If you have an edited version of a game that has, say, less blood that the normal version along with bodies that disappear quickly among other things you might expect that the edited versions might have better performance than the original. PCGamesHardware.com seems to have discovered just that with an censored version of the Left 4 Dead 2 demo.

The edited version which is made available in the web site's native Germany, runs about 40 percent faster than the unedited demo, according to the article. While it implies that players of the cut version will have an advantage in any multiplayer game, it also points out that the amount of violence in the regular version can be adjusted by the players

If you can't wait for the Splinter Cell: Conviction game to come out in February from developer and publisher Ubisoft, you might want to take a look at Penguin Book's newly released Splinter Cell Conviction novel. The book is the latest in a series of novels based on the exploits of super-spy Sam Fisher. The book's author is listed as "David Michaels" but that's known to be a pseudonym for a series of different writers who have penned books based on various Tom Clancy game properties.

Indeed there's another Splinter Cell novel, Endgame, that's due for release in early December that seems to be totally original and not based on a specific game. And on top of that a novel based on the recent flying action game Tom Clancy's HAWX will be released in late December.

Man, the holiday season seems to get here earlier and earlier ever year. There used to be a law that after Thanksgiving you could go all out but now it seems there will be special sales from now until December 25. GoGamer.com, however, seems to break out the special sales all the time. Their latest one lasts until 3 am ET on Tuesday.

This time the retail web site has some small discounts on just released games like Dragon Age: Origins ($42.90) and Borderlands ($36.90). Older PC games naturally have much steeper price cuts such as Rome: Total War Gold for $9.90, the PC port of Halo 2 for $14.90 and rFactor for $19.90.

We still have over 10 days before Left 4 Dead 2 is released but today Valve has given the go-ahead for people who pre-ordered the zombie shooter sequel to start pre-loading the game onto their hard drives via the Steam client. That means PC games who take advantage of this opportunity should be able to play the game only a few minutes after Valve unlocks the game on November 17.

Keep in mind that Valve still has that 10 percent pre-order discount for the game. It's still in effect until the game's release date. Also the Four Pack deal (where you purchase four Steam codes of the game at once) is also still available for the 10 percent discount which means you can pay for four copies for the price of less than three in the current price promotion.

Just a reminder that we are running yet another giveaway contest here at Big Download. Some of you reading this have a chance to win a free download code via Steam for the just released Shattered Horizon, the multiplayer zero-g space based first person shooter.

Do you want a chance to check out this new and innovative game from developer Futuremark Games Studio? Of course you do. Then head over to our contest page, make sure you are eligible to enter our contest and if you are put down a comment on that page. You still have until 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Monday to get your entry in place.

With the Dragon Age: Origins Toolset, users can create custom adventures for Dragon Age. The toolset can only be installed on a machine that has the full Dragon Age: Origins game installed. The EclipseRay Lightmapper Source Code is an optional add-on.

Download the Dragon Age: Origins Toolset (472 MB)
Download the EclipseRay Lightmapper Source Code (6 MB)
Download HD Dragon Age: Origins Toolset Trailer (80 MB)
Check out all Dragon Age: Origins downloads

Many members of the media have been trying to get a hold of Infinity Ward to clarify their decisions regarding the PC port of Modern Warfare 2. Kotaku managed to get the developer's community manager Robert Bowling on the horn but unfortunately he didn't address the issues PC gamers have had with the upcoming shooter directly (no dedicated servers, no word on mod support, etc).

Instead Bowling generalized their decisions regarding the PC version, saying once again they wanted to make the game more accessible to the average player. He dismissed the people who have complained about the changes as a loud minority saying, "We have 14 million players on Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The hardcore gamers make up a smaller core of that, and PC gamers are the smallest group of that core. It is a very vocal community and they are all online."

Bowling also feels that because their community is so highly invested in their games, " . . . we should justify every design decision to them." However he also feels that the developer shouldn't be held to those demands completely, saying, "We know our game very well. Some of the stuff you have to put in there and have faith in your design. Some things don't sound good out of context. You don't see the beauty of them until you experience them for yourselves." When asked if the next Modern Warfare game would even be made for the PC, Bowing dodged the question saying that they don't know what their next game will be.

Originally designed as a Unreal Tournament 3 mod, Prometheus is now available as a stand-alone and free to play game made using the Unreal Development Kit (UDK).

