videogame

It's the last live episode of The 404...of 2009. Russ Frushtick, chief gamer at MTV Networks, joins the show today along with Mark Licea of The Green Show to discuss the tumultuous, but exciting year in videogames. Finally, we get to the winners of our "Hangover" contest.

Because of the Great Recession, many games this year have been pushed back to the next year, and we've seen developers folding left and right. Jeff counts down his list of the most anticipated games of 2010--many of which were suppose to be released this year. Some of the games include Dark Void and Bayonetta. We think the main character of Bayonetta looks a lot like Sarah Palin.

Some of Jeff's favorite games this year were Ghostbusters and, of course, Modern Warfare 2, which Russ actually says didn't make his top 5. Most of that he says has to do with the so-so single player mode and the glitches and cheats in the multiplayer mode of the game. Jeff and Wilson think that Ghostbusters was pretty entertaining, but they both agree that the gameplay itself was a little unappealing after 6 or 7 hours.

Finally, we had a contest to give away copies of "The Hangover" in Blu-ray and DVD. Most of our hangover stories were definitely NSFW, but a couple of them reminded us of our own horrible hangover stories from college and our adolescent days. On that note, please take care of yourself during the holidays. We will see you on the other side of New Year's. In the mean time, send us an e-mail at the404 [at] cnet [dot] com or leave a voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET (2638). There's no guarantee we will get to it during our break, but we will appreciate it. Be safe and have a blast!

Justin Yu has finally caught the SARS/swine flu that's been floating around the CNET New York offices. It was bound to happen, considering the number of makeout parties we have here. Filling his petite shoes, we have Mark Licea (aka MTI).

On today's show, we talk about beautifupeople.com, a Web site that is finally coming to the United States, which only beautiful people are allowed to join. That's right: in order to join this dating Web site, you have to be pretty. Users must submit their pictures, then the community decides whether you're hot enough to join. Unfortunately, Jeff and Wilson will likely get rejected. We'll let you know what Mark finds out on the Web site.

After that, we find out that older men who are less educated than their female counterparts are less likely to get a divorce and are generally happier in their relationships. So we guess all those cougar relationships out there aren't going to work out. We also check out a not cool "illegal alien costume." It might have been funny on "Chappelle's Show," but it's likely to get the crap beat out of you immediately.

Finally, we cover CNN's new Web site and we get to some video game news and commentary. The PlayStation 3 finally gets Netflix streaming after Xbox 360 has had it for almost a year now. Took them long enough, but we think this might start to change the balance of power in the video game console war, because it will be free on the PlayStation 3, rather than having to sell out $50 bucks a year for a Xbox Live Gold membership. Plus, Wilson gets close to beating Ghostbusters: The Videogame. His take? It's fun to watch, a little monotonous to play after a while, but a good buy.

Please, please, send in voice mails. We're running a bit low these days, and we love to hear your feedback. Call in at 1-866-404-CNET (2638). Call! (Especially if you're a lady.)

Amid all of the hoopla around the battle between Gran Turismo 5 versus Forza Motorsport 3, we'd almost forgotten about Need for Speed: Shift--the NFS series' latest foray into the world of sim-racing. However, its recently announced release date of September 15, 2009, has jarred our memory and brought the scrappy upstart back to our attention.

For those needing a refresher, check out this GamesSpot video that outlines most of what we know:

While NFS:S' 65 cars and 18 tracks will have a hard time competing with the hundreds of cars and tracks that GT5 and F3 … Read more

Last night in New York City, Nintendo treated two of our CNET editors to some lengthy hands-on demos of major upcoming titles for the Wii and DS. We'll have impressions of our time with Wii Sports Resort and other games later on, but first we wanted to talk about New Super Mario Bros. Wii.… Read more

One of the biggest decisions when choosing a video game system has to be the exclusive games. Console manufacturers go to enormous lengths to tie up deals with developers and their publishers in order to claim one console's superiority over another.

Numerous titles and franchises are only available on Xbox 360 including Gears of War, Halo, and Forza MotorSport.

Now that E3 2009 has come and gone, let's take a look at some more 360-only titles that are scheduled for release in the coming months.

Stay tuned for our PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii exclusives slideshows, both coming … Read more

I won't spend $50 to $60 on a video game. Just can't do it. Even $40 feels like too much. But $20? That definitely satisfies my cheapskate tendencies. So imagine my delight at learning that Walmart currently has nearly 1,500 video games priced at $20 or less.

As you might expect, these aren't the latest and greatest titles, but they're not all bargain-bin rejects, either. For example, you can get the Wii versions of Lego Indiana Jones and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for $19.82 apiece.

Xbox 360 owners can snap up Call of Duty 2: Game of the Year Edition … Read more

Car manufacturers may be having a tough time moving vehicles off the showroom floor this year, but Ford is crushing it online. Granted, it's because they're giving away free vehicles to enhance characters in The Sims video game.

Players of The Sims 2 with the Nightlife expansion pack have been downloading free Ford vehicles since 2007. To date, there's been more than 5.7 million downloads of the Ford-branded autos, with 1.5 million of them being the iconic Ford Mustang (red with white racing stripes). That's seven times more Mustangs than Ford has sold in … Read more

Zeebo's got game.

Zeebo, a closely held company partially funded by Qualcomm, unveiled its 3G wireless video game console on Monday, with plans to begin shipping the device to the Brazilian market next month.

With its device priced at $199 for the Brazilian market and plans to offer it for as low as $149 once it starts shipping in volume internationally next year, Zeebo is seeking to attract users in emerging markets.

The consoles will also come with four games preloaded and the ability to download a fifth game title for free. Zeebo noted the games will be designed … Read more