Eutechnyx is pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Claessens to its production staff. Paul was previously Senior 3D Animator at games developer and publisher Davilex, based in Houten, The Netherlands. Paul takes up his role at Eutechnyx as Lead Animator, where he will work on SRS, Street Racing Syndicate, Eutechnyx' underground street racing game currently in development for Namco. Paul brings wide experience both of the games and TV industries, having previously worked on animation projects for BBC and Discovery Channel, plus the DVD releases of the movies Judge Dredd and The Prophecy. While at Davilex he was involved in the development of Knight Rider, Paris-Marseilles Racer, London Racer II and US Racer.

Says Paul, "I am very pleased to join the Eutechnyx team and particular excited at the prospect of working on Street Racing Syndicate, where I can use both my 3D Animation and my cinematic skills. Newcastle is also very different to Amsterdam!"

Rebellion has released the first patch for their 3D action game Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.01 and adresses a slew of general changes, gametype-specific improvements, bug fixes, new server commands and plenty more (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for details and download links ...

As announced last night Gearbox has now released the demo for their recently released Halo:Combat Evolved. This demo features "The Silent Cartographer" mission from the single-player campaign, as well as the "Blood Gulch" map for multiplayer action. The demo supports up to 16 players in online Slayer and CTF matches. There's no save-game support, and vehicle selection is limited (thanks IGN). Read more for download links ...

Plastic Reality/Cenega have released an updated version of yesterdays demo for their squad-based Korean War game Korea: Forgotten Conflict. The demo features a tutorial level and one mission in Seoul, where you have to rescue medic and few allied soldiers and then leave by train. No specific details as to what is exactly "updated". Read more for download links ...

In Donkey Konga icons will scroll from right to left, when they reach the circles on the left side of the screen, players will have to act. The game will mainly revolve around two main actions : hitting the drum with your hands or clapping. The game will be playable by one to four players. Donkey Konga for the GameCube will be available on Japanese shelves on December 12. Read more for some screens ...

Vivendi Universal Games announced today that Ground Control(tm) II: Operation Exodus, the sequel to the award-winning PC real-time strategy game, will ship to North American stores in the second quarter of 2004.

Strategy First and Paradox Entertainment have announced their latest title based on the award-winning Europa Universalis engine, Victoria An Empire Under the Sun has gone gold!

Paradox has done it again and we couldn t be happier, says Steve Milburn, Director of Marketing for Strategy First Inc. Every gamer that loved the Europa series and Hearts of Iron is going to want to dive right into Victoria. In Victoria An Empire Under the Sun your ultimate goal is to become one of the eight great powers of the era. To achieve this goal you must master the art of Diplomacy, Warfare, Economy & Industrialization, Colonization, Technological Research and Politics. Achieve global supremacy, by spanning the globe to become the dominant empire of the period and recreate history as you wish. While striving to simulate the conditions and prerequisites of the time period, Victoria - An Empire Under the Sun still leaves all the decision-making to the individual player.

Brandish your sword and prepare for battle with Enlight's upcoming action/strategy title Wars and Warriors: Joan of Arc. Developed and led by Trevor Chan's creative, Wars and Warriors: Joan of Arc will take players back into the medieval fury of the Hundred Years War. Wars and Warriors: Joan of Arc is set for release this holiday season and will present players with the opportunity to experience a unique blend of RTS and action elements through four player controlled characters. For a taste of the action featured in this title, read more below to view the latest screenshots from Enlight.

Akella announces that it has signed an agreement with Ubi Soft to publish a unique comic-style FPS XIII on the territory of Russia and the CIS... More about it below!

Atari today shipped Deer Hunter 2004 for the personal computer to retail outlets nationwide. Deer Hunter 2004, the latest game in the successful PC hunting franchise, represents the most substantial advancement to the Deer Hunter franchise since the series was introduced in 1997... Read more for full pressrelease and download links!

The Worms 3D website is now live, featuring a cool Junior Senior competition, screenshots, movies and all the game info you could fire a bazooka at. The Worms 3D site has also been kitted out with cool warmongers' tools to annoy and harass your friends, family, enemies and anyone you happen to be stalking at the moment. Go on, get amongst it, and start a war for the fun of it.

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is a dynamic single and multiplayer action experience featuring an all-new epic story. Players are immersed in the role of apprentice at Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy where they learn the power - and danger - of the Force. Amidst a multitude of complex and richly detailed Star Wars environments, including twice as many unique locales as those in Star Wars: Jedi Outcast, players face a variety of powerful and insidious enemies. Check out some screens!

Gusto Games is a new and enthusiastic start up development studio based in Warwickshire, will be moving this weekend to new premises in Oxfordshire. Their new address will be Gusto Games, Bloxham Mill, Barford, Bloxham, Banbury, OX15 4FF.

In the past all the best chess engines sacrificed speed of response for sophistication and variety of play. Chess Challenger has the Strongest Chess Engine currently available on a games console, incorporating extremely fast analysis and decision algorithms that provide high quality, lively, challenging and mature opposition to players. Available now with SRP £9.99

Ubisoft today announced the release of Flipnic. A new fast-paced pinball game for Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation2, developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan, and will be released in Europe and Australia for the 2003 Christmas season.

Now gamers can save the City of Angels and take out the bad guys Hong Kong action flick style with Activisions upcoming release of True Crime: Streets of L.A. which begins shipping to retail outlets worldwide on November 4, 2003.

The Muppets are starring in their first party game ever ...and no one knows how to party harder than the Muppets! They set sail for a fun-filled party cruise, but as fate would have it, our magnificent Muppets find themselves stuck on the bottom deck of the boat. But don't worry, they've set up lots of mini-games in their cabins to earn party favors! Use the party favors to battle your way up five decks to first class and on to victory. Join Kermit, Miss Piggy, Animal and many more of your favorite Muppet characters in this interactive board game complete with 30 action-packed mini-games. Perfect for the whole family to play together! Read more for facts and six... ooh, PS2 screenshots, we're guessing.

Her Interactive, a developer and publisher of interactive entertainment for mystery fans of all ages are releasing Nancy Drew: Danger on Deception Island and Nancy Drew: Haunted Carousel for the PC.. Read more for pressrelease.

Ubisoft announced today that Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3 for Xbox has reached gold master status and is expected to hit store shelves in the coming weeks. Eagerly anticipated as the must-have Xbox and Xbox Live game for the holiday season, the game has already enjoyed a massive pre-sell campaign, as tens of thousands of orders in the first weeks of the offer signal that the game will be a huge success for 2003

Chess Commander is an innovative new Chess interface for the PC running any version of Windows. Powered by OpenGL graphics, the software displays a scalable high-resolution chessboard, and pieces with blended edges. Designed to appeal to chess players of all skill levels, the friendly interface supports multiple boards (produced from digital photographs of real chess sets), natural voices and an orchestral soundtrack.