Harmonix, EA and MTV Games throw the first punch in the second round of the full-band game battle with Rock Band 2. Taking lessons learned from the first game and delivering an unprecedented library of music Rock Band 2 is an improvement but still very familiar.

In a surprise announcement, Electronic Arts this week cancelled Tiberium, the first-person shooter set in the Command & Conquer universe. The game publisher cited quality concerns and design challenges regarding the move.

Tom's Games takes another look at Will Wright's latest creation Spore and examines the game's distinct gameplay styles to see if Spore lives up to its overwhelming pre-release hype.

The thorn in the side of gaming that was activist and soon-to-be former lawyer Jack Thompson has been permanently removed. In this week's Side-Quest we look at why gaming will always overcome the slings and arrows of the misinformed.

Firaxis' newest installment of the Civilization IV series reboots the old 1994 Sid Meier title Colonization. Tom's Games asks Firaxis producer Jesse Smith about the making of Civilization IV: Colonization and the future of the strategy series.

Crysis Warhead, the stand-alone expansion to Crysis, aims to deliver optimized performance, an action-packed single-player campaign and an enhanced multiplayer experience. Does Crytek hit the mark?

The latest fantasy MMO to hit the stage, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, has been live for a full week and we've been playing it whenever time allows. See our impressions of the early-game content, low-level PvP and graphics.

EA has responded to the backlash against Spore and its SecuROM DRM by increasing the number of activations allowed for the title. But now EA faces a lawsuit on behalf of angry gamers.

LucasArts' highly anticipated Star Wars saga The Force Unleashed gives gamers the opportunity to play Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice and use the Force like never before. But some frustrating control issues and a host of glitches and bugs threaten to derail the most anticipated Star Wars game in years.

Call of Duty: World at War is fast approaching and developer Treyarch faces the unenviable task of releasing a game to follow-up Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Will the return to a World War II setting sour the next Call of Duty?

Since Crytpic Studios announced Star Trek Online last month, many MMO fans and Trekkies have been hoping for more details about the game. Cryptic's development team finally provided some answers on the game's official Web site.

Mirror's Edge, the first-person platformer from EA's DICE, will arrive on Nov. 11 in North America for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but the PC version has been delayed.

Guns, vehicles and exploding buildings! We take a second look at the Pandemic Studios' hyper-action shooter Mercenaries 2: World in Flames.

Spore, Will Wright's much-hyped follow-up franchise to The Sims, is finally out. Casting the DRM controversy aside for now we take a critical look at this highly-anticipated PC exclusive that takes gamers from cells to space.

At a recent intelligence conference in Washington, D.C., a Pentagon researcher theorized that terrorists could be using MMOs and virtual worlds to coordinate attacks against the United States.

Korean game publisher NCsoft has restructured its Western subsidiaries, including Richard Garriott's development studio Destination Games, into a new outfit called NC West, which will focus on triple-A titles and MMOs.

According to a recent rumor, Blizzard has kicked Diablo III's development into high gear while putting StarCraft II on the back burner. Will Diablo III arrive before StarCraft II?

Electronic Arts announced its courtship of Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two Interactive is officially over. But what does the future hold for both game companies?

Microsoft announced that long-time RTS developer Ensemble Studios would be shut down after completing the console RTS title Halo Wars.

It's been three months since Funcom's fantasy, hack 'n slash, MMO Age of Conan launched and now it's time for a critical look. Is the real-time combat system and integrated story still interesting in the mid to upper levels?

Project Origin, the true sequel to Monolith's acclaimed first-person shooter F.E.A.R., has finally secured the naming rights to "F.E.A.R. 2," which were owned by the original game's publisher Sierra. But fans will have to wait until next year to play F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin.

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames brings back a trio of soldiers of fortune who are out for revenge against a South American dictator. Are bombastic explosions and a variety of weapons and vehicles enough to make Mercenaries 2 better than the original?

Warhammer Online is almost upon us and in its wake will be the usual community in-fighting as it is weighed against the other fantasy MMOs. This week's Side-Quest addresses a theory on why people feel so strongly about their MMO of choice.

Spore, the long awaited PC title from Maxis and Will Wright, is finally here. But the game's anticipated launch has been marred by a massive, grassroots protest over the Spore's SecuROM digital rights management software.

Halo is one of the most successful series in the video game industry, yet the proposed Halo movie has been toiling in development hell despite the support of Peter Jackson and Microsoft. So what's the hold up? Tom's Games investigates.

Blizzard has signed a deal with DirecTV to broadcast the sold-out BlizzCon 2008 event next month - but as a pay-per-view event. Find out how much it will cost and what incentives DirecTV is offering to get gamers to subscribe.

The months of September and October threaten to consume gamers' money and time with the releases of several high-quality titles just days apart. In this week's Side-Quest we run down the list and offer an alternative strategy for releasing big titles.

STALKER: Clear Sky has been bumped from its initial North America release date this week. Now the prequel to Shadow of Chernobyl has a murky launch date.

Insomniac Games's Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty is a new downloadable title for the PlayStation Network that picks up where the best-selling Tools of Destruction left off. But does the downloadable title have enough content to justify the price?

Final Fantasy XIII publisher Square Enix announced today its intention to take over fellow game publisher Tecmo in order to preserve a "precious human resource of Japan," despite two pending lawsuits against Tecmo.

