Village Gamer

Gormley – Digital Leisure and EA Mobile have announced that Dragon’s Lair will be coming soon to your iPhone and iTouch. Now Dirk the Daring fans can take their hero on new adventures in a visually stunning hand-drawn animated world adapted from Don Bluth’s original Dragon’s Lair title. Players will be able to guide Dirk through the game’s environment and battle enemies with their trusty sword.

As we reported earlier, Digital Leisure recently released two new titles for the Wii – Sudoku Challenge and Copter Crisis are both available now via WiiWare™ from Nintendo.

London ON – Big Blue Bubble Inc. is proud to announce that Masters of Mystery: Blood Of Betrayal is scheduled to launch on all major portals and is available now at Big Blue Bubble Arcarde. Blood Of Betrayal is the second in a Masters Of Mystery series of hidden object games that will appeal to fans of the genre and anyone who loves a good murder mystery!

It’s been nearly six months since Carrie Chase solved the Crime of Fashion murders. Since then, she’s enjoyed a nice promotion, better apartment and even had time to mingle with one of the attractive new detectives at the station. Life has been great – until now. It’s late one night and Carrie Chase’s dinner plans get interrupted with unfortunate news… two grisly murders in a nearby condominium penthouse. Taking her new detective with her, Chase begins unraveling the clues behind the deaths of these two men and what she discovers will change her life forever!

Help Sergeant Carrie Chase solve the death at the penthouse and discover how deep betrayal can go. Enter the shoes of Carrie Chase as she works her way through deception, heartache, inter-office romance and a betrayal so deep it will change her life forever.

Game Play Features:

• Photo Realistic Crime Scenes
• Captivating Storyline and Voiceovers
• Countless Hidden Objects to Find
• Super Zoom Technology for Super Hidden Objects
• Crime Scene Mini-games
• Achievements
• Relaxed and Timed Modes

System Requirements:

• OS: Windows XP/Vista
• CPU: 1.0 GHz
• RAM: 512 MB
• Hard Drive: 70 MB
• DirectX: 7.0
• Video Card: 3D Supported

Vancouver – Genius Factor Games, a digital entertainment company committed to delivering quality game experiences in five minutes or less, proudly announced today its upcoming game for iPhone and iPod touch based on the hot new web television series, “Riese.”

In a hauntingly familiar dystopian world, Riese, a seemingly random wanderer, flees across the dying lands. Hunted by a terrifying religious group, The Sect, Riese must evade their assassins to discover their true objective. Her past is shrouded in mystery as even Riese cant recall the events of the tragic night when her entire family was slaughtered and she was forced to flee. On her journey she will piece together her past and her destiny. The once peaceful kingdom Eleysia will be the battlefield of a struggle that will hold the fate of the world in balance. Riese will emerge as the sole beacon of hope.

Currently in its first season, “Riese” stars Christine Chatelain of Sanctuary acclaim and is fast becoming an online phenomenon as the story is revealed through its site and featured channels on YouTube and Koldcast TV. Drawing hundreds of thousands of views since its launch on Nov. 2, season one episodes air every other week until the end of January, culminating in a season finale, with the next season scheduled to kick off in February 2010.

“‘Riese’ represents a new, viable way to digitally distribute blockbuster-quality storytelling,” said Ted Nugent, Genius Factor president and founder. “Not only is it in line with exploring our own goals for the digital distribution of games and entertainment, but the compelling story, audio and visuals make for an excellent series that keeps you wanting more. We are incredibly excited to be working with Riese Productions!” Read the rest of this entry »

Toronto – Congratulations to all of the Canada New Media Award winners who were announced last night at the nextMEDIA gala at Toronto’s Design Exhange:

