As was mentioned yesterday GSC Game World has released an updated demo & a patch for yesterday's demo of their sci-fi first-person shooter FireStarter. This small patch addresses some framerate issues as well as enhances the RPG elements of the demo. Read more for download links ...

Matrix Games is pleased to announce that a demo version of Eric Young's Squad Assault: West Front by Freedom Games has been completed and will be made available online later this week. In the demo for Squad Assault: West Front, you command troops in both the Allied and German Armies of the West Front of World War II in an immersive full 3-D continuous time environment. Two scenarios are included along with online multi-player capability. In addition, this demo is based on the latest version of Squad Assault, which will also be released simultaneously in the form of an update later this week.

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. Today we serve up an interview with Reflections Interactive's Managing and Development Director Martin Edmondson.

"Unreal Tournament 2004 is the next evolution of the greatest competitive computer game ever created," said Jean-Philippe Agati, senior vice president and general manager of Atari's Los Angeles studio. "The addition of new modes, mods and maps as well as the controllable land-, air- and space-based vehicles, means Unreal fans are getting an entirely new experience featuring devastating vehicular combat and wide scale warfare." Check out some new screens ...

Maximo has defeated a host of ghosts and gone for the glory, but nothing can prepare him for...The Army of Zin! Dormant for centuries, this legion of mechanized mayhem has returned to unleash their undead clockwork fury! The action has never been more furious as Maximo, aided by his dark pal Grim, strikes back with new powerful combo attacks and even more daring moves! From the top of the Crystal Mountains to the depths of the Dead Sea, Maximo must defend the innocent and make new alliances as he seeks to unlock the mystery of the Zin!

Frogger's Journey: The Forgotten Relic begins as players set out to find Frogger's missing Grandfather and unravel the mystery of his sudden disappearance. Leaping through 18 unique environments, players young and old will enjoy the new characters and fun-filled action in The Forgotten Relic. Read more for the full review ...

KOEI unveiled details on Samurai Warriors for the PlayStation2. Known as Sengoku Musou in Japan, the Japanese-themed Tactical Action game signals the culmination of KOEI's 25th Anniversary and will ship to North American Retailers in March 2004. Read more for details and screens ...

The official Raven-Shield website has word that we can expect a new Raveshield v1.5 update patch for Ubisoft team based tacitcal shooter next week Tuesday. The new patch adresses several game fixes and general improvements, read more to read the full list and of course we will have it available on our fileservers ....

Just Play today announced that it had finalised an agreement with Slitherine Strategies to publish their latest strategy game Spartan in the UK, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, BeNeLux and Scandinavia plus several other European territories. Spartan is the third in a series of Empire-building strategy games that includes the best-selling Legion and Chariots of War, Spartan is expected March 2004. Read more for details & screens ...

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 v1.03 and addresses some game play issues, save game fixe, multiplayer game version check, quest fixes and more .. Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

Rockstar Games, the world-renowned publishing division of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is proud to announce that Max Payne is set to make its debut on the Game Boy Advance and will be in stores on December 16th, 2003 in North America.

Britsoft originator and leading 80s developer and publisher System 3, announced today its allegiance to CIFR (Criminal Interdiction & Fugitive Recovery) with its commitment to combating world terrorism. The pledge comes as the company makes the groundbreaking news that it is set to release 'America's 10 Most Wanted' on next-gen consoles and PC in 2004.

JoWooD and Phenomic send us a notice to inform the public that they are aware of the problems if you forcing the Anti Aliasing option through the control panel for your ATI videocard. Jowwod approached ATI regarding this problem to which they responded: "ATI has already addressed the driver problems seen when forcing AA through the control panel. A solution will be provided in one of the next driver releases, most likely in December but possibly in the very early new year."

Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu will stay true to the Batman franchise with intense action-packed gameplay and challenging villains. Featuring favorite super heroes from the Batman universe including Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl, the game also includes a brand new enemy unlike any Batman has ever battled, Sin Tzu, and three villains never before seen in the Batman video game world: Clayface, Scarecrow and Bane.

WorthPlaying is trying to spread the holiday joy by giving away bunches of goodies in two contests, sponsored by Electric Artists and Strategy First! Good luck to everyone ... both contests end December 19th! Read more for details, or click on the banners above.

Quotes from Arnold Schwarzenegger and the rest of the cast and crew about the game, which they generally agree is "really great"... Check it out below!

GMX Media announced today that it has secured the rights to publish FirePower for the PC in North America. FirePower is currently scheduled for a Q1 2004 release.

UbiSoft has now also released the dedicated Win32 server for 1C Maddox's WW II flight sim IL-2 Sturmovik: the Forgotten Battles to synchronize it with yesterdays v1.21 client patch. Read more for download links ...

Gearbox has revealed that they are working on yet another patch for their PC port of Halo: Combat Evolved. The v1.03 update patch is expected to be released early next week and will add several new features (anti team killing, increased network performance, etc.) as well as various game fixes and dedicated server updates. Read more for a detailed fix list.

Right after the Unreal II SE announcement, Atari now also revealed that a demo version of Unreal 2 Expanded Multiplayer a.k.a. XMP, will be released tomorrow. The demo will not require a copy of Unreal 2 to try out and will feature one map entitled XMP-Garden. The full version of XMP, which is included with Unreal 2: Special Edition, will be a free download for existing owners of Unreal 2, and is absolutely brilliant (thanks Andy). Stay tuned for we WILL have it on our fileservers of course ..

TDK has released a new patch for Synetic's racing game World Racing. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.4.4 and adresses some control issues, fixes bugs and some sound improvements. This patch also allows you to download new cars and the first one "slipstream" is already included (thanks 4Players.de). Read more for details and download links ...

Atari is expanding the gameplay of Unreal II: The Awakening this December with Unreal II: The Awakening ­ Special Edition for the personal computer. The Special Edition package will include the original single-player campaign, first released in February 2003, as well as an all-new multiplayer experience called XMP, or “Expanded Multiplayer.” Developed by Legend Entertainment (an Atari studio) in conjunction with Epic Games, Unreal II: The Awakening is the follow-up to Epic Games’ 1998 smash hit Unreal and incorporates the same story-driven gameplay, cunningly ferocious enemies and nail-biting tension that made the original title a best seller.

The Elemental is a total conversion of Gas Powered Games Dungeon Siege. Elemental is set in an alternate mythical version of ancient Judea that is gritty, mean, and profane. In a world full of Romans, thieves, and monsters the only real way to describe the Elemental experience is with one word, Biblepunk (thanks Jason). Read more for details and download links ...