Curse of Darkness introduces players to an entirely new storyline and main character – Hector, one of two Devil Forgemasters, who had once refined his skills under Dracula. Konami announces the official U.S. ship date of Castlevania: CoD for the PS2 and Xbox as Tuesday, November 1, 2005.

Microsoft and RealNetworks today announced three agreements valued at $761 million to RealNetworks to settle their antitrust case and create a new partnership to innovate and promote consumer choices in digital music and games, including offering RealNetworks' digital games through Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade.

A Texas Hold 'em game that captures the spirit of the professional poker tour, Stacked utilizes an advanced learning artificial intelligence system that adapts to each player's style of play and a detailed tutorial mode to deliver a thrilling and realistic poker experience.

Nintendo announced today that its Mario Party 7 bundle includes a GameCube, two controllers and Mario Party 7, as well as the GameCube Mic, which accepts voice commands to control the action in some of Mario Party 7's 80 new mini-games.

Creators of The Moment of Silence and Mysteries of the Druids, House of Tales Entertainment, will use the Emotion FX real-time character animation technology to power the characters in their next title Overclocked.

SCEA announced today the launch of its PS2 exclusive SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs. Developed by Zipper Interactive, Inc. and produced by SCEA's Foster City Studio in association with the U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command, SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs offers the most realistic SEAL gameplay and mission designs of any military shooter.

AGEIA Technologies today announced that Icarus Studios is supporting the AGEIA PhysX processor in its upcoming MMO game Fallen Earth. The post- apocalyptic game takes place in a world struggling to emerge from the collapse of civilization brought on by war, plague and environmental disaster.

Ratchet: Deadlocked, created exclusively for the PS2 by Insomniac Games, incorporates co-op gameplay in both single-player and multiplayer story modes -- as well as squad-based functionality. Read more for new screens ..

Until I'm Gone (working title) is a horror 3rd person adventure build on Czech WME (WinterMute Engine). In the spirit of a good old adventure, this game will contain pre-rendered scenes, in which will move real-time 3D models of characters, something like Microids' Syberia (thanks Tiscali). Read more for info & screens ...

Buena Vista Games today announced two key executive hires to help manage the company's growing video game development and publishing business worldwide. Filling the newly created positions are Raj Murari, vice president, strategic development and integration, and Mark Meyers, vice president, internal studios.

BFME 2 takes part in the North where a battle is raging between Sauron's forces vs. elves and dwarves. It will be possible to create/customize your own hero, apart from known figures such as Arwin, and become more powerful as you progress in the game. While BFME was all land based, the sequel will also take the action on the sea, naval battles included, courtesy of an updated engine.

Sumthing Else Music Works, through its licensing relationship with Microsoft Game Studios, proudly presents Kameo: Elements of Power Original Soundtrack. The soundtrack album will be released on November 8th at the suggested retail price of $15.98 to US retail outlets through Nile Rodgers' Sumthing Else Music Works label www.sumthing.com

It’s all about the battles with Armored Core: Nine Breaker, taking you straight to the action with two modes of play, hardcore training and arena combat. Design your own customized AC with over 400 parts to choose from. The possibilities are endless.

Irth Online developer Magic Hat Software has announced that its fantasy MMORPG's official launch date is set for Tuesday, November 1, 2005. Pricing and distribution strategies were also announced.

Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler's Green is a FPS featuring zombies, frightening effects, and key environments seen in George A. Romero's Land of the Dead horror film. The game sets players in the midst of a gruesome adventure in which they battle to save themselves – and a quickly-diminishing living population - from an army of the dead bent on spreading a zombie plague.

On Thursday, an Alabama judge sentenced a 20-year-old man to die by lethal injection for the murders of two officers and a dispatcher, slayings which the victims' families blame partly on the killer's obsession with violent video games, in particular Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto III.

Dreamfall: The Longest Journey is an action-packed thriller set in a large and varied game world mixing gritty reality with imaginative fantasy. The game features three worlds, three distinctly different playable characters, and exciting action-adventure gameplay wrapped in a mature, exhilarating, and innovative storyline.

Nintendo cut its first-half operating profit estimate by one third on Friday due to sluggish sales of its GameCube game console and software in the United States, but boosted its net profit estimates due to currency-related gains. They also cited price cuts to its "DS" portable game machine and high development costs for a new game system as factors weighing on its earnings.

Oxygen Interactive are pleased to announce the expansion of their Northamptonshire based office with the appointment of former Codemasters' Dan Gower and ex-EA's David Bancroft.

Heart of Empire: Rome leads the player through 14 huge missions as they actually build & control ancient Rome in glorious real-time 3D. From simple beginnings, they must quickly build housing for their growing population; start to meet their increasing desires for food, goods and entertainment.

Day of Defeat is a World War II multiplayer first-person action game that pits players in Axis vs. Allies battles in Western Europe at the height of the war in 1944, remade using Half-Life 2's Source engine. Players enlist as snipers, infantrymen, machine gunners, riflemen and sergeants, and then hit the frontlines running using authentic weaponry.

Yesterday's going gold announcement did not reveal any specific release date, but today Activision revealed that The Movies will premiere at retail outlets nationwide on Tuesday, November 8. The Movies allows gamers to become Hollywood players by creating unique movies and releasing them from the studios they build, starring the actors they discover and develop.

Pirates of the Burning Sea is a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game set in the Caribbean islands of the 18th Century. You play a bold sea captain, master of your own ship and crew, as you seek glory and adventure across the trackless deep.

Stoked Rider featuring Tommy Brunner' is an unique action-freesports game for PC, the first freeride snowboarding game inspired by Alaska's impressive peaks, presented in a unique 3D cellshaded graphical style. Tommy Brunner is one of the most experienced backcountry and big mountain snowboard riders in Europe, and has a string of horrifically impressive injuries to go with it, including a broken back!

Electronic Arts and counsel representing a class of current and former computer graphic artists in Electronic Arts' California studios today announced a settlement agreement on claims for overtime compensation.