The second in Ubi’s trinity of announcements is word that the publisher has signed a licensing agreement to develop and publish a game based on the hit TV show Heroes.

Heroes, which ended its first season and will begin its second season this Fall, is a television show that chronicles the lives of people who have special powers. It has raked in over 14 million viewers each week and is one of the most popular shows among 18-49 year olds.

“With a gripping storyline and rich characters, Heroes lends itself naturally to a video game format,” said Christian Salomon, vice president of worldwide licensing at Ubisoft. “By offering people the chance to interact directly with the show’s captivating universe, there is no doubt that the game will appeal to both fans of the series and avid gamers.”

Tim Kring, the executive producer and creator of the series, is “very excited” about the upcoming game. However, no other information on the game itself was released, though it is expected to be out sometime next year on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, the most likely platforms.

The first screenshots from Resident Evil 5 have been released, and god damn, they are gorgeous! Check them out in full high-resolution detail:

Owners of the PPS in the UK and Ireland will soon be able to view on-demand video on the Sony console, thanks to a joint venture company set up by SCEE and SKY.

The company, with equal board level representation from either company, will offer a video download service offering a wealth of video and film content to more than 2.3 million PSP users in the region. The company is also in talks to extend the service to other European countries.

More information on the service will be announced at the Leipzig Games Convention on August 22.

Free upgrades for the North American version of GripShift have been released, making it significantly easier and faster for players to get around the game. Additional improvements have also been made to the leaderboards; gamers will also experience faster loading times.

Other feature enhancements include the ability to change the vehicle without exiting a game session, change controls, change current music track, as well as access the full “level select” menu from the in-game pause menu.

The game is available from the PlayStation Network for $9.99.

Released during Microsoft’s Bringing it Home event during E3, the online demo for Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation has received over a half million downloads in its first week, marking its debut at number 1.

The game is set for release on October 23 for Xbox 360. There will also be a limited edition ACE-EDGE Flightstick bundle ($150) alongside the normal edition ($60).

In the first of a trinity of announcements from Ubi, the publisher announced that it is developing and publishing a Lost video game in collaboration with ABC Entertainment and ABC Studios. Based on the hit TV show, the game will ship during the first quarter of 2008 for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, allowing players to immerse themselves in the mysterious world of the show. It is in development at Ubisoft’s Montreal studio.

The company is working closely with ABC Studios and the show’s producers to create a compelling storyline that has the same mystery and adventure fans have come to expect from the show. “The sense of adventure and suspense that we strive for in the show is also captured in the Lost video game,” said Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse, executive producers of the popular TV series. “Ubisoft has done a fantastic job and come up with a game that is visually amazing and imaginative both on its own and as an extension of the world of the show.”

As expected, the game will have players stepping into the shoes of a survivor of the Oceanic Flight 815 as he/she explores familiar locations, unravels mysteries and interacts with the main characters from the show. They have released a trailer from the game, showing off brief moments of gameplay. Here it is:

EA has announced yet another expansion pack for The Sims 2, its record-selling franchise. Dubbed Bon Voyage, the expansion will allow players to have their Sims go on vacations to exotic places and take part in all new activities.

Whether your Sims are relaxing on a lush tropical island in a luxury suite, camping with the family on a pristine mountaintop, or exploring the culture of the Far East, they’ll enjoy new activities to relax and rejuvenate. From building sand castles and catching rays to meditating in the Zen garden after a visit to the pool, players can quickly transform their Sims from bumbling tourists to savvy international travelers. Sims will also learn new customs including local greetings and traditional dances to take home and teach to their friends. With The Sims 2 Bon Voyage, players can send their Sims packing for the trip of a lifetime!

As your Sims travel, they’ll interact and learn from a variety of real and mythical locals including the wise old hermit, fire dancers — even Big Foot! Like all true vacationers, your Sims will be able to decorate their homes with unique souvenirs from their trips that are available only at destinations within The Sims 2 Bon Voyage. They can even buy unique jewelry to wear or take home as gifts! Fall in love with the hula dance lei from your Sims tropical beach vacation? Bring it back and flaunt to the neighbors! Love the moves your Sim mastered doing the Slap Dance at the rustic lodge? Teach fellow Sims the tricks of the trade back at home. What your Sims learn and collect, is up to you!

Bon Voyage will ship this September and will feature three destinations, tours, unique items and more. It will require the full version of The Sims 2 to play.

Fireglow Games and Tri Synergy have announced that they will be co-publishing Pirate’s Revenge, an arcade action game set on the high seas as players defeat and loot enemy ships.

