Pasta Padre called it earlier. “Entourage” brings in four offensive linemen for pass protection, no small deal considering you only get one (and a tight end) in this five-on-five shootout. The others include:

Triple Threat – Disguise which receiver you’re throwing the ball by sending out two other decoys with the Power Ball game changer.

Bonus Play – Give yourself an additional down to help get in the end zone and earn some much deserved points with Bonus Play.

Make it, Take it – If you’re good enough to score when you trigger Make It, Take It, the ball is yours to keep on the next possession.

Turbo – The Turbo game changer will send players in fast forward by giving them an extra speed burst.

Molasses – Game too fast for you? Use Molasses to take down the action on the field to a less frantic pace.

Fumbilitis – Turn your opponent’s into butter fingers as they’ll have a difficult time holding on to the ball with Fumbilitis.

It’s Alive – Make any pass a scramble for the ball as its Alive will turn any incomplete pass into a live ball.

Frostbite – Put the freeze on one opposing player from moving by using the game changer Frostbite.

Fast Pass – Fast Pass gives the power to a QB to throw the ultimate bulleted pass.

Flying Blind – Sabotage your opponent by using Flying Blind to turn off their passing icons.

Flip Flop – Jealous of your opponents score? Flip Flop will nicely borrow the score and never give it back.

Dud – Hey, they can’t all be winners.

Wow. Flip-flop looks like an egregiously douche move. Can’t wait to try it.

Some of these sound like the old Madden and NCAA Football cheats. If you’re nostalgic for those, the game is out on PSN on Tuesday and Xbox Live on Wednesday, both in time for the ultimate football powerup, that six-legged turducken monstrosity Fox Sports serves at the Lions game on Thursday.

Madden Arcade Power-Ups [Pasta Padre]

Says Mathew Everett, the Pandemic Community Manager, in a message on Saturday afternoon:

I am very proud to communicate today that The Saboteur has officially gone “GOLD” on all 3 planned platforms (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 & PC). This has been a very difficult week for Pandemic Studios, but does not change the fact that a team of amazing people worked very hard to make The Saboteur a great game that fans will be able to enjoy this holiday season. As planned, The Saboteur will be available across Europe starting December 4 and throughout North America on December 8. Vive La Resistance!

But marketing it is, the latest in Electronic Arts’ attempts to drum up interest in Visceral Games’ Dante’s Inferno, due early next year. We’ll just have to wager a guess that the spot, the website, the cross controller and kneeler accessory were the work of ad firm Wieden + Kennedy, responsible for some of EA’s previous viral and non-traditional ads, like the Tiger Woods “Jesus Shot” and Spore campaign.

Mass: We Pray ties into the Heresy circle of Hell, but also lets Facebook users “damn” their friends and acquaintances.

Team Racing is an all-new mode for Need for Speed Shift that pits two teams of up to six racers against each other. In team-based races, winning isn’t simply about crossing the finish line. You’ll have to coordinate with your teammates, work out strategies, and yes… sometimes you’ll have to lose in order to win. It’s a difficult concept for some to grasp. I’d suggest watching Talladega Nights for inspiration. If you bought a launch PlayStation 3 you should have a copy. It’s all about the “Shake N’ Bake”.

The Team Racing pack also comes with five renowned racing cars:

1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 427
1967 Shelby GT-500
1969 Dodge Charger R/T
1971 Dodge Challenger R/T
1998 Toyota Supra Mark IV

The Team Racing pack will be available worldwide for the Xbox 360 on December 1, December 3 for European PS3 consoles and December 10 for the North American PS3.

You can almost hear the two players hiding behind the opposite building snickering as they watch the enemy team flood the building they’d just filled with explode-y goodness. I can certainly relate, although unfortunately I relate to the unfortunate people on the other team.

At the beginning of Dragon Age: Origins, a battle between the forces of good and evil at Ostagar leave the Grey Wardens nearly extinct and young King Cailan seriously dead. In Return to Ostagar, players revisit the scene of the slaughter, exacting revenge, uncovering secrets and seeking out the arms and armour of the fallen king. I’d expect the armour might need a little hammering out, considering the good king was crushed like an empty Sprite can.

“We are very proud of the phenomenal launch of Dragon Age: Origins and we’re pleased to announce the next installment of downloadable content that will be available to fans of the game,” said Ray Muzyka, Group General Manager, RPG/MMO Group of EA and Co-Founder, BioWare. “The Return to Ostagar DLC pack is a prime example of BioWare’s commitment to give fans a game that continuously offers new experiences and further enriches a storyline that has already received critical acclaim and positive feedback from the players.”

Return to Ostagar will be released for the PlayStation 3, PC and Xbox 360 around Christmas/New Year, with a price tag of 400 Microsoft points, 400 BioWare points or $US4.99 depending.

Can’t say we can remember the last time a single game got its own store. Actually, it’s rare a game company gets its own store, so a one-title shop is just bananas.

There’s a catch, though; both stores are only open for a limited time, with the shutters coming down on December 14.

[Image: Gary Whitta @ NeoGAF]

It appears that this largely reviled, totally not final version of Mass Effect 2’s cover was nothing more than a passing high-resolution fancy. The stars of Mass Effect 2’s box, who will defend the universe against whatever menace is to the right of the game’s case, are Commander Shepard, Thane the Assassin, Miranda and the planet Tuchanka.

Those unsatisfied with either box art option still have the collector’s edition to consider.

The ex-Visceral duo, who recently jumped ship from EA to Activision, are reportedly working on an existing Activision franchise at their new Sledgehammer home. Activision will only officially say that Schofield, Condrey and crew are developing an “as-yet-unannounced new videogame”.

EA, as you may recall, was officially not overly concerned about the loss of the ex-Visceral Games execs, who helped re-brand the studio formerly known as EA Redwood Shores.

Last week, we reported that the core Command & Conquer team would be let go following the release of Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight. While Earl didn’t touch on those rumoured changes, he confirms that Jon Van Caneghem, formerly of Trion World Network “has recently joined EA to transform Command and Conquer with a new digital model that is going to re-ignite the fan base for this franchise.”

Earl also calls EA’s planned revitalisation of the Medal of honour franchise “simply stunning”, writing that “Sean Decker and Greg Goodrich have been leading a re-invention of the first-person shooter series,

“We couldn’t be happier with the focus and progress these teams have shown,” Earl writes.

In the internal communication obtained by Kotaku, Earl assured employees that the “new team at EALA has turned this studio into a showcase for the ‘fewer things better’ initiative”. If that sounds familiar, EA Games label president Frank Gibeau said something similar in an investor call, saying that EA plans to focus on more of its “core IP” and proven “blockbusters”.