"Demonstrator Andrei Costin spilled the beans at the recent UbiDays event in Paris, but avoided elaborating on exactly how it will all work; we expect it will be a blend of EndWar and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter," writes Eurogamer.

Well alright, we got a hands-on at Ubidays. but apparently didn't liquor up/coerce/beat our demonstrator into divulging that kind of tidbit. Hrm. H.A.W.X. is due for a "holiday 2008" release on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, giving everyone six months to figure it all out.

"Costin pitched the game as its own blend of arcade and simulation," Eurogamer added, "and told us that he hopes he can capture the camaraderie and exhilaration exhibited in renowned Hollywood tale, Top Gun."

Two words: "Jester's dead!!" Wonder if your wingmen will respond to mid-air bravado, too.

H.A.W.X. Squads to be Voice Controllable [Eurogamer]

In reference to speculative stories that have appeared recently, in January of 2008 we announced that the game would be released in the fiscal year of '08/'09. And at this point in time we are not ready to be more specific than that. We will begin to communicate more once we feel the time is right for us and our fans.

As the folks at CVG pointed out, last year's Ubidays event saw the game being played by developers, so the vague statements and lack of any assets definitely points towards a complete reworking, and those are never good.

Perhaps they just wanted to stuff it with extra awesome? Maybe? A little?

Ubisoft "not ready to be more specific" on Splinter Cell [CVG]

Far Cry 2 Brings GTA Sandbox to the Serengeti
Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party Announced
Shaun White Delivers Death to Snowboarding with an Assassin's Creed Engine
Ubisoft Brings Easy way To Stop Smoking To DS Months Late
Ubisoft Officially Announces Beyond Good & Evil 2
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. Hands-On
Shaun White: Wii Play, Pics and Press Release
Prince of Persia Ditches Roots, Gets a Final Fantasy Make-Over
Far Cry 2: No Girls Allowed
Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway Hands-On
Making Far Cry 2's Africa

Far Cry 2 Dev and Port Teams Range from 175 to Three
The Worst Of Ubidays 08

Far Cry 2 uses a proprietary engine that was built from the ground up for the game. The developers told me that about 175 people worked on creating the engine and then the game for the PC. Currently that team is working to build in DX10 support, though it wasn't ready when I had a chance to look at it.

Because the engine was built to work on a PC, bringing the game, with all of its bells and whistles, over to the Xbox 360 was a relatively easy affair, the developers told me. Afterall, they said, the Xbox 360 is essentially a computer. In fact they only have three people working on the team that is porting the game over.

The Playstation 3? Not quite as simple an affair. They have a team of 14 working on that port, mostly because of the "difficulties" of working with the Playstation 3's unique architecture.

If you missed any of the Ubi related news and my hands-on impressions with games like Far Cry 2, Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway and H.A.W.X. then hit up the jump for a round-up of all of our Ubidays 08 related posts to date.

Far Cry 2 Brings GTA Sandbox to the Serengeti
Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party Announced
Shaun White Delivers Death to Snowboarding with an Assassin's Creed Engine
Ubisoft Brings Easy way To Stop Smoking To DS Months Late
Ubisoft Officially Announces Beyond Good & Evil 2
Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. Hands-On
Shaun White: Wii Play, Pics and Press Release
Prince of Persia Ditches Roots, Gets a Final Fantasy Make-Over
Far Cry 2: No Girls Allowed
Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway Hands-On
Making Far Cry 2's Africa

Far Cry 2 is set in Africa, but what part? Turns out it's in a fictional, Africa, one that while it may resembles bits and pieces of the continent, isn't in fact tied to anyone area.

The developers told me that while Far Cry 2 may feel a lot like central Africa there is no one area that has the same "biomes" as the game. That's because the team didn't want the game's location to politicize Far Cry 2 and what you are doing in the title.

So the team worked with World Machine to create their generic, yet oddly familiar section of Africa. World Machine allows developers to procedurally generate terrain based on what a developer wants to see in their world. The engine can even predict proper geological erosion allowing the developers to wear down an area with weather effects.

Next the team populated their artificial Africa with a blend of different wild animals, each with specific artificial intelligence. This animal AI tells the creatures when to sleep, hunt, even drink from a pool of water. They know to run from fire, and when to be started by approaching humans.

They tied all of this to the human enemy AI, allowing them to pick up on things like animal movement, so if you were to startle a creature into an enemy camp, it will alert the enemy.

