Heroes over Europe brings the combat to high definition on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC in Q4 2008.

The sequel to the mighty World War II flight combat game Heroes of the Pacific, Heroes over Europe takes aspiring combat pilots into the bullet-ridden heart of major World War II European air battles in glorious dogfight-friendly high definition. Heroes over Europe follows the Allied campaign from the attacks on London to the destruction of Berlin, with players under orders to strap themselves into the authentically rendered cockpits of the campaign’s iconic aircraft. Their mission: to survive the most ferocious dogfights ever seen in a flight combat game.

Game features:

• Best tactical dogfights in HD: relive the best tactical dogfights in over 40 types of ultra-realistic iconic warplanes of the era, all presented in stunning high definition graphics with realistic localised damage on aircraft
• Meticulously rendered environments: detailed landscapes and landmarks recreated in painstaking detail including faithful representations of London and Berlin to bring war-torn World War II to life
• Legacy of ‘Heroes’ series: new instalment in the Heroes series builds on its impressive legacy with highly detailed realistic visual presentation and more online options
• Comprehensive online gameplay: fight for the skies with 4 modes of online multiplayer action for up to 16 players
• Downloadable content: additional downloadable content will be available from launch

Some of its top premiering titles include What’s Cooking wit Jamie Oliver for the Nintendo DS, which Nintendo featured in its E3 press conference, as well as My Horse and Me 2 for Wii and DS, the mature “Witcher Enhanced Edition” for a good role-playing experience, and the PS3 port of Alone in the Dark.

For anime fans, Atari is bringing out Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3 for PlayStation 2 and Naruto: Ultimate NInja Storm for PlayStation 3, which expands from the original anime storyline. Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit for PlayStation 3 will also be around.

One game we did not see at E3 was Family Trainer for Wii, featuring mat-based fun and games designed to get the blood pumping family-wide.

The Witcher: Enhanced Edition was one of the top PC titles we demoed at E3, and it promises to include a bunch of gameplay improvements and new content when released.

Another game that ranks high on the potentiometer is Race Pro for Xbox 360, which brings a little familiar taste of Gran Turismo to Xbox. The game is very realistic, but be warned that it’s no arcade racer. Race Pro requires subtle adjustments, lots of braking and gear shifting and other movements — but that what y’all wanted in a realistic racer eh?

For information about Atari’s entire product line up visit www.atari.com.

The 3000 will actually be pretty sweet if you swing that way in the portable world. It has an amazing high-res display and maintains the thin profile and light weight from the current PSP generation. The 3000 adds a microphone for voice input in games and chat over the Skype network without an external mic, which we’ve been waiting for for a long time.

“Offering the highest-level contrast ratio, response time, and wider color gamut possible on a portable LCD screen, the new PSP is capable of displaying movies and photos in more natural and vibrant colors on its high resolution 4.3 inch wide screen,” Sony said in a statement Wednesday. “The new LCD screen adopts an anti-reflection technology, which enables users to see the screen more clearly in well-lit places, even when used outdoors.:

The PSP 3000 also has standard definition video-out port that allows users to output gameplay content and videos to a non HD TV. I’m not sure why this is useful, but if you have an old TV, this is good news for you because current PSP units can only be displayed on progressive TVs.

The PSP 3000 comes in traditional piano black and new pearl white and mystic silver colors.

Sony did not mention the price, but Engadget says $291 on October 15.

