Last Friday I took my own advice and treated myself to Impulse's 50% off sale on Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. I'd been meaning to pick up this game for a little while, but hadn't decided between the console version and the PC version. Between the sale and some details I read about local co-op with the console version, I decided that the PC version was probably the way to go for me and my co-op partners-in-crime.

Valve has launched a beta for a new version of Steam with a complete UI overhaul.  This is the first major overhaul of the service since it launched almost 7 years ago.   Anyone can opt into the beta by simply checking a setting in your Steam client.  Restart Steam and voila!

Resident Evil 5 is the name of the game, and surviving the new DLC mode requires strategy. On The Download this week will be taking an in-depth, but spoiler-free look "Lost In Nightmares." We'll also explore new DLC and Arcade titles, as well as our recommended freebie of the week.

 Despite the ruckus this morning, it's out.  Turn on your Xbox 360, spend your moon points, and go blow some shit up with friends in The Secret Armory of General Knoxx, the next Borderlands DLC content pack.  

While we do talk about StarCraft 2 in this episode, we shamelessly put it in the title to get you to listen to the episode. After all, people are paying big money for a beta key, which earns them instant coolness.

The Internet giveth, and the Internet taketh away... or does it?  Those of you who have been patiently waiting for the Secret Armory of General Knoxx, the latest DLC for everyone's favorite co-op loot-gathering title Borderlands, to show up on your 360 may have seen a couple of news posts stating that it's been delayed by a day.  While it's easy to get swept up in these kinds of posts, we decided to reach out to a PR representative from Gearbox to see if they could confirm, one way or the other, General Knoxx's official release date.  It was a good thing we did, as the official word is as follows: "As of now I am issuing an official press release with today's launch date."

Those of you who follow the Army of Two Twitter account may have noticed a rather exciting announcement this morning: "DLC!!! First look at Chapters of Deceit, coming April 1st."  Despite the usual association made with April 1, it seems this no joke and that our co-op heroes from Army of Two: The 40th Day will be back for more action quite soon.  From the blog announcement: "Chapters of Deceit features two all-new co-op campaign maps. In the new chapters, players stumble upon information that could lead to ending the invasion by Jonah and his 40th Day Initiative army. However, they quickly learn that everyone is out for themselves and to trust no one but their partner."

A few months ago we previewed the beta of Dolby Axon, a piece of software that allows for realistic, natural, and seamless voice chat on the PC through client software.  The software not only supports up to 50 people in a chatroom at once, it allows for positional chat, private partitions, and a virtual meeting space.  

We just got a brand new trailer for LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4 titled "Conjuring up Fun."  The focus of the trailer is on the open nature of LEGO Games, and specifically the creative things you can do in the latest addition to the franchise.  But what really grabbed our attention is the focus on co-op and a unique implementation of split screen co-op.

This week brings us three new Xbox Live Arcade titles, and lucky for us, one of them is co-op!  Fret Nice is a rather quirky looking game, a platformer with a music game influences.  Two players can team up to play, though sadly they can only do so locally, and not online.  You and your partner can battle "heavy metal bosses", and defeat enemies by "creating your own sounds with each "strum" of a chord".  Add on a robust character cutomization system and the papercraft graphical style of the game, and Fret Nice appears to be worth checking out.  It will be available Wednesday for the MS point equivalent of $15.  Why not check out the Xbox.com entry or the official homepage in the meantime?

 Gearbox Software has announced that the next piece of DLC will hit Borderlands tomorrow, that's February 23rd, on the Xbox 360, while the PlayStation 3 and PC will see it on Thursday the 25th.  

Honestly, I don't know how I have any fingernails left at all. Every time I see a screenshot or preview article for Splash Damage / Bethesda's 8-player co-op title Brink, I have to remind myself that there are still around seven months to wait. Excuse me for a sec...