The GRID PC Demo that was slated to be launched today has what looks like a serious multiplayer issue. A black screen, dead state has been seen about once an hour in online testing.

Due to this issue, Codemasters has asked FileFront to pull the demo and if you have already downloaded it we apologize for any inconvenience and will keep you updated with the latest news as soon as we have it.

Hopefully a fixed version will be released shortly, so check back often.

 ***UPDATE*** 

We just received word from Codemasters that the PC demo has been fixed and will be up and running around 8:00 PM UK time, which means 1:00 AM EST, 12:00 AM CST, 11:00 PM MST, and 10:00 PM PST. Hopefully we can get  the demo up during this time, but if not check back with us tomorrow morning and it should be ready to go.

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Codemasters has secured the exclusive video game rights to Formula One in a worldwide licensing agreement with Formula One Administration Ltd. In turn, the developer/publisher will create a new generation of the multi-million selling Formula One game franchise across multiple consoles, handhelds and PC.

Here are some “gushing” quotes pulled from the press release:

“FORMULA 1 is ambitious in expanding its reach with more circuits planned beyond recent additions in the Middle East and China. It is also ambitious in expanding its reach via technology. The digital communities that computer and video gaming creates will play a key role in further growing the FORMULA 1 audience and connecting them globally,” said Rod Cousens, chief executive officer, Codemasters.

“As a world-leading creator of driving games, this alliance with FORMULA 1 is the jewel in Codemasters’ racing crown and creates an undisputed segment champion. FORMULA 1 has gone with the best, the segment leader. It has gone to the home of the EGO Engine for quality; it has gone to the company that can host FORMULA 1 Online, to the company that is streaking away from the pack.”

“Codemasters’ success and recent innovations in the racing game space makes the company more than appropriately tuned for the challenge,” said Chris Deering, chairman, Codemasters.“The combination of FORMULA 1’s new momentum of expansion and Codemasters’ contemporary technology and past experience is the breaking of a new dawn for the sport, on the track and on the HD game screen.”

This deal will provide Codemasters with rights to feature all Grand Prix circuits, Formula One teams, cars, and driver likenesses. In addition, the FIA Formula One World Championship games will be developed using the evolution of the EGO Game Technology Engine, Codemasters’ cross-platform middleware technology. The EGO Engine is currently being deployed in the creation of Race Driver: GRID, the latest in Codemasters Studio’s international circuit-based racing series which will be released on May 30th.

The first FIA Formula One World Championship game is set to launch in 2009.

Via: Press Release

Turbine and Codemasters Online have announced the launch of “Swig and Toss”, the second mini-game for the Unlock the Mines of Moria website. Registered participants can challenge themselves and their friends to earn special deeds that unlock unique rewards including exclusive videos, images, and in-game items that will aid them on their journey when The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria launches this fall.Swig and Toss is an axe throwing competition with a bit of drinking and wagering to make things more interesting! In this 10-round game, players try to keep a steady aim while attempting to hit a target with their axe. Hit the mark and win, miss and hear the Dwarves around you scoff at your lack of skill. The more you drink, the more you can wager, but be warned - the more you drink, the blurrier things get and it is harder to see the target.

It is loads of fun, but I am afraid that I am not too good at drinking games so I will one of the few who do not get to unlock any special items when the expansion is released. Hopefully, these items will not be “bind on acquire” and I can purchase them at my Kin’s auction house.

Via: Press Release

Criterion Games announced this morning that the popular driving game Burnout Paradise is being rebuilt specifically for the PC. Burnout Paradise will be the first Burnout title ever made for the PC, customized with expanded multiplayer, enhanced online features, and community driven content.Originally released for the PS3 and Xbox 360, Burnout Paradise has won over 55 awards worldwide and delivers an open-world environment built for speed, excitement and exploration and boasts a nice transition from single-player offline to online gameplay. The PC version will combine all the open world racing, speed and action of the original game with additional new gameplay.

Want to know more? Then tune into a live webcast on the Criterion Games website at 8:00 AM PST on Friday, May 9th for more details on this announcement.

