I watched Itagaki play gamers in Dead or Alive at some prior E3 and the man knows his game. I remember one match he toyed around with his opponent, allowing himself to lose most of his health only to turn it around and go flawless the rest of the way. So if you have Dead or Alive Ultimate, I'd say stay up late and try him out; you'll always be able to say, "I had my ass kicked by Itagaki!" A couple days ago, I caught the Icons episode of the series and Itagaki said the title comes from the situation Tecmo was in at the time. For years, they were losing money so this fighting game was going to make 'em or break 'em, therefore Dead or Alive was born. That's pretty much the same story behind the name of Final Fantasy.

Just a couple weeks ago, Midway pulled back the curtains on a new addition to the Gauntlet series called Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows. Development is being headed up by two successful designers, John Romero and Josh Sawyer, and I was lucky enough to get some details on the game straight from Romero himself.

Shack: What are some techniques that you are incorporating to promote cooperative combat? John Romero: We have a great co-op feature called Junction Skills that allows multiple players to define the type of effect and area of effect for either attacking enemies or healing the party. We also have other ways that multiple players can fight together such as one player can grab an enemy by the throat and hold it up in the air while another player is slashing that same enemy.

Not only will there be much excitement around the three next-gen consoles at E3, but I'm sure there's equal anticipation for the new Legend of Zelda title for the GameCube. Although I grew up on Nintendo, I was never "big" into the Zelda series, mostly because I was too young to enjoy an RPG. However, the screenshots for this new Zelda are absolutely breathtaking and makes the game hard to ignore. I can't wait to see what Nintendo has up their sleeve with this one. Also, hey, if you're in the Los Angeles area and will attempt to get free gas, take some pictures, will ya?

Looking back the past couple years, Midway hasn't had many big titles; a few Mortal Kombats and Psi-Ops, but they weren't necessarily huge successes. Today's Midway Gamers' Day showed that the company has some tricks up their sleeves with a handful of potential hits under development. Many of you Shackers have been very impressed with the Unreal Championship 2 demo and the two racing titles (L.A. Rush and Midway Arcade Treasures 3) has a few of ya chompin' at the bit. Hopefully in the next few days we'll see impressions of some of these titles. Maybe we'll find out if Romero's Gauntlet will make us his bitch.

$28.95 for the UMD version of The House of Flying Daggers? I'm sorry, what? I have to pay more for a UMD movie than I would the DVD version? Good luck with that, Sony! Here's what I'm guessing is going through their minds. The PSP plays near-DVD quality movies, so in essence, it's a portable DVD player. Therefore, when consumers want Hollywood on the go, they'll pay the extra dough to get it. I guess that may work with those careless with their monies, but I'd never pay the price of a GBA game to watch a 90 minute flick on a tiny screen. Of course, the other movies are slightly less expensive at twenty bones, but when I could still get the DVD for less, I don't see the benefit. But I'm a guy that drives himself everywhere and doesn't really have spare time to use a gaming device on the go, so I'm probably not in their target market.

So I would like to ask... how do you guys feel about rumors being a part of LNC? Personally, when I read a rumor on the Internet, I check the credibility of the site/organization reporting it and the sources they cite. For instance, the story a couple nights ago concerning the Xbox 2's backwards compatibility came from a reputable organization (gamesindustry.biz) and cited good sources (staff close to MS executives). However, I am reluctant to run the 'leaked specs' about Xbox 2 since it was posted on Spong (who?) and they didn't even mention how they got a hold of this information. I'll most likely keep following this style, but I would like to hear what you have to say concerning rumors in LNC. On top of that, it was brought to my attention that Jason started up a "Deals This Week" feature that showcased hot deals concerning console-related software, hardware, accessories, etc. I believe he didn't get around to doing this often, but it seemed to spark a bit of interest. So do me a favor and sound off on that as well.

