• Country Club membership has increased its numbers from 25 to now up to 100 members.
• A new Country Club Loyalty Bonus feature was added to Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 14. The more Country Club members that play consecutive days in a row the bigger the reward. Each day a streak average is calculated for each Country Club based on the amount of members (minimum of five members) in the club and each individual member’s login streak. There is a coin payout based on Streak Average length, so club members must work together in order to claim the best coin rewards.
• Country Club Tour was created to allow players of like skill and rank to be matched up against other Country Clubs. Based on weekly Country Club ranks, players will be eligible to participate in one of five different events each week. Monthly and overall rankings are tracked and each month an overall individual player champion and Country Club champion is crowned.
• Players will now see Country Club statistics streamed directly into the game. While playing a round of golf when connected online, banners will populate in between holes updating players about their Country Club. Information about individual weekly and lifetime statistics earned for the Club, comparisons versus Club members and rankings versus other Country Clubs will now all be surfaced to gamers.
• Every Connected Tournament is now a Club Tournament featuring Club versus Club leaderboards. Gamers will not only be competing individually to win a live tournament, but now every tournament will also crown a Country Club champion.
• The all new Club Chat feature will allow Club members to chat together from anywhere in the game. Fans can now speak with fellow Club members no matter where they are located in the game. Tournament chats have also been added so players can join a chat with other gamers playing in the same Connected Tournament – presenting a great way to meet new friends and increase Country Club membership.
• In customized Club tournaments, fans will now be able to see up to 24 ball arcs when playing in the tournament giving users the sense of being on the course with a host of other players. Also, gamers do not have to sit in a lobby and wait until everyone is ready to begin play – just load into the tournament and start swinging away. An all new spectator mode was added where players are placed into a spectator mode after completing each hole and can watch other golfer arcs play through or move onto the next hole at any point. While in spectator mode, players will have the ability to toggle across a variety of different camera angles on the hole.

The Tiger Woods PGA TOUR franchise is developed in Orlando, Florida by EA Tiburon. For more information and exclusive updates regarding Tiger Woods PGA TOUR, become a fan of the Tiger Woods PGA TOUR Facebook page at or follow on Twitter at @EASPORTSGOLF.

EA SPORTS is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling video game franchises, award-winning interactive technology, fan programs and cross-platform digital experiences.  EA SPORTS creates connected experiences that ignite the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports videogames, including Madden NFL football, FIFA Soccer, NHL® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, NCAA® Football, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® golf, SSX™ and Fight Night boxing.

Today we are excited to announce that the global launch date of the Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Free-to-Play option will be November 15, 2012. This release will be simultaneous across all of the territories and countries where The Old Republic™ is available. The new Free-to-Play option allows gamers to experience all of the class storylines through to Level 50, the current level cap, at no charge and introduces the new Cartel Market!

Any paying subscribers at the launch of the Free-to-Play option on November 15^th will be granted all of the Complimentary Cartel Coins currently listed on the Cartel Coin Ledger page, plus a one-time grant of 250 Complimentary Cartel Coins!
Additionally, the Rewards Program has been extended! All former subscribers who reactivate their subscription by the new date of December 20, 2012 at 11:59am CDT will be granted Complimentary Cartel Coins for their prior paid months up to November 15, 2012.

For more information on all of the rewards you could potentially receive and the Free-to-Play option visit www.StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com/FREE.
As always, be sure to check StarWarsTheOldRepublic.com for latest updates and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

8^th November 2012 – Focus Multimedia, the UK’s leading publisher of impulse price PC games, has today unveiled the packaging for Angry Birds Star Wars PC, arriving in stores for 16^th November 2012.

“Angry Birds Star Wars is an awesome game,” said Alan Wild, Brand Manager for Focus Multimedia. “With stunning visuals and gameplay, Angry Birds Star Wars is a truly iconic release and definitely one not to be missed.”

The highly acclaimed Angry Birds Star Wars is hotly tipped to be a chart success. Topping the charts this Christmas would mean a second successive Christmas No.1 for Rovio and Focus on PC. The original Angry Birds game was delivered straight to the number one position at launch last Christmas.

Angry Birds Star Wars PC is available to order now, priced at £10.20 SRP, and will be in stores from 16^th November. Available from all good retailers, supermarkets, www.focusmm.co.uk and online stores.
About Rovio
Rovio is an industry-changing entertainment media company based in Finland, and the creator of the globally successful Angry Birds franchise. Angry Birds, a casual puzzle game for touchscreen smartphones, became an international phenomenon within a year of release, and is now the number one paid app of all time. Following this success in mobile gaming, Angry Birds has expanded rapidly in entertainment, publishing, and licensing to become a beloved international brand. For more information, check out www.rovio.com

 EDGE: “A handsome puzzle adventure game for iOS and Android”

POCKETGAMER: “the game promises to bring a “little bit of cool” to the mobile market”

 illo – birth of the cool is an action puzzle adventure designed for Apple iOS and Android handhelds/tablets and now PC. Players can touch, feel, move and throw illo across luxurious dream-scape environments, avoiding dangerous obstacles and some very bizarre creatures indeed. illo – birth of the cool promises to be a game unlike any other. With its Kickstarter funding campaign entering its second week, work has already begun on the game itself.

