Matt Hazard: Blood Bath and Beyond is a flood of carnage that the classic 8-bit side-scroller era didn’t want gamers to see.  Recreated today with next-gen 3D graphics, it’s nonstop run-and-gun action at its finest.  Take a suspenseful ride in single player or co-op through a pirate hideout, an ancient Japanese castle, the Old West, Siberian ice mines, and even the moon

Unlike the upgrade from WinXP to Vista, the new DirectX will not be exclusive to Microsoft's new Windows 7 platform as a  new "Platform Update for Windows Vista" updates "DirectX to support hardware acceleration for 2D, 3D, and text-based scenarios," indicating that Microsoft has added DirectX 11 support to its previous OS (thanks Blues).

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:

• Need for Speed Nitro [Wii] - Cairo Trailer

We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Tales of Monkey Island brings the adventures of pirate Guybrush Threepwood into a new era with an storyline that becomes deeper and more entangled during the course of the five-episode saga.

L4D2 promises to set a new benchmark for cooperative action games, adding melee combat to enable deeper cooperative gameplay, with items such as a chainsaw, frying pan, axe, baseball bat, and more.

In Company of Heroes gamers will experience the journey of the brave men of Able Company in a deep single-player campaign that begins with the invasion of Normandy through their fight across Europe, all set against the most dynamic, and completely destructible, battlefield ever seen in a game.

Continuing the storyline from the original, Dementium II will deliver better visuals, more haunting audio, and sharper scares than its predecessor, promising to take players even closer to the precipice of madness.

CSI: Deadly Intent is an all-new experience with cases written with CSI show writers, a new rendering engine allowing for more realistic graphics, and enhanced character acting and lip sync with the voices of the actors from the show, including newcomers Ray Langston (Laurence Fishburne) and Riley Adams (Lauren Lee Smith).

The God of War Collection will feature reworked versions of both God of War and God of War II on a single Blu-ray Disc, remastered with anti-aliased graphics running at 60 frames per second for a smooth gameplay experience, as well as adding  PlayStation Network trophy support to both titles for the first time.

In Frogger Returns, players are thrown back into the hustle and bustle of city life to guide their amphibious friend, Frogger, from the city back to his home marsh. Frogger Returns stays true to the classic arcade gameplay style, but is enhanced with improved graphics, a new camera angle, and new levels.

Age of Conan is an Online Action RPG, mixing a deep, story-driven single-player experience and a massive and brutal multiplayer end-game that brings forth the ultimate representation of the Age of Conan.

Dead Mountaineer's Hotel, developed by Electronic Paradise, is a 3D point-and-click adventure in the style of Benoit Sokal's Syberia, based on the original story by famous Russian sci-fiction writers Strugatsky Brothers.

In Shepherd's Crossing it's up to you to run your own farm and make it thrive. The game is all about the sheep. In fact, the main source of income is based on high-quality wool products. Turn your small, empty farm into a successful sheep colony in order to complete the game's main story, but the game doesn't end there.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers provides a fresh take on the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series as it combines the storytelling depth, expansive world and graphical quality of Final Fantasy with motion-driven, real-time action gameplay.

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron is the deepest and most action-packed Star Wars Battlefront game ever. Experience battlefronts that span ground, space and capital starships, a robust original storyline and expanded gameplay features that deliver seemingly endless replayability.

Medal Wars is an cartoon Action-RPG set in the chaos of World War 1. As a replacement captain attempting to turn the tide of the war against the Black Army, the player (in the role of a Rifleman, Shotgunner, or Machinegunner) must venture towards the frontline in search of the Black Army's New Secret Weapon.

Puzzler World will offer up more than 1000 games developed specifically for the DS, featuring an incredible collection of 14 different puzzle types spanning such popular formats as Wordsearch, Sudoku, Crossword, Fitwork, Link-A-Pix, Codeword, Spot the Difference and Silhouette, as well as bonus games including Hangman and all-new puzzle formats Equate, Jigsaw, and more.

EA Sports MMA will feature the most authentic, intense and broad mixed martial arts experience to date - complete with a vast array of top fighters and fighting styles from around the world.

Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 is a classic 3D fighting game featuring new and improved gameplay mechanics and multiple gameplay modes, 40 environments, including nine completely new stages, over 30 characters, and for the first time, includes Wi-Fi multiplayer capabilities.

There's trouble in the once-prosperous village of Harmonica Town! Crops aren't growing, the wind isn't blowing, and the five elemental bells are missing. Only the power of the Harvest King can revive the land, but he's nowhere to be found. It's up to the player to find the five bells, awaken the Harvest King, and save the town!

SOCOM Confrontation focuses on online play and the global community and clans with support for Tournaments, Clan Ladders, Leader Boards, as well as the ability to modify their appearance through facial and physical customization.

Brütal Legend is a 3rd person action/adventure starring Jack Black in the role of roadie Eddie Riggs, who sets on an epic quest to build an army of rockers with only a broad axe, a big block V8 and his faithful guitar in hand.

