Cries of “He’s on Fire” and “Boomshakalaka” will once again fill the hardwood arenas of the NBA, as Acclaim Sports today unveiled its latest installment of NBA JAM for the next-generation consoles. Developed by Acclaim Studios Austin, NBA JAM, the grand-daddy of all arcade-style basketball games, has sold more than 6 million units worldwide. This fall, NBA JAM returns with its trademark over-the-top, arcade-style 3-on-3 gameplay, “On Fire”, “Big Head” mode and hot spots, as well as all-new rim-rocking moves specifically designed for the next-generation gaming systems.

Eidos Interactive today announced it has entered a strategic partnership with Island Records, American Records and Roadrunner Records in the creation of the official in-game soundtrack for Backyard Wrestling: Don't Try This At Home. Read more to check out the list of features bands as well as new screens for the xbox/ps2 versions...

Today, Argonaut Games is delighted to announce Carve, the watercraft based racer for Xbox, featuring intense team-based AI, a mass of extreme tricks and full online racing via Microsoft's Xbox Live. Carve harnesses the sheer power of Xbox to create a race experience that mixes thrills and authenticity in equal measures. Each of the twenty-seven levels are visually resplendent with an authentic atmosphere, ensured by the dedicated team jetting off to Thailand, Iceland, Amsterdam and the Grand Canyon on research matters, before channelling their discoveries back into the game. Read more for details & the first screens ...

TOCA Race Driver delivers a racing experience packed with 42 real touring and sports cars, 13 championships and an incredible 38 internationally renowned race circuits. New to the Xbox edition is the introduction of a qualifying round to championship races; in Australia's championship players will experience the 'Shoot out' qualification system. Lets take a few laps and see if Pro Race Driver continious Codemasters' racing excellence ...

As many other companies, Midway will be present at the upcoming E3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, May 14-16, 2003. Today we have another big batch of screens representing their entire E3 lineup. We got screens from the following titles:

• Roadkill
• The Suffering
• ESPionage
• Freaky Flyers
• FreeStyle Metal X
• Justice League: Dark Reflections (GBA)
• Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition (GBA)
• NBA Ballers
• NFL Blitz Pro
• NHL Hitz Pro
• Spy Hunter 2
• Static Shock (GBA)
• Super Duper Sumos (GBA)
• 
  
  Read more and check out the goodies!

I noticed over at gamesindustry.biz that hacker-engineer Andrew "Bunnie" Huang says he's already pre-sold between 400 and 500 copies of his self-published tell-all "Hacking the Xbox: an Introduction to Reverse Engineering," weeks before its scheduled May 27th publication date, despite -- or perhaps because of -- looming suspicions by some that the book skirts the edges of legality. "It' s about getting the book out there on principle, because I can't find a publisher willing to publish it," says Huang. "I think it's controversial, but not illegal." Read the complete article here!

'The Great Escape’ video game is based on the 1963 Oscar nominated film staring Steve McQueen and revolves around actual events during WW2. The game is set in a number of unique locations, from POW camps to a mountain-top castle. Game levels include a busy hospital, a chase through a moving train and escape from an active Luftwaffe airfield.

LucasArts unleashes the wrath of the gods in the highly anticipated original title Wrath Unleashed, a brutal action game where mythological creatures roar to life in a spectacular and deadly fantasy world. Players engage each other in mighty battles in a struggle to gain dominion over vast magical islands, awesome beasts and enchanted temples. Wrath Unleashed is being developed in collaboration with The Collective, and is expected to release in winter 2003 for the PS2 and the Xbox. Read more for details and screens ...

Bethesda today announced that it will release a Morrowind Game of the Year (GotY) edition for the Xbox that will include the original version of its award-winning RPG The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, along with content from the two Morrowind expansions: Tribunal and Bloodmoon. This new product will allow gamers to continue their existing games of Morrowind and experience the new quests and areas offered by the expansions, while players who have never played the Best RPG of 2002 can experience Morrowind on Xbox for the first time with all of the added content. Read more for details and screens ..

Namco announced today the company’s stellar line up of video games to be unveiled during the E3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, May 14-16, 2003. At booth #946 in the South Hall, Namco will be showcasing the following new titles:

• Soul Calibur II
• R: Racing Evolution
• Spawn
• Breakdown
• kill.switch
• Time Crisis 3
• I-Ninja
• Tales of Symphonia
• Extreme Force: Grant City Anti-Crime
• 
  
  Of course the Worthplaying screen junkies that we are, we have screens for each and every title. Read more and check out the goodies!

Eidos Interactive today announced the development of Whiplash for the PS2 and Xbox . Whiplash features a shackled animal duo on a mission to sabotage an animal product-testing corporation. Providing an innovative approach to the character-based action genre, Whiplash combines a unique "chain" gameplay mechanic with in-depth enemy and environment interaction, rich combat and slapstick humor. The result is an engaging game where player choice triggers an unscripted chain of chaotic, humorous events. Read more for details ...

Not really a major secret anymore but today Eidos Interactive announced that the next instalment in the Thief series is currently in development for Xbox and PC. The game is being developed by Ion Storm, creators of the award-winning Deus Ex franchise, and is due for release winter 2003. Read more for some new screens ...

L.S.P. announced today that they have signed a licensing agreement with Universal Studios Consumer Products Group to develop interactive games inspired by Universal Home Entertainment Production's first season of The Mummy animated television series. The Mummy, the game, will release on Xbox, Playstation® 2 and PC CD-ROM in 2004. Read more for details ...

