Well, it was fun while it lasted.

With December and its myriad holidays out of the way, everybody’s got something to keep them busy. Doug’s back to work on his master’s program, Aaron has transformed into a job-applying machine, and I’ve thankfully found a job once again. Unfortunately, that means we all have a whole lot less time to be playing games, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to turn a blind eye to our sacred obligation to Silicon Sasquatch. Don’t worry! We’ve got a couple great articles that are almost ready for publication, and we’re anticipating a full run of content next week.

In the meantime, here’s what we’ve been keeping ourselves busy with.

Aaron wouldn't say 'I ain't afraid of no ghosts': he has much less bravado toward specters than you might think.

Aaron:

Now, the game I actually have something say about is Ghostbusters: The Video Game. Maybe it’s because I only paid a meager $12.99 at GameFly’s used game store (with free shipping), but I can’t help but like what I’ve seen. I’m perhaps halfway though the story now, and while the camera and controls are a bit rough around the edges, Ghostbusters is pure fun for fans of the movies. It’s by no means perfect, and that’s fine. The humor is there, the attention to detail in the firehouse headquarters is there, the proton packs are spot-on and the thrill of catching a ghost in a trap still makes me giggle just like my 6-year-old self used to with my toy Nerf proton pack and authentic jumpsuit. Ghostbusters is simple fun layered over a strong IP, and I truly hope Atari gives Terminal Reality another shot in future sequel. Maybe when the third movie finally (maybe) sees release next year, a tie-in game could coincide with the film’s debut.

In case you'd like some added context, here's what's happening. Man on the left: "Colonel! What have you been hiding from me!?" Man in giant robot: "Snaaaaaaaaaaake!"

Doug:

Much like Aaron, I’m just going to list out most of what I played over our holiday break because, being a degenerate graduate student, I had almost nothing productive to do between Thanksgiving and this week, when classes re-started up in earnest. Because that means a lot of time to play games, I’m just going to cut the fat and go list-happy.

I finished Brütal Legend (which seemed like it lost its storytelling steam a bit at the very end) and am close to finishing Batman: Arkham Asylum (trap-laden gargoyles are my kryptonite right now). I almost have what the gentlemen at Giant Bomb would term an “S-rank” (or 1000/1000 achievement score) on Forza Motorsport 3, which I also did a lot of online racing on during the break. I was definitely happy to hit Level 50 in that game and get the last gifted car.

The only game really worth the meagre Xbox Live sale over the holiday break was Marvel vs. Capcom 2, which was marked down to almost 60 percent off the regular list price and is worth every penny. Better than arcade-perfect, with every character unlocked from the start and online multiplayer capable? Yes, please. I also received a kind gift in the form of Shadow Complex, which scratches my Metroid-vania itch in so many ways. Definitely one of the best Xbox 360-only games of last year.

Lastly, my sports game fix has come in two forms — first, as part of multiple trips to downtown Portland old-school arcade Ground Kontrol, I’ve fulfilled my basketball jones by playing a bunch of NBA Jam. Nick and I (and friend of the site Andrew) went to GK on New Year’s Eve, and besides crushing the X-Men 6-player arcade game, the most fun had was running the two-man game with the Blazers on NBA Jam. The other sports game I picked up was, finally, Pro Evo Soccer 2010…which definitely lives up to the expectations I had for it based off my playtime with the demo. It may not be as pretty as FIFA 10, but it provides a much more challenging and fulfilling soccer experience. Crank the difficulty all the way up and enjoy smart AI in a sports game for once.

The story of a witch, her hair, and gratuitous almost-nudity. This is gonna be awkward.

Nick:

As a test to see who’s interested in the blog, I offered up a vote on our Facebook page to ask people which game they’d rather see me purchase and review first: Demon’s Souls or Bayonetta. Although there was support for both, Bayonetta got the nod and I picked up a copy last night. While I’ve only had time to play about ten minutes of the game, those ten minutes were extraordinarily promising. I just hope the game’s rampant, bizarre sexuality doesn’t weird out my friends and loved ones.

The majority of my free time has been spent on — yeah, you guessed it — Dragon Age: Origins. I keep thinking I’m getting close to the end, and then another 15-hour sequence of quests pops up. I’m absolutely enamored with the game, so I think I won’t have any complaints if it turns out the game just never ends.

While our Top 10 Games of 2009 deserve attention for their overall excellence, we can’t neglect this year’s remaining deluge of fantastic games — titles that just missed the final cut. Be it their charm, gameplay or presentation, our Honorable Mentions were simply hard to forget. We now present part two of a five-part series of Honorable Mentions articles, one from each member of the Silicon Sasquatch staff. Here are Spencer’s picks.

Though our top ten is a sturdy list of the year’s finest titles, we each had some favorites fall through the cracks. Here, then, are my preferred runners-up.

Red Faction: Guerrilla and Brütal Legend

June — Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows | Rocktober — Xbox 360, PlayStation 3

Alec Mason (left) wields an ostrich as a sledgehammer while Eddie Riggs holds his beloved guitar, Clementine

Brütal Legend and Red Faction: Guerrilla are shoo-ins, the former being a flawed but ultimately fun strategy/adventure title, the latter a shallow but supremely enjoyable shooter with great physics and solid multiplayer. Both are worth playing, especially considering they’ll probably hit the $20-30 price range soon.

Gratuitous Space Battles

November — Windows

The name really does say it all.

While Left 4 Dead and its sequel were setting the standard for zombie apocalypse simulations, Tripwire was busy ignoring them both while releasing Killing Floor. Where the former titles are teamwork-oriented and story-driven in their portrayal of the infection, the latter is a gore-filled zombstomp – less about getting from point A to point B and more about taking down as many zeds as possible in post-apocalypse Britain.  Freaky English voodoo-thrash-electronica accompanies the action flawlessly.

Team Fortress 2

October 2007 — Windows (also available on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as part of The Orange Box — but unfortunately without the Windows version’s updates)

The latest update pits the Blue Soldier against his best pal, the Red Demoman

Team Fortress 2 nets my final spot; yes, I’m quite aware it came out two years ago, but Valve’s regular updates are packed full with something for everyone; maps, hats, weapons, and even achievements for the recovering gamerscore-junkie. Valve’s commitment to TF2 makes it the best team multiplayer experience on the PC, as it has been for two years running.

The year known as 2009 is winding down. A celebratory mood creeps into our homes as Christmas and New Year’s draw near, while we inch, ever closer, to certain Mayan-predicted doom as told by the prophet Cusack. Those critics won’t be laughing when the planets start aligning; their precious Miatas and Ayn Rand anthologies will be swallowed up by a vengeful Mother Earth angry at their scathing words.

Although, words look puny when the ocean can slam an aircraft carrier into the White House!

But until we all become embedded in the upper mantle of our planet, there are games to play. And as long as there are games to play, we at Silicon Sasquatch are obligated to talk about them. But only some. And rather infrequently.

However, we have some seasonal treats for you readers. Before January 1, 2010 arrives, we’ll be posting our “Top 10 Games of 2009″ in a four-part series of articles starting Monday, December 28, and ending on New Year’s Eve. Along with our collectively discussed and debated choices, each editor and contributor will be posting his own “Honorable Mentions” piece about titles not in our collective list, but which merit a nod all the same.

All right, now it’s time for the backlog.

This is what happens when a tail-happy muscle car slaps a wall and spins in front of a full online room in a race…thankfully, the host had damage set to "cosmetic" only. Whew.

Doug:

Another week off from school, another week to spend far too much time gaming: God I love winter break. I’ve been able to pour even more time into my mainstays right now, and lord knows I’m going to have enough time to go out and rent or buy something else soon, too.

Of course I’ve been playing a ton of Forza Motorsport 3 this week, racing my way up closer and closer to Level 50 in the game. I’ve never 1000/1000′d a game on Xbox 360, but this may well be the first — the achievements are really well designed (which may just be code-word for “I can get them all by playing the game my way”), but I’m also hopelessly hooked. I spent some time racing online with my friends on Wednesday, which resulted in a lot of racing game high-jinks and shenanigans…like three of the guys thinking the next-to-last lap was, in fact, the final lap, which resulted in a battle to be first across the finish line and then turn brains off, thinking the post-race cinema would take over. Needless to say, the voice chat after they all straight-lined into the gravel off the first corner was hilarious. I also managed to mangle my car and cause a huge pile-up, which was kind of awesome and embarrassing — see the attached image.

I’ve also been putting more time into NCAA 10 and, inspired by the recent ESPN documentary “The U,” I’ve started up a new dynasty with the University of Miami. In one of the older NCAA Football games you could run a program that was…how do you say…not totally on the up-and-up. It meant you could lose scholarships if your team was too unruly, but it is a feature that’s never been repeated since then. If I could run a team in NCAA 10 with any more bravado or swagger I would definitely run The U like that, but as it stands I’ll just run up the score on teams and recruit the state of Florida heavily.

Last but certainly not least, I’ve made serious headway on Batman: Arkham Asylum. I believe I’m close to the end of the game by now, and it hasn’t disappointed at all. Comparisons to Metroid or post-Symphony of the Night Castlevania games are all the more apt given the upgrade and unlocking structure of the game — Batman receives a new tool in his kit and, much like SotN or Super Metroid, sections of Arkham Island and its buildings become instantly accessible. Plus, the pacing and direction of the single player story has been fantastic.

Stylized graphics, sedated music and a clean, mellow color palette make PixelJunk Shooter all the more enjoyable.

Nick:

It’s been a busy week for me, but I still found time to try out PixelJunk Shooter, the latest in Sony’s impressive PlayStation Network-exclusive downloadable game series. Its simple premise of “save the good guys and shoot the bad ones” coupled with its innovative action-puzzle gameplay hybrid based around the concept of fluid dynamics and manipulation make it worth the time and money of any PlayStation 3 owner.

