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Resident Evil 0, the first original Resident Evil title to appear on Nintendo GameCube, will be released in Europe on February 28th 2003 according to Capcom. The title had previously been down for "spring 2003".

Electronic Arts has managed to acquire the services of well-known thespian Gary Oldman, who will join the ranks of those contributing to Medal of Honor Allied Assault Spearhead by contributing the historical video voiceovers that appear before each mission. "My kids love playing videogames, so that influenced my decision to work on these games. It's just another way to express yourself as an actor," he was quoted as saying.

Infogrames has confirmed release dates for its upcoming Godzilla and Superman games. GameCube-based Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee will be the first out of the door on October 25th, before GBA-based Godzilla: Domination appears on November 8th. Meanwhile, both Superman: Shadow of the Apokolips on PS2 and Superman: The Man of Steel on Xbox will appear on November 15th.

Sold Out has confirmed its plans for November, with seven new titles to go on sale for £4.99, most of which we'd struggle to find anything wrong with. Carmageddon 2 will lead the way as previously announced, but it will also be joined by Codemasters' Colin McRae Rally 2.0. With the sequel just around the hairpin, more than anything this gives rally virgins the opportunity to see how she moves.

A UK-based text-chat company is to feature Java games on its Sky Digital channel. Txtme TV will launch their interactive games service with free trial versions of 'Caveman', 'Goldminer' and 'Detonate!', but the firm plans to expand the service to comprise over 60 games including the likes of Asteroids and Breakout. The initial salvo should be available on Sky Digital channel 686 either now or soon. Players will soon be able to upload scores from their phones and compete against one another for prizes.

Hong Kong based online retailer Lik-Sang, one of the most popular importers of console hardware and software, has reopened its website for business after over a week offline which resulted from a lawsuit filed by Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft with the high court of Hong Kong.

Rockstar games has sent out a very brief press release this afternoon, confirming that PlayStation 2-based Grand Theft Auto: Vice City has gone gold and is currently in manufacturing. The game will appear in the US on October 29th and Europe on November 8th.

When it comes to golf simulations, the one constant is Microsoft's Links series. We've seen Tiger Woods-emblazoned alternatives from Electronic Arts, an array of erstwhile competitors go the way of the bunker, and all the while Microsoft has polished and buffed its prize simulation to the extent that it really is golf through and through. But such a perfect simulation needs a beautiful shell to give it life, and unfortunately Links 2003 comes up short in that department.

EA has released a demo of the PC version of Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, which has received plenty of critical acclaim on the PS2. The demo, which weighs in at a rather hefty 93MB, lets you take a Ferrari 360 Spider or Porsche 911 Turbo on a run round two laps of the Calypso Coast stage. You can download the demo from 3D Gamers.

When we reviewed Hitman 2 last week, one of the things that really caught our attention was the quality of the soundtrack. It's so rare these days for a developer to score its own games - for a long time now the thirst for licensed tunes has conspired to crush those creative enough to bother with their own music. Fortunately, Io Interactive went against the grain, employing veteran interactive composer Jesper Kyd, whose works were performed by the 110 musicians of the Budapest Symphony Orchestra and Choir.

Microsoft's PC port of excellent Xbox rally title RalliSport Challenge has been completed and will be off to duplication shortly. The game is due out in Europe before Christmas.

MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries has gone gold and will ship to US retailers in time for a November 8th release. However, European fans may have to wait a bit longer, as MW4's release date has never been pinned down beyond autumn 2002. MechWarrior 4 puts players behind the controls of one of 35 100-ton war machines as they stomp through 19 new multiplayer maps and a story-driven single player mode. Microsoft encourages potential mercs to check out its official website for the latest news on the game.

Microsoft has confirmed that the Xbox bundle we showed you 11 days ago will appear on US store shelves beginning today. Priced $199.99, the bundle offers gamers an Xbox console, two games (Jet Set Radio Future and Sega GT 2002) and Controller S, which replaces the bulky original pad as the bundled control peripheral.

3DO's Street Racing Syndicate will appear on PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox, the publisher has revealed. Developed here in the UK by Eutechnyx, the chaps responsible for F1 World GP 2000, 007 Racing and Le Mans 24 Hours, SRS has you create your own street racing character and try to make them a name in a mixture of sanctioned and illegal competitions. The object being to accumulate a significant amount of money whilst avoiding any trouble with the law - an impounded car or jail term will do hell for your reputation.

If you share our fond memories of Angel Studios' Xbox launch title Transworld Surf, then you'll probably be pleased to hear that the game is headed to GameCube, admittedly rather late, with a number of exclusive features to make it more appealing. The changes take the form of a new level (Surf Antarctica, with its ice caves and frosty waters), 13 new hidden characters and a pro surf shop for customising each character.

