Are you ready to “Ride the Lightning” with musical icons Metallica and over 20 other rocking acts in an all new Guitar Hero experience – Guitar Hero® Metallica? Enter the world of Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo and experience the intensity and skill of one of the greatest bands of all time.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE GAME IS ON SALE 27th MAY IN AUSTRALIA.
Check out the official Launch Trailer below
Launch Trailer (128 MB)
Melbourne, March 30, 2009 — Framework 2009 will gather the best and brightest of the Australian computer game development industry, film veterans, and world-recognised international talent to help prepare the Australian games industry for the challenges of tomorrow.
Confirmed speakers include Hollywood writer, director, artist and animator Doug Lefler; Obsidian writer and designer Chris Avellone, Bioware writer and designer, Mike Laidlaw, and Managing Director of Sega Australia, Darren MacBeth. Between them they have worked on mainstream blockbusters from Spider-Man to Mass Effect and cult classics from Army of Darkness to Planescape Torment.
Framework aims to gather the brightest stars of the Australian games industry with the world’s best cross-disciplinary talent to create a high-level forum to exchange the kind of specialised knowledge that lives only on the border of visually creative film and high-end game design.
Event organiser Tony Reed says, “These events are not about telling people how to take their game to the next level with a magic formula or seven easy steps. It’s about giving the incredibly creative heart of the local industry access to peers with an international perspective and then having everyone offer case studies and a smorgasbord of practical, sometimes odd, ideas to help inspire and maybe unlock new ways to tackle shared problems.
“At the end of Framework ’08, one of the audience survey questions was, ‘Will you apply any of the knowledge or techniques learned at Framework?’ 100% of the respondents answered in the affirmative. That was a great result.”
Two events will be held, one in Melbourne on April 22 at the Fix Docklands, and a second in Brisbane on April 24, at the Brisbane Powerhouse. The events are limited to 60 seats to encourage real audience interaction and discussion.
All of the Framework events are geared at directly expanding the talent and experience on offer in this country.
Framework ’09 aims to be one of the premier events on the digital media calendar, with real discussion and interaction between industry leaders and seating will be limited. If you are someone with a passion to help shape the Australian games or digital arts industry, please visit http://www.framework.net.au/ for more information and registration details.
Antony Reed, CEO, Reed Interactive
Antony has over 17 years experience in the interactive games industry. Spending 12 years in game publishing, Antony has worked as the marketing manager and director for a number of high profile game corporations, including Virgin Interactive and Interplay Productions.
He has also been directly involved in the marketing behind some of the biggest game titles in the world, including Command & Conquer, the Baldur’s Gate series, The Lion King and the Fallout series; amongst many others.
About Framework
Framework events focus on specific disciplines within the game development process with the goal of improving studio efficiencies and quality. They are community?driven, skill-development events bringing together the film and games industries to discuss best practices in the various creative disciplines.
The first Framework, held in Melbourne and Brisbane in June 2008, is regarded as one of the most positive and proactive industry gatherings held in Australia.
Keeping the same limited seating format, Framework:Design Aikido will focus on the local industry’s creative potential, opportunities that exist in the market for new creative projects and effective design management. Framework Design Aikido will encompass all game formats, from major console titles to casual and mobile games development.
GOW2 add-on unleashes a flurry of new multiplayer maps on Xbox LIVE Marketplace
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — March 31, 2009 — “Gears of War 2” fans around the world can engage in even more intense action in treacherous winter settings offered by the latest “Gears of War 2” add-on, the Snowblind Map Pack. Trudge, crawl and roadie run through the harshest of weather conditions as you and your squadmates dive into four new multiplayer maps.
Spanning tunnels, bridges, courtyards and offices, players can sharpen their skills on the four new maps in the Snowblind add-on: Grindyard, Under Hill, Courtyard and Fuel Depot. All maps are playable on every “Gears of War 2” multiplayer mode, including the highly popular Horde mode:
• Grindyard is a massive industrial complex located in a junk-processing plant from the days of Sera’s industrial excess. The office, now gutted, serves as a perfect place to fortify, but if you’re not careful, you’ll end up trapped inside the office with no hope of escape.
• Under Hill takes players through snowbound tunnels that were once billed as a feat of Seran engineering. Head for high ground on the bridge and you’ll be rewarded with massive firepower, but be prepared to defend your position and try to escape being cornered.
• Courtyard is a wide-open battle royale containing explosive weapons that once formed the heart of Ephyra’s fashionable Civic Centre. Lines of sight are far and clear here, and battles tend to focus around the elevated sniper nest. Watch your back and keep a fresh clip.
