The player takes the role of the leader and has to build up a team – whatever action it may take. With the help of this team he has to take control of the world of Ground Zero. To achieve this he must conquer 20 different locations and protect them from his enemies. The leader can choose between 250 different equipments like weapons, armour, building materials and food. There are 4 different professions: mercenary, technician, hunter, and doctor.

A unique mix of turn-based and role-play, Hammer & Sickle is a brand-new gaming experience. The dizzying array of tactical solutions for each situation is greatly deepened by the fully destructible environments - while an open mission structure and the non-linear story put you in complete control of the game world. CDV launched the official Hammer & Sickle website, featuring artwork, news and game information on this highly anticipated RPG from the makers of Silent Storm.

AGEIA Technologies and Dark Age of Camelot developer Mythic Entertainment today announced a publisher-wide licensing agreement in which Mythic can fully exploit the power of AGEIA physX technology in developing its MMORPGs.

DreamCatcher Games today announced that Painkiller: Black, a limited edition package of Painkiller featuring the original, the expansion pack and some additional goodies, is now available at major retail stores across North America.

Music composer Inon Zur has signed on to provide the original musical score for THQ and Relic Entertainment's Warhammer 40,000: Dawn Of War expansion pack Winter Assault.

Bet On Soldier is a first-person shooter with a corporation-takes-over-the-world-style plot, where you bet on the outcome of encounters with specific enemies. Before entering battle, players can wager on which particular enemy soldiers they are going to kill. This humongous (800mb) patch brings your German retail game to v1.1 and addresses various bugs, game crashes and so forth. Read more for download links ...

Top Spin takes 16 of the top professional tennis players in the world including Maria Sharapova, Roger Federer, Venus Williams and Carlos Moya and puts them in gamers' hands to create the most realistic tennis game ever. Players must work their way up from an unranked amateur with no skills, to a top ranked player in the world with huge endorsement deals.

Sword of the Stars is a breakthrough Space Strategy game that seeks to reinvigorate the sub-genre. Players will explore planets, manage their empire and research new technology. Sword of the Stars provides quick, intuitive play, state-of-the-art graphics and tactical combat that make the game instantly involving and rewardingly fun.

Tri Synergy announced today that they will be working with Frogwares to publish and distribute 80 Days in North America. 80 Days is a graphic adventure for the PC based on the timeless classic by Jules Verne and will be available in October of 2005.

In Gene Troopers you are in the heart of a unique, vibrant and living universe. Explore amazing new worlds, develop your character into a stealth or battle professional, control supernatural powers, make friends with powerful characters and lead them into battle against the forces of evil. Experience a captivating sci-fi story, high-paced action and thrilling game play in a setting never seen before.

After repeated fatalities, the Chinese Government is finally taking measures into its own hands and Tuesday it unveiled a new system to prevent individuals from playing online games for more than three consecutive hours. The system has to be installed for every online game in the country, and if you exceed the 3 hour limit your character will degrade and eventually be reduced to starting level.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Winter Assault features a deeper single-player experience, a brand new fifth race – The Imperial Guard – and even more intense Dawn of War action. Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Winter Assault is based on the world of Warhammer 40,000 - the dark, futuristic, fantasy universe from Games Workshop.

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

• SSX On Tour [NGC] - Mario & Co Trailer
• The Witcher - GC 2005 Trailer
• Sniper Elite - Trailer #5
• Bet on Soldier - Trailer #8
• Battle of Britain 2: Wings of Victory - Trailer (2)
• Panzer Elite Action - Friendly Fire Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Mythic Entertainment today released details for Darkness Rising, the sixth expansion to the epic fantasy MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot. In this expansion, you will get to interact with the each Realm's new King to stop a rising force of evil. This batch of screens & trailers show off the new player-controlled mounts, Champion Weapons, and the revamped Darkness Falls dungeon.

The Settlers V: Heritage of Kings - Legends is scheduled for release in September and will feature 4 campaigns, 17 missions, new singleplayer as well as multiplayer maps, improved editor. One of the main additions is more interaction with the environment, a new landscape type (coastal) and a little bit more focus on building structures.

Sony has finally released its 2.0 firmware update for PSP users in North America. The software is downloadable through the Network Update feature on the PSP, and requires 16MB of free space on the PSP’s Memory Stick Pro Duo to download. New features are: web browser, additional photo formats, 4:3 screenmode, wallpapers, and several extra audo formats.

Playing with pull back friction vehicles, ‘Mad Tracks’ players will battle in numerous challenges like races (Weakest link, red light, Roller Coaster...) or mini games (Snooker, table soccer, long jump, crocket, bowling, Darts...). More than 45 challenges in 10 original environments await, each victory unlocks new cars, new tracks or spare parts to improve performances of 16 cool vehicles.

Ensemble Studios' Dave Pottinger confirmed that a demo for Age of Empires III is in the works, and speculations are that it will be released ahead of the game's official November release, somewhere in September. A few demo candiates have been submitted to Microsoft for approval meaning it is nearing completion. The demo will be quite big as Dave also said "I hope you have a fat Internet pipe." We will of course have it on our fileserver network as soon as it becomes available.

In Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 3, players will embody Captain Scott Mitchell as he commands the Ghosts and Special Forces allies equipped with the IWS in the quest to save the president of the United States, recover stolen nuclear codes and eliminate a vicious band of renegade soldiers hell-bent on unleashing catastrophe.

Glacier is a combat racing game that puts you behind the wheel of the Iceblade - Not just any car, the Iceblade is the ultimate combat car prototype vehicle. It's stronger than a tank, turbocharged and has over 1200 horsepower for you to (ab)use. There's an arsenal of weaponry for you available, like machine guns, missiles and mines.

Ubisoft has released an new update patch for Blue Byte's 3D RTS game 'Settlers: Heritage Of Kings.' This patch brings your retail game to v1.05 and adds 6 new maps (3 for the original, and 3 for the expansion), as well as a few minor improvements and bug fixes. Read more for download links.

While the storyline of Agatha Christie: And Then There Were None follows 10 strangers who are invited to a lavish island only to be accused of murder, players assume the role of a new 11th character, Patrick Narracott the boatman who takes guests to the island. The player must reveal the killer before becoming a victim.

Ubisoft today announced that new downloadable content is available on XBOX Live for owners of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. The Content Download for Splinter Cell Chaos Theory includes 2 new Coop missions that continue the Coop story and bring it to the end. The 2 missions are: Nuclear Plant, and UN Headquarters. Both new missions are playable in Split Screen, System Link and Xbox Live, both missions are playable only in Mission and Elite Mode.

Zoo Tycoon 2 gives you the chance to build the ultimate zoo and enjoy it firsthand. You can explore your 3D zoo world as a zoo guest or even care for your animals as a zookeeper. The Endangered Species expansion pack will give you even more to love about Zoo Tycoon 2! This developer diary is a Q&A with Blue Fang's lead desgner Linda Currie, and game designer Shawn Stone.

NHL 2K6 continues its legacy with more control, more emotion and more detail than ever before. Puck fans take command of tape-to-tape passing, behind-the-net plays and precision give-and-go attacks. Players dominate the ice with NHL caliber goaltending, skating, checking and puck handling with the deeply enhanced animation system. Featuring all-new presentation elements, commentary and cut-scenes, NHL 2K6 is the ultimate hockey experience.