Vivendi Universal Games announced today an online multiplayer tournament for their newly released PC real-time strategy game, The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring. The War for Middle-earth, Co-sponsored by ATI Technologies Inc., BAWLS Guarana, and Tolkien online fan-sites TheOneRing.net, TolkienOnline.com, WarCry.com, and WaroftheRing.net, will culminate in a final match on March 20th, 2004 and carries a grand prize of $40,000 in cash. Read more for details ..

Sierra has released the first patch for Relic Ent.'s sci-fi 3D RTS title Homeworld 2. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.1 and addresses game crashes, gameplay & balance tweaks as well as various multiplayer imporvements etc (thanks Bluesnews). Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

Wargaming.net releases the first additional map (planet) for its turn-based strategy game Massive Assault. This planet called 'Emerald' can be used both for World Wars against the A.I. and for the online games. It was crafted according to the preferences of our players - Massive Assault's players tend to prefer smaller planets providing more dynamic gameplay and quicker games in the Internet play mode. Read more for download links ...

Atari has released a new update patch for the latest installment in Sid Meiers strategy franchise Civilizations III: Conquests. This upgrade (suitable for the English, German, Italian, Spanish, and French versions of the game) brings your retail game to v1.12 and fixes a crash with MP Random Civ selection. Read more for details and download links ...

DivoGames has released a new patch for their helicopter shooter AirStrike 3D: Operation W.A.T. This update patch brings your retail game to v1.48 and adds some memory optimization. They have also released an updated demo with the latest code. (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links.

Rockstar reaches out like a touchy-feely department store Santa, with a special holiday gift for all our devotees. The second in our series of complimentary full game downloads is now available - a vintage title from Rockstar North, then known as DMA Design. Wild Metal Country (1999) is a 3D strategic vehicular combat game set in a distant land, in which you command armed roving vehicles to disrupt dangerous automated military units that have overtaken the Tehric planetary system. All you need to do is sign up here, and it will email you a unique download link (170mb). Njoy!

Lagsters is an arcade racing title, where the action takes place in closed environments - tubes. The player will be able to use a vast number of different weapons and upgrades to their cars to become the winner of one of the 32 races. The tracks are compiled into 4 different championships of the single player mode. The multiplayer mode will offer three different modes of play: 'Last Man Driving', 'Fox and Hounds' and 'Divided Glory' where up to 8 players may participate in one race.

Bloody Waters: Terror from the Deep is a new third person action adventure game where you take control of a genetically altered Great White shark. You manage to break free of your captors and in a chain of islands you build up in strength to take your revenge on the scientist who was in charge of doing the experimentation on you. Along the way you discover the 'Cult of the Shark', a people who sypmathise with your cause and who will help you in a non-violent fashion. Read more for screens & a new in game footage trailer...

Yesterday Vivendi Universal Games and Massive Entertainment unveiled the third faction in Ground Control II: Operation Exodus - the Virons - an alien warrior race. The Virons, a previously-unseen element of the Ground Control universe, is the second playable faction in the game, and fight ferociously with a never-before-seen method of attack. Today we have the first screens, read more to check them out ...

A Warrior Slave…Chosen by the Gods…to Re-store the Glory of an Empire In the Year 106AD the Roman Empire is in terrible decline. After the untimely death of the much-liked Emperor Trajan, the despotic Emperor Arruntius has bled the once powerful Rome to its knees. Badly fought wars, famine and plague are rife in all corners of the Empire, whilst the Emperor and his elite enjoy every excess and vice that the emptying coffers can afford. As herald to this age of degradation, Arruntius has destroyed large portions of the city of Rome to create the battleground for the bloodiest gladiator event ever staged.

Civ fans will discover intriguing new civilizations, units, wonders, technologies, and abilities to help them triumph in eight professionally designed conquests throughout history. Compete as one of the eight new Civilizations, each with its own powerful leader, unique units and special abilities, and lead your nation to its destiny. Read more for the full review ...