Massi Di Monda, CEO of Raylight said, “We’ve begun initial pre-development on illo. We’ve released a new trailer on the opening sequences of the game, showing illo within his little egg being carried by the wind into a scary and abstract world. We want to illustrate the high quality in graphics style to match Luca Eliani’s vision.”

The illo project is also being followed exclusively by EDGE magazine in a developer diary on the project providing insights on the entire project with Kickstarter, here’s Part 1: http://www.edge-online.com/features/illo-birth-of-the-cool-kickstarter-developer-diary-part-one-getting-started/ and Part 2: http://www.edge-online.com/features/illo-birth-of-the-cool-kickstarter-developer-diary-part-two-leaping-through-flaming-hoops/#null

Massi concludes; “illo is a brave and exciting game and it’ll be unlike anything anyone has ever seen before.”

To see more of the game visit the illo – birth of the cool Kickstarter page now: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/raylight/illo-birth-of-the-cool

 
Note to Editors: EDGE magazine will be following the progress of illo on Kickstarter with an Exclusive Developer Diary for the duration of the Kickstarter funding campaign. Raylight will detail their experiences and insights into illo’s Kickstarter campaign to help other developers with their crowd funding projects.

To find out more, visit http://www.edge-online.com/?s=illo

Official website:              www.illothecool.com

Facebook page:                www.facebook.com/illothecool

Twitter:                                @illothecool

· Improved browser filter options added

· Quick Match has been added (for joining the best server)

· The Liberty map has been added to the demo

· The demo now includes two modes: Capture the Resources (Canyon) and Thrust (Liberty)

· Additional protection has been provided to re-spawning players, including 1) When in the main base, re-spawning players get 15 seconds of “god mode”; 2) There is no protection when main base is final target for opposing team in Thrust

· Weapon-based vehicles are more balanced

· The harpoon, crossbow and rocket truck artillery have been balanced

· Minimum votes for kicking have been adjusted

· “Spectate” button has been moved

· Selected weapon highlighting has been fixed

· Performance optimisations

The online multiplayer first-person shooter Ravaged, featuring eight maps and more than 40 vehicles and weapons, is now available for £15.99 on Windows PC from Steam.

Ravaged is rated “M” for mature due to the violent subject matter, and is not intended for younger audiences.

The Multiplayer Expansion DLC offers 4 all new gameplay modes (Deathmatch/ Team Deathmatch/ Distance King/ Team Distance King) across six maps (Mountain Pass, Quarry, Graves, OpernPlatz, Church and Kreuzberg) and will support two to eight players via Xbox LIVE® for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®Network.

“Rebellion is very excited to release this multiplayer support for console” said Jason Kingsley, CEO of Rebellion. “We have always believed in supporting and building our games’ communities as best we can. This is in part to say thank you to dedicated gamers for buying our games, and also to say keep an eye out for our next big Sniper Elite announcement”.

In addition to the Multiplayer expansion DLC, a brand new weapons pack DLC is also available from today for use online and offline. Featuring the US M1 Carbine with its improved rate of fire and high ammo count; German MP44 that boasts a high rate of fire and further effective range and finally the high powered, British made Webley Mk6 Revolver with its very distinctive feel. All three weapons are available as a single download priced at 240 Microsoft points (£3.19).

Sniper Elite V2 is a third-person tactical shooter set in the dying days of WWII. Published by 505 Games and developed by Rebellion for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC, the game has been rated PEGI 16/15 BBFC

For more information about Sniper Elite V2 follow the game on Twitter http://twitter.com/sniperelitev2 and check out the official game web site and forums at http://www.sniperelitev2.com/. For budding snipers interested in joining the community go to http://www.facebook.com/sniperelitev2.

Call of Duty® Black Ops 2 Live is set to be the ultimate destination for any Call of Duty® fan this weekend and to make it an even more mouth watering experience, Activision has teamed up with London’s most famous burger restaurant, MEATliquor, to create a Zombie Diner as part of the experience .

MEATliquor’s famous patties will be served up to the thousands of Call of Duty® fans who will be able to play the game at Black Ops 2 Live before official release at the epic four-day launch from 10th – 12th November.