I know this is starting to sound Fable-esque, but it they really can pull off all of this inter-species AI interaction it's going to add a lot of realism to this game.

After spending some time with Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway earlier this month my opinion hasn't changed much, though I was impressed with some of the visual work Gearbox Software is doing on the franchise.

In this latest version of the series you continue to play with Sgt. Matt Baker and the rest of the 101st Airborne Division. I played through a couple of encounters in the game and noticed a few changes.

This time around Brothers In Arms has some destructible cover, which can play a pretty big role in the firefights. There are also a few new commands you can issue, like snipe or destroy.

One of the neat visual tweaks is the inclusion of occasional cinematics which are triggered by certain events. For instance, I was behind cover with my squad shooting it out with some Germans and I popped up and landed a quick headshot. The game slowed and the camera angle switched to show my bullet blasting through the guy's eye. Pretty impressive. It helps that Hell's Highway is running on the Unreal Engine 3.

I also loved the weather effects. For the section I played through it rained constantly, and the rain effect actually cut down on my ability to spot enemies.

Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway was fun enough to play, I just don't know if tweaking commands, adding destructible environments and a couple of new units is going to be enough to help this game stand out from the pack.

Far Cry 2, Ubisoft's answer to Grand Theft Auto meets Mercenaries 2, has a lot going for it from its enormous 50-square kilometer map to its use of animal AI. Another neat feature is how they've decided to deal with the player character.

In Far Cry 2 you can't customize the way you look, instead you get to choose to play nine of the dozen characters that inhabit the game as friends. Depending on who you choose it changes some of the 75 or so side missions you can play through.

But why only nine of the dozen characters in the game? Because the other three are women.

"There are so many lines of dialog that they would have had to rescript and record if we let people play as a female," I was told.

Wow, that's not going to go over well.

The new Prince of Persia, we were told at a press event earlier this month, will be totally separate from the Sands of Time trilogy and will feature a prince, not the prince.

"There were hundreds of tails in Arabian Nights and this is just one of them," Ben Mattes, the game's producer said.

Instead the game is set in an "ancient fantasy Persia" and while it will continue to have some of the Prince of Persia's pillars of play like acrobatic combat and movement, it will also lift some of the things that worked best in Assassin's Creed.

"We will be including some things that worked well in Assassin's Creed in there," Mattes said. "But it will still clearly be Prince of Persia."

God of Light, Ormazd versus his brother Ahriman, the God of Darkness,. Our Hero arrives just in time to witness the destruction of the legendary Tree of Life – an act which threatens to plunge the entire world into eternal darkness.

In this new tale, the new prince will find himself in a fantasy world of light and dark, caught up in the battle between the God of Light, Ormazd versus his brother Ahriman, the God of Darkness. After the destruction of the tree of life the prince has to fight to stop the rise of Ahriman, the god of destruction.

Mattes said that the prince will also get a bunch of new moves including the ability to use a gauntlet to slide down walls and cliffs.

The game will feature a new female lead as well, Elika, who will be used to explore the idea of collaborative AI.

Mattes said the game, which will take more than 10 hours and less than 50 to beat, will be playable at E3. He declined to talk about whether there will be multiplayer support in the game.

Hit up the jump for a very chunky prepared Q&A with Matte.

PRINCE OF PERSIA

Answers from Ben Mattes / Producer

Could you introduce yourself and explain your role in the project?
I’m Ben Mattes, producer of the next Prince of Persia title.

On which platforms will this new PoP be available?
Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
We are also developing a completely different game which is specifically designed for the DS.

When will the games be released?
Holidays season 2008.

Who is in charge of the development?
Ubisoft Montreal Studio, who has recently released Assassin’s Creed, is developing the next gen versions. Most of the core creative team has worked on the previous PoP trilogy; they know the franchise by heart.
The DS title is in the hands of the Ubisoft Casablanca studio, which is developing a strong expertise on DS titles.

How is it linked with previous PoP? Is having played to PoP the Two Thrones (or the 3 previous episodes) mandatory to fully understand the storyline?
Beginning with Jordan Mechner’s first PoP game back in 1989 to Ubisoft’s PoP Sands of Time trilogy, the Prince of Persia brand is like a collection of fantastic tales, drawing inspiration from the Arabian Nights stories. Possibilities for enticing storylines and characters are endless with such a rich, colorful, shape shifting and magical universe. So there are as many stories of the Prince as there are many versions of the Prince himself - they all co-exist, they all share prodigious abilities and a liking for dauntless adventures and trouble 

With Ubisoft’s new PoP video game, we are opening a new chapter in the Prince of Persia universe with a new story and a new Prince. Having played the previous episodes isn’t necessary to understand the storyline.

