Village Gamer

Think you can be the next big music star? Well now you’ve got all the tools right at your fingertips with Mix Superstar from Digital Leisure. Create, mix and record your own royalty-free musical masterpieces right on your Wii™ system. There are over 1,000 Dance, Hip Hop and Techno loops included across multiple instruments like Drum, Bass, Synth, Guitar and even voice tracks.

Once you’ve got that next hit created, it’s time to show it off. Mix Superstar allows you to export your music creations, and download them to your computer so you can take them on-the-go. You can also use WiiConnect24™ to send those hits to your Wii Friends and even collaborate on mixes!

Also included is full support for both the Logitech® USB Microphone and Wii Speak™ so you can lay down your own vocals on that next hit.

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Looking to give your mix a unique flare? Over a dozen new music loop packs will be releasing via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play™ to enhance your music creation experience. Thousands of additional loops from packs like Rock, Pop, Latin, House and even World.

Visit mixsuperstar.com to hear what you’ll be able to create with Mix Superstar, available today in North America exclusively on WiiWare for only 500 Wii Points™.

Toronto’s DreamCatcher Games and its parent company JoWooD Group announce the launch of the official website for SpellForce 2: Faith in Destiny, which will be available on November 30th for $19.99USD.

SpellForce 2 opens four years after the Shaper’s defeat through the use of Archfire. During that time scientists, dragons and inventors have tried to find to counter the mysterious deterioration of the portals – in vain. The portal network has now totally collapsed and the islands are cut off from one another. The dragons and the Shaikan act as the only connection between the races, but even their resources are limited.

Now, with the nations isolated from one another, a new nameless enemy strikes. Eo is completely at the mercy of the attackers ascending from demonic depths. In the midst of this chaos a new hero appears. To discover his destiny our hero must acquire new skills and do battle with enemies new and old. But wherever he goes – the Nameless always seem to be a step ahead, and futile battles break out in which the hero holds the destiny of all of Eo in his hands.

SpellForce 2 Features:

* An all new campaign that fits into the SpellForce series and enriches the world of SpellForce, including favourite characters and quests.
* An all new race of demonic enemies are also playable in multiplayer mode, featuring new units and structures.
* Ride into battle on a fierce dragon and use new spells and effects to enhance your tactical possibilities.
* Innovative new Role-Playing-Strategy Genre.
* Click’n’Fight and Quick-Action-Buttons: The revolutionary control system guarantees instant action, and a wealth of unique tactical possibilities at your fingertips.
* Easy Skill tree system that allows individual character development.
* Enjoy a highly detailed and living fantasy world that adapts to the actions of the player: Fight monsters, gather items, adventure, trade and collect mighty artifacts to use for your battles.
* 5 different fractions: Lead The Realm, The Clans, The Pact, the Shaikan and the Nameless to victory, with 12 very different units consisting of infantry, cavalry and flyers.
* 10 different races: heroic humans, powerful elves, strong dwarves, barbaric trolls,battle-tested orcs, destructive barbarians, powerful dark elves, unbreakable gargoyles, malicious shadows and mean demonic powers.

Inspired by an initial exhibition at Galerie Arludik in Paris, Ubisoft Montreal has announced that Assassin’s Creed: The Exhibition will be on display at Montreal’s Galerie d’art Yves Laroche from November 15th to 27th. The Montreal event will feature a brand new series of concepts arts depicting the world of Assassin’s Creed, Assassin’s Creed II, and Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. Indeed, art fans and gamers will discover over twenty artworks created in Montreal by illustrators at the Ubisoft studio, where Assassin’s Creed games are produced and developed. These works will be seen around the world in months to come, Montreal being the first stop of this travelling exhibition.

“Assassin’s Creed: The Exhibition is a chance to honor our artists’ talent and to share the artistic brilliance of the world-renowned Assassin’s Creed franchise. This event is also in line with Ubisoft’s transmedia strategy, whose goal is to enlarge our brand experience on different platforms and to showcase our creativity”, Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat says.

From October 5 to 30, Parisian art gallery Arludik presented a first version of Assassin’s Creed: The Exhibition. Its featured artworks were sold at prices ranging from $800.00 to $2800.00, all within the first week of the exhibition, which attracted an average of 200 visitors each day.

Created in the initial stages of a game’s development, concept arts materialize a game’s artistic vision and inspire its world. Within a large production team, the work of Gilles Beloeil, Martin Deschambault, Patrick Desgreniers, Maxime Desmettre, Vincent Gaigneux, Vincent Gauthier, Raphael Lacoste, Patrick Lambert, Olivier Martin, Khai Nguyen, Namwoo Noh, and Donglu Yu guide the game’s artistic vision and is essential to its development.

