Village Gamer

X-Men™ Destiny is available today at retail stores nationwide, and Marvel Entertainment’s newest iteration of the super hero franchise places gamers into the role of a young mutant just discovering their powers. The choices they make, along with the alliances they forge, will determine which side of the mutant cause will reign supreme. X-Men Destiny gives players three all-new playable mutants and an original story penned by acclaimed Marvel writer Mike Carey, delivering an action-RPG experience where players have ultimate customization of their mutant’s powers, development and destiny.

X-Men Destiny for Xbox 360®, PlayStation®3 and Wii™ was developed by Silicon Knights, while the Nintendo DS™ version of the game was developed by Other Ocean. The games are published by Activision and carry ESRB ratings of T for Teen and E10+ (DS version). Read the rest of this entry »

Independent game developer Spooky Squid Games has announced that its upcoming Xbox Live Indie Game They Bleed Pixels will feature guest levels created by four indie developers. Featuring a distinct visual style that blends pixel art with paper and ink textures, They Bleed Pixels is a singular mix of intense platforming and fierce beat-em-up action.

They Bleed Pixels tells the story of a young girl haunted by a mysterious book and her violent Lovecraftian nightmares. The game features a robust one button combat system and a mid-level save system that requires players to execute stylish kills in order to earn checkpoints. Read the rest of this entry »

Binary Dawn Interactive is pleased to announce that Giggle Water (99 cents USD) along with its complimentary, ad-supported free version Giggle Water: On the House is now available in the iTunes App Store.

Yip, it’s finally happy hour and Giggle Water with its proprietary “blot-o-meter” and curiously intoxicating beverages will have players excitedly swinging, swilling, swaying and swaggering with their iPhones and iPads until last call. Read the rest of this entry »

WildTangent and the Degree® brand are working together to deliver free access to premium games for a limited time within the WildTangent Games service. Designed to appeal to male hardcore gamers, the custom game channel features fast-paced, adrenaline charged games.

The Unilever campaign is the first to deliver both a French and English language version of the experience, dynamically targeting users based on their language preference. Powered by WildTangent’s BrandBoost ad platform, the campaign unlocks pay to play games for consumers who engage with a Degree Adrenaline Series video commercial. Games in the Degree channel are typically $19.99 to own or anywhere from approximately $.25 to $1.00 to rent, but Canadian players will be able to enjoy free unlimited, uninterrupted play during the campaign courtesy of Degree Men Adrenaline Series.

“The Degree Games channel is a great way for Unilever to build equity with gamers by giving them free access to the games they love,” said Linda Kessler, director of sales for WildTangent in Canada. “Our BrandBoost platform allows Degree to dynamically target video advertising to our Canadian users in their native language across a selection of contextually relevant games. That is scalable, addressable engagement at its best.”

Editor’s Note: Is it just me, or do you lady gamers out there find this campaign’s focus a little…short sighted?

Rock Hippo Productions Ltd has launched the “Arms Race” patch for its popular online cartoon style third-person action shooter, MicroVolts. The new patch includes a brand new mode, a new map and new weapons, parts and accessories. A new trailer and screenshots explore the new map and feature the characters sporting the new content that is now available to players.

MicroVolters will have to amp up their competitiveness in new mode, Arms Race! Players have 20 weapons to conquer and must rapidly master each weapon to defeat their opponents before they are able to upgrade their arsenal. The toy war continues in the new map, Toy Fleet, where players will quickly find out that this is no ordinary kiddie pool! From steamboats to battleships, MicroVolters will have to dodge enemy bullets without falling in the water!

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

In addition to the new mode and map, new weapons, Parts & Accessories have also been introduced. With summer almost over and back to school season upon us, the MicroWorld is celebrating both occasions! MicroVolters take one last strut down the beach in Naomi’s Grey Tank Top before pulling out Knox’s School Ready Hoodie to gear up for class. School yard bullies will be seeing red after being whacked by the Red Drawing Pencil!

“The MicroVolts community had a great summer and now it’s time to head back to school-but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue to have fun!” said Howard He, President and CEO of Rock Hippo Productions. “From the new Toy Fleet map to the fast paced Arms Race mode to all the new accessories, there will be plenty for MicroVolters to enjoy well into the Fall!”

Rock Hippo invites all their Canadian fans to come and see MicroVolts on exhibition at Fan Expo in Toronto this weekend. Visitors can participate in the special promotion for in-game currency as well as come grab some cool gaming swag at Booth 1445.

Rock Hippo Productions announced today that its exhibition at Germany’s Gamescom last week in Cologne was a major success. The company estimates that tens of thousands of fans visited the Rock Hippo booth to play MicroVolts and Brawl Busters. The company also released photos of the winners of two huge competitions held during the convention. The winners of the daily Brawl Busters competitions took home Alienware gaming keyboards while the winners of the daily MicroVolts tournaments took home Alienware gaming mice.

Between August 25th and 28th, Rock Hippo will exhibit its two free-to-play games, MicroVolts and upcoming Brawl Busters, at Fan Expo Canada at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Booth 1445. Players who visit the Rock Hippo booth at Fan Expo Canada will have a chance to play the new action brawler, Brawl Busters, which just recently went into Closed Beta phase. In addition, visitors can participate in the special promotion for the company’s recently released third person action shooter, MicroVolts, to receive in-game currency and pick up all kinds of gaming swag.

