So I am off work for a week due to moving and I come back hoping that my usual Saturday post would give me something actually exciting to write about. Sadly, I was mistaken because there are little demos that are new this week. Seems like a growing trend as of late, but I digress.

The only really hyped up demo that was suppose to hit this week was the GRID demo from Codemasters, but unfortunately yesterday after it was put up, it was quickly pulled due to blackout issues. We received an email stating that it would fixed by later that afternoon, and then another email saying that it will be fixed by Monday. Therefore, if you are still interested in the demo, check back with us Monday and hopefully any outstanding issues with it should have been fixed.

Here are the demos that hit FileFront this week:

• Dead Wake Beta 4: Dead Wake zombie survival game is in production. The game brings barricades, blood, and weapons to zombie fans. Headshots and physics play a major role when player attempts to survive against the zombie hordes.
• The Amazing Brain Train Windows Demo: Grubby Games has released a Windows demo for The Amazing Brain Train, a title that offers 15 different brain games in 5 categories, three different ways to play, 32 unique trophies to unlock, and more. Also available for Mac and Linux.
• Droid Assault Windows Demo: Puppy Games released the Windows demo for Droid Assault, a modern-retro arcade shooter game which is aiming to capture the raw feel of 8-bit games such as Paradroid and Quazatron, with a slick shiny sheen of modern graphics and sound. Also available for Mac and Linux.
• Overclocked: A History of Violence English Demo: Created by award-winning developer House of Tales Entertainment, players will delve into the world of Overclocked to explore the deranged minds of three of the five patients admitted to the Staten Island Forensic Hospital. This highly anticipated Adventure game on PC DVD-ROM is available in stores now.
• Lights of Dreams Demo V2.15: This is the demo version V2.15 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…
• The Lost Cases Of Sherlock Holmes Demo: Legacy Interactive release a demo of The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes, a whodunit casual computer game of theft, espionage and murder in which the player must tap their own powers of observation to solve puzzles and identify the culprits.
• Bee Oh Bee Demo: LunaKite has released a demo for Bee Oh Bee, an adventure casual game where you play as a God-bee, bees that live above in the sky to help homeless cute earth-dwelling honey-bees.

Here are the patches that hit this week:

• Harpoon: Advanced Naval Warfare v3.9.2 Patch
• Battlefield 2142 v1.40 to v1.50 Beta Patch
• Fury v35256 to v35416 Client Patch
• Albatross18 S3 Revolution v4.14 Client Patch
• Conquer Online v5021 to v5023 Patch

As always, for the full list of demos and patched available, click here and here.

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Everybody seemed pretty happy yesterday when we posted the news about Burnout Paradise heading to the PC. Today, we have a new trailer for the PC version up on FileFront for your viewing pleasure.

Ya know, I have not really been into racing games since Pole Position at the arcade or Diddy Kong Racing (which I have told you about before) but this trailer makes me want to give it another go.

According to a recent GamesIndustry interview with Josh Drescher, EA Mythic’s senior designer, Warhammer Online has been built to contain five years of content.In the interview, which will be published in full next week, Dresher discussed the challenges the development team faced when creating Warhammer Online and also discussed the MMORPG’s longevity:

“All the under-the-hood numbers all actually scale through the next five years. What you don’t want is when you launch the game you’ve got 40 levels - and it takes however long it takes to get to level 40. You then launch an expansion and it now takes two weeks to get to level 40 because now we need everyone to spend six months to get from level 40 to 50. So you need to spec the game out in such a way that you actually have those progressions in mind for later - so you don’t wind up trampling all over the earlier experiences every time you expand the game. We have actually five years’ worth of numerology out in front of us in terms of all that.”

Sounds like loads of content can be expected when Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning launches sometime this Fall. No wonder it has taken so long.

Via: GamesIndustry.biz

Codemasters has secured the exclusive video game rights to Formula One in a worldwide licensing agreement with Formula One Administration Ltd. In turn, the developer/publisher will create a new generation of the multi-million selling Formula One game franchise across multiple consoles, handhelds and PC.

Here are some “gushing” quotes pulled from the press release:

“FORMULA 1 is ambitious in expanding its reach with more circuits planned beyond recent additions in the Middle East and China. It is also ambitious in expanding its reach via technology. The digital communities that computer and video gaming creates will play a key role in further growing the FORMULA 1 audience and connecting them globally,” said Rod Cousens, chief executive officer, Codemasters.

