Bruce Willis is a targeted man in the futuristic thriller Surrogates, released to DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack 3 March 2010!

FBI Agent Tom Greer, played by action star BRUCE WILLIS, risks it all in pursuit of a killer loose in a world where everyone lives their day-to-day lives vicariously through their surrogate robots. Don’t miss this action-packed science fiction thriller, SURROGATES, released to DVD and in the Blu-ray and DVD Combo Pack, 3 March 2010.  

SURROGATES is set in the futuristic world of 2017, where people live out their lives from home through the use of life-like remote controlled physically perfect replica’s of themselves. In this strange and isolating world, it has meant the creation of a life without fear, pain or crime. But the first murder in years has now shaken the safety of this world to the core.  

FBI agent Tom Geer is assigned to the investigation, and given the victim Jarod Canter is the son of Dr Lionel Canter (JAMES CROMWELL), the inventor of surrogates, suspicions of the motive are mounting. But what is even more troubling for Greer, is that Canter’s unexplainable death occurred alongside the murder of several police officers.

Greer and his partner Jennifer (RADHA MITCHELL) are soon led in their investigation to an organisation known as The Dreads; a group devoted to the destruction of surrogates, and their leader The Prophet (VING RHAMES). But while chasing a suspect, Greer is hurt by the same device that killed Canter known as an O.D. (Overload Device). Discovered by his wife in his home, Greer is lucky to survive but his surrogate is permanently damaged.

Greer must now continue the investigation without the use of his surrogate, a strange and unsettling experience after years of shelter from the outside world.

Soon after, the investigation takes another twist with the discovery that the O.D. was originally designed by the military. But with the weapon still out there, the path to truth becomes more complex and dangerous for Greer as he is lead back towards Dr Canter in his pursuit of the truth.

With the lives of all users of surrogates dangerously at stake, Greer uncovers a shocking conspiracy that will have you on the edge of your seat right up to the final climax.

With a brilliant hard-edged performance by BRUCE WILLIS, and in tune with the classic science fiction genre established by Philip K. Dick with Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, SURROGATES is an action packed DVD not to be missed this summer.  

In addition to director commentary, SURROGATES also includes the spectacular, special music video, ‘I Will Not Bow’, by American rock band Breaking Benjamin. 

Don’t miss your chance to own SURROGATES – available on DVD and in the Combo Pack*, 3 March 2010 – undoubtedly a classic science fiction thriller to collect!

 * Combo pack contains a Blu-ray Disc plus a DVD copy of the film in a single package.

Available to own: 3 March 2010

Rated: M

Running time:  85 Minutes (DVD)

88 Minutes (Blu-ray)

UP – Ten Is the Magic Number

UP Available on Disney Blu-ray and DVD January 13 2010!

For their tenth computer-animated feature release since the company’s inception, Pixar literally goes sky high with the comedy action-adventure Up, about 78-year-old retired balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen, who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America.  But Carl discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip:  an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell.

Just as Carl’s journey takes him to unexpected and magnificent places, Pixar Animation Studios has been taken to places well beyond its creators’ imaginings…and it all began with the release of the first full-length computer-animated feature in 1995, Toy Story.

Nine movies later, Pixar continues to create films that mark ‘firsts’:  Up will be not only the first film from Pixar in the medium of 3D (Disney Digital 3Dä, to be exact), but it is also the first animated feature to kick off the prestigious, internationally renowned Cannes Film Festival…not bad for the little film company whose first release viewed the world from about eight inches off the ground.

Let’s take a quick look back at the amazing titles that comprise Pixar’s nine previous feature-film releases.

Toy Story (1995)

Pixar’s premiere release broke ground simply by being made—the first animated feature completely realized in a computer.  (It took 300 networked Sun workstations approximately 800,000 hours of computing time to complete the film—each sixteenth of a second frame contains about 300 megabytes of information.) 

The film looked inside a young boy’s bedroom at a group of toys, who led quite surprising lives once they were left alone by Andy, their owner.  The film garnered international acclaim and awards, including three Academy Award^® nominations, as well as earning more than 10 times its cost in global box office.  John Lasseter, the film’s director and story writer, picked up a special Oscar^® “…for the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film.” To infinity, and beyond!   

