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Star Wars Episode II : Attack Of The Clones enjoyed a rapturous reception at the Odeon cinema where yours truly first saw it last night. The film, released globally on 16th May (for which we love Lucas), is a spectacle of unparalleled visual splendour which left this writer speechless. Can you imagine that? My friends thought I'd had a stroke. Admittedly, there are those who disagree, but I feel sorry for people who didn't leave the film feeling as good as I did. Frankly, if Lucas is a bad director and script writer, then I'm glad, because if he had done any better with that film I might have died. One of the things the film has done is give shape to the array of games currently in development based upon it, and many sections of the film were clearly inspired by videogames, which is nice to see. Having completed the impressive Jedi Starfighter on PlayStation 2 last month, I can tell you that nothing revealed by the game goes any great way to spoiling the film, which doesn't floor the viewer with too many plot surprises but relies on wave after wave of amazing computer generated visuals and features a climax to wet the pants of lifelong Star Wars followers. If anything, having played Jedi Starfighter I was able to enjoy the film with ease, not having to concentrate on committing names and details to memory as I might have done otherwise. Nevertheless I would recommend those eager to play the game wait until after the film, because it's an excellent piece of supplementary entertainment perhaps intensified by having witnessed the movie itself. I certainly plan to play it again. Soon. The impending release of the (perhaps superior) Xbox version should see to that. It will take your mind off the wait for the DVD release for sure. Those of you fearing spoilers may also wish to avoid the comments thread attached to this news item. Although criticism will be rife of the acting, the reliance on computers and perhaps even the plot itself, there is enough in Attack of the Clones to endear it to any action film fan, and I make no apology for my own intoxication. Think of it as a big computer generated cartoon, give it a chance to impress you and watch what Lucas does with characters like Jango Fett, C-3PO, R2D2, Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Count Dooku and more. Jango's forthcoming game, for instance, has joined a number of titles on this writer's 'games to watch' list, and with any luck the inevitable successor to the Xbox's disastrous Obi-Wan outing will finally do McGregor's character justice. Related Feature - Jedi Starfighter PlayStation 2 review

Infogrames have officially announced that they have signed a deal with Korean company Phantagram to develop a new Total Annihilation game. The original was arguably the greatest real-time strategy games ever made, so it's a big pair of boots for the developers to fill, but Phantagram CEO Sangyoon Lee is confident that "the new Total Annihilation promises to be one of the most innovative and futuristic strategy games ever". Details are still fairly thin on the ground at this early stage, but the deal opens up the possibility of next-generation console ports and another sequel should things go well.

Infogrames has started to exploit its exclusive Dungeons & Dragons license to full effect, with the announcement today of a new console game titled Dungeons & Dragons Heroes. Heading to the PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube this autumn, Heroes will "take gamers on an adventure of epic proportions", with up to four players battling side by side. Based on the latest third edition rules, the game will allow players to act as fighter, wizard, cleric or rogue, with a wide choice of skills and feats to choose from and plenty of monsters to slay. Heading up the team at Infogrames' Hunt Valley studio is Wizardry 8 veteran Brenda Braithwaite. "What we are doing with Dungeons & Dragons Heroes is designing a game with a decidedly action-oriented flair that will be easy for even a new player to grasp but will immerse the seasoned D&D player in an authentic D&D adventure that will give them the same feeling they experienced with the classic tabletop roleplaying game", according to Brenda. "Each new game will be a different and exciting experience depending on the mix of characters players choose to venture out with, giving the game great replayability." Naturally the game will be on show at Infogrames' stand at E3 next week. The rest of us will have to make do with staring at the game's teaser site until more information is released.

