Village Gamer

Electronic Arts Inc. and independent Vancouver development studio Klei Entertainment would like to remind you that the highly anticipated downloadable 2D action game Shank, will be available for download today on PlayStation®Network for $9.99 and tomorrow, August 25th, on Xbox LIVE® Arcade (1200 MS Points). At press time, Shank was still showing a release date of “08.2010” on PSN, but the XBLA page has been updated with tomorrow’s release date. With its blend of classic side-scrolling action gameplay and stylized animation set against a modern-Western canvass, Shank tells a bloody story of revenge, penned by award-winning game writer Marianne Krawczyk.

“Our goal with Shank was to create a game that pays homage to the classic 2D brawler, while seeing how far we could push it by melding it with our own pulp-fiction influences,” said Jamie Cheng, CEO of Klei Entertainment. “At the end of a long road that began as an indie dream in 2009, we’ve finally shipped a visually striking, cinematic brawler.”

“With Shank, Jamie Cheng, Jeff Agala, and the team at Klei Entertainment have delivered the game analog of the black comedy symphony of violence dominating today’s indie film circuit,” said Jamil Moledina, Outreach Director at EA Partners. “This exquisitely bloody game conjures memories of the best arcade brawlers of the late 1980s, while delivering the production values and pitch perfect controls of a modern high definition blockbuster masterpiece.”

Shank tells a classic story of gangland betrayal through a violent, pulp-fiction lens. Gamers play as Shank, getting their hands bloody as they uncover the secrets of Shank’s past and the reasons he is hell-bent on revenge. With a deep and intuitive combat system, players unleash a tremendous number of creative combinations as they take down waves of enemies standing in their path. Shank also features a special co-operative campaign, designed to be played with a friend locally, which tells the backstory of the revenge plot. This prequel mission allows players to play as Shank or his partner-in-crime Falcone, with deadly double-team moves and gameplay that encourages teamwork.

Shank is one of the most highly anticipated downloadable game releases of this summer, having been nominated for Excellence in Visual Arts by the Independent Games Festival, as well as multiple “Best of E3” awards, including “Best Action Game” from IGN.com and “Best Downloadable Game” from GameTrailers.com. Shank is rated M by the ESRB.

The McLuhan Festival of the Future’s Vortex Videogame Conference and Competition, an illustrious event designed to showcase Ontario’s undiscovered videogame talent, has announced today that it will be accepting entries for its 2010 edition.

With the mission to create opportunities for emerging videogame companies and individuals to showcase their work locally, nationally, and internationally, Vortex achieves its goal through education, discourse, pitching, networking and, of course, competition.

This year, the Vortex Videogame Conference and Competition will be one of the first events held at the newly constructed, state-of-the-art, Toronto International Film Festival Bell Lightbox in the heart of downtown Toronto.

Vortex has also recently partnered up with DIG London, a forum for Canada’s game developers, publishers, technology companies, and service providers to connect, learn, and share ideas. Managing Director of Vortex Sari Ruda says, “We are delighted to partner with DIG as it provides us with the opportunity to increase the exposure of emerging entrepreneurs to the videogame industry throughout Ontario.”

Elements of the conference and competition will span five months from October 2010 to February 2011. During this time, attendees are taught how to succeed in the videogame industry. Participants will gain insight into the industry through a series of keynote speakers from significant industry personalities at Vortex’s Boot Camp. Boot Camp is a series of sessions specifically designed for emerging entrepreneurs in the game industry. It provides information and guidance on how to make the delegates’ new product ready for—and a success in—the marketplace.

Networking takes centre stage at Vortex. Entrants have the opportunity to rub shoulders with future colleagues, partners, potential funders and even bosses. Previous years’ speakers and judges included Blake Lewin (Founder of GameTap), Yannis Mallat (CEO of Ubisoft Montreal), Kevin O’ Leary (entrepreneur and star of CBC’s Dragons’ Den), Nathan Vella (president and co-founder of Capybara Games), Jason McIsaac (executive editor, Elecplay.com) and many more.

Ludia and FremantleMedia Enterprises has announced the launch of the Press Your Luck game for the PlayStation®3 on the PlayStation®Network for $9.99. Based on the classic Press Your Luck television game show, PS3™ owners can now play as one of three contestants competing to win by correctly answering trivia questions to earn “spins” on the Big Board. The player who ends the game with the highest earnings emerges victorious- all the while trying to avoid the dreaded Whammy or risk losing all winnings. Players can enjoy a thrilling online multiplayer Press Your Luck experience as they compete against friends and/or other players from across North America via the PlayStation®Network. Additionally, multiplayer local and solo game play is also supported.

“Ludia is excited to bring the humour and family entertainment of Press Your Luck, starring the famously mischievous ‘Whammy’ character, to PlayStation®3 systems via the PlayStation®Network,” said Alex Thabet, Founder and CEO of Ludia Inc. “This latest release is another captivating addition to our slate of game show games for PS3™, and serves to further augment Ludia?s multiplatform strategy.”

Press Your Luck for PS3™ features:

* Three game modes: Play solo, enjoy Multiplayer Mode on one PS3™, or play Multiplayer Online via the PlayStation®Network (up to 3 players).
* Hundreds of trivia questions and game play punctuated by dozens of hilarious Whammy animations.
* Authentic stage, Big Board, music and sound effects create a true-to-show game experience.
* Customizable player avatars, with bonus items unlocked as a reward for progress in the game.
* Chat with other players using any compatible wireless headset for the PlayStation®3 system.

“Given the superb work Ludia did with Family Feud for PS3™, we are pleased to have Ludia infuse another of our game show brands with a new level of interactivity, including multiplayer game play, to PlayStation®3 systems owners throughout North America,” added Olivier Delfosse, Director of Interactive for program licensor FME.

Amuse Consulting is presenting two one hour workshops titled “How To Use Twitter & Facebook to Raise Your Profile & Increase Business” on September 14th. Attendees can choose from either the Breakfast Session (7:30 – 8:30a.m.) or the Lunch Session (12:30 – 1:30p.m.), both of which will be held at The Network Hub in Vancouver. Coffee and wi-fi are included in the $20.00 ticket price. Speaker Mark Smith encourages those attending to bring their laptops, as this will be a practical, step-by-step workshop with hands-on experience for effective use of your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles. Additional event sponsors are Duet Media and sixty4 media.

Kitchener’s XtraLean Software will be releasing ImageWell Version 4.0, a major upgrade to its popular image editing tool for Mac OS X, in Q4 of 2010. Version 4 will ship with significant user interface improvements that will make it even easier and faster to edit images. Version 4 will also remove the batch mode feature and offer the batch processor as a separate product with many improvements and more features. Registered users of ImageWell V3 will be able to get both Version 4 and the separate batch processor application free of charge. New users can try the 7-day full-featured trial version of ImageWell for free, or buy a serial number for only $19.95 CAD. The current version, V3.7.6, is available for immediate download.

ImageWell is a quick and easy to use image editor that has been enjoyed by Mac users around the world for the past eight years. ImageWell has continuously been improved and developed with user feedback in mind. Offering more than just simple editing tools, ImageWell has become an indispensable tool that makes it fast and easy to perform many of the everyday image editing activities from labeling diagrams, to editing photos, layering images, taking screenshots, plus much more. Users can send their images, screenshots, and other files to anyone, anywhere with one simple click of a button. Version 4 will further improve the user experience by making the job of editing images even faster and easier than before.

Based on user feedback, Version 4 will ship with an improved, more intuitive user interface that will make it easier to use the editing features and will allow for more user-specific options. Version 4 will also add more image filters and leverages the latest Snow Leopard technology to make ImageWell even faster to use. Another major improvement to this upcoming release will include the removal of the batch mode feature, which will be offered as a new and separate product that will be available to registered ImageWell V3 users for free. This change makes it possible to offer ImageWell users the image editing capabilities and features they need without sacrificing on speed and ease of use. The separate batch processing utility will add many more useful features and a new and improved user interface to make it easier and more efficient to edit multiple images all at once.

ImageWell Version 4.0 will require Mac OS X 10.6 or later. ImageWell V3 requires Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later and is a Universal Binary for both Intel-based Mac and Power PC support. ImageWell supports Mac accounts, WebDAV hosts, FTP/SFTP, Export to a Folder, Flickr, SmugMug, and ImageShack accounts. The 7-day trial of ImageWell can be tried for free and a serial number can be purchased for $19.95 CAD. ImageWell Version 4.0 is planned for release in Q4 of 2010 and will be a free upgrade to registered V3 users.

The Mitsubishi City Chase Powered By BlackBerry in partnership with Urban Recreation will conclude with the 8th and final regional event of The 2010 Series, on Saturday August 28th when Vancouver is turned into an adventure playground for nearly 1000 Chasers.

City Chase is an urban adventure that requires teams of two to exhibit teamwork, resourcefulness, determination and the ability to make decisions on the fly as they search for physical, intellectual, adventurous and humorous ChasePoint challenges which are scattered in unknown locations throughout the city. Focusing more on the journey than the destination, participants will learn about their city, their teammate, and themselves as they enjoy a full day of Laughter, Adventure and Discovery through an original urban race experience.

Past events have engaged players in challenges such as pulling a carriage through Stanley Park, climbing the 802 steps of The Calgary Tower, playing under water hockey in Edmonton, rappelling 28-floors down Toronto City Hall, completing a thrilling zip line across Hog’s Back Falls in Ottawa, boxing against the Mayor of Regina, and learning to do aerial ski jumping in Quebec City. For more information on what is required, check out the event’s FAQ page.

The start and finish point for the Vancouver City Chase is Granville Square, 200 Granville Street, where players will convene beginning at 7:45a.m. on Saturday, August 28th, 2010 for check-in. The entry fee is $168.00 (includes HST) per team, pre-registration is recommended. Online registration closes at 11:59pm Friday, August 27th.

Here is the official schedule:

7:45am – 9:15am – Participant check-in
9:15am – 9:30am – Official Warm-up provided by GoodLife Fitness
9:30am – 10:00am – Welcome Speech
10:00am – Official Start – The Chase Is ON!!
12:30 – 1:00pm – Lead Teams Arrive at the Finish Line
4:00pm – Course and Finish Line Close
5:00pm – After Party/Awards Ceremony

Following Vancouver’s event, The Canadian City Chase Series will host The 2010 Canadian Championships in October where the winning teams of all 7 qualifying events across Canada will face 48 hours of intense urban challenges in an unfamiliar setting. The winning team of The Championships will drive away in a pair of 2011 Mitsubishi Outlanders.

The Mitsubishi City Chase Powered by BlackBerry supports Right to Play. As the official charitable partner of The Canadian City Chase Series, Right to Play will benefit both from awareness and proceeds generated throughout the 2010 Series. After generating more than $175,000 in 2009, sights are fixed on a 2010 target of no less than $225,000, with the goal drawing nearer every day.