With 19 million copies sold worldwide, Assassin’s Creed is without question one of Ubisoft’s – and the video game industry’s – most popular franchises. Assassin’s Creed and Assassin’s Creed II, released in 2007 and 2009, each sold over nine million copies.

On November 16, 2010, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, the franchise’s third title, will be released in over 55 countries. This game was crowned “Best Online Multiplayer” at the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo, and has shattered Ubisoft’s previous pre-sales records.

Ubisoft has also announced that those who purchase Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood for the PlayStation 3 will receive complimentary access to the system-exclusive Copernicus Conspiracy add-on pack. The Copernicus Conspiracy add-on will be available for download through the PlayStation Network on release day, and will feature the Renaissance-era astronomer who first advocated that the earth revolves around the sun. Ezio has been charged with defending Copernicus from those who wish to bury the scientist and his theories, which leads the player through exclusive missions that include courier, assassination, and protection assignments.

Toronto’s Longbow Games, one of the few selected for this year’s PAX 10 showcase winners, is proud to announce that their strategy wargame, Hegemony: Philip of Macedon, is now available on Steam. In addition, they have lowered the price to only $19.99.

“As an independent developer, it’s always a struggle to gain the attention of your audience,” said Jim McNally, president of Longbow Games. “We’re very excited to be launching Hegemony: Philip of Macedon on Steam, where we can share our game with a much wider audience.”

Longbow Games is currently working on their next title, Hegemony Gold: Wars of Ancient Greece, which will soon be in beta testing. Customers of Hegemony: Philip of Macedon can help test the new game for free at www.LongbowGames.com.

Hegemony: Philip of Macedon lets you conquer the ancient Greek world in this PC RTS war game that follows the rise of Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great. Players campaign across a continuous satellite-accurate map of ancient Greece encountering the full range of warfare from reconnaissance to raids to field battles to mountain blockades. The game also features:

* Innovative supply system – Siege and starve the enemy by cutting their supply lines or burning their crops, all the while building and protecting your own supply network to support your growing empire.
* Steeped in history – In-game pedia and 100+ historical objectives recreate the rise of the Macedonian empire.
* Detailed and stylized world and map – Transition smoothly between the detailed 3D world and the stylized board-game map while maintaining complete control over your empire. Read the rest of this entry »

GameON: Finance 2011 will return to the Design Exchange on January 20 and 21, 2011, and the Kick-off rate of $489.00 is available now through November 15th 2010. Early Bird Tickets go on sale from November 16th through December 15th, with a price of $559.00. Once the Early Bird rate expires, ticket prices will go up to $699.00 if you purchase online, or $874.00 if you want and buy them at the conference. Interactive Ontario members will save an additional 30% off all ticket prices. See the event site for details.

GameON: Finance is Canada’s top business forum for the interactive entertainment industry connecting developers, innovators, investors and industry leaders. Delegates will gather in downtown Toronto for two days of keynotes, case-studies, lectures and panel discussions which will provide insight on topics such as:

* Emerging opportunities in game project financing
* The bottom line on equity investments
* Dealmaking across transmedia platforms
* Tips and tricks to optimize public finance opportunities

GameON: Finance’s 2011 Advisory Board members are: David Crow (Influitive), Jason Della Rocca (Perimeter Partners), Vikas Gupta (TransGaming Technologies), Marc Jackson (Seahorn Capital Group), Sean Kauppinen (International Digital Entertainment Agency), Jim Laird (Bedlam Games), Wanda Meloni (M2 Research), Ray Sharma (XMG Studio), Scott Steinberg (TechSavvy Global), John Sutyak (DDM) and Dean Takahashi (GamesBeat).

To compliment the release of Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, Ubisoft has launched Your Shape Centre, a website which works in tandem with the game, offering a truly personal online gym centre.

· Track your workouts and set yourself fitness challenges
· Compete and compare your progress with friends
· Set yourself fitness challenges
· Get advice from other players and fitness experts to help you reach your fitness goals
· Share your fitness achievements on your Facebook or Twitter

To help organizations meet expanding requirements for archiving, eDiscovery and regulatory compliance, Waterloo’s Open Text will embed Oracle technology to deliver a new set of enterprise content solutions. Read the rest of this entry »

IUGO Mobile Entertainment and Capcom Mobile are proud to launch Lil’ Pirates, a free-to-play social game for the iPhone and iPod Touch. This marks both IUGO and Capcom’s entry into the mobile social gaming space. Lil’ Pirates is launching with Facebook Connect, allowing players to invite, hire and interact with their Facebook friends as part of their pirate crew.

