Get the low-down on high-stakes poker with 12 World Championship Poker games including: Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hold'em, Seven-Card Stud, Five-Card Draw and Pineapple. Players may advance their skills in “Career Mode” as they play their way through over 50 poker tournaments.

Wartime Command: Battle For Europe 1939-1945 is the stunning World War II tactical real time strategy game from Russian developers 1C Company in Russia. The game development project has been retitled from Battlefield Command to give it prominence in a cluttered market of similar product brands. Read more for some new screens ...

TheForce.net managed to get some info from the Feb. 2005 PCZone UK issue about LucasArts/Petroglyph's (ex-Westwood) newest Star Wars RTS, which was revealed early Nov. 2004. "This new PC game is set two years before ANH with a certain amount of cross over from Episode 3. Screen shots look superb. It appears to include ground battles set in dessert and greenland areas with attacking AT-AT's and a new Imperial ground based vehicle called "TIE Crawlers" which I've not seen before (cross between a tank and a TIE Fighter). The action also takes place in space with rebel fleets taking on Star Destroyers (think of the game Homeworld)." No timeframe regarding the release date yet though (thanks VE3D).

Unreal Tournament: Expanded Multiplayer is a class based multiplayer team game. UT XMP is a total conversion for UT2004, developed by Free Monkey Interactive, and is based upon Unreal II: Expanded Multiplayer, released in 2003 by the now-defunct Legend Entertainment. A new patch has been released for the Public Beta 1, fixing issues on various maps, collision problems and a slew of bug fixes and game balance adjustments.

S2Games has released a new version of the latest v2.0e patch for its online multiplayer FPS/RTS Savage: Battle for Newerth patch. This full retail patch combines all previous incremental patches into one and includes authentication and server list fixes. The server browser and authentication systems have been completely rewritten. All game servers will now show up correctly (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for detailed fix list and download links ...

The entire Worthplaying team wishes everybody a Happy New Year! We hope everybody had a safe transition from old into new and may 2005 be even better than last year. We here at Worthplaying have tons of exciting new stuff lined up to better serve you all. Behind the scenes, we are working very hard to expand the website in various ways which will start showing in the months ahead. Until then, party on!

Whereas its prequels offered first-person role-playing and strategy role-playing experiences (respectively), Shining Tears is an action role-playing game, featuring real-time battles and cooperative multiplayer game options.

The latest PC Gamer issue has revealed the name of Ensemble Studios latest AoE product, as well as the first details. 'Age of Empires III: Age of Discovery' is set in 1500 A.D. and chronicles the Age of Discovery that started around the time that Columbus "discovered" the new world. The single player campaign then follows American history up through 1850. One of the biggest changes is where it will no longer be necesary to drop off gathered resources at specific buildings. In multiplayer mode, you'll be able to choose from among eight different civilizations (so far only the French, Spanish, and British have been confirmed) and there will be, amongst others, free-for-all and team-vs-team matches supporting up to eight players over a LAN or the internet. Age of Empires III: Age of Discovery will have a heavily modified AI system, as well as the latest Havok physics engine (thanks PlanetAoM). We will have more info soon ...

Driven by a hatred of crime bordering on insanity, Frank Castle became The Punisher, a lone vigilante whose mission goes far beyond revenge. Taking on the city’s high-powered crime lords, he wreaks havoc on the corrupt with methods normally reserved for those on the wrong side of the law.Ripped from the pages of the darkest stories in the Marvel Comics’ universe, embrace the world of The Punisher! Where justice ends, Punishment begins!

Iron Phoenix is the first-ever 16 player simultaneous online fighting game combining live team-oriented strategy with fast paced melee combat. Players are immersed in a fantastic world inspired by mythical China where they engage in battles full of depth, variety, teamwork and challenge. Read more to check out some new screens ...

In Spider-Man 2 you assume the role of the most celebrated super-hero of all time and re-live the movie experience through all new missions featuring unique enemies, objectives and combat maneuvers. Utilizing the touch screen and new controller layout, players can quickly swing, run, jump, solve puzzles, engage in combat and switch to an arsenal of moves on the fly, while patrolling and protecting the city of Manhattan from the nefarious Doc Ock.

