Today we've got another wave of 500 beta keys to give away for S2 Games' impending Defense of the Ancients-inspired strategy-RPG Heroes of Newerth (PC).

Our last batch of beta keys went faster than hotcakes slathered in maple syrup, so if you're interested in trying the game out, it's best to grab one while our supply lasts.

As before, begin by downloading the trailer from FileShack. Once you click the big orange "Download Now" button, you'll be instantly entered into the beta. The key is then automatically sent to the email account tied to your Shacknews user name, with instructions on signing up and downloading the client also provided in that email.

Update: Our randomly selected winners are: porjay, bVork, R4di4ti0n., ndegruchy, cheilman, Lionhart32935, waxthirteen, kingdok, Creepin_Jeezus, asrivastava.

If you're among the above ten, check your Shackmessages for details. If not, don't be too hard on yourself--it was random, after all--and keep an eye out for more contests.

Publisher Majesco is bringing several of its older PC titles to Good Old Games, so to celebrate, the digital distribution outlet has supplied us with giveaway goods.

Double Fine's supernatural action-adventure Psychonauts ($9.99) and GlyphX's sci-fi action game Advent Rising ($5.99) represent the initial offerings... Read more

Update: We've selected our winners, and thanks to the overwhelming response, we were able to secure a few more copies. Without further ado, the winners are: Tchest, echoinggreen, Aeradin, Johnny Law, duffman03, dfyuzer and The_Turbinator.

Winners, check your Shackmessages for details. If you aren't among the select seven, don't despair, as we always have more contests in the works. Keep your eyes open!

Original: To celebrate today's release of Shattered Horizon (PC), developer Futuremark Game Studios has provided us with two copies of the multiplayer shooter.

For a chance to win the zero-g space shooter, simply respond in the comments below. We'll choose two posters at random later tonight, but be forewarned that we'll only count your first post--just so we're clear, multiple posts won't help your chances at all.

But before you click on that big red comment button, make sure to check the system requirements, as this baby isn't compatible with Windows XP... Read more

Online games publisher Uforia just gave us 500 closed beta codes for their upcoming modern warfare FPS Mercenary Wars, making this week as good a time as any to see how things are shaping up. The beta is live, and runs through November 5 at 5PM PST.

The latest version of the beta includes 3 new weapons, a new map, and a new Free-for-all mode that eschews team-based play in lieu of shooting anything that moves. To sweeten the deal, killing other players will earn you raffle tickets for the "Death(adder) to your Enemies" contest. The random winner gets a Razer DeathAdder Mouse.

You can download the game client from FileShack. Just make sure that you're logged in so we can email your beta code when you start grabbing the file. For a glimpse of the game and its guns-for-hire take on global economics, see below... Read more

We have 100 League of Legends beta keys up for grabs, offering the chance to play Riot Games' Defense of the Ancient-inspired multiplayer RPG-RTS hybrid ahead of release.

To get your mitts on a key, simply be one of the first 100 people to download this League of Legends Walkthrough from FileShack. If you're in time, the e-mail address attached to your Shack account will be sent a key and instructions on how to sign up.

League of Legends will be released on October 27 in both a free-to-play version with a small selection of characters and a fuller paid version, bolstered by microtransactions.

We've been getting onboard this Facebook thing here at Shacknews. Over the past month, fans of Shack had a chance to win a game of their choice and a goodie-filled Shack Pack, with one lucky grand prize winner further netting a console of their choice.

Now that the contest has come to a close, we're proud to announce that reader Jeff Buckland was randomly selected as the Grand Prize Winner, and has chosen to receive an Xbox 360 Elite with The Beatles: Rock Band. He joins our six weekly... Read more

Update: The contest is over, with radio_babylon and BauriceMastard selected as the winners. Those two now only need to respond to their Shackmessages in a timely manner.

Original: If you just can't wait until October 20 to get your hands on Gearbox's shooter RPG Borderlands and plan to attend QuakeCon (or be in the Dallas, TX area), well, how about this week?

We've got two slots to go play Borderlands at Gearbox HQ around 4 PM on Friday, August 14 .

