While preemption is the best cure, it's good to know that there's always remedy to fall back on to make up for that lack of preemption. In the case of Alone in the Dark's (PC, Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii) developers, that's what they're doing with the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. Finding the Xbox 360 version problematic, they improved the PS3 version; and finding that the PS3 version is now way better than the 360 one, they're patching the latter to keep up with the new and improved PS3 version. There's all the love in the family.

Have you always been asking yourself, where did Phil Harrison go? Well, he joined Infogrames. The ex-Sony Computer Entertainment president now plays a significant role in Atari's slow comeback - though that would be an understatement in itself. He is the president of Atari-parent Infogrames, after all. More at the full story.

Develop has recently announced the list of finalists nominated to receive awards offered by the Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Set for the region of UK and Europe, the awards will be held during the Develop Conference & Expo to be held this year at Brighton. Again.

 

Top of the nominees list is Realtime Worlds (Crackdown), bagging a whopping seven nominations. Evolution Studios (MotorStorm), Rare (Viva Piñata), SCEE Studio Liverpool (Formula One Championship Edition), and independent developer and publisher Introversion (DEFCON) get three nominations a-piece. Other nominees include GSC Game World (S.T.A.L.K.E.R.) from Russia, EA DICE (Battlefield series) and Avalanche from Sweden, Opera from Norway, and Fishlabs from Germany.

Some of the big names nominated for the 2007 awards night include Eidos Hungary, Ubisoft France development studios, Eden Studios, and Kynogon. The fate of these nominees will be decided by a panel of almost 100 industry experts who choose only excellence over anything else. Stuart Dinsey, publisher of Develop magazine, stated:

In a period which has seen the launch of two home consoles, the continued improvement of Xbox 360 and PC software, and the mobile games market emerge as a genuine creative and commercial alternative to the more traditional games platforms, only the most excellent titles have any chance of standing out from the crowd.

Two other special awards, Development Legend and overall Grand Prix, will be given away in the awards night on July 25 to be honored to individuals, companies, or titles deserving in the eyes of the magazine's editorial staff.

With only a few days to go before the end of May, we imagine owners of Atari's Test Drive: Unlimited for the PC are beginning to wonder: What happened to the patch update that Eden Studios was supposed to release this month? We have just picked up word that this patch update has been delayed in light of further testing to ensure proper coding stability. The new release date is scheduled for mid-June.

But while gamers are being asked to wait a little longer, Eden has further announced that the upcoming patch will include two new cars exclusive to Test Drive: Unlimited's PC port: the Audi RS4, and the Nissan Skyline R34. Freebies aside, Eden's also decided to do some extra tinkering, as indicated by this latest patch notes list:

• Corrupted saved games (previously lost save games cannot be restored)
• Freezing / crashes (at saving points and other specific places in the game)
• Some performance issues (low fps, stuttering fps, micro freezes)
• Anti-cheats system improved
• Audio bugs
• Other miscellaneous issues
• Nvidia has addressed issues for some of its cards with driver updates. Eden and Atari are still working closely with Nvidia to solve the remaining issues

That's the latest news we have for TDU at the moment. Keep posted in case we catch word of more updates.

 

Here's some good news for all you PC-loving Test Drive fans. Atari and Eden Studios are currently developing a patch for the PC version of Test Drive: Unlimited. According to a post on Atari's TDU forums, the patch should be available for download in May, and will address the following issues:

• Corrupted saved games (previously corrupted save games will not be restored)
• Game freezing / crashes
• Performance optimization
• In-game exploits

There hasn't been any additional info as to what else the patch has in store, but we'll definitely keep you posted. Till then, you might as well use the exploits to see if you can make your car fly, right? Enjoy!

Atari announced today that their street racer, Test Drive Unlimited for the PC and PS2, has finally reached gold status and is now prepped for release. As you know, Xbox360 users have had the game spinning on their consoles since September last year, while the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2, and PC versions are still being tuned in Eden Studios' garage.

Fair enough, since the PSP version will have exclusive content such as the Quick Race instant-play mode and the Master Points system, wherein you'll get to earn points by pulling off deadly drifts and other kickass driving stunts. PC gamers can expect TDU to hit the streets on March 20, but if you can't wait that long to get your hands on the game, you can also opt to download the game at Atari.com.

Too bad the handheld version doesn't have a digital download version and is expected to go gold later this month, but not to worry, you'll be getting your hands on TDU real soon also as the PSP version is slated for release on April 17 for the U.S.

