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UbiSoft's bumper E3 line-up included a number of PC titles, but the company has is also developing and publishing several titles on console systems, including PlayStation 2, Dreamcast and GameBoy Advance. Key business acquisitions have helped to increase the number of A+ titles in the works, and with big brand names like Rogue Spear and Batman amongst those on display, we're expecting big things from UbiSoft in 2001/2. If you missed the PC line-up, that feature can be found here. Today, we focus on the consoles.

We had been waiting for an official announcement from Valve, but with E3 over and still no sign of a press release it looks like we will have to make do with a decidely unofficial message board post from Valve CEO Gabe Newell, in which he has revealed some new details about Counter-Strike : Condition Zero. We first reported on this semi-sequel to Counter-Strike last week, and now we know that it will in fact be a collection of single-player missions rather than another multiplayer game.

During the chaos of E3 last week, we managed to miss the announcement that the 3D Portal network had closed following a buy-out by GameSpy Industries earlier in the month, adding yet another name to the long list of gaming sites and networks which have collapsed in the last few months. All that is left of the long-running network, which started out life five years ago as a 3D Realms fan site, is a farewell message from founder Brad Wernicke, while HalfLife.net, DukeWorld and UTWorld are all in the process of being merged into the appropriate Planet sites. A similar fate befell the Xtreme Network after it was bought by GameSpy as part of a deal to acquire the MPlayer online gaming service.

The only notable absentee at E3 this year was Nintendo 64, a victim of its owner's success. Sin & Punishment and Animal Forest were apparently expected to show up at Nintendo's booth, but only the GameCube version of the latter did in practice, and little was said to explain away the missing software. Apparently the only N64 game that was on display was Activision's conversion of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, and while that will sell in bulk to owners of the console, it does seem as though we've witnessed the end of an era, one which started out as a press fantasy and for the most part quickly became a disappointing reality. Lets hope history doesn't start repeating itself any time soon.

Microsoft's critics have been giving it the elbow in light of embarrassing software errors at E3, saying that it's shaping up to be the greatest business failure in Microsoft's history. The basic gist of the failure argument goes something like this... The Xbox is a Microsoft 1.0 technology, in other words a public beta test, and since the Xbox is fundamentally just a PC in a console package, the instability of previous Microsoft operating environments will remain. Apparently parents won't explain crashes and bugs to children, they will just return the console to the store. Furthermore, the competition consists of Sony and Nintendo, whose GameCube really cleaned up at E3 this year. Finally, even if unit volume is successful, the Xbox business model calls for a loss on hardware. In my opinion, there are a number of issues that have been overlooked, the most crucial of which is that the Xbox is a static development environment, something that will make a huge difference. If you take a random PC game released over the last few years, the developer can probably show you one unique hardware configuration somewhere that it will work on without issue, whether or not it does on yours. Now imagine that every game was developed with one specific set of components in mind and you have your Xbox. In the past Windows has been given a tough time and looked flaky on your average PC. The goalposts are definitely not in the same position for the Xbox though, because the target is much easier to hit. In fact, as long as Microsoft are being liberal with their use of Windows and keep it away from areas where hard disk fragmentation and other instances of sustained use could give it problems, it should be fine. One might argue that the embarrassed demonstrators at E3 getting Blue Screens Of Death were more at the mercy of the developers' competence than anything else. As a journalist I've seen PlayStation, N64 and even GameBoy software crash further into development than these early Xbox titles, and already some people are sounding the death knell for Microsoft's console. We're not going to make assumptions based on the first card out of the pack. Once Microsoft give up their hand, we'll be better equipped to do so. Until then, here's to waiting. Related Feature - Microsoft introduce Xbox

Nintendo's creative genius Shigeru Miyamoto commanded an awestruck press theatre on the last day of ECTS and spoke of "Luigi's Mansion", and where it fits into his personal work on the GameCube. After two days of build up it was refreshing to learn what Shigs actually thinks of Luigi's Mansion himself. It boasts a fixed camera, "so it's almost like 2D", he told the huddled masses. "We thought that between the last Mario game and the next we could squeeze something in with Luigi," he then told them, upsetting a couple of days' build up from NoA boss Peter Main.

