As a holiday gift to EverQuest fans, Sony Online Entertainment today released a puzzle that will reveal the highly anticipated class tree for EverQuest II, on the company's EverQuest II game site. EverQuest II features 48 classes available through a tree branch progression, allowing you to choose your class as you advance in the game. The answer to the puzzle will be announced after the holiday break, but fans are sure to solve it much sooner.

Vivendi Universal Games and Massive Entertainment today unveiled the third faction in Ground Control II: Operation Exodus - the Virons - an alien warrior race.

Acclaim Entertainment today announced that it has entered into an exclusive global publishing agreement with Reno-based developer BattleBorne Entertainment, Inc. for their soon-to-be announced video game for the next-generation gaming systems. Comprised of former members of the celebrated Fallout 2, Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance and Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon teams, BattleBorne is currently utilizing the critically acclaimed Snowblind Studios technology and their own proprietary tools to develop the game.

BiosFear will enter its Open Beta phase today, December 22, around noon. After a successful Closed Beta with many enthusiastic players, Tiscali Games decided to let everybody in before Christmas. Read more for details ...

Sonalysts Inc. disclosed the initial details of the inaugural title to their Sonalysts' Combat Simulations brand, dubbed "Dangerous Waters" (S.C.S - "Dangerous Waters"). S.C.S. - "Dangerous Waters" will be the first title of its kind, allowing the player total control over multiple air, surface and subsurface platforms in a modern-day naval environment. Read more for details and screens, or check the freshly launched official website.

Akella and Step Creative Group announce that a new 3D tactical strategy/action game DEactivation was released. Players will control one of the antiterrorist units of droids to neutralize acts of terrorism. Destroy the hostile robots-kamikazes and set the hostages free! For every mission there's a set number of droids. Terminate the shot firing system, destroy the hostile robots and set the hostages free! The missions are held in distinct types of building that differ one from another in the number of floors and rooms. Read more for details ...

Deep Silver is pleased to announce that X²: The Threat, by German development team EGOSOFT has gone GOLD in anticipation for its 6th February 2004 UK release date. Sequel to the classic space trading / combat PC game X Beyond The Frontier, X² has been in development for over two years. X²: The Threat from EGOSOFT is launched on Windows PC at £34.99 SRP (UK) on 6th February 2004.

Imagine one guild dominating the land. Imagine another one getting ready to challenge them. Your guild? Eternal fame may just be one battle away - a battle where hundreds of armed players fight a siege to dominate the Castle of Shilon! The forthcoming action-MMORPG BiosFear features what must be amongst the most massive and bloody battles ever seen in any online game. Thanks to its fast graphics engine, which allows for smooth gameplay, in BiosFear's battles the screen is crammed with players and packed with action. Are you ready to join the battle?

LucasArts is proud to unveil the fantastic, deadly world of Wrath Unleashed on its new official website! Wrath Unleashed is an exhilarating action-strategy game that mixes the best elements of classic strategy games with fast-paced and fierce creature combat. The game introduces players to a unique and spectacular fantasy universe where players engage in both single and multiplayer battles with more than 30 fierce, mythological creatures from four realms. Each character has special attributes, powers and attacks...but all characters have the power to unleash their wrath to defeat opponents and dominate the universe!

Interplay Entertainment Corp. and Vivendi Universal Games announced today that Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel will ship to retail on January 13, 2004. The action-adventure game will be available for the PlayStation2 and the Xbox.

Slitherine Strategies are pleased to announce that Spartan has been nominated as a finalist in the 2003 Game of the Year competition hosted by the Independent Games Festival. The winner will be announced at the show in March 2004. Spartan has just about everything that you would expect from a Grand Campaign TBS strategy game and with the added spice of the interactive battles we're sure it will be a winner with the gamers and the judges alike. Worthplaying.com has described Spartan as: "Civilisation with a 3D battle engine.", and one of our aims as a company is to grow our audience to draw in some of those gamers who can't get enough of Civ, or who are just looking for something a little different.

Rockstar Games is pleased to announce Red Dead Revolver for the PlayStation2 and Xbox. Developed by Rockstar San Diego, this stylish, western gun-fighting extravaganza is expected to hit retail shelves in Spring 2004. Read more for details ...

Enlight has sent out notice that there is a new patch for X2: The Threat Update 1.1 is available for download exclusively at Egosoft’s website. Since there are several different versions of the patch out already and many will follow once the European territories have released, Enlight is directing everyone to download the patch from www.egosoft.com. This way, EgoSoft can monitor that customers are receiving the correct version of the patch through their registration key. Read more to check a detailed fix list...

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 ...

Spread holiday cheer in Electronic Arts/Maxis' SimCity 4 for the PC this December. Just in time for this season’s festivities, players can download a replica of New York’s magnificent Rockefeller Center and the famous Christmas tree that adorns its plaza. The download is available now for product-registered users at www.simcity.com.

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 ...

The main hero of the game, the lumberman from the introduction, comes from Earth. He came to this planet with the whole earth civilization when the Earth resources started to exhaust. The mankind was forced to leave the Earth and leave for another planet (thanks GenGamers). Read more for details & screens ...

In Tribes: Vengeance's single-player campaign, gamers become immersed in a roiling galactic thriller. Throughout the game, the player catches glimpses of other, interrelated stories that are unfolding behind-the-scenes. In addition, gamers are given the opportunity to experience the full scope of the single-player story through multiple viewpoints and characters. Powered by an enhanced version of the Unreal Engine, the world is brought to life with characters that have facial expressions and fully-realized personalities, vehicles that kick up dust as they pass by, and weapons that display spectacular effects. Check out these new screens ...

In Wrath Unleashed, powerful beings called overlords fight for supremacy in a striking and imaginative ethereal void as they struggle to become gods and maintain dominance and magic. Overlords and their minion creatures battle for control of magical floating islands represented by a beautiful world map comprised of terrain tiles. Each tile on the map is imbued with an elemental affinity of fire, earth, water or wind. Unleash your wrath and may the best beast win! Read more for a fresh batch of screens ...

Mafia is a 3D action game, seen through the eyes of third person. Player assumes the role of a gangster in an American town of the thirties, and gets a chance to live through gangsters rise and fall. In a spell-bounding story of human hunger for power, he will be able to live through everything that was taking place in underworld during this stormy period: mad car chases, bootlegging, assassinations, and bank robberies. Read more for some new screens ...

MLB 2005 is the game baseball enthusiasts have always wanted. Eleven extensive gameplay options including Historical All-Time Greats, an all-new Franchise Mode that allows you to control every aspect of running a baseball franchise, an all-new Career Mode that takes you from Class A ball to the Fall Classic, all-new Simulation Mode where you can watch games unfold as you call the shots or jump in and close out a tight one, and Online playability through 989SportsOnline.com with 32-man tournaments make this the deepest baseball videogame ever produced.

Manhunt, a computer video game that encourages players to kill everyone in sight in ever more gruesome ways has become the first such product to be banned in New Zealand. The Office of Film and Literature Classification has banned Manhunt, a DVD-ROM console game produced in Playstation 2 format, from distribution in the country. Read more for details ...

1C and G5 Software companies will develop a new 3D RTS on motives of the Caribbean crisis. Game engine will be a modified Blitzkrieg engine. But game will not carry a historical reliability, in this Caribbean crisis the USSR and the USA will exchange nuclear attacks. In game there will be 4 campaigns: for the USSR, France, Germany, China, the USA and Great Britain. Read more for a few screens ...

The Nintendo GameCube version of Goblin Commander: Unleash The Horde ships to stores today (Friday), Jaleco Entertainment announced. Goblin Commander: Unleash The Horde is an 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.

A chance to see two of the most highly anticipated online games awaits attendees at the Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) Winter Championship, December 16-20 in Dallas, Texas. NCsoft Corporation will demo the latest pre-release versions of City of Heroes and Lineage II: The Chaotic Chronicle at CompUSA’s CPL exhibit booth. Gamers will get a chance to try out the games on three new Compaq X09 Gaming PCs which will be unveiled for the first time at the CPL event.