Every time at E3, there's a game that you have never heard of before you arrive that you get to see and totally surprises you. For us, that game at E3 2008 was Wanted, a title that actually serves as a sequel to the impressive Universal Studios action game based (loosely) on the Top Cow comic book from writer Mark Millar and artist J.G. Jones.

At a last minute appointment during E3 we got to see a quick live demo of the Wanted game at Warner Bros. Interactive's meeting room (the company is distributing the title) on an Alienware PC using an Xbox 360 Windows controller. For those of you who haven't seen the movie, here's a MAJOR SPOILER WARNING as we intend to talk about the ending in the next paragraph

Electronic Arts' EA press conference is long over with but we do have a ton of new screenshots for a number of games that the publisher released today. Naturally all of the shots are for titles that will be released for the PC. Unfortunately there's no Dragon Age Origins shots today but we hope to get the first ones later this week

DICE's first-person action-adventure game Mirror's Edge is one of the wild cards of the 2008 lineup for all platforms (assuming it actually does come out in 2008). So far, we've had to rely on clues from a lone gameplay video and a recent story trailer. Now we have a bit more to work with; an interview and a few new screenshots. It's not much, but it's something, right?

In an interview at the EA3 (no, not E3!) press event, Mirror's Edge Senior Producer Owen O'Brien described the game design philosophy behind DICE's new game. The idea is that everything -- including combat -- is grounded in a free movement mechanic that is easy to learn but difficult to master. In fact, the combat controls consist of two buttons -- attack, and disarm. Exactly how those work depends on how you set up the action with movement beforehand.

Watch the interview for more, and be sure to check out the screenshots as well.

Download the Mirror's Edge Gameplay Video from Big Download!
Download the Mirror's Edge Story Trailer from Big Download!

Ever since the Diablo 3 announcement, we've hosted a ton of downloads for Diablo 2, for both Mac and PC. However, if you're running the latest and greatest Mac hardware, you're likely shut out of reliving your D2 days of glory, unless you run it in Boot Camp. It's clear that the gameplay of D2 holds a special place in our hearts. So much so, in fact, that any game featuring similar gameplay is usually warmly received, if not continued to be played once the initial romance wears off.

Such a game is Depths of Peril, a top-down isometric RPG in the style of Diablo, Ultima VIII, etc. There are many qualities unique to this title that makes it stand out from the pack, including some of the most complex and vast histories in any game I've ever played, and gameplay which does a great job of simulating the MMO experience, even though Depths of Peril is a single-player game. We take a look after the jump.

Vin Diesel is one handsome actor (cue Saturday Night Live sketch memory). Hey, the person behind the Riddick series of movies (and the game) continues to work in movies but he's also got the upcoming Midway action-driving game Wheelman on his docket. Diesel isn't just in the game; much like his work on the Chronicles of Riddick title he is actively involved with the development team in the design of Wheelman.

Midway recently sent out some new screenshots of the game where Diesel will lend his voice and likeness to a character described as an law enforcement agency who goes undercover as a "wheelman" getaway driver to expose crime in Barsalona, Spain. The game is due for release later this fall for the PC and other platforms.

One of the biggest PC game exclusives at E3 this week will be Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II, the upcoming full sequel to the best selling sci-fi RTS game from developer Relic and publisher THQ. This weekend a new official community web site has launched for the game with some more info on the development of the title.

The community site comes with some new screenshots from Dawn of War II (including the above shot of a huge War Boss unit) which show off some more bloodly graphical goodness from the advanced engine that was used to power Relic's last major game Company of Heroes. Look for lots more info on the game this week; Dawn of War II is due for release in 2009.

Project Powder, the snowboarding multiplayer online game, has recently finished its first closed beta, and is ramping up for closed beta 2. We recently had a chance to check this title out at Outspark's San Francisco studio, and can vouch for its exciting gameplay.

As some of what we've seen will likely change by launch, we'll refrain from going into too many details here. Rest assured, however, there is a good chance will be bringing you some first impressions soon enough! Until then, enjoy these screenshots of actual gameplay!

Hey, how many of you think the name of the upcoming James Bond movie and game Quantum of Solace is about the worst title ever? Seriously, whatever happened to cool titles like Goldfinger and Thunderball? Quantum of Solace sound about as appealing as a tax audit.

Anyway, we are stuck with the title because Activision Blizzard is releasing the game version this fall with the movie's star Daniel Craig providing his voice and likeness to the game's portrayal of 007. A few new screenshots from the game, developed by Treyarch, have been released and use the Call of Duty 4 engine so there's at least some good visuals to go along with the crappy title. Look for the game to appear alongside the movie this fall.

The publisher just released new screenshots from the game which shows off some of the environments in both the game's Pacific Theater as well as the fall of Berlin by Russian forces. The game, developed by Treyarch, is scheduled for release for the PC and other platforms this fall.

