In an extremely brief press release 2K Sports announced its return to football with All-Pro Football 2K8. Although the release didn’t feature any actual details, it did mention that the game will boast “innovative features” and “outstanding visual quality”.

The game is expected to be available this Summer on next-gen consoles.

Microsoft is ramping up Xbox Live Arcade, thanks to competition from both Sony and Nintendo. The company has announced ten new releases which will make their way to the broadband service every Wednesday in the coming weeks.

• Alien Hominid HD from The Behemoth features side-scrolling, hysterical cartoon action with a quirky twist and exclusive Xbox Live Arcade features.

• Band of Bugs from NinjaBee is a fast-paced tactical strategy game that offers gameplay deep enough to satisfy tactical genre fans and friendly enough to appeal to casual gamers. Creative gamers can even design their own levels with the built-in level editor, then play them solo or over Xbox Live with friends.

• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night from Konami is a faithful version of this legendary classic updated for Xbox Live Arcade and featuring the game”s full soundtrack and memorable side-scrolling vampire-hunting action.

• Catan, from developer Big Huge Games Inc. and publisher Microsoft® Game Studios, is a faithful remake of the immensely popular strategy board game.

• Eets: Chowdown from Klei Entertainment Inc. is a completely revamped version of the popular PC title of the same name. It offers new items, 120 new levels and the exclusive debut of Marsho Madness, a high-adrenaline action game in which players must keep the impending evil marshmallows at bay.

• LUXOR 2, from developer MumboJumbo LLC, sets a new standard for action puzzlers as players match and shoot their way through the land of ancient Egypt.

• Paperboy, from developer Digital Eclipse and publisher Midway, is a classic coin-op hit, specially enhanced for Xbox Live Arcade.

• Root Beer Tapper, also from developer Digital Eclipse and publisher Midway, features fast-paced reflex action as players scramble to keep thirsty patrons happy without dropping root beer mugs in the scramble to earn the biggest tips.

• Worms from developer Team 17 Software Ltd. features armies of adorable weapon-toting worms locked in tactical combat.

The last of Midway’s announcement at its press event was a sequel to the not-so-well-received Area 51. Dubbed Blacksite: Area 51, the game will be a FPS, pitting gamers against alien enemy forces using the Area 51 landmark and its surroundings as a battlefield backdrop.

Developed by Midway Studios - Austin, BlackSite: Area 51 is a next-generation game that will redefine the first person shooter (FPS) genre. While other FPS titles claim to feature “action-packed, highly realistic gameplay,” BlackSite: Area 51 takes next-gen gaming to an all-new level integrating cutting edge technology, game design and story writing to create the ultimate entertainment experience. The player’s modern-day emotions and fears are driven into a world charged with grave responsibility affecting lives hanging in the balance and eventually finding himself torn between his professional orders and his own ethical standards. In the end, only the actions of the player and his squad can shape the outcome of BlackSite: Area 51 during this potentially pivotal moment in history.

“BlackSite: Area 51 gives players the opportunity to experience next-generation, first person shooter action in one of the world’s most intriguing and mysterious environments,” said Denise Fulton, studio head, Midway Studios - Austin. “Gamers will be instantly immersed in the game’s seamless storyline, set in the desert and small towns surrounding Area 51 that feature highly detailed environments that transform themselves into awesome battlefields. Without question, BlackSite: Area 51 will raise the bar in the next generation FPS genre with its stunning visuals, life-like squad interactions and its multitude of online multiplayer modes.”

About BlackSite: Area 51
Featuring a powerful single-player campaign, along with multiple online multiplayer modes, BlackSite: Area 51 delivers vicious combat action, next generation graphics and A.I., and a plethora of powerful weapons and vehicles. Set in present day, players take the role of a decorated military veteran charged by the government to lead a squadron of “secret soldiers,” each with his/her own specialty skill set, into the Rachel, Nevada area to fight off the invasion of unidentified enemy races.

