22nd February 2010

Dawn of War 2 Chaos Rising Goes Gold

Relic EntertainmentVancouverRelic Entertainment’s Warhammer® 40,000™: Dawn of War® II – Chaos Rising™, the highly anticipated standalone chapter in the critically acclaimed RTS series, has reached the gold master stage of development and entered manufacturing. Chaos Rising features the traitorous Chaos Space Marines army as a playable race, a new single-player campaign, a level cap increase from 20 to 30, more powerful war-gear and a suite of innovative multiplayer options. Scheduled for a nationwide release at all major retail and online outlets on March 11, 2010, Chaos Rising will be available as a Games for Windows LIVE® PC title for a suggested retail price of $29.99.

“Chaos Rising is the perfect follow up to Dawn of War II, 2009’s RTS Game of the Year, offering an incredible amount of new content for an amazing value,” said Travis Plane, Vice President of Global Brand Management, THQ. “Relic Entertainment is the industry’s leading RTS developer and will once again deliver bone-crushing action, breathtaking visuals and unprecedented innovation in the genre.”

“Chaos Rising builds on the success of Dawn of War II to create a truly epic and memorable experience for fans and newcomers alike,” said Jonathan Dowdeswell, General Manager, Relic Entertainment. “The game features an intense single player campaign with 15 new action-packed missions and our most brutal multiplayer army yet, the Chaos Space Marines.”

CNIE-RCIÉ St. John – The CNIE-RCIÉ Awards Festival, which recognizes excellence in the innovative educational practice and use of learning technologies in all educational settings has issued a call for Submissions and Jurors. Distributed learning, open/distance education, and institutional contexts including government, commercial and or industrial sectors, both nationally and internationally, are invited to participate in the competition which will be adjudicated by a committee of professional peers from across Canada.

A total of approximately 20 Awards are available for presentation in English and French.

Two different CNIE-RCIÉ categories are open to competition:

· Awards Festival

· Graduate Student Stipend Award

The deadline date for submission for the Awards Festival program is February 25th, 2010, with the Awards presented at the Festival which takes place in St. John NB this coming May 16-19.

eBooks4LifeErin, ON – Work-Life Balance expert Sandy Hyslop has published a new eBook, Achieving Work-Life Balance, a 41 page eWorkbook that will help you find time for yourself, the people you Work Life Balance by Sandy Hyslopcare about, and your work – without sacrificing one for the other. In this workbook, you can learn the Four Steps to Achieving Balance and practical ways to be both effective and efficient. Sandy Hyslop’s conversational style, practical advice and many examples will help you to customize your own plan to be both effective and efficient with your time – so that you can reap the benefits of life that is in balance. Sandy’s ebook reflects her experience providing Work-Life Balance seminars as well as almost thirty years striving to achieve her own balance between family and a challenging career. The workbook is available at eBookGuides4Life for $5.00 CAD.

Open TextWaterloo/MontrealOpen Text Corporation and Nstein Technologies Inc have announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement by which Open Text will acquire all of the issued and outstanding Nsteincommon shares of Nstein through an Nstein shareholder-approved amalgamation with a subsidiary of Open Text under the Companies Act (Québec). Based in Montreal, Nstein’s solutions are sold across major market segments, such as media and information services, life sciences and government.

“This is a good fit for two strong Canadian companies,” said Shackleton. “With Nstein, we have an opportunity to continue to grow as Canada’s largest software company, expanding Open Text’s presence in Quebec. Nstein will also add complementary technology and expertise that enhances our ECM solutions portfolio.”

“This agreement helps Nstein take its next major step into the future,” said Luc Filiatreault, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nstein. “We’ve always been committed to delivering innovative solutions to our customers and partners. Our agreement with Open Text is in keeping with this commitment. Customers will benefit from an expanded ECM solutions portfolio, and a shared vision for innovative solutions going forward.”

The transaction is expected to close in the second calendar quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval of two-thirds of the votes cast by Nstein’s shareholders and applicable regulatory and stock exchange approvals. A special meeting of Nstein’s shareholders is expected to be held to consider the amalgamation in early April, 2010.

Nintendo CanadaHalifax – There was a time when most kids would consider the thought of video games in the classroom to be a pipe dream. But thanks to the revolutionary Wii™ system, that dream is becoming a reality, and one that is benefiting both teachers and their students.

A junior high school in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has created a Wii Fit™ Plus Club, a program aimed at getting students more physically active during school hours by integrating Wii Fit Plus into their weekly routine. The idea came to Physical Education teacher Janet Wii Fit PlusWells two years ago after experiencing the benefits of the original title in the franchise, Wii Fit, at home. Realizing the potential positive impact the activities offered by the game could have on students, Wells formed the club, which meets once a week over the lunch hour and is free to any student who wants to participate.

Since its inception, the club has upgraded to Wii Fit Plus to provide students with a wider array of activities. The upgrade only required the club to incorporate the Wii Fit Plus software, as the school already had a Wii Balance Board™ accessory, which is compatible with both the original and latest versions of the game. Wells also incorporates Wii Fit Plus into her daily physical education classes by incorporating a Wii Fit Plus station into her fitness circuit or having the whole class participate in yoga and strength training activities.

“It can be a challenge to find ways to engage today’s kids within the school environment with activities that are both fun and beneficial,” said Janet Wells, Physical Education teacher. “By using Wii Fit Plus, students of all ages and abilities can have fun interacting with each other while improving their posture, coordination, agility and flexibility. We’re absolutely thrilled with the reaction these kids have had to this program.”

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OXRaLginKA]

Students in grades seven through nine are invited to drop into the Wii Fit Plus Club program to spend an hour each week practicing a variety of activities including aerobics, yoga, strength training and balance moves. The activities are projected onto a large LCD screen while students take turns carrying out the various activities on the Wii Balance Board. The program also offers activities for the more adventurous students, including Snowball Fight – a fan favourite with the students. As workouts can be set to any duration, the program offers flexibility and the option to customize each routine to the varying needs and abilities of students, ranging from working on fitness goals to targeting areas that teachers and kids alike are looking to improve upon.

Wii Fit Plus, an enhanced version of the popular original Wii Fit, has evolved the breadth and depth of video games into the fitness realm, working from the Wii gaming platform that has attracted millions of new and veteran gamers with its easy-to-learn wireless controls and entertaining active-play gaming features. The console has redefined modern video gaming with titles like Wii Fit Plus, and has helped Nintendo to expand outside of the conventional arena and into family rooms, senior citizen facilities, and most recently, a school with an offering that gets people moving and interacting with each other – something no other system had previously made possible.

The program is continuing to attract students looking to infuse fun-focused fitness training into their daily routines and is looking to expand the club into a twice weekly offering.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at 10:30 am and is filed under Awards, Business News, Digital Products, Education, Game Dev, Mature, RTS, Upcoming Releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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