MEATliquor staples, the Dead Hippie burger and Deep-Fried Pickles, as well as a selection of gruesome dishes created exclusively for the Zombie Diner, including Monkey Wings and a legendary 12-Guage Chilli-Dog, will be available this weekend!
Yianni Papoutsis from MEATliquor added: “I’ve been a gamer all my life so it’s a dream come true for us to partner up with Black Ops 2. It’s meat and liquor, but with zombies and guns. What’s not to like?”

Black Ops 2 Live will be a dedicated e-sports experience giving fans the chance to play the game before its release at midnight on November 13th. Turning the traditional sports bar experience on its head, Black Ops 2 Live will enable thousands of fans the opportunity of playing new content for the very first time, bringing to life some of the key features of Multiplayer and e-sports.

To sign up for an exclusive session and for more information, please visit www.blackops2live.co.uk and join in the conversation on twitter using the hashtag #blackops2live. Guaranteed entry will only apply to those that have a ticket confirmation.

8th November 2012 – Sticky situations abound in Mario’s return to a papercraft world, but for every puzzle blocking his path and every adversary that tries to oppose him, there’s always a sticker to solve the problem. The Paper Mario series is making its handheld debut in Paper Mario: Sticker Star for Nintendo 3DS across Europe from 7th December.

The adventure begins on the eve of the annual Sticker Fest in the town of Decalburg in the Mushroom Kingdom, where bothersome Bowser has caused the wish-granting Sticker Comet to explode. As a result, six Royal Stickers are scattered across the land and it’s up to Mario to set off on an action-packed adventure to try and recover them. Aided by his crown-shaped ally Kersti, Mario must travel to the far corners of the World Map and explore dozens of wildly different courses in his search for Comet Pieces and the Royal Stickers. Along the way he will lend a hand to many friends and battle with enemies big and small, peeling off stickers to boost his potential wherever he goes.

Stickers are all-important in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, both for solving puzzles and emerging victoriously from turn-based battles. During battle, every attack Mario performs requires the use of stickers, which become more effective at flattening his foes when the A Button is pressed with the right timing. Battle Stickers allow for all sorts of offensive and defensive moves, such as jumps, hammer attacks or POW Block hits. When Mario comes across mysterious 3D objects during his adventure he can turn them into Thing Stickers which can then be summoned into battle for a powerful – and often hilarious – effect. Players can also spend coins to activate the Battle Spinner and attempt to line up three icons correctly for a special bonus as well as the ability to use up to three stickers in a single turn. Using stickers creatively or in different combinations can have a major effect on how the battle plays out.

With Kersti’s help, Mario is also able to ‘Paperise’ the world around him – turning the 3D environment into a flat paper image to which, in certain places, stickers may be applied for a variety of helpful effects. Apart from Battle and Thing Stickers, Mario can also find and apply Scrap Stickers that permanently alter the environment by filling up a void, often allowing access to previously unreachable areas.

With most of Mario’s world made out of paper objects and cardboard scenery, the game’s 3D graphics provide a level of depth that reminds of looking into a diorama. Observation is the key to success, as while many stickers hide in plain sight waiting to be peeled off and put into the Sticker Album, others are cleverly hidden off the beaten path. Careful exploration can lead to the discovery of a powerful new object, a hidden doorway or an alternative exit to the course.

Featuring a jazzy, upbeat soundtrack and an all-star cast of characters from the Mario universe brought to life with the humorous writing the Paper Mario series is known for, the game is set to delight players from start to finish with surprising events at every turn.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star delivers an engaging adventure you will have a hard time peeling yourself away from when it launches across Europe on 7th December 2012, exclusively on Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL, both at retail or as a download from Nintendo eShop.

This year, 21 teams consisting of a total of 170 members submitted pitch documents as entries to the contest, based on the theme ‘Mendelian Inheritance: genetics and genomics’, which is supported by the Wellcome Trust. Candidates were encouraged to treat the theme creatively, spanning concepts such as variation, mutation and other characteristics of the human genome. The entries were scrutinised by a panel of judges from Epic Games, the Wellcome Trust, and Stephen Gaffney, CEO of Fireteam.

The judges were looking for game plans that demonstrated an inspirational use of the competition theme, and which were ambitious while staying mindful of the contest deadlines and demands. Artwork with eye-catching visuals were commended.

“We were extremely pleased with the high quality of all the submissions this year, with entries coming from teams across Europe,” commented Mike Gamble, European Territory Manager at Epic Games and a member of the judging panel.

“We were looking for pitches which used the Mendelian Inheritance theme to develop clever and original ideas which would also be realisable in the time available. Teams scored highly when they demonstrated that they were comfortable with the subject matter and could develop their idea into an engaging game.”

