Ostagar is the very first area you visit in Dragon Age: Origins once you make it through your character's original story, though shortly after you get there the location becomes less than welcoming to continued exploration, what with the rampaging hordes of vile creatures and the chance of getting dead king on your boot soles. Return to Ostagar allows players to reclaim the secrets lost on that battlefield. The downloadable content will be available for the PC and 360 on January 5th, with the PlayStation 3 version arriving later in January.

"We are thrilled at the way the fans have embraced Dragon Age: Origins and we're excited to welcome them back into the game," said Aaryn Flynn, General Manager and Vice President, BioWare Edmonton. "Return to Ostagar represents BioWare's commitment to providing a steady stream of compelling post release content as we continue to expand the Dragon Age universe."

As reported previously, Return to Ostagar will run 400 Microsoft points, 400 BioWare points, or $4.99 depending on your system.

The second installment of Borderlands DLC ditches the exploration found in The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned in favor of strengthening the ties between the game and the Mad Max series of post-apocalyptic action movies. Stealing a premise from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot sees players fighting for fame and fortune in a series of new Riot Mode arenas, facing wave after wave of enemies in either single player or co-op battles.

It sounds intriguing, but it's got to be more than three new arenas to warrant a $9.99 price tag, right? Read on.

What Is It?
Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot is the second set of downloadable content for Borderlands. Rather than a new area to play in, which we got in the first downloadable content, The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, Mad Moxxi delivers a new gameplay mode, Riot, which is almost like a game show version of Gears of War's Horde Mode. The titular Mad Moxxi, a widow several times over seeking to relieve her boredom with carnage, entertains a cheering crowd as you and your teams take on five different waves of enemies in three new arenas - Hell-burbia, the Angelic Ruins, and The Gully. These aren't simply pits that fill with enemies - they are relatively sprawling yet contained battlegrounds, ready to be soaked with the vital fluids of your prey.

What We Saw
I played through each of the three new arenas multiple times, using a pre-made level 30 soldier graciously supplied by the folks at Gearbox. Okay, I attempted to play through all three arenas several different times, dying frequently. I unfortunately only got to play single player, but it's easy to imagine having a blast with a couple of close total strangers on Xbox Live.

How Far Along Is It?
The new DLC releases next week on the Xbox 360, so the build I was playing is damn near close to the finished product.

What Needs Improvement?

No Experience Necessary: You don't gain experience while battling through wave after wave of enemies in the Underdome, which quite frankly feels odd. I understand the draw here is new weapons and the glory of triumphing over seemingly impossible odds, but when I spend an entire game on a steady climb towards max level, spending several hours tooling around a plateau just feels like a slight waste of time.

What Should Stay The Same?

Riding The Waves: The enemies in Mad Moxxi's Underdome come at you in different waves, each consisting of different types of enemies. One visit to an arena might start you off with an Easy Wave, with powered-down enemies that are easier to dispatch, before moving on to a Gun Wave, in which all enemies have guns (duh), or a Horde Wave, where swarms of melee enemies come at you mindlessly. There's a variety, but it's not so much that you can't anticipate what's coming next after you're done scrambling for the health and ammo Moxxi tosses into the stadium between rounds.

Moxxi's Got Talent: Black widow Mad Moxxi is a constant presence in the DLC, shouting out taunts to you as you struggle to survive, egging on the crowd, and just basically being the consummate showman, adding to the feeling that you are a contestant in some sort of twisted game show birthed in the mind of a violent husband-killer. Good times.

The Penalty Box: If you die during a wave, you're warped into the penalty box, an area overlooking the arena where you can shoot from, but cannot leave. Once again, I only played single player, where its mission failed if you wind up in the box, but I can easily imagine the fun that will come of having 2-3 other players in the box, urging the survivors on while desperately searching for targets to take out long range.

Final Thoughts
Gearbox's Randy Pitchford has said that Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot is "like Smash TV in coop FPS, but in the Borderlands." I'd have to say he hit the nail on the head. There might not be piles of cash spawning at the end of every round, and the enemies aren't quite as numerous, but once you step into the Underdome you're the star of a game show where your life is on the line. I'd like to think that if the world had body replicating technology, this is the sort of thing we'd find on every street corner.

And if they can take the "Th" out of Thunderdome, I can take the "B" out of Beyond.

