With the dawning of a new calendar year, we at the GameSpot previews team are trying to expand the sort of coverage we give upcoming games. One way we've been doing this is by bringing back video previews. Most of our video work is limited to on-camera interviews and gameplay demos, but now we've started putting together little video vignettes that combine the proper text of a preview article and video footage of the game. Last week, I did a fairly straightforward video preview for The Godfather II, which you can see in HD here, or super compressed down below:

However, this week we went a little more over the top with our video preview for House of the Dead: Overkill. This game is pure bat**** insanity, so we wanted to do something that reflected that. Brian Ekberg is the genius behind this video. He came up with the concept, wrote the voiceover script, and came up with most of the ideas for things we could improv about on camera. Just about the only thing I came up with was my ridiculous name, Dr. 48. Behold in stunning HD, or right here:

We had way more fun than anyone should have while filming that, and we definitely want to do some more video previews like this (as in sticking with the spirit of the game, not necessarily being super vulgar). What games out there would you guys like to see us cover in video preview form? I'm sure there are plenty, so have at it!

Bonus trivia: The character creator in The Godfather II is really detailed and even lets you customize your gang members. So of course I made a maniac Waluigi in perrywinkle. If you ask anyone around the office, they'll tell you I'm terrible with character creation. I always make the looniest people, and often spend more time in that menu than the game itself.

Bonus trivia 2: The suitcase, gun, and fake money used in the HotD video came from a James Bond: Quantum of Solace preview event. It's been sitting under my desk since October waiting to be used in some way. I think we did it justice.

I have to say a fond farewell to Circuit City. Goodbye and farewell to the creepy older uncle of Best Buy. Somehow you always made me feel as if buying electronics was somehow akin to buying a used car. Your store layout was always terrible, your employees often looked as confused as I was. You always made me feel a little uncomfortable. You had games locked away in a small corner cage as if they were reptiles at the zoo. I'll miss tapping on the glass. I'd get an ipod jack put into my car for old times sake, but with no accountability due to your closing, I'm afraid I'd find my car up on blocks in the back lot. I have so many fond memories of wanting to leave your store to go to Best Buy. You will be sorely missed. I am comforted by the fact that I can always drive to Canada to be visually molested by your dull grey interior design.

I've held several contests in my blog before, and over break I decided it was time for a new and different profile and blog headers. So I do declare, contest time!

As before, I am looking for a themed profile/blog header combo, similar to my current No More Heroes-themed images. I am also looking for a signature image, so really, you should consider this two different contests, though you should feel free to submit images for both. You might even win both!

Up for Grabs, Blog and Profile Banners: Star Wars: Empire at War, Gothic 3, and Supreme Commander, all for the PC.

Up for Grabs, Signature Image: Dreamfall: The Longest Journey and City Life, all for the PC.

I make no promises that these games will run on your own personal PC. If your PC doesn't support any or all of these titles, I can't be held responsible!

For the Blog and Profile banners:

1. They should be themed with one of the following three games: Metal Gear Solid 4, Valkyria Chronicles, or the upcoming Muramasa: The Demon Blade.

2. The images should show on the page as if they are a single image separated into two frames, in the style of my current profile images. Otherwise, you have artistic license to add text as you wish or add other touches you may think are appropriate.

3. Check your profile to see what dimensions these images need to have. From there, create your images and upload them to your profile images (or personal webspace) and post a link right here as a reply in this blog.

4. By creating and linking me to your image, you are giving me permission to use it in my profile on GameSpot. If I choose you as a winner (a choice that is completely subjective based on my appreciation for your images), you will need to provide me your name and address so I can mail the prize.

5. If I use your images, I will host them myself.

6. Submit your entry by 11:59 PM Pacific Time on Wednesday, January 21.

7. During the contest time, I may use some of the submitted images to show them off in my blog. This should not be construed as a choice for winner, only as a chance to show off various designs as they are submitted. I will announce the winner on Thursday, January 22.

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For the Signature:

1. It should be themed with one of the following three games: ICO, Okami, or the latest Prince of Persia.

2. You have artistic license to add text as you wish or add other touches you may think are appropriate.

3. Check your profile to see what dimensions the image should have. From there, create your image and upload it to your profile images (or personal webspace) and post a link right here as a reply in this blog.

4. By creating and linking me to your image, you are giving me permission to use it as my forums signature on GameSpot. If I choose you as a winner (a choice that is completely subjective based on my appreciation for your images), you will need to provide me your name and address so I can mail the prize.

5. If I use your image, I will host it myself.

6. Submit your entry by 11:59 PM Pacific Time on Wednesday, January 21.

7. During the contest time, I may use some of the submitted images to show them off in my signature. This should not be construed as a choice for winner, only as a chance to show off various designs as they are submitted. I will announce the winner on Thursday, January 22.

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If you have any questions, let me know. Otherwise, get cracking! I can't wait to see what fabulous creations you devise. The images users have created for me in the past have been absolutely incredible.

