CDV Software, master of the wartime strategy genre, has announced that its 3D perspective, World War II-based, real time strategy game Blitzkrieg, will be published on May 16. Blitzkrieg will test the gamer's strategic expertise to the limit. It requires finesse, precision, a command of military tactics and sound man-management techniques. Your troops, if commanded skilfully, will gain experience and fight more effectively.

Xbox, the video game system from Microsoft, today announced the early success of its European launch of Xbox Live, the first comprehensive, online game service fully dedicated to fast-action broadband gaming experiences.

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

• Sacred (Ascaron)
• SX Superstar (Acclaim)
• Broken Sword 3 (THQ)
• 
  
  Read more for download links ...

As the commander of the emergency services, you must control your team of rescue staff and vehicles, including Police, K-9 Unit, Fire and ambulance services. Infiltrate traffic pile-ups, contain nuclear power plant meltdowns, rush victims to safety and even extinguish raging forest fires amongst other life threatening situations. Let police psychologists negotiate with extortionists and let sharpshooters do their job... Read more to find out whether the game is as much a disaster as its theme.

Noticed on EvilAvatar that "Terminal Reality are now looking for a Lead Artist for BloodRayne II" at gamejobs.com. This is the first "official" hint that a sequel to BloodRayne will be developed. The sequel to Terminal Reality's horror-action game of 2002 will apparently be published by Activision, not the original game's Majesco.

Set in the Star Trek: The Next Generation universe, Star Trek Elite Force II allows players to break out of the confines of ship bulkheads and spacestation corridors to explore all new locations including alien worlds and zero-g environments. New and more powerful weapons will be at the player’s disposal and branching levels offer a more varied gameplay experience. Check the official site, or read more for some screens ...

CDV's jump&run Rosso Rabbit in Trouble comes packaged a lot like Easter eggs in different colors. The free version of the game will feature a few levels for testing your rabbit-controlling skills. There will also be special Easter levels, in honor of the upcoming season, in which you will have to collect all the eggs in the level. The full version of Rosso Rabbit in Trouble will contain 17 amazing levels, and players will be able to submit their high scores to an international high score list on the website! Oh, and by the way: the levels of the game are twice as huge as those in Santa Claus in Trouble. The demo features 3 levels and one special easter level.

Even though the gaming hobby has advanced onward to first-person-shooters and sensational role-playing landscapes, gaming accomplishments on old-fashioned titles can still make an ardent player sit up and take notice. One such achievement has been recently verified: the eternally popular 1991 SNES game, "Legend of Zelda:A Link to the Past," has been finished in under 2-hours for the first time in the title's history. Read more for details ...

The latest installment in the award-winning series, Warlords IV: Heroes of Etheria is a unique blend of role playing and turn-based strategy gaming. Set in the troubled land of Etheria, old foes such as Dwarves, Elves, and Orcs have resumed their ancient hostilities and the Undead legions of Lord Bane have returned. The game centers on the actions of your Warlord, who plays a pivotal role in the success or failure of your military efforts. Read more to check some new screens ...

Starting with a single loyal supporter, a tiny secret HQ and a very small base of local support, you must build up a nationwide faction powerful enough to oust the President and rule the Republic of Novistrana. Up to 16 other factions (human or computer controlled) will be doing everything in their power to stop you and seize control for themselves. And of course, most formidable of all is the President - he’ll go to any lengths necessary to hold onto power. Read more for a batch of fresh screens ...

Publisher Strategy First and developer Stardock are pleased to announce the release of update version 1.02 for Galactic Civilizations, their hugely successful 4x space strategy game that was released on March 26th. This upgrade brings a few new features and playability enhancements as well as some AI fixes. The update can be downloaded through the ingame Stardock Central. Read more for detailed fix list ...

Meet Sergeant First Class Steve R. Hawkins, squad leader for the A-216 team. An exceptional soldier, and well respected by his men. Steve almost didn't become a soldier, read more about it here! (thanks Unrealik)

Mythic Entertainment, developer and publisher of Dark Age of Camelot, plans to release a free download-only expansion called Dark Age of Camelot: Foundations that adds player housing to the immensely popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game. The expansion enters closed beta testing this week and will be available for free via optional download to all subscribers in mid-June.