While it's been available in Germany for some time now, the latest installment in the Earth 2150 series of real-time strategy games was never released in the UK. Until now. Akaei have stepped in to publish Earth 2150 : Lost Souls in the UK, with a third quarter release on the cards. Once again there will be seperate single player campaigns for the Eurasian Dynasty, Lunar Corporation and United Civilized States, giving you different perspectives on the impending chaos. This time round it's the end of the world as we know it though, as those unfortunate enough to have been left behind on the doomed Earth fight it out for a last desperate chance to escape. Hopefully Lost Souls will prove to be more impressive than its rather lacklustre predecessor The Moon Project, but fans of the series will no doubt lap it up regardless. Related Feature - Earth 2150 : Lost Souls screenshots

Codemasters have snapped up exclusive licensing rights to publish games based on the Indy Racing League, America's answer to Formula 1 for people with no sense of direction. Ferrari 360 Challenge developers Brain In A Jar will be producing the first game based on the license, with PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions all planned for release next year. Indy Racing League now joins Colin McRae and TOCA Race Driver on the publisher's line-up, which is starting to look like a dream ticket for motor sports fans. "Codemasters is responsible for some of the most respected and successful console racing games ever", managing director Nick Wheelwright commented modestly. "Together with Brain in a Jar we are going to deliver a game based on the exciting IRL series which will continue our own exceptionally high standards." Hopefully the new game will manage to match the excitement of the old Indy Car games from Papyrus. Many of our older readers no doubt still have fond memories of driving the wrong way around Indianapolis at 200mph... Or was that just me?

Eighteen months ago, the launch of the PS2 in the UK was dogged by a lack of quality software. As the giant Japanese publishers singularly failed to provide compelling games for Sony's new wunderkind, it fell to a previously unheard-of developer in Nottingham to rescue the show with a clever and quirky first-person shooter which went by the name of TimeSplitters. With the sequel due for a public airing at E3 later this month, we take a sneaky look at the successor to the game that came from left of field to steal the PS2 launch crown.

Austrian publisher JoWooD today announced a surprise deal to snap up Fishtank Interactive from owners Ravensburger. The take-over brings nine new games to JoWooD, including promising titles such as first person role-playing game Arx Fatalis and Lovecraftian horror title Call Of Cthulhu. The deal also sees Ravensburger Interactive chairman Thomas Kirchenkamp joining JoWooD as Chief Technology Officer, while former CTO Johann Schilcher goes back to managing the company's Ebensee development studio. "This agreement is another important milestone in our successful corporate strategy", beamed JoWooD CEO Andreas Tobler as the news broke. "Ravensburger Interactive has an excellent brand name and a very promising product portfolio with potential for topping the charts. We are strengthening our position as the biggest German speaking publisher and at the same time are becoming a key European player." Related Feature - JoWooD doubles sales

Industry criticism of last year's ECTS has been answered by organisers CMP today, with the surprise announcement that Europe's leading videogames trade show ECTS has been moved for the second time in as many years. Since last year's ECTS ended the organisers have said that this year's show would be taking place in the gorgeous air-conditioned opulence of the Excel exhibition hall in London's Docklands on September 1st to 3rd. But with just over three months left to go, the show has been moved back into central London (Earls Court to be precise) and shifted up a week to August 29th to 31st. "This is a massive evolution for the ECTS brand, but one which will strengthen the show enormously", according to event director Andy Lane. "The move to Earl's Court provides us with the perfect stage to host both consumer and trade elements of the show." Of course, two months ago they were saying the same about Excel when plans for a consumer element to the show were first unveiled. Meanwhile Sony will be opening up another part of Earl's Court to the masses during ECTS as they hold a major PlayStation show alongside the traditionally trade-only event, with some third party publishers expected to be in attendance as well. No doubt this will draw crowds, with celebrity appearances and sports activities planned as well as the chance to play the latest PS2 titles. "Sony's massive involvement will help to bring the entertainment and excitement back to ECTS", Andy added. "This event will be the biggest European promotional platform that the industry has this year and I'd like to encourage everybody to be a part of what will be a very exciting week for the industry." Whether this will be enough to reignite flagging publisher interest in ECTS remains to be seen though. Certainly publishers we spoke to prior to the venue change were less than enthusiastic, with one particularly outspoken PR rep telling us "I bloody well hope not" when we asked him whether his company would be at ECTS this year. Hardly a ringing endorsement, but hopefully these latest changes will improve matters without diluting the show too much. Related Feature - ECTS 2 : Attack Of The Fanboys

