Big news from the world of gaming!

First, Electronic Arts (EA) and Maxis have announced that "Spore", that highly anticipated game from the creators of 'The Sims' will be available with retailers across the globe the weekend of September 7, 2008.

"Spore" will ship for the PC, Mac, Nintendo DS, and mobile phones.

A jubilant Will Wright, chief designer of Maxis, said "The wait is almost over. We're in our final stages of testing and polish with 'Spore', and the team at Maxis can't wait to see the cosmos of content created by the community later this year."

Among the most ambitious simulation games ever planned, "Spore" sees the evolution of life from single-celled organisms through the birth of tribes and the beginnings of civilization to the creation of whole new worlds including Space exploration and colonization of other planets.

Described by Maxis as a "massively single-player" game, "Spore" offers players their very own universe plus a wealth of creative tools to modify it in the way they want to.

Incidentally, Wright began work on the game way back in 2005 but due to development problems, it got delayed beyond last year when it was originally expected to hit stores.

While "Spore" hasn't been officially rated or priced yet, online retailers are pegging it at around $50. Meanwhile, for screen-shots and videos of the game, you can visit: www.spore.com.

The other biggie:

BioWare, now an EA company, has announced that the popular Space epic, "Mass Effect" is headed for the PC in May of 2008.

A futuristic game set in the 22nd century, "Mass Effect" sees humans stumbling upon objects that help them travel faster than light so that they are suddenly propelled into the Milky Way.

The PC version of the game invites players to don the hat of 'Commander Shepard', who's assigned the honorable task of nabbing the villain, in this case 'Saren', and saving the galaxy from imminent destruction.

"Mass Effect" for the PC is fraught with conspiracy, treachery, courage, and heroism, not to mention all the alien monsters and interstellar mercenaries who spell doom for the galaxy. To make the game even more exciting, the PC version allows for a 'Run and Gun' style of game play -- complete with graphics and all that jazz!

The list of features of "Mass Effect", the PC version reads: optimized controls designed specifically for the PC, high resolution visuals, 'Run and Gun' control, new decryption mini-game, and new inventory screen GUI (Graphics User Interface) and functionality.

Meanwhile, the game hasn't yet got a rating from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB).