Village Gamer

Congratulations to Vancouver’s IUGO Mobile Entertainment – their iPhone game Zombie Attack has made PocketGamer’s Top Ten List of iPhone Zombie Games. Zombie Attack is a Defend Your Tower styled game, however instead of a tower, you must defend your beloved shack from the advancing undead. You can choose from an array of zombie-blasting weapons including, flame throwers and cannons to battle the brain-starved combatants. With easy to use tilt and touch controls, you’ll be killing zombies, earning points and raking in the cash to upgrade your weapons and firepower in no time.

Features

* Mow down and dismember zombies to keep your shack standing
* Cartoony, over-the-top effects, from explosions to flying heads
* Build four types of turrets: Gun, Flame, Axe and Rocket
* Choose between touch or tilt control for the survivor that builds your defenses
* Use the survivor to give a turret an attack boos, or to lure zombies into firing range

Zombie Attack was released November 6 2008 with a 9+ rating, and is available in the iTunes App Store for only $1.99. Congratulations also to Ryan Arndt of Certain Sound for working his audio magic on this title.

Edmonton’s Bioware has released Pinnacle Station, a new Game Add-on for Mass Effect™.  Available for both the Xbox 360® and PC, this DLC pack introduces an intense combat challenge to the Mass Effect universe. Picking up where the first game ended, players will enter Pinnacle Station, a top-secret Alliance training facility. Featuring 13 scenarios ranging from fast-paced combat simulations to high-stakes winner-takes-all wagers, players will push their combat skills to the limit, encountering aggressive simulated enemies while unlocking a mysterious new location. Once inside, players will be able to acquire rare weapons, special armour as well as obtain new achievements. One important piece of recon – players cannot access Pinnacle Station unless they have achieved Spectre status.

“At BioWare, we’re committed to providing ongoing support for all our franchises. With Mass Effect: Pinnacle Station, you’ll execute challenging new combat missions that will allow you to reenter the Mass Effect galaxy with a bang!” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, Group General Manager and Senior Vice President, Electronic Arts, and co-founder and CEO, BioWare. “Regardless of whether you choose to start Mass Effect 2 as a standalone adventure, or import your Mass Effect saved games, we know that you will enjoy Episode 2 for all of its intense action, dramatic plot twists and memorable characters.”

The Mass Effect: Pinnacle Station Game Add-On became available yesterday for 400 Microsoft points on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. It is also available for the PC version at $5 and can be found in EA’s online store. The 1.02 patch for Mass Effect is required for the installation of Pinnacle Station and is  both available for download today on the Mass Effect web site as well as included in the Pinnacle Station download.

Toronto’s Koei Canada has released Warriors Orochi 2 for the PSP®. With Warriors Orochi 2, KOEI reunites its two biggest franchises, Dynasty Warriors® and Samurai Warriors® for the sequel to its hit Tactical Action game. Jam-packed with 96 playable characters, Warriors Orochi 2 transports gamers to Imperial China and to Feudal Japan where they will do battle against a venomous overlord and his menacing legions.

Shattering time and space, the venomous Serpent King Orochi kidnapped history’s greatest warriors in a scheme to test his might. The heroes eventually defeated Orochi and his menacing army. Now the slain Orochi lies in the netherworld, and a mysterious alliance is hatching a plan to resurrect Orochi.

With four different storylines featuring characters from Samurai Warriors® and Dynasty Warriors®, Warriors Orochi 2 includes three new game modes: Dream, VS and Survival, as well as “Tag Team”-style matches that pit fighters in head-to-head arena combat.

A star-studded lineup boasts 96 playable characters including the massive boar-like Gyuki and the faceless Dodomeki. New playable characters exclusive to the PSP system include the graceful San Zang and the warrior-monk Benkei. New features exclusive to the PSP system also include: 2-Player VS mode plus Co-op play in Story, Free and Dream modes, 12 new scenarios in Dream mode, and a Japanese and English voice option.

Learn more about Warriors Orochi 2 for PSP system on the official product minisite. Also visit “Warriors Orochi 2 Dedicated” to download music tracks and over a dozen specially-modified high-resolution movie clips to create your own Warriors Orochi 2 fan video. Warriors Orochi 2 is based on an original work by Omega Force. Play is for 1 to 2 players. Multi-player play is via ad-hoc wireless only. This game is rated “T” (Teen – Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence) by the ESRB.

Toronto – The battle is heating up and the competition will be fiercer than ever as more than 50 of Canada’s top gamers meet in Toronto for the 2009 World Cyber Games (WCG) Canadian championship. From August 28-30, the Fan Expo Exhibit at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre will act as the battleground for this year’s championship, featuring the talents of a number of former Canadian champions, along with several other well-known Canadian gamers and some newcomers as well. Samsung returns as the national sponsor this year, supplying the latest in its desktop monitor line-up for the event.

“We are very excited to return to the Fan Expo for a second time to host the WCG Canada national final,” says Stephan Richard, executive director, WCG Canada. “We have a terrific event planned this year featuring many of the country’s top gamers who will compete for one of eight spots on Team Canada and the opportunity to take part in the WCG Grand Final in China this November.”

Professional player Matt “Wizakor” Wood is returning to WCG in 2009 after having ruled the virtual soccer world over the past two years. In 2007, Wood took home honours as the first-place finisher in North America and then dominated the global competition to become the world’s CGS (Championship Gaming Series) champion in FIFA 2007. Wood, 23, is one of Canada’s medal hopefuls for China 2009. Other returning champions include 2008 Guitar Hero Canadian champion, Daniel “Mithin” Piacampo, 24, who finished 3rd in his group at the 2008 WCG Grand Final in Germany and 2008 Virtua Fighter 5 Canadian champion, Alan “Yamamba” Joseph, 24, who finished 5th in his group at the 2008 WCG Grand Final.
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Vancouver – CKA Networks is excited to announce PoliTwitter, a non-partisan service that uses Twitter to connect elected MPs and MLAs with their Canadian constituents with the goal of increasing engagement and promoting open government. Users can keep track of what politicians are saying, and what regular Canadians have to say about the issues, all in one convenient location. PoliTwitter is the first service for Canadian politics and has unparalleled functionality.

Tweets can be viewed federally and provincially, or narrowed down by partisan affiliation, province, topics, and more. The site also allows for real-time updates, which is invaluable during fast-paced events like elections. PoliTwitter archives all political tweets, so there is a permanent record that can be used for statistical analysis, trending and public record. The site also tracks photos and videos posted by MPs. As demonstrated by the recent Iranian and US elections, Twitter is a valuable tool for politics and PoliTwitter an invaluable tool for Canadians.

Nexient Learning Inc., Canada’s largest corporate training provider has been acquired by North Carolina company Global Knowledge. The combination of Global Knowledge’s Canadian operations with those of Nexient establishes Global Knowledge as Canada’s leading provider of IT and business skills training as well as leadership business solutions. With the integration of their complementary product portfolios, customers will benefit from an expanded and unparalleled range of learning solutions.

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Aldergrove – The day Ubisoft released Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time Re-shelled on XBLA, Mike had to have it. Turtles in Time was one of the Nintendo games which he played almost constantly when he was younger – it was right at the top of his playlist along with Mario and Donkey Kong. TMNT Turtles in Time Re-shelled was developed by Ubisoft Shanghai and is available on XBLA for 1200 Microsoft points.

Watch the cavechild’s mini video review, and find out why he gives it a 10 out of 10 game play rating.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kJVRr1_3-g]

Toronto – The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is pleased to announce the nominations for the 24th Annual Gemini Awards, recognizing the year’s best in Canadian English-language television. The 2009 Broadcast Gala will take place on Saturday November 14th in Calgary, Alberta and will be broadcast live on Global and Showcase.

“Our television industry is thriving and this year’s Gemini Awards nominations clearly demonstrate that,” said Sara Morton, CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. “This year’s nominees have found success with both Canadian and international audiences. We are proud to celebrate the achievements of these shows and the talents behind them, and honoured to be a part of such a flourishing community.”

The presentation of the Gemini’s 99 award categories and special awards will be divided over multiple nights. The 2009 Industry Galas will take place on October 19th and 20th in Toronto, Ontario at The Sound Academy; News, Sports, Documentary, Lifestyle, Drama, Comedy and Variety Awards will be among the categories presented. The 2009 Broadcast Gala will take place on November 14th in Calgary, Alberta; venue and broadcast time slot will be announced in the coming weeks.

We’ve listed below the nominees for some of the animation and craft categories, but you can check the full list of nominees at the Gemini Awards web site.  We at Village Gamer would like to congratulate the entire cast and production team over at Flashpoint, our favourite Canadian-produced police action series for receiving an unprecedented nineteen nominations. This is also one TV series we’d like to see ported over to the video game world.

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Aldergrove – The cavechild has picked his Top Ten Favourite Xbox 360 games to play – to date – I’m sure this list will change as new titles are released. I would’ve liked to have seen more Canadian-made games in his Top Ten – there’s certainly more in my Top Ten Picks, but this isn’t about my list, it’s Mike’s Picks. To see and hear what he has to say, watch his video commentary:

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j62rqw9GRks]

Vancouver – The Vancouver Chapter of Fair Copyright Canada will be holding an important meeting this Wednesday night at SFU Harbour Centre in Vancouver. The group plans to hold weekly meetings up until the Copyright Consultation period ends on September 13th.

According to the Chapter’s Facebook Group page, “Last year, following intense pressure from the United States, the government of Canada proposed radical changes to copyright law that would have made many legitimate, creative, and valuable activities illegal. Canadian artists, consumers and citizens rose up in protest. The bill died when the election was called, but the government promises to proceed.”

