Village Gamer

Klei Entertainment and EA Partners have announced Shank™ 2, the sequel to last year’s Annie Award nominated downloadable action title. The original game was praised by critics at 1UP.com for being “…the freshest, most unequivocally rewarding beat-em-up game to come along in a decade” and EGM Magazine called the original Shank “…one of the most intense action experiences of the last few years”. Shank 2 will be available for Xbox LIVE® Arcade, PlayStation® Network and PC in early 2012. Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

Following his critically acclaimed music for Assassin’s Creed, Assassin’s Creed II and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, British Academy award-winning composer Jesper Kyd has written and produced the original score for Assassin’s Creed® Revelations, the fourth installment in Ubisoft’s immensely popular video game franchise, alongside music composed by Lorne Balfe. To reflect the story’s multicultural setting of 16th Century Constantinople, Jesper Kyd has crafted a rich and evocative hybrid music score drawing on Greek, Renaissance and Middle-Eastern instrumentation, while combining his emotional melodic writing and acoustic/electronic styles associated with the series.  Assassin’s Creed Revelations will be available on November 15th for Xbox 360®, PlayStation®3 and PC.
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UK-based Feral Interactive has announced that it will be bringing the Action-RPG game Deus Ex: Human Revolution™ to the Mac platform in winter 2011/12. Developed by Eidos-Montreal and published by Square Enix™ for game consoles and PC, Deus Ex: Human Revolution is a prequel to the legendary Deus Ex™.  Pricing, system requirements and a more precise release date will be announced later this year.

“We are delighted to partner with Feral, a leading expert in development for the Mac platform, to bring the acclaimed Deus Ex: Human Revolution to Mac players, ” said Stephane D’Astous, general manager of Eidos-Montreal. “The game presents a powerful vision of a dystopian future, and we’re excited that gamers will now be able to experience it on the Mac.” Read the rest of this entry »

Rockstar Games has announced that Max Payne 3 is expected to launch on the Xbox 360®, PlayStation®3  and PC in March 2012 in North America and Europe. Max Payne 3 continues the tale of former New York City detective, Max Payne. Still haunted by the memories of his traumatic past, Max begins a new life working private security protecting a wealthy industrialist and his family in Sao Paulo, Brazil. When gangs target the family under his protection, Max is forced to fight to save his clients and clear his name, in a bid to, once and for all, rid himself of the demons that have tortured him for far too long. Rockstar has stated that Max Payne 3 promises to delivers a dark, gritty action experience that is sure to satisfy newcomers and fans to the historic franchise. Read the rest of this entry »

Square Enix and Eidos Montreal have announced that Deus Ex: Human Revolution™ – The Missing Link downloadable content (DLC), which will be available in October 2011 for the PlayStation®3, Xbox 360®, and Windows® PC platforms via Steam®, OnLive® and other participating online retailers.

The Deus Ex: Human Revolution conspiracy grows deeper in The Missing Link. During lead character Adam Jensen’s quest for the truth in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, he mysteriously vanishes for three days. Where was he? What did he find out? The Missing Link reveals it all. Read the rest of this entry »

Following the success of the Assassin’s Creed Revelations multiplayer beta (initially restricted to Playstation Plus subscribers and selected Uplay members on Playstation 3), Ubisoft has announced that the beta will be available to all Playstation Network members from September 8-11, 2011. The beta client will be available – in limited download – on the Playstation Network.

The multiplayer beta offers access to nine characters (The Sentinel, The Vanguard, The Guardian, The Vizier, The Thespian, The Deacon, The Bombardier, The Trickster and The Champion), three maps (Knight’s Hospital, Antioch, Constantinople) and four playable modes (Wanted, Manhunt, Deathmatch, and Artifact Assault), which are only a sample of the final multiplayer content. Read the rest of this entry »

Ubisoft has announced that the Assassin’s Creed Revelations multiplayer beta is now available for download on the Playstation^®Network, exclusively for PlayStation^®Plus members and Playstation^®3 Uplay members, and will be playable from September 3^rd 10am, closing on the evening of September 11th. Players can preload to take the proverbial leap of faith into the action the moment the beta starts, on September 3.

The multiplayer beta offers access to nine characters (The Sentinel, The Vanguard, The Guardian, The Vizier, The Thespian, The Deacon, The Bombardier, The Trickster and The Champion), three maps (Knight’s Hospital, Antioch, Constantinople) and four playable modes (Wanted, Manhunt, Deathmatch, and Artifact Assault), which are only a sample of the final multiplayer content.

In Assassin’s Creed Revelations, master assassin Ezio Auditore walks in the footsteps of the legendary Altaïr on a journey of discovery and revelation. It is a perilous path – one that will take Ezio to Constantinople, the heart of the Ottoman Empire, where a growing army of Templars threatens to destabilize the region.

