Free Stuff Friday - Red Dead Redemption and ModNation Racers

We're slowly getting the site back up and running, and as a show of faith to the busy gamer community we're going to try reinstating Free Stuff Friday (which, as far as we know, we originated!).
However, we're going to have fewer drawings - just once a month for now, which does give you plenty of time to enter and help spread the word about what we're doing.
This month, we're featuring two A-list games:
- Red Dead Redemption for Xbox 360 puts you into the Old West, Rockstar Games-style. Lots of shoot-'em-up missions and a deep multiplayer mode!
- ModNation Racers for PS3 comes with a full single-player campaign, online play and the option to create your own tracks and karts. It's a family friendly title, but with enough depth and craftsmanship to engage a grown-up gamer.
If you're wondering what we've been up to: We're working on another Busy Gamer Podcast and, as you may have seen, we've launched forums and a new format for the site that is both community driven and issue oriented. Have something to say that's interesting or useful to your fellow busy gamers? There's a good chance we'll use it in a post!
Here's how to enter and boost your odds one or both prizes (up to 4 chances to win!):
- Enter a comment here, as usual. That's all you really NEED to do. BE SURE TO SAY WHICH PRIZE(S) YOU ARE PLAYING FOR.
- Tweet the following on Twitter: Win Red Dead Redemption and ModNation Racers at BusyGamerNews.com, now community sourced! RT + Enter here: http://bit.ly/wnXkAx #bgnfsf
- Review (or re-review) our Busy Gamer Podcast on iTunes.
- Review (or re-review) the Best of Busy Gamer Podcast on iTunes. This is a short audio highlights feed with our reviews, audio tours and other timeless bits!
If you do 2, 3 and/or 4, you do need to let us know your Twitter/iTunes name(s) in your comment so we can find, verify and include your bonus entries in the drawing and match them up to contact you if one of them wins.
If we can't confirm the bonus entry and easily tell who you are on Twitter and/or iTunes, the bonus entry is disqualified. If you tweet vigorously (more than 5 times a day on average), include the direct link to your tweet and don't delete it!
You DO have to enter a comment here and follow the other rules to be eligible:
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Fate. It feels like... Resonance of Fate.
This week, Kirby's Return to Dream Land arrived for the Wii. And the reviews are decidedly... lukewarm. Fortunately for you, there's a superior Kirby game for Wii - and we're giving it away this week!
If you're a fan of 2D fighting games and you don't have BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, for Xbox 360, well, we might just have the cure.

We've been collecting codes that we're not likely to use for some time now, but we thought our community could put them to excellent use! 
We're kicking it old school this week. How old? Well, we can remember when these games were new and even saved up our allowance to buy some of them!
Sorry this posted later than usual, we've been extremely busy with work and a game industry TV pilot for a screenwriting contest! But we think this little treat is worth the wait.
C'mon, you know you want to play it. 
With Gears of War 3 hitting right around the corner, we thought we'd offer a choice:
Did you miss out on last week's Super Epic Swag Bag? Don't worry, we have more! This week's bag has some of the same items - and a few that are different.
This year, we actually have too much PAX Prime swag to list it all. So we'll post the highlights and try to fill in some of the details - and maybe add some more 


In honor of PAX Prime, we're having a little console battle:
This week, we're going back to the beach with Dead or Alive Xtreme 2. We actually gave this title away once before, back in March 2009. But only one of you won, and there are so many more active members in the busy gamer community these days. So here's another chance!
Plus we made donations on your behalf to Child's Play and EFF.
If you played the original Dead to Rights on previous generation consoles or PC, it was, sadly, kind of a mess.
You Don't Know Jack is simply the best trivia game, ever. It's funny and great fun!We played it in its original incarnation back in the mid-'90s with our Apple/Mac user group friends in New Jersey and were thrilled to see it resurrected in 2011 in an even more delightful form.
If you're a fan of PC shooters, this could be your week. We have a copy of Bulletstorm Limited Edition for PC, which is a great single-player and multiplayer online first-person shooter with a number of bonuses: a custom leash used to grab your enemies and throw them into the path of your weapon fire, exclusive skins and even a signing bonus in the form of experience.
It's been awhile since we gave away Nintendo DS games, and this being a special week for us (our anniversary!), we thought we'd double the prizes:
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is only the best game of 2010 you didn't play. All you need is a PS3 and a little luck, and this will be your chance!
Arguably the best Simpsons game to date (at least in the non-beat-'em-up category), The Simpsons: Hit & Run blends the action of a Grand Theft Auto sandbox game with writing and voice talent from the still popular show. You play as various characters, drive a number of vehicles, find hidden collectibles, battle robot wasps and play through a storyline worthy of the TV series.
If you're a fan of survival horror and/or first-person shooters, here's one you might have missed: F.E.A.R. Files for Xbox 360.
In the beginning, there was Fallout: a gritty post-apocalyptic turn-based role-playing game. And it was so successful, it spawned a sequel. Which you can win, if you're lucky!
If there's a sandbox action title you haven't played, odds are The Saboteur is the one. And that's a shame, because it's actually a pretty great game. Set in Paris during World War II, you play an Irish munitions expert who helps out La Resistance by... blowing a lot of stuff up. And hanging out in brothels. But mostly blowing stuff up.

If you're a Rock Band fan who's never tried Harmonix' single artist titles, here's your chance. 
To celebrate the recent release of The Witcher 2, we have the game that started it all (in its perfected form): The Witcher Enhanced Edition, complete with improved animations, models, translations, load times and inventory system. The game is a favorite among fans of RPGs that offer depth, moral choices and adult content.
It's our own little Welcome Back package for PSN! To celebrate the return of PlayStation Network this week (and the imminent return of the PlayStation Store on Tuesday), we have a set of prizes for the Sony fans, who - truth be told - have had to endure a lot lately. We won't rehash the details, but we think we have a small part of the antidote.



The Gears of War 3 beta ends Sunday, May 15, so there's not much time left. Most people who want to play already have, but we know there are some stragglers and players who want to add their buddies.
So this is the reality of who we are as a community: gamers who love to play, be it the hardcore action of Bionic Commando or the more casual calorie-burning fun of Just Dance.
Music is important to gaming, and it's something we take seriously here at Busy Gamer News. For one thing, it's a great way to enjoy your favorite games when you're just too busy to actually play them!
We have a treat for console gamers who have put off their return to Rapture. 
This could be your lucky day! The good folks at Ska Studios gave us a review code for The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile, the Xbox Live Arcade sequel to the popular Dead Samurai. Alas, we just don't have the time to review it, so we asked if we might give it to a deserving (or at least exceeding lucky!) member of the Busy Gamer community.
If you didn't pick up a Nintendo 3DS at launch, here's a little treat to tide you over until the price comes down and/or the battery life goes up: WarioWare D.I.Y. 



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Of all of the Grand Theft Auto sandbox game knockoffs, the Saints Row series is arguably the most involved - if not the best.
In our newly minted
The Far Cry series has had its ups and downs, particulary on the consoles, but Far Cry 2 is one of the bright spots.
With fighting fans devouring Marvel vs. Capcom 3 this week, we thought we'd go back to the genre's roots with Fatal Fury Battle Archives Vol. 2, which contains the three arguably best games in this 2D fighting series:
This week, we bid a fond farewell to the Guitar Hero franchise. Sure, it might be back someday - rebuilt, better than it was before - but for now we have to presume the worst (R.I.P.) and be pleasantly surprised if Activision eventually resurrects the series.


