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Do you rememberBioShock 2? It was many centuries ago, so you may have to check in Old Man Mongomery’s dusty archives deep within theThinkarium. This ancient artifact once had downloadable content which came to the Xbox 360 and PS3, but never to the PC. Rejoice, however, for the time is almost upon us! Yep, that’s the right, the long and bitter story ofBioShock 2‘s PC DLC is finally drawing to a close, with 2K Games announcing that the certification process forProtector TrialsandMinerva’s Denshould be finished soon....

The nextBioShock 2DLC is on the way and a brand new trailer is out hyping the new content. The “Raputre Metro” pack will include six new maps, a rank increase to level 50, two new masks and three new achievements/trophies. There will also be a new game mode called “Kill’em Kindly” where everyone will fight using just golf clubs and a “Rebirth” feature where you’ll get a special mask if you reach level 50 and then de-rank to level one....

Until that magical day when BioWare announcesWrex Effect, it looks like we’ll have to get comfortable with controlling Mr. Blank Slate, Commander Shepard. But even though we can’t play as the rough and gruff space toad inMass Effect 2, we can become him.Sort of. Follow us, here. The Vanguard class in theMass Effectuniverse is all about getting in enemies faces and then blasting off said faces with a combination of short-ranged weaponry and biotic powers....

Probably the biggest and most unexpected news that came out of Blizzard’sDiablo IIIpress event last week was the announcement that players will be able to buy and sell items in-game for real currency. In addition to having a standard, gold-based Auction House likeWorld of Warcrafthas,Diablo IIIwill also feature a safe, Blizzard-sanctioned way for players to exchange items for cash. For many players, auction houses are a game unto themselves, and I certainly spent my own fair share of time exclusively playing the auction house inWarcraft....

This Sunday the BostonGlobewill name Harmonix, developer ofRock Band,one of the top places to workin Massachusetts. The rankings were based on a survey collected by an independent company of around 70,000 employees in the state. Harmonix managed to grab the #11 spot on the overall list, #5 on the list of “best small workplaces,” and came in at #3 of the “most inclusive” company. If all the rankings were averaged together, Harmonix would earn a solid #2 in the overall “best small inclusive workplace” list....

Two new titles are ready to be unleashed on Live Arcade this week, the first beingBrain Challenge(800 Microsoft Points), while the other isBliss Island(400 Microsoft Points). If you’re the type of person who demands more than just entertainment value from your games, then by all means gather up some points in preparation forBrain Challenge. As if the name alone wasn’t enough to give away the premise,Brain Challengeis another one of those mind exercising games, complete with multiplayer so you and 3 others can train together....

Therumors are true, folks: theMadden NFL 09cover will feature one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to set foot on a football field, Brett Favre. It’s a fitting end to the career of the sure-fire first-ballot Hall of Famer, who currently holds a nigh-ridiculous assortment of thebest-known NFL records for QBs. That includes football’s “Iron Man” streak — Favre has startedeveryPackers game since being named the starting quarterback before the fourth game of the 1992 season, for a mind-blowing total of 253 straight games (275 including the playoffs)....

I’m not aWoWplayer by any means, but this is still pretty cool news. A company is offering to make actual figures based on people’sWorld of Warcraftcharacters that they can then buy. Since some players invest vast portions of their lives into theirWoWavatars, I can see this one taking off quite a bit. From thecompany’s site: You will then get your figured mailed in a glass clase for you to fawn over and cherish for the rest of your days....

Project Natal has prompted all sorts of rudderless speculation since its announcement last year, andHalo: Reachwas one of the games to fall under the eyeglass. There has been recent gossip thatReachwill use Natal when it finally arrives, but Bungie has today shut such chatter down for good. Bungie recently posted a list of “myths” regardingReachand shot down each one of them. Of the Natal rumor, Bungie stated that, “Halo: Reachis NOT a Natal title and is being developed expressly with the traditional Xbox 360 controller in mind....

According to an alleged fan survey, BioWare and Electronic Arts are considering using in-gameMass Effect 2bonuses to encourage the purchase of its other big RPG,Dragon Age: Origins. The survey asks players what kind of incentives would make them most likely to purchageDragon Age, and gives a selection of examples. Suggestions for bonus content include a $5 rebate onMass Effect 2, exclusive weaponry, custom skins, a brand new character and a playable demo....

Game Captain is reporting that the gore-soakedSplatterhousehas been denied classification by the German classification board and, thus, will not be published in Germany. Hard to imagine that what is being marketed as one of the most brutally violent games this year would somehow not see release in a country known for preventing the sale of violent media. Truly, we should all be shocked. Namco Bandai aren’t stupid or anything. I am certain that nobody was under any illusions as to whether or not this particular game would see release in Germany....

The newPunch-Out!!is probably one of my favorite Wii games ever, and it makes me happy to know other people seem to be digging it too. Leave it to a toy customizer to take things one step further and create toys fromn the game.Collectable Kid‘s Little Mac fromPunch-Out!!will definitely turn heads — he’s got the look nailed, right down to the blue highlights in Mac’s hair! Since I don’t have a MySpace account, I cannot tell you if Collectable Kid will take orders for this figure or if this was a one shot, but if you do click the link on his name above and you can check it out....

[Editor’s note: Community member Dexter345 went out to the Pasadena stop of the Halo 3: ODST tour to check out Firefight mode. — CTZ] Here in Pasadena today, we hit the triple digits in temperature. Why am I discussing the weather on a gaming blog? So you know that I stood outside in the blistering heat around a bunch of smelly nerds to bring you this preview. I hope you’re happy, because my bright red arms and face certainly are not....