Project Gotham Racing 4 Demo On Marketplace

If you can't wait until this Friday to get your PGR4 goodness, then head over to Live Marketplace and grab the download for the demo of the game

The demo is sized at 1.27GB and allows you to try out three cars and two bikes in a small selection of Arcade Mode as well as an exclusive Nurburgring Snow Challange.

Also, if you are in the US or Canada, you can download a demo for F.E.A.R. Files: Extraction Point, which comes in at just under 500MB.

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Simpsons and Conan Demo On Marketplace

360 owners will be happy to hear that they can now get the demo for The Simpsons Game from Marketplace.

The demo is identical to last weeks Playstation 3 demo and sees you take control of both Homer and Bart. The pair need to stop the giant Lard Lad statue, which has come to life and is destroying the town, along with his army of miniature Krusty's.

This section is a sort of parody towards the great Shadow of the Colossus, and from what we sampled, is looking to be a pretty good game filled with all the usual humour and slapstick you tend to expect from the comical show.

If that doesn't interest you, you may want to download the demo for Conan, where you can execute a portion of the game’s many fighting moves and combinations as Conan decimates his foes using a variety of deadly weapons, hand-to-hand combat and even his surrounding environment.

Both demos come in at just under 500MB each.

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Looney Tunes Invade Live Marketplace

To possibly get one in on Sony for their Simpsons Demo, the American Marketplace now features a demo for another cartoon, in the form of Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal. The game sees you play as a variety of different Looney toons as they fight for their lives.

Also up for grabs are demos for Bee Movie, Thrillville and Bladestorm.

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Call of Duty 4 Beta Ends Tonight

The Call of Duty 4 Beta is to be closed tonight at midnight, bringing to closure the testing phase of the multiplayer game, which has truly impressed everyone who have had the chance to play it, and makes the month or so wait until November 5th all the more agonising.

Read what we thought of the Beta here.

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New Car Pack for Forza 2

A new car pack is now available to all you budding Forza players. It features ten new motors for only 400 Microsoft Points. The pack includes the following cars:

1967 Lamborghini Miura P400
1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Hemi
2006 Audi R10 (#8 Audi Sport Team Joest) Prototype
2006 Dodge Challenger Concept
2006 Honda Civic Si Coupe
2007 Honda Civic Type-R
2006 Lamborghini Miura Concept
2007 Porsche 911 GT3 RS (997)
2007 Saturn Sky Red Line
2007 SEAT Leon Supercup

And if you don't feel like spending anything, then you can pick up a free '07 SEAT Cupra.

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PES 2008 Demo Hits Live

Another demo for all you 360 owners, this time of “the greatest football game of all time” according to Konami, and is none other than Pro Evolution Soccer 2008.

The demo weighs in at 1.18GB and lets you kick around the ball with a handful of teams to see how the game handles.

The full game is out on the 26th of October on 360, PC, PS2 and PS3 and should be interesting to see how well it does seeing as it is released a whole month after arch-rival Fifa 08.

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Viva Piñata Party Animals Demo on Live

Microsoft released a Demo on Live Marketplace today for the upcoming spin-off of Viva Piñata, titled Party Animals.

The Demo is sized at just under 1GB and allows you and up to three other people to play a handful of mini-games featuring the cuddly creatures.

The game is out this Christmas and will feature over 40 mini-games.

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Sega Rally Demo on Marketplace

If you can't wait till Friday the 28th to get your Sega Rally goodness, then head over to Live Marketplace and download a demo of the game.

The demo weighs in at just under 700MB features two tracks, Canyon 2 and Tropical 2, as well as two cars, the Mitsubishi Evo IX FQ3 and the Subaru Impreza STi Spec C type RA.

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Tony Hawk's Proving Ground Demo Inbound

Expect to see a demo for upcoming skateboarding game Tony Hawk's Proving Ground on Live Marketplace tomorrow, 10th September.

So far we know that Proving Ground will include a Video Editor (at last!), seamless skating from single to multiplayer, and a fully customisable 'Skate Lounge' where you can skate with your friends. It will be interesting to see what other new features it will bring and if it can stand up to EA's Skate.

So once the Live maintenance gets done and access to Marketplace is available, go and download it.

Hit the jump to watch a trailer of Activisions upcoming game.

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Want To Play The Call of Duty 4 Beta? Here's How

Infinity Ward handed out codes for the Call of Duty 4 Beta earlier this week, but this was limited to just US players who signed up for it on CharlieOscarDelta. The registration has now closed and a few thousand gamers got their hands on the elusive codes.

However, if you aren't patient enough to wait for another round of prize draws, then there are a few ways to get onto the Beta.

Firstly, the simplest way is to preorder Call of Duty 4 from GAME. Placing a preorder will secure you with a Beta code, which you will receive within a week of preordering.

