Thrifty gamers looking to milk their Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare purchase a little longer will be happy to know that Activision is making a the “Variety Map Pack” DLC (first released in April of 2008) available to consumers at a discounted price today.

The pack includes four maps “Broadcast,” “Creek,” “Chinatown” and “Killhouse” and rings in at a 50% discount amounting to 400 MS Points (about $5) on the 360 and $4.99 on the PS3. The deal ends on midnight on November 8th.

In addition, another double XP weekend will run on both the PS3 and the 360 starting November 6th at 3pm EST through November 8th at midnight EST).

Discounted maps. Double XP weekend. What’s not to love.

EA and Double Fine is hitting fans of the recently released Brutal Legend game with the first of what we can only hope will be many downloadable content updates. “Tears of the Hextadon” is a two-map pack scheduled for release next month for both the Microsoft Xbox 360 and the Sony PlayStation 3. Additional information from the press release about the maps themselves and console specific release dates after the jump.

“In the first map, Circle of Tears, vile waters have carved a rough-hewn circular battlefield into a forsaken land that players must circumvent to destroy their opponent. In the second map, Death’s Fjord, players find themselves on an icy mountain pass with a dense cluster of fans that lie below, waiting to be harvested by those brave enough to capture them without cover from enemy attack. All players who download the new map pack will receive a free axe, the Blade of Ormagöden.”

Xbox 360 owners will have access to the DLC on November 3rd for 400 MS Points, two days earlier than their PS3 counterparts. However, while PS3 owners will have to wait until November 5th, they will be able to download the DLC free of charge between November 5th and November 19th (about six bucks after that).

When commenting on the new content, Double Fine President, Tim Schafer, said:

“I play Brütal Legend online every night … And I need more maps! Circle of Tears is named after the crying of my vanquished foes on the battlefield, and Death’s Fjord is obviously a tribute to my Nordic ancestors, and their love of fan geysers and… Well, actually I just thought the name was cool. See you online!”

Sounds pretty good to me. The guy gets an A plus for honesty. Will you be checking out the DLC on your console when it hits?

The boys and girls at Epic Games have been working hard on some new DLC to extend the life of your Gears of War 2 purchase. Gamers will be able to get their grubby mitts on the Snowblind Map Pack, containing four new multiplayer maps (Grindyard, Fuel Depot, Under Hill, and Courtyard), March 31st for 800 MS Points.

Cold gas and hot lead don’t mix. Remember that.

A new GameStop commercial, which recently appeared on FX, has revealed some additional LittleBigPlanet pre-order specials.

In addition to the Kratos costume we reported on a two months ago, the spot unveils a new Medusa and Minotaur costume for Sackboy, as well as a God of War map pack.

Hit the jump to watch the commercial yourself.

Source: N4G

Robert Bowling, Community Manager for Infinity Ward, has revealed that the team has been hard at work on a playlist update for their hit shooter Call of Duty 4.

Along with the playlist update, which hasn’t been given a date yet, there is an Xbox Live and Playstation Network double-experience points promotion in the works for the weekend of September 13-14.

Here is a peek of some of the game types we should be seeing in the new update. Bowling has stated that the list is nowhere near complete yet, but it’s a teaser of what we might see soon.

• Hardcore Headquarters – Testing is completed for Hardcore HQ. This playlist has standard HQ rules with Hardcore Settings. Limited HUD, Increased Bullet Damage, and Friendly Fire Enabled
• Hardcore Ricochet Playlist – This is the “No Teamkilling” playlist. Any damage a teamkiller attempts to do to their teammates is reflected onto themselves only. Therefore, if they attempt to shoot an RPG into the ground at the beginning of the match, the only person who will die is the teamkiller. This eliminates the fear of being shot in the back by some asshole, but still encourages players to play tactically and not throw random ‘nades, because if you accidentally hit a teammate, you’re only going to end up killing yourself and they’ll go unharmed. No Teamkilling, No Random ‘Nades. This playlist will include the variant for Hardcore Team Deathmatch, Hardcore Search and Destroy, and Hardcore HQ.
• Sudden Death Sabotage – Sabotage with no respawns. Fast-paced and intense Sabotage. No more hiding with the bomb until time runs out for sudden death. Increased XP per kills to encourage Team Deathmatch mentality. Defend your objective while attempting to secure the bomb and plant on theirs. Once you’re dead, you’re dead. No second chances.
• Second Chance Search and Destroy – Search and Destroy with one respawn each. This completely revamps your Search and Destroy tactics. No longer will a lucky frag or well-placed claymore end your chance of victory. Each player has one respawn, creating longer, more thought-out attack/defend strategies. Eliminate enemy players and cut off their reinforcements while you defuse.
• Bare-Bones Team Deathmatch – Team Deathmatch with no perks and no air support.
• Hardcore Free for All - Free For All with Hardcore Settings.
• Team Elimination (Last Man Standing) – 3 round Team Deathmatch with no respawns. Switch sides each round.
• Multi-Bomb Search and Destroy – Search and Destroy but all attackers spawn with a bomb.

When the Variety Map Pack was released back in April, a double-experience points weekend came along with it, so I’m expecting the new playlists and promotion weekend will coincide this time around as well.

Source: Hexus

During our liveblog of the Microsoft E3 press conference, Andrew reported on new Portal content for the Xbox 360 as the room erupted with cheers.

11:21 am: GladOs introduces Portal: Still Alive, with new, more challenging levels. And it’s coming out this year to Xbox Live Arcade. Sweet! Hearty applause.

I have a feeling that many of those cheers have now turned into jeers. The new Portal: Still Alive Xbox 360 content, teased by the voice of GlaDOS at E3, is apparently nothing more than a map pack port from the PC version of the game.

The Flash Version MapPack made its debut on the PC as a free download based on the maps created by Hen Mazolskiv, a fan of the game. This content is essentially being repackaged as “Still Alive” for the 360, and sadly will not offer any continuation of the plot.

Source: Shacknews (via G4TV)