Village Gamer

Cosmic forces and Spider-Man collide in new downloadable content for Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions from Activision Publishing, Inc., available on the Xbox 360® and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. Developed by Activision studio Beenox, players can now don one unique Cosmic costume for each of the four distinct worlds in the game – Amazing, Noir, 2099 and Ultimate – and are also granted one all-new signature charge attack. The downloadable content is available now from Xbox LIVE Marketplace and from the PlayStation®Store, which will be available next week.

In Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Activision game developer Beenox took the web-slinging hero to new and unique heights by giving fans the chance to experience four different versions of Spider-Man and explore four different universes. Players take on the role of Spider-Man in each respective universe on a mission to save their worlds from powered-up Super Villains, such as Mysterio, Carnage, Deadpool, Vulture, Sandman and more. This original take on a Spider-Man video game has garnered acclaim from fans and critics alike.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions transports players to a variety of locations, from lush jungles and sand quarries to a futuristic NYC, and allows them to use unique gameplay styles for each Spider-Man, including stealth moves in Noir, high-octane freefalling in 2099, black-suited tendril attacks in Ultimate, and innovative web combat in Amazing.

Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is rated T for Teen by the ESRB and is available now on the Xbox 360®, PlayStation®3, Wii™ and soon to be available on Windows PC, all developed by Beenox. A Nintendo DS™ version, developed by Griptonite, is also now available and features a side-scrolling adventure full of unique villains, such as the first-ever appearance of Calypso Noir and two other boss characters created exclusively for this version.

The Dead Rising 2 Sports Theme Pack is now available to download on Xbox Live, Games for Windows Live and the PlayStation Network. The new Sports Theme Pack DLC gives players increased attack power when they use sporting goods to take down hordes of zombies.

Not only does Chuck gain attack bonuses from sports weapons, he will also have a new charge/tackle attack to blitz down zombies. With these new abilities a hungry sports fan needs to have their snacks. Gain extra health from consuming food and drinks, especially alcoholic ones- and this time you won’t get sick!

To top it off, if you’re ever short on cash, gamble and hit it big. Chuck will earn bigger payouts from gambling with the all new Sports Theme Pack. The Dead Rising 2 Sports Theme Pack is available to download for 160 Microsoft points, or $1.99 on the PlayStation Network. Dead Rising 2 is rated M for Mature by the ESRB.

THQ Inc. and the Random House Publishing Group today announced that a novel set in the Homefront universe and co-written by John Milius (Red Dawn and Oscar Award-winning Apocalypse Now) and New York Times bestselling author Raymond Benson (author of two Metal Gear Solid books and multiple James Bond novels) will be published by Random House’s Del Rey imprint, and arrive in early 2011 to coincide with the release of the first Homefront game.

“We’re delighted to confirm the first element of what will become a vast transmedia strategy for Homefront,” said Danny Bilson, Executive Vice President – Core Games, THQ. “John Milius has already worked with us extensively on the Homefront game, and we’re thrilled to have him and Raymond on board as we develop our near-future world into other types of media. Random House is a great partner to help us reach an even broader audience.”

“Homefront represents a fascinating vision of the near-future,” added John Milius. “After completing my work on the game, it became clear that there were many more stories to tell, and this book will offer a chilling look at this near-future world.”

Homefront the videogame is a thrilling first person shooter set for release on the Xbox 360®, PlayStation®3 and the Digital Extremes-developed Windows PC in March 2011.

Homefront tells the story of a stricken America, fallen to savage military occupation in the year 2027. With the country’s infrastructure shattered and military in disarray, America has fallen to a savage occupation by the nuclear armed Greater Korean Republic.

Abandoned by her former allies, the United States is a bleak landscape of walled towns and abandoned suburbs. This is a police state where high school stadiums have become detention centers, and shopping malls shelter armored attack vehicles.

Join the Resistance, stand united and fight for freedom against an overwhelming military force In Homefront’s gripping, cinematic single player campaign, and experience epic, ground breaking multiplayer action all set in a terrifyingly plausible near-future world.

Untold Entertainment has launched a new game portal for all of you zombie fans out there. Zombie Game World offers from the best to the worst of free-to-play zombie games. There are currently 40+ games on the site, with more to come. According to the Untold Entertainment blog, future plans for the site “include community-based game-on-game elimination battles, badges, and possibly even an online loyalty system.” Zombie Game World joins Word Game World, a portal loaded with quality word games, on Untold’s Game World Network.

Untold Entertainment’s CEO Ryan Creighton has also released a book for those of you who are interested in learning how to develop games using the Unity engine. St. Louis designer Scott Petrovic has posted a review about Ryan’s book, Unity 3D Game Development By Example, which is available now for purchase from Packt Publishing as either a physical book or an ebook (or both).

