Electronic Arts announced that it will distribute Rail Simulator for the PC in North America, offering players the opportunity to take charge of steam, diesel and electric trains on real routes in the UK and Germany.

SEGA is developing the video game adaptation of the theatrical movie release, The Golden Compass, based on the first book in the award-winning His Dark Materials trilogy, by British author Philip Pullman.

id Software and Fountainhead Entertainment announced today that the two developers have joined forces to create a new division of id Software, id Mobile, which will develop games for cell phones, the NDS and PSP.

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:

• Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (PSP)
• America's Army: True Soldiers (X360)
• Boogie (NDS/PS2)
• Close Combat: Modern Tactics (PC)
• Monster Jam (NDS/PS2/Wii/X360/PC)
• 
  We will update this throughout the day when new announcements become available. Read more for details ...

In No More Heroes, developed by Grasshopper, you play the role of Travis Touchdown, a hardcore anime fan who takes it upon himself to murder the top assassin's in the world, using the Wiimote to wield Travis' beam sword and kill off enemies in gruesome ways.

TimeShift is an FPS in which players control time to complete missions and defeat foes. The game will leverage the latest graphics technology to create a unique action game experience. This 'worldwide' v1.2 patch fixes "NAT traversal problem" so people behind NATs are able to see servers.

Hollywood studio Lionsgate is fast-tracking a movie based on the freshly acquired rights to Eidos' action game Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, according to Times Online. Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton are said to be in the running to play death row escapees, "flawed mercenary" Kane and "medicated psychopath" Lynch, respectively. Michael Bay of "The Transformers" has apparently signed on as the producer, with the script written by newcomer Kyle Ward.

As society succumbs to a worldwide energy crisis, a new global depression takes hold. Amidst this desperate backdrop, two superpower alliances emerge. Join the battle on the frontlines of tomorrow as the Western Coalition or the Red Star Alliance.

Vivendi confirmed that Terminal Reality is developing the title for PC, PS3 and X360 aimed primarily at the core gamer demographic, while Red Fly Studios is working on a more casual version for PS2, Wii and NDS. All four members of the movie team (Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Bill Murray and Harold Ramis) will lend their voices and likenesses to the game, which is set in the '90s after Ghostbusters II and currently scheduled for release in fall '08.

As the new blockbuster movie Beowulf from Paramount Pictures debuts in cinemas worldwide and Ubisoft's official game of the movie becomes available, work on 4HEAD Studios/3D-IO's independently developed game of same name has been suspended.

City Life 2008 Edition features 60 more buildings, bringing the total to 360, including famous structures such as St. Paul Cathedral, Royal Opera, etc. New scenarios, 10 new maps and an updated version of the editor allow you to import satellite maps, as well as import from applications such as World-Machine, or GeoControl.

Empire Earth III allows players to build and rule an empire from the ancient world to the distant future, battling it out across the globe through the eons in a bid for worldwide control, offering continuous free-form gameplay that will allow players to keep units from one battle to the next.

As the first title in an all-new sci-fi action franchise, Gearbox Software's Borderlands combines the best elements of first-person action titles with player customization and vehicular combat to create an unprecedented gaming experience.

It seems French developer Cyanide is not only working on bringing its Blood Bowl license to consoles, but also has several other titles in the works. Its recently opened Montreal, Canada studio is working on a new dynamic 3D animation engine, an add-on for its recent hack 'n' slash title Loki, and the Blood Bowl NDS version. The 2008 edition of the perennial Pro Cycling Manager will be released, as usual, just before the start of the Tour de France (June 2008).

Create your own daring experiments with Crazy Machines II! How will a toaster handle two whoopie cushions? How to watch TV with a steam engine? Build up insane chain reactions and pray that everything works or explodes with a big bang. This v1.01 patch improves the objective definition, overall performance, and multiplayer.

MMO Calendar is an annual, non-profit fund-raiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. With the help of some MMO developers, they have put together a calendar featuring original artwork from some favorite MMOs.

Rock Band allows you to perform famous rock music with your friends as a virtual band using drum, bass/lead guitar and microphone peripherals, in addition to offering online connectivity. Harmonix will release song packs ($5.49) and individual songs ($0.99 - $2.99), but there's no price on full albums yet. At launch, packs for The Police, Metallica and Queens of the Stone Age will be available as well as single songs from Creedence Clearwater Revival, Foreigner and T-Rex.

Keep your hands steady and your mind focused – this time around there's a lot more on the line. Every cut of the scalpel, every pinch of the forceps, each and every second that ticks by is of the absolute greatest importance.

Another day, another batch of game trailers was released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for:

• The Chronicles of Spellborn - Highlights Trailer
• Insecticide [NDS/PC] - Trailer #6
• Avencast: Rise of the Mage - Trailer #4
• Dead Island [X360/PC] - Multi Layer Damage System
• Penumbra: Black Plague - Trailer
• Mushroom Men [NDS/Wii] - Trailer #5
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Vivendi has released its financial results for the first nine months of the year, and reported, to no one's surprise, an increase of 7% compared to last year (10.9% in the last quarter). Vivendi Games' revenues in particular are up 49% compared to last year, racking up a rough $1 billion, primarily driven, like the past year or two, by World of Warcraft, which has recently launched in China and now counts over 9 million subscribers.