With the Summer of Arcade promotion now over, Microsoft has stated that the next Xbox Live Arcade releases will be NBA 2K10: Draft Combine and Watchmen Pt. 2. Both titles will be available for download this Wednesday, August 26, with Visual Concepts' character-building "test drive" of "NBA 2K10's new gameplay features" at 400 MS Points ($5) and Deadline's sadistic beat' em up going for 1200 MS Points ($15).

Not mentioned by Xbox Live programming director Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb was Blitz Games' downloadable beat 'em up Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao, which publisher Namco had previously slated for August 26 at a supposed price point of 1200 MS Points ($15). Will it make it this week? We'll try to find out and get back to you.

Warner has released another trailer for the second episode in Deadline Games' Watchmen-themed beat-em-up. The End is Nigh Part 2 again pits Rorschach and Night Owl against plenty of punchable, seedy characters, this time as a means of saving a missing little girl.

The second episode has been burdened with an extremely confusing release schedule. For information on when you might be able to buy it--and how much it'll cost you--check out our past coverage.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Shackvideo users can use the HD Stream.

Warner announced today that the second episode of the Watchmen beat-em-up title from now-defunct developer Deadline Games will be released on several different dates depending on the platform.

To give you a sense of the confusing plan, those that wish to purchase the $15 Xbox Live version of The End is Nigh Part 2 will need to wait until August 26. The more expensive Xbox 360 retail two-pack, however, will sell for $30 on July 21.

PlayStation 3 owners that wish to play the game on July 21 will need to buy Watchmen: The End is Nigh The Complete Experience--which includes the director's cut of the Watchmen film and both games--for $50. The downloadable PS3 and PC versions will be released on July 30 for $15--a full three weeks ahead of that Xbox Live version.

Still confused? So am I. Here's a more comprehensive breakdown:... Read more

Warner's release of Zack Snyder's Watchmen adaptation will mark the first packaging of a new film and game on Blu-ray with Watchmen: The End is Nigh The Complete Experience.

Though Sony earlier this year touted the potential for game/film hybrids on the same Blu-ray disc, The Complete Experience will instead package the two End Is Nigh games and the director's cut of the film on separate Blu-ray discs. "Exclusive artwork" will of course be featured, along with the standard fancy box.

The second chapter of the beat-em-up will see Rorschach and Nite Owl helping to solve the case of a missing girl named Violet Greene. Both episodic games are also set to be packaged for a single Xbox 360 retail release, while chapter two will be available separately for digital download on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.

All of the Watchmen-related releases are scheduled for a July 21 debut.

The second episode of Deadline Games' downloadable Watchmen tie-in "The End is Nigh" (XBLA, PSN, PC) will simply include more of the same beat-em-up gameplay as the first, according to the website for the ESRB ratings board.

A description on the site notes that players will once again inhabit Nite Owl and Rorschach, taking down bad-guys on another quest to fight crime.

Apparently the plot of part two involves the duo tracking down a villain "who has molested an actress appearing in a pornography film."

"The search leads players to a strip club that contains go-go dancers in cages, peep-show booths, and a pornographic film playing in the background," writes the ESRB, which dutifully notes that, "although moaning and suggestive dialogue (e.g., "Ohhh, it's so big!") can be heard echoing from the film, no nudity or sexual acts are depicted."

This week's update to the PlayStation Store brings the first chapter of Deadline Games' downloadable beat-em-up title Watchmen: The End is Nigh, in demo and $20 form.

The demo for Wanted: Weapons of Fate and an Age of Booty trial round out the major additions, while the Burnout Paradise Toy Car pack, Prince of Persia: Epilogue DLC, and Skate 2 Throwback Pack make up the add-on highlights.

Check out the full store update in a handy list below:... Read more

Deadline Games' movie tie-in, beat-em-up title Watchmen: End Is Nigh is hitting tomorrow, and we've got a few trailers that show off the game's two playable, morally-unambiguous thugs, Rorschach and Nite Owl.

The game hits tomorrow on Xbox Live and PC for $20, with the PlayStation Network release hitting Thursday.

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo

Click through for a look at Rorschach's movese.... Read more

The first downloadable beat-em-up companion to the Watchmen film will cost $20 when it is released on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and PC next week.

Watchmen: The End is Nigh will allow two players to take control of Rorschach and Nite Owl in a flashback to the superhero team's early crime fighting days.

The first episode is set for release next Wednesday, March 4. The PC version will be available on Steam and Direct2Drive.

With the long-awaited Watchmen film due out on March 6, publisher Warner Bros. has confirmed the release dates for Deadline Games' downloadable video game.

Xbox 360 and PC users will be able to purchase and play Watchmen: The End is Nigh Part 1 on Wednesday, March 4, according an update on the game's official site noticed by Joystiq. The PlayStation 3 version will follow on Thursday, March 5.

Serving as a prequel to the comic-inspired film, the game is based on a 1987 pen and paper RPG that was co-written by Watchmen comic creator Alan Moore.

The price point for Watchmen: The End is Nigh Part 1 has yet to be revealed. Players on all platforms will be able to sample a trial version of the beat 'em up before buying, with the PC version sold through digital distribution platforms Steam and Direct2Drive.

A new set of screenshots Watchmen: The End is Nigh (PC, PS3, X360) has been released, showing Nite Owl and Rorschach represented in Deadline Games' upcoming action brawler. The first installment in the episodic game series is due this March, when the Zack Snyder-directed movie is released.

According to Eurogamer, development of the Great Depression-era action game Faith and a .45 (PS3, X360) from Danish developer Deadline Games is currently on hold.

Deadline is also working on Watchmen: The End is Nigh (PC, PS3, X360), and work on that brawler has taken priority.

An episodic series, the first installment of the Watchmen game will be released this March to coincide with the release of the movie.

"With our focus on the development of Watchmen, the activities related to the intense and atmospheric shooter Faith and a .45 - featuring a heavy focus on characters, co-operative gameplay, road-movie storytelling and cinematic aesthetics - have continued at a negotiation level," said Deadline Games CEO Chris Mottes.

Previous Deadline Games titles include Total Overdose (PC, PS2, Xbox) and Chili Con Carnage (PSP).

The upcoming downloadable Watchmen tie-in game, Watchmen: The End is Nigh, is based on a 1987 RPG co-written by Alan Moore, according to Watchmen artist David Gibbons.

"At the time the original comics came out, Mayfair games did a role-playing game that Alan helped write bits of, and it's completely canon, so this game uses a lot of that less-well known material," said Gibbons to Eurogamer.

Mayfair Games produced two RPG modules based on Watchmen in 1987, titled "Who Watches the Watchmen?" and "Taking out the Trash."

Developed by Deadline Games, Watchmen: The End is Nigh (PS3, 360, PC) is a downloadable game that will mix beat-em-up combat with investigation puzzles. While Gibbons admitted to not being familiar with the finer details of the game, he did provide some information.

"Basically, it deals with Rorschach and Night Owl in the days before everything went wrong, and it features a few other characters and villains that are... Read more

Continuing today's Spike-spurred media barrage is the following trailer for Watchmen: The End is Nigh (PS3, 360, PC).

Developed by Deadline Games, The End is Nigh is a downloadable beat-em-up title featuring characters Rorschach and Nite Owl, scheduled to debut alongside the upcoming Watchmen film adaptation in March. The game is set during the 1970s, in the era of the original graphic novel's "Crimebusters" team.

Let's hope the movie aspires to be something more than a "mature action-brawler" with "bloody, visceral combat in rich settings."

Please install Flash to view this Shackvideo