2009 was a blast.

I would start off by saying that 2009 was “the year of the sequel,” but we all know that every year has its fair share of follow-ups, so taking the easy way out won’t work for me this time. We did get our first good Batman game, however, and the Ghostbusters made their triumphant return to game screens this year, much to the delight of 1980s children everywhere. And even though both are items that can’t be counted as new intellectual property, each was handled well enough by their respective developers to make us forget any prior interpretations of those games ever existed. That’s success, as far as I’m concerned.

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2K Games has unveiled a new BioShock 2 website, full of new media to get you ready for the February 9 release. The site currently showcases three gameplay videos which highlight the Big Sister, multiplayer combat, and the protagonist, Big Daddy. A warning, though, the site is pretty weighty when it comes to its usage of Flash, so navigation is time consuming. Use the menu on the right-hand side to access stuff faster.

Sounds like something your stomach would be doing after 100 consecutive roller-coaster rides, doesn’t it? Tilt-shift is actually a photo illusion that can make scenery look miniaturized. Certain kinds of camera lenses can do it and the effect can even be replicated with some success in Photoshop.

What does this have to do with gaming? Well, a reader of the German magazine PC Action decided that some screens from Crysis would look neat in this mode. Truth be told, they do! Head over and check them out for yourself!

Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Gearbox Software
Genre: RPS
Release date: Available now

One of the more obvious trends in gaming lately has been the gravitational pull towards the undead. See, with a zombie there’s no moral conundrum to deal with; you just aim for the head and try not to get any blood in your eyes. Games like Left 4 Dead and its recently released sequel have capitalized on this, as well as Call of Duty: World at War, which added yet another layer of shoot first certainty by making the resident shamblers part of the third Reich. Capping soulless abominations requires no thinking and no need to check your fire, either, making the concept a perfect fit for a game like Borderlands. With that, let’s take a trip to Jakob’s Cove and the Zombie Island of Dr. Ned.

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Publisher: EA Sports
Developer: EA Canada
Genre: Sports
Release date: Available now

As someone who hasn’t participated in a game of footy since he was 14, I had to approach FIFA Soccer 10 as if I’d never touched a soccer video game before to prepare for this review. The Panasonic 3do was the console on which I last experienced the oft-argued, globe-encompassing sport in electronic form; before there was even a number after the title, as I recall. So, what’s it like coming out of retirement after so long? Will I be able to give myself over to the numerous advances Electronic Arts has made since then, or will I be kicking shins and collecting cards like an unhinged Pokemon fan the whole time?

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Attention holiday shoppers! Are you wondering if that gadget you’re looking at is a good buy? Do you think there might a better price out there? Well, a startup called Retrevo would like to answer those questions and more with their free RetrevoQ service for cell phones and Twitter. The service acts as an in-store shopping advisor and helps consumers make educated purchases using aggregate review scores from trusted sites like Amazon and CNET.

Have a question about a product? You can text the model number and brand name to “41411″ or @retrevoq (if you’re using Twitter) and get an instant response that gives a real-time recommendation, fair price, prices for the same product online and a link for a real-time review of the product. That takes some of the risk out of your holiday shopping, doesn’t it?

Better than a shot at Alderaan, eh? Star Wars: The Old Republic followers will be happy to know that a few HD screenshots, featuring the doomed home of Princess Leia Organa, have been released to the public. All of the shots, including ones that aren’t from Alderaan, can be viewed in stunning 1600 x 900 pixels, giving a beautiful view of the snow-capped mountains and city centers players will be exploring.

When that exploration will occur is still up in the air, however. Beta applications are still being accepted at the official Old Republic site, though, so your chance may come sooner than later.

Modders, perhaps a bit nostalgic for the original Left 4 Dead cast, have managed to replace Left 4 Dead 2’s television production assistant Rochelle with the pink-jacketed college student, Zoey, from the original game. The mod replaces Rochelle’s model, icons and name with Zoey’s, but does not replace her voice. The modders have stated that it is “very much a work in progress and there still are some issues.”

If you’re curious, or you just had a crush on Zoey, then head over to L4DMods and give it a look.

Next February, Cryptic Studios will release its highly anticipated Star Trek Online to the MMO masses, but those of you out there that would like to get in a little early can head over to the official site right now and submit an application for their open beta, which runs from January 12 to January 26. All you have to do to sign up is create a community account and answer some basic hardware and gaming habits questions. Hurry, though, because it’s on a first-come-first-served basis and you wouldn’t want to miss out on all that glorious interstellar exploration, would you?

Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: 1C Company
System requirements: Windows 2000/XP/Vista; 512 MB RAM; 128 MB graphics card
Genre: Turn-Based Strategy
Release date: Available now

Back in the spring of 2009 I was thrust into the hexagonal chessboard that is Elven Legacy, a turn-based strategy game that did more to pull me into the genre than thrust me out, as I mistakenly thought it would. I found easily grasped mechanics, functionality on low-tier systems and a $30 price point that adequately fit the amount of content and quality I received. It was a little bit o’ alright by me, to summarize, and apparently the same feelings were had by developer 1C Company, because here we are with the first of a proposed trilogy of expansion packs: Elven Legacy: Ranger.

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Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Gearbox Software
Genre: RPS
Release date: Available now

With my affections towards Mad Max, first person shooters and RPGs, it was only natural that I would have been following the development of Borderlands from the very first snippet of info released over two years ago. I was anxiously looking forward to reliving Road Warrior-esque scenes on barren salt flats and experimenting on the wildlife using thousands upon thousands of randomly generated guns. And although what I hold in my hands is a solid, well playing romp on a strange and wonderful world, I’m still left conflicted as to whether I’m absolutely in love or just okay with it.

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Publisher: Futuremark Games Studio
Developer: Futuremark Games Studio
System requirements: Windows Vista or Windows 7 (no Win XP support), Intel Core2Duo E6600/AMD Athlon64 X2 5600+ or higher CPU, nVidia GeForce 8800GT/ATI Radeon HD 3870 or higher video card, DirectX 10, 2 GB system RAM, Vista-compatible sound card, 1.5 GB hard-drive space
Genre: First Person Shooter
Release date: November 4, 2009

I’m floating through space, utterly weightless, with just the failing beat of my heart to keep me company. I am in the middle of tranquility, and just before my suit fully decompresses, the thought crosses my mind that I’m just not thinking “360° enough” to be of any use to my team. Quite an existential reflection. But when you’re in a zero-gravity firefight amongst the remains of a fractured moon, nothing seems too extraordinary. I’m playing (and dying a lot in) Shattered Horizon, the first game from Futuremark Games Studio, and despite my frequent bouts with death, I’m having a good time.

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Publisher: Quest Online
Developer: Quest Online
System requirements: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7; 2.4 GHz CPU; 2 GB RAM; 4 GB hard-drive space; DirectX 9.0c-compatible video card; broadband Internet connection
Genre: MMORPG
Release date: October 31, 2009

From the graphicless days of Major Mudd to the emergence of Everquest (and everything in-between before World of Warcraft), I’ve given time to my fair share of MMORPGs.  By saying “Before World of Warcraft,” you’d assume that I got sucked into Blizzard’s world and never went to another, but this is far from the truth. See, I’m one of those people who couldn’t get completely into WoW; all of the exclamation points, raid stories and class-nerfing patches that go along with it fall on deaf ears when conversations take a turn towards Azeroth. It’s still hard to deny the attraction, however, as it has somehow reeled me back four times despite my disinterest.

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Publisher: 2K Play
Developer: Silver Wish Games
Genre: Adventure
Release date: Available now

It’s hard to pin the tail on the donkey that is Axel & Pixel. At its heart, it’s a point and click, scene-by-scene adventure game, but it carries elements of timed button press sequencers, puzzlers and action games as well. Perhaps that’s what indie developer Silver Wish had in mind while they were conceptualizing it – a whimsical journey into another world that could offer up all of these styles and still manage to fall into a cohesive package that can hold onto the ball ’til the end.

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Publisher: Black Inc.
Developer: Coreplay
Genre: Shooter
Release date: Available now

From past experience, we know that if a game has a gimmick it usually means that it’s the central focus of the gameplay, right? Unfortunately, that also means that just about everything else having to do with making a quality game is put aside in favor of ensuring that the gimmick stands out and sells copies. Grappling hooks, insane physics or how many enemies you can fit on screen all come to mind when I think of examples, but I also think that most of the time the reason for failure is because the game itself is too big for the gimmick’s britches. Thinking smaller, while relying on a hook is exactly what developer Coreplay had in mind with their particle-happy space shooter, Ion Assault.

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