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!

A trailer for developer Black Rock Studio's Pure has been released, revealing 20 seconds of developer and publisher logos and approximately 30 seconds of blistering, dirt-ridden off-road action. Pure will be available for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC this September.

Download the HD Pure trailer from Big Download

The first trailer for GTR Evolution has been released, offering a look at Simbin Development Team AB's forthcoming PC racer. Alongside the trailer's debut is the game's official website, which offers picture galleries and a few tidbits of info regarding GTRE.

Boasting the game as the racing genre's next big evolution, the Simbin team touts GTR Evolution features such as having "Race-line in Time-Trial ... inspired by the Race-line in GTR2 but features more options," as well as "distinctive brake-markers to indicate braking points, [so that] the game can now show two Race-lines simultaneously. These Race-lines including their ghost-files and setups can be up- or downloaded in-game as well."

Download the GTR Evolution trailer from Big Download

It sounds like Peter Moore has been getting more and more flack for his positions on PC sport games. The head of Electronic Arts' sports division shocked many when he announced earlier this year they would not release a PC port of Madden NFL 09 (indeed EA will only release two PC sports games this year, FIFA Soccer 09 and NHL 09). In his latest blog posting on the EA Sports web site, Moore continues to defend the company's decision to scale back their PC releases.

Moore has been slammed by fans of the genre in previous posts and he states he's risking "once again opening the floodgates of people comparing me to the devil incarnate." However he feels that the PC platform has declined compared to the console for "authentic, fully-licensed, simulation sports games" thanks to current next -gen consoles having "high definition graphics and 5.1 sound capabilities." The growing use of downloadable PC games is another factor, according to Moore, and piracy is also an issue. Ultimately, Moore states EA needs to make money to fund further development of games, saying "We are not making games in garages or bedrooms any more."

Moore continues to state that EA Sports will not abandon the PC platform, but, "you sometimes have to hit the reset button." He hints that the company is thinking about "new, innovative, maybe even less-expensive ways to play all of our franchises on the PC." but at the moment "we are assessing all of the options open to us to shift the current paradigm for our games on this platform."

Electronic Arts may not care that it made PC football fans upset when it decided not to release a PC version of Madden NFL 09 this year but that apparently isn't stopping EA Sports from making a PC port of FIFA Soccer 09. The publisher announced today that all of the versions of the pro soccer game, due out this fall, will have some kind of unique feature.

So what will the PC port have? EA Sports says that version of the game will have "leading-edge visuals that deliver graphics that exploit the power of hi-spec gaming PCs, as requested by PC gamers." Okay. That sounds good. The PC port will also have "customizable mouse gameplay controls" and "customizable widgets are now integrated into the menu system." According to the game's producer Paul Hossack, "Gamers want a gameplay experience exclusively for PC and FIFA Soccer 09 on PC delivers this." Meanwhile PC NFL fans sit around their rigs staring at an empty screen . . .we just don't get it.

Who cares if Peter Moore and the rest of EA Sports have seemingly abandoned PC sports games? Developer Cyanide Studio and publisher Focus Home Interactive will be giving PC games a very different football-style game in Blood Bowl in early 2009. The publisher just released the first teaser trailer for the game, mixing CGI cut scenes with in-game engine gameplay.

Yes, it's Amercian football if it were set in a fantasy world where magic, orcs and other creatures could form teams and beat the crap out of each other on the field. Based on the Games Workshop tabletop title, Blood Bowl will be a mix of sports and turn based strategy and promises to make us forget that dull Madden game. Some new screenshots from the game have also been added to our gallery.

Download the Blood Bowl teaser trailer at Big Download right now

The world's most popular sport is coming back to PC in gaming form this Autumn, at least in Europe. Today Konami announced the latest installment of their popular soccer football franchise, Pro Evolution Soccer 2009, will release on the PC as well as consoles in Europe later this year. Known for its hardcore simulation gameplay and realism, PES 2009 promises to bring the franchise to the next level with a complete graphical overhaul and additions that hope to blur the line between the digital and real life game. While last season's offering was plagued with issues, PES 2009 promises to extend realism and "produce a football title that truly embodies all the skill and pace that is good about the modern game," according to Jon Murphy, PES 2009 project lead for Konami Digital Entertainment. Release dates for the rest of the world have yet to be determined.

Donnie Clay crawled as quietly as possible through thick lines of vegetation. He paused as his head broke free of the brush. In front of him was a jumble of hoof tracks that criss-crossed in every direction. Smiling, Donnie pressed a button on his Xbox 360 controller. "There's a tracking system in Deer Hunter Tournament," he said. "If you find deer tracks and aren't quite sure what they are, you can press a button which will orient you to the track."

Now set on the proper course, the producer of publisher Atari's Deer Hunter Tournament rose to his feet and continued to creep quietly forward. His high-caliber rifle, gripped in gloved fists, was equipped with a thermal scope.

A tracking system, and a scope capable of reading heat temperatures? Yes, Bambi appeared to be doomed -- so long as Donnie was able to claim him faster than legions of other eager hunters.

This week (and probably many other weeks to follow), Valve owns the world of PC gaming. In addition to a week filled with excellent Team Fortress 2 news and excellent gaming compilations, two new games and two excellent weekend sales have made their way to the Steam digital distribution platform. Yes, we think it's safe to classify Steam as its own platform.

The first of two new additions is Crazy Machines 2, a creative design title "packed with all new features to help you create your wackiest 'Rube Goldberg-style' contraptions yet!" Crazy Machines 2 features over 150 elements which can be used to create or demolish 200 levels, tons of Rube Goldberg-style puzzles, and a $19.99 price tag.