• Best Company of the Year –  Cyberplex Inc. (Toronto)
• Best Brand of the Year – Doritos
• Promising New Company of the Year – Syncapse (Toronto)
• Hottest New Digital Kid on the Block –  ChickAdvisor.com (Toronto)
• Best in Mobile Marketing –  Brisk ARTwist by Addictive Mobility (Markham)
• Best Mobile Application – Air Canada iPhone App by IBM Canada
• Best Location Based Service – Poynt by Multiplied Media (Calgary)
• Best Use of Social Media – Invoke Media, creator of HootSuite (Vancouver)
• Best in Interactive Marketing – Doritos White Bag by BBDO Worldwide – Proximity Canada (Toronto)
• Best Branded Entertainment – Worldwide Short Film Festival: Short Attention Span by doug agency (Toronto)
• Best Cross-Platform Project – Waterlife Interactive by the National Film Board of Canada
• Best Online Video Portal – National Film Board of Canada: Online Screening Room
• Best Innovative Web-based Game – Junk: Battles by Antic Entertainment (London ON)
• Best Kids Interactive – Titanium Chef by mod7 (Vancouver)
• Best in Canadian Culture, Interactive – In Touch: Connecting Cloth, Culture & Art by ecentricarts (Toronto)
• Best Online Comedy Performance – Têtes à claques (Montreal)
• Best Online Artist of the Year – K-os
• Leader in Social Change – Mark & Tonya Surman
• Lifetime Achievement Award – Red Burns, who is, according to the nextMEDIA website, known as the “Grandmother” of new media and Founder of the ITP Program at the Tisch School for the Arts at NYU.

London ON – Big Blue Bubble Inc. announced today that the first Fighting Fantasy game book, The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, will be available on iPhone this Christmas.

Following the successful Nintendo DS launch of the game of the same name, Fighting Fantasy: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain for iPhone and iPod Touch takes a different approach bringing Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson’s legendary game book to your favorite handheld device.

Fighting Fantasy fans will love the classic story and original illustrations with a technological twist. No more dice, pencils, or bookmarks. All the special features are built in!

Features…

• Tap the on screen buttons to flip pages (No papercuts!)
• Shake to roll the dice using the accelerometer
• Inventory items selectable via touch-screen
• Game-save feature allows you to retrace your steps
• Beautifully painted illustrations

Vancouver – Karta Mobile Inc. today announced the public availability of Viira 2.0, the updated and enhanced version of its popular BlackBerry® application that brings the principles of David Allen’s Getting Things Done® (GTD®) productivity system into the hands of busy professionals, executives and entrepreneurs worldwide.

The new version of the already full-featured Viira adds several industry firsts, including the ability to create tasks based on incoming email messages, effortlessly prioritize tasks, and designate next actions. Viira is also the only BlackBerry GTD app to fully incorporate appointments and events in its underlying organizational system.

“Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” is a popular work-life productivity book by David Allen that shows readers how to effectively organize tasks, information and communications in an intuitive way. Since its debut in 2001, the GTD methodology has been enthusiastically embraced by millions of knowledge workers around the world.

While a multitude of web-based tools for implementing GTD have been made available over the last years, the engineering challenge of building effective and intuitive BlackBerry applications has left the principles of Getting Things Done under-represented on BlackBerry smartphones.

Viira has stepped in to fill the void. With Viira 2.0, BlackBerry owners can now conquer their inboxes by creating to-dos from the incoming email messages and immediately filing them in their appropriate place. Handling large volumes of incoming email has been a known pain point for people implementing Getting Things Done with BlackBerry devices – until now.

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Toronto –  G4BOX Inc. has some exciting American Thanksgiving promotions for its popular free to play action-MMORPG, Metin2.  “It’s that time of year again when we want to say a special thank you to our Metin2 community,” said Howard He, Chief Executive Officer of G4BOX, “We wish everyone a very special and happy Thanksgiving and hope they enjoy the special events and promotions we have in store for them.”

Here’s a preview of what’s in store for Metin2’s American Thanksgiving celebrations:

Part 1: 50% Bonus Experience
Event Duration: November 27th~December 4th, 2009 Players can level up and buy the gear they need faster with 50% bonus experience. The Metin2 special bonus events will take place on November 27th, and last for one week. Metin2 players who are online during the event week will receive 50% EXP. Don’t miss this chance!

Part 2: The Special Thanksgiving Package Promotion Period: November 26th ~December 10th, 2009 A new Thanksgiving Package will be added to the Metin2 item shop. The package includes three of the most popular in-game items priced at 35% off on the regular price! Players should hurry to stock up on the favorite items since it is a limited time offer!