Hey buddy, want some WoWcrack? You know you do. Its cheap too, and when I say cheap, I mean free. Follow me into this dark alley and I will give you the goods - make sure no one sees you and that you are not followed or else the deal is off. You aren’t packing heat or wearing a wire are you? Ok cool, let’s do this then.

All of my stuff is premo and pure and it is a new strain of WoWcrack sure to please even the most discerning of tastes. It is called Wrath of the Lich King and I have nine different types.

• The first one is an interview with designer J. Kaplan & Producer J. Allen Brack about what World of Warcraft’s upcoming expansion has to offer.
• Next we have the first footage of air-to-air battles featuring vehicle combat.
• I also have an extended look at new zones (Northrend) and more vehicle combat
• Here I have the Howling Fjord which is one of Lich King’s two starter zones, including the Utgarde Keep instance and the new Tuskar race.
• Then I have this sweet bit of stuff that contains footage of the Borean Tundra which is the Lich King’s other starting zone, along with Howling Fjord. This clip shows both the Alliance and Horde towns, and the Nexus level 71-73 instance.
• Dragonblight is some really good stuff too where you can catch a glimpse of Wyrmrest Temple, the Nerubians, and Naxxramas.
• Like trolls? Then you will love Zul’Drak - the former troll empire has fallen on tough times. It’s not just for ice trolls any more.
• Sholazar Basin is the sister zone to Ungoro Crater. That crashed ship? Hemet Nessingwary’s. Good times to be had with this one
• Last but not least I have the Grizzly Hills where the Venture Co. has set up shop in Northrend, and so have the Furbogs (they live in the fallen, mini-world tree).

So what will it be then? You will take all of them? You are hardcore indeed my friend! Make sure you tell your friends about me, and as long as they are not narcs - I will do my best to supply them with more WoWcrack when it becomes available. In the meantime, if they need more information on my wares, they can check out previous posts on Wrath of the Lich King here. You can also get more of the goods after the break.

Enjoy my friend, but just be careful you don’t OD on all this WoW.

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FireSky’s senior VP of strategic operations Joe Ybarra, sees a similarity between television production and game development. FireSky, as you are well aware, is the company who is currently developing the new MMO based upon Stargate Worlds.

Speaking to GamesIndustry, Ybarra stated:

“I think the best way to look at it is that the IP for Stargate Worlds was originally a television series, and what’s really interesting about working on a TV-based property - especially with Stargate - is the fact that it’s an ongoing production and the mentality that they take towards creating the show is very similar to that which we take when building a game.”

FireSky, like other MMOS developers, plan on releasing incremental content on a regular basis which from a developmental standpoint, Ybarra feels is almost the same thing as creating regular content for a television series.

“I think what’s also interesting is that the audiences that consume these products, both from TV with respect to science-fiction programming and gaming, is the same. As we refine our processes, as we start to look into the future of how we can make that relationship between television and gaming even closer than we’ve accomplished already, that’s a really exciting aspect of our business.”

According to GamesIndustry.biz, FireSky will not rely upon a licensed IP but will focus instead on an original IP along with a platform called “Social Networks At Play”, which the company hopes will bring gaming and social networking together.

“…The one thing we have to produce is a great game - and it really doesn’t matter what the property or subject matter is, we have to deliver to the customer a great game,” Ybarra said.

For the complete interview with Joe Ybarra and Rod Nakamoto hit the link below.

Via: GamesIndustry.biz

Today is Thursday, and as always we are happy to give you the latest updates on the games being added to GameTap.This week marks the addition of Alpha Prime, Chameleon Gems, and Flip Words 2 to the subscription games and the 121st title added to the free games list this week is Morning’s Wrath.

• Alpha Prime: Hubbardium is the most precious mineral in the universe. Unfortunately, it also drives anyone who comes in contact with it insane — by radiation or as a curse of Glomar the Greatest, whose very body is made of the stuff, depending on who you ask. And Arnold must now venture deep into the mines on Alpha Prime — while he’s immune to the effects Hubbardium, there’s plenty to be wary of there…

• Flip Words 2: You’ll flip over this word puzzle! Not only are you trying to build words out of a grid, you’re also assembling a secret phrase, letter by letter, in a fashion such as to make Vanna White green with envy. Guess the phrase and you’ll score some massive points!

