DiRT 2 - The complete off-road online package Animated screenshots

As the sequel to the acclaimed racer of 2007, DiRT 2 is set to take off-road racing games to a new level, with benchmark tech, thrilling new race types, big event atmosphere, stunning locations, a new breed of off-roading heroes and a peerless line-up of super-charged speed machines.

Promising a thrilling race experience and an extreme sports attitude that borrows from snowboarding and skateboarding culture, DiRT 2 will take players on a World Tour to diverse and challenging real-world environments to compete in contemporary off-road events. Specifically selected to deliver aggressive and fast paced racing, DiRT 2’s garage will house a best-in-class collection of officially licensed rally cars and off-road vehicles; covering seven vehicle classes and players will be given the keys to powerful machines right from the off.



DiRT 2 will come complete with full online functionality that will be core to the overall experience, with head-to-head competitive online play and new social features to engage the racing community. Prepare for mud, gravel, dust and dirt too in DiRT 2.

Turbo-charged off-roading with extreme sports attitude: Multiple disciplines, encompassing the very best that modern off-roading has to offer and fuelled by the 3rd generation of Codemasters’ world-renowned EGO™ Engine technology, DiRT 2 has more attitude, more adrenaline and more DiRT than ever – off-roading just got cool.

Take it on Tour: DiRT 2 will take players on a World Tour to compete in aggressive multi-car and intense solo race events in the most diverse and challenging real-world environments. Career paths will span the globe as players unlock tours in stunning locations spread across the face of the planet. USA, Japan, Malaysia, Baja, Croatia and others await as players climb to the pinnacle of modern competitive off-roading.

It’s all about the event: DiRT2 is adrenaline-fuelled extreme sports with eye-popping visuals and presentation in stunning real-world locations. Events include exhilarating rally cross in the massive Los Angeles sports stadium’s “Stadium King Shootout”, edge-of-control canyon racing of Utah’s “Creek Trailblazer” event, the “Rawang Rally Run” along treacherous Malaysian rainforest tracks and the “Battersea Battle”, where night races are staged at the iconic London power station.

Love your ride: Embark on a game-long love affair with your favourite cars. Rather than being forced through a checklist of in-game cars, DiRT2 enables players to pick their favourite rides and drive them across multiple disciplines. Upgrade them, cherish them - and then smash them to bits at breakneck speeds. Get to know which to use for what event and surface, tweak them to perfection, then push them to the absolute limit.

The complete off-road online package: DiRT 2 invites players to become part of an extreme sports community, with full online multiplayer race events and community integration across multiple disciplines. With leader boards, news feeds and ‘scribbles’ to keep you up-to-date on your friends’ racing achievements, DiRT 2 will be a social hub for off-roading fans.

Operation Flashpoint - Dragon Rising screenshots Xbox 360 PS3 and PC

As the much anticipated return of the genre-defining military conflict title, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is set to take gamers as close to war as they’ll ever want to get. In a shooter that recreates the brutal reality of the modern combat experience in stunning detail, Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising will challenge players to survive the chaos and rapidly evolving situations of modern warfare in a new contemporary theatre.

Players will experience the intensity, diversity and claustrophobia of a present day conflict from the unique perspectives of an infantry marine and a Special Forces officer, each engaged against the full force of the Chinese PLA on the huge open-world island of Skira. Gameplay simulates an immense conflict between advanced forces and provides unparalleled scope with different military disciplines, vehicles and equipment for players to utilise.



The most realistic modern military shooter: Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising will deliver the most accessible, engaging and visceral sandbox shooter of the year, with a huge variety of equipment, weapons and tactics available. Authentic cutting-edge weaponry is simulated with detailed ballistic physics and players will command and control a wide variety of multi-component, multi-weapon vehicles, including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, APCs, attack and utility helicopters. The character damage system authentically depicts the terrible wounds and injury from modern weapons to communicate the lethality of combat.

Freedom of Play: Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising will give players the freedom to handle military crisis situations on their initiative. Unscripted missions will task players with real objectives, such as laying down covering fire, covering a friendly unit’s retreat or conducting short-range recon patrol. Armed with cutting edge military hardware, players will need to balance brute force with intelligent use of tactics.

Squad-Based Combat: As an epic single and multi-player campaign weaves the narrative, players will fight as infantry soldiers in battle, drive tanks in armoured assaults, and infiltrate the enemy in covert special operations utilizing a wide variety of realistic military weapons from knives and rifles to machine guns and grenade launchers.

The battlefield is the 220km2 island of Skira: Located off the eastern coast of Russia, north of Japan. This oil-rich Russian-controlled island stands on the brink of war. An airborne division of the People’s Liberation Army of China (PLA) lands to claim the island as the sovereign possession of the People’s Republic. Russia turns to the US for support aid and they’re quick to respond. Sending in the USS Iwo Jima, a battalion of US Marines launch an assault on the strung out but dug-in Chinese force. Can the situation be defused before this flashpoint turns white hot and an all-out global war between the superpowers erupts?

