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THE BASEMENT COLLECTION W / INDIE GAME: THE MOVIE ANNOUNCED FOR RETAIL – MERGE GAMES

Calling all Indie game fans…We are delighted to announce the release of The Basement Collection. Legendary Indie developer Edmund  Mc Millen, creator of Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac has compiled a full catalogue of his early work; revamped and updated with new levels as well as a ton of un-lockable extra goodies.

Owning this collectable edition gives you the rare opportunity to own every one of Edmund’s early accomplishments in one great looking box and it’s packed full of extra gifts which you can only get your hands on by buying this exclusive retail box (including drawings from Edmund’s childhood!)

Once you’ve played to your heart’s content, sit back and enjoy Indie Game: The Movie. Included in The Basement Collection retail release, we are giving away a full copy of the acclaimed movie, which opens up the real worlds of the best independent game developers working their craft. The DVD docu-film shows the highs and lows of Indie game development, through the story of three games , Super Meat Boy, Braid and Fez.

Merge Games with Head Up Games release The Basement Collection on March 8th Pre order your copy here www.mergegames.com

Packshots, open box and sell sheet attached.

About the Game

The Basement Collection is a compilation of 9 award winning indie games by Edmund McMillen, creator of Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac. All of the games featured in the collection have been revamped and updated, featuring bonus chapters, new music, art and other extras.

The Basement Collection includes:

  • Aether ( an exploration adventure game )
  • Time Fcuk ( a dark puzzle game )
  • Spewer ( a physics based platformer )
  • Meat Boy ( the super meat boy prototype )
  • Grey Matter ( an anti shooter )
  • Coil (an experimental game )
  • Triachnid (a physics based spider sim)

The collection also features 2 secret un-lockable games and tons of un-lockable comics, sketch books and even never before seen stock footage from Indie Game: The Movie.

  • Key Features
  • 8 full games, featuring new content, achievements and development extras.
  • 8 un-lockable extras featuring bonus games, comics, sketch books and videos.
  • A full collection soundtrack, featuring over 30 full length tracks from games featured as well as fan made bonus tracks.
  • Over 30 minutes of audio interviews.
  • Over 20 minutes of video extras from Indie Game: The Movie, (15 minutes of never before scene footage).
  • Over 15 pages of development sketches and character designs.

Quote From Edmund

“I’m honored to have the basement collection as my 4th retail release with Head up and Merge Games. Its a labor of love that will be packed with physical extras that should make this edition something to hold on to, Its awesome to have so many of my games in one place.”

Dieter Quote

“All fans of Edmund McMillen, creator of Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac, will be highly pleased to know that this special edition of The Basement Collection allows them to gain even further insight into the earlier work of this outstanding artist. All game treasures in this edition deserve the full attention of anyone interested in the art of game creation. And we as a company enjoy collaborating with the creative mastermind once more as Edmund is highly dedicated to his work. Not without pride we are therefore happy to announce the release of the third project in this valuable partnership between Edmund, Merge Games and ourselves.”

Luke Keighran (Merge Games Founder) Quote

I can only say, I hope you have half the fun we’ve been having, playing this collection of games. Edmund has put together a brilliant pack and we are delighted to be able to publish such a creative piece of work- it’s a great example of the fantastic creativity and uniqueness that Indie gaming offers. We just love working with Edmund and Head Up.”

Merge Games Info

About Merge Games – Merge Games, based in England, is a developer and publisher of independent games titles for the retail and digital marketplace. We support our projects with bespoke marketing and PR plans for both the launch and the lifetime of the game. The key to our success is that we give each project a very personal and tailored solution, from a talented, experienced and passionate team.

Visit our website – www.mergegames.com

“Like” us on Facebook – Merge Games Ltd

Follow us on Twitter – @MergeGamesLtd

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel – Merge Games Ltd 

About Headup Games:

Headup Games GmbH & Co. KG is an independent games publisher located near Cologne in Germany as was awarded as the Best German Publisher in 2012 by the German Developers Association. Together with its partners Headup Games focuses on the contentment of their customers and the best gameplay experience delivered at the fairest price-quality ratio. Since its foundation the company published over 50 SKU’s, including many projects from young, ambitious indie-developers, where much potential and creativity had been seen. The portfolio features high-quality games such as Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac, Terraria, Limbo, Archon: Classic, The Tiny Bang Story, Trapped Dead, Grotesque Tactics, The Binding of Isaac, Q.U.B.E., and Frozen Synapse as well as the million seller and #1 iOS Hit Bridge Constructor.

