GameTap is inviting gamers in for a preview. GameTap will give a select group an early look at the new video game network ahead of its launch, along with a free month trial and then a special rate of $9.95/month, through the end of the year.

Now that the Burnout titles have been wrapped up, Criterion can work full speed ahead on its new console shooter, "Black." While they are new to the FPS genre, they have the utmost confidence that their modern day shooter will bring never before seen intensity. In Black you play as an American Covert Ops soldier going up against all sorts of foes in an Eastern European setting.

Space Invaders Evolution inaugurates the Evolution brand, a sister to the Revolution series on the Nintendo DS. Space Invaders Evolution marks Rising Star's first step onto the PSP and will blaze a trail for daring innovation that future Evolution titles will aim to follow.

Vivendi today announced that the first expansion pack for Sierra action game SWAT 4 is in development and is scheduled for release in Q1 2006. Entitled 'The Stetchkov Syndicate', the expansion pack brings a host of new levels, weapons and enhancements to the highly rated SWAT 4.

World Racing 2 will put the fun of driving at centre stage and offer optimised arcade racing characteristics, rich and varied range of mission modes, lively scenarios, enhanced tuning options and a great variety of cars. TDK has released a World Racing 2 demo featuring the Italy scenario, and 3 driveable cars (Golf GTI, Golf R32 and the Race Touareg). Read more for download links ...

Earth 2160 is an RTS game based on the popular and successful EARTH series. Including single and multiplayer modes. The game uses the latest Earth III engine. Storing objects in a format based on the mathematical model of Bezier-curves instead of polygons. Giving an as yet unseen level of detail, only limited by the hardware used.

Sunday Driver, produced by Rockstar Games, is an all-access documentary film that chronicles the Compton/Watts chapter of California’s low rider car club, The Majestics. Directed by Carol Strong, Sunday Driver is an incredible portrait of a community working together to build the ultimate customized vehicles while struggling to legitimize their lifestyle under close scrutiny of the authorities.

German online magazine GameRadio.de has composed quite an impressive movie about "the spirit of games convention." With this movie, supported by publishers and video-experts, they want to transport the feeling of Europe's biggest videogame-fair, the Games Convention in Leipzig. It´s an exceptional movie with a professional (licensed) soundtrack, impressions of the games and an interview with the manager of that fair. It has a slight german comment, but the information is transported by music and pictures.

For the first time in the seven-year history of the game, Pump It Up players from across the United States will be gathering in Concord, North Carolina for the first annual National Pump It Up Competition. Sponsored by Andamiro, Mastiff, and Jillian's, this event will decide who goes on to represent the U.S. in the World Pump Festival later this year in Seoul, Korea, where players will compete for over $30,000 in cash prizes.

Keepsake, Wicked Studios' upcoming adventure game, will immerse you into a journey beyond compare. Assisted by a dragon afraid of heights, Lydia takes on to explore the Dragonvale Academy's empty structures in search for her best friend Celeste.

EA has released the first patch for the European NHL 06 edition and fixes a problem where the roster updates were being overwritten by the default rosters from the game disc. Thus, this patch was created to allow proper Roster Updates to take place. Read more for download links ...

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 :

• Chromehounds [X360] - TGS 05 Trailer
• Ghouls 'N Ghosts Extreme [PSP] - TGS 05 Trailer
• Ninety-Nine Nights [X360] - TGS 05 Cam
• Phantasy Star Universe [PS2/PC] - TGS 05 Trailer
• Prince of Persia The Two Thrones - Trailer #5
• SEGA Rally 2006 [PS2] - TGS 05 Trailer
• War Front: Turning Point - E3 2005 Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Atari has released the first patch for Liquid Ent's RTS/PRG game Dragonshard This update brings you retail game to v1.1.4 and addresses a few multiplayer issues, tweaks, and fixes several bugs & crash issues (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ..

World Poker Tour will bring gamers the most exciting poker experience anywhere. Featuring the colorful commentary of Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten, the World Poker Tour video game also features the most elite poker professionals including Antonio "The Magician” Esfandiari, Erick Lundgren, Evenlyn Ng, Lyle Berman, Michael "the Grinder" Mizrachi, and Phil "Unabomber" Laak.

In a somewhat interesting turn of events Ubisoft CEO Guillemot said in an interview with French newspaper Les Echos (question nr. 6) that its efforts to counter EA's hostile takeover might be futile in the long run. The long time CEO said the company still has a few elements in their favour, such as its strong market value, meaning shareholders would not be easily swayed. But on the other hand Guillemot also said that if the price was right, he would consider the offer as long as it benefits the shareholders and the Ubisoft employees. The interview promplty showed results as the Ubisoft shares went up $1.66 (1.36 euros).

Vatan is an an epic, futuristic "fairytale" set in a dark 23rd century world where mankind, after colonizing considerable parts of the galaxy, has waged war with itself and huge corporations fuel the rage by building galactic weapons of mass destruction for the republic.

Shrek SuperSlam pits the characters from the Shrek franchise against each other in the only game that combines the twisted humor and pop culture parodies of the Shrek universe with the fast-paced action of a melee fighting game.

Tecmo proudly announced that its next action-packed installment in the Xbox exclusive Ninja Gaiden series, Ninja Gaiden Black has shipped. Ninja Gaiden BLACK boasts a plethora of new action-packed adventures in the new mission mode where Ninja Gaiden fans face their biggest challenges yet as they go up against the toughest enemies and biggest bosses for the ultimate ninja showdown.

In the game, players enter the world of Narnia, a land frozen in a 100 year winter by the evil powers of the malevolent White Witch. In order to end this frigid captivity and free his people, the mighty lion Aslan invokes an ancient prophecy. It will become the destiny of four siblings from our world: Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie to work together and use their unique combat skills, weaponry and abilities to defeat the Witch and her armies to save Narnia.

Pro Evolution Soccer 5 furthers the realism, on and off-the-ball movement intuitive control, a host of new gameplay features and aesthetic touches as Konami continues their quest to deliver the most realistic football title. While the release date was previously set for an ambiguous Q4 2005, today Konami announced specific dates. The Xbox and PS2 versions are scheduled for October 20, PC follows on October 27, while the PSP edition is expected in November. No specific dates for North America have been announced yet.