Vivendi Universal Games announced today that development of its upcoming PC real-time strategy game based on J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring (War of the Ring) has been completed. In War of the Ring, massive battles erupt as the Men, Elves, Dwarves, and Hobbits of Middle-earth battle Sauron's minions. Players can choose to play as the forces of good and valiantly fight for the One Ring's destruction or assume command of the forces of evil to claim control over Middle-earth forever.

The Battlefield 1942 team has made a new community update, unfortunatly with some bad news regarding the upcoming 1.5 patch. The BF1942 v1.5 patch won’t make it out this week, the reason for the delay is that they want to make sure that it reaches you in top condition and that the cd swap fix they've been working on has proven trickier than first anticipated. The rest of the bug fixes are in place and The Invasion of the Philippines map is just about ready to go (promised "late October", which would be about right now).

Brought to you by the C&C Generals team, the second bonus map for C&C Generals: Zero Hour. This new multiplayer map is called 'Moutain Fox' and is said to have a unique layout should please the team players out there. Read more for details and download links ...

Beware! Your Sims have Magic! In The Sims Makin’ Magic Expansion Pack, your Sims are granted magical powers to cast playful or mischievous spells. Venture to an all-new magical, carnival-themed destination, experience exciting new gameplay, gain over 175 new items, and encounter a whole new cast of quirky characters in this powerful pack of magical high jinx. See what happens when the fate of the Sims is challenged and magic spells are cast with good or bad intentions. In The Sims Makin’ Magic, expect the unexpected. Check the new magical screens & trailer ...

Firaxis Games and Atari are excited to announce that the second expansion pack to the greatest strategy game of all time has gone gold. Sid Meier's Civilization III: Conquests will arrive in stores across North America November 4th and in Europe November 14th. Civ Conquests takes players on a provocative journey through the ages as they pursue victory in the most famous adventures in history.

You are Paul de Raque, Knight of the Temple, as you set out on a holy crusade across a forbidding, mediaeval Europe to join your order in the Holy Land. Armed with your sword, axe, bow and shield, you must fight with all your strength to complete your journey, for saving the future of the world is your ultimate goal! The core of the game is medieval style fighting with the classical weapons of European knights, coupled with stunning graphics of the historical milieus of the 12th century crusades. Check the new screens ...

Nival has released a patch for their recently released Etherlords 2. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.01 and adresses/fixes accidental single-player crashes, disconnections from the master-server, some single/multiplayer additions and balances the Pale Knight creature depriving it of LifeTap ability (thanks RPGDot). Read more for details and download links ...

Wartime Command: Battle For Europe 1939-1945 is the stunning World War II tactical real time strategy game from Russian developers 1C Company in Russia. The game development project has been retitled from Battlefield Command to give it prominence in a cluttered market of similar product brands. Wartime Command will launch for PC in the spring of 2004. Read more for some new screens ...

Microsoft Game Studios today announced that Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna has gone gold. Legends of Aranna, the expansion pack to the award-winning action fantasy role-playing game Dungeon Siege, whisks adventurers away to the distant land of Aranna, where new foes and new challenges await. The Legends of Aranna expansion pack, which also includes the full version of the original Dungeon Siege, will be available in North America on November 12 for an estimated retail price of $29.95 (U.S.).

Konami has now released a demo for their upcoming third-person survival/horror adventure Silent Hill 3. No specific details are known as what this demo features, apart from the fact that it is multilanguage and HUGE (thanks 4Players.de). Read more for download links ...

Pro Evolution Soccer 3 represents a mammoth step forward for the series, with every aspect of the game massively reworked, with new player models, on and off the ball moves and key additions to the Master League incorporated into the new game. Konami has released a playable demo for their upcoming soccer title, no specific details are available as to what is included in this demo.

The Ultimate Gamers Expo (UGE) today announced that the Expo will make its debut August 20th-22nd, 2004 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Ultimate Gamers Expo is the first-ever massive gaming festival for the general public where attendees can “test drive” the hottest upcoming and current games, participate in competitions and experience the action that, until now, only game industry insiders have been exposed to.

Curse: The Eye of Isis centers on Darien Dane and his assistant, Victoria Sutton as they investigate the disappearance of an ancient sacred Egyptian statue. Protected by an evil curse, the statue causes madness (or violent death) to those who come in contact with it. Darien must battle hordes of zombies and evil mummies to find this statue and return it to its pyramid home before total carnage ensues. Read more for some new xbox screens & trailer ...

SEGA Europe today launched a competition to find the 'Official Worms 3D Fansite'. Sponsored by Packard Bell and NVIDIA, the competition is now live and will run from now until 28th November 2003, when the winners will be announced.

The follow up game to the popular Budokai game is coming to the PS2 this December. Budokai has a new look with its sleak Cell Shaded characters and environments. Fast and furious action that holds true to the original Budokai. All new game modes and options. Be prepared for one intense fighting game. Check the 30+ new screens ...

JoWood has released a demo for KritzelKratz 3000's 3D management/strategy game Railroad Pioneer. With the creation of the transatlantic railway, built with blood, sweat and tears into the murderous wilderness in 1869, the American dream of freedom and prosperity was finally to be fulfilled. This demo features a tutorial and one mission, "Pennsylvania", from the full game (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Max Gaming Technologies announced today the launch of Dark Horizons: Lore Open Beta. Applications taken at the official Dar Dark Horizons: Lore website. Max Gaming is opening a thousand seat beta test for Lore to engage a broad player audience in testing the game. Lore will use a persistent character technology to track and meta map the development of the game space. In addition to testing the backend technologies the player community will be invited in this early release to being collaborating with the game developers on possible sanctioned mods for the game.

At the heart of Gladius is a unique mix of dynamic game play that requires players to develop and manage a school of gladiators who, over time, gain experience, learn new skills, improve their abilities and finally test their might in epic battles. Players fight with deadly weapons and powerful magic, learn vital combat tactics, and enhance and customize characters... Check out new Xbox & Gamecube screens ...

Secret Weapons Over Normandy presents a dynamic, deeply engaging story-driven flight action experience that puts players in control of authentic World War II aircraft and challenges them to undertake the war's most dangerous missions. Read more to check some airborne screens ...

Ubisoft held a Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time community chat with Jordan Mechner, Creative Consultant & creator of the original Prince of Persia games. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time takes place within an exotic, mysterious world representing Persian architecture, animals and attire. This chat was moderated by Ubi Soft, but the questions asked were submitted throughout the chat. Read more for the full transcript ...