Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is almost here. What more needs to be said?

Go ahead and hit up the full list, or, if you're looking for a particular system, skip right to the PC, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, Nintendo DS or PSP section. Should you want to check out any past release lists, scope out our handy archive.

Modern Warfare 2 will be on North American store shelves Tuesday, November 10. The rest of this week's retail releases should be available by Wednesday, November 11.

... Read more

A new trailer for James Cameron's Avatar: The Game arrived today. It showcases the alien world of Pandora and its colorful, yet aggressive denizens, the Na'vi. Players face them as RDA Corporation Soldiers and giant armored mechs in fights ranging through the jungles. Alien panther-like animals and large red rhinos are thrown into the mix, for good measure.

Players will be able to fight alongside RDA Corp, or side with the indigenous aliens when Avatar arrives on December 1 for the PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS, PSP and Wii. You can check out our previous coverage of Avatar: The Game here.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

The "Imperial Agent" is the sixth class to be revealed for Star Wars: The Old Republic, joining the Trooper, Smuggler, Jedi Knight, Bounty Hunter and Sith Warrior classes.

"The Imperial Agent always has the right tools at the right time," BioWare community manager Sean Dahlberg said of the gadget-heavy class in a forum post. "They use abilities of subversion and subterfuge to infiltrate and assassinate enemies of the Sith Empire with deadly efficiency. Players who choose to be Imperial Agents in The Old Republic will see the underbelly of the Empire in a whole new light."

While BioWare's announcement of the class lacked any screenshots, IncGamers soon rectified the situation. As before, there's been no official word as to when BioWare's anticipated PC MMO will launch or what business model it will use.

While id is still deciding exactly what the multiplayer component of Rage will entail, the studio has said that the shooter is unlikely to support dedicated servers on PC. "It's not cast in stone yet, but at this point no, we don't think we will have dedicated servers," id technical director John Carmack told Variety's The Cut Scene before noting "things are cooking along well" for the PC, Mac, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 title.

Infinity Ward recently revealed that its anticipated shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 would not support dedicated servers, a decision met with vocal opposition.

"The great thing is we won't have to be a pioneer on that," explained... Read more

Update: Gyromancer will sell for 1200 Microsoft Points / $15, a representative of publisher-developer Square Enix has confirmed with Shacknews.

Original: The downloadable collaboration between Bejeweled maker PopCap and Final Fantasy developer Square Enix will hit PC and Xbox 360 on November 18.

A puzzle-RPG a la Infinite's Puzzle Quest, Gyromancer combines the quest and experience mechanics of traditional role-playing games with combat based on the color-matching gameplay of Bejeweled. No price yet, but we'll keep you updated.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

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.

Major digital distributors Direct2Drive, GamersGate and Impulse have refused to stock Infinity Ward's highly anticipated shooter Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on PC due to its reliance upon Valve Software's rival distribution platform Steam, Voodoo Extreme reports.

"We believe strongly that when you buy a game from us, you shouldn't be forced to install and run a 3rd party software client to be able to play the game you purchased," D2D explains in a statement masquerading as a listing for Modern Warfare 2 in its store. A representative later told Kotaku "We don't believe games should force the user to install a Trojan Horse."

Modern Warfare 2 on PC will use Steam and Valve's Steamworks framework for DRM purposes as well auto-update, achievement and anti-cheat features, among others.

However, both Direct2Drive and GamersGate sell ACE Team's Zeno Clash--which requires Steam. D2D also offers several other Steam-based titles... Read more

Warhammer Online developer Mythic Entertainment has introduced an unlimited free trial for its fantasy MMORPG to replace the previous ten-day trial introduced in March.

Characters on trial accounts will be restricted by a level cap of ten and confined to two 'Empire vs. Chaos' zones--Nordland and Norsca--plus three instanced PvP scenarios and one dungeon, though they can of course play them for as long as they please.

Mythic recently merged into a "RPG/MMO studio group" with fellow EA subsidiary and Mass Effect developer BioWare. Mark Jacobs, co-founder and general manager of Mythic as well as lead designer on Warhammer Online, departed in the shuffle.

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: Those who purchased Torchlight on Steam will be pleased to know that the update has now arrived on the digital distribution platform.

Original: A sizeable update for Runic's magnificent action RPG Torchlight has begun rolling out across its various digital retailers, with the 418MB Client 1.12 compatible only with copies bought direct from Runic itself now available over on FileShack.

