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The long awaited multiplayer demo for Battlefield 1942 has finally arrived, giving punters the chance to battle it out over the internet while they wait for the full game to land on store shelves in late September. Weighing in at a rather hefty 125Mb or thereabouts, the demo features a single map (Wake Island), all five player classes and a selection of vehicles, including a dive bomber, fighter plane, APC and fast moving jeep. A single teamplay mode is on offer, which basically boils down to killing the enemy until they run out of lives, although you can also reduce their pool of lives by capturing control points. To see if the game can live up to the hype, grab the demo from any of the following sites -

Canadian publisher Strategy First have announced the release of a demo version of Celtic Kings: Rage Of War, a role-playing strategy game set in Gaul a couple of thousand years ago. Developed in Bulgaria by Haemimont (the company behind the tacky Tzar: Burden Of The Crown, though we'll try not to hold that against them), Celtic Kings features both a traditional real-time strategy mode and a more role-playing oriented adventure mode in which you guide a party of heroes around the world, building strongholds and raising armies as you go. To see if the game lives up to its potential, and to find out whether Haemimont have given their copy of Kai Power Goo a rest this time, grab the 90Mb demo from any of the following sites -

The summer release drought hits crisis point this week, with virtually no new releases on any platform. C'mon guys, we're running out of witty comments about tumbleweed here. Throw us a line? The only fresh arrival on the PC this week is the Primal Hunt expansion pack for Aliens vs Predator 2, adding three new missions for each of the three species along with four new multiplayer maps and a couple of new monsters and weapons. Meanwhile our less mature readers (by age or inclination) may want to take a look at Scooby Doo: Night Of 100 Frights, out today on PlayStation 2 from THQ. If you're looking for something on the cheap, the PS2 also gets a budget re-release of Wetrix 2. And .. er .. that's it. New Releases - Cube No new releases GBA No new releases PCAliens vs Predator 2: Primal HuntPSX No new releases PS2 Scooby Doo: Night Of 100 Frights Budget - Aqua Aqua Wetrix 2 Xbox No new releases Related Feature - UK Release Date List

Puzzle games aren't exactly known for their deep plots, and ZooCube is no exception. Apparently the evil Dr Ooze is turning animals into strange geometric shapes, and it's up to you to take control of the Ark and its fleet of ZooCubes to return the unfortunate creatures to their natural form.

Sega Mobile is celebrating the release of its first wireless game today, as Monkey Ball hits mobile phones across America. The game is designed to run on the latest colour handsets, and is available for $3.99 a month from Sprint via their "PCS Vision" 3G network. Some of the company's phones will also come with a free five level demo of the game in future. As you would imagine, the tilting 3D camera of the GameCube version has been ditched in favour of a top down view, but the basic gameplay remains the same as you guide your monkey, imprisoned in a transparent ball, around fifteen mazes picking up bananas. Mmm... Related Feature - Super Monkey Ball preview (Cube)

Lance Henriksen will be taking a leading role in Red Faction II, providing the voice for Commander Molov, head of the elite squadron of nanotech-enhanced soldiers which the player is a part of. Henriksen is best known for his role as the android ("I prefer the term 'artificial person'") Bishop in Aliens, and more recently he's put in a three season stint as the moody psychic detective Frank Black in conspiracy-laden TV series Millennium. "The addition of Lance Henriksen's voice talent adds intensity and a distinct style to the game's audio", according to Mike Kulas of developer Volition. We should get to hear the results this November. Related Feature - Red Faction 2 screenshots

Codemasters have taken some time out from patting themselves on the back about the recent success of Prisoner Of War on PS2 and Xbox to announce that the PC edition of the game will now hit the shelves on September 20th. POW has been lingering in the all formats top five since its release four weeks ago and is best of the rest on Xbox behind perennial chart-topper Halo, an achievement which Codemasters put down to an original concept. "Prisoner of War offers a new style of gaming; it's something brave, something original, something non-violent and it's a success", MD Mike Hayes boasted. "We're incredibly pleased. While sequels or "me-too" titles are expected to be the only sure-fire hits, gamers have really taken to Prisoner of War for its novel approach and modern-history adventure setting." Don't worry, this success will no doubt spawn a string of sequels and "me-too" titles, and the gaming industry can get back to business as usual. In the meantime though, Codemasters have released a new batch of screenshots showing the PC version of the game in action. Related Feature - Prisoner Of War screenshots (PC)

As you may have gathered by now, Beach Life sets about recreating an Ibiza-style sun-drenched island paradise in digital form. Over the course of the game's dozen missions you'll get to run a variety of resorts, each with its own problems for you to solve. You may be called in to complete overdue building work, solve a food poisoning outbreak or give an old resort a new lease of life. Or you could just opt for the sandbox mode and mess around to your heart's content.

