Old Snake, domestic partners Ratchet & Clank, glam goth Nero and others will be offered up as PS3 "Greatest Hits" for $30 starting June 16. This will be the second round of discounted best-selling software for the console, as the first batch hit at around the same time last year. The latest additions include:

• Army of Two
• Battlefield Bad Company
• Devil May Cry 4
• Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
• Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

With almost all those titles (maybe) prepping for sequels in the near future, if you haven't checked them out, there's some quality in the offerings.

It took 45 minutes to peel myself out of the chair, ears ringing, and come back into the space where EA was hosting a recent preview event in Los Angeles. I'd finally pried myself away from an intense Battlefield: Bad Company 2 multiplayer session where I'd joined three other attendees and eight remote EA staffers in a characteristically chaotic, 12-on-12 battle. It was the most fun I'd had playing an online, multiplayer FPS in a long while.

The destructible environments, of course, are the returning gameplay gimmick, but it's still just as satisfying as in the first game to pulverize the foundation of a enemy's refuge, bringing the building down and a pesky sniper with it. I turned every building in site into piles of sheet rock and debris. It's not as much fun when your opponents aren't hiding inside, but I really didn't need much of an excuse to launch another mortar shell from inside my tank. No structure was safe.

This one's just about as confusing as it gets, folks, but here goes nothing. Microsoft is repackaging eight of its titles under a new moniker: "Greatness is Earned." Though these titles still fall into the Platinum Hits category (and as such, are priced at $19.99 and up), a number of them are receiving the treatment for the first time. And this is where things get confusing: We've seen the "Greatness is Earned" logo before, nearly a month ago now, on the repackaged Gears of War (Platinum Hits edition, mind you) seen above. At the time, Microsoft wouldn't comment on the images.

Considering Viva Piñata and EA Sports Fight Night Round 3 are among them, we're doubting (and hoping) they won't all get the dark and brooding look. We've listed all eight titles after the break in for your perusal. We'd also like to point out that, while snooping around the Microsoft press site for images of these games, we noticed Halo 3 "Classics" in the "Upcoming Games" category -- the same note found next to all other Platinum Hits games. Interesting, hmm?

Update: We've replaced the image above with shots of the new "Greatness is Earned" pack shots of Gears of War, Forza 2 and Mass Effect. For giant shots, peep the gallery below!

Listen up, fans of slow elevators and shooting everyone in sight. EA's recent financial earnings call divulged information indicating the publisher is readying sequels to BioWare's sci-fi RPG, Mass Effect, and DICE's multiplayer-driven FPS, Battlefield: Bad Company. There isn't that much else to report, other than EA CEO John Riccitiello saying that Mass Effect 2 would be available on "multiple platforms" and Bad Company would be "back on consoles" in Q4 of fiscal year 2010, which translates into normal people speak as sometime between January and March 2010.

We'll try to corner more information on these two titles and update as soon as we can.

Update: First screen of Bad Company 2 released.

The 265MB Bad Company Community's Choice Pack features two DICE chosen maps (Crossing Over and Ghost Town) as well as the two community chosen maps Acta Non Verba and Par for the Course which actually includes golf carts that you can drive around in. Make the jump for a video preview of each map and get downloading. You know, because it's free and you probably have a urge to go golf cart cruising.

[Thanks, to everyone who sent this in'

The Battlefield Bad Company trophy patch is now available for download. Simply insert and launch the game disc and follow the on screen instructions. This patch adds quite a large selection of content including bug fixes and those all important Trophies. The update should also contain four new multiplayer maps as voted for by you, the community. Namely: Acta Non Verba, Par For The Course, Ghost Town and Crossing Over. Check out the official website for videos of the four new maps.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

In a move that isn't likely to shock readers of this website, EA's Frank Gibeau recently told Variety that Electronic Arts is planning sequels to Battlefield: Bad Company, and Army of Two. Dead Space executive producer Glenn Schofield also confirmed that a Dead Space sequel is in the works as well. Dead Space fans will also be happy to hear that Dead Space novels and toys are under consideration. We're hoping to see some Necromorphs with limb popping action. No concrete details on any of the sequels, such as when we might expect them, were given.

EA/DICE's FPS game will be patched for Trophies. From the looks of things, these are identical to the Xbox 360's Achievements. Good luck getting the online Trophies -- you're gonna need some dedication for those.