Speaking of zombies, the next Dead Rising 2 Theme Pack is now available for 160 MS Points (or $1.99) The Soldier of Fortune Theme Pack lets you live in your own 80’s action flick as the new DLC gives players extreme firepower to plow through hordes of zombies with Chuck’s new amped up arsenal of guns.

With the Soldier of Fortune pack, all guns will now have increased firepower, better accuracy and their ammo capacity doubled. Nothing will get in Chuck’s way as the pack will also include a new special “hail of bullets” attack where mowing down masses of zombies will be easier and more fun than ever before.

Today Ubisoft announced that Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, launching November 16 in North America and November 18 in Europe, Middle East and Asia for the Microsoft Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system and the Sony PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system has surpassed all other Ubisoft video game releases in worldwide pre-orders. The marketing campaign for Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood is also one of the biggest marketing investments in Ubisoft’s history.

The buzz for Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood remains high and continues to grow as the marketing, promotions and public relations campaigns progress to culminate in a worldwide television and online advertising effort that extends far beyond the game’s launch date. In addition, Ubisoft’s retail partners will host an unprecedented amount of midnight store openings in locations across the globe.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQQpUnac4kY]

“Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood is being heralded by the press as a single and multiplayer experience unlike any other,” said Olivier Ernst, managing director, Ubisoft Canada. “As evidenced by the record number of pre-orders and the success of the multiplayer beta, consumers can‘t wait to get their hands on Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, and we’re looking forward to delivering them an experience they’ll never forget.”

In Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, players live and breathe as Ezio, a legendary Master Assassin, to experience more than 15 hours of single player game play set in the teeming, unpredictable city of Renaissance Rome. For the first time, multiplayer is coming to the Assassin’s Creed® franchise, allowing players to choose from a wide range of unique characters, each with their own signature weapons and assassination techniques.

Following two title releases, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise has sold more than 19 million units worldwide, and the success of Assassin’s Creed extends beyond video games. Fans passionate about the Assassin’s Creed brand can enjoy original stories and dive further into the brand through novels, comics, an animated story, an art book, apparel, figurines and the Project Legacy game on the Facebook® platform.

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood will be available on Windows PC in early 2011.

Capcom® Mobile and Vancouver’s IUGO Mobile Entertainment have announced Lil’ Pirates, a brand new title that will be available for free on the App Store later this month. The development of more accessible general audience games is in line with Capcom Mobile’s strategy of reaching a more casual audience as powerful smartphones become more ubiquitous and mass market. Capcom Mobile also announced two other titles in development which will be released over the coming weeks.

“The release of these titles marks a new direction for the company as we complement our traditional premium pricing model with freemium social games for our customers,” said Midori Yuasa, President and COO, Capcom Interactive, Inc. “By creating a line of casual freemium games we can appeal to consumers not serviced by our more ‘hardcore’ IP and cast a much wider net over the burgeoning smartphone app marketplace.”

In Lil’ Pirates the player recruits their own band of scurvy dogs and sets upon the high seas seeking, adventure, treasure and camaraderie. Starting with a small ship and a tiny crew of scallywags, players can upgrade their vessel and expand their crew by undertaking special missions and jobs. Once they start to amass resources and loot, players will be able to battle other vessels, play mini games with the crew and bury booty to increase its value. More than 100 premium content items including ship upgrades and custom gear will be available at launch as DLC.

The other two announced titles were Zombie Café and a third licensed title based off a children’s entertainment property. In Zombie Café, the player partners with an evil corporation to use zombies as free labor to build their café empire. To thrive, players must prepare food, direct their zombie staff and manage supplies. If the competition gets too fierce they can always direct their zombie workers to attack a neighboring café and steal their secret recipes. Zombie Café will be available for free on the Apple App store and is expected to release in November.

The floral experts at Grower Direct want to share their love of flowers with you in a brand new way: the Grower Direct iPhone App. This exciting and very practical application has been developed for iPhone users in the hopes that it will make everyday life a snap when it comes to researching, viewing, and ordering flowers from anywhere, at anytime. The Grower Direct iPhone App provides information on hundreds of topics about flowers and everything flower-related.

Developed in conjunction with crazedCoders of Edmonton, the free app will answer questions such as:

* How old the world’s oldest rose bush?
* How do flowers affect people’s moods?
* Which flower is associated with a 25th Anniversary? Read the rest of this entry »

BioWare™ has just announced the Dragon Age™ II BioWare Signature Edition. This limited edition of the highly anticipated action RPG will be available at no extra cost for gamers who pre-order Dragon Age II before January 11, 2011. Featuring over $20 of additional content, the Dragon Age II BioWare Signature Edition includes the full version of Dragon Age II, along with a download code for an additional playable character and new missions, the Dragon Age II digital soundtrack, an exclusive in-game digital armory featuring a variety of weapons and other digital items. The Dragon Age II BioWare Signature Edition will only be available for pre-order and online purchase on or before January 11, 2011 – after the deadline, it will disappear from the market.