Rolling Stone has confirmed that, as we reported earlier this week, Britney Spears is coming to the PlayStation 2. The project isn't really a game though (or at least not in the normal sense of the word), as although it will feature "interactive games", the centerpiece of the title will be a DVD concert recording of Britney during her recent "Oops .. I did it again" tour.

Since id Software released the source code to seminal first person shooter Quake, a number of projects have sprung up to fix, expand or improve the game. And then there are the off-the-wall projects, often done simply out of blind curiosity or as part of some bizarre programming experiment, which turn the whole game on its head. Sometimes literally.

France's UbiSoft is on a high at the moment, coming fresh from a year-long spending spree which has seen it take over Blue Byte, Red Storm and the publisher-formerly-known-as-Mattel-Interactive amongst others. And it is partly thanks to this string of recent acquisitions that the company has assembled a vast line-up of games for the next year, spread across almost every major platform from PC and PlayStation 2 to the new GameBoy Advance and the now defunct Dreamcast.

Adding to their already impressive line-up of games, French publisher UbiSoft has announced that it has licensed the rights to publish games based on the Oscar-winning martial arts epic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The first fruits of this agreement should appear next spring on PC, PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and GameBoy Advance. Details at this stage are few and far between, but UbiSoft are promising to use "the hottest new technologies and a team of highly specialized graphic and design experts to ensure that the games include the same mindblowing special effects that thrilled moviegoers around the world".

Nvidia's president and CEO has delivered a tantalising glimpse of the kind of performance he expects future generations of Geforce boards to give.

If you live in the UK, the chances are that one week into the four week election campaign you are already sick of the sight of William Hague, Tony Blair, Charles Kennedy and friends kissing babies, shaking hands with the elderly, and lashing out at not-so-innocent bystanders. If so, we have just the thing for you...

If you haven't taken a look at our Dreamcast special elsewhere on the website, you ought to get on with that as a matter of course, but it's fair to say that Sega have been busy working across the board, and we thought given their efforts, it would be only fair to let on to the rest of their works. Obviously now that they're a third party developer, they have big plans for a number of formats. Their strength in franchise games for a start means every console under the sun gets a Sonic title, and classics like Toejam and Earl finally get a look in again. The biggest announcement for Sega though was being seconded as a major development force on Xbox. Not to be outdone by rivals Electronic Arts, who announced 10 titles (story), Sega announced 11 games making their way to Xbox, including some big names. Here's a rundown on the titles so far announced:

British developer Revolution Software, best known for classic adventure games like the Broken Sword series and Beneath A Steel Sky, has announced that it is working on a brand new action-adventure game for PC, Xbox and PlayStation 2. As the title suggests, Good Cop Bad Cop is a police thriller with a twist - you can be either a good cop or a bad cop, and the way the story and gameplay progresses will depend on how you approach the game, with two completely different endings.

Dreamcast owners haven't had much to shout about in the last few months. With the announcement of large scale cutbacks and the dramatic price drops the system has been relegated to the status of a has-been. Even at E3 the console has to lurk in the shadows, feeding off the scraps of other consoles' publicity. Thankfully we can offer some respite to Dreamcast owners - your console ain't dead yet fellas. For all the Xbox, GameCube and PlayStation 2 announcements E3 has drowned us in, there are still some good games to look forward to on Sega's console. Here's the lowdown.

GameCube minders Nintendo have hinted that Mario may star in his own game on the console, even though counterpart Luigi is being given his own title, "Luigi's Mansion". Satoru Iwata, director and general manager of Nintendo, responding to an off-the-cuff comment by Shigeru Miyamoto the day before, told IGN that "Miyamoto's real intent with that comment was not a reference to Luigi's Mansion, but maybe a plan he has for another Mario game." So Mario might be on the way - who would have guessed? But the possibilities for a Mario GameCube title based on Iwata's spindoctored comment are almost endless. The comment he refers to, made by Shigeru Miyamoto a day earlier was a passing one, claiming that we might see Mario at Space World later this year. Everyone immediately assumes that this means a Mario 64 revamp of some description, but it could be that, it could be a new Mario Kart title, it could be anything. Perhaps even a new Mario RPG? We'll be none the wiser by the time Space World hits unless Miyamoto or Iwata deign it so. Mr. Iwata's comments are in stark contrast to those of president Hiroshi Yamauchi, who wasn't even looking beyond E3 in his comments a fortnight ago about freezing the GameCube. Judging by the response to the system at E3 - everything from the mad bundle through the press conference doors yesterday to the wall-to-wall bodies waiting to see games like Phantasy Star Online Version 2, the GameCube will remain on course for its September 14th launch date in Japan. Related Feature - Nintendo's announcement

Eagerly anticipated first person shooter Duke Nukem Forever has been in development for at least three years now, but with 3D Realms keeping a tight lid on the hype we've seen very little of the game since it famously switched from the Quake 2 to the Unreal engine. Along with new publisher Take 2 though, 3D Realms are finally showing the first new video footage of the game in action at the E3 trade show in Los Angeles this week, and after a false-start yesterday when CNN posted a very poor quality streaming version of the video, the trailer is now available to download in all its high-resolution glory.

Having already secured the services of famous fantasy artist Brom for their gothic first person shooter Necrocide : The Dead Must Die, Novalogic today announced that they have also picked up sci-fi artist Oscar Chichoni and architect Isabel Molina, both of whom worked in the Oscar winning art team on period drama Restoration. They're no stranger to computer games, having worked with the late great Douglas Adams on Starship Titanic and provided concept art for Sony Europe. The pair will now be working on the "architectural environments that will establish the visual style of the various realms in Necrocide", as well designing the main vampire character and her mentor.

With the massive E3 trade show kicking off in Los Angeles at the moment, a positive deluge of press releases, product announcements, gameplay videos and screenshots has been dumped on to the web. We sort through the detritus to pick out some of the highlights of the show, today focusing on Virgin Interactive's line-up...

BT's ADSL service openworld is shuffling its feet today and admitting that it might have plans to increase the price of its consumer broadband package. Speaking yesterday Freeserve told reporters that it intends to increase the price on its consumer broadband package by £10 because it's sick of subsidising customers in the hope of ADSL hitting the mainstream. At the moment, most companies are using the £49.99 per month subscription service, but Freeserve and BT have managed to stick to a £39.99 tag up to now. Speaking to the FT, openworld's Andy Green said that the company is "looking very seriously at the appropriate prices and products for different segments of the market". Translated we reckon that means Freeserve have a point, even if their approach was someone tactless. Freeserve have apparently subsidised customers at a cost of £180 per head under the £39.99 plan, and with no change in sight, they intend to move to £49.99, presumably plus VAT, since 12x £10 doth not make £180. If the cost is being felt by all ISPs involved with the ADSL service, we're surprised that it took openworld this long. With 27,000 customers it has the largest ADSL userbase in the country. That said, the ADSL wholesaler is BT Ignite, so who knows who's paying whom and what. Freeserve bosses called for a big drop in wholesale prices yesterday. At £15, they reckon, consumer ADSL will be an option worth exploring for the mainstream.

