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It's less than a year since Serious Sam : The First Encounter was unleashed on to an unsuspecting public, and the arrival so soon of a second game in the series may have left you suspicious that this would be a tacky Tomb Raider style cash-in. Fear not though, for the imaginatively titled Second Encounter is bigger, better, harder than ever and utterly, utterly insane. Once again you take on the role of "Serious" Sam Stone, a marine with a bad attitude sent into the distant past to save the world from hostile aliens. Or something. The storyline isn't really important, serving merely to give Sam an excuse to rampage his way through the ancient world slaughtering outlandish monsters, and if you haven't played the first game you won't have missed anything that you can't pick up from the short intro cutscene. But what the game lacks in plot it more than makes up for with character. Sam is more vocal than ever and is always ready with a sarcastic one-liner or an in-joke, from whining about how much he hates crates to complaining about the quality of his script. The whole game is decidely tongue-in-cheek with a refreshingly self-deprecating sense of humour, constantly poking fun at itself and its rivals.

A handful of Tokyo-based retailers are stocking a new handheld today. GamePark's GP32 has only been officially released on the Korean market, but its popularity is growing through Asia with certain retailers securing imports for the Japanese market. GP32 is similar in style to Nintendo's GameBoy Advance, but it can also playback MP3 music files. The system is driven by a 32-bit CPU - hence GP32 - with 8Mb of SDRAM. The colour LCD screen is larger than Nintendo's, and apparently backlit according to images of the unit at Core Magazine. There is no word on battery life, but software-wise the console boasts RPGs including Dungeon & Guarder, Little Wizard, Highmoss and Battle Mage. The interesting thing is that software and MP3s can be stored on SmartMedia cards, which go up to about 128Mb. GamePark has no plans to release the console in America or Japan domestically, and none of the local importers we spoke to this morning had even heard of the console. Here are some images at Core Magazine to whet your appetite anyway.

The more I think about it, the less I'm inclined to believe the Xbox will flop in Japan. The PlayStation 2 has been selling strongly there for over 18 months, and is only 1,500 yen cheaper. That's barely 13 Euros, or less than a tenner Sterling, so price is hardly a determinate. Indeed, when you factor in the HD and network connection, which are expensive extras for the PlayStation 2, the Xbox actually comes out cheaper! The Japanese launch line-up, and a burgeoning interest in online gaming could help Xbox set a new precedent in the Japanese market. It's very rare to see an American-made electronic device outselling its cheaper Japanese counterparts. There is talk already of major developers including Square and Enix talking to Microsoft. On ConsoleWire this morning, spokesmen for both companies said there was mutual interest. Whether Sony's 20% share of Squaresoft will come into play is another matter, but as far as the Japanese market is concerned, Square and Enix produce most of the best games between them. If Microsoft can secure a partnership with either, Xbox is guaranteed to do better than expected when it launches on February 22nd. Related Feature - Japanese Xbox launch unveiled

THQ's oft-confused MotoGP is due to launch on GameBoy Advance in time for Easter. Described as "the ultimate evolution of motorcycle racing" by THQ, it has some promising features, and from what we've seen of the game in action some decent Road Rage-style gameplay. The game will feature 16 real circuits and a bonus hidden track, each populated with aggressive AI-controlled racers. Each race will be quite different thanks to the real-time weather effects and other as-yet unconfirmed features according to THQ. Of course, the MotoGP license from DORNA will mean all the real riders, circuits and motorcycle visuals, although we wonder how detailed you can get on a 240x160 screen… Related Feature - MotoGP screenshots

