Our Italian readers will be glad to know that Rage, one of the UK's leading publishers and developers of entertainment software, today announced that it has extended its current partnership with Italian distributor Leader SpA (“Leader”) to ensure the release of three further titles from its growing catalogue of games throughout the Italian market place.

Are you passionate about football? Do you know your AC from your Inter and your Beckham from your Berger? Can you build strong relationships with UK football clubs and license owners - and champion Codemasters brand? You could be just the person Codemasters need to play for their team! They are looking for a Brand Manager to champion their football game brand. Read more below to find out what they looking for!

Sweden based G:son International recently signed a partnership agreement with Comdex organisers Key3Media and ExpoNova to arrange Scandinavia's second game exhibition called Nordic Interactive Media Expo. The show is mainly addressed to the Nordic computer games industry and set to run between 30th of October to 1st of November 2002 at Sollentuna Exhibition Centre in Stockholm, Sweden. Alongside the trade show there will be a public exhibition called Gamex, primarily targeting the Swedish consumers.

START! games is pleased to announce a partnership deal with Criterion Software to provide games developers with access to the acclaimed RenderWare platform. The new licencing arrangement supports developers in the crucial early stages of development without any up front costs.

Sierra is making plans to re-release Tribes 2 with some new additions such as a the free mod Base++, new maps, game enchancements, new skins and other undisclosed features (i guess to actually make the re-release interesting) all crammed together on the same cd, for good measure. The tuned up T2 is expected end of the year at the regular 40$ retail price (and 20$ off for previous T2 owners).

A reminder that this is a GC launch title. Wake up, kid the entire Universal Studios Theme Park is yours to explore for the day, but you only have one day to see everything!! Luckily for you, your animated pal, Woody the Woodpecker will be along as your guide. Listen to him carefully and you'll be able to go places and do things no visitor has ever done before.

Working through the night, the network of underground journalists, designers and printers, worked feverishly to prepare Neocronicle issue no 2! Taking no prisoners, speaking its mind, and sharing its thoughts with the world, this group of dedicated followers risked their all to finish it and attempt to voice their opinions. To all that listen, here is the second issue. To all that don't, why not?! Get the .pdf here (300k) or grab it as a zip file here (250k). If you missed the first issue, go HERE.

Just a few fresh screens we didn't slap on earlier ... So dig in, 6 new screens from that little Nintendo fella ;) Colorful as ever...

SEGA(R of America today announced that its critically acclaimed fighting game, "Virtua Fighter 4" for the PlayStation(R) 2 computer entertainment system, was the #1 selling title on the platform during its first week of sales according to independent retail data from NPD TRSTS (week ending 3/23). With lightning-fast gameplay action, breathtaking graphics and all new modes and features, "Virtua Fighter 4," was recently named the "Best Fighting Game Ever Made," by gaming enthusiast publication Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine.

Get behind the wheel of the world's top rally cars as you span the globe in quest of a championship. Listen to your navigator as he helps you through more than 40 unique tracks spanning different weather and terrain through 14 grueling stages. Fly over jumps or skid around obstacles on your way to the top of the rally racing circut. Link up with a friend using the GBA link cable for amazing head-to-head competition or watch the action again using the replay mode.

G3 Studios, a developer and publisher of video games for handheld devices, Pocket PC and other platforms, today released its first title, "Black Jack Pro," which is now available for Pocket PC and Desktop PC platforms. It marks the first title in a series of video games specifically designed and developed for handheld devices, such as the Pocket PC platforms and Sharp Zaurus that will build G3 Studios' product catalog.

Activision, Inc. announced that WRECKLESS: The Yakuza MissionsTM and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 were the #1 and #2 best-selling third-party titles by units for the Xbox video game system from Microsoft in Germany for the week of March 18 – 24, 2002, according to Media Control. These results followed the successful European launch of Xbox on March 14, 2002.

Are you tired of playing the same 20 maps? The official Total Annihilation Legacy Map Pack site is updated with a new map pack that contains 150 maps. The pack has been compressed to 560 MB and then it has been slit up in 100 MB parts to make downloading easier. Find out more here!

