DALLAS, October 31, 2001 – The Cyberathlete Professional League® today announced the biggest payday in its four-year history of highlighting the competitive skills of the world’s top computer gamers. The league, which regularly brings top-ranked players together in live tests of talent, skill and stamina, will award more than $200,000 in cash and prizes at its CPL World Championship Event, powered by the Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor, Dec. 5-9 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Dallas, Texas.

The World Championship Event is expected to attract 2,000 computer gamers from 20 countries, making it the world’s largest professional computer-game tournament. CPL events in the U.S., Europe, Australia and Latin America have awarded cash and prizes totaling $250,000 this year alone.

The professional competitions will feature two exciting PC games: a Special Edition of Half-Life™ Counter-Strike and the just released Aliens vs. Predator™ 2. Winners of the team-based Counter-Strike tournament will share $150,000 cash, including a $50,000 first prize. The Aliens vs. Predator 2 tournament will offer $60,000 in merchandise prizes in head-to-head competition, including a grand prize of a high-end customized 2002 Ford Focus ZX3, designed by APC of Corona, CA. and valued at approximately $40,000.

“This is the biggest payday in our history and a major stimulus to computer gaming as a professional sport,” said CPL founder and president, Angel Munoz. “Computer gaming today involves complex strategy mixed with split-second action that requires skill, training, mental agility and computer savvy. The additional element of team-play could make this one of the biggest sports of the new century.”

The digital duels will be monitored via large screen video projectors in an expanded spectator area on site as well over the Web in live relays.

In addition to hosting ranked players vying for prizes, The World Championship Event will also include workshops hosted by leading gaming hardware and software developers and exhibition booths demonstrating the latest technology in processors, video cards, MP3 players, sound systems, pointing devices, gamer wearables and more.

The event also includes an open LAN area where gamers can bring their own computers to unofficially compete against other gamers connected to the high-speed network. The LAN event will have capacity for 1,000 computers and will remain open to the public 24 hours a day throughout the 5-day event.

This year’s primary event sponsor is Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker and a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communication products. Other event sponsors include: Altec Lansing, Logitech, Fox Interactive, Sierra, PNY Technologies, Netgear, Monster Cable, Speakeasy.net and American Products Company.

For more information on the World Championship Event, go to www.thecpl.com/championship/. General admission price is $50 all five days.

• Etherlords: November 13, 2001
  
• AquaNox: November 14, 2001
  
• S.W.I.N.E.: November 14, 2001
  
• Call of Cthulhu: Q2 2002
  
• Arx Fatalis: Q2 2002
  
• Beam Breakers: Q1 2002
  
• Chaser: Q4 2002

"Matrox Graphics is pleased to be working with Termite Games and Project Three Interactive in insuring that our hardware is fully compatible with New World Order," says Mike Drummelsmith, developer relations manager, Matrox Graphics. "The visual effects in New World Order are simply stunning and, when paired with Matrox's trademark image quality, result in an action packed gaming experience."

"We are, at the moment, rapidly getting to the final stages of development, so now it becomes very important that we sort out which graphics cards suit the game best and guarantee smooth gameplay and great graphics at the same time," explains Jim Malmros, Termite Games. "With a state of the art graphics card company like Matrox backing us up, we are able to make sure New World Order can show off everything it was designed for."

"We are extremely pleased that Matrox is supporting us in the way they do," says Robert Ercevic, CEO Project Three Interactive. "They have been of great assistance and I can't wait to play the final game on their cards. We anticipate this to be the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship."

"We are excited to be partnering with the CPL to showcase Aliens vs. Predator 2 to the gaming community all over the world. This unique tournament, with over $60,000 in prizing, will be one of the biggest computer game tournaments ever,” said Ivo Gerscovich, Director, Promotions and Strategic Partnerships for Fox Interactive. “The common vision the partners shared in putting this event together will hopefully serve to set the standard for future tournaments."

