The Rome Total War expansion pack Barbarian Invasion is set well after Rome: Total War spanning the years 364AD to 476AD. You can play as one of the Barbarian factions (including the Vandals, Saxons and Huns) and take revenge against the Roman Empire, or as the Western and Eastern Roman empires attempting to drive back the Barbarians. The big new feature is the addition of night-time battles, but lighter troops - including cavalry - can now also swim across rivers. Barbarian invasion is scheduled for Fall 2005.

The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that the FBI cracked down on piracy in an 11-nation sting operation hunting for copies of the latest Star Wars film and other movies, games and software programs, worth at least $50 million. FBI agents and investigators in the other nations conducted 90 searches starting Wednesday, arresting four people, seizing hundreds of computers and shutting down at least eight major online distribution servers for pirated works.

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 Sims 2: Nightlife - Trailer
• Black & White 2 - Trailer #5
• City of Villains - Trailer #4
• Heroes of Might & Magic 5 - E3 demo Part 2
• Stubbs The Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse - Trailer #3
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  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Casting has all but completed on director, executive producer Uwe Boll's video game-derived sword and sorcery epic Dungeon Siege, Producer Shawn Williamson of Brightlight Pictures announced today. LeeLee Sobieski; Ron Pearlman; John Rhys-Davies; Matthew Lillard; Kristanna Loken; and Burt Reynolds round out cast of magical, classic tale of Good vs. Evil; shooting begins July 3 in Vancouver

Devil Kings is a fast-paced action game set against a backdrop of a warring nation as feudal lords battle for land and power. Choose from a selection of heroic warriors and utilize their unique combat abilities to fight on the battlefields and unify the country. Devil Kings possesses compelling gameplay that will have gamers unleashing a variety of devastating attacks to triumph over every enemy.

In Urban Reign, players assume the role of a gritty street brawler who has been hired by one of the city's dominant gangs to protect its leader. Players are thrown into a full-blown turf war, involving gang corruption and street justice that spans from the neighborhood block all the way to the upper levels of city government

Mastiff today announced they will publish Paramount Pictures Top Gun for the NDS. An action-packed tribute to the blockbuster movie hit of 1986, Top Gun takes advantage of the unique Nintendo DS interface for high octane mastery of the sky. Read more for details, screens and trailer ...

Teaming up once again with the original Desert Storm Delta Force - Bradley, Foley, Connors and Jones - your four men now form part of an elite anti-terrorist unit tasked with minimising the worldwide threat from active global terrorist groups. The game takes place across the world, in a number of different and hostile locations and against a merciless and corrupt enemy; this is your squad's greatest challenge to date.

Darkwatch is an original FPS combining the Western and Horror genres to create a cinematic experience with unparalleled depth and game play variety. As half-vampire Jericho Cross, players must hunt down a powerful vampire lord whose undead minions have overrun the Wild West. The result is a stylistic premise blending western and vampire-horror milieus, and one injected with innovative concepts.

Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space is a grand space opera that will take you from a down and out starship captain to an amazing intergalactic hero whose renown travels light speed ahead of you!

The Bard's Tale will eschew genre clichés in favor of intelligent humor for an original and truly entertaining experience. inXile's development focus on the RPG genre comes from Brian Fargo's long legacy of delivering standard-setting RPGs to market. Ubisoft Europe has released a patch for The Bard's Tale bringing your European retail game to v1.01. No details as to what it fixes are available at this point.

Slitherine and Matrix Games have released a small patch for the North American version of Gates of Troy. This fix addresses a problem with corrupted graphics for the Achian Noble units, and contains the correct graphics files to replace them (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

For the first time in many years the Northern Hemisphere Rugby nations are now on equal billing with their Southern Hemisphere counterparts and the competition for the top position has never been so close with even the minnows of the International scene coming up with shock results. Rugby Union has never been so competitive or so popular, even at club level.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates hinted Thursday that his company might license the software underlying its Xbox gaming machine to a variety of outside companies in a bid to expand the market share for the Xbox machine

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.