And for those of you keeping track: Yes, I’m still playing Dragon Age: Origins, and yes, I’m still enamored with it. Steam says I’ve logged 47.3 hours into the game already, making it second only to Plants vs. Zombies, but I’m not gonna mention how many hours I’ve spent with that game. Forty hours seems ludicrous when you consider I’m only at level 10. But even when you factor out about five hours for when I left the game paused and another few hours when I let some friends make new characters, that’s still about forty hours of raw gameplay — and I’m not even halfway through my first playthrough. Dragon Age is, without a doubt, the most engrossing role playing game I’ve ever encountered. I just hope I can finish it before Mass Effect 2 arrives in a month.

A quick and badly composed screencap of a game that deserves better than that.

Aaron:

So, I really like Cave Story (Doukutsu Monogatari). I know I’m five years late to the party, and I have no excuse. At least I’m enjoying it now — though I can’t believe this was (and still is) a freeware game before its announcement as a future WiiWare release. It’s funny, adorable, endearing and instantly classic.

My remaining list of played games is pretty boring this week. I contributed two kills to Team Fortress 2‘s WAR! effort (as a soldier because I think Demomen, while hilariously Scottish, are bastards), and continued on my seventh and final playthrough of Mass Effect. The purpose this time around is to create my “perfect” character for Mass Effect 2. I’m essentially doing everything over again, sidequests included, to make sure the outcomes are unique to my Shepard in the sequel.

Oh, and I tried some more Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer last night as a sort of bookend to my review. However, the infinite grenade glitch made me drop out in the middle of the second match. You really have to admire a developer that can make its game more unplayable after each patch.

My gCal for this week: The green arrow represents the days without posts on Silicon Sasquatch. Everyone likes an effective graphic!

Unfortunately for you, dear reader, our goal of posting fresh, thirst-quenching content at least once a day didn’t occur this week. We apologize for that; It’s a busy season for those of us in graduate school and those of us looking for jobs. But you’re not here for excuses! You’re here to about read what videogames we’ve been playing — the most important segment of our daily lives, of course.

Nick’s been hoarding mad “lewt”, I’ve been rekindling my passion for zombie killing and Doug’s been using his DS to hone his prowess with the Japanese language.

Wait…is that even a game?

Despite the obvious similarities, this is not an homage to The Secret of Monkey Island. This disembodied head is just irritating.

Nick:

You’d think that I’d be knee-deep into Titan Quest, having picked it up for a mere five bucks last weekend. Or maybe you’d assume I’m relentlessly improving my Firefight scores in Halo 3: ODST. At the very least, you’d be absolutely certain that most of my free time has been spent feeding my fetishistic love for the Rock Band Network beta.

The truth is, I barely touched any of them. I’ve got two reasons for that, and neither of them is gonna make any sense.

The first reason is the oft-maligned Too Human, Silicon Knights’ biggest gamble and most controversial release. Critics and gamers alike expressed almost universal disdain for the game, and I can see why: The plot is baffling, the voice acting is pathetic, the art and enemy design are painfully uninspired and the game is incredibly short.

It is, by most accounts, a colossal failure. So why can’t I stop playing it — even after I already beat it?

Between the ludicrous amounts of loot to gather, the relatively replayable dungeons and the adrenaline rush from taking down hundreds of enemies in mere seconds, Too Human has brought me closer to the euphoric destruction of games like Diablo II than anything else has in recent years. It’s a very uneven package, and though I’m a little ashamed to admit it, I’ve gotten way more than my money’s worth out of it.

The second reason why I’ve avoided the mainstream in gaming is the officially licensed Skee-Ball game for iPhone. Developed by Freeverse, the 99-cent app delivers a surprisingly deep physics-based game with hilarious bonuses redeemable with tickets won in the game. Glittery pencils, fake mustaches, little cheap plastic dinosaurs, Peruvian Flute Band CDs — all the crap you coveted as a child at Chuck E. Cheese is lovingly reproduced. The game also features clever integration with ngmoco’s Plus+ network, a sort of Xbox Live for various iPhone games.

Aaron:

As I mentioned last week, I acquired Titan Quest for $5. I have to say it’s much more fun than I expected. Nick may be satisfying his craving for Diablo-like gameplay through Too Human, but I’d wager Titan Quest is a better companion for those loot-oriented needs. It’s a shame that the title faded from most gamers’ memories.

It’s been another slow week for me otherwise — most of my time has gone to reading, being social and looking for work. But I’ve surprised myself with a new-found appreciation for Left 4 Dead. The game wowed me when I first played it, but the honeymoon was incredibly short. Since January I’ve rarely touched it, instead turning to Team Fortress 2 for online FPS fun. But with the release of the Crash Course DLC this week I’m reminded how clever and sustainable the L4D concept is. Thanks to L4Dmods.com and its collection of well-made community campaigns like Death Aboard and Heaven Can Wait, I’m actually anticipating the upcoming sequel.

Next week, Halo 3: ODST will be arriving from Amazon. Thanks to a 10% Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) discount and an Amazon sale that took $10 off the game, I feel much more comfortable spending $44 on what I largely feel is an expansion to the core Halo 3 game. Debate that point with me all you want, but I’ll at least be able to enjoy co-op and Firefight with my friends now.

