Village Gamer

Toronto – G4BOX Inc and Wicked Interactive Ltd., North American publishers and distributors of interactive entertainment media, together announced today the tremendous success and popularity of the open beta for their military first-person shooter, Cross Fire. The beta, which began on Friday, January 30, 2009, has since gathered more than 25 000 registered players and made a major splash in the online first-person shooter scene. Cross Fire will continue in Open Beta through February.

“We knew there was an audience out there that was really anticipating Cross Fire, so we expected a good result,” said Garvin Yeung, Chief Executive Officer of Wicked Interactive. “But even we are amazed by the overwhelming response that Cross Fire has garnered thus far,” added Howard He, Chief Executive Officer of G4BOX.”
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Montreal – Meridian4 and Frogames have been hard at work tweaking Penguins Arena, their action-packed, non-stop battle for survival – FPS (First Penguin Shooter) and have fixed a few things and added others.

The update to Penguins Arena: Sedna’s World has been released and is available through normal digital distribution channels. The specific changes include:

• Added “Custom maps” game mode, which allow players to play maps created with PAME (Penguins Arena Map Editor)
• Added 4 new custom maps created by fans (Thanks!)
• Fixed case of penguins falling into the water but are still alive (The ‘Tread Water’ bug)
• Fixed some achievements not being able to be unlocked
• Fixed crash when a player tries to join a full server
• Fixed not being able to bind the ‘E’ key
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Format: Wii (also available for Nintendo DS, Mobile, PS2, PS3, PC, X360)
Release Date: November 11, 2008
Publisher: Activision
Developer: Treyarch
Official Website: http://www.callofduty.com
ESRB Rating: M – Mature 17+

Introduction

Call of Duty (COD): World at War (WAW) is a very intense, brutal and addicting game that can be played with two players or with friends and strangers via Wi-Fi connection. Although the game is rated M for Mature, WAW does a very good job of not exaggerating the blood, violence, and language; however, I would recommend waiting for the kids to go to bed before playing this one.

Beginning

Picking up the campaign section of the game (if you haven’t played the other COD games) was very simple. The game gives you hints as you go along on how to master the skills needed for the mission you are playing. I used the Wii zapper for this game, which did make it much easier to aim and shoot. The down side of the zapper was it made it harder to quickly throw back grenades and to drop mounted weapons in order to run away from grenades. I took off the zapper for a period of time, and found myself doing much worse – I decided to stick with the zapper for this one.

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Montreal – Meridian4 and Frogames have been hard at work adding content to Penguins Arena, their action-packed, non-stop battle for survival – “There can be only one” – FPS (First Penguin Shooter) and have also added a little Christmas cheer.

Frogames have added three new larger battlebergs for your penguin tribe to combat others in the ultimate struggle for supremacy and survival. More room to run, to hide, to watch your dynamite fish grenade smack a penguin clear off the iceberg into the cold waters below and then to be eaten by a great white…ah memories. They’ve also decorated for the holidays, adding a few string of lights, some garland, a Christmas tree or two and some of your old favorites like Frosty and even St. Nick might make an appearance.
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Today Ubisoft announced it will release exciting new downloadable content (DLC) for Far Cry® 2, which was developed by Ubisoft Montreal. The Fortune’s Pack DLC will bring new vehicles and new weapons to both the single-player game and the multiplayer game, giving gamers even more diverse means of destruction. Be the silent stalker armed with your silent shotgun or jump on your new quad and blast through the dunes of Africa. The Fortune’s Pack DLC for Far Cry 2 will be available for download from Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and from PlayStation®Network.

The Fortune’s Pack DLC for Far Cry 2 includes:

Single-Player Mode

Three brand-new weapons
– Silenced shotgun
– Sawed-off shotgun
– Crossbow

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Montreal – Today Ubisoft announced that Far Cry® 2, its open world first person shooter on Xbox 360™, PLAYSTATION®3 and PC, has already reached one million units sell-through worldwide in less than 3 weeks of availability at retail.

“The holiday quarter is off to a solid start with the successful launch of Far Cry 2,” said Yves Guillemot, chief executive officer at Ubisoft. “The game is well on track to achieve our expectations for the year.”

