Gamers who are current subscribers to GameTap either for the free service or subscription service are in for a treat this week with American McGee’s Grimm Volume 2, Episode 16 and Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War Gold. The freebie this week is none other than King of Fighters 2003.

Grimm Volume 2, Episode 16: A Christmas Carol: We all know the tale of Ebeneezer Scrooge and how awful, nasty and mean-spirited he was until death and some ghosts made him change his ways. But how would this tale by Dickens have ended if our little vile troll Grimm has his way? Not as nice, I can tell you that much!

Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War Gold Edition: This RTS from Relic and THQ contains the amplified Game of the Year version Dawn of War, as well as its first expansion pack, Dawn of War: Winter Assault, which introduced a new faction, a new campaign, and gameplay tweaks that assure the most balanced and fun Dawn of War experience possible.

King of Fighters 2003: The tournament is back, this time hosted by an unknown patron. But the tournament has sinister underpinnings, and someone, or something, once again seeks the power of the demon Orochi. There’s only one way to bring an end to this sinister plot, and it involves a lot of butt-kicking.

King of Fighters 2003 will be free to play for a week and Grimm: A Christmas Carol will be free to play until Wednesday, December 31 for some nasty Christmas fun. If you have not signed up for GameTap yet, you can do so by visiting the official website where you can look through their many many subscription games and 145 free ones.

Next week: Overlord will be the free offering, so get your mind set for some deliciously evil fun with your little minions.

Welcome readers to our weekly edition of GameTap Thursday. Not only will you be getting another dose of American McGee’s Grimm Volume 2 this week, but subscribers are in for a treat with the addition of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl and Digby’s Donuts. There is also good news for those who have signed up for the free end of the gaming service, because Tomb Raider Anniversary is free to play for one week only.

Grimm Volume 2, Episode 15: The Pied Piper: The Pied Piper has rid the kingdom of its rat infestation, but when the King gets cheap and refuses to pay for his services–the piper leads the kingdom’s children into the river. How much more nasty can it get? Add that dirty little troll Grimm into the equation and find out for yourself.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl: The landmark first-person shooter with RPG elements from THQ comes to GameTap. Set in the city of Chernobyl after a fictional 2006 nuclear disaster, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is a “sandbox” style game, allowing players to explore the large in-game world as they please in a non-linear fashion. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. has sold over 2 million copies to date.

Digby’s Donuts: Digby has big plans to become the donut king of North America. He’s starting small, though, just one shop at a time. And he’s got a rather…unique mechanism for sorting and organizing his tasty treats. With your help, his chain will soon span the coast, and America will be up to its ears in donuts — that is, unless you drop too many.

Tomb Raider Anniversary: Eidos celebrates ten years of Tomb Raider by reinventing the original Tomb Raider game with an expanded storyline and levels that have been redesigned from the ground up. Lara also has new abilities and tools not present in the original.

Next week on December 18, Grimm sinks his grubby hands into A Christmas Carol which will be free to play until December 31.  As always, for more information on the over 145 free games from GameTap or how to become a subscriber, check out the official website.

It is once again GameTap Thursday, and what a great week it is! Not only is a new episode of American McGee’s Grimm Volume 2 now available to play free for the first 24-hours, but subscribers can also download Gothic 3 and Kingpin. Metal Slug fans who have signed up on GameTap are in for a treat because Metal Slug X is the latest free game to be added to the growing roster (145 free games total).

Here are the details for each game added this week:

• Grimm Volume 2, Episode 14: Iron John: A strange iron man living in the forest befriends a young man hoping an act of kindness will free him from his iron curse. With Iron John’s help the boy marries the princess and lives happily ever after—well, not really because Grimm hates that sort of thing.

• Gothic 3: Piranha Bytes’ third in the series of fantasy-themed role-playing games. In this installment, The Nameless Hero arrives on a continent overrun with orcs, who have enslaved most of the humans in the area. The Gothic series thrives on choices and reputation, and this installment is no different – players can side with the orcs, save the humans, or both. Gothic 3 also boasts a beautifully-rendered open world, with lush jungles, deserts and intricately detailed icy tundras.

• Kingpin: Life of Crime: Publisher Interplay and Redneck Rampage developer Grey Matter Interactive present Kingpin: Life of Crime, a first-person shooter set in a gritty, crime-ridden city. Players enact their revenge against drug kingpin Nikko Blanco using whatever weapons are available. Gameplay includes weapon modification, interactive conversations with non-playable characters, and the ability to hire gang members to join in the fight.

