SCEA announced today the launch of World Tour Soccer 2006 for the PS2. Now available in stores, the World Tour Soccer franchise has established itself as one of the most popular soccer titles by featuring the tightest, most realistic soccer action available with an unprecedented line-up of teams and players from around the globe.

German publisher dtp announced today that City Interactive is working on an addon for its Terrorist Takedown action game, Payback. Scheduled for an April release, Terrorist Takedown: Payback is a standalone expansion pack in which the player once againtakes on the role of GIs fighting against terrorrism. The expansion incorporates various gameplay improvements over the original title and adds 10 new missions, and lets you fly AH 64-Apache, control the .50 caliber humvee machine gun, or take aim with an antitank cannon, all for the low price of $9.99.

The National Basketball Association on Tuesday signed long-term video game licensing deals with not one, but no less than five publishers, bucking the recent trend of sports leagues making exclusive arrangements with a single company. Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, Midway Games, Sony Corp and Atari Inc., all current NBA partners, signed new deals with the league.

Matrix Games announced today that they will be bringing I of the Enemy by Enemy Technology to Matrix Games. I of the Enemy is a unique real-time strategy game that focuses on a strong campaign story and tactical fighting as opposed to seeing who can collect resources the fastest.

The Bloodline Chronicles takes you deep into the mysterious caverns beneath Nektulos Forest to investigate the source of strange happenings in the land of Norrath. Battle the denizens of the underworld to discover the dark secrets of the Tombs of Night - and enter, if you dare, the Crypt of T'Haen to confront the legendary lost lord of the undead. Content in The Bloodline Chronicles is geared towards level 30-45 players, however all players will be given access to one zone, The Tombs of Night, whether or not they choose to purchase the Adventure Pack.

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 :

• Commandos Strike Force - Trailer #2
• Earth 2160 - Trailer #3
• FEAR - Trailer #2
• Empire Earth 2 - Trailer #1
• 7 Sins - Trailer #2

WildTangent announced today that it is nearing the release of it’s new fantasy adventure game FATE. FATE is the first game of its kind to offer a friendly entry point for the casual gamer, as well as game play depth and infinite replayability for the experienced gaming enthusiast.

Eidos said earlier this month that it had received an approach on March 2nd about a possible offer at 53 pence per share, and ever since, rumors have run rampant all over the web. Ubisoft was mentioned as a contender, and earlier today, reports stated that SCi had bought Eidos. None of it is true it seems, as it has now been confirmed that Eidos has agreed to a 71 million pounds ($135 million) cash offer from a unit of U.S. private equity company Elevation Partners LP. Interestingly enough, Elevation Partners is lead by people such as U2's Bono and former EA President John Riccitiello.

Activision has released a new patch for Splash Damage's free team-based multiplayer FPS Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory. This release brings the multiplayer addon to v2.60 and optimizes netcode, various server crashes fixed, server can redirect clients to other servers when full, mods menu, and plenty more. Read more for details and download links ...

Set before the events of both Universal Pictures' The Chronicles of Riddick and the 2000 breakout hit Pitch Black, the game tells the story of Riddick's dramatic escape from the previously inescapable triple max security slam Butcher Bay, home to the most violent prisoners in the universe. This demo contains a short tutorial and one level from the full game (thanks GameSpot). Read more for download links ...

Square Enix announced today that a new concert for the Final Fantasy video game franchise will be performed in Los Angeles at Universal Amphitheatre. The concert will be conducted by Grammy award winner Arnie Roth and performed by the World Festival Symphony Orchestra and the CSUF University Singers, with special appearances by The Black Mages and additional guest performers who will be announced at a later date.

Five more game developers, Bizarre Creations, Second Life, Ternary Software, Imaginary Numbers, and A Hero's Journey, have chosen SpeedTree to ensure that their games will meet the incredible new environmental standard SpeedTree is driving worldwide. SpeedTree delivers low-polygon, highly realistic trees and plants, with adjustable wind effects, seamless LOD transitions, and a library of hundreds of tree models from more than 100 species.

