Vancouver – After hanging in the review queue for nearly 3 months, IUGO’sStar Hogs game for the iPhone/iTouch has received a major update to its look, features and content. This massive update includes the following new features, tweaks and fixes:
New Features:
• Additional free 32-map Alpha Centauri Campaign! (This was originally intended to be DLC as in-app purchase but has been switched to a FREE update)
• In-game messaging system. Tease, taunt and congratulate each other in-game!
• Players announce their entry into online battles.
• Ability for losers in a 3 or 4 player battle to receive their earnings first then decide whether to spectate or leave an online battle.
• Improved in-game graphics with updated textures and parallexing background 3d objects
• Scrolling window will now remember their previous position
• Automatic backup & restore system to prevent save file corruption
• IUGO VIP System for rewarding game referrals
• Invite friends feature
• Save/Resume for Campaign & FreePlay modes
• NEW WEAPON: Nuclear Strike
• NEW WEAPON: Matter Missile
• NEW MINE: Paint Mines
• NEW circular map for FreePlay & Online
• NEW flat map for FreePlay & Online
• Camera control when it is not player’s turn
• Audio & Vibrate alarm when a match is found in QuickPlay
Fixes and Optimizations:
• Better disconnection handling (Online game delayed due to lag will resolve within 60 secs)
• Improved online multiplayer synchronization
• Certain detectable non-cheating disconnection situation will result in players being disqualified to avoid point deduction (However, the loss will still have to be taken)
• Numerous hanger issues/crashes fixed
• Possible rankings page crash fixed
• 10-pt font fixes
• Introduction camera panning issue fixed
• Airplane mode crash fixed
• Load to 50% crash fixed
• Username/password saving bug fixed
Vancouver – No Robots Interactive has announced that Apple’s approval has been given for their massive update to Jamble, plus the free version Jamble Lite has also gone live on the App Store. New products Jamble Dance and Jamble Dance Lite are now in review at Apple and should be out in early November.
With the touch of a finger, Jamble lets you combine a variety of musical loops from international hit songs into your own impossibly great mashup mixes immediately making you sound like a pro-DJ and mashup master.
Jamble comes with 24 musical loops that you can mashup into infinite combinations. You can play with 16 active loops at a time and easily hot swap them with additional loops in your Jamble loop library while you play.
Jamble features live, real time music creation as well as allowing you to record, save and playback your mixes. Share your mixes with your friends via email, Facebook and Twitter.
You can get more loops directly from within the app and create custom set lists of your favorite loops to load them fast. The range of artists in Jamble include:
• Lady Gaga
• Gwen Stefani
• Kardinal Offishall
• Kid Cudi
• The Killers
• Asher Roth
• David Bowie
• Will.i.am
• All-American Rejects
• Gorillaz
• Blur
…and many others.
IUGO Mobile Entertainment is thrilled to bring back its best-selling title, Zombie Attack! in the sequel – Zombie Attack! Second Wave. ZA! SW or ZA!2 is slated to be bigger, better and bloodier than ever before! It still keeps to the “tower defense with a twist” game play but throws in new zombies, more weapons and multiple, elaborate maps. “ZA! is our top selling game to-date,” explains IUGO’s Director of Business Development Sarah Thomson. “Tower defense is of course a hot genre, combine it with zombies and our users start salivating. This time ZA!2 will build upon all that was loved with the original and give our users more!”
ZA!2 is slated for submission with the App Store very soon. Keep an eye out (but not near a hungry zombie) for the launch of ZA!2 near the end of this month, early next month.
Not to worry though, Toy Bot is out to save the day. Recently launched on the App Store, Toy Bot Mini Missions will help you limber up those fingers prior to the Zombie onslaught which is about to happen. With 100 mini puzzles to test your Zombie preparedness, how can you help but not be prepared? Toy Bot, his friends and foes join him in 100 challenges ducking lasers, jumping obstacles and defying gravity in order to collect the big prizes.
Features:
• 100 mini games in total
• 12 characters to unlock and play with in total
• Great for short bursts of play as well as long gaming sessions
• IUGO’s new VIP program: Tell your friends, access more characters sooner!
