2009 has officially come to an end and we kick off the New Year with a look back at some of the best unplayed and underappreciated games of the decade. Some of the entries might surprise you. New footage of the upcoming third-person shooter, Dizzel, has emerged as well as a media blowout of a similar game called Hessian. We also have a list for some of the coolest game trailers of the year, which is probably worth checking out if you love promotional videos. And we also have an unofficial list of some of the most original games of 2009. These stories and more in this January 2nd, 2010 Weekly Recap here at Blend Games.

Sunday

Star Wars: The Old Republic Dark Side Developer Diary. Find out how the dark side plays a part in the upcoming MMO.

Dizzel Is Yet Another Gears of War Clone. It looks like it, sounds like it, and smells like it…well, it must be a clone.

Hessian Media Blowout For Unreal Engine 3 MMO. The game looks good and it’s coming out in 2010.

The Twelve Games of Christmas Day Four. Electronic Theatre’s 12 days of Christmas gaming.

TGR’s Winter Spectacular. The Game Reviews has some special treats in store for holiday gamers.

Monday

Divinity II Xbox 360 Console Skin And Mouse Pad Giveaway. In need of a new mouse pad? Maybe the Divinity II giveaway can help with that.

Gerbil Physics Topples Over Into Xbox Live Indie Games. A new physics-based game has become available for XBLIG users.

Mass Effect Save Files Give Mass Effect 2 Bonuses. In addition to affecting the game there will be a few bonuses to experience as well.

Command & Conquer Announcement Teased. New game or new game content? Only clicking the link can answer that.

The Maw Is Xbox Live Deal of the Week. And it’s only half of what it usually costs.

EA Says Medal of Honor Multiplayer Beta Makes Sense. Of course it makes sense and gamers can’t wait to play.

Pilotwings Hits Virtual Console: WiiWare Gets Castlevania The Adventure and ReBirth. A lot of goodies now available for both the Nintendo’s WiiWare and Virtual Console channels.

BattleSwarm: New Maps, Items And Game Modes Added. Feel like fighting a thousand bugs? Well, hop right to it and click the link.



Tuesday

Unplayed: The Most Underappreciated Games of the Decade. Unplayed and underappreciated…Pete Haas lists some of the games you may have missed out on.

Blood Bowl Heading To Xbox 360 And PSP In 2010. It’s confirmed…blood and gore will return to football in 2010.

Twin Blades Medieval Zombie Shooter Now Available For Xbox 360. A scantily dressed nun battling zombies? Count in just about every pubescent male gamer.

Dragon Age Return to Ostagar Gets Release Date. Already completed Dragon Age? Well, even if you lie and say ‘yes’ there’s still some additional new content on the way once you actually complete the game.

Rumor: NFL Trainer Coming To Wii. This game makes sense: you train on your Wii to play Madden NFL on the Xbox 360 or PS3.

Borderlands Mad Moxxi’s Underdome Riot DLC Released For Xbox 360. The second set of DLC is now available.

Painkiller Studio Making Bulletstorm. It sounds like Acony’s Parabellum, but you’ll have to read it to get the details.

Divinity II In-Game Achievement Contest Announced. Play the game to win a system that you played the game on…that makes sense, right?



Wednesday

Guilty Gear Coming To PS3 And Xbox 360. Brand new side-scrolling fighting from the makers of BlazBlue.

Two Worlds II New Screenshots And In-Game Videos. All available at the official website.

Lords Online Closed Beta test Begins In January, 2010. Play it while you can, it won’t be back until spring, 2010.

What Naughty Dog Didn’t Like About Uncharted 2. Find out what the devs thought of their own game.

Lost Planet 2 Screenshots Reveal The Defolma. Brand new enemy on display.

Divinity II Ergo Draconis Dragon Knight Trailer. A dragon slayer turns into a dragon…original, eh?



Thursday

By The Numbers: The Lost Art of Procedural Generation. An interesting editorial by The Game Reviews.

Angels Online Sunshine Palace Joins Floating Island Update. It should be sunny on a floating island…it’s closer to the sun, right?

Fist of the North Star Warriors Media Blowout A complete blowout of gameplay for the upcoming beat-e’m-up.

Coolest Game Trailers of 2009 And the winner goes to…

The Sims 3 Is PETA’s Most Animal Friendly Game of 2009. I didn’t think it was possible, but it was.

TGR Awards 2009 It’s the end of the year and the awards are being handed out…



Friday

Unfortunately for news-goers, this day was given a break due to it being new year’s day and most people were too hung over or couldn’t find their pants to send out press releases, etc., etc. So, skip ahead to Saturday. Thank you very much :)



Saturday

Gamings Worst Xmas Guest. A list of guests that you don’t want over for gaming.

An Unofficial List of the Most Original Games of 2009. A list of a few games that stepped outside the boundaries.

Monster Hunter Tri Official Website Updated. New updates to the upcoming North American version of Monster Hunter.

The Most Expensive Peripheral Ever. Do you really want to see the price tag? I’m sure you do.

Free Splinter Cell Conviction Xbox 360 Theme. Need to deck out your 360 with a brand new skin? Check out a free Splinter Cell Conviction theme.

Now that the first week of the new year is over with it’s time to celebrate with an extended look at the Dirty Dozen trailer for Mass Effect 2. You can check out the full cinematic below and it does indeed look good. Enjoy.