Village Gamer

The forces of evil have recently been no match for Hothead Game’s ultimate video game hero, DeathSpank, but will he be prepared to confront his own evil-self, the AntiSpank?  Summoned out of boredom and an ancient Thongolith myth, the AntiSpank is casting an evil shadow over Spanktopia. DeathSpank must find and proceed deep into the Fires of Bacon and destroy five of the Thongs of Virtue if he is to restore balance to the world once again. Catch a glimpse of what our inept superhero’s been up to in this new thong spy-cam footage…

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

With new environments, characters, weapons, incredible suits of armour, and plenty of bacon, The Baconing is a comical adventure like no other. The Baconing will be released on PC, Mac, and other platforms sometime this summer. Note to devs: make it early summer as opposed to late summer, please.

Loud Crow Interactive Inc has released Sandra Boynton’s Blue Hat, Green Hat 1.0, the third title in their collaboration with Boynton Moo Media. Available now as a universal app on the iTunes Store for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch (regularly $3.99 USD, it’s on sale for $1.99), Blue Hat, Green Hat is a wry and light-hearted adventure in which children guide three earnest animals and one misguided turkey through various activities involving clothing and colors. The app offers narration by famed British Invasion rocker Billy J Kramer, the wonderful narrator of the bestselling Boynton app, The Going to Bed Book.

“I have a particular fondness for Blue Hat, Green Hat,” says Sandra Boynton. “At age three, my son Devin had a surprisingly hearty laugh for a small person – a laugh that would make everyone else laugh. I created this book long ago just to elicit that belly-laugh from him.”

Originally published in 1982, Blue Hat, Green Hat is one of Boynton’s all time bestselling titles, having sold over four million copies. Working closely with Loud Crow, Boynton designed the interactive concepts, wrote and produced the soundtrack with Michael Ford, and digitally recreated the original illustrations with new animations to ensure this interactive re-imagination delights fans while keeping true to the spirit of her widely-loved board book. Loud Crow then carefully worked its widely-praised technical magic to fully realize and enhance her interactive concepts.

“It was great fun to re-invent Blue Hat, Green Hat as an interactive e-book app,” says Boynton, “collaborating again with my endlessly clever Loud Crow friends. The digital dimension gave us so many terrific opportunities for adding theatrical flair to this spare yet decidedly Vaudeville book.”

Blue Hat, Green Hat is compatible with Phone, iPod touch and iPad devices running iOS 3.2 or later.

Well-respected broadcaster and former England forward Alan Smith was unveiled today as part of the main English commentary team for EA SPORTS™ FIFA 12, joining long-time commentator Martin Tyler as the primary voices of this year’s title. FIFA 12, chosen Best Sports Game by the E3 Game Critics, launches September 27 in North America and September 30 worldwide.

“Alan will bring a fresh, new perspective and insight to FIFA 12, working alongside the trusted and well-known voice of Martin Tyler,” said David Rutter, Senior Producer of FIFA 12. “As one of the top-tier broadcasters on the UK football scene, he brings enormous knowledge and expert analysis to the game so that we can deliver the most authentic FIFA experience this year.”

“The natural chemistry that Martin and I have developed working live matches for TV has transferred very well to the virtual broadcast booth,” said Smith. “I’m really looking forward to FIFA fans hearing our work this fall as we bring all the match day emotion and excitement to this year’s game.”

For the first time ever, FIFA 12 will feature two English broadcast teams, and more than 10,000 lines of fresh commentary, making the game sound new and different all year long. The second commentary team, featuring Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend, will call tournament matches, giving these games a real-world broadcast feel and sound. Fans will also have the option to customize the audio to their preferred commentators for any matches.

FIFA 12 will be available in stores September 27 in North America for the PlayStation®3, Xbox 360®, PC, Wii™, PC, PlayStation®2, Nintendo 3DS™, PSP®, iPhone®, iPad™, and iPod® touch. The game will also be available for digital download on PC at origin.com.

Neggi Studio, based in Montreal and Monterrey, Mexico has announced that its new game, Zombie Piñata for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch is now available on iTunes for 99 cents USD.

A terrible and evil Mayan spirit has been released from its prison; the curse says that the first “species” that this evil spirit touches will be transformed into zombies. The problem is that the biggest piñata chain store in Mexico was build on top of the prison, so the spirit ends up possessing the body of a piñata and thus transforming all the piñatas from all the retail stores in the country into Zombie Piñatas!

Zombie Piñata is an action packed game, challenging players to fight their way through over 30 stages of pure madness while fighting the now evil piñatas. Find the zombie lair deep in the Mayan archeological site and face the biggest zombie piñata of them all: Piñaton!

The game features old school side-scroller gameplay that presents a quick fix of action on the go.

