CBS and Ludia have teamed up for an exciting race through exotic locales, developing video games based off the Emmy Award-winning reality show The Amazing Race.

Ludia, the company that brought us Hell’s Kitchen, American Idol, and Where’s Waldo video games in the past, is looking to add another fair to middling television show adaptation to their line up, securing the rights to The Amazing Race. Games will be released across multiple unnamed platforms in with the show’s 14th season, which is currently underway.

“The heart-pounding adventure, around-the-world competition and postcard worthy settings of ‘The Amazing Race’ are perfectly suited for video game adaptation,” said Alex Thabet, Founder and CEO of Ludia. “We are thrilled to add such a high-energy, suspenseful franchise to our slate, and we will infuse those key elements into a highly social, team-based multiplayer game that unites duos in cooperative game play to compete against rivals.

A highly social, team-based multiplayer game sounds lovely, though having played some of Ludia’s other titles my excitement level is through the floor for this one.

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I’m not quite sure what a nearly naked woman taking a shower and cooking pork parts has to do with anything, but I suddenly feel like a little off-road racing.

It’s definitely a teaser trailer; I’m just not sure what it is trying to tease. Arguably it’s for Colin McRae: Dirt 2, the off-road and rally racing title from Codemasters, but I don’t really feel that’s what is being teased here. Can’t quite put my finger on it. I suppose if I could I’d probably be too busy to write this. All I know for sure is that this is the last place I’d expect to have to use the NSFW tag.

Oh, and feel free to stop the clip when things go black. I think my video conversion software was just as confused as I was.

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Batman video games have not, traditionally, enjoyed the same success as Batman movies.

Despite the long line of titles based on the caped crusader dating back to the mid 80s, few video games have managed to deliver an enjoyable Batman experience.

In Batman: Arkham Asylum gamers take control of a brutal Batman as he fights and explores his way across the notorious insane asylum. But the game isn’t just about the single player campaign, it also has hundreds of unlockables, including some challenge modes designed to be played over and over again after you’ve beaten the game.

What It Is
The third-person brawler loads up Batman with an arsenal of bat gadgets and lethal moves. The game is due out this summer for the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

What We Saw
I played two of the game’s challenge modes on the Xbox 360. The challenge modes are replayable stages unlocked in the campaign that are broken down into two types. In the combat challenges you use Batman’s free flowing combat to decimate a crowd of bad guys. Extra points for style. In the predator challenges, you try to quietly take down a group of enemies without being spotted.

How Far Along Is it?
Batman: Arkham Asylum is due out in June and the developers tell me they are in the “tail end of production” for the game.

What Needs Improvement?
Diversity: As much as I enjoyed the challenge modes, it would have been nice for the game to include more types of challenges to increase replayability.

Mix: The combat is fun, but can get a bit repetitive at times. It would be nice to see a few more animations for the take downs.

What Needs to Stay the Same?
Free Flow: The free flow combat is brutal, fun and addictive. Slapping down targets and ping-ponging between enemies as they crowd around you never seems to get old. The combat has its own rhythm which makes the huge battles seem more like one fight rather than a bunch of individual encounters.

Dialog: The things people say… when they’re a homicidal clown or trapped in a darkened asylum with Batman. The sharp writing and excellent voice work go a long way, even in these brief encounters.

Weapons: I checked out the batarang, the claw, explosive gel and sonar resonator and they all provided interesting ways to set thugs up for a take down or cool direct attacks.

Graphics: The game looks amazing, this is one Batman I wouldn’t want to mess with. One of the many neat little touches is that Batman’s riveted body armor will begin to show wear and tear as you play the game. Batman himself will also star to show the business end of a pummeling if you take one to many to the head.

Leaderboard: The challenge modes track your scores and you can upload them to leaderboards once you’re done, making the already moreish gameplay that much harder to put down.

Final Thoughts
The challenge modes are a nice addition to what I hope will be a robust single-player campaign. Everything I saw in these modes made me want to play the game more. In particular, I really enjoyed the game’s flow of combat.

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Rather than anger their fanbase with intrusive digital rights management technology, EA has opted to stick with tried and true Serial Code protection for The Sims 3.

After getting into a heap of hot water over the DRM included in the hit life simulation Spore, it’s probably a wise decision for EA to back off a bit for their next major wide-audience release. Sims division executive producer Rod Humble posted a message on the Sims 3 website yesterday, putting fans’ minds at ease.

The game will have disc-based copy protection – there is a Serial Code just like The Sims 2. To play the game there will not be any online authentication needed. We feel like this is a good, time-proven solution that makes it easy for you to play the game without DRM methods that feel overly invasive or leave you concerned about authorization server access in the distant future.

While personally I was hoping they’d go back to the old “what’s the 7th word in the fourth paragraph on page 26 of the manual?” method of copy protection, I suppose this will have to do.

The Sims 3 Copy Protection [Official Website - Thanks Paradox!]

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There’s something for everyone in next week’s additions to the Rock Band Music Store, with classics artists Journey, Pat Benatar, and…SpongeBob Squarepants taking center stage.

No, it isn’t some quirky new band called SpongeBob Squarepants. It’s three tracks from the animated sensation that’s dumbed down a nation - “I Can’t Keep My Eyes Off Of You”, “Best Day Ever”, and “Where’s Gary?” Don’t let the triple dose of kids music make you stop believing in Rock Band, however, because Journey says so. Their inspirational hit “Don’t Stop Believing”, announced at the Harmonix party at the Game Developers Conference this week, joins Pat Benatar’s “Heartbreaker” in washing the taste of saltwater stupidity out of our mouths.

Also coming next week is Glasvegas’ “Geraldine” and “C’Mon C’Mon” from the Von Bondies, the latter of which is one of my favorite songs, mainly due to its appearance in a Tribes 2 Video Mod from the short-lived MTV2 program. Ah, memories.

The new songs hit Xbox Live on March 31st and the PlayStation Network on April 2nd. Prices are $1.99 or 160 Microsoft points per song, with SpongeBob’s tunes slightly lower at $.99 or 80 Microsoft points.

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