Just in time for summer and the opening of the new Norwich skatepark, the third skate game from EA is about to be released, to lure you away from a real board where you get hurt and into a darkened room to twiddle your thumbs instead.

The demo is already available to download on xBox 360 and PS3, I’ve played it a bit and it doesn’t seem to add a huge amount. However new things include new places to skate, Jason Lee as a character and also an improved hardcore mode which makes the game pretty realistic.

Download only games for the Xbox or PS3 are normally ports of games from older systems or simple casual games like the sort that might be found on a handheld device such as the iPod/iPhone. However Battlefield 1943 is a 3D first person shooter which allows you to command tanks, pilot planes and drive jeeps alongside numerous other players online. The action is set somewhere in the Pacific theatre of war with battles to take charge of one of the four islands taking place between the US Marine Corps and the Japanese. Definitely worth the small price tag of around £10.

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Well it’s finally here, Skate 2 is out. So it’s good bye to my social life for a little while whilst I ruin my thumbs on a xbox controller, doing tricks I would never be able to do in real life, like the handplant above. The best bit so far has been being able to move stuff around to make a spot more interesting or simply insane. If you have an xbox and want to digitally skate with me, my gamertag is rolypolysteve. Nerd moment over.

Played the demo to Mirror’s Edge the other night, after waiting nearly a day for it to download, thanks to crappy internet connection, it was worth the wait though. The game is brilliant, it’s basically a parkour (free running) game but not in an extreme sports game style.

The design reminds me of some of the Animatrix shorts that were around whilst we all were waiting for Reloaded to come out. The story follows Faith through the beautiful cityscapes avoiding “The Blues” (Police) to clear her sister’s name, for a crime she’s believed to have been framed for.

If you have a PS3 or Xbox 360 give the demo a try, even if to simply marvel at the wonderfully designed cityscapes.

The release of EA’s Skate 2 is drawing closer (spring 2009) and the media machine begins to heat up, wetting the appetites of anyone with a PS3 or Xbox whos skates. There’s cool little video of an in-game line by Mark Appleyard, with a cool tune on www.skate.ea.com in the media section. These videos are expected to be weekly from now so keep an eye on the skate site.

Lucas Puig in the new skate 2 game for Xbox and PS3

For those of you who have a Xbox 360 or PS3 and enjoyed skate well a sequel is on it’s way and looks pretty good. With Lucas Puig, John Cardiel and Eric Koston amongst new additions of skaters is a good start. Also with the added ability to get off your board, do No-Comply’s, Beanplants, Fastplants and Handplants. Looks like it’s going to be good, check out the trailer on the official site for more.