Congratulations, soldier: you survived another week. It's Friday afternoon, and instead of going out partying with your friends, you're anxious to get home, sit down at your computer, and play some new games. Sounds fun! Too bad you're broke. Lucky for you, PC gaming has an impressive library of classic games that are available online for cheap. Hang out with us every Friday so we can take you on a guided tour of some of the greatest bargains available throughout the many tubes of the Internet.

Welcome Big Download's Virtual Bargain Bin, the cure for your weekend gaming woes. This week's classics: BioShock and the Grand Theft Auto Collection.

Grimm's first assault on Happy Ever After ended in September, but developer Spicy Horse and publisher GameTap are already entrenched in the next season of American McGee's Grimm, the episodic series that follows the mean-spirited exploits of eponymous protagonist Grimm. Big Download recently caught up with Grimm designer American McGee to discuss the highs and lows of Season One, as well as how the idea for Grimm came about, the process of selecting fairy tales, and a tease of what we can expect from Season Two.

Q: What fairytales were considered but ended up being cut from the final game? Also, why were they cut?

Rapunzel, Rumplestiltzken, and Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty) - are three very well known tales that we had to cut for a variety of reasons, including limited settings (locations), and story length being too short. Actually, with these three tales we felt they were important enough to find a way around these limitations - but you'll have to continue tuning into Grimm episodes to see how we dealt with that challenge.


Q: And now, a completely just-for-fun question: What is your favorite fairy tale, and why?

The classic tales like Cinderella and Red Riding Hood offer a certain amount of appeal simply because they are so well known. Seeing an interaction between "famous" characters, but rendered in the Grimm narrative style is always fun. But, to be honest, some of my favorite bits of character interaction and game play have come from some of the less known tales.

Unfortunately, because we've not yet announced all of our upcoming tales I can't say which is my favorite! You'll just have to wait for it to be released on GameTap.

Q: I love viewing the dark theaters, but one complaint many players have is that each theater is the same for everyone. What if one player didn't darken an entire scene? Yes, he darkened the objectives because those must be completed in order to proceed, but are nonlinear dark theaters something you might consider incorporating in future seasons of Grimm?


Non linear anything as you are probably aware means more time and energy must go into the construction of possible (non linear) outcomes to a story. And as you might have also noticed, Grimm episodes are released on an extremely tight schedule. Truth is, what you see in a Grimm episode is just about the limit (content-wise) we can cram in there during the period we have to build the episodes. In order to expand on the format, add new features like this, we'd have to restructure the team, maybe increase it in size, and change our production pipeline.

Something like non-linear content would have to wait for a Grimm 2. And we are collecting ideas like this. The question now is, will the first "season" of episodes be successful enough to warrant a new season?

Q: Toward the end of Season One, I noticed a change in Grimm's gameplay. Levels were larger, darkening the entire scene was more difficult due to more NPCs, and "hardcore" mechanics such as platforming received more of an emphasis. Will this transition carry over into season two from its start?

Absolutely. The evolution of the game content is a response to the reaction we're seeing from the audience. We're changing everything we can reasonably change in response to what people like and don't like about the game. Continue to look for more evolutions in the game along these lines.


Q: What can we expect from Grimm Season Two?

More interesting game mechanics, more hilarious story elements, more character interaction, and more ... well, everything! We'll emphasize what people liked and work to reduce the stuff people found annoying. Internally, the studio is really proud of the first 8 episodes - but even more so of the content that's coming. We hope you'll join in and see for yourself!

Halloween is just around the corner. Are you still hunting for the perfect costume? We've got you covered -- just barely. Every Wednesday until Halloween, a batch of 13 lovely ladies and geeky guys will come together to comprise our first video game cosplay gallery feature. We hope it gives you a few ideas. About costumes, we mean. Halloween costumes, you pervert!




10/8: Big Download's Video Game Cosplay Gallery
10/15: 13 New Additions (Coming Soon)
10/22: 13 New Additions (Coming Soon)
10/29: 13 New Additions (Coming Soon)

While Xbox 360 and PS3 users have worked themselves into a veritable tizzy over downloadable content, PC users have been accustomed to having the lifeline of their favorite games extended far past their in-the-box values since the days of Doom - and even before that. What's more, we're used to downloading new levels, weapons, characters, and new episodes absolutely free of charge.