Also known as Prometheus version 4.0, the demo includes:

• A full circle storyline with three new levels
• New awards for tracking progress
• Additional custom textures, meshes and animations
• Bonus original weapon
• New custom layering music system and new voiceovers
• Seamless cutscenes
• New Epimetheus menu with active previews of individual quantum state histories
• Dramatic improvements to the quantum state character movement and firing accuracy

"You're never alone when you have a clone. With the Prometheus Device, you control Einsteinian Physics laws of time and space. Create distinct past, present, and future Quantum States of yourself to solve puzzles and accomplish mission goals in this single player co-op game. You'll need to keep your wits and memory sharp using an original game play mechanic presented in multi-dimensional format inspired by Portal and Mirror's Edge."

Download the Prometheus UDK Demo (321 MB)
Download HD Prometheus Gameplay Trailer (142 MB)
Download the Unreal Development Kit (562 MB)
Check out all Unreal Development Kit downloads

Last September during the Tokyo Game Show, publisher Square Enix announced a collaboration with casual game developer PopCap Games with their upcoming puzzle-RPG Gyromancer. Today it was revealed via a new trailer that the downloadable game would be released for the PC on November 18 for $15.

The game itself has that Square Enix art style for the RPG portion of the game mixed with a Bejeweled Twist puzzle gameplay experience. You can expect to have access to over 50 monsters that can be used in your puzzle-RPG battles across 12 different stages. An online leaderboard will also be made available to compare your scores with others.

Download HD Gyromancer Trailer (73 MB)

While the game's official web site has not posted this news year, Eurogamer is reporting that BioWare has revealed the latest player class for their long awaited MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic. During a press event for the game, it was revealed that the Imperial Agent will be one of the eight player classed in the game.

The Imperial Agent, who obviously is with the Empire faction, sounds like the game's version of a super-spy as they have access to lots of high technology and do their work behind the scenes. The Imperial Agent joins the previously revealed classes of Jedi Knights, Smugglers and Troopers on the Republic side and the Sith Warriors and Bounty Hunters working for the Empire. Two more classes are unrevealed.

While most PC developers dread the thought of their games being pirated on torrent web sites, one game developer actually sent a build of their game to pirates site deliberately. Gamesindusty.biz reports that's exactly what happened to Trials 2: Second Edition, the 2008 released racing game from developer RedLynx.

The developer's CEO Tero Virtala said the version of the game they made available to pirate sites lacked the online leaderboards of the full version. His hope was that the pirates would like the game enough to pay for the full version. So far 150,000 copies of the full version have been sold and Virtala states, "When we compare that hacked version with those who have access to leaderboards and are accessing our servers they match. So at least people have not cracked out leaderboards yet."

Welcome to Freeware Friday, a weekly column showcasing excellent games that you can play free of charge!

Way back in May there was a little game that scared my pants off with some truly disturbing imagery and sound. That game was All Of Our Friends Are Dead, and it is still one of the scariest games I have ever played. It doesn't stop with just that game, however, as the developer made a thematic sequel with the confusingly titled Au Sable. Where All Of Our Friends Are Dead was spooky, Au Sable cranks it up even further. There are few games that I have to stop playing for reasons pertaining to creepiness or terror, and none that force me to do it as much as Au Sable did. This is an improvement on All Of Our Friends Are Dead in every way, and that includes the scaring your pants off.

Warhammer Online has been live to the public for over a year now but developer Mythic Entertainment is still refining the fantasy MMO's marketing in terms of bringing new people to the game. Today they announced that they are dumping their 10 day free trial of the game in favor of an "endless" free trial.

What does this mean, exactly? Well instead of having the game not be playable any longer after 10 days without paying for it you can continue to play Warhammer Online in a limited fashioned for as long as you want with the new trial version. You can play a character with any of the careers and take that character up to level 10. You are also limited to some of the tier one locations in the game. It also has the newly launched New User Journey that gives new players more extensive tutorials on how to play the game. Finally the new free trial allows people to start playing after a certain amount is downloaded; the rest of the game's content is streamed in while you play.

This trailer showcases the fast paced firefights that players can look forward to in the upcoming Grave Digger map for Combat Arms. The map goes live on November 16th and the game install client can be downloaded here.

Download Combat Arms 'Grave Digger' Gameplay Trailer (166 MB)
Download the Combat Arms Install Client (752 MB)
Check out all Combat Arms downloads

The subscription-download hybrid PC game site GameTap has added yet another title to its list of games people can play with one monthly paid subscription. This time the game is Still Life 2, the recently released "M" rated adventure game from publisher Microids. It's a sequel to the 2005 original Still Life which itself was a sequel to a previous 2003 released adventure game Post Mortem.

Still hanging around GameTap's free game selection this week is the American McGee's Grimm chapter Master Thief. It will stay in the free section of the game site until this coming Thursday where it will be replaced with a currently unannounced game.