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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...

Intel has today announced a new packaging technology that will help the company build processors with more than a one billion transistor count at about 20GHz in the next few years. The technology is called "Bumpless Build-Up Layer" or BBUL packaging. Today, modern silicon chips are connected electrically and mechanically to their packaging via tiny balls of solder called "bumps". As the speed of processors increases, bumps and other factors including the thickness of the packaging and the number of connection points could become a performance limiter. With processor speed doubling every 18 months or so, it won't be long before a new technology is called for. This is where BBUL comes in, deliberately circumventing all three potential pitfalls. Eliminating the use of bumps completely, and ignoring the practice of attaching the silicon die to the package, BBUL grows the package around the silicon. High-speed copper connections (similar to those used in competitor AMD's current processor lines) are used to connect the die to the different layers of the package. This reduces the physical thickness of the processor package and reduces power consumption as a by-product. Intel's new packaging also gives them the chance to build multi-chip solutions in one package. It also opens the doors to high-performance embedded processors, a market Intel will be delighted to make inroads into. Expect to hear about networking equipment and similar devices utilizing BBUL… …but don't expect to hear much about it in the immediate future. Intel is targeting the implementation of BBUL as a packaging option between 2006 and 2007. Naturally, we'll have our offspring bring you in-depth commentary on the technology nearer the time!

Matsushita, the company that developed the Nintendo GameCube's 8cm mini-DVD disc format, has announced that its GameCube derivative console will go under the name of 'Q', and that it will be marketed with the slogan "Play or View". Matsushita's deal with Nintendo means they can manufacture and sell their own version of GameCube, and it has been established that the unit is currently on show at the CEATEC Expo in Japan. The Q logo is a moulded cube, ala the official Nintendo logo, but as shown in the image above, instead of masking a letter 'G', the logo includes a small inverted V shape at the bottom to produce a 'Q'. The Q console has received plenty of attention in the past because it functions exactly as the official Nintendo GameCube, but with the added benefit of a DVD playback option. It is expected to retail for 35,000 yen or thereabouts ($290), whereas the Nintendo GameCube costs about half that.

Core Magazine is reporting that the Spring Tokyo Game Show 2002 has been cancelled due to falling attendance figures. Organiser CESA (the Computer Entertainment Software Association) is concerned that fewer corporate clients are bothering with the twice-annual event and in turn fewer visitors are making the journey to Tokyo to see them. CESA have explained that they intend for TGS to be an annual event from now on, losing the Spring show for good. This leaves the Autumn event, which takes place this year from October 12-14. Microsoft will be hit the hardest by the cancellation. They will now have to put their full effort into making sure the forthcoming Autumn TGS goes without a hitch. It is understood that Microsoft have the largest reservation of floor space at the event and from here they will be forced to prepare the Japanese for the launch of Xbox as much as five months further down the line. Either that or they will arrange an event of similar drawing power nearer the time. Last month, London's ECTS was condemned by trade and press for the low exhibitor turnout and the large number of 'fanboys' taking the place of legitimate visitors. Many companies whisked their visitors away to plush venues for daylong presentations and demonstrations of new hardware and software. None of the major console players bothered with ECTS, preferring to do their business in private, and large publishers like Electronic Arts, Capcom and Havas took their business elsewhere, while others like Konami didn't even go that far. The cancellation of the Spring Tokyo Game Show is a sign of the times.

IGNcube have confirmed, albeit without providing any concrete evidence at this time, that a Japanese GameCube can be modified to play American GameCube software with "a few neat modifications to the hardware." Describing the process as "not entirely an easy one," they do assert that anybody with a soldering gun and a steady hand should be able to accomplish the task "without fail". This is great news for gamers the world over, particularly the overzealous amongst us who may have purchased the system, all of its launch titles, every peripheral available and other random knickknacks when it hit the deck running on September 14th. (So… you, then -Ed) The modification, IGN report, works so that players can "actually switch between US and Japanese software from the back of the GameCube," similar to the developer switches witnessed at ECTS last month. Several outlets, it is said, have already implemented the region switch on their GameCubes, and it won't be long before it is widespread. We encourage anybody eager to circumvent the region protection to wait for the US GameCube release to be absolutely sure. It never pays to be a guinea pig when a £200 console is at stake! IGNcube expect an update in the next few weeks with full details on the modification. As they say, the very knowledge that it is a doable task will help some to put their schedule of sleepness nights on hold for a while.

