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Atari serves a perfect ace with news of today’s European launch of NAMCO BANDAI Games’ Smash Court Tennis™ 3 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. The latest star-packed tennis smash in the renowned series, Smash Court Tennis 3 features many of the biggest names in tennis including Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova, highly realistic visuals, a host of gameplay enhancements and online play via Xbox Live® online game service.

The first in the revered tennis simulation series for the new console generation, Smash Court Tennis 3 for Xbox 360 tests the player’s skills against 16 of the world’s finest international tennis players. From established stars such as Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis, and recently retired Justine Henin, to rising talents including Italy’s Andreas Seppi and Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic, each player has their own strengths and weaknesses which come into play on the game’s painstakingly rendered courts.

Making the most of the power of Xbox 360, Smash Court Tennis 3 boasts enhanced graphics including improved player animations, realistic shadows, skin shaders and High Dynamic Range rendering which combine to deliver a greater level of realism and immersion for the player. A host of customizing options allows players to choose rackets, shoes, hairstyles, skin tone and clothing to create their own unique star of the courts. New gameplay includes a system which lets all players, no matter what their skill level, benefit quickly from the powerful shots and finely honed skills of the star players.

Gameplay modes include Tutorial, Arcade, Pro-Tour, and Exhibition mode where up to four players can go head to head offline. The game also features an online mode allowing players to play online via Xbox Live. In addition to Xbox Live voice chat and rankings, players can take on opponents in online tournaments and in a range of different matches. Online doubles matches let players team up side by side for a long distance match against another pair, bringing the action and interaction alive like never before.

Get ready to scramble! Atari and Red Mile Entertainment are bringing Heroes over Europe, an ultra-realistic seat-of-the-pants tactical flight combat game and the latest in the critically acclaimed Heroes series, to the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows PC in 2009.
The sequel to the mighty World War II flight combat game Heroes of the Pacific, Heroes over Europe takes aspiring combat pilots into the bullet-ridden heart of major World War II European air battles in glorious dogfight-friendly high definition. Heroes over Europe follows the Allied campaign from the attacks on London to the destruction of Berlin, with players under orders to strap themselves into the authentically rendered cockpits of the campaign’s iconic aircraft. Their mission: to survive the most ferocious dogfights ever seen in a flight combat game.
“The Heroes series has brought some of the world’s most exciting air battles in history to gamers all over the world, and Heroes over Europe builds on the series’ impressive legacy with highly detailed realistic visual presentation and an even deeper online experience,” said Cyril Voiron, VP Brand Management Worldwide Publishing, Atari.
“Transmission Games did an incredible job on the first game, Heroes of the Pacific, and this second game in the series is definitely benefiting from that experience,“ said Simon Price, President of Red Mile Entertainment. “We are very excited to partner with Atari to bring this stunning title to gamers worldwide.”
Developed by Transmission Games (formerly IR Gurus) in Melbourne, Australia, and powered by an all-new engine, Heroes over Europe is set to raise the bar for flight combat games, with new and unique game modes, and deeper and more comprehensive online gameplay for up to 16 players. Visually, the game takes no prisoners with meticulously rendered environments including faithful recreations of London and Berlin, and ultra-realistic iconic warplanes of the era, all presented in stunning high definition graphics. With additional content available to download from launch, Heroes over Europe is scheduled for release in 2009.