Sydney, 11 July 2011 – Pure Hacking, Australia’s leading specialist information security consultancy, has won the NSW Finalist iAward for its PureWAF managed web application firewall service. The 2011 iAwards recognises companies at the cutting edge of technology innovation and honours the achievements of home-grown Australian innovators.

PureWAF is an alternative web application firewall solution to better manage the mitigation and monitoring of security breaches. PureWAF can be implemented as a virtual appliance or embedded within the web server on an internal network or externally in the cloud. The cloud-based PureWAF implementation allows clients to take advantage of the scalability and cost benefits of a flexible computing environment without compromising the security of their web application.

Pure Hacking’s CEO, Rob McAdam commented on the announcement: “We are thrilled to be the NSW winners of the Security Application iAward. To be recognised by the industry and your peers as a leader in innovation when that is exactly what we set out to achieve, is very satisfying. To know that a security application solution we have developed here in Australia has inspired the judging panel is an honour.”

Development of Pure Hacking’s managed web application firewall service, PureWAF, was driven by both the market demand for better protection for web applications from hackers and cyber criminals and easier management for the enterprise.

With the rapid adoption of web application technologies within Australian organisations, traditionally deployed WAFs were no longer effectively able to identify and repel the increasing number of identified risks from hackers and cybercriminals.

“Security managers just don’t have the ability to re-trace a security breach and implement fixes directly within the compromised source code or application,” continued McAdam.

“Pure Hacking has developed a reputation for excellence in its penetration testing capabilities and we are now using this knowledge and experience to develop a new breed of WAF technologies,” he continued.

PureWAF detects and blocks attacks targeting web applications, inspecting all inbound and outbound application traffic including encrypted traffic. Deployment of PureWAF ensures an organisation’s security and compliance needs are well managed. It has been developed to replace traditional appliance-based WAFs with a tailored solution that can handle business logic attacks, distributed denial of service, zero-day vulnerabilities, brute force and other malicious attacks.

Free Monthly Update Removes Wide Range of Threats, Including Stuxnet and TDL4

SYDNEY & AUCKLAND – July 11, 2011 – In light of recent high profile dangers such as TDL4, BitDefender, an award-winning provider of innovative Internet security solutions, has released its next generation of removal tools for the current top one hundred malware threats. Based on the company’s cutting edge scanning and disinfection technologies, they are designed to help protect users from a range of infections and stay safe online.

The monthly release will include generic removal mechanisms for the most prevalent hundred pieces of malware globally. Powered by the BitDefender technology that helped to achieve the only maximum protection score in Q1 2011 testing by leading security testing organization AV-Test, they can eliminate a wide assortment of infections, ranging from Trojans and worms to rootkit-based malware. Also featured is an overhauled interface that offers improved usability and aesthetics.

Viorel Canja, Head of BitDefender Antimalware Labs, said:

“Users not running an anti-malware solution take a greater risk of getting infected. Furthermore, if they have already become victims, they might infect friends or unwillingly affect other computers connected to the Internet. The recent publicity about TDL4 highlights the need to ensure you are protected, and these removal tools will go a long way to helping people do just that.”

The removal tool download page is located on Malware City, use the links below:

64-bit version: http://www.malwarecity.com/community/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=24

32-bit version: http://www.malwarecity.com/community/index.php?app=downloads&showfile=23

Monday 11th June –This past weekend Codemasters® launched the first gameplay video for F1 2011, the follow up to the fastest-selling FORMULA ONE™ game ever released, now showing at http://www.youtube.com/formula1game. F1 2011 is in development at Codemasters Birmingham for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC Games For Windows® and is available for pre-order now ahead of its Australian & New Zealand launch on September 22nd 2011.

The new video for F1 2011 gives an insight into some of the innovations and enhancements in the official game of the 2011 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP™. The trailer shows exciting wheel to wheel racing, enhanced by KERS and DRS, as well as highlighting improved garage, paddock, pit lane and Parc Fermé cinematics that further immerse the player into the life of a FORMULA ONE driver. The video is now showing at http://www.youtube.com/formula1game.