“As a world-leading creator of driving games, this alliance with FORMULA 1 is the jewel in Codemasters’ racing crown and creates an undisputed segment champion. FORMULA 1 has gone with the best, the segment leader. It has gone to the home of the EGO Engine for quality; it has gone to the company that can host FORMULA 1 Online, to the company that is streaking away from the pack.”

“Codemasters’ success and recent innovations in the racing game space makes the company more than appropriately tuned for the challenge,” said Chris Deering, chairman, Codemasters.“The combination of FORMULA 1’s new momentum of expansion and Codemasters’ contemporary technology and past experience is the breaking of a new dawn for the sport, on the track and on the HD game screen.”

This deal will provide Codemasters with rights to feature all Grand Prix circuits, Formula One teams, cars, and driver likenesses. In addition, the FIA Formula One World Championship games will be developed using the evolution of the EGO Game Technology Engine, Codemasters’ cross-platform middleware technology. The EGO Engine is currently being deployed in the creation of Race Driver: GRID, the latest in Codemasters Studio’s international circuit-based racing series which will be released on May 30th.

The first FIA Formula One World Championship game is set to launch in 2009.

Via: Press Release

Activision has published results for the company’s 2008 financial year and the numbers are pretty impressive. Raking in over $2.9 billion in net earnings gave them a 92% increase in monetary gains over last year’s figures. Activision’s net income stands at $344.9 million, up from $85.8 million last year and kudos goes out to Guitar Hero III and CoD4 helping them out by bringing in one billion dollars each in sales.

Head honcho Robert Kotick stated during a conference call following the published figures:

“During the fiscal year, we were the number one US console and handheld publisher in dollars for the first time ever, according to The NPD Group, and we grew our worldwide share of the console, handheld and PC markets year over year.”

Also mentioned during the conference call was the confirmation of a fifth Call of Duty game, the reinvention of the Tony Hawk series, the announcement of a new Marvel: Ultimate Alliance title and discussions relating to Guitar Hero 4 and its holiday release date.

This means that Activison will be another contender for number one publisher next year, especially considering that they have merged with Blizzard. Just think of the money they will earn when Wrath of the Lich King is unleashed upon the world.

Via: Eurogamer

Turbine and Codemasters Online have announced the launch of “Swig and Toss”, the second mini-game for the Unlock the Mines of Moria website. Registered participants can challenge themselves and their friends to earn special deeds that unlock unique rewards including exclusive videos, images, and in-game items that will aid them on their journey when The Lord of the Rings Online: Mines of Moria launches this fall.Swig and Toss is an axe throwing competition with a bit of drinking and wagering to make things more interesting! In this 10-round game, players try to keep a steady aim while attempting to hit a target with their axe. Hit the mark and win, miss and hear the Dwarves around you scoff at your lack of skill. The more you drink, the more you can wager, but be warned - the more you drink, the blurrier things get and it is harder to see the target.

It is loads of fun, but I am afraid that I am not too good at drinking games so I will one of the few who do not get to unlock any special items when the expansion is released. Hopefully, these items will not be “bind on acquire” and I can purchase them at my Kin’s auction house.

Via: Press Release

Criterion Games announced this morning that the popular driving game Burnout Paradise is being rebuilt specifically for the PC. Burnout Paradise will be the first Burnout title ever made for the PC, customized with expanded multiplayer, enhanced online features, and community driven content.

Originally released for the PS3 and Xbox 360, Burnout Paradise has won over 55 awards worldwide and delivers an open-world environment built for speed, excitement and exploration and boasts a nice transition from single-player offline to online gameplay. The PC version will combine all the open world racing, speed and action of the original game with additional new gameplay.

Want to know more? Then tune into a live webcast on the Criterion Games website at 8:00 AM PST on Friday, May 9th for more details on this announcement.

Via: Press Release
Thumbnail images courtesy of: Videogaming247

Hey buddy, want some WoWcrack? You know you do. Its cheap too, and when I say cheap, I mean free. Follow me into this dark alley and I will give you the goods - make sure no one sees you and that you are not followed or else the deal is off. You aren’t packing heat or wearing a wire are you? Ok cool, let’s do this then.

All of my stuff is premo and pure and it is a new strain of WoWcrack sure to please even the most discerning of tastes. It is called Wrath of the Lich King and I have nine different types.

