The release of GTA IV is just around the corner, and if you are holding out on purchasing any games because you are saving your money for Rockstar’s latest hit, then maybe a few free demos will keep you occupied in the meantime.This week, we only received seven demos and since there are so few of them, I decided to list all of them instead of just randomly picking the ones you may or may not be interested in, and you can view all of them after the break.

Patches on the other hand, ranged from WoW to The Sims 2: Free Time, and many more:

• Space Force: Rogue Universe
• Frontlines: Fuel of War
• Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
• Lost Empire: Immortals

As always for the full list of patches, click here, and be sure and read on after the break for the list of demos.

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A few years back, while trying desperately to perfect my RTS skills for an upcoming LAN party, I decided it was time to take a break. I made a visit my local gaming store to look at the recent book releases, hoping to find a new d20 related resource to help energize a slowly fading campaign. Browsing the shelves, I noticed a group hovering around the gaming tables that were almost always filled by Yu-Gi-Oh and Magic players. This time instead of paper cards in shiny plastic “card condoms” there were small plastic miniatures and a tape measure arrayed out before them.

“What the hell?” I wondered, these guys never put away their binders of cards, yet they were absorbed in this new game, picking up the pieces, turning something on the base and making clicking sounds as they advanced across the tabletop.

This was my first exposure to the addiction that I now call “Plastic Death”. I watched as the players pulled out a few miniatures, recorded their point values and then randomly placed cups and plates upside down on the 3′ x 3′ playing surface. The players surveyed the landscape like Douglas MacArthur and Hideki Tojo looking for advantage in the battlefield. It wasn’t long before my curiosity got the best of me and I sat down to play a demonstration scenario.

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At the end of last week, we got a look at the not-so-pretty NPD results for PC games in 2007. While they of course don’t factor in things like digital distribution, it turns out that the numbers actually were incorrect, in that they didn’t count Gold and Deluxe versions of some of the games on the list. Basically, The Sims 2 moves up while one of its expansions is knocked off the list by Flight Simulator X.

Have a look:

1. World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade – (Vivendi) – 2.25 million
2. World of Warcraft– (Vivendi) – 914,000
3. The Sims 2 – (Electronic Arts) – 534,000
4. The Sims 2 Seasons Expansion Pack – (Electronic Arts) – 433,000
5. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – (Activision) – 383,000
6. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars – (Electronic Arts) – 350,000
7. MS Age of Empires III – (Microsoft) – 313,000
8. Sim City 4 – (Electronic Arts) – 294,000
9. MS Flight Simulator X – (Microsoft) – 280,000
10. The Sims 2: Bon Voyage Expansion Pack – (Electronic Arts) – 272,000

You can see the original numbers here. Ultimately, it doesn’t make the outlook of the PC gaming world look any better, but at least we now have more accurate data.

via Gamasutra

Before you skip right to the numbers, keep in mind that NPD numbers don’t encompass digital downloads which explains why games like The Orange Box are conspicuously absent from the year’s top 10 chart.

Revenue from retail sales dropped nearly $60 million from $970 million in 2006 to $910.7 million in 2007. That doesn’t encompass revenue from subscriptions from MMOs, which continue to be a major chunk of the PC market. As for what the direct cause of the drop was, I would imagine it’s a combination of increased piracy and a larger usage of digital distribution as outlets like Steam become the norm for many PC gamers.

1. World Of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (Vivendi) – 2.25 million
2. World Of Warcraft (Vivendi) – 914,000
3. The Sims 2: Seasons Expansion Pack (Electronic Arts) – 433,000
4. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision) – 383,000
5. Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (Electronic Arts) – 343,000
6. Sim City 4 Deluxe (Electronic Arts) – 284,000
7. The Sims 2 (Electronic Arts) – 281,000
8. The Sims 2: Bon Voyage Expansion Pack (Electronic Arts) – 271,000
9. Age Of Empires III (Microsoft) – 259,000
10. The Sims 2: Pets Expansion Pack (Electronic Arts) – 236,000

It’s no surprise to see World of Warcraft and The Sims dominate the list; I’d expect nothing different in 2008. There’s not much room for games that don’t belong to either of those series to make the list, but of the four that did, it’s somewhat odd to see Age of Empires III sell just over a quarter million units.

I really wouldn’t put much stock in these numbers for all of the aforementioned reasons. Whether or not PC gaming is struggling certainly cannot be ascertained from these figures, so don’t go crazy about how you just invested in a new 8800 when PC gaming is about to go down the toilet.

