Driver: San Francisco

EA, Sony, THQ, Ubisoft, and Warner Bros. Interactive have all announced plans to start charging for “Online Passports,” which will be required purchases for players who want to play with used game discs. Specifically, these $10 passports will be needed to play multiplayer games (like Ubisoft’s Driver: San Francisco, pictured above), but there’s nothing to keep publishers from using the same policy for singleplayer campaigns in the future.

The basics are thus: you buy a brand new game, a passport code comes with it, which you use for accessing all of the online features of the game. Once the code is used, it can’t be transfered to anyone else. So if the disc winds up in a “used games” bin at a retailer, or even if you just borrow it from a friend, you won’t be able to access any of the online features — unless you shell out an extra $10 for a new passport.

I can understand where game publishers are coming from with this; it’s a means of preventing user abuse of their online services. But it also muddies the waters between games being a tangible product, versus a virtual/digital service. With games starting to occupy more and more space in the cloud, game possession could become a thing of the past. Maybe soon we’ll all be renters, and there will be no owning games anymore.

The music industry tried out that same model a while back with devices like Microsoft’s Zune, where you had unlimited access to cloud-based music for a monthly fee. On the other hand, film buffs have taken to this business model in huge numbers, accessing Netflix’s entire inventory of movies for a monthly fee. The burgeoning digital book industry hasn’t caught onto this notion yet, but it’s probably just a matter of time.

Services like Gamefly are already already offering video game rentals (though this new policy means that playing the online portions of rented games will cost you an additional $10 per game), but are gamers ready for where this road may inevitably end?

Free Scrabble on Android Screenshots

Scrabble is arguably one of the coolest board games in the world. I grew up playing Scrabble (and Boggle!) with the entire family on a regular basis, and even though I haven’t touched a real Scrabble board in ages, the thought of playing the game still fills me with excitement. There is, of course, the option of playing Scrabble on electronic devices such as the iPad, iPhone, and other similar gadgets. However, this option usually does not compare to the experience of the real thing. For one, you normally need two very devices in order to have a fulfilling game. Now what to do if you have an iPhone and your Scrabble-mate has an Android phone?

Videogame giant Electronic Arts (EA) has solved this problem for those of us with these “first world issues” by finally releasing Scrabble Free, an electronic version of the board game that allows interaction between devices running on different operating systems. No doubt about it, iOS and Android are the most used mobile operating systems today, and the release of Scrabble Free only narrows the gap.

Not having an Android phone, I have not tried out the app, but reviews seem rather disappointing, with an average of 3.7 out of 5 in the Android Market. It seems that the main gripe of people is the fact that there are too many in-game ads. Then again, what can you really expect for a free app from EA?

Another downside to Scrabble Free, it seems, is the limitation when it comes to playing single player games. You can play with friends and random opponents, but there is no option to play against the computer. That is something I totally get – while it is fun playing against real people, there are times when it’s just more convenient to play against an opponent that is not limited by time and have tons of distractions that keep them from responding within an appropriate period.

Still, knowing some people using Android who would always be up for a game of Scrabble, I am rather happy with the availability of the app. Any Scrabble fan would feel the same, I reckon. I just don’t know if I will feel the same way after having tried it myself. Has anyone had a go at Scrabble Free yet?

Now if you have an Android phone and haven’t tried Scrabble Free, get it from the Android Market without having to pay a single cent!

Note: I heard from an Android user that the download is only available for US-based users for now. Bah!

There can be no doubt that Battlefield 3 was EA’s marquee title, and everyone in the industry knows why: Electronic Arts finally has a wargame title that’s worthy of going head-to-head against Activision’s juggernaut, the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare franchise. The developers of DICE set E3 abuzz with an 8-minute live demo of a single-player level featuring an ultra-realistic battle between tanks on an enormous battlefield. Instead of the game’s new trailer, I’ve chosen to embed this demo above. I daresay this one may have generated a bit more audience excitement than the Modern Warfare 3 demo this morning at the Xbox press conference (which was also very impressive).

Oh, and Battlefield 3‘s release date was announced: October 28th. That’s about 2 weeks before Modern Warfare 3.

BioWare showed off some new gameplay from Mass Effect 3 — an Earth-bound level featuring a battle between Shepherd’s allies and a massive Reaper. They also announced the game’s release date as March 9th, 2012. That’s a bit later than originally planned; we were first told it would hit this coming November. They showed off a new cinematic trailer as well.

BioWare also performed what’s become an annual E3 event for them: talking up Star Wars: The Old Republic and the unforeseen complexities involved in creating it, and showing off a new pre-rendered CGI trailer. The trailers are always awesome — usually far better than anything we saw in the prequel trilogy — but showing off some in-game footage would have been nice. You know, just so we know the game is still being worked on. Oh, and this year’s trailer actually featured quite a bit of recycled footage from previous years’ trailers. Bummer.

Need for Speed: The Run got an impressive trailer and demo, where we learned for the first time that this will be the first-ever Need for Speed title where the driver will occasionally exit the car to engage in foot chases. The Run is probably the most cinematic and dramatic entry in the series, since it includes an actual story about a once-in-a-lifetime, illegal cross-country race. I was impressed by the edge-of-your-seat thrills this one offered, and I’m not much of a racing fan.

A brand new IP was introduced called Kingdoms of Amalur: The Reckoning, with some impressive names attached to it. This fantasy action/RPG boasts bestselling author R.A. Salvatore as the creator of its universe and lore, with artwork and designs by comic book icon Todd McFarlane. The game strikes me as more than a little similar to Fable in look and feel, but you should watch the trailer above and judge for yourself. It’s scheduled to arrive early next year.

