Electronic Arts today announced that it has signed a North American distribution agreement with KOEI Corporation for the upcoming tactical action game, Samurai Warriors. Samurai Warriors is developed by Koei's internal development team Omega Force, the studio behind the award-winning Dynasty Warriors series, and is slated for release on the PlayStation 2 in May 2004.

THQ Inc. today announced the release of MX Unleashed for PlayStation2 and Xbox. THQ's internal development studio, Rainbow Studios delivers unprecedented realism and game play to off-road fans and gamers alike. MX Unleashed is supported by a multi-million dollar marketing campaign, integrating sponsorship of the THQ World Supercross GP/AMA Series, national TV and print advertising campaigns, and cross marketing promotions with industry and entertainment companies. MX Unleashed is now available at major retail outlets across North America.

ValuSoft and TOKYOPOP Inc. today announced the release of Initial D: Mountain Vengeance. Through a licensing agreement with TOKYOPOP, ValuSoft brings the high-speed racing action of smash anime hit Initial D to PC gamers everywhere. This game is rated "E" for Everyone and will be available at retailers throughout North America for $19.99.

New information is coming through regarding the multiplayer abilities of Creature Conflict: The Clan Wars – the new title from Cenega UK Ltd. Creature Conflict: The Clan Wars is the new, exciting turn-based combat simulator featuring a whole menagerie of animals including Rabbits, Wolverines, Skunks and Baboons. Read more for multiplayer details ...

Dutch budget publisher Midas Interactive has released some more info on its upcoming titles for March. In their lineup are :

• The Sniper 2
• Detonator
• MaXXed Out Racing
• League Series Baseball 2
• 
  Read more for details and screens for each title...

Fresh from a hugely successful Q4 of 2003, including the appearance of four titles in the top 20 budget PlayStation 2 chart in December alone, Midas Interactive are delighted to announce a publishing deal with Kuju Entertainment that will ensure that even better results are achieved in 2004. The first two games set for release by Midas Interactive under the Glass Ghost label are "GTR-400" and "Bikes 'n' Sides". Both will be released on PlayStation 2 in mid-2004. Read more for details...

In Wrath Unleashed, powerful beings called overlords fight for supremacy in a striking and imaginative ethereal void as they struggle to become gods and maintain dominance and magic. Overlords and their minion creatures battle for control of magical floating islands represented by a beautiful world map comprised of terrain tiles. Each tile on the map is imbued with an elemental affinity of fire, earth, water or wind. Unleash your wrath and may the best beast win! Read more for the full review ...

The game that introduced stealth gameplay is back. Ion Storm has implemented a new 3rd person cinematic action view as well as the classic 1st person perspective from the previous Thief chapters. Breaking and entering, stealing, sabotage, combat, assassination, and setting up ambushes - tasks master thief Garrett is well equipped to perform. Players will enter into Garret's dark world of thievery on both Xbox and PC this Spring 2004 in "Thief: Deadly Shadows". Read more to check out some new screens ...

'Crimson Sea 2' features over 60 missions and 3 two-player modes. Work together to bring down the enemy and clear a stage in "Co-op" mode, battle head-to-head "death match" style in "Versus" mode, or try to outscore your human opponent in "Competition" mode. Read more for details and new screens ...

"Unreal Tournament 2004 is the next evolution of the greatest competitive computer game ever created," said Jean-Philippe Agati, senior vice president and general manager of Atari's Los Angeles studio. "The addition of new modes, mods and maps as well as the controllable land-, air- and space-based vehicles, means Unreal fans are getting an entirely new experience featuring devastating vehicular combat and wide scale warfare." Check out some new screens ...

Newsarama.com has word from that Image comic book Sword of Dracule is making its way into a first person shooter under development at Critical Mass Interactive (previously known for SpongeBob SquarePants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman on PS2). While the comic series has a broader narrative, in the game, the player will be an agent under the command of Veronica “Ronnie” Van Helsing, who leads a UN-connected and armed to the teeth covert operation called the Polidorium. Unlike traditional vampire stories, the Cain said the CMI creators have patterned Sword of Dracula after games like Medal of Honor and Call of Duty, where action is wide, relentless and highly technological (thanks HomeLAN).

Eventhough the game is still several week away from release, Sierra has already released the first patch for their RTS title Lords of the Realm III. This update will being your retail gamer to v1.1 and adresses several game crashes, gameplay fixes. Lords of the Realm III has already gone gold according to our Sierra source and is expected in stores Mid March. Read more for details fix list and download links.

'SOLAR' is a new project from Brat Designs (Breed developers) and the first to use the Mercury II engine. Taking place across three theatres of war, The Earth, Moon and Mars, ‘SOLAR’ follows the progress of the Eastern Collective Democracy (ECD) and the United Western Alliance (UWA) as they clash in a decades old struggle for resources. Read more for details and some early screens ...

