A new week, a new load of news, a new load of downloads. Check out the most important articles and most popular downloads of this week in our weekly summary. Welcome to Best of the Week 3 - 8 April.

The week started with a new batch of screenshots from Test Drive Unlimited, illustrating the exterior and interior of the legendary automobile Aston Martin, featured in this racing game in the works at Eden Games. Test Drive Unlimited will offer more than 125 licensed vehicles from exclusive manufacturers including Lamborghini, Ducati, Aston Martin, Mercedes, Saleen, Shelby, and Jaguar. The Xbox 360 version is planned for an earlier summer release, while the PC version will be available this fall. Check out the Press Release along with the original article here.

Republik Games announced that Spend the Night's production has been suspended due to financial problems. The company had previously raised an undisclosed sum in two funding rounds and was well into production of the game. If more capital will be invested into Republik Games, they might reconsider its development. Check out the Press Release and the full story here.

5 new screenshots have been added to the World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade gallery showcasing the upcoming WoW expansion. There will be a new profession, Jewelcrafting, and with it new socketable items. There is no word on availability, but such info should be available in the coming months. Check out the original article here.

Capcom announced that Dead Rising has been delayed untill September 29th. The hero of the story is Frank West, a grizzled freelance photographer who has made his way to an idyllic suburban town to get his hands on the scoop. To his surprise, he soon discovers that the town has been overrun with zombies. As he fights tooth and nail against hordes of gruesome zombies, Frank must discover the cause of the disturbing outbreak. You can check out the full story here.

Thursday Valve released a new batch of screenshots from Half-Life 2: Episode One, showcasing the upcoming addon which will be released on May 31st. In Episode One, player reprises his role of Dr. Gordon Freeman, who must immediately face the repercussions of his actions in City 17 and the Citadel. Priced $19.99, Half-Life 2: Episode One, will not require Half-Life 2 to play and will offer four to six hours of gameplay. Check out the full article here.

Microsoft Game Studios announced it has purchased the U.K.-based Lionhead Studios, the developers of Black and White 2, Fable and The Movies. Lionhead Studios becomes the latest member of MGS, joining other game creators as Bungie Studios, Ensemble Studios, FASA Studio and Rare Ltd. Check out the Press Release along with the original article here.

Downloads of the Week
New demos, trailers, patches and much more have been released this week. Here is a list of the most popular files.

Demos:

Strategic Command 2 Blitzkrieg Demo

Emergency 4 German Demo

Balloon Express Demo

Computer War in Europe Beta Demo

Dragon Orbs Demo

Patches:

Tomb Raider: Legend v1.1 Patch

Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWII v1.01 Patch

Hearts of Iron II – Doomsday v1.1 Patch

Birth of America v1.05 Patch

Trailers:

Half-Life 2 Episode One Trailer #2

2006 FIFA World Cup Trailer #2

Battlefield 2 Mine 2 Machinima Movie

Pro Evolution Soccer 6 Trailer #2

Hitman: Blood Money Trailer #6

Game Clients / Programs / Drivers / Mods :

Lost Legends v0.1.0.5 Free Full Game

Warsow v0.072 Alpha Free Full Game (Windows)

Rocket Arena 4 Beta 2

Ryzom 7-Day Free Trial Client

After some teasing trailers, Codemasters has finally released a new full movie from ArchLord, an epic adventure in which players band together as they quest for the ancient relics of the Archons (thanks: GameSpot). Each relic bestows incredible power on those who possess it and when relics are combined they deliver ultimate mastery over the fundamental forces of creation for there can only be one Archlord. Developed by NHN Games, Archlord will be available across North America and Europe during Q3, 2006.

We have two gameplay trailers and a cinematic movie from Pro Evolution Soccer 6, showcasing the next installment in the popular soccer series developed by Konami.

We have several gameplay trailers from Virtua Fighter 5, showcasing this upcoming fighting sequel game. Enjoy :)

Sega has released a a new trailer from Chromehounds, a squad-based action title for the Xbox 360, which puts gamers in control of giant mechs. Developed by Tokyo-based From Software, the game offers an intense, photo realistic look at war from the cockpits of colossal metal vehicles, named Hounds. Players will take the role of either a Squad Member or a Tactics Commander, who is responsible for strategically guiding the team to victory with verbal commands on Xbox Live.

The official 3DRealms website is hosting a new weekly update for Prey - Chris Rhinehart of Human Head talks about various things that have happened this past week, plus details and pictures from a trip to visit radio host Art Bell. Prey will include support for Even Balance’s PunkBuster anti-cheat software, and is expected to be released this year, for PC and Xbox 360.

