Matrix Games have announced that they have released ten new screen shots (http://www.matrixgames.com/games/downloads.asp?gid=335) for their updated release of Close Combat 3: The Russian Front which will be titled Close Combat: Cross of Iron. The screen shots depict several scenarios from the game including "a fierce cross-river firefight, tank skirmishes on the outskirts of Berlin, and even close-quarters battle in the courtyards of the Kremlin!"

In addition, the Close Combat Portal has released a fairly detailed fairly detailed preview of the game (http://www.closecombat.org/CSO/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=333) including some of the new features in the game, the new multi-player system, images of some of the new campaign maps, and screen shots of their own.

For any fans of the Close Combat games, this looks like it will be worth taking a look at - especially since the engine has been updated to run with DirectX 9.x and newer graphics accelerators, something that's been very problematic with running the older versions of the game. No official word on the release date seems to be available yet though.

Rumors have emerged from the internet that reveals a playable demo of Killzone 2 is in production and is going to be shown at this year’s GDC in San Fransico. This should allow Sony to steal some of Halo 3’s hype as their multiplayer beta has been the top discussion for many weeks now.

We’ve also learned that Killzone 2 is further into development than we had previously imagined. The online section of the game has been playable for over a year which suggests the game could be released before Halo 3 but this is still in the rumor mill for now.

We’ll be getting in contact with Sony to try and get confirmation on this rumor. Fingers crossed that this is true as Killzone 2 hasn’t been shown since E3 2005.

Stay tuned!

Could Dark Messiah of Might & Magic be coming to the Xbox 360? The game has been listed on CD Universe as an Xbox 360 product and has a street date of May 16, 2007.

Ubisoft could be planning to release this game on the Xbox 360 so there may be some truth to the story but for now we’ll treat it as a rumor. Strategy Informer is currently getting in contact with Ubisoft to find out more.

Stay tuned!

Source: http://www.cduniverse.com/

Nintendo will be adding three new classic games to the Wii shop channel today, these new games will go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. This week’s new games are Super Mario World, VIGILANTE and Gain Ground.

Super Mario World™ (Super NES®, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points): During a vacation in Dinosaur Land, Princess Toadstool gets kidnapped and a spell is cast on the inhabitants of the island. When they stumble upon Yoshi™, a young dinosaur, Mario™ and Luigi learn that Bowser is responsible for the terrible misdeeds. Now, all Yoshis are trapped in magical eggs that Bowser has hidden throughout seven castles. Many hidden paths aid Mario in making his way to Bowser's castle, completing 74 areas and finding all 96 exits. Discover items, including a feather that gives Mario a cape that allows him to fly, or a flower that shoots fireballs in layers upon layers of 2-D scrolling landscapes. Players can even ride Yoshi and swallow their enemies.

VIGILANTE™ (TurboGrafx-16, 1 player, 600 Wii Points): Brave the streets of New York City in this side-scrolling beat-'em-up game. Thugs kidnap the beloved Madonna, and it's up to players to become vigilantes. Players fight their way into enemy territory to get her back. Enemies attack with weapons like iron pipes, chains, guns and motorcycles. To fight back, players can punch, kick or use the "nunchaku" item that appears in the stage. Players must use each of the attacks effectively to defeat their enemies. To clear a stage, defeat the boss that waits at the end. Players fight their way through exciting stages that include the City Streets, Junkyard, Brooklyn Bridge and the Backstreets.

Gain Ground™ (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points): It's the 31st century, and science and technology have progressed to the point that the human race is approaching perfection: no war, no poverty and no conflict. With nothing to worry about, the human race seems destined to live forever in harmony. But what if Earth came under attack? By this point in time, people did not know how to cope with problems or conflicts, and had completely lost their survival instincts. In response to this, the United Earth Government created the Gain Ground system, a war simulator that would help humans rediscover their lost instincts. After several terrible malfunctions, the creators became prisoners in their own creation. Now it's up to players and two courageous comrades to go into the Gain Ground system, rescue their fellow humans and destroy the system. Players battle through different periods in history as they revive their survival instincts, while trying to live.

Bizarre Creations has produced their studio update 20 article which is aimed at informing fans on the company’s latest developments and progress within their current projects. This time we’ve been given an update on Project Gotham Racing 4.

“The internal teams we have here at Bizarre are pretty familiar with the routine now; everybody knows their place and is really getting on with it at a speedy rate. We've seen a couple of excellent new technologies make their way into the game... of course you'll hear more about these in due time. “said Bizarre Creations Community & Web Lead.

The company also reported on the recent X06 trailer by saying “the X06 trailer wasn't gameplay. It wasn't representative of what we've got planned for the style or locations in the game itself. You won't see outer space racing or anything like that! We have changed our design emphasis slightly from previous titles though... I think we're going to surprise a few people with PGR4!”

We’ll have more information about Project Gotham Racing 4 within the next few months.

Stay Tuned!