In F1 2011 players will be challenged to ‘Be the driver, life the life, go compete’, with wide-ranging advancements on and off the track and a vastly extended multiplayer component. F1 2011 will feature all of the official teams, drivers and circuits from the highly anticipated 2011 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, including the current FIA FORMULA ONE Drivers’ World Champion Sebastian Vettel. The 2011 season also sees the debut of the 2011 FORMULA 1 GRAND PRIX OF INDIA at Dehli’s Jaypee Group Circuit and the return of the German GRAND PRIX™ to the iconic Nürburgring.

Bespoke handheld editions of F1 2011 are also in production for Nintendo 3DS™ and PlayStation®Vita (PS Vita), each designed to take advantage of the new platforms’ unique capabilities; specific release dates for the handheld editions are to be announced.

In production at Codemasters Studios Birmingham, F1 2011 is being developed using the EGO Game Technology Platform, Codemasters’ proprietary tech that powered the critically acclaimed, 2 million-plus selling F1 2010, GRID and currently driving DiRT 3.

F1 2011 will be released September 22nd 2011 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Games for Windows with handheld editions to follow. To get all the news straight from the studio and to win the chance to play F1 2011 ahead of its release, race over to www.facebook.com/formula1game or follow the team on twitter at www.twitter.com/formula1game.

Sydney, AUSTRALIA – July 11^th – Namco Bandai Partners are today pleased to announce that the upcoming CG blockbuster, TEKKEN Blood Vengeance will this month receive an exclusive, one-time-only advance screening in Australia in glorious 3D.

The screening will be held in Sydney, on Wednesday July 27^th.

TEKKEN Blood Vengeance 3D is just one part of the upcoming TEKKEN Hybrid, a PlayStation 3 exclusive for anyone who has ever been a fan of the TEKKEN series, or looking to get started. It will also include a high-definition version of the original TEKKEN Tag Tournament, as well as other currently unannounced content.

Set in the rich Tekken universe, TEKKEN Blood Vengeance 3D follows Xiaoyu Ling, seasoned martial artist and high school student, tasked by the G Corporation to infiltrate an international school in Kyoto to gather information on the mysterious student Shin Kamiya. Before she can make any progress in the investigation, Shin is kidnapped by an unknown assailant. Digging deeper into Shin’s background in an attempt to rescue him, Xiaoyu learns about the frightening underbelly of the Mishima Zaibatsu. Jin Kazama, Kazuya Mishima and the late Heihachi Mishima’s conspiracy that’s stained with blood.

Created in full CG, TEKKEN Blood Vengeance 3D is being produced by Digital Frontier (Resident Evil: Degeneration, Death Note and Appleseed), with the screenplay written by Dai Sato (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Cowboy Bebop) and the score composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto (Ogre Battle, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Tekken 6).  Directing the project will be Youichi Mouri, who directed the opening movies for both Tekken™ 5 and Tekken™ 6: Bloodline Rebellion. 

Fans will have a unique opportunity to be a part of this early look at the next piece of TEKKEN history, as 25 double passes are currently being given away on the official Namco Bandai Partners Australian Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/NamcoBandaiAU

TEKKEN Hybrid goes on sale exclusively for the PlayStation 3 later this year.

First Adventure Pack for The Sims Medieval to Ship September 2011

Sydney, Australia July 8, 2011 – Unleash your inner pirate or naughty noble in an adventure of epic proportions! The EA Play Label of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that The Sims Medieval ™ : Pirates and Nobles is currently in development and will ship in September 2011. The Sims Medieval: Pirates & Nobles adventure pack introduces players to new quests, treasure hunting, and hundreds of new objects for their medieval kingdom

Pre-Open Beta from the Creators of Quake Wars and Soldier of Fortune Online Kicks Off With A Bang And A Pow

Seoul, Korea, July 8th, 2011 – Joymax, a leading online game developer and publisher, announced today that its upcoming World War II game, Karma Online: Prisoners of the Dead, has launched its pre-open beta test with much fanfare and bullets flying, which will run through Tuesday, July 19. To participate in the testing, or learn more about the game, players can visit http://www.joymax.com/karma/

“The sheer volume of players who signed up for this pre-open beta was flattering, but we were glad to be prepared for so much excitement and interest,” said Joymax CEO, Nam-chul Kim. “We have GMs in game regularly to take feedback, play games with our lucky testers, and they’ve reported how much fun everyone is having!”

