ARUSH Entertainment has released a new patch for SCS Software's Hunting Unlimited 2. This upgrade/enhancement pack brings your retail game to v1.1 and adds 8 new missions, enhances various models, tweaks gameplay, and adresses a few bugs. Read more for download links ...

Square Enix let us know that the official site for Sword of Mana is now live.. Sword of Mana, the prequel to the famous Mana series, puts players in control of either a hero or heroine in the quest to save the Mana Tree from destruction, but each character experiences the story from a different perspective. The direction of the story changes based on which character the player selects. Sword of Mana will be released Dec. 1, at an MSRP of $34.99.

Aspyr announced today that Star Trek Elite Force II is shipping for the Macintosh. In this sequel to the critically acclaimed first person shooter game, players resume the role of Alexander Munro, chief of the Hazard Team, Starfleet's elite security unit. Now assigned to the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC 1701-E, players will explore strange new worlds, battle against both new and familiar civilizations and go on the most dangerous assignments in the galaxy. Star Trek Elite Force II was developed by Ritual Entertainment and the Macintosh conversion was done by Westlake Interactive.

Oxygen Interactive, the UK based Computer Game Publisher can today announce that they have launched a micro-site for the Sci Fi Flight Sim Echelon Wind Warriors. The site features extensive information about the game as well as downloadable screenshots, wallpapers, competitions, forums and other game assets. The site is accessible via the Oxygen Interactive website www.oxygenint.com.

Microsoft Corp., beset by widespread criticism of security flaws in its software, on Wednesday put up a bounty to track down the authors of two computer bugs that choked the Internet earlier this year. Microsoft offered two $250,000 rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the Blaster worm and the SoBig.F e-mail virus, which infected more than half a million computers, crashed thousands of systems, and snarled Internet traffic across the globe in August and September.

This went under our radar earlier today/yesterday but LucasArts just let us know that the official Armed and Dangerous web site has gone live. Armed and Dangerous is LucasArts' upcoming Action-Action title coming out on the Xbox and PC in early December. The site is full of new and exciting content and you should consider it a resource. So turn up the volume on your computer, and take a look! You can also check our recent 'Armed and Dangerous' preview...

Ritual Entertainment has released the Star Trek Elite Force II source code giving you the change to create single & multiplayer mods for Raven Software's shooter Star Trek Elite Force II. Read more for details & download links ...

Further to the release of Hugo - Bukkazoom! coming out on 14th November 2003, ITE have developed a website devoted to the new style cart racing game www.bukkazoom.com. The site features downloadables (movies, screenshots, wallpapers), character profiles, tips and details about power ups from the upcoming free-roam racing game. Bukkazoom! is a high-paced cart racing game in a free roaming universe with combat actions and strategy elements to boot! In a wacky cartoonish world you get to control a host of characters from the Hugo universe equipped with funky bug cars decked out with wicked weaponry!

Microsoft Game Studios and Climax Group today announced that the Sudeki Fan Site Kit is now available for download at Xbox.com. The 22 MB download features items to help would-be webmasters create a top-notch Sudeki fan site, including concept art, message board icons, screens, texture tiles for constructing backgrounds and much more. Sudeki, the highly anticipated action role-playing game, will be available in Spring of 2004, exclusively for Xbox.

Atari today announced that the Magic: The Gathering ­ Battlegrounds web site has gone live. Developed for Atari by Secret Level for the Xbox and PC, and set for a November 18th release date Magic: The Gathering ­ Battlegrounds is based on the incredibly popular trading card game created by Wizards of the Coast. The game is filled with faithful card game translations of classic creatures, spells and enchantments and presented in a visually stunning 3D game environment rife with real-time strategic fighting, devastating wizard arsenals and intense creature combat. You cna also check our recent MTG: Battlegrounds preview for more details & screens...

Atari, Inc. and Human Head Studios have announced that the web site for Dead Man's Hand has gone live. The site features downloadables (movies, screenshots, wallpapers), character profiles and details about the weapons from the upcoming Xbox western. Using the latest Unreal technology (Epic Games), Dead Man's Hand lets players step into the boots of El Tejon, a Wild West gunslinger hell-bent on settling a score with a double-crossing gang of outlaws.

In celebration of its record shipments of 700,000 units in September, ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (ASUS), a worldwide leader in high-performance graphics solutions, today released a limited edition for the ASUS RADEON 9800XT graphics card. As well as all the cutting-edge features, powerful performance, bundled games and accessories in the original package, this collector's item also comes in a stylish black case and bundles a USB 2.0-based 7-in-1 card reader (SD, MMC, 3.3V SM, MD, Type I/II CF, MS, MS Pro) and leather CD holder. ASUS will offer only 2,000 units of this limited edition so take advantage of this great opportunity.

