NBA Jam HD to see the light of day on the PS3 and 360

Breaking news out of EA offices early Tuesday morning, indicate NBA Jam will indeed be making its way to the PS3 and Xbox 360 this fall. Originally thought to be a Wii exclusive, NBA Jam will see the light of day on all consoles, but only in a packaged deal.

Starting on October 5th, buyers of EA’s NBA Elite ’11, will also get a one time use code for a downloadable version of the NBA Jam HD remake. EA has stated Tuesday that this will be the only way to play NBA Jam on the PS3 and 360 this fall. The game will not be available for download on the PS Store or XBLA.

According to the Destructoid report, “NBA Jam on the Wii will still be the only way to get the full experience, since the PS3/360 version will only come with three modes: Play Now, Classic Campaign (the traditional ladder-style tournament), and four-player Online Play (which remains unconfirmed for the Wii version, with only two months to go before launch). This keeps the all-new Remix Tour mode — which includes boss battles against NBA legends such as Magic Johnson and comprises “about 20 hours of gameplay,” according to EA Sports marketing VP Jordan Edelstein — exclusive to the Wii version”.

Many gamers will probably add this to their heated argument against EA and their DLC ways as of late. Knowing that their new NBA Elite would be in tough water against 2K’s NBA 2K11 and the Jordan cover, EA saw this as a way to give Basketball fans a shot at Jam on consoles. The problem is, only by a serious commitment of $59.99 will Jam see the light of day. It seems they have also found a way to keep some type of exclusivity to the Wii as well.

Being a HUGE Basketball and NBA Jam fan, this has pretty much sealed my purchase of NBA Elite ’11 this fall. I have a feeling EA will make a killing on this deal. No matter the quality of Elite, the nostalgic feel of NBA Jam will bring a ton of gamers into their new title when it ships on October 5th (coincidentally the same day NBA Jam drops for the Wii, and 2K11 releases).

No word yet if the NBA Jam HD title will see achievements and trophies added to the 360 and PS3 or not. More to come on this as it develops.

DiRT 3 on the way, sporting a new EGO 2.0 Engine

Codemasters seems primed to unleash its upgraded EGO engine 2.0 on the racing genre.  For those unaware, Codemasters has used the critically acclaimed EGO to power its successful racing lineup including DiRT, GRiD, and the DiRT follow-up – DiRT 2. EGO has also been used on last year’s Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising. Just over a week ago, the company confirmed that EGO 2.0 would make its debut in a “massive title” coming in 2011. Shortly thereafter, the company also announced that next year would see the releases of DiRT 3, GRiD 2 and Operation Flashpoint: Red River.





Obviously any of the 3 could be considered a major release for Codemasters. However following the events of the past weekend, it seems as if DiRT 3 will be the “massive” title that they speak of. At ESPN’s annual X-Games, Codemasters showed off the first teaser trailer for its upcoming 2011 racer. According to the lastest edition of Edge magazine, DiRT 3 will have “snow and ice, dynamic weather, YouTube uploads, fierce rides and epic tracks, splitscreen support, party modes, an open-world playground and more real-life sponsors and stars than ever.”


FIRST TEASER TRAILER

First pic from the upcoming DiRT 3

There are few gaming experiences that give me goosebumps, but some of those moments always seem to come with Codemasters racing games. I’ll admit that I have a certain passion for racers. When it comes to Codemasters’ games, I can’t figure out if it’s due to the perfect balance between simulation and arcade racing, or the incredible Ego Engine graphics put into their racing products – but they are all rock solid.

Codemasters is currently putting the finishing touches on their upcoming 4th racing title for the current generation of consoles. F1 2010 is expected to follow in the footsteps of its predecessors and use the most up-to-date EGO as its engine. F1 will use dynamic weather for the first time, and Codies’ VP of Studios Gavin Cheshire has gone on record saying “it will have the best weather and rain effects ever in a game”. Look for F1 2010 to hit store shelves in late September.