Five years ago a teenage boy shot several students coming out of a prayer meeting at a high school in Kentucky. Since then the families of the three girls who were killed in the shooting have been trying to sue twenty five companies that they held responsible for turning the boy into a killer, including Nintendo, Sega, Sony and id Software, as well as pornographic websites and movie companies. The case was thrown out of court last April, and this week an Appeals Court panel turned down a request to reopen it. Hopefully this will bring an end to the crusade, although the lawyers behind the case are still considering taking the case to the US Supreme Court. In a rare display of common sense, one of the three judges who heard the appeal commented that "it is simply too far a leap from shooting characters on a video screen (an activity undertaken by millions) to shooting people in a classroom (an activity undertaken by a handful, at most)". Related Feature - Filipino girl killed over smack talk

For the most part, a simplistic run-and-gun shooter just isn't enough any more - we want stealth, variety and challenge, to think before we act. But there still remains a contingent of gamers hell-bent on the visceral thrill of sheer unadulterated destruction, as proven by the success of Serious Sam, which stole our hearts by looking great and being fantastic fun. Who cares if all the bad guys look the same, or if I'm moving at four times the speed of a normal man and the guns I'm carrying are bigger than my entire body? Obviously 4D Rulers don't, and they're hoping to appeal to that contingent by crafting a game that has, in the finest id tradition, absolutely no depth whatsoever.

Sony's American arm has announced that its Foster City studio is working on a new action-adventure game for the PS2 inspired by Hong Kong cinema and starring martial arts master Jet Li. The Chinese kung fu champion turned actor who has starred in cult movies such as Shaolin Temple, Black Mask and My Father Is A Hero as well as Hollywood efforts such as Lethal Weapon 4 and Romeo Must Die will be making his gaming debut in Rise To Honor. The game will also harness the talents of fight choreographer Corey Yuen, a long time Jet Li collaborator. "When we began the concept stages for Rise to Honor more than three years ago, we knew we wanted it to be based on the style of a Hong Kong action movie", associate director Jim Wallace explained. "We had Jet Li posters all over the studio and were referencing his movies for everything we had planned in the game. We were thrilled when we found out that Jet was interested in collaborating on a PlayStation 2 project, knowing that his creative input on Rise To Honor would help us to truly realize our vision for this ambitious game." Rise To Honor will star a motion-captured Jet Li as Kit Yun, the bodyguard of a Hong Kong gang leader. When his boss is assassinated, Yun has to track down the man's daughter in America and return her safely to Hong Kong. Naturally it's not quite as simple as turning up at LAX and bundling the girl on to a plane, and along the way Yun will have to face conflicting loyalties and all manner of intrigue and in-fighting. Rise To Honor should be available towards the end of 2003. We can't wait.

Hot on the heels of yesterday's Xbox Live announcement from Microsoft, Sony has today confirmed that it will be releasing the official PlayStation 2 network adapter in the US on August 27th. Costing just $39.99, the adapter will allow PS2 owners to play games over the internet on both broadband and dial-up connections, and comes with a range of demos and trailers, as well as a coupon to get a free copy of Twisted Metal: Black Online. Some 250,000 PS2 network adapters will be shipped on the first day, with a total of 400,000 available by the end of the year, which will hopefully be enough to avert the kind of supply shortages that afflicted the Japanese launch earlier in the year. Sony promise that thirteen games will be playable online by the end of the year, including a plethora of new NFL and NBA games from Sega, Sony and EA Sports, cel-shaded motor racing game Auto Modellista from Capcom, Tony Hawk's 4 from Activision, and Sony's own SOCOM: US Navy SEALs. Looking further ahead, both EverQuest and Final Fantasy XI are due out in America next year, and a PS2 version of Star Wars Galaxies is also in the works. While Microsoft went for a centralised approach, where everything has to be run through their own Xbox Live servers and players are charged a fixed monthly fee for access to the network, Sony have gone for a more open system which has proven popular with third party publishers. Companies will be able to arrange their own server hosting deals and decide what (if anything) they want to charge players, which means that, unlike the Xbox, gamers will be able to use their PS2 online for free. The downside is that some games (particularly massively multiplayer titles) will no doubt charge fees, which could end up costing you more if you play a lot of premium games online. We'll have to wait and see how that one pans out. Whichever system turns out to be the best in the long run though, Sony seem to have the early advantage - they're first to market, slightly cheaper, have a much larger installed base to sell the service to, and their hardware supports a wider range of internet connections. And it certainly can't hurt that the latest in the chart topping Madden NFL series is going to be online exclusively on the PlayStation 2, with no sign of EA support for Xbox Live as yet. Related Feature - Xbox goes Live in November

