Some of the nation's favourite video games are to be sold in a special pack to raise money for young people's charities. The video games industry's official charity, the ESC (Entertainment Software Charity), has lined up a special limited edition games pack for the PlayStation 2 which will be in all video games stockists from 26th September.

ESCAPE 2003 Special Edition pack will comprise three titles: Commandos 2: Men of Courage from Eidos, WRC II Extreme from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and SSX Tricky from Electronic Arts.

THQ Inc today announced the release of BIONICLE for Game Boy Advance. BIONICLE, the second title under THQ's multi-title exclusive publishing agreement with LEGO Interactive, is now available at retail outlets nationwide.

"BIONICLE is a fun twist on a classic brand name that is perfectly suited for the Game Boy Advance," stated Tiffany Ternan, senior vice president, North American sales and distribution. "We are happy to add the strength of the LEGO brand to our leading Game Boy Advance catalogue."

Micorsoft announced new European details for its Xbox Live service, the only fast-action, always-on broadband gaming service where gamers can simultaneously play, talk and build their legend across games and around the world. New Xbox Live-enabled countries, flexible pricing options, a trial offer for Europe, and some amazing games mean that European Xbox gamers will have a lot to look forward to this Christmas and beyond. Read more for details ...

For the first time ever, EA Games console titles including The Lord of the Rings; The Return of the King will feature online gameplay for the PS2, Electronic Arts announced today. Along with The Lord of the Rings, The Sims Bustin' Out, Need for Speed Underground, and Medal of Honor Rising Sun will allow gamers to connect and play online this holiday season. Read more for details ...

In their immeasurable greed and constant thirst for power, the thirteen most powerful Mages of all time doomed the land, hurling it into an endless spiral of chaos and despair. Entire countries were wiped out in the blink of an eye when the devastating power of the Elements was unleashed – Elements summoned by dark rituals. Continents shattered like glass, the pieces strewn about like leaves in the wind. Huge armies, bound by the the power of ancient runes, brought war and destruction to the lands that survived the initial onslaught. All that was left were a few islands, connected by magic portals. Read more for 4 tasty new screens ...

Empire Interactive plc ("Empire") has signed an exclusive deal with the Ford Motor Company to develop and publish its much anticipated Ford Racing 2.. It will be released in Q4 2003 on the PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and PC. The game is being distributed exclusively by Take 2 Games in the US and by Empire in the UK and Europe.

Enter the world of urban street racing and high performance tuner cars with the latest title in the hit Need for Speed series: Need for Speed Underground. Take on today’s most popular tuner cars from Mitsubishi Motors, Subaru, Toyota and many more, building the ultimate street machine by earning cash to pay for custom body kits and a host of licensed car performance mods. But just creating a custom street racing machine will not get you to the top; it takes a certain amount of attitude and razor sharp driving skills to compete in the tough world of urban racing. Check out the new screens!

In their immeasurable greed and constant thirst for power, the thirteen most powerful Mages of all time doomed the land, hurling it into an endless spiral of chaos and despair. Entire countries were wiped out in the blink of an eye when the devastating power of the Elements was unleashed – Elements summoned by dark rituals. Continents shattered like glass, the pieces strewn about like leaves in the wind. Huge armies, bound by the the power of ancient runes, brought war and destruction to the lands that survived the initial onslaught. All that was left were a few islands, connected by magic portals. Read more for 4 tasty new screens ...

Logitech today announced that its two newly designed corded controllers for the PlayStation2 are now on retail shelves, ready for prime-time action. The Logitech Extreme Action Controller and the Logitech Action Controller (U.S. suggested retail price of $24.95 and $19.95, respectively) are available at retail outlets and at www.logitech.com. European pricing and availability will be announced separately.

S2 Games and iGames Publishing today announced that Savage: The Battle for Newerth has shipped to retail stores nationwide. The much anticipated real-time strategy shooter has had the gaming industry buzzing since its unveiling at this year’s E3. Savage is considered by many to be the first title to seamlessly meld two separate game genres, real-time strategy and first-person shooter, into one game. Savage has an MSRP of $49.99 and has been rated “T” for Teen by the ESRB.

Electronic Arts announced today that reigning NASCAR Winston Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart will be the official cover athlete for NASCAR Thunder 2004 from EA SPORTS. Tony's likeness will appear on all NASCAR Thunder 2004 packaging and merchandising. Read more for details ...

Broadening the reach of its portfolio of brands throughout the world, Acclaim Entertainment today announced that it has formed a new publishing label, Acclaim Connected, that is dedicated to developing and licensing interactive entertainment content for global mobile gaming platforms. In July of 2003, the Company commenced its entry into the mobile gaming market with the announcement of an exclusive agreement with Vodafone Live!, offering video game content based on Acclaim's forthcoming console release, Freestyle Street Soccer, in Vodafone countries. Acclaim Connected has since expanded its mobile gaming offerings in the European market by partnering with German mobile provider O2 to create a unique video game based on its console release of XGRA: Extreme-G Racing Association.

THQ and JAKKS Pacific today announced the release of their newest World Wrestling Entertainment licensed video game, "WWE WrestleMania XIX," exclusively for Nintendo GameCube. Emphasizing simulation-style gameplay, "WWE WrestleMania XIX" features all the action, excitement and attitude of World Wrestling Entertainment. The World Wrestling Entertainment videogame franchise remains one of the biggest brands in interactive entertainment, with total sales in excess of $350 million in the U.S. alone. "WWE WrestleMania XIX" is available now at major retail outlets throughout North America.