Doug:

In an ironic turn, the most time I’ve spent playing games this week has actually been for class! Along with an online marketing simulation game for my marketing class, I’ve been taking advantage of one of the most useful games I have — DS Rakubiki Jiten — in my Japanese classes.

Anybody who’s studied a foreign language knows how essential dictionaries are. Especially with Japanese and Chinese, having access to an electronic dictionary that can provide both meanings and how to write words in both languages is an extremely useful tool. DS Rakubiki Jiten, then, turns your average humble Nintendo DS into a Japanese-English electronic dictionary. At the relatively good price of $50, I bought my copy of DS Rakubiki Jiten through an import shop a couple of years ago and have found it vital to my study of Japanese ever since.

Considering that most electronic Japanese dictionaries cost at least $200 — and that, unlike those entry-level models, the DS Rakubiki Jiten allows you to use the bottom touch screen to write in kanji that you don’t recognize — it’s highly suggested as a valuable way to improve one’s study of Japanese.

I’ve also gotten a bit more seat time with Madden NFL 10 — that game suffers from terrible rubber-band AI trying to keep games close — and Peggle on iPhone. I also got the chance to go to Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade in Portland on Wednesday; it was a night where a $5 cover charge got you into the arcade and from there, all the games were set to free play. I spent some time with my friends on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons, a little bit of Street Fighter II, DDR, and Bubble Bobble.

The funk of 40,000 nerds awaits Nick at this year's Penny Arcade Expo. Expect the show floor to look much like this, a scene from the exhibit hall at the 2008 Penny Arcade Expo.

Here we are. The beginning of a three-day holiday weekend, the first day of the Penny Arcade Expo up in Seattle, and time for another week’s worth of gaming recounted in our Backlog. It’s been the calm ahead of the storm here, with Nick preparing for a feast of gaming at PAX, Aaron enjoying some comfort gaming, and Doug preparing to dig into some modern classics.

This is Nick's base of operations from the Bring Your Own Computer room at the Penny Arcade Expo. Updates from the expo and probably some good ol' PC gaming will be happening RIGHT HERE all weekend.

Nick

There hasn’t been much time for gaming this week, but that’s only because I’ve spent most of my time preparing for the Penny Arcade Expo: printing resumes, making business cards, packing up my computer and driving up Interstate 5 to Seattle. I just arrived and set up my computer as a base of operations, and I’m about to head down to the show floor. I’ll be posting when I can, but please follow me on Twitter (@sasquatchgaming) for up-to-the-minute impressions.

Some games I’m looking forward to playing include:

Diablo 3

The Beatles: Rock Band

Brütal Legend

Scribblenauts

Nostalgia

Battlefield Bad Company 2

If you’re at PAX, be sure to say hi!

Aaron informs me that while it's not his best game of Team Fortress 2, he's rather proud of the dominations handed out during this match. Can't say I don't blame him.

Aaron

I’ll have to disappoint everyone this week and confess I spent most of my gaming time playing in two separate three-hour-long Rock Band 2 sessions. Just one of those weeks, I suppose. It’s interesting though considering I’m the least enthusiastic toward the rhythm game genre compared with fellow Sasquatchers Nick and Doug, and yet I spent most of my free gaming time this week playing a title I’m sort of “meh” about. The plot thickens!

Otherwise I perused snippets of Castle Crashers here and Team Fortress 2 there — the general standbys when I need a strong dose of videogame fun. I also tried the exclusive Joker challenge room content for the PlayStation 3 version of Batman: Arkham Asylum, and I have to say to you owners of the Xbox 360 version: you’re not missing much. It’s a cool idea, but the challenge rooms are a hardcore-only affair already, and after playing the game as a nimble martial arts master in a batsuit, playing as the lanky, goofy Joker feels awkward. That’s my take though.

Readers of our site may or may not notice we have a favicon now! Check your address bar for a very small (but very awesome) sasquatch face. It’s not that exciting compared to a full redesign, but hey: I felt giddy about it.

Oh, I almost forgot. Next week brings us The Beatles: Rock Band.

Now that’s a rhythm game I can get back to.

I'm finally going to get around to finishing Shadow of the Colossus off, making me quite possibly the last hardcore gamer in the world to do so.

Doug

While I hate to be a spoil sport and overly sarcastic, I’ve been playing games like Finish My Summer Term Classes and Study For Finals, which I’m sure you’ll recognize as international bestsellers. I’m also partaking in the cult classic Follow Xbox 360 Repair Status Online.

Joking aside, I look forward to the silver lining of my Xbox 360 being sent away — being forced into playing some classics. I set my original Xbox up for the first time in ages, and hope to find time to play Beyond Good and Evil, which I’ve never finished, and NBA Street Vol. 2, which is a great arcade basketball game. Also please note that both of these games are not backwards compatible (*shakes fist angrily at Microsoft*).

Add PS2 classic Shadow of the Colossus to that list and you have the games I want to finish before my 360 returns from beyond the grave.

Of course, The Beatles: Rock Band drops this week, too, and I cannot wait to get my hands on that.