Oliver Stone's seminal Vietnam war movie Platoon is about to get yet another videogame adaptation, this time courtesy of Imperium Galactica developers Digital Reality. Due to be published in Europe this November by Monte Cristo, the game takes you back into the jungle with the 1st Airborne Cavalry Division, following the war's progress (or lack thereof) from 1965 to 1968. As a raw recruit you'll be called upon to carry out a range of missions, gradually rising through the ranks to lead an entire platoon including riflemen, snipers, scouts, engineers and commandos. Each of these characters will have his own unique personality, which will effect how they react to different orders and situations. Players will also get to command APCs, mortar units and Patton tanks as they take on Victor Charlie. Related Feature - Platoon screenshots

Republic has been in development for as long as anyone can remember, and the hype surrounding the title (including talk of a graphics engine capable of handling an infinite number of polygons and an entire city modelled right down to individual flower petals) has been frankly ludicrous. Some of the more sceptical amongst us were beginning to doubt that the game was anything more than a cynical ploy to reduce the bank balances of gullible venture capitalists.

It's less than three months since Eidos announced at E3 that the eagerly anticipated console shooter sequel TimeSplitters 2 would feature online multiplayer support, but sadly those plans have already been scuppered. Originally the PlayStation 2 version of the game was intended to feature online support, but in a brief statement today the publisher confirmed that this has now been dropped. "We had always hoped to include an internet online component in the PlayStation 2 version of TimeSplitters 2", an Eidos spokesman said. "However the infrastructure is not yet in place that will enable us to incorporate an online element and still make the game's proposed release date. We certainly don't want to delay the release of one of the year's most anticipated games and as a result disappoint the many fans who are eagerly awaiting the game." Obviously the lack of online support in the game will be a disappointment in itself for some fans, but given that Sony's PS2 network has only launched in Japan so far, with an American roll-out planned for this summer, it's perhaps no surprise that Eidos have chosen to cut the feature rather than miss the all-important pre-Christmas release frenzy. Maybe TimeSplitters 3 will feature proper online support, but in the meantime players will have to make do with the ever-popular split-screen modes seen in the original. Related Feature - TimeSplitters goes online

Swedish developers Grin have confirmed that their Mad Max style vehicular combat game Bandits will be on show for the first time at this year's ECTS, Europe's biggest videogames trade show. Both single player and multiplayer action will be on display, and naturally as the show's official online media partner EuroGamer will be there to bring you a full report on how it's shaping up. In the meantime, more information is available on the game's recently launched official website, which features a fictional diary introducing Bandits' setting and back story, as well as an FAQ, forums, screenshots and music clips. Related Feature - Bandits at 10 o'clock

With Men In Black 2 hitting the big screens here in the UK recently, Digital Bridges have announced the release of two new IIT SMS games based on the movie, with a Java-based game expected later in the summer. All will be available through the mobile phone operator O2. Kicking things off is Field Agent Training, a multiple-choice trivia game in which would-be MIBs earn their suits and shades by answering questions about the movies and all things paranormal. Meanwhile the adventure game Back In Black gives players the chance to revisit some of the key events, characters and locations of the movie as they hunt down rogue extraterrestrials and illegal aliens. If nothing else, both games will no doubt be more entertaining than Infogrames' awful PS2 tie-in, as well as a darn sight cheaper. Related Feature - Men In Black 2 quick-take (PS2)

