No one parties harder than the Muppets, and in Muppet Party Cruise players set sail with the Muppet crew for tons of hilarious, family-friendly fun. One to four players can play as one of six Muppet characters, including Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Animal, Fozzie Bear, Pepe the King Prawn and The Great Gonzo in 30 action-packed mini-games! Muppet Party Cruise also features authentic Muppet voice talent and bonus movie shorts created by The Jim Henson Company. Come aboard the wackiest party boat around!

Jeremy Heath-Smith and Adrian Smith, the creators of Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider series of games, today announced the formation of their new game development company, Circle Studio. Bucking the trend of numerous studio closures, Heath-Smith and Smith are confident that they can produce more world beating titles. Commenting on the new studio, managing director Heath-Smith said, 'Adrian and I are still passionate about games and have the experience and skills in-house to continue producing original and successful titles.' He continued, 'We've enjoyed working with Lara these past seven years but are looking forward to creating something or someone new.'

The Battlefield 1942 team has made a new community update regarding the upcoming 1.6 patch. The BF1942 v1.6, which they call " by far the most comprehensive patch to date", will feature 2 new maps, punkbuster anti cheat measures, improved server browsing and tons of other fixes, tweaks and additions. The patch WILL be over 250mb big, read more for a quite lenghty detailed fix list.

Sony announced today the upcoming 2004 release of Hot Shots Golf Fore!, available exclusively for the PlayStation2. Developed by Clap Hanz, Hot Shots Golf Fore! returns as the fourth installment in the extremely popular franchise that has sold more than 7.5 million units worldwide.

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 v1.59 and features the usual game fixes, unit balancing, map updates and various other tweaks. Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

Diversions Entertainment has issued the first patch for their 3D fighting/action game One Must Fall: Battlegrounds. This upgrade brings your retail game to v2112, no details as to what it fixes are available (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for 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 :

• R-Type Final - Trailer
• Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes - Trailer
• Kuma War - Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Running With Scisscors has released the first patch for their recently released multiplayer addon Postal 2: Share The Pain. This upgrade brings your retail version to v1408 and mainly addresses multiplayer fixes and improvements. Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

After the earlier German only demo, Spellbound Entertainment has now released the English version of their arcade shooter Smoking Colts. The demo features one level of the full product (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links...

Prepare for a wild cyber-thriller adventure with female espionage agents, Ice and Aska. With the use of explosive firepower and deadly martial arts skills, Ice and Aska take down criminals with style and flair. While battling an evil syndicate, these sexy heroines will have the ability to dive into a “cyber world” where they can download additional information, skills, and techniques. Fighting futuristic crime has never been this smart, sexy or cool. Read more for some new screens ...

While we just recently reviewed DBZ Taiketsu it seems a new Dragon Ball Z game is on its way to the Game Boy Advance. According to the latest issue of Famitsu, Dragon Ball Z: Bukuu Tougeki in due for the GBA platform in Japan this Spring. Bukuu Tougeki is a 2D fighting game that is being developed by Guilty Gear's Arc System Works and published by Banpresto. Let's hope its better than Atari's poor attempt, read more for details ...

A great darkness has fallen over the port town of Baldur’s Gate and the lands around. Thieves and brigands roam the countryside, and they have driven you and your family from your farmland home. On a desperate rush to seek safety within the walls of Baldur’s Gate, your hopes are dashed when you and your family are ambushed on the road by a group of thieves... thieves who claim to have ridden from Baldur’s Gate to find you. Scattered by the suddenness of the thieves’ attack, you return to the scene of the ambush to find your sister has been abducted. You must find her... before whatever terrible plots involving her unfold. Check these 4 spiffy looking GBA screens ..

For the first time, players control The Sims over an entire lifetime for the very first time. Every choice that is made has a relevant and dramatic effect on the life of a Sim. More life-like Sims, all new gameplay, and the ground-breaking addition of genetics, with the DNA of Sims passed down through generations, gives players a more vivid, realistic, and in-depth Sims experience. All of this takes place in a new amazingly life-like 3-D world...

Developed by Reflections Interactive, DRIV3R is an action-packed driving adventure game that stays true to its roots, incorporating the cinematic gameplay and gritty street crime of its predecessors with ground-breaking graphics and three mammoth, wide-open city environments: Miami, Florida; Nice, France; and Istanbul, Turkey. check out some new screens...

