The fifth annual Child's Play Charity dinner auction held on Tuesday night netted over $200k in contributions, as a sold-out crowd of over 400 video game industry leaders and community enthusiasts crowded into the Washington State Convention and Trade Center's sky bridge to bid on more than 100 gaming memorabilia to support sick children in more than 60 hospitals worldwide.

Red Alert 3 takes players on an epic RTS adventure to an alternate future spawned by time travel run amok, featuring a fully co-operative campaign, the series' light-hearted style and classic, action-oriented gameplay.

Hearts of Iron III will follow the series' tradition of most detailed and complete strategic game on WW2 while focusing on satisfying veteran players through a multitude of new features and systems, including a huge map with more than 10,000 provinces.

Armed with iconic moves from rigorous assassin training, including "Curving Bullets" and "Bullet Explosion," as well an arsenal of powerful, high-tech weapons, players will explore Wesley’s quest to becoming an unmatched uberassassin in fast-paced, action-packed combat against the world’s most notorious killers. As a follow-up to our preview yesterday, we sat down with GRIN's Ulf Andersson to talk, after quite a few drinks, about the upcoming game based on the Wanted movie.

Fallout 3 places a player in the role of a Vault-dweller, who ventures from his secluded, underground survival Vault into a post-apocalyptic world of mutants, radiation, gangs and violence.

While Guitar Hero: Metallica isn't officially announced yet, the latest issue of GameInformer reveals the first details. New drums difficulty (for people with two kick pedals), pop-up video style tracks, new guitar and bass tones, and additional tracks from bands such as Slayer, Foo Fighters, Judas Priest, Kyuss and Mastodon, as well as Metallica tracks, of course.

Codemasters' Rise Of The Argonauts is an action/rpg set in ancient Greece where you will embark on an epic quest, and encounter legendary figures such as Jason, Hercules and Atalanta.

Another day, another batch of games shipped to stores. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are announcements for:

• Jutland (PC)
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  We will update this throughout the day when new announcements become available. Read more for details ...

Ninja Blade is a cinematic action game where, armed with an arsenal of specialized ninja weapons, tools and skills, players will be given the epic task of defending Tokyo and ultimately humanity from a horrific, genetically mutating disease. Metal Gear Solid series composer Norihiko Hibino announced the release dates for the original soundtrack and the "Beanstalk" single, performed by Japanese vocalist Yuki Koyanagi.

Sony has rolled out new PlayStation Store content, starting with PlayStation Home, PowerUp Forever ($9.99), echochrome Trophy update with User-generated Stages, DLCs for Resistance: Fall of Man Map Packs (free), LittleBigPlanet (free/$1.99), EndWar Escalation Expansion Pack ($9.99), High Velocity Bowling ($0.99), Star War: The Force Unleashed ($9.99), Age of Booty (free/$4.99), Mercenaries 2 Blow It Up Again Content Pack (free), song packs for Guitar Hero World Tour, Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2 and Rock Band, and the usual game/movie trailers and PS3 themes.

NPD has released its sales numbers for the month of Nov. and it comes as no surprise that the NDS and Wii wiped everybody off the map with 1.57 and 2.04 million units, respectively. As mentioned, Microsoft outsold the PS3 2 to 1, moving 836k units compared to Sony's 378k. Software-wise, it was all about Gears of War 2 with 1.56 million copies, with Call of Duty: World at War hot on its heels with 1.41 million, although if you add both the PS3 and X360 platforms together, it sold a combined 1.88 million copies.

Another day, another batch of game trailers was released. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are trailers for:

• Fishing Master World Tour [Wii] - Trailer #3
• The Sims 3 [PC] - Cheeky Trailer
• Crash Commando [PSN] - Trailer
• Dynasty Warriors: GUNDAM 2 [PS2/PS3/X360] - Trailer
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  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

Dragon Age: Origins represents BioWare’s return to its roots, delivering a fusion of elements from existing fantasy works with emotionally-driven narrative, heart-pounding combat, powerful magic abilities and credible digital actors.

The New Xbox Experience will give X360 owners a completely new experience that is fun, social and simple to use -- and puts more entertainment at their fingertips than any other device connected to the TV. Since the NXE launch last month Microsoft has seen a boost in XBLA sales, with UNO taking the crown, increasing its sales 650%, people adding 33% more friends than before, and watching more movies (49% increase) and TV series (33%).

America's Army is an action game that provides young adults with an inside perspective and a virtual role in today's high-tech Army, giving players a virtual "test drive" of Soldiering in the U.S. Army from basic training to the battlefield in the Global War on Terrorism. The Champlain College Map Pack provides America's Army players with two new missions created by students at Champlain under a collaborative partnership with the U.S. Army.

When a newly developed teleportation device malfunctions at the Millennial Fair, young Crono must travel through time to rescue his misfortunate companion from an intricate web of past and present perils.

Wrath of the Lich King will open the forbidding wasteland of Northrend to exploration by the hardiest adventurers. New levels of power, challenging new dungeons and encounters, an exciting new character profession, and the game’s first hero class are just some of the new features awaiting players. You can now change a character's gender, face, skin color, and other cosmetic features with the Character Re-Customization service for $15.

Grand Ages: Rome, previously known as Imperium Romanum II, is a city-building game where the player takes the role of a Roman patrician, a nobleman, who has just started his political career. His ultimate goal is to become the Governor of Rome.

Another day, another batch of games shipped to stores. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are announcements for:

• The Tale of Despereaux: The Game (NDS/PS2/Wii/PC)
• M&Ms Adventure (NDS/Wii)
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  We will update this throughout the day when new announcements become available. Read more for details ...

Dragonica is a free-to-play, cartoon side-scrolling, micro-transaction-based casual MMO mixing elements of action and arcade.

Hero's Journey is a new 3D MMORPG from Simutronics, powered by its own HeroEngine, promising fun, fast-paced action combined with immersive environments and gameplay.

In SEGA's Sands of Destruction, based on the japanese TV anime World Destruction: Sekai Bokumetsu no Rokuni, gamers will experience an action-packed story featuring a unique range of characters, a gorgeous artistic atmosphere and an intense RPG battle system.

Guitar Hero: World Tour will feature guitar, vocals, drums, the ability to create your own songs (and upload them on GHTunes), four-player on/offline co-op, and an eight-player battle of the bands multiplayer mode (4vs4). GHWT will be getting two new three-song Track Packs from popular Euro bands such as Germany’s Sportfreunde Stiller, France’s BB Brunes and Spain’s Fito Y Fitipaldis.

Play Grand Theft Auto IV and Midnight Club: Los Angeles with Rockstar developers and members of the publishing team for prizes all weekend long. Duke it out in death matches and races against all challengers; all you need to do is add their gamer tags and PSN account names, friend them up, and join the party.

Summer Sports 2: Island Sports Party features an all-new island with new games, improved visuals, new game modes, and more! Grab your friends and dive into 12 distinct games: Bocce Ball, Archery, Basketball, Football Toss, Mini-Golf, Shuffleboard and more! The cool island breeze is calling your name!