The promised Green Day downloadable content for Rock Band is set to arrive next week, along with a roaring selection of tracks from artists on the metallicious Mayhem Tour.

Green Day Pack
• Green Day - "21 Guns"
• Green Day - "East Jesus Nowhere"
• Green Day - "Know Your Enemy"
Mayhem Pack
• Behemoth - "Conquer All"
• Black Dahlia Murder - "What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse"
• Cannibal Corpse - "Hammer Smashed Face"
• God Forbid - "Empire of the Gun"
• Job for a Cowboy - "Embedded"
• Marilyn Manson - "Disposable Teens"
• Slayer - "Black Magic"
• Whitechapel - "This Is Exile"

The tracks hit Xbox 360 and Wii on July 7 then PlayStation 3 on July 9, priced at $2 a pop (160 Microsoft Points, 200 Wii Points). 360 and PS3 rockers can also snag the whole Green Day Pack for $5.49 (440 MS Points) or Mayhem Pack for $13.49 (1,080 Points).

Microsoft Research's Kodu Game Lab, described as "a new visual programming language made specifically for creating games," has been released on Xbox 360.

Available under the Community Games--soon to be rebranded "Indie Games"--portion of the online Xbox Live Marketplace, the 167MB program can be sampled in demo form, with the full version downloadable in exchange for 400 Microsoft Points ($5).

The full version packs several tutorials and numerous samples, with genres ranging from shooter to racing to role-playing. Created games can be shared with other Xbox Live members, and can support multiplayer for up to four offline players.

"We're making it easy for everyone to enjoy the magic of game creation," lead designer Matt MacLaurin explained earlier this year. At the time, Microsoft utilized "actual 12-year-old girl" Sparrow to demonstrate the ease of using Kodu's icon-based interface.

Skateboarding's prestigious Maloof Money Cup competition is set to arrive in Skate 2 as downloadable content shortly before the real event kicks off in July, EA has announced.

The Maloof Money Pack recreates the contest's park with freeskate, vert and street contests for singleplayer skaters, and online play receiving new competitive activities and challenges. The Xbox 360 version also picks up another 250 achievement points.

The DLC arrives July 9 in the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Store for a mere $3 (240 Microsoft Points), just in time for the real Maloof Money Cup which runs July 10-12.

The PS3 and Xbox 360 editions of Volition's volatile open-world action game Red Faction: Guerrilla are to receive three downloadable content packs, publisher THQ has said.

The first of those three, "Demons of the Badlands," arrives on August 13. Priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10), the pack is said to add "a destructive single-player mission arc that takes place in a new Mars landscape outside of the game's expansive world."

As for the other two, nothing else is known except that they're both due later this year.

Microsoft has announced this week's Xbox Live Arcade release schedule, confirming that SNK's The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match will hit the Xbox 360's online marketplace alongside Team17's Worms 2: Armageddon this Wednesday, July 1. Both are priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10), with Worms 2 offering a number of new weapons and options while King of Fighter '98 updates the classic fighter and its 64-character roster with support for two-person online multiplayer over Xbox Live.

Next week's batch of Rock Band downloadable content has been announced through developer Harmonix's "Community Zine," with the following due next week:

Foreigner Three Pack
• "Blue Morning Blue Day"
• "Feels Like the First Time"
• "Headknocker"
Vans Warped Tour Three Pack
• Dear and the Headlights - "Sweet Talk"... Read more

Three more downloadable Pearl Jam tunes for Rock Band and Rock Band 2 will hit this week alongside the previously announced DLC, developer Harmonix has revealed.

Pearl Jam "Ten" Bonus Pack
• "Brother"
• "Alive (Live: Drop in the Park)"
• "State of Love & Trust (Live: Drop in the Park)

The three tunes were originally offered as an incentive to buy the physical re-release of Pearl Jam's "Ten" the week it hit stores--the same week that saw the bulk of the "Ten" album released as downloadable content for Rock Band and Rock Band 2.

Per usual, each song will sell individually for 160 Microsoft Points ($2), with the entire three-pack also available in a 440 Microsoft Point ($5.50) bundle. The tracks hit Xbox 360 on Tuesday, June 23, with the PlayStation 3 release following on Thursday, June 25.

