Gamers love to play god. From building and running cities, to actually
managing the Pearly Gates themselves, these sims seem to excite our
entertainment senses. iNSCAPE plans to help feed our desire to rule all
with the release this September of Creatures for PC CD-ROM, with a
Macintosh version to follow shortly thereafter. The game was developed by
Millennium Interactive in England and uses digital DNA, a CyberLife
technology that enables silicon life forms to react and behave just like
real life. You'll have the chance to care for and play with your critters.
You'll teach them how to survive, as well. You get six eggs and 40 objects
within this environment. The creatures will gradually learn what each
object can be used for and how it can help them survive. These critters
exhibit a wide range of human expressions and respond to your "touch." In
pre-adolescence, they learn rudimentary language skills and, as they pass
through adolescence, their thoughts (naturally) turn to the opposite sex.
You can monitor their metabolism, hormonal states, emotional well-being,
health and diet. You must raises these critters and have them learn
behavior as well as language and, eventually, lead them to procreation.
Thankfully, the creatures learn on their own how to accomplish the latter.
These creatures grow, learn, and eventually die, with a typical lifespan of
about 40 computer playing hours. Successive generations evolve, with
digital DNA strings passed on as their traits. No two creatures are alike.
There is a genuine neural network that simulates the human brain at the
core of each creature. This network is composed of 1,000 neurons, which
helps them form concepts and learn. They also have their own internal
biochemistry, in which glucose levels decrease over time. You'll notice
that some creatures have a higher intelligence than others, some are better
at socialization, some with stronger adaptability skills. As all can
interact with you, your coaching can make a real difference in these
creatures' lives.

MacPlay: ALONE IN THE DARK WITH YOUR MAC
Lovecraft-inspired stories are the base elements for MacPlay's Alone in the
Dark: The Trilogy. These titles, developed by I*Motion, is available only
for the Macintosh. Yes, developed exclusively for the Mac--the fluid
animation, tense atmosphere, bizarre camera angles and horror are conveyed
artistically on the Mac. You embark on your adventures as a private eye and
must face horrible, evil creatures comprised of thousands of animations in
real-time 3D. Hundreds of settings, objects and weapons make it possible
for the player to interact with his or her surroundings. Each sequel has
faster animation speeds than its predecessor and you can adjust the
difficulty level for customized challenges. And, around each creepy corner,
are grotesque nasties that really make your heart beat faster. The
surprises in these games are fast and furious and confront you when you
least expect them. System requirements are: 256-color Mac with 68040 or
Power Pc microprocessor, 3500 K free memory, 13 MB free hard disk space,
System 7.0 or later, and double speed CD-ROM drive.

Merit Studios: POWER PLAY
The Fourth of July is a grand day to enjoy barbecues, fireworks, lemonade,
swimming, volleyball, family and friends. This national holiday might also
be a grand day, if you're not going to the theater to see Independence Day,
to take a look at the just-released CyberJudas from Merit Studios. This
CD-ROM will find you engaged as the President of the United States and is
the sequel to the 1993 game entitled Shadow President. You must find and
eliminate a traitor within your cabinet, otherwise the world will erupt
into total chaos in the CyberJudas Gambit component of the game. Two other
components include You Are the President which is a political sim that lets
you solve a variety of global problems with a loyal cabinet and Cabinet
Wars which finds the cabinet fighting for political power while you attempt
to run the world. Each action you take affects the entire world, whether
you are invading another country or assassinating an advisor. Movie sfx
technology, digital sound, voices and music are all part of this offering
with realistic 3D graphics.

Microsoft: JAVA NOW INCLUDED
Glom onto the latest version of Microsoft's(R) Internet Explorer version
3.0, available from http://microsoft.com/ie/, and you'll get full support
for Java. This releases brings to you performance that includes a
replaceable, just-in-time (JIT) compiler that'll be optimized for speed and
will run interpreted Java Applets faster than any other browser to date.
Plus, there's interactivity between Applets and ActiveX(TM) Controls which
means apps created with Java can now be integrated with other Java Applets.
Not only that, but Microsoft is also working hard to include Java support
for their Windows 3.1 and Macintosh(R) version of their browser in the
not-too-distant-future.

Microsoft & Nintendo: BUSTIN' THE MONOPOLY
Gather three megaliths who plan to offer an alternative to another huge
monopoly and you're going to obtain a great deal of interest, from
consumers and the press. That's exactly what Nintendo, Microsoft
Corporation and Nomura Research Institute have just done. They have formed
a group that will provide online info via spare satellite broadcast
channels so that onliners in Japan can avoid the absurdly ridiculous
telephone system from Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation. Offerings
will include Internet access, video games, animation programs and the
ability to send data. Service is planned to start in mid-1997 in Japan,
with the venture to be totally set-up late this year. Datafeeds will be via
St. Giga, which happens to be an affiliate company of Nintendo. However,
interested customers will need a satellite dish and a modem, but the
bandwidth will be much higher than that of the landwire. And, naturally,
subscribers will automatically have access to the Microsoft Network. The
three companies will ante up some $9 million to get this puppy rolling.

Midwest Productions: HEART-THROB LUKE HAS A NEW COMPANY
A first look TV and development association has been established between
Midwest Productions Inc. and Alliance Communications Corp. This may not
sound exciting, but to those who follow all of the moves of hunky
heart-throb, Luke Perry, Midwest Productions Inc. is a new company that is
a partnership of Luke and his manager, Cyd Levin. Named as vice president
for Midwest Productions is Tom Fortuna, who joins the new company from
Michael Filerman Productions at Warner Brothers Television. The agreement
covers all areas of television, including series, movies and mini-series
for network, cable and first run syndication, and represents a first such
association for actor-producer Perry.

Nintendo: THE ATTACK OF THE 64-BIT CONSOLE
June 23rd was a big day in Japan. Especially for Nintendo. The company's
64-bit video console raced into sales mode as the unit sold out 90 minutes
after the number four store in Osaka's Nihombashi of Sofmap Company opened.
The Nintendo 64 also sold well in Tokyo and the Laox Company in Akihabara
had to open one hour early due to crowds lining up at the store. Nintendo
claims they will sell 1/2 million units this month in Japan, with over
3-1/2 million domestic unit sales projected by March of 1997. Aiding in the
N64 cause are the new Nintendo Entertainment Shop fronts that'll appear in
Spice Corporation's Magmart entertainment software stores. They are located
in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, as well as eight additional outlets that are
planned to open during this fiscal year.

Ocean America: TONS O' STUFF
The waves resultant of the huge splash companies made at E3 continue to
rush ashore. Here is Ocean America's lineup of new products enroute to your
PCs and your console systems.

A CHEESY GAME: Enroute for the Sony PlayStation is Ocean's 3D platformer
entitled Cheesy. With a classic, comic, central character (what are known
as the four Cs), you become Cheesy the mouse. He's been captured by a
crazed scientist with the most appropriate name of Dr. Chem. You must
liberate the mouse who has been imprisoned within a dark, gothic castle.
Oh, yes, there are plenty of mischievous critters that you must defeat.
Plus, you've got to gather all of the ingredients to make a teleportation
spell effective. You'll find bungee jumping spider levels, banana skin
surfing sequences and even a UFO flying section in the game. There are 30
levels of play, a lively soundtrack, classic sound effects, and 3D modeled
characters.

DELIVER US FROM DARKNESS: Seems as though world, and especially the village
of Nightfall, is threatened by darkness, an eternity of the black stuff.
Dawn of Darkness is coming for PC machines and this is an original, 3D
blaster game, a true, first-person shooter. You must blast, slash and smash
your way through ghoulish, 3D environments. WIth 360 degree viewing
features, this title also packs multiplayer options so you can go
head-to-head against your friends. Expect some stunning sfx.

