The New Year brings news for all

1999 has finally arrived. This will be a year to remember in the computer gaming industry. Many companies will be making New Year's resolutions to help them stay competitive in the business, giving gamers better games. One more year will bring us into the new Millenium, a reason for both hope and dread. Here's hoping...

The News since January 1, 1999:

• Microsoft has officially announced that they will acquire FASA Interactive and its parent company, Virtual Worlds. The move comes unexpectedly after months of consideration. This now means that Microsoft adds another piece to its puzzle: the giant robot Battletech franchise, which includes MechCommander and MechWarrior.

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• There will be a sequel to Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines from Eidos. The sequel, titled Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty, will be released to stores sometime in March. There will be eight new missions, locations in Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean world, larger maps, topnotch graphics, plus more and better weapons and vehicles.

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• BankHeist, the anticipated action game from Ice Pick Games, has been delayed. It was previously thought it would be released in the second quarter of 1999. It won't be released until Christmas, or maybe even the first quarter of 2000. The main reason for the delay is due to a reworking of the in-depth cut-scenes.

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• The Ultima Online trial is done, at least for now. It seemed to be settled when Electronic Arts donated $15,000 to The Tech, a new museum in San Jose, California. The money will go to assist the education of children in the area. The conclusion of the lawsuit seems to have come a little too quickly, and both sides are still bickering. Will this ongoing soap opera ever end?

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• Great news for Macintosh fans: idSoftware has announced they will develop Quake III: Arena for the platform. And that's not all! Starcraft, Age of Empires, Heretic 2, Sin, Falcon 4.0, Interstate '76, Tomb Raider III, Unreal, and several other games will accompany Quake III to the Mac. The Macintosh may be behind the PC in game development, but it seems they are getting the best of the pick.

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• Computer game giant GT Interactive announced that it plans to acquire Legend Entertainment. One of Legend's larger projects is developing Unreal II. They'll have the opportunity to work along with the original developers, Epic MegaGames. GT Interactive has also reigned in Justin Chin's company Infinite Machine to a publishing deal. Infinite plans on developing a revolutionary action shooter.

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