Rise of Legends is in so many ways the spiritual successor to Rise of Nations, but the long and the short of it is we got excited about doing a fantasy game. Now clearly your traditional "orcs, elves, dwarves" sort of fantasy has been—shall we say—thoroughly covered in other games, and so the story which got us excited is one where the magic of fantasy meets a world of technology. So magic and technology collide, with cataclysmic results!

Matrix Games and X1 Software announced today that Banzai!, their newest IL-2 Sturmovik series expansion (for Pacific Fighters), has gone gold and will soon be available for sale from the Matrix Games website. Banzai will require the previously installed software of Pacific Fighters. Read more for details ...

The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is a new action/adventure game, developed by Simpsons: Hit & Run's Radical Games, and will feature the ultimate in destructible environments, an awesome Hulk-powered ability to weaponize any object and a massive free-roaming, fully interactive world.

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 :

• Battlefield 2 - Trailer (3)
• Bet On Soldier - Intro Movie
• Burnout Revenge - Trailer
• Commandos Strike Force - E3 2005 Trailer
• Fantastic Four - Trailer #3
• Panzer Elite - Teaser Trailer
• SCAR: Squadra Corse Alfa Romeo - Trailer #4
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  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Digital Illusions signs contracts for more versions of two of their games that are under production. One of the contracts is for a PC version of the untitled game being launched 2006/2007. The other contract is for a PC version of the action game being launched 2007 (thanks FZ).

Spartan: Total Warrior puts the player in control of a heroic warrior, engulfing the player into the midst of titanic clashes between mighty armies, blending mythical beasts and legendary monsters into the fray. Brutal combat meets epic warfare on the battlefields of the ancient world as you fight for your life, your freedom and your honor.

In The Incredible Hulk, players can jump anywhere, climb anything and smash everything -- even destroy entire buildings -- as the Hulk, the strongest hero there is! Gamers will create their own Hulk-powered weapons from anything they can rip out of the environment, unlock new moves to battle huge enemies in epic boss fights and experience deep and varied game elements by exploring free-roaming non-mission and side mission gameplay. Vivendi has just laucnhed the official The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction website.

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 :

• Dark Sector - Teaser Trailer #2
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  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

From the creators of the most successful drag racing games in the world comes the next generation of drag racing action - IHRA Professional Drag Racing 2005 (IHRA Pro). IHRA Pro takes this best-selling series to a new level with its outstanding graphics, realistic physics, presentation, and, most importantly, intense racing action.

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 :

• The Witcher - E3 2005 Trailer
• Battlefield 2 - Trailer (2)
• Medal of Honor European Assault - Trailer
• NBA 06 - Trailer (6)

Activision today announced record net revenues for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2005. Net revenues and net income had increased 48% and 78%, respectively, over last year's numbers, boosted by sales of top-10 console titles such as Spider-Man 2 and Tony Hawk's Underground 2 and DOOM 3, Rome: Total War and Call of Duty for the PC.

Last month TimeGate Studios announced that it had licensed Epic's Unreal Engine 3, without giving further details as to its purpose. Today GameSpy revealed that the developer, mostly known for its RTS franchises, is working on a FPS using Epic's latest engine. Section 8 is a futuristic first person shooter that brings strategy and tactics to the genre in a game where players can modify the battlefield on the fly. In Section 8 you are part of an elite infantry squad with a penchant for taking on suicide missions that no one else will tackle. No release date or publisher has been announced yet.

2K Games today announced Shattered Union, the latest innovative title from Take-Two's PopTop Software studio. Read more for details and screens ...

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 :

• Singles 2: Triple Trouble - Trailer
• Delta Force: Black Hawk Down [Xbox] - Trailer (2)
• Loco-Mania - Trailer
• Pariah - Trailer (2)
• NBA 06 - Trailer

The series famous for relentless intensity is returning bigger, better looking and more frantic than ever before. Sam Stone is back to rescue the universe one bullet at a time against overwhelming hordes of time traveling enemies in Serious Sam 2. Built from the ground up with a completely new engine, Serious Sam 2 will be a shot of adrenaline to the hearts of first-person shooter fans across the world. This is serious!

Sony Online Entertainment today announced EverQuest II Desert of Flames and EverQuest II The Splitpaw Saga, the first expansion pack and second adventure pack, respectively, for its MMO EQ II. Desert of Flames will launch launch September 12th 2005 and retail for $29.99 and will be showcased at the upcoming E3 in Los Angeles. The Splitpaw Saga will be available only via digital download for just $7.99 starting June 28th 2005.

Turbine announced today that the highly-anticipated massively multiplayer online game Asheron's Call 2: Legions is available now at retail chains throughout North America. The game will be available in Europe on May 6.

THQ today announced Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers for the Xbox, PS2 and PC. The game builds upon the ground-breaking, genre-blending game play of the original, integrating an all new robust multiplayer system, player-controlled coalition forces, mechanized units and enhanced character abilities and advanced enemy A.I. Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers is scheduled to release this winter.

Shocking and evil, Mortal Kombat: Deception pushes martial arts-style fighting and the Mortal Kombat franchise to new heights with an innovative fighting system, unparalleled depth and brutally intense action, lightning-fast hand-to-hand and special weapons combat, secret and returning characters, moves and combinations with new death-dealing battles and fatalities.

Konami today announced that Enthusia Professional Racing for the PlayStation 2 has shipped to retail stores nationwide. Enthusia is the ultimate driving simulation for gamers who would prefer to spend time behind the wheel rather than "under the hood."

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 :

• SSX 4 - Trailer
• Gothic III - Trailer
• Indigo Prophecy - E3 2005 Trailer
• Kingdom Hearts II - Trailer
• Metal Combat - Trailer #3
• Rollercoaster Tycoon 3: Soaked! - E3 2005 Trailer
• TimeShift - E3 2005 Trailer
• Tycoon City: New York - E3 2005 Trailer

Activision today announced that it has acquired game developer Toys For Bob. Most recently the companies have worked together on the upcoming children's game Madagascar, based on DreamWorks animated feature film. The game is slated to ship this month timed to the movie's release.

Speaking at a meeting of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, Microsoft's Bill Gates said that the newest version of the Xbox, code-named Xenon, would have an array of features that will make the device a more versatile tool for games, music, video and pictures in the living room. Gates also said that the new Xbox will give Microsoft a chance to overtake the leader in the gaming business, Sony Corp.

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 :

• Asheron's Call 2: Legions - Trailer (2)

THQ has launched the official Evil Dead Regeneration website, although currently it is pretty bare. Voiced by Bruce Campbell, the game explores a "what if..." continuation from Evil Dead 2, where you control Ash, wrongfully arrested & convicted for killing his companions, and sentenced to Sunny Meadows, an institute for the criminally insane, but not for long. Ash's peaceful stay is about to end -- thanks to the perverted experiments of his very own psychiatrist, Dr. Reinhard. Hell-bent on using science to harness the Necronomicon's powers, the mad doctor unleashes the book's all-powerful Evil on the world -- releasing a new slew of Deadites, monsters and spirits, twisting reality into a hellish strudel and leaving mankind with that not-so-fresh apocalyptic feeling.