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 ...

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.

Entertainment software developer and publisher NovaLogic, Inc. is delighted to announce that the expansion pack for Delta Force - Black Hawk Down has shipped and will be in stores on January 21st, 2004.

ESPN Videogames announced today that its highly anticipated baseball title, ESPN Major League Baseball, will incorporate broadband online play for both the PlayStation2 and the Xbox. ESPN Major League Baseball is scheduled to release across North America in Spring 2004. ESPN Videogames are produced by Visual Concepts - Sega's sports studio.

The anticipated patch for Atari's Unreal 2 XMP free multiplayer addon has been released. This patch brings your retail game to v7710 and helps to reduce server CPU usage, fixes a variety of bugs, adds a number of new features such as in-game server browser, a modified version of the Harbinger vehicle and plenty more. Read more for details and download links ...

In Tribes: Vengeance's single-player campaign, gamers become immersed in a roiling galactic thriller. Throughout the game, the player catches glimpses of other, interrelated stories that are unfolding behind-the-scenes. In addition, gamers are given the opportunity to experience the full scope of the single-player story through multiple viewpoints and characters. Check out these new screens ...

Road to Fame combines the main features of the arcade and rally games, using realistic physics. Road to Fame lets you start as an unknown driver who's aim to climb the seven race classes of the game. Reaching the top is simple: You will have to win as much races as you can to upgrade your car and succeed in higher level. You can test your skills either as a beginner or as a professional driver in different tracks. During the races you will also have to face the changing road and weather conditions, and there will be multiple ways of completing a track. Read more to check out some new screens, as well as an in game footage trailer.

The prequel to the most popular online game in the world. Placing gamers in an entirely new online world, Lineage II will feature state-of-the-art 3D graphics, powered by the latest Unreal technology from Epic Games. The official website for NCSoft's upcoming fantasy MMORPG sequel Lineage 2 has relaunched new content,but also word that the closed beta signups for the North American version of the game have begun. If you're interested you can sign up at the Lineage 2 beta test site.

After we had the Vivendi US release list, their European colleagues have releaved their 2004 release schedule. No major surprises or revelations, nor release dates for HL2 or World Of Warcraft, but CS: Condition Zero & Lords of the Realm III are listed for March 2004, Van Helsing (PS2/ Xbox), The Fast and The Furious (PS2/Xbox) and Ground Control 2 are all scheduled for the first half of 2004. Read more for the full release list ...

Akella, mostly known for the naval titles like Pirates of the Caribbean and Sea Dogs, is launching a new website for the Metalheart: Replicants Rampage project, their tactical role-playing game set on a deserted planet where the main characters find themselves after the spaceship crash. Read more for some new screens or check out the freshly launched Metalheart: Replicants Rampage website.

NVIDIA Corporation today announced that NASA is using its technology to reconstruct Martian terrain from transmitted rover data in photorealistic virtual reality, allowing scientists to explore Mars in 3D as if they were actually moving freely on the planet's surface. This NVIDIA-powered environment serves as a precise vision and planning system for NASA scientists, allowing them to rehearse a variety of Mars rover scenarios, mapping out moves and experiments, prior to directing the vehicle to undertake actual tasks by "flying" through highly realistic, 3D reconstructions of the Martian surface.

Maintaining law and society order is veteran Headhunter Jack Wade, older, wiser and battle hardened. At his side is the reluctant new sidekick, the rebellious street kid Leeza X. Whether ripping up the highways of the silver metropolis on a super bike or stalking the criminal masterminds of the shadowy underworld, they are led into the greatest danger of their lives and must overcome something much more sinister than a simple human threat. Each must face their darkest fears. Together they must redeem a world facing chaos...

LucasArts/Sony Online ent. dropped us a note that starting Tuesday January 20th, 2004 and ending February 2nd 2004, they are reactivating all old 'Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided' accounts giving people a chance to try out all the new content they have been adding since the launch of the MMORPG. If you do not remember your login information anymore, you can check out their login/password recovery page.

Noticed on VE3D that Legend Entertainment has today been shut down by the powers that be at Atari, according to credible sources. Legend recently completed work on the XMP addon, which added an excellent multiplayer mode to Unreal 2. This was released free on the internet for existing owners of Unreal 2 and also in a special edition version of the game that was released recently. The patch that is currently being tested will be released and that the master server for the game will continue to operate. The LEgend Ent. website has already been taken offline and the Unreal 2 Xbox port (developed by Tantalus) is still on track for release. No Atari representative could be reached for comments, no surprise there... Thanks Andy!