What is the storyline of the game?
Transported to a land of myth and legend, our Hero finds himself caught up in an epic battle between the primal forces of light and darkness: the God of Light, Ormazd versus his brother Ahriman, the God of Darkness,. Our Hero arrives just in time to witness the destruction of the legendary Tree of Life – an act which threatens to plunge the entire world into eternal darkness.

The Prince will have to stop the rise of the ancient destructive God, Ahriman. This new epic storyline is close to Persian Mythology (Zoroastrianism).

Additional information about the back-story of the game:
Driven by envy and hatred, Ahriman spread Darkness in the world, corrupting the hearts of men and unleashing a dark substance which physically contaminates the land and the skies: the Corruption. When Ormazd finally acted to stop his brother, he chose to destroy Ahriman’s servants, the Corrupted, one by one. When at last only a few of Ahriman’s puppets remained, Ormazd captured them and pulled them into the Tree of Life. With the remaining Corrupted sealed inside the tree, Ahriman found himself tethered to the trap unable to break his connection with his dark servants. Concentrating all his power, Ormazd forced what remained of his brother into the Tree, locking Ahriman inside for all eternity. Ormazd gave care of the Tree of Life to his chosen few, the Ahuras. Now, many years after the war, Ahriman is plotting a way to escape…

Storyline has always been an integral part of all PoP games. With the new PoP video game, we not only have an epic storyline, but we are letting the player choose how the story unfolds within the same story frame.

What have been your inspirations to design this new Prince?
We wanted to explore how our hero will eventually become a Prince through an epic journey. At the start of the game, the future Prince will be an adventurer and a drifter wandering from adventure to adventure with no real ties, always living in the present. To him, the past is gone and he carries no burden from it, the future is to come and will take care of itself. All that matters is now - the thrill of the moment, the next heartbeat, the next corner, jump and sensation.

We drew our inspiration from adventurers like Sinbad in the Arabian Nights, Han Solo from Star Wars and Aragorn from the Lord of the Rings.

Like all epic heroes, what The Prince wears says a lot about who he is and what he has been through. We really wanted to communicate visually the dichotomy that is the life of a wandering adventurer. On one hand, he has elements of luxury in his dress – the red and blue cloth that he uses as a turban and scarf that would be available only to those with money. However, he is also perfectly comfortable putting function before form, wearing plain leather leggings to help protect his legs rather then dazzle the eye.

We see that the Prince has a new appearance, but what about new abilities? What new tricks/attributes does the Prince have up his sleeve?
Our Prince has a lot of new abilities in both combat and acrobatics. He is taking the agility of the previous Prince to new heights of deadly acrobatic artistry. His range of acrobatic skills is wider than ever, allowing him to defy the laws of gravity with style and velocity.

In addition to his sword, he is wearing a gauntlet that will be used both in acrobatics and in combat. This bounty from the Prince’s earlier adventures will open new dimensions in his acrobatics and combat style. For instance, by using the gauntlet, you will be able to slide down very high walls and cliffs. So be ready to discover some very impressive new moves in the coming months!

Combat has evolved since the last games as our ambition is to add the reactivity and strategy typically found in fighting games into our new combat system. We have studied numerous fight games and learned what worked/what didn’t work, and implemented the most absorbing moments into our gameplay. We want the dramatic attack sequences of the Prince to be complemented by the use of camera, sound and visual effects to create an overall combat sequence whose intensity rivals the most spectacular choreographed fight scenes in cinema. In addition, the enemies you fight will be more cunning then any ever seen in a PoP game before, strategically using the environment to gain the upper hand, forcing the player to use quick thinking and reflexes to succeed.

We have also changed the role of the female character in a PoP game. No longer a secondary character, but instead a strong supporting character with heavy gameplay implications, the new female lead, Elika, will add value to every layer of the game: exploration, combat, acrobatics, puzzle-solving, storyline and overall immersion. She is a powerful companion of the Prince who accompanies him throughout the game - she adds an element of mystery, deepening the epic storyline. Our goal is to revolutionize the supporting character in an action-adventure game.

