R-Type is a classic in video game history; the legacy goes back a full 16 years since the original arcade shoot-'em-up hit the streets. With the game being so popular in Japan earlier this year, a number of high profile UK specialist games magazines including Play couldn't wait to see the European version and took it upon themselves to import the Japanese version, giving it 89%. Read more for details and a batch of new screens ...

Activision Publishing challenges players to once again test their virtual hunting skills with an all-new Cabela's Dangerous Hunts for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system and Xbox video game system. The latest title in the best-selling Cabela's franchise provides players with a hunt or be hunted experience, where they stalk or get stalked by prey through detailed surroundings enveloped by such natural boundaries as canyons, mountains, dense forest and lakes. The game features changing seasons and realistic weather conditions which deliver an added adrenaline rush of excitement as players encounter more than 27 big game animals in 12 exotic locations around the world with the reality of dangerous encounters. Cabela's Dangerous Hunts is currently available at retail stores nationwide for a suggested retail price of $29.99 and is rated "T" by the ESRB.

Climax today reaffirmed its position as one of the most ambitious video game developers in the industry after striking a development agreement with leading international developer and publisher Fluent Entertainment. Under the agreement Climax will develop two new games for Fluent Entertainment, one at its London office and the other at its Solent studio.

Buka Entertainment, one of the European publishers, and Microforum Italia S.p.A., one of the well-known software distributors in Italy, are pleased to announce a new deal, which includes the following titles:

• Echelon: Wind Warriors
• Midnight Nowhere
• March!: Offworld Recon
  
  The titles will be fully localized and distributed in Italy in DVD boxes at the price of 9.90 euro per unit.

Enter the world of urban street racing and high performance tuner cars with the latest title in the hit Need for Speed series: Need for Speed Underground. Take on today’s most popular tuner cars from Mitsubishi Motors, Subaru, Toyota and many more, building the ultimate street machine by earning cash to pay for custom body kits and a host of licensed car performance mods. But just creating a custom street racing machine will not get you to the top; it takes a certain amount of attitude and razor sharp driving skills to compete in the tough world of urban racing (thanks Tiscali). Check out them shiny screens!

Another day, another batch of games is released.

• Medal Of Honor Rising Sun - Xbox, PS2 & NGC
• Goblin Commander - PS2 & Xbox
• Beyond Good & Evil - PS2
• Culdcept - PS2
• Onimusha Tactics - GBA
• Mario Party 5 - NGC
• Disney's Magical Quest 2 Starring Mickey And Minnie - GBA

Radica have unveiled a brand new controller pack for PS2 that will create havoc for gamers, changing the way multiplayer games are played! Available now at an SRP of £39.99, Clash Pads contain two specialist controllers and a unique central console unit that gives players the ability to disrupt the opposition controller- creating an Unfair Advantage!

EA today announced that Need for Speed Underground has gone gold. The game will begin to ship in North America on November 17 under the EA GAMES brand for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and PC.

The Battle for Middle-earth utilizes the Generals game engine, and in the game players can select from the different "good" or "evil" campaigns, where they will be given the freedom to command a variety of major armies from the films, each with their own distinct strengths and weaknesses. Prepare for war by creating offensive and defensive strategies set in the memorable battle locations taken straight from the big screen. The Battle for Middle-earth RTS game will utilize the digital assets created for the films and will feature exclusive voiceover from the real actors as well as actual movie footage from the three films.

Savage Eden: The Battle for Laghaim will be launched by iEntertainment Network for closed Beta play on 14 November 2003. The original game, Laghaim in Asia, is developed by one of the foremost game companies in Korea and has over 1,000,000 registered users. Now, this extremely popular and successful game is coming to the Americas in a new and improved version! Laghaim in Asia operates with over 50,000 current users and generated sales of over $1 million USD in its first two weeks of commercial operation. People interested in signing up for the beta test should register here.

Ritual Entertainment has released the Star Trek Elite Force II source code giving you the change to create single & multiplayer mods for Raven Software's shooter Star Trek Elite Force II. Read more for details & download links ...

The Adventure Company and TransGaming Technologies announced today a partnership to produce an Apple Mac OS X version of The Omega Stone. The Omega Stone is a classic adventure that sends intrepid explorers on a quest to prevent a terrible disaster prophesized by the ancients. Beautiful rendered scenery from Stonehenge, Easter Island, and the Lost City of Atlantis sets the tone for this evocative mystery.

Enter the world of urban street racing and high performance tuner cars with the latest title in the hit Need for Speed series: Need for Speed Underground. Take on today's most popular tuner cars from Mitsubishi Motors, Subaru, Toyota and many more, building the ultimate street machine by earning cash to pay for custom body kits and a host of licensed car performance mods. EA has released a demo for EA Black Box's Need For Speed: Underground letting you try out a 1 lap circuit race or single drag race, in both single or multiplayer (up to 4 racers) mode. Read more for download links ...

