The keys to winning a tennis match in the real world are fast footwork, consistency and a wicked backhand. Enter the realm of Mario Power Tennis, exclusively for Nintendo GameCube, and the secret to winning includes Power Shots like Mario's Iron Hammer, Luigi's Squeaky Mallet and Peach's Super Peach Spin.

Monte Cristo has announced that the he German version of tactical mission-based game Fire Department 2 has gone gold and will be available in stores starting November 25, 2004. 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. The English version should follow shortly...

Electronic Arts today announced new holiday promotional prices on top EA SPORTS titles. Starting tomorrow, Madden NFL 2005 and NBA LIVE 2005 will have a suggested retail price of $29.95. The suggested retail price for NHL 2005 will be $29.95 and the best-selling college football game, NCAA Football 2005 will be $39.95.

Blizzard Entertainment is proud to announce that the free open beta has begun. In preparation for the launch of World of Warcraft, we are now introducing the most complete version of the game, including a new patch with extensive content, including racial traits, raids, Hunter and Paladin talents, new quests for high-end zones, and much more. An initial run of open beta accounts is now available from FilePlanet, no registration requited.

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.

EA just informed us that Need for Speed Underground 2 has gone gold for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and PC. The title will ship to retail outlets nationwide on Monday, November 15th.

Rumors have been floating around for weeks now, and today Eidos confirmed that Warren Spector, the head of Eidos's Ion Storm Studio in Austin has left the building. Reason given for Warren's departure : "to pursue personal interests." Spector has been responsible for the original Deus Ex, its recent successor as well as Thief: Deadly Shadows. Eidos also said that Warren will stay in their employment of as original IP consultant.

Oddworld Stranger's Wrath combines first and third-person gameplay with familiar Oddworld elements and an all-new engine to deliver a unique gameplay experience. Set to award-winning visuals, players will be moved by the complex and inspiring story as the Stranger comes to grips with his true nature in the hunt for the ultimate bounty.

Last week Blue Byte announced that its 3D RTS game 'Settlers: Heritage Of Kings' has gone gold and is expected in German stores November 23, 2004. Fans will enjoy fully animated 3D technology and enhanced gameplay features, but still be able to relive the experience that makes the Settlers series such a big hit. Today we received word that a 'Settlers: Heritage Of Kings' demo will be released before the game launches, so that should be shortly. Whether it will be only in German is not known at this point.

NRA Varmint Hunter is the first in a series of 15 games from Speedco and the NRA. Based on one of the fastest growing hunting sports in North America, varmint hunting is enjoyed by virtually all of the various shooting and hunting communities. The game series will cover many different shooting disciplines. Upcoming titles include High Power Competition, American Big Game Hunter, Wing Shooter and Ultimate Hunt.

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 :

• Prince Of Persia: Warrior Within - Monica Bellucci Trailer
• Sentinel Descendants in Time - Trailer
• Dungeon Lords - Trailer #3 [Divx]

Cenega has launched the official UFO: Aftershock website where you can get fresh updates in news, game features, storyline, exclusive screenshots and latest videos. UFO: Aftershock is the sequel to 2003's UFO: Aftermath and follows from one of the endings of the first title. The player will have to investigate what happened on the Earth surface and fight against new enemies who want the planet for themselves.

The entertainment industry is bracing for a big night tonight as thousands of fans around the globe finally get their hands on one of the most highly anticipated games of the year: "Halo 2," available exclusively Xbox. Gamers, celebrities, adrenaline junkies and industry paparazzi worldwide will converge at hundreds of lively launch soirees and thousands of retail outlets when the game officially goes on sale just after midnight.

Destineer’s Bold Games unit today announces its fourth title for the PC, Wings Over Vietnam, is now available at most mass merchant and PC retailers nationwide.

'Ballerium', an online multiplayer RTS, was an ambitious project by developer Majorem that has been in the works for a few years which has come to a sudden end. "Having no viable alternative and following the collapse of Majorem's only client, development is immediately suspended. The technology, demonstrated successfully with Ballerium will now be offered as-is for whomever is interested in making an offer."

Utilizing the next generation of the Invictus engine which incorporates its new real-time physics module, Cross Racing Championship (CRC) will allow the player to experience the thrills of high-speed on and off road racing across vast open terrains. The Demo offers three quick race game modes, a time trial mode, two game tracks and two cars with wide variety of tuning options, from the eagerly anticipated racer.

DreamCatcher Games today announced Painkiller: Battle Out Of Hell has reached gold status. The Expansion Pack for the award-winning FPS, Painkiller, will begin shipping to North American retailers on November 11th and will begin releasing across Europe on November 24th.

Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE) today announced that EverQuest II has shipped to North American retail stores. EverQuest II is the highly-anticipated follow-up to Sony Online Entertainment's EverQuest. More than 100,000 people have already pre-ordered EverQuest II in hopes of being among the first to experience this massive gaming phenomenon.

Full price PC RTS game "The Dark Legions" will only be released before Christmas in a few territories. With amongst others Atari as distribution partners the pre-sales count already exceeds 75.000 units with more in store in the weeks to come. The reason for the slipped release date in many territories, including most of Europe and North America is that several distribution agreements for the title are not in place yet.

Fluent Entertainment announced today that it has acquired the Crusty Demons license from Fleshwound Films, LLC for use in the creation of console video games. A Crusty Demons freestyle motocross game will be based on the popular ‘Crusty Demons of Dirt’ videos, which is the largest-selling action sports video series of all time with 9 titles and sales to over 60 countries.