The Download Blog

Here's a little Friday fun for all you game fans: From now until Oct. 25, the insanely popular puzzle game World of Goo is on sale--and you get to name the price.

It normally sells for $20, but in honor of its first birthday, developer 2D Boy decided to run a little experiment. (Check out the results on the company's blog. Very interesting stuff.)

Basically, when you click the Get It button, you're whisked to a PayPal page where you specify your "donation" amount. (No PayPal account? Click the "continue" link on the left side to use a credit card.)

So, what'll it be? A penny? A five-spot? A sawbuck? If you're honestly not sure what the game is worth, download the demo before you pick a number. World of Goo is available for Windows, Mac, and even Linux systems.

I'll admit I wasn't familiar with the game when I heard about this promotion, but it's without a doubt one of the cutest, weirdest, and most inventive puzzles I've ever played. You don't have to take my word: GameSpot awarded it a 9.0, as did several thousand readers.

I'm not going to reveal what I paid for it, as I don't want to influence anyone one way or the other. But I did pay for it--and definitely more than a penny.

How about you? Are you going to get your Goo on? If so, what's a fair price? (And how much did you actually pay?) Let's hear from you in the comments.

We get a quick glimpse of a minotaur-esque alien, but not much else in the teaser trailer.

(Credit: 3D Realms)

One of the longest-running jokes in the gaming industry is the development of the first-person shooter Duke Nukem Forever, the long expected next edition of the franchise. Originally begun back in 1997, the game first released a trailer at E3 1998. Developer 3D Realms released a different trailer at E3 2001...and it's been rather quiet ever since. Until yesterday.

On the 3D Realms forums yesterday, Duke Nukem co-creator and 3D Realms co-owner George Broussard unexpectedly announced that a new teaser trailer for the game would be released today.

The trailer was released shortly and has already cropped up all around the Web. The embedded YouTube version below appears to be the official submission from 3D Realms.

So...10 years of development gets us a few seconds of aliens (including a giant squid-like beast), Duke chomping his trademark cigar while pumping iron, a tattered American flag, and a crappy catchphrase. Somehow, I don't think that's enough to negate the Vaporware Lifetime Achievement Award that Wired bestowed upon Duke Nukem Forever back in 2004. (However, related sci-fi shooter Prey was stuck in development circles for 11 years, and it turned out to be a pretty good game.)

There have been rumors of an extended trailer for Duke Nukem Forever to soon follow, but I haven't seen any official statements yet. If you've got the scoop, tell me about it in the comments. You can also download a high-definition version of the Duke Nukem Forever teaser trailer from CNET Download.com.