Have you heard the latest UFC news? Champion mixed martial arts fighter Anderson Silva reigns supreme! In his highly anticipated re-match (UFC 148) against trash-talking wrestler Chael Sonnen, Silva proved triumphant once again. Check out the Sydney Morning Herald’s article here and watch the story of this infamous UFC rivalry unfold in the award-winning documentary LIKE WATER, which follows Silva as he prepares to fight Sonnen in championship fight UFC 117.

Anderson Silva is the deadliest man on the planet – the longest-reigning UFC Champion and the most feared fighter in mixed martial arts. LIKE WATER offers a unique perspective of the living legend as he trains with fellow fighters Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, Junior Dos Santos and Antônio “Minotauro” Nogueira in preparation for his career-defining title defence against challenger and arch villain Chael Sonnen. A former champion wrestler, Sonnen has many predicting that he is the one fighter who can defeat Silva.

Balancing family and fighting; respect for the sport and rage for his opponent; Silva’s mind and body will be put to the test. In this intimate and insightful documentary, award-winning filmmaker Pablo Croce peels back the layers of an ultimate fighter to reveal the heart of a champion.

LIKE WATER is available now on blu-ray, DVD and digital download and is currently on price promote at Big W, JB HiFi and Sanity!

July 13, 2012 – IO Interactive A/S, a Square Enix studio, is pleased to release THE STREETS OF HOPE, a 17 minute video playthrough, introducing a new level from the upcoming Hitman: Absolution.

THE STREETS OF HOPE premiered at E3 in June 2012 and showcases a deeper look into the vast universe of Hitman: Absolution. The demo features voice commentary by game director Tore Blystad and Travis Barbour, who works on the community team at IO Interactive.

Agent 47 needs to kidnap Lenny “the limp” Dexter, who holds the key to the whereabouts of Victoria. 47 swore to protect her as a dying wish to his only friend Diana Burnwood. In order to get to “the limp”, the Original Assassin has to take out Lenny’s gang “The Cougars”.

THE STREETS OF HOPE playthrough features five hits and one kidnapping – all in the confines of one level.

HITMAN: ABSOLUTION is scheduled for global release on November 20, 2012 for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Windows PC.

SYDNEY (July 13, 2012) – Crystal Dynamics, a Square Enix studio, today announced award-winning games writer Rhianna Pratchett is the lead writer of Tomb Raider™ – the acclaimed origins story of Lara Croft™, set for release March 5th 2013.

English-born Pratchett has been writing for and about videogames for over 14 years. Initially a games journalist, Pratchett quickly moved her passion and skills for creating immersive stories into the narrative of several highly successful videogames. “Rhianna has been working on the game with the narrative from its early inception,” said head of studio Darrell Gallagher. “She has brought a unique perspective to the project and helped us explore the character origins of Lara Croft. There is no doubt that Rhianna has brought a depth and credibility to Lara, a heroine who will really connect with today’s gamers.”

“I grew up playing Tomb Raider, uncovering the world’s secrets and unearthing its treasures; I have lived and died as Lara Croft, but nothing comes close to the challenge of re-writing her,” said Rhianna Pratchett, lead writer of Tomb Raider. “Seldom do we get the opportunity to reimagine and reinvent a legend, so getting my narrative hands on Miss Croft was a once-in-a-life-time opportunity. It was going back to the genesis of videogame action heroines and exploring how to make such an iconic character meaningful and relatable for gamers today.”

Over the course of her career she has received numerous awards and nominations for her work, including a BAFTA nomination for Story and Character and a Writers’ Guild of Great Britain award for Best Videogame Script.

Pratchett will be participating on two panels during Comicon San Diego 2012, both on Saturday July 14th:12.00PM – 2.00PM: The Tomb Raider development team talk about the reimagining of a gaming icon on a panel hosted by Zachary Levi at The Nerd Machine’s ‘Nerd HQ’ at Block No. 16 Union & Spirits (344 7th Avenue in downtown San Diego)

6.00PM – 7.00PM: Pratchett joins recently revealed voice of Lara Croft, Camilla Luddington, Tomb Raider creative director Noah Hughes, global brand director Karl Stewart and narrative designer John Stafford in a panel moderated by Geoff Keighley (Game Trailers TV, the Final Hours) at San Diego Comic Con (room 5AB).

For more information on how to attend these panels, please visit The Nerd Machine (http://www.thenerdmachine.com/nerd-hq/) or San Diego Comic Con (http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci12_prog_sat.php).

Crystal Dynamics Partners With Geoff Keighley To Produce New Instalment of
Ground-breaking “The Final Hours” Interactive Journalism Series 

 Crystal Dynamics, a Square Enix studio, today announced that it will take fans behind the scenes for The Final Hours of Tomb Raider. The studio has partnered with video game journalist Geoff Keighley to produce an innovative new instalment in his well-regarded Final Hours series, which will include both an App and for the first time, a documentary web series hosted by actor and gamer Zachary Levi.

