Enlist in an intense brand of action gameplay! Stationed in the heart of WWII's European theatre of war, join the ranks of a unique military squad. Missions are based on key historical operations, and as war rages, squads must battle as a unit to achieve victory. A listing on EBGames is showing that the popular Valve Half-life mod, Day Of Defeat, is going retail and suprisingly to be publshed by Activision (and not Sierra). It is expected to ship May 6th (thanks Gamespy). Read more for box cover and details ...

Restricted Area is an action-based roleplaying game with realtime combat, which combines a fascinating gameplay similar to Diablo 2 with innovativ technology, tactic-shooter elements and a dark future scenario. Read more for details and a batch of few screens ...

The WarBirds team will launch the official download of the PTO theater on Wednesday, 2 April. This is the fruit of their last three months of labor, and will include a new PTO terrain, five new aircraft (and variants), two new ground vehicles, a few new or improved cockpits for existing aircraft, and a new strategic resupply system in addition to many bug fixes and other improvements.. Though the update becomes official on Wednesday, they will upload it to some mirror sites earlier in the week to give everyone a chance to grab the download prior to release. Check with their downloads page for info.

Those crazy Ape Escape monkeys are back on the loose and plotting to take over the world as Ubi Soft Entertainment, one of the world's top videogame publishers, announces plans to publish Ape Escape 2 exclusively for the PS2. Developed by Sony Computer Entertainment, Ape Escape 2 promises the same fun gameplay as the original version including advanced game features, amazing 3D graphics, and plenty of monkey pandemonium! Ape Escape 2 has an ESRB rating of "E" for Everyone and will have a suggested retail price of $39.99. It is scheduled to ship July 1, 2003.

Matrix Games and Panther Games are pleased to announce a new partnership aimed at producing outstanding new wargames based on the critically acclaimed Airborne Assault engine. In development currently is Airborne Assault: Highway to the Reich covering all three battles from operation Market Garden. This will include the battles for Arnhem (with the British 1st Abn Division, as covered in their first game Airborne Assault: Red Devils over Arnhem), Nijmegen (with the US 82nd Airborne Division) and Eindhoven (with the US 101st Abn Div). This will be the first in this series to be published through Matrix Games.

NovaLogic Ltd. today announced that they are teaming up with Europe's largest and most popular independent online gaming service provider Jolt.co.uk for the Official Delta Force - Black Hawk Down European Online Tournaments.

Austrian based developer and publisher JoWooD Productions Software AG today announced that it has signed an exclusive publishing agreement with Encore, Inc. a majority-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation for the marketing and distribution of nine games throughout North America. Encore will be managing the sales, distribution and marketing for these titles while JoWooD will be delivering content.

WorthPlaying is giving away goodies sponsored by Strategy First. Enter the sweepstakes and have a chance to win one of 5 New World Order CD's... NWO is a tactical team-based first person shooter game.. "In New World Order, players meet Agent John Dobbs, one of the best military operatives in the world and GAT’s (Global Assault Team) newest recruit. Formed by some of the world’s most powerful nations, the GAT is a top-secret organization that has been brought together to stop The Syndicate, a group of militant separatists and terrorists who have set out to fill the world with fear, chaos and destruction... unless Agent Dobbs and his team get to them first"

JediKnightII.net let us know that according to the popular german game magazine 'GameStar' there WILL be a Jedi Knight 3! April joke or not? Here is a clip from Lucas forum:

The game will once again use a heavily-modifed Quake 3 Team Arena engine, as well as all of Raven’s own enhancements to it! Despite its Age, the screenies sure look spectacular! The multi-player part will also be enhanced, and rumours speak of vehicular combat!

According to Raven, JK III is 60% done, including story, scripts and levels. So, if everything goes well, you will be able to play it this fall!

Check out some screens here!

Atari is bringing all of the drama and fast-paced action of the Old West exclusively to the Xbox this Fall 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!

Immerse yourself into the challenging adventures that await you in 1503 A.D.: Listen to the first few moments of the game, an instant where you start your journey and where a story of exploration, discovery and battle unfolds. On a single ship and accompanied by only a few faithful men, you make your way into The New World – an introduction to the dramatic plot you will experience in 1503 A.D. The sound file is stored in MP3 format and has a file size of 827 KB. Enjoy!

TDK Mediactive Europe announced today the release of its multiplayer action shooter "SeaBlade". Taking full advantage of the awesome potential of the Xbox video game system from Microsoft, "SeaBlade" delivers unprecedented combat action with its fully articulated vehicles above and below the water across six diverse and apocalyptic environments.

It is 1588 A.D., a critical year of an alternate history hauntingly familiar yet fantastically alien to our own. Because of one fateful event during the Third Crusade, the history of this world diverged. This event, the Disjunction, ripped open a long-sealed breach to other worlds. Magic energy and powerful spirits flowed into the world, changing the lands and the people forever. Cast into this world, you are a character of your own devices, strengths, and abilities. Set upon by human factions and powerful spirits, you must decide how to best develop your skills in order to triumph over obstacles that lie between you and your true fate. A fresh batch of Lionheart screens as well as a new trailer have arrived!

