That tap-tap-tapping you hear is the sound of the most innovative video game control system to come along in years. Get physical with Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, made exclusively for GameCube, by using a pair of bongos to control the game action. Mastering the game requires good timing, bongo abilities and a love of bananas.

EA revealed today that hot on the heels of the first patch, they are working on the next in line, v1.02. While the new patch will address numerous technical issues, the core of this patch will revolve around further balancing the 4 playable factions, in order to push The Battle for Middle-earth towards a more challenging and intriguing experience. The production of patch 1.02 has been largely influenced by community & fan sites feedback, top players, and dedicated fans. Read more for details ...

Tecmo's infamous creator of the Dead or Alive series, Tomonobu Itagaki, will once again take the reigns of the DOAU Mystery Gamer for this Sunday's Mystery Gamer Session of "The Dead or Alive Ultimate Mystery Gamer Competition." The upcoming online fighting session, which will be held this Sunday, March 13, 2005 from 10a.m. to 11a.m. PST through Xbox Live, will be the second time that Itagaki has stepped up to the plate as the honored DOAU Mystery Gamer.

Vivisector: Beast Inside developed by Action Forms (creators of Chasm and Carnivores series) is a unique mixture of 3D Action/Horror. The game blends a thrilling interactive story with intense, high-adrenaline action and immerses players in a rich and fascinating storyline.

Everyone who is playing Counter-Strike: Source should be enjoying the new maps, cs_compound and de_train. Coming soon, there will be another new map for CS:S called "de_port." As a teaser, here's a sketch of the layout.

Creature Conflict: The Clan Wars boasts an extensive single player campaign, where gamers get to chose which clan they are going to control and start the process of total domination – engaging in battles with the other clans and their leaders. This multiplayer demo features the Apex and Lotus planets playable on LAN or in skirmish mode.

Today Nintendo President Satoru Iwata outline the company's bold vision for the future. Iwata made several major announcements during his Game Developers Conference keynote speech such as the fact that the Revolution is proceeding on schedule and will include both backward compatibility and Wi-Fi features. Iwata also announced that Nintendo soon will offer a free Wi-Fi connection service to NDS owners, and demonstrated several new titles using voice recognition, touch-screen control and wireless connectivity. Read more for details ...

Naked Sky Entertainment began demonstrating RoboHordes today at the Game Developer Conference (GDC). Commissioned by Intel to showcase the power of Intel's dual-core processor, the RoboHordes demo not only utilizes advanced robot simulation technology and control theory from modern robot design, but is also the first game to use Unreal Engine 3 at a playable frame rate.

BioWare and Irrational Games are pleased to announce a co-marketing agreement for Irrational Games’ new release, Freedom Force vs. The 3rd Reich. As part of BioWare’s continuing efforts to expand its online store, BioWare will be promoting Irrational's Freedom Force sequel to the nearly 2.4 million members of the BioWare Community. Freedom Force vs. The 3rd Reich offers gamers a unique role-playing experience, and BioWare and Irrational hope that fans of BioWare’s games will also be fans of Irrational’s new release.

Eidos UK's latest six-month result shows that the long time fledging developer/publisher continues to be in bad financial shape as it posted a £29.2 million operating loss. Shares dropped to an all time low, and while a new buyout proposal made on March 2nd is under consideration, no decisions have been made yet. Even further bad news was came to light as it was confirmed that Hitman: Blood Money, 25 to Life, Just Cause and the new Tomb Raider are being delayed due to a 'strategic decision' and are being pushed back fiscal 2006, meaning not earlier than July 2005. Previously only announced for PC and PS2, the new Tomb Raider is now also scheduled for Xbox 2 and PSP.

Valve's SteamPowered website has been updated with details regarding yet another update for Counter-Strike Source, the Source Engine and its Source SDK. This update fixes various exploits with CS: S and implements some game server changes to the Source Engine, while the Source SDK gets some bug fixes and added materials. Restart Steam for the changes to take effect. Read more for details ...

Cold Fear is the first action-horror title to be published under the Ubisoft brand and combines the popular elements of both action and horror releases, delivering an action-packed, tension-filled gaming experience. Read more for new screens and weapons renders ...

Epic Games today announced that its Unreal Engine 3 technology and tools will be used in games developed by and published by Microsoft Game Studios.

Sony Europe announce today that its racing game Gran Turismo 4 has set a new, all-time Day One record for PS2 software, shipping 3,182,535 units across PAL territories. In addition to the standalone software version, Gran Turismo 4 is also available as a part of a bundle featuring the newly designed slimline PlayStation 2.

Today at the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC), Microsoft Corp. announced the first details of its next-generation Xbox, highlighting how hardware, software and services are being fused to power enhanced game and entertainment experiences. Read more for details on new features such as custom playlists, marketplace, gamer cards etc..

Earlier today we put up SEGA's Spartan Total Warrior announcement, but what was not included was the fact that SEGA simply bought out the UK developer. SEGA Europe today announced that the company has acquired the hugely successful development studio, The Creative Assembly. Founded in 1997, headed up by Tim Ansell and operating from offices in the UK and Australia, The Creative Assembly team has produced a catalogue of hits throughout their history and notably is the team behind the award winning Total War franchise.

During SEGA's Sonic the Hedgehog induction into the Walk of Game tonight, it was revealed with a brief trailer that SEGA is working on a new title in the franchise, but this time the focus will be on Sonic's sworn enemy, Shadow. While no details were disclosed, it will be yet another platformer, albeit with some twists, and the clip showed environments and gave you a taste of what to expect, graphics-wise. Shadow the Hedgehog is scheduled for fall 2005, and SEGA promised there will be more information about "several" new Sonic titles. Read more to download the trailer and see for yourself.

Developed by Monolith Productions, F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault and Recon), is an intense first person close-quarters combat experience with rich atmosphere and an engaging storyline. Vivendi has just launched a new F.E.A.R. teaser Web site, which features a flash embedded trailer and screens, although with mostly previously released material.

NCsoft Europe today announced today that loyal City of Heroes fans will be rewarded by getting priority access to the upcoming City Of Villains European Beta. Those who signed up for a European City of Heroes account in the month following the European launch (Feb 4th to March 4th, 2005), and who have been subscribed to the game for at least six months by the time Beta starts will automatically earn a slot in the City of Villains European Beta.

Empire Earth 2 will build upon the award-winning formula of its predecessor by adding features requested both by casual game players interested in a brief spin through history and by more hard core gamers who demand a real-time strategy game that will challenge them for dozens, if not hundreds, of hours.

Gameindustry.biz seems to have gotten some inside information that Creative Assembly is working on a "Total Warrior" console version, due for release in September. There are no specific details available yet, an official announcement is expected later this week, but already comparisons are being made with KOEI's Dynasty Warriors series, or Phantagram's Kingdom Under Fire. This product however will not be published by Activision, but rather by SEGA Europe.

PopCap Games today announced the release of the PopCap Games Framework, the in-house development toolset used to create smash-hit titles such as "Bejeweled," "Bookworm," "Zuma," and other wildly popular casual computer games. The PopCap Games Framework is offered under an open source license and can be used free of charge by any developer for commercial or non-commercial use.

EA Europe today announced plans to co-publish Dead to Rights II, scheduled for release on the PS2, Xbox and on PC in summer 2005. Dead to Rights II marks the return of action-hero Jack Slate and his K-9 companion, Shadow. In this super-charged sequel, Jack and Shadow find themselves once again in the squalid, mean streets of Grant City, ensnared in a labyrinth of crime, corruption and betrayal.

SCAR, a brand new racing simulation licensed by Alfa Romeo, and developed by racing sim specialists, Milestone, creators of the Superbike series and Racing Evoluzione. SCAR, Squadra Corse Alfa Romeo, is a stunning racing simulation which combines both realistic car physics, and vibrant graphics together with classic Role Playing Game elements to become the first 'CARPG' ever developed.

Yes, today is the day to answer the call to save Earth and all of humankind in the tournament we've all been waiting for. Gamers have two weeks from today, 7th March, to register in what is the first stage of the Halo 2 Championship, hosted on the Xbox Live service. Registration closes on 20th March when eight winners will battle to win the title of UK Halo 2 Champion and, ultimately, the chance to take part in the Xbox Live Halo 2 Worldwide Finals in April.