Atari and Firaxis Games announced today that the highly-anticipated sequel to one of the most popular and loved titles in gaming history has shipped to retail stores nationwide. Sid Meier's Pirates! received unprecedented critical acclaim when it was first released in 1987 and set the industry standard for innovative game design with its unique blend of open-ended role-playing, real-time adventures and thrilling action sequences.

Starting today any Shadowbane Accounts that are reactivated will be added to the Throne of Oblivion Beta Test every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This will occur until the Throne of Oblivion launches on December 7th. If an account is reactivated over or prior to this weekend, that account will have access to the Beta on Monday, November 22nd. If reactivated on Tuesday, the account will have access to the normal game servers immediately but not to the Oblivion Beta Test until Wednesday. To learn how to access the Beta Server with a valid account, simply visit the official community website and read the Open Beta announcement.

JoWooD has launched the homepage for its upcoming Stargate SG-1 game, named "The Alliance", Fans and game enthusiasts can now get a first look at the spectacular interactive game experience, Stargate SG-1: The Alliance. The teaser site will premiere new elements of the game on a consistent basis. The full site will be launched in early 2005 to support the Stargate SG-1: The Alliance game release in Late 2005 for all major platforms. Read more for some additional screens...

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 ...