Dragon Age: Origins - BioWare's bloodiest creation yet - will now be accompanied by a new arrival. This time, it's not DLC.

Awakening, as the expansion pack is titled, is up for pre-order now. BioWare said:

For centuries, the Grey Wardens—the ancient order of guardians, sworn to unite and defend the lands—have been battling the darkspawn forces. Legend spoke that slaying the Archdemon would have put an end to the darkspawn threat for centuries to come, but somehow they remain.

You are the Grey Warden Commander and have been entrusted with the duty of rebuilding the order of Grey Wardens and uncovering the secrets of the darkspawn and how they managed to remain.

How you choose to rebuild your order, how you resolve the conflict with "The Architect", and how you determine the fate of the darkspawn will be but some of the many complex choices that await and shape your journey as you venture to the new land of Amaranthine.

Several ambitious plotlines will be present in the new expansion pack, not limited to the possibility to rebuild the Grey Wardens, and set up a headquarters at a Keep. Players can also look forward to learning more about the Darkspawn, meeting new party members, and unlocking new combat skills. BioWare has stated that it will be possible to import your old character from DAO, but there is also an option to start out as a Grey Warden from French-based Orlais.

Five new party members will be available for those who get the expansion, and BioWare has hinted at an "old favorite" being present. My guess? Morrigan.

Tripwire Interactive announced that their hit co-op zombie-killer game, Killing Floor, would be 75% off for the whole day today (Monday). That means the game is $5, and currently being the game we play regularly here at GN Magazine, that's totally worth it. Tripwire said,

"Today only Killing Floor is on sale on Steam for 75% off - that's only $4.99 in the US (other territories will be 75% of the normal price as well). So if you don't have Killing Floor, or have friends that want to get Killing Floor, or want to buy Killing Floor for someone as a gift, now is the time to act!!! Head on over to the Steam store page now: http://store.steampowered.com/app/1250/"

You heard them, time to drop the $5 and get a well-worth it game. The devs release new maps and new weapons regularly - now that's the kind of group you want to sponsor with your money.

Other than Killing Floor, Steam's placed several other big titles on sale. Steam announced, "Today is the sixth day in our Steam Holiday Sale featuring an all-new set of deep discounts for today only! The gift of giving just keeps on giving and I can't hold back any longer so here are the daily deals for today:

Space Siege - 75% Off
Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box - 75% Off
The Orange Box - 50% Off
Prey - 85% Off
Killing Floor - 75% Off"

~Steve "Lelldorianx" Burke

Cable company Comcast was slammed with a class-action lawsuit in 2007 for "restricting access to file-sharing protocols." Of the protocols restricted, the widely known BitTorrent and Gnutella were two of them. According to Ars Technica, Comcast is "on the verge of settling with irate customers."

Likely in order to avoid an arduous legal campaign, Comcast proposed a $16 million settlement for users who experienced the restricted access. The proposal is "not an admission of wrongdoing by any party," as posted by the Settlement Website, but rather an expression that Comcast wants to "avoid a potentially lengthy and distracting legal dispute that would serve no useful purpose." (ArsTechnica).

Instructions are posted on the site linked above for those who wish to file a claim, should they have been one of the customers experiencing restricted access to legal video and audio files posted on BitTorrent. Class members can look forward to the following:

Comcast agrees to credit or refund some current or former High-Speed Internet service customers. Comcast agrees to pay up to $16 million dollars, less Settlement costs, to eligible Class Members. If you submit a valid Claim Form, you will receive a share of this amount, not to exceed $16.00

Ars says that a judge is still required to sign off on the agreement. There you go, $16. That should pay some of your internet bill, anyway.

Initially, a head-exploding amount of cumbersome titles were planned for release this year; StarCraft 2, Mass Effect 2, BioShock 2... some other 2's. Gaming tends to burst-fire once every two years. 2008 was mediocre, but 2009 was supposed to be (and would have been) glorious. A certain shooter placed its foot down in the Q4 launch pad, frightening would-be timesinks into the depths of 2010. Curse you, Modern Warfare 2! You have engulfed me in the anguish that is my lack of patience. Thanks to you, I won't see SC2, ME2, or even BioShock 2 until two years before the apocalypse, and damn it, I demand at least three years to play such hyped-up titles (the world does end in 2012, after all).

Despite dozens of setbacks, this year had its spotlights. The independent developers spat in the face of big names and trudged through buckets of blood, likely left behind by a certain BioWare title, to raise the indie bar. If nothing else, perhaps developers will learn that competing with titles such as the Call of Duty series is more competent than dog piling into Q1 of any year. Oh well, did anyone truly believe the 4 different release dates placed on SC2, anyway?

I thank the heavens (that's Canada, apparently its own country) for games like Dragon Age: Origins, wherein I invested 33.8 hours within the confines of a week; Runic for games like Torchlight, that reinvigorate old genres with a contagious ambition; and of course, games like Modern Warfare 2 and Left 4 Dead 2, for revealing that even the best devs can turn into carnivorous moneymongers.

Let's get to the awards. We've reported the news all year, reviewed games that you asked us to, and given away prizes like our $2,000 gaming rig. Now it's time to see what YOU have given us! GN Forumites were asked to cast their votes, here's what the community said:

Our categories for 2009, GN's first official GotY awards, are as follows: Best FPS, best RPG, best RTS, best Action/Adventure, best Indie, and Game of the Year. Let's start it off with a bang.

Infinity Ward's community manager Robert Bowling, also known as FourZeroTwo, announced recently that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 currently has a patch in test phase. He promises that it is geared toward addressing complaints from the first few weeks of launch.

FourZerTwo has revealed that the following details are what you can expect to be patched in, and noted that more may be added. The list so far:

- Akimbo 1887s balancing
- Public "private" match fixed
- Infinite Ammo fixed
- Prestige Hack on PS3 fixed
- Texture Hack on PC fixed

Infinity Ward said to expect future updates for quite some time.

~Steve "Lelldorianx" Burke