Artifact Entertainment Inc. is now accepting applications for the upcoming beta test of Horizons. Horizons is a massively multiplayer fantasy world that is currently in development. The beta test will operate in a number of phases, with the first phase commencing in early 2003. If you are selected for a phase of beta testing, you will receive an email and a CD will be ground mailed to your home address. Click here to sign up!!

Years ago, a legacy was born that ruled the skies. As time passed and memory grew dim, distant times progressed from History into Legend. Now, the era of human prosperity has come to a grinding halt, with all but a few pockets of civilisation destroyed by years of devastating battles. The population clings precariously to the brink of extinction, scattered across the desolate land, living in the darkest age in history.

The Strike Force team has partnered with Jolt Online Gaming to produce Strike Force on the Unreal Tournament 2003 engine. Work will begin this week and continue until they have a playable version to release sometime early in 2003. This new version of Strike Force will bring the award winning mod to the best engine on the planet; Unreal Tournament 2003. The team has spared nothing and hired the best of the best in their field to produce this hardcore mod for the community.. Find out more below!

JD from tiscali games let us know that ALTAR granted them permission to post full-version (289MB) of the puzzle game FISH FILLETS as Xmas present for their readers. More info about Fish Fillets can be found here.. They also posted up 5 exclusive screenshots from UFO: Aftermath showing mission in Eastern Europe.

Alias|Wavefront, an SGI company, today announced that its Maya software was the exclusive 3D software package used in the development of the highly anticipated Nintendo game, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for Nintendo GameCube, which begins shipping today in Japan. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is the first Nintendo game in which the 3D graphics were created entirely with Maya.

Constantine "Chantz", producer @ Infogrames has updated the MOO3 forum with some news regarding that Master of Orion 3 has not gone gold yet (thanks VE3D). Here is the full clip:

I'm going to keep this brief. The game has *not* gone gold yet, as i've said before, when it does, we'll let you know.

PLEASE stop the speculation. The game is SIMPLY NOT READY ACCORDING TO IG STANDARDS. We're very pleased that *some*, NOT ALL, of our beta testers feel it can go; that says a lot about the state of the game. However, there ARE crash bugs and we want them fixed. This is a collective decision made DOWN THE LINE by QA, PD, Marketing, Sales and QSI. Period, end of story.

The topic of the game is the Scottish battle of freedom against the English agressor which took place at William Wallece's time. The mass of atmosphere and the wuite detailed graphic as well as a extensive system of battle and economy stamp the game. New features like changing seasons during a mission, the buildings of castles onto mountains and the consequent use of 3D - Engine for tactical possibilities make the RTS - Genre get new impulses. Today we got a new batch of 30+ screens, njoy!

Ghost Recon lets the player lead an elite team of U.S. Army Special Forces through the deadly realism of tomorrow's battlefields. Outnumbered and outgunned, this Green Beret team, nicknamed "the Ghosts," uses the latest technology and tactics to conquer the battlefield, swiftly, silently and invisibly. After the PC, Xbox and PS2 versions have been released, the Nintendo Gamecube is next. Check out the trailer with in-game footage!

Keep an eye open and don’t turn off the lights ... there might be something behind you! The game is set in Paris, between the two World Wars, a time that would change the world forever, a time of clashing ideas: new versus old, strong versus weak. Microids brings you another adventure game by the name of Post Mortem, and today we have 20 more screens for you to enjoy!

Project 3 has just released a new update patch for their recently released (only available in Europe for now) First Person Shooter, New World Order. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.3 and mostly fixes some multiplayer lag, better compression and some gameplay fixes. Read more for detailed fix list and links where to grab the goods ...

In Gladius players may choose to take on the role of Ursula or Valens. Ursula, from the northern land of Nordagh, is the daughter of a great barbarian king. Valens is the son of one of Imperia's greatest gladiators. A bloody conflict between their two homelands gave rise to a vengeful dark god, which nearly destroyed all of mankind. Only with the help of the revered Valkyrie was the dark god defeated, but it came at a great cost of many lives. Check out some new screens below!

On the DVD disc which came with this months issue of the Norwegian gaming magazine PCG, there was a brand new 53MB trailer of Broken Sword 3! The trailer show both George and Nico wandering around alot in some city, climbing walls and ladders, performing actions, using stuff from their inventory and interacting with other characters. Of course for your convenience we have converted it to our usual .wmv format, so read more for download links...

Recently the TV audiences in the USA were treated to this 30-second advertisement for Two Towers. Read more to download and take a look at this 4.9MB Quicktime Trailer! "The Two Towers," EA's The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers game will integrate cinema and gameplay to deliver an epic interactive experience. Players will be immersed into the roles of the film's main action heroes: Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, with other members of the Fellowship taking an active role during gameplay"

Once again the official forum for Splinter Cell over at Ubi.com has been updated with more info regarding the upcoming demo for Splinter Cell.. Here is the full clip:

• The demo will be around 90 MB.
  
• A complete level from the first mission of the game is included.
  
• You get access to numerous items including the optic cable, night/thermal vision goggles and disposable lock picks.
  
• Revolutionary graphics with dynamic lighting and environmental effects.
  
  The full retail version will be available for the PC on January 21st.

Vivendi Universal has held talks with at least three potential suitors to sell its video game arm but no deal is believed to be near, according to banking sources familiar with the situation. Vivendi Universal Games has talked to Microsoft Corp., Sony Corp. and Electronic Arts Inc. about a possible acquisition, though those conversations were described by the sources as preliminary. The talks come as Vivendi Universal Entertainment, which encompasses the Franco-American conglomerate's TV, film, music, theme park and game assets, has itself been the subject of a takeover bid, with oilman Marvin Davis spearheading a deal worth about $15 billion for the unit.

CDV's small Christmas Platform game, Santa Claus in Trouble is slowly conquering the Internet! So far they got about 250.000 downloads in the first week, and the count is still rising. The official homepage for Santa Claus in Trouble is updated with a brand new Tips & Tricks section to help you to get the ultimate high score..

Strategy First has released a new patch for their WWII based strategy war title Hearts of Iron. Fixes include: interface and gameplay tweaks, generic bug fixes, AI fixes, scenario setup and events adjustments.. Read more below to download this 4.23MB patch and for a more detailed listing!

BOOMER is a upcoming ballistic missile submarine simulator game, developed by Frozen Lung Canada, and is expected to hit store shelves in winter 2003... The new site includes faq, features, forum, screens and more.. "Take command of the US Navy's most Lethal Machine, the Ohio Class Ballistic Missile Submarine. Too much for you? Then you can take it's conventional sister out for a spin (OHIO SSGN), complete with 154 Tomahawks!!"

Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb features The Collective's proprietary 3D engine that supports completely immersive, highly interactive environments. The game will offer 10 levels, all set in unique locales such as a 15th century castle that looms over Prague, an underwater palace in Istanbul, and a mountaintop fortress in China. A sophisticated camera tracking system makes sure that the player always has an optimal view of the third-person action. Today we scored a nifty little trailer showing off some good in game footage, looks quite nice to be honest.