From the press release:

Tampere, Finland – July 1, 2010 – 10tons Ltd announced today a brand new game called Heroes of Kalevala. Heroes of Kalevala is a village-building match-3 game. The game world is inspired by Finnish national epic Kalevala. The game will feature state of the art match-3 mechanics, an extensive village building meta game, and several hero characters from Kalevala for the player to meet.
“We’ve always loved match-3 games that are original and provide polished playability. We created a tiny match-3 game called Ice Breaker way back in 2004 and now we wanted to revisit this classic genre.”, said Sampo Töyssy of 10tons. “Our goal was to create a modern match-3 game with all the best parts from existing games seasoned with some new twists. We also have an original meta game that interacts heavily with the match-3 game. Since the whole team is from Finland, it’s been fun and interesting to create a game that draws inspiration from Kalevala.”
Heroes of Kalevala will be available for iPhone and iPod touch around August 2010. More platforms will be announced later. Heroes of Kalevala is developed with the support of the MEDIA programme of the European Union.

Heroes of Kalevala Video is a post from: Thumb Gods

So Konami is licensing the Unreal Engine from my neighbors, Epic Games… for a horror game based on the Saw films. Does this seem weird to anyone else? Ok… I guess I associate Konami with Lost in Blue and DDR, not bloody gory games.

CARY, N.C., June 24, 2010 – Epic Games, Inc. announced today that Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. has licensed its Unreal Engine 3 for “Saw II: The Game,” an upcoming third-person survivor horror sequel developed by Zombie Studios for Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation(R)3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.

Based on the fictional universe of the “Saw” movie series, “Saw II” takes place between the first two films and introduces a new twist on Jigsaw’s sinister traps and puzzles in the most intense look into the “Saw” universe ever. “Saw II” features a new combat system, clever ways to fight off enemies using the environment, and highly realistic graphics powered by the latest Unreal Engine 3 technology.

“Licensing Unreal Engine 3 was an easy decision for us,” said Careen Yapp, vice president of acquisitions and franchise development at Konami. “The engine’s new and improved features, time-saving tools and exceptional support system make it the best choice for the ‘Saw’ property.”

“I’ve used other game engines, I’ve written my own, I’ve used middleware and I’ve shipped sequels for franchises using other studios’ tech set, and I prefer Unreal Engine 3 over all of them,” said Mark Long, chief executive officer of Zombie Studios. “The quickest way to reduce risk is to use a known, proven toolset. With Unreal Engine 3, I can promise publishers what I can deliver, and I deliver on time. Every time.”

“Saw II” will be Zombie Studios’ ninth title and fourth franchise shipped with the Unreal Engine.

“It’s always rewarding to support repeat customers with our engine technology,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games. “Konami is a fantastic publisher, and Zombie has great success shipping Unreal-powered games, so we’re eager to see how the new ‘Saw’ game unfolds.”

“Saw II: The Game” is scheduled to be released globally in fall 2010 to coincide with the release of the film, “Saw VII.” To download “Saw II: The Game” screenshots, the logo or trailer, visit http://www.konami.com/GamersNight/.

Konami Licenses Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3 for “Saw II: The Game” is a post from: Thumb Gods

I’m not sure if I like the anti-gravity app or the ‘adult’ app best.

There Really Is An App For Everything is a post from: Thumb Gods

This commercial (which kind of mirrors the American version, but has a real live girl in it) features another hot girl in glasses… just like the character in the game!

Appealing to the same part of all of our brains (glasses = smart = relatable = GIRLFRIEND!), this game not only tailored to its target audience, but swept it off its feet.

Wonderful logic, boys. Counteracts all the times I’ve been told how pretty I’d be if I got contacts.

And on the topic of pretty girls in gaming, I’ve got some E3 booth babes behaving badly over on my personal blog.

Via The 13 Sexiest Video Game Commercials Of All Time | Ranker – A World of Lists

Sexiest Videogame Commercials is a post from: Thumb Gods

Photo courtesy of Interplay Entertainment

How about some non-E3 news for a change.

Today Interplay launched their beta sign-up and teaser website today for their upcoming Fallout Online MMORPG, or Project V13 if you want to keep calling it that.

Via MMOCrunch

Fallout MMO Beta! is a post from: Thumb Gods

wikiHow, a collaboration to build and share the world’s largest, highest quality how-to manual, just launched its newest iPhone and iPod Touch app, wikiHow’s Love Survival Kit. Available now for free download on the App Store, the Love Survival Kit follows wikiHow’s hugely successful Emergency Survival Kit, which has more than half a million downloads to date. Packed with articles for every love scenario, from casual dating to serious relationships, and everything in between, wikiHow’s Love Survival Kit will have you looking for love (tips) in all the right places.

