“The social and community aspects of the SKATE franchise are something we’ve always embraced, but we’ve never done anything to the scale you’re going to see in SKATE 3,” said Senior Producer, Jason DeLong. “We’re giving gamers a very unique experience by providing them with the tools they need to build their ultimate team or to create a team comprised entirely of their online friends. From there, it’s all about proving yourself – teaming up, and throwing down.”

Players who pre-order SKATE 3 get an unlock code that gives them exclusive access to the iconic Black Box Distribution Skate Park, home turf of Zero, Mystery, and Fallen skate teams. Black Box Distribution was founded in 2000 by Jamie Thomas, and houses and distributes some of skateboarding’s biggest selling brands.

SKATE 3 features an all-new co-op mode where teammates can complete challenges together while advancing each other’s careers. From rewarding epic bails and fails with a beefed up Hall of Meat mode to honing your craft with the all-new skate.School, players of all skill levels have multiple ways to “kill it” in the game. The franchise also continues to raise the bar for user created content with the skate.Create feature suite, an innovative toolset that empowers gamers to truly express their skate style by creating their own graphics, videos, and skate parks.

Developed in collaboration with fitness experts “EA Sports Active” is perfect for the whole family, though designed specifically for women seeking a simple, fun and cost-effective way to achieve a healthy lifestyle. The product will be the first in a new line of EA Sports fitness and Sports performance products in development to improve the well-being of people of all ages.

“EA Sports Active” features a wide variety of interactive activities combined into a circuit that target both the upper and lower body as well as cardio, and supports two players to allow family or friends to get fit together. The software will provide a new level of motivation with on-screen, real-time feedback on your workout such as calories burned, while also allowing you to adjust intensity levels. “EA Sports Active” will include two specially-designed leg straps that hold the Wii’s Nunchuk controller to track lower body movements, as well as a resistance band to support a number of upper body strength training exercises.
“EA Sports Active” features a “30 Day Challenge,” a fitness road map for players to reach their fitness goals with the guidance of a virtual trainer. The Challenge provides a new, 20-minute workout every time a player exercises, including clear instruction, feedback on technique and positive encouragement throughout the workout. Each circuit will feel different and increase in intensity as fitness levels improve to help you work up a sweat and work toward your fitness goals. Users can also create their own custom workouts that vary in activity, duration and intensity, and the Wii Balance Board will add functionality to many exercises.

I’d been looking forward to this for a while now – I’d enjoyed the 2008 version of Madden on the Wii, found it to be a fun game, with good detail and just enough of a balance between playing and the replays and stats that us boys seem to like. So I hoped that Madden NFL 09 would be an improvement on this. Not on the Wii it’s not!

EA have decided that the Wii version of Madden needed making cuter – and that’s why the Mii’s have become involved as player screens use them, and so does any indication of Madden with a Mii version of him.  Any spare Mii’s get involved as well as the referee.  And there’s more.

Add into the mix that if you score a touchdown or complete a particularly impressive play such as an interception, then you can help the particular players rating by “celebrating” with the Wiimote.  Swing your arms around in the air as much as possible and get the ratings boost.

These sort of changes/additions to the game do mar what is basically a similar version of the 2008 Madden, with a few other changes such as a neater play access system, and a fun “5 on 5″ muck-about play option.

Online access is new to this version and is one of the saving graces as it strips away a certain amount of the more childish elements.  Barely any lag, and a number of different play options such as “Casual” or “Competitive”, the online version helps this version step up a level and gives it a longer life-span.

If you have Madden NFL 08 on the Wii already then I wouldn’t bother to upgrade unless you have really been looking forward to the online option.  In fact just get it for that, as of the time of writing, the online area is pretty sparse of players….

NBA Live 08 comes with all of the play options that you would expect, you can jump straight in with the Play Now option, choosing from any of the current NBA teams, international teams and fantasy line-ups such as “Best of the 1980s” and “Adidas”.

You can also start a Play mode such as a Season, an All-Star Weekend, just the Playoffs or what is called the Superstar Challenge where you take control of various players at differing stages of games with the challenge of scoring a certain number of points, etc.

Playing against other people should of course be the best challenge, and NBA Live 08 not only gives you the chance to get you and up to three of your mates on the court at the same time, but of course it also comes with Online play.

The control system has two options, you can play with the Wii remote only where the players movement is handled by the Wii, and you just control shooting or trying to swipe for the ball. You can also attach the Nunchuk and use that to control your players movement, which gives a much better feeling of immersion in the game.

The game feels nicely put together, though it is slightly let down by the occasional slow reaction to wii remote moves.

The game will feature dynamic, personalized gameplay via Tiger Woods’ personal coach, Hank Haney. The 2009 version also features a more intuitive and customized EA SPORTS GamerNet experience as well as an all-new game engine powering online play.

“Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09 is the most authentic golf video game on the market, and we’re excited to bring an immersive experience to the masses,” said Executive Producer Mike Taramykin. “Our partnership with Hank Haney provides fans immediate coaching from one of the top minds in golf. This year’s game brings unprecedented levels of customization and control, allowing seasoned vets and first time players ‘inside the ropes’ of TOUR golf.”