One of the most popular video game franchises ever created goes online as THQ releases "Tetris Worlds Live" exclusively for the Xbox video game system from Microsoft. Compatible with Xbox Live, Microsoft's online gaming arena, "Tetris Worlds Live" brings fans across the globe the opportunity to experience the addictive, block-dropping mayhem synonymous with the Tetris brand in online competition.

Randy Pitchford @ Gearbox Software posted up following news in his latest .plan file (were you also find all information):

Are you hardcore? Are you in the Dallas area? Play Halo PC on-line before the rest of the world! Get your name in the Halo PC credits!

We need another group of local, internal testers for Halo PC.

If you contacted us before but were not selected, please feel free to try again this time.

Also, if you were a tester with us before and want to do it again, please remind us so we can put you on a preferred list (don't lie, we'll cross reference the tester lists).

The contact e-mail address this time is: kristy@gearboxsoftware.com.

Please read all of the information below before e-mailing - we'll automatically reject inquiries that don't meet the requirements and supply the necessary information.

Space Empires: Starfury is Malfador Machination's bold new game which take players, first-person, into the Space Empires Universe... For those folks who have been looking forward to preordering, today is the day. Shrapnel Games will begin to take preorders on Space Empires: Starfury. As is usually the case, those who take advantage of preordering will receive $5.00 off the purchase price. This preorder special will be effect until July 15th... Find out more about this game below, includes new screens aswell!

Viacom's digital entertainment unit, Simon & Schuster Interactive and Sumthing Else Musicworks announced today that the soundtrack for the highly anticipated Xbox game "Outlaw Volleyball" will be shipping in early July 2003. Executive Produced by music veteran Nile Rodgers (Madonna "Like A Virgin," Duran Duran "The Reflex," and many others), the soundtrack will feature fresh, new artists such as Diffuser, Off By One, and Warrior (Shipping: July 8).

Last November Shrapnel Games and ProSimCo released Captain Patrick Proctor's company-level ultra-realistic wargame, ATF: Armored Task Force. The game was met with a bevy of accolades but the good Captain wasn't content to rest on his laurels. He and his crew have been steadily working to make the best even better, and to that end fans (both old and yet to be made) of ATF should hunker down for the barrage of gaming greatness that's about to head their way... Read more for all details & download links..

Prepare to blast into the heart of galactic evil as Activision, Inc.’s Star Trek Elite Force II has gone gold and is headed to retail. Set in the Star Trek: The Next Generation universe, players take command as head of the elite Hazard Team in this heart-pounding first person action game. Gamers will arm themselves with an impressive array of advanced weaponry as they hack, battle and vaporize a relentless onslaught of enemies including hordes of nightmarish creatures, new never-before-seen alien species and familiar franchise staples such as the Borg and Romulans. Developed by Ritual Entertainment, Star Trek Elite Force II and carries a 16+ PEGI rating and a suggested retail price of £39.99. The title is scheduled for release later this month.

Nokia Corp. is aiming its N-Gage gaming console at a different and potentially larger market than that of the likes of Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s GameBoy, the head of the Finnish company's entertainment and media arm said Wednesday.

"GameBoy is for 10-year-olds. If you're 20 or 25 years old, it's probably not a good idea to draw a GameBoy out of your pocket on a Friday night in a public space," Ilkka Raiskinen said.

Raiskinen said this older audience, targeted by Nokia's hand-held game-and- cellphone-in-one, presents a "bigger opportunity."

Evil Avatar dug up some Half-Life 2 news from Seattle Bizjournals, were product manager David Hufford from Microsoft Xbox group says "As of now, Half-Life 2 is not going to be on the Xbox... Here is a small clip:

Raisys, who owns Microsoft stock, expressed disappointment that the combat game Halo 2, the sequel to one of Microsoft's few exclusive smash hits, won't be available for the holiday season. Halo 2 isn't expected to be available until March 2004.

In addition, Hufford acknowledged that another anticipated combat game sequel, Half-Life 2, made by Seattle game developer Valve Software, won't be available for the Xbox as had been previously announced.

"As of now, Half-Life 2 is not going to be on the Xbox," he said. "Valve is sending us mixed messages on that."

CDV created a special info brochure about No Man´s Land for their guests at the E3, and it was very successful. This is why they now offering this brochure for download. It's a zipped PDF file about 7MB in size. Find out anything and everything about No Man´s Land. You'll find in-depth information about the multiplayer features as well as descriptions of the key characters. Everything is finely portrayed in this brochure. Get it here...

Another part of the PlayStation 3 jigsaw puzzle slotted into place today, as Sony announced a partnership with Elpida Memory to supply the Rambus-based memory technology for the console. Japanese firm Elpida is a subsidiary of NEC and Hitachi, and specialises (as the name suggests) in various RAM technologies. The chips it will be supply for Sony are based on the Rambus Yellowstone technology.

THQ today announced that it will publish LEGO Interactive titles for the Game Boy Advance worldwide. THQ will be developing and publishing titles based on the LEGO universe, including Drome Racers and Bionicle. Drome Racers, the first title under the multi-title exclusive publishing agreement, is scheduled to ship later this month.

Activision has released two new movies from Ritual and Activision's upcoming first person shooter Star Trek: Elite Force II. One shows the game's intro movie while the other features multiplayer gameplay (thanks HomeLan). Read more for download links ...