As part of our New Year's Resolutions, we're taking GameSpot UK's video and audio shows weekly in 2009. The GameSpot UK Podcast goes out on Thursdays and Start/Select on Fridays -- and remember you can subscribe to both in iTunes.

We'd love to hear your feedback on Start/Select and what you'd like to see from the show -- let us know your thoughts in the GameSpot UK forum!

I likes me some Combat Arms but I have a big dilemma, the game is free, but it's kind of needy. This online arcade style shooter with some of the best and most balanced maps I've ever seen wants me to play it more than two hours a day. This is largely due to Nexon's gun rental system were you start with 9,000 game points that you drain on renting gear and equipment each day you put lead downrange. This means your purchases are gone in a fixed amount of real time, usually 24 hours. You earn points back through kills and wins.

A good weapon, say an AK-74 with scope, or fan favorite G36E, will run you 950 gp/day (game points per day) or you can play this game on the cheap by popping a 150 gp/day scope on your trusty yet mediocre M-16. The better rifles are more fun since they enable long range kills and better chances of high kill ratios all around. The problem is at 950gp per rifle per day, and earning only an avg of 150gp per round, it takes more than six rounds, or two hours per day not to bleed cash, and bleed cash you will. You can fund raise by playing for a day and only purchasing a scope, but this is almost reminiscent of grinding in MMORPG's. Don't let other bloggers fool you, you can have fun doing this on the Grunt servers. But as a Combat Arms player you are perpetually in a race to loose less than a few thousand gp per rank. If you make it to the next rank you will receive gp bonuses and in theory as long as you only bleed a few thousand gp per level, you're ok. Warning, this is easier said than done should you have a job, fiancé, dog, or child.

There is something to be said for having to earn your way through a game. I feel as if the trend has been going in the opposite direction for the past two years. By forcing you to earn your keep, Combat Arms challenges you to become a more efficient shooter. Wanting higher kill ratios and more game points per round, without spending real life cash, I found myself studying maps constantly for new sniping ledges, tactics, and advantages. But if you're wallet is dedicated to unleaded 87 octane like me, or you just don't want to spend real money on a free game on principle, then this rental system is both a mood killer and motivation to play.

I respect Nexon for having a business model in the first place. If there is one thing I've learned since leaving the guarded halls of torture, ahem, academia, it's that nothing is free and in order to bring you Combat Arms for free, someone has to be paying. If you should like to support the poor and needy gamers of the world you can avoid much hassle by shelling out some real world cash to pick up powerful weapons for 90 days for under ten dollars. But by those standards if you play Combat Arms for more than six months you're buying the game and then some. But hey, you're keeping it free for me and as I said, I likes me some Combat Arms. So gun rentals, bane or boom? I'm conflicted.

There's a reason why I don't officially write for GameSpot, I just don't play enough games. But of the games I did play this past year, here are my favorite:

8. Gears of War 2: I loved the first one, and I love the second one, for all the same reasons. I'm also playing through the second one entirely on co-op, which is really how I prefer to play any shooters now. Of note, I played through alot of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 on co-op and enjoyed it, and I probably wouldn't have touched the game just for singleplayer.

7. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney: While the third game is still my favorite in the series, this is probably my second favorite. But I mention it becuase it managed to successfully pass a solid franchise from one leading character to another, enough so that I'm ready to jump in to whatever hijinks Apollo has next.

6. Defense of the Ancients: While it is a WC3 mod, Icefrog keeps this updated just enough to keep me hooked. I've played this game far more than I'd like to admit, and were it not for the terribad community (bnet kiddies) that thrives on this game, I'd probably be playing it alot more.

5. Street Fighter II Championship Edition (Arcade): Old old old game, but given it just sits in our office all day and everyone around me gets the itch to beat up on each other now and then, I've logged alot of time on the machine.

4. Burnout Paradise: I couldn't really get into the earlier Burnout games, but I really enjoyed this one. Eight-player challenges and ludicrous crashes made playing on a 10-ft wide projection screen a cherished memory. I would've played it alot more had my Xbox not red-ringed at the time.

3. Mario Kart DS: Another non-2008 game, but I've played this too much to ignore putting it here. After moving on from snaking, I've become one with the Bowser + Rhino combination to put the hurt on anyone who tries to cross me. The only problem is it handles as if Bowser were trying to ride a rhino. But the best part is being able to play with the same people regularly and weekly, and I don't have any intention of stopping (unlike some other people!)

2. Wrath of the Lich King: This game has made WoW everything I wanted it to be. While I enjoyed the Burning Crusade, it really didn't strike me how lacking it was until WotLK arrived. Phased content, vehicle combat, rejuvenated story, achivements, and a functioning moonkin talent tree has pulled me back in.

1. Braid: This is my favorite game of the year. Bioshock and Portal both stood out as great single-player experiences that really pushed the envelope in using gameplay to tell a story, but I think Braid topped them both in that regard. The problem with "art" games is while they look pretty, they can be pretty shallow when it comes to being just a game. Braid is one of the few that excels in both areas, and amazingly does so by just going back to the platforming basics.

