The dream ticket
Advance orders for Sega's Dreamcast passed the 200,000 mark this week, a month before its US release. The 100,000 pre-orders for the first PlayStation suddenly look pretty measly. Arch-rival Sony tried to raise its profile by announcing that the follow-up to the PlayStation will be called... the PlayStation Something. That is to say, the new platform's title has yet to be finalised, but will definitely contain PlayStation. Clever money among Blankety Blank veterans is on "PlayStation 2000".
Voodoo child
The company 3dfx has confirmed a release date of October for its Voodoo 4 PC graphics card. The card's chief selling point is something called "T-Buffer" technology, which, says 3dfx, will allow visual effects comparable with the stuff you see in Hollywood block busters. It also promises full-scene anti-aliasing - in layman's terms, an end to those annoying jagged edges in 3D games. At last, Lara Croft comes into her own.
Olympic game
Interplay has unveiled a real-time strategy game called Invictus: In the Shadow of Olympus. With elements cherry-picked from every corner of Ancient Greek culture, historical accuracy won't be its strong point, but the battleground promises to be fun, letting you pit humans against harpies and heroes against Gorgons. Could be a big multiplayer hit.
Just landed
The first game written specifically for Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) format was released this week in the States. Psygnosis's Lander is a mission-based space adventure, with eight-player capability, Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and MPEG-2 cutscenes. It will also be available (with less impressive sound and video) on CD-Rom, however, so don't feel obliged to shell out for that DVD drive just yet.
Fair play
Like computer games? Female? Feel underrepresented? A new site at www.womengamers.com offers daily gaming news, features and reviews from a woman's perspective, as well as on-line ordering. Registered users of the service will be able to post news and game reviews, and are eligible to win prizes. However, WomenGamers.com does not discriminate - men are welcome to sign up too.
