Event details:

• Date: Monday 7th November 2011
• Time: 7pm till late
• Location: Somewhere in central London
• Music Acts: Example and Chase & Status
• Note: Attendees will not be getting a free copy of the game

This competition closes at 2pm on Wednesday 2nd November 2011 and you need to be over 18 years old to enter. You also need to be able to make it to central London on the Monday 7th Nov 2011 as travel or accommodation costs are not included in the prize.

To enter this competition, answer a simple question on GAME’s Facebook page and cross your fingers.

Good luck everyone.

As a Community Reporter, you’ll get a chance to go to GamesCom 2011 in Germany this month to report on the show – one of the largest gaming shows in the world! With behind the scenes access to the latest Sims and SPORTS games, interview opportunities and much more, it’s a brilliant opportunity for any fan of the games to get the scoop on the latest news. You will also have selected opportunities to attend other The Sims or EA SPORTS events in the UK throughout the course of the year.

To enter the competition you need to tell EA how big a fan you are of either The Sims or EA Sports games and why you should be picked to go to Gamescom 2011. Written entries should be no more than 1000 words and videos should be less than 3 minutes in length. The competition entry form can be found here.

Note: You need to be 18 years or over, have a valid passport to travel and be available between the 16th – 22nd Aug to attend Gamescom 2011.

The closing date for entries is midnight (BST) 9th Aug 2011, so you better get writing/videoing quickly.

Taking place between the 22nd – 25th September 2011 at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London this year’s expo is going to be bigger than ever. You will be able to play Guild Wars 2, Gears of War 3, Mass Effect 3, FIFA 12, Dark Souls, Star Wars: The Old Republic and many other games before they are officially released.

Eurogamer Expo 2010 - Look at all the games to play :-)

We are joining in the expo fun and giving you the chance to win a pair of tickets any day of the Eurogamer Expo. Yay!

To enter this competition just leave a comment on this post tell us about the worst game you’ve ever played and which day you want to attend. We’ll pick a winner for the tickets and email them so please use a valid email address.

The competition closes on at 9pm BST on 31st July 2011 so get your entries in quick and good luck.

Note: The winner will get a pair of tickets to the expo only. No travel or accommodation is included. According to the Eurogamer Expo website you need to be at least 16 years of age to attend the expo on your own. Under 16s are permitted to attend but will need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian. A guardian would need to be at least 18 years of age.

Update 31st July: This competition is now closed and the winner has been notified.

We’re joining in the generosity by offering one of you lovely UK readers the chance to win a Xbox 360 250GB console with Kinect and Kinect Adventures worth £290. Hooray!

To enter this fantastic competition, just leave a comment on this post telling us what game you’re most excited about in 2011. We’ll pick a winner for the Xbox Kinect bundle and email them so please use a valid email address. This competition is open to UK residents only.

This competition is now closed. All comments posted before 9pm BST on 5th August 2011 will be entered into the draw.

Who’s eligible?

You need to be a team of 5* containing a balance of art and programming students with a team member who will tackle the audio aspects of the game. In addition to this your team must have someone willing to take on the role of team leader in addition to their creative / technical duties. You must be a team of students (postgraduate and / or undergraduate) at a Higher Education Institute (University or Art College).

If you’re applying from outside the UK, there are extra criteria (e.g. Irish teams need at least 2 members from the Republic and 2 members from Northern Ireland for some reason). See the full How to Apply to Dare to be Digital post on the official site for details.

Why should you apply? Well, this year the competition is partly sponsored by Intel, who will be providing hardware and software specifically geared towards games and media production – great for getting hands-on experience. You’ll also get to hang with people already in the industry, you’ll have a demo ready for job applications and you get a weekly stipend and free accommodation for the competition. Sure, it’s in Scotland but you can’t have everything, right? ;)

[Ok, I admit that I have never been to Dundee. It's way too far up north for me. While I'm sure it's a lovely place and the photos make Dundee look very pretty, I likes my warmth.]

To a more personal perspective on the competition, check out the interviews we did with Dare to be Digital competitors back in 2006. Then go start polishing up your application.

All you need to do to win a beta code is drop us a comment below with a short story from your MMO experiences. If you’ve never played an MMO, just tell us any gaming story that you’d like to share. Doesn’t matter how long or short your story; talk about your first day in MMO-land. Tell us about the time you zerged a Balauran fortress or the epic PvP battle you were just about to win when your connection dropped. Hell, it doesn’t even have to be true – entertain me ;)

The unique thing about Rift will be its dynamic world:

Whether it’s a previously peaceful farm being ravaged by demons, a tranquil forest glen suddenly ripped apart by a violent rift, or merely an unassuming traveling merchant with astounding wares, spontaneous events are taking place all across Telara for you to discover and take part in.

