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Games which receive as much hype as Turok has inevitably fail to live up to expectations. Somewhere along the line, they slip up and disappoint, and however great the sum of their parts, they fail to capitalise on all the attention and excitement surrounding them. In Turok's case though, Acclaim never really gave themselves a chance. Instead of being a resoundingly good game with a few crippling problems, Turok is crippled by poor design and a lack of innovation, and sadly it's just not much fun to play.

Unreal Tournament 2003 was one of the biggest attractions at ECTS, and it didn't even have its own stand. The UT2003 tourney on NVIDIA's concourse drew crowds, but we also saw UT running on Intel's machines at the other end of the room. It's a popular game, and now this popular game has a soon-to-be-popular demo, and just for you chaps, we have an unswamped download location of which to take advantage. The UT2003 demo consists of four maps (two deathmatch, one capture the flag and one bombing run), and features most of the weapons which appear in the full game. The only catch is that it weighs in at a stupendous 100MB. Then again, it's a sizeable chunk of playtime. So, quit your lollygagging this fine Saturday morning and get some hot smoking shrapnel inside you. You can download the UT2003 demo from our friends at blueyonder right here. Related Feature - Unreal Tournament 2003 screenshots

As we suspected they might, Microsoft plans to make a major Xbox Live announcement at this year's Tokyo Game Show - an Xbox-exclusive massively multiplayer online RPG by the name of True Fantasy Live Online, developed in-house with the help of Level-5 Inc. True Fantasy Live Online is set in a fantasy world where wizards (complete with broomsticks and pointy hats) fight alongside heavily armoured knights in an ongoing quest to vanquish evil. As is typical of MMORPGs, players can tailor their in-game avatars to fit their playing style and personal preferences, but TFLO makes a big departure by harnessing the Xbox's voice communication feature. This is probably a first for a game of this kind. Microsoft believes that it's "a far cry from bulky keyboards that require putting down the controller," and they're right, but we'll be interested to see how the legions of MMORPG fans out there adapt to voice chat. Xbox Live is due out later this year and the European starter kit which gets you going includes 12 months prepaid subscription, the Xbox Communicator device and a series of demos which can be played online. Source - press release

Novalogic has released the multiplayer demo of Black Hawk Down, something which was meant to happen yesterday, but only showed up in the evening when our circuits has frazzled to a halt. Set in Somalia in 1993, the game is based on the Operation Restore Hope and Task Force Ranger campaigns which quickly deteriorated into Operation Totally Screwed as evidenced by Ridley Scott's seminal war flick. Fortunately, the demo isn't quite so harsh on the average trooper, and instead offers you the chance to hop online and fight over three variants of the "City Limits" map as either red or blue. You can download the 56.6MB file from our friends at blueyonder. Related Feature - Black Hawk Down preview

Ah, it's good to see publishers getting back into the swing of things and offering us a Friday with enough gaming juice to fill a pint glass, isn't it? Topping the list of games you're most likely to buy this week are Resident Evil on the Cube and Tekken 4 on the PS2, we'd imagine, but that's not all by any stretch of the imagination. And beware, we've heard... things... about Tekken 4. Things which don't bode well. Fortunately we've heard nothing but good things about SCi's Conflict: Desert Storm, which is a nice change for a company which has endured a few flops lately. Desert Storm hits PC, PS2 and Xbox today, and we hope to give you some idea of its worth in the coming week. Also on PC, the long-awaited release of Divine Divinity, a complicated RPG if ever there was one, and the release of Disciples II: Dark Prophecy, the subject of this week's competition - fancy winning a copy of the game and saving yourself the headache of agonising over it in your local games joint? step right this way... PS2-owning fans of the fringe will be pleased to see that Eidos' Way of the Samurai has finally made it out on the Fresh Games label. We were eminently taken with this when we procured an American import a while ago, describing it as the perfect vision of episodic gameplay with a few niggles. That still stands, and we hope to bring you a full review shortly. However, it would be fair to say that you can't go too far wrong - if you fancy a story which lasts about three hours but which you can play in an enormous number of ways, then it's time to wipe the blood of your katana and bury it in some rogues. Xbox owners, meanwhile, should consider carefully the purchase of young Buffy. She's an upstart with a dodgy accent, certainly, but rumour has it her combat mechanics and engaging storyline open her up to a whole new audience, even one outside of the show's traditional grasp. We'll have a review of this just as soon as EA sends us a copy. [Glances around.] Finally, GameCube and GameBoy Advance both profit this week. The Cube gets the aforementioned Resident Evil, and a clutch of games which probably aren't worth your money (not even Capcom could save Disney's Magical Mirror from the fate you were probably expecting), but the GBA manages two-out-of-three must-have releases! Beat'em'up fans should rush out and immediately purchase Guilty Gear X, a superb adaptation of a very ornate, very rewardng fighter from Japan, and... well, just about anybody with a pulse should pick up a copy of the long-awaited and oft-delayed Speedball 2 Brutal Deluxe. For many, it's reason enough to buy a GBA. New Releases - CubeDisney's Magical Mirror Pro Tennis WTA Tour Resident Evil Street Hoops Worms Blast GBAGuilty Gear X Sabrina the Teenage Witch - Potion Commotion Speedball 2 Brutal DeluxePC Autocracy Batman: Vengeance Conflict: Desert Storm Cycling Manager 2 Disciples II: Dark Prophecy Divine Divinity Matchbox: Cross Town Heroes Rugrats: All Growed Up - Older & Bolder PSX None. PS2Conflict: Desert Storm Street Hoops Tekken 4Way of the SamuraiXbox Commandos 2 Conflict: Desert Storm Loons Street HoopsTetris WorldsRelated Feature - UK Release Date List

Resident Evil. We're familiar with this, yes? A mansion on the outskirts of a messed up city, zombies crawling out of the corners and lunging for your throat, dogs leaping through windows, giant snakes, fright after fright and the constant thud, thud, thudding of your heart as the Evil grips you by the throat and chokes the fear right out of you.

Earth 2150 is back after a gap of well over a year, and renamed development studio Reality Pump has polished the visuals and built a series of campaigns around the game's stunning graphics engine. We were lucky enough to get our hands on the first couple of missions in one of the campaigns, as well as the opportunity to skirmish with the AI to our heart's content. And boy was our heart content...

Sony still hasn't officially told anybody what's going on with the PlayStation 2 online service in Europe. Although a recent report in the official PS2 mag here in the UK shed some light on proceedings, pointing to a broadband-only service and a handful of games, this shouldn't be construed as official confirmation, and it's still nigh on impossible to get anything out of Sony. Still, if OPS2 printed it, it must have been pretty credible, right? We do expect to know more by the end of next month, but until Sony bothers to tell us all what's going on, don't take anything for granted. On the software front, both Tecmo and Sony are reportedly working on new online games. Tecmo's Breaker is scheduled for release during 2003 (shocking), and seems to involve warring factions and a battle for supremacy blah-blah-blah. Breaker should be unveiled at the Tokyo Game Show later this month if reports are correct. Another title in development for PS2's online service is Genki's Tokyo Highway Battle Online (working title). Again, expect to hear more at TGS. Sony also has a game in the making, Blue Squad, which sounds mostly the same as Breaker, except it's set on Mars, where the government and anti-government armies are locking horns. However, Blue Squad is said to include a co-operative mode alongside the traditional teamplay option, and in a nice touch, support for up to four players instead of the expected two.