The Aliens vs. Predator 2 finals tournament will take place December 5-9, 2001 in Dallas, Texas at the CPL World Championship Event. The maximum allowed competitors at the finals will be 200, and through online and gaming center competitions, a total of 32 auto-berths will be granted. The final tournament starts with a preliminary qualifier round of Free-For-All matches, then a dual single elimination bracket. The main round consists of a 32-player double elimination bracket

"A chat presents the perfect opportunity to discuss our next release, Ahriman's Gift, with those in the gaming community" says Adel Chaveleh, TimeGate's Producer. "We feel that direct interaction with Kohan fans is so important to the development of successful titles."

Ahriman's Gift is scheduled to ship in North America on November 6th and preorders are currently being accepted from major online retailers. More information on the game as well as a full listing of all current previews, artwork, screenshots, and more can be found on the official Kohan site.

Steve Pope captured the first runner-up prize for his creation, titled "Prestige Golf Club." For his effort, Pope receives a visit with real-life golf course architect Dr. Mark Hurdzan to play a round of golf. The second runner-up, Greg Stout, received a complete set of Pro-line golf clubs for his work on "Pacific Ridge." The winning designs and finalists' courses are now available from sites listed in the "Downloads" section of the Links Country Club.

GA: With most MMORPGs, the AI-run quests are almost never worth doing. They usually involve simple and mundane tasks and offer a pitifully small reward. How does Dark Age of Camelot avoid that all too common pitfall?

Matt: Quests are more integral to Camelot than they are to other games. Each Guild has an Epic quest that players are encouraged to embark on which explains the game's backstory to them over the course of 45 levels of playing (as well as gives them great items and experience). There are a myriad of other quests to do as well - in fact, a Camelot player can earn up to about 40% of his experience per level doing nothing but quests, if he so chooses.

Cel Damage is part demolition derby, part whacked-out cartoon episode come to life. The game pits a cast of crazy 'toons against each other in maxed-out, weapon-laden vehicles to out-maneuver, out-race, and out-smack each other for personal glory. Whether it is a tommy-gun totin' gangster duck, a diminutive demon with a woodchipper, or a hatchet-wielding geek in a hovercraft, these gas-powered gladiators battle it out across 12 highly interactive environments with a host of wild weapons, such as giant boxing gloves and baseball bats, at their disposal. A stylish cel-shaded look and revolutionary "stretch and squish" physics engine make it seem as if all the wild action is taking place in an actual cartoon episode. It is time to get aggressive behind the wheel because now 'toons rule the road!

· Cruise and bruise in the souped-up rides of the toughest 'toonsaround.
· Wield a massive chainsaw, giant axe or one of 34 other wild and wacky weapons.
· Smack your opponents silly in deathmatch, capture-the-flag or racing modes.
· Battle it out across 12 interactive cartoon environments.
· Smash your friends in four-player split-screen action.

This updated test features new game modes (CTF and Tactical in addition to DM), new weapons, larger levels, dynamic lighting, improved sound effects and much, much more!

MAD: Global Thermonuclear Warfare
-Mutually Assured Destruction. Kinda like a bad marriage.

BELLEVUE, WA (October 26, 2001) - Sierra today announced that Empire Earth(tm) will begin shipping to retail stores in the United States on November 13th and the rest of the world on November 16th.

"Empire Earth is set to revolutionize the real-time strategy genre," said Mike Ryder, president of Sierra. "No other RTS offers the breadth and richness of the Empire Earth universe."

Demand for Empire Earth has already been demonstrated through the game's retail pre-order sales success, as well as a massive beta-testing program that has been underway since August.

Anxious fans already have an opportunity to sample Empire Earth's gameplay. A special demonstration version of the game was released for free download via the Internet on October 19th. The demo contains several single-player scenarios intended to give gamers a taste of what Empire Earth has to offer and has already been downloaded over 100,000 times.

