Valve has certainly proven their dedication to their games and gamers, if not through the counter-strike series and Left 4 Dead, definitely through Team Fortress 2.  Granted, they never finished the damn game in the first place, they're finally getting close.  The slowly released updates are almost good, in that they make players who have gotten bored or "needed a break" to rush back into the rather cartoony fray.  This time, though, the patch is for players who float around spawn scoped all match -

The Sniper...

Having become famous for selling games at can't-go-wrong prices, Steam has dropped Call of Duty 4 to $39.99, Mirror's Edge to $19.99, BattleForge to $29.99, and more!  I'll be getting Mirror's Edge purely to check out the graphics that seem to really have people going.  So far Steam has not posted an ending date on any of the (above) prices, which would make it apparent that these are new low prices and not just sales. 

Obviously Steam has some major influence behind PC Gaming, considering that Left 4 Dead sales went up by 3000% when they halved the price the first time, and also that Unreal Tournament 3's simultaneous online players increased by a whopping 2000%.  What does this mean?  It seems that the price-point on games is way off, primarily from the over-packaged bulletproof boxes that games come in these days - hopefully publishers will learn from these successful sales and drop the average price by $10... but I'm doubtful.  

Mirror's Edge

The graphics are pretty impressive.  We've uploaded the HD gameplay trailer as well, viewable below.  While the game has been out for a while now, the $30 drop in price is huge, and certainly worth considering.  

See you on the battlefield,

Steve "Lelldorianx" Burke.

After the wild success of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Infinity Ward decided to give the fans what they wanted - a sequel made by them, not by some sub-par developer (I'm looking at YOU, Treyarch).  Recently two trailers have caught our attention here at GN, one of them reveals a lot of in-game details as sort of easter eggs in the cinematic.  Perks, primary plot points, and other details can be found in the video below, where an unnamed youtuber makes very legitimate explanations of the Modern Warfare teaser, revealing perks and other hidden things within the video.  While we don't necessarily agree with all of his conclusions, you can come to your own easily once the easter eggs are pointed out.

More importantly,

Gaming conferences are kicking off around the country with the start of the new year, and North Carolina's "The Triangle" (Wake County area) is not one to lag behind.  The Triangle Game Conference (TGC) is an event hosted for aspiring game developers - both programmers and designers - and, well, for gamers!  Boasting over 30 gaming dev and gaming media companies, this game con is no joke.  Epic Games, famous for Unreal Tournament & Gears of War, Insomniac Games, Crytek, wildly famous for Crysis, Atomic Games, known for the controversy over their next title, Six Days in Fallujah, and more will all be at the conference.  A couple of "Game Development Universities" will also be on hand for those of us interested in the gaming industry. 

Zombies.  We've seen enough of them lately.  Left 4 Dead, Resident Evil, plenty of no-name other zombie games, it's just too much, right?  Wrong.  Plants vs. Zombies, the newest edition to our zombie obsession, is due to be released May 5th, 2009.  What is Plants vs. Zombies, though? 

Imagine this: Overrun by zombies wanting nothing more than your braaaainnnnssss (sorry, had to), your hometown only has one certified zombie-hunter.  You. 

Unfortunately, recent changes to the 2nd amendment have made it impossible to secure a pistol or pump-shotty for yourself.  Oh, and don't think you can rely on the local hillbillies - they've all fled to the mountains and sealed up their hunting shacks.  The Governator rings you up, panic-stricken, and says to you: "[Your name here], help us!  The town will be decimated by the zombie-bobsledders, zombie-driven-zambonis (or are they zombonis?), and buckethead zombies!  We need you to help us!"

Oh noes!  Bobsledding zombies? None of those video games released earlier this year helped us prepare for that! There's only one obvious answer. Plants.