Another Sunday, another update to the ShackReviews database. We've got a handful of big releases this week, including the long-awaited release of the new Zelda game. As usual, if there's a game you want to review but don't see in the database, check first and then submit it!

• Delta Force: Black Hawk Down (PC)
• Devastation (PC)
• Shadowbane (PC)
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GC)
• Amplitude (PS2)
• State of Emergency (Xbox)
• The Lost Vikings (GBA)

I picked up a GBA SP this week, and boy, is it a big step up from the original. It's a bit rough on my freakishly large hands, so I'll need to pick up an ergonomic grip of some kind (MadCatz already has one on the way), but that screen makes the pain I currently feel more than worth it. Every now and then, just to prove to myself how much of a difference it makes, I turn off the screen without moving to someplace with a better light source. Three out of four times, I can't see anything on the screen. It's just totally black.

Yeah, it's Oscar Day, but that doesn't mean I can't find time to update the ShackReviews database. We've got four big-name releases this week, including the return of Rainbow Six (with Unreal-tech to boot) and the long-awaited fighting game from the co-creator of Mortal Kombat. As usual, if there's a game you want to review but don't see in the database, check first and then submit it!

• Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield (PC)
• Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus (Xbox)
• Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire (GBA)
• Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc (PS2, Xbox)

I wasn't feeling well the other day and couldn't bring myself to sit through Xenosaga, so I fired up the wonderful Atari Anniversary Advance for GBA and sat there playing Tempest for most of the afternoon. It's amazing how soothing that turned out to be. Must be all those vector graphics. Anyway, I'll be back next week with more games, including The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for GameCube.

Hey, will you look at that...it's time for an update to the ShackReviews database. We've got four new releases this week, including the North American debut of Winning Eleven 6. As usual, if there's a game you want to review but don't see in the database, check first and then submit it!

• Enclave (PC)
• Winning Eleven 6 International (PS2)
• Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter (PS2)
• Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (PS2)

I've been busy today with a few things, including prepping my Oscar picks, which will run here on Wednesday. With only one week to go, I'm getting a wee bit nervous, but that's to be expected. Besides that it's been Xenosaga, Xenosaga, Xenosaga, which, despite its snail-like pace, has grown on me.

My wife's out of town for a few days, which means I have nothing better to do than sit around, play Xenosaga, and of course, update the ShackReviews database. We've got five new releases this week, including Freelancer, which means I owe someone five bucks and a round of drinks or two. As usual, if there's a game you want to review but don't see in the database, check first and then submit it!

• Freelancer (PC)
• IGI 2: Covert Strike (PC)
• Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc (GC)
• Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven (PS2)
• Apex (Xbox)

As I said, I'm playing a lot of Xenosaga. I like the game, but I really wish it had the same sort of dialog-skip function that Shenmue does. In that game (and its sequel), you can read the caption and skip to the next line of dialog before the audio is finished. That makes the game move much faster, especially during mundane conversations. Xenosaga lacks this, and as a result it moves really, really, really slow at times, which I'm finding frustrating. But I'm sticking with it, and have no plans to give up before finishing it, regardless of how boring some of the dialog can be.

Today's a particularly busy Sunday for me, hence the earlier-than-usual roundup of new games in the ShackReviews database. We've got four new releases this week, including the long-awaited return of the Master of Orion series, one of the most ambitious console RPGs ever attempted, and a quirky action game that puts you into your own kung fu flick. As usual, if there's a game you want to review but don't see in the database, check first and then submit it!

• Master of Orion III (PC)
• Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht (PS2)
• Indiana Jones & the Emperor's Tomb (Xbox)
• Kung Fu Chaos (Xbox)

The other night I was kicking butt on the final mission in Age of Mythology...my men were storming the enemy's camp, my uber-hero was fighting the final bad guy, when all of a sudden I beat the game, and...poof! Blue screen of death. I cheated to see the ending, but that was downright evil. I thoroughly enjoyed Age of Mythology, and only had one or two complaints up until that happened. But damn...that was mean. Next up for me...Xenosaga! w00p.

It's just a lazy dog-danglin' afternoon, which is also a perfect time for a weekly roundup of new games in the ShackReviews database. We've got a good lineup this week, with the long-awaited release of Splinter Cell for PC, a big-name RPG release for PS2 and what is arguably the best pre-order bonus ever made. As usual, if there's a game you want to review but don't see in the database, check first and then submit it!

• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (PC)
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time/Master Quest (GC)
• Skies of Arcadia Legends (GC)
• Dark Cloud 2 (PS2)
• Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelists of the Roses (PS2)

I'm continuing to plod my way through Age of Mythology's single player campaign. I must say, I'm very impressed by the size of it. Even if you never play the game online, you definitely get your money's worth with AoM. I'm hoping to finish it up this week, as I've got Xenosaga on the way and I know I'm not going to be able to stop myself from tearing in to that at my first opportunity.

