Utilising the technical prowess of the Xbox video game system from Microsoft and Xbox Live!, Digital Extremes, the developers of Unreal Championship in conjunction with Epic Games and Atari have completed the auto-update for the game and is available for download through Xbox Live! today. While new to the console arena, auto-updating has been a mainstay of PC games for many years, and is a requirement to maintain fair and fun online gaming. Online games are extraordinarily more complex than single player titles. Exploits will invariably be found by the hundreds of thousands of gamers playing and sharing ways to gain an advantage in the game. Auto-updates defeat these exploits and balance the playing field against those who would cheat to win.

Play.com is offering PS2 consoles at the lowest official price of only £129.99 in UK. This price matches upcoming Sony PS2 console reductions across continental Europe, which excludes the UK.

On the Raven Shield Platoon site you can find the third map released by Amon, member of the Raven Shield dev team. This map is considered an official map by Ubi Soft. Amon first intended this map to be Multiplayer and now it is. The map supports only Adversial MP modes (except for Pilot). The download is 1.69 Mb and you can grab it here!

Boolat Games unveal their next project (thanks Blues), a weapon-supported arcade racing game named Lagster.. Here is a clip from the game description:

“Lagsters” is the fascinating weapon-supported arcade races in tubes! One to eight racers can participate in a race struggling for survival and, of course, for money.

The concept of the race inside of the pipes displaces some aspects of a “flat-road” race, in particular those of the spatialization and gravitation. Spatialization sustains pivotal change: left and right in terms of the pipe plane eventually acquire a sort of a new meaning, not evident at the first sight though, and gravitation based on “repelling” objects out of the center of the pipe will be constantly dragging the car onto the pipe surface. The tracks are annular in their shape and they will have different length and number of tours in a bout. Every track has various hurdles and various accelerating and decelerating surfaces, etc. There are also sparse bonuses on the track, which can either help or hopple the player.

You find more info on the new official site here!

Based in a small village, the player and his barbarians roam the vast forests of Germania or the barren steppes of eastern Europe to raid other settlements in their search for food, weapons and gold. These resources will help the barbarian chieftain expand his settlement and, above all, increase his reputation. While his tribe grows and flourishes, the leader obtains fame and experience and grows to be a master of warfare, until the player's barbarian empire is finally ready to take on the superpower of the time - the mighty Roman Empire and its apparently invincible army.

New Role Playing Strategy game "Lethal Dreams" involves player into events taking place in a fantasy world on the side of one of the six magicians. Each of them is a specialist in one of the six paths of magic: Evocation, Incarnation, Necromancy, Portals, Enchantment and Transmutation. Yesterday we had a multilanguage patch for the international version of the game (not out in North America yet) and today we have a fresh batch 'o screens...

The Canadian Press reports that Microsoft has a vision for just how its Xbox video game console should fit in consumers' homes. It's a hub-and-spoke strategy. The personal computer is at the hub of the home, where people store their music, digital photos and other files. But when people want to share that experience, it's usually in front of the family TV.

All you need is Music Mixer, a product unveiled at the recent E3 Convention in Los Angeles. It allows you to transfer digital music and photos from the PC to the Xbox, play DVDs or CDs, strip lyrics off music - even karaoke. You can also customize your own soundtrack and visuals.

Check out the full scoop here!

Another day, another batch of game trailers were released. Instead of giving them all their own post, we grouped them and so far there are trailers for :

• BattleMages Trailer
• Iridion II (GBA)
• Fair Strike
• The Hulk Interview/Trailer
• The Entente: World War I Battlefields
• Full Spectrum Warrior (Xbox)
• 
  
  Read more for download links ...

Set in 19th Century China, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a martial arts fighting game based on the classic teachings and techniques of the Wudan style. Combining adventure and intense, dynamic combat with the ability to explore lush, interactive environments, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon suspends the laws of space, gravity, and the human body. Players represent one of four characters: Li Mu Bai, Yu Shu Lien, Jen Yu, or Lo. A few new PS2 screens on this slow news day...

Wanadoo has released a new patch for Iron Storm, bringing the European edition of the first- and third-person shooter by 4X Studio to v1.041. This is a small upgrade that merely activates a pair of cheat codes (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Arxel Tribe is proud to announce it has secured the publishing and distribution rights for most European countries (France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Spain, Portugal, Slovenia and Croatia) to Nival Interactive's upcoming PC game ETHERLORDS 2, the sequel to the critically acclaimed ETHERLORDS released in 2001.

Grin has released a new patch for their racing/combat game Bandits bringing your retail game to v1.1.1 "An update version of the patch is now available adressing some issues with reading from the BANDITS CD which occured on the European verison of the game." This is crucial for EU and Australien users as the may have problems with the previous patch. Read more for download links ...

