NASCAR Thunder 2003 surrounds you with the emotion, sound, fury, and risks of the high-speed, high-drama career of a NASCAR star. Feel the adrenaline rush, intensity, and passion of being a NASCAR driver on a quest to become a NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion. Take on various real-life scenarios, complete with dramatic pileups, walls of smoke, and constant door-to-door, three-wide racing, to test your nerve and improve your racing skills. Build a racing legacy over the course of 20 drama-filled seasons. This demo contains the Talladega Superspeedway track and is 82MB to download. (We previously posted some screens here). Read more for download links and details ...

It seems that the recent pinball demo, Attack of the Silver Ball, from RoundHouse Entertainment had a bug, where the camera would get "stuck" in the Mafia Madness table. Today they updated their site with a 358KB patch that will solve this problem. Find out more and download here!

Konami of Europe is delighted to announce the first fruits of its acquisition of leading Japanese developer Hudson Soft, with the release of Bomberman Kart for PlayStation 2 in Q1, 2003. The publisher will also be unveiling additional Hudson titles, with Pinobee for PSone and Pinobee and Phoebee for Game Boy Advance to follow later in the year.

THQ today shipped PHANTASY STAR COLLECTION and ALTERED BEAST: GUARDIAN OF THE REALMS for Game Boy Advance. PHANTASY STAR COLLECTION, a compilation of the first three Phantasy Star games released by SEGA, and ALTERED BEAST: GUARDIAN OF THE REALMS, are available now at major retail outlets nationwide. They also today announced that Rugrats Royal Ransom for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and Nintendo's GameCube is available at retailers nationwide. Rugrats Royal Ransom represents THQ's 18th and 19th Rugrats releases in the long-running, top-selling kids' franchise.

The Royal Aero Club Trust, a British charity whose patron is HRH the Duke of York, has launched a bursary scheme for young people as part of its Flying for Youth programme. Money for real flight training is available for young people who wish to upgrade their existing qualification in a wide range of aviation-related activities, from paragliding to building and flying model aeroplanes – or even 'upgrading' from simulated flying to the real thing!

As the Xbox Live consumer beta draws to a close, thousands of gamers in the UK, France and Germany have had the chance to experience the fun and excitement of the only comprehensive online game service fully dedicated to fast-action, always-connected broadband gaming experiences. And now the fun really begins, as the Xbox Live Test Drive starts its engine and gets ready for the green light on 30th November.

Published by Xicat Interactive and Developed by Kuju, Lotus Challenge is the first truly complete driving game. The game features licensed vehicles from the famous British sports car company Lotus. Included are the Esprit (made famous by Roger Moore's James Bond), the Lotus 7 (made famous in the classic TV series The Prisoner), as well as all the hottest new models such as the Elise and 340R, vintage classics, F1 Lotus Racing vehicles, and even concept cars from Lotus Design. The game also features stunning graphics, exquisite lighting and weather effects, realistic damage modelling and a pumping soundtrack provided by cutting edge electronica/breakbeat artist Hybrid. Release Date: March 2003.

Acclaim today announced it has begun shipping Legends of Wrestling II for the Xbox video game system from Microsoft, PlayStation2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance. Legends of Wrestling II features all new match types and more than 65 superstars, including Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Bruno Sammartino, Bret "Hitman" Hart, "Big Poppa Pump" Scott Steiner, Sid Vicious and Jerry "The King" Lawler. In addition, the game also features the late comedian Andy Kaufman, who will defend his Inter-Gender Heavyweight Championship.

Are you ready to take on the mantle of Kain - the most evil character in gaming history? Blood Omen 2 is the sequel to the critically acclaimed Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, which was released on PlayStation and PC in 1995. The game will be available on GameCube in January 2003. Crystal Dynamics of Menlo Park, USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eidos, is developing the game.

Noticed on GamePRO that Enix announced early today that, effective November 26, they will begin to merge operations with Square to form Square Enix, a brand-new company created to compete in the world gaming marketplace on the same level as America and Europe's large third parties. The two companies aim to complete the merger by April 1, 2003 and will aim to build a new firm that will produce 80 billion yen ($656 million) in sales and 15 billion yen ($123 million) in profit by fiscal 2005.

"Kung Fu Chaos" is a quirky brawler game inspired by the '70's Kung Fu movie era. With the outrageous cast of characters in "Kung Fu Chaos," gamers can go head-to-head with up to four of their friends, battling it out on interactive movie sets that add an element of challenge to the mayhem. Players will become completely immersed in the game as they engage in Hong-Kong-style combat with over-the-top gigantic leaps, suicidal stunts and multiple-opponent action - all while unleashing humiliating insults that can be as damaging as the karate kicks themselves. Featuring appropriately themed music tracks, including "Kung Fu Fighting" and the theme from "Enter the Dragon," "Kung Fu Chaos" will hit gamers with a brawler experience packed with fun, competition, and glory - as well as humiliation, insults and back-stabbing!

Billy Martin, the award-winning composer whose outlets include such media icons as Walt Disney Pictures, Universal, Fox, the Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and ABC, has created the music for a trio of animated games centred on Disney’s feature film Treasure Island, which opens in theaters nationwide on November 27.

Sierra has just released the 1.2 Update for No One Lives Forever 2, adding multiplayer deathmatch mode, dedicated server support and a host of other updates. This version is required for online play. Sierra simultaniously released the first map pack which includes a set of new maps not included with the No One Lives Forever 2 CD-ROM. Map Pack #1 requires installation of the 1.2 Update. Read more for details and links where to grab the goods ...

Total Immersion Racing is a driving game with an emphasis on the highest quality driving technology linked to compelling and immersive gameplay. Empire Interactive has just released a playable demo of Total Immersion Racing, giving you the opportunity to try out this modern racing simulation. The Total Immersion Racin lets you race two different cars in Single-Lap and Time Trial modes on the Monza and Talheimring tracks. Read more for links where to grab the goods ...

Seems today the majority of the news is shipping new. Jaleco Entertainment announced that Trailer Park Tycoon, the new resource management game for the PC, ships to stores in North America today (Tuesday).

For owners of the Game Boy Advance, this holiday season will certainly be filled with great BMX action as Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. has shipped Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3. The third installment in the Company's award-winning Dave Mirra franchise, which has sold more than three million units worldwide, Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3 offers all-new new tricks and features that takes the genre to new heights on the hand-held system.

IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles will feature 20 single and 10 multiplayer missions spanning the Finnish and Hungarian theatres of conflict. Amongst the host of features will be improved flight dynamics, a full AI redesign, new ground and sea objects and over 40 new flyable and AI-controlled aircraft, including flyable, multi-crewed German and Russian bombers. Check out the new batch of "work in progress" screens ...

CDV Software Entertainment today announced that the historical real-time strategy game "Cossacks: Back to war" is now available in stores. "Cossacks: Back to War" includes all of the strategic power and pageantry of the original real-time strategy bestseller "Cossacks: European Wars" as well as the first expansion pack "Cossacks: The Art of War," and adds two new playable nations - Switzerland and Hungary.

VE3D reports that the “booster pack” to Anarchy Online is on it’s way to stores. Among the new features included in the booster are the ability to control land, new sounds, and new graphical updates. A downloadable version may become available at a later date. Funcom stated it has planned a series of additional 'booster packs.' "Anarchy Online is the first science fiction-based massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (Sci-fi MMORPG)."