Publisher Strategy First Inc. and developer Stardock announced today that a new expansion pack for the award-winning turn-based strategy game Galactic Civilizations will be released in Q2 2004. Galactic Civilizations: Altarian Prophecy will add a host of new features, content and other enhancements to the original game to add depth and greater replayability.

Hitman: Contracts delivers more action-packed and suspenseful missions, with a greater variety of ways to make the perfect hit and an increased arsenal of firearms and close-combat weapons. A new graphics engine showcases Hitman's 'work' in brutal detail and brings new locations to life. An improved control system and more gradual learning curve will ensure that the game is accessible to all aspiring hitmen. Hitman: Contracts is being developed by Io Interactive and will be available for PS2, Xbox, and PC in spring 2004.

LTStudios today announced their new toolchain and development system Myriad – which has been specifically designed to deliver highly populated environments for Playstation 2, Xbox and PC. Myriad's sophisticated engine can manage environments teeming with characters, high volumes of vehicle traffic or any other active game content – from cars and animals to soldiers and military craft. With the addition of vehicle dynamics and physics, Myriad had recently been used to create a racing game prototype.

EARTH 2160 is an RTS game based on the popular and successful EARTH series. Including single and multiplayer modes. The game uses the latest Earth III engine. Storing objects in a format based on the mathematical model of Bezier-curves instead of polygons. Giving an as yet unseen level of detail, only limited by the hardware used. A native T&L rendering module supports per pixel shaders and bone calculation directly on advanced graphic cards. Read more to check the first screens ...

Publisher Graphsim Entertainment and developer Slitherine announce a publishing agreement for the North American release of Spartan, a new turn-based strategy game from an award-winning developer of strategy classics. Read more for details or check the new cinematic trailer...

“The I of the Dragon” is an RPG in which the player sees the world through the eyes of the Dragon. As a shimmering, flying colossus, armed with poison, ice, acid and fire, he soars and glides through the beautiful game world Nimoa with the task of liberating the lands of evil. Zuxxez & Strategy First have released a new demo for “The I of the Dragon” featuring a tutorial, 3 missions of the full game, and one dragon. Read more for download links ...

Players will be able to take the reins of their preferred team through European and World Championships. Over 15,000 real players are included within the game. Managers can buy and sell players, train their squads and develop match tactics - with matches portrayed in real-time through a detailed 3D engine.

Crimson Tears takes place in Tokyo--50 years from now--where a biotechnology company named Weponix secretively controls the world as an underground manufacturer of war machines. Crimson Tears consists of randomly generated dungeons. In the beginning of each dungeon, the player is situated in a base where characters and equipment can be chosen. Once in the dungeon, the player must fight enemies, find items, beat the middle boss, and then return back to the base.

Following the critically acclaimed and award-winning Anarchy Online – Shadowlands, Funcom is proud to present Anarchy Online – Alien Invasion. The next chapter in the Anarchy Online saga further strengthens the sci-fi aspects of the game, making it even more unique compared to current and forthcoming offerings within the Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) genre.

The Roots is set in the land of Corris and plunges the gamer into an ancient battle of good versus evil, with the main character, Yan, on a quest to defeat the ancient forces and restore order to the land. The official website for the new RPG from Cenega Publishing has gone live. and contains all the latest information from this upcoming title, including screenshots, storyline and character profiles. Go check out the official The Roots website.