Genuine adventure games are far and few between in this day and age, this is one reason we've kept a close eye on Thesis from Track 7 games since running across it at the now infamous E3 2005.

We sat down with Track 7 General Director Fayez Daud and asked him to give us the latest on this Greek epic.

It's a merry, merry Christmas from Atari who has something for everyone this holiday season, from RPGs to fighting games, tactic games to well, whichever category you want to fit in Tamagotchi Party On! Head on to the full article for their holiday lineup.

It's nice to see game developers with a little flexibility for their intended target market. Aside from catering to a wider audience of gamers, it's just good business sense. This was probably what was going through Ready at Dawn's mind when they followed up their very wholesome platformer, Daxter, with the upcoming mythological hack-and-slash game, God of War: Chains of Olympus.

With the God of War series already infamous for its bloody appeal to gamers everywhere, you have to wonder, especially with the growing attention people have been giving to violence in media, if there's any hope for violent games left in the video game market. Ru Weerasuriya, founder and vice president of Ready at Dawn, wrote an article on the subject, giving his opinion on the effect of violence in media.

He focuses on the inevitably bloody theme of God of War: Chains of Olympus and how it compares to the many violent games being criticized in the market (and of course the name of Mr. Jack Thompson just had to come up in his article). He says that because the game is based on Greek mythology, it is inevitable that the theme of violence and sordid tales will be inserted into God of War. In introspect, the violence the game depicts is tame compared to the actual mythology and even the history of Greece.

Of course, you can't help but insert the advocacy of freedom of expression when defending a medium which you find yourself prolific in and a majority of Weerasuriya's arguments focus mainly on such. Saying that the advent of the interactive entertainment industry cannot be blamed just because some feel threatened of the way such medium is presented that offends them and threatens their comfortable way of living.

The full article along with Mr. Ru Weerasuriya's stirring comments on violence on video games after the jump!

Wondering if you favorite country will be included in Konami Digital Entertainment's latest Pro Evolution Soccer release? Erik Hansson over at the Level7 site has just picked up what appears to be a complete listing of the national teams making it to PES 2008 (Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, DS, PC).

That's all the details we've got on this news, which ties in nicely with the celebrities expected to make an appearance in the game. Stay tuned in case we receive more update - or if some lucky gamer confirms this lineup based on PES 2008's upcoming demo release. For now, here's the list (translated by the Winning Eleven blog):

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• England
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Israel

The complete list is available in the Full Article

If you've ever wanted to play international hoops in a video game but couldn't find one that will offer such a thing, then worry no more. NBA Live 08 (also coming to the Xbox 360, Wii and PC) just sealed a licensing deal with world basketball governing body FIBA and international teams will be included in the mix.

The Play Now mode allows you to pit the world's best teams against any ballclub in the NBA, while the FIBA mode will have you battling it out in an 8-team tournament to determine which national squad has the right to be called world champions. This means you can take it to the rack using Manu Ginobili while Spurs teammate Tim Duncan tries to stop you. Can T-Mac shoot fadeaways over Yao Ming? We'll find out soon.

2006 World Championship winners Spain led by Memphis Grizzlies star Pau Gasal will be there as well as runners up Greece and USA, as well as France, Germany, Italy, Argentina and China.

The announcement adds to the already stellar list of new features such as the Go-To basketball gameplay, deep customization and management. Combine that with the trademark quality graphics and sound and the NBA Live dynasty just might go on well into the new age of digital sports.

  

 

Set in Greece, Theseis features the exploits of Andronicos and Pheve as they try to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of their stepfather. The game combines the realms of the natural and supernatural as brother and sister join forces to put to rest the struggle between good and evil that his disappearance brings about.

We recently had the chance to chat with Track 7's Demetris Papadopoulos, product manager for Theseis, about their upcoming game. In the interview, we were given a peek as to what to expect for the PC version, as well as some hints as to what gamers might see in the future 360 version. More importantly, he gave us a glimpse of Greece, past and present, and that's something many adventurers, perhaps even Andronicos and Pheve's father, would have been willing to give their lives for.

   

The Full Interview after the jump!

Updates about Track 7's adventure game Theseis (PC, Xbox 360) aren't really trickling down like raindrops on a cloudy and rainy day, so when we found out that Adventure Advocate had a sit-down with the Track 7 folks, we pounced on the chance to dish out what's up with the game straight from the devs themselves.

As always, the interview was laden with personal stuff, so with that, we'll be focusing more on the tidbits about Theseis. The devs who talked with Adventure Advocate were Dimitris Papadopoulos - Advertising Manager of Theseis, worldwide; Nektarios Xionis - Concept Artist / Script Writer; Kostas Giatilis – Animator / Script Writer; Michael Georgopoulos - Programmer; and Giannis Tsiombikas - Programmer.

When asked how far into the game have they finished and what are the problems they encountered during development, they said that after two years of work, they are now in the final stage of the game's completion. They also exposed that they have no problems with manpower but there has been a change in the game's story which led to a minor delay.

Aside from that, they also clarified that the game won't be in Greek. The Track 7 devs said that "what you have seen in the trailer was in ancient Greek and it was used to show the past and the true nature of Theseis. Since the game takes place in modern Greece, we will see shops, locations as Monastiraki, and names that will be in Greek. Moreover, we will have Greek subtitles. There is also the possibility of localization in some other languages."

More of the interview and screens after the jump!

The European Commission is set to introduce a list of common sanctions against retailers that sell violent video games to minors. Perhaps, what's good about this is that the Commission has decided to leave it to member states to identify which games will be considered "violent."

EUobserver reports that the EU justice and security commissioner, Franco Frattini, has told journalists last January 10 that he would file new and stricter rules governing the sale of video games to children below 16 before this year's summer break.

Reuters informs that Frattini had this to say: "I do want to harmonize rules punishing people illegally selling products, people not controlling and checking identity." Frattini does however stresses that the EU executive would abstain from suggesting which kind of material should be banned. He adds: "We cannot judge from Brussels which videogames should be prohibited. "

It can be recalled that last December, Frattini suggested that the Brussels' package could include new age restrictions on certain games as well as stronger, more effective, parental advisory warnings. The commissioner is confident with the proposal, especially since he has so far received support from eight EU countries – Germany, Britain, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Finland, France and Spain.

It has to be noted that this initiative comes after last November's incident in Germany, where Sebastian Bosse injured eleven students at his school before killing himself, and that retailers in most EU countries are not legally obliged to restrict the sale of adult classified products.

Why should we bother to know about these things? Because some people might get some bright ideas.