Village Gamer

All-New Cops and Robbers Mode Highlights Online Multiplayer Experience

Vancouver’s Black Box, a studio of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) today unveiled the online modes in Need for Speed™ Undercover, including the all-new multiplayer mode, Cops and Robbers. This visceral team-based mode pits two teams of four players against each other in the ultimate battle-royale.

Robbers must pick up the package and take it to the drop-off point while the cops attempt to prevent the delivery. Each game consists of two rounds giving the players the chance to play as cops and robbers. Up to eight players will also be able to prove their driving prowess in sprint and circuit multiplayer race modes.*

“High-intensity police chases are a signature component of Undercover and this extends to the multiplayer experience as well,” said Bill Harrison, Executive Producer at Black Box. “The cops and robbers mode will thrust players into adrenaline-pumping battles as they utilize the Heroic Driving Engine to deliver or prevent the delivery of the package to the safe house.”

Need for Speed Undercover also features a diverse soundtrack of over 30 songs from artists like The Prodigy, Tricky and Justice. To hear samplings of each song please visit www.ea.com/eatrax/.

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KOEI, recognized worldwide as the premier brand of strategy and action games, today announced that Prey the Stars™ for Nintendo DS is available at retailers throughout North America.

Prey the Stars serves up an incredible world where nearly anything from food to whole buildings can be devoured. Players must bite, lick, and suck their way to victory as one of the game’s four insatiable and customizable creatures: GABU, BARI, CHUCHU, and PERO. The more the characters eat, the bigger and more voracious their stomachs become. It’s an engaging and addictive game for anyone with a taste for fun!

About Prey the Stars
Prey the Stars lets players indulge without the guilt as they try to eat everything in sight. Each of the games colorfully-themed stages are cleared by devouring as much as possible before time runs out. The player with the highest score at the end of the stage is the winner. Each player scores points by eating and by sucking in “spirits” which are hidden in some objects. The bigger the item, the higher the score!

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The US Attorney’s office for California, Eastern District today announced the official sentencing of Gregory C. King, who had pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of transmitting code to cause damage to a protected computer. The charges were laid against Mr. King after four years of investigation in regards to his repeated attacks against KillaNet Technology Ltd.’s web servers as well as for a shorter attack period against the web site known as Castle Cops. KillaNet Technology Ltd. is the parent company of Village Gamer and Digital Storm LAN. Along with Mr. King’s two year Federal prison sentence is a restitution order of over $69 000.00 USD for damages. Mr. King does have a 60 day period in which to address the restitution order with the Court, after which time it will become an official order. The Assistant US Attorney in charge of the case, Matthew Segal, thanked KillaNet’s staff for the amount of work which was done in providing evidence and documentation to support the case.

Everyone here at KillaNet Technology is very grateful to those who worked so hard to see this case through – the FBI agents in Sacramento, and of course Matthew Segal and his team in the US Attorney’s office, also in Sacramento.

Official Press Release (PDF)

The Rock Out For a Cause first ever Rock Band Tournament takes the stage today at Electronic Arts’ Burnaby Campus. According to Event Chair Amir Novin, a full house of competitors is expected. This means that approximately 400 Rock Band hopefuls will be competing for the coveted Best Rock Band In B.C. Trophy (and $5 000.00 worth of other prizes).

Teams will play three songs each, in order to build up their base score, which will be followed by head-to-head competition between the groups. Each group will choose a song for the round, the winners of each round advancing until the finalists are decided. There are four different categories: Competitive, Social, Corporate and Under 18. Competitors in the first three categories must be 19 years of age and up, as the Championship Finals will be taking place on November 6 at The Roxy nightclub on Granville Street.

Each team has paid a $100.00 entry fee to compete, and proceeds from this event will be going to support the BC & Yukon Make A Wish Foundation Chapter. Tournament prizes include:

• 2 tickets for an all inclusive 7 day trip to your choice of Cuba, Dominican Republic or Mexico from Flight Center.
• Tom Lee’s complete Rock Band Ensemble (Mic & stand vocal practice amp, Electric Guitar & Amp, Electric Bass Guitar & Amp and Drum Kit.)
• 2 tickets to a Canucks game, night at the Comfort Inn, dinner at Doolins, a Gift Certificate and VIP night at the Roxy after the Game. (If you’re lucky, a few of the Canucks will party with you).
• State of the art Steve Nash Health Club 3 month membership passes including personal training and other Steve Nash Sports Club merchandise.

