Activision sends along a new patch for Return to Castle Wolfenstein, updating Gray Matter and Nerve Software's acclaimed first-person shooter to version 1.31. The only changes in this release are fixes for the Teleportation and Reviving Players Bugs, and it is available as a full patch for any previous version of the game, which includes the optional PunkBuster install like in v1.3. A lite patch updating just version 1.3 (without PunkBuster) is expected tomorrow. Also, Linux patches to match this version have been released as an update from v1.3 and a full patch.

As an appetizer for the playable demo which is expected to be released tomorrow around noon EST, the German Team Factor site offers a new movie trailer of this team-based multiplayer shooter by 7FX for download from 4Players.de (pop-up alert). The 44.8 MB download sports more than three minutes of action-packed in-game footage in MPEG format that also shows off several of the game's outdoor environments.

More coverage from last week's Game Developer Conference keeps trickling in, as Citizen Zero hands-on on GameSpot provides brief impressions and a lengthy video of this third-person MMO action game in the works at Micro Forte. The movie offers more than seven minutes of ShakyCam gameplay footage with developers Simon Hayes and Paul McInnes commenting on the game's features and their BigWorld engine that powers it. Also, a Unreal Tournament 2003 GDC Report is online at Action Vault with another look at Digital Extremes' upcoming multiplayer shooter. Further, LithTech & No One Lives Forever 2 on Gamehelper offers their account from checking out the latest LithTech engine that will power Monolith's first-person shooter sequel. Finally, GameSpy's GDC post-show coverage rolls on relentlessly with a look at Highland Warriors, the 3D RTS that Soft Enterprises and Data Becker announced at the show; an article titled What's This World Coming To? The Future of Massively Multiplayer Games that covers the various presentations and round-table discussions on this topic in depth; Payneless Level Design which offers an account of a talk on Max Payne level design; and more.

AOW2: Behind the Magic #2 on PC.IGN.com takes another look at the wizards that will be featured in Age of Wonders II: the Wizard's Throne, the isometric turn-based strategy game being created at Triumph Studios. Tonight's installment introduces Arachna, Nimue and Marinus, complete with succinct descriptions and an illustration.

• The Thing
  GameSpot has posted four new screenshots of The Thing, the third-person horror action adventure in development at Computer Artworks.
• Lethal Dreams
  Five new screenshots of Lethal Dreams are online at Czech site GamePort, showing more from the 3D role-playing strategy game in the works at Russian developer Boolat Games.
• Sudden Strike II
  The official Sudden Strike II site has been updated with four new screenshots of the isometric RTS sequel under construction at Fireglow Studios.

Just in time before the game's release this Friday, 3DO has opened the official Might & Magic IX site for business, showcasing the imminent first-person RPG by their New World Computing studio. The site offers an overview of the new features in this installment of the long-running series, a terse backstory, details on the player races and skills, some mostly familiar screenshots, and the customary more.

GameSpot reports that the North American edition of Cossacks: the Art of War, the isometric RTS expansion pack by GSC Game World, has gone gold and is expected in stores "soon," which is defined as Wednesday, April 3, in Gone Gold's Release Dates list. Cossacks: The Art of War was already released last month in the UK and last year elsewhere in Europe.

Chrome interview on GameSpot is a fairly brief conversation with Techland's Krzysztof Marcinkiewicz on their upcoming sci-fi first-person shooter. Krzysztof talks about the game's backstory, the kind of gameplay they're aiming for, some of the weapons that will be featured, the character enhancement system, the inclusion of player-controlled vehicles, the varied environments they're creating, multiplayer plans, and more.

Mistmare Interview on RPG Vault offers the first word on Mistmare, a new 3D fantasy RPG in development at Sinister Systems and Arxel Tribe. The official site provides more information on the game, along with plenty of screenshots, artwork, wallpapers, movie clips and more. In the interview, four of the developers involved in the project talk about the game's setting in an alternate-history Europe, the main character and the character development system, weapons and magic, enemies and NPCs, their use of the LithTech engine, the user interface, possibilities for a multiplayer side, and more.

Ubi Soft is in the process of releasing new patches for Ghost Recon, and the first mirror for the English version is online at FilePlanet (registration required), while the German official site offers the German patch for download. This 43.4 MB patch brings the game to version 1.2.10.0 and features the promised multiplayer compatibility with the new Desert Siege expansion pack, along with a large number of new features, improvements and bug fixes. Update: More mirrors of the English patch can be found on Ubi Soft's ftp server and 3D Gamers.

