Pirates is broadband only, with high-end hardware specifications for graphics -- a GeForce 3 or better is required in at least a 1GHz machine, and the game is optimized for the latest DirectX 9.0-class cards. Pirates is being published on-line directly to gamers using Valve's new Steam technology, the same delivery system used by Half-Life 2 and Counterstrike 2.

Rise of Legends is in so many ways the spiritual successor to Rise of Nations, but the long and the short of it is we got excited about doing a fantasy game. Now clearly your traditional "orcs, elves, dwarves" sort of fantasy has been—shall we say—thoroughly covered in other games, and so the story which got us excited is one where the magic of fantasy meets a world of technology. So magic and technology collide, with cataclysmic results!

Planetwide Games has announced today that major video game retailers such as EB Games, Gamestop, and mass market, electronics, and online retailers such as Best Buy, Fry's Electronics, CompUSA and Amazon.com will be among the first to sell the highly anticipated new Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game RYL: Path of the Emperor, according to Planetwide Games' President, Kevin Donovan. RYL: Path of the Emperor is one of the world's most popular Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games.

THQ today announced that it has entered into a worldwide publishing agreement with Gas Powered Games, founded by game design visionary, Chris Taylor. The two companies will work together on the RTS game Supreme Commander. With Supreme Commander, Taylor, an early pioneer in the RTS category, will mark his return to a genre that he helped popularize.

The Roots combines a classic RPG with dynamic gameplay and the fast paced plot characteristic of action-adventure games. The Roots has a complex, multi-threaded storyline and a vast world, which the player discovers whilst traveling with his party, fighting various monsters and living through great adventures.

Bet On Soldier is a first-person shooter which presents something considerably different in order to stand out from the crowd. With a corporation-takes-over-the-world-style plot, Bet On Soldier allows players to do exactly what it promises with its title - that is, bet on the outcome of encounters with specific enemies. Before entering battle, players can wager on which particular enemy soldiers they are going to kill.

At long last, Vivendi has released the long awaited patch for Irrational's tactival FPS SWAT 4. This update brings your retail (US,UK, French and German) game to v1.1 which adds multiplayer versions of three single-player missions (Convenience Store, Hotel, and Jewelry Heist), added a mod tool for the games in the software dev kit, fixes for multiple issues, improved file checking to help prevent cheating. Read more for download links ...

Hammer & Sickle is new turn based strategy game set in the award-winning Silent Storm universe, and currently in development by Nival Interactive.

Previously announced as one of its two unnamed titles, Digital Illusions' signing announcement does not reveal anything new, apart from a delays from its original fall 2005 release date to spring 2006 (thanks Blues).

Mojo Master is the first virtual fantasy game of seduction presented by AXE Unlimited. Developed in partnership with WildTangent, Mojo Master launches online today and is now available to play, FREE for guys ages 17 and older.

Having a new publisher (Take 2) has allowed Firaxis to facilitate continued development on Pirates! Patch 1.0.2 (World patch, not just U.S.) will be ready by mid-summer. Thanks for all your patience during our transition from Atari to Take 2. It looks like clear sailing ahead (so to speak). We'll of course have it available on our fileserver network when it becomes available...

GODS: Lands of Infinity is a ground-breaking role-playing game set in fantasy background. This game is going to be our second title developed for PC platform and we are going to use all we have learned in the last three years. Our goal is to create a perfect blend of trade strategy and casual adventuring taking place in a complex imaginary yet trustworthy world.

AT&T today announced it will will host Turbine's multiplayer games, including Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach, The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, and the critically acclaimed franchise titles Asheron's Call and Asheron's Call 2, from its local Internet Data Center.

Cricinfo has teamed up with CAT Games to launch a brand-new, multi-player simulation game called Cricinfo CricketManager. Cricinfo CricketManager is funny, cartoon-style game in which thousands of fans manage their own virtual cricket teams in daily games against competitors worldwide. The players in the game are all fictional and can be named after friends, family or whoever fans choose.

Pro Evolution Soccer 5, aka Winning Eleven 9, furthers the realism, on and off-the-ball movement and intuitive control of the best-selling football series with Producer Shingo 'Seabass' Takaska and his team at KCE Tyo Inc. implementing a host of new gameplay features and aesthetic touches as he continues his quest to deliver the most realistic football title on any format.

Strategy First signs deal with worldwide developer and publisher Red Mile Entertainment, Inc. to distribute "Disney's Aladdin Chess Adventures", an educational strategy game that will appeal to both children and adults.

Sony Computer Entertainment took its fight to stop UK and European gamers gaining access to its new PSP to the High Court. The games industry behemoth has chosen to take legal action against small, independent online retailers selling imported PSPs to UK gamers citing loss of revenue and trademark infringement.

Fantastic 4 is the only game that allows you to harness the Marvel Super Heroes' unique and amazing powers through a compelling single-player or two-player co-operative team based gameplay experience, based on the 20th Century Fox feature film.

In Hello Kitty Roller Rescue players will be able to save Earth from the misinformed Block-O with the much loved Hello Kitty and Badtz-Maru. More than 20 popular Sanrio characters will help Hello-Kitty throughout her travels. Kitty will also be able to partner up at various stages to fight enemies. And, for the first time, players will be able to enjoy the beautiful Sanriotown in a completely 3-D world that is interactive.

Tony is back in a brand-new adventure with modern 3D-graphics. However, Tony Tough 2: A Rake's Progress is no sequel, but a prequel – it takes the player back into Tony’s youth, into the year 1953, when Tony was 13 years old. Read more to check out the new screens...