Bomberman has appeared on almost every platform since the NES, taking in the N64, Genesis, Saturn, PlayStation, GameBoy and PC along the way with varying degrees of success. So it was only a matter of time before the ubiquitous pyromaniac appeared on Nintendo's new GameBoy Advance. For those of you not familiar with Bomberman, the game boils down to running around the screen dropping bombs in an attempt to trap your enemies with the horizontal and vertical explosions they cause. Matches begin with a liberal scattering of crates, tyres or other obstructions to blow up, and these sometimes reveal power-ups that increase the number of bombs you can have on screen at once or the range of the blasts they produce, or offer special powers such as the ability to shove bombs across the screen. It's a simple concept which can prove strangely addictive, particularly when played head-to-head against human opponents, and thanks to the wonders of the GameBoy Advance's link cable up to four people can play Bomberman Tournament using a single cartridge. Solo gamers can test their skills against three difficulty levels of AI opponent, although this can be a little boring if you find yourself knocked out early in a round and then have to watch the rest of the bombermen battling it out for another two minutes.

bam! seems to be carving out something of a niche for itself on the GameBoy Advance, with the surreal puzzle game Hot Potato and beat 'em up with a difference Fire Pro Wrestling already behind them, and a whole spate of new games on their way from the company. Just last week they announced that they had picked up publishing duties for the GBA version of classic PC adventure game Broken Sword, and today we received a disc full of goodies relating to four more forthcoming titles - Ecks vs Sever, Driven, Dexter's Laboratory and .. Powerpuff Girls. Needless to say the last of these didn't grab our attention, but the rest of the line-up looks rather more interesting. First up is Ecks vs Sever, a first person shooter developed by Crawfish and based on the movie of the same name. In a novel turn of events, the game will be released next month while the movie won't hit the big screen until next summer, and indeed we've not heard anything about the film yet apart from the fact that this game is based on it. Still, with a range of real-world guns to blaze away with and a variety of deathmatch modes, plus the ability to play as either FBI agent Jonathan Ecks or NSA hitman Sever and twelve single player missions for each of them, this may just fill a spot until the much-anticipated GameBoy Advance port of Doom arrives. Also due in November is Driven, based on the Sylvester Stallone movie of the same name. The setting is American CART racing (that's CART, not kart), and while it may not have the appeal of Formula 1 here in Europe, it's still fast and furious wheel-to-wheel action. Eight tracks are included, with a mixture of street circuits and those weird oval tracks the Americans love so much, and settings ranging from California and New York to the countryside of England, in which you must stop at the end of every lap to have your wheels disinfected to guard against spreading foot & mouth disease. Probably. There are championship, arcade, test and story modes to enjoy, as well as four player multiplayer support, with new tracks and cars to unlock along the way. All in all it looks like being an entertaining arcade-style racer for the hand-held, and could prove a welcome antidote to Mario Kart and its cartoonish clones. Last and not least we come to Dexter's Laboratory, also lining up for a November release, and based on the cartoon of the same name. I see a pattern emerging here. Anyway, the boy genius Dexter is up to his usual tricks, devising a "clone-a-matic", only for his sister Dee Dee to multiply herself in it, infesting Dexter's eponymous secret lab with hordes of mini Dee Dees. Now it's up to you to catch them all, recover from the devestation the annoying one(s) has caused, and return her to a singular existence in time for dinner. Along the way you will face rogue robots, aliens, carnivorous plants and mutants, using everything from ray guns to weed killer to take them on. All together now - "Deeeeee Deeeeee!" Related Features -

While the PlayStation 2 has had its fair share of detractors, Sony's console looks set to enjoy a second lease of life over the next few months thanks to the recent European price cut and the arrival of promising new games such as Metal Gear Solid 2. One of the first releases from this new wave of quality software will be Capcom's Devil May Cry, designed by Resident Evil guru Shinji Mikami but taking the horror genre in a completely new direction. We recently got a chance to look at the completed Japanese version of the game, and to say we were blown away would be an understatement of epic proportions.

