Today seems to be the day of delays. Earlier today, we had the Q1 2005 release of Far Cry Instincts, this evening, Ubisoft announced that they are delaying Silent Hunter III until Q1 2005 in order to further enhance the development. Read more about it on the official SH3 website. Not wanting to feel left out, Gas Powered Games also pushed back its release date for their RPG sequel, Dungeon Siege 2, by quietly updating their website and changing the listed date from "Holiday 2004", to "Spring 2005." No specific reason has been given.

Capcom today announced the release of Way of the Samurai 2, the long awaited sequel to Acquire’s Samurai series for the PlayStation2. With a multitude of new features including expanded content, new characters and enhanced fighting mechanics, Way of the Samurai 2 improves upon every facet of the original to deliver an even deeper samurai based action adventure.

Ubisoft announced today that Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow has shipped for the Nintendo GameCube. A revolutionary stealth-action game, Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow brings the award-winning franchise to a higher level with its intense realism, revolutionary light and shadow effects, and unparalleled graphics. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow is rated “T” for Teen and has an MSRP of $49.99.

Immerse yourself in "Nexus - The Jupiter Incident", a real-time mission-based tactical space game featuring spectacular real time battles and breathtaking motion picture quality. Focus on tactics and action as you control up to a dozen battleships encountering aliens, unknown solar systems and astrophysical phenomena in your struggle to save Earth.

Valve Corporation today revealed a series of new games and features being added to the Valve Cybercafé Program over the coming months. Effective immediately, subscribers of the Valve Cybercafe Program will receive a free license to use Xbox versions of Valve's games in their cafés, up to the number of active cybercafe subscriptions held in the Valve Cybercafe Program.

Ubisoft today announced that Far Cry Instincts will now be available for both the Xbox and the Sony PlayStation2 in Q1 2005. The console versions will take the best of the top selling tropical PC shooter adapting it to the consoles specificities and using the technology Far Cry fans have come to expect. The new ship date will ensure that both the Xbox and PS2 versions have the same impressive graphics and unique immersive gameplay elements as the highly-regarded Far Cry PC version.

The battleground is set - the 9th annual QuakeCon 2004 video game festival and tournament at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas on August 12-15 will host the first DOOM 3 deathmatch championship ever. Be there to game, hang out with 5,000 of your closest friends, and compete for $150,000 in cash and prizes in the NVIDIA QuakeCon 2004 Championship Tournaments. First-come, first-serve online registration for QuakeCon 2004 has begun at www.quakecon.org. The must-attend event for gamers is free to all attendees.

The Elemental is a total conversion of Gas Powered Games Dungeon Siege. Elemental is set in an alternate mythical version of ancient Judea that is gritty, mean, and profane. This release contains roughly 10 hours of story and quests, as well as fully functioning NPCs and merchants to liven the world. Read more for details and download links ..

Football Comes Home Early As Konami Reveals Game Stars Live Will Give Players The First Chance to Play Pro Evolution Soccer 4; Dancing Stage Fusion and Karaoke Stage Also Receive Public Debuts. As preparations for Game Stars Live continue apace, Konami has revealed that it will be using the massive consumer event to unveil football favourite Pro Evolution Soccer 4 to the public for the very first time.

JoWooD Productions Software AG announces the PC & PSone releases of Yetisports Deluxe for the UK in September. "The Yetisports phenomena has become a worldwide success over night." said Robert Alyazdi, Brand Manager at JoWooD Productions. "The core of this success is the addictive, entertaining game play with simple controls that anyone can pick up and play. This same magic formula is now coming to the PC and PSone." Read more for screens ...

This brand new first-person war epic recreates all the tension and ferocity of combat in the Vietnam War, pitting players against the merciless Viet Cong and deadly North Vietnamese Army as they play through 13 days of the Tet Offensive, one of the bloodiest battles of the entire Vietnam War. Read more for new screens ...

As with previous editions, Ford Racing 3 is being developed by Empire's award-winning Razorworks Studios. Ford Racing 3 will allow gamers to "drive" 47 Ford vehicles, ranging from futuristic concept cars to classic cars, as well as off-road vehicles and pure-bred track racers. The game will also feature 16 different game modes and 26 separate tracks to race on. No damage model is included, and so far, no multiplayer information is available, apart from a mention of "2 player mode." Ford Racing 3 is expected in October 2004.