The Thanksgiving Package Includes:

. Enchant Change Scroll 3+1 Package
. Enchant Scroll 3+1 Package
. Hermit’s Advice

Toronto – Ever wonder what you would call your alter ego? Liberty Mobile Inc has released a unique iPhone app called The Name Game which is available in 3 different editions: Stage Name Edition, Rock Star Edition, and Gangsta Name Edition. Each version of the app is simple & fun. All you have to do is answer 3 outrageous questions to generate your very own personalized Rock Star, Gangsta, or Stage name.

Spin the wheel to reveal your own super cool & unique name, or “Mix it up” by shaking your iTouch/iPhone to generate random names. Each edition has over 100 funny & original names for plenty of laughs. So, if you’re looking to be the life of the party or just want to break the ice – this app is for you!
Each application can be downloaded for $0.99 now from the iTunes app store.

Winnipeg – The new Scrapbook MAX 2.0 School Bundle is the first digital scrapbooking software package designed specifically for school use, both in and out of the classroom. Developed in consultation with professional educators, the Scrapbook MAX 2.0 School Bundle includes the award-winning Scrapbook MAX 2.0 digital scrapbooking software (compatible with Windows 7, Vista and XP), plus a collection of digital scrapbooking kits and templates created specifically for school-themed scrapbooking projects. The collection gives parents a creative way to scrapbook their children’s school years, and offers students an edge in school assignments.

Scrapbook MAX gives students the freedom to combine digital photos and text with creative templates and scrapbooking embellishments, all in a visual drag-and-drop environment. The software offers a variety of publishing options, allowing students to share their pages in high-quality print and digital formats. With 125 school-themed template pages and over 1000 embellishments, parents and children can choose from a variety of styles and themes to create beautiful school memory books and enhance everyday school assignments.

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Montreal – Ubisoft Montreal has announced a record first week sales performance for Assassin’s Creed™ II, with 1.6 million units sold through worldwide according to internal estimates. This represents 32% growth over the first week sales of Assassin’s Creed. Launched in November 2007, Assassin’s Creed remains the fastest selling new video game intellectual property ever in the U.S.

Assassin’s Creed II has received an overwhelmingly positive reception from gamers around the world and from the video game trade press with to date an average user rating of 94% on Gamespot.com and over 91% average critics score according to GameRankings.com.

Assassin’s Creed II invites players to become Ezio, a privileged young noble in Renaissance Italy who’s been betrayed by the rival ruling families of Italy. Ezio’s subsequent quest for vengeance plunges players into a captivating and epic story that offers more variety in missions, surprising and engaging new game play elements, diverse weapons, incredible depth and lasting appeal and a profound character progression that will appeal to fans of the original Assassin’s Creed as well as entice players new to the brand.

Edmonton – BioWare™ has announced that it has set a new record for site traffic at DragonAge.com and new user registrations at its social networking site, Social.BioWare.com. With the release of Dragon Age™: Origins, the BioWare community has grown to a record 5 million registered users, propelled by outstanding word-of-mouth buzz amongst fans of the 90-rated role-playing game. As of October 13, 2009, DragonAge.com became the most highly trafficked web site in the EA network in 2009, including the main hub, EA.com. Dragon Age fans also drove the game’s Facebook® fan page to 30,000 fans since the page launched in June 2009, making it the fastest-growing EA property on Facebook – a remarkable feat for a new original intellectual property. The soon-to-be-released Mass Effect™ 2 saw a 33% increase in site traffic with the announcement of the Collectors’ Edition on November 4th, and a release of a video featuring the enemies of Mass Effect 2 on November 5th. Today, BioWare is re-launching MassEffect.com with a new design and more connectivity to BioWare’s social networking community at Social.BioWare.com, which has registered over 500K sign-ups in just five weeks, since its launch on October 13, 2009.

“We want to thank our fans for their enthusiasm and ongoing support. The passion within the community is not only helping drive momentum for Dragon Age referrals but our actively engaged fan base is eager for future content releases, which we are committed to deliver,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder, BioWare and Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group of EA. “We could not be more excited about the outstanding community growth. The connection we are fostering with our fans is direct and personal. This tremendous community will help set the stage for an incredible Mass Effect 2 launch on January 26th.”

