In the United Kingdom, Atari, Codemasters and three other game companies are going to court to demand GBP300 from 25,000 file-sharers, reports The Times of London. Apparently, file-sharing got really obnoxious recently — 691,000 downloads of Operation Flashpoint by Codemasters in one week alone. So the five have asked the court to demand internet service providers turn over information on all 25,000 accused of breaking the law. Those users will get notices inviting them to pay up or face prosecution, and the first 500 to ignore it get sued.

Asked about it in an interview with Eurogamer, EA Sports boss Peter Moore called that practice a bad idea. "I'm not a huge fan of trying to punish your consumer," he said. "Albeit these people have clearly stolen intellectual property, I think there are better ways of resolving this within our power as developers and publishers."

The First FUEL Trailer

A few days ago we told you about FUEL, the new racing game Codemasters announced at Leipzig. Today you get to see what it looks like in all of its glory. It kind of has the Motorstorm feel to it, but with a really cool climate twist and an insane 5,000 square mile playing area.

You know, we didn’t post the last bunch of Operation Flashpoint 2 screens we came across, because they were taking the piss. Too much Photoshop, not enough polygons. This latest batch, however, are a little better. There’s still plenty of shopping on show, but you can now see the slightly jaggy bits at the edge of the soldier’s uniforms, proving at least that it’s some kind of in-game videogame model and not some artist’s impression of an in-game videogame soldier.

Overlord: Minions On DS - More DS-ish Than Overlord-y

Fans of the console Evil 'em-up Overlord have already been primed for the upcoming Overlord II. Suppose they find themselves in the Outside World, though — is the DS game Overlord: Minions going to scratch the itch for a bit of handheld Overlordin'?

If the early demo on show at the Games Convention is anything to go by, the answer is 'sorta'. Codemasters are first and foremost concentrating on making a solid DS game and then trying to cram as much Overlord into the thing as possible.

As such, the game is now entirely stylus-based with your supply of willing minions whittled down to just four - each of which has a special area of expertise. With a greater emphasis on puzzle solving the game looks to be veering towards Lemmings territory.

Not that there is anything wrong with Lemmings (we'll ignore the various shonky attempts at 3Ding that classic puzzler) but let's hope Codemasters don't lose that tasty Overlord flavour. Good for them for not just settling on a nice safe conversion, though.

Overlord Minions (Nintendo DS) [1Up]

The 5,000 Square-Mile Racing Game

Developer Codemasters is unveiling multi-plat title FUEL at the Leipzig GC. What's FUEL? It's a racing game, so big that it deserves ALL CAPS. It's hailed to have the "largest racing environment to appear in gaming — ever." The game supposedly has a 5,000 square-mile playing area with "no boundaries". Up to 16-players race it out in D.I.Y. cars through places like Nevada's Grand Canyon. The game boasts a full day-and-day cycle and even features a weather system with tornados, thunderstorms, snowstorms and sandstorms. Hope it looks and plays as promising as it sounds.

Codemasters unveils FUEL [Eurogamer]

Overlord II - Now With 50% More Evil!

Codemasters are to release a sequel to their 2007 minion-wrangling game Overlord that will pit the player-controlled title character and his chaotic army against an uptight, by-the-book Empire.

The original game challenged you to be either evil or really evil. This, apparently, was just not flippin' evil enough to satisfy developers Triumph.

Game director Lennart Sas told Eurogamer, "Now the choices are between lawful evil and chaotic evil, which usually translates to either enslaving the population or all-out scorched earth."

Major changes to the game include minions with proper names and personalities as opposed to just random flunkys. This will establish "relationships between master and underling" which frankly sounds a bit pervy. And evil. Definitely evil.

Codemasters unveils Overlord II [Eurogamer]

Damnation Trailer Urges You To Stay Calm

NetDevil's Jumpgate evolution is a concept that sells itself. Massively multiplayer Wing Commander, anyone? How about some co-operative Privateer? It's a game that combines twitch-action space combat with levels and experience points. It's an excuse to dust off those old flight sticks. You'll even be able to play as a trader, paying more combat-ready players a cut of the action to make sure you make your deliveries safely. Space convoy!

It sounds amazing and looks rather lovely for a game with a scalable engine, allowing it to run on computers old and new, which is why every time I write about the game I'm surprised more people aren't aware of it. Hell, when I sat in with Codemasters' Lilit Baron last week at E3, he almost seemed pleasantly surprised that I had been keeping up with the game. Codemasters is gearing up to cure the rampant ignorance over Jumpgate Evolution, and the screenshots and accompanying Q&A, which you'll find after the jump, are just the beginning.

No health bar...no damage meters...just a man and his fellow heroes going toe to toe with fearsome enemies in one of the greatest stories ever told. This is Rise of the Argonauts, a game developed by Liquid Entertainment and to be published by Codemasters, and while it takes some liberties with the classic tale as Leigh explained in her impressions last month, it also takes liberties with the classic action RPG formula, creating an experience that could very well be the stuff of legends.

