Check out the full-length cinematic trailer for BioWare’s forthcoming Mass Effect 2, partially teased last week on just about every game site on the ‘Net.

Here’s what we know about the story: Commander Shepard is back, and he—or she, depending on how you play—does indeed die, as shown in the original teaser trailer. No faking his death to go on a mission, folks—Shepard straight-up bites it. A mysterious independent organization called Cerberus, led by the Illusive Man (played by Martin friggin’ Sheen), gets Shepard’s body and pieces him back to together. Shepard is now a cyborg of sorts, working for the company that spared his life.

Sound intriguing? Good, because Mass Effect 2 arrives in stores next month. You don’t have much time to wait before discovering if BioWare topped themselves, or if they fell flat on their faces. The latter seems unlikely, but I feel the need to write that just in case. I’m not eating any nasty crow.

Check out the gameplay introduction trailer for Rockstar’s upcoming open-world Old West sequel, Red Dead Redemption. The original game, Red Dead Revolver, was OK I guess, but the sequel looks like it will blow the original’s brains out. Red Dead Revolver was very linear and not at all open-world. Red Dead Redemption, however… Well, you’ll see, so just check out the trailer.

Categorize this in the “well, duh” department. Gearbox Software’s Mike Neumann, creative director of recent hit Borderlands, told VG247 that a Borderlands 2 is a “no-brainer.” Take that with a grain of salt considering it isn’t a concrete “yes”; but given that Borderlands sold extremely well for Gearbox and publisher 2K Games, I’d be very surprised if a sequel doesn’t surface.

Neumann also spoke about Randy Pitchford’s recent anti-Valve remarks, claiming that the Gearbox honcho’s statements were “twisted and contorted.” Whatever that means. Whether he really meant what he said about Valve or not, Pitchford would do well not to stir that particular hornet’s nest in the future. Don’t bite the hand that feeds, and all that jazz.

This is probably as good a time as any to remind you folks that the first DLC for Borderlands, titled The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned, hits Xbox Live and PlayStation Network on November 24th. The pack will cost you 800 space bucks (or Microsoft Points if you prefer) on XBL and $9.99 on PSN. Players will head to the titular island to take on zombified critters and score sweet new loot. Neumann wouldn’t comment on a possible level-cap increase in this or future DLC, but I’m certain we’ll see it soon enough.

Will there be a follow-up to the charming PS3-exclusive platformer/level designer LittleBigPlanet? Judging from comments in a recent interview conducted by British gaming news site Critical Gamer, it seems highly unlikely at this point.

Media Molecule producer Martin Lynagh told Critical Gamer that the developer will focus on improvements and DLC updates. That alone does not rule out a sequel, but level designer Danny Leaver’s statement comes close. Regarding the development of a sequel, Leaver said that Media Molecule would “never want to do that. That’d be the most counterproductive thing you could do I think.”

I have to agree. Many gamers have poured their hearts into designing stages and scenarios for LittleBigPlanet. Releasing a sequel now would undermine all of that work. Increasing the amount of content available for LBP is the right way to go. In other words, it would be best to simply allow the core game to grow exponentially larger through updates.

But maybe I’m crazy and you folks really just want a sequel. Is that the case? Comment away!

After several days of headaches brought about by trying to get into matches, I can now confidently review EA and DICE’s Battlefield 1942 download-only sequel, Battlefield 1943. I wish I was joking about the online issues, but sadly they were quite real. Getting into a quick match was incredibly difficult, and playing with friends was all but impossible. DICE stepped up though, adding several additional servers and ironing out most of the connection wrinkles prohibiting gamers from getting into matches.

These issues seem to have largely existed on the Xbox Live side of things, as there are far fewer reports of connectivity issues from PlayStation Network users. I played the Xbox Live Arcade version of Battlefield 1943 for review purposes, but the PSN version is identical in form and function, so PS3 owners may feel free to use my review to aid in their buying decisions.

So, after all those headaches, was the game worth waiting for? The answer to that question depends largely on what kind of gamer you are. If you’re a fan of Battlefield 1942, the answer is an enthusiastic “yes.” Although the DICE team behind 1943 did not develop the original, they paid great homage to the PC classic, and even improved upon the already-stellar gameplay with a few tweaks. Ammo is now infinite; snipers can’t go prone; teams are limited to 12 players; and so on. (more…)

Despite less than stellar sales and reviews, EA is moving ahead with a Mirror’s Edge sequel. EA Games Europe’s senior VP Patrick Soderlund says a “small team” is busy brainstorming for the next installment.

Soderlund even admitted that Mirror’s Edge is far from perfect, and certainly didn’t sell like EA hoped, but that won’t stop a sequel. I remember a time when EA would not make such a risky move on a franchise that wasn’t a guaranteed success. The EA of today is more than willing to throw some money behind such a project, and I couldn’t be happier.

Sadly, Soderlund didn’t have anything else to say about the sequel. We don’t know a targe release window, game details — not a thing. Hopefully, EA will see fit to enlighten us very soon.