The PlayStation 3 exclusive is letting players check out several features of the new game for free.

Tecmo Koei sent along word today that a new demo for Dynasty Warriors 8 Empires is out now. The demo allows players to mess around in the new Edit Mode, in which one can craft a customized character from scratch, including weapon animations, facital features, special abilities, and outfits. In addition to getting to play some of the game early, the characters you create in the demo will be transferable to the final game when it releases on February 26.

Dynasty Warriors has been around a long, long time. Are you still playing? Will you pick up the new installment later this month?

Virgin Game and EA Sports partnered again for the annual EA Sports Challenge Series Feb. 9, one of the largest live gaming tournament in the world, and battled solely on the PlayStation 3.

That Saturday morning, 1000 spectators entered Lagasse’s Stadium in Las Vegas to watch 640 gamers compete for one of the industry’s largest prize pools.

“In 2012, when we launched the inaugural EA SPORTS Challenge Series, we set the bar high for video game tournaments by creating a truly groundbreaking event for gamers from all over the world”, said Billy Levy, co-founder and president of Virgin Gaming. “Now in its second year, we witnessed once again the best competition for FIFA Soccer 13, MADDEN 13 and NHL 13 all playing under one roof for their share of $1,000,000.”

The EA Sports Challenge Series kicked off in September where competitors from around the globe entered online in Madden 13, FIFA Soccer 13, and NHL 13 for a chance to be able to compete in the Series. After a series of qualifying and semi-final matches, the top 640 competitors were chosen to play in the final Series showdown in Las Vegas to compete for the grand prize. Grand prize winners this year included Eric Wright, who won the Madden championship, his third win in a competitive Madden challenge. Including this most recent success, Wrights has brought home over $390,000 in prize money.

“Our vision has always been to make competitive gaming more fun and accessible by doing what we do best--arming players from all corners of the world with the tools to win big cash prizes and epic opportunities, all from the comfort of their couch,” said Levy. “Being able to run a live tournament that culminates all of the time and effort that the gamers put in to qualifying for the 2013 EA SPORTS Challenge Series, is incredible to witness firsthand and extremely rewarding for everyone involved.”

Gearbox has been quiet about its plans for a new Brothers in Arms installment ever since it announced Furious 4 will no longer be part of the series. In a new interview, CEO Randy Pitchford assures longtime fans that an authentic sequel is still planned for the future.

Speaking with IGN, Pitchford recalls the vocal backlash that the announcement of Furious 4 spurred from longtime fans: "Our die-hard Brothers in Arms fans, our guys that love Brothers in Arms for what it is, they were like ‘what the f--- is that? That is not what I want. I hate that, because that means I’m not gonna get what I want. I’m gonna get that, so f--- that, I want to burn it down.’”

Pitchford says the team also felt Furious 4 didn't feel like a Brothers in Arms title, and decided to "unhinge" the game from the series. Instead, Gearbox will make a more traditional Brother in Arms experience that fans should appreciate, while still developing Furious 4 as a separate IP. "We love Brothers in Arms," Pitchford says. "The other pledge is that there will be an authentic Brothers in Arms game. Again, we haven’t announced that yet, but I’m really excited about where that’s going too. We’ll announce these things in due course. There’s a lot of neat things we have going on."

While Pitchford stressed that he couldn't make any commitments as to what the game will entail, the fact that he's willing to acknowledge the project's existence is good news for fans.

[Source: IGN