It was reported back in October of 2006 that Climax Studios is readying itself for next-gen. What does that mean? Well, in simple terms, the company is trying to streamline its operations by selling off and downsizing some of its studios.

The Brighton, England racing studio was acquired by Walt Disney's Buena Vista Games. With regard to Climax's Santa Monica office though, the company maintains that it is not closing off the location totally. What will happen is that it will be re-organized as a "dedicated business development hub". This means no more games development will be happening in the Santa Monica office. The company explained,

Climax today confirmed that it is has completed its last game development project in it's Santa Monica studio and will now complete the conversion of that operation into a small, dedicated business development hub as part of its strategy to re-organize the group into a single studio/single location operation.

Furthermore, Climax CEO Karl Jeffrey is very pleased with the way the Santa Monica management handled the transition. Jeffrey added that their company can now focus on making games, rather than spending so much time and effort running far-flung group of studios.

Climax Studios is mostly known for its stint on Xbox Live with MotoGP: Ultimate Racing Technology and ATV Offroad Fury 3 on PS2. The company is currently working on Silent Hills: Origins for PSP.

Disney announced at their Investor Conference in Orlando that Buena Vista Games will now be known as Disney Interactive Studios (DIS). Senior VP and General Manager Graham Hopper reasoned, "This change reflects our focus on creativity, the weight of Disney content in our portfolio, and the enormous value consumers see in the Disney Brand."

True, although many people do know that Buena Vista is more or less Disney-related in many ways than one, we believe that slapping on the "Disney" name should reflect inspiration on the new game studio's image. You could think of it as an upgrade, like what happened to Pixar Animation Studios.

Will they be limited to Disney games? Apparently not, for they also have plans to publish non-Disney branded video games for all platforms worldwide. Touchstone, Disney, and ABC are the brands to look for on Disney Interactive Studios' published games.

DIS is powered by four internal game development studios, which include Avalanche Software, Fall Line Studios, Propaganda Games, and Climax Racing to develop games for all ages. So keep an eye out!

We know the lot of you just can't get enough of puzzle games. Especially with handheld, puzzle games hardly ever get old after years of taking it to every single road trip, plane ride, or camping adventure you have. And when you say "puzzle game", the first thing that will pop up into your head would most likely be Lumines II.

With the PSP game's release, this puzzler just got more (as QJ blogger Victor would put it) "psychedelicious". Q Entertainment got Buena Vista Games to sponsor a contest for all you Lumines fans. It's going to be an online video mixer contest where all of you can put your skills to the test and create a new music track. Submissions will only be accepted until December 31, and the winner will head to Miami this spring for a Winter Music Conference and get to meet Junkie XL.

Their website will help you create these video mixes and will have you selecting various musical and graphical elements and tools: loops, beats, and riffs; gameplay footage, dancers, and floating shapes. Although the contest is only open to U.S. residents, anyone can still create their own music track and show it off to their friends.

Psychedelicious, huh? Oh yeah. Like, psychedefinitely!

For more info on the contest and for a crack at the video mixer, click the "Read" link below!

We previously covered a story about creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi claiming that his game is actually for everybody. It apparently was designed, with the help of a great music library, to appeal to both men and women of all ages. Developer Buena Vista Games came forward today saying that while Lumines IImay indeed posses a mass appeal, it still suits and caters better to women.

Accordingly, the company commisioned U.K. psychologist Susan Quilliam to study the phenomenon. In simple terms, the conclusion reached by the study is that, "women may be physically and emotionally programmed to be better than men at strategic games." Also, the report stated that women have ability to analyse, categorise and link large amounts of small detail. In case you haven't noticed, those exact characteristics are employed by Lumines II and even classic Tetris.

What do you think, guys and err, girls? If you ask us, we don't have a degree in Psychology so we can't tell one thing from the other. But we are all gamers here anyway, so whatever floats your boat is fine with us. We're having a funny feeling though that the men-folks will somehow take offense. Oh well, let's just bring out those PSPs and show them who's boss.

