"Midtown Madness 3," the latest in Microsoft Corp.'s popular "Midtown Madness" franchise, allows gamers to get behind the wheel of more than 30 vehicles while competing in exciting race modes such as Blitz, Checkpoint and Cruise. With a robust Career mode featuring 14 driving careers, "Midtown Madness 3" delivers the rush and excitement of street racing while challenging gamers to put their driving skills to the ultimate test... Nine new screenshots. Take a gander at the Paris Bus and the Corvette Z06.

JoWooD Productions is proud to announce the first official details of the 50 defensive and destructive magic spells set to feature in Gothic II, the breathtaking role-playing action adventure game... Read more for all details of the game's 50 magic spells - just the ticket for making it through Friday 13th, and four screenshots of spells in action.

Previously, Phantagram Europe has announced in celebration their Top 20 entry in ChartTrack, Phantom Crash, which was released 22nd November 2002, with a prestigious event titled Phantom Crash Battle Royal Competition. Already they have been receiving many entries but time is running out. With the deadline on 29th December 2002, competitors that have already entered the competition have demonstrated their skills greatly. This is all in bid to win a "Year supply of Phantagram titles on all formats", "Phantarama CD", "discount" off your purchased copy of Phantom Crash and a free copy of "Kingdom Under Fire Gold". For competition entry, the player has to play Phantom Crash playable Demo on Official U.K. Xbox Magazine that was released 27th November 2002. They have to defeat 25 opponents in the fastest time possible and prove the results to Phantagram Europe via Photo or Video Tape... Find out more below!

On Wednesday, the 4th of December techland finished working on FIM Speedway Grand Prix. After two weeks of testers' intensified work and final improvements of the game, it was sent to replication on Thursday, the 5th December at 11.15. Despite of the extreme tiredness and sacrifice of all the SGP Team, all people who worked on FIM SGP have been very satisfied with the achievement. The game will apear in Poland before Christmas. Distributors for other countries will be found soon and the game will be released worldwide in Q1 2003.

No rules radio-controlled racing through a variety of off-road realistic worlds. Smash Cars drivers steer remote-control cars in a high-speed race where daily life is in full swing with giant objects and people interacting with and hindering the path of your tiny car. Don’t drop the hammer too fast or people, animals, cars and a variety of other real-world obstacles may spin you into trouble. A one- or two-player game, Smash Cars provides special control features including power boosts, jumps, and the most realistic physics for enhanced driving action. A few news screens ...

Black & Bruised thrusts players into the colorful world of 18 lively boxers, each forced into competitive boxing for individual reasons. Competing in 18 different arenas, players learn the life story of each boxer and how winning will benefit them. Characters are differentiated not only by their look, but by their individual personalities, which are enhanced by the game’s advanced AI system. More than 30 unique and detailed facial animations are used to convey the boxer’s mood and reaction to landed punches. Read more to check out some new screens and a new trailer.. Njoy!

Ubi Soft Entertainment has announced two Hollywood celebrities who will play feature voiceover roles in Rayman3 Hoodlum Havoc, a video game slated for release in March 2003 that is already stirring a buzz among the gaming community. Read more for details and download a Globox sample file ...

In 'Wallace & Gromit' players will rescue young animals from the clutches of mischievous monkeys and thwart Feathers McGraw's twisted and diabolical plan for total zoo domination. Set in an immersive 3D world, the player is cast as Gromit and is challenged to solve puzzles and locate keys in order to rescue the young animals. Machine parts, located throughout the game's many testing levels, must also be gathered so that the ever-inventive Wallace can create a marvellous contraption with which to deal the final knockout blow to the dastardly Feathers and his vile plans. Check out the new load of Xbox and PS2 screens ...

Today Global Star Software has announced that they have signed a agreement with developer Digital Fusion to release an as-yet-unnamed 3D Bowling title for the PC Platform. Although still in the early stages of development, the game will feature multiple characters and environments, as well as online play. The game is tentatively set for release some time next summer. Apart from these 2 screens, not much else known about the product ..