• Your favorite 2D Toy Bot friends and new buddies in the Toy Bot universe!
• IUGO’s signature quality and polish
With IUGO’s fanbase growing, the independent mobile games developer has launched its exclusive VIP program. The offering is slated to reward users who are loyal to IUGO products, those who are heavy users and players who are able to refer their friends to grow the userbase. “We love our users and we wanted to create a vehicle in which our users could be rewarded for their loyalty, “states Director of Business Development Sarah Thomson. “The IUGO VIP program makes it easy for users to recommend our games to their friends and earn points towards in-game unlockables and other cool stuff. With the launch of this feature we have plans to grow and explore it so much more with ways that give back to IUGO fans”
The program also of course helps IUGO continue to grow its following and play upon the social networking aspects of mobile gaming. The IUGO VIP program had a soft launch in its recently released game Toy Bot Mini Missions. The VIP program will be seen in the upcoming Star Hogs update, the launch of Zombie Attack! Second Wave, Cliffed and Implode! For more information on IUGO’s new VIP program, please visit the IUGO community forums.
Ubisoft Montreal has released another Game Dev video walkthrough for the highly anticipated Assassin’s Creed 2. This video highlights several new game play components, such as the weapons dealer and new weapons like the smoke bomb, as well as Ezio’s ability to swim and use gondolas. I’m grateful for the new swimming ability, because in Assassin’s Creed 1 I seemed to spend a fair amount of time falling into the water and drowning. Also new to AC2 is the hiring of thieves and other unsavoury characters to do some of the dirty work like distracting guards. According to the new video, which was created for the Tokyo Game Show, the missions are extensive and somewhat unpredictable. One of my favourite components of AC1 was game environment exploration. Players can look forward to an even more rewarding system for exploration in AC2, as Ezio hunts the city for treasure which will help him upgrade his armour and weapons. Slated for release in mid-November, this is one title that will be in hot contention in the Village Gamer household. Thankfully, I am the one with the vehicle and the ability to pick up our pre-order at the store – and the “your order is in” call goes to my cell – thereby enabling me to beat The Cavechild to the game.
In other Ubisoft news, Battle of Giants™: Dragons has hit store shelves. Battle of Giants: Dragons is the very first DS game that will allow young gamers to play with the most impressive creatures they have always dreamed of – Dragons.
Developed for younger gamers by Ubisoft Quebec, players can feel the adrenaline rush of creating, controlling, customizing and battling with their very own fierce creature. Combat of Giants: Dragons offers a full immersion into the fantastic and mysterious universe of magic Dragons. Feel overwhelmed by exciting combat views and realistic fighting scenes! Battle of Giants: Dragons is rated E10 by the ESRB.
Key Game Features:
* Realism of fight as a key for immersion, pushed by a real-time innovative and intuitive combat gameplay. * Customize your creature to make it your very own: 4 elemental dragons within their natural land, 5 different attack possibilities per Dragon, up to 125 different gems find and choose from! * Land exploration through ground seeking or aerial traveling! * Multiplayer: organize duels or tournaments, up to 4 players, to see which dragon will be the strongest of all.
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
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
For those who have never heard of Faunasphere, I will borrow a few words from the game’s official site. Please feel free to click on the thumbnails placed through out this article to get a better look at the environment and features, or hover over them for image descriptions.
Faunasphere is a “browser-based CMO (Casual Multiplayer Online) game, players adopt and care for cute and quirky creatures known as Fauna and collaborate to build and explore beautiful virtual worlds. From the creator and lead designer of Asheron’s Call, Faunasphere engages a broad casual gamer audience through non-violent game play, rich social networking elements, and an immersive storyline. The game is free to play, and features micro-transactions and premium membership to enhance the game play experience.”
Officially launched by Big Fish Games on August 12 of this year, Faunasphere has several game play features:
* Fauna lay eggs as they level up. Eggs can be hatched to create new Fauna or traded between players.
* 12 Fauna breeds to adopt and care for, with an endless array of visual variations to explore. Players can try to breed Fauna for specific traits, or can purchase special items to transform them.
