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Need for Speed and Dead Space titles coming by March 2013
EA has new Dead Space and Need for Speed titles in the works for the coming year, ending March 31, 2013, it announced during a financial call today. "Need for Speed" is listed on EA's financial results slideshow scheduled for Q3 of FY 2013, which places it around October 2012. EA mentioned Dead Space among its coming "blockbuster" titles for the year.Need for Speed: Most Wanted 2 and Dead Space 3 were listed in April by South African retailer BT Games.
Android Market's sixth sale day wants to fill your phone with games -- and a bedtime story
Another day, another selection of pocket change-priced apps. Highlights from today's offering include the return of Endomondo Sports Tracker to the sale shelves, swashbuckling adventure BackStab HD and SimCity Deluxe. It's a game-centric selection for this lazy Sunday, rounded out by Backbreaker Football, Captain America and Jenga. You can fill up your pretend basket at the Android Market link below. Four more days to go.
Android Market's ten-cent promo moves into day 4 with Need for Speed Shift, Shazam Encore and eight more
The Android Market ten-cent promo has moved into Day 4, once again offering up a fresh daily set of apps to celebrate the virtual venue's ten billionth download. As of this writing, yesterday's apps are still on sale (and still featured on the Market's main promo page), but today's sale includes titles like Need for Speed Shift, Shazam Encore, Farm Frenzy, Sentinel 3 and Jelly Defense. Rounding out the lineup: Spirit HD, Toddler Spanish, Game Dev Story, Baseball Superstars 2011 and My Beach HD. Amazon doesn't appear to be matching the sale price this time around (yet), so if any of these titles are striking a chord, you'll need to go through the Market itself to check 'em out. Note: It appears that at the time of this writing most if not all paid apps are experiencing technical difficulties when downloading -- on either the online Market or the phone -- so if you're having trouble getting one of the ten cent apps, we recommend taking a brief hiatus and coming back to try again a little bit later. Update: The promo page has been updated and it looks like all of the apps are downloading just fine now. Head to the source link to get started. Update 2: So it seems that Google Wallet is having issues staying live today, so it's quite possible that you'll continue to have issues purchasing your apps until the service is fully restored. Update 3: If you ran into issues with Google Wallet today, you may be in for some freebies: Android Police is reporting that users who had their orders cancelled are being awarded free apps. Hit their link below for details.
Need for Speed: The Run - A People Chase
Ever gone on a spontaneous road trip with your friends? You all suddenly decide that you should absolutely take a trip to Vegas for the evening, and you can totally come back the next day. You all put on suits, pile into the car ... and three hours later, with everyone sleeping in the car, you remember it's actually a five hour drive. The moment's been lost. That's the problem Brian Lindley and his team are facing with EA's race across the country in Need for Speed: The Run. "If you think about actually trying to drive across the country," says Lindley, "it might get a little monotonous, even when you're racing." To combat that issue, Lindley and the Black Box folks have created a new "Battle" race mode, one of a few different ways the team is hoping to vary the pace as protagonist Jack makes The Run. %Gallery-135165%
Need For Speed: The Run trailer shows off the Limited Edition's Porche 911 Carrera S
Previous news about Need For Speed: The Run has made a big deal about the fact you can get out of the car, but let's face it, being in the car will get you across the country much faster, and heck, it's just plain more fun. And when you're in a car, you could do a lot worse than a Porsche 911 Carrera S, which you can see in action in the video above. The car is unfortunately only available in the Limited Edition of the game, which is available for preorder right now, and arrives with the title on November 15. That said, even when you're in one of these babies, driving it through the snow and curvy roads of the mountains might be plenty of fun, but can't really be recommended in terms of safety. If you're going to drive up there, it's probably much better to go in something much more practical. Something with four-wheel drive, perhaps. %Gallery-132978%
Need for Speed World's Gamescom trailer has a lead foot
Does the revving of an engine make your knees weak? Do the sleek curves of a Porsche make your heart beat faster? Yeah, me neither. But if pretty cars going really fast happens to blow up your skirt, then we've got a present for you. Straight from Gamescom 2011, Need for Speed World is kicking it into high gear with an adrenaline-pumping new trailer. Fasten your seatbelts and hang on for your life as a Porsche 911 GT3 RS goes head-to-head with a Lamborghini Murcielago LP 640 (don't they just sound expensive?) in a frenetic race through Rockport. Of course, the other racer isn't the only hazard to your health in Need for Speed World; you also have to dodge and weave through incoming traffic and keep an eye out for the pesky five-o. For the full trailer, shift gears on past the cut.
