Build your own movie studio and make films to capture the world’s imagination. Start filming in the break-neck 1920s and rewrite history as you pioneer the great cinematic advances. Be the first to introduce talkies, colour, animation or computer-generated special effects. Pick the scripts you want to shoot, design and construct the sets and hire the director, the crew and the stars.

Evil Genius, a strategy/life simulation game, is a tongue-in-cheek take on the 60's spy thriller genre where you assume the role of a wicked mastermind bent on achieving global domination through the construction of the ultimate doomsday device.

Freeform Interactive LLC releases Purge Jihad 2.0.6b. This new version fixes several player reported bugs and balance issues. Purge Jihad 2.0.6b comes in a full installation and patch format for both Registered users and Free users. "We continue to support all our users," explains Freeform's Lead Artist Joerg Ecker. "all players have the same upgrade benefits." There are no time-limits, no nags, no spyware, and no ads in the Free version of Purge Jihad.

In the next generation sequel of The Sims, The Sims 2, you control your Sims over an entire lifetime for the first time. With the ground-breaking addition of genetics, your Sims now pass their DNA down through generations, giving you a more vivid and in-depth Sims experience. Every life choice you make has a relevant and dramatic effect on the lifetime of your Sim. It’s up to you to take your Sims from the cradle to the grave, fulfill their dreams, and push them to extremes in The Sims 2. Official ship date for The Sims 2 is set for September 17th. Until then, read more for some new screens & trailer ...

Blizzard has released yet another new Warcraft III map, this time called "Slalom"... Map info: "Even this far south, Northrend has no mercy. Bitter winds slice through the thickest clothes, and cunning arctic beasts race down the slopes to prey upon unsuspecting settlers." This is a Medium map and the suggested no. of players is 3v3 or 4v4. It is based on the "Northrend" tileset. Go download it here!

Check out the following new screens from Legacy Interactive's 2004 E3 lineup:

• ER (PC)
• Law & Order: Criminal Intent (PC)
• Law and Order III: Justice is Served (PC)
• Zoo Vet (PC)

EA has released the promised patch for DICE's multiplayer FPS Battlefield: Vietnam. This update brings your retail game to v1.01 and removes of the M60 from the LAW Kit (big complaint about it being too powerful), server list sorted by ping and various other server & client side fixes. Win32/Linux dedicated server patches are also available. Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

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 :

• LOTR: The Battle For Middle-Earth - Inside The Battle Trailer #2
• Need For Speed 2 - E3 2004 Trailer
• MechAssault 2 - E3 2004 Trailer
• Vanguard: Saga Of Heroes -E3 2004 Trailer
• King Of Fighters: Maximum Impact - E3 2004 Trailer
• Tekken 5 - Trailer

Codemasters has released a multiplayer demo for K-D Lab's Perimeter, a real-time strategy game built on the concept of territory seizure using detailed terraforming and on the subsequent encircling of these zones with a special protective perimeter. The multiplayer demo includes a tutorial and two maps for four-player tactical battles over LAN or online play. Read more for download links ...

Besieger is a new real-time 3D strategy is set in a medieval fantasy world in which rival players wage war as either Viking or Cimmerian warriors. Gamers will need to conquer factions such as Ogres, Werewolves and Centaurs and besiege towns on horseback or build primitive flying machines to win their battles. Users will also have to smash their way into the enemy’s heavily defended Citadels, while in turn defending their own domains.

Every great hero has a nemesis, an equally powerful and evil villain... Presenting City of Villains, the first expansion of the comic book-inspired massively multiplayer game, City of Heroes! Read more for details & screens ...

The Australian Defence Simulation Office has now formally placed a purchase order to obtain a special version of CM:AK to be able to simulate and re-play historical tactical engagements in Greece, Crete and North Africa from 1940-1943.

Chaos League combines sports, fantasy and brutal, chaotic action on a playing field where the primary objectives are typical but the gameplay is anything but. This demo features a few tutorials, 4 maps, 2 races, playable in match & championship mode (English demo although the ingame commentary is in French). Read more for download links ...

