Valve now also released the official Steam client and included the eagerly anticipated Counter-Strike 1.6, all in one package. I guess if Steam is a bit slow then you can just grab this standalone version and be on your merry way... Read more for download links ...

Black-haired and sullen-eyed, a thief, a reaver, a slayer. The legends that surround his name, speak of the world before history, where shadows of magic and dark alien gods shrouded the known world and the fate of whole empires were dependent on the strength and skills of a single sword. And this is one of those legends. Conan is a 3rd person action game, with few elements of RPG and adventure. The game is divided into chapters, each chapter with different enviroment and creatures. Each chapter contains several levels. Read more for a huge batch of screens for each and every platform ...

Eve of Destruction is a mod Battlefield 1942, and they have released a 20% "demo" of the final product. Eve Of Destruction will contain not only new skins, vehicles and new objects, it features 8 complete new custom maps. Each map is different in their own way (from realistic to fun maps) and partially adapted to the Indochina Vietnam Conflict. Infantry Combat in EoD is more realistic and more action than in Battlefield and similar to more infantry-based games like Raven Shield or Counterstrike. Head back to the jungles in this modification replicating the deadly and vicious Vietnam War. Read more for download links ...

In an effort to combat cheating issues in multiplayer online play, Ubisoft will be incorporating Punkbuster software into Rainbow Six 3: Athena Sword.Punkbuster is a client/server product that detects cheats/hacks on end-user systems and reports their use to administrators and, potentially, takes action against the violating player by kicking and/or banning them from the server. The exact cheats that will be detected for Athena Sword have not been announced for security purposes. However, Punkbuster for Athena Sword will have ongoing support for quite some time as new versions that deal with new cheats and hacks are released periodically.

Atari and Troika Games are pleased to announce that The Temple of Elemental Evil will now ship on September 16th and not September 23rd as previously reported. After years of research into the science of time travel and the mysticism of interactive entertainment distribution, Atari has achieved a breakthrough in the melding of the two disciplines. As a result of this revolutionary achievement, The Temple of Elemental Evil will now appear on retail stores shelves nationwide seven days earlier than originally anticipated.

Vivendi Universal Games has canceled the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Treason of Isengard for Xbox/PS2. Scheduled for release in Q4 2003, Treason of Isengard was dropped from the release schedule when it was determined that the game was not shaping up as strongly as anticipated and would likely not satisfy the expectations of Tolkien fans. Vivendi Universal Games remains committed to developing and releasing quality games based on the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien and we look forward to the release The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring this November, as well as Middle-Earth Online next year.

Another day, another batch of game trailers were released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for :

• XIII - Trailer
• C&C Generals: Zero Hour - Trailer
• Arx Fatalis (Xbox) - Trailer
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  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Microsoft Game Studios today announced the upcoming release of Phantom Dust, an Xbox exclusive third-person action game in which players battle opponents in real-time combat with an ever-growing arsenal of over 300 skills. The title is being developed internally by Microsoft Game Studios Japan and is currently scheduled for a Japanese release in 2004.

The squad-based action war game Freedom Fighters has gone gold and will start to ship on Tuesday, September 23 for the PlayStation2, Xbox , the Nintendo GameCube, and PC.

The year is 1582 and Takeshi Kaneshiro as Samanosuke is the man who has just returned. The stage is set at the burning Honnoji Temple, as the famous Onimusha warrior Samanosuke Akechi fights. As he faces the demons in front of him, Samanosuke is compelled to move forward by hatred for his true enemy, the undying Nobunaga Oda, ever pursuing his crazed ambition. Samanosuke prepares for the long-awaited final battle against Nobunaga. Read more for a few new screens ...