Namco announced today that Sigma Star Saga has gone gold. Created exclusively for the GBA, Sigma Star Saga combines role-playing depth and storytelling with intense space-shooting action to create an original video game adventure unlike any other. Sigma Star Saga will be available in stores this August.

Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows is the fusion of fantasy fighting action with the strategy of user-friendly RPG elements , providing gamers a deep, engaging gameplay experience complete with solo play, co-op and an online community. Lead by industry veterans John Romero (Doom, Quake) and Josh Sawyer (Icewind Dale), developed by Midway's San Diego studio, Seven Sorrows is scheduled for release on the PS2, Xbox and PC this November.

Warfare is a real-time global war simulator with real material and it's devoted to a conflict in the Near East. There are two campaigns, one for the USA, the other for Saudi Arabia. The main goal of the first campaign is taking full control of the region; the second one is coming to power in Saudi Arabia and achieving the withdrawal of all American troops.

In Pirates! you take the leading role of a Pirate Captain in the 17th century Caribbean trying to become the most revered and feared pirate in history - exploring high seas and exotic ports, overtaking enemies in fierce naval battles, engaging in duels and attempting to seize valuable booty. 2KGames has released the second part of three Pirates of Sid Meier’s Pirates! features containing details on three of the real-life pirates in Pirates!

Developed by Kuju and using the team behind "Prisoner of War", Pilot Down is Oxygen's key release for 2005. Pilot Down captures the atmosphere, danger and heroism of Bill Foster, an American co-pilot shot down over occupied territory in 1944. Pilot Down: Behind Enemy Lines is to hit the streets on 19th August 2005 on PlayStation 2, Xbox & PC.

Guild Wars has developed a reputation for its firm emphasis on strategic combat, in both Player vs. Player and co-operative play. NCsoft Europe has confirmed that Guild Wars developer ArenaNet has announced plans to refine the reward system further, allowing players the freedom to unlock the tools they need in whichever style of play they enjoy the most, be it the PvP arenas or the co-operative role-play areas.

SpecForce developer Techland has today announced that the SP demo of its latest sci-fi FPP tactical shooter will be available for download on Thursday July 5th. 335 MB file containing one of eleven missions will be available in English, French, German and Polish language. The players will be able to use their own tactics and a bunch of modern military equipment including armored vehicles, stationary weapons, Power Armor and over 10 futuristic personal weapons. We will of course have it available on our fileserver net work the moment it is released.

Yesterday ZOO digital announced the latest installment of the Premier Manager series 2005-2006. The game has been overhauled in terms of presentation and game interface which will enhance the brand further. Today we have the first screens ...

Nibiru: Messenger of the Gods is a 2D horror/adventure game in which you take on the role of Martin Holan, an Thechz archeologist working in France sent to investigate a newly found secret tunnel apparently made by Germans during the second World War. This patch addresses issues you may encounter if you have a GeForce 6600 gfx card. Read more for download links ...

Pirate's Revenge is a game which focuses on true pirate determination and action, with a strong and rewarding story line. Trade elements feature as a way of restocking your ship with cannons and ammunition, or for offloading booty from your recent plundering activities. Read more for some new screens ...

In Snow, you become a drug kingpin who earns fame and fortune selling illegal goods across the United States. As an up and coming drug lord you can order various characters to procure, smuggle and ultimately distribute "the goods" for you. You build structures like corrupt law firms and money-laundering nightclubs to compete for greater market share against your rivals. You also will need to "take out" certain key enemies in order to protect your interests and further expand your growing drug empire.

Panzer Elite Action is a fast-paced WW2 action game that lets the player feel the power of 30 tons of steel armor around them and gives them the ability to command increasingly powerful tanks in a series of intense and dramatic battles. Zootfly sent out a pre-canned Q&A with Panzer Elite Action producer Michael Hengst.

NFL players are free from their real-world constraints to dominate the streets one stylin' move and one field at a time. Raise your game to the limits with up-the-wall passes, off-the-wall catches, and highlight-reel wall jukes that are sure to solidify your place as football's greatest urban legend.

Batman Begins explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham. Gamers will play as both Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego, Batman, hunting evil-doers from the shadows, using strength, intellect and an array of high tech gadgets to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city.