As promised a few days ago, the guys at 4D Rulers have released a tech demo (also available on FileShack) of their AMP 2 engine. This engine is now available for licensing.

It's absolutely freezing here in Brooklyn, but fortunately I'm inside, and so here's your weekly roundup of new games in the ShackReviews database. We've got a trio of new PS2 games this week, along with one long-awaited Xbox game and the 3D debut of the Command & Conquer franchise. As usual, if there's a game you want to review but don't see in the database, check first and then submit it!

• Command & Conquer: Generals (PC)
• EverQuest Online Adventures (PS2)
• .hack infection part 1 (PS2)
• Guilty Gear X2 (PS2)
• Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO (Xbox)

After a couple of evenings of frustration, I finally got past this one mission in Age of Mythology that was driving me nuts. Maybe it's just me, but some of those later missions get hard as heck.

Since launching the Shack Headlines Sidebar last week, I've made a ton of changes. I posted many of these already in various ER updates, but here's a master list for those of you who missed them (and there are some more for those that saw those, too):

• Lots more sources: BBC News, ZDNet, Version Tracker, CSNation, Active Reviews, and many more!
• The ability to launch links in a new window.
• Support for sites that have neither <link> nor <description> tags, like Neil Gaiman's Journal.
• Hover support! If you use a browser that supports the title element of anchor tags, move your mouse over the headline to read the whole thing.
• Better character rendering (as I see more gaffes, I'm fixing them).
• A link/button for News is Free if one of their feeds is selected.
• And yes, by popular demand, and thanks to help from Lowtax himself, Something Awful!

I've been in contact with a few other places that currently don't offer RSS feeds, and we should be adding more of those soon. If there's something you don't see, please send it in! And if any of you have your own news site or blog you'd like listed, send that in too!

I'll make this short and sweet. We're running a new sendfile codebase on FileShack. The code is re-written from the ground up with the intent of fixing any outstanding issues people have been having with downloads aborting. If at any time in the past you've had troubles with FileShack downloads dropping on you please give it another shot today. Here's a good file to test:

- Matrix Reloaded Super Bowl Trailer

This new code will also allow us in the future to open up more public slots for FileShack as we'll be able to more effeciently measure and control outbound traffic and scale things accordingly. Please share your results in the comments, especially if your downloads used to drop and this new code fixes it.. cuz it will make Jack get a warm fuzzy.

One of those customization features I've always wished we had here was the ability to add news headlines like a few other prominent sites out there (most notably Slashdot). Well, I'm pleased to report that thanks to some work by myself with help from Richard Smith and sTeve, we're able to offer a customizable news feed sidebar. To enable and configure it just go to this page (also accessible from the normal preferences page), turn it on, set how many headlines you'd like, choose your feeds and you're good to go. This was originally going to be for Mercury subscribers only, but our generous leader here decided at the last minute to make it available for everyone (it still looks best with ads turned off, which is obviously something only subscribers can do). So enjoy, and if you have suggestions for headline sources, don't forget to send them to us.

You guessed it...it's time for an update to the ShackReviews database. This week we've got only two new games, but they're big ones, so that makes up for it. As usual, if there's something you want to review but don't see in the database, check first and then submit it!

• Unreal II: The Awakening (PC)
• Battlefield 1942: The Road to Rome (PC)

Sorry for the small list this week, but I've been busy today working out the kinks in a couple of new Shack features (one of which is going to be for Mercury subscribers only). Assuming everything's settled we should be unveiling those pretty soon, so stay tuned.

Yep, it's time for the weekly update to the ShackReviews database. Nothing too exciting this week, just three new console games, but next week I'll be back with Unreal II. As usual, if there's something you want to review but don't see in the database, check first and then submit it!

• Devil May Cry 2 (PS2)
• Black & Bruised (GC, PS2)
• ATV Quad Power Racing 2 (GC, PS2, Xbox)

As I play Age of Mythology, I can't help but try and think of deities that could be added in a sequel or add-on pack. I think either Shinto or Hindi gods would work great, but since those are actively practiced religions, it would be difficult to pull off without offending someone. Of course, it's just as likely there are people who would love to see their gods kicking butt, so an equally offensive add-on featuring those plus Adonai, Allah and Jesus might be a lot of fun. Or...not. I imagine they'll want to stick to pure mythology and not venture into religion. But it's fun to think about nonetheless.