In an unusual move, Sports Interactive and Konami have teamed up to combine two of the world's leading soccer franchises, by adding Championship Manager's now legendary statistical database into Konami's new Pro Evolution Soccer game. With detailed information on over 130,000 players from around the world included in the hulking great database, the stats dump will prove to be a "tremandous asset", according to Konami Europe's Dave Cox. "Sports Interactive's library of player and team data is hugely impressive and the most comprehensive we have seen in the football games market", Dave gushed. For their part Sports Interactive claim to be huge fans of the ISS Pro Evolution series, with Miles Jacobson going all weak at the knees. "It was a real thrill when we heard that there was mutual respect from the teams behind the games and that they wanted to use our player stats", Miles is reported as saying. It's a love thing. And with Pro Evolution Soccer coming to the PlayStation 2 on November 16th, you should be able to see the outcome of their relationship soon. Related Feature - Sports Interactive interview

Cryo have announced a new swashbuckling action-adventure game based on the exploits of the fictional hero Zorro, who has appeared in pulp novels, comic books, television series and movies spanning some eighty years. Shadow of Zorro takes you to Los Angeles in the year 1822 and sees the masked swordsman investigating a new police chief who may be an infamous Spanish traitor accused of colluding with the French during the recent Napoleonic Wars. The whole thing is intended to remain faithful to the original TV series, with action split between daring rescue missions, stealthy spying, swordplay and gun fights.

With Anarchy Online now available throughout Europe, Funcom are preparing to begin the persistent storyline which they had promised players. Specially designed missions, dungeons and bosses will tie in with planned gameplay changes and scripted events to involve gamers in an episodic story arc which will span four years. Or at least that's the plan. The first season is due to start on October 31st and will carry on through to May, when it will end on a cliffhanger leading in to a second season of activities starting later in the summer. The whole thing is being devised by a story team including Ragnar Tornquist and Didrik Tollefsen, two of the men behind the stunning adventure game The Longest Journey, along with Anarchy Online lead designer Gaute Godager and Aaron de Orive, who was planning the storyline for Ultima Online 2 before the game's development was unexpectedly cancelled by Electronic Arts. To kick things off a new story website has been launched for the game, offering a short teaser movie, an interview with Omni-Tek's Rubi-Ka boss Philip Ross, and the prologue of the soon-to-be-released Anarchy Online novel "Prophet Without Honour", which fills in more of the game's back story. Apparently the end is nigh. Related Feature - Anarchy Online preview

As if there was any shortage of soccer games, Silicon Dreams and Take 2 Interactive are lining up to release the latest in the UEFA Champions League series on PC and PlayStation 2 in the run-up to Christmas. The only officially licensed UEFA game for the 2001/2002 season, it features the league's 32 European clubs with their kit, sponsors and players all present and correct, as well as tournament and player editors that allow you to add your own favourite team into the game and see how they stand up to Europe's finest. The latest UEFA Champions game also marks the return of the historical mode, which allows you to replay classic matches from the last four decades of football. Improved animations, TV-style camera angles and more detailed player models round out the feature list, along with a healthy sprinkling of words such as "unprecedented" and "revolutionary". With the game currently expected out on October 26th, we should know soon whether it lives up to the hype or is destined to get left on the bench... Related Feature - UEFA Champions League 1999/2000 review

Last November the first playable code for Magic & Mayhem : The Art of Magic appeared on our doormat. Although there were obviously still a lot of rough edges to be smoothed out the game was already looking promising and a spring release was on the cards. Then everything went ominously quiet...

I want one of these. InterAct, the company responsible for many a GameBoy peripheral including licensed Worm Light derivatives and a future Xbox peripheral manufacturer, has revealed that it intends to deliver pint-sized (well, 5.4-inch) LCD colour displays for GameCube. "The compact design of the GameCube console from Nintendo makes it a perfect candidate for accessories that allow gaming any place, any time", the press release chimes. The company is already responsible for unofficial LCD addons for PSOne, and evidently these were a success - one it hopes to repeat with the new GameCube addon, called Mobile Monitor 5.4. The picture speaks louder than words, but if you're interested in the price; the press release indicates one of $149.99. InterAct is also releasing a rechargeable battery pack for GameCube/Mobile Monitor 5.4 users, costing $49.99. Both could be available as early as November.

