Noticed on Bluesnews that the German Anno 1503 Homepage has word that "Die Demo ist da," or that the German demo version of SUNFLOWERS' city-building trading strategy prequel is now available. This playable demo version for Anno 1503 contains four different game modes and scenarios. In two introduction games the player learns the first steps of establishing a settlement, discovering of civilizations, the trade with natives and the setting-up of commercial routes. When the two introduction games are successfully completed, 2 new scenarios ("settling" and "fight") will unlock. Read more for links where to download it ...

Dance to the beat of crazy music and play 150 levels of bubble popping action in this 3D puzzle game. Make your move and work quickly to take out the bubbles before they take you out. With rocking soundtracks and fast-pace game play, Super Bubble Pop is a bubble based action puzzler game where the idea is to quickly and efficiently clear the grid of bubbles to advance to the next stage while gaining as many points as possible.

Total Immersion Racing is a driving game with an emphasis on the highest quality driving technology linked to compelling and immersive gameplay. The player can choose a career path that leads from being the lowest ranked driver of a GT sports car all the way to becoming a world champion driving a massively powerful 8-litre prototype. On the way team engineers and managers will give advice and input to guide the player. Empire and Razorworks have just released a new patch for the Total Immersion Racing US edition fixing a few DirectX related issues. Read more for details and download links...

Strategy First, leading worldwide publisher and developer of PC games, is happy to announce they have signed a publishing agreement with German developer German Railroads to bring two new add-ons for Microsoft Train Simulator to the North American market.

Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown is based on Cinemaware’s hit game Defender of the Crown, first released in 1986 on the Commodore Amiga and subsequently to a variety of platforms where sold over 1,000,000 units worldwide. Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown is a re-imagining of the beloved classic, with a deep storyline, a rich cast of characters, and the same commitment to stunning graphics and unique, varied gameplay that first made Cinemaware famous. Check the new batch of screens ...

To further promote their upcoming action/stealth title IGI 2: Covert Strike, Codemasters has just released a new trailer showing off some graphical bliss of what to expect in the full product. The Scope video showcases IGI 2: Covert Strike's incredible visuals, with detailed internal locations and massive outdoor environments with vistas rendered as far as the eye can see. Read more for download links and check it out!

EVE ONLINE is a new breed of computer game. Played online with thousands of other players, EVE draws people into what is essentially an alternate universe set some time far in the future in a place one can only dream of. SSI and CCP have just released a 2 min in-game action trailer showing off the plans and intentions of an ambitious player in the world of EVE. Read more for links to check it out!

Need one doing? The chaps behind Prisoner of War reckon they've got just the thing... Wide Games, the ambitious developer of the best-selling PS2, Xbox and PC smash, Prisoner of War, today announces a move into licensed products and conversions. Building on the success of POW - the only unlicensed, non-sequel game in the top ten last summer, Wide Games has recently completed a GameCube conversion, and is now working an Xbox/PC port for a major US publisher.

With just under one month to go until the February 14th launch of IGI 2: Covert Strike, gamers can today experience covert action IGI style with launch of the single-player demo of Codemasters’ stunning stealth-based shooter. This standalone PC demo is now available for download.. Read more for download links and also a all-new IGI 2 video entitled “Scope”.

Resident Evil Online is set in Raccoon City and seems to feature gameplay typical of the series, but it will allow up to four players play together at once. There are eight characters -- including a police officer, plumber, journalist, and surgeon -- each with his or her own skills. Cooperation is a big part of the online game's design. Player characters can interact by exchanging weapons, helping another player get up, or by providing a steady shoulder for a wounded character to lean on. However, players can't always rely on the security of a group and may start a scenario separated from each other. There are also nonplayer characters in the game that players can talk to for information, including those characters that weren't selected by players. Read more to check out the trailer ...

American Conquest, is the latest masterpiece from the makers of Cossacks, the undisputed champions of several-thousand-unit combat. Spanning the moment Columbus set foot on America to the American War of Independence, players must shape the future of the continent through over 50 missions spread across eight campaigns. Check out the new screens, showing off the battle at Fort Duquesne in 1754 during the Indian/French War. Read more to check them out ...

Total Immersion Racing is a driving game with an emphasis on the highest quality driving technology linked to compelling and immersive gameplay. The player can choose a career path that leads from being the lowest ranked driver of a GT sports car all the way to becoming a world champion driving a massively powerful 8-litre prototype. On the way team engineers and managers will give advice and input to guide the player. Empire and Razorworks have just released another patch for the European version of their racing game fixing a few DirectX related issues. Read more for details and download links...

