Under license from Hasbro Consumer Products, Atari has announced plans to take one of the most popular trading card games ever created to the Xbox videogame system from Microsoft with the release of "Magic: The Gathering - Battlegrounds." A PC CD-ROM version of the game was also announced. Currently in development by Secret Level, "Magic: The Gathering - Battlegrounds" is filled with faithful translations of classic creatures, spells and enchantments from the premier trading card game in a visually stunning 3D game environment rife with real-time strategic fighting, devastating wizard arsenals and intense creature combat.

"`Magic' represents one of the best

In an attempt to boost sales and lure more video-game players online, Sony Corp. plans on giving buyers of its PlayStation 2 system a free modem device that previously cost $40.

Sony will now sell its PlayStation 2 standard with its Network Adapter, which allows video-game players to hook up via the Internet to compete with each other. The company didn't specify an exact start date for the promotion, but said it would happen over the summer.

Industry watchers had been uncertain whether Sony would offer any promotion, since PlayStation 2 sales have eclipsed competitors in the game-console arena, Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox

Get the Tarr Chronicles trailer off WP (35mb)

The game is set in the middle of a war between the human Alliance and the De-Hattae - strange creatures that have been changed by the Darkness. The Darkness advances; the populated systems, ravaged by the war with De-Hattae, turn desolate. The forces of the once powerful human Empire retreat to the far corners of the galaxy. The player is a pilot in an elite squad of space fighters. They are stationed onboard a Talestra battlecruiser, a human flagship. It has been sent to a distant star system where several

Microsoft Corp. is introducing a series of enhancements for its Xbox videogame system, including music software and online-gaming options that underscore the software giant's plans to use videogames to move more broadly into digital entertainment, Tuesday's Wall Street Journal reported.

Presenting to members of the videogame industry assembled for a convention here this week, Microsoft described software that can let consumers record, mix and organize digital music on the Xbox. The company also announced enhancements to its online-gaming service, called Xbox live, that lets players set up online games and check scores from their personal computers and cell phones as well

Aquanox 2 (PC)

Chaser (PC)

Cold Zero (PC)

Flying off the top rope and into the hands of every wrestling fan, Acclaim Sports, a division of Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. today announced its return to the squared circle with the spring 2004 release of Legends of Wrestling(TM) III for the next-generation systems. Currently under development with Acclaim Studios Austin, the latest installment in the series is being rebuilt from the ground up with enhanced graphics, new features, new matches, more than 70 Legends and an all-new intuitive player control scheme.

"The original concept behind the Legends of Wrestling(TM) brand continues to appeal to wrestling fans and gamers alike,

Get the Showdown: Scorpion trailer off WP (90mb)

In 2068, Eastern Europe was broken into several industrial regions controlled by American and Asian corporations. Once prosperous cities became the sites of harmful plants ruled by criminal syndicates. The drug trade, illegal cloning and experiments on human beings reached an industrial scale under the patronage of multiple terrorist organizations. When one of them gains a super dangerous nano-virus, it poses a dire threat to the whole of mankind. The best Russian Special Forces operative is given the task of getting into the laboratory and exterminating the virus.

Serving up a dose of sun, fun and sand right into gamers' living rooms, Acclaim Sports, a division of Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: AKLM - News), today unveiled Summer Heat Beach Volleyball(TM) for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. The only beach volleyball game available for the PlayStation®2, Summer Heat Beach Volleyball takes players on a journey to the world's hottest summer spots to face off in fast-paced 2-on-2 arcade action.

"We're very excited to offer PlayStation®2 owners their own exclusive beach volleyball game," said David Knies, Director of Acclaim Sports. "With addictive gameplay and easy-to-use controls, Summer Heat Beach

Get the Inhabited Island: Prisoner of Power trailer off WP (29mb)

Elements of adventure and stealth genres were brought together to create this first-person shooter, which is based on the popular sci-fi novel "Inhabited Island" by the Strugatski Brothers. It tells the story of a central character who has been condemned to work on an alien planet for the rest of his life. But he defies this destiny and fights those who imprisoned him.

The game world has been created with thorough attention to the smallest details. This includes not only character models, but also their behavior, dialogues and

Atari, Inc. and TimeGate Studios, Inc. announced today a partnership to develop a new PC installment of Axis & Allies, the popular World War II game franchise. Axis & Allies: RTS (working title) is inspired by the game of war, strategy and economics found in the best-selling Axis & Allies board game, but features unique elements that allow players to change the course of history in new ways. Axis & Allies: RTS is being developed for the PC by TimeGate Studios, creators of the award-winning Kohan series, and is scheduled for release in fall 2004 for the PC.

In Axis &