Here is a news story on a growing gaming culture seen growing mostly in the bigger cities... As the editorial deadline draws nearer for the forthcoming edition of Twin Galaxies' Official Video Game & Pinball Book of World Records, more and more champions are surfacing to represent the many distinct genres of gaming. And, most interesting among the new genre are the dancing games... More about it below!

Thousands of gamers flooded the world of ancient Egypt on February 15, as eGenesis unveiled A Tale In The Desert, marking the birth of the intelligent MMORPG. A Tale In The Desert diverts from the shallow, violent gameplay that is typical of the genre, focusing instead on non-violent conflict that encourages creative thinking and ingenuity. The game is available now as a free, downloadable demo featuring 24 hours of game-time, or 30 days of service, whichever comes first. Following the trial period, the game is $13.95 per month.

SEGA of America, Inc. today announced it has entered into an affiliation with McDonald's Corporation, the world's largest quick service restaurant to create a new line of McDonald's Happy Meal premiums. Based on two top-selling SEGA franchises - Sonic The Hedgehog and Super Monkey Ball, the premiums will come alive this summer at participating McDonald's restaurants throughout North America.

F1 Career Challenge is officially licensed by Formula One Administration Limited and positions the player as a rookie who must prove their worth within the games career mode by passing a range of super licence tests where upon they can take their rightful place amongst the elite drivers competing in the world's fastest and most glamorous motor sport. Reputation will determine how far your career can take you and with which team. Develop and hone your car during test days where improvements will start to show over 4 successive seasons on the Formula1 circuit. Read more for facts sheet and some early PS2 screens ...

4D Rulers has just released the promised demo release of the AMP II showcasing their new engine. The tech demo offers the chance to check out the next generation version of the engine that powered Gore, which is going to be available for license for commercial games, as well as smaller projects. The initial version of the engine requires the use of either an NVIDIA GeForce 3 or GeForce 4 ti accelerator. Read more for download links ...

Nintendo today announce the eagerly anticipated news that a limited edition bonus disk will be included with The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker at launch on 3rd May. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, will include a bonus disk containing two additional Gamecube games: The N64 Classic The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and previously unreleased title The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest, which was originally designed for the N64DD. Also on the bonus disk will be additional gameplay footage including the all-new F-Zero, 1080° Avalanche, Time Splitters 2, Phantasy Star Online, Rayman 3 & Super Monkey Ball 2, all for Gamecube

Hercules is pleased to announce today the release of SmartTV on Screen, an external unit which connects to a PC for full screen viewing of television and other video sources on a computer's monitor via composite and S-Video inputs.

Mirage Interactive has official announced that Mortyr II, a sequel to their World War II first-person shooter, is in production. A demo is expected soon and they have released a list of new "features" that we can expect to see in their new Mortyr II WIP version. Read more for details ...

Resident Evil: Dead Aim sees search and pursuit team agent, Bruce MacGavin spear heading a shady anti-Umbrella organization’s attempt to infiltrate and investigate a gigantic sea-cruiser as it makes its way across the Atlantic. Bruce MacGavin is a brand new character to the Resident Evil series and along with his mysterious female partner must battle against the hoards of relentless zombies that confront them for the first time.

Conflict:Desert Storm is a 3rd person squad based action game that has unprecedented realism and depth and is a carefully balanced equation of fast paced action, stealth and tactical warfare. Conflict:Desert Storm will be released in May 2003 on Nintendo GameCube and is currently available on PS2, Xbox and PC CD-Rom. Read more for some NGC features & screens ...

In Dungeons & Dragons Heroes, you take on the role of one of four resurrected D&D Heroes (Fighter, Wizard, Cleric & Rogue), each carved in the style of fictional famed fantasy figures drawn from the D&D universe. The game focuses around combat and developing your character, "The Hero", as you journey through the game's levels to collect all of the Planar Gems and vanquish the evil force that threatens to end life as we know it. Dungeons & Dragons Heroes features gorgeously detailed characters in lush environments that are rich for adventuring, each populated with gruesome Dungeons & Dragons monsters, treasures and sinister traps.