Following the collapse of Ion Storm Dallas after four years of budget-burning disasters, John Romero and Tom Hall seem to have decided to go for a back to basics approach to game design. Instead of designing cutting edge PC and next-gen console titles, they have switched their attentions to hand-held systems. In particular, the PocketPC. Their first title is Hyperspace Delivery Boy, which sounds like an attempt to return to the pair's heyday when they working on classic shareware games like Commander Keen at id Software. It should be available by the beginning of November, something of a departure from the four year development cycles of Daikatana and Anachronox at Ion Storm! "Development for the Pocket PC can be done with a small team in a very limited amount of time. This is exactly the environment and feel we were looking for with Monkeystone, and I think it suits John and Tom perfectly", Romero's girlfriend Stevie Case told GameSpy in a recent interview. "This way they get to spend their time actually working on the games rather than managing a team. Trying to balance the needs of a big company and its endless list of employees is a big waste of their skills, in my honest opinion. As things stand, John is doing all of the programming. I haven't seen him so happy since I first met him. Tom is doing design work, art and mapping." At the moment the company has just five employees, including former Ensemble CFO Brian Moon, who is handling the business and management side of things, leaving the Ion Storm escapees free to concentrate on game design. "We will be ramping up a bit and doing some hiring, but it will not be excessive", Stevie revealed. "We are enjoying this small team way too much! Also, we feel that handhelds are the market to be in right now."

Sony sold 55,477 consoles on the PlayStation 2's first week of sales, according to extrapolated sales data leaked to us by a source in retail. Five weeks later the figure was still a respectable 39,928, but it fell off a cliff in the sixth week to a paltry 3128, proof of stock problems as if any were needed. Interestingly, the figures also reveal that it subsequently stayed under 15,000 units a week (and indeed mostly under 10,000 units) until this week just past. The week ending last Saturday, 50,476 PlayStation 2 consoles were sold in the United Kingdom. It's obvious that Sony's £199 price point has made a stunning difference to the console's sales potential. In the history of PS2, there have been several major events that could have done the same, but none did. When Sony dropped the price of the console to £269, the consumer hardly batted an eyelid. With the release of Gran Turismo 3, unquestionably the console's biggest killer app, sales remained entrenched in that 15,000 unit pocket, but with the cutting of £70 from the price, sales have leapt by 230% Whether they can remain at this stupendous high in the run up to Christmas is debatable, but nonetheless these figures represent a very credible argument for SCE in convincing its American division to reduce the console to $199. SCEA has previously said it is "not competing" with Microsoft and Nintendo this Christmas, and that SCEE's decision to drop prices across Europe was not something they intended to mimic. Ironic, we thought, because Sony has no major console competition here and will have none until Spring, but the world and its dog knows that Microsoft and Nintendo represent a worldly threat to its dominance overseas. We're guessing, but the argument from SCEA's point of view was presumably that the extra $100 per console would mean an even greater loss per unit than before, while making zero difference to sales if cut. If that was the case, these UK sales figures prove otherwise, and SCEA should seriously consider following suit. Related Feature - Sony 'are not going to be competing this year'

Sony may farm out production of PlayStation 2 to Taiwanese companies in order to cut the cost of producing 20 million consoles annually. The report, which Goldman Sachs analyst KC Kao delivered to clients yesterday, indicates that Hon Hai Precision Industry Ltd, Asustek Computer Inc and Yageo Inc could receive orders that amount to the production of six million consoles a year. The orders would mean an exponential increase in revenue for the Taiwanese companies and a large weight off the mind of Sony, whose costs have had to be driven down in the last few weeks, a procedure which has included the scaling back of component suppliers in Japan by 1500, 60% By cutting component purchase costs by more than 15%, Sony aims to save 300 billion yen annually, or about $9.7 billion. Sony has pledged to ship 20 million consoles in the year ending March 31st, despite recent events in America, which analysts have said may make parents less inclined to consider a gaming console as a present for their child this Christmas. Related Feature - PS2 sales jump

