Set in the rich historical tapestry of sixteenth century Russia, Cleric puts you in the role of a faithless ex-priest in this first person survival horror title for the PC. Cleric will immerse you in a world of rich visuals, strong dramatic story lines, highly interactive characters, and challenging gameplay (thanks GenGamers). Read more to check a few new screens ...

Catdaddy Games has released a demo for their upcoming sim/strategy title School Tycoon. Run your school the way you want to in School Tycoon! Keep an eye on pupils and make sure they're learning, otherwise it's time for some detention. Read more for download links ...

Ubisoft today announced its most impressive retail promotion ever. During the month of January, anyone who purchases Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time for the PlayStation2, Nintendo GameCube, the Xbox video, or the PC, will receive a copy of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell on the same platform - PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox (platinum edition), or PC - for FREE! This special offer will be available at all major retailers.

Hostile Intent is a Total Conversion for Half-life that rose from the ashes from The Sherman Project. It was taken over by a group of hardcore fans that didn't like seeing the project die. So they put together a small team that soon went out and became a huge team consisting of the most talented people from the Half-life community. Eventhough the concept behind Hostile intent hasn't changed, it is infact different from The Sherman Project. Every original feature for The Sherman Project is still in, but the new team has thought of many new original ideas and concepts. After 3 years in development, let the madness begin! Read more for details & download links ...

Wizards of the Coast Inc., the manufacturer of trading card games and role-playing games, will close its chain of 64 retail stores in 15 states. Wizards, a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc., announced Sunday that the closure of its Wizards of the Coast and The Game Keeper stores will allow it to focus on its core business of game design. Wizards' games, which include "Magic: The Gathering" and "Dungeons & Dragons," are among the biggest brands in the hobby game industry. The company has retained Gordon Brothers Group LLC of Boston to assist with the closures, which should be completed in about 60 days.

Zdenek Mezihorak, former designer at the Czech game development company Pterodon/Illusion Softworks (Vietcong, Flying Heroes), has created the new game development studio Hra01 Ltd. together with his brother this past November in Brno, Czech Republic. Their first project is a yet undisclosed third person action game for PC, with possibility to migrate to the PS3/Xbox2. Read more for details ...

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!

Urban Chaos is a Modification for Sir-Tech's Strategy/RPG game Jagged Alliance 2 (license now in hands of Strategy First). UC was developed by the JA2 MOD Squad for the JA2 Community and features new video sequences, new quests & maps, new NPC's, additional factions and much more (only works with the English version). Read more for details and download links ...

Nexuiz is a 3D deathmatch game that is simply first person shooting reduced to the very basics with perfect weapon balancing. With its very intense and fast gameplay, it will hook the user in. Nexuiz uses such technology as curved surfaces with its detailed maps, bumpmapping, realtime shadows, 64 player support, and an advanced model format. The nexuiz game contains over 1000 TGA textures, 20 very detailed maps, and over 40 characters to choose from. Nexuiz is being developed by Alientrap Software, published by SetSystems and expected release date of Q2 2004. Read more for some new screens ...

Monster Hunter is Capcom's upcoming online action game exclusively for Playstation 2. Monster Hunter supports up to 4 simultaneous players, voice chat support and should be expected somewhere in 2004. In the meantime, read more to check some new screens ...

1C Company has revealed the first details on DTF Games' upcoming RTS game "Stalingrad". Situated between July 1942 and January 1943 Stalingrad desribes the events of one of the most dramatic episodes in World War 2. In Stalingrad the player will be able to take part in 2 campaigns (36 missions in total, 7 'secret' missions) where you must first lead the attack on Stalingrad and the subsequent seizure of city, after which, you take command of the Red Army, to defeat the Wehrmacht's 6th army. Read more to check the first screens ...

Seven Samurai 20XX puts players in the role of the young Ronin Natoe. At first fighting the enemy alone as they begin laying siege to the human’s one and only city, Natoe soon finds himself the protector of the humans’ last hope, the Holy Child, and ultimately the leader of a band of warriors united to protect her against the invaders. Seven Samurai 20XX engages players with an experience that combines compelling storytelling, delivered through superb cinematic cut-scenes, with intense melee-style combat. Players will use a variety of ancient fighting styles in the game, employing an arsenal of moves and attacks that grow with their mastery of the samurai way.

A small galaxy with grotesque beings, everyone is bored with skirmishing all day. So these tank-guys decide to build new ammunition.....enough to bomb each other into oblivion! Their problem: gravity! Suns, black holes, asteroid rings, atmospheric resistance, enemy obstacles placed on your own planet and (as if that`s not enough!) there are aliens, astro zombies, space creatures and other horrors waiting just for you (thanks Bluesnews)!! Read more for download links ...

Ryzom is a third-generation 3D game that features a highly original poetic universe designed for the general public. Online gaming aficionados will discover innovative game mechanisms, along with sumptuous graphics. Read more for new screens ...

Sven Co-op 3.0 is now available for download. Sporting over two hundred and fifty features and changes ranging from new physics and AI systems to the Improved Cockroach, 3.0 is the largest, most significant update in Sven Co-op's history. One genuine problem is a compatibility issue with Natural Selection v2.0 due to Sven Co-op and Natural Selection's ability to play MP3s (SC3.0 includes the latest fmod.dll, and it's not backwards-compatible). Read more on how to fix this, as well as links to download the newest Resident Evil based mission for SC3.0.

Exclusively for the PlayStation 2, 'Transformers Armada: Prelude To Energon' is a revolutionary 3rd person 3-D action/adventure game. Players enter the world of Transformers as they become one of three AUTOBOT robots and control their character's every move and decision. The massive robots can explore numerous rich 3-D environments on foot or convert to vehicle mode for high-speed maneuvering. Players will battle DECEPTICON forces with an arsenal of weapons including cluster rockets, homing missiles and vortex cannons.

I-Ninja is an adrenaline-charged adventure game. An ultra-cool ninja with major attitude meets extreme sports game play, I-Ninja is the consummate warrior who has spent years mastering his weapons and honing his skills. In true gravity defying game play, I-Ninja can scale buildings, "shred" on extreme rails, hover great distances with a "sword copter", ride drifting roller spheres and utilize specialized manga-style ninja moves to navigate through each dynamic environment.

Trials of Atlantis will introduce the ability for players to swim to explore the submerged civilization. The expansion reveals that the citizens of Atlantis, foreseeing the demise of their society, built a series of Trials into the ruins of their civilization. The Trials were designed to challenge future cultures that discover and seek to explore the ancient lands. A month ago we did a “First Impressions” article on Mythic’s second expansion for their Fantasy MMOG, Dark age of Camelot. As promised, here is the final review.

After the official (WinXP Only) patches there is now the non-official 3rd party patch for Monolith's 3D cyberspace action game TRON 2.0 that will work on any and all Windows operating systems. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.042 and adresses a rendering bug, some memory leaks, and makes some cosmetic changes to the user interface (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links.

As the US army’s elite special operations soldiers you are the most potent ‘smart weapon’ known to man. You are the ‘tip of the spear’ for covert operations around the world - you are the first line of attack. Nothing stands in your way. From the war torn streets of Somalia you have been re-deployed to take out targets in Colombia and Iran. As the US military’s preemptive strike force you must work with your team to get the job done. Novalogic has released a few small trailers (thanks Tiscali) and some new screens, read more to check them out ...

Join a secret squad of pilots dedicated to thwarting the most heinous plans of the Third Reich. Fly over twenty authentic aircraft across thirty daring missions in this new WWII action-flyer. Lawrence Holland, the legendary creator of Star Wars: X-Wing, Star Wars: Tie Fighter and Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe returns with an exhilarating new game of action and intrigue. Can you be trusted with the most dangerous secrets of the war?

Space Dream Factory has released the full/free download of their space combat simulator based on the Babylon 5 tv-series I've Found Her. IFH: Danger and Opportunity is the first complete and playable game produced by SDF and is the prequel campaign to the main IFH campaign due somewhere in the near future (thanks EvilAvatar). Read more for story details and download links ...

The Battlefield: Pirates team has just released a little Christmas present for everyone. It’s a new official map showcasing the new “Montgolfier” hot air balloons from the upcoming Beta 3 release. They also now have an official server running this map along with all the others. Read more for details & download links ...

Battlefield Vietnam will drop players into some of the Vietnam War's fiercest battles. Fighting in theatres from jungles surrounding the Ho Chi Minh Trail to the city streets of Hue, players will choose from two well-equipped forces, the United States or the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and Vietcong. Read more to check out some new screens ...

Patrician III is a real-time trading simulation featuring elements of construction and the historical background of maritime trade in Northern Europe during the 1300's. Read more for the full review ..