News from E3

[THA_monkey]

Everyone probably knows what E3 is...just the biggest game expo in the world...
There was loads of news from it, and seeing as you guys don't subscribe to pc-zone, I will copy it here for you.  It is very long, but very rewarding

[b]E3 2003: SPLINTER CELL SEQUEL DUE THIS YEAR?[/b]

Speculators speculate that clandestine operative Sam Fisher will return sooner than we thought
16:45 Rumour sluicing around the Internet pipe is suggesting that Splinter Cell: Shadow Strike will be out in 2003. Apparently, the title that was announced via a recent Ubi Soft financial report has appeared on an Ubi Soft release schedule. However, we've had no official word here so far.Splinter Cell appeared on Xbox initially, Ubi Soft then announcing the title for every other major platform. The title has received acclaim for graphical achievement and stealth gameplay, many, including us, finding jaws on the floor as events in the sneak spectacular transpired before their eyes.
So then, Splinter Cell: Shadow Strike. Is this truly the sequel that will see the return of the original's protagonist, Sam Fisher? Well, that's where the smart money's being put, but we all might get a shock surprise when it's announced as an original for Wonder Swan!

[b]E3 2003: FIRE WARRIOR PLAYS WITH MATCHES[/b]

Warhammer 40,000 licence hits PS2 and PC
17:39 THQ has taken the rights to Games Workshop's popular Warhammer 40,000 series of tabletop wargames, gave the development to British developer Kuju, and bingo! Fire Warrior is the result.Fire Warrior seems a bit schizoid, as it believes it should be a science fiction wargame with a fantasy twist, then it goes and makes itself a first-person shooter. Despite its Warhammer roots, Fire Warrior is going to be more of a first-person action game than a serious game for wargame-aholics.
Set over 17 huge levels, there's over 16 different weapons to play with and 22 weird and wonderful races and characters to slap in the face. On the Playstation 2, there's going to be four-player split-screen multiplayer action, with the ability to play as one of the nasties you splattered in the one-player game.
On the PC though, it's going to be multiplayer a-go-go, with more LAN and online gaming goodness to keep you enthralled as you blast for the honour of the Fire Warriors in the 41st Millennium!
What? In Fire Warrior you take the role of Kais, a young whipper-snapper of the Fire Warrior clan - the world of Fire Warrior is set in a diverse caste system of the Tau peoples, based on the four elements - Fire being the Warriors. Water clan types are probably a bit wet...
Anyway, to prove his mettle, Kais is selected by the lucky lotto to rescue the 'Ethereal Ko'vash' who has been kidnapped by imperial forces. What sounds like a routine rescue mission gets bogged down in horrific trench warfare and spaceship boarding missions - but don't just take our word for it, check out these slick shots of the game due this Summer.

[b]E3 2003: WHAT IS THE MATRIX ONLINE?[/b]

It's a PC MMOG set in the Wachowski Brothers' movie universe, of course. First shots inside
15:35 Ubi Soft has released the first official details on The Matrix Online, a PC MMOG that it will co-publish with Warner Bros. Studios. The title is obviously set in the universe depicted in the Wachowski Brothers' films, events in the game following on from The Matrix Revolutions, the last instalment in the movie trilogy.The Matrix Online is being developed by Monolith and EON Entertainment, the latter company being owned by the Wachowski Brothers themselves.
As with all MMO games, The Matrix Online will be built around a persistent universe that will be able to support vast numbers of players. Immersing them in a The Matrix experience, the title will feature real-time martial arts, and from the looks of it first-person shooter, combat, rich storyline and, according to Ubi Soft, cutting-edge graphics. Those screenshots - hmmmm...
We have yet to witness The Matrix Online in operation, but it will be interesting to see how Monolith and EON incorporate bullet-time combat, superhuman acrobatics and physical feats and deliver the overall all, stylised cool presented in the movies. We only hope that the game will do the massive, massive license justice.
Here's a brief overview of features we can expect to see:
You know kung fu: Unload on the malicious Agents of the Matrix with dozens of weapons and martial arts maneuvers in the supercharged kung-fu style of The Matrix
Deep character building: Develop a virtual character that lives in the Matrix with thousands of other online players. Obtain hundreds of powerful Matrix abilities that you can swap out and exchange like trading cards.
Infinite possibilities: Take advantage of an extensive mission system that provides you with a seemingly infinite variety of gameplay options, storyline revelation, and character experience.

The Matrix Online is expected to launch in 2004.

[b]E3 2003: WILL ROCK MAY ROCK YOU[/b]

Crazy shooting action with Ubi Soft's latest
14:53 Men with guns is a recurring theme in video games, and slightly insane-looking shooter Will Rock certainly has a big load of guns. And some men. The eponymous hero is an archaeology student, and none too pleased at the death of his mentor at the hands of a fanatic cult. His response is to invade the realm of Lost Olympus and take on the mythical armies of Zeus single-handed.Reminiscent of the non-stop blasting of Serious Sam, Will Rock features 11 ridiculous weapons that seem to fill most of the screen and shatter and morphing graphics technology to help you demolish the refined architecture of ancient Greece urn by urn.

[b]E3 2003: PRINCE OF PERSIA EMERGES FROM SANDS OF TIME[/b]

Old hero, new adventure
12:55 Prince of Persia was a ground-breaking PC game in the early 1990s, with the mixture of puzzling and action ultimately inspiring the likes Tomb Raider. Now Ubi Soft has been to the desert and unearthed the old stager for a new multiformat game - The Sands of Time.It's under development at its Montreal studio, which previously cracked out Splinter Cell, so there's every chance it'll be a bit of alright. The ancient Persian setting allows for a range of exotic landscapes and the Prince will be able to pull off an array of acrobatic sword fighting moves. Original creator Jordan Mechner is on hand to make sure everything goes according to plan.

[b]E3 2003: UBI SOFT LOCKS ON TO PC[/b]

The French publisher's new flight game promises to be an Air Combat Simulation
12:48 No, we're not being facetious. Air Combat Simulation actually is the tagline for Lock On - a jet fighter sim that's going to include a whole range of brand-new pointy planes, including the A-10A Thunderbolt, F15C Eagle, German Mig-29 and a load of Russian planes with very similar numbers.For all the fly boys and fly girls still reading, you can expect to find 20 single-player missions, each with their own storyline, accurate flight dynamics (always handy) and support for up to 32 players over a LAN.

[b]E3 2003: UNREAL TOURNAMENT 2004 ANNOUNCED![/b]

Atari (formerly Infogrames) has shocked the world by announcing the next in the PC multiplayer FPS series
12:30 We saw this coming before it was even a speck on the horizon, but Atari has now officially announced Unreal Tournament 2004 for PC. Co-created by Epic Games and Digital Extremes, the next in the multiplayer FPS series is being described as "the next evolution of the greatest competitive computer game ever created" and will come with a ton of new content, including the long-awaited addition of vehicles.Unreal Tournament 2004 will be a combination of Unreal Tournament 2003 and the two free bonus packs recently released by Epic and Digital Extremes for the current edition of the shooter, along with all the new, tasty treats that the developers are cramming into the package. Blimey!
Hold on to your hats while we take you on a whirlwind tour of Unreal Tournament 2004.
Something that will no doubt please fans of the series is the news that UT 2004 will see the return of Unreal Tournament's Assault mode. Epic and Digital Extremes will be including six different scenarios (or levels) for the mode, it coming back with a bang thanks to the introduction of land-, air- and space-based vehicles. Now that sounds awesome.
Joining the resurrection of Assault is brand new mode Onslaught. Graced with a particularly violent-sounding moniker, the team-based mode will be backed up with nine, custom-built, large-scale maps. "Awesome" new weapons are promised (dual Assault Rifles anyone?) and again vehicle action will feature, teams attempting to take command of different control points on maps.
20 brand new maps for existing game modes will also be included, a selection of which have been specifically designed with hardcore Unreal Tournament players in mind.
Accompanying this rather impressive and varied stage for combat will be a built-in voice chat feature allowing gamers to ridicule each other over LAN or Internet, the return of Skaarj, the Necris and Xan Kriegor from the original Unreal who will pose threats in tournament play and an UnrealTV match broadcast system. Sit back, munch on popcorn and enjoy live, direct-feed frag and gib shenanigans.
A complete end-user voting system allowing players to choose game types, maps, mutators, rules and such and kick grief combatants is also being incorporated, along with a redesigned user interface to allow for easier navigation of context-sensitive menus.
And there'll be a number of general gameplay tweaks, so look forward to improvements to bot team co-ordination and a whole lot more.
Unreal Tournament 2004 is due out in the Autumn. Anyone want to hazard a guess that Unreal Tournament 2005 will be out in the Autumn next year?

[b]E3 2003: LUCASARTS GOES COMMANDO[/b]

Unreal engine-powered, Star Wars first-person shooter fun is blasting its way onto PC and Xbox, thanks to Star Wars: Republic Commando. Movie inside!
11:54 First-person shooter Star Wars: Republic Commando (working title) is coming to Xbox and PC, LucasArts has revealed. Due summer 2004 and using an enhanced version of Epic's Unreal engine, the game is set between movies Episode II and Episode III and drops players into the boots of an elite squad member of a Republic Special Operations unit.LucasArts has been a little tight with details, but we do know that the company plans to deliver a "dramatic military-style action experience" and "brutally realistic Star Wars combat" with Republic Commando. Expect to be undertaking missions and operations deep behind enemy lines. Sounds intriguing.

[b]E3 2003: FAR CRY LOOKING FAR-CRY-ING INCREDIBLE[/b]

One of the best looking PC shooters around, we reckon
11:40 Crytek Studio's Far Cry looks very pretty. And well it should with proprietary Polybump mapping technology, advanced physics, destructible terrain and dynamic lighting. We honestly do know what all that means. Honest.You play Jack Carver, a freelance sailor stuck on a tropical parasdise island that also swarming with danger. The kind of danger that carries guns and has fists. A clever feature is the ability to lock-on to distant enemies up to 800 metres away with motion-sensing binoculars then either snipe them or resort to more devastating ballistic attacks.
Ubi Soft will be releasing Far Cry at the back end of 2003. And it looks lovely, remember that.

[b]E3 2003: REPUBLIC: THE REVOLUTION WAVES ITS FLAG[/b]

Power to the people! Freedom for Tooting! It's all a muchness
11:24 It seems like years since Republic: The Revolution, the highly anticipated strategy romp from Demis Hassabis' Exlixir Studios was first mooted. That's probably because it was years ago - but it's currently having a final gloss sheen put on for a Summer release. Summer this year!For the uninitiated, Republic: The Revolution follows the fall of the Soviet Union, when dozens of autonomous states sprung up. One fictional wee poxy place, Novistrana, has become a hive of corruption and ne'er do wells. This is where Republic takes place, and amongst its three cities.
Novistrana is ruled by a ruthless Stalin wannabe, Vassily Karasov, who rules with an iron fist. You've got a bee in your bonnet about Vas, and start spreading seeds of discontent - now is the time to seize power and liberate the masses. Vive La Revolution, as they might have once said in France.
Starting with a single loyal supporter you must build up to become a serious threat to El Presidente, using a combo platter of influence, wealth and force and gain the allegiance of prominent public characters, captains of industry and lowlife crims.
Much has been said of the AI techniques to create a living breathing nation of people, and it's looking so real, you can almost smell what they had for dinner. And with the thousands of options, variables and game routes - you can decide what sort of leader you'll be when it's released on PC later this Summer

[b]E3 2003: MICROSOFT GOES DUNGEONEERING AGAIN[/b]

Gas Powered Games and Chris Taylor are back, PC RPG seqeul Dungeon Siege II to be shown in trailer form at E3
18:06 In a pretty brief announcement, Microsoft has revealed that Dungeon Siege II is in the works. Development of the PC RPG, obviously the follow-up to Dungeon Siege, is once again being handled by Chris Taylor and his team at Gas Powered Games.Dungeon Siege II will be on show at E3 this week, but sadly only in trailer form. However, promises of a visual feast via Gas Powered Games' brand new engine powering the sequel should spark interest.
As soon as we hear more, so will you.

[b]E3 2003: HALO PC - FIRST EVER SHOTS![/b]

Finally, finally we get to see how the PC version of the Xbox smash shooter is shaping up
17:11 The game originally destined for PC that jumped ship to become an Xbox exclusive is going back to its roots. Halo, Bungie's smash first-person shooter on Microsoft's console will be arriving for PC in the summer, the conversion of the sci-fi action spectacular being handled by Gearbox Software. E3 2003 has prodded all involved to release the first screenshots of what had better be a killer app. Or else.Halo, for anyone living under a rock for the last few years, is a sci-fi first-person shooter that finds Master Chief, genetically engineered soldier and all-round hard-ass, attempting the save the human race from alien scum. The game's combination of on-foot combat and stunning vehicle-based action has made it an instant hit on Xbox.
Featuring what will essentially be the same singleplayer campaign appearing in the Xbox version, Halo on PC will come with the highly enticing addition of online multiplayer. Gearbox has introduced six new maps, new modes, new vehicles and more for online play. Thoughts of playing the likes of Capture the Flag with Halo's superb variety of kinetic and alien weaponry and brilliant vehicles simply has us drooling in anticipation.

[b]E3 2003: NEW DEUS EX: INVISIBLE WAR SHOTS![/b]

Ion Storm's PC and Xbox sequel shooter/RPG stuns once again in new screens
16:08 We're suckers for screenshots of Deus Ex: Invisible War at the office, mainly because we thought the original Deus Ex was a blinder. In development at Ion Storm, the sequel is heading to PC and Xbox and will find players experiencing a combination of stealth, investigation and action sequences as they get caught up in a conspiracy-style plot in the near future.Invisible War sees players assuming the role of Alex Denton, member of the JC Denton/Paul Denton clone family that appeared in the original Deus Ex. The main protagonist's name is purposely unisex - in the follow-up, you'll be able to play either a male or female character. Built on Epic's latest Unreal technology, Ion Storm's game is shaping up a treat, as you can see below.

[b]E3 2003: MAX PAYNE 2 HITS E3![/b]

The master of slow-mo gun combat and graceful dives is back. But he'll be hiding behind closed doors at E3
17:15 The sequel to the bullet-time, slo-mo jumping, two-gun posing, bad-guy perforating genius that is Max Payne was announced almost a year ago, but since then there has been no info, no screens, no stinking nothing. That's all set to change with the news that Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne will make an appearance at E3.It's not all good news; the PC title, which according to publisher Take Two is set to arrive this autumn, "will be unveiled to an extremely select audience by invitation only at this year's E3" - no riff raff then. Maddeningly, details on console versions of the game won't be announced until later this year, but we're guessing once again that a PS2 and Xbox version are certainties.
The nanosecond we learn more about Max's latest exploits, we'll give you a shout.

[b]E3 2003: BATTLEFIELD 1942: SECRET WEAPONS OF WWII EXPANDS[/b]

Strange and unusual weaponry adds to the BF1942 experience
14:16 Shhh. Top Secret weapons, strange places and special forces add to the mystique of the BF1942 experience with the expansion pack, Secret Weapons of WWII.At the time, many of the new vehicles and weapons featured in Secret Weapons of WWII were considered extremely powerful yet experimental. Although they'd mostly been left on the drawing board and only a few saw combat - until now.
Due this autumn, Secret Weapons lets you control these weapons and vehicles and even dabble in eight new locations that include Peenem

[harry_pothead]

Thats an impressive list of games. Now the question is..... whats gona happen with the matrix asnd starwars galaxies? AM i going to have to choose between games because of time or money or will i be able to play both?

for once there is so much good stuff its hard to choose....... thats what i like