When 3dfx were swallowed up by NVIDIA, we had at least hoped for a few months of driver support for the thousands of users worldwide, but within a few weeks this idea had whittled away to nothing. With the exception of x3dfx, a group of former employees hoping to support the cards on their own, who were apparently kicked about by NVIDIA legal, only unofficial third party drivers were available, made up by frustrated gamers in their bedrooms. Advances were out of the question; only the hope for ongoing OS support was really there. Fortunately for you Voodoo owners (and their must be a number of you still out there), we have managed to track down new sets of unofficial drivers which not only work, we can confirm, but actually support Windows 2000 and XP without objection. The files themselves are located at this site in Germany, and there is a handy mirror for our transatlantic readers at Guru3D in the States. These drivers support Voodoo Banshee, Obsidian S/X, Canopus Pure 3D and Pure 3D II, Voodoo Rush, Voodoo, Voodoo 2, and Voodoo 3/4/5. The latter, unfortunately, are only available for Windows 2000. Just a note: these are unsupported by the developer. But then, Voodoo cards have been unsupported since the brand was quietly tucked away in a cupboard somewhere, so you will be used to that. Related Feature - Voodoo 5 6000 preview

Eidos have officially announced Hitman 2 : Silent Assassin, a sequel to last year's novel action game in which you played a bald contract killer working for "The Agency". This time round the follicularly challenged "cleaner" will be starting out at a Sicilian monastery, but as chanting hymns and playing with rosaries wouldn't make for a particularly entertaining game, his peaceful existence doesn't last long. Before you can say "hail Mary" he's back in business and fighting for his life with a former Spetsnaz agent on his tail. Weapons range from sniper rifles and explosives to knives and poison darts, as well as a new selection of non-lethal gear such as stun guns and chloroform to take down guards without harming a hair on their heads. Indeed, the developers claim that you will be able to play through missions without killing anyone except the primary target, or if you prefer a more gung ho attitude you can charge in and massacre everyone who gets in your way. With the game due on shelves in the spring, we should know more soon. In the meantime, enjoy the first ever screenshots of the sequel in action! Related Feature - Hitman 2 screenshots

Fishtank have announced that the German version of the stunning looking underwater action-adventure game Aquanox "hat den Goldmaster-Status erreicht" and is now being duplicated ready for release as early as the end of next week. There's still some translation work to be done before it emerges outside of Germany though, and our latest information is that the game should arrive in the UK on Friday 9th November. Time to start saving up for that new graphics card... Related Feature - Aquanox screenshots

When we looked at the PlayStation 2 version of Red Faction in July, our biggest concern was the control system. Playing a first person shooter using a control pad has never been my cup of tea, and wherever possible I have tried to avoid it. Another factor is visual quality. As matters stand, comfortable though it is to sit in front of my enormous television playing Generic Shooter 3 on my latest console, invariably my PC upstairs turns out sharper, higher resolution visuals with a control system friendlier to a veteran of point and shoot PC releases. With Red Faction, the situation is no different, and besides the obvious improvements in resolution, visual quality, framerate and control, the PC version also boasts those much-needed online multiplayer features. Will Volition's best game since Descent stand up to PC-based first person shooters like Return to Castle Wolfenstein this Christmas? There's only one way to find out... For those of you who are new to the game, the premise is that you are Douglas Quaid in Total Recall under a different pseudonym. There is no official connection between the Arnold Schwarzenegger blockbuster and Volition's first person shooter, but there might as well be. Your character Parker finds himself thrown into a deadly revolt on our solar system's red planet, and with guidance from members of the rebellious Red Faction you must overcome your mining supervisors and escape from a world of hurt. Unlike said movie though, Red Faction suffers from a problem familiar to Hollywood directors and movie buffs; not knowing when to end. There are several opportunities for closure in Red Faction, but the developer chooses none of them, preferring to exhaust every single gameplay and story mechanism first. The PC version is a straight copy of the PS2, so fans of the original will find nothing new in the single player game.