Los Angeles, CA - October 26, 2001 - Sierra(tm), Fox Interactive(tm) and the Cyberathlete Professional League(r) (CPL) are excited to announce that Aliens vs. Predator(tm) 2 has been chosen as an "Official Tournament Game of the CPL". To kick off this partnership, the Aliens vs. Predator 2 tournament, also sponsored by PNY Technologies(r), will be included in a 30-city tournament at the CPL qualifying centers, a worldwide online tournament with the Cyberathlete Amateur League( and the upcoming CPL World Championship event. The Aliens vs. Predator 2 finals tournament will have gamers from across the nation competing for the grand prize of a high-end customized 2002 Ford Focus ZX3 courtesy of American Products Company located in Corona, CA.

"We are excited to be partnering with the CPL to showcase Aliens vs. Predator 2 to the gaming community all over the world. This unique tournament, with over $60,000 in prizing, will be one of the biggest computer game tournaments ever," said Ivo Gerscovich, Director, Promotions and Strategic Partnerships for Fox Interactive. "The common vision the partners shared in putting this event together will hopefully serve to set the standard for future tournaments."

The Aliens vs. Predator 2 finals tournament will take place December 5-9, 2001 in Dallas, Texas at the CPL World Championship Event. The maximum allowed competitors at the finals will be 200, and through online and gaming center competitions, a total of 32 auto-berths will be granted. The final tournament starts with a preliminary qualifier round of Free-For-All matches, then a dual single elimination bracket. The main round consists of a 32-player double elimination bracket.

(3) GRAND PRIZES- PC GAME SYSTEM
(1) SECOND PRIZE- A PRIZE PACK WITH (20) TOP GAMES
(1) THIRD PRIZE- A PRIZE PACK WITH (15) TOP GAMES

Game Systems provided by Able Electronics Prize packs provided by Strategy First and Infogrames

“With the launch of Redmoon Online, we are attracting gamers who follow the RedMoon comic book series and those looking for exciting play with a compelling background story,” said Kevin Hannah, VP Marketing for World Netgames. “Our goals are to make this game accessible to everyone and to provide our customers with the ability to pay any way they wish. Internet Payment Solutions demonstrated that we can enable customers who don’t want to use credit cards without modifying our ecommerce system or customer service policies."

Previews:

Interviews:

REDMOND, Wash. - Oct. 24, 2001 - Going bananas over that gorilla? Does that giraffe make you laugh? Make them stars: Enter them in the Microsoft® "Zoo Tycoon™" Beast in Show campaign for the chance to be featured in "Zoo Tycoon," Microsoft Corp.'s new PC game where players build a thriving zoo and success depends on animal and guest happiness. Microsoft will donate $20,000 to fund animal care at the winning animal's home zoo.

Launching today, the Microsoft "Zoo Tycoon" Beast in Show campaign allows animal lovers - including zoo employees, visitors and friends - to pick the zoo resident they want to make a star. Online nominations begin today and will be accepted through Nov. 15 at http://www.zootycoon.com/. Ten semifinalists will be identified, and the final round of voting will take place Nov. 19-30. The celebrated Beast in Show will be announced in December.

"The animals are the stars of the zoo - they are the reason people visit, and their happiness and well-being make or break it - both in the real world and in the virtual world of 'Zoo Tycoon,'" said Susan Kittleson, Microsoft "Zoo Tycoon" product manager. "Beast in Show gives us an opportunity to give back to the zoos that inspired the game."

Integrated Rank, Mission and Strategic Systems

The new version lets players gain rank with their allied and axis characters by successfully completing offensive and defensive missions. Each character begins with a rank of Private and can gain points towards higher ranks. Higher-ranking characters can post priority missions utilizing higher-value equipment and weapons. Players can track the careers of all characters through web-based scoring pages including combat effectiveness details. The new mission system also introduces vehicle and weapon limits to the battlefield, adding important new strategic elements- all controlled by players in the persistent game world.

"Now we've added the systems for players to take control of the strategic outcome of the conflict in addition to the vehicles and weapons that engage on the battlefield. It sets the stage for players to rise in rank and possibly become battlefield commanders in the historic setting of World War II", says Producer Chris Sherland.

