Village Gamer

Montreal – Meridian4 is thrilled to announce that they have signed an agreement with independent developer 2DEngine.com to digitally distribute their challenging and addictive puzzle game Chains.

“Working with Meridian4 is an excellent opportunity to gain the right exposure for our game which would not be possible otherwise. Most conservative casual portals would not appreciate how Chains is so expressive and different from other puzzle titles.” Said Ivan Traykov, Lead Designer and Programmer at 2DEngine.com.

“We were instantly addicted to Chains the moment we played it and instead of getting no work done, we decided to sign the game so we had a legitimate reason for playing it. We also saw a great, challenging independently-developed game that needed to get exposure to a wide audience. This is one of those ‘just-one-more-level’ games that will have you playing for hours.” said Andy Sher, CEO at Meridian4.

Chains will be available in the coming weeks on most digital distribution channels. Village Gamer has reviewed this game – and recommends it for some challenging fun.

Gormley – Majesco Entertainment Company, an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, today announced that the Mad Dog McCree Gunslinger Pack for Wii developed by Digital Leisure, has shipped to retail. When ruthless outlaw Mad Dog McCree goes on a rampage with a nasty pack of wanted fugitives in tow, they leave death and destruction in their wake. You are the only gun-slinging bounty hunter who can take him down in this three-in-one collection of classic arcade games that includes: Mad Dog McCree, Mad Dog 2: The Lost Gold and The Last Bounty Hunter.

Players use their Wii Remote or Wii Zapper accessory as the ultimate six shooter in this Wild West adventure featuring live actors. Fast reflexes and precision shooting are the keys to survival when outlaws ambush from every angle and nail-biting showdowns are only a bullet away. As they pursue Mad Dog and four other wanted fugitives, players can choose from three different difficulty levels to hunt them alone or join forces with others in two multiplayer modes – Posse and Rebel. In Posse Mode, players work together with up to three friends in pursuit of a combined high score, while in Rebel Mode they work independently with up to four bounty hunters for individual high scores. Whether sharpshooting solo or with a posse, the Mad Dog McCree Gunslinger Pack lets players deliver their own brand of Wild West justice and walk away with their gun smokin’!

Mad Dog McCree Gunslinger Pack for Wii is rated T for Teen and packs three complete arcade classics onto one game disc. The game is available now for the suggested retail price of only $19.99.

Toronto – Providential Pictures has announced the launch of Paws and Tales Games MMOG, a faith-based website for children to play, watch and learn. Paws and Tales Games aims to provide a fun, safe and educational place online for children and families.

Paws and Tales Games aims to provide a fun, safe and educational place online for children and families. The Paws and Tales Games MMOG is based on Paws and Tales The Animated Series®.

Both the animated series and games website are designed for children as safe entertainment with faith-based values that parents can trust. Children can choose their favourite Paws and Tales character and interact with friends online.

Capable of supporting thousands of players simultaneously, the long term goal of the website is to enable players to cooperate with each other on a large scale and interact meaningfully with others around the world.

“Safety is our first priority and we have worked to ensure that we’ve created a safe online environment for children and their families.” said Product Manager Nelson Bodnarchuk. “We offer a chat that has a predefined menu of greetings, questions and statements for users to interact with. Users aren’t able to transmit personal data to other users. Those users who engage in inappropriate behavior can be suspended or banned from the Community.” Read the rest of this entry »

Vancouver – PowerUp Studios, the creators of Night of a Million Billion Zombies, proudly announces the release of NOMBZ: HEADSHOT! for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch, available now through the Apple App Store, where you can pick it up for only 99 cents.

The Night of a Million Billion Zombies virus spreads to the iPhone as a 3D tap ‘n’ shoot action game that challenges you to defend against mobs of zombies, all hungry for your delicious human brains!

Choose your weapon and battle for survival against different types of zombies in a variety of settings, including city, suburbs, mall… and a secret setting!

Fight! Survive! Escape! We hope you enjoy the zombie apocalypse!

System Requirements:
Compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch
iPhone OS 2.0 or later

NOMBZ Headshot is rated E10+ for Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence and Infrequent/Mild Horror/Fear Themes

Vancouver – Game publisher Paradox Interactive today announced that in anticipation of the upcoming expansion pack Sword of the Stars: Argos Naval Yard from Vancouver’s Kerberos Productions, Sword of the Stars: Ultimate Collection is temporarily available for $7.99 on GamersGate, Steam, Direct2Drive, and Impulse. This special price promotion lasts through this Sunday, June 13, 2009. Sword of the Stars: Ultimate Collection contains the original Sword of the Stars game and the two expansion packs Born of Blood and A Murder of Crows.

Paradox Interactive took over as publishers for the Sword of the Stars franchise in April of this year.  The original Sword of the Stars title was hailed as a major milestone in 4X Space Strategy games upon release, praised for its unique combination of turn based strategy and real-time space combat.