Silicon Knights' long-awaited science fiction RPG introduces a unique world based on Norse mythology and blends melee combat and third person shooter action for an epic adventure. But does Too Human match its grand vision?

The recent success of Bionic Commando: Rearmed and the anticipation surrounding Mega Man 9 remind us that sometimes the best new game is an old one. Here are a few options to help PC gamers scratch that nostalgia itch.

Chris Taylor and Gas Powered Games return to the action RPG genre of their previous Dungeon Siege games with a new science fiction title. Space Siege throws out the meat of a typical RPG and replaces it with very little.

Dragon Age: Origins is BioWare's spiritual successor to the classic fantasy RPG Baldur's Gate II. Tom's Games gets a look at Dragon Age and tries out the game's combat system.

Tom's Games looks back at E3 2008 and compares it to another major gaming event in QuakeCon to see how gaming conventions can improve and offer some advice on how to fix E3.

In this week's edition of Side-Quest Travis looks at the implications of the continuing battle between game publishers who support the use of DRM as an anti-piracy measure and the pirates who would thwart them.

Legendary boxing promoter Don King gets into the video game business. But can Prizefighter's emphasis on a single-player narrative and character development make for a good boxing title?

Another Team Fortress 2 update is coming from Valve next week, which includes upgradable weapons and achievements for the Heavy as well as fresh maps and a brand new game mode.

Namco-Bandai's acclaimed fighting series returns with enhanced graphics, new gameplay modes and character-creation features. But it's the online multiplayer modes that separate Soulcalibur IV from its predecessors -and from any other fighting game.

In a two-part interview, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot discusses his company's forthcoming franchise titles such as Prince of Persia and new projects like the game version of James Cameron's "Avatar." He also explains why Ubisoft's PC gaming strategy has changed.

Whether or not to include a numerical score in a game review is a constant debate on forums across the Internet. Tom's Games column Side-Quest addresses the issue placing blame on both readers and reviewers alike for the current state of the scoring system.

Id Software surprised some by picking Electronic Arts over Activision to publish its new title Rage. Id CEO Todd Hollenshead talks with Tom's Games at QuakeCon 2008 and explains how the developer made the decision.

Diablo III has come under fire from some fans for its brighter, more colorful art direction. Now the art director for the game has unexpectedly resigned from Blizzard. Is this good or bad for Diablo III?

During QuakeCon 2008, Tom's Games talked with id Software co-founder and legendary game programmer John Carmack about the developer's new titles like Rage and Doom 4 as well as working with EA and making games for Apple.

Rockstar Games and Take Two Interactive are bringing console juggernaut Grand Theft Auto IV to the PC with the promise of "newly expanded multiplayer."

QuakeCon 2008 has come to a close, but the event had plenty of competitive tournaments for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and the new Quake Live. Here's a look are the winners.

Id Software used QuakeCon 2008 to shed light on some long-awaited new titles, including the forthcoming Quake Live and Rage as well as Wolfenstein and Doom sequels.

Sony Computer Entertainment's new sequel Siren: Blood Curse mixes Japanese ghost stories with survival horror gameplay. But unlike previous Siren titles, Blood Curse comes in 12 different downloadable episodes for the PlayStation Network. Does it work?

The newest edition of EA's Battlefield series is the console exclusive Bad Company, which introduces destructible environments, deformable terrain and plenty of vehicles. Is Bad Company a good Battlefield title?

QuakeCon 2008 is almost here, and in addition to massive LAN party competitions, id Software will have a cluster of new titles to show off, including Quake Live, Rage and more.

Yet another World War II shooter is looming on the horizon in Gearbox Software's Brothers in Arms sequel. Will Hell's Highway have anything to new to offer gamers?

E3 2008 featured plenty of games, but several real-time strategy/tactics titles shown at the event made some lasting impressions. Tom's Games takes a look at some of these titles, including Red Alert 3 and the newest installment of the Total War series.

While E3 may be diminishing the show still showcases a ton of games. We weren't able to see them all but we wanted to mention a few more highlights as we close out our coverage of E3 2008.

Electronic Arts' survival horror title Dead Space blends third-person action with a freakish outer space setting. The result is one of the most frightful, exciting and - and arguably best - games shown at E3 this year.

Resident Evil 5 got a prime time close-up at E3 this year, as well as a release date: Friday the 13th, March of 2009. During the show, Capcom gave media members a chance to experience the zombie-induced fear.

Massively multiplayer veterans Sony Online Entertainment showcased a few of their upcoming MMOs at E3 including the spy-shooter title The Agency, kid-friendly freebie title Free Realms and a little tease of DC Universe Online.

Far Cry 2 moves the acclaimed shooter to the plains of Africa. And from the looks of the demo, the game will look and play more like Crysis than the original Far Cry. Tom's Games tries out Ubisoft's highly anticipated sequel.

Following rumors that the developer was shutting down, Flagship Studios announced massive layoffs and put its upcoming RPG Mythos on hold. Now the company is battling its creditors for the Mythos and Hellgate: London intellectual properties.

Soon it will be time to venture out of the safe confines of the Vault and into the irradiated wasteland of Fallout 3. We took the game for an all-too-brief demo during E3 and came away both impressed and disappointed.

Valve's newest title Left 4 Dead combines multiplayer cooperative gameplay, first-person shooter action, and lots and lots of zombies for an intense survival horror experience. Tom's Games gets into Left 4 Dead's zombie action.