Electronic Arts today officially announced plans to publish the hugely successful game Dead to Rights on the Playstation 2 and Nintendo GameCube platforms. Both versions will be released next August in all PAL territories.

Utilizing the technical prowess of the Xbox video game system from Microsoft and Xbox Live!, Digital Extremes, the developers of Unreal Championship in conjunction with Epic Games and Atari have completed the auto-update for the game. It will be available for download through Xbox Live! tomorrow, May 22 (thanks EvilAvatar). Read more for details ...

The official Battlefield 1942 website now has a movie with plenty of ingame footage from Secret Weapons, the second expansion pack for the popular WW2 vehicular action game (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links...

New nations, new campaign missions and a new game mode. An add-on disc, basically. Except... it isn't... Strategy players who can't get enough of CDV's classic RTS American Conquest will have a new set of challenges as American Conquest Fight Back is published in August. Read more for details and screens ...

Heat Project is a state-of-the-art 3D FPS where players from different countries can interact through theInternet. It’s realistic action play and thrill combined with MMORPG’s advantages, such as the economy system, character growing and multi-objective mission scenarios, will provide pure excitement. Read more to check put new screens & a trailer!

ARUSH Entertainment and Playinteractive, LLP today announced a major licensing deal with NBC Enterprises and Endemol USA to create, market and distribute interactive video games based on the worldwide hit TV series Fear Factor. Tentatively titled Fear Factor: Unleashed, the games are targeted to be in stores in 2004. Joy Tashjian Marketing Group helped broker the deal.

EA just send us a note that NCAA Football 2004 will be available in stores starting July 17 on three platforms: PS2, Xbox and NGC. NCAA Football 2004 relives the intense rivalries, pageantry, and spirit of college football. Celebrate the history of college football with classic teams like the 1924 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, or replay one of the 20 greatest college football games from the last two decades. NCAA Football 2004 features new pre-game tunnel presentations, EA SPORTS Talk in-game chat (PS2 broadband only), and the joy of ripping down the goalposts after an emotional victory over your biggest rival. We got some new screens to get you by until then...

Today we have a big batch of screens from DreamCatcher's E3 Lineup. Featured titles are :

• PainKiller (PC)
• Arx Fatalis (Xbox)
• BattleCruiser Generations (PC)
• X-treme Beach Soccer (PC/Xbox)
• Spirits & Spells (GBA/NGC)
• US Open 2003 (Xbox/PC)
• Cypher: Code of Ruin (PC)
  
  Hit this link for the screens!

I saw on VE3D that Andy tossed up info about a E3 footage of Unreal Tournament 2004 on E3 Insider (there's a glimpse of the title screen in there too). To check out this movie click here, then 'Watch Floored' ..

Andy also let us know that Beyond Unreal also has following comment from Mark Rein:

Sorry I have not been able to visit the forum sooner but we've been extremely busy showing off UT2004 during the day and then meeting with licensees and potential licensees at night.

The reception to UT2004 has been great which is especially gratifying considering how early everything is. There are so many cool things going into UT2004 that aren't in showable shape yet. But regardless of that people are really liking the parts they're seeing and we know they're going to be even more delighted in a few months when everything comes together.

I see many of you are discussing the topic of UT2004 pricing. Atari has not yet set the retail price of UT2004 however they have told us that all along they've been planning to have some sort of deal for existing UT2003 owners who buy UT2004. The game is still many months away so there's plenty of time to figure this out and let people know.

I have guests here in my suite and I need to get back to them now. I'll try (no promises) to post more tonight and possibly get on IRC again sometime in the next few hours to answer peoples' questions.

Command an elite, multinational squad of special operatives against a hidden terrorist foe. In Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3, the third installment in the wildly popular Rainbow Six series, Team RAINBOW races against time to stop terror and unravel a mystery. In locations around the world, from London to the Cayman Islands to Rio de Janeiro, lead Team Rainbow in a desperate effort to battle a madman and foil his doomsday plot.

Publisher and developer Strategy First Inc. announced today that their new real time tactical game Nexagon: Deathmatch has gone gold. "We're wrapping up the last few details now and the team is really happy with what we've managed to cook up,” says Guy English, Lead Programmer on Nexagon: Deathmatch. “Nexagon has been a really fun project to work on and we're sure people are going to have a blast playing it."

Ubi Soft today announced XIII, the most stylish FPS ever, now has its own dedicated teaser web page. XIII is a stunning, conspiracy-driven thriller set in a highly stylized graphic-novel world. Fans can log on now and get a sneak preview of one of the most anticipated games of the year. The website features new screens, character images, an interactive storyline and an exclusive high-quality trailer. XIII is scheduled to ship in Fall 2003 to all consoles and PC and the full XIII website will launch in June 2003. Ubi Soft today also announced that Far Cry, the most unpredictable and technologically innovative FPS, now has its own dedicated teaser web page.With features such as its stunning graphics, unique tropical setting, unprecedented long-range view distance, freely explorable indoor and outdoor environments, authentic physics-on-demand, perfect variety of gameplay, frighteningly realistic AI and an universally acclaimed pick-up-and-play level editor.The website features new screens showcasing the amazing graphics and effects, while an exclusive downloadable movie trailer offers a first look at the game's tropical setting infested with deadly enemies.