The Love Survival Kit’s practical articles help people gracefully navigate tricky dating and social situations, or just kill time by learning fun and charming tricks. A modern approach to etiquette – complete with video tutorials – the Love Survival Kit covers a broad range of relationship categories and subjects, such as:

• Love and War including: How to Catch a Cheating Boyfriend, How to Date Multiple Men/Women at a Time, How to Play Hard To Get, and more
• Kissing including: How to Kiss, How to French Kiss, How to Deal with a Bad Kisser, How to Get Rid of Chapped Lips, and more
• Awkward Situations including: How to Deal with Someone’s Bad Breath, How to Escape the Friend Zone, How to Get Rid of a Stalker, and more
• Breaking Up including: How to Break Up Over the Phone, How to Break Up Over IM, How to Get Over a Break Up, and more
• Dating Skills including: How to Flirt, How to Play Footsie, How to Read Body Language, How to Have a Great Conversation, and more
• Charming Tricks including: How to Fold a Dollar Into a Heart, How to Open a Beer Bottle with a Dollar Bill, How to Open a Champagne Bottle with a Sword, and more
• Additional How-To Categories including: Best Foot Forward, Relationship Fixes, Relationship Skills and Tying the Knot

wikiHow Founder Jack Herrick commented: “I started wikiHow to help people by offering practical education. One of the most surprising things I’ve seen is how many people want to use wikiHow to secretly improve their love life. So the Love Survival Kit was created to fulfill this need, delivering the best of our romance and relationship advice in one free app.”

Which gets me thinking… I wonder if there’s a Worse-Case Scenario Handbook app yet.

Love Survival Kit (Yes, Really) is a post from: Thumb Gods

I think there’s a lot of potential in a cute virtual pet game for the iPhone. A good one would blend all the adorable options of a Tamagotchi (remember those?), with the ease of an iPhone interface and touchscreen, and a great game would let users exchange items or let me bring my virtual pet to play with your virtual pet if we were in the same place.

It got me thinking about another virtual pet game for the iToy.  Pocket Creatures is a cute virtual pet, the video reminds me of making a monster in Black & White or training a Sims pet.

Via A ‘Pet Puppy’ For Your iToy | DIYgamer, Pocket Creatures

Pocket Creatures is a post from: Thumb Gods

Speaking of Capcom announcements….

City of Industry, Calif.—June 7, 2010—InterWorks Unlimited Inc., the
fastest-growing distributor of innovative gaming peripherals, today
announced they have extended their official license deal with leading
worldwide developer and publisher of video games Capcom Entertainment,
Inc. to develop Resident Evil® Darkside Chronicles and Resident Evil®
Umbrella Chronicles and other Capcom® game-branded peripherals for use
with this generation’s gaming consoles.

“Resident Evil® is one of the most successful franchises in video game
history,” said Michael Kidakarn, Executive Creative Director of
InterWorks. “Our products must achieve the design and technical
sophistication that gamers expect from the Resident Evil universe. We know
fans will be proud of the final product along with future inventions we
have in the works for popular Capcom brands.

“InterWorks has come up with some innovative ideas that will enhance the
gameplay experience for Capcom gamers,” said Seon King, Senior Director or
Licensing at Capcom. “We are excited about the new products and looking
forward to hearing the response from gamers.”

The next products to launch will be the Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles
and Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles Magnum and Knife Kit, continuing
upon the success of the Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles and Resident
Evil Umbrella Chronicles Shot Blaster for the Nintendo Wii™. Both will be
featured at the InterWorks booth at the upcoming Entertainment Expo in Los
Angeles, June 15-17, 2010.

Capcom and InterWorks Extend Official License for Gaming Peripherals is a post from: Thumb Gods

Capcom at E3 is a post from: Thumb Gods

Chinese iPhone devs Mo-Star release Princess Fury:

Inventive developers Mo-Star today announced the release of their new fantasy battle game for iPhone, Princess Fury. This gorgeously illustrated action game boasts a combination of classic arcade action style and a creative, real-time strategic battle system.

As Princess Fury, players strike down enemies with the combined power of servants and soldiers. With stunning swordplay and magic, players can combat over 100 enemies at once in epic battles that rely on collaboration with friendly forces as much as one’s own competence and courage.

“Most of our developers grew up playing arcade and console games, so our goal with Princess Fury was to provide a console quality gaming experience, suited to the mobile player,” said Qin Yi, general manager at Mo-Star. “We spent lots of time making the controls sharp, the battles fun and exciting, and fine-tuning the sound and graphics effects; and now we have created a game that we enjoy playing, and we hope fans will enjoy it too.”

A princess-y RTP with Chinese characteristics? Sounds great to me. Can’t wait to check it out!

Princess Fury is a post from: Thumb Gods