German magazine GameStar has posted a short movie of DX2: Invisible War, the first-person action RPG sequel under construction at ION Storm (thanks Tiscali Games). As is their way, this clip is merely a teaser for a full video preview on the magazine's cover CD-ROM, and thus the 3.9 MB download shows a modest 23 seconds of in-game footage in which the player attacks a hunter-seeker robot, complete with some German commentary.

The official Counter-Strike web site has a list of known issues that have been uncovered in the new version 1.5 patch for Half-Life Counter-Strike. They offer tips on overcoming a "Server verification failed" error, a "TrackerUI.dll invalid" problem, and an F1 and F2 binding problem.

There's a Rainbow Six: Raven Shield Q&A on ELiTeD discussing the upcoming Rogue Spear sequel talking with Chadi Lebbos, Mike McCoy, and Eric Begin of the development team working on the game at Ubi Soft Montreal. Topics include their enhancements to the Unreal engine, new weapons, AI improvements, returning characters, environments, the interface, mod support, multiplayer support, and more.

Attempting to answer the musical question "Can legions of British and their armor stop the intrepid Ivan Deez and his march of death across North Africa?," there's a hands-on Battlefield: 1942 Preview on PC.IGN.Com. Starting with a semi-coherent rant about Hollywood war movies, the article goes on to describe the "Multiplayer-centric" World War II action in Digital Illusions' starting with an admittedly verbose description, the variety of vehicles offered, performance on their test system, game balance, as well as several specific examples of gameplay. Included are a whopping 23 new screenshots along with three new gameplay movies.

There's a Medieval: Total War Preview on PC.IGN.Com offering impressions of the upcoming game that brings the Total War into the middle ages, following up on Shogun: Total War's similar treatment of feudal Japan. Based on a first-hand demonstration of the game by Michael de Plater and Ian Roxburgh of Creative Assembly, the article describes the 12 playable and 13 non-playable included races, each nation's "glorious victory conditions," the addition of a "slight" role-playing element, new units, the emphasis on formations, the addition of siege weapons, the huge scope of the battlefields, and more. Accompanying the article are 10 new screenshots.

There's an Emperor Rise of the Middle Kingdom Preview on PC.IGN.Com taking a look at the next city-building game from Impressions, the folks behind previous similar efforts in Caesar, Pharaoh, and Zeus. They describe the stretch of Chinese history that's the game's focus, resource management, the included wonders, heroes from Chinese myth and history, the thin combat model, the addition of multiplayer support, and more. Included are a dozen new screenshots.

There's a Lionheart Q&A on Duck And Cover talking with Eric "Cabal" Dallaire of Reflexive about their role in helping create Lionheart, Interplay/Black Isle Studios' upcoming RPG. Topics include the gear-shifting required to work on an RPG, how Reflexive secured this gig, the role of magic in the game, high expectations for the game since it's using the Fallout engine, adhering to the game's 16th century themes, thief skills, multiple endings, races, travel, skill balance, and more.

The Battle.Net Warcraft III Beta Discussion forum now has word for those participating in the beta testing of the RTS sequel that even with the game gold, the beta should continue for another week, there will be at least one more beta patch, and they are planning a beta tournament to close things out. To prove them good to their word about the patch stuff, the WarCraft III Beta Information Center has now been updated with the promised new patch.

A new Preview Version 3.0 of the GameRanger server browser for the Macintosh is now available, "totally redesigned and rewritten from the ground up, featuring full support for Mac OS X in addition to compatibility with Mac OS 8.6 and 9." In a similar vein, version 1.08 of the Only Mortal "Cocoa" server browser is now available, providing user of Mac OS X 10.1.1 support for Quake II, Quake III Arena, and Return to Castle Wolfenstein. Thanks loonyboi for both of those.

