This week American McGee's Grimm retells the story (in Grimm's special way) of the anthropomorphic Puss in Boots. The episode is free for everyone the first 24 hours after release and will be available only to GameTap subscribers after that time.

• Grimm: Puss In Boots (Windows) - Cats are evil and Puss is no exception. Dogs rule!
  
• Patrician III (Windows) - How to describe ... how to describe? Oh, it's like playing "Medieval Tycoon."

There are no new additions to GameTap's free games lineup this week. As always, though, the full list of free-to-play titles can be found after the break.

Konami announced today that Silent Hill: Homecoming will release on PC, in addition to PS3 and Xbox 360. The press release states the game "will be available as a digital download" through Steam and doesn't mention anything about retail.

Meanwhile, there's a report by Darkzero out of Leipzig that the game's release has been delayed from September to November. The press release for the PC announcement, however, still states Homecoming is "expected to launch" in September. We've reached out to Konami to clarify the release date and PC details and will update as soon as we hear something.

American McGee would be so proud. Konami has announced a new upcoming third-person action title called Lords of Shadow, which the company's European arm describes as "a dark fairy tale" in development for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. First announced during Leipzig's Games Convention, the game will be set in Europe during the Middle Ages, and promises to tell the story of "one man's journey to discover the true meaning of sacrifice amidst murder and betrayal." Honestly, this sounds more like fodder for daytime soap to us.

Being handled by Jericho developer Mercury Steam, the project is likely the result of a partnership between the two companies announced last March, at which time Konami called the game "a major part" of its release schedule for 2009-10. Konami has now narrowed that window a bit, confirming plans to have Lords of Shadow on retail shelves sometime in 2010.

In the midst of the Leipzig Games Convention, Microsoft has issued a statement (via IGN) about the much-ballyhooed and long-delayed Grand Theft Auto IV downloadable content. Said Microsoft, "In autumn there will be news from Liberty City; the first episodes of GTA IV will be available for download exclusively on Xbox LIVE, underlining Xbox 360's leadership role in the field of digital entertainment."

While we're fairly certain "news from Liberty City" is indicative of an Autumn launch, the "news" could just be a more confirmed release date for later this year. Take-Two previously noted that the DLC is expected in Fiscal Q109 (between November 1, 2008, and January 31, 2009). We've put in a call to Microsoft for clarification, who may or may not be too busy booking tickets to San Andreas. Update: Heard from Microsoft who confirm that the exclusive DLC itself is coming this Fall.

Well, consider us intrigued. From the creators of Indigo Prophecy (aka Fahrenheit) comes Heavy Rain, an atmospheric new adventure exclusively for the PlayStation 3. This in-game footage, first unveiled at Leipzig's Games Convention, depicts our finely rendered female protagonist investigating a distinctly unsettling house. Be sure to keep watching until the stunning scene at the end, where she bursts out the door and screams to the heavens, "Gotcha, suckas!"

We're sure to learn much, much more as we draw closer to Heavy Rain's forecast 2009 release.

It's been almost ten years since we first saw Too Human at E3 1999, at that point reportedly a 4-disc action adventure for the original PlayStation. In that time, the game has jumped to GameCube and then to Xbox 360, re-emerged as a slideshow, became overshadowed by a lawsuit, and later became the most downloaded action demo on Xbox Live in its first week.

So, after all the hype and controversy, how does the final game fare? Judging by the reviews, it's certainly not a knockout title, with the general consensus being that it aims for the stars and misses the mark. One thing is for sure: If you like seeking out loot, then Too Human is definitely for you.