Being one of the biggest publishers in the world has its advantages. One of these advantages, particularly in EA's case, is being able to pull from their catalog of games for extra content. For example, the PS3 version of Dead Space comes with two demos for other EA titles: Burnout Paradise and Battlefield: Bad Company. These demos are accessible from the XMB, where two Blu-ray discs will appear once you insert the Dead Space disc. One for the game itself and the other titled "EA Demos."

These demos need to be installed, but can be run without having the disc in the drive. In other words, it saves you having to download. Not exactly a selling point, but definitely a clever way for EA to leverage their other publishing properties.

IGN reports a veritable cornucopia of news regarding Battlefield: Bad Company. The leaderboards have been expanded to include 500,000 players (up from 50,000), which should give more gamers a chance to see their names up in lights. Also, two of the campaign levels -- Acta Non Verba and Par For The Course -- are being retooled for multiplayer and will be available in an upcoming map pack (no word on when it will release or how much it will cost). Along with the map pack, an update is being prepared that should fix server and Dog Tag lag. Finally, and perhaps most interesting, codes are being given out to unlock three of the five (somewhat controversial) weapons that were only available to those who took part in the game's launch promotions. To unlock the different weapons, simply enter the codes below in the unlock section in Bad Company.

• Recon Kit - QBU88 - your3mynextt4rget
• Special Ops Kit - UZI - cov3r1ngthecorn3r
• Support Kit - M60 - try4ndrunf0rcov3r

The remaining weapons can still be unlocked by checking your stats on the Bad Company website and joining the EA Veteran's Program.

[Thanks, Patrick]

Remember BattleField: Bad Company? Of course you do. Some of you are probably still playing it. If you aren't, then you soon might be because the game is due to get a shot in the arm before too long. After running a contest through which players could decide on which map pack DICE should start working on first, a post has gone up on the official blog to let us know that there will be other content coming when the map pack drops.

There's no indication on when that'll be, or if it'll cost us anything, but the accompanying patch will be free, at least. With this patch DICE are looking to fix several bugs, such as server lag and VOIP issues. There will also be various gameplay tweaks. Not only that, but three weapons, previously only obtainable through pre-ordering, playing the demo or signing up to the newsletter, will be made available to everyone for free. Check out the full list of fixes and tweaks at the official blog.

Finally (saving the best til last) the patch will add trophy support to the game. PS3 gamers are being spoilt by all these free, content patches. Not that we're complaining. We hope to find out when this'll hit soon.

[Thanks Topsu]

Already registered via Xbox Live to vote in November's general election? Here's a different vote to rock: EA is letting players have a say in which two existing Battlefield: Bad Company multiplayer maps will be tweaked to become Conquest battlegrounds when the free Conquest Map Pack deploys this fall.

The six maps are up for vote at EA's Bad Company site, and include Acta Non Verba, Crossing Over, Par for the Course, Ghost Town, Welcome to Bad Company, and Crash and Grab. Developer DICE will pick the two top vote-getters on September 2. The golf course themed Par for the Course is currently way out in front, but, hey, you might change that. DICE is working on two more Conquest maps to join the fan favorites.

By the way, we've checked, and your vote really will count. You know, unlike a certain Spider-Man: Web of Shadows poll Activision conducted last month.

Attention Bad Company fanboys, a brand new mode is now available for your favorite gold grabbing FPS. We're talking about the brand new Conquest mode of course. Calling it brand new isn't exactly accurate though, as Conquest mode is actually the traditional gameplay mode seen in previous Battlefield titles. Taking place on four modified maps, Conquest has players battle to deplete the opposing teams 'tickets' by capturing flags and, of course, killing enemy soldiers. In short, it's the mode Battlefield fans all know and love. It's available now on Xbox Live Marketplace and, best of all, it's free.

The Battlefield: Bad Company patch is now available to download in European territories. Simply shove the disc in the drive and it will download automagically. The update is just under 100 megs and adds a new multiplayer game mode, Conquest, which is very similar to Warhawk's Zones mode. We're not sure whether it's up in America yet, but we'll keep you updated. If it's not up by now, chances are it'll appear sometime during the day. Don't forget, this update is completely free, another sign that EA is becoming gamer-friendly?

[Thanks Wild Pegasus]