Village Gamer

Montreal – Ubisoft has released three new trailers today – first up is Part Five of the Assassin’s Creed 2 Dev Diaries. This new video focuses on a major difference with the first iteration: the evolution of Ezio, and all of his aspects. In this diary installment, the dev team discusses the reasons behind having such a long time span in the storyline, and how historical events play a part in the game’s missions. Unlike the original Assassin’s Creed, where players were given their tools by the developer and then expected to use those tools to advance their game, Assassin’s Creed 2 will give the player more choice in regards to the weaponry and armour available to Ezio.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-Q4xh4QNls]

Also new from Ubisoft are two new Avatar The Game videos which focus on Wii play. The first video shows one of the missions which involves destroying a dam shows how players can use both co-op and single play to move through the environment, removing enemies and cheating death along the way.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_N6uU0mvzc8]

The second game footage video demonstrates how the Wii balance board can be used during game play. Avatar The Game’s Wii version also supports Wii MotionPlus, and if you don’t own a balance board (which we currently don’t), not to worry, it’s not a mandatory peripheral to play the game.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiMsScZp264]

The International Mobile Gaming Awards has put out a worldwide call for entries. In six years the competition has become the Mobile Entertainment Industry’s leading showcase for groundbreaking innovations, exceptional quality and new trends in mobile entertainment, whether made for N-Gage, iPhone, Flash, Android, Microsoft, Java, Linux, BREW, or any other platform.

Developers can submit their games on line now and compete in an international arena with top studios and individual developers from all over the world. Awards will be given out in the following categories:

• The International Mobile Gaming Excellence in Design
• The International Mobile Gaming Excellence in Connectivity Award
• The International Mobile Gaming Excellence in Game Play Award
• The International Mobile Gaming Best Real World Game
• The International Mobile Gaming Best Casual Game Award

The following awards will also be presented:

• The International Mobile Gaming Grand Prix
• The International Mobile Gaming Operators’ Choice Award
• The International Mobile Gaming People’s Choice Award

Deadline for entries is 18 January 2010. The IMGA recognises the newest, the most exciting and the most innovative games so only those games published after 1 September 2009 are eligible. Concepts and demos for games are also eligible if the entrants can provide a playable demo or a finished game before February 8 2010 in time for the second judging round.

The awards will be handed out at the GSMA’s Mobile World Congress.

For the second year, the IMGA is looking for games using localisation technologies, such as GPS. “Last year’s launch of the new category Real World Games was clearly a success and will be continued. We think that these games have a great future. We expect many innovators to enter amazing games and demos in this category. Our collaboration with NAVTEQ and their Global LBS Challenge® will help us increase the number of entrants in this category.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Edmonton – The first chapter of Dragon Age™ Journeys, a free to play browser based game set in the Dragon Age world, is now available over the internet. From Bioware, Dragon Age Journeys puts players in the role of a hero exploring the underground dwarven kingdom of Orzammar. Players will uncover a dastardly plot that threatens to unleash a great evil that won’t stop until it destroys all living things. Based on BioWare’s upcoming dark fantasy epic Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age Journeys, sets a new standard of quality for browser-based games with addictive combat mechanics and fluid gameplay. Players of Dragon Age Journeys will have the chance to earn exclusive in game content for Dragon Age: Origins on the day of its release.

The game is produced by a new browser-based production team at EA and an all-star team of independent development talent, with the goal of creating premium quality browser games. Dragon Age Journeys represents EA’s commitment to supporting talented independent developers.

“Dragon Age Journeys continues our mission of working with talented game developers and artists to create high quality games, blowing away expectations of what is possible in the browser,” said Mark Spenner, VP of Development, EA 2D. “We are honored to be working with BioWare to introduce the Dragon Age franchise to a wide audience of gamers.”

“Dragon Age Journeys sets the stage for Dragon Age: Origins,” said Mark Darrah, Executive Producer, Dragon Age: Origins. “The team has shown the Dragon Age Franchise in a bold new light and the release of this game allows a broad audience of players to discover our dark fantasy universe for the first time.”

Dragon Age Journeys will feature intense tactical combat, a compelling story and deep customization. Players can choose from one of six different origin stories, each offering a unique background that shapes the lens of how the player perceives the world and how the world will perceive them. The game will deliver an amazing experience to fans looking for an introduction to BioWare’s dark fantasy epic, Dragon Age: Origins.

Dragon Age: Origins will be released in North America in…..twelve….more…..days……….