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 #1HAWX 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 DemoTry out this shooter that tries something a little bit different with territory control. LEGO Batman Bruce Wayne & Poison Ivy TrailerA humorous sneak peak at a couple of the characters from the fourth entry into the LEGO pop culture franchise series. GRID 1.2 PatchThe acclaimed racing game gets some important bug fixes. Mirror's Edge Story TrailerA 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. Games to play while waiting for Diablo IIIA crowd of ecstatic fans cheered when Blizzard announced Diablo III at the 2008 Worldwide Invitational and gave an early look at its gameplay. Then reality set in, and people were reminded that they wouldn't be fighting off the forces of hell again for a very long time. To help people suffer through the long "when it's done" schedule Blizzard sticks to, we've put together recommendations to help gamers get their action RPG fix until it comes time to confront the Lord of Terror again. Big Download's most anticipated PC games of E3 2008: 10-6Here at Big Download we have been counting down our picks for our most anticipated games that we are most looking forward to seeing (maybe) at the event. After revealing our picked for 25-21 on Monday, 20-16 on Tuesday and 15-11 on Wednesday, we are now finally entering the top 10. Today we are revealing our picks for the 10-6 positions on our list. BigCast 003 -- The Pre-E3 Show ... LadiesThis week we talk about everything from PC piracy solutions to puzzling (beta) demo releases. Also, listeners can enjoy multiple inside jokes that are later explained in the outtakes of the show. Akela, Kyle and Steven return to the BigCast this week ... well, until Steven has mysterious tech issues and is forced to opt out (which is later hilariously solved). Neverwinter Nights 1.69 patches arriveA trio of patches for BioWare's Neverwinter Nights have arrived, patching Neverwinter Nights, Hordes of the Underdark, and Shadows of Undrentide to version 1.69. Each patch adds new music tracks, tilesets, and more to its respective title. New GRID 1.2 PC patch releasedThe folks at Codemasters have released a new PC patch for their recent racing sim game GRID and we have it ready to grab right here at Big Download. The 1.2 patch has a number of fixes and changes for the game which we have right here. ...

The folks at Codemasters have released a new PC patch for their recent racing sim game GRID and we have it ready to grab right here at Big Download. The 1.2 patch has a number of fixes and changes for the game which we have right here: Fix for sessions list overflow and missing characters in front end. Fix for errors generated on game shutdown Support for TrackIR Online experience points: more points awarded for completing longer races Assists on/off toggle added to session creation and browsing All offline events (apart from head-to-heads and touge) are now available online (event voting screen now scrolls to see additional championships). Fix for failure to recognise some devices in user-created action map presets, including Logitech Cordless Rumblepad 2. Fixed GRID startup issue where it appears as a process in Task Manager but fails to run. Additional experience points are awarded for not colliding with other cars whilst racing damage on or forward sessions Grab the new GRID 1.2 patch at Big Download right now...

Your daily wrap-up of the hottest stories in PC gaming over the weekend. Full Spore Creature Creator delayed a day; demo leakedFor a game that is not really a game, Maxis and Electronic Arts' Spore Creature Creator is generating a ton of buzz ahead of its release this coming week. Already the free demo of the game (which has a quarter of the content of the full $9.99 version) has apparently been leaked onto the Internet according to fan site Sporenormous. Blizzard to announce new title at Worldwide Invitational?Yet another rumor surrounding a new Blizzard Entertainment title has been unearthed this morning, pointing to a big announcement at the upcoming Blizzard Worldwide Invitational. This latest update, found on Xfire.com, states that users should follow the Invitational's opening ceremony to "discover what new game will be announced." Grid 1.1 demo releasedA 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. New trailer and screenshots show off more characters in Lego BatmanThis fall developer Traveller's Tales and publisher Warner Bros. Interactive will be giving us the next Lego themed game and this time it won't be based on anything made by George Lucas. Lego Batman will feature a ton of characters from the DC Comics super hero franchise and today we have some new screenshots and a high-def trailer to show you today. New Velvet Assassin screenshots come forthWe wish World War II had spies that looked as good as the lead character in Velvet Assassin. Violette Summer is her name and stealth action is her game and the newest screenshots from the PC action title show off more of her and her actions. ...