Madden NFL 12, Need for Speed: Shift PSP bundle announced
We imagine anybody in the market for a PSP has already gone and tracked one down (or is simply waiting for the PlayStation Vita) but regardless EA and Sony have teamed up on a new bundle. As you may have gathered from the headline to this very post, the bundle comes with a copy of Madden NFL 12 and Need for Speed: Shift. It also throws in the requisite black PSP-3000 and a 2GB Memory Stick Pro Duo, all for $159.99. Sony will release the bundle on August 30, the same day that Madden will be released on basically every platform in existence including the PSP. [Thanks, Rahul]
Need for Speed: The Run limited edition comes with trio of extra supercars
Like buying games brand new? EA sure wants you to, as its "Limited Edition" of Need for Speed: The Run incentivizes just such a purchase with the bonus inclusion of three fancy sports cars -- for the same price as the regular ol' "normal" edition, no less. Along with special access to a Porsche 911 Carrera S, a Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, and a Lamborghini Aventador, picking up the "Limited Edition" nets you "five exclusive Challenges" to slay with your high-powered sports car of choice. The only version of the Limited Edition that we can spot thus far is on EA's own Origin PC download store for the totally-normal-edition price of $49.99, so it stands to reason that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions are similarly priced ($59.99 on consoles). Just to be sure, we've asked EA for a better idea of what to expect, price-wise, come November. Update: EA clarified that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions will cost the standard $59.99, and the "Limited Edition" will operate similarly to the "Limited Edition" version of Battlefield: Bad Company 2.%Gallery-129770%
Need for Speed: The Run preview: Getting back behind the wheel
"You're not trying to get first, you're trying to make up ground," Need for Speed: The Run producer Alex Grimbley explained to me during a demo session in midtown Manhattan last week. Rather than putting priority on being the absolute first during individual races, The Run focuses on an overall place in a cross-country race, amounting to roughly 200 miles of in-game track spread across the US. And yes, it'll allow you to go back to individual areas and work on improving track times. "Get to 101st by the time you make it here, get to 50th by the time you make it to Chicago, get to the top 10 by the time you make it to New York ... so this is a different take on a sprint race," Grimbley continued.%Gallery-129279%
Community Detective Issue #24: Need for Speed World
Thus far, Community Detective has stayed on the straight and narrow course of fantasy MMORPGs during its brief existence. Sure, I've taken the occasional detour into sci-fi, superhero, and quasi-historical territory, but the majority of the column's first 23 issues were -- like the genre itself -- largely concerned with sorcerers, scantily-clad he-men, and sword-related violence. This week I'd like to break out of that mold for a bit and examine a title based in the real world (or more accurately, Electronic Arts' approximation of the real world). To borrow a quote from dear old '80s cinema: I feel the need, the Need for Speed World.
Need for Speed games discounted for Steam EA Week
Steam's EA Week continues with brutal discounts on three Need for Speed games. If you want a game for pocket change, you can get Need for Speed: Undercover for just $2.50! If you want to lay out a bit more (but still not very much), Need for: Speed Shift and Hot Pursuit are available for $6.80 and $14.99, respectively. These deals are only active through Wednesday at 7AM ET, when they'll be replaced by more cheap EA games. If you want these, haste is required!
Need for Speed: The Run revealed in teaser trailer
EA's official Need for Speed YouTube account has posted a teaser trailer for yet another iteration of the racing series, this one called Need for Speed: The Run. Most of the Need for Speed series titles have focused on the cars, but this one seems to be hinting at a story specifically about the drivers in what looks to be a cross-country race a la The Cannonball Run. As cityscapes flash across the screen (San Francisco, Vegas, Denver and New York) we see police officers and vehicles; a man crashed in a car who ends up in a precarious situation; and a series of disasters, both natural and manmade. Finally, a tagline on the screen reads "The Race for your life," before changing the "for" to "of," followed by "11-15-11" -- a likely release date. See the trailer for yourself after the break.
Shift 2 Unleashed review: Pedal to the medal
It was a wise move for EA to subdue the Need For Speed in the title of its sequel to last year's first racing sim in the franchise, Need For Speed: Shift. That's not to say Shift 2 Unleashed is unworthy of the brand -- far from it -- but given how well received the last arcade-style NFS title, Hot Pursuit, was, there would surely be plenty of folks who'd think this was the sequel to that game. It's so very not that. The original Shift remains one of my favorite racing games of all time -- and one of my most-played titles ever, too. So, to say that I've had some pretty high expectations of its sequel would be an understatement. Since last year, I've wondered how EA and Slightly Mad Studios were going to improve on the most realistic feeling, visceral and downright fun console racing sim to date. The short answer: They made it more realistic. The long answer is after the break.%Gallery-119962%
Watch a pro driver play Shift 2 Unleashed
It's no secret that real professional race drivers play racing video games, sometimes even for training. EA has released a video of Dubai 24h winner Tommy Milner taking Shift 2 Unleashed, which hits March 29, through its paces in a Corvette C6.R GT1 at Leguna Seca. He's really, really good.
