Game Ops, the interactive industry's first troubleshooting agency, today announced the launch of a unique new freelancer service designed to address the critical issue of outsourcing in the games development sector. Game Ops retains a number of highly experienced staff across a broad range of disciplines including coding, art & animation, game design, localisation, testing, audio and massively multiplayer gaming.

Requesting reinforcements! There are new battles to be fought and won. Electronic Arts Inc. and Digital Illusions today announced that development is underway on the latest expansion pack for the award-winning Battlefield 1942 PC game series. Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII, scheduled for release in fall 2003, will significantly enhance the multiplayer combat experience by bringing the most unique and deadly weapons from the German and Allied laboratories to life on the battlefields of World War II.

The German site GameCaptain let us know that JoWood has just announced "Railroad Giant" an upcoming railroad sim for PC to be released in Germany in September 2003. You find the first two screens here and use Bablefish to translate the announcement from German to English!

CM4 was released on March 28th 2003 by Eidos Interactive. The game, developed by Sports Interactive, is the latest in the best-selling series of football management games which has sold more than 3,000,000 copies worldwide since its initial launch in 1992.

Ground Control 2 : Operation Exodus takes place during the year 2741 AD, roughly 300 years after the events in the original game. The democratic and freedom caring Northern Star Alliance (NSA) is being hard pressed by the warmongering Terran Empire. The war has recently entered a new stage; a brutal and deadly ground war, as the Empire has managed to land their first troopships on the last NSA controlled planet – Morningstar Prime... Read more for a few new screens!

Time of Defiance is a massively multiplayer real time strategy game, with astonishing graphics, based upon many thousands of small floating islands on the remains of the planet of Nespanona. The Cog Tribes are locked into a battle of supremacy with each other. The player takes on the role of one of the Cog tribes and plays against hundreds or thousands of other players to gain control of the Northern Continent. Players expand their empires through exploration, negotiation, war or peace - using the strategies and tactics of their choice. Nicely Crafted Entertainment have now released version 4.427C of Time of Defiance. Read more for download links & detailed fix list ...

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 :

• Anarchy Online: Shadowlands (FunCom)
• Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance II (Interplay)
• 
  
  Read more for download links ...

Mad Catz Inc. will showcase a full range of innovative video game peripherals at the upcoming SCoRE exhibition, April 13th and 14th, held at the Business Design Centre in Islington. Mad Catz will be situated on stand B44 and will highlight their recently launched Game Boy Advance SP product line, comprising of ten new accessories to enhance the GBA SP gaming experience. Further featured products will include the recently launched Mad Catz Blaster, the first light gun for the Xbox video game system from Microsoft and Mad Catz' popular MicroCON range of control pads and wheels.

EA and Westwood Studios have released another patch for Command & Conquer Generals, bringing their brand-new 3D real-time strategy game first to v1.05. This upgrade addresses stats recording inaccuracies, some exploits and gameplay bugs, general balancing issues, and more (thanks Bluesnews). Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

Developed by Freeform Interactive LLC, Purge players become members of the Order and the Chosen, with each side seeking elimination of the enemy and individual party survival. Players receive rewards as they win battles and complete objectives throughout gameplay. In addition, Purge offers several map options, innovative weaponry and extensive player customization to enhance the online war experience. A new patch for the retail version has been released bring your game to v1.4.3 addressing a cd protection ussue and improving the netcode by 10%. Read more for download links ...

Stardock has released the first update to Galactic Civilizations bringing your retail game to v1.01a. This upgrade bring a few few features and playability enhancements as well as some compatibility fixes with the GalCiv Metaverse. The update can be downloaded through the ingame Starrdock Central. Read more for detailed fix list ...

Noticed on Gamershell that Razbor Studios released a new demo of Legacy: Dark Shadows, allowing you to try out this upcoming adventure game. This is the second Alpha release and many things are still waiting for full or partial implementation, however, it’s playable and it can give you a glimpse of things to come. What’s inside? "Approximately over half hour of spoken dialogues (still in testing versions and without professional voiceovers), and about 2 hours of game play if you have a walkthrough". Read more for download links ...

Blizzard has released a new update patch for their hit sci-fi RTS game Starcraft and the expansion Brood War bringin your retail game to v1.1. (thanks EvilAvatar). The patch can be auto downloaded through the game updater or read more for download links ...

GMX Media today announced that it has secured the rights to publish the PC Adventure-Strategy title - Northland (aka Cultures 3) in most European territories and North America. Part of a two-title deal signed with Funatics of Germany, Northland is planned for release early July 2003 in Europe and North America. Read more for details and 20+ new screens ...

Enter the world of underground fight clubs through the release of Def Jam VENDETTA for the PS2 and GameCube. Electronic Arts along with Def Jam, the undisputed powerhouse of urban music and lifestyle, are delivering players a unique interactive entertainment experience that features a roster of over 40 characters including 12 playable Def Jam artists: DMX, Method Man, Redman, Ludacris, Capone, N.O.R.E., Scarface, Ghostface Killah, Joe Budden, Keith Murray, WC and DJ Funkmaster Flex. Additionally, the game introduces Def Jam songstress Christina Milian as the temptress Angel.

JoWooD Productions is proud to announce that March was the month of CMM in the year of Söldner: Secret Wars, the revolutionary online tactical military shooter coming to PC CD-ROM in 2003. Söldner: Secret Wars features Customisable Multiplayer Modes, an easy to use set of options that provide an unprecedented level of configurability within multiplayer games. A wide variety of different game scenarios can be set up with just a couple of mouse-clicks, the interface offering as simple or as detailed a customisation level as required.

Track down and eliminate dangerous forces from behind the wheel of the world’s most relied upon front-line vehicle — the HUMVEE. Whether rumbling through a sun-baked desert, steaming tropical jungle or frozen tundra, it’s up to you to deliver a knockout punch to America’s enemies. With simple pick-up-and-play controls and immediate arcade-style action, this is your war to win. This is HUMVEE Assault! Infogrames just let us know that Humvee Assault went gold and we can expect to see it on store shelves around April 14th

Championship Manager 4 has smashed all records for UK PC game sales, having generated retail sales of 124,627 in its first week of release, according to the official UK chart organisation Chart-Track. This more than doubles the sales achieved by the previous PC best-seller, Championship Manager: Season 01/02. This phenomenal performance has also propelled CM4 into the top three of Chart-Track's 'All-Formats' fastest-seller list, with only the two PlayStation 2 smash hits, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and The Getaway, standing above it.

Mindware Studios has completed its first demo for Cold War and will soon be seeking a publisher for the game during the next few months. Cold War will put the player in the role of Matt Carter, an American reporter caught in a web of intrigue and conspiracy in the Soviet Union during the 80's. The game will emphasize stealth (much like IGI2 and other recent tactical shooters), and will take you to Eastern European historical settings such as the Red Square, Chernobyl and Baikonur. Read more to check the screens & trailer

Silent Storm is a true 3D game combining turn-based tactical combats and role-playing set against the background of the WWII. As the war rages on, you will lead a squad of elite troopers deep behind enemy lines to perform secret missions and prevent a disaster the true scale of which could be fully appreciated by neither of the involved parties. A new trailer got released, read more for download links ...