It's been awhile since we've done casual games (a busy gamer staple!) and at least one of them would make a nice Valentine's gift. Probably both:
This is a real treat, arguably the best game of the last TWO console generations: Resident Evil 4.
If you've been living with a cramped 20GB hard drive on your Xbox 360 (or even an overpacked 120GB drive), there's hope. We have a 250GB external hard drive up for grabs! No, it won't fit the new "Slim" model and it is used (for about a year) so you won't get the thrill (or risk!) of tearing it from the plastic packaging. 
To ring in the New Year, we have two great prizes for our community of busy gamers:

For our last giveaway of 2010, we have a three-fer. Choose your prize or play for all three:
Looking for another game to play this holiday, or an unexpected gift for the gamer in your life?
This week, we're going to attend the 7th Annual Child's Play Charity Auction where we hope to win our third PopCap Pack! But in case we don't (our budget is tight this year) we thought we'd put together our own little pack with one of our all-time favorite PopCap games and rare goodies we picked up from last year's charity win.
In honor of Black Friday, we have an A-list game for one lucky winner: Crackdown 2 for Xbox 360, still sealed. A prize worthy of a holiday gift, if not for yourself then enter on behalf of the action gamer in your life! Pacific City has seen better days; there are zombies to run over and orbs to collect - including some that run away from you!
If you do 2, 3 and/or 4 (and why wouldn't you?), you do need to let us know your Twitter/iTunes name(s) in your comment so we can find, verify and include your bonus entries in the drawing and match them up to contact you if one of them wins. 

It's been awhile since we've shown the Nintendo DS some attention, and what better way to get you warmed up for Black Friday?
If you missed Free Stuff Friday last week, we have some good news. You still have time to enter to win the "must have" Kinect launch title Dance Central from Harmonix.
This week marked the 10-year anniversary of the PlayStation 2, and to celebrate we have a trio of classic PS2 games for you to win!
This week, we have a spooky offering for Halloween, the survival horror game Dead Space for PC. If you haven't played it, it's like Aliens only 10 times creepier!
This week we have not one but two copies of Comic Jumper for Xbox Live Arcade, freshly reviewed in Busy Gamer Podcast 51 (watch for our print review next week!). The game is typical Twisted Pixel: offbeat story and humor and some hilarious music (which we also featured in the
In honor of the Just Dance 2 release, the one year anniversary of our Busy Gamer Podcast and the generous donation of these cool prizes from community member
If you're a fan of racing games and you haven't played Blur, you're missing out. In fact, you might even enjoy it if you aren't into racing games. It's sort of like Mario Kart, but with a grown up twist. And the online multiplayer is off-the-hook good.
Puzzle Quest is one of our all-time favorite games, and the Puzzle Quest: Galactrix sequel - while not perfect - has a lot of interesting twists! If nothing else, you have to appreciate the ambition of reinventing the popular gem-matching RPG in space and with diagonal flow mechanics. Shields, mining, warp gates and an array of ships to unlock add to the strategy and the game's surprising depth.
To mark the launch of the last Bungie Halo game, we've dug out a few relics to pass along:
What to do while the PlayStation Network is down for maintenance? Why not play for some PSP codes you can redeem when it's back (approx. 5 p.m Pacfici)?! We'll pick random winners from among everyone who enters by 5 p.m Pacific today (say whether you're playing for a specific code or both!):
You thought our PAX Prime giveaways were over? We still have a few awesome goodies left to share. Choose from one of three prize packs this week, or play for all three:
With Halo: Reach nearly upon is, we wanted to share the virtual wealth we gained at PAX Prime: We have four more Noble 6 Avatar Helmet codes to send your way! We'll pick random winners from among everyone who enters by 5p Pacific today. Want to double your chances to win? After you enter your comment here (with your Twitter name so we can match up your entry!), tweet this:

To celebrate our 7th Penny Arcade Expo - and all of the great coverage we're planning to deliver including podcast interviews! - we have 3 great games to give away. Not to mention the promise of epic swag in coming weeks!





As a heartfelt thanks for all of the deep community participation in last week's giveaway, including a record number of Twitter and iTunes podcast review bonus entries, we have 4 games on 4 different platforms to share with one or more lucky winners:

Thanks to the avid participation in last week's giveaway (including record-setting Twitter entries though sadly no podcast reviews), we're giving away Onechanbara Bikini Zombie Slayers for Wii.
With so many bad movie adaptations out there, particularly of videogames, it's refreshing to find some good ones. And when we do, we share! 
We recently stumbled across some great, hard-to-find hardcover art books for some A-list games.
If the last few years have proven anything, it's that puzzle games have gone mainstream. Whether you consider yourself core or casual, they're just fun! (And possibly a form of art, if you're not Roger Ebert.) Best of all, they're easy to pick up and play at those times when you can't commit to a longer gaming session.
This week, we have a choice for PC gamers. Do you want a $10 Aeria Fun Card (donated by the most generous
Based on the visits to our E3 coverage this week, we found that the Busy Gamer Community is pretty evenly split in its interest in the future of Xbox 360 and Wii.
With this week's big announcement that MotorStorm Apocalypse is on the way (someday!), we thought: What better way to celebrate than by going back to Monument Valley and the original MotorStorm for PlayStation 3. Also, we don't have nearly enough PS3 game giveaways, right?!
This week we have another pick and win, this time for a game guide.
If you're sad to see the Lost TV series finally end, you've played through the Drive Shaft song on Rock Band 2 a dozen times already (the whole time sobbing about "CHAH-LEE") and think it's the end of the road until the final season releases on DVD - well, you're wrong.
If you missed out on
With a major western shooter dropping from Rockstar this week, we thought back to one of early Xbox 360 experiences: Gun. This is a solid third-person sandbox shooter with fun missions, side quests and a good story - it can tide you over until that other game drops in price or help you extend the experience! _1.png)
OK, so we're a niche site in search of a hard-to-find audience (busy gamers who are too busy to find our site!). 
To celebrate, nay, honor the end of Lost we have the first two seasons of the show (arguably the best!) on DVD (playable on your Mac, PC, PS3 or Xbox 360!). You can win one or, if you name comes up twice thanks to the magic of bonus entries (see below), maybe even both seasons!
OK, here's an even bigger prize (also not a surprise to those avid
If you listened to this week's
This week, we have something for the old-school PlayStation 2 crowd and PS3ers with older systems that support backward compatibility.
To celebrate the 6-month anniversary of the
This week's giveaway is Jericho, a supernatural first-person shooter with a twist.
This week's giveaway is another Pick and Win. Do you want to think, or just smash stuff?
We have one more Instant Win giveaway this week. It only seems appropriate with our
Here's another Instant Win giveaway: the Hello Kitty Online game distributed at Penny Arcade Expo 2009. We have two copies thanks to
Here's another Instant Win giveaway courtesy of
With God of War III coming out this week and dominating PS3 gamers, we thought we'd offer a choice. An out-of-print God of War II Limited Edition Guide and Art Book we've been saving for the occasion, or - if you just don't have a PS3 and could care less about the series, wear it proud by playing for The Art of Warcraft.
We're long overdue for an Instant Win, and we're going to change things up a little from past giveaways of this type. So if you won last time, you'll still be eligible for the next!
OK, so this might just be the dorkiest game we've ever given away.
In honor of the launch of Star Trek Online, we have - no, not Star Trek Online. (Though we hear it's awesome!) Perhaps the next best thing, if you're a comic book fan: The complete Star Trek Movie Comic Book Collection on CD-ROM for Mac and PC.
This week, we have something for fans of the Americanized version of The Office series.
We've grappled with the best way to give away the fluffy PopCap Chuzzles we're now swimming in. First we thought Instant Win! Then maybe a Twitter giveaway! Then we thought we might do a combination (tweet and post!)
We've been hearing much buzz about a certain hack-and-slash RPG that's pretty good (and that even I had to nab when it dropped to $5 last week), but it's no Dungeon Siege.


There's one more item we received in our Ubisoft bundle that we don't have much need for: the Tom Clancy's EndWar novel by David Michaels. Actually, from what we've learned through some sleuthing on the Interwebz, Michaels is a pseudonym that obscures the identity of the real author: Grant Blackwood, best known for his Briggs Tanner series of military thrillers.
This week's giveaway is a special holiday gift valued at $55 - at least that's the cheapest we could find it for. We won it at the