Upgraded 3D Environment

This release brings an entirely new version of the largest online 3D game world available in an MMOG. The Blitzkrieg theater, the first of several theaters planned, lets players engage in combat on a ½ scale map of Western Europe including France, Germany and parts of Great Britain. The new version adds even more 3D objects including significantly more ground cover for troops and armor. The addition of more enterable buildings and landmarks also provides players with even more combat areas all of which are positioned with historical accuracy for the time period.

Performance Enhancements

Since the release of the game in June, the development team has been working to increase player capacity and bring performance enhancements to the game. The goal has been to increase frame rates, reduce load times and eliminate other technical issues. This release, along with several previous patches, has resulted in significant performance increases and stability reported by players with wide-ranging systems.

'Win More Than The War' Competition Announced

To kick-off the newest release, Strategy First and Playnet.com have announced a competition for the World War II OnlineT community. Each week the top performers on the virtual battlefield will win copies of great game titles like 'Sudden StrikeT', 'CossacksT' and 'Empire of the AntsT' with a grand prize of an AMD 1.3Ghz computer.

"We're set to give away great prizes to the soldiers who are the best of the best on the virtual attlefield of World War II OnlineT", says Christina Ginger, Public Relations Manager for Strategy First.

Further information on the contest, free trial and World War II OnlineT, please visit Playnet.com or the official website at WWIIonline.com.

More on World War II OnlineT- Blitzkrieg Version 1.3.0- October 15, 2001

New Mission Features

o Mission scoring now takes into account the health of the facility you are defending or attacking when tallying results.
o Mission scoring now includes, mission priority, number of damaged and killed enemy units, the value of those units and if you returned to base safely.
o Vehicle availability tied to state (contention) of spawn facility (spawn limits).
o Vehicle availability limited by spawn facility resources (spawn limits).

RPG Features

o Rank points accumulated through participation in successful missions.
o Higher rank provides ability to post higher priority missions worth more points to poster and participant.
o Higher rank provides access to higher value equipment.First Person Shooter Enhancements
o Updated collision models.
o Revised damage model extends character life at reduced capability.
o Revised trooper commands and states streamline operation and overall gameplay.

Updated Terrain
o Greatly increased concealment/cover objects (trees, bushes, grasses).
o New enterable buildings.
o New ground textures.

New Vehicles
o Bristol Blenheim Mk IV Allied Light Bomber.
o Bf110-C Axis Heavy Fighter.

Upgraded Defensive A.I.
o Defensive guns target enemy trucks more aggressively.
o New AI rebuild-system tied to facility capture, not city contention.

Performance Improvements

"Ballistics is all about raw, unadulterated speed, and holding your finger on the accelerator until the screen becomes one vast motion blur. It's a game that makes Wipeout look like Driving Miss Daisy. Astride your precarious looking hoverbike you will reach the kind of speeds which are normally reserved for astronauts and fighter pilots, thanks to an ingenious system of winding magnetic tubes which act as race tracks."

Project 3's COO Erik Schreuder says: "We are a young and dinamic company and therefore want to offer our visitors the quickest and most dinamic way to obtain our products. The shop is at this time limited to countries where we have not established distribution yet, because we are not planning to compete with our own partners: if you can buy our products in your local store, you can't buy them from us."

He continues with an example: "A good case is the UK, where we have not received a satisfactory distribution deal yet. Obviously, we received a massive amount of requests to sell Schizm online into the UK and those consumer demands have now been met." Other countries & regions from which consumers can buy directly online are a.o. Latin-America, Africa, Scandinavia and the Middle East.

The Team Arena wallpapers can be found >here:

The winners will walk away with bragging rights and one of three prize packages. The grand prize is a customized Ford Explorer Sport Trac with Pioneer Audio/Video systems and an integrated Xbox system. Second place is an Xbox console and Xbox games, as well as a spring break trip for four to San Felipe in Baja California, Mexico, sponsored by Official Xbox Magazine. Third place is an Xbox console and Xbox games, food for a year from Taco Bell(R) and beverages for a year from SoBe. Taco Bell will be on site at the marathon offering samples of its new chicken quesadilla, and SoBe will be serving beverages for the duration of the video game marathon at both the New York and Los Angeles venues.

