In an official announcement today, Codemasters announced that their new Colin McRae Off Road / Rally Racing game DiRT has sold over 500,000 units in week one. This is very impressive, and the review scores are all in the high 8 to high 9 range. Our review should be up within a day or, but so far we can tell you that the game does indeed live up to the hype. Click read more for the full press info.

PRESS RELEASE

With week one sales out the door, Codemasters is proud to announce that DiRT™, the company’s critically acclaimed new racing title, has exceeded expectations across the board. If DiRT’s early review score of 9/10 from Official Xbox Magazine (U.S.) wasn’t any indication, Codemasters is now reporting that week one sales of the game have surpassed 500K copies globally, and the playable demos for the Xbox 360™ video game entertainment system from Microsoft and the PC have been downloaded over 500K times worldwide.

It seems that Codemasters is so happy with Clive Barker's work on Jericho that they have already agreed to work with the horror master on three more titles. The movie master seems very taken with video game, as you can tell by reading his speech from the recent games summit where the deal was announced.

“…Gaming is a great way to do what we need as human beings....to take ourselves away from the impressive, sometimes depressing facts of our lives and go somewhere where we have our own controls."

It was revealed today that Balderton Capital has purchased the Darling Family's shares in Codemasters, and has also secured 50 million GBP in financing. The Darlings founded Codemasters back in 1986, and this latest sale means that the founding family is no longer a stockholder in the company. Having now acquired the entire interest of founding shareholders Jim, David and Richard Darling, plus that of management and other investors, Balderton owns 100 per cent of Codemasters' equity. What the future will hold is anyone's guess, but Codemasters is not likely going away any time soon.

The 892MB demo of Overlord is available now on Xbox Live for the 360. This game has been called the "Oblivion Killer," as it features epic single player RPG style gameplay. As for whether or not it beats out Oblivion, you will have to download it yourself and see.

The game that we are all waiting for in lieu of Rallysport 3 is getting a demo on the Xbox LIve Maarketplace this Thursday. Colin McRae's DiRT, the new Rally/Offroad racing combinatoin game from Codemasters is set to take the MS console by storm. The game is basically the result of a merge between the Colin McRae and the Offroad franchises. Great stuff.

Years back, there came a PC title called Operation Flashpoint, or OpFlash to fans of the game. The shooter was an underground hit, and many PC FPS fans plays the game religiously. Well, now Codemasters has decided to finally produce a full-blown sequel to the title, and it sounds great. Click read more for the official info, click the link for the screen.

PRESS RELEASE

Promising warfare on a scale never seen in a FPS, the biggest name in modern military simulation gaming will return in 2008 as Codemasters confirms that Operation Flashpoint™2 is in development for PC and major console formats.

Gamespot UK has a preview of the new combination Colin Mcrae/Super Off Road game, DIRT. The game is looking amazing, and on top of that, Gamespot says the final version will likely be locked at 50fps (that's 60fps here in the US). Great news! Check the link for the great looking screens and info.

Codemasters has officially announced the new Colin McRae game for the next gen. The came is called DIRT, and will feature new races from the popular Off Road Racing series. Click read more for the full info.

PRESS RELEASE

Codemasters today confirmed DIRT as the official title for the next addition to the UK-based publisher’s popular Colin McRae racing series. Further, the company also revealed that DIRT will now add races from the U.S.-based C.O.R.R. (Championship Off-Road Racing) series to its already heady mix of Rally, Hill Climb, Rally Raid, Rally Cross and Crossover events. DIRT is planned to launch this June for the Xbox™ 360 videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PC, with the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system edition following shortly thereafter. The game is currently rated “RP” (Rating Pending) by the ESRB.

The new Clive Barker game, Jericho, is shaping up to be a true horror masterpiece. Most times, games such at this tend to turn out a bit cheesy to say the least, but 1up spoke with the man himself, and the game actually sounds good.

Ocerlord, one of the fantasy games that is slated for the Xbox360 later this year, is shaping up to be what looks like one of the best fantasy games in a while. The game is based on the humorous fantasy stories of Terry Pratchett, a writer with a Monty-Python-esque wit. You begin the game with only three followers, and as you progress, you quickly gain more. For even more info, check out the OXM official site.