A new beta of the dedicated server software for Counter-Strike is now available. There is a Counter-Strike Win32 server v4.1.1.0c version available as well as a Counter-Strike Linux server v3.1.1.0c version. Meanwhile, a new version 1.25 dedicated Linux server for Team Factor has been released which allows the hosting of a server for the European version of the game only (thanks Blue's News). Read more for details, install help and links where to grab the goods ...

Paradox Entertainment has licensed the British developer Virtual Programming Ltd the right to convert the award-winning historical strategy games Legion and Hearts of Iron to Apple´s PowerMac. The games will be released during 2003. Paradox Entertainment has previously licenced the Macintosh rights to Europa Universalis 2 to Virtual Programming Ltd who has specialist competence in converting into the MacOS.

It is 1588 A.D., a critical year of an alternate history hauntingly familiar yet fantastically alien to our own. Because of one fateful event during the Third Crusade, the history of this world diverged. This event, the Disjunction, ripped open a long-sealed breach to other worlds. Magic energy and powerful spirits flowed into the world, changing the lands and the people forever. Read more for links to grab the very first trailer with in-game footage from Black Isle Studios/Reflexive Entertainment's "Lionheart". Njoy!

Infogrames announces that it will be shipping Micro Machines for Nintendo’s GameCube and Game Boy Advance to retailers in January 2003. Infogrames’ Sheffield House development studio (responsible for the GameCube version) and Paragon 5 / Infinite Dreams (who made the Game Boy Advance version) have produced polished, vibrant games that are sure to delight Nintendo fans of all ages with their quirky sense of humour and fast and furious gameplay.

Sammy Studios Inc. today announced the addition of Clinton Keith. Clinton comes to the company from Rockstar San Diego, the developer formerly known as Angel Studios, Inc., where he served as director/lead programmer. He joins Sammy Studios as lead tools programmer, working with teams currently creating the company’s first internally-developed video games in North America.

PlayGATE is contacting all former players to let them hear some great news- they have released a major update with new features, gameplay and vehicles AND starting Friday, December 13th you can come back and play for free! At approximately 1700 ET on Friday, December 13th, they will reactivate all accounts which were closed between June 6th 2001 and December 10th, 2002 for access to the game and forums. This does not apply to banned or special promotional accounts. On or before January 11th, 2003 you'll need to update your billing information in order to continue playing. We already have the latest patch available so read more for details and links where to grab it ...

French police raided Vivendi Universal's headquarters and other unspecified premises Thursday as part of a financial-accounts investigation, judicial and police sources said Thursday. The raid, by financial-division police, is part of a probe into potential irregularities in Vivendi's accounts when under the leadership of former chairman and chief executive Jean-Marie Messier, the sources said. A spokesman for the French media company has confirmed a search was being performed at Vivendi's headquarters and was related to the accounts investigation.

The action moves into high gear with the release of Activision, Inc.'s Rally Fusion: Race of Champions. Based on the Michelin Race of Champions, which is held annually in the Canary Islands, the game lets players take on the top racers from the world of motorsport with the ultimate goal of becoming the "Champion of Champions." Developed by Climax, Rally Fusion: Race of Champions for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system and Xbox video game system from Microsoft has been rated "E" (Everyone) by the ESRB and has a suggested retail price of $49.99.

MindComet, the industry leading new media solutions provider, today announced that it has designed and developed an online game in support of the Nextel/National Hockey League All-Star Challenge. The Nextel/NHL All-Star Challenge is a national shootout competition, taking place in 11 NHL team markets and through a national sweepstakes (U.S. residents only) over a three-month period. The competition will culminate at the 2003 NHL All-Star Weekend presented by Nextel in Sunrise, Fla., where one fan will have the opportunity to shoot against Tampa Bay Lightning star goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin for $250,000.

NVIDIA the worldwide leader in visual processing solutions, today announced a series of new corporate initiatives that will extend the Company's leadership position in the Linux market and ensure that NVIDIA graphics and multimedia processors continue to be the highest performing in the industry. As part of the Company's ongoing commitment to the Linux community, NVIDIA today revealed details of a technical support program for end users and professional customers; a new software driver package that includes performance enhancements and new features for NVIDIA's advanced graphics features, including NVIDIA's CineFX architecture delivered by NVIDIA's Unified Driver Architecture (UDA); and support for the latest PC technologies, including AGP 8X and OpenGL 1.4.