Ubisoft has teamed up with Peter Gabriel to add a distinctive sound to its Myst franchise of games. Gabriel will provide the song, "Burn You Up, Burn You Down" for the November release of Uru: Ages Beyond Myst and the world-renowned artist will also provide an original composition for the next game in the series. Myst is one of the most widely recognized game brands in history, with more than 12 million copies sold worldwide.

Vivendi Universal Games today announced that thousands of additional gamers will have the opportunity to participate in the public beta test for The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring (War of the Ring), their upcoming real-time strategy game due to be released on November 4th. Read more for details ...

Strategy First is pleased to announce it will publish Primal Software’s, I of the Dragon for the PC in Q2 2004. I of the Dragon is an Action-RPG where players take on the role of a Hero Dragon. As the player moves through the many levels his dragon will mature in strength and power as the player is rewarded with new spells and skill upgrades.

Digital Jesters is preparing for the imminent launch of its blistering PC racer TrackMania with the launch of the game's very own community Website. Located at TrackManiaGame.com, the online resource will be the port of call for those keen to know more about the genre-busting racing game. Screens and desktop themes are online now – and the forums are open for those eager to discuss track-building theory. But most importantly, the Website will be the only place for users to download the demo – which is due online on the 1st November.

BAM! Entertainment announced today that it has commenced shipping of Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo for PS2, Xbox and GameCube to follow next week. Created by Aardman, the popular clay characters Wallace & Gromit have starred in several half-hour films that have won more than 45 international awards including two Oscars. Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo was developed by U.K.-based Frontier Developments, who have added a superb visual dimension to compliment Aardman's much loved duo.

Vivendi Universal and General Electric Co. have reached an agreement to merge the French company's Hollywood studio, cable TV networks and theme parks with GE's NBC business, creating a media giant with about $13 billion in annual revenue. Read more if you are interested in financial numbers & news....

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time takes place within an exotic, mysterious world representing Persian architecture, animals and attire. After his father invades the palace of the Maharajah, the Prince, tricked by a treacherous vizier, uses a magic dagger to release the dangerous Sands of Time from an ornate hourglass. With the aid of a beautiful, mysterious, and potentially untrustworthy ally, players embody the Prince to recapture the Sands of Time and restore peace to the land. Check out the new screens ...

Ascaron has released a demo for their upcoming trading/strategy game Tortuga: Pirates of the New World (distributed by Encore as Pirate Hunter in North America). This German demo features the first scenerio from the complete game, and although it is a strategy game, some guess work will be in order (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Experience a Jurassic Safari, confront an evil Skeleton Army and relive the Golden Age of Rock & Roll! RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 is taking gamers back through history and forward to the future in the all-new expansion pack, RollerCoaster Tycoon 2: Time Twister. Read more for some fresh screens ...

Matrix Games and Tri Synergy is pleased to announce that Massive Assault by Wargaming.Net has gone gold and will be released into retail outlets by October 20th. Massive Assault utilizes Wargaming.net's high-performance 3D engine giving the title a revolutionary look and feel to a turn based global-scale game. The gameplay is smooth and easy-to-learn, while set in a dynamic strategic environment where the tide can turn time and again.

Play as yourself, not a pro skater, and make your way through a plot-twisting, true-to-life story that takes you from unknown local skate punk to fame and fortune as Skater of the Year. Read more for some PS2 & Xbox screens, as well as a trailer sjowing off some in game footage.

Ground Control 2 : Operation Exodus takes place during the year 2741 AD, roughly 300 years after the events in the original game. The democratic and freedom caring Northern Star Alliance (NSA) is being hard pressed by the warmongering Terran Empire. The war has recently entered a new stage; a brutal and deadly ground war, as the Empire has managed to land their first troopships on the last NSA controlled planet – Morningstar Prime... Read more to check out some new screens ...

Earlier today VU Games president of international operations, told Reuters the source code theft would result in a four month delay (Valve, though, has not confirmed that delay), pushing Half-Life 2 back to April 2004 (story). Now CNN reports following:

When hackers broke into the computing system of Valve Software, they stole more than just the source code to Half-Life 2. They also stole enough game maps and other components to put together a playable build of the game. Today, five days after the first leak, they have released that build.

Today's release of a playable version of the game brings Vivendi's comments from earlier today into question. Ramboz told Reuters "a third of the source code was stolen". However, with the stolen game now out, it's possible a more complete version of the source code was taken...

PC.IGN let us know that Commandos 3: Destination Berlin from Eidos has received gold status and is heading to production. While this applies to both the German and English versions of the game, the only shipping date confirmed is for Germany, where the game is set to ship October 24.

Halo Dedicated Server 1.02 has been released; it adds the ability to run multiple instances of the server on a single machine, and enables RCON functionality (you can remotely control the server, without needing direct access to the machine). Gearbox and Bungie are making this available tonight, so that folks running dedicated servers can be prepared when the client patch goes live, DO NOT INSTALL THIS YET, nobody will be able to play on your server. Simply get it to your server tonight, so that you're ready when the switchover occurs tomorrow. The mapfiles are not included, they will be released tomorrow, for those who don't already have them.

Another day, another batch of game trailers were released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for :

• War Of The Ring - Good & Evil Trailer
• Total Club Manager 2004 - Trailer
• Metal Arms: Glitch In The System - Trailer
• Korea: Forgotten Conflict - Trailer
• Hunter The Reckoning Redeemer - Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Sierra has released a demo for their upcoming action/adventure title The Hobbit. In cooperation with McDonalds they are releasing 3 separate demo's (only available in North California, Portland, Eugene & Medford OR) but we managed to bribe Ronald with some extra cheeze burgers and for your convenience we merged all of them into one. This is the complete demo, all 3 parts of it! Read more for download links ...

Battlestar Galactica delivers a compelling and immersive space action experience as players move seamlessly between stunning cinematics and epic space battles against the insidious, mechanical power of the Cylons. Fight the insidious Cylons in epic space battles utilizing advanced tactics and an arsenal of weaponry, including the greatest weapon mankind ever conceived — The Battlestar Galactica. Read more to check out some new screens ...

Shortly after the demo, Cinemaware/Capcom sends word that they have released the first patch for their recently released 3D action strategy Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.01 and addresses 3 minor bugs. Read more for details and download links ...