How are you going to revolutionize the supporting character in an action-adventure game?
The level of innovation we’re bringing to Elika is similar to the innovation we brought with the Sands of Time system in the previous trilogy.

Elika is always a positive for the player. She interacts with the player in combat, acrobatics and puzzle-solving and always in a positive and helpful way. She enables special moves such as cooperative acrobatics, special combo attacks and navigation. Additionally, all of her magical powers come into play when the player requests them. She can never be killed and will never force her will on the player.

In terms of control, she will be controlled by AI but the player will have a specific “Elika” button to trigger specific coop moves, attacks and magic. Our philosophy is to leave as much control to the player as possible without having her bog down the fast-paced rhythm of the game. This way we add a layer of strategy and make sure the player uses Elika when and how he wants.

Besides the gameplay asset that Elika represents, we want to build a strong bond between her and the Prince. Elika behaves as no other NPC has ever behaved in a video game.

Can you give us more details about Elika’s backstory?
Elika is descended from the Ahuras. She has lived in a land cut off from outside contact.

What have been your inspirations to design Elika?
Elika is a practical and intelligent woman. Independent and strong, she doesn’t need to be protected. We drew inspiration from the Elizabeth Swann character in Pirates of the Caribbean or Padmé Amidala in Star Wars.

She is very light. Her element is the air in opposition with the earth, that of the Prince’s. She embodies the fluidity in their duo.

Even if she has magical powers, at first sight Elika is a human being; we didn’t want to reduce her to her magical abilities. On that specific point, we drew our inspiration from Arwen in Lord of the Rings. Her magic is graceful with arabesques in contrast with the Corruption which takes on tribal forms.

Have you developed a special engine for this version?
We have improved and adapted the engine developed internally for Assassin’s Creed. It is a great tool for our artists and engineers and we want to push it even further.
In that respect, we have added a lot of new systems that will help create the seamless fluidity and the overall look & feel we are looking for.

Animations have always been a key element of the Prince of Persia games; can you describe some of the moves the Prince can perform?
Thanks to this new engine, we are able to improve every move of the Prince; we removed some and added others to increase the feeling of agility. That being said, we re-did all our animations from scratch for this new opus. They all are hand-made key frame animations, a fiddly work for our animation team who craft all these new moves and give them the extra touch of fluidity we could never reach with motion capture.

What are the specific technologies you developed for this episode? Are there any particular achievements you’re proud of? On which basis do you consider that this PoP episode will be truly next-gen?
Since it is the first next gen game in the PoP saga, we have developed a lot of new systems and technologies. We have in a way started from scratch using the Assassin’s Creed engine as a basis for our developments. Here are a few areas where we believe PoP will deliver a true next-gen experience:
- AI: Artificial Intelligence is where we are focusing most of our next gen effort. This choice will pay off in the quality and depth of the relationships you will experience with our NPC, enemies or allies alike.
- Graphics: There is a difference in graphical quality between the previous PoP and the new PoP, obviously due to next-gen technology
o Characters: The new Prince will displays 13 times more polygons than the previous Prince, and even more than Altair in Assassin’s Creed. To give you a reference, there will be more polygons in the next-gen Prince’s hair than in the “old” Prince himself. Every detail of the faces, clothes and accessories of the characters will feel next-gen thanks to hi-res textures, specific lighting systems and shaders. We have developed new systems such as skin morph, wrinkle map, indirect lighting and occlusion to beautify our universe and characters in a way which was not possible on old gen.
o Environments: The richness and the high quality of the Persian environments have always been a key element of PoP games. Thanks to next-gen technology, we are able to create vast outdoors worlds PoP fans have never dreamed of as most of the game takes place outside in a fantastic mythological Persia.. Whereas in previous PoP games, the player was mostly confined inside palaces or cities.
o Each environment will go through different stages - from totally “safe” to almost completely corrupted areas. We have developed an organic corruption which creeps through the world and makes it decay. It is a living substance that will interact with the player and challenge him. It already looks quite impressive so I can promise you this will look amazingly next gen!
- Structure: For the first time ever, the Prince will evolve in a non-linear adventure. The players will choose how they unfold the storyline by choosing their path in this open-ended world. This is technically possible thanks to next-gen memory capacities.