• Chameleon Gems: You’ve done it with frogs and you’ve done it with crabs, but have you tried it with chameleons? Talking about matching colored gems as they zoom down a track toward a game-ending drain, of course.

• Morning’s Wrath: For centuries, the Leowyn Kingdom has been at peace. Now Ashidian invaders are at the door, and Leowyn’s army is weak. The castle is under siege as former allies betray the Leowyn cause. Princess Morning, descended from a line of noble warriors, must find her way into a dark world below the castle to purify the magic well and drive the invaders off. But the cost of victory may be her sanity…

Also, as an added bonus, on GameTap TV today, you can check out an exclusive interview on Plug and Play with award winning comic book author Brian Bendis talking about Halo Uprising.

As always, for more information on GameTap, check out the official website.

According to The Major, the demo for GRID has gone live. Unfortunately the PC demo has been delayed, but it will be up tomorrow so check back with us for the link to download it.

In Race Driver: GRID, players are taken to beautifully realised and dramatic race locations over three continents to compete in an unprecedented variety of racing events. Packed with the most powerful race cars – new and classic, circuit and drift – players will compete to conquer the most prestigious official race tracks and championships and then go beyond to compete in challenging city-based competitions, through to road events and urban street races.

In Europe, race gamers will compete on the greatest official tracks in prestige Marques including Aston Martin, Koenigsegg and Pagani.

Iconic cities across the U.S. – including San Francisco, Washington DC and Detroit and each with their own atmosphere and events – play hosts to diverse street races. Here, high-performance V8 muscle cars set the pace in aggressive closely fought pack competitions.

In the Far East, Japanese racing culture sets the tone where night races, including Drift racing, take drivers through neon illuminated cities and to outlying mountain roads. There is also the opportunity to compete in races that operate on the fringes of legality in the back streets and industrial areas of Yokohama.

Content: GRID Demo
Price: Free
Availability: All Xbox LIVE regions
Dash Text: [ESRB: E (Everyone)] It’s time to get on the GRID as this superb demo showcases racing in the three regions playable in the full game; Europe Touring Cars at Jarama Circuit, U.S Muscle cars at San Francisco and Japanese Drift Racing at Yokohama Docks. Compete online in the European and U.S races and check out the time trial competitions for the chance to win a car and other ace prizes.

Thanks: Major Nelson

When Pandemic announced back in February that they would be developing the next console version of a Lord of the Rings Game, I was pretty excited. Despite the fact that they are under the umbrella of the evil EA overlords is no matter because Pandemic make great games. Add to this the news that the new LotR title would be like Battlefront but with orcs was even more enticing information, and recently the director for the game Eric Gewirtz revealed even more information for the upcoming title.

Apparently, gamers will be able to choose from different battles from the film such as Helm’s Deep, Pelennor Fields, Minas Tirith, The Black Gates, along with other skirmish areas such as Moria, The Shire and Weathertop. The cool thing about it though is that according to Gewirtz, you get to play play as a bad guy as well and can start “running through The Shire, trampling Hobbits and burning the place to the ground”. Awesome! Death to those nasty little hobbitses. Some other battles or skirmishes that were not featured in the movies will be added as well, these will be from both the books and made up by the writers for the game but will remain true to Tolkien’s lore.

Also according to Gewirtz:

“We’ve focused equal parts on the good perspective and the idea of re-creating cinematic moments from the films — not faithfully so much, but just kind of allowing the player to experience moments that are like the films — but also really, for the first time, letting you get the chance to play as all of the bad guys. Play as the Balrog, play as Sauron and Sarumon, and really kind of live out that fantasy fulfillment of “what would it be like to really just destroy Middle-Earth? What if evil had won?”

