G4TV

For the first time ever, a Call of Duty game follows the same plot as its predecessor. Forgot what happened in COD4? Check out this quick X-Play refresher before jumping into Modern Warfare 2:

World War II was an awesome video game war: Moral clarity, an easily identifiable enemy, and a stunning victory for the forces of Freedom and Goodness make great fodder for a first-person shooter. That’s why game developers flocked to The Good War in such numbers, while largely ignoring Vietnam. But Dubya Dubya Two isn’t a bottomless pit of material. Even the makers of Call of Duty eventually tapped the mine and went on to other, imaginary, conflicts for their game series. But we want historical shooting back, so to help out Infinity Ward, TheFeed would like to present its list of five wars we think would make great Call of Duty games. (Contributions by Andrew Pfister, Stephen Johnson, and Sterling McGarvey.)

Number Five: The First Afghan War (1838-41)

In the first Afghan War, Britain, the undisputed world super-power at the time, was forced to retreat from an occupation of Afghanistan by poorly armed native inhabitants. It’s perfect for a game because nothing like that could ever happen again, ever. Plus no one really remembers it, so you could stick lasers in there or something.

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For those of you who are genuinely looking forward to Nintendo’s upcoming platformer-reimagining New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii, you have a serious question to ask yourself right now: Do you or do you not want to see how to beat the final level/boss of the game? I’ll let that sink in for a second, so that you don’t rush into anything you’ll regret later and then blame me for…

Ok. So Nintendo Everything has posted a video that shows off the final level of NSMB being played in the new Super Guide mode, which basically lets you watch the game play itself while you have a snack or something. It’s a full run through of the level, so if you watch the video, you will know exactly how to beat the final section, and you’ll know exactly what happens after you do so. I’ve posted the video after the jump so that you don’t see even the slightest glimpse of a spoiler unless you decide that’s what you want.

My other reason for doing this is to get a quick and dirty estimate on how you all feel about game spoilers. This latest example might not carry the weight or significance that the leaked airport sequence from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 did, but it still represents the same idea. Why are people so eager to ruin game narratives/sequences/twists/etc.? Is itt because the Internet just makes it so easy? Are you someone who prefers to find out about a game’s story before you play it, or do you prefer to let the story unfold before your eyes as you play?

Do you feel differently about movies, novels, or TV shows? Would you gladly spoil MW2 for someone, but smash your face into a wall if someone told you how the last season of your favorite show ended before you'd had a chance to watch it? If so, why the double standard?

I’m fully aware that I’m being somewhat hypocritical here, criticizing people for spoiling game stories while including a video that does just that, but I’m doing it to see just how serious you all are about your stance on this issue. Granted, no one is playing NSMB for the story, and the “spoiler” isn’t surprising in the least, but you see my point.

SPOILERS AFTER THE BREAK! If you don't want to see even a frame of the video, scroll to the bottom of the page immediately once you click through, and you should be spoiler-free and ready to comment on how pure of heart you are.

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I debated whether to post the trailer below that announces that Saints Row 2 DLC, "Ultor Exposed" is the Xbox Live Deal of the Week this week. On the one hand, I like the Saints Row series. It's no Grand Theft Auto, but it's worthwhile for a couple hours, and "Ultor Exposed" is 30 percent off the regular price this week -- that's a pretty good deal.  But on the other hand, the video is in terrible taste, and really appeals to the lowest desires in gamers and humans in general.

So I'll let you decide. You're an adult, right? If you are an adult, take a look at the video below, starring Tera Patrick, and tell me whether this kind of purely sex-driven advertising is a good or bad way to market games.

Many of you RPG lovers out there have no doubt been pouring in countless hours exploring the vastness of and slaughtering your way across the fantasy landscapes of BioWare’s Dragon Age: Origins. But for those of you who are still debating about whether to commit or not, here’s a helpful developer diary focusing on the game’s brutal yet sophisticated combat system. You might want to wear some goggles or a poncho or something though. Things get kind of messy up ahead:

Do you need a new RPG for your DS and fancy whimsical trips through simplier times? Perhaps you dream of being a chimney sweep while listening to Decemberists records and placing coins on the eyes of your deceased loved ones? Then Nostalgia might just be for you! Michael Thomsen has the review:

"You’ll play as Eddie, eager son of English adventurer Gilbert Brown. Gilbert disappears after a surprise meeting with a strange woman in the Tower of Babel. When word reaches Eddie that his father has gone missing, the Victorian scrapper sets out on a mission to find him. After a few hours of collecting mysterious allies for your adolescent dirty dozen, you’ll discover the conspiracy of the Cabal, who are chasing around the world collecting the scattered pieces of a key that is purported to open the gate to heaven."

Click here to read the rest of the written review and see the game's score!

Magna Carta 2 is a Japanese-style RPG that has a lot of the standard elements that go with that kind of experience, but also adds a few new wrinkles to the mix. But, does that mean it's a quality experience?