	Ninja Gaiden's Live Update In early August, Tecmo will release to gamers an Xbox Live update for Ninja Gaiden. Dubbed Ninja Gaiden 1.1, the FREE download will offer tons of content not typically seen released with free upgrades. The upgrade will consist of new enemies, bosses, weapons, camera angles as well as improved enemy AI and the "action engine," which will speed up the game entirely. The article explains each upgrade in detail and offers pictures. If you thought Ninja Gaiden was hard before, get ready!
	TOCA Race Driver 2 Announced for PS2 Codemasters revealed today that they will be bringing the TOCA race series to the PS2 this October. The game, which has already been released on the PC and Xbox, will sport plenty of enhancements over the original for the PS2 version. For instance, the inclusion of a new circuit, a more in-depth Championship mode, and the ability to save your replays. The game will also be online-enabled up to eight players.
	Blizzard Sounds Off on Ghost Delay GameSpot has updated their StarCraft: Ghost news article with a few quotes from a Blizzard spokesperson. Nothing really stands out from the quotes except for an explanation that adds clearness to the delay; "...but we can say that after an extensive review of Ghost's development progress, we determined that, given the gameplay expectations for titles in the tactical-action genre, we needed to modify the game's design prior to release." The game is currently being evaluated in-house and Blizzard just wants to "...ensure that StarCraft: Ghost lives up to the standards that we set for all Blizzard games."
	Clarity on True Fantasy Live Online 1up has a translated Q&A with Microsoft of Japan conducted by the Japanese Xbox fan site, Atsui, regarding the closure of the True Fantasy Live Online project. The answers aren't detail-heavy, yet a few things stick out; for instance, in response to a question asking if the game is truly dead, Microsoft responded, "Development of the game ended when we announcement [sic] its cancellation. However, there is ongoing debate and discussion within our company, but we cannot tell the public anymore than that." When asked about what will happen to the content created... "As for saving the assets we have developed so far and using them in a future project, we really cannot disclose our internal discussions about this." Sounds like to me gamers are going to get something out of this after all.
	Slew of New DS Titles In the current issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly, developers were asked what Nintendo DS titles they were working on. Plenty of devs sounded off and have given us a peek into the DS' future. A few games discussed were portable versions of Super Monkey Ball, Baten Kaitos, and Chu Chu Rocket. A new Castlevania was confirmed, with gameplay similar to the previous GBA titles, and a "shooting-oriented" version of Silent Hill was mentioned. To wrap it up, Team Ninja dictator Tomonobu Itagaki has previously expressed much affection for the DS and revealed a title is under development. Thanks to Judicus for the link.
	N-Gage to get Colin McRae Along with announcing TOCA, Codemasters revealed that development has been underway on a N-Gage version of the rally racer Colin McRae Rally 2005. They've handed off the development process to Ideaworks3D and the title is expected to be released in time for Christmas.
	Misc. Q&As/Interviews Game Informer speaks with Intellivision legend Dan Daglow about his storied past and his current project, Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone. HomeLAN Fed spends some time with the lead designer of Robotech: Invasion, Matt Grieg.
	Misc. Media/Previews
	The Magic Box has a quick peek and plenty of screens for Bandai's fighter: Fullmetal Alchemist: Dream Carnival. GamerFeed suits up to report in on Spy Fiction. There's a preview of Champions: Return to Arms, the sequel to the EverQuest PS2 single-player adventure, at GameSpy. Also at 'da Spy are screens of Astro Boy.
	CVG kicks it into high gear with their look at Forza Motorsport. IGN has a feature looking at the humans in Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders.
	IGN has new videos for Tales of Symphonia this evening. That is all.
	IGN gives us the low down on this "revamped" version of Madden NFL 2005. New screens of Astro Boy: Omega Factor, LEGO Knight's Kingdom, and Finding Nemo: The Continuing Adventures are at GameSpy this evening.
	GameSpot flexes its muscles with videos for Def Jam: Fight for NY (PS2, Xbox, GCN) and Battlefield: Modern Combat (PS2, Xbox). GamerFeed takes a look at Timesplitters: Future Perfect (PS2, Xbox, GCN). TeamXbox sets sail and goes hands-on with Galleon (PS2, Xbox, GCN). GameSpy treats us to images of Headhunter: Redemption and Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition, both for PS2 and Xbox. IGN previews Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 (PS2, Xbox, GCN) and peeks upskirt at Outlaw Golf 2 (PS2, Xbox).