• Fuel Depot, back by popular demand, Fuel Depot is a “Gears of War 2” remake of the fan-favourite “Gears of War” map, but winter has set in and the depot is now covered in a blanket of snow. Open and unforgiving, it takes a well-coordinated team to cover all the angles here.
Also added to “Gears of War 2” are nine new achievements worth 250 points:
Here’s the complete list of achievements, points and descriptions:
• “Rookie Gear” (10 points): Earn enough multiplayer experience to reach level 5 (Public only).
• “Seasoned Gear” (20 points): Earn enough multiplayer experience to reach level 15 (Public only).
• “Battle-Tested Gear” (30 points): Earn enough multiplayer experience to reach level 25 (Public only).
• “Battle-Hardened Gear” (50 points): Reach level 50 and play a match on each of the four Snowblind Map Pack maps (Public only).
• “Veteran Gear” (75 points): Reach level 100 and win a match on each of the four Snowblind Map Pack maps (Public only).
• “Never Eat Red Snow” (20 points): Complete waves 1 through 10 on all Snowblind Map Pack maps in Horde (any difficulty).
• “Icy Dead People” (25 points): Complete waves 1 through 50 on any Snowblind Map Pack map in Horde (any difficulty).
• “Frigid Body Dynamics” (5 points): Play a multiplayer match on each of the four Snowblind Map Pack maps (any mode).
• “The Weather Outside Is Lethal” (15 points): Win a multiplayer match on each of the four Snowblind Map Pack maps (any mode).
The “Gears of War 2” Snowblind Map Pack add-on will be available for download on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace starting April 1, 2009 for 800 MS Points*. “Gears of War 2” is available exclusively on Xbox 360® and is rated “MA 15+”.
‘This is one of those yarns that audiences would write off as simply too far-fetched – if it weren’t for
the fact that it is based on real events/’ The Daily Telegraph
‘Classical cinema at its finest’ Sydney Morning Herald
To find her son, she did what no one else dared Legendary actor, Clint Eastwood, directs Academy Award! winner Angelina Jolie and Academy Award! nominee John Malkovich in Changeling, a provocative film based on the extraordinary true story of one mother’s determination to find her son while taking on one of the most ruthless and corrupt police divisions of its time, the Los Angeles Police Department.
Changeling is available to own on DVD and Blue-Ray from June 17th.
Los Angeles, 1928: on a Saturday morning, in a working-class suburb, Christine Collins (Jolie) said goodbye to her young son Walter and left for work. When she comes home, she discovers he has vanished. Soon after a search ensues, and months later to Christine’s initial relief a boy claiming to be the nine-year-old is returned. However after meeting him Christine discovers the boy is not her son. Despite this she is convinced to take him home amid a sea of confusion, media circus and pressure from corrupt police.
As Christine pushes authorities to keep looking for her son, she learns that in prohibition-era Los Angeles, women don’t challenge the system and live to tell the tale. Slandered as delusional and an unfit mother, Christine finds an ally in activist Reverend Briegleb (Malkovich), who gives her the support and strength to fight the City to look for her missing boy.
Based on the actual incident that rocked the Californian legal system, Changeling tells the shocking tale of a mother’s desperate quest to find her son and those who wont stop until they silence her. Nominated for three Academy! Awards, including Angelina Jolie for Best Actress, Changeling is available to own on DVD
and Blu-ray from June 17th. Changeling is available under the Universal Quality Guarantee – if you don’t love we’ll give you another one free! See www.universalpictures.com.au for more details.
AVAILABLE TO OWN OR RENT ON DVD FROM JUNE 17TH 2009
www.changelingmovie.net
Watch the latest trailer for the highly anticipated game Prototype and find out the top 10 reasons why this game is far from typical.
You can view the trailer here or alternatively let me know if you would like a copy. Please indicate if you would like SD (85.1MB), HD (206MB) and very HD (1GB)
iRunner Lite is now available for you to try and see if your fingers are up to the challenge!
iRunner tests your pace, skill and determination of your body, mind and FINGERS … that’s right! Give your fingers an extremely good stretch because you’re going to find yourself breaking pain barriers and world records when you take on the world in 4 different events!
• 100 Meter Sprint
o The 100 Meter Sprint is the fastest event in iRunner. Your style of running plays a huge part in how fast you go so practice in training mode to fine tune your stride. You have to get your fingers moving for this one to keep up with the best!
• 100 Meter Hurdles – (FULL VERSION ONLY)
o The 100 Meter Hurdles steps up the skill level by challenging you to pump your fingers as fast as you can but with the added obstacles of hurdles. If you run into any hurdles you will lose speed and have to try extra hard to get back in the race! Timing is everything with this event.
