Microsoft today announced the launch of the Crystal Limited Edition Xbox, "clearly" aimed at gamers who crave some added style along with their fantastic Xbox game experiences. Available across Europe from Spring 2004, the "crystal clear" new console comes with two crystal controllers and will retail for €199/£139 (SRP). Read more for details and some screens ...

The most successful role playing game franchise ever, returns to Nintendo in this stunning fantasy adventure. Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles is set to launch in Europe on March 11th 2004 exclusively for Nintendo GameCube. For a limited time only, every game will also include a free Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance Cable, enabling you to access valuable data on your Game Boy Advance and enjoy multi player action with up to three friends.

Jesper Kyd (www.jesperkyd.com) is following up his work on the award-winning soundtracks for IO Interactive’s Hitman series and Freedom Fighters (recipient of GameSpot’s 2003 Best Original Music in a Game Award) with an entirely new original score for Hitman: Contracts. Music composed and produced by Kyd is also featured in the debut movie trailer for Hitman: Contracts.

Koch Media today announced that "Singles", developed by German development team ROTOBEE, has gone gold and will be available in stores Feb. 14th (Valentine's Day) 2004. Singles – Flirt up your Life! is the simulation of the exciting relationship between Mike and Linda. The game shows them in their shared flat, which means that everyday routines are focused as well: Cooking, watching TV and cleaning are as important as talks and a cuddle. And of course the two have to work for a living as well … Read more for some new screens ...

Massively Multiplayer Online Games are all the rage these days, and given how frequently they change with expansions, free updates and patches, we felt they were worthy of their own column. This article is the first in a regularly scheduled (bi-weekly) series devoted solely to MMOG development. To kick things off, we take a look at LucasArts' Star Wars Galaxies and more specifically, the recent "changes" announcement ...

Feel the adrenaline rush of the world’s fastest motor sport in Redline: Xtreme Air Racing 2. Fly at speeds over 500 mph and race around towering peaks, over frigid glaciers, through jungles and more on over 50 fantasy and real-world tracks. Blast your way to the front of the pack in the all-new Race Combat mode.

Steal your way through or fight head-to-head with hordes of Wolfens using original combat moves and magical strikes. Soar against various vertiginous wind currents on breathtaking flights. Slide down extreme entwined turbulent tracks, through challenging obstacles and lush environments. Journey through unbelievable acrobatic freefalls as you get closer to Kya’s quest to save her brother and defeat the Fortress of Brazul.

This Mercury News article has more details on Microsoft's next-gen Xbox which according to the "rumors" will feature three 64-bit IBM processors, as being used in the Apple's G5, an ATI processor that'll rival the upcoming R400, 256/512 MB DDR RAM, either DVD or Blu-Ray DVD format discs, and most shockingly of all no hard drive. TeamXbox, known for their often spot on inside sources & rumors, reveal more on the graphical side of things with revelation of HDTV visuals with full screen Anti-Aliasing, etc. More details to be found on TeamXbox's Sunday coverage (thanks Cesar).

Set several hundred years before the timeline of the current EverQuest PC game, Champions of Norrath allows gamers to adventure as one of five playable characters who must journey from the city of Faydwer into the wilds of Norrath to save the land from a gathering army of evil orcs and goblins. The game offers more than 100 hours of gameplay per character and unlimited battles, deadly missions and unmatched character customization. Read more for the full preview ...

Get ready to pilot the world’s most powerful trucks and go head-to-head in pulse-pounding off-road competitions. Whether you’re grinding through mud pits in Louisiana, crunching up cliffs in California, or smashing up trees to make the ride a little bumpier for the guy behind you, keep your eyes on the prize: the cash you earn on the circuit goes to buy new trucks and build up your ultimate Monster machine.

The world has seen all kinds of weapons of mass destruction: nuclear, chemical and biological. Now the threat is digital. A virus, simple in concept yet catastrophic in effect, has been developed. Its target is the communication systems of the world. It will shut down all digital entertainment, economic trade and cripple the military, causing breaches in all security systems and global mass chaos. There is only enough time to send one operative. His codename: Raven. His mission: to find the virus, copy it and then destroy the research lab where it is located.

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, in the meantime check these new screens ...

Freeform Interactive LLC releases Purge Jihad 2.0.1. This new version adds many player requests including weapon balance issues, new feature requests, and improved netcode. Purge Jihad is an online-only hybrid First-Person-Shooter / Role-Playing-Game set in the near future accounting a war between the diametrically opposed forces of science-fiction (the Order) and fantasy (the Chosen). Technology versus magic. Science versus religion. Using ESD (Electronic Software Distribution), Purge Jihad is offered in both a free (unregistered) and paid (registered) mode. The free, unregistered trial includes the full game without any time limits but is simply limited to 4 classes. Registered players will have access to all 8 classes.

Lords of EverQuest brings the best elements of the real-time strategy world together with the epic storyline and depth of the legendary EverQuest fantasy roleplaying game. By capitalizing on the rich history, detailed characters and literally hundreds of monsters found in EverQuest, and building upon successful feature sets of the RTS genre, Lords of EverQuest creates a revolutionary gaming experience. Three factions will vie for the control of the continent Antonica to ultimately shape the future of Norrath. Players choose from 16 individually customizable heroes to dominate the action on the medieval battlefield.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines is a first-person action game that will allow players to become the Terminator Series signature icon, Arnold Schwarzenegger as the original Terminator. This marks the first time Arnold Schwarzenegger's voice and likeness has ever appeared in a home videogame. Read more to find out whether Atari managed to live up to the high expectations ...

Data Becker has now released the English demo for Related Designs' 3D RTS title Castle Strike. This demo features the 'The Duke Remembers' tutorial and the 'At the End of the Road' mission from the German campaign (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links...

The Natural Selection team has released an updated patch for the latest version of their Half-Life mod Natural Selection v3.0. The beta 2 patch features some balance tweaks, map updates and plenty of bug fixes. Read more for details and download links for the Windows client and dedicated server files patches ...

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 :

• Crimson Sea 2 - Trailer
• Star Wars: Battlefront - Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Blizzard has released yet another new Warcraft III map, this time called "Demon's Crossing"... Map info: "The most loathsome and malevolent of creatures have settled here. Sleepless malice keeps them locked in eternal conflict, so that even the river stinks of death. This is a medium map and the suggested no. of players is 2v2 or 3v3. It is based on the "Black Citadel" tileset. Go download it here!

Riddick is Vivendi Universal's upcoming prison-action game developed by Starbreeze, excusively for the Xbox. It serves as a prequel to Pitch Black and its sequel, the upcoming Chronicles of Riddick. The game is being developed by Swedish developer Starbreeze, also known for 2002's Enclave. Today we serve up an interview with Starbreeze producer Lars Johansson. Read more to check it out, new screenshots included ...

'Crimson Sea 2' features over 60 missions and 3 two-player modes. Work together to bring down the enemy and clear a stage in "Co-op" mode, battle head-to-head "death match" style in "Versus" mode, or try to outscore your human opponent in "Competition" mode. Read more for details and new screens ...

City of Heroes is the first superhero themed online RPG and will offer a host of exciting and compelling gameplay features. Players create their own heroes, choosing from hundreds of different powers, skills, abilities, and items and design their own unique costumes. Then they can band together with other players to fight evil, build their own secret headquarters and strive to become the premiere hero group in the city. Check out some new powers and new screens ...

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 ...

Despite the recent closure of Legend Entertainment by Atari, the Unreal II: XMP community remains strong. During the months leading up to and following the release of XMP, a group XMP beta testers and community members have been working on a pack consisting of top-notch third-party XMP maps (9 of them) and mutators. Read more for details and download links ...