Microsoft has announced the kick-off of the "Eat Your Heart Out Tournament" on Zone.com. The top player from each of Zone.com's three Hearts competitions wins a trip for two to New York City to attend the February 5, 2001 premiere of "Hannibal The Silence Is Broken," the bone-chilling sequel to "Silence of the Lambs." Runner-up prizes will also be awarded. From January 25 to January 27, Zone.com will hold a series of three Hearts tournaments. To be eligible to win the trip, gamers must play in one or all of the cheduled free* Hearts tournaments listed on the tournament's official site. Players must sign up before the tournament begins, and check in one hour before competition starts.
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The Groove Alliance, the next-generation entertainment and technology company, today announced the addition of Charlie Wallace and Rob Wyatt to guide the development of upcoming versions of its 3D Groove software. Wallace, co-developer of the hit games Requiem, Worms, and Tactical Fighter eXperiment (TFX), joins the company as principal research and development engineer. Wyatt, a former software developer for Microsoft's DirectX version 8 and the senior software architect of Microsoft's X-Box game console system, joins as senior architect. Recently recognized by Newsweek Magazine as one of the top five technologies that could change consumers' lives in 2001, the 3D Groove technology allows for the creation of browser-based games that are playable on all computers regardless of connection speed, browser or operating system. Two Groove Alliance titles, Tank Wars and Real Pool 3D, are top games on Shockwave.com, with Tank Wars recently named as a "big winner game" in the US News & World Report's Best of the Web feature.
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Strategy First has announced that Europa Universalis has gone gold. This historically accurate real-time strategy game recreates 300 years of history from the Age of Discovery in 1492 to Napoleon's rise to power in 1792. Scheduled for release in late February 2001, the North American version contains 3 new campaigns including German, Polish and American scenarios.

Players choose to play one of the major powers of the era, such as Spain, England, Prussia, France or Portugal in an attempt to conquer the enemy and claim victory of the land. As the game intertwines elements of religion, politics, colonialism, conquest, technology and warfare, players must explore, expand and conquer the land by completing the Grand Campaign (1492-1792), or a number of smaller scenarios focused either geographically, or chronologically. In total, there are over 75 countries that are controlled by a human player or AI. Players must build and command fleets and armies, discover new lands and natural resources for exploitation and trade, and form alliances to enable or avoid warfare, troop movement and financial support. Up to 8 players can take part, rewriting history in some of the most glorious battles of our time.
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THQ’s Summoner is due out March 23rd for PS2 and mid-April on the PC. Summoner looks set to turn the traditional world of RPG on its head by introducing an action-oriented twist good enough to make the game accessible to newbies whilst containing enough serious gameplay and new features to give even the most hackneyed RPG fan something to think about. Key features include: Players can control up to 5 characters in their party, viewable on screen at all times, Up to 16 different creatures to summon and control in combat, such as minotaurs, golems, dragons, and original fantastical creatures, and Over 50 hours of gameplay.
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CDV's staff with the assistance of Zweibruecken-based, talented developers from MadCat Interactive Software, who are ready and willing to overcome possibly upcoming obstacles to develop and release "Heaven & Hell", a God-Game with real-time strategy elements for the PC as well as for Microsoft's impatiently expected Xbox. Heaven & Hell will be the first real God-Game since Populous! The gamer chooses to be either God or the Devil at the beginning of the game. According to each gamers' taste and mood two totally different game strategies can thus be pursued building and growth or battle and destruction. The aim is to win over settlers from four different peoples who are not converted and to strengthen one's divine or diabolical power. In this sense the gamer can also show divine or diabolical behavior, by for example taking direct influence on the subjects to punish, hurt or reward, for example to show divine kindness and affection. The gamer can display his power through wonders or catastrophes and convince or respectively scare the settlers. This game which follows the most popular book in the world, the Bible, will put gamers in seventh heaven with its love for detail and animation, with its divine and diabolical sense of humor and innovative interface!
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