Morning folks. And welcome to the last working day of the week - the weekend is so close you can taste it. This morning I've got something special for you. We're giving away a copy of Mafia II on Xbox 360.

We're going light on the small print here - I'm happy to send the game anywhere in the world. Whether it works on the Xbox 360 where you are - well that's beyond my control. But here we have a European version of the game up for grabs.

Entering the competition is simplicity itself. All I want you to do is complete the following sentence in the comments section below.

"Dear Boomtown X, I really deserve to win the copy of Mafia II because..."

Registering is free, and we won't spam you in any way. You'll need to register with a valid email address as your account isn't activated until you've clicked the link in your validation email. Register here.

The competition closes on Friday 10th September at midday UK time. I'll then choose the response I like the best from all the entrants and post the result on this very page. Be aware this is an 18 rated game and is definitely not for children - are you listening rubbish parents?

Good Luck.

_{Competition listed on Loquax Competitions}

You can now download the Toybox DLC for Crackdown 2 from the Xbox Live Marketplace. The download is 49MB and will cost you 560 Microsoft Points.

Expand Crackdown 2 with the Toy Box Pack! It's bursting at the seams with extra toys and treasures, including an expanded Keys to the City mode, the ATV Assault Vehicle, the Squad Chopper, Suit Thrusters, new Agent armor colors, and a Vehicle Tag game, just to name a few. The Toy Box Pack is packed so full it would take a Level 5 Agent to hold it closed!

Download the content via your console or queue it up online via this Xbox.com linky.

Sony has announced that the PlayStation 3 firmware update which will add support for 3D Blu-ray playback will not be released until next month.

So sorry for the four or five people that actually affects.

Source: Engadget

Kotaku is reporting a rumour that major job cuts will be taking place later today at LucasArts.

Some 30 percent of the staff are expected to go.

Our thoughts go out to those leaving the company today, we hope you find a new role soon where your skills are rewarded.

Team 17 reminds us today that Alien Breed has arrived on European PSN.

Alien Breed: Impact is priced at £11.99/€14.99.

The press release is but a click away:

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Cryptic Studios is celebrating the first birthday of the superhero MMO Champions Online.

Part of the celebrations include a free trial and a sale in the game's store.

Check out the details and links after the jump:

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Square Enix has sent word that the investigation into bugs that slightly delayed the launch of the Final Fantasy XIV Beta has solved the problems.

So the beta will begin tomorrow - 2nd September.

We would like to take this opportunity to provide an update regarding FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test, which was announced to be postponed on Aug. 31, 2010.

Along with the completion on investigation and correction of the critical issue, we have decided to begin FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test on Sep. 2, 2010 at 02:00 (GMT).

Starting on Sep. 2, 2010 at 02:00 (GMT), acquisition of registration code required for FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test will become available on "FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test Application Site." For more details, please refer to "FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test Application Site."

We are looking forward to your participation in FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test!

And here's the link for you to apply to join the beta - entry.ffxiv.com

Who says PC gaming is dead? Blizzard has today announced that it has sold over three million copies of StarCraft II in the first month on sale.

Day one says accounted for one million, making it instantly the best selling PC game of 2010. Another half million sales followed in the next 24 hours.

"We appreciate all the enthusiasm that players around the world have shown for StarCraft II," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. "It was important to us to deliver an overall gameplay experience that was accessible, balanced, and fun, and it’s been gratifying to see how strongly the global community has already embraced the game."

Microsoft has announced that the Kinect Xbox 360 motion control system will be release in Australia on November 18th for AUS$199.

A 4GB Xbox 360 Slim bundle will also be available complete with Kinect system for AUS$449.

Kinect is set for release in Europe on November 10th and in the US on November 8th.

Blizzard has announced that a forthcoming update for World of Warcraft - which paves the way for the Cataclysm expansion - will mean PPC Mac hardware will be no longer supported.