* Players can customize their own corner of the world by designing a Faunasphere to shelter their Fauna. Items to decorate and improve a player’s Faunasphere can be collected via game play, traded between players, or purchased.
* Players advance through the world via unique, non-violent game play. Fauna clean up pollution and complete tasks to earn game currency and level up.
* The game can be played as a no-commitment diversion, but offers deeper involvement for committed players.
Features not listed above but which I feel are important to include:
Faunasphere is very easy to play. While reading is required, the game play is simple to pick up, the characters are cute – and sometimes very unique depending on how their caretakers have customized them, and the game’s community is incredibly friendly. That is one aspect of the game that really struck me. I know from reading through the game’s community forums that there have been problem users, just like in any online game. That said, the players who inhabit Faunasphere are friendly and even considerate. They even give you items if they think they somehow “stepped on” something you were doing or planning to do. They readily offer assistance should anyone require help with a task or cleaning up some of the higher-level pollution monsters.
For my adventures into the Faunasphere, I chose to look after one of the Hoofers, which are horse-like characters. Players can choose from a Hoofer, Sniffer or Scooter, each with its own set of attributes, likes and dislikes. Each character likes different food, comfort, beauty and amusement items. These likes and dislikes are important to bear in mind when building a faunasphere, and particularly when you create a Den for your Fauna to rejuvenate in. Your Fauna likes to be in a place which makes it happy, so it’s important to use the “Happy” items which your Fauna prefers.
Montreal – Meridian4 and RTL Interactive Games Publishing, are pleased to announce that their line up of games for North America are rolling out over the internet, beginning with the release of Crash Time 2 on Steam. Crash Time 2 is now available on Steam and if you purchase before September 3rd you’ll save 10% off the regular price of $19.99.
For more information on Crash Time 2 and the other RTL games being published by Meridian4, visit the games section of the Meridian4’s web site or visit Steam to pick up your copy of Crash Time 2 at the special low introductory price.
About Crash Time 2
Solve exciting criminal cases on the mean streets as member of the autobahn police force – or freely explore the open game world while chasing down high-octane racers. Escort politicians, transport precious goods or take down the criminal element with over 500HP and close to 200MPH. With fully destructible cars, arcade gameplay, outstanding graphics and stunning slow-mo effects, Crash Time 2 puts you right in the driver seat, ready to burn rubber.
The game features:
·5 huge criminal cases to solve with up to 10 missions each
·Solve cases or freely pursue crimes in the game world
·Many bonus assignments and more than 40 new tracks
·Over 20 AI cars with visual damage system
·Spectacular pileups with impressive and realistic graphics
·3 different difficulty settings
·Additional tasks and mini games are hidden to be discovered
Congratulations to Vancouver’sIUGO Mobile Entertainment – their iPhone game Zombie Attack has made PocketGamer’s Top Ten List of iPhone Zombie Games. Zombie Attack is a Defend Your Tower styled game, however instead of a tower, you must defend your beloved shack from the advancing undead. You can choose from an array of zombie-blasting weapons including, flame throwers and cannons to battle the brain-starved combatants. With easy to use tilt and touch controls, you’ll be killing zombies, earning points and raking in the cash to upgrade your weapons and firepower in no time.
Features
* Mow down and dismember zombies to keep your shack standing
* Cartoony, over-the-top effects, from explosions to flying heads
* Build four types of turrets: Gun, Flame, Axe and Rocket
* Choose between touch or tilt control for the survivor that builds your defenses
* Use the survivor to give a turret an attack boos, or to lure zombies into firing range
Zombie Attack was released November 6 2008 with a 9+ rating, and is available in the iTunes App Store for only $1.99. Congratulations also to Ryan Arndt of Certain Sound for working his audio magic on this title.
Edmonton’sBioware has released Pinnacle Station, a new Game Add-on for Mass Effect™. Available for both the Xbox 360® and PC, this DLC pack introduces an intense combat challenge to the Mass Effect universe. Picking up where the first game ended, players will enter Pinnacle Station,a top-secret Alliance training facility. Featuring 13 scenarios ranging from fast-paced combat simulations to high-stakes winner-takes-all wagers, players will push their combat skills to the limit, encountering aggressive simulated enemies while unlocking a mysterious new location. Once inside, players will be able to acquire rare weapons, special armour as well as obtain new achievements. One important piece of recon – players cannot access Pinnacle Station unless they have achieved Spectre status.
