F1 2010 Announced

Press release:
A new generation of FORMULA ONE games will come to high definition consoles and PC later this year as Codemasters® today announced that F1 2010 will be released this September for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC Games For Windows®.

As the official game of the 2010 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP™, F1 2010 will include all of the official teams, drivers and circuits from the coming season. F1 2010 will feature the return of seven times FORMULA 1 Drivers’ World Champion Michael Schumacher, the introduction of several new teams, and the brand new Korean International Circuit that will host the 2010 FORMULA 1 KOREAN GRAND PRIX.

The September launch will see F1 2010 become the first official FORMULA ONE game to appear for Xbox 360 and marks the return of FORMULA ONE to PC after an eight year absence. The arrival of the HD editions of FORMULA ONE follows Codemasters’ extremely successful launch of F1 2009 for Wii and PSP, which became a top five best seller throughout the past holiday period.

In F1 2010 gamers will take on the full, expanded grid in a variety of game modes including GRAND PRIX, Championship, Time Trial and an extensive, innovative Career mode. F1 2010 will also feature a highly advanced damage model, fully dynamic weather system and extensive competitive multiplayer options.

In production at Codemasters Studios Birmingham, F1 2010 is being developed using the EGO Game Technology Platform, Codemasters’ proprietary tech that powered the critically acclaimed, million-plus selling Colin McRae: DiRT 2 and Race Driver: GRID. The award-winning technology has been further developed to accurately recreate the unique aerodynamics and handling of 200MPH+ FORMULA ONE cars. The tech combined with Codemasters’ unprecedented access to FORMULA ONE teams and drivers will ensure that F1 2010 delivers the most authentic FORMULA ONE racing experience yet. F1 2010 will be released September 2010 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Games for Windows.

2K Games Announces Mafia II and Playboy Mag Tie-in

Press release:
2K Games announced today that it has signed a license agreement with Playboy magazine for a unique in-game integration to use more than 50 of their vintage covers and Centerfolds in Mafia® II, this year’s highly anticipated epic mobster game for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, and Windows PC. Set in the fully realised and immersive 1940s and 1950s American urban cityscape of Empire Bay, Mafia II will enable players to collect virtual copies of the iconic magazine, which has served as the definitive guide to lifestyle and culture for men since December 1953.

“While most mob-inspired games’ emphasis is solely on action, Mafia II features a deep and compelling narrative that is embellished with a sophisticated, era-evoking atmosphere,” said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K. “In partnering with Playboy, we are able to add a unique element of authenticity to the game by using vintage images from the magazine that illustrate the power of Playboy’s influence on the attitudes and culture of that generation.”

Mafia II is a beautifully crafted look into the dark and unforgiving world of the Mafia where clothing, cars, music and advertising are meticulously created to replicate an American city in the ‘40s and ‘50s. Players will easily become engaged in the game’s cinematic, Hollywood-style experience with strong, believable characters in a living, breathing city that transports them to a time when rock-n-roll first strummed its guitar and chrome-plated hot rods roared down boulevards.

“For more than 55 years, Playboy has been a part of America’s pop culture landscape, engaging its readers with insightful features, interviews and fashion spreads, as well as pictorials of some of the world’s most beautiful women,” said Playboy magazine’s Editorial Director Jimmy Jellinek. “Mafia II is set when Playboy first came into vogue and features characters whose style and attitudes mirror content from our early issues. We’re excited to bring an element of authenticity to the game that is unmatched in the men’s publishing category.”

Mafia II is currently in development by 2K Czech, the same creative team behind the award-winning, genre-defining Mafia®, which captivated millions of gamers around the world. By fusing high-octane gunplay with white-knuckle driving and an engaging narrative, Mafia II looks to be the industry’s most compelling Mafia title to date.

Dragon Age: Origins v1.03 Patch Released

BioWare has released a new patch for Dragon Age: Origins. The patch updates the game to v1.03 and along with preparing the game for the upcoming expansion pack Awakening, includes the following fixes:

• Some players were experiencing increasingly long load times. A major cause of this problem has been fixed.
• At higher levels, non-player characters now receive a bonus to armor penetration. This mitigates an unintentional imbalance with well-armored high-level characters, since armor penetration previously did not scale as aggressively as armor itself did.
• Elite-rank enemies (lieutenants) can no longer be shattered. This preserves the intended tactical design of many combat encounters.
• Portraits for summoned creatures (like a ranger’s wolf) were displaying improperly while in the party camp. This no longer occurs.

The patch (63MB) can be downloaded from here or here.

Portal 2 Details Surface

Following the official announcement and the consequent April cover issue from Gameinformer, initial details of Portal 2 from the article have started pouring in.

According to the magazine, Portal 2 takes place “hundreds of years” after the event of the original game and has Chell, our lovely lady protagonist, waking up in a destroyed Aperture Science Lab and is immediately put to puzzle solving by our melodious and sinister AI friend GLaDos. The sequel is also set to have 2 player co-op.

Here is the entire article in easy to read bullet points courtesy of CVG:

- Portal was a ‘trial’. Size and assets specifically kept minimal. Had no idea it would be this popular.
- Portal was a ‘test bed’, Portal 2 is a ‘game’.
- GlaDOS returns as the antagonist.
- Chell returns, and we play as her.
- Portal 2 takes place a long time after the original. Hundreds of years, in fact. The complex has overgrown.
- Those orbs seen at the end of Portal are personality orbs. They’ve cornered off sections of the labs as their own, and are concerned about the decaying state of the complex.
- Portal gun remains unchanged.
- Physics will now be part of portal puzzle solving. EG: A vent that sucks air in can be combined with a portal to ’suck’ from a different location.
- “Paint” mechanic, various liquid substances that cause some reaction. For example, in the demo shown a orange substance on the floor caused Chell to be propelled upwards. Using portals you can apply these ‘paints’ to other areas of the level for puzzle solving.
- Reflection cubes will allow Chell to reflect lazers for various puzzles.
- The co-op campaign will have you playing as two bipedal robots. The like to hold hands.
- Splitscreen for people playing on the console, and ‘picture in picture’ available for those playing remote co-op (eg: PC). This allows you to easily communicate with the other player and combine efforts for puzzle solving.