The World at War Map Pack Bundle collects all three of Treyarch's expansion packs for the latest World War II iteration of Call of Duty, which could be very convenient for those players who are showing up extremely late to the zombie Nazi party. The pack retails for $24.99 on the PlayStation Network and 2000 Microsoft points on Xbox Live, which works out to a savings of $5 either way you look at it. Okay, technically it works out to a savings of $4.98 on PSN, but pennies aren't real money anyway.

The pack will be available worldwide today for the Xbox 360 and in North America for the PS3, going up on the European PlayStation Store on January 7th.

Eddie Riggs gets three new outfits in the Hammer of Infinite Fate DLC - Black Metal, Zaulia, and Mountain Man - the latter of which sports what we can only imagine is a truly epic beard. Eddie's ride gets four new paint jobs and some interesting new weapon upgrades as well, including the Oculus of the Lost, a GPS that points you towards hidden items you may have missed in your travels.

The Altar of Blood, Coiled Remains, Crucible of the Titans and Amplified Cliffs maps will keep multiplayer battles fresh for those who dabble, while 9 new achievements and trophies will surely drive completionists slightly insane.

Of course, once again, it's all about the beard. Just ask the game's creator.

"I'm excited about the beard, or course, and the new achievements and trophies," said Tim Schafer, President of Double Fine Productions. "But the thing I really can't wait to get my hands on is that Oculus of the Lost. Using it to find the last Bound Serpent isn't cheating, because it looks so cool on my car."

Okay, ignore everything past the first comma. That's what he meant to say.

Hammer of Infinite Fate will be released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on December 17th for 480 Microsoft points or $4.99 respectively.

Team Racing is an all-new mode for Need for Speed Shift that pits two teams of up to six racers against each other. In team-based races, winning isn't simply about crossing the finish line. You'll have to coordinate with your teammates, work out strategies, and yes...sometimes you'll have to lose in order to win. It's a difficult concept for some to grasp. I'd suggest watching Talladega Nights for inspiration. If you bought a launch PlayStation 3 you should have a copy. It's all about the Shake N' Bake.

The Team Racing pack also comes with five renowned racing cars:

1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 427
1967 Shelby GT-500
1969 Dodge Charger R/T
1971 Dodge Challenger R/T
1998 Toyota Supra Mark IV

The Team Racing pack will be available worldwide for the Xbox 360 on December 1st, December 3rd for European PS3 consoles, and December 10th for the North American PS3.

At the beginning of Dragon Age: Origins, a battle between the forces of good and evil at Ostagar leave the Grey Wardens nearly extinct and young King Cailan seriously dead. In Return to Ostagar, players revisit the scene of the slaughter, exacting revenge, uncovering secrets, and seeking out the arms and armor of the fallen king. I'd expect the armor might need a little hammering out, considering the good king was crushed like an empty Sprite can.

"We are very proud of the phenomenal launch of Dragon Age: Origins and we're pleased to announce the next installment of downloadable content that will be available to fans of the game," said Ray Muzyka, Group General Manager, RPG/MMO Group of EA, and Co-Founder, BioWare. "The Return to Ostagar DLC pack is a prime example of BioWare's commitment to give fans a game that continuously offers new experiences and further enriches a storyline that has already received critical acclaim and positive feedback from the players."

Return to Ostagar will be released for the PlayStation 3, PC, and Xbox 360 some time this holiday season, with a price tag of 400 Microsoft points, 400 BioWare points, or $4.99 depending.

"I think reports on the death of package goods have been greatly exaggerated," Feder told a gathering of analysts in New York earlier today. "Downloadable content is interesting and will continue to be interesting, not because it's eclipsing retail but because of the instant feedback.

"You can learn as you go along" from customers.

Feder said that while he thinks that downloadable content will continue to increase, it won't be at the expense of retail goods or retail stores.

"I'm bullish on downloadable content but not necessarily at the experense of retail stores and packaged goods," he said. "I think package goods are here with us for a long time. I am pretty confident we will be seeing package goods and stores for a long time."

The Tears of the Hextadon map pack consists of two new maps for Brutal Legend's completely non-real-time strategy online multiplayer mode. The Circle of Tears map is completely surrounded by water, while the Death's Fjord map takes place in an icy mountain path, where players must brave wide open spaces in order to reach the fan geysers needed to generate units.

Double fine's Tim Schafer explains the map names.

"I play Brütal Legend online every night," said Tim Schafer, President of Double Fine Productions. "And I need more maps! Circle of Tears is named after the crying of my vanquished foes on the battlefield, and Death's Fjord is obviously a tribute to my Nordic ancestors, and their love of fan geysers and… Well, actually I just thought the name was cool. See you online!"

