Gaming News Round-Up: March 31st, 2005

Today's round-up includes news of a Namco-sponsored handheld debut for the X-Com creators, as well as a new office for Sega Europe in Germany, plus Denki's multi-player Tetris for the UK set-top box market. - Namco has announced a new Game Boy Advance strategy game called Rebelstar: Tactical Command. Developed by the Gollop brothers, creators of X-Com: UFO Defense, Rebelstar challenges players to overthrow the Arelian Empire that has seized Earth in 2117. The game features a campaign mode as well as multiplayer, one variant of which lets multiple players take turns on a single GBA. Rebelstar: Tactical Command is due in stores in August 2005. - The European arm of Sega is opening an office in Munich, Germany, on April 1st. The purpose of the new office is to increase and strengthen Sega's presence in western markets such as Europe, as part of its strategy for global expansion. Heading up the new Munich office will be Markus Wiedemann, former General Manager of Codemasters' German offices. "Opening the Sega Germany office was merely a question of time," said Mike Hayes, President and COO of Sega Europe. "It is a logical step in our growth strategy and I am delighted to welcome Markus to the Sega team." - Denki, a developer of handheld games based in the U.K., has joined with Sky Gamestar to create a special multiplayer version of Tetris that can be played over a standard cable television box, using the remote control. The Liveplay version of Tetris features a multiplayer version of the standard block-dropping game, in addition to tweaks such as a holding area to store a piece until you need it, as well as a simplified chat system that lets players communicate by choosing predefined phrases from a menu. The Liveplay version of Tetris is available now to Sky Gamestar subscribers. - Also updated on Gamasutra today (free reg. req.): a multi-image artist gallery from former Metal Fatigue and Aliens Versus Predator: Extinction team member and current piratical freelance artist Todd Pickens, as well as newly advertised jobs from Activision/Treyarch, Day 1 Studios, Perpetual Entertainment, Pronto Games, Rockstar Vancouver, and Skyworks Technologies.