Sony has announced a curious new head-mounted display peripheral for PlayStation 2. The unit, which will be confined to Japan for the moment, carries two 0.44-inch 1.8 million-pixel LCDs attached to a pair of overhead headphones. It really does sound like a dodgy VR headset prop from a 1980s science fiction drama, doesn't it? Sony has gone on record as saying that the displays are about equivalent to watching a 42-inch screen from a distance of two metres, and have revealed that thanks to a connected interface box and appropriate PS2 software, the device can also track user's head movements and display corresponding images. Speaking of software, compatible games are promised soon from "some vendors". A bonus feature of the headset is that it can be wired to the output of DVD players or VCRs for widescreen viewing, but given the price tag of 59,800 yen (roughly €510) we half-expected it to include DVD or VCR functionality, not to mention the PS2 itself, none of which it does. Still, if you're interested in this peculiar toy, besides giving me some of your huge flipping great wads of disposable cash, you will want to know about dimensions and weight and things like that. The head unit is apparently 200x100x250mm when folded, so it will actually look like one of those 80s VR headset props, and it weighs 340 grams. One small advisory though: children under the age of 15 shouldn't use the product, and those with eye or heart conditions are strongly urged to check with a doctor beforehand. That's 'doctor', not 'mad scientist'. The display will be released on September 26th, but Sony is taking pre-orders (presumably from Japanese consumers only) on its jp.playstation.com website.

Ah, good old pre-release bug patches. Those of you waiting patiently for EA's Battlefield 1942 (due out next Friday) will want to use the time to download the 1.1 patch, which addresses problems that arose during demo testing. Sadly, the game was too far-gone into the production stages to allow for implementation of these fixes in the release code, but at least they do exist, eh? The 15MB patch released late last night fixes the 60Hz refresh rate lock in Windows 2000 and XP, with a fix for Windows 98 and Millennium promised in the near future. It also addresses various other less interesting problems, mostly to do with the interface and underlying code. They also fix server stability. Speaking of servers, those of you who plan to host one can download the 50MB standalone server at version 1.1, which will happily accept retail clients on all 16 maps across all game modes. You can download the client patch here and the server patch here, both courtesy of our friends at FilePlanet. Related Feature - Battlefield 1942 screenshots

Admit it. When you first heard about Go!Go! Beckham! Adventure On Soccer Island, you thought it was going to be awful. All the signs were there! Rage's less than stellar output of late, the other Beckham games, the... odd looking screenshots. Fortunately, this is a very different and much better game than any of the others, and it's all thanks to the genius of Scottish developer Denki.

Wario World was recently given a December 6th release date for Europe by Nintendo, but according to reports from the US, the game in development at Ikaruga developers Treasure has been set back until the first quarter of 2003. Now it looks set to appear alongside the likes of 1080: White Storm and The Legend of Zelda.

Although we haven't usually much time for third party peripherals (just as they haven't much for us before they die irreparably in a wince-making pile of unreliability), 4Gamers managed to tickle our fancy with a new range of wireless controllers this morning. In the absence of decent radio-based wireless controllers for PS2 and GameCube at the moment (due on the one hand to an inexplicable desire to use IR, and on the other to a platform holder's tardiness), these pads in the "PlayFree" range, which operate on the 2.4GHz radio frequency and boast a range of 10 metres are something of an unexpected blessing. With the usual perks like switchable modulation to allow for multiple pads and included batteries, they seem like the perfect toy. And not content with that, they get one up on Nintendo's WaveBird by including vibration motor functions, although whether or not this chews up battery life to extent Nintendo said it would remains to be seen.

The Teenage Mutant Hero Ninja Turtles (yes, we know what a goddamn ninja is, thank you) are heading back to the gaming arena, courtesy of Konami. In an announcement made after we went to bed last night, the current rights-holder for the series, Mirage Licensing, is said to have granted Konami exclusive permission to develop and publish games worldwide based on the upcoming American animated series. This isn't the first time Konami has sunk its teeth into the Ninja Turtles. During the 80s and early 90s, Konami shipped a total of more than a dozen games based on the mutated martial artists and accumulated a pool (or soup, perhaps) of nearly $250m. The first games based on the rejuvenated franchise are due to arrive in time for Christmas 2003. The TV series upon which they will be loosely based will start showing on US screens this Saturday, September 14th. Depending on its success, it should be all over the globe by the time the games arrive.

