The events unfolding within the offices of the Need for Speed franchise are certainly faster with more exciting sharp turns and a fuller pack of nitrous boost than any map in their games. Three new titles have been announced, and there's one more still kept under wraps. Details in the full article.

I've got chills - they're multiplying - and I'm losing control... Need some Grease to put into your Boogie? Well, EA Montreal's sing-and-dance title is making us catch the disco fever, greasing us up - so to speak - with this latest trailer.

For those who don't know, part of the confirmed songs that'll make it to Boogie will be Grease. No, not the John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John version. They're re-arranged and remixed (much like songs from Elite Beat Agents or other rhythm games), and that goes the same for other songs in the track list, composed of Cyndi Lauper, The Jackson 5, and Britney Spears.

Note that the trailer also shows a bit of Wii remote controls, and towards the end of the video: a release date! Boogie hits the dance floors on August 9!

An official press release made available recently announced EA Montreal's Boogie, a dancing, singing, and all-round disco paradise for the Wii, will be heading to the Wii-fied family homes in Europe come August 31.

Packaged with a karaoke-grade microphone peripheral for your Nintendo new-gen console, the game will also come with new versions of vintage tracks by The Jackson 5, Kool & The Gang, M.C. Hammer, The Village People, Cyndi Lauper, and Britney Spears.

Like Disney's High School Musical: Sing it!, musically inclined players will also be able to create their own music videos in combinations of song and dance. But players will be able to create their own dance styles with the motion capturing mechanics incorporated into the game, mirrored by the several characters provided to them by Boogie.

 

Sporting co-op modes, fully-fledged karaoke modes, head-to-head groove battles, and a slew of mini-games wrap up the feature list for this ultimate dance-party package for friends and family. It has been rated 3+ by PEGI Europe, although no MSRP has been revealed as yet.

"We have assembled a great selection of music for the game that will appeal to players of all ages, making this dancing and karaoke game the ultimate party package for the entire family," commented Alain Tascan of EA Montreal. He said that Boogie should deliver something new to the non-gamers that the Wii has brought in for the market.

Character renders of Boogie

  

Click on Full Article to view the renders of other characters you'll meet in game.

With dancing, karaoke and the ability to let players make their own videos, Electronic Arts' Boogie for the Nintendo Wii video game console is quite an ambitious rhythm game. Video game news website IGN recently got their hands on the game as well as more Boogie information straight from EA Montreal studio GM and Boogie lead developer Alain Tascan himself.

The freestyle dance controls in Boogie were earlier thought to be able to make the on-screen characters do what the player does. According to IGN however, the controls in the early Boogie copy they got to play felt a bit disconnected. Nevertheless, the controls are simple and intuitive. Here's Tascan on the reasoning behind the simplicity of the game's controls.

After we did SSX on Tour for Wii we realised that there were a lot of movements players were required to do. For many people this was a little bit too hardcore and they would get frustrated. So for Boogie we wanted anyone to be able to pick it up and not get confused by overly-complicated controls.

Actually though, people who play have a really good workout. I reckon some of the developers could probably go along to Wimbledon when it starts because their arms are so strong!

As for the songs, Tascan revealed that EA is planning to include up to 40 songs in the game covering everything from the 70s to more modern hits. These songs will all be cover versions as EA had to separate the lyrics from the rest of the track for use in the game's karaoke mode.

Once they have their groove on, players can also save their user-created videos to the Wii's SD card. Unfortunately, Boogie doesn't support Wii Connect24, but players can still share their video with their friends. "You can save your videos on the card and then take to your friend's house, so they can watch them," said Tascan.

For the full interview and impressions on the game, click on the "read" link below. Boogie is currently slated for an August release in the U.S.

The library of games Electronic Arts has is quite varied. Video game Boogie is a new IP for the company and falls somewhat in the casual games category. It's actually a rhythm-based game where players use the Wiimote to perform dance moves.

According to EA Montreal Studio GM and Boogie Lead Developer Alain Tascan, the title is in some way groundbreaking for them. He enthused:

We all enjoy some creative killing and at Electronic Arts, we know how to make those kinds of games but it's time to go back to the basics, we want to put smiles on people faces when they play video games.

When Boogie arrives this fall, it will come with a bundled USB microphone that lets players come up with their own music videos. Based on what we heard so far and the game's rather quirky characters, we could say that Boogie has all the potential to indeed bring smiles to our faces.

Lastly, Boogie is currently exclusive to the Wii, but EA hinted that the title might come to other consoles in the future to take advantage of Xbox 360's and PlayStation 3's online services for downloading tracks and stuff.

We've seen a whole band wagon of video games that focus on dancing and singing, now we'll be seeing both in one title - Boogie for the Wii. Put your dancing shoes on and warm up your vocal cords because you're about to meet the stars of Boogie.

