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Infogrames will be unveiling a new Civilization III expansion pack at the E3 trade show in Los Angeles later this month. Subtitled Play The World, the pack will add eight new civilizations, new leaders, new terrain sets and map features, interface and control tweaks, and (most importantly) full multiplayer support. A choice of turn-based, simultaneous and (for the first time in the series) real-time gameplay will be on offer for those playing over a LAN or the internet, with game modes varying from capture the flag to traditional Civilization world conquering fare. Play by e-mail and hotseat support will also be included for a more sedate multiplayer gaming experience. "[Our fans] love Civ III and they are telling us they want more - more interesting civilizations to play, the ability to play with their friends, and a chance to create their own unique Civilization worlds", according to Sid Meier. "We've listened and we're giving them all of that, plus much more." There's no word yet on when the expansion pack will be released, but no doubt all will become clear in the wake of E3. Related Feature - Civilization III screenshots

Microsoft finally has something to celebrate in Europe, with the announcement that the recent Xbox price cut has revived flagging sales of the console. Figures from the UK, France and Germany showed the Xbox running neck and neck with the PlayStation 2 in terms of unit sales during the week of the price cut, although obviously the GameCube launch last week has since left both Nintendo's rivals standing in a cloud of dust. Attachment rates have also risen, with ChartTrack figures apparently showing that an average of 3.7 games were sold with every Xbox following the price cut. "I'm glad that more gamers in Europe are able to experience Xbox for themselves", Xbox Europe VP Sandy Duncan proclaimed. "The new price allows us to be more competitive and make serious inroads into the hearts of European gamers leading up to Christmas 2002. As we've said before, this is a marathon, not a sprint. These initial figures are extremely encouraging, but it is delivering great games and great experiences to hundreds of thousands of happy consumers in Europe over the long term that is our most important goal, and we will continue to drive initiatives to continue this cycle of success." Related Features - Cheap At Half The Price

Activision's latest financial results gave the company cause for celebration last night, with net revenues for their last financial year (which ended on March 31st) up 27% on the previous year at $786m, while profits were also well up at $52m. The Tony Hawk phenomenon was largely to thank for the strong showing, with Activision claiming that the series (which was released on everything from GameBoy Color to Xbox last year) is now the biggest independent gaming franchise in America. Strong sales of Tony Hawk on the PC, aided by the likes of Jedi Outcast and Return to Castle Wolfenstein, saw Activision's sales for the beige box growing rapidly, while Wreckless and (you guessed it) Tony Hawk 3 helped to make the Xbox the next biggest selling format for Activision in the first three months of 2002.

Although we got our first glimpse of the game almost a year ago, Titus have today re-announced Robocop for the GameBoy Advance, releasing fresh screenshots and new information about the title. Based on the original Robocop coin-op, the game puts you in the role of Officer Murphy as you battle enemy agents, enforcement droids and special boss characters across the mean side-scrolling streets of Delta City. Robocop should be stamping out crime on a GameBoy Advance near you this October, with an expected retail price of £29.99 in the UK. Related Feature - Robocop GBA screenshots

Nintendo has announced "a flying start" to the young GameCube's life in the UK. The diminutive console, launched on 3rd May this year, sold 75,000 units in two days according to Nintendo UK general manager Andy Williams, perhaps vindicating the platform holder's decision to implement a £129.99 price point. However, our sources within the industry have cast doubt over the figure, pointing out that the industry standard ChartTrack figures contest the claim. The Cube is completely sold out up and down the land. To put Nintendo's claim into perspective, the PlayStation 2 sold just over 40,000 units in its first week on sale in the UK, although supplies were restricted. It will be interesting to compare the console's first month sales to those of the Cube this time in June. Although no official figures are available at the time of writing, Microsoft's Xbox is not thought to have sold anywhere near 75,000 units during March, nor in the tail end of April when it underwent a price reduction. Related Feature - Europe Cubed