Buy: [Test Drive Unlimited (PSP)]
Buy: [Test Drive Unlimited (PC)]

Talk about being off the radar for approaching-eternia. The last time we had anything from Eden Studios' Alone in the Dark: Near Death Investigation was back in mid-September of last year. Now we get to see something about this game, only it's not much, really. Over in the Continent, Xbox 360 Only reports that Atari plans to have Alone in the Dark out for "simultaneous release" in the "fourth trimester of this year", according to the English translation on the site.

"Fourth trimester of this year." (4th 3mester) Must be the new math... Now with "simultaneous release", it could mean for its three platforms, 360, PS3, and PC. Anyway, Xbox 360 Only didn't clarify or reveal anything else from what they've read from Atari's "release list". It still first within Atari's projected fiscal year 2008 release (April 2007-March 2008 - wait, isn't this the 2007 fiscal year?) schedule for Alone in the Dark. Right now, we just want to see more new details of this game see the light of day. Being alone in the dark can get pretty lonesome, pretty quick.

Eden Studios has generously presented Alone in the Dark's demo with a few more words concerning the gameplay. Even though this survival-horror game (no, Eden Studios says it's called action-driven suspense) is expected to ship for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 sometime in 2007, there's a lot of preview details that makes us anticipate its release. Some of these are about weapons, cars, visual effects, mysterious action locations, and the retailing of the game itself.

One key feature of the survival horror game is the weapon system. Players can choose their guns and items from Edward Carnby's left and right pockets. They can easily be accessed and tucked away again. Then, player immersion can go a long way down to the use of cars. Moving the analog stick allows players to position themselves from the driver's seat to the backseat or act as triggermen.

Camera angles and visual effects allow players to get a real taste of action. These are evident on the motion blur, dense lighting, and depth of field. But the real suspense lies in the fact that all the action happens in New York's Central Park. Unbeknownst to many, this might just answer some of the mysteries lurking in the conspiracy theories that add suspense to the game.

No word on pricing yet, but there's a possibility that you can buy Alone in the Dark per episode as you would a regular TV series. Eden Studios says it's much like buying a whole or part of a TV season on the Internet or in stores. More details about this game will soon come out, and expect us here at QJ to give you the latest updates.

Test Drive Unlimited is looking to be a solid contender for the top driving game on the XBox 360. As our previous coverage of the game details and possible achievements shows, it intends to keep you in the driver's seat for quite a while.

Shacknews was able to get an interview with Test Drive Unlimited's producer, Ahmed Boukhelifa, and it shed some light on their plans for multiplayer racing and challenging, as well as the police system they'll implement in-game.

Besides making their Oahu setting as realistic as possible, TDU's development team also made sure that multiplayer was more or less a simple affair. Challenging people to a race would be as easy as finding a fellow racer on the map and then asking him to compete with you. You can also set preferences as to what types of players or cars you would like to see on the map, making it easier to turn down challenges you don't want, and find the ones you'd love playing.

Challenges are the driving force behind game progression, and they do not disappoint in their potential scope.

In-game standings will be ranked on both single and multiplayer versions. As Boukhelifa mentions, "Every challenge will have a specific ranking: per week, month, overall, etc. as well as general rankings. Every solo and multiplayer challenge is ranked, and overall aggregated rankings are also available. There will also be themed competitions, of which the info will be sent via the ingame mailbox."

A challenge editor will also be a part of the game, allowing you to completely take over the reigns of making your challenge, which include setting the path and physical conditions for your race, as well as how much you intend to bet in each challenge. That will definitely come into play when people start playing the game, as we're certain that more conservative players will want to take the heavy gambles off their list of visible challenges.

Lastly they've tweaked the whole idea of mapping and GTA-styled policing to be friendlier to players. In this game, they've improved the map interface from previous demos, making it easier to know where you want to go, and how to get there. That's going to be especially useful in disorienting spin situations that can slow you down. Their law enforcement is also a lot more lax. As the producer mentions in the interview,

"Police vehicles will give chase if the player is speeding, and will give fines if caught. The fine is deducted immediately from the player’s money. Police are either parked alongside the road or are patrolling their streets. The player can outrun the police. They will give up the chase and return to their previous location. The player has a radar detector that warns of nearby police. Police vehicles also appear on the map."

That's definitely going to be a lot easier than being chased by the FBI if you run over people.

Test Drive Unlimited is scheduled for a September 5 release, and is made bv Atari and Eden Studios. In the meantime, it would be a good idea to brush up on your racing tactics.