Encore today announced that SpellForce for the PC is scheduled to ship in February 2004. Co-published with JoWooD Productions Software AG, an Austrian game publisher and developer, SpellForce is the first true strategy role-playing game that seamlessly blends the tactics of army building with the storyline and character development of role-playing. Read more for details & screens...

Forgotten Hope Beta 0.5 is about 50% complete and features a huge number of planes, tanks and battleships - not only beautifully modelled, but also simulated in a very realistic way. To top it all off there is a choice of new maps as well. The FH Mod team has released a new hotfix bringing their BF1942 mod to v0.5ed. This patch will update your Forgotten Hope modification to be compatible with the Battlefield: 1942 v1.5 Patch. You'll need to patch previous patches first then apply this patch. Read more for download links ...

Enter the world of urban street racing and high performance tuner cars with the latest title in the hit Need for Speed series: Need for Speed Underground. Take on today’s most popular tuner cars from Mitsubishi Motors, Subaru, Toyota and many more, building the ultimate street machine by earning cash to pay for custom body kits and a host of licensed car performance mods. But just creating a custom street racing machine will not get you to the top; it takes a certain amount of attitude and razor sharp driving skills to compete in the tough world of urban racing. Check out them shiny screens!

The Battle for Middle-earth utilizes the Generals game engine, and in the game players can select from the different "good" or "evil" campaigns, where they will be given the freedom to command a variety of major armies from the films, each with their own distinct strengths and weaknesses. Prepare for war by creating offensive and defensive strategies set in the memorable battle locations taken straight from the big screen. The Battle for Middle-earth RTS game will utilize the digital assets created for the films and will feature exclusive voiceover from the real actors as well as actual movie footage from the three films.

Electronic Arts is proud to present you with another FREE map for Generals/Zero Hour. Beware… enter the Forgotten Forest at your own risk…for you may never return! Graveyards, crypts and spooks inhabit this 2 player map brought straight to you from the ghouls & goblins on the C&C Generals team. Please have a hideously Happy Halloween! Read more for download links ...

Based on the 1993 award-winning animated movie of the same name, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is a ghoulish tale with wicked humor and stunning animation. In this adventure action game, players assume the role of "Jack Skellington" the Pumpkin King and help reclaim Halloweentown from the mischievous Oogie Boogie. Capcom's production of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas will incorporate extraordinary worlds filled with magic and wonder mixed with enchanting and musical elements. Capcom plans to release the game in the fall of 2004. Check the new screens ...

Team registrations for 50 Buy-In-Slots (BIS) to the ATI/AMD Cyber X Games Championships are now available on a first come, first served basis for $150 USD. Teams that purchase a BIS are ensured a slot in the ATI/AMD Cyber X Games Championships double elimination tournaments for a chance to win hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and prizes. The event is being held in conjunction with the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Thursday - Sunday, Jan. 8 - 11 in Las Vegas.

Ubi Soft has released a new patch for 1C Maddox Games' IL-2 Sturmovik: the Forgotten Battles v1.1 dedicated Win32 server. This patch is "optional". requires the full v1.1 server install, and allows administrators to set up open servers that bypass the Ubi.com servers (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Ritual Entertainment has released the Linux dedicated server for Activision's sci-fi FPS Elite Force 2. These files will allow game admins to set up dedicated linux servers (thanks Ritualistic). Read more for download links ...

In their immeasurable greed and constant thirst for power, the thirteen most powerful Mages of all time doomed the land, hurling it into an endless spiral of chaos and despair. Entire countries were wiped out in the blink of an eye when the devastating power of the Elements was unleashed – Elements summoned by dark rituals. Continents shattered like glass, the pieces strewn about like leaves in the wind. Huge armies, bound by the the power of ancient runes, brought war and destruction to the lands that survived the initial onslaught. All that was left were a few islands, connected by magic portals. Read more for 4 tasty new screens ...

SOE is set in the last few years of the Warring States period in ancient China more than 2,200 years ago. At that time, Qin gradually became the most powerful state in China and began making an overall plan to conquer the other six states. Meanwhile, Qin troops kept attacking the Baiyue people living in the southwest of China. The people of East Baiyue, under the leadership of Lan Xiong, then fought a desperate war against the Qin army.Several years later, Lan Xiong and the Chief Sacrifice Wizard, Chi Huan, died mysteriously one after the other. What or who was behind their deaths? Lan Wei,Lan Xiong's daughter, began her dangerous adventure into the Central Plains to find out the truth and make her father live again¡... More info @ Object Software Website here!

Cenega has released a patch for Plastic Reality's recently released Korea: Forgotten Conflict demo. No specific details as to what exactly it adresses are known. Read more for download links ...