To enter, just use the comments below to explain why you should be among the chosen two. We'll notify the winners tomorrow, but please note that travel is not included--you'll need to arrange your own transportation to and from Gearbox's Plano, TX-based office.

Update: The contest has now ended and our lucky winners have been selected at random. Congratulations to TheIneffableBob, SeraphielX, wrog, oribiasi, pk04 and planetfoo, who can now find a download code sitting in their Shackmessages inbox.

With the second Call of Duty: World at War multiplayer map pack arriving in the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store today, publisher Activision has provided us with a few download tokens that'll bring the new maps to Xbox 360 players at no cost.

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Otherwise sold for 800 Microsoft Points ($10), the add-on delivers four more arenas to Treyarch's shooter: Banzai, Corrosion, Sub Pens--traditional competitive maps--and Shi No Numa (Zombie Swamp), which expands the co-op Nazi Zombie mode... Read more

You're feeling left out. The multiplayer beta for Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2 is already underway, and you're sitting there without a key, helplessly guessing at random numerals and characters.

Well, give your code-cracking thumbs a break, because Shacknews has secured ten Uncharted 2 (PS3) multiplayer beta codes. And rather than keep them for ourselves, we're giving them away. I didn't like the idea, but there it is.

How do you enter? Leave a comment below telling us your most anticipated game to come out of E3. You'll automatically be entered into a random drawing, the results of which we'll post later in the week. Need a starting point? Check out our accumulated E3 coverage.

Good luck!

Last week, we partnered with Good Old Games to give away ten classic PC games. All you had to do was tell us which one of the site's 100-plus titles you wanted.

Nearly 800 entries later--some requested games that aren't out yet (Diablo 3) or aren't available on the site (Grim Fandango), while others admitted that they've never played mainstays such as Duke Nukem 3D--we've selected ten random winners... Read more

The problem with most of the contests we run around here is that you really don't get to choose the prizes. We tell you what we've got, you enter, and that's all she wrote.

Let's mix things up a bit, shall we? Thanks to the folks at Good Old Games, we've got ten classic PC games to give away. What games, you ask? Well, that's up to you.

Take a look at the GOG catalog--there are over 100 games to choose from--and let us know what you want in the comments below. Fallout 2? Duke Nukem 3D? Beyond Good and Evil? Far Cry? Unreal Tournament 2004? Whatever you want--it's all fair game.

Come Monday evening, we'll pick ten random posters and provide each with a free download of their chosen game. Just make sure you put some thought into it, because we'll only count your first post--anything else will be ignored. Choose carefully!

Final Update: Our supply of codes has been exhausted. Thanks again everyone!

Update: Over one thousand entries later, our random number generator has picked the final batch of Snowblind Pack winners: pancake humper, DionB250, hellpaddy, Visceral Monkey, Pearce94. Winners, check your Shackmesages for your code.

Thanks to everyone that entered--seriously, over a thousand entries is amazing--and major, major kudos to the team at GearsofWar.com for making this possible.

We still have some golden weapon codes left, so watch Twitter--our stash runs out Friday evening. Keep an eye out for more Shacknews contests in the future... Read more

A few thousand entries later and the Alienware/Sega gaming laptop contest has come to a close. And we have a winner. As a reminder, a custom-built, Empire: Total War-ready Alienware m17x laptop (pictured above) was at stake in this one. Valued at well over $3000, this 17" beast features a 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo processor, dual 512MB 9800M GT graphics chips, and a built-in subwoofer. And don't forget the Alienware hat.

So who won this lovely laptop? Who can look forward to smooth mobile gaming and far higher energy bills? Who will have the pleasure of lap-based woofering?... Read more

So you wanted to win Empire: Total War in our last contest, but didn't have a computer powerful enough to play it anyway. Most PC gamers have been in that situation at least once. But Shacknews is here to bail you out.

Thanks to Sega and Alienware, we're giving away a crazy Alienware m17x gaming laptop to one random winner. How crazy is this thing? It has two Nvidia 9800M GT 512MB graphics cards running in SLI mode--and a built-in subwoofer. Yeah, it's one of those laptops. And the beastly machine is valued at a staggering $3400.

