Strategy First and Nival Interactive have released today a Multiplayer demo for Etherlords II, their exciting game that blends role-playing elements and tactical combat in the best traditions of fantasy trading card games. In the Multiplayer demo you will be able to play all modes available in the retail release of Etherlords II. In the demo you must choose between 2 races (Vitals or Chaots) from the 4 races that populate the Etherworld. Each of the races found in the demo is represented by only 2 heroes. The Combat tutorial is included in the demo and we strongly recommend that players begin with it to ease the learning curve. Read more for download links ...

If you've ever spent all your quarters zipping Pac-Man through his mazes at your favorite watering hole, you'll be happy to learn those days are behind you. A collaboration between Nintendo of America Inc. and Namco Hometek Inc. has made the hot new Pac-Man vs. game available exclusively for Nintendo GameCube. This special game is also available at a very special price-free!

Believe it or not, the XIII madness continues! Ubisoft has now released the US XIII Multiplayer demo. Players can choose between two action-packed 6-player maps for either Deathmatch or Team Deathmatch action. XIII's 15 deadly weapons are featured in the demo along with a few surprise armaments, allowing players to discover their favorite weapons before the game ships in October. Read more for download links ...

As i meantioned earlier today, patching demo's is the thing to do these days, and seem like UbiSoft heard me. A patch is now available for yesterday XIII Demo which fixes the multiplayer bug that was uncovered after release. A full updated demo is expected as well (thanks IGN). Read more for download links ...

As expected and announced, Ubisoft has now released the multiplayer demo for their upcoming cell shaded action/FPS game XIII. This demo includes two levels for you to play deathmatch and team deathmatch on. This is a European 'work in progress' demo, an updated U.S. version is expected next week (thanks IGN). Read more for download links ...

UPDATE : There is a bug in the demo which does not affect the 'Bot Challenge' but multiplayer hosting. A new version will be released soon.

This Friday, October 3, 2003, Electronic Arts will deliver the first free multiplayer map for Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour Expansion Pack. So be prepared for all out war between the two western nations. Map Descripion: Brought to you by the C&C Generals team, it’s USA vs. Canada in this "replica" of North America! Battle your friends and foes from California to Maine to Quebec to the Yukon in this two-player map (thanks VE3D). Of course we'll have it available in our download section.

DreamCatcher Games today announced that it is accepting applications for its Painkiller Multiplayer Test (PC). This is not a Demo, but a closed beta to stress test the netcode and playtest maps. Interested gamers should fill out the Painkiller application form. The company will be selecting a team of 200 from the applicants over the next few weeks, and will notify the chosen recipients by email. The testing itself will take place in Mid-October.

Video Game developer Running With Scissors takes the concept of multiplayer to disturbing depths never before explored outside of politics or the priesthood with POSTAL 2: Share The Pain MULTIPLAYER Edition. Vince Desi, Running With Scissors' manic madman boasted "We're coming off the most successful beta testing since the Romans discovered lions liked the taste of Christians." Read more for details ...

The official Postal 2 site is updated (thanks VE3D) with following Multiplayer Beta information:

We've been working on multiplayer, and we are going beta on Friday, Sept 12th at about 6pm PST. It won't be an open beta but we will be accepting a lot of people! For more information join irc.gamesnet.net and join #postal2beta or email mikej@gopostal.com.

Ubisoft announced details behind the innovative multiplayer modes for XIII, the highly anticipated first-person shooter videogame. XIII will be the first online first-person shooter for the PlayStation2. Additionally, XIII will be online for the Xbox and the PC, and will feature four-way split-screen multiplayer on the Nintendo GameCube. XIII is expected to ship in Fall 2003. Read more for details and some new screens ...

Jowood has released an updated multiplayer demo for their recently released FPS Chaser. The new demo features dedicated Server Support, All Seeing Eye Support, Optimised Network Code and Server Stability and Anti Cheat Code. Read more for download links ...

3Map Games studio and Russobit-M Company are glad to tell you that the spacesimulator Homeplanet will have a multiplayer finally. Developer have started to work on the multiplayer addon a few months ago (expected to be released after Christmas). The upcoming addon will include:

• Cooperative playing the single mode
• up 16 player in Internet and LAN
• Chat
• The statistics of players on our server
• internet-site for statistics

Over at PlanetMedalOfHonor they got official word from their sources about the Medal Of Honor Allied Assault: Breakthrough demo. Expected a bit later as mentioned before, it now should arrived the first or second week in September. The demo will be multiplayer and will feature maps and weapons from the Italian campaign, and will also incorporate the new Liberation mode play-style (thanks GenGamers). Of course we will have the puppy up on our file servers as soon as it's available!

Last week we had No Mans Land multiplayer part 1, and now we have part 2 giving more details on the "Eliminate Heroes" and the "King Of The Hill" multiplayer modes. Read more for some new screens ...

