There’s not much in the way of compelling new games this week, but a handful of existing titles got compelling downloadable content. If that’s not good enough for you, check out Microsoft’s sale on a variety of download-only titles for the Xbox 360.
“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” (rated M, $60 on Xbox 360): Last year’s biggest-selling video game finally gets its first collection of new maps. Billed as the Stimulus Package, the set of five multiplayer arenas will set you back $15 and is only available on Xbox 360 for the first month of release. You PS3 players will have to wait a bit longer. The five maps include three totally new areas and two remade maps from “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.”
“Battlefield: Bad Company 2” (rated M, $60 on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3, $50 on PC): Not to be outdone by “Modern Warfare 2,” DICE, the developers of “Bad Company 2” released another map pack this week — for free. Well, it’s free for anyone with a “Bad Company 2” VIP code, which means pretty much anyone who bought the game new. If you bought the game used or don’t otherwise have a VIP code, you can buy one online for $15 .
“Rock Band 2” (rated T, prices vary for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3): Jimi Hendrix’s “Axis: Bold as Love” album hit the “Rock Band” digital music store this week.
“Heavy Rain” (rated M, $60 on PS3): “The Taxidermist,” a downloadable add-on chapter for starring Madison Paige, was initially included as a preorder bonus for the game. Now, those of us who didn’t preorder the title can play it by shelling out $5. Kind of nice that they give us latecomers an option.
“Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse” (rated M, prices vary on Xbox, PC and Mac): What better way to celebrate Christ’s resurrection from the dead than play a video game that lets you pretend you’re a vengeful, recently awakened zombie? This game is several years old, but it’s one of the few zombie games I can think of in which the objective of the game has nothing to do with killing zombies.
iPad: I’m not the biggest Apple worshipper, so if you’re looking for some coverage of what the iPod can do for games, I can recommend this review of the iPad’s gaming capabilities on Kotaku and Joystiq’s roundup of what games to check out first.
What I’ll be playing this weekend: I’m fairly busy with work and familial obligations, but I’m sure I’ll manage to sneak in a little “Final Fantasy XIII.”
