[Update: The demo is now available on Steam]

The Just Cause 2 demo is now available on both the PSN and XBL stores, clocking in at just over 1gb. Just Cause 2 is the next installment in the Just Cause series which features a large open-world island where you will be tasked with various objectives but are free to go at your own pace and explore at your own leisure. The game extends realism quite a bit, allowing you to wreck havoc in almost anyway thinkable (flying a plane into a military base and eject at the last second). You can queue it up for download on your Xbox 360 with this link if you want to speed up the process.

Feel free to share your experience with the demo in our comments; I'm interested to see what everyone th inks of this game, the first one didn't receive much attention although I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Edios just tweeted today that a Just Cause 2 demo will be coming soon (no platform details). No other details have been given at this point but they said more details will “follow soon”. When those details do come we will update this post.

Just Cause 2, a third-person sandbox action game, was originally planned for a 2008 Christmas debut but was pushed back several times, finally settling on March 23rd of this year. It maintains the similar, fast-pace action of the first game while introducing new game elements, weapons and vehicles (including a helicopter!).

Eidos Tweet [Twitter]

Just Cause 2 is shaping up to be a truly fun game. We’ve already been treated to several gameplay videos displaying some of the awesomely ridiculous things you can do with the grappling hook and stunt parachute, but the Swedish developers over at Avalanche Studios have been kind enough to show us, in a new Developer’s Diary video, the type of destruction that is capable with a little bit of creativity, and a few high-speed vehicle pursuits.

From the video, developer Andreas Nilsson explains “It’s not realistic, we don’t want it to be realistic, it’s more like the laws of physics on drugs. Really, really, really fast-paced action,” and from watching the clips, he really isn’t kidding. Rico can be seen jumping from roof to roof of two vehicles driving at very high speeds, while planting C4 on another giving you the chance to witness some spectacular car crashes.

This is becoming a very promising title for 2010, and it’s already looking like a day 1 purchase for me. So if you want to view a teaser for this upcoming sandbox sequel, check the following video.

Just what happens when a multi-million dollar company nears bankruptcy? As hard as this is to believe Squaresoft - creators of megahit Final Fantasy - weren't always as successful in the games industry as they are to date. In fact, they - like many other companies out there - were faced with financial trouble due to a lot of failed projects. Join me as we journey into the depths of this company's history and explore the dark and light side of their rise to success.

The Past Origins and the Rise of Squaresoft

Squaresoft was formed by Masafumi Miyamoto in Japan back in 1983. Their first great hit was Final Fantasy, which eventually put the company on the map while their first major IP (intellectual property), Death Trap, never did achieve the same amount of success, but can still be regarded as a cult favorite for those looking into Squaresoft's history.

The game that shot Squaresoft into greatness

Before Hironobu Sakaguchi worked on the popular Final Fantasy series, he was involved in several of Squaresoft's first projects. Final Fantasy I, the first in a large series of games, was supposed to be Sakaguchi's last project for Squaresoft. The importance of his last project was indicative in the actual name of the series as it was meant to be Squaresoft's Holy Grail; their last-ditch effort to save their entire company from financial ruin.

As fate would have it, the game was so successful that Sakaguchi kept designing Final Fantasy games until Final Fantasy V: the famed story of Bartz and Exdeath. After Final Fantasy V designing passed from Sakaguchi to Yoshinori Kitase. Sakaguchi, however, was not finished with the company and served as the Director until 2001. After which, he left to form "Mistwalker Corporation" - his own personal company - and continue his work on the RPG genre working mainly for Microsoft and its Xbox 360 delivering games like Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey.

By creating the Final Fantasy series, Squaresoft revolutionized the then stagnant Japanese RPG genre, bringing much-needed innovation, and above all else, great storytelling. On a personal note, of the first five games my favorite is Final Fantasy II. The unique leveling system of Final Fantasy II is something that really sets it apart of all other Final Fantasy games, bringing personalisation never before seen at the time. Simply put, in Final Fantasy II, there are no classes and every one of your party members in proficient with any type of armor/weapon. It is up to the player to decide what they want a specific party member to be: if you want one of them to be a fierce warrior, equip him/her with weapon and armor and as battle progresses their proficiencies will go up. This gives you ample space to mold your party as you see fit. Quite revolutionary for the time, but today it's still not accepted as an effective way to level. Fortunately, rather than resting on their successes with the first two Final Fantasy games, Squaresoft went on to shine even brighter with their following four installments of the series, showing what Squaresoft really could and did bring to the RPG table.