There is an interview on Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns at GameSpyDaily, interrogating LucasArt's Garry Gaber about their recently announced isometric RTS expansion pack. Topics include a look-back at the original game, the premise behind this add-on, new units, civilizations and missions they're planning to include, enhancements to the gameplay, and more.

Crave Entertainment Launches Extensive Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter Web Site is the press release announcing that www.huntthemdown.com, the official website for Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter, Warthog's upcoming game that combines space flight combat and first-person shooter gameplay, is now online. The site requires Internet Explorer 5 or higher, Flash, and JavaScript and offers background info, the game's story, some screenshots, and more.

The more than five year development cycle for Gore, 4D Rulers' upcoming first-person shooter, heads ever more rapidly towards conclusion, as ruler of the Rulers Joel Huenink sends along word that the Gore Website now has information about pre-ordering the game. No specifics have been added about the game's expected release date, which is still listed as Summer 2002.

There's a Delta Force: Task Force Dagger Q&A on Computer and Video Games that combines two Q&As they conducted with NovaLogic about their upcoming Delta Force add-on, the first a general Q&A with the second focusing on the expansion's setting in Afghanistan and its basis on Operation Enduring Freedom. Discussion of the setting includes whether basing the add-on on these current events is insensitive, the reasons behind the decision to go in this direction, whether they are concerned this will generate bad press, denials they are actively courting controversy, and to whom this will appeal. The more general queries touch on subjects like the story, how missions are connected, the sort of missions being offered, the size of the game environments, weapons and equipment, multiplayer modes, and more.

Here's more Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind mania based on the widely-distributed press build of the upcoming RPG sequel in production at Bethesda Softworks. First off, however, it bears noting that an update to the Morrowind FAQ has a redefined release date for both the PC and Xbox versions of the game as May 2002. Meanwhile, there's an Elder Scrolls III Morrowind PC Preview on Gamers Pulse which offers a detailed look at the game, as does The Adrenaline Vault's Morrowind Preview, each taking a full tour around the game. Also, there's a GameSpy.com Preview of Morrowind that focuses on the Xbox version, though it admits: "To be honest, if you have the PC to run the game you might be better off with that version, if only for the new user generated content the game creation kit will allow."

HomeLan Fed's One Must Fall: Battlegrounds Preview offers some hands-on impressions based on getting to play with a beta version of the upcoming robot fighting sequel in the works at Diversions Entertainment. The article describes the game's futuristic setting, the RPG elements that will accompany the action, features of the game engine, their quibbles with the controls, and more. Included are a half-dozen new screenshots.

We continue to see a flood of release news, the natural follow-up to all the recent announcements of games going gold. MechWarrior 3 Gold Edition ships on GameSpot has word that the Mech game compilation is heading to stores. Looking ahead, Heroes of Might and Magic(R) IV to Ship This Week is a press release announcing the strategy game is shipping tomorrow. Finally, getting that much further ahead of ourselves, Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast ships is the announcement that what is in effect the third installment in the Dark Forces series is shipping, though the article doesn't say exactly when, and as far as we know, the game's in-store date is still this Friday.

There's an EverQuest Q&A on EverQuest Casters Realm (thanks RPGvault) discussing why they've chosen to implement a price hike for their MMORPG considering they've just launched a separate premium EverQuest service, and according to estimates, the normal EQ servers are already grossing over $4 million per month. The discussion covers whether this was encouraged by moves by competing games or the reaction to the premium Legends service, how this is justified in light of bugs cast by the Shadow of Luclin, and more.

Deathrow (XBOX) Announced on ToTheGame is a press release dropping the other shoe on the PC project formerly known as Blitz - Disc Arena, as the project has been reworked, renamed, and retargeted for the Xbox. There's a Buffy The Vampire Slayer Q&A on The Electric Playground talking with a couple of the producers at Fox Interactive about The Collective's upcoming Xbox action game based on the hit syndicated TV series. There's also a Deus Ex: The Conspiracy Q&A discussing with several folks at ION Storm Austin, including Warren Spector, about the PS2 DX game, while on a related note, Eidos Interactive sends word that DX: The Conspiracy is shipping to stores, and should be available shortly.

Console Reviews

• Deus Ex: the Conspiracy (PS2) on GamePro.
• Drakan: the Ancients' Gate (PS2) on GamesFirst.
• Halo: Combat Evolved (Xbox) on games xtreme.

Part two of Rizenet.com's Quark Map Making Tutorial is online, offering tips on building Quake maps using the venerable Quake Army Knife editor, this time out going into further detail on adding openings, hallways, textures, and more.

