Weekly Wrap Up: X-Play's Game of the Year Nominees

The big news of the week (other than Tiger Woods' trouble) is X-Play announcing its best of the year nominees! That's right, folks, it's time to reflect on the past year and pick the winners. G4's original web shows are always winners, of course. Check them out below:

• Sessler's Soapbox: Adam Sessler talks about the top games of 2009.
• The MMO Report: This week's MMO report features a nude super-model who plays World of Warcraft... for serious.
• Fresh Ink: Blair Butler takes a look at the best comics of the week.
• Feedback:  The weekly nerd-roundtable takes a look at the best games of 2009 nominees.

And now, the news:

Monday:

• New Super Mario Bros. Wii has become the fastest selling Wii game ever in Japan with nearly a million units sold in its first week.
• Electronic Arts today officially announced that Visceral Games is developing the sci-fi horror sequel, Dead Space 2.
• Tecmo has announced that Quantum Theory is no longer a PS3 exclusive.
• Tony Hawk has been reading reviews of his new game...and he's not happy.
• Johnny Depp will jump on the vampire craze with a remake of Dark Shadows.
• Voltron is coming to cell phones (and, yes, that includes the iPhone, too).
• Fire up your Nintendo DS, because Link is back in a new Zelda adventure. Check out our review of The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks.
• Crystal Dynamics is hiring multiplayer developers, possibly to work on the developer's rumored Tomb Raider reboot.
• Take-Two can't stop talking about sequels to Borderlands. Gearbox Software must be pleased.
• Peter Jackson talks about the rumored "delay" with The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings Blu Ray release.
• Check our new releases list to find out what games are hitting your platforms of choice this week.
• ODST was a departure for the Halo series, so we asked Bungie to reflect on the changes, the development process, and the reactions to
• Two new screenshots show off the electric fury wielded by the engineer class in BioWare's Mass Effect 2.
• The Smithsonian Art Museum has announced plans to open an exhibit devoted to the art of video games in 2012.
• Portal designer Kim Swift is leaving Valve and joining up with Dark Void developer Airtight Games.
• United Front Games announced today that the beta for ModNation Racers will begin Dec. 18.
• Bungie wanted matchmaking for Halo 3: ODST's Firefight mode, but it wasn't technologically possible.
• Check out the indie game 'Type or Die,' that encourages you to do one of two things. Guess what they are?

Tuesday

• Check out X-Play's 'Dante's Inferno' preview tonight at 6:30PM ET, and learn all we can gather about the game.
• What were the best games of 2009? Here's our list of nominees, with winners to be decided on December 15th!
• For the next few weeks, Nintendo will be sending Wii's, games and accessories to senior citizen communities across the country.
• Sega announced today that it will be releasing Yakuza 3 in the US and the UK in March 2010.
• Get a first look at some concept art for Dead Space 2.
• The latest PlayStation 3 update will add support for Sony's bite-sized "minis" games.
• Bungie's teasing an appearance by Buck from Halo 3: ODST, voiced by Nathan Fillion, in Halo: Reach.
• VIDEO: A new BioShock 2 singleplayer trailer shows off "Siren Alley".
• Brian Leahy offers up his impressions in his preview of the US version of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars for the Wii.
• Microsoft's internal Halo studio, 343 Industries, has picked up Metal Gear Solid 4's sound director.
• Producer, Wyck Godfrey reveals details about the Gears Of War movie.
• GameStop has announced its upcoming choose-your-own preorder bonus for Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption.
• Turn 10's racing title Forza Motorsport 3 has sold 1 million units in its first month of sale.
• A rumor is circulating that John Malkovich is in negotiations to play The Vulture in Spider-Man 4.
• We talk with sci-fi mainstay Lance Henriksen about voice acting, movies vs. games, and his role in the upcoming Aliens vs. Predator.
• Breaking bones, explosions and attack dog mechanics are showcased in this Dead to Rights: Retribution gameplay montage.
• LEGO is coming to the world of Harry Potter in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4. Check out the trailer!
• Do you want to be Feedback's question of the week? You've found the right place.
• On December 28th, Attack of the Show presents a one-hour special showing the best of Olivia Munn for 2009!
• VIDEOS: Watch three videos from the US version of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, showing off the new characters exclusive to the West.

