Steam Beta 2.0 begins today at 3 pm Pacific. The beta is open to the public, anyone can join by downloading and running the 4MB install applet. For the first few days, this beta will include the coming versions of Counter-Strike (v1.6) and Team Fortress Classic. Further updates to these games, as well as additional content, will be made available to participants throughout the beta. Read more for links where to download... UPDATE : Seems the demand was/is overwhelming and they have temp. suspended the streaming...

Bitmap Brothers' upcoming RTS title WWII: Frontline Command has found a new publisher. The game was originally scheduled to be published by Codemasters, but last year, they suddenly dropped the product without a specific reason. WWII: Frontline Command will now be published in Europe by Koch Media this May. No North American date (or publisher) has yet been assigned.

Ubisoft seems to be working on a Midtown Madness type game for the Nintendo Gamecube. Not much info is available apart for these 10 new screens. Check out them out!

EVE ONLINE is a new breed of computer game. Played online with thousands of other players, EVE draws people into what is essentially an alternate universe set some time far in the future in a place one can only dream of. SSI and CCP have just released a 2 min in-game action trailer showing off the plans and intentions of an ambitious player in the world of EVE. Read more for links to check it out!

Konami of America, Inc. announced 16 new titles for 2003, including all-new versions of blockbuster franchises such as Castlevania, Dance Dance Revolution, Gradius, Silent Hill, Winning Eleven, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Zone of the Enders. Focusing on powerful brands, Konami's broad 2003 lineup includes titles for all genres, age groups and skill levels. Brand new games that are scheduled to debut in 2003 include Casino Manager (working title), Cy Girls, K1 World Grand Prix, McFarlane's Monsters, Ninja Five-O, and Street Kings (working title). Read more for details ...

Konami of America, Inc. announced that Silent Hill 3, the highly-anticipated new release in the blockbuster horror series, will ship with a 70-minute music soundtrack. Composed, performed and edited by the game's producer, Akira Yamaoka at Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo, the soundtrack features the game's distinctive musical score as well as four exclusive vocal tracks.

Need one doing? The chaps behind Prisoner of War reckon they've got just the thing... Wide Games, the ambitious developer of the best-selling PS2, Xbox and PC smash, Prisoner of War, today announces a move into licensed products and conversions. Building on the success of POW - the only unlicensed, non-sequel game in the top ten last summer, Wide Games has recently completed a GameCube conversion, and is now working an Xbox/PC port for a major US publisher.

WANADOO EDITION produces, publishes and distributes video games for consoles, PC and the Internet. Wanadoo Edition's development strategy centers around three key points: to design original video games for all software platforms, to publish games of all major genres (notably action, adventure, sport, race, strategy and MMG) and to distribute worldwide... Today we received their 2003 lineup, check it out below!

With just under one month to go until the February 14th launch of IGI 2: Covert Strike, gamers can today experience covert action IGI style with launch of the single-player demo of Codemasters’ stunning stealth-based shooter. This standalone PC demo is now available for download.. Read more for download links and also a all-new IGI 2 video entitled “Scope”.

THQ Inc. today announced that Disney Princesses for Game Boy Advance is currently in development and is scheduled to release in Spring 2003. The game is based on the Disney Princess characters in Disney's animated classic films "Cinderella," "The Little Mermaid," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Sleeping Beauty," "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin."

Electronic Arts today announced that The Sims for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system has shipped. Players will be able to create and control their Sims like never before with all new level-based game play, two-player modes, and dynamic 3D graphics.

At the heart of Gladius is a unique mix of dynamic game play that requires players to develop and manage a school of gladiators who, over time, gain experience, learn new skills, improve their abilities and finally test their might in epic battles. Players fight with deadly weapons and powerful magic, learn vital combat tactics, and enhance and customize characters... Check out six new shots!

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, the Tokyo based parent of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced that cumulative world-wide factory shipments of the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system had reached 50 million units.

Resident Evil Online is set in Raccoon City and seems to feature gameplay typical of the series, but it will allow up to four players play together at once. There are eight characters -- including a police officer, plumber, journalist, and surgeon -- each with his or her own skills. Cooperation is a big part of the online game's design. Player characters can interact by exchanging weapons, helping another player get up, or by providing a steady shoulder for a wounded character to lean on. However, players can't always rely on the security of a group and may start a scenario separated from each other. There are also nonplayer characters in the game that players can talk to for information, including those characters that weren't selected by players. Read more to check out the trailer ...

