Atari is bringing all of the drama and fast-paced action of the Old West exclusively to the Xbox this autumn with Dead Man's Hand, a first person shooter chock full of gun fights and dripping in frontier lore. In development by Human Head studios, the creators of Rune, Dead Man's Hand uses the latest Unreal technology from Epic Games to provide amazing graphical performance, non-stop action and enhanced multiplayer capabilities through Xbox Live!

A post on the official Battlefield 1942 website let us know following about the recent leaked 1.4 patch:

It has come to our attention that a non-final version of the 1.4 patch has surfaced on the web. Please note that this is NOT the final version of 1.4, and it WILL NOT be compatible with the final version of 1.4. We strongly recommend that you do not install it. If you have installed it, our suggestion is that you reinstall BF 1942.

Stay tuned to the official Battlefield 1942 website for our regularly scheduled community update this Friday.

EAComMike

Sierra just send out word that the team responsible for the award-winning NASCAR Racing franchise Papyrus Racing Games has released additional tracks for NASCAR Racing 2003 Season. The NASCAR Racing 2003 Season Track Pack contains three fictional tracks: Eight Bowl Superspeedway, Hillside International Speedway and Papyrus Motorsports Park. Each track offers players a unique and exciting driving experience, and may be played in both single player or multiplayer modes. Read more for download links ..

Although the official BlowOut website still mentions KaosKontrol, word got out that Terminal Reality has taken over development of "BlowOut." No idea what "BlowOut" is all about? Here is an official blurb "You will be leading a platoon of the fifth Marine commandos to cleanse 65,000 metric tons of space hulk of the galaxy's most vicious alien bugs. You probably won't make it, but we're giving you the hardware to do the job. Check this out: A 7.68mm General Electric Minigun, 75lbs. Industrial ChainSaw, 20mm Pump-Action Shotgun, 8-meter FlameThrower, Plasma Rifle, Machine Gun, 8'' NailGun and more."

C&VG has a little article on some interesting/upcoming Namco games. Perhaps recognising a greater global strategy is now in order, Namco has pledged to focus on overseas markets in the coming months - that means Europe and the US. 18 titles are expected for European release this year, doubling last year's total of nine releases. But what games can we expect from the venerable developer? Hit after cash-seeking hit, by the sounds of things. New games in the Soul Calibur and Ridge Racer series will appear more regularly, with Namco aiming to release new episodes every two years. Specifically pencilled in for 2004 are new games in the Tekken and Ace Combat series, as well as a sequel to Dead To Rights.

Buka Entertainment is pleased to inform its Friends and Partners that we have published 100 games both Russian and localized ones! The company was founded in 1994 as a distributor of computer and videogames. Six years ago the company entered the publishing business with its own title "Russian Roulette" and since that time Buka Entertainment has reached notable success in game-making industry. Our games are distributed in 60 countries of the world. Shipping of the title Rayman 3 became a 100 milestone in the history of our company. Buka Entertainment is working on and during fall-winter 2003/04 all the addicts of PC games will see our new line-up, including The Entente: World War I Battlefields, Fair Strike and Battle Mages.

TRI SYNERGY, a leading North American co-publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment software, and CENEGA PUBLISHING a Czech Republic based award-winning interactive entertainment publisher, today announced an exclusive, North American distribution agreement. Under the agreement, Tri Synergy will distribute several of Cenega's highly anticipated upcoming titles into the North American market.

Bethesda Softworks announced today that actress Keira Knightley will narrate the thrilling role playing video game, Pirates of the Caribbean. Knightley stars in Disney's upcoming feature film, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" which opens in theaters nationwide on July 9th. Slated for a June 2003 release for the Xbox and PC, the Pirates of the Caribbean game offers players the most realistic pirating action to date.

Wahey Lionheart fans! The official Lionheart website has been updated, ready for the weekend right here! Check out the RACES page to catch some all new and entirely nifty Lionheart skills. Want to know how to Barter, Sneak and Evade your way through the game? Well head on over already and check it out! Next, be sure to head on over to the MAGIC page to read all about the Divine Magic branch and maybe pick up a few groovy new spells while you're at it! and if you want some new screens, read more and check them out!

Buka Entertainment, one of the leading Russian publishers, is pleased to announce the signing of the contract with PointSoft Interactive, a well-known French publisher, for the following line-up of Buka's titles:

• Echelon:Wind Warriors
• Red Shark
• Paradise Cracked
• March!: Offworld Recon
• Spells of Gold
• Midnight Nowhere
• Steamland
• The Entente: World War I Battlefields

It's Friday and WorthPlaying is giving away 10 Run Like Hell (Xbox/NTSC) CD's, sponsored by Interplay. Enter the sweepstakes here! Run Like Hell puts you in the role of Nick Connor, an exiled military hero sent to work on a mining station in deep space. Returning from a mission, you find your crew members wiped out by a vicious and intelligent alien race. Your mission is to stay alive long enough to discover the aliens' plans for your ship and find any survivors in the process.

UK based Sales and Marketing company 'Nobilis' has teamed up with Slovakian developer 'Mayhem Studios' to proudly announce the much anticipated release of Empire of Magic for the PC in August 2003. Empire of Magic is an absorbing turn-based strategy game with a complex storyline and an RPG style of gameplay... Read more to check out a bunch of new screens and the gamestory / features!