Stealth shooter IGI 2: Covert Strike has received a realism boost in the shape of former SAS operative Chris Ryan, who has become the military consultant to the game, which is due out on PC this November. The chances are you recognise the name but can't place it, which is probably about right for a stealthy SAS operative. Chris Ryan is famed for his involvement in a botched eight-man operation behind enemy lines during The Gulf War, Bravo Two Zero. He later recounted the details of his escape in his book, The One That Got Away, and went on to become a best-selling author with a number of books to his name at the time of writing. Chris' input into IGI 2 will be to advise developer Inner Loop on the accuracy of the game's covert tactics and 30-plus arsenal of weapons. Chris will also front a series of videos providing tactical advice, presumably in-game. Related Feature - IGI 2: Covert Strike screenshots

This year's Tokyo Game Show runs from September 20th to 22nd, and it seems that by reducing the show to a single, annual appearance, the organisers have once again attracted a huge number of key titles. The show now even rivals E3 for sheer volume, and seems no less relevant to Western gamers.

Electronic Arts have officially announced the existence of Xbox and GameCube versions of Medal of Honor Frontline, and in addition to the widely respected single player adventure the team behind the ports will be chucking in a 2-4 player split-screen deathmatch mode. EA has promised the games "this fall" in the US, a curious period which straddles autumn and winter in these climes, and we'd expect to see it over here in the spring. There would be little point in EA's throwing it into the already packed winter schedule this year. EA has also released a number of screenshots of the Xbox and Cube ports, including a couple of Xbox shots which showcase the multiplayer aspect. The screen is split horizontally, and the level of detail in these shots alone is arguably on a par with, if not superior to the PS2 version. Related Feature - Medal of Honor: Frontline review (PS2)

British developer Rare, the legendary studio founded by the Stamper brothers, is thought to have been bought by Microsoft in a deal worth between £250 million and £350 million - with an official announcement expected at X02 in Seville later this month. The studio, which has traditionally been seen as one of Nintendo's leading second-party development houses - producing key titles for the N64 such as Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Banjo Kazooie and Jet Force Gemini - is currently working on Starfox Adventures for the GameCube, and the production of that title is thought to be unaffected by the deal. The future of Rare's other GameCube titles, however, is uncertain. Many of them may make the transition to the Xbox - with the forthcoming Perfect Dark 2 expected to be an Xbox exclusive title, for one. Work on the company's Game Boy Advance titles is likely to continue unaffected, as Microsoft has already indicated a willingness to co-develop titles for that platform. The strongest confirmation of the deal yet has come from sources within the company, who told us that employees were notified of the deal in the past fortnight. The Stamper family has made its intentions to leave the games industry clear for around two years, but a rumoured sale to Activision fell through when the number two publisher baulked at the asking price of the studio. Nintendo is a major shareholder in Rare, owning approximately 49 per cent of the company; it's thought that it will be selling its stake to Microsoft as part of the deal. Rare's relationship with the Japanese platform holder has cooled significantly over the past few years, particularly due to the recent departure of long-time allies within Nintendo such as Howard Lincoln. Having persuaded vital Japanese giants such as Sega, Namco, Square and Capcom to develop for the Cube, Rare's importance to Nintendo has diminished greatly, and the lure of Microsoft's greenbacks seems to have been enough to convince them to part with their stake in the studio.

Think "Tecmo" and what comes to mind? Own up, I know exactly what you thought; you thought "boobies", and you were quite right. Tecmo will forever be known for their pneumatic fighting series Dead or Alive and little else, and it's a myth they seem only too keen to perpetuate with their forthcoming contender for most gratuitous game of all time, Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball. And if you're struggling to think of what else they've made, it's hardly a surprise - but their latest release, arriving via French publisher Wanadoo, shows that this is a team that knows how to thrill in more ways than one.