By the way, in case you're interested, major key points of Quilliam's study include:

• Multi tasking, a key component of Lumines II, is easier for women as the two halves of the female brain are physically better connected than the male brain.
• Unlike men, women aren’t particularly motivated by games that pit them against other players. Women prefer to achieve by rising through the levels of a game, not by killing off rivals.
• Lumines II looks good! The screen is enhanced with ‘gender-balanced’ colour ranges. Until now, video game palettes have been largely targeted at the male market.
• Women tend to lead integrated lifestyles, whereas men often compartmentalise their activities, working and playing within discreet block of time. Women often find themselves flipping in and out of different activities and switch mental approaches more frequently. Lumines II appeals to this side of women as it can be picked up and played easily, and does not require hours of setting the scene within a game.

After making it onto store shelves just recently, Lumines II and Every Extend Extra (or E3) are once again making waves and making a lot of PSP owners happy. And just in case you haven't gone out and bought this happy pair yet, then here's a batch of gameplay videos that might make you think about finally getting these two games.

Costing US$ 29.99 each, these two titles from Buena Vista Games promise to be engrossing and addictive, just as the first Lumines game was. Where E3 is set to be an exhilarating game of music and colors, Lumines II is set to bring old fans back with its solid gameplay, while attracting new ones with its new skins and themes including Beck, Black Eyed Peas, and Gwen Stefani, to name a few.

So, sit back and enjoy these videos, and perhaps you might actually consider updating your UMD collection with these games pretty soon.

Download: [Lumines II gameplay videos]
Download: [Every Extend Extra gameplay videos]

At first it may seem that Climax Studio is on a downhill track following the sale of its Brighton, England racing studio to Walt Disney's Buena Vista Games. The recent reports about the downsizing of its Santa Monica studio also fits well in this line of thinking. The CEO of the company however, Karl Jeffrey, denies these speculations and says they are just restructuring operations.

"New-gen game development requires incredible focus and the removal of all barriers to your teams creating and communicating effectively," states Jeffrey. Accordingly, Santa Monica studio will be reduced by 14 while the remaining ones in U.K. (in Hampshire and London) will be expanding. All studios will now be placed under the direct management of Simon Gardner, Climax Head of Development.

Jeffrey adds, "Integrating our management structure in this way and doing more of our development in the U.K. will allow us to control the production process better. I am also looking forward to recruiting new talent into the company." The company, in the past, has been responsible for quality titles such as MotoGP, ATV Offroad Fury and Xbox RPG Sudeki.

Today, known upcoming projects of Climax Studio include Oblivion for PSP, next-gen project Codename: Avalon and a Ghost Rider game for 2K Games.

All those wannabe Pirates out there can rest in peace now that Buena Vista games have released game cheat codes the for the DS, GBA and PSP version of their latest sword slasher Pirates Of the Caribbean:Dead Man's Chest. No longer will you have to be as skilled as Jack Sparrow himself as these cheat codes will help you unlock hidden treasure, restore your grog, upgrade your ship, and secure advantages to assist your quest for the Dead Man's Chest minus all the hard work of playing without these codes. Input these codes during gameplay and they'll be worth their weight in doubloons.

PSP Cheat Codes:
tctctccx (tctctccx)* Full Health
tccttsxx (tccttsxx)* God Mode
tccttsss (tccttsss)* One Shot Kill
ccctttxx (ccctttxx)* Unlock Treasure Levels
ccctttss (ccctttss)* Unlock Kraken Battle
tttssxcc (tttssxcc)* Unlimited power moves

t = Triangle Button
c = Circle Button
s = Square Button
x = X Button

DS Cheat Codes:
Cheat Keys Sequence
Restore Health 8 Y Button, Y Button, SELECT, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left
Restore Savvy 8 X Button, X Button, SELECT, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up
Invincibility 20 Up, Down, Left, Right, Right, Right, Right, Right, Left,
Right, Up, Down, Left, Right, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Left
Infinite Power 11 Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, L Button, R Button, SELECT
Ludicrous Weapons 6 Y Button, Y Button, X Button, Y Button, Y Button, Y Button
(Oversized Weapons)
Seasickness Mode 6 X Button, X Button, Y Button, X Button, X Button, Y Button
(Camera Wobble)
Ghostform Mode 6 Y Button, X Button, Y Button, X Button, Y Button, X Button
(Player is transparent)
Banker's Cheat 5 Right, X Button, X Button, Right, Left
(Gain 10 Gold)
Fast Music 6 Y Button, SELECT, Y Button, Y Button, Y Button, Y Button
Slow Music 6 Y Button, SELECT, X Button, X Button, X Button, X Button
Get Blunderbuss 6 Down, L Button, L Button, Down, Down, Down
Get Pistol 6 Down, L Button, L Button, Down, Down, Right
Get Rifle 6 Left, L Button, L Button, Up, Up, Up
Get Chicken 6 Right, L Button, L Button, Up, Down, Down
Get Pig 6 Right, R Button, R Button, Down, Up, Up
Get Axe 10 Left, L Button, L Button, Down, Down, Left, Up, Up, Down, Down
Get Executioner Axe 10 Right, L Button, L Button, Up, Down, Up, Right, Right, Left, Left
Clear Cheats 6 X Button, X Button, X Button, X Button, X Button, X Button
*(Clears Ghostform, Invincibility, Infinite Power, and Fast/Slow Music cheats.)*