 
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Rome II – Faction Reveal 6 – Suebi

In this week’s faction reveal we take a look at the proud, indomitable Suebi.

Fearsome tribesmen from the forests of Germania, they excel in ambush scenarios, and are well-placed to unite – or dominate – the Barbarian lands of northwest Europe.

Head over to the Total War Wiki now for more info http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Factions

 
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Injustice Battle Arena Week 2 Winners Announced -DC Comics Characters Shazam, The Joker, Lex Luther and The Flash Featured In All New Gameplay Videos

Today, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment reveal the fan-chosen victors of the second week of Injustice Battle Arena. Fans can now witness the outcome of these battles first-hand by watching two all-new videos which showcase the first extended gameplay of Shazam, The Joker, Lex Luthor and The Flash, as they clash in battle with their own special moves and skills.

The result of fan voting over the past week, The Joker wiped the floor with Lex Luthor in a furious bout of epic speed against legendary power, while The Flash emerged victorious over Shazam in a grudge match of villains.

Two new gameplay videos depicting these hard-fought matches of speed, cunning and brutality are now available for fans to view on the Injustice: Gods Among Us YouTube channel at http://youtu.be/EsaFAK7RATs  and http://youtu.be/3X9ct8hsP9o. In addition to YouTube, these videos may also be downloaded here.

Find out tomorrow which timeless DC Comics characters will enter the ring for the third round of Injustice Battle Arena. For participating in these show-downs, fans in Australia will be rewarded with an Injustice avatar item when they register on the site and an exciting piece of DLC content when they first vote. Voice your opinion via Facebook, YouTube or Twitter and join the debate!

To learn more, visit: http://ema.io/MzAz .

 

Injustice: Gods Among Us is an all-new game in development by award-winning NetherRealm Studios. The title debuts a bold new fighting game franchise that introduces a deep, original story featuring a large cast of favourite DC Comics icons such as Batman, Green Arrow, Cyborg, Harley Quinn, Nightwing, Solomon Grundy, Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and many others. Set in a world where the lines between good and evil are blurred, players will experience heroes and villains engaging in epic battles on a massive scale.

 
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Scribblenauts Unlimited Now Available Via Steam

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announces today’s Australian launch of Scribblenauts Unlimited for PC, a new game expanding upon the award-winning, video game franchise that challenges players to imagine anything and bring it to life in the game. The popular Scribblenauts series has sold more than five million units to date – making it one of the most successful video game franchises.  Created and developed by 5TH Cell, Scribblenauts Unlimited is available today for PC via Steam.

Scribblenauts Unlimited fosters unlimited creativity, unbounded exploration and fun, social elements that create an original experience for fans of all ages. The game features a huge sidescrolling open world with highdefinition, handdrawn scenery and objects where players can help the game’s hero, Maxwell, solve robust puzzles and challenges by summoning any object they can imagine.  Players also learn the backstory of Maxwell’s parents, his twin sister Lily, and how he acquired his magical notepad. 

Scribblenauts Unlimited includes a new “Object Editor” feature that elevates the game’s creativity by giving players the same tools as the developer to make, name, and then share their creations online.  Players can create their own objects from scratch or customise any object in-game by setting properties for how it behaves, and can change its appearance by resizing, disassembling and altering its texture and color. The user-generated objects can then be shared with all players for use in their worlds too. Previously summoned objects and players’ own creations can be stored in Maxwell’s “magic backpack” for easy access and future use.

For further details please visit: www.scribblenauts.com 

 
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Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away 3D – Q & A with Executive Producer James Cameron

Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away 3D – Q & A with Executive Producer James Cameron

From the big top to the big screen, visionary filmmaker James Cameron and director Andrew Adamson (Shrek, Narnia) invite you and your family on an all new 3D adventure: Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away.   A young couple who is separated, must journey through the astonishing and dreamlike worlds of Cirque du Soleil to find each other, as audiences experience the immersive 3D technology that will allow them to leap, soar, swim, and dance with the performers.   Cirque du Soleil brings their world to your city!

For Cameron, Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away “was a dream come true.

