Even though we’ve brought you quite a bit of information about Activision and Bizarre Creations Blur racing game already, that doesn’t mean there won’t be anything cool left when the game actually hits stores. We’ve had a lot of screenshots and some trailers and this time around we’ve got another trailer for you.

However, this isn’t just any trailer, it’s one featuring actual gameplay footage from the upcoming multiplayer beta for the game. The multiplayer beta, which starts next Monday, allows players to race across the Internets and features “the ultimate multiplayer racing gameplay experience.”

The game offers a first in the racing genre with up to 20 players online at the same time, a progressive ranking system that rewards gamers the more they play, objective based race events, and if that weren’t enough, Blur brings back a fan favorite with 4-player split-screen gameplay. Sounds cool, right? Yeah, we think so too.

Besides, isn’t most everything better in a group? Check out the trailer featuring all the hot multiplayer action after the jump.

Blur will be available this spring for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.

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It’s not a secret. A good percentage of the Machinima world is created using Halo or one of its sequels. The reason for that may lie in the most popular and successful Machinima series Red vs. Blue.

With its first episode posted by the folks at Rooster Teeth just under seven years ago, Red vs. Blue has a loyal following with some of the most iconic and entertaining characters in Machinima. Subtitled “The Blood Gulch Chronicals”, Red vs. Blue follows the tales of two armies stuck in the box canyon of Blood Gulch.

Each team starts off with only a few members but quickly grows to reveal the eight main personalities that drive the series. These include Red’s miserable leader Sarge and his personal brownnoser Simmons as well as Blue’s lovable Caboose.

Over the show’s five seasons and an astounding ninety-eight episodes, the teams venture in to other worlds and encounter some unreal scenarios such as a never-ending game of Capture the Flag and a love struck tank named Sheila.

Much like Halo on XBox Live, the language of the series isn’t kid friendly. The characters go to great lengths to combine various expletives together in never before seen and incredibly funny ways.

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With blockbuster releases like Mass Effect 2 and Bioshock 2 already dominating video game sales charts, the industry is already asking itself what will be the biggest title of the year. Because of that success, many people have been asking what the next “big step” for the industry will be.

Most experts, including this writer, agree that the world of motion controls is either going seriously stimulate the growth of the industry or hurt it over the coming year.

Michael Pachter, the top video game industry analyst from Wedbush Securities, has weighed in on both of these topics in his most recent episode of Pach-Attack!, courtesy of our friends over at Game Trailers.

In this episode, Pachter first addresses the top selling game of the upcoming year and has put in his vote for Halo: Reach. After the game’s original trailer from the Spike VGA’s and then the X10 ViDoc, we are inclined to agree with him.

Not to say it won’t have any competition with upcoming releases like the next Call of Duty title, but with this year’s COD not coming from Infinity Ward it is likely to not pull the numbers that Modern Warfare 2 did. Even titles like Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 don’t have the game industry equity to match what the next Halo title can bring to the table.

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At E3 2009, the world was given a brief teaser showing a planet from space erupting in war.  With “Halo: Reach” being displayed, the hardcore fanboys knew what it meant. This was the big battle we had heard about. This was the last stand of the Spartans. At the Spike Video Game Awards,  we were treated to a peek at just what the game looked like with an in-engine cut scene. And as I talked about on this past week’s Flickcast, Halo: Reach is one of my personally most anticipated games of the year.

Now, the Halo fanbase has just gotten their fill of new information about Noble team, one of the squads on Reach, and specifically Noble 6, the Spartan players will be stepping in to the boots of in a story that takes place before the events of Master Chief and Halo: Combat Evolved. In the Halo: Reach developer vidoc “Once More Unto the Breach”, more footage and information than ever before has been revealed about what we can look forward to seeing during the fall of Reach.

Hearing, “We are rebuilding everything from the ground up,” is a staggering revelation when looking at the technological achievements of past Halo games. From totally redesigned enemies, environments and Spartans, Halo: Reach looks to be the new quintessential Halo story. With a tale meant to focus on characters, Noble team may even surpass Master Chief as the favorite characters of the franchise.

Take a peek below the fold at the massive amount of screen shots we were able to get from X10 as well as the amazing ViDoc. Keep your eyes peeled to the Flickcast as we further cover Halo: Reach.

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If you happen to be one of the people still using your original XBox console to connect to XBox Live and play with your friends, your days of enjoying this kind of fun are numbered. Microsoft, in its quest to get people to upgrade to the XBox 360, has already discontinued the original XBox in late 2008 and stopped supporting it in March 2009.

Now, the Redmond Giant will be cutting off original XBox owners from XBox Live starting April 15. Yep, that’s it. So, if you’re one of the people playing Halo 2 online you will still have a couple months to keep the fun going. Then, it might be time to disconnect the old console, join the rest of us in the new century and upgrade to a shiny new XBox 360.