Game Boy Advance:
1. Invulnerable - Right Button, Left Button, Up, Up, LKey, RKey
2. Magic Wind (Always Behind) - Up, Right Button, Down, Left, Left, Right
3. Restore Health - Select Button, R Button, A Button, L Button, Left, Right
4. Exit Map to Island Nav (or go to next island) - Left, A Button, Left, Select Button, Down, Down
5. Unlock Rumors - A Button, L Button, Select Button, A Button, Right, Up
6. All Ship Upgrades - Right, Left, Left, Down, Up, Select Button
7. Best Jack Upgrades - Right, L Button, Down, A Button, Left, Select Button
8. Restore Grog/Food - A Button, Select Button, Left, Down, Right, Up
9. Add 1,000 gold - A Button, L Button, Select Button, R Button, Right, Right

Want to see new screens of Every Extend Extra in all of it's psychedelic glory? IGN has uploaded a new batch, showing off this new puzzler/shooter by Q Entertainment (Lumines). The gameplay consists of trying to destroy as many objects as possible with cleverly placed detonations, while enemies are constantly firing at the player. Originally a PC game, Every Extend Extra got considerably beefed up for a release on the PSP, and recently received a rating of 29/40 by Japanese magazine Famitsu.
The game's out on October 27, published by Buena Vista games.

   

   

   

   

   

  

l  

Together with two new screenshots, publisher Buena Vista Games has also published a list of artists who'll be gracing your ears in Q Entertainment's highly anticipated follow-up to the PSP puzzle classic Lumines. These are all very popular musicians and this list shows that Buena Vista is really upping the ante regarding puzzle game soundtracks.

So here's the final list of songs included in Lumines II:

• Beck – “Black Tambourine”
• Black Eyed Peas – “Pump It”
• Chemical Brothers – “Star Guitar”
• Fatboy Slim – “Gangster Trippin’”
• The Go! Team – “Bottle Rocket”
• Gwen Stefani – “Hollaback Girl”
• Hoobastank – “Born to Lead”
• Junior Senior – “Take My Time”
• Missy Elliott – “Lose Control”
• New Order – “TBD”

Two additional songs will also appear on the game’s soundtrack:

• Junkie XL – “Breezer”
• Stigmato Inc – “Reality Check”

Shinichi Osawa (aka Mondo Grosso), who is responsible for the first game's opening tracks, will add some supplementary music, together with Ken Ishii and Techriders. Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Q Entertainment's chief creative officer commented:

“In order to showcase my vision for ‘Lumines II,’ we needed to find music and videos with just the right tone, mix and energy to incorporate into the game. I couldn’t be happier with the result and am excited to get the game into players’ hands."

All in all, the soundtrack seems to be offering a nice variety of styles, and should work pretty well within the game's context - though if you ask me, more tracks by The Go! Team would have made it even cooler. Personal preferences aside, Lumines II will be hitting North American stores in November, hoping to continue and improve on the original game's success.

E3 has been over for a while now, but lots of screens and trailers used there are finally being put online officially by publishers. Lumines II is an example - here, you can check out the nifty trailer for Q Entertainment's sequel to one of the best puzzle games ever.

To be released in fall this year, and this time published by Buena Vista Games, Lumines II features the same, highly addicting puzzle system as it's predecessor - where you must combine block pieces to form bigger squares of the same color - but adds a licensed soundtrack with tracks from today's cutting-edge musicians, new battle modes and also all new backgrounds, including 3D ones and the ability to play streamed video in it!

Download: [Lumines II E3 Trailer]