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TrackMania Nations Forever is available today as a free download.
The highly awaited sequel to TrackMania Nations (launched two years ago), TrackMania Nations Forever offers a new complete ‘Forever’ version of the stadium environment, a complete solo mode and 65 brand new, progressively difficult tracks.
TrackMania Nations Forever will unite an even larger number of players thanks to its engaging multiplayer modes, innovative online functions and revolutionary interactivity between players.
TrackMania Nations Forever will allow the convergence of the huge TrackMania community. For the first time, players of the free versions will now be able to play online with players from the retail version of the new TrackMania United Forever. This is achieved by using servers dedicated to the Stadium environment common to both games.
In addition to being compatible with Nations Forever, the retail release of TrackMania United Forever has many more bonuses - including tracks that have never been seen before, new design blocks (build your own tracks) for the game environments and a spectacular graphics update for the Desert, Snow and Rally environments.
TrackMania Nations Forever features:
· 65 brand new, progressively difficult tracks
· A new ‘Forever’ version of the Stadium environment
· Engaging multiplayer modes
· A solid solo mode
· A brand new track editor
· Innovative communications between competing racers via PC
Links to download the free game TrackMania Nations Forever (500 MB)
TrackMania Official Website
Fast facts:
Publisher: Ascaron Entertainment / Focus Home Interactive
Web: www.Ascaron.com
Developer: Nadeo
Release date: 16th April 2008
Price: FREE
PEGI: 3+
Format: PC
Genre: Racing
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New Wii craze is opening up
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Bill Thompson looks at ways hackers are opening up the Wii for uses never intended by Nintendo The Wii remote has a lot to do with its success, of course. This motion detecting wireless handheld controller gives players a far more direct sense of engagement with the game than the buttons, pads and triggers of traditional consoles, and accounts for much of the Wii’s success as a family gaming platform. Like other games systems the Wii is as far from an open platform as you can imagine. Games cost a lot of money to develop, and Nintendo has worked hard to make it difficult to get inside the Wii for fear that easy access would allow games to be copied and distributed. As a result you can only play licensed games, run licensed programs and do the things that Nintendo thinks you ought to, even though you’ve paid good money for the hardware. As you might expect, this has not deterred bands of gifted programmers and engineers around the world from working hard to find and exploit the holes in the Wii’s setup that could allow access to its inner workings. Remote uses
The Wii remote is just a clever Bluetooth device at heart, so it has proved to be an easy target. It can already be used to control a Roomba robot vacuum cleaner, and the delightfully named ‘DarwiinRemote’ team lets your Wiimote act as remote control for Macintosh computers - the name is a pun on Darwin, one of the main components of Mac OS X. Other members of the homebrew community, whose name comes from those who prefer to make beer at home instead of settle for industrially-manufactured stuff, have had a lot of success with the Wii itself, just as other groups have managed to open up the Xbox and PlayStation. According to the technology site Slashdot there is now an MP3 player, a way to convert and play GameCube game files and even a port of GNU/Linux that runs on the Wii. The developers involved, true hackers who want to know how things work and exploit the capabilities of the hardware to the full, are not aiming to pirate Super Mario Galaxy or Jenga. They are driven by a desire to overcome the limits put in place by the manufacturer so that they can, for example, run games from older Nintendo consoles on the new platform or even write their own. Why have a GameCube and a Wii in the living room when the Wii can do it all? And why have a powerful games system that won’t let you write and run your own games? Getting it all to work can be complicated, of course. There are hardware modifications that involve soldering ‘mod chips’ onto the main circuit board, or a neat trick that uses a coding error in specific pressings of ‘The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess’. And there is always a danger that Nintendo, caring more about potential games copying than the desires of their customers, will block these holes and prosecute the providers of mod chips as Sony and Microsoft have done in the past. But this is unlikely to deter them. Cat and mouse
The desire to open up the case and remove what are seen as arbitrary and capricious limitations on the way our computers operate is not limited to games consoles, of course. It is estimated that around one third of all the iPhones sold by Apple have been unlocked so that they can run on any phone network, and the pressure to allow application developers to program the device has forced Apple to release a software developers kit. All around the pressure is on for the developers and manufacturers of hardware to open it up for others to use creatively, instead of simply providing a set of authorised functions and expecting customers to be happy with what they are offered. Doing this carries risks, of course, and not just the unlicensed copying of games that worries the console makers. Security flaws could be uncovered, causing problems for online services or even the back-end servers that support online games communities. But those risks exist anyway, as we can see in the success that the hackers have had in opening up every single platform out there. Surely it would be better to admit that there will always be a way in? Much as I admire the skills, effort and sheer brilliance that has gone into finding ways to hack the Wii, the iPhone and the Xbox I can’t help thinking that there are better ways for us all to spend our time than a game of cat and mouse between the talented hackers who work for Apple, Microsoft and Nintendo and the talented hackers who buy their products. Just think what brilliant software we’d have for the Wii by now if Nintendo had said: “here’s a games console. And here are the hardware schematics - go play!”