SNK's 2D fighter Fatal Fury: Garou - Mark Of The Wolves and Blitz Arcade's aquatic puzzler Droplitz will hit the Xbox 360 this Wednesday, June 24, Microsoft has revealed.

Enhanced over its earlier Dreamcast, PlayStation 2 and arcade releases, Garou - Mark Of The Wolves now sports online multiplayer for two combatants. Meanwhile, Droplitz is a single-player affair focused on routing an unspecified liquid to the bottom of the screen.

Both of the downloadable games will sell for 800 Microsoft Points ($10).

Friday brings Rock Band downloadable content news of a pack featuring arists from the bodaciously gnarly Warped Tour festival, as well as tracks by the mellow Maroon 5.

Warped Tour Pack
• A Day to Remember - "The Downfall of Us All"
• Bad Religion - "21st Century Digital Boy"
• Chiodos - "I didn't Say I Was Powerful, I said I was a Wizard"
• Escape the Fate - "The Flood"
• Underoath - "Reinventing Your Exit"
Maroon 5 Pack
• Maroon 5 - "Little of Your Time"
• Maroon 5 - "Makes Me Wonder"
• Maroon 5 - "Wake Up Call"

All from original master recordings, the tracks will be available at $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points) a pop. The Maroon 5 Pack can also be bought complete for $5.49 (440 MS Points), while the whole Warped Tour Pack will run you a tidy $8.49 (680 MS Points).

Xbox Live Marketplace will be rocking to the sound of these tracks on Tuesday June 23, while the PlayStation Network will have to wait until Thursday June 25.

Now on Xbox Live Marketplace for Gold subscribers are demos of Blue Castles Games' arcade baseball game The Bigs 2 and EA Tiburon's more-serious NCAA Football 10.

The demo for The Bigs 2 offers 3 All Star innings and a taste of Home Run Derby Pinball while NCAA Football 10's demo recreates 2009's Gators vs. Sooners final.

PlayStation 3 sports fans should be able to enjoy the NCAA Football 10 demo later today, while The Bigs 2's demo is due to arrive on the PlayStation Network shortly.

The Bigs 2 is released on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PS2 and PSP on July 7, then NCAA Football 10 arrives a week later on July 14 for Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 and PSP.

The second map pack for Call of Duty: World at War only took four days to surpass a million downloads, publisher Activision revealed today.

Released for PS3 and Xbox 360 users last Thursday, June 11, the $10 add-on brings four new multiplayer maps to Treyarch's shooter.

The game's first map pack, released in March, took an entire week to break a million.

Update: The general Madden NFL 10 demo is slated for "late July," EA has clarified. We're also told that the public Giants vs. Cowboys demo will sport 1 minute quarters, not the previously reported 2 minute quarters, with the company apologizing for the confusion.

Original: Though GameStop yesterday announced that it was offering an "exclusive demo" of Madden NFL 10 as a pre-order incentive, publisher Electronic Arts has informed Shacknews that a downloadable demo will be available to the public as well.

"We will also be issuing a demo via Xbox LIVE and PSN that features the Giants vs. Cowboys with 2 minute quarters," the company told us. "The GameStop demo is exclusive in terms of content. For example, the GameStop exclusive demo features a rematch of Super Bowl XLIII featuring the Steelers vs. Cardinals with 5 minute quarters."

We're checking in to see when the public demo will be released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The GameStop exclusive demo is expected "by the end of July."

The full version of the football game--in development for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and PSP--arrives in North American retailers on Friday, August 14.

A downloadable expansion pack for Backbone's neon-tastic Xbox Live Arcade revival Space Invaders Extreme will arrive tomorrow, June 17, during the night-time hours.

With the download priced at 240 Microsoft Points ($3), publisher Taito tells us that it will pack three new stages, new enemies and new bosses, along with "emulators of the original black-and-white Space Invaders and 8-bit color Space Invaders 2."

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Continuing the increasingly popular trend, Electronic Arts today announced that it has partnered with GameStop to provide those that pre-order Madden NFL 10 from the retailer with an "exclusive demo" of EA Tiburon's August 14-due game.