He doesn't explain, however, why the PlayStation 3 version of the downloadable content is free from the November 5th release until November the 19th, while the Xbox 360 pack costs 400 Microsoft points as soon as it hits Xbox Live on November 3rd. Perhaps EA is trying to drum up more PS3 business? We've contacted EA about the reasoning and will update as soon as we hear back.

Everyone who buys Fairytale Fights for the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 will be getting free downloadable content in the coming weeks, but prove your love for the game and you can get even more. How does one prove their love? Simply register at the Fairytale Fights website, and you'll be eligible for extra downloadable content, which Playlogic says is valued at $15. Whether four new playable characters and three new PVP arenas are worth $15 to you is a moot point really, as you'll just be getting it for free anyway. Let's not split hairs here.

To register for the extra DLC, visit http://www.fairytalefights.com/dlc. Details on the content coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 users who don't register will be announced in the coming weeks.

Guitar Hero gets three new tracks every Thursday in October, kicking things off on the 5th with the Queens of the Stone Age track pack, consisting of "Mexicola," "Avon," and "How to Handle a Rope." Then we go backwards a bit on the 8th, with "The Stroke," "Everybody Wants You," and "When She Comes To Me" making up the three songs in the Billy Squier track pack. October 15th sees the last of this month's artist-specific packs, with Wolfmother's "Pilgrim," "California Queen," and "Cosmic Egg" making their way onto the Guitar Hero store.

The last two Thursday's of the month are dedicated to Classic Rock and All Hallows' Eve, with tracks from GWAR, The J. Geils Band, The Misfits, Peter Frampton, Triumph, and Marilyn Manson. I'll let you folks figure out which artist belongs to which track pack, or you could just cheat and scroll down.

Guitar Hero Downloadable Content - October 1

Queens Of The Stone Age Track Pack

* "Mexicola"
* "Avon"
* "How to Handle a Rope"

Downloadable Content - October 8

Billy Squier Track Pack

* "The Stroke"
* "Everybody Wants You"
* "When She Comes To Me"

Downloadable Content - October 15

Wolfmother Track Pack

* "Pilgrim"
* "California Queen"
* "Cosmic Egg"

Downloadable Content - October 22

Classic Rock 2 Track Pack

* The J. Geils Band - "Freeze Frame"
* Peter Frampton - "Show Me The Way (Live)"
* Triumph - "Lay It On The Line"

Downloadable Content - October 29

All Hallows' Eve Track Pack

* GWAR - "Gor Gor"
* Marilyn Manson - "Beautiful People"
* The Misfits - "Astro Zombies"

Dirty cheaters.

General Custer sure is getting a lot of play lately. The famous Battle of Little Bighorn is not only the starting point for the upcoming time-travelling shooter Darkest of Days, it's also one of the four new multiplayer maps available on August 6th for Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood. Help General Custer escape his fate at the hands of the Indians on the Little Bighorn map, steal gold from the Vulture Mine, break out of jail in Fort Worth, or escape the Union's Elmira Prison Camp. All four maps are playable in any multiplayer mode.

There's no mention of a price in the press release, so we're going to assume the map pack cost $320, just so we can be pleasantly surprised when it doesn't.

Foxtrot813 is just your average Replica soldier, but soon beckoning voices lead him to go against Replica Command's orders, striking out on his own through four levels worth of single player action. In a rather strange move, Monolith and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will be releasing a demo for the downloadable content on August 27th for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. A demo...for DLC. Okay!

Those of you more into F.E.A.R. 2's multiplayer side aren't being left out in the cold, however, as an accompanying title update brings with it a new Slo-Mo Deathmatch mode, which introduces a slo-mo power-up that makes everyone else move like molasses while you gleefully run circles around them. Sounds lovely.

The two new maps share a volcanic theme, hence the name of the downloadable pack, available tomorrow on Xbox Live and June 25th for Games for Windows Live players. The Volcano Map, which is playable in the game's Island Capture, Competitive and Duel modes, features a Hawaiian-style (with pineapple and ham?) island setting, with Duel mode taking place around a partially submerged volcano.

The second map, Choke Point, is set in a narrow channel surrounded by two volcanic outcroppings, where players can participate in Escort, Siege and Duel modes.

Both maps will be available tomorrow for the Xbox 360 at a price of 560 Microsoft points, with the price carrying over to the Games for Windows version later on this month.

