Publisher Strategy First and developer Nicely Crafted Entertainment are pleased to announce they have signed a deal to bring the MMO RTS Time of Defiance to North American retail shelves in April, 2004.

Atari has released a new patch for Secret Level's card-based 3D action strategy game Magic: the Gathering - Battlegrounds. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.2 but no details as to what it addresses are available at this point (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Publisher Strategy First and Developer BattleGoat Studios are pleased to announce that they have begun accepting applications for the open beta test for their upcoming strategy game, Supreme Ruler 2010 that is set to reach store shelves in Q2 2004. If you’re interested in changing the course of future history, then follow this link to sign-up for the Supreme Ruler 2010 open beta test. It’s first come first serve and space is limited so waste no time. You can sign up right here, or read more to find out what Supreme Ruler 2010 is all about!

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 ...

Following the success of its predecessor – Power of Chaos: YUGI THE DESTINY – the new game can be used in conjunction with the original or played as a stand-alone experience. Power of Chaos: Kaiba The Revenge features over 300 cards to collect, as players attempt to build the strongest possible collection of cards. Konami of Europe has announced a second Yu-Gi-Oh! title for PC, as 'Yi-Gi-Oh! Power of Chaos: Kaiba The Revenge' is released for the format in March.

MC2 has announced it will release a PS2 version of its acclaimed PC action title, Ironstorm: World War Zero (previously known as just Ironstorm), in Q2, 2004. Developed by Rebellion ('Aliens Vs Predator', 'Judge Dredd'), Ironstorm is an all-action first-person title spanning 19 war-torn stages. Presenting an alternate history concept at the heart of its plot, Ironstorm is set in a shattered 1964 where the first World War never ended. The pivotal Russian October Revolution has seen history diverted as the insane Baron Ungenberg has crushed the Bolshevik charge. Read more to check out some new screens ...

After a leaked/false start earlier, Ubisoft Europe has officially launched the single player demo for Crytek's eagerly awaited FPS/Action game Far Cry. The demo features the "Fort" mission, playable with three levels of difficulty and 7 weapons available. Read more for download links ...

S2Games has released an updated version of their recently released Savage: Battle for Newerth patch. This upgrade brings your retail game to v2.0b and addresses a few minor bugs that were uncovered in the v2.0 patch as well as some extra optimization. Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

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.

Painkiller is a nickname of a pretty unusual mercenary, who is dealing with supernatural. There are places on Earth where demons and other evil creatures have their nests: abandoned prisons, private castles, deep caves in the mountains. "Cleaning" those places is good money, and our hero needs a lot of it, since he loves living the life to its fullest. One day he gets what seems to be a pretty simple job: to retrieve a religious artifact from one of the nests. When after a furious battle he realizes he might have been tricked into the war between two competing clans of the undead, he tries to play his own cards.

Feel the power of commanding a modern jet fighter. Fly a variety of combat aircraft in the most graphically rich, audio intense game environment ever created for a combat flight simulator. Lock On: Modern Air Combat combines a broad scope of game play that includes a dynamic campaign system, an immersive combat environment, and in-your-face action. Read more for the full review ...

Interplay has sent out notice that Dark Alliance II is shipping to retail today!!! That means that it will be in stores tomorrow! "Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II" features more monsters, 80 levels of gameplay, visually stunning environments, five new customizable player characters to choose from, hidden areas to explore, as well as an item creation system that will allow players to create their own ultimate magical items. To celebrate Interplay has released a new trailer, read more to check it out...

Another day, another batch of game trailers were released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for :

• Firefighter FD 18 - Trailer
• Alpha Black Zero - Trailer
• Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers - Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Electronic Arts' German Fussball Manager website, known as Total Club Manager 2004 to the rest of us, now offers a new patchpatch for Total Club Manager 2004 (English & German version). This upgrade brings your retail game (only available in Europe atm) to v1.2 and adresses several bugs and game tweaks, etc. Read more for a detailed fix list and download links ...

Sammy Studios, Inc. today launched the dedicated web site for "Darkwatch: Curse of the West," its recently announced Vampire-Western 1st person shooter (FPS). "Darkwatch: Curse of the West" blends two popular fiction genres to create a truly original premise for a cinematic game and, with many unique gameplay elements, brings tremendous variety and innovations to the FPS genre. Read more for some new screens and download the ingame trailer...

Ubisoft has released the anticipated demo for their action/adventure game Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time giving you the chance to check out one level. In Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time players take the role of the Prince in the exotic, mysterious world of ancient Persia. Using groundbreaking animations and innovative time-control powers to recapture the Sands of Time, their role is to restore peace to the land. Read more for download links ...

Ground Control 2 : Operation Exodus takes place during the year 2741 AD, roughly 300 years after the events in the original game. The democratic and freedom caring Northern Star Alliance (NSA) is being hard pressed by the warmongering Terran Empire. The war has recently entered a new stage; a brutal and deadly ground war, as the Empire has managed to land their first troopships on the last NSA controlled planet – Morningstar Prime... Read more to check out some new screens ...

Red Ant Enterprises announces that it has officially entered into an exclusive distribution agreement for Massive Assault on PC CD ROM, with international games developer Wargaming.net, Inc., for the territory of Australia & New Zealand. Massive Assault is due for release 20th February 2004.

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.

Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark introduces several new prestige classes, including the Shifter, a druidic class specializing in shape shifting; dozens of new feats, such as Epic Reputation, Craft Weapon and Armor Skin; a multitude of new weapons and spells, many designed solely for epic level characters; challenging new creatures pulled straight out of the Underdark, including Mind Flayers, Beholders and Driders; several new character voice sets for even greater character customization; and 17 new epic soundtracks from composer Jeremy Soule.

S2Games has released the anticipated patch for their online RTS/FPS game Savage: Battle for Newerth. This upgrade brings your retail game to v2.0 and adds a few new maps, updates their gfx engine and a slew of other fixes, tweaks and additions. Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

Another day, another batch of game trailers were released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for :

• Breakdown - Trailer
• Joan Of Arc - Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Pterodon has released a new "beta" multiplayer map for their tactical shooter Vietcong. This 'Riverdale' map will be features in the next update patch, but you can have a little sneak peek (thanks Tiscali). Read more for screens & download links ...

Lagsters is an arcade racing title, where the action takes place in closed environments - tubes. The player will be able to use a vast number of different weapons and upgrades to their cars to become the winner of one of the 32 races. The tracks are compiled into 4 different championships of the single player mode. The multiplayer mode will offer three different modes of play: 'Last Man Driving', 'Fox and Hounds' and 'Divided Glory' where up to 8 players may participate in one race.

In SÖLDNER - Secret Wars the player takes command of one of these special teams. As Commander he leads the small high tech army consisting of soldiers, light armoured vehicles, helicopters and VTOLs to fulfill a wide variety of mission. The Simulation of a highly complex political system creates a dynamic campaign: each decision has direct impact on the flow of the game. Read more to check some awesome screens ...