Razer, makers of gaming peripherals for the PC, is set to release a gaming mouse for left-handed individuals.

The DeathAdder Left Hand Edition, based upon the company's DeathAdder product, runs $59.99, but is currently back-ordered. Shipments should start going out worldwide on March 24th.

DICE patched Battlefield: Bad Company 2 with numerous bug-fixes and UI improvements (full list below). The patch for the Steam version of the game is still forthcoming pending some additional testing.

With the first full-fledged expansion for Dragon Age: Origins hitting North American today, digital distributor Steam has commemorated the occasion with a "Midweek Madness" sale.

Both Dragon Age: Origins PC and Dragon Age: Origins Digital Deluxe Edition PC have been marked down by 33%--making then $33.49 and $43.54, respectively--with the prices good until 4 PM PST on Thursday, March 18.

"A new cinematic Brink trailer by CGI wizards Blur might not be representative of Enemy Territory developer Splash Damage's latest class-based shooter but it is very attractive. Brink is scheduled for a PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 release this fall, published by Bethesda. To see the actual game, check out last year's trio of gameplay trailers."

BioWare has released new Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening screenshots and a trailer showing the fantasy RPG's expansion pack villainous Architect, a scheming intelligent Darkspawn.

"The Architect is the first darkspawn to develop a will of his own," BioWare explains, "an unusual outcast who seems not to be subject to the call of the Old Gods, nor to the other darkspawn compulsions." How should adventurers approach such a being?

With Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward promising to cure the shooter's "mapathy" with some downloadable content on March 30, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 developer EA DICE has thrown down the gauntlet.

The same day, March 30, will see DICE release its second "VIP Map Pack" for Bad Company 2, it revealed in a blog post titled "how to avoid 'mapathy' without paying."
Available as a free unlock to those that bought the game new, VIP Map Pack 2 will enable players to play Arica Harbor in Conquest Mode and Laguna Presa in Rush Mode.

The first batch of downloadable multiplayer maps for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will hit the Xbox 360 on March 30, 2010.

Developer Infinity Ward revealed the date today with a satirical self-help site, noting that the Xbox Live download should help ease the symptoms of Mapathy: "a state of indifference to the same old maps on has been playing for the last several months."

Once again speaking to the strength of exclusive offerings, digital distributors Steam, Direct2Drive and Impulse have unveiled sales charts from the week of February 21.

Steel yourself for another round of ...whatever it is that Valve's doing with Portal PC, as a second mystery update for the game just arrived via Steam. The only clue note:

# Added valuable asset retrieval

The first mystery update, released Monday, added various radio transmissions to the 2007 game--leading to Morse code, hidden images and even a secret Apeture Science BBS--all the while prompting speculation that a Portal 2 and/or Half-Life 2: Episode Three announcement is imminent.

Update: Gamers are reporting that the ending to the game has been changed.

Market research firm The NPD Group has revealed the highlights of its recent "Online Gaming 2010" research report, providing a glimpse of the overall online landscape.

Alongside a breakdown of per platform online gaming popularity, the company noted that "an average of 20 percent of all games purchased by online gamers were digitally downloaded - up from 19 percent in the 2009 study and 18 percent in the 2008 study."

Overall, the popularity of online gaming dipped across the past year (54% of those surveyed said they played games online, down from 56% in 2009) but those that did play onl