Big Mutha Truckers 2 begins with Ma Jackson being taken into police custody for tax evasion. The only way she can win her case is by hiring Cousin Jacob, the most "fancy-talkin' legal fella" this side of Booger's Canyon. Players will be challenged to raise the cash needed to bribe jurors to let Ma off by trucking, trading, wheeling and dealing.

Set before the events of both Universal Pictures' upcoming summer release, The Chronicles of Riddick, starring Vin Diesel, and the 2000 breakout hit Pitch Black, which first introduced Diesel as enigmatic anti-hero Riddick, 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.

Customers who pre-order Gearbox's WW2 FPS Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 will also receive a special bonus Penny Arcade Character Journal (PS2/Xbox) or an Official Making of DVD (PC). Bonus items will ship with purchased product, and is only available while supplies last. Participating retailers are : Ubi.com, EBGames, and GameStop.

In Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2005, players will compete against the legends of golf and use Tiger Proofing to alter the courses in the game en route to becoming a legend of their own. Read more for some new screens..

The game places the player in the leading role of an over-the-top, John Woo inspired, Hollywood action movie, playing an undercover DEA agent infiltrating the Mexican drug cartels. The leading character has all the characteristics of a modern action film hero like Nicholas Cage or John Travolta, with a popular, vividly colourful and varied backdrop provided by the Mexican setting. Overdose is scheduled to be released on PS2/Xbox and PC in Q2 2005, at which point development for a sequel will be started (thanks HomeLAN).

Making good money apparently isn't enough for EA as various online outlets have started reporting that former Maxis manager Neil Young, now spearheading the EALA campus, handed out roughly 60-70 pink slips, sending people home unemployed. While said firings were across the board, the Goldeneye: Rogue Agent and MoH: Dogs of War developers were amongst the biggest casualties. According to Young the layoffs, reducing the head count to 320, were neccesary as part of a restructuring and streamlining of EALA for the future. Read more about on GameSpot.

Computer and video game software sales set a new record in 2004, reaching $7.3 billion, according to final data compiled by the NPD Group. Halo 2, one of the best-selling titles of 2004, took in more revenue in its first day of sales than any movie has ever taken in its opening day. In addition, Nintendo sold over 1 million units of its new handheld game system, Nintendo DS, in North America by the end of 2004, a mark that took Apple's iPod 19 months to achieve.

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 :

• Legend of Kay - Final Trailer
• Red Ninja: End of Honor - Trailer #6
• Fight Night Round 2 - Trailer #4

Live fastballs, suicide squeezes, grass-staining dives, seventh-inning stretches, walk-off homeruns, peanuts and hotdogs… these are just some of the things that make the sport of baseball America’s favorite pastime. The victory of a baseball game can depend on the walk-off homerun in the ninth inning or a simple second base steal.

Drawing on the knowledge of one of the most highly decorated general officers ever to serve in the US Army, Atari announced that it has retained General Barry McCaffrey, USA (Ret.) to offer his feedback and direction on Act of War: Direct Action, a real-time military strategy game for the PC.

Take-Two today announced that it has purchased certain rights to the multi-million unit selling Civilization franchise, and has signed a long-term, multi-title publishing agreement with FIRAXIS Games, developers of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, SimGolf, Gettysburg, Civilization III, Pirates! and other critically acclaimed simulation and strategy games.

In Soldner: Marine Corps, you become part of a special operations squad or could even command the team. Equipped with the best weapons in modern warfare the player joins one of two teams who combat each other in an action driven tactical war. With ground, airborne and water vehicles available, it’s the players choice how to support the team and how to achieve victory.

Oddworld just got Stranger! In this new chapter in the award-winning Oddworld series, players step into the role of the Stranger, a mysterious bounty hunter who tracks down outlaws for moolah. Using a special weapons system that gives a whole new meaning to "live" ammo, players will encounter massive environments, devious opponents and hostile challenges along the way.

Developed by Mad Doc Software and due for release in the first half of 2005, 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.

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. Check the freshly launched Cold Winter website, or read more for some new screens ...

The Sims 2 University is the first expansion pack for the highly-acclaimed The Sims 2, giving players of The Sims 2 the ability to watch their Sims become young adults and put childhood behind them as they settle into an all-new college town to live out their ultimate college fantasy.

EA today announced financial results for the third quarter ended December 31, 2004. Net revenue was slightly down, while titles such as NFSU2, NBA Live 2005, Battle For Middle Earth, and Third Age sold more than 1 million copies apiece. EA commented that they were also in the running for the MLBPA license but did not think the economics made sense, so did not fully pursue it. The ESPN license will open the door to new franchises such as Poker, Fishing and possible X-Games based titles. In regards to Ubisoft, EA says it wants to be a good shareholder and and will keep options open, which could mean acquiring additional shares (but it stressed it would not overpay), or simply selling the current stock. Most importantly, it was revealed that Battlefield 2 and MoH: Dogs of War have been delayed until Q1 2006 (April through June). Read more for the detailed financial information..

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 :

• Brothers in Arms - Realism Trailer
• Area 51 - Trailer #8
• Galactic Civilizations II - Intro Movie
• Fight Night Round 2 - Trailer #3

EA has released an updated version of the MoH: Pacific Assault mod developer kit, letting the mod community create their own maps for EA Pacific's WWII based first-person shooter. This new version features improved lightmapping, support for collaborative development and milkShape plugins. Read more for details and download links ...

Following other successful movies based on computer games like Mortal Kombat and Double Dragon, Sony Pictures Entertainment will produce Counter-Strike: Movie. Based on the popular Counter-Strike multiplayer mod from Valve, the movie is guaranteed to be "a rollercoaster ride of thrilling action and witty banter." German director Uwe Boll (Alone in the Dark, Bloodrayne) has picked up the rights, and both Ben Affleck and Colin Farrell have expressed interested in starring in the movie (thanks Gamers.nl/bbspot.com).
UPDATE: A bit early for April Fools Day, thank god no Uwe Boll, turns out to be a joke!

Flashpoint Germany occurs at the height of the cold war. The historical outcome we know hasn't happened yet and this time things will end differently. This time, with the world at the brink of World War III and the Soviet Union in a state of near collapse, the decision to seek a military solution was made. Square off as either the Warsaw Pact or the NATO alliance in this war to end all wars!

Electronic Arts and Nintendo announced today that the popular boxing title, Super Punch-Out!! for the SNES, will be included exclusively in the GameCube version of Fight Night Round 2. Shipping on March 1, 2005 the newest addition in Fight Night series is making its debut on the GameCube bundled with an added bonus only available for GameCube fans.

Paradox Interactive announced today that a 6-pack of their Strategy titles will be hitting stores in North America by the end of next month. If strategy is your game, this jam-packed collection will provide hours of gameplay! It contains such treats as Europa Universalis II Asia, never before released in North America, award-winning Hearts of Iron and best-selling Europa Universalis II.

DreamCatcher Games today announced that Dungeon Lords, Heuristic's combat role-playing game, will ship worldwide for on 20th April 2005. Read more for some new screens...

The Saga of Ryzom developer Nevrax announced today the beginning of an exciting and rewarding in-game contest, with more than 50 of the latest NVIDIA cards to be given away. Read more for details ...