A number of additional accounts and CD keys have been tied to the use of a hack or cheat program while playing Warcraft III on Battle.net. In keeping with their aggressive stance against cheating, Blizzard has permanently closed 12,000 Warcraft III accounts. 6,000 of the Warcraft III CD keys used with the now-closed accounts have been banned from ladder play for one month, and 1,000 more have been banned from ladder play permanently. Repeat offenders risk having their CD keys disabled, which will result in the permanent removal of their copies of Warcraft III from Battle.net.

LucasArts revealed today that it will give PC players the opportunity to control the fate of the galaxy in an all new real-time strategy (RTS) game titled Star Wars: Empire at War. Set a few years before the events of Episode IV A New Hope, the game will let players rewrite history as well as experience the aftermath of Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith, the creation of the Rebel Alliance, and Darth Vader's rise to power. Read more for details and screens ...

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 :

• Advent Rising - Trailer
• MVP 2005 - Trailer
• RPM Tuning - Trailer
• Xenosaga II - Trailer

Myelin Media today announced "Stacked with Daniel Negreanu," a Texas Hold 'em poker game that captures the look, excitement and drama of the phenomenon that has captivated America.

Dragonshard will incorporate classic role-playing themes, a powerful and dynamic real-time strategy engine all woven together with a rich storyline involving a global conflict for an immensely powerful artifact with the power to change the fate of Eberron itself. Check the official Dragonshard website, or read more for new screens ...

NovaLogic announce today that a new version of the best selling PC title Delta Force – Black Hawk Down is currently under development for the PS2, and will support up to 32 players online. Read more for details and screens ...

Activision has released the final v1.51b patch for its WW2 based FPS Call of Duty: United Offensive which resolves an exploit that can be used to crash servers, and resolves an issue with non-functioning Machine gun on mp_bocage. This is a server side only patch. If you do not plan on hosting a server, there is no need to download and install it. Read more for download links ...

The second Xbox Live Assault Pack for Rainbow Six 3 Black Arrow delivers an array of new maps for Xbox Live fans to test their mettle and continue their quest to maintain world peace. For a mere $4.99, players will receive Pumping Station, Winterbase, Harbor and Prison, and can travel to the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Sweden, and San Francisco. Read more for info and screens ...

"Forza Motorsport" gives Xbox gamers who are passionate about cars and racing the opportunity to own, customize, and race their favorite cars in a realistic driving simulation. From sport compacts to LeMans prototypes, players use earnings from hundreds of races to buy upgrades and aftermarket parts so they can transform real production cars into high-performance race cars.

CDV has released more info for Stormregion's Codename Panzers: Phase Two, which is expected spring 2005. 'Codename Panzers: Phase Two' sees the return of the Italian brothers Dario and Sergio, a deeper storyline (an unnamed 'world-famous author' has been hired to flesh it out), most of the Axis campaign will take place in Africa, with the Allies residing in Italy. Whoever finishes both campaigns gets to enjoy a bonus campaign in Yugoslavia. Read more for some new screens ...