Village Gamer

Canadian publisher Meridian4 is excited to announce the release and availability of the first official add-on to Arma 2 – Operation Arrowhead in the form of DLC named Arma 2 – British Armed Forces. The downloadable content is now available on their site for $9.99.

“We are really excited to work with Bohemia Interactive to bring this new content to gamers,” said Steve Milburn, Marketing Director, of Meridian4. “With new playable content and new weapons, vehicles and units, Arma 2 : British Armed Forces is a great addition to the Arma 2 family.”

“The ongoing enthusiasm and incredible passion of our community continues to inspire and encourage us” said Marek Spanel, Bohemia’s CEO, “to that end, we’re excited to invite them back to Takistan for another slice of tactical action. This downloadable content is both an answer to their wishes and evidence of our commitment to providing quality post release support and content to the already huge Armaversum.”

Less than two months after Operation Arrowhead successfully routed the Takistani military regime, NATO coalition forces face a large-scale outbreak of guerilla insurgency. A mechanized force of British troops are about to deploy and embark upon a large-scale counter-insurgency campaign, which will define the future of the coalition presence in Takistan: Operation “Crimson Lance”. Read the rest of this entry »

Now you can compete against your Facebook and Twitter friends in the latest release of ApeZone’s SoliScare card game for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. The new version adds 11 leaderboards and 18 achievements to this already addictive little card game.

SoliScare lets you embark on a fantastic journey through graveyards, haunted houses, and spooky castles. Put the beat down on ghosts, zombies, and classic movie monsters in 100 levels of play.

Game play follows one simple rule: move monster cards to your hero pile by choosing cards that are one higher or lower than your current hero card. As you make longer card runs, you’ll capture these creatures and add them to your jailhouse. Capture all 37 ghosts, zombies, and monsters to become the new Van Helsing.

Ludia Inc., and Sony Pictures Consumer Products announced today that Ludia will create video games based on the hugely popular Pyramid series of television game shows. The licensing deal will result in games across major console platforms, PC/Mac, iPhone/iPod touch and iPad, the first of which games is slated for release in Q1 2011.

“Pyramid is a classic TV game show favorite, and we are thrilled to create games around the property so that fans of the show and broader audiences alike are able to feel the thrill of reaching ‘Winner’s Circle’ from home,” said Alex Thabet, Founder and CEO of Ludia Inc. “This deal serves to further expand Ludia’s prominence across platforms in the game show video game category, which has been a successful growth strategy for us.”

Pyramid will feature all the favorite elements from the show as the game pits pair against pair in a bid to reach the coveted ‘Winner’s Circle’. Players pick from six categories on the pyramid-shaped game board, and guess a series of words or phrases as described by their team mate. The duo that scores more points than their opposing team wins the match, and gets a shot at the grand prize. Additionally, the Pyramid video games will incorporate thousands of questions, connected gaming elements, single and multiplayer game modes, as well as reward systems to fuel the competitive fun between players.

“Pyramid has been a long-standing and successful game show franchise, and we are delighted to work with Ludia to create new opportunities that will bring an engaging entertainment experience to fans of the show,” added Mark Caplan, Vice President Licensing, Sony Pictures Consumer Products.

Three of EA Sports’ titles are vying for the top spot in the Golden Joystick Awards. FIFA 10, Skate 3 and 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa are all in the final run to the top. Ubisoft Canada is also competing against itself in the Action Title category, with both Assassin’s Creed 2 and Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction in the running.

Assassin’s Creed 2: Bonfire of the Vanities and FIFA 10 are finalists for Downloadable Game of the Year while Next Level’s Punch Out!! and EA Sports’ Fight Night Round 4 have entered the ring for Fighting Game of the Year. EA Blackbox is trying to be first over the finish line in the Online Game of the Year with Need For Speed World while franchise twins Assassin’s Creed Bloodlines and Assassin’s Creed Discovery are both in the running for Portable Game of the Year. We have a cross-country showdown going between EA Montreal’s NFS Shift and United Front’s Modnation Racers in the Racing Game of the Year category.

