Weekly Recap Oct. 25: GTA IV, Alan Wake, Street Fighter IV...

From October 19th to the 25th, we have some very interesting news for you all. From Sony losing close to 14% of their market share value, to Alan Wake actually getting updated, this week was a fireball of news. And guess what? Yep, here at Blend Games we have you completely covered. So don’t sweat trying to keep with the latest headlines, they’re all right here. All right, enough talk, let’s get things rolling.

Sunday:

We kicked off the beginning of the week with a brief comparison between two shooters. I would give away which two shooters they are, however that might ruin all the fun and result in a lot of fanboy anguish. So I’ll leave you to your duty of clicking on the link and being pleasantly surprised.

A review of Dead Space is also available for your perusal. Just in case you missed Pete Haas’ review of one of the scariest games of all time, I thought it would definitely benefit you to check it out...especially if you like games that give you cold sweats, heavy breathing and possibly wet pants.

Team Fortress 2 won’t see any more updates until 2009. The boys and girls at Valve are a little too busy at the moment. But the content updates will include everything you’ll need to ensure that game will be as fun as the day you bought it...or possibly the next day, when you’re not feeling guilty for having spent the money for buying it in the first place. But you get my drift.

Rounding out Sunday’s news is a story about GTA IV. The game that’s always in the press. Only this time it has nothing to do with in-game controversy, but sales controversy. It appears the game isn’t much of a hot seller over in the land of the rising sun. But before you jump to any conclusions, check out the news story to see why.

Monday

Blend Games’ Editor, Pete Haas, lays down the law on game review scores. It may be edgy, but he may be right. Check out what Petey H., has to say about the current state of scoring reviews and how it affects the way people perceive those games. Oh yes, Blend Games can be deep.

There’s also news of an update coming for Unreal Tournament III. Now I could be wrong, but it sure did seem like Epic treated this game like a red-headed step-child. The updates are long overdue, but find out what the full low-down on this story is all about. Just click the link.

Tuesday

Knights of the Old Republic has officially been announced as an MMO. For what was a rumor for the longest, LucasArts and BioWare (in association with EA) finally made it known that the franchise is stepping into MMORPG territory. But hey, you know our motto when it comes to rumors: “Sometimes we deliver”.

Finally, something on Alan Wake has surfaced. It seemed like forever. But the last time this happened with a game Blend Games ended up in a word-tussle with the President of the company. But hey, Alan Wake could be good. Check out the cinematic trailer and see if you like it for yourself.

Wednesday

Top 5 hardcore games you’ll want to play in 2009. It’s official, you will definitely want to play the games on that list. Otherwise, I don’t think you could ever consider yourself to be a hardcore gamer.

Looks like some Presidents will be in Rock Band. Not real United States Presidents, the alternative rock band the Presidents of the United States. Geesh, like real Presidents (or potential Presidents) would actually associate (or advertise) themselves on or in video games (or Xbox Live)? Please. Keep dreaming.

Thursday

Street Fighter IV is possibly hitting consoles sometime this winter. That’s what the producer of the game is narrowing the time-line to. But hey, don’t just take my word for it. Just check out the article for yourself and see how unfaithful Capcom is to narrowing down a release date for this highly anticipated game.

Halloween games anyone? Well, here is a list of games you won’t be playing on the scariest day of the year. See what made the list and why. You might be pleasantly surprised to see a few favorites on there.

Thursday was jam-packed with news, as the ESA announced the return of the classic E3. Whether booth babes can be called booth babes again is completely up in the air. But let’s hope they can come off their high-horse and bring it all back down to the shallow level in which gamers live. Then we can all be happy. See what they’re planning to do for next year’s E3 by clicking on the link.

Talking more game development with Blend Games’ correspondent, Kurt Bieg. Check out the fascinating story revolving around the quest to assemble a design team for the game, and how not to go about assembling a development group.

Friday

Electronic Arts is talking sequels. Really, they are. And I’m not talking sequels to the 300th rendition of Need for Speed or The Sims (although, both those games are receiving sequels). EA is actually talking sequels for new IP such as Army of Two, Bad Company and *gasp*, Dead Space?

Zombies are invading Grand Theft Auto IV?! Yeah, apparently. But it’s not going to be Niko versus Dawn of Liberty City. Instead, it only applies to the multiplayer portion of the game (lame!). You can check out how this new zombie feature works, and how uncool it really is.

HellGate: London, the once popular MMO is now having its doors closed. The news came via a Namco press release stating that the company will continue to support the servers (for free) up until it all comes crashing down. Check out the full news story to get all the info on this event.

Saturday

The PlayStation 3 could be Sony’s last console? Maybe, or maybe not. It all depends on what the economy says. And if the economy tells Sony to go sit in a corner, Sony is going to have to go sit in a corner.

GTA IV Tropies are on their way. All is not doom and gloom for the PlayStation camp, as PS3 owners have been awaiting these trophies, which should add some sparkle, some life and some renewed vigor in their playing experience of the most mainstream, mature game on the market.