Next up to the virtual plate is Out of the Park Baseball 9, a baseball sim focused on managerial skills. According to the game's description on SteamPowered.com, the $39.99 baseball title "lets you do almost anything a real life general manager can do to guide a baseball team to glory. Set your line-ups. Replace that aging veteran with a rookie from your minor leagues. Put your injured starter on the disabled list and scout the waiver wire for someone to fill that roster spot. Put that disgruntled star heading for free agency on the trade block, and see what shakes out."

This week's annual Steam weekend sale features Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6 Vegas 2 for $30, and Call of Juarez for $10, with each game seeing a $20 decrease from their typical price tags.

It's the very beginning of summer and there's still snow on the mountains in some parts, but it's not too early to start thinking about snow boarding. Outspark just announced that they're accepting applications for the Project Powder closed beta.

Project Powder is an online multiplayer snowboard racing game set in the not-so-distant future of 2146 AD. Apparently global warming got the best of us, melted the Earth's ice caps, and now winter is a thing of the past. Mankind's unexplainable lust for snow and pristine powder led them to create warp gates which took them to virgin planets blanketed in the cold, white stuff. Sounds flimsy, but hey... it's a racing game! Based on the screen shots, the graphics looks interesting (almost cell-shaded), and might be fun for a casual change of pace. And who doesn't like to beat their friends, right?

Closed Beta will let players choose from three of the four characters and race through six of the game's thirty-three courses, while competing in three different game modes. Beating opponents levels up your character and earns currency to buy new gear and snowboards. You can also use Project Powder's trick tree to customize movesets and new tricks. All in in a low gravity atmosphere. Registration is now open, but beta space is limited (servers open on June 24). Those who get accepted will be notified via email.

A GRID 1.1 demo has been released, perfect for those who are curious as to what the new Codemasters racer brings to the genre. The behemoth download includes fixes for issues such as wheels turning properly for players in Spectator mode, support for Xinput wheel and Logitech Rumblepad 2 hardware, a several compatibility tweaks.

Download the GRID 1.1 demo at Big Download.

Electronic Arts loves sports games, especially football which has been the company's bread and butter for a long time. The publisher generated a ton of controversy when it announced a few years ago that it had secured an exclusive third party NFL game license which put other NFL games from Midway and 2K Games out of the picture. Now two gamers have apparently had enough and are taking EA to court.

According to an article on Gamespot, the two unnamed gamers filed a class action lawsuit in the US District Court of Northern California. It alleges that EA participated in "blatantly anticompetitive conduct" in gaining the exclusive NFL franchise back in 2005. Before that event 2K Sports released NFL 2K5 at a price point of $19.95 which ate into EA's revenues for its rival NFL Madden game. However, instead of just lowering the price and making a better product for the next year, EA decided to just buy the exclusive rights to NFL games along with Arena Football and NCAA football games. The suit claims that such actions, along with EA's proposed takeover of 2K Sports' parent company Take Two Interactive "would remove one of the few companies with the ability and expertise to compete in the market for interactive football software." EA has yet to respond to the lawsuit.

Of course this mostly affect console gamers, especially now since EA decided this year not to release a PC port of Madden NFL. However if this lawsuit is successful perhaps this will get NFL games from other publishers on the PC platform once more. We are all in favor of competition and it's clear that with EA's current lock on the NFL franchise they hold all the cards on having true licensed pro football games on the PC. With their decision to deny PC gamers that opportunty this year it just adds more fuel to the fire for this lawsuit to succeed.

Last week, Codemasters held a launch event for their new GRID racing title. The event, which was co-sponsored by eBay Motors, brought five racers from around the world who had recorded the fastest times for the original GRID demo. Each racer could use only one vehicle, a custom eBay Motors rig, to record the fastest lap time on a specific track. Their prize: a brand new Ford Mustang GT-R.

This week sees the debut of a new GRID demo featuring the eBay Motors vehicle from the official competition. There isn't a Mustang GT-R to be won, but if you want to live vicariously through Timothy B., the winner of Codemasters' competition, you should give this demo's tires a spin.

Download the GRID eBay Motors Demo from Big Download.

Last night saw the official launch of GRID, Codemasters' new muscle-car racer. Held at the swank and historic Hotel Vitale in San Francisco, the launch event featured beautiful women, a full spread of delicious food, martinis -- and five racers competing to win a Ford Mustang GT-R worth approximately $90,000.00.

For Timothy B., winning the event was a dream come true, as well as an ironic (and terrifying) twist of fate for parents everywhere: Timothy is only 16 years old, but by earning a lap time of 1:40:32, the Mustang GT-R became his very first vehicle. Timothy was accompanied to the event by his father, who, it seems, will be the one begging for the car keys every Saturday night.

Big Download was in attendance to witness every virtual screeching turn and eat every grilled shrimp. Peruse our gallery to live vicariously through savvy executives, bustling bartenders, and, of course, Timothy, whose car is probably better than yours.

Beginning June 2 a 12:00 p.m. Pacific, spit out your tobacco, kick dust onto home plate, and get ready to swing for the fences. Cal Ripken's Real Baseball, the world's first (and only) baseball-specific massively multiplayer online sports game, will host a home-run derby.

Formal registration for players is not required - all you need is a current Real Baseball profile and accurate contact information. During pre-set, flexible times of each day, you'll step up to the virtual plate to compete against other entrants of the same skill level. The tournament is a revolving two-week competition, which means there will be a new winner every two weeks. The player holding the most home-runs after 10 outs and two weeks will be declared the winner. The grand prize - a place in the Real Baseball Hall of Fame.

Besides giving winners supreme locker room bragging rights, the tournament, according to Netamin Communication Corportation CEO Andy Wang, "players will not just experience winning or losing but learn about playing the game of baseball as well. It will help players to have better experience when they start to play with real people!"

Visit PlayRealBaseball.com to learn more about the MMOSG.