iGames will host its largest games premier to-date with a special, one-day-only party to celebrate the release of Electronic Arts’ The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth on Saturday, December 11. This exclusive event, in honor of the latest installment in EA’s The Lord of the Rings video game series, will be held at 50 iGames game centers throughout the US and Canada

Multiple Video Game Awards 2004 nominee (Need for Speed: Underground 2), actress, covergirl and host Brooke Burke will telecast LIVE from the red carpet at Spike TV Video Game Awards 2004 pre-show festivities on Tuesday, December 14 (8:30 – 9:00 PM, ET). The pre-show immediately precedes the LIVE presentation of Spike TV’s Video Game Awards 2004 hosted by Snoop Dogg from 9:00-11:00 PM, ET.

THQ today announced Big Mutha Truckers 2, the sequel to the million-unit selling Big Mutha Truckers. Developed by Eutechnyx out of the United Kingdom, Big Mutha Truckers 2 is scheduled to release in Summer 2005 and will be available on the PlayStation2 system and Xbox.

Battle Mages: Sign of Darkness is an enthralling journey to the world of the original game. It offers four new campaigns, covering dramatic events that took place in Daenmor long before the Shadow of Warlock spread over the land.

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes will be the premier third generation massively multiplayer RPG. A vast, seamless, immersive virtual world filled with elements of familiar High Fantasy, including traditional themes and more, all depicted using cutting-edge graphics technology. Sigil’s expertise and experience in the field will bring groundbreaking static and dynamic content to the genre.

Nicely Crafted Entertainment has today shipped a new game client release for their campaign-based MMO RTS, Time of Defiance. The new client features 2 new units suggested by players as part of a research and development competition that ran this summer. Read more for details ...

This past March, LucasArts canned Sam & Max: Freelance Police, much to the dismay of many fans. Now those same people can have a little bit ofg hope again as Bad Brains CEO Wolfgang Kierdorf revealed in a Q&A on Adventure Gamers that they are talking with LucasArts about taking over one of their previously cancelled titles. Here's a snip : "No comment (I signed an NDA). All I can say is: yes, we are talking to LucasArts about a game that might involve animals, but that's all folks! I guess we will see what´s happening in March 2005 at the latest."

With the Source SDK now available, information on the upcoming Sven Co-op mod for Half-Life 2 has been released. Details of major features planned for the initial release, including cooperative support for Half-Life 2's original single-player campaign, are available. There is also news of a significant change to the mod's fundamental gameplay system.

In TimeSplitters Future Perfect, Cortez - the hero from previous installments - returns with humanity on the brink of destruction. With the help of some familiar faces (some very familiar!) he must chase a mystery foe across different time periods to trace the origins of the TimeSplitters and save the day.

Project: Snowblind is a the first-person action shooter putting you in the role of an elite super soldier, fighting on the front lines of a near-future war using unique weapons, abilities and high-tech gadgetry that inject depth and variety to gameplay. Currently in development by Crystal Dynamics, Project: Snowblind places unique emphasis to its intensive multiplayer and online play modes and will be available for the PS2, Xbox and PC this Winter.

Set in a virtual, persistent online universe in which millions of players around the globe can participate, The Matrix Online will feature cutting-edge graphics, real-time martial arts combat and a rich storyline that picks up where The Matrix Revolutions, the third chapter in The Matrix film trilogy, leaves off. Currently being developed by Monolith and EON Entertainment, the company owned by the Wachowski Brothers, creators of The Matrix trilogy...

With the launch of the Dark Age of Camelot: Catacombs expansion, the New Classic Camelot game engine will no longer be supported, so the Dark Age of Camelot: Shrouded Isles expansion is required to continue to update and play Dark Age of Camelot. Mythic released a patch to upgrade DAoC to the Shrouded Isles expansion pack, all new content is included and free, you no longer need to purchase the Shrouded Isles expansion pack. Read more for details and download links ...

Act of War: Direct Action, developed by Eugen Systems, is Atari new action game with a storyline and game universe created in cooperation with Dale Brown, 15-time New York Times best-selling author and expert on US military, global conflict and future military technology. Check the freshly launched official website, or read more for 25 new screens and an ingame footage trailer...

Blizzard issued a small statement in which they reveal a serious hacking violation in World of Warcraft, one for which Blizzard obviously has zero tolerance. Certain individuals have been identified as using speed hacks to accelerate their characters. This goes against the theme of fair play that is instituted for the game, and is in clear violation of the World of Warcraft Terms of Use. Those individuals who were caught using the speed hack have been banned from the game and have had their accounts closed.

Pirate's Revenge is a game which focuses on true pirate determination and action, with a strong and rewarding story line. Trade elements feature as a way of restocking your ship with cannons and ammunition, or for offloading booty from your recent plundering activities (thanks Blues). Read more for some minor details ...

THQ today announced that it has teamed up with iGames, North America's leading game center organization, to host a Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War LAN party this Saturday, December 4, at participating iGames Centers in the U.S. and Canada. The LAN party offers players a unique opportunity to play the game in a social environment.

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 :

• Stronghold 2 - Trailers (2)
• Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay - Developer's Cut - Trailer

The Mario Party series returns with more of everything. In the single-player Story mode, Brighton and Twila – otherwise known as the sun and the moon – are embroiled in a bitter feud over who's more impressive. It’s up to Mario and his party-hearty cohorts to settle the spat and restore order to the cosmos. Multiplayer Party mode features more than 75 all-new mini-games and six game boards.

Scratches is a gripping first-person mystery adventure game that will keep the players glued to their monitors, with its story full of breathtaking twists and surprises, until the final shocking revelation. Its combination of inventory based and deductive style puzzles carefully integrated with the storyline, along with the possibility to freely roam the house, will immerse the players in the haunting atmosphere.

Massive Entertainment has released a new multiplayer map or its sci-fi RTS Ground Control II: Operation Exodus. This Crystalline bonus map needs to be installed in the standalone copy in the game's Custom_Maps folder. Massive Entertainment will be releasing new maps every Friday for the next few months. Read more for download links ...