• GamePro (4/5) "Here's an Xbox 360 exclusive that proudly wears its lofty ambitions on its sleeves, and yet sometimes seems bent on self-sabotage. That it's so relentlessly addictive despite its aggravations is something of a minor miracle."
• IGN (78/100) "What's been delivered in the end is a good game that ultimately falls just short of its promise due to a few questionable design decisions. One thing is for sure, though. If you love collecting random loot drops, you'll find a lot to like here."
• Giant Bomb (3/5) "If you have an insatiable lust for items with higher stats than the ones you're currently using, or if you get giddy at the mere thought of Diablo-style rare item naming conventions, you'll probably be able to look past the game's issues and have a good time. But even at its best, it's hard to ignore Too Human's monotonous combat and dated approach to cooperative play."
  
• GameSpot (55/100): "Too Human is a game of false starts and unrealized potential that infiltrate almost every aspect of the game, from story, to combat, to balance. Its elements feel stitched together, making for a patchwork quilt of a game that's fraying at the seams."
• 1UP (C-) "At the very least, the cyber-Norse concept of Too Human is a good one that's worth exploring further, just not in this context. The game is simply schizophrenic; it attempts to be all things to all people and never succeeds in executing any of them well. The end result is in dire need of polish and focus, and that doesn't solely apply to gameplay mechanics. There's absolutely no reason why a game released in 2008 should have a bug where characters can fall through solid ground and into some pseudoabyss."
  

Well, of course it does. Ubisoft didn't get where it is today by throwing popular franchises like Splinter Cell away after a single use (although our neck-snapping pal Sam seems to have been misplaced recently), and you can be sure that the upcoming disaster survival adventure ... thing, I Am Alive, will be no different. "We hope it can be another strong franchise for our portfolio, alongside Prince Of Persia or Rayman Rabbids," the publisher's executive director, Alain Corre, told MCV. "It's a new baby for us – and we have big hopes."

Provided it's raised properly and doesn't turn into a snot-nosed brat who sticks Legos up his nose and puts his Altair action figures in the microwave, this baby could be the best kind of disaster to befall any company. Of course, we should probably wait until we've played the first one before we sign off on "I Am Still Alive," and "Seriously, Stop Trying to Kill Me You Stupid Planet."

The new flesh-and-blood Lara? Pretty. Cool. But it's the texture-and-polygon one in Tomb Raider: Underworld – the proper, next-gen sequel to the series-reviving Tomb Raider: Legend – that we're really excited about. This first full gameplay trailer for Underworld is a jaw-dropper, showcasing ruins in a new locale (Thailand) and offering quick glimpses of action in other parts of the world (and underworld).

We're pretty sure we see the first location from the game to be revealed – rain-drenched Mayan ruins – and a tease at a return of the nefarious bad-girl, Natla, from Tomb Raider: Anniversary in there. Also: giant spiders, giant octopus, and giant statues of Norse Gods, the mythology of which (Thor's hammer, in particular) factors heavily in the game's plot as Lara continues her quest to find Avalon.

To coincide with the video reveal of Tomb Raider: Underworld's Thai locale, Eidos has released a new batch of screens showcasing the level's sheer jungle-y, ruin-y, tiger-y splendor. Check them out in our updated gallery below.

When a tipster wrote in to say that Remedy, the studio behind oft-delayed Alan Wake was updating on the game's progress on company message boards, we were understandably excited, until we saw the message from Remedy CFO Mika Reini, which is basically the equivalent of David Blaine waving from inside his hydro-chamber to let people know that he is not, in fact, dead.

"We feel we owe you all a small heads up, and our apologies for lack of updates," he writes. "Seriously, yes, we're still here and working hard on getting Alan Wake for you to enjoy. Sure, we've been in development for a long time and if everything had gone perfectly smoothly there probably would be a game out for you guys to play already. But designing a completely new game can be hard, and sometimes you need to take a detour to find the best route forward. ... I'm sure you will enjoy Alan Wake when we're done."

We're sure we'll enjoy it too, Mika. We can't promise that we won't need our grandkids to explain the Xbox 1440's neuro-controls, but we're sure that beyond that it'll just be a hoot.

