E3 2005: Midway's Lineup @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on May 19, 2005

News: Mortal Kombat! On PSP! Other Games Too!

The house that Mortal Kombat built has finally released their E3 lineup. And look at all the Mortal Kombat on it. I for one am shocked.

Blitz: The League (PS2, Xbox; Winter 2005) - The celebrated arcade-style football franchise is back and better than ever with a new treatment of America's most popular sport. Blitz: The League is an unlicensed video game exposing the harsh realism and troubling, behind-the-scenes stories of a fictional professional football league. While Blitz: The League maintains the brand's popular core elements - bone-crunching late hits, high-speed action and over-the-top animations - it also features a powerful new storyline that will captivate gamers from the first play.

Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows (PS2, Xbox; Winter 2005) - The legendary arcade classic Gauntlet is reborn with a new vision, story and gameplay in Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows. Seeking to undo the past, a powerful emperor gets lost in the madness of his own dreams and nightmares. Four immortal heroes, who were once imprisoned by the emperor for two centuries, set out to undo his lifetime of regrets. In the process, they must deal with the consequences of their own actions and watch as the world shakes apart around them. Seven Sorrows is the fusion of fantasy fighting action with the strategy and fascination of user-friendly RPG elements, and challenges gamers in single-player and co-op modes as Gauntlet goes online for the first time.

L.A. Rush (PS2, Xbox; Fall 2005) - Buckle up, rev the engine, drop the clutch and blast off in Midway's high-octane arcade racer, L.A. Rush. In L.A. Rush, players join the crew at West Coast Customs to pimp their ride and live the lifestyle of an L.A. street racer. An exciting and unique story-driven experience allows players to race through five wide-open Los Angeles city re-creations filled with all of the heart-pounding treacherous shortcuts and death-defying jumps that have made the Rush franchise so addictive.

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (PS2, Xbox; Fall 2005) - Experience the Mortal Kombat franchise from an entirely new action/adventure perspective by exploring the vast Mortal Kombat II universe as two of Mortal Kombat's favorite Shaolin Monks: Liu Kang and Kung Lao. It's the first time ever a Mortal Kombat action/adventure title has featured a multidirectional Kombat system, joining an array of features that include a deep storyline, singleplayer and two-player co-op modes, more comprehensive fatalities, mutalities, brutalities and special attacks.

The Suffering: Ties That Bind (PS2, Xbox, PC; Fall 2005) - Journey back into the madness as Midway reveals the next riveting chapter to its critically-acclaimed action-horror franchise, The Suffering. Building upon the predecessor that redefined the action-horror genre, Ties That Bind features more disturbing horror, new twisted creatures and ultrarealistic environments. Set in the slums and prisons of Baltimore, the player once again controls Torque as he seeks revenge against the mysterious grand manipulator, Caleb Blackmore, a man somehow tied to the death of his family. Players explore the tough and unforgiving inner-city streets where poverty and urban injustices trap people as effectively as a prison. The unique morality system returns, as players delve into the perverse world of Torque's sanity to discover his past while struggling to control his future.

Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War (PC; Winter 2005) - Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War is the latest creation from award-winning developer Stainless Steel Studios and renowned game designer Rick Goodman (Empire Earth). A detailed real-time strategy game featuring stunning graphics, intuitive gameplay and multiple online game types, Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War lets players completely command one of the four mightiest empires of the ancient world: Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Persian. But don't just watch the battle, join it! Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War allows gamers to engage in awe-inspiring feats of heroism by personally joining their troops during climactic battles and personally impact the outcome as one of eight unique heroes, each with special abilities and weapons.

Unreal Tournament 2007 (PC; 2006) - The latest entry into the Unreal franchise, Unreal Tournament 2007, is currently in development by Epic Games Inc. Fans will be blown away by the next-generation gameplay, modifiability and visuals that Epic's Unreal Engine 3 technology will bring to the franchise. Unreal Tournament 2007 is scheduled for release in 2006. The Suffering: Ties That Bind is also scheduled to be released for PC in Fall 2005.

Ed, Edd n Eddy: The Mis-Edventures (PS2, GC, GBA, PC; Winter 2005) Ц Inspired by the wildly popular Cartoon Network TV series and licensed by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Ed, Edd n Eddy: The Mis-Edventures, allows players to be their favorite hilarious characters in a Tag Team Antics game for the whole family. Played from a thirdperson perspective, the player controls all three Eds at once, and must use each character's unique abilities to complete whacky scam objectives.

Midway Arcade Treasures 3 (PS2, Xbox, GC; Fall 2005) Ц It's retro racing at its finest as Midway delivers its next treasure chest of classics with Midway Arcade Treasures 3, which includes eight all-time classic racing games for current generation consoles - many for the first time. Smash hits include S.T.U.N. Runner, Hydro Thunder, Super Off Road, San Francisco Rush 2049, plus many more.

PSP TITLES

Midway Arcade Treasures (working title) (Winter 2005) Ц Now you will be able to play classic arcade gaming titles anywhere, anytime. Midway Arcade Treasures features an incredible roster of old school favorites including, Spy Hunter (single-player), Sinistar (single-player), Defender (single-player), Paperboy (single- player), 720║ (single-player), Klax, Joust, Marble Madness, Toobin', Rampage (3-player), Gauntlet (4-player), Rampart (3-player), Wizard of Wor, Xybots, Championship Sprint, Arch Rivals, Cyberball 2072, Xenophobe (3-player), Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, and Mortal Kombat 3. Midway Arcade Treasures features 5 single-player and 16 wireless games, with some wireless titles including 3 and 4-player compatibility.

Mortal Kombat: Deception (working title) (Winter 2005) - Mortal Kombat: Deception revolutionizes the fighting game genre while maintaining the lethal intensity that the franchise has been known for since its 1992 debut in arcades, with online competition, multiple fatalities per character, multi-tiered interactive backgrounds and new game modes. Mortal Kombat: Deception delivers an enhanced free-roaming Konquest mode, an action/strategy board game and a unique puzzle game that compliment the one-on-one fighting mode that has helped establish the Mortal Kombat franchise as the ultimate fighting game.

NBA Ballers (working title) (2006) - Live the fantasy life of an NBA superstar with NBA Ballers, the exclusive one-on-one basketball video game that highlights the "bling-bling" lifestyle of NBA superstars: chromed-out cars, ice, ladies, tatts and jets, all of which hinge on the killer cross-over. NBA Ballers also features NBA Legends dunking in your grill to determine who is the greatest baller of all time. Officially licensed by the NBA and NBA Legends, NBA Ballers takes the game out of the arenas and into some of the most lavish NBA player fantasy "cribs" for an up-close and personal one-on-one experience with more than 60 current and 24 all-time player legends. NBA Ballers will also feature wireless headto-head action.

COMING SOON FOR NEXT-GENERATION SYSTEMS

Stranglehold (Fall 2006) - Stranglehold, a third-person, action/adventure game set in Hong Kong and Chicago, is being developed in collaboration with world-renowned action film director, John Woo. Featuring international action film star Chow Yun-Fat as Inspector Tequila, Stranglehold will feature the hyperkinetic, choreographed action and freeze framed sequences made famous by John Woo. Stranglehold is scheduled to be available for nextgeneration console systems in Fall 2006.