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Microsoft seems to have inadvertently answered those critical of the online gaming features of its Xbox game console. In an announcement unrelated to Xbox today, the company told the press that it has agreed a major deal with DSL providers in the United States to ensure 90% coverage within three months; the perfect service for Xbox owners. The service will be priced at $49.95 a month, available immediately to 60% of households and provided through companies like Verizon, BellSouth and SBC Communications. It hasn't said as much, but we had always expected something of the sort in the USA, where broadband Internet connections are relatively commonplace, and the systems used are often dramatically different to those employed here. As we continue to point out, in the United Kingdom and Europe, the systems employed vary a great deal. What Microsoft proposes with Xbox, that gamers can simply plug their console into a cable modem or DSL adapter and have instant access to online gaming, is simply not feasible nine times out of ten. There will be a significant minority, the company hopes, that have PPPoE (Ethernet-based) xDSL connections, and cable modems that accept connections from new devices indiscriminately, but as we have said before, that's not good enough. Now, there exist enterprising gamers who know enough about the technology at work to improvise a workaround to the problems (brought to light in this editorial). But they are not the people Microsoft need to worry about. The people Microsoft should worry about are casual gamers, who have been told they may simply 'plug and play' with their existing Internet connections. We shall no doubt know more by next Spring. In the meantime, Sony continue to trial their cable modem service with Telewest and co-conspirator ntl. Related Feature - Is Xbox the future of online console gaming?

Motherboard chipset developer VIA, famous for chips that power AMD's Athlon processors, has decided to start its own motherboard production business. Unsurprisingly, the business will focus on its new P4X266 chipset for Pentium 4 processors; the chipset that is currently the centre of a huge legal tussle regarding licenses. VIA claims that in purchasing S3 it obtained an official license to develop chipsets for Pentium 4. Intel says otherwise, and the two are now fighting a drawn out battle in courtrooms around the globe. VIA Platform Solutions Limited, the spin-off company producing the P4X266 'boards, will release PR22-R and Vl33-S motherboards supporting Socket 423 and Socket 478 processors respectively. Other boards for micro ATX cases and such will follow shortly after. That's if VIA Platform Solutions Limited lasts long enough, which Intel will no doubt try and prevent.

AMD may launch its 1.6GHz Athlon XP part (marketed as 1900+) before Christmas, a leaked roadmap has revealed. The document, which appears on German website Threecom.de also indicates that ATI's A3 motherboard chipset will be tailored to support Athlon XP and not just Intel's Pentium 4 as had been previously assumed. The latter came as a shock to many analysts, who saw NVIDIA's largest competitor falling into a separate camp with Intel to fight back against NVIDIA's strategic alliance with AMD, otherwise known as SNAP. A3 will feature DDR200 and DDR266 memory support, with a later incarnation (known as A4-K) supporting DDR333 and using AMD's HyperTransport architecture, to appear sometime next year. The news that ATI may compete directly with NVIDIA for the integrated AMD market will hopefully drive down prices. NVIDIA's nFORCE motherboards were originally expected to be fairly pricey, an affordable luxury with A3-supported Pentium 4 chips so expensive on the other side of the fence - now the company may have to reconsider its approach. On a related note, AMD launches the Athlon MP part at 1.53GHz today, featuring XP-styled QuantiSpeed technology. Effectively an Athlon XP with dual-processing capability. Related Feature - Athlon XP review

ABIT's appearance in the UK on September 11th was marred by events that were completely out of the company's control, but its product range was diverse and intriguing nonetheless. In the immediate aftermath of the Roadshow we managed to get our hands on two of the company's latest top-end motherboards; the KG7-RAID, and the TH7II-RAID, for Athlon and Pentium 4 respectively.

Typically one would expect Nintendo to do a bit of pitching at the Autumn TGS, but alas this year they were nowhere to be seen. Sega had Phantasy Star Online running for GameCube, but little was really seen of it (and there were more interesting things to do and see), and Sonic (this time aimed at a younger market) was running on GameBoy Advance as well as GameCube. Apart from that, Namco had Tekken running on GameBoy Advance, but interest in that was muted, perhaps due to its framerate issues. Dead or Alive 3 was running on Xbox hardware in the not-too-distant haze of the show floor, so punters could be forgiven for passing it by. We hope to hear more from Nintendo in the run up to the GameCube's American release next month, but the Japanese will be disappointed that nothing was made of the Autumn Tokyo Game Show.

