Village Gamer

Edmonton – Bioware has added to the Normandy’s armory. According to the Mass Effect 2 web site, the new Cerberus Assault Armour and M-22a Eviscerator Shotgun DLC are now available for free through the Cerberus Network on both the PC and Xbox 360.

Cerberus Assault Armor
Cerberus assault armor is designed for shock troops, who are expected to turn the tide of battle against creatures or forces that would decimate normal soldiers. The troops demanded three things in its design: shields, armor thick enough to last against a superior foe, and a rechargeable pack to extend a heavy weapon power cell. The only drawback of the armor is its weight, which the troops carry as a point of pride. They have a saying: “Out of shape going in, in shape coming out.”
Increases heavy weapon ammo capacity by +10%
Increases shields by +10%
Increases health by +10%

M-22a Eviscerator Shotgun
The M-22a Eviscerator Shotgun is a longer-range shotgun with armor-piercing loads. This design also violates several intergalactic weapons treaties, so the M-22a is not distributed to militaries.

EA has released their Key Titles Schedule for Fiscal Year 2011, and while this is only working schedule, there were some title announcements that mean our Canadian EA studios are going to be busy, busy, busy.

As expected, there will be new additions to the EA Sports franchises – FIFA 11, NHL 11, EA Sports Active, NBA 11, NBA Jam and of course Need For Speed – but what gave me the happy gamer warm fuzzies is the announcement that there will be a new Dragon Age chapter in Q4 2011. There will also be additions to the Monopoly family plus a few genre-only announcements, such as a news sports title.

The Vancouver Experience got into full swing at Robson Square yesterday, and you can check out the VX2010 blog to find out about all of the great things that are happening at the BC Digital Media Showcase. If you’re like me and avoiding downtown Vancouver during the Olympics, this is the next best way to keep up on what’s happening at the showcase.

Vancouver – Tiny Speck has officially announced their debut project, Glitch. A browser-based, free to play MMO game, Glitch, which according to its description, promises to be a rather original play experience. Apparently Glitch “involves very little war, moats, spaceships, wizards, mafiosos, or tapestries, but it has egg plants.” Tiny Speck and Glitch have been featured in today’s CNET news, and you can check out the articles here and here. Glitch will be entering private alpha soon; we’re looking forward to hearing – and seeing – more about Glitch in the near future.

Vancouver – Aftercad Software is pleased to announce that it has reached an agreement with the Open Design Alliance (ODA) to license the Live Web platform technology that powers Renderjam.com to the Arizona-based ODA.

“We will be suspending the Renderjam 3D Collaboration service. We have reached an agreement with the Open Design Alliance whose members will be opening brand new CAD and 3D SaaS offerings incorporating our technology.” said Christopher Boothroyd, CEO of Aftercad Software “While we realize this is an inconvenience, this is about choice and everyone’s needs will be much better served by multiple vendors and SaaS offerings tuned for specific solutions. We would like to thank all of you for your feed back and time during the Beta and launch of Renderjam.”

Aftercad has notified Renderjam.com users to download critical files by Feb 28th. All subscribing users will be compensated in full for this month’s subscription fee. Renderjam.com will be retooled to host the Aftercad Live Web site, the cutting edge in next generation 3D cloud computing technology. “Aftercad will continue to focus on the development and licensing of its award winning Live Web platform. This is the kind of opportunity we have been hoping for and its great that we share the same vision of this with the Open Design Alliance”