The official Battlefield: 1942 web site has started a clock counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds to the release of the multiplayer demo for the upcoming WWII multiplayer game. According to the clock the demo for Digital Illusions and Electronic Arts' game will be released at 12 noon PST (3 p.m. EST) on Friday and will contain the Wake Island map, five player classes and eight kinds of vehicles, including planes and ships. (Thanks HomeLAN).

Project Three today announced it has released the New World Order public multiplayer beta-test version 2.0. It is a much-improved version of the original public MP beta-test, which was released at June 1st. The version 2.0. can be downloaded here, it also requires DirectPlay 8.2 beta, which you can download from Microsoft. "case-sensitive Beta ID: DXBeta, password: DirectX9"

Announced a few days ago but then delayed NovaLogic has now released the multiplayer beta of "Delta Force: Black Hawk Down". This beta/demo allows you to try out their upcoming tactical shooter set in Somalia. A mere 46.8 MB download it lets you try Team Deathmatch on one daytime map. The demo is only available for one week (from Friday Aug 2nd through Friday August 9th) and will expire automagically on Aug 16th, so grab it NOW!

For a number of business and technical reasons, Raven Shield will not be playable on the Microsoft Gaming Zone. All of the Ubi Soft studios, including Red Storm, are committed to providing multiplayer features through the ubi.com game service. Read more ...

Two new multiplayer maps are now available for MechWarrior 4. Download the new maps today and start battling it out in the forested surroundings of the walled city Gagetown, or in Solaris system's most infamous stadium - the Coliseum.

With IGI 2: Covert Strike hotly-tipped as a major PC action title for 2002, Codemasters’ online forum for the game is receiving incredible attention from prospective IGI agents. The subject of the all-new multiplayer game mode has kept the forum buzzing. The game’s designers have listened closely to the opinions on the forum and today Codemasters confirm key elements of the game’s multiplayer structure.

Noticed over at Blues that Barking Dog Studios has released the final multiplayer demo of Global Operations, available for download from Electronic Arts' ftp server. This version 2.0 demo offers the Antarctica map (as opposed to the Quebec map in the beta demo) from their team-based tactical shooter, and it requires a 98.6 MB download. Also available is a version 2.0.2.3 upgrade (4.8 MB) for the dedicated Linux server.

Believe it or not but Project3 FINALLY has released their multiplayer demo for their "eagerly" anticipated New World Order first person shooter. I'm downloading it as we speak .. read more for links where ot grab it as i'll be addin links as we cruise along ...

UPDATE: More links added and some solutions for people that having problem to run the game.

Project Three announce that the Public NEW WORD ORDER Multiplayer Beta Test will be released in the week after E3 (27th to 31st of May 2002). "New World Order is a single and multiplayer team-based game where teams battle it out in environments and situations that could be taken right out of an action-movie". Check out Game features HERE!

Since the SoF II test was release Raven Software has recieved a few hundred emails with suggestions and comments for improvements. The following is a list of what has been fixed, changed, and or updated since the test build was made available. Note, this does not mean Raven are releasing a patch for the test, instead its simply an update to let everyone know what we have been up to.

GTA3.COM reports (thanks Fragzone) that a "reliable source" has told them that there will be no support for multiplayer in GTA3:PC. Some time ago, there was a press conference near one of the Take2 Offices, at which the decision was revealed. In compensation for this, GTA3:PC will have other features yet unseen, but no multiplayer. The scheduled release is May 2002.

Clem Samson-Samuel has updated his .plan file with some information about the SOF2 MP test. Here follows a clip from the .plan file:

As most of you already know, the SOF2 MP test was released yesterday. So far the response has been very positive and it is nice to see people are enjoying the hard work that has been put into it. As mentioned before, SOF2 wasn't originally designed to include MP, and now we have several different game types, 4 of which can be played on with the MP Test... Read more below to check out full story!

Rick Johnson from Ravensoft today updated his .plan file with following SoF2 MP Test information:

If you are playing SoF2 MP Test and can't connect to any servers because of an invalid game version, you are playing with leaked version. You must download the official version that was released today!

