Inon Zur is writing the musical score for NCsoft's new online action game Exteel. Zur has composed music for titles such as PoP: Warrior Within, Men Of Valor, Socom II and Champions of Norrath: Realms of EverQuest, and his orchestral scores are featured in the promotional trailers for movies such as Kingdom Of Heaven, The Pacifier and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Pro Cycling Manager will have more detailed animations, an experience system, stage editor and also several multiplayer modes. Cyanide Studio is using the GameBryo engine, and the Paris-based developer of Chaos League has also recently licensed SpeedTree for use in Pro Cycling Manager.

Shrapnel Games has released an updated demo for Spue Games' naval combat game Salvo!. This demo allows you to check out four tutorials, and a full campaign and has been updated with the latest Gold code, including various fixes and adjustments. Read more for download links ...

Deep Silver and Phantagram reunite to launch Kingdom Under Fire: Heroes, the enhanced sequel to last years highly acclaimed action packed strategy title for the Xbox, Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders. After an incredibly successful E3, KUFH is ready to make its presence felt in the UK when it releases in late September 2005.

EA and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have announced that the Batman Begins videogame hits retail shelves nationwide today for the PS, Xbox, GameCube and Game Boy Advance. The game, based on the Warner Bros. Pictures film Batman Begins and DC Comics' legendary character, is rated "T for Teen."

The Adventure Company today announced ECHO: Secrets of the Lost Cavern has gone gold in North America. ECHO: Secrets of the Lost Cavern lets you delve into a world of exploration and intrigue as you embark on a quest filled with puzzles and mystery. This unique adventure game will ship to retailers June 21, 2005.

NetDevil announced today the upcoming merging of European and American servers for its space combat MMG Jumpgate. The move results from the discontinuance of Mightygames as NetDevil's European partner.

Namco today announced that Arc The Lad: End of Darkness" has shipped to retail outlets throughout North America for the PS2. Arc The Lad: End of Darkness features the series' first real-time combat system and cooperative and competitive online gameplay.

Vivendi today announced the acquisition of independent game developer Swordfish Studios, recently responsible for Cold Winter. Under terms of the agreement, VU Games will retain Swordfish Studios’ U.K.-based team of 45 development professionals. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Ubi Soft has yet again released new patches for 1C Maddox's WW2 flight sim Pacific Fighters. This update brings your retail game to v4.01 (for both the standalone and merged installations) and addsa new flight model, new aircraft, new AI, new maps and plenty more. Read more for download links.

Black & White 2 includes other new elements, such as improved graphics and Miracle effects such as rivers of fire and earthquakes that yield mass destruction. The game also includes weather systems that impact gameplay; players will see the impact of a drought that scorches the arid plains of Egypt or the effect of a heavy snowfall on the Norse Mountains.

Bioware has released the final patch for their 3D role-playing game Neverwinter Nights, and both its addons Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.66 and adds a new test module to the Aurora Toolset, fixes various issues and crashes, as well as several game balancing tweaks. Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

Coded Arms is a first person shooter in where you take the role of a computer hacker who infiltrates the abandoned virtual reality system. Gamers will use weapons and power-ups that they discover while exploring the expansive single player mode. Coded Arms will also utilize the PSP handheld system's wireless capabilities for multiplayer action for up to four people. Check the fresly launched Coded Arms website, or read more for some new screens ...

Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure combines combat, action, adventure and stealth, using a thrilling graffiti-driven framework to tell its story of self-expression and the fight for creative freedom. Atari's recent financial statement lists Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure PC and Xbox editions for 2006.

GMX Media today announced the release of its first console title Extreme 4x4. This is no typical racing game, it’s an action racing adventure which will give you the extreme thrill of racing at high speeds in dangerous territories with numerous reckless opponents!

EA has released the dedicated linux server for the recent demo for DICE's FPS sequel Battlefield 2. We reported earlier about EA banned modded servers from the master server list, and EA has finally issued a statement that this is indeed the case. "Because some server operators have hacked the time limit out of their servers or hacked access to the unlocks, we have been forced to reinforce our intended feature set by delisting the offending servers. All violations of the EULA as described above will result in a 1-week ban/delisting."

Valve's SteamPowered website has been updated with details regarding yet another update for Source SDK, fixing a number of connection problems to the backend of VAC2 (Valve's anti-cheat technology for game servers). VAC2 currently only runs on servers in the beta group, but will be active for all servers very soon.. Just restart Steam for the effects to take place.

Majorem regretably announces today that development of its MMO-RTS Ballerium has again come to a full stop, as a result of an agreement signed with Interplay's in December 2004 that could not be realized, apparently due to Interplay's inability to raise the required funding to turn Majorem's technology into a game. The agreement, signed in december was to see Interplay provide Majorem with the means to launch Ballerium this summer. As a result of this new situation, Majorem now considers to accept new offers for the licensing of its MMO-RTS technology (and an almost ready MMO-RTS game) to interested third parties. Inquiries can be sent to info@majorem.com

Frame City Killer is a next-generation action game for the Xbox 360. Featuring astoundingly detailed graphics powered by the Unreal Engine 3 and immersive, non-linear gameplay, Frame City Killer is set to deliver an intense gaming experience this holiday season in North America and Europe.