The following was posted in the game's Mac support forum:

A little forewarning to those of you that play World of Warcraft on these systems. Shortly before the release of Cataclysm, a patch will be released in which PowerPC processor based Macs will no longer be supported. This update indicates the removal of PowerPC support from World of Warcraft. Attempting to run the game after the update will bring up a message stating the hardware is no longer supported, and the game will not run.

You Mac loving Warcrafters are going to have to get yourself an Intel-based Mac or even a proper computer<sup>1

_1Joke</sup>

You can now download a playable demo for Sega's Vanquish from the Xbox Live Marketplace and PSN.

LONDON (September 1st, 2010) – SEGA® Europe Ltd. can confirm that the VANQUISHTM Official Demo: Velocity Attack, is available exclusively for download from Xbox LIVE® Marketplace for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, and PlayStation® Store for the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system in Europe today.

VANQUISHTM is the hottest title Shinji Mikami has worked on in over 4 years, achieving high tension throughout the game and delivering a new sense of game merged shooting and action in a finely balanced manner. The game is set for release across North America on 19th October, Australia on 21st of October and across Europe on October 22nd 2010 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

Activision has today revealed plenty of the details of some of the "warriors" featued within Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.

Join us after the jump for information and art for characters such as Axel Steel, Casey Lynch and Judy Nails.

Read more…

Microsoft has announced a new version of the Xbox 360 controller with a configurable d-pad which switches between a cross and a disk.

The controller also features grey face buttons on concave sticks.

The new controller will hit the US market first - November 9th for $64.99. Europe will have to wait until the new year.

After the jump we've more details and images:

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Mafia II is this week's best selling game in the UK. Last week's chart topper - Kane & Lynch 2 has been pushed down to second place.

In fact it's the fastest selling here since the release of Red Dead Redemption.

Full rundown after the jump:

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There's nothing like a public holiday for burying bad news. And Microsoft seems to be attempting that here in the UK with the news that it's making a mean spirited price hike to the Xbox Live service.

The price hike affects the US, UK, Mexico and Canada and is detailed below:

You've got to wonder if someone at Microsoft has been drinking too much bong-water, the current Xbox Live prices were at the top of the scale of what seemed reasonable already.

Source: Major Nelson

Why unfortunate? Because Firaxis has announced that the demo of the long-awaited Civilization V won't actually be released until the day the full game hits store shelves.

"The Civilization V playable demo release date is September 21st; the same day as the North American release date of the full game.

"The question many of you are probably asking now is “didn’t you say it would be available before the release date?” The answer to that question is yes, I did. At the time of that announcement, we expected to be able to get the demo out before the 21st, but unfortunately we weren’t able to finalize it in the timeframe we had initially planned, and for that we’re very sorry.

"However, we have managed to get it out the same day as the North American release. So for those of you who have been waiting to try out the demo before buying the game, you can still do that with enough time left to run out to the store (or purchase on Steam) and have the full game on the same day as everyone else."

Source: Firaxis

Ubisoft has confirmed that Ubisoft Red Storm has made 38 employess redundant - hower the company says these members of staff were given a choice of positions at other Ubisoft-owned studios.

"Red Storm remains an integral part of Ubisoft's worldwide production team and will continue to work on the multiplayer component of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier," said the publisher.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is due for release in early 2011.

Source: Shacknews

As the name suggests, the hardcore armour effects really are something you'll see hardcore Halo: Reach players being able to earn.

After all - you have to be pretty hardcore to sit through hundreds of hours of ignorant racist smack talk by pre-pubescent mid-westerners.

There will be four hardcore armour effects at the game's launch, with more to follow later.

Check out the details from Bungie after the jump:

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Blizzard has announced details of the forthcoming 1.1 update for epic strategy game Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty.

Many of the changes are the typical balance tweaks we see after the release of a multiplayer strategy game.

You can read more details after the jump:

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It looks like we've seen the last of Acclaim. The original Acclaim Entertainment bade us farewell in 2004 only to return in the form of Acclaim Games.

Now it looks like Acclaim didn't make the transfer when owner Playdom became part of Disney.

We regret to inform you that all Acclaim games will no longer be in service effective August 26, 2010

- says a notice on the company's website.