Set in the late 1570's, one year after the original Tenchu, Tenchu: Return from Darkness allows players to assume the role of the ninjas Rikimaru, Ayame or the mysterious Tesshu as they battle the evil Tenrai and his six lords of darkness. As silent assassins, players must use cunning, strategy, deadly stealth and an arsenal of weapons to overcome dangerous missions and defend the Japanese countryside from Tenrai's armies.

The Sims Bustin' Out features an all-new neighborhood with over a dozen new unlockable locations and a cast of over 40 new zany characters to socialize with. Players will purchase a car or scooter in order to get out of the house and head to the Gym to work out with exercise fanatic Goldie Toane or to Club Rubb to rave with club owner Bing Bling. Players will be able to crash parties, create havoc, or just drive their neighbors crazy! Read more for some new screens ...

Got Game Entertainment today announced a North American publishing deal for "A Quiet Weekend in Capri", an adventure game for the PC. In what becomes anything but a quiet weekend in Capri, this magical island off the coast of Italy serves as backdrop to a captivating mystery. Read more for details and screens...

Crave Entertainment announced today the release of Future Tactics: The Uprising, an all-new action/role-playing game for the PlayStation2, in early 2004. Future Tactics: The Uprising is a tale of love, loss, redemption, hope and a slew of "ugly green muthas."

Microsoft has issued a new patch for Gearbox/Bungie's first person shooter Halo: Combat Evolved. This upgrade brings your retail copy to v1.031 and addresses a start-up crash related to the intro movies, and sets anisotropic filtering off by default (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

EA has released the promised patch for EA pacific's 3D RTS Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.01 and includes the prevoiusly released multiplayer maps as well as a slew of bug fixes and game tweaks... Read more for detailed fix list & download links ...

Strategy First has released the announced patch for Techland's sci-fi first person shooter Chrome. Thisd upgrade brings your retail game to v1.1.3.0 and includes faster game performance, new multiplayer maps (Autobahn, Deadlock, Chillout, TreasureIsland2, Carbius, Skirmish, Battledust2 and Soilent2) and vehicles (ArmoBeatle Mark 4 & Speeder), anti-cheating protections, and various other improvements and bug fixes. You will need this patch to play on the new official North American servers. Please note that previous single-player saved games will not be compatible with the new version. Read more for details and 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 :

• Far Cry - Trailer
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  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Lots of people have been waiting for these, and now here they are. Lionhead has finally released the BWDevNet Tools for Black&White. They are designed to work with the latest version of Creature Isle and won’t work if you don’t have Creature Isle installed. Apart from that you will also need the latest patch of B&W. Read more for download links ...

KOEI announced today its plans to release 'Romance Of The Three KingDoms IX' for the PS2. The ninth installment of the longest running simulation series in console history will ship to North American Retailers in February 2004. Read more for details and screens ...

NVIDIA Corporation and Activision, Inc. today announced that the top-selling, critically acclaimed PC game, Call of Duty, will be bundled with select GeForce FX graphics cards. Beginning today, participating add-in card vendors will offer a complete retail version of the intense, World War II-based, first person action title for free with select GeForce FX 5900 series graphics cards, delivering a stellar out-of-box gaming experience to consumers this holiday season.

Ubisoft today announced that CSI: Crime Scene Investigation: Dark Motives will be available for the PC in March 2004. The game is based on the hit CBS television series with an exclusive license from CBS Consumer Products. CSI: Dark Motives gives players the opportunity to solve a series of crimes with members of the CSI team.

Noviy Disk company is happy to announce the publishing agreement with a Ukrainian developer Boolat LLC, under which Noviy Disk will be publishing Lagsters world-wide. The game is stated to release in Q1 2004. Read more for details & screens ...

Joan of Arc showcases a brand new state-of-the-art graphics engine. With rich, detailed terrain, the game allows real-time control and command of legions of military units, realistically depicting the mayhem and severity of medieval warfare. Joan of Arc will contain a series of individual battles as well as massive strategic campaigns between French and English troops. Read more for some new screens ...

Matrix Games has released an update for the demo version of Eric Young’s Squad Assault: West Front by DAS Entertainment and Freedon Games which was released last week. Some gamers were experiencing problems on Windows 98 and ME systems and this update addresses those issues. Read more for details and download links ...

The Elemental is a total conversion of Gas Powered Games Dungeon Siege. Elemental is set in an alternate mythical version of ancient Judea that is gritty, mean, and profane. In a world full of Romans, thieves, and monsters the only real way to describe the Elemental experience is with one word, Biblepunk. This patch will update your Dungeon Siege modification to version 1b2 and now support Legends Of Aranna, fixes generals bugs and makes a few game tweaks. Read more for details and download links ...

This year’s most anticipated movie is only a few days away (December 17)… but fans can already experience the epic journey through EA GAMES’ The Lord of the Rings; The Return of the King videogame. To further feed the excitement for New Line Cinema’s third and final film, EA is releasing new, never before seen assets from the game, including scenes from the climactic struggle of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli against Sauron’s forces at the Black Gate of Mordor. Check out some screens ...

Based on the 1993 award-winning animated movie of the same name, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is a ghoulish tale with wicked humor and stunning animation. In this adventure action game, players assume the role of "Jack Skellington" the Pumpkin King and help reclaim Halloweentown from the mischievous Oogie Boogie. Capcom's production of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas will incorporate extraordinary worlds filled with magic and wonder mixed with enchanting and musical elements. Capcom plans to release the game in the fall of 2004. Check the new screens ...

Xbox Live gamers have a chance to win the ultimate stocking stuffer this holiday: a copy of Ubisoft's stylish shooter XIII. In the final 13 days leading up to Xmas, December 12 through December 25, Xbox Live gamers who log on for a total of 13 hours will be entered into a contest to win a copy of XIII. For more information, please visit: www.whoisxiii.com/community or www.xbox.com.