The update's many changes include bug fixes, balance tweaks, the ability to change difficulty mid-game and reduced loading times--a change which necessitates a complete reinstall with the new client, so be sure to keep your saved games safe.

Those who bought Torchlight elsewhere must wait for their distributor to release their own individual versions, a forum post by Runic's Travis Baldree explains, which have been delivered to all vendors except Steam--whose version still requires testing.

• Fixed several issues which could overwrite saves, and protected against possible save loss. Save backups are now... Read more

Dragon Age: Origins PC players struggling with the difficulty of BioWare's fantasy RPG should head on over to FileShack to download the 12MB Patch 1.01a, as should players who don't much fancy the idea of having their character's statistics corrupted.

As well as fixing several bugs, the patch--which has already been deployed to Steam players--tweaks the RPG's difficulty by slightly boosting the combat stats of all party members on the 'Normal' setting and making 'Easy' easier. The full changelog follows.

• Fixed potential corruption of character statistics... Read more

Explosive racer Split/Second has received another trailer, this one outlining the dangers that everyday objects pose. Why, just about anything can be exploded to sabotage your opponents, from radar dishes and smokestacks to airplanes and ships.

Much like developer Black Rock's 2008 release Pure, Split/Second is due out on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. No word yet on an exact release date beyond "2010."

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

The second of Ubisoft's Splinter Cell: Conviction "Behind Closed Doors" vignettes is here, with lead game designer Steve Masters stealing the show as he demonstrates the various close-quarter and pistol combat techniques our hero has learned.

Coming to PC and Xbox 360, Ubisoft Montreal's stealth-action sequel hits February 23.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

With BioWare's Mass Effect 2 fast approaching and the studio's latest, Dragon Age: Origins, having just arrived, digital distribution platform Steam has knocked 50% off the first Mass Effect--making the futuristic RPG just $9.99 in the United States. The discount will run through the weekend, providing you with plenty of time to tackle Shepard's initial galactic adventure before the sequel arrives on January 26.

A multiplayer beta for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will be available on PlayStation 3 come November 19 and then hit PC in December, developer DICE announced today.

Those in North America can gain access to the PlayStation 3 beta by pre-ordering the game from GameStop, with those in Europe and Asia told to be on the lookout for "local opportunities." The December-due PC beta, meanwhile, will be open to all.

But that's not all, as a downloadable multiplayer demo will hit PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 "early next year," presumably before the shooter's retail release on March 2.

The beta includes one map, Arica Harbor, as seen in the below trailer... Read more

The first patch for Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising has arrived on PC with free downloadable content in tow, now available in a 243MB download on FileShack.

The included 'Skirmish' DLC adds four new multiplayer maps and two Fire Team Engagement missions, and is slated to hit Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for $5 (400 Microsoft Points) and $4 respectively following the release of a separate title update.

The patch for the PC release brings fixes for everything from lag and control issues to crashes and the interface, all detailed in the following changelog.

• The game now displays the version number on the front end.
• Video can now be captured with the software FRAPS... Read more

Gears of War and Unreal developer Epic Games today released its Unreal Engine 3 dev tools as a free download, aimed at providing noncommercial and educational use of the technology that powers many PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 games.

The 563MB Unreal Development Kit can be found on FileShack, with various Unreal Tournament 3 assets included to help you get started. Two UDK-crafted sample games are also available: Psyonix's vertical puzzler Whizzle and Toltec's The Ball.

"I'm excited about the possibilities the Unreal Development Kit opens to those who are looking to get into the game business but don't otherwise have the means to acquire world-class technology and tools like ours," said Epic VP Mark... Read more

Eminem and Nate Dogg's "Till I Collapse" serves as the musical backdrop for Modern Warfare 2's launch trailer, which intersperses scenes of chaos with critical praise.

Practically guaranteed to be one of the year's top-sellers, Infinity Ward's controversial shooter sequel hits next Tuesday, November 10, on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

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

More Assassin's Creed 2 media has crept silently from the shadows and explains some differences between Ezio, the series' new protagonist, and his predecessor Altair.

Unlike Altair, who was trained by a cabal of assassins to be a professional killer, the new "hero" Ezio is described as a "man of the Renaissance" out for revenge. In other words, killing isn't just his day job.

Assassin's Creed 2 jumps out and shanks the PS3 and Xbox 360 on November 17, with the PC version to arrive in early 2010.

Check out the new trailer below, or the "Tramps and Thieves" trailer here.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo