The Official Shadowbane Web site just updated its new series detailing the stories and legends inside the worlds of Aerynth. This new series is called the Aerynthian Codex: A Bard's Travel Guide which concentrates on the landmarks, villages, and cities inside the newest world fragment of the Shadowbane beta test. The Codex contains close to 30 screenshots of the newbie continent of Tyrranth Minor, including stories and legends about the founding of Silverlance, one of the starting cities for players.

DreamCatcher Interactive and Digital Reality are pleased to announce that Hegemonia: Legions of Iron has gone gold in North America. The game will ship on November 14th. Read more for some new screens ...

The Adventure Company today shipped The Cameron Files™: Pharaoh's Curse for the PC. The second in The Cameron Files™ series, Pharaoh's Curse transports gamers to Egypt to investigate an ancient curse.

Eidos Interactive announces that the No.1 selling Hitman 2: Silent Assassin is to be released on GameCube. Since its release on PlayStation 2, PC and Xbox in October this year, the game has enjoyed worldwide success having shipped in excess of one million units. Hitman 2: Silent Assassin on GameCube is currently being developed by IO Interactive and will be released in Spring 2003. Check out the first few screens from the Gamecube version!

Arxel Tribe just updated their Mistmare site with three short movies from the game.. "Mistmare is a fantasy role playing adventure game"

• Combat Schools: Isador is showing different combat school poses.
  
  
• Defensive Spell: In this movie one of the enhancement spells is being used. They are used to improve spiritual or corporeal abilities of a living creature. In combat, they are cast as defensive, fortification or restoration spells.
  
  
• Offensive Spell: The shrieks are offensive spells. They are used to corrupt spiritual or corporeal abilities of a living creature. In combat, they may be cast as aggressive spells. The shrieks are more efficiently vocalized by chaotically aligned characters.

At the end of World War I, a group of Nazi war criminals fled to South America. There, they heard rumors of strange creatures in the area… and what they uncovered promised to give them the ability to reclaim their intended glory. Their evil research has pieced together ancient lore connecting three ancient artifacts that promise a power never before seen on earth if all are brought together. However, to the Nazi’s chagrin, there is an older, deeper evil at work here. And the only person who can save the world from these two terrible evils, is our super-sexy, super-lethal, super-natural heroine. Check out our horrific review!

The holidays are still months away, but Strategy First has some gifts for all of us in the meantime. They just send us 9 brand new screenshots from Galactic Civilizations, the new strategy game from developers Stardock that is going to have people racing for their PCs in February 2003. Check them out!

BMT sees the player take command of an 18-wheel rig, trucking from city to city, wheeling and dealing and upping the stakes as they battle to build up a personal fortune. Today we serve up a lorryload of brand new screenshots. Well, six. Njoy!

Shrapnel Games announced today that the Space Empires IV Gold has surpassed the one half million dollar mark in internet sales. To mark this momentous occasion, Shrapnel Games is releasing a Commemorative Space Empires IV Gold digital art print.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced that PlayStation 2 broadband network gaming will be launched in the Spring of 2003, beginning with the UK. This will be followed by a phased rollout into Germany, France, Spain, Australia other SCEE territories throughout 2003.

GameOverGames and Russia's developer and publisher Alawar Entertainment signed an agreement on the publishing of the localized version of Brave Dwarves 2. More info and screens below!

Microsoft Game Studios yesterday announced its first tennis title for the Xbox video game system is in development. Developed by Power and Magic Developments, "Top Spin," an Xbox exclusive and Xbox Live enabled tennis experience, will offer gamers and tennis fans a pulse-pounding glimpse into professional tennis. Today we bring up some screens, Check them out!

In the 13th century, the Aztecs lived in the north of Mexico. The name "Aztec" derives from the name of their legendary former home Aztlan. Under the reign of a glorious chief, the Aztecs moved, until finally settling on the banks of Texcoco, on the Chapultepec (or "grasshopper") hill. The Aztecs lived on fish, crawfish and waterfowl, and procured land on which to sow seeds from the bottom of the lake. They bought everything else, including stone, wood, and drinking water (the water of lake Texcoco being salty) from their neighbors. More info regarding the Aztecs HERE!

GMX Media has today released the movies for its upcoming PC RPG game – Heath. Heath is a massive RPG game with loads of innovative features including;

• Unpredictable ending of the game
• 35 unique filled playing locations
• over 150 different kinds of NPC
• over 50 kinds of enemies
• about 30 quests, that can be solved in a different ways
• over 500 useful items
  
  Video clip now available, if you're wondering what GMX's RPG looks like on the move, read more for download links!