Gamers who want to experience Xbox and the games at their own pace can choose the noncompetitive, free play area, which will also include prize giveaways and entertainment. In addition to the titles featured in the competitive area, gamers in the free play area will have access to "Madden NFL(TM) 2002" and "NASCAR Thunder(TM) 2002" from Electronic Arts; "Mad Dash Racing" from Eidos; "NHL(R) Hitz(TM) 20-02" from Midway; "Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee(TM)" and "NFL(TM) Fever 2002" from Microsoft Game Studios; "TransWorld Surf(TM)" from Infogrames; and Shrek(TM) from TDK Mediactive. DJs from 92.3 K-ROCK in New York and 106.7 KROQ in Los Angeles will broadcast live from the event.

"We had the opportunity to meet with Auran at this year's ECTS and were very impressed with their latest project," says Steve Wall, V.P., Business Development for Strategy First. "TRAINZ® is a dream come true for any Train and Railroad enthusiast. You can design and build your very own virtual world and then put on your engineer cap and ride the rails in the most spectacular environments imaginable."

"Our publishing deal with Strategy First is very much a partnership," says
Greg Lane, CEO of Auran. "Because Trainz is a unique product with appeal beyond traditional games boundaries, we were looking for a flexible relationship that would allow us to reach both gamers and model railroaders. Strategy First will promote Trainz through the normal retail channels, and allow us to continue developing our online community as well as conducting online sales of the many add-on modules and regional packs that we have planned. We have currently modeled trains from over 20 countries and we are sure that Trainz communities will flourish in these countries and many more."

For the thousands of train lovers around the world, talk of a new train simulator is a welcome addition and is sure to please players of all ages. Replicating many aspects of a virtual model railroad, TRAINZ® immerses players into the driver's seat of their favorite locomotives and allows them to create a huge variety of layouts using hundreds of textures and objects from around the world.

While riding the tracks and listening to the realistic sounds of engines starting up, the clickety-clack of the rails and a large variety of other ambient sounds, players will be able to build their own stunningly realistic routes from a variety of locations, from the busy US East Coast, the picturesque English countryside to the endless plains of the Australian Outback - all using the intuitive and powerful TRAINZ SURVEYOR editor. Players will also be able to choose from the engineer's view and use 3D in-cab controls, or choose the train spotter view and use the virtual “DC” controller. They can even download a variety of fan-designed locomotives and trackside objects from the virtualtrainz.com web site.

Says Mark Jacobs, President of Mythic Entertainment, the developer and publisher of Dark Age of Camelot, “We're pleased to be able to offer the PayByCash service to our customers as a viable alternative to credit cards, broadening the potential audience for Dark Age of Camelot."

"Internet Payment Solutions (PayByCashtm) is uniquely suited to assist Mythic Entertainment in extending its reach to anyone interested in playing Dark Age of Camelot,” explains Debora Higgins, President of IPS. “Our specialty is the empowerment of consumers who don’t use credit cards. This population makes up almost 10% of the Internet population and we’re proud to be able to match these people up with Dark Age of Camelot.”

About Internet Payment Solutions (IPS)

"First party titles such as Halo, Oddworld : Munch's Oddysee and Project Gotham Racing are expected to be on show in the amusingly named "Play More Zone", while a "Video Zone" will bombard gamers with "action-packed FMV's, sound and light demonstrating the awesome power of the Xbox". After that you may well be in need of the "X Zone", a
"futuristic chill out area to relax after the gaming fest". You will also be able to pre-order an Xbox on the spot."

Trial Version Available from Official Zoo Tycoon Site

Start roasting the peanuts! Microsoft today announced that Zoo Tycoon has started to appear on store shelves. There have been several reports of its availability at locations throughout the U.S., and wide availability is expected this week.