3DO took the art of spin to new levels last night with a press release euphemistically titled "3DO shows improved fourth quarter results". In fact sales were down on the previous year. For the three months to the end of March revenues were $16.3m, a fall of about 14% compared to the same time last year. Meanwhile sales for their entire fiscal year were a mere $54.7m, sliding almost 32% year-on-year. On the bright side, the $12.5m loss posted this time last year was reduced to a more manageable $1.7m shortfall, with talk of the company breaking even again this year. The press release puts the improvement down to "better games [and] spending cuts" which have seen the company's costs (and work force) slashed in recent months. Given the quality of most of the 3DO games we've seen lately and the continuing slump in their sales, the latter seems a more credible explanation for the turn-around. "Industry conditions have continued to be difficult", CEO Trip Hawkins claimed, despite the fact that almost every other publisher in the industry has seen sales rocketing over the last year. "But we believe that 'less is more' and have reduced our spending in line with what we expect the market can give us." Related Feature - 3DO slumps (this time last year)

Xbox manufacturer Flextronics is planning to move production of Microsoft's console from Hungary to China, it emerged today, although work will continue at the company's other Xbox factory in Guadalajara, Mexico. Despite highly disappointing sales in the Far East to date, there are apparently already plans to open a second Xbox plant in Asia in the future, presumably to take advantage of cheap labour in the region. "We are confident that through the local supply base and our substantial buying power we can help Microsoft reduce product costs and assist in meeting the growing worldwide demand for Xbox", Flextronics CEO Michael Marks told the press. Meanwhile Microsoft's Xbox hardware supremo Todd Holmdahl insisted that the move will "result in significant cost efficiencies". Whether or not this includes the cost of shipping the consoles half way around the world to Europe instead of moving them down the motorway from Hungary isn't clear. More details of the move emerged from Reuters yesterday, with Holmdahl telling the news agency that "from the start .. we knew we wanted to be in China at some point, but we were also on a very tight development schedule", debunking suggestions that the move was spurred on by a need to reduce production costs in light of recent price cuts. "As we move into the next phase of the program, cost and efficiency are very important and we are going to execute on our plans to move to China." The bad news for European retailers is that it will apparently take anything up to five weeks to transport Xboxes to Europe in future, presumably on a slow boat from China. Microsoft don't see this as a problem though, with Holmdahl telling Reuters that the company can "more accurately gauge demand" in Europe now, making it less important to have a local supply of the console. Well, that's one way of putting it. Related Feature - The Empire Strikes Back

Zelda has slipped from December of this year to February 2003, IGN is reporting. No reason has been given, but development delays on major Nintendo products are hardly unusual. In better news, during MSNBC's appraisal of the console war, the writer gushes about Metroid Prime: "Nintendo allowed MSNBC to play through the first level of Metroid Prime, and the game far surpassed all expectations. A first-person perspective adventure, this game stands poised to do for GameCube what the multimillion seller GoldenEye 007 did for Nintendo 64." Although it's a bit of a cliché to use the GoldenEye comparison, this is exciting news. The only question that remains is, what were their expectations? Related Feature - Miyamoto on Zelda and Mario

The Xbox might be the only current console capable of connecting to the internet out of the box, but according to a report from Reuters the only place to play Madden NFL online this year will be on the PlayStation 2. The latest installment in EA Sports' massive American Football franchise will apparently support the PS2's new broadband and dial-up adapter, which is due to launch at about $40 in the US this summer, but not the pay-to-play Xbox Live service from Microsoft. While this is obviously of little interest to Europeans, Madden shifts in excess of a million units each year in the States and consistently tops the all formats chart, much like the FIFA franchise on our side of the pond. "We are still in discussions, but at this point it does not appear that EA Games or Madden Football will support the online features of the Xbox this year", EA's Jeff Brown confirmed to Reuters. It's not clear whether the issues that are holding EA back from supporting Xbox Live are financial or technical. By contrast Sony will be demonstrating Madden NFL 2003 as part of their online gaming presentation at E3 next week. A press release from EA also revealed that the company has "plans for additional EA Sports and EA Games franchises that will take full advantage of the PlayStation 2 console's online capabilities", none of which will be appearing on Xbox Live any time soon. If things pan out this way, a total lack of support from the world's biggest third party publisher would be a hefty blow for Microsoft, who have always touted the built-in online capabilities of the Xbox as one of its major advantages over the competition. Microsoft has recently been describing itself as a heavyweight in the online arena, but this latest announcement is sure to give Sony more reason to celebrate. Related Feature - Nintendo reveals online plans

