Activision and Infinity Ward announced plans today to wage a campaign of new content for its WWII-based FPS Call of Duty 2 with the release of nine multiplayer maps on Xbox Live online gaming service. The first four maps (2 free, 2 paying) will be available for download this spring, and the remaining five maps (paying) will be released in July.

Eidos Interactive announced today that it is bringing Tomb Raider: Legend on all current Nintendo platforms, and will faithfully capture the detail and breadth of Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Legend currently available on other platforms.

Delivering on the franchise's compelling story, unrivaled authenticity and intense squad-based action, Brothers In Arms Hell's Highway drops you into Operation Market-Garden, the largest airborne operation of World War II.

Act of War: High Treason is an expansion pack for the near-future, geopolitical techno-thriller RTS, Act of War: Direct Action. Atari has released an update version of the first patch, no content changes just different installer and copy protection implementation.

SNK announced today that the company will develop games for Nintendo's Wii and for the Nintendo DS, starting with Metal Slug Anthology and SNK VS Capcom Card Fighters DS.

The furious battle of Pearl Harbor became the first in the sequence of gory sea combats. Now you can take part in all major Pacific battles of the World War II in the Pacific Storm game that is a mixture of RTS, war-game and simulator. This demo features a tutorial, 2 missions and a few multiplayer maps in air simulator mode.

Ubisoft announced the development of a new PS3 exclusive video game franchise: Assassin's Creed, combining compelling new gameplay, superb graphics, and an immersive and sophisticated storyline to deliver an epic experience that will launch the action genre into the next generation and beyond.

Take command in this dynamic turn-based game and test strategies that long-past generals and world leaders could only dream of: make it happen in Gary Grigsby’s World at War. In addition to TCP/IP Play and cross-compatibility, this update fixes dozens of minor bugs and makes dozens more improvements to the user interface.

Softwrap today announced that it has partnered with Funcom, to provide it with antipiracy technology, allowing them to sell games directly from their eStore and through any of their affiliates, starting with Dreamfall: The Longest Journey.

Last month Bethesda's PR guru Pete Hines revealed that a patch for the X360/PC editions of TES4: Oblivion was in the works, fixing a number of issues that they found or were reported by the community. Since then it has been quiet on the progress but Pete finally confirmed that a beta patch will be released this week, and if all goes well (meaning no major bugs pop up), the final patch should be released in a few weeks.

Codemasters today announces an original next-generation title with the signing of Overlord from Age of Wonders developer Triumph Studios. Overlord is a groundbreaking action adventure, set in a seriously warped fantasy world.

Turbine announced today that Keith Baker, the original creator of the Dungeons & Dragons Eberron campaign setting, will pen additional storylines and works of fiction for Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach.

Atari today announced the development of Dungeons & Dragons: Tactics for the PSP, which authentically utilises the D&D 3.5 rule-set created by Wizards of Coast, and allows players to take a party of six adventurers into a wide variety of dangerous environments to experience deep and exciting turn-based action.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Dark Crusade will feature two new playable races, the Tau Empire and the Necrons, bringing the number of totally unique races to an unprecedented seven.

Army of Two will throw gamers into hot spots ripped from current day headlines where they will utilize unique TWO man strategies and tactics while seamlessly transitioning between playing with intelligent Partner AI (PAI) and a live player. When one man is not enough, it will take an army of two to fight through war, political turmoil and a conspiracy so vast it threatens the entire world.

Check out the following new screens from Namco Bandai's E3 2006 lineup:

• Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception (PSP) - Features & Screens
• The Fast & The Furious (PSP/PS2) - Features & Screens
• .Hack//G.U. (PS2) - Features & Screens
• Hellgate: London - Features & Screens
• Legend of Heroes II (PSP) - Features & Screens
• Mage Knight: Apocalypse - Features & Screens
• Mobile Ops: The One Year War (X360) - Features & Screens
• Naruto: Ultimate Ninja (PS2) - Features & Screens
• One Piece: Grand Adventure (PS2) - Features & Screens
• Pac-Man World Rally (PSP/NGC/PS/PC) - Features & Screens
• Snoopy vs. The Red Baron (PSP/PS2/PC) - Features & Screens
• Tekken: Dark Resurrection (PSP) - Features & Screens
• Warhammer: Mark of Chaos - Features & Screens
• Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra (PS2) - Features & Screens
• Zatch Bell! Mamodo Fury (PS2) - Features & Screens

Atari announced today that its heart-stopping survival experience AITD will be presented in a TV action dramas like episodic fashion. Alone in the Dark will be split into a number of distinct episodes in a season-style format, with cliffhangers, scenes from next episode and so forth ...

Half-Life 2: Episode One, the first in series of episodic games from Valve, is now available for pre-purchase and pre-load via Steam. Those who pre-order the game before it is made available on June 1st will save 10% off the $19.95 price.

BFME 2 takes part in the North where a battle is raging between Sauron's forces vs. elves and dwarves. It will be possible to create/customize your own hero, apart from known figures such as Arwin, and become more powerful as you progress in the game. While BFME was all land based, the sequel will also take the action on the sea, naval battles included.

Mercury Meltdown features a new vibrant visual style, double the number of stages, a free-look camera, new ways to control your mercury “blob” and much more. Supporting up to two players, Mercury Meltdown offers many new modes for ultimate party-puzzle action, as well as game sharing capabilities, customization skins and downloadable content. Meltdown will be shown behind closed doors at E3 for one day.