Key Features:

– Travel around some of Mexico’s most famous cities and areas while whacking all the piñatas that stand in your way, clean each town and free the land from this zombie infestation.

– More than anything, piñatas fear the might of the whacking stick, improve your skills with upgradable combos and get power ups to turn your piñata stick into the legendary “Master Stick”

– Visit the totally groovy “Cheke’s Specialty Shop” for grenades, extra ammo and other awesome improvements to increase your chances for survival as you face hordes and hordes of zombie piñatas and people they have turned into zombies.

– Use every weapon and special item at your disposal; inflate zombies or blow them up, dish out justice, piñata hunter style!

– Download additional content such as music and game wallpapers for free!

– Future updates will bring additional achievements and future leader board integration using OpenFeint.

Zombie Piñata is rated 9+ for the following:

• Frequent/Intense Cartoon or Fantasy Violence
• Infrequent/Mild Horror/Fear Themes
• Infrequent/Mild Realistic Violence

Kobo has launched a new essay contest in which the winner will enjoy a private power lunch with television personality and New York Times’ bestselling author Kelly Cutrone. Today through July 8, 2011, Cutrone fans can visit Kobo’s Facebook Page and write a short essay answer to the question: “How has normal has gotten you nowhere and how are you ready to make new moves?”

Open to residents of the continental United States and Canada (excluding Quebec), the winning essay will be chosen by Cutrone. The winner will be flown to Toronto to power lunch with the author. Cutrone will share her unique brand of no-nonsense wisdom to help the winner move forward in his or her life.

“Kelly was recently in Toronto and expressed her love of Kobo as well as her desire to work with us in a way which would be truly meaningful for her fans. Kelly loves Canada and was keen to partner with Kobo on this content,” said Liz Ridout, vice president of marketing at Kobo.

“Toronto stole my heart. Anytime I can come to Toronto to see my friends and fans is a good day!” said Cutrone.

Cutrone has been a force in the fashion industry for more than 25 years. She quickly moved from industry icon to media maverick, originally appearing on MTV’s hit shows The Hills and The City. She executive produced and appeared on the Bravo series Kell on Earth and is a special contributor on the syndicated Dr. Phil show. Cutrone has penned two books: national and New York Times’ bestseller “If You Have to Cry, Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You” and “Normal Gets You Nowhere,” released in May 2011 by HarperOne, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Deadline for entry is July 8, 2011. No purchase is necessary to compete in this contest. The winning entry will be made available on Kobo’s Facebook Page after being selected.

Stegersaurus has released a new title on Xbox Live Indie Games. Avatar Without A Chute is a flying game – kind of. It’s actually a falling game. Players “toss” their avatars out into thin air and then let them fall to earth, collecting points on the way down. The object of the game is to be the first avatar to reach the ground. Now I have to try this game to see if my avatar will go splat, and how well it will splat. For some reason, I find the splatability of my avatar to be somewhat intriguing. There are no power-ups to collect, so riches are to be found in the number of points you can garner before hitting the ground.

Avatar Without A Chute features single player fun in offline mode while in online mode you can play with 2-4 friends. There is a free trial, or you can get the full game for 80 MS Points.

Android users now have a premium skee ball style game to call their own. Ball-Hop Bowling by Renown Entertainment has been customized for Android smart phones and tablets, previously available only on Apple iOS and Facebook.

Ball-Hop Bowling features high definition 3D graphics, fun ultra-realistic physics, tons of prizes, and standard/premium content to keep you coming back for more. Best of all, it’s FREE!

President James Lau notes “This arcade classic is a staple on mobile devices and we’re proud to offer this best of category experience for Android. Ball-Hop Bowling garnered near perfect user reviews and shot to the top of the Apple App Store charts in addition to being featured worldwide in its first day of release. The universal appeal on iOS is undeniable, and we hope Android users are equally excited to get this quality game in their collection at no charge.”

“The team obsessed over creating a faithful version of the real world counterpart. They measured and weighed the balls, played on a variety of machines, captured videos for reference, and tuned the physics until the game was exceptional.”

Don’t have an Android? Get it free for your Apple iOS device or play on Facebook and challenge your friends to compete for the highest score on the Ball-Hop Bowling leaderboards.

Frima Studios has declared that today is officially the start of an “awesome” summer by announcing the “AWESOME Summer Minis Bundle,” a collection of Frima’s five best-selling PlayStation® mini titles, now available for a bundled price of $4.99 USD on the PlayStation® Store. The sale price is almost 70% off the regular combined price of these five titles. Through the epic realm of mythical Norse gods or the darkest corners of the galaxy, these five assorted games are sure to satisfy your never-ending taste for adventure. This one-of-a-kind-video-game-buffet includes premium titles like A Space Shooter for 2 Bucks!, Young Thor, Widgets Odyssey 1 and 2, and Zombie Tycoon, all for a 70% discount off the combined retail price.

