Crispy Gamer News

 Contrary to the popularly held belief,  imitation isn’t the sincerest form of flattery - it’s downright annoying and oftentimes disturbing. Was Allie in Single White Female flattered when Hedy started dressing like her? No, she was like “this bitch is f’ing crazy and is going to cut my blouse off with a knife.” EA, is acting a little like Hedy with its new Wii game, NASCAR Kart Racing. Nintendo might say its flattered that EA wants to create a NASCAR themed Mario Kart-esque game, but inside they are feeling a little creeped out.

While there are some stark differences, like EA branded tracks and real world racers, there are plenty of similarities like wild canyons complete with falling boulders, deserts, freeways, back roads, and more. While EA doesn’t mention banana peels, turtle shells and other Mario world power-ups, I wouldn’t be shocked if I saw one in this game.

Naturally, along with the license comes official NASCAR drivers including such brand names as Jeff Burton, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Elliot Sadler, Tony Stewart, AND two unlockable mystery drivers. The courses in NASCAR Kart Racing will consist of arcade remakes of such 4 real world tracks as Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Dover International Speedway and Bristol Motor Speedway and other fantasy tracks set in canyons, deserts, freeways, back roads, and more.

NASCAR Kart Racing is a Wii exclusive and is scheduled to ship on February 10, 2009.

To show its continued support for Burnout Paradise through 2009, developer Criterion revealed yet another downloadable content pack in the works for the game today. Two weeks ago the company announced the Burnout Paradise Party Pack and last week the Burnout Paradise Legendary Cars Pack was detailed. This week Criterion reveals the Burnout Paradise Toy Cars Pack, offering players special edition Burnout collectibles.

Details on this unique DLC will be released soon on www.criteriongames.com but for now you can take a look at the screenshot on the left. The new DLC packs will be released sometime in Spring 2009.

Developer Isopod Labs and publisher Activision Blizzard have released Vigilante 8: Arcade to Xbox Live Arcade this week. Vigilante 8: Arcade is a remake of the classic V8 series of driving games from by Luxoflux and Activision from the late 1990s - Vigilante 8 for PlayStation & Nintendo 64, and Vigilante 8: Second Offense for PlayStation, Nintendo 64 and DreamCast.

Isopod Labs, who self-funded the development of the game, has created a whole new experience based on the series now classic gameplay formula and themes. In the game player take control of a classic vehicle armed with some ridiculously powerful weaponry and gimmicks to take on AI controlled enemies or real players online.

You can find out more about it by visiting the game’s official site or by logging on the Xbox Live and trying the trial.

Today at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, Electronic Arts announced Need for Speed Live, a festival and competition that celebrates car culture - and of course, EA’s popular racing franchise. This first-time event will be open to the public and will be hosted next summer at the Brands Hatch Circuit located near London, England. The weekend-long experience will be showcase of entertainment, videogames, music, car shows and displays designed to appeal to fans of racing games, fans of exotic cars and motorsports enthusiasts.

Need for Speed Live will invite the world’s top drifters and time attack cars from across Europe, North America and Japan to gather in one location to compete in a battle of the continents. Need for Speed Live will also include demonstrations by some of the world’s most famous race and exotic cars in a manufacturer time attack exhibition.

Capcom’s MotoGP 08 has begun shipping to retail. The title will be available for the Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 and Windows PC platform starting this week. This is the first next generation MotoGP title released under Capcom’s five year deal with Dorna Sports, which provides exclusive rights to publish MotoGP video games across all hardware platforms.

In case you don’t know, MotoGP 08 is the official game of the 2008 season and features all of the official riders, bikes and tracks from the event along with the all new Indianapolis track and night racing at the Qatar circuit. Users will be able to create their own rider, compete alongside racing pros and develop racing skills for up to 5 seasons.

Look for the game in stores by week’s end.

If you are a fan of Rockstar Games other popular franchise, Midnight Club, then you’ll be happy to hear that the latest game in the racing franchise is now in stores. The fourth installment of Midnight Club franchise, Midnight Club: Los Angeles, is now available for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Midnight Club: LA Remix is also available for the PSP. Both titles will be available internationally on October 24.

Developed by Rockstar San Diego, Midnight Club: Los Angeles promises no load times, no tracks, no rules, and breakneck speeds through a recreation of Los Angeles.

Beyond the breakneck speeds, Midnight Club has always been about owning and customizing the most exotic race cars on the market. Players can fully personalize their officially licensed imports, tuners, classic muscle cars and motorcycles both inside and out with a selection of licensed rims, body kits, interior upgrades, vinyls and more.

Look for both games in stores beginning today here in the United States.

THQ today announced Baja: Edge of Control for the Xbox 360 and PS3 has shipped to retail outlets worldwide. Developed by the core team behind the MX vs. ATV franchise, BAJA: Edge of Control lets players goo way off-road to conquer all kinds of unpredictable terrain Baja: Edge of Control promises more than 1,000 miles of wild terrain including steep mountains, thick mud and deep canyons ever created. The game also features more than 160 sponsored vehicles in eight classes, including Trophy Trucks, 4×4s and buggies. If you like your off-road racing a bit grittier and more dangerous, then you might want to give this a look.

Get it while it’s hot.