Hidenori Tanaka of Japan became the first Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup videogame world tournament champion, Electronic Arts announced today. The thrilling international videogame tournament finals took place yesterday at the Tower of London in the UK, where competitors between the ages of eight and fourteen years, from twelve countries around the world, including France, Germany, Spain, Australia, Japan, Italy, USA, UK, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Holland, and Brazil competed for the prestigious world champion title.

Sports Interactive has released a fix for their latest Championship Manager 03-04 update patch. This fix addresses the disappearing matches bug that came to light with the v4.1.3 patch from a few days ago. Note that this is a fix, so you still need to apply the patch itself first if you have not done so. Read more for download links ...

In Tribes: Vengeance's single-player campaign, gamers become immersed in a roiling galactic thriller. Throughout the game, the player catches glimpses of other, interrelated stories that are unfolding behind-the-scenes. In addition, gamers are given the opportunity to experience the full scope of the single-player story through multiple viewpoints and characters. Check out these new screens ...

Gas Powered Games has released an updated version of their Dungeon Siege Tool Kit, bringing their DSTK to v1.5, it contains the latest versions of the Siege Editor and Siege Max, and is compatible with the original Dungeon Siege (v1.11) and the latest expansion pack Legends Of Aranna (v1.5). Read more for details & download links ...

Linden Lab today introduced version 1.2 of Second Life, the online service that allows residents to join a rapidly growing world in which they can play, build, or live, creating anything imaginable. Second Life residents can now buy their own virtual land at auction, using either real or in-world currency. And Second Life isn’t just for the PC any more. Macintosh users with OS X.3 can help test Second Life’s new Beta version for Macintosh. Additionally, a new pricing option with no monthly fees allows you to join SecondLife for only $9.95. The Second Life v1.2 upgrade is downloadable today for a free 7-day trial at www.SecondLife.com.

Digital Reality has released a new patch for their 3D space RTS Hegemonia: Legions of Iron. This upgrade brings your retail game to v2.01 and addresses a problem in running the script editor on WinXP and now it is possible to create missions and carry over units and heroes between them like in the single player campaign. Digital Reality also released the mod tools for Hegemonia: Legions of Iron, allowing you to create your own missions for this 3D space RTS. You will need the v2.01 update patch to run your (or other people's) custom made missions. Read more for details and download links ...

Vivendi Universal Games and Massive Entertainment today unveiled the third faction in Ground Control II: Operation Exodus - the Virons - an alien warrior race.

The player starts of as a normal citizen in the society governed by the UCF. The "Freedom Front" offers the player a chance to join the group. The player can either join, or decline and join the UCF group. The player is then assigned the post of an army general, commanding a small army. From here, the story can go in any direction based on the way the player plays (thanks 3DGamers). Raptor Entertainment released some new screens & trailers with in game footage ...

Acclaim Entertainment today announced that it has entered into an exclusive global publishing agreement with Reno-based developer BattleBorne Entertainment, Inc. for their soon-to-be announced video game for the next-generation gaming systems. Comprised of former members of the celebrated Fallout 2, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon teams, BattleBorne is currently utilizing the critically acclaimed Snowblind Studios technology and their own proprietary tools to develop the game.

Mythic Entertainment, developer and publisher of massively multiplayer online role-playing game "Dark Age of Camelot," and many other popular online games, announced that it has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft Corporation for trademark infringement and unfair competition.

Jowood have now released a new patch for Phenomic Game Development's 3D RTS/RPG game SpellForce: the Order of Dawn. This update patch brings your retail game to v1.05 and addresses a few Avatar issues, Quickload function key, and more .. Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

Developed by Reflections Interactive (an Atari studio), the masterminds behind Driver and Driver 2 - which have sold more than 12 million copies worldwide - 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.

The anticipated sequel has arrived. Embark on a new adventure in Baldur's Gate and brave terrible dangers in search of fortune, glory, and power. Face a multitude of sinister enemies while traveling through many spectacular environments in this action-packed fantasy game. Rid the lands of chaos, mastering skills, spells, and deadly weapons … the fate of thousands hangs in the balance. Read more for the full preview ..