Sierra Entertainment today announced the upcoming return of Crash Bandicoot in Crash of the Titans. The game is scheduled for release this fall on the Wii, Xbox 360, PS2, Nintendo DS, PSP, Game Boy Advance and mobile phones. In Crash of the Titans, players will fight a plot hatched by Crash’s arch nemeses Neo and Nina Cortex to mutate creatures into titanic abominations. Players will “hijack” enemies to take control of their action and use their powers against the opposition. Features include:

Jack to attack — Players can control and battle 15 original enemies, including creatures such as Scorporilla, Ratcicle, Magamadon and Shellephant. While in control of a monster, players can throw toxic stink bombs, call lightning down from the sky and fire lasers beams from their eyes.

Dynamic combat — Crash now has an acrobatic fighting system that includes punches, kicks, multiple attacks and special counter moves. Players can power-up skills to unlock new attacks and combos.

Exploration — Crash can now interact with his world in new ways. Players will be able to wall-run, swing from ropes and jump off springboards. Crash can even toss Aku Aku on the ground to surf, skate, grind and shred.

Co-op action — At any point in the game, a second player can join in and play as Carbon Crash. Crash can even hijack Carbon-Crash — or vice versa.

More at crashbandicoot.com.

Sega of America today announced a licensing agreement with Epic Games to adopt the Unreal Engine 3 for use in several upcoming projects being developed in North America. Details of the projects being worked on will be announced later this year.

Ubisoft has shipped Resident Evil 4 for the PC to retailers nationwide. The game has an ESRB rating of “M” for Mature and a suggested retail price of $19.99. RE4 brings players to Europe as U.S. agent Leon Kennedy looks into the abduction of the president’s daughter. New features include: an additional chapter containing five missions featuring Ada Wong; new weapons, including the P.R.L.412 laser cannon and the Gunpowder Bowgun; new unlockable costumes for Leon and Ashley; a behind-the-back camera perspective; and a new hit zone aiming system. More at ww2.capcom.com.

Battlefront.com and Fury Software have announced the first expansion pack for Strategic Command 2: Blitzkrieg. Titled Weapons and Warfare, it incorporates many new features for which fans have asked, including a bigger world map, new units, enhanced naval movement and combat rules, a deeper weather model, additional terrain types and resources, the simulation of roads and railways, and an extended editor with the ability to add scripted image and sound events. More at battlefront.com.

Paradox Interactive today said the worldwide release of Combat Mission: Shock Force has been postponed until July 27. The main addition is a second tutorial campaign that will take the player through base camp training for his Stryker Brigade Combat Team. Accurate details and maps from the Yakima Training Center at Fort Lewis in central Washington have been used for its creation. More at battlefront.com.

Crytek, the game developer behind Far Cry and Crysis, today announced the opening of their newest studio in Budapest, Hungary as part of their continuing strategy to leverage their CryENGINE 2 technology and expand the number of gaming genres for which they’re developing new products.

“After considering a number of different options over the last two years, we chose to open our next studio in Budapest because it’s both a wonderful city in which to work and live, and because we were able to draw on a significant pool of very qualified and experienced game development talent already in place there,” said Avni Yerli, managing director of Crytek.

“We think it’s a great way to widen our horizons and develop for a new gaming genre while continuing our company’s strategic growth and expansion. It’s also an opportunity to further leverage all the effort our team has put into developing our proprietary CryENGINE 2 technology while building on our tradition of producing the innovative and creative kind of games for which we’re known.”

Majesco yesterday announced the development of Operation: Vietnam for the Nintendo DS. Developed by Coyote Console and scheduled for worldwide release this fall, Operation: Vietnam drops you into the war-torn jungles of Vietnam as you try to lead your squad out of enemy territory. Along the way, you must fend off repeated assaults while liberating oppressed villagers.

You can use the Touch Screen to issue commands, access inventory, view maps and select which squad member to control. The diversity of the game’s enemies, which include soldiers, tanks, turrets, enemy barracks and more, making it important to exploit each soldier’s different specialties and weapons, which range from automatic guns to grenade launchers. The latter include smoke grenades and fragmentation grenades.