Which I’d like to think it isn’t.

via Gamasutra

Over on Yahoo Games, the staff has picked some of the best games of the last decade – in their opinion. Granted, I cannot find much fault when they have picked such illustrious titles such as Oblivion, Perfect Dark, Goldeneye, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, however, the list plays more like a who is popular and who is not. Most of the games they have listed are top sellers, and what I want to know is why they did not include games that were less mainstream but great games nonetheless. I mean, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater may have been popular, but does it deserve to be included with such games as Grand Theft Auto III? Was it really THAT good? To each his own I guess. This is what makes the gaming community such a wild, wonderful collective – the differences in opinions, gaming genres, and tastes. We are like a huge pot of multi-bean chili, and that is a great thing even if we sometimes get on one another’s nerves.For the full list of their Best Games of the Last Decade, I have complied it for you here. Basically, it is their top picks of Games of the Year. For the entire article, just click on the link at the end of this post.

• 1997: Gran Turismo, Final Fantasy VII, Total Annihilation, Age of Empires, Goldeneye 007
• 1998: The Legend of Zelda: Ocaria of Time, Half-Life, Metal Gear Solid, StarCraft, Baldur’s Gate, Grim Fandango
• 1999: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Everquest, System Shock 2, Half-Life: Counter-Strike, Unreal Tournament, Rollercoaster Tycoon, Soul Calibur
• 2000: The Sims, Deus Ex, Diablo II, Perfect Dark
• 2001: Grand Theft Auto III, Halo, Black & White, Metal Gear Solid 2, Jak & Daxter
• 2002: Battlefield 1942, Warcraft III, Metroid Prime, Neverwinter Nights, GTA Vice City
• 2003: Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker, Call of Duty, Beyond Good & Evil
• 2004: World of Warcraft, Half-Life 2, Doom 3, GTA: San Andreas, Halo 2
• 2005: Resident Evil 4, God of War, Shadow of the Colossus, Battlefield 2
• 2006: The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Okami, Gears of War, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
• 2007: To Be Announced

Thanks: Yahoo Games

The weekend is here, and if by some chance you find yourself without any plans why not check out some of the recent demos that have landed at FileFront in the past month? Girlfriend/boyfriend/significant other got plans for a night out with pals? Single and lonely with only a cat for company? Rigor mortis in the prime of life? Tired of watching the same crap the cable networks feed you with a dirty spork? Whatever your reasons for staying in this weekend, I am sure we have something that will help you pass the time before Monday hits and you have to go back to work/school – miserable and just counting the seconds to the weekend.Here is just a sampling of what we have to offer. Some may sound familiar, and some may not.

• Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties
• AGON: The Last Sword of Toledo
• Avencast: Rise of the Mage
• Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
• Clive Barker’s Jericho
• Darkness Within: In Pursuit of Loath Nolder
• Ememy Territory: Quake Wars
• Escape from Paradise City
• F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate
• Hellgate: London
• Journeys of the Dragon Riders
• Lost Planet: Extreme Condition
• Painkiller: Overdose – Single and Multiplayer
• Path of Magic
• Plant Tycoon
• SEGA Rally Revo
• Steel Fury
• Stranglehold
• Tarr Chronicles
• The Aplocalyptic Game About Penguins
• The Chosen: Well of Souls
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08
• Time Shift
• Unreal Tournament 3
• Zoo Tycoon 2: Extinct Animals

These are just some of demos we have received since the middle of September, and we have many many more. Check out the list here.

Here’s a new trailer for the upcoming expansion to Age of Empires III. In The Asian Dynasties, you’ll control either Japan, China, or India as they try to expand their empires in the Eastern world. This video sets up part of the stories for each of the three campaigns. This expansion should be hitting store shelves later this month.

Hitting stores on October 23rd, Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties is the second expansion for the popular Age of Empires III RTS game from Big Huge Games and Ensemble Studios. Today, they released the official demo for the expansion which introduces gamers to Asian civilizations and new gameplay features by allowing gamers to play as the new Japanese civilization, or as the imperialistic British. Players also have the opportunity to try out the new random map ‘Honshu’, and the ‘King of the Hill’ game type.

For more information on AoEIII: The Asian Dynasties, look over our previous posts and get the demo by clicking on the badge below or by clicking here.

Microsoft Game Studios announced today that Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties has gone gold, and will hit North American retailers on Oct. 23rd. The second expansion for the popular Age of Empires III RTS game from Big Huge Games and Ensemble Studios will introduce gamers to Asian civilizations and new gameplay features.

In addition to the introduction of playable Asian civilizations to Age of Empires III, the expansion pack provides new content, new ways of winning and trading, random map styles that feature remixes of classic Age of Empires game styles, and the return of ‘Wonders’ – a favorite gameplay element from Age of Empires II. The new expansion includes easier installation, enhanced reliability standards and support for key Windows Vista features, including the Games Explorer and Parental Controls.

Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties is not a stand-alone title – you must have AOE III to play the newest installment. For more information, check out our previous posts and the official webiste.

Via: Press Release