The Best of Big Download: December 1-7

We are waist deep in the holiday season now but that doesn't mean Big Download is slacking up. Far from it in fact. Here are our highlights for the first week of December:

Exclusive features

• Previews: We go hands-on with three upcoming Atari games: Ghostbusters, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena and Heroes over Europe.
• Reviews: We give our final verdict for Need For Speed Undercover, Pyroblazer, and two American McGee's Grimm episodes: The Golden Goose and Iron John.
• Interviews: We have chats with the people behind Cities XL and Mytheon and the Child's Play charity.
• Left 4 Dead game guide: Want to play Left 4 Dead better than anyone else? Then check out the first five parts of our game guide: Survive the zombies, a look at the different kinds of zombies, playing zombies in Versus mode, and details on the first two missions, No Mercy and Death Toll.
• Mac Monday: Our weekly look at Mac games takes a look at the sim title My Tribe.
• Indie Showcase: Our weekly look at indie games takes a look at games entered in the Commonplace book competition.
• Big Ideas: Our weekly games-and-themes column looks at how veterans of WWII would look at games set in that period.
• Big Iron: Our hardware column this week looks at the PCs's BIOS.
• Freeware Friday: Our look at free games this week looks at the side-scroller Bonesaw.
• BigCast: It's an extra long version of our podcast as we sadly say "Good-bye" to the BigCast's originator Xav.
• Contest: We are in the final hours of our gaming PC giveaway contest. Have you entered yet to win a $2,499 PC from iBuypower?

Downloads

• Red Alert 3 1.05 patch: Update your copy of EA's RTS game to the latest version.
• Sacred 2 2.31 patch: Its an update to CDV's action-RPG with new content and more.
• Red Alert Worldbuilder: Make new missions and mods for EA's RTS game.
• Need For Speed Undercover HD Texture Pack Mod: Improve the textures for the PC version of EA's racing game.
• Black Mesa trailer: Check out this incredible gameplay footage from the Source engine remake of Valve's original Half-Life.
• Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena trailer: Check out the first footage of this revamped version of Starbreeze's first person action game.
• Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II trailer: It's the latest gameplay trailer for Relic's RTS game.

News

• Sumner Redstone sells off his Midway stock for $100,000
• Dungeon Keeper is coming back...but it's not what you think
• Emotiv Epoc "brain wave" PC controller delayed until 2009
• SCi files to officially change its name to Eidos
• Atari plans to revive Baldur's Gate and other franchises
• Over $3 million in sales (so far) for Garry's Mod
• Microsoft releases Games for Windows Live stand alone client
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 officially announced (or not)
• Buggy GTA IV PC frustrates gamers (including us)
• Rumor: Trouble at Stargate Worlds developer
• Capcom eyes January release for Age of Booty PC
• Is Spore the most pirated PC game of 2008?
• Full free trial for Burnout Paradise PC port