Activision, Inc. has signed a deal with Roadrunner Records' multi-platinum-selling artist, Slipknot, for the MTX: Mototrax videogame, which will be available in retail stores nationwide on March 3, 2004. The band will unveil their brand new track, "Don't Get Close" from their forthcoming album due out in May 2004, in the game. Read more for full track listing (including Metallica, Faith No More etc.)

Eidos announces ShellShock: Nam '67. ShellShock: Nam '67 depicts the true horrors of the Vietnam War for the first time in a video game. ShellShock: Nam '67 focuses on one man's experience of the most controversial war of modern times. You take on the role of a rookie soldier on his first tour of duty as he experiences the fear, chaos and atrocities of the Vietnam War. From the napalm bombardments of civilian villages and the gruesome VC (Viet Cong) boobytraps, to the permanent threat of invisible foes and deadly ambushes, Shellshock: Nam '67 dares to go where no other war game has gone. The game is being developed by Guerrilla and will be available for PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC in June 2004. Read more for details, screens & the first trailer...

Funcom was recently awarded a grant from the Norwegian Film Fund to partially finance the development of Dreamfall, the long-awaited follow-up to The Longest Journey. The Norwegian government has, for the first time, actively endorsed game development, marking a welcome shift in the cultural acceptance of computer games as a medium comparable to film and television.

The game that introduced stealth gameplay is back. Ion Storm has implemented a new 3rd person cinematic action view as well as the classic 1st person perspective from the previous Thief chapters. Breaking and entering, stealing, sabotage, combat, assassination, and setting up ambushes - tasks master thief Garrett is well equipped to perform. Players will enter into Garret's dark world of thievery on both Xbox and PC this Spring 2004 in "Thief: Deadly Shadows". Read more to check out some new screens ...

Leading video games developer and publisher Namco Hometek Inc. announced today that its unique first person fighting/shooter game, Breakdown, has gone gold. Exclusively for the Xbox, Breakdown is scheduled to reveal its mysterious plot and sneak onto store shelves on March 16, 2004.

"Unreal Tournament 2004 is the next evolution of the greatest competitive computer game ever created," said Jean-Philippe Agati, senior vice president and general manager of Atari's Los Angeles studio. "The addition of new modes, mods and maps as well as the controllable land-, air- and space-based vehicles, means Unreal fans are getting an entirely new experience featuring devastating vehicular combat and wide scale warfare." Check out some new screens ...

ESPN Major League Baseball raises the bar with Power Pitching, Online Gameplay and a stellar ESPN presentation featuring Jon Miller and Karl Ravech. A new name, a new season, a new way to play! ESPN Major League Baseball will include voice-chat support for the PlayStation2 and the Xbox, as well as the only complete online league experience for PlayStation2 owners. Read more for some new screens ...

Judge Dredd vs. Judge Death is a first-person shooter seen through the eyes of Judge Dredd as he patrols the mean streets of the stunningly realised future metropolis, Mega-City One. Dredd will find himself having to deal with the full spectrum of criminal behaviour, from littering and caffeine abuse to saving the city from the utterly evil Judge Death. The game will also have extensive multiplayer modes, enabling ferocious splitscreen or online play and will use Rebellion's versatile new Asura engine. Evolved Games is getting ready to publish Judge Dredd vs. Judge Death in North America, so here are some new screens ...

In "Dead Man's Hand," players will step into the boots of El Tejon, a master gunslinger riding with one of the roughest gangs in the West, known as The Nine. When the ruthless leader of The Nine betrays El Tejon, El Tejon turns to a life of vengeance, vowing to put every member of his former gang six feet under. Through an epic single player story of vengeance and betrayal, the player will travel the American Frontier, experiencing bar fights, shoot outs, stagecoach chases and other definitively Western scenes.Read more for some new screens ...

Lords of the Realm III (Lords 3) is a real-time strategy game of historic medieval conquest that spans castle building, siege, politics, religion, and conquest. The game is set in the Middle Ages, between 850 AD and 1350 AD, and features authentic castle designs and characters. Various scenarios and campaigns encompass the British Isles, Germany, France, Normandy, Brittany, Flanders and Denmark. Read more for some new screens ...

Mafia is a 3D action game, seen through the eyes of third person. Player assumes the role of a gangster in an American town of the thirties, and gets a chance to live through gangsters rise and fall. In a spell-bounding story of human hunger for power, he will be able to live through everything that was taking place in underworld during this stormy period: mad car chases, bootlegging, assassinations, and bank robberies. Read more for some new screens ...

NVIDIA Corporation today unveiled the industry's first top-to-bottom family of PCI Express graphics processing units (GPUs), all designed to take full advantage of the additional bandwidth and features that this new I/O interconnection standard delivers. By using an innovative PCI Express (PCX) high-speed interconnect (HSI), a complex piece of networking technology that performs seamless, bi-directional interconnect protocol conversion at incredible speed lines, NVIDIA can transform its current award-winning GeForce FX series into a full family of PCI Express GPUs.