Cube owners: forget E3. I don't normally find myself with reason enough to say that, but just forget it. Namco may have a few games lined up for the show, but they are nothing compared to the bomb the company just dropped on the Japanese gaming industry. Rumours were bandied around yesterday that the next Star Fox game for the GameCube would be co-developed by Nintendo and Namco, and that a Triforce arcade version would also be developed. This morning, the two companies confirmed the rumours, announcing a deal to co-develop and release the game in Japan during April 2003. What role Rare will now play in the series' future is difficult to say. Some consider this announcement confirmation of the British developer's multi-platform strategy. Apart from its Star Fox deal though, Namco also confirmed the rest of its GameCube line-up, and it's seizure-inducingly good. The ubiquitous Mr. Driller may be pencilled in for the end of the year, but Soul Calibur 2 is now scheduled for January 2003. Put that one in your diary. The biggest announcement by far though has to be a new Ridge series racing game, tentatively scheduled for release in March 2003. If we're a bit late with this news it's because your humble correspondent fainted abruptly upon digesting said information. Japanese gamers can also look forward to an instalment of the Tales RPG series for July 2003, along with an original RPG for the end of next year, but it seems unlikely that either title will appear in the West. GameBoy Advance owners can look forward to Family Tennis Advance and Famista Advance this June, along with Mr. Driller Ace and Klonoa of the Wind G2 in August. Looking further ahead, Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 2 is due to appear in October with another Klonoa game in November and then an untitled puzzle game and Tales of Phantasia aimed squarely at December. Of those, the Klonoa games and Family Tennis are likely to make their way westwood. Related Feature - Namco announces E3 line-up

LucasArts have announced a barmy new third person action-adventure game for PlayStation 2 and GameCube. Titled RTX Red Rock, but having nothing to do with the eponymous brand of cider, it pits you as a Radical Tactics Expert [don't ask - Ed] going by the unlikely name of Eugene Zeno Wheeler. Geddit? EZ Wheeler. Ho ho. I bet it took them hours to come up with that gem. The plot goes rapidly downhill from here, involving an alien invasion of Mars and a "young and beautiful" officer called Cimmeria Rajan to rescue from the nasties. Along the way you will be fighting aliens (inexplicably known as LEDs) across the surface of Mars, taking in underground waterways, frozen deserts, alien ships and a ruined human colony. Throw in a selection of cybernetic implants for Mr Wheeler (whose right arm must be a serious hazard in everyday life, with not only a grappling hook but also a taser and grenade launcher built in) and claims that "state-of-the-art computer techniques allow LucasArts to blend realism and fantasy, bringing players to planet Mars in a way never before possible", and the cliché quota appears to have been generously filled. "We know players will quickly welcome E.Z. Wheeler into the LucasArts family of heroes", LucasArts marketing drone Tom Byron intoned. "This game perfectly blends them with a rich, compelling story and gripping game play." With a spring 2003 launch on the cards and the E3 trade show looming large on the horizon, we should know soon whether the game is as daft as it sounds... Related Feature - RTX Red Rock screenshots

An arcade orientated Formula 1 racing game. These words don't fill me with confidence. But having sampled Downforce first hand over the last couple of days, I'm willing to overlook the game's somewhat tenuous premise. Downforce is a great little arcade racer, perfect for mindless unwinding after a hard day at the office, and based on the preview code I've been playing, I'm willing to bet it will find a home in the niche of racers currently occupied by the likes of Star Wars Racer Revenge.

Rage have revealed that they will be releasing a new updated version of the demo for their first-person-shooter-with-vehicles Mobile Forces. Due out tomorrow afternoon at 5pm GMT, it will once again feature the Holdout gameplay mode and the wild west themed map seen in the original demo, but will enjoy a number of tweaks and tucks to both the gameplay and game engine.

Mr Moskeeto is part of Eidos' plan to open a floodgate of odd and intriguing titles from Japan on their Fresh Games label, and it's fair to say that it more than fits the bill. It's not every day you come across a game in which the primary objective is to assume the role of a tiny flying insect on a blood-sucking rampage around a family home. It involves aerial acrobatic skills, stealth and cunning, quick reactions and, perhaps best of all, cute Japanese girls. But we'll try not to let that make our minds up... ahem.