Electronic Arts announced today that film actress Shannon Elizabeth has joined the ranks of Hollywood talent enlisted by EA and will lend her talents to the videogame James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing. Ms. Elizabeth will provide her likeness and voice for the first original interactive Bond girl to be cast, "Serena St. Germaine". Her character will be an integral part of the original storyline in this new installment. James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing is scheduled for release under the EA GAMES brand this fall for PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox video game system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube, and Nintendo Game Boy Advance.

Kicking off the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), co-publishers ARUSH Entertainment and Groove Games today announced that Massachusetts developer Cyberlore has begun development on Playboy: The Mansion. Gamers worldwide will get the chance to build Hugh Hefner's Playboy Empire on their PCs and console gaming systems in late 2004.

In Dead Man's Hand, players will step into the boots of El Tejón, a master gunslinger riding with one of the roughest gangs in the West, known as The Nine. When the ruthless leader of The Nine betrays El Tejón, El Tejón turns to a life of vengeance, vowing to put every member of his former gang six-feet under. Five shots of Wild West shootouts from the makers of Rune (Infogrames/Atari).

Atari is bringing Unreal Tournament 2004, the newest edition of the definitive virtual blood sport, to personal computers this Fall. Unreal Tournament 2004, like its predecessors, is being co-created by Epic Games Inc. and Digital Extremes. The game will be shown at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles, May 14 - 16, in Petree Hall, room 4003.

Mindscape today announced the release of Law and Order: Dead on the Money, a unique blend of field investigation and courtroom trial gameplay based on the award-winning TV series, due for PC on 6th June 2003. Law and Order has over 20 million worldwide viewers per episode and is currently being broadcast on Channel Five on Saturday nights within the UK. Filmed entirely on location in New York City, this realistic programme looks at crime and justice from a dual perspective. In the first half-hour, Detectives Lennie Briscoe and Edward Green investigate crimes and apprehend suspects under the supervision of their precinct lieutenant, Anita Van Buren. In the second half-hour, the focus shifts to the criminal courts. Executive Assistant District Attorney Jack McCoy and Assistant District Attorney Serena Southerlyn work within a complicated justice system to prosecute the accused.

This autumn, Team RAINBOW is back! The elite multinational squad of counter-terrorist operatives returns in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Athena Sword, the first mission pack of the wildly successful Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield. They defeated the diabolical plot of a terrorist mastermind in the smash-hit PC game Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield. But a few desperate remnants of the organization remain - and Team RAINBOW won't rest until terror has been vanquished and the world is safe. Not many details known yet, but at least we got the 6 first screens!

Electronic Arts today announced the release of The Sims Superstar, the newest expansion pack to the top-selling PC game of all time, The Sims. Players can now realize their fantasies of fame and fortune as they pursue the dream of being a Rock Star, Movie Star, or a Supermodel, live the lifestyle of a celebrity, and even mingle among some of the rich and famous. All new gameplay, new social interactions, and a whole new in-game destination offer players an all access pass to the world of superstardom. In The Sims Superstar, The Sims are ready for their close up.

One of gaming's most treasured franchises will be given new life this holiday season as Tecmo's esteemed internal development group, Team Ninja, and the powers of Xbox join forces to bring you 100% action in one of the most anticipated games of the new millennium. Ninja Gaiden is on the cutting-edge of action as the player takes on the role of powerful ninja, Ryu Hayabusa, who seeks revenge after his clan is massacred by the Vigor Empire. Taking full advantage of three-dimensional space, you follow the story with only your wits, your ninja skills, and your deadly sword, cutting down opponents in the Vigor Empire as you attempt to beat the Holy Emperor and reclaim the magic sword "Ryuken". Realistic battle actions and acrobatic ninja actions add another dimension to the game, restoring Ninja Gaiden to its rightful place in the gaming pantheon.

Rockstar Games, the world-renowned publishing division of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. has announced the North American release date for Midnight Club II for the Xbox video game system from Microsoft and the PC. Midnight Club II for the Xbox will be in stores on June 4th in North America and June 6th in Europe. The PC version of Midnight Club II will be available on June 25th in North America and June 27th in Europe.

Empire Interactive plc, a leading AIM listed computer games developer and publisher, announces that it has signed a distribution deal with leading Japanese games company, SEGA for the release of Warrior Kings: Battles and Ghost Master in Japan. Under the terms of the agreement, SEGA will distribute the titles on the PC Platform.

Toronto-based Groove Games, a global publisher of interactive entertainment software, announced today at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the signing of a game development deal with Brainbox Games. Also based in Toronto, Brainbox Games, a wholly owned subsidiary of Digital Extremes, will create two games under the agreement with the first title for the PC already in development.

Tiger Hill Entertainment, a new interactive entertainment studio backed by famed film director, John Woo, today announced its operations and its mission to redefine the action/adventure video game genre with its innovative approach to interactive entertainment development and production. Founded to take advantage of the creative talents of John Woo and his producing partner, Terence Chang, the company announced world-renowned video game developer, SEGA as its premier partner to establish itself as a leader in the interactive entertainment industry (thanks VE3D). Read more for details ...