In Ghostwire: Link to the Paranormal you are challenged to find and capture apparitions trapped within their own environment by using the Nintendo DSi Camera and ghost tuner to access alternative frequencies beyond the standard Wi-Fi range. Spirits, shadows and demons all have their own personalities, so finding and “solving” them is anything but easy.

With customizable ships and characters from the Klingon Empire and United Federation of Planets, ground, space and shipboard gameplay and unique options for player-generated content set in the Star Trek universe, Star Trek Online is the MMOG that allows you to boldly go where no one has gone before!

NHL 10 begins a new era with gameplay innovations that deliver a new standard of toughness, the emotion of playoff hockey on the ice and in the arena, and over 200 gameplay refinements that replicate the skill and finesse that every fan sees throughout the NHL playoffs.

Gran Turismo 5 includes more than 1,000 cars, 20+ locations with 70+ track layouts, diverse racing styles including rally, track, karting, NASCAR, and more, deep online community features and online racing, plus Gran Turismo TV, Course Maker and more.

Another day, another batch of games shipped to stores. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are announcements for:

• Adventures To Go (PSP)
• All Star Cheer Squad 2 (Wii)
• Ben 10 Alien Force: Vilgax Attacks (NDS/PSP/Wii/PS2/X360)
• Diner Dash: Flo on the Go (NDS)
• Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure (NDS)
• DJ Hero (Wii/PS2/PS3/X360)
• Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter (NDS/Wii)
• East India Company: Privateer (PC)
• Fairytale Fights (PS3/X360)
• Forza Motorsport 3 (X360)
• League of Legends (PC)
• NERF "N-Strike" Elite (Wii)
• Ratchet & Clank: Future: A Crack in Time (PS3)
• The Stronghold Collection (PC)
• Tekken 6 (PS3/X360)
• TouchMaster 3 (NDS)

We will update this throughout the day when new announcements become available. Read more for details ...

Based on classic PC strategy game concepts, Heroes of Gaia puts gamers in the shoes of one of four warring factions and challenges them to build a castle, recruit mighty heroes, quest for magical items, summon up devastating armies and rampage across the land battling against players and NPCs alike in thrilling strategic combat to dominate the kingdom of Gaia.

Packed full of content and enormous gameplay and engine advancements, Trainz Simulator 2010: Engineers Edition is by far the best train simulator on the market to date! New locomotives, routes and sessions provide gorgeous detail.

Assassin's Creed: Lineage, developed by the visual effects studio behind 300 and Sin City, combines live action and computer generated imagery (CGI) to explore the events that happen just before the Assassin's Creed II game starts.

Gears of War 2 picks up six months after the events of the original, thrusting players back into humankind's epic battle for survival against a nightmarish force of underground creatures known as the Locust Horde. Epic's has rolled out a new patch to fix cheating issues introduced in the previous patch, as well as the "sticky walk" and Subway exploits, while adding the ability to see friendly planted grenades in Tac/Com.

Tribes of Mexica is an action-puzzle game set in the mythical world of the Aztecs. Tribes of Mexica is currently in development for the Xbox 360 and is an entry in the Dream Build Play contest.

In Fairytale Fights players choose one favorite fairytale character with whom they will try and save a fantasy world from certain doom. Luckily many different weapons lay around in this fairytale world, which players can use to shoot and carve up enemies… and this is where the fun begins!

Superstars V8 Next Challenge will have countless improvements to discover, from new gameplay modes & online experiences to all new realistic 3D environments, all in keeping with Black Bean’s strategy of continuously refining the high-quality level of its products.

Borderlands is an all-new sci-fi action game combining elements of first-person action titles with player customization and vehicular combat.

A new study by Jon Peddie Research shows that third quarter shipments of graphics processors jumped an amazing 21.2% over Q2, which was already a great quarter clearly signaling the holidays will be robust for PCs and the industry in general.

As Luis Lopez, part-time hoodlum and full-time assistant to legendary nightclub impresario Tony Prince (aka "Gay Tony"), players will struggle with the competing loyalties of family and friends, and with the uncertainty about who is real and who is fake in a world in which everyone has a price.

CDP Investment and Optimus have concluded an agreement in accordance with a letter of intent the companies had signed earlier. The owners of CDP Investment will retain control of the CD Projekt Group while gaining control of Optimus by acquiring 50% of the listed company’s shares. As part of an earlier reorganization, Metropolis Software has reportedly been shut down, and its current project "They" put on hold.

Monday wasn't a very good day. It should have been, but it wasn't.

First off, for some reason, it was a rather slow and boring news day, which should have been perfect since the CrimeCraft devs were rolling out their free2play version and a content update. Unfortunately, something went totally sideways, and the game crashes like there is no tomorrow. We went from the occasional error to about six CTDs in 20 minutes. Judging from the response in the CrimeCraft forum, I'm not the only one.

After dinner, we were going to watch Heroes but our DVR flaked out and didn't record it. Damn technology!

All of that is small potatoes compared to the news that Triplepoint PR guru Rannie Yoo has passed away at 33 years young. Diagnosed with a rare cancer late last year, she passed away in the comfort of her home after having married her fiancé only days ago. RIP, Rannie. You'll be missed by everyone who knew you, however briefly it may have been.