As far as Microsoft is concerned, things are looking up. Although we're still chiding them for the details they have supplied regarding their online service (or lack thereof), public support is rallying for Xbox. And with good reason, particularly based on the games seen at the Autumn Tokyo Game Show. Instead of flaunting Halo for the umpteenth time or flashing stills of Dead or Alive 3 around, they had as many as 20 playable games up and running. Dead or Alive 3 was on display in a special Dolby Digital 5.1 sound booth, and if you thought those stills looked a bit too good, you should see the game running all by itself. Visually it's unmatched. It's the prettiest beat 'em up ever; its scenery is of unmatched detail, the characters likewise and the ladies are seductively rounded, albeit a bit top-heavy. If you're the sort of person that thought Lara Croft was sexy, Dead or Alive 3 should be on your shopping list. One of the most impressive things about DOA3 though is the collision detection. It's critical to the atmosphere the game creates that every little rock creates a stumbling block and every bit of scenery can be whipped away with a well-placed kick. And of course, that every little brush of skin between characters is registered. And it is. Moving on, we had an idea of how good Jet Set Radio Future was likely to be and the good news is that the game appears to live up to the hype. Sega explained that the Xbox version is almost three times larger in single player than the Dreamcast original, and that new additions include a four player battle arena mode, a new item use button which drives your inventory (also new), and about 20 characters to choose from. If Jet Set Radio was funky, gameplay testimonials indicate that Jet Set Radio Future is a break-dancing, afro-laden, pimpmobile-driving, gold-necklaced gangster jivefunk soul daddy from New Orleans. Or something. It's monstrously playable by all accounts and utterly addictive, even in short bursts. Sega had plenty of games on show at the Autumn TGS, but Gun Valkyrie got the most attention. Remember Cybernator on the Super Nintendo? It's mech style action along those lines in 3D with some sort of alien horde after your guts. Sega GT 2002 was on display too, although some were a little annoyed that yet again it seemed to showcase great cars and awful tracks. Journalists also got a fleeting glimpse of the long-awaited Panzer Dragoon. Konami and Capcom had a few interesting things on display, including Silent Hill 2 from the former, which looked like the PS2 version put through an image-intensifier, and the show-off flight sim Aero Dancing 2, which apparently makes Ace Combat 4 look like a paper aeroplane simulation. Capcom had Genma Onimusha, but many thought Onimusha 2 on the PS2 had the edge over it.

The Autumn Tokyo Game Show wasn't quite as grand an affair for PlayStation 2 as it was for the Xbox. Although a few first party games did strike a chord with onlookers, a lot of the games seen on SCEI's booth in particular have little or no chance of ever appearing in the West. There were some neat conceptual titles, including one where you had to control your units with voice commands via microphone, and another where you had to conduct an orchestra using the pressure sensitive buttons on the Dual Shock 2. But obscure turn-based strategy and role-playing games created a jungle of lingo, too text-heavy for Western journalists to penetrate. Elsewhere SCEA's amazing ICO was receiving plenty of attention. Although the game has already been released in North America, it was a sensible move for Sony to present it on the TGS floor, not just because it was new to Japanese punters, but also because it did a good job of suppressing interest in Xbox and GameCube titles. ICO's popularity stems from the experience it puts you through, rather than any single mark of design. Action, adventure, story; all of these things are nigh on incomprehensible, even in the American version. The attraction is the world and the way the various elements of the game's design come together to create a seamless… existence, for you the player. You won't see us for weeks when the PAL version comes around. Sega had a large presence at the show, and their PS2 demos included AM2-developed Virtua Fighter 4, which one journalist described as "more than arcade-perfect". The new version will feature training modes with slow motion replays, character editing options and an as-yet unexplained AI mode, which we know little about. Sega also had Space Channel 5 Part Two on show, which bears more than a passing resemblance to its predecessor. More varied enemies and hipper moves look to be the order of the day here, and the sequel is described as "happier" by its producer. Quaint. With the news that Sony has secured 19% of developer Squaresoft less than a week old, it would seem naïve to expect something big from the venerable Japanese giant, and in a sense there was no surprise when the company's display lacked a focal point. Final Fantasy XI Online looked rather infantile and under-developed to be on display at this point. The much-vaunted Disney and Squaresoft collaboration Kingdom Hearts did little to encourage interest either. We fancy both of these will be PlayStation 2 exclusives now, but either way there is one heck of a long way to go in both cases. Beyond Sony and Square, Konami was demonstrating later sections of Metal Gear Solid 2, with yet another trailer on display nearby. You can now play the demo beyond the Olga sniping battle, and new sections including an oilrig were shown off. Hopefully Konami will actually release MGS2 one of these days. To wrap up, Capcom had Onimusha 2, which looked more like an extension than a sequel (but at 10 hours play time for the original that's hardly a bad thing; there's plenty more to be done), and Namco had Xenogears networked on a handful of PS2s. Overall though, Sony's display was less exciting than we had been led to believe. Related Feature - Sony to acquire 19% of Square