Wolfpack's entry in the ever expanding massively multiplayer role-playing genre has been held back until some time next year. According to a post on the game's official website, Shadowbane will no longer be released in November as previously planned, with the company deciding "to extend the beta test through the holiday season" in an effort to make sure that the final product offers "the best possible game and service experience" for players. In the meantime, beta testers can look forward to a new version in the near future which will feature "a number of long-awaited enhancements". Although Shadowbane is rather primitive looking in terms of its visuals at this stage, the underlying gameplay does bring something new to the genre. There's a greater focus on strategic elements than in most games of its ilk, with player guilds able to control sections of the game world and construct temples, fortifications and other buildings. Of course, the bad news is that this side of the game only really comes into play once you've spent many hours building up your character with more traditional adventuring and hack and slash levelling in true MMRPG fashion, but at least there's the potential of a more interesting experience for high level gamers than simply bashing ever more powerful monsters. Related Feature - Shadowbane screenshots

Audio has always been a strong point of the Grand Theft Auto games, with a range of in-car radio stations on offer featuring all kinds of music, surreal chatter, outrageous jingles and bizarre adverts. Fans will be glad to hear then that GTA Vice City is promising more of the same, with over eighty bands set to be included in the game. Big names that have been revealed so far include Blondie, Judas Priest, Kool And The Gang, Grandmaster Flash and .. er .. Flock Of Seagulls. All of which should help players get into that authentic 1980s vibe. And for those of you who just can't let go, Rockstar are teaming up with Sony Music to release no less than seven Vice City soundtrack albums, featuring all the songs you were tired of twenty years ago. Probably. Each album is based on a different radio station from the game, covering everything from hip-hop and heavy metal to soul and pop ballads. "The Grand Theft Auto franchise has always broken the boundaries of what videogame soundtracks can be, and Rockstar Games, along with Sony Music and Epic Records, have set a new standard with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City", Rockstar's COO Terry Donovan is quoted as saying. "The Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soundtrack albums will arguably represent the most diverse, extraordinary and innovative collection of music ever assembled for any piece of entertainment - whether it be video games, television or feature films. Every track was lovingly and laboriously chosen to reflect the vast array of 80's musical styles and create the perfect audio landscape for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City." Here in Europe we should get to hear the benefits of that loving at the tail end of October. Related Feature - GTA Vice City screenshots

London-based developer Asylum Entertainment has built up a reputation over the last four years for its TV tie-ins, covering everything from Galidor and Cubix to Walking With Dinosaurs and Dr Who. Recently they've moved into developing original games as well though, with the Victorian horror adventure game Curse: The Eye Of Isis due out through Wanadoo towards the end of this year. And today the lid comes off their biggest project to date - Kid Ninja. By day Jet is just another boy, but by night he becomes Kid Ninja, using his Ninjitsu skills to save the world from the evil Raging Dragon spirits, aided only by his magical stuffed toy Kuma. Set for release on all three console systems, Kid Ninja features a mixture of colourful cartoon graphics and fast moving martial arts mayhem as you guide the eponymous masked hero in his battle against evil. The whole thing has a very angular, stylised look to it which is quite eye-catching, and if the gameplay is half as fun as the trailer Asylum could be on to a winner. The game is just part of the package though - Asylum are promising a "gripping storyline" which will cross over into TV, film and comic books, with music, action figures and toys all in the works as well. It's certainly an ambitious concept, reversing Asylum's normal habit of building games around existing TV series by creating an entire new franchise from scratch, stretching from game to cartoon to comic book. It's perhaps no surprise then that Kid Ninja isn't due to arrive until the spring of 2004, giving Asylum plenty of time to polish all the various components. While you're waiting though, we have the first in-game screenshots, renders and concept art from the Kid Ninja game for you, as well as a great two minute trailer in bandwidth-saving DivX format, which should give you some idea of what to expect. To view the trailer, simply right click on the link and download the file to your hard drive. Related Feature - Kid Ninja screenshots and art

The London Underground comes in for a lot of flak, but although we're used to hearing about overcrowding, wonky escalators and late running services, it's not often that it's blamed for bringing about the end of the world. Reign Of Fire is a bit unusual then, starting with work on a new section of the Tube waking hibernating dragons, who proceed to take over the Earth and eat lots of young maidens. Probably.