Nintendo's E3 press conference was very upbeat, with a lot of interesting information, gameplay footage and a proper look at the console's controller. Oh, and the new GameCube logo (right). First up were the console's Japanese and American launch dates [Grrr - European Ed]. Microsoft were noticeably red-faced when the announcement came that the console would hit American shores on November 5th, a few days before the Xbox, but the console will actually launch for the first time on September 14th in Japan. The hardware generally glossed over to make way for the games, but the controller was given its own special ceremony, and it looked impressive. It looks rather like an overdone Dual Shock 2 controller, with its D-Pad where the left analog stick would sit and the left analog stick where the Dual Shock's D-Pad rests. For the first time that I can recall too, the controller's right hand buttons are not simply raised circles. The A button is central, with a smaller B button just below on the left. Y and X look like jelly beans and circle the A button above and right. Like the N64 controller, the GameCube controller abandons the Select function, preferring to use a single function button in the very centre of the pad. Also includes are bubbly shoulder buttons. Although not obvious from Nintendo-released images of the controller, the Z trigger returns in a teardrop shape beneath the trigger finger of the right hand - a much better approach than on the N64 where the left hand had to be used to fire, soemthing a lot of gamers could never get their head's round. The other part of the controller not so obvious from photographs is the sensitivity of the shoulder buttons. The Dreamcast often took advantage of them for racing controls, and many have likened the GameCube's shoulder buttons to the clutch and gas pedals of a car. Remember the old movies of kids getting Mario to tiptoe on the N64? By nudging the analog stick gently? Imagine that degree of sensitivity then multiply by ten and apply it to each shoulder pad. The obvious application of which is proper driving games that encourage you to drive as you would in real life, building up gas and gently releasing the clutch to speed off. Damn, all the simulation fans just fainted! So what else? Well, Shigeru Miyamoto was on hand to show off his impressive debut title for GameCube, Pikmin, which looks like it will be up to his usual standards of innovation and excellence. Joining Pikmin were Kameo, Star Fox Adventures, Donkey Kong Racing and Raven Blade as well as games we had already seen like Luigi's Mansion. One notable was that the load time of everything on display was truly negligible. We'll talk more about the games themselves another time, but one thing was went away from the conference wondering about was developer support. On the whole the issue of third party developers was ignored. Major developers are on board? What does that mean when Microsoft have just announced 27 by name working on online games alone! Somewhat crucially Sega (who are working on ten titles) are the only Japanese developer listed, while Konami, Capcom and Namco, who all have GameCube projects on the go were keeping schtum. The other thing we noticed was that Nintendo didn't explain how the GameBoy Advance would function as a GameCube controller, something we had rather expected to hear about. Something that caught us off-guard on the positive front though was the presence of Phantasy Star Online 2 on Nintendo's roadmaps. A GameCube incarnation of one of the Dreamcast's most stellar titles [fired - Ed] would not only attract a lot of fans, but would imply that Nintendo does have an online strategy, something which we have heard nothing about yet, but had suspected would take a back seat to the gaming.

Sony has announced yet another deal to help bring the Internet to PlayStation 2, this time with British cable operator Telewest. The alliance is intended to bring Europe its first broadband console network within the next year. EuroGamer fan and part-time SCEE president Chris Deering cited Telewest as "an excellent partner to help us move forward with our broadband network strategy." Continuing, he said: "They have the motivation, the expertise and the infrastructure to quickly develop tangible applications with real commercial potential." Well, we hope they will have the infrastructure soon Chris, most of our nation's capital has been spared the delights of Telewest's "Blueyonder" cable service until recently. The move is the fourth big deal in as many days for Sony (some would say third but we like Flash), who have also linked arms with AOL, Macromedia and RealNetworks. Although Sony haven't formally explained how everything will work, we have a fairly good idea now of what its new entertainment portal machine (formerly PlayStation 2) will look like. Firstly, consumers will need a PlayStation 2, which will likely be accompanied by a keyboard, mouse (both USB) and a broadband network adapter (now we see why they used "network" in the AOL release), along with a hard disk device of some sort, perhaps at optional sizes. We had suspected that the AOL announcement meant Sony was going to allow narrowband (sorry, modem) connections, but we're not so convinced now. Instead, we now think that the customer will be able to plug the network adapter into a Telewest-provided cable modem (much as PC users currently do) and using AOL produced software, log onto the Sony network. At this point they will be greeted with a Flash-driven front end, inviting them to play games, surf the web (using Netscape Navigator) or even watch the news, listen to the radio and such over RealNetworks' integrated Real Player. We like the sound of this. And will all of this run off BeIA or a similar operating system once Sony have bothered to acquire it? It might just do. Technical trials for whatever Sony comes up with air sometime toward the end of the year, when both Microsoft and Nintendo have plans to launch new consoles. Congratulations Sony, we're genuinely impressed!

