The Last Word: May 17-21

It has been another packed week of GameSpot coverage, starting with some early looks at big games on the horizon, including EA MMA, Sonic the Hedgehog 4, and Madden 11. The reviews team had an exceptionally busy (but exceptionally enjoyable) week marked by high review scores for Red Dead Redemption, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies, and the first GameSpot "10" score since Metal Gear Solid 4: Super Mario Galaxy 2. The monthlong examination of the past also continued, as Video Game History Month dug up memories of the PlayStation 2 launch, Starcraft, Will Wright, and the 3DO.

The Last Word May 17-21

FEATURES
Did you know that May is Video Game History Month? GameSpot's special-report coverage of the world of video games continues with more chronicles of the biggest events and games of yesteryear, plus the staff's top picks for the upcoming 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo--the single biggest gaming event of the year.

Editors' Choice Most Anticipated Games of E3
Video Game History Month: PS2 Launch
Video Game History Month: Starcraft
Video Game History Month: Will Wright
Video Game History Month: 3DO

NEW RELEASES

Shippin' Out May 16-22: Red Dead Redemption, Alan Wake, Prince of Persia
Frogger hops on DSiWare bandwagon
Rocket Knight blasts off on PSN
Metal Slug XX locked, loaded for XBLA launch

NEWS
It was another busy week on the GameSpot news desk, full of release dates, rumors, financial reports, and more. Things kicked off Monday morning with the confirmation of a release date for Square Enix's Disney crossover action role-playing game Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, and kept rolling through Friday's announcement of a PC release for Fable III.

The string of quarterly financial reports also stretched through the week, with Square Enix, Ubisoft, and GameStop posting their results for the most recently completed quarters. As is often the case with such events, related points of interest also spilled out in the accompanying SEC filings and analyst conference calls. Ubisoft told analysts it was delaying Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, expressed an interest in adopting EA's Online Play tactics, and boasted that it had shipped 9 million copies of Assassin's Creed II.

The week also saw a number of simply unusual news bits, from the revelation that a Rollercoaster Tycoon feature film is in the works, to the equally eyebrow-raising announcement of Super Street Fighter IV-branded HDTVs. Developer Irrational Games even gave gamers a peek behind the creative curtain, releasing the first nine pages of the original pitch document for 2007's hit first-person shooter BioShock.

Fable III PC launch confirmed
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 hits a speed bump
Phantasy Star Portable 2 coming to North America, Europe
Original BioShock pitch document released
GameStop posts biggest non-holiday quarter ever
Street Fighter IV gets its own HDTVs
Halo novels get a makeover
Crystal Dynamics on Lara Croft's new direction
Top Gun kicking tires, lighting fires this summer
Acclaim acquired by social publisher Playdom
UFC 2010 Undisputed's online mode locked
Heavy Rain falling on Hollywood - Report
World of Warcraft charging for remote auction house service
Dragon Quest IX lands in West in July
PixelJunk Shooter 2 in production
Ubisoft 'probably' adopting EA online model, five MMOGs in development
Final Fantasy sells 5.5 million, Arkham Asylum commits 3.24 million
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier pushed further into future
Assassin's Creed II ships 9 million, Ubisoft posts $54 million annual loss
Rollercoaster Tycoon taking on big screen
Scribblenauts sequel goes Super
Kingdom Hearts PSP hits September 7

PREVIEWS
With just weeks to go until the 2010 Electronic Entertainment Expo, GameSpot has tons of new updates for upcoming games on all platforms, with much more to follow in the coming days as GameSpot's previews group gears up for the big show. This week brought with it updates for EA Sports MMA, Madden NFL 11, Mafia II, Tron Evolution, and much, much more.

EA Sports MMA Hands-On
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Onslaught Co-Op Hands-On
Madden NFL 11: Bringing It to the Booth
Mafia II Updated Hands-On - PhysX, APEX, and 3D Vision
Arcania: Gothic 4 Q&A - First Impressions Plus Story Details
Tron Evolution Pre-E3 Hands-On Interview

REVIEWS
This year has the potential to be remembered as one of the all-time greats where new game releases are concerned. The same can be said of this month and, to get even more granular, of this week. Within the space of just seven days, store shelves already full of great games have had to make room for Alan Wake, Red Dead Redemption, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, and Split/Second. Sleepless nights be damned, it's a great time to be a GameSpot reviewer.

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (PSP) Review
Dementium II (DS) Review
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (PS3/X360) Review
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (Wii) Review
Red Dead Redemption (PS3/X360) Review
Rocket Knight (PS3/X360) Review
Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies (Wii) UK Review
Split/Second (PC/PS3/X360) Review
Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) Review
Things on Wheels (X360) Review

VIDEO
The GameSpot Live crew had a big week for video content on the site. Three new episodes of Today on the Spot took a look at games like F1 2010, Dead to Rights: Retribution "GAC Pack" DLC, Ivy the Kiwi, and more. GameSpot EIC Ricardo Torres talked to the fine folks at Sega about Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1 and showed off a new trailer for the game. Video reviews exploded this week with awesome looks at Split/Second, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, and Red Dead Redemption. This week's Game Night was pushed out to the viewers live for a longer look at Red Dead Redemption multiplayer, and GameSpot rounds out the week with an episode of Now Playing: Super Mario Galaxy 2.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 Video Review
Today on the Spot - F1 2010
Split/Second Video Review
Red Dead Redemption Video Review
Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands Video Review
Community Game Night: Red Dead Redemption
Now Playing: Super Mario Galaxy 2