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Madden 08 On PS3 Not What It’s Cracked Up To Be?

What does this say about the PS3 as a gaming platform or was it that EA put more time and love into the xbox 360 version of the game? Could it be the devilment tools are that much better for the xbox?

USA Today states:

On the surface, the releases on 360 and PlayStation 3 look identical. However, when you stack them head-to-head, it’s clear which is better. Madden on 360 is fast and fluid, thanks to a sharp jump in frame rate that allows the game to move twice as fast.

PS3 owners, unfortunately, are greeted with a Madden that is sluggish in comparison. Action stutters far too often, particularly on injuries, penalties and turnovers. There’s also a half-second delay between pressing the hike button and receiving the ball in your hands. Even close-ups between play look dull when lined up against the 360’s sleeker cut scenes.

Maxconsole has the alleged response from EA technical support:

“Rob M.” from EA Sports technical support says he understands gamers “frustration,” but says that EA has been “developing titles for the Xbox 360 for over 3 1/2 years” and has only been working with the PS3 for over a year. He goes on to say it’s “very difficult to get it right the first time.” He goes on to say that that 30 frames per second is the same for all PS3 sports games, and they’re happy to point out that the same holds true for 2K Sports as well. He finishes by saying that “if you choose not to purchase the [PS3 version], it is a choice [they] fully understand and respect.”

EA SPORTS $10,000 Craftsman NASCAR Challenge

Electronic Arts today announced the start of the 2007 EA SPORTS Challenge Series which kicked off July 26 with the EA SPORTS Craftsman NASCAR Challenge in Indianapolis. The EA SPORTS Challenge Series is a series of gaming competitions taking place across North America over the next six months.

The competition is scheduled to hit 11 cities overall, giving players from across the country a chance to compete for bragging rights, cash and other prizes. Future stops along the 2007 EA SPORTS Craftsman NASCAR Challenge include: St. Louis, Mo.; Richmond, Va.; Loudon, N.H.; Dover, Del.; Talladega, Ala.; Charlotte, N.C.; Martinsville, Va.; Atlanta, Ga. The ‘In-Store’ Tournaments will be hosted at designated Sears and Kmart retail stores in each city. All Tournament play will be conducted using NASCAR 08 on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system.

“The authenticity of the NASCAR experience is what makes gamers and NASCAR fans alike so competitive when playing NASCAR 08 and now we can deliver an official competitive environment for the best NASCAR 08 players out there,” said Brian Movalson, EA SPORTS Marketing Director. “At our first two stops at Kmart and Sears stores in Indianapolis and Nashville we had eager competitors lined up out the door and enthusiasm for both the game and the upcoming races was palpable.”

“This unique partnership between Craftsman and EA SPORTS is allowing us to bring Craftsman’s NASCAR relationship with NASCAR fans to a gaming audience that is rapidly growing as well,” said Scott Howard, Manager, Sponsorship, for Sears Holdings. “We’re looking forward to bringing these exciting events to the store level at Sears and Kmart stores and to extending this partnership nationally through Xbox Live.”

The ‘In-Store’ Qualifying Rounds competitions will be held over the course of three days in each city on the published Tournament schedule. Players emerging from the Qualifying Rounds with the fastest recorded lap times will advance to the Semi-Finals to compete for a trip to Florida and the Homestead-Miami Speedway and a chance at the $10,000 Grand Prize on November 18, 2007.

Fury Beta With $1,000,000 In Prizes

Gamecock Media Group and Codemasters Online have jointly announced the world’s first Open Beta event for their upcoming PvP MMO, FURY. The event, called FURY Challenge, is billed as the richest prize pool ever for an online role-playing event with more than USD$1,000,000 in prizes available.

“We believe that FURY will be the start of a PvP revolution, so why not create a revolutionary Open Beta event to show the world that we have arrived,” stated Tony Hilliam, Auran CEO. “Last week we announced our unique business model of free to play with free content updates and an optional subscription. This week, we’re pleased to announce a landmark in gaming with a total prize pool valued at over one million dollars. In late September, hundreds of thousands of players will compete to kick-start their Fury careers by winning Fury Game Cards, Fury Subscriptions and lots of other cool loot too.”