Soldier of Fortune 2: Double Helix is the ultra-realistic sequel to the groundbreakings hit from Raven Software. Based on the popular military-enthusiast magazine, Soldier of Fortune 2 offers the most realistic covert-operative FPS experience ever. The test gives gamers a chance to compete in one map across four different game modes including deathmatch, team deathmatch, elimination and infiltration. Gamers who choose to participate in the test will also have access to 20 skins and all the weapons available in the multiplayer portion of the full game. Click Read More for links.

Activision, Inc. and Raven Software are giving gamers a chance to test their grit with the announcement of the Soldier Of Fortune II: Double Helix multiplayer compatibility test. The test, which will initially be available exclusively from GameSpy's FilePlanet on April 18, 2002, gives gamers a chance to compete in one map across four different game modes including deathmatch, team deathmatch, elimination and infiltration.

There is a new update patch for Ghost Recon : Desert Siege. This Update Patch 3 is ONLY for Desert Siege and fixes some multiplayer issues. The patch is compatible with ALL Desert Siege localized versions (aka all languages). Its a mere 1.4 mb big ... so grab it while its hot! Read more for detailed fix list and links where to get it

Christian Antkow's "id software" latest .plan update let us know that he is currently testing the new Dedicated Only Server, (Win32) that should hopefully be released in the near future for Wolfenstein. Read more below for full .plan file.

We have covered a boat load of Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast single player screens last week ... in case you were still not convinced that this title is totally excellent we bring you some multiplayer action screens .. which adds extra to the replay value of this brilliant title! Njoy!

Activision today sent out some of the first/awesome screen shots showing off their new SOF2 multiplayer random level generator. Gotta see it to believe it! Yummie!

We already mentioned it earlier, here is the official press release. Project Three today announced that starting Tuesday March 26th 12.00 CET the highly anticipated Public Multiplayer Beta of the next-gen tactical first person shooter New World Order will be downloadable for public use at the following location. The playable demo will also be mirrored by several other websites, to allow people to pick their optimal download location.

Legend's plans for Unreal 2's MPX multiplayer were a brilliant idea, but before the team had even begun working on the multiplayer code and maps, that part of the game had already grown into what could have been an 18-month project for the entire team on its own. We'd love to have seen Unreal 2's multiplayer vision carried through to completion, but it turned out to be unrealistic to try to develop such a huge single-player game with such a huge multiplayer component. That's why the decision was made, and it was by mutual agreement and discussion between Legend, Epic, and Infogrames. Nobody was forced. And it wasn't about boosting UT2 at U2's expense. Unreal 2's MPX would have complemented rather than competed with Unreal Tournament 2's more traditional UT-style game types. On top of all this mumbo jumbo on Monday Infogrames will announce that it will be changing the name of Epic Games' and Legend Ent.'s forthcoming first-person shooter from Unreal II to Unreal Episode II. Likewise, Unreal Tournament 2 from Epic and Digital Extremes will carry the new Unreal Tournament 2003 moniker. The changes are probably meant to curb confusion over the differences between these two games, as well as to further differentiate them from future products like Unreal Championship for the Xbox.

Fans of the hugely successful Cossacks: European Wars will be glad to hear that a unique “World Ranking” league system will be included in the much anticipated add-on, “The Art of War”. Never in videogame history, has a game provided you with a ranking system this detailed.

Shacknews reports that Grand Theft Auto fans won't go long without another fix of wanton violence and pillaging. GTA3 Xbox is a given (with online play?), but we'll also soon hear the details on GTA4. Rockstar's stayin' silent on the subject, but I could name a few hundred thousand fans ready to part with $50 a piece for it. The current talk indicates that DMA will take the GTA3 framework and turn it into a massively multiplayer online game for the four installment, where you're free to create your own mobs and anyone in the city could be a "real" person. Word is it'll also be set in a real U.S. city this time.

Today Rick Johnson from Raven Software, updated his .plan file with a progress report on Soldier of Fortune 2 and the multiplayer support. Read more below for full story.

Civ Fanatics let us know that Civilization III will have multiplayer as an add-on and this new "expansion" add-on will be out February or March 2002. Here is a snip from the posting:

According to the Civilization III review on the December issue of the PC GamePlay UK magazine, the multiplayer feature of Civ III will be released as an expansion pack in February or March 2002.