint chocolate chip ice cream has MINT and CHOCOLATE CHIPS.

Here’s the trailer, so you can see for yourself.

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Magic World Online, a new free-to-play MMORPG will officially launch on April 18th.

After months of open beta, MWO finally comes to a new era. On April 18th, 2009 the official launch will begin.

In the past few months, we have fixed a lot of bugs in the game and also we have improved this game in a lot of aspects upon the opinions of players. Thanks to all the MWO players! It is you who help us to make this game a great one!

Via Magic World Online.

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I’m a bit late posting this because every time I went to get another screenshot or check a fact, I got sucked into playing a few hands of Faerie Solitaire.

Faerie Solitaire from SubSoap is a new casual game, mixing a cute fantasy story with basic solitaire. I’ve said before that the best games have simple rules, with many variations and strategies. In Faerie Solitaire, you are given a foundation card, and you can either play one card higher or one card lower than the foundation card. A played card becomes the new foundation card, and you do it again. You could easily teach a child to look for a number one higher or one lower than the selected card.

As you play more hands, different hands have a different card layout, including special layouts with unavailable  cards in thorn patches or ice. Special cards and events pop us randomly as well, offering bonuses and minigames. The random element made the solid solitaire game that much more addictive for me.

Because the hidden object games have a finite pool of backgrounds and items, it soon became more of a memory game than a hidden objects game. Which is great because I think hidden objects are overdone, they start to feel like filler because they’re the default of the casual games genre.

I sometimes find it annoying when there’s a lot of game to be unlocked. In some cases, it seems like a tacit aknowledgement from the developers that some parts of the game are good and some parts are lame, and to make the game longer, you’ve got to grind through the lame to get to the good bits. When I reviewed GardenParty World, I talked about how  not needing a game for the system of working at a dull minigame to earn spending points. GardenParty World is hardly the only offender here, I was also frustrated by unlocking the chance to play indentical levels in Fashion Solitaire. But Faerie Solitaire had a system of power-ups and unlockable features that kept me excited about the next add-on without leaving me feeling like the developers had greyed out most of the game.

In their Faerie Solitaire press release, Subsoap promised strong production values. They delivered, there are no awkward cutscenes or grammatically painful instructions, the usual hallmarks of an indie studio. But what really ties it together is the movie-score music.

This is not an all-encompassing story game but I don’t think it’s meant to be. You won’t be daydreaming at work, thinking about getting home to play Faerie Solitaire.  This is a quality solitaire game that had my boyfriend looking over my shoulder. Drawing  in other people to kibbutz  is a mark of a great solitaire game!

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This isn’t the only game I’ve beta-tested, but it was still awesome to see it on the shelf!

I was so excited to see this in Target the other day! I beta-tested Fashion Solitaire in February 2008, but I was in China when the game came out so I’d never seen a hard copy on a store shelf before.

Via Fashion Solitaire On The Shelf on Simpson’s Paradox.

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From the press release:

Subsoap(TM) (www.subsoap.com), an up and coming developer of
casual games, today announced the launch of Faerie Solitaire.

The game is a fantasy-theme casual card game that’s full of adventure,
mystery, and wonder. Featuring 360 exciting levels, including Hidden
Object mini games, 8 worlds to play through, and hundreds of hours
of gameplay entertainment. Faerie Solitaire is the next triple-A
casual title, and is available exclusively at Subsoap.com.

Rescuing Lost Faeries

In Faerie Solitaire players will travel across the land of Avalon
in search of magical faeries who have been trapped by some
mysterious force. A move away from what is currently popular in
the casual space, Faerie Solitaire’s strong production values
and compelling gameplay will surely please solitaire fans.

Is it just me, or does that sentence make it sound like other casual games have no production value and boring gameplay? I’m not saying there aren’t a bunch of dull match-3s floating around the internet, but I’ve played some amazing casual games, like Funky Farm 2, Crayon Physics, and Nancy Drew: Lights, Camera, Curses!, just to name a few recent ones that had me addicted.  I hope Faerie Solitaire will be one of them!