[Thanks, Alan]

Fans of J.K. Rowling's uber-successful series of wizardly novels received some heartbreaking news Friday -- the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been delayed from its initial release date of November 21, 2008 to a distant July 17, 2009. Electronic Arts has yet to announce how this major delay will affect the release window of their similarly titled video game adaptation of the film/book, though many gaming industry analysts, such as Signal Hill's Todd Greenwald, are predicting that EA will follow suit, with hopes that the film will whip up a Half-Blood frenzy that will boost sales of the game.

The repercussions of a Potter game delay could be bad for Electronic Arts, as both their holiday profits and fiscal 2009 revenue could take a hit without the title -- however, it could mean good news for those waiting on a truly stellar Harry Potter video game. Greenwald claims the title is "pretty much done and ready", meaning a delay would give EA an extra eight months to perfect the movie tie-in. We'll let you know what EA decides to do once they make an official statement.

Sony has reiterated that there are no plans to bring Siren: Blood Curse to Blu-ray in North America. MTV Multiplayer was told by a company rep that "at this time" the intent is to have disc-based versions of the game available only in Europe and Asia. Considering there's no region lock on PS3 games, there's always the option of importing.

As with all "at this time" statements, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Considering the full game of Siren is a 9 gigglebyte download on the PSN, patience will have to be practiced whatever way North American consumers want to purchase the title.

[Via PS3 Fanboy]

Eidos has made Batman: Arkham Asylum all official, confirming the earlier revealed Rocksteady Studios-developed trip to Gotham City. Calling the game a "haunting, action detective game," Eidos notes that it and Warner Bros. will publish the action adventure title globally for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC in 2009.

According to Eidos, the game's story, penned by Batman Beyond's Paul Dini, will center on a trap set by Arkham Asylum inmates for Batman as he delivers Joker to the infamous prison. While much of the thunder of Eidos' announcement was taken by the dynamic duo of Game Informer and NeoGAF yesterday, Warner Bros. Interactive president Martin Tremblay calls the game both "graphically distinct" and "incredibly dark," as players hunt down and do battle with Gotham's worst. We look forward to additional details about Batman: Arkham Asylum as they become available, and have tossed a batarang in Eidos' direction for more.

Jonathan Blow's masterwork, Braid, has quickly become the water-colored poster child for indie game development. However, while both critics and players alike have been singing the game's praises since it was released a week ago, there are some things that Blow wishes would have turned out differently. Specifically the XBLA demo, which he originally wanted to represent a larger portion of the full game, a bubble that Microsoft was only too happy to burst.

"There was one little issue at the very end of development when [Microsoft] wanted me to make the trial version shorter than it was," recalled Blow in an interview with SavyGamer, adding belief that "it's ok to give people a significant portion of the game because if they like it, they'll want to play the rest." Nevertheless, this apparently didn't jibe with Braid's publishing overlords, as Blow noted that he and Microsoft argued back and forth over the demo's length before settling on the teaser we have today. So, tell us, was the result enough to make your virtual wallet 1200 MS points lighter?

While the rumored "Bat Theft Auto" Pandemic title may still prove true, we now have definite news of a new Batman game in the works care of Game Informer. Batman: Arkham Asylum is being developed by Rocksteady Studios (Urban Chaos Riot Response) and Eidos. According to Game Informer's online teaser, the Joker will be the main villain in the story of a prison break gone awry, written by Paul Dini (Justice League, Batman Beyond).

Additionally, a 10-digit countdown can be seen on Rocksteady's site. Our math is a little fuzzy, but it's going to take approximately "a good while" (i.e. over 2 years) to reach zero.

Update: Some details reportedly from GI have been posted on NeoGAF (read: we can't confirm any of this at the moment). The Unreal Engine 3-powered game is going for a gritty, Chronicles of Riddick-esque feel. DC Comics' Wildstorm is crafting the characters' look. Some villains in the game include Joker, Harley Quinn, Killer Croc, Penguin, Riddler, Scarecrow and more. According to the post, Arkham Asylum is projected for a 2009 release on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 and is not being rushed to tie into any TV or film marketing cycles.