Hot on the heels of yesterday's report about a Texan boy's lawyers claiming that violent videogames made him shoot his teenage friend to death comes a similar story from Australia. This time the idiot in question is a 26 year old called Trevor Edward Holton, who was brought to trial this week accused of killing a police officer during a prolonged high speed chase last year. According to the prosecution the man was an avid fan of Need For Speed : Hot Pursuit, "engaged in a real life re-enactment of the computer game". Whatever the reasons, the chase came to a tragic end when Trevor Holton swerved across the road to avoid spikes which were being deployed in an attempt to stop him, a move which he apparently later told the police he'd learnt from the game. Unfortunately in the process he hit the police officer who had been setting up the spikes, sending him flying 80m down the road to his death. The driver then fled the scene after his stolen car flipped over and landed on its roof, only to be arrested later in the day. Of course, this isn't the first time that videogame-related violence has hit the headlines in Australia. Last year the shooting of a security guard at an abortion clinic in Melbourne was rather bizarrely blamed on Half-Life, while more recently Grand Theft Auto 3 sparked controversy when politicians discovered the game allowed you to pay prostitutes for sex and then run them over to get your money back. Related Feature - Australians blame Half-Life for shooting

In a move which is sure to bring a smile to the faces of many of our older readers, handheld specialists Crawfish are teaming up with veteran British developers The Bitmap Brothers to bring some of their classic Amiga titles to the GameBoy Advance. Gods, Magic Pockets and the ever popular Chaos Engine will all be getting a 21st century make-over, with "new features, new maps and enhanced gameplay" being promised to buttress the retro gaming charm of the originals. The graphics will also be tweaked to make the most of Nintendo's multi-million selling portable gaming system, while Chaos Engine will use the link cable to support up to four players, with brand new multiplayer maps being added to fully exploit this feature "We're absolutely thrilled to have the chance to turn these classics into exciting and original games for the GBA", Crawfish development director Mike Merren is reported as saying. "Like crafting a remake of a celebrated movie, our aim from the start has been to capture everything that's special about the original games and then take them that little bit further, making them stand out as great games in their own right." Hopefully this batch of remakes will be more Invasion Of The Body Snatchers than Psycho. Related Feature - Crawfish Advance

I pity the poor sod that had to write this extraordinary press release. In fact, I'm tempted to take EA up under the trade descriptions act, because this isn't so much a press release as a press book. Why not bind it in leather and send it soaring across the globe using an interstellar catapult platform? It's EA - they're bound to have one. Anyway, instead of going over each game in turn - because we would like to post this item before E3 - we will focus on the highlights, with a big list at the end, because you love lists. Yes you do. Right, sports fans. Care to guess what's on the agenda? My money is on everything we saw last year with 2003 on the end of it. Let's see, shall we? This stuff will be available on every platform under the sun: Madden NFL 2003, NBA Live 2003, NASCAR Thunder 2003, 2002 FIFA World Cup (shipped), Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2003, Knockout Kings 2003 (Cube only, oddly), NHL 2003, F1 2002 (shipped on Xbox, out soon on the rest), NCAA Football 2003 and Freekstyle (it's got a bike in it - bikes are a sport, or something, but apparently only on Cube and PS2). Anyway, I win. What else? Well… Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets from UK-based Argonaut (cheer) is currently set to appear on virtually every console ever. The PSone version of the game will be a simple successor to the original game, whereas the other 'next generation' versions are all being done by a different development team within Electronic Arts. A C64 version has not been ruled out. [Don't think I'm not reading this, kiddo - Ed] The recently announced James Bond 007 NightFire will be on display, along with the likes of the Xbox version of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter (yes, we know Crave already announced that). Here's the rest of the list:

Although it has escaped the attentions of some (including us, cough), Microsoft also plans to chop the price of Xbox in Japan from 34,800 yen ($271 / £187 / €300) to 24,800 yen ($193 / £133 / €213), returning the country to the position of the cheapest place to buy the console. The price cut will become effective as of 22nd May, but Sony has also said this week that it would allow retailers to begin discounting PlayStation 2 in Japan. Related Feature - The Empire Strikes Back

Nintendo has confirmed that its GameCube console has sold 400,000 units since its launch date of 3rd May, a figure which represents 80 percent of the console's shipped units. Sales estimates for the United Kingdom alone approach 100,000. Related Feature - Cube tops 75k in two days

When the Cube was in development, one of the things that got us really excited was Nintendo's intention to produce an official wireless controller which used RF (hurrah) instead of IR (boo, hiss). It is a given these days that for magical reasons known only to the people who design them, third party controllers are always bad, bad, bad beyond the measure of gentle journos like myself, and thus the prospect of the console's Daddy actually doing the dirty work gave the project mouth-watering potential. WaveBird was its name, and like the console itself, Nintendo is currently toying with how to launch it. According to a release in the States, WaveBird will launch at $34.95, the current asking price for the official controller, now arriving on 10th June. In turn, the Dual Shock 2-alike we all love will drop to a fairly paltry $24.95, and to top it all off, that's effective immediately. Further WaveBird details have emerged this week. The controller will take two AA batteries, and this is expected to allow for over 100 hours of use. However, the controller will only now be effective over a range of six metres, instead of the previously suggested ten. However, there will be 16 RF channel frequencies, so multiplayer bouts are perfectly possible, even with four of the things. In fact, you could have four Cubes and 16 controllers and they should still not interfere with one another, and of course RF, unlike IR, is not a line-of-sight system, so your mate can't cheat using strategic Labrador positioning. No release or pricing information is currently available for the United Kingdom or Europe, and with the current GameCube controller on sale for £24.99, it's difficult to say where pricing is likely to go. One possible outcome is that the controller will launch at £34.99, but if we were being optimistic, we might expect it to launch at £24.99 with the current controller dropping in price to compensate.

It's over six years since Duke Nukem 3D was released, and while we're still waiting for the true sequel to the game, any number of (mostly very bad) spin-offs have been released since then. The latest such sideshow for the Duke is The Manhattan Project, developed by Sunstorm of Deer Hunter infamy. But we'll try not to hold that against them.

Microsoft has cut the price of Xbox in North America to $199 this morning, confirming the suspicions of industry observers and analysts. The price cut puts the console at a rough £137 / €219. Further to the hardware price drop, several of the console's software titles have been moved to a lower price bracket of $29.99, and memory cards will now run to $29.99 each. With Controller S now on the US market, the Xbox is a very attractive proposition. American gamers have never had it so good, and with the consoles now on a level playing field, the future for all three is very bright. Microsoft typically does not release sales figures by territory, as it told us after the Japanese and European launches, but in the case of the US where the console is now outstripping sales of the Cube, we expect that they will make an exception. Microsoft has so far addressed two of the console's major criticisms; controller size and price, and we understand that the company may be designing a smaller revision of the console (rather like a PlayStation-to-PSone transition), to address the third, size. Obviously the software is not in doubt, and at $199 a lot of the console's games may start to sell it to an even greater extent. Rumours yesterday indicated that Microsoft was replacing a few components in the console, and that another manufacturer had won the contract to supply DVD drives. This is thought to be a cost-cutting measure, but it is also expected to help the company curb piracy by changing the way vaunted mod chips will need to work. All in all, the only thing standing between Xbox and real success now is the public's perception of the console and the company which makes it. And I'm sure Microsoft can afford some competent spin doctors. Related Feature - SCEA drops prices

According to a report from Reuters, the attorney representing a 13 year old Texan boy who shot his friend dead is blaming violent videogames for the attack. Apparently the two teenagers had skipped school to play games all day, but the bout ended in tragedy when one boy grabbed a real gun and shot the other in the head and chest. The boy is now on trial for murder, with police arguing that he knew the difference between games and reality, while his mother is (quite rightly) being chased through the civil courts by the victim's parents, who are accusing her of negligence for leaving a loaded gun lying around the house. You have to wonder about some people...