Subsoap also plans to launch a new casual gaming portal sometime this year.

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Electric Box, by Twinkle Star Games, is one of the games available on Kongregate. The object of the game is to get the electrical current from the On/Off switch to the goal. You can use wires, generators, wind, light and steam power to get to that goal!

If you enjoy the special pieces having special moves, as in chess or Stratego, you’ll like these electric puzzles.  I know some people find this style of game frustrating, especially in the type of game that keeps adding new pieces with new rules, but I thought the pacing of Electric Box’s new additions was perfect to keep it challenging.  Each level adds complexity, by adding icons like batteries, which provide a back-up charge, in case your power supply runs out or changes, and electro-magnets, which pull your other pieces towards them.  Each level has only one solution, and it’ll use all the pieces in your inventory to reach that solution.

My one complaint — and this is a common one for me — is that some of the icons looked too similar. I was confused a few times when I though I had, say, a stream-powered generator but it was really a refridgerator.

Using all the pieces in my inventory to move the power around the board made for a really interesting puzzle game, although I don’t know if it has much replay value. But that’s not a real problem. The free games portal Kongregate has dozens of other free puzzle games for when you finish one game or get bored.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade Of Grey, a new casual game based on James Patterson’s best-selling novels, is available starting today from MSN Games. Here is the press release, and some exclusive screenshots!

NEW YORK, NY – February 24, 2009 - I-play, the world’s leading multi-platform casual games publishing division of Oberon Media, announces the exclusive launch of the second casual PC game based on the best-selling Women’s Murder Club book series by James Patterson.  Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey makes its debut on MSN Games today, where it will be available exclusively for two weeks.  Created by best-selling author James Patterson, in collaboration with I-play’s award-winning team of designer Jane Jensen and producer Robert Adams, this new title delivers another original story and thrilling adventure to follow the massive success of its predecessor, Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet.

“We are pleased to again collaborate with MSN Games on the exclusive launch of Women’s Murder Club:  A Darker Shade of Grey”, said Don Ryan, Chief Operating Officer, Oberon Media, I-play’s parent company.  “Millions of casual gamers, and James Patterson fans alike, made Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet an interactive gaming hit!  Now, James Patterson and the I-play team have created an addictive sequel that will have users riveted with the new Women’s Murder Club storyline through hours of spine-tingling game play.”

A casual adventure game based on Patterson’s massively popular Women’s Murder Club novels, Women’s Murder Club:  A Darker Shade of Grey is available exclusively for download at MSN Games until March 10.  MSN Games will be offering Women’s Murder Club fans exclusive content including a sneak peek of the first ten chapters of James Patterson’s not-yet-released novel “The 8^th Confession,” desktop wallpapers, Windows Live Messenger icons and jigsaw puzzles created from in-game scenes and characters.    Additionally, players purchasing the game via MSN Games will have access to Women’s Murder Club trivia questions and quizzes.  The game is available for PC download for $19.95.

Women’s Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey is the sequel to the tremendously successful Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet seek-and-find mystery game.  The adventure begins when a brisk morning jog ends in tragedy for a young military cadet.  The famed heroines of Women’s Murder Club are called to the scene and eventually led to a prestigious but secretive military academy in South Carolina.  Users will follow Lindsay and Cindy from California to South Carolina as they interrogate suspects and investigate esteemed military personnel.  Along the way, players will attempt to reveal the truth and track down the killer by solving challenging puzzles using instinct, fact and forensic evidence to expose years of corruption, cover-up and conspiracy.

Women’s Murder Club:  A Darker Shade of Grey is filled to the brim with new features including an all new Women’s Murder Club storyline; character dialogue; ten thrilling investigations unveiling a story of mystery, adventure and sordid secrets; twenty-five challenging puzzles; a point system to track progress within the game; and breathtaking art of locations that lead gamers to delve deeper into this interactive adventure.  The game is being developed and published online by I-play and will be published at retail by Elephant Entertainment, a division of THQ Inc.

One more screenshot of what looks like a forensics minigame. Awesome!

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