Donkey Kong and his pals have gotten their mitts on some high-powered Barrel Jets – incredible engines that boost when struck by a pilot. By beating on the DK Bongos controller, players can make their character swoop up, bank side to side and launch attacks on rivals.

Gears of War blends the best of tactical action games with the best of survival horror titles, thrusting gamers into the harrowing story of humankind's battle for survival against the Locust Horde, creating cinematic, high-definition visuals so intense and powerful, it feels like the gamers are controlling a blockbuster action movie.

Get that magic touch. There are plenty of basketball games out there, but none with the hands-on control of Mario Hoops 3-on-3. Players use the touch screen to get their game on as they execute tricky dribbles, special passes and sweet shots – all with strokes and taps of the stylus.

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:

• Tekken Dark Resurrection (PSP)
• Painkiller: Hell Wars (Xbox)
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  We will update this throughout the day when new announcements become available. Read more for details ...

While snoozing atop his doghouse one day, Snoopy has a magical dream. He becomes a virtuoso flying ace, piloting his World War I bi-plane in a heroic attempt to foil the plans of his archenemy, the Red Baron. Join Snoopy and friends as you take on the nefarious Baron and his cohorts in this enchanting aerial adventure.

Ensemble lets us know that Age of Empires III v1.08 is in final testing and will be available in a matter of days. The new patch mainly focuses on adding balance changes to the game. Read more for details ...

Sword of the Stars lets you explore planets, manage their empire and research new technology. This demo features unlimited turns in a 40 star galaxy, but limited to fission era technology, 2 races (Human & Tarkas), 3 difficulty settings, includes random, encounters, alliances and is multiplayer (4 player online/LAN) enabled.

Create your own fascinating world of ANNO 1701! Become a discoverer – and experience the adventure of a lifetime. Weigh anchor, sail the seven seas, explore new continents and foreign cultures. Demonstrate your strategic skills, business acumen and diplomatic finesse. Revel in the jubilant cheers of your people – but don't disappoint them!

Nintendo North America today revealed its non-Wii release lineup for the rest of 2006. While the new Wii console will arrive in the fourth quarter of 2006, Nintendo has plenty of other things to keep people busy until then, such as Yoshi’s Island 2, and Elite Beat Agents.

Epic's Mark Rein has put up a message in the Epic chat boards stating that a "BIG announcement coming next week!" While of course no details were provided, when one user hinted it might be about the release date, Mark Rein commented "maybe the announcement that is going to be made isn't what you think it is." User speculation has been rampant from GoW going gold, release date, to possibly multiplayer or other info about Epic's upcoming visceral shooter. To be continued ...

Call of Juarez is situated in 19th-century Wild West America and requires a combination of both intelligent stealth and pure shooting. Fast-paced revolver duels using historically accurate firearms, horseback riding, and memorable locations combine with top-notch graphics and an enthralling soundtrack to immerse both casual and hardcore players.

Out of the Park Baseball 2006 offers gamers the ultimate in realism with its brand new pitch-by-pitch game engine, unrivalled playability and unparalleled customization. This final v1.02 patch/demo includes several new community requested features, as well as the usual bug/crash fixes and game tweaks.

At Comic-con an EA representative revealed that, not surprisingly, an add-on for the PC edition of Battle for Middle-earth 2 is in the works. The Rise of the Witch-king is set prior to the War of the Ring, and will feature new armor, buildings, and of course units. While it seems that not too many graphical changes have been made, new powers showed off summoning an ice wolf walking on two legs. More details should follow later this week...

After some internal troubles, Project-Zero is no more and is now called gEasy Team, and has released a new patch for JoWood's Soldner: Secret Wars. This v33673 patch mainly tweaks various weapons and vehicles brought up by the community.

Earlier this year THQ announced it had acquired Atari's Stuntman franchise, with the sequel being in development at Paradigm Entertainment. The agreement included the option to eventually acquire the studio, which THQ did earlier this month. Paradigm will unveil its next-gen Stuntman 2 title later this year.

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.

El Matador is a 3rd person action game with stealth elements set in the environment of the Central and South America. Originally scheduled for late August, Red Mile announced it will now be released September 15th, 2006.

Bullet Witch is an action adventure taking place in the exceedingly bleak near future of 2013. Civilization is on the brink of extinction after demons begin appearing on the earth, and the player wades into the fray as a witch named Alicia.

Matrix Games and Western Civilization Software announce Forge of Freedom, a new American Civil War strategy game. More than seven-score years have passed since the start of this conflict that pitted state against state, brother against brother and broke the chains of slavery.