Colonize America in 3 campaigns set between 1600 and 1900. You will experience the historical developments of these epochs from the view-points of 6 different nations: the English, the settlers, American patriots, the Spanish and forest and prairie Indians. Each nation has its individual strengths and upgrades. The demo sports 2 missions, one from the Spanish campaign where you battle Francis Drake, and another from the American campaign in which you have to defend a fortress against the English army. Read more for download links ...

Pirates is broadband only, with high-end hardware specifications for graphics -- a GeForce 3 or better is required in at least a 1GHz machine, and the game is optimized for the latest DirectX 9.0-class cards. Pirates is being published on-line directly to gamers using Valve's new Steam technology, the same delivery system used by Half-Life 2 and Counterstrike 2. Check out the new seaworthy screens ...

Due to the magnitude of the upcoming Diablo II 1.10 patch, we are for the first time ever conducting a special patch beta test! Unlike the previous beta tests, you do not have to sign up to participate. This is for PC users only and Battle.net does not work with this patch. Diablo II BETA Patch 1.10 is playable ONLY in single-player mode and ONLY via TCP/IP for multiplayer. You cannot play this version on Battle.net. If you install this patch, you will not be able to connect to Battle.net to play Diablo II or Diablo II: Lord of Destruction. Full patch is expected soon. Read more for further details and download links ...

For the first time ever, Harry Potter fans will be able to experience the magic of Harry's first year at Hogwarts with next-generation graphics and updated gameplay in the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone game from Electronic Arts. EA's UK Studio, the team behind the worldwide success of the original Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets games, which together have sold over 20 million copies worldwide, joins Warthog Games in developing the title for the PS2, the Xbox, and GameCube. The game is scheduled for release in the fall of 2003 under the EA GAMES brand.

Apparently ignoring the launch debacle the first 2 days, LucasArts' Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided, the first Star Wars massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, experienced unprecedented success in its first week of availability, garnering more than 125,000 users and receiving accolades from gaming press and players alike.

The game is developed on original high-tech engine The Firestarter Engine, which uses the possibilities of the latest accelerator generation GeForce3/4. Among the engine possibilities are work with outdoor and indoor areas, coloured dynamic lighting, dynamic shadows, vertex and pixel shaders, T&L, procedure textures, various classes of particle system-based effects, interactive and destructible level objects, realistic physics, high-polygonal character and monster models (up to 5000 of polygons), skeleton animation. The official site has once again been updated with 4 new screens, read more to check them out...

Patch 1.31 will only include the arm patches fix that that caused server connection problems. Testing on it will begin next week and public release is expected in 3 weeks. Tony Ray, from Even Balance, is working closely with the development team in integrating Punkbuster and everything is going smoothly. The SA servers (windows - linux) will hit testing in a few days. Exact release on this is uncertain right now. What can you expect in the future? Patch 1.4 is being worked on and is scheduled for release at the end of August. This is shaping up to be the largest patch thus far in terms of bug fixes and improvements. Plans for an official MOD and release of an SDK are underway (expect both to come later).

Activision just dropped us a note about Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory -- if you've been holding off on the download because of your bandwidth, you won't have to any longer. Over the next couple of months, Enemy Territory will be on the discs of magazines all over the world! We've got a partial list below of gaming magazines that will be including Enemy Territory and when they're coming out. An updated list can be found on the official Wolfenstein website.

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 :

• Call Of Duty - US Campaign Trailer Pack
• Call Of Duty - Russian Campaign Trailer Pack
• Heaven And Hell - Trailer
• The Kore Gang - Trailer
• Spyhunter 2 - Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

City of Heroes is the first superhero themed online RPG and will offer a host of exciting and compelling gameplay features. Players create their own heroes, choosing from hundreds of different powers, skills, abilities, and items and design their own unique costumes. Then they can band together with other players to fight evil, build their own secret headquarters and strive to become the premiere hero group in the city.