Secondly, you can purchase access to the code from eBay. This method doesn't give you the actual Beta code, but the seller will use a glitch in the 360's download system to allow you to download it yourself.

Thirdly, if a friend has the Beta, then they can do what the eBay sellers are doing, but for free. This and the previous method will require you to hand over your Gamertag details and password.

The game is definitely worth the £4.99 or so that the eBay sellers are charging, and is region free, so will work anywhere in the world. Read our impressions of the Beta, and hit the jump to read how to do the glitch.


Please Note, that we do not recommend you hand over your Xbox Live or Email details to anybody for obvious reasons, and we cannot be held responsible should anything go wrong. This guide is just informative.

1. Plug in 2 Controllers.
2. Sign Controller 1 into the shared account (the one with the Beta)
3. Leave Controller 2 signed out
4. With Controller 1, go to 'Account Management' under the Marketplace Blade then 'Download History'
5. With Controller 2, press the Guide Button then A to access profiles
6. With Controller 1, select YOUR account and sign in
7. Press B on Controller 2 (to exit the guide) then unplug Controller 2
8. Select the COD4 Beta onscreen, then press 'Confirm Download'
9. The Beta will now download with YOUR account and once done, will work with your account

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Timeshift Demo on Marketplace

Head over to Marketplace now to download a demo for Timeshift, a game that lets you slow, stop or reverse the flow time, so in effect you will be able to shift time.

The demo is just over 500MB and allows you to have a play around in the totally revamped world of Timeshift.

The full game hits the shops on September 28th. Hit the jump to watch a trailer for the game.

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Call of Duty 4 Beta Available to UK Players

You may be one of the many 360 owners who are envious of some of the American Live users granted access to the Call of Duty 4 Beta.

Well envy no more, as Activision have announced that UK players will also be given a chance to test out the game on Monday 27th August.

All you have to do is head over to CharlieOscarDelta, sign up for an account, and at 12pm on 27th August, click on the Enter Now button on the Beta page.

The Beta Tokens are given out on a first-come, first-served basis, so make sure your there on time, and expect the site to be hard to access as the whole 360 community converge for the Tokens.

Update: Apparently this was incorrect and the 27th August Beta Tokens are only available to the US. UK gamers, and all other PAL territories will be able to join the Beta in September, an exact date has yet to be announced.

Hit the jump to watch some Beta action.

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MoH Airborne Demo on Marketplace

Well here's something you could play while taking a break from Bioshock, a demo for yet another WWII game, this time Medal of Honor.

The demo is just under 1GB in size, and lets you play the first four objectives of Operation Husky.

The main thing that makes this shooter different from the likes of Call of Duty, is that you don't start off the level in a stationary position, but you are airdropped onto the battlefield, giving you the option of where to land and how to attack the enemy.

Hit the jump to watch a trailer of the game, which is released September 7th on 360, PC and PS3.


Note: The trailer above is of the PC Demo

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Skate Demo Available on Marketplace

After first announcing that the Skate demo will be released last Wednesday, EA had to delay it due to technical problems with the skate.reel video upload, but now it has been sorted, the demo is finally available for download.

The demo features tutorials and gameplay challenges in San Vanelona’s community center skatepark to introduce gamers to Skate’s revolutionary Flickit controls. The demo also includes the innovative skate.reel feature where gamers can capture video footage of their skate session at any time during the demo and share the footage online at www.skate.ea.com for other players to view, rate and comment on.

Hit the jump to watch a new trailer of Skate.

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Two New Demos on Live Marketplace

Two new demos are now available on Marketplace for you to try.

The first is for cult hit Beautiful Katamari, due for release this autumn. The demo weighs in at 430MB, and is currently only available on North American Live, which is the perfect excuse to go and make a American Live account. For those that don't know, the game has you control the Prince, rolling around your katamari, and collecting objects scattered around the world, with the katamari getting bigger with more stuff you collect.

The second demo is of Fatal Inertia, a futuristic racing game combining the disciplines of rally racing, demolition derby and high-performance aeronautics. The demo is only 380MB and is somewhat like Wipeout, only not a good.

Hit the jump to watch a trailer for Beautiful Katamari.

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Bioshock Demo and Launch Trailer Released

For all of you crying out for some new games during the summer drought, you may be glad to hear that a surprise demo for upcoming hit Bioshock, was put up on Marketplace early this morning.