Even as Turbine continues to work on their Mines of Moria commercial expansion pack for their fantasy MMO Lord of the Rings Online, they are also working on their next free content update for the game. This week the developer released the first screenshots from the upcoming Book 14 update

Book 14's official titles is The Ring-forges of Eregion and is basically an end to Volume 1 of the game's storyline that began with its launch back in April 2007 as the Fellowship begins to leave Rivendell. The update will also feature a new camera that will be used for in-game engine cut scenes. There will also be updates to some of the game's high instances as well as other content additions. The commerical expansion pack Mines of Moria, which begins Volume 2 of the game's storyline, is scheduled for release this fall.

It looks like The Creative Assembly will be busy at E3 this week. In addition to their previously announced historical RTS game Empire: Total War the developer is also working on their first sci-fi RTS title Stormrise. While today's press release from the developer's publisher Sega emphasized that Stormrise will be released on consoles, it is indeed being released for the PC as well.

The game takes place on an Earth centuries after some kind of unnamed disaster has happened, leaving the planet as a wasteland. The two factions are the tech heavy Echelon and the more tribal Sai as each battles the other for control of the planet. The game will allow player to control units close to the ground rather that from a top down view point. Stormrise is schedule for release sometime in 2009.

As we get closer to E3's start date, we get closer to seeing the games that we are going to play and/or see demo during the show. One of the big ones is Crysis Warhead, the stand alone continuation of Crytek's first person shooter series. The game's publisher Electronic Arts has released some new screenshots from the title that once again shows stuff blowing up really good in the game.

The game uses an improved version of CryEngine 2, the graphics engine Crytek developed for the original Crysis and is now licensing to other developers. Apparently the game will take place at some point near a gas station. We wondering if blowing it up is Crytek's not-too-sutle way of commenting on the rise of oil this year. Hmmmm . . .

Russian game developer/publisher Akella is set to make an appearance at E3 next week showing off all PC titles in their line-up. One of those titles is the sci-fi RTS game Heavy Duty and today the company released some new screenshots showing the game in action.

One of the more interesting things about Heavy Duty is that it takes place on a planet that you can zoom out from and even rotate rather than the typical flat maps you see in other RTS titles. You control mech-like vehicles on the battlescape and Akella states that the maps will have deformation aspects that will allow for things like landslides.and sinking of the ground to deform the area. Again we hope to see Heavy Duty at Akella's E3 meeting room next week.

Your daily wrap-up of the hottest stories in PC gaming in the last 24 hours.

	Big Download's most anticipated PC games for E3 2008: 20-16 On Monday we went through our 25-21 picks so if its Tuesday it must be time for the 20-16 picks on our list. As we mentioned previously, these are just our predictions on what games will be shown at the event; many of these titles have not been officially confirmed to be at E3 as of this writing.
	Spore Creature Creator Contest Top 10 Winners! Now we turn the contest over to you, the Big Download readers. Check out the Top 10 Spore creatures and vote for your favorite by replying to this post (one vote per person, please). Grand prize winner gets a Wacom Intuos3 6x11 drawing tablet. Second Prize is a EVGA NVIDIA e-GeForce 8800GT Superclocked video card. Third prize winner will receive a EVGA NVIDIA e-GeForce 9600GT video card.
	New Fallout 3 fan Q&A includes new screenshots Bethesda Softworks' work on the upcoming post-apocalyse RPG Fallout 3 has generated tons of comments (good and, well, fanatic) from fans of the first two Fallout titles from Interplay. Now the official Fallout 3 message board forums have posted up an extensive Q&A with highly specialized questions from those very fans.
	Frontlines: Fuel of War Beta Demo now available A Beta Demo for developer Kaos Studios' Frontlines: Fuel of War is now available, weighing in at a hefty 1.8GB. The beta, which is also a demo (but also a beta), allows players the chance to wage war on maps Oilfield and GNAW.
	New Prince of Persia screenshots come forward Ubisoft has already launched one revamp of the classic Prince of Persia game series and this fall they are going back to square one again with yet another reimagining of the franchise. The publisher sent out some new screenshots from the upcoming game that's due in stores this fall.

The Big Download Team thanks everyone who participated in the Spore Creature Creator Giveaway Contest. We got a ton of fantastic, creative, creatures and had a tough time choosing our favorites, but we managed to pick out 10 lucky winners who will each get a free upgrade to the full version of the Spore Creature Creator.

Now we turn the contest over to you, the Big Download readers. Check out the Top 10 Spore creatures and vote for your favorite by replying to this post (one vote per person, please). Grand prize winner gets a Wacom Intuos3 6x11 drawing tablet. Second Prize is a EVGA NVIDIA e-GeForce 8800GT Superclocked video card. Third prize winner will receive a EVGA NVIDIA e-GeForce 9600GT video card.

So, check out the Spore Creature Creator Contest Top 10 gallery and cast your vote today! We'll tally up all the votes on July 14 and announce the grand prize winners on the 15th.



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Review Official Rules for giveaway

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