Here's a shock: Aaron ran into his fair share of Snipers and Spies after the Spy and Sniper update! Jarate for everyone!

Aaron Thayer:

It’s been a spastic two weeks for my gaming appetite. I finished a “hard” playthrough of Battlefield: Bad Company, and I was reminded just how great of a job DICE did in their first real singleplayer console game. Hell, the multiplayer’s a lot better than I remember, too. Team Fortress 2 has been my true online obsession however, thanks to the recent Spy/Sniper update. Itemization issues aside, it’s one of those titles that remains constant fun, plain and simple.

Thanks to Xbox Live’s Deal of the Week, I caved and picked up (or should I say downloaded) Bionic Commando: Rearmed for the low price of $5. I never played the original NES title so $10 wasn’t that much of a motivator for me, but the half-price deal certainly was worth it. GRIN — despite their current issues with layoffs and mediocre releases — did a wonderful job making a modern 2D/3D shooter feel fresh and challenging.

I also went achievement-hunting in Gears of War 2 and started Tomb Raider: Underworld, something I look forward to reviewing down the road. Ms. Croft has certainly improved in her digital raiding antics (which might not mean much considering I haven’t played one of these titles since Tomb Raider 2), but I can’t help missing Prince of Persia’s Elika and her guiding hand during the similar acrobatic feats found in Underworld.

Oh, and the Red Faction: Guerrilla multiplayer demo is some of the best online chaos I’ve ever played on a console. Fire a few rockets at the support structure of a three-story building hiding the enemy team and you’ll know what I mean when you watch the entire thing collapse in on itself. Ah, deconstruction. Poetic.

Nick's been burning up that iPhone battery on the go with what was once the pinnacle of PC gaming.

Nick Cummings:

This week has seen quite a few games come and go for me, but there’s one undeniable standout: InFamous. After a half-dozen hours or so, I’m certifiably in love with this game. Of course, when its toughest competition is the heavily flawed Bionic Commando, maybe that doesn’t mean so much.

I sought relaxation in Myst on my iPhone. When it first came out for the Mac, I was too young and impatient to enjoy the slow-paced, rich exploration. Fortunately, the iPhone port allows for a balance between blissful immersion and pick-up-and-play puzzle solving that’s essential for an on-the-go game. And coupled with my new Sennheiser headphones, it’s the same surrealistic adventure I remember from fifteen years ago.

I also tried to play the universally abhorred Rock Revolution. Just…don’t even get me started.

Doug has been getting quite comfortable with VATS in Fallout 3. The Bloody Mess perk is purely optional, however.

Doug Bonham:

I’ve been down with a nasty head cold for most of the week, but I’ve still had some time to game. I’ve finally started digging into Fallout 3 — I’m really getting engrossed into the story, combat, and now not feeling totally overwhelmed by the Wasteland. I’m not all that far in and still a measly level 7, but it’s awesome – I played until 2 a.m. last night and, more importantly, am totally getting ahold of VATS. Nothing like being able to pop ghouls in the dome with my hunting rifle.

It seems like I’ve been (strangely) getting my RPG on this week – the other game I’ve sunk some hours into is my second play-through of Mass Effect. This time, instead of the goody-two-shoes guy I made the first time, I’m not taking any shit – and while it’s not a straight-up fully evil character, I’m not afraid to be an asshole. It’s very fun. Between playing through it some more again and all the new info coming out about Mass Effect 2, I’m getting super stoked to see the second part of this series.

And it also wouldn’t be a week for me without playing a sports game – this time, it’s the Tiger Woods 10 demo that hit Xbox Live and PSN last week. I golf a little bit in real life (not very well, granted) and am a big golf gaming fan. I’ve skipped the last two Tiger Woods games, but heard 09 was good – well, based off the gameplay in the demo, 10 is spectacular. Same great swing physics that the series has had nailed down since the 2005 edition, but with even better putting controls and amazing graphics. I wish I could play it in HD.

Lastly, the one thing I want to get done with soon is finally finishing Braid. Time to redouble my efforts and get past the puzzles that have stumped me for the better part of a year.

Guitar Hero 5 is coming and it has songs (surprise!), free-to-play MMO Free Realms has racked up quite the player base in its first few weeks of existence, Valve’s sneaky with its surprises as usual, and Mass Effect 2 footage is available for your viewing pleasure.

Not Guitar Hero 5–but close enough

Though the game has been known about for a while now, Activision today tossed out a few official scraps of details on the upcoming Guitar Hero 5. Players will be able to tackle the game’s tracks with any instrument combination they see fit. Want to sing through a song with three other friends all using microphones? Go ahead.

It’s an interesting mechanic to put into a rhythm game–certainly one that isn’t “authentic” as far real bands go (though, yes, these games aren’t meant to be taken literally). And while we’ve been somewhat biased in favor of Harmonix’s Rock Band titles (or, at least Nick and Doug have), I personally find the gameplay freedom Neversoft’s offering to be great. Add-in the beginnings of a solid-looking track list and the new instant difficulty/instrument swapping, and the next Guitar Hero game might turn out to be one actually worthy of the franchise’s name.