The demo is a hefty 1.35GB, but it will be worth it. Here's a description of the game from the dashboard for everyone who has no idea what this game is about:

Welcome to Rapture with the official demo to BioShock, the “genetically enhanced” first person shooter. BioShock is a shooter unlike any you’ve ever played, loaded with weapons and tactics never seen. You’ll have an arsenal at your disposal from simple revolvers to rocket launchers and flame throwers, but you’ll also be forced to genetically alter your DNA to create an even more deadly weapon – you. Injectable Plasmids give you ungodly powers: blast electrical currents into water to electrocute multiple enemies, freeze them solid and obliterate them with the swing of a wrench, or create a swarm of attack hornets from your own mutated flesh. BioShock is that rare game in which Brainpower is as valuable as Firepower. You’ll need plenty of both to get out alive.

A launch trailer is also available for download, or you can hit the jump and watch it right now...

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Stranglehold Demo on Marketplace

A demo for upcoming action game Strangehold is available for download from Live Marketplace weighing in at a huge 1.3GB

The game sees you playing as Agent Tequila and engaging in OTT firefights inspired by John Woo and places you in a fully destructible Hong Kong marketplace.

The game is released on September 7th on 360, PS3 and PC.

Hit the jump to watch the E3 trailer of the game.

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Skate Out In September, Demo This Month

EA have announced that their new skateboarding game, Skate, will be released September 14th in Europe on Xbox 360, and on October 5th on Playstation 3.

For those who can't wait that long for it, you can grab the demo from Live Marketplace on August 15th. The demo features tutorials and gameplay challenges in San Vanelona’s community center skatepark to introduce gamers to Skate’s Flickit controls. The demo also includes the skate.reel feature where gamers can capture video footage of their skate session at any time during the demo and share the footage online at www.skate.ea.com for other players to view, rate and comment on.

Hit the jump for some new screenshots.

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New DLC For Forza 2

The first downloadable content for Forza 2 is now available and includes a three cars all for free. The bundle includes three 2007 Nissan models, the 2007 Sentra SE-R, Altima, and yet another 350Z.

Also, if you're willing to pay the 50 Points required, you can get your hands on a fourth motor, the Peugeot 908 race car, which featured in the recent Le Mans 24 Hour race. The Peugeot 908 will be the first race car that allows you to customise the paint, which will come as great news to the racers who didn't like having the same design as their fellow man.

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Forza 2 Patch Finally Released

Hardcore motorheads and painters will be happy to hear that Turn-10 have finally released a patch to fix the few bugs that come bundled with Forza 2.

The main problem that users had with the game was the players who thought it would be cool to take advantage of a glitch in the game allowing them to duplicate locked designs, and then sell them on for profit. Now players will not be able to gift or sell locked designs, which is a shame if you wanted to give a car away as a present or prize, but if it stops people cheating then I guess it will have to do.

Other problems included racers abusing a bug on the Nissan Speedway and taking racing in the inside of the track to gain a stupidly fast time, and having their name plastered at the top of the leaderboards.

The Lotus Elan has also been temporarily banned due to it being incorrect grouping with other cars with much inferior stats.

Turn-10 also said that in the coming month there will be downloadable content for the game, which include new tracks (long overdue!) and more cars to add to the list of 310+ motors already included.

Hit the jump for the list of fixes.

Deny gifting and reselling of cars with locked paintjobs.
Why? Because this will help alleviate the problem where an artist's precious limited edition car gets duplicated and sold on the Auction House. The only way you can sell or gift a car with a locked livery is by being the original owner/artist of the car.

A temporary ban on the Lotus Elan use on scoreboards and in multiplayer.
Why? There is an error with the Lotus Elan's performance index calculation that puts the car at a lower class despite its capabilities, resulting in the Elan mass dominating the scoreboards in D and C class. This temporary ban will not allow you to upload lap times to the scoreboards when you use the car in career mode, and prohibits you from using the car at all in online races. When we roll out our permanent PI fix for the Elan in a future patch, we're going to lift the ban. Sorry for the draconian measure -- we really didn't like imposing this sort of restriction on the community but this is necessary.

Allow cars to be fully rotated while being viewed in the Auction House.
Why? Because so many of you asked for the camera to be unlocked in Auction House so you can look at the paintjob on the roof of the car we thought we should do good by the community.

A number of scoreboard problems have been fixed.
These range from the glitch where if the AI did not relinquish control of your car after the rolling start, you would inadvertently post a corrupt superhuman lap time in the micro-seconds, to several "extreme" physics bugs folks have been exploiting to get crazy fast lap times (lag crash boosting and the shifting glitch).

Removed host's ability to boot players during a race.
Why? Because this feature, although handy at times, was getting abused by hosts who kicked folks who were in the lead of a race where the stakes were high (i.e., credits were on the table). Don't worry, you can still kick people to your heart's content in the lobby.

Miscellaneous fixes aplenty.
Like what? Various discovered Auction House bugs that could potentially cause players to lose credits or cars. At least one triple-screen bug fix for sync'ing issues, as well as an undiscovered quickmatch bug that always connected you to the same game upon attempt.

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