Bioware fans will have a real problem voting in the Role Playing Game of The Year category as Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age Origins Awakening have all made it to the final list. In the soundtrack category, we have Mass Effect 2 competing against Assassin’s Creed 2, and in the RTS category we have household favourite Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Chaos Rising from Relic. The voting for Ultimate Game of the Year is going to be hot and heavy with Assassin’s Creed 2, Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age: Origins all hoping to take the podium. Read the rest of this entry »

A very special starring role has been played in the upcoming tween detective web series, Ruby Skye P.I. The esteemed Dragon Academy joined forces with one of Canada’s most innovative online storytellers – Jill Golick of Story2.OH – to become the first member of the local education community to embrace direct sponsorship of original, responsible and engaging online entertainment for Tweens; one of the world-wide web’s most under-served audiences. Principal Dr. Meg Fox declares the partnership “a wonderful opportunity”, noting the shared sensibilities between the school, and the digital series concept: “Our principal educational goals are to encourage all the things that Ruby Skye cares about too: creativity, freedom of expression, collaboration and commitment to social justice.”

Founded in Toronto’s Yorkville district in 2001, The Dragon Academy is a socratic, museum-based, integrated school revered for valuing rich, challenging and unusual content in its curriculum via lively connections with Toronto’s key cultural institutions. This made it the ideal local sponsor for the equally inspired new form of storytelling featured in the pending, locally created & produced web series, Ruby Skye P.I. The Dragon Academy is heavily featured as a principle location for the series’ action: it is just the sort of school environment to promote the curious, inquisitive and often hilarious sleuthing adventures of the quick-witted, impulsive mystery devotee, sixteen-year old Ruby Skye — a very young would-be detective bent on getting to the bottom of a mysterious email scam which has defrauded a well-meaning but eccentrically naive neighbour.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXn2xsrzot4]

Ruby Skye P.I. is a tween web mystery aimed at kids ages 8 through 14 and is one element of an impressive cross-platform project intended to entertain, engage and educate kids online around the world. Ruby Skye P.I. is the brain-child of Canada’s pioneering transmedia creator, Story2.OH’s Jill Golick (Hailey Hacks, Crushing It, BoyMeetsGrrl) and already represents a dazzling collaboration among community, corporate, and creative partners — all keen to see Canada reach the cutting edge of excellent online content for young people.

The first Ruby Skye P.I. mystery began principal photography at The Dragon Academy and on location around Toronto on August 16th and continues shooting its first mystery, The Spam Scam until September 2nd. Ruby Skye P.I. is one of nine digital web series projects selected for investment by the highly-competitive Canadian Independent Production Fund’s new web series program. Ruby Skye P.I. continues to seek local, national and international partners to fully realize its exciting vision. Interested potential sponsors can contact creator Jill Golick at 416.414.8539.

The Montreal International Game Summit (MIGS) has announced its keynote speakers for MIGS 2010, taking place November 8th and 9th at the Hilton Bonaventure Hotel in Montreal.

MIGS 2010 will feature two exciting, distinguished main speakers:

* Ed Fries, co-founder of the XBOX project, will discuss beauty, constraints and the Atari 2600.
* Ron Carmel, co-founder, 2DBOY, will examine the crucial steps involved in developing an independent video game – and will also boldly offer a few industry predictions.

In addition to these two inspiring headliners, MIGS 2010 will feature – for the first time ever – a special keynote speaker for each track.

MIGS 2010’s five track keynote speakers include:

Business: David Edery, director, Fuzbi, will explore the life cycle of online distribution platforms, the key challenges involved and how companies can develop practical solutions to succeed in these growing markets.

Art: Alex Alvarez, CEO, Gnomon School of Design, will speak on the importance of continuing education – and how today’s artists can stay inspired and motivated while constantly looking to evolve.

Design: Scott Jon Siegel, game designer, Playdom, will define the notion of success in the world of casual video games development. Siegel will also examine how independent developers can gain a clear competitive edge by not being afraid to innovate.

Production: Tom Wujec, fellow, Autodesk, will carefully examine and offer innovative ways to solve many of today’s visual challenges and issues.

Tech: Ryan Challinor, software developer, Harmonix Music Systems, will explore the exciting process undertaken by the company for developing video games without conventional controllers. This session will include an exclusive look at the multiple prototypes Harmonix has created.

Video game industry professionals can take advantage of a 30% discount by registering online before September 25th.