Vancouver – IUGO Mobile Entertainment is pleased to announce that their latest title, A.D.D. has finally been approved! After sitting in Apple’s review queue for nearly 6 months, IUGO’s frantic, fun and controversial game is available in the App Store for $2.99usd. A.D.D.’s content has been paired down through several Apple cuts, but still offers over 70 mini games chock full of humor, wit and charm. “We are going to work on redoing most of the mini-games Apple asked us to cut to bring the mini game count back to over 100, “promises Sarah Thomson, IUGO’s Director of Business Development. “We’re super stoked the game is finally available to our users and we hope the wait was worth it!”

Brace yourself for high impact, fast-paced gaming! A.D.D. is just Another Dumb Distraction. Blast through 70+ mini games jam-packed with humor, culture, controversy, and personality. Clean and quirky graphics combined with truly unique games will push your device and brain to the limits.

Features:

* 70+ mini games bursting with character
* 3 gameplay modes: Quickplay, Practice and Hardcore
* Eclectic, entertaining artwork
* Games that will max out the unique controls of your device
* Hours of replayability
* Online worldwide high scores

Gormley – Digital Leisure announced yesterday that their latest WiiWare title, Copter Crisis, will be available in North America on Monday November 30 for only 500 Wii Points.

As an elite Helicopter Rescue Squadron pilot, players are assigned to respond to any type of emergency anywhere at anytime. As the most recent member joining this elite rescue squad, rookies have to complete training missions and become familiar with the latest in helicopter rescue technology. Once the Captain thinks his latest trainee is ready, players are tasked with executing rescue missions all around the Black Wolf Canyon.

The Wii Remote™ becomes the control stick as players guide their copters along the canyons while avoiding falling rocks, severe weather conditions and even anti-aircraft fire! Tasks include rescuing lost hikers, delivering supplies to remote areas, assisting on scientific missions and even blasting your way into hidden underground cavern systems. Complete all of the objectives to rise through the ranks, taking on the toughest of rescues in more than 30 missions. Copter Crisis uses the Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play and can connect up to 10 additional military copters at one time.

Thorold, ON – Cerebral Vortex Games is pleased to announce that the games Word Burst and Sonus are now available for download on the iTunes App Store for $2.99.

Word Burst is the on-the-go version of the company’s popular word/action Flash game. Gamers are presented with a grid full of random letters while a timer ticks down. Players spell words by rapidly clicking on letters. Creating a word and making it “burst” will award you points and more time—the longer the word, the better!

“Word Burst is a maddeningly addictive game,” said Keith Makse, President of Cerebral Vortex Games. “We’re very excited it’s now available for iPhone users. We know it’s one app you’ll go to again and again.”

A high-tech variation on a classic memory game, Sonus challenges players to study a pattern of musical tones and multi-colored lights. They must repeat the pattern back by touching the correct buttons on screen. The stakes get higher as the pattern gets longer!

“Think you’ve got a good memory? Prove it with Sonus,” says Mr. Makse. “We have two awesome modes available: Repeat After Me and Reverse. We’ll be adding more cool modes for Sonus in the future,” added Mr. Makse. “So stay tuned.”

Cerebral Vortex has also announced two upcoming titles:

Ghost Breaker: Battle murderous phantoms using your iPhone camera, powered by a mystical artifact that drains specters of their essence. The spookiest part is not the ghosts, but the fact that you battle them in your own home, literally!

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Gormley ON – Digital Leisure has released new screenshots for their upcoming DSiWare titles Sudoku Challenge and Word Searcher. With Sudoku Challenge, players have access to over 100,000,000 unique Sudoku puzzles, never seeing the same puzzle twice in Sudoku Challenge! Get started by selecting the classic nine-by-nine Sukodu gameboard or really take up a challenge with Grand Sudoku by completing five intersecting Sudoku boards simultaneously – A first for the Nintendo DSi! With three difficulty options even the most novice player to complete a Sudoku with ease. It’s time to get your thinking cap on and see how many Sudoku puzzles you can conquer!

