MC2 today announced the development of Dracula 3 for PC, the latest installment in the Dracula series. Following up to The Last Sanctuary that was released back in 2000, the game is being developed by Kheops Studio. Scoop:

Mgr Arno Moriani, the “devil’s advocate”, is carrying out a canonization process, investigating in the interwar years a potential candidate for beatification in Transylvania. His investigation is quickly wrapped up. The strange stigmata on the corpse are not the hallmark of some divine power. In fact, the villagers see it as the “mark” of Count Dracula. The bishop decides to carry out his own investigation to determine once and for all whether the vampire truly exists. But the reality is deceiving. Fiction is powerful. Doubts arise. And doubt begets fear…

Sierra Entertainment today announced Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy, the first title in its exclusive partnership with Ludlum Entertainment. Internally developed at High Moon Studios, the game will combine the best-selling novel and the hit film with all-new content. It will be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360 in Summer 2008.

Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy, will give players the experience of becoming a 30 million dollar elite agent, fusing an experience that delves deep into Jason Bourne’s character with gameplay and game presentation inspired by the aggressive filmmaking and frenetic action found in the films. Only by playing Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy will players discover Bourne’s true identity and experience the very moment he became a malfunctioning weapon, first hunting targets around the world as a deadly government assassin then marking himself as his agency’s most wanted.

Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy promises constant tension and action, with players adopting Jason Bourne’s piercing sense of survival, cunning nature, heightened target awareness and firearms training that allow him to engage and eliminate small armies. As a third-person espionage action game, players move from fistfights to firefights to experience sequences that, unlike any other game, seamlessly blend Bourne’s signature hand-to-hand combat with intense shooting and the ability to escape and evade deadly situations.

More information will be disclosed at E3, which will be held July 11-13 in Santa Monica, CA. The game will also grace the August issue of The Official Xbox Magazine which hits newsstands July 3.

Below are the first three screenshots from the game:

Steam is looking for 5,000 gamers who are interested in beta-testing ThreadSpace Hyperbol, a space combat game.

NetDevil today announced the development of Jumpgate Evolution, a remake of its own sci-fi MMO released in 2001. Staying true to its early vision, the studio plans to improve upon the original in every way, with a complete graphics update and the integration of advanced AI.

“Jumpgate Evolution offers fun, intuitive game play that is thoroughly engrossing, while the new AI encourages players to immerse themselves in various roles available in the universe,” said Scott Brown, President of NetDevil. “The game has undergone a complete graphics overhaul and has been vastly expanded to offer more weapons, and greater focus on PvE targets, making roles more refined in the process. Advanced social aspects of the MMO are available as well, including player-owned stations, complete with controllable economy, updated player statistics and rankings, and the ability for players to create squads with customizable web pages for each. The overall experience is a vital improvement in terms of playability, accessibility, as well as the overall look and feel. We think it’s a great example of just how far you can transform an existing IP.”

Jumpgate Evolution will feature several new missions across multiple types including combat, patrols, mining and delivery, PvP system with factional peace and war ratings, new user interface and more.

No release date was mentioned.

This forum post on the Enemy Territory: Quake Wars website by id’s Timothee Besset outlines plans for a Linux version of the game. However, it seems that the Linux client will not be heading to retail:

I don’t want to commit to any schedule for the ETQW Linux client at this point. Most of my time is spent working on the game itself, on the Linux dedicated server and on the network infrastructure.

Once those things wind down (in the upcoming weeks) I will start working specifically on the client. But fear not, ATI and NVidia have expressed interest in getting a Linux client early, so they can review how it performs and get their drivers adjusted. When we release, we’ll release a high quality product, just like we do on Windows.

In any case, don’t expect to find Linux binaries on the retail DVD. It’s hard enough for everyone to get gold masters done, there are enough things to check and worry about, I will not place additional strain on the procedure by trying to squeeze my additional set of files on there.

Following reports that the first trailer for the upcoming Hitman film will be shown before Live Free or Die Hard, JoBlo has blown the lid by posting the trailer itself on the web.

From the looks of it, the video is a teaser, offering a sneak peek at the upcoming action movie starring Timothy Olyphant as the bald-headed assassin. Hitman is set to kill theatres this October. Here’s a Youtube version for you guys to check out.

Shacknews reports that independent developer Insomniac Games has been named as the eighth best company to work for in America by the Society for Human Resource Management and The Great Place to Work Institute (long names, eh).

“Last year was among the most challenging in Insomniac’s history as we prepared to release Resistance: Fall of Man worldwide with the launch of PlayStation 3″ said Insomniac founder and CEO Ted Price. “Yet we delivered a top-rated and top-selling game–on time–while retaining our Top 10 ranking as one of the best small companies to work for in America.”

The studio is credited with some of the most popular franchises in the industry, including Ratchet & Clank, Spyro the Dragon and, most recently, Resistance: Fall of Man.