I had actually been trying to talk to the Cirque people for years saying, “Why aren’t we doing your shows in 3D?” And I finally met with Danielle when I was finishing Avatar and I said, “We could be doing this with your shows”.  And when he started to see the possibility of what 3D could really be then we got serious.

How does 3D enhance the spectacle?

The Cirque du Soleil shows are so gorgeous, so colourful, so dreamlike – the 3D just puts you right in the show in a way that I believe is even better than sitting in the audience.  You sit in the audience and you see it from one perspective but you go in with the 3D camera and you get in amongst the performers and you get into those high angles where you really see the jeopardy of those aerial acts, how far above the ground they are and you can feel that sense of vertigo. You appreciate the performance so much more.

How did you direct a director, Andrew Adamson, for this film?

Andrew is strongly visual, understands the visual effects which are used to create the wrap-around story but also had a great sensibility about what this is – this is a circus in a dream. You’re kind of in a dream-state when you watch a Cirque du Soleil show anyway, now you’re being asked to go a journey between these circus tents if you will in this dream-like state. So he approached it as art, as beauty, as a dream-like enigma because ultimately it’s not about that story, it’s about the design and the characters and all of the unanswered questions. There are so many things in Cirque du Soleil shows that are never answered for you – it forces your imagination to kick into gear.

How did you film the live show in a different way?

The challenge was that a lot of the power of the Cirque shows is that they’re performed live so there’s always the possibly that the performer might fail. I don’t think people want that to happen but they celebrate it when it doesn’t because it’s a live show, it’s really happening right in front of them. So we have to do something different with a film and the 3D provides a level of physical presence as if you’re really there, it kind of convinces the brain at a subconscious level that it’s really happening right in front of you. And it also makes you feel as if you’re right there with the performers, you see the power of the athleticism in their performance and the grace and the beauty, it all just feels enhanced.

How did you select amongst the arsenal of 3D camera equipment?

We had a huge arsenal of camera equipment coming off a number of movies, Avatar among them but also coming off a lot of the live sports events that we’ve been shooting so the question was, looking at that arsenal, what’s going to work for these shows. Really it was a little bit like a concert film which we had done because there’s a live audience while we’re shooting parts of it and we have to have the cameras be unobtrusive and yet we also had the opportunity to go in and restage parts of the act without the audience there and get the camera right in close to the performance, so it was a little bit like shooting a movie. So we knew we had to have tools that were like the long-lens camera and cranes that we would use for a concert film. We’d also get in there with the steady-cam, dolly and so on – a mix of the entire tool set that Cameron Pace Group has available. It was the first time we ever put together all of those pieces on one project.

Was there extra pressure put on the performers?

All the Cirque performers are actors, they’re performers, they’re show people so I don’t think it was tough for them – they understood there was a lot of pressure on them because they were elected out of not just the troop of their shows but all the troops of the different shows to represent Cirque du Soleil in this film. They worked really hard, they tried really hard but that’s what they do every day – that’s what these people do every day. Erica in her day job is up spinning around 50 feet above the floor at high velocity, being held there by someone with just one hand so I think they know how to deal with pressure.

Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away 3D (rated G) opens in Cinemas in Digital 3D and 2D in Australia on 21 February 2013.

 
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New Video Explores the Making of STAR TREK THE VIDEO GAME

Three years ago, shortly after the massive worldwide success of the re-imagined film version of Star Trek, the creators of the upcoming STAR TREK The Video Game began their journey to bring an entirely new adventure to gamers.

At the heart of every Star Trek adventure are two unforgettable heroes: Kirk and Spock – and just as their cooperation drives the story of Star Trek on screen, it needed to form the core of the video-game experience, says Brian Miller, executive producer of STAR TREK The Video Game, which will be released April 26.

“Kirk is this brash cowboy character, whereas Spock is the exact opposite – and when you break down Star Trek to those elements, you had to make a co-op game,” Miller says. “There was no other game we could possibly make.”

In a new video feature released today by Paramount Pictures, Miller explains more about the creation of STAR TREK The Video Game and the co-op play that gamers will experience in it.

 
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Shootmania Storm is now in open beta

SM Storm - FacebookTalk about it around you: everyone can now download the ShootMania Storm client, create an account without the need of a key, and join the game right away.

The Open Beta give access to most of the game modes (except Heroes, Royal Exp and Elite Exp), servers and maps. Some features will remain limited for the players on free accounts. You can unlock all of the features by pre-ordering the game at a discount on the official website.

