Village Gamer

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.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kJVRr1_3-g]

Canada – Ubisoft Montreal has launched the first in-game trailer for Avatar The Game. The trailer shows off the game environment and some very interesting creatures, along with several explosive combat scenes between human forces and the native Na’vi people on the planet of Pandora. I can tell just by watching the trailer that this game is going to popular in the Village Gamer home office what with its big guns, big flying machines and fighting creatures. Pandora looks to be a place of incredible scenery full of imagination and wonders to be discovered – all while trying to stay alive (sometimes quite a challenge for me) and battling for planet supremacy. We will most definitely be looking forward to this game’s release on November 24th.

Ubisoft has also released more PC Games from their back-catalogue on GoG.com. The newly re-released titles include Heroes of Might and Magic® 2 Gold Edition, Heroes of Might and Magic® 3 Complete Edition, The Settlers® 2 Gold Edition and the stunning Might and Magic® 6 Limited Edition, which includes parts 1–6 of the landmark RPG series. All games are totally DRM-free, fully compatible with XP and Vista and accompanied by mounds of extras, including soundtracks, wallpapers, forum avatars, maps and much more.

SARF Studios has opened their studio’s new web site, which introduces their flagship product, an innovative, social virtual world named Planet SARF. Realizing the momentum, trends, and potentials related to environmental sustainability, Planet SARF has focused on creating an amusing and educational virtual experience based on the principles of Edutainment, educational entertainment as an effective learning tool.

Using highly detailed 3D imagery, players will be immersed in an open-ended, virtual adventure as they explore the beauty and mysticism of the Yucatan rainforests, Mexico. Players can choose a customizable character, which will be their Avatar in a virtual adventure that includes water rafting, diving, exploring, mini games, and learning.

Planet SARF will educate players about the flora and fauna as the players advance throughout the game. Informative pop-up windows will show specifics regarding the animal, plant, or geological characteristics encountered in the game. Research has found that not only are virtual worlds effective learning tools for children, they are also valuable opportunities for children to practice social and life skills.

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.

Edmonton – BioWare™ has revealed new plot points in the epic sci-fi fantasy Mass Effect 2™. Once again stepping into the role of the heroic Commander Shepard, gamers will command their crew on a suicide mission in space. Players will strategically select each member of their squad, all of whom have a direct impact on the direction of the story and the squad’s chances for survival. Players will select from a motley cast of characters including the newly revealed ‘Grunt’ – a blood-hungry Krogan.

Once players have assembled their squad from amongst the galaxy’s most powerful mystics, geniuses, and convicts, they must lead them on a suicide mission to discover why humans are vanishing from the galaxy. The success of the mission hinges on the squad recruited and their loyalty to the mission. Shepard’s future depends on it.

“The Mass Effect trilogy is an epic, action-filled saga with consequences that will carry through from chapter to chapter,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, Group General Manager and Senior Vice President, Electronic Arts, and co-founder and CEO, BioWare. “Building out a diverse and loyal party is one of the features that makes the Mass Effect series quite unique. The characters Commander Shepard recruits are not only pivotal to the storyline, but essential to the player’s overall success.”

The new character revealed in the Mass Effect 2 squad is ‘Grunt’. A violent and unpredictable Krogan fighter, Grunt has never faced true defeat. His unsurpassed physical strength makes him a strong asset to Commander Shepard’s team, if he can be tamed, and if he can be trusted.

Grunt is the second party member to be revealed in the Mass Effect 2 universe following ‘Thane’ a deadly assassin who was first introduced in June. More details about the rest of Shepard’s crew will be revealed in the coming months.

The Mass Effect trilogy is a masterful science fiction adventure set in a vast universe filled with dangerous alien life and mysterious uncharted planets. Mass Effect 2 is scheduled for release on Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system and PC in early 2010. For daily updates, follow the Mass Effect 2 crew on Twitter.

Developer: Genius Factor Games, Vancouver BC
Publisher: iTunes
Platform: iPhone and iTouch
Genre: Mobile
ESRB: Everyone
Price: $1.99 usd

Gravity Well is a level puzzler which requires the player to maneuver a little blue ball from one end of a maze to the other. There is an optional tutorial available, and game options permit the player to adjust the volume for both effects and music. The soundtrack, created by The Humble Brothers is not at all irritating and is of higher production quality than many of the mobile games out on the market. The soundtrack is also available for purchase in the iTunes store.

If you have to quit the game for whatever reason, you can select the level you were at or any other level which you’ve completed when you restart the game. Gravity Well also allows the player to put the game on pause if needed.

Gravity Well’s developers have a distinct knack for making the player think and find creative ways to control the ball as it moves through each maze. The ball moves when the player touches the screen, warping the grid a creating a “gravity well” which pulls the ball. It’s not always as easy as it seems to get the ball through the grid, because the game’s gravity force is not affected by the tilt of the iTouch or iPhone.

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Montreal – EA Montreal has announced that it is collaborating with lifestyle brands tokidoki, Upper Playground and i am 8-bit to create exclusive in-game car designs and artwork for Need for Speed™ NITRO on the Wii™. Each brand has created custom skins for a wide variety of vehicles including the Lamborghini Gallardo, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger R/T, Volkswagen Type 2 and Subaru Impreza WRX. They have also provided over 140 stylistic brushes that players can use to paint and personalize their ride. The cars in Need for Speed NITRO have style, personality and edge unlike any racing game.