During battles, players will be able to choose between fighting as a melee warrior, third-person archer, support class mage or stealth scout and will be given access to key characters from the film and books like Aragorn, Gandalf, and Legolas. Gewirtz also went on to discuss the different modes to choose from, such as Ringwraiths and all other kinds of really interesting tidbits that I just cannot fit in this post.

To read more of the interview, and to get the rest of the scoop on the game, just hit the link below. In the meantime, you can expect Lord of the Rings: Conquest to hit retail sometime in the Fall for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. You can read the full press release issued this morning after the jump.

Thanks: Videogaming247

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It’s always a little strange to see a new trailer for a game released long after the game as hit store shelves. So it looks like whoever was given this task at id decided to spice things up a bit. Thus, there are three new trailers for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, delivered in an infomercial style format. The one above addresses the dangers of “projectile dysfunction,” while the other two advertise a “human juicer” and the game itself as if it were a monster truck rally. You can check out the other two trailers after the break.

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In news that shouldn’t be all that surprising, id software has announced that they have begun production of the next installment in the Doom series. And…that’s really all that we know right now. However, id has also announced that they’re now looking to hire some new people for the project:

“DOOM is part of the id Software DNA and demands the greatest talent and brightest minds in the industry to bring the next installment of our flagship franchise to Earth,” said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. “It’s critical for id Software to have the best creative minds in-house to develop games that meet the standards synonymous with our titles.”

Odds are the game will be an FPS involving a space marine fighting demons on Mars. Unless they shake things up a bit and make it real-time-strategy-kart-racing game. Frankly, with the FPS genre so oversaturated these days, I’d welcome the change of pace.

Via Press Release

“People like to invent monsters and monstrosities. Then they seem less monstrous themselves.” – From “The Last Wish”

Orbit has announced the first U.S. publication of “The Last Wish”, the fantasy novel from internationally acclaimed Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. Like his video game counterpart in The Witcher, Geralt de Rivia is a Witcher – a killer-for-hire. Geralt possesses magical and alchemical powers, a deadly blade, and a mordant wit. He is a hitman sent after the creatures of myth and fairytale.

But the lines between good and evil are never straightforward. In a world rife with racism, terrorism, and corruption, every motive is suspect. Hired to rid the world of its demons, Geralt often find that the demons are less guilty then their prey.

“The Last Wish” is a compilation of six “Voice of Reason” short novellas. “The Witcher”, “A Grain of Truth”, “The Lesser Evil”, “A Question of Price”, “The Edge of the World”, and “The Last Wish” which served as the basis to the awesome PC game. Each story builds from previous escapades and if you are familiar with the game, you will easily fall right into in the short stories.

Geralt’s may be a monster killer with a strange code of ethics, but he has no problem bedding any monster who looks like a lovely lass either. He is just too damn cool.

“The Last Wish” has been available in stores since May 1st and if you have not already picked it up, I highly recommend that you do.

Via: Press Release

Tri Synergy and Majestic Studios have announced that they will be bringing Limbo of the Lost, a point-and-click-adventure and puzzle game to the PC.

Fate and Destiny are two brothers battling for supremacy over mankind. Their battleground is a vast stone citadel called The Keep of Lost Souls, created before time and housed within a realm known as LIMBO. It is here gamers must help Captain Benjamin Spooner Briggs as he explores the depths of Limbo in an attempt to save mankind and bring an end to the destructive struggle between Fate and Destiny.

Utilizing a full mouse driven interface, you can expect the following features to be included with the game:

• Immersive sound effects
• Full musical score
• Devious Puzzles
• Play and Reveal storyline
• Each Level feels different in play
• Spectator gameplay - You do not control the main character, you ask him to do certain actions, actions that sometimes he will or will not do
• Over 30 NPC characters to talk with
• 6 levels of logical devious puzzles
• Hours of dialogue with 100% lip synched 3D models
• 100% mouse driven, with optional keyboard shortcuts
• Save your game anywhere at anytime
• No dying, action sequences or sliding puzzles

Look for Limbo of the Lost at retailers nationwide this Summer. For more information, check out the official site and for more screens click here.

