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Jerusalem, 1191 AD - The Third Crusade is tearing the Holy Land apart. You are an elite Assassin sent to stop the hostilities by suppressing the powers on both the Crusader and Saracen sides. But as you carry out your missions, a conspiracy begins to unfold. You find yourself tangled up in a conflict that threatens not only the Holy Land, but the entire world. Experience the power of a feared Assassin. Your actions can throw your immediate environment into chaos, and your existence will shape the events of this pivotal moment in history. ESRB Rated M for Mature

Zergwatch: Assassin's Creed is the next-gen game developed by Ubisoft Montreal that will redefine the action genre. While other games claim to be next-gen with impressive graphics and physics, Assassin's Creed merges technology, game design, theme, and emotions into a world where you instigate chaos and become a vulnerable, yet powerful, agent of change.

The setting is 1191 AD. The Third Crusade is tearing the Holy Land apart. You, Altair, intend to stop the hostilities by suppressing both sides of the conflict.

You are an Assassin, a warrior shrouded in secrecy and feared for your ruthlessness. Your actions can throw your immediate environment into chaos, and your existence will shape events during this pivotal moment in history.

Key Features

• Be an Assassin: Master the skills, tactics, and weapons of history's deadliest and most secretive clan of warriors. Plan your attacks, strike without mercy, and fight your way to escape.
• Realistic and responsive environments: Crowds react to your moves and will either help or hinder you on your quests.
• Action with a new dimension - total freedom: Eliminate your targets wherever, whenever, and however. Stalk your prey through richly detailed, historically accurate, open-ended environments. Scale buildings, mount horses, blend in with crowds. Do whatever it takes to achieve your objectives.
• Relive the epic times of the Crusades: Assassin's Creed immerses you in the realistic and historical Holy Land of the 12th century, featuring life-like graphics, ambience, and the subtle, yet detailed nuances of a living world.
• Intense action rooted in reality: Experience heavy action blended with fluid and precise animations. Use a wide range of medieval weapons, and face your enemies in realistic swordfight duels.
• Next-gen gameplay: The proprietary engine developed from the ground up for the next-gen console allows organic game design featuring open gameplay, intuitive control scheme, realistic interaction with environment, and a fluid, yet sharp, combat mechanic.

Go deep into the most beautiful but also the most hostile environment in the world: Africa. Caught between two rival factions in war-torn Africa, you are sent to take out "The Jackal," a mysterious character who has rekindled the conflict between the warlords, jeopardizing thousands of lives. In order to fulfill your mission you will have to play the factions against each other, identify and exploit their weaknesses, and neutralize their superior numbers and firepower with surprise, subversion, cunning and, of course, brute force.

Here is all you need to learn to speak and write Japanese properly. My Japanese Coach gives you lesson plans that take place within interesting locations ranging from Tokyo to the country side. With the voice recording and playback feature of the DS, you can compare your accent to a native Japanese speaker. Write Japanese characters using the DS stylus and touchscreen. A Japanese Dictionary and phrasebook with over 12,000 Japanese words and hundreds of useful phrases is included.

Voice recording and playback feature of the DS lets you compare your accent to a native Japanese speaker Ability to listen and compare phrases not just words but also phrases as well Develop your calligraphy skills as you trace over animations showing the proper way to write in Japanese Write Japanese characters using the DS stylus and touch screen Stroke order and comparison ability lets you properly write hiragana / katakana / kanji Participate in mini-games that will test your grasp of the structured lessons featured in the game 12 mini-games reinforce lesson plans and the ability to write in Japanese Variety of mini games ranging from whack-a-mole, word search, bridge builder, and kanji writing Use the built in reference tool to look up useful words and phrases Japanese Dictionary and phrasebook with over 12,000 Japanese words and hundreds of useful phrases Strong reference points and serves as an independent tool from the game that's very practical and useful

Playing My Spanish Coach for 15 to 20 minutes a day is all you need to become fluent in Spanish, no matter your age. The simple touch screen interface lets you spend less time learning the game and more time learning Spanish. The game includes 8 touchpad mini-games to sharpen your skills at your own pace, and lets you track your progress with charts showing your performance learning the language. ESRB Rated E for Everyone.

