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Need for Speed SHIFT DLC trailer takes on a team mentality


This trailer for the Need for Speed SHIFT Team Racing Pack, an upcoming free content expansion, provides fans with a glimpse of some of the big features to expect. As its name indicates, NFS SHIFT players will have to switch their driving styles from individual strategies to more team-oriented ones as they speed down these tacks. Also included are brand new vehicles to muscle against the competition with. Unfortunately, even though the trailer indicates otherwise, the Team Racing Pack isn't available yet. It releases in Europe on December 1st for the PC and Xbox 360 and on December 3rd for the PlayStation 3 console. North American players across all platforms will have to wait until December 10th, but the Need for Speed SHIFT playable demo can be downloaded right now here.

Download HD Need for Speed SHIFT Team Racing Pack Trailer (305 MB)
Download Need for Speed SHIFT Demo (1.13 GB)
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Need For Speed Shift getting new cars and gameplay mode Dec. 1


Fans of Need For Speed Shift have likely been wondering if Electronic Arts would be offering any downloadable extras for the racing sim. Today EA sent the word out that the first such free DLC is on its way. Owners of the PC version will be able to download the DLC on December 1.

The free extras will include the addition of four American classic muscle cars and one import sports car to the game (1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 427, 1967 Shelby GT-500, 969 Dodge Charger R/T, 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T, 1998 Toyota Supra Mark). It will also add the Team Racing online gameplay mode where two teams of up to six cars battle it out in stock vehicles.

Download: The Sims 3 v1.7.9 Patch

This minor patch for The Sims 3 addresses an incompatibility issue with save game files that results in an Error Code 16 message with saving.

Download The Sims 3 v1.7.9 Patch (19 MB)
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Gallery: The Sims 3

The Sims 3 trailer catches Twilight fever


You can try to avoid the whirlwind or hype surrounding the release of the newest Twilight film, but you'll have a tough time doing it. Even The Sims 3 world has fallen for Twilight with this little parody video made using the game. Our question is: Where's the actual vampirism? We want to see fangs! Couldn't they borrow the animations and effects from The Sims 2 Night Life expansion?

Download The Sims 3 'Twilight: New Moon' Parody Trailer (9 MB)
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Gallery: The Sims 3

Battlefield Bad Company 2 dashes into more big gameplay moments


Now that Modern Warfare 2 has released, it's time for Battlefield Bad Company 2 to really step up and show off what it's got. This multiplayer gameplay video, highlighting some spectacular and often gory moments, should serve that need for a little while. Bad Company 2 is expected to release in 2010.

Download HD Battlefield Bad Company 2 'Moments' Gameplay Video Part 2 (132 MB)
Check out all Battlefield: Bad Company 2 downloads

Dragon Age Origins: Return to Ostagar coming as DLC this holiday season


Fans of BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins have already been able to download some extra content for the fantasy RPG. Today BioWare and publisher Electronic Arts announced plans to offer up another extra downloadable quest for the game. The DLC, titled Return to Ostagar, is due for release "this holiday season". That most likely means it will be available for download before the end of 2009.

The new quest will return players "to the fateful battleground in Ostagar" where they will "discover King Cailan's top-secret political agenda." Wow. Sounds a little bit like our world has entered into BioWare's fantasy kingdom. The DLC will cost 400 "BioWare points" (about $5) to download. We don't like the idea of purchasing "BioWare points" to download extra content but . . .oh well.

Mass Effect 2 gets new box art design

It's unusual for a publisher to go back and redesign the box art for a game. Yet that's what Bioware and Electronic Arts have decided to do with the artwork for the Mass Effect 2 retail release. You can check out the original artwork in our earlier August 2 story.

We are not quite sure why the companies decided to go back and do a revamp of the box art. Quite frankly the original looks more dynamic and action packed to us. This new version seems to have the characters in less dynamic poses. Oh well, marketing was never our strong point.

Gallery: Mass Effect 2

Command and Conquer franchise to get "digital" makeover?


Rumors that the upcoming Command and Conquer 4 game might actually be the last in the series seem to be unfounded. However the next game in the RTS franchise might not be released in stores. Gamasutra reports they have obtained an internal memo from Electronic Arts stating they have hired Jon Van Caneghem to lead the C&C team with "a new digital model that is going to re-ignite the fan base for this franchise."

That likely means that EA is looking to create either a downloadable game that isn't sold in stores or perhaps a free-to-play model that's similar to their work on Battlefield Heroes. Jon Van Caneghem is best known for creating the Might and Magic RPG franchise. He was also the co-founder of the MMO developer Trion World Network but left under somewhat mysterious circumstances earlier this year.

EA to shut down Pandemic Studios' office; brand and franchises will continue


Electronic Arts' current restructuring, announced during their financial results last week, is going to cause the shutdown of Pandemic Studios. Gamasutra reports they have gotten a hold of an internal EA memo with the details. Under their plan, the founders of Pandemic (Josh Resnick, Andrew Goldman and Greg Borrud) will leave EA with 200 other Pandemic team members. The remainder of the Pandemic team will be moving to EA's Los Angeles studios. The Pandemic brand name will apparently continue and new games based on previous Pandemic franchises are in the works.

Pandemic, centered in Santa Monica, California, was formed in 1998 and started out as a PC only game developer, working on games like Dark Reign II and Battlezone II for Activision. In 2000 they opened an office in Australia. Over the years they created a ton of titles including Mercenaries and its sequel, Full Spectrum Warrior, the first two Star Wars Battlefront games and more. In 2005 Pandemic merged with BioWare to form one big independent game developer. In 2007 BioWare-Pandemic was bought by EA for over $600 million. Pandemic's last game as a separate studio will be The Saboteur due for release on December 8.
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