Village Gamer

Vancouver – Lotusland Studios has announced their latest project, Truckmodz, which is completely intuitive with no need for tutorials or menus – the fun starts instantly! As stated on their web site, even the littlest drivers will quickly discover how to build trucks and play with them. Just touch, swipe and shake! Kids of all ages will enjoy hundreds of vehicle combinations, complete with fully animated accessories and realistic sound effects.

Truckmodz encourages cognitive development in younger children by strengthening motor skills and refining early learning exercises like sorting, matching and decision-making. The unstructured game play gives kids a feeling of control and independence, and parents can rest assured knowing that no points or time-limits make for a relaxed, no-pressure experience.

But let’s face it – driving a giant rubber ducky down the highway is just plain awesome. Players will be able to mod their little big rigs in their garage, where they do things like add a snow plow and a sweet new paint job. They can then kick back, crank up the tunes, and enjoy the scenery as their creations roll on down the highway.

Featuring:

* completely 3D environment and models
* vast amounts of colors and combinations
* tons of animated accessories including horns, sirens, headlights, exhaust pipes and much more
* ever-changing endless environment
* realistic sound effects
* CB radio
* drop down garage to customize and spray-paint your vehicles
* smoke and sparks
* four different camera angles – shake device to check out your ride from all sides
* awesome original soundtrack
* totally intuitive, fun for all ages

No launch date or expected price point information has been released, but we’ll be sure to let you know as soon as we know.

Vancouver – Approximately 50 ladies and gents attended the Women In Games Vancouver networking event which took place last evening in the Harbourview Room at Steamworks Brew Pub. This event was held to introduce the group’s mandate, representatives and committees to members of the interactive industry, and many attendees signed up to participate in those committees.

It was great to see so many studios represented, including Fit Brains, Radical Entertainment, Hothead Games, Microsoft, Propaganda Games, Ubisoft Vancouver and 80 Elements to name but a few. Many thanks to event sponsors AnnexPro and Ubisoft Vancouver who provided nibblies and prizes. If you were unable to attend but would still like to get involved, please contact the WIGeh! group through their web site.

Toronto – HotDocs has launched the HotDocs Library, making hundreds of Canadian-made documentaries available to the viewing public. The Library is completely searchable, and there are also reference playlists which have been compiled by experts. The HotDocs Library is an excellent resource for students and researchers, and is free to use. The 2010 HotDocs Festival will be taking place from April 29 through May 9 in Toronto. The Festival will present over 170 films from more than 35 countries and welcome hundreds of visitors from around the globe. Festival passes are available online, but the official selection will not be announced until March 23rd, which is also when advance show tickets will go on sale.

Montreal – Ubisoft has confirmed that April 13th will be the release date for Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction. For those not already familiar with this latest iteration of the Splinter Cell franchise, Sam Fisher finds himself doing battle from the outside after an investigation into his daughter’s death unwittingly leads him to discover he’s been betrayed by his prior agency, the Third Echelon. Now a renegade, Fisher finds himself in a race against time to thwart a deadly terrorist plot that threatens millions.

Uniting revolutionary gameplay enhancements with a high-octane, no-holds-barred storyline, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction arms you to the teeth with all the high-tech weaponry and lethal skills of an elite operative and invites you to enter a dangerous world where justice means making your own rules.

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Toronto – Fresh TV Inc., an award-winning family entertainment company, is pleased to announce that they have been awarded three Pixie Awards for their animated tween TV series, Stoked. Fresh TV took home awards for Opening Title Effects, Animation and Atmospheric Effects and was given an impressive score of 9.5 out of 10 for the series. The Pixie Awards – sponsored by the American Pixel Academy – honour outstanding creativity in Motion Graphics, Effects and Animation.

“It is an honour to receive accolades from such an esteemed group of industry peers,” said Tom McGillis, President, Fresh TV Inc. “I would like to especially thank our amazing team at Fresh TV as these awards embody the team’s continued dedication to creating quality, engaging shows.”

Stoked is an animated situational comedy about teens who come together one summer to work at world renowned Surfer’s Paradise Resort, home of the best surfing in the country. For twelve weeks they will spend their first summer away from home, work hard, and most importantly, have the opportunity to surf on their days off.

The series (26 x 30’) broadcasts Monday-Friday on Cartoon Network in the US and on TELETOON in Canada.

