Microsoft Game Studios today announced that Rise of Nations has gone gold and is scheduled to ship to stores on 23rd May (UK) and May 20th (US). Virtual field commanders will soon get the opportunity to "Conquer the World" in single player, or lead their troops into battle online with this revolutionary real-time strategy (RTS) game from Brian Reynolds. To celebrate this milestone, gamers will be able to chat live with Reynolds on Zone.com today, 22nd April, at 1am GMT. For more information on the chat, check here .

Ubi Soft Entertainment and Alienware Corporation today announced details of a cross-promotional deal for Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield for the PC. The contest will offer consumers the chance to win online prizes, including a grand prize of an Alienware system with a copy of this highly anticipated sequel in the award-winning Rainbow Six series of games. The promotion will launch in April and continue through December 31st 2003.

In Squad Assault: West Front, you command troops in both the Allied and German Armies of the West Front of World War II in an immersive full 3-D continuous time environment. Squad Assault: West Front features detailed models for all the major armies that fought in France in 1944, including American, German, British, Canadian, and Free French. For those who prefer traditional turn-oriented play, a user defined auto-pause feature for order entry and battlefield assessment allows for a more thoughtful game. A 2D overhead map view with order entry is also available for those who prefer to see the battle from above. Check the new batch of screens ...

Inspired by its celebrated Secret Weapons series of classic World War II flight combat games, LucasArts' Secret Weapons Over Normandy brings the historic air battles of that era to PS2, Xbox, and PC this fall. 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. Check 4 new PS2 screens ...

Step into the world of SX Superstar, an ultra-realistic trip into the essence of supercross, chock full of smokin’ arcade-racing action that will release the rock star within. In SX Superstar, you are the star. Take your rider from the poorhouse to the penthouse in the only supercross title that focuses on the lifestyle aspect of professional supercross. Pull huge air and squash the comp for a big win, then line your pockets with cold, hard cash. Rake in enough bucks and start living the good life with better bikes, bigger houses and of course, hotter chicks! It’s like your life, only better! Check the PS2 & Xbox screens...

Gamers get ready to finalize war plans and ready the reinforcements as Valve's Day of Defeat has gone gold. The multiplayer action-packed WWII game pits players in Axis vs. Allies squad-based combat in Western Europe at the height of the war in 1944. Day of Defeat is powered by Valve's Half-Life technology and is the first title to be published by Activision, Inc. under its new strategic partnership with Valve. The title is scheduled for release this May.

SEGA Europe Ltd today announced the development of Headhunter: Redemption, a cinematic third-person action epic for the PlayStation2 and the Xbox . The title is in development by Amuze and is slated for release in North America and Europe in late 2003. The title will debut at the E3.

Russobit-M is glad to invite everybody to their booth # 6427 in Kentia Hall at the upcoming E3. Read more for their line up!

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe today announced the Winter 2003 release of Ghosthunter, an atmospheric action-adventure game developed for PlayStation 2 by SCEE Studio Cambridge, the Bafta Award winning developer behind Primal, C-12: Final Resistance and the MediEvil series.

Xbox today announced the launch of a Limited Edition Xbox, available across Europe from 2nd May, 2003. The stylish new console is translucent green, comes with two translucent green controllers and will retail for €229.99/£149.99. Set to be a collector's item, the Limited Edition Xbox will turn gamers green with envy. Style-conscious gamers who want all the power and great games that Xbox offers will be delighted with this mean, green machine and drawn to the clean white packaging it is supplied in.

Christopher Walken, Gary Oldman and Michael Madsen lead an all-star voice cast of top Hollywood talent in Activision, Inc.'s upcoming crime game True Crime: Streets of L.A. The actors were specially selected to add their distinctive voices and talents to True Crime: Streets of L.A.'s, vast line-up of gangsters, street hustlers, social deviants and reluctant heroes. True Crime: Streets of L.A., which will be available this fall for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox video game system from Microsoft and the Nintendo GameCube, has not yet been rated by the ESRB. A more comprehensive list of cast members follows below.

NCsoft is pleased to announce Guild Wars, a mission-based competitive online role playing game, produced by its Seattle-based ArenaNet studio. Guild Wars will have its first major public showing at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), May 14-16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Created by EALA and developed by TKO Software, Inc., the new expansion pack for the critically acclaimed Medal of Honor Allied Assault, takes players from the sands of North Africa to the heart of Italy in the struggle to defeat the Third Reich. Medal of Honor Allied Assault Breakthrough is planned for release on the PC in fall 2003.

Juventus, the current Serie A champions, have boosted their (excellent) chances of winning a second successive Scudetto by adding another huge name to their already stellar roster of international talent. This new signing is not another household name player, but the best-selling football management game, Scudetto 4 Championship Manager. The latest version of the best-selling football management game was released in Italy on Thursday, April 17th 2003.

In one of the closest marketing tie-ins to date between a video game and a movie, game publisher THQ Inc. on Monday said it would give a free ticket to the upcoming animated film "Finding Nemo" with each of its games based on the Pixar feature.

Andy @ VE3D received some more Half-Life 2 information from Jeff Green @ Computer Gaming World:

Just letting all y’all know that we are joining the pile-on and featuring Half Life 2 on our June cover. It’s a 6-page feature based on an interview and demo of the game we had a Valve’s office in Seattle, and includes a bunch of exclusive screens.

The magazine is being mailed to subscribers *tomorrow*, so it will be in some folks’ greasy palms within a few days. The official on-sale newsstand date is May 6.

Digitalo has released a dedicated Windows server for the retail edition of Devastation, the new first-person shooter by Digitalo Studios. The server is compatible with clients updated to the latest (version 380) patch, and word is that running a devastation server is very much like running a UT2003 server, so most of the stuff at UnrealAdmin.org is relevant. This is an updated Windows server (v380) for the retail version of the game (not for the demo). Read more for details and download links ...

You’re Indiana Jones. Legendary adventurer. Daring rogue. And the most butt-kicking archaeologist the world has ever seen. It’s 1935 and this time you must prevent a powerful Chinese artifact from falling into evil hands. This globe-spanning adventure pits you against evil Nazis and the Asian underworld with a mysterious and alluring partner, Mei Ying. It’ll take more than just a trusty whip and pistol to avoid deadly traps and navigate through all the dangerous environments. Do you have what it takes to make it back alive? The update fiddles with the game controllers' sensitivity settings and fixes a bunch of graphical bugs. Read more for download links ...

Bandits: Phoenix Rising immerses players into a vast, desert wasteland, where they must control a cannon-mounted combat car in order to defeat heavily armed enemies and ultimately defend their gang. The Bandits: Phoenix Rising patch will update you to v1.1 focusing on game balance issues, adds a new level, and fixes a few bugs. Read more for download links ...