“We’ve lined up a huge array of prizes from our sponsors including NVidia, Dell, IGN, GameStop, Harvey Norman, FHM, Logitech and ZBoard,” said Brian Cooke, Auran Marketing Director. “More sponsors are lining up to get their brand message on the FURY Challenge website, on in-store advertising and also on the in-game loading screens (which will be present for FURY Challenge only). The full list of sponsors and prizes will be continually updated via the www.furychallenge.com website.”

FURY Challenge officially kicks off on September 14th and runs over 3 consecutive weekends. The first weekend is set aside for practice and to give players a chance to unlock abilities and experiment with their Incarnations. The next two weekends are the competition weekends where players will compete in 3 game types on 7 different Ladders. Prizes are awarded to the top players and Clans. Most importantly, it is not the most wins that counts, but the players’ Best 10 results in each Ladder. This means that even casual players have a chance of winning. Full Rules and Conditions of Entry can be found at www.FuryChallenge.com/Rules.

“Although FURY Challenge is a competitive event,” said Adam Carpenter, Fury Creative Director, “our main goal for this Open Beta competition is to ensure that all players have fun. There will be plenty of time once the game is up and running to get into more serious tournaments where the goal is to find the best of the best. Meanwhile, during the lead-up for FURY Challenge we are allowing players to earn as many abilities as they like. However, once the competition kicks off, we will be limiting player Ranks to ensure casual and hardcore players are competing on a level playing field.”

“We have garnered enormous support in the North American market for FURY Challenge” stated Richard Iggo, Gamecock VP Sales and Marketing. “For example, when we first mentioned the concept to GameStop, the world’s largest specialty games retailer, they jumped at the chance to get behind the event. They are offering FURY pre-order customers’ special access to mid-week practice sessions and to the Closed Beta prior to the event. Pre-order customers also get a special in-game suit of armor which can be used both in Fury Challenge and once the game goes live in October.”

“Announced only last week as the European partners for FURY, Codemasters are very excited to be able to lend our support to this landmark gaming event,” said David Solari, Vice President and General Manager, Codemasters Online Gaming. “We look forward to adding a number of European sponsorship partners to help boost the prize pool and to ensure that FURY Challenge is a major success.”

Fury Features:

•  PvP combat focused - Every development decision focuses on providing players the ultimate in Player vs. Player experience.
• Combat with the visceral thrill of an FPS game, and the strategy and depth of an RPG.
• A robust matchmaking system that ensures players always fight opponents of equal skill and experience
• Classless advancement system for ultimate flexibility - No more gimping your character or being constrained to a specific set of abilities. In Fury you don’t choose a class - you define your own!
• A game that provides instant action to catch your attention, and the meaningful depth to hold it.
• Realm vs. Realm system with literally dozens of other Realms to fight against!
• Ladders and tournaments for clans or solo players to prove their worth.
• Over 400 abilities, each with 10 unlockable ranks providing near endless possibilities for character advancement and achievement.
• No boring PvE grind - go straight into thrilling PvP combat against human-controlled opponents.
• An MMO that you can actually achieve things in during your lunchtime.
• Next-generation game built on Unreal Engine 3.
• Challenge system for fighting with friends, groupmates or clans, for practice or bragging rights.

Fury will be hitting retail stores in USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand on October 9th and throughout Europe on October 12th. Pre-order customers will receive an exclusive armor set, special priority access before and during Fury Challenge plus a free Realm transfer code. Pre-orders can be made at participating retailers either in-store or online, including GameStop and Best Buy in USA and Canada, Harvey Norman and EBGames in Australia.

Medal of Honor Airborne Demo Release Date

On August 23, parachute into combat with EA’s demo release of Medal of Honor Airborne for the PC and Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system. The Xbox 360 demo will be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace and the PC version will be available on the official Medal of Honor website.

