Onlive Priced and Dated

A unique service has been in the works for quite some time now, and today it's finally been priced and dated.
Onlive, a service which will allow you to "stream" games (kind of like watching movies online through Netflix) will be launching June 17, and it will start at a $14.95/month rate.
Onlive's COO, Mike McGarvey, gave a quick talk about what we can expect from this new platform.

“Individual titles will be available for purchase or rental on an a la carte basis. Specific game pricing, including rentals,purchases and loyalty programs, will be announced prior to the consumer launch event at E3. We’ll also be announcing additional loyalty and discount programs for consumers in the coming months.”
EA, Ubisoft, Take-Two, THQ and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will all have games available through Onlive when it launches later this year.
The one thing to keep in mind however, is that the $14.95/month charge, only pays for the service. You'd need to pay desperately in order to rent/buy games. I'm not too sure how, if at all, successful this will be. But you can be sure that this isn't the last you'll hear from the folks at Onlive.

Metro 2033 Is Going To Launch With Steamworks

A4's new game Metro 2033, which takes place in a fallout-style underground metro system, is going to be launching with Steam. What this means is that it will require Steam to be installed onto your computer, regardless if you buy a retail copy. Metro 2033 isn't the first game to venture down this path, Unreal Tournament 3 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 required a Steam installation as well.
It seems to be a growing trend to have Steam/Valve handle a games updating and patching process. I for one am all for Steam doing the more technical aspects of digital game sales. It doesn't require for studios to get a whole separate team, and they can also spend more time cranking out actual content.
I guess its just another step the fully digital future, which doesn't seem to be too far away.

90 Minute Darksiders Demo Out Feb. 25

Usually a demo is 20-30 minutes, or half of a game's actual level. Not for Darksiders however, a full 90 minute demo of the game which covers the entire first dungeon.
David Adams, General Manager of developer Vigil Games stated, “We really wanted to give gamers a true idea of the variety of gameplay that the game offers and so rather than just making a standard 20 minute demo version of the first few levels, we decided to give away this massive level and reveal the true essence of the game.”

It seems that THQ is really trying to break some molds with their release of Darksiders, first the unique codes which offered a free full game, and now this.
The demo will be coming out on both XBLA and PSN on Feb 25th, so if your still on the edge about Darksiders, this might push you over.

Darksiders Mystery Code Revealed!

When Darksiders shipped, there were several copies which contained a special code, but no one knew what it was for... until now. THQ has just revealed that the mystery code in question is for a free copy of Red Faction: Guerrilla for your choice of system. Either PS3 or Xbox360. As if a  full free game wasn't enough, the code also gives you a free "digital Hellbook disc featuring Darksiders art, videos, and other awesome stuff." There's is very small $5 shipping fee that you must pay, but it's well worth it.

I'm really happy to see THQ promote their games through such clever, and rewarding, marketing. I hope to see more companies follow in THQ's foot steps as free games are always welcomed by anyone in the gaming community.

I wasn't lucky enough to get a Darksiders mystery code, but if anyone has a code they don't want to use...don't hesitate to throw it over this way.    :)