“At BioWare, we’re committed to providing ongoing support for all our franchises. With Mass Effect: Pinnacle Station, you’ll execute challenging new combat missions that will allow you to reenter the Mass Effect galaxy with a bang!” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, Group General Manager and Senior Vice President, Electronic Arts, and co-founder and CEO, BioWare. “Regardless of whether you choose to start Mass Effect 2 as a standalone adventure, or import your Mass Effect saved games, we know that you will enjoy Episode 2 for all of its intense action, dramatic plot twists and memorable characters.”
The Mass Effect: Pinnacle Station Game Add-On became available yesterday for 400 Microsoft points on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. It is also available for the PC version at $5 and can be found in EA’s online store. The 1.02 patch for Mass Effect is required for the installation of Pinnacle Station and is both available for download today on the Mass Effect web site as well as included in the Pinnacle Station download.
Toronto’sKoei Canada has released Warriors Orochi 2 for the PSP®. With Warriors Orochi 2, KOEI reunites its two biggest franchises, Dynasty Warriors® and Samurai Warriors® for the sequel to its hit Tactical Action game. Jam-packed with 96 playable characters, Warriors Orochi 2 transports gamers to Imperial China and to Feudal Japan where they will do battle against a venomous overlord and his menacing legions.
Shattering time and space, the venomous Serpent King Orochi kidnapped history’s greatest warriors in a scheme to test his might. The heroes eventually defeated Orochi and his menacing army. Now the slain Orochi lies in the netherworld, and a mysterious alliance is hatching a plan to resurrect Orochi.
With four different storylines featuring characters from Samurai Warriors® and Dynasty Warriors®, Warriors Orochi 2 includes three new game modes: Dream, VS and Survival, as well as “Tag Team”-style matches that pit fighters in head-to-head arena combat.
A star-studded lineup boasts 96 playable characters including the massive boar-like Gyuki and the faceless Dodomeki. New playable characters exclusive to the PSP system include the graceful San Zang and the warrior-monk Benkei. New features exclusive to the PSP system also include: 2-Player VS mode plus Co-op play in Story, Free and Dream modes, 12 new scenarios in Dream mode, and a Japanese and English voice option.
Learn more about Warriors Orochi 2 for PSP system on the official product minisite. Also visit “Warriors Orochi 2 Dedicated” to download music tracks and over a dozen specially-modified high-resolution movie clips to create your own Warriors Orochi 2 fan video. Warriors Orochi 2 is based on an original work by Omega Force. Play is for 1 to 2 players. Multi-player play is via ad-hoc wireless only. This game is rated “T” (Teen – Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence) by the ESRB.
Aldergrove – The day Ubisoft released Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time Re-shelled on XBLA, Mike had to have it. Turtles in Time was one of the Nintendo games which he played almost constantly when he was younger – it was right at the top of his playlist along with Mario and Donkey Kong. TMNT Turtles in Time Re-shelled was developed by Ubisoft Shanghai and is available on XBLA for 1200 Microsoft points.
Watch the cavechild’s mini video review, and find out why he gives it a 10 out of 10 game play rating.
London ON – Big Blue Bubble Inc. announced today that their award winning role-playing game, Elven Chronicles, will be arriving on the Apple’s mobile platforms, the iPhone and iPod Touch, in September.
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.
Winner of Pop Vox’s Best Mobile Game, Elven Chronicles has garnered praised by industry professionals and critics alike: “Zelda meets Final Fantasy in this massive RPG” (Anannya Sen, Mobile Game FAQs).
Features Include
• Classic 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
Elven Chronicles was developed for the Apple iPhone 3G/3Gs, iPod Touch.
Vancouver – After hanging in the review queue for nearly 3 months, IUGO’s Star Hogs game for the iPhone/iTouch has received a major update to its look, features and content. This massive update includes the following new features, tweaks and fixes:
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