Thanks to several readers for pointing out a Sony press release announcing Champions Of Norrath: Realms Of Everquest for the Playstation 2. This action RPG, being developed by Snowblind Studios, who also made Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, promises "..a deep, single-player campaign, but it also includes a free online multiplayer component, allowing up to four friends to adventure together using their own Internet connections." As this title will clearly be using the engine from the well-received BG:DA, this could be a very useful addition to the console action RPG canon.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to Gamespot's coverage of the limited-edition GameBoy Advance SP set to be released alongside Konami's light-sensing portable title Boktai this July in Japan. And since the game is about vampires, it makes sense that the Boktai red and black two-tone GBA hardware should come in.. a coffin carrying-case? Neat. As long as your new GBA doesn't crumble into dust on contact with sunlight, it can join the myriad other limited-edition Japanese GameBoy Advances.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Gamesindustry.biz article rounding up the Japanese rumors that an XBox 1.5 will launch later this year. It seems Japanese magazines such as WAM and Dorimaga are reporting a smaller-sized XBox will be launched alongside the flagship Japanese RPG True Fantasy Live Online. But the article suggests that "..it's not expected that any changes will be made to the internals of the system, however - this is, by all accounts, a purely cosmetic makeover."

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing out that IGN Cube have hands-on impressions of Nintendo's latest 'communication game', Giftpia. This seemingly odd but addictive mushroom-chomping title is directed by Square veterans, and IGN ventures that "Giftpia may be billed as an RPG, but it's really more of an adventure.. there are no stats beyond your health meter, no random battles.. in a sense, Giftpia borrows a lot from Nintendo's Animal Crossing." Hopefully this'll include Animal Crossing's compulsiveness, as well as its saccharin-sweet style - in any case, the Japanese version of Giftpia is already released, and IGN mentions that "..shown off in English at this year's E3, Giftpia is almost guaranteed to see a US release."

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to Gamespot's new interview with Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima. It was conducted at E3, and he discusses his light-sensitive GBA game, Boktai, as well as the Metal Gear Solid remake/enhancement for Gamecube, Metal Gear:The Twin Snakes. Kojima particularly notes Japanese film director, Ryuhei Kitamura, who is directing the new real-time cut-scenes for the game, and says "Mr. Kitamura really respected and honored the original work... but what you'll see later on in the game is totally different. You'll be shocked." He also talks a little about Metal Gear Solid 3, saying "This time we said keep it nice and simple and go back to the basics."

psyco484 writes "A long-awaited patch (Build_45) to the PC action-RPG Anachronox has finally been released. Thanks to ex-Ion Storm programmer Joey 'Chinaman' Law, Anachronox now runs a lot better. Hope there's still a few fans out there, an excellent game with a good story. Read about it on the PlanetAnachronox forum, which also has a list of mirrors." Whatever you think of the game, adding new features like a Bricks Taxi short-cut service and fixing a heap of bugs, months/years after the Anachronox team got laid off when Ion Storm closed down, shows a lot of dedication.

easychord writes "RPGCodex are reporting that J.E. Sawyer has sneakily or accidentally leaked Fallout 3 concept art onto the Interweb. After the disappointing non RPG spin-offs in the Fallout universe and the confusion around Black Isle's Lionheart having the working title of Fallout Fantasy, is Fallout 3 becoming a vaporware holy grail?"

dayeight writes "Here's some info on a new Atari 2600 RPG, which is still early in development, and is developed by Paul Slocum, the genius who gave us the Synthcart (previous story) and Marble Craze." There's a downloadable demo ROM for this currently untitled game on the site, and the title's projected feature set includes "a large world, comparable in size to early Ultima series", plus the ability to "fight enemies from other Atari 2600 games."

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Gamespot news story indicating that the console (PS2 and Xbox) versions of Star Wars Galaxies are now on hold. Although they were announced at E3 in 2002, and may appear eventually, a Lucasarts spokesman said of the MMORPG: "We are currently focusing all of our efforts on the successful launch of the PC version of Star Wars Galaxies." Meanwhile, the Star Wars Galaxies official site at its publisher, Sony, has links to some new mini-previews and E3-released gameplay movies from this title, which also has a thorough fanpage at RPGPlanet.

