Fire, roaring engines and galloping metal riffs are what’s needed for a perfect trailer, and SimBin Studios really seem to have nailed it this time. The Swedish developers have today released the first gameplay trailer for GTR Evolution and launched its official website.

The upcoming racing game will be released for PC in late August of this year, and will feature five new classes of cars including 30 brand new models. Cars you can look forward to race (or crash) are the Corvette C6R, Aston Martin DBR9, BMW M3 GTR, Koenigsegg CCGT and Spyker GT2R and more. The Production car class offers a slightly more sophisticated alternative with cars such as the Audi R8, Dodge Viper SRT/10, Koenigsegg CCX and Gumpert Apollo.

Other than that, it doesn’t seem to have changed that much since its predecessor GTR 2 and frankly, I don’t think it needs to. GTR 2 is to me one of the best realistic race simulators ever made, and I’m not the only one that puts the game on a pedestal. For its time, the game featured amazing graphics (such as getting blinded by the light while driving), extremely realistic handling, incredible details on the car models and sweet features such as the ability to turn your head sideways in the cockpit. If there’s anything to complain about, it’s some minor graphical issues, such as frame rate drops, and a steep learning curve that hits you like a jet-powered freight train. Continue reading this story..

Starting now, PS3 owners around the globe will be able to download the hyped out of this world firmware version 2.40. Besides the in-game XMB, the most exciting new feature has to be Trophy support — Sony’s equivalent to the Xbox 360 Achievements. To detail the new features, Sony released some videos showing how the system will work, and later posted a Q&A session, covering some things that were not spoken of in the videos. One of the hot button topics was whether games will give Trophies retroactively, meaning we wouldn’t have to play them over to achieve trophies. The answer was a clear “no”.

One of the possible reasons for this deals with the leveling up aspect of the PS3 GamerCard. You level up as your Trophy count goes up. If everyone grabbed saved data online and imported it to their PS3, everyone would be at the highest level instantly. So it kind of defeats the purpose of accomplishing tasks and earning every trophy honestly. Sony decided to can the idea with the foresight of dishonest players in mind. Burnout Paradise however is a different story altogether. Continue reading this story..

Another week, another PSN update worth checking out. Oddly missing from the European store is the Metal Gear Solid 4 Database free download. The database is your tool for understanding the highly convoluted story lines that surround the Metal Gear Solid universe. The best thing about it is you don’t have to worry about spoilers ruining the experience if you haven’t completed Snake’s final mission yet. The database includes a feature that blacks out anything that appears spoilerific until you beat the game. In addition to that, Konami is also releasing a new camouflage outfit for Snake and a new tune for your in-game iPod. You could attempt to get it from the Japanese or North American store, but some have reported it does not work if you’re not based in those regions. Maybe next week.

The Warhawk bundle that contains both Operation Omega Dawn and Operation Broken Mirror is now available for one thrifty price tag. If you’ve been holding out to buy at least one of these expansions, this deal may be what you need to put you over the top. These expansions include new maps and vehicles that weren’t available in the original retail or downloadable version of Warhawk.

North American PS3 users have quite a bit to be excited about. There’s a bunch of content to help swallow up hard drive space. Fatal Inertia EX is now available for roughly 30 green backs. The game is a futuristic racer in the vain of WipeOut or F-Zero. There’s a demo also available so you can try it out before slamming down the dough. The other add-on content, demos and videos are delivered in spades this week.

Continue reading this story..

The first details on the next Need for Speed game, Need for Speed: Undercover, have surfaced, most surprising of which is that the game will not be out until 2009, thus ditching the series’ usual ‘one game per year’ release schedule. John Riccitiello, CEO of Electronic Arts, announced the game and said the two year gap was to reignite the franchise and up its quality, which is good to hear since I don’t really think there’s been a good Need for Speed game since the series’ inception. He also says that the game will have an atmosphere very close to the the film “The Transporter,” or, to be more precise that is what the crappy Google translation came out as.

For me this is good news. I had always wondered why the Transporter movies didn’t have videogames based on them. Driving from point A to point B really fast is pretty much what the movies are about and that usually lends itself well to games. I’ll be looking forward to this one unless the game also takes inspiration from Qi Shu’s voice in the movie, which was the most annoying thing ever. No word on what systems we’ll see the game on but since it’s EA, it’ll probably be represented across the board.

Ever since Microsoft announced their intentions of using the DVD-9 format for the Xbox 360, it has come under scrutiny by publishers and gamers alike. Many feel that it just doesn’t offer the storage capacity that is needed for “next-gen” games which support hi-res textures and the like. This concern was brought to the forefront with games like Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey that required multiple discs upon release.