Pirate’s Revenge is an arcade action game on the high seas. Successful pirates are rewarded with money and resources which are looted from defeated enemies’ sunken ships. From your island base you can use these resources and treasure to build better ships, weapons and cannon balls to turn the tides in your favor for future battles. If you’re lucky enough to obtain an enemy ships’ design plans you can build faster ships with better armor and equip them with more powerful cannons. Now you’ll be capable of shooting further, faster, and inflicting more damage. Blast your way to victory and riches!

The game is set for release in mid-August and will feature 35 single-player missions, 4 buildable ships, weather effects, multiplayer and more.

Deep Silver today announced that it will be present at the Leipzig Games Convention next month, showing off the following games at its booth:

ANNO 1701 - The sunken dragon: The add-on to the third instalment of the successful ANNO series (strategy; PC). Publisher: Deep Silver/Ubisoft

Ferrari Challenge: Realistic racing game from the famous Italian sports car manufacturer, with the official licence of the motor sports series of the same name (racing; PS3, DS, Wii). Publisher: Systemo3

Final Fantasy Tactics: Tactical Final Fantasy title featuring strategic, turn-based combat on battlefields in 3D (tactics; PlayStationPortable). Publisher: Square Enix

Flatout Ultimate Carnage: A brand new instalment of the successful, award-winning FlatOut series is launched just in time for the Games Convention. (racing; Xbox 360)- Publisher: Empire Interactive/Deep Silver

Secret Files 2: The sequel to Secret Files: Tunguska, the best German adventure game of 2006, which received several game of the year awards (adventure; PC). Publisher: Deep Silver

Heroes of Mana: Exciting real-time strategy featuring heroes and monsters from the MANA series (strategy; Nintendo DS). Publisher: Square Enix

Perry Rhodan: He is the world’s most popular astronaut, more famous than Neil Armstrong, Yuri Gagarin or John Glenn. Now, for the first time, the fictional hero will appear in his own adventure (adventure; PC). Publisher: Brain Game/Deep Silver.

Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria: State-of-the-art visuals and RPG combat systems from SQUARE ENIX, tell the story of a beautiful possessed princess caught in an epic struggle of the Norse gods. (RPG; PS2). Publisher: Square Enix.

The company also mentioned that it will announced further titles when part of the two trade fair highlights is presented at the beginning of next month.

The fifth volume of downloadable car pack for Test Drive Unlimited has hit Xbox Live Marketplace, offering up six new vehicles for the game for 350 points. The pack contains five supercars and one motorbike, which are the Chrysler Crossfire SRT6 Coupe, Dodge Charger Super Bee, Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole, Ferrari 512 TR, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R and the Spyker C8 Spyder. Additionally, players can downloadable the Holden Efijy Concept completely free.

“Since launch last year, we’ve been 100% committed to regularly bringing brilliant new content to fans to enrich the Test Drive Unlimited experience and give new and existing fans great reasons to keep the pedal to the metal,” said Mathias Hautefort, Executive Vice President of publishing and production, Atari. “This is the fifth instalment of brand new vehicles for Test Drive Unlimited, and makes this already essential game even more of a must-have for any self-respecting racing fan.”

Four volumes of downloadable car packs were previously released. Details on them can be found after the jump.

Test Drive Unlimited is available now for PC, PS2, PSP and Xbox 360, though only the Microsoft console offers the additional cars.
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The fifth annual Develop Industry Excellence Awards was held to honor the visionaries behind the greatest games in the gaming industry. Voted for by an independent panel of industry experts, this year’s winners include Motorstorm (PS3), Crush (PSP), Crackdown (Xbox 360) and many other titles. In all, there were 17 different companies and individuals claiming the 18 awards.

Evolution Studio’s PS3-exclusive racer and Zoe Mode’s Crush picked up the best new IP awards, while Traveller’s Tales picked up best indie developer and best use of a license for Lego Star Wars II. Test Drive Unlimited by Eden Games picked up the best use of online award, while Rare’s Viva Pinata grabbed the award for visual arts. Other winners include Sega, Ubisoft, NCSoft and many more. Below is the full winners list:

New Console IP
MotorStorm (Evolution/SCEE External Development)

New Handheld IP
Crush (Zoe Mode)

Best Use of a Licence
Lego Star Wars II (Traveller’s Tales)

Visual Arts
Rare (Viva Pinata)

Audio Accomplishment
FreeStyle (B-Boy)

Publishing Hero
Sega

Innovation
Real Time Worlds (Crackdown)

Tools Provider
Havok

Best Use of Online
Eden Studios (Test Drive Unlimited)

Services & Outsourcing
Babel Media

Recruitment Company
Datascope

New UK Studio
Realtime Worlds

Handheld Studio
Rockstar Leeds

Business Development
Blitz

Independent Developer
Traveller’s Tales

In-house Developer
Ubisoft France

Development Legend
Ian Hetherington

Grand Prix
Sony