Van Helsing, the third-person action game, transports players back to the macabre world of 19th century Transylvania - home to the legendary Dracula, Wolf Man and the Frankenstein Monster. As the renowned monster hunter Van Helsing, players must hunt down and destroy the evil that inhabits these ancient lands before darkness engulfs the world. Van Helsing is being developed by Saffire Studios and will be available in the Spring of 2004 in conjunction with the film's release.

The storyline follows the player through the major actions in the conflict, from search and destroy missions around Danang airbase to the Tet offensive and the counterattack on Hue. A cast of AI controlled characters accompanies the player through the missions, and he learns their value and mourns their loss as the war progresses. The game will support a cooperative mode that allows the player to experience the entire tour of duty with his friends, and various multiplayer modes allow the player to experience the war from the perspective of North Vietnamese Army or Viet Cong guerillas as well as US Forces.

Battlefront has released the first patch for their recently released WWII hybrid turn-based/realtime 3D simulation Combat Mission: Afrika Korps. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.01 and addresses the usual gameplay tweaks, bug fixes and so forth. This patch works for the US as well as European edition of the game but games saved in v1.01 can't be loaded in by the older version. Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

Eidos has great news for shooter fans because R-TYPE FINAL for PS2 is being shipped nationwide tomorrow, February 3rd, under the Fresh Games label, and will be in stores February 4th. R-TYPE FINAL, the highly anticipated last game of the R-TYPE series, will mark a fantastic end to a classic shooter that has managed to grow with and entertain the ever-evolving gaming industry for the last seventeen years! So mark your calendars, because on Feb. 4th, you will be zipping around in your decked-out space ship knocking crazy eco-destroying scum out of existence and saving the universe! Are you ready to make history!

The SilentHeroes team has released a new update for their BF1942 total conversion. Thids update brings their mod to v0.33 and includes support for the recent BF1942 v1.6 patch and a few other fixes and additions. SilentHeroes is developed by a group of Swedish people and the story revolves around a conflict between Sweden and Norway in 2007, which started after the US attack on Iraq earlier this year. More Scandinavian countries are planned to get involved as the mod. Read more to check out some screens & download links ...

Joan of Arc showcases a brand new state-of-the-art graphics engine. With rich, detailed terrain, the game allows real-time control and command of legions of military units, realistically depicting the mayhem and severity of medieval warfare. Joan of Arc will contain a series of individual battles as well as massive strategic campaigns between French and English troops. Read more for some new screens ...

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

• Painkiller - Trailer
• Richard Burns Rally - Trailer
• BC - Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Team Lazarus today announced that the long awaited and highly anticipated remake, Ultima V: Lazarus, has released a playable demo to the public. Ultima V: Lazarus is a complete recreation the classic role-playing game Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny, utilizing the Dungeon Siege engine. This demo is available in English, French, and German, and is fully compatible with both the Mac and PC versions of Dungeon Siege (thanks RPGDot). Read more for download links ...

Gas Powered Games is growing! In addition to developing the action/RPG title Dungeon Siege 2, GPG is now working on a next-generation Real Time Strategy game. GPG are looking for 3D environment artists, 3D modelers, animators, and 3D cinematic artists, for full-time positions. We’re also looking for a temporary concept artist (all positions will be on site at our Kirkland, Washington USA offices). Both organic and mechanical artistic imagery aptitude is valuable. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit demo reels and code samples through email attachments, web links, or physical mail. Note that physical material will not be returned, and cannot be delivered personally. Please see GPG's jobs page for more info.

Microsoft today announced the launch of the Crystal Limited Edition Xbox, "clearly" aimed at gamers who crave some added style along with their fantastic Xbox game experiences. Available across Europe from Spring 2004, the "crystal clear" new console comes with two crystal controllers and will retail for €199/£139 (SRP). Read more for details and some screens ...

The most successful role playing game franchise ever, returns to Nintendo in this stunning fantasy adventure. Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles is set to launch in Europe on March 11th 2004 exclusively for Nintendo GameCube. For a limited time only, every game will also include a free Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance Cable, enabling you to access valuable data on your Game Boy Advance and enjoy multi player action with up to three friends.

Jesper Kyd (www.jesperkyd.com) is following up his work on the award-winning soundtracks for IO Interactive’s Hitman series and Freedom Fighters (recipient of GameSpot’s 2003 Best Original Music in a Game Award) with an entirely new original score for Hitman: Contracts. Music composed and produced by Kyd is also featured in the debut movie trailer for Hitman: Contracts.

Lagsters is an arcade racing title, where the action takes place in closed environments - tubes. The player will be able to use a vast number of different weapons and upgrades to their cars to become the winner of one of the 32 races. The tracks are compiled into 4 different championships of the single player mode. The multiplayer mode will offer three different modes of play: 'Last Man Driving', 'Fox and Hounds' and 'Divided Glory' where up to 8 players may participate in one race.

Koch Media today announced that "Singles", developed by German development team ROTOBEE, has gone gold and will be available in stores Feb. 14th (Valentine's Day) 2004. Singles – Flirt up your Life! is the simulation of the exciting relationship between Mike and Linda. The game shows them in their shared flat, which means that everyday routines are focused as well: Cooking, watching TV and cleaning are as important as talks and a cuddle. And of course the two have to work for a living as well … Read more for some new screens ...

Massively Multiplayer Online Games are all the rage these days, and given how frequently they change with expansions, free updates and patches, we felt they were worthy of their own column. This article is the first in a regularly scheduled (bi-weekly) series devoted solely to MMOG development. To kick things off, we take a look at LucasArts' Star Wars Galaxies and more specifically, the recent "changes" announcement ...

Far Cry is set around 2020 on a set of tropical islands in the pacific. And has a strong tropical-paradise feel, scenic in its beauty, but, harbors a terrible threat. It is a mix of jungle / primal / and next-gen technology. As the player you find yourself drawn into a secretive plot involving secret research facilities with scientists involved in military genetic-research, a secret "security" force of mercenaries, and, advanced next-generation weaponry and equipment. Check these 20 new screens...

Feel the adrenaline rush of the world’s fastest motor sport in Redline: Xtreme Air Racing 2. Fly at speeds over 500 mph and race around towering peaks, over frigid glaciers, through jungles and more on over 50 fantasy and real-world tracks. Blast your way to the front of the pack in the all-new Race Combat mode.

Steal your way through or fight head-to-head with hordes of Wolfens using original combat moves and magical strikes. Soar against various vertiginous wind currents on breathtaking flights. Slide down extreme entwined turbulent tracks, through challenging obstacles and lush environments. Journey through unbelievable acrobatic freefalls as you get closer to Kya’s quest to save her brother and defeat the Fortress of Brazul.