With the Federal Government’s deadline fast approaching, it is extremely important that artists, developers, writers, publishers, students – and everyone else who has a stake in the new copyright laws get involved with this consultation process. There are many Fair Copyright groups and chapters across the country. Check the Fair Copyright for Canada web site for more information or to find a group near you. I have also listed all of the national chapters below, with links to their pages.

Both web sites listed above are full of important, easy to understand information regarding the copyright consultation process and what it means for both consumers and creators. If you are unaware of the proceedings and not sure how they will affect you in the future, please take the time to read through the material on the sites. There is less than one month left for consultation – the time to get involved is now.

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Surrey – For those who haven’t gotten their tickets yet, hop on over to the event site and pick some up. Building on the success of last year’s event, Word Camp Fraser Valley has expanded to a variety of tracks:

* Beginner – For those who are just getting started out
* Intermediate – Ideal for bloggers who want to grow
* Development – Learn to develop from people who develop on WordPress
* Twitter – A great start for someone who wants to learn about Twitter

This year’s WordCamp Fraser Valley will be taking place at the SFU Surrey Campus tomorrow, Saturday August 22, with sessions getting underway at 9:00am.

Speakers and Tracks include:

Beginner Track

Rebecca Bollwitt – More than just a Blog.
Glenda Hyatt – 3 Tips for Increasing Your Blog’s Accessibility
Raul Pacheco – Accessorize Your Blog: Top Ten Ways to Maximize Reader Experience

Intermediate Track

Lorraine Murphy – Blogging for Creativity
Dave Zille – Using Custom Fields for Fun and Profit
Kulpreet Singh – Mastering the Admin Interface

Development Track

John Biehler – Setting Up WAMP for Local Development
Jeff Kee – Beyond Template Tags
George Plumley – Modifying Your Own Theme

Twitter Track

Gary Jones – How to Build Your Brand on Twitter
Rainer Schmoll – Integrating WordPress and Twitter

Canada – Ubisoft Montreal has launched the first in-game trailer for Avatar The Game. The trailer shows off the game environment and some very interesting creatures, along with several explosive combat scenes between human forces and the native Na’vi people on the planet of Pandora. I can tell just by watching the trailer that this game is going to popular in the Village Gamer home office what with its big guns, big flying machines and fighting creatures. Pandora looks to be a place of incredible scenery full of imagination and wonders to be discovered – all while trying to stay alive (sometimes quite a challenge for me) and battling for planet supremacy. We will most definitely be looking forward to this game’s release on November 24th.

Ubisoft has also released more PC Games from their back-catalogue on GoG.com. The newly re-released titles include Heroes of Might and Magic® 2 Gold Edition, Heroes of Might and Magic® 3 Complete Edition, The Settlers® 2 Gold Edition and the stunning Might and Magic® 6 Limited Edition, which includes parts 1–6 of the landmark RPG series. All games are totally DRM-free, fully compatible with XP and Vista and accompanied by mounds of extras, including soundtracks, wallpapers, forum avatars, maps and much more.

SARF Studios has opened their studio’s new web site, which introduces their flagship product, an innovative, social virtual world named Planet SARF. Realizing the momentum, trends, and potentials related to environmental sustainability, Planet SARF has focused on creating an amusing and educational virtual experience based on the principles of Edutainment, educational entertainment as an effective learning tool.

Using highly detailed 3D imagery, players will be immersed in an open-ended, virtual adventure as they explore the beauty and mysticism of the Yucatan rainforests, Mexico. Players can choose a customizable character, which will be their Avatar in a virtual adventure that includes water rafting, diving, exploring, mini games, and learning.

Planet SARF will educate players about the flora and fauna as the players advance throughout the game. Informative pop-up windows will show specifics regarding the animal, plant, or geological characteristics encountered in the game. Research has found that not only are virtual worlds effective learning tools for children, they are also valuable opportunities for children to practice social and life skills.

London ON – Big Blue Bubble Inc. announced today that their award winning role-playing game, Elven Chronicles, will be arriving on the Apple’s mobile platforms, the iPhone and iPod Touch, in September.

Elven Chronicles puts the player in the shoes of a young knight, fighting to discover the secrets of his forgotten past, and a charismatic elf on quest for self redemption. With a massive 20 hours of captivating story, vast territories to explore, randomly generated dungeons, and gorgeous, hand drawn enemies and characters, Elven Chronicles will keep even the most seasoned RPG’er engaged.

Winner of Pop Vox’s Best Mobile Game, Elven Chronicles has garnered praised by industry professionals and critics alike: “Zelda meets Final Fantasy in this massive RPG” (Anannya Sen, Mobile Game FAQs).

Features Include

• Classic Console RPG design
• Massive World Maps
• Captivating Story
• Countless Spells, Weapons, Armour and Accessories
• Random Dungeon Maps
• Stunning Characters and Scenery
• Over 20 hours of Gameplay

Elven Chronicles was developed for the Apple iPhone 3G/3Gs, iPod Touch.