2010 has already proven itself to be a big year for games and only two months have gone by so far. From the look of things, March doesn’t seem like it is going to slow down either.

Cross platform heavyweights Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Final Fantasy XIII start off the month strong while Mega Man 10 finds itself sprinkled through the month on the various consoles. Closing out the month on the cross platform titles is Just Cause 2.

Likely the biggest individual release will come from the PlayStation 3 with God of War III. After being the inevitable comparison for Dante’s Inferno, Kratos comes out on March 16th ready to take no prisoners. The PlayStation 2’s lifecycle finally looks to be coming to an end as it only has one release this month.

Take a look below at every game coming out for the month of March.

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Most of us can look back and remember the glory days of video games. Before memory cards. Before hi-res 3D models.

Back when you had to blow the dust out of the cartridge to get it to turn on. Back to the NES. The Nintendo Entertainment System.

It’s been almost fifteen years since the last NES cartridge was produced. Many college kids break out their old systems and play the classics like Super Mario Bros. and Dunk Hunt still to this day. But someone felt like giving the old system one last try.

Sivak Games brings Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril to the NES. True to its 8-Bit ancestors, Battle Kid puts a simple protagonist against overwhelming odds in this platform adventure as players must navigate through the game’s more than 550 rooms.

For a mere $30, players can order the slick see through green cartridge complete with classic black slip case and instruction manual just like we remember begging our parents to buy us back in the days of our youth from RetroZone.  Quantities may be limited.

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Mark your calendars Nintendo fanboys (and fangirls). After a slow start to 2009, Nintendo finished with a vengeance with the release of New Super Mario Bros. for Wii. Not wanting to give Sony or Microsoft any time to regain the top of the NPD sales charts, Nintendo has announced release dates on their biggest titles for the first half of 2010.

According to Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing: “Nintendo finished 2009 with a bang, and we’re continuing our momentum into 2010… With Nintendo DSi XL, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M coming in the first six months of the year, we’re making sure all our fans have great game content to enjoy year-round.”

Here’s what we have to look forward to from Nintendo in the next 6 months and what Nintendo has to say about them.

March 23rd – Nintendo DSi XL
Suggested Retail Price: $189.99
The screens of the Nintendo DSi XL are 93 percent larger than those of the Nintendo DS Lite model, providing a more vivid and engaging play experience. The screens of the Nintendo DSi XL also feature a wider viewing angle, letting friends and family members join the fun.

The new system launches in both Burgundy and Bronze colors, and comes loaded with pre-installed premium software Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters, Brain Age Express: Math and Photo Clock, as well as two free applications: the Nintendo DSi Browser and Flipnote Studio. Nintendo DSi XL will also come with a larger pen-like stylus that allows for a more comfortable grip and enhanced ease of use when playing games that use the Nintendo DS touch screen.

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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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Anyone who comes to this site knows we love to pass along anything that touches the bottom of our geek hearts. Many times, these come in the way of fan films.

But today it’s a special treat with a free PC game. Through his website Eric Ruth Games,  a developer has posted his portfolio of 8-Bit style games which includes, you guessed it, a classic NES style version of 2008’s megahit, Left 4 Dead.

Entitled Pixel Force: Left 4 Dead, players step in to an 8-bit version of the four original campaigns of L4D. Either single or two player from one keyboard (sorry, no XBox Live or Steam connectivity here), gamers get to take a peek at what this genre defining game would have looked like had it come out twenty years ago in the days before graphics accelerators and first person shooters.

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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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Capcom has been proud to bring customers the Nintendo DS hit Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright in the past. Now, they intend on trying to capture lightning in a bottle once again by moving the investigation from the court room to the crime scene itself. Coming February 16th, Capcom is releasing Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth for the Nintendo DS and DSi.

Remembered as the rival of Phoenix Wright, Miles Edgeworth returns from a month long vacation to find out that his office has become a crime scene. This demo lets players go through the early part of the investigation as Miles tries to figure out who the victim is, contradictions in the crime scene that point to foul play and a rival prosecutor who is looking to muck up Miles’ investigation.

The game takes Miles through a series of episodes, the first of which can be played below in the included Flash Demo. The game itself will feature over 15 total hours of gameplay (a hefty amount for a hand-held game). Players will investigate scenes and logically try to piece together pieces of evidence. When confronting possible suspects, they will have to listen carefully to the logic being used in their testimony and find inconsistencies from what they are being told and what they know as fact.

Check out the first trailer for the game below, which will be available for the Nintendo DS on February 17, 2010.

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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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I probably spend as much time playing brand spankin’ new video games as I do replaying my old favorites, not just because of nostalgia but just because they’re awesome games. Which is why it’s exciting to hear that Sega will be releasing a Sonic Classic Collection for the Nintendo DS next year, according to Kotaku.

Many Sonic classics have already been released for systems like the PS2 and Xbox, but what’s exciting about this collection is that since it’s on the DS, you’ll be able to take them anywhere. The collection will include classics Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Sonic & Knuckles.

The game will also have a nifty “save anywhere” feature, which is a relief for those of us who used to just leave on their Sega Genesis  for hours on end while we had family dinner and did homework. The Sonic Classic Collection will ship in March 2010.