• The first one is an interview with designer J. Kaplan & Producer J. Allen Brack about what World of Warcraft’s upcoming expansion has to offer.
• Next we have the first footage of air-to-air battles featuring vehicle combat.
• I also have an extended look at new zones (Northrend) and more vehicle combat
• Here I have the Howling Fjord which is one of Lich King’s two starter zones, including the Utgarde Keep instance and the new Tuskar race.
• Then I have this sweet bit of stuff that contains footage of the Borean Tundra which is the Lich King’s other starting zone, along with Howling Fjord. This clip shows both the Alliance and Horde towns, and the Nexus level 71-73 instance.
• Dragonblight is some really good stuff too where you can catch a glimpse of Wyrmrest Temple, the Nerubians, and Naxxramas.
• Like trolls? Then you will love Zul’Drak - the former troll empire has fallen on tough times. It’s not just for ice trolls any more.
• Sholazar Basin is the sister zone to Ungoro Crater. That crashed ship? Hemet Nessingwary’s. Good times to be had with this one
• Last but not least I have the Grizzly Hills where the Venture Co. has set up shop in Northrend, and so have the Furbogs (they live in the fallen, mini-world tree).

So what will it be then? You will take all of them? You are hardcore indeed my friend! Make sure you tell your friends about me, and as long as they are not narcs - I will do my best to supply them with more WoWcrack when it becomes available. In the meantime, if they need more information on my wares, they can check out previous posts on Wrath of the Lich King here. You can also get more of the goods after the break.

Enjoy my friend, but just be careful you don’t OD on all this WoW.

Read the full article

FireSky’s senior VP of strategic operations Joe Ybarra, sees a similarity between television production and game development. FireSky, as you are well aware, is the company who is currently developing the new MMO based upon Stargate Worlds.

Speaking to GamesIndustry, Ybarra stated:

“I think the best way to look at it is that the IP for Stargate Worlds was originally a television series, and what’s really interesting about working on a TV-based property - especially with Stargate - is the fact that it’s an ongoing production and the mentality that they take towards creating the show is very similar to that which we take when building a game.”

FireSky, like other MMOS developers, plan on releasing incremental content on a regular basis which from a developmental standpoint, Ybarra feels is almost the same thing as creating regular content for a television series.

“I think what’s also interesting is that the audiences that consume these products, both from TV with respect to science-fiction programming and gaming, is the same. As we refine our processes, as we start to look into the future of how we can make that relationship between television and gaming even closer than we’ve accomplished already, that’s a really exciting aspect of our business.”

According to GamesIndustry.biz, FireSky will not rely upon a licensed IP but will focus instead on an original IP along with a platform called “Social Networks At Play”, which the company hopes will bring gaming and social networking together.

“…The one thing we have to produce is a great game - and it really doesn’t matter what the property or subject matter is, we have to deliver to the customer a great game,” Ybarra said.

For the complete interview with Joe Ybarra and Rod Nakamoto hit the link below.

Via: GamesIndustry.biz

Today is Thursday, and as always we are happy to give you the latest updates on the games being added to GameTap.This week marks the addition of Alpha Prime, Chameleon Gems, and Flip Words 2 to the subscription games and the 121st title added to the free games list this week is Morning’s Wrath.

• Alpha Prime: Hubbardium is the most precious mineral in the universe. Unfortunately, it also drives anyone who comes in contact with it insane — by radiation or as a curse of Glomar the Greatest, whose very body is made of the stuff, depending on who you ask. And Arnold must now venture deep into the mines on Alpha Prime — while he’s immune to the effects Hubbardium, there’s plenty to be wary of there…

• Flip Words 2: You’ll flip over this word puzzle! Not only are you trying to build words out of a grid, you’re also assembling a secret phrase, letter by letter, in a fashion such as to make Vanna White green with envy. Guess the phrase and you’ll score some massive points!

• Chameleon Gems: You’ve done it with frogs and you’ve done it with crabs, but have you tried it with chameleons? Talking about matching colored gems as they zoom down a track toward a game-ending drain, of course.

• Morning’s Wrath: For centuries, the Leowyn Kingdom has been at peace. Now Ashidian invaders are at the door, and Leowyn’s army is weak. The castle is under siege as former allies betray the Leowyn cause. Princess Morning, descended from a line of noble warriors, must find her way into a dark world below the castle to purify the magic well and drive the invaders off. But the cost of victory may be her sanity…

Also, as an added bonus, on GameTap TV today, you can check out an exclusive interview on Plug and Play with award winning comic book author Brian Bendis talking about Halo Uprising.