Dr Daniel Glaser, Head of Special Projects at the Wellcome Trust, said, “We’re delighted to see such a display of imagination inspired by the theme. We look forward to seeing how those shortlisted evolve their concepts over the course of the competition. We want to inspire a new generation of games developers as part of our wider commitment to using games and gaming culture as a means of engaging people with science.”

The 12 shortlisted candidates will now use Epic’s Unreal Development Kit (UDK), the free edition of Unreal Engine 3 (UE3), to create new PC games demos based on their pitches, with the ultimate goal of winning a commercial Unreal Engine 4 licence for PC digital distribution.

MSUL 2013 – the shortlisted teams

Name

University

Game title

Dead Shark Triplepunch

Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden

Loch Ness

DN-ARK

Université Montpellier 3 Paul Valéry, France

DN-ARK

Team Fat Totem

University of Abertay, Dundee

Fat Totem

Frobot Studios

Staffordshire University

UGENE

Legendary Muffin

Anglia Ruskin University

Regen

Ludorum Studios

Staffordshire University

Psych

Team Polymorph

Staffordshire University

Polymorph

Stafford Uni Freshers

Staffordshire University

(untitled)

Static Games

Bournemouth University

Mendel’s Farm

Team Catalyst

Northumbria & Newcastle University

Phenotype

Team Diploid

University of Abertay, Dundee

Team Diploid

Team Summit

University Of Abertay, Dundee

Beings

The teams will come to London at the beginning of December to present work-in-progress on their games to the judging panel. On this day, four teams will be selected to go through to the competition’s grand final at the Gadget Show Live exhibition in April 2013.

At the Gadget Show Live finalists will work on their games live on the show floor in front of the MSUL judges and the public visitors to the show. On the final day of the exhibition, the overall winning team will be announced, and awarded with a commercial Unreal Engine 4 licence for PC digital distribution.

MSUL 2013 is also supported by Staffordshire University, Epic’s educational partner for the programme, and UKIE, the games industry trade association.

You can follow the progress of this year’s MSUL on its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MakeSomethingUnreal.

Over the past decade Epic’s Make Something Unreal game development competitions have awarded millions of dollars’ worth of cash and prizes, enabled the release of numerous commercially successful computer and video games and jumpstarted many careers.

About Unreal Engine
Developed by Epic Games, the award-winning Unreal Engine is known for its cutting-edge graphics, best-of-breed toolset and scalability across major platforms. Operating on nine platforms, including PC, consoles and mobile devices, Unreal Engine 3 is designed to accelerate developers’ productivity for creating high-quality games, applications, training simulations, 3D visualizations, digital films and animated entertainment. Powering hundreds of games and integrated with two dozen leading middleware technologies, Unreal Engine 3 holds more than 20 technology awards, including seven Game Developer Front Line Awards and five Develop Industry Excellence Awards. The Unreal Engine also holds a seat in the Front Line Awards Hall of Fame. Epic’s Unreal Engine 4 offers unprecedented workflow improvements and graphical capabilities that provide unparalleled accessibility for developers building the next generation of games and applications. For additional information, please visit www.unrealengine.com.

About Epic Games
Established in 1991, Epic Games, Inc. develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company is responsible for the bestselling “Unreal” series of games, the blockbuster “Gears of War” franchise and the groundbreaking “Infinity Blade” line of mobile games. Epic’s award-winning Unreal Engine technology has won dozens of awards and is available for licensing. Epic is continually recruiting top talent for its studios located in North Carolina, Washington, Utah, Maryland, Poland, Korea and Japan. Additional information about Epic can be obtained at www.epicgames.com.

Michalovce, Slovakia, 8th November 2012

Cypronia, a video games developer and digital publisher, is pleased to confirm that its new DSiWare game, Cake Ninja 2, arrives on the DSi Shop and 3DS eShop in Europe today, Thursday 8th November.

Cake Ninja 2 is the sequel to the popular casual game, Cake Ninja, which has been one of the top 20 best-selling Nintendo DSiWare games in North America. This release includes improved features with new modes, four single-player and four multiplayer, unlockable achievements and online rankings.

There will also be a high-score competition (Europe only) with 25,000 Nintendo DSi Points to be won in each single-player game mode. The top three players in each mode will receive the following prizes:

1st place – 15,000 Nintendo DSi Points
2nd place – 7,500 Nintendo DSi Points
3rd place – 2,500 Nintendo DSi Points

With a total of 100,000 Nintendo DSi Points up for grabs, the winners will have the opportunity to join the ranks with the top players from the original Cake Ninja competition: winner Adrian Schwenkschuster from Germany and runner-up Michal Urban from Czech Republic. The contests will end on 31st January 2013.

More information on the Cake Ninja 2 contest can be found at the following web page:

http://cypronia.com/cakeninja/

Please follow us at

http://www.facebook.com/cypronia

http://twitter.com/cypronia

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