It's not cheap, but it should be worth it, adding a much-needed infusion of new drivable real estate to Burnout Paradise, with a handful of new cars to boot. How much will it set you back? We're looking at 1,000 Microsoft points on the Xbox 360, which translates to $12.99 on the PlayStation 3. For those of you in foreign lands, that's €12.99 or £9.99.

Certainly seems like a fair price to me, though your mileage may of course vary. Too much, or just enough? The comments section is all yours.

Big Surf Island - Pricing Confirmed [Criterion Games]

The Flash and Thunder Pack contains two classic Killzone maps remade from the ground up for Killzone 2. The Beach Head map sees the ISA defending a coastal stronghold against a Helghast landing force, while the Southern Hills map reverses fortunes, with the ISA storming a Helghast compound on top of a hill, assumedly somewhere in the south. Limited in size, the Beach Head map should be good for small skirmishes, while the expansive Southern Hills map is more suited for a large-scale game.

Check out the first screens from the new pack below, and look for the Flash and Thunder Pack to arrive on June 11th, with a price to be determined at a later date.

I'm not sure if Twitter is a gift, or a curse. On one hand, it lets us share our personal thoughts with millions of people who probably couldn't care less. On the other hand, it let's Rockstar do things like this:

Details on 2nd episode of GTAIV downloadable content coming soon.

There's going to come a time when our only source of news in the world is Twitter, with everything condensed into single line posts for easy digestion.

Hopefully when the actual details drop they'll use a more traditional method of letting people know.

Rockstar's Official Twitter [Twitter - Thanks Jonathan!]

The artists at Sony's Evolution Studios have come up with 24 new vehicle liveries for Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, with dynamic new looks in the pipeline for each vehicle class in the game. Starting tomorrow Sony will release one set of three new vehicle skins every week on the PlayStation Store until all 24 are in players' hands.

A fine offering, and free is always nice. I just hope this isn't the only weekly downloadable content that game director Nigel Kershaw was alluding to back in October.

MotorStorm: Pacific Rift Game Update and Free DLC [PlayStation Blog]

Available today on the Xbox 360 and May 7th for the PlayStation 3, the new downloadable content for Wheelman consists of the Free Street Showdown Pack and Premium Street Showdown Pack, and it looks like you get what you pay for. The free pack includes one new showdown mission for the game: Showdown in Avinguda Del Paral-lel. The premium pack comes with five: Showdown in Museu Nacional, Showdown in Passeig De Gracia, Showdown in Grand Theatre De Liceu, Showdown in Cathedral De La Seu, and Showdown in Placa De Catalunya.

The premium pack will set you back 400 Microsoft points or $4.99 in PlayStation 3 real money. $5 for a gallon of Diesel? That's insane.

No, there's nothing wrong with your line. The New Edition Song Pack for Lips is coming on the 15th of May, adding three of 80's group's biggest hits to the Xbox 360. "Cool it Now", "Mr. Telephone Man", and "If It Isn't Love" are three songs that are in the blood of any child of the 80's. Listening to them you can almost forget that Bobby Brown is a jerk and Bell Biv Devoe was a really stupid name for a musical group.

Other artists contributing to this month's Lips DLC include Good Charlotte, The Black Crowes, John Denver, Snow Patrol, and Billy Ray Montana, whose "Achy Breaky Heart" never fails to make drunken people laugh uncontrollably. Check out the full list of May DLC below!

Available on 1st May:
Dance Floor Anthem (I Don't Want To Be In Love) – Good Charlotte
Why Does It Always Rain On Me? – Travis
Hard To Handle – The Black Crowes

Available on 8th May:
You Get What You Give – The New Radicals
Turning Japanese – The Vapors
Clocks – Coldplay

Available on 15th May:
Take Me Home, Country Roads – John Denver (Europe only; already included in U.S. version)
Mr. Telephone Man – New Edition
Cool It Now – New Edition
If It Isn't Love – New Edition
New Edition Song Pack – Mr. Telephone Man, Cool It Now, If It Isn't Love

Available on 22nd May:
Lollipop – Mika
Achy Breaky Heart – Billy Ray Cyrus
100 Years – Five For Fighting

Available on 29th May:
I Miss You – Blink-182
Life Is A Rollercoaster – Ronan Keating
Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol

Between this latest set and the batch released following the event in England, one thing becomes abundantly clear: someone at Bethesda is really good at taking screenshots. Seriously, these are some sure-to-be iconic images from the Broken Steel DLC. I like the way they're playing up the rusty Iron Giant up there. You can almost hear Vin Diesel croaking "Suuu-paahh-maaan".

And yes, post-apocalicious is a word. I just made it.