14 DAY TRIAL // It's been the first full week of 2010 and already the year in videogaming is in full swing. We have a Weekend Reading piece about how this year might actually mark the end of some successful franchises and game models, an EndGameWeek column and a lot of news from the last seven days.
On Monday, we talked about the rumored (since then confirmed) The Awakening expansion for Dragon Age: Origins, which is coming in March and promises a new hero, enemies and storyline. Meanwhile, we also took a look at the melee weapons in Left 4 Dead 2 and how they fare against various types of zombies.
On Tuesday, EA Sports was rumored to be getting ready to revive the old NBA Jam, exclusively for the Nintendo Wii and with a release date this year, while Microsoft patented a way to actually control a game with electronic impulses from your muscles.
On Wednesday, Sony launched, only in Japan, a PlayStation 3 bundle including a copy of the This Is It Michael Jackson movie, while more rumors appeared around the setting for the next Treyarch made Call of Duty, with Vietnam providing the background and inspiration taken from Platoon and from Apocalypse Now.
Thursday was a day of announcements. Microsoft held a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas during which it unveiled a new Game Room concept for the Xbox 360 that would include more than 1,000 retro games. Meanwhile, Capcom talked a bit about Super Street Fighter IV and the new Ultra combos that it would bring alongside new costumes.
On Friday, Bungie teased Halo fans about a new multiplayer mode set to be included in Reach and that would not be based upon Firefight, while Microsoft assured the gamers present at CES 2010 that Project Natal would be accurate enough for all hardcore players.