Leading Japanese news agency Kyodo has uncovered details of PlayStation 3 from Sony insiders, Spong.com is reporting. The report claims that the new machine will be developed at a cost of $400 million, with significant input from IBM and Toshiba as previously reported. The console is pencilled in for a 2005 release when fibre-optic networking is expected to be commonplace, and the report claims that the console might be online only with games delivery handled through a central online service, negating the inclusion of a DVD drive. PlayStation 3 is also said to be 200 times faster than PlayStation 2, which obviously smacks of the sort of pre-launch hype the PS2 enjoyed. Sony has refused to comment on the reports, which would unquestionably put them at odds with retail if confirmed. Related Feature - PS3 to use distributed computing

Reports emerged last Friday of a serious structural flaw in the GameCube casing. Due to the deep moulding of the plastic, hairline fractures are visible on a lot of the GameCube units, often running from the buttons to the extremities of the console, and it was suggested that these fractures could get worse with age. Unconfirmed reports suggest that one such hairline fracture is visible in a Nintendo TV advert. The hairline fractures can be seen quite clearly under direct light, but are hard to detect under normal lighting conditions. The good news is, and we have this on the authority of a professional plastic worker and not a PR bunny, that these fractures make absolutely no difference to the integrity of the GameCube unit. If you dropped a brick repeatedly on the console then you might do some damage to it. But, of course, the same could be said about the PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Both of this writer's GameCube consoles (one NTSC, one PAL) exhibit the problem, but the NTSC Cube has been sitting in my lounge for what is now close to nine months, and has partaken of numerous trips up and down the country, and one house move. It still functions normally, and looks identical to the PAL Cube. Nintendo declined to comment on the reports this morning, telling us only that this has absolutely no effect on the software playback. Despite their evasive attitude, there seems little reason to make a mountain out of this particular molehill. Related Feature - Europe Cubed

Austria's JoWooD has announced its results for the first three months of the year, posting a slight operating profit as sales more than doubled to €14m. The company is upbeat about the future as well, with new games such as Cultures 2 and The Guild making the top ten in Germany, and the likes of Michael Schumacher Racing World Kart and Industry Giant 2 on their way over the next couple of months. In all JoWooD has about thirty games in development at the moment, including a mixture of both in-house and external projects. Related Feature - Schumacher returns to Karting

Joining the illustrious ranks of Ubi Soft and Sega, Namco has announced its E3 line-up for 2002. Although Soul Calibur 2 and the rumoured Ridge Racer VI will be absent from the show floor, the good news is that a US version of Xenosaga will be on-hand (due for release in Q1 2003), flanked by PS2 versions of Tekken 4 (August) and Ninja Assault (TBA). Xbox owners will once again catch a glimpse of action / noir thriller Dead to Rights (TBA). Here's a proper rundown -

The ubiquitous World Wrestling Federation is no more, having lost a worldwide court battle to trade under the infamous WWF acronym. In light of the court's decision, the company has rebranded itself World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE, a move which should allay the concerns of plaintiffs the World Wildlife Fund. The WWE unveiled its new-look logo on Monday Night RAW yesterday evening in the States. Tours, merchandise and branded products will all be altered to reflect the change, and this is likely to include the licensed wrestling videogames published by THQ. If you're a WWF, sorry, WWE fan, then liberal use of an indelible marker should bring your purchases into line with the new corporate image. Related Feature - WWF Smackdown: Just Bring It! review

Belgian developers Larian Studios have released a demo version of their promising looking role-playing game Divine Divinity, which we previewed last week. Due for release later in the summer, the oddly titled game should offer a nice half-way house between the all-out action of Diablo and the more plot-driven antics of Baldur's Gate. The good news for role-players looking for something to fill the void until Morrowind's European release is that the demo features the first 5% of the game, equating to an estimated ten hours of gameplay. Which is more than can be said for many of the full retail products we've seen recently. The bad news is that the download size is just over 400Mb, so unless you have a lot of time and bandwidth to spare you'll have to wait for it to appear on a magazine cover disc. The rotund of connectivity can grab the file from any of the following sites though -

Several years after it debuted on the PC, Revolution's point-and-click adventure Broken Sword has made its way onto the GameBoy Advance. And despite the limitations of the format, the result is a surprisingly faithful translation.

