Un nuovo comunicato stampa, accompagnato da nove screenshots inediti di anteprima, ci spiega cosa saprà offrirci il prossimo Xpand Rally Xtreme della Techland:

Xpand Rally Xtreme is the sequel to the highly anticipated Xpand Rally from Techland. The continuation of the excellent racing sim has all the features that gamers and media have appreciated before, including excellent visuals, a detailed damage model and realistic physics simulation. What does the Xtreme stand for then?

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Xtreme means driving experiences boosted to the limits!

“We want players to experience first-hand for the first time in that scale the emotions of a rally driver. The speed, raw engine power, narrow, uneven roads, blind curves that you can get through only if you listen to your pilot, dangerous jumps, which cause the car to soar through the air and the need to make numerous technical decisions every second. They’ll get to see all this in new, stunning graphics, thanks to the latest incarnation of the ChromeEngine†– said Adrian Ciszewski, XRX project manager at Techland.

XRX’s producers want to induce the furious heart-beat tempo that real drivers get whenever they enter a particularly fast curve, balance on the edge of fear when they need to abruptly break at the end of a long straight, and an adrenaline flow whenever they need to “cut†through a turn knowing that even the most banal collision may end their race.

Achieving these emotions will be possible thanks to:

All players looking for real-life car racing emotions are sure to be satisfied, while inexperienced gamers whose contact with the racing genre was limited to street racers will be able to broaden their perspective with this new, extremely dynamic title.

Increasing the dynamics of the gameplay does not mean that the game will be harder then its predecessor. The developers were not trying to make the game more sim-like, so XRX will stay true to its predecessor’s high replay value. XRX is still addressed to the same group of gamers. Especially the arcade mode will stay true to the original, with the only exception that this time around player’s will have to operate the gas pedal a bit more carefully. The simulation mode in turn will be a completely new experience, with the word Extreme really changing everything.

Xpand Rally Xtreme boasts a wide array of 15 cars in 23 versions, including 8 completely new models, 5 sceneries (China, Malaysia, Italy, Japan, USA) and 67 individual races.

The game has 3 modes of play: Career mode, Single Race and Multiplayer. The career mode require players to advance into ever more tough races in order to grab the best driver title. You won’t be able to achieve that without constantly upgrading your car and buying new vehicles. New features of the career mode include parallel races on the super special segments and a Free Style race against demanding AI controlled opponents. Players will get to drive around in rally cars, huge 4x4 off-roaders and – surprise – exotic sports cars for classic, flat-track races.

Il publisher francese Focus Home Interactive ha annunciato, con nuovi screenshots, di voler mettere a disposizione diecimila copie di TrackMania United solo per la vendita via internet, in netto anticipo sulla distribuzione del gioco, affidata a Koch Media, che avverrà non prima di febbraio 2007.

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La data da segnare sul calendario è quella del 17 novembre e vogliamo supporre che le transazioni avverranno unicamente attraverso lo shop online di Focus Home.

La EA ha annunciato oggi con un comunicato stampa, che trovate qui sotto, la partnership del prossimo Need for Speed Carbon con la nuova MazdaSpeed 3. Non potevano poi mancare neppure oggi un paio di video di anteprima del gioco, che trovate a questo indirizzo.

What starts in the city is settled in the canyons as Need for Speed Carbon immerses you into the world's most dangerous and adrenaline-filled form of street racing. You and your crew must race in an all-out war for the city, risking everything to take over your rivals' neighbourhoods one block at a time.

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As the police turn up the heat, the battle ultimately shifts to Carbon Canyon, where territories and reputations can be lost on every perilous curve. Need for Speed Carbon delivers the next generation of customization giving you the power to design and tweak your crew's cars in every way using the ground-breaking new Autosculpt technology. Represent your car class, your crew, and your turf in Need for Speed Carbon, the next revolution in racing games.

Challenged by Mazda’s marketing team to develop a fully integrated campaign, Channel M worked with all parties to create what is an extremely powerful and comprehensive campaign involving a sponsor and a videogame company. The MAZDASPEED3 will be integrated into the upcoming Need for Speed Carbon game and Channel M is spearheading a campaign to drive sales in GameStop and EB Games stores nationwide.

