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Chariots of War sounds a bit like those lamentable roman-era chariot-racing games we've been subjected to lately, but according to joint developers Paradox (Europa Universalis II) and Slitherine Strategies, it's actually a strategy game due out in North America in Q2 2003 under Strategy First's banner.

The recently unveiled European subsidiary of US publisher DreamCatcher Games has today announced its release list. Starting in May, the publisher will release Kaan - Barbarian's Blade (PS2/PC), which is an arcade hackandslash title, along with Superpower (PC), a turn-based geopolitical and militaristic simulator which utilises accurate UN/CIA data.

Square is expected to make its GameCube debut with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles this summer. According to Famitsu, the Japanese release date has no been set at July 18th, although of course there's no mention of US/European dates just yet.

Some time ago, we all realised that while there are good racing games and bad racing games, at a fundamental level they all involve roughly the same thing; going around a track at slightly higher unsafe speeds than the other players.

Nintendo may be facing a fight for its life at UK retail, as the decision by the Dixons group to liquidate GameCube stocks is replicated by another leading retailer - high street and catalogue sales outlet Argos.

IGN has a report on game retailers' release lists, which include several new titles from out of sorts publisher Midway. Now, they don't publish outright rubbish all of the time (we could name a lot of publishers with more guilt in that area), but even their most ardent in-house apologists would have trouble batting away the irony of new titles like "Highway to Hell" and "The Suffering" (an "action-horror" title set in a prison). Also sparking at Midway are Spy Hunter 2 (which will not be in the hands of Paradigm again, we understand, but Angel Studios!), NARC (which could be based on the Ray Liotta film of the same name we suppose), and ESPionage (which is an MGS-style game which sounds like a sports crossover). All of these titles will be multi-platform, appearing on PS2, Xbox and Cube, and as you'd expect, we're promised more on them during E3.

Datel (remember them?) has announced a keyboard for GameCube, allowing PSO owners to explain to one another how and why they all suck. The "PowerBoard" will cost £19.99 and should be in stores "worldwide" by March 28th. Beyond that it's nothing too special - you've all got keyboards, and this one is the same as those. There's one in front of you right now in fact. This one looks like that, except it's purple and black. Enjoy.

This week, Microsoft is "recognising that colour allows people to express their individuality," announcing a range of coloured Xbox controllers - and asking that gamers pick the shades for themselves. Until March 31st, you'll be able to vote at www.xbox.com on which colours you want to appear in the MS range, with "a vivid palette of choices, including red, green, orange, green, blue, clear and green". Or thereabouts. Microsoft will then unveil the new range of controllers at E3 on May 14th. They will go on to appear on US store shelves by October, priced $29.99, and in Europe soon after.

The UK chart has a new number one at last, after Activision's excellent Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven made it to the top after debuting at No.4 last week. The Sims slipped to No.2, but could feasibly be back at the top very soon, with the Xbox and GameCube versions due out on April 4th.

Those of you who are 'going in', or doing whatever IGI stands for these days, may be pleased to learn that IGI2: Covert Strike publishers Codemasters has released a free, downloadable multiplayer mission via their website. The map is part of a larger update, which "enhances the game's online and LAN multiplayer functionality".

Well, gosh, we're very sorry about that folks. Those of you who summer here regularly will remember that the site fell off the Internet a little while ago much to our mutual disgust, and came back up after a few hours of downtime. Well, sadly, the same thing happened for most of today, and Eurogamer would like to wholeheartedly apologise to those of you who had to do some work this beautiful Monday. We gave up and had a beer in the park - sorry!

Back in the day, automated AI sentries went off like car alarms if you got within 50 yards. Their all-seeing eyes were enough to pierce the backs of their own heads, pools of water, wooden doors, metal constructions and even time as they annoyed the hell out of cautious players and exhibited 'artificial intelligence' to frighten even GM crops. But whichever boot camp it was that pissed forth these furious vesicles of world domination, banana theft or whathaveyou, it must have been shut down oh so long ago, because these days the average grunt makes no effort to sprint, all guns blazing into the jaws of my sword, preferring instead to flail about uselessly in the dark until mercifully dispatched.

CDV has rechristened its Xbox action adventure game Core, announcing The Kore Gang early this morning. The game is an Xbox exclusive set in a world basking in an "explosion of colours, bizarre characters and scenarios that resemble a trip to a crackpot planet in some far away cosmic galaxy." The stars of the game, "Wacked-out gang members" Pixie, Madboy and dog Rex will share the magical Kore Suit, which enhances the wearer's abilities like a strength multiplier. The suit will morph according to the personality of the wearer, and Swedish developer UDS (whose biggest success seems to have been Ignition on the PC) will use this to build interesting new experiences out of the suit's capabilities, we're told.