Kellogg's cereal boxes will soon feature demo versions of PC CD-Rom games from Infogrames' catalogue of releases. The cross-promotion will cover 13 European territories including France and the UK, and has been "tailored specifically to each country, whilst remaining broadly pan-European," a company spokesperson told us. Each country will get between three and six CD-Rom demos, with games such as Heart of Darkness, Action Man Destruction X, Asterix Mega Madness, SPY Fox and Speed Dog & Wolf proving that this promotion is mostly for the kiddies' benefit. That said, we were a bit surprised to see Alone in the Dark and Desperados amongst their number. Perhaps those will ship with Muesli and bran flakes… Amongst the cereals are popular brands like Frosties, Coco Pops, Rice Krispies and more. Kellogg's aim to make the CD-Rom very visible on the front of the box, so that consumers can "easily collect all six games." "This unique cross promotion is demonstrating without doubt that video games are now a mass market entertainment in their own right and perfectly suits Infogrames' vision and strategy," commented Infogrames' Catherine Simon / V.P. Licensing Out Europe.

A couple of days ago I took another step toward bankruptcy and availed myself of two crisp, twenty-pound notes at my local games emporium. In return I received a Japanese copy of Sonic The Hedgehog Advance. I had been promised great things by the staff. When I asked, will the Japanese language get in the way, I was laughed at. Not a bit of it, I was told. Within seconds of firing up Sonic Advance I realised why. The first screen cleared up any confusion with its English language option… And so I quickly learnt what all the fuss was about. Sonic The Hedgehog Advance features four playable characters, link cable support for multiplayer and one of the best original Sonic adventures since the death of the Mega Drive. The GameBoy Advance version trounces its predecessors, with zero slowdown and a few of the Super Nintendo's biggest strengths; Mode 7, for example, and multiplayer versions of Chaos Emerald Hunt and Battle modes. Sonic has plenty of new tricks up his sleeve this time too. As with his recent appearance on the Dreamcast, Sonic can railslide on virtually anything, and this along with Sonic's ever-tight control system adds another edge to the game's already blistering speed. Sapping a bit of the pace, intermediary stages can be linked to the GameCube via a link cable, allowing players to download and upload Chaos grown from Chao eggs on either system. The GameCube version - which unfortunately we couldn't afford at the time - features a Chao Races section where (oddly enough) you can race your little blighters.

A Vancouver video game school, the Center for Digital Imaging and Sound, is offering $35,000 in scholarships redeemable towards study in its game development programs. The only catch is that these scholarships are for women only! The CDIS' game development head Ashley Matheson had this to say: "If the industry doesn't wake up and start developing content, not just for women but for the general public, they will miss a market segment that is wasting away for want of a decent product."

When GamesWire posted a small news item last week 'confirming' the existence of a Gran Turismo PC game, they could have had no idea of its impact. A day later, IGN posted a story rebuking GamesWire's Sony announcement. According to their source, Gran Turismo 3 isn't on its way to the PC. Unconvinced, we spoke to a senior source at Sony, and they told us in no uncertain terms that this is a rumour, and one that nobody within Sony has confirmed. This surprisingly precise denial led us to re-evaluate. There is public interest in a PC version of Gran Turismo. Someone told GamesWire a PC version of Gran Turismo existed. Someone told IGN that a PC version of Gran Turismo 3 did not exist. And now we know that Sony considers these claims to be nothing but a rumour. In other words we're no closer to confirming the existence of Gran Turismo Professional on the PC. Related Feature - Gran Turismo Professional

Today marks the official commercial launch of BT Wholesale's DIY "wires only" DSL service.The service is cheaper to use than existing DSL products and doesn't require an engineer to install the product. Many people in the industry are keeping their fingers crossed that DIY DSL might just do the trick and deliver a much-needed boot up the backside for broadband. Then again, maybe it won't ... today's launch is very much a low-key affair. BT Wholesale seems content to stay silent on the subject while BT's ISP, BTopenworld, does not have a self-install product in place. "We're still assessing the impact of the trial," said a spokesman for the ISP. However, it will be announcing details of its DIY offering later in the month. AOL UK is still trialling its service with several hundred of its subscribers. According to a spokesman, the trial is going well, although the ISP still needs to complete its assessment of the technology before making any decisions. Freeserve, too, is still trialling the product and will release further details "in due course". A handful of ISPs have launched commercial services for self install DSL. Leeds-based PlusNet, among others, is offering the service for £35.25 a month plus an activation fee of £58.75. And Bucks-based Nildram is charging £50 to activate the service with a monthly subscription of £39. However, critics warn that despite today's launch the service is still too expensive for mass-market consumers.

I would be the first to admit that I have somewhat difficult tastes when it comes to reviewing games, and it was with some disgruntlement that I installed the two discs of Gothic onto my machine. "I absolutely hate fantasy role-playing games", I mumbled to myself as the installation reached its conclusion and I started the game up. "I'm not going to enjoy this at all." How wrong I was. Gothic is a game that took me completely by surprise, in much the same way that Deus Ex did. I became so completely immersed in its intricately constructed fantasy world that I lost all track of time and ignored my body's pleas for food. The world in question is called Myrtana, and you assume the role of a convict thrown into a prison colony contained within a magical barrier. This work camp was founded after the land became ravaged by marauding orcs, and the prisoners interned there were to mine ore for the construction of new weapons to defend the kingdom. However, problems arose during the creation of the magical barrier and the mages who built it became trapped with the prisoners. Taking advantage of the fact that nobody could come within the barrier to collect the ore, the prisoners traded the vital resources with the king for food, drink, women .. anything they wanted. In-fighting soon drove the colony into rival factions though. The first of these, the Old Camp, was perfectly happy working with the king, exchanging ore from the mine for goods. Later a New Camp was formed by lawless thugs, while other prisoners claimed to be privy to strange visions and dreams and left to form their own settlement. The members of this Brotherhood worship an unknown entity called The Sleeper, which they are convinced is the key to their freedom.

Konami has announced ISS 2 for PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube. Targeted at hysterical fans in the build up to World Cup 2002, ISS 2 is the latest offering from Konami CE Osaka, and will feature more than 50 international teams and a wealth of game modes. The game will also feature real player names (and hopefully fewer "Europian Cups"). April should see the game's release on PlayStation 2, with Xbox and GameCube versions due later in the year. Related Feature - Pro Evolution Soccer review

ELSA has revised its North American business strategy to focus more clearly on the workstation graphics market. A long-time purveyor of NVIDIA-powered GLADIAC graphics cards amongst other hardware lines, San José-based ELSA Inc. issued a press release to this effect on November 6th, ahead of the company's quarterly report a fortnight later. However, certain sections of the online media have been charged with misinterpreting the press release. We spoke to an European ELSA representative this morning to clarify the situation, and she had this to say: "As disclosed by press release on Nov. 6, 2001 and further explained in the companies quarterly report published Nov. 22, 2001, the companies US business strategy includes a clear focus on the leading position in the workstation graphics market." "In all other regions ELSA will continue to market the high-performing products of the successful GLADIAC series through the well established business channels. These in fact are continuing to enjoy strong demand." Although ELSA is one of NVIDIA's strongest supporters in Europe, the stronger North American market has already claimed Creative as a victim. The Sound Blaster manufacturer recently gave up producing GeForce-based graphics card for the US, much to the disgust of their customers. With an increasing number of manufacturers vying for contention, ELSA's decision seems less and less remarkable. Related Feature - GeForce 3 review

Many are looking to MILIA 2002 as the birthplace of the European GameCube. Rumour has it that Nintendo could launch the console within weeks of the show, and at the latest within a couple of months. Never one to stand idly by while a competitor gets a foothold, Sony Computer Entertainment has announced that it will have an expanded presence at this year's event, including the attendance of key European management. Furthermore, SCEE's senior veepee of Development Phil Harrison will be speaking at the Think.Tank Summit Conference, MILIA's high level strategic event for senior decision makers in interactive content and entertainment. Bloody elitists. MILIA and Sony have expressed mutual appreciation of one another in a press release, and it looks as though the gaming giant plans to try and upstage Nintendo. Unfortunately, as they discovered to their chagrin at last year's E3, journalists have a tendency to go potty over GameCube. Fixated though we are, we expect to see Sony make at least one relatively major announcement at the show, in the interest of competition. Related Feature - Nintendo President retires