The GameCube control pad just wasn't built for 2D beat 'em ups. Take a look at the directional pad - it was built to be treated like a second set of individual buttons, pretty much the way it been treated so far. Then there are the four main face buttons, which are clustered for simple control systems, not attacks and blocks arranged by force and limb. And despite the developer's best efforts to the contrary, Capcom Vs. SNK 2 EO never really feels right.

CDV have confirmed that American Conquest will be available in the UK some time early in 2003. Developed in Ukraine by GSC Game World, it's a follow-up to their real-time strategy epic Cossacks, but with the action (fairly obviously) transplanted to the New World. Players will get the chance to take control of the destinies of twelve nations, ranging from English, French and Spanish colonists to Mayan, Sioux and Aztec natives, with over a hundred units and buildings between them. As Cossacks fans would expect, the game features warfare on a truly mind-boggling scale, with up to 16,000 individual units in a single map and battlefields that can stretch across six hundred screens at 1024x768 (that's almost 472 million pixels, fact spotters). All of the advanced multiplayer features introduced in the Cossacks expansion packs should find their way into the new game as well, with support for eight player online and LAN battles, complete with in-game alliances, as well as a global ranking system to keep track of your progress. Needless to say, this is one we're looking forward to. Related Feature - American Conquest screenshots

Datel's Freeloader is still a short way off, despite recent claims to the contrary. We're aware that just a few weeks ago we highlighted a "dead cert Friday, August 23rd release date," but how prophetic we were when we said "the cautious amongst you ought not to chuck out your Japanese and US Cubes just yet." As a number of people have pointed out, Datel's website now states that the project is in the late stages of development... something of a step back from the brink of distribution, but we are still clinging onto the possibility of having it by the end of September. Those of you itching to play Super Mario Sunshine ahead of its October 4th European release date, or Super Monkey Ball 2, or any of a number of high profile US releases we haven't had yet, should keep an eye on Datel's Codejunkies.com website for more information. It would be worth doing so, because we don't plan to mention Freeloader again until it rests snugly in our GameCubes and in a place where you, the ever-patient public, can buy it.

PlayStation 2 motorbike racing game Riding Spirits should be arriving in Europe later this month, courtesy of BAM! With two hundred bikes to ride, including as-yet unreleased models from the likes of Honda, Kawasaki and Suzuki, it should prove a hit with motorbike nuts if nothing else. Even your riding suits and bike parts are fully licensed, with the credits you earn in tournament races used to customise your vehicle with new engines, mufflers, tyres, mirrors, headlights and other bits and bobs. Reviews from the US (where the game is already available) have been somewhat mixed, but hopefully we'll have a clearer idea of how it shapes up soon. In the meantime, we have four brand new (if rather low resolution) screenshots of the game for you to squint at. Related Feature - Riding Spirits screenshots

Blizzard have always said that they were going to be tough on people using cheats and hacks to gain an unfair advantage in Warcraft III multiplayer matches. Exactly how tough was revealed on Friday night, when the company announced that it has closed down some 20,000 user accounts to date. All of the offenders (who were caught using map hacks) had their ladder records wiped and were banned from playing any more ladder games with that CD key for two weeks. Although the cheaters could still play non-ladder matches through the service, Blizzard are promising that repeat offenders' CD keys will be permanently banned from Battle.net if they continue using hacks. So don't do it - cheating ruins everyone else's enjoyment of the game, and you could end up black listed if you're caught doing it persistently. Related Feature - Warcraft III review

Having enjoyed the PC version of Commandos 2 so much last year, I've been eagerly awaiting the PlayStation 2 version, if only to see what Pyro could achieve within the limitations of the hardware. And with support for keyboard and mouse, this needn't be any less significant than its PC forefather, right? Right?

Aggressive Inline impressed us by coupling its shamefaced mimicry of Tony Hawk with a laundry list of changes we'd hoped to find in the great Birdman's fourth iteration due out later this year. Although it suffered from a few control issues here and there, and didn't push the envelope graphically, it did introduce a progressive, experience points-based reward structure. It also packed each of its enormous levels with fiendish tasks, not to mention eye-catching and occasionally dynamic design.