Village Gamer

Transgaming Studios and Breakthrough Entertainment have released a fresh new teaser trailer for upcoming time management game, Garage Inc. Scheduled for a January 2011 release, the development team has been busy polishing up the hubcaps and cleaning out the garage, getting ready for Angelo Marito’s journey into the automobile service industry in 1920’s Chicago. Will recent immigrant Angelo’s seed money loan from cousin Sal come back to haunt him in a city rife with mafia activity? Angelo will depend on you to guide him as he struggles to balance fixing his customers’ cars, hire employees, grow his business and deal with the mob, all while keeping his eye on the elusive American dream.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr4hpNs06AQ]

Digital Leisure Inc. has launched Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp, the follow up to arcade classics Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace, designed exclusively for Nintendo’s DSiWare™ service and available now for 800 DSi Points. From legendary animator Don Bluth (‘An American Tail’, ‘The Land Before Time’) Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp allows you to play the heroic Dirk the Daring, who must stop the Evil Wizard Mordroc as he has kidnapped Princess Daphne and taken her through time! But you must hurry, for once the Casket of Doom has opened, Mordroc will place the Death Ring upon Daphne’s finger in marriage and she will be lost forever… in the Time Warp!

Sharpen your sword and get ready to guide Dirk the Daring as he races through time to save the beautiful Princess Daphne from the clutches of the Evil Wizard Mordroc in Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp. You’ll journey through time to rescue the beautiful Princess Daphne by using your Nintendo DSi™ to move and wield your sword.

Big Blue Bubble Inc. is pleased to announce the release and immediate worldwide availability of Burn the Rope ($0.99 USD), their new original game for iOS devices. Winning the hearts of users with smash hit Thumpies – game that reinvented the rhythm genre – developers are intended to do it again by bringing to the App Store a unique game for all who are fascinated with flame and all kinds of fire effects.

Starting today users have the freedom to set fire without any fire hazard or need for a fire extinguisher. The game involves a mix of strategic planning, thinking ahead, coordination and the ability to stay in deep focus. Users have to feed the fire and burn as much rope as they can in each level to progress. The challenge is that fire only burns upwards, leaving players to tilt and turn their iPhones to keep the flame alive.

The game features 80 devilishly tricky levels with polished graphics and mesmerizing fire effects. Bugs that crawl along the rope spice things up demonstrating different reactions to the flame from level to level. Ants change the color of the flame so that users could burn different colored ropes, and the spider shoots out a web bridge providing access to the parts of the level that were beyond players’ reach before.

“Burn The Rope is our most innovative game initially prototyped with a string of rope and box of matches. It’s really easy to learn, but quite hard to master! That game was created with the whole family in mind and I’m sure that all family members will have enormous fun playing with fire.” – said Damir Slogar, CEO of Big Blue Bubble Inc.

In collaboration with OpenFeint’s Free Game of the Day, Zoo Toss from PlayBrains and Bytemark Games is free for today only. In Zoo Toss, the player is challenged through 20 levels to keep three hungry animals happy and fed by flicking good food at them. Keep your vegan giraffes, carnivorous lions and garbage-can warthogs content, don’t feed them bad food and keep vitamins in stock for when they’re looking a bit sickly. Zoo Toss is OpenFeint-enabled with Game Center achievements and leaderboards.

Indie game developer Tomkorp today announced that they will be offering their strategy/puzzle game Clones at 50% off over the holiday season. Tomkorp recently partnered with Get Games Go, the PC game distribution platform for Eurogamer. Clones is also available for purchase on Steam, Direct2Drive, and the official ClonesGame.com website.

An updated version of Clones was made public on Dec. 16th. “Since launch we’ve had relatively few technical problems. This maintenance release includes a few requested features and improvements suggested by our growing fan base.” said Tom Kaminski, co-founder.

Clones is winning the hearts of puzzle players from around the world. “We are thrilled with the number of positive reviews Clones has received” said Ryan Tomko, co-founder. One reviewer, James Allen of Out Of Eight PC Game Reviews, writes “While the single player content will last you a while, what sets Clones apart is the robust multiplayer action”, giving the game a “Buy It” rating of 7 / 8.

