Codemasters today announces the development of Maelstrom, a groundbreaking strategy action epic. Maelstrom takes place on a devastated future Earth where, in the wake of an apocalyptic ecological disaster, the planet is threatened by an alien invasion, thus becoming the battleground as a divided human race fights for survival.

EA today launched Tank Wars, a competition that challenges Computer Science students to compete for the title of "Best of Breed" and take home a new gaming PC complete with an EA line-up of PC titles. The Tank Wars competition invites computer science students to demonstrate their skill by writing an Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) program that pits one military tank against another in a battle for supremacy.

2K Games today announced that the Zathura, developed by High Voltage Software, has shipped to North American retail stores in advance of Columbia Pictures' sci-fi family film Zathura: A Space Adventure, which is coming to theaters on November 11th.

Virtual Skipper 4 is a sailing simulation that lets you create your own tropical paradise and set sail. Marvel at the beauty of your creation and share it with friends. Race people from all over the world in online regattas, team or private races.

Nintendo of Europe has announced it will be adding an exciting line-up from Capcom to its expansive catalogue of Q1 games releases. Nintendo will be distributing Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Megaman Battle Network 5: Double Team on the Nintendo DS and Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble for GameCube.

Private equity firm Elevation Partners (remember the Eidos/Bono story?) has announced the formation of a creative and management partnership with Pandemic Studios, LLC and BioWare Corp. The combined investment, including future capital needs, will be more than $300 million, creating one of the world's largest independent game development houses.

EA has shipped the latest installment in the James Bond videogame franchise, From Russia With Love, starring Academy Award-winner, Sir Sean Connery. The new game will follow the plot of the original "From Russia with Love" film, including the battle on the Orient Express and the boat chase sequence, but will expand the story with new action sequences.

In Dragon Quest VIII, the first time on the PS2, old meets new, as classic gameplay is married to sumptuous graphics, delivering a sweeping adventure. Characters designed by Akira Toriyama are brought to life by "cel-shading," bringing gamers of all ages into a world straight out of Japanese anime.

Valve's SteamPowered website has been updated with details regarding the latest update for its online delivery system Steam. This release fixes a problem with commentary and the save/restore problem in Half-Life 2: Lost Coast, while rare crash in the physics system, and a line error command have been have been addressed in the Source Engine. Just restart Steam for the effects to take place.

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 :

• The Matrix: Path of Neo - Trailer #2
• The Movies [Xbox/PC] - Trailer #16
• Dreamlords - Trailer #2
• Battles of Prince of Persia [NDS] - Trailer #2
• Battlefield 2: Special Forces - Trailer #4
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

X³: Reunion utilises a new generation game engine, developed to immerse the player into the most realistic, living universe, ever experienced. The economy model in X³: Reunion is more complex than any previous X game. Coupled with the massively enhanced A.L. (Artificial Life) system, X³: Reunion will present players with an ever changing, evolving universe; where a player’s actions really can shape the future of the universe.

LucasArts Producer Julio Torres revealed today that the Star Wars Galaxies developers are going to gradually roll out an overhaul of its much-debated Star Wars-based MMO. In his community letter, Torres points out that user feedback has indicated the learning curve to be too steep for beginners and not enough immediate action, resulting in people leaving again. The primary areas of focus include combat and profession and character development. Check out the producer letter for additional details ...

While Konami America could not confirm this earlier today, it seems Japanese gamers will get their hands on a compilation of no less than 5 Gradius titles on the PSP, scheduled for February 9 2006. Gradius Portable will include Gradius I through IV and also contain the original PS1 title Gradius Gaiden. While the games are mostly straight ports, Konami will add a few new features such as possibility to switch to 16:9 widescreen, save/load anywhere you want. For the nostalgic people out there it will also contain viewable movies from the PS1's Gradius Deluxe Pack, Gradius Gaiden, PS2's Gradius III & IV, and to top it all off soundtracks from all five games, Gradius on the X68000 included.

Dungeons & Dragons Online will provide players with the definitive online "Dungeons & Dragons" experience, complete with dramatic dungeon crawling, terrifying monster combat and challenging puzzles, character advancement and guild-based power struggles.

Konami America today announced a partial song list for Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix 3 (DDR Ultramix 3) for the Xbox. Featuring more than 70 songs across multiple genres and styles of music, DDR ULTRAMIX 3 will get gamers moving and grooving with the largest music variety of any Dance Dance Revolution title released in North America to date.

Back in September Eidos announced that its third-person urban action game 25 to Life would miss the original October 2005 release date, and delayed it to "sometime in 2006." Today Eidos confirmed that 25 to Life will be available in stores beginning January 18, 2006.

Joint Task Force is a story of modern war where players match superior tactics and military technology against dangerous unconventional forces around the globe. The game’s exacting attention to detail – from buildings that dynamically collapse to military vehicles modeled down to the last rivet – will create a new benchmark for modern-day RTS games.

Activision today released its second fiscal quarter financial results, and although revenue was better than expected ($222.5 million, $22.5 million better than expected), it was still lower than last years $310.6 million, resulting in a net loss of $13.2 million, compared with a net income for the second fiscal quarter last year of $25.5 million. Seven of its recent titles sold over a million copies, and sales were driven mainly by Ulrimate Spider-Man and X-Men Legends II

Wild Arms 4 is a role-playing game featuring a new cast of characters, an original storyline, and a new strategic battle system, it appeals to new players of the series while fans will instantly recognize the mainstays of the Wild Arms world of Filgaia. Wild Arms 4 follows the journey of four teenagers as they reshape the future of Filgaia.

2K Sports today announced Amped 3 is a launch day candidate for the Xbox 360. Amped 3 features an all-new physics engine, enhanced controls and the world's greatest winter resorts to create the most authentic snowboarding experience. Action is interlaced with a hip storyline that encompasses the distinct snowboarder culture, style, music and attitude.