Be one of the first 200 Auto Assault players to sign up for a monthly subscription after your first month of included time and you could win a Tabula Rasa beta slot. The contest begins on Auto Assault launch day, April 13, and ends 31 days later on May 14. Notification of approved enlistments will be sent out starting May 15 via e-mail. Make sure your PlayNC account e-mail is up to date; if you’re using a spam filter, ensure that you can receive e-mails ending in @plaync.com (watch that spam filter). NCsoft dooesn't have a date for Tabula Rasa's entry into closed beta testing. Winners will be notified first when they win and again when it is time for them to enter the Tabula Rasa beta test. Click here for more details.

Mind Candy today announced the availability of the third wave of Perplex City puzzle cards. Perplex City is a trading card based Alternate Reality Game blending real-life treasure hunting, interactive fiction, puzzle-solving, online communities, and live events in cities around the world. Players purchase silver packs that contain six cryptic puzzle cards ranging in difficulty and including beautifully crafted riddles, origami challenges, pop culture trivia, logical mindbenders, 3D mazes and Egyptian hieroglyphs. Once solved, they provide the player with their first clues to the location of the buried treasure.

Simbin today released new screens from GTR 2 - FIA GT Racing Game showcasing the weather change system and the night tracks of the game. The game will feature dynamic day-night light cycle, weather changes, and impressive damage system. Powered by a new DirectX9 graphics engine, GTR 2 will be available in the summer of 2006.

Buena Vista Games today released a new trailer from the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, a game scheduled for release in Summer 2006. The game will be released in conjunction with the movie launch. The handheld titles are being developed by Seattle-based Amaze Entertainment and Griptonite Games.

The official Half-Life 2: Episode One website is now live, offering screenshots (added in our gallery), a trailer (locally mirrred here) and information about this addon which will be released on May 31st (thanks: ComputerGames.ro). In Episode One, player reprises his role of Dr. Gordon Freeman, who must immediately face the repercussions of his actions in City 17 and the Citadel. Freeman reconnects with Alyx Vance and her robot, Dog, as they continue their support of the resistance's battle against the Combine forces. Priced $19.99, Half-Life 2: Episode One, will not require Half-Life 2 to play and will offer four to six hours of gameplay.

A topic on the Elder Scrolls forums signed Pete and Todd informs us that a patch for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is now in the works with a beta version of it being first distributed for the owners of the PC version. They are also working on localization issues, so the European versions of the English patch will come a bit later. Xbox 360 owners will also enjoy the patch, once it is finalized and fully tested. Visit their forums for more info.

Our gallery has been updated with several screenshots from the PC version of 2006 FIFA World Cup, the latest sports game from Electronic Arts, scheduled for this month, just in time for the June tournament. With enhanced player animations, Electronic Arts has emulated close to 100 of the world's superstars, capturing their playing styles and individual likenesses. You can choose to play with your favourite team and take it through the qualifications straight to the tournament.

New beautiful screenshots from Test Drive Unlimited have been added in our gallery, illustrating the exterior and interior of the famous automobile Lamborghini, featured in this racing game in the works at Eden Games (press 'read more' for details). Test Drive Unlimited will offer more than 125 licensed vehicles from exclusive manufacturers including Lamborghini, Ducati, Aston Martin, Mercedes, Saleen, Shelby, and Jaguar. It will also feature more than 1000 miles of Hawaiian roads, and realistic cars and bikes. Test Drive Unlimited will be released by Atari for Xbox 360 and PC. The Xbox 360 version is planned for an earlier summer release, while the PC version will be available this fall.

We have new screenshots from Rush for Berlin, illustrating the real time strategy title in the works at Stormregion, creators of Codename: Panzers. The screenshots unveil the officers, their skills and their path to victory - similar to the heroes found in RTS or RPG games, Rush for Berlin introduces heroic officers with a special skill system. The officer unit is an important "add-on" to the player's army. In this release, Stormregion wants to reward the player for using officers as "hero characters" on the frontlines instead of placing them at the edge of the map to keep them safe to ensure neither they nor the whole mission is lost at the same time (press 'read more' for details). Powered by the latest version of the Gepard Engine, Rush for Berlin is a game based on historical facts and gives wide possibilities for changing history and playing an alternative reality. In a race for the German capital Berlin, you take command of American, British, French and Soviet Red Army forces. You are witnessing the final and complete defeat of the Third Reich and the end of the War in the European theatre. In the German Campaign, you challenge the invaders in an alternate reality. Rush for Berlin will be released by Paradox Interactive this May, in the US, and by Deep Silver on May 26th in UK, Germany, France, Italy, Austria and Switzerland.