Pre-ordering either the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 edition of the football game from GameStop should net you a download code, with the demo due "by the end of July."

Recreating the Super Bowl XLIII match between the the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers, the demo will offer gamers the chance to play four, 5-minute quarters.

No word yet as to if or when a downloadable Madden NFL 10 demo will be available to the general public, but we're checking in with Electronic Arts.

Ubisoft has released the Supremacy pack for Tom Clancy's HAWX, a download that compiles the previously released expansion planes into a single package. The pack is available now on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for 800 Microsoft Points and $10, respectively.

Check below for a full list of the included planes:... Read more

Continuing the long-running Friday tradition, Rock Band series developer Harmonix pulled back the curtain on the next batch of downloadable content for the franchise.

The following tunes hit Xbox 360 on Tuesday June 16 and PS3 on Thursday June 18:

Spinal Tap Pack
• Spinal Tap - "Back from the Dead"
• Spinal Tap - "Rock 'n' Roll Nightmare"
• Spinal Tap - "Saucy Jack"
• Spinal Tap - "Warmer Than Hell"
Evanescence Pack
• Evanescence - "Bring Me to Life"
• Evanescence - "Call Me When You're Sober"
• Evanescence - "Weight of the World"

Per usual, each Rock Band and Rock Band 2-compatible track will be sold individually for 160 Microsoft Points ($2), with a four-track Spinal Tap bundle going for 560 MS Points ($7) and the entire Evanescence Pack available for 440 MS Points ($5.50).

Developer Harmonix today announced a deal that will see American pop-punk act Green Day appear exclusively in the Rock Band series of multi-instrument music games.

Three tracks--"21 Guns," "Know Your Enemy," "East Jesus Nowhere"--will be released as downloadable content on July 7, with word that "additional Green Day songs and projects will be announced at a later date." The band is perhaps best known for "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)," a song immortalized in numerous graduation ceremonies, countless video montages, and the Seinfeld series finale special.

"Green Day not only rock hard, but are also epic storytellers," said Van Toffler, president of Harmonix owner MTV. "Their message and their music have been the voice and sound of this generation."

The extent of those additional Green Day "projects" is unknown, though Harmonix has previously released an AC/DC-specific edition of Rock Band, with the company currently prepping The Beatles: Rock Band for its September 9 release and... Read more

The last of the promised downloadable content packs for Volition's Saints Row 2 arrives on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 today, with the Xbox 360 download already available. Whereas the first two packs--"Ultor Exposed" and "Corporate Warfare"--delivered new missions and multiplayer maps at a premium price, today's "Unkut Pack" is a free offering that brings more clothing and tattoo options to in-game gangsters.

While the PlayStation 3 edition will be free to all, the Xbox 360 download is currently restricted to those that have a premium Xbox Live Gold membership. A list of the colorful new customization choices, courtesy the game's blog, follows below... Read more

The second downloadable map pack for Call of Duty: World at War will be available for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 players tomorrow, developer Treyarch has announced.

Priced at 800 Microsoft Points ($10), the June 11-due download adds four new multiplayer arenas to the war-centric shooter. Three of those--Banzai, Corrosion, Sub Pens--are for traditional competitive multiplayer antics, with "Shi No Numa (Zombie Swamp)," bringing new content to the Nazi Zombie mode.

No word yet as to if or when the maps will arrive for the PC edition. The first map pack ended up hitting PC as a free download a few weeks after it arrived on consoles.

For a glimpse of the new Shi No Numa level, check out the trailer below... Read more

You'll have to forgive us, but in the chaos of E3 2009 last week, we neglected to mention that a downloadable demo of Guitar Hero Smash Hits had arrived for Xbox Live Gold members. The good news? That free demo is now available to all Xbox 360 folk. The demo packs three--"Rock and Roll All Nite" by KISS, "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand and "Woman" by Wolfmother"--of the game's 48 tracks, with each tune offering drum, bass, guitar and vocal play (depending on your peripheral availability).

Once titled "Guitar Hero Greatest Hits," Smash Hits brings its collection of past GH tunes--now with full band play and master tracks--to PS2, PS3, 360 and Wii on June 16.