Whiptail Interactive will premier its Q4 product releases for 2003 at ECTS, August 27-29, 2003 at Earls Court, London in stand #1970. A highlight of the stand will be the first look at Whiptail Interactive’s new PC game - Gangland. Developed by Danish gaming experts MediaMobsters and anticipated to be released this fall, Gangland combines the best elements of real-time strategy, role-play and simulation games. Read more for details ...

You can now sign up on Atari's official beta test web site to test the upcoming free Unreal 2 multiplayer expansion pack. The unreal 2 multiplayer mode is a class-based team game where players fight for control of artifacts and energy using a deadly arsenal of weaponry, vehicles, and defenses. While you are there you can also sign up to beta test the upcoming multiplayer oriented Terminator 3: War of the Machines (thanks HomeLAN).

Max Design and SUNFLOWERS will be providing ANNO 1503 players the multi-player mode free of charge. Fans will be able to download the multi-player update free of charge once the comprehensive test phase has been completed. This week Max Design and SUNFLOWERS will begin an external test in which already chosen participants will subject the ANNO 1503 multi-player mode to weeks of exhaustive testing. This test will then be expanded to a public test. Interested parties will soon be able to register on the official ANNO 1503 website at www.anno1503.com. SUNFLOWERS will be informing all interested players about the opening date for registration both over the website and by press release. You can find out more on the official ANNO 1503 website.

No Man's Land has an exceptionally balanced multiplayer mode, so lets take a peek at two different multiplayer modes: "defend/destroy railroad" and the "railroad building race". The railroad building race focuses on the challenge of building a railroad across the whole map. The player who is able to reach the other end of the map first wins the race. The defend/destroy railroad mode includes more fighting; you will have to actively defend or attack your opponent during the building phase of the railroad. Both modes are really a lot of fun, and the train itself adds another bunch of special features. For instance, the player is able to request reinforcements or transport troops in the train over long distances.

If you get excited about the idea of sailing uncharted waters, searching the fog for rival ships, and maneuvering into the perfect position to lay iron unto your enemy before he can do the same to you, then you've come to the right place. Battlefield: Pirates is a mod for EA's Battlefield 1942 (and requires the latest v1.4 update patch). A new multiplayer map is now available, BlackBears Booty is a land-based "king-of-the-hill" style map for Battlefield: Pirates. Can you hold the center long enough to win?

The world's most notorious street racers meet each night on the streets of LA, Paris, and Tokyo. Choose from the latest performance enhanced cars and bikes and compete head-to-head to make a name for yourself. There are no rules. Drive anywhere in the city. Find the fastest route to win. The cops know you are out there – don't get caught. The public demo of Midnight Club II is now available. The demo includes 3 vehicles, the popular L.A. level, and 4 game modes. Online racing is available for up to 8 players. Read more for download links ...

FilePlanet has posted up another one of their exclusive downloads for their FP & Founders subscribers, offering a free seven day trial of SOE's massively multiplayer first person shooter PlanetSide. The download is 1.5gig large, so it might actually take you 7 days to get it as well. Also for their FilePlanet & Founders subscribers is a another exclusive download of Rockstar's urban racing game Midnight Club II. The multiplayer demo includes the LA level with three cars and four modes of play for up to eight players.

Russobit-M company carried out the tournament on the upcoming 3d FPS from Burut CT Kreed in the context of multiplayer beta-testing. It was on this weekend. The best cybersportsmen of Russia took part in the competition, and for some of them Kreed was the last real training before ESWC in Paris. It was the first time Kreed multiplayer ever left the developers' studio, and all sportsmen had found themselves in the same conditions - they had only two hours of training before the game.

Noticed on HomeLan that Epic Games' Mark Rein made a post on the official Unreal 2 bulletin board announcing that they are working on a free multiplayer add-on for Unreal 2 (which previously had NO multiplayer capabilities). The message read as follows : Lack of multiplayer is a temporary issue with Unreal2. Legend are currently reviving their XMP design for mulitplayer and it will be released as a FREE downloadable add-on for people who own Unreal2.

Codemasters has released yet another multiplayer map for its stealth-based FPS, IGI 2: Covert Strike. The new 'Winterland' map is the first IGI2 snow-based multiplayer mission with Conspiracy as attackers inevitable trying to launce 2 missiles from 2 mobile launchers. It is IGI's job to defend the mountain top base from the hoardes of evil. This map requires you to have v1.2 in order to play this map. There is also a fix for the dedicated Linux server or an updated servers pack. Read more for download links ..

Straigth off this months PCGamer cover cd comes Monolith's demo for their upcoming action based on the Tron movie from 20 years ago. The Tron 2.0 demo features a Light Circle tutorial where you several AI controlled opponents in a 4 way duel in the Conscripts Duel Arena. After the tutorial you can get on the internet and battle it out online. The full Corrupted Sector map is included, playable over LAN or the net with up to 16 teams (Mucho Gracias Andy). Read more for download links ...