Akella announces the launch of the official web site for “Alice’s Space Adventure”. This arcade game narrates the adventures of one amazing girl, Alice, and her friends as they travel to different planets of our galaxy. On the site you’ll find screenshots, character descriptions, info, arts and more.

Nintendo are launching an exclusive Mario Kart: Double Dash!! Limited Edition Pak, containing a NINTENDO GAMECUBE, a copy of Mario Kart: Double Dash!! plus a Special Five Game limited edition 'The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition' disc just in time for Christmas... Find out more below!

This Halloween...before taking to the streets to prey on innocent candy-loving party-go'ers, denizens of the underworld should first check out the official Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines website from Activision, Inc. for some truly scary inspiration. To officially inaugurate the day, fans can delve into the dark and sacred world of the vampire at the official 'Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines' website.

Falcon: OIR is an updated version of the classic flight sim Falcon 4. It features many enhancements over the original Falcon 4, including flight dynamics, improved controls, graphics, and new aircraft to fly. Fans will be able to enjoy enhanced game play but relive the experience that made the original such a big hit. A comprehensive list of the technical enhancements can be found below. Read more for details and some new airborne screens ...

Ritual Entertainment has released the Linux dedicated server for Activision's sci-fi FPS Elite Force 2. These files will allow game admins to set up dedicated linux servers (thanks Ritualistic). Read more for download links ...

Hunting Unlimited 2 is a fast-paced mission style which drops the player into specific scenarios, such as being charged by an angry bear or glassing a hilltop and bringing down three prize trophies of different species. With amazing photo-realistic textures and graphics, ambient sounds and animals, intense and fast-shooting mini-games, mission-based play and tons of weapons and hunting gear, HU2 shows that not all hunting games are alike and brings more fun and excitement to the genre. Read more for the full review ...

SEGA Europe today launched a competition to find the 'Official Worms 3D Fansite'. Sponsored by Packard Bell and NVIDIA, the competition is now live and will run from now until 28th November 2003, when the winners will be announced.

As we draw closer to Halloween, Eidos felt it's time to divulge more information about their vampire/demon duo, Kain and Raziel, by updating the Legacy of Kain: Defiance website. You'll find a multitude of updates ranging from exciting new screens and concept drawings, to information about important characters and enemies. They also opened up a Fan Art section where fans of the series can submit their drawings of the Legacy of Kain universe. Head over to www.legacyofkain.com and seek out their updates.

OK, this weekend sucked plain and simple... After we had successfully upgraded the hardware and started a little tweaking, the server locked up and our remote reboot switch shut down the machine, but did not bring it back online due to a rookie mistake! Either way, we apologize for the downtime. All is tested and working properly now so we will be on our way shortly to update & play catch up! The site should be faster & better so stay tuned for the goodies (as soon as I return home).

As you may have noticed ( judging from the many emails! :) the site was down for part of the day. This was due to performing maintenance on the Worthplaying web box as well as one of the fileservers. Weekend is usually slower in news & updates so we took the time to install some new (and much faster) hardware as well as adding more hd space to one of the file servers. Upgrades never go as smooth as one would like so it all took a bit longer than we had hoped for. Either way, things should run a lot faster so it was worth the sweat. Njoy!

The Worms 3D website is now live, featuring a cool Junior Senior competition, screenshots, movies and all the game info you could fire a bazooka at. The Worms 3D site has also been kitted out with cool warmongers' tools to annoy and harass your friends, family, enemies and anyone you happen to be stalking at the moment. Go on, get amongst it, and start a war for the fun of it.

P.M. STUDIOS lets us know that they have launced the official website for Project Etrom. Etrom is an epic adventure among realms and cities, democracies and "nazi" dictatorships, a journey through space-time portals, among the Thrones of the Abyss, beyond the gates of the City of Light and many more locations, situations, rituals, secret-services plots, dark spells. Head on over there and check out the goodies!

Mario and his closest friends are back for more fun in Mario Party 5! Join them on the NINTENDO GAMECUBE when it launches across Europe on 5th December 2003. Just in time for Christmas the legendary Mario, Luigi, Toad, Wario, Peach, Yoshi and Waluigi will be returning to the NINTENDO GAMECUBE. Join them as they try to restore peace to Dream World by racing around a collection of all new exciting game boards.