Village Gamer

Microsoft invites IT professionals and software developers to prove their mettle

Ottawa – In an interactive game promoting the benefits of Microsoft certification, the software company asks IT and development professionals to prove their know-how in a series of tech knowledge challenges.

Created by Canadian interactive marketing and branded entertainment developer Fuel Industries, Are You Certifiable? is a Silverlight-based quiz game which will dig deep into the mental resources of technicians and developers alike in the process of determining who can meet and who can fly beyond the rigorous standards of Microsoft Certification. The game is a unique approach which will not only spread awareness of the benefits of MS Certification and the Second Shot promotion, but also provide a valuable primer for professionals interested in taking an exam.

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Toronto – G4BOX Inc and Wicked Interactive Ltd., North American publishers and distributors of interactive entertainment media, together announced today the tremendous success and popularity of the open beta for their military first-person shooter, Cross Fire. The beta, which began on Friday, January 30, 2009, has since gathered more than 25 000 registered players and made a major splash in the online first-person shooter scene. Cross Fire will continue in Open Beta through February.

“We knew there was an audience out there that was really anticipating Cross Fire, so we expected a good result,” said Garvin Yeung, Chief Executive Officer of Wicked Interactive. “But even we are amazed by the overwhelming response that Cross Fire has garnered thus far,” added Howard He, Chief Executive Officer of G4BOX.”
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Montreal – amBX today further strengthened its partnership with Ubisoft via an agreement to amBX-enable Tom Clancy’s EndWar on PC.

Set on the battlefields of World War III, Tom Clancy’s EndWar is a pioneering real time strategy game that pushes the envelope of technology with its revolutionary voice-command system. The addition of amBX enhances this innovative game with real-world sensory experiences – using light, colour, rumble and even air flow – through licensed amBX peripherals, including LED lights, variable speed desktop fans and rumblers.

The agreement to amBX-enable EndWar will see a huge range of lighting effects add realism to the theatre of war, including colours that reflect the changing landscape, environment, weather formations and time of day, as well as creating a real sense of movement and immersion. Of course, dynamic weapon fire will flash fiercely whenever large weapons are discharged.

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Edmonton – Leading video game developer BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. announced today the highly anticipated details of all six Origin Stories featured in the upcoming dark, heroic fantasy Dragon Age™: Origins. Each Origin Story starts the player off with a unique series of locations, characters and events that establish their motivations and lay the groundwork for the adventure to come.

With each Origin Story boasting several hours of unique game play, as well as challenging strategic combat and exploration, these 6 distinct preludes make Dragon Age: Origins the first BioWare game to offer not only multiple endings, but also multiple beginnings. Players will start their adventure in one of the following roles:

Dalish Elf

As one of the last “true elves”, you were content to spend your life wandering with your clan…until a chance encounter with a relic of your people’s past threatens to tear you away from everything you’ve known.
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Edmonton – Leading video game developer BioWare™, a division of Electronic Arts Inc. announced today the highly anticipated details of all six Origin Stories featured in the upcoming dark, heroic fantasy Dragon Age™: Origins. Each Origin Story starts the player off with a unique series of locations, characters and events that establish their motivations and lay the groundwork for the adventure to come.

With each Origin Story boasting several hours of unique game play, as well as challenging strategic combat and exploration, these 6 distinct preludes make Dragon Age: Origins the first BioWare game to offer not only multiple endings, but also multiple beginnings. Players will start their adventure in one of the following roles:

Dalish Elf
As one of the last “true elves”, you were content to spend your life wandering with your clan… until a chance encounter with a relic of your people’s past threatens to tear you away from everything you’ve known.

City Elf
You have always lived under the heavy thumb of your human overlords, but when a local lord claiming his “privilege” with the bride shatters your wedding day, the simmering racial tensions explode in a rain of vengeance.
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St. Catherine’s ON – Cerebral Vortex Games Inc., a St. Catharines, Ontario-based developer of casual videogames, is pleased to announce that they have been granted funding from the Ontario Media Development Corporation’s Screen-based Content Initiative.

The funding will be used to develop a prototype iPhone/iPod Touch game, codenamed “Ghost Breaker.” More details on this action-horror title will be revealed at a later date.