DIGGING DOGFIGHTS: Already a hit for PC CD-ROM, Ocean of America will be
releasing an expanded, upgraded version of this hit for Windows 95
platforms. This new title is Super EF2000 and is a flight sim that'll now
take full advantage of Windows 95 multitasking capabilities. Other
improvements in this updated version include artificial intelligence and an
enhanced look. There are new and more colorful intermissions and transition
scenes. You'll be able to run multiple user air combats across an IPX
network, such as Novell NetWare, as well as across standard phone lines, or
through the use of serial cables. This new version can also offer you
opposing squadrons now composed of as many as 16 total aircraft. There's a
Tactical Mission Planner that you can use to create original missions. This
flight sim also offers first-time mission planning tools to help you choose
the best sorties and targets. Plus, there's a more powerful aircraft
payload, including short range, heat-seeking, air-to-air missiles.

And for those who own the original EF2000, the game's developer (Digital
Image Design of England) has released EF2000 Tactical Communications which
is a network-ready update offering. This update software lets you
participate in head-to-head dogfights and includes major improvements to
aircraft control and artificial intelligence as well as enhancement of
battlefields and backgrounds.
Ocean of America, a leading publisher of home entertainment software, has
strafed the competition with the release of "EF2000" Tactical
Communications (TACTCOM), a network-ready update to its acclaimed air
combat multimedia flight sim.  This upgrade, created by British-based
developers Digital Image Design (DID), now allows gamers to participate in
head-to-head dogfights.  It also includes major improvements to aircraft
control and artificial intelligence and the backgrounds and battlefields
have been enhanced. You can glom onto more info at this title's WWW site at
http://www.ef2000.com/.

FRED, SCOOBY, ET AL: There are sooo many truly cool Hanna-Barbera
characters. Ocean, thanks to their in-house development team named Tribe,
is preparing to intro the first PC CD-ROM offering that's based on the
Hanna-Barbera stars. This new title stars such fine folk at Fred
Flintstone, Huckleberry Hound, Penelope Pitstop, Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, and
(exit, stage left) Snagglepuss. The plots surrounds diabolical Dick
Dastardly. He has used a sound machine to rob the Hanna-Barbera world of
the sounds that bring it to life. Through the most cunning detection
techniques, Fred Flintstone must trace this dastardly one and end his
mischief. Sound plays an important role in this game as you'll learn,
through trial and error, how certain sounds affect objects and characters.
Sounds will give you the clues you'll need to track down the nasty
Dastardly.

NO SINKING SHIP HERE: Piracy and the life of such vagabonds usually makes
for good film . . .well, perhaps not all such films are so well-done . . .I
continually think of Gina Davis with a monkey on her back! Regardless, to
get back on track, Ocean has released Sea Legends for PC CD-ROM. This title
will challenge you to endure the dangers of ship-to-ship battles and
hand-to-hand combat. Plus, you'll have to "reason" with deceptive merchants
for crew provisions and that all-important ammunition. In a 17th Century
setting, this title packs 3D tactical maps that are texture-mapped and a
Global Menu that also serves as a quick ref guide for you to evaluate each
situation you encounter throughout this pirate adventure. There are several
modes of arcade-style combat from at-sea, on enemy ships, and on tropical
islands. You must be able to command your crew and keep track of your ammo
before entering into your sea battles. There's nothing worse than your
cannon pooping out without enough cannonballs. Plus, you've got to keep
your men fed as well as paid.

16-BITTER IS SUPER BETTER: Take a hot character, such as DC Comics' Lobo,
and render graphics using Alias Software on Silicon Graphics workstations,
and get ready for an action game for Super Nintendo Entertainment System
(SNES) and Sega Genesis consoles. Lobo, equipped with chains, steel hooks,
semi-automatic weapons, and a monster spacehog motorcycle, this dude is a
savage bounty hunter in a futuristic setting who confronts hard-core
criminals as he tries to control the universe. The adventure starts when
Lobo and his boss, Vril Dox, have a fight. Lobo is then off to shred his
enemies, including the meanest fighter of all, a clone of Lobo himself.
There are more than 27 moves per character with battles ranging from
Kringle's fortress to the sewer. Six other story characters (Dox, Loo,
Nitro, Kringle and Shaola--plus their clones) are included in the game, and
each one has been clay modeled and digitized. Lobo's favorite moves include
shooting bayonets from guns, holding his victims in his hands while he
shoots them, and then blowing them apart. And HE'S the good guy! There are
solo, practice and two-player play options as well as a free-for-all
tournament mode.