Activision has announced that it has bought Gray Matter, the developer behind the single player side of Return To Castle Wolfenstein. Reports suggest that the game has already shifted at least half a million units worldwide since its December release, making it a solid hit by PC standards. The take-over deal sees the publisher excercising an option in its contract with Gray Matter to acquire control of the remaining 60% of the developer (they already owned the other 40%) in exchange for 133,690 Activison shares, worth about $3m at the moment. This comes in the wake of Activision's recent acquisition of another of its big third party developers, Treyarch, while the publisher also owns other popular studios such as Soldier of Fortune developers Raven. What Activision has in mind for Gray Matter isn't yet clear, although several key staff have apparently signed on to remain at the company under its new ownership. Related Feature - Activision buys Treyarch

Judging from your average press release, the gaming industry is all about the creation, copyrighting and hyping of buzzwords. Sometimes these ideas take off (massively multiplayer role-playing games, for example), sometimes they don't (like virtual reality) and sometimes you just wish they hadn't (hello cel shading). Over the coming months we'll be taking a look at some of these bright ideas and trying to work out what all the fuss was about. To kick things off, this week we examine episodic gaming.

Cel-shading is a constant source of perturbation around here. After the enormous success of Jet Set Radio, developers around the globe have been copying and banking on the technique. Oddly enough, none of the staff here found the cel-shaded House of the Dead screenshots all that interesting, and cel-shaded lightgun games are fairly moot, too. One game that has tickled our fancies however is Capcom's recently announced Auto Modellista for the PlayStation 2. Whether it's nostalgia (we're all big Saturday morning cartoon fans) or just curiosity, a cel-shaded driving game has done what none of its counterparts could; caught our attention. The game features licensed (and toon'd) cars such as the Toyota Celica SS-II, Nissan Skyline GT-R and plenty of others, and its own Gran Turismo-style garage mode where players can customize to their heart's content with new parts and a sprayshop. In a demo shown at the recent Tokyo Auto Salon 2002, journalists at GameSpot caught a glimpse of the game. "The playable demo of the game only allowed users to drive around a simple oval course for two laps and did not provide access to other game modes. Although the game may have a somewhat unrealistic anime-like visual appearance, as a whole, it is a solid simulation-style racing game in the mode of such titles as Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo series," writes Yukiyoshi Ike Sato for GameSpot. Auto Modellista is due out in Japan this year, but Capcom hasn't announced the game in the US yet. We spoke to Capcom Eurosoft recently, and they had no idea whether the game would be released in Europe, or indeed the USA. When questioned about the game, they pleaded ignorance, but you could tell they were all playing it. We're already planning articles called "Whatever Happened to Cel-Shading" for publication in a couple of years time, but if Auto Modellista lives up to its billing, it could persuade us to puts our pens and erasers away for another few. Or at least until we've played the damn thing.

State of Emergency was originally due out on January 18th, but we were sad to learn of its delay midway through last week. Fortunately, it won't be long before European gamers get their hands on Rockstar's latest adrenaline-pumping action game. After speaking to Take 2 Interactive, we can confirm that the game is due out on February 8th, a mere three days after its US counterpart.

