Finally, the single-player demo of Crysis is now available for download. It is a huge 1.77GB download from 3D Downloads, 4players.de, ActionTrip, AusGamers, ComputerGames.ro, eXp.de, FileFront, Fragland, FileShack, FanGaming, FilePlanet, Gameguru Mania, Gamer’s Hell, Internode Games Network, OnlineWelten and PixelRage

This NVIDIA page offers beta 169.01 drivers for the Crysis demo. It is recommended

to apply the driver before playing the demo, as it has been optimized specifically for that game.

Mad Catz Europe has announced a price readjustment for the Xbox 360 Live Arcade GameStick, offering an impressive 50% discount for those who buy it this holiday season. The Arcade GameStick, offering ‘arcade style’ controls for the console, will now retail for £24.99, half of what it sold for before.

The arcade controller is officially licensed by Microsoft and features a full-size joystick and the unique 360° ‘Spinner Control’. It also comes with three full Xbox Live Arcade games in the box – Frogger, Timepilot and Astropop.

A new functionality is heading to the Wii pretty soon: gift giving. Gamers will be able to purchase and send games bought within the Virtual Console and upcoming WiiWare channels to their friends, who can then accept it and begin downloading the software. It is unknown whether current titles can be loaned out, or gifts have to be bought separately. No release date for the feature was mentioned.

“We think this will be a breakthrough in encouraging customers to spread news of fun games word of mouth,” said Satoru Iwata, president of the company. “We also hope to spur more users to connect their Wiis to the Internet.”

He also reiterated that Nintendo has no plans on dropping the price of the Wii anytime soon. However, they plan on bringing the Wii to China sometime next year.

Following up on word that Spore is ’six months’ away from release, game designer Will Wright let it slip that the title is also in development for the Wii. “We’re doing Spore on the Wii,” he mentioned casually in a talk with Guardian Unlimited. It was previously declared that the game would arrive on “all platforms,” though it was never for the Nintendo console till now. Portable versions of the game are also said to be in development.

Wright expressed his love for the Wii, terming it as the only “next-generation” console on the market. “The PS3 and the Xbox 360 feel like better versions of the last, but pretty much the same game with incremental improvement,” he said. “But the Wii feels like a major jump–not that the graphics are more powerful, but that it hits a completely different demographic.”

He also expressed his love for the PC: “Every generation it’s like ‘the PC’s dead! The PC’s dead!’ But it carries on growing when consoles are flat for five years. At the moment I can get better graphics on my PC than I can on the PS3.”

EA and Criterion sent out word that Burnout Paradise, the next installment in the crash-and-burn racing series, will be out in North America on January 22. The game is due out on PS3 and Xbox 360, featuring an open-world environment and challenges available at any junction. EA is also promising “a new standard for online social gameplay.”

A demo of the game will be out on the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace this December. It will feature online support and show off the new Stunt mode.

Ignition Entertainment has announced Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys, an adventure game for the DS. Scoop:

The Earth is under attack by a horde of Alien Brain… uh…Thingys! Humans, succumbing to ray-guns, mind-control, and shiny flying saucers, have failed to defend their planet and let it fall easily into the clutches of the Big Brain and his army of Brain Thingys. The only hope left for mankind is three Teenage Zombies that have arisen from a graveyard disturbed in the invasion. The undead trio ignores their normal human victims in favor of the pulsing pink brains they see EVERYWHERE – all the while being lured to the ultimate lunch: THE BIG BRAIN! The Big Brain soon realizes he’s overlooked this “Super Race” as they inexplicably resist mind control, are unaffected by ray-gun wounds, and devour his Brain Thingy Armies like sweets! He refocuses his efforts and resources to battle the Earth’s greatest champions: The Teenage Zombies!

The game parodies the Zombie genre, as well as 1950s style science-fiction. It will be presented with a comic book look featuring comic book panels, dialog boxes and storytelling. Gameplay involves side-scrolling adventure, stylus mini-games, double-screen boss battles and puzzle challenges. Players will be able to bite into big, pink brains starting Spring 2008.

Legal loopholes may allow the release of Manhunt 2 in the UK, where it has been denied classification twice now. According to MCV, the game could be released as a digital download without needing any BBFC rating, as the Video Recordings Act does not cover mediums of delivery like the Internet.

Neither Take-Two nor Rockstar have commented on the matter. The game has been re-rated M in North America and will be released in the region on October 31 for PS2, PSP and Wii.

The Dreamcast classic is back on the Wii! Sega has announced Samba de Amigo, its classic rhythm music game, for the aforementioned Nintendo console. The game will have players shake to the beats of a samba-infused soundtrack comprised of new songs as well as fan-favorites from the original game.

Playing as the grinning, sombrero-topped monkey, Amigo, players shake the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ like maracas, in time with the visual beats of the music on-screen. The perfect party game, Samba De Amigo is packed with lively stages and a host of colourful characters. More details about this exciting new title including a full song listing as well as new special features will be revealed over the next few months.

It is in development at Gearbox Software and will be available exclusively on the Wii during Spring 2008.

