Downloadable content will be available from day one for Battlefield: Bad Company 2. A code packaged with new copies of the game will enable users to download exclusive maps for the shooter.

Using the code will also pave the way for more free content in the future, according to MTV Multiplayer. Similar to Mass Effect 2, the offer will act as a deterrent to second-hand purchases but will be available online for a fee. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will be released March 5 for PS3, 360 and PC.

It looks like gamers can finally start taking the Mac platform seriously. Confirming recent stirrings, Valve announced Monday that it will bring its gaming service Steam, and Source, its proprietary gaming engine, to Macs.

Started in 2003, Valve is now arguably the biggest online distributor of games. By last month, Valve revealed that it had more than 25 million active Steam user accounts and, at any given time, about 2 million gamers are using the service. There are more than 1,000 games available on Steam. Not all of them will be immediately available on the Mac platform as this will depend on developers.

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2k Games, a global developer of interactive entertainment software, is all set to release the first ever piece of downloadable content, or DLC, for its much awaited sequel to BioShock, one of the firm’s most popular titles, BioShock 2.

The Sinclair Solutions Tester Pack will be offered for PC, Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming consoles. It will cost around $4.99. The details were recently confirmed by 2k in an official news release.

With the DLC, gamers will be provided with a level increase to 50, in addition to new trials and more weapon upgrades. Also, the package will introduce two whole new characters: Louie McGraff, a smuggler, and playboy Oscar Calraca. 2K revealed that more DLC will be introduced for multiplayer and the single-player story over the coming few months.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is already out in North America, but Europeans still have a few more days to wait until they can get their hands on DICE's bullet-fest.

The game has already been receiving some pretty good review scores from publications around the world, and while they aren't quite as high as Modern Warfare 2's, it's still right up there with the best of the best. Feel free to check out the launch-trailer below, and keep your eyes peeled for our review of Bad Company 2, which should arrive on the site in the near future.

Even now, the internet ionises as gamers prepare to take sides in what will no doubt be a forum-flaming battle of rampant fanboyism. Be assured: digital faeces will be flung; someone will say “no u”; moderators will stay up late wearily wading through the yapping and the dung as if they were the proprietors of a Chihuahua kennel with global reach.

But when it comes to the PC, there is no elephant in the room. Last year’s woefully disappointing console port of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to the PC bears no comparison to DICE’s latest instalment in the Battlefield series.

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Valve, a pioneer in the field of Game publishing and digital distribution, showcased a completely distinctive looking version of its Steam games client. According to the company, the latest version of the game comprises of various major updates in the platform's core functionality and they have even worked upon the interface thus improving the process of buying and playing games.

The version will also have added information on help regarding things or controls that are important for the game. The company is publicizing the access to the game as an “opt-in beta” and said that the beta version of the games will be instantly accessible to anybody who owns a Steam account.

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The Aliens vs. Predator franchise dates back a good twenty years, and has sparked a host of movies and games to cash in on the success of the survival horror series. Most recently, that was 2007's Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem for the PSP. Now in 2010.

We are seeing the launch of Aliens vs. Predator for next gen consoles and PC. Developed by Rebellion and published by SEGA there is a considerable force behind the development of the title.

SEGA hasn't exactly been riding a wave of quality titles in recent times, so it was interesting to see how Aliens vs. Predator would play out.

The title focuses on the epic battles between the aliens, the predators, and the colonial marines who are being torn apart somewhere in the middle. The real attraction in the title is that the game can be played from the perspective of any of these three races, each playing entirely differently to the next. The aliens are fast and effective at close range.

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The third downloadable add-on for Borderlands will be making it’s way to the Xbox 360 and PS3 this week.  Titled ‘The Secret Armory of General Knoxx,’ it will be the first content pack to increase the level cap.  The increase brings the level ceiling to 61, from the previous cap of 50.  The content will feature new areas, missions, vehicles, a new weapon class, as well as some crazy new enemies outfitted with some serious weaponry. If you haven’t bought the first pack, ‘The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned,’ this would be a good time to it.  Since the new DLC raises the level cap, you can now get XP for doing the Dr. New quests if you were already level 50 when it came out, like I was.

The contentious copy-protection method that will require all Ubisoft PC titles to be constantly connected to the web is crucial for fighting piracy, the publisher says.

The new ‘online platform’, as the publisher describes it, will be introduced with the release of Assassin’s Creed II and Silent Hunter 5 on March 5th. But it has garnered criticism amongst some PC gamers. Speaking to MCV, UK marketing director Murray Pannell assured Ubisoft customers that the system is necessary in the ongoing battle against illegal copying.

“The impact of piracy on the PC market is enormous and working to thwart it is crucial to our future ability to continue developing for this platform,” he said. “We know requiring a permanent online connection is a controversial decision and has been seen as a disadvantage to several PC gamers.

Some time ago, Ubisoft announced they would be dropping the annoying Starforce copy protection system. Everyone was happy to hear that, but the joy didn't last for long. Instead, Ubi will be using a new scheme that requires a permanent internet connection and doesn't even allow to resell your games afterwards.

So not only do they deny anyone who doesn't have a permanent internet connection to even play a game someone bought (effectively decreasing their potential userbase), the company also makes it impossible to sell (or give for that matter) it to someone else after having completed the game.

In order to justify this move, Ubisoft stated that now you can play your game on any computer as your savegames are put on a Ubi server. But how many people will benefit from that? How many people actually DO play the same game on multiple computers?

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