Offering over 40 fully-licensed and faithfully replicated club and national teams, players can tinker with tactics, formation, line-up and training before each match. Pro Rugby Manager 2 displays each bone-crunching tackle, each heart-in-mouth drop kick and every maddening pass and dash to the try-line in such glorious, motion-captured detail, it rivals anything TV coverage can offer. This demo features a friendly game between the Northampton Saints and Toulouse, playable in singleplayer mode, but also LAN and online multiplayer.Read more for download links ...

Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory tells the conspiracy-ridden story of black ops agent Sam Fisher as he explores the world of international espionage. The game will offer a high adrenaline experience thanks to never seen before close range attacks, a totally open level design, a completely immersive and interactive environment, and challenging advanced AI. In addition, it will offer the best graphics in this generation of games and a unique, collaborative multiplayer mode available for online and offline.

Set during the famous airdrop before the invasion at Normandy, Sgt. Matt Baker and his squad of 101st Airborne paratroopers were scattered over the French countryside. As the story unfolds, the player (Baker) must choose between the success of his mission and the lives of his men – his brothers in arms.

World Snooker Championship 2005 offers gamers the ultimate simulation of the beloved game. As you might expect, this game has all the big names, but this time there's simply a lot more than any snooker game gone before. More features, options, game modes and faces to make this the ultimate must have snooker title for any serious fan.

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 :

• Medal of Honor European Assault - Trailer
• Splinter Cell Chaos Theory - TV Commercial
• Jade Empire - Trailer (2)

Mythic Blades is a visually breath-taking entertainment title which places the player in the role of Legendary Hero or Terrifying Monster during combat to determine the fate of the Olympus. Ares has challenged his father; if Ares wins, he will take over Zeus' place and rule over the Olympus - but the battle does not take place there. Instead it will be fought between Man and Monster.

After much deliberation, Valve has announced the winners of its Half-Life 2: Deathmatch mapping contest. Contest Winner is Scott M Jordan, USA with his dm_Underpass map. Congratulations! First Runner-Up Jonathan Linker, Germany (dm_resistance), second Runner-Up Michael Schulz, Germany (dm_powerhouse) and Honorable Mention Michael Visser, Netherlands (dm_avalon). Read more to check out some screens...

Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade, developed and published by SOE, will be one of the few original titles developed in North America, and the only multiplayer action role-playing game (RPG) available at the system's launch. Read more to check out some new screens...

A wet, wild and totally soaked new expansion pack to RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 will ride into stores this June. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Soaked!, the first expansion pack to RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 will let players create and control their own water parks for the first time. Read more to check out some more new screens ...

Bethesda Softworks today announced that The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is currently in development for PC and future generation consoles (PS3 & Xbox 2). In development since 2002, Oblivion is another leap forward in role-playing with its combination of freeform gameplay and cutting-edge graphics.

Project: Snowblind is a the first-person action shooter putting you in the role of an elite super soldier, fighting on the front lines of a near-future war using unique weapons, abilities and high-tech gadgetry that inject depth and variety to gameplay. Windows gamers today is your day to suit up and ready your weapons for battle. Project: Snowblind for PC has shipped and is now in stores in North America.

Dutch developer Team6 has now released a 'final' demo for their car racing game, Manhattan Chase, which lets you choose between the brave side of the police, or the evil side of the criminals. In short: Chase, or be chased! The single-player demo features one mission and also has a multiplayer option (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Spring 1945: World War 2 is drawing to a close and the Russians and Germans are caught in a furious battle for a devastated Berlin. The cold war starts... As a sniper, recruited by the OSS (former CIA), it is the beginning of a lonely stealth mission in the Russian territory. In development since 2003, Sniper Elite is a sniping/stealth game due to be released on PS2, PC and Xbox May 2005.