The game has a very different art style than previous PoP. Why did you change the art direction?
The new PoP game features a brand-new art style never before seen that is very graphical and illustrative. We are lucky enough to have one of the most talented team of concept artists in the industry. PoP fans have always been very passionate about their work. So this time, we wanted to remain very close to their 2D concept arts, keeping the essence of their artworks in the 3D world.

Next-gen tools help us create a game which has a unique visual identity without sacrificing art to technology, which is often the case in video games. The Prince of Persia universe is so rich and special that it would be a shame to picture it in a photorealistic way. It calls for fantasy and almost poetry to be true to its Arabian Night origins.

What are your ambitions behind one the biggest franchise in the video-game industry?
We have high ambition for this game. Our goal is to re-establish our position as a leading Action Adventure Video game on next-gen.

We strongly believe that we will rejuvenate the PoP brand with strong innovations and a whole new experience that will not only excite our current fans, but will appeal to new fans. We are all excited about the new Prince of Persia; be prepared to see some amazing images in the coming weeks!

As I mentioned earlier, Ubisoft is getting into the Snowboarding game... game. Shaun White will, among other things, feature a Wii version that lets you use your Balance Board to board around open mountains.

The Wii version will also have its own story line which has you traveling the world with a crew to try and earn some fame as a snowboarder.

Hit the jump for the full release and some screens.

SAN FRANCISCO – May 28, 2008 – Today Ubisoft announces the development of Shaun White Snowboarding, a title destined to break all former action sports video game notions and redefine the action sports genre. The game will appear on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Windows-based PC, and the Wii(TM) home video game system from Nintendo, and is scheduled for release in Holiday 2008.

Powered by the award-winning Assassin's Creed(TM) engine for Xbox 360 and the PLAYSTATION 3 system, Shaun White Snowboarding truly captures the action sports lifestyle. Shaun White Snowboarding is being developed from the ground up for the Wii system, taking full advantage of the Wii Balance Board(TM) accessory and featuring its own unique storyline and adventure with Shaun White.

"Shaun White Snowboarding will turn all of the traditional ideas and experiences of past action sports titles upside down,” said Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Ubisoft. "The combination of Ubisoft's innovation approach and the influence of Shaun's lifestyle and perspective make this gaming experience like no other.”

Developed in close collaboration with Shaun White, Olympic Gold Medalist and eight-time X Games Gold Medalist, Shaun White Snowboarding allows players to enter a world of total freedom, where they can create their own experience and choose how, where, and with whom they want to ride.

Key Features of Shaun White Snowboarding for Xbox 360, the PLAYSTATION 3 system, and Windows-based PC:

• Open World Mountains: Choose how you ride in open-world mountains across the world. Conquer extreme peak conditions, create your own paths in the back country, or compete with fellow riders in the terrain parks.

• Your Friends Are Always Around: Play in a world where your friends are always around. Do your own runs on mountains populated by real gamers, or join your friends for a quick session from any mountain.

• More than Just Snowboarding: Have fun with your friends on and off the board! Throw snowballs, hike to access secret spots, film your friends doing ripping tricks. You can also upload your videos online to share with the world.

• Ride Your Way: Express yourself through tricks, riding styles, and highly customizable avatars – both in single-player and in the online world. Use the intuitive dual analog control to pull off a huge variety of tricks that express your style.

• Next-Gen Technology: Built on the Assassin's Creed engine, this game creates a massive world with gorgeous visuals and realistic NPC interactions. This is also the first time a snowboarding game is completely driven by physics instead of animation.

• Authentic Snowboarding: Ubisoft has worked closely with Shaun White to infuse the gaming experience with authenticity, personality and humor. Shaun is a friend and mentor in the game, and will help you with your skills. And, if you are deemed worthy, you may even be able to play as Shaun in the game …

Key features of Shaun White Snowboarding for the Wii system:

• Exclusive storyline: Everybody loves a road trip! You and your crew travel the world to participate in a variety of the largest and craziest events to become a world-renowned athlete. Life on the road to success wouldn't be the same without the support of your friends, who will always be there to help you out and keep your head on your shoulders. Stand together with your friends - both in the game and in the living room - and you will be able to conquer the madness that fame brings.

• Go on a globetrotting adventure with Shaun White as your partner – Ubisoft worked in close contact with Shaun White in order to infuse the experience with the most authentic elements of his riding style, personality and sense of humor. Shaun will act as a good-natured friend and mentor to the player, hooking him up with the right friends to conquer challenges together, introduce him to new locales, or simply be around to share in a laugh.

• Wii Balance Board Integration – Get yourself into the game like never before by using the Wii Board to control your rider. Control your carves, jumps and grinds with the intuitiveness and fun of having a snowboard in your own living room.

• Everyone plays, no one waits – Engage in a seamlessly integrated multiplayer experience for two to four players, where every player is active in the game at all times.

• Get together your crew – In the world of snowboarding, it pays to have friends on your side. Your crew of friends will always be there to help you by offering you unique abilities to improve both your riding and keeping you grounded with friendly pranks; filming all the antics along the way.

• Fame and Respect - Getting your name out there by doing well as a pro snowboarder is bound to get you some recognition. As your fame grows, so too does your ability to take on bigger and bigger challenges, from new mountains to more prestigious events and competitions. Fame, however, isn't everything. You'll need to gain your friends' respect by riding with style in order to gain their support; they will help you find hidden areas, share their favorite music tracks and keep you laughing.

But despite having modes for missile-lock and bomb drops that are akin to flying with training wheels, the game seems to still provide the technical controls that have always drawn fans of arcade flight sims to air combat games.

The area I played around in was located over Rio and featured a map created by satellite data (the best on the market, I was told). The city, while amazingly detailed, was a bit too flat for my taste, though it did have plenty of high rises to zip through at break neck speeds. The final version of the game will also include settings in Africa and Afghanistan, I was told.

The game, which will include 50 licensed aircraft, takes place during the same time frame as the events of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 and even includes several missions in which you are providing air support for the ground missions played in the shooter. In this world the fighter pilots are part of a private military force, the devs told me.

The game has two modes of flight. In the assisted flight mode you can’t stall and to get a lock-on you have to fly through a series of large transparent triangles. Once you land the lock-on you fire away a missile. You also are lead through a path of triangles when trying to evade incoming missiles. Neither are easy to do, but both take away the need to fly tactically and instead hold your hand through the process of lining up targets or ditching in-coming bad guys.

Hopping out of the assisted mode is as easy as double clicking a trigger and then you’re in free control which allows you to force stalls and doesn’t assist you at all when it comes to evasion and lock-ons.

It feels like this provides a nice mix for casual gamers and the hardcore, though I wasn’t thrilled that the free flight mode seems to force your perspective to more cinematic angles, rather than just in-cockpit.

The overall graphics of the game were very impressive and the controls seemed pretty tight. If they could just add a bit more vertical to their cities and tweak the free-flight camera angel I think I’d be sold on the game.

Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking book is one of the most highly regarded books on the subject of kicking cancer sticks, published in 50 different countries. Famous folk like Ashton Kutcher, Ellen DeGeneres, and Richard Branson all swear by his program, while I sit in my apartment, sweating and shaking.

"Ubisoft's creative team has worked hard to deliver a game that successfully communicates Allen Carr's Easyway method via play,” said Christian Salomon, vice president of worldwide licensing at Ubisoft. "The player experiences a truly interactive engagement with the game through which he or she learns that it can actually be enjoyable to quit smoking.”

Enjoyable to quit smoking? Scroll up to see how much fun I am having! Do I not look like I am having fun? Over the past 24 hours alone I have fallen asleep and woken up over 15 times. My nose is now running, I have to go to the bathroom every 10 minutes, and I am eating everything that isn't nailed down. FUN! Perhaps you guys could have announced this game last week?

Of course now I am going to have to start up again, simply to test the DS game when it comes out in November. *heads to the store for some cigarettes*

Okay fine, as tempting as it is I wouldn't jeopardize my life any further for a story. We'll just have to get Crecente to start smoking in my stead.

UBISOFT AND ALLEN CARR'S EASYWAY TEAM UP TO HELP SMOKERS QUIT

Ubisoft to Bring Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking to the Nintendo DS(TM)
system in November 2008

SAN FRANCISCO – May 28, 2008 – Today Ubisoft announced that it will develop
and publish the video game based on the successful Allen Carr's Easyway to
Stop Smoking method. Designed for Nintendo DS(TM), Allen Carr's Easyway to
Stop Smoking is scheduled for release in November 2008.

