Noticed on VE3D that Bungie has updated their Halo 2 site with some E3 plans for the game. Here is a clip:

A demo like Halo 2 requires a special setting and this year we’ve pulled out all the stops. As fans enter the Microsoft booth, one of the first things they’ll encounter is the glorious Halo 2 Theater (a concept drawing is pictured at left). This custom theater was built from the ground up specifically to showcase Halo 2. The theater seats about 65 people and comes with all the bells and whistles you’d expect (complete with hypnotic control rays for our diabolical world domination plans). By the way, this ‘aint just another movie. The original Halo 2 announce trailer was an in-engine cinematic that was prepared in advance and released to the world. This time around, the E3 demo will consist of 100% bona fide in-engine gameplay and cinematics. Bungie team members like our Director of Cinematics, Joseph Staten, will be personally playing through the demo for everyone to experience. It’s been said a bunch already but I can honestly say after seeing this impressive display countless times around the office – It’s good. Oh so good. It might be a good idea to pack some extra under shorts because we can’t be responsible for what might happen. As mentioned in my last story, we don’t have concrete plans for an online release yet but once we get back from E3 we’ll regroup and explore options for sharing this demo with the world.

NCsoft Corporation announced today the company's special events planned for the upcoming Electronic Entertainment Expo, the largest video and computer game trade show in the world taking place May 14-16 in the Los Angeles Convention Center. Ever wanted to float along the Nile, run with the bulls or visit the North Pole? Well, now NCsoft is turning people's dreams turn into a reality through a special Ego-Trip give-away each day of the show. NCsoft's games allow players to travel to other universes and be whatever and whoever they want to be. Attendees of the show will now have the same opportunity. All they have to do is play six games in the NCsoft booth (South Hall #1024) to win the adventure of a lifetime!

Eidos Interactive today announced the development of The Italian Job video game. Based on the 2003 Paramount Pictures blockbuster film, The Italian Job is being developed by driving-game specialists Climax and will be released on PS2, Xbox and GameCube in Summer 2003.

Vivendi Universal Games announced today the development of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox video game system from Microsoft and Nintendo GameCube. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds, developed by Eurocom Entertainment Software and licensed by Fox Interactive, is a third-person fighting adventure game based on the successful long running television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Just like the show, the adventure takes place at ground zero for all things vampire -- Sunnydale, California. Developed as a "lost episode" from season five of the television show, Chaos Bleeds involves an unraveling tale in which a dimensional bleed has been enabled by Pure Evil to consume humanity once and for all. It's up to Buffy and her friends to stop it all from happening ... again.

Summitsoft announced today it has begun shipping Empire of Magic to retail stores in North America. This hotly-anticipated blend of strategy, role playing and adventure challenges gamers to decide the fate of an empire that is being overrun by malevolent forces. Empire of Magic is rated "T" for teen audiences by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), and retails for $39.99. More information about the game can be found here!

The latest addition to Take Two's clutch of labels, Gotham Games, has announced that it's going to be on the look-out for new developers and games to sign up to its brand at E3 next week. The label will be showcasing three titles in Los Angeles, namely Celebrity Deathmatch, Conflict Desert Storm 2 and The Great Escape, and business development manager Juan Gutierrez will be on hand to meet with developers interested in working with the publisher.

NDL, a leading developer of 3D graphics technology for the computer and video game industry, recently launch Gamebryo at this year's Game Developer Conference. With NDL's proven record of hit titles such as The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Dark Age of Camelot and Freedom Force, NDL's Gamebryo is setting the pace and providing the next step in the evolution of game development. NDL's 3D graphics toolkit and engine is helping developers create new hit titles such as Bethesda Softworks' Bloodmoonä expansion pack for Morrowind, Codemasters' Dragon Empires and Mythic Entertainment's Imperator. Currently NDL has 40 titles in development with companies such as TimeGate, Firaxis, Miroids, BlueFang and many others. Several of these developers will be showing demos, powered by the NDL's technology, at their booths on the E3 show floor May 14-16, 2003.

THQ Inc. today announced that MotoGP: Ultimate Racing Technology 2 will start at the front of the grid when it is released for Xbox and Xbox Live! on 16th May. The two-wheeled wonder has won high praise scoring top marks across the computer gaming media and is expected to be one of the biggest performers for the Xbox to date.

Activision, Inc. and Valve are taking World War II fans online to the battlefield with the retail release of Day of Defeat. The title, a multiplayer WWII first-person action game powered by Valve's Half-Life technology, provides intense team-based gameplay that pits gamers in Axis vs. Allies squad-based combat in Western Europe at the height of the war in 1944. Day of Defeat is available at retail outlets nationwide for a suggested retail price of $29.99 and carries a "T" (Teen -- Blood, Violence -- content suitable for persons ages 13 and older) rating by the ESRB.

CDV announces that "Blitzkrieg" for the PC will be available in North American retail stores on May 13. Players can assume their rightful place among great generals by commanding Allies, German or Soviets as they advance through the decisive battles of World War II. Rated "T" by the ESRB.