Torchlight two-hour trial released

Perfect World Entertainment is offering a two-hour trial version of Runic Game’s excellent action-RPG, Torchlight. After trying out the game for a few hours, players will then be prompted to purchase the game for $19.99. I can tell you that you don’t need two hours with this game to know that it is a lot of fun and worth a mere $20, but for those that don’t want to believe me, you can grab the demo at torchlight.perfectworld.com.

If you need more proof, you can check out my ill-prepaired and executed review of the game.

Blood Bowl: Dark Elves Edition dated

Blood Bowl: Dark Elves Edition will be released on Steam November 26, according to Focus Home Interactive. Blood Bowl is an ultra-violent team sport set in the Warhammer fantasy universe that lets players compose a team of Orcs, Elves, Humans, Dwarves and many other fantasy creatures before jumping into the bloodiest arenas in the realms. The sport game is both strategic and violent and requires tactics, and a lot of self-confidence.

Recently released in Europe where it reached first place on the PC charts, Blood Bowl will be launched in the United States on the Steam digital platform starting November 26. Preorders started on November 19th. A brand new version of the game will be available for American players via Steam. The new version features the original eight races and an additional playable race: the dreadful Dark Elves. The Dark Elves will have their own star player, cheerleaders, and play style.

More details, including a video of this new race , can be found at www.bloodbowl-game.com.

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.

Impulse Weekend Deals, Avatar preorder

Impulse passed along this week’s biggest deals - to kick off over the weekend - and announced that preorders are now live for James Cameron’s new game, Avatar along with a nifty preorder bonus. Both a regular version of the game, along with a Special Edition of Jame’s Cameron’s Avatar The Game are available for preorder now. The bonus for putting your money down early on the game includes two exclusive in-game weapon unlocks: the Fighting Staff (Na’vi faction) and the Dual Wasp (RDA faction). Dual Wasps have a short range, but they can quickly inflict enough damage to incapacitate nearby enemies. Fighting Staffs are melee weapons with a long range. Their attacks allow you to inflict damage on all surrounding targets.

Earlier this week Impulse announced that pre-orders for Pandemic’s The Saboteur were also available - though I have my doubts that the game will hit its target release date in Dec. after EA gutted the studio earlier this week. We’ll see, right?

This week’s Impulse weekend specials include the following games:

Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia on sale starting today through the weekend, $22.49 from $29.99

Kingdom Elemental: Tactics - $14.95 from $19.95

Iron Grip Warlord – Half off! - $9.95 from $19.99

Hacker Evolution – Untold – Half off! $12.50 from $24.95

Nemesis of the Roman Empire - $9.99 from $14.99

Warlords Battlecry III - $9.99 from $14.99

Supreme Commander Gold - $22.49 from $29.99

Scrapland - $9.99 from $14.99

Find out more by visiting impulsedriven.com/explore/onsale.

Zombie Driver coming Dec. 4

The digital release of Zombie Driver is tentatively scheduled for December 4, according to developer EXOR Studios. Zombie Driver will be released on Steam and GamersGate and will be published in Russia through Akella. EXOR Studios is best known for creating the Source Engine modification, D.I.P.R.I.P. Zombie Driver, which was built using the open-sourced OGRE game engine, mixes top-down action themed driving with loads and loads of zombies and a dash of gore just for fun.

Your goals in the game are pretty straightforward: drive through the streets of a destroyed city to save the survivors of a disastrous chemical accident that changed most of the population into mindless zombies. Time is your enemy and your car is your weapon as you race through the streets smashing everything on your way including fences, phone booths, street lamps and hordes of zombies. When those zombies become too much to handle, players can buy a new car or get more guns and upgrades installed. You earn more money for finishing side quests, racking up kill combos and searching (and finding) hidden prizes.

The game will cost 9.95 dollars, 8.95 euro and 7.95 pounds at both digital distribution portals. Retail distribution in Russia and surrounding territories will be handled by Akella. Further retail distribution partners and other territories will be announced soon.

Learn more by visiting www.zombiedriver.com.

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days announced

IO Interactive announced today that Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days is coming to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows PC in 2010. No doubt Jeff Gerstmann is delighted to hear that the game that cost him his job at Gamespot is getting a sequel.. IO Interactive, a part of Square Enix Europe (the result of a merger between the company and Eidos Interactive, who already owned the studio behind the Hitman series), describes the sequel as a brutal crime shooter set in the Shanghai’s dark and seedy underworld.

Promises this time around include a visual style and storytelling inspired by “by documentary filmmakers and the user-generated era,” more back-story on the two disturbed criminals that serve as the protagonists, and loads of action.

The good news for journalists is that Square Enix, unlike Eidos, doesn’t tend to go around trying to get people fired - not that they could get away with such antics this time around.

Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days will be released on the EIDOS games label and will be coming in 2010.

Lord of the Rings Online gets Chinese Government approval

CDC Games has received final government approvals to operate The Lord of the Rings: Shadows of Angmar (LOTRO) in China. This enables the company to begin open beta testing of Turbine’s MMO later this week with commercial launch to follow one week later. The Chinese government has a strict approval process that requires prior approval of all games before proceeding into an open beta and commercial launch enviornment.

During the final phase of the closed beta test, CDC Games reported a registration number of 2.2 million users and a high activation rate during the last week of testing. Playing time steadily increased throughout the test resulting in about four hours per session.

CDC Games holds the exclusive distribution rights in China for The Lord of the Rings Online.