Nintendo have picked an unusual way to celebrate the US release of Super Mario Sunshine, with a world record attempt to cook the world's biggest ever bowl of pasta. Taking place in Little Italy in San Francisco, the marketing stunt will see 2,700 pounds (that's about 1200kg in real measurements) of pasta and sauce being cooked up by Bucca di Beppo over lunchtime on Thursday August 22nd. And as if that's not bizarre enough for you, fans are being invited to dress up as Mario, with the best look-a-likes diving into the enormous bowl to become a "human meatball". As well as looking incredibly stupid, you'll also get the chance to win a holiday in Hawaii and other prizes. Related Feature - Super Mario Sunshine preview

It's clear from the off that most of the characters and events in Codemasters' Prisoner of War have drawn inspiration from the various icons of war film drama. It's a game full of angry German guards, unpleasant camp commandants and wily prisoners, who range from the eager and comical to the cold and cynical, and their loyalties waver almost as much as your trembling fingers when you're poised to race between two inattentive guards.

Revolution have announced that they will be debuting Broken Sword: The Sleeping Dragon at an exclusive press conference during this year's ECTS in London. Everything has been eerily quiet since the game was first announced last spring, but we should know more soon, thanks to a demonstration of the latest build from Revolution MD Charles Cecil, who admitted that "it's been a while coming". What we know already is that both American tourist George Stobbard and French journalist Nico Collard will be returning for the third entry in the million selling adventure game series, and that the whole thing will be presented in glorious 3D courtesy of the ever-popular Renderware. The game will appear on both PC and next generation consoles towards the end of 2003, somewhat later than originally anticipated. As the official online media partner for ECTS, we'll naturally be bringing you a full report as soon as the press conference ends. Related Feature - Sword Broken .. again

Over the last couple of months Codemasters have released a string of trailers showing off in-game footage of TOCA Race Driver. But while attention has been focused on the graphics, collision physics and storyline, the Codies are also proud of the game's audio side. Hence the arrival today of a press release talking about the sonic delights which gamers can look forward to come August 23rd. For starters the game will feature full Dolby Surround Sound support throughout, from in-game engine noises and crashes to the soundtrack and cinematics. Engine noises have been sampled from real cars driving on a rolling road at anything up to 120mph, while both audio and motion capture data for the cutscenes were recorded simultaneously at a soundstage in Long Island, New York. And as if all that's not enough, the game will also sport a great soundtrack including classics like Search And Destroy by Iggy And The Stooges, as well as more recent songs from the likes of Morcheeba and Ash. These will be mixed into the game world, pumping out of loudspeakers at race tracks or playing on a radio in the background during one of the many cutscenes. "TOCA Race Driver sets the new standard for audio within the driving game genre", producer Gavin Raeburn claims. We should know if he's telling porkies in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, Codemasters have released another batch of screenshots of the game in action. Related Feature - TOCA Race Driver screenshots

Activision revealed today that it has gobbled up global publishing rights to Worms 3, the latest in the multi-million selling cartoon action series. Although more recent infestations in the series have proven disappointing, developers Team 17 are promising an all-new fully 3D graphics engine and an overhaul of the classic Worms gameplay this time round, the aim being to "provide the definitive gaming experience within the Worms universe". As always, the terrain will be as much a casualty of the battle as your enemies, and plenty of over-the-top and just plain bizarre weapons and power-ups will be on offer to aid you in this mass destruction. Other details are vague at this early stage, but we do know that the game will appear on PC and "next-generation consoles", that multiplayer support will be included, and that it should surface some time in 2003. There's also talk of "an additional yet-to-be-announced Worms title" to follow. Surely cause enough for invertebrate warriors to rejoice.

ECTS 2002 is just a couple of weeks away now, and in a break from tradition the venue will be welcoming gamers with open arms this year. Sony will be running a consumer show dubbed The PlayStation Experience alongside the main trade event, allowing all you hoi polloi to get a look at forthcoming releases. Here you will find a range of top PlayStation 2 games from the likes of Sony, Electronic Arts, Eidos, Konami and Activision, including The Getaway, Tony Hawk's 4, Red Faction 2, Pro Evolution Soccer 2 and the next Tomb Raider. Meanwhile Sony will be showing off the PS2's network capabilities with Auto Modellista and their own military action game Hardware Network Technology. There's even a few PSOne titles hidden away in dark corners, not to mention a "Linux Zone".

Your adventure begins in time honoured fashion with a dream sequence which, like the rest of the game, uses a mixture of computer rendered animation and live actors. Meanwhile a pair of mysterious voices give you cryptic clues about your destiny and the history of your world.