Clones is a friendly, fun, and engaging evolution to the classic Lemmings puzzle genre that includes robust internet-multiplayer with team play, different game modes, powerups, and leaderboards. The built-in level editor was used to create the singleplayer campaign of over 150 clontastic puzzles spanning 11 CloneMaster bosses over 5 regions of the Clones Planet.

In Clones, the player controls cute alien “clones” by telling them when to morph their bodies in order to overcome obstacles in the landscape and complete the level objective. This can include beaming up a minimum number of clones, leading a special clone to an exit, or reducing all opponent clones to bits. Each puzzle has a leaderboard on the ClonesGame.com website that ranks all solutions based on stats like the number of morphs used, and the time to complete the level. Clones is rated E for Everyoneby the ESRB.

EA Sports and EA Mobile bring you FIFA 11 for the iPad. The larger Multi-Touch screen on iPad delivers an incredible measure of visual excellence – and sets the stage for a total soccer experience like you’ve never seen before. Featuring authentic teams, superstar players, and precision controls, FIFA 11 on iPad truly kicks it to the next level!

Take the field with superstars like Real Madrid’s Kaka and Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney. Match up more than 500 teams from real leagues around the world while quality graphics make every detail on the field spring to life. Team colors are ultra vibrant. The green of the grass is even more glorious. Capture the passion and power of the world’s favorite sport with an unprecedented level of visual clarity that you can only get with iPad. The new D-pad and button layout options provide more gameplay sophistication for veterans and simplicity for casual players. Control the ball and the action with 360° player movement and gesture-driven skill moves. Swipe a player to make an attacking run! Control of the action is even more precise and responsive on iPad.

Traveling through space. Mowing down hordes of evil aliens. Upgrading your ship into the most lethal killing force the universe has ever seen. What could be better? How about getting to do all of the above for a measly two bucks! Frima Studio is pleased to unveil the brand new, never-before-seen trailer for its latest release, A Space Shooter for Two Bucks! As a PlayStation Mini title, A Space Shooter for Two Bucks! will be playable on both the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and will be blasting off Tuesday, December 21 for the insanely low price of – yep, you guessed it – $1.99.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=091sk1Ih-XU]

Since time immemorial, through eons of time and dozens of game consoles, one thing has remained true: humans love hopping into a spaceship to shoot up hordes of alien invaders! In A Space Shooter for Two Bucks! (a game with perhaps the most straight-forward title in history) you get to do just that. Take control of Commander P. Jefferson and go on an intergalactic shooting spree, hopping from galaxy to galaxy in your attempts to wipe out hordes of swarming alien baddies. With over-the-top, tongue-in-cheek humor from the game’s wide cast of colorful characters (all of which are fully voiced-over) and loads of bodacious power-ups to ensure your ship has a fighting chance against the sea of enemy ships and bullets, A Space Shooter for Two Bucks! gives gamers everything they could ask for in a space shooter! A Space Shooter for Two Bucks! is rated T for Teen for mild fantasy violence, mild language, suggestive themes and use of tobacco.

Recruitment begins today for Spy Alliance, a free online multiplayer game that lets tweens and young teens train to become top spies, earn “Intel” and build their own spy agencies. Designed around an asynchronous play style, the experience appeals to players who are looking for a range of play, from bite-sized to involved gameplay with a large number of friends. Spy Alliance also appeals to parents because youngsters can play with each other without direct interaction, adding a layer of security that is not present in typical MMOGs. Spy Alliance was developed by Toronto-based game developer Heroic Interactive, whose previous titles include How to be Indie: A Day in the Life for YTV.

“Spy Alliance provides a deeply engaging online experience for kids and their families,” says Karen Lee Hall, founder of Heroic Interactive. “It’s a layered game that appeals to all sorts of players. It’s engrossing to enter the world of espionage and play an Agent-in-Training. For those who love using their brains there’s lots of opportunity to be strategic while also being just plain fun for gamers who simply want to personalize their avatar with the coolest looks and visit their friends’ customized game spaces.”

Spy Alliance incorporates eight mini-games that feature “platform-style” action such as running, jumping and shooting. One of the first ways players can earn “Intel” – the key metric of Spy Alliance – is by playing the mini-games. As they progressively acquire more “Intel” points, players can build and customize their own spy agencies or infiltrate other agencies. The mini-games include classic arcade and paintball games, a parkour-style slider game, and “camera-click” shooter-style games.