It's difficult to say how the average Disney-loving child will take to Kingdom Hearts, because with four hours on the clock I've been treated to some of the finest moments in a Squaresoft RPG to date, and I'm not sure how anyone south of 12 is going to feel about assigning battle behaviourisms to Donald and Goofy, and arguing politics about the multiverse with Squall from FFVIII...

After the success of turn-based strategy web game Mini Combat, which ran at a rate of 50 games per hour for eight whole months (about 300,000 battles in total), publisher CDV has finally released Mini Combat II to celebrate and accompany the release of PC strategy title Combat Mission 2 (which went on sale last Friday).

Codemasters have released an update for Operation Flashpoint: Resistance, sized 13.6MB, which is available from the game's microsite ( direct link to download area). Players will need both the OpFlash: Cold War Crisis and Resistance packs to use the upgrade.

The good old light gun game has enjoyed something of resurgence this year with the likes of Vampire Night, End Game and Dino Stalker all helping to keep the RSI count high among twitch gamers everywhere.

SCEE has released the first details of Jinx, a third-person adventure in development at Hammerhead, whose previous work includes PlayStation ports of Blade and Quake II.

With the PC version of Final Fantasy XI due for release in Japan on November 7th, talk has now turned to elusive European release details. SCEE president Chris Deering reportedly told journalists recently that the game may not see the light of day until 2004, but even that seems to have been wishful thinking. C&VG spoke to a Square Europe spokesperson on Friday, who told them that "there are possibilities we're looking at right now", but that discussions are still ongoing. With the hard disk peripheral - a prerequisite for Final Fantasy XI - still unreleased in the US, and a date for the US release also still unconfirmed, it's going to be a long wait for European FF fans. Indeed, it's still very much an "if" rather than a "when".

The first patch for the retail version of Unreal Tournament 2003 is in beta stage according to Epic's Steven Polge, who released details of issues addressed and gameplay tweaks incorporated in the update on an official mailing list. This list has since filtered through to the official Infogrames forum, and you can read it here.

Capcom has released a video of the Japanese version of Biohazard 0, showcasing previously unseen aspects of the game including a bunch of flesh-devouring bugs and what looks to be a mansion section. Biohazard 0 stars Rebecca Chambers, the youngest members of the STARS Bravo Team and Billy Coen, a mysterious drifter, and begins on a train throbbing with the undead. The game is set to clear up a lot of the mystery surrounding the events in the first Resident Evil game, and takes the impressive visuals witnessed in the GameCube remake (recently released in Europe) to an even more impressive level. The 20MB video, running time 2:33, is available for download direct from Capcom Japan.

Codemasters' TOCA Race Driver will launch on PC this November 22nd, and promises as many as 20 cars tearing up the track simultaneously, compared to a mere 14 in the PS2 version. Another enhancement to the package is the inclusion of Dolby Digital 5.1 and EAX support, enabling reverberation and environmental audio effects.

Described as Thief meets Spy vs. Spy, Swedish development team Idol FX is working on a sneak, steal and trap-'em-up based around the idea of robbing a randomly generated palace before dawn whilst laying traps for unwitting competitors. The game is set in ancient China, and the object is to loot the most without succumbing to traps set by your contemporaries. It's your choice which traps and trap components to take into the palace for assembly, but the more you carry the less loot you can carry out.

I'm sure you'll excuse us for frothing at the mouth in excitement, but Blizzard has revealed that in addition to its forthcoming port of Lost Vikings to GameBoy Advance, the WarCraft developer will be reviving a couple of old 16-bit SNES titles to accompany it. Blackthorne, which puts you in the role of a lethal commando facing mutant monsters and goblin hordes on an alien planet, originally appeared on PC, SNES and Mega Drive (yes, Genesis, okay Franklin).

GameSpot reports that EA's hotly anticipated Aliens: Colonial Marines, which looked so promising in the screenshots released earlier this year, need be anticipated no longer, as it has been put on indefinite hold with little chance of the development resuming. The American website attributes the news to a source within publisher Electronic Arts, but no reason for the game's cancellation is offered, although the decision is believed to have been taken a couple of months ago.

We've seen this before haven't we? Comic book turns movie turns sequel turns videogame turns hideous cash cow. Blade II was a reasonable recent successor to the not-bad Wesley Snipes action flick, but can the fast action, insane martial arts and satisfying gruesomness be pulled off to proper effect in game form?

Sega isn't the only publisher pushing a beach volleyball simulation this year. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that, but while the others seem content to concentrate on promoting their glorified Barbie dolls, Sega's well-animated digital waxworks are merely a pleasant backdrop to what should be considered an excellent sports title. It's AM2's volleyball mechanics that deserve praise here, not the content of their C-cups.

Last year's TIF instalment was the most celebrated to date, enjoying critical acclaim in light of subsequently limp ISS and FIFA outings, and to this day it remains an outside contender for best arcade footy title on the PS2. This Is Football 2003 is a big step forward for Sony's London studio, ramping up the realism and tweaking the gameplay, but does it have the legs to outpace and challenge relentless attacks from Konami, EA and others?