EGO to power Operation Flashpoint 2 and Race Driver: GRID
Codemasters has unveiled the latest iteration of its proprietary in-game graphics engine, an evolution of the eye-catching technology that powered the Colin McRae: DiRT title.
The EGO Game Technology Engine is the second generation of the company's middleware, and will be used in forthcoming games Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising and Race Driver: GRID, neither of which have confirmed release dates as yet. The engine, which is multi-platform capable, has been in development for three years at the Codemasters Central Technology Unit, and this investment - part of the GBP 40.5 million spent on design and development in the past year - is something that Gavin Cheshire, vice president of Codemasters Studios, is confident will stand the company in good stead.
"Developing the engine, even through its initial phases, has been lengthy and a major investment for Codemasters," he said.
"Not every third-party is in a position to devote resources to such an ambitious project and stay competitive. However, at Codemasters, we've invested in the technology and the support infrastructure to ensure all titles have an impressive and competitive edge."
CEO Rod Cousens added: "We made significant investments in our own cross-platform, multi-genre development solution in anticipation of the next generation console transition.
"Now we are in a position to rev mature middleware technology to get the most from today's leading game systems. The EGO Engine is already making its mark on the industry with award-winning, multi-million-unit selling titles."
Ubisoft releases first details on the next R6V, Tom Clancys Rainbow Six Vegas 2.
More Vegas – Sin City is back and bigger than before. Explore all new Vegas hot spots as the environment changes from dusk to bright daylight to dawn, creating a visual experience that is as challenging as it is breathtaking
11 NEW weapons.
New Camos and Armor to add to the customization options.
11 NEW multiplayer maps, A few of which are said to be remakes from Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield. Smaller maps that force more intense face-offs. (Sorry Snipers, I feel for you.)
More Rewards!
2 NEW multiplayer modes.
The Xbox Live part is also expanded with a new 'Search' function, for quicker results in match findings.
Ability to join matches that have already started!! So that you don't have to wait until the round is over for you to start. ( What a welcome Feature! how many times have you joined a game but it starts before you completely uplaod the screen leaving you stuck in observer mode!?)
Improved AI From Hell – AI is more challenging than ever. Now, the terrorists are equipped with thermal vision, night vision, and shields – not to mention a multitude of varying reactions – all of which are guaranteed to give you a new playing experience every time you go into battle. As you progress within the game, you’ll only be able to outsmart your enemies by taking advantage of intel opportunities, such as thermal scanning, and tactical strategies, such as leapfrogging.
Ability to choose between a male or female character in the singleplayer.
Unprecedented Customizable Experience – Create your own identity that stays the same in both single player and multiplayer modes and progresses as you do. Reap the benefits of your single player rewards in multiplayer and vice versa.
Vastly Improved Co-op mode – Turn single player mode into co-op mode at any time, just by jumping into the game. Now your friend can jump into your single player game and help you without any change to the story. Single player maps and storyline were created with co-op in mind, which means every map has multiple entry points and the story is the same.
Every cutscene in the game is real-time, like for instance Half Life.
The singleplayer portion is partly sequel and partly prequel. (!?)
The framerate is much higher, which results in a smoother and better image. ( we already know how sweet R6V graphics are, higher frame rate will be sweet)
Planned for release in the US March 1st 2008. You can actualy pre purchase it right now from Ubisoft by going to the link below, and see the cover art as well. ( lets all prey for no setbacks or delays!)
The interesting, though overtime boring, Xbox Live Arcade title Boom Boom Rocket has gotten a bit of a work over. Starting today, the game will be getting a handful of new capabilities and five new songs. The best part is that all of this is free until Dec. 16 if you already own the game. It will cost you 250 Mpoints after that.
Here's the capability breakdown:
· Improved fireworks
· Compatibility with guitar and dance mat controllers
· Japanese and Korean language support
· Controller type visible in leaderboards (can you be #1 on all three...controller, dance mat and guitar peripheral!)
DDBBR? Guitar Rocket Hero? I'm down for that, but what about drum support?
The five new songs will be Eine Kleine Rochtmusik, Cannon in D, Sugar High, Sting of the Bumble Bee and Explode to Joy.
The whole guitar support could really help invigorate this game, I think.
Gamespot recently released an official Q&A, trying to clean up this whole Jeff Gerstmann mess and I saw this in their sidebar.
Speaking with a Gamespot employee yesterday who asked not to be named for this story, we've learned that, despite the neutral nature of the Gamespot news item on the matter, the editorial staff is said to be "devastated, gutted and demoralized" over the removal of former editorial director Jeff Gerstmann. While the termination of Gerstmann, a respected fixture at Gamespot, was pitched to his remaining colleagues by management as a "mutual decision", it was anything but, we're told.