Gamers wanting a quick tour of the game can download the trial version, now available on the game's official site at http://www.microsoft.com/games/zootycoon/. The trial version guides players through two tutorials and allows them to play a freeform game. In addition, players can create new habitats for animals such as the giraffe, the Bengal tiger, and the Thomson's gazelle.

Zoo Tycoon brings a new and exciting twist to the tycoon style of simulation games, challenging players to construct a healthy and vibrant zoo while managing animal and guest happiness. With more than 40 unique animals and more than 175 habitat and zoo building materials, Zoo Tycoon includes an intuitive design that allows players to erect, manage and maintain a thriving metropolitan zoo. Players can build an extensive menagerie from traditional favorites such as elephants, lions and giraffes, or more exotic offerings including pandas and white Siberian tigers. Players must decide how to turn a profit with their zoo -- some may choose the path of frugal management, while others may overcharge for admission and stiff the guests with an $8 soda!

Zoo Tycoon's easy-to-manage design lets players oversee the growth of their zoos, while the interactive tutorial provides helpful assistance for players looking to enjoy the game right out of the box. Developed by Blue Fang Games LLC, Zoo Tycoon allows players of all ages and skill levels to construct a zoo or engage in one of 15 challenging scenarios.

Joe Pantoliano of The Sopranos has played a traitorous renegade and a mobster, but now he may now be your best source for information in Majestic... assuming that you can trust him.

Electronic Arts is pleased to announce that accomplished film and television actor Joe Pantoliano will make an appearance in Episode 4 of Majestic, the online suspense thriller that uses the Internet, phone and email to invade your life. While Pantoliano has made a career out of playing shadowy characters, from the renegade Cypher in the 1999 blockbuster The Matrix to the mobster Ralph Cifaretto in HBO's smash series The Sopranos, his role for Majestic turned him into a blackballed investigative journalist.

"He plays the role of Tim Pritchard, a reporter who has made a reputation of digging for the truth, and in doing so, ends up airing stories that compromise the TV station he is working at," said Ralph Guggenheim,
executive producer of Majestic.

After being blacklisted by his bosses, Pritchard creates a Web site on the Internet where he invites like-minded individuals to post stories that the conventional media wouldn't dare publish.

Steve Meretzky, WorldWinner.com: "...I was stuck in a dead end game development job, until I discovered the excitement of blacksmithing!"

Interviews:

Screenshots:

We ran into some issues during our testing of the Multiplayer Test build which delayed our launch of the Test. As those issues were resolved it became quite apparent that we were spending too much time focusing on that separate Test build and not enough time on getting the WHOLE game done.
In short there will be no Multiplayer Test.

As the prequel to the highly successful Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns, Ahriman' s Gift transports players back before the events that transpired in Immortal Sovereigns when evil begins to threaten the world of Khaldun.

"We are extremely excited to announce the completion of Kohan: Ahriman's Gift," says Adel Chaveleh, TimeGate's Producer. "The strategy and tactics originally introduced by KIS have been brought to the forefront in KAG and we feel that the game has some of the best real-time strategy artificial intelligence ever."

The title is scheduled to ship in North America on November 6 and preorders are currently being accepted from major online retailers. More information on the game as well as a full listing of all current previews, artwork, screenshots, and more can be found on the official Kohan site, www.kohan.net.

***In celebration of KAG going gold The Awakening's (Strategy Planet) KAG demo tourney has been extended through midnight on Sunday, October 21. More
information can be found here:

About Kohan: Ahriman's Gift:

The upcoming release, Kohan: Ahriman's Gift, will set new standards in Real-Time Strategy Artificial Intelligence. 30 complex AI players challenge you with different styles of play using some of the best real-time strategy artificial intelligence ever. AI will create challenging gameplay in two new game types, Turtle and King of the Hill, allowing a slower, more strategic version of Kohan's original game rules. AI players are more than capable of contributing to victory and are even able to communicate with you and respond to your requests to attack, defend, and provide economy status reports to you!