According to Alain Tascan, vice president and general manager of EA Montreal, Boogie will give a new and different experience "for gamers of all ages to enjoy; the complete party package where gamers can dance as well as sing". It looks like they're really going to tap the Wii's potential and "re-think traditional game development". Anyway, let's meet the stars:

• Julius is an intergalactic superstar. Don't let his looks fool you, this big green guy has the moves. He just decided to take some R&R; in Earth, but apparently, he can't ignore the call of the dance floor.
• Bubba is just a gas station attendant - with a penchant for the disco and the old school beats. With some pushing from his martial arts sensei, Kato and a meeting with Jet and Lea, Bubba's trips to the dance floor have become more than a hobby.
• Lea, the only girl in this roster has enough talent and ambition to reach her dreams of stardom. She's gifted with the funky moves and the wow-factor - just a bit more and she'll be the diva of the Megagalactic Grooveplex.

Check out the other character profiles and the rest of the character screenshots after the jump!

Take out your dancing shoes, bring out the retro bell bottoms, and bust out the groove! EA Montreal's upcoming video game for the Wii will have everybody on their feet and shaking their booties.

IGN was able to score an interview with Electronic Arts' Alfredo Chavez, gameplay and art producer for Boogie. According to him, Boogie is the ultimate party game where players can sing, dance, and make their own music videos. Chavez mentions that there will be "one-to-one" controls on the Wiimote and Nunchuk, meaning that whatever you do is reflected on the character. The karaoke part is fairly interesting - there will be a voice recording feature hence the creation of personalized music videos.

Boogie's Wii version will come bundled with a USB microphone. Chavez also talks about the title's multiplayer modes (co-op, versus mode, and others). There are a couple of neat features that come with it as well: complete character customization and video editing.

The release for Boogie is still vaguely slated for 2007. We'll just have to wait for further announcements. Enjoy the video for now.

Back in January, Electronic Arts (EA) mentioned that it will begin focusing on original IPs and start veering away from game franchises. Almost two months after that announcement, the video game development giant has finally announced an original title for the Wii, known as Boogie.

The name of the title sounds quite funky and the video game is, well, supposed to be just like that. Boogie is actually a music and rhythm-based game that will take advantage of the Nintendo console's controls. EA promised that this game will get gamers off their couch, playing and dancing to the game's beat. According to Alain Tascan, Vice President and General Manager for EA Montreal,

We're creating something new and different for gamers of all ages to enjoy - the complete party package where gamers can dance as well as sing. Nintendo's Wii is an amazing console that really gives us a platform to be creative and to re-think traditional game development.

There are still no details on how exactly Boogie is meant to be played, but from the way that thing look now, we can't help but be reminded of a cross between American Idol and the classic PSOne game Bust A Groove. EA Montreal, however, did say that in-game characters will be customizable to best show off players' dancing styles and karaoke skills. And yes, they did just say "karaoke skills". We've been hearing a lot of rumors lately, about upcoming video games that are compatible with the Wii microphone, so we're guessing that Boogie is one of those.

The Game Developers Conference in San Francisco is set to begin next month but even this early, interesting details are slowly popping up. Giant game developer and publisher Electronic Arts just announced the games it will be showing off at the said conference.

And we're telling you, it's a well-selected list:

• Crysis
• Hellgate: London
• Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (360 and PS3)
  
• Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (360, PS3, PC)
  
• Portal (360, PS3, PC)
• Team Fortress 2 (360, PS3, PC)

EA clarified that these games will not be displayed on the show floor. According to Eurogamer, they will be showcased in a reception running parallel to GDC. However, it is worth mentioning that EA will be a part of the main conference; EA is scheduled to discuss important topics such as creating believable AI athletes in sports games and EA Montreal's plans for new IPs.

The company is also a part of a Maxis session that will talk about how The Sims would be making its way to Wii.

  

We've shown you the screens, hooked you up with the gameplay vids, and gave you an idea on how the control schemes work. As its release date nears (February 27), SSX Blur, is looking to live up to the critical acclaim of the snowboarding franchise. Recently, EA Montreal's lead designer, Eric Chartrand sat down and revealed what you could expect from the game and what are the new things it has in store for us all.

He mentions that this is a new take on the game, but lots of inspiration were taken from the best tracks from a few of the tiles in the series. Characters like Mac and Elise and the Happiness track are all in the game, but with a new control scheme, don't be surprised if you feel like you're playing it for the first time. He also pointed out the game's style changes by saying:

The game has been completely Wii-i-fied. As addressed previously, in addition to the characters, the mountain has also been overhauled with new textures and lighting.

When he said that the game "has been completely Wii-i-fied", he isn't only talking about the controls. They also made use of the Wii's internal speaker to produce non-repetitive sounds. Aside from that, the pointer of the remote could also be used as pointing device to select and navigate. Too bad that Nintendo is still cooking up the Wii's online gameplay, so don't expect any online play goodness. There are, however, two types of offline multiplayer modes - a two-player split screen and a turn based "hot seat" for 1-4 players.

As for other details about SSX Blur for the Wii, it will have support for 16:9 and 480p. The engine may have been just a modified version of SSX On Tour, but the framerate has been improved to 60fps in single play. As for their future plans on the SSX series (a PS3 or Xbox 360 version), this is what Mr. Chartrand had to say:

At this time we're just focusing on the release of this game. Once we've wrapped on Blur, we will turn our attention to the future of the franchise.