2K Games and Gearbox Software's Borderlands (trailer embedded above) aims to be a marriage of S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl and Diablo -- a Mad Max-inspired open world shooter with RPG elements such as character classes, level progression, and system-generated loot.

Those features were put on display during a live gameplay demonstration at E3 this week, the video of which we've embedded on the other side of the jump. It's tough to see what's going on in too much detail because of the quality of the video, so the developer commentary is the real meat. The commentator spends rather a lot of time bragging about the random weapon generation, but there's some good stuff in there about the setting and character advancement. And hey; it's first-time live gameplay footage. That's something, at least.

Alma is back and she doesn't seem happy. Project Origin, the storyline sequel to F.E.A.R. from developer Monolith, is a first-person horror shooter. Big Download went hands-on with the game earlier today and had some interesting things to note about the title. Take a look at the latest trailer for the game, courtesy of Xbox 360 Fanboy, and let us know what you think. Do it quickly, it'll be night out soon and you might not want to watch this in a dark room!

We hated teasing you about Wolfenstein footage so we decided to track some down for you ourselves. That'st the kind of team we are! Released by Activision is this teaser trailer for Wolfenstein that features quick, MTV style cuts, of single-player action for the upcoming first-person shooter. We can't wait for some hands-on time with the Wolf. The grand daddy of the shooter is coming home folks!

Valve Software's Gabe Newell took the stage at EA's E3 press conference to present the cooperative horror game Left 4 Dead. We have the video of that presentation on the other side of the jump, but here are the Cliff's Notes.

All four current player character models will be replaced with the above-pictured folks. This was probably a good change; the old ones weren't very likable or varied. In addition to that bit of info, Newell talked about the game's AI director, which will adjust the gameplay to match players' playstyles, positions, and status.

He also said the game is coming out on November 4th, but that news ain't new. Anyway, the game seems to be coming along swimmingly. Be sure and check out the video after the break!

Never has there been a game so aptly named.

Far Cry 2, from Ubisoft Montreal, may sport the same name as the Crytek original but the game is completely different according to the developer. Focusing on a more realistic shooter experience, Far Cry 2 is doing away with insane alien baddies and instead focusing on the environment and strong gameplay mechanics. This trailer showcases some of the African setting and introduces players to Reuben Monday-Oluwagembi (it even teases his personal blog), the journalist who seems to be reporting on a man stalking through the smoldering heat -- the title's antagonist, the player. So far the game looks great. Let's see if this one can keep us engaged the way the original almost did. Far Cry 2 is set to release this October.

[via X3F]

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!

Gamespot is exclusively (for now) hosting the latest Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 trailer. The trailer introduces the new third faction -- the Empire of the Rising Sun, aka Japan. It features C&C's staple bad voice acting, lots of units, general mayhem, and the classic Hell March song that fans of the series will recognize.

It looks like the Empire of the Rising Sun mostly uses Anime-esque Mecha units -- Transformers-like battle robots. Also featured are airplanes that can dive underwater and attack naval vessels from below. We knew Red Alert 3 would have a lot of amphibious units, but it didn't occur to us that it might also feature air/water units. Makes sense, we suppose!

Anyway, check it out if you're a fan. And we figure you are, if you're reading this. C&C is not a franchise that gets pitched to a lot of new recruits. It's mostly about the oldschool, yo.

[Via Joystiq]

Whether you like military shooters, innovative first-person platforming, or racing, Big Download had something for this past week. In fact, we had surprisingly a lot, considering that most game publishers are holding their cards until next week's huge E3 conference.

Next week is sure to be a big week (and rest assured we'll be on top of every new file that pops up amidst the frenzy), but hopefully this will be enough to tide everyone over until then! Here are just a few highlights from the latest new downloads

	HAWX Developer's Diary #1 HAWX is an air combat game in the same near-future world as Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter. In this video, a developer talks about the game, and of course there's footage as well.
	Frontlines: Fuel of War Beta Demo Try out this shooter that tries something a little bit different with territory control.
	LEGO Batman Bruce Wayne & Poison Ivy Trailer A humorous sneak peak at a couple of the characters from the fourth entry into the LEGO pop culture franchise series.
	GRID 1.2 Patch The acclaimed racing game gets some important bug fixes.
	Mirror's Edge Story Trailer A beautifully animated sneak peak at the storyline and setting behind Mirror's Edge, an innovative first person parkour game.

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

	Shipping this week: Guns v. Glowing Arms This week the Capcom love keeps rolling in with the PC release of Devil May Cry 4. Previously released on the Xbox 360 and PS3, DMC4 follows the story of new character, Nero, and his powerful demonic arm. We know what you're thinking, when did Devil May Cry go realistic?!
	Big Download's most anticipated PC games for E3 2008: 25-21 Despite what other articles might tell you the PC game industry will be represented very well at the expo this year with a number of highly anticipated game titles due to be shown to the invited press (and there may very well be a few surprise announcements in store for E3 that we don't know about yet).
	Go to Quakecon 2008 and (maybe) win a Corvette We are just a week away from the start of E3 but we are also just a few weeks away from the start of Quakecon 2008, the the 13th annual free LAN party-gaming convention sponsored by Doom and Quake developers id Software. Today the event's organizers announced that one lucky attendee of Quakecon 2008 will win a rather sweet prize; a 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe valued at $55,000.
	More Dragon Age info on July 9 It looks like BioWare is finally ready to talk a little bit more about their long-in-development fantasy RPG Dragon Age. The developer first announced the game and showed an early PC build at E3 2004 but since then there's been a cone of silence on the title (with the exception of one article in the now defunct Games for Windows magazine in 2006).

Deus Ex is the epitome of a PC gaming classic. So like other classics, it's been remixed. This modified intro video is patently absurd. It makes no sense whatsoever. But then, that's makes for great humor, right? Monty Python was all about absurdity, after all.

This still might be a bit too silly for some folks. Some of you will eat it up, though. Find out which category you fall into by watching the video. If you laugh, that's a good sign. On the other hand, you might find yourself just saying, "Huhwhaa?" That would be a bad sign. If you've never played Deus Ex before, don't even bother. It already doesn't make any sense if you have. We can't even imagine how lost you would be if you haven't.

[Via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

This is the first time any one franchise has dominated our Big Downloads list. It's been almost exactly one week since Blizzard announced Diablo 3, and since then everything with the Diablo name attached to it has blown out through the door.

So four out of five of this week's top downloads are Diablo-related. We've thrown in the also-popular S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky trailer for some variety. To the Americans: have a great holiday weekend. To everyone else: have a great normal weekend!

	Diablo 3 Cinematic Teaser Trailer Blizzard has always been known for making lavish cinematics. Check out this gorgeous and forboding introduction to Diablo 3's story.
	Diablo 3 Gameplay Trailer Not much for flair and flash? Want to just get to the point? Download this for gameplay footage from Diablo 3.
	Diablo 2 Demo (Windows) After Diablo 3 was announced, everyone started playing Diablo 2 again. If you can't find your old discs, and aren't sure you want to spend any money yet, grab this demo.
	Diablo 2 Demo (Mac) Ditto for Mac users! Blizzard's a friend to Apple.
	S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky Atmosphere Trailer S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl was praised for its deep atmosphere, inspired by a film of the same name by Russian art-house director Andrei Tarkovsky. Clear Sky aims to follow suit, as this video demonstrates.