Encore today announced that it has begun shipping Pirate Hunter and Patrician III, life simulation games developed by Ascaron Entertainment. These two PC games offer a unique combination of trading and fighting, one on the high seas of the Caribbean, the other in the cities of Northern Europe during the Middle Ages. Both will begin reaching store shelves by the end of this week and will retail for approximately $30 and $40, respectively.

The FPS Master, the first controller specifically designed to optimize performance in first person shooter (FPS) games on the Xbox, is now available from Radica Games under the Gamester brand. Read more for details ....

Get ready to pilot the world's most powerful trucks and go head-to-head in pulse-pounding off-road competitions. Whether you're grinding through mud pits in Louisiana, crunching up cliffs in California, or smashing up trees to make the ride a little bumpier for they guy behind you, keep your eyes on the prize: cash you earn on the circuit goes to buy new trucks and build up your ultimate Monster machine. Read more for some new screens!

Microsoft has released a map pack for Relic Entertainment's 3D RTS game Impossible Creatures. Impossible Creatures is a 3-D real-time strategy game that pits the player against an evil villain in an action-packed campaign across a chain of remote and diverse islands. Using Earth's most formidable animals as building blocks, the player creates an army of unique, mutant monsters in a desperate struggle to protect an unsuspecting world from a horrible fate. This map pack requires you to have the latest v1.1 update patch (also available on our file servers) and features a few new multiplayer maps :Ring, 2Fort4, Rival Islands, Double Twisted Bill and Shinwa (thanks Relicnews)Read more for download links ...

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 :

• Painkiller - Trailer
• Goblin Commander: Unleash The Horde - Trailer
• Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring - Trailer
• Mission Impossible: Operation Surma - Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

In Advent Rising, a common legend pervades the galaxy - that of a powerful, ancient race that will one day unite the universe. Millions of cultures from vastly distant worlds revere and hallow these mythological beings known as humans. One race, the Seekers, know humans actually exist and are threatened by their potential power. Under the guise of benevolent explorers, the Seekers travel throughout the galaxy in a desperate attempt to eradicate any human society they unearth. Check out some new screens ...

Jowood has released an updated demo for the English version of Nival Interactive's 3D turn-based tactical combat game Silent Storm. As before it features 2 missions and a tutorial but adresses some text issues and adds a camera angle switch ability during enemy turns. Read more for download links ....

KOCH Entertainment in conjunction with Vybe Squad LLC is proud to announce the release of True Crime: Streets of L.A., a brand new 20-track compilation and companion piece to the highly anticipated game of the same name from Activision, Inc. The album features an incredible mix of new studio material from some of the biggest names in West Coast hip-hop. The CD is the first release of its kind to feature all new original material, all of which is heavily featured in the game. Read more for details ...

Kemco U.S.A announced today that the stealth-based action adventure title, Rogue Ops has gone gold. Rogue Ops will make its debut on the Xbox, the PlayStation2 and Nintendo GameCube on October 28, 2003. Developed by Bits Studios Ltd., the intense stealth thriller featuring the vivacious vixen Nikki Connors, thrusts players into an underground world of terrorist organizations and black ops missions.

The Adventure Company today announced that it has shipped The Black Mirror to stores in North America. The Black Mirror’s story is based on Englishman Samuel Gordon, who had left his boyhood home many years before, vowing never to return. The accidental death of his grandfather, William, forces him to make the painful journey back. After reading William’s journal, Samuel learns that the death is no accident, but linked to a string of gruesome and mysterious deaths dating back 100 years. Upon investigating, Samuel discovers that he’s much closer to the mystery than he thinks; in fact, he’s at the very center of it.