“Gamescom was a huge success for us. We were able to show off our games to so many of our fans and give out some great prizes. We want to congratulate the winners of our tournaments who took home some awesome Alienware gaming gear,” said Howard He, President and CEO of Rock Hippo Productions. “We aren’t done yet. We are now looking forward to meeting the gamers at Fan Expo Canada this weekend, which is celebrating its 17th year, and we are proud to be part of such a popular convention which celebrates everything from gaming to anime and comics and more.”

Celsius Games has released the next installment in the Red Nova saga. In Episode 1: Red Nova, which was released earlier this year, players were introduced to the Earth Colonial Fleet, brave soldiers tasked with protecting the people of our home planet. While out on a test flight with the shiny new prototype fighter ESC Red Nova, the crew happens upon a previously unknown alien fleet preparing to stage a sneak attack on the human colonies.

In order to give the Red Nova a chance to escape and warn the rest of the fleet you have volunteered to attack the aliens head-on. With a choice of any of the fighters on deck, you have to use your wits, guns, and ample supply of homing missiles to survive the alien onslaught for as long as possible.

In Episode Two: Mercy, the ESC has been receiving reports that a massive alien mothership has begun an assault on the shipyards at Gamma Crucis, a mere 88 light years from Earth. It has disabled the fleet there and without your help the crew of those ships will perish.

While the Red Nova occupies the mothership you must use your skill to pilot your heavy transport ship, the Raven, against the alien’s fighter onslaught launched from the mothership. Battle through the waves of enemy ships and rescue the stranded citizens at the shipyard before it’s too late.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7Cc6paatto]

Episode Two is a free update for those who already own Episode One – if you haven’t yet purchased this challenging game for your iOS mobile device, you can get it in the iTunes App Store for only 99 cents (USD) – a very good value for such a polished title.

New features added in Episode Two include an added “Gun Pod” power-up which, when activated, will orbit your ship, targeting the nearest enemy and firing at a rapid rate. Gun Pod is backwards compatible with Episode 1. Another new feature is the anti-capital-ship explosive enemy type, which is only featured in Episode 2. This feature offers lots of hit points and will only attack capital ships.

Fixes included with the Episode 2 Update:

• Optimized rendering engine, should improve performance
• Changed pause button to make it easier to see the radar
• Radar markers now change size based on distance to target
• Fixed a pause/resume bug that would occur when the game entered the background during “Game Over”
• Increased the range at which energy orbs will become attracted to the ship
• Improved loading time from optimized data files
• Improved menu navigation

Red Nova is compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad devices running iOS 3.1.3 or later and is Rated 9+ for Frequent/Intense Cartoon or Fantasy Violence. For even more insight into the Red Nova story, check out the short story Test Pilot by game creator Colin Walsh.

Electronic Arts will showcase the best of interactive entertainment at this year’s gamescom in Cologne, Germany. The company’s top intellectual properties are set to delight visitors, highlighting this year’s blockbuster launches and offerings for console, mobile phones, tablets and the Web. The publisher will also be providing 350 gaming stations at the EA booth allowing more consumers than ever before to get hands-on play with each game.

Jens Uwe Intat, Senior Vice President of EA European Publishing, said, “The old model of making games every few years to coincide with new hardware launches is gone. We have a very powerful set of games for today’s consoles, and now we offer that IP to players as year-round entertainment across all of their devices and platforms. We’re looking forward to our fans’ response when they get hands-on with our line-up at the show – we think they’ll like what they see”.

Canadian-made games at the show include:

• FIFA 12: Huge space that puts players on the pitch to experience the gameplay action.
• Need for Speed™ The Run: Get behind the wheel in a race for your life from the Golden Gate to the Empire State.
• Mass Effect™ 3: Bioware’s high octane alien invasion adventure explodes in an all-out galactic war. The time has come to join the war effort and experience the industry’s most critically acclaimed RPG first-hand.
• The Secret World: Funcom producers will be showing an exciting live demo in one of many dungeons, highlighting combat, progression and boss fights.

London Ontario’s Antic Entertainment, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at Casual Connect, has released its latest title to Kongregate. According to the game’s description, Platoonz is an action RPG game in which players build an army base and manage a squad of soldiers. The player’s mission is to recruit, equip and train those soldiers to combat the evil forces of Evil. Platoonz is free to play on the Kongregate platform.

Rock Hippo Productions and partner Weezor have announced today that the closed beta test for Brawl Busters will begin next week on Thursday, August 11th. You can apply to receive a beta key by signing up on the game’s web site.

Brawl Busters is a Free2Play dynamic new action brawler that features competitive and co-operative battle modes all in a unique third person view.  With its simple and intuitive controls, this easy to pick up and play game makes team strategy a must as player’s battle against each other or team up against computer controlled enemies.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy3bCFZW3VA]

“Our fans ask us every day when they will get their hands on Brawl Busters so we are excited to finally be able to let them know the countdown has started and they only have to wait one more week!” said Howard He, President and CEO of Rock Hippo Productions.  “We invite players to go to the website now and sign up so they can make sure to get one of the coveted closed beta invites, and while they are there they should make sure to check out the weekly video lessons we have posted teaching them about Brawl Buster’s gameplay features. This way, they can be ready to jump in and be one of the best Original Busters next Thursday.”

The gameplay lessons help players to learn more about what to expect when they enter the world of Brawl Busters. The video lessons can be found on the front page of the Brawl Busters website and feature a breakdown of each of the five character classes, the missions, the customization, environment and items and much more!