More Elite Force 2 on PC.IGN.Com is based on beaming down to Activision to check out progress on Ritual's upcoming Star Trek shooter sequel. After taking some phaser shots at inferior competitors, the preview goes on to offer their detailed impressions of gameplay, concluding that even with different developers, it is shaping up much like the original game: "If you enjoyed Elite Force and are looking for a title that's virtually the same, only refined and improved in every single way (as age and technology often do for videogames), you'll definitely want to give this one a peek."

Saying "Taldren boldly goes somewhere other than Star Trek," there's a Black9 Preview on PC.IGN.Com with a look at this upcoming cross-platform shooter. They offer extensive thoughts on the game, including what they feel are its influences: "In terms of approach, the team is obviously heavily influenced by the worlds of System Shock and Shadowrun. It shares with System Shock three character specialties, roughly analogous to the fighters, thieves and magic-users from traditional D&D games. Whether you specialize in shooting, sneaking or smarts is completely up to you and the game offers a range of content that caters to each class."

• Men of Valor: Vietnam
  There's a Q&A on the Men of Valor: Vietnam Unofficial Site talking with Ross Perez of Sierra and John Whitmore of 2015 about their upcoming Vietnam War game. Topics cover everything from the reasons for basing their game on the controversial war to whether there will any boom-boom from hookers for the soldiers. Thanks HomeLan Fed.
• America's Army
  Action Vault's America's Army Operations Q&A #2 asks the America's Army: Operations development team the following group question: "Based upon your experience playing America's Army: Operations, which map would you consider your favorite, and why?"
• Online Storytelling
  RPG Vault Online Worlds Roundtable #3, Part 1 offers a discussion with five MMOG developers about the importance of storytelling in persistent world games. The participants are Rich Waters (EverQuest), Gordon Walton (The Sims Online), Gaute Godager (Anarchy Online), Ragnar Tornquist (TBA), and Mark Zechiel (Dragon Empires).
• Another War 2
  The Another War 2 Q&A on RPG Codex talks with Pawel Smyla and Lukasz Gorny of Mirage Interactive about another War 2, the upcoming sequel to their World War II role-playing game.
• Shade
  There's a Shade Q&A on Gamesradar.com talking with Black Element designer Radek Volf to discuss Shade, their upcoming horror adventure game.
• BlowOut
  The BlowOut Q&A on PC.IGN.Com talks with KaosKontrol's Gustaaf Frankel about their upcoming 3D side scrolling shooter.
• Wolverine
  Wolverine: The Final Word on PC.IGN.Com talks with Rob Letts in "One last in-depth interview to fully reveal the world of Wolverine's Revenge."

The download section on Aspyr's SpyHunter Website now features a new gameplay movie showing off SpyHunter, the upcoming PC and Mac driving combat game based on arcade classic. The QuickTime-format trailer runs about 90 seconds, and is available in smaller (6 MB) and larger (18 MB) sizes. Word is: "The evil NOSTRA corporation is hot on your trail! Strap yourself behind the wheel of the powerful G-6155 Interceptor in this heart-pounding new trailer as you elude NOSTRA spies, henchmen and assassins. Prepare to be hunted!"

Workers of the world unite, as Summitsoft Announces Upcoming Release of Empire of Magic is the press release offering a May 1 (May Day) release date for this upcoming turn-based strategy/RPG from Mayhem Studios (unmentioned in the release). Here's the hype from Bruce Lowry, president of publisher Summitsoft: "By throwing away traditional resource management found in most strategy games and replacing it with intense story rich scenarios and interactive role playing dynamics, Empire of Magic offers an exciting and fresh twist to the strategy genre."

• S.T.A.L.K.E.R
  The S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Oblivion Lost Q&A on GenGamers talks with GSC Game World's Oleg Javorsky about their upcoming first-person shooter set in and around Chernobyl. Here's a bit on the game's visuals: "Nvidia is our technical partner for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and the engine will offer support of quite a few FX features. Geforce FX offers excellent shader possibilities, and we are going to make an extensive use of that. We also design dedicated renderer for DX9 class hardware with fully real-time dynamic lighting, soft, physically correct shadows cast from everything onto everything, true per-pixel lighting, 1-3 millions of polygons per frame, etc."
• W3: The Frozen Throne
  There's a Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Q&A on Gamehelper.com talking with Blizzard's Rob Pardo about the Frozen Throne add-on for W3, discussing new gameplay features as well as planned Battle.Net enhancements: "We are really excited about all the new features as we will be adding clan support and automated tournaments. Clans will allow people to form into social communities on Battle.net. Clans will get their own private chat channel and will be able to compete in games together to raise their clan rating."
• Tomb Raider
  There's a Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness Q&A on Gaming Horizon chatting with Eidos Interactive's Mike Schmitt about the next installment in the Tomb Raider series. The in-depth discussion covers what will be different in the new game, as well as what familiar elements will be returning.

The Empire Interactive Website now offers downloads of a small (3 MB) movie showing off gameplay from Warrior Kings: Battles, showing off some of Black Cactus' upcoming RTS sequel.

