According to the October 4th issue of the London Gazette, Independent Magazines has filed a court petition calling for the compulsory liquidation of game publisher Digital Jesters because of unpaid debts. Digital Jesters is publisher of 'Bet On Soldier' and the upcoming title 'Crazy Frog Racer.' Court date is set for November 2nd in the high court of London, which means the fate of Digital Jesters can be decided within two weeks (thanks Mark).

Valve's SteamPowered website has been updated with details regarding the latest update for its online delivery system Steam. This release mainly involved bug fixes, gameplay & graphical tweaks, anti-cheating measures, and reduced maximum number of players on a server to 32 for DoD:Source. Just restart Steam for the effects to take place.

Rhem 2 is an intricate pure-puzzle first person adventure game, and the sequel to the popular Rhem, and rejoins Zetais and Kales as they now explore a hidden city in underground caves far beneath the earth's surface. Set as a direct sequel in story and gameplay to its predecessor, Rhem 2 features non-linear gameplay, non-violent story, and mind-bending puzzles thanks PCGameWorld. Read more for download links ...

The epic battle to save humankind rages on the PSP with the release of X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, featuring four additional playable characters, new environments, 9 exclusive missions and groundbreaking multiplayer modes that allow up to four players to compete both online and offline utilizing the system's wireless technology.

Age of Empires III is set in 1500 A.D. and chronicles the Age of Discovery that started around the time that Columbus discovered the new world. This updated demo includes the same content as before (2 single player skirmish maps and 2 campaign missions), but now also features a tutorial, allows you to minimized your UI, and lots of miscellaneous bug fixes.

The Global Defense Force has been given the green light to invade the Strogg home planet as id Software and Activision announced today that Quake IV for the PC has shipped. Quake IV enlists gamers in the role of Matthew Kane, a member of the legendary Rhino Squad, to penetrate deep into the heart of the Strogg war machine and engage in a series of heroic missions to destroy the barbaric alien race.

Ubisoft has released a new patch for its stealth action game Splinter Cell Chaos Theory. This update brings your game to v1.05 and only adds 2 new coop levels, Nuclear Plant and UN Headquesters, nothing else. Read more for download links ...

Ubi Soft has yet again released new patches for 1C Maddox's WW2 flight sim Pacific Fighters. This update brings your retail game to v4.02 (for both the standalone and merged installations) and addsa new flight model, new aircraft, new AI, new maps and plenty more. Read more for download links.

The Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) and Entertainment Software Association (ESA) filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to overturn the recently passed California law banning the sale or rental of violent video games to minors.

With the release of Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball MAX'D (GHTP MAX'D) the intensity and innovation of the 2004 sleeper hit returns to the Xbox. With new features such as Breakout Manager and Field Editor, the franchise's continued focus on speed, tactics and teamwork separate this first person action game from the pack.

You're a stunt man. You do the dirty work the pretty boys won't. Start your career as a backyard thrillseeker and climb all the way to the top of the Hollywood blockbuster A list. This demo allows you to play the game for a mere 30 minutes after which you can unlock the full game by purchasing a license key (thanks 3DGamers).

The Chronicles of Spellborn is a MMORPG set in the Enclave of the Five Sacrifices. Developed by Dutch studio Khaeon Games, previously known for Alpha Black Zero, Spellborn uses the Unreal 2.5 Engine. Khaeon Games is now accepting people to join the closed beta test. A limited nummber of people will be allowed, while in Q1 2006 Khaeon plan to open up the beta/stress test for the majority of the applicants.

Turner Broadcasting System today announced the launch of its broadband entertainment network GameTap, opening its massive vault of great video game content and original programming to gamers across the United States.

The latest issue of PCGamer has the first details on the yet un-announced Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremecy addon. Mad Doc Software's first addon for its 3D RTS is scheduled for release in spring 2006 and will feature 15 new civilizations, 15 missions spread over 3 campaigns, the ability to make your own civilization with the new civilization editor, and plenty of other new additions. Now that the cat is out of the bag, we can expect an official announcement soon.

Activision has released a new patch for Creative Assembly's 3D RTS Rome: Total War. This update brings your German/French retail game to v1.3 and sychronizes multiplayer with the Barbarian Invasion addon, adds campaign and battle map improvements, and the usual balance adjustments, crash and bug fixes.

The US Army has released a new updated version for America's Army: Special Forces (Direct Action). This upgrade brings their team-based multiplayer game to v2.5 and includes two new missions, a new Shoot House training mission, tournament mode and map rotation enhancement, and the usual tweaks, bug and game crash fixes. Read more for details and download links ...

Activision has released a new patch for Creative Assembly's 3D RTS Rome: Total War. This update brings your retail game to v1.3 and sychronizes multiplayer with the Barbarian Invasion addon, adds campaign and battle map improvements, and the usual balance adjustments, crash and bug fixes.

EA has released the first patch for the Sims 2 Nightlife expansion pack. This update brings your retail game to v1.2.0.337 and addresses a slew of game tweaks, game crashes, bug fixes, and also includes all the fixes from the Nightlife patch. This patch works for all language versions. Read more for download links ...

EA has released the first patch for the Sims 2 University expansion pack. This update brings your retail game to v1.1.0.284 and addresses a slew of game tweaks and game crashes, and bug fixes. This patch works for all language versions. Read more for download links ...

Super Mario Strikers, known in Europe as Mario Smash Football, is a five-a-side based football tournament pitting teams of classic Nintendo characters against each other. To win games players simply have to place more balls in the back of their opponent's net than the other team.

Atari and Marc Ecko today announced a musical collaboration with Sean 'Diddy' Combs for in-game music tracks for Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, which will also be available on a soundtrack included in the Limited Edition of the product.

Matrix Games announced its plans for the recently acquired publishing right for the Operational Art of War series as it has reached an agreement with the original designer and developer of The Operational Art of War, Norm Koger, to assist in updating the most recent version of the engine to assure full compatibility with the latest WinXP systems.

EA has released a new patch for the European and North American editions of NHL 06. This patch #2 fixes a controller and non-sse chipset compatibility problem, includes the patch #1 roster update and addresses an issue with edited players saved within a game mode. Read more for download links ...

Age of Empires III is set in 1500 A.D. and chronicles the Age of Discovery that started around the time that Columbus discovered the new world. The single player campaign follows American history up through 1850, and in multiplayer mode, you'll be able to choose from among eight different civilizations, and there will include free-for-all and team-vs-team matches for up to eight players. An updated demo of Age of Empires 3 is planned for release the week of October 10th. Updates to the demo include: an optional minimized UI, a tutorial, and lots of miscellaneous bug fixes.

Pro Cycling Manager will have more detailed animations, an experience system, stage editor and also several multiplayer modes. Cyanide Studio has released a new patch for its cycling manager. This update brings your retail game to v1.4R and adds the ability to add your own tour, database updates, AI improvement, multiplayer optimizations and career adjustments. Read more for download links ...