Begin technical dump:

External dimensions: Approx. 169.4 x 18.6 x 71.4 mm / 6 3/4 x 3/4 x 2 3/4  in (width × height × depth) (excludes largest projection)

Weight: Approx. 189g / 6.7 oz (including battery pack)

CPU: PSP CPU (System clock frequency 1-333MHz)

Main memory: 64MB

Display: 4.3 inches (16:9) full-transparent type, TFT drive, 480 x 272 pixel, Approximately 16,770,000 colors displayed

Sound: Built-in stereo speakers

Main input/output: Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11b)(Wi-Fi), High Speed USB (USB2.0) (mini-B), Memory Stick PRO Duo, Analog Video Out, Microphone

Main connectors: DC IN 5V connector, DC OUT connector, video out/headset connector, USB connector, Memory Stick Duo slot

Key/Switches: Directional buttons (up/down/right/left), analog stick, Action buttons (triangle, circle, cross, square), L/R buttons, START button, SELECT button, PS button, POWER/HOLD switch, WLAN switch, display button, sound button, volume (+/-) buttons

Power sources: Lithium-Ion rechargeable battery pack, AC adaptor, USB power supply

Internal disc drive: Read-only UMD drive

Wireless communications Infrastructure mode: Ad hoc mode (connects up to 16 consoles)

Supported codec (in Memory Stick)

Video               
– Memory Stick Video Format
- MPEG-4 Simple Profile (AAC LC)
- H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Main Profile (AAC LC)
– MP4 File Format
- MPEG-4 Simple Profile (AAC LC)
- H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Main Profile- CABAC only -
(AAC LC) / Baseline Profile (AAC LC)
– AVI
- Motion JPEG (Linear PCM or u-Lau)

Audio             
– Memory Stick Audio Format
- ATRAC3(TM)
- ATRAC3plus(TM)
- MP3
– MP3(MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer3)
– MP4(MPEG-4 AAC)
– WAVE(Linear PCM)
– WMA(Windows Media(R) Audio 9 Standard only)

Photo               
– JPEG (DCF2.0/Exif2.21compliant)
– TIFF
– BMP
– GIF
– PNG

Sony promises the keyboard will come out in late November in North America and by the end of the year worldwide.

We’ve expected this for some time now as Sony moves to social interaction in both its games and its PlayStation Home social network.

The keyboard attaches onto a controller, works standalone via Bluetooth or can be plugged into the PS3 via USB.

It also features a useful touchpad button that acts as a slider, moving around while performing tasks like web browsing.

One of the major titles this keyboard will be useful for is the highly anticipated LittleBigPlanet coming out at the end of the year.

Specifications:

Product Name: Wireless Keypad
Product Code: CECHZK1JP (For Japanese market)
Weight : Approx 60g
Voltage: DC 3.7V
Operating Temperature:
5 degrees C ~ 35 degrees C
Built-in Bluetooth(R) Ver.2.0
Keypad Layout: QWERTY layout
Battery: Built-in Rechargeable Lithium-Ion
Battery Capacity: 610mAh

Electronic Arts announced Wednesday that they are creating a tennis video game to rival 2K Sports’ Top Spin and Atari’s Smash Court. The new EA Sports tennis game will first be available for Wii at some time next year, with other platforms to folow.

It will be the first EA Sports game to use Nintendo’s new Wii MotionPLus accessory that adds an added dimension of accuracy to the WiiMote.

“As we look to expand the EA Sports brand and captivate sports fans from around the world with rich new interactive experiences, it was obvious that the renaissance we’re seeing in the sport of tennis provides us with a big opportunity,” said Peter Moore, president of EA Sports, in a statement Wednesday. “Our new tennis franchise, coming first to the Wii, will put fans right into the action and provide the excitement, tension and drama that true champions feel in legendary matches – like the classic from Wimbledon just last month.”

For more information, visit www.easports.com/tennis.

Electronic Arts and tis Black Box studio released some new details on Need for Speed: Undercover, which comes out November 18 in the U.S. for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 2 with PSP, DS and mobile versions available.

“Need for Speed Undercover has players racing through speedways, dodging cops and chasing rivals as they go deep undercover to take down an International crime syndicate,” the companies said Wednesday in a statement. “The new game heralds the return of high-intensity police chases and introduces the all-new ‘Heroic Driving Engine’ — a unique technology that generates incredible high-performance moves at 180 miles per hour during breathtaking highway battles.”

