BAM! Entertainment today announced that it has agreed terms to acquire VIS entertainment plc ("VIS"), a Scottish developer of interactive entertainment software products, and SOE Development Limited ("SOED"), a company set up to fund the development of State of Emergency 2, one of VIS' key properties.

ASCARON Entertainment has announced that the German edition of their RPG game Sacred has reached Gold Master status and that it will be available in stores (in Germany only we assume) February 27th. Encore is the North American distributor for Sacred, and it is expected to go gold soon in the next few weeks as well.

'Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow' will bring back more of the single-player intrigue that made the original game a bestseller. With exciting new action scenes and a strong cinematic feel, the player will experience new and even more realistic surroundings. Building on Ubi Soft's strong commitment to online gaming, Pandora Tomorrow will the be the first stealth game ever to feature multiplayer online missions allowing several players to simultaneously share Sam Fisher's shadowy world of espionage. Read more for some new screens...

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 :

• Silent Hill 4: The Room - Trailer
• Lagster - Intro Movie
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

It seems The Fall: Last Days of Gaia developers Silver Style are on a recruiting spree as they have now signed another former Black Isle member, Designer Jeff Husges. The official Silver Style forum has this to say "We're glad to welcome Game Designer Jeff Husges! He worked at Black Isle on Fallout 3 and Baldur's Gate 3 formerly. He starts working on "The Fall - Last Days of Gaia" from today on." Jeff Husges will, just like Game Designer Damien Foletto, remain in the US and work from home.

If you thought your tour of duty was over after finishing Activision, Inc.'s award-winning Call of Duty...think again. Starting today through March 26, 2004, map-making gurus everywhere can log on to the official CoD website and enter to win the "Call of Duty Mapmaker Competition." Read more for details ...

The Adventure Company today announced that it will publish The Egyptian Prophecy on PC-CD in North America. This first person adventure has an easy to use point-and-click interface with high quality cinematics, and integrated 3D real-time puzzles. Read more for the first screens and trailer...

The game will provide players with extremely dynamic gameplay of fast and tough combats, where players are to oppose dangerous and wise enemies, a large set of multifarious weaponry, possibility to control various machinery, incredible detailing and game world interactivity, story-driven single player with original team gameplay, a well-balanced multiplayer with numerous modes: DeathMatch, CTF, Cooperative, various team games and much more. Read more to check out 2 new screens...

James Bond returns today in Electronic Arts' James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, which has shipped to retail outlets nationwide under the EA GAMES brand. Everything or Nothing is a stunning mix of action, espionage and high-speed driving that marks Bond's fifth mission for Electronic Arts. The title is available for the PlayStation2, Xbox, and GameCube.

'Poacher' represents an entirely new facet of gameplay for all first person shooter and resource management enthusiasts. You are Roman Sar, a poacher with a bad attitude and big guns. You fight and struggle your way through the African Congo to the deep jungles of India as you hunt for the most famous of endangered species; all the while avoiding and battling the dreaded Game Wardens. Read more for details and the first poached screens ...

UFO: Aftermath is a 3D isometric, tactical strategy game with a rich and compelling sci fi story. Combining a global strategy with small squad tactical combat, the challenge offered is to fight against an alien invasion. Featuring run time generated tactical missions with innovative simultaneous combat action; the genre is also enhanced with strong RPG elements, offering a quite unique mix of strategic ideas.

DreamCatcher Games has released the the long-awaited demo of its first-person shooter, Painkiller. The demo contains 3 Single Player levels including the never-before-seen Oriental Castle, the medieval town level and the Thor level where players will get "hammered" with one of the biggest, meanest and downright scariest bosses of all time, Saphathoraél. Read more for download links ...

'Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow' will bring back more of the single-player intrigue that made the original game a bestseller. With exciting new action scenes and a strong cinematic feel, the player will experience new and even more realistic surroundings. Building on Ubi Soft's strong commitment to online gaming, Pandora Tomorrow will the be the first stealth game ever to feature multiplayer online missions allowing several players to simultaneously share Sam Fisher's shadowy world of espionage. Read more for some new screens...

