At the turn of the fourth millennium, pessimistic speculation led philosophers to believe that Earth was bound for troubled times and that great suffering would engulf the helpless inhabitants. As usual, they were wrong. In fact, in the years following the brutish skirmishes near the Orion Nebula, a strong feeling of general well being seemed to permeate even into the darkest corners of parliament, where a wild and daring decision concerning the treatment of prisoners was made; a chance for freedom that would supply the Galaxy with an extraordinary new form of entertainment …

Re-discover Popeye in this tense 2D-race game. Change vehicles, characters and race modes throughout crazy tracks. Exclusive : in the multi-player mode, you can mess with the controls of your friend's GBA ! Read more to check out a batch of screens ...

The Adventure Company announced today it has shipped The Omega Stone: Riddle of the Sphinx II for the PC. The second in the Riddle of the Sphinx series, this title takes gamers on an incredible adventure. The Omega Stone sends intrepid explorers on a quest to prevent a terrible disaster prophesized by the ancients. Beautiful rendered scenery from Stonehenge, Easter Island, and the Lost City of Atlantis sets the tone for this evocative mystery.

OpenTV one of the world's leading interactive television companies, will roll out a suite of interactive multiplayer games to viewers in the UK in May, with plans to introduce the service at a later date in the United States, France and South Africa.

Spirits & Spells, DreamCatcher's first title on the Gamecube, is platformer that blends action, puzzle solving and interesting characters. Players take on the role of Alicia, a little girl disguised as a witch, or Greg, a young boy disguised as a devil as they explore a haunted house, a cemetery, an eerie forest and abandoned laboratory. By gathering "sparks" players gain the ability to switch between the two characters and discover both of their special talents. Expected this fall in the US. Read more for the first screens ...

Psychotoxic is a first person shooter with an exceptionally exciting story line. The setting is New York, in the year 2020. Three of the four horsemen of the apocalypse have caused terrible damage on Earth. The fourth horseman is now preparing for his return. Violence and aggression are increasing drastically. Humanity's last hope is protagonist Angie Prophet. Basically a human, she is also an angel and guardian, marked centuries ago to save mankind. Play on two different levels: The reality level contains the main elements for the battle against the horseman, including both indoor and outdoor scenes. In the mind level, Angie enters other people's thoughts - here time and space have no meaning. Check the new batch of screens ...

New World Order is a single- and multiplayer tactical team-based shooter developed in Sweden by Project Three’s studio Termite Games. This title stands out in the crowded FPS genre because it is one of the first built on next generation technology and promises to take the first person shooter genre to the next level by combining uncanny graphic detail with adrenaline pumping action and fun. Realistic gameplay and unparalleled game physics are brought to life by the in-house developed DVA-engine from Termite Games. Read more for download links ...

Purge Olnine delivers a compelling combination of first-person shooter gameplay and RPG character development, immersing players in a strife-torn world that blends science fiction and fantasy. Purge is an online only game (no singleplayer) and requires no subscription (free online play). Freeform Interactive's hybrid FPS/RPG powered by the LithTech Talon system, Purge, has already gone gold, and will ship to US stores on March 31, a demo is expected later this week. In the meantime check these purty colorful screens!

Several games went gold today (apart from the one's listed earlier today that is) ...

• CDV Germany lets us know that Blitzkrieg, their eagerly anticipated World War II RTS, has gone gold and will appear in German stores March 28 (other localizations later).
• Shrapnel Games announces that Mark H. Walker's Lock 'N Load, the tactical game system with "more game, less guff" should begin shipping May 5th.
• Russian developer Bootlat Studios announced that the Russian version of their Role-Playing Strategy game 'Lethal Dreams: The Circle of Fate' is finished and is expected in stroes soon (other localizations later)

ZUXXEZ releases Mod for Frontline Attack: War over Europe aka. World War 2: Panzer Claws. SuperStorm is a Mod script designed to improve the Skirmish functions of World War II: Panzer Claws and Frontline Attack: War Over Europe by enabling AI alliances, weather control, observer mode and some other features. It is scripted by Gary Mullins a.k.a. "SpaceTug" member of [FOC]-D. Read more for download links ...

1503 A.D. - The New World, SUNFLOWERS' prequel to 1602 A.D., has gone gold, and is expected to ship in North America on March 24. The announcement they sent along is brief, so here it is in its entirety: "EA is pleased to announce that 1503 A.D. - The New World has GONE GOLD and will ship in North America on Monday, March 24 for the PC. Delivering a blend of real-time strategy with empire building, the game sends players on a quest for wealth and power with thrilling adventures and discoveries at every turn. Players will establish and build colonies while watching them prosper as the need for trade and diplomacy heightens. The choice to live peacefully or take part in combat will be entirely up to the player."

Prepare yourself for the most emotionally involving and realistic football management game in history: Championship Manager 4 has arrived. Can you cope with the challenges of the league and the expectations of the board and fans? Can you deal with the demands of players and agents? Or will you collapse under the pressure, another mid-season casualty? Accept the challenge: take the reins at the club of your choice and lead your squad onwards. And remember, you're only as good as your last game. Sports Interactive has just released a playable demo which allows you to take control of your favourite English team for 6 months of action. Read more for details and links where to get it ...

