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As the late, great, Kenny Loggins once sang, "Ride into the Danger Zone!" What? Kenny Loggins isn't dead? Awkward. Moving on... On February 11, a demo for Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. will hit the Xbox Live Marketplace for Live Gold members.
The demo, which tracks experience and includes three unlockable fighters to test drive fly, allow up to four Mavericks to play cooperatively. It sports two missions for the upcoming air-combat game: In Operation - Off Certification, one of the game's training missions that showcases maneuvers and tactics used throughout the adventure, and In Operation - Glass Hammer, another training mission that teaches pilots how to blow stuff up in the air and on land. Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. lands in stores this March.

Source : HAWX demo barrel rolls onto Xbox Live Feb. 11 - Joystiq

It's a convention sometimes used in action films -- the unlikely protagonist saves the day by applying combative skills he gleaned during his long sessions with teh Haloz -- but it's a convention apparently rooted in reality. In his latest book, Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century, author and modern warfare buff P.W. Singer relates the story of a young man who became an expert drone pilot within a short period of time -- all thanks to the hours he'd logged on his trusty Xbox.
The eighteen-year-old soldier was a high school dropout who failed to qualify for the original position in the armed forces he'd applied for. It was suggested he try his hand at drone piloting, and according to Singer, "because of playing on video games, he was already good at it." So good, in fact, that he was brought back from Iraq to become an instructor at a training academy. Jeez, the only game-related useful skill we've ever picked up is our uncanny ability to name all 493 pokémon, and that impresses far fewer people than you might imagine.

Source : Soldier became ace drone pilot by training on video games - Joystiq

SR-71 USAF base (Kadena, Japan)-

“Though I fly through the Valley of Death, I shall fear no evil. For I am at 80,000 feet and climbing.”

The year is 2012, as the era of the nation-state draws quickly to a close, the rules of warfare evolve even more rabidly. More and more nations are becoming increasingly dependent on Private Military Companies (PMCs)- elite mercenaries with a lax view of the law. The Reykjavik Accords further legitimize their existence by authorizing their right to serve in every aspect of military operations.

Tom Clancy’s HAWX allows players to become a part of the mayhem, by becoming an elite pilot of the future.  Utilizing cutting edge technology, devastating firepower, and intense dogfights will just be the tip of the tomahawk. Players will be able to jump in the cockpit of over 50 of the world’s most famous aircraft and take flight over super realistic terrain that has been thrown together using advanced satellite mapping technology that is commercially available, providing an authentic look and amazing views.

“High-resolution satellite imaging is moving from the black world of intelligence to the white world of commerce and Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X will bring that reality to gamers,” said Mark Brender, vice president, corporate communications and marketing at GeoEye. “With video game graphics becoming more realistic, the use of high-quality photographic ground textures in H.A.W.X adds true photo-realism to the air combat experience.”

HAWX will also utilize the Enhanced Reality System (ERS). ERS is in-game technology that helps turn novice aviators into elite pilots of the future and will be the backbone of players flight experience, allowing players to use radars and incoming missile detection, damage control systems, a tactical map, information relay, and weapons trajectory control. ERS will also allow players to issue commands to your squadron. Just think, the airborne version of the Cross-Com system that was implemented in Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter.

Also jumping on the Co-op bandwagon, HAWX will allow the entire solo campaign to be experienced in 4 player “Jump-in/Jump-out” co-op mode. This marks the first time ever for the air combat genre, officially placing HAWX in the running for the coolest air combat game around. There will also be an 8-player Team Deathmatch that can be played online, to see who’s truly the top gun.

This is Tom Clancy’s first stab at air combat, and from the looks of it, he’s got it down pretty good. We’ll be keeping a very close eye on this as we near take-off.

Vitals: Tom Clancy’s HAWX | Games Are Evil: 360, PS3, Wii, iPhone, Portable Gaming Magazine

The new Jumpgate site is live, and there is a limited number of places open for the Beta Sign Up. BETA SIGN UP.

Nothing can prepare you for the journey that is unfolding... The Galaxy is in a fragile state, balancing on the brink of War and Peace. New threats are emerging from the untouched regions of space that threaten with an iron grip to bring the known inhabitants to their knees.
Will you aid your faction when duty calls? Or will you serve your own needs?
Will you fight side by side with your comrades in an epic struggle against a hardened, blood-thirsty foe or will you go it alone, facing the imperil dangers as they approach?
Do you long for the thrill of combat or do you prefer the call of merchant - always on the look out for a quick, opportune trade.