The first patch for the retail game is now ready. This patch addresses the most serious issues. Most of this was done last week, but we also did a major optimization to the server that was really needed to make the game play better. We played a nice game yesterday on a server that was capped at 384K upstream, and it was smooth.

Global video game publisher Infogrames announced that it has entered into a distribution deal with Konami to distribute and market throughout Japan select future titles published by Infogrames Japan KK.

NCsoft Corporation, the world's largest independent online game company, today announced that Lineage, one of the world's most popular online games, is now being offered to the Chinese market.

BAM! Entertainment today announced that it is to publish Riding Spirits for the Sony PlayStation 2. BAM! released its first PlayStation 2 title, Driven, less than three months ago and plans to stay in the fast lane with its next high adrenalin race game.

Somewhere this week everybody should get his grubby hands on a copy of EA/Crave's "Global Operations", we had a chance to give it a test run and played it all the way through ... Campaign 1 has 13 missions, taking you all over the world and Campaign 2 is just the same but as the opposite team. The game sure is bloody (without extreme gore/limbs flying off), good gfx, loads of action. I somewhat found the AI to be lacking in respect to certain team members standing around in the open and getting shot without returning fire, especially the medic seems have issues while giving medical attention. The single player maps do not give many opportunities for 'sniper' fans to do their thing since there are not really any "open" or "wide" maps. So for all you First Person Shooter (FPS) and Counterstrike fans out there, 60 shots taken from all missions to keep you happy until you got your own copy! Njoy!!!

TimeGate Studios, Inc. and Strategy First, Inc. announced today that a Special Awards Edition of Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns (KIS) is scheduled for release in mid-April 2002, with dynamic new features and content.

EA announced the release of The Sims Vacation Expansion Pack, a new add-on disk to the top-selling PC game of 2000 & 2001, The Sims. The Sims and their families have been in overdrive with the magical high-jinx of Livin' Large, the wild parties of House Party and the never-ending social obligations of Hot Date. They need a break and The Sims Vacation provides the perfect opportunity to give them a little rest and relaxation on a fun-filled vacation island!

Ubi Soft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announces Monster Jam: Maximum Destruction has shipped for Nintendo GameBoy Advance. The game will be available in retail stores nationwide for $39.99 MSRP.

Anyone who thinks that computer and video games are a "low brow" form of entertainment should think again, says ELSPA. The trade body for the UK interactive leisure software sector believes that a forthcoming major exhibition, Game On, which examines the history and cultural impact of computer and video games, will open the eyes of many people to the influence of games on popular culture and fine art. The exhibition will be held at the Barbican Gallery in London (16 May - 15 September) and the Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh (October 2002 - February 2003).

You are an insect!!! A genetically modified, highly trained killer bug, with a bad attitude, an arsenal of deadly weapons and an itchy trigger finger! ‘Stung!’ from Prey Digital Studios, is a new action kill ‘em up which offers groundbreaking new gameplay elements, realistic environments and a cast of crazy, creepy crawly characters. Stung is being developed for the GameCube, PC, PS2 and Xbox. Everybody happy, now check the new screens!

After an exciting couple years, the game is shipping! We all had a lot of fun during the development and can't wait to play against you all. Check your local stores in the next couple days to pick yours up! A special thanks to all the beta testers and server hosts for their hard work in helping make this game great! Global Operations is a stand alone, team based, first person shooter based on a significantly modified version of the LithTech 2.5 engine,. Although it is being developed as a multiplayer experience for up to 24 players, there will also be a single player game with AI controlled teammates and opponents. We'll be bringing you some screens and info as soon as we got it in the mail.

Big Huge Games just put up the FAQ on their upcoming RTS "Rise Of The Nations. Items such as release date, demo, public beta and many other goodies are discussed .. Here's a snippet ...

Q: How is Rise of Nations different from Age of Empires?
A: While both are "historical RTS games", the two products are very different. In particular, Rise of Nations covers the sweep of human history, not just one specific time period. Players can guide their civilization from the stone age to the modern era, all in the span of an hour.