It is in development for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. First screenshots below:

Midway, at its recent press event, announced the development of two casual games: Touchmaster for DS, and Hot Brain for PSP.

Touchmaster DS will feature 23 of the publisher’s classic Touchmaster games, popularized in bars and arcades across England. Games include Trivia, Solitaire, Gem Slide and Maj Jongg, among others. Players will be able to use the portable’s Wi-fi connection to connect to the Midway Tournament Network for high scores, tournaments and daily rankings.

Hot Brain is a game that will test the mind through a series of puzzles and challenges designed to raise the activity and temperature of the brain. Activities include areas like logic, memory, math, language and concentration. There will be a single player mode; it will also let gamers play with up to three people via ad-hoc connection.

Both games are slated for release this Summer.

At its press event Midway announced Hour of Victory, a FPS set in World War II. It is currently in development for Xbox 360 and is set for release this Summer.

The game is built using Unreal Engine 3; it combines authentic details from historic World War II battles and adds in “frenetic and cinematic” gameplay. Gamers will be able to choose their own style of play: whether as a special operative, specializing in stealth and sabotage; a British commando proficient in frontal assault; or an Army ranger who excels in sniping and demolitions.

Below are the first screenshots from the title:

Ubisoft has announced Blazing Angels: Secret Missions, the sequel to Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII, its aerial combat title. The game is set for release this Spring on Xbox 360 and PC, as part of Windows Vista’s Games 4 Windows initiative.

Blazing Angels® Secret Missions shows World War II from a different perspective - that of an elite pilot who is part of a secret team. In the game, the player will undertake some of the most dangerous missions in exotic locations all over the globe. As an elite pilot, the player goes from one great adventure to another, while battling the most lethal experimental weapons of the Third Reich. The squad’s mission is to prevent the ultimate weapon from being built. To help players in this quest, they have at their disposal an assortment of highly experimental aircraft and weaponry. Blazing Angels® Secret Missions comes straight out of the history books of World War II’s most top secret projects.

Key features of Blazing Angels® Secret Missions include:

• Living, Breathing World - Built on all-new, cutting-edge visual technology, the world of Secret Missions is more believable and involving than ever. Fly above hills and mountains, navigate through treacherous mountain passes and dogfight in the clouds with enemies. Take part in large-scale battles through various conditions: darkness, rain, snow, and air turbulence.

• Diverse and Unusual Scenarios - Secret Missions takes players around the world, from Paris, Rome and Moscow to exotic locations like Rangoon and Cairo and the highest mountain ranges of the Himalayas. Each mission will bring its own surprises, twists and unique challenges.

• Prototype Technology - Players will have access to some of the most advanced and unusual aircraft and weapons of WWII, as well as access to a huge assortment of weapons, including high-velocity cannons and early guided missiles.

• Fast Paced Multiplayer Action - Multiplayer features free-for-all, co-op and squad-based play, including the brand new Capture the Flag and Epic Battle modes, the latter pitting two teams of players against each other in a large-scale battle with conquerable bases and objectives that can be destroyed in order to gain the upper hand on the opponent.

Netherlands-based developer Engine Software has announced that it has signed a deal with British publisher Midas Interactive to release StateShift in European territories. An original sci-fi racing title, StateShift is set in the not too distant future, focusing on illegal racing competitions around the future Earth. It boasts of various single player mode, including an expansive Career Mode, and an ad-hoc multiplayer mode.

A release date and price point is yet to be set. The developer is also looking to establish partnerships to publish the game in North America and Asia.

Another game has been hit by a delay; this time it’s Frontline: Fields of Thunder, an upcoming WWII RTS that was formerly known as Frontline: Kursk. The game, initially scheduled for release this month, is now set to ship to stores on March 16 in Europe and March 23 in North America.

The game depicts the largest tank battle in history, letting players fight it out on a sizeable battle map, with historically accurate environments. It will retail for $30.

One of the rare successes of indie games, Load Inc. has announced that Mad Tracks, its toy car arcade game, has clocked over 100,000 downloads and is now headed towards Xbox Live Arcade. The game is still available for the PC; the XBNLA version will add new features and should be out soon.