“The launch of Lil’ Pirates begins IUGO’s entrance into the dynamic space of mobile social games,” states IUGO’s VP of Business Development, Sarah Thomson. “This space is something we as a company have been thinking about, preparing for and watching for a long time. Lil’ Pirates builds upon what other companies have pioneered in social games for the iPhone. We believe IUGO has evolved the gameplay to create a compelling experience that is uniquely IUGO. Our partnership with Capcom is exciting and we’re thrilled to have Lil’ Pirates published under such a prestigious brand.”

Lil’ Pirates features hundreds of items to customize both users’ ships and avatars. Mini games, gifting, ship battles and jobs for crew members offers a robust experience balanced by a “pick-up-and-play” simplicitiy in game design. Lil’ Pirates was created by IUGO and owned by Capcom Mobile. Lil’ Pirates is available and free to download on the App Store now.

Avast ya scallywags! Drop anchor and prepare to be boarded. There be Lil’ Pirates in these waters!

Amass your perfect crew and craft the finest ship as you set sail for adventure and plunder as the captain of your own pirate vessel. From a modest beginning you’ll transform your ship into an object of fear and envy and amass a fortune fit for a king.

Features:

* Customize your ship as you see fit from a ghostly galleon to a pink gilded princes to a multi-mast ship of destruction.

* Assemble a crew with diverse skills and dress and equip them as you please with more than 100 items.

* Recruit friends to the pirate life through Facebook and share the adventure.

* Exchange volleys of cannon fire in ship-to-ship combat.

* Bury booty on Treasure Island to increase its worth or plunder a friend’s buried loot.

* Direct your crew to go on missions and amass more treasure!

Electronic Arts Inc. and Paramount Digital Entertainment today announced a distribution agreement that will catapult an upcoming Paramount property into the hands of gamers worldwide. Rango The Video Game is an action-adventure title inspired by the upcoming animated feature film starring the voice of Johnny Depp.

In development at Artificial Mind & Movement, Rango The Video Game invites players to continue on Rango’s wild journey through new adventures inspired by the movie. The game is set in the Old West town of ‘Dirt’ where players romp through a gritty, pint-sized, Wild West filled with wild rides, off-color characters and frantic shoot-outs. Rango is Paramount Pictures’ first full-length animated feature film; both the film and the video game will be released in March 2011.

“We are thrilled to be working with Paramount and the upcoming release of the video game version of its first animated feature,” said Sinjin Bain, Vice President of EA Partners at Electronic Arts. “Rango is a one-of-a-kind character that we know kids will love. We’re excited to give families worldwide the opportunity to take the humor and fun from the big screen into their living rooms.”

“We are pleased to team up with EA to deliver an exciting, action-packed adventure game that captures the spirit of the film and puts the fate of Dirt in players’ hands,” said Tom Lesinski, President of Paramount Digital Entertainment. “We’ve added exciting twists and turns in the video game that will challenge players of all levels on their adventures as Rango.”

Rango The Video Game will be available on console platforms including the PlayStation®3, Xbox 360®, Nintendo Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ in March 2011. Rango The Video Game has not been rated by the ESRB.

Sales of EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer franchise titles has surpassed 100 million units lifetime during the launch of FIFA Soccer 11, according to EA internal sales data. The best-selling sports videogame franchise in the world, now in its 18th year, sold a record-breaking 2.6 million copies in the first five days after launching FIFA Soccer 11 to become the fastest selling sports videogame of all time. Counting the first four weeks of sales, FIFA Soccer 11 sales are up 20% versus last year on a comparable basis with sell-in approaching 8 million units. Read the rest of this entry »

Wow – one day away and so much went on yesterday! Of course, catching up with yesterday has put me behind for today, but I’ll get all caught up eventually – even on all those games I’ve been trying to get to for reviews. I had a non-digital project to complete and ended up in a very demanding crunch time, because my time line for delivery did not match the deadline that my Mother implemented, and we all know that Mom’s always right…

For those who aren’t already aware, Ubisoft has acquired Longtail Studios’ Quebec City location, and will absorb most of its staff into their own studio. Longtail had contributed to Ubisoft’s Michael Jackson: The Experience, and while this means that Longtail Quebec is no longer in operation, both of Longtail’s maritime studios – Charlottetown and Halifax are still open for business. The Halifax studio recently launched its latest title, Dance on Broadway. By the way, the Halifax studio is currently looking to fill four career positions, including that of Game Tester.

EA Mobile put several of its titles on sale for 99 cents yesterday – if you live in the USA. The only exemption to the USA location restriction is Reckless Racing, which was put on sale worldwide. The other titles currently on sale in the US App Store are:

Tiger Woods PGA Tour – Skate It by EA – Command & Conquer Red Alert – Yahtzee Adventures – Trivial Pursuit – Boggle – Clue – Spore Creatures – Boggle for iPad – Snood – EA Sudoku – Spore Origins – Star Trek – Lemonade Tycoon Read the rest of this entry »

Transgaming Inc. has launched a brand new web site for its game development studio. Transgaming Studio features information about its launched titles, In The Mix Featuring Armin van Buuren, G-G-Goal, and the recently released PuzzleQuest: Challenge of the WarLords for iOS. Also featured is news about its latest game in development, Garage Inc. for the Mac, PC, iPhone and GameTreeTV. Garage Inc., a time management game set in 1928 Chicago, is based on an original IP by Global Fun and is being produced through a partnership with Breakthrough Entertainment. Players will guide recent Italian immigrant, Angelo Marito, as he tries to manage and grow a car garage. Game play features include the ability to diagnose and fix cars, hire workers, and try to steer clear of the ever-present mob while pursuing the American dream.

Capcom has announced that the Dead Rising 2 Ninja Theme Pack is now available on Xbox Live, Games for Windows Live and the PlayStation Network. With the new ninja pack, Chuck gains a “stealth mode” that allows him to evade zombies by making it harder for them to detect Chuck’s presence. Sword-type weapons (broadswords, katanas, etc.) have their attack power increased and will allow Chuck to perform new special attacks. Stackable items and throwing items such as nails, plates, gems, etc. will also do more damage and Chuck’s throwing speed is increased. The Dead Rising 2 Ninja Theme Pack is available for 160 Microsoft points, or $1.99 on the PlayStation Network.

AudioKinetic’s Wwise 2010.1.2 platform has been nominated for a Game Developer magazine 2010 Front Line Award in the Audio Category. Also named as nominees in this category are FMOD Designer 4.32 (Firelight Technologies), Miles Sound System 8 (RAD Game Tools), ProRemote 2.0.1 (Far Out Labs) and ProTools 8.0.4 (Avid Technology). Read the rest of this entry »

Netflix, Inc. has announced that Netflix members in Canada can now instantly watch thousands of movies and TV episodes streamed from Netflix to the TV via Xbox 360. There is no additional monthly fee for Netflix members who are also Xbox LIVE Gold members.

“Xbox 360 is a significant addition to a growing number of consumer electronic devices that are capable of streaming from Netflix in Canada,” said Greg Peters, vice president of product development for Netflix. “Netflix members in the United States enjoy instantly watching movies streamed from Netflix on Xbox LIVE and we think that our Canadian members will equally enjoy this enriched experience and the convenience and value that it offers.”

Starting today, Xbox LIVE members will be able to sign up instantly online for a free trial of Netflix, connect to the Internet on their Xbox 360 and simply click on Netflix in the Video Marketplace on the Xbox 360 Dashboard and follow the easy steps to start streaming thousands of movies and TV shows. In addition, Xbox LIVE subscribers will be able to access the Netflix movie and TV library through Windows Phone 7.

“Canadian Xbox LIVE members asked for more entertainment content and features and now Netflix provides an exciting new way for our members to get the entertainment they love wherever and whenever they want,” said Glenn Purkis, Xbox LIVE product manager, Microsoft Canada. “We are thrilled to offer Netflix to Xbox LIVE Gold members in Canada, and we are confident the service will provide our members with tremendous entertainment value.”

Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana Studio and YTV are pleased to announce the return of the classic children’s book character in the new CGI animated series Babar and the Adventures of Badou, featuring the voice of Gordon Pinsent and premiering in YTV’s Playtime block on Monday, November 22 at 11 a.m. ET/PT.

“Corus and Nelvana have a long history with the Babar brand and we are delighted to continue our relationship with this world-famous elephant, to once again bring this popular literary character to life on television with new storylines, a new generation of characters and with CGI technology for today’s audiences,” said Ted Ellis, VP, Kids/Family Programming, Corus Entertainment.

Produced by Nelvana Studio and TeamTO, in association with The Clifford Ross Company, Babar and the Adventures of Badou is based on the bestselling children’s book collection and follows eight-year-old Badou and his famous grandfather King Babar. Badou has an appetite for adventure and a tendency to get caught in some tricky situations along with his colourful friends Chiku the monkey, Zawadi the zebra, Jake the scruffy little fox and Munroe the deviant and brave porcupine. Navigating the ups and downs of growing up in Celesteville’s royal palace, Badou never forgets that his grandfather King Babar will always be there to offer guidance and support.

