Auran, creators of Trainz, have reported a significant increase in download traffic on their website since the announcement of a gmax game pack for Trainz yesterday.

Games outsourcing specialist Babel (www.babelmedia.com) has broken new ground after being appointed by Nintendo Europe as the main content provider for the Game Boy Advance website. It is the first time that Babel has provided editorial services for a major publisher and continues the expansion of its outsourcing package for the games industry.

Today Blues tossed up following announcement.. LithTech, Inc., a leading developer of licensable game technologies and tools, announced today the release of an updated version of its advanced Jupiter system, the foundation for the highly anticipated sequel to No One Lives Forever. Jupiter now delivers an even broader range of features including a new polygrid system that supports dynamic lighting, Fresnel reflections and dynamic surface animations as well as the addition of cubic environment mapping. Other new features include an improved command editor to more easily create cinematic events and more robust support for dynamic texture effects. Full pressrelease here. Six new No One Lives Forever 2 screenshots is also available here!

Today CDV send us four renders of trains. And they look like they could handle themselves against a Connex Sprinter. Check them out!

The Sims and their families have been in overdrive with all the bustle of the holidays and the magic of Livin’ It Up, the parties of House Party and the social obligations of Hot Date. They need a break and The Sims On Holiday provides the perfect opportunity to give them a little rest and relaxation on a fun-filled vacation island! Today we recived a bunch of new screens that you can check out below!

EA SPORTS, now in the 11th year of an exclusive partnership with the PGA TOUR is pleased to announce the involvement of Colin Montgomerie, the first world class UK golfer to feature in Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2002 golf simulation for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system and PC.

Fight for galactic domination in RIM - Battle Planets, a cosmic new real-time strategy game from JoWooD Productions due for release in March 2002.

Rage's "Mobile Forces" is closing in on its scheduled April release date. The experienced team – previously been key members of Grand Theft Auto 1,2 and 3, Wild Metal Country, Silicon Valley, Strikeforce, F1 Championship 2000 and Lemmings - is going full speed ahead and here are some of the latest screens!

Mike Arkin, Executive Producer over at Crave Ent. has posted an update on the eagerly awaited Global Ops .. mentioning a demo is IMMINENT (as early as tomorrow) and store date is expected to be March 26th .. Read more for the full story ..

“10 events. 2 fingers. One goal. Are you the world’s greatest pocket athlete?” At one time, you were the best. No one could match your speed and rhythm in the arcade or at home. But now, it’s time to practice the old techniques - To get your fingers to become a blur of speed. You were once master of the track and of the field. Do you still have the magic? Read more below..

Jon Zuk just updated his .plan file with a reminder about ravensofts skin contest for SoF2..
The prizes are:

Grand Prize: Skin included in SoF2 multiplayer, a PS2, and a signed copy of SoF2.

First Prize: A Nintendo GameCube and a signed copy of SoF2.

Second Prize: A Gameboy Advance and a signed copy of SoF2.

Details can be found HERE!

Reality Pump Studios today launched the official site for their new title, KnightShift. The game NightShift is a combination of RTS with RPG elements. The game plays in a mystic world with many fantasy elements. The player has the control of wizards, witches, and many other fabulous creatures.

Computer game 'Hooligans', developed by Dutch company Darxabre has launched in the UK today, aimed towards the huge adult market for computer games. Less than 1% of such games are rated as 18 by the ELSPA or BBFC rating systems. Clearly, computer games are not just for kids. There is now a massive market for games, which appeal to adults on the basis of their levels of difficulty and challenge, not because the graphic content is of an adult nature. Personally .. i think the ELSPA and BBFC are a bunch of whinebags .. but hey .. thats just me .. Now lets knock the s**t out of the other team ..

1503 A.D. send us a note about that they updated their community section today with Part XII: Farewell and Departure. Here is a snippet from it:

Early in the morning, my entire family accompanies me to the harbor of our home town. "Will you bring back beautiful and wondrous things from strange places for us?" My sisters are still waiting for my reply when I am rendered speechless by the sight of the three ships anchoring in the harbor. Read more here.

Imperium Galactica 3: Genesis is a story-based single player strategy game. Starting in 2040, you are in control of the fleet of a multinational cooperation fighting a rivalling cooperation. The discovery of foreign technology leads to expeditions into space. When you return to Earth you find it occupied by Aliens. Only one colonizing spaceship with humans escaped. Your task is to find this ship, use it to build colonies and to finally gather enough strength to take back Earth.

Westward Ho! In No Man's Land, the player leads the colonization of the American continent between 1600 und 1900. In three campaigns, divided into 30 diversified missions, the player sees the historical development of this era from the viewpoint of six different ethnic groups: Englishmen, settlers, American patriots, Spaniards and forest- and prairie Indians. This game is in an early stage, thus we bring you EARLY screens!

Set in World War II, Sudden Strike is a tactical war game with authentic historical background and compelling gameplay. We have three new screens that you can check out below.

Grandia II takes players into a world where the legends of good and evil must once again face each other in a timeless battle. Long ago, Granus gave the Light of Hope upon the people and humans gained great prosperity. However, Valmur, the Evil of Darkness attempted to deprive the Light from the people. Granus valiantly fought to protect the humans and the fight was never-ending. It has been over 10,000 years since the battle of Light and Darkness has taken place, as the ground begins to tremble with the anticipation of the impending battle.

Strategy First and Auran are pleased to announce that they have signed a licensing agreement with Discreet, a division of Autodesk, Inc. to create, publish and distribute a gmax game pack for their new model railroad simulation, Trainz.

THQ Inc. today announced it will publish Disney/Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. (working title) for Nintendo GameCube. Scheduled for fall 2002 release, the game will be based on the Academy Award-nominated animated film, Disney/Pixar’s Monsters, Inc.

Capcom Eurosoft today announced plans to release Onimusha 2: Samurai's Destiny for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system this summer. This highly anticipated title is a sequel to last year's award-winning and multi-million unit selling blockbuster Onimusha: Warlords. Pressrelease with facts and screens below!

New Maps! The second official map pack for Yuri's Revenge has arrived. In this download players will find two never before seen official maps created by the Yuri's Revenge team. Find out more here.

Return to Castle Wolfenstein has gotten even more recognition: the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has awarded the game both Best Online Game of the Year and Best Computer Action/Adventure Game of the Year! So the next time you're going behind enemy lines on a server near you, give a shout out to Nerve and Gray Matter for creating the game that everyone is playing!

Midway Games Inc., a leading software industry publisher and developer, announced today that Gauntlet Dark Legacy for the Nintendo GameCube will ship tomorrow and is scheduled to ship for the Xbox video game system from Microsoft in April. Gauntlet Dark Legacy is available now for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system.