Edmonton – Bioware has released several new screenshots for the upcoming Dragon Age: Origins expansion chapter Awakening. These new images focus on Vigil’s Keep in Amaranthine, which had previously served as the base of operations for the Howe family and their troops. .

Amaranthine was the first of the Fereldan arlings to fall to the Orlesian occupation. As the port city burned, its ruling family, the Howes, fled to the countryside to wage a guerrilla war against the invaders that lasted for generations. No matter how enormous of a bounty the Orlesians promised, they could not rid themselves of the wily Howes and their ever-growing number of sympathizers.

The Howes chose the ancient fortress of Vigil’s Keep as their primary base of operations, hiding the entire rebellion within the vast complex of storage rooms and caves beneath “The Vigil” — right underneath the noses of their oppressors. When the Orlesians were finally ousted, it was at Vigil’s Keep that the flag of Amaranthine was first raised again, amidst cheers of victory. Vigil’s Keep became the new home of the Howes. Following the downfall of the Howes in Origins, Vigil’s Keep and arling of Amaranthine came under the control of the Grey Wardens. If you want to learn more about the rise and fall of the Howes, you’ll have to pick up a copy of Dragon Age: Origins, because I’m not saying anything about how they betrayed their allies and friends.

Bioware has also released a short trailer to introduce of one of the new party NPCs you will meet when you play Dragon Age Awakening, Anders. According to the video’s description, many mages chafe under the Chantrys control, and Anders is no exception. Its a lucky thing that Anders despises blood mages as much as the Chantry does, else he might have been executed as a suspected maleficaru.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BW2z6Y6Msg]

Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening will be available for the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC on March 16, 2010. And yes – I have already placed my pre-order. Dragons, magic, spies, blood and gore – too much goodness to miss.

Ottawa – W!LDBRAIN, the award-winning entertainment company and one of the world’s foremost producers of animation, has entered into a partnership with Fuel Industries, the Ottawa-based digital agency and producer of popular interactive brands, including AllGirlArcade.com, to develop television, motion picture, direct-to-consumer platforms and consumer products utilizing the existing popularity of Fuel Industries’ entertainment properties.

“Fuel has a great body of characters and stories with limitless creative possibilities,” said Michael Polis, CEO, Wildbrain. “As a company, we will strategically integrate the proven Fuel Industries branded properties and characters into our studio’s content and distribution businesses. Under this agreement, we are looking at a number of properties that have the potential to become sustainable franchises and growth drivers on a number of media platforms,” he continued.

“Our development deal with W!LDBRAIN, combined with their successful portfolio of world-class animation and family entertainment, is a major step in our company’s efforts to realize the full potential of our Read the rest of this entry »

Vancouver – A brief reminder that the Women in Games Vancouver (WIGEH) Networking Event takes place tonight at the Wine Room, downstairs at the Steamworks Brew Pub. We invite you to join us at 7pm for an evening of socializing and information.  This event is open to both women and men, and we hope to see you there.

Ottawa – The Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation (OCRI) has released its annual Knowledge-based Industry Survey. The study indicates that as of December 31, 2009, the number of companies in Ottawa’s knowledge-based sectors has increased by nearly half of one per cent while the number of employees has decreased by 1.3 per cent. The most current data, garnered from 13 industry sectors, indicates a slight increase of 0.4 per cent in the total number of companies to 1,857 up from 1,850 last year. The survey garnered responses from 88 companies whose primary business focus is in cleantech, contact centre/customer centre, convergent medical devices, defence and security, eBusiness, health and drug discovery, knowledge-based support services, photonics, semiconductor, software, telecommunications, wireless and digital media.

“We certainly expected 2009 to be challenging so we are not surprised by the decrease in employment but we also know that the best time to start a new business venture is during tough economic times. With 222 companies added to the database and a notable increase in employment for small and medium sized businesses we see that the support programs and tools available to new companies and entrepreneurs here in Ottawa are having a positive impact,” says Claude Haw, President and CEO, OCRI. “The entire city has rallied to provide support to help our companies become successful and there are examples of great collaboration all around us. Of course, we must continue to create an environment that is attractive to investors and actively leverages the various funding programs available for small and medium sized companies in order to fuel innovation and propel our economy forward.”

Ottawa’s cleantech sector demonstrated the greatest growth for the third year in a row, with several companies adding more than 50 employees to their staff base. This translates to a 25.2% increase in job positions for this industry sector. Also of note is Ottawa’s recent designation as one of the world’s top seven intelligent communities by the Intelligent Community Forum.