• Black & White 2 on the Official Website. Thanks Loadedinc.
• Massive Assault on Worthplaying.
• One Must Fall Battlegrounds - Local Shots.
• Port Royale - Local Shots.
• Raven Shield on Raven Shield Platoon. Showing off an upcoming map from one of the developers.
• Söldner - Local Shots.

The dizzying flurry of release news is not letting up: Galactic Civilizations makes its retail debut is the press release announcing that Stardock Software's space strategy game has shipped to stores in North America. Additionally, the announcement carries word that the GalCiv Update Page is already offering the promised (story) free bonus pack for owners of the registered version of the OS/2 remake.

New World Order makes it debut in North America is the press release announcing the availability of New World Order, Termite Games' tactical, team-based first-person shooter. Here's the deal: "New World Order serves up over 15 real life weapons including the M-16, Desert Eagle and AK-5 in 5 different game modes: team deathmatch, hostage rescue, plant the bomb, team escape and fallout. Players can also take on the AI-opposition together in cooperative gameplay. The Next-generation DVA™ engine features spectacular and accurate effects that immerse you into the world of international terrorism on three different levels of difficulty: easy, normal and hard in singleplayer mode or you can take on fellow gamers in multiplayer mode on a LAN or the internet."

Tri Synergy's BANDITS Phoenix Rising Ships to Retail Outlets Nationwide announces the U.S. release of BANDITS: Phoenix Rising, GRIN's vehicular combat game. Here's the description of the game from the release: "Bandits: Phoenix Rising is a fast paced, action packed game accompanied by an exhilarating soundtrack, extraordinary graphics and elaborate physics. Players can custom build their battle car to fight over enemy territories and ransack enemy caravans. The game also has extensive multiplayer capabilities supported via LAN and Internet."

A new patch for Black & White is now available, updating Lionhead's god game to version 1.3. The update adds support for a new peripheral device called the P5 glove from Essential Reality. The patch can be found on 3D Gamers and FilePlanet (registration required). 3D Gamers notes that this patch incorporates the changes from all previous patches, but is not multiplayer compatible with version 1.20.

Beta Phase 7 Begins for Massively Multiplayer Online Game Eve Online The Second Genesis is the epic (longest press release ever?) announcement that beta phase 7 is about to kick off for Eve Online, the upcoming outer-space MMOG from Crowd Control Productions. Word is this milestone represents the game nearing gold master status, and to celebrate they plan on ending the non-disclosure agreement for beta testers within the next week (so expect a flood of previews). Included is word on how those interested can still apply to be testers, and accompanying the announcement is a set of new screenshots.

The Purge Downloads Page now features an updated version 1.4.1d of the demo version of Purge, the now-gold online FPS/RPG. The update offers bug fixes, balance tweaks, and eases the "desync" lag clients experience on slower connections. In addition to the new 77 MB demo, there is also a small (800 KB) patch to update previous installations.

The PlanetSide Website now offers a new trailer showing off gameplay from Sony Online Entertainment's upcoming MMOFPS. Introduced with the phrase "One planet. Three Empires. One goal," the trailer is 14 MB in Windows Media Player format and runs one minute, 25 seconds. This forum thread is home to comments about what's being displayed. Thanks Dreamscape Virus. Update: There is also a new PlanetSide Preview on Games Domain.

Looks like we're starting up where we left off yesterday, but let the ships fall where they may! Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Ships Vietcong for The PC is the press release with word that Illusion Softworks' Vietnam War shooter has shipped to retail outlets in North America, and is due in Europe on April 11. The announcement includes this assessment of gameplay from Gathering of Developers' president Kelly Sumner: "Vietcong transports players to the Southeast Asia battleground through stunning graphics, intense sound effects and complex missions. This action-packed title will have players riveted as they navigate the varied terrain and constant threat of the jungle war zone."

The Indiana Jones and The Emperor's Tomb Website has word that the PC version of the latest game celebrating the exploits of the daring fictional archaeologist is now available. Word is the game is now in stores, or is available in the online LucasArts store. Here's a bit on the story from the site: "It’s 1935 and this time you must prevent a powerful Chinese artifact from falling into evil hands. This globe-spanning adventure pits you against evil Nazis and the Asian underworld with a mysterious and alluring partner, Mei Ying. It’ll take more than just a trusty whip and pistol to avoid deadly traps and navigate through all the dangerous environments. Do you have what it takes to make it back alive?"

• Dragon Empires
  RPG Vault's Dragon Empires Q&A #21 puts Codemaster's Peter Tyson under the interrogation lights once again, this time out focusing on their plans for showing off their upcoming MMORPG Dragon Empires at this years E3.
• Freelancer
  Action Vault's Freelancer Q&A #4 asks the team the following group question now that their space epic has shipped: "Looking back, what did you find to be most surprising, either in the game itself or the process of making it?"
• Fire Warrior
  HomeLan Fed's Fire Warrior Q&A talks with Kuju executive producer James Brooksby about plans for Fire Warrior, an upcoming cross-platform first-person shooter set in the Warhammer universe.
• Dark Ages
  Stratics Central's Dark Ages: Medenia Q&A chats with Steven Huynh about (funky cool) Medina, the expansion for their MMOG Dark Ages.

