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After about 200 posts and (at the time of writing) 8,060 views, Busy-Handed Gamer will escape the tyranny of WordPress by moving to …well, a WordPress blog.

Please, point your browsers to the new and improved http://www.bhgamer.com for the same gaming news you know and hopefully love. Those who follow the BHGamer RSS feed shouldn’t even have to lift a finger!

See you there, folks.

(Picture credit: ProBlogger. The author does not feel that WordPress are tyrants.)

[Busy-Handed Gamer]

With just a fortnight to go until Aliens vs. Predator‘s release for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 (the 16th in North America, and the 19th in Europe), Sega have announced the release of a multiplayer demo tomorrow for all 3 platforms.

Obviously, it would have been a logistical nightmare to release demos for each of the three single-player campaigns, but the online demo will let players take control of all three species in a deathmatch. As people following the game closely will be aware, extreme violence will ensue.

You can grab the demo from Steam, PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live tomorrow.

[via Eurogamer]

Sick of just using your guitar controllers to play Rock Band and/or Guitar Hero? Look no further than Tecmo’s platformer, Fret Nice, due to hit the North American PSN store this week.

Fret Nice will also hit the European store at a later date, but for now, North Americans can use the power of rock to help the Vibrant Chordbusters defeat the Hair Bängers (note the totally metal umlaut). The game has a quirky and unique art style, and looks to be a weird experience all-round. The title features online leaderboards and character customisation, with unlockable items and instruments.

Details are scant on how it actually plays. Apparently, Riff Combos you play with the guitar are in tune with the stage’s background music, meaning you can jam with the music, and the notes you need to play in combat depend on the eyes and tentacles of your enemies.

The game’s website also displays the Xbox Live Arcade logo, but no release date has been provided. When made available, it will join the indie shooter Battle Beat (which has a free demo!) on the service.

[Fret Nice via Joystiq]

A new album from Team Teamwork has dropped, and it’s full of funky Final Fantasy VII tracks – remixed with hip-hop and rap-type music.

Better yet, it can be yours for free, along with the other two albums available on their Bandcamp page: one which is also game-related (Ocarina of Rhyme) and one which is not, but is incredibly titled (The Good-Ass Remixes: Vol. 1). Featuring 12 tracks from FFVII‘s incredible soundtrack, it’s worth a listen. Some purists may object to the wanton modification of their beloved tunes, but others may find new enjoyment from the fusion of instrumental and the spoken word.

[Team Teamwork via Joystiq]

What, you didn’t hear? Next month, there’ll be some video games coming out. But what will they be? When will they be released? All of these mysteries and more shall be revealed!

It seems like a big month for PC gamers, with an onslaught of titles including 2 MMOs – Global Agenda and Star Trek Online. On the other side of the spectrum, it’s a quiet month for the Wii, with just Endless Ocean 2 on the horizon. There are some big games for the PS3 on the way which have been a long time coming, specifically White Knight Chronicles and Heavy Rain. Meanwhile, the big HD multi-platform releases of the month are Aliens vs. Predator, BioShock 2, and Dante’s Inferno.

February 1
- Global Agenda (PC)
- Tropico 3 (360)

February 2
- White Knight Chronicles (PS3) – North America
- Star Trek Online (PC) – North America
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (PC) – North America

February 4
- Dante’s Inferno (PS3, 360, PSP) – PAL

February 5
- Star Trek Online (PC) – Europe
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat (PC) – Europe
- Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep (Wii) – Europe

February 9
- BioShock 2 (PC, PS3, 360)
- Dante’s Inferno (PS3, 360, PSP) – North America

February 10
- Stargate Resistance (PC)

February 16
- Aliens vs. Predator (PC, PS3, 360) – North America
- SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 (PSP)
- Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS) – North America
- Ragnarok Online DS (DS)
- Heavy Rain (PS3) – Japan

February 18
- Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS) – Australia

February 19
- Aliens vs. Predator (PC, PS3, 360) – Europe
- Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth (DS) – Europe

February 22
- Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep (Wii) – North America

February 23
- Heavy Rain (PS3) – North America
- Napoleon: Total War (PC)
- Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (PS3, 360)

February 24
- Heavy Rain (PS3) – Europe

February 25
- Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep (Wii) – Australia
- Heavy Rain (PS3) – Australia

February 26
- Heavy Rain (PS3) – UK / Ireland

Play-Asia:
Battlefield: Bad Company (PS3) – $14.90 ($35 off). Korean version, English language.

Steam Weekend Deals:
Freedom Force: Freedom Pack - $2.00 (73% off)
X-COM: Complete Pack - $2.00 (87% off)
Tropico 3 – Steam Special Edition - $13.60 (66% off)

Other Steam Deals:
Toki Tori - $3.75 (25% off)
Hotel Giant 2 - $17.99 (10% off)

Impulse:
Armada 2526 - $24.95 (37.5% off)
Gratuitous Space Battles - $11.49 (50% off)
Light of Altair - $11.25 (25% off)
Trine - $9.99 (50% off)

GOG:
Nothing?

Direct2Drive:
Red Faction: Guerrilla - $4.95 (75% off)

GamersGate:
Faces of War - $2.95 (40% off)
Men of War Gold Edition - $17.47 (50% off)

Good news for PS3 and PC Grand Theft Auto fans today – the Xbox 360′s reign of exclusivity over the expansion episodes The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony is over.

The episodes will be available together at retail as Episodes From Liberty City, and separately on the PlayStation Network and via Games for Windows LIVE. The retail package is expected to be $40, with the episodes likely to be priced at $20 each.

[via Rockstar Games]

Gearbox’s Borderlands was one of the successes of 2009. With the current release rate of their downloadable content packs – a new chunk of DLC every month or two – it seems like its success could continue well into the year, or possibly even beyond.

There still isn’t as much information about The Secret Armory of General Knoxx as some would like. Obviously, the title is now no longer a mystery, but the new level cap remains one. The pack will reportedly offer “new challenges and opportunities for growth for characters from around level 34 to level 50″ as they battle “”never-before-seen enemies in a huge new environment complete with tons of brand new missions” – including this giant Half-Life 2′s Strider-looking thing up above in what seems to be a new vehicle. Plus, there are new weapons and items!

The release date, too, is still unknown, but my guess is that the General will probably arrive within the next couple of months.

[via Joystiq]

For Electronic Arts, today is all about testing out multiplayer action, with the launch of two betas – Bad Company 2 and Command and Conquer 4.

With BC2 set to release on March 2nd and C&C4 due for March 16th, both betas offer a fairly big head start in the world of competitive online play. GameSpot appears to be the source for C&C keys, while BC2 keys can be obtained via pre-ordering the title on Steam, amongst other means.

Console gamers aren’t left out in the cold, with the multiplayer Bad Company demo now available on Xbox LIVE, with the PS3 version arriving next week.

[via Big Download]

Last week, we heard that Green Day: Rock Band would not be the only title in the franchise this year. Now we know why: Harmonix aren’t making it, and are presumably busy with some other project.

They’ve given the work of developing the title to fellow Cambridge, Massachusetts studio Demiurge Studios, known for porting Mass Effect to PC. Other Demiurge works include the Rock Band track packs and creating the arena mode in Borderlands.

Other details about the title are still mainly a mystery, but two things are clear: the release date is currently sometime this year, and “American Idiot” is a playable track.

[The Spoony Blog via Eurogamer]