The original Operation Flashpoint came out in 2001 and met with a huge fan following. Now seven years later, Codemasters is hard at work on Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising, and while original developer Bohemia Interactive the huge fan following is still in place...only now they're making the game. According to the gentlemen from Codemasters who were presenting OF2 on Thursday morning, the team is filled with fans of the original game, dedicated to doing the franchise justice with this ambitious sequel.

The best thing about going to E3 are the little surprises - games you either didn't know about or hadn't paid attention to that simply knock you off your feet. Blue Omega Games' Damnation is just that sort of game. Due to be published by Codemasters for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, Damnation combines third-person shooting with acrobatics in a unique steampunk setting to create a game that has amazing potential, both online and off.

Not a second of gameplay footage to be seen in this clip, which is a shame. While it doesn't necessarily capture the look of the game - in so far as this is not what the game's going to look like - it does, however, capture the feel of the first Flashpoint (ie death is everywhere, and it is final).

Relax, Codemasters' F1 Game Is A Sim

Despite the fact the last few Sony F1 games were fairly forgettable, some people are worried now that Codemasters hold the Formula 1 license. Worried they'll make a forgettable game. Worried that, being Codemasters - the team behind Grid and Dirt - their F1 game will be some kind of arcade racer. Well it won't! Responding to such fears on the official boards, the official response from Codies is:

GRID and DiRT are aimed at an arcade audience and they do that very well. F1 has different requirements and will get a completely different treatment from our in-house team, including full on sim options, physics, rules and regs etc. We will also have arcade requirements catered for as well. How this will be split we do not know yet, but split it will be.

No word on whether they'll also include team spying and nazi sex dungeons, but we can only hope.

This is the End of F-1 game! [Codemasters, via Voodoo Extreme] [Pic]

Operation Flashpoint 2 Is "Vast, Merciless"

There's a feeling you get when playing Operation Flashpoint that no game since has managed to capture. Not even Oblivion. The feeling of being a real person, alone, in a dangerous place, and each step you take across the game's huge landscape could well be your last. You agree? Then be heartened by this. The latest issue of PC Gamer runs a preview of Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon, which can be bust summed up by their calling it "the most mind-bogglingly vast and mercilessly realistic battlefield gaming has ever known". Vast, check, merciless, check, OK, that's enough to get me excited.

Operation Flashpoint 2 blown open [PC Gamer, via CVG]

Codemasters Details Archlord Update

Codemasters Online's free-to-play MMO ArchLord is technically getting a bit more free as the company readies the third free expansion pack, Episode 3: Spirits Awakening, which adds "up to 30% new game content". I am assuming they measured that out using suitably scientific methods. The update will introduce 3 new game zones, over 80 new skills, new ArchLord abilities, collectible armor sets, and a bunch of new enemies to thrash soundly about the head and neck, all of which adds up to more or less 30%. This pleases the Relfling.

Ed Relf, Director of Marketing, Codemasters Online commented, "We are pleased to be able to set out our exciting new expansion plans for ArchLord. As recently announced ArchLord is now more popular than ever with thousands of new players taking up the challenge every day to compete to become the games all-ruling leader!

Episode 3 is due to go live "in the coming weeks".

Codemasters Co-Founders Get Queenly Honors

Codemasters co-founders David and Richard Darling were recognized by the Queen of England, Elizabeth II during her annual birthday honors. Both brothers were named Commanders of the Order of the British Empire, a British order of chivalry established back in 1917 by King George V, recognized for their contribution to the video game industry.

"For over 20 years David and Richard led Codemasters as it became one of the video game industry's great British success stories," said Rod Cousens, present head of Codemasters.

"Their drive and passion for creating the best in interactive entertainment will always be part of the industry's heritage and this recognition is well deserved."

Good show, Darlings. The British video game industry wouldn't have been the same without you two. Enjoy those badges!

'Darlings' of UK games honoured [BBC via CVG]

I swung by Codemasters' hotel suite when they were here in New York City yesterday, and one of the games I had demoed for me was the Greek mythology-inspired Rise of the Argonauts, in development by Liquid Entertaiment for a Fall release on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.

I guess you'd call it a little bit action, a little bit RPG (but mostly action). The rep who showed me the game told me it's based in good old Gods-and-heroes Greek myth, but takes a little liberty with the canonical facts. For example, the hero is Jason, he of Golden Fleece fame, and in the game, his wife has been killed and he's seeking the fabled Fleece in order to resurrect her. If Kratos has learned us anything, it's that dead wives plus mythology equals a recipe for high drama and pathos.

The scene I saw featured Jason in a coliseum-style battle against some armored Ionians, and it was deliciously gory - when Jason clove torsoes with bloody abandon, you could see the severed spine in the middle, just like a rib-eye.

Fahey posted the trailer last year, during which he said he was glad that Jason was finally getting a video game (instead of just being Cerberus food in Kratos' hero tale). Some neat traits make this title look to be a lot more than a God of War knockoff, though: