1. The Sims, Electronic Arts, $36
2. MP Roller Coaster Tycoon, Hasbro Interactive, $25
3. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire 2nd Edition, Disney, $19
4. The Sims Livin Large Expansion Pack, Electronic Arts, $29
5. Command & Conquer Red Alert 2, Electronic Arts, $37
6. MP Roller Coaster Tycoon Loopy Landscapes Expansion Pack, Hasbro Interactive, $26
7. Sim Theme Park, Electronic Arts, $18
8. Frogger 2, Hasbro Interactive, $27
9. Barbie Pet Rescue, Mattel Interactive, $29
10. Deer Hunter 4, Infogrames Entertainment, $16

Maw Of The Umbra Abode of Golgotha 2, the anticipated sequel to The Abode of Golgotha (free single player horror themed add-ons for Heretic II) has been released. MOTU has been in the making for many many months and is argueably the best single player add-on for Heretic II available. It's completely free as well, so head on over to The Abode to get it.

It s time to uncover the darkest secret of all. Deep in the recesses of the Forest of Sanchel, The shadow left behind by Yurich lays seething and growing into a nightmare of unimaginable horror. Now as Kurien, the only man ever to face Yurich and live you must come to terms with your own personal demons and stop the all consuming darkness before it covers the face of the world forever. Maw of the Umbra contains: 12 areas in a step-based format with loads of puzzles and action, New audio effects, A continuation of the story begun in Abode of Golgotha, 2 different endings, A split pathway point that will change the way you go through a portion of the game. [Source: The Abode]
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RuneNews.com has posted a mini version of Chris Burke's (aka Gwynhala's) Pygmalion Animator that lets you view any animation frame of any Rune model. Use File->Open, select the .UMS file type, and browse to Rune/meshes to open a package. Then select the mesh and animation frame you want to see. [Download: RuneNews]
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2001 arrives with a bang and a bit of bad news for those who run their own websites, but we accentuate the positive here! So, I present to you a bit of bad news, a bit of good news and (drum roll) it's time for the Annual Beatdown Best/Worst awards! Aren't you glad you clicked in?

"Best Game of the Year:Thief 2: Looking Glass' bittersweet swansong is basically a perfect version of the original. Some of the missions fall a little flat but this one beats the rest by serving the word of Karras, the word of Karras…. Thief 2 is one of the deepest games you'll ever play, and lets all heave a sigh of thanks that Warren Spector and Ion Storm hired the bulk of the Thief team for Thief III."
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Take-Two Interactive Software announced that Midnight Club: Street Racing and Smuggler's Run both remain top ten sellers at retail for the PlayStation 2 according to TRST data for the week ended December 23, 2000. Sales of both software products increased over 80% from the prior week.
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The first music title of its kind for the Sony PlayStation 2 console emerges from Electronic Arts' backyard. moderngroove entertainment, inc.. announced details of their self-funded development of "moderngroove interactive" (working title) slated for release this March. "moderngroove interactive" is the most unique product to date for the PS2, with over five hours of original Trance, Techno, House and UK Garage music from today's leading DJs, synched in real time to dynamically generated visuals. For the first time, over 60 full-length club hits can be had on one PS2 DVD. The product also allows users to play their own MP3 compilation CDs, turning the PS2 into a high-powered MP3 player and visual production unit.

Rounding out the title's innovative feature set is a powerful Visual Mixer that allows users to create and arrange their own synching visuals using a library of 140 animated 3D objects, 80 full 3D backgrounds, 400 original video clips and 1500 unique images. Twenty user-controllable real time special effects give the user an unprecedented level of control over the on screen imagery. Use your own music to generate the visuals by plugging an external audio source (e.g. turntables, CD player, etc.) into your PS2's USB port.
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