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Myst DS landing in US this March
Fans of point-and-click classic Myst will have a chance to relive the experience this March, when publisher Empire Interactive brings a DS adaptation of the title to the US. Myst DS has been out in Europe since last Fall, but this will mark the title's debut in the States.A tad more than just a straight port, the DS version of Myst features remastered video, a bonus area previously available in the realMyst remake, and touch-screen features such as note-taking and shortcut icons. The game will also feature the ability to take snapshots of certain screens for later reference, hopefully cutting down on all the tedious backtracking and rote memorization made so popular by the groundbreaking PC game. It seems that developer Hoplite Research put a lot of thought into this adaptation, making it a tempting buy for anyone who actually enjoyed the original.
CES 2008: New titles join Games for Windows portfolio
In another CES 2008 announcement, Microsoft has highlighted nine new additions to its Games for Windows endeavor, promising to "continue the momentum for Windows-based gaming in 2008" and "revive" the PC gaming space. The titles due to be dressed in Microsoft's colors include: Alone in the Dark (Atari) Bionic Commando (Capcom) Conflict: Denied Ops (Eidos Interactive) Empire: Total War (SEGA) LEGO Indiana Jones (LucasArts) Microsoft Train Simulator 2 (Microsoft Game Studios) Sins of a Solar Empire (Stardock) Space Siege (SEGA) Tomb Raider: Underworld (Eidos Interactive) The list not only cements the "Underworld" subtitle to Eidos' next Tomb Raider, but provides reassurance as to the longevity of Microsoft's initiative. Games for Windows is sure to be around for quite some time if Alone in the Dark manages to arrive under its banner. Microsoft's polite press release is also keen to remind us that other expected 2008 titles -- Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, Borderlands, The Club, Fallout 3 and Frontlines: Fuel of War -- will stand beneath the flapping emblem.
FlatOut demo finally hits U.S. and Canada
Available in Europe for some time now, the FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage demo has finally arrived on the U.S. and Canadian Xbox Live Marketplace. Previously, we were impressed with video footage from the game, so it will be nice to finally give it a test drive. FlatOut, if you don't know (or haven't guessed from the Ultimate Carnage subtitle), is a particularly violent racing game, full of death and destruction. Go fire up the old Xbox and give it a go. If you like what you see, expect the retail version to hit the shelves next month.
GameStop has record second quarter profits
GameStop increased profit by 586% year-over-year in their second quarter due to Guitar Hero II and Pokémon sales. Net sales were up 38.9% to reach $1.34 billion. GameStop CEO R. Richard Fontaine said, "It is apparent that the growing base of gaming consumers is well served by GameStop's new and used model, our increasing number of convenient locations and outstanding customer service provided by our store 'gamers'." Try to hold in the snickers folks.GameStop stock has already increased 6% in early trading to $46.07 -- a new record high. What we want to know is how much money is GameStop making from used game sales and the massive amount of interest they accrue off all those people's pre-order money. All that cash just sitting in a GameSpot account collecting interest on products that won't be out for months. At least these numbers show Guillmot is probably right about the industry's continued growth.
Juiced 2 demo squeezed out of Live, FlatOut
Attention demo lovers, we've got brand new, fresh squeezed demo for you this morning. What in the world could that demo possibly be? Chances are, you've already read the headline and you know it is, in fact, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights. If street racing imported cars on hot nights is your thing, you'd best download it and check it out. If you do, be sure to come back here and tell people what you think. If you happen to live in Europe (and we know many of you do) you'll probably also want to check out the FlatOut demo that just released too. Now where is that The Darkness demo, hmmmm? [Thanks, Joachim Bertelsen]
FlatOut: UC video is utterly destructive
FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage may be the most accurately titled video game in history. Seriously, watch this video and tell us it isn't flat-out ultimate carnage. We've got crazy football themed "launch the body through the field goal" mini-games, then we have the same concept applied to long jumping, diving, and bowling. That little guy gets put through a lot. Of course, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the positively massive pile-ups. If Forza 2 is a little too "simulationy" for you, we imagine you'll probably get a kick out of Flatout: Ultimate Carnage. Watch the video and tell us what you think.
Today's crashtacular video: FlatOut
FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage is nearly ready for the Xbox 360, and a new trailer gives a glimpse of the reckless action. These sorts of driving/crashing games are tough to judge from a trailer clip -- or misguided soundtrack -- so we're holding our applause or disappointment until trying the title. But we won't let that stop you from heaping on the hype, or dousing it like Kaiser Soze blocking a makeshift fuse. What do you think? Watch the trailer after the break.
