Weekly Wrap-Up: Countdown To Modern Warfare 2

I've heard through the proverbial grapevine that a certain much anticipated video game is coming out this Tuesday. I'm talking, of course, about Baby and Me for the Wii...Wait, no, I'm talking about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. That game hits shelves only a couple days from now, and before you have your life sucked away by hours of endless, joyful combat, please enjoy our original web series:

• Sessler's Soapbox: Adam Sessler gets controversial with a look at a MW 2 ad that ruffled feathers.
• The MMO Report: Get an inside look at Star Trek Online.
• Fresh Ink: Blair Butler reviews the most notable comic releases of the week.
• Feedback: Feedback takes a look at a potpourri of current games and gaming news.

And now the news...

Monday

• Adam Sessler sits down with Mike Laidlaw, lead designer of Dragon Age: Origins, to talk about the game's development.
• Dragon Age: Origins launches tomorrow. Are you ready for it?
• We love BioWare games, we really do. But sometimes they do things in their games that are...weird?
• A new video promoting Modern Warfare 2 is causing controversy for its anti-gay slur.
• A teaser trailer for American McGee's The Return of Alice has been released that reveals the game will be released in 2011.
• Rocksteady Games maybe be working on a sequel to awesome super-hero action game Batman: Arkham Asylum.
• VIDEO: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II - Chaos Rising Trailer Pits Space Marine Vs. Chaos Space Marine
• As it turns out, the "leaks" that seemed to outline Left 4 Dead 2 downloadable content were just dummy lines of code.
• Warren Spector once tried to acquire the rights to Deus Ex for a sci-fi game at Junction Point.
• Quantic Dream has confirmed they will be releasing a playable Heavy Rain demo, but the scene hasn't been picked.
• Rockstar Games is releasing an adults-only version of Manhunt 2 for PC next week.
• Will Paranormal Activity's success bring a new Blair Witch movie?
• VIDEO: Prep Your Zero-G Sickness Bags For The Shattered Horizon Gameplay Trailer
• Elizabeth Mitchell seemingly confirms her return as Juliet in the upcoming season of Lost.
• Microsoft has started cracking down heavily on Xbox 360 modders by banning their Xbox Live accounts.
• Based on comments from DJ Hero's developer, $3-per-mix for downloadable content sounds like it's here to stay.
• VIDEO: Name Your Own Wii MotionPlus Tricks In Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage
• Patrick Klepek explores the difference between "hard" and "difficult" in the games he's playing lately.
• Dragon Age: Origins, LEGO RB, Band Hero & Rabbids Go Home are among this week's new release. Check out the full list right here.
• Did you know that there's a new Jak & Daxter game out today? There totally is, and it's totally for PSP and PS2.

Tuesday

• Did you know that there's a new Jak & Daxter game out today? There totally is, and it's totally for PSP and PS2.
• Lionhead Studios is recruiting a humanoid AI researcher for a three year project, presumably built around Project Natal.
• VIDEO: Scratch: The Ultimate DJ Trailer Examines Realistic Scratch Deck Controller
• Hideo Kojima is judging a Twilight art contest.
• VIDEO: Thirty Seconds to Mars Debuts New Album Track Exclusively In Dragon Age: Origins
• Right now, DJ Hero doesn't give consumers the option of buying individual mixes. Patrick Klepek argues that's not fair.
• BioWare has finally delivered Dragon Age: Origins. Tell us what you think so far!
• Sony Online Entertainment and Wizards of the Coast are teaming up for a new strategy title based on Magic: The Gathering.
• GameStop has revealed that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has set a new pre-order record.
• Ubisoft has revealed details about Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction Collector's Edition.
• Valve has dropped the playable demo for Left 4 Dead 2. What do you think of it?
• Infinity Ward says it doesn't feel obligated to make new Call of Duty games forever.
• Sterling McGarvey gets you ready for Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 with the launch primer.
• VIDEO: Star Trek Online Trailers Chronicle Backstory And Gameplay
• Submit a question for Feedback's reader question of the week!
• VIDEO: Morgan Webb Interviews Assassin's Creed II Producer On Historical Accuracy
• The PC demo for Left 4 Dead 2 is now available.
• The trailer for Prince of Persia: Sands of Time is available right now.
• VIDEO: Canine Kills And Heavy Gunplay Abound In Dead to Rights: Retribution Combat Montage
• Tipsters have apparently revealed information regarding BioWare's future plans for Mass Effect 2 downloadable content.
• In an interview, Rare's Mark Betteridge implied his company is working on a Natal shooter.
• Shigeru Miyamoto recently provided some details about the use of Wii MotionPlus in the next Zelda game.
• Charity initiative OneBigGames is close to releasing its first game, Chime. Patrick Klepek talked to its founder.