Hey look at that, Electronic Arts will apparently release Xbox Live enabled games this year. That makes me a very happy gamer.

	EA & Xbox Live, Sitting In A Tree.. According to IGN, EA and Microsoft are really close to agreeing on terms that will see EA finally release Xbox Live enabled titles. Madden NFL 2005, NCAA College Football, NASCAR Thunder 2005, and NBA Live 2005 are a go when it comes to sports games, while Battlefield: Modern Combat, Goldeneye 2 and Burnout 3 are supposedly some of the non-sports games that are expected to have Xbox online play. Expect an official announcement soon.
	Xbox Sales Up As part of their latest quarterly financial statement, Microsoft announced that Xbox sales were up 30% compared to the same period last year. Microsoft expects to sell between 14.5 and 16 million consoles by June, and the company also hopes for 1 million Live subscribers at that time. The console is still nowhere near making a profit for Microsoft though, as the Xbox division reported a $209 million loss.
	Official Midway Arcade Treasures 2 Announcement Midway officially announced Midway Arcade Treasures 2 today, revealing the list of 21 games it will include. Look for the first three Mortal Kombat games, along with titles like Gauntlet 2, Primal Rage, Xenophobe and Spy Hunter 2. Midway Arcade Treasures 2 will be released this fall on Xbox (with Live support to post high scores online), PlayStation 2 and GameCube. Price should be $19.99.
	Ghost Hunting In North America Namco has announced that they'll be publishing the third-person horror action game Ghost Hunter in North America later this year. Ghost Hunter places you in the role of a rookie cop who is set to investigate a disturbance at an old abandoned school. While there you manage to set free ghosts trapped in the school's paranormal research lab, and thus hell breaks lose. The game was developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's Cambridge studio, and was released to mostly good reviews in Europe.
	Weekly Bungie Update The latest Halo 2 update can be found on the Halo Center Forums. The update covers animation, an art book project, some *CENSORED* information on the environments and a look at what the programmers have been up to.
	Death, Jr. Q&A There is a Death, Jr. Q&A on GameSpot this evening. Senior producer Chris Charla of Backbone Entertainment answers questions about his company's upcoming PSP game, with topics including research done before committing to the platform, support from Sony, the game's content, and the differences between GBA and PSP development.
	Atari Paddle Game Plans JAKKS Pacific will be releasing another Atari direct-to-television set this summer, following the Atari Joystick release with an Atari Paddle one. The paddle will include Breakout, Super Breakout, Warlords, Street Racer, Steeple Chase, Night Driver, Demons To Diamonds, Circus Atari, Casino and Canyon Bomber.
	Namco Games Going GBA IGN is reporting that DSI Games will be releasing several Game Boy Advance games based on Namco franchises. Expect to see ports of Dead to Rights, I-Ninja, Smashing Drive, Pac-Man World, and Ms. Pac-Man Maze Madness.
	European Splinter Cell Tournament Announced Microsoft has announced a European Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow tournament, for people living in Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and Ireland. The Mercenaries vs Assassins tournament starts April 26, and the player with the best ranking on May 26 wins a Spy Kit which includes a Samsung X10 laptop with fingerprint activation, a Samsung camcorder with night-capture mode and a limited edition Crystal Xbox. Runner-ups will get tshirts and Pandora Tomorrow postcards (okaayy..) among other things.
	Misc. Media/Previews
	New on GameSpot is this preview of Custom Robo, the Nintendo robot action game which is due out next month.
	GameSpot has Front Mission 4 demo impressions, along with 18 screenshots from the Square Enix strategy RPG. They also have new screenshots from Gran Turismo 4. 1UP also goes hands-on with Front Mission 4 while IGN has video footage from Jak III and Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal. And on Game Informer they have several Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain multiplayer movies.
	GameSpot takes a look at Metal Slug 3 and IGN has Iron Phoenix screenshots.
	Two previews on 1UP tonight, as they offer their impressions on Mario Golf: Advance Tour and Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon.
	Six new Viewtiful Joe 2 (GameCube, PS2) screenshots can be found on GameSpot, and they also have two screenshots from The URBZ (Xbox, PS2, GameCube). IGN offers impressions of Shellshock Nam '67 (PS2, Xbox).