Slitherine has announced that it is working closely with the Lordz Game Studio on its first commercial title which will be a historical strategy game set during the Napoleonic wars. The game will support single and multiplayer and have a campaign game. It will make use of the Arcane Legion engine developed by Slitherine.

Neither the game’s title, nor the release date was shared.

Plans for a bigger and “badder” of the 4th annual Penny Arcade Expo were announced by the creators themselves. Scheduled to take place August 24-26 at the Washington State Trade and Convention Center in downtown Seattle, Washington, the event will span over 200,000 square feet of soon-to-be-released products, tournaments, concerts, contests and more.

Dozens of game companies have signed up for the event, including Microsoft, Nintendo, Arenanet and Flying Lab Software. Pre-registration for the event is now open, with pre-registered attendees gaining early entrance to PAX and being eligible to compete for major gaming prizes in the Omegathon.

CDV and Sirius Games have jointly announced that they plan on bringing Paradise City, the latter’s action-RPG, to North America this Summer. Scoop:

In a dystopian world that combines a dark underworld and elements of the fantastic, the player will be required to infiltrate the gangs of Paradise City on behalf of a powerful government agency that, despite its influence, has been unable to introduce even a glimmer of law and order to this horribly corrupt city. In an intertwining chapter-driven story, the player takes turns controlling one of three gritty characters that, for their own reason, have “volunteered” to get to the bottom of the mystery behind the controlling crime syndicate’s power.

The player’s characters will become more powerful as they claw their way up the echelons of the underworld and as their individual stories begin to overlap. As the player’s influence on the city grows, the businesses, the payoffs and the number of confrontations with rival gangs will enable the player to gain experience and become powerful enough to take control of the city piece by piece. After becoming a underworld force to be reckoned with, the player will discover that the gang wars have been masterminded by a secret society, at the head of which are a coterie of terrifyingly dangerous and powerful figures that, it seems, no bullet will stop.

3000AD has announced that the episodic space combat game Galactic Command is now being developed as three separate projects - Galactic Command: Echo Squad (PC), Echo Command: Bravo Team and Echo Command Excalibur (Xbox 360), with each game retaining the original episodic format.

Galactic Command - Echo Squad, is the new name of the original aerial/space action combat title based on the adventures of a group of Elite Force Pilots assigned to the Excalibur carrier. This title will remain a PC exclusive.

We have this week signed an exclusive four episode deal for this title. More info will be announced by the publisher at the upcoming D.I.C.E. summit in Las Vegas.

GALCOM:ES is on schedule for release in Q2/07.

Galactic Command - Bravo Team is an fps only title based on the adventures of a team of elite marines assigned to a planetary starbase. It is also episodic and features some of our emerging technologies, including a heavily revamped terrain engine which uses SpeedTreeRT. More info and shots will be revealed this Summer, as well as additional info on what platforms it will be released on.

GALCOM:BT is on schedule for release in Q4/07.

Galactic Command - Excalibur. Similar to “Echo Squad”, this title is also episodic and focuses on the Excalibur command carrier and the combat pilots assigned to it. This title will remain an XBox 360 exclusive.

GALCOM:EX is on schedule for release in Q2/08.

The highly anticipated Xbox 360 racing simulation Forza Motorsport 2 now has a release period of May 2007, Microsoft confirmed. They also launched the game’s official website, offering weekly updates on the development as well as information on the game, including a full track list.

Through its cover story NGamer has revealed that a port of Scarface: The World is Yours is heading towards the Wii. It will be handled by the original developer Radical Entertainment and will feature upgraded models and graphics over its past-gen counterparts. As expected, it will also feature a Wii-specific control scheme; it will utilize a lock-on system with manual aiming, letting gamers shoot specific body parts. It will also allow players to simulate the operation of the game’s chainsaw: the remote will vibrate as chainsaw noises are played through its speaker.

No specific release date was mentioned, though it is expected sooner than later.