Paradox's medieval strategy game Europa Universalis might not have floated our boats, but it did prove popular with hardcore strategy buffs, and its success has resulted in the inevitable spawning of a sequel. Imaginatively titled Europa Universalis II, it looks uncannily like the original game and is due for release in the spring. The game's distribution arrangements are even more complicated than the game itself, and Paradox have now released a lengthy list of the lucky publishers who will be publishing it worldwide. Heading up the list is UbiSoft, which will handle South America and most of Europe, including the all-important UK, French and German markets. Further afield Strategy First will be distributing the game in the USA and Canada, while Leader SpA picks up Italy and Vision Park draws Paradox's native Scandinavia. Heading out east, CD Project has won the rights to tackle the game in Poland, Snowball will be responsible for publishing it in Russia. Are you still with us? Related Feature - Europa Universalis screenshots

When Pitfall was released back in the mid '90s on the Super Nintendo and Mega Drive (that's the Genesis for our American readers), it was considered a triumph of classic gameplay over new-fangled graphical monstrosities and cartoon platformers alike. A relatively serious adventure game based on an Atari original more than ten years old, journalists and the public alike went mad over it, caught up in a whirlwind of publicity and nostalgia. In the process certain... inadequacies were overlooked, such as the dodgy collision detection, imprecise control system and over-ambitious level design. Majesco's THQ-published GameBoy Advance conversion is a reasonable game, but it loses a lot of its impact due to the above problems, which have apparently been flat-out ignored once again by the developer. Pitfall : The Mayan Adventure, to give the game its full name, is set across ten worlds of multiple stages and focuses on the plight of Pitfall Harry, who has been taken captive. The venerable adventurer has a son though, Harry Jr., and fortunately for him the Indiana Jones-inspired offspring is carrying on the family tradition and braving crocodiles, venomous snakes and other hazards of the jungle to rescue his old man. During the course of the game young Harry has to overcome the unwelcome attentions of the creatures of the Amazon jungle, the occupants of Mayan ruins, and of course the obligatory abandoned mines. Sadly, the past five years haven't been kind on the Pitfall look though, which was perhaps a little dated even back then. Nowadays it looks like a poor Castlevania clone, and thanks to the colourful scenery picking out your enemies is often more difficult than it should be, particularly when the lighting is against you.

UbiSoft have released a demo version of their dungeon crawling role-playing game Pool of Radiance : Ruins of Myth Drannor, giving you the chance to lead a party of four pre-generated characters through the first level of the game. The demo weighs in at just 89Mb, wisely ending before reaching the first sprawling zombie-infested dungeon which brought my interest in the game to a swift end. It doesn't even wipe your hard drive when you uninstall it, unlike the original American retail release of the game. So if you want to get a (rather brief) taste of the game before you decide whether or not to take the plunge, you can download the demo from any of the following sites -

French publisher Wanadoo is a relative newcomer to the gaming industry, best known in Europe as the internet subsidiary of France Telecom. With more than a dozen games due out over the next few months though and a line-up including the entertaining Fifth Element inspired New York Race and European distribution duties for the massively multiplayer role-playing game Dark Age of Camelot, they have certainly got off to a flying start. But when we met up with Wanadoo at ECTS in London last month, the game which really caught our eye was IronStorm from 4X Studios.

Everquest producer and co-designer Brad McQuaid has revealed that he is leaving Verant after five years with the company behind one of the world's most popular online role-playing games. "It's time for me to explore other opportunities in the creative development of massively multiplayer games", Brad announced in a press release. "I wish [Verant owners] Sony Online Entertainment the greatest success with all future releases and I have the greatest confidence in the ability of the development staff that we've assembled over the past few years to continue expanding the EverQuest experience." On the surface at least it appears to be an amicable split, with Sony Online big wigs lining up to wish Brad well. COO John Smedley commented that "it's been a pleasure working with Brad for the past few years as a colleague and a friend and I'm certain that he will continue to contribute innovative and exciting game technology in the future", while President Kelly Flock believes "he will continue to be a force in this emerging market and all of us at Sony Online Entertainment look forward to the possibility of working with him again in the future". It's not entirely clear yet what Brad McQuaid is planning to do next, but it seems highly unlikely that Verant would just let him go and start up a rival company designing massively multiplayer games in direct competition to their own forthcoming titles such as Planetside, Sovereign and Star Wars Galaxies. When Ultima Online creator Richard Garriott left EA's Origin studio last year he was forced to sign a non-compete contract that kept him out of the industry for twelve months and barred him from hiring former colleagues away from EA, and it would be odd if Verant hadn't done something similar to McQuaid. Unless of course he was simply leaving to start up another Sony Online spin-off studio, or his departure was more of a push than a jump. No doubt all will become clear soon though...

It's more than two years since Westwood announced Renegade, a first person shooter spin-off of their best-selling real-time strategy series Command & Conquer in which you will play an elite GDI commando. With the game finally nearing release, we took it for a quick spin at EA Europe's offices in deepest darkest Surrey to find out whether it can live up to the hype or if it's just another sloppy Westwood money-spinner cashing in on past glories.

Sega of America's VP of Long Job Titles Charles Bellfield has confirmed rumours that Shenmue 2 won't be released on the Dreamcast in America, although the much anticipated game is already available in Japan and is still due out in Europe next spring. It's a bizarre turn of events, as usually this works the other way round, with games being released in Japan and the USA but never arriving in Europe. Americans will now have to wait for an Xbox version of the game, which will be released in the US some time next autumn. "if the Dreamcast [were] continuing today, we wouldn't be having this conversation", Charles Bellfield told IGN. "But it's not, and the reality is that we need to make the right decision for taking our content into next generation platforms and [getting] that to consumers as quickly as possible." Which doesn't make much sense, because if Sega are still releasing the Dreamcast version of the game in Europe, it must already be getting translated into English for the UK. How hard can it be to turn that into an American version of the game? We would hazard a guess that maybe Microsoft signed it up as an exclusive Xbox title for the USA, but if so why are they letting Sega go ahead and release it on Dreamcast in Europe? Still, we shouldn't complain - it's nice to get one up on the Americans for a change. Related Feature - Shenmue review

Virgin today became the latest part of the Titus empire to suffer from cut-backs, with trade magazine MCV reporting that 48 of the publisher's staff in the UK, France, Germany and Spain are being made redundant. "We obviously didn't want to have to take these measures, but it is my responsibility to ensure that the company is structured in a way that allows us to move forward", CEO Bob Dewar told MCV. Virgin distributes Interplay's titles in Europe as well as publishing home-grown games such as Codename Outbreak and forthcoming Unreal-engined space action game Maelstrom.

The flight sim genre has been around on the PC since it first started to evolve as a viable gaming platform, and there has been a great succession of attempts to breathe fresh life into the ageing theme, with varying degrees of success. Often the path taken by a designer trying to push the boundaries is to set the game in the future, enabling the concoction of fantastical weaponry and a mediocre sci-fi storyline. Russian developers Buka are the latest to conjure up such a title, in the form of Echelon. The storyline is a standard fare George Lucas rehash job which is set, according to the publishers, in the "near distant future". Yes, that one confused even us... The Galactic Federation is defending a planet under attack by a rebel race known as the Velians, who are hoping to overpower the Federation with their massively advanced technology, and thus conquer the surrounding worlds. Cue your entry into the game as a young recruit thrown straight into training to prepare for epic dogfights, bombing runs and defence campaigns. Upon loading Echelon you are presented with a simple interface from where you can launch into the single player career mode, the multiplayer mode, or plump for Instant Action. Opting for the latter gives you a choice of missions to partake in which seem to run on indefinitely, getting progressively harder until you get fed up or shot down. These missions range from bombing runs and dogfighting to Rebel Assault-style canyon chases. It's clear from the first ten minutes of play that the emphasis is on arcade-style action, and less on using the entire keyboard as a controller, which in itself is a relief.