I received a few suggestions last night, but it seems like by and large you're all content with the way things are here, which is certainly a good thing, since I have no real plans to dramatically change any of this any time soon. If anything ever comes to mind, by all means send it to me or post it in the comments, since I'm always interested in hearing ways to improve what I do here. One thing I wanted to point out is how pleased I am with the reaction to the reader-submitted Console Game of the Evening system. Not only are we getting some games I never would have thought of in a million years (tonight's game is a perfect example of that), but at any given time I have 250+ games to choose from. And possibly even cooler, is the fact that many, if not most of these, are from people other than the usual LNC gang from the comments. Keep 'em coming, and I'll keep the posts coming (except possibly for this Friday, as I won't do a post unless there's enough news to justify one).

	Surreal Clarification I got an e-mail from a representative for Surreal Software, who wanted to clarify the post here last night...they're not looking for beta testers, but rather focus group testers (which means you won't get to play much, but you could have a bigger impact on the game's development). Also, since The Suffering is an M-rated game, they're only looking for people over 18.
	Ninja Gaiden Interview A new interview with the always entertaining Tomonobu Itagaki of Team Ninja is up at GameSpot tonight. As he always does, Itagaki makes for an amusing interview (quote: "I am not so impudent as to make two or three paths through a stage and call the scenario branching 'nonlinear'"), although he dodges a handful of questions and offers no release date.
	Midway Classics Announced Here's a pleasant surprise...Midway has announced an awesome new collection of classic arcade games that will be released this fall for all three home platforms. Among the many, many games on the list are Spy Hunter, Robotron: 2084, Rampage, Gauntlet, Klax, and even SMASH TV, which should play perfectly with the dual shock controller.
	SOCOM Xplodes GamePro is reporting that Fire International, who created the software that powers the GameShark and Action Replay devices, has released codes to enable players to cheat in the European version of SOCOM, and is taking a great deal of pleasure in doing so. Sony has pledged to fight cheating with SOCOM 2, which comes out here later this year.
	New SquareEnix Game Next Week? Also at GamePro tonight is a report that SquareEnix will be announcing their upcoming lineup at a series of retailer conferences next week, and will show at least one game in public for the first time. Is this the long-awaited Final Fantasy XII? I certainly hope so.
	Mission: Impossible Revealed IGN has scored quite a coup, offering the first screenshots and movies from Mission: Impossible: Operation Surma, along with a Q&A with the game's producer. As one would hope given the license, this is a stealth game in the Splinter Cell/MGS vein.
	15 Must-Have GBA Games As a service to those just picking up a GameCube GBA Player, IGN has posted a list of 15 Must-Have GBA Games. I agree with pretty much all of their choices, but I'd add the Phantasy Star Collection, F-Zero and Atari Anniversary Advance.
	Dynasty Warriors 4 Expansion Confirmed GamePro is reporting that the latest issue of the Japanese magazine Famitsu reveals a new expansion that will be released for Dynasty Warriors 4 in Japan this September. Like the Xtreme Legends add-on released over there for DW3, it is likely that this can be played by itself or in conjunction with DW4.
	Star Wars: KOTOR Previews I casually mentioned last night that the early buzz from people with review copies of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was extremely favorable, and here's the proof...both IGN and GamePro have posted looks at the game, and they're equally glowing. The game is set to be released in two weeks.
	Hungry Ghosts Q&A A Famitsu Q&A with Tokuro Fujiwara of Deep Space, the developers the upcoming PS2 game Hungry Ghosts, has been translated over at GamePro. This game hasn't been given any North American release date yet, but is currently set to be released in Japan at the end of the month.
	Misc. Media/Previews GameSpot has the first look at Rallisport Challenge 2 (Xbox), along with a preview of the Tony Hawk's Underground demo that's being shown at Microsoft's GameRiot area at Lolapalooza this summer, new details and shots from Capcom's Monster Hunter, details and shots from SCEE's oddball Dog's Life, and shots from Time Crisis 3, Syphon Filter: Omega Strain, Gran Turismo 4, Ghosthunter, Rise to Honor, Destruction Derby Arena and Eye Toy: Play (all PS2). Over at IGN they have new shots from Beyond Good & Evil, 007: Everything or Nothing, and Medal of Honor: Rising Sun (all cross-platform), a new trailer from Onimusha Blade Warriors (PS2) and an update on Conflict Desert Storm II (GC, PS2, Xbox). GamePro has a new preview of Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (PS2) and a capsule preview of P.N.03 (GC), while Games Are Fun links to a new Japanese commercial for the wacky Kirby's Air Ride (GC) and CvG has new footage from LOTR: The Treason of Isengard (PS2, Xbox).

Got myself a splitting headache for most of the day today, and it felt like the guys doing the lawn in my apt complex decided to let the mower sit right outside my window idling for like 30 minutes. Oh that new Spyhunter trailer looks pretty cool. I always sucked at that game but spent so many quarters on it... usually while waiting on a spot on the Gauntlet machine. :) Oh check these out:

- Google not to IPO, they are too lazy! - eBay scammers anyone? - Keyboard cooties! - Dog translator on the way - Another enhanced dialup idea - Domain trixters going to prison - A big stellar eruption

Refer 1 friend = 1 month free service Refer 4 friends = 6 months free service Refer 6 friends = 1 year free service Top referrer of the month = $50 EB gift certificate Top referrer of the year = TBA

More Sega craziness...there were some reports yesterday that the company was considering purchasing Mortal Kombat publisher Midway and/or Acclaim. Both of these have been denied by Sega's Hiroyuki Sega, who also says they have no definitive plans for acquisitions at the moment. In all honesty, Midway would be a really lousy choice for Sega. The Mortal Kombat franchise and possibly their sports titles are the only worthwhile things left there, and Sega's already got a thriving sports series and Virtua Fighter. As for Acclaim, I can't see Sega really wanting to publish Turok, and again, they already have their own sports series without picking up Acclaim's. So who would make a good fit? As I've suggested before, THQ. THQ has their wildly successful wrestling titles, plus others like the ones from subsidiary Volition. Plus the two companies already have a relationship, as they are co-publishing Sega's GBA lineup.

	Super Mario Sunshine Preview An excellent, hands-on preview of Super Mario Sunshine is up at Gamers.com. I highly recommend this to anyone curious about the game at all, as the author has clearly spent time with the Japanese version, which recently went on sale.
	Final Fantasy Remakes Revealed Here they are, the first screenshots from Square's Final Fantasy I & II remakes for the PSOne. What I want to know is if Square has ditched their plans to re-release FFVII, VIII and IX on the PS2.
	Microsoft Makes Estimates Good news for Microsoft: they've met their estimates for the quarter, by selling nearly 4 million Xbox systems worldwide. That number is the reduced estimate, of course, as they dropped it down from their original 6 million number shortly before dropping the price of the system by $100.
	Sony Ditches the PocketStation Sony of Japan has stopped manufacturing the PocketStation, the PSOne equivalent of Sega's VMU. This was never officially released in America, although the North American version of Final Fantasy VIII actually supports it.
	Xbox 2? According to The Register, NVIDIA and Microsoft have settled their differences, and begun R&D on a successor to the Xbox, currently given the oh-so-original name of Xbox 2. Nothing too surprising here.
	Robotech Madness GameForms has gone Robo-crazy, with new previews of Robotech: Battlecry and Robotech: The Macross Saga. I spoke with someone last night who told me message boards are on fire from fans of the original Japanese Macross anime, who are upset that this is geared towards Robotech fans. Which is understandable, of course...but me, I'm perfectly happy with the Americanized version.
	New GBA 3D Footage Pocket.IGN has posted new footage from AGB Games' 3D engine for the Game Boy Advance, which is now known as the C2 Engine. This footage shows a racing game, with 2D sprites being used for the cars.
	The Two Towers Shots Also at Pocket.IGN is a brief preview with screenshots from the Gauntlet-esque The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.

