Stop what you’re doing and download the Vanquish demo NOW! Oh you’re still at work or at school, understandable. Well you have something to be excited about on this Tuesday as the Vanquish demo is now available across Xbox Live.

Players will play as Sam in his pimped out ARS suit (this thing is SICK!) as he battles his way through the landing bay of the Providence Space Colony. The controls may initially take some getting used to but once you become fluent with Sams abilities the experience is ridiculous.

Vanquish will become available October 19 in the US and October 22 in the UK.

Are they serious? Well, I guess so as it has been confirmed that Microsoft will be increasing the price of Xbox Live Gold subscriptions. The territories getting hit with price increase have been listed as Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom and the United States.

If you forgot, the current price for Xbox Live Gold is $49.99, however, come November 1, Microsoft will be putting their hands in your pockets for $59.99 for Xbox Live Gold. Microsoft sure has some big kahunas. It would be nice to receive some sort of generic update to ease the burn. But hey, Microsoft knows that they have us and we’ll rationalize getting screwed with statements like “It’s only $10 more and Xbox Live is still better than PSN.” Right!?…..

By the way, monthly charges will increase from $7.99 to $9.99. It’s not far-fetched to think that Microsoft will charge as much as $89.99 yearly for Xbox Live Gold subscription when the new console generation rolls around. God-forbid.

Today SEGA has officially announced that the demo for Vanquish will be available for download at the Playstation Store for your PS3 in the US on August 31st and across Europe on September 1st.

The demo will give players the option to choose one level from the two levels of difficulty (Casual or Normal). Taking on the role of Sam, a United States government agent kitte out with a futuristic ARS battle suit, players are vying for ownership of the planet’s remaining energy resources against Russia on board a huge space station. On entering the third port lobby of the space station, numerous enemy robots are being brought in by dropships.

Players have an array of weaponry and upgrades at their disposal, as well as the ability to hijack these mech like mobile station known as Walkers, or use the suits unique boost and AR mode to take down the robots. The demo climaxes with the formidable boss, Argus which you will need to use all your skills acquired throughout the demo to defeat.

So mark your calendars!

When will we be able to get our grubby hands on the first next-gen Castlevania title? Konami along with MercurySteam the hardworking development team behind the upcoming Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow has finally announced the launch date for the game. Drum roll please……October 5.

Coming to both the PS3 and Xbox 360, Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow users will take the place of Gabriel Belmont, a member of the legendary vampire-hunting Belmont clan. Along your journey you will hunt down the Lords of Shadow in order to bring together an ancient relic known as The God Mask. By doing so you as Gabriel Belmont will have the power of returning the dead back to life. Awesome stuff, right!

Mark your calendars October 5 the adventure begins.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood in single-player mode has been stated to offer more than 15 hours of gameplay, however, this does not include the all the enticing side-mission and quest throughout your journey. This update comes from the hardworking insiders at VG247 who recently got wind of this intel during GameCom.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is expected to not only thrill players with it’s upgraded campaign, users will be undoubtedly glued to their tv’s with the amazing multiplayer modes which are now included.

So you thought WB Games and Day 1 Studios was going to just throw together a decent shooter and attach the name F.E.A.R. to it just to create hype, I don’t think so. Day 1 Studios is taking F.E.A.R. 3 to the next level as you will see from their latest scare trailer below.

Unleashing a paranormal horror first person shooter experience that delivers frenetic combat grounded in reality, F.E.A.R. 3 for the first time will also introduce to the series a divergent co-op mode. From our brief hands-on with the game, you will hesitant to play this game at night with the light outs.

Tomb Raider fans please understand that this latest Lara Croft adventure is unlike any previous Tomb Raider title that you’ve played. Featuring a more top-down gameplay view, Crystal Dynamic has without a doubt re-imagined the universe of Lara Croft for the better.

At the heart of Lara Croft And The Guardian Of Light is a robust cooperative play mode that is simply over-the-top fun. You will immediately see classic title influences from games like Baldur’s Gate and Gauntlet as you dive more into the game. Playing the game in single-player is a rush, however, playing the game in co-op will probably offer you some of the most fun you’ve had all year, it’s that good. Live co-op support will be coming soon – unfortunately we’ll have to wait for online co-op, regardless you will have a blast. Plus, when it is comes out later this year, the first DLC pack will be available for the first 30 days for free, exclusively on Xbox 360.

For only 1200 Microsoft points you can download this game right now.

Flight simulator fans be sure to download the latest H.A.W.X 2 demo which is now available for download over Xbox Live. If you’re still at work dying to get home to play the latest demo, don’t leave work earlier, it’s not that serious. The game will be waiting for you after work.