In a novel twist, the game also allows players to interact with the characters and world of “Connor Undercover” a tween TV series, which features Max Morrow as spy buff ‘Connor Heath’. “Connor Undercover” is currently airing on The Family Channel (Canada), ABC3 (Australia), Boomerang (Latin America and U.S.) and Nickelodeon (Germany). It is distributed worldwide by Shaftesbury Kids.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77dpg1yql7g]

Asynchronous game play allows multiplayer gaming to fit the schedule of regular kids with busy lives. As long a player can find 15 minutes per day to check the game, they can play with a very large group of friends. Many of the popular social games found on platforms such as Facebook are asynchronous games.

Spy Alliance was produced by Karen Lee Hall with interactive design by Scott Nihill, Karen Lee Hall and Daniel Loach; and game design by Daniel Loach, Josh Yaw, Danny Zabbal. Lead artist on the game was Danny Zabbal.

Funding for Spy Alliance came from the Ontario Media Development Corporation, Canadian Media Fund and Family Channel. Development funding was also provided by Bell New Media Fund and Heroic Film Company, producer of the companion series “Connor Undercover”

Dark Acre Game Development announced today that its debut title Above and Below, built with Unity 3D, is now available for those with Unity-enabled browsers. Free to play, Above and Below is a vertical-scrolling platformer designed by Christopher ‘Jack’ Nilssen.

In Above and Below, the player controls a tiny person who can jump up to the harrowing heights and fall down into the deadly depths of the game world, collecting valuable treasures, avoiding mindless minions, and defeating terrible guardians. A casual platformer, the full experience can be had in under thirty minutes and is available completely free from the developer’s website.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zJPohbhB-8]

The game’s features include:

Ascension and Descent

* End the game in the highest heights or the deepest depths of the game world.
* The world below is a different challenge from the one above.
* Experience dynamically changing visual and audio elements depending on the chosen path.

Simple Platforming Pleasures

* Fluid jumping and movement controls.
* A variety of enemies and obstacles that will challenge the player’s reflexes and timing.

Battle Persistent Adversaries

* Not all challenges are environmental. Creatures will try to thwart the player’s progress.

Try Again

* Players may choose the expanded win conditions with a time attack or high score challenge.

Above and Below is the result of eight weeks of intensive full-time work. It is delivered via the Unity 3D game engine to browsers, and represents the first in a series of free-to-play efforts from Jack’s Dark Acre.

Another Vancouver indie dev house, Big Sandwich Games, has confirmed that a major update for their critically-acclaimed downloadable dragon game HOARD™ is now live on the PlayStation®Network in North America. The v1.01 update includes new content as well as improvements to several key areas of the game.

“This update is the first step in the long-term support plan for HOARD™,” says Big Sandwich Games’ Design Director Tyler Sigman. “We’re excited that the game has been very well-received by critics and fans, but there are a few items that have been consistently flagged as in need of a bit more polish. We’ve listened to this feedback and the result is an even better game! If you haven’t checked HOARD™ out yet, now is the perfect time to do so.”

The update includes a brand new “HOARD mode” level called “Deathspin”, which allows players to try their survival skills on a spiral map filled with wizard towers and knights.

Major improvements include increasing the text size for on-screen dialogues in HD, enabling friend list leaderboard sorting, and the addition of a new persistent multiplayer lobby which allows gamers to stay grouped up after finishing a game. “The lobby improvements make keeping a good multiplayer group together five million times easier,” quips Sigman.

Other update items include the addition of a restart option within single player levels (for aid in your score-attack attempts) and the appearance of purple princesses, which appear instead of pink any time a maiden is worth 3,000 or more gold. This dress color helps a treasure-hungry dragon tell at a glance which princesses are worth prioritizing.

An innovative innovative strategy arcade game where up to four players compete as dragons, burning medieval villages, kidnapping princesses, roasting thieves, and otherwise trying to collect as much gold as possible, HOARD™ is currently available for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system in North America. Upcoming releases in Europe, on the PSP® system, and on Steam will include all update items in their initial release. Local and online multiplayer play are supported for the PlayStation®3 system version, as are leaderboards and other PlayStation®Network community features.