Due to the extremely large amount of news tonight (and the fact that I'm writing this from a hotel room on a crappy dialup connection) this won't be the most comprehensive collection of console news around. Still, I'll due my best under the circumstances. Let's do it.

• Nintendo held their uber-press conference today, and I'll be damned if they didn't show off everything and the kitchen sink. Head over to Planet GameCube, GameSpot and Cube.IGN for reports and new shots from such games as Metroid Prime, Metroid Fusion (the new name for the upcoming 2D GBA title), Wario World, Zelda, Mario Sunshine, Star Fox Adventures and a whole lot more.
• Great news for Zelda fans...it's been confirmed that the upcoming Link to the Past GBA port will feature co-op and competitive multiplayer. Sort of Gauntlet meets Zelda (Link needs food badly?).
• Also announced was Yos hi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3, continuing Nintendo's series of SNES ports.
• After all that happy Nintendo news, it's sort of inevitable that there's some bad to go along with it...The Legend of Zelda is officially delayed until next year. According to IGN, the current target is a February US release.
• LucasArts, which seems to be the super-cross-platform company of late, has announced that they will be bringing Jedi Knight II to the Xbox and GameCube (but not PS2 - I wonder why?).
• Here's a brief news item at GameSpot, where Bungie's Jason Jones comments on Halo Online (working title) which he says will return to their original vision (which you may recall was somewhat Tribes-esque) for online Halo. No comments have appeared anywhere regarding a PC port, and rest assured that I will make it my mission at E3 to get a definitive answer to the status of that.
• Sorry Xbox fans, Grand Theft Auto is now a PS2 exclusive. It's unknown if this means we won't see any more PC or GBA titles in the series, however.
• Sony had their big pre-show press conference today, and naturally it focused on their new online network, which is set to launch later this year. Among the games shown was Resident Evil Online, and PS2.IGN has posted the gameplay trailer that was shown, which seems to hint at a Phantasy Star Online-style survival horror game.
• Also confirmed during that same press conference was a US release of Final Fantasy XI, which will come out in early 2003. There's no word as of yet if it'll be globally compatible (early reports said it would be, so chances are that it will) or if it'll require the PS2 hard drive like its Japanese counterpart.
• On a related note, GameForms has posted updated impressions of the game, which unlike their first attempt is based on gameplay, and not just frustrating launch bugs.
• Here are som e details from Capcom's press conference.
• Well now that Full Throttle II has been announced, everyone wants to know what Tim Schaefer, the designer of the first game has been working on. The answer is Psychonauts, a strange Xbox title, and Xbox.IGN has the first media and info online.
• As was rumored, Sony's dropping the price of their first party PS2 titles by $10.
• At long last, here it is...gameplay footage from the new Ninja Gaiden. Life is good.
• Here's XenGamers' initial impressions of Tony Hawk 4, Panzer Dragoon Orta, ToeJam & Earl III, Star Wars: KOTOR and Crazy Taxi 3.
• Xbox.IGN has posted a bunch of info and media from Blinx, that nutty platform game announced yesterday.

Well we're definitely in E3 territory now...get ready for some more announcements tomorrow. Things got off to a pretty good start today however, with the surprising GameCube price drop (well, it's not too surprising, actually) and then the first details of Microsoft's Xbox Live network. Microsoft held a big press conference today, and information is starting to find its way online. Among the revelations was a confirmation that Half-Life: Counter-Strike will be released for the system (it's not specified, but chances are that it's Condition Zero) and will be online-capable. There was also a hint about an online-capable Halo 2, there were (finally!) some rumblings about Ninja Gaiden, and a whole lot of info about that title Blinx that was discovered last week. For preliminary info, check out Xbox.IGN's writeup, as well as this official press release about Xbox Live, this one with their E3 lineup and this one announcing a $2 billion commitment to the Xbox platform. There's a whole lot of other info to get to tonight, so let's jump right in, shall we?