As if the promise of new He-Man cartoons and action figures wasn't enough to get children of the 80's excited (or at least those of them with no taste in saturday morning entertainment), TDK have snapped up videogame licensing rights to the property. Yes, we can now look forward to He-Man and the Masters of the Universe appearing on PC and next-generation consoles. "Masters of the Universe is a retro-brand that is still tremendously popular", according to TDK CEO Vincent Bitetti. Certainly this news has our illustrious assistant editor dusting off his Castle Greyskull playset in anticipation.

IGI2: Covert Strike has been officially delayed until September. Those of you lucky enough to get onto the beta list received the email this lunchtime. Publisher Codemasters cites ongoing net code development as the cause for the delay, specifically QA issues with server code. Codemasters claims to have complete confidence in Innerloop's abilities, and from our perspective it's refreshing to see a publisher throw its hands up and say 'it's not ready, let's get it right'. All that remains is to see that they do. Related Feature - Project IGI review

UK developer Sports Interactive's management team has been nominated for Ernst and Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2002. Sports Interactive has been developing the Championship Manager football management simulation since the late 1980s, when it was just Paul and Oliver Collyer trying to entertain their friends. Along with the company's recently installed managing director Miles Jacobson, they are being recognised for their achievements. The threesome of finalists will be attending the Awards ceremony, to be held at The Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on 27th June, and confess to being humbled and honoured by the nomination, although Miles is still busy talking about ITV Digital's Monkey. Related Feature - Chimpionship Manager

SCEE is cutting the price of PSone to £49.99 from Friday, MCV is reporting. Speaking to the trade paper, SCEE marketing director Darren Carter described the move as to "true entry level pricing". "People new to gaming or else not ready to get into PS2 just yet will find the PSone experience much more accessible," he explained. Exact pricing outside of the UK has not yet been determined. Expect to see a price of around €79.99. Recently, SCEE president Chris Deering openly denied plans for a PS2 price cut in Europe. Having witnessed similar denials across the pond, and the subsequent 'surprise' price cut this morning though, we are disinclined to believe him. PlayStation 2 will drop in price soon. Ish. Update - we have since learnt that the European price will actually end up at €89.99. Quite why mainlanders are being forced to pay more than atypically fortunate Brits is a mystery. Related Feature - SCEA drops prices

Diminutive American celebrity Gary Coleman is set to star in Running With Scissors' POSTAL 2 on the PC later this year. "Evil hath no wrath like a lactose-dependant man scorned," Coleman explains in the press release. The game is already stirring up controversy, but apparently that's the idea. (Hint: usually points to a bad game!) "I've joined forces with the guerrilla army of Running With Scissors," Coleman continues, "to unleash the ultimate abomination for all to enjoy: POSTAL 2! Pull the pin and let me in! I'll help you take the game world by storm by getting rid of those daily 'politically correct' headaches with hand grenades and shotgun blasts!" Finally, a PR campaign we can relate to.

Sold Out has added six more titles to its range of budget releases. For the pauperly sum of £4.99 gamers can now pick up a modern classic, a modern turkey and a few modern also-rans. Homeworld, Daikatana, Urban Chaos, Nomad Soul, Excessive Speed and Akimbo. Homeworld, released in the tail end of 1999, is a refreshing take on the real time strategy genre. Hang on, that doesn't sound right. Meanwhile, Daikatana [insert cheap joke about lengthy development, substandard release, poor sales and studio folding] and [swipe at Eidos]. The pair can be had for £4.99 apiece. Or you could go for one of the other new titles in the range. Urban Chaos is fairly good, if a little dated, and Nomad Soul is one of the few games my chum from up the road bothered to complete on his PC. Related Feature - Garry Williams of Sold Out interview