Your decisions are your own, and the rewards are yours for the taking.
Jumpgate Evolution is a Massively Multiplayer Online Game set in the open expanse of space. With breath-taking visuals and an innovative twitch-based space combat, Jumpgate is the definitive space combat MMO, putting you at the heart of the action as you embark on your mission to explore the galaxy and progress from space rookie to elite commander.

Engage in Dog-Fights

Engage in Dog-Fights 

Jumpgate Evolution offers a unique twitch-based combat system which allows you to challenge thousands of foes with your own skill and determination, offering the most exhilarating, jaw-dropping experience in online gaming to date.

Explore a huge and varied universe

Explore a huge and varied universe 

Each jump will take you to exotic new locations with exciting new adventures. The universe is a vast and dangerous place and as old threats never die you’d be wise to remember this. Pirates, brigands, and opposing faction members are just some of the dangers present in the Jumpgate universe.

Highly Accessible

Highly Accessible 

Although graphically stunning, Jumpgate is highly scaleable, allowing the game to run flawlessly on low end PCs. Jumpgate also offers joystick and peripheral support, adding to the immersive online experience.

Huge Space Battles

Huge Space Battles 

Fight against thousands of players online in epic large-scale player vs. player real-time battles.

Three Playable Nations

Three Playable Nations 

Become a pilot for any of the three playable nations. Join the corrupt, power-hungry Solrain Commonwealth, the disciplined, combat ready Octavian Empire or the spiritually-led Quantar Paths.

Advanced Gameplay Systems

Advanced Gameplay Systems 

Jumpgate Evolution offers limitless game play and content with a unique mission generator capable of generating thousands of fresh and immersive missions for players to embark on.

Player driven world

Player driven world 

Players are given ultimate power as Jumpgate offers a fully immersive player driven economy. Protect a merchant vessel on its trade route by intercepting enemy players or answer a battle stations call for help by delivering them much needed supplies.

The Bad

Football Manager 2008 is one of those rare games in that it knows exactly what it's trying to do, sticks to that plan religiously, and does it very well indeed. It places you as a fresh-faced manager in charge of almost any professional team in Europe, with control over everything from season ticket prices to your player's individual training schedules and match-day tactics. You can control your team over as many seasons as you wish, with new young players being generated by the system to keep it fresh until the next database update. You can play in an attempt to get yourself the best management job you can, start as an unknown, or just for the glory of the team. It's entirely up to you.

Every year the game gets fractionally better by drawing on input not from an isolated development team working out what features they feel would be impressive, but from a massive range of sources both inside and outside of the professional football world. Financial changes were influenced by football league chairmen, transfer negotiations and options by agents, and the interface by a small army of usability testers. The result in this year's game is not only still the gold standard for sports-management games, but also a significant step forward for the series.

For once, this improvement isn't going to be noticed only by experienced players of Football Manager; the usability and interface changes are aimed squarely at those who have never played the game before, or who lost interest many seasons ago. In this vein, a significant amount of work has been done this year to revamp the interface into a much sleeker "Web 2.0" style, as well as to add a host of other usability changes based on extensive testing. The interface now has many more graphical options and icons (rather than just imposing text lists), and buttons are duplicated in sensible places to minimise mouse movement and better relate to player interaction.

With a similar goal in mind, the new advisor system is likely to improve the experience of first-time players. This is a contextual help system akin to Microsoft Office's infamous paper clip. It works due to the fact that it is very easy to turn off in full or in part, given that it can be deactivated on a topic-by-topic basis. This provides useful information on every aspect of the management process as issues arise. It's clearly aimed at new players, but will be of interest to anyone who doesn't feel as if he or she is quite making the best use of the wealth of available options.

Despite these changes aimed at new players, there has been no dumbing down of the game's depth at all. The database has information on around 300,000 players and staff, and consequently the option exists to see any match played in the match engine. This can give you tactical insights into your future opposition, considering that you can go to any game to see firsthand who's likely to give you problems, rather than just relying on the reports you automatically get from your scouting teams.

One other feature that's been added as a result of player feedback is the ability set your own pitch dimensions and react to those of clubs you visit. It's a minor change, but its realism is indicative of the way the game works as a whole.

Another feature that is new this year and that will be of particular interest to first-time players, as well as those looking for the challenge of managing in unfamiliar leagues, is the new coaching-report system. You can now ask any member of your coaching staff to give you an overview of any player in the squad, which lets you know instantly not only his best positions, but also how the player fits into your squad, how he's viewed in terms of his current performance and prospects, and all other aspects of his footballing makeup. However, the changes aren't just for new players. As happens every year, the game has moved that little bit closer to reality; although it might not matter to a first-time player that win bonuses are now done by squad rather than player (as in real life), it's the little touches that add up to the great game that is Football Manager 2008.

