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  • Mia’s Reading Adventure by Kutoka Interactive Wins A Gold Medal

2nd February 2009

Mia’s Reading Adventure by Kutoka Interactive Wins A Gold Medal

kutoka MontrealMia’s Reading Adventure – The Bugaboo Bugs has won a Gold Medal from Mom’s Choice Awards. Developed by Kutoka Interactive of Montreal, Mia’s Reading Adventure is for children aged 5-9. The game follows primary school Mia Mousecurriculum and enables the player to lead Mia the Mouse through a reading adventure. Designed to entertain, teach and spur imagination, the Mia series of titles feature lovable 3D characters who also happen to be house pests who have moved into Mia’s mansion.

Mia’s Reading Adventures, comprised thus far of six chapters, “includes 12 exciting reading and writing skills activities each with 4 distinct levels of difficulty. Topics covered: associating images to words, adverbs, phonics, rhymes, spelling, sentence structure, vocabulary, reading comprehension, word recognition and more.” Mia’s Reading Adventure comes in DVD-ROM format, and runs on both Windows and MAC platforms.

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30th January 2009

Need for Speed Franchise Races Into New Genres

Black BoxGlobal Studio Teams Drive Quality and Innovation in Three New Games

Vancouver – Fifteen years; more than 40 countries; close to 100 million games sold. Need for Speed™ has helped to define automotive culture for millions of fans with its embrace of the car lifestyle and its cool rebellious attitude. Today, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) unveiled the details of what is in store for the franchise over the next 12 months, as the property expands to new platforms, new categories and new media.

Need for Speed is committed to providing unique and customized experiences for all types of racing fans by establishing three independent series; simulation, action and arcade racing. Each series will be developed by a highly-specialized team dedicated to delivering the ultimate racing experiences to car enthusiasts around the world – whether they be interested in adrenaline action, arcade fun or Need For Speed Undercoverauthentic simulation.

“We recognize racing videogame fans are very passionate and unique – they want customized gameplay experiences. Whether it’s more of a realistic driving game with accurate car physics or over-the-top cop chases, we are making different games for different audiences,” said Keith Munro, vice president of marketing, Need for Speed. “Each game provides a deep, engaging and rich racing experience. We’re giving players the option to choose the best racing title that suits their style of gameplay.”

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21st January 2009

Skate 2 Ships to Retailers

Black BoxVancouverBlack Box, an Electronic Arts Inc. studio announced today that the highly-anticipated Skate 2 has shipped to retailers worldwide. Skate 2 ups the ante in delivering all the grit, creativity and culture of skateboarding with all-new tricks that allow players to truly skate it their way – on and off the board.Skate 2

“Skate 2 is the perfect next chapter for the Skate franchise,” said Executive Producer, Scott Blackwood. “We expanded and deepened our original ideas and incorporated feedback straight from our passionate fans. With all new features, more challenges and a rich world, the game continues to celebrate skateboarding, while still innovating the genre in an unparalleled way.”
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21st January 2009

Dawn of War II Pre-Purchase and Beta Deal on Steam

Dawn of War 2VancouverRelic Entertainment’s newest RTS title, Dawn of War 2, is now available for pre-purchase on Steam for $49.99 USD. But wait, there’s more! Gamers who already own Dawn of War: Soulstorm (either a retail or digital download version) can enter into an early access beta. If gamers don’t already own Soulstorm but want to get in on the early beta, Steam is offering the expansion pack for 75% off of the retail price. The beta will open to everyone on January 28. Gamers can play on five unique multi-player maps, and it will be available for download free of charge via Steam.

Tyranid Ambush

Tyranid Ambush

Early reports from Village Gamer’s own rabid Dawn of War staffer include several expressions of approval, however many of the descriptive words he utilized can’t be repeated here. He did emerge from the beta long enough to say that the new GUI is great, along with several game mechanics which have been carried over from Company of Heroes, another Relic title. He likes the new squad tactics and objectives which require more strategical thought and planning on the part of the gamer – he followed this with an ominously Orkish sounding “if you want to beat the enemy, you have to be the enemy.”

Mike also reports that the voice-acting and audio quality are top-notch, with some great character writing and one-liners. So far, his favourite in-game expression has something to do
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19th January 2009

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II Goes Gold

THQ and Relic Entertainment to Deliver Innovative Tactical Gameplay and Stunning Cinematic Visuals in Highly Anticipated Sequel

Relic EntertainmentVancouverTHQ Inc. today announced that Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, developed by the award-winning Real-time strategy (RTS) developer, Relic Entertainment, has reached the gold master stage of development and is now entering manufacturing. Set in the grim, war-ravaged world of Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000 science fiction universe, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II delivers visceral combat, stunning visuals, and destructible environments throughout a non-linear single-player experience as well as a fully cooperative multiplayer campaign via Microsoft’s free Games for Windows – LIVE service. Developed exclusively for Windows PC and powered by an enhanced version of Relic’s proprietary Essence Engine 2.0, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II is scheduled to be on store shelves at retail outlets nationwide on February 19, 2009.

“Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II will build on the critical acclaim and commercialDawn of War 2 success of the Dawn of War franchise, letting players experience RTS gaming like never before,” said Kevin Kraff, vice president of global brand management, THQ. “Combining non-linear gameplay, cooperative multiplayer, cinematic visuals, and destructible battlefields brings a new, innovative dynamic to the genre.”
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17th January 2009

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords Chapter 1 Now Available for i-Products

Chapter 1 of the Trilogy Now Available on iPhone and the iPod Touch

Transgaming TorontoTransGaming Inc., announces the immediate availability of Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords®, Chapter 1: The Battle of Gruulkar at the iTunes App Store for USD$9.99.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords is an award-winning title that has been customized forPuzzle Quest Battle Screen the iPhone and iPod Touch and will be uniquely released as three dynamic chapters in an episodic manner with a downward pricing model through the App Store. The trilogy gives consumers the choice of an instant-action play option or over twenty hours of immersive game play in each chapter based on an epic storyline. Delivering over eighty hours of total game play through the trilogy, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords redefines what a mobile game should deliver. This award-winning game is a must-have for casual and hard-core gaming enthusiasts.
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10th January 2009

Grubby Games Named To Finalist List For IGF Awards

Grubby GamesVancouverGrubby Games, an independent Vancouver game development studio co-founded by Ryan Clark and Matt Parry in 2004, has been named to the final nominees list for the upcoming Independent Games Festival Awards. Their new 2D physics-based Incredibots game is in the running for an award in the Technical Excellence category.

Grubby Games co-founder Ryan Clark says that he came up with the idea for Incredibots afterIncredibots playing a physics game which allows the player to control a small tracked vehicle. “I really enjoyed playing with that little tank! I decided that if such a simple little application was so much fun, a full-featured robot editor would be far more fun!”
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9th January 2009

Tom Clancy’s EndWar Faction Elite Pack DLC Available for Xbox 360 and PS3

Three New Battalions and Six New Upgrades Included in the Latest Content

EndWarMontreal – Ubisoft today announced the release of the “Faction Elite Pack” downloadable content (DLC) for Tom Clancy’s EndWar™ available for the Xbox 360® entertainment system from Microsoft and for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system. The UbisoftDLC is available for 300 Microsoft points.

The “Faction Elite Pack” DLC will include three new battalions (one per faction) and six new upgrades (two per faction). These new elite battalions include the legendary JSF 15th Special Operations, the Spetsnaz Alpha Brigade, and the Enforcer Corps Battlegroup. The “Faction Elite Pack” will also grant immediate access to six exclusive unit upgrades including Ceramic Armor for the Spetnaz Guard Brigade and Caseless Ammunition for The European Federation’s Gunships to name but a couple.

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8th January 2009

Second Update for Sword of the Stars Released

Second Update Released for 4X Space Strategy Game A Murder of Crows

Lighthouse InteractiveToronto – Leading video game publisher Lighthouse Interactive and acclaimed developer Kerberos Productions continue to prove their commitment to the dedicated Sword of the Stars community, by releasing the second update (1.6.4) for A Murder of Crows (PC) to the public shortly after a surprise, early release to gaming fans on the Kerberos and Lighthouse message boards.

The following key features are included in Update 1.6.4:

• Auto-pause feature added to single-player games.
• Added tech negotiation news event art.
• Fleet list can now be filtered by Flagship or Deep Scan.
• Slavers are back!
• Research bonus added for killing the VN grand menace.
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8th January 2009

Build And Prove Your Football Knowledge With EA Sports Football Academy

EA SPORTS Announces First Title Exclusively Developed For Nintendo DS Coming In March 2009

EA Sports VancouverEA SPORTS™, a label of Electronic Arts Inc., today announces EA SPORTS™ Football Academy – a collection of mini-games and challenges that improves football knowledge in a fun and entertaining way. EA SPORTS™ Football Academy, currently in development at EA Sports in Vancouver, will launch exclusively for the Nintendo DS in March 2009.Football Academy

EA SPORTS Football Academy offers an entertaining way to learn football strategy, positioning and technique. Players build their knowledge by completing tasks and take their improved skills onto the pitch to compete against their friends. Additionally EA SPORTS Football Academy offers a variety of mini-games that provide fun for fans of all ages.

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