Magic Hat Software announced today that the Open Beta for its MMORPG Irth Online begins today and runs through July 5, 2005. Gamers are encouraged to apply for the Open Beta on the Irth Online website.

Fantastic 4 is the only game that allows you to harness the Marvel Super Heroes' unique and amazing powers through a compelling single-player or two-player co-operative team based gameplay experience, based on the 20th Century Fox feature film.

A wet, wild and totally soaked new expansion pack to RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 will ride into stores this June. RollerCoaster Tycoon 3: Soaked!, the first expansion pack to RollerCoaster Tycoon 3 will let players create and control their own water parks for the first time.

Call of Juarez is situated in 19th-century Wild West America and requires a combination of both intelligent stealth and pure shooting. Fast-paced revolver duels using historically accurate firearms, horseback riding, and memorable locations combine with top-notch graphics and an enthralling soundtrack to immerse both casual and hardcore players.

Electronic Arts today announced the release of Medal of Honor European Assault for the PS2, Xbox, and Gamecube.

Nevrax announced a new expansion to its MMO The Saga of Ryzom entitled The Ryzom Ring, which is a set of tools for editing and sharing player-made map that are customizable with terrain, monsters and NPCs all run by individual players.

GMX Media are today announcing a new title for the European release of the previously titled MMO action game, Beyond Blitzkrieg., the game will now be released as Battleground Europe.

Midway Games announced today that AREA 51 the story-driven, first-person action thriller has shipped to retail outlets nationwide for PC. AREA 51 delivers a powerful multiplayer experience that allows up to 16 gamers to battle it out online via Capture the Flag, Infection and various other multiplayer modes.

KOEI today revealed that developer Cavia has begun working on Winback 2: Project Poseidon, the long-awaited follow-up to the intense third-person action shooter that originally appeared on the N64 and PlayStation 2. While no additional information is available at this point, we do have the first two screens ...

Dutch publishers Xing Interactive have announced the August 1st release date of a horizontal-scrolling space shoot 'em up, DoveZ: The Second Wave, which has been available in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Singapore since the start of 2005. The suggested retail price is 9.99 GBP/14.99 Euro/US$19.99. DoveZ: The Second Wave is in the style of R-type and Raptor. Of course this game boasts many additional features to the standard repertoire of shoot 'em ups.

Prepare for the ultimate video game power fantasy in Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction. Smash your way across urban cityscapes, fighting every tank, monster, and puny human that dares to cross your path. Earn points by performing the most spectacularly destructive stunts imaginable.

Hegemony: Philip of Macedon is a new Real Time Strategy game, under development at Longbow Digital Arts, based on the rise to power of Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander The Great. Using a new and innovative 3D landscape engine, the game map is constructed from satellite DEM data and combines battle and strategy within the same unified 3D world (thanks Blues). Read more for screens & trailer...

Kingdom Hearts II follows Sora, Donald, and Goofy on their continuing quest to find their friends and King Mickey. Sora and friends are joined by a vibrant new cast of characters, including the king himself! In the effort to help Mulan and stop the villain Hades' devious plots, they will encounter countless dangers both familiar and brand-new.

Composer Garry Schyman, whose experience outside of videogames includes feature films, television movies, and series television, has created the original orchestral score for Pandemic Studios/THQ's upcoming Destroy All Humans!. The musical score is written in the style of 1950's sci-fi movies such as the classic The Day The Earth Stood Still, using a Theremin as the lead instrument.

Dynasty Warriors 4 introduces a new stage and strategy system to the series' frenetic battlefield action. In the new system, the game opens with a map of Ancient China, fractured into 24 different regions. Players start with one region, and then choose another region to invade or defend. Officers will recommend a strategy or policy, and then combat begins. Victory goes to the first warrior who unifies all 24 regions under a single kingdom.

Fallen Lords: Condemnation is a spectacular 3D fighting adventure set in the Afterworld, a kingdom of endless war as the Forces of Light, the Forces of Darkness and the Souls of the Purgatory battle for the precarious balance of the world. It has been a year since our last E3 2004 report, but the game is still in development and here are the latest screens & low res trailer (high res coming soon).

Enter the 16th century and The Age of Discovery, when adventurers, merchants, and warriors took to the seas. Pilot your own ship into the endless expanse of the oceans. Form armadas with other online players. It’s a whole new world of adventure on the seas as Uncharted Waters Online returns as a full 3D game MMORPG for the PC!

Last week we started a new editorial section, which will hopefully run once or twice a month at first, with the goal of having it be a weekly recurring piece somewhere down the road. Still WorthPlaying focuses on old titles, taking a look back at what once was great, and seeing if it withstood the test of time. Today we spend some time with Konami's '91 RPG Gradius III, another oldie, but is it a goldie?

With The Sims 2 Nightlife, players will be able to take their Sims out to hit all the swanky hot spots in the all new downtown location and spice up their lives with an all new dating gameplay and a new life goal focused on pleasure seeking.

X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse introduces the epic storyline of an uneasy alliance between the X-Men and the hated Brotherhood in a fight to reclaim Earth from Apocalypse's grasp. Impressive gameplay enhancements include more than double the superpowers and customization capabilities, the debut of several new playable characters, over 100 diverse types of enemies, and a breathtaking range of exotic and real-world environments—from the Madri Temple to Egypt.

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.

The first-ever Battlefield console installment will drop players into the heat of battle on the high tech frontlines, entering a new modern era of combat with more firepower and new expansive environments. Armed with the latest modern weaponry, players can take control of over 30 vehicles, including tanks, helicopters and fast attack vehicles, to engage in major conflicts in some of the largest online battles.

Matrix Games and Mark H. Walker are very pleased to announce that Lock 'n Load: Band of Heroes is now available for a special pre-order price of $64.99 via the Matrix Games online store.

Parkan II is a 3D space simulator combined with first person action planet side, in which you will get an opportunity to explore a vast universe, visit different planets, their satellites, huge space stations and immense space destroyers. Be it in the cockpit of the spaceship, inside a tank or just with a laser rifle in hand, gamers will have to fight against multiple enemies in outer space, on planets' surface and inside military bases.

Valve announced today that it is content with the reception after recently releasing Counter-Strike: Source maps de_inferno and de_port, and on that note, give us a look at what's coming next. This week, Valve has released a couple of screenshots from the remake of the classic Counter-Strike map cs_assault, which is now set in downtown Chicago. Valve would also like to keep everyone abreast of the games the MOD community is working on, so here is a list of a few we're keeping our eye on: Plan of Attack, Pirates, Vikings, and Knights 2, Sven Co-Op 2, Sourceball, and Dystopia.