With all the high profile games and film releases coming around this month it’s time to take a look at those which have slipped through the net and not been covered by the mainstream media hype.

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The publisher for the Stargate television series MMO game Stargate Worlds has announced that it will be releasing expansion content for free to subscribers while time progresses. In a recent interview they said that they are already working on post-launch content like new worlds, creature and storylines. Plus more character orientated updates like new abilities, ways to explore the universe and armour sets (so no horse armour Oblivion style transaction).

They mentioned that those kinds of additional content would be called “seasons” but there would also be things like the inclusion of Atlantis or those characters as a possibilities but big updates like that would be sold in a retail box. The sales line is that the publisher wants players to get new content for continuing to play and not just patches. This however isn’t really news or anything shocking since every MMO going adds new material and has episode based content updates. City of Heroes is a good example of free story updates and World of Warcraft has enough sold in a box updates to make The Sims blush. The real news is the current estimated release date is still early 2009 with a beta expected before that date, most likely before the end of this year.

The game will be released on PC only so no console users allowed unlike early expectations of a 360-PC crossover title.

Now that console gamers have had their fun with the epic Grand Theft Auto IV, it’s time for us PC gamers to have our turn. Of course, it’s still a ways off, and will be in your DVD drive on November 18.

Microsoft’s Games for Windows site just unveiled the Recommended System Requirements for the game (not the minimum ones, mind you), and they are:

OS:     Windows XP SP2
Processor:     Dual core processor (Intel Pentium D or better)
RAM:     2GB
Hard Drive:     18GB free hard disk space
Video Card:     512MB Direct3D 10 compatible video card or Direct3D 9 card compatible with Shader
Drive:     DVD-ROM dual-layer drive

Looks fine and dandy by today’s standards, but what is that I see? 18 gigabytes of free space? Pardon old uncle Zombie, but he’s still stuck in an era where 80 gigabyte drives were plentiful, Pentiums ruled the streets and the Allies fought Nazis.

As you can see, I won’t be trying this game anytime soon, at least until I get a damned new computer. Microsoft does have some info on what you can expect in the PC version:

• Optimized controls
• Expanded multiplayer
• Matchmaking
• High Resolution
• Video Recording, Editing and Uploading

Looks like the usual console-to-Windows port features to me.

Microsoft has making some funky business decisions and the victim will be the veteran Ensemble Studios, who, after finishing Halo Wars will shut shop. But what about the franchise they are most famous for: Age of Empires? Will it also disappear into the black hole?

Microsoft assures us that it is perfectly safe. “Microsoft continues to own Age of Empires.” says Shane Kim, VP of Interactive Entertainment at Microsoft. Of course, with Ensemble Studios biting the bullet, they won’t be the ones making any future games in the franchise. But the franchise isn’t dead either.

“We’re still super excited for the potential for the franchise. The Windows gaming world continues to evolve, and we believe in the future of that property.”

So, who will keep the continue the pedigree? We have no clue. But a good guess would be the new development studio Microsoft is talking about that will probably replace Ensemble Studio. Of course, we have no idea on what this studio is, or what sort of games it will making. But yep, Age of Empires is still alive and well.

And that sparks a question for AoE fans such as myself: where does the series go from here? A logical step in progression would be continue where Age of Empires III left off: at the Industrial Age. We can probably work our way up to World War I, maybe even World War II.

Or perhaps an even enticing proposal would be reboot the franchise and start all over from the Classical Era? Or maybe a sequel to Age of Empries II, to give that awesomesauce medieval action back? The possibilities!

Tired of random bloggers and trolls and other nobodies listing their top 5 video games, lists that nobody cares about? Now read it from game designer extraordinaire, Will Wright, creator of Spore, Emperor of Maxis and a Geek Hero. Here’s Will Wright’s 5 favourite games, straight from MSNBC.

The ‘Civilization’ series

“I think the strategic diversity of ‘Civilization’ always interested me. There’s just so many different strategic approaches to playing the game.”

‘Grand Theft Auto’ series

“It’s such an open-ended world … you can actually be very nice in the world and drive an ambulance around saving people, or you can be very mean. The game doesn’t really force you down one path or the other unless you’re playing the missions. For me, it’s not really about the missions, it’s about the open-endedness … going out and living a life in this little simulated city. It’s like a big playground.”

‘Battlefield’ series

“I really liked the first one the best – ‘Battlefield 1942.’ I’m a big World War II history buff. It’s a team-based shooter but it’s about the only team-based shooter that I can remember where half the time I’m playing, I’m laughing. It’s humorous because of the weird things that happen. It very much feels like kids playing in the backyard, cowboys-and-Indians-type thing. It’s not so much gritty reality as it is a bunch people just having fun in a multiplayer environment.”

Advance Wars’ on the DS

“This is a turn-based strategy game on the DS. I used to play these board games as a kid – these elaborate, real board games, so it’s kind nostalgic for me, for that reason.”

‘Flight Simulator’ series

“Even though this isn’t a game, one of my very first introductions to computer games was the original ‘Flight Simulator.’ The original one was black-and-white, with wireframe graphics and before Microsoft bought it, Bruce Artwick designed it. It was this little micro world inside the computer that always fascinated me.”