Valve made good on its promise and has unlocked Half-Life 2 for people who pre-ordered it through its online delivery system Steam. "Half-Life 2 is available now for purchase and to play. Those who pre-purchased their copy via Steam may access the game by double-clicking on the Half-Life 2 icon in their Steam Games directory. To purchase your copy via Steam, please visit www.steampowered.com." The Source remake of the original Half-Life is now also available.

Stronghold 2 is the third installment of the Stronghold franchise. The original Stronghold was the first and only game to combine a castle SIM with siege-warfare RTS. Stronghold 2 will be the first to bring the franchise to 3D. Players will be able to build and develop numerous types of castles and defenses while watching their peasants go about their every day lives. Players will see medieval life in all its forms from festivals and jousts to drunken wenches serving their lord dinner. Players will also be given more control over the strategic aspect of the game.

HL2DB and GameSurge are holding a Half-Life 2 Release Party on IRC and GameSurge Radio, with various events scheduled for the hours leading up to the release (midnight on November the 15th), including a possible interview with members of Valve Software. From 9PM Pacific Standard Time, an interview with Sven Viking and Sniper of the Sven Co-op team -- on the subject of their upcoming co-operative mod for HL2 -- is to be held in the #HalfLife2 channel on irc.gamesurge.net.

As has been rumored the past few days, 'Half-Life 2' is indeed being sold early at various big stores in the U.S., such as BestBuy, Wal-Mart and even a few select EBGames. The lucky ones who managed to purchase a copy will get a major disappointment, as Vivendi ordered Valve to not activate the Half-Life 2 Steam authentication servers. Basically, anybody who bought HL2 can't play it yet. Valve issued a statement saying it is not their decision, but Vivendi who threatened Valve with breach of contract if they did.

SEGA today released new information about its highly stylized launch title for the Nintendo DS System. Developed by SONICTEAM, Feel the Magic: XY/XX (also known as Kimi no Tame Nara Shineru in Japan; formerly known as Project Rub in North America) is a quirky, action-packed adventure that offers an innovative experience through new methods of play.

Since the game itself will have no manual included, Prima Games and Valve today announced the availability of the first two official Half-Life 2 publications. Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar and the official Half-Life 2 game guide, both scheduled to arrive in retail outlets around the world on Friday, November 12, 2004.

Nevrax announced today that players worldwide have the opportunity to try its massively multiplayer online role-playing game, The Saga of Ryzom, for 14 days free, beginning today!

Take 2 has released a demo for Cat Daddy Games' sim/park tycoon strategy game 'Outdoor Life: Sportsman's Challenge.' This demo features a tutorial, an instant action mission (Lake Pleasant) and one challenge mission (Please the Hunters). Read more for download links ...

CT Special Forces: Fire For Effect will feature unique missions in the fight against worldwide terrorist networks. The game also benefits from a cutting-edge engine as well as a specific physics system. For the first time in this genre, physics will have a major impact on how you play the game.

Enthusia Professional Racing is a PS2 new racing game, developed by KCES, designed to bring all of the white-knuckle energy and thrill of car racing to life, Enthusia features groundbreaking gameplay mechanics, enhanced physics and pixel-perfect graphics to deliver an unprecedented racing experience.

Seconf Life developer Linden Lab announced today it has closed a financing round of $8,000,000 led by Benchmark Capital and with participation from Omidyar Network, a new organization lead by eBay founder, Pierre Omidyar. Existing investors including software pioneer Mitch Kapor also participated in the round.

There is a rich amount of detail within Medieval Lords that the player should be able to see, not just from the god-like view when building the kingdom around you, but also from the villager point of view. In the first person view, players can see all the little details that make the Medieval Lords maps look like real lands. Read more for details & screens ...

ARUSH Publishing along with NBC Universal Television Distribution, Endemol USA and Playentertainment, LLP are teaming up to distribute Fear Factor: Unleashed for Game Boy Advance, an exciting new multi-player game based on the hit NBC reality series Fear Factor.

ESPN Videogames today announced that ESPN College Hoops 2K5 will include many new gameplay features, including an all-new passing system, Pass-N-Go. The Pass-N-Go system authentically recreates the team-oriented play and explosive action of collegiate basketball.

Commencing October 21st, owners of Joint Operations will be able to download versions of classic Joint Ops maps that are optimized for 5 v 5 player squad engagements. The first map to be released is 'Kutu Arms Market' and will be available via NovaLogic's own NovaXchange Map exchange system. Log into NovaWorld.com and click on the 'Xchange" tab at the top of the screen to download this new map, as well as access over 200 user created Joint Ops maps. NovaLogic will be adding more Squad optimized content for download over the coming weeks.

There is a rich amount of detail within Medieval Lords that the player should be able to see, not just from the god-like view when building the kingdom around you, but also from the villager point of view. In the first person view, players can see all the little details that make the Medieval Lords maps look like real lands. Read more for details & screens ...

Vivendi Universal Games today announced that Half-Life 2 will ship to retail outlets around the world in November. The Company confirmed that Half-Life 2, developed by Valve Software, has gone gold with a planned retail street date of November 16, 2004. The countdown to the highly anticipated retail street date has begun around the world, as VU Games completes plans to ship localized versions of Half-Life 2 simultaneously in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Korean, Thai and Japanese

Medieval Lords takes aspiring city governors to the middle ages, combining rich city-building challenges with evolving military forces to defend against relentless attacks from neighboring enemies. A first for the genre, Medieval Lords features a full 3D engine that enables innovative new gameplay elements. The city building game genre will take on a whole new dimension when Monte Cristo Games ships "Medieval Lords: Build, Defend, Expand" in Fall 2004.

Risk Your Life is one of the few MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) that bring you an online Virtual reality atmosphere that is both completely interactive and immersive. RYL is a well-balanced MMORPG developed under a 3D environment that allows players to create their own character, define its role, do battle with it in a virtual world.

SEGA today released new information about its highly stylized launch title for the Nintendo DS System. Developed by SONICTEAM, Feel the Magic: XY/XX (also known as Kimi no Tame Nara Shineru in Japan; formerly known as Project Rub in North America) is a quirky, action-packed adventure that offers an innovative experience through new methods of play.

The Half-Life 2 Steam offers are now ready for purchase from Valve's Steampowered website. Details and pricing were already revealed yesterday, so check it out and have your pick. Those who purchase via Steam, will receive the final version of Counter-Strike: Source immediately. Half-Life 2 and other games in the Steam offerings will be made available to purchasers upon their release.

Tomorrow at 11 am PST, the Half-Life 2 Steam offers will be ready for purchase. Those who purchase via Steam, will receive the final version of Counter-Strike: Source immediately. Half-Life 2 and other games in the Steam offerings will be made available to purchasers upon their release. Read more for details and pricing for the various offers.

Ubisoft today announced that it will be publishing Cold Fear, the first action-horror title under the Ubisoft brand. Developed by Darkworks, the game will launch simultaneously for the PS2, Xbox and PC. Cold Fear is slated for release in March 2005. Read more for details and first screens...

It's time to pick up those apartment keys and meet the new roomates! Today Singles: Flirt Up Your Life for PC is shipping to stores! Start exploring the lives of two young roommates as they meet for the first time and begin living together in their new apartment.

In Half-Life 2, the player again picks up the crowbar of research scientist Gordon Freeman, who finds himself on an alien-infested Earth being picked to the bone, its resources depleted, its populace dwindling. Freeman is thrust into the unenviable role of rescuing the world from the wrong he unleashed back at Black Mesa. And a lot of people people he cares about are counting on him.