Good Guy Robots Inc. (GGR) has just released Codex, a puzzle game that has gotten gamers to scratch their heads and think. Codex is a spatial logic puzzle with one goal in mind: to solve the puzzle in the fewest moves to earn gold medals. The gold medals are showcased in the leaderboards, where players are ranked based on score with an option to display their medal haul. The medal haul shows off how each player did on each level.

Codex has 30 levels in progression of puzzle size and difficulty grouped in 6 stages. Finishing a puzzle will unlock the next one as long as you finish the puzzle within the prescribed moves. You can go back and play any puzzle you’ve already completed, however this feature is disabled in trial mode.

Codex also has music visualizations during gameplay that are hooked into the music shared to the Xbox from your computer or USB device. The music visualization has each of the gears tuned to a specific frequency as the music is playing. GGR felt that this added to the look and feel of the game as well as allowed for a better experience by allowing gamers to listen to the music they enjoy.

Codex will be available on Xbox Live Indie Games on August 28th for 240MSP ($3 USD). GGR chose that price point because they will include new levels in future updates that would normally be bought as DLC in other markets. GGR plans to release the game on iPhone and iPad as well with the option to buy new levels as they are available.

GGR felt their price strategy was risky since console gamers who buy Indie games are used to buying games at the bargain basement price point (80 MSP), however, as GGR plans to absorb the cost of developing the new levels in the initial cost of game, there are no plans to drop the price after the 90 day price freeze from initial release. GGR is proud of this release and hopes that the market is receptive to it so that they can continue to make high quality games on Xbox Live Indie Games. Codex can be queued for download to your Xbox360 via web or by perusing the Xbox 360’s community games section.

PayPal and leading Canadian companies announced two new ways for Canadians to use the power of smartphones and social media to quickly and simply send charity donations or raise money for their favourite causes.

The new version of the PayPal Mobile 2.5 released today on iTunes allows customers to send charity donations to 17 highly-regarded, national Canadian non-profit organizations directly from their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Donations can be funded from a PayPal account balance, bank balance or credit card. PayPal worked with Artez Interactive, a Toronto-based online fundraising solutions provider to make the donate feature possible.

“Canada is a caring society and Canadians are very technologically savvy,” says Darrell MacMullin, General Manager, PayPal Canada. “By bringing these two powerful qualities together and making charitable giving and fundraising simpler on the digital platforms Canadians use every day, PayPal hopes to help charities find new ways of raising money.”

The use of smartphones to buy products and services from online retailers, known as mobile commerce, has exploded in recent years. PayPal customers completed $25 million in mobile purchases in 2008. In 2009, the figure jumped to $141 million. In 2010, PayPal expects to process more than $500 million in mobile transactions.

Part of that growth has been fueled by the rapid adoption of smartphones in Canada. According to an IDC report in January 2010, smartphone penetration among businesses and consumers in Canada is about 25 per cent, but is growing at a rate of 30 per cent year over year. In Canada, the growing number of advanced networks is expected to continue to drive smartphone adoption.

“Customers are comfortable using smartphones for all kinds of professional and personal needs, so making it easier for Canadians to give to charities that way is important,” said Philip King, President and CEO, Artez Interactive. “For charities, mobile giving is a new channel; one that allows people to give quickly and simply and one that may help reach new, younger audiences who don’t respond as readily to traditional fundraising campaigns.” Read the rest of this entry »

My 360 is going to be very busy downloading new DLC from Bioware next month. Earlier this week the studio announced The Lair of the Shadowbroker for Mass Effect 2, which is due out on September 7th. Also coming out on the same day is Witch Hunt for Dragon Age Origins. It appears that this DLC chapter will cost the same as Leliana’s Song, 560 MS Points or $7.00.

The dreaded Archdemon has been slain and the advance of the darkspawn halted by a lone, heroic Grey Warden. The kingdom rejoices, but at least one question remains: what happened to Morrigan? The sorceress joined the Wardens cause, but it is said her true purpose was not revealed until the eve of the last battle. She vanished into the shadows, and while rumours claimed she crossed over the mountains into Orlais, no trace of her path could be found. She was never heard from again… until now. Nearly a year has passed since the Archdemon’s death, and word has reached the Wardens that Morrigan has returned to Ferelden. She has been sighted in the southern wilderness where she was first encountered, but is it truly her? If it is, then why is she here and what secret does she carry with her? The Warden heads into the forest to find out and tie up this last loose end once and for all.