Runaway: A Road Adventure follows Brian, a student on the verge of graduating from college, is suddenly and mysteriously attacked by Mafia gangsters. During his desperate flight, in the company of a mysterious striptease dancer, he ends up meeting a wide range of unusual characters. But he has to figure out who's trying to help him or kill him. The player will have to be very ingenious to figure it out who's his friend or foe in this explosive mixture of murder, money, ambition, rituals and deception...a whole lot of deception.

GMX Media today inked a deal with Tesseraction Games to publish a full single player retail version of its online naval warfare game, Enigma: Rising Tide for the PC. Enigma: Rising Tide will be available at retail sometime in March, according to GMX Media. The retail version will include 60 missions, a free 30 day trial of the online game (when it launches) and hands-free voice command technology. Mission range from simple patrols to submarine and surface command missions. Check the new batch of screens...

American Conquest, is the latest masterpiece from the makers of Cossacks, the undisputed champions of several-thousand-unit combat. Spanning the moment Columbus set foot on America to the American War of Independence, players must shape the future of the continent through over 50 missions spread across eight campaigns. Check out the new screens, showing off the battle at Fort Duquesne in 1754 during the Indian/French War. Read more to check them out ...

Year 1878. Soreo Isle, a small, uninhabited, volcanic island in the Pacific. The Man, a masterful physiologist, well-known in scientific circles for his extraordinary imagination, howled out of England for his ambitious and rather disgusting experiments on animals. His name is Dr. Morhead. On this detached island he stepped aside from the world, to continue his twisted experiments. Violating the very foundations of nature, his work was aimed at the creation of a new form of living being. Dr. Morhead's work in his "Temple of Rebirth" sought to alter animals to look, feel and behave more like humans. Today we serve up a new batch of Vivisector: Beast Within (previously known as Creatures of Dr. Moreau) screens, njoy!

Total Immersion Racing is a driving game with an emphasis on the highest quality driving technology linked to compelling and immersive gameplay. The player can choose a career path that leads from being the lowest ranked driver of a GT sports car all the way to becoming a world champion driving a massively powerful 8-litre prototype. On the way team engineers and managers will give advice and input to guide the player. Empire and Razorworks have just released another patch for the European version of their racing game fixing a few DirectX related issues. Read more for details and download links...

The DesertCombat team is pleased to announce that the second public alpha version of the most played mod for Battlefield1942 is now ready download. The purpose of these tests are to get valuable feedback from the community so that we can produce one of the best gameplay experiences out there for arcade style modern military combat. The goal of the DC team is to release many of these alpha and beta tests until we feel it is a complete mod. Read more for details and download links ...

Celestial Heavens let us know that Christian Vanover from New World Computing announced that Winds of War, the second expansion pack for Heroes of Might & Magic IV, has gone gold.. (thanks Blues) Here is the clip:

I wanted to let everyone know that 3DO has given their stamp of approval to the Winds of War expansion, and the Gold Master is on its way to the duplicators! I'm sure we'll be sneaking some WoW info onto the boards in the next few weeks, and maybe, just maybe, I'll have some early Heroes V info as well.

UK Based Independent Games developer Positech Computing announced today the release of their arcade/strategy game Planetary Defense. Planetary Defense puts you in charge of a variety of worlds, defending them against enemy attack. You have to defend against missiles, laser equipped satellites, cloaked starships, multiple-warhead rockets and flaming meteors, by guiding defensive missiles to their targets. On some levels you have multiple orbiting moons, complete with their own bases and space colonies, ships evacuating your planet to defend, and energy shields that keep the enemy rockets at bay. Its also possible for enemy fire to disable the all-important radar... Screens, gameinfo and demo is available here!

Namco Ltd. proudly announced today the release of their long awaited sequel to one of the most revered weapons-based fighters of all time. Soul Calibur2 is scheduled to release in Japan on March 27th and in North America in August 2003 on all three video game platforms. Soul Calibur 2 will be available on the PlayStation2, GameCube, and the Xbox.

Train buffs can now explore the beautiful Allegheny mountain region from the comfort of their own homes. Publisher Strategy First and Developer Maple Leaf Tracks are pleased to announce that the latest MSTS Add-On, Sandpatch¸ has shipped to retail stores nationwide.