Shacknews carries word from Valve marketing director Doug Lombardi that downloadable content is in the pipeline for the Xbox 360 version of Team Fortress 2.

“We’re looking at bringing the Goldrush and the new achievements and stuff out to the 360,” Lombardi is quoted as saying. “How and when is still sort of being determined, on pricing and that kind of stuff. On the PC it’s sort of wide open, you can release stuff whenever you want. On the console there’s a little bit more of a pathway.”

Lombardi further noted that they have been waiting for a “critical mass of new content” before releasing something for the console. He hopes that the company will make announcements soon, though he wouldn’t offer any definite date. He also states that he “doesn’t know” if the DLC will be released for the PS3 or not.

Those who still have the time-bending TimeShift game will be glad to know that five brand new maps for the game’s multiplayer mode have been released. The maps support all forms of gameplay modes, including One-on-One, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch as well as Capture the Flag.

This thread on the Savage 2 forum offers word that the online first-person shooter/strategy hybrid is having a free weekend where all demo accounts will have full access to the game, as well as get the opportunity to win cash prizes.

It will start this Friday and run through till Monday. The top total experience earners will win prizes starting from $50 to the maximum of $250. There will also be other rewards.

Long in development title Castle Crashers has finally gone gold according to this post on the company’s blog. The game has completed production and is currently awaiting certification at Microsoft.

In development since 2006, the hack-and-slash title for the Xbox Live Arcade still does not have a release date seeing how unpredictably time consuming the certification process is at Microsoft. However, with core development completed, the game will surely come out this Summer.

A new patch for Call of Duty 4 is now available, updating the game to v1.4. The patch adds a new free holiday map and improved modification support. Grab it from Rapidshare (direct link).

AMD/ATI fans are in luck, as the company announced that owners of ATI Radeon graphic card owners are entitled to a pair of free games from Steam, Valve’s content delivery service. Eligible gamers can visit this page for details on how to get free copies of Half-Life 2: Lost Coast and Half-Life 2: Deathmatch as well as discounts on other Valve games.

The first bit of downloadable content for Halo 3 is now out on Xbox Live Marketplace - the Heroic Map Pack. It features three new multiplayer maps for the game for 800 Microsoft points. Here’s the deal:

Standoff’s symmetrical valley, with its entrenched bases and fields of boulders is ideal for mid-sized objective and Slayer game types, while Rat’s Nest’s vast, labyrinthine passages bring something new to the “Halo” multiplayer experience: an indoor vehicle paradise, strongly influenced by the Campaign mode, ideal for big team battles. Finally, Foundry is the ultimate Forge map - players can edit every single object in this voluminous industrial warehouse, place stairways, walls, bridges and tunnels to create an entirely new play space and build almost any kind of map they can think of.

The maps can also be edited and customized by the game’s players. They will also be available for free download in Spring 2008, just prior to the next wave of new Halo 3 multiplayer maps.

This forum post on the BeyondUnreal forums offers a look at changes planned for the first patch for Unreal Tournament 3, offering fixes in almost every part of the game. No release schedule was offered though.

In actual patch releases, a v8.0.1 update for Football Manager 2008 was released for both PC and Mac versions of the game. Grab them from Gamer’s Hell and Strategy Informer.

Five new high-resolution shots from Unreal Tournament 3.

This insightful editorial on Wired takes a look at how sucky gamers take on terrorist approaches while playing Halo 3 online. The writer raises some good points without being crass or disrespectful towards people who have been killed as a result of suicide bombings.

Warhawk director Dylan Jobe has posted about the upcoming v1.2 patch for the game on the official PlayStation Blog. Slated for release in December, the patch will offer updated gameplay featuring including new map layouts.

“We have found that while a lot of players like playing the really large games, there was a pretty big segment that was playing smaller games,” he wrote. The five new layouts for existing maps will be tailored for matches between four and eight players. They are Eucadia: High City, Island Outpost: Standoff, The Badlands: South City, Destroyed Capitol: Garden Showdown, and Archipelago: Close Corridors.

DualShock 3 rumble support will also be added through the patch. It will also let players purchase game-related content using the game’s internal interface instead of going back to the PS3 XMB PlayStation Store.

A v1.1 update will be made later this month that will offer fixes to gameplay, as well as implement Arbiters.

The already fragile alliance in Kane & Lynch: Dead Men will get even more delicate in the online multiplayer mode called “Fragile Alliance.” The mode will have up to eight players team up against police in a series of heist scenarios, however, it will be up to the player to either work as a team or back-stab their team mates and work for themselves at any moment. The objective is to steal the loot and make it to the getaway point; the winner is the player who escapes with the most loot.

“We wanted to make a multiplayer experience using the theme, dynamics and atmosphere of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men” said Kim Krogh, Lead Game Designer, IO Interactive. “Fragile Alliance is a new way to use co-op in multiplayer. Play it like a soldier and you’ll lose, play it like a criminal and you’ll win”.

The game will hit stores on November 20 on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. It will be released throughout Europe on November 23.

The fourth in a series of character profiles from Team Fortress 2 has been released. This one focuses on the Demoman, the demolitions expert. Enjoy.

Some new Call of Duty 4 screenshots, showing off some multiplayer action. In full 1080p glory.

If you’re into ads, then check out this Orange Box trailer.