Via: Press Release

Poor Harvey Dent. His campaign against crime ended when crime boss Sal “Boss” Maroni threw sulfuric acid in Dent’s face, horribly scarring and discoloring his left hand and the left half of his face. Tormented by his hideous reflection, he becomes not only a shadow of his former self, but a demented villain and changes his name to Two Face. This crazed former attorney uses the toss of his coin to decide whether he acts for good or evil in any situation. Unfortunately, the coin rarely lands on good.

While this may sound like a dire plotline, we can pretty much guess that it will be more light hearted if not down right comical when portrayed in the new LEGO Batman game where a stampede of notorious criminals have busted out of Arkham Asylum (the place where Gotham City houses only the shadiest of characters).

It’s up to the famed Caped Crusader to sweep Gotham clean of criminal activity using everything at his disposal, including crime-fighting vehicles as well as several baddie-bashing gadgets.

LEGO Batman is expected to be released in September on multiple platforms. You can view more of the new screens featuring Two Face and others by clicking here.

A demo has been released for the PC game Overclocked: A History of Violence which hit stores on April 16th. Published by Lighthouse Interactive and dtp Entertainment and created by House of Tales Entertainment, players will delve into the world of Overclocked to explore the deranged minds of three of the five patients admitted to the Staten Island Forensic Hospital.

Set against the backdrop of a catastrophic thunderstorm raging over New York City, step into the world of Overclocked as former army psychiatrist, David McNamara. You are called to the Staten Island Forensic Hospital in New York City to consult on a case that requires your expertise in forensic psychiatry. Tasked with exploring the minds of five young men and women who were found scared, screaming, and without memory, you make alarming discoveries as you begin to cautiously probe the psyches of your young patients. Throughout the game, you will play as five other characters in this chilling interactive psycho thriller.

You can get the demo for Overclocked: A History of Violence by hitting the badge below. For more information on the game check out our previous posts.

Come, Watson, come! The game is afoot,

Legacy Interactive announced today the release of The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes, a whodunit casual computer game of theft, espionage and murder in which the player must tap their own powers of observation to solve puzzles and identify the culprits.

The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes is the first computer game officially licensed by the Conan Doyle Estate. It features familiar personalities including Sherlock Holmes, Watson, Mycroft, Inspector Lestrade and more than 100 historical characters that will launch players into the world of the eccentric and famous detective. For each of the 16 individual cases, an overall storyline is revealed and a list of potential suspects is whittled down until the perpetrator is ultimately exposed.

In each case, set in Victorian London, players encounter the following puzzles: a hidden object puzzle, Sudoku, find the difference puzzle, and a picture memory game. There are also additional puzzles and mini-games such as anagrams, cryptograms and jigsaw memory games, which are available at various levels. Legacy has gone to great lengths to insure that the puzzles and mini-games are relevant to the period and storyline of the game as the player journeys from locales such as the British Museum, Big Ben, Kew Gardens, the Royal Theater and others in search of clues that are then evaluated back at 221b Baker Street.

Game Features:

• Play as part of the venerable team of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson
• There are 16 different mystery cases for players to solve
• Over 100 visual puzzles and mini-games tailored to the subject and period of the game reveal a cohesive storyline as you play
• A wide variety of mind-bending puzzles including hidden object, find the difference, picture Sudoku and picture memory games
• Realistic and relevant clues for each case
• Gamers can easily begin their adventure where they just left off; there is no disruption in game play
• Players can explore 40 historically accurate locations around Victorian London
• Officially licensed by the Conan Doyle Estate

For more information on The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes, or to download the game, click here.

Via: Press Release

Remember how many people were up in arms about the PC version of BioShock’s copy protection, SecuROM, which limited people who bought the game legitimately from having it installed on more than two computers at once? Well apparently EA and BioWare don’t, since they’re using an even more restrictive version of the software in the upcoming PC release of Mass Effect. This version of the game will automatically authenticate your CD key with your PC every time you run the program, and will actually run this check on its own every five days as long as your computer is connected to the internet. If the game can’t find a connection, then it will still allow you to play the game for five days before locking up. At that point, you’ll have to contact customer support to get your beloved game unlocked again. Bottom line: you’ll have to re-authenticate your copy of Mass Effect online every ten days…forever. In other words, don’t leave your internet unplugged, don’t toss out an old computer without uninstalling the game first, and God forbid you should ever go on vacation and take the precaution of leaving your electronics unplugged.