“Over the past 15 years, we’ve been privileged to have the support of a passionate community of fans, who continue to grow in number with every game we release,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, Senior Vice President of Electronic Arts and co-founder and Group General Manager of BioWare. “The BioWare Signature Edition of Dragon Age II is a chance for us to reward loyal fans who pre-order the game by providing them with additional high-quality content for free.”

Dragon Age II is the sequel to the 2009’s “RPG of the Year,” featuring faster-paced action, striking new art direction and a gripping storytelling approach that allows gamers to experience the rise to power with the game’s key character, Hawke. A refugee who survives the destruction of his homeland, Hawke becomes the Champion of Kirkwall but the lore surrounding his rise to power is shrouded in myth and rumor. These mysteries are the driving force behind the all-new Dragon Age II story, which spans nearly 10 years in the Dragon Age universe. Players will experience how the legend unfolds by gathering the deadliest of allies, making tough moral choices, amassing fame and fortune and sealing their place in history.

Dragon Age II will be available on the PlayStation®3, Xbox 360® and PC in Canada on March 8, 2011. Dragon Age II, like Dragon Age, will most likely be rated M for Mature by the ESRB.

Electronic Arts Inc. and Hothead Games® announced today that the critically acclaimed action role-playing game (RPG), DeathSpank™, will be available on PC for $14.99 on October 26. Starting today, gamers will receive a 10% discount when they pre-order DeathSpank on PC via Steam, Valve Corporation’s delivery and management platform. Additionally, gamers can pre-order the Shank and ‘Spank Bundle on Steam, which pairs DeathSpank with Klei Entertainment’s Shank™, and receive 15% off of the entire bundle. Shank will also be available on Steam this October 26th.

Developed under the direction of industry veteran Ron Gilbert, DeathSpank combines unique humor and wit with fast, addictive action-RPG gameplay. Recently awarded IGN’s Editor’s Choice for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, DeathSpank takes players on an epic adventure through crazy quests in a vast world filled with vibrant, eccentric and hilarious characters. Currently available on PlayStation® Network and Xbox LIVE® Arcade, DeathSpank will also be released on Mac OSX; availability to be announced.

Bringing the game to PC and Mac was a direct response to the repeated requests by our fans and we are thrilled that DeathSpank has become so popular and such a phenomenon, ensuring that we can fulfill those requests,” said Vlad Ceraldi, Director of Game Development at Hothead Games. “The humor, story and core gameplay elements in DeathSpank were all inspired by some of our favorite PC games.”

Players who download the game will be placed in the boots of the mighty DeathSpank, “Dispenser of Justice,” “Vanquisher of Evil” and “Hero to the Downtrodden” and will embark on his lifelong journey to search for and find a mysterious artifact known only as “The Artifact.” Along his journey, DeathSpank will rescue orphans, defeat a local tyrant, help an aging adventurer and dive headfirst into an even deeper mystery. The game’s accessibility makes for a fun, addictive experience where players will find themselves solving crazy puzzles, collecting massive amounts of loot and engaging in tons of hilarious dialogue. DeathSpank also features local co-operative gameplay, allowing friends to jump in and out of this adventure on the same computer as DeathSpank’s trusty, magical sidekick, Sparkles the Wizard.

DeathSpank is rated “T” for teen and Shank is rated “M” for Mature by the ESRB.

In the next few weeks, Dead Rising 2 players will get a chance to dress up Chuck as either an insane Psychopath, a sleek ninja, a crazy sports fanatic or a kick-ass soldier with some great new DLC Theme Packs from Capcom. The theme packs include a host of new skills, weapons as well the very best in specialty fashion tailor-made for Chuck.

Each theme pack will be available to download via the PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE to enhance your Dead Rising 2 experience. What’s more, players can even mix and match the packs they have downloaded – select the Ninja shoes, Sports Fan hat, Psycho jacket and Soldier of Fortune trousers – to get all the abilities each pack offers and create the ultimate Chuck.

Psychopath Theme Pack: Available October 12, 2010
Psycho Chuck will be a zombie’s worst nightmare as his new “insane” look will make him more difficult to kill and give him a host of gruesome weapons including chainsaws, cleavers, axes and more. Zombies won’t stand a chance!

Soldier of Fortune Theme Pack: Available October 19, 2010
With the soldier costume, you can “Rambo out” with double ammo, increased shooting accuracy, more firepower and increased headshot accuracy. Chuck will also have a new special attack when using automatic weapons, spraying zombies with a hail of bullets.