Background and Features:

A fantasy real-time strategy game set in the world of Khaldun, Kohan: Ahriman's Gift takes you to new heights of strategic warfare. Built on the award-winning Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns gameplay, Ahriman's Gift provides countless hours of entertainment with five campaigns, forty custom-built maps, and a host of multiplayer options. You become one of the Kohan, an ancient race devastated by a cycle of world-breaking cataclysms. Newly awakened to an uncertain future and a past you don't remember, you must forge the present using superior strategies. Now, as your strength grows and your destiny unfolds, you have to seize the reins of power and take your place in the war between the Creator and the Shadow. Which side you fight on is up to you.

In terms of development, the team has been working on many different things. There are far too many to list them all, but some of the major additions and changes put in place recently are new weapons, clothes, avatar hairstyles, NPCs, NPC AI and user interfaces. We have also modified the targeting system and various weapon parameters. Graphically, we have implemented changes in areas such as the sky, fog and terrain maps. We had been working on these on our internal development server, and now, the visuals in the beta test will more closely resemble those that we have shown in our development screenshots.

* In the US, log on to www.3Dgamer.com, www.bluesnews.com or www.pcgamer.com
* In France, log on to www.gamekult.com
* In Japan, log on to www.capcom.com
* In Korea, log on to www.hanbit.com
* In Germany, log on to www.4players.de

The demo can be downloaded at http://gigex.com/GetPackage/GetPackage.ASP?PackageId=0041800002&source=02
.

The Empire Earth Demo includes four of Empire Earth's Training Scenarios, which introduce a few of the many special features available in the full game. Also included are two exciting scenarios from Empire Earth's four epic Campaigns. In one scenario, you command British troops during the Napoleonic Wars. In the other, you guide Manfred von Richthofen, the famous "Red Baron," at the start of World War I.

More information about Empire Earth can be found at http://www.empireearth.com/.

The story in this game takes a back seat to the rioting and destroying. The ATO (American Trade Organization) has taken control of your city, and you do not like it. From here you can start your riot. During the riot, you are essentially allowed to do whatever you want. ... [The] environments are completely destructible, many weapons are readily available, and a hundred people fill up the screen at a time.

Los Angeles, CA - October 18, 2001 - The around-the-clock shifts have ended and the countdown begins as Sierra(tm) and Fox Interactive(tm) announced today that Aliens vs. Predator 2 has indeed gone gold. It's only a matter of time until players can immerse themselves in a game that combines elements, creatures, and settings from the hit movies Aliens (and Predator) in three unique, interlocking stories. Aliens, predators, and humans share one powerful trait-the enduring will to survive. The only question left to ask is "Will you be up to the challenge?"

"It's been a long journey on the Aliens vs. Predator 2 project and I'm proud to see this one set sail! The team over at Monolith has created a great product that I'm quite sure the AvP fans will enjoy," said David Stalker, producer for Fox Interactive. "My thanks go out to all the Monolith team members, as well as the folks from Fox, Sierra and Vivendi Universal who gave their very best for this game...now everybody go get some sleep!"

Aliens vs. Predator 2 will be available at retail late October for a suggested retail price of $49.95. For more information, go to AvP2.sierra.com or order by phone at 800-757-7707.

In related news,
The clock is ticking and the launch of the Aliens vs. Predator 2 multiplayer demo is getting closer. Still haven't made up your mind yet about which species to choose? Here are some details about the demo that should start you thinking...

* The playable characters will be the Alien Drone, the Predator, Harrison or Dunya
* The weapons for the Marine will be the knife, pistol, shotgun, pulse rifle and smartgun
* The weapons & tools for the Predator will be wristblades, spear, plasmacaster, netgun, charger, medicomp and mask.
* The map will be "A Lesser Fate"
* The modes will be Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch
* There will be Internet/LAN support for up to 16 players
* The total file size is 65MB

For a detailed listing description of the Aliens vs. Predator 2 multiplayer demo, log on to www.avpnews.com.