Microsoft have confirmed November 15th as the launch date for their Xbox Live service, marking the first anniversary of the console's successful US launch. As previously announced, to get your Xbox online you'll have to buy a $49.95 starter kit, which includes a headset and twelve months' access to the service. It's unknown how many kits will be available at launch, with Microsoft spokesman David Hufford telling Reuters that it depends on how many retailers want. Microsoft obviously have high expectations for the service though, and at least six online-ready games will be available for the console when Xbox Live launches, including the much anticipated Unreal Championship, with another ten games expected by the end of the year and a veritable flood of releases following in 2003.

The planned Anarchy Online add-on Shadowlands has been delayed until early next year, Funcom revealed today. To keep players busy in the meantime, the company has announced the first in a planned series of "booster packs", due out in time for Christmas. The packs will "provide tools that enhance the experience within the game world", and chief amongst these is land control, which will allow players to stake a claim to their own patch of land on Rubi-Ka. Controllers can be built to mine notum ore, giving the guild that made them experience bonuses and other benefits, while defensive turrets can be used to protect them from monsters and rival guilds. Enhancements to the game's graphics and sound will also be included in the first booster pack. Related Feature - Anarchy goes on

Acclaim's marketing department has been working overtime in recent months, from the bizarre suggestion of advertising the abysmal Shadowman 2 on grave stones to a phoney attempt to beat the world record for queuing by getting some poor sap to sit in a tent outside the Electronics Boutique on Oxford Street, London. And that's not to mention the replica T-Rex claw and Turok easter egg (cute) we've received from their PR department so far this year. This time the publisher's UK office is confident that they've "topped the lot" though, by announcing that they're looking for five gamers to get their names changed by deed poll. In exchange for spending a year as Turok, each will receive an Xbox, a copy of Turok Evolution and £500 cash. Which sounds like scant compensation for the ridicule which would be heaped upon them, not least by us. Of course, the whole thing is a bizarre PR stunt, just like the "deadvertising" (how many Shadowman grave stones have you seen?) and record queue attempt (which apparently fizzled out within hours), but if you want a laugh, more details should appear on MyNameIsTurok.co.uk tomorrow. Acclaim's Shaun White is quoted as saying that "we are looking for applicants who want to experience the kudos of being pioneers in advertising, who are willing to step beyond the leading edge of marketing practice". I tell you what, change your own name to Turok and then we'll talk... Related Feature - Oi, nutter

While stealth fans await the arrival of Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance, Konami are hoping to cash in on the franchise's huge popularity by releasing another new spin-off package - The Document Of Metal Gear Solid 2. Described as "an interactive documentary", it will feature a variety of special features looking at the game's background as well as five VR training missions to give you a taste of what's to come in Substance. Amongst the goodies lurking within are images and models of some of the game's vehicles, environments and characters, along with video footage, cutscene storyboards, music and sound effect tracks, a timeline of MGS2's development, the design document (in Japanese), the full script, and a catalogue of other memorabilia such as t-shirts, posters and action figures. Document will be available on PlayStation 2 from September 24th in the USA. It's not yet known if or when the pack will arrive in Europe. Related Feature - Metal Gear Solid 2 review

Bon Jovi's next single will debut not in record stores or on MTV (or even VH1), but in Madden NFL 2003. The move is part of a new drive by Electronic Arts dubbed EA Trax, which will provide brand new music for the company's wide range of annual sports games. Partners in the program include Island, Def Jam, Capitol and Electra, with acts such as Method Man, Papa Roach and Snoop Dog all lined up to get "in the game", with some of the songs set to appear in EA Sports soundtracks before the album they're taken from is even in the stores. "This is good for the gamer, good for the developer and good for the record label", EA marketing VP Jeff Karp declared. The idea is that gamers get new music, developers get more sales, and the record labels get some cheap pre-release promotion for their acts. Def Jam president Kevin Liles murmured something about video game and hip hop demographics converging and the "exciting [sic] cross-promotional activities" EA Trax would provide, while EA's musical master of ceremonies Steve Schnur raised the possibility of videogame soundtrack compilation albums appearing in future. Related Feature - Madden NFL 2003 screenshots (Xbox)

With Project Nomads finally nearing completion, we ventured down to the UK offices of publisher CDV in deepest darkest Tottenham to have a look at the latest build of this visually stunning action-strategy game with producer Friis Tappert.