Components of Channel M’s unique campaign include; heavy Mazda in-game exposure, an in-store Need for Speed Carbon pre-order campaign in GameStop and EB Games stores providing consumers the opportunity to win great prizes including a MAZDASPEED3 car. In addition, there will be month long mall events in 16 markets where a car will be on display and consumers can compete in an organized tournament to win tickets to attend a party and compete in a final championship tournament in Las Vegas, where the winner will drive off in a new MAZDASPEED3. For contest rules please consult www.mazdaspeed3.com

In-store and online media will support the program including custom spots and content to air on Channel M’s original hosted TV programs broadcast on GameStop and EB Games in-store TV networks nationwide, custom branded retail bags with artwork of the game and car, retail bag inserts, signage and online exposure. Channel M will also be filming some of the events and will be providing that video with other EA-generated in-game assets to be hosted on Mazda’s website for consumers to view.

David Teichner, CEO for Channel M stated, “Never has a campaign featured so many consumer touch points as this one. With significant in-game placement, in-store media, sweepstakes, cars in malls, tournaments in malls and a final event in Vegas, this is the most comprehensive videogame integration campaign yet created. I am thrilled that my team at Channel M has the opportunity to put this program together from its inception to execution. It’s a huge win for everyone involved and is truly a historic marketing campaign putting together four great names with our company, Mazda, GameStop, EB Games and EA.â€

“The 263-hp, 155-mph MAZDASPEED3 kicks asphalt and takes names, and Need for Speed Carbon is the perfect way for us to bring this exciting new vehicle to market in an all-new way,†said Jim Jordan, Alternative Marketing Manager for Mazda North American Operations. “We already attract one of the youngest new-car buyers in the industry, and with the assistance of EA, Channel M and GameStop, we intend to continue that trend.â€

“We’re excited to be a part of this unique promotion and thrilled to bring the MAZDASPEED3 to the Need for Speed franchise,†said Craig Rechenmacher, Senior Director of Marketing at EA. “Partnering with Channel M and GameStop will provide the perfect venue to showcase Need for Speed Carbon on the next generation platforms.â€

“This relationship strategically leverages the physical store and online reach of the company’s 3,600 U.S. GameStop and EB Games stores, while providing an exciting new opportunity to reach gaming enthusiasts nationwide,†indicated Jack Beuttell, Senior Vice President of Marketing, GameStop Corp.

The all-new MAZDASPEED3 is one of the quickest and fastest front-wheel drive cars in the world. Based on the MAZDA3 5-door, the MAZDASPEED3 is a lightweight car with a big engine. It comes equipped with a six-speed manual transmission and a high performance MZR 2.3-liter direct-injected four-cylinder turbo engine producing 263-horsepower and 280 lb/ft of torque. All this power results in a 0-60 mph time well under six-seconds and pushes the MAZDASPEED3 to an electronically limited top speed of 155 mph.

Need for Speed Carbon will be available on Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii, but also PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, NDS, GBA, PSP and PC.

L'ultimo capitolo della serie contiene tutto, ma proprio tutto quello che era già stato rilasciato nei precedenti TM, a cui si aggiunge un nuovo editor e un browser in-game che permettono di creare, mostrare agli altri e condividere skin per le macchine, tracciati, nuovi ambienti e video realizzati col motore del gioco.

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TMU dovrebbe uscire negli Stati Uniti il prossimo mese di febbraio, ma eccezionalmente verranno messe in vendita in tutto il mondo diecimila copie del gioco già a partire dal prossimo 17 novembre. Il gioco potrà essere acquistato solo online, e sarà la versione completa e finale del prodotto. L'uscita anticipata permetterà ai più sfegatati di poter cominciare a sviluppare contenuto extra (piste e quant'altro) da condividere con la community di TM.

Per quanto riguarda l'Italia, non dovrebbero esserci particolari differenze: il gioco è previsto all'inizio del prossimo anno sotto etichetta Deep Silver. Dovesse cambiare qualcosa, vi faremo sapere. E se proprio - come me - non ce la fate a resistere, beh, il 17 novembre è alle porte...

[Fonte TGMOnline]