Wednesday

• Project Runway, the game, is coming on March 2.
• Rare has revealed that its Xbox Live Arcade remake of Perfect Dark will now be released in "early 2010."
• Ubisoft is releasing a patch today for Assassin's Creed II that addresses a number of game-breaking bugs.
• Activision has responded to band No Doubt's suit over Band Hero.
• Bummer news: Bungie has no plans for downloadable content for Halo 3: ODST.
• The developer of Wet has announced their next game, Naughty Bear, which will tell the story of a vengeful, terrorist bear.
• Popular Xbox Live iPhone App "360 Live" is under scrutiny from Microsoft for charging. Find out what that means.
• The first image and poster for next year's Tron Legacy have been unveiled.
• Peter Jackson discusses which LOTR characters will return for The Hobbit.
• Adam explains how this year's Game of the Year nominees were determined, and why he thinks they're all worth playing.
• Forget shooters and RPGs, 2009 is really the year of the open-world game, says G4tv.com's Sterling McGarvey.
• Splinter Cell: Conviction's co-op mode will be a six-hour long prologue to the single player campaign.
• Patrick Klepek examines why Tony Hawk: Ride was destined for failure since day one.
• Rogue Warrior is a mess from top to bottom, and X-Play shows you why in this video review.

Thursday

• The United States Government has spent $32.8 million dollars on the America's Army video game series.
• VIDEO: Frostmourne Hungers In WoW Fall of the Lich King Trailer
• BioWare has revealed the star-studded cast list for its upcoming sci-fi epic Mass Effect 2.
• Capcom is creating yet another 2D Mega Man game...Mega Man 10.
• VIDEO: Army of TWO: The 40th Day Trailer Introduces Mayhem
• Microsoft has outlined its upcoming Xbox Live Arcade and Games On Demand lineup, including holiday deals.
• Acclaimed developer Peter Molyneux has expressed interest in revisiting his classic PC title Populous.
• Patrick Klepek guides you through what to expect from today's Dante's Inferno demo.
• This week on the Links Of TheFeed, we listen to an extended version of Tiger's voicemail message, watch Michael Bay's Victoria's Secr
• Revisit a videogame legend with our review of the downloadable Call of Duty: Classicfor HD consoles.
• Gearbox Software have announced new details and the release date for the second piece of downloadable content for Borderlands.
• Casey tells you about the Old Republic novels, how one man beat World of Warcraft, and how Aion is making the banning process fun.
• A bunch of new details for upcoming space-horror game Dead Space 2 have been revealed.
• New details have been released regarding the PlayStation 3 exclusive Divine Edition of Dante's Inferno.
• This Saturday at 6PM ET, 10 hopefuls begin to their quest to take on Mt. Midoriyama in the premiere of 'American Ninja Warrior'[[/lModern Warfare 2 has sold more than 6 million copies.
• Sales numbers for November 2009 are in and
• NPD Group numbers are available for November 2009 and it turns out everyone on the hardware side did pretty well.
• Those gamers who pre-order Just Cause 2 will receive the game's Black Market Chaos DLC pack for free.
• Was Tony Hawk's latest a success? The numbers are in: Tony Hawk: Ride sold 114,000 copies in November.
• You like liquid physics? Sure, we all do. But, how does it play out in 'PixelJunk Shooter?' Here's the review.
• In this edition of Feedback, the crew discusses G4's nominees for best games of 2009.

Friday

• The exec. producer of Dante's Inferno knows a sequel would be difficult because of the source material, but he's interested in tackli
• A title update for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the Xbox 360 releases today to address the game's famed javelin exploit.
• VIDEO: Darksiders Trailer Introduces You To Dark Pony, Ruin
• How long will controversy-strewn golfer Tiger Woods last at EA?
• VIDEO: Meet The Stars Of Mass Effect 2
• The ending of PixelJunk Shooter promises there's more to come in the future.
• Sony has revealed that it's planning to take PlayStation Home into a more 3D social game-focused direction.
• VIDEO: Dark Void Demos 360-Degree Tactical Freedom In New Video
• The immense difficulties getting Brutal Legend published took a notable toll on the game's development.
• Has Sigourney Weaver revealed major details on Ghostbusters 3.
• Sony has announced that God of War III is now "complete," and that beta testing is underway.
• Blair Butler reviews Daytripper, Days Missing, Secret Six on Fresh Ink Online.
• Researchers in Australia have developed 2010's Game of the Year, an as-yet-untitled Colonoscopy simulator.
• If you're looking for some new tracks for your favorite music games, then check out this week's music DLC round-up.
• VIDEO: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction Confirms Splinter Cells Hunting You
• Valve is currently holding a kill-off to see which class, Soldier or Demoman, will receive a bonus weapon in a new game update.
• If you're into retro gaming and looking for something new on the PlayStation 3, check out our review of the new downloadable game Gravity CrasResident Evil 5 Shows Off Little Red Riding Sheva And "Mad" Chris Redfield DLC
• VIDEO:
• Are all of those Limited Edition games really worth the extra money? We take a look at some of 2009's biggest!
• Tell us what games you're playing this weekend!
• A new teaser trailer for Transformers: War for Cybertron features pre-Earth battling between Autobots and Decepticons.