Troll clans have long fought amongst themselves for the right to rule their race. With the creation of the Night Keep, the Grobb clan firmly established its dominance over the trolls. The Broken Skull clan was driven from the city and built a stronghold of its own. Years later, in a flood of brutish strength and cunning the trolls of the Broken Skull clan returned, and by their actions forever changed Norrath. Sony has just launched the 'EverQuest: The Legacy of Ykesha' official website, the newly announced expansion for their massively multiplayer RPG. This will be the first commerical Everquest expansion pack that will be offered as an online-only download product with a price of $17.99 for pre-orders (thanks Homelan).

The DesertCombat team is pleased to announce that the second public alpha version of the most played mod for Battlefield1942 is now ready download. The purpose of these tests are to get valuable feedback from the community so that we can produce one of the best gameplay experiences out there for arcade style modern military combat. The goal of the DC team is to release many of these alpha and beta tests until we feel it is a complete mod. Read more for details and download links ...

Rick Johnson, Lead Programmer @ Ravensoft updated his .plan file with following information:

Based on feedback we received at the mod maker round table sessions at QuakeCon, we created a private forum for mod makers. This forum is a place for all mod makers of all engines / games (not just Raven games) to come and discuss any issues associated with mod making, such as programming, scripting, mapping, modeling, textures, sounds, etc. This forum is only open to people actively involved in making content. If you wish to join, create an account on our forums and then email me with your account name and I’ll give you access. There is also a small website associated with this whole endeavor. Again, this is for all people making mods for all games / engines.

Celestial Heavens let us know that Christian Vanover from New World Computing announced that Winds of War, the second expansion pack for Heroes of Might & Magic IV, has gone gold.. (thanks Blues) Here is the clip:

I wanted to let everyone know that 3DO has given their stamp of approval to the Winds of War expansion, and the Gold Master is on its way to the duplicators! I'm sure we'll be sneaking some WoW info onto the boards in the next few weeks, and maybe, just maybe, I'll have some early Heroes V info as well.

Codemasters' IGI 2: Covert Strike single-player demo will be available tomorrow. An all-new movie entitled Scope will be released at the same time. Both the demo and the video promise to showcase the massive environments and new graphics engine. The playable demo calls for skilful stealth tactics - but players also need to be sharp shooters when the need arises. The demo sees David Jones investigating the theft of an advanced nano-technology device by an organized crime syndicate.

Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness asks more questions of Lara's abilities and motivations as she finds herself in nightmarish situations she has not faced before. As both hunter and hunted she must rely on her ingenuity, athleticism and a new harder edge that has arisen from her inner demons. For Lara it's no longer a clear-cut case of good versus evil, this is a more complex tale in which she will have moral choices to make for the first time. Check out the 4 new screens as well as the 8 minute 'Making of' trailer ...

A few days ago ATV Quad Power Racing 2 shipped for the PS2, the Xbox/NGC fans will have to wait another week or 2 but in the meantime we tossed up another boatload of screens to make the wait bearable. ATV Quad Power Racing 2 puts you in the driving seat of powerful off-road quad bikes and then gives you that little bit extra. The fast, edge-of-your-seat arcade gameplay blends seamlessly with the outrageous tricks you can pull both in the air and on the ground. You can do it all as one of 10 real top pro riders or one of 10 new characters. Race against the AI competitors and friends to take the top prize in many game play modes. Race through the dirt in this all-action racer but be prepared to fight dirty too.

JoWooD Productions is proud to announce the first official details of the characters featured in the breathtaking first-person shoot 'em up, Chaser, the PC CD game scheduled for a UK release in Q2 2003.

These days, gamers have insatiable appetites - and Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance fill the need. By summertime Nintendo of America Inc. will accelerate its Nintendo GameCube game library past 225 titles as it continues to broaden its appeal to video game players of all ages, interests and lifestyles. This reflects an increasing amount of support from third-party publishers, adding to a strong cavalry of first- and second-party selections... Read more for a huge 2003 release list!

MVP! MVP! MVP! EA today announced American League Most Valuable Player (MVP) Miguel Tejada and National League Cy Young winner Randy Johnson as the North American spokesmen and cover athletes of the upcoming MVP Baseball 2003 interactive video game from EA SPORTS.

A new constellation has been identified in federation space as TDK Mediactive, Inc. announced today the summer 2003 release of Star Trek Shattered Universe on the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system.

Purge beta patch 1.3.6 is the latest version, files have been replaced to the latest as well as a full v1.3.6 updated beta demo. Read more for details and links where to grab the file ...

Westwood has once again released a new trailer for their upcoming 3D RTS title C&C Generals. A minute of footage showing the destructive power of the Global Liberation Army in C&C Generals. Read more for links where to grab the goodies ...