air-combat
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Take to the skies with PlanetSide 2's aerial combat trailer
Infantry may make up the bulk of PlanetSide 2's armies, but there's much more to a solid fighting force than footsoldiers. A new video of the game from Sony Online Entertainment shines the spotlight on the various forms of aerial support available to the PlanetSide 2 factions. We're not just talking about a few bombers and personnel carriers, either; the video shows off some rather impressive dogfights between a great number of players as well as a few strafing runs against some unfortunate ground units. While it's only a short teaser, it definitely gives players a sense of the kind of explosion-filled excitement players can expect from the game's aerial combat when they finally get in the cockpit. Just click on past the cut to see the whole video with your own eyes.
Contour+ vs. GoPro HD Hero 2: through the desert and into the skies
Engadget Show segments come about in any number of ways. Sometimes it's a no brainer, with some awesome new gadget just aching for some air time. Other times it's a matter of our wanting to do something cool, like, say, flying a plane. The GoPro / Contour segment from the last Engadget Show was a little bit of both. The ultra-rugged camcorders were a perfect fit for our desire to take on some extreme activities in the Nevada desert. We started out by taking Polaris RZR for a spin on some sand dunes around the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. And while we didn't really anticipate that it would be windy enough that day to ground planes at nearby McCarren Airport, the 50MPH sandstorms certainly did their part in testing the mettle of the devices -- and our camera crew, for that matter. We strapped both to the roll bar of the all-terrain vehicle and took off into the desert. Things were thankfully a bit calmer when we took to the sky the following day with help from the folks at Sky Combat Ace. The camcorders joined us in our respective cockpits, proving that they could take the punishment of a several G ride -- even if we didn't hold up so well. So, which of the two camcorders fared better? Tim and Brian hash it out after the break.
The Firing Line: Thousand-player dogfights and more PlanetSide 2 conjecture
Welcome back to The Firing Line, boys and girls. Last week I talked at length about PlanetSide 2, and despite the fact that I'm apparently unqualified to do so according to some folks, I'm going to do it again this week. How do ya like them apples? Anyhow, that's not all I'm going to talk about, as a couple of other online shooters made news over the last seven days. Most of you know that I can't pass up the opportunity to mention Tribes: Ascend, and oh yeah, would you believe there's an aerial combat game that supports 1,000-player dogfights?
New World of Planes video shows off air combat, ground strafing, and more
Gaijin Entertainment has released another heart-pounding video from its upcoming World of Planes MMO, and the scene has shifted from the Pacific theater showcased last month to what looks to be the Kuban region of southern Russia. A gaggle of great-looking World War II fighters are on display, as are a few stomach-churning cockpit perspectives and some spiffy smoke, fire, and damage effects. There's a lot of air combat, of course, but there's also a brief glimpse of some target strafing and quite a lot of detail when it comes to terrain textures, buildings, and other ground objects. Flight sim fans will be happy to know that Gaijin was responsible for 2009's IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey, a console-based air combat title that followed in the footsteps of the venerable Sturmovik series on the PC. Gaijin also developed a PC version called Wings of Prey and looks to be using that expertise for its new free-to-play World of Planes MMO. Kick the tires and light the fires by checking out the new trailer after the cut.
Sevencore sci-fantasy MMO reveals English website
Free-to-play publisher gPotato has launched a new English website for Sevencore, an upcoming sci-fi MMORPG developed in Korea by a firm called Noria. The game is described as a "free-riding action MMORPG where technology meets fantasy in a unique post-apocalyptic universe." The website also mentions the usual MMO staples including PvE, PvP, crafting, pets, and "an enhanced mounted air combat" system. Sevencore just recently entered its Korean closed beta phase, and gPotato plans to bring a closed beta test to Europe sometime in 2012. For now, the new site is sparsely populated with a few screenshots, but there is a bit of closed beta footage floating around on YouTube, and we've collected that for you after the cut.
