GameTap today announced a deal with Strategy First to preview full versions of many of the company’s upcoming titles to GameTap subscribers prior to their retail release, as well as 40 Strategy First library titles which will be added to the GameTap service.

EA today announced that the signature sound of alternative rock band Depeche Mode has been translated to The Sims native Simlish language for the first time ever. 'Suffer Well,' a popular track from Depeche Mode's critically acclaimed album 'Playing the Angel,' has been recorded in Simlish and will be made available to fans of music and PC games through The Sims 2 Open for Business.

Bethesda Softworks and 2K Games today announced that their RPG The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has gone to gold master and will be available in stores, regular and collector's edition, in North America and Europe during the week of March 20.

Flight Simulator X, scheduled for end of 2006, is the 10th installment in the long running franchise, featuring jaw-dropping realism and exciting new content.

Got Game Entertainment today announced that Nucleosys' Scratches, an atmospheric suspense-adventure brimming with eerie twists and terrifying surprises, has shipped to game retailers across North America.

The Fall: Last Days of Gaia is a 3D role-playing game set in a postmodern scenario that takes you to the year 2083. Silver Style released a beta version of its upcoming v1.10 patch which adds improved textures, better dialogue, balance tweaks, new weapons, and more...

Act of War: High Treason introduces new features and content to enhance and extend the overall experience. High Treason will expand into naval warfare with over a dozen different vessels, such as AEGIS cruisers, frigates, aircraft carriers and submarines. Less scripting, better AI and camera handling. In case you missed last weeks batch, check them here.

Since the Xbox 360 launch Midway has released several of its classic games on Xbox Live Arcade, and apparently with great, financial, success. Joust, Gauntlet, Smash TV, and Robotron: 2084 will soon be joined by 5 more golden oldies such as Paperboy, Defender, Root Beer Tapper, Cyberball and good old Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. There has been no specific launch date but it is said to be somewhere this year.

NBA Ballers: Rebound is the only one-on-one basketball videogame highlighting the rags-to-riches path from an unknown Baller to today’s NBA superstar and is based on the original Midway title, NBA Ballers.

Bandai has revealed the first details about its new combat/racing game IGPX. Set in 2049, Immortal Grand Prix has become the predominant sport, where teams race mechs at insane 600 km/h speeds. You are part of Team Satomi who just won the Minor League and are now racing against big league team who are better prepared and equipped.

War Front: Turning Point explores an alternate World War II, one in which Hitler is assassinated in the early days. This new timeline includes more than just new leadership. Players will take command of experimental weapons, prototype vehicles and units rarely seen in strategy games in an attempt to alter or secure the historical outcome of World War II.

It's been quite a while since we last heard from Winback 2: Project Poseidon, but Koei announced today that Cavia's Covert-Operations game is scheduled to ship to North American retailers on April 18, 2006.

Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift takes the adrenaline of street racing into the mountains and onto very demanding courses. Race real production cars on real mountain courses. Nissan, Toyota, Subaru, Audi, Alfa Romeo, Mini, Volkswagen and more are all there to be tested on some of Japan's toughest terrain in Iroha, Haruna, Rokko and Hakone.

Mortal Kombat: Unchained takes the Mortal Kombat franchise to new heights with an innovative fighting system tailored for Wi–Fi functionality, unparalleled depth and brutally intense action that will appeal to long–time Mortal Kombat fans. The game features lightning–fast combat, new moves and combinations and PSP exclusive characters and environments.

Developer S2 Games today announced that it will be foregoing traditional methods of publishing and distribution for Savage 2: A Tortured Soul, making it only available for purchase as an online download on the S2 Games website.

Ape Escape Academy expands the series onto the PSP. Family-friendly Ape Escape Academy will feature ad-hoc wireless functionality and more than 40 mini-games for players of all ages. The mini-games are arranged at random in a tic-tac-toe format that provides distinctive and unique game progression that allows for easy pick up and play gaming.

Valve's SteamPowered website has been updated with details regarding the latest update to Counter-Strike: Source. This update adds Leet and SAS player models, fixes players being able to run up very steep slopes for short distances, fixes low-violence models not animating properly, improved player ragdolls. Just restart Steam for the effects to take place.

Acclaim Games is pleased to announce that its CEO Howard Marks has a plan to lead the newly minted company into the future. The first offering from Acclaim Games will be the totally free Multiplayer Online game BOTS and it is now open for limited beta registration!

A few months ago, Midway announced that it had signed a license agreement for The Ant Bully with Warner Bros Interactive, and today, the first concrete material has surfaced. After bullying an innocent ant colony, a young boy named Lucas is magically shrunken down to ant size and embarks on a remarkable adventure.

The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy video game pits the characters from the popular Cartoon Network television show against each other in an adventure-fighting game, filled with mayhem and chaos.

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 :

• Stranglehold [PS3/X360/PC] - Trailer #2
• Mortal Kombat: Armageddon [PS2/Xbox] - Trailer
• Battle for Middle-Earth 2 - War of The Rings Trailer Part 1 & 2
• Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War - Trailer #10
• 
  
  We will update this throughout the day when new trailers become available. Read more for download links ...

WarPath is a fast-paced FPS game featuring a unique single player mode that allows gamers to battle for control of different territories, with each providing distinct strategic advantages. This multiplayer demo features a DM/TDM map Breach, and a CTF map Rush, both playable online/LAN and against bots.

LucasArts presents the first in a series of feature stories about LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (working title). You can expect stories like the one to follow periodically, until the game's release across multiple platforms this fall, each article further detailing certain aspects of the game.

Mayor Greg Nickels and the World Cyber Games Committee (WCGC) announced today that Seattle will host the 2007 World Cyber Games Grand Final. The mayor welcomed this premier event for the interactive video game industry to Seattle during a signing ceremony today at City Hall.

In Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 3, players will embody Captain Scott Mitchell as he commands the Ghosts and Special Forces allies equipped with the IWS in the quest to save the president of the United States, recover stolen nuclear codes and eliminate a vicious band of renegade soldiers hell-bent on unleashing catastrophe.