The tokidoki brand is one of today’s most popular lines of apparel, accessories, toys, skateboard decks and other merchandise. The brand is characterized by a colorful, high-energy artistic style, while the word tokidoki means “sometimes” in Japanese. The name represents the company’s world view around identity and destiny. tokidoki was founded by Simone Legno and his partners and started as a personal web site before it evolved into an internationally celebrated brand.

Upper Playground is a cutting-edge, San Francisco based brand that brings graffiti culture to all types of street wear such as t-shirts, hats and hoodies as well as housewares and wall art. The Upper Playground punk rock art style has defined it as one of today’s hottest brands among musical tastemakers and Hollywood trendsetters. Read the rest of this entry »

Montreal – Start 2010 with a bang! EA Montreal has announced that Army of Two™: The 40th Day will ship on January 12, 2010 in North America and January 8, 2010 in Europe. The sequel to the 2008 multi-platinum co-op shooter sees the return of the ultimate two-man private military team, Salem and Rios. Trapped in the middle of Shanghai as it falls under attack, the two must work as a team to survive relentless enemy assaults and escape the city collapsing around them. Gamers who pre-order* Army of Two: The 40th Day now will have exclusive access to the game’s all-new explosive multi-player mode, ‘Extraction,’ at launch. This mode will be unlocked for all other players one month after the game ships.

Army of Two: The 40th Day features a more robust and redesigned multiplayer experience with four unique multiplayer modes including ‘Extraction’. ‘Extraction’ pits a team of four players against a series of unique enemy waves as they move from point to point in the ruined city. Players must strategize as a unified team to combat the different forces of the 40th Day Initiative while trying to get out alive.

In Army of Two: The 40th Day, private military contractors, Salem and Rios must fight their way through Shanghai to survive a carefully orchestrated series of catastrophes that are dragging the massive city to the brink of ruin. Jonah, the mastermind behind the 40th Day Initiative, has amassed an army of skilled soldiers to level the city in his attempt to rebuild an empire according to his vision and ideals. Now, the Army of Two must fight their way through ravaged city districts as they try to beat the odds.

Army of Two: The 40th Day will be available for the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and the PSP® (PlayStation® Portable).

* Pre-order offer has restrictions. See www.eastore.com and participating retailer sites for details

Vancouver – In the midst of IUGO’s A.D.D. (Another Dumb Distraction) iPhone game of over 100 frantic and controversial mini games sitting in Apple’s review queue for almost 3 months, IUGO has decided to take down the Lite version of the game. “The idea, of course, was to have both apps launch around the same time” states Sarah Thomson, Director of Business Development for IUGO. “There is such a disparity in the release dates now that the Lite version holds no real purpose at this point.” IUGO has even gone on to suggest that they most likely will not release the Lite version again, even if and when the full version launches on the App Store.

So what is the fate of A.D.D.? “We’ve received 3 identical emails from Apple stating the game is taking an unusually long time to review and that they apologize. That’s all we know. It seems the game is neither rejected nor has it been approved,” says Sarah. She goes onto to explain their thoughts on the substantial delay, “Sure we’re frustrated and wish we’d hear either way. If the content is too hot then we’re happy to go back in and re-work it,” suggests Thomson.
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Toronto – Veil Entertainment and Spore Productions are pleased to announce the Open Beta of Rise & Ruin, an online, card-based, fantasy combat game ready to play through PC web browsers.

Rise & Ruin is an entirely new twist on the trading card game (TCG) genre. Players level up their own ideal avatar while assembling decks from an ever-growing pool of powerful attack, defense, magic, and specialty cards. Thrilling, cinematic 3D battles take place directly in a web browser allowing for fast and accessible game play.

“We’re excited to get the Open Beta launched,” says Geoffrey MacDougall, CEO of Veil Entertainment. “We’ve worked hard to build an experience that combines the best of our favourite genres to provide character-driven, fast-paced game play. The guys on our live team are also eager to start implementing the storyline and tournaments they’ve developed over the last several months.”

“Now that we’re in open beta the team can start to focus on polish, reacting to the player experience, and implementing new features, ” says Joe Wagner, R&R’s Community Manager. “It’s great to be live. Players can also join us every Friday at 7:30 EST for Friday Night Fights where organized chaos reigns.”

Rise & Ruin gives players the unrestrictive option to play for free, for as long as they wish, with opportunities to win additional cards through community events. Similar to other TCGs, players can purchase credits to acquire new cards and access additional perks and content within the game.

Rise & Ruin is produced through the financial support of Telefilm Canada, Administrator of The Canada New Media Fund, funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage, Government of Canada.

I am so pre-ordering this package!

Montreal – Ubisoft has announced that Assassin’s Creed® II Limited Edition: Master Assassin’s Edition will be on store shelves this November 17th. The Master’s Edition for PS3 and Xbox 360 has an MSRP of $89.99 and will include the following in a premium collectible tin:

*Ezio collectable statue (8.5 inches tall)
*Exclusive in-game map: Santa Maria Dei Frari – Limited Edition Exclusive
*Exclusive in-game map for Gamestop Pre-orders: Plazzo Medici
*The Art of Assassin’s Creed II hard-covered art book

Additional Bonus Disc which includes:

*Behind the scenes of Assassin’s Creed II
*Assassin’s Creed II soundtrack

…along with much more.