The OCRI report also points out the strength of the region’s digital media industry, stating that “the digital media sector has been gaining traction in our region. In October, Ottawa hosted the International Animation Festival, proving to many who weren’t already aware that Ottawa is a hotbed for digital media creativity. The cluster features 63 companies that have identified digital media as their primary industry and more than 120 others see digital media as their secondary industry. As a result, a formal digital media cluster, GENERATOR, was launched in December.”

Vancouver – Hive is a board game originally designed by John Yianni and released by “Gen Four Two Games” in 2001. Independent developer Lotusland Studios has developed Hive as a mobile game, and it is now available in the iTunes App Store for the iPhone™ and iPod touch®. Hive is categorized as an abstract strategy game and is highly unique as the pieces are simply placed on a flat surface without the limitations and constraints of a traditional game-board.

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Edmonton – Forty perfect scores. Two million units. One pop culture phenomenon. BioWare™ announced today that Mass Effect™ 2, according to internal EA data, has sold over two million units worldwide in its first week of release. Lauded for its intense shooter gameplay and deep, hand-crafted story, Mass Effect 2 for the Xbox 360 has earned an average review score of 96 according to Metacritic.com — making it the second highest rated game of all time on Metacritic for the Xbox 360 platform. Mass Effect 2 has earned 40 perfect scores, amassed over 30 editor’s choice awards and is donning the front cover of 20 magazines worldwide. On launch day, the term “Mass Effect” was in the top 10 trending topics on Twitter and most searched on Google News. MSNBC.com said, “Mass Effect will go down as one of the most influential video game series of all-time.”

Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder, BioWare and Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group of EA said, “Mass Effect 2 is poised to be one of the biggest games of 2010. We could not be more proud of the game’s universal acclaim and early commercial success.”

Mass Effect 2 launched this week hot on the heels of BioWare’s Dragon Age: Origins, the studio’s dark fantasy RPG which shipped in fall 2009. Dragon Age: Origins has earned an average review score of 91 on Metacritc, making it the highest rated original intellectual property from EA in the last year. Mass Effect 2 follows in BioWare’s tradition of delivering excellence on every front: gameplay, story, character development and visuals. Mass Effect 2 is an epic shooter/RPG set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious, uncharted planets. In Mass Effect 2, players step into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, leading a crew of some of the most dangerous operatives from across the galaxy on a mission so challenging that it’s potentially suicidal. Featuring intense action, a rich storyline, space exploration and engaging character interaction, Mass Effect 2 delivers an unparalleled gaming experience.

In other Bioware news, Return to Ostagar, the highly anticipated and oft-delayed DLC for Dragon Age: Origins, is available on the Xbox 360 Marketplace as of today. Here is the full lot of information from Bioware’s Community Announcement:

If you were able to download Return to Ostagar during its previous release, you will not need to download it a second time. However, you will need to download the new version of the title update.

The PC and PlayStation 3 versions are still in testing. We expect the PC to complete testing in time for release early next week. We will update you with PlayStation 3 status when we have more information.

Title Update Release Notes:

Some players were unable to unlock the four achievements from Warden’s Keep and the Stone Prisoner during the first four days of launch. These achievements will unlock properly once you sign in to your Xbox Live and EA accounts.

The previous Xbox 360 update introduced an issue that relocked class specializations. This title update will resolve that issue.

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Edmonton – It would be only natural to begin with the biggest game release news of the day – Bioware’s Mass Effect 2 hits store shelves across the nation today, and already the title is getting raves from every corner of the continent. I will be picking up my Collector’s Edition today, and I am really looking forward to the awesome goodness that I know will be contained in that special tin box. While EA did send an advance copy to Village Gamer, it hasn’t yet arrived (watch it be sitting in the post office box today), and while I certainly appreciate the opportunity the publisher is trying to extend to me, I never receive the titles they send until after the games have been released, and as I like to log a number of hours in a game before writing a review, well…gotta love our postal system. Not.

Dr. Ray Muzyka, co-founder, BioWare and Group General Manager of the RPG/MMO Group of EA commented on the launch of Mass Effect 2 saying, “Rich, immersive worlds, compelling characters and stories, and intense action are some of the hallmarks of BioWare games, and Mass Effect 2 truly raises the bar in every area. I’m incredibly proud of our team, who worked passionately to deliver a very high quality game for our fans. This epic sequel in the stunning Mass Effect universe is an extraordinary accomplishment, one which we can’t wait to get into the hands of a world-wide audience!”