Developed at Ubisoft Montreal, the unique game play of Far Cry 2 has impressed players around the globe, offering a true open world environment that allows gamers to create their very own individual game experience. Built upon the acclaimed Dunia engine, they are offered a lush visual landscape, where they can live a realistic 24-hour day to night cycle in the beautiful African savannah.

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Ontario – G4Box Inc. and SilverBirch Inc. have launched the closed beta of the highly-anticipated free to play online game Cross Fire, the companies announced today. The closed beta of Cross Fire, is an award-winning, free-to-play, online military first-person shooter game for PCs. The 10,000 closed beta keys available were oversubscribed and gone in less than 10 hours.

The closed beta, which went live on November 7th, will run for approximately one month. During this time, Cross Fire will offer gamers an opportunity to play one of four high adrenaline game modes prior to the open beta planned for December 2008. The commercial launch is scheduled for January, 2009. Gamers can to continue to download the game for free at: www.crossfire-en.com

“The response to the English version of Cross Fire has far exceeded our expectations,” said Kevin Astle, Interim President and CEO of SilverBirch. “Cross Fire’s fast-paced action, superb graphics and compelling features have already made it a hotly anticipated game among English-language gamers.”

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Leading Videogame Publisher Electronic Arts and Universal Pictures Join Forces to Bring EA’s Top-Selling New Franchise “ARMY OF TWO™” to the Big Screen

Scott Stuber to Produce Film With EA; Scott Z. Burns to Write Screenplay

Montreal – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today announced that the company has closed a deal with Universal Pictures to bring EA’s new franchise and top-selling videogame, ARMY OF TWO™, to the big screen.

Scott Stuber, through his Stuber Productions shingle, will produce the film along with EA, and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns, who recently co-wrote the blockbuster THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, has signed on to adapt the game for the screen. Universal Pictures, Stuber Productions and EA are planning to begin production of the film in 2009.

ARMY OF TWO, which has grossed over $100 million(a) in sales since its release in March 2008, is the second film project that EA has set in motion as part of an aggressive strategy to move its IP across more entertainment platforms. The company is also currently developing THE SIMS at 20^th Century Fox with producer John Davis.

“ARMY OF TWO is a great project that has already attracted top name talent, and we’re glad to be working with Electronic Arts on making this hit game into a film franchise,” said Donna Langley, President of Production at Universal Pictures.

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Sony Computer Entertainment America’s New Bluetooth® Headset to Revolutionize Voice Chat on PS3™

Press Release – Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) today announced the availability of SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation. Developed by Vancouver’s Slant Six Games, SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation allows users to experience online combat on a global-scale made only available on the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) system. SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation is available for download directly from PlayStation®Network for $39.99 (SRP) and at retail, both a Blue-ray stand-alone version for $39.99 (SRP) and a bundle version for $59.99 (SRP).  The bundle version of SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation includes the new Official Bluetooth® Headset providing superior voice technology and innovative features built specifically to enhance voice chat during online multiplayer gaming. The Headset also will be available as a stand-alone peripheral for $49.99 (SRP) by early November.

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Montreal – August 22, 2008 – Meridian4 and Dialogue Design are pleased to announce that their highly-anticipated and critically acclaimed Indie title; Tank Universal is now available for download on most digital channels.

“After much hard work, a little digital elbow grease and in conjunction with our publishing partner, Meridian4 – Dialogue Design is thrilled to announce that today is the day for the release of our much-awaited indie tank blasting title Tank Universal.” said Phil Jones of Dialogue Design, “Interest has been strong in the lead-up to the game’s release and we would like to thank all those who pre-ordered and to wish everyone good luck (and good aiming) in the virtual tank battles ahead!”

“As I have stated before, we instantly took a liking to Tank Universal when it was shown to us. Its unique look, its gameplay features and the fun factor were all present. Now that gamers and the press have a chance to play it, I know it’ll become an instant Indie classic.” said Andy Sher, CEO at Meridian4.

Tank Universal is available now for $9.99 on most digital online channels including Steam, D2D, Impulse, GamersGate and many more.

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