Last week Codemasters released a list of next-generation console titles which it would be releasing on the Xbox, and amongst those was Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing. Today we have more information about what we can expect from the game, which is due out in April 2002 and expected to be released on PS2 as well as Xbox. Top of the list is a new "realistic facial damage graphics engine" which will allow you to beat your opponent's features into a suitably bloody pulp, along with a choice of first and third person viewpoints to get you into the thick of the action. Players will be able to create a stable of up to four boxers to fight it out in the ring, each with their own physical attributes, knock-out moves, taunts and even personal theme tunes. As you progress through the game's various championship you will unlock new opponents and earn new special moves by defeating them, eventually leading up to a battle with former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson himself. You will also be able to call Tyson out for a "friendly" (and we mean that in the loosest possible sense of the word) match to see how your fighter is sizing up. "My kids talked me into doing last year's PlayStation game and now they're getting into their new consoles and they want to see me on those too, so it's cool that Codemasters want to go on with the Tyson games", Mike Tyson is reported to have said. "The ideas for the new game sound awesome and it'll be good to see me going face to face in a heavyweight-specific game." Related Feature - Codemasters pledge Xbox support

Sammy Entertainment have signed Virgin Interactive to distribute their latest beat 'em up Guilty Gear X in Europe. The game should be available from November 30th, and promises to be "the most explosive version in the series, making full use of the PlayStation 2's enhanced hardware capability". Quite how a 2D beat 'em up makes full use of the PlayStation 2 hardware we're not entirely sure, but fans of the series will no doubt be happy to hear that the game is on its way to our neck of the woods. "Guilty Gear X has already picked up glowing accolades in both the US and Japan, and we're confident it will be equally well received throughout Europe", said Virgin's Allison Grant. New features will include a revamped tension gauge, an instant kill move, and a roman candle move which allows players to create their own combos. None of which means anything to me... Related Feature - Guilty Gear X screenshots

Microsoft has confirmed that it has shaved a couple of gigabytes off the hard drive built into its Xbox games console. The machine, due to go on sale next month will ship with an 8Gb hard drive, rather than 10Gb. Web site ActiveWin reported yesterday that it had received various reports of the specification change, and subsequently learned from Microsoft that the modification was official. The software giant wouldn't say why the decision had been made, but cost has to be the chief consideration. Microsoft is believed to be subsidising the console's retail price by a fair margin - as all console suppliers do, to a greater or lesser extent - and with a $500 million marketing budget to fund too, we can well see why the company might try and make a few savings here and there.

Electronic Arts have announced that a number of celebrity characters will be included in snowboarding game SSX Tricky, the sequel to the PlayStation 2's top launch title SSX. Amongst the famous people being digitized into the game are Lucy Liu (the Chinese girl from Charlies Angels), David Arquette (Deputy Riley from the Scream trilogy), Billy Zane (the bad guy from Titanic), Oliver Platt (Randy in medical horror movie Flatliners), Patricia Velazquez (Anck Su Namun from the Mummy movies), and bizarrely coiffeured singer Macy Gray. Apparently not content with winning a cabinet-full of awards and selling enough CDs to pave London, Macy is alleged to have swooned "now that I'm a video game character I feel like I've made it, I've finally arrived". How sweet. This motley collection of movie stars and musicians will apparently inspire the "personalities and look" of the characters, as well as providing voices for them in the game. Gamers will even be able to enjoy interviews and "behind the scenes" footage of the stars at work, which will be included as a special feature on the game's DVD. "We believe these personalities, each with their own attitude and style, will make the riders more compelling and the story of SSX Tricky deeper, bringing players back for a unique gaming experience every time", executive producer Steven Rechtschaffner opined. We should know soon whether this is a spark of genius or the deranged ramblings of a madman, as the game is due for release on PlayStation 2 next month, with Xbox and GameCube versions coming to Europe in the spring when the new consoles launch over here. Related Feature - SSX Tricky screenshots

The market for desktop processors is back to front and inside out these days, with AMD's latest processor drowning out noise from the opposition and retailing at a fraction of the price, while so-called budget processors cost barely a tenner less than their full-bodied equivalents. This morning we spoke to a few retailers who told us there was a "stock situation" for both of the major players at the moment too. Just what is going on? The average retailer stocks AMD Durons from about 800MHz to 1GHz, AMD Athlons from 1GHz to 1.4GHz, and a few claim to have stock of the new AMD Athlon XP at speeds of 1.33GHz to 1.53GHz. These same retailers also claim to have stock of Intel's Celeron processors at speeds of 800MHz to 1.1GHz, Intel's Pentium III (which has been all but phased out now) in diminishing stocks of 933MHz to 1.2GHz, and Intel's Pentium 4 at speeds of 1.5GHz to 2GHz. In reality, we hear that very few have stock of the AMD Athlon at 1.4GHz, and that demand for anything below 1.4GHz is negligible, including the Duron line with its new 'Morgan' core. This in turn has led to a price spike as retailers struggle to snap up whatever they can get their hands on. The new Athlon XP is available, but in extremely small quantities. One retailer we spoke to said that they were lucky to get ten of each grade, another jokingly said that they could take our money, but they had little or no chance of getting us an Athlon XP this week. You might want to bear that in mind if you plan on buying one. Originally, they told us, the shortage in 1.4GHz Athlons was thought to be a strategic move by AMD to help encourage sales of the new Athlon XP, but that theory has now been quashed given the small numbers of those available. On the Intel front, demand for Celerons is apparently reasonably healthy. With the Pentium III now in very short supply (and costing a little bit extra as a result), 1GHz Celerons are proving fairly popular. The Pentium III itself is in a bit of a quagmire. Few will buy it because it costs so much compared to Athlon, and the speed grades people are after (1.13 and 1.2GHz), are almost completely unavailable. Interestingly though Pentium 4 sales are up, particularly for the lower speed grades (you can now pick up a 1.5GHz P4 for £138), although as reported on the major newswires last week, 1.7GHz and above are in short supply. As we enthused in our review of the Athlon XP yesterday, AMD's new breed of chips are the cream of the present crop, so if you are considering a Christmas upgrade those would be the ones to wait for. But even if you've found a source, be prepared to wait a while. Related Feature - AMD Athlon XP review

Sony today announced a stupendous landmark for its PlayStation 2 console. It now claims to have shipped 20 million consoles worldwide, demonstrating that sales are accelerating rapidly. In Europe, the console has sold 4.6 million units, while in Japan it has shipped 6.86 million, and another 8.55 million have gone in the US. Monthly production is now at 1.8 million units to cope with demand. With the recent drop in price across Europe and the exponential increase in UK sales we reported on last week, that's hardly surprising. Related Feature - PS2 sales jump

Having released a string of lacklustre spin-offs in the wake of The Phantom Menace, the once mighty Lucas Arts are hoping that their GameCube debut Rogue Leader will mark a return to form. As the title suggests, this is a follow-up to the popular N64 action game Rogue Squadron, in which you played a member of an elite group of rebel pilots, fighting both in the depths of space and in the air over a variety of alien planets. We took a pre-release version of the sequel for a spin at the recent Nintendo Show in London to find out whether it's A New Hope for the ailing publisher or just another heartless clone...

Following on from the likes of Ecks vs Sever and Driven, bam! have picked up yet another movie license. This time they are planning to publish a PlayStation 2 game based on the forthcoming post-apocalyptic film Reign Of Fire, which is due to arrive in cinemas some time next summer. In the movie Matthew McConaughey (U-751) and Christian Bale (American Psycho) must battle a brood of dragons which were woken up from a particularly long nap by work on the London Underground's Jubilee Line extension, and eventually emerged from under the city to decimate the locals and reign over the survivors. With fire. No, really. The game's storyline follows that of the movie, as McConaughey's group of American resistance fighters team up with Bale's English survivors to hunt down the original dragon. Uniquely though you will be able to play as either a puny human fighting for freedom, or as one of the mighty fire-breathing dragons oppressing them. Either way you will view the action from a third person perspective, with "fierce battles" and a "pyrotechnic maelstrom" being promised, along with dynamic music which adapts to fit the action and all manner of scorched landscapes to explore. Developed by Britain's own Kuju, who have worked on everything from Ka-52 Team Alligator to Microsoft Train Simulator, the Reign of Fire game is expected to appear on shelves shortly after the film is released. It certainly sounds .. interesting. Related Feature - Gamebam advance

Earlier this year, Toys R Us and Amazon's American websites made headlines by selling their complete pre-order allocation of Xbox consoles inside half an hour. Many argued that since neither company was willing to specify how many consoles had been on offer, this was just a publicity stunt, and a fairly boring one at that. Apparently neither company took notice of the reaction though, because this morning we learned that Toys R Us and Amazon's complete allocation of American GameCubes had been snapped up for pre-order in less than four minutes. The implication is obviously that GameCube sold out quicker than Xbox, but this is an entirely irrelevant bit of news without the actual allocation figures. So how many consoles were sold? It was a "great allocation". That's what Toys R Us' VP of corporate communications told CVG. Amazon was unavailable for comment and we doubt they would have anything revealing to say about it either. What makes this whole situation particularly untenable is that the GameCube bundles on Toys R Us consisted of a console (either in black or indigo), Luigi's Mansion, Wave Race: Blue Storm and Star Wars Rogue Leader, plus a second controller, memory card and six month subscription to Electronic Gaming Monthly. Even at a conservative estimate that's about $320 minimum. If we had been told the consoles sold out as stand-alone units of $200 a piece that might seem more realistic. With such a large number of games on offer as of day one, it seems incomprehensible that everybody would be after those three games specifically, however good they are. Related Feature - Hip to be Cube!

Codemasters have unveiled the new PlayStation 2 version of their popular football management sim series LMA Manager, which has previously been restricted to the venerable PSOne. Taking advantage of the increased disc space, memory and processor speed available on the PS2, the new game will feature all the main French, Spanish, Italian and German clubs in addition to the English and Scottish ones included in the PSOne version of the game. The extra European leagues bring the total up to 722 clubs and 17,000 players, which is peanuts compared to the likes of Championship Manager on the PC, but still marks a step up for console-based management games. All six leagues also run simultaneously, allowing you to see how Real Madrid are doing even if you're unfortunate enough to be managing Leicester City at the time. Of course, if that's the case you'll probably be wanting to keep an eye open for job vacancies on the continent in case you need to make a swift exit, and with a "vastly bigger pan-European transfer market" being promised you can also try to pilfer foreign talent to boost your team's fortunes. LMA Manager 2002 should be winging its way to the PlayStation 2 some time in the spring, while the old fashioned PSX version of the game is due for release in a couple of weeks.

Squaresoft have been in the news a lot over the last couple of months. First there was bickering over their PlayOnline service, which Sony beached by demanding control of online facilities on the PlayStation 2, and then recently it looked as though the brooding company had found its way to the doors of one of Sony's competitors, with Seiken Densetsu and Chrono Cross sequels starting development. And then just last week, the company admitted that their big-budget sci-fi movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within had broken the bank, and that its ongoing failure at the box office would effect the company's financial results for the worse. All this was rendered meaningless this morning, however, as reports rained in from Japan about the Sony/Square relationship. According to the newswires, Sony is in the final stages of securing a 19% interest in Squaresoft, taking advantage of the company's financial state. The investment of 14.9 billion yen (approximately $124 million) will make Sony the second largest shareholder, second only to Square's founder, and it seems logical that with this will come a change in allegiances. The obvious conclusion to draw here is that for better or worse Square won't be developing RPGs for Nintendo or Microsoft any time soon. Uncertainty still lingers over Square's PlayOnline service, however. Sony are unlikely to quash it now that they have a stake in it, but the chances are if Square runs with it Sony will protect it jealously from rival formats, meaning that partners in crime Enix and Namco who had been planning to develop games for the service may be limited to PlayStation 2 also. Related Feature - First and Final Fantasy

- Advanced Micro DevicesPrice - $228 for XP1800+

To celebrate the imminent budget re-release of Colin McRae 2.0, Codemasters are launching a competition in which buyers of the game could win a day with Colin McRae at the Ford World Rally Team Headquarters in Cumbria. Six lucky punters from the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Benelux will be taken for a quick spin in a Ford Focus rally car by Colin McRae himself. As Ford's European race director Martin Whitaker comments, "the only way to really experience his car control is to witness it at first hand", and it's sure to be an experience to remember. Look for the Best Sellers edition of Colin McRae 2.0 appearing on shelves across Europe from Friday 12th October. Related Feature - Colin McRae 2.0 review

Sony and the PlayStation 2 have had their fair share of detractors in the past, not least amongst our own staff it has to be said. But with a plethora of exciting new titles on the horizon and sales boosted by a recent price cut, it looks like Sony may just have won the console war in Europe before it has even begun...