Published in 50 countries, Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking book is an
international best seller, and Allen Carr's Easyway network of clinics spans
the globe. Over 10 million smokers worldwide have already turned to Allen
Carr's Easyway books, clinics or DVD in order to stop smoking. The method
removes the smoker's belief that smoking provides them with any genuine
pleasure or crutch, takes away the feeling of deprivation and therefore rids
the smoker of the fear of stopping. The clinics offer a full money-back
guarantee based on which the success rate after 3 months is over 90% and
independent scientific studies confirm a success rate of over 50% after 12
months.

Brought to an exciting interactive platform, Nintendo DS, Allen Carr's
Easyway method will take on a whole new dimension. Players will be actively
participating in the game's content as they input the details of their
smoking habits and even select their own Allen Carr's Easyway coach to take
them through the process of quitting.

Developed in conjunction with Allen Carr's top experts, the game echoes the
philosophy of Allen Carr's Easyway method, enabling players to be
entertained, challenged and to stop smoking at the same time.

"Ubisoft's creative team has worked hard to deliver a game that successfully
communicates Allen Carr's Easyway method via play,” said Christian Salomon,
vice president of worldwide licensing at Ubisoft. "The player experiences a
truly interactive engagement with the game through which he or she learns
that it can actually be enjoyable to quit smoking.”

Robin Hayley, managing director of Allen Carr's Easyway to Stop Smoking,
concurs. "There was an amazing synergy between Allen Carr's Easyway team and
Ubisoft as we worked on this project,” he said. "Our experts worked hand in
hand with the Ubisoft team to create an entertaining and illuminating game
that delivers Allen Carr's Easyway method in a new, dynamic and highly
effective way.”

Among the top-tier games shown at Ubidays earlier this month, snowboarding title Shaun White was the one I was least interested in. While snowboarding is a sport complex and interesting enough to be a vehicle for a good video game, the franchises that have cropped up never seem to stick around for very long. And it doesn't seem to be because they're not good. Plenty of great snowboarding franchises have come and gone.

Ubisoft's Shaun White seems to have plenty going for it, but nothing that made me think "Wow, this is incredibly different." The game, heading to the Playstation 3, Wii and Xbox 360, uses the Assassin's Creed engine and features an open mountain for gamers to explore.

The version I saw featured three characters, none of them women, but I was told there would be a lot more coming with the finished game, including female snowboarders.

Gearing up your character is mostly cosmetic, letting you pick through different jackets, pants, boots, gloves, hats, goggles, and even backpacks, though the type of board you select does change the way you ride.

The game's loading screen features a half-pipe you can actually zip around in with your character, which is a pretty neat touch. Once loaded each mountain is divided up into three layers: The peak, a dangerous mix of cliffs and drops which can result, if handled incorrectly, in your death; The middle mountain, a tree packed, ungroomed area; and the park with all of its groomed trails and courses.

Snowboarder Shaun White did all of the dialog in the game and even wrote the game's script. While you can't play as him, you do get to board with him, the devs said. The game will include mountains in Japan, Park City, Utah, Alaska and Europe.

I'm sure it will find a niche, maybe quite a large niche, but it was too early to tell if it will be the break out hit I'm sure Ubisoft would like it to be.

Can't get enough Raving Rabbids? Well you're not alone, Ubisoft is crazy for their crazy hares as well.

Today the company announced a new Raving Rabbids title is coming to the DS and Wii this holiday season and that the Wii version will support the Balance Board.

"The Rayman Raving Rabbids titles have been an immense success, entertaining the world over,” said Yves Guillemot, president and chief executive officer, Ubisoft. "The inclusion of the Wii Balance Board into the game was a huge source of inspiration for our development team and I guarantee you will see the Wii Balance Board used in ways that will be surprisingly unexpected!”

It sounds like the game will be like the other Raving Rabbids but this time getting players to do evil things to cows with the balance board... not that there's anything wrong with that.

Hit the jump for the full release and screens.

UBISOFT ANNOUNCES NEW TITLE – RAYMAN RAVING RABBIDS® TV PARTY

Featuring "Unique” and Humorous Use of the Wii Balance Board(TM)

SAN FRANCISCO – May 28, 2008 – Today Ubisoft announced that Rayman Raving Rabbids(TM) TV Party will launch for the Wii(TM) system and Nintendo DS(TM) system this holiday season.

Following the tradition of Rayman Raving Rabbids titles showcasing fun and innovative use of the Wii controllers, Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party will feature the Wii Balance Board(TM) accessory. The Rabbids plan to invade televisions worldwide, providing players with a variety of games and comedic exploits spoofing TV shows, pop culture and even advertisements.