Sports Theme Pack: Available October 26, 2010
For all you sports fans out there, this pack’s for you. Chuck’s damage will increase with sports-themed weapons. The new sports weapons (golf balls, basketballs, etc.) bounce more before stopping, allowing you to hit tons of zombies in one throw. Chuck also has a new charge/tackle attack for taking zombies down in the ultimate blitz!

With the Sports Theme Pack, Chuck will also earn more from gambling, gain more health while eating and drinking (especially alcoholic drinks) and not get sick from drinking too much…

Ninja Theme Pack: Available November 2, 2010
Ninja Chuck will have a new “stealth mode” where the zombies have to be much closer to him to detect his presence. This gives Chuck the upper hand as he is harder to grab and be taken down by hoards of the undead.

Chuck’s damage is increased with sword-type weapons (broadswords, katanas, etc.) that have new special attacks. Stackable items and throwing items (nails, plates, gems, etc.) will also do more damage and Chuck’s throwing speed is increased.

For those few of you who have not yet experienced the #1 RPG title, Bioware has just announced Dragon Age: Origins – Ultimate Collection. With an overall value of $114.00, this all-in-one package is retailing for $49.99 USD for the PC version to $59.99 USD for the console versions. It is interesting to note that the Ultimate Collection is not yet listed on Canadian retailers such as GameStop or Amazon, but it is available at their American counterparts, as well as in the EA Store. The Ultimate Collection includes:

Dragon Age™: Origins

Discover the groundbreaking RPG, winner of more than 50 awards including more than 30 ‘Game of the Year’ awards! You are a Grey Warden, one of the last of a legendary order of guardians. With the return of mankind’s ancient foe and the kingdom engulfed in civil war, you have been chosen by fate to unite the shattered lands and slay the archdemon once and for all. Explore a stunning world, make complex moral choices, and engage in bone-crushing visceral combat against massive and terrifying creatures.

Dragon Age™: Origins – Awakening Expansion Pack

The story of the Grey Wardens continues as you are named Commander of the order. As your first duties you have been entrusted with rebuilding the order as well as uncovering the secrets of the darkspawn and how they managed to endure. Fight new enemies, learn new skills and spells, and explore an all-new area of the world, Amaranthine.

All Seven Content Packs

Extend your adventure, collect new rewards, gain new party members, and more as you delve deeper into the Dragon Age™ saga.

* The Stone Prisoner
* Warden’s Keep
* Return to Ostagar
* The Darkspawn Chronicles
* Leliana’s Song
* The Golems of Amgarrak
* Witch Hunt

~ Key Features

* A limited-time offer of the 2009 ‘RPG of the Year’ Dragon Age: Origins, the Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening expansion pack, and all nine additional content packs
* Critically acclaimed winner of more than 50 awards including more than 30 ‘Game of the Year’ awards

Electronic Arts Inc. has introduced a comprehensive insights suite which provides marketers with actionable consumer data based on their activity in and around EA games. A first of its kind, EA’s insights suite is a cross-platform tool which pulls together campaign performance, brand impact, social buzz, and where available, ROI, across all platforms on the EA network – mobile, social, online and console. Over time, advertisers will be able to benchmark their performance against their competitive set.

“One of the biggest challenges for marketers is comprehensively evaluating and learning from their investments across disparate audiences, platforms and content,” said Elizabeth Harz, Senior Vice President of EA’s Global Media Sales team. “Our insights suite is the solution. For the first time, our partners will have actionable insights as a result of their marketing communications to key audiences across all of our content and all of platforms. I can’t wait to get this into our partners’ hands.”

The rich feature set offers many benefits for advertisers, such as:

* Overview of key campaign performance indicators such as impressions, clicks, unduplicated reach, demographic profiles, and social media buzz
* Segmented audience insights based on cross-platform demographic, psychographic and social data
* Ability to drill down into the factors that impact campaign effectiveness including audience engagement, audience profiles, type of creative, measured over time
* Assessment of the social media sentiment and change in the brand conversation the campaign generates Read the rest of this entry »

Those of you who are fans of The Sims and Army of Two will be pleased to know that Rios and Salem will be making a crossover appearance in MySims SkyHeroes. Here’s a sneak peek at their adventure:

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

Relic Entertainment has released a new video for Dawn of War II: Retribution. This new video takes a look at the Eldar Race, which was revealed for the first time during last weekend’s Games Day UK.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me4w9McKj40]

Montreal’s Audiokinetic Inc. has released the latest version of Wwise, its award-winning audio pipeline solution. Wwise 2010.2 introduces new features and enhancements.

Among the new features included in Wwise 2010.2:

* New Wwise effects: Tremolo, Flanger, Guitar Distorsion, Meter
* Side-Chaining
* Convolution Reverb
Read the rest of this entry »