There are other little details that add to the overall feel. When the game is processing each day's action, you're not presented only with a loading bar, but rather you receive updates on results as they come in. You also get a selection of domestic statistics that might be of interest, be they winning streaks, goals conceded, or other trivia. Whether such information is useful depends on your playing style, but its presence is a nice touch. The game's news feeds are also good in this respect. You get reports, as standard, on every competitive game in which a member of your squad participates, with a round-up of the game and his performance, whether it's for your reserves or youth team, or on any international stage.

Financially there's now more (and more detailed) interaction with the board than ever before. You can negotiate funds for the season based on your expectations, but be prepared to face up to life on the streets if you fall short of the story you've sold to your board. One neat feature in this vein is the ability to move around the money allocated by your board for the season; if you're underspending on wages but need to increase your transfer war chest, it's now possible to simply move money from one pot to the other.

It's not just the board that gives you feedback, either; this year you've also got the option of hearing what the fans have to say. Although the fans can be rather fickle, and have a tendency to carp on about seemingly insignificant matches for too long, their views do provide an indicator of where your club should be, irrespective of the views you've presented to the board--and keeping them happy is key to ensuring revenue from ticket sales.

Nevertheless, the game is not without its flaws. The limited number of responses from announcer pundits can grate a bit after a run of similar results, and you don't have quite the flexibility in staff that you might like. For example, as a big club, you cannot raid a smaller club for its manager to act as your assistant. Network play returns, but is generally untouched from last year's game. Essentially, a human opponent can simply take over for one of the hundreds of other teams being controlled by the AI. It's an OK feature, but not the sort of robust multiplayer functionality you might be hoping for. This, along with the simplistic graphics (even with the interface's new skin), may be enough to put off the uninitiated. The match engine is still in near-2D, and though some may say this adds to the game's charm, it is now starting to look very dated. Additionally, Football Manager still almost entirely lacks sound outside of match days, and one feels that though the game might not benefit from its own music, the addition of some optional sound effects and a media-player remote would be welcome.

Overall, Football Manager 2008 is a worthwhile upgrade for long-term players, and a much more accessible experience for those who have been put off by the scale of this truly massive game.

Bizarre Creations has very kindly told us what to expect from the Project Gotham Racing 4 Xbox Live demo - just as soon as it comes out of certification and lands on your Internet face.

The demo will consists of five vehicles (made up of cars and bikes), with a demo-only Arcade mode chapter set in Macau. This will consist of new challenges that have been custom-built for the demo.

Not content with that, they are throwing in a Nurburgring Snow Time Challenge - so you'll be able to see just how pretty the track (rebuilt for PGR4) looks when it's blanketed in snow. The snowy Time Attack also includes full leaderboard support.

The full game, for which our final-build hands-on will go live oh-so-shortly, splits single-player gameplay between Arcade (128 medals from Steel up to Platinum) and Career (difficulty pre-set by user, then a season of races and events).

And of course it has lots of Internet play, with a greater focus on Friends-based leaderboards and tournaments that are suitable for players of all skills, rather than the "best in the world or nowt" mentality of old.

Sounds rather good, no? We'll let you know when it's up there.

PGR4 is due out exclusively on 360 on 12th October

source: here

News Source : here Technorati Tags: Call of Duty 4, Infinity Ward		Buy
posted by Stoney

We’ve always known that Google has wanted to challenge Microsoft’s desktop dominance in a number of areas, but to date we didn’t know that extended to gaming.

Hidden inside Google Earth is a secret Flight Simulator that takes full advantage of Google’s extensive satellite imagery.

To access the hidden feature, open Google Earth and hit Command+Option+A (note it must be capital A) or Ctrl+Alt+A if you’re using a Windows Machine.

The Google Earth Flight Simulator comes with two aircraft options, a F16 Viper and the more manageable SR22 4 seater. Players have the option of commencing the game from their current location in Google Earth or can pick from a list of pre-determined runways. Control instructions can be found here.

Overall the game play is fairly simple in terms of control, but the striking difference is flying over real pictures of locations. I took a quick flight from San Francisco International, headed North to the Golden Gate then turn back over the city before heading towards the Valley. It wasn’t perfect, but it was as good visually as the paid Microsoft Flight Simulator, and in terms of actually presenting real objects it was better.

Thanks to Marco for the how-to.