Microsoft fired off a copious salvo of press releases Wednesday making spectacular claims in support of its half-billion-dollar effort to market the Xbox games console. First up, heavyweight games developer Capcom is busy preparing three offerings for Xbox, including an 'optimized' version of the popular PS2 game "Onimusha", to be produced by Keiji Inafune and tentatively named "Genma Onimusha"; an MS-exclusive sequel to the PS2 game "Dino Crisis", to be produced by Shinji Mikami and tentatively named "Dino Crisis 3"; and an original game by producer Shinji Mikami, tentatively named "Brain-Box". The arrangement is highly desirable because "the influence of Xbox in global markets will be overwhelming," Capcom Managing Director Yoshiki Okamoto trilled. Next we have failed Dreamcast maker Sega, which announced development of Xbox editions of its Sports 2K2 line, "Crazy Taxi Next", and "House of the Dead 3". Next year, Sega promises to offer broadband-connectable versions the 2K3 lineup including "NFL 2K3" and "NBA 2K3", "Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3," "Unreal Championship" and "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon". On 30 March the two announced that Sega would develop Xbox editions of "Jet Grind Radio Future", "Sega GT", "Gunvalkyrie" and "Panzer Dragoon". But wait, there's more. Microsoft also announced an exclusive licensing deal with Warner Bros to produce a series of Xbox games based on the Steven Spielberg movie "A.I.", which will be released in late June. Two of the games derived from it will ship with the first lot of Xboxes, Microsoft says. The company also struck a deal with Universal to develop an Xbox game "featuring the highly-coveted Bruce Lee license." Ronin Entertainment will develop the product, "Bruce Lee: Quest of the Dragon". Opinions vary over whether the Xbox will succeed with its splashy but rather late entry into the console market; but one thing is certain, if it flops, it won't be for Microsoft's reluctance to throw Gargantuan heaps of money at it.

California-based publisher 3DO has unleashed a whole spate of press releases today, announcing two games as part of their new strategy of focusing on the PlayStation 2, as well as revealing a link-up with a well-known development studio who will be working on an as-yet unannounced game for them.