Gothenburg, Sweden ­ October 16, 2001 - MindArk AB announced today that the pool of participants in the current Phase II beta test of its pioneering Internet-based interactive entertainment enterprise, Project Entropia, has been expanded. The addition of a group of approximately 500 effectively doubles the size of the test. Phase I technical beta testing began in May with some 50 testers, progressing into Phase II in early September with more than 500.

“Beta testing is absolutely critical to making Project Entropia the very best it can be,” stated MindArk Marketing Manager Patric Sundstrom. “We’re extremely pleased at the progress our development team is making, and a portion of the credit belongs to the beta testers, some of whom have been exceptionally helpful in identifying bugs and other problems. As a result, we’re also happy that we can now accommodate approximately 1,000 participants to take part in continuing testing as we move forward with the implementation of new features and content.”

Project Entropia is a groundbreaking new form of interactive entertainment based upon a fully featured 3D persistent state world. It will be made available with no initial cost or mandatory subscription fees to millions of Internet users around the world. In the roles of human colonists on the seemingly idyllic virtual planet of Calypso, they will have the chance to meet and socialize or to explore and adventure with each other while facing challenges from wild indigenous creatures and invading robots.

Applications to participate in further phases of the Project Entropia beta test are still being accepted at http://www.project-entropia.com/betatest/apply.asp?topic=betatest

Additional information about Project Entropia can be found on the official website at http://www.project-entropia.com

CPL partner, iGames has commenced their qualifying tournaments in North America for the World Championship Event. This past weekend three of their associated game centers held qualifying tournaments:

1. Icelan Network Game Center in Pomona, California
2. Nekstlevel Interactive in Mississauga, Ontario
3. Rivalution Network Center in San Jose, California

This coming weekend the following iGames associated centers will be holding qualifying tournaments:

1. Head 2 Head Games in London, Ontario
2. G2K Games in Norton, Virginia
3. Hyyperlynx in Slidell, Louisiana
4. Next Game in San Francisco, California
5. Gamer's Edge in Chandler, Arizona

WANT TO BUILD A TIGHT SITE? - AMPED FAN SITE KIT NOW AVAILABLE

Microsoft today announced that the official Fan Site Kit (FSK) for Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding is now available at http://www.xbox.com/News/0110/1801.htm>. The Amped FSK contains a variety of screenshots, sound effects, logos, Flash animations, and other art to help you build a killer Amped fan site.

Rip the ultimate line on real mountains packed with 1500 jumps and rails in Amped, the first snowboarding game focused on freestyle riding. Pull over 1000 tricks on 80 wide-open mountain runs for a different ride every time. Land insane tricks in front of roaming camera crews to get your face on video reels and magazine covers. Get enough media exposure to become one of the world’s top 10 snowboarding superstars. And do it all to the music of over 200 core indie tracks.

Xbox is Microsoft’s future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful games experiences ever. Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Xbox will be available in North America on November 15, 2001 at the suggested retail price of $299.99.

Novalogic have announced that their latest helicopter action game Comanche 4 will be coming to the Xbox some time late next year, and released some new screenshots of both the PC and Xbox versions to celebrate.

One of the few surprises to come out of Microsoft's flamboyant X01 event on the Cote d'Azur earlier this week was a line in the press release which claimed that UbiSoft had "announced Ghost Recon as an Xbox exclusive". Today Eurogamer is happy to report that this was (as we had suspected) a mistake and the PC version of the game is still on its way next month.

A brief statement from UbiSoft reveals that "there is no exclusivity partnership between Ubi Soft and Microsoft for Ghost Recon on the Xbox, therefore Ghost Recon may be developed on some
other systems in the future".

Halo, for example, is now one hot potato. It was slated for release on the Mac and the PC, but Microsoft bought Bungie and it may now become an XBox exclusive. It looks like they will be locking up titles to be produced exclusively on the XBox, which means the PC is likely to be left out of some of the best releases out there. I've been dying to see a good fighting game over on the PC for years, but it looks like DOA3 (Dead or Alive 3) will be another XBox exclusive. Given that the XBox is so similar to a PC, why can't they be big about it and port it on over to the PC so we can kick some tail ov