According to a post on the BlackIsle forum by PR guru Jessica Urquhart, Lionheart is scheduled for release on August 12, 2003. The original date set was April, so there is no specific reason why the game is delayed for almost 6 months ... Read the forum post.

Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain explodes onto the PS2 as the latest chapter of the Syphon Filter storyline with edge of your seat offline and online action. The newest installment in the multi-million unit selling series offers sophisticated and highly intelligent AI, richly detailed worlds, an enhanced character customization system and groundbreaking cooperative, peer-to-peer online gameplay. Read more for details & screens ...

Noticed on HomeLan that the development of Akella's "Sea Dogs II" has been suspended and that title will not be released this year. We want everyone who had been looking forward to Sea Dogs II to be aware that Pirates of the Caribbean offers outstanding role-playing gameplay in a similar setting. Since Bethesda just announced their new 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and judging that Akella is also the developer on that product, it would be safe to say that the game just got "renamed" (thanks Bluesnews).

Strategy First just let us know that the website for their highly anticipated upcoming Real-Time Tactical game, Nexagon: Deathmatch has gone live. The Nexagon: Deathmatch website will feature tons of info on the game and other goodies. Game Overview, History of the Nexagon, Game Rules ,Sanctum description (this is your fortress), Forum links, Screenshots, Unit Description (describes the units that make up the Thralls, including attacks, abilities and stats). The website will also feature three mp3 music tracks and 10 wallpapers available for download. Also, check out our Nexagon preview!

Bethesda Softworks and Disney Interactive today announced that Bethesda Softworks will publish a Pirates of the Caribbean video game for the Xbox, PlayStation2, and PC. Inspired by one of this summer's most anticipated blockbusters, the game will bring swashbuckling adventures and rich worlds to Xbox and PC this June, and to PS2 at a later date. Read more for details and screens

Activision, NVIDIA Corporation, eVGA.com Corporation and id Software have teamed up with the Online Gaming League to host the Return to Castle Wolfenstein "Battle on the Beachhead II" tournament. Gamers from across North America will hit the battlefield in a struggle for frontline domination and exciting prizes including NVIDIA GeForce FX graphics cards from eVGA.com, limited edition RTCW prints signed by id Software, GameCube, Nintendo Game Boy Advance and hundreds of popular games. The tournament will run from April 7 through May 12, 2003 at the Online Gaming League website, on the Speakeasy Network, home of the largest broadband gaming community and the official ISP of the OGL.

Following a nationwide search of college campuses to find the most promising ninja-inspired short films, two students have been chosen as the winners of the Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven, "Reel Ninja Film Contest." Legendary film director John Woo and producer Terence Chang of Lion Rock Productions awarded Joshua Gorin from the University of Pennsylvania the $15,000 Grand Prize for his submission, "The Ninja Movie," a clever three-minute live action short set in a snowy cemetery.

Article pulled by Request of MicroSoft/AEG...

Summitsoft announced today that its eagerly awaited Empire of Magic is on schedule for a May 1st release. Promising a masterfully crafted blend of strategy, role playing and story driven adventure, Empire of Magic takes a different approach to strategy games. "We have received a tremendous amount of interest on Empire of Magic by the gaming community," said Bruce Lowry, President and CEO of Summitsoft Corporation. "By throwing away traditional resource management found in most strategy games and replacing it with intense story rich scenarios and interactive role playing dynamics, Empire of Magic offers an exciting and fresh twist to the strategy genre."

It is 1588 A.D., a critical year of an alternate history hauntingly familiar yet fantastically alien to our own. Because of one fateful event during the Third Crusade, the history of this world diverged. This event, the Disjunction, ripped open a long-sealed breach to other worlds. Magic energy and powerful spirits flowed into the world, changing the lands and the people forever. Cast into this world, you are a character of your own devices, strengths, and abilities. Set upon by human factions and powerful spirits, you must decide how to best develop your skills in order to triumph over obstacles that lie between you and your true fate. A fresh batch of Lionheart screens has arrived!

Alienware has taken an unprecedented leap forward with the launch of a new case design for its award-winning desktop systems. Maintaining its position at the forefront of the industry and continuing a strong tradition of innovation, Alienware is the first specialty system builder to offer an exclusive PC case of its own design.

The next evolution in off-road gaming has arrived with the release of Cabela's Off-Road Adventure 3 for the PC from Activision Value, a division of Activision, Inc. Featuring a combination of fast-paced off-road driving action and the ability to hunt, players explore vast landscapes as they advance through increasingly more challenging missions to earn money, upgrade their rigs and unlock additional activities that will take them one step closer to reaching their goal of becoming a member of the "Cabela's Driving Club." Cabela's Off-Road Adventure 3 is available at retail stores nationwide for a suggested retail price of $19.99 and has been rated "T" (TEEN) by the ESRB.