Climax today announced some recent accolades for its high-intensity motorcycle racing game, MotoGP 2. The game received the 2003 Xbox Award for Excellence in Live Implementation from Microsoft’s Advanced Technology Group, the Official Xbox Magazine’s 2002 Award for the Best Use of Xbox Controller, and was a finalist for the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences’ 2003 Console Racing Game of the Year. Moto GP 1 and Moto GP 2, both published by THQ, are the first and second racing games released for the Xbox Live service.

Harbinger is a single-player action / RPG set in a fantastic science fiction universe. As one of three distinct character types, players explore the world of Harbinger - journey to the far reaches of space, battle unique foes never before seen in any medium, discover powerful new weapons and alien technologies, and uncover the dark secrets buried within the massive starship's steel walls. Dreamcatcher has released the first patch for Harbinger bringing your retail game to v1.1. The upgrade adresses several quest issues, improves Culibine amp usage, configuration tools, and fixes a few other bugs. Read more for download links ...

Combining high-flying, two-wheel action with heart-pumping, adrenaline infused tunes, AKA Acclaim, a division of Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. today unveiled the in-game music soundtrack for its summer release, SX Superstar. Featuring today's top artists including The Deftones, Box Car Racer, N.E.R.D. and Fenix*TX, SX Superstar will be available across all next-generation systems.

TransGaming Technologies, a leading developer of software portability solutions for the video games industry, announced today the much-anticipated release of WineX 3.0, TransGaming's flagship Linux portability product that allows PC games and applications to seamlessly and transparently run on the Linux operating system, directly out-of-the-box.

Codemasters today confirms that Operation Flashpoint 2, a true sequel to the million-selling military simulator, has been commissioned. The setting and theme for the game will be revealed at E3, the global games expo (Los Angeles Convention Centre, May 14-16). Operation Flashpoint 2 is in design and development at Bohemia Interactive Studio, the Prague-based creators of the original title, and will launch late in 2004 for PC.

Details have emerged of Sony's plans to sell a variety of hardware bundles at existing prices through its online store in Japan - including a bundle which would feature a network adapter for free with a new console purchase. This deal would put the PlayStation 2 on an equal footing with the Xbox in terms of network functionality, as one of the key selling points of Microsoft's console has been that it requires no additional hardware for online gaming.

Vivendi Universal Games announced today that hard rock front man (Black Flag, Rollins Band), actor (“The Chase,” “Johnny Mnemonic”) and spoken word artist Henry Rollins has signed on to voice the role of Mace Griffin in the upcoming video game “Mace Griffin Bounty Hunter.” The sci-fi action game will be available second quarter 2003 for the Xbox video game system from Microsoft, the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system and Nintendo GameCube.

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. today announced that Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits, the continuation of the popular Arc the Lad series, will launch in June 2003 exclusively for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system. Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits, a true, traditional role-playing game (RPG), takes place thousands of years after the last installment in the series with an all-new captivating storyline, an innovative battle system and a variety of playable characters with unique abilities. Set in a visually stunning world of life-like graphics and using motion-captured cut scenes to enhance an intriguing storyline, Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits delivers an epic role-playing adventure perfect for fans of strategy, adventure and RPG games.

Age of Mythology: The Titans is an expansion pack for Age of Mythology. Using familiar elements of classical mythology, Age of Mythology casts players as one of nine unique civilizations from ancient Greek, Norse and Egyptian mythologies. Players can reinforce their armies with mythological creatures like Cyclopes and Medusas or call upon the mighty powers of gods such as Zeus to rain down lightning bolts on unsuspecting enemies. Age of Mythology also incorporates Ensemble Studios' trademark features from previous Age of Empires games, including a compelling economic model, a massive army and battle system, unequaled artificial intelligence, random maps, intuitive gameplay and extreme attention to detail. The expansion will be available in stores this fall.

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

• Sacred (Ascaron)
• Brute Force (Microsoft)
• 
  
  Read more for download links ...