There's a Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance Q&A on GameSpy.com talking with producers Darren Monahan and Kevin Osburn about the upcoming Xbox Baldur's Gate game. Also, Summoner2.com has been updated with five new screenshots ("including screenshots from the Sharangir Cave level shown at E3") along with a new interview with James Hague talking with the lead programmer on Summoner 2 "about new things not in Summoner 1, Celine Dion, and Dukes of Hazzard."

Console Reviews

• Spider-Man: the Movie (GameCube) on Gamer's Pulse and Gaming Illustrated.
• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (Xbox) on Team Xbox.

Celebrating the project's second anniversary, a new version 1.13 of the Vavoom update of the DOOM source code is now available. New versions of the game as well as its accompanying source code are available for Windows and DOS.

Enchanter Class Guide on EQ Spoilers offering extensive tips on how to succeed playing this class in EverQuest. As noted on the Lineage II Website the official Lineage II: the Chaotic Chronicle FAQ has been updated with several new entries.

HomeLan Fed's U4E-Fortress Q&A chats with MaxSMoke of the Unreal4Ever modification for Unreal Tournament about the past, present, and future of their project.

The Dteam 3d Design Guild has released a course outline for the proposed Fall 2002 "Game Concepts & Design" IRC class. In a perplexing move, the simple document is not online, but available for download via FilePlanet, though they have a couple of public links that do not require registration.

• Comanche 4 on GameSpot AU
• Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza on Digital Back Spin.
• Disciples II: Dark Prophecy on Gamer's Hell.
• Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project on BarrysWorld and GamersClick.
• Elite Forces: Navy SEALs on GameSpot.
• F1 2002 on ActionTrip.
• Gore on ActionTrip, MyGamer, and ShootingStuff.
• Grandia II on Game Industry.
• Grand Theft Auto III on Gaming Illustrated.
• Legion on Games Domain, MGON, and ActionTrip.
• Neverwinter Nights (first impressions) on GameSpot.
• Serious Sam: the Second Encounter on Gamezilla.
• Spider-Man: the Movie on Australian Game Zone.
• Star Wars: Starfighter on Gamezilla.
• The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind on Neoseeker and VN Roundup.
• The Sum of All Fears on Game Nation TV.

• Breed on Gamers Europe.
• EverQuest II on Computer and Video Games.

• AOpen AX4G Pro i845G Motherboard on Active Hardware.
• ATI All In Wonder Radeon 8500 Video Card (in Video) on 3dGameMan.
• ATI Radeon 8500LE Video Cards on FragWare.net.
• Chili Pro Micro ATX Case on Designtechnica.
• Chieftec Matrix MA-01SLD Full Tower Case on Mikhailtech.
• Creative Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum Sound Card on ActionTrip.
• VisionTek GeForce4 Ti Video Card "Family" on Legion Hardware.

• The BioWare Website has word that they are auctioning off a couple of copies of Neverwinter Nights before it hits stores shelves, as well as an air hockey table, all to benefit a children's charity...

There's a healthy thread on Slashdot about the story from yesterday about the .jpeg virus with very few of the responses expressing anything less than a healthy skepticism about the whole affair. The most common theme (besides how if everyone used Linux, computer viruses, and possibly human ones, would cease to exist) is that the virus protection manufacturers intentionally promote such stories to invoke F.U.D. about viruses, and therefore ensure sales. I'd like to say from what I know about the corporate mentality that this was impossible, but of course it's impossible to say that.

Play Time: Manson versus Tyson on Maxim Online. "If it weren't for the gold tooth, you'd have trouble telling them apart." Thanks Chris Johnson.
Link of the Day: weebl and bob. Thanks EvilToast. Trippy or just dopey? You make the call.
Story of the Day: Todd Bridges makes comeback on 'Y&R'. Thanks Kevin L. Kitchens.
Weird Science: 'Killer' bees make killer coffee. Thanks zombie69.
Follow-up: NOAA Ocean Explorer Sound in the Sea. The audio from yesterday's "deep sea monster." Thanks Gudlyf.