Ubi Soft today announced that the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon action/adventure game will ship for retail in August 2003. Developed by Genki under license from Sony Pictures Consumer Products and based on Sony Pictures Classics' Academy Award winning movie, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon will be available for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system. Ubi Soft China will also develop Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for the GBA. In a related matter, HomeLAN has the word that there will be NO PC version, although it was originally planned.

Strategy First Inc., worldwide publisher and developer of PC games, announced today that it is launching a new games division, Big City Games, which will publish top quality value priced software in the North American market.

NEC Interchannel, Ltd. today announced their release date for Tube Slider, a fast and furious racing game developed exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube. Tube Slider is developed by NDCUBE, creators of F-Zero: Maximum Overdrive for the Game Boy Advance, and will ship in April 2003. Read more for extra details ...

In this gritty and darkly humorous 3rd person action adventure, players join the courageous Brotherhood of Steel, whose mission is to maintain peace in the grim post-nuclear world of Fallout. Challenged by hordes of ghouls, mutants and other radioactive nightmares, players utilize a combination of intense combat strategies including melee, ranged weapons and explosives to fulfill their daunting task of defeating the mutant army in hopes of restoring humanity in a nearly unlivable universe. Welcome to the wasteland. 6 new screens!

GMX Media has today announced it is on the lookout to acquire a European publishing company. The company plans to make one major acquisition but has also stressed that it has no intention to abandon its "cautious" expansion plan.

Braving all elements, men and gods, and baring all costs, Thorgal, Rosinski and Van Hamme's (XIII, Largo Winch...) famous Viking hero must return home immediately to dispel the evil that has fallen upon his family. A batch of new screens for the Adventure Games upcoming PS2/PC adventure game, read more to check them out!

Painkiller is a nickname of a pretty unusual mercenary, who is dealing with supernatural. There are places on Earth where demons and other evil creatures have their nests: abandoned prisons, private castles, deep caves in the mountains... "Cleaning" those places is good money, and our hero needs a lot of it, since he loves living the life to its fullest. One day he gets what seems to be a pretty simple job: to retrieve a religious artifact from one of the nests. When after a furious battle he realizes he might have been tricked into the war between two competing clans of the undead, he tries to play his own cards.

Line of Sight: Vietnam is N-Fusion's latest project to create a stealthy combat game set during the Vietnam War, which is proving to be an ever-more-popular setting for computer games.The game will be created by Deadly Dozen developers nFusion Interactive, and puts the player in the role of a U.S. Army Special Forces sniper operating in the dense jungles of Vietnam during the height of the U.S. involvement in the war. The online community was not very pleased with a certain exclusive demo last week, so we had a chat with Infogrames and here is the free, non-exclusive, non-key requiring, non-ezpad version (requires DirectX9). Read more for download links ...

Icculus has issued another updated dedicated Linux server for MoH: Allied Assault Spearhead, allowing Linux PCs to host multiplayer games for v2.15 of the World War II FPS expansion by EA. This is still in beta stage (v5) so not the final product and the developers encourage email support! There is no information on the fixes in this release and the distro does not include two auxiliary .pak files from beta 4, so you may still need that as well. Read more for details & download links ..

Arxel Tribe & Sinister Systems have released a demo for their imminent LithTech engine 3D fantasy RPG Mistmare. No real details about what it offers are available but the full version of the game is that it's still planned for release by the end of this month (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Sega's 'Shinobi' brand is one of the oldest in gaming and to celebrate Shinobi's first appearance on PlayStation2, SCEE have got together with Hexstatic and Ninja Tune to produce a visual delight on their forthcoming Solid Steel European promotional tour.

Graphic State, one of the leading developers of handheld video games, has revealed details of its latest GBA developments. Having just completed work on Crazy Taxi : Catch a Ride for THQ, Graphic State has unveiled details of its latest Game Boy Advance technology. Crazy Taxi is the first release to make use of the unique AGB Rush engine, which features detailed 3D environments, realistic physics and dozens of on-screen sprites. Handheld game players can now experience 3D gameplay similar to games previously seen on the original PlayStation.

“There was an age which is now forgotten. It was the time when Kaan was destined to become the Champion of the Kingdoms. I am the only one who can still recount his saga. Let me tell you of this extraordinary adventure….” Tothum Siptet, the sorcerer with evil powers, has stolen the Orb of Hope. The young Barbarian Kaan volunteers to recover it and is then caught up in a pitiless hunt…

Battlecruiser Millennium Gold contains the full Battlecruiser Millennium product plus all fixes, numerous improvements and upgrades as well as new unique features and enhancements listed below. Battlecruiser Millennium is the ground-breaking sequel to the critically acclaimed and industry recognized, Battlecruiser series. Being the third title in the series, BCM is a technological breakthrough in all aspects of its implementation. check these 30+ new screens ...

Get ready to bury the world’s most renowned cars when you race against them with your own brand of sports car. Start off with a small garage, create the ultimate driving machine and go into business as the up and coming sports car manufacturer. Your goal is to build up a reputation for your brand by racing your cars against real sports cars. The more races you win, the more pedigree your brand will receive. If you consistently win the races, you are put to the challenge to start a production line, sell your cars, design new ones, and continue the cycle.

Another day, another batch of game trailers were released. Instead of giving them all their own post, we grouped them and so far there are trailers for :

• Rise of Nations (MicroSoft)
• XIII (UbiSoft)
• Devastation (Arush)
• City States (Wanadoo)
  
  Read more for download links ...