A Bug’s Life (1998)

For their next release, the studio took a journey inside the world of bugs in an Epic of miniature proportions.  When a misfit worker ant’s colony is threatened by grasshopper destruction, the ant sets out to recruit a collection of bugs to help deflect the grasshopper attack…but it turns out the bugs he recruits are actually members of an insect circus.  The film again racked up big international business and an Academy Award^® nomination.  Clever and full of imaginative jokes at the expense of the human race, A Bug’s Life represented another first for Pixar:  the DVD version was the first ever all-digital video transfer.

Toy Story 2 (1999)

Back to Andy’s bedroom for Pixar’s next film, which marked the return for Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the other beloved characters who had been given life in the original film.  The feature picked up a Golden Globe for Best Picture Musical or Comedy, a Grammy for Randy Newman’s “When She Loved Me,” an Oscar^®  nomination for Best Original Song and earned just shy of one-half-of-a-billion dollars at the worldwide box office.  It took more than 250 film artisans to create the film, which boasted 18 different sets.

Monsters, Inc. (2001)

The tale of blue-collar monsters and best friends, Sulley and Mike, scared up more than $500 million in global business—the first Pixar release to do so.  When their jobs and their very world are threatened by the unexpected appearance of a human child (monsters believe all children are toxic), the duo go to great lengths to return the little girl, and encounter one adventure after another.  After 16 previous nominations, singer/songwriter Randy Newman won an Oscar^® for the film’s song “If I Didn’t Have You,” and the film garnered three more nominations.  And another first for studio:  Pixar shattered every DVD-era home entertainment sales record when 11 million DVD/VHS copies of the film were sold during its first week of release.  (Only The Lion King, released before DVDs, sold more units when it debuted on VHS in 1995.) 

Finding Nemo (2003)

From the imaginary world of monsters to the real world of aquatic creatures along Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Pixar’s fifth release followed an anxious father clownfish going the distance (and great distances) to find his lost son, Nemo, and bring him home.  The film brought home the Academy Award^®  in the newly created category of Best Animated Feature, and garnered three additional nominations.  The trip undersea for Pixar also netted an astounding $865 million in global box office.    

The Incredibles (2004)

What do you get when a family of superheroes attempts to live unnoticed in a suburban neighborhood, but ends up being called into action when a megalomaniac threatens the world with destruction?  Pixar’s sixth release, The Incredibles.  The double Oscar^® winner (Best Animated Feature Film, Best Sound Editing) also gathered two additional nominations (Original Screenplay, Sound Mixing).  Some incredible facts:  two of Disney’s famed Nine Old Men, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, lent their voices to the film (in cameos near the end); the film’s jazz-inspired so)

Pixar’s seventh release zoomed around the globe in 2006 and picked up two Oscar^® nominations on its way.  The customary care with which the Pixar artists build the onscreen world was plainly evident in the cars themselves, which were derivations or representations of actual racing cars.  Instead of placing the cars’ eyes in their headlights, Lasseter suggested putting them on the autos’ windshields, which is an idea taken from his one of his favorite Disney cartoons, “Susie the Little Blue Coupe.”  The film brought home the first Golden Globe in the newly created category of Best Animated Feature.   

Ratatouille (2007)

Even the short concept sounds funny:  Remy, a rat, wants to be a chef in Paris.  The colorful tale of the rodent with culinary aspirations won the Oscar^® for Best Animated Feature and received four additional nominations.  Director Brad Bird had previously won the Best Animated Feature statuette for The Incredibles.  The truth-seeking animators not only observed several pet rats in action to prepare for creating Remy and his pack, but they also worked with esteemed chef and restaurateur Thomas Keller, to make sure the layout and workings of the French kitchen rang true.   

Wall•E (2008)

Packing an artistic and box office wallop (Best Animated Feature Oscar^® and more than $500 million worldwide), Wall•E also managed to slip in some sly social messaging about rampant consumption.  The stunningly beautiful film created its own representation of photo-realism, and filmmakers even consulted with prolific and legendary live-action cinematographer Roger Deakins to create some of the most atmospheric and sophisticated lighting schemes ever seen in a computer-animated film.     

From the floor of a little boy’s bedroom to the furthest reaches of space, Pixar has taken countless moviegoers on nine unforgettable rides—so now, for their tenth release, the only way to go is Up.

UP – UNLIKELY HEROES

UP Available on Disney Blu-ray and DVD January 13 2010!