After what seems like an eternity of waiting, Nintendo has finally released the European version of Advance Wars. The highly anticipated turn-based strategy game is finally available from retailers everywhere. Our local Electronics Boutique had "plenty", and e-tailers like Amazon and Gameplay both claim to have stock. Advance Wars was one of our picks for 2002. The game was originally delayed after the events of September 11th in America, where the game was available at the time. Since then Nintendo have kept schtum about it, until last Friday's surprise release. Anyway, we've been playing the US version for months, and in our humble opinion it's the best GBA game so far. Go buy it. Now. Related Feature - Picks for 2002

President George W Bush - the man who nearly died choking on a pretzel while watching American football yesterday afternoon, and leader of the free world - has advised parents to "demand [academic] excellence" from children. "Good study habits are reinforced by mothers and fathers who are willing to switch off the TV set and turn off video games to make sure the homework gets done." President Bush made his statement after signing an enormous education reform, which will see schools and other education facilities penalized in future for failing to meet standards. President Bush's own children were recently arrested after trying to buy alcohol.

Microsoft has cemented its plans for the February 22nd launch of Xbox in Japan. Speaking at the company's 'Winter Conference 2002' in Tokyo on Friday, Microsoft's Japanese veepee Hirohisa Oura announced that the console would retail for 34,800 yen (£182) alongside 12 launch titles. By the end of March, there will be some 22 titles available. Oura-san also announced a Japan-only special edition Xbox, to be released in a small run of 50,000 units at Bill Gates' request. The limited edition console will feature transparent casing and come with a free keychain. Japanese punters wishing to purchase one of these units will have to pay 39,800 yen (£208). The 12 launch titles include success stories from the North American launch, such as Dead or Alive 3 and Project Gotham Racing. Also joining the fray are Silent Hill 2, Onimusha and Jet Set Radio Future. Halo is nowhere to be seen, which is probably a good thing. The Xbox will be the most expensive console on the Japanese market when it launches, and there is little confidence that it will be able to catch up with its Sony counterpart, or even Nintendo's GameCube. However it's impossible to say whether an American-made console will do well in Japan… with the exception of 3DO and possibly Atari's Jaguar, it's quite unprecedented. Related Feature - Xbox sets launch benchmark

Max Payne is a keenly awaited conversion indeed. After the enormous success of the PC version, Remedy have produced a version each for Xbox and PlayStation 2. Technologically Max Payne was a towering example of the heavyweight PC action game, and getting it to work reasonably on the PS2 has been no easy task. A bit like forcing a Christmas tree into a drainpipe. Visually, Remedy has had to cut a few corners. The charismatic Max Payne we know - with his flowing trench coat and sharp features - has been replaced by a blocky, PS2-grade character model with a polygon deficiency. The resolution is much lower than the Xbox version, and the textures have clearly been watered down to keep the hardware happy. These shortcuts still aren't enough to keep the game's framerate on an even keel. Other changes include the slicing and dicing of many of the game's levels to include more regular loading areas. The PC version was fairly reasonable about load times, especially on a fast PC, but the PS2 version takes forever. As you will doubtless be aware, Payne on the PC featured regular comic book-style story sections, which were either loved or hated. Halfway through the PS2 version, these story features combined with regular load times merely conspire to form one of the most disjointed and frustrating experiences ever. Thankfully the game's control system is easy enough to get the hang of, but playing a game like this on a gamepad will still never seem quite right...

Last year's collapse of upstart publisher EON Digital left several games without distribution on this side of the pond. Now the fire sale seems to be almost over, with UbiSoft signing a European publishing deal with Bethesda, one of the last companies whose products were left up in the air by EON's demise. This means that we should get to see Elder Scrolls III : Morrowind and Sea Dogs over the next few months, while the deal also covers several as-yet unannounced titles, bringing the total up to nine games. "Morrowind is one of the most eagerly awaited games of the year", UbiSoft's Alain Corre beamed as the deal was unveiled. "The media are already very excited about it, months before its release. We hope it will be just as successful as Daggerfall - the previous chapter in the series."

