Who says so? Science says so. Just look at the numbers in this Metacritic round-up of the year's top games and it's pretty obvious that Uncharted 2 is the best. Also, according to math, the PS3 is better than the 360. This isn't us or even Metacritic saying it, people, these are innocent, irrefutable numbers.

In all seriousness, while Metacritic has collected some interesting, worthwhile data in its report, we're not sure what the point is in trying to pick the best system or game of 2009 just going by statistics. We've relied on numbers just to help us organize our annual Game of the Year selection, and even so, just look how much damage they were still capable of.

Would it be possible to use Dante Alighieri's spinning corpse in oil derricks, as as a sort of fleshy drill, or perhaps to power a large centrifuge? That might be a real opportunity if Dante's Inferno executive producer Jonathan Knight gets to make a follow-up to his forthcoming adaptation, a hope he elaborated on for G4.

There's a hitch though: While Knight knows that EA will want a sequel to the game if it performs well, he's not sure that the follow up in The Divine Comedy, Purgatorio, will lend itself as well to a game.

... So Visceral can turn one of the great literary works into a game about a scythe-wielding maniac fighting nipple-born monsters, but making a game about the seven-layer Mount of Purgatory that ends in Earthly Paradise is beyond it? Really?

Sega and Rebellion won't release a "sanitized" Aliens vs. Predator for the Australian market, but it appears the companies are at least going to try and appeal the government's decision to "ban" the game. Refused Classification noted over the weekend that the classification board will hold a review of AvP's status this Friday, December 18.

The most recent high-profile game to attempt an appeal with the Aussie ratings board was Valve's Left 4 Dead 2 -- it failed. However, an edited version of the zombie apocalypse survival trainer was released in the region. We've contacted Sega for comment on the matter.

[Via GamePolitics]

Though the Bjork-filled trailer for Spec Ops: The Line may have left you eager to start shooting up a sandy Dubai, we have to recommend that you save at least some anticipation for late next year. According to publisher Take-Two, the Yager-developed shooter isn't due until the 2011 fiscal year, which kicks off on Nov. 1 of 2010.

Yes, it's a long way off, but don't get depressed! Your friends at Joystiq have a wonderful way of filling your quota for desert-based e-murder in the interim: 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand. With Game of the Year list time just around the corner, has there ever been a better moment to revisit the most points-laden diamond skull hunt of the year? We think not.

As if the wait for Final Fantasy XIII wasn't already difficult enough, Square Enix's assistant PR director, Sonia Im, is making it even more torturous. On her Twitter account, Im teased "something cool most of you can participate in a few days from now" within a mysterious Square Enix memo. Im later added that the memo "eluded [sic] to something stylish." If you squint, the date in the memo seems to be December 17, which would coincide with a PSN update.

It's anybody's guess past that, but we're hoping for a totally magical Final Fantasy-themed fancy dress party for us and a few of our closest friends, set inside PlayStation Home. Can you even imagine?

That, or a demo like the one our Japanese friends already have. Either way.

Gallery: FINAL FANTASY XIII (12/14)

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Last month we spoke with Heavy Rain executive producer Guillaume de Fondaumiere about Quantic Dream's upcoming PS3 adventure game. As a game far from the everyday, de Fondaumiere agreed that Heavy Rain has been a challenge to market. "It's a difficult game to market, because it's difficult for people to understand what it is unless they experience it," he admitted in our video interview above. "So we have to show it to them. We probably have to give them a playable demo for them to see and experience for themselves how different and unique this experience is."

We argued that a playable demo would simply reveal how unconventional the controls could be, to which de Fondaumiere responded: "You simply cannot use conventional game mechanisms when you want to create a unique experience. But I think that -- and user tests we've conducted show that -- you get used to it very quickly. It's quite intuitive. I'm not too concerned about this. At all, actually."

Finally, when asked if he had any final words to tell the Joystiq audience, de Fondaumiere advised fans not to sell the game back to GameStop after completing the story. "Buy the game, don't sell it. Keep it to yourself. You'll need it to continue and experience more episodes in the months following the launch of the game." So, DLC confirmed, right?

While Heavy Rain attempts to welcome both serious and more casual players, it's clear that many will find the unique controls and the story's slow burn a bit too jarring, unconventional, and even boring. Sony has already released so much (arguably too much) footage of Quantic Dream's adventure, and chances are that you've already passed judgment on the title. Perhaps more than any other game before it, Heavy Rain hopes that you want to like the experience. Why? It is -- at its core -- a role-playing game.

When people find out I've been playing Heavy Rain, the first question that generally pops up is, "Is it anything but a series of Quick-Time Events?" The problem with that question is that it inherently assumes that a QTE necessitates a lack of player control. While it's true that the majority of player input is done via on-screen indicators, to simply call them quick-time events is a bit derogatory, ignoring the innovations that developer Quantic Dream has made. Not all actions require players to press buttons as quickly as they see them. In fact, most of the commands involve a very deliberate pace: you may need to move the analog stick slowly, or hold down two buttons while transitioning to a third. Some inputs use the PS3's built-in motion controls, while others will use a combination of various inputs. There are many ways of interfacing with the controller, with each QTE trying to simulate its corresponding, real-world action.

However, variety is not Heavy Rain's greatest innovation. Perhaps the most difficult aspect of the game to explain is its integration of inaction. You are often given the opportunity to do nothing -- and counter to your intuition, that can be the most satisfying option to pursue.

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Actually, according to the EA press release we just received, the demo for Army of Two: The 40th Day will be released in significantly less than 40 days. It'll arrive on the PSN and Xbox Live Marketplace on December 17, and the PSP demo will drop on January 7 (January 14 in Europe). The preview will allow players to get a sneak peek at most of the game's first level, which takes place in Shanghai -- but you know what? None of that is important. What is important is seen in the trailer for the demo, which we've posted above.

Now, jump to a little bit before the halfway mark, and keep an eye out for the strange interaction between the game's two beefy protagonists. What is that? It's like ... the future of fist-bumping technology. The forearm-bump. More subtle, yet still triumphant. Less aggressive, but still dripping with bravado. An alternative manly salutation or congratulation for the gentleman's mercenary. Study the technique, friends. This thing's gonna catch on like wildfire.

During a recent Ubisoft preview event, Michael McIntyre, director of level design for Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, talked to Joystiq about the new sequel to the old trilogy, establishing its connection to the Sands of Time game series and the Bruckheimer film. The Forgotten Sands is a side story, based in the Sands of Time universe, bridging the seven-year gap between the original Sands of Time game and its sequel, Warrior Within.

Clearly, Ubisoft has positioned the next game to piggyback on the Bruckheimer blockbuster and ideally generate renewed sales for the brand (which underperformed in its 2008 iteration). Forgotten Sands is also an opportunity for Ubisoft to finally justify the Prince's remarkable transformation from carefree hero to brooding, emo warrior.

Continue reading for our full interview with Michael McIntyre -- after the break -- in which he reveals new (and rewinding revisited) elements in the game and the return of a familiar voice.

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Assassin's Creed 2 couldn't find the next grip location and holds its position in third. Nintendo has Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit Plus and New Super Mario Bros. Wii at spots two, four and six, respectively. As for premieres, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks rolled in at 12th place and James Cameron's Avatar: The Game entered at number 29. Now let's see how Avatar: The Movie That Inspired The Game does. If it's a hit, that should help sales of the game.

Source -- Modern Warfare 2 Claims 5th Week at No1 [Chart Track]
Source -- All formats chart [Chart Track]

As you can probably tell by looking at our front page, last night's Spike Video Game Awards show was a pretty prolific source of gaming news. From the big reveals of games like Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2, to new trailers for Crackdown 2 and Halo: Reach, to ... well, the actual awards, it was a pretty busy night for all parties involved.

We've collected all the stories, trailers, and winners of each award in this post to prevent you from hunting through our archives -- or our hateful, hateful liveblog -- to find what you're looking for. You'll find them all listed after the jump!

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One of the least surprising "World Exclusive" reveals during last night's Video Game Awards show was the unveiling of Harmonix's next single-band opus, Green Day: Rock Band. In case you missed out on the late-to-the-party announcement, you can check out the debut trailer after the jump. If you don't feel like watching a streaming video at the moment, we'll summarize: It looks a heck of a lot like when you play those Green Day DLC songs on Rock Band 2.

The MTV Games press release that landed in our inbox shortly after the trailer aired contained one particularly interesting piece of news -- unlike The Beatles: Rock Band, all of the tracks in Green Day's outing will be exportable to the core Rock Band games. In addition, all the Green Day DLC released so far for the music platform, as well as the three 21st Century Breakdown tracks that will hit this Tuesday, will be compatible with Green Day: Rock Band. No release date has been given thus far, but the presser specifies that its coming to the Wii, PS3 and 360.

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Aww, we were having such a good time watching last night's Spike Video Game Awards show -- then the trailer for the recently dated UFC Undisputed 2010 aired, and really soured our enjoyment of the event. See, the first minute of the video utilizes the transformative special effects featured in Michael Jackson's "Black or White" music video, so immediately we started thinking about how this would be our first Christmas without MJ in our lives. Nothing could revive our good spirits after that. Not even Kimbo Slice's beard, which may be filled with hidden candies.

Check out the trailer after the jump above, but feel free to skip to the 0:52 mark if you want to avoid the melancholy described above. Alternatively, skip to the 1:01 mark if you want to witness Kimbo's glorious, confection-rich facial hair.

We're just not sure if we can get behind the aesthetic of the Yager-developed, 2K-published shooter Spec Ops: The Line which was officially revealed during last night's Spike Video Game Awards. It just looks way too gritty for us.

Now that we've gotten that pun we've been wanting to make since we first saw the game last night out of the way, we can tell you that the debut trailer is posted after the jump. Despite our irreverent panning during last night's festivities, it doesn't look half bad. According to the last screen of the trailer, it's coming to 360, PS3 and PC. Check out the video if you're a fan of sandy environments, ruined landscapes, female vocalists and egregious violations of the Geneva convention.

Update: We've added a hi-res version of the trailer above.