The PS2 hasn’t been forgotten by EA, or so it seems: the mega-publisher has announced Medal of Honor Vanguard, the latest in the WWII shooter franchise, for the PS2 as well as Wii.

Step into the boots of Frank Keegan, Corporal of the 82nd Airborne Division and engage in battles throughout Europe. From Operation Husky on the shores of Sicily to Operation Varsity inside Nazi Germany, you’ll fight behind enemy lines in the epic WWII battles that turned America’s first paratroopers into heroes of WWII. Featuring spectacular graphics adding to epic combat intensity, Medal of Honor Vanguard makes you the driving force in the struggle to liberate Europe. As the first game in the Medal of Honor series to be released on the Nintendo Wii platform, players can expect Medal of Honor Vanguard to take full advantage of Wii’s one-of-a-kind controllers.

The game is in development at EA Los Angeles and has no release date at the moment. No other details or media was released either.

Starting Friday, couch-potatoes who are too lazy to get up to the computer can surf the net on their TV, provided they have a Nintendo Wii. The company has announced plans of letting users download a free trial Opera browser to activate the Internet Channel of the Wii menu beginning December 22.

The final version of the software will be available towards the end of March 2007; it will be free for all Wii owners to download through the end of June, after which, the browser will be available to purchase for 500 Wii points.

The Internet Channel provides an optimal Web browsing experience on people’s home television. The Adobe Flash-enabled trial version of the Opera browser puts the Internet right onto owners’ television screens and lets them browse with ease, enabling them to check sports scores, plot maps or visit their favorite Web sites. Multiple family members can gather around the television to plan a holiday or make online purchases. The pointing abilities of the Wii Remote allow users to click on links they want to see or to zoom into any part of the screen through the motion of the controller. In addition, the Wii Remote can be used with an on-screen keyboard to make text entry as easy as point and click.

European gamers are in luck today: 505 Games and Bohemia Interactive have revealed that the PAL release of Armed Assault will feature exclusive weapons, vehicles and mission content when released for PC on February 16.

The extra content includes two new aircraft - Su-34 Fighter and Su-34 Bomber; two new motorbikes - TT650 and the M1030 military motorcycles; and four new weapons: the Russian rifles AKS74PSO and KSVK, and US-designed M107 and M16A4

In addition, the PAL version of Armed Assault will also launch with an exclusive new mission called “Blood, Sweat and Tears.” This open-ended scenario will have players experience the “bloody battlefields of Sahrani.”

Warner Bros. announced that it has entered a distribution agreement with Codemasters for distribution and sales of its products in North America starting April 2007.

“We greet this arrangement to work with Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group with great enthusiasm,” commented Rod Cousens, Chief Executive Officer, Codemasters. “Codemasters continues to strengthen its content and distribution, and as the reach of our product portfolio broadens to a global audience, there can be no more effective alliance than to have the world’s largest entertainment corporation handling the line in the single largest market. The commitment of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group can only benefit the progress and scale of our future releases targeted at the North American consumer.”

Titles to be distributed include DIRT: Colin McRae Off-Road, Overlord, Clive Barker’s Jericho, Fall of Liberty and more. This deal will last from April 2007 through May 2008.

An amazingly large number of DS games are headed towards Europeans, who just can’t seem to get enough of the Pink PS2. Here’s the list, which catalogs games until Q1 2007:

• Children of Mana (Nintendo) - 12th Jan 2007
  
• Star Fox Command (Nintendo) - 26th Jan 2007
  
• Actionloop (Nintendo) - 26th Jan 2007
  
• Freedom Wings (ZOO Digital) - 26th Jan 2007
  
• Guru Guru (505Games) - Jan 2007
  
• Labyrinth (505Games) - Jan 2007
  
• Monster Puzzle (505Games) - Jan 2007
  
• Mystery Detective (505Games) - Jan 2007
  
• The Professors Brain Trainer: Logic (505Games) - Jan 2007
  
• The Professors Brain Trainer: Memory (505Games) - Jan 2007
  
• Mech Assault Phantom War (Majesco) - Jan 2007
  
• Flipper Critters (Conspiracy) - Jan 2007
  
• Contact (Marvelous/Rising Star Games) - 2nd Feb 2007
  
• New Zealand Story (Marvelous/Rising Star Games) - 2ndFeb 2007
  
• Uno/Skipbo Compilation/Uno Freefall (ZOO Digital) - 2nd Feb 2007
  
• Disney’s Kim Possible Global Gemini (Disney/Buena Vista Games) - 8th Feb 2006
  
• Magical Starsign (Nintendo) - 9th Feb 2007
  
• Mario Slam Basketball (Nintendo) - 16th Feb 2007
  
• Lionel Trains “On Track” (ZOO Digital) - 16th Feb 2007
  
• Guilty Gear Dust Strikers (Majesco/THQ) - 20th Feb 2007
  
• Fossil League (D3Publisher of Europe) - 23rd Feb 2007
  
• Bomberman Land (Marvelous/Rising Star Games) - 23rd Feb 2007
  
• Uno 52 (ZOO Digital) - 23rd Feb 2007
  
• Monster Bomber (505Games) - Feb 2007
  
• Touch Party Game (505Games) - Feb 2007
  
• Turn it Around (505Games) - Feb 2007
  
• Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses (Activision) - Feb 2007
  
• Shrek Smash ‘N Crash Racing (Activision) - Feb 2007
  
• Party Carnival (D3Publisher of Europe) - Feb 2007
  
• Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin (Konami) - Feb 2007
  
• Death Jr. And The Science Fair of Doom (Konami) - Feb 2007
  
• Lunar Knights (Konami) - Feb 2007
  
• My Frogger Toy Trials (Konami) - Feb 2007
  
• Xiaolin Showdown (Konami) - Feb 2007
  
• Dino Master (Majesco) - Feb 2007
  
• Super Black Bass Fishing (Majesco) - Feb 2007
  
• Gunpey (Namco Bandai Games) - Feb 2007
  
• Danny Phantom Urban Jungle (THQ) - 2nd Mar 2007
  
• Actua Pool (ZOO Digital) - 2nd Mar 2007
  
• Princess Natasha “Student-Secret Agent-Princess” (ZOO Digital) - 2nd Mar 2007
  
• Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis (Nintendo) - 9th March 2007
  
• Spectrobes (Disney/Buena Vista Games) - 15th Mar 2007
  
• Rayman Raving RabbidsTM (Ubisoft) - 15th Mar 2007
  
• Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (D3Publisher of Europe) - 16th Mar 2007
  
• Bubble Bobble Double Shot (Marvelous/Rising Star Games) - 16th Mar 2007
  
• Schach (dtp) - 16th Mar 2007
  
• Best Friends - Hunde & Katzen (dtp) - 23rd Mar 2007
  
• Hello Kitty (Empire) - 23rd Mar 2007
  
• Pokémon Ranger (Nintendo) - 30th March 2007
  
• Mein Gestüt (tentative name) - 30th Mar 2007
  
• Kameleon DS (505Games) - Mar 2007
  
• Touch Detective (505Games) - French version - Mar 2007
  
• Disney’s Meet The Robinsons (Disney/Buena Vista Games) - Mar 2007
  
• Diner Dash (Eidos) - Mar 2007
  
• Zendoku (Eidos) - Mar 2007
  
• SEGA Presents Touch Darts (working title) (SEGA) - Mar 2007
  
• Petz Vet (Ubisoft) - Mar 2007
  
• The Settlers (Ubisoft) - Mar 2007
  
• Teenage Mutant Minja Turtles (Ubisoft) - Mar 2007
  
• Theme Park (EA) - Spring 2007
  
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Justice For All (Capcom) - Q1 2007
  
• Micro Machines V4 (Codemasters) - Q1 2007
  
• Rafa Nadal Tennis (Codemasters) - Q1 2007
  
• Garfield Nightmare (Classic) (Game Factory/K.E. Media) - Q1 2007
  
• Harlem Globetrotters World Tour (ZOO Digital) - Q1 2007
  
• March of the Penguins (ZOO Digital) - Q1 2007
  
• Wiffle Ball Advance (ZOO Digital) - Q1 2007

Nintendo sent out the following release schedule which lists all the Wii games that will be released up to Q1 2007. Check them out:

• Wario Ware: Smooth Moves (Nintendo) - 12 Jan 2007
  
• Excite Truck (Nintendo) - 16 Feb 2007
  
• Kororinpa (Hudson) - 23 Feb 2007
  
• Baja Racing (Conspiracy) - Feb 2007
  
• Disney’s Chicken Little: Ace in Action (Disney / Buena Vista Games) - Feb 2007
  
• Wing Island (Hudson) - 23 March 2007
  
• BIONICLE Heroes (Eidos) - 23 March 2007
  
• SSX Blur (EA) - March 2007
  
• Mario Party 8 (Nintendo) - March 2007
  
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR (EA) - March 2007
  
• Bust a Move Wii (505Games) - March 2007
  
• Dragonball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (Namco Bandai Games) - March 2007
  