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Zergwatch:

Rayman Raving Rabbids is the edgiest and most off-the-wall gaming experience in the history of the Rayman franchise. This new Rayman game features the funniest, zaniest, wackiest antics ever when hordes of nasty bunnies invade Rayman's world. They enslave him, forcing Rayman to participate in a series of gladiator-like trials. In order to win his freedom, Rayman must entertain and outwit these crazed, out-of-control bunnies.

Beat the bad bunnies and become a superstar!

Unlock mini-games to play with friends. View larger.

Innumerable uses for the Wii Remote allow for creative game modes. View larger.

How many Raving Rabbids can you take out in 30 seconds? View larger.

Multiplayer games are as fast as they are hilarious. View larger.

Welcome to a new generation of Rayman
You'd be hard-pressed to find a game with as much character as Rayman Raving Rabbids. From the creative minigames to the quirks of the bunnies, this game packs an immense amount of entertainment on one disc. It's rare in games that failing during a competition can bring you as much joy as actually succeeding, but Rayman Raving Rabbids does an admirable job of rewarding your failure with a large dose of comic screams, flying plungers and crossed eyes.

Of course, the point is to succeed and not let the bunnies laugh at your failure. Rayman Raving Rabbids may have a lot of style but it has very little plot. Each level consists of four minigame challenges and one "boss battle," so to speak. If you complete at least three of the minigames, the main gate opens, allowing you to take on a greater challenge. Once you play a minigame in the Story Mode, you unlock that minigame and can play it at any time and against friends.

Exercise your Wii Remote
Hand it to Ubisoft's development crew as they really took advantage of the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers' capabilities. Some minigames are as simple as twirling the Wii Remote like a lasso and pushing a button to launch a cow as if you were in a hammer throw competition. Some minigames really test your coordinating, asking you to swing the Nunchuk like a jump rope and flicking the Wii Remote up to make Rayman jump.

Each level has one consistant challege, however: a rhythm game. As a song plays, the bunnies approach a spot on either stage left or right. When they hit that spot, you'll shake the Nunchuk (if the bunny is on the left) or the Wii Remote when the rabbid hits the mark.

When you take on the boss stages, you'll find yourself, more often than not, playing a rail shooter. The Wii Remote becomesyour light gun, firing plungers at the horde of oncoming rodents. When your plunger supply runs out, shake the Nunchuk to reload. In recent years, the rail shooter (where you don't control the movement) has been forsaken for the first-person shooter and free movement. The Rayman boss experience will make rail shooter fans rejoice. If other shooters can perform as well as the plunger-fueled firing action of Rayman Raving Rabbids, the genre will come back with a vengeance.

Impressive replay value
There's extra incentive to play the many minigames of Rayman Raving Rabbids. When you complete a game in Challenge Mode, the game gives you a code that you can enter at the Rayman Web site which basically gives you access to special features on the site.

The minigames of Rayman Raving Rabbids skew toward a younger audience, and at first, an above-average gamer should find the games to be pretty easy. However, once the minigames are unlocked, a big challenge awaits you to get the highest scores and blast your friends in multiplayer challenges. That's when the realparty begins! Rayman delivers exactly what the Wii promises: fun and lots of it. Here's hoping the bunnies come back for multiple invasions!

Zergwatch: Brothers In Arms Hell's Highway brings the critically acclaimed squad-based WWII shooter into the next generation of gaming with amazing graphics and sound, new cutting-edge gameplay features, and a totally redesigned online component. Delivering on the franchise's compelling story, unrivaled authenticity and intense squad-based action, Brothers In Arms Hell's Highway drops you into Operation Market Garden, the largest paratrooper operation in World War II. Lead Matt Baker, Joe Hartsock and the rest of the 101st Airborne Division as they fight to open "Hell's Highway" in a daring bid for a quick end to the war.

< >WWII action on your PC

Take command as Sgt. Matt Baker.< >View larger.

Engage in large scale battles.< >View larger.

Or house-to-house combat.< >View larger.

Operation Market Garden: The Story of Hell's Highway<
>Operation Market Garden was a real-life Allied offensive designed to destroy Nazi Germany before Christmas, 1944. The plan was ambitious - it was largest airborne invasion in the history of the world. The plan was to capture a corridor through Holland to punch through the German lines. Paratroopers of the 101st Airborne and other divisions dropped from the sky in mid-September to seize and hold the corridor by surprise. The surprise attack was a bust. Hitler's best units were in the area and immediately counter-attacked and crushed the corridor.

