Canadian New Releases
There are three new releases out – two from established Canadian studios and one from a team of Art Insitute Vancouver students.
First up is Elven Chronicles for the iPhone from Big Blue Bubble. Available now for 
download from iTunes for $3.99, 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.
Features…
• Old School 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
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhugjAy__NY]
Winner of Pop Vox’s Best Mobile Game, Elven Chronicles has garnered praised by industry professionals and critics alike. Developed for the Apple iPhone 3G/3Gs, iPod Touch is powered by Torque.
Koolhaus Games has released Imp Surf The Music, which is available now on iTunes for the introductory price of $ .99. According to the game’s web site, “in IMP: Surf the Music you create the music as you surf through tune tunnels picking up genuine “bits of funk”. Collect music loops of funky guitar, drums, bass and synth to create a unique soundtrack that plays differently every time. Each level offers a unique sound experience and showcases a different original funk track and animated graphics. Build the music and environment into a funktastic frenzy! IMP: Surf the Music is like nothing you’ve ever “played” before.”
GearSphere, a team of 17 Art Institute of Vancouver students have released Robo Shambo, which is a multi-player LAN-based third person shooter. Developed from scratch on the XNA framework, Robo Shambo takes place in the year 2450, when robots have replaced human soldiers. Two rival robot manufacturers are battling to become the sole source of these mechanical armies and do their best to destroy each others’ factories.
A free, downloadable game, Robo Shambo is a fast-paced, action oriented experience featuring three robot styles: the Sprinter, the Tank and the Soldier. Battles take place on three different maps and make use of a variety of nine weapons. Shield and ammo pickups help to keep the robots armed and battling.
I did get a look at Robo Shambo during the recent AI Grad Presentations, and I’m pleased to learn that some of the students who worked on this project have already obtained employment with such studios as EA and Cosmic Logic.
System Requirements For Robo Shambo:
* 3-D Hardware Accelerator with full OpenGL® support
* Pentium II(R) 300 Mhz
* Or AMD® 350 Mhz K6®-2 processor or Athlon® processor
* Windows 95/98/ME/NT 4.0/2000 operating system
* 64 MB RAM
* 16 MB video card
* 400 MB of uncompressed hard disk space for each game
* 100MB of free hard drive space
* A 100% Windows® 95/98/ME/NT 4.0/2000-compatible computer system (including compatible 32-bit drivers for CD-ROM drive , video card, sound card and input devices)
* 100% DirectX 3.0 or higher compatible sound card
* 100% Microsoft-compatible mouse and driver
* Quad-speed CD-ROM drive (600 K/sec. sustained transfer rate)
* XNA 3.0
