Valve have released more details regarding the upcoming update to the Sniper class for Team Fortress 2. The update now adds a new game mode ‘Payload Race’ as well as a new map ‘Pipeline’ to go along with it. Also revealed are two new Arena maps: Sawmill and Nucleus.

In case you missed it, Day 1 of the Sniper Update was covered here.

More details and screens of the upcoming Sniper Update after the break.

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Here are just some gaming related stories floating around on the web today.

• The Left 4 Dead demos for the Xbox 360 and PC are now live. If you are an Xbox 360 user, log into Xbox Live now and get to downloading. If you are interested in the PC version, head on over to Steam.

• Far Cry 2 has sold over 1 million units since it was released around the end of October. Seems like the demand for shooters is still going strong in this day and age–then again, it is the most poplar gaming genre out there, and who could blame gamers for that? What better way to let off a bit of frustration and pent up, pissed off rage than to shoot a bunch of dudes impeding your progress?

• Ascaron’s fantasy RPG Sacred 2: Fallen Angel has arrived in stores today for the PC and via Steam. The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions will be hitting shelves sometime around February 17, 2009 providing there are no more delays. We also have some pretty cool new trailers for you which can be viewed here and here.

• Epic Games president Michael Capps is whining about the used game market cutting into his wallet. “We don’t make any money when someone rents it, and we don’t make any money when someone buys it used — way more than twice as many people played Gears than bought it.”

• iPhone gaming is pretty damn popular. Apparently “NPD report shows more people playing than working with their smartphones”. Get back to work people, the economy needs you!

• Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon – will release on December 1 according to IGN. Taking over where the last game left off, as Crypto you are sent to the 1970s to thwart a conspiracy that threatens the Furon race.

• Big Fable 2 announcement set to burn up the internet next week. Why even tease people with something like that and just fricking announce it already? Hasn’t Lionhead Studios done this before and it was just a silly bit of nonsense like new screens or something?

• Gene Simmons, ever the entrepreneur, is releasing a guitar peripheral that is a replica of his famous “Axe” guitar for $79.99. It is only for the PS2 and PS3 and should you purchase it, please feel free to send us pictures of you with it–providing you have a tongue as long as Gene’s, otherwise we could care less. Sorry, that’s just the way it is.

• Rock Band junkies can look forward to the Foo Fighters hitting Xbox Live today. “The Colour and the Shape” is an awesome album, and if you do not want the whole album for your game, you can get each song individually.

Here are some files that hit FileFront today:

• Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria– screens, trailers
• Fallout 3 Patch (actually hit over the weekend)
• A Vampyre Story: Halloween trailer–we really screwed up on this one. Sorry it’s so late.
• And for those of you who play or want to try out Mount and Blade, here is a patch and a new demo.
• Full list of trailers can be found here.
• Full list of demos can be found here.
• Last but not least, full list of patches can be found here.

Paradox Interactive today announced that development of Mount & Blade, the upcoming single-player medieval combat title for the PC, has been completed. Developed by Turkish development house TaleWorlds Entertainment, the game has already developed a loyal fan community and received acclaim from PC gaming enthusiasts worldwide. Having enjoyed a highly successful beta, Mount & Blade is now green-lighted for release in North America on September 16 and Europe on September 19.

Mount & Blade is a single-player, third or first-person action/role-playing game set in the medieval war-torn land of Calradia. The game features realistic horseback combat, swordplay, and a free-form environment in which players can roam freely to explore new cities, beat-down foreign armies and earn a reputation as the realm’s most courageous warrior.

Mount & Blade will be available for purchase in stores and for digital download at GamersGate.

Filefront.com is proud to host the Closed Beta for the upcoming Perfect World International (PWI). The free-to-play MMORPG has begun its Closed Beta period but Filefront.com visitors can immediately get into the game using provided Beta Keys and a simple 2.5GB download.

