Codemasters Announces Flashpoint, Argonauts, Race DriverCodemasters Announces Flashpoint, Argonauts, Race Driver

At its recent Code '07 event, UK publisher and developer Codemasters has announced three new next-gen properties set to roll out in 2008, including the first person shooter Operation Flashpoint 2, action RPG Rise of the Argonauts, and racing title Race Driver One. The first of the newly announced games, Operation Flashpoint 2, promises, according to Codemasters, "warfare on a scale never seen in a FPS," ahead of its 2008 launch on PC and "major console formats." In development with what the studio says is its "largest development team ever," the sequel has been in pre-production for over two years, and will utilize Codemaster's proprietary Neon middleware to deliver 'realistic' and 'intense' warfare covering a variety of military disciplines. Next, Codemasters revealed a new IP with the action RPG Rise of the Argonauts, currently in development for consoles and PC by Liquid Entertainment (Desperate Housewives: The Game, Dungeons & Dragons: Dragonshard). The game will offer gladiatorial adventure with "deep exploration" and "epic quests" spanning ancient Greece as players lead a team of mythological warriors including Jason, Hercules and Atalanta through a life of "brutal combat." Finally, Codemasters has announced the third generation of its hit motorsport series with Race Driver One, being developed in-house for consoles and PC. The game is set to be an evolution for the series that has spanned the TOCA Touring Car and TOCA Race Driver franchises, and intends to be both an "ultimate racing simulation" as well as a technical showcase for the developer's Neon middleware, currently also in use by Colin McRae: DIRT. The game will offer a tour through a number of European, U.S. and Japanese locations with a variety of events combining circuit-based championships with both road and urban street races. Touting the developer's Neon engine, Codemasters executive producer Gavin Raeburn said, "Combining our racing heritage with the Neon engine, Race Driver One will create a world that goes far beyond the traditional boundaries of motorsport gaming, taking players from the most prestigious race circuits to road and street events around the globe. A completely fresh career structure will engage players in an unprecedented range of racing styles as they build a team capable of becoming number one. The Neon engine will be expanded to deliver a new level of visual detail, physics and an astonishing car damage system."