However, the demo is hot! You’re able to play in the shoes of an elite pilot in two single-player missions and from our demo playthrough, Ubisoft is taking H.A.W.X 2 to the next level. Again, be sure to give the demo a spin as the game looks, sounds and plays promising.

In this latest Xbox 360 video walkthrough of Crysis 2, Crytek founder and CEO Cevat Yerli and Executive Producer Nathan Camarillo give you a play by play scenario of the war torn central station as the alien enemies try to take you out. Be sure to watch it in HD as the game looks simply amazing. Enjoy!

Today Square Enix has announced their new upcoming shooter, GUN LOCO. With no video footage yet of the game, GUN LOCO is a third-person action shoot-em up title which is currently in development exclusively for the Xbox 360 bringing with it a a complete single player campaign and multiplayer.

Featuring unique third-person, sprint-action shooter gameplay, each character comes complete with their own unique kill move, coupled with a mocking take-down taunt to ridicule their victims. The frenzied and furious comic style comes into its own with full 12-player online multiplayer matches across the games remote prison planet, with a range of game modes and multiplayer arenas.

The game is slated for a 2011 release so we’ll have more on GUN LOCO as intel comes in.

Atari and Eden Games revealed today that Test Drive Unlimited 2 will now make its way onto European retail shelves in early 2011.The new release date will provide the developers with additional time to fully enhance the connected console multi-player experience for consumers and deliver the ultimate blend of exhilarating open world racing and a luxurious, fast-lane lifestyle.

Atari and Eden Games will also be shifting the Beta scheduling to coincide with the new launch and will reward those already signed up with an exclusive in-game item. Eden will confirm a new date for the Beta in the coming weeks that will roll out in several phases rewarding the most loyal fans and Test Drive communities with exclusive access. This is a nice addition to a game that has to be delayed to better the experience, developers please take notes.

MindJack, the upcoming digital download from Square Enix offers a distinctive experience that throws players into a revolutionary playing field where an engaging solo campaign transitions seamlessly to cooperative multiplayer gameplay. Having a relatively similar gameplay style to that of BRINK, where players can jump from a single-player campaign straight into a fragfest filled multiplayer competitive mode on the fly seems to be the new way in which developers will be bridging the gap of both modes in the future.

Seems like a great idea as long as it can properly executed.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops Prestige Edition and the Call of Duty: Black Ops Hardened Edition, are expected to be this year’s hottest collector’s items. Call of Duty: Black Ops launches on 9th November, giving gamers the latest classified surveillance technology – the RC-XD – as part of the Call of Duty: Black Ops Prestige Edition.

For the Prestige Edition, Treyarch and Activision created an entirely original remote controlled surveillance vehicle inspired by the RC-XD from Black Ops Multiplayer. With a range of up to 200 feet, the RC-XD Surveillance Vehicle has a fully-functioning remote camera that transmits both TFT colour video and audio to its operator.

The Prestige Edition is inclusive of the Hardened Edition, which includes a custom Black Ops limited edition medal, exclusive Black Ops Avatar outfit, as well as four playable co-operative maps.

2K Games and Gearbox Software announced today that Borderlands fans can return to Pandora’s inhospitable environment to enjoy a brand-new destructive downloadable adventure in Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution. This fists-of-fury-filled fourth add-on pack from the popular franchise will be available this September via Xbox LIVE Marketplace and the PlayStation Network.

Claptrap’s New Robot Revolution invites single-player and co-op fans back to try to suppress a deadly Claptrap revolution using one of four infamous vault hunters. The foursome find themselves caught in the crosshairs of a deadly civil war between the Hyperion Corporation’s well-armed armadas and the ever-amassing army of homicidal Claptraps led by one of the most eagerly awaited characters in the franchise’s history – the cunning Ninja Assassin. As vault hunters, players must put aside their past differences with the Hyperion Corporation, namely the organization’s repeated attempts to wipe them from existence. For a hefty payday, they will join forces to help beat down the mechanical uprising and thwart the dastardly kung-fu expert, the Claptrap known only as Ninja Assassin.

It’s official! Microsoft will be holding court in Germany at the upcoming Gamescon event. No details on their press conference have been leaked, however, as VG247 points out, Microsoft may announce the European launch dates for KINECT as well as show some unique gameplay content from some of their highly anticipated titles.

The upcoming Gamescon event will be held in Cologne, Germany from August 18-22.

Go grab some popcorn as today the first three episodes of Keiji Inafune’s film Zombrex Dead Rising Sun are available to view on Xbox LIVE. Exclusive to Xbox owners for one week prior to going on general release, the episodes will be available to the public at www.deadrisingsun.com beginning August 11. The initial episode begins with an introduction from Inafune-san and Episode 3 ends with him explaining his motivation for making the movie.

For more information visit Capcom’s Unity site at http://www.capcom-unity.com/