The demo for SEGA’s upcoming shooter Vanquish is now available on Xbox Live. The newest of Shinji Mikami’s creations, Vanquish is a 3rd-person shooter that “has a high level of tension throughout the game and merges shooting and action in a finely balanced manner.” Set for release on October 19th stateside, the game will retail for $59.99.

Add the Vanquish demo to your download queue here.

Shinji Mikami’s highly anticipated title, Vanquish, will be releasing what is sure to be a fast-paced and exciting demo on August 31st for North America, September 1st across Europe and down under in Australia on September 2nd.  With the retail release set for October 19th, the demo will have to whet our appetites until then.

The VANQUISH™ Official Demo: Velocity Attack, allows players to choose one level from the two levels of difficulty (Casual or Normal) available. Taking on the role of Sam, a United States government agent kitted 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 “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.

[via Sega Europe]

The demo for EA Sports’ NHL 11 is now available on Xbox Live. Featuring Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Toews as cover athlete, NHL 11 utilizes a new physics engine, and also includes a new Ultimate Team mode. Launching at retail on September 7, 2010 in the United States, the game is available for preorder now.

In the US? Add it to your download queue here.

We’ve seen our fair share of H.A.W.X. news over the past few months, and with the game releasing next month, Ubisoft has released details on a new playable demo. Available for download this coming Monday, the demo will include 2 single-player missions:

• Interception Course
  Take to the air as a Russian pilot sent to intercept a group of stolen aircraft high above the Caucasus Mountains, a hot spot on the world conflict radar, you will be playing a Russian pilot in this mission part of the new multinational cinematic story narrative in H.A.W.X. 2.
• Seek and Destroy
  Playing from the perspective of the elite U.S. HAWX squadron deployed to settle conflict spilling over in Africa, you are tasked with taking out specific targets with smart ammunition at night. Take off from a carrier under the cover of night and strike against a weapon smuggling operation using precision guided laser bombs.

Look for Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. 2 to fly into retail on September 7th.

(Full PR after the break)

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2K Games announced today that its upcoming epic action crime game, Mafia II, will have a downloadable demo available worldwide on August 10. The Mafia II demo invites gamers to dive straight into the “Buzzsaw” level. During this level, Vito and his buddies; Joe and Henry are sent to take out a mobster known as “The Fat Man”. While the up-coming game spans two decades, the Buzzsaw demo takes place during the summer of the late ‘50s – A time often considered the Birth of Cool. So expect to see a lot of Rock ‘n’ roll, Hot rods and rebellious attitudes in this vibrant demo. The demo also showcases the vast intense action you will encounter along with the expansive city of Empire Bay in the colorful era.

Mafia II is set to be released on August 24 in North America, August 26 in Australia and August 27 internationally.

EA Sports recently announced that a demo for their upcoming sports game Madden NFL 11 will be available on Xbox LIVE on July 27th. Featuring two community-voted teams, the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Jets, the demo includes a taste of their new GameFlow feature which “automatically selects the best play for your team based on situational, authentic NFL game plans.”

The demo also features audio commentary by Gus Johnson and Chris Collinsworth, being able to create a full game plan before the game starts, and even allows gamers who earn the “Master Strategist” achievement in the demo to unlock it upon purchasing the retail version.

Hit the link below for more information, and look out for the demo on July 27th and the full game, set to be released on August 10th.

[Via EA Sports]

A prequel for the upcoming Dead Rising 2, titled Case Zero, will be available exclusively for the Xbox 360.  It takes place 2 hours after the conclusion of the first Dead Rising and 3 years before Dead Rising 2.  The story will bridge the gap between both of the games.  You will take on the role of Chuck Greene, the protagonist for Dead Rising 2, as he is stranded with his daughter in the town of Still Creek.

This is essentially a paid for extended demo giving consumers a taste of what is to come.  It’s an interesting concept and this may become a trend as companies are looking to maximize profits through digital distribution.  While no firm release date or price have been announced, expect to see it on Xbox Live sometime in late July or early August.

Patrick first reported about the Ghost Recon: Future Soldier demo in his Ubisoft Press report, but now there’s video evidence of the game in action.  Taking cues from Splinter Cell: Conviction, Ubisoft has crafted a unique mix of stealth and FPS mechanics.  Watching the demo has raised my anticipation level for this title tenfold and puts this at the top of my queue for 2011.  I’ll let the footage do the rest of the talking.  Hit the jump and prepare to be blown away.

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Like fighting off hundreds of bad guys with giant swords?!

Like fighting off hundreds of bad guys with giant swords and magic?!

Like fighting off hundreds of bad guys with hundreds of combos?!

Have we got a game for you!

The Ninety Nine Nights 2 or N3II for the trendy folks, demo hit Xbox Live this morning. If you’re a fan of the first game, you will no doubt like this one. With even more characters on screen, bigger combos, and outrageous destruction, everyone is in for a good time.

It’s quite obvious that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games do not stand up to EA’s Skate games. Skate 3 continues that trend with ease. Especially with Tony Hawk Ride lurking about, it’s almost no contest. On the 15th, the Skate 3 Demo was released it’s a blast to play. Plain and simple.

The first character you see in the game is Coach Frank, who has a striking resemblance to Jason Lee from the TV show “My Name is Earl.” He will be your trainer for the game. He’s a very balls to the wall, in your face type a guy and it’s very, very funny to hear his little antics. He’ll take you through basic maneuvers such as ollies, all the way to the dark slide and kickflip-underflip. The game at it’s core is more or less the same. You still use the left stick to steer and the right stick to execute tricks.

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