• 300 Meter Beach Circuit – (FULL VERSION ONLY)
o The 300 Meter Beach Circuit is a tough one. You are pushed to your limits as you struggle through the burn on the beach. When your fingers start to fatigue your going to have to dig deep and step the pace up. On top of this you will need to avoid objects such as surfboards, beach balls, buckets and spades, logs, rocks and many more …
• 300 Meter Mountain Circuit – (FULL VERSION ONLY)
o The 300 Meter Mountain Circuit throws everything at you. This rugged track has many obstacles that can be major setbacks if you don’t keep your wits about you. Everyone tackles this circuit differently. You will need to find which approach to take in order to win this event!
• Training ( also included )
Start off with some training to get your stride and running style right then move onto 1 of 4 different events to see if you can be the best! Your time is recorded locally automatically when you beat your own high score but you also have the option to upload each score online to win big prizes!
• Desktop Computer
• Laptop Computer
• Deluxe Massage Chair
• SVGA Projector
• 50″ Plasma TV
• iPhone – ( Even though you should have one already! )
• PlayStation 3 – Console
• Xbox 360 – Console
• 32″ LCD TV
• Projector
• SLR Camera
• 320GB Hard Drive High Definition< Set Top Box
• 28″ Widscreen LCD Monitor
• Digital Camcodrer
• Nintendo Wii – Console
• Nintendo DS Lite – Console
• PlayStation Portable – Console
• PlayStation 2 – Console
• Guitar Hero : World Tour
• 2 x PS3 Wireless Console Controller’s
• PS3, Xbox 360 or Wii – SingStar (newest volume for the month)
• Portable GPS Navigation System
• Portable DVD Player
• iPod Nano
• iPod Touch
• Digital Camera
The Monthly Competition sees you challenge the rest of the world each month for first place. Download the current leaders fastest time record and go head to head to see if you can beat it. You can also download the overall fastest score for each event and see if you can hold a world record!
Can you match it with these current winners? … only way to find out is to grab a copy of iRunner from the app store to show everyone how fast you are with your fingers to win huge prizes.
Ken Block feature video reveals new hero of rally’s role as technical consultant and in-gamer mentor for the next iteration of the legendary off-road racing game series.
– Monday March 30th 2009 – Ken Block, the multi medal-winning Subaru Rally Team USA driver and co-founder of DC Shoes, has been signed as one of the key motorsport athletes who will feature in the eagerly anticipated Colin McRae: DiRT™ 2, Codemasters® and Atari, one of Australia’s leading sources of interactive entertainment, revealed today with the release of the ‘Ken Block Gets DiRTy Too’ feature video, now available from www.dirt2game.com.
X Games team-mate of the late Colin McRae, Block is at the forefront of a new breed of pro drivers, competing as Subaru Rally Team USA Driver #43 in the Rally America National Championship and the world-famous X Games. He has also gained notoriety for his mind-blowing stunts in his Subaru WRX STI. For Colin McRae: DiRT 2, Block is working with the development team at Codemasters Studios as technical consultant, lending his wealth of knowledge to the game and advising on car handling.
“Colin McRae is one of the main reasons that I am a rally driver. He is a big inspiration to me and the way I drive my rally car,” said Ken Block. “It’s really an honour to be a contributor to the creation of Colin McRae: DiRT 2 and to be able to continue the passion that Colin had for rally and for these videogames”
In the video released today, Block discusses his relationship with McRae, how he was inspired by the rally legend to pursue his own career and his involvement in the creation of Colin McRae: DiRT 2. Clips from some of Block’s best known videos and rally exploits showcase the supreme control he has over his car and the style, finesse and sheer audacity of his stunts, which has ensured that views of his online videos number in the multiple millions and made him a hero amongst motorsport aficionados worldwide.
“As one of the most talented and exciting drivers on the rally scene today, Ken is a perfect fit for Colin McRae: DiRT 2,” said Gavin Raeburn, Senior Executive Producer, Codemasters. “His insight into car handling and track design has already been invaluable to the development team and his endless enthusiasm for the game and rally as a great sport is absolutely priceless to us.”
Gamers will be able to join Ken Block for mud, gravel, dust and dirt too in Colin McRae: DiRT 2, coming this September for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Games For Windows® LIVE, Wii™, Nintendo DS™ and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system. Catch the ‘Ken Block Gets DiRTy Too’ feature video, now available from www.dirt2game.com.
For more information on Atari’s entire product line up visit www.atari.com.au and log on to the Atari Trade Site for all box shots, demos, trailers and online screenshots.