You'd certainly be happy too if you were SOE

Free Realms, Sony Online Entertainment’s recently released free-to-play MMO, has already achieved 1,000,000 registered player accounts in under three weeks’ time. The “free” concept might tarnish these numbers a bit considering the zero-cost entry level for gamers to go and be wizards, but it’s still an impressive amount of people willing to try out an American company’s take on the international concept of micro-transaction gameplay. Also, there’s a trading card game within the MMO. I almost feel compelled to try it now.

You are encouraged to fear Mann Co., but that fear comes with the gentle and stern guidance of a near-naked Australian

Though we already mentioned Valve’s impending Team Fortress 2 update, they’re not quite done yet: The next Team Fortress 2 serving of additional content will also be a…gasp…Spy-oriented extravaganza! You have to love the design team’s miniature poster announcements, with their clever wording and immersion into the strange world of TF2′s 1960s super villain culture. Plus, who doesn’t get a kick out of Mann Co.’s CEO (and Australian), Saxton Hale. The name and trouser-shorts simultaneously scream manliness.

And finally, a closing treat for you: BioWare today released a dual-purpose teaser and pre-E3 video for Mass Effect 2. What else can I say but “Wow.”

Enjoy, and have a great weekend. We’ll be posting some great stuff over this weekend and throughout next week, so keep coming back for more!

"Awesome!" indeed

So, we want to extend a ginormous gracias to those of you who read Silicon Sasquatch daily and continue to direct your comrades to our corner of the web. We promise to keep bringing you things of a decidedly awesome and videogame-related nature.

Now, it’s time for the real news: Atari gets cold feet, the telenovela that is Midway’s financial woes gets juicier, we get to know Modern Warfare 2 a bit better and Valve’s Team Fortress 2 team takes a “bow.” (You’ll get the pun in a bit.)

Let's hope Atari backing out of E3 doesn't mean advertising for Ghostbusters: The Video Game or Champions Online will suffer

Despite having a very capable line-up of releases coming out this year, Atari has suddenly decided to skip E3 2009, citing a desire to explore “other selling and marketing initiatives.” Joystiq seems to believe the company’s change of heart is due to a lack of sufficient cash flow to pay the Entertainment Software Association‘s fees. That’s possible, but without up-to-date financial analysis available it’s hard to be certain.

Our cursory research implies that Atari has seen significant increases in business-related performance over the last year in comparison to its stock delisting ordeal last May. Things might not be so bad at the company, but without knowing for sure that’s quite the guess.

Maybe Atari is actually going to pursue alternative methods of marketing its Ghostbusters and Champions Online titles as their announcement said. But with E3 2009 supposedly returning to its old tricks of cacophony and neon light insanity–which always made the event a great place to get a game noticed and hyped–this could be the makings of a huge mistake for Atari.

These financial issues are totally getting in the way of a sequel to Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy

Gamasutra has a fantastic post on the developing story of creditors who are suing Midway Games‘ former big-wig board members for running the company into the ground to allegedly benefit themselves.

Sumner Redstone, quite the controversial name as far as Midway’s current situation goes, is singled-out along with daughter Shari Redstone and former investor Mark Thomas, among others.  Two of the suit’s many claims center on the Redstones intentionally investing $90 million into the struggling company to then recoup it under claims of “debt,” and also using Midway’s $700 million in tax losses to later obtain a beneficial refund.

It’s a great if depressing read, and goes to show once again that money is quite the motivator when it comes to personal gain. No one wants to see any development studio go under thanks to fraudulent actions of insensitive businesspeople. But, yes, I suppose it’s “just business.”

Digital war has never been so cover-worthy, until now

Infinity Ward‘s Modern Warfare 2 is getting a blowout piece in the next issue of Game Informer, and multiple websites have posted some of the initial details. What’s known so far sounds both promising and unfortunate at the same time. Taking place years after the last game, “Soap” MacTavish–the main character throughout the British SAS missions in Call of Duty 4–is now a captain who will serve as the new character’s mentor as did Captain Price the last time around. It’ll be interesting to see a former protagonist in a different context.

Unfortunately, Infinity Ward won’t be including a cooperative campaign option, although Treyarch managed to include the feature in Call of Duty: World at War in a very polished manner. Also, MW2 sounds like it might be shorter than CoD4′s already short campaign.

Knowing Infinity Ward’s track record, the title will likely turn out to be superb. It’s just a shame to see the team once again won’t add co-op, an ironically modern gameplay feature, into the so-called Modern Warfare 2.

While this picture isn't related to the Sniper update, I think we can appreciate an engineer in mid-burn

And because they’re just so sweet to their fans, Valve has teased its impending Team Fortress 2 Sniper update with details on one of the new unlockable weapons: The Huntsman–it’s a bow and arrow!

The extremely old school weapon will actually pin its victims to surfaces upon a killing shot; even if the target lives through a direct hit, they’ll still have an arrow protruding from their bodies. Groovy.

Valve has consistently supported Team Fortress 2 with new maps, unlockables and achievements since its 2007 release, all for free, and it’s a real testament to the company’s belief in PC gaming.

