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Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling has announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will host its first worldwide double XP weekend from April 2 until April 5 on Xbox Live, just a few days after the "Stimulus Package" maps are set to arrive.

Unfortunately, in conveying this to Joystiq readers -- many of whom are statistically likely to be interested in the news -- we've expanded a perfectly concise tweet into a pompous, self-referential article and unfairly reduced the internet's available supply of letters and punctuation.

we r rly sry try 2 do bttr in futr

You're a good, conscientious (yes, we spelled that right on the first try) person, so we're going to just assume that you've already downloaded the Splinter Cell: Conviction demo that appeared on Xbox Live today. If not, well, we can just turn our backs and whistle the complete works of Ke$ha while you go get it.

...Back? Great! Now let us never speak of this again. What we would like all of you to speak of is the demo itself. You and Sam have been apart a long time, is the magic still there?

It's been a long time coming, and today Perfect Dark is finally available for download on XBLA. Sporting some new Xbox Live functionality and a sparkly new coat of paint, we'd be hard-pressed to come up with a better way to drop 800 ($10) on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The game is a classic and the closest you'll get to having GoldenEye on Xbox Live. Check it out in the latest episode of XBLA in Brief above!

Shortcut: Download the trial version of Perfect Dark [via Xbox.com]

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If there's one thing Dante's Inferno lacked, it was originality. Lacking the "holy sh–" impact of God of War III, Visceral Games' hack-n-slash felt incredibly pedestrian. That changes with "The Trials of St. Lucia," an upcoming premium DLC pack that introduces the game's first bit of originality.

The DLC add-on is made up of three new features: online co-op, user generated trials, and St. Lucia, a new playable character inspired by Christianity's Saint Lucy. Like Dante, Visceral's reimagining of her character is rather far-off from biblical canon. The playable martyr looks like an angel, and dons a move set that's completely unique from Dante's. (The differences between the two characters are comparable to those between Dante and Nero from Devil May Cry 4.)

The basics of her offensive powers are familiar: light and heavy attacks, and grabs. However, St. Lucia also has the ability to fly. Flight enables a brand new move set for players. I was able to quickly fly to the other side of a comabt arena, sweep multiple enemies, and then slam one of the larger enemies with a quick combo. The new flight dynamic is a lot of fun and, because St. Lucia's controls are so similar to those of Dante, it's easy to pick up and play.

We've read all the available info about the new Modern Warfare 2 map collection "Stimulus Package," but we still didn't have an answer to the big question on everyone's mind: "Is that the game with a bunch of guys or the one with the beards?" That, we still don't know. However, we've gotten an answer to the second biggest question from Xbox Live's Major Nelson: The five maps (three new, two remakes) will run you 1200 MS points or $15.

As a basis for comparison, the "Variety" map pack for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare ran 800 points ($10) for four new maps. Whether or not the new offering is a stimulating enough value is a decision you'll have to make for yourself when it arrives on March 30.

Following up yesterday's announcement that Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes is getting an HD facelift and coming to Xbox Live and PSN, Ubisoft has revealed the first teaser trailer for the game. Amidst all of the quoted accolades and plumes of smoke are some actual tidbits of gameplay.

In short: this looks purty.

We already broke out the news you're looking for: Each of the Windows Phone 7 Xbox Live-infused games will offer its players 200 Gamerscore points. You'll be able to boost your Xbox rep in significant chunks without having to hunker down in front of a big screen for long stretches. You'll never again have to go so long without hearing that satisfying "Achievement unlocked" sound. The world, as you know it, has changed.

Fortunately, the channel through which you'll access these on-the-go 'cheevos looks like it has loads of promise. The handful of work-in-progress Windows Phone 7 games we were shown today at GDC didn't leave much of an impression -- however, the effortless portability of games between the platforms supported by the recently announced XNA Game Studio 4.0 opens up a lot of possibilities for development on Microsoft's new mobile device.

Windows Phone 7 isn't just Microsoft's attempt to compete against Apple's iPhone. It's also the introduction of the first portable Xbox platform. During GDC today, we talked to Xbox Live GM Ron Pessner and XNA Game Studio manager Michael Klucher about how games integrate into the mobile platform and what gamers and developers can expect in the future.

For the purpose of this interview, Pessner and Klucher merged into one entity (they spoke over each other a lot!) to answer our questions:

Microsoft plans to separate games that do and don't support Xbox Live functionality on Windows Phone. Are there any concerns that this will turn off indie developers?

Pessner and Klucher: The short answer is "no." The way that we built the Phone and Marketplace experience makes it very easy to search for what you're looking for. With XNA Game Studio 4.0, you can use the same set of tools to build an Xbox Live game or non-Xbox Live game on the platform. The benefit that developers get for working with Game Studio is everything we just described.

We also are very interested in seeing concept submissions from the indie community, and we're out talking to a lot of independent developers. Fortunately, we're working with a lot of these folks in context of the console today, and many of the console titles that have come to us through the Indie Channel or Xbox Live Arcade, we think will also make fantastic mobile titles. So we're reaching back out to these developers and accepting submissions for ideas as a way to help make those Xbox Live titles. It's up to the developer in terms of what they want to do on the platform, but we're really excited with the response we've seen so far.

