Long-lost action-platformer Malice rears its head again today for the first time in over 12 months, with new screenshots and confirmation of a March release date.

It was three years ago that the Argonaut-developed game first came to the world's attention when, along with Munch's Oddysee, it was used as a demo for the Xbox when the machine was first unveiled by Microsoft. It quickly became one of the most anticipated console games around and, after numerous delays, a November 2002 release was announced. And then... nothing.

Well, after it looked at one point as if Vivendi were going to publish the title, it's now been picked up by the little-known Evolved Games and has been given the somewhat revised release date of March. The 29-level game (which actually began life as a PSone title, which just goes to show how long it's been knocking around) throws you into a variety of unique environments, from the Orrery (the gigantic clockwork heart of the universe, natch) to the toxic river basin of Gloop River.

Meanwhile, your character, the eponymous Malice, is a "hammer-wielding, pig-tailed demi-goddess with a mission to destroy an enormous dog deity". Or so it says here. Malice herself can earn eight different powers during the adventure, which she'll clearly need in order to take on the seven different dog god bosses.

We'll know whether Malice has been worth the wait when it's released in March for PS2 and Xbox