Steam is running a sweet deal on three of Eidos’ Hitman titles, putting the entire pack on offer for $9.99, a savings of 50 percent. Technically, it’s not a complete collection, seeing as Hitman Contracts is missing from the store, but still a great deal nonetheless.

Makes us wonder when Agent 47 will return on hire. Last we heard, a fifth Hitman installment is in the works, but little is known beyond that.

Hitman Collection Discounted By 50 Percent On Steam - [eXophase.com]

The Japanese branch of Square Enix is planning to cut somewhere between 200-300 jobs if internet reports ring true. There’s no concrete word on why the purported layoffs are taking place but considering the industry as a whole hasn’t been doing so hot in Japan as of late means a bout of corporate reshuffling may be in order. Not to mention, the recent merge with Eidos is another factor that could have instigated things.

There is also the possibility of this affecting companies under the Square Enix umbrella, such as Taito.

More as it breaks.

Square Enix Japan To Cut 200 to 300 Jobs [Kotaku]

Square Enix To Cut 300 Jobs In Japan - [eXophase.com]

By way of a scrolling news ticker on the PlayStation 3 version of Batman: Arkham Asylum, it has been revealed that free DLC is due out on September 17. When asked if this content is exclusive or will be made available on all supported platforms, an Eidos spokesperson replied, noting that “I’m happy to inform you, it will arrive at the same time. ”

There’s still no official word on what sort of content will be included, but this is especially good news for those who have held out for the PC release, which is scheduled to hit retailers September 15. Usually, PC gamers are the last on the receiving end. Thankfully, that trend will not continue with Arkham Asylum.

Free Arkham Asylum DLC Hitting Multiple Platforms September 17 - [eXophase.com]

Following its acquisition of Tomb Raider creator Eidos, Square Enix announced today that it is retiring the Eidos publishing brand, replacing it with the tentatively titled moniker of Square Enix Europe.

Led by Phil Rogers, formerly CEO of Eidos, Square Enix Europe will head up the company’s European publishing operations going forward. This shift in publishing policy is also taking affect on the North American side of business, with Square Enix taking control of all Eidos-related marketing efforts.

As a result, the Eidos brand name will be recognized solely as a development division from now on, instead of a publisher. This gives Square Enix the benefit of being directly associated with hit franchises such as Tomb Raider while keeping the Eidos brand intact.

The move makes sense and will result in a greater sense of uniformity between the two entities. Unfortunately, it is also expected to result in a loss of jobs in both the North American and European divisions. Square Enix told trade site MCV it is making an effort to secure as many jobs as possible and “offer support and advice to any employees directly affected.”

Eidos Dropped As Publishing Label, Square Enix Europe Named Replacement - [eXophase.com]

Crystal Dynamics, the developer responsible for giving birth to the Tomb Raider franchise, is feeling the pinch of the economic crisis. In a restructuring effort, parent company Eidos confirmed today that 25 employees have been let go at its San Francisco-based location. A spokesperson sheds light on the redundancies:

We can confirm that Crystal Dynamics has made a reduction of approximately 25 people at the San Francisco studio. This decision is a reflection of the continued drive to focus resources at the studio. We would like to thank all of the employees affected by this difficult decision for their hard work during their time at Crystal and we wish them all the best in the future.

Shame. As always, good luck to everyone affected. What this reduction in workforce might mean for the next Tomb Raider title, which is rumored to be handled by Crystal, is unknown at this point.

After initially being promised way back in February, Eidos representative Keir Edmonds has confirmed today that the Tomb Raider Underworld PS3 patch will be released worldwide on May 28, adding an assortment of trophies and miscellaneous bug fixes.

Sorry for the delay and thank you very much to those who were able to wait patiently, it’s really appreciated and I hope you get some great Raiding out of it.

Better late than never, right?