One thing AusGamers has always been renowned for is being a fast, local mirror for Australians to download the latest and greatest gaming files. I just checked and we've been doing it since January of 1999 - our first ever file, a Quake 2 CTF patch, is still there (actually there were other files before that, but that was the first logged in the database we use currently).

Things have changed a bit since those early days, but for us the importance of providing fast, local downloads has only grown. The Age of Conan client - launched today for early access users in the US - weighs in at 14 gigabytes, and the thought of Australians having to all tie up the few tubes that power our limited international connectivity downloading that from various sites fills us with dread.

We've been chatting with Funcom on and off for the last few weeks about mirroring it, explaining the issues that Australians face, so we're hoping to have an update about this tomorrow - previously though they've explicitly asked us not to mirror their gaming clients, a request that (as always) we've honoured.

To try and further explain some of the issues behind the mirroring process that we use, we have a new article that looks at at it in some more detail, looking at some of the problems of game file distribution and hopefully offering some solutions.

THQ and Jakks Pacific today announced yet another wrestling game to add to their portfolio (which is probably as full as the roster across all the WWE brands). WWE: Legends of WrestleMania will take wrestling fans through exactly what its name suggests, all of the WWE's greatest WrestleMania matches with all of the spectacle's stars from over the years. Not much else was revealed about the game other than we'll be seeing it on both Xbox 360 and PS3 in March of 2009 to coincide with WrestleMania 25 (clever marketing that).

For all the wrestling aficianados out there, stay tuned as we let you know whether you'll be able to live that most triumphant of moments when Hulk Hogan body-slammed Andre the Giant in virtual form next year.

A few new trailers slipped out over the weekend, the most prominent of which was this Gears of War 2 gameplay trailer.

Gears of War 2 continues the story of Marcus Fenix and Delta Squad, locked in an increasingly desperate battle against the nightmarish Locust Horde for the survival of humanity. Gears of War 2 is an epic saga of survival, loss, and retribution.

The three minute clip is intro'd by celebrity developer Cliffy B and demonstrates a good chunk of in-game action from a level titled Assault.

Nintendo of Australia have just sent through word they'll be holding "training" sessions for both Nintendogs and Animal Crossing on DS in Melbourne this Thursday, May 15. The sessions are being held for anyone who has heard all the fuss about these games (and the DS) but have yet to buy into it (presumebly this is for parents, young'uns and the oldies).

Brush up on your nintendogs and Animal Crossing skills, or come along and learn about the games this Thursday 15 May, 6:00pm at ACMI, Federation Square.

Nintendo will be holding Nintendogs and Animal Crossing beginners’ classes and everyone is welcome. Whether you have played these games or not, come along and learn about two of Nintendo’s most popular and unique games on Nintendo DS.

In Animal Crossing you call the shots in a completely unique world. Own a home, go to work, make friends and celebrate holidays and special events, and with the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection you can visit friends all over the real world or welcome them into your town! Find out how at the training sessions.

Nintendogs allows you to have your very own pet puppy inside your Nintendo DS! Select from multiple breeds, care for and train your puppy using the touch screen and microphone. Nintendogs is a unique game where you actually use your finger on the touch screen to scratch your puppy’s stomach! Come along and learn more about nintendogs.

Giveaways and exclusive downloads will be available on the night. If you have a copy of either game, bring them along with your Nintendo DS.

The event will be held from 6pm till 7pm at ACMI, Screen Pit Room, Federation Square, Flinders Street in Melbourne.

Electronic Arts have announced a PC version of Burnout Paradise is underway and is being built from the ground up by Criterion Software for the platform. According to the press release, this is the first time the series has landed on the PC and will feature exclusive new content.

Burnout Paradise will be the first Burnout title ever made for the PC, customized with expanded multiplayer, enhanced online features, and community driven content.

Originally released for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360 videogame and entertainment system, Burnout Paradise has won over 55 awards worldwide. Burnout Paradise delivers an open-world environment built for intense speed, excitement and exploration and sets a new standard in the seamless transition from single-player offline to social online gameplay.

Good news for PC owners still not sold on the budding home console platform. We reviewed the game last year, but for all the quick information you need hit up our Burnout Paradise game page.

2K Games have officially confirmed that a BioShock movie deal has been reached with Universal Pictures, green-lighting a feature film based on the acclaimed first person shooter. While the announcement of a video-game based movie is often not a good thing, this one might be a little different as Pirates of the Carribean director Gore Verbinski is already attached as BioShock's director and producer.

The prospect of bringing this blockbuster game to life has attracted not only a major studio, but top Hollywood talent. Gore Verbinski, director of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, is slated to direct and produce the BioShock movie. John Logan, Academy Award-nominated writer of Gladiator, The Aviator and Sweeney Todd, is in talks to do the screenplay.

An original property developed by 2K Games, BioShock is one of the most successful new interactive entertainment franchises to launch in recent years. A critical and consumer hit, BioShock has sold more than 2 million units worldwide since its release in August 2007. A sequel to the game, BioShock 2, is planned for a release in 2009.

A release date or further details of the film's cast or content have yet to be revealed.

Brisbane-based developer Auran have announced the Fury League, an attempt to bring more players back into their (ill-fated?) MMO. The league will begin with a qualifying season, which will be free to enter:

To get the competitive juices flowing, and to ensure plenty of hard fought competition, the Qualifying Season will culminate in two special “Cash Ladders”. The top 1,000 players on each Ladder will win cash prizes with a total of $25,000 to be won. The first Cash Ladder will kick off May 20 with players competing in 8 v 8 team Vortex. The second will begin on May 27 with players competing in the 4 v 4 Elimination game type.

The press release has a lot more information, so if you think you're in with a chance, it's probably worth having a gander at it. Whether this will boost the flagging player numbers is another question.

Vivendi Games have revealed both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of The Bourne Conspiracy are available in free downloadable demo form from both the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Marketplace today. The full press release can be found here, but for the uninitiated, The Bourne Conspiracy is a game based on the Robert Ludlum Jason Bourne series of books and films and will offer new chapters between major film and novel events to flesh out the world of the forgteful Mr Bourne even more.

Through close partnership with Ludlum Entertainment, and collaboration on story and character development with Bourne screenwriter Tony Gilroy, The Bourne Conspiracy is an intense interactive addition to the blockbuster films and best-selling novels.

The Bourne Conspiracy game will be available nationwide June 5, on the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system.

You can check out more about the game by hitting up our AusGamers The Bourne Conspiracy game page.

Codemasters have released a playable demo of Race Driver: GRID to the Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network, the 795MB sampler offering races from three regions from the full game.

Europe Touring Cars at Jarama Circuit, U.S Muscle cars at San Francisco and Japanese Drift Racing at Yokohama Docks. Compete online in the European and U.S races and check out the time trial competitions for the chance to win a car and other ace prizes.

Race Driver: GRID is the latest incarnation of the TOCA series of racing sims from Codemasters and uses the same game engine as Colin McRae: DIRT. It also continues Codies tradition of confusingly renaming the same game for different regions. You'll find some screenies and the feature trailer over on our Race Driver: GRID game page.

Update: The promised PC version is now also available. Grab it right here from AusGamers Files.

APCMag are reporting the the upcoming Asus eeePC 900 - the anticipated ultraportable laptop that we have talked about previously - will be cheaper if you buy the version that comes with Windows XP.

At a Sydney launch event for the much-anticipated Eee PC 900 model, local product manager Albert Liang revealed that the XP model would sell for $599 in Australia, while the Linux model would be $649. To cover the licence cost associated with Windows XP Home and Microsoft Works — which replace a custom version of the Xandros Linux distribution and OpenOffice — the XP model has just 12GB of storage, while the Linux version has 20GB.

So you can stick with Windows and save $50, or buy the premium unit with Linux and an extra 8GB of storage. It should be noted that in other markets the two retail for the same price.