The Mass Effect trilogy is an epic science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious, uncharted planets. In Mass Effect 2, players will once again step into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, commanding their crew of some of the most dangerous operatives from across the galaxy on a mission so challenging that it’s potentially suicidal. Featuring intense shooter action, a rich futuristic storyline, space exploration and emotionally engaging character interaction, the game delivers an unparalleled cinematic experience.

Gamers who purchase a new copy of Mass Effect 2 will also be able to activate the ‘Cerberus Network’, an in-game portal in Mass Effect 2 that will keep fans engaged with the Mass Effect universe through downloadable content (DLC) and news at no extra charge. The first piece of DLC is available today, featuring a new mission around the Normandy crash site. For players who do not buy the game new, the ‘Cerberus Network’ can be unlocked through a one-time, in-game purchase of an activation code for 1200 MS points on the Xbox 360 and $15 on the PC. BioWare will release additional news on future ‘Cerberus Network’ content in the coming weeks. Activation is tied to a specific EA Online account and is non-transferable. Mass Effect 2 is available for the Xbox 360 and the PC and is rated ‘M’ for Mature by the ESRB

Vancouver – Vancouver Film School (VFS), Canada’s premier entertainment arts institution, and Pixologic, maker of the award-winning 2D/3D sculpting, texturing, and painting application ZBrush, today announced an official partnership agreement to provide VFS with full access to educational licenses for Pixologic’s cutting-edge software, ZBrush.

The partnership is the first of its kind for Pixologic in Canada. The agreement will primarily benefit students of VFS’s Animation & Visual Effects programs, respected worldwide for their graduates, including District 9 director Neill Blomkamp among many others. VFS students will have access to the latest innovative tools available in ZBrush, upgrades and technical support.

“Pixologic enthusiastically supports education and is committed to providing artists with the most innovative cutting edge tools of their craft,” says Pixologic Chief Operating Officer Jaime Labelle. “From illustration to animation and visual effects to game design, we at Pixologic recognize the standard of excellence that comes from the entire VFS community and are thrilled to partner and support them in their creative process.”

ZBrush’s place within the Animation & Visual Effects curriculum means that students are provided with skills and experience in a tool that is widely used on top films like Avatar, Watchmen, and District 9, and games like Gears of War 2 and Dragon Age: Origins, all properties on which VFS Animation & Visual Effects graduates have worked. The partnership gives students at VFS a crucial advantage as they begin their careers.

“This partnership really allows us to take advantage of what Pixologic brings to the table with their products,” says VFS’s Managing Director Marty Hasselbach. “It also allows Pixologic to benefit from what VFS does, and that is create fantastic work using their cutting-edge software, ZBrush.”

Vancouver – Mobile game developer IUGO has announced that their latest title Escape, which we announced a few days ago, will be going to the BlackBerry platform before it becomes available for the iPhone, with pricing to be revealed upon launch. This newest puzzler promises the following features:

*Endless levels and gameplay
*2 additional unlockable difficulty modes introduced through DLC (iPhone only)
*Simple controls for all ages
*Minimalist graphics for maximum appeal
*Unique cerebral game play complimented by relaxing audio and visual effects
*Surprisingly addictive!

Vancouver – IUGO Mobile Entertainment has announced a brand new title for Blackberry and iDevices. Escape is a tranquil game which offers limitless Zen puzzles. The objective is to help your character jump from stone to stone to eliminate all of the stones and solve the puzzles.

According to the game’s information page, Escape will feature:

* Endless levels and gameplay
* 3 difficulty levels for replayability
* Simple controls for all ages
* Minimalist graphics for maximum appeal
* Unique cerebral game play complimented by relaxing audio and visual effects
* Surprisingly addictive!

Alberta – Exalt Studios, and indepedent game studio operated by one-man development team William Sworin, is pleased to announce its debut title, Silas – a kart racing game for the PC. Silas delivers an immersive and fast gameplay experience that brings much needed innovation to the kart racing genre. Silas is scheduled for release on May 20, 2010.

Silas is the name of the planet the game takes place on and around. There are many different characters and creatures from this planet and others. In the fast paced gameplay you will discover many unique weapons and possibilities to win the races. There is also a great deal of gameplay options, customization and modes beyond racing.

Looking to fire 10 rockets into the air, control them in-flight, then bring them down on your enemy? You can do that. Or maybe you just want to grab a glider, take it to the skies, and chain gun someone to death? You can do that too. Or, switch into turret mode, and shoot a barrage of lasers 360 degrees? Why not and while you’re at it, deploy stationary guns, launch projectiles, blast cannons, place ice traps, and escape it all with a well timed boost! This is Silas. Get ready for one of the most fun and addictive multiplayer and single player experiences you will ever have!

Play online or through your LAN with up to 12 players. With 18 weapons to choose from, Silas really packs a punch. Use infinite strategies, plan your attacks, or just go in guns ablaze. Take the battle to the skies, form teams, capture flags, or just duke it out in classic deathmatch, whatever you’re into, Silas has it all! And if you like to race, yes, you can do this online as well. Or go solo, and chase after golden trophies all by yourself. Of course, this just scratches the surface of what Silas has to offer. Silas is a large game, with 20 different levels, a full 26 song soundtrack, hundreds of sound effects, 13 characters, and much more.

London – Info-Tech Research Group has launched a nationwide contest to recognize and reward both Canada’s smartest and greenest mid-market IT departments.

“In the true spirit of community, we’re issuing a challenge to Canadian IT professionals to share their stories, best practices, tips and aha moments through our website and social networks so that departments across the country can get smarter,” says James Alexander, Senior Vice-President for Info-Tech Research Group and one of the campaigns resident ‘Smart People.’

During the four month campaign the research firm will comb the country searching for and interviewing Canadian IT departments with a smart story to tell. The interviews can be viewed on YouTube and Facebook as well as at our Smartest IT web site.

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Toronto – TVOKids has launched its first iPhone app for preschoolers. As a leading provider of innovative, educational and entertaining multi media content, TVOKids is excited to add Melvin’s Marvellous Words to its offerings.

Based on the Ontario kindergarten curriculum, Melvin’s Marvellous Words is teacher tested and developed in conjunction with TVO’s in-house educational specialist. Inspired by the popular TVOKids and tvokids.com game of the same name, the app is a fun and interactive word-matching game that helps preschoolers learn to read common, high-frequency words. Learning these words prepares preschoolers for reading, and makes them feel more confident as they begin to read.

“Parents will find that Melvin’s Marvellous Words is an effective educational tool for preschoolers who are always on the go,” says Patricia Ellingson, TVO’s creative head of Children’s Media Content and Programming. “It challenges young minds in an interactive and educational literacy game that makes learning fun.”

Now, for a limited time only, Melvin’s Marvellous Words is available free at the Apple App Store. The app will be on sale for $1.99 at the Apple App Store starting February 1.

Vancouver – Mingleverse Laboratories is offering Vancouver organizations free use of its award-winning 3D Audio Visual internet communication service for the entire duration of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. The offer is being made in response to the call by Translink, the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) for a massive reduction in vehicle trips in Vancouver during the games.

“The Mingleverse Mingle Room service is for everyone and is the first real alternative to travel. By providing organizations with our immersive communication service they will sound and interact just like being in the same room together,” said Ron Stevens, Co-Founder and CEO of Mingleverse. “Instead of clogging up the streets, and having staff delayed and frustrated, any Vancouver company or organization can use Mingleverse to work, collaborate and communicate as if they were physically together – for free – during the games.”

Translink, metro Vancouver’s regional transportation authority, made the call this week via a statement on their website, which reads in part: “Our public transit and road networks will experience a significant increase in traffic, and there will be road and parking restrictions close to Games venues, particularly in downtown Vancouver, and along key routes. Whether it’s changing travel choices to leave the car at home, shifting travel times to avoid peak periods or removing the need to travel altogether – it all helps get athletes and officials to their events, while reducing the number of vehicles on the road.”

In addition, Translink has initiated a voluntary “TravelSmart Olympic Pledge” program designed to provide a way for all Vancouver businesses and organizations to publicly demonstrate their commitment to traffic reductions during the games. To obtain a free Mingle Room, simply sign up for a Mingleverse account and mention Mingleverse in your organization’s pledge.

Several high profile organizations in Vancouver have already signed on to use Mingleverse during the games, including representatives of the Vancouver Board of Trade and The Telus World of Science.

“Science World will certainly be looking at using Mingle Rooms to help manage teams that will be working remotely during the Olympics. It could also help to coordinate some of our province-wide science programming,” said Bryan Tisdall, President & CEO. To further encourage Vancouver organizations to participate, Mingleverse pledges to provide the top 5 most active “teleworking” companies with a free virtual Mingle Room for a year.

“Mingles can replace the need for most physical meetings and live venues,” Stevens said. “We encourage businesses to make use of this technology, try something new and help make the logistics of the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Vancouver much more efficient, reducing traffic, emissions and frustration.”

Canada-wide – Mplayit, the company best known for its groundbreaking new social mobile app stores on the Facebook platform, today announced plans to bring their technology to major new international carrier partners. Mplayit has been available for Telefonica O2 customers in the United Kingdom since November 2009 and today the company announced new partnerships in Canada with Rogers and with Australian market-leader Telstra.

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Burnaby – EA Sports™ is developing one of the most popular and culturally influential arcade basketball games ever made — NBA JAM — for the Nintendo Wii™. EA Sports NBA JAM revives the classic franchise with vintage NBA JAM gameplay, and all-new features that deliver a fresh new take on the game. Featuring the sights and sounds that fans of the franchise will instantly recognize, EA SPORTS NBA JAM mixes the old school with the new, to deliver a one-of-a-kind sports presentation on the Wii. Not yet rated by the ESRB, NBA JAM is scheduled for a 2010 release.

“NBA JAM is one of the most recognizable franchises in videogame history,” said Peter Moore, President, EA Sports. “Diehard fans of the original game have been asking for a remake for more than a decade. We’re very excited to give them their wish this year with the return of this iconic franchise.”

Featuring gameplay that is true to the original, NBA JAM will have players spinning with ankle breaking moves to the basket and on the way to high-flying, backboard-smashing dunks. In addition to the classic experience, EA Sports NBA JAM will also introduce new game modes, characters and gameplay depth.

NBA JAM brought an all-new visual style to the sports videogame genre when it debuted in 1993. Now, the new EA Sports NBA JAM re-defines the visuals for a sports game yet again by bringing true-to-life body types, updated physics, and visible player emotion to the over- the – top experience.

Vancouver – As announced last week on Village Gamer, Deep Fried Entertainment’s WiiWare title ShadowPlay is officially available for download for the Wii today.  Let your imagination run wild when light meets everyday objects to create fascinating shadows. Play and experiment, make a monster out of a pineapple, a dolphin out of a banana – the only limit is your imagination. ShadowPlay challenges players by transforming shadows into more than 100 exciting, unique puzzles. As more challenging puzzles are unlocked, players will have to find more creative ways to solve problems. You will never look at a slice of pizza the same way again! Winning a round will allow players to advance to the next level as well as score another item to use in the Free Play Mode, where you can unleash your imagination and create your own shadow art. Family and friends can also jump in to help tackle a puzzle at any time using Local Co-op Mode. ShadowPlay will provide tons of brain-racking fun for 1 or 2 players of all ages for 800 Wii points. Rated E by the ESRB.

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Vancouver – Deep Fried Entertainment Inc., an independent video game developer, is proud to announce its first WiiWare™ title, ShadowPlay, an entertaining puzzle game that will have you thinking about common household objects in a different light! The game is available exclusively on WiiWare service for Nintendo’s Wii™ system, and will be released January 11th, 2010.

ShadowPlay challenges players by transforming shadows into 100 exciting, unique puzzles. By using the Wii Remote™, players manipulate their given objects one by one to create a cumulative shadow that matches the goal. As more challenging puzzles are unlocked, players will have to find more creative ways to solve problems. You will never look at a slice of pizza the same way again! Winning a round will allow players to advance to the next level as well as score another item to use in the FreePlay Mode where you can unleash your imagination and create your own shadow art. Try creating a bike out of a pineapple or a dolphin out of the shadow of a pear. Family and friends can also jump in to help tackle a puzzle at any time using Local Co-op Mode! ShadowPlay will provide tons of brain-racking fun for players of all ages!

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

What is even more awesome is that ShadowPlay is the first independent WiiWare game to take full advantage of the Wii MotionPlus™, which means you can experience full maneuverability of objects and have even more fun! Of course, the game still works with the Nunchuk™ controller and will provide loads of entertainment.

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