The lengthy list of games delayed from the holiday 2007 rush--a list including Grand Theft Auto IV, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Splinter Cell: Conviction--could make for a first half of 2008 crammed with highly anticipated hits unlike those of any previous year. However, there appears to be a new trend among these already delayed titles, specifically more delays.

　　Super Smash Bros. Brawl has slipped another month from its previously revised February release date. Ubisoft today confirmed that Haze won't settle on the PS3 until its next fiscal year, which begins in April. Funcom pushed Age of Conan back from March to May. EA Mythic's Warhammer Online won't be ready to take the PC battlefield until midyear.

　　Pandemic Studios' Mercenaries 2: World in Flames may be the latest game twice bitten by the belated bug, as a bevy of online retailers have pushed the wantonly destructive Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, and PC action game out of its announced first-quarter 2008 release window. GameStop, CD Universe, and Amazon.com are all currently listing versions of the game with a late-August release. GameStop and Amazon list the game as shipping on August 25, with CD Universe projecting an August 27 release.

　　Representatives with EA and Pandemic had not returned GameSpot's requests for comment on the possible delay as of press time.

　　When the game was previously delayed in September, a Pandemic representative said at the time that the developer wasn't adding any new content or features, just making sure "that the game is 100 percent polished and truly shines as the best next-gen, open-world experience on any gaming system to date."

　　Please note, while retailer listings frequently jump the gun on publishers' product announcements, they should not be taken as final confirmation of a game's release date or existence; nor should the absence of a listing be considered as proof that a game isn't coming to a given platform.