Released in Japan on the first day of the New Year, Gran Turismo Concept 2001 Tokyo - to give it its full title - is already one of the PS2's top-selling titles in that territory. The attraction is obvious. You get to play with cars that may never even see the light of day, with all the attention to detail of last year's smash hit, Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec. Now, it's not unusual for a racing game to concentrate on outlandish and often fictional methods of transportation, but because GT Concept's collection of bizarre looking motor show prototypes are actual concept cars, there's a touch more 'reality' to it. This isn't some space-age quest to escape a dying planet, or a race to determine the next president of the universe… it's a proper driving game. It just has some funky cars in it. GT Concept isn't a true sequel to A-Spec, but it uses the same graphics engine and sound library, and is remarkably similar in terms of gameplay mechanics. The game's 51 brand new vehicles are generally based on concepts seen at the Tokyo Motor Show. GT Concept has plenty of scope, but unfortunately Polyphony are treating it as something of a stop-gap in the run up to Gran Turismo 4, so it takes a relatively short amount of time to complete. The most obvious reason for this is that it lacks a career mode, the mainstay of the previous three GT games.

We first met Hungarian developers Philos Labs when they were over here promoting their novel Aztec strategy game Theocracy a couple of years ago. Since then the company has expanded rapidly and is currently working on a range of new titles, from the tactical action-adventure game Escape From Alcatraz to epic space strategy sequel Imperium Galactica 3. We caught up with designer Zsolt Hanula to find out more...

With most of the pro gaming circuit fighting for places down the toilet, it comes as a pleasant surprise to discover that Razer, the company behind those inimitable Boomslang precision mice, is back in business after a close scrape. In a message to customers on the company's website - Razerzone.com - "Thanks, thanks and just plain thanks, for the over 10,000 welcome back emails, and the thousands of customers who placed a product reservation on our To Buy page. Your Boomslang is here and waiting for you!" On something of the high, the front page goes on to promise that the 1,500 letters and emails demanding XP drivers will be answered soon. "We are anticipating posting betas on our drivers page on January 11, 2002." That's sometime today. The drivers aren't up yet, but I won't split hairs about it, since it is only seven minutes past midnight… Razer's return is an interesting development. It's clear that the technology downturn has hit pro gaming extremely hard, with the scaling back of tournaments and just the other day, the closure of London's The Playing Fields, a regular host for CPL events amongst others. Perhaps gamers are starting to get their thirst for slaughter back, after pleading sabbatical over the last six months or so. Too late for some... Related Feature - Razer BoomSlang 2000 mouse review

Despite the success of the original Aliens vs Predator game, its developer Rebellion was dumped in favour of Monolith, the company behind No One Lives Forever. Unfortunately for fans of the series, Monolith have made plenty of mistakes and, like so many of their previous releases, AvP2 is crying out for a patch. Monolith got one thing right though. AvP2 continues in the same vein as its predecessor, which sported three separate campaigns for budding Aliens and aspiring Predators, while for the rest of us there was the bladder-slackening Marine mission to contend with. It was three games in one with a brilliant co-operative multiplayer mode to boot. The sequel is nowhere near as frightening, but Monolith have done a surprisingly good job of building believable Alien and Predator single player scenarios which intersect with one another and the Marine campaign at times. The Marine campaign is perhaps the best of them, and compared to the vomit-inducing fish-eyed Alien campaign and every epileptic's worst nightmare, the Predator, the Marine outing is a better first person shooter. With a shoulder-mounted flashlight answering your every beck and call though, the only scares will come as you face the wrong way when a scripted sequence kicks off.

Gran Turismo developer Polyphony Digital is working on a PC version of the hit game alongside Gran Turismo 4, Sony has revealed. No further information has been given on "Gran Turismo Professional", as the game will be known, but it will be roughly based on Gran Turismo 3, probably the best driving game ever released. Textures, car models and the game engine may all be directly ported. PC to PlayStation 2 ports sometimes work reasonably, but console to PC ports are notoriously dodgy ground. Polyphony's fellow Japanese developer Squaresoft is one of the worst offenders. Virtually all of its PC ports have been produced outside the company and act like bad emulations. The fact that Polyphony itself is handling the port could be good news. Whether the game will appeal to Grand Prix III types who enjoy tweaking the suspension and specifying numbers all over the shop, is difficult to tell. Gameswire, who unearthed the story, also raise the question of online compatibility. Our instinct is that Polyphony won't bother. Gran Turismo 4 for the PlayStation 2 will feature online play, but since GT Professional is based on its predecessor and it would involve a significant amount of extra coding, it would be silly to get our hopes up. Related Feature - Gran Turismo 3 review