Extreme Pool features ultra realistic graphics, numerous game modes and extremely accurate physics and ball kinetics all set within exotic photo-realistic high polygon environments. The most graphically detailed console pool/snooker game with a full career game mode, various tournament modes, create your own tournament mode and practice modes with multiplayer gameplay for up to 8 players. Graphic State, a leading UK developer whose clients include THQ, TDK, Midway and Lego, today announces the completion of 'Extreme Pool', a brand new pool and snooker game for PS2, GameCube and PC. Check out the screens ...

France 1940. Behind the façade of stability a secret, desperate, and cruel war of liberation has already begun. As a spy, saboteur, and partisan of the French resistance movement, the Résistance, you will also get involved in this fight. Sabotage 1943 is an upcoming WWII FPS by German developers Replay Studios. Read more to check out the promising looking screens and stay tuned for more details shortly!

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 ...

Original, provoking and rich in storyline, Yager captures your imagination as you battle for your life in tomorrow’s hostile skies. But is all what it seems…? Keep your wits about you, and use what you learn, as your struggle evolves to become the fight against constitutional power, conspiracy and control. With the genre-busting mix of 3D action-adventure and air combat, coupled with the highly motivating storyline and nail-biting campaigns, Yager is next generation gaming at its finest. Release date TBA.. New screens below!

In a move that has the videogame world salivating like Pavlov's crack whore of a dog, Running With Scissors announced that POSTAL 2 will be published by Whiptail Interactive, who simultaneously announced they will deliver the long-awaited sequel to the original Postal its debut offering!

The official site for Battlefield 1942 is updated with information about their upcoming v1.31 patch.. Here is the clip:

In this weeks update we're going to talk about some fixes we're working on for the upcoming 1.31 patch. While we don't have a release date for this yet, we do know what we're focusing on. Naturally, with all updates of this nature, none of these are set in stone and could change by the time the patch is released. So without further adieu, here's what we're working on for 1.31.

Wall Hacking
Parachuting Into Objects
Single Player and Co-Op Crashes
Stand Alone Server Error
Text display on-screen time

Keep in mind, we're aware of the other issues reported by our troops in the field and are working to resolve those in another upcoming patch. This patch will be coming sooner than you think!

She's beautiful and deadly. And her ironic timing may catch some men at their most vulnerable. The fourth horseman of the Apocalypse has come to Earth. Rumored to have been sighted in North America, "Pestilence" should be the last horseman according to the Book of Revelation. The 3DO Company has no comment on the widespread speculation that its upcoming game "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" may be the cause of her arrival, but has nevertheless gathered what initial information is available on its website!

Nathan Pearce from Sony let us know that they launched a new website for EverQuest Online Adventures. There is TONS of content already on the site, the TV commercial, a new gameplay movie, race and class pages, getting started guide, Welcome Letter from the Dev team, brand new forums and a lot more. Have a look!

"The House of the Dead" movie will debut this Saturday, February 15 at the San Francisco Independent Film Festival. The premier will take place at the UA Galaxy 4 Theater at Sutter and Van Ness and starts at 7:00 pm sharp. Tickets are available at the box office the day of the show. Stop by if you're in the area! A supernatural horror thriller, "The House of the Dead" is the twisted tale of a band of college students that arrive on a mysterious island for a rave and must confront horrifying zombies and terrifying creatures intent on feasting on the flesh of the living. "The House of the Dead" is based on the video game franchise of the same name from SEGA. The film's director Uwe Boll ("Sanctimony," "Homeroom: The Heart of America") and stars from the movie, including Clint Howard, will all attend for some post-Valentine's Day carnage at this world premier showing of "The House of the Dead." The "House of the Dead" was produced by Shawn Williamson via his Brightlight Pictures banner and executive produced by Mindfire Entertainment, the producers of the award winning "Free Enterprise" and "The Specials" and Daniel Kletzky, a producer on "Resident Evil" and "Final Fantasy."