P L A Y S T A T I O N   2  /   P S O N E

- Bandai announced a new PlayStation 2 RPG series called .Hack, which will be released in four separate volumes, along with the launch of the OVA (original video animated cartoon) and TV anime. The story takes place in the year 2007, where there is a massive multiplayer online computer game called The World, which is played by over 20 milion people worldwide. One day the structure of the online game is changed, monsters begin to develop new power which players cannot withstand. During the game you assume the role of Kite, the main character who has the ability of data-draining, who can modify The World's game data to fix up the errors. In the quest you have to help the others to discover and correct the problems before The World is collapsed...

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- Ubi Soft will release Monster Jam: Maximum Destruction for PlayStation 2 in US this March. A monster truck racing combat game, featuring over 30 licensed monster trucks including Grave Digger, Bulldozer and Gunslinger; plus over 30 bonus and hidden trucks to be unlocked. There are 8 interactive arenas around the world, including Las Vegas, Rome, Hollywood, New York, Junkyard and more.

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- Konami will release the PlayStation action RPG Rave Groove Adventure: Eternity Bonds in Japan on January 31, for 5800 yen. The game is based on the popular manga, with traditional overhead 2D gameplay, two companion character will follow the main character during the adventure, similar to Square's Seiken Densetsu (Secret of Mana). The two companion characters will attack the enemies automatically, their action are affected by the degree of trust toward the main character, you can keep track of the level of trust by the facial expression of the other two character displayed in the status bar.

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- Here are some new screen shots of Capcom's PlayStation 2 celshaded 3D action game Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Whirlwind of Gold, scheduled to release in Japan sometimes this spring. In this game you use your stand to battle, this time the stands can use the "stand shot" attack to examine the enemy's ability, it is also possible for both the character and his/her stand to attack the target simultaneously. This title will have an original episode in the story mode, which is not available in the manga series, and all the dialogs will be in full voice.

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- Bandai will release a new fighting game for PSone called From TV Animation: One Piece Ground Battle 2 in Japan in March, this is the sequel to their popular anime based fighting game, which have sold over 500,000 units last year.

- UNCONFIRMED: Square has delayed the release of Final Fantasy XI for PlayStation 2 to April, to coincide with the launch of Sony's PlayStation 2 broadband services in Japan.

- LucasArts will release Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter for PlayStation 2 this spring, the sequel of their popular flight combat action game. The game will feature the sleek and agile new Jedi starfighter from the upcoming movie Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

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- Kadokawa Shoten will release Buile Baku for PlayStation 2 in Japan on March 20, for 3980 yen, a building demolition puzzle game, in which you have to use dynamite to dismantle a building, which is made up of a stack of blocks. There are 3 types of blocks: stable, deterioration and empty; you have to use your limited amount of dynamite to take out all the stable blocks to make the building to collapse. The game was originally planned for release last fall, which has been pushed back due to the 911 events, because the concept of demolishing buildings was too sensitive at the time.

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G A M E C U B E

- Logitec, the Japanese maker of the GT Force racing wheel and USB Keyboard for PlayStation 2, is working on a number of new peripherals for GameCube, which will be released by the end of the year.

- Nintendo will be launching the Euro version of GameCube on May 3, for 150 pounds / 249 Euros, which is approximately $211 US. Nintendo will be shipping 1 million units of GameCube at launch. Twenty games will be available at launch, including Wave Race: Blue Storm, Luigi Mansion, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, Star Wars Rogue Squadron II, Burnout, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, and FIFA: Road to World Cup.

- The Euro version of GameCube will be slightly modified, which will support both 50 Hz PAL, 60 Hz NTSC and RGB SCART. To access the 60 Hz option, simply holding down the B button when you turn on the system.

M U L T I

- The Dengeki Console Ranking Top 50 Chart is updated. The top 3 best selling titles are unchanged: GT Concepts 2001 Tokyo, Mobile Suit Gundam: Federation Vs Zion and Momotarou Dentei X. The only new title in top 10 is Sony's Bravo Music: Famous Music Collection at the 8th place.

H A N D H E L D S

- Kadokawa Shoten announced a new GameBoy Advance RPG called Kaeru Bibak, in this game you must travel back and forth in time to defeat and seal the evil dragon, which has been revived by an evil force. During the quest you can also travel back in time to change the past, things in the present time will change according to what you've done in the past. In the battles, you can use summon magic to summon 6 different war beasts to battle for you

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