Square Enix is working on a new expansion pack for its MMORPG Final Fantasy XI which will introduce new maps, monsters as well as several new classes such as the much anticpated Blue Mage. Read more for some new screens ...

Blizzard announced that the WoW v1.9 public test realms are now live, and that players can transfer characters over to the test realms and try out all the changes and additions coming in the next content patch, The Gates of Ahn'Qiraj. The highlights of this patch include new 20- and 40- player raid dungeons, linked Auction Houses in major cities, improved Battleground queues, Paladin class improvements, etc. Read more for a full list of features currently being tested ...

EA revealed that the BFME II closed multiplayer beta test will start early December and people who pre-ordered the game will be able to join mid-December, and will run up until the game’s ship date. Details aren't finalized yet but the multiplayer beta test will include multiple factions and maps. The beta test pre-order program will start tomorrow November 24. A downloadable single-player demo featuring skirmish battles against the computer AI will be released at some point before the game ships.

Galactic Civilizations II takes place in the distant future, when mankind has become a space-faring civilization and must contend with other extraterrestrial powers for domination of the galaxy. The sequel is a true evolution for the series, with rethought fundamentals and exciting new changes.

Dungeons & Dragons Online will provide players with the definitive online "Dungeons & Dragons" experience, complete with dramatic dungeon crawling, terrifying monster combat and challenging puzzles, character advancement and guild-based power struggles.

Namco today announced that Real Time Conflict: Shogun Empires, an original real-time strategy game for the NDS, has shipped to North American retail outlets. Set during the chaos of feudal Japan, the game lets players create their own army of unique units and lead them to battlefield victory using a unique and intuitive touch screen control scheme.

GarageGames announced the release of the new Torque Game Engine (TGE), version 1.4, featuring hundreds of technology enhancements, from improved work flow and tutorials, to localization support and editor updates.

Valve's SteamPowered website has been updated with details regarding the latest update for its online delivery system Steam. This release updates the DoD:Source gameinfo.txt to support the Source SDK, and applies a few fixes to the Half-Life 1 engine, and a few tweaks to the H-L1 dedicated server. Just restart Steam for the effects to take place.

Matrix Games today announced the release of their stand-alone wargame War Plan Orange: Dreadnoughts in the Pacific 1922-1930. The year is 1922, World War I has come to a close but tensions still run high. The United States, fearing the worst, developed a system of plans for a potential war in the Pacific against Japan.

Atari and Marathon Animation today announced that Totally Spies!™ is available in stores nationwide for the GBA. Totally Spies! is the hit animated TV series that stars three teen super-spies from Beverly Hills, who fight international crime.

Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows is the fusion of fantasy fighting action with the strategy of user-friendly RPG elements , providing gamers a deep, engaging gameplay experience complete with solo play, co-op and an online community.

Metalheart: Replicants Rampage provides a strong sci-fi story with intriguing cyberpunk influences, sophisticated turn-based combat, random quest generator with the unbelievable tasks variations, a complex character parameter system, and plenty of other wonders to make hardcore RPG fans amazed. Dreamcatcher has released a new patch bringing any international version of the game to v1.2. Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

Disgaea 2 is the sequel to Nippon Ichi 2003 RPG hit title Disgaea: Hour of Darkness. While no information about a European or North American released is available, Disgaea 2 is scheduled for release in Japan February 2006. Until we do get more concrete details, these rather small screens & trailer will have to do ...

The Matrix: Path of Neo will enable players to actually play as Neo, the central character, and relive his most important and memorable scenarios from the complete film trilogy, including the original film, The Matrix. Atari has finally released the European version of the first patch, addressing various graphical issues, translation problems and more ..

Dimension Films has sealed a deal to acquire North American distribution rights to the vidgame-based action pic Dead or Alive by The Transporter helmer Corey Yuen, which will be shot in China starting next fall. Devon Aoki, Sarah Carter, Natassia Malthe, Matthew Marsden, Jaime Pressly, Eric Roberts and Holly Valance star in the adaptation. Dimension recently also signed on with Crystal Sky Pictures to produce Castlevania.

The United States, fearing the worst, developed a system of plans for a potential war in The Pacific against Japan. In the real world most of these plans never saw the light of day, but Matrix Games together with 2by3 Games and Justin Prince Designs have set the stage differently and are pleased to announce that War Plan Orange: Dreadnoughts in the Pacific 1922-1930 has gone gold.

Dead or Alive 4 will redefine 3-D high definition graphics and sound, creating the most visually beautiful and realistic looking video game to date. DOA features online capabilities via Xbox Live, new interactive stages, an all star line-up of old and new favorite characters, and the most complex countering system yet.

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.

Paradox has released an updated patch for its strategy game Hearts of Iron II. This update brings your retail game to v1.3a and polishes multiplayer experience, improves AI, production and more, as well as adding additional events, new ministers and tech teams. Read more for download links ...

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.

In Awaken, you play the role of William Thane, a middle-aged man down on his luck. You, along with six others, are trapped in an abandoned prison, held captive by a psychotic killer. You have until 6:00 am to find a way out, or you will all die. But there's one small catch: one of you is the killer (thanks Blues).

Thousands of Xboxes will be yanked from home entertainment centers around the world this holiday to make space for the new Xbox 360. Dream Arcades LLC wants to give them a new home … nice and cozy, resting inside a shiny new arcade kit from Dream Arcades.

Last week it was revealed that Microsoft currently has over 200 Xbox titles that are compatible and working on its next-gen X360 console. This only being the case for North American versions of the console, the list for other territories was not yet available. Earlier this week Japanese gamers got a huge disappointment with only 12 titles, and today Europeans picking up an Xbox 360 will be able to play over 150 Xbox titles. Remember this only works with the harddrive enabled system, not the cheap Core System, unless you upgrade. The process is made possible by software emulation, games will be playable in High Def. with antialiasing, which will be freely downloadable, burn on cd and insert in the X360, or install automatically through Xbox Live.

EA today announced it has shipped its biggest launch line up of EA SPORTS titles to stores with four EA SPORTS branded games for the Xbox 360. FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup, Madden NFL 06, NBA LIVE 06 and Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 06 are all available for the new game system.

Dolby Laboratories announced today that the new Xbox 360 will support Dolby Digital surround sound for both games and movies. This next-generation game console includes both interactive Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound for game play, as well as Dolby Digital decoding for video playback.