Building further on an already successful partnership, Atari, Inc. and FUNimation have entered into an agreement, through which Atari will publish video games for certain next-generation consoles based on FUNimation’s popular animated television series, Yu Yu Hakusho. Already an acknowledged blockbuster in Japan where the manga alone has sold more than 40 million copies, Yu Yu Hakusho made its debut in the United States in April 2002 on Cartoon Network, where it is currently among the top-rated shows on the network’s “Toonami Block” of programming. Read more for details ...

Midway Games Inc. announced today that Midway Arcade Treasures, the first next-generation console offering of more than 20 classic arcade games, is scheduled to ship in fall 2003. Midway Arcade Treasures features hundreds of hours of classic gameplay action from all-time arcade favorites including the fast-paced action of SpyHunter, the multiplayer collaboration of Gauntlet, the space-age adventure of Defender and the dueling combat of Joust, just to name a few.

P.M. STUDIOS today officially announced the development of the 3D Action-RPG Game– ETROM: “The Astral Essence”. Earth 476. A.H.E.F. (After Human Empire Foundation): the Future? Etrom is a project aiming at creating a world where we find conflicting societies divided by walls, laws, secrets, towers and deserts, characterized by either fantastic technologies and ancient civilizations governed by mysterious hidden energies. Read more for details & screens ...

Battlestar Galactica delivers a compelling and immersive space action experience as players move seamlessly between stunning cinematics and epic space battles against the insidious, mechanical power of the Cylons. Fight the insidious Cylons in epic space battles utilizing advanced tactics and an arsenal of weaponry, including the greatest weapon mankind ever conceived — The Battlestar Galactica. Check out some new screens ...

Strategy First and co-developers Sinister Systems and Arxel Tribe are happy to announce that Mistmare, a title that offers a unique blend of action, adventure and RPG elements has shipped to retail stores nation wide. “Mistmare takes gamers into a very different world,” says Steve Milburn, Director of Marketing for Strategy First. “The Dark Ages never ended and gamers will be faced with medieval weapons and magic with only their skills and intellect to help them survive.”

Forever Worlds is a 1st person 'pure' adventure game that transports the player into a series of surreal and immersive worlds. As an archaeological detective, gamers embark on an amazing journey through a chain of non-parallel dimensions, where magic and fantasies merge. Intuitive interfaces and navigation combine with fully integrated puzzles for a great adventure. Read more for a batch of new screens ...

Players take on the role of hero Nick Bluetooth -- straight out of the hit ABC Family TV series -- and find themselves in an Outer Dimension on an action-packed quest to free friends who have fallen into the clutches of the evil tyrant, Gorm. With the ultimate goal of finding the portal to GALIDOR and ridding the Outer Dimension of its wicked ruler, Nick encounters many challenges and menacing foes along the way. Armed with the awe-inspiring ability to "glinch" or absorb the attributes of enemies he defeats, Nick can fly, jump, grapple and navigate through his adventures. GALIDOR: Defenders of the Outer Dimension has both 2D and 3D environments to explore across 21 levels.

Out thinking, out maneuvering and overpowering the enemy in a race to dominate the planet is what players can look forward to in "Aliens versus Predator: Extinction." The game, based on the blockbuster Aliens and Predator sci-fi film franchises from Twentieth Century Fox, is the first game of its kind for next generation consoles, giving players the ability to play as one of three species: Aliens, Predators or Colonial Marines. "Aliens versus Predator: Extinction" is scheduled to ship in summer 2003. Read more for some new screens ...

THQ Inc.has shipped "The Simpsons Road Rage" for the GBA. Handheld game players can now control over 15 Springfield residents, including Bart, Homer and Marge, as they drive vehicles inspired by the longest-running comedy on television. Today, THQ has also shipped out "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Wrath of the Darkhul King" for the GBA. Take control of Buffy as she and her friends kick, stab and blast their way through some of the baddest vampires, monsters and demons from the hit TV series.