Codemasters has joined the list of publishers supporting the Xbox, announcing that several of its next-generation console games will be available on Microsoft's big black brick. They have also confirmed that they will be publishing the Xbox version of gory third person action game Severance, which was first announced by Spanish developers Rebel Act Studios several months ago. Titled Ultimate Blade of Darkness, it will feature enhanced graphics and animations, 3D positional audio, new and improved levels, and a two player split-screen mode allowing you and a friend to battle your way through the game side by side. So far Blade is the nearest thing Codemasters have to an Xbox-exclusive title, but Xbox versions of TOCA Race Driver, LMA Manager and Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing are all on the way as well. "With our Xbox titles we will provide a level of realism significantly higher than on any previous platform, through the refinement and level of detail in our graphics work to heightened audio, physics, damage modelling and frame rates", Development Director John Hemingway enthused. "The power of the Xbox that enables us to achieve this will make for some of the richest, most exhilarating and dynamic gaming experiences ever produced by Codemasters." Related Feature - Xbox severed

Japanese developers Square have admitted they are likely to post a loss this year, mostly thanks to the dismal showing of their groundbreaking digital animation movie Final Fantasy : The Spirits Within. The film cost upwards of $135m to produce even before advertising and other costs are taken into account, but has so far pulled in a meagre $60m worldwide, with the Japanese launch also expected to be relatively poor. The film could end up setting the company back to the tune of $115m, so it is perhaps not surprising that Square COO Yoichi Wada has confirmed that this will probably be their first and last foray into the movie industry. Related Feature - Disaster Movies

Dragon's Lair looks set to be the latest video game to be turned into a movie. Originally released in 1983, Dragon's Lair is probably best remembered for its impressive cartoon-like graphics and amusing characters rather than the bland gameplay, which effectively launched the god-forsaken interactive movie genre. But with a 3D sequel in the works and a GameBoy port recently released, Don Bluth is now working on turning his game into a cartoon movie. Bluth is no stranger to the movie industry, having directed animated movies ranging from Titan AE to An American Tail, and his team are currently finishing up pre-production work on the Dragon's Lair film. According to a report on Animated Movies, the script is now complete and storyboarding is underway. "It will be done in a style very similar to the original game", and actors are currently being sought to voice the animated characters. A spokesman is reported as saying that "we do have interest from two of the distribution companies that know how to distribute animation". Presumably neither of those is 20th Century Fox, given the Titan AE fiasco... Related Feature - Disaster Movies

Activision have bought Treyarch, the developers behind the Dreamcast versions of recent hits such as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and Spider-Man, in exchange for up to 770,000 Activision shares. When stock markets opened this morning that valued the deal at around $20m, but Activision's shares have risen sharply since the agreement was announced, increasing that figure to over $23m. Both companies are based in Santa Monica, California, and Treyarch's 140 staff will now become part of Activision's in-house development group. "Treyarch is an outstanding developer with an experienced management team and a very talented group of programmers, designers and artists", Activision President Ron Doornink gleamed, adding that "the company's multi-platform development capabilities and proprietary cross-platform technologies complement Activision's rich brands - making them a natural fit". For their part, Treyarch are said to be "tremendously pleased to be a part of Activision". The company is currently working on an Xbox version of Tony Hawk's 2 for Activision, as well as Spider-Man : The Movie for PlayStation 2 and a game based on the forthcoming Tom Cruise film Minority Report. Related Feature - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 review (Dreamcast)

Swing! Entertainment have announced they will be publishing PlayStation and GameBoy Advance versions of the bizarre artificial life sim Creatures, which sees you rearing a brood of hideously cute big-eyed creatures called Norn. The PSOne version of the game is being touted as a "stocking stuffer" in the run-up to Christmas, with a budget price of just £9.99, while the GameBoy Advance version will allow players to trade their Norns over a link cable. Both should feature three worlds for your Norns to explore and two bonus games to play. And if you think you have escaped the infernal Creatures, be warned - Swing's publishing deal with developers Creature Labs also includes scope for a GameCube version of the game... Related Feature - Creatures 3 review

