In SpellForce 2, the player takes over the role of the avatar, solving quests and overcoming obstacles as in classical RPGs, but also experiences strategic challenges while leading armies as in an RTS - therefore offering a complete synthesis of both genres in a perfect blend.

During E3, Activision started a Guess The City Contest, in which the public tried to "guess" the urban setting for the True Crime sequel. That contest ended June 16, 2005, and we now have the first tidbits of information on the True Crime sequel. The city of choice is New York, there's a new main character Marcus (a black cop, as opposed to the Asian American Nick Kang in the original), and it will be more violent than its predecessor. All the footage in the contest trailers was taken from the New York setting, and this time around, you will not only have various cars and trucks at your disposal, but also be able to jack and ride motorcycles. The game also seems to sport various types of interrogation techniques reminiscent of the recent Punisher title.

Legacy Interactive announced today that its new simulation game, Zoo Vet, is now available at retail outlets nationwide. Praised by children's software critics and national parenting organizations, Zoo Vet, developed by Legacy Interactive and distributed by Vivendi Universal Games, carries an SRP of $19.95 and is rated E for Everyone.

Ubisoft releases a new patch for its submarine sim Silent Hunter 3. This update brings your retail game to v1.4, adds new features, bombers, buildings, but also addresses the usual bugs fixes and gameplay tweaks. Read more for details and download links ...

Telltale Incorporated today announces Telltale Now, its new model for delivering graphically rich, engaging, interactive stories direct to consumers. Telltale is currently developing its first major Telltale Now release, based on Jeff Smith's popular Bone series, which will be available Fall, 2005. Telltale will announce additional Telltale Now plans later this year.

While we already had the official announcement last week, Atari today released more specific game details. Faithful to the tradition of parody that runs throughout the Asterix stories, Atari's latest Asterix offering is an explosive video game crammed with surprising encounters that parody the greatest icons of the video game world and is awash with wry references to many of the great moments that have marked over 25 years of video game history.

Avencast is a 3D role-playing game in the classic fantasy genre. In the demo version you adapt the role of a novice in the magic academy of Avencast. As a delegation of villagers comes to the academy to seek help, you get your first chance to prove yourself worthy of becoming a magician. You agree to travel to the village Aramelund, which is haunted by an ignominious creature and a deadly spell. Now all the villagers put their trust in YOU (thanks RPGDot). Read more for details, screens and demo link ...

EARTH 2160 is an RTS game based on the popular and successful EARTH series. Including single and multiplayer modes. The game uses the latest Earth III engine. Storing objects in a format based on the mathematical model of Bezier-curves instead of polygons. Giving an as yet unseen level of detail, only limited by the hardware used.

Kylotonn and publisher Digital Jesters, who have been working closely with AMD throughout the Bet On Soldier: Blood Sport (its new official name) development and announced today that their FPS will ship with a 64-bit version that has been specifically optimised to take full advantage of the processing power of the 64-bit AMD Athlon 64 FX processor.

Vivendi today announced its talent line-up for The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. Comic and sci-fi fanboy favorite Ron Perlman (Hellboy) as Hulk’s notorious rival Emil Blonsky and the Abomination; Neal McDonough, the voice of Bruce Banner in the late-'90s cartoon series “The Incredible Hulk,” as Hulk’s human genius alter ego; and actor Richard Moll as Devil Hulk, the embodiment of all that is evil within Banner’s own mind.