In the gaming industry, the free playable demo is one of the most popular and powerful tools to interest gamers in the final product. It therefore seems logical to expect publishers will maximise the game's exposure by giving the demo the widest possible release. Unfortunately this is not always the case, and sometimes a demo is given the most restricted release: to one site for several days or even a week. This hurts the industry at large much more than it can help a single relationship. Read more for the full letter ...

Electronic Arts today announced that The Sims Bustin' Out for the PlayStation2, Xbox , and GameCube has shipped under the EA Games brand. For the first time, Sims console players can get their Sims out of the house and into all-new locations to play, work, and meet a cast of outrageous new characters.

Slated for release in Spring 2004 for the Xbox and the PC, Race Driver 2 will provide gamers the most diverse and thrilling range of motor sports ever seen in one game. Designed as the definitive racing experience, the game will feature complete head to head Xbox Live and PC online functionality. Read more for details ...

Another day, another batch of game trailers were released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for :

• Spellforce - Trailer
• Hitman: Contracts - Trailer
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  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Codemaster has released a new upgrade for their stealth/action game IGI 2:Covert Strike. This upgrade will bring your retail game to v1.3 and adds anti-cheating features and framerate optimizations. Read more for details and download links!

Microsoft Game Studios and Valve today announced that two new multiplayer maps for Counter-Strike for Xbox are now available for free download via Xbox Live. The red-hot "Inferno" and fan-favourite "Office" are the latest urban battlefields on which to stage Counter-Strike's world-famous, action-packed multiplayer gameplay.

With noses red from their victims' blood, Running With Scissors announced the release of POSTAL 2: Share The Pain. The brazen videogame developer's Christmas balls were hanging with joy as they landed their first title as a publisher onto the shelves of retailers across North America.

Eidos today announced the eagerly awaited return of the world's deadliest assassin in Hitman: Contracts. The game is the third installment in the critically acclaimed, multi-million selling Hitman series. Hitman: Contracts is being developed by Io Interactive and will be available for PlayStation2, the Xbox, and PC in spring 2004.

Experience the thrill of top speed racing and high flying freestyle action in the most authentic motocross video game to date. Choose from more than a dozen top pro riders and battle it out for first place in fast-paced, realistic racing on a variety of Supercross (indoor) and Motocross (outdoor) levels or take on challenges outside the circuit. Read more for a few new screens ....

Gamespot got word that Sony's 'Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain' has been pushed back in order to give the development team more time to polish the game. SCEA's John Garvin, creative director of Omega Strain developer Sony Bend (located in Bend, Oregon, hence the name), and Chris Reese, technical director of the studio, explained the delay in a statement. "The team took a close look at how much tuning and gameplay balancing was necessary to complete the game with our original vision intact. We then decided to take some additional time to implement that extra bit of polish into the game," the two designers said.

In Tribes: Vengeance's single-player campaign, gamers become immersed in a roiling galactic thriller. Throughout the game, the player catches glimpses of other, interrelated stories that are unfolding behind-the-scenes. In addition, gamers are given the opportunity to experience the full scope of the single-player story through multiple viewpoints and characters. Powered by an enhanced version of the Unreal Engine, the world is brought to life with characters that have facial expressions and fully-realized personalities, vehicles that kick up dust as they pass by, and weapons that display spectacular effects. Check out these new screens ...

In Wrath Unleashed, powerful beings called overlords fight for supremacy in a striking and imaginative ethereal void as they struggle to become gods and maintain dominance and magic. Overlords and their minion creatures battle for control of magical floating islands represented by a beautiful world map comprised of terrain tiles. Each tile on the map is imbued with an elemental affinity of fire, earth, water or wind. Unleash your wrath and may the best beast win! Read more for a fresh batch of screens ...

"RalliSport Challenge 2" is the highly anticipated second installment in the critically acclaimed "RalliSport Challenge" franchise and the first racing title in the XSN Sports brand. "RalliSport Challenge 2" confronts gamers with several new features, including a new graphics engine, online play through the Xbox LiveTM service, the ability to set up leagues and tournaments using XSNsports.com, new race modes, and more cars and tracks. RalliSport Challenge 2 will test every driving skill you think you have and some you don't even know were physically possible. It's about living on the edge and white-knuckled racing that only rally can deliver.

Bioware has released the final patch (last week there was a beta) for their 3D role-playing game Neverwinter Nights, and its addons Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.60 and addresses a massive list of changes and game tweaks, including synchronization of the previous titles to the latest addons. Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

UPDATE:Patch has been pulled by Bioware, "fixed" patch coming soon. Revert back to previous install, check here.

A sultry wizardress… a soaring gunslinger… a powerful swordsman… a dark huntress. Four heroes, about to be hurtled over the edge into a flight into darkness. Sudeki will push the limits of what you think an RPG can be with bigger worlds, more powerful heroes and sexier heroines all wrapped around Hong Kong-style cinematic combat. And it is all only possible on Xbox.

Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain is the next installment of the Syphon Filter storyline. Elsa Weissenger has come to Gabe Logan with evidence that a multinational corporation has been behind the Syphon Filter conspiracy from the beginning. Mara Aramov is connected to this consortium in some way that Gabe does not understand. But here is what Gabe does know: Mara has escaped custody, outbreaks of a deadly new mutation of the virus are appearing all over the globe, and Chechnyan rebels are selling the virus to other terrorists. Some new screens just infiltrated our offices ...

Set in the late 1570's, one year after the original Tenchu, Tenchu: Return from Darkness allows players to assume the role of the ninjas Rikimaru, Ayame or the mysterious Tesshu as they battle the evil Tenrai and his six lords of darkness. As silent assassins, players must use cunning, strategy, deadly stealth and an arsenal of weapons to overcome dangerous missions and defend the Japanese countryside from Tenrai's armies.

The Sims Bustin' Out features an all-new neighborhood with over a dozen new unlockable locations and a cast of over 40 new zany characters to socialize with. Players will purchase a car or scooter in order to get out of the house and head to the Gym to work out with exercise fanatic Goldie Toane or to Club Rubb to rave with club owner Bing Bling. Players will be able to crash parties, create havoc, or just drive their neighbors crazy! Read more for some new screens ...

Got Game Entertainment today announced a North American publishing deal for "A Quiet Weekend in Capri", an adventure game for the PC. In what becomes anything but a quiet weekend in Capri, this magical island off the coast of Italy serves as backdrop to a captivating mystery. Read more for details and screens...