A lot of you guys who are using All Seeing Eye may have noticed the newfangled Fileshack integration in the latest auto-update  and have been e-mailing asking what's up with that. Well, it's pretty simple really, we've partnered up with UDPSoft as you'd suspect and hope that we can combine wondertwin powers or something like that. For those of you who didnt notice it, you've got a cute Shack icon at the top of your application now where you can browse categories and even submit searches to Fileshack. Will we be doing more stuff with UDPSoft/ASE in the future? You never know...

I don't know what's up with the other Shack guys on Sundays lately, but Sunday is when I do my weekly update to the ShackReviews database, and this is no exception. This week we've got four new games, including the world's first "fantasy sports simulation" (unless you count BMX XXX, I suppose). As usual, if there's something you want to review but don't see in the database, check first and then submit it!

• Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball (Xbox)
• The Getaway (PS2)
• Battle Engine Aquilla (PS2, Xbox)
• Sega Sports Tennis (PS2)

While I continue to play both Panzer Dragoon Orta (as reviewed here) and Metroid Prime, I finally got around to firing up Age of Mythology yesterday, and I'm definitely hooked. I never got into the previous Age games, since I found their historical angle a bit on the dry side, but this one's right up my alley.

The rest of the Shack Crew is off sleeping or something, but I'm here and it's time for an update to the ShackReviews database. This week we've got five new games, including a couple that were bumped back from the holiday season. As usual, if there's something you want to review but don't see in the database, check first and then submit it!

• SimCity 4 (PC)
• Panzer Dragoon Orta (Xbox)
• Dynasty Tactics (PS2)
• War of the Monsters (PS2)
• The Sims (PS2)

Ever since I picked it up on Wednesday, I've been spending most of my game playing time with Panzer Dragoon Orta, but I have managed to squeeze in a little bit of Metroid Prime here and there. If you're a fan of the series, you probably don't need to hear this from me, but run out and get Panzer Dragoon Orta. It is indeed the Good Stuff^™.

There sure aren't a whole lot of new releases this week, but it's time to update the ShackReviews database, and that's just what I'm going to do, dangit. As I said, there's only one new game this week, but I've got a few older titles in here to round out the list. As usual, if there's something you want to review but don't see in the database, check first and then submit it!

• Impossible Creatures (PC)
• Gothic (PC)
• Mystic Heroes (GC, PS2)
• Yu-Gi-Oh!: Eternal Duelist (GBA)
• Neocron (PC)

I'm still playing Metroid Prime, although with Panzer Dragoon Orta about to be released (we're mere days away!) I may put Metroid down temporarily. Fortunately it's a really short game I'm told, so I'll probably be back to Metroid within a week.

Well the fateful day, the apocalypse, is finally here. The new Shacker t-shirts are now shipping out to all of the people who signed up for Mercury service during launch time just a short um.. couple months ago? It took an astounding over 3 weeks to get all the people who signed up to actually respond for their sizing information and then of course 6 more weeks to get the orders printed and in our hands, stack on top of that the holiday break and well, it took a while. The shirts started shipping today though! Here are a few pictures [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ] of the folks at Speakeasy labeling and packaging the shirts, the mousepads are also of course shipping at the same time. In addition, here are the winners of the Fileshack holiday giveaway:

$200 EB Gift certificate:
- ashkie
Age of Mythology, courtesy of Microsoft:
- danglingchad , xlgnet @ SE , FiveAssedMonkey , salamanga , loco3kgt
5 various Activision games (1 each):
- TheWhite , ckj , xphil , teflon , uberp00

Winners of the giveaway, you will be contacted tomorrow to verify shipping information etc, and ashkie you lucky SOB you'll get your code that you can use online at EBGames before the weekend.

If you would like to confirm that you were owed a shirt and you're not sure one is shipping to you, drop me an email. I'm having a few extras sent over to my place to make sure we catch any stragglers who may have missed the few posts that were made asking for people to contact me. Maybe this time will be the charm!

When will these shirts be available regularly? Right after Shackstore re-launches! (read: I just dont know yet)

I have no idea where the rest of the Shack crew ran off to, but it's time for yet another update to the ShackReviews database. Nothing particularly new this week, but we've got the Xbox and GameCube debut of The Two Towers (which had been previously available for the PS2), a slew of FIFAs, and the original Diablo II, which I was surprised hadn't been added before. As usual, if there's something you want to review but don't see in the database, check first and then submit it!

• Street Fighter Alpha 3 (GBA)
• FIFA 2003 (PC, GC, PS2, Xbox)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (GC, Xbox)
• WWE Smackdown: Shut Your Mouth (PS2)
• Diablo II (PC)

I'm making my way through Metroid Prime, and enjoying it immensely. Beyond that, the only other game I've played this past week was Game House's Super Collapse, which is horribly addicting (and deceptively easy at first).