GameSpy.com's Asheron's Call 2 Developer Diary is online, where: "The Asheron's Call 2 Live team talks about giving the fans what they want and changes for the upcoming March episode." Also, the Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided Diary on PC.IGN.Com features QA tester Ryan Bond describing his experiences testing the upcoming Star Wars MMORPG. Also, there's a Master of Orion III article on MacGamer written by Quicksilver's Rantz Hoseley with a lot of detail on what went into their space strategy game. Finally, there is an extremely brief Chariots of War by Diary on the Slitherine Website offering a quick look at what they are currently working on in the upcoming Legion sequel.

• Face of Mankind on RPG Vault.
• Lionheart on the Official Website
• PlanetSide on Planetside Shuttle.
• Postal 2 on the Official Website.
• Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness on ToTheGame.
• Vietcong on Tiscali Games.
• Will Rock on Action Vault.

As noted on the FASA Website, their downloads page now offers the German version of the Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries point release. The point release, which was recently released for the English version of the game (story), adds balance tweaks, new deathmatch options, and cheat prevention.

Thanks Mike Martinez.

• IBM to produce Nvidia chips.
• Wi-Fi firewall gets U.S. approval.
• Microsoft breaks with standards effort.
• AOL to swap Real audio technology.
• AOL launches Web-based voice mail.
• There's a log of a chat with NVIDIA's Director of Developer Relations Bill Rehbock on Bjorn3d.com.
• Huawei admits to a little copying.
• Cool bananas on Dan's Data examines overclocking and the minimal benefits of expensive coolers, and discusses how this relates to high-end CPUs.

HomeLan Fed's Gamebryo Q&A chats with the chief technology officer of NDL about their recently renamed game development technology/game engine, and their plans to show it off at this year's E3.

• 1503 A.D.: the New World on Games Domain and GameSpot.
• American Conquest on Worthplaying.
• Arx Fatalis on Game Industry.
• Command & Conquer Generals on GameAxis.
• Delta Force: Black Hawk Down on GameSpot.
• Freelancer on Gamesradar and RIVA 3D.
• Heroes of Might and Magic IV: Winds of War on ESCMag.
• Highland Warriors on Gamer's Pulse.
• IL-2 Sturmovik: Forgotten Battles on FiringSquad.
• Impossible Creatures on games xtreme.
• Praetorians on EuroGamer, games xtreme, and Khabal Gaming.
• Purge on ActionTrip.
• Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield on Electric Playground.
• Restaurant Empire on Adrenaline Vault.
• Splinter Cell on GameOver, Gaming Horizon, and Madshrimps.
• Unreal II: the Awakening on GameOver.
• Uplink: Hacker Elite on GameSpy.

• Albatron PX845PEV-800 Motherboard on Hardware-test.dk.
• FIC A97P Radeon 9700 Pro Video Card on VR-Zone Hardware.
• FlexiGlow Dual Bubble Light Kit on ASE Labs.
• Gigabyte GA-SINXP1394 Motherboard on Neoseeker.
• Intel D845GEBV2 Motherboard on Digital-Daily.
• JMC 401100 Phoenix 70 Radial Fin Heatsink on FrostyTech.com
• MSI GNB MAX2-L Granite Bay Motherboard on HEXUS.net.
• Prometeia Phase Change Cooler on DWPG.Com.
• Samsung SyncMaster 172w (Wide Screen) LCD Monitor on MonkeyReview.
• Sound Card round-up on Techconnect.
• Soyo KT400 Motherboard on OcPrices.
• X-Sonic Case on OCModShop.

• MOONPOD Games has the release of a Starscape demo, offering a sample of this arcade shooter as a 35 MB download. Thanks Gamer's Hell, where there's a mirror...
• One.Tel Gaming is an online gaming service offered by a UK ISP that's currently accepting sign-ups for beta testers...
• The Future vs Fantasy Website has been relaunched to show the originations of Purge in this Quake modification, to demonstrate the originality of their concept...
• The Academy of Machinima Arts & Sciences Website has likewise relaunched, and is now offering new forums and memberships in the Academy...
• There's a thread on Slashdot about the YouPlayGames announcement from a few weeks ago (story). Thanks Mike Martinez...

One of those noisy ads accidentally showed up in the rotation here again last night, luckily it seems I was one of the first to see it, as I was able to nuke it before the hate mail started piling up. The offending code will be removed from the rotation, and the missing ad atop the page will return... until now, consider that space "intentionally left blank."

Stories of the Day:	Cell-Phone Fires A Lot of Static. Scanning the future of privacy.
Wild Science:	Sony steadies two-legged robot. Cellphone to support Braille display. Prime numbers not so random?
Weird Science:	Dog translation device coming to U.S. UFO could have been electrocuted cat. Thanks Brian Poff.
Follow-up:	Shuttle data tape in good condition, says NASA. Thanks [MP] Wolverine [MP].
	Thanks Mike Martinez.