Wednesday

• CBS Television is taking a bunch of its popular shows and bringing out video game versions of them.
• The Wii is offering playable demos and video downloads on a test basis for the Wii.
• VIDEO: Darksiders Mayhem Trailer Provides Close-Up Of Angelic Foes
• VIDEO: Bayonetta Trailer Is Packing Heat/Whips/Bazookas
• VIDEO: Assassin's Creed II Focuses On Hired Guns, Hooligans, And "Escorts"
• Lionhead Studios has released some Fable III concept art that displays the new, industrialized look of Bowerstone.
• Abbie Heppe walks you through Left 4 Dead 2's Scavenge and Survival modes with tons of exclusive footage.
• Konami predicts its profits will have dropped 82%
• Ubisoft claims the next series of game releases will be part of the company's most important quarter ever.
• Viacom has revealed that The Beatles: Rock Band has yet to turn a profit for the company.
• VIDEO: Dark Void Dev Video Profiles Nikola Tesla And Rocketeering Main Hero Will Grey
• Bayonetta isn't the only video game character capable of pulling off the "sexy librarian" look, and we have a list to prove it.
• For 21-year-old Faron Yoder, living in an Amish household forces him to get creative to gain access to electricity.
• On Tuesday Night, ABC's V debuted to huge numbers.
• A "teaser trailer" for American McGee's The Return of Alice isn't an official trailer, and is not representative of the actual game.
• Former Dr. Who, David Tennant lands a starring role on an NBC pilot.
• Adam takes Infinity Ward to task for their involvement with a recent Modern Warfare 2 viral video that included offensive language.
• Mr Sark is giving away Bungie exclusive Flaming Armor in Halo 3, but you'll need to be the best around in the newest Sarkathlon!
• Kmart's Black Friday deals have shown up online.
• A review of the new Weezer album, Raditude, accuses the band of catering to Rock Band.
• Bayonetta is out in Japan. That means we've got an import preview!
• Media Molecule believes that releasing a true sequel to LittleBigPlanet could potentially "fragment" the game's committed community.
• Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville Enterprises has filed a trademark registration for the word "Margaritaville" in connection with games.
• The band No Doubt has filed a lawsuit against Activision over just-released music game Band Hero.
• Namco Bandai says a patch for Tekken 6 is coming to address online multiplayer issues.

Thursday

• INTERVIEWS: World of Warcraft 5 Year Anniversary Interview Blowout Part 2
• Check out the picture above: It's the full ghost outfit from the new Modern Warfare 2 avatar clothes coming to Xbox Live.
• VIDEO: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Launch Trailer
• Developer DICE has announced that it will be releasing a PS3-exclusive beta for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on Nov. 19.
• Netflix has started notifying members the disc enabling PlayStation 3 streaming will start showing up tomorrow.
• Epic Games has made its Unreal Engine Development Kit available to the public.
• Analysts say that sales of the Wii may have saved the PlayStation 3.
• VIDEO: Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles Provides A Peek At Everything
• Hudson Soft explains why they're fiercely embracing digital distribution for Bomberman, Bonk and others.
• BioWare has revealed details about its Mass Effect 2 Collector's Edition coming Jan. 26.
• Roland Emmerich is looking towards a TV series based on his upcoming film, 2012.
• We found pictures of old people playing Guitar Hero. Yes, it's awesome. Yes, it's hilarious.
• VIDEO: Splinter Cell: Conviction Profiles Sam Fisher's Combat And Backstory
• Steve Guttenberg talks about reviving basically ALL of his 80's franchises.
• Casey comes back to tell you about the 1 million characters in Champions Online, the new Star Trek Online trailer, and the Fallout MMO lawsuit Modern Warfare 2 could the biggest "entertainment" launch of all time, not just in games.
• Activision is predicting
• Activision is promising a new Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk, Spider-Man and Shrek game throughout 2010.
• VIDEO: Meet The Enemies Of Mass Effect 2
• Blizzard says StarCraft II is coming "first half of 2010," but it doesn't look like Diablo III's anytime soon.
• Halo: Legends, a collection of animated shorts based on the Halo universe, will be released on DVD and Blu-ray on Feb. 9, 2010.
• Analysts looking for more details on Blizzard's new MMO came up dry. We still don't know anything.
• The response to removing dedicated servers from Modern Warfare 2 has been harsh, but Activision says it's not worried.
• Data suggests that a percentage of multi-console owners plan to buy PS3 versions of major holiday sequels instead of Xbox 360 version
• Video: Check out Split/Second's "Can it Outrun a Building?" trailer.

Friday

• DIRECT-FEED WALKTHROUGH: Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles
• Highlights of Black Friday sales deals.
• VIDEO: Bayonetta Finishes Her Fights With Torturous Execution
• Nintendo has released a new trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for the Nintendo DS.
• Microsoft is working on letting parent control access to Facebook.
• So many games, the Feedback team couldn't limit it to just one. This week's episode features The Ballad of Gay Tony, DH Hero, and Tek
• VIDEO/SCREENS: Skate 3 Reveals First Look At Team-Based Gameplay
• Patrick Klepek tracked down the man with the most achievement points -- he has 384,155 points and aims for 1,000,000.
• Gran Turismo 6 won't take as long to develop as Gran Turismo 5, says series creator Kazunori Yamauchi.
• Several supposedly leaked screens of Bungie's Halo: Reach have popped up online.
• In a recent interview, Nintendo discussed the next Zelda, whether Wii HD exists and Modern Warfare 2's impact.
• According to Dhani Harrison, Rock Band 3 will teach people to play "real" music.
• We got to check out Ubisoft's new game based on James Cameron's film. Blue with envy yet?
• Direct2Drive, Gamersgate and Impulse won't be selling Modern Warfare 2 because of the Steam integration.
• J.J. Abrams is reportedly in talks to produce a movie version of Micronauts.
• The Resident Evil games are scary and fun, but man, they're also pretty insane. Here are five things to prove that.
• In this week's edition of Reply to All (our new mailbag!), we wonder what Activision and Infinity are thinking, how sex in games can
• Gearbox Software head Randy Pitchford believes Valve has a "fanboy"-like attitude towards the PlayStation 3.
• Blair Butler reviews comics Secret Six, Lobo, Stumptown and more on Fresh Ink Online.
• If you're looking for some new tracks for your favorite music games, then check out this week's music DLC round-up.
• No, we're not kidding. Someone is making a Minesweeper adventure game.
• When you bring home a new game, what do you attack first: the single-player campaign or the multiplayer?
• Tell us...what games are you playing this weekend?
• X-Play's Abbie Heppe takes a guided tour of Valve's studio to find out where the brains behind games like Half-Life and Left 4 Dead.