Heads up, music aficionados: the second volume of thePortal 2soundtrack (“Music to Test To”)is now available for download. Don’t reach for your wallet… it’s free! The 18-track volume features such hits as “Robot Ghost Story,” “Bring Your Daughter to Work Day,” and “I AM NOT A MORON.” Ring tones have also been made available for all of the tracks, suitable for both Android devices and iPhones. (MIDI files for your old java-based flip phones are not available upon request....

In Japan, the PlayStation 2 has so many galge (gal games, like clean dating sims) that it isn’t even funny. It carried on the tradition from the PlayStation and the Sega Saturn, but somehow that tradition has not carried over to the PlayStation 3. Actually, some feel that this kind of falling out of fashion. But I never really thought about why the PS3 hasn’t sen any galge untilKotakumentioned it today....

It’s been a long, long, long, long, long, loooooong time coming, but Running With Scissors has declared that the third installment in its controversial shooter series,Postal 3, is nearing the end of its development cycle. “It’s in the final stages in Moscow, I don’t think it will come out this Christmas,” says a rather curt Vince Desi. Despite the game’s lengthy development, andPostal‘s reputation as a not-very-great series, I’ve been waiting patiently to givePostal 3a go....

It would seem that all massively multiplayer online games, in one way or another, suffer from a flaw common among the games of the genre. While it is true that no MMO truly has an ending, it is also painfully obvious that once the importance of the experience bar ceases to exist, so too does the fun. This fact has not been lost on Trion Worlds, the developers behind the MMORPGRift, which is why the games upcoming installment, Patch 1....

What goes up must come down is what those old man pessimists say when sh*t happens. And it did happen with the world economy, and that’s why Nintendo is probably going to show a profit drop for this quarter. Nintendo and their Wii and DS power have been kicking ass for about six years now, but market watchers expect profits to drop 11 percent, the first drop since early 2004. Wii console sales have been steadily declining, even with that recent price drop to $199....

All was not well in PS3 land after last week’s botched launch ofPS3 system software update v2.40. The firmware update, which included two major features that PS3 owners had been pining for since the console’s launch in November 2006 (in-game XMB access and an Achievement-like system), delivered on the promises Sony had made — but with some nasty surprises lurking under the hood for some PS3 owners. Let me provide a quick recap....

With all the popularity surrounding Marvel of the last few years, it seems like films and games based on the characters are flying by at the speed of light. It’s no surprise, then, to see that a game based onThe Punisherhas recently been announced, developed byZen Studios(and as they put it, developed by a group of massive Marvel True Believers). What we know so far is that the game will be an FPS and feature arena-based multiplayer, and will use the Unreal Engine 3....

Some here might be offended that you’d consider downloading theUncharted 2: Among Thievesdemo when it goes up on the PlayStation Network later today. After giving the game ourEditor’s Choice award in our review, and then later awarding the titleDestructoid’s 2009 Game of the Year, we’d hope you’d trust that it’s a fantastic game. You don’t trust us? Nah, don’t worry about it. We’re pretty laid back. Download it today if you haven’t played it already....

AlthoughAlan Wakehasn’t been released, it’s all finished up and the studio is hard at work on the episodic DLC that developers love so much. In addition, “season two” of the novelist’s adventures is all jotted out, with the game’s creators already planning the hijinks that Wake and pals will get up to. “We do know where season two is going to go,” reveals Remedy’s Oskari Hakkinen. “Season one will have a conclusive and satisfactory ending but we will leave doors open for season two and we know where we’re going to take the story....

We’re now hearing thatResident Evil 5′s release has been pushed back to November, according toPSU. They say that their source at Capcom sends that word along, and that it’s being pushed back from the earlier rumored October release. I’m fine with that; racist rioting is more fun during the holidays anyway. They also say that Sherry Birkin, Claire’s little helper fromResident Evil 2, will play a role in the fifth installment....

At its gamescom press conference today, Sony revealed the Nihlistic-developed PS Vita title,Resistance: Burning Skies. Built in conjunction with help from Insomniac Games, the developer is calling it a “no compromises first-person shooter experience.” The title puts players in the turnout coat of New York City firefighter Tom Reilly, set before the events ofResistance 2, just as the Chimera are invading the East Coast of the United States for the first time....

God bless the Neo-Geo. A lot of people never had one, and that’s a shame, because it gave birth to some of the greatest games ever made. In fact, you’d be surprised how much of what you love and cherish now might owe its existence to the big console with the big controller and the even bigger cartridges. Tonight we’re taking a look back at what started out as the rich kids’ console and eventually became the drug of choice for many a hardcore gamer....

Dunno why the formatting is all screwed up with this week’s rant (nor why, after almost half a year of doing these things, I’m still incapable of wrangling Final Cut Pro into submission), but it’s about absurdly difficult games likePathologic,The Void, andDemon’s Souls, and the pros and cons of that sort of design. I didn’t mention this in the video, but I’ve never played a game that actually made me feel atruesense of desperation until I playedThe Void(with the possible exception of the corridor scene inMGS4, though that probably doesn’t count)....