A community update made by EA's Executive Producer Mike Verdu reveals that the Battle for Middle-earth II v1.02 patch is scheduled for next week and will address a multiplayer crash, two out of sync issues, and the problem with how games were reporting ladder results and stats incorrectly, so the ladders once 1.02 goes live. Mike also reports that server hardware has been replaced so the recent server outages should be a thing of the past.

Rush for Berlin is a tactical real time strategy game, set on the European battlefields of World War II, during 1944-45. The player's goal; to capture the German capital, as either the British/US/French alliance or the Red army of the Soviet Union.

An ongoing discussion in the EA community forums regarding a stuttering issue in the PC version of Need For Speed Most Wanted concluded with the forum admin revealing there will be no more patches due to "time and resources." Although in early February the team was apparently doing some testing to investigate the issue, EA recently decided to drop all NFS Most Wanted support (thanks ve3d). On the bright side, EA promises to do better in future releases ... really ...

German publisher Frogster has released a free downloadable add-on for Mayhem Studios' Fantasy RPG Neverend, adding new battlefields, characters, animations, quests, while also implementing some bug fixes and other optimizations. Read more for download links ...

Set for launch in June 2006, Formula One 06 is the only official game of the 2006 FIA Formula One World championship and is back exclusively to PS2 and PSP. Loaded with new features and all the official 2006 drivers, cars, teams, circuits and rules, Formula One 06 is the only way to truly interact with the world's raciest sport!

THQ today announced the formation of XDG (External Development Group), a new team charged with streamlining the company's development outsourcing needs, spearheaded by Shiraz Akmal, previously director of research and development at THQ's Heavy Iron Studios

The Secrets of Da Vinci: The Forbidden Manuscript is a major adventure and investigation game, the first game created about the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci. It offers players the opportunity to grapple with the mysteries of the codes hidden within the works of the great Italian genius.

Another strike against Starforce, as Bluesnews received the following, "Aspyr Media is responsible for publishing the North American release of Spellforce 2. We wanted everyone to know that Starforce will *not* be included in the retail release of this game. Starforce is being used in the demo in cooperation with the European publishers of the title, JoWood. We apologize for any inconveniences Starforce may have caused and would again like to reassure everyone that we have chosen alternative copy protection software for our final release product."

As if the StarForce copy protection isn't the center of enough controversy these days, the company decided to shamelessly promote the use of its anti-piracy application by ... linking to BitTorent to download a pirated game. Recently, Stardock's Galactic Civilizations II got attention because it doesn't use any protection but sells increasingly well, apart from a serial code required to receive free updates & patches. Apparently, StarForce feels threatened by this and, to seemingly prove copy protections are required, facilitates piracy by publicly spreading information where to download pirated games.

In SpellForce II you take over both roles, Commander of your troops and also a front fighting hero, solving quests and overcoming obstacles as in classical RPGs, but also leading armies as in an RTS. Your character is supported by up to 5 heroes who can be summoned at special monuments - these will become available in stronger versions as you progress and reveal more of the epic storyline.

An update on the official Battle for Middle-earth II Web site reveals that EA is working on two new patches. One imminent patch in the next few days will address some synch issues, multiplayer crashes and a few other glitches, while another is scheduled in the next 3-4 weeks and will include balance changes, fixes for a few exploits, a change to the way game results and stats are reported for the ladders, some improvements to the game, and other goodies. We will, of course, have those patches available on our file server network when they are released.

According to CNET, Democrats Joseph Lieberman, Hillary Clinton, and Dick Durbin persuaded a Senate committee to approve a sweeping study of the "impact of electronic media use" to be organized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. The bill, called CAMRA, would provide funding to investigate the cognitive, physical and socio-behavioral impact of electronic media on child and adolescent development.

In SpellForce II you take on the role of Commander of your troops, a front fighting hero, solving quests and overcoming obstacles as in classical RPGs, but also leads armies as in an RTS. Aspyr has released a demo allowing you to try out a tutorial and 2 maps.

In Battlefield 2: Euro Force, the European Army joins the Battlefield with seven new weapons and four new vehicles, the European Army will be sent into battle against MEC and Chinese forces on three brand new maps. The BF 2 Euro Force Booster Pack will be available for download on Wednesday March 15th.

The Secrets of Da Vinci: The Forbidden Manuscript is a major adventure and investigation game, the first game created about the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci. It offers players the opportunity to grapple with the mysteries of the codes hidden within the works of the great Italian genius.

Giant Bite is founded by game industry veterans Hamilton Chu, Michael Evans, Andy Glaister, and Steve Theodore. The principals have helped to create some of the best-known games in the world, including Halo, Halo 2, Half-Life and Counterstrike, as well as making key contributions to Microsoft's DirectX technologies.

Battle of Europe offers fast, arcade style gameplay with a historical theme. Players will control the best combat aircraft of the era and even some "top secret" ones! This fast paced title lets players engage their enemies over some of the most beautiful landscapes in Europe.

SCEA announced today that its PSP exclusive action game Pursuit Force is now available. Pursuit Force delivers Hollywood-style movie action to the small screen with high-speed vehicle chases, exciting stunts, and thrilling shootouts, all in the quest to bring criminal gangs to justice and restore peace throughout Capital City.

Lionhead's community manager Sam van Tilburgh revealed today that at a company meeting Lionhead decided to lay off about 100 people. After somewhat low sales numbers for The Movies, Activision backing out of the console version, Lionhead is scaling back from 3 to 2 developments teams as certain projects wrapped up. While support and a planned expansion pack for the Movies are still in play, the execs decided to get rid of the redundancies, although oddly enough a few days ago the official website mentioned Lionhead was hiring.

Rush for Berlin is a tactical real time strategy game, set on the European battlefields of World War II, during 1944-45. The player's goal; to capture the German capital, as either the British/US/French alliance or the Red army of the Soviet Union.

Microsoft announced today a new retail program called the Best of Platinum Hits. Starting March 2006 Microsoft will providing consumers with popular Xbox titles for the low price of $9.99 (SRP).

EA today announced that the signature sound of alternative rock band Depeche Mode has been translated to The Sims native Simlish language for the first time ever. 'Suffer Well,' a popular track from Depeche Mode's critically acclaimed album 'Playing the Angel,' has been recorded in Simlish and will be made available to fans of music and PC games through The Sims 2 Open for Business.

Slitherine in association with Black Bean and Strategy First, today announced the Cult of Mithras has gone gold, and is only available by digital download. Cult of Mithras allows players to take their armies on new adventures into a new world, fighting against old enemies and new mythological beasts.

SOE's Platform Publishing today announced an agreement with Perpetual Entertainment to co-publish its online action role-playing game, Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising.

EA shipped The Sims 2 Open for Business to retailers around the globe today. The Sims 2 Open for Business allows players to access a whole new type of gameplay that takes Sims out of their homes, and allows them to flourish at their dream business.