The pre-open beta runs now through July 19th, so players will have the next couple of weeks to familiarize themselves with the game, learn how to build a character from the ground up and customize them with a variety of skills, use many of the diverse weapons available in the game while blasting their opposing faction’s players and zombies. All of this time will just help them gain experience for when the game officially launches later this summer!

Developed in conjunction with Dragonfly, and published by Joymax, KARMA Online: Prisoners of the Dead is the newest installment in the KARMA Online series, the top online first-person shooter series in Korea. Players go back in time to World War II, where they must choose to side with the Axis or Allied powers and join the fight for global victory – with a zombie twist. In this virtual and historical simulation, players will be up against enemy troops as well as hundreds of the walking dead from the remains of the catastrophic battle.

To become a fan of Karma Online: Prisoners of the Dead, players can visit http://www.facebook.com/#!/KarmaPOD or http://twitter.com/karmapod and http://www.youtube.com/user/KarmaPOD

2011 PAX 10 WINNERS REVEALED

SEATTLE – July 8, 2011 – Ten of the industry’s best (and definitely most original) indie games culled from more than 100 submissions have been selected for the 2011 PAX 10.  The developers of these titles will have free booth space at PAX Prime where they will be seen by the tens of thousands of gamers that will attend at the Washington State Convention Center on August 26 – 28, 2011.

The PAX 10 was created to provide the very best independent game developers with a way to get exposure to the gamers, media and industry professionals at PAX Prime. The winners were selected by industry experts looking for the best in gameplay, originality and overall fun-factor. 

“Every year the showcase of new indie gems are one of the highlights of the show,” said Robert Khoo of Penny Arcade.  “In always chasing the next big blockbuster, too much of our industry is dedicated to making the same game over and over again.  The PAX 10 is one way that indies with innovative game concepts can get in front of the community.”

The winning entries are:

• A Flipping Good Time (PC) – Digipen Institute of Technology – Players will have a flipping good time in this fast-paced free-flowing 2D platformer as they flip and fly through an expansive underground world using the fluid nature of gravity to avoid hazardous terrain.

• Antichamber (PC) – Alexander Bruce –  Journey through the depths within a non-Euclidean labyrinth where geometry and space follow unfamiliar rules, and many obstacles are a matter of perception.  Players must create, destroy and manipulate matter in this mind-bending psychological exploration game.

• Atom Zombie Smasher (PC, Mac, Linux) – Blendo Games – The zombie apocalypse is upon us! Take strategic command of mercenary forces to conduct massive rescue operations using military forces such as snipers, artillery crews, and orbital bombardments to hold back the undead while the civilians escape.

• Fez (XBLA) – Polytron – Guide Gomez, a 2D creature, on a voyage of discovery into the mysterious 3rd dimension. Change his perspective and look at the world in a different way.

• Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony (PC) – Final Form Games – A neo-classical top-down shooter for up to 4 players set on 17th-century British Colonial Mars with a new twist on the genre. There are no shared pools of health or lives; so long as any player survives, the team can be brought back from death.

• Snapshot (PC) – Retro Affect – Pic, a robot camera, can actually absorb objects into photographs, removing them from existence! By pasting pictures back into the world, captured objects – everything from doors, light, even copies of yourself – can be used to solve puzzles.

• Solar 2 (PC) – Murudai – In this open-world, sandbox game set in an infinite abstract universe, players are the planets. Play constructively: grow your system, nurture life and attack enemy life in huge battles. Play destructively: crash into objects and cause chaos, use orbiting objects like wrecking balls and steal planets.

• Splatters (PC) – SpikySnail – You play as a group of semi-suicidal, liquid filled Splatters that get their kicks by igniting in colorful confetti bombs of liquid.  Crash into spikes, ride the slides, Air-Strike into bombs or do just any stunt-combo you can think of. With every new maneuver learned, each show becomes more spectacular.

