Thieves and brigands have driven you and your family from your farmland home. Desperately seeking safety within the walls of Baldur's Gate, your family is ambushed and your sister has been abducted... YOU... are all that stands in the way of one of the greatest threats ever to strike Baldur's Gate and the Sword Coast. From the streets of Baldur's Gate, to the windtorn peaks of the Sunset Mountains, your quest to rescue your sister escalates into staving off a war that will drown the Sword Coast in blood.

Simply Gaming PR is proud to announce eXtreme Demolition, The most over-the-top demolition game ever! Cars and levels are more varied than any other. High tech eXtreme level designs will have you ramping between skyscraper rooftops and dealing with artificial gravity that changes direction and makes driving up walls and on ceilings an option. Add to this a bevy of game modes, ranging from single player to online team modes, and you have a demolition experience like no other.

Take 2 UK has now also released a multiplayer demo for Illusion Softworks' third person tactical shooter Hidden & Dangerous 2. You lead a small squad of Allied soldiers deep behind enemy lines, to carry out secret missions during World War II. The demo features an Occupation map called Normandy3 as well as an Objectives map titled Czech, which are compativle with the retail version of the game (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Take an adventure as Pitfall Harry, the daring, risk-taking explorer who laughs in the face of danger. Featuring over 50 levels of fast-paced action and puzzle solving adventures, the game challenges players to swing, fight, climb and crawl through eight types of treacherous South American environments including lush jungles, dark tombs, ancient Aztec ruins and glacial mountains. Check out some new screens ...

Got Game Entertainment today announced that "A Quiet Weekend in Capri" has "gone gold". A first person adventure for the PC, "A Quiet Weekend in Capri" comes bundled with a bonus CD soundtrack, including extra tracks, and features non-linear gameplay, realistic puzzles, and unique graphics. Awarded an "E" for Everyone rating by the ESRB, the game will retail for $29.99 USD and should hit store shelves across North America in early March.

Sony Online Entertainment Inc. today announced that EverQuest: Gates of Discord, the newest expansion for the incredibly popular PC Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG), EverQuest, will be available at retail stores tomorrow and will contain both a magical "in-game" item and a unique in-box gift, the Taelosian Staff (while supplies last). The retail version of Gates will carry the suggested retail price of $29.99. Additionally, a digital version will be available on February 10, 2004, for secure download from www.everquest.com for $29.99.

Microsoft Game Studios today announced that the award-winning real-time strategy (RTS) game for Windows, Rise of Nations, is now available at local retailers for an estimated retail price of $29.95 (U.S.). Now is the perfect time for gamers to pick up a game at an unbeatable price that has won several major awards, including Game of the Year and Strategy Game of the Year. The price drop comes hot on the heels of the recent announcement that Rise of Nations: Thrones and Patriots is slated for a Spring '04 release, and will allow gamers who haven't yet picked up the original to practice and prepare for this expansion pack.

Take 2 UK has released a demo for Illusion softworks third person tactical shooter Hidden & Dangerous 2. You lead a small squad of Allied soldiers deep behind enemy lines, to carry out secret missions during World War II. The demo features a single mission, 'Operation Overlord: Blade Dancer', from the full game. The dedicated server files have also been released (thanks Blues). Read more for download links ...

Strategy First and Made by Kiddies are pleased to announce that their PC arcade shooter hit, Alien Blast – The Encounter is now available on retail shelves in North America. In this first-person arcade shoot'em-up, you must gather up all your courage to defend yourself and defeat the alien horde. Alien Blast is an exciting sci-fi action combat game for everyone.

Ubisoft today announced that it has signed an exclusive agreement with SOE to publish Gates of Discord, a new expansion for the incredibly popular PC Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG), EverQuest, in Europe. This expansion will offer exploration of a newly discovered continent; a new class (the Berserker) and Alternate Advancement Abilities that will offer new and unique skills to master. Gates of Discord will be available February 12th 2004 in Europe, only 72 hours after the American release. Read more for details and some new screens ...

Built from the ground up to deliver the bone-crushing action of championship boxing, EA SPORTS Fight Night 2004 is an all-new boxing game that features revolutionary new gameplay mechanics and a dramatic new-school attitude to immerse players like never before. Innovative new analog Total Punch Control allows gamers to throw punches, block, bob, and weave with unprecedented fluidity and precision. The game also includes a deep create-a-player option, career mode, and online play* for the PlayStation 2 console via EA SPORTS Nation.