For their tenth computer-animated feature release, Disney•Pixar literally goes sky high with the action-adventure comedy Up…and, at the heart of this story, is perhaps the most unlikely onscreen heroes to have ever flown a house to South America.

“Up is an action-adventure film, starring this grouchy guy, Carl Fredricksen, and this overly enthusiastic Wilderness Explorer, who will not take ‘No’ for an answer,” explains the Oscar^®-nominated writer/director of the film, Pete Docter.  Carl is a 78-year-old widower and retired balloon salesman who, when developers threaten to bulldoze his beloved home, ties thousands of balloons to his house and floats it away and out of harm’s way.  Trouble is, eight-year-old Russell, the Wilderness Explorer with precious little experience of an actual wilderness, becomes an unintended stowaway, spoiling Carl’s dreams of a solitary trip to South America.  “Together, they’re the odd couple in the sky,” quips Docter.

The film’s executive producer, John Lasseter (double Oscar^® winner and chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios and principal creative advisor at Walt Disney Imagineering), adds, “These two are the mostly unlikely heroes you could ever imagine.  And you put these two characters together, and I think it’s the funniest Pixar film we’ve ever made.”

UP – FUN FACTS

UP Available on Disney Blu-ray and DVD January 13 2010!

• “Up” is the 10th film from Pixar Animation Studios, and the first Disney-Pixar film to be presented in Disney Digital 3D™.
• Nearly 70 animators worked on “Up” during the peak of production.  A crew of nearly 375 at Pixar had a hand in creating the film.
• Supervising Technical Director Steve May and his team created a canopy of 10,297 balloons to float Carl’s house throughout much of the film.  That number more than doubles to 20,622 for the dramatic scene in which the house lifts off from its foundation for the first time. May and his team calculated that about 26.5 million balloons would be needed to lift a real house.
• Paradise Falls, Carl’s dream destination in the film, is based on Angel Falls in Venezuela (the tallest waterfall on Earth at 3300 feet).  In the film, for artistic reasons, Paradise Falls is far taller at 9700 feet.
• Director/Screenwriter Pete Docter, Co-Director/Screenwriter Bob Peterson, and other key members of the “Up” production team took a research trip to Venezuela to explore the “lost world” of the Tepui tabletop mountains.  The crew climbed one mile straight up to the top of Mount Roraima (the highest and most famous of the 115 mesas), and were then helicoptered to Kukenan.  The intrepid Pixar explorers encountered deadly ants, poisonous snakes, scorpions and miniature frogs during the trip.
• John Ratzenberger is the only actor to voice a role in all 10 of the Disney•Pixar films. In addition to his latest role as Construction Foreman Tom in “Up,” he provided the voice of the charming and witty Hamm the piggy bank in “Toy Story” (reprised in “Toy Story 2” and the upcoming “Toy Story 3”), P.T. Flea in “A Bug’s Life,” Yeti the snow monster in “Monsters, Inc.,” a school of Moonfish in “Finding Nemo,” a philosophical character named Underminer in “The Incredibles,” a Mac-truck in “Cars,” Mustafa, the head waiter in “Ratatouille,” and John, a human living aboard the spaceship Axiom in “WALL•E.”
• Carl is the most complex human character ever created by Pixar.  His design is symbolically and literally square, three heads high.  In contrast, Russell is basically egg-shaped and round. 
• Russell has more layers of clothing than any other Pixar character — a shirt, a sash covered with badges, a neckerchief and a backpack.  
• More than 450 kids read for the part of Russell. Jordan Nagai, the voice of Russell, had not planned on auditioning for the role.  He accompanied his brother, an actor with some commercial and TV credits, and was asked to try out on the spot. 
• Kevin was the hardest character for Character Supervisor Thomas Jordan and his team to design.  This 13-foot flightless bird is covered with beautiful iridescent feathers, which required a new approach to hair technology.  The team approached feathers as hair growing on splines, which basically react much like hair itself. 
• Pete Docter voices some of the bird noises for Kevin in “Up.”
• Director Pete Docter’s daughter Elie Docter provides the voice of young Ellie in the movie.  At age 7, Elie was tapped to do the scratch recording for the character.  While many other voices were considered, filmmakers ultimately cast Elie in the role.
• Ellie’s presence in the film remains constant throughout with a special musical theme (written by the film’s acclaimed composer Michael Giacchino), and the color magenta, which came to represent her.
• When Russell and Carl are served dinner by Muntz, Carl is actually served the scallop dish from “Ratatouille.”
• The average amount of time required to render a single frame of film for “Up” was between five and six hours.  Some complicated frames took up to 20 hours.  For every second of film, 24 frames are required.
• The film’s production and character design called for “Simplexity,” a simplified approach to complicated caricatures.  For example, Carl has no nostrils, skin pores or holes in his ears. 
• Co-Director/Screenwriter Bob Peterson provides the voice of Dug, Charles Muntz’s misfit dog who befriends Carl, Russell and Kevin.  He also is heard in the film as Alpha, the leader of the pack whose collar translates his thoughts into speech.  Peterson previously voiced Roz, the sluggish dispatcher in “Monsters, Inc.,” and Mr. Ray, the determined teacher in “Finding Nemo.”
• Stereoscopic Supervisor Bob Whitehill, who oversaw the 3D aspects of “Up,” views the film as one of the greatest 3D films of all time.  Using a “depth budget,” the 3D team worked to match the filmmakers’ “point of interest” with the “point of convergence” to give the film another visual cue to tell the story, while adding excitement and dimension to the adventure.   The film’s climactic airship battle, complete with dogs in biplanes, is one of the most exciting uses of 3D.
• The number A113, which refers to John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Pete Docter and Andrew Stanton’s former classroom at CalArts, makes an appearance in every Pixar film. In “Up,” A113 is the courtroom number where Carl makes his court appearance.
• In the sequence where Carl’s house first lifts off, the ball from short film “Luxo Jr.” can be seen sitting on the floor of the girl’s bedroom as the house goes by her window.
• The Pizza Planet Truck, which first made an appearance in “Toy Story,” has made a cameo in nearly every Pixar film.  In “Up,” the Pizza Planet truck can be seen at the intersection when Carl’s house flies over the town. It’s also in the Fentons Creamery parking lot at the end of the film.
• Russell’s favorite ice cream parlor in the movie is named after the real Fentons Creamery in Oakland, Calif. Director Pete Docter and Producer Jonas Rivera live nearby and frequent the restaurant and ice cream parlor with their families.
• Pete Docter, who began his career as an animator, managed to find time to animate the last scene of the film where Carl and Russell are sitting on the curb eating ice cream together.  Pete handled the animation of Carl.

Director Pete Docter named Disney storyman and writer Joe Grant in the film’s dedication to the “real life Carl and Ellie Fredricksens who inspired us to create our own Adventure Books.” Grant was part of the 1937 team that created “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and wrote “Dumbo” and “Fantasia.” The mentor, friend and source of inspiration to Docter and countless others continued to work at the Walt Disney Animation Studios up until his death in 2005, one week shy of his 97^th birthday.

InterWave Studios would like to announce the first Teaser Trailer for our upcoming Source engine based commercial title: Nuclear Dawn.

The Trailer can be found on www.nucleardawnthegame.com or on youtube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZtLHUyeD0E

After months of strenuous labours of love, gamers will be allowed a first glimpse in the war-torn world of post-conflict Earth, where two embittered factions of good men are blinded by hatred for their fellow survivors, and battle over the remnants of Earths great cities, for resources, survival, and revenge.

With compelling RTS and FPS gameplay elements, Nuclear Dawn delivers tactical, class-based gameplay that will let players sneak around the ruins of mans greatest accomplishments with Stealth units, or just crush the rubble underfoot with the powerhouse Exo walking tank. Tomorrows generals will take the Commanders seat, and support their fellow players with outposts, defensive structures and fortresses to protect precious resource points.

From nanotech-enhanced blades to portable siege weapons, the arsenal of Nuclear Dawn is no less impressive than its tactical gameplay options, and mastering the use of each weapon will yield true supremacy on the battlefield. The game is powered by Valve’s Source engine.

Keep an eye out on for regular developer blogs, press updates, new material and interviews.

“Love them or hate them, they’re back!  Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is a raw and brutal crime shooter designed to take players on an intense and unforgiving experience, following two of gaming’s most authentic and realistic criminals through the gritty Shanghai underworld. Get a glimpse of the stark circumstances facing the world’s two most notorious criminals in the highly-charged debut trailer and witness the events prior to their bare-knuckle exploits in Dog Days.”

