Akella today announced that the development of an adventure title, Hotel 'At a Lost Climber': Inspector Glebsky's Puzzle, has just begun.

THQ and Nickelodeon today announced that The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie video game is now available at retailers throughout North America for the PlayStation2, Xbox, GameCube, GBA, and PC. Based on Nickelodeon's highly anticipated movie and chart-topping animated television show, the titles appeal to gamers of all ages.

Majesco today announced Advent Shadow, its first title for the forthcoming PSP handheld entertainment system. Written and directed by the creators of the Advent Trilogy and developed by Full Fat, Advent Shadow is an entirely new game designed exclusively for the PSP system and scheduled for release in 2005.

Pariah focuses on a robust immersive storyline that weaves survival elements into the traditional run-and-gun style of first-person action games. Unsurprising will be the graphic marvel and fine-tuned gameplay of Pariah, a trademark gamers have come to expect from any Digital Extremes game.

Electronic Arts announced The Sims 2 University, the first expansion pack for the highly-acclaimed The Sims 2 PC game. The Sims 2 University will ship this March and gives players of The Sims 2 the ability to watch their Sims become young adults and put childhood behind them as they settle into an all-new college town to live out their ultimate college fantasy (thanks SimsZone). Read more for details and first screens...

Akella is glad to inform you that the Russian localization of Dark Fall 2: Lights Out has just gone gold.

Akella is glad to inform you that Ford Racing 3 went gold in Russia on November 19, 2004. The game will be available on November 24, 2004.

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 :

• Mercenaries - Trailer #3
• Psychotoxic: Gateway to Hell - Trailer #6
• GoldenEye: Rogue Agent - Trailer #7
• Gate to Heavens - Trailer

Excalibur Publishing Limited has secured the rights to publish Russian publisher 1C's new title, Star Wolves, for the UK and Scandinavia. Slated for late February 2005, Star Wolves is a 3-D Space RPG with deep strategy elements.

A month later than originally planned Apex Designs announced that 'Payback' has now been released in Europe. Pushing the system to the absolute limit, Game Boy fans and industry pundits alike will not believe the incredible experience this title offers.

Asphalt Urban GT for the Nintendo DS screens have arrived! Drive more than 20 well-respected racing cars in the world, including Lamborghini, Jaguar, Hummer and many more. Race through streets of New York City, Miami, Paris and and other famous locations, at the same time players will have the advantage of watching their progress turn-by-turn on the bottom display of the Nintendo DS.

Enemy Technology has released a demo for their upcoming sci-fi RTS game I of the Enemy, featuring 2 extra missions (a total of 5) from the first campaign. I Of the Enemy is a "science fiction, real-time strategy war game in the genre of Command & Conquer and Warcraft. Read more for download links ...

In anticipation of a new upcoming patch LucasArts has released an updated dedicated server file for Pandemic Studios' scifi shooter Star Wars Battlefront. This version supports the new Battlefront Bonus Mission entitled Jabba's Palace, which will probably be released in an upcoming patch. Read more for download links ...

Monte Cristo Games and Focus are working on a sequel to last year's strategy game Fire Department (known in the US as Emergency Fire Response). Fire Department 2 will feature a lot of improvements and new features such as multiplayer capabilities, better AI, control over a larger amount of units, improved graphics, five campaigns, and, of course, more realism. Read more for some new screens ...

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within features a deep, mysterious storyline starring a darker, edgier Prince who is vigilant in his quest to unseal his mortal destiny. Read more for new screens and artwork ...

Developed by Monolith Productions, F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault and Recon), is an intense first person close-quarters combat experience with rich atmosphere and an engaging storyline. Read more for some new screens ...

Tilted Mill has released the first patch for its city building strategy game 'Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile.' This update brings your retail game to v1.1 and reduces the save game size, improves performance, updates some graphics, addresses a sizable number of gameplay issues, and fixes other bugs (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Earlier reports that Vivendi's FPS SWAT 4 was pushed back and delayed until October 2005 were incorrect. Vivendi sent out notice that this was done in error, and the police shooter sequel, under development at Irrational, is still on track for its April 2005 release date. The VU Games Store now also reflects that April 5th, 2005 date (thanks Bluesnews).

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 :

• Brothers in Arms - Trailer #3
• Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth - Trailer (2)

Imperial Glory promises to be the most extensive strategy game ever, offering an in-depth management model along with graphically stunning real-time land and naval battles in full 3D. Choose which of the five great 19th century Empires to lead: Great Britain, France, Russia, Prussia or Austro-Hungary, each with their own unique attributes.