In his follow-up to the ultra-thin interview, Cory Barlog, the creative director behind God of War: Chains of Olympus, has confirmed that Ready at Dawn will indeed take full advantage of the recently unthrottled PSP CPU.

Though his follow-up post contained more meat, his E3-interview on the PlayStation Blog is far more humorous. When asked if he could sit a person in front of his game for one hour who it would be, came his ingenious reply: “Jack Thompson. I think after 5 minutes of playing the game that hard crunchy exterior would melt away and reveal his candy coated liberal center.”

There’s more, but you’ll have to read it to get it all.

Popular Asian MMORPG Lineage II will be available in more countries, courtesy of AsianMedia. The game will soon be available to users in Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines.

Developed by NCSoft, the game has over 14 million subscribers worldwide.

IGA Worldwide sent out word that they have signed three new partnerships to deliver dynamic advertisements into a range of games. The new partners are Cyanide, Morpheme and Staggan, who have all signed up to offer ads in popular games such as Pro Cycling Manager, United Football and a number of casual games.

Through IGA’s deal with French game development studio, Cyanide, consumers will experience contextual dynamic billboards in Pro Cycling Manager, incorporating the world-famous Tour de France, the worlds single largest annual spectator event. The game allows players to be in charge of one of 60 official teams by managing their tactics and strategies for 180 real-time 3D races.

Similarly, the deal with Staggan delivers dynamic billboard ads as well as power-ups and half-time video spots through United Football, a unique massively-multiplayer online soccer game, which gamers can download and play free of charge.

IGA has also signed a portal-wide casual game deal with Morpheme, a wholly-owned subsidiary of game publisher Eidos, for a range of new Morpheme titles including; Finger Frenzy and current top release, Dawn of the Bod. IGA’s network will again provide dynamic billboards and interstitial video clips before and after play. The Morpheme portal www.gimme5games.com receives over one million unique visits per month, mostly in the 16-34M bracket.

Ubisoft and the Independent Film Channel (IFC) today announced a short film content inspired by Assassin’s Creed. Beginning today, film students, video game fans, and generally anyone with a camera and a creative mind can submit their short film of six-minutes or less, based on the themes of the aforementioned assassination game for judging via IFC’s Media Lab.

“Assassin’s Creed has the cinematic look and feel of an epic movie. This contest allows film makers of all levels a chance to showcase their creativity by expanding upon the mystery and themes of the Assassin’s Creed video game,” said Tony Key, vice president of marketing at Ubisoft. “Video games, like films, have the ability to tell rich and dynamic stories and the partnership with IFC for the Assassin’s Creed short film contest is a way for Ubisoft to show its appreciation to the art. We’re excited to see what people bring to the table; I have a feeling we won’t be disappointed.”

The grand prize winner will receive $10,000, an Xbox 360 console, a copy of Assassin’s Creed and the inclusion of their short film in the Limited Edition version of the game. The winning film will also be aired on the IFC television network in November to coincide the launch of the game. The runner up will also get the aforementioned prizes, except that they will get $2,500 instead of the $10,000. Winners will be announced on or before November 30.

Assassin’s Creed is set to be released on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 this November.

MCV reports that The Darkness for the PS3 has been delayed in the UK. It will be released on July 20, and will not ship alongside the Xbox 360 version today. No reason was provided for the delay. Ironically, the region-free PS3 game is already in North American stores today.

Developed by Starbreeze, the guys behind the excellent Chronicles of Riddick game, The Darkness is based on the Dark Horse comic of the same name and tells the story of a man who harnesses the power of the Darkness to take revenge. It has already received several positive reviews.

The official website for A Stroke of Fate has been put up, offering a virtual home to Akella’s upcoming Hitler assassination game with a “compelling pseudo-historical plot.” As expected, the site offers game details and media, including screenshots.

On Reuters is an article saying that the recent media blitz where gaming was labeled a “mental disorder” may have been a little too much. Apparently, addiction experts are now saying that psychiatrists should study the issue more.

“There is nothing here to suggest that this is a complex physiological disease state akin to alcoholism or other substance abuse disorders, and it doesn’t get to have the word addiction attached to it,” said Dr. Stuart Gitlow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

Since American Medical Association’s vote on the matter, the Psychiatry Association has changed its stance, though it still has the final say as to how gaming addiction will be defined.

Excessive use of video and online games, as per the Association’s study, affects about 10 percent of players.

Nintendo today announced that it has gotten Oscar winning actress Nicole Kidman to appear in ads for More Brain Training, or Brain Age 2 as known in America. The European campaign will see her appearing in print and television ads as part of a 60 day brain exercise program. She will make her debut today on ITV1 at 19.45.

“I love the concept that Nintendo is reaching out to new audiences with their self improvement products like Brain Training,” Kidman comment. “Most importantly, I’ve quickly found that training my brain is a great way to keep my mind feeling young.”

More Brain Training will hit stores across Europe on June 29. US will get the game in August.