Other notable features include the 17" WUXGA widescreen monitor, Intel Core 2 Duo 2.6GHz processor, HDMI/TOSlink out, integrated HDTV tuner... Read more

Update: Tonight is the last chance to enter!

Strategy fans, the day is upon us: Creative Assembly's latest opus, Empire: Total War (PC), has been released.

To celebrate the occasion we're giving away three copies of the massive game, along with two art pamphlets, two maps, and assorted unit downloads.

To enter, simply write a comment in response to this post telling us where you think Creative Assembly should go next with the Total War franchise.

Total War: 1942? Total War: Terminator vs. Predator? Cold War: Total War? Share your reasoned or insane Total War concepts for a chance to win Empire: Total War.

On Monday we gave you guys a chance to win Death Tank by naming your favorite video game tank, and the results were pretty entertaining.

Readers chimed in with some classics (Command & Conquer's GDI Mammoth Tank, the tank from Atari 2600's Combat) to some unconventional favorites (the "Tank" from Left 4 Dead, Resident Evil characters.)

However, only five lucky tank fans could win. The following winners will shortly receive a Shackmessage with an Xbox Live code for Death Tank:... Read more

Snowblind Studios' recently-released Xbox Live Arcade title Death Tank is a good time. Not familiar with it? Think Worms or Scorched Earth, but in real time, with support for eight players over Xbox Live multiplayer.

Here are some screenshots:

We have five copies of Death Tank to give away to fans of death and tanks. The simple contest instructions: post a comment in response to this story in which you name your favorite video game tank. A random drawing will provide the winners.

A fan of StarCraft's Siege? Have fond memories of Battlefield's Tiger? Couldn't get enough of Fox's Landmaster? Post a silly comment, win a fun game.

Update: We'll still be giving away the majority of the keys on the general Shacknews Twitter feed, but now we'll be handing out two of the keys in a truly randomized drawing. To qualify, follow the same instructions as below. The final keys will be sent to the winners via Twitter direct messaging on Sunday and Monday.

Original story: So we liked Relic's Dawn of War II a whole bunch. We think you'll probably like it too. But how to justify the expense in these trying times?

Shacknews is here to help. Over the next five days--Thursday through Monday--we'll be giving away one free Steam copy of Dawn of War II per day. The twist? We'll be posting the codes on the official Shacknews Twitter feed.

Oh, I know. Twitter is that silly thing your daughter uses to whine about how her boyfriend sucks at Team Fortress. Well, it's also a great way to share gaming information. And now it wins you games.

The steps:

• Sign up for a Twitter account on Twitter.com.
• Subscribe to the lovely Shacknews Twitter feed.
• Watch your feed over the next few days and snap up a code.

Good luck to everyone.

Earlier this week, Shacknews paired with Microsoft to give away some early access codes to the Halo Wars demo. And while most of us will have to wait until February 5 to get our hands on the demo, 15 randomly selected winners will have it today.

The final title from soon-to-be-closed Age of Empires creator Ensemble Studios, the science fiction-centric Xbox 360 strategy game hits North American retailers March 3.

The demo packs two tutorials, two campaign missions, and a multiplayer map for offline battles against the computer. And if you're among the following, check your Shackmessages, because you've won the chance to play it before most:

• Zman0404
• Plumpman... Read more

Update: The contest is now closed. Winners will be notified shortly!

Don't want to wait until next week to play Halo Wars? Well, how's tomorrow sound? While the demo won't publicly available until next Thursday, Shacknews and Microsoft have teamed up to give away 15 codes that'll let you download and play it a week early.

If you're hoping to give the Xbox 360 strategy game an early go, just add Halo Wars to your wanted list with the above widget, and post something in the comments below. We'll randomly select the winners and send codes via Shackmessages tonight.

The final game from soon-to-be-closed Age of Empires creator Ensemble Studios, Halo Wars hits retailers on March 3. The downloadable demo packs two optional tutorials, the first two campaign missions, and a multiplayer map for offline battles against the computer, in which players can control either UNSC or Covenant forces.