Thanks to the forum regulars at Gaming Age for pointing out online reports that a company called inXile, headed by Interplay's ex-CEO Brian Fargo, has acquired the license to the classic RPG The Bard's Tale from Electronic Arts. No news on when the title is due, but this Bard's Tale page has further facts which seem to back up this hypothesis. Interestingly, Fargo was a designer on the original Bard's Tale, which was developed by Interplay back in 1987.

So the E3 Expo in Los Angeles is finally done, and we wrap up our coverage with a look at the best of the other booths at the show, from Activision through Take Two to Eidos. Plus, we take a quick trawl round the evil troglodytic dungeon that is the Kentia Hall, deep below the main expanses of E3. Read on for info on virtual ping-pong, Starsky And Hutch, and Futurama....

Slashdot Games is still camped out at E3 in Los Angeles, and having finished hands-on reports on the Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo booths, we're going on to look at some of the other major exhibitors. Next up is Sega, so read on for more info about new Phantasy Star Online, Sonic, Worms, and Virtual On titles, plus the rather smart Billy Hatcher with his Giant Egg.

Thanks to the nice people at Gamespot, we have an in-depth look at the first expansion to Neverwinter Nights - Shadows Of Undrentide. This add-on to the popular PC RPG title, which ships in the US on June 17th, is easily classified as 'more of a good thing', with an all-new story, prestige classes to extend your character's abilities, and the vital Bigby's Crushing Hand spell. You can find more info on the official Shadows Of Undrentide site.

darknight17 writes "The unofficial Final Fantasy Online site has just finally finished its Top 25 Squaresoft games by featuring the Top 5 titles. Here are the other picks - 25 to 21, 20 to 16, 15 to 11, and 10 to 6, as chosen by fans in the Final Fantasy and RPG community." There's also a 'hidden gems' section in each part of the countdown, highlighting overlooked titles like Einhänder and Bahamut Lagoon - neat.

It seems that Gamespot has an exclusive look at Thief III, the latest in the stealth action FPS series from Looking Glass Studios and now Ion Storm Austin. The PC and Xbox game shares an engine with the other new Ion Storm project, Deus Ex: Invisible War (also previewed on Gamespot recently), hence similarly advanced AI and use of dynamic shadows, but claims much more focused gameplay goals compared to DX2, as well as its markedly different medieval setting. Looks like this new Thief could continue the Looking Glass tradition in fine style.

According to Gamespot, who have exclusive details and a single piece of concept art up, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines has been announced for PC, courtesy of publisher Activision and developer Troika Games (of Arcanum and former Fallout-involvement fame.) Quite apart from the excellent RPG pedigree of the team working on it, this is an FPS blend which is the first announced third-party title to utilise Valve's Source Engine, as being used in the gorgeous-looking Half-Life 2.

StephenLegge asks: "I'm a 33 year old computer programmer and I have not played video games since X-Wing came out. My wife is going away to visit her mom for a *month* and I'm thinking about getting a video game or two -- but I hardly even know where to start!" What games out there would you recommend for a non-gamer, especially those must-play-because-they-are-the-greatest games that are out there? We wouldn't want Stephen to miss out.

John Callaham writes "HomeLAN gives its brief but hands-on impressions of Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel, based on playing a build of the upcoming Interplay PS2/XBox console action game at last week's VUGames press event." There are also further impressions and screenshots of this title at Gamespot. While this new Fallout title has been vilified on Fallout fan sites for ignoring the more in-depth RPG leanings of its classic predecessors, those people who love the original PC series can at least now download the Fallout 2 editor from the Black Isle site.

The list of games to be shown at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles next month is rapidly increasing, and this Eurogamer feature has a round-up of what's been announced so far. There's always plenty of new titles and surprises, and this year is no exception. A notable list comes from Sega, and includes the Sonic Team title Billy Hatcher And The Giant Egg for Gamecube, more spiky hedgehog action with Sonic Heroes for GC/PS2/XBox, as well as Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D Revolution, a card battle RPG for GC that continues the successful franchise. Another major company showcasing its line-up is Nintendo, who has an E3 preview page that includes the now two-seater Mario Kart: Double Dash for GC and the eagerly awaited Advance Wars 2 for Gameboy Advance, as well as several Nintendo-bound Final Fantasy titles in association with Square/Enix. More updates as we get them.

Several readers have pointed out the announcement (Gamespot story) of a new PC MMORPG from Microsoft, centered around Norse mythology and called "Mythica." There's a detailed preview on Gamespy which expands greatly on the press release and includes some first looks at in-game and concept art. A title to watch for 2004?