The Mushroom Kingdom has hosted tennis tournaments before, but never one as explosive as this one. The wild multiplayer action of the smash Nintendo 64 hit, Mario Tennis, returns with even more powerful shots and new, character-specific power-ups guaranteed to make for the craziest matches ever!

Fire Captain ignites the 3D Real-Time Strategy genre with the fire and rescue scene. Players are challenged to keep their cool as they manage a squad of elite firefighters in a variety of fast-paced, unpredictable, and explosive emergency scenarios. Set in and around a metropolitan city along the U.S. west coast, fire chiefs command fire squads and vehicles to extinguish flames and save victims in five single player campaigns with increasingly complex missions based on real-life events and three multiplayer modes.

NovaLogic has released a new patch for their multiplayer shooter Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising. This update brings your retail game to v1.3.1.15 and adds NILE compatibility, DirectX 9.0c support, collision issues, improves performance and the usual bug fixes and game tweaks. Read more for a detailed fix list or download links..

Midway held their summer press event last week, and here are some screens from the titles that were presented:

• Shadow Hearts: Covenant
• Area 51
• NARC
• Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict
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  Click "Read More" to check them out!

 The sequel to Dark Fall: The Journal, the title offers more than 50 realistic pre-rendered locations to explore in a startling ghost story weaved with multiple chilling subplots. Players will come across an original cast of characters as well as observe and interact with spectral beings in this adventure thriller.

Featuring the groundbreaking ability to assume the identity of any character in the game as well as providing a refreshing mix of stealth and pure action, Sammy Studios' "Spy Fiction" establishes a new benchmark for gameplay in the genre. Check out this exciting batch of new screens ...

Midway Games today announced plans to bring the latest iteration of it's world-renowned Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise, Mortal Kombat: Deception, to the GameCube in the first half of 2005.

Techland's Xpand Rally demo features two cars (each with two different paintings) and three different tracks. Players will have two game modes to choose: Simulation and Arcade. The Xpand Rally MP Demo enables you to adjust main components of the car. Due to this feature the player is not only able to have the car match the road conditions, but also to his individual preferences. The Demo lets you to host an Internet or a LAN game.

Atari has forged links with Microsoft to publish the PC version of the renowned tennis simulation Top Spin. Atari Germany has released a Top Spin demo allowing you to play one full set either as Pete Sampras or Gustavo Kürten. Read more for download links...

Wings of War puts gamers in the cockpit of over 25 Allied and German aircraft in massive air battles and bombing runs across the vast landscape of war torn Europe. Players will take on hordes of enemy aircraft in detailed planes or take control of anti-aircraft guns mounted on trains, zeppelins, boats and more.

'Anime Bowling Babes' features an Arcade mode, with exaggerated speed, physics and special effects, or Simulation mode, offering a stunningly realistic game of ten pin. Read more for details and screens...

Midway today announced that it has gathered a blockbuster Hollywood cast to lend their award-winning talents to its new action-thriller, AREA 51. Featuring the voice talent of David Duchovny, Powers Boothe, and Marilyn Manson, AREA 51 is scheduled to be available in the first half 2005 for the PS2 and Xbox.

Konami of Europe has announced that Thierry Henry is to be one of the faces of Pro Evolution Soccer 4, the latest installment in Konami Tokyo's highly regarded football simulation for PlayStation 2, PC and the Xbox.

'Vietcong: Purple Haze' is a cinematic narrative-based First Person Shooter (FPS) set during the Vietnam Conflict. Players of VIETCONG experience the war from the perspective of a soldier assigned to join a squad of U.S. Special Forces running reconnaissance missions deep into the jungles of Northern Vietnam.

The Kessen series melded two elements, ‘game’ and ‘drama’ together into grand epics that have won the acclaim of critics and consumers worldwide. The appeal of commanding one side of an epic clash between two great armies and the awe of watching dramatic events unfold across spectacular vistas are what the Kessen series is all about. Kessen III will be considered the game that redefined the Kessen series.

Imperial Glory promises to be the most extensive strategy game ever, offering an in-depth management model along with graphically stunning real-time land and naval battles in full 3D. Choose which of the five great 19th century Empires to lead: Great Britain, France, Russia, Prussia or Austro-Hungary, each with their own unique attributes.

Darkwatch is a cinematic 1st person shooter with an original premise that blends Vampire-Horror and Western genres. They grind their enemies for fuel, fashion their skin into protective cloaks and create weapons designed to exterminate en masse, and they are the good guys.

Sony Pictures has released a demo for its 3rd person action/adventure game Anacondas: 3D Adventure Game, based on the Anacondas: the Hunt for the Blood Orchid movie. Anacondas: 3D Adventure Game uses the Joan of Arc engine, and features one scenario of the game (thanks 3DGamers). Read more for download links...

NubyTech and Capcom today announced the upcoming release of its limited edition Mega Man controllers for the PS2 and the GameCube. The controllers feature a hi-tech design to bring out the futuristic feel of the Mega Man X series. NubyTech will also add customized Mega Man console decals to the collection so that gamers can enhance their videogame playground with futuristic graphics of their favorite hero.

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 :

• Settlers 5 - Trailer
• Restricted Area - Trailer
• Silent Hunter 3 - Trailer #2
• Destroy All Humans! - Trailer
• Backyard Wrestling 2 - Trailer #2
• Forgotten Realms: Demonstone - Trailers (2)
• The Red Star - Makita Trailer

Pathologic is a unique example of a dramatic game, which directly affects the player's state of mind. Featuring a bizarre combination of first-person game, role-playing features, non-linear plot and real time flow, three unique campaigns and multiple endings.

This month Maxim Magazine offers readers an innovative extension to traditional editorial experiences with a video game re-creating its feature story on the 2004 World SWAT Challenge - enabling readers to virtually compete in the Superbowl of law enforcement ops. To create the game, Maxim has partnered with Kuma Reality Games.

The Adventure Company today confirmed that the first title in its newly licensed series based on the novels of legendary novelist Agatha Christie will be written and designed by Lee Sheldon.

Sammy Studios today announced that "Spy Fiction" has gone gold. Developed by Access Games, the title is slated to arrive on store shelves beginning September 1, 2004 at an MSRP of $39.99.