Why would you want to? Well, while PWI is a fantasy based MMO it takes a slightly different approach in that the core mechanic deals with flight. Flight is a major part of the PWI game. Eventually players learn to soar themselves and the game has a number of areas where islands and fortresses float above the landscape. If you’ve ever groaned over the lack of control you have over your flying mounts in WoW, then PWI might cure you of that problem.

The three available races: Humans, Untamed (sure to be a furry fans dream) and Winged Elves all explore the newly created world of the Pan Gu in search of spiritual enlightenment and prevent the hidden corruption of the wraith from destroying the paradise they inhabit. The classes you choose are based upon your race but all the traditional roles are here: Archer, Barbarian, Cleric and  Wizard but the game also has some new classes like the Human Blademaster or the Untamed Venomancer to mix up the fantasy cliche’s a bit.

Perfect World International is an English localization of a Chinese developed title. Its free-to-play and supports Territory based 90 v. 90 battles, and extensive Mount system and social and crafting elements as well.

Note: There are a limited number of keys available so act quickly to ensure your spot!

Download the client and get your Beta key here:

Paradox Interactive today announced the opening of the final beta, version 0.960, for their upcoming PC medieval, action-RPG title, Mount & Blade.

Mount & Blade will be released in North America on September 16th and in Europe on September 19, 2008. The beta period will be open for two weeks, closing on August 25th.

The game is a single-player, third or first-person action/role-playing game with a focus on medieval combat. Developed by the Turkish development house TaleWorlds Entertainment, the beta version of the game has received acclaim worldwide from gamers impressed by the game’s realistic (and not so easy) horseback combat and open-world sandbox gameplay. The latter enables players to roam the map freely in a medieval world that offers activities ranging from hunting down bandits, to trading for profit in the game’s complex economic system, to becoming a commander and taking part in the wars, with the ultimate goal of becoming a great lord of the realm.

Mount & Blade will be available for purchase in stores and for digital download at GamersGate.

via Press Release

Japan isn’t even worth discussing in terms of the Xbox 360’s success. Microsoft has been battling it out in North America well enough from what they will publically say, but they admit that they haven’t done enough in Europe. The “new Xbox experience” is a key to tapping into the more casual, collaborative and social gaming style in Europe, according to Microsoft’s Scott Henson.

“The gameplay style in Europe is more casual, more collaborative and social,” Henson told Edge. “They’re a key part of us getting the next 20 million on [Xbox Live]. We’re asking how we become something that’s relevant to everyone. I think Europe is the North Star, the sign that says ‘here’s what it looks like to broaden the service to everyone’.”

Compared with the PlayStation 3’s (and even PSP’s) simple and efficient XMB, Microsoft has found that its once revolutionary system has become a convoluted mess.

“Because of the amount of stuff that’s coming into Live, it’s actually a little difficult for people to find it, especially people outside the core users,” said the head of Live, Marc Whitten. “It’s based on this idea that you know exactly what you want to do: hit the eject button, put the disc in, go to multiplayer and start playing your Halo match. That’s the way it’s always worked. That worked super well for the cognoscenti of the console world, but the truth is that there’s an amazing amount of content that for a lot of people is hard to find.”

You can read more at Edge about the angle Microsoft is taking with the new dashboard. I’ve grown to like it more and more since it was first unveiled at E3, and I’m hopeful that the new layout will solve many of the problems with the current blades setup.

Are you liking the new look, or would you prefer that Microsoft continue to iterate on the blades?

I have been playing Mount & Blade recently thanks to a press pass for the game, and while I will be giving you my impressions of the game when I am finished playing it at a later date, today I am happy to report that those who have been wanting to get their hands on the retail version will able to do so on September 16th in NA, and in Europe on September 19th (run on sentence and all).

Mount & Blade is a single-player, third- or first-person action/role-playing game for the PC with a focus on medieval combat. Developed by the Turkish development house TaleWorlds Entertainment, the beta version of the game has received acclaim worldwide from users impressed by the game’s realistic horseback combat, luscious graphics, and open-world sandbox gameplay. The latter enables players to roam the map freely in a medieval world that offers activities ranging from hunting down bandits, to trading for profit in the game’s complex economic system, to becoming a commander and taking part in the wars, with the ultimate goal of becoming a great lord of the realm.

Mount & Blade will be available for purchase in stores and for digital download at GamersGate on the dates mentioned above. For more on Mount & Blade, check out our previous posts.

I did not do my normal Saturday post last week because covering E3 assets and the like basically beat me down to a bruised and battered version of my former self. Therefore, I was completely a.w.o.l. last Saturday ans was dog tired with good reason. So, today, I have decided to combine the past two weeks into one post, and instead of covering all the demos and patches for each week, I will instead just post the ones with the highest amount of downloads – which basically means the most popular ones. Honestly, during E3 week we did not get many in anyway, so the list should be relatively short as usual.

Demos:

• Lights of Dreams V2.25: This is the demo version V2.25 of Lights of Dreams : The Angelical Blade.It is free to play. Play as Xylvan to find a way to save the future Earth of 3800. Walk, Run, Jump Fly in 50(3 available in the demo) flowers and grass vasts inspirationnal worlds to find 10 Spheres, 11 Parchements and 10 uniques Elements and more than 20 unique items to accomplish your mission. This version provides more lifelike effects… including potion, magic, regeneration and mass attack.

• Full Metal Soccer v1.0 (Windows): The game is set inside a futuristic arena in the distant future. Each player controls his own tank from first-person-perspective and tries to achieve the primary target of every soccer game: shoot more goals than the opposing team.

• Pro Cycling Manager – Tour de France 2008 : Cyanide Studio and Focus Home Interactive are pleased to offer you the playable demo for Pro Cycling Manager 2008. This 760 MB demo, integrating the latest 1.0.1.4 patch, puts players at the head of the Euskaltel team as they race to win today’s stage of the real Tour de France 2008, the 16th stage: Cuneo – Jausiers. In the demo, your team is beginning its last week of competition before the grand final on the Champs-Élysées, but you still haven’t won any stages yet, and your sponsors are beginning to put some pressure on you to see their colours on the podium. Through this 157.4 km mountain stage, you’ll need to display all your talents as a Director of Sports to finally get the victory you need. Surrounded by the col de la Lombarde and the col la Bonette, the highest saddle point in Europe, this 16th stage will be the perfect field for the best climbers of the Tour, while the breathtaking downhills at the end of the cols ensure a spectacular end-of-stage. So it’s up to you to find the best strategy that perfectly combines the skills of your mountain specialists and prevents breakaways that could ruin your chances of victory. This Pro Cycling Manager 2008 demo will also offer players, for the first time ever, the opportunity to participate in track cycling events with a Keirin race. Face six awesome riders racing at nearly 50 kph for three laps of the most nerve-wracking and intense races during which the victory might be measured by only a wheel’s difference! Lastly, this demo also offers a tutorial mode that will help you get the best of your team during the race!

• I-Fluid: I-Fluid is an original platform game in which you control a drop of water facing various and surprising situations. Just imagine having to cross a messy schoolboy working desk while avoiding falling pens and adhesives, to get out of a generous breakfast or Mexican lunch, to cross vegetables cooking in a burning pan or to face thirsty cockroaches while being a fragile drop of water!

• X Motor Racing v1.08: An updated demo version of X Motor Racing has been released. It includes one track (highway) and one car with some physics profiles.

Here are the patches that hit FileFront within the past two weeks, other than the WoW and LotRO patches that were already covered:

• Supreme Ruler 2020 v5.2.1
• AVENCAST: Rise of the Mage v1.04
• Shadow of Legend v0.8.7.0 to v0.8.10.0
• PCM: Tour De France 2008 v1.0.1.4
• SC 2 Patton Drives East Expansion (v1.01)
• C&C 3: Kane`s Wrath SecuROM Fix
• Lost Empire: Immortals v1.03 to v1.05
• Frontlines: Fuel of War v1.1.1 (US/Euro)
• Sword of the Stars: Born of Blood v1.5.3

As always, for the full list of demos and patches, click here and here. See you next week.