Microsoft is here at GDC showing off its upcoming Game Room service, and we got it on video just for you. The experience is probably exactly what you expected, but it's worth noting that while the service does utilize Avatars, you don't actually walk around the virtual arcade as your Avatar. Instead, the arcade rooms are essentially interactive menus (though you can select to play the classic arcade games from a normal menu, if you prefer).

Check out our video preview above for a quick look at Game Room, which arrives on March 24.

We just got our hands on the Windows Phone 7 during an interview at GDC, and given our unnatural obsession with bolstering our online notoriety, the most prevalent question in our mind was: just how many Gamerscore points can we crank outta this thing? The answer: A beefy 200 Gamerscore points per game, which will be added to your total Gamerscore, as displayed on your Xbox Live Gamertag profile.

We'll be writing up our impressions of the platform, as well as our interview with its creators, later today. For now, rest assured knowing that when you unlock an Achievement in a Windows Phone 7 game, it totally makes that satisfying "bloop-bloop" noise.

Scr-scr-scratched through all of DJ Hero's tracks? Activision has announced a new DLC mix pack featuring Renegade Edition headliners Eminem and Jay-Z. The collection is scheduled to drop on Xbox Live, PSN and Wii this month and includes:

• "Shake That" by Eminem mixed with "Show Me What You Got" by Jay-Z
• "Without Me" by Eminem mixed with "Encore" by Jay-Z
• "Can I Get A..." by Jay-Z mixed with "Lose Yourself" by Eminem

The new tracks will be available on March 18 on Xbox Live for 640 ($8) and March 25 on PSN for $7.99. The tracks will not be sold separately for Xbox 360 or PS3. Each track, however, will be available for the Wii version on March 25 as a downloadable single for 300 Wii Points ($3); $9 for all three.

Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling has pointed us toward a new self-help website filled with good news: new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 mutliplayer maps are coming to Xbox Live on March 30. While the powers that be at Activision might have ousted the creators of the game, they haven't affected the delivery of eagerly awaited new maps.

People afflicted with "mapathy," your cure is on the way. PS3 players ... well, you'll have to suffer a bit longer. Have you spoken to your FAMAS-ist about a prescription?

[Thanks Legion!]

It's not so surprising, really, that Modern Warfare 2, arguably the world's most popular video game, would recruit such a staggering amount of bodies for its perpetual online war. But, there it is: 25 million unique players, as revealed in a tweet from Infinity Ward's community guy-at-large, Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling. We've contacted Infinity Ward for specific platform numbers, but in the meantime, Bowling offers a bit more to chew on:

He confirms the majority of players are taking the fight to Xbox Live, but he says the PS3 comes in at "a close" second. That puts the PC space in third, though it's still enlisted "millions," according to Bowling. But, what about that boycott? Oh, right.

Now, it should be noted that Modern Warfare 2's reported 25 million players aren't necessarily all on active duty. Surely, more than a few steadfast soldiers have taken up positions in DICE's Battlefield: Bad Company 2. No rest for the weary, eh?

While Blur's aesthetic is devoid of rainbow bridges and adorable car-icatures, it's undoubtedly a kart racer -- albeit one that feels like it was made for people who don't like kart racers. Or those bloody blue shells.

The power-ups you'll pick up on the track can still knock competitors straight to last place, but opponents' fates aren't immutable once you send pulsating red orbs or bolts of electricity their way. Power-ups can be dodged before they grow too large in the rear-view mirror, or cancelled out by the blast of another weapon. It feels considerably more balanced and less random than the likes of Mario Kart, and being granted some measure of recourse makes it less frustrating when someone sends you hurtling to the back of the racing pack.

The times, they are a-changin'. In an open letter to Xbox Live members, Microsoft's Marc Whitten has announced that the Xbox Live Code of Conduct has been altered to allow members to "more freely express their race, nationality, religion and sexual orientation in Gamertags and profiles." Looking over the updated code, it appears that the major change directly affects references to sexual orientation. Specifically, the terms "lesbian," "gay," "bi," "transgender" and "straight" are now allowed in both Gamertags and user profiles. According to Whitten, the change has been made as the result of customer feedback.

Early last year, something of a controversy erupted when an Xbox Live user was allegedly banned from Xbox Live for identifying herself as a lesbian in her Xbox Live profile. The report brought to light an ongoing conversation on the matter between the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and Microsoft. At the time, Microsoft claimed that it didn't allow users to express any form of sexual orientation -- including heterosexuality -- in an effort to prevent player harassment.

Obviously, Microsoft's stance on the matter has changed, though the company is still wary of possible harassment. Whitten states as much in his letter, noting that the new Code of Conduct also includes "increased stringency and enforcement to prevent misuse" of the newly allowed terms. Whitten concludes his letter by stating, "I truly believe that our diversity is what makes us strong: diversity in gaming and entertainment options, and diversity in the people that make up this amazing community."