Extreme Force is an action adventure game with a heavy emphasis on strategy and tactics; Casting gamers into the role of an elite member of the Grant City Anti-Crime Squad, players will be inundated with a bevy of special weapons and items (like the night vision goggles, grenades, and door charges), while simultaneously implementing several stealth maneuvers not unlike the disarm techniques of Dead to Rights. Action fans needn't worry either though, as there are plenty of mindless run-and-gun combat missions to compete in as well. Expected in stores on PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube in Q4 2003. Read more for some of the first screens ...

Lead Sidd, Eva or the bot “C1” on a mission to free mankind from the V-Space network that controls the near-future. V-Space is dominated by DroneZ,reptiloids, insectoids and more cyber enemies who forbid people to disconnect. With the help of a hacker living in the “real world” you must move to and from network memory locations (platforms), avoiding lasers to stay alive. Defeat the computer enemy protections with rapid fire weapons. Down the DroneZ! Check out the sweet screens!

Earlier today EA unveiled their lineup for the upcoming E3 convention in LA and now we have fresh screens for most of those titles, and they keep coming in. So far we got screens for:

• Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (PS2/GBA)
• Harry Potter: Quidditch World Cup (PS2)
• James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (Xbox/GBA/NGC)
• Bionicle (PC/PS2)
• FIFA Football 2004 (PS2)
• Freedom: Soldiers of Liberty (PS2/PC/Xbox)
• Looney Tunes: Back In Action (PS2)
• Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 2004 (PC/PS2/Xbox)
• Madden NFL 2004 (GBA/NGC/Xbox/PS2)
• NBA LIVE 2004 (Xbox)
• NHL 2004
• NASCAR Thunder 2004 (Xbox/PS2)
• NCAA Football 2004 (NGC/Xbx/PS2)
• NCAA March Madness 2004
• SSX 3 (NGC/Xbx/PS2)
• SimCity4 Rush Hour
• Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWI
• Need For Speed Underground(PS2)

Noticed on VE3D that Microsoft has announced the pricing structure for Xbox Live that will come into effect during the third quarter of this year: Xbox Live one year renewal/subscription - $49.99, Xbox Live monthly rate - $5.99, Xbox Live Voice Communicator - $29.99, Xbox Live Starter Kit - $69.99 (contains demos, headset and one year subscription). In a brief interview with GameSpy, Xbox Live Group PR manager David Hufford suggested that Microsoft might include free trial subscriptions with certain titles that feature online play.

This first-ever campaign disk for the Xbox will not require players to have a retail copy of the original game to enjoy a new Ghost campaign. Both new recruits and seasoned vets who earned their stripes playing the original Xbox game will enjoy the camaraderie of the shared battlefield. Xbox Live soldiers can experience the intensity of the front lines side-by-side with their battlefield brothers while covering each others' backs and calling out commands using the Xbox Live Communicator headset. Read more for some new screens!

Meteor Blade, a 16-player fully 3D online fighting game for the PC and Xbox, based on the world of an ancient Chinese assassin. The Xbox version of Meteor Blade will have full Xbox Live support. Interserv will be showcasing Meteor Blade at the upcoming E3 and we will be all over it, in the meantime, njoy the screens & download the trailer!

Judge Dredd vs. Judge Death is based on the legendary comic strip Judge Dredd, published in 2000AD every week since 1977. It will be a first-person shooter seen through the eyes of Judge Dredd as he patrols the mean streets of the stunningly realised future metropolis, Mega-City One. Dredd will find himself having to deal with the full spectrum of criminal behaviour, from littering and caffeine abuse to saving the city from the utterly evil Judge Death. The game will also have extensive multiplayer modes, enabling ferocious splitscreen or online play and will use Rebellion's versatile new Asura engine. Read more to check out some new PC, Xbox and PS2 screens ...

SC2 features seven distinctive modes of game-play including: Arcade, Vs, Time Attack, Survival, Team Battle, Practice, and the console exclusive, Weapon Master. Weapon Master is a "complete the mission" mode combined with an RPG twist. In this mode, the player can collect and equip their character with up to 200 different weapons, thus adding a deeper level of strategy to every new battle. Check out these new screens ..

Since his creation by Stan Lee in 1962, the Hulk has become one of Marvel’s most well known and popular characters around the world. Expanding from his comic-book origins, the Hulk has been seen in video games, books, TV and countless other mediums. Now, with the release of the blockbuster Ang Lee film in Summer 2003, Universal will bring the Hulk to life like never before. Check out these brand new screens ...

Bethesda Softworks today announced that it will publish Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth, a first-person horror game for PC and Xbox. Developed by Headfirst Productions, Call of Cthulhu is a mix of horror, investigation, puzzle solving, exploration, and combat as you are faced with the seemingly impossible task of battling evil incarnate.

Arx Fatalis is a first-person RPG, which plunges players into an amazingly complex fantasy-world of trolls, goblins and ‘Snake-women’. Creating weapons, solving puzzles and completing amazing quests, gamers become heroes as they battle in an evil world. Players will also need to master a unique real-time magic system to cast more than 50 different spells based on 20 different runes. DreamCatcher has send us a batch of new screens, check them out!

Gamers will be able to create their own superstar, hone their baseball skills and challenge their friends online using Xbox Live. Want to learn how to play the carom off of Fenway Park's Green Monster? "Inside Pitch 2003" will include special training sessions for each position to help gamers perfect their baseball skills. Check out the new xbox screens ...