In episode one, Babar and the Adventures of Badou: Kite Flight/Zoomerblimps, premiering on Monday, November 22 at 11 a.m. ET/PT (r) Friday, November 26 at 11 a.m. ET/PT, Chiku volunteers Munroe for a kite flying contest against the Crocs. She promises to build him the best kite ever but keeps getting distracted by newer, better design ideas. Badou tries to help her focus so Chiku can deliver on her promise. Then, the kids are competing for their Zoomerblimp Junior Pilot wings. Badou and Rhudi are the favourites but when Dilash sabotages both their ships the two have to team up – and learn a little about sportsmanship – in order to compete.

Beginning on Wednesday, November 10, viewers can visit YTV.com to immerse themselves in Badou’s adventures online with 10 new customizable web games, nine exclusive web animations, visits to four neighbourhoods in Celesteville, as well as clips of the show. The online fun doesn’t stop there as fans can also access 23 different colouring pages and printable stickers, and download their very own customized adventure storybook.

YTV will be participating in Toronto’s 106th annual Santa Claus Parade – the longest running children’s parade in the world. Fans won’t want to miss the Babar and the Adventures of Badou float on Sunday, November 21 at 12:30 p.m. ET. YTV will air a repeat broadcast of the parade on Sunday, December 5 at 12 p.m. ET/PT.

Consulting-Portal, a leading IT Service Management (ITSM) process design and implementation company, is announcing the launch of an online social media community for Service Management practitioners.

This free online community provides a forum for ITSM practitioners to interact, share, collaborate and to expand their knowledge of IT Service Management processes and frameworks such as ITIL®, COBIT®, and ISO20000®. It also allows for members to connect at a personal level through private messaging, public posting and the ability to “friend” other members.

“The goal of the community was to create an online dialogue covering all aspects of IT Service Management. We are passionate about the practice of Service Management and we hope that this community will allow others to share our passion…we believe that social media and ITSM is a natural fit,” says David Mainville – CEO and co-founder of Consulting-Portal.

The community contains a number of resources including a blog, articles, podcasts, webinars and a variety of user forums on topics such as ITIL® training, ITSM Governance, Service Management tools, Process Design techniques, Configuration Management & the CMDB and much more.

Mood Media Corporation has expanded its casual games portfolio through agreement with iWin. Shoppers at popular retailers across the country can now sample a casual game such as Jewel Quest before they purchase it via an interactive display.

Lorne Abony, CEO and Chairman of Mood Media Corporation says, “we continue to expand our product range through partnerships with leading producers and distributors of popular PC based casual games. Mood Media has a large retail footprint and is dedicated to ensuring good media entertainment products are available for shoppers to enjoy”.

CEO at iWin, CJ Wolf comments, “seeing Jewel Quest for sale on the shelves at leading non-traditional retail chains is an exciting new move for iWin. We are happy to work with Mood Media to ensure popular games reach our target audience of females aged 35-50”.

Ubisoft® has announced that Assassin’s Creed® Brotherhood for the Xbox 360®  and the PlayStation®3 has gone “gold” and will be available at retailers in North America on November 16, 2010.

The critically acclaimed single-player experience of Assassin’s Creed is back and better than ever as Ezio returns for an epic struggle against the powerful Templar Order. Offering more single-player gameplay than Assassin’s Creed II, players now play as a legendary Master Assassin, and journey into Italy’s greatest city, Rome, center of power, greed and corruption to strike at the heart of the enemy.

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For the first time in the franchise’s history, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood offers never-before-seen multiplayer, awarded “Best Multiplayer Game,” by the prestigious Game Critics organization, at e3 2010. Players will have the opportunity to experience things from the Templar’s perspective when they step into the shoes of an elite Abstergo agent, hand-picked to undergo training in order to better fight the Assassins. Players can choose from a wide range of unique characters, each with their own signature weapons and assassination techniques, and match their skills against other players from all over the world in different game modes. The multiplayer suite coupled with an extensive single-player campaign makes Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood not only the best Assassin’s experience to date, but the best value as well.

“Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood is the largest and most ambitious title we have ever created,” said Sebastien Puel, executive producer at Ubisoft Montreal. “Not only will players get a fully robust and upgraded single-player game that is larger than Assassin’s Creed II, but an award winning multiplayer component as well. Brotherhood is the biggest Assassin’s experience we have ever created.”

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood is a worldwide production effort led by the Ubisoft Montreal Studio in collaboration with Ubisoft studios in Singapore, Bucharest, Québec City and Annecy. Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood is rated “M” for Mature by the ESRB and will be available at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $59.99.