Well, according to reviewer Allen Rausch:

'Innovation isn’t necessarily the hallmark of a great game. There are plenty of examples of games built around unique concepts that failed in their implementation. There are also games that don’t innovate at all, but are so well executed, they’re still outstanding titles. Unfortunately, Magna Carta 2, a Japanese-style RPG from Korean developers Softmax, falls into neither category.'

Check out the full written review and get the score for the game here.

Electronic Arts has already issued a post-launch patch for FIFA 10, but problems remain. Reader Justin Duke alerted me in the direction of a major glitch this morning that currently plagues the game's "manager mode," which allows FIFA 10 players to build a team from scratch. The problem? Once you've taken a team through a single season, an in-game economy glitch won't let you keep going.

"At the end of every season you can switch teams," explained Duke. "When looking at your option of teams it will tell you the team's budget for buying new players. In my case, the lowly team I was looking at had a budget of around $600,000. Once you pick your team and it does the scheduling, your team now has a budget of over $2 billion, and no matter what you do that number won't change. This essentially makes the mode impossible to play because you can't make any improvements to a team."

Duke isn't the only person to have this problem. It's all over the official FIFA 10 message boards and GameFAQs boards, a glitch players seem to have just regrettably accepted as reality.

"It's an MM [manager mode] bug," said one user on EA's boards. "One of many."

G4 writer Sterling McGarvey did not encounter this glitch while paying FIFA 10 for review.

Users have even come up with elaborate means of avoiding the glitch in lieu of a real fix.

"Keep your autosave on to have two save files," said another FIFA 10 player, also on EA's message boards. "Create one for the first season, then create a new one for the second season...switch back and forth between them every few games and you won't have to rewind a whole season."

There may be good reason for players to move on, too. EA hasn't acknowledged the problem. I contacted EA about the glitch this morning and have so far received no response from the publisher. If and when EA decides to release a statement about FIFA 10's manager mode issues, I'll pass it on.

In the meantime, if you've experienced this or other glitches, drop me an e-mail with details.

Have something to share? Have a news tip? E-mail me. You can also follow me on Twitter.

Picture it: You and a buddy are creeping along the frozen ground as a sprinkling of snow falls down around you. You spot a flashlight flair up ahead, the silhouettes of two guards and their killer attack dogs loom out of the whiteness in the distance. You settle your sights on the first guard, while your friend targets the dogs. With a quick signal, you both fire, and take out the patrolling soldiers, clearing your path to the next set of evil jerks to murder. Yeah, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s Spec-Ops (Co-Op) mode is that kind of awesome. Video evidence submitted for your approval:

It's looking more and more like Super Street Fighter IV is becoming the game everyone wanted Street Fighter IV to be. Additionally, Capcom seems to be bringing back a bunch of unexpected classic Street Fighter hallmarks and overhauling systems that could have easily stayed the way they were.

Are you being convinced by Capcom's argument in favor of releasing Super Street Fighter IV next year?

The publisher just released this new trailer highlighting what's new.

For Assassin’s Creed II, Ubisoft Montreal has improved and expanded practically every single aspect of the previous installment in its acclaimed franchise. In this latest developer diary, the team discusses the two “homes” that players will be jumping between in the game: Renaissance Italy and a creepy lab in a creepy future. Both locations will offer distinct and meaningful gameplay challenges that will undoubtedly keep the game from ever feeling stale or predictable.

Next Tuesday needs to be here yesterday.

Love it or hate it, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is here and everyone is playing it. Obviously, the game's going to be a major point of discussion on this week's episode of Feedback, but it won't be the only thing we're talking about. As per usual, in one segement, we give you guys the power to control Feedback. If you have a question for the Feedback crew, drop in it the comments. I'll be reading.

BONUS! Questions that aren't answered on Feedback are also eligible to be answered in Andrew Pfister's new weekly mailbag special (it runs every Friday), Reply To All. If you aren't picked for Feedback, there's always a chance Andrew will pick up the other good ones for Reply to All.

Reminder: All questions require readers to have an avatar associated with their profile!

The wait is over. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is out. Let's get right to the point: we're going to be talking quite a bit about Modern Warfare 2 in the coming days and weeks, but today is the first day we're able to tip the tables. So, tell us, what do you think of Modern Warfare 2?

...or are you one of the unfortunate ones sitting at work, desperately waiting to pop the disc in?

Part two of our continuing series of videos to make you wish you were playing Modern Warfare 2 is a look at Team Deathmatch on the Estate map. Included in this video: the Chopper Gunner killstreak reward.

(Seriously, why are you watching this instead of doing it???)

Ready to take a jump into the totally wild world of Shaun White? Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage lets you travel around the globe competing to qualify for the World Stage finals. You know what that means? Dust off your Wii Balance Board and get ready to hit the slopes from your living room.

Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage, exclusively for the Wii, is in stores now.