Tomb Raider, then and now If you're a fan of 'Star Wars' or 'The Lord of the Rings',
you're intimately familiar with Hollywood's practice of repackaging hit films,
adding a bit of polish or new content and enticing you to pay for yet another
ticket or version of the DVD.

It's one of the best ways for studios to make money off old
franchises -- and now the video game industry is starting to follow in its
footsteps.

A slew of revamped games from previous years will hit store
shelves this holiday season, as publishers hope that a bump to high definition
or 3D will convince you to buy an updated copy and relive the adventure.

Microsoft's Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, for instance, will layer a new
graphics engine

F.E.A.R. 3 - "The Accolades Trailer"

The scariest first-person shooter ever, is back for another go-around.  Play as Point Man or Paxton Fettelas as they go up against spooky Alma's "Wall of Death."

KINECT SPORTS - "Table Tennis Demo"

Top ranked players Kelly
Sibley and Joanna Parker go head-to-head Kinect style during a friendly (or so they tell us) virtual Table Tennis match.

CABELA'S BIG GAME HUNTER 2012 - "Game Trailer"

Step outdoors and hunt big game.  With high adventure, expansive environments, and brand-new weapons, you'll almost mistake this game for true life.

UFC PERSONAL TRAINER- "Scott Ramsdell"

Fitness and training expert Scott Ramsdell shows you just why UFC Personal

Reboots and Remakes

Whether it's because they've run out of ideas, are trying to please fans or just want to relive the glory days, game developers are looking to catch lightning in a bottle twice by giving older titles a fresh coat of paint -- or rebuilding them from the ground up. Watch the past become the future with these video game reboots and remakes.

Civilization World - Firaxis Now entering its third decade, the Civilization series of
turn-based nation-builders ranks as one of PC gaming's most enduring. Even in
last year's Civlization V, the game's most recent and high-tech installment,
it's easy to see the core concepts the twenty-year-old original game beneath
the pretty graphics. Appropriately, "Civ" has built its success on rock-solid
historical foundations.

Which is one reason why the latest in the series is going to
come as a bit of a shock to the franchise's legion of fans. Civilization is
coming to Facebook in a new, free version dubbed "Civilization World" -- and in
the words of its creator Sid Meier, it's the most dramatic stretch the series
has ever

Judges don't play games An Irish teen has learned the hard way that breaking the law can be a losing game. Literally.

A judge in Belfast ordered a boy accused of a series of robberies -- including a shopping center and high school -- to surrender his Xbox 360 as part of the conditions for him to receive bail late last month.

The 13-year old (whose name is being withheld due to his age) really only has himself to blame. When asked by the judge to describe something he owned that meant a lot to him, the boy blurted out that he loved his game system. Seeing an opportunity, the judge ordered him to hand it over as a lesson in what it was like to have something he valued taken away.

The console will be returned once

Thanks to the landmark Supreme Court's ruling, video games are now afforded the same protection under the First Amendment as other forms of media.

But it didn't answer the million-dollar question: Does playing violent video games lead to an increase in violent behavior? The answer is elusive -- and depends a great deal on which particular study you choose to believe.

Grand Theft Auto IV - Rockstar GamesAccording to Dr. Craig Anderson, director at the Center for the Study of Violence at Iowa State University's Department of Psychology, playing violent video games is significantly associated with factors like increased aggressive behavior, as well as a decrease in wanting to help others.

"We can now say with utmost confidence

Scrape the muck off the grill and iron your 'Kiss the Cook' apron -- the Fourth of July holiday is here, turning millions of mind-mannered men and women into backyard chefs and explosives experts. But all that meat and all those fireworks can make for a pretty exhausting day, so if you need a little down time but want to stay in touch with the festivities, check out these BBQ games:

Burger Shop 2 Burger Shop 2
It's
a fact: More burgers will be eaten on the Fourth of July than any other
day of the year. Okay, so we just made that up, but as our nation's
favorite grill option, you can't beat a tasty burger on the BBQ. Try
your hand running a shop dedicated to the all-American meal by
downloading this

July 4th sales extravaganza In case you hadn't noticed, it's Independence Day weekend. Not only does that make it one of the year's best opportunities for grilling out, watching fireworks, and enjoying the sun, it's also one of your best chances to get away from it all, take an extra day off work, and catch up on your gaming. Consequently, it's prime season for gaming price-cuts, too -- and here's our pick of this year's best.

Steam

Digital distribution service Steam's summer deals are legendary -- and this year's selection isn't going to hurt that reputation one iota. In addition to their rotating set of daily deals, they're slashing prices on massive bundles.

Every Valve-developed game -- including Half-Life 2 and