Australian developer Tantalus Interactive today announced that it had begun work on a ground breaking new title for PS2 and XBox. Metal Shell (working title) is arcade combat in high-speed, purposebuilt tanks, with online tournaments, and environments that destruct and deform as you play. With a huge selection of single and multiplayer modes, and over twenty different custom designed tanks, Metal Shell promises to blast fresh life into the action genre. Read more for details, screens & trailer ...

SC2 features seven distinctive modes of game-play including: Arcade, Vs, Time Attack, Survival, Team Battle, Practice, and the console exclusive, Weapon Master. Weapon Master is a "complete the mission" mode combined with an RPG twist. In this mode, the player can collect and equip their character with up to 200 different weapons, thus adding a deeper level of strategy to every new battle. Check out these new screens ..

Beach Head Desert War is the most recent installment in the 360° arcade shooter series by Digital Fusion, this time transporting the coastal defense action to other places with lots of sand. Digital Fusion has released a demo allowing you to try out 4 levels of the game. This download IS actually the full game but you need to purchase an unlock key if you want to continue (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Acclaim has launched the official web site for Gladiator: Sword Of Vengeance featuring info/screenshots from their upcoming Roman Empire themed console action game. At the same time Acclaim has also launched the official Alias web site which features info/screenshots from the upcoming third person console action game based on the hit ABC TV series. We'll have more on both those titles during/after the E3, so stay tuned!

Publisher Big City Games announced today that they have signed Air Raid – This is not a Drill!, developed by Made by Kiddies for the North American market.

Sony Online Entertainment announced today that it is developing EverQuest Online Adventures: Frontiers, the second edition of the groundbreaking massively multiplayer online role-playing game, EverQuest Online Adventures. EverQuest Online Adventures: Frontiers expands the rich, vibrant fantasy world of Norrath with uncharted territories to explore, new items and spells to acquire, fierce creatures to battle, and a new playable race, the Ogres. Frontiers also offers innovative features such as an in-game tutorial, controller instructions and in-game customer service to make online gaming simple and easy for the new user. Developed exclusively for the PS2, EverQuest Online Adventures: Frontiers is scheduled to ship to retail stores this fall.

Microsoft Game Studios today announced that Microsoft Train Simulator 2 will make its debut at the E3 expo next week. "With five new, highly detailed routes, Microsoft Train Simulator 2 provides the opportunity to command a 200-ton modern diesel locomotive or operate a steam-breathing behemoth from the past. The game also adds dynamic weather in a living-breathing world complete with people, vehicles and animals roaming the countryside". Microsoft Train Simulator 2 will be in stores this Fall. Just what we need .. more trains :)

Mistland (Paradise Cracked develoeprs) have another project lined up for the near future, the yet unannounced "Alfa:AntiTerror" (expected 1st quarter 2004). The sad reality of life in many countries. The global problem of modern times. A war, which can neither be won nor lost. The unpromising forecasts of scientists and experts concerning further development of things. Terrorism is waiting for our answer. An answer we are about to deliver. Read more for details and 4 new screens ...

Bethesda Softworks today announced that it will publish Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth, a first-person horror game for PC and Xbox. Developed by Headfirst Productions, Call of Cthulhu is a mix of horror, investigation, puzzle solving, exploration, and combat as you are faced with the seemingly impossible task of battling evil incarnate.

Paradox Entertainment and Strategy First today revealed the next eposidoe in their Europa Universalis franchise. Victoria "In Victoria, players will be challenged to lead their nation into the industrial age of the 20th century, ensuring that the country becomes a great power by making sure that it stays ahead of the competition in terms of both wealth and strength. The gameplay will focus on six key aspects of running a country: diplomacy, warfare, economy and industrialization, colonization, technological development, and political simulation." The game is scheduled to be released for the winter holiday season. Read more for details and the first screen...

Dreamcatcher is working on a sequel to last year's Traitor's Gate going by the name of 'Cypher: Code of Ruin'. No details are known at this point but we do have some screens for you, read more and check them out!

Reel Fishing III sets itself apart from other Bass Sports Fishing titles by offering a true to life fishing experience. Using the PlayStation 2 technology, Reel Fishing III will offer beautiful scenery, a real-life 3-dimensional fishing engine, true sounds of nature in Dolby Surround Pro Logic II, inspiring soundtracks and fish so real that most will want to keep them in an aquarium. Read more for some fishy screens ...

JoWooD Productions today announced its line up of ground breaking titles that will be on display at the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) at the Los Angeles Convention Center between May 14 - 16th. Spanning a range of popular genres on PC CD-ROM and Playstation 2, JoWooD's line up will include the new PS2 title "Legend of Kay" and "Silent Storm" on PC. Read more for further details ...

DreamCatcher Games is proud to announce that its new website, dedicated to Battlecruiser Generations, has gone live today! The much anticipated title from legendary-producer, Derek Smart, is due to ship in the fall, and this dynamic site gives a great snapshot of what to expect! The site includes a great forum to get an insight from Derek himself and legions of other fans. There’s also a ton of exclusive screenshots, detailed information about the game, some great downloads and a chance to pre-order the game right now. So pull up a mouse, and head to the official 'Battlecruiser Generations' website where it’s all about to kick-off!! Read more for some new screens as well as details about the online engine.

