Step into the boots of a U.S. Marine and drive the Imperial Japanese Army from the Pacific in Medal of Honor Pacific Assault from Electronic Arts. Developed by EA Los Angeles, creators of the award-winning Medal of Honor series, Medal of Honor Pacific Assault immerses players in an authentic WWII experience, and will be available for the PC in the winter of 2004.

Half-Life 2 pre-loading begins to Steam account holders today. Over the coming days, those who have selected the pre-loading option will have encrypted Half-Life 2 files delivered to their PC. No purchase is required to pre-load HL2, but is required to activate the game. Purchase options will be released soon. Then, the moment the game is made available, those who have pre-loaded and purchased Half-Life 2 via Steam will be authenticated and ready to start playing.

The retail version of EA's Burnout 3: Takedown for the PS2 will feature a demo version of Need for Speed Underground 2. Retail versions of Need for Speed Underground 2 for the PS2 and Xbox will, in turn, feature a demo of Burnout 3: Takedown. Burnout 3: Takedown is slated to ship on September 8 for the PS2 and Xbox. Need for Speed Underground 2 is slated to ship in November for the PS2, Xbox, GameCube, PC, and GBA.

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

• Stolen - Trailer
• Area 51 - Trailer
• Scaler - Trailer Pack
• Battlefield 2 - E3 Wall Trailer
• Sacred Underworld - Trailer #2
• Prince of Persia 2 - Trailer #3

The Chains of Promathia expansion pack brings a new chapter to the story of Vana'diel , providing brand new missions and quests while expanding the world to previously unseen areas. Fabled legends will also be realized in Chains of Promathia. As the mysteries of Vana'diel are unraveled, additional secrets will be discovered in this intricately designed expansion.

The Mushroom Kingdom has hosted tennis tournaments before, but never one as explosive as this one. The wild multiplayer action of the smash Nintendo 64 hit, Mario Tennis, returns with even more powerful shots and new, character-specific power-ups guaranteed to make for the craziest matches ever!

Fire Captain ignites the 3D Real-Time Strategy genre with the fire and rescue scene. Players are challenged to keep their cool as they manage a squad of elite firefighters in a variety of fast-paced, unpredictable, and explosive emergency scenarios. Set in and around a metropolitan city along the U.S. west coast, fire chiefs command fire squads and vehicles to extinguish flames and save victims in five single player campaigns with increasingly complex missions based on real-life events and three multiplayer modes.

NovaLogic has released a new patch for their multiplayer shooter Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising. This update brings your retail game to v1.3.1.15 and adds NILE compatibility, DirectX 9.0c support, collision issues, improves performance and the usual bug fixes and game tweaks. Read more for a detailed fix list or download links..

Midway held their summer press event last week, and here are some screens from the titles that were presented:

• Shadow Hearts: Covenant
• Area 51
• NARC
• Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict
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  Click "Read More" to check them out!

 The sequel to Dark Fall: The Journal, the title offers more than 50 realistic pre-rendered locations to explore in a startling ghost story weaved with multiple chilling subplots. Players will come across an original cast of characters as well as observe and interact with spectral beings in this adventure thriller.

Featuring the groundbreaking ability to assume the identity of any character in the game as well as providing a refreshing mix of stealth and pure action, Sammy Studios' "Spy Fiction" establishes a new benchmark for gameplay in the genre. Check out this exciting batch of new screens ...

Midway Games today announced plans to bring the latest iteration of it's world-renowned Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise, Mortal Kombat: Deception, to the GameCube in the first half of 2005.

Techland's Xpand Rally demo features two cars (each with two different paintings) and three different tracks. Players will have two game modes to choose: Simulation and Arcade. The Xpand Rally MP Demo enables you to adjust main components of the car. Due to this feature the player is not only able to have the car match the road conditions, but also to his individual preferences. The Demo lets you to host an Internet or a LAN game.

Atari has forged links with Microsoft to publish the PC version of the renowned tennis simulation Top Spin. Atari Germany has released a Top Spin demo allowing you to play one full set either as Pete Sampras or Gustavo Kürten. Read more for download links...

Midway today announced the development of L.A. Rush, an innovative racing videogame based on the sport of competitive street racing and the fanatical, ruthless lifestyles of those involved. A reinvention of the classic Midway Rush franchise, L.A. Rush is scheduled for release in spring 2005 on the PlayStation2 and the Xbox.

Wings of War puts gamers in the cockpit of over 25 Allied and German aircraft in massive air battles and bombing runs across the vast landscape of war torn Europe. Players will take on hordes of enemy aircraft in detailed planes or take control of anti-aircraft guns mounted on trains, zeppelins, boats and more.

'Anime Bowling Babes' features an Arcade mode, with exaggerated speed, physics and special effects, or Simulation mode, offering a stunningly realistic game of ten pin. Read more for details and screens...

Microsoft Game Studios today announced that Fable, the exclusive Xbox roleplaying adventure game, has gone gold. Fable is scheduled to ship to retailers in North America on September 14 for an estimated retail price of $49.95 (U.S.). Fable will be available in Europe in October.

Midway today announced that it has gathered a blockbuster Hollywood cast to lend their award-winning talents to its new action-thriller, AREA 51. Featuring the voice talent of David Duchovny, Powers Boothe, and Marilyn Manson, AREA 51 is scheduled to be available in the first half 2005 for the PS2 and Xbox.

Konami of Europe has announced that Thierry Henry is to be one of the faces of Pro Evolution Soccer 4, the latest installment in Konami Tokyo's highly regarded football simulation for PlayStation 2, PC and the Xbox.

'Vietcong: Purple Haze' is a cinematic narrative-based First Person Shooter (FPS) set during the Vietnam Conflict. Players of VIETCONG experience the war from the perspective of a soldier assigned to join a squad of U.S. Special Forces running reconnaissance missions deep into the jungles of Northern Vietnam.

The Kessen series melded two elements, ‘game’ and ‘drama’ together into grand epics that have won the acclaim of critics and consumers worldwide. The appeal of commanding one side of an epic clash between two great armies and the awe of watching dramatic events unfold across spectacular vistas are what the Kessen series is all about. Kessen III will be considered the game that redefined the Kessen series.

Imperial Glory promises to be the most extensive strategy game ever, offering an in-depth management model along with graphically stunning real-time land and naval battles in full 3D. Choose which of the five great 19th century Empires to lead: Great Britain, France, Russia, Prussia or Austro-Hungary, each with their own unique attributes.

Flat-Out is an adrenaline-inducing racing game with an exciting story line, spectacular crashes and a not-too-serious attitude in the best movie-like fashion. One of the 'Flat-Out' features is the "stunt" event where you race your car, and catapult the driver at a specific moment using him as a dart, bowling ball and other projectiles.

Darkwatch is a cinematic 1st person shooter with an original premise that blends Vampire-Horror and Western genres. They grind their enemies for fuel, fashion their skin into protective cloaks and create weapons designed to exterminate en masse, and they are the good guys.