EA Sports announced that you'll be able to download a demo of NHL 09 this afternoon on the PlayStation Network.  The demo will allow you to play the Red Wings against the Penguins and test out the new Be a Pro mode.  Xbox 360 owners will get their chance at the demo in September.  NHL 09 has been the dominant franchise for the last two years and I'm interested to see how they've improved on the Pro-Stick controls this year.  I've never played the game on the PS3 so there's going to be a little learning cover I think.

Update: EA just sent word that the demo has been delayed and won't be out until "Late August".  Given that next week is the last week of August I'm guessing it's going to be next Thursday. [READ MORE]

Xbox 360 fans left out in the cold by the timed exclusive demo of NHL 09 will be happy to know that 2K Sports has their back and has released a demo of NHL 2K9 on Xbox Live today.  The demo is limited to one three minute period of hockey between the Pens and Red Wings (again).  2K sports admitted at E3 that they were behidn and have a few tricks up their sleaves for this year's hockey game and I'm interested to see what exactly they are as they've been a bit mum on the topic.  I'll be buying the game no matter what as Rick Nash is on the cover but I'm hoping they've stepped up their game a bit. [READ MORE]

When Rock Band 2 is released, an update will appear on the 360 to let give you an option of transferring over most songs from the first game. DLC will work automagically. This won't be a free service though as you'll have to pay $5 to move the songs over to the latest game. $5 isn't too bad I guess and while it sucks to have to pay for the move it's better than nothing. I'm sure those that don't have the first game will just rent or borrow a copy and transfer them over saving themselves a few bills in the process. Right now it just says 360 but I'm sure the PS3 will be the same. The Wii and PS2? Well, that'll be a conundrum. What do you think? $5 too much or that's OK with you?

For yesterday's entry, I went to one of my old C64 classics. I played PSI-5 Trading Company a lot on the Commodore 64 when I was a kid and it was one of the more unique games at the time. Today we have three pictures for you and you can see two more when you click on the Read More button. This game, as well as the company, were one of my favorites for the system. [READ MORE]

Demos, Clients

• Secret Files 2: Puritas Cordis German demo.
• ArchLord Episode 3: Spirits Awakening client.

Trailers

• Crysis Warhead Announcement (QT HD)
• Killzone 2 GC 2008 Multiplayer (WMV)
• Resident Evil 5 GC 2008 Trailer (WMV)
• Tom Clancy's EndWar GC 2008 Trailer (WMV)
• Far Cry 2 Map Editor (QT HD)
• Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Talent (QT 720p)
• Rage In-Game Teaser (QT HD)
• Silent Hill: Homecoming GC 2008 Trailer (MP4)
• Velvet Assassin Shadows (WMV)
• Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Cinematic (WMV 720p)
• Team Fortress 2 Meet the Sandvich (WMV)

Screenshots

• Grand Theft Auto IV (PC screens)
• Far Cry 2
• Fallout 3

Articles

• It's not too late to get into the drama as Defunct Games reads Bionic Commando chapters 3 and 4.
• Techgage published a follow-up look on the benchmarking/overclocking Nehalem, based on new details surfacing yesterday.
• The Hachiko says Galaga Legions on XBLA "gets the job done for bringing Galaga into the world of next-gen consoles."
• Roughly (but still commendably) English-translated coverage of The Witcher Enhanced Edition has been compiled by Polish website, gram.pl.
• The Noctua NH-C12P Cooler may not utilize an optimal design.
• Here's what you should pay attention to with the NVIDIA nForce 700a and GeForce 8000 Chipsets.
• Legit Reviews has extensive coverage of IDF:  Intel Solid State Drives and Inside the X18-M, 16GB DDR3 Memory Modules with MetaRam, and Intel IDF 2008 - Opening Keynote Highlights.
• Techgage is at IDF in San Francisco, too, soaking in the new reveals about Nehalem.
• AtomicGamer previews the revivalist Prince of Persia.

Thanks to Defunct Games, Techgage, AtomicGamer, The Hachiko, Gram.pl, BurnOutPC, and Digit-Life for today's News Roundup.

Activision wrangled the Quantum of Solace Bond movie stars into the video game recording booth:  Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Mathieu Amalric, and Olga Kurylenko will all be fully voice featured in the upcoming game that's built on the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare game engine.  Interestingly, the awesome Judi Dench (who plays the character M in the films) is the only one with a strong background in voice acting, with plenty of movie narration credits to her name, as well as previous video game work in GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, and The World Is Not Enough.  Comparatively, the other actors are soundbooth virgins, since I also don't think Olga Kurylenko's role in the Hitman movie counts. 

Here's a couple videos of Activision's high tech character-likeness mapping procedures.



[READ MORE]

This is going to come off wrong, but Warhammer Online's war-for-war's-sake premise has always left me with a cold shoulder.  It looks great, and the combat mechanics will be tabletop-comprehensive; no one's arguing against that.  I guess I'm just asking myself that old actors' adage:  "What's my motivation?"  But if this video teaches you nothing else, it's that life in WAR is fleeting.  Boy, it's a smashing-good video though.  This one just might seal the deal for folks that have been on the fence about WAR, and even non-MMO fans can get a kick out of the brutal sense of battlefield humor.

Set against the backdrop of a city under siege, a devious Goblin Squig Herder, mutating Chaos Marauder, and deadly Dark Elf Sorceress (bet on her) lead the invading hordes of Destruction in the assault on the city of Altdorf.  Rallying the forces of Order in defense of their capital are the noble High Elf Shadow Warrior, fiery Empire Bright Wizard, and stalwart Dwarf Engineer.  To the victors go the spoils of war; to the defeated, utter annihilation.

Wizards of the Coast has unleashed its new Dungeons & Dragons: Tiny Adventures application on an unsuspecting Facebook community today. This strangely addictive little app. has overburdened servers with members waiting anxiously for their next adventure to begin.

You start by selecting one of several character templates. I chose the Elf Ranger by a narrow margin over the Tiefling Warlock. After naming her, I sent her into the nearest swamp to gain some experience which hopefully comes with gold and loot. Part of the draw to Tiny Adventures is winning or purchasing new potions, weapons and armor to trick out you character with. Each step of an adventure comes with a blow by blow commentary that will appeal to anyone whose sense of humor is a bit on the dark side and pop culture references.

WotC has discovered a very simple, ingenious way to introduce a lot of new people to D&D 4.0. The cooperative team building nature of the new Pen and Paper rules are mirrored in Tiny Adventures which allows players to heal or buff their friends. The game is addictive and will have you leaving your Facebook open so you count the minutes until you can continue your adventures. To get in on the game, check out the latest WotC Digital Insider or look up the Dungeons & Dragons: Tiny Adventures application on Facebook. [READ MORE]

Direct2Drive is an increasingly popular outlet for developers to get their games into the hands of their customers. Clear Drown Studios is releasing their real time strategy game for the PC titled Shattered Suns on the web download service.

"We are very excited to offer Shattered Suns available for digital distribution on the day that the game releases into retail," said Chas. Cooper, Founder of Clear Crown Studios. "By providing gamers the ability to purchase through Direct2Drive, we are working with a trusted leader in the industry giving our fans the best experience possible in downloading our games."Shattered Suns sounds a lot like Sins of the Solar Empire with its reinterpretation of the classic real time strategy genre. In Shattered Suns custom-designed space ships clash in 3 dimensional space, but with the added twist of having to keep track of how shifting planets and orbiting objects change the battlefield.

Consumers can download Shattered Suns today at http://www.direct2drive.com. Shattered Suns is rated E10+ by ESRB with an MSRP of $39.99 (USD). [READ MORE]

One sport that EA hasn't really gotten into is tennis but that's about to change. They have announced and all new tennis game in development and will first be available for the Wii in 2009 with other platforms later on. For those wondering, yes it will take advantage of the Wii MotionPlus add-on. I'm glad to see EA will be utilizing the peripheral to offer a more accurate swing for the game. You can expect all the licensed venues and players to appear as well. [READ MORE]

Reuters is reporting that the US government sees no problems with Electronic Arts buying out Take Two.  This news comes one day after EA officially dropped their hostile bid to buy Take Two and entered negotiations to buy out the company.  It looks like the road to a EA-Take Two merger is all but complete except for nailing down the brass tacks and coming up with a final number.  I can't say that I have a good feeling about the merger but it seemed inevitable once EA made the initial offer. 

It will be interesting to see what EA does with the final company and what studios will make the cut and which ones won't.  I imagine we've seen the last year of dual hockey titles and I imagine that we'll see a lot of developers hitting the streets. 

Konami announced today that they will be bringing Silent Hill Homecoming to PC's this September through Valve's Steam service.  From the release it looks like this will be the only way PC gamers will be able to get their hands on the game but we're following up with Konami to see if that's the case.  Certainly good news for PC fans with a thirst for horror games. [READ MORE]

I guess this answers the question of "What would Pac Man look like as a horror movie with a bunch of guys in multi-colored tarps" Thanks to Cinematical for the link