Rockstar Games yesterday announced the fourth installment of its Midnight Club franchise, Midnight Club: Los Angeles. In development at Rockstar San Diego, Midnight Club: Los Angeles will be available for the Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2008. Although Rockstar revealed few details, they did say the open-world racing game will feature both single and online multiplayer modes. The developers are also aiming to stay true to the hardcore gaming experience for which the series is known, while making it accessible to casual gamers and car enthusiasts. More to come.

Gamers Gate has secured the worldwide rights for the download premiere of Day Watch, the sequel to Night Watch. Developed at Nival Interactive and ND Games, the game is based on a successful Russian movie series with the same name. Built on the Silent Storm engine, Day Watch features an in-depth role-playing system combined with an innovative magic and combat system. The game is available on Gamers Gate now.

Hudson Entertainment is developing a new Bomberman game for Xbox LIVE Arcade. The offering will retain the classic gameplay elements that defined the series while adding eight-person online multiplayer, character customization and high-definition graphics. Bomberman LIVE is expected to launch worldwide this summer.

The game is simple enough: from a top-down perspective, you compete against other players in a grid-like arena. Your one weapon is a bomb, which you can drop to clear out obstacles or to knock out your opponents. You can also pick up upgrades, which become available when you clear obstacles.

Namco Bandai Games America yesterday announced the development of Digimon World Data Squad for PS2. Based on the new Digimon Data Squad animated series premiering this fall on Toon Disney’s Jetix, Digimon World Data Squad is an RPG featuring new Digimon to tame, 250 items to collect and the unique Galactic Evolution System. Digimon World Data Squad is schedule for a fall release. Spanning over a dozen stages and a storyline that parallels the cartoon, the game allows you to team up with more than 140 Digimon characters to battle against evil forces.

Namco Bandai Games America yesterday announced the development of Digimon World Dawn and Digimon World Dusk for the Nintendo DS. From the world of the Digimon Data Squad animated series premiering this fall on Toon Disney’s Jetix and for the first time in the Digimon series, two games containing interweaving stories will debut, each featuring exclusive Digimon and new Digifarms. In the games, you follow the journey of two different Digimon Tamers as they investigate the cause of a mysterious incident that has ravaged cities on two worlds. Digimon World Dawn and Digimon World Dusk will be available this fall.

Digimon World Dawn and Dusk gives you two different perspectives of the catastrophe through the eyes of opposing tamers while you collect and evolve more than 400 Digimon from eight different species. Additionally, each game contains unique Digimon that can be obtained through wireless communication with the other version. New and improved Digifarms that can help foster abilities and boost Digimon stats are on hand as well.

Capcom has renamed Project: Treasure Island Z for the Wii to Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure. The adventure puzzle game is on course for a fall release. In Zack & Wiki, you explore a variety of environments while searching for a legendary pirate ship. Unique gameplay mechanics and controller movements allow you to move and open objects, transform items, unlock new areas and navigate hazardous situations in jungle, ice and volcanic settings. To collect the items you need to win, you must use the Wii Remote controller to rotate handles, turn keys to open doors, play a piccolo and more. Features include:

• Seven themed stages
• A variety of distinct bosses
• More than 35 enemies to outwit
• More than 80 objects to manipulate
• More than 500 items to search for and collect
• More than 40 hours of gameplay

Crave Entertainment has shipped Sudokuro for the Nintendo DS to retailers across North America. Sudokuro contains 1,500 hand-crafted and an unlimited number of automatically generated Sudoku puzzles, plus over 5,000 Kakuro puzzles. You can enter data either with buttons or the Nintendo DS stylus. Sudokuro features three levels of difficulty and a simple 2×2 Sudoku mode designed for children.

Positech Games has announced a May 26th release for Kudos: Rock Legend, a new life sim from the makers of Kudos and Democracy. Kudos: Rock Legend is a turn-based strategy game that gives you 10 years to make it from a nobody to a megastar as the singer of a rock band. You get to choose your band members, write songs, book the gigs and equip the band, investing in lasers, pyrotechnics, smoke machines, newer instruments, tour buses and even merchandise to sell at gigs. More at rocklegendgame.com.