"Beat It," "Smooth Criminal" and "Billie Jean" join Thriller in the top 10 of the Most Popular in XBLM's Marketplace right now. The former three videos are the standard 160-point price. They're all in standard def.

Michael Jackson's Thriller Video Free Today On XBLM [GayGamer.net]

"Gears of War 2 ‘Combustible’ Map Pack available on Xbox Live Marketplace 12 PM Pacific/3 AM East TONIGHT." Or, so says Primotech, one of a few spying on a VGA rehearsal that mysteriously went silent around 6 PM eastern. Take this rumor with a grain of salt, but, really, if that's the ultra double super secret announcement no one could talk about ... I now know how Ralphie felt when he finally got his Ovaltine decoder.

Either way, you can tune in for the final reveal to see if this gets the rumor smash or not. The 2008 VGAs are live at 9 EST, 8 CST, 7 Crecente, and are tape f***ing delayed on the West Coast.

Live Winners and News from The Spike 2008 Video Game Awards Show [PrimoTech]

Fable II Knothole Island is available for download Dec. 22. Here's what you'll be gunning for if you get it:

• The Collector (25GS) — Acquire all the mystery items in The Box of Secrets shop, or see another Hero do so.
• The Meteorologist (50GS) — Bring all of Knothole Island's weather problems under control, or help another Hero to do so.
• The Bibliophile (25GS) — Find all the books detailing the history of Knothole Island, or help another Hero to do so.

So, if any of these three elude you, but you have a pal almost there, I guess hanging around when he bags it is good enough. "Dude! You were about to get the last mystery item and you didn't call me? The hell?"

Like Magic, Fable II Knothole Achievements Appear [Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Since this promo is being sponsored by Mountain Dew, you can expect that they want to market some stuff to you in exchange for the promise of free loot. But 7,000 winners are decent odds. So if you want Braid (XBLM), PixelJunk Eden (PSN), World of Goo (WiiWare) or AudioSurf (Steam) for free, give it a shot. The giveaway is running through 9 pm U.S. Eastern time tomorrow.

The submission form contains an opt-out for marketing messaging. I'd like to know if anyone who opts out actually wins. I'm not saying that's the case, but you know, if an advertiser's paying to give something away, it's probably bad karma at minimum if you're not even gonna listen to the ad pitch. Then again, Pepsico are big boys, I'm sure their feelings wouldn't be too hurt.

Dew the Download [Spike TV]

• I Wanna Be Sedated
• Smoke On The Water
• You Got Another Thing Coming

For a single release, that's three pretty good tracks at once. I just wonder how long after Guitar Hero 80's comes out on the PS2 it will be before we start seeing those tracks available for purchase? And speaking of purchasing, in case you were wondering, this song pack is going for the usual 500 MS points.

Come on, you didn't really think all that whining was going to make them lower the price?
[Thanks, Rayo]

When you purchase The Complete Matrix Trilogy, you will also receive a token in the box to download the entire Animatrix series from Xbox LIVE® Marketplace.

There's also downloadable HD trailers from the movies and favorite scenes that you can get for free. I for one loved the Animatrix and can only assume that for Matrix fans with a 360, it would be an added bonus to their DVD purchase. Kim Phu

The Ultimate Matrix Collection Arrives on HD DVD May 22 [Xbox via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Chris Kohler over at Game|Life is reporting that the first South Park episode ever to be presented in HD will be an Xbox Live exclusive. Starting Tuesday, March 6, the episode, Good Times With Weapons, will be available on the Xbox Live Marketplace free of charge for the first two weeks. Then, from March 20 to April 3, Best Buy will be giving away free copies of the episode on HD-DVD with the purchase of an Xbox 360 or it's HD-DVD player.

In case you're like me and episode titles mean nothing to you, Good Times With Weapons is one where the boys acquire ninja weapons from the county fair. The bulk of the remainder of the episode is presented in letterbox format and animated in a great spoof of anime style. If you haven't seen it, I would highly suggest checking it out as it is (in my opinion anyway) one of the ten best South Park episodes ever made. You get ninja weapons, dead on anime style animation, Butters as Professor Chaos and Cartman's genitals. Who could ask for anything more? Flynn De Marco

First HD Episode of South Park Exclusive to Xbox 360 [Game|Life]

Thankfully, you don't actually have to watch three hundred videos, you only have to watch five videos for the upcoming Spartan masterpiece, 300 for your chance to win a copy of Crackdown. Sign on to Xbox Live and download the five 300 movie clips and get the special codes from each clip. Then, head on over to the official contest page and enter the codes in any order for your chance to be one of the big winners. There will be a total of three hundred copies of the game given away (clever, eh?). Oddly enough, they aren't giving away copies of the actual 300: March To Glory PSP game. I wonder why? Hmmmm..... Flynn De Marco

300/Crackdown Contest Official Site [Warner Bros.]
[via Major Nelson]