http://www.news.com/
By Tim Surette
http://www.news.com/Playboy-strips-down-sirens-of-cyberspace/2100-1043_3-5857572.html

Story last modified Fri Sep 09 18:40:29 PDT 2005


For all game players who've taken a gander at a digital dame and thought, "She could be in Playboy!" a pictorial last year in an issue of Hugh Hefner's magazine confirmed just that.

Several game icons, including BloodRayne and Mileena from "Mortal Kombat," shed for the spread.

The success of the issue, which also included articles on the industry and picks for the holiday season's top games, prompted Playboy to go for round two. According to CNN's Chris Morris, eight female game characters will once again rerate themselves as AO (Adults Only) for October's issue of Playboy.

So which lucky video vixens will be baring all? Jacqui, a cheerleader from "Midway's Blitz: The League" will be in her god-given under-armor. Carla Valenti from Atari's "Indigo Prophecy," who plays a detective solving a rash of murders in New York City, will cleverly deduce that she's nude in the issue. Capcom's "Darkwatch" will offer two beauties, the arresting Cassidy, a blond deputy in the Old West, and Tala, a vampiric femme fatale who also appeared in last year's pictorial when "Darkwatch" was still under the watch of Sammy Studios. Alexa, a reporter from VU Games' "50 Cent: Bulletproof," will, to quote 50, not only "party like it's her birthday," but party in her birthday suit.

Rounding out the octet will be characters from Sony's "God of War" (who likely already appeared nude in the game), Namco's "Hellgate: London," and, fittingly, Hip Games' "Playboy the Mansion: Private Party."

The pictures will appear on eight trading cards, four of which will be printed in two different versions of the magazine. When positioned together correctly, the eight cards form a ninth picture.

Playboy has been tapping into the growing gaming market in recent years. In addition to "Playboy: The Mansion," which puts the sin in "Sims"-style gameplay, the empire has offered downloadable pictorials formatted for Sony's PSP.

Tim Surette reported for GameSpot.