Key Features:

* Confront Morrigan in this dramatic conclusion to the Origins storyline
* Earn powerful rewards that transfer into your Awakening and Origins campaign
* Import your character from Origins or Awakening or create a new, high-level hero

Witch Hunt will also introduce Ariane, a new character who is a gifted Dalish warrior, and her clan’s best hunter. When an ancient artifact belonging to the clan’s Keeper is stolen, one with a history tied to the very roots of the elven people, Ariane is charged with the task of reclaiming it. She is determined to carry out her solemn duty, and when her task turns out to intersect with the Warden’s quest to find Morrigan she realizes that there may be far more to the artifact’s disappearance than simple theft. There are two more character links, but as of right now they are both “sealed” – perhaps more will be revealed in the coming days?

Unity Technologies has announced that Jesse Schell, CEO of Schell Games, will keynote at Unite 2010. Unite 2010 is Unity Technologies’ fourth annual developer conference for artists, programmers, designers, researchers, publishers and enthusiasts taking place November 10-12 at the historic Marché Bonsecours in Old Montreal, Canada following the Montreal International Game Summit.

Jesse is a lauded author and lecturer on the subject of games design and his Schell Games studio is using Unity to develop ‘The Mummy Online’ in collaboration with Universal and Bigpoint. This Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) is set to launch in Winter 2010.

“I’ve been dreaming for years about a ubiquitous 3D solution for web browsers, and Unity is that solution,” said Jesse Schell, CEO of Schell Games. “It’s changing the face of online game development, and we’re just at the beginning of what is possible.” Read the rest of this entry »

Electronic Arts Inc. and independent Vancouver development studio Klei Entertainment would like to remind you that the highly anticipated downloadable 2D action game Shank, will be available for download today on PlayStation®Network for $9.99 and tomorrow, August 25th, on Xbox LIVE® Arcade (1200 MS Points). At press time, Shank was still showing a release date of “08.2010” on PSN, but the XBLA page has been updated with tomorrow’s release date. With its blend of classic side-scrolling action gameplay and stylized animation set against a modern-Western canvass, Shank tells a bloody story of revenge, penned by award-winning game writer Marianne Krawczyk.

“Our goal with Shank was to create a game that pays homage to the classic 2D brawler, while seeing how far we could push it by melding it with our own pulp-fiction influences,” said Jamie Cheng, CEO of Klei Entertainment. “At the end of a long road that began as an indie dream in 2009, we’ve finally shipped a visually striking, cinematic brawler.”

“With Shank, Jamie Cheng, Jeff Agala, and the team at Klei Entertainment have delivered the game analog of the black comedy symphony of violence dominating today’s indie film circuit,” said Jamil Moledina, Outreach Director at EA Partners. “This exquisitely bloody game conjures memories of the best arcade brawlers of the late 1980s, while delivering the production values and pitch perfect controls of a modern high definition blockbuster masterpiece.”

Shank tells a classic story of gangland betrayal through a violent, pulp-fiction lens. Gamers play as Shank, getting their hands bloody as they uncover the secrets of Shank’s past and the reasons he is hell-bent on revenge. With a deep and intuitive combat system, players unleash a tremendous number of creative combinations as they take down waves of enemies standing in their path. Shank also features a special co-operative campaign, designed to be played with a friend locally, which tells the backstory of the revenge plot. This prequel mission allows players to play as Shank or his partner-in-crime Falcone, with deadly double-team moves and gameplay that encourages teamwork.

Shank is one of the most highly anticipated downloadable game releases of this summer, having been nominated for Excellence in Visual Arts by the Independent Games Festival, as well as multiple “Best of E3” awards, including “Best Action Game” from IGN.com and “Best Downloadable Game” from GameTrailers.com. Shank is rated M by the ESRB.

The McLuhan Festival of the Future’s Vortex Videogame Conference and Competition, an illustrious event designed to showcase Ontario’s undiscovered videogame talent, has announced today that it will be accepting entries for its 2010 edition.

With the mission to create opportunities for emerging videogame companies and individuals to showcase their work locally, nationally, and internationally, Vortex achieves its goal through education, discourse, pitching, networking and, of course, competition. Read the rest of this entry »

A-la-carte tickets for Spark Animation are now available. Vancouver’s ACM SIGGRAPH chapter have officially opened the event’s site for individual session or film session purchases. The festival will open with a social mixer on Wednesday, September 8th and will feature a full schedule of inspiring speakers, panels and films.

