Last year, we took a more traditional approach with our Best Video Games of 2009 article with categories such as Best Music Game or Best Action Platformer. This year we are going to depart from the traditional and give what we think are categories that truly deserve to be rewarded their due.

Best Use of Zombies / Best Downloadable Content – Red Dead Redemption “Undead Nightmare”

The ultimate “What If” scenario brought forth to one of the best games of 2010, “What if the undead invaded the old west?” And the answer doesn’t just involve a lot of people dying. There are horses of the apocalypse, big foot, some hard choices to be made and people turning on or abandoning their fellow man left and right.

This awesome story told over the revamped look of Red Dead Redemption using characters players have already grown to know, love or despise makes Undead Nightmare not only the best zombie game of 2010 but also the best exmple of DLC for the entire year as well.

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Star Wars: The Force Unleashed came to a pretty definitive conclusion (depending on the path you chose at the end of the game). No one knew exactly how the game would be able to have a sequel, especially since Starkiller never appears or is mentioned in the events of Star Wars which followed this game. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II may have been the one instance where the cloning on Kamino actually paid off as it has given another opportunity to play as this rouge Sith.

After being condemned by his former mentor, Starkiller escapes a detention block by ripping his way through Stormtroopers and droids alike. The series has taken a notably more brutal turn as Stormtroopers don’t just fall down after being hit by a lightsaber. They are actually ripped to pieces. It will be interesting to see if this carries over to gameplay or if it will just be used in the game’s cinematics. As seen in the original Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, droids and objects in the environment were often split to pieces. There is certainly a chance they could do the same with people in this game. The force powers also look to have been given a violent upgrade as one looks like it literally vaporizes enemies.

Stick close to the Flickcast for more trailers and news from E3 and check out the new “Betrayal” trailer after the jump.

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So E3 starts tomorrow officially while today is the Microsoft Press conference. As you have already seen, we have gotten some advanced notice on some of the happenings going on at the event.  A few changes will be happening with our coverage of the event compared to last year.

This year we won’t be giving a fully detailed recap of the BIG 3 Press Conferences from Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo as a formal post. We will, however, be posting our thoughts and coverage on the big announcements and trailers as well as give a full indepth discussion with Matt Raub, Chris Ulrich and myself on this week’s episode of the podcast.

We have also gotten official word from various industry sources on what companies will be showing at the event. These have come from various press releases, other industry insiders and various leaks from the LA Convention Center itself regarding the event.

There has also been tremendous speculation around the event. Some of those rumors will be examined below as well. Finally, some of my own personal E3 2010 theories and predictions will be put out there too.

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There’s no denying the success and appeal of the first Star Wars: The Force Unleashed game. It quickly rose to be the highest selling Star Wars franchise game ever and was universally praised for its high quality visuals and exciting gameplay. At the Spike VGAs, the first trailer was released for the game’s sequel, aptly named Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2. But since the VGAs, news of the game has been sparse.

Lucas Arts has recently launched the game’s website which looks to take the viral route to promote the game. Connecting to Facebook, visitors can track the progress of Subject 1157 from inside his bacta tank, listening to audio logs and playing games to help uncover memories of Vader’s former apprentice.

Some notable questions come up through exploring the site. First and foremost is how the two games will be tied together, especially since there were two drastically different endings to choose from at the end of the first Force Unleashed and the aftermaths these lead to for the apprentice. Next comes the question of the dual lightsabers.

While we have seen this done in the past, these lightsabers are shown to be blue while traditionally within Star Wars, the Sith only use red. Does this mean the apprentice is no longer a pawn of the Dark Side? Finally, keep your ears tuned to the audio clue at the end of the trailer when a very familiar voice gives a foreboding warning to those who dare traverse down this game’s dark past.

Star Wars: the Force Unleashed 2 hits stores on October 26th, 2010. Check out all the pics and video after the jump.

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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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