Cheapskates rejoice, Microsoft is adding three of its grade A games to its "Classics" collection - also known as the collection of "it's cheaper now" games. Halo 3, Mass Effect, and Project Gotham Racing 4 are each now available for GBP 19.99 (US$ 28) in the EMEA region.

Developer Bizarre Creations has recently announced that they will no longer be developing downloadable content for their Project Gotham Racing 4 title on the Xbox 360. Wondering who will now be handling the game's DLC? Visit the full article for the rest of the details.

To celebrate the launch of its latest album, UK-based Australian band Pendulum will take the steering wheel in Project Gotham Racing 4 and compete with other Microsoft Xbox 360 owners on the track. If you're in the UK, now is your chance to trade paint with the popular crew in Bizarre Creations' most recent racer. Drive to the full article for more details.

Bizarre Creations has announced the upcoming arrival of the new Challenge Pack DLC for Project Gotham Racing 4 this February 14. This exclusive download for the Xbox 360 will feature the sleek hydrogen-powered 2007 Peugeot Flux, as well as a couple of new game modes for hardcore racing fans who enjoy the online skirmishes the title has to offer. More information on what the new DLC contains in the full article.

Microsoft's early Chrismas present for racing game fans would have to be the price drop of the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel. For US$ 99, you can now avail of the peripheral that promises an authentic racing experience. Drive to the full article for more details!

Variety is the spice of life, and in this industry, it's the rumors that mix it up a little for those of us on the pulse of video gaming news. And what better way to get things going than a round of rumors direct from the master himself, Electronic Gaming Monthly's (EGM) Quatermann. Check out what he has to say in the full article.

Bizarre Creations has something up its sleeve for fans of Project Gotham Racing 4 for the Microsoft Xbox 360: downloadable content. The PGR4 download will be sporting four new game modes and will be going live tomorrow (or in a bit, depending on which timezone you are).

Check out the full article for details about the PGR4 DLC.

As part of the celebration for the European launch of Bizarre Creations' Project Gotham Racing 4, a giant good luck message created entirely with skid marks was emblazoned on the grounds of the Battersea Power Station.

The message went out to British Formula One racing driver Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton will be competing in this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix, which could see him walk away as Formula One World Champion.

The Skid Art theme is also being used as the theme of the Project Gotham Racing 4 TV ad currently airing in the UK. Top UK stunt driver Russ Swift had to go through three sets of tires to create the message. You can check it out in the images below. Project Gotham 4 is now available. A demo of the game was released earlier this month on the Xbox Live Marketplace.

   

A couple of new demos have become available on the Xbox Live Marketplace: one for Bizarre Creations and Microsoft's Project Gotham Racing 4 and one for TimeGate and Vivendi's F.E.A.R. Files: Extraction Point expansion pack.

Those who have yet to purchase a copy of Project Gotham Racing 4 should download and try this 1.27GB demo. It includes three cars and two bikes which players can use to race through the streets of Macau or in the Nurburgring Snow Challenge. The Project Gotham Racing 4 demo is available in all Xbox Live regions.

The F.E.A.R. Files: Extraction Point demo's size is roughly half that of the Project Gotham Racing 4 demo. In the demo, players will be able to go toe-to-toe with Replica soldiers and supernatural entities using a powerful arsenal of high-tech weapons. This demo is available only to Xbox Live users in the U.S. and Canada.

Activision has just sent out a press wire announcing their recent purchase of UK video game developer Bizarre Creations. As some may be speculating, could the purchase be a sign that the studio's in some sort of financial trouble? That doesn't seem to be the case, based on a complementing announcement made by Bizarre's Ben Ward over at the studio's official site.

Ward explained that the move was made so that the studio could push for the development of even better games in the near future. In light of the sale, Ward also explained how the arrangement between Bizarre and Activision was going to play out, specifically regarding their ongoing work on Project Gotham Racing 4 and The Club:

• Bizarre Creations continues to exist as is. We won't become Activision Liverpool or anything like that.
• We will have absolutely no redundancies.
• All of our teams continue to exist exactly how they are at the moment. Amax team (PGR4) and Shitstorm team (The Club) will move onto new games, whilst our Shared Technology team will use this opportunity to take our experience and tech to new levels and new formats.
• The Activision way of running things is "hands off". Bizarre continue to have creative control over what we do, we still run the studio how we see fit, and we still get to run our own web site and do all sorts of fun community things! :)

So, could this new relationship mean we'll be looking at a multi-platform port of PGR4 in the near future? We're not too sure, although Ward noted that the the aforementioned Amax and Shitstorm teams would each be working on two new titles for Activision - one a racing game, the other a character game. And while there weren't any exact details on these new projects (much less a name), Ward did state that more information will be unveiled in the near future. And in case you're wondering, here's what Ward said about how their Bizarre's current titles will be handled:

What about the now? Firstly, Geometry Wars will remain unaffected; we'll continue to expand and advance the series just as we were going to do before. The Club will still be released with SEGA, Geometry Wars Galaxies will still be released with Sierra, and PGR4 will continue to be supported after its launch in October. No massive changes here then...

PGR4 for the Xbox 360 is currently scheduled for an October 12 release in the UK, while The Club for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC is expected early next year. We'll let you know if this news bit picks up any further updates - especially regarding Bizarre Creations' two new mystery projects.