n the daily grind, it is inevitable that some stories slip through the cracks in favor of breaking news. The news nightcap makes sure you have a second chance to catch all the tasty tidbits from today.

Unreal Engine 3 Licensed by Avalon Style Entertainment
We were informed through a press-release today that Avalon Style Entertainment – one of the leading game developers in Russia – has licensed the Unreal Engine 3 to develop it’s popular title 4x4 Off Road. The game will be available for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Avalon is one of the first Russian studios to license the Unreal Engine.

“We’re excited to see Avalon Style combine their background in making realistic off-road driving experiences with our Unreal Engine 3 technology,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games. “More and more of our licensees are proving that Unreal Engine 3 is not only a great cross-platform engine but also that it can be deployed across multiple genres. This is yet another example of that, and we’re eager to see this game’s release.”

EA Reveals NCAA Football 09 Cover Athletes
Electronic Arts revealed their choice for NCAA Football cover athletes today. DeSean Jackson and Owen Schmitt will grace the covers of the PlayStation 2 edition (Jackson) and the PlayStation Portable edition (Schmitt). DeSean Jackson is a former California wide receiver and Owen Schmitt formally played for West Virginia.

Jackson was rated as the #1 receiver in the nation by The Sporting News going into his junior campaign. Schmitt earned 21 career starts and carried the ball for 1,003 yards during his football career.

North American Plans for S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky Revealed
Deep Silver, Inc. – a publisher for both PC and consoles – just announced their intention to bring S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky to North America. Created by the Ukraine-based GSC Game World studio, S.T.A.L.K.E.R is expected to be available worldwide starting August 29. The game is a prequel to last year’s release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl. The game is a survival FPS based on a “what-if” scenario of a second Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident. The message of the game warns mankind to not mindlessly play with technology.

Detn8 Games and Twelve Interactive Introduce Party Crashers
Today Dent8 Games and Twelve Interactive announced their partnership plans that will ultimately result in the title Party Crashers for the Nintendo Wii. Scheduled to be released in April of 2009, the game will be composed of 25 party games including puzzle games, brain teasers and music-based games. The characters in the game will utilize crash-dummy characters and as such the games will be appropriately named. Mini-game fanatics can play Dummy Cannonball, Treasure Island and Dummy Dance among other activities.

 “Party Crashers will be great for group play by families and friends,” says Giuseppe Crugliano, Managing Director of Twelve Interactive. “We’ll keep the game mechanics simple and easy to pick up without diminishing the challenge and replay value or compromising the feeling of reward for doing well.” Party Crashers will be available at major retailers.

Majesco Entertainment Announces Zoo Hospital
Majesco just brought to our attention their newest video game endeavor, Zoo Hospital for the Nintendo Wii. In Zoo Hospital you must help your Aunt heal an array of exotic animals with your skills as a recent Veterinary College graduate. Your goal is to save a once world-famous Zoo Hospital from being bulldozed by a greedy businessman. You will perform operations by