Codemasters has announced the EU release of Book 14: The Ring Forges, the latest free content update for LotRO Shadows of Angmar.

Book 14: The Ring-forges of Eregion brings a wide array of changes to LotRO, including the addition of Eregion, the continuation of the epic questline, and preparations for Moria.  Codematsers has also been hard at work adding even more player-requested features to the game.

Highlights:

• Eregion: Journey to where the Elven Rings were forged
• Epic Quest: The epic quest continues with world events that open up the adventure to every player across all servers
• Moria Prelude Quests: Aid the Fellowship of the Ring as they prepare to leave Rivendell and make their way toward Mordor.
• Dungeons: The loot dropped in all instances and raids is being upgraded, and bosses and mobs are being adjusted to make for even better play experiences! Now is the time to prepare for the dangers that dwell in Moria
• Animation Improvements: LOTRO continues to polish the experience
• Animations and sounds for each Minstrel skill using their equipped instrument (no longer just the Lute!)
• Monster play emote animations for Orc, Uruk, Spider and Warg
• New animations for 12 emotes – plus three new animated emotes

You can get the EU Patch by hitting the badge below. Full release notes are listed after the jump.

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It has been one crazy week, and the craziest thing happening at home base while Jonathan and Shawn were in LA was the amount of assets we received in our inboxes on a daily basis. I have decided to post the lonely screens and trailers that did not get their very own post into one large post full of links. There’s just is not enough time to post them all, so this is the best way I know how.

While this is not a comprehensive list of what was not covered, it is close. There are more screens floating around out there that we have yet to get, but if or when we do, we will do our best to wow you with them.

Below you will find a list of games from A-N and a link to the trailer or screens for it. Be sure to look over the list carefully, because something you are interested in may be included. I have highlighted ones that may be of special interest.

Games O – Z are posted after the jump

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand Screens
Active Life Outdoor Challenge Trailer
Afro Samurai Screens
Age of Booty Screens
Age of Booty Trailer
AWAY Shuffle Dragon Screens
Babysitting Mania Screens
Bangai-O Spirits Screens
Bangai-O-Spirits Trailer
Battlestations Pacific Screens
Bionic Commando Screens
Bionic Commando Trailer
BioShock PS3 Screens
Borderlands Presentation Trailer
Borderlands Screens
BUZZ! Master Quiz Trailer
Champions Online B-Roll Trailer
Champions Online Screens
Chrono Trigger DS Screens
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Trailer
Cooking Mama World Kitchen Screens
Dark Void Screens
Dark Void Trailer
Destroy All Humans: Path of the Furon Trailer
Digimon Championship Trailer
Digimon World Championship Screens
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen Screens
Dungeon Hero Screens
Elebits: The Adventures of Kai and Zero Screens
Empire: Total War Screens
Eternal Sonata PS3 Screens
Eternal Sonata PS3 Trailer
Final Fantasy IV DS Screens
Flock! Screens
Flock! Trailer
Gran Turismo 5: Prolouge Trailer
Heavy Duty Screens
I Am Alive Trailer (This looks rather interesting)
I Heart Geeks Screens
Infinite Space Screens
Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Enc. 2 Screens
Kill Zone 2 Trailer
King’s Bounty: The Legend Trailer
LEGO Batman: The Video Game B-Footage Trailer
LEGO Batman: The Videogame Screens
Little King’s Story Screens
Luminous Arc 2 Teaser Trailer
Marker Man Adventures Screens
Marvel Ultimate Alliance II: Fusion Trailer
Mega Man 9 Screens
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Trailer
Metal Gear Online Screens
Monster Lab Screens
Monster Madness: Grave Danger Screens
MySims Kingdom Screens
N+ Screens
N+ Trailer
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 Screens
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja STORM Screens
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja STORM Trailer
National Geographic Panda Screens
Neopets Puzzle Adventure Screens
NHL SK9 Screens

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