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Dragon Age DLC revealed

EA has announced a new DLC for the highly successful RPG Dragon Age: Origins. The BioWare developed RPG’s first DLC, titled “Return to Ostagar”, will be released this holiday for just $5. The DLC will offer a chance for the player to “revisit Ostagar, the site of the Grey Wardens’ darkest hour, to reclaim the honor and learn the secrets of Ferelden’s fallen king”.

While it’s okay with a cheap DLC, it seems a bit too early. We’re in the process of reviewing the game (review coming soon!), and we’ve already strolled through some 30 hours of gameplay. It’s not like the game is light on content as it is.

Nintendo planning Zelda surprise for E3 2010

At E3 2009, Nintendo revealed a few fragments of information about the upcoming Zelda, basically confirming that it was in development and released a sweet teaser poster (which you can see above). Now Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma has said that they’re “trying something new” with regards to the structure of the game, and adds,

“So we have been trying something new in terms of the structure of the Wii version of the new Zelda game this time. I am really hopeful that people will be surprised with the changes we have implemented for this Wii version.”

The game is set for a hopeful 2010 release. Very hopeful.

BioShock 2 cover revealed

2K Games has revealed the cover of the highly anticipated BioShock 2, which is scheduled for a February 2010 release. As you can see above, it’s quite similar to the original BioShock 2, this time though, as the PS3 cover suggests, PS3 owners won’t have to wait a full year to play the game.

Gearbox claims Borderlands the fastest selling new IP in 09

Well, this isn’t surprising at all; Gearbox, developers of Borderlands, claim that Borderlands is the fastest selling new IP of 2009, which is no surprise, as it’s probably the most known new IP of 2009, not to talk about the most anticipated one. The only other notable new IP was Prototype, and, completely unsurprisingly, both games are looking to get sequels in the near future.

Top 10 original video games of 2010

Please Digg this story!

Hollywood usually takes most of the slack when it comes to criticism for lack of originality, but in fact, the video game industry is even worse at creating original content, it’s a world dominated by franchises of every kind, from sports to action games, publishers and developers are usually taking the easy and safe way: sequels. And spin offs. And remakes. Etc.

We’ve compiled a list of top 10 original games that are scheduled for release for 2010 — and it was quite a challenge: out of the 130 games confirmed for 2010 by major publishers and developers, we found 19 that were original. Just 19.

10: Brink (Spring 2010)

Brink, an FPS developed by Splash Damage and published by Bethesda, centers around a two sides: Resistance and Security, and is a team based multiplayer shooter much like Quake Wars, which was also developed by Splash Damage. It looks promising as a multiplayer game, as it’s story based, much like Quake Wars, where one battle takes place over several maps, with a story connecting everything together.

9: Alpha Protocol (Spring 2010)

Alpha Protocol, developed by Obsidian Entertainment — developers of Star Wars: KOTOR 2 and Neverwinter Nights 2 — is a third person action RPG where the player assumes the role of Michael Thorton, a CIA agent who’s been betrayed and must not only fight his way through enemies, but also uncover the conspiracy that set him up.

8: Singularity (Q2 2010)

While time travel is a known concept in games, albeit underused, it’s still something that is difficult to fit in wiht the overall storyline, and the time feature never seems to be used properly. In Singularity, the player will have control over a TMD (Time Manipulation Device), a “weapon” which will be used to solve puzzles, for instance, if a door is locked, instead of looking for the key, you use the TMD and speed up time for the lock only, which will rust, and voila, door opened! Or use it on an enemy and watch him turn into a skeleton. The concept certainly seems intriguing, and offers some truly original puzzles.

7: Dante’s Inferno (February 9, 2010)

Dante’s Inferno has already caused a lot of controversy, from the fake E3 2009 protest, to gameplay elements where players can slay children. The gritty, hell based game is loosely based on the actual Inferno by Dante in The Divine Comedy, and the player assumes the role of Dante, who has to fight his way though monsters and demons in the 9 circles of hell, and decide whether he’ll be good and spare some (like children) or go reckless. It definitely looks as one of the darkest games of 2010.

6: MAG (January 26, 2010)

MAG (Massive Action Game) is a PS3 online FPS multiplayer who’s main feature is a massive 256 player online matches, with 128 players per team, divided into 8-player squads, 4 squads into a platoon, and 4 platoons into a company. With 256 players on the map, MAG is set to deliver some of the most intense and frantic combat yet, and will offer detailed stats and rankings, where higher ranked players will be able to command the battle and give orders to individual squads and platoons.

5: LA Noire (Q3 2010)

LA Noire, an open ended adventure game set in a recreated 1940s Los Angeles, which players can freely roam around, and chose to solve a number of murders around the city. The game has a great feeling of classic noir films based in LA, like LA Confidential, The Maltese Falcon and Chinatown, and draws inspiration from such works as well.

4: Rage (Q4 2010)

It’s been a while since Id Software has made an original game — actually, the last original game Id Software made was Quake, back in 1996. Id finally shows something new with Rage, a fusion between a first person shooter and a racing game set in a post-apocalyptic Mad Max styled world. It’s built with the all new Id Tech 5 engine, and shows very promising visuals, to say the least.

