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Ground Effect racing toward the iPhone from former EA R&D guru

Pre-release video from the ekranoplan man

Ground Effect racing toward the iPhone from former EA R&D guru
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| Ground Effect

Hmm, where to begin? Okay, let's start with Ground Effect’s developer Glenn Corpes.

Glenn held a number of prestigious positions at Bullfrog (which became part of EA, of course) as a graphics programmer, artist, head of research and development, and he worked on one of the finest game series ever created, Populous. That makes Glenn awesome.

He's now branching out into iPhone development, with his first game, Ground Effect, nearing completion.

It's a racing game, featuring the little-known hovercraft/aeroplane hybrid called ground effect vehicles, also known as flarecrafts, sea skimmers, wing-in-surface-effect ships or ekranoplan.

These unusual vehicles travel on a cushion of high-pressure air created by the aerodynamic interaction between the wings and the surface beneath them (be it water or land).

Ground Effect features a host of futuristic ekranoplan craft which you race around some highly detailed, 3D tropical islands (apparently spanning 70 (virtual) km2) at speeds of up to 400 km/h.

Although Ground Effect is a racing game at heart, requiring you to make the checkpoints around the expansive map as quickly as possible, you're also given the option of getting off the beaten track and roaming the island on more of an exploration tip.

Corpes promises some slick 3D gameplay and graphics, with a draw distance rarely seen on the Apple platform. The game also features an instrumental track from Danish indie band Diefenbach called A Rock in a Pond, giving Ground Effect the quality accompaniment it clearly deserves.

Another interesting aspect of Ground Effect’s development is that it's being built alongside across platform library. I have no idea what this actually means, but according to Corpes’s blog, it essentially equates to him also having a fully functional PC version with map and level editor built-in.

Check out the pre-release video below, and stay tuned for more news as it comes in.

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Spanner Spencer
Spanner Spencer
Yes. Spanner's his real name, and he's already heard that joke you just thought of. Although Spanner's not very good, he's quite fast, and that seems to be enough to keep him in a regular supply of free games and away from the depressing world of real work.