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So after waiting for 10-12 months EA is gonna Lunch their new NFS titled THE ISLAND.
this is the press relies :
linked to
http://www.nwiizone.com/nintendo-wii/nwii/need-for-speed-the-island-and-the-sims-the-island-announced-by-ea/
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – September 18, 2006 – To commemorate the launch of the next generation of console and PC hardware, Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) is pleased to announce the launch of a new lineup of interactive titles for all next generation gaming platforms.
The Island™ is a massively open world encompassing 600 square miles of fictional island landscape. The island has different regions with various topologies and weather conditions, ranging from sunny beaches to snowy mountain passes. Published under the EA GAMES™ brand, The Island™ is a lineup of games that can be played in conjunction with each other, fully contained within this single massively open world. EA™ will be launching three of these games on November 14, 2006 with future titles to be announced in 2007.
In Need for Speed: The Island™ you will take to the streets of The Island™ in a variety of licensed vehicles from classic muscle cars to futuristic concept cars. In addition to racing against the clock, 15 computer-controlled opponents, or up to seven human opponents in network play, you can also free roam on over 1000 miles of open road, complete with AI traffic and human traffic in online mode.
In The Sims: The Island™ you can choose to raise your family of Sims in the majestic mountains, on the casual coast, or in a bustling city on The Island™. The Sims™ will feature an offline story mode, offline free play mode, and online free play mode. In addition, The Sims™ story mode can be played co-operatively in split screen or online.
In Theme Park: The Island™ you get to create and operate your very own theme park on The Island™. Design and build rides and attractions, hire employees and concession vendors, set prices and plan special events. In offline mode you can hire your own Sims™ and they can visit your theme park. In online mode you can allow your friends to do the same.
Need for Speed: The Island™ and The Sims: The Island™ will be available on the XBox 360, Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, and PC platforms, and Theme Park: The Island™ will be available on the PC this November.
WOW!! I think this is what we've all been waiting for!! Maybe we could ass SimCity: The Island... you can build your own or add too the island and drive around it etc!! Like the old streets of sim city fot SimCity 2000 ( or SimCity 4 Rush Hour). And maybe then even an FPS expansion... or GTA style gaming! Tiger Woods - The ISland? Battlefield: The Island?
The possibilities are endless! Synergy at it's best!
I wander how many users could the Island support? Will there be multiple islands for each system, or one island with different channels? With talking, i guess it will utilise consoles keyboards - this could open the gate for finally, a good online service for the PS3 - maybe even playing between PS3/Xbox 360/PC... like Halo 2 between PC and Xbox 360!!
It opens so many possibilities, combining the force of development teams for these 3 major products to create a state of the art game!
I read this on another forum though:
Quote:
But in reality, what's probably going to happen is this: NFS is a completely separate game (£49.99 on 360) where if you drive to a Sims-compatible spot, you'll be invited to insert your Sims DVD (£49.99), whereupon the console will reset and you'll load up that game.
I can't see it being seamless, unless EA have some super-tech going on. I can see the individual games being good in themselves though, but at this point I'm going to cynically say that they're completely separate games packaged as a "brand" by setting them in the same locale.
Lets hope though, in this Need for Speed we see yet more graphics improvements, some really original missions and things... the difference in terrain and sheer size of the map will be amazing, and should push the PS3/Xbox 360 and even PC to it's limits!