Week In Review: 04/10

by Jeff Marchiafava on Apr 10, 2010 at 05:00 AM

You could almost hear crickets chirping in the video game industry this week, but that didn't stop us from having some pretty cool features for readers. In addition to the cover reveal of this month's issue, we ran previews for some high profile games, shared some exclusive information about StarCraft II and Final Fantasy XIV, and checked out Konami's Gamers Night 2010. It's time for the Week In Review!

Before we get to this week's stories, I have a quick note about the formatting. Thanks to the feedback of our readers, we are deeming last week's format change a success, and will continue using it moving forward. I did however, make two new changes, both involving the news section of WIR.

First, there were a lot more than ten interesting articles this week, so I am expanding the top ten news stories to the top however-many-we-need stories. This week it's 26, though the number will fluctuate depending on what's happening in the industry.

Second, a couple of readers requested splitting up the news section by day, rather than ranking them by importance. I experimented with splitting the entries up this way, but it looked weird. Instead I removed the names of the days but kept the list in chronological order, starting with Monday's news. If you like the change, or if you prefered having the most important news on top, leave your two cents in the comments below. Now on to this week's stories!

Here were this week's top ten Game Informer exclusives:

May Cover Revealed:
This week we revealed the cover art for our May issue, which captures the utter insanity that is Bulletstorm. Want to know what else is in the new issue? Read the story to find out.
Crysis 2 First Look:
We didn't save all of our awesome previews for the magazine. Bertz recently posted our first look at Crysis 2, the sequel to that totally awesome FPS that I never played because my computer wasn't made by NASA. This time however, the game will be on consoles, too. Be sure to check out the trailer for the game, which is pretty darn awesome.
Extensive Interview With StarCraft II's Design Director:
RTS fans have been waiting for StarCraft II for a long time, but we're going to make that wait a little more bearable with the ridiculous amount of information Adam squeezed out of Blizzard's Dustin Browder.
Konami Gamers Night 2010:
Dan Ryckert was at Konami's recent conference to try out all of the company's upcoming games, including Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow, Lost In Shadow, and some other games that don't have shadow in the title.
Mario Madness Final Four:
Our March Madness spinoff is down to the last four contenders, and they're all great! Choosing which of these beloved games survives is the kind of impossible decision usually reserved for Jack Bauer.
Hands-On With Backbreaker:
Bertz has been going crazy with the previews lately, and this massive preview tells you everything you need to know about the only EA alternative for football fans.
Tim Turi Puts Link Into 3D Dot Game Heroes:
We all knew that 3D Dot Game Heroes was a lot like Zelda, but Tim had to go ahead and open Pandora's Box by using the game's character creator to put Link in the game. Then he added some Zelda music, made a wicked tribute video, and posted it on the website. You better check it out before Nintendo sues us to take it down!
Honing The Blade: How Focus Groups Influenced Red Steel 2:
A few years ago Ubisoft asked random gamers what they thought would make a Red Steel sequel better. Kato was at the focus group too, and now that the sequel is out, he took a look back to see if Ubisoft took their suggestions to heart, or just nodded politely while doodling on their notepads.
Game Addiction Expert Explains Rehab Process:
This week Annette interviewed the founders of the first rehab center devoted to people addicted to playing video games. I was interested to see what qualifies as a video game addiction, but couldn't manage to put down my controller long enough to read the article.
Top Ten Horses In Video Games:
GI likes making top ten lists – you're reading one now, for crying out loud. But Ben's humorous look at the top ten horses in video games takes our itemizing addiction one step past sanity. When are they going to open a rehab center for that?

And now here are the top 26 news stories from the week:

Is it just me, or does that block of links look vaguely like one of the heads on Easter Island?!

In addition to the links above, be sure to check out this week's regular features: The Game Informer Show 23, covering the iPad, Backbreaker, and reader questions; Replay, featuring Spyro The Dragon (that's the game we played, not a special guest); and CosBlog 26, featuring cosplaying. Also check out Ben's new feature, This Week In Add-ons – I'd explain what it is, but I bet you can figure it out. For more from our editors and the community, check out Blog Herding. See you next week!