Vancouver indie studio Ninja Robot Dinosaur has declared Ray Ardent: Science Ninja done. The product of indie developer & design veteran Shane Neville, Ray Ardent: Science Ninja is a high speed platformer where players assume the role of Ray Ardent, a retro pulp combination of Nicholas Tesla and Chuck Norris who saves the world with his unique combination of Science and Ninjutsu. Power-ups like Science Slide, Triple Jump and nine others let gamers customize Ray to play how they want him to. Ray Ardent features 15 levels and is currently up for licensing on Flash Game License. Ray Ardent was built using the Flixel game libraries created by Adam Saltzman of Canabalt fame, with John Tennant providing the audio work.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlLGlNbfgE0]

Big Blue Bubble Inc.’s newest iOS game, Fighting Fantasy: Creature of Havoc has been released to the iTunes Store. Fighting Fantasy: Creature of Havoc is the fourth release in the Fighting Fantasy series and includes iPhone/iPod Touch support, as well as our new iPad support.

You begin this adventure not knowing where you are or who you are. All you know is that you are some kind of creature of instinct, understanding little. During the course of the adventure, it may be possible for you to begin to control your bestial nature, to find out more about yourself, and even to learn your destiny. But even if you know all this, success is by no means certain, for the traps and terrors of Trolltooth Pass are many.

Now you can experience the books that have sold over 15 million copies worldwide, on your iPhone or iPad. Fighting Fantasy fans will love the classic story and original illustrations with a technological twist. No more dice, pencils, or bookmarks. All of the special features are built in:

* New! Player Achievements
* Universal app iPad support
* Scrolling image gallery of unlocked in-game art
* Tap the on screen buttons to flip pages (No papercuts!)
* Shake to roll the 3D dice using the accelerometer (or tap through with ease)
* Inventory items selectable via touch-screen
* Game-save feature allows you to retrace your steps
* Includes both original illustrations by Ian McCaig and digitally re-mastered versions
* Integrated iPod music library access

Bioware has just announced that the newest DLC for Mass Effect 2 for PC and Xbox 360 will be released on September 7th. Available for 800 Bioware/MS Points, players who purchase Lair of the Shadowbroker will  join Liara T’Soni on her mission to track down the mysterious Shadow Broker. She’ll do anything to recover the man the Broker kidnapped, and the Shadow Broker’s agents will do anything to stop her. Team up with Liara and chase down clues as you adventure from the luxurious heights of Illium to the Shadow Broker’s own secret lair. In this new DLC, players will gain access to the Shadow Broker intel center, new research, and five new achievements. Mass Effect 1 players who carried their characters over to ME2 will also have the chance to continue a relationship with Liara. Read the rest of this entry »

Canadian-made video games have been acknowledged the world over as triumphs of their genres; thus it was a real delight to attend Toronto’s Microsoft X10. Held by The Fifth, X10 filled every available space with demonstrations of the Xbox 360’s power to surprise, delight, and thoroughly entertain.

2010 has been a strong year for the Xbox 360, and the holiday season is sure to deliver a grand finale. There are comebacks for many of the console’s best-love franchises, and the debut of the much-talked about Kinect. Canadian offerings for the fall and winter land in both camps-with EA and Ubisoft both making particularly strong showings, and Big Park providing the Kinect with a joyous launch product, great games will arrive this winter from both sides of the border.

The doors opened at ten that morning; when I arrived at 10:04, the line still went out the door. The transformation to the club’s interior completely justified the mayhem. EA’s aisle was justifiably packed from sunup to sundown—with three instalments of powerful franchises on display, I was lucky to have the company of both Guillaume Voghel and Dana Sissons, who were eager to share their inside scoops on EA’s releases.

Guillaume Voghel is obviously proud of Dead Space 2 — with good reason. Dead Space 2 looks to deliver more in every imaginable way. The borders of the USG Ishimura have fallen away into the Sprawl, a fantastical space city on Titan that stretches into every plane of the screen. Changes have also been made to Mr. Clarke himself.

“Isaac’s got a face! We have given him a voice, he is no more the silent and vigilant guy. He’s more talkative, and more interested in taking strong action.”

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