The ebb and flow of activity in Telara is always changing. Thousands of unexpected encounters are occurring at any moment, making every adventure unique — with more being added all the time. And just like in real life, you can revisit favorite haunts to see what’s different, adding a novel sense of exploration to even well-trodden ground.

Haven’t played the beta myself yet but I did love other MMOs with unique events, like Tabula Rasa’s epic closing battle and the Guild Wars world-changing Searing that marks your transition into the game proper. With any luck, Rift will offer a similar experience that truly affects the world in which you adventure.

Our favourite stories will win VIP access codes that guarantee you access to “Enter the Rift”, an upcoming beta event for levels 1 – 20, as well as any future beta events. Everyone else who enters will receive standard beta codes – these give you an extra entry into beta draws so it’s well worth entering if you’re already registered with the beta programme.

Enter The Rift: – Adventure through the world of Telara as a noble Guardian or technomagical Defiant. Enter a dynamic fantasy where eight primal forces battle for control over an ever-changing landscape. The planar invasions grow more numerous and the Ascended must rise to the challenge!

Enter The Rift will run from 28th to 31st. Looking forward to your tall tales! Don’t forget to use your real email address in the comment form or provide a Twitter account so we can send out your code.

Edit: Thanks everyone for your great stories! Closing the comments now as the beta is almost over. Hope everyone who got in had fun and reported many bugs :)

You’ve probably heard of the recent Sims 3 expansion Barnacle Bay, right? Pirates! Treasure! A tropical paradise! The Sims 3 team have kindly given us download codes for 3 lucky Sims fans to get the Barnacle Bay expansion for free. Here’s what we’ll do:

1. Around 3:20pm (GMT) today we’ll send out a competition tweet from @TheAvgGamer
3. Follow us and RT to enter the competition
4. We’ll pick winners at random on Thursday 14th October and get in touch by DM.

Yup, it’s that simple. You’ll need your own copy of The Sims 3 to play Barnacle Bay – it’s an expansion after all.

Best of luck! Take a look at these screenshots to whet your appetites.

Gallery:

• Tweet with the hashtag #brutallegend
• Follow @dinomas
• Use a hashtag aggregator to follow the rest of the #brutallegend party!

@dinomas will be asking questions. Answer them and you could win a PS3 slim, one of five Eddie Riggs statues or one of twenty-five “Fan Packs” (stickers, zipper pulls & patches).

Let us know if you win!

Edit:
#BrutalLegend has reached 4th on TwitScoop trends halfway through the party

They’re doing it again. And this time, it’s open to UK residents, French and some others that I forget. Watch the video – Creative director Alex Hutchinson knows who’s in and who’s out.

Come to think of it, the press info I was given says “From June 23, 2009 to July 12 2009, participants can submit their ultimate weapon at the game’s official website (http://www.armyoftwo.com) for a chance to have it included in a future EA Game.”

I guess there’s a chance it could be some other game, not an Army of Two item?

Key points:

• Go to the US Army of Two Weapons Design Gallery
• Include a picture and 200 word description
• Submit by 12th July 2009
• Keep it realistic…ish

Good luck!

There are two formats for the competition this year, Do and Dream.

Do is the traditional development competition. Teams of 5 students or recent graduates are chosen from around the country to develop a game from scratch in 6 weeks over summer. The big difference this year is that they choose from ideas submitted by the community.

Dream is the new community section. Anybody can register on the website and pitch their game idea. Other people will vote for their favourite ideas and add comments. The Do team will then choose an idea each and develop the game for the competition. Those dreamers who submitted the chosen ideas will win the following:

• £500 cash prize for the originators of games subsequently chosen by the teams for development.
• An invitation to to the Dare Awards ceremony to receive the prize
• A single return UK flight and 3 nights’ accommodation to Edinburgh to take part in Dare ProtoPlay during the Edinburgh Festival period. Terms & Conditions apply. (If you are from overseas, you have the option of taking £200 in cash instead or we can fly you from London)
• Exposure to the top notch games companies and partners that Dare is associated with
• A showcase opportunity in Dare ProtoPlay
• Publicity

For more information check out the Dreamer’s FAQ and the Do-ers FAQ