Mad Catz Interactive announced today that the new, yet classically designed, fully featured RetroCON video game controller for the PlayStation2 will be available in stores the week of October 13, 2003 for suggested retail price of $24.99 U.S.

Mario and his closest friends are back for more fun in Mario Party 5! Join them on the NINTENDO GAMECUBE when it launches across Europe on 5th December 2003. Just in time for Christmas the legendary Mario, Luigi, Toad, Wario, Peach, Yoshi and Waluigi will be returning to the NINTENDO GAMECUBE. Join them as they try to restore peace to Dream World by racing around a collection of all new exciting game boards.

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 ...

The original Hidden & Dangerous (now available for free download) was released in 1999 to widespread acclaim, and was the forerunner for the squad-based tactical action game. With sales in excess of one million copies, Hidden & Dangerous established itself as a leading title in the genre. Its creators, Illusion Softworks, have for the last four years been quietly developing and perfecting the sequel. Read more for a few new screens ...

Sierra has released a small patch for Papyrus' racing simulation NASCAR Racing 2003 Season. This upgrade brings your retail game to v1.2.0.1 and adresses a startup problem due to the securom protection. If your game starts fine, you do not need to download this fix (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Play the Greatest Story Ever Written . . . The quest to destroy the One Ring continues in the first real-time strategy game based on The Lord of the Rings saga. Massive battles erupt as the peoples of Middle-earth fight for control of Tolkien’s World. Gamers can play as the forces of good and valiantly fight for the One Ring’s destruction or assume command of the forces of evil to claim control over Middle-earth forever. Read more for some new screens ...

Eudos has launched the official website for Ionstorms upcoming 3D action game Deus Ex: Invisible War. Deus Ex 2 allows players to participate in the telling of a powerful story, rich in mystery, lies and intrigue. In addition to a host of new conspiratorial friends and foes, players can expect encounters with a variety of characters from the original Deus Ex game. And, once again, players visit a variety of real world locations made more exotic by the passage of time. Approximately 20 years after the events depicted in Deus Ex, the world is only beginning to recover from a catastrophic worldwide depression brought on by technology run amok and a secret conspiratorial war. Read more for some new screens ...

Kings Of War immerses players in the world of the Kohan as one of the immortals who lead the fight against an ancient evil that has risen again and is bent on destroying civilization forever. The story unfolds as all-out war plunges the world into chaos. Read more for some new screens ...

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are about to embark on a whole new videogame adventure filled with arcade-style kick-butt action that will leave you shell-shocked. TMNT continues the series' famous style of "beat 'em up" gameplay, now with cell-shaded 3D graphics, an engaging storyline, a full cast of characters, and the voices from the animated TV show. Check these new screens ...

EA is pleased to announce that The Lord of the Rings; The Return of the King has officially gone gold for all platforms—PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC, GameCube, and Game Boy Advance. The game is on track to ship to North American retailers under the EA GAMES brand on Tuesday, November 4th, and will be in stores by Thursday, November 6th.

EA has released a new patch for their latest edition in the footbal sim franchise Madden NFL 2004. Last patch was merely a roster update, this (bigger) patch adresses some gfx card issues, controller problems and various crash fixes. Read more for details and download links ...

Brace Yourselves! Your Sims have Magic! In this supernatural edition, Sims are granted magical powers with the ability to cast spells that are playful or deviant. Players can venture to an all-new magical, carnival-themed destination, experience exciting new gameplay, gain over 150 new items, and encounter a whole new cast of quirky characters in this powerful pack of magical high jinx. Check the new magical screens ...

Armed with her camera, aikido staff, and resolute investigative skills, Jade sets out to expose the truth and to liberate the minds of her deceived people. Pushed to the very edge of her physical and spiritual will, she soon discovers that even these limits are not what they seem … Her quest for the truth knows no bounds. Check these spiffy new screens ...

Zuxxez has released a voicemod for Reality Pump Studios' recently released RTS/RPG KnightShift (aka Once Upon A Knight). This MOD installs the complete English voiceovers and dialogs (Campaigns and RPG) and also update the retail v1.00 to v1.01, supporting a new audio compression. Read more for download links ...

NBA Jam brings the "in your face" highlights of NBA play to life with over the top, arcade-style 3-on-3 basketball featuring spectacular high-flying dunks, ankle-breaking crossovers and "get that outta here" blocks!

iGames Publishing today announced that the highly anticipated PC game Nosferatu: The Wrath of Malachi has gone gold. The first person shooter-survival horror game will thrust players into a den of bloodthirsty vampires where intrepid adventurers must use their wits as well as the classic weapons of vampire lore…holy water, wooden stakes and more, to defeat the fanged horrors. Developed by the Swedish studio, Idol FX, the game will be released for PC on October 20th in time for Halloween.

Get ready to pilot the world's most powerful trucks and go head-to-head in pulse-pounding off-road competitions. Whether you're grinding through mud pits in Louisiana, crunching up cliffs in California, or smashing up trees to make the ride a little bumpier for they guy behind you, keep your eyes on the prize: cash you earn on the circuit goes to buy new trucks and build up your ultimate Monster machine. Read more for some new screens!

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 :

• Crash Nitro Kart - Trailer
• Deus Ex: Invisible War- Trailer
• Maximum Chase - Trailer
• Monster Hunter - TGS Trailer
• Call Of Duty - 'Brothers' Trailer
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Activision, Inc. today announced that Rome: Total War, the latest installment in The Creative Assembly's award-winning Total War series, is on schedule for a fall 2004 release. The highly acclaimed game took the industry by storm when it debuted at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo earning the highest accolade, a "Best of E3 2003" award for Best Strategy Game. The title was also lauded by industry leader Computer Gaming World magazine as a "landmark strategy/wargame" and received "Best Games of E3" accolades from PC Gamer, Computer Gaming World, GameSpot and GameSpy. Next fall, gamers will hail the golden age of antiquity as they command massive armies in a bid to rewrite history.

As promised Ubisoft has now released the US demo for Michel Ancel's upcoming action/adventure game Beyond Good & Evil. No specific info on this demo available except for "it contains the first 90 minutes of the game" and is more polished/bug free than the previous "French" demo, it is also about 50mb bigger. Read more for download links ...