Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix drops soon

Capcom has confirmed that Backbone Entertainment's HD and online-enabled update to its classic competitive puzzler will arrive on PlayStation 3 and Xbox Live next week. Available for download via Xbox Live Arcade on Wednesday, August 29 and PlayStation Store on Thursday, August 30, it will sell for the same price--$10, or 800 Microsoft Points)--on both. Details of the PC release are still TBD.

Skate demo nails Xbox 360, ollies PS3

A 1.1GB demo of EA Black Box's Skate has arrived on Xbox Live Marketplace. A PlayStation 3 version of the demo has been submitted to Sony, though EA is unsure as to when it will appear in the online PlayStation Store.

On the Xbox 360 front:

Space Giraffe, Street Trace: NYC on XBLA

Llamasoft's trippy shooter Space Giraffe and Gaia Industries' hoverboard battle racer Street Trace: NYC hit Xbox Live Arcade this week. Space Giraffe runs 400 Microsoft Points ($5), while Street Trace: NYC carries a price tag of 800 Microsoft Points ($10). For more details on either game, along with screenshots, scope out our previous coverage.

Other Xbox Live Marketplace downloads

- A demo of Flight Action's Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions of WWII has made its way to the Xbox Live Marketplace.

- Formerly available at a premium, the third multiplayer map pack for Capcom's Lost Planet is now free.

- For those that dig Pixar movies, talking rats, Brad Bird, and licensed movie tie-ins, a demo of Heavy Iron Studios' Ratatouille is in the Xbox Live Marketplace.

- The sixth game pack for Silver Creek Entertainment's Soltrio Solitaire is up. It adds 9 new game types--including Monte Carlo, Penguin and Freecell 2--for 150 Microsoft Points ($1.87).

In the world of PlayStation 3:

New demos hit PSN

Three downloadable demos have been added to the online PlayStation Store in the past week, most notably that of Game Republic's gorgeous action-RPG Folklore. Also available are trial versions of Red Storm Entertainment and Ubisoft Paris' military squad-based title Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 and Codemaster's off-road racer DiRT.

Folding@home updated

Sony Computer Entertainment and Standford University's humanitarian effort Folding@home has been updated. Version 1.2, which is automatically downloaded when starting the program, provides enhanced visuals and a screensaver mode, along with an option for specifics on the particular project being researched, an advanced participation mode suggested for users who fold eight or more hours a day, and the ability to control the program remotely via the PSP and PS3's Remote Play functionality.

This week on Virtual Console

Nintendo's 800 Wii Point ($8) classic SNES adventure shooter Super Metroid, Sega's 800 Wii Point ($8) Genesis action sequel Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, and Hudson Soft's 600 Wii Point ($6) Zelda-esque RPG Neutopia mark this week's releases for the Wii's online Virtual Console.

Lost Planet finds new maps, DX10 support

An automatic update for Capcom's snowy shooter Lost Planet brings a new chat system, DirectX 10 support, and four new multiplayer maps--Battleground, Ice Drop, Lost Technology, Ruins--to the game.

HL2 mod adds more Synergy

The team behind the Half-Life 2 mod Synergy have released new update. Version 2.5 smooths several bugs, adds two new maps, and allows players to cooperatively play through the campaign of Valve's first-person shooter to the Nova Prospekt area. The 2.5 patch can be found over at FileShack.

The week in patches

The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar (Turbine)
Book 9 EU patch, Book 10 EU patch

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow Of Chernobyl (GSC Game World)
1.0004 US patch, 1.0004 Non-US patch

StarCraft (Blizzard Entertainment)
1.15.1 patch

StarCraft: Brood War (Blizzard Entertainment)
1.15.1 patch

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines (Troika Games / Werner Spahl)
Unofficial 4.0 patch