Argonaut Games today announced Carve, a watercraft racer featuring intense team-based AI, a mass of extreme tricks and full online racing via Microsoft's Xbox Live.

"Carve is a truly great title, which demonstrates Argonaut's ability to create top race titles," notes Joss Ellis, Argonaut's Chief Operating Officer, "We're immensely pleased with its speedy progress and look forward to releasing it in the near future".

Carve features twenty-seven visually resplendent levels, with authentic atmosphere ensured by the teams own visit and researches of Thailand, Iceland, Amsterdam, and the Grand Canyon, leading to the most attractive recreation of water and waves yet seen in a game. Optimized bump-mapping provides sparkles and reflections while the physics leads to waves interacting in ways that deliver unique gameplay for every level and floating objects that react in a convincing manner.

Players choose from meticulously created characters, each one animated down to the individual finger bone and with a fierce AI that pair up and work together. Aside from the single player, Carve features fast and furious racing for up to eight players on Xbox Live.

Producer Caspar Field enthuses, "Carve offers advances in so many areas: the waves, team AI and trick systems - never mind the online mode –all are fantastic additions to the genre. We're pushing things forwards - for us, that's the point. Anything less would be a waste of time."

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