With Word Searcher, a sharp eye and a quick mind will be needed to complete the 100 themed word search puzzles. Word Searcher contains fun words from multiple categories including anatomy, world cities and U.S Presidents. Packed with a huge assortment of subjects to choose from, there’s sure to be a puzzle anyone will enjoy. Help improve your vocabulary, memory and problem-solving skills with these addicting puzzles. Keep track of, and try to beat your own play through times again and again as words are scrambled every time you play.

Toronto – Parents are discovering the iPhone is a terrific platform for preschoolers because of its simple touch interface and its play anytime, anywhere convenience. But it’s hard to find high-quality, age-appropriate apps that are engaging and rewarding. With this in mind, zinc Roe created Tickle Tap Apps, a new app series developed by child gaming experts, vetted by educational researchers and tested by kids.

Tickle Tap Apps are designed to help children ages three to five practice key skills and learn about sounds, numbers, colors, patterns and shapes. These apps help children improve concentration and motor skills via simple tap and touch controls. This tactile element is what gives the iPhone an educational advantage over TV.

“Developmental research shows the iPhone is an excellent platform for preschool learning,” says Jason Krogh, zinc Roe’s founder and director. “Children need easy-to-use apps that take advantage of the unique features of the iPhone. Tickle Tap Apps address the need for simple, attractive and entertaining educational apps for this age range.”

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Tickle Tap Apps feature four adorable characters—Jinja the cat, Harvey the dog, Robin the bird and Fins the fish—for humor and encouragement. The games, including the first three apps in the series below, inspire preschoolers to learn and laugh at the same time!

Sound Shaker is a delightful and hilarious sound-making game. Children create and play with chime, whistle, drum, barnyard animal and mystery sounds simply by tapping and tilting. Robin the bird makes a special guest appearance.

Count Caddy makes counting rewarding. Children count by ones with Jinja the cat and quickly progress to counting by twos with Robin the bird and counting by threes with Harvey the dog.

Sort Slider is a mesmerizing shape matching game. Children tilt the device to match objects with silhouettes while Harvey the dog pops up for plenty of encouragement.

Tickle Tap Apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch retail for $1.99 each on the iTunes App Store.

London ON – Big Blue Bubble Inc. is pleased to announce that their smash hit Home Sweet Home has arrived at Apple’s App Store! Home Sweet Home will give you the chance to unleash your hidden talents as an Interior Designer. You choose the furniture, patterns, and colors to create a masterpiece that will blow your client away.

Picture the scene. You move into a new house and you have visions of how you want every room, except for one. Sure, there are some items you know you need in that room but, other than that, it’s a blank canvas. Who do you call? How about the ‘Home Sweet Home’ team? Learn about your clients to ensure you are designing the perfect room for their tastes. Next, choose the furniture, choose the colors and patterns and place items around the room until the design is perfect. Then direct your build team of workers to assemble it all in front of your eyes! With simple controls, a fun graphical style, and an easy to use interface, Home Sweet Home allows you to nurture your creative side.

Remember – a house is not a home until its ‘Home Sweet Home’!

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnETDjKp8G4]

“The sort of title that you just know is destined for great things, and makes you proud to be a casual gamer. An original, eye-catching blend of puzzle-solving and real-time strategy mechanics based on an innovative concept – 4.5 stars” – Gamezebo.com

“Home Sweet Home is an original game to make your life, crazier, funnier, and brighter. The game features an attractive idea and combines different game styles.” – GameMile.com

Vancouver – IUGO is happy to report the launch of Implode! on the App Store. Implode! is yet another premium casual game that has launched along with recent releases Zombie Attack! Second Wave and Cliffed, bringing IUGO’s current total of published iPhone games to 12.

“It’s amazing to think we’ve only been developing for the iPhone/iPod platforms for a little over a year,” exclaims Sarah Thomson, Director of Business Development for IUGO. “We’re very proud of the quality products we have released and so pleased to see how our users have been rating and enjoying our games. I think we have achieved the respect from users and industry critics alike as well as established ourselves as one of the top developers on the platform.”

