GameSpot has gotten word that Big Huge Games is working on an expansion pack for Rise of Nations, called Throne and Patriots. 'Rise of Nations: Throne and Patriots' will include six more new playable nations to the original game's total of 18, along with more than 20 new units, and new features, like the expansion's new campaigns and its government system. The government system will let each nation in the game determine for itself how it will be governed--a decision that will affect its development over the course of history. The new campaigns will include scenarios based on real-world historical engagements.

Electronic Arts announced today that the Looney Tunes: Back in Action videogame is now shipping to retail stores. Inspired by the action-packed feature film of the same title, the videogame was co-published with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and developed by Warthog for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo GameCube, and Game Boy Advance.

Activision, Inc. is shining a spotlight on the 2003 holiday season with a comprehensive lineup of games for the entire family. The slate includes film inspired titles such as Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure, groundbreaking action sports games like Tony Hawk's Underground, titles targeted toward the action gamer including True Crime: Streets of L.A. and Call of Duty, as well as a historical real-time strategy game of epic scope and breadth, Empires: Dawn of the Modern World.

Specialist online games developer CAT Games has finalised an agreement with the NHL to launch an updated version of the online Ice Hockey management game called SeniorLeagueHockey. SeniorLeagueHockey.com is now the Premier Online Management Game of the NHL and is navigable directly from www.NHL.com. SeniorLeagueHockey.com has already attracted over 100,000 active managers, and the number is growing rapidly.

Combat Mission: Afrika Korps is a 1-2 player, hybrid turn-based/realtime 3D simulation of WWII tactical warfare in parts of the Mediterranean Theater including Italy, North and East Africa and Crete from 1940 to 1945. It is based on the award winning engine of Combat Mission: Barbarossa to Berlin..

TLK Games has released 3D Buggy Tug, 3DRT Pinball, 3D Word-Slider, and D3D Chess, four exciting and challenging Windows games that use stunning 3D effects, music and dynamic game play to bring hours of enjoyment for all family members. All the games are Release 2, meaning that they're completely debugged and totally redesigned in 3D, with new decors and music.

It is a universe of smugglers and businessmen, of bounty hunters and travellers, from countless worlds. All striving to make their mark on a universe in constant flux. It is a dangerous place, with threats both from within and beyond. After years of conflict, an uneasy peace has settled across the many worlds, as humans and aliens strive to live together in harmony. While it's European release date was recently pushed back to Feb 2004, the US version should ship end of this month. In the meantime we had a chance to take a look at a build, read more to check it out ...

SWAT: GST is a first-person tactical arcade game combining the strategic elements of SWAT 3 with the instantly accessible arcade action of the Virtua Cop series. Like the real-life SWAT organization itself, the SWAT Global Strike Team is a life-saving organization tasked with defending and saving the lives of the innocent. As a member of the SWAT Global Strike Team gamers will be called to duty at a moment’s notice, confronted with missions unlike any see before. Read more for the full review ...

Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes thrusts players into the stunning 3D world of espionage and stealth action created by celebrated producer, Hideo Kojima. Playing as legendary videogame hero, Solid Snake, gamers will infiltrate an Alaskan nuclear missile disposal facility occupied by a terrorist organization called FOXHOUND. Only in this game will players truly feel like they are in the heart of the action, as if every step taken leads them closer to danger. Read more for some new screens ...

Exclusive to Xbox, Breakdown is a sci-fi thriller that combines the best elements of shooters and fighters in a first-person action/adventure game. The game's intense storyline is told through high-quality real time rendered graphics that bring an unprecedented level of realism to the player. The game features fierce weapon-based first-person shooter combat, challenging puzzles to solve, surreal dream sequences, advanced AI, and massive detailed environments for exploration. Read more for some new screens ...

Linden Lab today announced a significant breakthrough in digital property rights for its customers and for users of online worlds. Changes to Second Life’s Terms of Service now recognize the ownership of in-world content by the subscribers who make it. The revised TOS allows subscribers to retain full intellectual property protection for the digital content they create, including characters, clothing, scripts, textures, objects and designs.

Midway Games announced that Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance has been nominated in the Action category for the 2003 BAFTA Interactive Entertainment awards.

Entertainment software developer and publisher NovaLogic Ltd. today announced that the first expansion pack for the international best selling PC title Delta Force - Black Hawk Down will be available in stores early 2004. Delta Force - Black Hawk Down: Team Sabre is a highly anticipated addition to the franchise and builds on the exciting game play features that proved such a success in the first game.

Gamespot reported earlier that the PC port of Namco's Dead To Rights has a sever bug that seemed to render the game unplayable due to not being able to pass the opening level/map. Hip Games has been made aware of this and as it turns out this "bug" only occurs with ATI Radeon 9700 cards, so most people should still be able to enjoy the game. Nonetheless Hip Games informed Gamespot that a patch is in the works and should be available SOON.