As always, for more information on GameTap, check out the official website.

According to The Major, the demo for GRID has gone live. Unfortunately the PC demo has been delayed, but it will be up tomorrow so check back with us for the link to download it.

In Race Driver: GRID, players are taken to beautifully realised and dramatic race locations over three continents to compete in an unprecedented variety of racing events. Packed with the most powerful race cars – new and classic, circuit and drift – players will compete to conquer the most prestigious official race tracks and championships and then go beyond to compete in challenging city-based competitions, through to road events and urban street races.

In Europe, race gamers will compete on the greatest official tracks in prestige Marques including Aston Martin, Koenigsegg and Pagani.

Iconic cities across the U.S. – including San Francisco, Washington DC and Detroit and each with their own atmosphere and events – play hosts to diverse street races. Here, high-performance V8 muscle cars set the pace in aggressive closely fought pack competitions.

In the Far East, Japanese racing culture sets the tone where night races, including Drift racing, take drivers through neon illuminated cities and to outlying mountain roads. There is also the opportunity to compete in races that operate on the fringes of legality in the back streets and industrial areas of Yokohama.

Content: GRID Demo
Price: Free
Availability: All Xbox LIVE regions
Dash Text: [ESRB: E (Everyone)] It’s time to get on the GRID as this superb demo showcases racing in the three regions playable in the full game; Europe Touring Cars at Jarama Circuit, U.S Muscle cars at San Francisco and Japanese Drift Racing at Yokohama Docks. Compete online in the European and U.S races and check out the time trial competitions for the chance to win a car and other ace prizes.

Thanks: Major Nelson

When Pandemic announced back in February that they would be developing the next console version of a Lord of the Rings Game, I was pretty excited. Despite the fact that they are under the umbrella of the evil EA overlords is no matter because Pandemic make great games. Add to this the news that the new LotR title would be like Battlefront but with orcs was even more enticing information, and recently the director for the game Eric Gewirtz revealed even more information for the upcoming title.

Apparently, gamers will be able to choose from different battles from the film such as Helm’s Deep, Pelennor Fields, Minas Tirith, The Black Gates, along with other skirmish areas such as Moria, The Shire and Weathertop. The cool thing about it though is that according to Gewirtz, you get to play play as a bad guy as well and can start “running through The Shire, trampling Hobbits and burning the place to the ground”. Awesome! Death to those nasty little hobbitses. Some other battles or skirmishes that were not featured in the movies will be added as well, these will be from both the books and made up by the writers for the game but will remain true to Tolkien’s lore.

Also according to Gewirtz:

“We’ve focused equal parts on the good perspective and the idea of re-creating cinematic moments from the films — not faithfully so much, but just kind of allowing the player to experience moments that are like the films — but also really, for the first time, letting you get the chance to play as all of the bad guys. Play as the Balrog, play as Sauron and Sarumon, and really kind of live out that fantasy fulfillment of “what would it be like to really just destroy Middle-Earth? What if evil had won?”

During battles, players will be able to choose between fighting as a melee warrior, third-person archer, support class mage or stealth scout and will be given access to key characters from the film and books like Aragorn, Gandalf, and Legolas. Gewirtz also went on to discuss the different modes to choose from, such as Ringwraiths and all other kinds of really interesting tidbits that I just cannot fit in this post.

To read more of the interview, and to get the rest of the scoop on the game, just hit the link below. In the meantime, you can expect Lord of the Rings: Conquest to hit retail sometime in the Fall for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. You can read the full press release issued this morning after the jump.

Thanks: Videogaming247

Read the full article

“People like to invent monsters and monstrosities. Then they seem less monstrous themselves.” – From “The Last Wish”

Orbit has announced the first U.S. publication of “The Last Wish”, the fantasy novel from internationally acclaimed Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. Like his video game counterpart in The Witcher, Geralt de Rivia is a Witcher – a killer-for-hire. Geralt possesses magical and alchemical powers, a deadly blade, and a mordant wit. He is a hitman sent after the creatures of myth and fairytale.

But the lines between good and evil are never straightforward. In a world rife with racism, terrorism, and corruption, every motive is suspect. Hired to rid the world of its demons, Geralt often find that the demons are less guilty then their prey.