Source = Bill Thompson is an independent journalist and regular commentator on the BBC World Service programme Digital Planet |
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The Nintendo Wii is an astonishing computer, the console for people who don’t play games, nestling next to the TV like a family pet and encouraging those who would normally sneer at a PlayStation to wave their arms around in order to play virtual tennis.
The pressure is on for the developers and manufacturers of hardware to open it up for others to use creatively 
CODEMASTERS® AND NORTH EAST LINCOLNSHIRE COUNCIL JOIN FORCES TO TACKLE ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
UK videogames publisher Codemasters® today announced a unique campaign to help communities by supporting a council’s innovative community warden scheme, which sees Wii™ consoles being taken into schools in a bid to tackle anti-social behaviour among youngsters.
Codemasters is providing North East Lincolnshire Council’s community warden scheme with copies of its latest Wii™ title, Emergency Mayhem™ – due for release in the UK on Friday, April 18. In the game, young players must take on the role of a fireman, police officer or paramedic as they dash around ‘Crisis City’ rescuing residents, apprehending criminals and putting out fires.
The Council’s wardens are set to take Emergency Mayhem into the community when visiting children in schools, as part of their Wii™ program. This scheme sees the council tackling anti-social behaviour and engaging youngsters about community issues, while also letting them play the Wii™. This helps them learn about team-building and working together to overcome challenges.
“We thought Emergency Mayhem was the perfect game for North East Lincolnshire to use in its warden scheme,” said Rob Burman, UK PR manager, Codemasters. “The game is all about individuals acting in the best interests of the community to improve things for those that live there and that’s exactly what the wardens are teaching youngsters about in North East Lincolnshire.”
There are also plans for Humberside Fire & Rescue to use Emergency Mayhem to re-enforce its campaigns to teach children the dangers of lighting fires and the affects it has on people in the community.
Julie Ogley, the council’s executive director for community care, added: “Our team of wardens have a number of ideas to address anti-social behaviour across the community. Our Wii™ events always draw a number of enthusiastic participants and are a very popular part of our Safer Communities’ Week of Action events - to cut crime and anti-social behaviour across the region. We thank Codemasters for supporting our wardens’ endeavours and I am sure there will be no shortage of demand to try out this new game.”
Codemasters will continue to support North East Lincolnshire Council by providing its future Wii™ titles due out later this year – including Wizardology™ and Dragonology™, both of which are based on the popular children’s books.
For the latest information on Emergency Mayhem, visit www.codemasters.com/emergency
Wii Remote Integration, Widescreen 480p Graphics Bring New Life to Award-Winning Game
SAN MATEO, Calif. — April 15, 2008 — Capcom® Entertainment, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, is pleased to announce that Ōkami™ for the Nintendo Wii™ has begun shipping to retail. Offering an unequalled level of control built around the intuitive Wii Remote™ and available for the first time for widescreen with higher definition 480p graphics, Ōkami gives players an opportunity to rediscover a critically-acclaimed and beautifully crafted adventure as if they are playing it for the first time. Ōkami is rated T for Teen by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) and is available for $39.99 MSRP.
Previously released for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system in 2006, Ōkami was hailed as “Game of the Year” by multiple magazines and websites, including Associated Press, PSM, Village Voice, IGN.com, Game Revolution and many more. This new iteration of Ōkami on the Wii is already following in its predecessors footsteps with strong reviews across the board as IGN.com gave it a score of 9/10, stating that, “You need to buy Okami for Nintendo’s system,” while 1up.com/Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the game a glowing “A”grade on the website and in their latest issue.
Ōkami tells the story of Amaterasu, the Japanese sun god, who takes the form of a wolf and sets out on an amazing journey to restore a ruined, darkened world into a beautiful place full of life and color. Commanding the elements and various magical abilities, the player uses Okami’s signature “Celestial Brush” to revitalize life and defeat the tyrannical and destructive monster Orochi, effectively “painting” on the screen with the Wii Remote. Ōkami for the Wii takes the unique gameplay experience to a whole new level, creating one of the most compelling games for the Wii on the market today.
Mixing Japanese folklore and a stunning traditional Japanese art style, Ōkami comes alive on Wii with its awe-inspiring art style and scenic 3D levels that have the appearance and texture of paper scrolls brushed with watercolor-like calligraphy art. Renowned development studio Ready At Dawn Studios® has painted a whole new Okami experience on Wii through a blend of stylized graphics, movements and unique gameplay, resulting in a rich and dynamic experience never seen before.