Get ready for some brake jamm'in, CB talk'in, convey roll'in action acoss America! From Portland Oregon to Miami Florida, you'll be hauling loads and trying to stay one step ahead of the law as you climb into your Big Rig for non-stop driving action. Activision Value has released a new patch for Stellar Stone's trucking title 'Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing.' No specific details as to what it fixes are available at this point. Read more for download links ..

In an unprecedented event, Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow will premiere at an event coinciding with the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. This unveiling marks the first time a video game has debuted in or around a film festival and demonstrates the increasing prominence of video games in the entertainment pantheon. Published by Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow is already one of the most anticipated video games of 2004 and was recently featured on MTV's "Ultimate Video Game Countdown."

Published by the creators of EverQuest and developed by the team behind Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, Champions of Norrath is an Action RPG like none other on the PlayStation 2. Create your own champion, each with unique powers, appearances and skills. Experience an epic adventure filled with powerful action and ominous intrigue. Battle vicious monsters where your mastery of weaponry and spells is the only thing between you and supreme evil.

Golden times for old and new Blitzkrieg fans, the RTS WWII saga continues with "2" add-ons in 2004 and Blitzkrieg 2 in early 2005! Blitzkrieg 2 throws you into four dramatic campaigns: Take control of more than 300 different types of detailed 3D units in 3D landscapes seen from dynamic camera angles. Command famous WWII leaders design your own core army and lead huge naval units to hostile coasts. Deal with huge super weapons, sneaky night missions and fly planes. Read more for some minor details ...

Encore and JoWooD, an Austrian game publisher and developer, today announced that Silent Storm has gone gold. The eagerly anticipated PC game is expected on store shelves by the end of January for approximately $50.

Ubisoft announced its next submarine simulation, Silent Hunter III, for PC launching late 2004. The next title in the Silent Hunter franchise will add new dimensions to the simulation experience. The player will engage in a compelling ocean environment, featuring dynamic weather, and experience the intensity of historical naval warfare. Taking the role of the U-boat commander, players will seek their enemy with sonar and periscope, attack the enemy with torpedoes, destroy them with the deck gun, or command their crew to do the job. The all-new 3D engine features impressively detailed U-boat models, both externally and internally, with exact replica WWII technology.

This spring, early birds will have some serious competition, as Acclaim Entertainment, Inc., today announced that it has signed an exclusive publishing agreement with Team 17 for Worms 3D, the latest installment in their popular video game brand that has sold more than 8 million units worldwide. Worms 3D, for the first time in the history of the popular series, transports players into a robust 3D world where they engage in epic battles against other teams of worms in an action-strategy game filled with outrageous, over-the-top weapons, humor and online head-to-head play.

In a move that proves once and for all that European games players are more ferocious than their American counterparts, Digital Jesters has announced an exclusive retail pack, which contains substantially more 'Savage' than ever before. The game will be available for PC CD-ROM throughout Europe on February 20th 2004, with a SRP of £29.99.

Enlisting gamers to embark on one of the most important military campaigns of the 20th century, Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. today announced that it is preparing for its June retail invasion of developer BattleBorne Entertainment, Inc.'s forthcoming next-generation World War II video game, Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers. Set to launch during the 60th anniversary of "D-Day", Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers' development team is comprised of former members of the celebrated Fallout 2, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon teams. In addition, the game will utilize the proven Snowblind Studios game engine and challenge players to rise through the ranks in more than 40 levels that recreate some of the most important battles of World War II.

This month on www.groundcontrol2.com the focus is on the merciless armies of the Terran Empire. With two new units presented in detail each week as well as fresh screenshots and other material, we tell you all there is to know about one of the main factions in upcoming strategy hit game from Vivendi Universal Games and Massive Entertainment. As a special bonus for avid fans as well as first time visitors our download section further offers a new movie, introducing the masterminds behind the game – get ready to see the men behind the machines!

Brandish your sword and prepare for battle with Enlight's upcoming action/strategy title Wars and Warriors: Joan of Arc. Developed and led by Trevor Chan's creative, Wars and Warriors: Joan of Arc will take players back into the medieval fury of the Hundred Years War. Wars and Warriors: Joan of Arc is set for release this holiday season and will present players with the opportunity to experience a unique blend of RTS and action elements through four player controlled characters. We had a chance to fiddle with a build, read more for the preliminary verdict ...