Namco proudly announced today that the company’s high-impact title, Dead to Rights, has qualified and is now a Platinum Hits title with an MSRP of $19.95. "We're incredibly excited and honored to have Dead to Rights entered into the Xbox's Platinum Hits program”, declares producer Andre Emerson. “With a lower price point, we hope that even more gamers can experience Jack Slate's one-man-war against crime in the tough streets of Grant City." Inspired by Hong Kong action movies, classic film noir style and hardboiled detective novels, Dead To Rights stars action hero, Jack Slate, a good cop in a bad city, forced to be a fugitive as he fights for his life and searches for his father’s killers. Dead to Rights features more than a dozen game mechanics including diving, rolling, punching, kicking, and lethally disarming enemies in a variety of over-the-top ways.

The Pirates of the Caribbean game transports players to the 17th Century where they can experience life as a pirate in any way they see fit," said executive producer Todd Vaughn. "Whether they want to be feared by all and welcome nowhere, or just enjoy compelling missions or a life at sea, we're creating a game that fits their gameplay style. A few new PC/Xbox screens, check them out!

Turning traffic-filled streets into a high-speed, two-wheeled obstacle course, Acclaim, today announced that it has shipped Speed Kings for the PlayStation2 and GameCube. An arcade-style motorcycle racing game, Speed Kings features adrenaline-infused tricks, stunts and combat, as well as hidden features and dangerous speeds. Gamers will need nerves of steel and lightning fast reflexes if they are to survive the danger on the road and be crowned the ultimate "Speed King."

What could be greater than God? To be God - just like in Heaven and Hell! In the year 1500 BC you announce to four peoples: Thou shalt have no other gods before me. To make your commandment effective, you are supported with miracles and plagues by seven different prophets. Convince your future followers with sound arguments such as chain lightning, locusts, and other mysteries. As you have to compete against a strong opponent at the same time, the fight for the most followers will be even more challenging. There can be only one after all!

Utilising the technical prowess of the Xbox video game system from Microsoft and Xbox Live!, Digital Extremes, the developers of Unreal Championship in conjunction with Epic Games and Atari have completed the auto-update for the game and is available for download through Xbox Live! today. While new to the console arena, auto-updating has been a mainstay of PC games for many years, and is a requirement to maintain fair and fun online gaming. Online games are extraordinarily more complex than single player titles. Exploits will invariably be found by the hundreds of thousands of gamers playing and sharing ways to gain an advantage in the game. Auto-updates defeat these exploits and balance the playing field against those who would cheat to win.

New Role Playing Strategy game "Lethal Dreams" involves player into events taking place in a fantasy world on the side of one of the six magicians. Each of them is a specialist in one of the six paths of magic: Evocation, Incarnation, Necromancy, Portals, Enchantment and Transmutation. Yesterday we had a multilanguage patch for the international version of the game (not out in North America yet) and today we have a fresh batch 'o screens...

Boolat has released a new multilanguage patch for their RPG/Adventure game 'Lethal Dreams: Circle of Fate'. The upgrade adresses various game tweaks such as the frequency of the appearance of random events, some in game descriptions are corrected, the algorithm for pathfinding is accelerated, and various other playability improvements. Read more for download links...

Electronic Arts today officially announced plans to publish the hugely successful game Dead to Rights on the PS2 and GameCube. Both versions will be released next August in all PAL territories. Dead To Rights is an intense, hard-hitting, action-thriller game in which police officer, Jack Slate, discovers and unravels a conspiracy that threatens not only himself, but the city he’s sworn to protect, Grant City. Jack Slate’s adventure has him progressing through various game chapters by taking out hostile threats, solving challenging puzzles and mini-games, and defeating sinister bosses. Check out the screens ..

Konami has released a new patch for Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance which enables support for ATI Radeon videocards, and also takes care of a language selection issue for the European version. If you have previously updated to the v1.0, you will need to uninstall and reinstall the game before applying the v2.0 patch. (thanks Shacknews). Read more for details and download link...

Staying true to all the gameplay features that made Medal of Honor Allied Assault one of the most acclaimed titles launched in 2002, the Medal of Honor Allied Assault Expansion Pack will build on the success of that game and add new multi-player gameplay modes, new soldiers including British and Soviet squads, new weapons, level editing tools, and an integrated server browser. A new & updated version of the 'Medal of Honor Allied Assault: SpearHead' has been released, no specific details are available but it would be safe to assume they have fixed "something". Read more for download links ...

KOEI Corporation, respected worldwide as the premier brand for strategy and simulation games, today announced North American plans to release Romance of the Three Kingdoms VIII for the PlayStation®2. Read more for details and some new screens ...

1500 B.C.: four different peoples in a biblical land are waiting to be converted. The gamer is working with a God-simulator and has to convert the inhabitants to the good or the evil side. For this purpose, each side has seven prophets at their disposal, as well as an amount of wonders and plagues (lightning, flood, grasshopper ...) This German demo sports a tutorial as well as 1 game mission playable in three different difficulty settings. Read more for download links ...

Konami has just launched the official website for their upcoming stealth action game Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes website. The site sports a wealth of new info, some new screenshots, the E3 trailer (local mirror here), and more. Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (developed by Silicon Knights)will be only available on the Gamecube, expected in November 2003. Go check out the site!