BlackBerry PlayBook to ship with full versions of Tetris and Need For Speed: Undercover (video)
EA Sports isn't one to give things away, but that's exactly what it's doing on RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook. We still haven't heard a concrete ship date for this thing, but EA swears up and down that these two titles will be finalized by the time it goes to market. Both Tetris and Need For Speed: Undercover will come pre-loaded on the device, with both being full, unabridged versions; in fact, NFS will feature a new mode specifically designed for getting into the game quickly on this very tablet. Smartly, there's even a "slo mo" mode which slows everything down to enable accurate control even during hectic rides on the subway. We've lauded the PlayBook before, but we were duly impressed with just how well this thing handled multitasking. Even with NFS running in the background, we were able to play back a video in the foreground with nary a bit of lag during the transition. Tetris was predictably Tetris, and it only works when holding the slate vertically. We've got to confess that the inclusion of these two titles is quite the gesture, and considering the first four letters of this product's name, we'd say it's more than fitting. Hop on down to see a demonstration video of both, showcased here at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. %Gallery-116754%
FIFA 11 kicks off 2011 atop UK charts
For the first full week of 2011, FIFA 11 held onto the top spot in the UK's multiplatform sales ranking, according to Chart-Track. The footie franchise has maintained that center forward position for four consecutive weeks. Oh ... oh, look who's in second place, why if it isn't our good friend Just Dance 2. Ubisoft's unstoppable booty-shaking series keeps on crunkin', with the series' sequel inexplicably moving up two spots into second. Thus, Call of Duty: Black Ops finds itself out of its comfort zone in third place, the first time it hasn't been in the top two since its November launch. It would seem Mass Effect 2's various end of year accolades spurred interest in the game again, as it returned to the top 40 in spot 18. With no new major game releases this past week, the chart is a shifting of the usual suspects. Check out the top ten after the break.
Gaming on the Motorola Atrix laptop dock... upside down
The Motorola Atrix is definitely one of the more impressive devices to launch at CES this year, but we've been wondering how stable that laptop dock is -- if the phone is prone to falling out it's really not much use at all. Well, worry no more -- we just watched a Moto rep boot up Need For Speed: Shift while docked up, and in addition to playing the game normally, he flipped the whole rig all the way over to show off how tightly the phone is docked. Video below.
Need for Speed World population passes 3 million registered racers
After going free-to-play back in September, Need for Speed World has added roughly 2 million users to its online racetracks, surpassing 3 million registered users in total. Just imagine rush hour! Although the majority of the expanded user base can be attributed to the change to a free-to-play business model, the recent localization of the game into French, Polish, Russian and Spanish likely contributed to the rise in licensed drivers, too. Now, how would EA say, "Please buy some DLC" in those languages?
Shift 2 Unleashed 'Limited Edition' buyers get three fancy cars before the rest of us
Looking to drift around Shift 2 Unleashed's narrow apexes in a perfectly balanced Nissan Silvia Spec-R Aero (S15)? To leap from 0 to 60 in 3.3 seconds with an over $300K Lamborghini Murciélago LP640? To ... uh ... commute in style in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV? You may want to pre-order the game, then, as EA announced this morning that all three cars will only be available at launch to folks who manage to snag the "Limited Edition" of Shift 2. Like Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit before it, the initial shipments of Shift 2 Unleashed will be "Limited Edition" versions packing the three cars -- no extra money is required, just the need for speed in making a purchasing decision. The release says nothing about when the trio of liveries will become available to the rest of us normal folk, but it does characterize the bonus as "immediate" rather than "exclusive" access. That said, we're sure the Autolog system moving over from Hot Pursuit will make whatever period of exclusivity torture while friends toast our time trials. Blast you, friends who think ahead!%Gallery-111521%
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Monopoly and Snood on iPad
EA has passed word that three of its games are now ready for the iPad: Monopoly, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit and Snood can all be downloaded from the App Store right now. These three games have been optimized for the iPad with near high-def graphics and interface tweaks made specifically for the platform. Both Monopoly and Hot Pursuit will set you back $9.99, while Snood is a bit more modestly priced at $4.99. %Gallery-110308%