“The Last Wish” is a compilation of six “Voice of Reason” short novellas. “The Witcher”, “A Grain of Truth”, “The Lesser Evil”, “A Question of Price”, “The Edge of the World”, and “The Last Wish” which served as the basis to the awesome PC game. Each story builds from previous escapades and if you are familiar with the game, you will easily fall right into in the short stories.

Geralt’s may be a monster killer with a strange code of ethics, but he has no problem bedding any monster who looks like a lovely lass either. He is just too damn cool.

“The Last Wish” has been available in stores since May 1st and if you have not already picked it up, I highly recommend that you do.

Via: Press Release

Tri Synergy and Majestic Studios have announced that they will be bringing Limbo of the Lost, a point-and-click-adventure and puzzle game to the PC.

Fate and Destiny are two brothers battling for supremacy over mankind. Their battleground is a vast stone citadel called The Keep of Lost Souls, created before time and housed within a realm known as LIMBO. It is here gamers must help Captain Benjamin Spooner Briggs as he explores the depths of Limbo in an attempt to save mankind and bring an end to the destructive struggle between Fate and Destiny.

Utilizing a full mouse driven interface, you can expect the following features to be included with the game:

• Immersive sound effects
• Full musical score
• Devious Puzzles
• Play and Reveal storyline
• Each Level feels different in play
• Spectator gameplay - You do not control the main character, you ask him to do certain actions, actions that sometimes he will or will not do
• Over 30 NPC characters to talk with
• 6 levels of logical devious puzzles
• Hours of dialogue with 100% lip synched 3D models
• 100% mouse driven, with optional keyboard shortcuts
• Save your game anywhere at anytime
• No dying, action sequences or sliding puzzles

Look for Limbo of the Lost at retailers nationwide this Summer. For more information, check out the official site and for more screens click here.

Via: Press Release

Poor Harvey Dent. His campaign against crime ended when crime boss Sal “Boss” Maroni threw sulfuric acid in Dent’s face, horribly scarring and discoloring his left hand and the left half of his face. Tormented by his hideous reflection, he becomes not only a shadow of his former self, but a demented villain and changes his name to Two Face. This crazed former attorney uses the toss of his coin to decide whether he acts for good or evil in any situation. Unfortunately, the coin rarely lands on good.

While this may sound like a dire plotline, we can pretty much guess that it will be more light hearted if not down right comical when portrayed in the new LEGO Batman game where a stampede of notorious criminals have busted out of Arkham Asylum (the place where Gotham City houses only the shadiest of characters).

It’s up to the famed Caped Crusader to sweep Gotham clean of criminal activity using everything at his disposal, including crime-fighting vehicles as well as several baddie-bashing gadgets.

LEGO Batman is expected to be released in September on multiple platforms. You can view more of the new screens featuring Two Face and others by clicking here.

A demo has been released for the PC game Overclocked: A History of Violence which hit stores on April 16th. Published by Lighthouse Interactive and dtp Entertainment and created by House of Tales Entertainment, players will delve into the world of Overclocked to explore the deranged minds of three of the five patients admitted to the Staten Island Forensic Hospital.

Set against the backdrop of a catastrophic thunderstorm raging over New York City, step into the world of Overclocked as former army psychiatrist, David McNamara. You are called to the Staten Island Forensic Hospital in New York City to consult on a case that requires your expertise in forensic psychiatry. Tasked with exploring the minds of five young men and women who were found scared, screaming, and without memory, you make alarming discoveries as you begin to cautiously probe the psyches of your young patients. Throughout the game, you will play as five other characters in this chilling interactive psycho thriller.

You can get the demo for Overclocked: A History of Violence by hitting the badge below. For more information on the game check out our previous posts.

Come, Watson, come! The game is afoot,

Legacy Interactive announced today the release of The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes, a whodunit casual computer game of theft, espionage and murder in which the player must tap their own powers of observation to solve puzzles and identify the culprits.

The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes is the first computer game officially licensed by the Conan Doyle Estate. It features familiar personalities including Sherlock Holmes, Watson, Mycroft, Inspector Lestrade and more than 100 historical characters that will launch players into the world of the eccentric and famous detective. For each of the 16 individual cases, an overall storyline is revealed and a list of potential suspects is whittled down until the perpetrator is ultimately exposed.

In each case, set in Victorian London, players encounter the following puzzles: a hidden object puzzle, Sudoku, find the difference puzzle, and a picture memory game. There are also additional puzzles and mini-games such as anagrams, cryptograms and jigsaw memory games, which are available at various levels. Legacy has gone to great lengths to insure that the puzzles and mini-games are relevant to the period and storyline of the game as the player journeys from locales such as the British Museum, Big Ben, Kew Gardens, the Royal Theater and others in search of clues that are then evaluated back at 221b Baker Street.

Game Features:

• Play as part of the venerable team of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson
• There are 16 different mystery cases for players to solve
• Over 100 visual puzzles and mini-games tailored to the subject and period of the game reveal a cohesive storyline as you play
• A wide variety of mind-bending puzzles including hidden object, find the difference, picture Sudoku and picture memory games
• Realistic and relevant clues for each case
• Gamers can easily begin their adventure where they just left off; there is no disruption in game play
• Players can explore 40 historically accurate locations around Victorian London
• Officially licensed by the Conan Doyle Estate

For more information on The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes, or to download the game, click here.

Via: Press Release

UFO Alien Invasion is a strategy game for the PC from WW3 Design featuring tactical combat against hostile alien forces which are about to infiltrate earth at this very moment. You are in command of a small special unit which has been founded to face the alien strike force. To be successful on the long run, you will also have to have a research team study the aliens and their technologies in order to learn as much as possible about their technology, their goals and the aliens themselves.

Heavily inspired by the ‘X-COM’ series by Mythos and Microprose, the first game of the series, UFO Defense, became a classic and while UFO: Alien Invasion is neither a sequel nor a remake, it is still a turn-based strategy game like the former. Each member of your squad has a limited number so called “time units” each round, which are consumed when you order the unit to walk, to fire a weapon or to perform any of the other miscellaneous actions. When all your forces are out of time units, the alien’s turn starts. In addition to eliminating as many enemies as possible, your mission is to minimize civilian casualties as well as to acquire parts of the advanced alien technology.

Here are the links for UFO: Alien Invasion

• UFO: Alien Invasion v2.2.1 Free Full Game - Windows
• UFO: Alien Invasion v2.2.1 Free Full Game - Linux
• UFO: Alien Invasion v2.2.1 Source Code
• UFO: Alien Invasion v2.2.1 Map Pack

I have been looking forward to the release of Rise of the Argonauts for over a year now. The screens that Codemasters and Liquid Entertainment have been releasing lately are drop dead gorgeous and while I am not sure if theses are from cutscenes or actual gameplay (I am presuming the former) they are very vibrant and tantilising to be sure.

With deep exploration and epic quests, players will take the role of Jason, King of Iolchis, and battle alongside iconic mythological heroes including Hercules, Achilles, Atalanta and others. As Jason grows from young king to true legend, set sail aboard the Argo and explore the vast Aegean – a dynamic world of islands filled with shining cities, lush jungles and deep forests.

Gamers will leave their mark on ancient Greece as they engage in blood-spurting combat against hordes of enemy warriors, ruthless beasts and mythological creatures. Whether Jason is lopping off heads or cutting warriors in half with his sword or if Hercules is wrestling with giant beasts, hopefully it will be a fun time for all.

Like all true heroes of Greece, the gods follow Jason on his quests. Jason will gain the favour of the gods and earn special abilities, but his actions may please some gods and displease others. Earning a god’s favour will grant players powers within the god’s domain, but drawing a god’s wrath may cause them to inflict a torment on the heroes at the worst possible moment.

For more information as well as a trailer, check out our previous posts. Rise of the Argonauts is expected to be released this fall for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 according to the Codemasters website.

As Big Tuesday looms over us, three days from now GTA IV will hit the world upside the head with a baseball bat. While this game is indeed the most anticipated and hyped game to headline gaming news since Halo 3 - I for one will not get to play it with the rest of the world on Tuesday because I am in the process of moving this week. I have sat at my computer for a couple of weeks now, listening to my boyfriend play GTA 1-3, Vice City, and San Andreas in anticipation of his pre-order and while I love the GTA games, I am sick to death of hearing about GTA IV, and because of this franchise hogging my television screen for the past few weeks - I could care less about the launch.