“We’re thrilled to be a part of Sword of the Stars series,” says Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive. “We look forward to continue bringing this game to market and further developing the IP with Kerberos for many years to come.”
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Edmonton – Leading video game developer BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc., will bring Dragon Age™: Origins to the San Diego Comic-Con, GamesCom, Gen Con, Fan Expo Canada and Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) over the course of summer 2009. This summer consumer show tour gives fans the chance to experience the game’s dark and gritty world of violence, lust and betrayal first-hand, before it hits stores this fall on the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and PC. Dragon Age: Origins promises gamers an epic adventure as a Grey Warden where they set on a course to defeat the Archdemon in a dark, stunning world. Dragon Age: Origins offers an engrossing story, unprecedented player choice, and bone-crushing, visceral combat, making it one of the most highly-anticipated releases of 2009.

“Dragon Age: Origins is the biggest, most ambitious BioWare game to date, and we will be delivering that great experience simultaneously on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, CEO and co-founder of BioWare and General Manager and Vice President, Electronic Arts. “Whether you’re a PC or console gamer, Dragon Age: Origins reinvents the fantasy experience, combining a great story with raw emotion and brutal action. We’re excited to share it with gamers before it ships this fall.”
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Sim City – Electronic Arts Play Label, Sims Studio and Montreal’s Artificial Mind & Movement announced today that MySims Racing for the Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ will be zooming into retail outlets this week. The latest title in the popular MySims franchise starts players as wannabe speedsters and after working their way up the ranks, it is time for them to burn rubber against the toughest MySims rival racers on the trickiest tracks in Speedville. The excitement never stops as the more successful the player is on the track, the more they will be able to customize their kart and trick it out with new engines and bodies. Designed specifically from the ground up for the Nintendo platforms, MySims Racing offers something for everyone who wants to live life in the fast lane.

“The MySims have had many adventures and conquered many challenges, but for the first time we find them behind the wheels of their own customized vehicles,” said Tim LeTourneau, General Manager of the MySims Franchise. “MySims Racing combines the fun and quirky MySims spirit our fans love with fast-paced action-packed arcade racing. We can’t wait for players to take this game for a spin.”
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Burnaby – Electronic Arts Inc. announced today that Orlando Magic center, Dwight Howard, will be the cover athlete for NBA LIVE 10. A three-time NBA All-Star, Howard is currently looking to lead the Magic franchise to their first NBA Championship. The No. 1 pick of the 2004 NBA Draft was the 2009 NBA Defensive Player of the Year presented by Kia Motors, an All-NBA First Team selection the last two seasons, and stole the show at the 2008 NBA Sprite Slam Dunk Contest with his superhero antics. Additionally, Howard was the starting center of the 2008 U.S. Basketball Men’s Senior National Team which won the gold medal at the Olympics in Beijing. NBA LIVE 10 is currently in development under the EA SPORTS™ brand by EA Canada in Vancouver, B.C. and will be available worldwide this October.

“It’s an honor to be named as the cover athlete for NBA LIVE 10,” said Howard. “This year has been a crazy ride and this is a cool way to cap it off. Of course – there is one more thing I’m on the hunt for that would complete it.”
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Toronto – Wicked Interactive Ltd., a leading North American video game publisher, today announced the upcoming release of ACE Online Episode 3.2, a patch to the current Episode 3 -War of Pandea, that offers all new content including a new Nation War System, a revamped game interface, new maps, an all-new slot machine and new cash shops items. The game, which is part of the Suba Games library of free MMOs can be downloaded at the Suba Games web site.

“We are excited to launch this new update for ACE Online,” said Garvin Yeung, CEO of Wicked Interactive LTD. “Episode 3.2 offers several updates throughout many different areas of the game and we think players will be thrilled with the new content.”

Nation War System Updated
The mothership war system has been completely revamped. No longer will motherships be summoned based on nation points, instead they will be scheduled at a specific times decided by the nation leaders. In addition, Outpost Wars occur more frequently and are now activated concurrently of each other. Also, rewards earned within the war system are now totally performance-based. The better a player performs in combat, the better their reward.
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Montreal – Newly-founded Montreal-based game developer and publisher Gamesmith Studios is the latest company to board the iPhone games train, and it’s doing so in grand fashion by releasing 8 fresh new titles simultaneously.

The company’s founders, both under the age of 30, promise that this initial launch is the first of many, hinting that they have already signed a number of partnerships which will be revealed in the future. “Publishing great Apps conceived by other developers is an intricate part of Gamesmith’s strategy. We like to think of our arrangement as a collective of small independent developers, working together to increase our exposure on Apple’s App Store, and collaborating to create great new innovative products“ says Jasson Michaud, co-founder of Gamesmith Studios. “We want the Gamesmith name to be synonym of fun, high-quality interactive products.”
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