A few weeks ago Hip Interactive revealed that it signed an agreement to develop games based on cult horror director George A. Romero's work. Today Hip informs us that UK developer Kuju Entertainment has been tagged to work on the first, yet unnamed, game, which is scheduled for release next fiscal year ending March 31, 2006.

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. During the game, 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.

GSC GameWorld sent out a newsletter with details on how the AI it has implemented in its FPS S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl will work, react to circumstances, and how the development team faced the necessity to invent new methods of game AI. Read more for the full newsletter...

Stronghold 2 will bring the the castle-sim and siege-warfare RTS series to life in glorious 3D. Stronghold 2 will also offer players a "castle-life" campaign, enhanced multiplayer capability and a new, innovative and exciting single player campaign that will be revealed in the months ahead. Read more for details about the Stronghold 2 Kingmaker mode.

Captured, conveniently forgotten, tortured, and left for dead, MI6 agent Andrew Sterling awaits execution in a Chinese prison. The story begins when a mysterious friend from his past rescues him, setting off a chain of events that could rock the very foundations of global security and wreak chaos on a worldwide level.

Hunted by Dahaka, an immortal incarnation of Fate seeking divine retribution, the Prince embarks upon a path of both carnage and mystery to defy his preordained death. His journey leads to the infernal core of a cursed island stronghold harboring mankind's greatest fears. Only through grim resolve, bitter defiance and the mastery of deadly new combat arts can the Prince rise to a new level of warriorship - and emerge from this ultimate trial with his life.

Over the weekend Blizzard updated some of the World of Warcraft database hardware in order to improve performance. This update required extended downtime for certain realms as data was transferred from the launch servers to the new servers. Due to the extended nature of the server issues, Blizzard will be providing a free 48-hour extension of play time, which will show up as free extra time on your current billing period. You can read more about it on the official World of Warcraft website...

Codename: Panzers thrusts players into the high-powered battles of World War II offering real-time combat rampages with awesome 3D graphics. CDV has released a multilanguage mod patch for its WW2 based RTS, allows you to play custom made maps in single, and multiplayer (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

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 :

• Champions of Norrath: Return to Arms (PS2) - Trailer #2
• Shadow of Rome (PS2) - Trailer #7
• Fight Night Round 2 (PS2/Xbox) - Trailer #2
• The Punisher (PS2/Xbox/PC) - Trailer #6

SCEA announced today that World Tour Soccer 2006 from 989 Sports will be available in stores this Spring, marking the fourth iteration of the critically acclaimed soccer franchise. Developed exclusively for the PS2, World Tour Soccer 2006 features an unprecedented line-up of teams and players from around the globe in order to bring the excitement of the world's most popular sport to the forefront for gamers and soccer fans alike.

Namco announced today they have signed a deal with the Danish ITE, to bring two projects from the global HUGO franchise on the Game Boy Advance to the U.S. market this year. Working closely with ITE, Namco will deliver the addictive platforming/puzzle game HUGO: The Evil Mirror and the fast-paced kart racing title HUGO Bukkazoom for young gamers ages 12 and under.

Ubi Soft has yet again released new patches for 1C Maddox's WW2 flight sim Pacific Fighters. This update brings your retail game to v3.04 (for both the standalone and merged installations) and corrects take off acceleration of the carrier based aircraft making it easier to take off with the fully loaded aircraft, tuned maximal speed of F2A and fixes various glitches on ATI cards. Read more for download links.

While it was already revealed several days ago, Sony Online Entertainment today officially announced the forthcoming Adventure Packs for EverQuest II, a content release strategy intended to give players access to new content between traditional game expansions. The first Adventure Pack is scheduled for digital release in March 2005 for $4.99.

Crave Entertainment today announced the upcoming release of their first game for the Nintendo DS - World Championship Poker: Deluxe Series, with an MSRP of $29.99. WCP is currently available for the PS2, Xbox and GBA.

In the first official Soldner addon, Soldner: Marine Corps, you will be faced with all new challenges on the virtual battleground. In Soldner you became familiar with land and air combat, various weapons and means of transportation, Soldner: Marine Corps adds a new playground to the mix, water. But that is not all, the Marine Corps will also have you face a totally different enemy, a total lack of waterm the desert. Read more for the first screens ...

DreamCatcher Games today announced it will publish Domination, a 3D turn-based tactical strategy game previously known as Phantom Renaissance. Domination is slated for release during February in North America and during April in Europe. Read more for details and screens...

Swords of Destiny is an action-packed sword combat game from Marvelous Interactive, with hyper-active, high-flying battling focusing on air combat action (including "Sword Time" for intense juggling airborne combos.) Not much info is available, as for now this is a Japan only title, no details who might bring this to Europe or North America are available...

The Punisher finally makes his debut on the PS2, in an action-packed game that will test your wits and your reflexes. Play as classic anti-hero Frank Castle as you brutalize the seamy underbelly of New York, giving criminals their just desserts. With a host of guest stars and action ripped right from the pages of Marvel Comics, this game is a must-have for any Punisher fan.

Ubisoft has announced that its naval combat game Silent Hunter III has been delayed, luckily only a few weeks. "We are sorry to announce that Silent Hunter III has been postponed a couple of weeks in order to be polished and fine-tuned, the new release date is 17th March 2005. However, we do have a live chat scheduled for Tuesday 25th at 18:00 CET, server type: beyondIRC (irc.beyondirc.net), channel: #SH3." In 'Silent Hunter III' you take the role of the U-boat commander, seek your enemy with sonar and periscope, attack the enemy with torpedoes, destroy them with the deck gun, or command their crew to do the job.

THQ today announced the release of the highly anticipated title The Punisher for the PlayStation2, Xbox, and PC. The Punisher is based on Marvel's darkest antihero, a revenge-driven vigilante from the popular comic book series. Developed by THQ's Volition studio, The Punisher has shipped nationwide with a suggested retail price of $49.99 on console and $39.99 on PC.

As we mentioned a few days ago, Valve announced it would release the official Counter-Strike Bot, as well as an updated version de_tides, rebuilt by Turtlerock Studios. True to their word, it is now available through steam, which also updates a few other maps and a few other tweaks. Read more for details ...

In TimeSplitters Future Perfect, Cortez - the hero from previous installments - returns with humanity on the brink of destruction. With the help of some familiar faces (some very familiar!) he must chase a mystery foe across different time periods to trace the origins of the TimeSplitters and save the day.

DreamCatcher Games today announced it has joined forces with MC2 to publish and distribute Obscure in North America. This Survival Horror game will be available for the PlayStation2, Xbox and PC, in March 2005.

"Stranger" is a real-time strategy game, with elements of role playing games set in a world, split in two parts, surface and a subterranean one, which are in a tenuous balance. 'Stranger' will also feature multiplayer although details beyond "The players may play on their own, or unite in teams" are a bit sktechy.