HOARD™ is Big Sandwich Games’ innovative strategy arcade game where up to four players compete as dragons, burning medieval villages, kidnapping princesses, roasting thieves, and otherwise trying to collect as much gold as possible for their hoards. Local and online multiplayer play are supported for the PlayStation®3 system version, as are leaderboards and other PlayStation®Network community features. According to their site, Big Sandwich Games currently has two career positions open.

Big Bad Brush Inc. is pleased to announce that in collaboration with Appvent 2010, their mobile title Big Bad Flower is available for free today, December 7th. Big Bad Flower is rated Rated 9+ for Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence.

Big Bad Flower Game Features:

*Unique Game Play
– draw circles around enemies to trap them in bubbles
– swipe flower’s face or petals to create petal spinning action to blow bubbled enemies away
– poke to trap weapons and specialized evolved enemies

*Wacky Creatures
– 15 intense chapters with lots of new creatures to battle
– 3 Different levels from the minuscule backyard to the grand scale of space itself
– 3 Bonus levels of sheer Mayhem madness

*Addictive
– Watch your flower grow and progress through each level of earthly chapters
– beautiful and colorful characters, backgrounds and illustrations

Montreal’s Savant Inc., developer and publisher of iPhone games and entertainment applications, has announced the worldwide release of “The Balls!”, their debut title for iPhone and iPod touch for the introductory price of $0.99 USD.

Hardcore sports Coach Timmins wants you to juggle as many sports balls as possible to prove your worth. Bounce different balls (soccer, basketball, bowling, and more!) a number of times until they burst! Be careful not to let them drop, or Coach Timmins will give you a verbal whipping!

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_xqA2PM8MI]

The balls are physics enabled and can bounce against each other for a bigger challenge. Tap the balls to bounce them up, or flick them in a direction for more precise control. Bounce them as late as possible for a higher score and crits! And watch out, sometimes the coach will lob a grenade at you to make sure you are paying attention!

Game Features:

* Simple to pick up and play
* 2 game modes: Classic and Balls mode (no time limit, score as high as you can)
* 5 different types of balls (and more to come in future updates)
* Juggle different types of sports balls to get the highest score
* Flick them up for more control
* Open Feint Leaderboards (compete with your friends)
* Open Feint Achievements
* Game Center enabled with Achievements and Leaderboards – Seamless integration with Open Feint

The Balls is rated Rated 9+ for Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humour

According to my Twitterfeed this morning, congratulations are due to David Lightbown, Senior Artistic Technical Director at Behaviour Interactive for being named as the winner of the Autodesk® Maya® Master Award. Check out his Autodesk interview on the Autodesk interview.

The Waldorf Hotel in Vancouver will be holding a Comic and Zine Fair on Sunday, December 19th from 11:30am – 7:00pm. The event will feature American artist Dame Darcy, who will be signing books and performing with her band, Death by Doll. Other comic artists and zine makers who will be in attendance include Ed Brisson, Robin Bougin, Cloudscape Comic Collective among others. Check out the event’s Facebook page for more information and table space availability.

The first nominees for the 2011 Canadian Video Game Awards have been announced: Dead Rising 2, Dead Rising 2: Case Zero, EA Sports Active 2, Trainyard, Lil Pirates and Top Bar. Make sure your favourite Canadian-made games of 2010 are nominated, submit your choices today. Please note that the nomination process does require Facebook Connect – I’ve noticed that a few people have stated that they will not send in their nominations due to that fact, and while it’s a step that I too could do without, I hope that it will not deter too many of you from nominating games to the awards process. We also use Facebook Connect on this site, as we thought it would make it more convenient for readers to comment on articles if they wanted – is this not the case? Do you find Facebook Connect to be an intrusion?

Webnames.ca President and Co-Founder Cybele Negris will be participating in the launch of Momcafé in the Fraser Valley on January 13th, 2011 (9:00 – 11:00a.m.). Join Cybele and Chillwack mayor Sharon Gaetz at the Clayburn Gourmet Gallery as they discuss how they have navigated their way through different career paths to find their passion while balancing the responsibilities of family. Childcare is available during this event, and a portion of ticket sales will be donated to Matthew’s House. Please see the registration page for complete list of ticket prices and options.

EA Sports has released two new videos for Fight Night Champion featuring boxer Andre Bishop. You can view Part One here, Part Two is also posted on our YouTube channel. Fight Night Champion takes the boxing experience one giant step forward by delivering an experience never before seen in an EA Sports video game. Fighting as contender Andre Bishop in an all-new story-based Champion Mode or as one of more than 50 legends or future champions, battle your way to the top in the boxing revolution that builds upon the best-in-class gameplay and physics engine of the critically acclaimed Fight Night Round 4.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3UQDMepylA]

Indie studio SillySoft has released v1.12 of their board game-inspired title Castle Vox for the PC. The developers offer a free demo download which includes a Tutorial map, a Hex Barons medieval kings map, and a World War 2 – Axis vs Allies modern map.

The reasonable purchase price of $14.00 allows players to access  over 40 more hand-crafted maps including the American Civil War, the Hundred Years War, Napoleon, the Roman Empire and a Map Editor that can be used to create even more Geographic and Hex maps.

Play online multi-player games with once-a-day moves, or fast online skirmishes. Team-chat lets you collaborate in team scenarios. Achievements track your progress through the different wars. Impressive rank titles accompany your advances.

Rogers Communications Inc. has unveiled the company’s vision for tablet and mini tablet devices. Anchored by growing customer demand to be connected on multiple devices any time, any place, Rogers announced three new initiatives including new data sharing plans, the upcoming launch of Rogers On Demand Online for tablets and plans to introduce remote PVR capabilities on tablets and smartphones for its Rogers Digital Cable customers.

“The tablet is the command centre – a mobile hub through which our customers will be able to access everything in their world – from reading email for work to looking at photos, programming their televisions to turning on lights at home, checking on friends on Facebook and even updating their personal finances,” says John Boynton, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer, Rogers Communications. “Our role is to enable these experiences seamlessly and reliably across all devices. Our announcement today reflects our commitment to ensuring we continue to meet the evolving needs of our customers.”

Rogers also unveiled the results of a recent poll of tablet and non-tablet owners, conducted by the Strategic Counsel. Close to 60 per cent of those surveyed who currently do not own a tablet agree that tablets will transform the way we live, work and play, and 42 per cent say they plan to purchase a tablet within the next year. Of those surveyed who have already purchased a tablet, the vast majority (69 per cent) claim they take their tablet everywhere they go and 58 per cent state their tablet is typically the first device they turn on in the morning.

“What we are seeing is a shift from one device to many devices connected together, anytime, anyplace,” Boynton continues. “The tablet is the dashboard for the highways of tomorrow, where people can easily access the same personalized experiences at work, in the home or on the go. We will provide the best tablet selection, integrate Rogers content on devices and build new pricing structures to make it easy for customers to make tablets part of their work, home and personal lives.”

Boynton made the remarks in a keynote speech at Rogers TabLife TO, an event Rogers organized to showcase the way tablets are changing the way we live work and play. The event brought industry leaders, manufacturers and experts to share experiences with tablets in communications, healthcare, business, media and entertainment. More information on Rogers TabLife TO conference can be found at www.tablife.ca.

A tablet-optimized version of Rogers On Demand Online will feature hours of primetime TV, movies, sports, music and will adapt perfectly to a variety of tablet screen sizes and operating systems. In 2011, customers will be able to go online on any tablet free of charge (standard data rates apply) to access Rogers On Demand as well as Rogers’ new Remote PVR service to set and manage recordings from any tablet, and smartphone anywhere, anytime. Rogers On Demand Online and Remote PVR for tablets will be available in early 2011. Read the rest of this entry »

Toronto’s Longbow Games, one of the few selected for this year’s PAX 10 showcase winners, is proud to announce that their strategy wargame, Hegemony: Philip of Macedon, is now available on Steam. In addition, they have lowered the price to only $19.99.

“As an independent developer, it’s always a struggle to gain the attention of your audience,” said Jim McNally, president of Longbow Games. “We’re very excited to be launching Hegemony: Philip of Macedon on Steam, where we can share our game with a much wider audience.”

Longbow Games is currently working on their next title, Hegemony Gold: Wars of Ancient Greece, which will soon be in beta testing. Customers of Hegemony: Philip of Macedon can help test the new game for free at www.LongbowGames.com.

Hegemony: Philip of Macedon lets you conquer the ancient Greek world in this PC RTS war game that follows the rise of Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. Players campaign across a continuous satellite-accurate map of ancient Greece encountering the full range of warfare from reconnaissance to raids to field battles to mountain blockades. The game also features:

* Innovative supply system – Siege and starve the enemy by cutting their supply lines or burning their crops, all the while building and protecting your own supply network to support your growing empire.
* Steeped in history – In-game pedia and 100+ historical objectives recreate the rise of the Macedonian empire.
* Detailed and stylized world and map – Transition smoothly between the detailed 3D world and the stylized board-game map while maintaining complete control over your empire. Read the rest of this entry »

Transgaming Inc. has launched a brand new web site for its game development studio. Transgaming Studio features information about its launched titles, In The Mix Featuring Armin van Buuren, G-G-Goal, and the recently released PuzzleQuest: Challenge of the WarLords for iOS. Also featured is news about its latest game in development, Garage Inc. for the Mac, PC, iPhone and GameTreeTV. Garage Inc., a time management game set in 1928 Chicago, is based on an original IP by Global Fun and is being produced through a partnership with Breakthrough Entertainment. Players will guide recent Italian immigrant, Angelo Marito, as he tries to manage and grow a car garage. Game play features include the ability to diagnose and fix cars, hire workers, and try to steer clear of the ever-present mob while pursuing the American dream.

Capcom has announced that the Dead Rising 2 Ninja Theme Pack is now available on Xbox Live, Games for Windows Live and the PlayStation Network. With the new ninja pack, Chuck gains a “stealth mode” that allows him to evade zombies by making it harder for them to detect Chuck’s presence. Sword-type weapons (broadswords, katanas, etc.) have their attack power increased and will allow Chuck to perform new special attacks. Stackable items and throwing items such as nails, plates, gems, etc. will also do more damage and Chuck’s throwing speed is increased. The Dead Rising 2 Ninja Theme Pack is available for 160 Microsoft points, or $1.99 on the PlayStation Network.

AudioKinetic’s Wwise 2010.1.2 platform has been nominated for a Game Developer magazine 2010 Front Line Award in the Audio Category. Also named as nominees in this category are FMOD Designer 4.32 (Firelight Technologies), Miles Sound System 8 (RAD Game Tools), ProRemote 2.0.1 (Far Out Labs) and ProTools 8.0.4 (Avid Technology). Read the rest of this entry »

Montreal game publisher Meridian4 and European publisher Headup Games are pleased to announce that the unique parody/strategy/RPG – Grotesque Tactics – Evil Heroes is now available digitally for $19.99 on most digital portals and is currently on sale on Steam with a 20% discount for the first week.

Grotesque Tactics combines the features and clichés of Western and Asian console RPGs like Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics and provides a highly addicting and entertaining change to the current, more serious role playing games. The game is focused on providing the fascination of the Strategy RPG genre, but also weaves a humorous storyline and plenty of amusing dialogue, poking fun at some of the most successful RPGs, such as Oblivion, Final Fantasy and Lord of the Rings. In chess, a Grotesque is a problem or endgame study which features a particularly unlikely initial position, especially one in which White fights with a very small force against a much larger black army. Grotesques are generally intended to be humorous.

To protect the kingdom from the merciless cult “The Dark Church” which has murdered all of the kingdom’s heroes and knights, you will have to hire dubious soldiers and rescue jealous maidens who will follow you into combat as your groupies. Up to 10 heroes are deployed in tactical battles to take on the Dark Church with their mysterious special abilities.

Features

· Turn based tactical battles with humorous animations not seen in any RPG
· Distinctive party members such as the arrogant Holy Avatar, the blood thirsty Vampire Solitaire, the sweet but hot-tempered Angel Angelina and many more
· Gorgeous village landscapes and dark, sinister dungeons
· Scantily dressed maidens to be freed from the grasp of merciless monsters
· Enormous, highly detailed and very angry end bosses
· Classical RPG elements: quests, treasures, trade, leveling up and out­fitting a party of unique heroes
· Enjoyable multiple choice dialogues and conversation puzzles in the style of classic adventures, such as Monkey Island or Maniac Mansion

As competitive FPS fans eagerly await the arrival of Clan Mode to Mission Against Terror next week, Wicked Interactive pulled out yet another surprise today when it announced a new 1v1 ladder for its popular free-to-play shooter M.A.T. that is chock-full of prizes and fun for gamers of every skill level, particularly those who enjoy their fragging with a healthy side order of competitive play. Read the rest of this entry »

Race to the Finish, the new online companion game to the hit YTV reality series In Real Life is now live and ready to play. For the first time, young fans from across Canada are encouraged to support their favourite In Real Life on-air challenger by accumulating virtual points for them through game play. The two on-air challengers with the most points have the chance to compete in a bonus webisode finale for a brand new prize. Award-winning digital producer Secret Location created Race to the Finish, a show which has 18 new Canadian youths aged 12-14 from 15 different Canadian cities, race across North America to compete in heart-pounding, real world challenges. From high-tech espionage and video gaming to lobster fishing, these kids are vying to win the amazing ultimate prize: college tuition money and an all-expense paid family vacation. In Real Life season two premiered last evening at 7 p.m. on YTV.

Vancouver’s SillySoft has released Castle Vox, a computer strategy board game where Diplomacy meets Chess meets Axis & Allies. Victory in the game is accomplished by capturing all of the castles in a variety of historical, geometric, geographic, and fantasy settings. Unlike most strategy games, Castle Vox is not turned-based. All players plan their moves simultaneously, which allows for a much faster game time for those can’t wait to hold dominion over the world. For those who are more patient, there is the “one-turn-a-day” mode.

Players are able to use the built-in map editor to create their own maps, which can then be shared with others, and programmers are welcome to add to the game’s AI with SillySoft’s SDK. Castle Vox has a free demo so that interested players can try it before purchasing ($19.99), and includes the following features:

* Fast world domination.
* Plan attacks simultaneously.
* Collaborate with teammates.
* Maps from many eras and mythologies.
* Giant maps with many players.
* Map editor included.
* Hard AI will push your brain in single-player matches.
* Online multi-player modes: relaxed and speed variants.
* Easy to learn, hard to master.
* Available for Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows.

Castle Vox has been chosen as one of the 32 finalists (and the only Canadian-made game) at this year’s IndieCade Festival, which takes place in Culver City, California this coming weekend.

The next BCTIA TechForum Voices of Experience takes place on October 14th at the Coal Harbour Hotel, and will feature Mr. Anthony von Mandl, Chairman & CEO of the Mark Anthony Group of companies and Proprietor of Mission Hill Family Estate winery.

Anthony von Mandl’s dream was to produce world calibre wines at Mission Hill Family Estate in the Okanagan Valley. The wine industry is extremely capital intensive and when no-one could be found to finance the vision he set about to build the Mark Anthony Group, a company which today is a multi-hundred million dollar private corporation based in Vancouver, BC.

This is his very private story and one he does not usually share in public; however being so passionate about building a stronger economic environment in BC and Canada for future generations he has agreed to so on this occasion.

Today seems to be the day for telecom acquisitions and partnerships. Rogers Communications Inc. announced earlier today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Atria Networks LP, owner and operator of one of Ontario’s largest fibre-optic networks for cash consideration of $425 million, subject to certain adjustments. Atria Networks is privately owned by Birch Hill Equity Partners.

The purchase of Atria Networks, based in Kitchener, Ontario, augments the Rogers Business Solutions offering by enhancing its ability to deliver on-net data centric services within and adjacent to the company’s cable footprint. The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval. Rogers expects the transaction to close prior to the end of its first quarter, 2011.

Atria’s unique and scalable network includes 5,600 fibre route kilometers and over 3,800 on-net buildings in high-growth territories including Ottawa, Cornwall, Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Guelph, Richmond Hill, Markham, Hamilton, Barrie, Orillia, Peterborough and Vaughan. Atria serves a diverse customer base of over 1,100 customers spanning the public sector, enterprise and carrier providers.