Now, if the infamous Intellisponse leak is to be believed, the crisis is hitting home with the decision to spread Microsoft’s marquee racing game onto two DVDs. If the rumor turns out to be truthful, Forza 3 will feature over 400 cars racing on over 100 tracks and will arrive on store shelves as a double-disc title. The rumored leak also notes that the game will feature some type of “assist system”…whatever that means.

While this news, if true, will be sure to bum some folks out, you have to remember that this isn’t the first time that a racing game has arrived on two discs. Gran Turismo 2 landed as a double-disc game. One disc for simulation mode and one disc for arcade mode. However, given the fact that the Forza series is almost strictly simulation-based, it’s hard to know how the game will be broken up. I just hope this time around they put a better filter on car graphics, because I’m sick of getting smoked in an online match-up by a guy with Adolf Hitler painted on his hood…

The above video shows in-game footage of an upcoming combat racer called Pyroblazer. The fact that these are actually in-game graphics makes Pyroblazer one for fans of the genre to look forward to, especially since after its PC release it will be making its way to the Wii and PSP as well.

The game takes place on the world Apeiron of the Xarthas (the same one that worm lady was from in Men in Black II?). Apeiron suffered a major cataclysm and players will race through the three areas that are left of the once mighty civilization — the scorched valley of Gnosis, war station of Haedra and the densely populated Underdome of Evelads.

Of course gameplay is fast and races won’t have much time to enjoy the scenery. Players race in anti-gravity crafts called Blazers which demand good reflexes to survive the track and the other Blazers. Each Blazer is different and everyone is fighting for eternal glory, with 10 primary and 10 secondary (mines) weapons and the ability to pick up extra weapons and upgrades during the race. As players progress, better Blazers will be unlocked with better speed, handling and firepower. Continue reading this story..

If you’re not fully satisfied with how Codemaster’s Race Driver: GRID performs or if there’s something with the game that bothers you, you’d do well to check the first patch before throwing the game on some dusty drawer. The patch applies to all the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Some of the problems that has been fixed are:

• When viewing in spectator mode – wheels should now turn correctly.
• Xbox 360 Achievement fix.
• Fix for exploit where a player could upload an incorrect lap time
• Several optimizations and performance improvements.
• Fix for airborne achievement – now awarded even if car flips upside down during jump
• Network chat text made less obtrusive.
• Other player’s progress/positions are now correctly updated when you enter the race results screen.

Continue reading this story..

Criterion’s Burnout Paradise will receive its third update in the shape of the Cagney package to be made available for download on 10^th July. “What does that mean exactly?” I hear you cry. Well, three new Freeburn game modes and seventy Freeburn Challenges (along with mandatory leaderboards), two extra vehicles, three new liveries and a plethora of fan-requested bug fixes comprise this rather juicy amount of DLC.

Perhaps most intriguing is the Marked Man mode which sees a group of like-minded destructive drivers ganging up on a solitary racer as they try to complete the course; cue yet another tirade of expletives through your headset. Stunt Run, as the name suggests, requires you to compete simultaneously pulling off stunts. If this sounds a little too cooperative and friendly for your liking then fear not, as smashing into your rivals will kill their scores and help you gain multipliers. Road Rage on the other hand demands one team to race through a series of checkpoints while another tries to stop them. The thought of communicating and coordinating your efforts should allow for some really interesting gameplay, and the prospect certainly gets my road-rage juices flowing.

[See also: Burnout Paradise gallery]

Codemasters have announced that they will be bringing a localized version of Race Driver: GRID to Japan in this winter. Japanese motor racing already has a pronounced impact on racing games, and GRID already features Japanese specific content, including Drift and Touge race events and locations that include Tokyo Shibuya, Yokohama and Haruna. It would seem nothing short of idiocy not to bring something so heavily influenced by Japanese racing culture back home to Japan.

“As Codemasters continues to gain significant ground in the global videogame business, the release of Race Driver: GRID in Japan will also see the arrival of the Codemasters brand as a publishing label in the market,” said Rod Cousens, CEO, Codemasters. “We have pursued options in the market for some time and this announcement is but a first indication of our ambitions in that market.” Continue reading this story..

Since the beginning of time developers have taken the formula of “Cars + Fast = Fun” and put it to good effect. As the genre has developed it has become increasingly niched, with each franchise finding its own little space within the wider spectrum of games. Codemasters, after making their stamp on the current-gen rally scene with DIRT and slipping an F1 license under their belt, have thrown caution to the wind and reproached the genre with Race Driver: GRID.

