Welcome to the Black List, our regular retrospective on the week in games.

On Monday, we posted something near and dear to our hearts, a little something that we like to call Chris Taylor’s Black Panel Podcast.

On Tuesday, we ventured into the Bermuda Triangle and returned with a review of Dark Void.

On Wednesday, we realised that the Make Something Unreal Contest winners took as much inspiration from Valve as Epic.

On Thursday, we took a look at the stunning new trailer for Super Mario Galaxy 2 and crossed our fingers that it would look just as good on an HD television.

On Friday, SEGA finally revealed a release date for Alpha Protocol but followed it up with a truly risible trailer for the long delayed RPG.

Thanks for reading.

Erin Marcon – Editor

Twitter: Follow the site at BlackPanelDaily

Facebook: Join the Black Panel Readers’ League

RECENT REVIEWS

SEGA has finally confirmed a revised release date for Alpha Protocol, the long delayed spy game from Obsidian Entertainment. Assuming the announcement isn’t a clever ruse on SEGA’s part, you should circle Thursday 27 May 2010 on your calendars. Actually, I suggest that you memorise the date and you should probably burn those calendars. Trust no one.

A new promotional clip has been issued in support of the announcement. While the trailer is depressingly generic, SEGA has described the game as “fiercely original”. I just don’t know what to think!

Actually the trailer isn’t entirely without merit. Skip to the 50 second mark and take a look at the most bizarre femme fatale you’re ever likely to encounter. She’s a cross between a G.I. Joe action figure and an extra from Duran Duran video clip circa 1985. It suddenly occurred to me that the game could be set during the Cold War, however according to the Alpha Protocol website, “the year is 2009”.

Alpha Protocol is scheduled for release on 360, PS3 and PC.

Nintendo has released a colourful new trailer for Super Mario Galaxy 2. Packed with gameplay footage, the two minute clip features an extended cameo from Mario’s irrepressible mount, Yoshi. Judicious use of the dinosaur’s special abilities, including his famously adhesive tongue, will enable Mario to reach seemingly inaccessible locations.

While the trailer is stylish and vibrant, I suspect the game will suffer considerably when viewed on the large high definition televisions popping up in living rooms throughout the world. The original Super Mario Galaxy certainly did, with washed out colours and blurry textures marring an otherwise attractive game.

This is a series known for its sublime visual presentation and it’s a crying shame that the graphics in the latest instalment are unlikely to impress us as much as Yoshi’s Island or Super Mario 64 did in previous generations. Nintendo’s decision to ship the Wii without HD support is becoming more disheartening by the day.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 is due for release on the Wii in Q2 2010.

“Sorry, Ned. Road’s closed. There’s been an outbreak of humans.”

Epic Games has revealed the winners of its hotly contested Intel Make Something Unreal Contest. Aspiring developers submitted their best Unreal Tournament 3 mods in the hope of receiving cash prizes and valuable industry exposure.

First prize went to The Haunted, a grisly multiplayer action game reminiscent of Valve’s Left 4 Dead. The creators of the mod will receive US$50,000 and a license to employ the Unreal Engine 3 in their next commercial release. The team is already working on The Haunted: Hells Reach, a stand alone edition of their winning entry.

In all, ten projects were recognised during the Make Something Unreal awards ceremony held during last week’s D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas. Second place went to Toltec Studio’s The Ball, a visually stunning first person action game in which players dispatch opponents and solve puzzles by manipulating an ancient sphere. Third place went to the clumsily titled Angels Fall First: Planetstorm, an ambitious interstellar action game featuring both ship to ship and on-foot combat.

The Ball

Angels Fall First Planetstorm