AirForce Delta Strike takes air combat to a new level with unique pilot-characters, an immersive story line and scores of different planes. AirForce Delta Strike will appeal to casual gamers as well as high-flying speed-junkies. Stepping into the shoes of a highly-skilled fighter pilot, players will strap in to the cockpit and navigate a wide variety of creative missions on Earth, in space and beyond. Designed to deliver a unique arcade-style experience, AirForce Delta Strike is the only game that features over 20 pilots, each with unique skills and personalities.

Forever Worlds is a 1st person 'pure' adventure game that transports the player into a series of surreal and immersive worlds. As an archaeological detective, gamers embark on an amazing journey through a chain of non-parallel dimensions, where magic and fantasies merge. Intuitive interfaces and navigation combine with fully integrated puzzles for a great adventure. Read more for a batch of new screens ...

THQ today announced the release of Rocket Power: Zero Gravity Zone for Game Boy Advance, based on the popular Nickelodeon show. Rocket Power: Zero Gravity Zone is now available at retailers nationwide.

The worlds most popular hand held console just became even more “special.” Monaco Corporation announces the release date for the special edition All Blacks Game Boy Advance SP. The Game Boy Advance SP is the second addition to the next generation in hand held consoles from Nintendo, boasting a slick new compact design with flip-top screen and in-built re-chargeable battery. The Game Boy Advance SP also comes with a front light that can be switched on or off, allowing gameplay almost anywhere.

Rockstar Games, the world-renowned publishing division of Take-Two Interactive Software announced today that it plans to ship the award-winning Grand Theft Auto 3 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as a "double pack" for both the PlayStation2 and the Xbox. The Grand Theft Auto "double pack" is set to hit shelves in North America on October 22, 2003 for PlayStation2 and on November 4, 2003 for Xbox.

Blizzard have made some major upgrades to their Battle.net forums (thanks GameSpyDaily).. Here is the Change List:

-New layout for the Warcraft III forums! - If you have bookmarked any of the Warcraft III forums, you will need to delete your bookmark and create a new bookmark to the new layout. Check out the new layout. If you find the layout is too dark, please adjust your monitor’s contrast/brightness. -List of all posts by poster: Next to each poster’s name, you will see a magnifying-glass-over-a-person icon. Click on this icon and it will list all of the stored posts by that poster. To see their latest posts, you will need to flip to the last page.

-Warcraft III users: The forums now show the user’s clan and links to their clan page next to their name!

-New signature preview! - You can now see your signature and make changes to it without making test posts to the forums. Go to the options screen and make a change to your signature. You can see what it will look like and make further changes to it before it appears “live” on the forums.

-Removed post count: While this was a cool feature, we found people abused it too much in order to get higher post counts.

-Forums now have a title (top of Web browser window) which is helpful when creating a bookmark to a specific forum.

-MVPs now have a different post color

Action sports game fanatics everywhere will soon be able to experience Activision Inc.'s Wakeboarding Unleashed featuring Shaun Murray for Game Boy Advance. Aspyr Media Inc. announced today that they plan to publish the game for release later this year with the conversion completed by Small Rockets.

Konami of Europe has announced that Pro Evolution Soccer 3, the latest in its incredibly successful football series, is to be released for PC in November 2003. With the Pro Evolution Soccer series rightly regarded as the pinnacle of console football titles, Konami's is bringing its skills to PC, to ensure that Pro Evolution Soccer 3 becomes the definitive football experience for the format. The PC game will boast all the gameplay advances seen in the accompanying PlayStation 2 release, but will enjoy a greater level of aesthetic detail.

In their immeasurable greed and constant thirst for power, the thirteen most powerful Mages of all time doomed the land, hurling it into an endless spiral of chaos and despair. Entire countries were wiped out in the blink of an eye when the devastating power of the Elements was unleashed – Elements summoned by dark rituals. Continents shattered like glass, the pieces strewn about like leaves in the wind. Huge armies, bound by the the power of ancient runes, brought war and destruction to the lands that survived the initial onslaught. All that was left were a few islands, connected by magic portals. Read more for 6 tasty new screens ...

Combining real time strategy and first person action, Savage delivers the next level in multiplayer gaming. Instead of sending mindless computer drones into battle, imagine organizing real human players on a crusade to conquer your adversary. Choose to be a commander, and you will play an in-depth RTS game, researching technologies, mining resources, and issuing orders to your units. Choose to be a warrior, and you will play an intense game of first person combat, wielding your weapon of choice to strike down the enemy. Choose to read more, and be awed by the screenage ...

Nokia today announced an agreement with Electronic Arts (EA) to deliver select EA titles for the highly anticipated Nokia N-Gage platform. Beginning this year for the holiday season, EA will deliver some of its leading game titles for the Nokia N-Gage, the world's first mobile and connected game deck that will be available globally on October 7, 2003.

S2 Games and iGames Publishing today announced that the highly anticipated PC game Savage: The Battle for Newerth has gone gold. The first-ever RTSS (real-time strategy shooter) recently completed successful beta testing and will be released on September 9th. “The beta testing was extensive and went brilliantly,” said Jesse Hayes, COO of S2 Games. “Savage benefited tremendously from the excellent input of the beta testers and we’re excited to deliver the gold master.”