Games I was going to play but ended up not playing (but I'm sure are great):

Grand Theft Auto IV: I watched a bunch of it from my roommate and around the office. I just don't feel any desire to pick it up.

Fallout 3: I loved Oblivion, but I got tired of Oblivion pretty fast. I may try Fallout sometime, but I just don't have it in me.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Ok, maybe I'll play this. Maybe.

Games I still plan on playing:

The World Ends With You: I've needed a new DS game for a while, and this is definitely going to get some attention.

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm: The only thing stopping me from playing this is the tedious story-mode you need to go through to unlock the amazing battle mode. I loved the demo, and it may just be a matter of convincing someone else to play the story mode for me.

Left 4 Dead: I missed the boat on this one, and it's still in my GameFly Q.

Games I did play but don't care much for:

The Burning Crusade: For as much time as I spent on this, alot of it just feels wasted after seeing the improvements made in Lich King.

LittleBigPlanet: I enjoyed this quite a bit for when I can play it with friends, but it didn't end up being the killer game I though it would be.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village: The achievement hunter in me made me want to complete all the puzzles. The rest of me wanted to kill that part of me.

Everyone else is doing it, and since I'd jump off a bridge if everyone else was I figured I'd do it too. Here's my personal top ten list of 2008 games along with some extras (I totally stole this format from Shaun, thanks buddy!). Watch out for the occasional spoiler!

10. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia: The best Metroidvania yet (people who call them Castleroids are dumb). A great main character, awesome story, challenging gameplay, all new monsters and art (!), fantastic bosses, and totally rad soundtrack.

9. Super Smash Bros. Brawl: I loved this game early in the year when I reviewed it, though it was gradually left behind in favor of others. Lately though, I've been playing it again with my brother now that we've moved in together and I'm reminded of how fun it can be.

8. Street Fighter IV: Just cause it's not out in the US yet doesn't mean anything to me! Playing this on genuine Japanese arcade machines is awesome. We'll see if the home versions are as good for me.

7. Fallout 3: I loathed Oblivion. Like, I couldn't play it for longer than 20 minutes. I did enjoy Fallout 3 though, for some reason. Maybe it's because I like Fallout (even though this game isn't really Fallout in any way) but whatever. My biggest issues with it is that it's not an RPG because none of the choices you make really matter (at the end of the game I was a known mass murderer and cannibal, yet the Brotherhood of Steel was still all like "Hey man you can totally join up with us and save the world!") and that the entire game wasn't like the Libery Prime sequence at the end.

6. Persona 4: I loved Persona 3--it's one of my favorite RPGs ever. Persona 4 took that formula and perfected it, and in every way its gameplay is superior to its precessor. Where it doesn't succeed quite so well though is in the story. Though the characters were much more believable in P4, P3 had such a much more epic story (especially the ending, which is pretty much the best final encounter ever). As original as the social link/dungeon crawling combo is though, I'm really hoping they radically change the series again for P5.

5. Left 4 Dead: This game is awesome. There's nothing better than having four people team up to fight zombies post-apocalypse. I can't recommend this game enough for co-op play.

4. Valkyria Chronicles: I love strategy RPGs, and Valkyria Chronicles is among the best ever made. Though it has a few issues, I love its art style and direction, the manner in which its story is told, its characters, the sheer amount of backstory there is to read and uncover, and the many steps forward its taken for the genre. I'm very disappointed at how poorly its been recieved as far as sales are concerned in the US.

3. No More Heroes: Travis Touchdown's hilarious and bloody rise to the top is pure genious. Suda-51, I salute you. While this is basically Boss Fight: The Game 2 (the first Boss Fight: The Game was Shadow of the Colossus, another fantastic title), the bosses are just so over the top and awesome, the art style so stylish, and the combat and controls so right. The ending is epic too. Can't wait for the sequel.

2. Metal Gear Solid 4: Solid Snake's final mission is absolutely amazing. I broke down and bought a PS3 for this game alone, and it was worth it. I can't really say anything about this that hasn't already been said so I won't.

1. Dead Space: This was one of my most anticipated games of the year and it was way better than I expected. I loved this game from the beginning all the way through the end, and I think that it's done an amazing number of things for the genre in that it managed to be heavily action oriented yet still unmistakably survival horror, unlike Resident Evil 4 which was anything but a pure action game.

Special Awards:

Barely Missed the Top 10 (In No Particular Order): Gears of War 2, Braid, Prince of Persia, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Rock Band 2, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, and Mega Man 9.

Didn't Quality Since They Were Remakes/Ports: Final Fantasy IV and Chrono Trigger. Two of the best games ever, but yeah they've been out for like 10 years or something.

Most Disliked Game: Mirror's Edge. I will never understand why some people liked this.

Worst Game: Emergency Mayhem. This is one of the worst games ever made. It represents everything wrong with Wii Shovelware.

Favorite Book I Read: I actually read about as many books as I played games in 2008 so maybe I'll write a separate best books blog post sometime (scratch the maybe, I will sometime this week). Anyway, this is a tie between two books that are a lot older but only recently were read by me: Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light and Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer. They're both amazing stories that I count among my favorite of all time.