Tecmo's Team Ninja has always released the Dead or Alive games on the most advanced hardware platforms available at the time the game is made. As a result of this, Dead or Alive 1,2, and 3 have all been released on different platforms. This fall, gamers will have the chance to experience the entire history of the DOA series for the first time on a single console. Tecmo's esteemed internal development group, "Team Ninja" and Microsoft's Xbox will be teaming up to bring the beloved classics Dead or Alive 1 and Dead or Alive 2 to the Xbox in Dead or Alive Online. The new anthology will bring 3D fighting to the masses with full Xbox Live capabilities.

Goblin Commander: Unleash The Horde ships to stores for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system and the Xbox video game system from Microsoft, Jaleco Entertainment announced. Goblin Commander: Unleash The Horde is the highly anticipated action-strategy video game designed specifically for next-generation consoles. Experience the rush of amassing hordes of goblins under your control, embark on thrilling adventures, and engage in spectacular battles with enemy clans.

Buka Entertainment, one of the European publishers, and Microforum Italia S.p.A., one of the well-known software distributors in Italy, are pleased to announce a new deal, which includes the following titles:

• Echelon: Wind Warriors
• Midnight Nowhere
• March!: Offworld Recon
  
  The titles will be fully localized and distributed in Italy in DVD boxes at the price of 9.90 euro per unit.

Atari is bringing forward the release date of Horizons: Empire of Istaria to December 5th, to ensure eager gamers can get their hands on this highly anticipated massively multiplayer online role-playing game in plenty of time before Christmas. Available for PC, Horizons: Empire of Istaria will allow players to experience online gaming like never before in a single massive online world primed for exploration, brimming with adventure and rife with danger. The game is expected in North America on December 9th, in the meantime, read our preview ...

TRON 2.0 is a story-driven, first-person action game that propels the player into an alternate universe inside a computer. Monolith has released an updated version of last weeks TRON 2.0 multiplayer deathmatch patch. This update requires you to have the latest v1.030 patch, is NOT compatible with the previous version and adds Derez (deathmatch) and Team Derez game modes, as well as three multiplayer maps designed by Touchdown Entertainment. Single-player save games are affected and will no longer work after applying this patch. The official patch requires WinXP to install, but there is also an unsupported 3rd party version that works on all Windows versions (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for details & download links ..

Pirates is broadband only, with high-end hardware specifications for graphics -- a GeForce 3 or better is required in at least a 1GHz machine, and the game is optimized for the latest DirectX 9.0-class cards. Pirates is being published on-line directly to gamers using Valve's new Steam technology, the same delivery system used by Half-Life 2 and Counterstrike 2. Check out the new seaworthy screens ...

Valve's Doug Lombardi sent out a note to let us know that Day of Defeat 1.1 is in the final stages of development and will be available for wide beta testing via Steam later this week. The team-based multiplayer game sends players into Axis vs. Allies battles set in Western Europe during WWII. Version 1.1 adds enhanced animation through the incorporation of Valve's nine-way blending system. DoD 1.1 also includes new maps plus a host of tweaks and fixes. For more information visit www.dayofdefeat.com or www.steampowered.com.

"Unreal Tournament 2004 is the next evolution of the greatest competitive computer game ever created," said Jean-Philippe Agati, senior vice president and general manager of Atari's Los Angeles studio. "The addition of new modes, mods and maps as well as the controllable land-, air- and space-based vehicles, means Unreal fans are getting an entirely new experience featuring devastating vehicular combat and wide scale warfare." Check out some new screens ...

From the far corners of Middle-earth, new adventures come forth to face the growing evil in the East. The forces of Mordor are mobilizing as the Nazgül hunt for the One Ring. The land itself is in peril and its fate lies in the hands of those who possess it. Adventuring alone or in groups, join thousands of players online in the massive world that is Middle-earth. Support the forces of good in an epic struggle to drive back the forces of Sauron. This is Middle-Earth Online, your home in the world of Tolkien. Read more to check some screens ...

THQ and Nickelodeon today announced the release of The Fairly OddParents: Breakin' Da Rules for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system, Microsoft's Xbox game console and Nintendo's GameCube and Game Boy Advance. Based on Nickelodeon's chart-topping show, The Fairly OddParents: Breakin Da Rules is currently available at retail outlets throughout North America.

Midway Games announced today that Justice League: Chronicles, based on the hit Cartoon Network series and DC Comics favorite, shipped today for the Game Boy Advance.

In Justice League: Chronicles, it's up to the greatest Super Heroes of all time to save the world from danger. Super Villains have unleashed a triple threat for global domination and the Justice League must join forces to combat the evil menace. Gamers will take control of their favorite DC Comics Super Heroes including Batman, Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Martian Manhunter, using each character's superpowers, skills and special weapons to battle the combined forces of their greatest foes.