LORNE, Australia, March 27, 2009. Impulse Gamer interviews Digital Playground’s Stoya, who is smart, sexy and sassy and is as far away as possible from the stereotypically porn star that the media tries to sensationalize. She knows what Cosplay is and regularly updates her Twitter page. Stoya has won a plethora of awards in 2008, including the AVN Best New Starlet and XBIZ New Starlet of the Year. She loves her job as an adult film star and is a huge fan of science fiction and knows exactly where she is headed.
Please note that you must be over 18 to read the following interview due to adult content. It is your responsibility to comply with local laws. By clicking here to continue, you are certifying that you are of legal adult age.
IT’S FINALLY HERE!
MELBOURNE, Aust., March 28, 2009 – The Melbourne Showgrounds hosts one of Australia’s largest pop culture exhibitions, Supanova which features everything from Anime, Games, Science Fiction, Movies, Comics, Wrestling, Competitions and other entertainment. This year, all-star celebrities that include Hayden Panettiere (Heroes), Peter Facinelli (Twilight), Eric Roberts (Heroes), Morena Baccarin (Firefly), Richard Hatch (The original Battlestar Galactica), Bonnie Piesse (Star Wars) and Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) will be available to fans for signing, photo sessions and panels.
Apart from the myriad of merchandise available at supanova, the Madman National Cosplay Championship kicks off the first rounds in Melbourne, that will display some of Australia’s best science fiction costumes from movies to anime. For the uninitiated, Cosplay stands for “costume play” and has become an international phenomen with fans of these fictional characters creating thoroughly impressive costumes. The preliminary rounds offer contestants a place at the National Finals with the National Finals boasting a trip for 2 to Tokyo plus other exciting bonuses.
Impulse Gamer was given the opportunity of attending the first day of the Supanova Pop Culture Expo and needless to say, it was an impressive experience. The atmosphere at the expo was thoroughly energetic with hundreds of fans dressing up as their favourite characters. On arriving, we were greeted to the delightful Harley Quinn, a close associate to DC Comics The Joker.
Fans queued in large lines as they attempted to meet the stars from popular science fiction series. Heroes Hayden Panettiere and Battlestar Galactica’s Katee Sackhoff were the standouts for fans as many waited to get a chance for a brief chat, signature or a photo opportunity.
Katee Sackhoff says hello to one of her youngest fans
At 1:45pm, the Madman National Cosplay Championships began and of the caliber of the contestants was truly amazing. These custom made costumes would put some Hollywood costume designers to shame. There were also quite a few contestants that although did not shine like some, still got into the spirit and boosted the friendly atmosphere of the expo.
With a plethora of activities all happening at once, it’s easy to get lost (like we did) in the atmosphere of Supanova that we would highly recommend to fans of a variety of genres to attend. If you missed out on Supanova in Melbourne 2009, there’s always the Brisbane Supanova expo in April or AVCON in Adelaide for Cosplay purists.
A great day to be had by everyone!
For more information, please visit http://www.supanova.com.au/ or http://www.madman.com.au/cosplay/
Supanova Pop Culture Expo 2009 and Madman National Cosplay Championships 2009 Gallery
For a Small Cost Above an External Hard Drive and in Under Five Minutes, you are Streaming Digital Files Throughout Your Home
SYDNEY, Aust., March 27, 2009 – Iomega, an EMC company and a global leader in data protection, today announced the debut of the Iomega® Home Media Network Hard Drive, a new standard in easy-to-use network storage for the digital home. With EMC’s acclaimed LifeLine software, in three simple steps users can configure up to one terabyte* of network storage for backing up all of their files as well as streaming music, photos, video and other multimedia files between computers, networked televisions, popular game consoles and other under-utilised digital home entertainment devices.
Consumers with multiple computers can use the 1TB Home Media Network Hard Drive to centralise their computer storage as well as access files on everything from a laptop to a big screen TV to a Microsoft Xbox 360 or a Sony PlayStation 3. Sharing and streaming multimedia files to a home entertainment system creates lots of enjoyment for the whole family, and the 1TB Home Media Network Hard Drive can store plenty of entertainment – more than 4 million photos, 18,500 hours of music, or 1500 hours of video.**
“Iomega’s new Home Media Network Hard Drive is a powerful network storage device that’s so straightforward, even a novice can be backing up multiple computers and streaming media around their home in less than five minutes,” said Jonathan Huberman, president of Iomega and the Consumer and Small Business Products Division of EMC. “The Home Media Network Drive does the serious work of backing up and protecting digital files, but it also does the fun things like streaming photos and videos to game consoles, digital picture frames and networked TVs, as well as automatically feeding music into iTunes® for easy playback – all for little more than the cost of a USB direct-attached desktop hard drive with comparable storage capacity.”