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Flight Simulator, Google Earth, Microsoft		Buy
posted by Gunny

Everyone is shocked. Tiger Woods ball lands in the sand trap. What will he do? He eyes the crowd standing nervously behind him. He slowly takes his right hand and aims it straight for calculation. His left hand tightens on his club, he slowly crouches down. “The wind is blowing to the west,” he says to himself. He stands up and gets into formation. He tightens his grip as he slowly pulls back, and shoots forward.

The ball flies out of the sand trap, as the sand sprays across the air in a glistening gleam. It bounces into the green, and gracefully appears to stop. Then, suddenly, a wind approaches and sends the ball rolling in the hole. He makes it! The crowd goes wild with applause.
Though the above isn’t an everyday sort of thing, the above scenario is only one of many challenges to overcome on Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08's GamerNet, a service which allows players to upload any shot, hole, for other golfers around the world to attempt. As we loved to see what people have done, PSU logs into GamerNet. It's all now smooth sailing from here. We log in flawlessly and see a challenge.

Each challenge contains its respective conditions, as well as the number of possible points players can earn by overcoming the challenge, and whether or not the challenge has been beaten. Free Style, Long Drive, and My Clips are three categories that a player sees when he logs in. Long Drive contains challenges centered on distance shots, while Free Style holds consists of many things such as outdoing certain putts, hitting a certain number of spectators, and hitting specific spots on the green.

Long Drive is what it is. I logged in and found a challenge that showcased a fellow gamer using the sand trap to his advantage and sending a shot bouncing from that, into the hole. My jaw dropped I said to myself, “how did he get such a speed by hitting the sand?” Was it the angle? Was it the club? I just couldn’t figure it out and became slightly frustrated and left.

Freestyle offered way more challenges than a simple distance count. 38 pedestrians to hit, long distance, and skimming the water. Those were the objectives to meet during my first challenge, and I was all eager to try. Crisscrossing cement paths preceded an arched cobblestone bridge separating me from a thick flock of excited onlookers, virtually thrilled to catch a glimpse of my virtual Tiger Woods. Hefting a wooden club comfortably in my virtual grip, I pulled my left analog stick back as far as it would go and hit forward. The ball went up, far into the air beautifully, than came down to create a not so great…well…scene.

After trying 72 times, I decided I was happy enough just hitting someone on the head with my wooden club, and felt like it was a job well done. Besides Free Style, Long Drive, and a number of other options, there is also a 9 Hole Showdown, a challenge that has prospective challengers take on all 9 holes of another player's round of golf. As an aside, I found this option to be an almost ideal substitute for those who don't feel like searching out opponents with the ugly tab ingame. Just select 9 Hole Showdown and play against an opponent's score, skipping their round entirely when desired.

That stupid chicken really knew his golf. Yes. A chicken suit. He must have unlocked must have unlocked a difficult mode. Even though I was pissed as hell I got fried by a chicken, I achieve something away from the match: a nice putt which landed right onto the chicken in the sidelines. Take that you damn winner! Let’s see you try and hit yourself!
I soon left the 9 Hole Showdown and entered My Clips, where I was able to set the win conditions with my challenge. I required all comers to successfully skim the ball across the water, and hit themselves with their own golf ball. From there, I clicked Post to EA Sports GamerNet and waited for whatever damn rabbit or chicken to try my daring feat.

While waiting, I went back into Freestyle to see what else I could never come close to conquering. One such challenge required me to stand on a bridge and chip the ball over into the sand trap all to land on the green. Sounds easy right? But there was one problem. The ball was required to never touch the green, but instead strike the flag pole and drop straight into the hole. Yeah…like he could do it. Sadly, I hit his viewer and he DID do it. Bastard!

Tiger Wood’s GamerNet is definitely something brilliantly new and amazing in a golfing game aside from “Star confidence.” Sure some stuff was utterly stupid, but I had a lot of fun trying different GamerNet challenges, and as soon as I practice more, hopefully I can hit myself with my own golf ball once again and declare myself the King of Games!
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 is the latest golfing video game in the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series from Electronic Arts. It is set to be released in North America on August 28, 2007 for literally every console known to man. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 focuses to take the sport to the next level with a new development team and a host of new game features. Taking online interaction beyond anything before in the series, EA Sports GamerNet enables players to create or play against any form of interactive content. So, what are you waiting for? Head into the experience and gather your bragging rights.