The Final Hours of Tomb Raider will give fans an unprecedented, fly-on-the-wall perspective of the twists and turns of game development and highlight the key creative forces responsible for reimagining the iconic video game franchise Tomb Raider®.

“I have personally been a big fan of what Geoff achieved with the last two Final Hours projects,” said Karl Stewart, global brand director of Crystal Dynamics. “Sometimes the personal side of game development can get lost in the noise of bringing a game to fruition. Geoff has an uncanny ability to bring that side to life in a very unique and informative way.”

“The Final Hours series documents the creative process behind today’s most anticipated games, with a particular focus on the final stretch of development,” said Geoff Keighley. “In the case of Tomb Raider I’m especially excited because, at its heart, this is a tale about the act of reinvention, both of a studio and of a franchise.”

The Final Hours of Tomb Raider will be available in March 2013 for iPad, PC, and, for the first time via a partnership with Amazon.com, for Kindle Fire.

In addition to the development of The Final Hours of Tomb Raider interactive app, the Final Hours concept will be expanded for the first time with the release of a series of exclusive fly-on-the-wall short documentaries to be hosted by Chuck and Tangled star and long-time gamer, Zachary Levi. The series commences with an exclusive interview on location with the newly announced voice and character of Lara Croft®, Camilla Luddington. Future documentaries will see Levi visit the Crystal Dynamics studio to profile other key team members as they march towards the final hours of development.

Melbourne, VIC. July 13, 2012 – THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) Australia has decided to celebrate Friday the 13th, by giving anyone who pre-orders the Darksiders II via shopTHQ on any platform a free PC download of Darksiders®.  This is in addition to the current Darksiders II pre-order offers, which are:

• Xbox 360 & PC Box: Darksiders II Season Pass – Day 60 and 90 DLC
• PlayStation 3: Saints Row 2 PS3 disc at no extra charge
• PC Download: Darksiders II Season Pass and Metro 2033 PC Download at no extra charge

This offer is valid for today only.

Darksiders®, released in January 2010, received critical acclaim including the Best Fantasy Game 2010 award from IGN. Darksiders followed the story of WAR, wrongly accused of starting the apocalypse, on a quest to reclaim lost honor and take revenge on those who wronged him. 

So why not make your own luck on this Very Dark Day, by heading over to http://shop.thq.com/DarkDay and placing your pre-order today.

Darksiders II is scheduled to be available for console and PC in August 2012, and a WiiU version is scheduled for release in the launch window. For more information check www.Darksiders.com

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH today announced it is to release free DLC for its multi-million-selling METAL GEAR SOLID 4: Guns of the Patriots title for PlayStation®3.

As part of the continuing celebrations of the METAL GEAR series’ 25th anniversary, Kojima Productions has revisited its best-selling title to add 34 new Trophies to the game. METAL GEAR SOLID 4: Guns of the Patriots concludes the tale of series hero’ Solid Snake, as the ageing stealth operative is drawn into a final mission where a genetically-raised army is amassing familiar weapons under the leadership of an old enemy.

The free download will be released in August.

New partnership covers 14 markets for all advertising inventory on the LG Smart TV Ad platform.

[Sydney, 13^th July 2012] smartclip, Adconion Media Group’s multiscreen video and brand advertising platform, and LG Electronics announced today that smartclip will monetise all ad inventory on the LG Smart TV Platform across Europe, Russia and Australia. The partnership with LG Smart TV offers advertisers a vast range of branding possibilities, enabling brand marketers to extend their reach to new audiences with these new smart devices and engage with them on additional levels through the TV screen.

The agreement between smartclip and LG Electronics will give advertisers access to the entire ad inventory on the LG Smart TV Platform, ranging from pre-roll and banner ads to unique and interactive ad formats, enhancing the viewer’s experience as well as offering refined targeting opportunities via ad-serving technologies.

Advertisers benefitting from the partnership between smartclip and LG Electronics will be at the forefront of digital advertising as early adopters of the new Smart TV technology. In addition, the controlled environment of the LG Electronics Smart TV Ad Platform offers a completely brand safe experience with efficiency and accuracy.

LG’s aim to provide top quality content and services for Smart TV users and bring the Smart TV eco-system alive were key factors in the decision to partner with smartclip’s flexible advertisement platform. The relationship will also help create new revenue streams for advertisers, with plans to incorporate the platform in a host of soon-to-be-released apps, as LG focuses its strategy on targeting content providers. The Connected TV phenomenon represents a whole new arena of lucrative business opportunities for advertisers and brand marketers and the LG Smart TV plays a vital role in the developing ecosystem of smart and increasingly connected devices.

Alex Littlejohn, President APAC at Adconion Media Group, explains:  “Australia is a very important TV market so we are excited to be able to work together with one of the largest TV manufacturers worldwide on such an exciting product. We are beginning to see real interest in opportunities for smart TVs from advertisers. The convergence of TV and internet delivers new advertising opportunities for the new world of television”.