Not content with developing games based on The Great Escape, The Italian Job and Thunderbirds, SCi have this week picked up another retro license. This time it's the rights to develop and publish games based on three of Alistair MacLean's best loved novels - Where Eagles Dare, The Guns Of Navarone and Ice Station Zebra. All three novels were turned into classic movies during the 1960's, starring the likes of Clint Eastwood, Richard Burton, Patrick McGoohan and Gregory Peck. So although the license is perhaps a little old fashioned these days and Alistair MacLean himself long dead, the virtually constant reshowing of the novels' movie adaptations on TV should give the games a boost. Details are sketchy at this early stage, but the first games are expected to emerge some time in 2004, and SCi are promising to "remain faithful to the original storyline in the books". No doubt we will hear more soon...

Championship Manager developers Sports Interactive today revealed that they have made a bid for some of ITV Digital's assets. Namely, the bankrupt broadcaster's infamous monkey mascot, seen in countless bizarre adverts over the last few months. Replicas of the monkey were also given away to new subscribers, many of whom are no doubt now sticking pins into the toys in the hopes of causing a slow and lingering death to the company's management as more and more of their channels get switched off each day. "Quick to spot the potential of the Monkey business, Sports Interactive was among the first to put in a bid for the rights to the Monkey character", according to a press release issued earlier this afternoon. "A successful bid would also result in Sports Interactive taking responsibility for liberating the thousands of Monkey cuddly toys currently imprisoned in a warehouse at an undisclosed address in battery farm style conditions." Sports Interactive director Miles "Monkey Lover" Jacobson claimed that "all of us at SI love the Monkey character", adding that "we would be delighted to see him associated with Sports Interactive and Championship Manager in the future". Note, some or all of the above may in fact be completely untrue. Related Feature - The Old Firm Flies South

Activision today confirmed that they will be publishing id Software's latest effort Doom III, which should come as no great surprise to anybody who hasn't been living under a boulder the size of a small third world country for the last few years. On a slightly more interesting note, the press release also reveals that the game will be debuting at the E3 trade show in Los Angeles later this month. To date all we have seen of the new Doom is video captures of dimly lit tech demos, but with any luck we should get a clearer impression of the game soon. "Doom III will change what people expect to see and experience in a PC game", id CEO Todd Hollenshead enthused. "We couldn't be more psyched about Doom III, and are thrilled to debut the title at E3 with Activision. Get ready to be terrified." Related Feature - Doom III screenshots

While the long overdue arrival of the GameCube in Europe is the big news this week, the industry has also recently witnessed the rebirth of the Xbox, following a dramatic £100 price cut just six weeks after its relatively disappointing debut. European Xbox PR supremo Paul Fox wouldn't tell us how many Xboxes the company has sold in Europe so far, saying that "we typically don't provide sales breakdowns on a regional basis", but industry estimates suggest that less than 200,000 units were shifted in the console's first month on sale.

Nintendo has released a number of photographs taken at last night's GameCube launch spectacle in Oxford Street, London.

According to Nintendo's UK PR, early reports suggest that 10,000 GameCubes were sold in the console's first two hours on sale in the United Kingdom, and that 80 percent of the first day stock has been sold. Large numbers of gamers are said to have queued for up to three hours last night outside HMV in Oxford Street to get their hands on the Cube, but midnight openings elsewhere were less crowded. Nintendo shipped 500,000 GameCubes to Europe, according to the company, and plans to reinforce that with a further half million in the unspecified "launch period". Despite rampant pre-ordering, claims of tiny allocations and rumours of a complete sell-out, many gamers were able to pick up their Cubes quite happily this morning. Related Feature - Europe is finally Cubed

Reuters is reporting that Nintendo will unveil its online strategy at E3 later this month. The press conference is scheduled for 21st May, the news agency's source told them. Speculation about Nintendo's plans has been rife ever since the console was originally announced. In a forthcoming sales brochure, leaked recently, it emerged that the company plans to release a 56k modem adapter, but the same document was devoid of information on broadband peripherals. Related Feature - Cube goodies leaked

Nintendo has purchased Metroid Prime developer Retro Studios, the company announced yesterday. The Austin, Texas based developer cost the Japanese gaming giant one million dollars, the price of the remaining 55 million shares in the company, in which Nintendo previously held a 21.4 percent stake. Previous owner, Jeff Spangenberg, now plans to pursue other business interests. Metroid Prime is due out later this year, and is being overseen by Nintendo's creative genius Shigeru Miyamoto.