Midway Games Inc. a leading software industry publisher and developer, announced today that revolutionary FreeFormer gameplay will be featured in Haven: Call Of The King, a groundbreaking action and fantasy console videogame, which is in development and scheduled to ship Nov. 18 for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system. The title is also scheduled to ship for the Xbox video game system from Microsoft and Nintendo GameCube in 2003. Haven: Call Of The King is being developed by acclaimed U.K.-based developer, Traveller's Tales.

Stratics Central Fiction recently began publishing their own fictional series, "The Hunted".. "Welcome to a world of mighty warriors, dark magic, majestic bards, devious villains, and chaotic gods. "The Hunted" follows the story of the young bard Lanister ty`Val and a mysterious young woman on the run named Kalisha. For reasons unknown, she is hunted by the sinister Zen Rahl, a Mord Sedehi from the capital city of Andor. The plot goes far deeper than it seems, as the pair soon find themselves, along with others, on the run from forces far greater than they ever could have imagined. Visit a tale full of friendship, war, betrayal, and a grand political struggle for the Iron Throne of Andor, and even control of the world of Aryth itself." The feature will be published every Wednesday.

Sabotain combines a classic first person shooter style with role playing elements and a fascinating mission design. As an undercover agent you are on a secret mission in Miracle City, and will be faced with a myriad of choices and direction to reach goals, either in a rather peaceful matter or by force of arms if necessary. Following old traditions, the website launch today features the start of the banner contest:

Dragon Empires Stratics site launched earlier this week. The site includes an FAQ, dev diaries, dev musings (quotes), dev profiles, an extensive clan database and guide, and exclusive bird armor concept screenshots.

Etherlords II is the sequel to the innovative turn-based strategy game originally released in November 2001. Similar to Etherlords I, which was highly praised for its tactical depth and stunning graphics, Etherlords II promises to be even more spectacular, changing the emphasis of the game from simple exploration and resource gathering to a more enriching story-driven adventure.

Splinter Cell invites gamers to delve into the dark shadows of cyber-terrorism, shadow agencies, and covert operations. The player controls Sam Fisher, a solo operative directed by a top secret, "black ops" wing of the National Security Agency. Alone, yet armed with some of the best hi-tech weapons on the market, Sam walks the fine line between what is legal and what is necessary. He must infiltrate enemy territory and neutralize the opponents—all without leaving a trace. Check these 6 new screens .. Njoy!

Another reality awaits those who dare to enter the world of Chemicus. Shrouded in secrecy and intrigue, the mysterious city of Chemicus is the repository of chemical knowledge from the beginning of time. It begins with a young scientist’s discovery of an ancient amulet with the power to unlock the portal to the forgotten land. Soon, strange, cloaked men kidnap him, claiming that he has disrupted the delicate balance between our world and theirs. Players find themselves in a virtual mission to unlock the secrets of Chemicus, to restore harmony, and rescue the abducted scientist.

GMX Media announced its first console game today. The title, Kien, will be released for the Gameboy Advance Console early 2003. Kien is an action/platform game with RPG elements. The player's task is to complete an epic, non-linear quest in a fantasy-inspired world, helping the two young heroes in their challenge to defeat the Powers of Evil. The world of Kien is composed of 23 long, challenging levels, each boasting richly detailed and colourful 2D graphics, appealing features, well-animated characters as well as eye-pleasing environments and backgrounds. Read more for some nice looking screens ...

Noticed at Blues that the Firaxis Games Files Page is offering a new v1.04f patch for the brand-new Play the World expansion for Civilization III. The patch is just under 7 MB and adds autopatching and a pillage function along with several fixes addressing things such as multiplayer stability, a memory leak with adviser screens, a bug in play-by-email mode, and more. There is also a new patch for Iron Storm available updating 4X Studios' alternate-history World War I shooter to v1.02. Here's what the patch addresses: "The game will crash to desktop while attempting to rebind keys. This problem primarily occurs when the user has a USB keyboard or USB Mouse or both." Read more for links where to get all of these goodies ...

From Brian Reynolds, designer of Civilization 2 and Alpha Centauri, comes Rise of Nations, combining the fast-paced action of real-time strategy games with the strategic depth and epic scope of turn-based strategy games. Rise of Nations allows players to improve their city infrastructure, create new cities, and expand national borders. Players have the option to win through military might using everything from sling-shots to canons to stealth bombers; corner the market on key commodities; and wheel and deal with a wide variety of civilizations. Unlike other historical real-time strategy games, Rise of Nations allows the gamer to quickly play through to the modern age. Today we serve up 10 new screens for you to enjoy!