Key Features:

• Brothers In Arms Hell's Highway - Next Generation: The classic authentic, squad-based combat series explodes on your PC, offering unprecedented graphics and features.
• New Story, New Setting: Follow Matt Baker, Joe Hartsock and the rest of the 101st Airborne Division in "Operation Market-Garden" as they fight to open famous "Hell's Highway" in a daring bid for a quick end to the war.
• Live the life of an Enlisted Man: Get orders from HQ, go on patrol, spot the enemy and set up a devastating ambush. For the first time, finding the enemy before they find you is part of the challenge.
• Unprecedented Character Design: Lifelike characters look, talk, move and think with incredible realism. Game characters interact with the player and each other like true brothers in arms, trading ammunition, helping wounded allies and civilians, working together to man team-operated weapons, and more.
• Rich Cinematic Experience: As the squad leader, you interact with and get to know your brothers. Each character has his own personality, unique story and background, and grows through the game.
• Powerful New Units Under Your Command: Players can use or command combined arms teams - machine gun crews create intense fire, bazooka crews destroy buildings and tanks, and mortar crews pound the enemy from a distance.
• Step Into the Boots of a Soldier: Hit the dirt and get prone, rip grenades from your chest and hurl them at your enemies. See and feel the blast of nearby explosions.
• Completely New Multiplayer Experience: Fight major multiplayer battles with dozensof players on each side; all the intensity and accessibility of Deathmatch meshed with the squad-based gameplay that helped make Brothers In Arms famous.
• Destroyable Cover: Keep your men moving and choose your cover wisely - simulated with real physics, weapons will damage, dent, scorch and destroy the world around you.

Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway: The Colonel Antal Interview

Since 1985, when it dropped into the WWII division of the popular tactical/strategy shooter genre with Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, the Brothers in Arms series has consistently met with critical acclaim and gamer praise. This was a tough mission to accomplish, but it did so by focusing compelling squad-based tactical gameplay against the backstory of a fictional squad within the historical events of the US Army's 101st Airborne Division during the Allied invasion of Europe during WWII. This type of realism is more unless unheard of in the video game world and can only be provided by someone who really knows their stuff. Enter Colonel John Antal, US Army (Ret.).

Vice President of Knowledge Operations and Military and Historical Director at Gearbox Software, developers of the Brothers in Arms series, Colonel Antal is an Airborne-Ranger officer, a published author of scores of magazine articles, as well as several fiction and nonfiction books on military topics. Most importantly for for the subject at hand though, he is also a major force behind the development of the Brothers in Arms series and recently I was able to catch up with him and ask some questions regarding the newest title in that line, Brothers in Arms Hell's Highway.

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Colonel John Antal, US Army (Ret.) in Kandahar, Afghanistan in September, 2008 during a visit with the paratroopers of the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) Division

Zergwatch: /games: The modern military is full of cutting edge technology, but I'm surethat some readers will be surprised to hear that a career military man, such as yourself, plays such a pivotal role in the development and marketing of a video game. How did this come about? And did you have any video game experience prior to the Brothers in Arms franchise?

Colonel Antal: I just returned from a ten day visit with US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, and I can report to you that when Soldiers are not fighting, they are training for the next fight. The more time Soldiers spend training in realistic simulated battles, the less blood spilled in battle. During my thirty years in the US Army, I trained thousands of Soldiers using constructive, virtual and live military simulations. Once I retired, it was an easy leap for me to switch my experience with military simulations into value-added content for video games.

Zergwatch: /games: I know you've probably been asked this question a thousand times, but let's make it a thousand and one. Operation Market Garden, the WWII allied offensive that Hell's Highway is based on culminated in a German victory. Why make a video game based on a defeat?

Colonel Antal: Market Garden was not a complete success, but war is fought at many levels. At the squad level, war is about fighting for the next hill, hamlet or road junction. Victory and defeat is very clear in a squad - when the battle is over you either have won and lived, or have lost and most of your comrades are dead or wounded. In Brothers in Arms, Hell's Highway, we created a historical fiction that is true to the real history of the battle in ways no other game has approached. The true story of the battle for Hells Highway is dramatic and a worthy story. If we told only stories of victories, we wouldn't be telling true historical fiction. War is about victory AND defeat, gain and loss. Telling both is part of being true to the actual history.

Zergwatch: /games: As a follow-up to this, because this game is based on a very real and in many senses, tragic event for the forces involved and the civilian population, was there more pressure to stick to the facts in this game in order to get things right? And if so howdid your team ensure this?

