The Best of Big Download: November 24-30

The last week of November was all about giving at Big Download as we posted up a ton of holiday gift guides and started a contest that will net one of our readers a tricked out gaming PC rig. Let's look at the highlights for the past week:

Exclusive features

• Holiday gift guides: We have tons of suggestions and opinions on buying games this season: How PC gaming saves you money; Big Download's 2008 PC Gaming Holiday Gift Guide; Big Iron's 2008 Holiday Wish List; Big Download's 2008 Holiday Gift Card Guide For Future Games; 15 Indie Games For The Holidays; Black Friday 08 Virtual Bargain Bin

• Contest: Would you like to win a $2,499 gaming PC from iBuypower? Then check out our biggest contest yet for all the details.

• Reviews: We have our final verdict on Call of Duty: World at War and Penny Arcade Adventures Chapter 2

• Mac Monday: Our regular Mac game column takes a look at the 2D adventure game Aquaria.

• MODmonday: Our mod column takes a look at the Half-Life mod Action Half-Life

• Boot Disk: Our retro gaming column takes a look at the original Half-Life.

• Big Ideas: Our weekly look at game industry themes is all about the children.

• Freeware Friday: Our weekly look at free games takes a gander at the indie fighting game Toribash

Downloads

• C&C: Red Alert 3 demo: Check out this single player demo for EA's RTS game

• Pyroblazer demo: It's the demo to the recent indie sci-fi combat racing game from Eipix

• Zombie Shooter 2 demo: It's the demo to the arcade shooter game from Sigma Team

• Starcraft patches: We have the latest patches for Blizzard's original RTS game and the Brood War expansion

• PRISM: Guard Shield full game: We have the latest version of the full multiplayer game designed as a US National Guard recruiting tool

• ARMA II trailer: Check out the first gameplay trailer for Bohemia Interactive's military shooter

• Batman: Arkham Asylum trailer: It's the first gameplay trailer for the super hero action game from Rocksteady and Eidos

• Wanted: Weapons of Fate trailer: It's the first gameplay trailer for the movie based action game from developer GRIN

News

• US Army putting more money into games for training

• Relic "looking" at making Homeworld 3

• Fallout 3 mod tools in December; downloadable content in 2009

• Grand Theft Auto IV PC to support 32 players in multiplayer

• Atari to publish Codename Panzers: Cold War

• F.E.A.R. 2 latest game to be banned in Australia

• Rumor: Fable 2 coming to PC in February 2009?

• Rockstar talks about Grand Theft Auto IV PC DRM

• Are the creators of The Ship working on a...MURDER?