Blizzard issued a new patch for both Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne titles, bringing these games to v1.20c. As before, the update fixes a crash that could happen in multiplayer games.

Former Apogee developer Jim Norwood revealed in this interview that Electronic Arts has plans for a new RPG based on Lord of the Rings universe. Its name is Lord of the Rings: The White Council.

Namco announced that Curious George, the game developed for consoles and the PC by Monkey Bar Games and for handheld systems by Torus Games, has been approved for manufacturing and will be available on February 1st, for PS2, PC, GC and GBA. Fans can now join Curious George on an exciting interactive adventure and will be able to jump into the action as Curious George in a variety of levels based closely on the animated feature film. Players control George as he runs, jumps, climbs and swings his way around Africa, the museum, The Man With the Yellow Hat's apartment and more – solving puzzles and interacting with new friends from the movie.

Merscom LLC sent us a trailer and six new screenshots from Ski Alpin 2006, the skiing sports game also known as Bode Miller Alpine Skiing. Featuring 32 slopes spanning 18 world-famous venues, Bode Miller Alpine Skiing lets you train with your coach, buy ski gear and score lucrative sponsorship deals as you rise to the top of the industry. Merscom will ship the $19.99 (USD) PC version to retail stores this month. A demo is located here.

It seems that Electronic Arts renewed their trademark for System Shock 3 (thanks Blues). It is unclear for the moment if they ever intend to use it or not, but hope always dies last, doesn't it?

Ironclad Games today released two more screenshots from Sins of a Solar Empire, a real-time space strategy title where players will explore and conquer nearby planets and distant solar systems by applying brute force, cunning strategy, elegant diplomacy, economic mastery, and researched technology. Battle hardened capital ships advance in level, improving their core offensive and defensive systems, and unlocking their unique abilities. Check full article for details.

exoSyphen Studios today announced the launch of Cyber Wars for the PC, a game where you play the role of a street punk/dealer, in a future decayed world. Your goal is to make as much money as you can, by buying and selling items, and so, reach the lord ranking. Once you become a lord, you will stop paying protection fees and start collecting them, instead. Try the demo and visit their website for the full version.

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. today announced the acquisition of Irrational Games, the development studio behind System Shock 2 and Freedom Force vs The Third Reich, under Take-Two’s 2K Games publishing label. Irrational Games is currently working on BioShock, the spiritual successor to System Shock 2.

3000AD, Inc. has issued a new patch for Universal Combat: A World Apart, bringing the second title in the Universal Combat series to v1.00.11. Press 'read more' for changelog.

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. has released the second trailer from MLB ’06: The Show, showcasing the next chapter in the series due to ship in Spring 2006, for PS2 and PSP. The all-new Rivalry Mode allows players to set up and maintain multi-game rivalries, while tracking stats for the life of the rivalry. Moreover, the innovative King of the Diamond Mode brings players a classic playground duel where a pitcher and batter from opposing teams square off in a head-to-head mini game that showcases the intensity of the duel. Press 'read more' for details.

We have updated our gallery with 7 new screenshots from LEGO Star Wars. LEGO star Wars is being developed by Amaze Entertainment. LEGO Star Wars will give you the chance to meet many characters from The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and the forthcoming Episode III Revenge of the Sith movies, and you must switch between them to solve puzzles using their special abilities. In addition to a single-player mode, there is a 'drop in, drop out' two-player co-operative mode allowing a second player to enter or leave the action whenever they want. There is also a free-play mode where unlocked characters can be played in different scenarios to those of the films.

Today JavArt released Hell's Bell. Hell's Bell is a platform RPG that features a demoniac atmosphere for an attractive platform structure in the labirintic circles of hell, full of traps and obstacles that your damned enemies have scattered along your run. Be sure to check out our gallery for 6 new screenshots

NCsoft and Arena.net announced that the final stages of the Guild Wars global tournament are now underway as the Guild Wars international rankings are closed and the top 10 teams from each territory move into the penultimate stage. The best guilds from Europe, North America and Korea will fight it out this week to win a chance to play in the grand finals in February, when two teams from each territory will be flown out, all expenses paid, to Taipei, Taiwan to compete for a share of the $100,000 prize fund. The firm favourites from Europe are the Esoteric Warriors, a guild whose members hail from all across the continent, including English, French, German, Dutch, Austrian and Finnish players. Guilds from all over Europe - including Russia, Slovakia, Portugal among others - have also made it through to the finals. The European final will take place at 14:00 GMT on Saturday 14th January.

Twinsen's Adventure reports that Frederick Raynal recently formed Ludoid and that he wishes to expand it, with the first step being the presentation of different projects to several publishers (thanks ComputerGames). Now, one of these projects is Little Big Adventure 3, a game that we know has been under wraps since no one can remember. Of course, this should be treated as a rumor and until we will not get an offcial answer, we'll never know for sure.

Runestone today announced they are accepting beta test sign-ups for Seed on their website. The beta test will start on February 1st with around 500 players and it will last until March 31st, but they will be periodically adding more players up to 10,000, so don't lose hope if you don't get an answer from them, right on the first day of February.