FlatOut Achievements collide
The FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage Achievements are now available for your perusal. There are 45 Achievements, with two of them secret. Most of them have creative names, similar to Gears of War's Achievement set. The one that sort of sticks out for us is "Go That Extra Mile" where you have to drive one thousand and one miles. It still has your standard affair of single player completion and displays of multiplayer competence. Are you going to race through this title when it comes out?
FlatOut Ultimate Carnage golden; hits UK shelves on 22nd
Empire Interactive and Bugbear Entertainment have announced that FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage has gone gold. On top of that, the game will be available June 22nd in Europe. With an effective trailer that came out earlier, this game should definitely whet your appetite in the combative racing genre. Hopefully it will hit the North American market in the near future. Are you going to pick this up when available in your region?
FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage trailer flies under radar
FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage also has a trailer that's on Marketplace that hasn't been mentioned elsewhere. It's 75 MB and does a much better job of conveying both what the game will actually look like, and the gameplay found within. It starts off with the same footage as the teaser, then goes on to show a bunch of racing, environments, and destruction. We'll do our best to ignore the crashbreaker at the end, because this trailer actually does its job of getting us interested in a game while showing real footage. Give it a look and tell us what you think.
Video: FlatOut in game footage
InsideGamer got an exclusive first look at in game footage of FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage, and posted it for our viewing pleasure. It runs at 3 minutes and 30 seconds, and shows a semi-off road race through the countryside. The problem is we've been known to make unfair comparisons of random racing games to the Burnout series, but we can't resist ourselves. This looks a lot like Burnout 3: Takedown mixed with some Revenge. It even uses similar fonts in the HUD. Perhaps we're just seeing things because we can't wait to see more of Paradise. Video available beyond the rainbow, or rather, the "Read" link. [Thanks, MarvinBeez]
Video: FlatOut Ultimate Carnage teaser
Godfree over at Gamertagradio posted up the first teaser trailer for FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage. It shows a very nice street racer, which could be classified as a Toyotsubishi SuprEclipse flying off the gate down the straightaway only to be t-boned by a muscle car, then proceed to get dog piled in a rather larger crash with multiple vehicles. According to the accompanying press release the collisions are all using the in game engine. It ends with a shot of the title screen, and the rag droll driver flying into a pile of his fallen comrades, complete with a cheap laugh to finish it off. So, do you think FlatOut will live up to it's subtitle, or are you going to get your crashing fix from *cough* Burnout?
FlatOut Ultimate Carnage crashing into Xbox 360
Empire Interactive has announced a second sequel in its ragdoll-flinging FlatOut racing series, currently in development for Xbox 360. Bugbear developed FlatOut Ultimate Carnage will utilize a new game engine apparently designed specifically for Xbox 360 hardware; but don't rule out future appearances on PC and PlayStation 3 (the two previous FlatOuts were multiplatform). The basics are included: five single-player modes (likely padded with more minigames) and a pair of multiplayer modes with support for Xbox Live. Only 12 vehicles to choose from, but with downloadable content confirmed, perhaps Bugbear and Empire have plans to expand the menu post-release. FlatOut Ultimate Carnage is scheduled for June. Its predecessor FlatOut 2, released just six months ago, recently surpassed one million units sold.
Star Wars gets Lethal
Ubisoft has announced today that they're developing a new, original Star Wars game for the PSP and DS. Entitled Lethal Alliance, the game will take place in the time between the so-so Episode III and the good Episode IV. You'll play as Twi'lek Rianna Saren and her security droid Zeeo, and it's your job to uncover the most lethal weapon the Empire has ever come up with: the Death Star (cue dramatic music). GameSpot has some screenshots of the PSP game, and also an interview:On [the] PSP, we wanted to utilize the powerful hardware by making an action-packed, fun-filled game set in beautiful environments... Both versions of the game offer local Wi-Fi capabilities... On PSP you will play Twi'lek versus Twi'lek, while on DS you will play droid versus droid.[Thanks, steve & daniel-kun!]
Xbox 360 going Flatout
Finnish game site LiveGamers.fi reports that local developer Bugbear is working on an Xbox 360 version of Flatout 2 with the new name Flatout: Total Carnage. No release date has been set. [Thanks Sam]
