EA today announced that Hugo Weaving will expand his involvement with The Lord of the Rings franchise as he assumes the role of lead voiceover talent in The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II. Additionally, concept artist John Howe of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy is on board to design entirely new creatures and locations of Middle-earth.

KOCH Media announced today that it has signed a agreement with French publisher Monte Cristo to bring its city building simulation City Life to Germany and the UK.

THQ, Paradox Entertainment and Conan Properties International today announced a worldwide, multi-year licensing agreement for THQ to develop interactive games based on Conan. The agreement covers development for all current and next-gen systems as well as PC, wireless and handheld platforms.

GripShift combineshigh-flying stunt driving and unique puzzle-solving action in an all-out, pedal-to-the-metal racing experience. Sidhe Interactive announced today that GripShift would be released in Europe on 11 November, Australia on 17 November and New Zealand on 18 November 2005.

Today a federal judge put a temporary hold on the violent video game law banning sales of violent video games to minors which was to go in effect December 1, 2005. The Entertainment Software Association ands several other organizations challenged the law and Judge George Caram from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan granted a preliminary injunction stating that the state had failed to show what harm could result from selling games to minors. Instead the judge claimed stifling free speech could cause more obvious harm.

Experience the feel and finesse of real golf on beautiful 3-D courses with True Swing Golf, featuring multiple game modes, character customization and wireless multiplayer support for up to four players with just one game card.

A while back, Microsoft announced that the 360 would have some level of backward compatibility. Today Bungie revealed that both Halo titles will work on the Xbox 360, with no alterations, just use your old games and plop them in. The only difference will be the somewhat better quality on HDTVs due to it being widescreens and higher rez. Halo's splitscreen and Halo 2's multiplayer modes are still functional as before. Read more details over at Bungie's Halo 2 Anniversary Special.

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

• Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure - Trailer #15
• Need For Speed Most Wanted - Cop Evade Trailer
• Spellforce 2 - Titan Trailer
• Wolfschanze 1944 - Trailer #4
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Developed by Strangelite Studio, the game is based on the Starship Troopers movie in which you will take the role of an elite 'special forces' trooper in the Mobile Infantry spearheading the assault against thousands of intelligent enemy bugs, emulating the best scenes from the movie and a whole lot more! German publisher Frogster has released a new, albeit in German, demo offering the Plasma Mountains mission.

Virtual Skipper 4 is a sailing simulation that lets you create your own tropical paradise and set sail. Marvel at the beauty of your creation and share it with friends. Race people from all over the world in online regattas, team or private races. This demo allows you to try out a few tutorials, 2 singleplayer races and several multiplayer challenges.