Publisher Strategy First and developer Nicely Crafted Entertainment are pleased to announce they have signed a deal to bring the MMO RTS Time of Defiance to North American retail shelves in April, 2004.

Atari has released a new patch for Secret Level's card-based 3D action strategy game Magic: the Gathering - Battlegrounds. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.2 but no details as to what it addresses are available at this point (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Publisher Strategy First and Developer BattleGoat Studios are pleased to announce that they have begun accepting applications for the open beta test for their upcoming strategy game, Supreme Ruler 2010 that is set to reach store shelves in Q2 2004. If you’re interested in changing the course of future history, then follow this link to sign-up for the Supreme Ruler 2010 open beta test. It’s first come first serve and space is limited so waste no time. You can sign up right here, or read more to find out what Supreme Ruler 2010 is all about!

Team Soho director Brendan McNamara, the lead behind the PS2 hit title The Getaway, has left the UK based company to form his own development studio in Sydney, Australia under the name of 'Team Bondi'. McNamara's new studio is working on a third generation PlayStation hardware product, so thats either a PS2 or PSP title. Apparently several of his former Team Soho colelague's have jumped ship and settled into the new development house as well. To be continued ...

Chicago, 1930-Prohibition The Mafia rules the city. A special police task force is formed to take down his gang. This squad is managed by two cops. An open war breaks out throughout the city of Chicago. Spellbound has finally released the English version of the demo, featuring 2 full missions, one playable as mafioso and the second as cops (thanks Tiscali). Read more for dowmload links ...

Following the success of its predecessor – Power of Chaos: YUGI THE DESTINY – the new game can be used in conjunction with the original or played as a stand-alone experience. Power of Chaos: Kaiba The Revenge features over 300 cards to collect, as players attempt to build the strongest possible collection of cards. Konami of Europe has announced a second Yu-Gi-Oh! title for PC, as 'Yi-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos: Kaiba The Revenge' is released for the format in March.

MC2 has announced it will release a PS2 version of its acclaimed PC action title, Ironstorm: World War Zero (previously known as just Ironstorm), in Q2, 2004. Developed by Rebellion ('Aliens Vs Predator', 'Judge Dredd'), Ironstorm is an all-action first-person title spanning 19 war-torn stages. Presenting an alternate history concept at the heart of its plot, Ironstorm is set in a shattered 1964 where the first World War never ended. The pivotal Russian October Revolution has seen history diverted as the insane Baron Ungenberg has crushed the Bolshevik charge. Read more to check out some new screens ...

After a leaked/false start earlier, Ubisoft Europe has officially launched the single player demo for Crytek's eagerly awaited FPS/Action game Far Cry. The demo features the "Fort" mission, playable with three levels of difficulty and 7 weapons available. Read more for download links ...

S2Games has released an updated version of their recently released Savage: Battle for Newerth patch. This upgrade brings your retail game to v2.0b and addresses a few minor bugs that were uncovered in the v2.0 patch as well as some extra optimization. Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

Electronic Arts and UK-based developer Free Radical Design today announced a distribution and publishing agreement for the next game in the best selling TimeSplitters franchise. Developed by Free Radical, the new title in the celebrated series will be published by EA Partners and is scheduled for worldwide release in 2005. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.