NOTHING'S TOO IMPOSSIBLE: The hit movie, Mission: Impossible, is coming to
the Nintendo 64 (N64) and PC CD-ROM during Q4 of this year. This title will
offer arcade style and 3D action and will contain all of the psychological
twists and turns that the series offered viewers and movie goers. This spy
sim offers artificial intelligence in an environment that is filled with
intrigue and deception. You become CIA agent Ethan Hunt and every character
and room you encounter will provide an infinite number of scenarios,
depending upon your moves. Each character has the programmed competency to
react as a human being would move in any given situation. There's a
realistic player point-of-view with every environment, and the characters
are rendered in real-time for true, cinematic effect. Thanks to enhanced
overhead views and optimal floating camera angles, you'll get more time to
plot your moves, devise tactics and deal with deceptions, double-crosses,
and change identities with unsuspecting opponents. There are a number of
complex missions and you must solve before you can move on to the next
mission. You'll find yourself trying to save a sub transporting illegal
nuclear weapons, hold secret meetings at train stations with enemy agents,
and try to stay alive during a rendezvous in a government building. You'll
use a wide variety of ingenious electronic devices and gadgets to
infiltrate and deceive your adversaries, such as fountain pen dart guns and
explosive bubble gum. Plus you'll be able to mask your true identity by
using a mask maker!

BRINGING WAR HOME: There's a new war sim coming from Ocean called
Offensive. This title features 20 historic World War II battles and brings
you to the frontline of action from the landing at Normandy to the capture
of Berlin. This sim will be available for PC CD-ROM. You arm yourself for
battle by using 3D isometric viewpoints from four-angle positions and
three-level zoom in-and-out capability. You may play either the Allied or
the Nazi side. You command the troops' route and distance. The speed of the
military advance is directly affected by enemy attacks, weather,
casualties, troop morale and supplies. Period film footage and news clips
add authenticity to the product. You'll need sound strategy, a prepared
army, tons of weapons and ammo, and a lot of luck. Each scenario is
comprised of individual battles that lead to the capture of Berlin.

PINBALL PERFECTION: Coming for the Sega Saturn and the Sony PlayStation is
True Pinball. This pinball sim features four tables, multiple balls, video
modes, hi-res 2D and 3D views comprised of more than 32,000 colors. You can
choose from uniquely detailed scrolling tables: Babewatch, Sports, Law &
Justice and Vikings. Each table may be viewed from different angles. As
many as 10 balls can be juggled with the table flippers--trying to keep
them all in play requires talent. This pinball sim for video consoles
offers realistic ball gravity and is faithful to every aspect of
mathematical precision.

TUNNEL TERROR: There's little that's worse than a subterranean tunnel, even
when you're not being chased by an enemy. Tunnel B1 gets even worse as this
is a new, sub-terrain arcade game for the Sony PlayStation and PC machines.
The game is set in a futuristic Earth. Tunnel B1 breaks into chaos when a
foreign country's crazed dictator creates an explosive weapon with
catastrophic potential. You become a secret service agent with just one
mission: overthrow the dictator and stop that weapon development. You
travel in a vehicle armed with bombs and rockets and you encounter complex
tunnel scenarios that increase with difficulty with each new level. This
game is also available for the Sega Saturn console system.

CHIP OFF THE CHOPPER: Helicopter sims are quite popular. Science-fiction
titles are also quite popular. Blend the two and you obtain a product
somewhat akin to Ocean's release of Viper. Your task is to save the planet
from an evil, alien race. However, no one seems to know that this is
occurring, and you are believed to be a delusive paranoic. That makes the
task of saving the world even more difficult! The title features 3D
graphics and an extensive degree of control--add hundreds of explosions and
smoke effects and a dramatic soundtrack and you have a dynamic game. This
title is for Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn.

WORMS AWAY: One of Ocean's most popular titles of recent months was Worms,
developed by Team 17. Now the company is releasing Worms Reinforcements, a
network upgrade for the game that lets you play a larger audience over any
IPX network. THere are 20 new gameplay options and enhanced weapons,
including air strike delys, homing missiles and booby traps. Nightcrawler
troops now carry unused weapons into new levels of play, trigger unexploded
mines with a time delay option, reconfigure the number of weapon drops and
flameblow the slime off the enemy. New weaponry includes cluster and mole
bombs, throwable dynamite, blow torches, directable Kamikazes and the
ultimate genetic enhancement--unsuspecting, explodable Super Sheep.
Difficulty is increased due to changing wind, water and soil landscapes. So
those bungee jumping worms must build bridges across chasms or evade the
enemy by drilling into the ground. Added are enhanced audio facilities that
include a new title track, a worm song dance mix, and game music combined
with speech tracks that let you play with your own team voices, or use four
"silly" worm voices. There's even more info about this game available on
the WWW at http://www.team17.com.

RIGHTEOUS RACING: From those fine folk who brought us Worms, Team 17, a new
racing sim is fueled up and heading your way. Entitled World Rally Fever,
you race in 3D isometric environments with 16 racing tracks set over four
stages. You'll race on the streets of Tokyo, past the golden beaches of
Hawaii, and through 10 other locations. You select one of eight drivers,
with each driver possessing different characteristics and driving skills.
You can also choose between eight rally cars, all with accurate model
specs. Power ups and weapons abound as you try to avoid rocks, chasms,
barrels, walls and other drivers in this accelerating sim.

MULTIPLATFORM WETNESS: Although the feature film performed less than
expectation, millions of theatre goers enjoyed Kevin Costner's Waterworld.
The Ocean game Waterworld finds you attempting to survive in a futuristic
world believed to be totally covered in water. The game follows the movie
plot to the desolate, floating cities known as Atolls where inhabitants are
on a quest for dry land. Once the evil Deacon discovers that the young
girl, Enola, has a tatoo on her back which delineates a map that leads to
dry land, it's up to you to rescue Enola, fellow Atollers, and to destroy
the Deacon and his water-vehicle riding vigilantes. You become Mariner and
engage in this action adventure with a full 360 degree perspective. There
are a number of enemies in this game, ranging from Smokers and Berserkers
to PT Boats and Sharks. As each round ends, stats are displayed that
describe your performance. At this time, you can continue to rescue
Atollers and weapons to prepare for upcoming battles. Should you earn
100,000 points, an extra life is earned. Your selection of the right weapon
in any situation is the only way to survive Waterworld. You can switch
weapon types by maneuvering your trimaran over weapon icons that float in
the water. This scheme forces you to continually look for new, more
powerful weapons. As you advance through the game, an additional selection
of weaponry appears in the water, changing game conditions. The game will
be available during Q3 for Nintendo's Virtual Boy, SNES, Genesis, and
Nintendo's Game Boy.

Paramount: HARRIET THE SPY
Spy Clinics will be conducted in 20 cities across the United States and
Canada by Pinkerton's Inc., one of the world's largest and best known
suppliers of security and investigation services. Why spy clinics? This is
in anticipation of the movie premier Harriet the Spy from Paramount
Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies presentation of a Rastar production.
Harriet the Spy Spy Clinics and special advance screenings of the motion
picture will be held beginning on Saturday, June 29 in 18 U.S. cities and
on July 6 in Toronto and Vancouver. Harriet the Spy stars Michelle
Trachtenberg and Rosie O'Donnell, and is based on Louise Fitzhugh's
best-selling young people's novel about an 11-year-old girl who spies on
her parents, neighbors and friends, keenly detailing their comings and
goings in her secret journal.

Philips: STAND-UP ON THE INTERNET
Stand-up comedians are in competition to become winners in the first online
talent search. The contest, based on Philips Media's new CD-ROM comedy
adventure game, The Improv Presents: Don't Quit Your Day Job, will
officially kick off on July 18 and will run through September. The grand
prize includes a trip to Los Angeles and the opportunity to meet Budd
Friedman and Mark Lonow.