As far as the pigs are concerned, they deserve a bit of freedom; the run of the land so to speak. Given their intentions in this area, and their deep-seated hatred for their flopsy-eared neighbours, they hatch a plan to exceed their boundaries and invade the rabbits' territory. The rabbits on the other hand are having none of this, and so the two sides meet, fighting for land across 15 missions of varying intensity, some of which yours truly has now sampled. Each 15-mission campaign (one per animal) offers plenty of strategy fun. You have a pile of cash to spend on purchasing units, and you do this on screens preceding combat. Your assembled troops are then kitted out and thrust into battle at your behest. Four legs and a life of snorting or hopping is apparently no reason not to take up tanks, gun-packed humvees, artillery and other instruments of war when the time comes, and as such all these and more are at your disposal as the game wears on. Outside intervention (including airstrikes) can be called upon to help players reach mission objectives, and you have a truck for towing supplies and munitions too. Controlling matters is a cinch. The usual clickety-click lassoing is possible with the left mouse button and I don't foresee anybody with more than a day's worth of RTS experience having any trouble getting to grips with S.W.I.N.E. Apart from the simplistic control system the battle mechanics are also pretty obvious. You spend much of the time marching your troops about and capturing objectives, raising strongholds to the ground and whatnot, and once you have the single player game under control (and I trust it gets harder) you can compete against chums over 10 different multiplayer maps, with deathmatch, capture the flag and seek and destroy amongst the modes on offer. Online play is obviously planned as well as LAN play, and we fancy a skirmish mode.

As Conquest begins, humanity is taking its first faltering steps amongst the stars thanks to the discovery of jump gate technology, but this being a real-time strategy game you just know that things aren't going to go smoothly. Sure enough, a Terran ship strays into the middle of a civil war and gets run over by a big honking alien battleship in pursuit of a rebel leader, at which point all hell breaks loose. You are sent to find out what happened to the missing ship, but before you know it your simple rescue mission has turned into a five way war between humanity and rival factions from two alien races. Unlike most real-time strategy games Conquest takes place in space rather than on the ground, although in contrast to Homeworld and FarGate it sticks resolutely to two dimensions and a traditional overhead view of the action. This is a little disappointing at first, but it does make the game easier to get to grips with and means that you can focus on actual strategy instead of struggling with rotating camera views. The other problem with space is that it is, by definition, big and empty. Conquest solves this by restricting the game to relatively small circular maps linked by wormholes which act as chokepoints. Initially you only have two or three solar systems to worry about, but the further into the game you get the more maps you will have to fight over. By the end of the campaign battles may rage across a dozen systems, interlinked by a maze of wormholes.

ELSA have unveiled their new range of graphics cards, based on the freshly announced GeForce Titanium series chips from NVIDIA, and all including TV-out as standard. At the bottom end of the range is the Gladiac 516, which is based on the new GeForce 2 Ti coupled with 64Mb of 400Mhz DDR memory, and will set you back around £140. Moving up a step we find the Gladiac 721, using the GeForce 3 Ti200 chip and also sporting 64Mb of that 400Mhz memory. This should be appearing as early as the end of the week and will cost a princely £250, with a copy of Giants and 3D Mark 2001 thrown in. Finally, for those of you with more money than sense, there is the Gladiac 921. Based on the impressive GeForce 3 Ti500 chip, it sadly comes with a price tag to match its performance at a staggering £380. For that you will get DVI output, 64Mb of 500Mhz DDR memory and a copy of Dronez, as well as what is almost certainly the fastest graphics card on the market. It also comes with new improved heatsinks and fans, which ELSA promise will reduce noise levels and improve the card's lifespan. Expect to see this and the (relatively) cheap Gladiac 516 on shelves come October 15th. Related Feature - GeForce 3 Titanium 500 review

Not content with unveiling one of the most promising Tokyo Game Show line-ups we've seen thus far (easily beating Microsoft's anyway, cuh), Sega have formally announced that their GameCube stunner Super Monkey Ball, which was so warmly received by yours truly at launch, is headed to PlayStation 2. There is no information at present on timeframe, nor is the game expected to be playable on PS2 at the TGS, but doubtless fans of Sony's console will be leaping around the room at this stage in delighted anticipation, so I'm not even going to bother continuing. Read our preview if Super Monkey Ball means nothing to you! Related Feature - Super Monkey Ball GameCube preview