Battlefield 1943 is coming exclusively in digital format to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace July 8th and the PlayStation Network July 9th. PC gamers will just have to wait until September to get in on the action.

Battlefield 1943 features Frostbite’s next generation destruction technology which packs full Vehicle Warfare FPS multiplayer for up to 24 people into a 560MB download. I can never argue with getting more for less. Read more about the Frostbite engine and the worldwide community challenge to unlock the Coral Sea map after the break.

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Tracks from Green Day’s 21st Century Breakdown release will be coming to the Rock Band and Rock Band 2 Wii catalog. These three new tracks are a stark contrast with 8 choice original masters from artists participating in the RockStar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. Behemoth, Cannibal Corpse, Marilyn Manson and Slayer are all on the list.

Tracks:

Behemoth                         “Conquer All”

(All tracks are original master recordings)

Tracks from festival artists Killswitch Engine and Bullet For My Valentine are already part of the extensive Rock Band DLC catlog. All these selections will be up for the PS3, Xbox 360 and the Wii the week of July 6th.

It’s a holiday weekend, and normally that means more time for gaming. So, what are you going to play? If you’re not sure, or you’re looking for something new, Stardock has a sale going on right now that is definitely worth a look.

If you’re not familiar with Stardock’s digital distribution platform, Impulse, this would be a good time to give it a look. After all, they’re offering some great deals, like Call of Duty 4 for just $34.99 and Sins of a Solar Empire with its expansion for just $29.99.

The sale also includes titles like the complete Unreal series, Prototype, Red Faction Guerilla, and more. You can get your copy of Impulse and check out all the deals at ImpulseDriven.com

You can also see the full list of games on sale, along with their prices, after the break.

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Having run completely dry of any other Zero Punctuation material, Yahtzee has turned in desperation to the bottom of the bin and set his sites on The Sims 3. If you’ve watched Zero Punctuation, you know not to expect the glowing recommendation he gave inFAMOUS. However this could be the funniest, most painfully accurate review ever from a certain point of view.

The Sims is a highly controversial, emotionally charged subject in the Sines household. The kids and I really enjoy it while Shawn… he just realized he’s been channeling Yahtzee all this time.

Zero Punctuation is regular weekly feature on The Escapist.

Last week we saw the id/Bethesda merger under parent company ZeniMax Media and there was much rejoicing, but what if Electronic Arts merged its two online game developers into one giant super developer wouldn’t that raise some eyebrows and be general cause for mass excitement?

Well that actually happened as the publishing giant reorganized a bit putting RPG mavens Bioware and long time MMO developers Mythic in the same division. While the two studios will remain mostly autonomous for the time being, they now both have a single reporting line up the chain to the big bosses and money men. That single leader? Bioware’s Dr. Ray Muzyka.

Dr. Muzyka’s ascencion to the head of the organization basically also points to the exit of Mythic’s longtime leader Mark Jacobs. According to Jacob’s blog the MMO pioneer is taking a sabatical for awhile and he leaves with a classy ‘I’m not going to dish on anything, I’m just going to thank folks and peacefully step aside’ sort of announcement - a classy response that we don’t get to see so often these days.

Regarding the future path of the now combined studio’s efforts, Dr. Muzyka indicated in an official response over on IGN that:

Anything’s possible. We can’t say it wouldn’t happen. There’s no active plans, currently to do that, but the teams at Mythic and BioWare I know from talking to all of them, they’re really excited about working together, so I think that fuels a lot of cool things.

Warhammer: Age of Reckoning is still holding strong in the WoW dominated MMO market while Bioware’s first effort - the much anticipated Star Wars: The Old Republic is still a ways off. Mythic has a lot of experience that could help the minds at Bioware pull off their vision of Star Wars and maybe even put a dent in the Warcraft numbers but only time will tell if this pairing will be all it seems.

Ok, the title is a bit of a purposeful dig as I’m not one of those folks who really understands the attractions of The Sims anymore. I enjoyed 1 and 2 enough, but frankly I refuse to rebuy the same add ons and modifications a third time EA!

But for those dedicated to the cause its important to know that the game has already gotten a nice little upgrade which is available here on Filefront.

The Sims 3 Retail patch will bring your physical copy of the game up to the most current form. (This patch is not meant for digital download versions of the game).

You can download the fix here a list of the fixes can be found after the jump:

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There are a plethora of playable demos for gamers to try out this week including Trine, New Star Soccer 4, The Battle for Westnoth, Nancy Drew: Ransom of the Seven Ships, ArmA 2, P.U.R.E., Alien Arena 2009, Crazy Cooking and Hell Throne Lepteria as well as the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince demo featured earlier this week. There’s also a  demo out for the Axis and Allies World at War mod WW2Total.

Mac users can download The Battle for Westnoth and Warzone 2100 for Mac OS X. Linux fans haven’t been left out of the line up. You can snag the Alien Arena 2009 Linux demo.

Links and details on all demos follow the jump.

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There’s a playable demo up for the PC version of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince game. This free Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Playable Demo will give you a taste of potion making, dueling and playing as the Captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team.

Gamers and Harry Potter fans should watch the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Quidditch Preview for four minutes of gameplay footage. The new motion capture setup for quidditch is really great. It’s more believable than ever before.

Check out the star studded Making of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince trailer as well.

So, do you like drinking Dr. Pepper while you’re playing your EA Games? If so, you’re going to really enjoy this piece of news.

Electronic Arts and Dr. Pepper have entered into an agreement that will see Dr. Pepper providing codes for exclusive DLC for EA Games throughout 2010, starting with The Sims 3.
If you’re a Sims 3 fan, you can grab codes from Dr. Pepper that will unlock one-of-a-kind beach party items, or everything you need for a perfect tailgating party.

Tony Jacobs, Vice President of Marketing for Dr Pepper, said,

“The first-of-its-kind partnership with EA will give Dr Pepper fans an unrivaled experience by adding exclusive value to their games such as new levels and items. EA is the only media company that could reach our target audience with the breadth and depth of titles for gamers on any gaming platform.”

Honestly, these types of arrangements are going to become more and more prevalent in the future. As gaming becomes more and more accepted by mainstream marketers, there will be more tie-in opportunities to reach gamers as a market. This will end up being good for the industry, and good for individual gamers as well, as it will give us more opportunities to get cool little add-ons for our games like these.

You can check out the full text of the press release after the break.

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Tom Felton, better known to some many as Draco Malfoy, leads gamers into a virtual Hogwarts for the Making of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince part one. Most of your favorite actors and actresses from the movies are in the video including Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Bonny Wright (Jinny Weasley), and Emma Watson (Hermione Granger). You’ll get glimpses of new story elements and characters; the most fantastic of them being the castle itself.

You’ll hear from EA developers Kevin Tuite, Art Director, and Chris Roberts, Lead Designer, of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince game as well as Executive Producer Jonathan Bunney as they talk about the new virtual Hogwarts built from all the information from the books and films. Gamers will be able to fully explore the castle and the grounds for the first time. You also play seeker, mix potions, and duel other students in addition to completing the storyline.