Colonel Antal: Yes. We have done our best to make the game the most authentic WWII experience ever. Our goal is to put you in the boots of a true-to-life squad leader in the 101st Airborne during the fight for Hell's Highway. This game addresses the true history of the Battle for Hell's Highway, uses realistic tactics and requires you to lead a rifle squad in ways that no other game has ever done.

Zergwatch: /games: The game's story is centered around the events of an American squad, but since Operation Market Garden was an allied offensive, will players get to control, or even better, play as other allied forces? And will there be any playable German characters?

Colonel Antal: The player will play as an American, Staff Sergeant Matt Baker. If you want to learn more about the British, the Dutch Resistance and the Germans, read my companion novel to the game, "Brothers in Arms, Hell's Highway", published by Ballantine Books, Random House. There will also be a history book out in January 2009 that explains the battle for Hell's Highway in day-to-day detail with maps, historical photos, screenshots from the game and much more. Shop for the Colonel's companion novel, "Brothers in Arms, Hell's Highway."

Zergwatch: /games: I've read that Hell's Highway will contain a whole new multiplayer experience. Can you shed some light on how this experience is different from what previous games in the series offered?

Colonel Antal: Multiplayer is really exciting. Our multiplayer design is different from other games because it brings squad game play on-line. We created a team based game, where the team-based aspect is about squad organization. The game will select (or players will vote on) a commander on each team. There can be up to 20 people in the game, 10 per team. The teams will go after objectives in each map that will be resolved in rounds.

Zergwatch: /games: A common criticism in squad-based games is that AI enemies engaged in singleplayer modes are too easily outwitted, which is obviously something that should not happen on a real battlefield. Was dealing with this a consideration in the development of Hell's Highway?

Colonel Antal: Yes, the team did a good job at creating a robust enemy AI that is clearly a tough opponent. Players will be excited about this feature.

Zergwatch: /games: Hell's Highway will feature a wide variety of weapons, not only used byUS forces, but also those of allied troops and the Germans. Are all of these usable by any character and if so does each have specific ammo?

Colonel Antal: All the small arms -- pistols and rifles -- will be useable, as well as most of the crew served weapons (like machine guns). Players can choose from semi-automatic rifles such as the M1-Carbine and M1-Garand, to machine guns such as the M1A1, bazookas such as the M9A1 and pistols. To check out all the weapons you can use and see them in action, check out the website (www.brothersinarmsgame.com in 'the game' section).

Zergwatch: /games: Hell's Highway is the first Brother in Arms title to come to Next-Gen platforms. How much has the visual clarity made possible on these platforms helped in the series' ongoing quest for authenticity?

Colonel Antal: The visual clarity is stunning in this game. It makes use of the Unreal 3 Engine technology to deliver incredibly realistic, authentic and cutting-edge 3D environments. The game also has unprecedented character design - with lifelike characters who look, talk, move and think with incredible realism.

Zergwatch: /games: Hell's Highway is the third game in the series featuring Sgt. Matt Baker, and now Sgt. Joe Hartsock. These two have differing views on the acceptable costs of war and have traded off command duties in the last two games. In Hell's Highway both lead separate squads, but Sgt. Baker appears to be front and center. Will the game feature the ability to play as either sergeant? And regardless, is this dichotomy of outlook regarding command as much an attempt at realism in the field as anything else in the game?

Colonel Antal: The player will play the role of Baker. The story of Baker and Hartsock, and their different approaches to leadership is a vital part of the story that I many of our fans will find intriguing.

Zergwatch: /games: I don't recall tanks playing too much of a role in earlier Brothers in Arms games, but one of the nicer videos I've seen indicated that they might be prominent in Hell's Highway. This seems a nice touch considering that Operation Market Garden's objective was to secure a path for armored units crossing into Germany. What exactly will players be able to do with tanks and what other new units and/or changes to the control scheme can players expect to see?

Colonel Antal: The player will be able to fight as part of a Sherman Firefly crew and will be able to battle German Panzers head to head.

Zergwatch: /games: Whenlast I saw Hell's Highway demoed, one of the things that stood out in my mind was the destructibility of environments and cover. Considering that the game in filled with weapons of varying destructive power, I thought this was a fantastic and natural addition. Can you give a few details on this for our readers?

Colonel Antal: Destructible cover allows the player greater tactical flexibility. Now you can create a flank by blowing away flimsy cover that would normally block your maneuver. The destructible cover system was modeled using real physical properties and behaviors, so weapons will actually damage, dent, scorch and destroy the world around you. It's a great addition to the game that gives players a truly authentic experience.

Zergwatch: /games: Having grown up myself watching movies like A Bridge Too Far, The Guns of Navarone/Force 10 From Navarone, Where Eagles Dare, The Dirty Dozen, Kelly's Heroes, The Longest Day, etc. I've often wondered why the events of WWII have not been more heavily mined for game subject matter. With the continued success of the Brothers in Arms franchise and others, as well as the power of Next-Gen technology, do you see this changing?

Colonel Antal: I strongly believe that powerful, dramatic human stories provide an exciting medium for video games. WWII was a vast WORLD WAR with countless powerful, dramatic, human stories. Anyone who is bored with WWII hasn't studied the war in depth. The stories from WWII have importance relevance to us today and are archetypical examples of the moral dilemma of war. No sane person wants war, but if you value life and liberty, sometimes you are forced to fight. I expect that we will be telling these stories and incorporating them into our games for many years to come.

Zergwatch: /games: Since the framework of the Brothers in Arms series is the allied invasion of German-occupied Europe and the battles that would eventually make up the march towards Berlin/the race to beat the Red Army there, can players expect to see more from Sgt. Baker and his squad in the future, perhaps at the Battle of the Bulge and beyond?

Colonel Antal: As long as I have anything to do with it, the answer is YES.

Zergwatch: /games: Finally, because it's interesting to pick the brains of people behind the games, do you mind telling our readers what games you are playing and/or what you are reading these days? Also, I know that you have authored several fiction and nonfiction books as well asarticles. Are you working on anything new that you might want to tell us about?

Colonel Antal: I'm an Airborne-Ranger and have been a combat officer all my adult life. I pretty much like to play anything with WAR in the title!

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Many thanks to Colonel Antal for taking taking some time to give us his insights into the impact that the historical events of WWII as well as actual combat tactics have played in the creation of Hell's Highway and the Brothers in Arms franchise as a whole. We wish him, Gearbox Software and Ubisoft much success with the new game and look forward to the next installment in the Brothers in Arms saga, where players may find the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne fighting their way to Berlin and an eventual rendezvous with VE day.

--Tom Milnes, Freelance Contributor

Zergwatch:

If you take healthy steps, how far will you go? My Weight Loss Coach for Nintendo DS is a game for every adult, male and female, who considers reaching and maintaining their target weight a challenge. A program that fits your own objectives and respects your daily life constraints, My Weight Loss Coach supports you and tracks your progress and achievements by improving your energy balance. Developed in conjunction with a nutritionist, it helps you take control of your weight efficiently and feel better. Via an exclusive pedometer (included free with the game), you will be able to measure your real physical activity level and balance it, following the advice of a fitness coach. Your motivation will increase with coaching sessions, daily challenges, mini-games and quizzes - play for only 10 to 15 minutes per day and you will feel the difference!

Key Features Personal Profiles: Create your personal profile and evaluate your improvement potential, then set up your objectives following the recommendations based on your personal profile. Input Reward System: On a daily or weekly basis, overall, per input category, via a pedometer, physical activity and nutrition. The Pedometer: Free with the game and easily updated through your DS, it’s the best way to control your daily physical effort, challenge yourself and balance yourfood intake. Real-Life Landmark Checkpoints: As a reward, all physical activities you achieve and good nutrition habits you acquire are converted into distance. Didn’t you notice you’d already been traveling the distance equivalent to the Great Wall of China? Mini-Games: 10 coaching sessions, with different themes like alimentation and physical activity, help define your profile and give you strategies 300 to 500 fun challenges, depending on your profile and your needs Four trivia games, featuring about 300 questions with learning and awareness objectives More than 160 tips and hints within the game Real Experts: Developed in collaboration with a fitness coach and a nutritionist.

A Game That Wants You to Lose View Image

Brush up or start from scratch on the Chinese language with My Chinese Coach. Learn Chinese using carefully structured lessons that guide you through vocabulary and calligraphy exercises. Learn the basic pronunciations unique to the Mandarin language. Use the Nintendo DS stylus to properly write Chinese Kanji Characters. Play through a series of fun and informative mini-games that reinforces the lesson content.