Redefines the Size of Battle: The 220km2 battlefield gives players a multitude of tactical decisions on how to best accomplish missions. Densely packed with environment detail and objects, valleys, mountains, coastlines, towns, villages and industrial complexes all combine to deliver a rich and challenging tactical environment.

Overlord II video game screenshots Xbox 360 PlayStation3 and PC

Designed and developed exclusively for Wii, Overlord Dark Legend is a brand new action adventure steeped in fairy tale lore with sinister, satirical twists. Set in a time before the original game (Overlord, 2007), players step into the role of a new younger Overlord and revel in command of the most vicious, yet lovable little critters in gaming – the Minions.

The Godfather II video game The Mafia Don of New York

After being promoted by Michael Corleone to Don of New York, players expand to new cities, as they build up their families through extorting businesses, monopolizing illegal crime rings and defeating new families in an effort to become the most powerful mob family in America. To help players manage their empire, The Godfather II introduces “The Don’s View” – an innovative strategy meta-game that allows players to oversee the entire world as they grow the family business. Using the Don’s View, players will be able to build, defend and expand their crime rings, while keeping an eye on the movements and plans of the rival families. Players will also learn to master the business of organized crime by building a family of Made Men, hiring crew, handing out orders, and promoting their best men up the ranks.

Set in a stunning open-world environment, The Godfather II expands on the popular gameplay mechanics of the first game and doubles down on the series’ signature BlackHand control scheme, which now features even more visceral hand-to-hand brutality at your fingertips, introducing a new combo system, pressure tactics and executions. In The Godfather II, players will fight alongside their hand-picked crew, who have their own skills and expertise. Each family member specializes in a specific field such as demolitions, arson, engineering, first-aid and more. As The Don you control the family, sending some of your men on missions while heading off into action with others. The combination of strategic organized crime gameplay and brutal BlackHand action sets The Godfather II apart from other open-world games.

Microsoft Flight Simulator Around-the-World Race Starts Today

The annual Microsoft Flight Simulator Around-the-World Race takes off today.

The race, which has been running since 2003, will see members from Avsim, FlightSim.com, FS-Multiplayer and Sim-Outhouse competing online to be the first across the line.

To find out more and keep track of the latest news, visit the official web site.

Free Quake Online Live Open Beta launched this week... 24th February

ID and IGN will launch the Live Beta of Quake next week on 24th February.

The game's official website here has an opening page promising the 02:24:2009 launch. Complete with countdown....

This version will be FREE - Quake will be a multiplayer gaming experience for all skill levels.

Free Quake live will feature...

• Friends lists
  
• Friends communication
  
• Sponsored events
  
• Tournaments
  
• Matchmaking
  
• Statistics

all free of charge on your web browser.

Invincible Tiger - The Legend of Han Tao on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

Leading developer Blitz Arcade, a division of Blitz Games Studios based in Leamington Spa, today announced its collaboration with NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. on Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.

An original concept by Blitz Arcade Animator Ollie Clarke, Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao follows the eponymous hero as he fights to reclaim the Star of Destiny from the Evil Overlord. Along the way he battles the Overlord’s evil throngs, which include standard grunts and the added dimension of the undead.

Luckily, Han Tao has the moves to combat his enemies. Using intense combos, well-timed blocks and a lot of skill, players can unlock the potential of his power and decimate the evil ones.




Ollie Clarke – also Project Manager for Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao – said: “I wanted to make a game that played like the martial arts games and movies I loved when I was growing up, and that's something we stuck to from creation through to development. It’s a fluid fighting game, easy to play but difficult to master! Games should be fun, so we've thrown in loads of tongue-in-cheek humour for fans of the genre. Hopefully gamers will have as much fun playing Invincible Tiger as we had making it!”

Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao features a number of different modes for single and multiplayer action.

• Team up with a partner and take on the Evil Overlord’s diabolical army through Story Mode Co-op.
• Battle through each level, dealing with increasing difficulty and a shared Zen-meter.
• Learn ace combat techniques in the single player game and use them beat your enemies into the dust.
• Experience Endurance Mode where you’ll face an endless stream of enemies under a time limit.
• Post your scores online for bragging rights.

Retro Classic With 21st Century Edge - Vector Tanks available worldwide on the iPhone and iPod Touch

Chillingo Ltd, Europe’s premier iPhone publisher has teamed up with Peter Hirschberg to deliver Vector Tanks – a 3D vector style shooter game on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Vector Tanks is the brainchild of programmer extraordinaire Peter Hirschberg, the inventor of the translucent vector effect technique in the mid 1990s – a technique which quickly became ubiquitous in arcade emulation implementations allowing programmers to enhance the visual qualities of vector style arcade games.

"Vector Tanks began when I decided I wanted to design a game for the iPhone that used a control scheme of a thumb placed on either side of the touch screen. I immediately thought "tank game" due to the unique controls that most of the early tank games had in the arcades. The iPhone platform is extremely powerful and really allowed me to take the graphics and game design a lot farther than I was originally hoping for. My passion is creating games that preserve what was great about the early arcade games and also take advantage today's graphics hardware. If you do it right, you can take a retro gaming experience and add an extra level or two of energy to it without sullying the spirit of the gameplay." said Mr. Hirschberg.