In "the Mysterious Island" you take control on the team, which consists of different characters and each of them can develop abilities in various fields. At the same time skirmishes with encounter enemies are presented in the same way as in RTS games. Thanks to AI system development element of life-stimulation is much more meaningful and convincing. Algorithms describing characters' behavior are much more complicated and subtle as well. This makes the game outstanding, fascinating and the player can easily get into the swing.

Atari proudly announces that 'Toca Race Driver 2' (V8 Supercars 2 in Australia), the second release of the official AVESCO licensed V8 Supercar game will include the addition of four new race tracks and five new teams including extremely popular Holden Racing Team (thanks xis). Read more for details and screens ...

For the first time gamers will play as friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger as well as Harry Potter, switching between characters and utilizing their key attributes and skills to resolve challenges and overcome enemies. The three friends will need to combine their strengths and master a variety of new spells as they face Harry's most terrifying opponents yet: the escaped convict Sirius Black and the Dementors, the sinister guards of Azkaban prison. Read more for some new screens...

ValuSoft has released a demo for Sproing Interactive's WWII FPS of Beyond Normandy - Assignment: Berlin. This demo features 30 minutes of gameplay and this download features the full game, so you can unlock additional material by purchasing a license key (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Stormregion, who have previously developed highly acclaimed S.W.I.N.E., made massive tanks a crucial element in this tactical combat action title set in World War II. Russian, German and Allied troops fight in three campaigns and more than 30 breath taking single player missions. Over a hundred authentic 3D vehicles are at disposal as well as a wide range of ground troops. Panzers developer Achim Heidelauf has updated his website, read more to check the new screens...

A real-time tactical game boasting single and multiplayer modes, Desert Rats vs. Afrika Korps immerses you into the explosive campaigns that took place in North Africa during World War II. Set across two campaigns and twenty missions, you take the role of either friend or foe as you follow the fascinating destinies of an English and a German hero who were once friends and who are now constrained to fight each other in this “war without hate”.

Fight Night 2004 is an all-new boxing game that features revolutionary new gameplay mechanics and a dramatic new-school attitude to immerse players like never before. Innovative new analog Total Punch Control allows gamers to throw punches, block, bob, and weave with unprecedented fluidity and precision. The game also includes a deep create-a-player option, career mode, and online play for the PS2 via EA SPORTS Nation. Read more for some screens & trailer...

With the demise of 3DO a while ago the future of the Geroes Of Might & Magic was uncertain until Ubisoft outbid other publishers a few months later. With the additional closing of long time developer New World Computing, it has been very quiet on the who and when we can expect the next installment (which would mean the fith episode). Heroes fan site Heroic Corner claims to have received confirmation from 2 independent sources that Silent Storm & Etherlords developer Nival Interactive might be the chosen one. Since most of Nival Interactive's titles have been strategy based it might very well be possible that they have been tagged by Ubisoft to work on 'Heroes of Might & Magic 5' (thanks Gamers.nl).

City of Heroes is the first superhero themed online RPG and will offer a host of exciting and compelling gameplay features. Players create their own heroes, choosing from hundreds of different powers, skills, abilities, and items and design their own unique costumes. Then they can band together with other players to fight evil, build their own secret headquarters and strive to become the premiere hero group in the city. Check out some new powers and new screens ...

Take 2 has released a German demo for Ascaron's upcoming RPG Sacred. The demo lets try out 13 quests in the World Of Ancaria, playable with either Seraphim character or the Gladiator (thanks Blues). An English demo is expected in the next week or so, but for the Diablo hungry, this will do in the meantime. 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 :

• Silent Hill 4 - Trailer
• Far Cry - Trailer
• Take Command 1861: The Civil War - Trailer
• Crusader Kings - Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

GarageGames announced today the availability of an exporter tool that allows Blender, the Open Source 3D content creation suite, to be used with GarageGames' flagship Torque Game Engine technology. The Blender exporter runs on the Mac OS X, Linux and Windows platforms.