Remember the Collector’s Edition of Madden ‘07 that now sits at EB for a couple of bucks but retailed for $70 originally? Well, EA has a deal for you!

This years edition is even more special (for EA). For a staggering, Earth shaking, Madden record setting $90, you can get the 20th Anniversary edition. Yes, that’s a nine followed by a zero. For a yearly sports game. To its credit, this is also bundled with NFL Head Coach ‘09. Since the latter franchise disappeared since its (lackluster) debut in 2006, one can only hope the changes are worth the bundle. Or, does EA not see the game selling all that well on its own?

Also bundled is some - as of now - unspecified video content which will undoubtedly have some retrospective on the history of the franchise. No systems were specified either, though one can assume the PS3 and Xbox 360 will be on the receiving end of this one.

As unofficial as it may be, a GameFAQs poll has revealed an interesting stat. 42% of players are using Gamecube controllers. Add in the Classic Controller, and that number jumps to over half.

A measly 14% are using the actual console’s controller to play the game. While it’s certainly not suited for the game and familiarity with the previous generations device certainly come into play, it’s not hard to see this as a small statement on the “innovation” the Wii remote provides. It’s simply not suited for many types of games, and those that force the issue generally end up in failure.

If you’re spending $250 for game hardware, isn’t it somewhat telling that the hardcore audience (who are certainly the ones playing Smash Bros. en masse compared to their casual counterparts) is rejecting the new control method?

This week brings only a trio a new multiplayer titles, and while we can only have one winner, one runner-up, and one “loser,” your time and money would be well invested with any one of these three games.

Pick of the Week: Command & Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath Real-Time Strategy | PC Command & Conquer 3 was a return to form after Tiberium Sun, reminding us all why we fell in love with the series in the first place. Kane’s Wrath brings all sorts of new features to the table, including brand new customizable epic units, specialized sub-factions, and a metamap campaign. EA gets a lot of crap for being “that big, evil games publisher,” but people tend to forget that they’re capable of producing exceptional titles like this one.

Runner-Up: Universe at War: Earth Assault Real-Time Strategy | 360 If you only buy one RTS for the Xbox 360 this week, buy Universe at War: Earth Assault. The game arrived on the PC a few months back, but was held back by some annoying Windows Live features. On the 360, however, you have no choice to but to subscribe to Live if you want to play online, so complaining about it’s a moot point entirely! In all seriousness, the game sports three radically different factions and some impressive 4-player online modes, and is worth checking for any real-time strategy fans.

This week is a week of pairs, with two excellent arcade sports titles, two not-so-excellent karaoke games, and a duo of shooters sequels (one 2D, one 3D) that should certainly impress fans of their respective series.

Pick of the Week: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 First-Person Shooter | 360, PS3 The first Rainbow Six Vegas was a breath of fresh air for the Rainbow Six franchise, hugely streamlining and modernizing Tom Clancy’s seminal shooter series. With the sequel, Ubisoft Montreal promises more of everything that made the original so great: More multiplayer maps that focus on smaller, more intense battles; more weapons and armor; more customization. The game also features a robust co-op mode with missions designed to encourage replayability. Whether you’re a tactical shooter junkie or someone who has strayed away from the Rainbow Six series, Vegas 2 is worth checking out.

Runner-Up: Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds Arcade Golf | PS3 The Hot Shots Golf series has long-since established itself as the premiere arcade golf experience, and is making its PS3 premiere this week with Out of Bounds. As always, the game features cute characters in over-the-top golfing scenarios, but now includes some impressive online features to boot, including tournament support for up to 50 (!) players at a time. You can even completely customize your adorable golfing avatar in order to stand out from the online crowd. Truly, Hot Shots Golf is the Mario Kart of golfing games.

The GGL Wire is reporting that Activision plans to tap Blizzard Entertainment to bring Guitar Hero to “roughly 300,000 game rooms between China and Korea.” Clearly, Activision hopes to cash in on Blizzard’s extreme success in Asia, especially in South Korea, where StarCraft is essentially the national pastime.

Readers with especially good memories will recall Activision CEO Robert Kotick’s comment that a Guitar Hero MMO seemed like a logical move for the franchise in November of last year. Given Blizzard’s unending stranglehold on the MMO market with World of Warcraft, is Activision getting Blizzard acquainted with the Guitar Hero franchise with bigger projects planned in the future? One can only hope.

Looks like the rest of the video game industry has cleared out its release calender for fear of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Or as we like to call it: The Halo 3 Effect.

Pick of the Week: Super Smash Bros. Brawl Mascot Fighter | Wii Five years from now you’ll still be playing Brawl with your buddies and even bashing heads in the odd online match-up. This is not prediction. This is fact. With a massive character roster and a multitude of multiplayer game modes, Brawl isn’t just the Pick of the Week; it’s the Pick of Forever. Unless your one of the unlucky few with a Wii that’s unable to handle Brawl’s double-layer disc. In which case, well… You’re better off just waiting for next week, honestly.

The launch of the one of the hottest titles in the Wii’s short history has finally arrived. If you want an idea of the chaos, Joystiq posted a video of what went down at on specific Gamestop that chronicles the moments before and after the midnight hour.

When a few of those gamers went home however, they may have found a small problem. The game wouldn’t work. According to Nintendo:

Super Smash Bros. Brawl utilizes a double-layer disc which has a large memory capacity. A very small percentage of Wii consoles may have trouble consistently reading data off this large capacity disc if there is some contamination on the lens of the disc drive.

This must apparently be the first Wii disc to use a dual layer DVD, as no other games have been reported with same issue. If your copy isn’t working, you can request a repair through Nintendo. I would NOT want to be Nintendo tech support today, especially after the number of delays people have already experienced waiting for this thing.

“Terrific” in this case meaning “poorly conceived and laughably ineffectual.”

The program, which UK Resistance so aptly mocks, is the brainchild of the South London police force. PROJECT GAMERZ aims to get “anyone aged between 11 and 18, who live, or attend school, in the Riverside Ward of Rotherhithe, to get involved with their local community through Video Games and eSports.” Because clearly, the way to combat youth violence is to stick a dozen at-risk teenagers in a room filled with Xbox 360s and force them to play a few competitive games of FIFA. Never mind the socio-economic problems breeding environments that feed and encourage crime and violence. No, the answer here is clearly to play more video games.

Next up, we fight hunger by giving starving nations copies of Cooking Mama.

Even after Microsoft confirmed that the financial side of things didn’t pan out, the updated Goldeneye for the Live Arcade won’t leave gamers alone. The N64 classic remains one of the most beloved first-person shooters of all time (even though it barely holds up today), and the remixed graphics and online multi-player had many players frothing at the mouth.

Adding fuel to the rumors is the UK magazine Xbox World who claims to have the exclusive story about the game and its release date. However, Microsoft stands firm that they never contacted (or were contacted) by the magazine about the story, and repeat their initial stance on the issue that it’s not happening.

Undoubtedly, the game would be a huge seller, so either Microsoft or Nintendo needs to budge on this one and get a release. A ton of work has apparently been done, as the screen shots and video show nicely rendered graphics that represent a huge leap over the N64 original. With dual analog controls, it could even be brought up to today’s standards.

Grand Theft Auto. MLB 2K8. BioShock.

All of those came close to having an EA logo in front them when the company took a shot and tried to buy 60% of Take Two. EA offered $26 per share which is a substantial increase over the actual value of the stock.

Take Two then sent that offer back with a blatant no attached to it. Their claims about cramping creativity are shots directly at the company, and likely resonated with gamers. The company also defended their decision to stockholders, claiming EA’s offer was an opportunistic bid with the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto IV just down the line.

March hits the ground running with a week packed with solid releases.

Pick of the Week: Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War: Soulstorm Real-Time Strategy | PC You shouldn’t just buy Soulstorm as a memorial to the recently deceased Iron Lore Entertainment (though, admittedly, that’s a pretty good reason). No, you should buy Soulstorm because it promises to be the best Dawn of War stand alone expansion yet, and given the quality of Dark Crusade, that’s really saying something. Like Dark Crusade, Soulstorm brings with it a non-linear single player campaign, two new playable races (The Dark Eldar and Sisters of Battle), and a new unit for all seven of the game’s already existing races. That’s right, Soulstorm brings Dawn of War’s playable roster up to nine completely unique races. Best RTS since Starcraft? You better believe it.

Runner-Up: Army of Two Third-Person Shooter | 360, PS3 Army of Two’s come a long way; looks like the delay into ‘08 has done it good. As is often the case these days, players take control of an army operative in an nondescript Middle Eastern country. However, this time around you’ll have a buddy at your side from start to finish. Offline, the game’s AI will pick up the slack and take control of your partner-in-war, but you can also jump online and play through the entire game cooperatively with a friend. We love cooperating. Army of Two also features some needlessly in-depth weapon customization and fully-destructable environments, according to this press release here.

Military shooters and quirky Japanese titles. Yup, it’s a week of multiplayer video game releases, alright.

Pick of the Week: Heavenly Guardian 2D Shooter | PS2 Ever heard of the Pocky & Rocky series? No? I’ll wait for you to get caught up. All done? Heavenly Guardian is a spiritual successor to the Pocky & Rocky series in that “it’s a full-fledged Pocky & Rocky sequel but the developer couldn’t secure the license” sort of way. The game plays like a linear, level-based version of Robotron, as you blast your way through hordes of baddies with some good ol’ fashioned directional shooting. They don’t make them like this anymore. Except on Xbox Live Arcade, that is. The game is co-op from start to finish, comes at a budget price, and is unbelievably fun. Play this game! Unless you hate being entertained, of course.

Runner-Up: Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Third-Person Shooter | PS3 Yes, it’s just a PS3 port of the year-old Xbox 360 and PC game, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. In fact, the PS3 version of Lost Planet is the definitive version, with “superior” graphics sure to trigger flame wars on video game message boards and all of the Xbox 360’s DLC. It’s a mech game, and it’s fun. Often times, those two things are mutually exclusive. If you haven’t yet played the game, you’re literally out of excuses at this point.