News Source : Here Technorati Tags: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, EA		Buy
posted by Gunny

SEGA Rally Revo is the new benchmark in next-gen off-road racing, turning every lap into a new experience. Experience truly deformable tracks for the first time, using proprietary GeoDeformation™ technology. Bumper-to-bumper races in single-player and multiplayer modes on a constantly changing track surface, using fully customizable licensed cars. The genre-defining SEGA Rally arcade brand sets a new off-road racing benchmark with SEGA Rally Revo, made possible by the processing power of next-generation platforms.

Key Features:

GeoDeformation – a unique feature which dynamically changes the course during each lap with revolutionary surface & environment deformation.

Vehicles – over 30 in total across 4WD, 2WD, Classic and Bonus types, most with three variants each (Road, Rally & All Terrain).

Environments – wide range of hyper-realistic next-generation deformable environments including Safari, Artic, Canyon and Lakeside.

Tracks – a range of off-road and on-road tracks, with a variety of surface types and creative track designs.

Multiplayer – speedy online and offline multiplayer modes for up to six people.

Action-Oriented Arcade Heritage – in contrast to other simulation-themed rally racers, SEGA Rally Revo features action-oriented next-gen arcade racing unlike any other game.

Release: Winter 2007

Source : http://www.worthplaying.com/

posted by Gunny

We hit the links with EA's most challenging golf title yet.

Confidence. On Sundays, on the 18th green, staring down a birdie putt for the win, Tiger Woods has it. Sergio Garcia? Not so much.

After Garcia missed a putt for the win at the 2007 British Open, he lost the ensuing playoff to Irishman Padraig Harrington, and left any confidence he had in a deep bunker somewhere on the back nine at Carnoustie. As confidence plays such an important role in the game of golf, it's about time EA included it in its upcoming Tiger Woods PGA Tour game. And so it did.

Think about it. You can hit driver off the tee for extra distance, but you have to draw the ball over a water hazard to do it. It's a tough shot, a risky shot. Or you could lay-up off the tee with an iron, setting up an approach shot with another long iron. What shot you decide to hit off the tee boils down to just how confident you are that day, how confident you are on this hole, with each club, and finally with what shot type, be it a full swing or a flop shot.

In Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08, confidence will follow you everywhere, from the PGA season mode to the Tiger Challenge to the arcade challenges. The confidence meter will track your performance on every hole of every course with every club and every swing type. But how does this affect the actual gameplay on the links? Confidence - and some tuning with the analog swing - is making Tiger 08 EA's most challenging golf title yet.

That's not saying much considering most experienced Tiger players can shoot in the 50s blindfolded. But after playing several rounds with confidence in play, I've gone entire rounds without bringing the driver out of the bag - my created golfer doesn't believe in himself yet, despite a perfect 110 driving rating.

When aiming a shot, you'll notice the landing area, introduced in Tiger 07. The more skilled you are from with a certain club, the smaller the landing area. This year, confidence will also affect the size of the landing area. If you're an ace with the pitching wedge, the landing area will get even smaller. But if you're not confident, that little white circle will turn into a big red circle and your landing area just got significantly larger. What's worse, if you try and hit an unconfident shot and you are slightly off, the penalty is magnified and you're likely to hook your ball into the woods.

The final change on the links comes on the green in the form of the putt preview camera. In year's past, you could watch the perfect putt over and over, lining up your putt with some object in the background and sinking it time and time again. This time, you can use it only once, and it will only show you your line to where you are aiming. The trick is to line up your putt, use the preview, adjust accordingly, and then sink it. Veterans of the old putting grid will probably like this system even better. 

All in all, the gameplay tweaks to Tiger 08 will add at least a handful of strokes to your scorecard. And with challenging courses like Bandon Dunes and Carnoustie on the slate, golf fans may finally have the test they have been waiting for.

Source : http://www.gamesradar.com/

posted by Gunny

Originally posted at hundredproofwordpress

Project Gotham Racing® 3 introduced gamers to the "next-gen" Xbox 360™ experience: slick high-definition graphics, an exquisitely immersive in-cockpit view, live races on Project Gotham TV, as well as the stylized Kudos system, exotic cars, interactive garages, and photo-realistic tracks.

Even the rain splatter is physics-driven.

Most encores to a wildly successful game franchise would play a conservative hand. Evolve a few features, slap on a new coat of paint, and call it a day. This is not the case with Project Gotham Racing® 4. PGR4 has taken advantage of its more relaxed development schedule (no console launch date to meet this time), and jam-packed the title with new, groundbreaking content.

That's right, racing bikes have made the cut in Project Gotham Racing 4 and they help revitalize the franchise with a feel and control all their own.

Read more