I won’t lie; I’m not a petrol head by any means. I like my driving games thoroughly sober and restrained, daredevil that I am. This puts me on a pretty much strict diet of Gran Turismo. I decided to approach GRID with open eyes and arms and see if it couldn’t wean me off the teat of driving simulation and onto something a little more heart pounding.

Codemasters seem to have tried to create a best of both worlds game in GRID. Positioning it right between the sober and understated driving of Gran Turismo and the petrol-headed brutality of Burnout Paradise and Co. Continue reading this story..

There comes a time in every blogger’s life where they have to leave the confines of the bedroom that has incubated them for the past few months and venture out into the big world of real people with real jobs. For me, that day came this Friday when I missioned out into London for Codemasters’ Race Driver: GRID launch event.

The launch was being held and Zavvi.co.uk’s (the retailer formerly known as Virgin Megastore) flagship outlet on London’s Oxford Street in conjunction with the energy drink Rockstar. So, armed with a pen, paper, no dictaphone, the name of a PR manager and a bag full of dreams I set off for London Town to make my fortune. I arrived in good time to scope out the store and watch staff tear down the last of the HAZE promo material before the festivities started at midday.

Everything kicked off with The Stig (professional driver of Top Gear fame) and some racer pals belting down Oxford Street in a fleet of sports cars. For those interested, the cars included: an Aston Martin DB9 Volante, Aston Martin DB9 Coupe, Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Mercedes-Benz SLK55AMG, Range Rover Sport HST and Bentley Continental GT. The drivers pulled up outside the store, grabbed a console and a copy of the game each, before speeding off down Tottenham Court Road.

Continue reading this story..

Those of you who made the investment in Gran Turismo 5: Prologue, despite a plethora of skepticism, may be excited to hear that this June Polyphony Digital, in conjunction with Sony and Nissan, will be launching their pan European driving competition, the GT Academy.

The competition will be open to residents of the UK & Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, Germany & Austria, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and is split into three stages:

The first stage of the competition will consist of a seven week online tournament held over the PLAYSTATION Network. When logging on to the online portion of GT5 Prologue, gamers will be able to race in the GT Academy Time Trial where they will compete to be the fastest around the Eiger Nordwand track in a Nissan Fairlady 350Z.

Next, the fastest 20 drivers in each country will be invited to a national final to compete head to head on the game. The three fastest drivers from this national final will progress to the next stage. I must admit what they have in store has even got me, the motor illiterate I am, quite excited.

Continue reading this story..

Evidently, including Nintendo, the rest of the world didn’t get the memo that the US was on vacation and as such there are not only two new WiiWare games, Dr. Mario Online Rx (Nintendo, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points) and Family Table Tennis (Aksys Games, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points), but also two new Virtual Console games, City Connection (NES, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone - Comic Mischief, Tobacco Reference, 500 Wii Points) and Metal Slug (NEOGEO, 1-2 players, Rated T for Teen - Blood, Violence, 900 Wii Points). In fact I’d argue that Nintendo has completely ignored Memorial Day altogether considering this is one of the best weeks ever for downloadable games that the Wii has had.

To start we get a new Dr. Mario with a multitude of gameplay options including online battle. I got a chance to play this on a Japanese Wii and it’s pretty much Dr. Mario you know and love but now with Miis. But there is more since they’ve also included a “Wii version” that plays alot like the Dr. Mario found in Brain Age 2. This is my new preferred method of playing the game since it adds some pretty intriguing game mechanics including being able to move pieces that fall after being placed. Continue reading this story..

A couple of years ago I went clay pigeon shooting with my dad, I think you call it skeet shooting in the States. Without wishing to blow my own trumpet (and we’ve all tried that eh lads?) I was pretty good. The instructor guy asked me if I had ever done any shooting before because I was surpisingly accurate even though I had never fired a gun in my life. Well, not a real one anyway. I did have Time Crisis on my PS1 with one of those powered guns with the recoil feature. I suggested that this was the reason that I had good hand-eye coordination. My dad grumbled something about bollocks and I never thought about it again.

Now we get this piece of news that the upcoming SBK08, the new bike racing game based on the HANNspree Superbike World Championship, is being used by actual real life riders to train for the new Miller Park Circuit based in Salt Lake City. Copies of the game have been distributed, by publisher Black Bean, to all the major race teams and their respective riders like Troy Bayliss and Carlos Checa.

“The level of detail and accuracy we have achieved in SBK08, both in terms of the track and the bike performance is the closest any of the riders can get to the real thing,” said Antonio Farina of Milestone Srl “perfect for quickly getting up to speed on new tracks like Miller Park”. Continue reading this story..