iGames has teamed up with Microsoft to celebrate the robust HD content of Xbox Live. They're letting the fans in on it by putting together 40 bashes across North America to treat Xbox 360 fans to games like Rainbow Six Vegas 2, Halo 3, and Call of Duty 4: modern Warfare. Movies and prizes are also in store. See the full article for more details.

Namco Bandai gets ready to kick start its latest flight action sim with a big launch party at selected iGames member centers across the country for Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation.

Beginning on October 27, a two-week showcase for the game will follow from October 29 to November 11. With over 9.5 million copies sold worldwide, the latest iteration of the long time flight sim series will finally have a chance to stand out as it steps onto the next-gen consoles.

The game will still have all the favorite elements found in the previous Ace Combat games, plus the added bonus of being able to join in online multiplayer battles against other ace pilots around the world. You don't have to be a veteran of the series to enjoy a good flight sim such as this.

In case you're wondering what's new to the series, here's a list of the features Ace Combat 6 will be sporting:

• Live the war zones in photo-realistic detail: Witness the high definition graphics rendering the world around you into super realistic war zones, made possible only by the superior power of the Xbox 360.
• Command the allied assault force of aerial, naval, and ground combat units: The superior processing power of the Xbox 360 gives players the ability to lead not only aerial combat units but also naval and ground combat units. Issue commands with split-second precision and witness the massive combined assault destroying numerous enemy forces at once!
• Engage in fierce combat at an unprecedented scale and intensity: Massive conflicts unfold on a “living battlefield” integrated by the “Dynamic Operation System” where up to six independent aerial, ground, and naval battles can break out at once at multiple locations as allies and enemies clash in real-time.

See the rest of the features after the jump!

Eidos Interactive and game center organization iGames have something special prepared for the launch of WW II game Battlestations: Midway. According to the latter, it will be hosting special launch events at up to 100 select game centers across North America, Canada, and Mexico.

So if you don't have anything else better to do, find a game center near you. Anyway, the said event will begin with a two-week showcase from February 12 to 25 for both the PC and Xbox 360 platforms. In the said event, fans will have the chance to try the game for free for one whole hour.

After that, between February 24 to 25, Eidos will be hosting a Launch Tournament wherein teams of two will compete in a Saturday pool play tournament. The best teams that will emerge on Saturday will then advance to the Sunday single-elimination final tournament.

Prizes to be won include LCD TVs, MP3 Players, Razer Gaming Products, Corsair Flash Readout USB Drives, the Battlestations: Midway Xbox 360 game, and other gaming accessories.

As mentioned, if you have nothing else planned for those dates, you better find an iGame gaming center near you.

Buy: [Battlestations: Midway (PC)]
Buy: [Battlestations: Midway (Xbox 360)]

If you think that you got a handle on Call of Duty 2 and you're just looking for the perfect opportunity to show off your mad skills to the entire nation, then you have got to check this out. Leading game center organization iGames, together with premier eSports online community CEVO, just announced the details on the Intel 5K Call of Duty 2 Open, second competition in a 6-Month Series of National eSports Events sponsored by Intel. So free your calendar, ditch all your appointments on August 26 and 27, and head on to the eight iGames member centers listed below:

• GAMEBREAKERZ (Kent, WA)
• Euphnet Cyber Cafe v3 (San Jose, CA)
• eBash (Terre Haute, IN)
• The Core (Katy, TX)
• interPeer (Williamstown, NJ)
• Impact Gaming Center (Fairview Heights, IL)
• Head 2 Head Games (London, ON, Canada)
• X-tremePlay (Ocoee, FL)

On the first day of competition, we'll see 4-8 teams of 5 competing locally against each other. The winners will advance to Sunday's WAN, double-elimination tournament and could win more than $5,000 in cash and prizes. Registration is on-going at the iGames website accessible via the read link below the article.

Sequel to the highly successful RTS game The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle Earth, based on the J.R.R. Tolkien's original fiction, The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle Earth II allows you to delve deeper into the fantasy than ever before.

You can wage war in the North and assume command of the most storied civilizations in all of Middle-earth history - the Elven and Dwarven armies - or fight on the side of Evil with heroes and creatures that have never been seen in The Lord of the Rings films. Defend or overtake never before seen lands such as Dol Guldur, The Misty Mountains, and Mirkwood as you unleash powerful new weapons and abilities - summon dragons, cause volcanoes to erupt, or bring down a cataclysmic lightning strike.

AXE and iGames will bring Middle Earth to the XBox 360 by hosting a next-generation launch party for the release of the game. The premiere will be on July 22, held at 10 select iGames member centers across North America, including Canada and Mexico, followed by a 2-week showcase (July 24 - August 6, 2006) in over 40 additional iGames member centers.