Every time there is a successful game that receives plentiful downloadable content it seems one year later we receive the inevitable Game of the Year edition. Borderlands is one such game and it has been formally announced that a Game of the Year edition is indeed on its way.

The Game of the Year edition will include the original game in all its glory as well as the codes to download The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, Mad Moxxi's Underdome Riot, The Secret Armory of General Knoxx and the upcoming Claptrap's New Robot Revolution. As an added bonus a special "comprehensive map of the Borderlands territories" will included to help sweeten the deal.

If you have never jumped on the Borderlands train or if you want an easy way to get back on then it sounds like the Borderlands Game of the Year edition is right up your alley. It will be releasing on October 12, 2010 and will cost $59.99 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and $49.99 for PC.

If you are an Xbox LIVE Gold subscriber you are used to the idea of paying $49.99 a year to access features such as on-line multiplayer, Netflix, Deal of the Week, etc. Well it appears Microsoft has decided that with all the new features coming with the new dashboard update and Kinect that your paltry $49.99 is no longer sufficient.

Microsoft announced today in e-mails to subscribers that they are raising the price of an Xbox LIVE Gold subscription to $59.99 a year from the previous $49.99. The lesser options have also increased across the board. One month has risen from $7.99 to $9.99 and three months has gone from $19.99 to $24.99.

The reasoning in the e-mail seems to point clearly at the new features of Video Kinect, ESPN and the upcoming arrival of Hulu Plus in 2011. In order to help with the shock of the price increase Microsoft is currently offering a 12 month extension for $39.99. In order to get the deal you will have to act soon because the new prices begin on November 1, 2010.

I personally find this an odd time to choose to raise the price of Xbox LIVE Gold. The three features mentioned are all something that not everyone will be able to use. Suddenly PlayStation Network is starting to look a little better in comparison.

Hit the jump to view the full e-mail.

Oyez, oyez, oyez.

On November 2, the United States Supreme Court will hear opening arguments in the case of Schwarzenegger v. EMA, the latest in a long string of legal cases involving video game violence. This case in particular challenges a California law (signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger) that would ban the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. It will be the first time that a video game-related case is presented to the highest court in the land, as all previous legal action attempting to control the distribution of video games were struck down by lower courts based on the notion that video games are free speech and thus protected under the First Amendment.

If the Supreme Court deems the law constitutional, it would essentially turn violent (or otherwise mature-oriented) video games into controlled substances with government-regulated distribution policies. You know, like alcohol and tobacco.  

Here's a nice deal for the weekend.

Games for Windows LIVE is having a great deal on Sid Meier's Civilization IV. From now until September 1st, you can purchase the Civ IV: Complete Edition for only $9.99. That is a 75 percent mark down from its original price of $39.99. You get the original Civilization IV, the Warlords and Beyond the Sword expansions and Sid Meier's Colonization.

This seems like a great way for people to check out the Civilization franchise before Civilization V releases on September 21. Let us know if you plan on picking up this deal in the comments below.

With advertisements cropping up and promotions beginning it seems the Halo: Reach hype train has officially left the station. The latest part of the pre-release hype begins today as GameStop announces HaloFest. HaloFest is going to be a virtual on-line festival hosted at www.gamestop.com/HaloFest.

The idea behind HaloFest is to create a virtual space "where Halo fans can gather to enjoy videos, tips, sweepstakes, contests and more while awaiting the Halo: Reach Sept. 14 launch date."

The main item on the site is a contest to give away 18 life-sized Spartan statues to lucky fans who pre-order Halo: Reach through GameStop. You can also check out some videos including a "making of the Halo statues" and a three part Red vs Blue miniseries. They also have some tips and tricks from famed Halo player Tsquared and a section to brag about any epic Halo-related stories you might have. They expect to add more content as time goes on including details on a Halo: Reach tournament and in-game UGC contests.

TAG will be receiving a copy of Halo: Reach so be sure to look for our review and see if Bungie's final Halo game lives up to epic scale that we've been promised.

The new additions to the next full Rock Band game are the electric keyboard and vocal harmonies. With these two new items basically every song can be made anew and enjoyed different than before. With the ability to export songs and download songs on-line Rock Band 3 will launch with a potential library of over 2000 songs. However the ones that most people will dive right into is the 83 songs on the disc which include great artists like Bob Marley, Ozzy Osbourne, Jimi Hendrix, Lynyrd Skynyrd and many, many more. Rock Band 3 is arriving on October 26 in North America and October 29 everywhere else. (Well not everywhere else, sorry Antarctica) It is being released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS.

Hit the jump to view the full setlist in all it's musical glory.

Can you feel the excitement? It's just a little over two months before the launch of Kinect. While the bets are still on the table if Kinect will be a success or failure, Performance Designed Products (PDP) is already hard at work coming up with accessories for Microsoft's new camera/controller, focusing on products to help with the placement of the new peripheral.

"At PDP we are proud to offer the best quality peripherals and gaming accessories and we're excited to bring that same quality to Kinect for Xbox 360" said Tom Roberts, CTO and Executive SVP at the California-based gaming manufacturer. "We're working exclusively with Microsoft to bring consumers officially licensed stands and mounts to add to their controller-free entertainment experience."

PDP will be the only company officially licensed by Microsoft to bring you these accessories which will launch simultaneously with Kinect. They include a TV and wall mount, cable extension and a floor stand.

Continue after the break for some pictures and prices of what PDP is offering.

If you ever glanced at the avatar awards for Crackdown 2 you would have noticed four items specifically attached to future add-ons. One of those add-on packs has been fully detailed today on the Gamerscore blog. The "Toy Box" comes in two parts, a free pack and a premium pack with additional content.

The free pack will add the notorious "Keys to the City" mode from Crackdown 1. In this mode you can alter the game to your will by turning on god mode, spawning vehicles and weapons or increasing your skills automatically. In addition to the special cheat mode they are also adding a new Vehicle Tag multiplayer mode and a thruster ability. The thruster ability sounds especially cool. If you have ranked up all your skills to level 6 it essentially allows you activate Wingsuit gliding wherever you are in the game.

If you dip into your pockets and spend the 560 Microsoft points ($7) to get the premium add-on you will receive several new toys to play with such as a wall climbing ATV, a four person helicopter, a new gravity gun and portable launch pads. The one that sounds especially interesting is the four person helicopter, which allows each player to man their own unique weapon. Other extras include 10 new achievements worth 250 Gamerscore, two avatar awards and eight new colors for you agent.

Considering the best part of Crackdown 2 was the simple mayhem caused by playing around in the game's sandbox world this new add-on plays right into the game's strengths. Toy Box is "coming soon" to the Xbox LIVE Marketplace so keep your eyes open for it.

Portal 2 is shaping up to be one of the best titles of 2011. With two separate cooperative and single player campaigns and a ton of new tricks up their sleeves, Valve is ready to bring that awesome little game that came with Orange Box and turn it into a bona fide blockbuster title.

If you, like me, are highly anticipating the February 9, 2011 release date (which hopefully Valve actually sticks to) then surely you will enjoy seeing some fresh new screenshots straight out of last week's Gamescom. Hit the jump and enjoy.

DeathSpank hit Xbox LIVE Arcade and Playstation Network in the middle of July and it was quite well received (check out our review). The game brought a great aesthetic combined with a tongue-in-cheek approach to the standard loot-driven role playing game. The end of the game blatantly teased at what lay ahead for the franchise but I doubt anyone was expecting the sequel to arrive a little over two months later. DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue continues the story of the titular hero as he goes on a quest more personal and of greater importance than simple orphan rescuing and artifact discovering.

"A long time ago, nine mystical thongs were planned to bring balance and harmony to the universe, but when marketing got in the way, only six thongs were produced, and the result was disastrous. Granting great power to those who wear them, the thongs corrupted all those they touched--except DeathSpank. DeathSpank must find all six thongs and destroy them once and for all."

As teased at the end of DeathSpank (and seen in the logo) the new game inexplicably moves to a more modern era featuring airplanes and guns. The game will also introduce a new co-op partner in addition to the first game's Sparkles. The new character, Steve, will be able to unleash "ninjatastic Kung Fu moves" in order to aid DeathSpank on his journey.

DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue will release on Playstation Network on September 21 and on Xbox LIVE Arcade on September 22. The downloadable title will be $14.99 or 1200 Microsoft points.

Today Valve announced the latest DLC for the Left 4 Dead series.

Dubbed "The Sacrifice", players will be able to play the events leading up to Left 4 Dead 2's previous DLC, "The Passing". Due out in October, find out how the original L4D survivors met up with L4D2's cast and discover the events that led up to Bill's death. Don't want Bill to die this time? It seems players will have the choice on which original survivor bites the dust.

"The Sacrifice" will be playable for owners of L4D1 and LFD2. In addition, the original Left 4 Dead campaign "No Mercy" will also be updated and made available for players of Left 4 Dead 2.

"The Sacrifice" will be free on PC and Mac. No price has been announced for the Xbox 360 version.

With less than two weeks until the release of Metroid: Other M for the Wii, many have been wondering how the marketing for Samus Aran's next adventure would be treated. Would these advertisments resemble the Metroid Prime spots that were well recieved but failed to created huge sales numbers or would Nintendo of America simply not put any more effort toward Samus' appeal.  Well, Nintendo has stepped up Ms. Aran's marketing appeal to a huge extent. A day after releasing a Metroid retrospective video online, Nintendo has released a one-minute trailer for Other M that's sure to scream Halo-esque. The trailer depicts Samus in her trademark zero suit as she walks past pivotal moments during her days as a Galactic federation recruit and as the bounty hunter that space pirates fear (bonus points for showcasing moments from Metroid II and Super Metroid).

The Other M TV spot is also accompanied by Samus' narration (which has divided fans on whether or not her voice actress does the character justice), along with bits of gameplay that's sure to make the Metroid fandom inside of me get all excited and jumpy. The commercial certainly shows that Nintendo of America wants this installment of the long-running series to succeed, but will it convert new fans as well? Implementing Samus with a voice, a back story and emotions is sure to be a risky gamble, but from the looks of this commercial the game seems to be in good hands with Team Ninja. We'll have to wait for August 31 to find out if Metroid: Other M  has the staying-power to make some noise for Wii-owners.

Believe it or not guys, Guitar Hero games are still coming out. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is set to release September 28 and go head-to-head against Rock Band 3 this holiday. Today we get a look at the entire ninety-three song setlist for the game.

The setlist includes tracks from Muse, Black Sabbath, Creedance Clearwater Revival and Linkin Park (they're everywhere!). Not only is it the largest setlist for the series, but it just might be the most diverse as well.

Check out the full list after the break and let us know which (if any) music game you'll be picking up this holiday.

Many hearts were crushed when Valve announced that Portal 2 would release in 2011 and not during this year as originally expected. Today we get word that we won't have to wait too long in 2011 to get our hands on the anticipated sequel. Portal 2 will be releasing on February 9, 2011 for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

It is rare for Valve to put a solid release date on any of their titles. Hopefully this date ends up being concrete and the game doesn't enter the vortex of Valve Time once again. Expect to learn more details about the game on this Friday's episode of Game Trailers TV with Geoff Keighley.