Now we eagerly await the inevitable Zelda mod using the new bow and arrow’s physics. Get to work!

Coming tomorrow is our hands-on overview of the new Nintendo DSi system. To be clear, the purpose of an overview is to be less like a review–instead of making recommendations on the overall value of the product, we’re simply providing our readership with an introduction to it. We’ll still offer our crystal-clear opinions backed-up with facts, but the final purchasing decision is up to you, as always. Also on the way tomorrow is a review of Xbox Live Arcade title Galaga Legions.

Friday we’ll be reviewing the new Left 4 Dead DLC pack with its hectic and horrific Survival Mode. Can we last more than two minutes? Doubtful.

Next Tuesday’s big post is a “cooperative” review of Resident Evil 5 between Nick and me. This review has been a long time coming, and we look forward to adding our special co-op-centric commentary into the structure of our usual, trusty reviews.

Now, onto the news…and some awesome poster art.

Familiar, no?

Thank you, ThinkGeek, for beating a very dead horse: You can (for now) purchase brand-spanking-new, unopened Dreamcast consoles for $99 from ThinkGeek.com’s online store. What amazes me the most is that the company was able to track down enough “new” consoles to provide a slot on their virtual shelves, as Sega supposedly sold through its remaining stock of refurbished units through its Sega Direct store. Official production of the console stopped in March of 2001, and as such new console eBay prices today hover near ThinkGeek’s. Clearly, paying a flat rate premium for a sealed console is better than getting it used. Luckily for me, my Dreamcast is still kicking, though my rose-colored glasses didn’t help much when I tried playing through Shenmue again last year: I shut the game off after 35 minutes. However, in my bizarro-world reality, Phantasy Star Online is still one of the best MMOs ever made, so take that as you will. I’ll admit that the system was ahead of its time, though it still doesn’t give credence to those damned VMU Chaos–I’m looking at you, Sonic Adventure.

One Disc to Rule Them All

In an unexpected gesture of semi-goodwill, Warner Bros. is letting owners of their HD-DVD titles to trade-up to Blu-ray for $4.95 per title, and only $6.95 shipping per entire order. Though only available in the U.S. and Peurto Rico, it’s still a very cool move on the company’s part. Maybe other companies who dabbled in the HD-DVD side of the most recent war of the formats will follow suit. Check out the full article for details here, and, if interested, go to the official trade-in site here. 1UP raises a devious point: Could savvy people nab cheap HD-DVDs to then upgrade for a total cost that would still be less than the full price of most Blu-ray titles? Why yes, people could.

Yelling = Rock n' Roll

Continuing our unintentional habit of covering rhythm-based games, an interesting news piece on Gamasutra reports that according to Cowen Group analyst Doug Creutz, despite a probable decline in overall sales for music games in 2009, the Guitar Hero franchise will perform better than Rock Band titles. The article amounts to the following: Due to Harmonix’s focus on The Beatles: Rock Band instead of a flagship, Rock Band 3 type of title, the major Guitar Hero title this year (assuming it’s a World Tour 2 or something along those lines) will be in a better position to encourage sales than a gamble like a Beatles-only title with a high price entry point. Specifically:

It’s doubtful, according to Creutz, that the upcoming Beatles-themed Rock Band release will make the same kind of impact as another major franchise release. And the high price point — $250 — of the special edition ‘could put a cap on peripheral sales.’

– Excerpt from “Analyst: Guitar Hero To Lead 2009 Band Game Wars,” by Leigh Alexander

We here at The Silicon Sasquatch are skeptical about this presumption, and not because two of our writers are Rock Band fanboys. It’s anyone’s guess how well The Beatles: Rock Band will do, but the sheer brand power of a Beatles music game could possibly knock sales right out of the park. However, as I mentioned to Nick, it’s a different generation of gamers today and it surprises the both of us how many among our peers just don’t like The Beatles. Maybe, and it sounds strange to say this, the game will be too niche to make a big impact on the NPD lists.

The stalwart, Sandvich-loving savior of Socialism

Now enjoy some Shepard Fairey-inspired, Obama-themed gaming posters, courtesy of GamesRadar. Regardless of political affiliations, these are very neat and extremely high-def. Our favorite is definitely Mr. “Sandvich” himself, as seen above.

The editorial staff at Silicon Sasquatch is dedicated to bringing you news, reviews, opinion and analysis with journalistic professionalism and engaging prose. We’re just a few poor guys with BAs in magazine journalism, but we do what we can.

However, we would never describe a gaming blog as pure journalism. Most of the content we’ve posted to this date could better be described as criticism: In-depth, analytical opinions on games and news in the videogame world, but opinions nonetheless. Journalism implies digging into each story, double- and triple-checking facts, getting in touch with contacts and divining the important news values behind every published story.

We aspire to go beyond the status quo as established by the snark-over-substance mainstays of the major gaming blogs. They serve an audience and function as a business, and that’s good, but we’d rather leverage the harsh reality of this blog probably never being profitable in order to give you an honest and well-thought-out story with every post. We don’t have a publisher or advertising clients to please, so we might as well be on the level with you.