Tri Synergy and Ascaron Entertainment announced that Port Royale, the empire-building, real-time strategy PC game, which allows players to become traders, buccaneers or pirates, has shipped in the U.S. Port Royale introduces gaming fans to the excitement of the lifestyles and civilizations of the 16th and 17th century, and immerses gamers in the historical rivalries and fragile relationships commonly held between yesteryear’s village commoners.

Three high profile veterans of the computer games industry are joining forces at Real Time Worlds, the Scottish based games development studio. David Jones, creator of Lemmings and the infamous Grand Theft Auto franchises has joined forces with Ian Hetherington, former Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and founder of Psygnosis, and Tony Harman the former Director of Development and Acquisition at Nintendo of America. The three industry veterans have united to back Jones' latest original concepts and technologies. They are planning to utilise their unique distribution experience to maximize the revenue potential for Real Time Worlds products now in development.

iGames Publishing, the publisher behind the highly anticipated, genre-busting title Savage: The Battle for Newerth, has launched the next phase of beta testing for the first-ever real-time-strategy-shooter (RTSS). This next phase will open the beta test up to an additional 2000 players – an amount that will double shortly thereafter at the third beta testing stage. Gamers can apply to take part in the beta test, sign up HERE.

Raven Software is looking for a hi-poly modeler who can model sci-fi and fantasy, with an emphasis on realistic science-fiction military characters, bio-mechanical creatures, human and alien weaponry, vehicles, machinery, and world models for Quake 4. The candidate must have experience modeling hi-poly models in the 200,000 to 4,000,000 poly range using Maya or Lightwave. A more realistic modeling style is required with a great understanding of anatomy. Strong artistic/concepting/painting skills would be a major plus, but not required. If you think you got what it takes then apply here!

Well ladies and gents, Brute Force is finally out. After getting pushed back a few times, refined and honed by Digital Anvil, and eagerly awaited by the masses, the game has finally hit store shelves. Brute Force is a futuristic squad based, tactical shooter, played from a third person perspective. With just the tap of a button you can switch between four of the biggest bad-asses in the Universe. Command a team of elite mercenaries as they take on shadowy assignments across the known cosmos. Play simultaneously as the heavy assault trooper, Tex, the cyborg-enhanced sniper, Flint, the stealthy scout, Hawk, and the powerful feral alien, Brutus. Employ cunning, stealth and tactics to save your squad... or when all else fails just use Brute Force. Read more to find out wether the delays had a negative impact on the game’s quality or not...

Novalogic just send out word announcing the first expansion pack for Delta Force: Black Hawk Down. As the US army’s elite special operations soldiers you are the most potent ‘smart weapon’ known to man. You are the ‘tip of the spear’ for covert operations around the world - you are the first line of attack. Nothing stands in your way. From the war torn streets of Somalia you have been re-deployed to take out targets in Colombia and Iran. As the US military’s preemptive strike force you must work with your team to get the job done. Read more for some features and the first hi-res screens ...

Will Wright, creator of video game sensation "The Sims," has signed a first-look development deal with Fox Broadcasting Co. "It could be a sitcom or something completely different," said Mike Darnell, Fox executive VP alternative programming and specials. "This deal's not about taking a game and turning it into a TV show; it's about creating new entertainment franchises."

Jester Interactive the developers and publishers of the critically acclaimed Music 3000 for Playstation 2 are set to launch a USB sampler and microphone to accompany the game.The sampler will enable user to take advantage of extra features the game has to offer. These include the ability to sample from your own music collection, the unique V2m (voice to music), and of course being able to add your own vocals!

We are expanding our review staff and are looking for 2 additional volunteer reviewers who are interested in contributing to the continuing success and growth of Worthplaying... Get all information here!

Bethesda Softworks announced today that actress Keira Knightley will narrate the thrilling role playing video game, Pirates of the Caribbean. Knightley stars in Disney's upcoming feature film, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" which opens in theaters nationwide on July 9th. Slated for a June 2003 release for the Xbox and PC, the Pirates of the Caribbean game offers players the most realistic pirating action to date.

Shacknews has got some new dirt on the ever elusive Duke Nukem: For-Never, titled Duke4 Not A 2003 Game", quoting a Take 2 conference call where the publisher mentions that there's no "possibility under the sun" that Duke Nukem Forever will be released by this year's holiday season. Also saying that since they have already accounted for the fee paid to Infogrames for the project, "right now we're just hopeful that the team in Dallas will finish it." The story also mentions their hopes of releasing Max Payne 2 in January 2004.

The PlayStation 2 hardware is to be integrated into a new home media device from Sony's consumer electronics department, codenamed the PSX, as the Japanese giant struggles to extend the success of its games division to other operations. The new device will feature a TV tuner, hard disc drive and a DVD recorder alongside the games console functionality, making it into an "all in one" device for gaming, media recording and playback. Details of the device are a bit thin on the ground at the moment, but it's expected that it will offer hard disc video recorder functions, similar to the TiVo and Sky Plus systems, and will feature a high speed internet port to allow downloads of music and possibly movies through Sony's media distribution systems, in Japan at least.

It's time to get the party started right! SEGA today announced Sonic's return to the Game Boy Advance with the launch of "Sonic Pinball Party." In the ultimate handheld pinball experience, "Sonic Pinball Party" delivers fresh pinball boards filled with SONICTEAM characters and a huge assortment of multiplayer party games playable via the Game Boy Advance Game Link cable.