"Forza Motorsport" gives Xbox gamers who are passionate about cars and racing the opportunity to own, customize, and race their favorite cars in a realistic driving simulation. From sport compacts to LeMans prototypes, players use earnings from hundreds of races to buy upgrades and aftermarket parts so they can transform real production cars into high-performance race cars.

The annual King of Fighters tournament is set to begin in one week. As the gala festivities begin, turf wars are breaking out among the underworld street gangs. The conflict is so severe that it threatens to drag the participants of the KOF tournament into the fray. The honor and tradition of the tournament is at stake. The gangs must be stopped at all costs.

Digital Jesters has released a new patch for Cyanide Studios' rugby manager Pro Rugby Manager 2004. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.06 and adresses an online connection issue, improves AI, and a few other minor tweaks. Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

Gran Turismo 4 further demonstrates its mission to provide the most authentic driving simulation available in the marketplace. New features will extend above and beyond just pure automotive racing, providing a unique destination for automotive and PS2 enthusiasts to enjoy car culture in every dimension – extending that goal will be highlighted through the new "GT Photo Mode."

I didn’t make it to the Microsoft or Sony pre-E3 events, but if they were half as intriguing as the Nintendo keynote speech I just attended, which came to its crescendo as an impossibly youthful Shigeru Miyamoto (decked out in elven garb) performed some basic Link-style maneuvers in front of a captivated audience – his visage exponentially magnified on giant plasma screens hanging overhead -- then, well, it’s probably safe to assume that I missed a lot.

Shrek 2 takes players on a wild adventure with Shrek and his buddies. Gamers revisit key scenes from the movie sequel while discovering all-new locations and characters. Shrek2TM: The Game combines squad-based action with traditional action-adventure elements. Players can control a team of four and play as Shrek or any of his seven friends, switching between each to best utilize the character's unique abilities to solve puzzles, fight monsters and complete dangerous and thrilling adventures.

Nu-Generation Games announced today their new PC title "Origin Of The Species," a 3rd person action adventure title. It combines real world locations; present day conspiracy with both military and Sci-Fi enemies to produce a vibrant, fast paced game world. Read more for details & screens...

Whiptail Interactive has released a new patch for MediaMobsters' mob strategy game Gangland. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.3 and adds a global chat lobby, single-player skirmish option, various new in-game features, balance tweaks, bug fixes, etc (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for details and download links ...

Atari let us know that they have released the first Community Bonus Pack for Epic Games' multiplayer FPS Unreal Tournament 2004. This CBP features 21 maps (including four new Onslaught maps), four new character models and a new mutator, SpiderSteroids (thanks HomeLAN). Read more for download links ...

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 :

• Everquest II - Intro Movie
• Halo 2 - Pre-E3 Demo Event [Low]
• StarWars Galaxies: LightSpeed - E3 2004 Trailer
• Ghost Recon 2 - E3 Gameplay Trailer
• Ghost Recon 2 - E3 2004 Trailer
• Fable - E3 2004 Trailer
• Full Spectrum Warrior - E3 2004 Trailer
• Darkwatch - E3 2004 Trailer

AGETEC Inc. announced it will bring KUON, a period-based survival horror game, to North America exclusively for the PS2 this winter. Developed and published by From Software in Japan, KUON is a one-of-a-kind weapon and magic based horror game offering novel gameplay mechanics, thought-provoking puzzles, mind-bending mini-games and a truly fascinating storyline. Read more for details & screens...

DoubleJump Publishing, in conjunction with Atlus U.S.A., announced a special offer for fans who purchased Atlus’s smash hit strategy-RPG for the PlayStation2, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. To celebrate the re-release of the game to stores, all gamers who send in the registration card enclosed with their copies of Disgaea after May 25th, will receive, free of charge, an exclusive mini-art book. This book contains 8 pages of art never before released in the US, from Disgaea’s original artists.