Source.

Fallout: New Vegas – 15 New Screenshots

Bethesda has released a bundle roll of new screens from Fallout: New Vegas, its upcoming expansion to the critically acclaimed RPG Fallout 3.

Fallout: New Vegas, the follow-up to Fallout® 3 – the 2008 Game of the Year – brings this beloved franchise to a location only Fallout could do justice: Vegas. Fallout: New Vegas takes all the action, humor, and post-apocalyptic grime and grit of this legendary series, and raises the stakes.

Screenshots:

Fallout: New Vegas is planned for Q4 2010 for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands – Gameplay Trailer

Developers at Ubisoft has released a all-in-one gameplay video from their upcoming adventure title, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands. The 3-min video touches on all aspects of the game from the story, to the characters, the graphics engine, gameplay mechanics and the new features. While most of it looks run of the mill PoP, I was particularly impressed with the new environment manipulation power called water freeze. It allows players to…well, freeze water and not only does it look extremely cool (all the pun intended, guy) but it stores a lot of potential for some awesome acrobatic maneuvers. Have a look:

Metro 2033 – ‘Ghosts of the Metro’ Trailer

THQ has released a  new video from its 4a Games developed sci-fi shooter, Metro 2033. Titled ‘Ghosts of the Metro’, this dark spooky trailer (watch it in the night!) gives a tour of the metro where the supernatural and the evil resides. Have a look:

Sega Announces Vanquish

Press release:
SEGA® Europe Ltd. and SEGA® of America, Inc. can today reveal details on upcoming third person action shooter, VANQUISH™. Developed by PlatinumGames, VANQUISH™ will be available in Winter 2010 on Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

Directed by Shinji Mikami, VANQUISH™ is a sci-fi shooter of epic proportions with a fast, fluid and frenetic combat system, and an engaging and immersive storyline. Players take the role of Sam, a government agent kitted out with a futuristic battle suit, in a near future world where nations war over the planet’s remaining energy resources. A versatile fighter with a huge arsenal of weaponry at his disposal, Sam also has an array of martial arts skills that he can use to take down his robot enemies.

“VANQUISH™ is a game where we’ve tried to inject the extreme pace of an action game into a shooter. The gameplay and staging are all put together around the keyword ‘intensity’. I think it’s very rare to come across a game where shooting loads of robots is so much fun,” said Shinji Mikami, Game Director of VANQUISH™.

“We are delighted to have the chance to work with Shinji Mikami, one of the most successful and celebrated game directors in the world,” said Mike Hayes, CEO of SEGA West. “VANQUISH™ is set to offer gamers the chance to be immersed in a truly cinematic gameplay experience, with the scope and special effects of a Hollywood movie.”

The story of VANQUISH™ is set in the near future. Russia and the United States are vying for ownership of the world’s fast-depleting energy resources and the US has constructed a space station in order to harness energy from the sun. Russian forces capture this space station and divert its harvested solar energy into a blast wave that destroys San Francisco, aiming to force the US into a total and unconditional surrender. In response, the US tasks its armed forces with recapturing the space station before the Russians can annihilate their next target – New York.

Screenshots:

Valve Announces Portal 2

Portal, a small scale platformer experiment included in the Half Life 2: Orange Box, received unimaginable success thanks to its unique gameplay mechanics, a different angle tied into the Half Life’s story, the cake phenomenon and of course, the credit song ‘Still Alive’ that made Jonathan Coulton, the writer of the song, an overnight rockstar.

With such acclaim, love and success, it was about time Valve rolled up their sleeves and get bent on a sequel.  And they have. Valve today has announced Portal 2 which is set to release “this coming holiday season.” While no additional info was provided on Steam’s announcement page, Gameinformer offers some preliminary details from their April cover issue. Portal 2 will now be a “a stand-alone, full-price retail release” with “new gameplay mechanics, storyline, and some surprising new twists.” No specific platforms were announced but it is expected to release on the PC, Xbox 360 and – surprise – Mac.

Here are a few images from the Gameinformer issue:

Metro 2033 Goes Gold

Press release:
THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) today announced Metro 2033™, the atmospheric first person shooter set in a post-apocalyptic Moscow, has passed the gold master stage of development and entered manufacturing. Powered by brand new technology – the formidable 4A Engine – Metro 2033 will set a new graphical benchmark on both Xbox 360® and PC when it hits retail outlets on March 16th in the US and Germany, March 18th in Australia and March 19th in the rest of the world.

“We’re excited to be bringing such a truly original experience to market,” said Richard Williams, Vice President of Global Brand Management, THQ. “Metro 2033 couples a deep and engaging story with incredibly atmospheric first person shooter gameplay, and the 4A Engine provides cutting edge technology behind the most impressive visuals seen on either PC or console to date.”

Metro 2033 has already been acclaimed for its graphical prowess on both Xbox 360 and PC, with the latter benefiting from advanced DX11 features and NVIDIA PhysX implementation. In addition, gamers can enjoy Metro 2033 in 3D, powered by NVIDIA 3D Vision.

Next Page »