"The Rayman Raving Rabbids titles have been an immense success, entertaining the world over,” said Yves Guillemot, president and chief executive officer, Ubisoft. "The inclusion of the Wii Balance Board into the game was a huge source of inspiration for our development team and I guarantee you will see the Wii Balance Board used in ways that will be surprisingly unexpected!”

To date, the Rayman titles have sold more than 22 million units worldwide with their unique ability to reach all ages and demographics through their family friendly, innovative game play mechanics.

Further details about Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party will be unveiled at E3 2008, but in the meantime, please feel free to visit www.raymanzone.com.

About Ubisoft
Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a strong and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has offices in 24 countries and sales in more than 55 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. For the 2007-08 fiscal year Ubisoft forecasts generated sales of 920 million Euros. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com.

At first blush Far Cry 2 looks and behaves a bit like Grand Theft Auto IV: The game has an open world, friends who can come to your rescue, a phone you use to contact them, safe houses, a detailed map for guidance and a non-linear story line.

But where at its heart Grand Theft Auto IV is an action game, Far Cry 2 has its roots deeply embedded in the bedrock of shooters and from what I saw during my short time with the game it seems to remain true to those origins.

I asked the developers about the similarities and he seemed genuinely surprised, I think that’s because most of these similarities are obvious design decisions made once you’ve decided you want to create a sandbox game and the parallels are for the most part quite superficial.

Friends for instance. In Grand Theft Auto IV, you can call them for help, but they don’t really get involved in missions. In Far Cry 2 they are your salvation.

Playing through a chunk of the game, I got caught up in a particularly hairy firefight. As is often the case when I play games with an option for a stealth approach, I stumbled into an enemy camp and managed to alert just about everyone there without firing off a single shot.

Soon I was taking fire from all sides. As would be expected, the aiming and controls in Far Cry 2 are excellent, well-honed mechanics. Whether you’re sniping, firing off rockets (which can be laser guided to a target), or just popping off rounds from a rifle, it is easy to land precision hits, even on the go.

The enemy artificial intelligence seemed quite robust after I tipped them off to my presence. A man in a wooden watch tower fired off sniper rounds at me as men tried to flank me from both sides. I managed to take out the sniper and two men and then blew up a nearby gas canister to try and distract the rest of the bad guys. Unfortunately, that seemed to attract the attention of nearby men, who cruised into camp on a jeep.

Muscling my way through the camp proved to be far more difficult than I assumed it would be and shortly into my escapade, I was downed by enemy fire.

When I started playing the game, I went into a safe house to meet up with a contact and then befriended one of the game’s main characters. It was this newly minted friend who, unbidden, came to my rescue, pulling me from the ground, where things had become decidedly black and white for me, and hustling me to safety.

What was so neat about this mechanic was that I really had no control of what was going on. The sequence, seen through the shaking vision of a dying man, took away all control and forced me to watch as a friend dragged me through combat to a place away from enemies, and then patched me up. That can’t help but make you feel attached to your friends, something I hope the developers take advantage of in the game’s storyline.

Healing, as has been noted before, is also rather unique. You still need to grab what are essentially health packs, but the developers added a collection of unique animations to the healing mechanic so you get patched up in different ways depending on how you were injured. If you’re shot, you use a knife to dig out a bullet. Burned, you pat out flames. It’s superficial, but still kinda neat.

The game’s map also has plenty of neat touches. It’s an actual map you pull out and hold in front of you when you use it. So driving becomes a one-handed affair when you are looking at the map on the move. The map also updates with information when you spot things like bad guys or tactical information through your binoculars. The whole thing feels very organic, very real.

During my time with the game I played through a single, relatively short mission that had me driving from a safe house (there is always one about two minutes away on the 50 square kilometer map) to a nearby camp where I was to shut down a gas line. The game will feature more than 100 missions, I was told, 25 of which are tied to the main story line and the remaining 75 are considered side missions, assignments you get from your buddies.

I remain impressed with the game’s graphics, controls and feel. It is a game that has managed to erase the bad taste of Far Cry Instincts from my mouth, but just barely. I played on the PC version of the game simply because that’s what I plan on getting when it comes out, but the developers insist that there is no difference between how the game will perform on the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

While that looks to be true, I won’t truly believe it until I see it.

It's about giving the player the opportunity to play the game he wants to play the way he wants to play it.