Scratches is a gripping first-person mystery adventure game that will keep the players glued to their monitors, with its story full of breathtaking twists and surprises, until the final shocking revelation. Nucleosys has released 2 small teaser demos giving you the chance to wander around in some of the environments featured in the game (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

Jurassic Park is a mod, for Ubisoft's FPS Far Cry, based on Spielberg's Jurassic Park movies. This multiplayer alpha includes 3 game modes (FFA, TDM and Capture the Egg/CTE), new models abutted on Jurassic Park, 7 new maps, 2 new weapons, and 1 new vehicle. Read more for download links ...

TrackMania Sunrise, the legitimate heir to the throne, is shifting up a gear. Sunrise moves faster, handles better and features improved air-control – vital for making the massive jumps – to ensure that gameplay never moves at anything less than fast. And it's all about the gameplay.

Ubi Soft could receive government support in its fight against the threat of a takeover by US video games giant Electronic Arts, La Tribune newspaper reported without naming its sources (thanks VE3D). Read more for details ...

Set in historical Japan, Tenchu: Fatal Shadows features two playable ninja warriors - returning heroine Ayame and newcomer Rin. This installment of the fan-favourite franchise offers a tight balance of melee combat and shadow stalking, and its levels are structured to avoid the frustrating trial-and-error patterns that are all too familiar in the stealth genre. Check out the official 'Tenchu: Fatal Shadows' website for flash-induced screens, trailers and game details ..

The furious battle of Pearl Harbor became the first in the sequence of gory sea combats. Now you can take part in all major Pacific battles of the World War II in the Pacific Storm game that is a mixture of RTS, war-game and simulator. All major and important sea battles of World War II, which took place in the Pacific Ocean, are included and you can play either for the USA or Japan. Mine the resources (money, iron and nickel ore, bauxites and oil), train various units and retaliate!

Hunted by Dahaka, an immortal incarnation of Fate seeking divine retribution, the Prince embarks upon a path of both carnage and mystery to defy his preordained death. His journey leads to the infernal core of a cursed island stronghold harboring mankind's greatest fears. Only through grim resolve, bitter defiance and the mastery of deadly new combat arts can the Prince rise to a new level of warriorship - and emerge from this ultimate trial with his life.

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

• F.E.A.R - Trailer
• Star Wolves - Trailer #3

Because of the enormous number of Wish beta applications received (more than 60,000 at the time of this writing), developer Mutable Realms will not enable all beta accounts on January 1 at once. Instead, only enable a number of randomly chosen beta accounts every day, starting January 1. Mutable Realms requires this transition period to better configure our one-world server. By granting access to the beta test in stages, Mutable Realms will allocate resources where they are required.

Night Watch is based on material from Russian writer Lukyanenko and is situated in the not so distant future. The game will have you battle vampires, wherewolves and other creatures throughout various European cities. Nightwatch runs off Nival's highly acclaimed Silent Storm engine, no release date announced yet. Read more to check the first screens ...

The AP has a story about five middle-school boys in Greensburg, Pennsylvania who have been arrested, charged in a graffiti blitz they blame on a video game. The boys range in age from 12 to 14 and are charged with institutional vandalism, criminal conspiracy, criminal mischief and desecration of venerated objects. Police said the boys claim they were inspired by the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (thanks ve3d).

The latest version of Gran Turismo 4 further demonstrates its mission to provide the most authentic driving simulation available in the marketplace. New features will extend above and beyond just pure automotive racing, providing a unique destination for automotive and PS2 enthusiasts to enjoy car culture in every dimension. As Gran Turismo 4 has just been released in Asia, reports have come in that, although it lacks an official online mode, people have been able to play multiplayer by combining the LAN option and using XLink. It has also become clear that you can export screens to your PC by means of the USB connection and the Le Mans map is included in the game.

Nexuiz is a 3D deathmatch game that is simply first person shooting reduced to the very basics with perfect weapon balancing. With its very intense and fast gameplay, it will hook the user in. Nexuiz uses such technology as curved surfaces with its detailed maps, bumpmapping, realtime shadows, 64 player support, and an advanced model format. Read more for some new screens ...

Nevrax, developer of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game The Saga of Ryzom, announced two new and convenient ways to experience Atys free for 14 days. Thousands have tried The Saga of Ryzom for free and joined in the fun. Now, newcomers may choose from two ways to sample the Ryzom difference.