Key Features of the Home Media Network Hard Drive
The new Iomega Home Media Network Hard Drive operates EMC’s LifeLine™ Home software, a custom Linux operating system and application suite that can be set up in three easy steps: simply plug the Home Network Hard Drive into a router, power on, and install the software CD. A friendly user interface screen makes it easy to access files on all networked computers, as well as control which family members have access to certain folders.
The Home Media Network Hard Drive supports iTunes™ and Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) and Digital Living Network Alliance™ (DLNA) certified devices, which makes the Home Media Network Drive a robust media server that can save, store and stream digital content not only to laptops and desktop computers but popular game consoles like the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, as well as digital picture frames, networked TVs and any other compatible device on a home network.
Fast network performance is achieved through a Gigabit Ethernet connection that plugs directly into a router. The Home Media Network Hard Drive also boasts a fast processor so users can save and access large media files quickly, as well as a USB port to add a shared network printer for multiple computers, or an external USB drive for incremental storage capacity.
The Home Media Network Hard Drive is specifically designed to operate cool, thanks to an efficient fan that also adjusts its rotational speed automatically for quiet operation. The drive has a burnished gun metal exterior and a small footprint, making it aesthetically pleasing out in the open, yet small enough to be easily stowed away. Because the Home Media Network Drive is always turned on to serve up content, the product’s power supply is Energy Star® compliant for power conservation and a better environment.
Backup Software and Online Storage, Too
The Home Media Network Hard Drive is a total network storage solution that provides data backup and protection with integrated award-winning EMC Retrospect® Express backup software. During the set-up process, users choose files and folders for scheduled automatic backups from all the PCs and Macs on the network. After that, any changes or additions are updated and saved automatically.
For added protection, home networks utilising the Home Media Network Hard Drive also get the benefits of online backup with EMC’s MozyHome™ online backup service, a secure way to store, protect and access important files. MozyHome online backup service provides 2GB of free online storage for backing up selected folders to world-class EMC data centres.
Compatibility
The Iomega Home Media Network Hard Drive is compatible with Windows®, Mac OS®, and Linux® PCs. The user-friendly interface is localised in 11 languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Traditional and Simple Chinese, German, and Russian). Other supported devices include uPnP AV devices, digital media adapters, iTunes™, and digital picture frames.
Price and Availability
The Iomega® Home Media Network Hard Drive 1TB, will be available in Australia in early May 2009 for RRP$429.
About EMC
EMC Corporation is the world’s leading developer and provider of information infrastructure technology and solutions that enable organisations of all sizes to transform the way they compete and create value from their information. Information about EMC’s products and services can be found at www.EMC.com.
About Mozy
Mozy is the world’s most popular online backup service for consumers and small businesses with more than 900,000 customers, 25,000 business customers and 11 petabytes of information stored at its multiple data centers around the globe. Mozy was the first company to offer a fully featured free online backup service. Mozy was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2007, and information can be found at www.mozy.com.
About Iomega
Iomega Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of EMC Corporation headquartered in San Diego, is a worldwide leader in innovative storage and network security solutions for small businesses, home offices, consumers and others. The Company has sold more than 400 million digital storage drives and disks since its inception in 1980. Today, Iomega’s product portfolio includes industry leading network attached storage products, external hard drives, and our award-winning removable storage technology, the REV® Backup Drive. To learn about all of Iomega’s digital storage products and managed services solutions, please go to the Web at www.iomega.com.au Resellers can visit Iomega at http://www.ioclub.net/.
NOTE: This release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined under the Federal Securities Laws. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk factors, including but not limited to: (i) adverse changes in general economic or market conditions; (ii) delays or reductions in information technology spending; (iii) our ability to protect our proprietary technology; (iv) risks associated with managing the growth of our business, including risks associated with acquisitions and investments and the challenges and costs of integration, restructuring and achieving anticipated synergies; (v) fluctuations in VMware, Inc.’s operating results and risks associated with trading of VMware stock; (vi) competitive factors, including but not limited to pricing pressures and new product introductions; (vii) the relative and varying rates of product price and component cost declines and the volume and mixture of product and services revenues; (viii) component and product quality and availability; (ix) the transition to new products, the uncertainty of customer acceptance of new product offerings and rapid technological and market change; (x) insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory; (xi) war or acts of terrorism; (xii) the ability to attract and retain highly qualified employees; (xiii) fluctuating currency exchange rates; and (xiv) other one-time events and other important factors disclosed previously and from time to time in EMC’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EMC disclaims any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements after the date of this release.