Here's a couple of news items from the Mercury News that should be of interest to all the games fans out there:

Microsoft taking Xbox into arcades:
Hoping to open another avenue for its video games and broaden its front in the war against Sony and Nintendo, Microsoft is expected to take its Xbox game console into arcades later this year. The project, code-named Chihiro after the heroine of the Japanese anime film ``Spirited Away,'' has been in the works for a couple of years. Microsoft and Sega announced in fall 2001 that they would jointly create arcade machines based on the Xbox technology. But the partners have been quiet since that time.

Now the project is closer to fruition. When Microsoft and graphics-chip maker Nvidia settled their price dispute on chips for the Xbox, the agreement included plans for the Santa Clara chip maker to provide Microsoft with chips for arcade machines.

Gamespy have posted their review of the recently released space action-trading-sort-of-RPG-mix Freelancer from developer Digital Anvil and Microsoft Games. On a side note I have received a confirmation Email from my german games retailer that the ASIA version (same as US except for the packaging) will be available in Germany as soon as March 10th, 2003. Here is a snip: Had Freelancer not shipped with expectations so sky-high I probably wouldn't have been as disappointed as I was. Taken purely as a straight-ahead action game, Freelancer is terrific and well worth the cost of purchase. The combat is electric and there's so much to explore and discover that it'll take quite a while before most players discover that the universe isn't as deep as it could have been. For sheer fun, the game is hard to beat, and it will have a home on my hard drive for some time to come.

Craig Lafferty, Assiciate Producer at Legend Entertainment, has posted a detailed changelog of the upcoming patch for Unreal 2. The list is long and detailed, however Mr. Lafferty was not able to present an ETA on the patch. The log file also states what additions have been made to the readme.txt. A bit too devoted if you ask me, but hey. Click on read more for the changelog and the discussion link.

Rainbow Six: Raven Shield is the sequel to the immensely popular Rainbow Six® : Rogue Spear, awarded "2000 Action Game Of The Year", and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six®, 1999 Action Game Of The Year. It will be the third game in the Rainbow Six line, which has sold more than seven million copies worldwide.

Single Player Featured Mission: Oil Refinery.

Playable in all 4 Custom Mission modes with three levels of difficulty for each.

A new movie trailer of World of Warcraft is now available, showing more from the 3D massively multiplayer online RPG being crafted at Blizzard Entertainment. The movie sports nearly three minutes of high-resolution gameplay footage illustrating the game's environment, the characters inhabiting it, and their activities.

Take a look at this great mod for GTA 3 its well cool changes all the cars and also adds more ramps and stunts. Check it out @ Justcdr.net by click on the screenshot. Files are now on for download.

Electronic Arts unveils Rising Sun for next-gen consoles, with a new PC title due to be confirmed later today.

The guys @ Gta3mta.tk have released a new unofficial multiplayer patch for Grand Theft Auto III.

As you have probably already read on your games related site, we're working on a GTA3 Multiplayer Mod, called GTA3: Multi Theft Auto! The second release, v.0.2a is now ready to be downloaded! Please check the downloads section for the file. This version has been tested a couple of times now, but of course there are some bugs in it. Please post any bugs or problems with the program in the forum under the 'problems/bugs' section.

Following on the earlier US patch the European retail patch for Splinter Cell is now available, similarly bringing the third-person stealth action game by Ubi Soft to version 1.1. As before, this release enhances graphics quality and performance, fixes map and AI issues, and more.

Halloween is Jadeware's newest game: a 3D shooter designed with the spirit of this unique holiday in mind! A mix between fun, craziness, action, laughs and evil that will keep you playing again and again. The game features a full 3D environment complete with an impressive set of weapons and monsters.

The game sets itself in a medieval context where the player is trapped inside an insane castle and has to fight his way through to survive. Many ridiculous creatures including bats, giant spiders and mummies are there to ensure that the player will not make it through.

Codemasters has released more beta demos for TOCA Race Driver, allowing you to try out their upcoming touring car racing simulation customized for various territories. All offer a test drive on the Brands Hatch Indy circuit, and the US demo includes the Sears Point track, the German demo features the Norisring track, and the Australian demo sports the Adelaide track, each drivable for two laps.

Ubi Soft Entertainment has released a movie trailer for Will Rock, showing the fast-paced first-person shooter by Saber Interactive in action. The movie comes in regular and high resolutions and offers about a minute of action-packed gameplay footage.

A new beta demo of TOCA Race Driver (a.k.a Pro Race Driver) is now available, superseding last year's alpha demo to offer a renewed opportunity to try out this upcoming touring car racing simulation by Codemasters. The demo, courtesy of PC Format magazine and Blackhole Motorsports, sports a test drive in a Proton Satria and a two lap race in a Lexus LS200, both around the short (Indy) circuit at Brands Hatch.

Here's a new mod coming to Unreal Tournament 2003 very soon!

UnWheel is a driving modification for Unreal Tournament 2003. The idea behind UnWheel is not to create the ultimate racing game, or the 4x4 simulation with the best physics, or to specialise in any one area as other modifications and games do, but to simply create an assortment of gametypes and vehicles with the focus on fun driving, whether it be racing, rallying, or simply freestyle driving around! Thanks to Unreal Tournament 2003's support for extremely detailed models, you'll be driving some of the highest quality cars and trucks available, created by SupermotoXL. Each vehicle has it's own distinctive handling, and thanks to the excellent in-game physics, they all react in their own way to every bump in the road and every corner they turn.

Microsoft has now released an unrestricted playable demo of Freelancer, providing the opportunity to try out this imminent space combat adventure by Digital Anvil. This demo "offers the chance to explore the entire Liberty System, giving access to more than a dozen bases and five flyable ships. Players will be able to experience the trading system, sample the open-ended nature of the game and immerse themselves in the intense combat

Immediately upon joining the team I was impressed by the high degree of professionalism in the air. A goal was set, guidelines were put forth, and everyone attacked the challenge with gusto. I feel very fortunate to be able to work alongside these people; never have I had the opportunity to work with such a helpful group of guys. Bad Karma has brought together some of the most talented members of the gaming community, and I think you will agree when you begin to see the results of their combined efforts.

Yes, Tetris is back and only for ATI graphics card users. Nitro has programmed a game of Tetris using the advanced graphics capability of ATI's DX9 cards. Requires Radeon 9500 or greater (Catalyst 3.1+). The game also includes a frame counter and some nice 3d effects.

Read More for downloading link and some screenshots we shot for you.