Yuke's is working on a SmackDown game that will add new features and bring enhanced graphics to the series. WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw will combine characters from the WWE's Smackdown! and Raw franchises. Expected release date is holiday season 2004. Check out these screens ...

El Matador is a third person, stealth action game, where the player takes on the role of a DEA agent, whose aim is to bring down the narkomafia, an organised crime syndicate in South America. Driven by revenge for what the narkomafia did to his brother, the player will progress through a story which weaves its way throughout the adventure, combines all the essential features of surprise, unexpected twists and dramatic developments. It is a tale of corruption, revenge, moral ambiguity and ultimate justice.

Twilight of Lareleth is an upcoming Xbox 3D Action/RPG currently in development by Spinning Reality. Boasting a number of unique unrevealed and revealed design innovations, this is the game Xbox RPG fans have been waiting for! As the official public announcement, Twilight of Lareleth is currently set to hit store shelves next year with a to-be-announced publisher (thanks VE3D). Read more for details & screens ...

Square Enix Ltd. announced today that 'Final Fantasy XI' for the PC will be released to retailers on September 16, 2004. The cross-platform, cross-continent 'massively multiplayer online role-playing game' (MMORPG) is Square Enix's first online FINAL FANTASY title, and has already become a massive hit both in Japan and North America, with an online community of over 500,000 registered users and 1.2 million active characters.

Iridon Interactive and XS Games LLC announced today that Pure Pinball for the Xbox has shipped to stores in North America. Pure Pinball, the only pinball game on the market for Xbox, will be on store shelves as of August 9th for the MSRP of $20.

Pixar Animation Studios and THQ Inc. today announced an exclusive multi-property publishing agreement granting THQ the interactive rights to four upcoming Pixar animated feature films.

Madden NFL 2005 announces the most robust online feature set ever available to gamers with the launch of EA SPORTS Premium Pass. The new Premium pass, which is sponsored by dodge thus free of charge, gives extra features to Madden players who subscribe. Read more for details ...

Eidos has sent out a small update regarding Tomb Raider : "I wanted to give you all the heads up that Toby Gard has joined Crystal Dynamics as one of the senior designers on the Tomb Raider team. Toby will complement the existing talented team creating the next Tomb Raider title. As the creator of the Lara Croft character, he brings a unique perspective to the development process. The Tomb Raider team is drawing upon a great deal of research, consumer and editorial feedback, and game development talent to build a title they'll be proud of...and one you'll want to play."

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 :

• Dungeon Lords - Trailer
• Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines - Walkthrough Trailer
• Nexus: The Jupiter Incident - Trailer

Developed internally by Empire's award-winning Strangelite Studio, the game will be released on PC, and all current and next generation consoles. The length of the agreement will allow Empire to produce multiple titles. The game will be based on the movie of the same name and animated series franchise.

1C Company and Pointsoft Interactive have signed a Pan-European distribution deal for Vivisector: Beast Inside. Vivisector: Beast Inside developed by Action Forms (creators of Chasm and Carnivores series) is a unique mixture of 3D Action/Horror. The game blends a thrilling interactive story with intense, high-adrenaline action and immerses players in a rich and fascinating storyline.

In The Sims 2 you control your Sims over an entire lifetime for the first time. With the ground-breaking addition of genetics, your Sims now pass their DNA down through generations, giving you a more vivid and in-depth Sims experience. Every life choice you make has a relevant and dramatic effect on the lifetime of your Sim. It’s up to you to take your Sims from the cradle to the grave, fulfill their dreams, and push them to extremes in The Sims 2.

Coming this October for PlayStation 2, Xbox and, for the first time, PC, the expanded Club Football 2005 range of team-specific games will deliver power, pace and precision. With an accelerated game engine and new animation system, play is faster and more responsive. Innovative gameplay mechanics are also being introduced, including the Precision Trigger, for precise control on the pitch that can make you the playmaker.

After CDV dropped the game, UDS closed down, and The Kore Gang seemed all but dead. Now Swedish Daydream Software picked it up and announced the game will be published by Playlogic International end 2004/early 2005. The Kore Gang is the first game ever with character-dependent viewpoints and songs that are integrated into the story. The Tim Burton-like cool graphics are stunning and immerse the player in its 24 tricky levels over six worlds. The Kore Gang is no longer Xbox exclusive as it is now also in development for the PC.

Team17 has released a demo for its 3D TBS game Worms Forts: Under Siege featuring one single-player map set in ancient Egypt along with one multiplayer map situated in classical Greece (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

After a few beta rounds, Jowood has released the official demo for Wings Simulations' multiplayer FPS SÖLDNER: Secret Wars featuring 4 maps (Army Base, Riverside, Deep Forest and Cold Winter) updated with the latest code. Read more for details and download links ...

Epic has released a new patch for its sci-fi FPS Unreal Tournament 2004. This patch brings your retail game to v3270 and adds once again bug fixes, fixes game crashes, balancing, tweaks for the Onslaught mode, demo recording, engine, mod support and plenty more. Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

Hell Forces is a classical FPS in which the main hero, Stephen Geist, is trying to find out, what has happened to his missing friend. During this search he is mired in a satanic conspiracy, and is trying to stop dread forces of Baphometh, the servant of Satan. Infernal legions are uncountable, but Stephen is not. Only with your help he can find out the truth and stop the invasion.

In Half-Life 2 the player again picks up the crowbar of research scientist Gordon Freeman, who finds himself on an alien-infested Earth being picked to the bone, its resources depleted, its populace dwindling. Freeman is thrust into the unenviable role of rescuing the world from the wrong he unleashed back at Black Mesa. And a lot of people people he cares about are counting on him. Read more for somenew screens ...