Ahead of the game’s release next month, Harmonix has announced details behind ROCKBAND.com, a website that will hook into the upcoming rhythm game’s multiplayer and band features. The social community site will launch alongside the game on November 20 and will feature in-depth leaderboards, personal and band home pages, and a “Musicians Meeting Musicians” classified section to help form bands online. The site will offer members the opportunity to message each other and blog about their musical tastes and accomplishments. Here’s the deal:

• Personal & Band Pages: ROCKBAND.com will automatically load your in-game characters and game stats from an online database so your personal profile page will always be up to date. Choose from four genres in the game to customize your profile pages with cool background skins that reflect your rock tastes.

• Band Classifieds: Find and create your own band through the ROCKBAND.com Band Classifieds page. Here you can advertise your own rocker skills or search through dozens of rocker profiles to choose band mates who share similar music tastes.

• Rock Band Leaderboards: Climb to the top of the charts as a solo artist or band! From band rankings to solo scores, the ROCKBAND.com leaderboards will earn you fame and fortune as you progress on your journey to Rock Band stardom.

• Rocker Blogs: Find out what’s happening behind the scenes with your favorite bands through their blogs. Use your blog to communicate with band mates about practice times, meet others with similar musical interests and keep your groupies in the loop with the website’s unique blogs.

• Rock Band Forums: Interact with other rockers and music lovers about anything and everything rock!

• Photo Creator: (Coming Soon!) Take the ultimate promo band or solo shot with the website’s Photo Creator. Pick a location, the right lighting, and a coordinated (or not!) pose for your band. Take it over the top cheesy or seriously intense. It’s all about your band’s total image.

THQ has announced that it will release exclusively developed titles on Xbox Live Arcade starting with Spongebob Squarepants: Underpants Slam, an action game based on the popular Nickelodeon cartoon. It is expected to be released sometime next month. The game will be followed by Screwjumper, an original title, and Elements of Destruction and Rocket Riot.

Renowned game composer Jesper Kyd has composed the “dark and distorted” soundtrack for Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, an upcoming co-op action game from IO Interactive, the creators of the Hitman series. The game will be available next month for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

First, the demos:

• Juiced 2 on 3D Downloads, ActionTrip, ComputerGames.ro, FileFront, FileShack, Gamer’s Hell, Games32, Internode Games Network and PixelRage

• Warhammer 40,000 Squad Command (PSP) on Rapidshare (direct download)

• Command & Conquer 3 v1.09 on ActionTrip, FanGaming, FileFront, Gamer’s Hell and GameSpot

• Culpa Innata on FileFront and Gamer’s Hell

• Lord of the Rings Online Book 11 on GameSpot

• MotoGP ‘07 v1.1 on FileFront and Gamer’s Hell

• Rainbow Six Vegas v1.06 on 3D Downloads, FileFront, FileShack, Gamer’s Hell, Games32 and Strategy Informer

• World in Conflict v1.002 on FileFront and Gamer’s Hell

• The Witcher v1.1 on ActionTrip, FileFront, FileShack and Gamer’s Hell

The pre-order program for Pirates of the Burning Sea has begun, offering gamers who purchase the MMORPG an invitation to access the game up to 15 days prior to the launch, a pet, exclusive weapons and an original soundtrack CD containing 60 minutes of pirate-themed music.

This page marks the call for recruits for the culmination of beta testing for Tabula Rasa, one that will see 10,000 keys given out on a first-come-first-serve basis. The beta wrap-up event will indeed feature the assassination of General British, lead designer Richard Garriott’s in-game avatar.

A rogue team of Tabula Rasa agents will be playing and challenge you to take on General British himself on Friday 26th October 2007 from 19:00h to 21:00 h BST (20:00h to 22:00h CET). As always, stay vigilant… you never know what surprises lurk around the corner…

Do you have the guts to take down the man?

Well, do you?

In good news to both Microsoft and Nintendo, the two console-makers have posted profitable quarters. In fact, this is Microsoft Entertainment Division’s first ever profitable three-month segment for the current fiscal year’s first quarter. The division encompasses all of the company’s hardware and software gaming endeavors, recording an operating income of $165 million, compared to last year’s loss of $142 million during the same period.

Nintendo’s profits are even more staggering, though theirs is not quarterly but semi-annual. The Japan-based company has posted an operating profit of up to 188 billion yen, compared to 67.1 billion yen the year before. Sales for this period soared from 299 billion yen to 695 billion yen. The company has raised its annual profit outlook to 275 billion yen, up 30 billion yen from its last forecast.

Meanwhile, the Sony camp is grieving over huge losses of approximately 96.7 billion yen ($847 US million) for the past quarter, down 53.2 billion year-on-year, attributed largely to the price point of the PS3 console. Apparently, the console is selling at a price lower than the production cost, according to a statement put out by the company. Sony aims on breaking even or better in its game business in the second half of the business year to March.

The games division didn’t stop Sony from posting an overall quarterly profit across its fully business. Overall, the company reported a profit of 90.5 billion yen, compared to a loss of 20.8 billion yen during the same period last year. It is attributed largely to strong sales of TVs, cameras and camcorders.