Assassin’s Creed^® Revelations will be available on November 15, 2011, with European and Australian gamers once again being offered special editions not available in Canada or the United States, and it’s the one edition which contains the Assassin’s Creed Encyclopedia. Well – one version of the Encyclopedia, because true to Ubisoft’s way, there are two editions of the book – a white version and a black version. The black version is the one included with the Animus Edition bundle, and does not include “Cartes Blanche” – a section that features Assassin’s Creed artwork by other professional artists or game fans. The only place to get the white version of the encyclopedia, which does include “Cartes Blanche”  is through UbiWorkShop, where it is available for pre-order, with a list price of $34.95USD.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJO52dAsQ5w]

Here, according to the Assassin’s Creed wiki, are all of the editions to be available, but the Ultimate Edition Bundle isn’t (as of this writing) even listed on the GameStop.ca site, and neither is the Collector’s Edition. In all honesty, the way Ubisoft has these editions broken down really doesn’t make a lot of sense, but many things the developer/publisher does don’t always make a lot of sense, so I suppose having these multiple editions shouldn’t either.

Special Edition

• A copy of the Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Game
• Game soundtrack
• Two multiplayer characters (The Crusader and the Ottoman Doctor)
• Turkish Assassin Armour

Signature Edition – This edition can only be obtained by pre-ordering Assassin’s Creed: Revelations from Gamestop.

• A copy of the Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Game
• Bonus single player map, Vlad the Impaler’s Prison
• Weapon capacity upgrades – possibly the same ones listed in the Animus Edition?
• A multiplayer character, The Ottoman Jester
• A DVD of the Assassin’s Creed: Embers short animated movie
• Game soundtrack

Ultimate Bundle Edition – this edition can only be obtained from Gamestop.

• Signature Edition of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations
• Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood da Vinci’s Flying Machine replica
• Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood 7-inch Ezio Collectable

Collector’s Edition

• A copy of the Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Game
• Collectable casing
• 50-page artbook
• A DVD of the animated short film Assassin’s Creed: Embers
• Original soundtrack
• Bonus single player map, Vlad the Impaler’s Prison
• Two multiplayer characters (The Crusader and The Ottoman Jester)

Templar Collector Edition– only available from OpenGames Italia.

• A copy of the Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Game
• Collectable casing
• 50-page artbook
• A DVD of the animated short film Assassin’s Creed: Embers
• Original soundtrack
• Bonus single player map, Vlad the Impaler’s Prison
• Two multiplayer characters (The Crusader and the Ottoman Jester)
• 8.5″ Statue/Figurine of Ezio Auditore

Animus Edition – available only in Europe and Australia

• A copy of the Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Game
• Assassin’s Creed: The Encyclopedia
• A DVD of the animated short film Assassin’s Creed: Embers
• Game soundtrack
• Bonus single player map, Vlad the Impaler’s Prison
• Two multiplayer characters (The Crusader and The Ottoman Jester)
• The Armor of Brutus outfit from AC: Brotherhood
• Capacity upgrades for the Pistol, Hand-held bombs, and Crossbow
• One exclusive customization item
• ‘Ezio in Altaïr’s outfit’ multiplayer skin. (Only when pre-ordered at certain stores.)

Indie game developer Hothead Games is very excited to announce that gamers can now eat up their tastiest action RPG, The Baconing on Xbox LIVE® Arcade, PlayStation®Network, Windows-based PC, and Mac. This epic adventure of bacon goodness is available on Xbox LIVE Arcade for Xbox 360 for 1200 Microsoft Points, and on PlayStation®Network, Steam, and the Mac App Store for $14.99.

Mike Inglehart, Producer on The Baconing commented: “This stand alone sci-fi adventure is our best game yet. If you like Hothead’s games, be prepared for plenty of our charm, humor and adventure. If you never played a DeathSpank game before, jump in with The Baconing – it’s very, very tasty and available for everyone, regardless of what system you want to play on.”

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F48fnGVMbg&hd=1]

In The Baconing, hero DeathSpank, oblivious of an ancient Thongolith myth, carelessly pulls on all six Thongs of Virtue at the same time, summoning an unspeakable self-evil, the AntiSpank. DeathSpank must bear the incredible heat and enter the Fires of Bacon to destroy five of the six thongs to vanquish the AntiSpank.

With an improved tactical combat system, players can defeat evil on their own or partner up with new side-kick, Bob from Marketing and other characters for local co-op play. Along the way, DeathSpank travels through sci-fi inspired worlds, meeting a hilarious cast of characters, and obtains new Weapons of Justice and suits of armor as he fights to return peace to his beloved Spanktopia.