“The Screen-based Content Initiative is funding 60 projects chosen from over 330 proposed projects by 167 different companies. Our game is one of the lucky 60, and one of only six videogame concepts approved,” said Keith Makse, President of Cerebral Vortex Games. “Once again, our games stand out from the crowd.”

“The iPhone offers many opportunities for innovative gameplay,” said Jason MacIsaac, Design Director with Cerebral Vortex Games. “That’s why Ghost Breaker is a natural fit.”

FIFA 09 Ultimate Team Enables Gamers to Create and Collect Their Fantasy Soccer Team to Compete Online

Burnaby – Electronic Arts Inc. today announced the development of a unique, downloadable game mode called FIFA 09 Ultimate Team that will deliver a strategic new online experience to the award-winning EA SPORTS™ FIFA Soccer 09 on the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system. FIFA 09 Ultimate Team challenges gamers to collect or create the most talented soccer players in the world, develop them into a fantasy team and then compete online against a legion of challengers to be crowned the ultimate team.

Winner of 25 international game quality awards, FIFA Soccer 09 is the most popular EA SPORTS game played online*. Over 141 million games of FIFA Soccer 09 have been played on the PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360 by gamers connected online since the game’s European launch on Sept. 25, 2008. An average of 1.25 million games are played online daily, which is a 321 percent increase over FIFA Soccer 08. FIFA 09 Ultimate Team expands the FIFA Soccer 09 online experience by delivering the ultimate fantasy in club soccer to the record number of individuals playing while connected online.

“Online is the next great frontier in sports gaming. We are seeing a record number of individuals globally playing FIFA Soccer 09 online so we are focused on developing games that maximize the online experience,” said Andrew Wilson, Vice President & Executive Producer for the franchise. “A dedicated team developed FIFA 09 Ultimate Team and they have created a game within the game, delivering a strategic new way to play FIFA Soccer 09 that will create hundreds of additional hours of playing time.”

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Quebec – The fate of the earth and the survival of the human race hang in the balance in the Transformers™: Revenge of the Fallen video game from Activision Publishing, Inc. Based on Hasbro’s legendary TRANSFORMERS property and the most anticipated blockbuster film of 2009 from DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures in association with Hasbro, the game propels players straight into an adrenaline-pumping battle for supremacy across the globe where every second and every choice makes the difference between mankind’s salvation and annihilation.

“The Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen video game will give fans the chance to experience their favorite AUTOBOTS and DECEPTICONS in an all-new, movie inspired adventure packed with the thrilling and explosive action that only the TRANSFORMERS universe can deliver,” said Rob Kostich, vice president of global brand management, Activision, Inc. “We are thrilled to announce that after experiencing the rush of commanding colossal robots on their own, players can challenge their friends for the first time ever in full-featured, blistering multiplayer action as their favorite characters.”
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First Phase of Technical Testing for Popular Racing Franchise to Begin in Taiwan and Hong Kong

Vancouver – Electronic Arts Inc. announced today that EA Asia will publish Need for Speed World Online in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Jointly created by EA Black Box, the developer of the Need for Speed™ franchise, and EA’s online studio in Singapore, EA’s blockbuster racing franchise comes to Asia with a free to play, multiplayer PC-only online game The first phase of technical testing is scheduled to start in March 2009.

The game offers numerous race tracks and game modes where players are able to form teams to take on the competition and the police. Players can collect and customize racing characters alongside authentic real-world licensed cars and will be able to track their progress via online leaderboards, all in the largest free roaming environment in Need for Speed history. Need for Speed World Online is a new entertainment experience that delivers excellent gameplay, stunning graphics and sophisticated online matchmaking features that emphasize social interaction between players.
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Montreal – Meridian4 and Frogames have been hard at work tweaking Penguins Arena, their action-packed, non-stop battle for survival – FPS (First Penguin Shooter) and have fixed a few things and added others.

The update to Penguins Arena: Sedna’s World has been released and is available through normal digital distribution channels. The specific changes include:

• Added “Custom maps” game mode, which allow players to play maps created with PAME (Penguins Arena Map Editor)
• Added 4 new custom maps created by fans (Thanks!)
• Fixed case of penguins falling into the water but are still alive (The ‘Tread Water’ bug)
• Fixed some achievements not being able to be unlocked
• Fixed crash when a player tries to join a full server
• Fixed not being able to bind the ‘E’ key
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