Over the last week we’ve been posting weekly updates to major (and minor) news stories, along with brief analysis. Today marks the start of another weekly feature, The Backlog. Essentially, it gives the editorial staff a chance to reflect on the games they’ve been playing and give some impressions and reflections on those experiences. Again, it’s not journalistic, but we hope it’s helpful to our readers; at the very least, we hope it makes for an interesting read and a starting point for good discussion.

In the coming weeks, you’ll begin to see some meatier features where we dig a little deeper and produce some original research and content. We’re all intimately familiar with the vice-grip of the journalism bug, and we’re not ready to abandon the profession we studied for years. Just bear in mind that such features take time, energy, clout and resources — things we’re all in short supply of. In the meantime, we want to extend our sincere thanks for your continued reading and hope you’ll stick with us in the coming weeks.

Now, click the link and read all about the games we’ve been slogging away at!

Aaron:

This weekend I’ll be graced with a new DSi as a birthday present to replace my stolen DS Lite and to fulfill my childhood dreams of a blueish/turquoise handheld.

I won’t be gaming at all until I return from the annual excursion, but over the past week it’s been a steady diet of Mass Effect, Call of Duty: World at War, Resident Evil 5 and Penny Arcade Adventures: Episode 1.

Mass Effect continues to be one of the best gaming investments I’ve ever made, and though my current playtime motives are dubious (read: achievement-related) I’m still having so much fun and would note it still holds up well after a couple of years.

WaW is frustrating, annoying and…addictive. I honestly don’t know why I put myself through it, just like in CoD4, but the multiplayer advancement makes me come back for more. Of course, it wouldn’t be worth it without four friends to play with. And Nazi Zombies is pretty entertaining, though give me L4D or give me undeath.

RE5 has maintained its enjoyment levels of “over 11.” That’s on a 10-point scale by the way. Co-op has really been refined to perfection with this game and I hope future co-op experiences are even half as polished. Though I will admit the intrigue is kinda lost when you finally buy infinite ammo for the time-honored and series mainstay: the ginormous magnum.

PAA: EP1 is probably one of the best Live Arcade titles I’ve purchased, and I feel guilty for holding out until it was 50% off. So much humor, so much fun.

Nick:

This week has been especially busy for me. On top of working full-time, I’ve been writing the weekly updates for the Sasquatch, which isn’t as easy as I thought it’d be. However, I’ve still found the time to play a little Team Fortress 2 and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, as well as my old mainstay, Rock Band 2.

There’s not much I can really say about Team Fortress 2, other than it’s shocking how fresh the game feels a year and a half after its release. The continuous flow of new content packs and the intricate level of strategy that emerges in each class is staggering. If you’re on Steam, look me up!

I love Grand Theft Auto, but I’m not sure how I feel about Chinatown Wars. While a technological marvel and an impressively immersive game on the DS, it straddles an awkward line between the rich narrative experience of GTA IV and the reckless, devil-may-care fun of earlier games in the series (and more recently exemplified by the awesome Saints Row series.) I’m struggling to stay engaged with the story and the gameplay, but both seem a little short-changed and loosely connected. I’ll have a full review next week.

FACT: Rock Band 2 is the best game ever. It’s my desert island game. It’s the greatest damn thing short of playing in a real band. While I shudder to think how much of my money has been siphoned away by Harmonix’s impeccable, far-reaching music tastes, I find myself booting up the 360 and plowing through a few songs every day. If there’s any triple-A game that deserves even more credit than it already has, it’s this one. Some of the latest and greatest songs I’ve been enjoying are “New Slang” by The Shins and the hilariously terrible but shred-tastic “Warriors of Time” by Black Tide.

Doug:

I’ve been slogging away at a bunch of games this week, mostly stuff for review and consideration for the Sasquatch, but with a smattering of stuff for my own personal entertainment as well.

Retro Game Challenge was, of course, for review – and I’m glad to have spent all the time with my DS Lite and that game. I will eventually let at least Nick borrow the game to give it a shot in his own free time, too, but I’m definitely hanging onto the game long-term – because the games it has within are great time killers, Star Prince and Rally King especially.

No week would be complete without me playing a bit of NCAA Football 09 on my 360. I’ve been heavily involved with the game since it’s release last July – specifically, I threw myself into some organized online dynasties. I’ve been playing, recruiting, and talking smack with other members of a forum for…ages, now, it seems, but things are slowing down a bit. I’m only in two dynasties – a Pac-10 conference one with Oregon, and a Big 12 one with Colorado – and only played a bit for both.

The other sports game I’ve been playing is FIFA 09, specifically its “Be A Pro” mode. For a sports game and soccer game junkie like me, this is the ultimate – create a player, take them through the lower levels, build them up from a scrub to a superstar, and then start to dominate. It’s far too much fun. I haven’t even played a game with a full team in ages.

I’ve been putting little bits of time into a couple other games – Fallout 3 (which I’m finally playing), Rock Band 2 (specifically Rock Band Tuesday) – but, with no game to plug through and review this week, I hope I can spend some time with other things…like Diablo II.