Take 2/Gathering have released the first patch for their fantasy strategy game Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic. This upgtade brings your retail game to v1.10 and addresses some multiplayer and editor issues (thanks Blues). Read more for details and download links ...

Ubi Soft has released the first patch for 1C Maddox's WW II flight sim IL-2 Sturmovik: the Forgotten Battles .This upgrade brings your retail game to 1.1b and has quite an impressive amount bug fixes, game improvements, graphics changes, networking & AI tweaking and tons more. Read more for a detailed fix list and download links ...

Publisher Big City Games and developer Techland announced today that their revolutionary shooter and futuristic vehicle simulator title, Crime Cities, has shipped to retail stores nationwide. “The fact that it combines the key elements of a shooter and a vehicle simulator give it an intense energy level,” explains Steve Milburn, Director of Marketing at Strategy First. “It is a blast to play.”

Madden NFL 2004, the most anticipated football title of the year and the top North American sports videogame franchise from Electronic Arts is available in stores today on six platforms. Madden NFL distributed under the EA SPORTS brand is in its 14th season with over 30 million copies sold, and the franchise recently was unveiled for display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the first videogame to receive this honor.

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 :

• Gangland - Trailer
• Hunter The Reckoning: Redeemer - Trailer
• Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds - Trailer
• Joint Operations - Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Korea: Forgotten Conflict is a 3D Real Time Strategy game based on the war that no-one, save for those involved, wants to remember. In game film sequences will reinforce the atmosphere and realism within this fully interactive environment. Although there were 450,000 Allies lost in conflict (and, to date, there are still more than 8,000 servicemen unaccounted for), Communist casualties amounted to nearly 2 million. Maybe you can lessen these numbers.

Gotham Games today confirmed that Conflict: Desert Storm II - Back to Baghdad will be released for the Nintendo GameCube this fall. The game follows up on the successful title Conflict: Desert Storm, one of Blockbuster’s top-10 rental titles of 2002. Conflict: Desert Storm II captures all of the intense, third-person squad-based action of the original and builds on it as players command US Delta Forces or British SAS over the sands of Iraq to crush what remains of Saddam’s evil regime. Read more for details and some new screens ...

THQ Inc. today announced a multi-property agreement with Microsoft Game Studios that grants THQ worldwide rights to distribute titles from Microsoft’s Rare game studio, including Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty’s Revenge, Banjo Pilot, It’s Mr. Pants and Sabre Wulf. The first game scheduled for release under the agreement, Banjo-Kazooie: Grunty’s Revenge, is scheduled to release in fall 2003. Read more for details & screens ...

Namco Hometek Inc. announced today the launch of a Web site for kill.switch, the innovative new military shooter shipping in October 2003 for Sony PS2 and the Xbox. Currently the official Kill.Switch website provides visitors with a taste of what’s to come with a selection of screens and trailers showcasing the realistic cover tactics and and awesome firepower packed into the game’s ultimate combat experience. Also included is some basic information on game features, including kill.switch’s sophisticated A.I. and 15 action-packed scenarios. If you haven't yet, you can also check our recent Kill.Switch preview!

Encore today announced that Neighbors from Hell has gone gold. The PC game, co-published by Encore with content delivered from Austria-based JoWooD Productions Software AG, is anticipated on store shelves in September, and will retail for approximately $30.

As expected & announced Ubisoft has now released the new patch for their FPS/Stealth action game Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.4. We have all versions of the patch available as well as a v1.4 dedicated win32 server (full or update patch). Read more for details and download links ...

SEGA of America, Inc. today announces the launch of "Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution," the next iteration of its blockbuster fighting franchise, which celebrates its 10th Anniversary this year. Exclusively for the PS2, "Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution" ships to retail with two new characters, updated graphics, and new modes, prompting top gaming enthusiast publication Gamepro to recommend that "every fighting fan must have this game." In addition, "Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution" packs a punch with a low suggested retail price of $19.99.

Activision, Inc. announced today that film, television and award-winning interactive game composer Michael Giacchino has signed-on to score its new line of first-person action games -- Call of Duty for the PC and Call of Duty: Finest Hour for the next generation consoles. Giacchino’s credits include the popular television series Alias, and renowned game soundtracks for Medal of Honor Frontline, Medal of Honor Allied Assault, Medal of Honor Underground and Medal of Honor.

Dungeons & Dragons Heroes gives you a chance to taste the victory as one of four heroes. It beckons you to take a journey through the world of the classic Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game, to live as one of the great ones, and to do the legendary stuff that Heroes are meant to do! Check out the 30+ new screens ...

Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth is an eagerly anticipated first-person horror adventure based on the award winning RPG from Chaosium that in turn is based on the writings of the acclaimed American horror author H. P. Lovecraft...Some new screens showing just how dark some of those corners are.

For true soccer fans who demand the finest gameplay and in-depth game modes, FIFA Football 2004 is the most complete and authentic soccer experience. A new Career mode gives players the chance to take a team from the lower divisions, battle through ranks, sign new players, and turn them into champions. The action is deeper than ever with advanced levels of player detail and responsiveness. With immersive atmospheres, benchmark presentation, total realism with the world's premier clubs, and industry-leading gameplay, FIFA returns as the true authority in soccer gaming. Check the new screens ...

The longest journey always starts with one step. When your mother and sister are kidnapped, your first action is to travel across the magical land of Albion to find your father, the famed Hero. But soon you are plunged into a world of danger you couldn't possibly have imagined. A dark force is gathering. A power to bring evil to every town and village in Albion, and to destroy the fairytale lives of the inhabitants. This evil force has turned the very Heroes into power-crazed, ruthless warriors. Only your father has resisted. That's why your family has been taken. And that's why the fate of your family is now in your hands. Oh, and the fate of the entire world.

DreamCatcher Games announced that it has shipped Agassi Tennis Generation on the PS2 in North America. This follows the successful launch on Game Boy Advance. Andre Agassi is the world's number one tennis player, and also one of the most successful, exciting and flamboyant. Now gamers can experience what it's like to be a tennis icon and play like Andre!

P.N. 03, directed by Shinji Mikami, is described as an action game starring a female soldier named Vanessa Z. Schneider. She's a mercenary armed with a high-powered laser--and she's a robot killer. Robots at a colonial settlement have gone wild on a nearby planet, and it's up to Vanessa--whose parents were killed by the same system overrunning the settlement--to stop them. Not much is known about the game's action, but it is described as containing dodging capabilities and transforming mechs. The game is due to hit Japan in spring of 2003.