Sir Ben Kingsley, best known for his Academy Award winning role in Ghandi, and most recently for his Oscar nominated performance in House of Sand and Fog, has signed on to play the villain in the film adaptation of BloodRayne.

Medieval Lords takes aspiring city governors to the middle ages, combining rich city-building challenges with evolving military forces to defend against relentless attacks from neighboring enemies. A first for the genre, Medieval Lords features a full 3D engine that enables innovative new gameplay elements. The city building game genre will take on a whole new dimension when Monte Cristo Games ships "Medieval Lords: Build, Defend, Expand” in Fall 2004.

Ubisoft today announced Alexander, a real-time strategy video game based on the upcoming motion picture Alexander, the biopic based on the life and conquests of Alexander the Great from director Oliver Stone. Read more for details and the first screens...

Majesco today announced the addition of three new titles to its lineup of value-priced software for the Game Boy Advance. F-18 Super Hornet, Monster Trucks and Texas Hold 'Em Poker are scheduled to ship this fall and will carry a suggested retail price of $19.99.

The launch of In2Games' Gametrak motion system is almost here, as the controller will be unveiled to the UK public for the first time at Gamestars Live, with a simultaneous trade presence at EGN on September 1st and a German debut at Leipzig's Games Convention from August 19.

Jagex, the developer and operator of the 3D Java online adventure game RuneScape, today announces that it has achieved 101,184 subscribers.

The Leisure Suit Larry videogame franchise began in 1987 with The Land of the Lounge Lizards, the first of seven games in the series. Since then, the Leisure Suit Larry games have sold more than 35 millions of units worldwide and its games are considered collector items. Check some new screens and interview with 'Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude' star Bilzarbra.

NCsoft Europe today announced that Sebastien Vidal, Wanadoo's Head of Online Operations in Europe, is to become Chief Operating Officer of the new company. At the same time the company also confirmed that Vidal will be joined by another former Wanadoo employee, Thomas Bidaux as Director of Product.

Soldiers is a third-person tactical action complete with a stunning 3D visual engine. Pitching the player headlong into the war-torn battlegrounds of Europe, gameplay delivers extremely realistic yet explosive combat scenarios. Commanding a highly trained team of special forces behind enemy lines, your job is to get them in, execute the mission your way and get out - fast!

More indications surfaced today, giving more credibility to the rumor that 'Half-Life 2' might be released in September. Valve's Gabe Newell has posted some interesting information on the HL2 Fallout forums : "8/11 the Cafe's turn on (tomorrow). 8/16 CZ/ATI users pre-load. 8/18 CZ/ATI turns on. 8/17 HL-2 pre-load starts (textures, audio and other stuff that doesn't change)." This indicates that big parts of the game are in the final stage and are probably going to get pre-loaded to gradually build up to the full release.

Microsoft has released a new patch for Big Huge Games' RTS Rise OF Nations. This patch 4 is largely a balance patch that will nerf Maya and Spain, as well as introduce some unit balance changes that those of you with the expansion pack already enjoy. Thrones & Patriots Patch 1 is currently in production but there is no release date for it yet. Read more for details ...

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 :

• Yu Yu Hakusho: Dark Tournament - Trailer
• Leisure Suit Larry - Bilzarbra Trailer
• Test Drive: Eve Of Destruction - Trailer

'Conker: Live and Reloaded' features intense deathmatch and campaign storyline modes via Xbox Live and system link, players can compete as one of six combat specialists across multi-mission campaigns covering Old War and Future War. Also included is the critically acclaimed single-player game, "Conker's Bad Fur Day," completely recreated for the Xbox with stunning graphics and unparalleled attitude.

Set in the evocative land of ancient Egypt, Children of the Nile is the first and only strategy game where citizens who behave like real people are your primary resource. As their leader, you must build a place in which they can live and work, establishing a relationship of trust and cooperation which you then leverage to build a lasting civilization, and bring it to its cultural peak. Read more for some new screens ...

EA today announced the in-game soundtrack for the 2005 edition of FIFA Soccer. Featuring a variety of today’s hottest music talent, FIFA Soccer 2005 brings together new sounds and long-time favorites from artists around the globe, and showcases 38 tracks representing Brazil, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Scotland, Sweden and the United States, to name just a few. Read more for details ...

Ubisoft today announced Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed for the PS2 to be released in North America. In a brand-new twist to the series, Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed sets players on a fast-paced sports marathon across two action-packed game modes. A tournament-style game, Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed stars everyone’s favorite heroes, Spike and Natalie, and features an all-star character line-up from the original Ape Escape games. Ape Escape: Pumped & Primed is slated to ship in October 2004.

Namco Hometek Inc. announced today the upcoming U.S. release of Xenosaga EPISODE II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse, shipping exclusively for the PS2 in February 2005. The sequel to the million-unit selling Xenosaga EPISODE I: Der Wille zur Macht, the game is being developed by Monolith Software Inc. in Japan. Read more for some new screens...

Ubisoft today announced that Chessmaster 10th Edition is available today in North America for the PC at the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $39.99.

Funcom announces that Anarchy Online: Alien Invasion has gone gold. The forthcoming Anarchy Online expansion pack is packed with fun and innovative features, bringing the finest sci-fi MMORPG on the market a huge step forward.

Electronic Arts announced today that NBA stars Carmelo Anthony, Tony Parker, and Pau Gasol will serve as global spokesmen for NBA LIVE 2005, scheduled for release this fall under the EA SPORTS brand.

Nintendo DS will rock the Western Hemisphere with an amazing lineup of games, as the video game industry's heavy hitters prepare to support Nintendo's revolutionary dual-screened hand-held innovation. Many of the industry's biggest software companies confirm that they will deliver names like Madden NFL, Viewtiful Joe, Rayman and SpongeBob SquarePants to the Nintendo DS, so players can enjoy their favorite franchises in ways never before possible.

Ubisoft, together with Stardock Entertainment, announced the release of The Political Machine, which ships today to retailers nationwide. A PC-CD strategy game based on data collected from surveys, exit polls, and the 2000 U.S. Census, The Political Machine users are challenged to spend 41 weeks on the campaign trail, serving as a campaign manager for a presidential candidate.

Slitherine has released a demo for Gates of Troy allowing you to try out 3 tutorial scenarios, and one playable campaign. The playable campaign is the pass of Thermopylae. This puts you in control of 300 Spartans, and their allies under King Leonidas and you must defend the pass for 20 turns against the Persian horde. This small campaign is recreated on a one for one scale with history, which will please history buffs immensely. The demo is limited to 30 turns or 5 battles.

Damage Studios Co-Founder Chris DiBona has updated his website with the note that Damage Studios has been shut down and that its Rekonstruction project is on hold indefinitely. "Damage is, at best, my personal hobby now. The company has been inactive for some time and I've been sending out backstory in a vain hope of pulling some rabbit out of a hat. Alas, no such luck. If you want to continue receiving the story with no promise that a game will come, stay on the mailing list, otherwise, I'd suggest unsubscribing in the next few days. Sorry it worked out this way, really. I'd like to thank so many people for their help since we started the project, especially the fan site guys, our advisors and former employees."