Sony announced today the signing of Phoenix Suns power forward Amare Stoudemire to be the cover athlete for its all-new basketball franchise, NBA '06, due to hit stores in Fall 2005, exclusively for the PlayStation 2 and PSP.

Epic Games today announced that it has completed the purchase of the Reality Engine from Artificial Studios and hired its founder, and lead engine programmer, Tim Johnson. Tim will join the Unreal Engine 3 development team effective immediately and be part of Epic's presence at the E3 in Los Angeles, California next week.

Perpetual Entertainment, currently working on two MMO's Gods and Heroes: Rome Rising and Star Trek Online, announced today the addition of Daron Stinnett to the Star Trek Online team as its Executive Producer.

Invictus Games and Project Three today announced that Cross Racing Championship 2005 has reached gold status. CRC 2005 is the most accurate re-creation of real life Autocross, Rally Cross, Off-Road, Dirt track, Rallying, Road Racing and Circuit Racing seen to date. The game allows the player to experience the thrills of high-speed on and off road racing across vast open terrains. The player can contest over 65 races across six distinct environments, ranging from icy mountainous regions and lush countryside to parched desert areas and beaches.

What would happen if Hitler had been assassinated early on in WWII and the German war engine came under control of a new regime? Digital Reality and CDV aim to answer that question in War Front: Turning Point, bringing gamers an "alternate reality" strategy game. Gamers will be exposed to a whole new WWII timeline, new battles and a variety of secret and experimental weapons. Eye-popping graphics and a refreshing plot will keep gamers pinned to their PCs as they attempt to alter or ensure the historical outcome of World War II.

Far Cry Instincts is a technically advanced gaming experience built from the ground up using the kind of cutting-edge technology that Far Cry fans will recognize from the PC title. Far Cry Instincts will ship for consoles in September 2005. Read more for new screens or download the trailer ...

Hip Games today revealed the line-up for this year's E3 in Los Angeles, California on May 18-20, 2005. Hip will be showing off a strong product portfolio including City of the Dead, Rugby Challenge 2006, Jackie Chan Adventures, Fear Factor: Unleashed, and previously unannounced titles, Playboy the Mansion: Private Party, Call of Cthulhu: Destiny's End Ghost Wars and Playboy. Read more for details ...

Juiced is the only racing to totally immerse you in the lifestyle and culture of the real street modding scene. Starting as a new kid on the block, without a set of wheels to your name, your main focus in life is to build up your own crew of "driving gods" and dominate the established street racing scene of Angel City.

Rise of the Kasai, the sequel to The Mark of Kri, builds upon the original with new storylines, characters, weapons, and cooperative online gameplay - offering a game three-times larger than the original. Taking place both 10 years before the original game's storyline and 10 years after, Rau joins his younger sister, Tati and the other cast of characters as they battle the Kasai through 10 dynamic levels in search of the events that led up to his death.

Yu-Gi-Oh! 7 Trials to Glory: World Championship Tournament 2005 lets gamers travel to different areas in Battle City to challenge a variety of characters to duels and participate in tournaments, unlocking and collecting new cards with every victory.

Matrix Games and X1 Software announced today that Banzai!, their newest IL-2 Sturmovik series expansion (for Pacific Fighters), is now available for purchase from the Matrix Games store, either as a digital download or you can have a boxed game shipped to your door. Banzai! requires that Pacific Fighters be installed to function. See below for details.

London Taxi, developed by Data Design Interactive, is a driving game based on the Official FX4 London Black Cab. London Taxi will be set in London England, complete with landmarks such as: Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, and Hyde Park.

Since its initial announcement of 2004, not many details have surfaced, but Raven Software is quietly pluggin away at a sequel based on the ever-popular Marvel franchise. The original game challenges players to master the attributes of their favorite X-Men by creating, customizing and controlling teams of four mutants as they embark on a quest to stop the extinction of mankind. More details surely to come during E3 ...

Stronghold 2 will bring the the castle-sim and siege-warfare RTS series to life in glorious 3D. Take 2 has released a German langauge demo allowing you to try out a tutorial and three missions of the single-player campaign (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

The Witcher” is an Action RPG game for PC platform, which combines the features of such games as Dungeon Siege, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance, Gothic and Neverwinter Nights. The game is supposed to ensure entertainment to a broad group of older players, incorporating simple yet interesting game system, along with a complex plot and attractive 3-D graphics. Read more for details & screens ...

As we announced a few days ago, THQ has now released a new patch for Relic's 3D RTS Dawn Of War. This update brings your retail game to v1.3 and addresses a slew of tweaks & unit balancing for all 4 races, game performance improvement, bug fixes, ability fixes and adds Observer mode, mod manager, friends list etc.. Read more for detailed fix list and download links ......

Nival Interactive is pleased to announce its purchase of a controlling interest in Targem Games, one of Russia's leading game developers. The deal is part of Nival's competitive strategy to create a global video game development company that will produce next-generation console and wireless games with universal appeal while maintaining its strong position in the PC game market.

Another day, another batch of game trailers were released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for :

• EuroCops - Trailer
• GTR: King of Ovals - Trailer
• Bet on Soldier - Trailer #4
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Sony Online Entertainment today announced that it will distribute two new titles for the PSP, GripShift and FRANTIX. Developed from the ground-up specifically for the PSP portable system, GripShift and FRANTIX are scheduled to be available Fall 2005. Read more for details and screens ...

Hip Games today announced that they have signed horror icon Tom Savini to appear in the previously unnamed City of the Dead video game. Developed by Kuju Entertainment and set in the George A. Romero universe, City of the Dead will be released on the PS2, Xbox and PC in spring 2006.

Theseis, Greek for opinion or idea, is a new conspiracy-fantasy adventure game created for PC platform and other new gen consoles. Players are caught between the mundane and the supernatural, following the clues of a long-lost ancient artifact that could spell disaster or ascension for the entire human race, only you will determine the outcome.

Rebelstar Tactical Command is a turn-based strategy and combat game with role-playing elements, "Rebelstar Tactical Command" transports players to a not-so-distant future in which Earth is ruled by an evil empire.

Players journey to the land of Aio, a world embroiled in an epic battle between Magic and Technology. Gamers wage wars filled with mystic creatures, impossible machines and stunning acts of magic. The award-winning Conquer the World gameplay pulls gamers through a new world of heroes, monsters, loyalty and betrayal.

At New York's Central Park Zoo, a lion, a zebra, a giraffe, and a hippo are best friends and stars of the show. But when one of the animals goes missing from their cage, the other three break free to look for him, only to find themselves reunited ... on a ship en route to the island of Madagascar. When their vessel capsizes off the coast, however, the friends, who have all been raised in captivity, learn first-hand what life can be like in the wild.

Bethesda today announced plans to release a sequel to its Pirates of the Caribbean game based on Walt Disney film, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow will feature a blend of fast-paced action and adventure that captures the entertaining characters, settings, and spirit of the first movie.