Need for Speed SHIFT becomes a team sport

Electronic Arts revealed an all-new Team Racing pack for Need for Speed SHIFT to be released via PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Marketplace. The content pack features a new race mode and five racing cars - all for free. The Team Racing pack is the first downloadable content for Need for Speed SHIFT and will be available worldwide on December 1st on the Xbox 360 and on the PlayStation 3 on December 3rd in Europe and on December 10th in North America.

The Team Racing mode allows two teams of up to six racers race against each other for online supremacy. As part of the new content, players will also get access to some legendary racers including the 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 427, 1967 Shelby GT-500, 1969 Dodge Charger R/T, 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T, and the 1998 Toyota Supra Mark IV.

Look for it on your favorite console system in early December.

Resident Evil 5 DLC, Gold Edition details

Capcom revealed a variety of details on the downloadable content and a brand new Gold Edition of Resident Evil 5 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The downloadable content will be released as two new episodes, along with new costumes, and a new mode called The Mercenaries Reunion. The Mercenaries Reunion mode will offer 8 new playable characters and some weapon load outs. The DLC along with the original game will be released at retail as Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition. Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition will be available for $49.99 as a single Blu-ray disc for the PlayStation 3 or as a DVD with a token for the downloadable content for Xbox 360.

The first new episode, “Lost in Nightmares, finds BSAA agent Chris Redfield and partner Jill Valentine investigating Ozwell E. Spencer’s hideaway. Spencer, the evil mastermind and co-founder of Umbrella Corporation, has been hiding a new evil deep within the basement of his mansion. Chris and Jill discover this and enter into the catacombs beneath the mansion. To be released at about the same time, are new costume for Chris and Sheva. They don’t do anything other than make you like poretty,

The new mode, reimagining of Mercenaries Mode, gives players new playable characters and weapon load outs which provide additional challenges. Each piece of downloadable content will contain two new playable characters, while the Gold Edition will offer all eight.

Lost in Nightmares and Costume Pack 1 will be released Feb. 17, 2010 in Europe and the U.S. on Xbox 360 and Feb 18 on PS3. The Xbox 360 versions of Episode 2 and Costume Pack 2 will be released on March 3, 2010 in both regions; while the PS3 versions will be released March 4, 2010. Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition hits North America on March 9 and Europe March 12, 2010.

Dragon Age DLC in Dec.

Most of us haven’t even scratched the surface of BioWare’s Dragon Age: Origins, and yet BioWare seems overly anxious to gives us more content to play. The company is kind of like an overly excited parent rushing their child through presents on Christmas morning. Meanwhile, we’re still trying to enjoy the original game’s various nuances and secrets.

But despite that, BioWare is moving forward with downloadable content in Dec. The first bit of DLC, Return to Ostagar, allows players to go on a quest to collect the mighty arms and armor of the once great King Cailan in Ostagar, the site of the Grey Wardens’ darkest hour. Besides these mythical arms and weapons, players will learn the secrets of Ferelden’s fallen king. Players will discover King Cailan’s secret political agenda and go behind enemy lines to revisit a place that many believed was forever lost to history. This location is particularly forboding because it was here that the Grey Wardens were almost wiped out.

Return to Ostagar will be available for $4.99 on the PlayStation Store, for 400 BioWare Points on the PC (yeah, BioWare points. Really) and 400 Microsoft Points on the Xbox 360 in North America. Return to Ostagar will be released this Holiday season worldwide.  Figure out what BioWare Points are by visiting dragonage.com.

Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble available now

Atlus U.S.A.’s Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble for PSP is now available in stores on UMD format and as a digital download on PlayStation Network. Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble is a beat ‘em up featuring a young man on a quest to become the toughest delinquent in his high-school, preferably through the use of his fists, feet and a sharp tongue. Players must take control of Sakamoto and guide him through the city to about learn about life, love, and laser eyes (really).

Players have 7 days to wander through the city of Kyouto and discover all it has to offer and every minute counts; you’ll travel, interact with the population, pick fights with virtually anyone, and face the consequences — and the cops. The game also offers a two-player co-op ad hoc mode that lets you run around with a friend to gain additional experience. Night Out mode lets you sneak out of the hotel after curfew to challenge Yakuza roaming about the town.

Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble is now available in stores and on PlayStation Network with an MSRP of $39.99. Find out more www.atlus.com/bancho.

Playing dress-up in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2

There will be some sassy new costumes for Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, according to Tecmo. The Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 costume pack will be available for download only on PlayStation Network beginning November 19th and it will retail for $3.99 in North America. The pack will also be released in Japan on the 19th, in addition to Europe at a later date.

The PlayStation Blog will have some details on this pack next week - provided by Team NINJA producer Yosuke Hayashi, but you can take a look at the art below to get an idea of what they look like. We can tell you that Ayane will get a Venice Festival costume, Momiji will get a Matsuri Festival costume, Rachel will get some spiffy New York Working Woman’s apparel, and Ryu will get a special white costume.

Star Trek D-A-C now on PlayStation Network, Steam

Paramount Digital Entertainment, Bad Robot Interactive, CBS and Naked Sky Entertainment have released the newly-updated Star Trek: D-A-C via PlayStation Network and Windows PC through Valve’s Steam. The updated content for Star Trek: D-A-C will soon also be available via Xbox LIVE Arcade, with players that previously purchased the game receiving all the additional content for free.

Launching in conjunction with the Blu-ray Disc and DVD release of the Star Trek movie from Paramount Pictures on November 17, Star Trek: D-A-C is a top-down space shooter where up to twelve players can compete in battles between the Starfleet and the Romulan Empire. Since its maiden voyage on Xbox LIVE Arcade in May, Star Trek: D-A-C has been expanded with two additional ship classes, a single player game mode, several new pick-ups, a new map for Assault Mode, enhanced gameplay features and more.

Star Trek: D-A-C features NVIDIA 3D Vision compatibility, allowing PC players with that special hardware to engage in stereoscopic 3D enhanced battles. Nifty. Planets, ships, space stations, meteors and asteroids allegedly jump off the screen in 3D. Players with an NVIDIA GeForce GPU in their PC can experience NVIDIA PhysX effects including blazing explosions and reactive debris.

Other features include online multiplayer, online co-op, single player gameplay, four different game types (Survival, Team Deathmatch, Conquest and Assault), five ship types for both the Romulans and the Federation, music and signature sounds taken directly from the Star Trek film and lots of other nifty little features.

Star Trek: D-A-C can now be downloaded for $9.99 from Steam, from the PlayStation Network for $9.99 and will soon be available as a download from
Xbox Live Arcade for 800 Microsoft Points.

Tecmo reveals NBA UNRIVALED

TECMO announced a partnership this week with developer A.C.R.O.N.Y.M. Games to release NBA UNRIVALED exclusively for download on Xbox LIVE Arcade and PlayStation Network. Combining arcade fun and retro styling, this sports title will be available in time to kick off the 2009-2010 NBA basketball season with all 30 NBA teams and players from the latest rosters. From expressive cut scenes to exaggerated slams, the game will be reminiscent of arcade basketball favorites. At this time, no such game exists via digital download.

Game features include all 30 NBA teams and the top players from the 2009-2010 season, full 5-on-5 team arcade-style gameplay, various multiplayer modes ( Player vs. Player, or 2 Players vs. CPU), arcade style (spiffy effects, crazy dunks, and fast paced action), lots of Unlockables, HD graphics, and more.

The game will be released on both PSN and XBLA today. Find out more at www.nbaunrivaledgame.com.