Implode! Description:

This game is a blast! You are tasked to carefully plant limited dynamite bundles in order to demo obsolete structures. Sounds easy enough, right? WRONG! Implode! is a classic “easy to learn, hard to master” casual game that will pull you in and won’t let go. Features include:

• 60 dynamite levels
• Reactive UI, touch and drag control options
• Fun chalkboard theme and clean graphics
• Two different types of bombs (traditional bombs and blast bombs)
• Varying structure shapes for ongoing challenge
• Submit score online (online score is the sum of all levels’ high scores)
• Grading system for high scores adding replayability to each level
• 3 Difficulties; Casual, Veteran, and Expert
• In-level help system: Learn as you play!
• IUGO VIP: Sandbox cheat gives you more bombs and you never fail! (high scores disabled with this feature)
• Watch buildings tumble with real physics!

Implode! is available for $1.99 on the App Store.

Vancouver – IUGO is proud to announce the release of Cliffed, its latest game featuring casual play with online, multi-player action!

Challenge your friends to the most addictive race to the bottom! IUGO presents its latest sensation in casual gaming with this frantic 2D scrolling racer. WARNING: This game will get your heart and fingers racing!

Features:

• 10 unique and playful characters to choose from
• Pick up and play! Great for all ages
• Endless game play
• Online multiplayer! Race up to 8 players in real time over 3G and wireless networks
• Local and global leaderboards
• IUGO’s new VIP program: Tell your friends, earn points and unlock an exclusive mystery character sooner
• Stylized, clean graphics
• IUGO’s signature quality and polish

Edmonton – On the eve of the release of Dragon Age™: Origins, Seattle’s Umbra Software has announced that Bioware has licensed Umbra’s visibility optimization technology for Mass Effect™ franchise, Dragon Age™: Origins and other future titles.

Umbra is a highly robust, GPU based, visibility optimization solution that allows game developers to create highly dynamic game worlds without pre-processing. With Umbra game developers can increase their polygon budgets significantly and create highly complex game worlds which were previously impossible.

“BioWare has proven their excellence with a multitude of award-winning projects,” said Farhad Taherazer, VP of marketing for Umbra Software. “We are proud to have a studio with their track record recognize our abilities with a broad integration of our tech, it gives us credibility in this market place and puts us closer to becoming an industry standard.”

Montreal – Ubisoft Montreal has announced that the soundtrack for Assassin’s Creed 2 will be released for digital download on November 16, one day before the game’s official release.

Award-winning composer Jesper Kyd has created an epic soundtrack for Assassin’s Creed II, the

North American Collector's Edition

sequel to the fastest-selling new IP in video game history. Following his atmospheric score for the original Assassin’s Creed, Kyd takes the music in an adventurous new direction and crafts an immensely diverse, melodic and progressive musical pallet featuring acoustic and symphonic orchestrations with emotional depth and diversity. The original score was recorded with A-List musicians and a Hollywood orchestra and choir at the world-renowned Capitol Studios.

“Jesper Kyd’s score for Assassin’s Creed II brings players into the Italian Renaissance by providing a true sense of depth for the poignant moments, while also giving a jolt of adrenaline to the action-packed sequences. We are thrilled to have Jesper Kyd back with us in making Assassin’s Creed II an epic title on all levels,” said Patrice Desilets, Creative Director at Ubisoft, while Jesper Kyd had this to say about the new soundtrack: “We created a unique musical identity for Assassin’s Creed II that reflects the character and story of Ezio and elevated the music, both in terms of creativity and live production, to a whole new level.”

Assassin’s Creed II is the product of over two years of intensive development by the original creative team behind the Assassin’s Creed brand, featuring a new hero, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a young Italian noble, and a new era, the Renaissance. The game tells an epic story of family, vengeance and conspiracy set in the pristine, yet brutal, backdrop of a Renaissance Italy. Ezio befriends Leonardo da Vinci, takes on Florence’s most powerful families and ventures throughout the canals of Venice where he learns to become a master assassin. The music propels the action, captures the allure and mystery of the story and immerses players in the breathtakingly detailed settings.