• Vanessa Saint-Pierre Delacroix & Her Nightmare (PC) – Bad Pilcrow – Standing between Vanessa and freedom are platforming mechanics. The twist? Her two-dimensional world lies on the surface of a three-dimensional cube, and players must rotate each face to find clever solutions to a wide variety of problems.

• Word Fighter (iOS & Android) – Feel Every Yummy – A one-on-one word battling game that mixes rules from popular word games like Boggle and Scrabble and wraps them around a competitive fighting environment. Think “Street Fighter” meets “Words with Friends”, or word games mashed together with “Super Puzzle Fighter”.

The PAX 10 website can be found at http://prime.paxsite.com/pax10.php.

PAX Prime is already sold out.

Hungribles has now been submitted for App Store review and while we wait, nervously wringing our hands, we’d like to share the first details of the game’s challenge mode with you.

In all modes, the aim of the game is to feed the Hungribles with tasty orbs to make them happy. In story mode you can take your time and the only pressure comes from having a limited number of orbs available.

In challenge mode things are more hectic as you play against the clock. You have an unlimited number of orbs but, once you fire your first orb, your mushroom slingshot fires continuously like some sort of fungal Gatling gun.

NEW HUNGRIBLES CHALLENGE MODE SCREENSHOTS
http://www.hungribles.com/images/screenshots/hungribles5.png
http://www.hungribles.com/images/screenshots/hungribles6.png

Challenge levels generally feature more individual Hungribles and often have moving walls and other dynamic elements. You get bonus points for trick shots, bouncing the orbs off walls and curving them around Hungribles, but the real points come from finishing quickly with lots of time left on the clock.

Compared to other physics-based puzzlers, in Hungribles there is more skill to aiming and the gravity inspired appetite effect is unique. Our latest gameplay trailer shows story mode in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDlg-V3OyZ4

Arkane Studios Reveals New First-Person Action Game

Sydney, Australia – July 8, 2011 – Bethesda Softworks®, a ZeniMax® Media company, today confirmed that it will publish Dishonored™, an all-new first-person action game under development at Arkane® Studios. Dishonored will be the first project for the studio since being acquired by ZeniMax in 2010.

Under the direction of co-creative directors, Raphael Colantonio, lead designer on Arx Fatalis®, and Harvey Smith, lead designer on Deus Ex®, Dishonored is set for release on Xbox 360®video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Games for Windows® in 2012.

Details on Dishonored will be revealed in the exclusive cover story in Game Informer®’s August issue, available July, 2011.

“At Arkane we have a passion for creating deep, immersive game experiences,” said Colantonio. “To be able to finally share details of our project is both extremely exciting and satisfying.”

The game will also be featured in magazine cover stories around the world throughout late July and the month of August. Check the official site for updated details: www.dishonored.com.

About Bethesda Softworks

Bethesda Softworks, part of the ZeniMax Media Inc. family of companies, is a worldwide publisher of premier interactive entertainment software. Titles featured under the Bethesda Softworks label include such blockbuster franchises as DOOM®, QUAKE®, The Elder Scrolls®, Fallout®, Wolfenstein® and RAGE®. Among the world’s top development studios creating titles for ZeniMax are Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, Arkane Studios, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks and ZeniMax Online Studios. For more information on Bethesda Softworks’ products, visit www.bethsoft.com.

About Arkane Studios

Founded in 1999, Arkane, a ZeniMax Media company, has offices located in Lyon, France and Austin, Texas and has attracted diverse and talented developers with a passion for creating detailed, immersive worlds.

Dishonored, Bethesda Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, The Elder Scrolls, ZeniMax and related logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of ZeniMax Media Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Arkane and Arx Fatalis are trademarks or registered trademarks of Arkane Studios SAS in the U.S. and/or other countries. Fallout is a trademark or registered trademark of Bethesda Softworks LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. DOOM, QUAKE, RAGE, Wolfenstein, id, id Software and related logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of id Software in the U.S. and/or other countries. All Rights Reserved.

Other trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.