Young-jae Seo, Vice President of the Service Business Division of LG Electronics Smart Business Center says: “By forming a partnership with smartclip, the top global platform for multi-screen brand advertising, LG has secured an entrance to the European, Russian and Australian advertising markets”. He adds “Content developers and content service providers will be able to focus on top quality content provision based on this tangible profit-making business model and advertisers will also have great opportunities utilizing this effective marketing tool for global TV advertising campaigns.”

The LG Smart TV platform is accessible via all Smart TVs. This accessibility will be expanded to mobile and other consumer electronic goods in the future. smartclip will also be the preferred monetisation partner for any third party content apps on LG Smart TV. The smartclip technology is already integrated in over 100 Connected TV applications and the company has been selling and serving connected TV ads across Europe since 2009 . A large number of these publishers already have content present on the LG Smart TV .

Latest Dance Game in the Experience Franchise includes more than 750 iconic Hip Hop dance moves and 40 Hip-Hop chart-topping tracks 

SYDNEY — July 13, 2012 — Ubisoft^® has announced the development of The Hip Hop Dance Experience, the latest installment in the chart-topping Experience dance game franchise. The Hip Hop Dance Experience releases worldwide in November for Kinect™ for Xbox 360^® and Wii™ system from Nintendo.

Ubisoft’s Experience franchise was the second largest dance video game franchise of 2011 and has sold more than five million copies worldwide* by making an artist’s musical universe accessible to fans through interactive and immersive games. The Hip Hop Dance Experience takes this concept even further by featuring iconic Hip Hop dance moves with routines arranged by famed choreographers, including Laurieann Gibson and Dave Scott and an extensive selection of hip-hop music that defines the genre.

Developed by renowned music game developer, iNiS, The Hip Hop Dance Experience features the most comprehensive hip-hop track list ever in a dance video game, ranging from chart-topping Billboard hits to old-school party jams.

The Hip Hop Dance Experience full track list:

• Amerie – “1 Thing”
• B.o.B – “So Good”
• B.o.B featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore – “Airplanes”
• Cassie – “Me & U” **
• Chris Brown featuring Juelz Santana – “Run It!”
• Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes – “Look At Me Now”
• Ciara – “One, Two Step (featuring Missy Elliott)”
• Da Brat – “Funkdafied”
• Drake – “Over”
• Flo Rida featuring Sia – “Wild Ones”
• Iyaz – “Replay”
• Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne – “Down”
• J-Kwon – “Tipsy” **
• Kid Cudi – “Day ‘N’ Night”
• Lil Wayne featuring Static Major – “Lollipop”
• LMFAO – “Sexy And I Know It”
• M.I.A. – “Bad Girls” **
• Mark Morrison – “Return of the Mack”
• Mystikal featuring Nivea – “Danger (Been So Long)”
• N.E.R.D. – “She Wants to Move”
• Naughty by Nature – “Hip Hop Hooray”
• Nelly – “Hot In Herre”
• New Boyz – “You’re A Jerk”
• New Edition – “If It Isn’t Love”
• Nicki Minaj featuring Drake – “Moment 4 Life”
• Ol’ Dirty Bastard featuring Kelis – “Got Your Money” **
• Outkast – “B.O.B.” **
• Pitbull featuring Chris Brown – “International Love”
• Q-Tip – “Vivrant Thing”
• R. Kelly – “Ignition (Remix)”
• Rihanna featuring Jeezy – “Hard”
• Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock – “It Takes Two” **
• Run-DMC – “It’s Tricky” **
• Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell Williams – “Drop It Like It’s Hot”
• Terror Squad featuring Fat Joe, Remy – “Lean Back”
• The Sugarhill Gang – “Rapper’s Delight” **
• TLC – “Creep”
• Too $hort – “Blow the Whistle” **
• Trey Songz featuring Fabolous – “Say Aah”
• Wiz Khalifa – “Work Hard, Play Hard” **

(** Denotes songs that will appear only on the Xbox 360 version)

The Hip Hop Dance Experience also includes an array of new features and game modes, including:

• Dance routines designed exclusively for the game by top choreographers Laurieann Gibson (Nicki Minaj’s creative director, BET’s Born to Dance), Dave Scott (So You Think You Can Dance, Battle of the Year) and Kid David (Step Up 3D)
• Authentic music video and live performance footage, paired with dynamic visual effects triggered by your movements, transform your living room into a real-time music video
• Progressive difficulty levels provide varying levels of challenge for everyone from beginners to professionals. Perform over 700 dance moves!
• Multiplayer gameplay designed to simultaneously accommodate varying difficulty levels. Pro or novice, each player can choose their individual difficulty level and play along together!
• Complete Avatar customization with hundreds of looks and accessories to express your personal fashion sense
• Dance modes with high-energy multiplayer challenges:
  • Dance Party: Jump in and light up the dance floor with your favorite dance partner.
  • Dance Battle: Challenge your friends to high-energy dance battles in true hip-hop style.
  • Dance Marathon: Test your stamina by dancing to an endless stream of tracks.
  • Power Skooling: Perfect the most iconic and extreme hip-hop moves in step-by-step tutorials.

For the latest information on The Hip Hop Dance Experience, please visit: www.thehiphopdanceexperience.com