While we just recently reviewed DBZ Taiketsu it seems a new Dragon Ball Z game is on its way to the Game Boy Advance. According to the latest issue of Famitsu, Dragon Ball Z: Bukuu Tougeki in due for the GBA platform in Japan this Spring. Bukuu Tougeki is a 2D fighting game that is being developed by Guilty Gear's Arc System Works and published by Banpresto. Let's hope its better than Atari's poor attempt, read more for details ...

In an unprecedented event, Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow will premiere at an event coinciding with the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. This unveiling marks the first time a video game has debuted in or around a film festival and demonstrates the increasing prominence of video games in the entertainment pantheon. Published by Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow is already one of the most anticipated video games of 2004 and was recently featured on MTV's "Ultimate Video Game Countdown."

Enlisting gamers to embark on one of the most important military campaigns of the 20th century, Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. today announced that it is preparing for its June retail invasion of developer BattleBorne Entertainment, Inc.'s forthcoming next-generation World War II video game, Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers. Set to launch during the 60th anniversary of "D-Day", Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers' development team is comprised of former members of the celebrated Fallout 2, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon teams. In addition, the game will utilize the proven Snowblind Studios game engine and challenge players to rise through the ranks in more than 40 levels that recreate some of the most important battles of World War II.

Electronic Arts and Sony Music Entertainment have jointly announced a cross promotional marketing agreement to support the in-game soundtrack of the upcoming EA game, NFL STREET, which promises to be the most significant yet between a video game publisher and a music label to date. NFL STREET will be available January 15, 2004 on the PlayStation2, GameCube, and the Xbox.

Delta Force - Black Hawk Down: Team Sabre for PC CD - ROM will be in stores on January 21st 2004. Delta Force - Black Hawk Down: Team Sabre features two new single player campaigns that take Delta Force deep into the jungles of Colombia in search of drug lords, then on to battle terrorist factions in and around Iran's island oilfields. Team Sabre will also contain a number of new multiplayer features, including over 30 new multiplayer maps. On Saturday 17th January, customers in select iGames centers across the country will get the chance to play the full retail version of the game.

Hell Forces is a classical FPS (First Person Shooter). Stephen Geist – the main hero of HF is trying to find out, what has happened to his missing friend. During this search he is mired in a satanic conspiracy, and is trying to stop dread forces of Baphometh, the servant of Satan. Infernal legions are uncountable, but Stephen is not. Only with Your help he can find out the truth and stop the invasion...

Russian developer MiST land (previously known for Paradise Cracked, currently also working on Alfa Antiterror) is working on another 3D tactical/cyberpunk action game Power of Law. Not much info available (unless you speak Russki) but read more to check the first screens & ingame trailer.

SUNFLOWERS has signed an agreement with Electronic Arts. Under the agreement, Electronic Arts will publish ANNO 1503: Treasures, Monsters and Pirates worldwide. With an amazing variety of new features the "Treasures, Monsters and Pirates" Expansion Set is the perfect addition to ANNO 1503: The New World, which was one of the most successful PC titles in 2003. It took over 700,000 enthusiastic players an amazingly short period of time to discover, settle and create their own wonderful world. Read more for details & screens ..

Tempe-based Limelight Networks announced today that it has been selected by Valve, the leading entertainment software company responsible for critically acclaimed games such as Half-Life, to host its Steam platform servers and provide services for the distribution of its online content. The partnership provides gamers across the globe with fast, reliable and uninterrupted access -- via Limelight Networks' powerful delivery network -- to Valve's newest offerings and leading games, as well as offerings from others distributing their content via Steam.

4DRulers has released a level building SDK for their AMP II engine first person shooter Secret Service Security Breach. This package includes everything needed to create your own content and levels for Secret Service: Security Breach. Read more for download links ...

Earlier today we had CDV's 2004 lineup, and it seems Vivendi has now also revealed their upcoming titles. Apart from the anticipated Half Life 2, Men of Valor, X-Files, Tribes Vengeance, World of Warcraft, Ground Control 2, Starcraft Ghost and Evil Genius we also note a few yuet "unannounced" titles such as 2 new Tolkien based titles, yet unnamed Crash Bandicoot and Spyro The Dragon products, a new game based on the Predator franchise and a cryptic discription of a new "Unannounced Pandemic console title" (currently working on Full Spectrum Warirors). Read more for the full list ...