Raging Tiger explores the very real possibility of a new, even more violent conflict on the Korean Peninsula. It has all of the features which Armored Task Force fans have grown to love. But it also adds a ton of new features, including amphibious warfare, in-game reinforcements, and civilians and refugees on the battlefield. This demo includes 2 scenarios, one featuring ROK marines, and the other featuring coalition operations with ROK-US units fighting towards a single objective. Read more for download links ...

Ubisoft today is proud to announce the signing of a distribution agreement with Square Enix. As part of the deal, Ubisoft will distribute the Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) role-playing game 'Final Fantasy XI' for PC, which will include both the previously released “Rise of Zilart” and new “Chains of Promathia” expansion packs, and also Tetra Master, the wildly popular and addictive mini-game from 'Final Fantasy XI'. The title is slated for a European release in September 2004.

Unleashing the horror throughout nine levels, The Suffering features dynamic lighting that illuminates frightening visions of horror-filled exploration and frantic combat sequences. In the dark world of The Suffering, creatures attack from the shadows and emerge from jail cells, chambers, the ground and trees, surprising the player in the most disturbing ways possible. As Torque, the main character, players encounter a cast of uniquely hardened criminals, prison guards and grotesque apparitions.

In Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3 for the GameCube players lead an elite team of multinational counter-terrorist operatives in 15 intense missions against deadly, intelligent foes. When a terrorist plot threatens to tilt the balance of peace between the United States and Saudi Arabia, Team RAINBOW is the only answer. In locations around the world, from Europe to the United States to South America, execute Team RAINBOW's missions with deadly force and precise tactics in order to protect the innocent and ensure peace.

The collection box, Battlefield 1942: The WWII Anthology, was launched in the USA at the end of May 2004. It contains the basic Battlefield 1942 game, the Road to Rome and Secret Weapons expansion packs, as well as additional material that has been released within the Battlefield series. When Battlefield Anthology is to be launched in Europe is not yet decided. At the end of March 2004 the Battlefield series had sold more that 3.7 million copies.

Enter the world of professional tennis and become the champion you always dreamed of being! This revolutionary new title not only lets you hone your grand slam skills, you can import your own photo and actually become one of the players in the game. Enter the heat of competition, win money, and climb up the rankings. Developed by Espaço Informática's, the game is expected to be released in North and South America in late summer 2004.

EverQuest II returns to the culturally diverse world of Norrath in the future of the original EverQuest, with the sheer size and graphical detail greater than ever seen before. Larger in scope than its predecessor, EverQuest II will allow players from every corner of the earth to explore familiar areas and new, undiscovered territories of Norrath. Read on to check out 24 new screens ...

Test Drive: Eve of Destruction blends the best elements of racing and demolition and is packed with 25 different events, including Demo Derby, where the last car standing wins; Gauntlet, where the player climbs behind the wheel of a hearse and tries to finish a set number of laps while the rest of the field attempts to stop them; Trailer Race, a new brand of racing event, where players compete while towing various types of trailers and must finish the race with something resembling a trailer still attached.

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 :

• S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl - TrailerPack
• Burnout 3: Takedown - Trailer (2)

Koch Media announced today the UK release of Crusader Kings from Paradox Entertainment. Set during medieval Europe, this grand strategy game lets players re-enact the Crusades, take control of the Knights Templar and defend against the marauding Mongol hordes. Published and distributed by Koch Media in the UK, Crusader Kings is launched on Windows PC at £19.99 SRP (UK) on 27th August 2004.

Codemasters has released the first patch for Best Way's 3D RTS/RPG Soldiers: Heroes of World War II. This update brings your (English only) retail game to v1.12.2 and increases multiplayer performance and stability, adds new control options, and the usual slew of crash/bug fixes, gameplay tweaks, etc. Read more for download links ...

Sign-ups for the European Closed Beta Test of Blizzard Entertainment’s highly anticipated MMORPG, World of Warcraft, start today, 5th July 2004. The sign-up period will run for 3 weeks and potential testers can register online via the sign-up pages on the official Blizzard European Web sites: www.blizzard.co.uk /www.blizzard.fr /www.blizzard.de.