D-BOX Technologies Inc. has completed a private placement by issuing 3,947,368 common shares to Le Fonds d’investissement REA II Natcan Inc. at a price of $0.38 per share, for gross proceeds to D-BOX of $1,500,000. The private placement was conducted on a “non-brokered” basis.

“We are very pleased that Le Fonds d’investissement REA II Natcan Inc., a specialized institutional investor, participated in our private placement”, said Claude Mc Master, President and Chief Executive Officer of D-BOX. Its decision to invest and increase its existing equity position in D-BOX, is a sign of its confidence in our growth strategy. At the same time, the proceeds from the private placement will help D-BOX carry out its business plan.” Mr. Mc Master continued.

D-BOX will use the proceeds from the private placement to accelerate the deployment of its motion systems for commercial theatre application and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

As a result of the private placement, there are 128,584,936 common shares of D-BOX issued and outstanding. Under applicable securities legislation and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the securities issued in the private placement are subject to a four-month hold period expiring on February 6, 2011.

Those of you who are fans of The Sims and Army of Two will be pleased to know that Rios and Salem will be making a crossover appearance in MySims SkyHeroes. Here’s a sneak peek at their adventure:

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

Relic Entertainment has released a new video for Dawn of War II: Retribution. This new video takes a look at the Eldar Race, which was revealed for the first time during last weekend’s Games Day UK.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me4w9McKj40]

Montreal’s Audiokinetic Inc. has released the latest version of Wwise, its award-winning audio pipeline solution. Wwise 2010.2 introduces new features and enhancements.

Among the new features included in Wwise 2010.2:

* New Wwise effects: Tremolo, Flanger, Guitar Distorsion, Meter
* Side-Chaining
* Convolution Reverb
Read the rest of this entry »

Winnipeg’s Complex Games has announced the impending release of their latest iPhone game, but the game’s name is a total mystery! Further details about the title will be released in the following weeks, but in the meantime visitors to the game’s site can for a limited time win prizes by guessing the name of the mystery game. The game will be available on both the iPhone and the iPad.

Although there are no details available yet regarding the title, the Canadian-based game developer has promised that a game trailer will be available shortly after the winners of the contest are announced.

“We expect this game to make #2!”, says Complex Games Lead Programmer Frano Sailer in his usually cryptic way, “once this game launches, it’s really going to hit the fan!”

Battlegoat Studios and Paradox Interactive today announced the launch of the first Supreme Ruler: Cold War developer diary. In addition, to celebrate the occasion, they have released a selection of new downloadable wallpapers.

In Supreme Ruler: Cold War, players will enter the world of the 1950’s and navigate their nation through many of the historical headlines. Prepare to battle economic challenges, unstable governments and worldwide tensions in this grand strategy experience.

“With Supreme Ruler: Cold War as our first historical title, it brings the very exciting new realm of ‘what if’ into the gameplay of Supreme Ruler,” said Stewart Braybook, Battlegoat CEO. “History tells us about the Cold War, but there are so many turning point events and personalities that the end result was never certain. Supreme Ruler: Cold War will allow players to see if they can change history, improve upon it or succumb to it.”

Game Features:

– Play as the United States or Soviet Union in Campaign Mode
– Control any Nation in Post-World War II Era in Sandbox Mode
– Use Diplomacy, Trade and Espionage to influence the policies of other nations
– Research new Technologies to give your nation an edge
– Grow and Modernize your Economy
– Control Military production and deployment, or let your Ministers take care of the details
– And when Diplomacy Fails… Sophisticated Real-Time Strategic and Tactical Control of your Military Forces
– Enhanced Graphics and Sound including New 3D Terrain
– Experience the redesigned GUI with improved On-Map feedback and streamlined controls
– Up to 16 players in Multiplayer over local network or Internet

Still with publisher Paradox Interactive, they, along with Vancouver’s Kerberos Productions have released a new engine teaser trailer for Sword of the Stars II, the follow-up hit to the 4X franchise, Sword of the Stars. The game offers an evolved version of the original six races from Sword of the Stars and its expansions, Sword of the Stars II reveals the deep, dark secret of the Suul’ka. Boasting an all new graphics engine and incorporating new ship details that allow for new fleet strategies and tactics, Sword of the Stars 2 is poised to revive the 4X space genre and is scheduled for a 2011 release.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXuFYV-Iddk]