Insomniac Games — the folks behind the Resistance franchise — formally announced Overstrike, an action title featuring a unique 4-member team. Each member of this misfit team has a distinct personality and a wildly different skill set. As you can see from the trailer, the game has a cheeky, heightened reality vibe to it, and a sense of humor about itself. Looks like fun.

One announcement that got an interesting reaction was — get this — for a Facebook game. It probably helped that the game in question is one of the most popular simulation franchises fo all time. The Sims is coming to Facebook in a game created specifically for the Facebook platform. It’s called The Sims Social.

There was also footage shown from the new SSX, FIFA 12, Madden 12, NCAA Football 12, NHL 12, and more. Check out the screenshots below.

EA today announced the newest game in the Need for Speed franchise, a title that takes the series into territory it’s never approached before. Need for Speed: The Run will send players on an illegal cross-country race from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to the Empire State Building in New York City. The game’s focus on underground street racing will allow players to race their cars through all sorts of new environments like inclined mountain roads covered in ice, through narrow canyons, and weaving through dense metropolitan traffic — and all at the breakneck speeds that Need for Speed is known for.

The Run uses the cutting-edge Frostbite 2 engine — the same game engine that the much-hyped Battlefield 3 runs on. The new physics and more-detailed-than-ever visuals are allowing game developers at Black Box (aka, EA Canada) to give this Need for Speed an exciting, immersive story. These elements are only hinted at in the teaser trailer above, but it’s a well made trailer that will get your blood pumping. The social competition network Autolog will again be included as well.

Need for Speed: The Run is coming to North America on November 15, Europe on November 17, and the U.K. on November 18th. Versions are being made for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Wii, and 3DS.

Legendary game maker American McGee has announced his return to Alice in Wonderland territory, with a sequel to his quirky third-person game from 2000. As part of the Tokyo Game Conference, which is going on now, the first details about this sequel have been announced.

After the jump, I’ve got details on the game, a teaser trailer, some screenshots, and some gorgeous pieces of concept art.

The game is called Alice: Madness Returns, and it’s set eleven years after the first game, which saw Alice’s family and home destroyed by a terrible fire. Alice developed a unique psychosis from her trauma: creating Wonderland within her mind, a refuge where she can escape. Now, Alice has relocated from the mental asylum to a psychiatrist’s care in London, but her nightmares follow her — both in the real world, and in Wonderland, which has grown increasingly dark in the last eleven years.

At EA’s press conference in Tokyo, American McGee told reporters that Alice will use four weapons in this new version of Wonderland: a Tea Pot, Hobby Horse, Pepper Grinder, and the Vorpal Blade from the original game.

The game’s official website is at alicemadnessreturns.com, and you can follow updates about it on Twitter @thewhiterabbit.

I’ve played Fight Night Round 3 to death so I’m really eager to get my hands on the latest installment of the game. And with EA’s announcement that the game, which will be available on both the Xbox 360 and the PS3, will ship worldwide on June 30, I couldn’t be happier. I am quite intrigued by what EA claims as a ground-up reworking of the whole engine and system. I hope that most of the problems that I encountered in Fight Night Round 3 will be addressed — like the loooong load times, the usual sluggish movements around the ring and the boring corner advice from the trainer. I also hope that during online play players can get to choose if they want to fight with people who will use the buttons or the punch control system (the few times I’ve played online I keep getting beat by players who just continually push the haymaker button).

EA has promised that there will be more than 40 licensed boxers that will appear in the game and there will also be a Legacy mode – which I think is just perfect since It’s just silly that the game actually decides when you retire.

“We welcome AMD’s broad support for DirectX 10.1 compliant hardware and we’re pleased to see our newest technology brought to market so soon. One of the great advantages of PC gaming is the rapid pace at which the experiences evolve and improve. The ATI Radeon HD 3000 series and now the ATI Radeon HD 4800 series hardware delivers on the promise of DirectX 10 gaming with significantly improved visuals and enhanced performance,” said Kevin Unangst, Global Director, Microsoft Games for Windows.

“With Battleforge, EA is pushing the boundaries of the real-time strategy genre introducing social and community technologies to deliver a whole new online experience. It only makes sense that we leverage the latest technology such as DirectX 10.1 supported by the new ATI Radeon HD 4800 series of graphics cards from AMD to deliver an amazing experience for gamers,” said Dirk Ringe, vice president, EA Phenomic. “We’re working hard to deliver a new fantasy RTS experience never seen before. Using DirectX 10.1 and AMD’s graphics technology will enable Battleforge to look its absolute best.”

“SEGA welcomes the chance to deliver one of next year’s most technologically advanced titles, Stormrise. AMD’s enthusiastic commitment to new standards such as DirectX 10.1 in the ATI Radeon HD 4800 series is helping us develop a game which looks better and runs faster than was possible on previous platforms,” said Chris Southall, CTO Europe, SEGA. “SEGA is delighted to team up with AMD on one of our forthcoming games. AMD’s firm commitment to cutting-edge technology makes them a natural partner for us on Stormrise.”

ATI Radeon HD 3000 series graphics products and ATI Radeon HD 4800 series graphics products are widely available now at leading e-tailers, retailers and system integrators worldwide.

To showcase the difference that DirectX 10.1 technology makes, AMD recently unveiled a real-time 3D demo called “Ping Pong” to illustrate some of the new graphical techniques made possible by the new features DirectX 10.1 and supported by both the ATI Radeon HD 3000 series and ATI Radeon HD 4000 series of graphics processors. The interactive demo shows off advanced lighting techniques only possible through DirectX 10.1. For more information and to view the demo, please visit: http://ati.amd.com/developer/demos/rhd3000.html.