GErman based 3D Game Engine developer Trinigy announced a license deal with Ubisoft studio Blue Byte, giving The Settlers developer access to Trinigy’s latest Vision Engine 7.0 which has been unveiled quite recently.

City Life 2008 Edition features 60 more buildings, bringing the total to 360, including famous structures such as St. Paul Cathedral, Royal Opera, etc. New scenarios, 10 new maps and an updated version of the editor allow you to import satellite maps, as well as import from applications such as World-Machine, or GeoControl.

Wee 1st is Activision's a new consumer initiative to expand the company’s Wii portfolio, promoting games that were developed specifically with the Wii in mind, such as Little League World Series 2008, Rapala Fishing Frenzy and Dancing with the Stars: Get Your Dance On.

In Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts the famous bear and bird duo return for a unique adventure of epic proportions. The Lord of the Games is tired of the petty squabbling between Banjo and the evil witch Gruntilda (aka Grunty) over the years, and has arranged a showdown to decide the rightful owner of Spiral Mountain. In a recent walkthrough Microsoft creative director Ken Lobb reveals "grab with the wrench, and then you twist the controller around." A slip up? A sign of things to come (at E3)? Tune in next week.

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

• Beijing 2008 [ALL] - Motion Capture Trailer
• Madden NFL 09 [ALL] - The Offpsring Trailer
• Mercenaries 2: World in Flames [ALL] - Improvise Trailer
• Tales of Vesperia [X360] - Story Trailer [JAP]
• Legendary [ALL] - Gameplay Trailer
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  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Activision announced that, at a special meeting of stockholders held earlier today, it received a 92% stockholder approval necessary to consummate the company's agreement with Vivendi, S.A. to combine Vivendi Games with Activision's businesses.

Children of the Nile: Enhanced Edition is the updated version of Tilted Mill's city building simulation/strategy gameputting you in charge of your civilization's well being, development and evolution. The new version adds new content, support for Vista, plus a host of user interface and user experience enhancements.

In Colonization, players lead one of four European nations on a quest to conquer and rule the New World. Players will be challenged to guide their people from the oppressive motherland, discover the New World, and negotiate, trade and fight with both the natives and other nations as they acquire power and fight for freedom and independence.

Ubisoft announced the acquisition of Montreal-based visual effects studio Hybride Technologies, known for having worked on 300, Frank Miller’s Sin City and the Spy Kids series.

Audio solution provider Audiokinetic announced today that Rare, known for Viva Pinata, Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Banjo-Kazooie, will use its audio pipeline solution Wwise for the development of several upcoming titles.

Sony Online Entertainment, in conjunction with The Art Institutes system of schools, announced that Julia Brasil of San Francisco has won the 2008 G.I.R.L. Game Design Competition, a contest to encourage students toward career paths in the creative and applied arts, ultimately resulting in the development of games that are more interesting for women to play.

A proposed bill being voted on this week by the European Union would give governments authorization to deem certain software illegal to be used on the internet. The new anti-piracy rules would put in effect a Europe-wide three strikes law, giving three warning to people suspected of sharing copyrighted files, eventually banning offenders from accessing the internet. Needless to say organizations such as Foundation for a Free Internet and various law firms are already up in arms.

Pioneer is developing a 16-layer read-only optical disc with a capacity of 400 gigabytes for the first time in the world. Its per-layer capacity is 25 gb, same as a Blu-ray Disc, technology that will also be applicable to multilayer recordable discs.

Set 500 years after the original game, Fable 2 will offer even more choices and features, while building on the core gameplay theme of Fable where every choice continually defines who you become, allowing you to truly live the life you choose. The Fable 2 LCE includes a making of bonus dvd, Collectible Hobbe figure, LIVE trial card, and additional in-game content.

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

• Too Human - Co-op Serving Trailer
• Persona 4 [PS2] - Deathstomp Trailer
• Collapse - Kiss Trailer
• Neverwinter Nights 2: Mysteries of Westgate - Intro Trailer
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  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Central to the appeal of Ghostlight's International Athletics, developed by The Code Monkeys, will be the immense variety of the ten gut-busting events and the innate need of man to compete and win against his fellow man. Originally scheduled for July, it is now slated for an August release.

Infinity Ward announced that it has decided to reup on their contract with Activision publishing. The recently renegotiated deal may not seem like much of an impact from the outside perspective, but it has laid the ground work and kick started IW's future project, as well as the possibility of a unique new IP, that they’ll have complete control over. Don't expect any details soon as IW's director of comm. Robert Bowling says "it’s going to be quite a while before I can share any details on exactly what that project is."

Kalypso Media announces that the battle for galactic supremacy continues with Endless Universe, the new stand-alone add-on for strategy game Galactic Civilizations II. A stand-alone version, it requires no additional purchase and also includes the two previously released add-ons: Dark Avatar and Twilight Of the Arnor.

Ignition Entertainment announced that it has entered into an agreement with Epic Games to license Unreal Engine 3 for an upcoming, groundbreaking FPS, currently under development at its Florida studio.

Microsoft announced the winner of its Halo: RECUT competition, which saw budding film directors from across Europe create works inspired by the unseen adventures of Master Chief, the hero of the Halo franchise. The prize? A once-in-a-lifetime all expenses paid trip to Los Angeles to study at the prestigious New York Film Academy.

XIII Century is a 3D RTS that combines Risk-style strategy with real-time tactical action, immersing you in the Middle Ages, a world of noble knights, ruthless nomads, courageous deeds and internal wars. The standalone expansion will cover the little known Russian medieval history, the battles of Prince Daumantas de Pskov against the Teutonic Order, featuring improved visuals, larger battlefields, up to 32,000 troops, upgradable troops, and improved gameplay/multiplayer.

More brash and aggressive than his Delta Force squadmate Nomad, you'll experience Psycho’s parallel story during the events of the original, finding that life on the other side of the island is even more intense and explosive than you could have imagined. Concerned fans have started a petition showing support for Crytek, pledging to combat piracy and to buy Crysis Warhead when the game is released.

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

• Chrono Trigger [NDS] - Trailer [JAP]
• MLB Power Pros 2008 [NDS/PS2/Wii] - Trailer
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  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

International Cricket Captain 2008 is the most realistic and in-depth cricket management game to date. With a complete statistical update, a remodeled game engine and a vastly enhanced and re-designed interface and the most up to date statistics available, ICC 2008 is set to reclaim its place amongst the sports management elite.

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

• The Conduit [Wii] - Trailer
• Beijing 2008 [ALL] - Trailers (3)
• Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli [ALL] - Trailer #4
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince [ALL] - Trailer
• Legendary [ALL] - AI Trailer
• Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm [PS3] - Trailer #2
• Wario Land: Shake It! [Wii] - Trailers (2)
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...