In Vector Tanks, the gamer is in command of a futuristic tank amid a surreal 3-dimensional battlefield. Retro gamers and fans of early arcade games will appreciate this classic video game battle of machine against machine - rendered in hyper-retro 3D vector style graphics and entertaining physics modeling.

“Mr Hirschberg has single handedly married the best features of a classic 3D vector style retro shooter game with the unique user interface of the iPhone allowing another generation of gamers to appreciate the coolness of this classic retro game genre. “ said Chris Byatte, Director of Chillingo Ltd. Chillingo is the publisher of high quality games such as Zen Bound™, Orions: Legend of Wizards, Sneezies, iDracula, The Quest and iPingPong 3D in Apple’s App Store.

YouTube video here...

Vector Tanks is priced at USD2.99 and is available now through Apple’s App Store.

Johnny Bravo video game comes to Nintendo DS

Johnny Bravo on Nintendo DS in “Hukka-Mega-Mighty-Ultra-Extreme Date-O-Rama” – enter the world of the best known steamin’ hunk of cyber fella – JOHNNY BRAVO!

Johnny Bravo is one of the most popular and enduring characters on the Cartoon Network channel. He's easily recognised by his trademark sunglasses, rippling muscles and ultimately futile attempts to impress the ladies. Johnny Bravo has not only appeared regularly on Cartoon Network since 1998 but has also starred in his own movies and DVDs.

Play the part of Johnny Bravo in this inherently humorous game and compete against rival studs over a number of events to win a date with the chick on the Hukka-Mega-Mighty-Ultra-Extreme Date-O-Rama TV show! The game has the same look and feel as the TV series and the simple yet fun design makes it instantly accessible to casual and non-hardcore gamers. Use the NDS stylus to try and beat your opponent in the Muscle Madness weight lifting event and have fun throwing rubbish in the recycling bins or straight at your opponents in Taking Out the Trash. Use the Cheese-O-Vac suction gun to vacuum up the plague of mice, then blow into the NDS microphone to clear the collected rodents ready for the next Cheese-O-Vac vendetta! Control the food catapult using NDS Touch Screen Technology - try to impress the chick by firing all the food at your rival! The Creator of Johnny Bravo, Van Partible, has had a huge amount of input into the creation of the game and has designed the cover artwork and drew specific art characters for the game as well as hidden unlockable concepts (five items).

Kirsty Payne, Marketing and PR Manager at Mastertronic, commented: “Johnny Bravo has a regular slot in the Cartoon Network comic and enjoys phenomenal popularity across all age groups. It’s a strong brand backed up with a hilarious game!"

Flight Gear Flight Sim upgrade to version 1.9.0

General Aviation Flight Simulator

Changes

Major new developments and features:

• Major overhaul of the graphics code. FlightGear 1.9.0 makes use of the OpenSceneGraph library
  
• Easy setup of multidisplay systems using multiple OpenSceneGraph "Cameras" driven by one single instance of FlightGear.
  
• Multithreaded 3D model loader leads to much smoother performance
  
• New particle system based precipitation code
  
• configurable XML particle animations for smoke, spray, fire, etc
  
• New dynamically configurable 3D Clouds.
  
• pick animations, which allow for better clickable instrument panels
  
• multiplayer specific on-screen menu
  
• AI code can generate wingmen
  
• At selected airports, it is now possible to start at a predefined parking position, as an alternative to starting at the runway.
  
• Support for Lighter than air vehicles
  
• Shader based tree rendering. This new feature allows For much denser tree density without any frame rate loss.
  
• Support for jpg and png textures
  
• A new multikey command mode, where multiple key strokes can be combined to form a command.
  
• Detailed buildings at various airports and major cities around the world
  
• Scenery can be kept up-to-date by downloading it from and SVN repository using TerraSync
  
• Over 200 Aircraft are now available for separate download.
  

Code Improvements:

• Improved Flight Dynamics
  
• Several Improvements to animations
  
• Improved behavior of Taxiing AI Aircraft.
  
• Miscellaneous GUI improvements
  
• Major improvements to FlightGear's route/waypoint manager code.
  
• Improved runway management
  
• Improved encapsulation of Navaids
  
• Improved nasal scripting security
  
• Improved behavior of VOR radios when close to their maximum range.
  
• Configurable Heads up displays
  
• Improved support of GPS instruments
  
• Easier definition of AI traffic patterns
  
• Improved accuracy of coastlines

General Aviation Flight Simulator

• The FlightGear Flight Simulator project is a free, open-source (GPL), multi-platform, cooperative flight sim development project.

Current features include:

• Scenery for the entire world
  
• Accurate sun/moon/star ephemera
  
• Several flight dynamics models
  
• Operational radio stack
  
• Sound support
  
• Weather support
  
• Runway support
  
• Aircraft 3D model support
  
• Satellite imagery support
  
• Many features are configurable via XML files (HUD, instrument panel, keyboard, joystick, etc)
  
• Distributed, network support