Big Download understands that a five-hour game can be extended by hundreds of hours via total conversions, brand new monsters, and weapons you've always wanted to see in your favorite title. In the spirit of extending a title's longevity beyond mere out-of-the-box expectations, MODmonday celebrates the best modifications for games new and old. Half-Life, Half-Life 2, StarCraft, Diablo II, Doom and more will all be represented here, ensuring a wide spread of mods available across every possible genre of PC gaming.

This week's MODmonday modification is Polar Paradise, a total conversion for Max Payne that casts players in the role of Dinky, a big, angry polar bear with an automatic snowball rifle. Stay tuned to MODmonday as we count down until the release of the Max Payne movie on October 16 by covering some of the best mods for Max Payne and Max Payne 2.

Congratulations, soldier: you survived another week. It's Friday afternoon, and instead of going out partying with your friends, you're anxious to get home, sit down at your computer, and play some new games. Sounds fun! Too bad you're broke. Lucky for you, PC gaming has an impressive library of classic games that are available online for cheap. Hang out with us every Friday so we can take you on a guided tour of some of the greatest bargains available throughout the many tubes of the Internet.

Welcome to Virtual Bargain Bin, the cure for your weekend gaming woes. This week's classics: The id Super Pack, and X-COM: The Complete Pack

I won't lie to you: I'm a huge Batman fan. A Bat-freak, you might say. From collecting comics and watching The Animated Series ad infinitum to camping out for tickets to the midnight showing of new Bat-films (barring the Joel Schumacher travesties), if it's Batman, I'll give it a shot.

So great is my Batman fanaticism that I purposely skipped LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures in order to maintain my anticipation for LEGO Batman. The two properties may seem unrelated, but the truth is, I knew full well that despite all the Batman lore that Traveler's Tales would no doubt cram into a Gotham built brick by LEGO brick, taking in too much of the LEGO action game formula would kill Batman's fun factor quicker than a whiff of the Joker's deadly gas. As I predicted, LEGO Batman is immense fun -- if you can look past the LEGO formula's reoccurring flaws that should have been fixed after the first LEGO Star Wars.

As the typical five-year lifespan of a console winds toward its conclusion, gamers inevitably pose questions of backwards-compatibility. They wonder, as is only logical, whether the dozens, hundreds, or thousands of dollars they invested in their gaming library will be relevant when the new generation of hardware emerges. Sometimes, as with the Xbox 360's update-oriented system, most last-gen titles will still function properly. Other times, as with the PlayStation 3's confusing array of SKUs, the answer alternates between "maybe," "hopefully," and "who knows"?

Despite occasional hardware hiccups and OS woes, the PC platform has managed to retain its awe-inspiring catalogue of titles, thanks in large part to an active community of uber-geeks intent on doing whatever must be done to ensure that disk-based classics don't fade into obscurity.

Welcome to Boot Disk, a weekly column dedicated to covering PC gaming's impressive and length history. Every Tuesday, we'll examine one of the platform's many titles that still lend themselves to eminence five, 10, 15, or decades' worth of years later. This week's Boot Disk shines a spotlight on the original Fallout, Black Isle Studios' iconic post-apocalyptic RPG, which is available at Good Old Games, the home of classic computer games.

Read Boot Disk: Fallout, or browse the Boot Disk archive.

While Xbox 360 and PS3 users have worked themselves into a veritable tizzy over downloadable content, PC users have been accustomed to having the lifeline of their favorite games extended far past their in-the-box values since the days of Doom - and even before that. What's more, we're used to downloading new levels, weapons, characters, and new episodes absolutely free of charge.

Big Download understands that a five-hour game can be extended by hundreds of hours via total conversions, brand new monsters, and weapons you've always wanted to see in your favorite title. In the spirit of extending a title's longevity beyond mere out-of-the-box expectations, MODmonday celebrates the best modifications for games new and old. Half-Life, Half-Life 2, StarCraft, Diablo II, Doom and more will all be represented here, ensuring a wide spread of mods available across every possible genre of PC gaming.

This week's MODmonday modification is Kung Fu, a mod for Max Payne 2 that puts players in control of a blocky Bruce Lee lookalike. Stay tuned to MODmonday over the next several weeks as we count down until the release of the Max Payne movie on October 16 by covering some of the best mods for Max Payne and Max Payne 2.