Or, you can just play your multi-player games on your own. Heck, you could even invite some of your friends over for a good, old fashioned, LAN party. That is, if they actually remember what a LAN party is. But really, with prices dropping all the time on new consoles, isn’t it time to make the jump? New toys are fun, I promise.

In the first half of The Best Video Games of 2009, we saw Best Portable, Wii, Playstation 3 and XBox 360 Exclusive titles. Now things are ramping up on the way to the Game of the Year.

Best Music Game

Tie – The Beatles: Rock Band and DJ Hero

The Rock Band / Guitar Hero formula has been done to death at this point. Players play songs in a set list to unlock more music. Repeat as many times as needed until all songs have been unlocked. But it was 2009 that the music game genre took two big steps forward. As loved as Metallica is, their Guitar Hero installment couldn’t hold a candle to the weight of the legacy that the Beatles would bring with them in The Beatles: Rock Band. For the first time, there was a career spanning take on the legendary act with amazing and unique visuals attuned to the songs being played out.

With the addition of harmonies for the first time in any music game, The Beatles: Rock Band stepped up the feel of being in a full band to another level. Along with the unrivaled set list that only the Beatles could produce, the game has a shelf life that can outlast the pop-centric songs of current game releases.

A little over a month later, music gaming took another leap but this time into the unknown. Many people grow up hoping to become famous musicians at one point in their life but nowhere near as many look to become famous DJs. DJ Hero from Activision brought in masters of turntablism with the likes of the original hip-hop DJ Grand Master Flash to DJ Jazzy Jeff to electronica legends Daft Punk in the ultimate mashup collection.

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2009 was a huge year for gaming. With some games not living up to lofty expectations, others took the reins set before them and ran with them further than many expected. Batman: Arkham Asylum proved it was possible to make a great game based on Batman, though it took the video game industry over 25 years to figure out how to accomplish that.

Wolverine: Origins proved that games based off movies didn’t have to be bad and in the eyes of many surpassed the quality of the film that inspired it. Legends were reborn as the Beatles were featured in their own Rock Band game. Yes, it was a momentous year for gaming which leads us to proudly present these awards for the Best Video Games of 2009.

Best Playstation 3 Exclusive Game

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was easily one of the best early releases for the Playstation 3. But the problem is no one knew about it who didn’t have the system. A fantastic game, it fell victim to the lack of Playstation 3’s being in consumers’ homes. Knowing the gem they had their hands on, Sony made sure to give Uncharted 2: Among Thieves a spotlight at this year’s E3 along with a strong marketing push when it was released this year.

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Guitar Hero is arguably one of the most popular and successful video games of all time. Its combination of great music, fun gameplay and rather simple premise has made it, and its spin-offs, extremely popular. Now, Activision is adding even more fun to the mix with the latest addition to the Guitar Hero franchise: Guitar Hero Van Halen.

As in the past, this new add-on provides brand new music from one of the seminal rocking bands of the 80’s and 90’s for you to enjoy and play along with. To commemorate this new release, we’ve got a trailer for one of the band’s most popular songs as well as some cool new screenshots of gamplay.

Click through to check out the video for Van Halen’s “Jamie’s Cryin’” and the screenshots. Guitar Hero Van Halen hits stores on December 22nd for Xbox 360, PS3, PS2 and Wii.

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This past weekend, Spike gave its annual salute to the video game world with their Video Game Awards show. Featuring performers such as Stevie Wonder and Snoop Dogg, the show has grown in to a larger spectacle each year to award the best in the video game industry. Along with all that hype has come exclusive trailers for the biggest premieres in the video game industry.

Some we knew were coming like the prequel to the Halo trilogy with Halo: Reach’s first in game footage while others were merely rumored and mired in PR confusion like Green Day: Rock Band.

Even more exciting were the surprise announcements like that of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II and Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 which had predecessors that dominated the video game charts of the past year. Take a look below at all of the trailers and let us know which ones get you most excited.

We already are placing our bets over in the Flickcast offices about which games are going to make the biggest splash in 2010. Take a look at some of our favorite trailers after the jump.

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To me, riding a skateboard is up there with other sports like surfing. I’ve tried it but I am in no way ever going to be as good at it as someone like Tony Hawk. He has the tools, the talent and the drive to become one of the greatest skateboarders the world has ever known. He’s also become a pretty huge gaming mogul in his spare time with a whole slew of games bearing his name.

His latest, called Tony Hawk: RIDE, is another in a series of what looks to be hugely successful games bearing the Hawk moniker. In this one, you actually ride the game controller version of a skateboard and try your best to shred like Mr. Hawk. The game also has a story to it as well and in this new trailer, graciously provided by our good friends at Activision, that part is showcased. Well, sorta.

To understand, just click through and watch the trailer for yourself. Its funny and it has a heart. . . in the right place. Tony Hawk: RIDE, from Activision and Robomodo, hits store shelves for XBox 360 and PS3 on November 17th.

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