There's a Day of Defeat Q&A on redphive.org talking with Matt "Mugsy" Boone of the Day of Defeat team, talking about how the version 2.0 release failed to live up to their expectations, as well as what's planned for the upcoming version 2.1 of this World War II Half-Life modification.

• Brigade Combat Team Commander on Electric Playground.
• Comanche 4 on GamesFirst.
• Command & Conquer Renegade on Fragland.net and GamesFirst.
• Dungeon Siege on Computer and Video Games.
• Empire Earth on The Wargamer.
• Frank Herbert's Dune on CG Online.
• Freedom Force on PC.IGN.com.
• Grandia II on Gamers Press.
• Heli Heroes on GameGenie.
• Heroes of Might and Magic IV on UGO.com.
• Medal of Honor: Allied Assault on Frictionless Insight and PC-Gaming.
• NASCAR Racing 2002 Season on ActionTrip.
• Parkan: Iron Strategy on hardCOREware Games.
• Rally Trophy on Gamitopia.
• Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast on Geek Girl's Guide 2 Games and (first impressions) on GameSpot.
• Ultima Online: Lord Blackthorn's Revenge on GameSpot.
• Warlords Battlecry II on TVG and ActionTrip.

• Combat Flight Simulator 3 on GameSpot UK.
• Icewind Dale II on ActionTrip.
• Unreal Tournament 2003 on Ferrago.co.uk.

• AMD Athlon XP2100+ CPU on LostCircuits and hardCOREware.net.
• ATI Radeon 8500 Video Card on Game Club Central and PC STATS.
• CardCooler Super Optical USB Mini-Mouse on PC Abusers.
• Chaintech A-G321 GeForce 3 Ti200 Video Card on OC Workbench.
• Creative 3D Blaster 4 Titanium 4400 Video Card on Deviant PC and OcPrices.
• ECS L4S5A Motherboard on t-break.
• Enermax 356 PSU on BurnOut Pc.
• EPoX 8K3A+ Motherboard on OC Workbench.
• EVGA GeForce 4 MX440 Video Card on Active Hardware.
• GigaByte 7VRXP Motherboard on Legion Hardware.
• HIS 'Excalibur' Radeon 8500 Video Card on Digital Domination.
• Koolance PC2-C Case on HEXUS.net.
• Leadtek WinFast A250 TD Video Card on G3D.
• Leadtek WinFast A250Ultra TD Video Card on Digit-Life.
• MSI G4MX440-T Video Card on HardwareZone.com.
• Sibak AC02625B Copper Core Heatsink on FrostyTech.
• Soltek SL-85DRV3 Motherboard on VIAHardware.
• TDK CyClone Internal CD-RW on HardwareZone.
• ThermalTake Hardcano 2 Cooler on Overclocker Cafe.
• Visiontek Xtasy Geforce4 MX440 Video Card on Bjorn3d.com.
• Visiontek Xtasy GeForce4 Ti4600 Video Card on SLCentral.

• Strike Force Center now offers downloads of the second official map pack for the Strike Force modification for Unreal Tournament...
• Gamitopia's All Your Base Where does it belong? is a Q&A looking to delve into the origins of the Internet's favorite mistranslation...
• Where Are They Now? Scott Dalton on the Mushroom continues this nostalgia series, catching up with one of the team behind Zerstorer: Testament of the Destroyer, a classic Quake modification...
• The Multi Player Zone has launched a new version 1.0.1 of their GameArena software...
• Happy fifth anniversary to Clan eL Diablos Brigade...

Sorry about the repeat link of the day yesterday, which was too late to justify as Groundhog Day deja vu, to early to justify as an April Fools' gag, and too transparent to pass off as a "Link of the Day Classic." What's worse, rather than having two LoDs today to make up for it, today we have none, though I'm pretty confident a good day's dose of insanity can be found in the several links we do have:

Play Time: Kung Fu Chess. Thanks Chris Johnson.
Story of the Day: Speedy Gonzales Caged by Cartoon Network. Thanks theAntiELVIS.
Story of the Day II: Sex doll fan mistaken for murderer. Thanks again theAntiELVIS.
Weird Science: Short Changed: Why do tall people make more money? Thanks Erik.
Movie of the Day: Khai and Juice (Flash required). The latest from Y2Khai (thanks EvilToast). Contains potentially offensive themes, but too funny.
Image of the Day: Comet Ikeya Zhang over Tenerife. Yesterday's APOD. Thanks brother19.
Auction of the Day: Matrox M3d + FREE Leonard Nimoy CD! Thanks Lowkster. "The World's Worst Video Accelerator!!"