Pandemic has constructed a whole new "playground of destruction" from the ground up, fully stocked with the hottest vehicles and weapons. Set in a new and exotic hotspot, you can be your own boss in a wide-open world where there's only one rule: everybody pays. Last year Pandemic delayed Mercenaries 2 until Q1 2008, but today our Gamestop sources informed us that their product listings were changed to reflect a new August 2008 date.

Storm Region's Codename: Panzers series leaves the World War II stage to take the story into Cold War East-West conflicts fought on fictitious battlefields, with a special emphasis on deep story lines and rich battle effects.

Another day, another batch of game trailers was released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for:

• Professor Layton and the Curious Village [NDS] - Trailer
• Culdcept Saga [X360] - Trailer #2
• Turok [ALL] - The Making Of Trailer #3
• 
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

THQ has increased its Q3 financial guidance due to better than expected sales of WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 and MX vs. ATV Untamed. This rosy outlook comes at a price, as THQ officially cancelled Frontlines: Fuel of War for the PS3, which was hinted in earlier reports. Destroy All Humans!: Big Willy Unleashed for the PS2 has also been axed (no word on the PSP and Wii versions), and THQ has decided to not continue with its Juiced and Stuntman IPs. THQ also closed down its Concrete Games studio, which was working on an unannounced title.

Rockstar is bringing its open-ended crime series to the next-gen consoles with Grand Theft Auto IV. While details on the game are still slim, we now know that the franchise returns to New York situated around the mysterious protagonist Nikolai.

At next month's GDC, Massachusetts-based indie developer Demiurge Studios, known for proving content to titles such as Brothers in Arms, Titan Quest, and Karaoke Revolution, plans to announce a new title that it has under development.

Lost: Via Domus is a third-person action/adventure that will have you take on the role as a survivor of Oceanic Flight 815, allowing you to experience an untold adventure of "Lost" in an immersive, interactive world.

Funcom introduces a tiered subscription system in Anarchy Online, where players can now choose between three subscriptions plans going from free-to-play to 5 to 14,95 USD / EUR a month, giving gamers access to the areas and content in the Shadowlands expansion pack for only 5 USD / EUR a month.

Bulgaria based indie developer Masthead Studios announced its debut title Earthrise, a post-apocalyptic science fiction MMO.

Ubisoft reported its sales for the 3rd fiscal quarter 2007 revealing sales are up about 50% compared to last year, fueled by Assassin's Creed and its causal line of titles, beating its own guidance by nearly 10%. Uncertainty regarding Haze continues as the recent retail date changes turn out to be unsubstantiated with Ubisoft's vague "will now be released in fiscal 2008-09," meaning April 2008 at the earliest. Also revealed are new titles in the Prince Of Persia and Anno franchises.

City Life Edition 2008 features 60 more buildings, bringing the total to 360, including famous structures such as St. Paul Cathedral, Royal Opera etc... New scenarios, 10 new maps, and an updated version of the editor allow you to import satellite maps, as well as import from applications such as World-Machine, or GeoControl.

Suite Life of Zack & Cody: Circle of Spies transports players beyond the Tipton Hotel to the St. Mark, a rival hotel where clues lead to the discovery of a secret spy organization. Players will take on the role of Zack and Cody encountering characters from the show, plus new personalities such as The Magician.

Grand Chase is an MMORPG that follows the lives of different heroes from the Bermesiah continent in their fight against the evil Queen of Darkness. Characters will be able to fight dynamically alongside each other in several different game modes to defeat the evil queen of darkness.

Overclocked, developed by House of Tales team, known for The Moment of Silence, is a psychological thriller which uses many technical innovations and a surprising narrative approach to form an eerily real gaming experience.

Sword of the New World is modeled after Europe’s exploration of the New World, allowing players to create and simultaneously control a family of characters utilizing its Multiple Character Control system. The new Manifest Destiny expansion offers five new characters, two new maps and five new zones as well as new events and additions to the game’s item store.

Developed from the US Marines training simulation, Close Combat: Modern Tactics combines classic top down real time tactical warfare with the excitement of multiplayer head to head gaming. This hefty new update includes plenty of new units both on the ground and in the air in addition a number of other tweaks and AI improvements.

Penumbra: Black Plague, the final chapter in the Penumbra story, thrusts players into a creepy environment of psychological horror, as they are challenged in this unique action/adventure experience. In this second developer diary, Frictional Games tells us more about the physics being used in the game...

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is Nintendo's latest incarnation in the popular Super Smash Bros. series of titles, featuring all-new characters ranging from Kirby and Wario to Samus and even Metal Gear Solid's Snake.

Sony's previously announced skype/voice chat update for the PSP is on hold after SCEJ's microphone did not meet Skype specification and failed to obtain certification. The feature was scheduled to be introduced in late January as part of a firmware update for PSP, instead SCEJ has decided to postpone the release of the microphone, and no new release date has been set.

Alone in the Dark returns with a heart-stopping survival experience realized through combining the use of real-time physics and environmental interaction to deliver an exhilarating action-orientated experience within a highly detailed, open environment.