3: Heavy Rain (Q2 2010)

Heavy Rain has been on the radar since it was originally showcased at E3 2006, and will be released almost four years later, in Q2 2010. The gorgeous looking game centers around a serial killer known as “The Origami Killer”, and players assume roles of different characters who try and solve the murders. It’s one of the most stylish and atmospheric games to come out in 2010.

2: Alan Wake (Q2 2010)

What Heavy Rain is for the PS3, Alan Wake is for the Xbox 360. Developed by Remedy, Alan Wake is a psychological thriller inspired by the likes of Twin Peaks and Stephen King novels, where players assume the role of Alan Wake, a writer who seeks refuge at a quiet place where he can write his next novel (much like Stephen Kings “Misery“). However, when his wife vanishes, it’s up to him to get her back.

1: APB (March 2010)

APB is not only the most original MMO game to his the stores in 2010, it’s also the most original game overall. It’s the classic cops vs. robbers gameplay, but on a massive scale, with endless customizations and options, tons of missions and weapons. Created by David Jones, the original creator for GTA, APB is hailed as everything he wanted to do wince he made GTA, and while originally trying to pitch and sell APB to Rockstar as GTA Online, it’s good that APB is on its own now, we need a great, original game. And an MMO that’s not fantasy based.

Fallout MMO screenshot appears

While Bethesda and Interplay are in a legal battle surrounding the Fallout MMO which is in development (at least last time we heard about the game) — which Bethesda think is moving too slow — according to 1UP, the above screen is one of several which were leaked, alongside concept art, which Interplay allegedly submitted as evidence in court, a sign that they’re working on the MMO — a statement Bethesda is contesting.

New Mass Effect 2 screenshots

EA has released a bunch of new Mass Effect 2 screenshots, well, actually only 9 screenshots, but they give a good preview of the game and its visuals — unless we’re talking about bullshots, of course.

Age of Conan double XP this month

While some games have double XP weekends to attract more players, Age of Conan is having none of that silly thing, it’s got a full double XP month, which lasts until the end of November. Publisher Funcom also announced new incentives to sign up for the game, for instance, subscribe for one month and get 7 extra days, or six months and get a level 40 helmet with a 10% XP modifier (that’s right, 10%! /sarcasm). Full press release here.

Guild Wars 2 set for 2011

While many Guild Wars fans have been dreaming of a sequel next year, it appears they’ll have to dream on, into 2011, because NCsoft revealed that it has no plans of any major releases in 2010, having just released the highly anticipated MMO Aion a few months ago. However, lucky Koreans will have a chance to play the Guild Wars 2 beta sometime next year, probably late-2010.

Borderlands DLC landing on November 24th

Borderlands is enjoying great critical and commercial success at the moment, and the game has lined up its first DLC, called “The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned“, which will be available on November 24th for $10 on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. However, developer Gearbox didn’t mention a PC version of the DLC, which is a bit disappointing, to be honest, especially if it turns out that the DLC won’t be available on the PC at all.

SEGA announces Bayonetta special edition

SEGA of Europe has announced a special edition of the upcoming Bayonetta, which includes the game, a hardcover art book and a soundtrack. Bayonetta, an action game developed by Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya, is scheduled for release in January. The special edition is expected to be announced for the North American continent as well.

Mass Effect only $10 on Steam this weekend

Dunno how we managed to let this slip by us, but apparently Steam is running a great weekend promo (like most other weekends), letting you buy Mass Effect for only $10.

Yep, $10 bucks gets you in on the Mass Effect universe — not a bad deal for a game that’ll net you a good 50 hours of gameplay time — and you should finish it just in time for the release of Mass Effect 2, which will be out early next year.

New Zelda for Wii not committed for 2010

We first heard about the new Zelda game for Wii at the 2009 E3 expo, where Shigeru Miyamoto himself unveiled the news. Now Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has refused to confirm the game for 2010 in an interview with GameTrailers TV, saying “We haven’t committed to Zelda in 2010″.

Nintendo is known for delaying their highly anticipated titles like Zelda and Mario, but in the end, it has often resulted in a better overall product. Let’s hope it’s the same with the next Zelda, even if we have to wait until 2011.

Warhammer Online free trial loses limit, capped at level 10

Mythic Entertainment has changed the way the demo works for their MMO RPG Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Instead of limiting players to a 10 day trial, the limit is now gone, where players can play as long as they want, except for one thing: the level limit is set at Level 10.

This is a good idea in theory, as it gives plenty of time for players to explore the world instead of just going XP hunting. We’ll see if it pays off with increased subscriber count.

Mass Effect 2 Collector’s Edition announced

EA has announced the Mass Effect 2 Collector’s Edition (you knew it was coming, right?). The fancy edition contains everything you expect, an art book, a making-of DVD and issue 1 of the Mass Effect comic book, all neatly packed in a tin box. The Collector’s Edition will retail for $70 on the Xbox 360 and $60 on the PC.