DreamCatcher Games today announced Painkiller: Battle Out Of Hell is available at retailers across North America.

Metalheart: Replicants Rampage provides a strong sci-fi story with intriguing cyberpunk influences, sophisticated turn-based combat, random quest generator with the unbelievable tasks variations, a complex character parameter system, and plenty of other wonders to make hardcore RPG fans amazed.Check the freshly launched website or read more for some screens...

Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich is a comic book-inspired tactical role-playing game features a brand new league of heroes and villains, overhauled combat system, and spectacular graphic enhancements. Check the freshly launched website or read more for new screens...

Shoppers spent Thanksgiving week stuffing their shopping bags with Nintendo hardware, setting the stage for 2004 to be the year of the hand-held holidays. Shoppers snapped up more than 500,000 Nintendo DS systems during Thanksgiving week, representing more than 90 percent of all units available in stores across the United States.

Atlus announced today its plans to publish Super Army War, an action-packed military combat game scheduled to ship in February 2005 for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. Read more for details and screens...

Dreamcatcher Europe has released the first patch for Streko-Graphics Inc.'s puzzle/adventure game Aura: Fate Of The Ages. This update brings your UK retail game to v1.02 but no details as to what it addresses are provided at this point. Read more for download links ..

Atari's Betatests.net announced today that the beta test for Liquid Ent's D&D RTS Dragonshard will commence in mid-January, and signups have been open since October. Dragonshard will incorporate classic role-playing themes, a powerful and dynamic real-time strategy engine all woven together with a rich storyline involving a global conflict for an immensely powerful artifact with the power to change the fate of Eberron itself. Dragonshard is scheduled for Spring 2005.

Konami Europe has released the first update patch for its recently released (in Europe only) soccer game Pro Evolution Soccer 4. This update brings your retail game to v1.10 and mainly addresses performance and multiplayer issues. Read more for download links ...

Cossacks - Napoleonic Wars returns one of the most successful strategy games of the past years to the real-time battlefield - with reinforcements: Meet Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France and probably the most ingenious strategist in European history! Enter the battle on the side of one of 10 great European nations and rewrite European history in six exciting campaigns.

It has been six years since the destruction of Raccoon City and in that time, the U.S. government has been able to destroy the evil Umbrella Corporation. Fast forward to 2004 and players rejoin Leon, who is now a U.S. agent with a top-secret mission. He has been tasked to look into the abduction of the President’s daughter and his investigation has led him to a mysterious location in Europe. Capcom has launched the official North American 'Resident Evil 4' website offering a timer counting down to its January 11, 2005 release date, a big batch of previously released screenshots and an old flash trailer.

Grey Dog Software is pleased to announce the release of its highly anticipated wrestling simulation, Wrestling Spirit. Renowned wrestling game maker Adam Ryland once again challenges you to take on the world of brawn; you now start as a rookie and then grow to be a wrestling legend. Wrestling Spirit, based around the pro-wrestling industry, is an exciting and highly addictive simulation game and is available exclusively through Grey Dog Software.

Cutting through the ambiguity of the current industry-run ratings, Current Attractions has begun an objective and quantitative reporting on the Profanity, Sex, and Violence in today's hottest video game releases. With Current Attractions use of the proprietary PSVratings technology, parents will know exactly what to expect before they purchase video games containing potentially objectionable material for their children.

Experience the first console RPG set in The Lord of the Rings universe in The Lord of the Rings, The Third Age. Travel in the wake of the Fellowship in a unique structure that allows players to explore their own path while periodically intersecting the major events of New Line Cinema’s film trilogy.

Taking place in a massive, free-roaming city featuring five distinct interconnected neighborhoods, Need for Speed Underground 2 delivers an immersive game world where the streets are your menus. As players explore the city, they'll encounter rival racers who will school them in the ways of the underground and tip them off to the hottest racing spots in town.

Mythic Entertainment today announced plans to further extend the game’s international reach. In January 2005, the game will be available in Japanese, in Spring 2005 it will launch in Spain, and will relaunch in Italy and Korea. The game is currently available in English, French, German, Italian and Korean. Each localized version of the game currently contains more than 2 million words of text, equivalent to more than 16 paperback novels.

Vivendi has released an updated v1.3 patch for 2015's Vietnam based FPS Men of Valor, which still makes the US and European versions compatible but it slightly larger than last version. This patch requires you to already have the previous v1.2 patch installed. Read more for download links ...

The Battle for Middle Earth utilizes the Generals game engine, and in the game, players can select from the different "good" or "evil" campaigns, where they will be given the freedom to command a variety of major armies from the films, each with their own distinct strengths and weaknesses.

Valve's Adrian Finol broke the silence with a forum post, and an update on Valve's Steam website with nothing but a new screenshot which indicates that Deathmatch is coming, even says "SOON"! Valve did promise a community surprise, and this could be it!

Whiptail Interactive announced today that it will publish Restricted Area in North America. Developed by Master Creating, Restricted Area recently shipped in Germany where it enjoyed a warm reception from both press and consumers alike; being nominated in five categories for the 2004 German Developer Awards, including Best PC Game, Best Game Characters, and Best Story/Gameworld. The action RPG title will ship in the US late in the first quarter of 2005 for the PC.

EA just dropped us a note that NFL Street 2 has gone gold and is expected to hit store shelves on December 26th.

Ascaron has released a new patch for Sacred, as well as an updated version of its free "PLUS" expansion pack. This patch brings either version to v1.8.26 and addresses a slew of singleplayer, multiplayer and general game issues (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links ...

In 'Playboy: the Mansion' you step into the virtual slippers of world-famous Playboy Founder Hugh Hefner, building Playboy Magazine and the Playboy Mansion into dynamic cultural icons. Gamers also will live the lifestyle, rubbing elbows with stunning women and popular celebrities, and share the mystique of the Mansion by hosting extravagant, exciting parties.

As expected, EA has released the first patch for its recently released Sim game, The Sims 2. This update brings your retail game to v1.0.0.971 and addresses a slew of game crashes and bug fixes (thanks SimsZone). Read more for download links ...

Ubisoft announced today that Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon 2 for the PS2 is available this week at retail outlets across the U.S. Developed by Ubisoft’s Shanghai and Paris studios, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon 2 for PS2 is the first-ever Clancy game built exclusively from the ground up for that console.

Electronic Arts today announced that "Armies of Exigo" for the PC has begun to ship to retail outlets. "Armies of Exigo" is a grand scale fantasy real-time strategy (RTS) game that smashes the traditional boundaries of the battlefield with epic campaigns taking place simultaneously above ground and below the surface.