***UPDATE Demo Release Download ***

Demo Mission: Operation Husky
A joint allied operation into the island of Sicily, Operation Husky follows Boyd Travers and the 82nd Airborne on their first combat jump on July 11, 1943. After securing and sabotaging four anti-aircraft guns, Boyd is sent to rendezvous with a group of Airborne paratroopers at the edge of the village. Here, they run into the German Heer army, who is attempting to recapture the village from the Airborne. Boyd must push to the end of this small hamlet, eliminating Germans along the way, then find a sniper rifle and eliminate the German commander. He’s successful, but not before the commander has successfully called in reinforcements.

New Tabula Rasa New Trailer

Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa is an MMORPG from NCsoft, designed in part by some of the creators of Ultima Online such as Richard Garriott. The game is an RPG that blends in certain shooter aspects into the combat system.

Tabula Rasa is about humanity’s last stand against an alien race called “The Bane.” The story takes place in the far future on two or three planets, which will be in a state of constant conflict between the AFSF (Allied Free Sentient Forces) and The Bane.

[youtube Wjv2cEIm4dY nolink]

EA SPORTS Madden NFL 08 Hits Retail Stores Nationwide

EA’s Madden NFL 08, the newest iteration of the best-selling EA SPORTS football franchise with the exclusive videogame license of the NFL and PLAYERS INC, is now available in stores nationwide. Awarded the 2007 Game Critics “Best Sports Game” award at last month’s E3 Media and Business Summit, Madden NFL 08 features a unique combination of innovative gameplay and authentic NFL football simulation.

Now in its 18th year, the Madden NFL Football franchise continues to stand out as Madden NFL 07 was last year’s #1 selling video game in North America with more than seven million copies sold1 since launch.

Madden NFL 08 features a new Read and React system that allows gamers to quickly identify the strongest players on the field, and to make game-altering adjustments to further affect each and every play. New player skill icons identify on-field strengths and weaknesses, providing an immediate read on what an opponent is doing. This new icon system complements a deeper gameplay experience that maximizes the skill of the individual NFL superstars, separating them from the role players, and takes NFL football strategy to a new level.

Players will rule the gridiron with intuitive controls, fluid gameplay and a new branching animation system that yields the jaw-dropping tackles and spectacular catches in Madden NFL 08. New player moves, lateral passes and the dynamic Hit-Stick 2.0 gives gamers an unprecedented and hyper realistic NFL football experience.

Postal III Factsheet and ScreenShots

Genre: Third-Person Action
Platform: PC, Xbox 360
Developer: Running With Scissors / Akella / TM Studios
Publisher: TBA
Release Date: Q4 2008

POSTAL III is a dark comedic third-person action with a twisted sense of humor, currently being co-developed by Arizona-based company Running With Scissors and Moscow-headquartered Akella and TM Studios.

Celebrating the decade of POSTAL franchise, this new installment in the world-renowned series will offer the gaming audience more POSTAL experience than ever before. Once again being cast as a nameless Postal Dude, the player will explore the fictional city of Catharsis, AZ. Doing odd jobs, as well as meeting (and quite possibly confronting) city’s numerous and varied inhabitants such as Eco-Terrorists, Uncle Dave’s Zealot Nuns, Taliban and much more, player will be able to complete the game in one of the three possible ways: from law-obedient Good to a violence-ridden Insane. Postal Dude’s arsenal will be enhanced with a number of unique weapons such as Harnessed Badger Saw, Chain Scythe and many more, to be disclosed later. Reactive environment, robust physics engine, complex NPC AI and number of never-before-seen gameplay elements make POSTAL III a true next generation sequel to a cult videogame franchise.

POSTAL III is not intended for Politicians, your mom, your little sister, or the priest molesting her. It is a game about free will. Violence begets violence and the choice is yours.

Key Features:

• Choose between three ways to play through the game: The Good, The Bad, and Insane.
• Interact with numerous NPC factions, powered by reactive AI and complex behavior.
• Fusion of linear story-driven missions and huge free-roaming areas.
• Features wide array of real-life celebrities: from Playboy Playmates to film stars and musicians.

