The Last Word: May 2-8, 2010

The first full week of May ends tomorrow, and with it several days of high activity in the GameSpot offices. The rundown of the week that was finds a bevy of recent features, news, previews, reviews, and video, including the kickoff of Video Game History month, a series of major game release dates, a first look at Fallout: New Vegas, and critical appraisal of top titles, such as the long-awaited Alan Wake.

THE LAST WORD: MAY 2-8

FEATURES
May is Video Game History Month here at GameSpot. This feature kicks off with the first entries into our individual categories focusing on the hardware, people, games, and events that helped make the video game industry what it is today. These categories are updated every Thursday through the month of May, and there will also be photo stories highlighting some of the great--and not-so-great--aspects of gaming's past every Friday.

Also, be sure to check the Call of Duty: Black Ops trailer breakdown, which reveals some details on the imagery displayed in the trailer of this highly anticipated shooter. And finally, the Electronic Entertainment Expo is next month, and that means it's time to head on over to the Readers' Choice Most Anticipated Game of E3 page and cast a vote for your favorite upcoming game.

Video Game History Month
Readers' Choice Most Anticipated Game of E3
Call of Duty: Black Ops - The Breakdown
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction Game Guide

NEW RELEASES
Shippin' Out May 2-8: Iron Man 2, Halo: Reach MP beta
Big in Japan Apr. 26-May 2: Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2
WiiWare assailed by Zombie Panic, Kung Fu Funk
Dragon Age add-on leads XBL May lineup
Modern Warfare 2 DLC ushers in PSN Tuesday updates

NEWS
April showers may bring May flowers, but the month also sees many game publishers' annual reports bloom, with Capcom, Activision, and Namco Bandai all turning in annual earnings. Nintendo reported its first reduced profit in six years, thanks to slowing--but still robust--Wii sales. The console has now sold nearly 71 million units, a figure only topped during this generation by the DS's 129-million-unit haul.

Speaking of portables, Sony announced the God of War series was returning to the PSP with Ghost of Sparta, which will bridge the gap between the first two PlayStation 2 games in the series. The stand-alone "episode" Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood was confirmed for fall, as was Tom Clancy's HAWX 2. The reboot of the Medal of Honor series arrives in North America on October 12, three days before it hits Europe. The US and Canada will also get Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II on October 26. Oh, and a little real-time strategy title by the name of Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty ships July 27.

Starcraft II launches July 27
Little Big Planet 2 confirmed
Wii sales near 71 million, DS almost 129 million
Wiis bundled with Wii MotionPlus, Wii Sports Resort starting May 9
Activision Blizzard Q1 revs jump 33% to $1.3 billion
Halo: Reach multiplayer beta opens to ODST owners
Game Crazy closing down completely
Apple sells 1 million iPads
God of War returning to PSP
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II due Oct. 26
1 million Wiis Netflix'd, 3DS confirmed for E3
Xbox 360 Arcade getting Rare bundle - Retail Radar
THQ posts $900 million in full-year sales
'Next evolution' of Pac-Man premiering at E3
Halo: Reach beta draws 1 million on day 1
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood confirmed for fall
HAWX 2 hunting this fall
Infinity Ward staying open despite 35 defections
Capcom annual profits fall 73.1%
Namco Bandai losses top $300 million
Nintendo throwing Wii Party, 160 million Miis made
Medal of Honor deploys in October

PREVIEWS
The previews squad checked out animated toys and transforming robots, with write-ups of Pixar's Toy Story 3 and Transformers: War for Cybertron. There was also an in-depth examination of the career mode in THQ's upcoming UFC Undisputed 2010, due out in just a few short weeks. Other highlights for the week included a first look at Fallout: New Vegas, updated impressions of Rage, a Q&A with BioWare's Rob Bartel about the Darkspawn Chronicles, the upcoming downloadable content for Dragon Age: Origins, and a conversation with Crytek's Cevat Yerli about the tech behind his company's upcoming Crysis 2.

Toy Story 3 Hands-On Impressions
Transformers: War for Cybertron Multiplayer Hands-On
UFC Undisputed 2010 Career Mode Impressions
Fallout: New Vegas First Look
Rage Updated Impressions
Dragon Age: Origins Darkspawn Chronicles Q&A
Madden NFL 11: Dual Stick Controls Q&A
Crysis 2 Q&A
Two Worlds II
End of Nations
Rift: Planes of Telara

REVIEWS
Some of the year's big guns took aim at GameSpot's review bunker this week, as several major May releases started trickling into the office. The write-ups for some of those games won't be appearing on the site for another week or two, but there are still plenty of new reviews with scores up on the site. Nier, Picross 3D, and the Wii version of 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa were among the highlights early in the week, and although Alan Wake isn't coming out until May 18, a review of it capped off the week. Friday evening also saw the Lost Planet 2 review blast off--although it was far from a positive one.

2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Review
Alan Wake Review
Dante's Inferno: Trials of St. Lucia DLC Review
Heavy Rain Chronicles Episode 1: The Taxidermist DLC Review
Nier Review
Picross 3D Review
Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter Review
Tecmo Bowl Throwback Review
The Whispered World Review
Lost Planet 2 Review

VIDEO
GameSpot Live kicked this week off with a jam-packed schedule for Today on the Spot, including DeathSpank, Test Drive Unlimited 2, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, and Fable III. An episode of Now Playing revealed the first part of Capcom's sci-fi shooter sequel, Lost Planet 2. Rounding out the week was a video preview for Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, video reviews for Nier and Alan Wake, as well as new trailers for the Dragon Age Origins: Darkspawn Chronicles DLC and the Medal of Honor reboot, due out in October.

Now Playing: Lost Planet 2
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Video Preview
Toy Story 3 Interview: John Day
Nier Video Review
Alan Wake Video Review
Medal of Honor – Leave a Message Trailer
Dragon Age: Origins Darkspawn Chronicles DLC Trailer Today on the Spot - May 6 - Fable III, Alpha Protocol, Art Style: Light Trax
Today on the Spot - May 4 - Skate 3, Fallout New Vegas, MGS Peace Walker
Today on the Spot - May 1 - Iron Man 2, DeathSpank, Test Drive Unlimited 2