Blade and Soul interview talks Qinggong, Chinese influences; new videos on display
How about a little Blade and Soul info to cap off the workday? We thought you might like that, and MMO Culture has helpfully clued us in to a brief interview with the game's development team that was conducted at a recent Tencent Games event. The piece delves into the martial arts title's multinational backstory, and despite the fact that Blade and Soul is decidedly Korean, there will be a large Chinese influence on display in the finished game. Blade and Soul's Qinggong system is also addressed, and while every race will have access to the wall-scaling super-speed abilities, it will be limited with respect to character level. Qinggong will also see future iterations beyond its current implemenation as a form of fast travel, with the interview hinting at airborne skill-casting to "make players feel like they are real martial arts pugilists." Finally, there's a blurb or two on the game's classes (six confirmed) as well as a western-influenced focus on individual character progression. MMO Culture has also embedded two new Blade and Soul videos, and you can find those after the break.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon and Joint Assault media does a flyby
We've made sure that you don't need to fly to Germany to land a look at the latest screens from Ace Combat: Assault Horizon for PS3 and 360, or a video of the newest PSP entry in the series, Ace Combat: Joint Assault, which touches down at US retail on August 31. (We didn't actually fly there for them -- but it's the thought that counts, right?) As expected, the shots from the console game are almost all of planes getting torn to holy hell by other planes' cannons, while its portable sibling is seen on video after the break looking like a PS2 game (that's a compliment) and not like something that will make your knees and elbows ache. Aircraft puns and arthritis jokes -- what will we do next?%Gallery-99737%
Ace Combat returns to consoles with the plane-wrecking Assault Horizon
Namco Bandai's latest Ace Combat game, headed to PS3 and Xbox 360 next year, adds something new to the formula that's sure to please people who really hate airplanes. According to the press release, Ace Combat Assault Horizon "intensifies the franchise, escalating combat to the next level with aircraft that are literally torn apart, spewing oil and debris across the sky." This game represents a "rebirth of our premiere franchise," said Project Aces producer Kazutoki Kono. What better way to bring it back than with airplane mutilation? The trailer (after the break) also makes references to real-world locations like Miami, and cites GeoEye map data, suggesting that this game is following the flight path set forth by the PSP's Joint Assault. Also, there's a shoutout to Namco Bandai's Twitter account for some reason.
Gorillaz: Escape to Plastic Beach via iPad and iPhone
Gorillaz, the best nonexistent cartoon band since the Archies, appears in a new iPhone/iPad game called Gorillaz: Escape to Plastic Beach. Even though the concept of the game seems to be about escaping from Plastic Beach. Players control psychotic bassist Murdoc, who flies above Plastic Beach on a "Doom Glider," shooting ghost pirate ships and, for some reason, keeping lead singer 2D from getting away. The Unity-powered game was released simultaneously on iPhone and iPad today, with each version available for $1.99. In addition, it can be purchased as a Unity-powered browser game. Check out some screens of this fairly improbable game in our gallery!%Gallery-98222%
HAWX 2 taking off this fall
Get ready to play around with boys one more time! Ubisoft just announced HAWX 2, presumably one of the two new Tom Clancy games mentioned by an Ubisoft producer late last month. HAWX 2, in development at Ubisoft Bucharest, gives players the chance to "become elite aerial soldiers in control of the world's most technologically advanced aircraft." This is, oddly enough, the second aerial combat game to be announced today, though the other one is slightly different in tone. It's currently scheduled for a fall release on Xbox 360, PS3, PC, and Wii. Ubisoft released one really exciting piece of artwork, which you can examine in more detail in our gallery. %Gallery-92365%
Prepare for takeoff with this Sky Crawlers trailer
Do you like airplanes? Do you like anime stereotypes? Then The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces is what you've been waiting for! XSEED released the above trailer, featuring lots of awesome planes, and lots of inexplicably young people flying them. Well, not inexplicably -- though the details may constitute a spoiler, there is a really weird explanation for everyone's age. Beyond "it's anime." The Sky Crawlers will be one of the first Wii releases of 2010 -- it's due out on January 5.
Warhawk, MotorStorm, & other bootleg GDC PS3 videos
So, are you tired of bootleg stills from the upcoming PS3 titles featured at GDC? (Or bootleg videos from current-gen titles like God of War 2?) Well, it looks like you're in luck, as we've got a few fuzzy PS3 videos from Phil Harrison's speech, courtesy of the embargo-ignorin' folks at Multiplayer.it.What we have above is a clip from the developer demo of Warhawk for the PS3. A voiceover describes the "ambient warfare" to be used in the air-combat simulation game, as well as the innovative mix of "Cell-based software rendering with RSX-based hardware rendering" to produce the graphics. For all you coders out there, it was also interesting to note that the programs running on the Cell's SPUs were not written in low-level assembly (easing development, but possibly degrading performance).While we wait until E3, when a playable version of Warhawk was promised to be delivered, here are a few more PS3 videos from GDC that you might find interesting (with a few unfortunately quite incomplete): Streamed video of MotorStorm GDC footage, also with a voiceover. Streamed speeded-up video clips (no audio) of Warhawk, Getaway 3, Lair, the Havoc physics demo from Heavenly Sword, the bullet-ridden car model demo, and even that video concerning Rachet & Clank. Streamed (basically) audio-only video from Resistance: Fall of Man. [Thanks, Reaktorleak89, Fan, & Da'Cheez; via PS3 Fanboy & QJ.net]See also: MotorStorm, Resistance and more: pictures from Sony's GDC keynote God of War 2 GDC video leaked online Multiplayer.it's report on Phil Harrison's GDC keynote (in Italian)