Naturally, this raises a lot of issues with gamers. For one, nobody likes being treated like a criminal for legally purchasing a product for their own entertainment. Besides that, this makes you wonder if people will even be able to activate the game years later — seriously, I still crack open the original Fallout every few years without a fuss. At least they’re disclosing this now rather than after the game hit store shelves, like with BioShock. Of course, some people with enough free time won’t even need the ten days to finish with the game (hell, it took me three days to plow through it around Christmas time). Unfortunately though, it sounds like SecuROM isn’t going anywhere as far as EA is concerned, seeing as Spore will apparently use similar copy protection methods.

Via The Angry Pixel

Ubisoft has released a new trailer for the upcoming Far Cry 2, which shows off some gameplay footage and has the developers explaining some of the game’s dynamics. This new game will be set in Africa and will allow you to openly explore around 50 square-kilometers of terrain. As such, the developers actually took a trip to the continent, took some notes, snapped some reference shots, and almost got eaten by lions. The game will also allow you the freedom to approach enemies however you’d like, from silently taking them out one by one to running in and blowing their whole base to smithereens. From the look of the gameplay footage, this is already shaping up to be one awesome shooter.

Looking to play an innovative game that blends MMO elements with RTS gameplay? Well, Filefront’s got you covered. We’ve teamed up with the 1UP network and publisher Silverlode to bring you 50,000 copies of the critically acclaimed “MMORTS,” Saga. The game will have players amassing huge armies to fulfill their goals in a world created by the lead programmer for Starcraft: Brood War, Dallan Christensen. You’ll be able to build up an army of human, orcs, elves, dragons, giant mechs, and much more by acquiring booster packs of units. Units and resources can be bought and traded much like items in a traditional MMORPG, and the game’s persistent world will continue to evolve and expand even while you’re offline. Plus, as icing on the “awesome cake,” Saga is completely free to play.

Want your free copy of Saga? Well, then just click on the link below to download the game client. The client will come with a serial key, which you’ll need to use to create an account at the official Saga website. Be sure to check out the file’s description for instructions on creating your own account. You’ll have between now and May 11th to secure your copy of the game, unless we run out before then. We’re seriously giving away $1 million dollars worth of stuff here, people, so be sure not to miss out.

[Update: Some people seem to be having trouble locating their serial key. After following the link below and clicking “Download Now,” the red text near the top of the page will change to display your own personal key so you can register your free copy. Happy gaming!]

As things stand, there are no plans to bring the co-op friendly zombie shooter Left 4 Dead to any platform aside from PCs and Xbox 360. If you’re wondering why that is, Valve’s Doug Lombardi put it quite simply: they’re “not PS3 developers.”

Lombardi explained, “EA came to us and said ‘Wow, Orange Box was an incredible project, can we do a PS3 version?’”  But while games like Half-Life and Team Fortress already have an established name, Left 4 Dead is a completely new IP, so it’s not guaranteed to sell like a new Half-Life game. “Left 4 Dead doesn’t have that guaranteed appeal yet - it’s a new IP,” Lombardi told CVG.

“If you mention a new Half-Life, people want to make as many versions of it as possible. If Left 4 Dead is big, then we may see a PS3 version later, or if and when we do a sequel, people may be more interested in that.

“We’re only 150 people, so there’s only so many things we can do. But it’s one of those things with partners, wanting to take on that investment and risk. I think until L4D is proven, you’ll probably just see what we make in that franchise.”

If Left 4 Dead proves to be a success EA seems like a potential suitor to port the game to PS3. As for the game being successful, let’s be realistic – a co-op zombie game on 360/a shooter developed by Valve on PC is about as much of a formula for success as you can have without naming your game Halo or Grand Theft Auto.

Should EA handle the port, though, let’s hope it’s less shoddy than that Orange Box port.