EA today announced that Ultima Online: Samurai Empire, the highly-anticipated expansion pack to Ultima Online began shipping to retailers.

EA announced today that The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age role-playing game has shipped and will be on store shelves in time for the holiday season. The epic quest, in which players will take on the roles of previously unplayable characters choosing their own path through Middle-earth while interacting with the heroes and villains of the movie trilogy, is available for the PS2, Xbox, Gamecube and GBA.

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is the next chapter to the award winning game of 2003. Set in the unique timeframe of the Old Republic, 4,000 years before Star Wars Episode I, The Sith Lords features an all-new more perilous storyline, new characters, classes, locations and force powers. Check these 50+ new screens...

Grey Dog Software is pleased to announce the release of its highly anticipated basketball simulation, Total Pro Basketball 2005. Read more for details or links to download the demo...

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 :

• Medieval Lords - Video Interview
• The Urbz: Sims in the City - Trailer #7

Blizzard has started the initial fase of the World Of WarCraft open beta test, as you can now participate in a week long stress test over at Fileplanet, although only for subscribers. Next week Blizzard will open the beta test to all, but be prepared for a huge download as the client is over 2gigs large!

ESPN Videogames is proud to bring all the pageantry of college basketball to gamers everywhere with ESPN College Hoops 2K5. With over 320 Division 1 teams, more than any other college basketball video game, ESPN College Hoops 2K5 is the only answer. Fans will enjoy all the new gameplay enhancements, feature additions and visual improvements that make ESPN College Hoops 2K5 the most complete college basketball video game.

Pariah focuses on a robust immersive storyline that weaves survival elements into the traditional run-and-gun style of first-person action games. Unsurprising will be the graphic marvel and fine-tuned gameplay of Pariah, a trademark gamers have come to expect from any Digital Extremes game. Not straying too far from their roots, Digital Extremes is building Pariah with the latest version of the technologically powerful Unreal engine by Epic Games.

Tecmo announced today that the latest installment in its popular survival horror series, Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly Director's Cut on the Xbox, has shipped, lurking into retail stores nationwide throughout the week. The new Director's Cut version promises to be twice the terror with the addition of two new spooky modes, a creepy new setting, a variety of unlockable costumes, enhanced graphics and sound, and a never before seen ending.

The Law & Order: Justice Is Served demo allows players to start the murder investigation, giving you a glimpse of what is to come in the full version. Players must search the crime scene, interview witnesses and solve one puzzle. Read more for download links ...