The AWESOME Summer Minis Bundle features:

– A Space Shooter for 2 Bucks!
– Young Thor
– Widgets Odyssey
– Widgets Odyssey 2
– Zombie Tycoon

Can’t set your mind on a good game to buy? How ‘bout 5 of ‘em! With a platformer, shooter, real-time strategy and beat-em-up title, the Frima “AWESOME Summer Minis Bundle” contains action-packed games to suit any gamer. WARNING: extreme awesomeness may cause severe summer shortness.

In this action-packed shooter by independent Canadian developer JoshOClock, you play the role of an adorable creature born to an empty nest because your family has been kidnapped by humans! This is an outrage, and something must be done to avenge this deed! Off you go on a mission to seek revenge for your kidnapped siblings, and armed with nothing more than destructive and smoking-hot fireballs, you’re ready for some mayhem and slaughter!

Burn The City features not only an amazing 45 levels of high-polished action, but also incredibly intuitive controls – touch, drag and release. Similar in style to Angry Birds™ and Worms™, this game will keep you addicted for hours, and includes explosive physics and Game Center support for the competitive players. At your aid to destroy all mankind you have your fireball attack, and by eating different colored YUMs that are gathered by destroying crates throughout the levels, you obtain 3 special attacks: the first is TNT, which turns the standard fireball into a green explosive shot! The second is “Sniper”, which gives better accuracy across far distances, and finally the third special attack is “nuke” (YES!), which unleashes a nuclear blast (oh yeah!!) when the screen is tapped! Go ahead! Download your personal copy of Burn This City, and get busy destroying humanity!

A free version of the game is already available on PC through Kongregate, and a version for the Android was released recently. The iOS version now available on the App Store is compatible with Apple iPhone®, Apple iPod touch® and Apple iPad® devices running iOS 3.0 or later. Burn the City is rated 9+ for Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence.

Anne Sado, President of George Brown College, has announced that the college will be increasing its commitment to the digital media sector with its gaming development and design programs in a new learning environment at 333 King St. E.

The facility will also feature an industry incubator to bring together video gaming and digital media startups in Toronto with George Brown College students. Scheduled to open in September 2011, the incubator will provide 10 offices, between 100 and 150 square feet, for startups and small companies looking for a platform to grow their business in the heart of the city. By including industry innovators alongside students, the college hopes to create an environment that helps its learners experience real-world engagement to better prepare them for future employment and help emerging companies leverage the student resources to help them grow.

“The research we conducted on the feasibility of a video gaming incubator reveals a real need for more applied research and innovation – something our students and faculty have clearly been able to provide in other industries,” said Sado. “With the growth rate in the gaming sector in Ontario predicted to reach 31 per cent over the next three years, according to the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, George Brown College is an a perfect position to provide a leadership role in nurturing the talent in this industry.”

As part of George Brown College’s effort to contribute to the expansion of the digital media industry in the city, the George Brown College School of Design will take on the leadership of Digifest, a Toronto-based international festival celebrating innovation and digital creativity that was previously managed by the Design Exchange. The festival will run from October 26 to 30 and will be held in central locations throughout the city.

Today’s announcements are based on a feasibility study conducted by George Brown and funded by the Ontario Media Development Corporation and the City of Toronto. The research conducted by the college and its partners uncovered a need for a video gaming incubator, which would provide:

• Improved access to video gaming technology for small businesses and start-ups
• ffice space in the downtown core, helping to create a gaming community within the city
• nd applied research and field placement opportunities for George Brown College video game design and development students

“An innovative economy requires planning and support that builds on four strategic pillars – infrastructure, a well trained workforce, knowledge and expertise, and strong partnerships,” said Councillor Shelley Carroll, City of Toronto (Ward 33 Don Valley East), and Vice Chair, Economic Development Committee. “The new video game incubator at George Brown College will support these pillars and accelerate the growth and development of the digital media cluster in the City of Toronto.”

“As a long-time supporter of the digital, interactive media industry in Ontario, OMDC has had a keen interest in the video game programs George Brown College has been delivering and the strong relationships the college has with its industry partners,” added Karen Thorne-Stone, President and CEO of OMDC. “We felt it was important to fund this research that added to our understanding of the needs of the video gaming community. We are excited that George Brown College has taken a leadership role in addressing the study’s recommendations. This will enhance the vibrancy of the video gaming cluster in Ontario.”

The introduction of the gaming incubator coincides with the addition of approximately 310 students in the video game design and development programs at George Brown College over the last three years. Once renovations are complete this summer, the video game design students and the businesses using the incubator will have access to industry leading facilities, including development kits for major video game consoles, hand-held devices and other peripherals and a three-dimensional scanner and printer. This technology will be introduced to the incubator a short while after its launch.