December 17^th, 2009 –  From the developer of the critically acclaimed Blast Off – rated E for Everyone — on PlayStation minis, Halfbrick today releases a tutorial video which demonstrates exactly how to utilize the new Version 3.15 firmware update for the PS3. This update allows gamers to download and play minis on their PS3 and television, which was previously a range of games only compatible with the PSP.

The tutorial takes a step-by-step approach on how to download the latest PS3 update, and also to browse for, download and update any available mini. Furthermore, a short demo of Blast Off is played by Phil Larsen which shows gamers exactly the kind of impressive quality they can expect from the low-priced minis, which are upscaled from the native PSP resolution.

You can view the tutorial on Youtube uploaded on the Halfbrick channel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ba9_DSX-oWw

About Halfbrick

Halfbrick is a professional game development studio based in Brisbane, Australia. Founded in 2001, it has developed popular titles for the Game Boy Advance, PSP, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS, with expansion into Xbox Live Arcade, WiiWare and PlayStation Network development. For further information, please visit www.halfbrick.com and follow on Twitter, Youtube and Facebook!

THE KING OF IRON FIST TOURNAMENT FINDS ITS FIRST TEKKEN GODS

– European and Australian Final Held in London on 12^th December with Top Ranked Players Flying to Japan for the World Final in 2010 –

The first real TEKKEN god of Europe and Australia has emerged victorious at the TEKKEN 6 grand regional final held at Proud Gallery Camden in London at the weekend.

Following the series of brutal TEKKEN 6 tournament events held across Europe and Australia since October, finalists flew in to London from as far afield as Australia, Greece, Switzerland, Netherland, Belgium, Italy, Israel, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Finland, France and UK to take on the best of the best in the regional final. 

In the end it was Norman ‘GenN1us’ Chatrier  from France who swept the international competition aside to snatch victory in a white knuckle contest which tested the speed and skill of some of the world’s best TEKKEN 6 fighters. The top ranked players from each tournament including London final will be flying to Japan in 2010 for the grand final to determine the world’s #1 TEKKEN god. 

Everyone can feel the thrill of ferocious one-on-one TEKKEN 6 tournament competition with online versus play via PlayStation®Network and Xbox Live®. Download the free update to ensure the optimum online performance and gameplay experience against the best fighters from every corner of the globe.

The king of fighting games, TEKKEN 6 for PlayStation®3, Xbox 360® and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) is available now.  For more information on the game visit www.tekken.com.

Zachary Quinto, Star Trek’s Newest Spock, Boldly Goes into Gaming by Lending Voice to Atari’s Star Trek™ Online

Quinto to Teach Players How to Navigate the Star Trek Universe, Attain Higher Ranks, and Succeed in Missions during Star Trek Online’s Tutorial

New York, NY (December 18) – Atari, Inc., one of the world’s most recognized videogame publishers, and acclaimed MMO developer Cryptic Studios™, have announced today that Zachary Quinto will lend his voice to the highly anticipated Star Trek Online for PC, set to release in February, 2010 for Australia.  Quinto, who garnered critical and fan acclaim as Spock in the 2009 blockbuster Star Trek, will play the part of an Emergency Medial Hologram and will voice the tutorial of this first-of-a-kind massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), teaching fans how to explore the Star Trek Online universe, improve their characters, attain higher ranks, and succeed in space combat and on away missions.

“Zachary Quinto has inspired both new and long-time Star Trek fans through his extraordinary portrayal of Spock in 2009’s Star Trek,” said Jim Wilson, President and CEO of Atari, Inc.  “We are thrilled to have him participate in Star Trek Online as players get set to explore this whole new chapter of the beloved universe.”

“Being a part of the Star Trek universe has been an incredible experience for me,” said Zachary Quinto. “Extending that experience into the gaming space – and sharing it with gamers and trek enthusiasts around the world – makes it even more exciting.”

Set in the year 2409, Star Trek Online boasts extraordinary features and lets fans both new and old experience unparalleled adventures.  Offering space and ground game play, players will have the opportunity to become a high-ranking Starfleet officer and will participate in missions that will take them into the depths of space, across exotic planets, and even inside other starships.  Star Trek Online offers total customization where every ship player’s command can be customized, from color to construction. Additionally, anyone can create their own species in Star Trek Online, as well as customize the look of their avatar’s uniform.

Star Trek Online is a licensed product from CBS Consumer Products.  For more information and to pre-order, please visit: www.startrekonline.com and www.atari.com