While the Cubans revel in their newfound democracy, the Colombian drug cartel that financed the failed revolution has set its sites on a new target. Readying a retaliatory blow against its own American-allied government, the Columbian cartel rocks the capital with severe explosions, including one that severely damages the American embassy. Hearing the Colombian government's cry for support, the U.S. sends in the Ghosts to deliver deadly justice to the Colombian cartel and end their ever-accelerating agenda of terror.

The Sims Bustin' Out features an all-new neighborhood with over a dozen new unlockable locations and a cast of over 40 new zany characters to socialize with. Players will purchase a car or scooter in order to get out of the house and head to the Gym to work out with exercise fanatic Goldie Toane or to Club Rubb to rave with club owner Bing Bling. Players will be able to crash parties, create havoc, or just drive their neighbors crazy!

IGN broke word that, talking about how to create games and how to get a job in the industry, Gas Powered Games' Chris Taylor admitted during the Q&A session after his speech, that a TA sequel is in the works. A member of the student body asked if we would ever see a sequel to Cavedog's RTS Total Annihilation and after a slight pause, Taylor shared a little bit of information about the franchise. While Taylor said he couldn't give too many details to the crowd, he did confirm that Gas Powered Games was working on "an RTS follow-up to Total Annihilation." The game already had a publisher but chris Taylor said "a big one... one that doesn't also publish operating systems", hinting it would NOT be Microsoft, but possibly Atarti who holds the right to the old GT Interactive libary which includes Total Annihilation (thanks VE3D).

Bizzplanet dropped us a note that they have a transcript of the Word Of Warcraft fansite chat that was held a few days ago. The reason of the meeting was to talk about World of Warcraft. Each Fan Site submitted 3 questions by email, and some of them were chosen for the chat. Katricia and Lisa Bucek led the Q&A, followed by George Wang and Gil Shif with few interventions. Topics discussed were Quests, Tradeskills, PvE Combat, Warcraft Lore, The World, Dungeons, Instancing, Cities, User Interface, and Transportation. Head on over to blizzplanet to read the full chat transcript

FirePower for Microsoft Combat Simulator 3, commemorates the brave individuals that fought in the air over Europe during World War II, their skill and sacrifice by providing the player with an air combat experience like never before. This was accomplished by using authentic military test data and combat footage along with the input from over thirty real warbird pilots. This time we have screens & trailer showing off the B17 'Flying Fortress'...

Vaishvanara (working title) is a role playing game based upon Ancient India epos. With the help of deities the player descends into the depths of chaos to fight with the Asuras, elder brothers of gods. The world of Vaishvanara has dungeon-like as well as open areas implemented in full 3-D, with every piece of ground is unique (thanks GenGamers). Read more for screens ...

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 :

• Samurai Jack: Shadow Of Aku - Trailer
• EverQuest: Gates of Discord - Trailer
• Ninja Gaiden - Trailer
• Alias - Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Step into war-torn China of the 2nd and 3rd centuries, assume the rank of ruler, and deal with fast-paced military and political affairs in the latest game in Koei's popular series. Along the way, you'll earn points and items to upgrade officers. Romance of the Three Kingdoms IX will ship to North American retailers on Feb 24, 2004 and as we mentioned last week, as the launch approaches, every week more information will become available. Today we reveal expanded information on RTKIX's tactical element.

Players of Looney Tunes: Back In Action will be able to switch off playing either Bugs or Daffy on a scavenger hunt adventure around the world through several themed levels inspired by the film's diverse and wild locations. The action of the game lies in the chases and constant racing from level to level, as players try to pick up gizmos and clues in their search for the Blue Monkey Diamond.

It’s up to Sonic and his pals to save the world from the evil Dr. Eggman, who has returned to once again try his hand at world domination. An English Sonic Adventure DX demo has been released giving you yet another chance to check out Sega's console to PC port of this console of Sonic Team's 3D platform/arcade action game. This demo features 6 playable characters each with their own level. Read more for download links ..

The DesertCombat team has released the next major public alpha of DesertCombat. Part of Public Beta 0.7 is fixing issues that came up with the BF1942 v1.6 patch but also new maps, and most of all optimization and bug fixes, so you can expect DesertCombat to run a lot better on most machines. Also including is bot support for Basrahs Edge map. Read more for details and download links ...

Full Spectrum Warrior is based on a light infantry-training simulator designed by Pandemic Studios for the U.S. Army as a tool to reinforce Army doctrine and squad tactics amongst troops. Full Spectrum Warrior is a squad-based, tactical-action game that delivers the experience of squad level command in the heat of battle. Check out the new screens...

Nexon has released a new updated version (as well as a small update patch) of their massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game Shattered Galaxy. This upgrade brings the game to v1.60 and features the usual game fixes, unit balancing, server commands and various other tweaks. Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...