Mega Man 9 may be a console exclusive, but gamers' eagerness to re-embrace the glory days that favored substance over style is being felt across all platforms. After spending time with the blue bomber, we got to thinking: what PC series would we like to see resurrected in their previous forms? Not a sequel with a new engine, but a new entry in a series, new or old, that might benefit from the application of the technology that made it so successful in its day?

Collected here are 10 PC games we'd love to be born again in the same attire they wore when they were new to the party. After perusing our picks, consider what yours might be, and leave a Comment telling us about them. Next week, we'll tally up the 10 games with the most votes and feature them in a gallery of their own.

The Resurgence of Yesteryear

Karelia, Finland's dawn air was crisp, and its icy mists were tinged with just a hint of gold from the sun peaking over the horizon. The earth was blanketed in freshly fallen snow, and a slight breeze caused the pine trees bordering a frozen stream to shiver, their rustling branches sending white crystals plopping to the ground. It was the perfect morning to live in peaceful co-existence with all other creatures upon the earth, to curl up near a fire burning in the hearth of the cabin near the lake and read a book.

But this is Deer Hunter Tournament, and in that context, either of those activities would have proven quite boring. For those to answer the call of the wild with a hail of lead, it was the perfect day for a hunt.

As the typical five-year lifespan of a console winds toward its conclusion, gamers inevitably pose questions of backwards-compatibility. They wonder, as is only logical, whether the dozens, hundreds, or thousands of dollars they invested in their gaming library will be relevant when the new generation of hardware emerges. Sometimes, as with the Xbox 360's update-oriented system, most last-gen titles will still function properly. Other times, as with the PlayStation 3's confusing array of SKUs, the answer alternates between "maybe," "hopefully," and "who knows"?

Despite occasional hardware hiccups and OS woes, the PC platform has managed to retain its awe-inspiring catalogue of titles, thanks in large part to an active community of uber-geeks intent on doing whatever must be done to ensure that disk-based classics don't fade into obscurity.

Welcome to Boot Disk, a weekly column dedicated to covering PC gaming's impressive and expansive history. Every Tuesday, we'll examine one of the platform's many titles that still lend themselves to eminence five, 10, 15, or decades' worth of years later. This week's Boot Disk examines Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, the first adventure game by author and game designer Jane Jensen.

Boot Disk: Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers

While Xbox 360 and PS3 users have worked themselves into a veritable tizzy over downloadable content, PC users have been accustomed to having the lifeline of their favorite games extended far past their in-the-box values since the days of Doom - and even before that. What's more, we're used to downloading new levels, weapons, characters, and new episodes absolutely free of charge.

Big Download understands that a five-hour game can be extended by hundreds of hours via total conversions, brand new monsters, and weapons you've always wanted to see in your favorite title. In the spirit of extending a title's longevity beyond mere out-of-the-box expectations, MODmonday celebrates the best modifications for games new and old. Half-Life, Half-Life 2, StarCraft, Diablo II, Doom and more will all be represented here, ensuring a wide spread of mods available across every possible genre of PC gaming.

This week's MODmonday modification is Sketchbook Sam, a total conversion of Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne that casts players in the role of a two-dimensional stick figure. Stay tuned to MODmonday over the next several weeks as we count down until the release of the Max Payne movie on October 16 by covering some of the best mods for Max Payne and Max Payne 2.

Happily Ever After ends now... as does the first season of American McGee's Grimm. Today's episode marks Grimm's last filthy foray before a brief hiatus, which will end later this fall when Grimm returns for his second season. For his first of three grand finales, Grimm tackles a tale as old as time, and dirties it with lots and lots of grime.

Director's Cut, enhanced, extended or collector's editions... whatever you want to call them, video game collector's editions are always a toss-up. Publishers all too often see fit to charge upwards of $80 for special releases that come with a pewter figurine at pre-order and a poster crammed inside the box on launch day. Other companies such as Blizzard Entertainment stuff their oversized collector's boxes with soundtracks, maps, behind-the-scenes DVDs and signed manuals but still put the price tag at the halfway mark between Break Your Bank and Sell Your Soul.

The Witcher: Enhanced Edition stands as a testament to a collector's edition done right. New in-game content, bonus DVDs and soundtracks, an affordable price tag and above all else, the time developer CD Projekt RED took to address legitimate complaints concerning the core game make this a must-buy package.