An open casting call will be held from June 21 to July 9, 1996. To enter,
aspiring comedians merely submit a headshot (GIF format) and a 60-second
sample of comedy material (WAV file format) to a panel of independent comedy
judges. 36 of the best comedians will be selected by the panel to advance
to the second round and, starting July 18, six new comedian's will be
presented each week in a virtual nightclub on Comedy Central's web site
(http://www.comcentral.com) and on CompuServe (GO STANDUP). Online users
will be able to rate each performance. The comedian with the best response
each week will advance to the finals held from August 29 - September 5. The
live event will be broadcast simultaneously on eDrive's web site
(www.edrive.com) the week of September 2.

Psygnosis: A BROADER GAME DEVELOPMENT
As most of you are aware, Sony knew they had a hit with their PlayStation.
But in order to diversify their product line and broaden their customer
base in the digital entertainment industry, they knew they had to also
develop goodies for personal computer gamers. This resulted in the
acquisition of Psygnosis as a subsidiary to become their in-house
development unit. But Psygnosis goes beyond the expected task of developing
titles for the PlayStation. Psygnosis is now producing titles for PCs, as
well. Here is some insight into their upcoming title line.

LEMME AT THE LEMMINGS: A hugely popular title from Psygnosis on a variety
of platforms has been their Lemmings brand name. Now the company's first,
native Windows 95 title has been released entitled Lemmings Paintball, a
networkable, capture-the-flag style paintball party. This is an all-new
Lemmings adventure with your old favorites, and now you can go head-to-head
with other lemmings. However, you not only get this new title, but also the
two classics: Lemmings and Oh, No, More Lemmings. In the new game, you
become the head of a tribe of lemmings. And these fine folk are all armed
with pump-action paint guns. And they're on a mission. You must complete
100 levels all replete with puzzles, traps, catapults and other obstacles.
You must battle opposing lemmings teams and try to capture their flags.
There's an isometric view and an improved user-interface and this is the
first Lemmings title to support two-player network play.

KNIGHT RISK: Psygnosis is also releasing a graphic adventure that's set in
the era of Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table. Entitled Chronicles
of the Sword(TM), this game is for PC CD-ROM and Sony PlayStation machines.
You become Sir Gawain, a heroic Knight of the Round Table, at the time King
Arthur's half-sister, Morgana, is trying to undermine your plans to unite
the Kingdom. You have to aid the court in its defeat of evil and you'll be
interacting with folk such as Merlin, Guinevere and Lancelot, as well as
other Round Table Knights. The game was developed by Synthentic Dimensions.
You'll find yourself adventuring through 100 different environments (all
drawn on archeological info about ancient Britain) as you take your sword
against human and non-human foes. Various mystery locations will provide
you with challenges in identifying which clues you've found are real, and
those that may be false.

RACING RELISH: Just recently, Sony acquired the official FOCA/FIA Formula 1
World Championship racing license for their PlayStation. Psygnosis is now
developing Formula 1 for the PlayStation and is expected to release this
puppy this summer. An arcade/sim that's based on the actual 1995 Formula 1
racing season, the game has been developed by Bizarre Creations of England
and includes all 13 Constructor teams and all 35 drivers from the '95
season. You'll race at legendary locations like Silverstone in the United
Kingdom, Adelaide in Australia, and Monaco in Monte Carlo. There are 14
other tracks, ranging from 3.3 to 7km. These tracks vary dramatically and
races are run in both wet and dry conditions. In the Arcade Mode, you can
simply race as fast as you can around the track. In Grand Prix Mode, you
have the opportunity to race on all 17 tracks in a full Formula 1 season.
You can also opt for steering and braking assistance, manual or automatic
transmission, random and statistically correct weather conditions, multiple
viewpoints and a comprehensive replay feature. Audio options include Dolby
Surround and Q-Sound support, plus a rock soundtrack by Joe Satriani and
Steve Vai.

GOING GREEK: Enroute for PCs and PlayStation is a new adventure game based
on the mythology of Greece. You are in the pit city of Byzance and the only
escape its citizens have is through virtual sports and entertainment.
Competitors must battle with beasts like the Gorgon Medusa, Hydra, and
Minotaur. The survivors become city heroes. You must join these heroes and
solve a series of mysterious disappearances. The title of the game is
Athanor and the game possesses more than 200 scenes with real-time 3D
backgrounds and characters in hi-res gouraud shaded SVGA graphics. This
title will be available during Winter of this year.