• Disney’s Meet the Robinsons (Disney / Buena Vista Games) - March 2007
  
• Sonic and the Secret Rings (SEGA) - March 2007
  
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Ubisoft) - March 2007
  
• Heatseaker (Codemasters) - Q1 2007
  
• Metal Slug Anthology (Ignition) - Q1 2007
  
• Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Midway Games) - Q1 2007
  
• Rampage Total Destruction (Midway Games) - Q1 2007
  
• The Ant Bully (Movie License) (Midway Games) - Q1 2007
  
• The Grim Adventure of Billy and Mandy (Midway Games) - Q1 2007
  
• Impossible Mission (System 3) - Q1 2007
  
• Leaderboard Golf (System 3) - Q1 2007
  
• Puzzle Balls (System 3) - Q1 2007
  
• Tennis Masters (System 3) - Q1 2007
  
• Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII (Ubisoft) - Q1 2007

Yes, you read that right: the event has been announced eight months in advance! This post on the event’s forums states that QuakeCon 2007 will run from August 2-5, 2007 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas, TX promising “more gaming, events, exhibits and fun planned than ever before.” It also notes that registration for the BYOC area will begin on March 2, 2007, but that hotel reservations can be made as soon as now for those interested.

Having already released the game for PSP, Sidhe Interactive’s GripShift will be shifting its way to the PS3 via the PlayStation Network. To be available early next month, the game will be ‘remixed’ for the console and will feature 720p support, enhanced HD graphics, refined gameplay and four player online multiplayer; it will cost $10.

GripShift consists 125+ new and remixed levels, 25 race tracks and will feature an enhanced soundtrack for the PS3. Below are high-resolution screenshots:

The latest update for Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach has been released free for all current subscribers. Dubbed “Evil Resurgent”, the update features six new dungeon experiences for advanced players in the game; here’s the scoop:

• Parthilcar Tower Crypt - Mirra heard a noise in her basement. When she sent her brother to check it out, he discovered several mindflayers lurking in the crypt. The mindflayers have been secretly taking several members of each of the major houses of Stormreach and turning them into voidminds. The mindflayers are preparing to release their voidmind house members to take over the great houses of Stormreach from within, unless they are destroyed.

• From Beyond the Grave - Deathshadow is long in the ground, but his evil lives on. Through dark magics and sheer force of will, the necromancer haunts the convict cemetery called Penitent’s Rest, and is now summoning forth an army of the undead. With a legion of walking corpses and ethereal horrors at his command, he intends to break out from his pauper’s grave and invade Delera’s Graveyard, the resting place of Stormreach’s prosperous and elite. The players must meet his forces head-on in a fight to the death…again!

• Spire of Validus - The Spire of Validus was buried under the earth. The lich buried there used his magic to cause his tomb to grow like a beanstalk, causing it to burst forth and rise high into the sky. Players must journey to the top of the tower to discover that the lich has awakened, and defeat him.

• Whisperdoom - When Splinterskull fell, Whisperdoom found herself with a very large new lair. However, a group of ogre magi came upon Whisperdoom and captured her. They have taken her to a new lair, and have begun to imbue her with magical abilities, with the hopes of creating an army of magic wielding spawn of Whisperdoom to do their bidding.

• Haywire’s Grotto - Haywire has struck a deal with a tribe of duergar: they allow him to live in their caves and provide him with materials, and he makes golems. Things were going well for Haywire, until he became convinced that he should start replacing his body parts with those of a warforged. The Marut discovered this, and Haywire is again stuck, this time inside a panic room he fortunately had built, but who knows how long he’ll last against the combined might of the Marut, the golems, and the now quite upset Duergar.

• Gate of Nightmares - Long ago when the Dal Quor invaded Xen’drik, they built many temples that were attuned to the Plane of Dreams, and served as conduits for their soldiers. The Cult of Madness has found one of these temples, and has managed to alter its attunement to be aligned with Xoriat. Several of the smaller portals have been reopened, and the central gateway is not far from becoming fully operational.

Capcom proudly announced that the single and multiplayer demos of Lost Planet have been downloaded over one million times by the Xbox community since its release on November 23. Xbox Live users across the globe have spent nearly 300,000 hours in the demos.