It's Friday, 3rd May 2002, and you all know what that means. Nintendo GameCube launches in Europe today, completing the worldwide rollout of the company's latest console. Here in the United Kingdom, the first console was picked up by 19-year-old Sarah Dodd, from Clapham. Sarah's 16 hours in the queue were generously rewarded with a free console and a handful of games. "I came with a friend and I feel a little bad that I was number one and he was number two," she told the BBC. "But I will let him play some of my games." The BBC puts UK pre-orders alone at some 50,000 units. Related Feature - Europe Cubed

Xbox sales are soaring down under, one of our Australian readers tells us. After cutting the price of the console from AU$649 (roughly £237 / €385) to AU$399 (£146 / €237) on Friday, the console has been rocketing off the shelves. "This is because the Aussie dollar is still down the toilet compared to the strong pound, from the Asian crisis a couple of years back," Geoff writes. "One of the Queen's quids gets you AU$2.73 at today's rate." Australian Toys R Us merchandise director John Redenbach claimed sales of the Xbox on Friday and Saturday were 2.5 times the entire launch week. 25 percent of sales were consoles reserved at the new price. Other retailers, including Electronics Boutique, are said to be delighted with the price drop's effect. "It was almost like launch all over again," EB marketing director Steve Wilson told AustralianIT, adding that the chain did about 60-70 percent of the sales it did at launch. Microsoft will learn next week whether these strong sales trends have continued. Nintendo's GameCube has yet to launch in Australia, but has already been slashed to AU$329 (£120 / €195) and is expected to fly off the shelves in a similar manner. Related Feature - Xbox reduced to 299 Euros

Take 2 have announced that British developers Firefly are working on a follow-up to their popular castle building sim Stronghold. Subtitled Crusader, it moves the action from Europe to the Middle East, giving you the chance to work on your tan, build an impregnable desert fortress and lay siege to the locals. The game will feature four campaigns to keep you occupied, putting you in the boots of either Richard Lionheart or Saladin as they battle it out in medieval Syria and Palestine. New units such as mounted archers, assassins and teutonic knights are available, along with a wider range of siege weapons, which will hopefully play a bigger part in the game this time round. Naturally the castles themselves have also received an overhaul, with new Arabian inspired architecture to construct, oases to defend and lots of sand. While we weren't the world's biggest fans of the original Stronghold, it was an interesting concept, and if Firefly can get the AI up to scratch and tweak the gameplay a little, they could be on to a winner. Expect more news soon, with a summer release currently on the cards. Related Feature - Stronghold Crusader screenshots

Novalogic have suspended work on their dark action-adventure game Necrocide : The Dead Must Die, which was expected to appear on shelves later this year. Featuring fanciful undead creatures designed by famous fantasy artist Brom and settings ranging from Louisiana to Turkey, the game was looking quite promising at one stage. According to a statement sent to us by UK PR bod Chris Clarke, Novalogic "have decided to pull Necrocide from our current development schedule .. after recently reaching a world-wide agreement for a hugely exciting multi-format project". Exactly what this new project is remains a mystery at this stage, but an announcement is due at E3 later this month. Related Feature - Necrocide : The Plot Must Die

Some say Wave Race: Blue Storm was the best of the Japanese launch titles. If you spent a large sum of money on importing the Cube and its three major releases, you will certainly feel that way. The N64 version of Wave Race, chaperoned through development by Shigeru Miyamoto, whose name is so synonymous with high quality releases that even our word processor recognises it, was heralded as a breakthrough in aquatic visuals and the first truly impressive jet-ski game.