The Troopers team has been hard at work patching and augmenting our V2 release to get things nicely up to snuff, and we can finally say that we're done. After nine distinct internal patches and two different possible release candidates, we're proud to be presenting you with Version 2.10 of Troopers (internally labeled 7.20, as you will be able to see in the included Release Notes)! While you're downloading, you can check out the changelog provided below; it'll give you an idea of what's been modified for 2.1:

Gothic II from german developer Piranha Bytes is on sale in Germany for a couple of months now but the english language retail version has now been reviewed by Gamespot. If you're in to 3D RPG's this is a personal recommendation to check out! The game is fun to play with good graphics and a great storyline. Oh and the review does not reflect the gaming value at all: Gothic II is a single-player role-playing sequel in which you play as a lone hero who must do battle with bandits, orcs, and dragons in a sprawling 3D world. Like in the first game, you control a soft-spoken hero from a behind-the-back perspective and follow one of three career paths in pursuit of his ultimate goal--which, in this case, is to stave off an assault by orcs and dragons unleashed by the death of a demon, the same one that he defeated at the end of the first game.

Dave McGruther, Bioware Client Care Specialist, has announced at the official forums for KotOR that a beta patch v.1.01 is now available for testing. This beta patch has been made to address two specific issues: 1. Long pauses while playing with sound enabled using a motherboard with an Intel i845 or i850 chipset with 100mhz front side bus 2. Crashing at main menu (the one with new game, load game, options) with a Radeon 9600

Computer And Video Games reports that Eidos reveals that gremlins have infested the Deus Ex: Invisible War PC demo expected today, causing a minor slip.

Everyone can now get a taste of the Noir love story of 2003. The official demo for Max Payne 2 contains 2.5 levels, plus a "Dead Man Walking" level. Love Hurts. And so do bullets.

VU Games announced today that Contract J.A.C.K. - the official prequel to No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way is now available on store shelves. Developed by Monolith Productions, this standalone expansion pack delivers "non-stop action with new singleplayer missions, exciting multiplayer modes including Doomsday and Demolition.

Atari Australia has released the playable demo of Terminator 3: War of the Machines, allowing you to step into Arnold Schwartzenegger's exoskeleton or the shoes of the Tech Com Special Forces in this imminent sci-fi first-person action game by Clever's. This is a multiplayer demo that includes a pair of maps called "Lab-Present" and "Downtown" playable in the Team Deathmatch, Mission and Termination modes.

FiringSquad has published an article concerning the 3D performance in Activision/Infinity Wards latest WWII shooter Call of Duty. Since this article is part one a second chapter touching Nvidia performance is expected to follow later. Here's a snip: While it?s based on a four-year old game engine, Call of Duty is quite capable of pushing today?s latest hardware. We saw tangible performance benefits for the RADEON 9800 PRO 256MB and RADEON 9800 XT, while the RADEON 9500 PRO continues to represent the best performance among mainstream cards, despite the fact that it?s a year old itself.

A playable demo for Harry Potter Quidditch World Cup by EA uk studio. The 252.9 MB demo includes an intro movie, a 'making of' trailer, and only the first of the full game's training tests: passing the Quaffle. To get download link (with mirrors) warp2 ... gamershell.com

With Virtual Skipper 3, take control of a 24 ft. boat or of a 70 ft. racer and challenge the best skippers in the world! Virtual Skipper, the 1st true 3D regatta simulator, allows you to steer and tack to win. Follow the wind shifts, use the breezes; lulls and currents are all faithfully reproduced on the most prestigious stretches of water in the world. Play in single mode against the computer or in multiplayer mode, on the Internet or on LAN, to face real opponents. You really will need nerves of steel!

3D Gamers reports that Epic sends along a new movie trailer for Unreal Tournament 2004, revealing more from the multiplayer first-person shooter sequel that's being co-developed with Digital Extremes. This movie runs for nearly three minutes, showing off the game's ground-based and aerial vehicles in plenty of action-packed, high-resolution gameplay footage.

The playable demo of V-Rally 3 has been released, offering a chance to try out this imminent modern rally racing simulation by Eden Studios. This demo offers the Witchurch track set in England that you can take on in a Peugeot 206 2.0L.

Tech-Critic Reports that MS has released a new game Called Zoo Tycoon Card Flip. Do you have the memory of an Elephant and the speed of a Cheetah? Then it?s time to put your animal matching skills to the test in Zoo Tycoon Card Flip, a fun and entertaining card game from the makers of Zoo Tycoon.

Lucasarts has released the first update to Jedi Academy developed by Raven Software. The changelog is listing graphics (Dynamic Glow for ATI) and sound enhancements (EAX 4.0), single- and multi-player improvements and fixes.

Lucas Arts has announced that Starwars KOTOR has gone gold. The game that have had huge success on the X-Box and has been heralded as one of the best rolelaying games, is now finished being ported to PC. The game is developed by Bioware, the developer of titles such as Neverwinter Nights and the Baldurs Gate series. Visit: KOTOR Homepage

America?s Army is one of the five most popular PC action games played online. It provides players with the most authentic military experience available, from exploring the development of Soldiers in individual and collective training to their deployment in simulated missions in the War on Terror. In America's Army: Special Forces, players attempt to earn Green Beret status by completing individual and collective training missions drawn from the Special Forces Assignment and Selection (SFAS) process. Download

www.PcKiller.net has thrown up this comparison. PcKiller and Neodark took screenshots to use in this file.

A friend of mine, Neodark, has made a flash file so you can see the differences in the extra, and the high textures on a 9800 Pro 258, and a 9800 Non-Pro 128 video card. I took all of my uncompressed screenshots ( 1st and 3rd ) using the 9800 Pro 256MB card of the opening at the training level with 1,600 by 1,200 32 bit color, With 6X AA, and 16x AF. One has the extra textures, and the other has the high textures.

Raven Software's Kenn Hoekstra today updated his .plan file commenting on the recently released Audigy drivers by Creative Labs for their Audigy 1 and Audigy 2 lineup: Creative just released new sound drivers for its Audigy 2 cards last night and they resolve the issues that some people are having with the EAX/sound in Jedi Academy. We've received reports of high pitched squealing while running the game on Audigy hardware. These new drivers (EAX enhancements, really) fix that problem and several other EAX problems found in many of the newer games out there. Sound performance, in general, seems to be greatly improved. I can also verify this statement as I had sound issues with Max Payne 2 that would crash the game randomly. With the new drivers installed I almost finished the game today.

The latest version of the immensely popular Battlefield 1942 mod

A single player Contract J.A.C.K. demo has been released. Here are some mirrors:

Gamer's Hell 3D Gamers WorthPlaying FileFront