Assembly Speaker Leland Yee today blasted the ESRB for failing to appropriately rate Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Recently it was reported that GTA:SA includes hidden animations which allow players to watch graphic scenes featuring oral sex, nudity, and simulated intercourse, which Rockstar denies. Despite these graphic scenes, GTA:SA only received a "Mature" rating instead of the ESRB's most restrictive rating "Adults Only." Most retailers will not carry games with an AO rating.

In SpellForce 2, the player takes over the role of the avatar, solving quests and overcoming obstacles as in classical RPGs, but also experiences strategic challenges while leading armies as in an RTS - therefore offering a complete synthesis of both genres in a perfect blend.

Ensign Games releases DreamStripper 3D, a new PC game using lifelike Hollywood technology. In DreamStripper you totally control the dancer. You decide how she dances, what she wears, even the music she dances to!

IncaGold is pleased to announce that it has acquired the German-language rights to three titles from InterActive Vision Games, Red Skies Over Europe, Chain of Command and Chain of Command: Eastern Front.

SpecForce is Techland's latest futuristic tactical shooter with a plot connected to already known Chrome. Established to fight crisis situations that threaten the Federation's peace, equipped with the latest combat gear, Specforce is the Federation's elite rapid reaction force. This demo contains one of eleven missions. Read more for download links ...

The government-owned clinic started taking patients in March and occupies the top floor of a two-story building on campus of the Beijing Military Region Central Hospital in the heart of the Chinese capital. A dozen nurses and 11 doctors care for the patients, mostly youths aged 14 to 24 who have lost sleep, weight and friends after countless hours in front of the computer, often playing video games with others online. Read more over at CNN's report ...

IBM will receive $775 million in cash and $75 million in credit for software from Microsoft Corp. to settle claims that resulted from the federal government's antitrust case against Microsoft in the 1990s. U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled in 2000 that Microsoft engaged in anticompetitive practice, and the judge's ruling cited IBM as a company that Microsoft had forced to "desist from certain technological innovations and business initiatives." Read the full article here ...

Matrix Games announced today that Crown of Glory by Western Civilization Software has been released for sale and is available from the Matrix Games online store for $39.99 as a digital download and $49.99 as a boxed game. Additionally Crown of Glory is making its debut at the Origins Gaming Convention in Columbus, Ohio starting today, June 30th through July 3rd.

SpecForce developer Techland has today announced that the SP demo of its latest sci-fi FPP tactical shooter will be available for download on Thursday July 5th. 335 MB file containing one of eleven missions will be available in English, French, German and Polish language. The players will be able to use their own tactics and a bunch of modern military equipment including armored vehicles, stationary weapons, Power Armor and over 10 futuristic personal weapons. We will of course have it available on our fileserver net work the moment it is released.

Nibiru: Messenger of the Gods is a 2D horror/adventure game in which you take on the role of Martin Holan, an Thechz archeologist working in France sent to investigate a newly found secret tunnel apparently made by Germans during the second World War. This patch addresses issues you may encounter if you have a GeForce 6600 gfx card. Read more for download links ...

Fans of the Left Behind Series books will soon be able to join the Tribulation Forces and participate actively in the battle of good versus evil with the launch of the real-time-strategy (RTS) title, Left Behind: Eternal Forces, the first PC game based on the blockbuster apocalyptic series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.

Pre-order campaigns for MMO games offer, as a rule, bonus in-game goodies to reward early adopters with something special. NCsoft Europe has today announced that it plans to go one better with Auto Assault as European players will be able to vote for which in-game weapon will be included in the pre-order campaign.

Matrix Games and Slitherine Strategies are pleased to announce that Spartan, the classic empire-building and ancient battles game, is now available for purchase as a digital download from the Matrix Games website.

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge is an action-adventure game that continues the story of Jack Skellington and his arch-nemesis, Oogie Boogie. Players take on the role of Jack, who must battle bizarre and vicious enemies in order to stop the diabolical Oogie Boogie from kidnapping the leaders of all the holidays.

Deep Silver announced details of their sci-fi FPS, Chrome Specforce. Launching in August 2005, Chrome Specforce is definitely one for every shooter fan, packed with unlimited action and a diverse range of vehicles and weapons, appealing for both lone and online gaming. Get ready for the special force operatives of the future.

Need for Speed Most Wanted delivers a unique, fast-paced and gripping ride in the racing genre as players build up their Rap Sheet and street cred to move their way up the Black List to become the most wanted racer on the streets. Players will go head-to-head with the top drivers on the scene as well as strategically evade more than half dozen cops at any one time. Add in a dynamic open world, new gameplay and customization as well as tuners, supercars, muscles and sports cars and Need for Speed Most Wanted will be on every gamer's "must-have" list.

Ubisoft announced today that it has signed an agreement with UK glamour model Thekla Roth to appear in its upcoming action game. 187 Ride or Die tells the story of a reluctant urban hero named Buck, a young man living a thug's life seething with money, fast cars and beautiful women -- with danger lurking around every corner.

S2 will significantly improve the game - important features have been added, dynamic camber (improved simulation of suspension and different suspension types), highly detailed tyre physics and a damage model have been introduced. The LFS team has released an updated alpha demo for Live for Speed S2 offering you a training area, and the Blackwood track, driveable in 3 cars. This updated demo contains the full game which you can unlock once you purchase a key. Read more for download links ...

Vivendi has updated its F.E.A.R. product page reflecting a change in release date for Monolith's upcoming FPS. Originally scheduled for fall 2005, it has now been moved forward and is tentatively planned for summer 2005. An unidentified paramilitary force infiltrates a multi-billion dollar aerospace compound, the government responds by sending in Special Forces, but loses contact as an eerie signal interrupts radio communications. When the interference subsides moments later, the team has been literally torn apart. Your mission is simple: Eliminate the intruders at any cost. Determine the origin of the signal. And contain this crisis before it spirals out of control.

In SpellForce 2, the player takes over the role of the avatar, solving quests and overcoming obstacles as in classical RPGs, but also experiences strategic challenges while leading armies as in an RTS - therefore offering a complete synthesis of both genres in a perfect blend.

AT&T today announced it will will host Turbine's multiplayer games, including Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach, The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, and the critically acclaimed franchise titles Asheron's Call and Asheron's Call 2, from its local Internet Data Center.

By now everybody knows Microsoft's next gen console will use an ATI GPU instead of the current NVIDIA powered Xbox. The question on a lot of people's minds was, will there be backwards compatibility? While Sony and Nintendo already announced that its new consoles will be able to play previously released titles, Microsoft was quiet on the matter and only at E3 did we get a vague "best-selling Xbox titles would work on the Xbox 360." 1UP finally got some more information as it seems that Microsoft has bought a technology license from NVIDIA to allow the X360 to emulate using the IBM PowerPC CPU's. Several "patches" will ship on the X360's HD at launch, while and others will be made available through Xbox Live at a later date.

RedOctane today announced its Be A Guitar Hero Competition. Bands nationwide are invited to submit original music for potential inclusion in Guitar Hero the innovative new video game scheduled for release on the PlayStation2 in the fall of 2005.

Microsoft has sued four online retailers in California and Virginia for selling pirated software after having received complaints from consumers and businesses who had purchased software from those outlets.

Joint Task Force is a state-of-the-art military RTS with a contemporary setting. The game will consist of 20 missions that will take us to 5 different parts of the world such as the Middle East, Central Asia and the Balkans.