Village Gamer

Congratulations to Vancouver’s IUGO Mobile Entertainment – their iPhone game Zombie Attack has made PocketGamer’s Top Ten List of iPhone Zombie Games. Zombie Attack is a Defend Your Tower styled game, however instead of a tower, you must defend your beloved shack from the advancing undead. You can choose from an array of zombie-blasting weapons including, flame throwers and cannons to battle the brain-starved combatants. With easy to use tilt and touch controls, you’ll be killing zombies, earning points and raking in the cash to upgrade your weapons and firepower in no time.

Features

* Mow down and dismember zombies to keep your shack standing
* Cartoony, over-the-top effects, from explosions to flying heads
* Build four types of turrets: Gun, Flame, Axe and Rocket
* Choose between touch or tilt control for the survivor that builds your defenses
* Use the survivor to give a turret an attack boos, or to lure zombies into firing range

Zombie Attack was released November 6 2008 with a 9+ rating, and is available in the iTunes App Store for only $1.99. Congratulations also to Ryan Arndt of Certain Sound for working his audio magic on this title.

Edmonton’s Bioware has released Pinnacle Station, a new Game Add-on for Mass Effect™.  Available for both the Xbox 360® and PC, this DLC pack introduces an intense combat challenge to the Mass Effect universe. Picking up where the first game ended, players will enter Pinnacle Station, a top-secret Alliance training facility. Featuring 13 scenarios ranging from fast-paced combat simulations to high-stakes winner-takes-all wagers, players will push their combat skills to the limit, encountering aggressive simulated enemies while unlocking a mysterious new location. Once inside, players will be able to acquire rare weapons, special armour as well as obtain new achievements. One important piece of recon – players cannot access Pinnacle Station unless they have achieved Spectre status.

“At BioWare, we’re committed to providing ongoing support for all our franchises. With Mass Effect: Pinnacle Station, you’ll execute challenging new combat missions that will allow you to reenter the Mass Effect galaxy with a bang!” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, Group General Manager and Senior Vice President, Electronic Arts, and co-founder and CEO, BioWare. “Regardless of whether you choose to start Mass Effect 2 as a standalone adventure, or import your Mass Effect saved games, we know that you will enjoy Episode 2 for all of its intense action, dramatic plot twists and memorable characters.”

The Mass Effect: Pinnacle Station Game Add-On became available yesterday for 400 Microsoft points on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. It is also available for the PC version at $5 and can be found in EA’s online store. The 1.02 patch for Mass Effect is required for the installation of Pinnacle Station and is  both available for download today on the Mass Effect web site as well as included in the Pinnacle Station download.

Toronto’s Koei Canada has released Warriors Orochi 2 for the PSP®. With Warriors Orochi 2, KOEI reunites its two biggest franchises, Dynasty Warriors® and Samurai Warriors® for the sequel to its hit Tactical Action game. Jam-packed with 96 playable characters, Warriors Orochi 2 transports gamers to Imperial China and to Feudal Japan where they will do battle against a venomous overlord and his menacing legions.

Shattering time and space, the venomous Serpent King Orochi kidnapped history’s greatest warriors in a scheme to test his might. The heroes eventually defeated Orochi and his menacing army. Now the slain Orochi lies in the netherworld, and a mysterious alliance is hatching a plan to resurrect Orochi.

With four different storylines featuring characters from Samurai Warriors® and Dynasty Warriors®, Warriors Orochi 2 includes three new game modes: Dream, VS and Survival, as well as “Tag Team”-style matches that pit fighters in head-to-head arena combat.

A star-studded lineup boasts 96 playable characters including the massive boar-like Gyuki and the faceless Dodomeki. New playable characters exclusive to the PSP system include the graceful San Zang and the warrior-monk Benkei. New features exclusive to the PSP system also include: 2-Player VS mode plus Co-op play in Story, Free and Dream modes, 12 new scenarios in Dream mode, and a Japanese and English voice option.

Learn more about Warriors Orochi 2 for PSP system on the official product minisite. Also visit “Warriors Orochi 2 Dedicated” to download music tracks and over a dozen specially-modified high-resolution movie clips to create your own Warriors Orochi 2 fan video. Warriors Orochi 2 is based on an original work by Omega Force. Play is for 1 to 2 players. Multi-player play is via ad-hoc wireless only. This game is rated “T” (Teen – Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence) by the ESRB.

Toronto – The battle is heating up and the competition will be fiercer than ever as more than 50 of Canada’s top gamers meet in Toronto for the 2009 World Cyber Games (WCG) Canadian championship. From August 28-30, the Fan Expo Exhibit at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre will act as the battleground for this year’s championship, featuring the talents of a number of former Canadian champions, along with several other well-known Canadian gamers and some newcomers as well. Samsung returns as the national sponsor this year, supplying the latest in its desktop monitor line-up for the event.

“We are very excited to return to the Fan Expo for a second time to host the WCG Canada national final,” says Stephan Richard, executive director, WCG Canada. “We have a terrific event planned this year featuring many of the country’s top gamers who will compete for one of eight spots on Team Canada and the opportunity to take part in the WCG Grand Final in China this November.”

Professional player Matt “Wizakor” Wood is returning to WCG in 2009 after having ruled the virtual soccer world over the past two years. In 2007, Wood took home honours as the first-place finisher in North America and then dominated the global competition to become the world’s CGS (Championship Gaming Series) champion in FIFA 2007. Wood, 23, is one of Canada’s medal hopefuls for China 2009. Other returning champions include 2008 Guitar Hero Canadian champion, Daniel “Mithin” Piacampo, 24, who finished 3rd in his group at the 2008 WCG Grand Final in Germany and 2008 Virtua Fighter 5 Canadian champion, Alan “Yamamba” Joseph, 24, who finished 5th in his group at the 2008 WCG Grand Final.
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Vancouver – CKA Networks is excited to announce PoliTwitter, a non-partisan service that uses Twitter to connect elected MPs and MLAs with their Canadian constituents with the goal of increasing engagement and promoting open government. Users can keep track of what politicians are saying, and what regular Canadians have to say about the issues, all in one convenient location. PoliTwitter is the first service for Canadian politics and has unparalleled functionality.

Tweets can be viewed federally and provincially, or narrowed down by partisan affiliation, province, topics, and more. The site also allows for real-time updates, which is invaluable during fast-paced events like elections. PoliTwitter archives all political tweets, so there is a permanent record that can be used for statistical analysis, trending and public record. The site also tracks photos and videos posted by MPs. As demonstrated by the recent Iranian and US elections, Twitter is a valuable tool for politics and PoliTwitter an invaluable tool for Canadians.

Nexient Learning Inc., Canada’s largest corporate training provider has been acquired by North Carolina company Global Knowledge. The combination of Global Knowledge’s Canadian operations with those of Nexient establishes Global Knowledge as Canada’s leading provider of IT and business skills training as well as leadership business solutions. With the integration of their complementary product portfolios, customers will benefit from an expanded and unparalleled range of learning solutions.

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