The confusion over the reasons for Gerstmann's termination, compounded with a lack of transparency from management has created a feeling of "irreconcilable despair" that may eventually lead to an exodus of Gamespot editorial staffers. "Our credibility," said the source, "is in ruins." Over the course of the previous days, a "large number of Gamespot editors" have expressed their intentions to leave. Tales of emotionally deflated peers, with no will to remain at the site, were numerous.
Unless cooler heads prevail or concerns are addressed, Gamespot could see "mass resignations", our source revealed.
Rank and file employees of the Gamespot organization are unaware of the real reasons behind Gerstmann's termination. Our source admitted that Eidos was less than pleased with the review scores for Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, but the team has "dealt with plenty of unhappy publishers before." Our contact stressed that "Money has never played a role in reviews before" and that "[Gamespot] has never altered a score." No pressure from management or sales has been exercised to remove or alter content, the source reiterated.
However, the source did speculate that disagreements between Gertsmann and VP of games Josh Larson may have been the root cause of the former being terminated. Larson, successor to former editor in chief Greg Kasavin, was described as out of touch with the employees who report to him. The VP is the one allegedly responsible for telling Gamespot editorial staff that it was Gerstmann's "tone" that was at the heart of his dismissal.
Midway's Harvey Smith has admitted that relatively low review scores for Blacksite: Area 51 are "no surprise", admitting to various problems during development.
Speaking at the Montreal International Game Summit 2007, Smith pulled no punches: "This project was so f*cked up," reports Wired.
Smith said that he wasn't all that enamoured with the Area 51 property when he first came onboard, but a rush to completion became a bigger problem as development went on.
"It took eight months to get one thing working," he said. "With a year to go, the game was disastrously off rails." It even "went straight from alpha to final," leaving virtually no time to spend play-testing the game.
Asked why he was being so honest about all this - and his belief that they "deserved" a critical hammering - Smith said: "I believe in personal accountability."
The comments won't please publisher Midway. Area 51: Blacksite is due out on PC and Xbox 360 tomorrow in Europe, with a PS3 release also on the way.
Silver subscribers will be forced to wait a week to download new content such as demos from Xbox Live Marketplace following Microsoft’s latest Xbox 360 dashboard update.
Apparently it pays to be an Xbox Live Gold subscriber. According to Microsoft’s Major Nelson, gamers who are only registered for the free version of Xbox Live will from now have to wait a week longer than Xbox Live Gold subscribers to access new content such as game demos.
“Just a reminder that if you have a Silver account, you won’t have access to free content on the Marketplace (like demos) when they are first posted," Major Nelson writes on his blog. "That content will be available to Gold level exclusively for one week, after which Silver members will have access to the free content.
“If you have a Silver account and you see a piece of content that has a red circle with a slash through it you’ll have to wait until a week after the content is released to access it.
“This is not done to annoy our Silver members,” he adds. “Limited time exclusive access to content is just one of the many benefits of having a Gold Xbox Live account.”
Xbox Live’s free Silver subscription service allows gamers with an Xbox 360, a hard drive and a broadband connection to create a gamer profile, create a friends list, to send and receive text and voice messages, as well as to access Xbox Live Marketplace (including Xbox Live Arcade, demos, and trailers). Prior to Microsoft’s recent Xbox 360 fall dashboard update Silver subscribers weren't subject to any time restrictions when it came to accessing Xbox Live content.
Dune: Awakening Shows Off Stunning Unreal Engine 5 Gameplay & More Funcom (@Funcom) revealed a stunning new gameplay trailer and featurette for Dune: Awakening, the first episode of the new Dune: Awakening Direct series. Embark on a breathtaking journey across Arraki..
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The engine, which is multi-platform capable, has been in development for three years at the Codemasters Central Technology Unit, and this investment - part of the GBP 40.5 million spent on design and development in the past year - is something that Gavin Cheshire, vice president of Codemasters Studios, is confident will stand the company in good stead.
More Rewards!
The confusion over the reasons for Gerstmann's termination, compounded with a lack of transparency from management has created a feeling of "irreconcilable despair" that may eventually lead to an exodus of Gamespot editorial staffers. "Our credibility," said the source, "is in ruins." Over the course of the previous days, a "large number of Gamespot editors" have expressed their intentions to leave. Tales of emotionally deflated peers, with no will to remain at the site, were numerous.
Speaking at the Montreal International Game Summit 2007, Smith pulled no punches: "This project was so f*cked up," reports Wired.
“Just a reminder that if you have a Silver account, you won’t have access to free content on the Marketplace (like demos) when they are first posted," Major Nelson writes on his blog. "That content will be available to Gold level exclusively for one week, after which Silver members will have access to the free content.