New Downloads For Guitar Hero II On Xbox Live

Activision, today announced details surrounding new downloadable content for Guitar Hero II on the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Guitar Hero fans now have the opportunity to download three original recordings from The Black Parade album from My Chemical Romance through Xbox LIVE Marketplace, beginning today.

My Chemical Romance track pack includes the following master recordings:

· Teenagers
· Famous Last Words
· This is How I Disappear

The three My Chemical Romance tracks available for download can be found on their latest highly touted and platinum-selling album, The Black Parade.

“We’re pleased to offer fans of the Guitar Hero franchise the best tracks from one of the hottest selling albums of the year,” said Tim Riley, Worldwide Executive of Music for Activision. “My Chemical Romance has even appeared on television playing Guitar Hero II, and we’re thrilled to build on our relationship with them.”

Fans will have the option of viewing a preview on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for the track pack before purchasing.

BioShock Demo Now Available on Xbox LIVE

2K Games and Take-Two Interactive Software, announced today that the demo of BioShock is now available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. The BioShock Windows PC demo will be available for download later this month.

Developed by 2K development studios, 2K Boston and 2K Australia, BioShock is a highly anticipated first-person shooter that will be available exclusively on Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and Games For Windows in North America on August 21, 2007 and in Europe beginning August 24, 2007.

BioShock is a “genetically enhanced” first-person shooter that lets players do things never before possible in the genre - turn everything into a weapon, biologically modify your body with plasmids, hack devices and systems, upgrade weapons and craft new ammo variants, and experiment with different battle techniques.

The Xbox 360 demo introduces gamers to BioShock by inviting them to explore the world of Rapture, an underwater utopia torn apart by civil war. While immersed in the decaying art deco city, gamers can experiment with the various weapons and plasmids, as the captivating storyline unfolds. Caught between powerful forces and hunted down by genetically modified “splicers” and deadly security systems, players have to come to grips with a deadly, mysterious world filled with powerful technology and fascinating characters. No encounter ever plays out the same and no two gamers will play BioShock the same way.

BioShock Goes Gold!

2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, announced today that BioShock has gone to gold master exclusively for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and Games for Windows. Developed by 2K Boston and 2K Australia, BioShock is a highly anticipated video game that will be available at stores in North America on August 21, 2007 and in Europe beginning August 24, 2007.

BioShock is a first-person shooter that lets players do things never before possible in the genre. Nearly everything in the game can be turned into a weapon; players can biologically modify their bodies with plasmids, hack devices and systems, upgrade weapons and craft new ammo variants, and experiment with different battle techniques.

Players enter the game as a castaway in Rapture, an underwater utopia torn apart by civil war. Caught between powerful forces and hunted down by genetically modified “splicers” and deadly security systems, players have to come to grips with a dangerous and mysterious world filled with powerful technology and fascinating characters. With multiple avenues for surmounting challenges on both a moral and tactical level, no encounter ever plays out the same and no two gamers will play BioShock the same way.

Features:

• Biologically modify your body with plasmids, which are genetic augmentations that empower you with dozens of fantastic abilities including: sending Electrobolts storming from your fingertips, unleashing a swarm of hornets hatched from the veins of your arms, or strategically turning enemies against one another with irritants.
• Take control of your world by hacking devices and systems: reprogram enemy security bots into personal bodyguards, modify vending machines to change prices, and transform machine gun security turrets into powerless pieces of metal.
• Upgrade your weapons at Power-to-the-People stations located through Rapture: craft variants of ammo and plasmids by picking up materials in the city and modifying them at U-Invent kiosks.
• Turn everything into a weapon: the environment, your body, fire and water, and even your worst enemies. BioShock’s free form combat options allow gameplay scenarios to be approached with a variety of weapons: inject active and passive plasmids, utilize environmental objects, exploit political alliances, or use a combination of techniques. Find your style but know when to adapt.
• Explore an incredible and unique art deco world hidden deep under the ocean, vividly illustrated with realistic water effects and truly next generation graphics.
• Make meaningful and mature decisions that culminate in the ultimate question: Do you exploit the innocent survivors of Rapture to save yourself…or risk it all to become their savior?