Nintendo has cautiously entered the world of online gaming this morning. Announcing its online gaming strategy, slated to begin later this year, the company once again echoed the sentiment that it is "compelling and highly affordable" gameplay which will endear people to the concept of online gaming. Towards the backend of the year, the company will launch a v.90 Modem Adapter and a Broadband Adapter, both retailing for a suggested retail price of $34.95, and the GameCube's first online games will be Phantasy Star Online Episodes I and II. Episode I is the equivalent of PSO V2 on the Dreamcast, while Episode II is believed to be a proper sequel. While Microsoft and Sony have both attacked online gaming with all of their respective might, Nintendo has not created an enormous server farm and multiplayer hub system to rival Xbox Live. Nintendo will also not be taking a royalty cut from revenue generated by a publisher's online games. Some will label this softly-softly approach too soft, but others still will point to Nintendo's previous assertion, that widespread broadband uptake is conducive to a dedicated online gaming business model, and that we won't see that for another few years. In essence, this online gaming plan allows developers and publishers to do what they want without too much restriction. If they want to make an online game which only works with broadband connections, they can do that. If they want to make a game for everybody, they can do that too. But it's their lookout. What Nintendo will do with it however, remains to be seen. (Metroid Prime Online, please.) The company's press release says only that the facility for online play will be used to tempt big name developers and publishers to the format. Related Feature - E3 to showcase Nintendo's online plans

Last month Mindscape announced that they had signed a deal with Cryo to distribute fifteen of the French publisher's games here in the UK, and the first of these is expected to hit the shelves on Friday. Heading up the list is Jerusalem, the second episode of the Adrian Blake trilogy, which started with Pompeii. As the title suggests, this new game whisks Mr Blake off to medieval Jerusalem, where he will be trying to uncover a plot to break the peace that has been achieved between the city's Jews, Muslims and Christians. Ah, those were the days. Moving swiftly on we find Secret of the Nautilus, an adventure game inspired by the Jules Verne novel 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Set some time in the not-so-distant future, it puts you in the role of a young archaeologist carrying out a deep sea survey aboard a nuclear submarine. You get more than you bargained for though when you stumble on the Nautilus, ending up trapped aboard the Victorian sub with a psychotic AI. Now where have we heard that one before. Sadly it's not exactly Cryo's finest hour, and from what we've seen of the game so far your biggest challenge is finding tiny objects and hot spots, most of which are indistinguishable from the murky backgrounds, as you try to work out which of the twenty drawers in the room is the one that you can actually open. Frustrating, linear and a bit simple. And finally, how about something completely different? Due out in late June, Stealth Combat is a futuristic vehicular action game which gives you the chance to pilot everything from tanks and jeeps to helicopters and amphibious units. Playing as one of two unfortunately named agents - a bloke called Streak and a woman known as Moon - you will be carrying out a range of infiltration and recon missions as well as all out assaults, with scenery varying from dusty deserts to snow covered valleys and the obligatory big yard full of crates. The graphics aren't exactly cutting edge, but it does look quite nice, and hopefully we'll have some idea soon of whether the gameplay can match. Related Feature - Cryo games defrosted

Sending the excitable US press into a pre-E3 frenzy, Sony Computer Entertainment America has reduced the price of PlayStation 2 from $299 to $199, and PSone from $99 to $49, returning the US to the position of one of the best places to buy either console. The PlayStation 2's $199 price tag roughly translates as £137 or €219 at the time of writing, while the $49 PSone represents £33 or €54. Furthermore, Sony has reduced the price of peripherals. Both the PlayStation 2's official memory card and Dual Shock II controller have been reduced from $34.99 to $24.99, while the PSone's Dual Shock is now at $19.99. If you buy the official PSone / LCD panel bundle, it will cost $149 (down from $199). With SCEA having denied this pre-emptive price drop to the ends of the earth over the last week, speculation is now rife that Sony will announce something similar for Europe and Australia.