The client is downloadable from the following links:

 
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Oz The Great and Powerful 3D opens with a bang on the IMAX screen

IMAX Melbourne Museum showcases its new screen, sound and digital projection system on 7 March 2013, with the opening of OZ The Great and Powerful 3D. 

Oz The Great and Powerful 3D will be the first film to utilise the new IMAX screen and sound system, which will significantly increase both image and audio quality, delivering the most impressive cinematic experience possible.

Oz The Great and Powerful 3D moviegoers will also be treated to the first nine minutes of the highly anticipated Star Trek sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, playing prior to screenings for the first two weeks. Several key scenes in Star Trek Into Darkness which feature big action set pieces, have been captured with IMAX cameras and will expand to fill the entire IMAX Melbourne Museum screen when it opens on 16 May, 2013.

“We are very excited to be showcasing Oz The Great and Powerful 3D in the absolute best way possible. The colour and vibrancy portrayed in the world of OZ will come to life on the new IMAX screen,” said IMAX General Manager, Richard Morrison.

“Oz The Great and Powerful 3D will kick-start a year packed with exciting new Hollywood blockbusters and we can’t wait to bring them to our IMAX fans.”

Oz The Great and Powerful imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum’s beloved wizard character. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot. Fame and fortune are his for the taking—that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity—and even a bit of wizardry—Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful wizard but into a better man as well.

Tickets for Oz the Great and Powerful 3D at IMAX Melbourne Museum go on sale at 12pm Thursday 21 February 2013.

For more information on the IMAX Melbourne Museum upgrade, go to http://www.imaxmelbourne.com.au/movie/imax_is_getting_an_upgrade

Oz The Great and Powerful 3D

Release Date:            7 March 2013

Where:                        IMAX Melbourne Museum, Carlton Gardens

Tickets:                      $26.50 adult, $22.50 concession, $19.00 child, $78 family (2 adults & 2 children)

Bookings:                  www.imaxmelbourne.com.au or at the box office

 
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New Reviews – Week 7 of 2013 – Dead Space 3, The Possession Blu-ray, Detective Comics #17 & more

Games
Dead Space 3 <MA15+> (Feb 2013)
Aliens Colonial Marines <MA15+> (Feb 2013)
New Super  Mario Bros U (Feb 2013)
Modern Combat 4 Zero Hour
(Feb 2013)

Cognition, An Erica Reed Thriller Episode 2 The Wise Monkey

Movies
The Possession <MA15+> (Feb 2013)
Wedding Band <M15+> (Feb 2013)
Braquo Season 1
<MA15+> (Feb 2013)
Braquo Season 2
<MA15+> (Feb 2013)
Ancient Aliens Season 3
<PG> (Feb 2013)
Frank Woodley Bemusement Park
<M15+> (Feb 2013)
The Adventures of Merlin Season 5
<M15+> (Feb 2013)
Anna Karenina
<M15+> (Feb 2013)
West of Memphis <MA15+> (Feb 2013)

Comics
Detective Comics #17 (Feb 2013)
Young Romance #1 (Feb 2013)
New Avengers #3
(Feb 2013)
Earth 2 #9
(Feb 2013)

 
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TARA BABCOCK’S ATARI-INDUCED EUPHORIA PHOTOSHOOT

Now, I know I have been completely  MIA for an extended period of time, leaving the viewers and readers here at  Impulse Gamer wondering, “where did Tara go!?” I assure you that it was nothing  more than my overly-packed schedule that kept me from entertaining and enticing  you all with my fun gaming articles and photoshoots!  My gaming livestream was taking off  and monopolizing most of my time, as well as shoots and other general Tara  craziness, but I think I have it under control now. No one activity can have all  of me; I needed my writing fill too! I am back, and will be providing my section  at Impulse Gamer with monthly articles and sexy gaming-inspired imagery!

I pondered how exactly I could come  back with a bang, and the solution was obvious–a sexy gaming photoshoot  showcasing new, sexy red hair, and a system that pioneered the gaming  revolution!


This is my  favorite photo from the set. It accurately captures the utter ecstasy of having  this many industry changing, iconic games! Imagine having this collection as a  child! Scroll down for the whole gallery of epicness!

Check out the Full Photoshoot & Article Here!