According to multiple sources, IGN claims that they have received unofficial confirmation from two independent parties that Bungie's multi million selling franchise is getting ready for prime time early 2007. Of course Microsoft itself refused to decline, as they do with every unofficial statement, but that does not mean it is untrue. Curious is though how Microsoft would forego the holiday sales frenzy in favor of its 3rd party publisher, but then again, any time of the year is good for Halo.

Tomorrow Big Huge Games will release a demo for its upcoming RTS sequel Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends, promising to immerses players in a unique new fantasy world embroiled in an epic war between the forces of Magic and Technology. The 600mb demo will include campaign and skirmish modes and be available Friday March 31st, at 9am PST. We will of course have it available on our fileserver network as soon as it's released.

Penny Arcade today revealed the musical lineup for its PAX gaming fest, August 25th-27th. Artists expected to participate include architect of hip-hop culture Mike Relm, along with returning musical guests The Minibosses, MC Frontalot, Optimus Rhyme, The Video Game Pianist, and the Neskimos.

Xenosaga Episode III will take place one year after the end of Episode II. The game will once again focus on the adventures of the series' main character Shion and her friends.

From March 31 through April 2 Xbox 360 owners invited to jump into 72 hours of free action-packed Xbox Live multiplayer online gaming courtesy of Verizon. Microsoft has plenty of events scheduled, from Game with Fame with Kamal from The Roots in NBA 2K6, to competing against the Fragdolls in Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. Read more for details ...

Okami depicts a stark world devoid of color that the player must return to its natural state. In Okami, color represents the life blood of the land and sucking this life are supernatural monsters that inhabit the surrounding areas.

Various online outlets are reporting that several movie studios are cancelling their UMD support due to disappointing sales. Two major studios halted all UMD support while others are debating scaling back production, and Wal-Mart is said to be taking UMDs off the shelves. Universal Studios calls it, "[A]wful. Sales are near zilch. It's another Sony bomb -- like Blu-ray." Sony wants to reinvigorate interest by discussing plans for making the PSP able to connect to TV sets.

Rush for Berlin is a tactical real time strategy game, set on the European battlefields of World War II, during 1944-45. The player's goal; to capture the German capital, as either the British/US/French alliance or the Red army of the Soviet Union.

Condemned: Criminal Origins allows players to experience an unnatural level of psychological tension as they use their instincts, forensic tools, and melee combat to track serial killers and bring them to justice. This demo allows you to try one mission were you have to investigate a murder and chase down a suspect.

Namco Bandai Games announced today that Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked for the PS2 has gone gold. Based on the TV series running on Cartoon Network’s adult swim block, Samurai Champloo introduces a truly innovative fighting system that unleashes samurai hack-and-slash combos hinged on the hip hop soundtrack of the gamers’ choosing.

Solar Studios and Hollywood-based Tricor Entertainment are pleased to announce Renegades of Spacewell, a blockbuster Hollywood-style action game with related film properties.

Another Thursday, 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:

• Far Cry Instincts Evolution/Predator (Xbox/Xbox 360)
• Top Spin 2 (NDS/GBA/X360)
• Capcom Classics Collection Remixed (PSP)
• Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble (PSP)
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new announcements become available. Read more for details...

Pac-Man World Rally is a kart racing game putting you behind the wheel as Pac-Man or one of 14 other classic Namco characters racing for the checkered flag while using unique power-ups and items to prevent their opponents from claiming victory.

Alexey's Dwice is a game of action matching where you are on a race against the clock to save a village from an impending avalanche. Match together the icy blocks that are the same shape or isolate them from their chilly friends to eliminate them from the board.

Galactic Civilizations II takes place in the distant future, when mankind has become a space-faring civilization and must contend with other extraterrestrial powers for domination of the galaxy. This demo allows you to play as the human race, all weapons unlocked, 3 year (~140 turn) limit on gameplay, no campaign, no metaverse, no tutorials.

Namco Bandao Games America announced today that Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War has gone gold. Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War thrusts players back in time, 15 years before the events of Ace Combat 5, and reveals the events that led up to the last chapter of the franchise.

Paraworld combines a setting never seen before with personalized unit management, bringing new life to the real-time strategy genre. Modern elements blend with primeval conditions in a long forgotten, incredibly beautiful prehistoric world. Creatures long extinct come to life once more, a constant danger to anyone living in the area.

In Crashday your task is to scrap your vehicle with breathtaking stunts or to wreck cars in aggressive street races, showing your opponents that they made a fatal mistake in choosing you as their enemy. Atari has released the first patch for the German/UK edition of the game (thanks speedmaniacs). This v1.1 patch addresses various compatibility issues, functionality and bug fixes and adds a few new features.

From Western Europe to the Pacific, players test their air-combat skills as they experience the most famous battles of World War II in up to 40 WWII aircraft. Ubisoft has released a singleplayer demo allowing you to try out a tutorial and one mission.

Majorem announced that it has partnered with a third party to provide its MMORTS to players around the world. As a result Ballerium will launch again tomorrow, Friday March 31. Similar to previous setups, up to 2,000 players are expected to race for the control of the world Ballerium, and joining the game will be free at this stage.