TWENTY FIFTEEN today tossed up the official site for their upcoming PC/Xbox Vietnam War game Men of Valor: Vietnam. The site includes screens and general gaming news..

Men of Valor: Vietnam follows new recruit Dean Shepard and his squad of Marines through the wartorn jungles of Southeast Asia during America's most controversial conflict. The atmosphere of the troubled 1960s filters through sixteen historical missions that take the player from coastal plains of Chu Lai to the ancient city of Hue at the height of the Tet Offensive.

Fragzone let us know that the Ultima Online monthly service rate will be changed June 25:

The Ultima Online monthly service rate will change from $9.95 per month to $12.99 per month on June 25, 2003. This rate change will allow us to increase the level of quality we provide our players. To make the change easier for you, we’re also introducing the following two multi-month discount packages, which will be available on June 25th:

• 3 Month Prepaid Discount Package — $34.99
• 6 Month Prepaid Discount Package — $59.99
  
  You can find out more details regarding these changes here!

The Lost Vikings was one of the first games that Blizzard developed and Blizzard received numerous requests from their consumers to make the title available again. With the 10-year anniversary of The Lost Vikings approaching, Blizzard felt that this was the ideal time to revisit this game. Of course we had to get our hands on a copy and see what the fuzz was all about, and more over, wether it was worth "revisiting". Read more and find out!

Captain Scarlet is a real time tactical strategy game that puts you in control of a team of up to six Spectrum Agents, each with their own unique abilities, as they attempt to stop the Mysterons from carrying out their threats. Check out these new screens ...

Another day, another batch of game trailers were released. Instead of giving them all their own post, we grouped them and so far there are trailers for :

• Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse E3 Trailer (3DO)
• LotR: The Return of the King E3 Trailer (EA)
• Judge Dredd vs Judge Death E3 Trailer (Vivendi)
• James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing E3 Trailer (EA)
• World Of Warcraft E3 Trailer (Blizzard)
• Xenus E3 Trailer (Russobit-M)
• Perimeter E3 Trailer (1C Company)
• Homeworld2 (Vivendi)
• NwN: Shadows of Undrentide E3 Trailer (Atari)
• Neuro (Russobit-M)
• Chaser Multiplayer (JoWood)
• 
  
  Read more for download links ...

The story takes place in the very near future. Gamers play a rookie member of the Global Assault Team, a commando squad created by international powers to take on a dangerous group of freelance terrorist factions better known as The Syndicate. Is this the CounterStrike killer as many people claimed it "could" be? Read more and find out!

Boolat has released a new multilanguage patch for their RPG/Adventure game 'Lethal Dreams: Circle of Fate'. The upgrade adresses various game tweaks such as the frequency of the appearance of random events, some in game descriptions are corrected, the algorithm for pathfinding is accelerated, and various other playability improvements. Read more for download links...

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2003 brings to life golf on the PC and snaps it into 3D, allowing the player to feel the pressure of taking on Tiger Woods as well as some of the top courses in the world, with accurate shot-making finally at the fingertips. Electronic Arts has released a new patch for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003, bringing your retail game to v1.2. This upgrade adresses an issue with 256 MB video cards and is required for EA Sports Online Play. Read more for download links ...

Codemasters has released a new multiplayer map for its stealth-based FPS, IGI 2: Covert Strike. IGI2 must be installed on your PC before you can download/install this new "Dockside" beta map. Read more for download links ..

Mayhem Studios has released a new patch for Empire of Magic (thanks Bluesnews). The update fixes some minor bugs as well as the problem appearing in the eighth level of the game. Its main goal is to improve the game and (players) will (also) be (rewarded) with a new multiplayer level." Read more for download links ...

Cunyngas is the third game in the STG genre made by Akatora. A vertical scrolling shooter enhanced with the thrills of modern 3D graphics. The game is continuing the line with the same level of intensive action and wonderfully modeled 3D graphics to support the strictly two dimensional gameplay as its predecessors. This time with a heavy metal influence in the music to make it even more intense than the two earlier outings (thanks VE3D). Read more for download links...

Last week, Nintendo made some major announcements at the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles. Nintendo dropped jaws once again by displaying an incredible line-up of killer titles for both Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance... Click here to see the full Nintendo GameCube game list and Click here to see the full Game Boy Advance game list.

Atari Inc. Friday said it had sold more than 1 million copies of "Enter the Matrix" one week after the computer and video game hit shelves in the United States and Europe. The game was released May 15, the same day as the movie it is tied to, "The Matrix Reloaded." The game includes additional footage and is one of the most expensive ever made.