Hey, gang, the Milkman here with a basket full o' tidbitties from the land of the rising sun. A lot of good news for Dreamcast owners, and a teeny bit of semi-retro action from the aging gray box, the PlayStation. Eat it up, kids, it's a mouthful!

　　Eternal ArcadiaProject Ares, the semi-secret software currently being developed by the Phantasy Star team, has officially been confirmed as Eternal Arcadia. Graphically, the game looks stunning, easily on par with the graphics found in Final Fantasy VIII, except the entire game is rendered in real time. The three main characters (Vyse, Aika and Fina) are "pirates" who travel through the skies, getting into all sorts of adventures on islands in the "Big Sky." Further details will be forthcoming shortly.

　　Rent-A-Hero No. 1Old school Mega Drive "mascot" and Fighter's Megamix superstar, Rent-A-Hero is coming back to the Dreamcast in his own 3D RPG adventure. Long rumored to be making its way back to the ranks of the alive and well, Rent-A-Hero had been the focus of a months-long retro history by the Japanese Dreamcast Magazine. Now its been revealed that Rent-A-Hero No. 1, the title of the new game, will take form in the manner of an action-RPG, with some sort of fighting engine, possibly based on the Spikeout (Model 3 arcade brawler) game engine. It is unconfirmed whether AM2 and Yu Suzuki, the originators of the first title, are responsible for the new one. More on this as we get it. Let's hope this will be a superb return to form for this obscure character.

　　Densha De Go 2-3000Taito's train simulator, Densha De Go 2-3000, or, Let's Go By Train 2, is 40 percent complete, and should be shipping for the Dreamcast sometime this winter.

　　Maken X updateWork on this first-person sword-slashing adventure from Atlus is coming along nicely, with a new set of enemies and areas being fitted into place. New information indicating a positional surround system to alert you to the presence of enemies out of sight has also emerged. Maken X might be the first title to take particular advantage of the Dreamcast's powerful sound processor. This sound system will be highlighted in a commercial advertising Maken X in Japan. The commercial will air in September. The optimal position to view this commercial is directly in front of the television, with your sound system in stereo. Maken X is scheduled to ship in Japan this November. A US release is still undetermined.

　　EvolutionAccording to a Ubi Soft spokesperson, Evolution - the company's recently acquired RPG - which was developed by Japanese coders Sting, will indeed be compatible with Sega's VGA box. Unfortunately, the import version was not coded for compatibility with the VGA box. This means that gamers couldn't use it with a PC monitor, thereby denying those with the peripheral the pleasure of playing it in super hi-resolution. Good things come to those who wait, however, and the American release will supposedly support it. Hurrah!

　　D2Despite rumors on the Internet suggesting otherwise, D2 is tentatively on schedule for release in Japan this December 23. Spanning four discs, the game is currently 70 percent complete.

　　Black Matrix A/DNEC's much-hyped (in Japan at least) strategy-RPG for the Sega Saturn will be released in enhanced form, and spread over two discs, for the Dreamcast this September. Gamers wanting to play this title on the Saturn have most had a hard time finding one, since it was initially released in very limited quantities. Perhaps it will be different this time around. No word on a US publisher yet.

　　Pop 'N Music 2This September, you too will be able to play Konami's second edition of its completely underwhelming Simon-says music-title, Pop 'N Music 2. The first game, released only months ago, was an exact replica of the PlayStation version, which was a pixel-perfect copy of the arcade game. The arcade game was a 32-bit Beatmania-esque excursion into tempo-matching foolhardiness. Let's hope Konami has no illusions of bringing this title here, but for gamers jonesing for the second coming, Pop 'N Music 2 will debut on September 14 in import shops across the country.

　　Jumping Flash: Robbit Mon DieuA bit of PlayStation fun here. Jumping Flash fans rejoice. Sugar & Rockets, developer of the original Jumping Flash games, is set to return with Robbit Mon Dieu, the latest episode in the robotic rabbit saga. The game is scheduled to ship on October 14. Graphically, the game remains largely the same, while adding a slewof PocketStation games, similar to those found in Pocket Muu Muu, Sugar & Rocket's previous game.