UPDATE: My in-depth review of the game is up here.
It is a big week for Pixar and Disney. Not only is Cars 2 coming this Friday, the video game for the film was just released today! It is available for almost every platform out there – XBox 360, Wii, Playstation 3, DS, PC and MAC. I am currently playing through every nook and cranny of the game and will have a review up soon. Right now, I can say that the game is loads of fun, especially in multiplayer mode. Disney and Pixar worked really hard on this game and taking your first spin around the track really helps you see that. Today, Disney Interactive released a launch trailer (in HD), a few more beautiful screenshots, and a full press release, which you can view here!
SPIES WANTED – DISNEY•PIXAR’S CARS 2: THE VIDEO GAME NOW AVAILABLE
Players Enter an International Game of Espionage as They Compete to Become the Fastest Racecar in the World
BURBANK, Calif. — (June 21, 2011) – Disney Interactive Studios today announced the company is gearing up for an action-packed summer with Disney•Pixar’s Cars 2: The Video Game, now available for all major gaming platforms. Inspired by the Disney•Pixar animated comedy adventure movie Cars 2, which opens in North America on June 24, the game offers players intrigue and excitement as they take on dangerous missions, vie to become the fastest racecar in the world and use newly acquired espionage skills in adrenaline-pumping combat racing and battle arenas.
Cars 2: The Video Game maintains the film’s look and feel while expanding on the spy-driven plot line. Players will jump into the Cars 2 universe with many of their favoriteCars personalities in locations around the globe.
“We’ve developed a meaningful and creative partnership with Pixar that continues to result in video games that are an authentic and immersive experience for fans,” said John Blackburn, vice president and general manager of Avalanche Software. “We anticipate that Cars enthusiasts around the world will be compelled to become agents of C.H.R.O.M.E with the release of this new video game.”
In Cars 2: The Video Game, players enroll in an international spy training academy known as C.H.R.O.M.E. (Command Headquarters for Recon Operations and Motorized Espionage). As part of their international training to become world class spies, players will participate in simulated daring missions using assorted high-tech gadgetry in their effort to outpace and slow down the competition, and ultimately become the world’s fastest racecar.
Fans will choose from more than 20 different characters to play, including classic favorites like Mater the tow truck and Lightning McQueen, along with new challengers, such as Finn McMissile and Holley Shiftwell. Fans will also recognize familiar voices while playing Cars 2: The Video Game with a celebrity voice cast including Larry the Cable Guy returning as Mater, Emily Mortimer as Holley Shiftwell, Tony Shalhoub reappearing as Luigi and John Turturro as Francesco Bernoulli. In addition, the endless action will take players beyond Radiator Springs to experience exotic locales across the globe including Tokyo, London and Italy.
The game supports up to four players in split-screen and features connectivity with the World of Cars Online, a free-to-play browser-based, virtual world tied to the hit Disney•Pixar animated Cars universe.
Cars 2: The Video Game was developed by Avalanche Software in collaboration with the filmmakers at Pixar Animation Studios. It features full 3D support for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and is also available on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, Wii™, Nintendo DS™ and PC/MAC. The console versions are all rated E 10+, while the Nintendo DS version is rated E for Everyone by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). The Wii, PlayStation®3 system and Xbox 360 versions are available for a suggested retail price of $49.99, while the Windows-based PC/Mac, and Nintendo DS versions are available for $29.99.
About the Cars Franchise
Released in 2006, Disney•Pixar’s feature film Cars has become a leading boys’ franchise generating an impressive $2B in annual global retail sales for a total of $8B to date. Winner of the Golden Globe® for Best Animated Feature, Cars went on to gross $462M in global box office sales. It’s supported across The Walt Disney Company through films including the highly anticipated release of Cars 2 in Disney Digital 3D, consumer products, live theater productions, park attractions including Cars Land planned for launch in 2012, music, a web site, TV including the popular series of short form content: Cars Toons, home entertainment, video games – including Cars and the upcoming June release of Cars 2: The Video Game supporting all major platforms, a virtual world, and books – with more than 75 new titles releasing throughout 2011 domestically, in addition to more titles on digital books and mobile applications.
About Disney·Pixar’s Cars 2:
Star racecar Lightning McQueen (voice of Owen Wilson) and the incomparable tow truck Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy) take their friendship to exciting new places in Cars 2 when they head overseas to compete in the first-ever World Grand Prix to determine the world’s fastest car. But the road to the championship is filled with plenty of potholes, detours and hilarious surprises when Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. Mater finds himself torn between assisting Lightning McQueen in the high-profile race and towing the line in a top-secret mission orchestrated by master British super spy Finn McMissile (voice of Michael Caine) and the stunning rookie field spy Holley Shiftwell (voice of Emily Mortimer). Mater’s action-packed journey leads him on an explosive chase through the streets of Japan and Europe, trailed by his friends and watched by the whole world. The fast-paced fun includes a colorful new all-car cast, complete with menacing villains and international racing competitors.
John Lasseter returns to the driver’s seat to direct this follow-up to his 2006 Golden Globe®-winning Cars. Cars 2 is co-directed by Brad Lewis, producer of the Oscar®-winning film Ratatouille, and produced by visual effects industry veteran Denise Ream (associate producer, Up; visual effects executive producer, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith). The film hits the track on June 24, 2011, and will be presented in Disney Digital 3D™ and IMAX® 3D in select theaters.
About Disney Interactive Studios
Disney Interactive Studios, part of Disney Interactive Media Group, is the interactive entertainment affiliate of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS). Disney Interactive Studios self publishes and distributes a broad portfolio of multi-platform video games and interactive entertainment worldwide. The company also licenses properties and works directly with other interactive game publishers to bring products for all ages to market. Disney Interactive Studios is based in Glendale, California, and has internal development studios around the world. For more information, log on to http://www.disneyinteractivestudios.com.
About Pixar Animation Studios
Pixar Animation Studios, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is an Academy Award®-winning film studio with world-renowned technical, creative and production capabilities in the art of computer animation. Creator of some of the most successful and beloved animated films of all time, including Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL•E, Up and most recently, Toy Story 3. The Northern California studio has won 29 Academy Awards® and its eleven feature films have grossed more than $6.5 billion at the worldwide box office to date. The next film release from Disney•Pixar is Cars 2 (June 24, 2011).
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