It's been a relatively slow week here at Big Download. That said, we've still seen a handful of interesting files. The biggest rage: the demo version of GRID, a critically acclaimed racing game. We also have the 1.1 patch on hand. If racing isn't your thing, though, there are alternatives.Yeah, we're twiddling our thumbs for the Spore creature creator too, but why not kill time with these other diversions? Have a great weekend! GRID eBay Motors Demo 1.1Try out this acclaimed racing game from Codemasters, which includes excellent replay features. GRID 1.1 Retail PatchThis fixes several bugs and performance issues in the retail version of GRID. Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice DemoThe young supersleuth challenges the criminal underworld of Venice as she tracks down a thief in this adventure game. SimCity Societies DemoSimCity Societies reinvents the SimCity franchise by focusing on the social values of your city over economic concerns. EA released this demo to promote the upcoming Destinations expansion, and the SimCity Box compilation. LEGO Batman HD Nightwing TrailerBatman is back, but this time he's more funny than threatening. If you've previously played LEGO Star Wars or LEGO Indiana Jones, though, you know that's a recipe for awesome! ...

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....

Your daily wrap-up of the hottest stories in PC gaming in the last 24 hours. SimCity Societies demo releasedStrategy fans interested in management rather than supreme ruling are encouraged to try the SimCity Societies demo, which is now available on Big Download. The full version of Tilted Mill Entertainment's SimCity Societies was released on November 13, 2007. Supreme Ruler 2020 demo releasedBattlegoat Studios has released a demo for Supreme Ruler 2020, the strategy sequel to their critically acclaimed Supreme Ruler 2010. Multiplayer and Campaign modes have been disabled in the demo, but two single-player scenarios -- "Italy Votes" and "Preemptive Strike" -- are available for play. Camp Fatal1ty: A lot better than rowing classesKids are out for the summer so their parents will likely push them against their will to go to summer camp. All that awful clean air, sun and "activities" are dreaded by their children. If you really want your kids to be happy to go to camp this summer, why not go to "Camp Fatal1ty"? Yes, your children can learn how to shoot each other via playing Epic Games' Unreal Tournament 3. GRID gets its tires patchedCodemasters just dropped a patch (1.01, which takes the game to version 1.1) onto the Information Super Highway for their gorgeous racing game, GRID. The patch squashes several bugs on the windshield (i.e., other player's progress/positions are now correctly updated when you enter the race results screen; track and route options no longer change when host gets back to lobby in private/LAN) and fills the tank with numerous game-play enhancements (i.e., you can now look left and right while in bonnet camera; fix for missing Force feedback on Vista). ...

Codemasters just dropped a patch, which takes the game to version 1.1, onto the Information Super Highway for their gorgeous racing game, GRID. The patch squashes several bugs on the windshield (i.e., other player's progress/positions are now correctly updated when you enter the race results screen; track and route options no longer change when host gets back to lobby in private/LAN) and fills the tank with numerous game-play enhancements (i.e., you can now look left and right while in bonnet camera; fix for missing Force feedback on Vista). There's plenty more still under the hood, so be sure to download the GRID 1.1 patch from Big Download now!...

Your daily wrap-up of the hottest stories in PC gaming in the last 24 hours. Spore system requirements revealedEA has published the system requirements for both Spore (due out September 7) and the Spore Creature Creator, which will be released on Tuesday, June 17. A precursor to the release of Spore, the Creature Creator aims to let players release their creativity with "228 drag-and-drop, flexible parts." Belief & Betrayal demo releasedBig Download is nothing if not diverse. Within the last few hours, we've give you racing, and we've given you shooting -- now we offer adventure, mystery, and intrigue all wrapped up in the Belief & Betrayal demo. Interview: Vic Davis of Armageddon EmpiresThere's a new strategy game taking the internet by storm, and it's called Armageddon Empires. Fusing turn-based strategy, traditional board game methodology, and collectible card games, it's an extremely deep and amazingly fun game. Vic Davis recently sat down with Big Download to discuss his game and what it is like being an indie developer making a living off his work. ...

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....

