Sammy Studios today announced the launch of the dedicated web site for "Seven Samurai 20XX". Exclusively for Sony PS2, "Seven Samurai 20XX" is a fast-paced action game inspired by Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece "The Seven Samurai." Visitors go behind-the-scenes to gain access to a wide selection of art, movies, screenshots, character and story background and artist profiles to get a look into how the greatest action tale of all time has been "digitally remastered" for the video game generation. Scheduled for release spring 2004, "Seven Samurai 20XX" is rated T for Teen and has an MSRP of $39.99.

3000 AD has released the first patch for their futuristic 3D action game Universal Combat. This release candidate will be superseded by the final patch later this week and addresses a ton of AI tweaks, interface improvements, content and gameplay revisions, multiplayer enhancements, bug fixes, and more. Read more for details and download links ...

SEGA of America, Inc. today announced the release of "Nightshade" exclusively for the PlayStation2. The latest chapter in one of the longest running and most revered videogame franchises, "Nightshade" delivers more intense gameplay, bigger environments, and sharper visuals than its popular 2002 predecessor, "Shinobi". It also offers a more reasonable learning curve and a new 'Easy' mode, making the title more accessible for casual players.

NCsoft Corporation announces the beginning of its pre-order retail box campaign for Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle and City of Heroes in North America. The boxes will begin to appear on store shelves this week at computer game retail outlets throughout the United States and Canada. Both games are expected to launch commercially this spring.

Enlight announced today that its highly anticipated title Wars and Warriors: Joan of Arc is now available in retail stores across North America. Inspired by the legendary story of Joan of Arc, Wars and Warriors: Joan of Arc sends players to medieval France to experience the most epic battles of the Hundred Years War.

The official add-on Blitzkrieg: Burning Horizon, throws you in even more dramatic battles of WWII. Burning Horizon offers a huge 18-missions-campaign around General Rommel, giving you the opportunity to play famous battles like Ardennes, Tripolis, Tobruk, El Alamein, Sicily and, of course, Normandy. Furthermore, the add-on contains 8 single missions, with an entire new nation at war: Japan. Read more for details ...

European videogame publisher L.S.P. announced today that Hip Interactive Corp. completed the acquisition of all the issued and outstanding shares of L.S.P. Hip Interactive Corp. is a leading North American provider of electronic entertainment products. In fiscal 2003 Hip generated sales of Cdn $361,3 million, producing net income after taxes of $11 million.

Vivendi Universal Games and Radical Entertainment today announced a worldwide development agreement under which Radical will exclusively develop products for VU Games. The two companies will collaborate on the development of six multi-platform titles based on new and existing entertainment franchises. VU Games will also obtain a royalty-free license to Radical's proprietary game development technologies, as well as an option to purchase the company during contract's term. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Space Hack is a sci-fi RPG/action title with Diablo-inspired gameplay mechanics. The storyline puts you on board of a quite 'peculiar' spaceship, trapped inside a space warp. Being a tough guy, whose axe is almost as quick as his wit, it's not surprising that you promptly find yourself confronting angry monsters, one wave after another. Space Hack is scheduled to be released in first half of 2004. Rebelmind just informed us that they have reached Alpha (playable) stage, and sent us some screens to celebrate it.

Matrix Games has released a new patch for Freedom Games's 3D WWII strategy title Squad Assault: West Front, as well as an updated demo with the latest code. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.60 (available for US & UK editions) and includes more Windows 98/ME enhancements, LOS and targeting improvements and solutions for some map-specific issues. Also included for download are the new v1.60 demo, with all the v1.60 fixes, an extra map and a demo update for those with previous demos. Read more for detailed fix list and download links