• Infogrames has announced Dungeons & Dragons Heroes, which despite its pen & paper roots is actually a third person action game for Xbox, PS2 and GameCube. It features Gauntlet-style co-op gameplay for four people.
• It's finally official: Capcom is bringing Marvel vs. Capcom 2 to PS2 and Xbox. It's assumed to be a port of the existing Dreamcast version.
• Apparently Super-fans have two games to look forward to, as Computer and Video Games has posted new screenshots from Superman: Shadow of Apokolips for PS2, and a second game for Xbox that sports a more realistic look (and is adapted from the comics, not the animated series).
• After enjoying a nice resurgence on the GBA, the Breath of Fire series is about to return in a big way with an all new title for PS2. Details and shots are up at GameSpot.
• To go along with those amazing new shots from the game posted earlier, LucasArts announced today that Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided will be released "for the next two generations of the Xbox and PlayStation" (whatever that means). I still can't see myself getting into any MMORPG, but this one looks a whole lot better to me than Final Fantasy XI.
• XenGamers has posted an interview with Taku Kihara of Sega AM2, which was conducted at the recent Virtua Fighter Expo in Japan.
• You'll need to be a GameSpot Complete member to watch the high res version, but GameSpot posted a new gameplay trailer from Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance over the weekend. This looks great...definitely better than the screenshots released so far, and it's renewed my hope in the game. I can't wait to see this at E3.
• On a related note, French gaming site newtechnix.com has posted four screenshots from Tao Feng, the upcoming fighter from Studio Gigante, a company founded by former Mortal Kombat developers, including co-creator John Tobias (thanks TRMK for the tip).
• Crave has announced that The Lost, the upcoming title from Freedom Force and System Shock 2 developer Irrational Games, will be released on the Xbox in addition to the original PS2 version.
• Here are some new screenshots from House of the Dead III (some of these ran elsewhere last week) which of course no longer features the much-reviled cel-shaded look that was originally announced.
• According to one source, the PS2 hard drive will retail for $80 when it's released here in the U.S. We'll know for sure tomorrow, along with hopefully some reason why anyone should spend even that much on it (which is $70 cheaper than the Japanese version).
• Here's some solid info and screenshots from Duke Nukem Advance, which has thankfully undergone a revamp since those first screenshots were leaked some time ago.
• Here are a ton of new shots from Resident Evil 0, the next GameCube title in the series.
• And finally, EA has announced plans to bring The Sims to the PS2, with new "level based gameplay" and two player mode.

Yep, it's time for another roundup of new games added to the ShackReviews database. This might as well be subtitled "revenge of the mod authors" as we've got a bunch of mods-turned retail games here, including the oft-controversial Counter-Strike. I mention this on the game page, but let me just repeat it here: when reviewing CS, be sure to specify which version, as people tend to have wildly different opinions about the various releases. Regardless, here's the list, and of course, if there's something you want to review but isn't listed, submit it!

• Half-Life: Counter-Strike (PC)
• Gunman Chronicles (PC)
• Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror (PC)
• Die Hard: Nakatomi Plaza (PC)
• No One Lives Forever (PS2)
• Original War (PC)
• James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire (Xbox)
• Breath of Fire (GBA)
• Breath of Fire II (GBA)
• 2002 Fifa World Cup (PSOne, PS2, Xbox GC, PC)
• Gauntlet: Dark Legacy (PS2, Xbox)

- Gauntlet: Dark Legacy (GameCube) by Bones812. - Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast (PC) by cerealkiller. - Dungeon Siege (PC) by Topaz. - Hexen (PC) by SrDrew. - System Shock (PC) by d3freddie. - Hexen (PC) by kurg. - Hexen (PC) by smart1. - Freedom Force (PC) by enigmatic. - Grand Theft Auto 3 (PS2) by FreshView.