The Sims 2 Pets allows players to create and control digital characters throughout their lives while determining the outcome of their relationships and choosing their destiny. Each platform will feature customized content.

EA today announced that best-selling fantasy author R.A. Salvatore will keynote the Dark Age of Camelot Roundtable Fan Gathering this September. Salvatore’s books have sold more than fifteen million copies and include the beloved series The Hunter’s Blades Trilogy, Icewind Dale Trilogy, and The Dark Elf Trilogy.

Since Troika is no longer amongst the living this patch is not official, so use at your own discretion. This update brings Activision's Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines retail game to v2.8 (requires v1.2 patch installed) and addresses a number of known issues, gameplay tweaks, bug fixes and so forth (thanks 3DGamers).

SEGA today announced Sonic Riders is being developed for the PC and will ship this holiday season. Sonic Riders takes gamers on an electrifying ride on air boards at break-neck speeds through a wide variety of tracks. Catching massive air and pulling off insane aerial tricks will power up players against their opponents in a race to the finish line.

F.E.A.R. is a paranormal action thriller presented entirely in first person. It is an unprecedented adrenaline rush of close quarters combat seamlessly melded with the spine-tingling, shocking intensity of the unknown.

EA today announced the acquisition of Phenomic Game Development, known for The Settlers and SpellForce. EA Phenomic, based in Ingelheim, Germany, now becomes EA's newest studio in Europe, with a creative team dedicated to developing RTS games for the PC, console and online.

Scarface is a third person action shooter now coming for the first time to game consoles & PC worldwide. In a complex world filled with excess and greed, players can take the role of Tony Montana, one of the most ruthless gangsters ever depicted on film.

Today Ubisoft announced that it will publish Gameloft's Asphalt: Urban GT 2, a driving simulation game for the PSP and NDS, developed by Virtuos and Game Source.

Joint Task Force is a story of modern war where players match superior tactics and military technology against dangerous unconventional forces around the globe. This single-player demo includes 2 missions, neutralize a Somalian port with a small force of infantry specialists and head deep into the Columbian jungle to smash a heavily armed cartel.

Eidos Interactive and TT Games confirm a new LEGO adventure in Bionicle Heroes, bringing to life the most powerful and exciting LEGO characters ever seen in one game, in an action-packed world of adventure and discovery.

Techland announced today that next week it will release a MP demo for its FPP Wild West themed shooter Call of Juarez MP. The demo will contain two game modes – Skirmish and Robbery located in typical Old West’s towns and players will be able to impersonate both outlaws and sheriffs and play in two available classes for each team, as a Gunslinger or a Rifleman.

Blizzard has released a small update for its MMORPG World of Warcraft. This v1.12 update balances various character classes, adds user interface and battlegrounds fixes, as well as several other tweaks.

In Company of Heroes gamers will experience the journey of the brave men of Able Company in a deep single-player campaign that begins with the invasion of Normandy through their fight across Europe, all set against the most dynamic, and completely destructible, battlefield ever seen in a game. This demo includes a tutorial and 2 missions.

Hospital Tycoon is a medical-themed God game in which players are put in charge of hectic hospital facilities that are constantly on the verge of crisis and collapse. Players are challenged to run, maintain, enhance and expand the hospitals while turning any chaotic situation around using ingenious management techniques.

Midway today announced that 4-time Super Bowl champion, Bill Romanowski, will join Hall of Famer, Lawrence Taylor, as co-cover athlete of Blitz: The League. Bill Romanowski will also be featured as the voice and personality of one of the League's most hated linebackers, Bruno Batagglia.

Ship Simulator 2006 puts you at the helm of some of the most varied and detailed ships to be found at sea, where they will need to perform a multitude of tasks, all set within a stunning 3D environment. This update brings your retail game to v1.3 and adds the NY harbor, new AI ships, helicopters and airplanes, new static vessels and much, much more.

Stronghold Legends builds on the fantastic Stronghold heritage with beautifully crafted visuals and the epic legends of the middle ages. It features a range of new innovations including, three unique castle styles to build, three landscapes to fight across, spectacular magic themes, fearsome monsters to overcome, a completely new strategic conquest style of play, and a range of exciting new multiplayer modes.

Another day, another batch of games shipped to stores. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are announcements for:

• Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle (PC)
• Madden NFL 07 (GBA/NDS/PSP/PS2/NGC/Xbox/X360/PC)
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  We will update this throughout the day when new announcements become available. Read more for details ...

JoWooD Productions continues its successful cooperation with the German developer Piranha Bytes by publishing one of the most spectacular titles of the coming year: Gothic III, the third part of the legendary RPG saga.

Eidos Interactive can confirm the line-up of titles on show at this years Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany. Seven titles will be on display, Kane and Lynch: Dead Men (only behind closed doors), Just Cause, Age of Conan, Justice League Heroes and a few others ...