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Brothers in Arms D-Day revealed
We knew a new Brothers in Arms game was heading to the PSP. It just took a really long time for any info to be revealed. Ubisoft just unveiled Brothers in Arms: D-Day, which will be exclusive for the PSP handheld. You'll be able to command a Bazooka team, use an MG42 and fire mortar rounds. Supposed additions include surprise attacks, improved AI and destructable cover points. Better yet, it'll feature a co-op mode. The game will be launching in November, a few weeks after the eerily-similar Medal of Honor Heroes.[Via IGN]
Cannon Fodder announced
The retro games keep on coming back. IGN has an exclusive where they reveal the very first details and screenshots of Codemasters' upcoming game Cannon Fodder, a remake of the classic Commidore Amiga game. But unlike most of the other retro games that we've seen, this goes the extra mile and is a real remake: with new graphics and gameplay, updated for the current generation. You and a team of soldiers will fight it out on-foot and in vehicles, while being able to call air strikes and radar sweeps. The game will offer four player deathmatch and co-op modes.
Robosurgeon goes to war
Robots are already taking bomb squad members and armed forces members out of harm's way, between unmanned aerial vehicles and PackBot like utility droids, but it's about time all the marvelous enhancements of soulless autonomous surgery were felt by the war wounded. Blake Hannaford and his colleagues at the University of Washington have developed a portable robotic surgery system that can be transported into battle, enabling doctors to really do their thing without borders and behind enemy lines; two really freaking scary articulating arms can get down to business on their patients with a doctor operator's signal relayed in via an unmanned aerial vehicle. Apparently there are still lots of issues with the scenario that make things difficult though, like noise, interference, and power, all of which could disrupt communications and the efficacy of Hannaford's robosurgeon -- not ideal, especially considering the fact that if something goes wrong, you don't even get some comforting bedside manner.
Japanese hardware charts: August 7th - August 13th
The longer we throw unchanging Japanese hardware sales numbers at you, the harder we have to try to make them seem as entertaining as they once were. Our dear Ludwig kind of went off the deep end over in sister-blog Joystiq...God rest his sanity. So what can we do to make these numbers seem...well...exciting? Let's take a look: - DS Lite: 196,719 33,147 (20.26%) - PSP: 41,289 8,063 (16.34%) - PS2: 26,547 560 (2.15%) - GBA SP: 3,051 267 (9.59%) - Game Boy Micro: 2,031 103 (5.34%) - Xbox 360: 1,204 185 (13.32%) - Gamecube: 940 36 (3.98%) - DS Phat: 934 225 (19.41%) - GBA: 23 11 (32.35%) - Xbox: 6 8 (57.14%) Here, we can see the two armies of the arrow-people, evenly matched and fighting bravely. The PSP, allied with the red, has snuck bravely into enemy territory...yet the fearsome DS Lite rests between it and freedom. The battle rages on...who will prevail? What dastardly traitor will switch sides in seven days time? Are we way too hopped up on coffee and cough medicine for our own good? Hmmm... [Source: Media Create]
Call of Duty 2 demo released
At long last, Aspyr has released a demo of the hugely popular sequel to Call of Duty, the aptly named Call of Duty 2. No matter how badly I wanted to run to the Apple store and pick up the retail version, I knew I would feel horribly foolish if I got the game home only to find that it wouldn't run on my PowerBook. I knew I had to wait for the demo. MacGameFiles has the 665MB file as either a direct download, or a deliciously communal bittorrent file (doesn't the sharing just make you want to hug someone!?). If you've been waiting to try the game before you buy it, there is no better time than the present to kick some virtual Axis butt. [Via The MacObserver]
Call of Duty 2 Hits Stores
At long last, the long awaited sequel to one of the greatest first person shooters of all time--and 2003 Game of the Year--is available in stores as an OS X compatible Universal Binary. The series, set in World War II, is known for its extensive use of sound and environmental design to make the player really feel like they're in the middle of a war zone. Sporting an all new game engine, COD II officially requires a G5 or Intel Machine, but I've heard reports of it running respectably on even 12 inch PowerBooks. I can't wait to get my hands on this game, see you on the battlefield!
German army hosts military bot "competition"
In an effort to remind other countries developing fully automated combat forces -- like the US, India, and South Korea -- that "ve Germans are not all smiles and sunshine," the European powerhouse held its first Grand Challenge-like competition this week, where autonomous robots brought in from around the continent showed off their driving, surveillance, and urban warfare skillz. It's actually a bit misleading to call the first European Land Robot Trial (ELROB) -- which was hosted by the German army, or Bundeswehr. in the town of Hammelburg -- a competition, as participants were not eligible for any prizes or supply contracts, and even had to pay their own expenses, all in the hope that the 1,000-or-so venture capitalists and foreign military attaches on hand would take notice of their technology. Both amateur and professional roboticists entered their creations (which curiously, were required to house a small animal -- don't ask us) in one of two obstacle courses designed to simulate either combat driving or building infiltration -- tasks which were made even more difficult due to the fact that mission specifics were not revealed prior to the event. Although Germany has yet to even appropriate a portion of its budget to research in this area, military officials are optimistic that robotic support vehicles will be deployed to the armed forces within five years.[Via Hindustan Times]
Unreal Engine 3 MIA on Revolution?
Epic Games' Mark Rein, in a Q & A session attended by Joystiq Blogger Christopher Grant during the recent GDC, said that we probably "won't be seeing Unreal Engine 3 on the Revolution." Mark implied that the Unreal Engine 2 would be more than sufficient for anything the platform may demand and had yet to be informed on what the final specs for the console would be. Mark's comments were more towards down-scaling HD projects, such as the upcoming Gears of War, for the console and cited that it would not be very cost effective. We assume that titles will eventually utilize the Unreal Engine 3 on the console, however upcoming titles created specifically with HD resolutions in mind are more than likely not going to see an incarnation on Nintendo's system.
