SNK announced today that the company has shipped the first home version of the hit arcade title Metal Slug 3 for the Xbox. METAL SLUG 3 will support the Xbox Live leaderboards and is exclusively for the Xbox in North America.

Eidos today announced it has shipped to stores across North America the highly-anticipated Thief: Deadly Shadows for the Xbox and PC. Thief: Deadly Shadows is the third chapter in the Thief saga, which originated the stealth gaming genre. For the first time in Thief franchise history, the game will be available on a game console and will feature a third-person perspective.

EA today announced the release of The Sims Mega Deluxe in North America. The Sims Mega Deluxe combines the original #1 PC game, The Sims, with three of its popular expansion packs: The Sims Livin' Large, The Sims House Party, and The Sims Hot Date. Assembling a staggering 600 items for your Sims to use the first time you play, there's never been a better time to try The Sims.

Nawar has revealed the first details on Banita, a new RPG offering a deep story line with over 500 locations spanning over 4 contitents to explore, over 45 spells, a vast array of weapons and armor to obtain, and an amazing soundtrack. Read more for details and the first screens...

Prepare yourself for the most frenzied and explosive puzzle experience that will leave you gasping for air. Bombastic puts you in control of a veritable minefield of explosive, moving dice. Roll the dice around the field to link them in like combinations. Once they connect, the dice are detonated and will explode.

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

• Kreed: Battle For Savitar (PC)
• Homeplanet: Playing With Fire (PC)
• 'GoldenLand: Cold Heaven' (PC)
• GoldenLand (PC)
• Phase: Exodus (PC)
• Neuro (PC)

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

• Heroes of the Pacific (PS2/Xbox/PC)
• Soldner: Secret Wars (PC)
• The Suffering (PC)

Lyra Studios announced today that they are in the pre-alpha stages of a new MMORPG they have titled Reclamation. This game promises many things that previously were rare or unheard of in the genre. Reclamation is first and foremost a roleplaying game, where you are encouraged and rewarded for playing your character.

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 :

• HeadHunter: Redemption - Trailer
• Otogi 2 - Trailer
• Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines - E3 2004 Trailer
• The Punisher - E3 2004 Trailer
• Medieval Lords - E3 2004 Trailer
• Ground Control: Operation Exodus - Trailer
• F.E.A.R. - Teaser
• D-Day - E3 2004 Trailer
• BloodRayne 2 - E3 2004 Trailer

The game that introduced stealth gameplay is back. Ion Storm has implemented a new 3rd person cinematic action view as well as the classic 1st person perspective from the previous Thief chapters. Breaking and entering, stealing, sabotage, combat, assassination, and setting up ambushes - tasks master thief Garrett is well equipped to perform. 'Thief: Deadly Shadows' ships to stores May 25th, 2004.

Gamers can get the inside scoop on the enigmatic anti-hero Riddick and is escape from the triple max slam with the announcement of the pre-order campaign for The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. Fans who choose to preorder the hotly anticipated Xbox title will receive an exclusive DVD featuring exclusive content such as : mini hint guide, movie trailer, background info and plenty more. Read more for details ...

Ground Control II: Operation Exodus focuses on tactical combat with minimal time spent on resource management. Instead of harvesting resources and building bases, the game keeps the action hot and heavy by immediately rewarding players for accomplishing objectives. This demo includes 2 tutorials and a campaign mission (Calling the Shots) playable as the Northern Star Alliance (thanks GameSpot). Read more for download links ...

While not officially announced yet, word has it that Microsoft's acclaimed tennis title Top Spin is headed for the PC. Oddly enough the game will not be published by Microsoft but rather by Atari. The conversion is being done by the original Xbox developers Power and Magic Dev. No further details are available at this point.

Electronic Arts today announced the Ultima Online 7th Anniversary Edition, commemorating the game's historic seven-year run. The special version of the longest-running online game is currently in development and scheduled for release this summer.

KumaWar has launched its second mission from the military hotspot of Fallujah, Iraq -- Fallujah Abizaid Attack. Based on the February 12, 2004 assassination attempt on General John P. Abizaid, commander of all U.S. forces in the Middle East, Fallujah Abizaid Attack re-creates the General’s narrow escape and the swift counter-attack by America’s 82nd Airborne Division and friendly Iraqi troops as they hunt down the insurgent attackers.

TDK has released a new patch for Synetic's racing game World Racing. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.5.5 and adds LAN/Internet multiplayer capabilities, and Matrox surroundgaming support. Read more for details and download links ...

Codemasters has released another patch for their racing game TOCA Race Driver 2: The Ultimate Racing Simulator. This update patch brings your retail game to v1.2 and while incorporating all fixes from previous patch, it also addresses some networking problems. Read more for details and download links ...

With another E3 now behind us I find it difficult not to spend much of my time thinking about the future of the games industry. Does the future look any different now than it did pre E3? Not really, but if nothing else the Los Angeles event has certainly solidified a few truths. In the coming year the battle for gaming supremacy seems as if it’s going to be fought on a new front – the realm of innovation.

Pax Romana is an historical strategy game set in ancient Rome, designed by the creators of Europa Universalis. There are two sides to this epic game – political and strategic. The strategic side is very much a battle of cunning and well-planned military tactics, whereas the political side involves the manipulation of senators and generals alike, as politicians seek to gain military and financial power.

Check out the following new screens from Monte Cristo's 2004 E3 lineup:

• 7 Sins (PC)
• D-Day (PC)
• Fire Captain: Bay Area Inferno (PC)
• Medieval Lords: Build, Defend, Expand (PC)

Shockwave Productions announced today they are publishing their next title, Air Power: WW II Heavy Bombers and Jets. Shockwave Productions is using their critically acclaimed skill to dominate the civil aviation sim world with Air Power: WW II Heavy Bombers and Jets for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. Air Power raises the bar once again by adding seven meticulously created aircraft, visuals, and missions to Microsoft’s latest and greatest flight simulator.

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 :

• Richard Burns Rally - Trailer #3
• Rome: Total War - E3 2004 Trailer
• The Movies - E3 2004 Trailer
• Resident Evil 4 - E3 2004 Trailer
• Children of the Nile - E3 2004 Trailer

Eidos has released a demo/trial version for Rotobee's adult 3D relationship sim Singles - Flirt Up Your Life. This demo features the full content of the game which lets you try it out for 4 hours, after which you can unlock the full game by purchasing a license key (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Check out the following new screens from Planeta DeAgostini's 2004 E3 lineup:

• Fallen Lords (PC)
• Fenimore Fillmore: The Westerner (PC)
• Professional Manager 2005 (PC)