Village Gamer will be attending this Tournament, so watch for a full Preliminaries report later this weekend.

Creative forces behind the highest rated strategy game* of all time reveal new private funding investment

Vancouver – Smoking Gun Interactive Inc., an independent premier video game studio announced today that it has recently finalized a multi-year, multi-million dollar financing agreement with private investors to expand the studio and the development of an as-of-yet undisclosed new property.

“This injection of private capital allows us to continue to control our own destiny, and deliver on our vision of taking interactive entertainment in new directions, and redefining what tomorrow’s games can be”, said John Johnson CEO and Creative Director of Smoking Gun Interactive, “We’ve expanded our core team with some exceptional talent, and with this financial expansion we’re now looking forward to welcoming new faces to our team and new partners to our business, as we become a leading force in independent games development”.
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Bangkok/Vancouver – Sanuk Games, a leading independent game studio in Southeast Asia, announced today the opening of a new studio in Vancouver. Ali Kojori, a seasoned game executive and entrepreneur, is appointed as managing director.

Ali started his career in the entertainment industry in 1994 as an FX/Character Animator/Lead Animator with Morning Glory Images and with Mainframe Entertainment on various television shows. In 1999, Ali moved into the video game industry at Electronic Arts, starting out in research and development on the upcoming PS2 and Xbox game consoles, and switching shortly thereafter to Technical Art Director role for a number of AAA titles including Def Jam: Vendetta (AKI), NBA Street, SSX, SSX Tricky, Triple Play Baseball 2001 and Fight Night 2004 (NuFX Chicago). He also served as Animation Director on FIFA 2003.

In April of 2004, Ali founded NextGen Entertainment, a new game production company. NextGen secured a contract with their first client Ubisoft to complete their Racing/Combat title 187 Ride or Die on which he served as Producer. In June 2005, Ali was assigned as a Senior Producer on a PS2, XBOX, PC title Heroes of Pacific, Published by UbiSoft / CodeMasters and Developed by IR Gurus Interactive in Australia. The game was released in October 2005.
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Vancouver – Animation Brewery Productions is proud to announce the debut of Gross National Product!, a series of animated political satires featuring the talents of the legendary comedy duo Double Exposure. These hilarious animated shorts will poke fun at current events with the celebrated wit of Double Exposure’s Bob Robertson and Linda Cullen.

The first episode, which takes aim at the federal election’s upcoming Leaders’ Debate, debuts today online at the official GNP site. Episodes will also be posted on Animation Brewery.

Double Exposure Brings Two Decades of Comedy Experience

Multi-talented comedians Bob Robertson and Linda Cullen began working together as Double Exposure on CBC Radio 21 years ago, then toured their shows across the country throughout the 1990s, and eventually found a home on television on both CBC TV and CTV. The award-winning Vancouver duo will write the scripts and perform the voices for Gross National Product!

You can also keep up to date and find some behind-the-scenes info at the GNP Blog

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Oct. 1, 2008 – Hothead Games is pleased to announce that the anxiously-awaited Episode Two in its well-received Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness game series has reached Gold Master status for the Windows®, Mac® and Linux® versions. In recognition of this momentous milestone, Hothead has further announced that Episode Two will be priced at $14.95 for download this fall via the Greenhouse digital distribution service and other popular digital distribution systems or 1200 Microsoft points on Xbox LIVE® Arcade. The PLAYSTATION®Network version of Episode Two is also expected for release shortly thereafter with similar pricing.

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Autodesk M&E Events are presenting their Dream, Dare Deliver seminar on November 4th at the ScotiaBank Theatre on Burrard Street. Register for this event and learn all about the versatility of the Autodesk family of creative design products. The first portion of the seminar will cover 3ds Max, Mudbox and MotionBuilder. The second portion of the seminar will cover Toxik, MotionBuilder and Maya. Following the seminars, there will be an informational session regarding product subscriptions and then a question and answer period. A product raffle and reception will round out the afternoon.

Press Release: Vancouver, BC – On a day when Canada’s new media community is celebrating its inaugural National Digital Media Day, New Media BC (NMBC), the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), Bell and Wavefront today announced a new partnership that will create opportunities for British Columbia’s (BC’s) digital media companies to play a key role in the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad’s suite of digital programs, known as CODE (Cultural Olympiad Digital Edition).

“New Media BC is delighted to be a key member of this partnership, which represents a great opportunity for BC digital media companies to showcase their outstanding creativity and talent and to be part of the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad,” said Kenton Low, president, New Media BC.

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