Ok, I am lying. I am just bitter because I will be too busy moving to play the game - and I am sure the folks I work with will rub it in my face like a banana cream pie all next week. They better not though, because I have a general idea of where they all live.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings - which are nothing more than a distraction from the fact that the demos that hit FileFront were nominal again this week. Studies may show that trailers work better when promoting a product than demos, but I personally think that it is only because once a gamer plays a demo, they know how crappy the game is and refuse to buy it. With trailer, you have no idea until it is too late - just like a bad boyfriend or girlfriend.

Here is a list of the demos with the most downloads this week:

• Conflict Desert Storm: A demo version of conflict desert storm, just extract it, some video bugs.co-op. The PC version does not support co-op. The game begins shortly after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990. During an attempt to destroy one of the bridges crossing the Iraq-Kuwait border, sniper Paul Foley is captured, while his other team member is killed. The next morning, John Bradley, a rifleman, and later on, squad leader, is sent in alone to rescue Foley and complete the original mission of destroying the bridge. Shortly after landing, Bradley comes into a firefight with a small force of Iraqi mechanized infantry. Shortly after rescuing Foley, Bradley completes the mission of destroying the bridge, thus slowing the Iraqi advance. From there, the squad carries out various missions, such as rescuing the Emir of Kuwait, engaging Iraqi forces in the Battle of Khafji, destroying Iraqi early-warning radar, rescuing POWs from Baghdad, and leading an advance element of U.S. cavalry in a fight with the Tawalkana Division of the Iraqi Republican Guard. Also the player protects a scientist whose purpose is to disarm a nuclear warhead for an ICBM, collect plutonium to prevent the creation of more nuclear warheads and later go after General Aziz who at least in the game is the Iraqi Supreme Commander and who’s death will shorten the war as he doesn’t want to give up.

• I Wanna Be The Guy Demo: I Wanna Be The Guy: The Movie: The Game is a sardonic loveletter to the halcyon days of early American videogaming, packaged as a nail-rippingly difficult platform adventure. Players fill the role of The Kid, a youthful, vaguely Megaman-esque protagonist on a quest to become The Guy. This inscrutable plot, however, is just a vehicle for a wide variety of inventive, well-designed and frustrating jump-and-shoot challenges that pay homage to many of the games you loved as a child. The ever-fragile Kid explodes in a shower of red pixels at the slightest brush from the game’s many obstacles, from traditional spikes and bottomless pits to more unconventional killers, such as plantlife and puzzle pieces. You’ll die a thousand deaths and know you deserved every one of them. All the NES references, like the hundred foot tall fire breathing Mike Tyson, are just icing on the killing-the-hell-out-of-us cake. This demo lets you face 3 bosses.

• Baseball Mogul 2009 Demo: Baseball Mogul 2009 gives you complete control on the field, combined with an easy-to-learn interface and thousands of stats at your fingertips. With customized ratings and head-to-head stats for every player, you have everything you need to win the battle of wits between batter and pitcher.

• WorldShift Multiplayer: Black Sea Studios has released a multiplayer demo for WorldShift. The demo contains two cooperative multiplayer maps (The Lost Coast and Tay-Rammin tundra), also playable 1vs1.

• Voxelstein 3D : FPS game inspired by Wolfenstein 3D. The game uses Ken Silverman’s VOXLAP engine to render voxels in software. The levels in the game are fully destructible - and by fully we mean fully.The game world is built from tiny cubes called voxels. There are over 37 million in the first level. Rendering a world like this is slow (especially without hardware acceleration), but there is an advantage: voxels can be added, removed or otherwise altered very very quickly. This enables all kinds of cool stuff, including fully destructible worlds. Features: Weapons: knife, pistol, chaingun, grenades, C4. Enemies: guard, officer. Many treasures to collect, fully destructible world: blow holes in walls, ceilings, enemies, anywhere. Loads original sounds and music from Wolfenstein 3D. P.S. Check the game directory for a demo of the original Wolfenstein 3D.

Patches are listed below, but I must warn you, there are not too many of those either. The largest ones to hit this week were LotRO: Shadows of Angmar Book 13 and Hellgate: London (single player patch). As always, for more demos and patches, hit the respective links.

The Golden Horde, Seven Kingdoms: Conquest v1.04 , Fate of Hellas, UFO: Afterlight v1.6 , Cabal Online US (04-21-08), and Frontlines: Fuel of War v1.0.2 Ded Server Hotfix