Ubi Soft Entertainment and Cyan Worlds, Inc., developers of the legendary MYST and Riven, today announced more details about Uru: Ages Beyond MYST, the eagerly-awaited game for the PC that combines an all new addition to the legendary MYST franchise with the power of the Internet. Uru is the latest chapter in the MYST series - one of the most widely recognized game brands in history, with more than 12 million units sold worldwide. It is scheduled to launch for Holiday 2003. Read more for details ...

ePie Games has announced their upcoming Vietnam War game, Vietnam War: Ho Chi Minh Trail (thanks VE3D). It is the year 1970. The flames of war in Vietnam burn on years after French troops are dealt a crushing defeat. American troops, sent into harsh terrain and dense jungle, find themselves embroiled in guerrilla warfare with a cunning enemy that uses the jungle to its advantage. The Ho Chi Minh Trail, a Vietcong transport route snaking through thousands of miles of dense foliage, somehow endures the American saturation bombing campaign, and men and armaments continue to reach southern forces down this vital supply line......

Painkiller is a nickname of a pretty unusual mercenary, who is dealing with supernatural. There are places on Earth where demons and other evil creatures have their nests: abandoned prisons, private castles, deep caves in the mountains... "Cleaning" those places is good money, and our hero needs a lot of it, since he loves living the life to its fullest. One day he gets what seems to be a pretty simple job: to retrieve a religious artifact from one of the nests. When after a furious battle he realizes he might have been tricked into the war between two competing clans of the undead, he tries to play his own cards. Readm ore to check out the new screens ...

Arx Fatalis is a first-person RPG, which plunges players into an amazingly complex fantasy-world of trolls, goblins and ‘Snake-women’. Creating weapons, solving puzzles and completing amazing quests, gamers become heroes as they battle in an evil world. Players will also need to master a unique real-time magic system to cast more than 50 different spells based on 20 different runes. DreamCatcher has send us a batch of new screens, check them out!

Deus Ex 2 allows players to participate in the telling of a powerful story, rich in mystery, lies and intrigue. In addition to a host of new conspiratorial friends and foes, players can expect encounters with a variety of characters from the original Deus Ex game. And, once again, players visit a variety of real world locations made more exotic by the passage of time. Approximately 20 years after the events depicted in Deus Ex, the world is only beginning to recover from a catastrophic worldwide depression brought on by technology run amok and a secret conspiratorial war. Read more for some new screens ...

Right after the initial patch, Crowd Control Productions has now issued the second patch for EVE Online: the Second Genesis, bringing their just-released MMO space game to build 1002. This patch can be used if the auto-updater doesn't work (you need to have the first patch applied as well), but there are no details on the changes in this patch. Read more for download links ...

Activision will debut a show-stopping slate of games at the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo, which takes place at the Los Angeles Convention Center from May 14-16. The company's blockbuster lineup includes high-profile Hollywood licenses such as "Shrek 2: The Game" (working title), "Spider-Man 2" (working title) and "Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure"; id Software's gripping 3D action game "DOOM III"; Peter Molyneux's innovative new simulation title, "The Movies"; The Creative Assembly's "Rome: Total War"; an all-new "Pitfall Harry" game, based on the Activision classic; a no-holds barred driving action game "True Crime: Streets of L.A."; and "Call of Duty," a first-person action game that captures the gritty drama, intensity and camaraderie of World War II... Read more for all details!

THQ today announced it has acquired the worldwide publishing rights to the highly anticipated "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Oblivion Lost" (working title). Developed exclusively for PC by Ukraine-based GSC Game World, "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Oblivion Lost" is the first game to utilize GSC Game World's proprietary X-Ray engine that allows for massive indoor/outdoor environments, real-time physics and the capability to push more than one million polygons per frame at 60 frames per second. "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Oblivion Lost" provides players with an intense first person action experience that incorporates elements of survival horror and role-playing while taking place in the forbidden zone of the Chernobyl nuclear facility. "S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Oblivion Lost" will be available in 2004.

Electronic Arts today announced that it has partnered with Erich Rutemöller from FIFA's Technical Committee, to assist with the development of EA SPORTS FIFA Football 2004. In line with EA's commitment to deliver the most authentic, immersive interactive football experience on any gaming platform, Rutemöller will help ensure that the development team working on FIFA Football 2004 share in his knowledge and experience of the playing tactics and formations of the most successful and revered football clubs.

Ubi Soft Entertainment today announced that one of music and film's hottest stars, Eve, will play the role of Major Jones in its highly anticipated action-shooter, XIII. XIII is an epic, conspiracy-driven thriller set in a highly stylized graphic-novel world. Eve will lend her voice talents to Major Jones, a beautiful yet mysterious character in the game, who helps players unravel clues behind the game's captivating story. XIII is planned to release on all platforms in Fall 2003.