• Metal Slug X: (Free to play for one week only) Morden’s Army is at it again, and only the Metal Slug team can stand in its way. But taking down Morden and his troops won’t be easy. Fortunately what the team lacks in wits, it makes up for with ordnance: they’ve got about ten zillion bullets and grenades, plus the ultra-advanced (and stylish) Metal Slug super vehicles. Released in 1999, it is something of a remixed, upgraded, “director’s cut” version of Metal Slug 2. Gentlemen, start your war.

December 11 will see the release of Grimm Volume 2, Episode 15: The Pied Piper which like all Grimm episodes, will be free to play for the first 24-hours. In it, the Piped Piper uses his siren call (or flute if you will) to lure a kingdom’s children to a watery grave. Just how much more horrible can Grimm make such a tale? Tune in next week to find out.

In the meantime, to play Metal Slug X for free or any of the other games in GameTap’s wide variety of free titles, head on over to the website and sign up. While you are there, if you decide to become a subscriber, you can sign up for that too.

Because of Thanksgiving this week, GameTap has decided to release the latest episode of American McGee’s Grimm Volume 2, Episode 13: The Golden Goose a couple of days early. In addition, Painkiller has also been added to the list of subscription games this week.

Hitman: Blood Money was added to the list of free games this week, so if you have not played it on the PC yet, you honestly need to. You can play The Golden Goose for free from now until Friday, which should give you something fun to do should you get tired of eating rich food and smelling your Aunt Opal’s stinky perfume. GameTap also has over 144 other free games to choose from, so you have no excuse not to sign up so you can play them.

Grimm: The Golden Goose: A boy is given a goose made of gold as a reward for his kindness. The greedy townfolk though, try plucking the golden feathers off the goose to gain riches themselves, only to be stuck in a never ending conga line. The story is suppose to follow the original tale of the boy winning the heart of the princess and living happily ever after, but Grimm hates such niceties and has some nasty plans of his own.

Painkiller: FPS developed by Polish Studio People Can Fly (Gears of War PC) and published by JoWood. Players take control of Daniel Garner, who dies in a car accident at the beginning of the game’s narrative. He is cast into Purgatory and hired by Heavenly forces to kill Lucifer’s forces and prevent a war between Heaven and Hell. Win, and join your wife in Heaven. Lose, and…well, let’s not dwell on that, shall we?

December 4, GameTap will be releasing Grimm Episode 14: Iron John which tells the tale of a man turned to iron until he can find one who is worthy and pure of heart to set him free. Tune in to see how Grimm can ruin the tale for everyone involved.

GameTap Thursday is once again upon us, and there are some pretty cool offerings available this week for subscribers–which I will get to in a moment after I tell you the news about American McGee’s Grimm Volume 2.

As usual, the newest episode of Grimm (Cinderella) is free to play for the first 24-hours of release–which is good news. The other thing I wanted to tell you about is that next week there will not be a GameTap Thursday because of Thanksgiving–instead next week it will be GameTap Tuesday instead and a new episode of Grimm will be available to play for free until Friday, November 28. Episode 13, The Golden Goose definitely seems to be an appropriate game to play during Thanksgiving.

Here are the offerings this week for GameTap subscribers:

American McGee’s Grimm Volume 2, Episode 12: Cinderella: Poor Cinderella–what a strange, sad but magical life she had. She started out as the lovely, only child of a rich family only to lose her mother and see her father marry an evil wench with two equally evil daughters. When her father dies she is turned into a scullery maid by the wicked step-mother, only to find happiness when she is rescued by the kingdom’s prince. Too bad for her though, because Grimm does not believe in happy endings and he is ready to prove to her just how much he loathes them.

Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader: Reflexive Entertainment and Interplay’s 2003 action-RPG that utilizes the SPECIAL role-playing system made famous by Fallout. The game takes place in an altered version of medieval times, where demons and magical creatures roam free. In addition to deep character customization, the game also employs familiar Diablo-style hack and slash mechanics with an epic score and top-notch voice acting.

Elements of Destruction: Valusoft’s strategy and simulation game where players assume the role of Dr. Edgar Herbert, who uses his strange inventions to summon and control natural disasters. The game plays like Sim City in reverse – rather than building up a city and controlling its population, your goal is to destroy it. The game was developed by Codebase, a “punk rock” developer hailing from Madison, Wisconsin that was also responsible for Zombie Wranglers and Screwjumper! for the Xbox 360.

No new games were added to the free category this week, but GameTap has over 143 of them, so I’m sure there is something there you would like. Remember, to play the free games you still have to sign up which you can do at the official GameTap website.

It’s GameTap Thursday again folks, and you know what that means don’t you? Another new episode of American McGee’s Grimm Volume Two has arrived. Like all other episodes of Grimm it is free to play for the first 24-hours–after which, you will have to be a subscriber to continue playing it.

King Midas is a fairytale or more of a lesson handed down the centuries by the Greeks, and most people are familiar with the tale, but I will tell you more about it anyway. For ten days and ten nights the Greek god Dionysus’ teacher, a Satyr named Silenus, told King Midas wonderful tales. When he was ready to leave, the King had an escort take him back to Dionysus and his way of returning the favor was granting King Midas anything he wanted as a reward. He chose the golden touch. Unfortunately for him, this means that his food, drink, and everything thing else he needed to sustain him turned to gold. Starving, thirsty and depressed, his daughter hugged him and thus unwittingly turned herself into gold. Now, how in the world can Grimm make that even MORE diabolical and depressing? Well, as the saying goes, “you ain’t seen nothing yet” or was that a song by Bachman Turner Overdrive?

He was kind of like Goldfinger in the James Bond movie of the same name, but not evil–just not very smart. Also, he does not have a minion named Oddjob to do his bidding, and instead of painting things gold, King Midas actually turned things to gold. Come to think of it, he is nothing like Goldfinger…ok.. never mind then….

Also available this week to subscribers is Space Hack. Developed by Rebelmind, Space Hack is a Diablo-inspired action-RPG set in a science fiction world. Taking on the role of a warrior, players must hack their way through a spaceship full invading alien creatures in a desperate attempt to reach emergency transportation and escape their cruel fate. The game offers a diverse level of character development, allowing the player to solve problems in a variety of ways.

No new free games were added this week since King Midas is free to play for the first 24-hours. However, GameTap has loads of free games just ready for you to dive into. 143 of them to be exact, and included in those is the original Hitman and Fallout, so what are you waiting for? Head on over to the official website now and sign up.

Next week, Grimm tells the tale of Cinderella… poor girl. I can only imagine what the nasty little troll has in store for her.

Good morning gamers, and welcome once again to another edition of GameTap Thursday. Today, the digital distribution site has some more foul and nasty fun in store for you with The Singing Bone which is the newest episode of American McGee’s Grimm Volume 2. It is free to play for the first 24-hours, but after that you must be a gold member to continue playing it.

The Singing Bone tells the sordid tale of one brother killing another to gain the hand of the princess. When the murdered brother’s skull starts singing of the foul deed that waylaid him, the King is angered. Leave it up to our host Grimm to make a story about fratricide even more dastardly than it already is as he sets forth to foul-up the land with his nasty habits.

Also new this week is Red Faction II from THQ and Saints Row 2 developer Volition. This sci-fi action/FPS game puts players in the position of guiding demolitions expert Alias and his five biologically enhanced squad members on a mission to defend the Republic of Commonwealth. The game features different game elements to keep you interested such as puzzle-solving, stealth-based levels, vehicular combat and multiple endings to give you more replay value.

GameTap has 143 other free games such as Fallout and Hitman in their roster should you be on a budget, so head on over and sign up for some cool PC fun. Next week King Midas, a new episode of Grimm Volume 2 ,will go live so check back with us to see what craven tale of mischief lies in store for you.

American McGee’s Grimm Volume 2 launches today on GameTap, and what better way to make your Halloween deliciously nasty than to play around with Grimm as he pees, butt stomps and vomits all over the land of fairy tales?

Free to play today and all through October 31, Episode 1–The Master Thief– tells the sordid tale of a thief who is challenged to steal three unobtainable items. He must use every trick in his repertoire to covet these items and save his life, yet things may not turn out so well if the nasty and horrendously vile Grimm has anything to say about it.

Next week on November 6, GameTap subscribers will see the release of Episode 2, The Singing Bone. In this deliciously craven tale of sibling rivalry gone horribly wrong, a man has murdered his brother in order to gain the hand of the princess in marriage. His plan goes awry though because his brother’s disembodied skull sings like a canary of the treachery that befell him; thus angering the King with such horrible truths. How will Grimm make this any more foul and maniacal? Play to find out.

Subscribers to GameTap can also play the recently added Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel. Released in 2001, this was a departure from the RPG-style Fallouts of yore and is instead a squad-based tactical RPG, where the player controls a team that tries to recruit outsiders to aide them on combat-heavy missions.

If you are not currently a Gold Member of GameTap, you can still play The Master Thief free for the next two days, along with 144 other free PC games. All you have to do is sign up on the official website. The full release schedule for Grimm Volume 2 can be found here, and remember that each episode is free to play for the first 24-hours of release.

Welcome once again fellow gamers to our weekly edition of GameTap Thursday. If you have been hem hawing around about signing up, this week may just give you the push you were so desperately needing, because not only have they added Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance to their subscription games, but Codemaster’s wickedly fun Overlord is now free to play – for one week only though. But what a deliciously evil week that will be, eh?

Here are the subscription goodies that have been added:

• Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance: From Total Annihilation creator Chris Taylor and his new team at Gas Powered Games comes Supreme Commander, the next generation of real-time strategy games. Published by THQ, Supreme Commander has been widely praised by critics, earning an 87% average on aggregator GameRankings.com. As a bonus, your GameTap download of Supreme Commander includes the 2007 expansion pack, Forged Alliance, to complete the package.
• Die by the Sword: Limb from Limb: Treyarch’s sword fighting game that allows brutal and realistic swordplay. GameTap’s download of Die by the Sword now includes the expansion pack Limb from Limb, which features a new main quest and new playable characters.
• World Poker Championship 2: Final Table Showdown: Coresoft and publisher Valusoft (a division of THQ) present World Poker Championship 2: Final Table Showdown. This poker tournament simulation offers deep character customization, ten different game modes, and online play. Poker styles include Texas Hold’Em, Super Hold’Em, Omaha, Pineapple, Crazy Pineapple, Tahoe, Billabong, Shanghai, 7 Card Stud and 5 Card Draw.

Once again, Overlord will be free for one week, but GameTap also has 144 other free games to peruse through so head on over there right now and sign up because next Thursday, October 30, American McGee’s Grimm Volume Two launches with the first episode: The Master Thief. Like previous versions, it will be free to play for the first 24-hours, so that should give those of us too old to trick or treat something to look forward to.

As always, for more information, check out the official GameTap website. Tune in next week to see just how much more diabolical Grimm can get!

American McGee has been a busy man lately, what with his episodic game Grimm Volume 1 being fully released and Grimm Volume 2 looming on the horizon, but apparently there is no rest for wicked because according to his blog he is also pitching a new concept for an MMO racing game.

BaiJiu Racer is being described by McGee as an “MMO-lite racing game concept with China as the core theme” and has been in pre-production with his development company Spicy Horse for the past three months. McGee and Co. have already got all the materials ready to pitch the game to American and European publishers and he feels the game will be competitive in the online racing world. Currently it is slated to be published in China by Spicy Horse’s partner, ICEE.

Promising a “semi-realistic physics-based racing dynamic” with minimal power-ups, McGee goes on to mention on his blog that he feels BaiJui Racer will be able to contend with Mario Kart or KartRider and is the only Chinese-specific racing game that will include and authentic Chinese art, real-world locations, and the vehicles will be inspired by real Chinese cars.

Here are some of the key features pulled directly from the site:

• Distinctive art style featuring a timeless portrayal of everyday Chinese people and locations
• A clean and clear graphic style for UI
• Core gameplay focused on skill-based racing, avoiding fun-killing power-ups
• Strong narrative backbone and emotional drama – “everyone can be a hero”
• Unique and interesting vehicle designs based on real-life Chinese vehicles
• Track locations that reveal a China few foreigners have seen
• Risk reduction in production through use of 3rd-party tools and engine (UE3)
• A fast and efficient project schedule built on Spicy’s proven development processes
• Our Chinese publishing partner ICEE has a lock on the publishing rights in China. What we’re looking for now is a publisher interested in the remaining world-wide rights. We might also be open to territory specific deals with the right partners.

McGee has put a lot of his concept art for the game up on his Flickr account and has posted a sample of the “in the works” gameplay up on his YouTube Channel. It definitely looks more cute and cuddly than his previous works, but that does not mean that it will not be odd and zany as well, because it just would not be an American McGee game if it were too “normal”.

In the meantime, you can still get all the episodes of American McGee’s Grimm Volume One over at GameTap, and the first episode of Grimm Volume Two, The Master Thief, goes live next week on October 30.