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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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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EA SPORTS Downloadable Title Prioritizes Accessible Fun with Low Cost of Entry

Burnaby – Electronic Arts Inc. announced today that 3 on 3 NHL® Arcade – an all-new downloadable experience from EA SPORTS Freestyle™ – is now available worldwide on the PlayStation®Network for $9.99. The game will be available on XBOX Live Arcade, for 800 MS Points, on February 11, 2009. Developed at EA Canada by the team that produced the critically acclaimed NHL 09, winner of 10 Sports Videogame of the Year Awards, 3 on 3 NHL Arcade is a no rules, fast paced, hockey experience that gamers of all types can enjoy.

From the exaggerated player-looks of 40 of the NHL’s top stars to game changing power-ups, 3 on 3 NHL Arcade is a light-hearted hockey game that appeals to everyone. With no rules to hinder the action, you can deliver devastating checks that send your opponent over the boards, or check the goalie if he skates out of the crease to play the puck. Feel like you need to turn the tide? Grab one of eight power-ups to change the momentum of a game and fly down the ice with a super-speed skater to beat a mini-goalie with a trick move for that highlight reel finish.
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Montreal – Mia’s Reading Adventure – The Bugaboo Bugs has won a Gold Medal from Mom’s Choice Awards. Developed by Kutoka Interactive of Montreal, Mia’s Reading Adventure is for children aged 5-9. The game follows primary school curriculum and enables the player to lead Mia the Mouse through a reading adventure. Designed to entertain, teach and spur imagination, the Mia series of titles feature lovable 3D characters who also happen to be house pests who have moved into Mia’s mansion.

Mia’s Reading Adventures, comprised thus far of six chapters, “includes 12 exciting reading and writing skills activities each with 4 distinct levels of difficulty. Topics covered: associating images to words, adverbs, phonics, rhymes, spelling, sentence structure, vocabulary, reading comprehension, word recognition and more.” Mia’s Reading Adventure comes in DVD-ROM format, and runs on both Windows and MAC platforms.

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Vancouver – Grubby Games, an independent Vancouver game development studio co-founded by Ryan Clark and Matt Parry in 2004, has been named to the final nominees list for the upcoming Independent Games Festival Awards. Their new 2D physics-based Incredibots game is in the running for an award in the Technical Excellence category.

Grubby Games co-founder Ryan Clark says that he came up with the idea for Incredibots after playing a physics game which allows the player to control a small tracked vehicle. “I really enjoyed playing with that little tank! I decided that if such a simple little application was so much fun, a full-featured robot editor would be far more fun!”
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EA SPORTS Announces First Title Exclusively Developed For Nintendo DS Coming In March 2009

Vancouver – EA SPORTS™, a label of Electronic Arts Inc., today announces EA SPORTS™ Football Academy – a collection of mini-games and challenges that improves football knowledge in a fun and entertaining way. EA SPORTS™ Football Academy, currently in development at EA Sports in Vancouver, will launch exclusively for the Nintendo DS in March 2009.

EA SPORTS Football Academy offers an entertaining way to learn football strategy, positioning and technique. Players build their knowledge by completing tasks and take their improved skills onto the pitch to compete against their friends. Additionally EA SPORTS Football Academy offers a variety of mini-games that provide fun for fans of all ages.

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Official Website: Puzzlegeddon
Format: PC
Developer: Pieces Interactive
Publisher: Pieces Interactive
Genre: Action
ESRB Rating: E – Everyone

Puzzlegeddon features an inventive mix of puzzle, action and strategy. Select your island of choice and puzzle for resources to defend yourself and to defeat opponents throughout the many galaxies, game modes and challenges which await you in Puzzlegeddon.

When I was asked to review this game I had never heard of it or even seen any screenshots; I wasn’t sure what to expect. So when I read how the game functions, I was quite impressed. The main goal of the game is to defeat your opponents by solving a puzzle of different colors. As you solve the puzzle you will earn different resources to use against your opponents and decrease their health. Along with those resources that do damage to your opponent, there are also resources you can collect to protect yourself.

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Gamers get the most from their FIFA 09 replay videos

Players of FIFA 09 on Xbox 360® and PLAYSTATION® 3 who upload their replay videos to EA Sports Football now have the chance to show their super-strikes to thousands via the site’s popular new Top 10 Goals feature.

Anyone with either console and an internet connection can upload their best goals at the push of a controller button. Visitors to the site can then log in to the site to see their videos again, as well as download them and share them with friends directly or via on-site links to social networking sites.

The EA Sports™ team regularly asks visitors to the site to submit their best clips, which are then assessed and the 10 best chosen to feature front and centre on the homepage, as well as distributed on EA’s main website and via the EA Sports YouTube channel on the EA™ Football World playlist.

Official Website: Puzzlegeddon
Format: PC
Developer: Pieces Interactive
Publisher: Pieces Interactive
Genre: Action
ESRB Rating: E – Everyone

Puzzle games are not really my thing, I get bored easily matching shapes or colours or putting numbers in some sequence; so when I was asked to review Puzzlegeddon I was kind of dubious to try it. After setting up my profile I decided to run through the tutorial, usually I regret doing this but not with Puzzlegeddon; the tutorial was informative, concise and you didn’t have to wait forever while some character told you what to do. A quick look at the puzzle board reveals squares of four colours, and placing five or more of them together and right clicking causes them to clear. On top of the puzzle are four meters of matching colours that fill up as you clear tiles from the board.
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London, ON – Big Blue Bubble is proud to announce that Hockey Allstar Shootout was released today on WiiWare™! The release of Hockey Allstar Shootout marks the first hockey game on the platform and is destined to become an instant fan favorite amongst sports enthusiasts and casual gamers alike.

Use the Wii Remote™ as your stick and take the shot as you compete in 3 exciting hockey skills competitions. Whether you’re competing solo or challenging your friends, Hockey Allstar Shootout will put your hockey skills to the test.

Shoot the lights out in Sharp Shooter, by breaking the targets as quick as you can. Think you have a booming slap shot? Prove it in the Power Shot hardest shot challenge. And last but not least, it’s just you versus the best goalies in the world in the Head to Head 5 puck shootout!

Key Features

• Uses the Wii’s unique controls to mimic the motion of a real slap shot
• 3 unique hockey challenges
• Challenging AI opponents
• Explosive 3D puck physics
• Local 2 player versus mode

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