While last week saw the team spending time in Mass Effect, this week finds the team split between the standby favorite of Team Fortress 2 and the new hotness that is GRID. With awesome action like GRID has, nobody can really blame them, though. Coming up hot on their heels was Armageddon Empires.Our resident indie fiend, James Murff said he'll be spending this weekend playing Armageddon Empires, Team Fortress 2, and checking out Zombie Panic! Source. Kyle Horner is taking a chunk of his weekend off from PC gaming to dive into Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition -- but he assures us that he'll be planning everything on his laptop. When not rolling the bones, Kyle said he'll be relaxing in TF2 as well. Both David Craddock and Stephen Wong plan to spend most of their time tearing it up in GRID. Stephen noted that he'll probably also spend some time in Armageddon Empires, EverQuest II and will probably give Devil May Cry 4 another whirl if time allows. I'm on the road this weekend, so I'm limited to gaming on my laptop. Thus, I'll be spending time in EVE Online when I do actually manage some gaming. For this weekend, given all the great games out recently, What aRe yoU Playing?...

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....

Codemasters and Valve have sent along word that GRID is now available for purchase over Steam for $39.99. GRID puts racing enthusiasts in the driver's seat of a variety of muscle cars as they race through "Detroit, San Francisco, Milan, Tokyo, Yokohama, Spa, Le Mans and many more."Gamers interested in playing GRID on their PC should take note of the title's system requirements:OS: Windows Vista/XPProcessor: Athlon-64, Pentium 4 3.0GHzMemory: 1GB RAMGraphics: ATI Radeon X1300, NVIDIA GeForce 6800DirectX Version: 9Hard Drive: 12.5GB Hard drive space...

Your daily wrap-up of the hottest stories in PC gaming in the last 24 hours. In-Depth: GRIDGRID sets up a great mood for racing from the moment you set up your profile and put in an audio name. From that point on, the game greets you by name each time you load it up and refers to you personally with race updates. It seems like a minor addition, but it provides a strong sense of engagement with the game world as you build up your racing reputation, rake in the prize money, and race go on racing tours across the USA, Europe and Japan. The PC version sports great performance and fantastic graphics, but it's worthwhile to purchase a gamepad to play this one in order to get the best experience. More after the jump. Big Versus: GRIDThis week in Big Versus we're tackling Codemasters' latest entry in the Race Driver series, GRID, which hits retail for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 today. Shying away from its more realistic racers like other TOCA racing games and the recently released Dirt, Codemasters hopes to capture some of the underground scene with their latest arcade style racing title. Two very different Alone in the Dark trailers emergeWe have two new trailers for Eden Games and Atari's upcoming reboot of the Alone in the Dark franchise. The videos couldn't be more different. One features gameplay footage and commentary by producer Nora Paloni about the various enemies, weapons, and combat strategies in the game. It's a continuation of an earlier video that focused on fire. LEGO Indiana Jones now available in storesAs of today, you can go out, buy LEGO Indiana Jones, and re-experience the original trilogy, thereby pushing Crystal Skull's awfulness out of your mind. According to a LucasArts press release Big Download received earlier today via email, "LEGO Indiana Jones presents a tongue-in-cheek take on the first three cinematic adventures of pop culture's most iconic archaeologist." Unreal Tournament III 1.3 patch detailsThe 1.3 patch for Unreal Tournament III hasn't been released quite yet, but that didn't stop PlanetUnreal from digging for concrete details. Among the substantial list of fixes and additions are numerous bot improvements, several mod-specific collision detection issues, increased Aegia support, and cut/copy/paste functionality for the game's console. Fallout 3 Collector's Edition finally visualizedWe have reported in the past on Bethesda Softworks' plans to release a collector's edition of their highly anticipated RPG Fallout 3 but today the developer's official blog site has finally given us a visual of what that special edition of the game will actually look like. As promised the Collector's Edition will be housed in a metal Vault TEC lunch box with some great looking artwork (we would love to see the reaction if a kid took that lunch box to school). ...

GRID sets up a great mood for racing from the moment you set up your profile and put in an audio name. From that point on, the game greets you by name each time you load it up and refers to you personally with race updates. It seems like a minor addition, but it provides a strong sense of engagement with the game world as you build up your racing reputation, rake in the prize money, and race go on racing tours across the USA, Europe and Japan. The PC version sports great performance and fantastic graphics, but it's worthwhile to purchase a gamepad to play this one in order to get the best experience. More after the jump. ...