Microsoft have used the E3 pedestal as we knew they would, to demonstrate the power of Xbox six months ahead of its arrival in the States. In a press conference at the start of the show, which you can view for yourself at Xbox.com, the company stated plainly when the Xbox would be available in America, roughly how many games would be joining it for launch and a number of new additions to the development fold. Most interesting is the projected release date, November 8th, and the price tag of $299. Most had expected the console to air in the USA sometime in October. At current estimates it runs the risk of having to compete directly with the Nintendo GameCube and the freshly reduced Sony PlayStation 2. Although the Xbox's catalogue of games will be pretty vast for an upstart (15-20 at launch according to the press conference), Sony's console will be swimming in quality titles by then, and Nintendo's will not only cost less but also launch with powerful brands like Mario to Metroid to back it up. Microsoft and Sony lack a Mario-like talisman upon which to sell their consoles - some say this makes GameCube more of a games console than the others - but Microsoft certainly won't have to sweat about that. A number of companies on the floor at E3 made announcements today, including Electronic Arts, who while backing Sony have pledged to provide support for GameCube (as reported here last week) and now Xbox with ten titles in the works based on a number of popular sports and action series. Elsewhere Tecmo were demonstrating Dead or Alive 3, which is to be an Xbox exclusive, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 was on display from Neversoft. These are powerful reasons to back Microsoft... Another big part of Microsoft's announcement is the number of online games in development. Acclaim Entertainment Inc., Activision Inc., Artdink Corp., Atlus Company Ltd., Bandai Company Ltd., Capcom, Codemasters, Crave Entertainment Inc., Electronic Arts Inc., Eidos, FOX Interactive Inc., Gathering of Developers, INFOGRAMES Inc., Interplay Entertainment Corp., Konami Company Ltd., LucasArts Entertainment Co., Midway Games Inc., Namco Ltd., Rage Software, Rockstar Games, Sega, Sierra On-Line Inc., Taito Corp., Take-Two Interactive Software Inc, TDK Systems, THQ and Ubisoft are working on online games for Xbox. Sony may have plans for the Internet, but we've seen nothing like this level of high publicity support so far. Microsoft have no intention of supporting anything less than consumer broadband, whereas Sony seem to be giving up on that particular dream. Judging from Microsoft's progress with Windows Media 8, Direct X 8 and Internet Explorer 6, high quality multimedia functions will be available straight off the bat, whilst rivals Sony are busy wrestling with non-Microsoft standards to do the same. We knew all this monopoly stuff would all come in handy some day. Even so, it's a good thing Microsoft do have all those marketing dollars, because Sony will be in a very strong position come yuletide. Despite trailing somewhat (and we're sorry, but they are) in the Internet war, Sony's console will cost significantly less - almost half when you factor in the cost of the (some say mandatory) remote control at $30, a few games and DVDs and an extra controller, compared to low cost third party peripherals and memory devices that are springing up for PS2. In fact, Sony's announcements about hard disks, XGA LCD panels and the like pre-E3 will have been aimed directly at stunting possible Xbox buyers. Perhaps their aim is to create an almost identical multimedia entertainment system to do exactly what Xbox does using their strategic relationships with AOL, Macromedia, RealNetworks and even Be. After all, if the Xbox only does what PlayStation 2 does when the time comes, the argument will be one of software, and perhaps, just maybe, with a few killer apps like Onimusha on the way, Sony can pull something together worth competing with and not just marketing above. Related Feature - Sony take a big byte

German publisher Fishtank Interactive has only been in existence for just over a year, formed as an off-shoot of board game and jigsaw puzzle company Ravensburger, but already they have made an impression. Their first release was the excellent 3D role-playing game Evil Islands, and their line-up for the next year includes a number of promising titles.

Publisher 3DO have confirmed that New World Computing are giving the venerable Heroes of Might & Magic franchise a much-needed face-lift, with the fourth game in the long-running fantasy strategy series now due for release this Christmas. For the first time in living memory, the game will actually sport an entirely new graphics engine rather than simply milking the increasingly decrepit looking old one. Out goes the old false-perspective terrain and dodgy animations, in comes a lush new realistic looking isometric viewpoint, with higher resolution graphics and more detailed and colourful scenery and characters thrown in for good measure.

German publisher CDV have announced that they will be hosting a three way Sudden Strike grudgematch between the British, French and Germans in Paris this October. The British leg of the competition is about to start, with sign-ups now open at the recently launched Sudden Strike UK Championships website and the first online rounds due to start in July.

Star Trek Voyager : Elite Force, which we awarded 8/10 in October of last year, has finally spawned a mission pack. Featuring two new campaigns, a fully modeled interior for Voyager, and many new multiplayer enhancements, the update shipped in America yesterday, and although Activision themselves are strangely clueless about it, Electronics Boutique reliably inform us that it will arrive the day after tomorrow over here. We'll just have to wait and see.

Bizarrely named Austrian developer Bongfish has just released its latest game, in the form of a "work in progress" version of Stoked Rider. Like their last effort (FLOW.Game) this one is a snowboarding game created in association with "performance boot and bindings" company Flow, and again sees you guiding a little green alien down a fractally generated mountainside. Stoked Rider features a new improved graphics engine, and this early version comes with some simple tricks to pull off and a single terrain type to navigate.