Hercules has announced its plan to license ATI's ALL-IN-WONDER products, including the ALL-IN-WONDER RADEON 8500 DV, and produce cards based on the reference design. Obviously this is a big move for the company, whose NVIDIA-based products have been among the most revered of all the NVIDIA-licensed cards. "Our agreement with Hercules is proof that ATI is accepted as a leading provider of graphics acceleration technology for the gaming community," said ATI President and Chief Operating Officer Dave Orton, and he's right. The interesting thing here is that Hercules haven't abandoned NVIDIA, but have just chosen to manufacture cards based on another competitor's solution. A while ago, there were rumours that NVIDIA were putting the squeeze on Hercules for choosing to support STMicroelectronics' Kyro and Kyro II chipsets. They may discover that the same tactics don't work in this situation however, because by doing so they merely encourage one of their biggest customers to move closer to the competition. Let's be clear, ATI is more competition to NVIDIA than Videologic and STMicroelectronics, but if the GeForce giant wants to stay in the driving seat, they need to rekindle their relationship with Hercules and solidify some sort of agreement to benefit them. As it stands, Hercules Radeon boards will cost less than Hercules GeForce boards, and the performance difference is questionable. That can't be good news for NVIDIA. Hercules on the other hand, will be laughing all the way to the bank, and they will start to do so in February of this year…

Guido Henkel, the producer of Black Isle's oddball role-playing game Planescape Torment and the Realms of Arkania series, has unveiled his new company - G3 Studios. Although the name might suggest a link with the Mac, the company is in fact dedicated to developing games for PDA systems and the GameBoy Advance, starting with the Pocket PC. Henkel seems to be the latest developer to become frustrated with PC game development, following in the footsteps of John Romero and Tom Hall, who founded Monkeystone last year and have already released their first PDA game - a far cry from the multi-million dollar budgets and four year development cycles of Ion Storm. "Unlike the desktop PC world, where you are fighting countless configurations, operating systems and requirements, handhelds are a very enclosed platform. This allows us to concentrate on making better games, turning them around with smaller teams in much shorter time", Guido enthused. "Working in such an emerging market is exciting and challenging. Not only do we have to develop new business models and open up new business opportunities, but we also have to put on a different mindset when it comes to designing and developing our products. What works on a standard desktop PC may not be suitable for a lightweight handheld with limited storage capacities and a stylus as input device. But it is exactly that challenge that makes it so refreshing, together with the fact that we are helping to shape and drive an entirely new market." Exactly what G3 are working on so far isn't clear, although the press release suggests "a varied palette of products including original content, as well as licensed properties which will be ported from other platforms". The company is planning to cover every genre from "casino style games" (eugh) to more interesting action and role-playing efforts. Further details should be available on the G3 website later in the month. Related Feature - Romero and Killcreek Monkeying around

CDV have announced that they will be releasing a double disc pack in February called Combat Mission Gold, featuring the popular turn-based strategy game and a host of modifications and add-ons for it. Hitherto only available over the internet, the game is set on the western front during World War II and takes you from the D-Day landings in Normandy to the final push into Germany. Along with the game itself (originally released way back in June 2000) the pack will also include over 80 user-made mods, adding a host of new scenarios, maps and units. "Combat Mission is a strategy game with huge appeal, yet until now it has escaped the attention of traditional shop-going gamers", according to CDV UK president Terry Malham. "Combat Missions deserves to be recognised as one of the leading strategy games available - and CDV Software Entertainment UK is proud to be the originator of this pack."