DARK AND DANGEROUS: Another new title, The City of Lost Children(TM) is a
dark, surreal adventure that features an unusual cast of orphans, a circus
strongman and Siamese twins. The design of the game was guided and directed
by cinematic author Marc Caro and developed by the Paris development studio
of Psygnosis. Extensive use of motion capture technology and fully rendered
movie sets combine to present a distinctive artistic vision of this
adventure game.

DRIVING DIRTY: One of our favorite games on the PlayStation has been
Destruction Derby. Now, the sequel is enroute and should be available for
PC CD-ROM and PlayStation this fall. Yep, Destruction Derby 2(TM) will
feature longer, more intense race tracks, an improved racing model, banking
sections on the open arena "Bowl" track, and a more advanced 3D engine.
There are 3D crash sequences, where cars will now actually flip, roll and
cartwheel in real-time before biting the dirt. And car-versus-car impact
will reveal new special effects, including shooting flames and flying
sparks. You can also use a pit area to attempt repair of your vehicle and
get it back into the competition. There will be four racing styles and you
can battle it out over a full racing season, or go for Team Pairs or Tag
Racing.

IDLE HANDS ARE GOOD HANDS: Take the leading English fantasy humorist, Terry
Pratchett, the voice of Monty Python star Eric Idle, and a sequel to one of
the best-loved fantasy novel-based digital entertainments, and you have
Discworld(TM) II: Missing Presumed...? Developed by Perfect Entertainment,
the bizarre adventures of Rincewind, the hopelessly inept wizard from
Pratchett's Discworld series, is back, this time with Death. What you have
is a totally humorous, puzzle-packed graphic adventure and super-smooth
animation. The gameplay will be intense, and the punchlines constantly
side-splitting. The game should see the light of day this winter.

HELL HUNT: This next game, Island of Dr. Moreau(TM), will find the hunter
becoming the hunted. You seem to berunning, but getting nowhere, as
manbeasts yearn for your fresh blood. You'll receive real-time 3D
characters and hi-res 3D pre-rendered FMV backgrounds in this new action
adventure game for PCs and PlayStation, expected this winter. Cinematic
sequences have real actors performing within 3D scenes for added realism.

We'll cover the company's new PlayStation-only titles next week.

Random House: SCREEN WRITER'S FIRST NOVEL
Karen Hall, the writer behind Emmy-award nominated TV shows such as Hill
Street Blues, M*A*S*H and Moonlighting, has written her first novel, which
will be published by Random House. Entitled Dark Debts, the book will reach
bookstores in August and Paramount has now purchased the film rights to the
novel for some $800,000. Paramount has also assigned David Brown to be the
producer of the movie. His credits include A Few Good Men, Driving Miss
Daisy, and Jaws. The plot? Think murder and demonic possession and
insanity.

Reuters: TOP 10 BOX OFFICE MOVIES & MORE . . .
Here are the top 10 movies at the box office for the weekend of June 21-23
according to the Reuters European Business Report.

 1. Eraser $25.0 million
 2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame $21.3 million
 3. The Rock $14.2 million
 4. The Cable Guy $10.3 million
 5. Mission: Impossible $6.6 million
 6. Twister $6.4 million
 7. Dragonheart $3.0 million
 8. Eddie $2.1 million
 9. The Phantom $1.6 million
10. Moll Flanders $659,000

Eraser, the new Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, debuted this past weekend and
took control of first place, pushing Jim Carrey's The Cable Guy to fourth
place. Carey's movie not only slipped--it also broke records and was
recorded as the largest percentage drop of any movie in the top 10--falling
48 percent from its opening total. Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Eraser,
grossed $25 million while Carey's movie totaled a 10-day gross of $49.5
million. Walt Disney Co.'s latest animated dark movie, The Hunchback of
Notre Dame, opened this weekend and came in second with $21.3 million,
while The Rock slipped a notch, to third place, with $14.2 million and has
grossed $80.5 million in 17 days.

Sanctuary Woods: NEW CHAIRPERSON INSTALLED
With the new focus on educational software products and curriculum-based
titles, Sanctuary Woods has already sold its entertainment studio. Elected