Interplay has sold off the rights to the Hunter: The Reckoning licence. According to reports, Vivendi is now in charge of publishing rights to the game (based on the White Wolf paper and dice role-playing titles). Interplay cited financial strategy - in other words, they need the money. "Our focus has been on improving our balance sheet and steering the company toward highly profitable content," Interplay Chairman/CEO Herve Caen said in a statement.

LucasArts has slipped Star Wars Galaxies from its original April 15th US release date, so you can be sure we won't be seeing it any time soon. The reports come straight out of Lucasville, along with news that the third beta - expected to provide a much more representative look at the final game - has been postponed. Rained off? What?

Digital Theater Systems used the 2003 Game Developer's Conference to announce a free licence for use of its multi-channel sound tech in PS2 games. All game which were DTS certified prior to April 1st, 2004 will quality for zero fee status according to reports - and of course any initiative to get better surround sound into PS2 titles is to be applauded.

Ah, Roman action games - another oversubscribed genre without any truly decent specimens. Rather like Vietnam titles, eh? Acclaim has changed the name of its Roman action game "I Gladiator" (like it or loathe it, it's different) to Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance. According to Acclaim UK this morning, the new name is a product of focus groups and, barring any legal obstructions, should be what you see on the box later this year. The game is due out on PS2, Xbox and GameCube.

One of those Vietnam games has had a demo released. Actually, the demo of nFusion's Line of Sight: Vietnam was released late last week, but it was an exclusive for paying customers of FilePlanet so we didn't bother to mention it. You can download the 175MB demo here - the game is a typical Vietnam-cast title which focuses on the sniping, and the demo comprises a tutorial, a single-player mission, three multi-player maps and four MP modes.

Although Ubi Soft in the UK will offer "no official confirmation," C&VG reports that the publisher let slip in a Q&A forum that there will be a Rayman 4. OK, it's not the most shocking news in the world, given the most recent title's widespread critical acclaim and Ubi's penchant for stretching franchises (say hello to Tom Clancy's Day Off), but we know that you like to be kept abreast of these things.

Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb, the long awaited third person action follow-up to The Infernal Machine, has finally gone gold on the PC according to LucasArts' official website. The game is due out in the US on March 26th. It should be out by the end of the month over here also, and has started picking up critical momentum - PC Gamer in the UK awarded it a mid-70s score.

Final Fantasy X-2, the first ever direct sequel to one of Square's FF titles, has sold an astonishing 1.2 million copies on its first day of availability. According to Square reps, nearly two million copies of the game were shipped to retailers and pre-orders and preliminary sales data accounts for over half.

It's perhaps with a degree of irony that the gods of the sequel, Electronic Arts, has announced the sequel to god game Black & White, which once again forces you to make moral choices: to buy or to ignore, buy or ignore, buy or ignore…

Nintendo of Europe is hoping to stimulate demand for the GameCube in Europe by offering £30 (50 Euros) off the standard retail price of the console with the first 400,000 Game Boy Advance SP units on sale, which launches on March 28th across the continent.

Acclaim Studios Cheltenham, fresh from churning out Paris Dakar Rally 2, is setting its sights on the recently announced Beach Volleyball, or Summer Heat Beach Volleyball to give it its new officially confirmed title. The title was apparently held back from being officially named until Acclaim's efforts to secure a big-name licence fell through. But who exactly in the world of beach volleyball is a big name? Hitomi?

Comments made by Polyphony Digital president Kazunori Yamauchi during a Tokyo press conference about Gran Turismo 4 are being put under great scrutiny this morning, as fans of the series try to work out what Yamauchi-san's ambiguous outburst really means.

Cyberpunk FPS Devastation will be previewed in multi-player demo form on March 20th (that's next Thursday), according to publisher NovaLogic and developer Digitalo. The MP demo will contain two maps (Emberacdero Depot and the Union Rail Yard, apparently), with plenty to do in Deathmatch, Streetwar and CTF modes. Digitalo is hoping to entice players with its beautiful OFX Particles and real-world physics engines.

Virgin and Interplay have announced that Run Like Hell for Xbox has gone gold. The expanded version of the game features a new hydroponics level, five additional rooms and several new adversaries, and takes advantage of the Xbox's DD5.1 surround sound and HDTV support. Furthermore, mini-games and skins (for what?) will be available via Xbox Live when the game is released in April.

Although there are technically only two games we recommend this week - in the respective shapes of slaughter-hungry The Mark of Kri on PS2, and that icon of simian scintillation, Super Monkey Ball 2 - few would argue that this is the best week of the year so far for gamers.

PC RPG series Fallout is making the transition to consoles, Interplay and US distributor Vivendi have announced. The new title, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel will appear on PS2 and Xbox in Q4 2003, and has been shaped to best fit the console systems.

IGN has returned to the subject of the next Mortal Kombat game, after reporting that a second MK Advance title would appear on the GBA. Midway has apparently confirmed that the new title will be called Mortal Kombat: Deadly Revenge (see what they did!).