“Need for Speed Undercover puts you at the center of a big-budget Hollywood movie with all of the drama, action and dazzling chase scenes, right on your gaming console. The unique Heroic Driving Engine will give you ultimate control over the hottest cars and push you to use every ounce of skill to outrun the law and take down criminal adversaries,” said Executive Producer Bill Harrison.

The game will mix graphics/CGI with live-action movies with 80 miles of open-world to explore, to get the gamer to really feel the “Tri-City Bay Area” experience. It looks like GTA without all the guns.

“Need for Speed Undercover features more aggressive and intelligent cops whose sole purpose is to take down the player quickly and by any means necessary,” the statement read.

Cars featured in the game include the Audi R8, BMW M6 and Lexus IS-F.

EA is also unveiling information on the Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince game and Godfather 2.

The cast of Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 follows (in alphabetical order by last name): Gemma Atkinson (the UK’s Hollyoaks), Tim Curry (Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Hunt for Red October), Andrew Divoff (LOST), Kelly Hu (X2, The Scorpion King), Jenny McCarthy (Scream 3, former Playboy Playmate of the Year), Ivana Milicevic (Casino Royale), Jonathan Pryce (Pirates of the Caribbean), J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man, Juno), Autumn Reeser (The OC), Peter Stormare (Prison Break, Armageddon), George Takei (Star Trek, Heroes), and two of the most recognizable names in competitive mixed martial arts Randy “The Natural” Couture (former UFC Heavyweight champion) and Gina “Conviction” Carano (Undefeated Elite XC fighter, American Gladiators).

“This is by far the most exciting cast we have in over 13 years of shooting live-action movies for Command & Conquer,” said Chris Corry, executive producer at EA’s Los Angeles studio.  “The caliber of the performances we received, both individually and collectively, have really raised the storytelling bar for the franchise.  We are really excited that we will be delivering such a high quality production that is on par with movies and television shows.”

“I wasn’t sure what to expect when I came in to work on a video game,” said Jenny McCarthy from the set of Command & Conquer Red Alert 3, while playing Tanya, Allied commando and the most beloved heroine in the history of the Command & Conquer universe.  “What I realized is Red Alert 3 is not just a video game, it’s absolutely an interactive movie.  This is where the people at home get to move the story forward, and where seeing the plot thicken is a reward for a job well done.  And that’s really cool.”

“I think video games are one of the new frontiers for actors and using live action is just another way to connect more easily to the gamer rather than CG or animation techniques,” said J.K. Simmons from the set of the game, who is playing the anti-Communist U.S. President Howard T. Ackerman.  “To be in a groundbreaking game like Red Alert 3 where we are using full on shooting of live actors and to be with Jonathan Pryce, Tim Curry and Peter Stormare, it was a great opportunity for a character actor like me to have some fun.”

EA is also offering die hard fans of the series a “Premier Edition,” a limited edition copy of hte game including a bonus DVD with extra video content, interviews and behind the scenes shots as well as extra content for the game like maps and tips and a beta key for a future C&C title.

Special features in the “Premier Edition” include:

• Command & Conquer Red Alert 2 – One of the most beloved RTS games of all time!
• From Fighter to Assassin – A featurette on EliteXC superstar, Gina Carano.
• Premier Edition Sneak Peek – Exclusive previews of Raising of the Iron Curtain, From Pens to Pixels, Command School, and BattleCast Primetime
• Red Alert Retrospective – A look back at Command & Conquer^TM Red Alert^TM, Command & Conquer Red Alert 2 and Command & Conquer^TM: Yuri’s Revenge^TM
• Exclusive multiplayer/skirmish map for Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 when the game ships
• Exclusive Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 desktop wallpapers

Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 ships in the fall for PC and Xbox 360.  For more, check out the beta for the game at http://www.ea.com/redalert/beta.jsp.