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition will be released exclusively for the Xbox 360 next month and will come in two editions: regular and limited. The limited edition of the game will come packaged in a custom designed SteelBook case featuring exclusive cover art, an art book with exclusive concept art and lots of multimedia content; those who purchase the Limited Edition will also receive exclusive access to an additional multiplayer map for several months before it is made available to the public in Summer 2007.

2K Games‘ Christmas present for its customers is a free holiday scenario for Sid Meier’s Railroads created by the team at Firaxis. The new seasonal mode has players reemerge as a former railroad tycoon… saving Christmas by helping Santa and his elves make and transport toys to Santa’s station by the deadline.

The new scenario will be available this week at the game’s website and will include a new holiday train with 2 skins and custom sounds; holiday-themed goodies like cookies, eggnog and toys; cheerful music to get players in the holiday spirit; a wide-open North Pole environment; and a scenario that pits you against up to three other robber barons who are out to destroy Christmas.

Eidos has announced that Battlestations Midway, its WWII naval combat game, will be released in North America on January 30. It will be available on PC and Xbox 360. The release date for Sega’s Virtua Fighter 5 was also revealed: the PS3 game will hit stores on February 20 in North America; it will be part of the European PS3 launch in March 2007.

The Cyberathlete Professional League, organizer of professional videogame tournaments, has announced a competitive multiplayer game dubbed “Severity” for both PC and consoles. It will focus on team-versus-team and one-verus-one play modes, feature spectator modes, enhanced tournament support, as well as detailed player and tournament statistics tracking.

Severity is being powered by the Quake 3 technology and netcode, but will feature an enhanced rendering engine, offering new graphical features. The project is being headed by Mustaine, former studio director of Ritual Entertainment. The CPL expects testing of the game to begin before the end of next year.

Further details can be found in this FiringSquad article, which states that there are about 10 people working on the game right now, with the team eventually expanding to 20.

Philips‘ amBX technology is gaining ground: the company announced that it has signed a deal with Gas Powered Games to amBX-enable Supreme Commander, their highly anticipated strategy title. Set for release early next year, the game will feature support for the environmental technology, delivering “amazing light, wind, explosion and rumble effects across the huge gameplay landscape and vast array of vehicles, vessels and aircraft.”

“I ‘got’ amBX the moment I saw it - I really liked the way it added to the visual experience,” commented Chris Taylor, Gas Powered Games. “I also liked feeling the wind in my face, it made the whole game experience more real. I think there is a lot of potential to have the experience ‘underscored’, so to speak, by having the high points (or low points) in the game accompanied by the various amBX effects.”

Other publishers have also jumped on the amBX bandwagon, including Codemasters, THQ, Kuju, Introversion, Revolution and many others. For more information on the technology, refer to its website.

The Game Factory has announced its intention to bring Legend of the Dragon, a 3D fighting game based on the cartoon, to the Wii in Q2 2007. The publisher’s first title for the next-generation of consoles will focus on “translating the action, drama and excitement” of the show into a “brilliant videogame”. Here’s the deal:

The Legend of the Dragon story begins against the backdrop of China’s sacred temples and just as a new Golden Dragon is selected. The Golden Dragon is the honourable title given to the chosen warrior set to fight the evil Zodiac Master, Woo Yin.

Each of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs has its own temple protected by a guardian; all guardians have individual powers unique to their zodiac symbol to help them defend their temple. The Zodiac Master - Woo Yin - plans to capture these powers; with them he will be unstoppable in his fight for the dark side to reign over China.

Ang Leung has been chosen as the new Golden Dragon over his twin sister Ling, but the surprise and humiliation of this decision is too much for Ling and she quickly defects to the dark side. In her new position as the Shadow Dragon, she will fight against her brother and old friends in a bid for revenge.

Gamers can choose to play as one of 19 characters, each with unique fighting techniques, strengths and movements. All characters wear magical wristbands that enable them to transform into mystical warriors. Once transformed, each character takes on the exact likenesses and superhuman powers of the zodiac creature they represent. An innovative real time spell casting system enhances the classic experience of a fighting arcade style of gameplay in addition to blending RPG elements through various available power-ups.

The videogame captures not only the compelling story of the cartoon series by using cell shading technology but also dramatic fighting scenes that will grip any gamer. It also mirrors a variety of locations from the cartoon series, using them as destructible combat areas, including Hong Kong Bay, The Dragon Dojo and The Great Wall of China.